Guardians of Equestria

by Silverwind Blade

Hope

The roads and railways out of Canterlot were packed. Ponies moved, nose to tail, down the mountainside roads across the plains. The station was packed, with trains leaving as often as the railway could accommodate. The airship port on the side of Mount Unicornia was flooded with ponies and their belongings everywhere any creature could look.

Even amidst the chaos, the spirit of Equestria shone through: the noble elite of Canterlot society rubbed shoulders with the working ponies. High-flying socialites like Fancy Pants and Fleur-de-lis had turned over control of their personal assets and transportation to the control of the crown, their personal carriages or airships pressed into the evacuation effort.

The reason for the evacuation was abundantly clear. The background track to the exodus was the sound of battle, drifting through the air from the north of the city, the crash and thunder of weapons fire and combat joined in earnest.

Tempest Shadow had remained true to her word, and organised Equestrias armed forces effectively. Lines of retreat and defence had been established, along with terms half-forgotten to the ponies of Equestria. Terms like ‘fields of fire’ and ‘killing grounds’ had been learned in earnest. Under Tempest’s direction and hard-learned lessons, the Equestrian Army had been brutally forged into a fighting force, and had if not won, at least been successful in slowing down their enemy, even with comparatively primitive weapons and equipment.

Along with the thunder of battle, the thunder of storms rolled in. A volunteer corps of pegasi had been raised, and directed the full might of raging weather toward the enemy, and it combined with every trick of warfare that the former general of the Storm Kings’ armies could muster, had slowed the Hollow Things down.

Slowed them. Delayed them. Inconvenienced them. But not stopped them.

In the city, guard ponies were directing the evacuation, as much as they could. Moving from street to street, they methodically checked houses and businesses, making sure all ponies were moving on. It was a sad and miserable duty. Abandoning the capital of Equestria, magnificent and beautiful city that it was, was a bitter task that tasted of defeat and sadness in the face of the enemy. But no more ponies could be left here to be allowed to taken by the enemy. By now, everypony had heard the stories of Fillydelphia and Manehattan.

Sergeant Steelmane shook his head as he thought that over, watching as the mares and stallions under his command moved down the street, helping ponies with their belonging as they moved them to a group of waiting carts from their homes, and making sure the dwellings were left locked. Whatever posessions and belongings were left behind couldn’t be guaranteed safe, but in the least, they could be secure. There’d been no issues with looters yet, and it wasn’t an especially pony thing to do. But they had to be on their guard, nonetheless. Anything truly valuable or irreplacable that couldn’t be taken was being moved to the caverns below the city where possible. But even that was a matter of time. Getting ponies out was the priority, and it amazed him that, so far, there hadn’t been a panicked stampede. The city was a tinderbox, and the slightest spark could set it off.

The grey-coated stallion shook his head again, and pawed the ground with a forehoof. Even he was beginning to feel it, as the sound of battle drew closer. The sense of desperation was growing, and there was still so much of the city to cover.

His attention was diverted as his second in command cantered up to him with an unfamiliar mare alongside.

“Who’s this, Corporal Amber?” he asked in his firm, but not hard commanding tone.

“Sir, this is miss Fishie Wishes. She’s a local resident here, and has asked to speak to you directly”. He looked at Blazing Amber’s eyes; the unicorn mare’s colours matched her name. Her coat was a warm orange-brown, and her mane and tail a coppery-gold colour to match the ‘Blazing’ part of her name. Her cool blue-grey eyes showed the same troubled expression as the rest of the ponies around him, and told the older unicorn stallion that this wasn’t any simple request. He slid his eyes across to the pretty light blue unicorn and nodded to her.

“Miss Wishes; I’m sorry to inconvenience you, and I’m sure you’re reluctant to leave your home. I know I would be in your position, I can only apologize. I’m sure you must know the reason why, too.”

She shook her head firmly, muzzle screwed up in an grim expression and her short, bobbed mane swishing. “No no,” she said quickly. “It’s not that; I understand completely, and I’m as ready to move as the next pony. It’s about my fiance”. Her voice was urgent and troubled, and her lovely blue eyes were stormy and troubled as her voice. “He went out to help some of the other stallions from our neighbourhood evacuate the senior ponies a few streets over, and I haven’t seen him since. I can’t leave without him!”

Steelmane pursed his lips and swished his tail, looking up at the rows of slanted rooves and chimneys as he thought. Time was running short; the sounds of battle were drawing closer, and as if to underline his thought, warhorns sounded from the palace in alarm, and a particularly earth-shaking explosion sounded nearby, and with it the smells of burning drifted on the air.

“All right,” he said quickly, as the wagons rolled away. “Blazing Amber; follow Miss Wishes directions; see if you can find these stallions and get them out of here. We’ll clear the next two streets and then all meet at Stallions’ Square. No longer than half an hour, and then we all get out, understood?”

“Yes sir!” Amber replied, the unicorn snapping smartly to attention. Beside her, Fishie bowed her head in thanks, before galloping off, hot on the heels of the armoured mare.

Over their heads, wisps of smoke drifted through the skies.

Celestia looked out from a castle balcony that overlooked the northern side of Canterlot. Around her, pegasus messengers darted back and forth, while unicorns monitored the battle through telescopes. If she turned her head and looked down, she could see the small shapes of ponies retreating down the mountainside road, and out across the interior plains toward Ponyville and beyond. The last few airships left the docks, powering away at their best speed. The quaysides were a picture of chaos, the aftermath of the evacuation strewn everywhere, and the same story repeated through the city streets, albeit with fleeing ponies still in evidence, or guards-ponies taking up defensive positions, overturning carts and market stalls, and forming barricades.

Her heart sank; this was not what she had wanted for her noble city. The bright jewel of Equestria, the capital of culture, peace and friendship, to become a battlefield.

The rustle of wings stirred her ears, and she looked up to see Luna descending for a landing, two of her thestral guards following.

“Sister,” the older sibling said as Luna touched down. Like Celestia herself, she had taken to the moment and its’ needs. Both of them were dressed in their armour. Centuries old and crafted with all manner of enchantments and protected wards and runes, it was powerful magically, as well as physically, being crafted from the finest and strongest materials, by the greatest of blacksmiths and artificers using the greatest techniques available. Both royal sisters looked every part the experienced warhorses they were.

Luna’s horn glowed as she removed her chamfron, setting it on a nearby table as her guards stood attentively nearby.

“What word from the battle, Luna?” she asked urgently, stepping closer and greeting her with a nuzzle, that the midnight-blue mare returned. “Is it as desperate as it sounds?”

“Aye, sister,” Luna replied sadly, hanging her head as she moved across the balcony to a jug and poured herself a goblet of water, taking a drink before she continued. “Tempest is an excellent tactician, as Twilight had expected. She has done a magnificent job of slowing down those vile creatures, and has cost them much in numbers. I have no doubt at all that it is only through her knowledge and experience that we have been able to evacuate Canterlot as well we have. But it is still a chance bought with the lives of ponies, and there are only so many lives we can spend”. She winced and shook her head, her expression bitterly grim.

“It pains me that we are buying this time with lives, my sister. Our ponies are so, so very willing to fight, and it drives a wound deep into my soul that is one of overwhelming pride that they are so brave and selfless, but aches more than any mortal wound I have ever felt that they would die so readily for so very little gain. We must find a way to stop them, or to win some margin of victory.” Her beautiful sea-green eyes blazed as she looked into Celestia’s face.

“Let me take the field, Celestia!” she implored. “Please, sister; we have stood idle too long. Let Cadance command in our absence, and you and I shall reave these beasts asunder. Our forces can retreat, while we buy them time. Canterlot might be saved if we-”

“No, Luna” she said sternly, shaking her head. “As much as it pains you, it does so equally to me,” she said firmly. “And our ponies need our direction. If you and I were both to fall out there – and worse so, if we were to fight for not victory – then it would do nothing to inspire or rally our troops. As it is, Tempest’s strategy is buying us the time we need. The city is almost emptied, and the last of our forces are falling back to the mountain. We will mount a defence here, and neither of us will retreat – not unless there is no other choice, at least. And besides; we still have cards to play. All is not yet lost, sister. We must play a patient game to win, believe me-”

Luna stamped her hoof angrily and tossed her head, sparkling mane shimmering as she did so.

“Always waiting!” she bit back in annoyance. “You always play the longer game, and so we end up losing more than we might if we made an attempt to be bold. Our ponies need inspiring, Celestia. Decisive action is what we need, not to wait and see.” she gave an exasperated snort and trotted a few steps to the balcony railing, looking out with a hard eye at the near horizon, and the flashing array of lights reflected on the belly of mixed smoke and storm cloud that marked the battle lines.

A gentle cough and her eyes slid sideways, meeting those of one of the two thestral guards. The mare, Amethyst Shadow, stood at attention, but met Luna’s eyes with a cool, calm gaze of understanding. The younger alicorn sister bristled a moment, but then let out a sigh.

“As much as it galls me sister, you are right – for now, we should wait. Our ponies need to be at safety, and rushing into battle will do none of us any good. But I believe still that we will fight before the day is out”.

She turned on her heel and marched swiftly for the door, with Celestia turning as she went.

“Wait, Luna! Where are you going?”

The lunar princess turned at the door. “To rest, sister, and to eat. If we must wait, then I shall make use of the time in a practical fashion. Faust knows that there will be little enough time later on. I would suggest that we both be ready, as when the moment comes we will have no time to prepare”.

She bowed her head to her sister, and Celestia returned the gesture, both guards doing the same thing, Amethyst Shadow giving a slight smile of recognition to the white alicorn and a brisk nod as she did so, before they all left the balcony. Celestia looked back out over the balcony, her eyes lingering on the pair of chamfrons as she did, the battle-masks of both sisters side by side like an omen of things to come.

Much as she had urged her sister to wait and let the battle come to them, and that she had defended her long-term strategy, she was as much torn by the idea of blazing into the fight as Luna had been, and had been perilously close to giving in and stampeding into the fight alongside her. The endless reports of battles, and of losses and casualties tore at her like a physical thing and the thought of waiting longer left a bitter, acid taste in her muzzle with every moment. But the city must be evacuated; soldiers being willing to fight and die was one thing. The loss of any more civilians was not something she could remotely conscience. And if they could wait just that little longer too…

Her rose-coloured eyes left the apocalyptic horizon and moved to the campaign map spread out on the table that held their headgear. Enchanted, it showed the position of military units in Equestria, and in particular four special ones that glowed a bright golden colour and were centered over the south-east reaches, far away. They pulsed, showing their status as ‘in preparation’. If they were ready, then it might give them some kind of advantage, in the least, enough of one to win a battle and give more time for Twilight’s quest to be complete, or for Starlight and her friends to make some kind of breakthrough, and for the army to rally and form a proper defensive line.

If there was enough time, that is.

Starlight remembered it was like waking up from a sudden sleep you didn’t realise you’d fallen into, and that moment of disconnect that comes with it. Remembering the last thing you had done, the last place you’d been, and that sudden ‘jump’ back into reality that comes as a surprise as your senses all come back from whatever dream you were having.

Having stepped through the magic mirror from Equestria to the human world, for Starlight the shock of ‘waking up’ was much more than normal – even with having done it before. Groaning, she shifted position slowly, remembering the weird changes that her body would have gone through. The former unicorn took a moment, blinking slowly as she raised her… arms… in front of her face. Yep, she thought to herself with a slight smirk. Those are my hands, and my fingers. She wiggled them in front of her face. Four slender digits and a stubbier opposable one, not unlike Spikes’ claws, or a minotaurs appendages. And, of course, ubquitous clothing, that seemed to appear as part of the change from a pony – clad, she thought with a glimmer of amusement, in only the fuzzy coat she’d been born with – into a human dressed in whatever passed for eveyday fashion in the human world. She wondered what would happen if a pony who was dressed went into the portal. Or a naked human. Of course, those were only a couple of the many, many questions the portal gave rise to. Right now, she had no time to think on them. Instead, she had friends to find. Two legs, not four, she thought to herself carefully, looking down and wiggling her feet. They were just as radical as her hands; longer and flatter with individual toes instead of her hooves. Moving carefully, she got herself into a sitting position, and then stood, remembering the skills she’d learned the first time.

Thankfully, a quick look around showed that nopony – nobody, she corrected herself – was paying any attention particularly. Setting a determined expression onto her much flatter and different-shaped face, she strode forward with purpose, making a beeline for the glass doors of Canterlot High School ahead of her. Time to find Sunset and her friends. It hadn’t been hard any other time: the seven girls seemed to be as at the center of things as Twilight and her friends always were back in the realm of Equestria. No doubt someone would mention them, or she’d hear of their latest exploits almost right away.

As Starlight reached the front doors of the school and put her hand on the door handle, it pushed open from inside. Stepping back, her surprise was replaced with delight as she saw an almost familiar face. The woman coming out was a few inches taller, and a good few years older. She was dressed in a chic, yet businesslike outfit of a collared short-sleeve blouse with a belt and simple yet elegant business slacks. Her long, midnight blue hair had an almost starry sheen to it, and that was what gave it away the most, along with the crescent moon detail on her white collar.

“Princess Luna!” Starlight said with a grin. “I mean, Vice-Principal Luna,” she correted quickly at the older woman’s confused expression. “Sunset Shimmer has told me about you, but we’ve never met. I’m Starlight Glimmer. Uh, pleased to meet you,” she said quickly, putting out one hand.

The blue-skinned woman raised an eyebrow coolly as she shifted an armful of files from one arm to the other, and took Starlight’s offered hand in a strong, cool grip and shook it firmly.

“Starlight Glimmer, eh?” she said with an even, yet friendly tone. “Sunset certainly does seem to gather a lot of friends from all sorts of places.” she gave a curious look at Starlight, looking into her eyes with an intense interest for a moment, and causing the younger woman to look away after a moment. The vice-principal had a small smirk on her face as Starlight looked back. “I’ll go out on a limb and take the wild guess that you’re looking for Sunset, as so many often seem to be”.

“That’s right,” Starlight said eagerly with a nod. “Is she in school? Gym class maybe, or-”

Luna held up a hand to stop Starlight’s words, and shook her head. “You must be out of touch with her, Starlight. No, Sunset isn’t at school today”.

“Is she sick?” Starlight said, her expression faltering.

“Sick? Not that I’ve heard. No, I mean she isn’t attending Canterlot High. You see, Sunset and her friends graduated from Canterlot High two years ago”.

Fluttershy stepped out onto the deck of the Sun Chaser reluctantly. She’d spent much of her time aboard the vessel since they’d become ensnared in this seemingly endless grey void in the cabin she shared with Rarity. It was at least marginally less creepy than being up on the deck with the endless steel grey pressing in around the ship from all sides, and there were books to read and a warm and bright lamp in the cabin. Up hear, there was the piercing cold, energy-leeching mist that drifted through the air and turned the deck to a slippery soaking mess under hoof, and left everypony testy and snappy with one another. But by now, after days in the all encompassing shroud of the clouds, even staying in her cabin had lost all appeal and sense of sanctuary and comfort. She had wandered the lower decks, circling them an even dozen times, until she felt like she knew every fixture and fitting, and even the pattern of the planks that made up the deck. The decks were the only place left, and she’d ventured out reluctantly at last. Aimlessly, she wandered out onto the open space, until she caught sight of a single spot of bright colour against the canvas of grey. Pinkie’s bright pink coat and raspberry-pink mane were a flash of joy in the dullness of their surroundings, and the yellow pegasus moved to join her friend by the deck rail.

“Hiya Fluttershy,” Pinkie said with her characteristically bubbly enthusiasm. Her blue eyes gleamed as she looked to her, and gave a big smile. “Knew you couldn’t stay inside forever! And now you’re here, that’s a second pair of eyes to help me look, too!”

“I wish I could have stayed inside,” Fluttershy lamented, before tilting her head curiously. “And what is it we’re looking for, Pinkie? There’s not really anything to see, other than clouds. Is this a game?”

“Nuh-uh,” Pinkie said, shaking her head rapidly. “No, not at all. See, I’ve found a way out of here – or at least, I think I have. I mean,” she said frowning and putting one hoof to her chin. “I didn’t find it, so much as get a feeling, or an idea, that there must be a way out of this. Clouds don’t last this long, and even if they did, they can’t go on forever. Just like the clouds over your head when you’re sad don’t last forever, because there’s always something to cheer it up and make it better. So, if we can just find the thing that can cheer us up and make us better, then these clouds will go away too, right? I just need to see the thing that’ll make it go away. And now I’ve got my friend Fluttershy to help me look, we’ll definitely find it!”

While not being part of a weather team, being a pegasus bought with it a level of certainty and understanding about weather, and the shy mare knew that actual clouds didn’t behave much like the metaphorical ones over ones’ head. But she couldn’t help but smile at Pinkie’s indomitable spirit and the certainty of her own with which she spoke her idea. And much like the chubby earth pony had said it would, a smile came to her lips as she thought of the idea.

“See!” Pinkie said with a grin. “I knew it would work!”

She wrapped her forelegs around Fluttershy in a hug, that the yellow pegasus gladly returned, glad to feel the warmth of her friend against her, instead of the bitter cold of the clouds. As she opened her eyes, she blinked and squinted as something dazzled her eyes a moment.

“Wh-what?” she mumbled, before blinking again and looking more intently with her sharp pegasus vision. She was rewarded for the perserverance; the light gleamed once more, brightly through the cloud.

“Look!” she said to Pinkie sharply. “tell me you see that too, Pinkie Pie!”

The pink earth pony followed Fluttershy’s pointing hoof and gasped, before nodding enthusiastically. “Of course! I told you it would work, that must be what my Pinkie sense was telling me about; a light that comes through the clouds, like it always does”

“We should tell the others!” The pair ran off quickly to let Twilight and the rest of the crew know about the light, even as it started to shine brighter.

Starlight Glimmer had faced many things in her life. She had been the ruler of a village that had become a cult advocating the removal of cutie marks. She had almost destroyed time and space attempting to get revenge for said cult being destroyed. She had defeated the Queen of the Changelings, Queen Chrysalis, when she had all-but conquered Equestria, and had done more besides.

But this was way, way out of her depth. This was something she had no frame of reference to prepare herself for. A world she was only barely familiar with, with strange customs and people, unfamiliar trappings and technology, a landscape she didn’t know, and a body that wasn’t quite her own.

Starlight fidgeted on the lumpy, padded bench seat again and looked out the window, listening out for the name of the next bus stop, while trying not to slide too close to the… larger… man sat next to her and taking up most of the seat.

Vice-Principal Luna had been kind enough to give her the name of the college that Sunset had moved on to, and the bus fare to get there – as, thankfully, it was only across town. She had been bemused, but not overly surprised, when Starlight had asked, with great embarassment, how one rides the bus and had expained it.

Now, the pony-turned-human was on the verge of chewing her newly-given fingernails off as she anxiously looked out of the windows of the big, noisy, smelly vehicle and narrowly avoided leaping out of her skin every time the machine made a snarling, roaring or grinding noise as it negotiated the roads of the bustling city.

Her last trip here, she had visited a mall with Sunset, and that had seemed mind-expanding enough. She’d seen cars and other vehicles, but that hadn’t nearly prepared her as much as she’d thought for travelling on and within one, nor for exploring and travelling through this strange world on her own.

“Excuse me, dear,” a voice said from the opposite side of the aisle, and Starlight near jumped out of her skin, before whipping her head around to look at the speaker. An older woman sat opposite, a warm and understanding smile on her elegantly aged, peach-coloured face. “Y-yes?” Starlight answered with a stammer and an awkward smile.

“I’m sorry to disturb you, but you looked like you’re a bit nervous. First time riding the bus?”

Starlight’s shoulders slumped and she gave a defeated sigh, holding one hand to her face and nodding. “Yeah, that’s an understatement,” she said with a wry smile. “You could say I’m a long way from home and I’m feeling a bit out of my depth”.

“Oh, you poor dear,” the woman said kindly, reaching over and patting her hand resting on the seat cover. “I’ve travelled a lot in my time, but going somewhere new and different never stops being a shock. All you have to remember is to look at the signs, and you’ll find your way. Where is it you’re trying to get to, sweetheart?”

“Canterlot College? I was told it’s past Starfall street and Griffin Square; but I don’t know if I missed those names coming up, so I’m not sure if I need to go back, or change buses or-”

The older woman cut her off with a light squeeze and a pat to her hand. “Hush now, dear; you’re all right. You haven’t missed your stop. The stop for Canterlot College isn’t called Canterlot College, it’s Stiller Street. And it’s the same stop I’m getting off at, so don’t you worry about missing it; I’ll make sure you don’t, and I’ll give you directions to the college too, all right?”

Starlight felt a wave of relief wash over her at this woman’s generosity and kindness. The help she’d given would help her find Sunset, surely. And that, in turn, could be vital to finding a way to defeat the Hollow Things, or in the least study them. And all that from a woman giving her the right stop on the bus. It was something that near-boggled her mind. It was all she could do to thank her, profusely and repeatedly.

Only a short time later, Starlight stood in front of the main doors to the college itself. The building was a far cry from the traditional historical brick-and-stone of Caterlot High and it’s leaded glazed windows. Instead, it was more like some of the other buildings she’d seen in the city as the bus had travelled past, or when she’d been to the mall with Sunset. Even some of Manehattan’s moer modern buildings looked similar, all glass, concrete and metal with radical angular features.

The reception area immediately inside was a sweeping, open atrium with mezzanine levels up glass-and-metal staircases. Students and what she assumed were faculty were everywhere, moving busy from place to place, clustered in groups and talking, or dotted on seats and tables at the open-plan cafeteria sipping drinks and snacking, talking animatedly, or checking their ubiquitous electronic devices. The sheer amount of people was mind-boggling to her. How will I ever pick Sunset out of this crowd? She thought, aghast at the sheer number of people. Distinctive as the ex-unicorn was, even her golden-yellow skin and fiery red and yellow hair would be hard to pick out of the kaleidoscope of individuals with every hue and shade under any sun on show. Starlight halted in her tracks, her momentarily gained confidence thrown off once more, until her gaze fell upon the receptionists desk to one side of the atrium, and the large ‘help’ sign above it. Assuming what she hoped was a confident-yet-breezy stride, she crossed to the desk and leaned on it with an affected casual air, giving a winning smile to the receptionist, a middle-aged woman who had an air of calm that seemed completely indestructible.

“Hi~” Starlight said in a casual, laid-back drawl. “I was hoping you could help me; there’s a student I’m trying to find; I just wanted to find out what classes she’s in. She’s a friend of mine, and I had an assignment to pass over to her that our professor forgot to hand her”.

The woman arched a sceptical eyebrow. “Your professor forgot to give her work, she’s your friend, and you don’t know her classes?”

Starlight frowned and nodded. “Yes, is that all right?”

The woman gave a doubtful hm, fixing her with a gaze that could have drilled for oil, before folding her arms on the counter in front of her. “Could I please see your student ID, miss…?”

“Uh, Starlight Glimmer,” she said in a rush, feeling her cheeks flush. “And I don’t have my ID with me; I must have left it in my other… purse”.

The receptionist looked over Starlight again and frowned. “Your ‘other’ purse? You don’t have a purse with you, miss Glimmer. In fact, where’s the work you were going to give your friend?”

Starlight ground her teeth and groaned, planting her face onto the counter top before looking up. “Please, lady; I just really need to find my friend; it’s really important!”

“Oh, it’s important? Then please; sign in to this visitors’ book. Give me the name, and I’ll contact her lecturer and she can come and find you when-”

“Starlight Glimmer?” came a voice that was instantly familiar to the pony-turned-person in question. “Hey, that is you, right?”

Starlight turned around feeling another wave of relief wash over her. The shape of the speaker might not have been familiar, but the cyan-blue skin and the prismatic hair were as unmistakable as the voice.

“Rainbow Dash! Am I ever glad to see you,” she said, virtually jumping over to the athletic young woman and wrapping her in a bone-crushing hug. Rainbow laughed and hugged her back, albeit with an uncertain grin on her face.

“Always great to hear that, Starlight. But what’s the occasion that brings you to Canterlot U? You’re not a new student here?”

“Certainly not,” the receptionist said with a persnickety sniff. “Not without a student ID, at least”. She fixed the pair of young woman with a derisive look over the top of her glasses and a purse of her lips that looked not unlike a cats’ anus. “Miss Dash, is this young woman a visitor of yours?”

Rainbow rolled her eyes aside to Starlight and nodded. “Of course; Starlight is a good friend of mine. I’m happy to show her around the campus and look after her”. The receptionist huffed again and nodded, waving the pair of them off dismissively.

Rainbow giggled and tugged Starlight off by one arm, and the purple woman found herself giggling in relief as well.

“Thank Celestia, Rainbow. I thought that woman was going to keep me there until the police came along or something. I don’t know what I would have done if you hadn’t come along”.

“No problem, Starlight. What brings you here anyway? Knowing what usually brings anyone here from Equestria, I doubt it’s a social visit.” She grinned eagerly. “Oooh, is it a magic thingy? I love those, we always get to have awesome adventures whenever it’s one of those”.

Starlight gave a wry smile. “...It’s sort of a magic thingy, yeah”. Her expression changed to one more serious and she frowned. “And it could be a very serious one, too. One that – and I know we say this every time, threatens all of Equestria, and maybe even this world too, if it really doesn’t get stopped. I need Sunset’s help – and, really, all of your help – with this”.

Rainbow took on a more serious look and nodded, putting one slim hand on Starlights’ shoulder. “Hey, whatever you need. We’ll all do our best to help you, I promise. As for Sunset; she’s in class right now, but a break’s coming up. Let’s meet her in the quad, we can all talk there a bit more freely, and you can tell us what’s going on”.

Blazing Amber and Fishie Wishes charged through the Canterlot Streets, hooves thundering against the cobblestones. The sounds of battle were constant now, and the smoke drifting had cast a permanent shadow across the sun, turning it into a pale disk in the skies. The mares skidded around a corner, Fishie leaping over a discarded pile of suitcases, while Amber barged past an abandoned stack of boxes.

“Which way?” the guardspony shouted in a clipped tone.

“There!” the sea-green and blue unicorn replied, pointing with her horn to a large building at the end of the street. The pair galloped up, as a knot of ponies emerged. Stallions and mares alike, they surrounded a group of seniors and helped them along. The pair of mares caught the eye of one of the group and he paused.

“What’s going on-”

“Reverb!” Fishie pleaded desperately. “Where is he; I thought he was with you, helping you with the older ponies!”

“He went to help Mrs Crumble; she lives on her own and Side Step saw her still in her house. Nopony had been there to get her to leave so far”.

Fishie turned a pleading eye to Blazing Amber, who nodded. “Which way?”

Moments later, the pair were racing through yet more streets, winding through the narrow byways of the old quarter of the city with its’ overhanging upper floors. Something crashed and rumbled nearby, and the sounds of shouting voices and roaring grew near enough to be less than a distant sound and more of a distracting presence.

“There!” blurted Fishie, pointing to a house with bright and decorative flowers in window boxes on upper and lower floors alike. The door was open, and a small array of things were littering the street outside. Raised voices came from inside; one a stallions speaking in soothing, reassuring, but strained tones, and answered by a wavering older mares’ voice speaking in angry tones, followed by the crashing of furniture, and then the smash of crockery and then the clattering clang of pans being thrown. With a scuffling of hooves and a flutter of feathers, a burly, but handsome black and white pegasus with a purple mane and tail galloped out of the door with a panicked expression on his muzzle, a tin cup bouncing off the back of his head.

“Guttersnipe! Brigand! Theif! Vandal! Bully! Thug! Arsehole!” the shrieking elderly voice accused, lashing out with as much force as the thrown kitchen implements. Amber and Fishie trotted to a halt, and the stallion gave both mares a pleading look.

“Thank Celestia,” he said with a sigh of relief, sitting on his haunches. “Maybe you can speak some sense into that… harpy,” he said to Blazing Amber, cocking one wing in the direction of the houses’ front door. “I’ve tried as much as I can; I want to help the mad mare, but she doesn’t want to listen. She doesn’t seem to care that there’s an army about to roll over Canterlot any minute”.

“Ah, so you’re Reverb then,” the guard mare said with an almost amused expression. “I’ll take care of this, don’t worry,” she said with a brisk nod, turning to the door of the house and trotting forward, clearing her throat and calling out in a clear voice. “Mrs Crumble; this is Corporal Amber of the Royal Guard. Would it be all right if I came in for a minute?”

“Are you here about that thief?” the wavering voice came back. “Here, trying to get me out of my home. I won’t have it you know! I’ve been here fifty years, nothing’s taken my home away from me so far, and no clodhopping great featherbrained pegasus with wind where his brains ought to be is going to take it from me now!”

“Yes, we can deal with him, Mrs Crumble. I’m just going to come in now...”

The voices faded away as Amber stepped into the building and Fishie and Reverb had a moment alone. The pair locked eyes and wrapped one another in a tight hug, before pulling away.

“Fishie-”

The smaller mare walloped him around the back of the head with a hoof and he winced, rubbing the back of his head with one wing. “Hey! What was that-”

“You ran off, you giant feathery arse! I had to get the guard to help me find you. But,” she said, her expression softening and a smile creeping onto her muzzle, “I’m proud of you for going to help ponies. Especially ones who were throwing things at you”.

He returned a humble smile and a shrug of his wings. He opened his mouth to say more, but was drowned out as the groaning, distorted roaring of the Hollow Things cut through the air. Both of them turned and looked with wide eyes, trying to look over the rooftops. Sizzling cracks of energy cut through the skies, and the screaming roar of rockets and gunfire shook both ponies to the bone as they tore through the air above the rooftops, impacting mere streets away, shaking the ground. Dust trickled from the overhanging floors and rooftops above. The voices from within the house changed. Blazing Amber’s voice became stern and clipped, while Mrs Crumble’s voice became panicked and wailing. Moments later, Amber galloped out, the elderly earth pony suspended in her telekinetic field behind her.

“Situation’s resolved,” she said tersely. “Let’s go, now!”

No other word was needed, and the three of them pounded through the streets, and it felt like hell was snapping at their heels with every step. None dared look back, and ran full out. Reverb dared not fly; it felt like getting into the air would expose him further to the weapons-fire criss-crossing the air above them, scything through the walls of stone and mortar of the ancient city, igniting thatch rooves, and sending sheets of slate roofing cascading to the floor. Smoke and dust hung heavy in the air, biting at each breath they heaved into their lungs that felt as though they’d burst as they charged through street after street, aiming for the gateway to the city.

It felt like a victory when they burst onto the main boulevard from the side streets. Panic almost overtook them then; the wide, ornamental road stretched virtually the whole length of the city, studded with sculpture, ornamental plants, water features and fountains. Normally it was full of ponies and other creatures taking in the sights of the Royal Capital of Equestria. But now, it was strewn with abandoned possessions and overturned carts. Suitcases and travelling trunks had sprang or burst open, and clothes or other possessions had been trodden into the street. Movement caught wide, panicked eyes and the overwhelming cacophony of sound forced ears flat back against skulls as a platoon of Royal Guard backed onto the street further down the boulevard from one of the wide shopping avenues. They fired rifles wildly, screaming orders to fall back as the fleeing quartet of ponies moved away; albeit reluctantly.

“We should-” Reverb began to say, half-planting a hoof in their direction, despite Blazing Ambers’ urging.

“No!” she said sharply. “They’re doing their duty so you can escape. Come on!”

Reluctantly, he cantered alongside the mares as they headed for the arched gateway to Canterlot and the sloping road down the side of the mountain and the relative escape it offered.

An eye-searing, roiling gout of green energy washed over the platoon of soldiers. The sickening smell of seared pony flesh, fur and hair reached their eyes and noses along with the screams of the greivously, horribly wounded soldiers. Reverb’s pleading eyes met the others and he turned back, despite Amber’s shouted cries. Fishie looked after him and then to Amber.

“It’s the pony thing to do,” she hissed through her teeth and galloped back towards the soldiers.

Reverb gagged as he galloped up to the fallen soldiers. The smell of burned flesh, fabric, and materials watered his eyes and clawed at his throat. Three quarters of them were dead, and he could see from the horrendous wounds of the others that they wouldn’t survive without the kind of help that wasn’t here. Whatever fiendish weapon the Hollow Things had used, it had left them with burns over the majority of their bodies, melting their armour and weapons along with and into their flesh, and the same with the cobblestones and marble of the street beneath them.

The nearest soldier, a stallion, clutched at his foreleg with one limb and a pleading jade eye that rolled back into his head as he sucked breath in through teeth that clenched together tight enough they looked like they’d splinter. His eyes roved across the stallions’ body with a spiking sense of fear and panic; it was impossible to know where to start with even helping. Fishie skidded to a stop next to him, horn already alight. An anaesthetic spell weaved through the air around the earth pony stallions form and he visibly relaxed a moment. Her eyes watered alongside his own, and at that point, with the agonised screams and moans and the hellish vision before him he wasn’t sure if it was the smell anymore.

Fishie cast the spell again, and again, her horn virtually shooting sparks as she attempted to soothe the agony of the men in front of her. The ground shuddered and both ponies looked up, moving closer to the one another subconsciously as the towering shadow of a Hollow Thing titan loomed over them. Guttering embers lit deep within its’ the lenses of energy weapon barrels, and vicious-looking clusters of weapon barrels tracked and trained toward them.

“I love you,” Fishie said softly.

“I know,” Reverb said back quietly, “and I’m sorry”.

The thunder of weapon fire defeaned them momentarily as they screwed their eyes shut, holding one another tight.

After they didn’t die, both ponies opened one eye to the flickering amber glow of a force shield over their head, even as it began to splinter and crack.

With a shock, both ponies opened their eyes and split from one another, to see Blazing Amber with a strained face, her horn blazing like a torch, even as her magic began to falter in the presence of the Hollow Thing titan. She looked askance at the pair, levitating the weakly protesting, recumbent form of Mrs Crumble onto Reverb’s broad back.

“Just go!” she pleaded. “GO!”

They shared a brief look, before turning and running for the gate once more, leaving a shattering sound behind them as they rounded the ornamental fountain only a few hundred feet into the city. Roaring weapon fire arced over their heads, blasting into the wall ahead of them. The shockwave and rolling concussion from the impact smashed into the trio of ponies, sending them sprawling to the ground and smashing breath from their lungs.

The ground trembled as the titan moved closer. One of its’ great legs smashed the fountain into rubble. Another blocked the view of Ambers’ fallen body as it loomed over them.

Weakly, Reverb rolled onto his front, climbing to his hooves and placing his body between the titan, Fishie, and Mrs Crumble. Fishie climbed onto her own hooves, limping on three as she stood, wobbling and with one eye swollen near-closed. Her horn lit with a sputtering light of weak magic, and a feeble shield flickered into the air between them, as the titan loomed again.

Celestia watched from the balcony of the castle. Watched as her forces fought valiantly in brutal street to street, house-to-house fighting. Watched as every inch of cobbled Canterlot pavement taken by the Hollow Things was paid for in the blood of brave, valiant guard ponies. As she followed the battle, her attention became riveted to the drama that unfolded on the main street ahead of the palace.

Somehow, that small scene encapsulated the whole war in an instant, boiled it down to the struggle her ponies faced, the struggle Equestria was facing, and the duality in her heart and mind.

Luna had advocated fighting, and she had championed caution, and now battle was on the streets in front of her, ponies were fighting and dying before her eyes. And she stood, armour-clad and rooted to the floor as they did so.

A hundred thousand words and comments overheard swam to the surface of her mind. That she was the princess who did nothing, that she was a figurehead. Twilight was the one who did all of Celestia’s hard work, while she sat back and did nothing. Celestia was a dictator, Celestia was manipulative, Celestia used none of her power, squandered it, was useless in a fight. She was a figurehead and a lazy ruler, especially in the face of her sisters’ return.

All of those thoughts returned to her as she stood, rooted to the spot, watching her ponies fight and die. A feeling, one she had not felt for centuries, bubbled inside her breast and she spread her wings.

The titan raised its' leg, the shadow of it falling across Fishie and Reverb. The blue unicorns shield faded into nothingness in the overwhelming presence of the Hollow Thing and its’ all pervading hunger for magic and ability to drain it. Defiant, and with no other gesture left, the lovers stared upward at the biomechanical terror, unwilling to back away any longer.

The act of courage, and of selflessness in the face of such danger was the last ounce of conviction Celestia needed, and her decision to act was heralded by a blazing light like the sun she was the living incarnation of. Fishie and Reverb shielded their eyes against the incandescent brilliance. A glowing golden aura surrounded the titan, radiant in its’ light and held it immobile.

“You will not harm another pony in Canterlot!” a booming, regal voice declared, loud enough to be heard across the city entire, yet as musical, beautiful, and stirring as it had ever sounded.

“Hear me, monsters! I am the Avatar of the Sun, Eldest of the Alicorn Tetrarchy; Sol Invictus! Epona herself answers my call; I am bonded to her, through time, space, and soul. Her fire burns in my blood, and in my soul. Equestria and all it’s living things are under my protection, and you shall not harm them!”

The titan was shoved, bodily, down the street, tumbling into a mess as it rolled across the cobblestone streets. The aura from Celestia’s horn where she hung in the air, wings caressing the air into hot currents, burst into a titanic spike of golden blazing energy. Lightning crackled in the air as the masses of unleashed energy intersected with the local electromagnetic field, splitting the air into subatomic particles and howling currents of wind.

“Celestia!” Reverb yelled into the air, mane and tail whipping around him. The alicorns’ expression softened as she turned her beautiful rose-eyed gaze on the ponies below her. She gave a gentle nod to the pair, closing her eyes slowly. There was a melodic hum and the sound of chimes as the pair of them were spirited away through teleportation, along with Mrs Crumble, the surviving guards, and Blazing Amber.

Celestia’s magic turned on the Hollow Things once more, weaving close to the fabric of Harmony itself, the source of magic and life deep within the ethereal fabric of Equus. It sought out the disruptive presence of the Hollow Things throughout the streets, byways and alleys of Canterlot, pulling at them with her magic and gathering them together. She pulled them together using her telekinesis, hauling them bodily from wherever they dwelt, smashing them through bricks and mortar and to the site of the titan finally pulling itself to its’ feet. With every added Hollow Thing, she felt the drain on her magic grow, despite its’ near-infite well to pull on. As an Alicorn, and the oldest of those left on Equus’ surface, she was intimately entwined with Harmony, and with Epona; Equus’ star, itself. Her reserves of magic were vast, but not infinite.

But her rage, her anger, and her passion were overflowing as she sought to protect her ponies from the evil that had been wrought upon them.

As many Hollow Things as she could reach, as many as she could ferret out that had forced, barged, bullied and battered their way into Canterlot over the crushed and bloodied bodies of her beloved subjects were amassed in the center of Canterlot, and with powerful strokes of glorious, widespread wings she ascended until she was over the city, seeing it stretch beneath her, seeing the beautiful expanse of her city and the lands beyond beneath her. Eyes as sharp as any falcon picked out the shapes of her ponies as they retreated down the mountain, but having paused to watch events unfold, especially with those teleported to their ranks by her magic. She urged them to move further away; but there was no more she could do. Her magic was whittling away by the moment, and there was more she had yet to do. And more after that, she thought with a bitter, steel-hard resolve. And then more, and more, and more, until there is no more, and every creature is safe from their tyranny.

Celestia wove her magic wide, using skills honed long ago in ages past. It was a simple variation on a spell used commonplace, but one that required so, so much more exotic effort and complexity than any she had woven. Weapons fire lashed up at her, and she could fairly sense the screaming anguish of the Hollow Things below as they hungered for her vast reserves of magical energy. Her ponies may have been a feast, but she was a gluttonous, stomach-busting, buffet of mana. But such petty concerns were virtually beneath her notice. Numerous shields sprang into life reflexively, deflecting or misdirecting shots and barrages as she wove her magic. A teleport, summoning one thing from far away to right here. But something further away than she had done for millenia. But instead of an instantaneous translocation from one place to another, she opened a gate, from one point in space to another.

The exit was a point a hundred feet above her. The entry was more than a hundred million miles away.

Her shields dropped away as she focused all of her waning magic, burning through her energy to cast this spell, calling upon her intimate, soul-bonded link with the sun to carry out her wish.

The spell completed, and a plume of fusion-hot plasma, drawn from the very surface of the sun itself and shaped into a cylinder over the captive Hollow Things from the exit of the portal she had conjured blasted upon the horde. There was no time for them to scream as they were instantly incinerated into nothingness, as was everything around them. Down to their constituent atoms, they were rent asunder, as were the streets, houses, and very air they stood upon and within. The forcefield Celestia had conjured strained, as did her magic, to contain the furious force of the cosmos itself as it was directed at her enemy.

Nothing moved within the field save the roiling currents of plasma, and as her power burned out, so did her consciousness from the effort. The portal sputtered and faltered as it winked closed, the forcefield failing as Celestia tumbled from the skies, spiralling lazily head over heels as the buildings beneath her ignited, the ultraheated gases spilling outward as temperatures hot enough to flash ignite the buildings and every other material around them. Celestia’s usually-ethereal pastel mane faded to a rosy pink as she fell, and her golden armour softened at the edges as she fell into the inferno below.

Only the most eagle-eyed saw the blue haze surround her at the last moment as she fell out of sight.

The battle of Canterlot was won. But Canterlot itself was ablaze, and the Sun Goddess had fallen.

Author's Note:

This is the story I wrote this year for NaNoWriMo. It's only the second ever fanfic I've written, and the first that isn't smut. It's a lot more like what I usually write, compared to the smut I have written, actually, and I hope you like it.
It's still a work in progress, as 50,000 words wasn't enough to finish it - so please stick with it if you're interested.

There are some AU elements, such as the Pony of Shadows back-story and origins being somewhat different to what was shown in the show. But hopefully it won't be too distracting or upsetting for anyone reading.
Positive and constructive critical feedback is welcomed.

With thanks to friends for allowing their OC's to appear in this chapter; I hope you enjoy how you were portrayed!
Also, Mrs Crumble was not someone's OC. I couldn't think of a name for an older pony, and Eddie Izzards' standup routines featuring 'Mrs Badcrumble' kept coming to my head, so I borrowed part of the name.

Comments

[Cosmic Potato]

Criminally underrated

[Silverwind Blade]

10010121
Are you referring to the story, if so, thank you for the kind words, I appreciate them very much.