Book 1 - The Behemoth came to Canterlot

by Equimorto

Poi

Stella was against Twilight shield, on top of it with her horn pressed against the surface, sizzling sparks shooting off from the point their magics touched each other. Twilight's barrier, and the mare inside it, were slowly but steadily pushed back and downwards, and thin and subtle cracks were starting to spread from where Stella's horn was. Twilight grit her teeth, pain flashing through her skull as she forced herself to hold against the other. What she'd failed to do in minutes, Stella was achieving in seconds.

She didn't need to do anything else, either. Twilight could try to teleport, but assuming she managed to do so quickly enough not to be caught by the other as her shield came undone she'd still be an open target once she reappeared, and any attack she might get in during the brief window of time she had wouldn't be enough to bring Stella down. It was far too risky without a plan, though staying there was only becoming less and less of a safe option with every millimetre the cracks spread for.

Twilight needed to get Stella off of her, on the defensive again, without leaving her shield. It was not easy to think while feeling all the weight of her opponent's spell against her horn, and neither was casting another spell while maintaining her shield, but she managed. Her magic spread both over herself, activating one of her many protective charms, and through the entire relative area they were in. It took away the air, and while Twilight's safeguard allowed her to still breathe she expected the same wouldn't be immediately true for Stella.

Instead, the other alicorn just grinned down at her. Twilight hadn't seen her cast any other spells, and she certainly couldn't think the shield would crack in just a few dozen seconds based on how things had been going, so either she'd already protected herself before Twilight could have noticed, or, perhaps the worse option, she didn't have as much of a need for breathing as a normal pony would have had. Twilight honestly couldn't tell for sure. There was much that was still not understood about Stella, not at all helped by the ways she hid herself through her coil. It was, indeed, a shame all that information would be lost, one way or another.

Twilight's breathing grew erratic for a moment. She had potentially minutes to think of something, yes, but thinking was slow and hard when she had herself occupied holding her shield together. She needed something good to ensure her survival and she needed it quickly, because minutes wouldn't be enough. She couldn't hope to push back against Stella, the other was unfortunately simply more powerful. But she could take advantage of her strength, in some way. Yes.

Twilight's magic rippled along the surface of her shield, changing it. A moment later she began to sink much faster than she'd been before, pushed down by Stella while her barrier dug into the ground.