Twilight Daylight: Dawn of Equus

by thedarktome

Chapter 21 - Superspell

They were closing in, the ponies of the new age. She had to act. Mahnurkah, were they going to grab the diary or not?

Hot Stop was growing antsy. Princess Dawn had yet to return to her body, IHT was gathering together brainstorming ideas for when to take back their home and what to do when they do, leaving Hot Stop to fidget in place. How long must she wait? How long until they make a move?

"You should go for a stroll." Hot Stop looked over into the eyes of Gardeen briskly walking over. "Clear your mind. Get some space away from these stone walls."

"I have to wait here for the Queen," Hot Stop argued.

"Nonsense. I'll do it. I've been doing it for years, I can do it for more. Now go." Using her head, Gardeen gave Hot Stop that gentle push towards the exit. Perhaps it was better for her to leave this cesspool of tension. There was less chance of her slipping.

Her steps found her walking through the barricade of guards and past the Legends of Psera conversing with the Creatures of Tartarus. Strange. They were going to have some serious opposition.

Hot Stop's journey took her to a hillside, abandoned partly due to the distribution of rations down below. She could see all of Equestria from here. All the creatures and ponies interacting with each other. Narmeelah is not pleased.

"What is taking so long?" Hot Stop didn't have to turn around to know who it was.

"Good to see you too, Ferilia," Hot Stop said. "And how are you today?"

"Dost thou really believe now is the time to play games, Shaoloh?" Ferilia stalked around Hot Stop and flanked her side. Her gaze was hardened, unwavering. Cold. "Mother needs that diary away from them. The risk is too high. What is the hold up?"

Hot Stop nodded to the remains of the castle. "A vote has been decided that Queen Dawn shall go speak with her mother regarding the best steps of the plan: to retrieve the diary, or to go a different route. No decision has been made yet because Dawn has yet to return. So, we are at a standstill. But tell mother not to worry. I've been pretty peaceful up to this point, but if they decide to take another path..."

Shaoloh narrowed her eyes in the direction of the castle. "I know how to get them to change their minds."

---

While Dawn was conversing with her mother alongside Odega, the remainder of the International House of Trade conversed closely with Psera. Generals, Commanders, Queens, Kings, and Princesses, all around a massive stone they stood, gazing down upon a large map of Psera.

Secretary Manny pointed to the east coast. "We have Lavender here," she said. "Although not all of them, a majority of our stronger weapons would be there."

"Is it even safe to cross into those waters?" Queen Novo asked.

"I'm not sure. At this time, we have no intelligence to know for certain. Unless we send a pony over to gather intelligence. But that's also high risk."

"How so?"

Manny looked up from the map. "Without any magic, we can't see anything from afar. We're spying on a god, I'm most certain they would know we were nearby and act accordingly. As of this moment, we're powerless."

"Then we have two choices," King Chancellor spoke. "We wait for news from Queen Dawn and Arcadia Nova; or we conduct a full frontal attack. If we're going up against a god, we can't just send in a platoon of soldiers. We need to utilize an entire army and a full navy."

"For once," Shining inputted. "I agree with King Chancellor. It's taken years for Arcadia Nova to plan any action against Narmeelah. A plan, I'm sure, that is still in development. We have to be mindful that Narmeelah is not our average villain. She and Twilight 'Arcadia Nova' Sparkle are on the exact same level. Taking down Arcadia was no easy feat, and even then, I'm certain she was going easy on us. There was no plan and there was no strategy. Now, there is. If we're going to charge Narmeelah, we have to charge her with everything we've got."

A guard entered and saluted. "Queen Dawn has returned!"

Finally! They faced the entrance when Dawn walked in with her guard and Odega.

"What's the verdict?" Cadance asked.

Dawn sighed and answered, "I still think it's a bad idea, a seriously risky move..."

Half of Dawn morphed into First Light, who said, "Way too risky!"

"But... She wants us to grab the diary." Dawn stood in the center of the room and faced them all. "We require a large space and a firm security. As firm as you can get me, Commanders."

The Generals, Secretary, and Captains all saluted in Dawn's direction.

"Yes, ma'am!" Secretary Manny shouted.

Celestia pointed behind her through the stone walls. "The best we can do at this moment in terms of space is directly behind the castle, where the gardens are. Or what's left of it anyway."

Dawn nodded. "Then that's what we shall do. Take us there."

"This way." Celestia guided Dawn and the remainder of the defenders of Equus from the meeting room through a convenient hole in the wall. They hopped over both steel and stone, traveling with purpose towards the last available location. A garden, forgotten by time, alas, able to support itself.

Despite the damage outside of the castle walls, the flowers of Celestia's garden managed to stay afloat. As green as Celestia wanted them to be, roses, carnations, tulips, chrysanthemums, dahlias, peonies, the garden was packed full of it.

Dawn slowly stopped walking and stared in misunderstanding while Celestia and the rest continued.

"Sorry for the mess," Celestia apologized.

"How do you still have these growing?"

Celestia nudged a fallen stem. A rose, slowly fading with time. Crushed by the fallen bricks. "This is only a fraction of what I had before. A true shame. I kept this garden maintained for many generations."

Dawn laid a gentle wing on Celestia's. "Over time, it'll grow back; I know a company that can help. When this is all over, I'll request and pay them to come here and help."

Ah, right. With Arcadia no longer in office and Madun out of commission, that leaves Dawn their inheritance. Last Celestia checked, their family was worth billions upon billions of shims.

A smile grew on Celestia's face. "I'd like that. Would this location be enough for the portal to Vendulla?"

Dawn morphed into First Light. She walked around and assessed the space. "Yes. This will do. The portal will be quite large and invasive. But this area will do just fine. Give me a few minutes to draw the rune."

To work she went. With a stone in her teeth, she drew a large circle and multiple shapes within. They let her work in silence. No one spoke a word. Hot Stop figured she too would keep her mouth closed and roll with whatever it was she was doing.

She walked in and sat next to Gardeen. Leaning over, she whispered, "What's happening?"

"Queens Dawn and First Light have been given the go from Arcadia. They're going to get the diary."

A few seconds later and First Light spat the stone from her mouth and faced the rune in front of her audience.

"Alright," she muttered. "Let's do this."

First Light rose to her hind hooves and spread her large wings. Horn alight, her hooves gracefully moved in multiple circles. The ground beneath them quivered. Slightly, but enough to be noticed. Celestia tracked a pebble bounce beneath her until more of the earth followed suit.

The sleeping structure around them slowly came to life. The brick walls shook. A column crumbled and brought down another section.

"First Light?" Flurry asked.

First Light didn't answer. Only moving her hooves faster until the rune she drew gradually grew a glowing white. With a jerk, the rune's shape snapped out of shape and slowly levitated into the air; a brick wall facing them. The runes that were drawn within shifted and moved into a sequence before the floating stone began rotating. Faster and faster until with a burst of wind, a shining star took its place.

Blinding, they all covered their eyes. Manes were blown askew, voices were lost to the rush.

"Dawn?!" Cadance shouted.

No response. The circle spun faster and faster until, at last, it shrunk in on itself and exploded into a portal. The flash was so intense that it pierced through the closed eyelids of all the creatures present. Why must magic be so harmful?

Only when the light and wind died down did they remove their hooves to bear witness to one of the greatest spells they've ever seen. A spell that even Starswirl the Bearded would have trouble casting. Still twirling, what stood in front of them was a doorway, Taller than Psera's throne room, it gave them a glimpse into Vendulla.

Surrounded by darkness, large gray storm clouds lied in the distance, circling a shining star within its walls. How close were they to those clouds? Lighting flashed within them every second.

"So," Maheera whispered. "That's Vendulla."

"Technically, Vendulla's within that," First light corrected. She faced them and stood tall. "The clouds protect it. It's going to take me around thirty minutes to get to the diary, and thirty minutes to get back. Up to an hour of traveling. In the meantime, I want this portal sealed off tight. Any creature that is in the air is to be grounded save for the military of IHT, and the Aerial and Elite Guard. No matter what happens, do not follow me inside. You'll break apart into tiny atoms the moment your hoof touches this thing. We'll be back shortly."

The generals of Psera saluted. "Yes, Queen Dawn and Princess First Light!"

First Light faced the portal and took a deep breath. Then with a raise of her wings jumped forward, turned into smoke and flew through effortlessly. They could see her form, leaving them faster and faster until she was out of sight.

Madam Singe approached Celestia's side and whispered, "I suggest we go through Arcadia's tomes. Whatever we can get our hooves on should be able to benefit us in some way."

"I agree."

---

So, this was the book. Luna couldn't believe she was even holding this thing. It had a black cover, thick to the touch. With no title, its mysteries can only be revealed once they were read. Sunset peered to the book from behind.

"Is that it?" She asked.

"Yes. This was Twilight's gift to us in the past. Celestia and I never opened it. Instead, we stashed it in this drawer." She poked at the wood that used to be Luna's drawer from the remains of her wing of the castle. A little yards away, they could see the portal from Vendulla twirling brightly behind them.

"I guess now you have to open it," Sunset assumed. "Think we'll find some answers in there?"

"If Twilight said she put something in here, then I guess so." Luna took a deep breath and sat down aside Sunset so she too could see. Then, with a flip of her hoof, the book was opened to...

"There's nothing there." Blank. The first page was blank. The same for the next page, then the page after that. Seriously? There was nothing in it?!

Sunset took the book from Luna's hold and flipped it herself. "Why is there nothing here?"

"I'm not sure." Luna tapped at her chin. "However, I am most certain Twilight had a reason. There must be something here that we're not seeing."

Sunset closed the book and looked over it. Why wasn't anything else in here? Was there a spell involved? Knowing Twilight, that was the most obvious answer. Maybe there was something there. They just couldn't see it.

"Can invisibility spells be cast onto certain items, Luna?" Sunset asked.

"Yes, but not entirely. I'm not sure if words can be turned invisible. Or at least, I wouldn't have gone that route. No, the answer isn't that obvious. There has to be something else we're missing."

Luna took the book back, rose and began their journey back towards the room. While they were searching for the tome, everyone else were gathering Arcadia's tomes and notebooks. In a pile they were placed before the portal for all eyes to see. Within a few minutes, they had all the books that were archived here towering above them.

Snap Seed couldn't believe her eyes. All of these were Twilight "Arcadia Nova" Sparkle's notes. They had in their possession every last single thing she wrote. This wasn't even the tip of the iceberg! Snap Seed couldn't wait to get her hooves on these!

Queen Novo approached the pile and whistled a descending tone. "I always knew Twilight Sparkle was quite the avid reader and studious individual. I didn't know it bordered near insanity."

Secretary Manny picked up a random tome with a title she read aloud. "Age of Timulaculous Arts and Magiks. Hm. Another vocabulary word I will have to look up on my spare time."

"Really?"

"Of course not." Manny placed the tome where it came from. "This is the field belonging to the Unicorns and Alicorns. Not a Pseratep's."

Celestia picked up a tome and read through a single line before she closed it back. "How long until Dawn's return?"

"Around thirty minutes." Celestia really hoped she would return soon.

Watching from afar, Gardeen sat next to Hot Stop and bumped her kindly.

"Excited?" She asked.

Ah, yes, the charade. Hot Stop smiled and nodded eagerly. "Oh, absolutely! Finally, we can understand what we're dealing with without losing any soldiers in the process."

"That's the whole idea."

Minutes later, as if no time had passed at all, Dawn returned. Well, First Light returned. This two-ponies-inhabiting-the-same-body madness would drive them insane long enough. They could make her out, the black smoke heading in their direction of the portal. Finally.

They stood back onto their hooves the moment First Light swooped in and condensed into her form. She wiped her brow and adjusted her crown.

"Status," She said.

"All is quiet, all is calm," Odega reported.

"But word is beginning to spread," Leacrope added. She moved closer to First Light. "Ponies are growing hungry."

Then they had to move now.

Sky Duster swooped down to her level. "So. Where is this diary?"

Right. The diary. Dawn carefully gazed across the room. Who could it be? Mom said there was a traitor amongst them. It couldn't have been Celestia or the Equestrians, could it? Magic was their thing! Mom, I really hope you know what you're doing.

Slowly, ever so casually, Dawn lifted her wing and floated out the Diary. The exact one from so long ago. She laid it before them, for all eyes to see.

"This is the Diary of Narmeelah," she said. "I don't know what's in it, but, so far, we do know that Narmeelah really wants it back."

They neared closer and stared down upon it's surface. Yellowing pages, hard to read Old Pseratopian. Stars above, what is in there that was so important?

"How do we open it?" Luna asked.

"Easy. You don't." All eyes swiveled to the background, where a pair of hooves slowly clopped together in a sarcastic applause.

Hot Stop standing next to a frozen Gardeen. While Hot Stop had a sneaky smirk, Gardeen's eyes were wide, staring straight ahead.

"Excuse me?" Merry said.

"You don't open the diary. Instead, you hoof it over to me." Hot Stop extended her hoof. "You do, and our friend Gardeen here doesn't lose a hoof."

Dawn looked down to Gardeen's hoof. There. A blade sticking out from Hot Stop's was sheathed in Gardeen's.

"A simple twitch, and instead of one pony's hoof, you lose two ponies."

The military quickly converged on the situation. Weapons were pulled, horns were aimed. Orders were barked.

"Drop the weapon!!"

"Hooves in the air!!!"

"Protect the Queen!" A full front of Elite Guard and Royal Guard surround Fresh Dawn.

"Ha shee ma!!" Dawn cried.

"We're moving the queen to a secure location now!!"

Ugh! "ENOUGH!!!" Dawn exclaimed. All voices ceased. She pushed aside the guards and jabbed a hoof up to the sneer of Hot stop. "Why do you even want the diary? You can't do anything with it without Arcadia, myself, or Narmeelah!"

"Exactly. I'm surprised you haven't connected the dots yet, Red. It hasn't been that long, has it?"

Red? Why was she calling her...

Dawn gasped and poised into position. "Shaoloh!!"

Hot Stop changed. Starting with her mane. From its short buzzcut to a orange mane of fire that waved with the wind. Her eyes changed to ice blue, dancing with stars and a green coat with wings.

"Oh buck!" Odega shouted. "Shaoloh!"

"Should we be afraid?" Luna asked.

"I'm not!" Sun Waves answered. She pointed to Gardeen. "Let the mare go!"

"What would be the fun in that?" Shaoloh teasingly stroked her hoof down Gardens face. "I get a hostage, I get the tome, and I get payback for what you pulled on Founder's, Princess."

"It's Queen," Dawn replied.

"I'm not calling you that, even if it is the end of the world. Did you like my performance?" Her head changed back to Hot Stop. "Or do I have to read you the script again?"

"Your character's off. Too random."

Hot Stop lost her smile. "Oh, what do you know about acting?"

"Little to nothing, but that's still a gargantuan amount compared to how much you know."

"Ugh!" In the blink of an eye Shaoloh unfurled Gardeen's wing and held it out. "Hoof over the diary, or Gardeen kisses both her wing and unborn foal goodbye!"

Unborn... "You're pregnant?!" They all shouted.

"I was going to surprise you when you were free!" Garden replied.

"Kalumm!" Dawn cursed. That made the situation so much more at stake. The Diary for the filly.

She sneered at shaoloh. "How do I know you'll keep your word?"

"You don't, and I can't guarantee I will. But in case you haven't noticed..." Shaoloh reached around her neck and slapped on her goggles. "We're all kind of in a rush. Tick-tock, princess."

"Don't give it to her!!" Gardeen shouted. "I'll be fine! Equus is at stake, don't—AHHH!"

Shaoloh lightly pulled on her wing. "Stop talking. I'll give you five seconds to hoof over the diary, or i'll rip out Gardeen's wing and take it myself. You know I can."

She could. Dawn wasn't a fool. Shaoloh was an incredibly fast Pseratep. They waited on her next move, staring across to their infiltrator.

"You know we're on you the second I give you the diary, right?" Dawn asked.

Shaoloh positioned herself in position. "Good, I do love a challe—ahh! What the?!" Her words were cut when Snap Seed dropped on Hot Stop's head.

"I got her!" She said.

Where'd this filly even come from?! Sun Waves teleported in, grabbed Gardeen, and teleported out as fast as she could before the fight could begin.

Shaoloh grabbed Snap Seed and threw her off. In a speed unseen, she dodged a hit from a guard and zipped over to IHT. She bucked Celestia to the side, Luna to the ground, and a majority of the rulers off their hooves with a firm spread of her wings. The wind from such a move blew them all back. Dawn wasn't among them.

Shaoloh moved to the side when bullets flew from the air. Aerial Guard! With time on her side, she traveled through the air, casually dodging bullets up to the ponies firing at her. A small tap to the muzzle and a kick to the abdomen, and they were spiraling through the air to crash.

She dodged a hit from Leacrope that she in return landed.

"Come on out, Dawn!" She cooed. "Where is the diary?"

Where did that filly go?! She watched from the sky. Eyeing everything below. There! They were escorting Dawn back towards the coast, Diary in tow. A grin appeared on her face. In a move so fast she was sure she broke something, Shaoloh raised her hoof and slammed it into the muzzle of Sky Duster before she could tackle her.

"Not now, filly. I have a book to check out of your library."

They didn't see her coming. One moment, Dawn was there. The next, she and Shaoloh crashed into the beach, muzzle first. She flipped Dawn over and pressed her hoof into Dawn's throat, staring mercilessly into her eyes.

"Where is it?" She asked. Dawn pawed at her hoof, struggling for air. "Give me the diary. Come on, let's go."

Dawn reached into her wings and pulled out the diary. Finally!

In a flash, Shaoloh snatched the diary and zoomed away, heading for the shield. She was trying to escape!

Dawn flipped over and pointed at the trail she was making. "Fire! Don't let her get away!"

The battleships at sea did as ordered. Cannons fired from the upper decks, trailing lines through the air. Massive booms that rocked the ground, scaring the innocent civilians seeking shelter.

Shaoloh zipped around every last single shot. A fly dodging every swat from a fly swatter until she was over the ocean. Yes! She was getting away!

Dawn was quickly joined by Flurry who helped her to her hooves. "What do we do?! She's getting away!!"

Dawn's expression of stress and fear slowly morphed into one of relaxation. "We let her try."

Flurry turned her attention back to Dawn. Then the ocean. Dawn again. "What?! What the buck are you talking about?!"

Dawn didn't answer. She pointed ahead when Celestia, Cadance, and Luna landed next to her. "I'm talking about that."

Shaoloh was leaving them behind. She looked behind her once, a smirk playing on her lips. Ha! They thought they could stop her? Ha! Foals! Idiocracy at its—

She was stopped mid flight by a force that grabbed her by the neck. Before she could turn around to see what happened, she was thrown incredibly fast all the way back towards Equestria and impacted with a boom into the beach.

The blast propelled Flurry, Dawn, Celestia, Luna and Cadance off their hooves, along with any guard around them. Dust and dirt clouded their vision. Flurry was the first to her hooves, receiving an earful of the struggle.

"No! No, wait a minute, you—mmmmm?!!" Something was stuffed in her mouth. Flurry was flanked by the rest of their observers, eyeing the fight. Oh, if only they could see through the haze the blast created.

The fight ended with a brutish slam, followed by silence. Hooves walked up the beach, with every step taken alongside the crunch of mud. They could make them out. A tall pony with a horn whose hooves were indicated by a bright light beneath them.

Shaoloh was thrown through the dust at Celestia's hooves. Tied up with thick rope, incapacitated with a shiner on one eye. How?

"You need to keep a keen eye on your ponies, Celestia." Arcadia walked into view through the dirt and smoke, covered in white runes and a smirk on her face. "Losing them has proven to be quite catastrophic."

Author's Note:

And she's back! I feel like I could've written it better. But, here you go. Sorry for the wait.

If there are any typos, I will be reviewing this chapter later to fix them.

Comments

[Just_Dandy]

HA!
Arcadia is back! And she is ready to kick some flank!

[bkam]

"Yes. This Yes, this was Twilight's gift to us in the past. Celestia and I never opened it. Instead , instead we stashed it in this drawer." She poked at the wood that used to be Luba's Luna's drawer from the remains of her wing of the castle. A little yards away, they could see the portal from Vendulla twirling brightly behind them.

"There's nothing there." Blank. The first page was blank. The same for the next page, then the page after that. Seriously?There Seriously? There was nothing in it?

"I'm not sure." Luna tapped at her chin. "However, I am most certain Twilight had a reason. There must be something here htat that we're not seeing."

"Easy. You don't ." "Easy, you don't." All eyes swiveled to the background, where a pair of hooves slowly clopped together in a sarcastic applause.

Shaoloh grabbed Snap Seed and threw her off. In a speed unseen, she dodged a hit from a guard and zipped over to IHT. She bucked celestia Celestia to the side, Luna to the ground, and a majority of the rulers off their hooves with a firm spread of her wings. The wind from such a move blew them all back. Dawn back, Dawn wasn't among them though.

Where did that filly go?! She watched from the sky. Eyeing everything below. She watched from the sky, eyeing everything below. There! They were escorting back towards the coast, Diary in tow. A grin appeared on her face. In a move so fast she was sure she broke something, Shaoloh raised her hoof and slammed it into the muzzle of Sky Duster before she could tackle her.

Other then that, I think you are good. I must say though, that ending has me real excited to read the next chapter, it has been to long since we last got to see her do something major.