Shadows of the Sun

by theamberfox

Chapter 9

Shadows of the Sun
By theamberfox

Chapter 9

“Oh, pardon me.” Rarity said, lifting a hoof to her chest apologetically, “I really shouldn’t have interrupted you like that. I just got carried away.”

Goldenroot was sitting in a stunned silence, unable to completely grasp what she had just said. He was just staring at the unicorn with a blank, unintelligible look on his face.

“What… What do you mean, you don’t think she ever actually came back from Prance?” he asked, tilting his head to the side.

“Not so long ago, just before I made the trip out here to find you, I was involved in a series of events that, while seemingly dull enough at first, led me to believe this was the case.

“The first was a visit from Princess Luna at my home in Ponyville. Strangely enough, she had arrived alone and unannounced with only a single question that she wanted to ask me, ‘Has Twilight Sparkle come to visit you recently?’

“Understandably, I was quite confused and even upset with her question. I thought she was suggesting that Twilight had turned into a ghost or something equally as awful. Of course, I don’t believe in such nonsense. Ghosts…”

“You mean she never actually came to Ponyville?” Goldenroot asked, pulling her back to the point before she got carried away.

“She died, Sir Goldenroot…” Rarity stated with a pained expression, “We held a funeral for her.”

The unicorn turned her head away from the stallion as the heartbreaking memories started to return. Her eyes began to water, but she simply closed them and breathed deeply, the air entering and exiting her lungs shakily as she neared the point of breaking down.

Intrigued and confused by her response, Goldenroot ignored her fragile emotional state and continued to press her for answers, “But Princess Celestia has been with her for the past few weeks.”

Rarity took another deep breath and attempted to gather her thoughts before answering the stallion. Convinced that she wouldn’t shed any tears in front of him, she turned back and tried to maintain a serious expression.

“Unfortunately, that’s what I came to realize as well. After Princess Luna had left with a rather concerned look on her face and a complete reluctance to explain why she was asking such strange questions, I decided to express my concerns to Princess Celestia.

“I wanted to know what was going on, but when I arrived in Canterlot I came to realize that a horrible event was just about to take place.”

“The war is my fault, Miss Rarity.” Goldenroot intervened.

“Listen Sir Goldenroot, whatever skeletons you have in your closet can wait until I’ve finished explaining what I need to. After I explain, you may have a different opinion about everything that’s happened.”

Goldenroot reluctantly restrained his thoughts while the mare waited silently for him to give her his full and undivided attention.

“I realized that Equestria was going to war with Prance, a fact that Ponyville was obviously being sheltered from, and I was curious why.” she continued, “It seems that they were being held responsible for the drought, but I didn’t really believe that. Why would they send us food and supplies if they were only trying to conquer us? And furthermore, why would such a small nation try to pick a fight with us when their defeat seems inevitable?”

Goldenroot almost opened his mouth, but he was met with a stern glare from the unicorn.

“So now I was only more curious about the question Princess Luna had asked me. Upon arriving at the castle and the entrance to Princess Celestia’s private chambers, the guards at the door were absent and the door was left ajar. I didn’t want to be so rude as to just barge in, so I waited for a moment while I contemplated knocking. You see, knocking isn’t the proper way to address a member of royalty, it is tradition to confront the guards outside the door and be given their permission and, if that is acquired, a formal announcement of your arrival, but of course you already know that don’t you. But while I deliberated the idea, I could faintly hear a voice from inside the room. It was Princess Celestia and she was talking to someone.

“Now believe me when I say that I’m never one to eavesdrop, but I shamefully let my curiosity get the better of me at this moment. These were the exact words I heard from inside the room.”

She lowered her head, trying to remember what was said and attempting to elegantly clear her voice before she looked directly at the stallion and continued on.

“’We are by nature, very near-sighted creatures, Twilight. We always want to do what we think is best at the moment, but we never really take the time to stop and think about how our decisions are going to affect the future. Sadly, the future is almost entirely unpredictable so how can we ever be sure we’re making the right decisions?’

“Unsurprisingly, I was swept away by my emotions when I realized that the princess was talking to Twilight Sparkle, whom I thought to have perished. I rushed into the room and peered out over the balcony with tears in my eyes, ready to be reunited with my long lost friend.

“But I did not see my friend on the balcony, Sir Goldenroot. No, what I saw was a much more disturbing image.

“There was only one pony standing there. Princess Celestia was alone, calmly standing on the balcony, peering out over the army gathering below and talking to no one at all. At times, she would even pause for long periods as if she were waiting for a response before she continued to speak. She would then answer these unspoken questions and at last, she moved to embrace some invisible pony beneath her wings.”

“So it was a ghost!?” Goldenroot asked, his heart nearly bursting out of his chest.

“Don’t be so juvenile!” she exclaimed as tears started to form in the corners of her eyes, “I think the tragedy of Twilight’s death was too much for Princess Celestia to handle. She won’t accept that her student, whom she treated so much like a daughter, just disappeared.

“I believe that Twilight Sparkle did die in Prance, Sir Goldenroot. The Twilight Sparkle that existed in Princess Celestia’s bedchamber was an illusion. It was an imaginary creation that she used, and is still using, to help deal with the pain of her loss. And while some of what this delusion says may very well be the truth, the rest is obviously all lies. I have no idea what’s going on inside her head, but reality is beyond her grasp.”

This new realization was too much for Goldenroot. His vision blurred and the room started to fade out of existence. The sound of Rarity’s voice grew quiet and became difficult to understand.

“Are you alright, Sir Goldenroot?” Rarity asked, regaining her composure and glancing at the pony with a genuinely concerned expression.

He was going to pass out. Everything that he had done had created a catastrophe far worse than anything he could have imagined. He was responsible for Twilight Sparkle’s death, that sweet, innocent filly who was sent all alone to help solve the problem he had created. He was responsible for the insanity of arguably the most powerful creature in the world and her inability to accept the tragic death he induced. He was responsible for the resulting war with a peaceful nation that had only wished to help its citizens acquire all the resources they needed to survive. He was personally responsible for everything that was tearing the world apart. If the drought had been a horrible plague on Equestria, then this was an inconceivable monster that he had no possibility of stopping. What could anyone do to stop this disaster from getting worse? Was there any hope left at all?

With those last questions clouding his mind and pulling him away from reality, the brilliant white of Rarity’s coat seemed to explode and fill his entire field of vision. A simple, dazzling white, it quickly distorted into a strange, sickly grey and finally into a black as dark as the night sky.

~

“I think he’s finally waking up.” a voice announced.

Goldenroot’s vision was still too hazy to recognize the dark blue blotch that hopped out of its place in the bed beside him as he regained consciousness. He groaned loudly as he rolled onto his back and blinked rapidly, the ceiling above slowly coming into focus.

“You’re very lucky that you were lying down, Sir Goldenroot.” another voice, which he recognized as Rarity, proclaimed, “I had no idea this would have such a powerful effect on you.”

“Miss Rarity?” he asked as he rolled over onto his side and gazed out into the room.

As he set his eyes upon the white unicorn, he noticed several familiar faces in the room. Vortex, standing to her right, appeared to be quite distressed, but was desperately trying to conceal this fact from the stallion. Prairie Star, who was standing very close beside the pegasus, had a similarly worried expression on her face, but, in contrast, she was making no effort to hide this detail from him. Thunderhorn and Wind Dancer were also in the room and stood to the left of Rarity. And now, in such a close vicinity to her doppelganger, Wind Dancer’s defining characteristics were much more pronounced. Their stylish, but delicate manes that rolled down from the top of their heads were similar shades of the same blue, but Rarity’s hair was visibly darker. Folded gently along her side, Wind Dancer’s feathered appendages seemed to pull the stallions eyes towards them and distinguish the pegasus from the unicorn standing beside her. However, despite their differences, they were still unquestionably alike.

“Are you two related?” he asked, moving his hoof rapidly between Wind Dancer and Rarity.

The two mares looked at each for a moment and started laughing hysterically. As they did, a smile forced its way onto each of the other three ponies faces and they joined in on the excitement. Thunderhorn shook his head and rolled his eyes, while Vortex smiled exuberantly. Prairie Star merely covered her mouth as she chuckled away quietly.

When the five ponies finally calmed down, Wind Dancer turned to the stallion and asked, “Would you like some more time to rest, Goldenroot?”

She wasn’t particularly rude about it. She even appeared to have some legitimate concern for the stallion, which was bizarre given the circumstances he had put her in. And, while it was appreciated, it only brought Goldenroot back to the grim reality. Princess Celestia was hallucinating that her student was still alive and well and this figment of her imagination had somehow convinced her to wage war on Prance.

“I’m so sorry, Miss Rarity.” he said, resting his head against the dirty mattress and closing his eyes. “This is all my fault. I… I…”

“Do not talk such rot, Sir Goldenroot.” Rarity exclaimed, interrupting his grovelling.

Surprised by the reaction, Goldenroot’s eyes snapped open.

“Your companions have been kind enough to explain to me the full extent of your situation.” she continued with a very strict tone. “And like our dear princess, you have made the foolish mistake of placing all the blame for these events on yourself.”

Goldenroot pulled himself upright and cast a humiliated glance at the unicorn, “But I was responsible for your friend’s…”

“You are not responsible for that, Sir Goldenroot, and nor should you be blamed for it.” Rarity interrupted.

She walked closer to the stallion and lowered her head to his level on the mattress below.

“My friend’s passing was a tragedy that I won’t soon forget,” Rarity explained in a miserable, but soothing tone of voice. “But I do not blame you for it. You are not a murderer, Sir Goldenroot. I truly believe that within every inch of my heart. It was a terrible accident and nothing more. You cannot be blamed for an accident.”

“But what about the princess and the war and..?” Goldenroot asked.

“The only thing you can be held responsible for is manipulating your country and lying to your friends and fellow council members.” she answered, “And while that may sound like a truly terrible deed, I am not so naive that I can completely overlook your intentions. From my understanding, you were trying to accomplish what no one else could. While you foolishly, and I really feel that I must emphasize my point here, foolishly sacrificed the happiness and well-being of others, you were willing to give up everything you possessed as well.”

She smiled gently at him and lifted her head, backing away from the mattress.

“Now, you can either continue to grovel in your regret and self-pity or, if you’re well enough, you can get up off that filthy mattress and help me.” Rarity said, returning to her strict tone.

Although he was still shocked by the unicorn’s reaction, he pulled himself up off of the floor and onto his hooves.

“Do you all know what’s going on as well?” Goldenroot asked, looking around at the other ponies.

“While you were passed out, we had more than enough time to exchange our depressing stories.” Thunderhorn said, smirking.

“Alright then, what do you suggest that we do, Miss Rarity?” Goldenroot asked, turning his attention to the unicorn.

“Unfortunately, I have no idea.” she admitted, “That’s exactly why I came to see you.”

Goldenroot sighed heavily, “How did you even find us?”

“The guards told me.”

“They just told you? I thought they were sworn to secrecy.”

Rarity smiled pleasantly, “I’m very persuasive.”

Goldenroot just smiled back and chuckled quietly.

“Well let’s consider what we need to accomplish.” he announced, turning serious again, “We need to confront Celestia and stop her from waging war with Prance.”

“I’m afraid it’s already too late for that.” Rarity frowned, “The army has been deployed and is on the border of Prance as we speak.”

“Then we need to lure them back. Can we get Princess Luna to help us?”

“Princess Celestia won’t listen to her sister. She’s already tried to stop her and failed.”

Thunderhorn laughed quietly to himself as he listened to them bicker.

“Did you forget that I was a general, Goldenroot?” the old unicorn asked, diverting the attention in the room. “I think I know what we have to do. The only thing that is going to bring Princess Celestia back now is another war. What we need to do is start a riot right in the middle of Canterlot.”

“Are you crazy!?” Vortex shouted, finally jumping into the conversation. “How is that going to help!?”

“We can use it as a diversion and lure the princess back to the castle. She won’t have the bulk of the army behind her and we’ll have the element of surprise. If we’re careful enough, no one even needs to get hurt. Most likely, we can convince some of the nobles who were angry with the decision to eliminate the council to help us. After we gain some support, we’ll ambush the guards around the castle and tie them up. With all the guards subdued, we can create some general chaos, nothing major or irreplaceable of course, and wait for Princess Celestia. When she arrives, we can confront her and put a stop to all of this.”

After hearing the full extent of his plan and having no better ideas of their own, the ponies in the room silently agreed.

“But we’re going to need a plan for when we confront Princess Celestia.” Goldenroot said, “We’re not just going to be able to tell her that she’s gone completely mad. She either won’t believe us or she just won’t accept it.”

“After what I saw, I think the only option may be to imprison her.” Rarity said. “This is something that she has to come to terms with on her own and we have to be prepared for the worst possible situation.”

“How can we possibly imprison an alicorn?” Vortex exclaimed.

“Actually, we have always been prepared for that situation.” Thunderhorn said, “During the time the council was in power we were able to construct a magical prison that can contain an alicorn.”

“Why would Celestia ever allow something like that to be built knowing that she and her sister were the only ones who would ever be contained?” Goldenroot asked.

“It was originally part of an elaborate plan to bring Nightmare Moon back from her banishment several hundred years ago.” Thunderhorn explained, “While the council approved of the idea at first, they cancelled the plans before they were able to come to fruition. It just wasn’t worth the risk.”

The plan was to have Nightmare moon return to the planet and subsequently imprisoned in a magically altered cell below the castle. Celestia truly believed that her sister was still somewhere inside the monster that tried to drown the world in an eternal night and she wanted to help her. If she returned to Equestria then, just maybe, she might be able to restore her true form.

The arrangement seemed simple enough and the princess was able to convince the council to start constructing the cell. But it took a surprisingly long time, nearly ten years, and when it was finally completed and then tested by the princess herself, the council decided to cancel the plans. They just didn’t consider it to be worth the risk. If Princess Celestia ever faltered, even for a moment, they chanced changing the world forever. The entire planet would be cast into an eternal night and it would be nearly impossible to save it.

The cell was almost entirely forgotten in the depths of time. Apart from Princess Celestia, for whom it remained a constant memorial of her beloved sister and her failed rescue attempts, only a select few members of the royal army knew about it and that had conveniently included General Thunderhorn. It was preserved for the rare case that it would ever be needed, either as a prison for Nightmare Moon or some other nameless horror. And as it was becoming evident to them all, that horror was none other than Princess Celestia, the creator herself.

“Then why wasn’t Nightmare Moon imprisoned there on the day of her return?” Rarity asked with a puzzled expression. “Twilight predicted that she would return and so did Princess Celestia, so why weren’t you prepared for it?”

“From my experience, the royal army never took the rumours that we found in dusty old books seriously.” Thunderhorn scoffed, “I don’t think anyone other than Twilight Sparkle and Princess Celestia expected anything to happen.

“But if Princess Celestia had expressed her concern to us, I think we would have considered it to be a serious threat; however, I believe that she secretly wanted to have the opportunity to see her sister again and she didn’t want to prevent her return. Letting the council know anything about this would only jeopardize that opportunity.”

“I don’t think anyone can really blame her for that.” Goldenroot said, “Having to banish your only living family member to the moon would be a difficult fate to accept.”

“Tsk, tsk.” Rarity slowly shook her head, “It seems that you have yet to truly understand my point, Sir Goldenroot. Both you and Princess Celestia have very similar personalities. You seem to think that the ends always justify the means.”

“Do you really think you are so wise that you can criticize both our decisions so harshly, Miss Rarity?” Goldenroot said, glaring at the unicorn, “If you do, I think you are sorely mistaken.”

“Perhaps, but are you really so arrogant that you believe you have nothing to learn from this?” Rarity responded with a curt smile. “I am only trying to help you, Sir Goldenroot. I’m trying to stop you from doing something you will regret.”

“Then why, may I ask, are you so comfortable with the idea of starting a riot in the capital?”

Rarity’s expression fell and she let out a deep sigh, turning her head away from the stallion and towards the rickety wooden floorboards.

“I’m not, Goldenroot.” she said disconcertedly, “But while I believe that the ends do not always justify the means, I’m afraid that we have very little choice in this matter. We have to act as quickly as we can or we will face a terrible end. Princess Celestia has become extremely dangerous and she’s nearly unstoppable.”

“Well then, keeping that in mind, I think we ought to leave.” Thunderhorn remarked.

“This is all very interesting, but I don’t want to run the unnecessary risk of being executed.” Wind Dancer said, breaking the pace of the conversation and lying down on one of the mattresses. “So as much as I would love to return home, I think I’m going to sit this one out.”

“You’re not going to help?” Goldenroot asked. “What about…”

“Oh please, Goldenroot.” she interrupted, “I’m only going to get in the way. I am, at heart, a dancer not a soldier.”

Rarity laughed pleasantly, “And I’m a tailor. How does that make me anymore suitable for this?”

“Because you’re not a coward, Rarity.” she explained, “I’m sorry, but I’m just not capable of doing this.”

“I don’t want to go either.” Prairie Star added quietly, stealing everyone’s attention. “My life was just depressing in Equestria and I’m actually starting to really like it here. I don’t really think I would be much help anyway.”

Vortex looked surprised, but she just smiled at the pony standing beside her. Prairie Star had taken it the hardest and she was just happy to see that she was recovering from the turmoil.

“Okay.” Goldenroot replied, nodding his head. “I can’t force anyone to come.”

Diverting her attention away from the pony beside her, Vortex spoke up, “So what, we’re just going to walk right in? Won’t someone recognize us?”

The others just paused as they thought about their predicament. If they were spotted in Equestria, they would be put to death for returning from their banishment against the princesses’ orders.

But before they could give it too much thought, Rarity whisked away the bed sheets and the horn on her head began to glow iridescently. Working with such haste that it was almost impossible to follow, she turned the simple bedding into stunning, and perhaps a bit too extravagant, cloaks with large hoods that could easily cover their faces whenever they deemed it necessary. Flawlessly cross-stitched at the seams to increase the weight on the edges and the durability of the fabric, the garments were connected around the neck with a broad silver chain that was held in place with two large sapphires on either side, though where the jewels had actually come from was a complete mystery.

Slipping the cloaks over each of the ponies’ heads, including herself and the ones who had decided not to join them, she beamed back at them in anticipation.

“Well, what do you think?” she asked, “I thought it was best to keep it simple since we’re trying to remain inconspicuous, but that shouldn’t stop us from looking good.”

“Miss Rarity, these are gorgeous.” Prairie Star said, staring at the garments with wide-eyed adoration. “But we don’t need them, we’re not coming.”

“I didn’t want anyone to feel left out.” she smiled.

“How did you wash them?” Vortex asked, “These things were so gross!”

“And where did you get these sapphires?” Goldenroot asked.

“Oh, I’m sorry, but I can’t tell you that.” Rarity responded, batting at her long hair, “I can’t give away all my secrets.”

The other ponies just smiled at her reaction. She was indeed a very interesting pony.

“Well, I guess this is it.” Goldenroot said with a kind of disappointment, “If you two aren’t coming with us, I find it highly unlikely that we’ll ever see each other again.”

Wind Dancer just smiled, “Oh, I fully expect to see you again, Goldenroot. Although Miss Rarity doesn’t hold you responsible for everything that happened, I believe that you are required to clean up this mess you created. And when you do, I expect you to come and tell me so that I can return to my home.”

Goldenroot smiled, “I’ll do that.”

Turning to face the light brown mare, still standing quietly beside Vortex and hiding behind her golden hair, Goldenroot slowly approached her.

“I’m sorry, Prairie Star.” he said with a solemn expression, “I know that doesn’t mean a lot right now, but I’m afraid I’ll never have a chance to do anything more. I’m sorry that I ruined your chances at realizing your dreams.”

“Don’t feel bad about it.” she answered, moving the hair away from her face with a hoof and trying to smile, “It wasn’t really such a bad thing. I think I was trying too hard to live up to my childhood fantasies and I never really realized that I just wasn’t enjoying it.

“Like you and Celestia, and perhaps everyone in the world, we all have some kind of dream stuck in our heads at some point in our lives, some kind of utopia. I really thought I could get there, to that perfect world in my imagination, but I was losing so much along the way. Now that I’ve finally lost everything, I feel like I can start over and I’m kind of looking forward to that. I want to experience all the things that I missed out on when I was younger and I want to find someone else that I can share all those experiences with.

“So, although my utopia came crumbling down around me, it wasn’t such a bad thing after all and I’m beginning to think that the utopia I dreamed up wasn’t actually what I wanted anyways.”

Goldenroot smiled gently. He still wasn’t sure if he had learned anything about himself, but he had learned a lot about the ponies all around him. He discovered the dreams and aspirations that they each held and how they were so radically independent from each other. They all had something different to gain and something different to lose.

Vortex hugged the golden-haired pony for a moment and Thunderhorn nodded suggestively towards the door. The four ponies left the room, leaving Prairie Star and Wind Dancer behind them. Making their way up the stairwell, out of the building and onto the dirt road outside, they left the small village behind. The flickering lights slowly faded out of existence as the ventured ever further on their way to Equestria, but what little time they had spent there had served an important purpose. They were a bizarre collection of perhaps unlikely companions, but their parallel ambitions persevered. They had to stop the sinister fate of their homeland and prevent the severe repercussions it would have on the world as a whole.

They walked in careful silence with their hoods pulled over their faces, afraid that someone would discover their presence, but they had much more to fear than mere discovery. They lingered on the blade of a knife, their path clear and in a straight line, but every step they took was more dangerous than the last. The country they had been banished from was fast approaching and they were all afraid of what lay waiting for them. It was to no wonder then that Vortex isolated herself from the group, dawdling behind the other cloaked ponies and watching the edge of the forest as it passed by. The trees had started to thin out, but it was still difficult to see more than a few feet into the wooded wilderness.

Taking note of her leisurely pace and curiosity of the forest, Goldenroot began to realize that she had more on her mind than just their journey. She was thinking about him and about how he had acted over the past few days. Unsure if anything he could say would put her at ease, but still willing to try, Goldenroot slowed his pace, allowing him to fall behind and match the steps of the dark blue pegasus behind him.

“I never really had the time to apologize to you, Vortex.” he said, turning his head in her direction.

She pulled her gaze from the quiet ambiguity of the forest and glanced hesitantly at him. Her amber eyes flickered in the dim light breaking through the canopy and washing over the ground unpredictably, the course shadows that the leaves created moving slowly along the dirt.

“I don’t believe that.” she said, changing the direction of her gaze, “You had more than enough time to apologize, you just chose not to.”

Goldenroot turned to watch the anomalous shadows dance along the dirt path, “I was worried that you wouldn’t forgive me.”

“And maybe you should be. I’m not going to forgive you as easily as the others have.” she said harshly, looking back at him with an unyielding glare, “Apologizing now won’t change that.”

“But, Vortex…” he replied, his eyes starting to tear up as he realized what she had said, “I…”

He lifted his heavy stare upward, prepared to pour his heart out for the mare he had grown so attached to and willing to do anything to convince her to forgive him.

But as his eyes fell upon hers, he noticed something unusual. Her expression didn’t seem to fit the gravity of the situation that she was implying at all. She was smiling. No, she wasn’t just smiling, she was laughing at him. She had convinced him that his actions were completely unforgivable in her eyes and she was just laughing!

“You’re soooo gullible, Goldenroot.” Vortex said, her smile illuminating her face.

“Why would you do that!?” he asked, angry that she had been toying with his emotions.

She stopped smiling and met his gaze directly, “Because now you know how I felt.”

In one sincere sentence, Goldenroot felt his anger completely evaporate, “I’m sorry, Vortex. I should have told you what was going on.”

“Yes, you should have.”

“Are you… are you angry about it?”

“Oh yeah, big time.” she said, “At first I was really sad too, but then I realized that I was just letting my emotions get the better of me. I thought you didn’t trust me and then I thought you were just lying about what you said when we were in the prison. I thought you didn’t really care about me at all and it was just some big act, but then I realized…”

She smiled again and laughed a little, “You’re a terrible actor.”

Goldenroot just smiled.

“But although I’m angry about it all, I’m too excited about this adventure we’re going on now to worry about it.” Vortex continued, “So you can find a decent way to apologize to me later. I expect a present, probably… something expensive.”

“Wait, you’re excited about this?” he said in shock.

“Of course! We’re going to start a riot!” she said, winking at him, “It’ll be all kinds of fun.”

“I can’t believe you.” he said, “We could die!”

“Oh, there’s a million different ways to die, Goldenroot, but there’s only one true way to live.” she said with an almost humorously serious expression, “You have to make the most of it and enjoy every single day. Even the worst day of your life has some good parts to it.”

“Okay, now I definitely don’t believe you.” he said, shaking his head, “What about when we were publicly humiliated in front of everyone in Canterlot and maybe even all of Equestria?”

“Yeah sure, we were publicly humiliated in front of everyone in Canterlot and maybe even everyone in Equestria, but…” she raised her hoof and pointed it at him as she tried to make her point, “We got to be publicly humiliated in front of everyone in Canterlot and maybe even everyone in Equestria. That’s pretty cool, not many ponies can say they did that.”

Goldenroot broke out laughing as he plodded along the road, “Oh yeah, that was soooo much fun!”

“And…” she continued, raising her hoof and pointing it again, “We got to ride in a stagecoach, watch you get strangled by Thunderhorn… and I got to leave the country for the first time in my entire life.”

Goldenroot was laughing so hard he hardly understood what she had even said. She certainly knew how to make a depressing situation entertaining.

~

Celestia ambitiously walked at the head of the group of armoured ponies whom were growing more anxious and fleeting by the day. She was worried too, but not for the same reasons. They worried for the battle ahead of them and the uncertainty of the dark forest that surrounded them, while she worried about what would happen when she finally confronted Le Roi Pierre. Would he try to fight her despite the impossible odds against him? Or would he try to weasel his way out of it and deny his involvement, claiming falsities and misunderstandings had led her here?

She pushed her uncertainties aside and tried to focus on the task in front of her. Part of her plan had been to split up the army into three separate subdivisions. Her army was large enough that she believed any one of the regiments was more than capable of meeting the entire army of Prance head on, so the split gave them significant tactical manoeuvrability. While Prance was tied up defending one area, the others armies could advance on the capital and assault it with little resistance and avoid unnecessary bloodshed.

The bulk of the army, which she now stood at the head of, was taking the most direct route that travelled through the Splinter Forest. It was the very same forest that her dearest student had been ambushed in and that fact left an uneasy feeling in her stomach. But her unease was keeping her alert and vigilant and, upon hearing a peculiar rustling in the trees nearby, she stopped in her tracks. The soldiers behind followed her example, but being as inexperienced as they were, they started to talk quietly amongst themselves in anxiety and fear instead of being silent like they should have been.

I should have known that we would be ambushed in the Splinter Forest, she thought, turning around to face the ponies waiting behind her. It would have been better to go around and avoid this. These ponies aren’t trained to deal with these sorts of situations. They’re barely trained at all.

“Soldiers of Equestria!” she announced with a booming voice, “Defend yourselves!”

At that very moment, hundreds of figures leapt out of the dense forest around them. Thin layers of mud were covering their bodies and concealing the bright, silver armour that protected them. It was truly a horrific sight to behold. They attacked the unprepared Equestrians in unison, using the spiked metal horseshoes on their hind legs to kick at them with an impressive force. The ponies caught in the sharp metal talons were hurled like cannonballs into their comrades, knocking them onto the ground and leaving them stunned. The ones that were hit directly were left with horrifying bloody wounds across their bodies, deep punctures that bled uncontrollably and exposed the bone under their skin.

These ponies knew how to fight and how to react. They knew exactly what they were doing, but the Equestrians had almost no clue. And though the golden armoured soldiers outnumbered them by thousands, too many were overflowing with fear and panic and were unable to properly respond to these monsters that emerged from the sinister forest walls. They rushed in blindly and tried to push the attackers back against the trees, while the ones that were able to maintain their composure recognized the advantages of drawing them out into the open where their large numbers would serve a better purpose.

While the earth ponies could only mimic their attackers’ forceful kicking as an offensive, the pegasi soared around the battlefield, constantly dropping towards the grounds and tackling the ambushers and otherwise causing general disarray among their numbers. What unicorns existed among them were made obvious, hurling crowds of enemy soldiers high into the air or thrusting them against trees with such force that their armour simply crumpled like paper under the weight.

And amongst all of this pain and suffering, it seemed like the princess was just standing, stricken with a paralyzing fear of what was happening all around her. While she was indeed frightened by this display, her long life had passed through many wars in its time and to assume that she was simply doing nothing at all was thoughtless. She was concentrating and gathering her strength, preparing to unleash a terrible magic power over all of the assaulting ponies and stop this madness before it got worse.

One of the attacking soldiers yelled out, telling his comrades to stop the princess and break her concentration. Rushing over to the alicorn, a silver armoured pony kicked at the joint in one of the princess’ hind legs, a deafening crack filling the air as the bone completely fractured. Her leg, now unable to support the weight of her body, buckled and sent the princess tumbling towards the ground. But in that moment, the entire scene was blinded in a bright flash of light. The trees of the forest around them came alive, groaning and wheezing as they moved. Their long, rigid arms reached out into the battle and took hold of every one of the silver armoured assailants, pulling them away and holding them prisoner against the thick bark on the trees. They tried to struggle, but the trees only grasped them more firmly.

When the light subsided, the trees had once again become motionless objects, but were still tightly holding onto the attacking soldiers and preventing them from moving even a single muscle. The Equestrians, noticing that the battle had ended, started to rush around almost as chaotically as when the battle had first begun. Some ran to their injured friends and family, shouting for help and trying to do whatever they could to ease their pain. Others moved to look in bewilderment at the enemy soldiers suspended high in the trees above, some still trying to free themselves from their prison.

From her position on the cold ground, Celestia let out a blood curdling scream and fell to her side, shaking uncontrollably as she turned her head to look at the blood soaked leg jutting out awkwardly from her body. The pain was unbearable and for the first time in over a hundred years, she felt like she was going to pass out.

Soldiers all over the battlefield immediately turned their attention away from whatever they had been doing and rushed to their princess’ side, crowding around her as they tried to help.

“Someone find a doctor, the princess is injured!” a stallion yelled loudly, looking around the crowd.

Several of the ponies frantically ran away from the group and starting yelling for help, but at that very moment, Celestia’s horn shone and the injured leg was wrapped in a bright iridescent light. Gritting her teeth and trying to focus on what she was doing, the princess carefully rearranged the shattered bone fragments in her leg and formed them into their original shape. Then, carefully gathering all of the blood around her leg and separating it from the dirt, she pulled it back into the veins and sealed her wounds.

She had done this exact operation before, but never on herself. It was a difficult and wonderful process that left all the panicked ponies around her completely speechless as they watched in awe as the light faded away and revealed the flawless appendage beneath. Breathing deeply, she rolled onto her stomach and got up off the ground, gritting her teeth as she flexed the stiff muscles in her healed leg.

“Princess Celestia… are you alright? Do… do you need any help?” a wide-eyed soldier asked, still stunned by the magnificent display of magic that had taken place.

“I am fine. Thank you.” Celestia responded quickly. “Now who needs help!? Where are the injured?”

“What about the enemy soldiers?” a blue stallion asked.

“Leave them. The injured ponies take priority.” she said firmly, “Anyone that will survive without my help should be attended to by a medic instead. I cannot help everyone.”

The large group of ponies surrounding her acknowledged this and ran off to look for those in need of immediate aid while the princess took flight and searched from the sky.

The scene from the ground was terrifying, but the scene above was unimaginably worse, so many were injured or dead. It was exactly as she feared, Prance had been preparing and educating their soldiers in the art of war, but Equestria was completely unqualified for this. She could only hope that the detachments which had ventured to the west and east would avoid any conflicts. If they had to face anything comparable to what had happened here, their fate would be much worse.

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Author’s notes:

Hello everyone. We are fast approaching the conclusion of this story with only a few chapters left. I believe I will be able to wrap this up at chapter 12, two chapters longer than I originally anticipated.

I would like to thank my editor, Specter Von Baren, for the amazing work he does with this. His help is always appreciated. If you’re interested in reading another, albeit less dark story about the main characters exploring the concept of immortality, you can take a look at his first written work of MLP fanfiction “If You Could Live Forever”. Here’s a link to that: http://www.fimfiction.net/story/2037/If-You-Could-Live-Forever

And as always, if you have any questions or comments about the story, you can reach me at my email: [e-mail] I’ll also be keeping a close eye on the comments below the story.

________________________________________________________________________

Disclaimer:

“My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic” and its derivatives are the sole intellectual property of Hasbro©. I do not have, nor claim to have, the rights to the intellectual property that this story is based on.

Comments

[GGGGGGGGGGGGGGG]

It's stuff like this chapter that makes me glad I email tracked this. Finding out in minutes that this was updated was amazing. This new chapter? Awesome. Phenominal. Plot Bending. Unexpected.

Brilliant.

I'm still liking where this is going, but now, even more so. Though, I am a mite disappointed about Twilight's fate. I wanted her to be okay sooooo bad! Who knows? With the right plot twists, she could turn out to be just fine! Then again, the tragedy tag exists on this story for a reason...

Keep up the good work.

owlet57

[Princess Lulu]

RIOT WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOT

[Armasyll]

It's not stated that she's dead, just that noone's seen her; right?

[theamberfox]

21243

Thank you very much. The next few chapters will be pretty intense too, so I'm really looking forward to working on them.

21276

That's true. No one really seems to know what's happened to her, just that she never came back. Unfortunately, she has been gone for so long that most of the characters have already given up. So she could be alive and well somewhere, but she may also have perished.

I'm not going to leave this question unanswered. It's the focal point of the story and the truth behind her journey is at the very end.

[Armasyll]

21291
Can I throw money at you to make this story longer?

[theamberfox]

21398

I hope you're not talking about coins. That might hurt.

Rest assured, I'm working towards a fantastic ending. I don't want to drag out the story and bore everyone, but I don't want to rush it either. It may take longer than twelve chapters, but that seems to be about right at the moment.

I'd also like to thank everyone for taking such a strong interest in my story. I have over thirty people diligently watching and a 4.5 rating from thirty eight people. Considering that this is the first time I've ever written anything outside of essays, I couldn't be happier with the way things are turning out.