Homecoming

by seeker9709

Midnight Dawn

"I will not let you hurt my little ponies anymore."

Celestia looked down at the unicorn with firmness. Head held high, her voice steady and gaze level. There was no anger in her words, merely certainty. A harsh reality, as if to tell a child that they will not always get their way. But deep within her, Celestia's heart twisted with sadness.

The words seemed to burn within her as she spoke, like cinders that swelled up from her heart. They scarred her throat and blistered her tongue as she spoke, but she would not refrain. So many eyes gazed upon her, eyes she couldn't bear to meet. To see those pained faces, fear filled eyes, ponies who had been fighting and holding on with nothing left but desperation. She might have broken into sobs herself if she had, at that moment, looked to the ones she failed to protect. Instead, she only met a single gaze. Those wide, stunned eyes meeting her own in near disbelief. It brought her no comfort to see, it merely saddened her all the more, but she had a duty to fulfill...

"They have been taken away from here."

The words were true, but felt so empty as they crossed her lips. So many had been hurt already, so much destruction lie before her, and yet here she stood untouched and arriving at the eleventh hour.

She stood at the front of her ponies with firmness unmatched, stoic and silent as she gazed down on Twilight, giving no indication to her pain within. The deep guilt piercing through her, only increasing as she continued to survey her surroundings. Stone shattered like glass surrounded her for hundreds of feet, broken and lost weapons and armor were scattered across the once beautiful plaza, and everywhere for thousands of feet more magical particles hung in the air.

At her arrival, stillness and order had followed her, as the wind itself seemed to bow to the power of Harmony. In Celestia's mind, it merely gave no distractions to the awful scene before her. But despite her disappointment, the warmth in her chest was a reminder of her duty. She had not felt it's power for so long, and it spoke some peace to her. She barely felt the weight of her greatly enlarged regalia, the power she channeled bringing as much stillness to her mind as it did the rising sun.

The Safeguard was a subject of extremely small reputation, it's grand and mysterious power was only a rumor to many in the royal guard. Knowledge of it's full power and capabilities was only made known to those of the highest rank and most trusted by the diarchy. Though occasional whispers would arise among members of the guard, none had confirmation of it's existence. Some believed it to be an alicorn weapon, an enchanted army, chaos magic stolen from Discord, beasts taken from Tartarus and bound to serve when called upon, or any number of fanciful imaginings. The truth, however was both simpler and far more complicated than most could understand.

At it's point of activation, magic would sweep across the entire city as a magical index with a catalog of every citizen in Canterlot would activate and identify each pony via magical-signature. All those designated as citizens and non-combatants would instantly be teleported out of the city and to a location known only by the Princesses, and the head of the Royal Guard, Shining Armor.

They would be held in a form of stasis until the catastrophic event had come to a close. The Royal Guards, both of the Solar and Lunar, would be unaffected by the magic save for life-threatening circumstances befalling them. The gems Imbued in their armor acted as a magical life support system and anchor. Should the magical mechanism be activated, they would remain within the city to continue fighting whatever threat had shown itself. If knocked unconscious, exhausted of their magic, or suffering a grievous injury, their armor's crystal would shatter as they too were whisked away to safety. There everypony would remain in a bliss-full sleep until they were re-called by the spell's ending.

"Everypony in this city has been taken somewhere you cannot find them, and they will stay until this matter is been resolved." She finished, falling silent once more as Twilight gawked up at her. The unicorn seemed stunned initially, no doubt the magical toll had struck her frame strongly. With as intricate and powerful Twilight's spell had been, to see it so immensely countered must certainly have rocked her.

'She's right to feel that way.' Celestia thought to herself. 'Without the Safeguard, I'm not sure any pony could have undone this in such a manner. Yet another unfortunate byproduct of carelessness gone unchecked...'

Though she did not know it, Twilight Sparkle was not the first to think to anchor a spell to the mountain which held Canterlot aloft. Deep within the great mountain lay six magical stones of purity and brilliance unmatched by any in creation. Bound and submerged in a pool of liquid magic at the direct intersect of major ley-lines that ran through the continent. For hundreds of years they lingered, almost asleep, waiting to be called on to protect the ponies of Canterlot.

Their sleep had been too long though, and the delay in being fully activated was deeply regrettable. Celestia had only been gone for a quarter of a hour, but scarcely three minutes of battle had utterly ravaged the once beautiful castle courtyard, and extraneous magic had caused damage to buildings within another four block radius. Thankfully few residences were arranged near the palace, and the affected buildings were built stronger than most

While her entrance was stunning, it was a necessary display to the spell's activation. It had not taken long to awaken the elements, initially. The link built into Celestia's tower was transferred into her raiment upon being activated. Twilight's spell had unintentionally disrupted the link, and thus Celestia could only channel enough power to partially trigger the life-support inside the guards chestplates. When Twilight's grand spell had activated, Celestia was only able to break the connection from her and the nearby contingent. Other guards who had been posted farther away may not have been so lucky, but she would accept any mitigating factors she could gather.

And so now she stood. Her gaze was fixed on the small mare, waiting for any move. The unicorn began trying to rise, only for her legs to fail her. Celestia noted the long cut on her side. It was bleeding at a steady rate and the face the attached limb seemed to weakened by whatever blow had struck it. 'She won't be able to move quickly with that.' She thought, as golden magic wrapped around her horn. 'Be it far from me to let her try.' Gale-force winds ripples from Celestia whipping across the courtyard as dust and debris were sent flying into the air.

Twilight tumbled over herself once, before flattening low to the ground and find some grip on a boulder. Celestia had hoped to send her flying into the bent and broken stone fence at the edge of the courtyard, many of the pillars and wooden support beams had been cracked and broken. It would have been a quick end to things, a strange golden shimmer drew Celestia's attention towards the sky. Instantly she ended her spell, gaze narrowing.

A golden aura of her magic floated like gentle sunbeams in the air. Drifting off her horn and into the thousands of magical sparks which hung above and around her. As she withdrew her power the silky streams of magic faded. Scanning the horizon, near and far, the motes of magic didn't move or change. Still, they hung like idle warnings. Almost taunting her.

Her gaze dropped to Twilight once more, the mare already staring at her as Celestia realized what it meant. Her eyes narrowed into a glare as she saw a shadow of surprise in Twilight's eyes. 'You don't hide it well.' Twilight craned her neck up, the subtle perturbed look visible only to Celestia. Celestia opened her mouth to speak, but stopped as a steam of sparks shot from Twilight's horn.

Several guards raised whatever weapons or shields they had in anticipation of another assault, while others huddled behind their princess for safety. Celestia didn't flinch, watching the pony below her instead. Twilight recoiled in surprise, but kept her hooves beneath her. The unicorn turned away from Celestia, her eyes scanning rubble. Celestia followed with her own gaze, as Twilight's eyes settled on an object half-buried in rubble. The Princess couldn't make out what it was, but a look of relief fell over the unicorn as she raised a hoof towards the object.

'She's delirious from exhaustion.' Celestia realized. She began to take a step forward, ready to charge the unicorn is she needed to. If Twilight didn't realize her how her spell was still working, then using her magic could cause anything to happen. She made it two steps before Twilight's horn burst as even more sparks. The unicorn was thrown back as uncontrolled spells scattered in every direction.

Celestia shifted her wings to shield the guards from anything that came towards them as many of them shifted back with a clamor. Only a conjured snowball made it anywhere near them, but Celestia could feel a pulse in the air. Soft, but present. The smallest of shifts in the balance of magic.

"For the princess!" A stallion muttered behind her. She turned to see an earth pony she recognized. Nimble Tail, a brown Earth Pony with black spots like a bovine. His armor was partially torn and blood matted his mane, but he firmly clenched a sword between his teeth with a wild look in his eyes. He jumped to his hoofs, preparing to charge Twilight but stopped just as quickly as Celestia snapped one wing down. The stallion stumbled, as the harsh crack startled him out of his delirious zeal. Several other guards caught him as he fell, pulling the sword from his grasp and restraining him.

Celestia folded her wings against her side. The golden regalia's metal flexing with her muscles, folding along her sides and wrapping around her wing's tendons and scapula. Slowly she began to step forward, barely inclining her head to thr side as she looked to Shining Armor and Cadence. "Take them into the castle hall." She strides bore smooth confidence, but a tension was visible in her narrowed gaze. "Don't use any magic except for treating injuries. This might not be over."

"Are you sure you want to go it alone, Princess?" A smooth voice inclined. Wicked Wing, helping to support Shining Armor along with Cadence, seemed completely uninjured and ready to follow. "There's more than a few that can still stand proud."

"I'll be fine, don't risk yourselves unnecessarily." Her eyes flicked over the still restrained pony as his comrades pulled him up the steps. He wasn't struggling and seemed to sag in their grasp. Celestia merely shook her head as she forced herself to turn away.

Twilight was dragging herself across the ground, her movements jerky and uncertain with occasional sparks shooting from her horn. Celestia's moved as quickly as she risked, her eyes flitting from the fallen unicorn and the plethora of magical motes that filled the air. None of the magical bursts from Twilight were being pulled in, but if she was was so magically exhausted that she was suffering magical-rebounds, then Celestia dared not use her own. Something unsettled her about the hanging particles. It was like they were waiting for something. Like a thousand eyes watching her as she moved. She scanned the ground before her, eyes coming to rest on an abandoned spear between her and the unicorn. Twilight appeared beaten, but Luna had lost to her already tonight, and Celestia was loathe to act rashly and fall into a potential trap.

She gently picked up the weapon, inspected it quickly as he strode forward. The metal shaft was partially bent, but the blade appeared intact and it would keep from being within hooves reach of Twilight. “Such mayhem has not been wrought on Canterlot for hundreds of years.” She spoke in a hushed, lamenting tone. More so whispering to herself than speaking to the unicorn. “Even when the changelings came we had not been subjected to such… madness.”

As she tucked the spear into one shoulder, the air seemed to shift and tighten around her. Celestia jerked back, with a clatter of gilded shoes, her acute gaze instantly on the fallen unicorn. The mare was still blindly scrambling across the ground, hardly any farther away than she had been a moment ago. Once again looking higher, she felt a disturbing cold run up her spine. Something in the sky had changed. The motes, unenumerable as they were, didn't seem to have moved, but Celestia couldn't help but feel that something had changed again.

Her mind seemed to run at a thousand miles per second. If what Celestia had felt was real, even if only for a moment, Twilight paid it no mind. Or perhaps she just didn't notice. The fumbling unicorn was still desperately pulling herself towards the nestled sack. She tucked the weapon into her shoulder, still eyeing the unicorn and sky warily. She just needed to get a few feet closer. She wasn't sure she could hit a vital spot from twenty feet with bent spear. Just a little closer.

As she drew closer, that strange tightness seemed to slowly build in the air. Celestia continuing her cautious strides as Twilight seemed more and more desperate to find what she sought, but unbeknownst to either mares, a deep pulse began drum within the great mountain.

Nearing Twilight, barely ten feet from her, Celestia could see a small bag nestled amidst the rubble. Twilight was searching a few feet to it's left, confirming Celestia's suspicion that mare was half-blind from exhaustion. As she stood over the unicorn, Twilight stopped. Her whole body tensed as the alicorn's shadow fell upon her. Slowly the mare half-turned to face her. A sole, terror-filled eye, meeting Celestia's gaze.

The unicorn locked eyes with Celestia only for a moment, fear radiating from her expression. "I'm sorry we couldn't save you, my little pony." Celestia half-whispered as she gripped the spear in one hoof. From this close, Celestia could clearly see the damage done to her. Twilight's eyes were wild, bloodshot and half-crazed. Streaks of blood ran down her face, tangling muddied mane. The unicorn's mouth fell open, as her eyes flitted past the alicorn and she began to scramble back even faster. Twilight seemed to pay no mind to the approaching Princess, sliding back until she stopped against the same section of stone which housed her small bag. The dawning look of terror grew into sheer horror they unicorn looked past Celestia entirely.

Celestia almost snorted. Whether a paltry trick as old war, or she just taking one last glance at her brother, the outcome wouldn't change. Celestia hefted the spear in one hoof, bringing it close to her cheek as she prepared to hurl it through the unicorn's chest. She felt a stillness as the building pressure finally ceased, as she drew a steady breath in anticipation and magical lights swirled in Twilight's eyes.

In that brief, pregnant pause however, Celestia froze. Twinkling lights danced across the edge of her vision, reflecting against the head of the spear. Though her hoof was steady, the reflection was changing.. She glanced higher, nearly gasping as she did. The sky had shifted. Looking higher, she realized that all of them, every single mote of light down the smallest among millions, was slowly swirling around her as if she stood in the eye of a hurricane. She turned her head and followed Twilight's silent gaze. Thousands and thousands of sparks were moving towards Celestia, following her as they whisked through the air.

Celestia dove to the side, her horn and regalia bursting with light as she siphoned as much magic as she would risk into a barrier. A rainbow of magic coalesced around her like a wall of mist. Soft streams began to dissipate from her barrier, but feeding some magic might have been a small price to pay compared to whatever might happen if those sparks touched her. "What in Equestria are you doing!?" She demanded, aiming the spear at the unicorn once again.

Twilight sat dumbfounded, looking all around her. "I... It's not me." She took a shuddering breath. "I'm not doing any of this..." All around them, the air was filling with soft chimes and warbles, like the magic was speaking.

A single teal spark floated past Celestia, moving through her barrier, causing her to jump further back from Twilight. The spark floated towards Twilight quickly like a fishing line being reeled back, and coming to a stop almost on the tip of Twilight's nose. The pair stared in silence at it, as it pulsed in the air silently and slowly faded faded from teal to a soft magenta.

"No!" Twilight turned to scramble over the stone, but the spark burst like a flash of static electricity and struck the tip of horn. Yet again the mare fell to the ground, flinching back as if she been cuffed on the forehead. The air shifted and tightened again, even stronger than it had before. High above, the coalescing whirlwind of magic poured down through the air like a funnel, as tendrils of magic reformed and surged down towards a single point. Cries of alarm came from behind Celestia as the guards began sprinting up the stairs to escape the resurging storm.

Celestia whirled the spear around quickly, launching the blade through the air, and towards the prone unicorn. The damaged weapon wobbled as it left her hoof, but it was a steady throw but came just too late. Almost as soon as it left her hooves, both she and the weapon were jaunted sideways as an explosion of sound and pressure erupted around Celestia.

The rush of sound and force struck her left shoulder like a hammer, as the energy sent Celestia skidding across the ground, threatening to lift her into the air or pummel her against the ground. She dropped low, sparks flashing across her shoes as she tried to find purchase in the broken ground. She drew one hoof back and slamming it into the ground as hard as she could, trying to anchor herself into the floor. Her movement slowed, but the heavy pressure and already damaged rock allowed her no hold, as her hoof dug a shallow trench as she slid. Both wings unfurled, slowly snaking across her sides and down to the ground as Celestia crouched low. Her feathers squeezed tightly and angled low towards the front, allow the majority of the wind to ripple over them and hold her tighter to the ground. She spared once last glance towards Twilight, unable to make out anything more than a shadow within the stream of magic. She drew her eyes away, closing them in concentration as she crouched lower, nearly folding her legs completely under her.

Instantly her muscles tensed, kicking off the ground with explosive force, and shattering the already broken plaza to dust as she leapt into the sky. Her wings fully extended with a heavy crack as she spread her feathers wide caught the hurricane force head-on. She flew hundreds of feet within seconds, the instant acceleration sending black spots dancing in her vision, but she bore the pressure with a grunt. Like sails on a ship, she caught the typhoon in her wings, throwing her back as she sailed past the castle grounds, and over the city's edge.

Just before she would have slammed into the golden barrier surrounding the city, she leaned back, looping down through the air and rushing towards the base of the mountain. She continued the slow loop, almost close enough to touch the top of the forest canopy, before straightening and riding the momentum up the mountain side, straight towards the palace.

'After a thousand years of rule, is this is how Canterlot falls? Our ponies divided, chaos running free, and Luna missing in the night?' She hugged the massive stone wall of the mountain as her momentum began to naturally reduce. She couldn't take to open air above the city, not with that spell resurging. She would be swatted out of the air like a fly. Instead, followed the mountain's curve as she flew higher and higher, bringing herself inline with the rear wall of the Throne Room. 'Oh Luna, my sister, please be safe.'

She curved up and over the rear lip of the city. Tumultuous gusts stirred the air around her, but with the entire castle standing between her and the epicenter, she flew with relative ease. The great hall stood high against the backdrop of the mountain and night sky, the large golden stained window which glinting in the magical light. She loosed a golden blast of magic into the window, the glass shattering into dust as she sailed through the now open panel and into the hall. Instantly the sounds of the buffeting storm was silenced as she passed through layers of protection spells that encompassed the room. Diving down, she flared her wings just before she struck the base of the platform, landing almost silently on the long velvet carpet which lead from the thrones to the regal double doors.

She sprang into a quick canter, eyes scanning the room. The gently trickling fountains which flanked the dual thrones splashed harmlessly as she swiftly crossed the chamber. The regal stained glass windows and mirrors, save for the one she had entered in from, were in tact, and a flash of magic from her horn confirmed that the many protection spells covering the room had held. Warmth flowed through her as she drew Harmonic magic from her regalia, not even turning back as a burst of rainbow magic leapt from her horn and sealed the gap in the wall behind the thrones. Only the towering stained glass windows cast light across the polished marble floor gave any indication of the event outside. It might have been beautiful, but Celestia paid it no mind. The throne room, along with "The Tomb," was made to operate as a last resort shelter should the city come under attack. The large room could easily hold several hundred ponies and the spells ingrained in the wood-stone, and steel could support against a full siege. As long as that assurance held, anything else was irrelevant to her.

She made it halfway across the space before the thundering sound of the grand lavender doors opening echoed through the chamber. A dozen armored ponies immediately poured into the room, and Celestia knew by the clamor of hooves and armor that others followed close behind. Every pony she could see moved along side one or two others, carrying or supporting their fellows who were still too rattled or injured to fully move on their own. Only a grey-striped pegasus was by himself, hovering several feet in the air in the doorway and waving the assembled ponies in. He seemed no worse for wear, only sporting a few dents in his otherwise intact armor.

"Keep moving, farther in! Twister, Whistle, help Silver Moon, he's falling behind. Keep it coming!" He shouted at the swiftly following company. The stallion turned his head in time to see the approaching Princess, eyes widening in surprise. "Princess Celestia?" He asked, befuddled. Several of the ponies eyes widened at seeing her, situational awareness being traded to care for the injured instead. A few ponies looked to her in surprise, while others stumbled and began shifting off the velvet carpet so she could pass by. With a flap of her wings she took to the air above, only slowing her pace as she flew alongside the grey pegasus.

'Princess how-" He stammered, but she cut him off before he could speak. "Where are Princess Cadenza and Shining Armor?" She asked, scanning the hallway and the approaching guards before turning back to the awaiting stallion. The stallion followed her gaze for a moment, shaking his head gently. "They were following right behind me when I came in, Princess, but last I saw they were at the castle entrance. How in Equestria did you even get to the throne room before-" His words came to a stop as she waved a hoof.

"You need to move everypony inside, all the way to the platform. You'll be safe in here, but there's no telling how long this resurgence will last for. Just keep everypony away from the windows in the meantime." The Stallion's mouth sagged for a moment, a dozen questions hovering on his lips, before his eyes set and he snapped a wordless salute.

Celestia nodded, before racing down the hall with another mighty flap of her wings. The Pegasus's voice carried down the hall as his fading voice relayed her orders. "You heard the Princess, keep moving! All the way to the Dais. Stay. On. The carpet!"

Celestia flew and twisted through corridors and hallways, crossing the once reverent halls like a racer. She heard guards yelp in surprise as she flew just overhead, not slowing until she came upon the last corner before the entrance hall. Ghastly colors reflected off the floors, the bright glow preceding the sound of the maelstrom that waited just outside. Seeing the hall was empty, she tucked her wings and broke into a gallop before her hooves had even touched the ground. Twilight's spell had disrupted the Safeguard once. While the heavily wounded and unconscious had already been taken to safety, there was no way to know if Twilight's spell would interfere with that aspect of the spell.

She emerged from the tall path into the large greeting hall, the normally immaculate room in total disarray. A wide stair case covered half of the room, splitting off into two smaller stair cases that led to Celestia and Luna's private meeting rooms, while two larger halls each opened on the eastern and western walls respectively. The velvet carpet that ran through each hall and up the stairs had been tossed about the room. Tall banners had been ripped from the walls and strewn about the hall or hanging over the gilded stair rails. Paintings, bits of broken glass, and what seemed to be the shattered remains of a large piece of lattice, no doubt having been flung from the courtyard, were scattered across the checkered tile. Celestia emerged from the eastern hall, turning quickly into the arched entry way.

There, standing partially behind the massive gold and purple doors, was Shining Armor and Princess Cadence. The top hinge of one door had been ripped from the wall, but appeared study enough for Shining Armor to lean against. He was flanked by two members of the day guard, both tending to him while he and Cadence stared outside with wide eyes. His breastplate and greaves were loosened, an earth pony pulling the metal away as a unicorn finished wrapping his shoulder with a thick roll of gauze. The unicorn touched her horn briefly to the bandage before nodding to the earth pony, replacing her equipment into pouches saddled along her side. As the earth pony began to re-tighten the Shining Armor's straps, the four ponies all turned as the sound of Celestia's fervent steps grew loud enough to hear over the whirlwind.

Relief filled Cadence's eyes as the taller alicorn ran to meet her, Shining Armor and the two guards stood frozen in shock. Cadence threw her hooves around Celestia's neck with a sob, while the elder alicorn returned the hug for a brief moment. "It's alright, I'm fine." She said, pulling away from her niece. The unicorn medic snapped out of her shock first, instantly drawing more medical supplies as she ran up with Cadence. Celestia held one hoof up at the approaching unicorn. "Go tend to the others, I'm not harmed!" She had to nearly shout to be heard of the gale force winds the beat upon the castle doors. The unicorn nodded, turning to leave. Celestia didn't wait to see her go. "Is everypony inside?" She asked, not caring to hide the urgency in her tone.

Shining Armor straightening from his slump, nodding as he yelled over the storm. "It was close, but we managed to get everypony in." He moved towards her with obvious effort, limping heavily on his left side. Despite the wrappings, it was clear the unicorn mare hadn't been able to fully repair his injuries. Celestia couldn't see the one under his breastplate, but it was a tender area that would not close easily until he was immobile for some time. Red fluid was leaking through another bandage on his rear ankle, but if it caused him any pain he didn't show it. Instead, bewilderment dominated his features. "Princess, what happened!? We saw you get blown completely of the edge of the city!"

"We were so scared you were hurt or..." Cadence choked on the words, unable to bare the thought. She away wiped tears that were welling up, taking a deep breath to calm herself. "I tried to do something, anything, but..." Another round of explosions cut off the pink alicorn, causing to her to flinch back the as sounds were enunciated by a piercing shriek. Celestia instantly moved out from behind the doors, ducking her head into the gale-force winds despite a shout from Shining Armor.

Celestia pushed forward, emerging into the storm once more, and squinting as debris-filled wind peppered her body with dust. Slow steps led her to the edge of the staircase, as she peered down at the chaos below.

The magical vortex that had sent Celestia flying from the city was still swirling like a whirlpool in the air. Multi colored sparks spiraled down. The courtyard was consumed by a haze of magic, flickers and flashed of magical discharge sparking trough the air and across the grounds. Magical sparks continued to funnel into the cloud, surging down and into the thrashing unicorn at it's epicenter. As the demolished grounds were continually hammered by raw power, Twilight's horn was bursting with magical energy. Her entire body glowed with magical power that seemed to pour from her like a broken dam, great bursts of magic enunciated with shrieks of pain.

Explosions of magic, energy, fire, ice, acid, kinetic force, tendrils of raw power, all of it lashed out around her. Tornadoes formed instantly, crackling with lightning and dissipating as they clashing into one another, only to reform again. The ground around Twilight churned and crushed. The force of the magic picked the mare up several feet into the air, slamming her back down further deepening the massive crater in the once beautiful courtyard. Stone was dashed to dust, and the entire platform began to groan and shift is threatened to collapse entirely of the side of the city.

Celestia watched as the shattered remnants of where Twilight impacted reformed into clumps of stone, before being sent flying through the air by a lightning filled twisters, while another spot was crushed by gravitational magics so strong, it collapsed in on itself, glowing red like magma and burning a straight through the bottom of the city. The surge of magic caused an uncontrollable cycle of destruction, creation, and chaos. Twilight had completely lost control and was now at the mercy of the very spell she had created.

"What's happening!?" Cadence screamed, holding on to Shining Armor in fear they would both be swept away. The pair were both clinging to the door's edge, unwilling to step any further out into the fray.

"It's a magical rebound," Celestia called as best she could over the turbulence surrounding them. "She was draining the magic of everypony in the city, and funneling it through her glyphs. With her glyphs interrupted, the magic has no where to go... except through her." She finished in a whisper.

Shining Armor struggled to maintain his grip on the door as he spoke. "If we don't do something she'll tear the city apart! I can't put a shield over her, it'll be destroyed in seconds!" Turning his head, eyes squinted to block out as much dust and debris as possible.

Celestia shook her head, gritting her teeth. "Her spell is still active, my magic will just be swept up and make things worse!" She winced as Twilight let loose a shrieking yelp, and a massive column of flame surged past her and annihilated one of the castle spires. Luna would no-doubt be pained to hear her stargazing platform had been destroyed, but that was the least of Celestia's concerns. "We'll just have to wait it out."

'Or wait for her to be consumed...

Just as the thought was uttered in her mind, Twilight's yells of agony were suddenly replaced with a defiant and angry roar. The sudden shift struck Celestia with a force just a potent as the magic around her. "Shining Armor, Cadenza, get ba-" She yelled, but was cut off as Twilight let loose a scream that vibrated the air with power. Energy all around her burst into the air, shooting up in a brilliant tower of magical force that interrupted the magical cyclone. For a moment, the massive beam of magic held back the sparks. The unicorn was illuminated, body glowing brighter and brighter as she began to hover several feet in the air.

Her expression was wild as her entire body shook from the magical overload. Lips pulled taut and teeth barred in a snarl, as she fought to hold back the magic. Celestia could see Twilight's eyes flicking away momentarily, glancing just to her side. There was almost nothing left of the courtyard, the majority of loose debris having been demolished, but half buried into the stone floor, was a small round object.

The bag had been torn to shreds, leaving most of the object exposed. It was a large oval, perfectly smooth without a single scratch or dent on it's surface. It was completely untouched despite the massive pressure surrounding it. It was hard to tell through the flashing-multicolored light which covered the city, but the stone seemed shimmer a soft pink, gently decorated with purple polka-dots.

Celestia's balked as she realized what she was looking at. 'Not a stone, an egg!' The very same that had remained unhatched in her own school for over thirty years.

Magic hung in the air all around Twilight as she looked to the egg. The unicorn's eyes closed, a deep sigh passing through her, before she cried out with a groan, "Please, forgive me!" Before swinging her glowing horn down to the ground, bringing a tidal wave of power down from the sky.

Celestia stood frozen, mouth agape as a swell of magic no-pony alone could stop crashed down on top of the small dragon egg. Millions of sparks falling like a tsunami, crashing down in a roar of power, and burning a whole straight through the mountain.

Even faster then before, the magic funneled own, directed straight into the dragon egg. The immense pressure crushed the egg even deeper into the stone, before it began to glow with brilliant white energy. A loud crack shook the entire platform, and Celestia knew the egg had opened. Not just the egg, a massive split formed in the courtyard as magic struck and corroded the broken engineering, widening as stone separated and metal groaned. The courtyard split in two, finally giving way as it partially collapsed and sent several tons of rock and steel hurtling towards the forest below.

A tiny creature, freed from it's dormant shell, slowly rose into the air. As magic surged into it, it took it's first breath as a white glow spilled from it's eyes and mouth. In a only a second it doubled in size, swelling as glowing magic stirred beneath it's scales. Only a few seconds later it doubled again in size. Then again, and again, it surged with unnatural growth before Celestia's eyes.

Massive scaled split and grew again, a repeating process that sounded like thousands of bones breaking and reforming. Jutting fins grew and twisted in a mohawk of green horns that spilled down the whelp's head and along his spine. His arms and legs extended, too quickly, as magic created new layers of skin, muscle, and tissue along the limbs. It's joints, elbows and digits seemed too sharp and angular for it's body, and a thick rope-like tail stretched and ended in a sharp, hooked point. Teeth grew and fell, replaced by even longer and sharper fangs which spilled past it's thin lips, as sharp spikes jutted down across it's chin and neck.

Finally, the beam of magic from Twilight's horn stopped, as the mare collapsed to the ground. The drake hung in the air for another moment, it's head rolled from side to side across it's shoulders. Finally, the magic holding it dissipated, as the dragon fell straight down to where Twilight had collapsed. A flash of white light enveloped the unicorn, dissipating to reveal empty air, just as the massive reptile crashed down the spot she had vanished from.

Magic continued to pour around the dragons scales, no longer fueling it's surge in growth, but flowing deeper into the mountain, as a heavy thrum began to reverberate throughout the mountain-city once more. Unlike before, sparks of magic no longer danced in the sky, no great tendrils of power hung from the mountain or emerged through the city streets. Only the deep hum through stone sounded, as a shudder passed through the ground.

The creature flailed on it's back as sharp talons scored meter long gashes through stone, barely managing not to roll of the side of the damaged courtyard. It's tail was nearly half the size of it's body, easily stretching eighty feet in length and bristling with spikes and jagged scales. It was a fearsome creature, tremendous in scale, and terrifying in size, but what terrified the elder alicorn was the look of confused innocence in it's eyes. It's head still lolled on it's shoulders, eyes rolling about as it tried to identify what force hatched it. A simple mind incapable of realizing what it had become so prematurely. A mere toddler transformed into an ancient dragon.

"Shining Armor," Celestia gulped, her mouth running dry in an instant. "Gather the fastest and most nimble fliers that are still capable of fighting."

The dragon lifted it's head, a large blocky skull that was almost out of proportion to it's long serpent-like neck, high into the air. It's long neck stretching so tall, it was nearly level with Celestia. It's bleary eyes settled on her, head cocking to the side with an groaning, infantile squack as if to ask, Are you my mother? They locked eyes for a moment, the air still between them, before the creature's eyes drifted to her still glowing regalia. It's eyes widened at the shimmer of colors, pupils dilating as it was filled with wonder. Celestia took a reflexive step back, "Go, now!" she called as her wings unfolded and launched her into the air.

A massive arm reached out for her, but it's poor motor function allowed Celestia to remain clear by a significant margin. Still, the creature barked a garbled cry towards her, rising shakily onto all fours. It's eyes widened even further, lids peeling unnaturally far back in a manor Celestia was all too familiar with. The expression of a dragon taken with Greed.

As she soared high into the sky, the dragon reared his head high into the air, it's heavy jaw opened. A bellowing screech filled the air with a rage it couldn't comprehend. It's first cry resounding for miles, and echoing through the night.

Author's Note:

Huzzah, new chapter! Sadly with my travel I was unable to finalize this one last weekend, but from this time forward I am going ahead with weekly, Saturday releases. This chapter was a bit more of an experimental one, as I've been re-working my prose and style. The next 2 chapters I think I have found my comfort zone, but it's always a work in progress.

I've been trying to find more poetic descriptions and in general do a better job with scene setting, descriptions, and everything. I've recently discovered the Wheel of Time, among other series, and it's totally transformed my perspective in scene establishing and character writing, so as always your critiques, criticisms and insights are welcomed! Regardless, things should be smoother from here on out.

I hope you enjoyed, and I'll see you all next week!

Comments

[Cyana Flame]

[Radu Nightshade]

This summer-
Seeker7909 brings you-
Mlp: Homecoming
Mlp: Far from Home
Mlp: No Way Home
Coming to theaters near you

[seeker9709]

11316562

Don't tempt me. I'm in full on creative mode, I'll burn this community down

[dragonus85]

spike! XD

[Tempest_Flare]

11316657
I'm right in assuming that Twilight wants to summon Discord to kill him? After all he's the one who put dementis in there