Lost to the Sands

by GigaBowser

Phase 8

Phase 8

As the sun slowly made its way into the sky, Celestia lay sleeping peacefully in her jail cell. Wrapped up snugly in warm blankets, she was having bright cheerful dreams. A smile was on her face as she slumbered.

Her ear twitched and her eyes fluttered open. She lifted up her head, gazing in the direction that she had heard the noise come from. Footsteps were rapidly approaching.

A moment later, Nikolaw suddenly appeared, looking frantic and anxious. Celestia's eyes shot open and her remaining fatigue disappeared instantly. Neither had to say or do anything; Celestia could immediately tell from the look in his eyes alone that something was wrong.

He stood catching his breath for a moment, and then quickly shoved a piece of paper through the bars towards her. He then immediately turned and departed from the front of her cell, running off to the other side of the hallway.

Celestia looked at where the paper had landed, and then gazed after him in confusion. She didn't hear the door opening, so he hadn't left. All she knew was that something was going on, and she had to figure out what.

She quickly reached for the paper and unfolded it. Written on it was a rather sketchy diagram. There was a drawing of her jail cell, but it was empty and with the door open. There was an arrow pointing to a second drawing, which made Celestia raise her eyebrows. It was a picture of her, bound by her ankles, being led somewhere by a troupe of griffon guards. A second arrow continued from there and led to the largest drawing on the page.

Celestia furrowed her brow and tilted her head. It appeared to be some sort of stage or colosseum. There was a series of seats arranged concentrically around a viewing area, which the drawing depicted as being packed full of griffons. There was a distinctive area near the top, set away from and above all the other seats, where there was an unmistakable depiction of King Talimir. He wore a smug smile on his face.

And standing upon the stage, in clear view of the entire audience, was her. She was still bound by the ankles, with a chain collar around her neck, and a very sad, dishevelled appearance.

Celestia stared for a moment at the drawing. What was this exactly? Some sort of public shaming? A spectacle? A show? Whatever it was, it was clear that it was at her expense, and seemed to be geared towards showing her off to the masses. A shiver passed through her body.

The sound of the door opening could be heard. Celestia snapped her head upright and quickly crumpled up the paper, storing it in the folds of the blankets. There were muffled voices. Some others had come in. She waited for a few moments in anxious trepidation.

Then, six griffons appeared before her cell, staring in at her. One of them was Nikolaw, who was giving his best neutral expression, and was trying not to look directly at her. Two others were dressed in the same, non-metallic armour as Nikolaw, while the other three appeared to have more elite, metal garb.

They were all glaring intently at her. She met their gazes and calmly got to her hooves, making her way to the bars and standing before them.

"Niko!" the one at the front said, turning to Nikolaw, "Nexoh xukko jao taojo tosbod?" Celestia got the impression that he was their leader.

Nikolaw shrugged, looking quite casual and aloof as he replied. "Asx noajj oj dasxk."

The leader merely shook his head and returned his gaze to her. "Eba'u, fhadqojjad..." he said in a deep, almost malicious tone, "Oj ajk qoak vïh axho bhëdidw. Beefohaohod, idt jao nohtod dasxk lohcok'qk nohtod."

Celestia stole a quick glance at Nikolaw. He still remained neutral and expressionless. The lead griffon turned to the two griffons closest to him and nodded his head. They nodded in reply, and stepped towards the door to her cell. One of them reached into his shoulder pack and fished out a ring of keys. Celestia's eyebrows shot up.

The other, however, reached into his shoulder pack and instead pulled out a set of shackles, just like the ones in Nikolaw's drawing. Her eyes shot open and she took a step back.

There was a click, and the cell's door swung inward. Celestia watched warily as the one with the keys stepped aside and three of the other griffons slowly stepped through it and into her cell. She backed up a few more paces as they did. The first one through was the one holding the shackles. He was staring directly at her and cautiously approaching. Behind him came another griffon who was carrying something small and unidentifiable, and then Nikolaw.

She eyed the one approaching her guardedly. He had a scowl on his face and was not ceasing in his approach. The second unknown griffon stepped up to stand beside him. "Ronowod jao jasx dasxk," the one with the shackles said.

He made a move towards her. Celestia evaded him to the side. He glared at her and stepped forward more aggressively, his claws outstretched. With nowhere else to move to, Celestia retaliated by lowering her head and shoving back at him with the brunt of her shoulder. He cried out as he was pushed back.

"Xuckod jao axh ataekod oo'ei!" the lead griffon, still outside the cell, spoke in an exasperated tone.

Nikolaw approached from her side. He was now holding rope in his claws. She trusted him, but she was almost certain that he was going to act against her while in the company of these other griffons. She took a defensive stance and observed the three griffons inside of her cell. They were completely blocking her way to the exit and, beyond that, the lead griffon was standing guard at the open cell door, cutting off her escape. Still, they were approaching her with shackles and rope.

When the one with the shackles again tried to reach out and grab her, she remained defiant with gritted teeth. She quickly tucked her neck in and thrust herself forward, headbutting the griffon forcefully. "Ah, lohvasb'k!" he exclaimed.

The opportunity was ridiculously slim, but she took it anyway. She moved quickly and forcibly, trying to power her way past the temporarily winded griffon. The entire cell quickly became a frenzy of activity. Nikolaw reached out towards her, but she shifted away. The winded griffon tried to move himself so as to block her escape. She put all of her strength into pushing herself past him. She would trample him to the ground if she had to.

Something grabbed her shoulder. Whipping her head to the right, she quickly realized that she had forgotten about the third griffon in her cell. He was grinning deviously. Her eyes quickly shot down to his other claw, where the object she had seen earlier was being held. She only got to see it for a brief second before it was jammed roughly into her side.

A sizzling, electrical sensation quickly spread throughout her entire body, making her eyes shoot open wide. Her face screwed up in severe pain as her body began to twitch involuntarily. A painful, tingling fire was spreading through her blood, and her muscles were stinging and seizing up. She quickly lost her footing and fell roughly to the floor.

The griffon removed the object from her, and some of the pain died down, but she continued to twitch violently and grit her teeth. Her heart was beating unbelievably fast, and there was a pain in her chest and a sick feeling in her stomach. It felt like her brain wasn't working right. She experienced brief moments where she didn't know where she was or what was going on.

She couldn't even scream. It was pure torture.

Finally, her symptoms began to die down, leaving her panting heavily and still twitching lightly upon the ground. She became aware of the griffons' laughter. She fought against her stiff, non-responsive muscles and ignored the burning pain in her side and rolled over slowly to look at them.

Her eyes rested on the weapon that had just been used on her. It looked like a cattle prod. It was long and thin, and was tipped by two small prongs. It was smoking slightly.

Celestia panted raggedly. She had been on the receiving end of the painful electrical spell used by unicorn policeponies to incapacitate criminals and, indeed, had once been hit with a cattle prod. She preferred not to remember why these things happened, but the effects they had caused were clear in her mind.

They came nowhere close to what she had just experienced. The closest thing she could imagine was when she had been hit with an incredibly powerful lightning bolt spell during her duel with Nightmare Moon. The electricity housed in that weapon was immensely powerful and incredibly painful.

Celestia was sure of one thing: she did not want to get zapped by it again.

The griffon holding the prod finally stopped laughing and looked down at her. "Hah… Nokkod, tujj uiv tom retod. Zokq'k vojjocd."

"Zu," she heard all the others responding. Celestia was still twitching slightly and finding difficulty breathing. It felt like she had lost control of all of her muscles.

She felt the griffons approaching her and grabbing her again. Her first thought was to kick out and fight back, but instantly she thought of their weapon. She worked her fizzled brain as hard as she could, trying to think of other options, but all of her thoughts came back to the image of the frighteningly powerful electrical prod. She frowned and lay still, letting them do as they pleased.

The one griffon attached the shackles to her four hooves. They clamped tightly around them, causing her to wince in pain, and they made her hooves ache terribly. It was a series of four shackles, connected by a circuit of chain, so that all four of her hooves were chained to one another. The chains seemed quite loose, however, though the shackles did not.

Then, she felt someone behind her, tying rope around her torso. She felt claws groping and grabbing at her, rolling her slightly to get the rope all the way around her. They bound her wings to her body, keeping them clasped shut and unable to move.

Celestia sluggishly turned her head around to look at the one tying her wings. She saw that it was Nikolaw. They griffon gave her a quick, furtive glance, and then returned his focus to tying the knot.

She watched him closely as he did. She paid attention to the rope and the knot.

Suddenly, she felt talons roughly gripping her head. She was pulled back and down and was held in place. She looked around in confusion before she felt something being placed around her neck with a click. When her neck was released, she tried to glance down to see what they had just put on her. It was a metal collar with a chain leash attached. The chain was being held by one of the other griffons, who wore a smug look on his face.

"Zokq'k. J'koxod," he commanded, giving the chain a tug.

Celestia winced as the collar dug into her neck. She slowly, begrudgingly, got to her hooves. The griffons stood and admired their handiwork, seeming satisfied. She was now a completely bound princess; her hooves were shackled, her wings were tied, and her horn was broken.

She hung her head low.

"Wik. Cujj idj woxod," the lead griffon spoke. There was another tug on her collar, and she began to walk with them as they led her out of her cell. The shackles did their job surprisingly well. They allowed her the freedom to walk at a moderate pace, but she couldn't lift her hooves high enough to do anything more; be it running or retaliating. She tested the strength of the chains holding her shackles together, finding them quite unbreakable. She also tested the bonds on her wings.

The griffons led her down the hallway of the cell block. Without even having to look at them, she could tell that they were all wearing smug, satisfied grins. She herself wore a sour frown as she walked.

While her head was down, however, her brain was hard at work, calculating. She carefully considered her options and was always on the lookout for some opportunity to escape. She stealthily observed the position of the procession of griffons surrounding her, all while keeping her head low.

To her left were two griffon guards who were not particularly noteworthy. One was the one who had shackled her hooves, but nothing else stood out about him. To her right, however, she observed the griffon with the electrical prod walking. He had the weapon out and ready, and he looked like he was watching her like a hawk, ready to jam the device into her at the first sign of trouble. Walking behind this griffon was Nikolaw, his face stony and expressionless.

She was led down the hallway of the cell block and out the door at the other end. Thankfully, the Griffons moved at a pace suited for her shackled hooves. The door opened into another hallway that didn't stand out in any way. There was complete silence all around, save for the clinking of the chains that she wore.

With her head hanging down, she continued to keep a close eye on her escorts, looking for anything that she could use to her advantage. Though her vision was skewed and sometimes upside-down, she didn't let that deter her in the least. She kept her mind calm and clear, and remained ever vigilant. Her situation appeared grim, but she refused to give up.

They were approaching another doorway. Celestia stole a quick glance at it and saw that it led outside. She caught a quick, cropped view of the distant horizon, painted with the bright orange of the sunrise.

The troupe reached the doorway, and Celestia felt a gentle breeze across her face. The lead griffons stepped through and tugged on her leash, guiding her through rather forcefully. The griffon holding the electric prod stepped through as well, keeping close to her. Celestia continued to keep her head down and observe. The final one through the doorway was Nikolaw.

What happened next occurred in the blink of an eye. Nikolaw suddenly began to pitch forward, his talons flailing through the air. One of his hindpaws lagged behind, as if he had tripped over something. He let out a quick, but shrill, cry of surprise.

Nikolaw fell straight forward, directly into the hindquarters of the griffon standing in front of him. Nikolaw's weight pushed down on the griffon's rear-end, causing his hind legs to buckle easily. He gave a quick shout of "Gah!" and tried to keep his footing with his talons, but Nikolaw's full weight was dragging him to the ground.

Celestia didn't waste a single millisecond. The moment Nikolaw fell onto the other griffon, she immediately set her hooves firmly into the ground and gave a quick, powerful shove to her left. The griffons standing there felt the full brunt of her impact, easily being sent to the ground.

The griffon with the prod, in desperation, tried to swing it towards Celestia but, as he was falling, he ended up swinging at her legs instead of her body. Her earlier movements caused him to easily miss his mark.

Only three seconds into the mayhem and four griffons were on the ground. The lead one, holding her collar, had barely had enough time to register a reaction of surprise. Not a moment after she had shifted her torso back from shoving the two beside her, she set her sights on the one in front. She pushed forward and raised her front hooves up as far as they could go.

The lead griffon tried to hold up his left talon in defence. This was exactly what Celestia wanted. She planted her hooves directly onto his arm, near his shoulder, and used the surprised griffon as a source of leverage. The chains dug into her painfully as she did so, but she ignored it.

As the lead griffon was forced to the ground under her weight, she pushed off of his arm and torso, bringing up her hind legs to do the same. Using him as a boost, she pushed herself up and into the air.

While she was momentarily airborne from this grand leap, she began to push outward hard with her wings. She grit her teeth and prayed that her suspicions were true. She pushed as hard as she could against the ropes that were binding her wings, coming to the apex of her jump. There was a momentary jolt of fear for a few milliseconds as her body began to descend.

Then, all at once, she felt the resistance of the rope give way. The bindings fell loose, allowing her glorious wings to spread out wide. She beat them quick and hard, faltering slightly in the air as she attempted to halt her descent and begin flying. After only a brief moment of flailing hooves, she found purchase in the air and began to rapidly ascend.

Eight seconds after Nikolaw had tripped and the griffons were now behind her on the ground as she took to the skies.

Celestia pushed herself as hard as she could, shooting up into the air. She could hear the confused and angry shouts of the griffons behind her, and knew that it wouldn't be long at all before they were off the ground and in pursuit. She pushed herself even harder, beating her wings furiously to propel herself upwards as fast as she could.

Panting, she quickly whipped her head about to take in her surroundings. She gasped lightly as she saw vast valleys spread out below her. She had just taken off from the top of a mountain, and there were many, many more mountains dotting the landscape all around her. The familiarity of the old Griffon Kingdoms began to become apparent for her, as she started to recognize the similar land forms.

There was what seemed to be a large city to her left. It was spread out far along the bottom of the valley, but also encompassed three or four smaller mountains; buildings creeping up the sides and sitting perched on the top. She could even see a few cloud homes, though most of the structures seemed to be made of a dark metal. She could barely pick out a few isolated flying forms. Griffons, no doubt. There was heavy cloud cover beginning to set in over the town from the far side.

Celestia turned her head back and chanced a glance backwards. The building she had just escaped from was smaller than she had expected it to be, though it appeared to be well fortified against attack. She winced slightly as she saw that all six of the griffons were in the air pursuing her; even Nikolaw. Behind them, griffons on the walls surrounding the building had taken notice of her and were also taking to the skies.

Returning her gaze forward, she saw the rising sun. That way was east. She tried to remember the map Nikolaw had drawn her, recalling that the ponies were due south of her. Without wasting a moment, she angled herself so that the sun was to her left and took off towards the south. She frowned as she realized that she would be flying over part of the city.

She could hear the shouts of the griffons behind her now. She tried to pay them no mind, and not think about how close they might be. She just focused on pushing herself forward and out of harm's way.

As the city approached, slightly off to her left, she gazed at it. She tried to veer herself away from it, hoping to avoid any further pursuers and trouble. She saw a few distant figures stop and hover as she passed by them, but no-one else seemed intent on catching her. At least, not yet.

The city passed by quickly on her left side. She was almost past it. However, she looked ahead and saw that she was quickly approaching something distinct. It was a large, open-air stadium of some sort. What set it apart from the rest of the city was that it appeared to be made out of stone. Celestia found herself marvelling at it as she approached.

It looked almost exactly like a gladiator colosseum from the stone ages, and was also very reminiscent of Nikolaw's drawing.

With her wings still pumping fast, she was propelling herself past it quite quickly. She veered to the right so as not to fly directly over it. However, as she passed, she noticed that it seemed to be packed full to capacity. Every seat was filled with a griffon, many of whom were now looking up to the sky and pointing at her.

At the far side of the colosseum was a raised area set aside from the rest. Occupying this large, extravagant seat, was none other than King Talimir. The large griffon was standing completely still, staring directly up at her. Celestia gulped.

Something whizzed past her right shoulder, cutting audibly through the air and making her cry out in surprise. What was that?! Were they firing weapons at her now?! Her first instinct was to call up a magical shield to protect herself. She was rewarded with another splitting headache. Shaking her head, she beat her wings even faster, leaving the colosseum behind and quickly gaining altitude.

She still refused to look back, focusing entirely on what lie before her. A few more whizzing sounds passed by her, missing their mark but amplifying her anxiety. She tried to swerve as she flew in an effort to make herself a more difficult target to hit. Truthfully, she was improvising at this point. She had always relied on her magic when it came to confrontations in the past. Having her horn broken was bringing her perilous new challenges.

Celestia continued to ascend, leaving the last few buildings of the city behind her. Before her were many more tall, rocky mountains dotting the landscape. Some were covered in sparse vegetation, but the land was mostly cold and barren. It almost looked like a forest of large, stone trees. The approaching storm that she had seen in the distance was now drawing closer and closer as she approached it.

When something flew right past her ear, making her wince and giving her a ringing sensation, she finally chanced a look behind her. She gasped as she saw that she was now being chased by at least 40 griffons. Some were dressed in heavy armour, some of which was metal, while others were wearing nothing at all and were carrying weapons. Only a few weapons appeared to be ranged, but all of these were currently pointed directly at her.

What really caused her to worry, however, was that the space between her and her pursuers had drastically shortened. They were gaining on her.

She tried to reach her hooves out into flight position to make herself more aerodynamic. Pain in her legs reminded her that she was still shackled at the hooves. Having her legs dangling below her like this was severely cutting her speed. If she couldn't think of something quick, the griffons were going to catch her.

As she returned her vision to the front and pushed wings even harder, she again saw the approaching cloud cover. She was almost upon it, and was nearly at the same altitude as it. Her eyes shot open and she gasped. After a quick gaze downwards, she grinned slightly and quickly shot off towards the clouds.

More shots zipped past her and she grit her teeth. She couldn't tell if the shots were lethal or not, though they certainly seemed lethal. She didn't want to take the chance. Just barely, she could hear the sounds of the griffons' wings flapping behind her. They were still catching up to her. She put on a determined face and pushed herself further upwards. A shot grazed her right flank, causing unbelievably excruciating pain. She ignored it and continued to bolt towards the clouds.

Finally, with one more grand, powerful thrust of her wings, Celestia disappeared into the dark clouds, vanishing from view entirely. A short moment later, tens of griffons darted into the cloud, flying as fast as they could and giving chase through the heavy cloud cover.

But Celestia wasn't in the clouds any more. As soon as she had entered them, she had slammed on the breaks, angling her flapping wings back to slow herself to a complete stop as fast as she could. She waited at a slightly higher altitude than where she'd entered as the griffons all burst into the cloud and continued ahead. After they had all passed her, she immediately tucked in her wings and fell from the sky like a stone.

She had descended at an exceptionally fast rate to the ground below, where she had pulled out of her dive at the last possible moment, perfectly alighting herself on the surface. She now stood, panting and completely out of breath, in a thick forest below the dark clouds.

Celestia's chest was on fire as her breaths came in heavy, ragged heaves. Rain was already beginning to fall around her, creating a melodious symphony of noise as the droplets cascaded off of the plant life. The sounds were soothing, as was the cool feel of the water, and they slowly allowed Celestia to calm her racing heart and re-catch her breath.

Looking up, she was barely able to pick out the dark shapes of the griffons as they flew in and around the clouds, desperately searching for her. Her daring manoeuvre seemed to have worked, as it appeared that none of them had any idea where she had disappeared to.

She only allowed herself the bare minimum of time to recuperate her lost energy. As soon as she felt she was able to, she began flying once again. She would have preferred to run, but the shackles around her legs would only allow her to either fly or walk at a very slow pace, so she settled to a low altitude flight only a few feet above the ground.

Again using the sun's position, she directed herself to the south and took off through the forest, a determined look in her eyes.

***

Celestia was completely winded. Every breath she took was a sharp pain in her chest. Her wings felt like they were going to fall off. Her tongue hung out of her mouth as she panted heavily. Yet still, she pushed forward.

The weary princess had been flying for hours. When she had escaped, the sun had just barely been peeking over the horizon. Now, as she flew, the sun had disappeared from view long ago. The last hour of twilight was upon her. It wouldn't be long at all before it was dark.

Her journey had been harrowing but, thankfully, fairly uneventful. She'd kept to forested areas as much as possible, artfully weaving between trees and trying to keep out of sight. There had been a few frightening times where she'd had to cross somewhere more open but, thankfully, there was usually no-one around.

She had passed through many various locations; flat lands, mountainous lands, places dotted with rivers and streams, a very hilly area, and still more of those tall, thin mountains that filled the Griffon Kingdoms. She paid no attention to the scenery whatsoever. She could have passed by the most beautiful waterfall in all the world and she wouldn't have cared. She just needed to get to her destination.

She had, however, been spotted a few times. Thankfully, no military or police personnel had noticed her, but a few isolated citizens had caught a glimpse of her. She had never stuck around long enough for them to do anything, but she always knew in the back of her mind that any one of them could have reported her location, and most likely had.

She had run out of energy long ago, but still she beat her wings, propelling her towards her destination. She wanted so desperately to land and gallop instead, but the accursed chains around her ankles saw to it that she couldn't. Instead, she was forced to push her wings way past their limit. She watched the sky and kept track of the sun, trying as hard as she could to stay true to her mental compass and continue to the south.

Finally, after a long, exhausting day of travelling, she came upon something. She had just exited a thick forest and now found herself at the top of a small hill. As she broke through the layer of trees and into the open, her attention was immediately drawn to many bright searchlights. She gasped in sudden panic and quickly scrambled for cover behind a rock. Catching her breath, she waited. None of them seemed to have been pointing in her direction and no alarms were ringing. Perhaps they hadn't seen her.

Carefully peering over the top of the rock, she gazed at what lay before her. What first caught her attention, besides the searchlights, was the large, imposing concrete wall. It was very tall, possibly 20 feet high. It was a thick, featureless slab of concrete that spread out in both directions. If she were on the ground or anywhere near it, she wouldn't be able to see a thing except the wall.

However, as she currently sat atop the small hill, she was able to see slightly over the top. She gasped at what she saw beyond it.

"Ponies…" she whispered.

There was a collection of houses on the other side, as well as streets, buildings and other forms of civilization. And, walking the streets and lit up by the lights that lined them, there were ponies. Earth ponies, pegasi and unicorns, she caught a glimpse of some of each. This was it. It had to be. She had made it to the pony reserve.

Her elation was quickly curbed as she also took notice of what appeared to be guard towers spaced along the wall. Griffons were patrolling the walkways surrounding them, and also operating the searchlights. The city was heavily guarded, and entry seemed extremely difficult, if not impossible.

Celestia gulped and carefully manoeuvred herself backwards into the forest. She kept herself at a distance that was behind the cover of the trees, yet allowed her to see the city walls.

She took a deep breath to calm herself, and then beat her wings and lifted herself a few feet off the ground once again. She began to move along the tree line, following the city wall and looking for anything that could be of use to her. A weak spot, perhaps. Though she was exhausted and weary, her priorities were set in stone, fuelling her determination.

She needed to get inside that city.

Fear was inconsequential to her now. She deftly flew through the trees, avoiding the gaze of the searchlights and keeping her eyes on the large, imposing wall. She was incredibly focused and determined, concentrating all of her energy into accomplishing this one, important task.

The area was notably quiet. She didn't hear any voices and hardly any sounds. There was no hum of machinery or the quiet noises of advanced technology. None of the ambient sounds that she had heard during her previous visits to Canterlot Castle through the ages. It was a chilling sensation.

Finally, she found what she was looking for. She landed on the ground, standing with only a single tree between her and the wall. She carefully peered around it and gazed at the section that stood before her. She had singled this section out because there was a slightly larger gap between these two particular searchlights than all the others. It wasn't very much bigger, but she could tell all the same.

She watched carefully as the searchlights moved back and forth. She sat still for quite a number of minutes, simply carefully observing the path that the searchlights followed. She also, however, spent this time trying to catch her breath and remain standing. Once again, her energy was completely depleted. She was utterly exhausted and felt like collapsing.

She put this out of her mind however. After some time watching the lights, she was able to discern that they followed a rigid, set path. They were clearly not controlled by a living being, and were instead automated. She could use this to her advantage.

But, she did not leap into action just yet. She remained standing still for even more time, carefully observing the challenge that lay before her. She watched, studied, and planned. Twilight was waning and Celestia's energy was further depleting, but still she sat and watched.

Then, quick as a bolt of lightning, she was in the air. Her wings spread, she glided through the dark airspace, swift as a falcon. The searchlights slowly swivelled, turning away from her at exactly the same time, just as she'd expected. By the time she was near to the wall, the area surrounding herself was completely dark and virtually unseen.

She had less than a second. With one mighty flap of her wings, she propelled herself higher, just barely surpassing the wall's altitude. Reaching out with her front hooves as she drew closer and closer, she focused her mind entirely on her acrobatic stunt. She didn't even think about getting caught.

Her hooves caught the top of the wall. She pushed herself forward, propelling herself up and over the wall with barely a hair's length to spare between it and her underside.

Her torso and hind legs cleared the wall without catching on anything, and thus she was in. She was now sailing into the relative darkness of the city's streets. She spread her wings and attempted to right herself, planning to make a smooth, quiet landing.

Her wing muscles seized up. She winced in pain and momentarily shut her eyes involuntarily, cutting off her vision. When she opened them, she was much too close to the ground. She tried to exert her wings as much as she could, but the energy simply wasn't there. It had taken everything out of her to merely sail over the wall. Celestia gave a short, silent gasp and closed her eyes again, bracing for impact.

Celestia tumbled to the hard, stone ground, rolling numerous times and coming to a stop in a painful heap. She moaned lightly and gritted her teeth, trying to withstand the pain and remain quiet. It hurt. It hurt everywhere.

She waited, deathly still. Moments passed by. No sirens rang, nobody was shouting, nothing was attacking or subduing her. All she could hear was silence. Through all the pain, she managed a small smile. She'd made it inside safely.

She tried to make herself stand up, but she just couldn't do it. All she could do was lie in a painful heap, groaning softly. She couldn't move a single muscle. Every part of her body just hurt so much. She had been through so much and had pushed herself far past her limits. It felt like her body was about to simply give out on her.

"Shu…Shuche?"

Celestia's eyes shot open in a panic. Griffon language! Had she been found? Were they closing in around her. She wanted to look up, but found she couldn't move a muscle.

"J'shuiod jao! Bemm shoh!"

"Nuj ajk tuj?"

"Shhh! Hishaw joad."

These voices didn't sound angry. In fact, they sounded somehow different than what she'd heard previously. She groaned and struggled to move. With teeth gritted, she slowly lifted her head and tried to roll herself onto her stomach.

"Shoo...Lehjashkaw..."

As she did so, she felt someone bracing themselves against her opposite side, pushing her and trying to help her up. She felt appendages helping her roll over, and gripping at her, trying to help steady her.

They felt like…hooves…

Once she was comfortably upright and on her stomach, she blearily opened her eyes. There they were. Ponies. A moderate-sized group had gathered around her, composed of earth ponies, pegasi, and a few unicorns. They were all staring up at her in complete awe and reverence.

"Ce…Celestia…?" a dark, navy blue pegasus muttered softly, taking a step towards her.

Celestia couldn't help but smile. "My…My little ponies…" she breathed, finding it difficult even to speak.

"Oj ajuk Celestia! Oj ajuk nahb'cash Celestia!" the navy pony said in an excited but reserved voice, smiling brightly.

"Celestia?!"

"Ti rajk oj nahb'cash!"

"Jao ajk ud idj kihïsb'kiworod!"

"Idjoho Fhadkojjad led toh Jeddo!"

The ponies all gathered in close to her, wonderful, excited smiles on their faces. They hugged her, they nuzzled her, they spoke heartfelt words to her in a language she could not understand. They were all so unbelievably happy to see her.

Despite all the pain and exhaustion she felt, Celestia had a huge smile on her own face and a wonderful feeling in her heart. She tried her best to nuzzle the ponies back. She wanted to show them just how wonderful it felt to make them so happy.

"Ash xehd!"

"Esh doad…Ash xehd!"

The ponies were focusing around her horn, some of them gently reaching out to touch it. Their smiles had been replaced by frowns as they saw the damage that had been done to their beloved princess.

"Ah…" Celestia spoke through heavy breath, "It's…It's okay, my ponies…" Then, she was hugged again. All of the ponies gathered around her and gave her a warm group hug. She melted into the loving embrace, another huge smile coming to her.

"Jao ajk ebu…"

"Ash rad je vhesh, tujj jao um corod ajk…"

A few tears were falling. Celestia wasn't sure if they belonged to the ponies around her or if they were her own. A few more ponies saw the spectacle and gathered around, offering their own joyous smiles. They remained quiet so as not to alert any of the griffon guards, but their incredible happiness was not hard to see. Soon, Celestia was surrounded by ponies she didn't know, but they were ponies that loved her nonetheless.

"My…little ponies…" Celestia breathed. Everywhere she looked, she saw happy ponies welcoming their beloved princess. The city was dark and gloomy, and the ponies were dishevelled and actually fairly dirty, but they were there, and they all loved her.

And she was safe.

Celestia closed her eyes and drifted out of consciousness.

***

Celestia was so exhausted that she didn't even dream. It was more like she had passed out than fallen asleep. Time flew by in a moment for her, as the next thing she knew, she was groggily waking up.

Wincing, she slowly opened her eyes. Though she felt leagues better after her deep, restful sleep, she still felt very weak and malnourished. Yawning and slowly lifting her head, she gazed at her surroundings.

She was in a fairly dark room with no windows and a single door. The only source of illumination was a single, fire-lit lantern. The walls appeared to be made of many different kinds and colors of cheap, flimsy-looking metal. It had a patchwork-like appearance, as if cobbled together with whatever materials were available. The roof, in particular, looked like it would be useless at keeping out the rain.

Looking down at herself, she noticed that she was wrapped in a few bandages, mostly on her right side. That was where she had taken the brunt of the impact when she had fallen upon entering the city. Now, she seemed to have been patched up and treated with care. The shackles around her hooves were gone too, as well as the chain collar.

She was laying on a fairly simple mattress resting on a metal bed frame. The nicest thing about this room were the covers she found herself under. They were warm, cozy, and looked particularly clean.

Glancing to her left, Celestia found the only other piece of furniture in the room. Her eyes lit up and she smiled. It was a wooden table and placed upon it was a bowl full of apples. Her heart leapt at the sight of food. Wonderful, glorious food! In no time at all, Celestia was out of the bed and sitting next to the table, happily munching away.

She didn't stop until she had eaten a little more than half of the bowl's contents. Truth be told, they were the worst apples she had eaten in her entire life. They were incredibly bland and dry, and tasted quite awful. However, they were still food, which was exactly what she needed right now.

After she had eaten her fill, she sat upon the ground and gazed at the room around her. There was no-one else in the room; she was alone. It was quiet all around. She couldn't hear any voices or anything beyond the occasional ambient noise. It was a truly plain room. The most notable thing about it was the shoddy-looking construction of the walls.

As she turned her head to the left, her eyes fell upon the bowl once again. It was made of some sort of metal and was, thus, very reflective. Curious, she leaned her head down and gazed into it, seeing her own reflection. Her eyes widened as she noticed that her broken horn was now encased in bandages.

Celestia let out a long, deep breath and took a moment to take stock of what was going on. She was safe and her injuries had been treated. She didn't appear to be locked up or restrained, so clearly she was no longer in the claws of the griffons. The hopeful, and most likely, conclusion was that she was in the care of the ponies.

She had also been awake for a long time now. She had slept many times of course, but she had spent a while being awake, without succumbing to her unusual sleeping spells. She knew that this could mean any number of things. Either the next one was coming up very soon or, perhaps, they had stopped.

Her heart leapt at the latter thought, and she had to remind herself not to get too excited prematurely.

Celestia remained sitting in the empty room for a short while, simply being alone with her thoughts and being thankful to be out of the reach of the griffons. Eventually, the door clicked open and a young, female pony peeked her head in.

It was a gray unicorn with a long, unkempt dark gray mane. It almost looked like she'd had all of the colour drained from her. The most striking feature about her was her eyes, which sparkled brilliantly like two sapphires. She saw Celestia sitting upright on the ground and gave a small gasp.

"Ah, Fhadkojjad! Ti raj'k nush!" she exclaimed with a smile. She then lowered herself into a graceful bow.

Celestia also smiled warmly upon seeing the pony. "Ah…Hello!" she said. She then remembered something and added, "Um…Xucce!"

The pony cantered into the room. She was wearing large saddlebags that seemed to be packed full to capacity. Celestia also took notice of her cutie mark; it was a hoof planted firmly upon the ground.

"Ash shevvo, jao jadt ad ehtdid'oo," she said as she trotted over towards her, a kind, caring smile on her face. Celestia paid particular attention to how she was speaking. She hadn't been able to place her hoof on it before, but now she understood what she was hearing. This pony was speaking the Griffic language, but was speaking it with an accent. She was surprised, and even slightly dismayed, to see that the ponies all seemed to speak the language of the griffons. She recalled that Talimir had identified himself as possibly being the last speaker of the 'old language'.

The pony was currently gazing up at her, not moving or speaking. It looked as if she were waiting for a response. "Um…What?" Celestia faltered.

The pony frowned. "Doad...jufhoshod...Grif?" she asked while shaking her head.

Celestia frowned. The only words she knew were the few that Nikolaw had taught her, such as Xucce she had used just previously.

The pony then nodded. She lit up her horn with a white, magical aura and undid the flaps on her saddlebags. From inside of one, she took out a huge book that took up the saddlebag's entire capacity. Celestia gazed at it, intrigued. There was no writing on the cover, but there was a simple illustration of a pony on the front, standing before an image of the sun.

Placing it on the ground, the gray pony began to quickly flip through the pages with her magic. She was turning them so quickly that Celestia couldn't see what was written on them. She sat and waited patiently for a few moments before the pony nodded, turned to her, and spoke, "You…hurt?"

Celestia gasped. Equestrian! The pony had just spoken Equestrian to her! It took her a moment to get over her surprise before she realized that she had been asked a question. "Ah! Um…No," she said while shaking her head, "No hurt. Just tired."

The unicorn quickly flipped to somewhere around three quarters through the book. After searching through a few pages, she grinned and looked up to the princess, nodding.

"You speak…Equestrian?" Celestia asked dubiously.

The unicorn frowned. "Ah…No. No…No speak." Fumbling for the rest of her words, she merely pointed to the book in front of her.

Celestia tilted her head and gazed at the contents of the book. On each page there were two columns of words. The writing on the right column was completely indecipherable to her, but on the left column, she found an alphabetical list of Equestrian words. The mare was using a translation book.

"Oh wow…" Celestia gazed at the binding of the book. It looked not only incredibly old and dusty, but unused and untouched. The mare was once again rapidly flipping through the pages of the book, stopping at multiple letters of the alphabet and looking up many words.

It took her a few minutes simply to say. "You…need water? Food? Things?"

A huge frown found its way to her face. The Equestrian language was dying. Worse than that; it seemed to be dead already.

What did that say about the rest of the Equestrian culture?

Celestia returned her gaze to the gray pony, who was looking up at her expectantly. "What is your name?" she asked in a quiet voice.

The mare momentarily wore a visage of confusion before she returned to the book, flipping towards the "N" section.

"Ah, wait, wait, wait…" Celestia said, holding out her hoof. The mare stopped flipping and looked up at her. "I am Celestia," she said, pointing a hoof to herself. She then pointed the hoof at the mare. "You?"

The unicorn perked up. "Oh! Moad dumo ajk Whudt-Vïxoh"

Celestia paused. "Wuhd…Veeshoh?"

She nodded.

Celestia almost felt like holding onto her head to keep it from spinning away. Even the ponies' names around here sounded foreign. Everything was so strange and different, it was making her head hurt.

Vïxoh tilted her head in concern. "You okay?"

The princess sighed, a heavy, somewhat painful feeling spreading through her. She nodded and said, "I'm fine. No water, no food. I'm okay."

The mare smiled brightly. "Wik!" she proclaimed.

Celestia found herself gazing downward, not feeling the drive to continue holding her head up high. She stared at the bandages on her leg, rubbing at them with her other hoof. The area was still a little tender.

"Ah!" the mare perked up, "Nah shukkod oadod uhkuk roshud'tocud asho lohcokwidwod- Umm…" Flip, flip, flip. "Doctor! We doctor-" Flip, flip. "-care you!"

Celestia turned back to Vïxoh. She nodded and tried to offer a smile. "Thank you," she said, hoping the mare knew what those words meant. Then, a thought suddenly occurred to her. "Oh!" she exclaimed. She leaned her head down towards the other mare and raised a hoof. She pointed it at her broken, bandaged horn while wearing a worried, enquiring face.

"Ah, zu!" she replied, "Nah bïmmohkod toad xehd ki…" Instead of flipping through the book some more, she instead used her magic to retrieve something from the other compartment of her saddlebags. From it, she levitated out a collection of papers and directed them towards Celestia, who took them in her hooves.

The very top page was a drawn diagram of a horn. There was a thick line drawn exactly halfway down the shaft. And, drawn in red colour, was a precise, yet jagged line drawn through the horn. It was just above the halfway line, almost touching it at some points.

"Ash xehd rhush ad oadoh wikuhkawod noajo," Vïxoh spoke, "Is okay."

Finally, Celestia smiled. If she was understanding this correctly, then this was a diagram of where her horn had been broken off. The depiction indicated that less than half had been removed, although it was very close. She sighed heavily, intense relief pouring over her.

Her horn would eventually grow back.

She smiled gratefully at Vïxoh, who smiled back at her. "Okay?" the mare asked her, and Celestia nodded.

"Yes, I'm okay. Thank heavens…" she uttered gratefully.

Vïxoh flipped through the book some more. "Um…Other…ponies…Uh, want...want see you."

Celestia's visage brightened even more. "Ah! The ponies wish to see me. Of course!" she said, smiling and nodding pleasantly.

"Shohhcashod!" Vïxoh said, nodding. The used her magic to put the book back into her saddlebags. Then, she turned towards the door and began to trot towards it. Celestia stood up at once and followed her.

Vïxoh stopped when she noticed that the princess was behind her. "Oh!" she said, surprised, "Ash nohto jao shaohshoh ki rhadwod..."

Celestia shook her head. "I wish to accompany you," she said, putting on just a touch of authority. "Um," she then faltered, "Me…go. You." She accentuated this statement with gestures of her hoof. Truthfully, she felt incredibly silly speaking like a cave-pony, but it was really the best way to make sure her ideas were conveyed to these ponies.

The pony in front of her looked confused, or possibly concerned. "Oh…" she said, giving the princess an enquiring gaze. "Jadt jao jashoh? Is okay?"

Celestia nodded. "Of course."

"Okay…" Vïxoh muttered uncertainly before continuing to head towards the door. Celestia followed suit.

The two stepped through the doorway and out into the open. It was daytime now, but the sky was overcast, so the sun's rays couldn't break through. It wasn't raining, but the air was not very cold either. It was pleasant, but gloomy weather.

And 'gloomy' was definitely the operative word of choice here. Celestia gazed at the town around her in awe. There were tons of small buildings everywhere around her. A few were made of bricks, but most of them were made of the same patchwork of metal that had composed the walls of where she'd awoken. Everywhere she looked she saw houses that almost looked like metallic houses of cards. At an initial glance, the roofs didn't even seem to be attached; they merely looked like sheets of folded metal laying atop the walls.

And there were so many houses. As far as she could see in every direction was just more and more houses. There was not a sign of greenery anywhere. Houses were sandwiched in close together, stacked atop one another, built haphazardly onto small hills and valleys. It was utter, overcrowded mayhem everywhere she looked. Wires were chaotically strung wherever was convenient, flimsy-looking wooden supports held up certain structures, doors and windows almost looked like afterthoughts.

As they walked along the narrow street and towards a slightly more open street, Celestia could only think of one thing, which she silently whispered. "This is horrible…"

The two rounded the corner, and Celestia was met with a wondrous sight.

"Celestia!"

"Oj ajuk Celestia!"

"Jao ajuk nush!"

A moderately-sized group of ponies came running up to her with huge smiles on their faces. It wasn't long at all before Celestia too had a beaming smile. She nearly broke down and cried as the ponies galloped to her and began hugging her tightly. A few joyful tears broke loose as she tightly embraced each and every one.

They were dirty and clearly malnourished. They all had dark rings under their eyes and other clear signs of stress. They all seemed to be dark or dull colours. But they were all smiling so brightly, and they were all so happy to see her.

It truly made Celestia feel absolutely wonderful.

"I love you, my ponies…I love you all…"

More and more ponies heard the joyous cheers and rushed to join. Here, away from the watchful eyes of the city walls, a countless number of overjoyed ponies came to hug their princess and cry happy tears. Their princess was back, and she couldn't have been happier.

She was home. She was miles from Canterlot, and thousands upon thousands of years from where she was not long ago, but she was home once again. The world outside was cold and desolate, and it was controlled by creatures that had somehow lost their way and forgotten the meaning of friendship and love.

And yet, Celestia was so relieved just to be here, to be safe, and to be amongst the ponies. She was there for hours, doing nothing more than hugging ponies whom she couldn't understand. The simple act of her being there brought such wonder and hope to the ponies' eyes that she couldn't bring herself to leave the spot or do anything else. In a way, it was plain to see that these ponies needed her then. She could see it in their eyes.

The world around her was dead but, quite possibly, she had never been happier.

***

Everything was swirling like fluffy clouds on a gentle breeze. Celestia felt weightless and relaxed as she floated through the expanse. Everything was so calming and clear. Clouds, sky, grassy fields. It was so simple; without any sign of worry.

She felt unfocused and hazy, and her body was relaxed and free of tension. She didn't know where she was but, oddly, she didn't really care. Was this a dream? She couldn't remember anything past collapsing, exhausted, onto her bed.

"…ia?"

She landed, lounged pleasantly on her side, on the grass. Light, fluffy clouds filled the sky and stretched far and wide. The world was swirly and unfocused, but it was ever so relaxing. The evening sky hovered above, but the light of day prevailed throughout.

"…tia…?"

She could hear something. She perked up her ears and swivelled them, trying to hear the faint sounds.

"Celestia…!"

It was a voice. It was definitely a voice, and it was calling out to her. Celestia rolled into a sitting position and tilted her gaze skyward.

It was the moon. The moon was talking to her. She blinked her eyes hazily.

"Celestia…Are you safe?"

Celestia hadn't really realized it until now, but her head felt heavy and her thoughts were coming to her sluggishly. "L…" she murmured, "Luna…?"

"Celestia!" The moon was shifting and moving in strange ways. "Are you somewhere safe?"

She didn't answer right away.

"Tia! Tell me!" the moon exclaimed, seeming to fade and grow, "Tell me where you are!"

"I…" Celestia muttered, "I'm in the…pony reserve."

The moon faded from existence. A hazy image fluttered before her vision, causing her to blink and try to clear her head. For a moment, everything was swirly and confusing, making Celestia's head spin, but a moment later, the mayhem congealed together before her.

Luna landed wordlessly and leaned forward to embrace her tightly. "Thank heavens…"

Celestia didn't know what to say. She didn't know how to respond, or even if she could, so she did the only thing she could think of. She hugged her sister back as tightly as she could, closing her eyes and remaining silent in the moment.

Time passed while the two alicorn sisters simply embraced one another, feeling the beat of each others' hearts and listening to the slow droning of their breaths. Simple things like this were what Celestia noticed, what she cherished, but what also confused her.

They began to move away from the hug. "Luna…" Celestia began, "Are…Are you-"

She was cut off when Luna gasped loudly in shock. "Oh my goodness, Tia!" she exclaimed, "Your horn!"

Celestia found herself glancing upwards, even though she could no longer see the tip of her horn protruding from above. "Oh, right…" she murmured.

"Oh, heavens, Tia…I-" Luna fretted, "Are you okay? Does it hurt? What happened?"

Celestia was still feeling murky in her mind. She found it difficult to respond. "I'm…I'm okay…"

"Ohh…" Luna bemoaned, remorse heavy in her voice, "I…I'm so sorry." She reached forward and hugged Celestia again, this time cradling her head softly like an infant's.

Celestia's vision was slipping. "Luh…" she breathed, "Luna…?"

"But you're safe, right?" Luna asked concernedly.

"Yes…"

"You're out of reach from the griffons?"

Darkness briefly overcame Celestia's vision. "Y-Yes…"

Luna held her tight. "Thank the heavens you're safe, Tia. Stay safe, please."

"Luna…What…What is…"

"I love you, Tia."

More darkness overcame her. "L…Luna?" Everything began to fade away. "Luna…?!" Her vision swirled and crumbled until there was nothing left.

***

"Luna!!"

Celestia shot straight upwards, panting and looking around wildly. Once her panicked mind caught up to her, she realized that it was incredibly dark. There was no Luna to be seen but, through the darkness, she could make out metal walls. She became aware that she was sitting on something relatively soft. Looking downwards, she saw the blankets to the bed she had fallen asleep on.

She was awake now. She was no longer dreaming.

"…Luna…"

Thoughts and memories of the dream she had just had filled her mind. She was hit with many powerful emotions, almost making it difficult to breathe. She simply stared forward, panting, and tried to hold on to the memory. She tried as hard as she could to hold onto the image.

"L…Luna…"

She was shivering. Tears were falling. Her emotional state was shattered. Sniffling, she got up off the bed. It was cold in this desolate place in the middle of the night, and her shivering increased twofold, but she didn't care. She began to walk towards the door.

As she crossed the fairly empty room and approached the door, something began to happen to her. As she walked, she began to sway. Her body felt heavy and her head started to droop. It became a struggle to keep her eyes open.

Something was definitely happening to her. Something hauntingly familiar.

She pushed herself towards the door, nearly collapsing into it. Once she had pushed it open, she hauled herself out into the crisp, cool air of the night. Her vision blacked out momentarily, but she regained her balance and willed herself to gaze upwards. She was met with the beautiful sight of the moon

"Luna…" she whispered, "Sister…I…"

Her legs were losing strength. The cold air was chilling her to the bone.

"Was…that really you? Or am I just a hopeless dreamer?"

Her body was beginning to shut down on her. She closed her eyes and sighed. These ponies had only just got her back after so many years, and now she would be leaving them again.

"Where are you…?"

Celestia collapsed onto the cold, hard ground. She didn't even try to hold on to consciousness; she knew it was futile. In mere moments, she was gone.

Author's Note:

The Pony Reserve was based off the "Rochina" Favela in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Look up some images of it if you're curious. ;)

Comments

[Willsons]

Dam. When will the punishment stop? What great crime did Celestia commit for this?

Oh, I did find one small error....

They griffon gave her a quick, furtive glance, and then returned his focus to tying the knot.

Should be "The"

[huh]

This story is heartbreaking. The emotions in this story are so intense that it hurts to read, and I'm loving every second of it. You sir, are an amazingly talented, cruel bastard.

[Drynwhyl]

Jesus Christ, this is one of the most emotionally brutal stories I've read in a while.

[teklot]

:(

[zero588]

Okay, so you've committed genocide against the pony race.
Now feel free to do the same to the griffons.

[KariKateora]

And just when I thought you wouldn't be so cruel and evil. Kudos, mate, that was brutal, and I enjoyed every minute of it.

[Carbon]

What a next? A Wasterland? Poor Celestia...

[silvadel]

And to think, I thought when they cut her horn off, it ended the effect. Guess she doesn't even get that.

I also suspect that Razor Wing had something to do with this -- otherwise why would they have been looking for Celly?

[BlueNinja]

3017510 Given what's been happening, her centuries of coma time has probably been published enough to be a footnote on Equestrian history. If she wasn't blown up in Canterlot (like Luna wasn't) then finding her would at the least be a PR coup.

The used her magic to put the book back

Not sure if you meant "She", or if you accidentally a word.