Twilight's greatest mistake has become Celestia's curse. The Princess wanders through Ponyville's quiet streets, searching for answers and solutions. She'll restore the town or drive herself insane trying.
Twilight Sparkle has failed. Her experiments in inflation have destroyed the populace of Ponyville, and in her anguish, herself. The ghost town is marred by the sight of thousands of rubber shreds, each color reminiscent of the pony it once was. Celestia has taken upon herself the burden of restoring the town as she blames herself for Twilight's mishap. She'll piece together the townsponies, one shred at a time, if only to see their smiles and hear their joyous laughter once more.
It's tedious work, but work that Celestia feels is her only duty to her little ponies now. If only she knew the consequences of fixing such a tragic mistake...
Inspired by a round of comments on The Great Inflate between me and Kaidan.
Princess Celestia viewed the sight before her with both morbid curiosity and distraught, the many multicolored shreds of rubber floating around her as the wind carried them silently away. The alicorn reached out with a tendril of magic and snared a few pieces of lavender rubber, a tear rolling down the immutable face of Equestria's leader as the pinkish hue on the shred foretold its owner.
Ponyville lay deserted. Homes had their doors ajar, windows opened, as though letting in the fresh air, but Celestia knew the real reason for the disarray. Tables and carts from vendors lay in shambles, the produce beginning to spoil and the flowers long wilted. Nary a voice penetrated the absolute silence that surrounded the town. For all intents and purposes, it was a ghost town. Quiet clanking of hoof-guards echoed through the streets, punctuated by the occasional squeak of the rubber beneath the hooves of the only occupant.
Princess Celestia came to a stop before a familiar tree near the center of the town. The door was wide open, and some of the books had fallen prey to the sudden Everfree rains, signaling their owner's absence. 'Twilight would not dare to let her books decay so...' Celestia mused, another wave of tears dripping from her bloodshot eyes. For three days, Celestia had been in the dark about Ponyville's rubbery fate, and when word finally reached her, she didn't hesitate to teleport right into Ponyville proper.
The sight alone had made her heart shatter.
A searing light appeared in the center of town, the shreds of the ponies flurrying about as the magical waves pulsed. A grand figure began to form in the center, its four immaculate hooves piercing the gloom of the town as their owner, Princess Celestia, alighted amidst chaos and rubber.
Her breath caught in her throat, her eyes stung with saline, and her mouth ran dry the instant she realized she was hoof-deep in the remains of her subjects. A surge of bile caught in her throat, the sting easing as she swallowed and took deep breaths. The Princess of the Sun rarely felt unsure of what to do, and even less often felt fearful for her role in their lives. This day, however, was a shining example of both occurring to the Princess at once.
"What...What happened...?" Celestia voiced with a waver in her pitch, fitful sobs following soon after. She collapsed to the ground, rivulets of tears staining the hair under her eyes, as she openly mourned for the loss of her subjects, and her faithful student. 'Perhaps too faithful...' Her mind drifted in a darker direction and she willed it to reside in the light. She found that task much harder to do by the second. Celestia tilted her head up, and a stray shred of parchment caught her eye as its corner poked through the mass of rubber remains. Reaching out with her magic, Princess Celestia opened Twilight Sparkle's final report, and final words, and could do nothing to hold back the torrent of painful cries that overcame her. Alone, soaked by her tears, and surrounded by the shredded remnants of a simple mistake, Princess Celestia allowed herself to drift off to restless sleep.
She had awoken to the gentle prodding of her sister, Princess Luna. Luna's eyes had long since seen tragedy, and were dulled to the pain Celestia felt, but still took in the morbid atmosphere surrounding the town. "Sister, you mustn't run yourself aground for this. 'Twas not your fault, nor will it ever be your fault." Luna reached a hoof out to her sister, who accepted it graciously and forced herself to stand.
"I suppose you are right, Luna. I appreciate your concern." Celestia said with a sigh.
"I could not help but to witness your fitful nightmares as you fought the battle within your mind over whose actions are to blame. I fear you may drive yourself absolutely insane trying to set it upon your shoulders. Do not take that which does not belong to thee, Sister." Luna walked silently alongside her sister, the former stretching a wing over the latter's back. The two Princesses roamed the ghost town, squeaks and clanks from their hoof-guards hitting the ground emanating around them. The sound made Celestia sick to her stomach.
"I just can't let it go unresolved, Luna! I feel I must do something to ease this guilt that I feel. I wish there were some manner of restoration that we could embrace and use to restore the town, but I..." Celestia trailed off, her breaths stuttering with sobs. "I just don't know what to do!"
"I have a suggestion...it may not bode well with you, but it is all I have to offer." Luna looked up to her older sister, the latter's eyes red and stained by sadness, but brimming with hope on Luna's last statement.
"Please, Luna. I will hear anything you have to offer or say. I...I need your help..."
Luna stopped in her tracks, and lit her horn, the aura surrounding herself and Celestia and whisking them away to a dreamlike world, the aether roiling about them as they walked. "I have...an old...acquaintance, we'll say. He's not the usual type to assist when we need it, but I'm sure we can coax something from the old grumbling fool." Luna took a sudden left turn, Celestia turning to follow, a bright light appearing ahead. "Ah, we have arrived. Come, Sister." Luna stepped through the wall of light, disappearing into the aether. Celestia followed suit, and suddenly found herself amidst shadowy caves and stalactite formations of purple and black crystals. The ambiance screamed dark magic in Celestia's head, but she soldiered on, if only for her little ponies...
Luna rounded a corner, stepping into what appeared to be a throne room, the ceiling residing above them in the darkness, the only sign being the spires of stalactites poking downward through the mists. A lone figure sat atop a stone staircase, the rattling of chains surrounding the duo as they ascended the stairway.
A chilling growl of a voice rumbled through their souls, the memory of its owner rushing through Celestia's mind.
"Well, to what do I owe the honor of hosting my sworn enemies?" The shadowy face of King Sombra loomed through the mists as the shackled dictator turned to face the duo.
"We require your assistance in a matter most dire..." Luna began, but was silenced by Sombra's hoof slamming upon the stone.
"Bah, why should I help the likes of you?" Sombra's eyes turned to face them, as soulless as the day he was imprisoned in the aether world. He spat upon the ground before them, anger rising up, then deflating as his shackles threw him to the floor with a grunt. "Besides, you trapped me here, alone, and with no hope of ever seeing reality again. I have nothing to give you. Go from here at once!" Sombra barked.
Celestia lit her horn, a faded photograph tearing itself through the space to appear in her grasp. The photograph pictured a younger Sombra, his eyes alive and full of joy, aside a beaming mare, her wings enveloping the young tyrant. The two were nuzzling atop a hill, the sun rising behind the camera-pony. Celestia took the photograph and held it before Sombra. "I can bring her here. No catch, no gimmicks." Her eyes showed no lie, no misleading thoughts.
Sombra's demeanor changed for an instant, but then hardened as he turned away. "No, you'll just give me a construct and it'll fall apart mere decades from now. You'll never bring her here. Of that, I am certain." Sombra lowered his head, anger rumbling through his chest. "You dare come and ask for my assistance, then mock me with my own solace! How the Princess has fallen!" he cackled loudly, the echoes reverberating around the trio.
Celestia lit her horn again, this time, straining to pull the spell together. Purplish-black undertones seeped into her magical aura, as she focused on a spot to Sombra's right. A shape began to coalesce amongst the magical pulses, four hooves, a long, brown mane, and deep blue eyes emerged from the aura, the tan body of a pegasus coming together in their midst. With a soft clap, the pony alighted amongst them, the mare's eyes searching for answers as to her sudden burst into existence. "Where the..." was all she could mutter before she was tackled to the ground by a dark shadowy form. "Hey! Get..." she began to recognize the face of the pony atop her, his eyes glimmering in recognition as he leaned in close to take in her scent. "...off?...Somby?"
"It...it really is you, Breezy! I...I don't..." Sombra began, but was silenced by a curt ahem behind him. Both ponies turned and noticed Celestia fighting back a smile.
"The pony in your grasp is indeed your Summer Breeze, 'Somby'." Celestia chuckled, Sombra's eyes beginning to swell in anger, but receding at the touch of his long-lost love. I have pulled her from her place in time, before your 'descent', and brought her to be here with you. You can create this world to be your own, but you shall still be restrained by that which has trapped you here. However, since Summer Breeze's soul has become a resident, she too is immune to the passing of time. I have given you ample reason to offer me the services I need." Celestia stood before the duo, her eyes set in determination.
"I...I cannot refuse your offer, Celestia. So be it. What does the great ruler of Equestria require from little old me?" Sombra said dryly.
"Reformation spells. I know you used them to repair your crystal pony armies when they were destroyed in battles. Your 'healing' would restore them to perfect health every time. I need to know that spell." Celestia said with a fire in her eyes.
"Running your population into pieces isn't the way to garner fans, Celestia, we both know that. But, I will acquiesce. Here." A solitary parchment floated out from inside the banished king's robe. It made its way into Celestia's grip, then unraveled before her eyes, which lit up like her horn as she grabbed it from his aura. She tucked the scroll away in her saddlebags, turning to her sister, who sat emotionless as the darkness around them, and signaled her to follow.
The two Princesses made their way back from the portal, a remnant of a 'thank you' echoing behind them as they passed into the land of the waking once more. Celestia found her determination flowing faster and faster with each step, her mind carrying her toward her goal, and toward a restored Ponyville. Luna followed behind, silent, but observant.
"You made an old tyrant feel with his soul once more. Perhaps there is a chance for you to make good of this situation, Tia."
"I only did what-"
"What was necessary, no, Tia, you haven't. You restored hope in those that did not retain any. Even if your own hope is dwindling, you've started the fires of passion in old hearts, and those flames will revive your drive." Luna looked up with a waning smile, before taking wing and flying toward Canterlot. "I must return home, and keep watch over the palace. No doubt it is in disarray over our 'detour'."
"Indeed. Good luck." Celestia waved to her sister as she ascended. "Oh, and Luna?"
"Yes, Tia?"
"Thank you."
With a silent nod, Luna disappeared in a flash of midnight blue, returning to Canterlot Castle. Celestia thought back to the spell Sombra had bequeathed her, and her passion for resolution burned to be set free as the scroll floated before her.
Blinking a tear away, Celestia looked forward again, her resolve hardening as she realized her task ahead: restoring the town to its previous splendor, and restoring the hundreds of lives forcibly torn from the Earth. Stuffing the parchment inside her saddlebags, Celestia strode to Town Hall, gathering up the shreds of ponies in her wake. Entering the open doors, and closing them behind her, the Princess set down the shreds she had collected, and began to painstakingly sort through the pile, separating each by its color. She had a long road ahead, one marred by uncertainty and unease at the results of her task, but one which she intended to see through to the end.
Sunset broke through the cloud canopy over Ponyville proper as Celestia mindlessly lowered the star toward the horizon. Her bleary eyes glanced over the tens of piles of colored rubber shreds that had accumulated on the floor of Town Hall. Celestia had requested the pictures sent by Twilight over the years be sent to her by Luna so she could begin the tedious task of arranging the victims' bodies in the correct piles. Seven hours of determined searching and categorizing had drained Celestia more than any government function she had ever seen, and all she could think of was her soft bed back at the palace. However, all she could hear was the possible cries of the populace as they met their fates to the spell, and it filled her head with a ringing agony.
Sleep would doubtlessly evade the Solar Princess once more.
Blinking away the spots, Celestia closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She had spent all day organizing and sifting through the town's remains, and nothing to assuage the families of the victims, and she realized with a gasp that Twilight's entire family was still in the dark as to her fate. Her breath caught in her throat. How could she, the land's near-omnipotent ruler, present to her subjects their families' remains in the state they were? How could she divert the guilt, the blame, the stress of dealing with loss? Her sister was holding down the fort in Canterlot, so her governmental duties had been put on hold for the time being, but that left her no support or assistance with which to handle the issue of informing Equestria of the disaster.
For the first time in hundreds of years, Princess Celestia shook in fear.
"Sister! Sister, have you made progress?" Luna's voice penetrated Celestia's stupor, bringing her back to reality once more.
"Ah, Luna, I was hoping to see a friendly face..." Celestia's voice wavered, betraying her stoic expression of determination.
"Celestia, I see you are not well, you have spent too much time awake, sorting through this madness...alone..." Luna trailed off. Her concern for her sister had won out over her desire for Celestia to accomplish her restoration, and the Lunar Princess had traveled by wing to Ponyville, the remnants of the sunset bleeding away into an expanse of stars.
"It's alright, Luna. Really. I'm just.." Celestia paused, before yawning and stretching out her limbs, careful not to disturb the piles of remains.
"Just what? Exhausted? Worried? Overwhelmed?" Luna nickered, staring at the mess around the duo. She stood before the piles of colored rubber, some with a half-formed cutie mark arranged before them, denoting who the scraps once were. A mint-green pile nearest Luna appeared to be the furthest along in sorting, the golden lyre cutie mark had been pieced together, along with most of the pony's mane and body. Luna could not tell what belonged to where, and inwardly sighed as to Celestia's predicament. A glance out the window revealed stray pieces of rubberized pony floating in the gentle breeze, coming to rest in bushes and foliage, finding their way into bird's nests and animal homes, and blowing threateningly close to the Everfree. Luna decided then and there that Celestia couldn't accomplish her task alone.
"-'s just a terrible thing to imagine, isn't it, Luna?" Celestia's voice broke Luna from her thought trail, bringing her to realize she missed Celestia's whole conversation.
"Er, yes, I would believe so." Luna answered, unsure of what she had agreed with.
"Is something troubling you, Luna?" Celestia turned her weary eyes to her sister, who had been pacing around the many multicolored piles, apparently deep in thought, since she had carelessly bumped into a pile or two, knocking the shreds into each other, and Celestia painstakingly separated the piles once more.
"I cannot in good conscience let you take this task on alone. I understand the debt you feel to Twilight and to Ponyville, both because of your experiments, and because of Twilight's mishap from them, but you mustn't struggle through this without at least a spare set of hooves." Luna reached outside the window, plucking a few deep-red strands from the bushes, and snaring another lavender shred on the breeze, depositing them before Celestia with a smile. "I can gather the loose pieces, whilst you sort through them and separate them into piles." Luna trailed off, noticing the torrent of tears streaming down the Solar diarch's face, and rushed to her sister's side immediately. "Tia! What's wrong?"
"It...This...It's just..." Celestia buried her head in her hooves, now crying audibly. "I don't want...want to ruin your outlook on life as well...You've been through so much, both at my hooves, and at others', and I don't want to put you through this pain...this heartache...Oh, Luna!" Celestia broke down, sniffling and sobbing into the carpet as a wing draped across her back and a warmth settled in beside her.
"Shh, Tia, calm yourself. 'Tis not a trouble to me to help see you through this trying time. I would offer myself five hundred score times more, if it meant seeing your inner conflict resolved. Tell me, sister, what troubles thee tonight? Luna rubbed her wing back and forth over Celestia's back, a technique she recalled Celestia doing for her when they were younger.
"I...I haven't given any thought as to how to break the news of this disaster to the rest of Equestria, let alone the relatives of all the victims! And what of Twilight's family? They'll blame me forever, keep me in their thoughts of rage and despair, and there's nothing I can do to keep myself free from that guilt!" More sobs wracked the alicorn's body, her wings ruffling in stress, threatening to spring open and upset the hours of hard work she had done to sort through the mess.
"They must be informed eventually...You are aware of that, and yet, you approach it as though saying there's no way to resolve i-"
"THERE ISN'T A WAY!" Celestia bellowed in rage. "All I have is this...this...spell! And I'm not even sure it'll work! And even if it does, who's to say it will bring them back? Back to their lives! Back to their bodies! They could become mindless zombies, roaming about, with no meaning in their steps! They-" Celestia suddenly found the blue hoof in her mouth hard to speak around, and abated, letting her heart rate lower steadily until she was breathing normally again.
"I believe you are thinking much too far in the worst-case scenario, sister. We haven't even tried the spell! So how can you sit there and tell me it won't work? You've come this far." Luna waved a hoof around the room, pointing to the tens of piles covering Town Hall's carpet. "And you've made such an effort to bring these ponies back to the world they were forcefully torn from, which takes great strength. I respect everything you've done so far, and would feel better if you would open your hooves to my assistance. I feel you need more than just the silence as solace, and I'm here now to provide a shoulder on which to cry, or a set of ears to listen to anything you need to say." Luna gripped Celestia's hoof in her own. "Your burden should not be shared alone...Please, let me help you, Celestia."
Celestia lowered her head, glancing to the side at her sister's determined, yet sympathetic face. 'How much she's matured over the past years...It's like she's coming into her own as an adult, and I've never been so proud...' Celestia wiped away a tear, sniffling and looking back up to her sister, eyes shining with renewed hope. "I'd be honored to have you by my side through these trying times, Luna. Thank you." Celestia took her sister in for a hug, her eyes threatening to break the dam once more, but with a spark of happiness instead of grief. "Thank you so much."
Luna hugged back, joyous at reaching through to her sister, and determined to set right a wrong that should never have occurred. With renewed vigor, Celestia stood and returned to her sorting, fervently separating piles and arranging more cutie marks in front of their respective piles. Luna rose and left the Hall, flying about town, searching for any remaining strands of rubber in the surrounding area. The two worked silently, but they were gracious for each other's presence. Luna alighted on the stairs to Town Hall just an hour later, her saddlebags full to the brim with shreds of ponies found on the outskirts of town. Emptying her bags, a large chunk of cyan rubber fell from the bottom. One of its edges held a sliver of red and yellow, with the corner of a cloud poking out. Celestia's breath caught in her throat when she spotted the large piece on the floor.
'Rainbow Dash, what happened?' Celestia could only wonder.
Grimacing, the two sisters beheld their progress, fourteen piles with completed cutie marks, three of them Element bearers, and the rest recognizable in Twilight's photographs. Celestia looked at Luna with dead eyes, her body near the shutdown point, before collapsing entirely onto the floor, a decent snore emanating from her now-open mouth. Luna smirked, her sister had outdone herself. Since adding in her efforts, their progress had increased tenfold, and now, more than half of the townsponies had been collected in some amount on the floor of Town Hall. Luna gathered up Celestia's body in her telekinesis, before blinking away, back to Canterlot. The Lunar princess laid her sister down in her bed, pulling up the covers and ensuring her comfort before removing herself from the room, and bumping right into a pair of guards in the hall.
"Sorry, Your Highness, I didn't see you there." The Pegasus guard apologized, bowing low, but Luna's smirk showed him he had no reason to worry.
"It is quite alright, Sharp Sight, I require your services in guarding my sister whilst she rests. Do not allow her to leave until she has seen me first. Are we in understanding?" Luna smiled, before turning away, to walk down the hall.
"Yes, Milady. Understood." The guard, Sharp Sight, gathered a small detail and stationed them outside Celestia's bedchambers. Luna, meanwhile, had already gone.
A variety of pinks and oranges painted the early morning sky as Luna took to the task of raising the Sun. Celestia had slept for more than a day, and the Lunar Princess was getting exhausted herself. Dealing with Celestia's job was hard enough, let alone her own duties as well.
Just then, the door to her bedchambers opened, followed by a restful yawn and the sound of hoof-guards on marble. Luna turned to see Celestia entering her room, eyes full of energy and mind refreshed. The older princess immediately enveloped the younger in a crushing embrace, her wings pinned to her side as Celestia let out her adoration.
"I really, really needed that rest, Luna, thank you for returning me to my room." Celestia blinked away the rest of her sleepy haze, before turning to look out the window at the rest of the slowly-awakening city of Canterlot.
"It was nothing, dear sister. I feared you would not be able to take on the task of alerting our lands to the tragedy of Ponyville in an insomniac daze. Thus, I ordered your room guarded and locked until your rest had been achieved." Luna smiled, looking to Celestia, who dragged a hoof across her face in terror.
"Augh, I'd rather sleep with Chrysalis than face the press and stress of detailing such a tragic accident." Celestia mused, earning a light whack from her sister.
"It is something that must be done, before word advances by commonpony. Otherwise, our subjects will not have reason to trust us or believe it truly was an accident. I recommend revealing it as soon as possible. I shall stay at your side if you wish, Celestia." Luna took her sister's hoof once again, squeezing it in trust and determination. Celestia dropped her hoof, staring out the window in steely determination.
"Where I'm going, Luna, I won't be able to take solace from you. No, I'm going to see them." Celestia glanced to a picture on Luna's wall of Twilight Sparkle and her parents at the latest Gala, posing with Luna. Luna's gaze followed, and she froze in shock.
"Are...are you sure?" Luna asked, fearful for Celestia's choice.
"It is something that must be done, Luna. And only I can do it." Celestia set her jaw, opening her mouth to say more, but the look on Luna's face silenced her. Her sister held trust in her ability to assuage the families of the victims, and she herself felt the necessity to be the lone informant. With a heavy heart, Celestia rose and walked out of the bedchamber, bidding Luna a good night.
"Good night to you as well, Celestia. And good luck." Luna smiled as Celestia closed the doors, her hoofsteps echoing away down the hall, before petering out to silence. Luna glanced at the clock before sitting on her bed and promptly passing out with an undignified snore.
Ponies were not the kind to adjust to tragedy as well as the other inhabitants of the lands, and Celestia knew this more than any other breathing entity on the entire planet. Her knowledge of millennia of incidents had done nothing to prepare her for the fear she felt as she stood before the simple mahogany doors and quietly brought a hoof up to knock. A brief silence permeated the environment, but not for long.
"Coming!" A mare's voice came from the other side of the door, followed by the clicking of locks. "What can I do for..." Twilight Velvet trailed off as she beheld the regent of the sun before her on the doorstep. "Why, P-Princess! What a pleasant surprise!" the aging mare turned back into the house before bellowing to her husband. "Night Light! We have guests! Er, Royal guests!" Velvet stammered.
"What the hay are you talki...OhholyhayitsPrincessCelestia!" Night Light emerged into the doorway, planting his face into the rug as he sheepishly bowed to Celestia. "My...apologies for the rudeness, eheheh.." Night Light rubbed the back of his head with his hoof, while Twilight Velvet was trying not to slap hers across her face.
"Good morning, my little ponies. May I come in? I have...important matters to discuss with you at once." Celestia's voice threatened to waver into the cries she was holding back.
"Of course! Honey, go make some tea!" Twilight Velvet sent her husband away for refreshments as she led the Princess to their living room couch. "Please, Princess, make yourself at home!" Velvet's large smile was unnaturally creepy, as Celestia had noticed in many of the times she had entered a subject's home. Their nervousness was ever present, but Celestia felt her fear rising more with each second.
"Here we are! Fresh Jasmine-Oolong and crackers!" Night Light strode into the room, carrying a tray with a teapot, three cups, and an assortment of crackers so small, mice would find the portions too tiny. Celestia took a cup and a few crackers with a nod and a smile. Light assembled himself on the couch next to his wife, and both turned to face the Princess, their smiles wavering with uncertainty.
"Now that we are all here, I have some news that I must inform you both of." Celestia began, before being assaulted by questions from the parents.
"Is it about Twilight?"
"What did she do this time?"
"Is everything okay?"
"How's the student-thing going?"
"Where's Twilight now?"
Celestia was overwhelmed by the questionnaire, and raised a hoof for silence, which was graciously given to her moments later. She took a deep breath, and gathered up her saddlebags, opening up a pocket, and upending the bag over the coffee table. A flurry of lavender shreds fell from the bag, along with a tattered parchment, landing on the table and floor. Twilight Velvet's breath caught in her throat as she realized the shreds were the same color as her daughter's coat. Night Light sat and blinked, as though trying to awaken from a dream.
"Is...is this..." Velvet began, choked sobs catching in her chest.
"M...my b-baby girl!" Night Light took a hold of the parchment, reading it over and over, his eyes trying to see the offending document as false, but his daughter's hornwriting was ever-present on the page. His body wracked with sobs as he held the parchment out to his wife for her to read, and her heart was breaking with each word.
Celestia's anguish broke the dam holding her back, and the tears streamed freely down the Princess's face. "I...I regret to inform you..." Celestia sobbed, staring straight at the floor. "That...that your daughter, Tw-Twilight Sparkle..." Celestia braced herself to face the truth, and she could see it in the couples' eyes that they were seeing the same ugly truth rear its head. She strengthened her resolve, and spoke without fear.
Princess Celestia carefully extricated herself from the residence of Twilight's parents with a grimace. Her visit had gone according to plan, but she still felt defeated from the reactions she had garnered. Velvet had been...beside herself in grief, and Night Light...
She couldn't bring to memory a time when she had seen a pony shed so many tears.
Celestia adjusted the re-packed saddlebags on her back, Twilight's fragments and parchment shifting about uneasily. The thought that she was carrying around the remains of her faithful student in her bags brought a wave of nausea and unease. 'I could have done without dumping her all over the table...' she thought, putting a hoof to her head, attempting to cease the ringing in her eardrums. Looking above, the cloudless sky held no reservations for its warmth, beating down on her coat with an oppressive heat, making her sweat. Celestia lit her horn and teleported back into the castle, appearing next to a group of guards defensively holding back a small crowd of angered, irate ponies. The sudden appearance of the Solar Princess caused the rage in the ponies' hearts to begin anew, their frothing, roiling mob nearly mauling Celestia where she stood.
"Get back! Back, all of you! The Princess is not going to stand for this!" Celestia recognized Sharp Sight from before, his helmet now on and keeping his face safe from the punches being thrown his direction. "Princess, I suggest vacating the hallway immediately!"
Nodding, Celestia took to the air, disappearing in a bright flash, to the disappointment of the crowd. Reappearing with a flash and a soft clop of hooves, Celestia alighted upon her throne, just in time to witness the great double-doors smashing open with a torrent of rioting bodies. Throwing up a defensive barrier, Celestia cowered as her subjects angrily beat on the barrier, screaming her name and yelling for vengeance.
"Your mistakes killed my daughters!"
"How could you let this happen?"
"Damn your experiments! My son is gone!"
"A WHOLE TOWN! A WHOLE GODDESS-FORSAKEN TOWN!"
Celestia hadn't seen such rebellious behavior since the Discordian era, and her heart broke to see her subjects' red eyes and tear-stained bodies, mauling each other to have a chance to rip her apart.
"ENOUGH!" Luna's magnified voice boomed through the Throne Room, bringing the crowd to their knees, holding their ears in pain. "YOU WILL EXPLAIN YOUR HERESY AT ONCE!" her eyes were narrowed at the crowd as she came to land next to Celestia, the latter dropping her barrier to hug the former.
"She's the reason my family's gone!" One mare screeched in the front, pointing accusingly at Celestia.
"My son never asked to become a pile of worthless shreds!" A stallion spoke up in the rear.
"I want justice for her careless mistakes!" The first mare bellowed, rousing an affirmative cheer from the rest of the crowd.
"Yeah! Justice!"
"Turn her into a balloon and pop her!"
"Pop the Princess!"
Luna had heard enough. With a resounding crack, she slammed her forehoof down, splitting the marble staircase in two, the crevasse threatening to swallow the irate crowd. "I have kept aside and listened to you all threaten over and over to ruin my sister, your Princess, and I shall hear no more!" Lighting her horn, a wall of marble erupted from the floor on all sides of the crowd, effectively trapping them within its confines. "Until you are able to conduct yourselves like proper ponies, and refrain from tearing my sister into a pulp, you shall remain here!" Luna and Celestia took to the air, the ponies below them running about their makeshift prison, searching for a way out. Some began to buck fruitlessly at the walls, their bones shattering as they forced them into the marble over and over.
Celestia grimaced at Luna. "I do not approve of this method of reformation, Luna." Celestia shook her head as another Earth pony pounded at the floor, trying to dig underneath. "Even with their negative intentions, I do not believe they would harm me."
Luna gazed in shock at Celestia. "Did you not see nor hear their words? They wish to see you pop like Twilight!"
Celestia looked back between Luna and the enclosed riot, contemplating her options. She needed time to figure out the Ponyville issue, and the spell, but she couldn't rightly escape without repurcussions from the angry mob once they were released. "Luna, I have an idea, but I will need your expert assistance with illusions."
"I am unsure as to your intentions, sister. Are you sure you know what you are getting into?" Luna gave Celestia a raised eyebrow, as the solar princess took on a smirk.
"These ponies want to see me pop? They'll get to see me pop, alright." Celestia smiled, leading Luna away to discuss her thoughts.
Afternoon settled in as the ponies trapped in the marble prison began to laze about, their previous bloodthirst all but lost in the fear from their predicament. Suddenly, with a large rumble, the walls of the makeshift cell receded into the floor, allowing the captors free movement once again. Stunned, they looked about, only to see an empty throne room. A bright light above them stole their attention away, however, and their anger began to froth again as the shape of Celestia emerged from the teleport, next to her sister, Luna. Exhausted, they could only watch as Luna lowered the duo to the floor, and surrounded them with a barrier once more.
"Ponies of Equestria!" Celestia's voice rang out from her spot next to Luna. "I have come to terms with my involvement with the Ponyville Disaster, and accept any and all judgment that comes to pass as a result." Luna turned and lit her horn, surrounding Celestia in a midnight-blue aura, the alicorn's body showing signs of swelling. "I have decreed that I shall follow in the same line of fate that the victims did, that I shall be inflated to bursting point, and popped." Celestia lowered her head, her limbs seizing up as she began to rise to the top of the barrier, her legs growing steadily in size.
The spell worked its way through Celestia, puffing out her wings and body, growing her rounder and rounder by the second. Her breaths came in labored squeaks as her limbs retracted into the balloon she was becoming, her tail and mane following suit. The Celestia-balloon had ceased its breathing, her organs converting to rubber as seams began to appear at her edges. Celestia's eyes faded to black, soulless beads as her mind began to disappear into a haze of inflation. Her vision petered out as her body faded into the balloon she had become, the sound of air slowly hissing out of her loose seams permeating the silence in the room. Luna's horn stopped glowing, and she looked up to see the remnants of her sister float to the top of the barrier, before disappearing with a raucous boom. Shreds of white, green, blue, and pink rubber rained down upon Luna whilst the assembled ponies cheered. They bent to the floor, worshipping the ground upon which the remains of Celestia fell. Luna glared ahead stoically, chancing a small smirk as pieces of her 'sister' rained down upon her.
Back in the Town Hall in Ponyville, Princess Celestia resumed her tedious work of assembling the shredded ponies into the shapes of their former selves, devoting entire buildings to storing the re-assembled bodies. Before her, on the floor of Town Hall, laid the outlines of six distinct ponies, their cutie marks showing plain as day in the macabre collage. She smiled, noting the complete structures of each of the Element bearers' bodies, and took the scroll she had attained from Sombra out of her saddlebags. Just then, a note poofed into existence next to her.
Celestia could not force back the smile creeping onto her face as she read:
T'was a great plan, sister, and it has worked just as well. The crowd believes you are but shreds in their hooves, floating amongst the victims of Ponyville. They have all left, rejoicing the 'Popped Princess' and their needs for justice sated. I fear for their hearts once they learn of your fluke, Celestia. Your stunt has given you countless days to attempt the reformation of the victims, but it will not be long before somepony comes looking around. Good luck, 'Poplestia'. ~Luna
Celestia grimaced. The spell required a day's casting time, and more energy than she could rightly give on a day like today. It had also mentioned using a 'Piece of self' to cast the reformation. She sat in thought as to what it could mean by a 'piece', absentmindedly shifting about the Bearers' bodies with a hoof, before realizing her error and fixing the shreds. She had at least four days, if her estimates were of any good. Guards had been stationed sparsely around the perimeter of the town, so as to alert her to incoming ponies, but not to alert pegasi to any suspicious activity. Her populace believed she had been erased from the world, and for all intents and purposes, she had.
If she could consider herself a ponnequin, that is.
She had delegated all her royal duties to Luna, promising a private cake room addition to her suite in exchange. 'If only everypony could be bought with cake...' Celestia mused, before turning back to her collage. Placing the scroll on the Mayor's desk, she rose, and strode from the Hall, headed for a nondescript home on the edge of town. Entering the building, she noticed all the furniture had been pushed to the edges of the room, as though sent outward from the center. She had found thousands of scraps in this particular room, and judging by the photos on the mantle, the whole family had been in the room when it happened. Pushing the gruesome thoughts from her mind, Celestia strode upstairs and made herself comfortable on the bed in the master bedroom, before drifting off to sleep.
Celestia awoke to a bright light in her eyes, unused to seeing her own star in the sky before her awakening. Blinded, she stumbled out of the bedroom and down the stairs, before rummaging about the cupboard for non-perishables. Finding a box of hay grains, she grumbled an affirmative and poured herself a bowl. After struggling to dry-swallow the grains, she set about for Town Hall. Arriving at the hall, she noticed some of the piles had been shifted slightly, as though moved by a gentle breeze. Her heart rate increased sharply as she noticed the doors had been closed when she left last night. 'But...but how...?' she wondered, staring about the room, before coming to a stop on a small pile of ash atop the Mayor's desk. Slowly walking forward, Celestia pushed the pile around the desk with her hoof, watching the blackened fragments turn to powder at her touch. With a stabbing pain in her chest, she realized the ash pile was right where she had left the scroll!
Tears caught on her eyelids as she tried to process what she was seeing. Her one way out, her one sliver of hope, was now a mere smattering of ash on a desk, and her dream of restoration now crumbling like the remains of the scroll. She turned about, searching for clues, when she heard the unmistakable sound of hooves on the wooden floor outside the Mayor's office. Celestia froze in fear. Her subjects were under the impression that she had been removed! She scrambled about, searching for an exit, when the doors slammed open, and a cloaked figure trotted into the room. Celestia turned and regarded the newcomer with unease. Something about this pony seemed both familiar, and yet scary, and she couldn't place the pony's gender.
The intruder raised a cloaked limb and pointed at Celestia menacingly, glowing yellow eyes emanating beneath the hood. A cultured Zebrican voice rose above the silence, shocking Celestia. A Zebra!
"Beware, beware, what you are giving, to return these souls to the land of the living! Their bodies remain, but souls do not, they return in body, but the mind will rot. Beware the cost of restoration, of reviving the dead, of altercation! Your spell was a curse, for those who've died, their bodies would become zombified!" The zebra mare spoke, her cryptic rhyme chilling Celestia to the bone, before turning about and running back into the shadows from which she had emerged.
Celestia considered the mare's warning, of zombified ponies, and minds rotting, and her stomach churned. She thought of the spell reviving Twilight, only to have her body decay and fall apart while she had no idea it was even occurring, limbs breaking off with sickening snaps, and her stomach fought to purge the sickness rising inside her. Celestia heaved, emptying her stomach's contents, and her shoddy breakfast, out the window, before she settled to the floor in a slump.
Her heart broken, and her hopes shattered, Celestia drifted off into a fitful sleep under the watchful eye of the zebra in the shadows.
Celestia drifted through the darkness, the void around her echoing with what she thought were the screams of ponies, coming from every direction at once. She opened her wings to take flight, but felt no air gather under them due to the chains constraining her body. Celestia fell, not knowing where she was or what was happening, the screams slowly getting quieter as she plummeted through the darkness.
Her addled mind struggled to determine how she had ended up bound and in the middle of nowhere when she suddenly slammed into a hard surface, her chains rattling as she sat up slowly. Celestia looked about her, seeing nothing but darkness, until a faint light took hold of her senses. Rising to her hooves, she trotted toward the light, her binds clinking with each step. Closer and closer the light came, darkened shapes emerging from the shadows, and Celestia recognized them as houses and trees.
Where was she?
The landscape began to take form before her, rolling hills and thatched-roof homes punctuated by trees surrounded her, and the whole place gave her a chilling sense of deja vu. Looming in the distance, she could see a massive tree casting its shadow across the town, its branches filled with flattened pastel shapes that only made her think of balloons.
Her heart skipped a beat as she realized she was in Ponyville. Twilight's library stood, its staggering height shocking the Princess. Had her home been this large? Celestia wondered, reaching out to open the door, stopping when she heard a faint cry for help echo through the wood. The voice cried again, louder this time, and it gave Celestia shivers. She froze, noticing the voice sounded just like...
"TWILIGHT!" Celestia screamed, bursting through the library door, entering into a personal hell. The bookshelves were bare, the volumes having been evacuated to the floor, as a comically-large Spike ran about the room, arms flailing, before he took to the air, puffing up steadily. In the center of the room stood, or rather, floated, Twilight. Her body had expanded well past the point of any pony Celestia had ever seen, her eyes bulging out as she steadily grew in size. The mare's eyes trained on Celestia, their now-black voids pulling the Princess closer and closer. Celestia advanced, unsure as to what she was witnessing. Twilight's mouth opened, and her voice echoed through the entire library.
"Are you happy now, Princess?" Twilight's voice held hints of squeaks, indicating her transition to rubber. "It was my goal to please you. To succeed. And I have!" Her limbs inflated, growing larger by the second, as a loud boom filled the room, followed by purple and green shreds of rubber, a black, shiny eye landing on Celestia's muzzle. She jumped back in fear, looking about frantically for Spike, whose presence could not be felt anymore. "We're all balloons, Princess. Everypony is taking part in your grand experiment! Inflate us, Celestia!" Twilight said, her head disappearing under her expanding skin, her body becoming that of a plain lavender balloon, its mouth sealed by a string that found its way to Celestia's hoof.
"Inflate us, Celestia! Inflate us!" The cries echoed around the Princess, her ears ringing. Her vision swam, distorting about as the balloon above her popped. Its scraps rained down upon her as her vision grew dim. "Inflate us!" the calls reverberated through her head, making her feel sick. "Inflate us!" Her lungs screamed for air, her face dripped with sweat, and her ears rang with a deafening silence.
"NO!" Celestia cried out, slamming her hoof into the floor, the landscape about her cracking as though made of glass. The walls shattered, dropping away to reveal darkness once more, the shards falling out of the floor as her environment was ripped away from her. Once more, Celestia found herself falling through the darkness, her mind scrambling to keep up with her body, plummeting to the unknown depths. She could see a small light appearing below her, growing steadily larger as she fell. The light grew into an image of herself and Twilight, the latter still just a foal, learning her first magic spells. Celestia smashed through the image, glass shards raining about as another image came into view.
Picture after picture, Celestia fell and broke through, their depictions chronicling Twilight's life up until her last moments, the image of a lone unicorn, surrounded by rubber scraps, crying and inflating, providing no resistance as Celestia crashed through it.
With a scream and a sharp inhale, Princess Celestia awoke from her fitful slumber, sweating profusely. The dawn's rays penetrated the windows of Town Hall, where she had fainted after learning the true nature of the reformation spell.
Celestia's eyes slammed open. "The spell!" She scrambled to her hooves, searching about frantically, before laying eyes once more on a pile of ash, now scattered about the desktop, and letting out a pitiful moan. "Oh, Twilight, what will I do now?" Tears streamed freely down her face. Why had the nightmare come about, and where had Luna been? Ususally her sister was skilled at halting their subjects' nightmares before they became too terrifying, but Celestia had heard, and felt, that everything about her nightmare was too real. She looked about her, noticing the piles she had knocked over while kicking in her sleep, and grumbled over her constant rearranging.
She sat and caught her breath, before she was hit by a novel idea. The spell she had sent Twilight was located in a book in the Starswirl wing of the Royal Library. If only she hadn't needed to fake her own inflated death, she could teleport right there and take the book as reference. Surely if Twilight hadn't developed a counterspell, then she, the most powerful magical being in Equestria, could. Celestia paced about, contemplating how to get to the book without being seen, before remembering the note her sister had sent her the previous day. Grasping a quill off the Mayor's desk, Celestia began to form her request on the back of Luna's note, before whisking it away with a flash.
The spell was designed to inflate balloons until their critical levels, to test materials for tensile strength and durability in the years before manufacturing became common, but Twilight had done...something...to override the cutoff point for the spell, and she had to figure out what exactly that was. She mused over the issue for a moment, before being shaken from her stupor by a loud thud to her side. Looking to her left, she saw a large, worn-out tome resting on the desk, its cover depicting a caricature of Starswirl the Bearded. Atop the book sat another small note from Luna, marking the date by which she had to return it. Noting the date for three days later, Celestia opened the book and skipped through until she reached an earmarked page, the spell she had bequeathed Twilight sitting plain-as-day in the middle. Celestia's heart tightened, her goal had been hampered by that zebra, whose identity tickled at Celestia's mind. She could have brought back an army of the undead! 'Well, mostly undead' she mused, smiling and inwardly thanking her lucky stars that the zebra had known about her plans.
Mysterious zebra aside, Celestia worked the issue out in her head, the spell taking shape as she fired it at a broom in the corner. The broom's handle began to fill up, the head inflating soon after. The broom inflated steadily, the only sound being that of the occasional squeak as the handle converted to rubber. Suddenly, the spell cut out, the broom having been inflated to three times its original size, the handle now as thick as Celestia's leg. The balloon-broom, 'balloom?' she wondered, fell to its side with a squeak, the wood having converted fully to hollow rubber. With a smile, Celestia began to shape the counterspell, twisting the matrices of the spell's workings to reverse the inflating effects.
Smirking as she wrote down her steps, Celestia lit her horn and fired at the balloom. The handle slowly began to shrink, the air rushing out of it as it grew heavier and heavier, solidifying under the spell. With a clatter, the broom fell back to the floor, having been converted back into wood and straw. Allowing herself a small cheer of victory, Celestia set about arranging together the scraps of one pony in the center of the room, the lavender shards punctuated by deep blue and pink. Princess Celestia moved about the room, ensuring that the entirety of Twilight's remains were collected in the center of the room.
Lighting her horn, Celestia began to slowly piece together the body of her faithful student, beginning with her hooves. The spell warped and twisted through the shreds, bringing them closer and closer, sealing them with a flash of gold. Twilight's legs began to take form, their deflated shape emerging out of the steadily-dwindling pile of scraps. Celestia's horn strained with effort, her energy quickly leaving her as she put her entire being into the spell. Twilight's cutie mark assembled itself, before merging with the slowly-forming flanks, golden flashes of light radiating out every second. The deflated mare's tail and mane came into being, the small pile of scraps rising into the air and moving to piece together her face, her eyelids closed, and a frown of disappointment taking shape. With a flurry of rubber and a heaving sigh, Celestia's horn puttered out, her breathing labored as she beheld her efforts. Arranged before her, on the floor, was the deflated body of one Twilight Sparkle, horn, mane, tail, and all.
The Princess smiled, she had finally netted herself a victory! New hope building in her chest, she solidified the spell in her mind, ushering up a wave of magic filled with her hopes and aspirations. The counterspell took shape, the magic tendrils winding their way about Twilight's deflated body, the streams of magic flowing into her limbs and torso. Celestia's horn grew brighter, her forehead beginning to sweat once more. Her limbs shook, eyes set in concentration as the spell drained her of her life force, it seemed. Slowly, but surely, Twilight's body began to take on definition, the rubber receding to make way for matted fur, muscles, bone, and blood as the pony's body reformed. Celestia closed her eyes, forcing the magic out of her, and releasing a wave of golden magic throughout the room, a soft gasp echoing in her ears. Her mouth had been shut, however, and that made her open her eyes in shock, the spell dissipating before her. If it had not been her who made the gasp then...Her gaze drifted to the fuller, and organic body of her faithful student, laying haphazardly on the floor before her. The mare's mane waved in the gentle breeze from the window, and her horn gave off a feeble purple spark, igniting Celestia's hope. Celestia held her breath, focusing on the intact body, watching for any sign of life, staring intently at the neck and chest. She was staring so hard, she almost didn't notice the small gasp that permeated her senses once more.
With a sharp gasp of breath, and a soft cough, Twilight Sparkle's body shifted slightly, her chest beginning to rise and fall slowly. Celestia's heart skipped a beat, while tears of joy ran down her face, staining the rug.
A loud gasp echoed through the Mayor's office, followed by a loud cough. Celestia's eyes lit up with glee at the sight taking shape before her. Three of the Element Bearers' bodies were restored to their organic states, lying haphazardly in the middle of the room, chests slowly rising and falling as their long-erased organs began their tedious work once more. Hearts were beating, and tears were streaming, and Celestia couldn't shake the unmovable feeling of utter euphoria as Rainbow Dash took her first breath as a reformed pony.
Princess Celestia swept her gaze about the room, before coming to a rest on the remains of Rarity, her shreds piled neatly in her shape, awaiting the magical needle to sew her back together. Celestia allowed herself a moment of morbid humor as she contemplated how many types of outfits she could sew Rarity into. The seamstress had made hundreds of grand designs, many of which had adorned the Royal family, but she hadn't been made into an outfit. With a sigh, Celestia filed the thought away before returning her attention to the many miniscule details of the shreds before her. Each shred had the finite details such as the hair patterning, and she could tell where a flower had sat in a mane, or where a bracelet sat on a hoof, the many colorful splotches staining the rubber.
Ushering forth her magic, and her weary soul, Celestia set the spell up once more, her exhaustion showing as her legs shook and her eyes fought to stay open. Celestia felt as though her life was draining from her body, and too late she realized it indeed was. The spell was using her life force to power the matrix that restored the organic substances, and each successive cast was draining the alicorn more and more. As her horn glowed a vibrant gold, Celestia wove the spell through the fashionista's shreds, her limbs beginning to reform. The spell continued, merging the unicorn's torso together with her limbs, the sound of squeaks from the rubber echoing through the room. Celestia coughed, her breaths coming ragged, like trying to breathe through a wall of lead, as the spell took its course with her frail body. With a cough and a wavering breath, the spell shorted out, the half-assembled pony before her falling to the floor with a meaty thud as the reformed limbs began to slowly ooze blood. Rarity's body had reformed to the point of producing circulating blood vessels, but the spell hadn't completed the cycle, and now, the unicorn bled out slowly onto the rug, the crimson soaking into the remaining alabaster shreds. Celestia fought the wave of bile surging up her throat at the sight, and she coughed before struggling to her hooves.
Staring agape at Rarity's half-assembled corpse, Celestia called upon her years of experience, and upon the Sun for its strength, as her horn re-lit. The spell began to shape once more around the battered body, the wounds sealing over as her body began its steady reconstruction once more. Bearing power unbound, Celestia forced the magic through her horn, racing to complete the spell before she lost too much progress. The golden aura swept over Rarity's remaining shreds, pressing them together rapidly as the pony's mane came into being, the hairs set about wildly, more forest than mane. With her mane came her face, the horn on her forehead coming together with a spark of purple, reacting to the presence of a link to magic. The spell subsided, Rarity's body sat amidst a pool of her own blood, staining her coat a deep red, and filling the room with a rusty scent. Celestia's eyes were closed, the glow from her horn dulling as she brought the spell to a close. Grimacing, she moved Rarity's body out of the puddle, setting her on a couch in the room. With a sigh, and a loud thump, she fell to the floor unceremoniously, and allowed herself to drift off into rest to recuperate from the casting.
With a loud gasp, and a soft cough, Rarity's heart began beating anew, life coursing through her veins, and magic coursing through her horn.
Night had fallen in Ponyville, and at long last, Celestia held more than a sliver of hope in her hooves. She could only pray that it stayed with her this time.
"Princess Luna! A situation most dire has arisen!" Night Guards flocked into the room, followed by their commander, Evening Mists. Evening strode up to the throne and produced a scroll for Luna to gaze upon, the alicorn's brow furrowing in thought.
"I...see. Gather a small detail, Evening, and meet me in one hour at my chambers. We will depart for Cloudsdale posthaste." Luna frowned. 'Surely Celestia hadn't given herself away...' she mused, contemplating the meaning of the events supposedly transpiring in Cloudsdale.
Her elite guard had overheard a couple delegates from Cloudsdale earlier that day, talking about "The Event", and had followed to ensure it was not a threat. However, that was what it came across to Luna as. The letter had been dropped by one of the two pegasi as they had been spooked by one of the servants bumping into them. The page had the calculations for an epic storm, one that would produce wind strong enough to blow down trees, and tornadoes large enough to swallow homes whole. The rain was a different story-eighteen inches over a day. The storm's plans bade terrible things for its target, highlighted in three different colors: Ponyville. Luna 's mind kicked into overdrive, her hooves carrying her faster than ever toward the resident Weather Manager's office on the second floor of the palace. Arriving before the door, which was cracked slightly, evidence of its owner's presence, Luna rapped on it three times, face set in determination. She heard the faint reply through the crack.
"Come in!" A cheery Pegasus stallion sat behind a large cloud-desk, toying with a smaller cloud, pressing it in like a stress ball and watching the substance roil about in his hooves. Looking up, he noticed Luna, and swiftly bowed, head traveling straight through the desk, causing it to dissipate. "No, no, dammit!" the stallion whined, his possessions falling to the floor with a clatter. Picking up his nameplate, bearing the words 'Jet Stream', he looked up sheepishly, beginning again. "Eheheh, sorry, Your Highness. What can I do for you, milady?"
Luna conjured up a wooden desk, which fell with a clatter to rest between her and Jet. walking up to the desk, she pressed the plans she had recovered onto the desk face-down, and slid it towards Jet. Jet took the parchment, and, with widening eyes, hurriedly shoved the paper into the drawer closest him and coughed. "I, uh, don't have a clue what that was about..." Jet began to sweat, his eyes darting about for some form of salvation. Seeing none but his doom, Jet removed the parchment from the desk and flattened it out with a sigh. Luna watched with bated breath for a sign that Jet was behind the plans, but his reaction gave her all she needed. "I, uh, suppose you want me to explain this." Jet began.
"That would be most favorable to you, Jet Stream. Start from the beginning, and leave no details hidden, am I understood?" Luna queried, her eyes set in cold determination.
"Y-yes, Your Highness...Y-you see, when we first caught wind of Ponyville's...plight, we decided that nopony should have the reminder of such a great mistake sitting in the middle of the nation. We decided that, uninhabited, Ponyville must be cleansed. Washed clean. Destroy the evidence of a tragic mistake!" Jet was practically yelling at this point, his voice raising in volume as he became devout in his explanations. "We decided to wash it all away, the homes, the trees, everything. Start anew with a blank slate, shape the land into something more productive, and cover over the terrible memories and thoughts we would get by viewing that...that...abhorrent town! This storm will be Ponyville's perfect storm, and there's nothing you, or anyone else can do to prevent it!" Jet Stream raved about fanatically, his words beginning to slur together as he slaved through his speech, his eyes gazing everywhere at once. "As we speak, there's a gigantic shipment of thunderheads on its way to the Formation Field, where we'll shape it into a supercell the likes of which Equestria has never seen!" Jet took to gazing out the window, maniacal chuckles emanating from his throat. "Nothing can stop the Flood, not you, nor anypony else!" Jet gestured to the clock, then out the window before coughing. "It's only a matter of time before the Great Wash begins, Princess, and you'll be forced to witness its true glory knowing you cannot halt it." Jet began mumbling incoherently, but Luna had already risen to her hooves. She darted out of his office, ordering guards to detain Jet and search his office. The guards saluted, but she had already disappeared around a corner.
If what Jet had said was true, and by the way he had been raving about it, it almost certainly was, then Celestia had a day, perhaps even hours before the storm erased the effort that she had gone through. Luna made for her chambers, where she grabbed a quill and parchment, before jotting a quick note to Celestia and whisking it away with a flash of magic. Moving to her balcony, Luna marveled at the expanse of stars, peeking through the occasional cloud, but disappearing behind a looming shape in the sky miles away. With a gasp, Luna realized it was the thunderhead, but it appeared to be larger than Cloudsdale itself! The mass floated there, light emanating from the occasional lightning bolt, showing the supercell in all its glory.
Luna gulped down a hefty lump in her throat, her nerves straining to figure out a solution to her issue, before the storm took Ponyville's memory to its grave. She thought about taking on the supercell herself, but she remembered the last time she had attempted storm-breaking, and its effects on her ethereal mane. She shuddered, and gazed in the direction of Ponyville, the town darkened as it had been for a week now. Hundreds of lives had been lost, and were being painstakingly recovered, and yet, fate saw to it that their grand restoration be halted at every corner. From pesky zebras to fanatic pegasi, Celestia's burden only grew with each day. Luna could only hope that Celestia had received her letter, her thoughts drifting to calmer times as she awaited her guard detail's arrival.
In the darkened rooms of Town Hall, a small note fluttered to the floor, landing amidst a slightly-dried puddle, the crimson liquid seeping into the parchment and erasing the fateful warning held within. A gentle breeze wafted through the window, its intensity picking up as the air shifted to a more unstable pressure. Animals were beginning to burrow and take shelter as the sky grew steadily darker, brief rumbles of thunder echoing across the mountain valley as the skies clouded over.
Four ponies rested on the floor of Town Hall, their chests rising and falling as their bodies readjusted to living once again. Their hooves nearly touched each other, their bodies lay haphazardly on the carpet as the breeze shifted their manes. Rainbow Dash and Rarity lay on Celestia's left, while Twilight Sparkle and Fluttershy lay to her right, the alicorn making up the focus of their circle. The five ponies slept peacefully, whilst the skies outside roiled about in frothing anger.
The winds increased, followed by the pitter of raindrops on the roof. A stray drop fell through the open window, making its way to the face of Twilight Sparkle, causing the mare to shift about in discomfort. Another drop landed upon her nose, and she sniffled a bit. The rain picked up, a third drop alighting on her eyelids, the splash of the cold water shocking the nerves into responding. Twilight's left eye cracked open, the raindrops falling consistently onto her head, rousing her from her dreamless slumber. Her right eye followed, bringing the mare her vision after she had removed it forcibly a week earlier. Her vision restored, and brain beginning to signal her synapses to respond, Twilight took in the sight around her. She lay in a darkened room, her body tingling as though her circulation had been cut off, and directly in front of her lay the shredded remains of Pinkie Pie, her muzzle's deflated shape and soulless black eyes staring directly at her. The newly-reformed mare blanched, before letting out a veritable screech. "AAAAAAHHH!"
Celestia shot awake, the storm's rains beginning to reach her as they traveled through the window. Her heart was racing, and her dreams had just been ruined when Twilight screamed. She sat there, processing the thought, before her mind caught up and her heart stopped. Twilight screamed. Not a cough, or a gasp, a full yell. She lit her horn, the sudden light blinding her as she struggled to regain sight. When the spots cleared from her vision, two things became clear to the Princess of the Sun. One, her faithful student was awake. Two, said faithful student's face was staring right back at her. The Princess felt her heart struggling to beat as she faced what she had only dreamed of. Reaching a hoof out tentatively, Celestia touched Twilight, the feeling of her hair and warmth filling her with delight. The unicorn responded by reaching out a forehoof and touching Celestia back. Silence permeated the environment as the two stared each other down under the glow of Celestia's magic. Suddenly, the alicorn flung herself at the unicorn mare, taking her wings and wrapping them around her, threatening to never let go again. Her student's warmth filled her with a sense of hope and a feeling of accomplishment, her tears running freely into Twilight's mane as she cried. Tears of joy rained down Celestia's face, but she was interrupted by the feeling of Twilight's hooves trying to push her away. Looking down, she saw a look of utter horror on the unicorn's face as she beheld her 'attacker', wide-eyed and shivering. The poor dear was terrified, and Celestia froze up, her heart sinking as she made a realization. The restoration applied to the body, not the mind, and Celestia noticed Twilight's apprehension to direct contact that she hadn't had before. Pushing herself away, Twilight stood shakily, before opening her mouth, only for a small grumble to come out. She tried again, heaving and pushing, as though to evict some foreign body, but only grunts and sighs came from her efforts. No matter what she did, Twilight Sparkle could not talk. Her mind attempted to access the language she had known for years, but it could not, and she, as such, could not speak, only point fitfully at her throat, then at her mouth as the grunts came out angrier and angrier.
Celestia remembered to breathe, taking a deep breath and letting it out, before trying to bridge the gap. "Do...Do you know who you are?" Celestia asked. Twilight shook her head, and held a look of apprehension about her. "Do you know who I am?" A shake of her head, and Celestia's worst fears were confirmed:
Twilight's body lived, but her memories and mind had died that fateful day with the rest of her, and no spell could restore a soul to its body once torn asunder. For all intents and purposes, Celestia's grand restoration had run aground. This time, however, Celestia couldn't see a solution in the future that didn't condemn her subjects to living in empty husks, wandering about aimlessly, minds blank as the scars that bound them together. She couldn't think straight, and Twilight began to shiver in fear. "You are Twilight Sparkle. You are the Element of Magic, and my personal protégé. You condemned this town to a fate of rubbery shreds, and as such, I have restored you. You are the sister of Shining Armor, and the daughter of Night Light and Twilight Velvet. Do any of these sound familiar to you?" Celestia explained, hoping that one of the names would spark her memory, but to no avail, the mare sat clueless. Placing a hoof on her forehead, and gazing out at the storm that had begun to blow over the town, Celestia began to recount the life of her faithful student, in hopes that she regained memory. Minutes became hours as Celestia explained, and Twilight listened. The pair sat through the night, the alicorn regaling over fond memories as Twilight sat looking perplexed, as though trying to piece together a puzzle. Soon, the night found the two laying side by side, Celestia's wing draped over her protégé like years past.
The dawn would break over two ponies, their hearts warm with companionship, and smiles full of compassion for the other. The two slept, unaware as to the storm looming overhead, its clouds as black as the hearts of its creators.
The Flood had arrived, and its cleansing had begun.
A lone pony walked the endless mists of the aetherworld, its body blacked out like the void surrounding it. The pony's echoing hoofsteps reverberated through the void, each slam of the appendages into the ground bearing a repetition only the nothingness could observe. The shape moved and bent around the world it found itself in, as though searching for something just out of reach, as the darkness began to give way to blue. Shadows drifted about as the void filled with the watery blue substance, its advance threatening to overtake the pony-shade. It ran and ran, echoing thunder as it tried to futilely escape the rising tides of bluish oblivion, increasing its speed when the waves started to lap at its hooves. An intense blinding light filled the nothing as the pony-shade was swallowed by the oblivion, its physical being torn to shreds with an ear-wrenching screech.
Princess Celestia awoke to the screech of the pony-shade, jolting her to the side, and into a puddle forming on the carpeted floor. The splash of cold water heightened her senses and forced her upright immediately. Glancing about, trying to catch her breath, Celestia noticed two things. The windows were all open, and all Tartarus was pouring out of the sky. The windows were blown inward, the frames shattered and broken where the locks could not hold up. Rain flew into the building, almost horizontally by the strength of the wind whipping by the building. The storm raged about, lightning and thunder rumbling the building, as water continued to build up on the floor, causing some of the fragments to float away.
The fragments! Celestia jump-started her horn into action, sealing the windows and doors before more water could flow out of the building. Already, she could see pieces of the ponies floating about the main hall and amongst the carpet fibers, the meticulously arranged piles now disrupted by the freak storm. Celestia recalled Twilight speaking about the storms from the Everfree, but there was something more sinister and destructive about this storm. She took note of the poorly crafted clouds, their forms haphazardly shoved into each other to create a conglomerate thunderhead, the concoction far beyond the point of control. Celestia could handle rogue weather, but having exhausted her magic supply restoring the Elements' bodies, she could barely hold all the windows shut.
Straining her vision, Celestia noticed a few scraps of parchment and a quill nearby. Her head started to spin, the effort of holding up so much force taking its toll. Grasping the quill in her hoof, she penned a small letter to Luna, popping it on its way before returning her focus to holding back the storm. Realizing with a start that the sun should have risen already, she fought back the storm's force with a grunt.
Daytime would have to wait.
Luna made her way toward the Crystal Empire, her wings moving at record speed to press her forward through the snowy wastes. Her Guard flew beside her, looks of exhaustion showing true. "Princess, if I may?"
"Yes, Commander?" Luna glanced aside to see Evening's weary eyes gazing back through the flurry.
"Couldn't we have, ah, taken the train, your highness?" Evening flinched, looking forward at Luna's unresponsive face.
"No, Evening. This is a matter of utmost importance, and one that should not be taken lightly. Shining Armor cannot be reached by letter, so we must approach in person. Thus, we are flying there. Fear not, Commander, your squad will do fine, as I oversaw their winter training myself. The fate of Ponyville and my sister depend on us!" Luna turned her attention forward once more, the looming peaks of the Empire's castle just visible on the horizon.
"Understood, Princess." Evening returned to her position, encouraging her guard to push forward.
'I only hope that Tia holds on long enough...' Luna pressed onward, determination in her eyes as the spires cracked through the bleak winter landscape.
The Empire's castle gradually shifted into view, the majestic spires and sparkling walls radiating its regal appearance. Cadence's banner, intertwined with Shining's shield, hung from the tallest balcony, the royal couple standing atop the balcony, observing their empire in its morning routine. The two noticed a shimmer in the distance, punctuated by the flaps of powerful wings as Luna and her guards burst into view through the snowy outside.
"Luna!" Cadence called out, waving over to her with a slight frown. The pink mare shivered, being supported by her husband, as the tears she had shed the day prior began to sneak back out. "Luna! What is this I'm hearing about 'The Great Inflate of Ponyville'? Is Twily okay?" Her features betrayed her curt tone, eyes bloodshot and watering up, Shining's hoof wrapped around her own for support.
Shining looked up at the approaching princess as she alighted upon the balcony, her guards taking landing at her sides. He bowed shortly, before rising up with a contorted look of rage distorting his stoic face. "Is. It. True?" He punctuated each word with a slam of his hoof on the floor, shaking the balcony with its force. "M-mom said...Said that she's...And it's all Celestia's f-fault!" His voice cracked on the last syllable, liquid depression leaking from his eyes as he shook in sadness next to his equally-upset wife. They leaned on each other, embracing and holding close that which they loved. Hooves interlocked, and leaning on each others' shoulders, the couple refocused on Luna, their anger and sadness striking the Princess off-guard.
"I cannot begin to offer my condolences, as I am in working with Celestia to restore your sister - and her townsponies - to their wholesome selves. However, that very goal is at threat from the very ponies that it hurt the most." Luna motioned to follow, turning about and trotting into the castle, the distraught couple staggering behind them. Arriving within the couple's bedroom, Luna sat upon the rug, whist Shining and Cadence took the bed, the guards spreading out around the perimeter. With a sigh, and a heave of her heartstrings, Luna began recounting the chilling experience Twilight and her friends were unwillingly pushed into, leaving no detail hidden. Absolute honesty was the only course to maintain trust between them and her, the story already drawing wracking sobs from the duo. As she finished regaling the tale, ending on the note of the 'cleansing' that Cloudsdale had set in motion, Shining's eyes sparked up with flames of rage and passion.
"We know what we must do then. Guards!" Shining bellowed, a menagerie of crystal ponies rushing through the doors to their room, standing at attention with weapons held high.
"Yes, Captain! All here, Captain!"
"Good. Ruby Rose! Milky Quartz! Front and center!" Shining called out, a lithe red mare and a white stallion slid out from the ranks, approaching the bed. Both remained silent, a salute being their acknowledgement of the order. "I need you two to ready the sky chariot for immediate transport to Ponyville. It shall be Luna, her guards, and myself. Cadence, honey...I need you here to watch the Empire. Do you think you can do it?" Shining pleaded with Cadence, her eyes settling into determination.
"Of course, Shiny. I'll be sure to have the bed all warmed up for your return!" She smirked, eliciting a blush from Armor, before turning to hug Luna. "Thank you, Luna, for reassuring us and helping us to see that our fears were unfounded."
"'Twas what I would have wanted you to do for me. It is only fair that you hear the whole story from me, rather than the curmudgeons that float around the newsstands." Luna embraced Cadence and Shining in her hooves, before releasing them and trotting toward the hall. "Make haste, Capt- er...Prince! Celestia is in dire need of your assistance, and we cannot afford to dally any longer!" The Princess rushed down to the ground floor, Cadence and Armor trailing by a few flights of steps. Approaching the main gates, the guards opened the doors to reveal an ornate golden sky chariot, its sides lavishly decorated with the classical style of crystal carvings, acting as both aesthetics and as a magic enhancer. The carriage was led by two well-built stallions, their wings flaring and reflecting the shimmers of the sunlight above.
Climbing aboard, the five ponies took their seats, the chariot rumbling as the pegasi began to gain speed. Turning about, Shining waved goodbye to Cadence, her eyes trailing tears as her face set in determination. The chariot rose, soaring into the sky and past the snow barrier, the white fluff sticking to their bodies as the clouds drifted by overhead. Shining Armor glanced to his side, seeing Luna's determined face staring in the direction of Ponyville. The carriage jolted, the exposed air chilling the passengers, and bringing them to huddle closer while Shining placed a barrier around them. The flakes impacted the barrier at a steadily slowing rate, before stopping entirely, giving way to the lush fields of Equestria once more. A darkened behemoth of a cloud formation rose up above the horizon, its massive body rippling with lightning and winds, whipping the lower clouds into swirling funnels. Tornadoes! As the chariot approached Cloudsdale, the city was abuzz with activity, many watching their handiwork taking Ponyville under its rage. As they blew past the cloud city, the winds became more apparent and the chariot jolted numerous times, the drivers forcing themselves to continue.
Realizing their progress would be impeded further while midair, Luna motioned for the guards to lower the chariot to the ground. The wheels crunched over scattering leaves as the first raindrops began to pitter about their hooves, the sight before them striking fear into the hearts of the pegasi. They were masters of the weather, and yet, here was a nigh-impossible feat. Luna gathered Shining and his guards the former erecting a shimmering shield above them, the rain rushing down the sides and into the ground. The barrier could not keep their hooves from sinking into the moist soil however, squelching noises accompanying the occasional thunderclap as the ponies advanced on Ponyville, the Town Hall rising through the torrential rains and winds. The shadows of the buildings, set withing the mists of the raging storm struck fear into Luna and Shining's hearts, aching to discover just how late they were.
Stepping into town, a shred or two of rubber floated past them, racing along the tiny currents. Luna picked each shred out, placing them in her saddlebags. Shining focused on repelling the brute force of the storm, unable to notice the remains floating by. As the five advanced, Shining forced more power into his horn, expanding his shield to encompass an entire building. His shield grew and grew, expanding to cover almost the whole town, his eyes screwed up in concentration. Luna led the way to Town Hall, bursting through the doors with a gasp at the sight before her.
Shining trotted in behind her, their guards trailing. The barrier flickered and died out when he took in what sat before him. Or rather, who. Recognition flashed across Celestia's face as she regarded the newcomers, her eyes glancing down at the slowly-breathing shape on the couch. Shining bit back the tears as he regarded the shape - and its rising and falling chest! With a start, he made for his little sister's form, the mare slumbering in a dreamless rest as Celestia tried to hold him back.
"Careful, Prince Armor! I know you must have questions for me, and I know that I indeed have answers for you. Yes, she is alive..." she motioned to Twilight's body "...But that doesn't mean she's all there. Please, Shining, I ask that you trust me on this and wish for you to join me as I try to explain where I, and subsequently Twilight, went wrong." Taking a seat upon the floor, Celestia motioned for her guests to follow suit. "Come, take a seat, but make haste, this storm worsens by the minute, and I fear for the outcome if we stall too long on solving this." With pursed lips, she glanced about the room. Luna nodded a grim agreement. Taking a deep breath, Celestia began her fateful recounting of the last few days' events.
Shining could only listen and cry as he relived the death of his sister for the second time that day.
Celestia put down her cup of tea with a sigh - explaining things had taken more out of her than she originally thought. She took in the group before her, Shining dabbing his tears with a kerchief, Luna stoically gazing out the window, and the guards standing vigil at the entrance. Gulping down the last of her tea, Celestia sat up, and let Shining acclimate.
"That's..." Shining could barely form the words in his mind, let alone vocalize them, as he stared, mouth agape, at Celestia. Her recounting of the week's events had been eye-opening - and heart-breaking. "Poor Twily..."
The group shared a glance towards the couch where Twilight's sleeping form lay, the soft rise and fall of her chest filling the room with a warm hope. As the mare slumbered soundlessly, Shining brought his fiery gaze back to Celestia. "You CAN help her, right?" Reaching over, he gently tousled his sister's mane, a small hoof-swipe knocking his leg away as she stirred.
"Yes, I thi- oh!" Celestia gasped, Twilight's form moving and shifting as she awoke.
Grunting, Twilight Sparkle rose from the couch, shaking her limbs out and rolling her neck, before stepping down, casting a glance over the group assembled before her. Her eyes widened as she noticed Shining sitting beside Celestia, the Princess' face caught between curiosity and mirth as her student took a few hesitant steps around the room. She stumbled and tripped, catching her hooves on the carpet, but remained dead-silent, much to the dismay of her brother.
"Twily! Little sis! You're alii~iive!" Shining could hold back his tears no longer as, with a strangled cry, he latched onto Twilight, smothering her in hugs. The mare gulped, before backing out of Shining's embrace, a look of fear and confusion marring her features. "T-Twilight? It's j-just me! Shining! Your BBBFF?" Shining's words fell on deaf ears as Twilight backed herself further away - and right into Luna. Turning about with a start, Twilight gasped, before bolting straight out the door of Town Hall - and right into the thick of the storm. Shining leapt to his hooves, horn twinkling with the beginnings of a shield spell as he careened after Twilight, who had disappeared into the curtains of rain and lightning. His bellow reached Celestia's ears over the din, his cries for Twilight to return filling Celestia with purpose - enough of her subjects had seen their ends this week, and no more would join them. Spreading her wings, the solar princess took flight, darting out the door after Shining, the guards blinking in confusion.
While her sister attempted to rein in the runaway victim - and her brother - Luna took up watch over the rest of the restored ponies, guarding the room in which they lay from the devastating weather. As she made her way through the room, she noticed the reddish stains in the carpet - blood, by the look of it - and the distinct lack of a particular drake amongst the arranged bodies. That last thought filled her with worry. If Celestia had scoured the town for fragments...
...And Spike was nowhere to be found...
Luna's heart beat feverishly, and the Town Hall became eerily silent, save for the pounding of rain on the windows and the light breaths of the restored. It was in that moment of clarity that Luna realized a sickening truth:
Not everypony would be walking away from this one.
"TWILIGHT!" Shining bellowed, hooves pounding through the soaked soil, tearing up half-deadened gardens and front yards as he chased his sister's fleeing form through the ghost town. The mare had reacted strangely to his hugs, barely recognized him, and had run off into the storm of the century, destination unknown. Shining felt the familiar ripple of his sister's magical field amongst the shadows in front of him, and in a last-ditch effort to catch her, he launched himself through the rain curtain -
- And right into the Library.
Muzzle met trunk with a sickening crack, and stars filled Shining's vision as quickly as the wall had appeared. He stumbled backwards, tripping over a root, before splashing into a mud puddle, the goop sinking up to his chest. Dragging himself up, Shining made to lean against the tree, nursing his bloodied - and most likely broken - snout, before the tingle of Twilight's magic filled the air once more. Staggering upright, Shining heard powerful wingbeats behind him, and about-faced to see Celestia gliding to his position. She grimaced, upon seeing the mess of Shining's face, and, with a quick healing spell, the injury faded away like snow upon a summer breeze. Sighing in relief, Shining made to open the door to the treehouse, before glancing at Celestia.
Using her hoof, Celestia turned the doorknob, making way for Shining to enter the treehouse. As he did, however, his calls for Twilight died out suddenly, replaced with a sullen gasp.
There, upon the floor of Golden Oaks, lay Twilight, the mare's horn sparking erratically, while a scant few books rattled on their shelves. Tendrils of her magic were seeping into the woodwork, dragging books and dusty friendship reports from the shelves as though dislodged by a young foal. Pages - both torn and whole - littered the floor, magical theory and mathematics, adventure novels and noir. All manner of literature spiraled slowly around Twilight, the spell working partially, but failing to complete the cast. The mare in question lay before a large book - The History Of Equestria - with her muzzle buried in the words. The sight filled Shining with an immense ray of hope - until he grimly noticed she was neglecting to turn the page.
Any page.
Her eyes darted to and fro, taking in word after word, yet never leaving the same paragraph. The rest of the books held to a similar fate, the pages earmarked and worn, yet never turning. Cold, weary eyes glazed over the pages, illustrations and footnotes lost to the mindless study being undertaken by the unicorn. Her horn strained, as well as her sight, yet not a single word crossed the threshold of the protege's mind. The truth punched Shining harder than the storm wailing outside as he sank to his stomach, tears blurring out the sight of his disabled sister.
Twilight Sparkle, prodigy spellcaster, and Element of Magic, could no longer read.
Lightning illuminated the innards of the Golden Oaks Library, bringing with it an earsplitting peal of thunder. Anguished cries filled the spaces between thunder and the torrential rains as Shining held his sister close, tears streaming from his face as the young mage futilely gazed at book after book, to no avail. Her horn sputtered from the effort and her spell fizzled out, dropping her books and reports to the soaked floors as she collapsed backwards into Shining's chest, her over-exertion leaving her in a near-coma. Her breaths came ragged, coughs wracking her frail body as Shining laid her gently onto the nearby couch. Turning to Celestia and Luna, his eyes bloodshot and limbs quaking, Shining could only gasp out a plea for help for Twilight before succumbing to his own exhaustion, collapsing to the floor in a ragged heap.
Celestia calmly lifted Shining off the floor, her golden aura illuminating the darkened library, before setting him upon the couch, snuggled next to his sister. Her horn glowed once more, the sounds of the torrent outside dimming to a dull hum as a large barrier formed around the tree home itself. Rain flowed down the sides in rivulets as Celestia took a moment to take in the quiet and allowed her thoughts to settle.
"We must scan Twilight. If it is what I fear, our problems may only be just beginning..." Celestia sighed.
"She is asleep as this point. T'would be but a simple trip inside to see what, if anything, the poor dear is thinking. What do you recommend, Tia?" Luna gazed sadly at the sleeping pair.
"Do it." Celestia's reply was quick and curt.
Luna nodded, her horn beginning to glow a deep blue as the spell began to take shape. She drew closer to Twilight, her horn crackling with energy as the spell began to resolve. Luna's horn made contact with Twilight's forehead, and her world was plunged into darkness.
Pitch black was all Luna could perceive as she floated in the seemingly endless abyss she had been dumped into. She was used to her spell dropping her by the doors to the mind, whether located in an inconspicuous hallway or an ornate labyrinth, but never into darkness. She lit her horn, attempting to illuminate the blank space around her, but the depths only stared back, holding their secrets out of Luna's reach. Her confusion only grew when she opened her wings to float and she began to feel she was sinking. Shapes began to dance at the edges of her vision, vines of shadow seemed to roil about below her as her body continued to sink towards the writhing mass.
Panicking, Luna tried flapping her wings and casting levitation spells on herself, but the shadows only drew nearer. She swore she could hear a faint whispering in her ears; all around her it echoed.
"Help..."
"Me..."
Luna shivered. "Twilight! Can you hear me?"
Silence.
The coiling shadows began to part, as though allowing Luna passage, as the whisper penetrated the miasma once more, echoing loudly in the aftermath.
"Save..."
"Us..."
Luna turned her head and called out again. "Twilight! Twilight, if you can hear me, show me you're listening!" The vines below began to lap at her fetlocks, the wisps of black forming tendrils around her hooves. "Show me you're still here, Twilight!" Luna became desperate, bucking the shadows and blasting beams of light at the floor, trying everything she could to prevent the shadows from overtaking her. She could not be sure of what the miasma was, but it could be responsible for Twilight's mental disabilities.
The whispers turned to voices, to calls for help, to screams of anguish as Luna fell into the shadows, the vines swallowing her up and cutting out all the light. Down Luna fell, spiraling through the darkness, a small light forming below her. The light rushed up to greet her, her gaze falling upon the tattered memory fragments whipping past her head, bits and pieces of the former life of one of Equestria's most talented mages. She reached out as she fell, grasping at memory fibers to slow or halt her fall, tearing them off from the aether, each one a pivotal moment in Twilight's life. Luna quickly realized she was potentially destroying Twilight's remaining memories and held her limbs close to herself, allowing her body to free-fall in the void.
Another light drew nearer, this time blinding Luna, the strength of a thousand suns beaming through the void, cutting through the darkness and revealing a small platform upon which a young filly stood, her appearance a dead ringer for Twilight. The filly appeared to be reading a book, with a small ragdoll at her side. As Luna sailed past the filly, she made eye contact, sending spikes of ice through her heart.
Black, soulless eyes gouged deep holes into Luna's soul, the hollow pits having no place residing on a filly like that. Yet, they stared slow and longingly at the Princess before she fell out of sight, almost begging her to bring the light and color back. She knew deep down that she had just seen Twilight's inner being, and her conclusions only filled her with dread and sorrow. Suddenly, an immaculate white hoof thrust itself through a small rift in the darkness below Luna, and she frantically reached out and took hold, feeling her entire being pulled up and through the tear in the mental fabric, out into the real world.
Celestia lurched backwards as Luna flew from the hole seemingly gouged from Twilight's head, rolling a few times before coming to a full stop. The pair extricated themselves and stood up, Luna shaking from her frightening journey as Celestia embraced her shivering sister.
"Luna! My goodness, you're safe! What...what did you see?" Celestia braced herself as her sister grimaced.
"I fear we have more issues on our hooves than we started with..." A short pause.
"This could be irreversible."
"It is as I feared, dear sister..."
Luna could barely hold back the tears as she recounted her tale to Celestia, the pair taking furtive glances towards the disabled pony as she attempted to make understanding within the pages before her.
"Her mind is broken. Her dreams are filled with the miasma of shadows and vague memories, each new phantom twisting and warping her further from recovery..." Luna shifted uncomfortably, finding the wood grain below her hooves to be especially interesting. "It is as though her very being has gone, replaced by a husk of body and absence of mind. I heard voices...Twilight's voice at first, asking for help...the townsponies' voices last." Luna wiped away another bout of tears, sniffling in between breaths. "The sound filled me with dread and pierced through to my very soul, as though willing me to feel their anguish, their scattered memories, their shredded limbs, and to return them to the lives they once held."
Standing up from her cushion, she steeled herself before facing her sister with determination.
"Celestia, I..." She faltered, choked down her fears, and began again. "Celestia, you must know by now, deep inside yourself, what this endeavor will bring thee...what havoc it will bring and continue to sow if you risk bringing this entire town back..."
"We can't just leave them as they are!" She motioned to Twilight. "She is at least breathing and alive...she has magical access...I just need to figure out why her mind isn't all there! We must have missed a piece or two from the remains!" Celestia lit her horn and searched deep throughout the town, using Luna's improvised tracking spell, but coming up with no pings throughout the town. The storm raged on, rivers beginning to run throughout the town, pulling leaves and insects along with its current. Buildings shook and trees creaked, winds whipping the leaves off their fragile branches. A cold pit began to burrow itself into Celestia's mind, migrating to her chest as she began to hyperventilate.
"Celestia, please, be calm!" Luna hugged her close, trying to reason with her distraught sister, to no avail.
"Luna, you don't understand! I promised I would right what I wronged, what I caused, what I am solely responsible for!" Regret began to ache in her chest. "And...and...and I don't think I c-can succeed." Waves of sorrow crashed through her mind, tearing away her hope and her relief, leaving behind a scarred, barren wasteland of thoughts. Her mood soured, and her wings fell at her sides, limp and useless to lift her spirits. She glanced back at her once-protege, taking in the way her magic had shimmered in the darkness, the most perfect shade of lavender accented by the streaks of color in her mane. The way her fur bristled with energy as the spell had attempted to resolve again and again. Celestia could see every inch of her student, but knew in her heart that her student was gone.
Now, she faced a darker and scarier prospect; one which she feared all along, and had reserved only for the worst-case scenario. Reviving the ponies took away much of her life force, and to restore the entire town could drain her entirely, leaving her powerless. She couldn't risk leaving Equestria indefensible by her own need to right the wrongs, couldn't ruin the lives of the rest of the country by her own doing. Even though they had laid down their elaborate popping plan, the nobles would soon find out the truth, and the country would need a strong and emotionally sound leader to see it through the crisis of the cover up and reveal of the tragedy of Ponyville.
Even if she missed a piece, she couldn't bring back that which fades with organic life once it passes: memories, names, intricate motor skills, language. The list went on for pages and pages within Celestia's mind, each dragging her smile further and further downwards, until a resolute frown adorned her face almost permanently.
"Luna."
"Yes, Tia?"
"Is she aware of her being? Does she know she is breathing and living right now?"
"I cannot say for sur-"
"Please, Luna, for both of our sakes..." Celestia wiped away the tears. "I need to know...Is she gone? I-is my little prodigy never coming back?"
Sunlight beamed down on the pleasant town of Ponyville, the early morning dew twinkling on the grass. Birds chirped overhead, the trees coming alive with the rising sun as a lone mare set up a blanket, stretching it out and placing rocks at the corners with a glow of lavender. Setting down her basket, the mare opened a book, turning to her earmarked location and settling down in a comfortable spot. Using her magic, she pulled a crisp dandelion sandwich from the basket and took a large bite, reveling in the crunch of the stalks and the succulent nectar within the flowers.
Yawning, Twilight Sparkle overlooked her homely little town. Ponyville. The town where she first began her journey into the wonders of friendship, and where she met her friends. Warmth flooded her as she thought about her best friends, their faces filling her heart with joy and excitement as she waited for their arrival. The town was still waking up, and getting Rainbow Dash out of bed would be difficult, but that's what Applejack and Pinkie are for. If anyone could rile her out of slumber it would be the two most boisterous mares besides herself. Twilight chuckled, taking another bite of her sandwich. She was amazed at the flavor, everything seemed heightened, she couldn't describe it-- nothing had changed overnight, but her senses seemed sharper, the colors brighter, and the sun always shining strong.
Something twinged in the back of her mind that this was not right, but it was quickly banished by the sight of her five friends cresting the hill below her, headed towards the tree atop the hill, her favorite spot to enjoy a sunrise brunch or catch up on a book in good weather. Their manes fluttered about in the breeze, Rainbow carrying her favorite Wonderbolts blanket, Pinkie bouncing uphill with a tray of cupcakes balanced perfectly on her head. Rarity and Applejack followed, the two deep in discussion about something or other, though Applejack seemed to be on the losing side of the argument. Following behind everypony else, Fluttershy was tending to her animal crew, spreading crumbs for the birds and mice, and leaving carrots for the rabbits. Butterflies floated about her, their gossamer wings reflecting the sunlight in their dance through the field.
Twilight closed her book as her friends approached, their voices ringing through her ears like bells from the heavens, warming her and reminding her why she adored the small town, away from the bustle of a city life, like Canterlot. Thoughts of the Princesses, and their posh socialite nobleponies, the winding streets and labyrinth of stores and restaurants filled her with longing, and she soon began to think about her parents. Their faces flashed through her mind, and she felt their love deep within her heart. Her life was as good as it could get, and as her friends began to set up and take out their breakfast, she saw a shimmering white figure approaching from the skies. Princess Celestia must have gotten her invitation, and was just now coming into view. Twilight smiled.
"This is perfect."
Princess Celestia, The Sun's Regent, floated on a false breeze, her eyes welling up with tears as the sight of Twilight and her crew grew larger on her approach. She could see little blips in the environment that, were somepony desperately trying to find, could perchance happen upon them, but the attention to detail had been immaculate. She would have to thank Luna immensely for her efforts later. For now, the task at hoof still remained at the forefront of her mind. She just had to attend a picnic.
With her little ponies.
With Twilight.
Her breath caught in her throat, guilt and fear welling up within her, but she willed it away as best as she could. She had to be strong, she had to do this. It was easy, just a simple picnic, right?
Her smile faltered.
Will she know?
The sunlight--if she could even call it that-- beat down on her, the rays lacking any of the warmth and magic of her heavenly body, but if her enchantments were cast correctly...there would be no difference. Anxiety began to build within her.
No. She had faith in Luna and her magical abilities, even with Celestia's meager contribution, her sister had truly pulled through in her hour of need. The spell matrix was intertwined with the Elements themselves, the jewels arranged in a circle around the town perimeter. She had confidence in their plan, but she couldn't help feeling as though something was going to go wrong.
Only if you let yourself believe it will.
Steeling herself, Celestia shook her head clear of the anxious worryings and her fears, alighting in the grass beside Twilight. Tears stung at the corners of her eyes as she made eye contact with her student, the mare she had raised from almost birth into Equestria's greatest asset. Now, she would be returning the favor, providing Twilight with her greatest asset: her friendships.
"Hello, Princess! I'm so glad you could make it today!"
Celestia's breath caught in her throat as her protege spoke first, Twilight's voice like the gentlest summer breeze, brightening the day and reminding Celestia of why this would be her hardest task ever. Though she was scared, she knew she had to be strong, both for her little ponies, and for herself. Steeling herself, she wished dearly that Luna could be here as well. She was the one responsible for pulling Celestia out once she was...
It will be quick, Lulu. I promise.
"Hello, Twilight, my student." I'm so sorry. "It is my pleasure. I merely told my clerks to handle the official day-to-day while I joined my little ponies for a morning brunch." I wish there was a way. "Goodness knows I love having some of Applejack's award-winning apples, and there's something about small town cooks that the royal chefs just don't quite match up to." She winked at Pinkie Pie, the mare giggle-snorting in thanks. I love you all.
"Well, shucks, butter me up an' call me a biscuit, if that ain't the nicest thing you've said bout mah apples, Princess." Tossing the Princess an apple, Applejack tipped her hat and flashed a hearty smile. Celestia caught the apple, looking at it with equal parts adoration and sadness. Reaching up, she took a 'bite' of the apple, the texture not unlike compressed clouds. Heavy air filled her mouth and she only prayed that the same could not be said for the six before her. Or for the hundred or so other townsponies. She noticed that the apple kept its colors the entire way through to the core, and her fears subsided. She needed to trust in herself and Luna more, especially in times like this.
"It's delicious as always, Applejack, thank you." A blush crossed Applejack's face as she rubbed her neck.
"Shucks, like I said, yer mighty nice an' we're all honored to know ya!"
"Yeah! I love it when Princess Celestia and Princess Luna come down to Sugarcube Corner in their disguises, buying cakes for themselves when they could just have one made! It's how I test all my new pastry flavors!" Pinkie rambled off, the rest having learned by now to let it run its course.
"My, your coat is absolutely brilliant today, Princess! Pray tell, what conditioner are you using?" Rarity leaned in for the juicy details, but Celestia played along, egging her on and dragging it out.
"Oh, alright, you got me. It's called Tail n' Mane!" Celestia laughed as Rarity took down a note and then began sketching out designs on her notepad.
Rainbow Dash was already finished with her sandwiches, spiraling through the air in her morning training session. Loops and dives, ducks and weaves, Rainbow soared in her element as Fluttershy cheered her on, her animals surrounding her as though in a vigil.
The sight before her filled her with a sense of relief and joy began creeping into her heart as she realized they were all happy. Even if she and Luna could not locate all the pieces of everypony, she could still give the six mares and the townsponies relief and hopefully a better sendoff than Twilight had afforded them.
Her work was almost done. Just a few more loose ends.
"Where is your assistant, Twilight?" Celestia tested the waters, her heartbeat pounding in her ears as she awaited the response.
Twilight cocked her head in confusion. "Assistant? I don't have an assistant, Princess."
Celestia choked back her tears. "Of course, I forgot, I was thinking of those fillies that always romp around your library wreaking havoc, and then cleaning up afterwards." Definitely not a dragon. "Forgive me my error, Twilight. How are you feeling?"
Twilight looked at the scene before her, her friends surrounding her, the sunlight beating down, the birds singing, and the breeze blowing gently. She saw the Princess sitting next to her and the sandwiches before her and deep within her heart, she felt her anxieties disappear. for once in her life, she truly felt at ease. As though she could let go...
"I don't think I could wish for a better day to be alive." Twilight grabbed Celestia's hoof in appreciation, squeezing as she smiled up at her mentor, the Regent of the Sun, Princess Celestia.
Celestia choked back a muted sob as tears fell from her cheeks.
"You mean it?" Celestia held onto her reservations, but Twilight was oblivious to the severity of the situation.
Looking around her, Twilight smiled. "Of course. A mare couldn't ask for more. Good friends, good food, wonderful weather, and the bonds we all form together!" Her smile only grew as she looked up at the Princess, seeing her ethereal mane billowing from her neck, the sparkles within entrancing her like she used to be when she was but a filly studying under the Princess. She felt as though something was missing, but couldn't quite put a hoof on it. She was sure she would remember later. A brisk summer breeze took the thought away, replacing it with immense joy and leaving her chest feeling full of butterflies.
She was content to sit here and bask in the glow of the sun, and listen to the sweet ringing of her friends' voices on the midday breeze. Content to let the clouds float lazily overhead, the sun dip in the sky, the vibrant reds and pinks of the sunset fill her view every night. Content to doze off, at the Princess' side, the chirps of frogs and owl hoots weaving a symphony of nature whisking her along to a comfortable, dreamless sleep.
Content to stay here forever.
Luna stood just on the outskirts of Ponyville, the town in tatters from the unnatural storm that ravaged their mission and made cleanup that much more difficult. Her horn shone from the power channeling through the Elements of Harmony and herself, powering the spell allowing Celestia to enter their spell matrix and interact with her little ponies, perhaps for the final time. She had worked into the spell basic versions of herself and Celestia, enough to not break immersion but not drain the spell of its power. Her head rang, a high-pitched wail starting at the back of her mind, signaling Celestia's imminent return. She braced herself, pushing more power into the matrices helping her Sister return to their reality.
Five tense minutes of concentration, and a rift opened beside Luna, and Celestia floated through, her face soaked with tears, her limbs trembling with her ragged breaths. Struggling to stand, she instead chose to flop on her side, allowing Luna the chance to break the interaction spell and turn her attention to helping her sister.
"Are you all set, Tia? How is it? Did we provide...sufficient care and effort?" Luna rambled on, anxious to know how well her work was done.
"It is done. They all suspect nothing, in fact, they are all at peace. Happiness eternal, as best as we could provide them..." She stared at the ground for a long while, feeling Luna's hoof on her back.
"It was for the best. They are at least happy. As close to their eternal peace as they will ever be. We could not have saved them...you would have died yourself..." Luna trailed off, feeling the regret of knowing it was all they could do.
"It does not make up for the fact that an entire town has been...they didn't...Oh Luna, why?" Celestia sobbed loudly, Luna holding her close. She felt more hooves embrace her from behind. A white pair, with blue fetlocks. Another white pair, this one showing their age, joined by a dark blue pair. Twilight's family huddled around the Princess, shedding their tears and sharing in their grief over the town. Celestia had granted her parents and brother the opportunity to visit their dear Twilight anytime they wanted, they just required Luna or herself to journey to their Gardens.
It was not the solution she had hoped and prayed for, not what she had toiled away for, not what she had shed tears and blood for, but it was a solution, and it was palatable to all involved. Celestia had realized that by restoring the townsponies, she would be trapping their tortured souls inside the husks of their bodies, never to find their solace, their eternal rest. The last thing she wanted for her little ponies was more suffering, and spending her power to recover each pony piece by piece would drain her to death. She and Luna and Shining had talked. Hours and hours of heated emotional discussion, sometimes leading to blows, led the trio to their workable solution. A spell matrix weaved by the best minds in Equestria, using base spells from Starswirl's Archive, designed to encompass the townsponies' magical signatures inside of a dream, an intricate illusion spawned by Luna, and her attention to detail made the occupants none the wiser to their plight.
They may not have been able to bring the ponies back to their lives successfully, back to the normal before the surge cast, before they all burst, but they could at least allow them to be at peace. She had exhausted all of her options, but the families of the lost were just glad to have gotten recompense in the form of dwelling upgrades or lump sums from the Royal Treasury. She could not erase their grief, or their fears, their anxieties about their own mortality, but she could help them along the same journey she now needed to undertake. The road was unclear, and the light ahead dimmer, but she knew that together, with her sister and the rest of her little ponies, she could find her own peace, her own relief.
She knew that she would never again see her faithful student in the flesh, feel her soft fur as she snuggled close for reading, see the wonder in her eyes as she talked about friendship reports and her studies. She knew deep down that though she would have many restless nights before her, she needed to power through and look to the next day for inspiration, to make life for the rest of her subjects as protected as she could. Without the Elements, Equestria would certainly see danger rise in the future, but it would be banished, as it had in the past, whether by hoof, horn, or wing.
She would never again see those immaculate smiles, their infectious wonder and joy, their group photos, like the one inscribed on the granite memorial within the Golden Oaks Library. She only had memories, and the knowledge that they were in a better state of being than she had found them in. They would be remembered forever for their bubbly personalities and gracious deeds for the country, for their skills and traits that filled their visitors with wonder.
Ponyville would remain a ghost town, but the memorials and tributes would fill the streets with the missed love, their relatives' photos and flowers adorning homes and doorways, brightening the dark atmosphere surrounding the area.
It was the hardest decision of her life, one that Celestia would have to live with, for the rest of her years. She vowed never to allow herself to forget the tragedy, the horrors, if only to prevent it from happening again. It would take her many years of vigils and healing her broken heart, but with her little ponies surrounding and helping her, she would pull through. Together, with their hooves intertwined and their hearts open, the families and leaders of Equestria would find their peace.
