Chapters Celestia walked across the charred wood, the sound of her hooves clacking echoing back at her. Everything was quiet, but it wasn't peaceful. It was like the quiet that comes on a battlefield after the last shot was fired. The heavy blanket of death hung over Ponyville.
What had happened? Celestia asked herself this often while wandering across this once great land. Her once great land. She tried to think about something else, and her thoughts quickly changed. Now she was thinking about a headache that hit her quickly and powerfully. She fell to her knees and blacked out quickly.
"Celestia!" She gasped, running to the figure. She stopped short once she saw the face. "P-princess?" She whimpered, ears lowered. The figures horn ignited and picked up Twilight in its aura, who gasped and started clutching at her neck.
"Stop!" Bellowed Celestia, shooting a beam of fire from her own horn. The fire dissipated quicker than it had appeared. The hooded figure turned its neck to grin at her, showing off rows of fangs. That mare, under the hood, she knew that mare. It couldn't be. She was dead, sealed away. The mare was her. A firey mane flickered behind her as she turned back to Twilight, who soon took a last, shuddering breath and went limp. Celestia, no, just she, dropped Twilights body and walked out the door. As soon as the door slammed shut, Celestia fell backwards as blackness enveloped her.
Celestia didn't know how long she had been out, but when she awoke she had a terrible headache. What was that sound? It was coming from the kitchen. Celestia stood and walked shakily towards it. Inside was....
"Spike?" Croaked Celestia. The dragon turned quickly, pupil’s dialated. His eyes were puffy and red.
"Ah, aaaaah!" He screamed. Glancing around, he realized that he couldn't get away. Celestia was blocking the only entrance. "W-what do you want!? Are you here to kill me too!?"
"What!? N-no! I would never-"
"Never what? Kill me just like you did Twilight? Or Princess Cadence? Or Princess Luna!?"Shouted Spike at her. They both went quiet, and the only sound in the room was their tears hitting the floor. "Just do it then, but first tell me why you left Twilights body here, for me to find. I had to bury my own mother, because of you. Why?" He spat, fury burning in his eyes. Celestia shuddered as she cried harder. Finally, she took a deep, shuddering breath and whispered:
"I-I killed Luna?"
"Yes!" Cried Spike in fear.
"O-oh" said Celestia as she sank to her haunches.
"C-Celestia?" Asked Spike timidly. She glanced up, but didn't raise her head. "You really are back, aren't you?"
"Back from where?" She whispered, her voice hoarse.
"You were evil. You destroyed all of Equestria, killing anyone who stood in your way" said Spike. "But you're back, right? Please don't lie. If you're evil, than just kill me now"
"Yes, I'm back. I... it felt like I had just woken up when I, ‘came back'. It felt like I had just fallen asleep. I-I don't know what happened. Can you tell me all of what happened?" She asked, looking pleadingly at Spike.
"It's late, I'll tell you everything in the morning" he said, looking out the window, where night had fallen. Celestia sighed and lowered herself to the floor. She levitated over a pillow and laid her head on it. She opened her eye to watch him.
"You're playing guard?" she asked, trying not to sound rude.
"I don't sleep at night. You- er- Queen Ignis, destroyed all of the boundaries between the Everfree forest and populated areas. Now, any monsters can just stroll in. Luckily, they only come at night. Therefore, I sleep during the day, usually" He explained, not taking his eyes off the empty door way.
"Oh" Said Celestia dumbly. She started thinking, and lit up her horn.
"Woah woah woah! What do you think you're doing!" yelled Spike, waling his claws at her furiously.
"It's okay, trust me" said Celestia calmly.
"Trust you ? After everything!? No way!"
"Please Spike, I'm just trying to restore the boundaries around the Everfree" she explained. Spike stood back, but his eyes were nervous. Just as Celestia lit her horn for a second time, a loud growling was heard from the front door. Spike instantly lunged to intercept the Timber wolf, who had launched itself at Celestia. The two collided in midair in a ball of teeth and claws. Spike bit and scratched as hard as he could, wounding it extremely. Many branches laid strewn about. Finally, the Timber wolf let out a weak whine and fell onto his side as the green glow in its eyes flickered out.
Spike stood, breathing heavily and holding his arm in the other. A deep gash could be seen in the scales, blood flowing steadily. He also had a bite mark on his thigh. He took a deep breath and blew it out, burning the wolves remains. Celestia stood and lowered her horn to his wound. He flinched, but forced himself to remain still. A light green magic flowed into the wound, which closed quickly, leaving only a dull scar. She then did the same to the bite marks.
"T-thanks" he coughed. Celestia, instead of answering, floated up into the sky, an ethereal light around her. It steadily grow brighter before flashing brightly. Celestia fell to the ground, breathing hard.
"The boundaries... are up... again" she panted before collapsing back onto her make-shift bed. Spike nodded before curling into a ball next to her and falling asleep.
Celestia watched Spike out of the corner of her eye. He looked different. He was taller now, less like a dragon and more like a... oh what were they called!? Humans! He was shaped like a human. He also had wings now, and had large muscles under his scales. Celestia finally closed her eyes and fell into a deep sleep.
Author's Note
Sorry, I know this chapter was a bit short, but I wanted to finish it early and hopefully get two chapters out by September 8th. I hope you all enjoyed, please leave a like if you did! Thanks for reading!
"Celestia" came a cool, calming voice. Celestia raised her head and looked around groggily. "Celeeestia..." came the voice again. Celestia forced herself to her hooves and followed it. It took her a moment to notice where she was. Canterlot. Or, at least, what looked like Canterlot. The streets were abandoned. Rubble lined the streets. The only sound was the sound of her own hooves clacking metallically on the stone. A hacking cough came from her left. Celestia jumped slightly and turned. A dark, black tunnel lay before her. Another cough followed a few choked sobs. Celestia walked slowly and carefully down until the sound was coming from just before her. Celestia lit her horn and heard a yelp. There, in front of her, was her young sister.
She was curled into a ball, bloodied and crying. Both of her wings had been twisted completely around, rendering them completely useless and bleeding heavily where the skin had torn. Perhaps the worst of all was her horn. Or lack thereof. Her horn had been completely snapped off. She yelled and tried to stand, only to crumple back against the wall. Clearly at least one of her legs were broken. Probably more. She looked up at Celestia, tears in her eyes. Her pupils were mere pinpricks. Reflected in her sister’s glassy eyes, Celestia saw fire. She glanced back and gasped. Her mane and tail were both bright and blazing. She was wearing smooth, shiny armor embedded with red gems. Even her cutie mark was different.
She turned back to her sister and couldn't stop what she did next. Her horn lit and Luna was raised into the air. A tightness formed around her neck, and a single tear slid down her cheek. Celestia couldn't stop. She wanted to, but she couldn't. She didn't even wince when a large crack was heard, and Luna went limp in her grasp.
***
Celestia awoke with a start, sweat and tears staining her face. Spike was sitting up next to her, looking at her with concern.
"Celestia, are you okay?" He asked in a deep voice. Celestia hadn't realized how hard she'd been shaking. She breathed out deeply and glanced outside. The moon was still high in the sky. It would still be a few hours before sunrise. Celestia leaned far to her right and was expecting to hit the ground, but was caught by scaled, warm arms. Celestia glanced up and gave a half smile before lapsing back into sleep. When she woke, she felt warm arms embracing her. That tends to be a thing with dragons. They have a fire in them that will always keep them warm. Celestia grunted and nuzzled into it. "Are you awake?" Came Spikes soft voice. Celestia yawned and opened her eyes.
"Yeah. Thanks" she responded. She rolled her eye to the window and saw the sun slowly making its way up. She groaned and stood shakily, stretching and popping her back. She stood for a moment, trying to gather her scrambled thoughts. She turned and glanced back at Spike. "You ready for this?" She asked, watching him from the corner of her eye. Instead of answering, he just stared confusedly. Celestia winked and walked to the center of the library, opening her wings wide. She rose into the air, horn aglow. A white glow shone from her chest as streams of light flew from the many books that were still intact. It was a beautiful sight, but it was over in a few seconds. She landed down carefully and swayed. Spike ran forward to catch her, but was stopped when she held up a hoof. She righted herself and carefully laid a hoof to her forehead. "Oh wow, I haven't used that spell in ages"
"What did you do!?" Asked Spike, slightly panicked.
"I absorbed the knowledge. It would've taken way too long to read all of these books. There was one though..." she trailed, looking to her left in wonder. She quickly trotted over and picked up one very, very old book. She opened it and read. She got about a paragraph down and gasped, dropping the book. She took several steps back, bumping into Spike.
"What’s wrong?" He asked, laying a hand across her back. She jumped and winced at the touch, causing Spike to recoil.
"S-sorry" she whispered. "I-I just... can't right now"
"What's wrong?" He repeated, more forcefully. Celestia turned and looked at him, tears in her eyes.
"Alicorns" she said quietly. Spike had been stunned into silence. "That book... it had a note from my parents, and I never even knew it. There's a whole city of them outside Equestria. Far, far north. If we could get there..." she explained, more tears falling. "There had always been rumors, but we never believed them. We... we could never find them" she continued before going quiet. Spike rose after a minute and embraced Celestia. A few hours later, Spike and Celestia left the library. Celestia had cast a spell on a large bag, expanding it on the inside. It was a large, comfortable town house on the inside with a large basement full of supplies. They walked across Ponyville before coming across the Everfree forest. They kept walking, trudging forward until nightfall.
That was when they took to the skies, soaring freely above the gnarled black and red trees of the Everfree. They made good progress, landing a couple miles south of a small town by sunrise. They then picked a safe spot under a rock where they stored the bag and climbed inside. Celestia and Spike headed to her bedroom, where Celestia climbed into bed. Spike turned and walked to the door.
"Spike" called Celestia, just as he walked under the door. He turned and looked at her expectantly. "I... I have just had my entire world turned upside down. For many, many years before this I have forced myself to remain cold. I have always been the protector, not the protected. Now that my life is falling apart, can you do me one thing and just hold me?" She asked, large eyes reflecting the light from a single candle burning at her bedside. Spike smiled warmly and nodded, climbing into the bed and wrapping his long arms around her. Before either one of them could fall asleep, Celestia turned her neck around and blew out the candle.
Author's Note
Sorry that the big part came a bit suddenly.
Author's Note
GORE WARNING AHEAD!
I'm not trying to make this fic to dark or to Gorey, it just kinda...happened. Sorry! Please leave a like and comment if you enjoyed. Thanks!
Discord reigns
Celestia awoke and grinned. She felt warm and safe. She cracked an eye open and saw a small flicker of light in front of her. She stood shakily to follow it. It lead her all around Canterlot castle, finally coming to a stop in her throne room. Everything was hazy, and her mind seemed pleasantly blank. There was at least a dozen dead guards lying around, all of the white marble stained.
Princess Cadance was lying on the floor, screaming with her back arched. A large alicorn with a fiery mane and tail stood above her, very slowly twisting her hind leg around in a full circle. It eventually separated entirely. Just like Luna, her horn had been snapped off and was lying a few feet away. The remaining crystal guards, who were being held back by queen Ignis, flinched and turned away. Finally, blissfully, and with one last scream, Cadances heart slowed to a stop.
Celestia turned slowly, still following a small flicker. She knew that she should be sad, or angry, or... anything! She simply didn’t. She followed it out of the castle and to a large cliff. She looked down at the thrashing waters, and without a second thought, jumped. She fell down, down, down. She crashed into the waves, the cold water shocking her body. Her wings were heavy and started to drag her down. Her lungs didn’t burn like they should have. They felt clean. A last bubble escaped her mouth and her eyes slowly closed.
***
"Oh god oh god!" Came a panicked voice. It reached Celestias ears as though it were being muffled by a wall or water. The panicked sounds continued, but were steadily becoming clearer as though she were being raised slowly, coming closer to it. Finally she opened her eyes and coughed, water spurting out of her lungs. Spike was standing above her, breathing a sigh of relief.
"What happened!? I woke up and you had stopped breathing! Thank god he showed up" said Spike hastily. He backed off for a minute and let another pony step forward. He looked... strange. He was a light brown, but his Horn was silver blue. He also had small, red pupils sitting in large yellow eyes.
"D-Discord?" Sputtered Celestia. The stallion chuckled and, with a pop, there stood the one, the only, god of chaos.
"Well Celestia, I must say, you stirred up chaos like a champ not too long ago. I was hibernating, but ooh hoo did I feel good when I woke up!" He said, flying around her in lazy circles, stretching for extra enthusiasm. He stopped suddenly. "But, of course, that was before I emerged from my dimension to find all of my friends dead. Murdered. Even my love Fluttershy, with both wings torn off" he spat, a single tear sliding down and emotions changing rapidly. Celestia had never heard him so serious, so joyless. "We were going to get married, you know. About a month after the day she was killed. Her beautiful white gown stained red. She... we were to be blessed with a child. She was three months in" he continued, more tears flowing. In all of time, this is the first time anybody has actually seen him cry. "And now it's time to repay you" he growled deeply, eyes flashing dangerously.
He flew at Celestia, but was intercepted by Spike, who had jumped just a second after Discord. Spike bit hard on his leathery wing and Discord growled and wrapped his long body around him, squeezing tight. Spike gasped and sputtered, sweat dripping down his face. He took a deep breath and blew out emerald flames. Discord bellowed in rage and uncoiled, flying erratically to put himself out.
Spike was dropped thirty feet, and barely had time to open his wings before hitting the ground. Hard. Hard enough to leave an indent. He felt a small crack in his ankle, but was up and running to Celestia in a matter of seconds.
"Go! Go!" He bellowed. Celestia spread her wings and soared past the many trees. Spike followed close behind, picking up their leather bag and spreading his scaly wings. Discord, after extinguishing himself, followed the two, gaining quickly. Celestia was trying to form a teleportation spell, but couldn’t focus. He kept shouting at her.
"Did you pay each of the bearers a special visit? And what about Princess Twilight, whom you loved like a daughter!? Did you crack her neck? Or twist her leg off? Ooh, or did you lop off both her wings like Fluttershy!?" He called, going as quickly as he could. Celestia stopped abruptly.
"What are you doing!?" Hissed Spike.
"Shut up" whispered Celestia. "Shut up shut up shut up shut up shut up!" She repeated until she was screaming. She turned to face Discord, mane flowing straight up, looking ominously like fire. She flew at him and the two collided. She flew him into the ground, sending up a plume of dirt. They tunneled ten feet into the ground. A large ring of fire was burning around the rim, scorching trees. Discord jumped on her, cutting a deep gash in her front leg. Celestia tilted her head and stabbed her sharp horn clear through his green scaled leg. He screamed and yanked himself free. Blood dripped down onto her face from her horn. She grinned wickedly and licked it from her muzzle. Her eyes were glowing orange and her hair was starting to look more and more like fire.
"Celestia!" Called Spike, jumping into the pit. She whipped her head around and laughed.
"Not so fast, little boy" she growled, picking him up in her magic and throwing him against the wall. He gasped and his eyes widened in pain. His leg was certainly broken from the impact. Discord stood shakily and snapped. It seemed as though magic was being pulled from the earth itself and was condensing into one object. A small, black box appeared and sucked in the queen, who howled in fury. He limped over to Spike and asked him in a hoarse voice if he was okay. Spike nodded before stuttering out a question.
"WH-what did you do?" He asked, staring in wonder at the small box.
"Don't worry. I've encased her in here, and as we speak, the box is working to isolate her from her chaotic magic" explained Discord. "Now come on, before you bleed out. We need to get back"
Spike gave a short, hard laugh. "Back where?" He asked, gesturing around to the wilderness. Discord turned back and gave a knowing smile before raising his head to the north-east.
"To them."
Spike and Discord had been walking for days before they finally reached their destination. Deep in the Crystal Mountains they found what they were looking for. A small town was nestled in a meadow between two icy mountains. Dozens of large logs of wood had been carved to a point at the end and were placed upright, forming an intimidating front. Those eventually gave way to thick, stone walls.
Discord easily opened the gate with a bit of magic. The two walked in and Spike gasped. There were easily tens of thousands of ponies in here, all going about their business. Other than a few glances to Discord, the odd duo entered unnoticed. Spike stopped and stared at something in the middle of town. A large stone statue of a very familiar princess standing proudly, wearing what appeared to be battle armor. Changelings were depicted towards the bottom, trying to crawl their way up. A large golden plaque was based at the bottom of the statue. Spike stepped forward and looked at the plaque.
'Princess Twilight Sparkle. The founder of this town and current elder who fought against many evils to build this glorious and beautiful town of Harmonia'
"What! T-Twilight made this?" Stuttered Spike, stepping back and gesturing around wildly, causing some ponies to stare. "And... she's here?" He added, voice dropping to a whisper, pupils dilating at the thought.
Instead of answering, Discord slowly made his way towards a large tent. Spike followed him without hesitation. Over the flap of the tent, which was currently closed, were six very familiar cutie marks. Discord gestured for him to stay there and slipped through the opening. A shrill scream sounded quickly after that. Spike stiffened and, against what Discord had wished, pushed through the heavy tarp. His brain went dead at what he saw.
Discord was on the ground, Fluttershy on top of him and clinging to his neck. A young filly was also bouncing on him. The filly seemed to be half draconequus. Sitting around in a circle was a group of ponies he never expected to see again. Rainbow Dash and Applejack were sitting close together, tails intertwined.
Spike turned his head and saw Rarity and Pinkie both sipping tea. Well, Rarity was drinking tea, Pinkie was drinking... something. They all looked up when Spike walked in. Spike stood in shock, eyes wide and mouth agape. There was a long, awkward pause.
"Well howdy, Spike" said Applejack awkwardly, finally breaking the silence.
"Y-yes, hello darling" added Rarity, setting down her teacup. Spike jerked back when Pinkie flew at him.
"Aah! Spike we missed you!" She yelled, balloons somehow sprouting up from the grounds as they spoke.
"Wow, you've grown" said Dash, looking him up and down.
"Ah think he's taller than you now, sugar cube" said AJ, leaning into Dash.
"Pshh, nah-" she said, stopping herself suddenly and blushing. "Well, maybe a little" she added with a roll of her magenta eyes. Applejack glared at her and Rainbow Dash ruffled her wings in challenge. Then they both laughed and Rainbow leaned in. The two shared a brief kiss.
“W-wait, you two are, like, together?” He asked awkwardly.
“Well duh. I mean, look at me. I’m practically a walking LGBTQ campaign” said Dash easily, gesturing to her tail and mane. The other three laughed.
"Oh, hello Spike" said Fluttershy, only now noticing that Discord had brought a companion.. Spike nodded slightly. Discord walked towards him, balancing the foal on his head.
"This here is little Goldie" said Fluttershy, stroking the foals head fondly.
"Her name is Golden. As in a golden apple of discord. She's my little apple" explained Discord, seeing that Spike was confused. Applejacks head would swing around every time he said apple. Spike nodded slowly. Through all of this, he only had one thing on his mind.
"Twilight?" He asked quietly. The four shared a look.
"She’s through there" said Dash, pointing to another heavy tarp with her hoof. Spike nodded and went to the tarp. It took all of his willpower to keep from laughing and shouting and crying. Inside was an organized room with a single desk in the middle. Seated at the desk was a purple alicorn.
She was slumped over the desk, snoring slightly. Even from across the room, Spike could see long burn marks singed around her neck from when Queen Ignis had attacked her. He inched forward quietly, claws shuffling in the dirt floor. Under Twilight was a large map of Equestria. Purple pins striped with green were sticking out at locations all over. It seemed that Twilight had been trying to find him this whole time. He wiped at a tear and slowly stepped around the desk. He gently placed a hand on Twilight's back, just between her wings. They quickly shot open as Twilight leaned up, sending a hoof straight into Spikes nose. He shouted and lurched back, blood spewing.
"S-Spike!?" She gasped, just now realizing who he was. The next things he felt were two soft hooves being wrapped around him, pulling him into a tight embrace. He did the same, holding her close. He buried his nose in her fur and inhaled. A wave on nostalgia followed the familiar scent. Memories of when he was younger and happier surfaced. Tears flowed down both of their cheeks, making small puddles on the floor. But those scars, If she were alive, why did she have them? Why was she alive? Spike had found her body, buried her with his own claws.
"Twilight, how are you even alive!?" He asked, pulling away slightly but not letting go.
"It doesn't matter! You're alive and here! I've spent the last year trying to find you! And here you are!" She cried. Spike laughed and wiped away his tears. Suddenly, a loud horn blew from outside, breaking both of them out of their trance. They were in the midst of a war. Spike jumped and Twilight snapped her head towards the sound, ears pricked. Rainbow Dash came flying through the tarp, knocking it away, causing a couple of spear displays to fall down.
"They're here" was all she said before flying back out. Twilight cursed under her breath and opened a hatch in the ground that Spike hadn't noticed before. From it, she pulled out a sleek, black armor, equipping each piece carefully. The final things she pulled out were a large bow and a quiver of diamond tipped arrows, and a long wooden staff, embedded with magenta gems that shined lightly. She also pulled a large amount of small daggers out from many different locations in her room.
"What's going on!?" Cried Spike as the ground started to rumble. Twilight grinned mischievously at him, which didn’t help his nerves at all. He knew that look all too well.
"The Yaks are here"
Author's Note
Sorry this took so long guys! Hopefully it was worth the wait. Leave a like and comment down below if you enjoyed! Thanks for reading!
