Celestia took in a long, slow breath. The air around her shimmered, keeping her protected. Beneath that was armor made of dull gold. Gold that hadn’t seen her blessed light in centuries. It was of an era long past for her kingdom. Past what she had come to need for that which faced her. Faced her kingdom. Faced those she cared ab-
“Princess, what… what…”
Celestia took in a shaking breath as a flame erupted inside of her barrier and she snapped her eyes open, red tinting both her irises and her magic’s chorona. She could still hear the screams. The screams made by the… things that came through the portal. That came for some sick goal of conquest. No. No, that would make this easier…
“St-”
That was all that got out from the guards she had stationed outside, and she winced at the outcry. After all, she had told them to leave. They could do nothing against forces of this strength. In fact, she wasn’t even all that sure she could do anything. After all, her sister… Her sister…
“This was all we found of her. The rest… The rest burned.”
No. She had lost two of her dearest friends and family to these things. They may have thought they were strong, but, she thought as she placed a new crown on her head, the one that used to belong to the gemstone in the middle’s element that now glowed on her head before the star turned dark, she was going to end up. She took her spear in one hand and left her throne in one fluid movement, finally ending the bell she had tolled for her enemies.
And in walked the one who had slain her student. The one that had come first. The one who had started the instability. Equestria had shown it trust and kindness by not opening hostilities despite the breach in the skies that the being had made. That the… Human? Celestia wasn’t sure, as it reminded her of the things on the other side of the mirror, but it seemed so far beyond them.
She did remember what Fluttershy had told her. That the being didn’t need to move. She might have worn a skintight suit that clung to a body that rivaled hers in beauty, but she wasn’t interested in showing it off, or even moving for that matter. She didn’t have to from what Celestia had been told. No, this… Thing was magical, and on a level that even Twilight couldn’t stop. Not… Not fast enough for how she had struck.
My name is X. You are the ruler of this land. I learned from your subjects. I learned from your student. If you thought a constantly growing ringing would kill me, than I could teach you much of pain.
Celestia frowned for a moment as she felt her magical shield be probed. It now had flecks of purple, black, and green slipping into it. Mixing and strengthening her magic. The being’s magic was able to do nothing to it though, not with the simple swipes that came at her. “You are not known for your willingness to-”
The entire castle shook as X’s eyes opened slightly and one of her hands twitched. The walls cracked around Celestia, and she found she had maybe a second to take in the fact that the attack was even coming from her left. She couldn’t see it though, nor could she properly prepare. She could only move what little of her magic was fast enough just before the small sliver of magic hit.
And in one, large explosion, destroyed half of the throne room. In a cacophony of crashing stone, shattering glass, and screaming metal, it was ripped asunder by the sudden force, and Celestia slammed one of her hooves into the stone, digging it past the stone into the wood below to keep herself rooted in place. Her hair spun around her, her horn sputtered as her magic threatened to fail her, and it was only sheer force of will that kept her conscious.
This was going to be the only time that X came so close though. After all, she had struck while Celestia allowed herself a moment of distraction, and she was done with that. There would be no need for talking now. Simply the chorus of battle, and choir of voices of fallen subjects that hadn’t rung in her ears for a thousand years.
A choir that was interrupted by something slipping inbetween their chants. It was something that only eons of experience allowed her to notice. It was like when Discord would attempt to mess with her mind. He would feed something into the skull and then let it expand as it fought a place where one’s defenses couldn’t properly find it. This indeed began expanding too, but instead of trying to take her over, it simply applied pressure to her skull, attempting to crack it from the inside out as she clutched her head. She… She needed to stop this before… Before…
Crash!
It was a moment that caught both combatants off guard, a thing no better illustrated by the fact that X, for all her posturing, magic, and focus, now was crushed against the stones, her own skull bleeding rather than Celestia’s, from the other being that had entered through the rifts. The one that came in the night. The hunter. The destroyer. The one that Luna had fought. Fought and…
Celestia shut her eyes for only a second, allowing herself the reprieve as she steadied herself only because of what she had heard of this one. Its name was Kiren, and beyond its human form, it was clear what it was. After all, Twilight would appreciate her analysis. Thick, blue scales that covered the being’s entire body was one sight option. The smell of sulfur and smoke that came from the being’s mouth was a smell point that Celestia knew all too well. The mask that the being wore over her face was the one that damned it. The look of a dragon was unmistakable afterwards, regardless of the being’s wide hips or large bust that would hope it would be a motherly figure.
No, it was just like every dragon other than Spike. A killer and destroyer that cared for nothing except whatever it sought to have. It was only a shame that this drake seemed to want nothing except to carve a place for itself, regardless of what had to die for it. If not for her call, it might have stayed in the mountain near Canterlot, but Celestia couldn’t risk more of her subjects being harmed by it.
Besides, just as she had hoped, one problem had helped solve the other. She only now had to deal with Kiren, and she hadn’t let her combat abilities slouch for a thousand years. She admired her sister, yes, but one could only do so much on the moon.
This drake would learn what a real ruler could do.
Not that it seemed interested in learning as it leaned its head back. Licks of light blue flames washed over the hard, rough, blue scales that covered her face. Its body was shaking as the air above it began to shimmer from the heat. Celestia could even feel the amount of heat building within the drake, but she had long ago learned that no sun was beyond her gasp. All she had to do was reach out to the ball of fire in Kiren, take ahold of it, and in one movement crushed it.
Celestia smirked as the dragon stopped, her long, blue wings closing in on her slightly as her eyes widened. Not that Celestia could see them very well under the mask, but after all that these things had done to her subjects and family… She allowed herself a moment of happiness in seeing it panic like this.
A panic that turned to rage. The princess didn’t miss a beat as she bent her knees, planted her feet, and pointed her spear forward. If it wanted to charge at her, it would have to find itself skewered first. She just had to wait and make sure she didn’t panic. That she didn’t run from whatever it tried to do.
The dragon’s wings then beat, sending it high into the air, through the newly made hole in the ceiling, with Celestia’s eyes following a second behind. She had rarely seen a pegasus as fast, usually only amongst her most elite, and she barely caught it ducking behind the stones. Was it running? Was it that afraid of her ability to quell its fire?
The answer was a resounding no as claws slammed against stone, and the ceiling cracked. A second strike, and a large, thirty foot hole in the ceiling came plummeting down. Fortunately, it was almost nothing for Celestia to jump away from the rubble, as her legs had already been cloaked in her magic. A swap from steadying them to leaping away was nothing, even as the stone fell faster than it should ha-
Oh no. Celestia barely moved her spear infront of her, but it was too late as Kiren leapt from the stone. Her claws left large gashes in the granite, and the outstretched claws quickly slid past Celestia’s spear as the fact that this was not a normal dragon, but a dragon shaped as a human, made itself all too apparent as her body wide enough to be gored by the flimsy defense.
Celestia’s real defense now was her magic and armor, two things that had still so far never failed her. She merely had to meet the claw that now came towards her chest in a lunging, right thrust. The creature had speed and mass on its side, as well as whatever muscle pushed the bone that now threatened to pierce her heart. A single point of immediate attack in the front claw would make it all the harder to stop, but she was a warrior of over a thousand years of age.
A fact that almost didn’t matter as the force slammed into her barrier. The claw itself was stronger than the lithe creature’s frame would tell one, and with the speed and weight behind it, it tore past her immediate defenses. Fortunately, Celestia didn’t even need to consider what to do as old strategies worked automatically. The barrier folded in on itself, presenting a wedge between her and the claw, which only became thicker as Kiren’s second two fingers came for her. It pushed them away, diverting the lunge away. The dragon resisted it though, and Celestia could almost feel its overwhelming fury from this distance as it tried to ignore the magic. As it came closer to her heart. As the dragon threatened to take her heart.
It was with the scraping of metal that it finally failed and the claw was deflected, gouging her breastplate into an ineffectual mess as Celestia was flung across the throne room. She crashed back against her throne, her breath escaping her as the wood splintered beneath her weight. For a moment, Celestia thought her spine might break from how she bent over the top, before she fell forward, her now broken wings falling to her side as she coughed, the taste of copper filling her mouth as she looked up.
Kiren was already on the ground, its tail high in the air as the dragon got ready to pounce again. Got ready to strike at what was now open fur and flesh on Celestia. The princess brought a hand up to grip herself, her heart freezing over as she felt the dragon’s gaze come back over it. What she found was soft, malleable, and comforting. A place that reminded her of growing up, of teasing, of tender nights, of just how close her and her student were..
Something that was now gone from her. She opened her eyes as the element of harmony on her head finally became pure black, and her eyes became green as she let the power flow into her. Let the same hate and fury that fueled this dragon fill her. She would not let it win.
And in a flash of bright light, and absolute darkness, a beam mixed of both launched over Canterlot and into the very mountain that the dragon had planned to take for itself. There would be nothing more to it, as was declared by the one who now ruled Equestria alone. Who had no one near her anymore, and the nearest had their own kingdom to run. The one who now lowered her head as the element in her crown cracked, and then shattered from its abuse.
It was over though, and that was what mattered.
I said I could teach you much of pain, and you think a concussion would be all that would kill me?
It was the last thing Celestia heard before the pressure on her skull came back. She was too weak to do anything about it though. Not after pouring all of who she was into wiping out the dragon. No, she was so tired. She had been so tired for so long, and even if this didn’t come, she would have lost the few things that had woken her up in recent years.
She only hoped that she would be blessed to rejoin those she loved soon in the next life, and be able to rebuild Equestria, faults and all, there. It was a thought that made the pressure on her skull almost relaxing before it became nothing at all.
And X rose from her place on the ground and moved to continue wiping out all life she found.
Author's Note
This was an entirely self indulgent piece for me admittedly of two of my original characters and Celestia getting to be in a genre I love but rarely get to write that much: Action. It's something that both original characters will/have faced in their own books, but not in high levels because these are versions of the characters that are in their worst states. Them when the hate or anger they hold never went checked.
So, before you all go, a quick pitch for both since both are dear characters to me of two series that, while not always happier than this story, are far more hopeful than this in spades. Also, spoilers for X because while all of it's in the book published for her series, a decent bit of it is right at the end.
Kiren: From the Sarafune series (linked directly), Kiren is a blue dragon and the older sister of Kiren, a red dragon who accepted the desire to live with humanity. Kiren never could though. She was in her eyes a queen of monsters, and above the need to conform or behave, abandoning the hope for her to be rehabilitated years ago, and only having even tried it because of her mother and sister. She had no place with humans though. At least, until the right one came along...
X: From Daughters of Dusk (linked indirectly due to the cover, but can be found on the user page fairly easily), she isn't really human. Whatever she is was useful though, and she was taken while she still trusted people to a secret lab. There, she would be almost constantly tortured, experimented on, and drained of blood for the madmen's experiments. From that, girls would be made into living weapons, but she didn't care about this when she was finally freed. She only cared that she was indeed free, and that when given a home, she would give humanity one chance to make up for what it had done to her. If it gave her no reason to find her hope again though, they and anything else that could hurt her would die, something she was all too capable of seeing as a reality.
Luckily, she got a pretty good idiot and a team that would back her up with their own lives to makes sure she got it back.
