Makings of A Monster

I smiled, as my friends, the 9 other 'leaders' of the 'Harmonicin Umbrin', gathered. I even smiled as one of the most annoying stallions in existence, Prince Blueblood, came into the room. However, he was a unicorn, and one with power at that, so I... tolerated, him.

"Please tell me you have found food..." Blueblood grumbled, looking like shit. I loved that. He DESERVED, that look. But, we needed him, at least, we used to. He used to give us information, but now, his only use was that he wasn't dead. I kept my face grim, shaking my head.

"No. I have called you all together to say that today, will be the final day of our group. It is my belief that we are the LAST living members." I announced, letting that sink in. I knew that these words sucked the happiness out of them. "The empire that we have built over thousands of years is about to collapse...".

"What do we have to show for it? We haven't created what we need to, the ultimate being. Damn, we haven't even tried since the NightMist incident, over a thousand years ago!" I let it sink in further, as I stirred their emotions, like a stew. However, it wasn't finished, not yet.

"I gathered you all, to say that it is time. This is the culmination of all of our work, our ancestors, WORK! We have been planning this since we last tried. I saw we perform the ritual!" I yelled, adding more ingredients to our stew, watching them, waiting for the final ingredient to be delivered.

I knew they were agreeing with me, just fairly nervous. Marcus, a good friend of mine, voiced his concern, delivering the final ingredient directly into my hands.

"But what happens if we fail!?" Marcus asked, nervously. I smiled at him, a clever glint in my eye.

"Well, if we fail, 2 things can occur. A - The spell collapses, with an energetic release vaporizing us instantly, a long with Canterlot and the 2 royal cunts! Or B - The energy will cause a resonant collapse in the ley-line, with this area feeling the brunt of the force. The entire mountain will collapse from the small explosion that will fill the tunnels..." I finished, continuing my grim smile. "But so what? If we succeed, the ultimate being will be created. We fail, we destroy Canterlot!!! I honestly love the fact that if we fail, we destroy the royals crowning achievement!!!".

Everyone was silent, the worry gone. They now burned with a new purpose.

"So, who is with me!?" I yelled, as I was tasting the stew, seeing if the tasted was the one I desired. They smiled, and roared their answer. Yes.

"Then gather what we need! We shall perform the ritual in the central chamber. GO!!!" I ordered, making them scramble to get things ready for the ritual.

Seems I made a delicious stew.

. . .

It took many hours to become prepared for the ritual, but I knew it would be worth it. You see, we needed a lot of materials to do this right, and there were a few things some of us wished to do before we began. For instance, pray to some god that this would actually work.

I watched 2 of our members, wrapped in our special robes ( dark black garments with white contours, our symbol adorning the back), go into the main chamber at the center of our base, and begin to draw runes across the floor, using alchemical chalk, of the finest quality.

The runes would fizzle and shiver as they were drawn, thanks to the special chalk formula, involving changeling chitin, chimera blood, and fragments of harmonic crystals. These materials were inherently tuned to magic, and with these magical symbols, it all began to interact with the power of the ley-lines.

At first, they drew the absorption runes, in a large circle at the center. Next, a containment rune around this circle. Thanks to the absorption runes that tapped into the ley-lines power, the containment runes began to glow, becoming charged with power. It was as if the 2 people were drawing a circuit as it was fed power, truly impressive. Next, around those runes, was another layer, filled with runes meant to create a golem, with healing and other runes, all modified for our purposes. Around that, another containment rune. The third layer was meant to hold important materials to build the being, and it contained warped and twisted golem creation rune, and twisted absorption spells. After that, another containment rune! The 4th and final layer contained no real runes, but instead a set of candles, that provided the perfect amount of light, a BALANCE between light and dark. The real purpose of the layer was its set of intricate containment runes, meant to be a backup plan, and to provide a central purpose, to allow the flow of energy into the circle, but not allow that energy to flow outwards. Outside of the runes were multiple circles, 10 in total, each made to protect those that are inside them, and to focus their magic into the rune area.

The other cultists entered the room, carrying the final materials, which made me smile. I then approached, and I watched as Blueblood tried to speak, but I had already seen his face, covered in doubt and worry, and so I held up my hand, calling for silence.

"Do not worry my friends. Nothing can reach the chamber, for I have engaged the magical alarms, and crystal defense golems. If anyone were to break into our base during the ritual, they would be slaughtered... Now, may we begin?".

With nobody answering, I smiled, and pulled out a dagger, which shimmered from its ebony material.

"Lets do this...".

. . .

Each person gathered items, and put them within the golem material runes, aka, the 3rd rune circle, with each item important to the ritual. Earth pony tendon, Pegasus wing, unicorn horn. A ( supposed ) fragment of the moon, bottled sun-fire. A book from Sombra, and a book from Starswirl the Bearded. Changeling chitin, and fur of Discord. There was even root of the Everfree, and mist from the NightMist. Each ingredient was there to add something special.

I then took the ebony blade, as I walked to the center rune, and cut my hand, dripping blood into the central rune. After that, we passed the blade around, each unicorn cutting their hand and dripping blood into the center. A gift of life. I loved how Blueblood whimpered when he did it. Once the blood was spilled, and the dagger back in my hands, I threw the blade to the side, as it was no longer required. Stepping back, I gestured at my colleagues, and our horns lit, and the ritual began. The artifacts began to glow, and were yanked to the center, being crushed into a ball, with the blood wrapping around them, forming a crimson orb.

At that moment, a crystal near me flashed a deep red, much like the crimson color of the blood, and an image appeared, showing that someone had broken in, and was moving quickly towards the central chamber, bringing down any defenses they came across. Sadly, I could only detect their life-force, not how strong they were. I dispelled the image, growling to myself.

"Someone has broken in, and is approaching quickly from the Northern sections. You 4!" I commanded, pointing at 4 cultists. "Go investigate, and show these intruders the might of the Harmonicin Umbrin!". The 4 looked at each other, worried. They then stopped feeding magic to the ritual, and ran through the Northern doorway of the room, the direction that my back was facing. I merely continued watching the ritual, as it was progressing. By now, an aura had filled up the center circle, with its containment rune crackling, the field it created glowing gently. In fact, the aura was crackling too, for if I took a closer look, I'd see the aura was actually magical flame, half a glowing white, half a deep black. It licked at the air, trapped behind the invisible wall the containment runes formed. But I could see that the first containment rune was failing, being slowly overwhelmed as the flame grew. However, the absorption rune survived, as it was merely adding to the aura, not aiming to contain it. In minutes, the field the rune created cracked, and SNAPPED , the magical flame surging forward, consuming the second layer, and yet the golem runes survived.

You see, even though the first containment rune had collapsed, that did not mean that the ritual was going to fail. Quite the opposite actually, as with more space, it seemed to work better. I could feel a small soul forming, and a body trying to form at the same time.

As I continued to cast the spell for the ritual, before my very eyes, gentle white lines began to form across the ground and ceiling, all converging at the center of the ritual. These lines even appeared above-ground, across the landscape and in the sky. All over the world they formed, well more like appeared. These were the ley-lines, the planets current of magical energy. So much stress being put on them, it was making them show themselves. It made sense, the rituals magic came from these ley-lines, and many converged upon this mountain. More specifically, on the ritual, exactly.

It was easy to see when the body for the being began to try to form, as within the aura, the magical aura began to twist and shiver, trying to form a body, but seeming to have trouble. Hopefully, this would solve itself...

Wait. Why had the 4 cultists not returned yet? Shouldn't they have returned by now?

"... Ahem..?" a voice behind me called, from the... Northern doorway. What scared me the most about that simple sound was the following : That was a females voice... None of the cultists I sent were female. I turned...

... to see 3 fully armored, and armed, alicorns, staring me down.

Buck me...

. . .

"Hello Lairit... So nice to see you." Princess Celestia said, voice strangely calm. To her right stood Princess Luna, and to the left was the fidgeting purple brat, Princess Twilight Sparkle. I watched them, taking in every detail I could. The group was dressed not in their normal attire, but in the attire of warlords, ready to do battle.

Celestia wore armor that shone pure white, like marble, with grey, iron ( or perhaps steel ) highlights. It covered much of her body, yet seemed as light as air, not hindering her movement at all. Behind her, in a ponytail, her hair waved like the ocean, but that is not what caught my attention. Her helmet, styled in the gleaming white material, had a piece which covered her horn, that looked to be chain-mail, but woven much tighter, to be solid and unmovable. With this addition, it made her horn as sharp as a sword, and the material gleamed. Now that I mention it, her wings were the same way, clearly able to let her fly still, but now they were sharp killing machines. On her back sat a large, gleaming greatsword, made of the same material as her armor. This weapon glowed and crackled, as if filled with the fire of the sun.

Luna and Twilight wore very similar attire. Luna wore a set of modified ebony armor, making it lighter and deadlier, as it shimmered in the light ( Actual Authors Note : Imagine a set of ebony armor from skyrim, but with the golden highlights like the ebony weapons in Oblivion ). Twilight wore a set of armor that was made of a glass like material. Perhaps crystal? It gleamed in different colors, and luckily, was not translucent enough to see through. The mare had no weapon, but her horn was charged with a spectral bow spell, but this spell was modified, perhaps to be her own personal weapon. Luna on the other hand wielded a large Ebony Battle Axe, with a spike that could stab her enemies ( Actual Author Note : Imagine an ebony battle axe from skyrim, with the golden highlights of Oblivion ). Both of them had the chain-mail like materials on their horns and wings, making those appendages protected, and highly dangerous.

I quickly cast a spell of my own design, as energy from the ley-lines few into a shield spell around my group, and the ritual. I couldn't let them stop me.

"Oh wait, am I disturbing you and your friends..?" Celestia joked as she moved forward, dragging a finger across the shields surface, making it fizzle a tiny bit. She frowned as she looked at her finger, which was now a bit burnt. "Twilight..? Can you dismantle this shield?".

Twilight had been watching, and apparently taking notes, as in the corner of the room, a floating pencil scribbled away on a floating notepad. This little girl was taking notes. Actually, it was a bit flattering. She ran over beside the white alicorn matriarch, examining the shield, obviously thinking hard about how I had cast it, its power source, and the specifics of the spell. It was actually kind of cute to watch her think, until you took into account she was dressed to kill.

"Yes, but it will take time. Apparently, this man knows how to create very interesting and complex spells..." Celestia nodded at her student, as the purple alicorn got to work. I seethed with dread. I couldn't allow them to get through that shield. To ruin my work. My ancestors work.

"Averson, Blueblood, Clyde, handle them!" I ordered, making the 3 unicorns move away from the ritual, and through the shield, with Blueblood hesitating for a moment before gathering his courage, and moving onward. Blueblood took the spot a few feet in front of Celestia, with Clyde against Luna, and Averson vs. Twilight. The princess' seemed to be calm, while Twilight backed up a tiny bit, but not in fear. I knew they think they can win, they are confident. Why wouldn't they be? They are alicorns, this should be easy for them.

Boy were they in for a surprise~

"Blueblood, I knew you were terrible, but I did not expect you to join a CULT." Celestia chided, staring the prince down, anger and hurt in her eyes. He appeared to growl, and I swear I could hear the final band snap, as he let his true thoughts free.

"... Auntie, if we can create the ultimate being, then imagine the power gained from controlling it. Perhaps I could even use the ritual to give myself that power~!" Blueblood exclaimed, his horn flashing, as wards began appearing around him, intricate and complex protection spells. Celestia laughed at him, yet her eyes seemed a bit troubled. Blueblood should not know those ward spells.

"Blueblood. Nephew..." her eyes filled with a new thing... Mercy. "You still have a chance to redeem yourself, to not be destroyed. Step aside, please.".

"That's a funny thing to say... to pretty much say I am weak." Blueblood aimed his horn, the necklace with our groups symbol glowing like the ley-lines, as an arc of lightning, frost, and fire left his horn and hit the alicorn. The sudden burst of energy sent the alicorn flying, the stomach portion of her armor shattered. She hit the wall, and collapsed onto the floor with a crash. Blueblood laughed like a madman, watching the not moving form of the alicorn matriarch. He was then visibly saddened, as after a moment, Celestia rose, panting. She appeared to be confused, and definitely hurt, as blood dripped from her stomach.

"... good... try... at... killing me..." she breathed, standing up to her full height. "Seems you're... stronger... than I thought.".

Celestia reached behind her, pulling the sword free from its straps as her eyes became focus'd, while Twilight summoned her bow, ready to fire already. Luna already had her weapon in her hands, watching her opponent.

"But that won't save you.", as she flew up a bit, and charged.

The battle had begun.

. . .

Now, do know that I can't remember the entire battle, for I was more focused on the ritual, but I did manage to steal glances. I could see Blueblood focusing on Celestia, casting constantly, spells flying through the air at her. She kept moving, switching between flying and running as often as she could to evade the magic. She didn't try to attack Blueblood anymore, merely watching, trying to figure out how exactly she would pull off such a thing. She couldn't cast magic, since it would bounce off the ward and potentially hit herself, or the others. She couldn't get close, for she would be blasted by his magic. Quite the predicament.

Luna and Clyde were fighting, an ebony battleaxe vs. a spectral sword and shield. Clyde moved in a way that was honestly magnificent, moving the shield in ways that gave the night princess no resistance when she slashed downwards with her weapon, making it slide across that shield, and make her stumble from not having resistance to steady her, at which point Clyde gave her a series of jabs and slashes. This strategy was extremely effective, evidence of that was all over the floor, in the form of Luna's blood. She would definitely die down here.

Finally, there was Twilight, who, in a mere 5 minutes, murdered Averson, his body filled with arrows. She then turned, seeing Clyde and Luna dueling. It was at that moment that I turned away, watching the ritual. The body was still trying to form, as the soul was nearing completion.

It was nearly, over.

. . .

20 minutes passed with my eyes on the ritual, and many things had occurred. The soul had fully formed, shimmering within the rituals aura, and my 2 comrades, Jessi and Ryan, worked with me to solve the rituals problem. You see, it was having a lot of trouble creating a body that could withstand having so much power inside of it. To be honest, that was always the problem with the ritual. After so long of trying to fix this, I decided to look back, and I was instantly worried at what I witnessed. Clyde lay dead, arrows in his body, which was chopped up into 3 separate pieces, with his sword arm laying near the 2 pieces of his upper, and lower, body.

Now, the 3 alicorns were facing off against Blueblood, who appeared to be able to handle it. The question was : For how long? I turned away, needing to focus. I couldn't let the ritual fail. I couldn't fail my ancestors. I sighed, mumbling to myself.

"I won't fail.".

. . .

The next hour passed slowly, as the 3 of us worked to fix this, to give the runes a way to finally create the body. That's all we needed, a body for the soul. Luckily, we were finally able to solve the issue, by using our abilities to change around a few spells and runes, modifying them a bit. Now, all that we needed, was time.

It was at that moment I heard the tell-tale noise, of a shield being disabled.

I tried to turn as quickly as I could, to blast those behind me apart, but as I turned, I witnessed purple projectiles streak through the air in a blur, and by the time I had turned to face the alicorns, my 2 comrades, Ryan and Jessi, were already dead. I was all that was left. I now stared down the 3 princesses, 2 of which ( Luna and Twilight ), were ready to strike me down, weapons raised. Celestia however still seemed so calm, even though she was bleeding from the stomach. It was almost alarming how calm she was. Behind me, the ritual hummed, trying to complete itself, but it couldn't. Without at least 2 unicorns to guide the magic, the ritual would collapse.

All of us were so focused on each other, we didn't even notice my comrades bodies turning grey, and then to dust, a light glow left behind. That glow then sped into the ritual, and managed to keep the ritual going for a bit longer.

"... Twilight, Luna, stand down..." Celestia ordered, taking her weapon, and sheathing it. Everyone was surprised, even myself, but the 2 princesses followed the order. Celestia watched my every move while the 2 younger princesses put their weapons away. "Twilight, take Luna outside of this chamber, and into the corridor, to heal her. I shall call you if I need you.".
Twilight was about to argue, until Celestia's cool demeanor changed swiftly, as she shouted in the royal Canterlot voice.

"DO NOT ARGUE! NOW GO!".

The young alicorn made a 'Eeep!' noise, and ran out of the room in fright, carrying Luna with her in a magical grasp, along with her notebook and pencil... Leaving me with an angry goddess.

I am so screwed.

. . .

The moment the 2 lesser princesses left the room, the sun goddess muttered a few incantations, and with the wave of her hand, a field rose around our room, and when fully formed, it became invisible. A complex muffle spell, made so nobody can hear what anyone inside of the spell talks about. Seems she doesn't want her princesses listening. The next set of spells made an ancient wooden table appear, along with 2 chairs, 2 teacups, and a teapot, from which a wonderful aroma flowed. Celestia took a seat, poured herself some tea, and drank. I could see her wounds glow and heal as she sighed in pleasure from the healing tea, as she turned her pink eyes towards me, even gesturing for me to sit. I took note that my cup was only filled with water. I merely turned away, watching the ritual.

"Hoarding the healing tea to yourself?" I asked, waiting. Why hadn't she killed me?

"Yes. I need to relax and speak to you, in private. I cannot be injured this badly, and think clearly." siiip.

"Speak to in private? You don't trust your friends, nor family much if you cast a muffle spell to speak to a villain." I retorted. She merely sipped her tea, thinking.

"To be honest, Luna and I wish for you to die, and for your cult to be erased from history, with no trace left behind." siiip. "However, Twilight wants us to spare you. She believes we can learn a lot from you, and your cult... and I must admit, I would like to know how that necklace Blueblood wore worked.".

"... if I refuse?".

"You will be killed." Celestia announced nonchalantly. I merely continued to watch the ritual, the body of the being having collapsed to dust. Soon, without guidance from 2 unicorns, it would all collapse.

"... are you happy, princess? Destroying a long history of hard work?" I asked, annoyed. I turned, blasting the table to bits, with the teacups, teapot, and chairs vanishing with a flick of Celestia's magic. Celestia merely watched, then stood up, face seeming disappointed.

"I suppose that means no..." she replied, watching me with pity.

"Of course it means no!" I roared, angrily. I began to aim my horn, about to fire a barrage of magic, as the muffle spell was disabled. "NOW DIE BIT-----".

I was interrupted by a bolt of fire, ripping through my chest, burning as hot as the sun. It threw me backwards, over the rune symbols, and into the flames of magic. I was dead before I even hit the aura.

. . .

Twilights POV

The next couple pages looked to be ripped directly out of a notebook, or diary. Interesting.

I heard the blast of fire magic, echoing from the main chamber, followed by a low rumble. I turned my focus back to Luna, noticing that she had been healed sufficiently. I rose, helping Luna to her feet, and we both ran into the central chamber.

For your information, whenever I enter a room, I would scan what is around me. I found that it often helped me figure out any threats, exits, or interesting items. It just helps in general. So, when I entered the room, I analyzed my surroundings. There were no bodies, nor any blood from the people we killed, which was odd. I also noticed that Lairit was missing, with his precious ritual going berserk. Celestia stood in front of the runes, eyes wide in alarm. Then was the rooms structure, which showed signs of strain, especially near the ley-lines, which uncharacteristically sparked and crackled, damaging things around it.

"Twilight! Whats happening!?" Celestia yelped, as the entire mountain began to rumble and shake. I thought for a moment, compiling all of the information I had gathered from the room, and came to a gut-wrenching conclusion.

"... Total Runal Collapse! All of the energy contained within those runes will cause the containment runes to fail, and--" I spouted off, hyper ventilating a bit, until I felt a hand on my shoulder. Luna smiled at me with her mouth, but the rest of her face was covered in a nervous, panicky look.

"Twilight, English, please." Luna said, making me take a deep breathe, in and out, to calm myself down.

"The runes are going to release all of their stored energy in a large burst; An explosion." I relayed, making the 2 rulers eyes widen more. Yet, I hadn't given them the full news yet. "The burst, in all likelihood, will not only vaporize Canterlot and the mountain... but all of Equestria.".

That seemed to scare them both, as Celestia began pacing, thinking to herself. She then froze, looking at me, a glimmer of hope in her eye. "We could use a dispel incantation to cancel out the rituals magic..." Celestia suggested, then continued onward. "Twilight, is it possible that would work?".

Of course! You see, a dispel incantation / spell ( a dispel spell, if you will ) is used to basically drain something of magic by dispersing it, typically over a wide area. Magic dispelling runes are actually how horn rings / nullifiers function, by dispelling the magic over a wide range, making any spell not work at all.

I continued to think over what I knew about that kind of spell, the golem ritual spell, but I had to go with my gut, as the ritual was deteriorating very quickly. Large fractures formed across the roof and walls, the room threatening to collapse around us. I cast a few quick spells, large rock spires rising from the ground to push up against the roof, to keep it from collapsing. Basically, large rock supports!

"We don't have time to think about whether it will work or not, we just have to try." I stated, the 2 leaders nodding in agreement. I thought for another moment, and began to give orders. "Okay, for this, we will move into a triangle formation around the ritual, and we will cast the spell. If you see anything unusual, tell me, okay?".

The leaders nodded, moving into their positions as the rituals next containment rune layer failed, now barely held back by the 2 final rune layers. This was the moment, where Equestria was saved, or doomed...

"Now!" I yelled, and we all cast the spells at once, the beams of magic hitting the rituals aura, as our magic began trying to get rid of the rituals magic, and it actually showed results. The rituals ball of magic began shrinking, growing smaller and smaller. We may actually survive this!

The next moment, the energy in the deteriorating ritual RUMBLED, and grew quickly. The final runes that kept the energy within the ritual groaned, emitting a noise like chhing! I knew what was about to occur, and there was no time to stop it. The dissipation magic wasn't/hadn't been working fast enough to stop the collapse. Or perhaps, the spell had caused this? I watched as all of the runes glowed, then were obliterated. I felt my entire life flash before my eyes, as I felt the immense heat from the rituals energy, inches away, and getting closer. Time felt slow, as I realized that I was about to die, my friends, about to die. Everything I cared for, everything I had worked for, were about to be destroyed. No.

I can't let ANYONE die!

NOT TODAY!

I moved without thinking, my horn flicking, throwing the princess' back, as I felt my entire body surge with an untapped energy. It burned and hurt, so much, but I didn't care. I had a job to do. I roared, my wings flapping and throwing be back, with my horn casting the strongest spell I had ever used, perhaps even the strongest spell to ever be used. A bubble of energy snapped shut around the magical explosion, which had grown to an intimidating size, the noise it created being a roar which filled the room. Celestia and Luna watched me, looking concerned, confused, and amazed.

I had no idea that my hair flowed, crackling with energy, while my eyes shown a pure white. I had no idea that I was floating with my cutiemark shining, nor that my horn was glowing with many aura's, not just my own. All I knew, all that I could think, was that I would not let my friends, my family, die.

Nobody dies today.

I kept that idea in my head, forcing the magic back. Apparently, the 2 princess' tried to help me, but found that their magic was not there. The magical ley-lines, the river of magic that supplies us all, were gone, no longer feeding the explosion, but instead being used to contain it. That's what burnt inside me. The entire planets supply of magic.

Nobody dies today.

I forced the magic denser and denser, the runes magic being forced together. I could feel the fragments of a soul within the raging storm of magic, with the format of a body within it as well. I could even feel the other fragments of the soul and body, scattered across the world.

Nobody Dies Today.

I forced it all smaller and smaller, until the bubble began to change shape. The explosions energy brightened as it shrank, as the shape formed, a humming noise building up as the roar died. I could feel my insides burning faster and faster, my fur and hair slowly turning black in some places, as all of the infinite power surged inside me. I couldn't stop. I was so close.

Nobody.

Dies.

Today.

The moment the bubble became the right shape, the form glowed with a blinding light. The bubble popped, and something fell to the ground. With this done, I let go of the energy, and everything went black.

. . .

Celestia's POV

I watched as Twilight slumped to the floor, and energy shot from her, moving like a raging river, with the ley-lines being formed from this energy. The rumbling had stopped, and there was nothing left of the ritual. I ran over to Twilight, leaving my sister in the dust. She didn't notice however, as Luna watched something.

"Twilight..? TWILIGHT!?" I screamed, attempting to grab hold of the seemingly unconscious girl, but instead I jumped back, looking at my hands as they hurt from being burned. Twilight was SCALDING HOT! "Sister... We need to get Twilight to the hospital, and fast...".

Luna however did not answer, eyes wide like dinner plates, filled with fear. They were locked onto something in the crater where the ritual once was. "Sister! Didn't you hear me-- Oh. Oh my...".

I had turned my gaze towards the crater, and I now saw something sitting within the crater. A large figure, that was clearly male, and had fur much like my own. It looked much like an average earth pony, except for some major differences. Its hair was a deep shaggy grey, and its mouth looked like a squiggle, as if his lips had their own teeth. The main difference however was an odd tail, which looked a lot like a reptiles, but it ended with a tuft of grey fur. To be completely honest, that thing looked like a monster. It wasn't just his appearance that scared me, oh heavens no. I could feel the power that surged within the non-moving figure, power much stronger than mine, or all of the alicorns magic combined. There was also the weird fact that he looked much like the men that we had killed. The cultists.

"We should destroy it... That creatures power is far too dangerous..." Luna growled, able to feel the monsters power. Even if he was an earth pony, he was still highly dangerous.

"Agreed... I'll kill it, then we will burn the body. After that, we will get Twilight medical attention..." I said, grabbing my sword, and stepping over the man. I turned the blade downward, so it was aimed directly at his skull, and then, I raised the blade, ready to jab it downwards and kill him. As I slammed downwards, a bolt of purple energy was sent flying, and blasted the sword out of my hand. I stumbled from the force, then looked at my blade that lay nearby, the heat of the magic having burned it so bad it split in two. Well, it was the heat, and the sheer impact of the spell against the blade. I turned my gaze to the form of my little purple alicorn, that lay on her stomach, staring at the man. She was panting, and was clearly very weak. Twilight then looked me right in my pink eyes. I could see, clear as day, a frightening amount of determination staring back.

"Nobody... Dies... Today...".

The young alicorn passed out.