Spirit Waker

The old roads of Canterlot lie in ruin. Polished stones reduced to cobble caked with dried remnants of a battle too long ago. To travel along these damned paths means climbing over toppled buildings and graves of those unlucky enough to find their once beautiful homes crushing them beneath its weight. To perform hard labor before even taking your first step to one's destination is the main road. But the problems do not end there.

Damnation and ruin follow those along this chaotic path.

This is why new roads were made where there once weren't. Or perhaps, they were always there. Unseen by those within the light and good graces of Canterlot herself. Alleyways and underground escape routes have turned into the main way of transportation. Hiding behind rocks, rubble, and underground are the only safe ways to travel. While long in their own rights, they have proved to be a grace within this forsaken world.

A place to hide away from the light they once cherished seemed to affect them more than they had originally realized. It's a shame what they have become to survive. But adaptation is the natural state of the world.

And adapted they have.

Traveling beneath the skies has become a luxury all on its own. With the Pegasi's main force stripped of their rights to fly freely, there is little to no one who can keep a constant watch for Griffons, Griffins, and Gryphons that may lurk atop the clouds. Most of their bird-like kin are spotted in opened skies or when they're already attacking. That's why many remain armed when traveling or doing anything beneath the endless expanding sea of space above their heads.

Even worse is the weather. With no one able to continue the trend of weather control, much of the land has become blanketed by rampant dark clouds and storms. Especially atop the mountain, which they so cherish. Rifled with irregular storm patterns and sudden overcasts, they compare these events to the start of the end times.

But their time is not up yet. Not here, nor now.

So they cast away their aboveground life, unlike many others. They decide that if they can't live safely under the light then they'll hide away from sight within the dark. They continue their civilizations as if the fall of their world had never truly happened. As if it was merely a dream or a nightmare than their collective minds had.

But they won't forget what the truth is.

Underground, they have not to worry about this. They once thought the changelings were barbaric in their minimalistic lifestyle. Mining new areas to live in, making their homes further and further underground, and keeping away from the sun and all its likes. Even the newest changed changelings all seem to enjoy the presence of something over their heads as well.

One can suppose they always knew better in the end.

For now, the skies have become dominated by the enemy and nature. The Griffons have made sure that pegasi can no longer fly freely. Yet, this only applies to the day skies. For the night, belongs to the Thestrals.

Thestrals, unlike their other pony kin, never showed love for the day in the beginning. Born from the power of the night and those who worship it, they sought their strength from kinship, family, and the night goddess herself. They hold allegiance with everyone and seek to protect those that cannot protect themselves from the evils that night can bring. Despite this, they took the recent loss harder than everyone else.

They have exiled themselves from those they have called friends and family. They no longer see themselves able to stand side by side with their Equestrian brothers and sister due to their own inability to overcome their own loss. With the fall of Luna and the country, they seemed to have lost their collective calm.

Now, Thestrals come out to play in the dead of night. They fight like rabid dogs with weapons, claws, and fangs alike. They have fallen short of their once graceful nature before and after the war. The once-proud quiet race of Thestrals now stands as a beacon of carnage and insanity. They prey upon Equestria's enemies yet no longer hold sway with leaders and communion.

Rare is it to have a conversation with one of their kind. Even rarer to see or interact with them in some meaningful manner. To find a Thestral that does not rave about the fallen grace of their people or how they alone will purge the lands of all evil would be a saving grace. Only one thing would bring these people back together. The return of their moon Goddess and the purpose they once lost.

It is not a night that the two odd travelers move beneath. They travel within the tunnel system of Equestria to a destination hours away from their home. They avoid the sun to the disappointment of one and the happiness of another.

The one filled with disappointment is no other than Celestia herself. She finds her form too tall for the stout tunnels they travel within. She remains either crouched or hunched over to prevent herself from slamming her head into low-hanging rocks or the top of the ceiling. But that is only her first concern of discomfort.

The rocky surface above them fills Celestia with a sense of anxiety. Being unable to see her sun or feel its warmth drives her on edge more so than the rock tomb around them. She understands why it has to be the way it is, but she would have preferred to walk alone to their destination if possible. But she had made a promise and would not break it for some luxury she could have at some other time. Her orders were to join the runner and protect him while he delivered the message and brought the ponies that chose to come.

On the opposite spectrum, the Earth Pony she travels with known as Sturdy Hoof seems to be having the time of his life. A never faltering smile graces his lips and he seems to hum a song that Celestia knows all too well. Oak brown fur matches well against the dirt and darkness around them. His mane and tail have been dyed along the frays to be both swamp green that clashes against the rest of the ash-gray coloring.

Every so often he'll stop and look back to check up on his protector to make sure she hasn't decided to just leave him by teleporting to the surface or snapping and destroying everything around them. Normally, such thoughts would be seen as a jest, but some of her grumbling and mutters tell him otherwise. He also knows she has the power to do so if she likes. Which makes it all the more concerning for his waning health.

Despite this, he's happy to be away from Neo Canterlot. As much as he likes their new home, nothing beats getting out of the cave once and a while. After all, there's so much more to explore with the fall of everything. But there's just so much danger as well. It's what makes everything so exciting for him.

At his right side lies a knife handed down through the family. It's not as ornate as some of the noble blades, but it's sturdy and was made to never break. The enchantments laid upon it still hold true and allows it to remain as sharp as the day it was made. Aside from this, he wears no armor and wields no other weapon.

As they travel together, they have only one destination in mind.

Sunny Grove.

The area lies within the midsection of Canterlot where traffic was at its highest. The tunnel they travel through at the moment will take them as far as three blocks from where their location has been recorded as. They expect to reach their destination within the next few hours in hopes to get there before the Gryphs.

"Tell me, Steady Hoof. What makes you so happy in this tunnel?" Celestia asks with a grunt.

Steady thinks about the question for a moment, "I suppose just the idea of helping others makes me happy. My father fought in the war and he helped a lot of ponies. He was a private, but he followed orders well and did his best to make sure that everypony go home safe and sound. He believed in no pony behind and held true to his belief even in the end.

"When I heard about the mission for runners to go and help ponies that may be in danger by the Gryphs, I could only think of going to finally do something other than craft, farm, and wait to die. Sure I trained here and there in case I ever had to fight, but I could never be my father.

"But I want to continue his legacy. I will do my best to help ponies just like he did. I believe that this is my calling in life. Not just wasting away waiting for something to happen. Sorry if it seems long-winded. I suppose that's just my nervousness coming through."

"It's fine. I just felt as if I needed to know more about you. We'll be traveling together for some time, so you can talk all you like. I wouldn't mind hearing more about your life and father."

The nervous flutter in Steady's chest seems to smooth out upon her words. Something about them seems so... magical. So he begins to speak, never noticing the frown upon Celestia's features. She hadn't said those words. Not really. They came from somewhere else. She felt a spark of power upon him speaking. But not of her own power, but of another.

A familiar tinge of magical essence seemed to have brushed against her. It felt comforting and estranged at the same time. As if there was another's magic helping it along.

Freed from the confines of the earth, Celestia glows with power. The mighty sun joyous upon her return. Her back and knuckles pop as she releases built-up tension within them. Finally free from the tunnels, she sets about figuring out where she is.

"We should be north of the town now if the map is to be believed. They'll probably see us coming before we even get there fully. They actually have some pretty component scouts despite how lazy the town may seem. They're a village of builders and architects that just spend most of their time building all sorts of estranged things."

"Estranged? How so?"

"Well... they like to experiment with various weapons and armors. They're lead by the legendary Iron Shackle who is said to have made armor that could withstand even the hottest of dragon's breath. He took apprentices on during and after the war and showed them how to craft with all the elements of pony-kin."

"Iron Shackle... Yes. I do remember such a pony. He was a very eccentric pony growing up. He caught my eye in my school due to how excited he seemed to be at the prospect of crafting magical items. I'm glad to know that his legacy lives on."

She awaits a reply as she continues walking while examining her environment but runs into the back of her runner. She looks at him curiously before noticing the look of horror on his face. She looks in the direction he faces to see a sea of smoke rising to greet the sky above it.

A frown crosses her face. It has already begun before they could even make it there. That means even more senseless slaughter of her people. Celestia places a hand upon the Earth Pony's head allowing him to be warped away in a brilliant blast of white light. The two appear once again much closer to the action going on.

Before them, Earth Ponies hold shields before them in a line. On top of them, are other Earth Ponies that hold their shield up into the air while holding onto metal lances with strings attached from the spearhead to the butt. Every so often, the spearhead will fire out of the metal lance striking out against the mounted up Griffons that take potshots at the Ponies below the.

The Griffons are equipped with crossbows, shortswords, and gauntlets. The ones in close combat seem to be doing better at fighting than the ones firing bolts. They twist, turn, and stab at anything they can get close to which seems to be rather hard as the close combatants have taken up a strategy of two per Griffon. Several Unicorns are seen with these close combatants to help reflect crossbow bolts or to cover up weaknesses in their difference. If a Griffon goes for the unicorn, they leave themselves open to several, sometimes lethal, stabbings from the Earth pony in question using a more common wooden spear.

"Let's go," Celestia demands hopping down from their perch upon the roof of a nearby building, "We need to get everyone out of here before it's too late for them. I don't know how much longer they'll be able to keep this defense up, but I can tell some of them are starting to tire."

"Shouldn't we help them instead?" Sturdy asks quickly hopping down behind her, "I mean, I know what our mission is, but that was already messed up the moment I saw the smoke. If they're already under attack we sho-"

"No. We do our mission and that's it. No fighting. Not today at least. We have more important things to do. We can fight with increased numbers and push them back together. It'll be the perfect way to show them that we need to band together instead of working apart. Death will breed out new life from this altercation."

"W-What!? You can't be serious right!?" Sturdy asks moving in front of Celestia stopping her, "There are Ponies dying and you're just going to ignore that!"

"I'm not ignoring it. I'm using it to the best of our chances of survival. Since they're taking up the grunt work, we can focus on what we need to do."

"And that's just ignoring them! Damn that! You have power far beyond the average Unicorn! Even the unaverage unicorn! And you're not going to use it! Maybe death hasn't taught you shit!" Sturdy says snorting and stomping his hoof.

The world around Sturdy grows hot. He can hear the earth crack around him as his anger suddenly disappears into fear. Celestia stares down at him with rage unhidden within her eyes.

"If you really want to go out there and waste your life so much, " Celestia raises a hand cloaked in magical aura towards the Pony, "Than go ahead and-"

Celestia stumbles. The magical aura around her dies. She clutches her head. She grits her teeth and falls to her knees.

A weapon of radiant magic strikes from the air faster than the eye can see. It startles Sturdy and some of the unknown onlookers. Her hand grabs hold of the radiant weapon crafted from the sun itself and use it to help her stand. Sweat beads down her forehead and her eyes flash from their brilliance to magenta several times.

"I'll.... fight... for..."

"No!"

Her voice staggers as she seems to be fighting with herself. Perhaps a magical ailment unbeknownst to them. After all, Alicorn magic is unlike any other magic in the world. Then again, the dark arts also are unique to its wielder as well. And little is known about both.

She begins to scream.

She can't stop screaming. Celestia's mighty voice could be heard far across the miniature battlefield, causing every creature to stop their violent assault and defense. The halberd held within her hand clatters to the ground in a violent burst of power and destruction. It's sun made blade and shaft dissipates into the air, gathering around her form that seems to shift back and forth between her current one and... something else. She falls to her knees, grabbing hold of her head, still screaming all the air within her lungs.

"No! No! Stop! This! Now!" She yells out while swinging her arms wildly at some unforeseen attacker, "This has to be done! They knew the risks! We'll wipe every one of them off the face of the Equis! Why are you trying to stop me now! We'll gather everyone under our banner of wartime and strike them where they live!"

Her porcelain skin slowly turns darker. From top to bottom of her exposed skin, one can see it shift from whites' purest to peach, then caramel, then oak. The pigments respond to the demand of another now. An entity deep within her calls for control of the form. And it will have it with or without permission.

The magic floating around her flickers as the sun flares. Something is happening. Something is wrong. The power floating around her no longer feels like that of Celestia.

Something powerful. Unnatural. Even the Gryphon could feel it despite his thick resistance to magic. The purest form of magic would not be denied here. No one could resist its call for blood, strength, and unity.

"What the hell are you doing! Fire at her!" He yells, pointing at the downed form of the former princess. The Griffins around him cowered in response.

They were struck by fear, unlike any other—the horrors of their death playing before them over and over again. In various ways, they would be turned inside out and fed to the rats below the earth. Perhaps they would be spared only to be beaten and hung publically before their long time enemies. Even more, they could be used as offerings to the dragons in return for protection and alliance.

A griffin drops his crossbow. Its trigger snaps, letting fly an arrow towards the creature by accident. The magic collected around the being grabs holds of the bolt before it can reach its body. Then, the bolt is gone, and several of the griffin's comrades are covered in its' blood and entrails. Feathers and a beak fall to the ground after the explosion of meat and gore.

Frozen in fear, many begin to panic as the tall humanoid creature rises from the floor once more. No longer does it wield the power of the sun. The power it draws from is power itself. The more powerful power is, the stronger she becomes. Gryphons have never known fear, until the day they met her upon the wall. The one being that could beat even their own magical resistance. Her power could be felt for miles even after the day she died. The tower before him was

"Twilight..."