What Remains

Well, my project has been somewhat of a success, I have some of you intrigued anyway.  A big thanks to all who read and to the 2 of you I have following me, you know who you are.  Here is chapter two, hope you all enjoy.  Rate, comment, do u enjoy this?.....TELL ME.  Thanks

Chapter 2-The Monarch's Resolve

Miles away from Canterlot, a familiar lavender Unicorn awoke from her dreams.  Twilight Sparkle took a minute to gather herself, her room was as she left it when she fell asleep.  The bookcases were shelved neatly, her most recent reading acquisitions by her bedside, and from what she could tell nothing was physically out of place.  Then it hit her, her magical senses to be exact.  There were high magical energies pulsing from……from…… “Canterlot.”  Twilight was unable to conceive why so high level magical energies would be active in the middle of the night; no that wasn’t right, she could think of many reasons for such a phenomenon, few of them were reassuring.  Before she could figure out what to do next, however, she sensed a third energy from the palace, small at first but growly steadily.  Whatever it was, it was gathering energy, charging for something big.  That settled it, she had to act, but what to do.

“SPIKE,” she yelled, and her young dragon companion awoke with a start, launching himself off his resting place and onto the floor.  Once the baby dragon had gathered himself, he turned to Twilight with a blank look on his face.  “Twilight its 12:30AM do you mind telling me why I am awake?”  Twilight was shocked, “You don’t feel that Spike?”  “Feel what?” the dragon replied.  “All I feel is sleepy and cranky from being woken in the middle of the night when I should be resting.”  “Sorry Spike,” Twilight quickly replied, “but there is no time for that, I just felt massive energy fluxes coming from Canterlot and whatever they are, they are not good.  I need you to go wake up the others.  Get Rainbow Dash first, she and I are the only ones with a chance to get there quickly enough to affect……whatever this is.”  Spike was still unsure, “but Twilight, this could be nothing at all, why raise the alarm?”  “Because it IS SOMETHING SPIKE,” she quickly replied, “There are only so many explanations for this much energy suddenly being releasing at such an hour, and very few of them are positive, these outputs could level towns, plus…….I don’t know, but I have a feeling something really bad is about to happen.  I need to get to Canterlot: to help the princess, to get to the bottom of this, TO DO SOMETHING……sorry.”

Spike had tumbled back into the bookshelf as a result of the unicorn’s outburst.  He still looked unconvinced, but then his face straightened out.  “Ok Twilight, I can’t sense these energies you are talking about, but I can tell when you are committed to something.  I still think you are overreacting, but I’ll go wake the others and send Rainbow after you.”  “Thanks Spike,” she replied with a smile, “for believing me.”  “Hey what are friends for,” Spike responded.  “And Twilight…..in case there is something wrong, be careful, okay?”  “Thanks Spike….I will,” she said.  Those were their last words before Twilight teleported away, leaving Spike to run to their friends…..and hope that Twilight, the smartest unicorn in Ponyville and his best friend, was wrong.

……………………

The atmosphere in the tower room had risen to extremely tense levels very quickly, but Luna’s mouth may have still been on the floor.  What was Prince Blueblood doing in her tower, much less attacking her?  Luna had little time to process these thoughts as a volley of dark blue energy bolts came towards her, she was about to dip into another dodge roll when she realized her initial dodge and the blast had left her close to Gambit who was still recovering from the surprise attack.  If she dodged the attack the Pegasus would take serious damage and Luna did not like his odds when he was still recovering after recently getting out of the hospital.

Instead the princess raised a spherical shield around them and took the bolts head on, despite what she gleaned from the bolt’s power levels, Luna felt her powers could endure through them……until they hit her like the express train to Appleoosa.  Oh her shield held, she was not sister to Celestia and Princess of the moon for nothing, but she felt like she took a full charge tackle from a manticore into one of the Grand Hall’s stone pillars for each hit.  It enraged her that any pony, much less this privileged, stuck-up stallion who pranced around her sister’s court like he was in charge, would act in such a way against her.  She had seen more than enough of Blueblood, how did Celestia put up with him for all those years, to be annoyed by the horse.  Rallying her power, Luna gathered some of her own energy and pulsed a wave out across the room.  This took the prince by surprise and knocked him back into the wall.  She took the opportunity and sent the nearby table into the prince and pin him there.  Not skipping a beat, Luna slowly approached her attacker and spoke with the full authority of the Canterlot voice of olden years.

“THOU HAST INTRUDED UPON THIS TOWER UNBIDDED AND UNWELCOMED AND HAD THE AUDACITY TO ASSAULT US IN OUR OWN HOUSE.  GIVE US ONE REASON WHY THOU SHOULD NOT BE DESTROYED WHERE THY NOW RESTS.”  To her utter shock the Prince merely turned his head, faced her, and wore an evil smirk on his face.  With a voice that shook her to the bone, Blueblood responded in a voice she was extensively familiar with, for it was one of the few things the princess intimately knew.  The voice that she had spoken with herself for one thousand years, “Because you are a merely a shadow of what we once were, because despite all you believe you have gained, you are nothing before us.  We would know, you embraced us and became a force of Equestria for a millennia.  Even in exile you were feared and powerful.  We gave you strength and without it you cannot even support your kingdom much less defeat us……without us you are what you were before: weak, alone, insecure, and isolated.  You are unfit to rule, to fight, to exist before us and we will take what we desire.  What little you think you gained you will lose and you will despair in your thoughts of how you ever believed that you could stand against our full might.  Or you would if you were going to live.”

At that moment a few things happened.  The first of which was nothing at all.  Luna stood there in full shock and unable to move.  It was impossible, how could she ever hear this voice within the confines of reality, it was simply impossible and yet it was.  The second was Luna being unceremoniously tackled by Gambit, who had recovered from the prior blast and had become aware of the princess simply standing over the Prince while he was speaking.  Even though the princess seemed to be in control, Gambit’s instincts told him something was wrong and as the stallion’s words continued she seemed frozen.  He had called to her, but received no response; it was like he could not be heard at all.  He decided to act and went to get her out of the way when he felt a power influx.  Now gambit may not have been a unicorn, but he had come into possession of and had been in the presence of many a magical artifact and he know the feel of power.  It was faint but he noticed the pinned stallion gathered energy and feared the worst.  So he did the only thing that he had time to do, tackle the princess, which actually saved her life.  Finally Prince Blueblood’s horn unleashed a wide forward shot of power where Luna had been seconds prior.  Gambit’s tackle hit just before the beam went out and while he was not actually hit by the blast, the sheer force of its power sent him flying against the wall……hard.  He dropped down into a slump on the floor, unmoving.  The beam itself continued past and hit the wall behind them, completely destroying what was left after the initial volleys and leaving a gaping hole in the tower.  Most of the wall was disintegrated on impact and it falling pieces were caught by the ever-present shield dome.

It was then that Luna returned to her senses and surveyed the room.  She saw the complete lack of half of the wall, Gambit lying on the ground, and the Prince rising from the floor with a look of pure conviction in his eyes.  She realized that she should have died just then……and that her savior was in a heap on the floor……and that this being advanced towards her as if nothing had happened, it had never even acknowledged his existence…..the existence of the Pengasus who just saved her life…..that could now be…… “ENOUGH.”  Luna sent out another pulse wave and repined the abomination to the wall and experience a moment of immense anger and clarity.  What it was was, at the moment, inconsequential, what was evident was that this stallion had been possessed by an evil force.  Fueled by her anger and funneling all of her power she sent a razor beam of pure silver moonlight at the horse.  It passed right though him and he slumped to the ground, out cold.  What remained at the end of the beam was black.  A blot of darkness rapidly disintegrating into nothingness, however one speck, barely larger than the tip of her horn broke off and vanished into the night.  Luna collapsed on the floor as she felt the dome shatter and heard the pieces of room it had supported fall to the ground below.  Her guard immediately rushed in, apparently drawn by the energy fluxes.  She had to tell them; they had to know.  However, before she could say a word, Princess Luna of the night fell unconscious to the floor beneath her, unable to convey the horrible truth she had discovered.  Nightmare Moon had returned.

……………..

As Celestia stood in her bedchamber awaiting the captain’s answer, she tried to analyze the energy she felt radiating from Shining Armor.  It had no impact on his physical appearance and yet using magic she could sense it, almost as a dark layer over the stallion who may as well be family to her.  That is was she dreaded the most.  If this came to a battle, Celestia was worried about her ability to fight Shining armor without hurting her student’s sibling.  Armor was a talented unicorn in his own right and, although Celestia could have subdued him normally is needed, she was wary about this dark energy she could not place.  Before she could figure out anything definite Shining Armor spoke, placing one individual clear in her mind.

The voice was a bit high, but grating; that combined with the evil energy, but how could that be?  “Ah Princess Celestia, it has been awhile.  We won’t bother trying to fool you, you already realize something is wrong with Shining Armor……we have placed him under our control and  he did provide a nice shortcut into your chamber.”  Celestia was still surprised, but to her credit hid it well, “So you return Queen Chrysalis, but why show yourself directly to me, you already proved you are better than that from your assault during Shining Armor’s wedding, did you simply want revenge on the pair or are you here for me.”  The Changeling queen laughed at these words, “You think those are our goals, come now you are smarter than that Celestia, you must realize that this is different than our normal mind abilities, our plans and your situation run deeper than you realize, but that matters not.  What does matter is how you will survive fighting your better; we have already bested you.”  “As you said this is not your normal doppelganger ability, so you most likely do not have access to that power and even if you did I have fought you before, I will not make the same mistakes twice.”  The queen laughed once more, “You think that experience actually means anything Celestia, it’s true this power is not Shining Armor’s love, this power is greater than that and it is something you will not stop.  En guard, guardian of the sun, let us see if you can live through this night.”

And with that Armor launched at the princess with immense speed; just like at the wedding, their horns locked, but with the running start Celestia was pushed back.  The princess could feel it, whatever this energy was Chrysalis had grown in strength…..Celestia did not want to think what the power level truly was; she would have to be clever to win this fight.  Celestia stopped meeting the lock dead on and shifted her weight to push the captain to the side; he faltered giving Celestia a few seconds to regroup in the center of the room.

It was then that she had an idea.  Before the captain recovered, Celestia placed a magical mark right beneath her, invisible to the eye, but there nonetheless.  She had to keep Shining Armor busy not to notice, but she could not hurt Twilight’s brother, she owed her student too much for that.  Celestia sent a blast towards Shining who had to move quick to dodge the strike.  The fight then became a flurry of movement.  Celestia had to dodge a green magic beam, that uncomfortably reminded her of their prior fight.  She took to the air, since Chrasilis was controlling shining armor and not there herself she had air control, which gave Celestia an edge…..or so she thought.  She barely got into position when the queen sent out a wave of green energy, which Celesita was a second too late to raise a shield against.  At first it seemed to do nothing, but then she fell right to the ground and had to leap to the side to dodge another energy bolt.  “Don’t take us for a foul Celestia, did you think we had not considered that.  That wave disables any flying as long as this shield bubble endures, we won’t let you be having the advantages……that’s our job.”  Celestia barely had time to think as beams crisscrossed the room.  Both combatants kept on the move as the room and its furnishings were torn to shreds by various energy blasts and marks and indents were left everywhere on the walls.

It was time to start making a move, Celestia suddenly shifted her ammo, and a golden net shot out towards the captain.  Before it could ensnare him, however a green shield was raised and it fell to the ground harmlessly.  “We were waiting for your attempt at a non-violent victory Celestia.  Can you even bring yourself to harm your student’s brother, or will you break her heart to live another day?  These tricks will not work on us.”  Celestia ignored her and kept creating nets, bolos, and other snares, each either being dodged or shielded against.  It was getting harder to dodge.  Although she kept moving, crafting snares out of magic took a bit more time and energy then simply blasts, Celestia hoped this would work.  Her thought were interrupted when one of the blasts his a little too close and she was thrown to the side.  Shining Armor was on her in seconds and she became pinned to the wall.

“Any last words Celestia before we enact out revenge and rid the world of their great leader,” asked the queen.  Without saying anything Celestia gathered energy into one focused blast.  The queen was surprised, but quick enough to raise a shield and while the energy pushed her back it did no real damage.  “We win Celestia, we can sense it, this is all you have left and we can take that and more, we will win, you will die, and Equestria will be ours to rule.  Perhaps we’ll conquer your student’s town first….what was it again, Ponyville?  How quaint, but it works as well as any and she will cry for her beloved mentor to save her only to be left alone.” Despite everything that was going on Celestia’s eyes met with the queen’s with a glare that would have put Fluttershy’s stare to shame.  “You will not win today Charsails, you will not defeat me, you will not conquer Equestria, AND YOU WILL NOT TOUCH A SINGLE HAIR ON MY STUDENT’S MANE.”  “As if you can stop us.”  “Look down.”

One second before she said that Celestia had sent a pulse out and it took that second for Shining Armor to look down, taken aback by the Princess sudden calm, and it was then that the mark was noticed.  While still focused on the shield stopping Celestia’s attack, the mark activated its magical attraction aura.  All the snare constructs that Celestia had thrown around the room suddenly rushed towards the center of the room…..right where Shining Armor was.  While some were blocked by the preexisting shield and others destroyed by Celestia’s beam, the horse was hit by no less than seven nets and four bolas, leaving the horse trapped on the ground and held by magic sealing snares, which the princess had also imbedded in the works.

Celestia approached her captain as the horse struggled to escape the bonds.  “don’t think power is all there is to battle Chrysalis, and never underestimate how far I will go to defend what is precious to me, now release Shining Armor.” The queen laughed. “We admit it Celestia that was clever, you may have won this round but our plans do not stop here, they go much deeper and we can still rob you of your captain.  UNTIL NEXT WE MEET PRINCESS.”

Shining Armor’s body began to shudder and Celestia’s face became a veil of fear.  She had to save him.  The princess did all she could.  She gathered everything she had left and fired a golden beam through the stallion.  He immediately stopped shuddering and lay still with a blot of darkness at the end of her beam.  Just before vanishing completely, a small bit broke off and vanished into the night.  Celestia slumped, exhausted as the barrier collapsed and her guards rushed in.  “Guards raise the alarm and get the captain to……..the hos…..pital.”  With that sentence went the last of Celestia’s consciousness and she fell to the ground before her men.

…………..

Twilight appeared in the Canterlot gardens exhausted.  She did not want to think of the distance or number of times she had teleported, but she made it.  It was dark around her, but she could see lights from the castle and an unusually large one from one of the towers.  As she scanned the area she realized that two of the energy pulses had vanished and for that she was concerned.  She hoped the princesses had taken care of whatever had happened, but she needed confirmation.  It was then she realized the third pulse was still there and worse she was right on top of it.

She looked around and saw nothing at first, but she had come to act, so Twilight followed the energy signature.  It led her past a few turns and to the statue garden.  It was at that moment that she felt fear.  The still rising energy was in front of a statue she knew all too well and below it was an old earth pony she recognized from her time at the castle, the old gardener.  Twilight did not know how a non-unicorn was gathered such energy and right now she didn’t care.  She ran towards him fully intending to stop him magically or otherwise when the energy was released……right into the statue.  “You are too late Twilight Sparkle.  Now we free the imprisoned host back into the world.”  “Who are you,” the unicorn asked, “ and what are you doing here in the gardens?” “Well now that the energy has been delivered simply stalling you my dear, I know you did not enjoy our first engagement, but we promise you more than chocolate rain and subtleties will come from this encounter.”  Twilight couldn’t believe it, they had defeated him, he was right in from of her, but every fiber of her being was telling her this was the evil that had nearly defeated the princesses, this was the embodiment of disharmony, this was….

Just then a single crack appeared in the stone.