The Castle at the End of Time

After making one last screech from the pain, the serpent threw its head to the ground and disappeared from sight. When it had vanished, the waterfall of flames from above ceased.

The air where the snake had been only moments ago was wavering and warping due to the heat that had been there just moments earlier. In the place of where the monster had been, there was now a large hole in the ground.

Celestias authoritive voice rang out across the courtyard. "Guards! Secure the pit!"

Twilight didn't care much to notice the guards flocking towards the hole in the ground. Her mind weighed too heavy to register anything. Having her entire world shattered, she was too occupied replaying what had just happened in her mind over and over again to give much thought to anything else.

She didn't know how to begin processing what she had just experienced. The entire ordeal couldn't have lasted more than a few minutes from start to finish.

She could hear sniffing and hitching from her side. She suddenly remembered that Rainbow Dash had been with her, and she looked over with an empty gaze at her, only to see her staring blankly ahead.

She was crying.

Her raspy, shaky voice attempted to speak with Twilight without looking at her. "Did... Pinkie just...?"

Twilight blinked rapidly, hearing those words, which caused the build-up of moisture in her eyes to start streaming down her cheeks. She didn't answer, she only looked at her without knowing what to do or say. Her surroundings were blurred, and sound came and went as if something was clogging up her hearing from time to time.

She looked behind her, and saw the other girls processing as well. Fluttershy was sobbing on the ground with Applejack holding her. Applejack's eyes were glazed over with moisture, but she had an empty stare into nothingness, same as Twilight did.

Rarity just gaped while looking at the crater further away from them. She looked as if she was about to fall over at any second.

Not knowing what to say, Twilight simply turned her eyes back to the commotion happening over at the pit. Quite a lot of guards had gathered there, and they were creating magical shields around the hole.

As if that could stop it. Twilight thought dismissively through her haze.

More guards had arrived, likely recruits from the barracks that had either been asleep or off duty when it had happened. While most were stationed by the hole, some had started flying upwards.

Twilight realized a shadow had fallen over Canterlot, and moments later, she saw it.

Her eyes followed the soldiers upward, and when she saw what they were flying toward, her breath got caught. She swallowed whatever had been gathering in her throat and returned to her sense for a moment to try and understand what she was seeing.

Far above Canterlot castle, floating on a ripped up chunk of earth, was a castle. A broken castle. Debris from the castle itself floated around it as if orbiting it without gravity. As Twilight started wondering what in Equestria this could be, she was all of a sudden brought back to reality.

Pinkie...

Tears fell again, and she looked back over to where Celestia was. She was speaking to the guards, and some figure she didn't recognize, taking full control of the situation. Another reminder to Twilight that she didn't have what it took. Another excuse for her to tell Celestia she made the wrong choise making her princess.

How could this happen?

Guards were standing over the pit, looking down into it and seeming ready to fight off whatever might emerge from it. Others were trying to rescue wounded ponies from rubble. There weren't many wounded to rescue. Most of the injured ponies from the fight turned out to be fatalities. Some bodies could barely be recovered due to being completely crushed by the serpent.

All these thoughts made Twilight come to a simple question. What happened? What drove the monster away? Her thoughts were interrupted when she heard Rainbow Dash again. Her voice sounded hoarse.

"This isn't happening." Her voice cracked, and she slumped to the ground, no longer able to keep her legs from collapsing. "She's gone. Just like that. We couldn't... we couldn't save her."

Applejack walked over to Rainbow and examined the pit with Twilight by her side. Some ponies ran by them with stretchers, carrying the wounded to safety. "What in tarnation was that?" She whispered to nopony in particular. "What was that thing? Where did it come from?"

Twilight felt a chill go up her spine as she once again became aware of the large shadow being cast upon them. She tilted her head up once more and saw the castle, just hanging there. It was the strangest and most surreal thing she had ever laid her eyes on. It seemed so out of place. She felt like the entire world had flipped on its side and had suddenly decided that her reality wasn't the right one anymore.

Twilight heard her name being called from somewhere and she shook her head to try and get rid of the disorientation.
Her ears twitched and she could pick up Celestia calling her name from where she was standing. She started walking after what felt like hours of standing still.

Neither Rainbow nor Applejack stopped her. Twilight didn't look back as she left them to go see Celestia, she didn't know if she had the ability to dwell with these feelings for too long if she was going to do her duty.

As she approached, she noticed an expression on Celestia's face she had never seen before. Fear? Dread? Anger? A mixture, to be sure.

She, dozens of guards, and an adult dragon were all looking her way as she approached them. Everything else around her faded, and the only thing she could focus on was Celestia. She had to find something to focus on, to distract herself. Focus on something else, she thought.

"Twilight," Celestia called once she was close enough. "Are you hurt?"

"N-no," she managed to say. She didn't say much more, she had nothing else to say about it.

"Good." Celestia replied darkly, and the alicorn of the sun looked at the dragon next to her. "Twilight, this is Torgand. He is the one who vanquished the beast just moments ago. We were just discussing how lucky we all were that he was nearby when this attack happened."

Twilight looked at the dragon. He was tall, taller than Celestia was. He was coal black, and had large wings on his back. As he was being introduced, he looked to the ground. He did not meet Twilight's eyes, in fact, it seemed like he was berating himself. His clawed fist clenched.

Twilight could tell that there was something different about Torgand, but she couldn't quite figure out just what it was. What she did notice, was that Celestia constantly kept him within eyesight. She was watching him, closely. The other guards were on edge by his presence as well. Why?

"Well... Thank you, Torgand," Twilight said weakly as she nodded to the dragon. He didn't reply, he merely nodded weakly as he kept his gaze on the ground in front of him. Celestia's eyes narrowed as she watched him.

Celestia was about to say something, but Torgand beat her to it. "I'm... I-I'm sorry I couldn't save your friend."

Twilight winced at the mention of it. It was too fresh.

Celestia spoke up once more. "Please, there was nothing more you could have done. If you had not shown up when you did, none of us would be here now. We were very clearly outmatched." She said grimly, as she tilted her head up to look at the floating castle.

"Yeah," Torgand muttered. He looked quite uncomfortable where he was standing. However, his eyes landed on Celestia. "Please, let me help you find it. I can fight."

Celestia narrowed her eyes, surprised by his cooperation. What is this dragon up to? She thought to herself.

"We must first asses the damages and figure out where to go from here, starting with this castle." She said as her eyes met said castle. Her pupils shrunk when she was ponies falling from the skies.

Pegasi guards were falling out of the sky and clutching their heads in pain. Those who were on the ground that could, helped in any way to save them from hitting the ground. Even Torgand flew up to save a pair of guards. Thankfully, nopony met their fate thanks to collective effort. However, the guards were in excruciating pain.

"Make it stop! Please make it stop!" was the most common plea among their cries. Grounded pegasi flew up to catch their distressed companions and prevent them from hitting the ground. Even after putting them back down on the ground, the affected guards still clutched their heads and whimpered, unable to function properly.

"What's happening, Sargeant?!" one of the guards asked frantically as she walked up to her sargeant. The sergeant in question clutched his head in pain and looked as if he wanted to smash his head into the ground to stop whatever was happening to him, but he slowly calmed down.

"I... The closer we got to the castle... everything started to hurt..." He whimpered after a third round of questioning.

"What's going on here?" Came a powerful male voice from behind Twilight, and she saw a grey pegasus stallion landing next to Celestia. Celestia perked up at the sight of him.

"Oh, Lieutenant! I'm so relieved to see you here." She said as he saluted her.

"Pri- er, Miss Celestia, what happened here?" Said the stout stallion, gesturing to the horrific scene around them. There were dead ponies in a pool of their own blood, being recovered by guards. Crying could also be heard from outside the ground, where guards had been sent to assure civilians that the immediate danger was over. Calming a panic like this would not be an easy feat.

Celestia had taken control of the situation, given her many years of service in moments of crisis. She had been put to the test before, where she was forced to remain calm despite being exposed to horrific events. She knew that this was a first for Twilight, but she was hoping she would stay strong during such a time.

Several other military units came in from the north, and landed on the ground to assist the guard ponies with treating the wounded and guarding the pit.

Celestia took a deep breath. "A massive serpent attacked us out of nowhere, and we were forced to defend ourselves. What you see around you is the result." She paused for a few seconds, adding more meaning to her words. "We were powerless to stop it. Our magic did nothing to it, if anything, it seemed to absorb any attack we delivered."

The stallion blinked as he heard the rundown, but nodded.

"I... see. And that?" He asked, nodding toward the hole where the black dragon stood surrounded by guards. They weren't very clearly standing there to secure him, but they were cautious of him. The dragon looked into the abyss before him, looking as if he was moments away from giving chase.

Celestia looked at the dragon, Torgand, and then back to the stallion. "To be very frank with you, we don't know anything about him. He showed up out of nowhere, at the same time as all of this happened. In addition, I have received reports that the snake was not the only thing that came flying from that." She said, pointing upwards, gesturing to the floating castle.

After Torgand had appeared, several guards made reports from outside the castle, mentioning seeing other creatures falling from the castle above. There had been many eye-witnesses to defend this, but not many were able to identify much of what the beasts looked like. Unlike the snake, which landed right below the castle, these creatures fell down the mountain the castle stood upon.

Currently, they were nowhere to be seen.

Celestia spent some time briefing about what took place in the slaughter. The stallion shook his head sadly and sighed. "To think, we lost an Element of Harmony..."

The stallion frowned and cleared his throat as more military units landed on the grounds, all dressed in green camo. "Well then, from the sounds of it, we might have to involve the W.M.F.s in this hunt, ma'am."

Celestia sighed and looked over to Twilight. "Yes... I have yet to relieve my duties as your general to the new princess. There might be some complications."

The lieutenant nodded. "I understand. It would be wise to assign her as quickly as possible. She technically already has command over us, ma'am. I trust she knows about our division?"

She closed her eyes and sighed. "No. I didn't think things would escalate so quickly, so I had not yet introduced her to it. It seems now, though, that things have changed."

Celestia looked over to Twilight, and she felt relief to see that she was at least occupying herself with something. Celestia knew that right now, Twilight was hurting.

Twilight was now occupying herself to treat wounded ponies with her magic. There were medics on the scene, but her magic was unchallenged, so she stepped in to take over. In total, there were about seven wounded guards in critical condition, and ten were dead. Bodies that had been retrieved had been covered up, hidden from view.

Princess Luna was found in a residential house near the castle, she had passed out from the force of crashing through the wall, but she was mostly unharmed. She came limping into the courtyard after a few minutes had passed, opting not to fly at the moment. Celestia was relieved to see her unharmed.

Moans of pain were frequent through the courtyard. It was a complete mess. Yet, Twilight needed to fight the stabbing pain that was tearing up inside her chest to stop thinking about her friend, just for the moment. She was the ruler now, and whether she liked it or not, she needed to keep a level head and lead the country through times like this.

The remaining Elements of Harmony ahad surrounded Rainbow Dash in a group hug of tears and cries, but Rainbow suddenly ripped herself away from the embrace of her friends and shakily took off towards the hole in the ground. Twilight had done all she could with the wounded and took notice of the commotion.

She flew over quickly to intervene. "Rainbow... what are you doing?" She asked as she landed in front of her, preventing Rainbow from walking any further.

The cyan pony gave her a wicked look, her pupils were dilated. "I'm going after it. I'm going to destroy that thing!"

Applejack, Rarity, and Fluttershy had walked up behind her was tryint to calm her down. Twilight was about to respond, but the newly arrived stallion walked up to them. "You should all stay back. We're handling the situation." He said firmly.

"That monster ate Pinkie! That's not something that can just be 'taken care of!'" Rainbow screamed, and Twilight noticed her hooves shaking.

"Dashie, I understand you're upset. We're all upset, but-" said a teary-eyed Fluttershy, trying to calm her down. However, Rainbow cut her off.

"Look, I'm not going to sit around while that thing roams around and kills ponies!" She said and ripped herself out of Fluttershy's grasp and spread her wings to prepare flying into the abyss. Twilight started to panic, she didn't want Rainbow to do anything rash. She enveloped Rainbow's hooves in her pink aura, locking her to the ground.

Rainbow yelped in frustration. "Hey! What are you doing?! Let me go!"

Twilight looked at her sadly. "I can't. Not after losing Pinkie like this. I can't risk losing you too. Please, don't."

"But that thing ate her, Twi. It ate her!" Rainbow pleaded as her face scrunched up in anger. She put emphasis on something Twilight wanted to bury into her mind, and tears started streaming down Rainbow's face. "She's gone... that thing killed her!"

A silence fell over the courtyard for a few moments. Nopony knew what to say.

A few moments later, the stallion cleared his throat. "Your Majesty. Miss Celestia and I would like for you to accompany us to a safe location, at least until we can track down the location of the creatures and assess the situation better. Your friends will be joining us."

Twilight realized that it made sense, however, one thing made her think twice. "Wait, creatures? There was just one."

He shook his head. "I wish that were true. Unfortunately, there have been reports of two more roaming around."

She felt a large weight drop into her stomach. Three?! Only one of them seemed to be enough ti take down the country!

Twilight looked between Celestia and the stallion with a worried look. "Okay... but, where are we going? Are we abandoning Canterlot?"

Celestia walked up to them, and joined in the conversation. "No, Twilight. We are not abandoning everyone. The safety of the princess of Equestria is of vital importance, and we will not take any chances. Don't worry, we will be coming back."

Twilight's head sunk low. Celestia's words were covering up what was really happening. The ponies of Canterlot and the rest of Equestria would be in danger, and there was nothing they could.

Celestia gave her a very stern, but sad look. She had never seen her student like this. She looked empty. Like she was barely hanging on. "We will explain everything on the way."

"We're leaving?" Rainbow asked and shook her head. "No. I'm not leaving this place until that thing is dealt with!"

The military stallion walkes up to her and put a gentle hoof on her shoulder. "I know how you're feeling, but the best course of action for you right now is to come with us. We will do everything we can to get justice, but for now, please collect yourself."

Rainbow Dash looked like she was about to protest again, but the steely look he gave her made her shrink in defeat. She felt tears building up again. "F-fine."

Twilight finally let go of her hooves, and Rainbow moved her hooves to shake off the weird feeling. "Just... give me a moment."

Twilight nodded, and Rainbow walked away from them. She walked around the pit to get over to the other side, where Pinkie had been in her final moments. Twilight and her friends hugged as they watched Rainbow sit down to cry by herself some distance away.

During the next fifteen minutes, a lot of things happened. From all directions, pegasi carriages flew in, loading ponies and sending them off in different directions. There were mostly guards that were being sent off, but some maids and civilians were being escorted as well.

A large carriage carried by four pegasi landed nearby Twilight and her friends. Celestia stepped into the carriage, followed by the lieutenant shortly after. Luna was healthy enough to walk on her own and she carefully hopped inside with her sister.

In the minutes that had passed, Celestia filled her sister in on everything as well.

"I see... This is a big deal, sister." Luna said somberly, and she looked at the floating castle above them from inside the carriage. "I'm not even sure how we can begin to address this to our subjects."

"Me neither," Celestia sighed. "The first thing we need to settle ia locating this creature that attacked us and find a way to take it down. More importantly, we need to figure out what in Equestria is going on with that floating castle. If getting up there reveals whoever is behind all of this, we need to get up there as soon as possible. However, it seems our enemy has a contingency for that." Celestia said, referring to the guards being cursed on the way up to the castle.

Celestia looked out the other window as she watched a pair of carriages leaving Canterlot, heading north. "As we speak, it's being worked on. Starswirl, Sunburst and Starlight Glimmer have all been summoned to investigate this matter together. They are among our brightest minds, and I trust they will find a solution."

Luna looked up at the castle through the window of the carriage, now illuminated by an orange hue as the sun had started to lower toward the horizon. "And what of this Torgand? What is known about him?"

"I... don't know. He seems genuine and helpful to us, but I have no idea what could have brought him here, and at such a time. He has been acting very suspicious about all the answers he's given us. My gut is telling me there is some sort of connection between all of this. He is... different."

"Different how?" Luna asked.

Celestia pondered on it for a bit before shaking her head. "I will explain later." Celestia said, and she looked at the door to the carriage, watching as Twilight and her friends boarded.

Twilight felt like she had been hit by a train. There were so many thoughts in her head, and none of them were pleasant. She wanted to know what was happening. Where were they going? Who was this dragon that showed up out of nowhere? What is with the castle in the sky? What about Pinkie? Would they even have time to mourn her?

Celestia and Luna gave Twilight an attempt at an encouraging smile. "We're taking you all somewhere safe. It won't be permanent, but until we can figure out what our next move is, it's the best option."

Twilight didn't respond. She sat down and looked out one of the windows, watching as the newly arrived dragon was directed inside one of the carriages.

She felt Celestia unfurl one of her wings and wrapped it around Twilight. Without realizing it, she felt a comforting exhale leave her. She looked up at Celestia, and her mentor used her other wing to wipe gently under Twilight's eyes.

Rainbow Dash was staring blankly outside as the carriage started to take off, leaving the horrible scenery behind. Her eyes were unfocused, and her breathing was heavy. Her cheeks were matted with tears, she was taking the loss of her friend harder than most. She was staring at the hole where the serpent had vanished into as they began their journey away from Canterlot and she bit her teeth together, hard.

Applejack sat next to Rainbow, and removed her hat after a deep exhale. "I can't believe she's gone." She whispered, and Rarity placed a hoof on her shoulder from behind.

"There wasn't anything we could have done."

"I know, but..." Applejack shook her head in frustration and covered her face with her stetson.

There wasn't much to be said between anypony. They were all deeply enveloped in their own thoughts about everything that had transpired, none of them being very good thoughts.

They ascended quite a bit until they passed a layer of clouds. Twilight had a small conversation with Celestia and Luna, informing her about Torgand, the castle and what was to be done about finding the roaming monsters. After nearly an hour, they heard one of the guards pulling the carriage call for them.

"We will be arriving shortly!"

Driven out of their thoughts, the girls on board directed their attention outside and saw a sea of clouds. Clouds that were starting to look more like buildings.

"Where are we?" asked Fluttershy, as the carriage moved in for landing.

"You'll see," Celestia said.

The carriage turned after they landed, and they were met with a fabulous sight. The sky had turned a reddish hue as it illuminated not only a fortress in the clouds, but barracks and training grounds.

"What is this place?" asked Fluttershy as she marveled at the size of the fort. She seemed to be the only one who wanted to speak out loud.

"This is Skyhold." Celestia said as she walked past them, heading out of the carriage as the doors were opened by the guards. Luna followed her, and they were greeted by soldiers that were lines up, ready to serve.

Celestia and Luna turned to Twilight. "Come, Princess." Celestia requested.

Twilight stepped off the carriage with her friends and followed Celestia. Frowing and looking around, she recalled being told about this foretress. "Princess, you told me about this place a while ago, but you never explained to me what it's here for."

Celestia gave her a somber look. "I have not. I hoped I wouldn't need to. However, with our relations with the Gryphons being as unstable as a house of cards and not to mention the tragedy that just unfolded at Canterlot, we cannot postpone this any longer. In the next few days, possibly weeks, you need to get much more familiar with this place."

Twilight's looked around her to try and register everything here. Soldiers, leaders, previous rulers and a large fort big enough to hold an army. It was a lot to take in.

She knew this was one of the duties she would have to bear. Unsure whether it was determination to avenge her friend or if it was her desire to lead with dignity, she nodded.

"Thank you."

"Sister," said Luna as she watched another carriage land nearby. "I will go speak with our new arrival."

Celestia saw what she was referring to, and nodded. At that, Luna went off to greet the new arrivals.

Many more guards arrived in carriages of their own, along with Torgand the dragon. He had agreed to come along without question, which delighted Celestia. She didn't know what to make of him. She wanted him nearby because he might know something they dont, and because he is an extraordinary fighter, able to destroy these monsters.

Could all dragons harm the beast as much as he could? She thought while observing him being eacorted into a building nearby.

After some deliberation, it was assessed that the creature was immune against magical attacks, yet weak to fire. Otherwise, it would not flee the way it did.

Trying to make sense of everything, she looked back to Twilight. "Right now, there are several things we need to sort out. I want you to say goodbye to your friends for the moment, and then come with me. They will be here at the headquarters until further notice, so don't worry."

Twilight looked around at her friends. The looks they gave her were filled with concern and sadness. She could tell that they didn't want to be separated, not after something like this. Not after losing a friend. Celestia knew this as well.

Twilight went up to them, wrapping her hooves around each of them, and pulled them into a close hug. "I'll see you all soon. We'll make it through this." She reassured them.

Most of the girls gave her a weak smile. Rainbow didn't. She was distant and quiet.

After some encouraging words her way from her friends, Twilight pulled away and walked off with Celestia. However, Rainbow Dash was not far behind. "I'm coming with you."

Twilight turned around to see that she had followed her as they started walking. "Rainbow..." Twilight started.

"No. I want to help." Rainbow said and looked at the two. She had an enraged expression on her face, laced with several other emotions. "I want to fight. Anything I can do, I'll do it."

The lieutenant from earlier walked up to Rainbow Dash. "Miss Dash, is it? I am Lieutenant Argon Holt. Would you please come with me, and we can talk about this in a more private setting?"

"What's there to talk about?" Rainbow said, giving him a challenging look.

Argon resisted. "There is a lot to talk about. Please, follow me?"

She looked between him and Twilight a few times before reluctantly giving in. Rainbow was brash and unpredictable, but she respected surperior officers. She glanced at Twilight as she started following this stallion into the main gates.

Twilight could see she was angry, and she felt exactly what she felt. Watching her friend in this state was heartbreaking.

Twilight and Celestia watched her leave before Twilight looked over to her mentor. "So... what now?"