Rise of the Legend

Princess Celestia’s hooves drummed a frantic beat on the stone floors as the slow repetition of that damnable ram crashing against the castle doors chased her through the halls. Interspersed throughout was the clattering of wood against wood, the sound of royal guards desperate to buy their princesses every last second they could.

Though the sound was too far away for her ears, she knew that her parents were strapping on their armor for the very same purpose.

The city was drowning in rebel forces. Even if she managed to break through the attack, she and Luna would not be allowed to live. As it stood now, their only future was death.

But there was a way out. The royal servants had given her a chance, a desperate gamble that may save her and her sister.

Where was she? The library wasn't this way! Lost in her plans, she had let her legs wander. Stupid. Every second was precious to her plans. Her legs burned even as her desperation filled them with newfound strength, carrying her back to the passages of black marble that led to the library. Deep blue light enveloped Celestia, reflections of the blue gems her father had inlaid in the walls in honor of Luna’s birth. This time of the day, she would be in the library. If Celestia could just find the book in time!

A thundering crash filled the halls, throwing the princess from her hooves. Celestia cried out as she fell squarely on the point of her shoulder.

In just a few moments, her parents would be dead. She didn't want to get up. She didn't want to live in a world without the father that had taught her so diligently, without the mother that had cared for her so. How could she, still so young, live without their love, their guidance?

But her sister... Gods, Luna's cutie mark was still fresh on her flank! If she gave up now...

She couldn't worry about what was going on elsewhere, now. Saving herself and her sister was too important.

Celestia gathered the strength graced upon her as a royal Alicorn, forcing aside the thoughts telling her to surrender and the pain shooting from her withers to her knee. Her strength failed her as she caught the sound of her father’s battle cry. The weakness in her legs came surging back, threatening to return her to the ground once more. No. She couldn't let her emotions rule her now. There would be time for grief later. Now... now was the time for action. Tears stung her eyes as her emotions made clear that they thought otherwise.

Oh, ye gods, why was this so hard? Her father’s best generals had trained her in mental exercises to set aside emotions when they were a danger, and she called upon that training now. There could be no hesitation, no loss of focus. No emotion. At least, not until she and her sister were safe.

Her thoughts now clear, she assessed her surroundings, only to find the doors to the library looming before her.

The pain in the princess’ shoulder cried out as she threw her weight into opening the door. Where was Luna? Celestia prayed that her sister hadn't run at the sounds of battle.

No. There she was, tears of fright flowing freely from her eyes as she ran to the protection of her big sister.

Her big sister had no time to comfort her, however. Even if she did, she wasn't Luna's sister anymore. She was her superior officer, and by the gods, this soldier was going to obey her commands!

Giving her sister a quick set of instructions and thanking the gods that Luna knew something of setting her emotions aside, Celestia rushed to the bookshelf that should contain the book she needed.

Where was it? She knew it had to be here!

The control she held onto so tenuously began to slip as panic welled up inside her. She needed that control, both to act and to use her magic. Calm and control were the keys to focused magic. If she lost that...

There! The shelf surrendered the tome to her telekinesis. She hoped that using this bit of magic wouldn't affect her ability to cast the spell. Right now, she needed speed. Using her telekinesis would cost her some magical energy, but it was the fastest way to find the illusion spell. The sounds of battle were beginning to die down...

Luna was now beside her, having left their royal garb next to the window as the princess had instructed. Celestia was dimly aware of the sound of a shattering crystal as Luna completed the orders given to her. One final task, now. She prayed she had the energy.

Celestia’s body filled with more magic than she had ever dared use before as she focused her energy. The distant sound of hooves against stone was just now reaching her ears. Pain coursed through her body, so unaccustomed to wielding this much magic. Everything faded around her as she focused her everything into this spell. One last spell! That's all she wanted! If she never used magic again, just let this work!

The pain was reaching unbearable levels now. At last, when she could not hold it back anymore, Celestia released the magic in the form she hoped would complete the spell. She could tell that something had happened, but it was beyond her mind’s ability to convey. Her sight was no help, either. Her perception of the world was now reduced to a few fuzzy spots of white on a field of grayish-brown. The nearness of the hooves against stone made her intimately aware of just how little time was left to finish her deception.

Praying that it would be enough, she reached out to where she knew her sister was, grabbing hold of her with one hoof and tearing away the page with the other. Jamming the page in her mouth, she stumbled her way with her sister to where she hoped a corner was. After a few faltering steps, Luna took the lead, removing the page from Celestia’s mouth at the same time. Celestia doubted she would have had such clarity of thought at her sister’s age.

She felt them stumble into position as the doors to the library scraped open. She prayed the deception would work. If it didn’t…

Celestia managed to choke down a sigh of relief as the search party dismissed the last of the royal family as servants. The order reached her ears: Pegasi were to scour the air. The princesses had escaped into the skies.

Princess Celestia and Princess Luna were now nothing more than simple unicorns, as far as the world was concerned...