Nightingale

Nightingale

Twilight gasped as she woke, the events of the last few days replaying in her head. The stars were obscured by the high tangled trees of the Everfree and the clearing where they had made camp was still dark. Sighing as she got up, she called upon her magic and soon enough a purple fire burned in the center of camp. The fire cast an eerie light upon the trees and shed light on Twilight's coat, her face had several cuts running across it, her wings were ruffled and dried blood matted her mane and fur. Mud had also left its mark on Twilight; the once pristine lavender coat that had defined Equestria’s third princess was now a mix of brown and red.

As light filled the camp Twilight found herself surrounded by almost a hundred lumps of brightly colored fur. The lumps represented both Twilights success and her failure, she was bound by oath to protect Equestria from it enemies, but what about from its friends? Nopony saw discords betrayal coming; he had truly become a productive member of society and Twilights friend. When Discord had attacked Canterlot during Twilights Coronation she had hesitated, and her mistake had cost her Mentor her life. Twilights actions had led to Celestia’s death. Twilight felt the warmth of tears upon her face as she remembered Celestia’s last moments.

*

Celestia, Luna, and Twilight were losing. Badly. Luna had already taken several magical blasts that would have killed a normal pony and Twilight too had been injured fighting Discord and the army of Daemons he conjured out of the rift around Canterlot. Celestia was the only one unmarked, her pristine white coat shone in the sunlight and her eyes blazed with the terrible fire of a mother whose children were in danger.

“Discord! This is not the side of you I called friend! This is not the side of you that deserved Fluttershy’s friendship! I beg of you! Please for yourself and others STOP THIS MADDNESS!” shouted Twilight as tears came to her eyes, Mere hours ago she was shaking Discords paw, now she was evading his efforts to kill her.

Discord refused to speak as he had for the last few hours, ever since the battle began. The city of Canterlot was burning and the screams of the townsponies could be heard below. With a glance at each other the three goddesses leapt into battle with discord once more, showering him with stunning spells and binding spells. Discord however, was going for the kill, blasting death magic and the raw stuff of chaos and the Ether at the princesses.

A black and purple beam nearly missed Twilight as she spun to avoid the blast, Celestia infuriated at Discords actions sent a killing curse towards his heard only to have Discord swallow the blast and throw it back at Luna.

Time slowed as the beam neared its target Luna’s face slowly comprehending that this was the end. However right as the beam neared Luna’s heart a white blur intercepted the blast before falling to the ground unmoving.

“Twilight go to Celestia, get her and as many ponies as you can out of Canterlot, flee to the Everfree forest and to the Castle of the royal pony sisters, as the Everfree is already chaotic Discords magic cannot reach you there, I will hold him off” Luna told Twilight telepathically, giving her a look that said not to argue.

Twilight nodded before rocketing down to Celestia as the magical blasts still reigned over head; she touched down roughly and stumbled over to Celestia’s still body.

“Celestia? Please, look at me! Please you can’t be dead; you can’t leave me here without you!” Twilight said softly as tears dropped from her eyes and onto Celestia’s mane, which was slowly receding into the locks of a normal mane, no longer the arcane brilliance that Twilight had grown to love.

“Please Celestia… I-I… I Love you! You can’t leave me now!” Twilight sobbed

“Twi-Twilight? Please, come closer” Celestia muttered her eyes white with blindness. Twilight crawled closer to Celestia, before hugging her tightly, Hugging her as if to never let her go.

“Twilight Listen to me, my time has passed in this world, and you are the future of Equestria. Please do not morn my death, but celebrate my life! And do that by defeating discord, and making Equestria safe for ponies to live and love again. I’m proud of you Twilight, and I love you.”

Twilight was crying and as Celestia said her last words she buried her face in her mane once more before getting up, a strong defiant look upon her face.

**“Citizens of Canterlot, evacuate the city, and head towards the Everfree Forest! We will be safe from Discords magic there!”* She yelled in her Royal Canterlot Voice!*

The citizens of Canterlot ran towards the Gates with Twilight at their head, blasting the Daemons in front of them as to clear a path, as the last of the pony’s exited Canterlot Twilight sent a telepathic message to Luna.

“Luna flee, I have evacuated the City, FLY YOU FOAL!”

And with that Luna nodded and shot off away from Canterlot with Discord following her. Twilight in turn flew with the refugees to the Everfree.

*

Twilight woke the rest of the group, and led her followers to the ruined castle of the royal pony sisters, while trotting to the castle a mysterious pony joined Twilight. He was a Unicorn and had a blue coat with white and silver streaks in his mane and tail, and his cutie mark was that of three musical eighth notes and a half note.

“Hello, Princess Twilight, wonderful night isn’t it?” the stallion said looking at Twilight curiously, as if he found her the most intriguing thing in all of Equis. Twilight looked at him with anger.

“A wonderful night is it? I’ve just lost Canterlot, and all of Equestria for all I know, my friends might be dead, Celestia is dead, and for all I know Luna is dead too! I’m alone against the most powerful being on equis! So forgive me if I don’t think this is a wonderful night!” Twilight yelled, losing her cool for the first time since Discord attacked. The pony merely stared back at her with a calm voice and spoke again.

“And who do you think brought this night to us… ON TIME? My dear princess, Luna is alive, and the way I see it surrounded by protectors or else she could not have brought us this beautiful night.” The stallion looked at her with an expression of kindness. “My dear Twilight, do not lose hope.” Twilight looked at him thoughtfully.

“And what is your name sir?”

“Oh… I have gone by many names princess… but you can call me… Octavian.”

*

“Octavian? What do you mean you have gone by many names?” Twilight asked as she walked by her new companion. They we still a day’s walk away from the ruined Castle and Octavian had been a great comfort along the route. His charm was quiet invigorating and for the moments that they could talk Twilight felt like she could forget about the pain of Celestia’s death or the loss of Canterlot.

“Well let’s just say that Alicorns are not the only Immortals in this world.” He replied staring ahead, not looking at Twilight. “Immortality came to me; I did not seek it out as many ponies do, because I have to admit I was a rather clever stallion in my youth, and realized the two things ponies want most in life, immortality and wealth is the worst things for ponies.”

“What? You’re Immortal? But… but how? This doesn’t make sense! You look like a mortal pony!” Twilight exclaimed, looking Octavian over for and form of abnormality.

“Do I?” Octavian asked before smiling at twilight showing her the set of fangs that had plagued him his entire life.

“What? You’re a Vampony? I thought they were just an old mare tale?!” Twilight replied intrigued, not fearing the supposedly deadly hunter mere feet away from her.

“Well obviously not, however one could associate the disappearance of Vamponys from fact and into legend with the decline of our power and influence” Octavian said, looking away from Twilight. “We were created from normal loyal ponies during the first reign of Nightmare Moon; she created us to be utterly loyal to her.” Octavian explained “During the war we were her shock troops, one Vampony equal to a dozen regular ponies in battle. However after Nightmare Moons defeat, we came to our senses. The horror of our actions drove many of my brethren to suicide, while the rest of us were hunted like animals by the unforgiving members of the hunter’s cadre.” Octavian looked up at Twilight sadly “We had been normal ponies, Bakers, Farmers, Husbands and Wife’s, but after the war the ponies that sided with Celestia could not see past our misdeeds and condemned us to death.”

“What about Celestia? I’m sure she would have helped you! Hay, she gave Discord a chance why not you?” Twilight asked.

“We reminded her of her sister’s failure. She could not bear to look upon us because of our eternal connection to the evil of Nightmare Moon.”

Twilight looked at him thoughtfully before continuing on the trail to the Castle, her followers were tired and hungry, and they needed to get to the castle before sundown before an animal from the Everfree had them for dinner. Twilight was contemplating her next move when she heard a shout behind her.

“Princess Sparkle!” Prince Blueblood shouted with a look of disgust on his face. “I demand to know when we will arrive at the Castle and when I will receive sustenance!”

Twilight looked at him with a look of distain before answering. “I am truly sorry if your current conditions are not to your liking Prince Blueblood, however as you may not have noticed Canterlot has been taken and we are in a state of open war against a god. So I have to apologize that I may not give a rat’s flank about YOUR problems because I currently have so many of my own, so until further notice STUFF IT!” Twilight yelled her eyes burning with fiery hate.

“Well I do not think that an Alicorn who has no biological right to the throne should be giving orders to us of noble blood! Why I am Princess Celestia’s nephew!” Blueblood retorted before being cut off by a roar to his right. Night had fallen.

A huge hydra had trampled out of the dense trees of the Everfree forest and was roaring with all its might as it attacked the convoy of refugees, its five heads smashing to the earth in attempts to devour the ponies below. Twilight leapt into action followed closely by none other than Octavian, Twilight flew circles around the hydras many heads firing beams of magic towards the beast, severing several of its heads only to have them grow back stronger and meaner than before. Meanwhile Octavian was dashing between the hydras legs sending black blasts of dark magic towards the hydras belly and legs.

“Twilight!” Octavian yelled “Twilight we can’t kill it! It regenerates to fast!”

As Twilight turned to Octavian one of the Hydras heads slammed into her knocking her out of the sky only to be caught in the mouth of one of the other heads. Twilight was forced down the throat of the Hydra fighting the whole way down until she landed in the hydras gullet the stomach acid burning away some of her fur. Twilight’s eyes turned white as she focused her magic into a fire storm around her, black and purple flames licking at the insides of the hydras stomach.

Meanwhile, Octavian was confronting the Hydra head on the rest of the refugees hiding behind him or running towards the castle. Octavian charged the Hydra once more firing blasts at the hydras belly in order to save Twilight. Then with a flash of bright light the hydras stomach exploded, black and purple flames burning the Hydras body to a crisp as an angry Purple unicorn flew from the burning remains.

“Oh you did NOT just try to eat me!” Twilight yelled only to be greeted by the laughs of Octavian below. “And what do you think is so funny mister?” she yelled at Octavian her eye brow raised.

“You went all sassy black mare on that hydra!” Octavian replied chuckling “That and it is just our luck to be attacked by a Hydra fifty feet from our destination!”

“What do you mean?” Twilight asked Octavian before following the direction of his out stretched hoof. There, not fifty feet from the burning body of the hydra was the ancient castle of the royal pony sisters main gate.