Chapter 14

Saving Equestria

Outside the castle, King Night Shade and Queen Star Bright were finishing giving their captain of the royal guard his duties and when he nodded his head in understanding he saluted them. The two rulers took flight and headed to meet the oncoming force of The Defiler. Celestia and Luna watched their parents leave from the window of the closed off balcony. Celestia bucked a vase in frustration causing it to shatter violently.

“Big sister…” began Luna shocked by the act.

“I’m sorry Luna,” said Celestia remembering her promise to be brave for the two of them. “They should be fine right? I mean its mom and dad after all.”

Even as she said it, a horrible feeling of doubt crept over her. Just then, Snap Shot and small force of the castle guards appeared at the entry to the throne room and told the two they need to go with him where it would be safe. The two sisters agreed to follow. Luna reacting a little quicker to go with the guards than her big sister. As they began their decent down the halls to the lower parts of the castle they heard from the opened door a horrifying cry of rage echo out from mountains outside Canterlot. At the bottom of the stairs, the guards led the two sisters to a large painting of the past Princess of Equestria. Snap Shot reached out his hoof and lowered a hanging torch. The Painting swung open allowing them to enter a hole in the wall. Celestia and Luna followed the guards, going deeper than they have ever gone under the castle. The guards had to light lanterns in order to see where they were going after that. Celestia and Luna provided extra light by allowing their horns to cast beams of light. The sound of frantic talking met their ears as they drew closer to the end of the passage. They found themselves in an underground cavern. Ponies from the city were hiding down here from the fight that would commence outside. Some of the frightened ponies turned their heads at the new arrivals.

“Snap, What’s going on?! Is it over?!” asked an earth pony hopefully.

“Everypony remain calm!” ordered Snap Shot. “Let King Night Shade, Queen Star Bright, and the rest of the Royal Guard handle things on higher ground! Don't worry, we’ll be out of here in no time!”

Amongst the outburst from fearful citizens and reassuring’s from the small group of guards, Celestia and Luna spotted their friends in the crowd of confused and scared ponies and headed over. They were relieved to see that they all made it… Well, at least almost all of them. Tick and Tock were missing!

“Celestia, Luna What’s happening!?” exclaimed Wind Chime.

“We’re sorry Wind Chime, we will explain it to you later, but for now…”

“Forget later!” said Wind Chime frowning. “First we are all approached by the Royal Guard ordering us to evacuate the city! And the next thing we know, is that we are told stay in this gloomy place while they handle things outside! Come on you two, what’s going on?”

“Chime, I swear I will tell you later, but for now, you’re going to have to trust us ok?” said Celestia hoping that her friend would be able to take her word on it, but the angered pegasus didn’t look very likely to do so.

“Black Wood, where are Tick and Tock?” asked Luna breaking the nasty silence.

“They’re here of course,” said Black Wood. “Right over…. Uh… Oh no, they did it again!”

“What?!” spoke up Wind Chime looking around for the two unicorns. “Oh for the love of Equestria, this isn’t the time for them to go wondering off!”

“Who says we’re wondering off?” asked a voice from a reappearing red unicorn.

“Tock's right!” said a second reappearing caster. “It’s not like we’re teleporting our way around all willy nilly! Besides, wait till you hear what we have found.”

“Tick, don’t try and justify yourselves with telling us that this was just another exploration!" Wind Chime flustered up. "I don’t think now is the time or place for your nonsensical antics!”

“Fine,” said Tock shrugging her off. “If you don’t want to hear where the lake is, then we won’t tell.”

“Wait, you found it?” asked Celestia in interest.

“Aha!” Tock piped up. “Somepony who’s interested I see! Fine, we will tell you then.”

Tock beckoned Celestia to come closer so he could tell only her. When she was close, Tick spoke for his brother.

“While the rest of Canterlot were waiting around, we figured we might as well have a look around seeing that we were going to be here for a while. Little did we know that as soon as we started searching, our horns censed water nearby! We followed the signal until it became strong enough for us to teleport directly to it.”

“Where is it?” asked Celestia.

“Directly above us,” said Tock pointing his hoof at the ceiling. “We think it could be inside the rest of the mountain behind the castle. We could take you there if you’d like! We think it might be inside the rest of the mountain beside the castle! Who knows, we might even meet up with that other unicorn we saw.”

“Other Unicorn?” said Celestia confused.

“Yeah, we saw her when we went to investigate,” said Tick.

“The trouble is…” began Tock starting to look suspicious. “She told us to scram as soon as we reached her. She told us that she didn’t want anypony to intrude. I wonder why that is?”

Celestia’s eyes widened as she knew exactly who Tick and Tock must have seen. Nimph was at the underground lake! She must have escaped the guards during all of the panicked commotion! Celestia had a feeling that whatever Nimph was doing near the lake, it wasn’t bound to be anything good. Not wanting to tell Tick and Tock her worries, Celestia acted just as puzzled they were by Nimph’s oddity towards them and went over to tell Luna what she had just learned.

“What is it big sister?” Luna asked when she was pulled aside by Celestia.

“Nimph has escaped!” said Celestia, “We have to stop her before she does anything else to place Equestria at risk!”

“Ok. Lets go!” said Luna ready for action.

“No, you need to stay here!” said Celestia.

“No way! We go together!” argued Luna.

“Listen to me Luna!" said Celestia placing both her front hooves on her little sister's shoulders. "You have to stay behind incase Nimph tries to make a run for it!”

“Oh,” said Luna catching onto the plan. “I see what you mean, ok. I got it, but won’t you need any help?”

“Hey, who do you think I am anyway little sister?" Celestia said grinning confidently. "I’ll manage well on my own.”

Celestia waited until Snap Shot’s gaze was off of them until she acted. Tick and Tock told her that teleporting once she had censed the water source should do the trick, and when asked if she wanted them to accompany her; she refused raising a demanding hoof. The brothers looked at her, a little offended, but when they saw her unnatural sense of urgency they said nothing to protest and nodded to her in understanding. Smiling at the two of them, she headed off on her own doing exactly as they instructed. Once the signal of water was strong enough, Celestia closed her eyes and thought of the place she wanted to go to. Her horn glowed pink, there was the sound of a soft popping noise and she was gone. When she opened her eyes again, Celestia found herself on a slope and directly below her, she heard Nimph talking to herself. Looking over her cover, Celestia saw Nimph pacing the lake trying to figure out a perfect spot to put her plan into motion.

“This has to work,” Nimph spoke aloud looking up at the ceiling as if she could see something that Celestia couldn’t. “It just has too! You said I wasn’t ready! You told them that I wouldn’t be able to handle it! Well, we’ll see who was wrong after tonight Star Swirl!”

Nimph raised her hoof up in the air and began to shake it. Her eyes shrank and she looked quite deranged as she began to draw something in the sand with a stone she had levitated from the shore.

“I can solve this, I know I can! I am a master at solving puzzles after all… I’ll show you! I can save them all! I made a promise and… I… NEVER… GO… BACK… ON… MY…”

“Stop!” cried out Celestia from her incline. “Nimph, You have to stop! Let the king and queen handle this!”

Nimph glared at Celestia. With her horn glowing, she shot a beam of red light that missed Celestia by inches and hit the ceiling above her creating a big hole. The force of the spell caused the ceiling to form a long crack making small rays of light and stalactites hit the surface of the lake. Now that Celestia could see a little more properly the light that hit Nimph made her look positively insane. Through the cracked spectacles she saw that Nimph’s eyes had shrunk and in her panicked and enraged state, she wasn’t going to let Celestia get in her way of doing what she thought was right! She was beyond reason! Celestia spread her wings and was about to fly toward the crazed unicorn when the two of them heard the sound of a distant explosion. The stalactites above them shook, threatening to drop at any given moment.

“No!” yelled Nimph. “I can’t afford to waist anymore time!”

Turning her back on Celestia, she levitated the stone again and picked up where she had left off on her drawing. Taking her momentary distraction to her advantage, Celestia flew at Nimph and tackled her. The two mares wrestled on the shore. Nimph tried to kick Celestia off, but she was tightly wrapped in her wings. In desperation, Nimph bit into Celstia’s wing making her cry out in pain! With the Alicorn’s grip loosening, Nimph blasted her attacker away with a strong burst of magic! Celestia hit the water with a loud splash! Nimph got up and with her horn glowing bright red, she cast her spell at the ceiling. The beam of red light carved a hole straight through the mountain and in a matter of seconds unseen water that lied undisturbed above them came crashing down flooding the underground lake! Nimph struggled, trying to keep afloat but in no time she felt herself sink. The water was rising! The sure amount that Nimph had unleashed upon them was unclear! As the water continued to poor down on the underground lake, from the depths came the outline of the two mares. One was as still as the frozen watery grave itself while the other was kicking franticly to the surface! With one last push Celestia’s horn broke the surface and when her wings came up she lifted both herself and the immobile body of Nimph out of the rising waters! Hovering above the rapidly rising lake, Celestia looked around for an exit! Everywhere was blocked… Everywhere except up! Groaning at the only option they had left, Celestia landed back in the water and waited for the down poor to end. Taking a deep breath she felt her horn glow as she and Nimph dove underneath the surface. The flooding came to a halt and with her horn lighting the way, Celestia with Nimph held tightly in her front hooves, she kicked for the surface above! When Celestia felt her snout breach the surface she let out a loud gasp! Coughing and relieved that she had made it, she tried once again to spread her wings, but this time, she was out of luck. They had gathered too much water and were like carrying an extra pair of unnecessary weights. She thought she saw the shore not to far ahead and swam to it, dragging Nimph behind. When she reached the edge of the deep end she made Nimph hover limply beside her with a levitation spell. Finally, her hooves reached solid ground and she shrunk to her knees panting. She lowered Nimphs body onto the mountain and went over to see how high they were. The air felt dense and when Celestia reached the edge of the mountain, she saw that they were at the peak. She saw the roof of the castle below and beyond that she saw to her horror, black smoke emitting from the Everfree Forest. The smell of burning wood met her snout. A horrible roar came from the sky. The sound of enormous wings flew somewhere close by. Nimph stirred awake gagging as the water she had swallowed pored out of her mouth. Coughing herself back to consciousness, Nimph looked around, petrified at what she had done. The sound of The Defiler’s roar met their ears again, this time it was followed by flashes of multi colored light.

“Mom! Dad!” Celestia called out in worry.

“No…” said Nimph. “No! I… I can still fix this… I...” but her fight had left her and she sank to the floor.

Celestia could hear her say something to someone who wasn’t there.

“Star Swirl, I’m sorry! You were right! I wasn’t ready! I… I should have refused to help Romulus from the start!”

Celestia thought that all she could feel for Nimph after what she has put Equestria through would be hate, but after seeing the Unicorn in such a defeated and helpless state she only felt pity. Even as the smell of smoke covered the land and who knows how many towns and other kingdoms would be at risk if The Defiler wins, Celestia couldn’t bring herself to hate her. She could tell that she was trying to correct her mistake no matter what the cost. Sighing, Celestia approached the saddened unicorn. Her spectacles had fallen off and strands of her red mane covered the upper part of her face as drops of water or fresh tears hit the mountain peak. Celestia approached the sobbing mare and held out her hoof.

“I don’t understand,” said Nimph shakily, refusing to look up at the Alicorn. “Weren’t you just trying to stop me before I did any more harm than good?”

“Yes I was, but… Didn’t you say you wanted to fix things?” asked Celestia.

“But…”

Before Nimph could reply another loud roar echoed across the land as two dots fell from the sky and crashed into the Everfree Forest. Celestia’s eyes widened as she saw a wave of fire come crashing down on the forest turning the trees into a towering inferno. The Defiler circled around the fiery prison of his prey before he let loose another blast of flame. This time, the fire hit the land outside of the forest. Celestia felt her legs shaking as the smell of burning wood and grass hit her nostrils. She turned back to Nimph who had shrunk to the rocky floor and covered her ears with her hooves trying to tune out the sounds of the dragon’s cries of fury. Celestia made her horn glow and tried to cast her own spells at the bit of The Defiler she could see through the smoke, but no matter what she cast at him, it might as well had tickled than do any harm. The grounds below were in flames, the forest fire was spreading and Celestia’s parents were somewhere in the chaos! Trapped or worse…

Celestia was about to cast another spell when she saw something flying toward her. For one terrifying moment she thought it was The Defiler, but as the dot grew closer she saw the dark blue outline of her little sister! Celestia didn’t know weather to be happy or maddened by the sudden appearance.

“Big Sister!” Luna called out to her as she made to land on the mountain peak.

“Luna, I told you to stay behind!” said Celestia keeping her voice calm but her glare didn’t match her tone.

“I know, but I couldn’t just sit down there doing nothing while my family was out here fighting!” Luna said just as serious.

“That’s not the point!” retorted Celestia.

“Isn’t it?” challenged Luna. “Face it big sister, mom and dad need our help! And from the looks of things, you need me by your side on this!”

Luna peered over her sister’s shoulder and spotted Nimph shaking with fright.

“Is that her?” she asked frowning.

“Yeah, it is,” said Celestia also looking back. “I think she shouldn’t be any harm to anypony now,”

“I would think not!” said Luna in disgust. “Look what she has brought upon us!”

“Luna…” began Celestia, but Luna cut her off.

“Come on big sister, we need to help our mom and dad!”

“You cannot stop him,” came Nimph’s cracked voice.

“Sais you!” Luna said waspishly. “Come on Celstia! leave her! We’re wasting time!”

“Hold on Luna," said Celestia patiently and stepped toward the terrified unicorn. "Nimph, what was that symbol you were making before?”

“It was his mark,” said Nimph sniffing. “If that is what brought him here in the first place then it could be just the thing to put him back.”

“Then there is a way!” said Celestia excitedly. “Please, if you know then you have to tell us how we can put an end to this!”

“You don’t understand,” said Nimph worriedly. “This is no ordinary magic. My teacher, Star Swirl began a counter spell before his passing, but he never got the chance to finish it. I might have solved it, but… I fear what might happen if I try to use it. You were right to stop me Celestia. I should have never attempted to cast it. Not again. The queen said she knows how to speak to The Defiler. I should just let her do it.”

“But the spell before was a Calling. This new one is a counter spell!” said Celestia encouragingly.

“I... I… No! I don’t want to cause anypony else more pain!” Shrieked Nimph, looking up at Celestia.

Her eyes were reddened; her expression was of utter most fear of the possibilities for attempting to cast another spell having to do with The Defiler.

“You won’t, but we will,” said Celestia taking a stand.

“Celestia, no!” said Luna warningly. “Don’t trust her!”

“There is no other way Luna!” said Celestia looking at her cautious sister. “We have to try this! This could be our only hope!”

“And if it’s not?” Luna retorted glaring down at Nimph.

“Nimph, please… Tell us the spell.”

Nimph looked at the two young Alicorns. How could they be so willing to fight a lost battle? Had she stumbled so far down her rabbit hole that she was forever lost inside it? Swallowing, she thought about what she had heard her teacher say to her once. The words came to mind as if Star Swirl was there himself.

“Some of the greatest challenges we all face are those we cannot face alone. Trust in yourself Nimph, and don’t be afraid of letting others be your guide.”

Nimph smiled to herself. The irony of that speech came from a mage who couldn’t even follow his own advice. Picking herself up Nimph levitated her cracked spectacles back on her snout and walked over to the edge of the peak and stared down at the sea of fire below. The smell of smoke made her sick and with out hesitation she galloped over to the edge of the lake. And started to draw an invisible line from where she stood to the peak’s cliff.

“Yes,” she said to herself in a newfound confidence. “That should do it!”

“What should do it?” asked Celestia wondering what the unicorn was planning this time.

“Forget it sister!” said Luna lifting herself off the ground. “She’s a lost cause!”

Before Celestia could retort, Nimph spoke up again,

“I know how we can stop him, but you need to give me time!”

“Time for what?” Luna asked skeptically. “I don’t like this sister!”

“Neither do I Luna,” said Celestia shamefully. “But what other choice do we have? How much time do you need Nimph?”

“As much as I can get! I might know a way to put out the fire too, but you have to keep The Defiler busy while I get everything ready!”

“Ok!” said Celestia nodding in understanding. “Thank…”

“Don’t thank me yet,” said Nimph returning to trace the invisible line with her eyes. “Get going! Equestria isn’t going to save itself!”

Celestia nodded again and spread her wings. Once she was at Luna’s level the two hovered over the mountain for a brief moment before they dove. Within a matter of seconds they flew passed trees and mist. Reaching the city below them, the shouts of shocked royal guards called out to them. Whether it was words of encouragement or worry they didn’t care. The only thing they were focused on as they soared toward the Everfree Forest was the enormous cloud of smoke hovering above the burning land.

“Do you see them!?” Luna asked looking down at the forest fire.

Flying above the forest, all the two young Alicorns could see was nothing but bright orange and red flames. The smoke rising from the flames made their eyes water as they tried to see past it.

“I don’t see anyth… Luna, quick, hide!”

Luna didn’t have time to respond. From behind her something pointy was poking out from the black smoke. She and Celestia lowered themselves into hazardous cloud as the spinney tail of the mighty beast drifted passed. Descending further down, the two mares felt the heat from the fire increase as their hooves touched torched soil. Finding each other in the heat, the two sisters hurried through the forest fire! Before it would have been difficult to navigate in the dark forest do to lack of light, but now, the canopy above had changed into a dangerous fiery ceiling! The once strong branches were reduced to falling fragile igniters! With a sickening crunch, the branches hit the forest floor letting new fire spread. Above them they heard the faint sounds of The Defiler passing by. Celestia and Luna continued their way under cover of the flames. In the distance, Celestia thought she could hear someone calling out for another who wasn’t there. Celestia galloped off, Luna trailing close behind. To their relief they saw their dad making his way through his fiery prison with a water spell. When he spotted his daughters, he felt his heart drop.

“What are you two doing here?!” he demanded. “I thought I told you to stay behind where it was safe!”

“It’s good to see you too dad,” said Celestia annoyed.

Night Shade was a mess. Although it was tough to spot with his black coat, he did have singed spots and long cuts had been made on his body where the claws of The Defiler had made contact including a rather nasty one on his snout. He appeared to be limping on one leg and his once shining crown had been cracked and covered in soot. “Where’s mom?! I thought I saw you two fall in together!”

“We did, but that beast sent another blast a fire down on us before we could recover!” said Night Shade taking the moment to glance up to make sure the dragon wasn't directly above them. “Star Bright! If you can hear me fallow my voice!”

“Dad, you need to be quiet!” said Luna looking up at the flames. “The Defiler could be back any second!"

“I don’t know how you two escaped the protection of the underground," said Nigh Shade in disappointment. "But you need to head back! Your mother and I will handle things here!”

“We are not going anywhere dad!” said Celestia angrily. “Didn’t you once say that as Princesses of Equestria, we have to protect everypony from danger?”

“You’re still too young for any of that!” argued Night Shade furiously. “Please go back! You shouldn’t have come here! What were you thinking?!”

“Dad, we know how to stop The Defiler!” Luna spoke up. “We have a plan, but we have to stall the dragon while Nimph…”

“Nimph?!” roared Night Shade. “Why on earth did you two put your trust in her?! She is the reason why we are in this mess!”

“And she will be the one to get us out!” protested Celestia surprisingly calm. “Dad, please trust us, we know what we're doing. We can do this together! I know we can! Now come on, let us help you find mom.”

“No need Celestia. I am here,” said a soft voice from behind.

Through the smoke came Star Bright, her long gold mane was now at neck level. Like her husband, she too wore battle scares that were more visible on her bright colored coat. Luna hurried over to her mother who hugged her youngest daughter in her wings and nuzzled her affectionately.

“Dear, it is time we let these two become who they are destined to be" She said Sweetly. "Trust them.”

Night Shade looked at his wife then at his two daughters. He neither agreed nor forbid the two sisters to help them. He only sighed and approached his wife and youngest daughter.

“Very well,” he said with a light smile. “What did you two have in mind Luna?”

“It’s like Celestia said dad. We have to keep The Defiler focused on us while Nimph gets a counter spell ready!”

“That shouldn’t be too hard,” said Star Bright knowingly. “Your father and I have been doing a pretty good job of that so far haven’t we dear?”

“Yes we have,” said Night Shade smiling at her.

Seeing that his wife was alright and ready for action, it gave him a boost of confidence. Celestia would have loved to run at her father and embrace him for accepting that he had to trust his daughters, but that little moment would have to wait. Just then, a low growl was heard from above them as The Defiler drew close.

“Little ponies,” he snarled as he inhaled deeply. “Where are you? I can smell your fear. Oh, the sweet scent of it makes me hunger for your demise! If you do not come out and face me, then I will see if I can spot your chard remains along with your land and precious kingdom once you are all burnt to the ground! Let’s see if the screams of your city will make you appear.”

As the Defiler flew passed the spot where the Alicorn family was hidden, the flames parted as the king protected by his invisible bubble shield rose up and shot toward the monstrous creature. With his horn glowing red, he aimed a blast of magic at the dragons retreating spine. The spell hit The Defiler making his head turn. His red eye saw his attacker and he quickly turned to face the king. His sharp teeth showed a wicked smile as he breathed in readying himself for another attack.

“If you want the kingdom, you’ll have to go through me first!” shouted Night Shade as his horn glowed again.

The Defiler glared at the Alicorn before him. His mouth opened showing a bright light climbing up his throat. Night Shade shot his spell out just in time as the blast of fire from the dragon darted toward him. The spell collided with the flame covering the space between them in steam. The Defiler closed his mouth and looked around for the king who had taken the opportunity to disappear. The black dragon’s red eyes scanned his surroundings as he hovered in place. A blue orb hit his tail as an image of something flew passed his closing jaw. Another orb hit his back as he turned to shoot a burst of flame at his attacker. The image of two winged ponies flew passed his line of sight as once again he sent a jet of fire at them. While The Defiler was being distracted by the king and queen, Celestia came out of the forest and landed on the spine of the gargantuan monster! Steadying herself, she galloped up the scaly spiny back! When she reached the dragon’s head she focused her magic and sent a strong burst of pink light down on the beasts noggin! The defiler raised his head up to see what had hit him. He had a vision of a white Alicorn hovering inches from his snout and with a flash of yellow light, the Defiler cried out in pain covering his left eye with his clawed hand! With his one good eye he roared with rage sending out more fire at the retreating white body! Celestia felt the heat of the flames draw close, but as quickly as the heat came it left when a shield was cast between her and the threatening flames.

“Stay away from my sister!” Luna shouted as she shot out from the forest fire.

Luna dove under the dragons closing claws sending a burst of blue light at his stomach. Enraged by the ambush, The defiler growled and began to flap his enormous wings. The strong breeze lifted the steam and smoke around them leaving only the blue Alicorn in sight! Luna flew directly at the dragon’s good eye and shot her own spell at it! It didn’t work. The Defiler tilted his head over and reached out to seas his prize! Holding Luna by the horn with just two of his long pointy fingernails he brought her to eye level. Glaring at the Alicorn, he examined one of his attackers with interest.

“You’re a fool for getting this close to me little one,” he snarled. “And now, what shall I do with you? Eating you would be too merciful. No, I would rather let you watch as your kingdom burns!”

With a simple flick he tossed Luna aside sending her hurdling toward the city! Luna spun out of control, as the sounds of the bangs from battle became silent echoes.