Luna galloped out of the door in an instant, barking orders to all the guards nearby, making use of the 'Royal Canterlot Voice' for the first time in months. Those left in the library shared a shocked expression for a moment before bolting after the Princess. Celestia's voice was still present, and was giving out directions to several guards stationed around the town. In particular, ensuring the safety of civilians during the evacuation.

'Evacuation'.

The word rang in the Bearers' heads as they chased after Luna. Things were happening far too quickly for them to even fully comprehend the implications of the word.

Luna raised her voice as loud as she possibly could, then amplified it with magic, making it much more resemblant of a thunderclap in terms of volume. Guards were rushing around everywhere, attempting to reinforce both Princess' sudden orders as quickly as possible. As Luna reached the town centre, she immediately took to the air, hovering a good distance above, "CITIZENS OF PONYVILLE, HEAR ME! YOU MUST EVACUATE AND LEAVE FOR CANTERLOT IMMEDIATELY! YOUR LIVES ARE IN DANGER! THE GUARDS WILL GUIDE YOU TO YOUR NEAREST ESCAPE ROUTE! DO AS I SAY AT ONCE! OBEY!" The fear in Luna's voice became apparent as she rushed the final part of her warning, and of the many things that the tone and volume implied, one thing was absolutely certain; she wasn't joking. Within mere minutes dozens of ponies had rushed past them, guided and subsequently directed by all available royal guards.

Luna folded in her wings sharply, literally dropping from her position in the air and falling several stories before smashing the ground beneath her hooves into several large pieces upon landing.

Twilight gulped nervously but stepped towards her, "Princess, not that I'm an expert or anything, but wouldn't it have been better to evacuate calmly?" She was met with a glare colder than space itself, and jumped slightly in alarm.

Luna took a deep breath to regain some of her composure before speaking, "No, the faster these ponies are gone, the better."

Applejack stepped up next to Twilight, "But Princess, what exactly is this 'Calamity'?" she asked cautiously.

Luna sighed, "We don't have time to go into the details, but Calamity is a spirit creature, similar in some aspects to Discord. Of what I can tell you as to how dangerous he is..." at this point Luna seemed visibly shaken, as if she was reliving a terrible memory, "When me and my sister challenged Discord's tyranny he decided not just to punish us but..." Luna choked, tears welling up in her eyes. Even after living through centuries of war and chaos the memory still shook her. "Instead he unleashed Calamity upon Equestria. By the end of the day an entire continent was completely devoid of life..." All stared, jaws agape, eyes wide. Even Dash and Pinkie wore expressions of horror. "When Discord was defeated, Calamity was sucked through the rift back into his own dimension."

Rainbow was the first to regain her senses, "S-So, if he's like Discord..." she trailed off.

Luna was quick on the uptake however, and started moving again, beckoning for the others to follow, "Yes, Rainbow Dash, he cannot be killed."

Rainbow recoiled slightly, having only meant to ask whether or not the beast could be banished.

Luna caught this, stopped and turned to them, "By the end of the day, many good ponies will most likely have died," Her voice took on the tone of somepony who has seen far too much war and death over their lifetime, "You must be prepared to do what is necessary. That is your duty as the wielders of the Elements, to Equestria and its inhabitants. Is that clear?" Luna stared at them for a few seconds, and was eventually met with a few solemn nods. She hated this, she absolutely hated it. Even a millennium later, she was still dragging her subjects and friends into what would undoubtedly be a bloodbath, and it made her feel sick.

In the field, the rift, now rippling violently as if the land itself were trying to expel something vile from within it - which, in itself, wasn't that far from the truth - was reaching the required size. The absolute silence was permeated by a single sound, originating from the epicentre. It wasn't a roar of anger. Or twisted laughter. Or anything that could be perceived by mortals as coming from any creature's vocal chords. It was a sound not too dissimilar to a thousand stone tombs being forced open at once.

Celestia addressed those assembled telepathically once again, among them over a hundred guards, the Bearers of the Elements, Spike, and Princess Luna, "I've received word from the evacuation corps, the first evacuees are arriving in Canterlot now." Twilight glanced around, most of the civilians had left already, and the few that remained were quickly making themselves scarce, "Now then, it's time we prepare ourselves. I want all guards to lay down a constant barrage of arrows as Calamity approaches. It won't do much in the way of stopping him, but he still feels pain. If he can be slowed down until we arrive, we should be able to contain him. Luna, if you would."

Luna's horn glowed, and moments later huge piles of armour, bows and quivers full of arrows materialised around the edge of the group. Commands were barked out by the higher ranking officers and the guards quickly donned the battle gear laid out for them. "Bearers!" The girls jumped, "We cannot risk using the Elements of Harmony here. If too much of their energy is used, Discord's stone prison could weaken, we cannot risk having both of them free at once. Applejack, you and Pinkamena will search the town for any remaining civilians, but will not approach the battle, understood?"

Applejack flinched slightly, this would all happen so close to her home, and she was worried sick over whether her family had left or not, "Don't worry, Applejack. I assure you, your family has already left and is safe." The two gave an affirmative grunt and headed out.

"Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, you will assist them from the air." Rainbow Dash almost argued, but realised that arguing with somepony she couldn't see was pointless. That, and the fact that the other party was Celestia herself, and given the dire circumstances, debating the issue was probably not the best of ideas. The two nodded, took to the air and were off in seconds, mildly surprising all who knew Fluttershy well.

"Twilight, Rarity, you two are to assist Luna in using your magic to suppress Calamity until we arrive." Rarity and Luna both gave a quick, "Yes" in response.

Twilight, however, voiced her concerns, "Princess Celestia, wouldn't it be better for us to try and open a rift back to where Calamity came from?"

Celestia seemed to sigh before replying, "Even between the three of you, you may not finish in time, and if you were caught off-guard, the results would be disastrous. I'm sorry Twilight, but I'm not willing to take that chance." Twilight lowered her head slightly but nodded. Celestia took the silence as a queue to continue, "And Spike, the only way we will stand a chance against Calamity is if we have somepony - somedragon - just as large and powerful as he is. Luna will cast a special spell on you, maturing you into a fully grown dragon. You will then be able to combat Calamity directly should all other attempts fail. Understood?" Spike gulped but stepped towards Luna bravely.

Luna spoke to him, "I have to warn you Spike, although this spell will reverse in a few days, nothing is meant to grow this quickly. The process will be... very painful, to say the least." Twilight pulled a face at this, but said nothing. Luna sighed, looking at him sympathetically.

Spike nodded slowly, "If it means I can protect my friends, I'll endure it." Spike spoke confidently.

Twilight couldn't stay silent at this, "No! No way!" She shook her head vigorously, "Spike's still young, he doesn't know how to fight, and you're trying to put him up against a creature that can decimate a nation! As if that isn't enough, you want to hurt him in the process! I won't allow it!"

Celestia's voice held a hint of anger now, "Twilight!"

Twilight begged both the Princesses now, "Please Princess! I swear, I'll be able to open a rift in time! Don't endanger Spike like this! Please! I'll- "

"TWILIGHT!" Celestia roared. As much as she hated doing so, now was not the time to debate action; the clock was ticking, "YOU WILL OBEY MY ORDERS! THIS IS NOT YOUR DECISION TO MAKE! IT IS OURS AND HIS! DO YOU UNDERSTAND!?"

Twilight cowered on the ground, as if hiding from the burning wrath of the Princess. Even if she was miles away, she wouldn't dare try to anger the Princess of the Sun further. All she could manage was a meek response, "Y-yes, Princess Celestia..."

The guards were creating defensive fortifications five thousand meters from the field, as per orders. Luna shook her head solemnly. They would slow Calamity for about a second each, give or take; until he stepped on them. She sighed and turned to Spike, who sat nervously on the ground next to Twilight and Rarity, both attempting to reassure him. Twilight's heart wasn't in it though, that much was obvious.

"Are you ready, Spike?" Luna asked. Rarity lifted her head a little to reach him and gave him a quick kiss on his cheek. Spike blushed furiously but nodded, confidence restored.

"Be careful, little brother." Twilight practically whispered before stepping aside. Again, Spike nodded and sat up straight.

The two unicorns retreated a few hundred meters, whilst Luna hovered above, preparing to cast the spell. "He'll be fine, dear." Rarity hugged her friend gently. This time it was Twilight's turn to nod, words would have betrayed her.

Luna took a deep breath. She was torn on having to do this, especially to one of her close friends. But she had to be strong, now more than ever, for Equestria, and more importantly, for the ponies she loved. She exhaled, and steadied her breathing. Then she began. A beam of energy, black as her own dark night and tinged with deep blue shot towards Spike. He quickly shut his eyes but remained still.

For a moment, nothing...

... Nothing...

... Still nothing...

Agony. Pure agony. Everything hurt, inside and out. He couldn't even form coherent thoughts as the pain scrambled his perception of the world around him. It was as if all he had ever known was pain. All he could do was scream.

Luna grimaced but continued channelling the spell. If she stopped now, the results would've been even worse. She pushed on.

Twilight and Rarity looked on in horror as Spike began to scream. They noticed him changing. Or rather, they heard him changing, even from their distance, the sickening crunch of bones twisting into new positions, breaking, and resetting repeatedly was not one the two were likely to forget any time in the near future. Wings sprouted from his sides, smoke began to billow from his mouth, turning his screams into a choked, hoarse cry of despair as his flame production glands kicked into overdrive. Then he began to grow.

Twilight's hind legs collapsed. She simply sat and looked on, absolutely speechless. A new series of harsh snaps resounded as his tail began to take shape. Twilight couldn't stand it any more, and Rarity wasn't faring much better. The two cried onto each other's shoulders, but nothing could be done to silence the scream, or what was by now more of a roar...

The rift was opening much more slowly now, the edges had to be strong enough to hold it open after the spell had finished, otherwise it would all have been for nought. Back in Canterlot, Discord sighed inwardly. He wished he could be there right about now, to revel in the suffering of the hapless ponies that dared to stand against Calamity, 'Oh well... After the sum of all my imprisonments, what's a few more minutes in the long run?'

Spike slumped over, gasping for air. The whole process had taken only two minutes. In Spike's opinion, that was two minutes too long. He would've cried, but he couldn't. All he could manage was a dry heave. A dragon's tear ducts seal up during adolescence, much to the pride of the entire race.

Twilight and Rarity looked up, the agonised roars had ceased. Luna was drifting down towards him, looking a little tired but otherwise fine. Spike, on the other hoof looked... big. That was the first thing that came to mind. The correct term would probably be something along the lines of gargantuan, his shadow stretching far into the distance. Then he spoke, in a deep gravelly rumble, "Princess?", the ground shook slightly as he did. In the back of her mind Twilight remembered laughing at how Spike's voice would sound once he had grown. But this wasn't funny. Not in the slightest. Spike sat forwards slowly, placing one huge claw down to steady himself, whilst the other came up to support his head, which hung forwards.

Luna flew level with his head and spoke, "You are truly the bravest dragon I have ever seen, Spike." she smiled sadly, "And I am truly sorry for what you have endured. What I made you endure."

"It's fine, Princess." Spike boomed again as he brought up his hind legs to stand. As he did so he glanced at the huge dome in the earth where he had been sitting just a moment ago, "Wow..." he said, his voice resemblant of a rock slide.

"Wow indeed!" Rarity called up to him. Spike glanced down to where Rarity and Twilight now stood and smiled. Or at least he attempted to. He wasn't used to the new proportions of his face yet, the result looking like and even mix between a smile, a surprised expression, and a scowl all at once. Despite themselves, and the drastic situation they were in, the girls laughed.

Luna and the others stood a small way behind where the barricades were still being erected. Whilst the barricades towered over the ponies, Spike clearly towered over the barricades. The voice of Princess Celestia became present once again, "We are about half an hour away. What's happening, sister?"

"Things are not looking good for us, Celestia. The rift is entering its final stages as we speak."

"Hold on for as long as you can. Good luck Luna."

"And speed to you, Celestia."

The awful noise that had been emanating from the rift for quite some time suddenly stopped. The rippling effect that the land in the area had been simulating also ceased just as quickly. For a moment, there was a terrible silence. An awful moment of apprehension. The calm before the storm.

Then the storm came with force. A huge white claw, the size of a large house, jutted out of the rift at an obscene angle before latching onto the land above. What followed it out was exponentially worse.

Calamity had returned to Equestria once more.

Author's Notes:

Edited as of 5/1/14. Quality, grammar, and wording of sentencing is now vastly better than it was. Rainbow Dash is now referred to as 'Rainbow' or 'Rainbow Dash' in narration, as opposed to just 'Dash'.