I began to notice several strange occurrences, the planet itself seems to react to me and heed my commands. Magma becomes rock where I stepped, wind blew, and valleys closed at my whim, even the day - night cycle I under my control.
Hell I’m still alive after the world ended in light and fire, which is just as ridiculous. Honestly, I’m not sure what I should be feeling. –Day 2
-Journal of Kokusho
-Burn Notice-
The world came speeding back into focus as Kokusho’s head materialized. Rapidly, millions of tiny water droplets coalesced solidified and shifted colors. Being turned into water, disassembled, flown across a nation, and then reassembled was a new experience for the man and he couldn’t quite compare it to anything.
Kokusho eased his grip on Belius’s fur and slid off of her back. His bare feet impacted against the warm black pebbles that seemed to make up the ground with a soft patter. He looked down and remembered that he was completely nude. I was wearing clothes when Luna and Celestia imprisoned me, so where exactly did they go? He thought to himself.
He looked around himself and checked his surroundings. The sky here was blackened by ash and for a moment, he thought he had caused this. He clenched his teeth and stared at the ground, the black pebble strewn, soot covered ground. Kokusho raised a brow in confusion for a quick moment as everything started to fall in line. The air in this area smelled of sulfur and there were cracks in the ground that periodically spewed steam like a tea kettle. It was warm to, really warm If he and Belius were mortal it wouldn’t be hard to believe that they would have suffocated or been burned to death just by standing where they were.
The human shivered, not from the temperature, but from the thought of being nude for another moment. Creating clothes was a simple task, even with his currently diminished powers he could easily complete the task with no strain to his reserves.
His mind focused on his old outfit: A black cowboy duster, a dark blue turtleneck, a long black scarf and a pair of grey pants with black chaps . With his outfit created, he could finally breathe easy knowing that if the denizen of the world fled from him, their horror would be born from the fact that he was a strange and powerful creature and not because of his huge terrifying python. Kokusho sniggered at bit at his own cockiness, which in turn led to him on his knees banging the scorched earth with his fist in hysterics. His own internal pun was too much for him at the moment.
“Master?” Belius asked with a hint of concern. She watched as the human continued laughing until the laughter turned into coughing, at which point she rushed over to him. Kneeling over, she tenderly placed a hand on the man’s shoulder.
Kokusho waved her off. “I’m fine, I’m fine, just laughing at a joke,” he said as his giggles faded.
Now with the issue of clothing rectified, Kokusho decided to look up at his surroundings. The pieces of the puzzle gingerly fell in line as he took in the sights. Before him in, jutting out of the blackened earth was a large jagged hill. The man could see a thin, steady stream of black smoke trailing from the peak of the soot covered hill. The putrid odor of rotten eggs was at its strongest in the direction or the hill, and heat seemed to emanate from there as well.
“Belius, why did you bring me to an active volcano?” Kokusho raised an eyebrow at the water spirit. There was work to be done and they didn’t have the time to go on a sightseeing tour. He turned the idea over in his head, there was no doubt that Equestria had changed in his absence. Mentally, he sat aside a reminder to take some time out to look around the planet when all of this was resolved.
She looked over to her master and gave him a small bow. “Master, before we left Tartarus you told me that the first steps of your plans included acquiring enough power face the Alicorn Sisters once more. You said that you would need to reclaim your gauntlets and gather any interesting magic that you find along the way,” she said while rising from her bow. The fox-like being then pointed towards the volcano, “and this place exuded magical power. I thought that perhaps this location would be a good start you.”
The man sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. “Thank you, I appreciate the effort.” Turning to face the volcano, Kokusho stretched out his senses towards the towering rock formation and just as Belius had informed him, there was power there. It the fact that he couldn’t sense it from outside the gates of Tartarus, like Belius could, worried him. Hopefully this endeavor would be worthwhile, keeping Celestia and Luna weakened like this was more of a drain than he expected. His senses were dulled, and his magic was severely weakened. The man looked down at his hands and watch as the appendages shivered weakly under his gaze.
Might as well get this over with. He thought to himself. Wordlessly, he started to stride towards the smoking black mountain. Belius, ever faithful, followed close behind. The gravity of what he was doing started to catch up to him. With his powers as weak as he was, there was a high chance that he could be mortal at the moment and he was willingly walking into an active volcano. Slowly, doubt began to creep into his mind and his pace started to slow to a crawl.
The change in Kokusho’s demeanor wasn’t lost on Belius. She’d known Kokusho for several thousand years, and in all of the time she’d spent with the human, he never looked as he did right now. Frightened wasn’t quite the word to describe the emotion that she was sensing from him at the moment, it felt more like uncertainty. She trotted to his side. Perhaps there is something I can do to ease his tension. She thought. Digging through her mind, she remembered that Kokusho was Tartarus’ inmate zero, the first being consigned to oblivion within the grim, dark immaterium.
“Equestria and the world have changed much since you walked its surface. My imprisonment was relatively recent, perhaps I can fill you in on what has changed? ” She said, hiding her concern behind well practiced professionalism.
As they travelled up the side of the volcano, Belius explained how Equestria had expanded even further then its previous borders and how uncontrolled wilderness was exceedingly rare even when she and her kin were free. She took the lead, forcing Kokusho to keep pace if he wanted to hear her story. Every so often he would get caught up in thought and stumble over a stone or take a misstep, but Belius would be there to catch him every time.
The path to the base of the volcano was treacherous. Seething streams of sulfur spewing magma flowed down hill through crevices forged by fire. Large vents, leading to the depths of the earth, ejected steam and noxious fumes at seemingly random intervals. The stench of rotten eggs and the sweltering heat grew with each step forward, but so did the strength of whatever magic lay in wait within the mountain of fire.
The conversation that Belius started during their trek, had shifted in subject to her own motivations . It was a conversation that Kokusho often defaulted back to when in the water goddess’s presence. Her goals were simple, and relatable, which is why he enjoyed listening to her tales, every word she spoke reassured him that she would never betray his trust. Every time he had her speak about it, he managed to get a little more out of her.
“Celestia wonders why disaster upon disaster befalls her nation, she brings it upon them, and her subjects suffer because she can’t leave the natural order alone!” Belius vented. Her tone was obviously heated and the fur on the back of her neck stood on end, but it was a calm controlled sort of anger, one that she could direct. “The Sun made me into what I am now, I never wished to take up arms.” She said as her rage receded.
Kokusho and Belius had travelled the entire way by the time the water spirit finished her story. Kokusho had completely forgotten about his prior uncertainties, every doubt in his mind had been replaced with determination. Determination to make the alicorn sisters answer for their crimes against Belius. It was one thing to give up on one’s own goals, but when your goals are intertwined with those of another’s quitting was not an option.
“Master.” Belius said calmly in an attempt to garner the man’s attention.
“Yes?” He said.
She pointed to an old, ash covered wooden sigh at the entrance of the cave. Kokusho walked over to the sign and reached out to touch it. The layer of ash was as thick as tar, it was as if the sign hadn’t been disturbed in centuries (If the carbonized insect exoskeletons in the layers of ash were any indication). He swiped his hand back and forth across the wooden sign to clear it of the obstructing substance. With each pass of the palm, the writing on the sign became clearer. His hand bustled with magical energy as it continued to pass over the wooden plank. Enchanted sign, explains how it survived being on the side of a volcano all of this time. He thought as he wiped the last trace of ash from the board.
The wooden sign was perfectly preserved, the writing as clear and concise as if it had just been painted on. Above the wording was a single, simple drawing, a red pony skull with crossbones behind it. Kokusho traced the writing with his finger as he read hastily scribbled writing out loud.
Warning,
To whomever this may concern, turn back now. The prize is not worth the peril. Old gods sleep here, and we were fools to disturb their rest.
The message ended there. After the last word the ink trailed off ominously towards the ground.
The man’s skin chilled at the message he just read. What are these Old Gods that they speak of? He asked himself.
Belius rested a soft, furred hand on his shoulder. He looked into her eyes for a split second and could see the wordless message she was sending him. I’m with you. She removed her hand from him and slowly entered the mouth of the cave.
Kokusho smiled weakly as he watched Belius disappear into the darkness of the volcano. She’d been supportive up until this point, he had no reason to doubt her. If he needed to he could lean on her, and he felt confident in that fact.
The inside of the cave was relatively unremarkable. Magma drooling stalagmites hung from the ceiling of the cave, making both Belius and Kokusho have to keep an eye up. The man ran his hand along the cave walls, the layer of ash that had built up was thicker then goat cheese. It wasn't enough for it to be deadly, but it had to be dirty as well. He quickly used a small burst of wind to blow the ash off of his hands before continuing.
After a couple of minutes traversing the glowing cavern an odd lump of stones caught Kokusho’s eye. He walked ahead of Belius to get a better look. Kneeling down, he started his inspection of the stones. They were all black, he reached down and picked one up and he gave it a firm squeeze, causing it to break apart in his hand. “Bone char…” He muttered. The man looked over the rest of the skeleton, much of it was missing. It looked to be a pony, he snapped one of the bones in half, revealing that it was mostly hollow. “A pegasus…” Several blossomed metal bits were on the ground where on the ground where the pony’s ribcage was supposed to be.
Belius slowly trotted up to the man and stopped. “Hey Belius look at this…” He got no response. “Belius?” He asked as he looked up at her. She was staring at something further down in the cavern. Kokusho stumbled to his feet, following her gaze, his eye fell upon the wonder that captivated his general.
The cave opened up into a massive antechamber with magma falls continually spewing the molten stone down into the earth. In the center of it all is a large dilapidated metal structure, much too angular to be of pony design, not to mention the metallurgy is much to advance. In a trance like state, Kokusho started to walk towards the structure with Belius in tow.
Kokusho reached a hand out to the metal building, only to be stopped by a greenish-blue field of energy. Power jumps between his hand and the force field as he runs his fingers across the barrier. “A cold plasma field?” He knew exactly what it was, but he never thought he’d seen what has before him right now.
“What form of barrier spell is this?” She cocked her head inquisitively as she prodded the barrier with one of her swords.
“No, this is not magic. This... is technology. Human technology,” Kokusho said with a small chuckle. “My people did amazing things with nothing more than their mind and tools.”
He tried to push his way through the barrier, only to find that it is completely unyielding.
“Identification please.” A scratchy monotone female voice demanded.
After a quick second of searching Kokusho finds the source of the speech, a working security panel near a large sliding metal greets him and Belius with the same demand.
“Um,” Kokusho stammered.
“Biometric scan initiated.” Green light shot out from the small panel, encasing Kokusho in a grid like image as it slowly works its way up his body.
“Welcome subject V4N-6U4-R5.” The panel stated as it lowers the shield and opens the door.
“Don’t look at me, because I don’t even understand,” Kokusho said as Belius raised a hand to question the situation.
Wordlessly the duo entered the structure.
Dust, Dust everywhere; The interior wasn’t nearly as bad as he expected. They were met by angular metallic walls and the smell of stale air. Several automated guard bots lay in disrepair in the halls of the structure and even though there seemed to be power, barely any of the systems were operational. Lights flicker on and off and random intervals, but for the most part the halls remained evenly light allowing Kokusho and Belius to easily navigate the structure. The emergency lights flickers seemed to be a bit too consistent to be a shortage of power, one side of the hall flashed as if trying to get their attention. He looked up at the water spirit, both nodded, wordlessly deciding to follow what they believed was guidance.
Boots, watches, and skeletons littered the dirt covered floor, the crunching of ancient remain underneath their feet echoed offed the walls creating an eerie symphony that emphasized how dead the place was. Following the lights, they were eventually lead to a wide open room.
In the center of the circular room was a gigantic transparent tube with some sort of metal coiled along the inside of it. Blinding white energy danced inside of the contraption and seemed to pool into an orb in the center of the tube. A few computer consoles were fading in and out and crackling with static near the device. So this is the power Belius felt… Kokusho started to walk towards the consoles, the same white energy that filled the device started to arch across skin and clothing and his eyes started to glow a brilliant blue as if he were using magic.
“W-what is that?” Belius took a step back from the intimidating device. The power pouring from it was like nothing she had ever felt before.
“It’s a warp pipe generator. Large ships used them to travel unbelievable distances instantly,” Kokusho replied hazily.
The spirit could only give him a puzzled looked. She had no idea what a "warp pipe", all she knew was that the contraption towering over them was powerful. Looking at it made her hairs stand on end, every fiber of her being told her to destroy it, but her loyalty to kokusho demanded that she stay her hand.
He reached out to the console causing it to spark to life. “Subject: V4N-6U4-R5, please place both hands on the feeder pylons.” Stated a mechanical voice. Two rods with grooves for comfortable gripping started rose from a panel connected to the warp pipe generator.
“Hmm…” He said as he walked over. Cautiously, he gripped the pylons.
“Wait!” Belius yelled. Before she could move to her master’s side the room was engulfed by white light, making her lightheaded. She could swear that she heard one of the sound boxes speaking as she slipped into unconsciousness.
“…Children… Genetic experimentation… One success…… Survival… So sorry… Should’ve told the public… Could’ve saved more…… Beacon… Project VANGUARD………… Will return.”
A verdant beam of energy burst from the top of the volcano, lighting up the night sky as it left the atmosphere.
-Burn Notice-
Twilight panted heavily and spat a glob of her own blood from her mouth. She'd become use to the sharp taste of iron and the pain serious injury over the course of her training. Grim Stride’s strike was vicious and left the mare’s ears ringing and her jaw rattling. The left side of her face was tarnished by a bloody gash and the teeth on that side of her jaw were cracked and felt loose. A single drop of blood leaked from the wound on her face and impacted the gray matted training floor. Steam rose from the gash on her cheek as the flesh knitted itself back together. Her teeth made sickly crunching sounds as they moved back into place and repaired themselves.
“Pathetic!” Grim Stride yelled. “Protect your left girl!” As he chastised the mare he , once again, demonstrated a proper left side guard with a short sword. He took her hooves in his and worked her through the motions.
Twilight’s face was flushed redder that Big Macintosh’s coat. Grim Stride’s face was practically touching hers, his warm breath washed over her neck and threatened to melt her on the spot. As his foreleg intertwined with hers she felt his toned muscles relax and pull taut as he maneuvered. She whimpered quietly as her mind sank into a sea of inappropriate thoughts.
“…And that’s how you perform the square guard. Twilight…Twilight!” He called to her, but she continued to stare dreamily off into space. He lightly cuffed her in the back of the head, drawing her out of her dream world. ”Ready up Twilight.”
Grim Stride stepped back into position. He stared at the mare, the fury of battle burned brightly in his eyes as he prepared to strike her. “Defend yourself!” He shouted as he extended his hoof blade and lunged at her.
The knight’s strike was flawless, his stance impeccable. Everything about the movement was as close to the concept of perfection that a mortal could a hope to achieve. A white cone of condense air formed at the tip of the blade as it was thrust at Twilight. If Twilight was the same mare that she was a month ago then she would have been skewered before she could have even reacted, but she wasn't, Grim Stride made sure of that.
Her combat trained eyes easily tracked the blade despite its super-sonic speed. Twilight hastily moved her head slightly to the right to avoid the attack. A loud booming sound erupted in near her face, knocking her off balance and causing her ears to ring. The mare’s blade had been hovering by her side this entire time, her mind told her to parry the blade, but her body still obeyed the instinct to dodge. No matter how much Grim taught or how much she learned, experience was still experience, without it, all of the combat knowledge and techniques she knew were worthless.
Grim Stride, noticing her distracted state of mind drew his hoof back away from her. “Focus!” He barked at the mare. He lashed out again, the blade effortlessly cut through the air and shattered the sound barrier as it sped towards her face. Grim Stride’s hoof and weapons became a barely perceivable blur of hundreds of rapid thrusts.
Twilight replied in kind by nimbly weaving her head in and out of the flurry of attacks, parrying and countering where she could.
Luna and Celestia sat in a balcony overlooking the training floor. The entire facility was several hundred feet below the castle, deep within the crystal caverns inside the mountain Canterlot was perched upon, ever since Luna had returned to power the Luna Adeptorum, have been reestablished and their numbers skyrocketed. The standard guard barracks had proven inadequate in housing the massive surge of soldiers and as such a new training and housing area was needed. In her wisdom, Luna suggested rebuilding the old Luna Adeptorum training facilities from their old castle in the caverns under the city. Seeing as her soldiers were to become nocturnal due to the influence of the magic that they would receive from her, the princess had no problem with their facilities being under the radar, so to speak. Being away from the public’s eye has allowed her to make sure that her guard was as deadly and efficient as possible.
Celestia’s hooves were pressed against her muzzle as she watched her faithful student engaged in mortal combat. The princess’s mane now lay limp across her shoulders, a dark monotone pink. She’d had to relinquish the magic used to maintain her otherworldly appearance the night she spoke with Twilight. Her control of the sun had been slipping more and more. She doubted her subjects could tell, which brought relief the alicorn, but the fact that she knew still disturbed her on a level she could quite vocalize. The sun was a part of her, it was her power, she was the physical embodiment of the great star. Having her connection to it slow fade was like feeling yourself being slowly pushed aside by those you love. Raising the sun used to be a joy for her, but now when she reached toward the sky with her magic, the sun slapped her touch away, as if to say that it didn't need her.
Celestia looked over to Luna and studied her sister’s calm, collected expression. Unlike herself, who had fought to control the sun, Luna had simply given up on influencing the moon once she felt it reject her commands. Celestia could understand why Luna had given up, but the ease at which her sister just let go puzzled her. The sun was an integral part of who she was, it took until this morning for her to let the sun go.
“How has Twilight been doing, Luna?” Celestia asked. The sun princess released an exasperated sigh as she awaited her sister’s response.
“She’s taken to hoof to hoof combat almost as naturally as a dragon to magma,” responded the darker alicorn. “Getting her to convert her knowledge of magic into war spells was foal’s play, she’s absorbed every bit of demonology that we threw at her, and her physical growth has been astonishing. Heh, she can even counsel souls.” Luna knew that those weren’t the answers that her sister wanted.
“Luna…” Celestia looked into her sister’s aqua eyes, the sun goddess’s expression pleading with her younger to tell her what she wanted to know.
Luna sighed, reluctantly she turned to face Celestia. “She’s taking this far better than expected.” She looked at her sister with a sunken scowl. “Despite what happened to her, I don’t think the gravity of the situation has fully caught up to her.” Luna eyes sink to the floor as she continues to talk, her gaze seemingly boring a hole in the stone of their balcony. “She’s been beaten, tortured, and sent through unbelievable hell, all to fight our enemies for us. Do you know what drives her sister?”
The sun goddess closed her eyes and shook her head dolefully. She knew what Luna was about to say, but she didn’t want to hear it.
“She takes it all just so that you won’t be disappointed in her. Her loyalty to Eques - No, to you is unwavering. She believes in you fully and would never directly go against you,” Luna said as she placed a hoof on her sister’s shoulder.
Celestia’s face was buried in her hooves by this point. Her Faithful Student , was doing this, for her.
Luna continued watching the lavender unicorn’s training with a steel gaze. “Celestia, it’s almost time for Twilight’s arrangement and the mana transfusion.” Both alicorns slowly stood up and walked out of the balcony.
Twilight and Grim’s sparring session came to an abrupt end when both ponies clashed with the force of several hundred pounds of explosives in the center of the training floor, sending both into the wall opposite their opponent. Twilight slowly started to crawl out of her crater, the wall took much more damage than the mare that had crashed into it. Her impact left a six foot depression in the wall, small pebbles and large chunks of stone fell to the floor as she forced her body out of the hole. Her body was covered in bruises and long lacerations. She shook herself violently, causing dust and rocks to drop out of her coat and mane. Her wounds were healed before she could shake all of the debris from herself.
She quickly glanced across the room and saw Grim Stride pulling himself out as well. He looked no worse for wear than when they started today’s training session. He flared his bat like wings and shook in place, cleaning himself off with ease. He and Twilight methodically made their way to the center of the floor and stared into each other’s eyes.
Their gazes seemed to last for an eternity, both ponies wore a stone mask for an expression. Two death glares cold enough to freeze the sun met between the two and battle for supremacy.
“Good Job, Twilight.” Grim finally said, breaking the pregnant silence. “We’ll finish today’s session with a bit of demonology.” He flashed the mare a gentle as he gestured for her to move towards another section of the training hall.
Twilight squealed quietly to herself. Demonology was her favorite part of training, she got to research and learn about the creatures that she would probably be confronting. The history of history of was at the tips of her hooves, even though the situation was dire, books and study would always be one the unicorn’s most heated passions.
Twilight entered the projector room. This was where the Luna Adeptorum went over combat stratagem and reviewed intelligence. In the center of the room sat an enchanted table made from petrified wood, it was enchanted to hold a libraries worth of knowledge and project the data as scaled down three dimensional models and text. Glow gems lined the walls, giving the room an eerie moonlit effect that Twilight had learned to find comfort in. The mare took a seat on the left of the table.
Grim Stride trotted in and casually placed his hooves on the table, the image of a tall fox-like quadruped with two arms and yellowish fur manifested in the air over the table. “Belius,” Grim started. “What do you know of her Twilight?”
“Hmm… She came from the oceans to the east of Equestria. Belius was the cause of the Silver Winter over three thousand years ago, before that incident no one had ever seen or heard of a creature like her. Because the Silver Winter threatened to freeze all of Equestria the Princesses had to banish Belius to Tartarus to save the nation,” Twilight stated.
“Correct. According to first hoof accounts by the Princesses, Belius is some sort of water de-” Grim stopped mid-sentence and watched as Twilight summoned a notepad and quill. Every time he lectured she pulled out the notes, and every time, he found his face buried deeper into his hooves. “-mon, so expect mana dominance from her in all matters pertaining to water magic. As an elemental Belius cannot be killed while in the presence of her element, she will simply regenerate continuously. It’s theorized that she can’t even be killed because of the composition of our atmosphere.”
“Mana dominance, I’ve heard of that. That’s the theory that states that if two equal magical forces are exerted on the same object the magic with the higher affinity for that object will have an easier time with the task. It’s why moving the moon was harder for Celestia than moving the sun even though the moon is smaller and closer,” Twilight summarized.
“Correct.”
The double doors to the briefing room slowly spread open, flooding the chamber with soft artificial moonlight. Celestia and Luna stood in the doorway, both wore the best mask of confidence they could muster. “Twilight, if you don’t mind, it’s time to depart for the Anima Conclave .”
“Oh, um yes Princess.” She bowed in a shallow manner and quickly trotted over to the two alicorns. “Aren’t you coming Grim?”
“No, not today. I’ve got something important to take care, see you around Twilight.” Grim flared his wings and performed a short hop, giving him just enough air to comfortably glide past the princesses and out of the room.
The bat pegasus flew an inch too close to Luna, allowing her to keen senses to pick up the sound of his racing heart and slightly elevated body heat. “Hmm…Go on without me sister and prepare Twilight on the dais, I’ll be up in a moment.”
“Luna, what are you doing?” Celestia asked as she looked at her younger sister skeptically.
“Let’s just say that curiosity has caught itself a mare,” She replied with a sly smirk.
Celestia sighed and rolled her eyes at Luna’s antics. Always something with her . She said to herself. She draped a single alabaster wing over her pupil and scrunched her face up in concentration. After a second of two of focus both ponies disappeared in a flash of light.
Luna followed the trail of dark magic from the pegasus until she found herself at the Luna Adeptorum’s locker wells.
Trotting quietly through the maze of steel containers, Luna found her quarry.
Grim Stride stood in front of a locker with a picture of Twilight’s cutie mark branded on the face of the door, the stallion was still as a glacier. He’d have been mistaken for a statue if not for the rapid rise and fall of his chest. He held an envelope in his teeth; the the thin parcel was small, square and red and appeared to have very elegant writing on it. He shook away the thoughts of completing his action and sighed, holding his head low he walked away.
The princess of the night held a hoof to her mouth as she tried to hold in her squeal.
With a quick charge of her horn Luna teleported to the Anima Conclave, Twilight was already on the dais going through her arrangement, Luna hated seeing the young mare go through the torturous process, but it was necessary. The Anima Conclave, or Luna’s Sanctum as Celestia started calling it after her younger sister started to spend most of her time there, was built by Unicornelious to aid in controlling the Death Essence . The dais in the center could arrange and quell the hoard of souls that the Death Essence held in a manner that made them complacent and willing to lend their strength to their host. Without constant upkeep, the souls would eventually go rampant and attempt to overthrow the host, and fight for control of the body until nothing more than the basic desires of the souls were left driving the shell of a pony. Through testing they learned that Twilight, for all of her willpower, could only go about a week and a half before she started to struggle with who she was, less if she called upon the souls within her frequently.
Twilight stepped off of the platform, panting heavily with each step she took. “Ok… Luna’s here… Let’s perform… the mana transfusion.” White wisps from the arrangement spell were still trailing off of her body and floating off into the air. Her legs shivered as her nerves tried to make heads or tails of the pain they had just experienced.
“Twilight, you should rest, the transfusion can wait until later.” Celestia pleaded with her student. She hated seeing Twilight like this, the thought of willingly putting her student through pain to benefit her own goals made her stomach knot up.
“Don’t… Worry… About me Princess…” The young mare took a deep breath and stood proudly before her mentor and ruler. “I c-can handle this… Do it!” She said shakily.
Celestia looked at her sister sadly. The mighty princess of the night could only stare at the floor and nod weakly as the dark blue aura of her magic started to encapsulate her horn and Twilight, they both knew that they needed the power. What if Kokusho were to show up at the castle today? There was nopony who could fight him unless they accepted Twilight’s magic. Tendrils of raw mana began to pour from the unicorn and snaked towards the two princesses. As the magic touched Celestia's coat the energy shifted from lavender to gold and started to swirl around her body before finally sinking into her chest, revitalizing her. Luna went through a similar ordeal except with dark blue energy. Once the magic finished sinking into Luna’s chest she gasped violently. Her eyes glowed a furious white as her dark magic scrying spell activated without her consent.
“CELESTIA!” Luna yelled in the Royal Canterlot Voice. “HAVE YOUR GUARDS SECURE THE CASTLE WHILE I MOBILIZE THE LUNA ADEPTORUM!”
“Sister what’s going on?” she asked as she stood at attention.
“IFRIT, HE MARCHES ON TROTTINGHAM!”