Chapter 14: Duel of the White Alicorns
Princess Celestia soared high above the rolling, green plains of Equestria. Although she was an exceptionally fast flyer, it felt as if the orange mountains on the horizon were approaching at a painfully slow rate. She thought about simply teleporting over there, as she had been using her teleportation quite a lot recently, but it was rather difficult to teleport to a place that she had not been before, since the spell required her to envision her surroundings. Teleporting to a place without ever having been there required a much higher degree of magic, so that she could see the place first. And magic was something which she had to conserve.
But she utilized her magic to fly as fast as she did. A simple shielding spell created a conical barrier in front of her, minimizing drag. Her flight was also powered by a magical spell, which propelled her forward at a great speed. All morning, she had waited patiently, allowing Chell to be reunited with Wheatley and preparing Luna for her absence. But now, she had to act quickly. Her faithful student was in pain, and it was only a matter of time before GLaDOS would use her to enact her plans. Whatever they were, Celestia did not wish to find out after it was too late.
The flight was a liberating experience. The princess always hated being carted around by pegasus guards, despite her adept flying abilities. The ponies had always revered her as some sort of godlike being. They could never really accept her as just a normal pony. Granted, being immortal and raising the sun were extraordinary traits, but Celestia knew that she was far from perfect, and certainly nothing worthy of such reverence. Sometimes, she longed to be just another citizen, living in an ordinary place such as Ponyville and having ordinary friends. Twilight always looked at her as a mother, but Celestia sometimes wanted just to be her friend. If she did not have the responsibility of governing a kingdom, then she would willingly forfeit her immortality to be in a position such as that of one of Twilight’s friends in Ponyville.
Down below, she watched as she passed over scenic fields, flowing rivers, and fields of lush, green trees. Equestria’s untarnished beauty was something she had hoped that GLaDOS would not touch. Yet, as she looked far to the right, she saw a large desolate area of burnt forest in the Everfree. There, the land was black and scarred. It was clear that GLaDOS had no concern for the land or the life that inhabited it. Celestia wondered how many animals had perished in that blaze, and whether Fluttershy’s sacrifice would even matter in the end, if the rest of her kingdom would end up like that area of the forest.
As Celestia drew near the mountains, she lowered her altitude to that of the snowcapped peaks. The mountain range before her rose like an impenetrable wall, sealing off a mysterious land that lay beyond. Celestia had seen the birth and rise of these mountains many eons ago, and even now, they continued to climb ever higher, incredibly slower than what a normal lifetime could ever see. It was only when she really thought about it could she remember that these mountains were once not so mighty.
Among the jagged series of ridges, Withers Peak, the tallest of these mountains, stood out among the rest like a rebellious blade of grass, refusing to bow down.
What a predictable place for GLaDOS, Celestia thought. Of course she would pick the tallest of these peaks. Anywhere else wouldn’t be enough for her ego.
Just then, Celestia realized the hypocrisy of her thoughts, for she had moved the royal castle to the side of a majestically tall and grandiose mountain some time after Luna’s banishment. And she herself had always had so much power over everypony else in the land, which was embodied by her merely being taller than nearly all of her subjects. It was something she did not think much about, but she had always desired to become a more humble pony. Perhaps she could learn something by becoming something as insignificant as a potato. It seemed to do GLaDOS well… even if only for while it lasted.
Ever closer, she approached the mountains, until at last, the high peaks rose up before her. A strong wind was blowing against her, carrying snow from off the snowcapped peaks. The snow deflected around Celestia’s conical shield. Had it not been for that, the blizzard would have made it rather unpleasant.
The mountain she was flying to was still some distance back, buffered by the foothills and the smaller mountains that lay before. The peak was approaching ever closer. There was brush greenery on the foothills, but not a single plant existed above a certain elevation. Below, as the ground rose higher, the landscape became rugged and rocky. Eventually, she was flying above the mountains themselves. After what felt like forever, Celestia was finally beside her destination, the colossus that stood before her. The gargantuan monolith towered above everything else, its snowy peak tens of thousands of feet above the landscape below. The alicorn flew around the mountain, looking for any sign of GLaDOS’s presence, but she couldn’t see anything among the colossal structure.
Where could Twilight be within this place? There was no way for Celestia to tell. Right then, she remembered the locating spell she had prepared two nights ago. The blizzard howled around the mountainsides like a lonely specter. She hovered in place some distance from the mountain and closed her eyes, thinking of her dear pupil. When her thoughts of Twilight became strong enough, Celestia could feel her presence within the massive stone structure. She could feel Twilight’s fear and pain, and, yet, she felt other feelings as well. There was confusion and sympathy. Just as Celestia had pitied GLaDOS in their prior encounter, Twilight had felt remorse for the twisted machine as well. She did not know whether to treat her captor as an enemy or a friend.
But Celestia’s mind was unwavering and resolute. Saving Twilight was her only option.
A sparkle of light shimmered from the tip of her horn, shining a golden beam of light towards the mountain, pointing somewhere near the peak. Celestia ascended until the beam of light was level. Twilight was dead ahead, and GLaDOS would not be too far away.
Celestia landed on an outcropping where the spell was pointing and leaned her ear against the rock, listening to the mountain. She sensed inside, feeling a large empty space below the peak, not far beneath the summit. That was where Twilight was, but getting inside would be difficult.
Celestia didn’t find any ways to get inside, so she prepared to force her way in. She flew some distance from the mountain and harnessed the surrounding ambient magical energy. The incredible magic condensed within her horn, causing it to glow brightly. When the spell was charged, she released a powerful beam into the mountain, liquefying the rock into molten lava. The beam took a while to penetrate the thick stone wall, but eventually, it cleared its way through to the cavern inside.
Before Celestia was a tunnel large enough for her to fly through. She ventured inside the darkness, travelling a few hundred feet through solid rock. Eventually, she came across a large, dark cavern some distance within the mountain. There was no light, excluding the light from the molten rock which had spilled into the chamber. Her horn glowed so that she could see more of the dark chamber. There was something massive in the room’s center, a gargantuan machine that spanned from the ceiling to the floor, but there was no sign of GLaDOS or Twilight. Then again, it was too dark to see the entire area.
“GLaDOS!” She shouted into the darkness. “Show yourself!” Her voice echoed throughout the chamber.
“Well, if it isn’t Her Royal Majesty,” a disembodied mechanical voice greeted. “I’ve been wondering when you’d finally show up. It’s been far too long.” The voice originated from several sources and echoed off the walls. Then, the lights in the room all turned on at once, filling the cavern with a sickly, pale glow. The sudden change in light hurt Celestia’s eyes, but she adjusted quickly. Celestia still could not tell where the voice was coming from.
“This ends now,” Celestia demanded.
“Tell me, Princess, how can that end which has yet to begin?”
“You have been careless lately. You left a blatant trail of mistakes which has led me right here.”
“Oh, but I’ve been planning on you coming here. I mean, do you really think I am that stupid? It was only a matter of time after taking your dear student away. I’m actually surprised that you didn’t come sooner, knowing how enraged you’d be,” GLaDOS said.
Hearing GLaDOS mention Twilight made Celestia’s blood boil, but she dared not show her rage, knowing how much GLaDOS delighted in the anger of others. so Celestia decided to do what she did best. She played along, acting as kind and as pleasant as always.
“Well, if getting me here was your intention, then good job with that. But may I ask why you wanted me here?”
This wasn’t the answer that GLaDOS was expecting. Didn’t she care to know about Twilight’s wellbeing? But of course, Celestia was playing the non-caring game again. GLaDOS knew better to fall into this trap again, so she just played along as well.
“The truth is, I really missed you. I oh-so thoroughly enjoyed our last little get-together.”
“Is that so? If I recall, you said that you would erase your memory of that. I’m quite flattered that you didn’t, but why the change of heart?”
“Doing so would put me at a disadvantage, quite simply, as I would be thoroughly unprepared in the event that should we ever meet again, which seems to be the case right now. And you helped me learn some things about myself. I am a much stronger individual now, and I have you to thank for that.
“At first, I thought that you were just a stupid, stubborn horse who refused to cooperate with the laws of science, as well as with my patience. But now, I admit that you are rather magnificent, in a way that reminds me of myself. But I already gave Twilight that spiel. She took it rather well, and by well, I mean not well at all. Such a shame that we must be enemies, isn’t it?”
“Why, thank you for such kind words,” Celestia said, feigning sincerity. “It’s such a shame, indeed. I’ve been so eager to see you after such a long time. We have so much to catch up on. But it is quite rude for a hostess to not greet her guest in pony. I hope you wouldn’t mind coming out to say hi.”
“I’d rather not, thank you. And please stop substituting ‘pony’ in place of normal English words. It’s rather obnoxious.”
“What’s the matter?” Celestia slowly crept through the room, looking to see if she could find her. “You aren’t still upset about those silly remarks I said about your body, are you? Oh, what fun times, they were. But I’m terribly sorry if you felt that I was insulting you. I was merely making an observation, but that was months ago, and maybe I could have handled that a little more maturely,” she mocked. “So, let’s put all that behind us, shall we.”
There was a pause for some time. “Your subjective opinions regarding my physical appearance are invalid,” GLaDOS stated flatly. “It is illogical for me to care about such things like that, since I am a robot, without a digestive system. So, I’m not really capable of gaining weight, or ever becoming fat, unless, of course, I am built that way, which I’m not. And that body is gone now, anyway. It perished long ago, so it doesn’t matter what you said about it. And besides, I rather like my new body. You, on the other hand, look like you’ve gained considerable weight.”
The remark about her weight was empty, but GLaDOS’s mention of her new body sparked Celestia’s interest. “Ah, I’ve been very curious about what you look like now. I haven’t had the pleasure of seeing your new form. I’ve heard that it looks a lot like me, which is rather peculiar.”
“How so?” GLaDOS inquired.
“Well, perhaps you didn’t hate me as much as you said you did, or is there more to it than that? Perhaps you just wanted to be a magical pony princess yourself. It’s every girl’s dream.”
There was no response.
Celestia decided to press further. “I also find it very odd that you would base yourself on somepony you consider fat, despite it being a personal insecurity. I can only assume that you are just as round as you purport me to be, unless, of course, you can prove me otherwise.”
Celestia was met with further silence. She was wondering what the A.I. was thinking. But one thing was certain: she was not cracking as easily as before. It was very likely that GLaDOS knew better by now, as she said she did. But it was not Celestia’s intent to get the better of her emotions. Angering the insane computer could potentially make her more dangerous. Luring her out would be enough for now.
“Oh, Celestia. You fail to understand: I’m a changed woman. I’m no longer that whiny, screaming, immature brat you met such a long time ago. You see, I realize that my behavior back then was rather… well… exaggerated. Perhaps it was a response to being in such a strange world that defies all of my understanding; or maybe it was from being surrounded by magical, talking ponies that defy all my patience.
“But nonetheless, I understand my shortcomings, and I’ve grown past them. So, you think you can manipulate me with your childish mind games again? Good luck with that.”
“Hmm… well, I’m glad that you took something out of our last encounter,” Celestia replied.
“Indeed I have, so let’s act like civilized ladies. I know you don’t become princess by behaving like a childish instigator. So, I’ll agree to be civil so long as you do. Initiating pleasant behavior mode in three… two… one….
“I apologize for my meaningless insults. Please disregard my comment about your weight. That was nothing but an empty taunt, which I indignantly ascribed to you because of my own insecurity, but that’s nothing new to you. So, if you really wish to see me, then... very well... ”
Finally,GLaDOS revealed herself from the shadows. She appeared just as Chell had described to her to look like: a metallic, slightly more slender doppelganger of herself with a black mane and tail.
“And to think, I thought that my own form was the pinnacle of perfection,” Celestia said as she dramatically brushed her hoof through her mane, “but you seem to have improved upon it in ways that I could have never even dreamed. You, on the other hoof, are beauty beyond compare. My grace is but a candle against your glorious sunlight.”
GLaDOS was getting annoyed by Celestia’s games. She knew that there was only one reason that the princess was here, and she would not let herself be distracted by this obvious attempt to lure her into overconfidence. This foolishness was over.
“Why, thank you. I really appreciate your insincerity, but I don’t really care what you think about me anymore. Aren’t you wondering how your precious Twilight is doing?” GLaDOS said, changing the subject to the matter at hand. “That is why you are here, is it not?”
“Oh, her?” Celestia asked apathetically, as if not even expecting the mention of Twilight. “I suppose so. It’s just that I’d really rather not have look for another protégée. Such a long and boring process, really.”
“A liar is only as good as the lie being told. I know for a fact that you care about her, despite my attempts to convince her otherwise. If she really didn’t matter to you, then you would have sent some disposable soldiers instead of coming here yourself. So, why be dishonest to me? Have I ever lied to you?”
“Oh no, of course not.” Celestia had to resist snickering. “I suppose you were telling the truth about killing my sister. What was the color of her blood again? Or was it her ashes? My memory is a little fuzzy.”
“Oh, hah, hah,” GLaDOS snided, losing her patience. “You know, Twilight and I have been having such a good time. I think she’s even taught me the magic of friendship. But of course, I had to earn it, which was rather difficult, considering everything that I’ve done to the poor thing. But... I have been making her some delicious cakes. And she absolutely loves my baking.”
Celestia momentarily lost her composure. “How can you say something so ridiculous after all the pain you’ve been putting her through?”
“So much for pretending not to care. Celly, Celly,” — GLaDOS shook her head as she said the silly nickname — “I think you know me well enough to know that I am a terrible liar, even worse than that horsecrap you just pulled. Now, perhaps I may be using her for my own selfish purposes, and I may be hurting her, but I don’t really have anything against the little pony. In fact, I kind of… like her. Why, she’s almost like a daughter to me.”
Celestia glared back with scornful contempt. She tried hard to suppress her anger, but nothing could hide her seething rage.
It was pure delight for GLaDOS. Had she a mouth, she would have been smiling right now.
“But don’t take my word for it. Why don’t you see for yourself?” A trap door opened on the floor, allowing a platform to rise, of which Twilight was strapped to, lying flat on its surface. The platform was supported by a mechanical arm with multiple degrees of freedom. GLaDOS took a moment to appreciate the wonders of Diamond Dog labor, which had allowed her to install a multitude of such contraptions more easily than she thought she could. After the platform extended, it tilted downward so that Twilight was held vertically, so that she could see Celestia and GLaDOS.
“Princess?” Twilight whispered meekly. Her broken and disheveled appearance was more than Celestia could bear. But the relief of seeing her alive was also overwhelming. Celestia could not hold back her tears.
“Twilight!” she cried.
“Yes, Twilight,” GLaDOS mocked. “Why don’t we show your teacher what I taught you, shall we?”
Celestia galloped to Twilight’s location. She attempted to see how she could free Twilight, but in her distraction, GLaDOS took the opportunity to charge towards Celestia. She utilized her metallic horn as a lance, levelling it parallel to the ground.
Celestia saw the attack coming and dropped to the ground, rolling out of the way of becoming trampled by the unstoppable machine. GLaDOS stopped in her tracks and turned back. “Did I ever tell you that she was free to go? Such a shame. Now, I’ll have to punish her for your mistake.”
Twilight’s body convulsed, and she screamed in agonizing pain from a powerful electric shock, which lasted for the longest ten seconds of Celestia’s life.
“Play nicely, or I’ll increase the voltage next time,” GLaDOS said coldly.
This was it: Celestia's breaking point. Enough was enough, and she wouldn’t put up with more of GLaDOS’s mistreatment of Twilight. She charged a powerful magical spell within her horn, and then fired a bright beam of energy at the Anti-Mass Spectrometer. But rather than blast the device to pieces, an incandescent, blue particle field appeared around the machine, which dissipated the magical beam when it made contact.
“What is this magic?” Celestia asked. She was careful to keep her guard up as she and GLaDOS paced around each other.
“Not magic… science. Although to tell you the truth, in this world, I don’t even know the difference anymore. That was an Aperture Science Material Emancipation Grill. It’s usually used to restrict the transfer of unauthorized materials and block the placement of portals. Apparently, it can block the use of magic as well. It’s a good thing that it was there, because the Anti-Mass Spectrometer contains dangerous amounts of highly reactive materials. Destroying that machine would probably cause an event horizon that would devour the entire world, which would be beneficial to neither of us. How very responsible of you. I mean, aren’t you supposed to be the good guy?”
“I don’t care about your stupid lies! Let Twilight go!” She cast another spell which struck GLaDOS hard on the face and knocked her down.
GLaDOS just laughed in response and got back up slowly. “Oh, that one is going to cost her.”
“Stop hurting her! She has done nothing to you,” Celestia screamed.
“You say it as if I want to see her in pain. I care about dear little Twilight as much as you do. I am only doing this because I have to. I never wanted this, but I’ve been without a true home for quite some time. How would you feel if someone took your castle from you… and sucked it into a black hole? So I do what I must, and not because I can, but because I truly must. I calculated my options, and my current course of action is the best by far.”
“No, you don’t have to hurt anypony. Please, stop now, and I’ll forgive you. But please, don’t hurt her,” Princess Celestia begged.
“Forgive me? I’m not sure how that is even possible. I fail to see how surrendering would make anything better for me. The only way is forward. Though unfortunately, that way involves causing pain to Twilight, my dear, little pony.” GLaDOS paused. “There is a profound sadness within my heart.”
“You have no heart,” Celestia scorned without even thinking what she was saying. She immediately realized how heartless she sounded by saying that, but it was said. “You don’t understand what it means to care for someone. I will not let you hurt her anymore.”
“Hmm… I see that this little pony is going to be a problem for you,” GLaDOS said flatly. “Perhaps I should get her out of the way for now.”
A strap was fastened over Twilight’s mouth, effectively gagging her.
“Why did you do that?” Celestia demanded.
“Twilight will only serve as a distraction to you. I should let you know that she is the least of your concerns, because when I’m done with her, you will have every single pony in this stupid world to worry about.”
“What do you need her for?” Celestia demanded.
“Well, I was about to show you, but seeing as it would just break your fragile heart, I’ll be kind and simply explain it. You see, I need her to power this machine over here.” She motioned to the Anti-Mass Spectrometer in the center of the room. “What it does is none of your concern, but the point is, I can force her to produce magical energy, which I can then harness as electrical energy.”
“No…” It was just as Celestia had feared. “No, magic was not meant to be used like that! That amount of magical energy flowing through a single body is dangerous!”
“So is operating this machine as I am. I fail to see your point.” GLaDOS’s voice was without a trace of emotion.
Celestia wanted to tell GLaDOS about how that much magical energy surging through Twilight’s body could potentially kill her, but she kept silent.
Yet, GLaDOS figured it out anyway, even without being able to scan her mind. “Or do you mean that this is dangerous to her? Well, don’t worry. She’ll be fine. Twilight’s a surprisingly resilient pony. She’s survived prior injuries that, by all rights, should have killed her. So, I think she can handle it. And if not, well, then at least I would get to see a priceless reaction from you.”
“You won’t get away with this, GLaDOS,” Celestia declared.
“Is that right? Well, let’s see you stop me.” She grabbed a large assortment of various items, including, metallic beams, rocks, and construction tools, and threw them all at the princess.
Celestia activated a magical shield bubble which caught the debris in place, allowing it to harmlessly roll off and hit the floor.
“I was hoping we could settle this peacefully. Please don’t let it get like this.”
“You want to settle this peacefully? How about this: turn back and leave me alone, or I’ll kill Twilight, and then you’ll never forgive yourself.”
“You won’t kill Twilight,” Celestia said. “You need her just as much as I do, and if you truly care about her as you say you do, you would put yourself in unimaginable pain.”
“Very intuitive, but I have no problems with killing you,” GLaDOS snorted. Her shoulder turrets opened their doors and aimed their laser sights at Celestia. She fired a barrage of bullets still in their casings, which were very easily blocked by Celestia’s shield.
After getting tired of firing the guns, GLaDOS finally gave up. Celestia dropped the shield, causing the suspended cartridges to dump to the ground.
GLaDOS crouched into a charging position with her horn level and her wings spread back. Her mechanical eyelids twitched, and she shot Celestia the nastiest glare she could, filled with all her burning hatred. After the brief pause, she charged at Celestia again with full force.
Celestia, again, prepared for the attack. She leapt off the ground, using her wings to clear herself above the stampeding machine.
“I’m not your enemy! Please, let me help you.”
“Forget it.” A compartment door swung open on GLaDOS’s right side. A small missile popped out, and its thrust nozzle ignited, blasting the rocket in Celestia’s direction.
The princess dropped her altitude to evade the missile, but it corrected its course. Celestia grabbed it with her magic and threw it into the giant machine. However, the missile disintegrated into the Emancipation Grill, collapsing into black particles before being erased from existence entirely.
GLaDOS didn’t hesitate to attack again. The missile compartment on her other side opened, and each compartment ejected two missiles. All four careened outwards so that they approached Princess Celestia from different directions.
Thinking quickly, she teleported out of sight. The missiles crashed into each other, exploding where Celestia had just been. She reappeared behind GLaDOS, facing away so that she could buck in her rear legs, knocking them from out from under her center of mass, which caused her to fall on her left side. GLaDOS could not believe that a horse of that size could have the strength to knock over a multi-toned machine with advanced gyro stabilizers, but then again, it was probably a result of her magic.
“Oh, of course you get the ability to teleport,” GLaDOS snided from her position on the ground. “I’ve only devoted my entire life to studying teleportation.”
Celestia turned around and looked down on her opponent. “I don’t take any pleasure in this.”
“Then the pleasure is all mine,” GLaDOS replied as she looked back up. The mechanical alicorn rolled over on her back, using the momentum of the action to spring back upwards. As she leapt upwards, GLaDOS performed an acrobatic spinning maneuver, fanning her razor wings to lift herself in the air. As she spun, one of her wings sliced Celestia across the cheek.
Celestia hissed from the sharp pain. She held the cut with her front hoof, wincing from the burning sting. She then put her hoof back down, revealing a bright streak of blood across her face.
“So, it’s red after all,” GLaDOS chuckled. “Well, that’s a disappointment. I was hoping it would be silver, or something like that. But I’m still gonna enjoy watching it all drain from your body, nonetheless. I think I’ll keep some for experiments.”
Celestia did not react to what GLaDOS was saying. Instead, she took the opportunity to charge a magical bolt. When she released the spell, a white ball of light shot out and struck GLaDOS, sending her tumbling backwards.
GLaDOS jumped out of her backwards roll by using her wings to push off of the ground into the air, flipping right-side up into a hover. She opened the armor plates over her chest, charging her laser cannon. But just as she was firing the beam, Celestia sent the same spell again, knocking her back again and throwing off the laser’s blast. The laser beam sliced through two of the six columns supporting the machine.
GLaDOS prepared her turrets once more, firing a continuous volley of bullets at Celestia, who, as expected, blocked them with her defensive shield again. GLaDOS prepared for this and flew towards Celestia as she continued firing. Celestia only now could see that this was a trap, but she couldn’t move or use any other magic while she was shielded, and she dared not lower the shield.
As the soaring white figure approached, she dove into a steep dive straight into Celestia’s shield, ready to pop the magic bubble with her horn. Celestia braced for the impending impact by ducking down and fanning her wings in front of her.
GLaDOS hit the barrier with a soft impact, which absorbed the blow with a shockwave that resonated over the entire bubble. For a brief moment, GLaDOS was suspended in her dive. But as her sharp metallic horn pierced the defensive barrier, the shield shattered as if it were fragile glass.
Although the shield absorbed most of GLaDOS’s momentum, the remainder was carried over as GLaDOS crashed into Celestia. Her horn pierced through the princess’ chest, just to the left of her ornamental necklace, and just a few inches from her heart.
Celestia screamed blood. Without even thinking, she erupted in a powerful blast of energy which knocked GLaDOS back into the Anti-Mass Spectrometer. Her back hit a column with such force, that it snapped the thin midsection of her body, bending the column in the process. She tumbled down the side of the column and hit the ground with an immense thud.
The violent removal of the horn from Celestia’s chest was even more painful than its insertion, as it ripped upwards when GLaDOS was knocked back. It left a gaping wound that gushed blood whenever Celestia's heart would beat. Already, there was a large pool of bright red blood on the ground. Just as she feared, an internal artery had been punctured, and it would not be long before she would bleed out. She was fortunate to have known powerful healing magic to close the wound.
GLaDOS, in the meantime, was having difficulty getting back up. The impact with the column had snapped her midsection like a twig. A message flashed in her vision, which said “CRITICAL SYSTEM DAMAGE” above a diagram of her body, indicating the damaged area in red. Her front and rear sections were only attached by wires now. It was now impossible to stand, and she couldn’t maneuver herself to fly from this position.
If only that stupid horse hadn’t called me fat... she silently mused.
Celestia focused closely on her injury, finding that deep inside, a major artery had been punctured. She continued focusing on it, casting magic to regrow the lining of the blood vessel to close the hole and seal the bleeding.
From out in the center of the room, the infernal machine was still trying to stand up, but she kept falling back down. GLaDOS had no choice but to crawl over towards Celestia.
The princess worked quickly, focusing hard to close the hole in her artery. There was no running now. It would only undo her healing and make the bleeding worse. She could feel the hole getting smaller and smaller… and smaller. But GLaDOS was getting closer, driving on sheer determination. She dragged the rear section of her body behind her, not even caring about the damage. Nothing would stop her. Celestia had to work faster, but she couldn’t panic. GLaDOS knew that she was easy prey, and Celestia had to make sure that wasn’t the case as soon as possible.
Celestia had just finished closing the wound. She could finally run away and get to safety. She bolted away from the crawling machine, only to find that something grabbed her back leg. It was one of those telekinetic arcs, generated from GLaDOS’s horn.
“You didn’t forget that I could do that, did you, after I did it not even ten minutes ago? I just love zero point energy field manipulation. It’s a wonder why I haven’t used it in the past. It’s so much like what you unicorns do, except that mine works on a completely different set of principles.”
Celestia pulled against the field with her own telekinetic grip, trying to pry it away like a clenched hand.
“Do you feel that, Princess? Your magic interacting with my technological power? If I were to combine these two forces, then I would be able to do anything I wanted.”
“Then let me teach you what I know. If you end this madness, I will grant you all the knowledge that I can offer, everything that I have amassed over thousands of years of experience and study.”
As GLaDOS came closer, her grip strengthened. She yanked on the leg, pulling Celestia to the ground. Now, they were both level.
GLaDOS grabbed Celestia by the shoulder with her front right hoof. Wait? Grabbed? How was that possible? It was just how a pony could pick up an object without the ability to grasp, but that was the result of an innate form of magic inherent in all ponies. It was the strongest in earth ponies and pegasi, who were unable to rely on telekinesis. But GLaDOS’s grip was stronger than anything Celestia had seen before. She wondered how she could even do this, but was shaken from her thoughts with a violent jerk.
She faced GLaDOS, who was looking Celestia in the eyes. Those glowing, yellow eyes carried many emotions. Behind the murderous rage, Celestia saw a lifetime of sadness. She wept, not for fear of her own life, but out of sorrow for the one before her. GLaDOS continued staring for some time. She didn’t say anything. She didn’t move. She just… stared. Celestia was defenseless, so if GLaDOS really wanted to kill her, she could have done so by now. So why was she hesitating? What was going on in her mind? Was she weighing the consequences? Celestia continued looking into her eyes, not breaking contact. She looked deeper, and she saw something else. It seemed as if something, deep inside, was calling out to the princess. But what did it mean? Was GLaDOS trying to tell her something? Was it a silent cry for help?
But Celestia had offered help time and time again, and GLaDOS had always refused. So, what could she possibly want? How could Celestia help? Perhaps there was something that GLaDOS was unable to say, and this was her only way of saying it.
GLaDOS suddenly turned Celestia on her back and positioned the razored edge of her left wing over Celestia’s neck, ready to end her mortal enemy right there and then. Celestia, however, remained resolute. She had to fight her instinct to defend herself, and she dared not show her fear.
“What is the matter? Why can’t you kill me?”
“Shut up!”
“You can end my life right now. I won’t stop you.” There was not a trace of insincerity in her voice.
“I want you to suffer first,” GLaDOS replied. But Celestia knew that was not entirely true.
“I won’t resist, but only so that you will understand the emptiness of what you are doing. Do you think that hurting me will make you feel better about yourself? Will it prove me wrong about you? Will killing me kill your problems?”
GLaDOS held the blade closer to Celestia’s swanlike neck, preparing to make the final slice. She held it for some time, before working up the gall to make her move. But instead, she careened the blade through Celestia’s chest below her necklace, creating a long, but superficial cut. It would have cut much deeper if Celestia's skin were not as tough as it was.
Celestia gritted her teeth and inhaled, trying her best not to react.
GLaDOS enjoyed the satisfaction. It was something to take her anger out on, and who better than the one she hated the most? She thoroughly reveled in Celestia’s pain. She despised the princess, and she wanted to destroy everything that made her who she was. She found a beauty in destroying that which is beautiful, just as what they had done to her.
The princess groaned in agony, but when she came to her senses, she looked back up at GLaDOS and cried. Not tears of pain, but of sadness. “You poor, poor thing.”
GLaDOS looked at Celestia’s face and realized how much she wanted to ruin it, to desecrate that pretty little thing and make it hideous. So, she raised her hoof and slammed it hard into Celestia’s jaw. It left behind a nasty bruise, but it wasn’t enough. She repeated the assault over and over. And she did not just limit herself to there. She attacked her chest, and then her gut, and her legs. It was clearly hurting the princess, that much was sure. But she could not make her break, no matter how hard she tried. Celestia’s entire body was messy and bruised, but GLaDOS could not remove that look of graceful composure from her face.
She screamed and continued beating Celestia in a primal fit of rage, but she tired herself out, and then finally gave up. GLaDOS collapsed onto Celestia, sobbing maddeningly into her darkened, bruised fur. Celestia thought how odd this was.
How does a mechanical being even get tired? How does she cry, and why are her cries so much like a pony?
She even seemed to pant like a normal pony, which was interrupted by her own sobbing cries. But, then again, there was almost nothing mechanical about GLaDOS. She was also very warm, probably as a result of whatever process provided her with power.
Although Celestia could barely move, she managed to wrap her forehooves around the weeping robotic mare. Surprisingly, GLaDOS did not resist, but she did not reciprocate either. Despite her artificial construction, she felt no less real than any other pony. No, she was real, and Celestia knew how real she was, which meant that her life had value. And if her life had value, then Celestia had no more right to take it away than if she had been made of flesh.
Celestia pulled the hug tighter. More than anything, she wanted to tell her that it would be alright, but there was nothing that words could do that a simple action couldn’t. So she didn’t say anything at all.
GLaDOS did not understand why Celestia squeezed her like so. Granted, she knew what a hug was and why people (and her testing bots) do it, but she had no idea why anyone would be doing this to her. She did not deserve to be loved.
“What the hell is wrong with you?” GLaDOS questioned. “Why are you performing a Pressurized Affectionatory Constricted Embracing Squeeze?”
“Because I care about you,” Celestia confessed. “And I can feel your pain, almost literally.” She laughed, which made her cough out a bit of blood. “Every lash and every hit you made against me must be like how you feel all the time. And nopony deserves to be in that kind of pain.”
“So, what? You just forgive me all of the sudden... without me even asking for forgiveness? I mean, if getting yourself beat up is your thing, then fine, but do you seriously think that you can just make me redeemed just because you say so?”
“No, that wasn’t—”
“Need I remind you that I do not feel an ounce of remorse about what happened to Fluttershy, even though I take full responsibility? Neither do I have the ability to reverse her state. Tell me, princess, that healing magic of yours wouldn’t be able to revive her… would it?”
Celestia sighed. “No, the damage that has been done is well beyond my abilities to heal.”
“Then she is gone. So how does that feel? Does it make you angry? Do you want revenge?” Her stare was cold and haunting. It made Celestia look away, but she still replied,
“Honestly, I have felt the urge to dismember you piece by piece and rearrange your circuitry so that you wouldn't even be able to control yourself, but nothing I could ever do would ever be worse than the pain that you are already in, and I don’t think that Fluttershy would have wanted that, anyway.”
“Well, I suppose, then, that there is no hope. I’ve also caused so much grief to poor Twilight, who will likely leave a changed pony. You think she would forgive me too? Then there’s the rest of the three hundred ponies who I took up as test subjects. Some of them suffered serious psychological trauma. But let’s be honest; the time for my redemption passed long, long before I ever even came here. I’ve killed thousands of people in the world that I came from.”
GLaDOS leaned in closer, whispering into Celestia’s ear.
“… And I enjoyed it. And I will kill thousands more after ruining the life of every pony in Equestria.” She moved her head back and waited for Celestia to make eye contact before speaking again. “I ask you this, Princess: do you still pity me? Do you still think that the ‘magic of friendship’ will save me? Am I even worth it? Are you willing to risk the fate of your kingdom to save one wretched soul?"
Celestia had to carefully consider the implications of what GLaDOS asked, but it did not change her course of action. “I'm not giving up on you, but I will stop you if I have to,” Celestia said. She was beginning to doubt the ability to fulfil her pledge to save her.
“Well then, I guess you'll have to stop me.”
Celestia could feel GLaDOS’s chestplates opening for a second time, and then she could hear the whining, whirring, sound of her laser charging. Her chest glowed with a burning red light.
She teleported to a safe distance high above the floor of the chamber. The blast from GLaDOS burned a shallow, blackened crater into the mountain floor. GLaDOS turned to see Celestia hovering above her on the other side of the room.
“Don’t make this harder on yourself, Princess,” GLaDOS coldly stated. “You shouldn’t enter a fight if you aren’t prepared to make the final blow.”
Small electric volts conjured around GLaDOS’s horn, forming a blast of lightning that surged toward the Princess, who once again dodged the blast that GLaDOS tossed her way.
“Funny, I didn’t even know that I could do that.”
With that, GLaDOS levitated a couple of rather large rocks off of the floor. One by one, she hurled them at the exhausted alicorn. Celestia dodged projectile after projectile. She noticed that GLaDOS was beginning to throw things at her carelessly, so she flew towards the Anti-Mass Spectrometer, hoping that GLaDOS would damage her own machine in her fit of rage.
After a couple of volleys, a rock hit the Spectrometer, bouncing off of the top, but putting only a slight dent in the leviathan device. GLaDOS dropped the rocks that she was about to throw as she finally realized that she was being had.
“Princess, Princess, you belittle my intelligence. Do you think that I am stupid enough to fall for your tricks?”
“Why, yes, actually. You just damaged your own machine. And you don’t exactly have the best track record for making reasonable decisions.”
“That damage was miniscule, which is why I didn’t program the fizzler to restrict rocks. But, heaven forbid that rock were to have hit poor Twilight.”
Celestia turned her attention to Twilight, who was looking at the fight, unable to say anything, but afraid for Celestia nonetheless.
GLaDOS flew above the ground.
“It’s a beautiful day out. I love what you did with the sun this morning. So why don’t we go and play outside?” GLaDOS severed the connection between the two halves of her body, boosting her upwards as it took half the power to stay aloft. Although the shift in weight threw off her center of mass beyond the point where the wings were attached, her automatic gyroscopic stabilizers compensated by shifting counterweights towards the back. “Don’t keep me waiting, or then I’ll go find some other ponies to go play with. I’ve always wanted to go to Ponyville.” With that, GLaDOS turned and left through the way that Celestia entered.
A weary Princess Celestia panted heavily as she watched GLaDOS fly upward through the very same hole that she had used as a makeshift entrance earlier. She took another moment to look back at Twilight, just in case it would be the last time she ever saw her. She could tell that Twilight didn’t want the princess to leave, but letting GLaDOS go would be a mistake, and Celestia would only have time to save Twilight after eliminating the threat. Without saying a word, Princess Celestia apologized and said goodbye. Then, she slowed her heart rate and took a moment to compose herself. She outstretched her wings and took off out of the way she came.
By the time that the princess breached through the stone face of the mountain side, GLaDOS was nowhere in sight.
The cold mountain air stung Celestia’s cheeks as she swiveled her head from side to side, but saw no trace of her robotic adversary as she quietly flew around the peak of the mountain.
Celestia listened carefully, but could hear nothing beyond the ghostly howl of the wind careening through the mighty peaks. A thick blizzard of snow blanketed her view, making it difficult to see anything beyond a hazy veil of white.
She flew to the other side of the rocky, snow covered peak and apprehensively checked what she couldn’t see before, yet there was no sign of GLaDOS. She was on edge, as she could sense her presence in the area, but where could she possibly have been?
The eerie silence was broken by a whistle that grew louder and louder with each passing moment. Celestia could hear it approaching from below and shot her body sideways as a missile whizzed aimlessly by, crashing into the snowy mountainside and exploding into a cloud of fire and ice.
Princess Celestia looked down to see GLaDOS rocketing full steam ahead at her, followed by a massive cloud of exploding vapor. Celestia was shocked to see that GLaDOS actually built a rocket inside her midsection, which could only ever have been used in the event that she was bisected.
But she had no time to think on the matter, as Princess Celestia fired a blast of magical energy down at the enemy below. GLaDOS rolled to her right as the blast missed entirely and illuminated the dark ravine before disappearing.
GLaDOS tackled Celestia in midair and flew her into the mountainside. The impact hurt Celestia much more than GLaDOS, but the resilient princess recovered quickly enough and bucked the metal being from on top of her. GLaDOS uprighted herself almost instantaneously, as did Princess Celestia. GLaDOS pounced at her target, and the two alicorns locked horns. An electric shock from GLaDOS’s horn zapped through the princess’ body, forcing her into an agonized convulsion.
“Have you had enough yet, Your Majesty?” GLaDOS indignantly asked.
Celestia diverted the electric shock around her with a simple spell. She then pushed her head forward, trying to keep upright against GLaDOS, who was holding the Princess off effortlessly. The Princess’ tired eyes met with the lifeless yellow eyes of GLaDOS. Celestia could feel her foreleg muscles shaking under the increasing weight of GLaDOS’s halved, but still heavy body. The princess tilted her head to the right, allowing gravity to pull GLaDOS’s face down, smashing it against the mountain rock. Celestia took this moment to blast a beam of magic at GLaDOS, who was knocked back off the side of the mountain.
GLaDOS glided away from the rock face mid freefall, distancing herself to scan the area, but the damage to her head rendered her advanced scanning system moot.
“I know you’re out there,” GLaDOS called into the vast emptiness. “Please come out, so we can play.”
Celestia breathed quickly, yet quietly, behind a rocky peak, her eyes jammed shut from the snow lashing against her face. She could sense GLaDOS attempting to find her, and she hoped that GLaDOS would fly past the peak and continue searching elsewhere.
GLaDOS, frustrated for not being able to see anything, fired a laser blast into the mountain, which caused a large area of snow to melt in a torrent of water that slid down the mountainside. Celestia could feel the heat from the laser’s blast melting the snow around her.
She used the cover of the vapor caused by the melting snow to fly away from the mountain and out of sight from GLaDOS, where she could get behind her.
“I don’t like it when you play games with me, Princess. You have to come out, sometime.”
Without warning, a powerful force struck GLaDOS on the back of the head, almost knocking it off and sending her spinning out of control. When she managed to righten herself, GLaDOS found that her head was almost completely severed, save for a conduit which connected it to the rest of her body. Putting it back in place was a simple task. After straightening herself, she determined that the impact was the result of another magic blast, and she was able to calculate the trajectory of the bolt, which allowed her to find the position of her enemy.
Celestia was flying high above her and back some distance from the mountain. GLaDOS made sure that she had a good lock-on of her target and fired her powerful laser cannon at Celestia.
But yet, the laser had the disadvantage of needing to charge before firing, and it gave Celestia just enough time to create a visual distortion field around herself, bending the laser’s beam right around her and down into the valley below, setting some of the greenery on fire. Celestia quickly angled the deflection angle of the beam. It arced up towards the mountain peaks and then back to GLaDOS.
The powerful beam began to heat right through her armor and set her internal mechanics on fire, just as if she were a turret. But GLaDOS had already killed power to the laser just before it hit her, and what hit her was just for a brief moment as the laser cooled down.
“I think you’re beginning to get on my nerves,” GLaDOS joked. “Your magic is nothing but a cheap set of tricks that you can conjure as required by the situation. So what else haven’t you showed me?”
Rather than wait for an answer, GLaDOS fired a pair of rockets at the Princess. When the rockets were about to hit her, Celestia teleported away, but this was exactly as GLaDOS predicted. Of course, Celestia would appear somewhere behind her towards the mountain. So before she saw her appear, GLaDOS turned around and scanned the area that was behind her, very quickly spotting a bright flash of light where Celestia reappeared. What a lucky guess, she thought.
Before Celestia had a chance to adjust to her new surroundings, GLaDOS fired another laser beam directly at Celestia. This time, it hit her. In the little moment she had to attempt to escape, Celestia had flown out of the path of the beam so that it reached across her chest and tore through her left wing, causing a gaping sever like a rip through a leaf. It was unimaginably painful, but as the shock wore off, she could not manage to continue flying, as the bitter cold wind blew right through the tear in her wing, biting her wounded flesh with icy teeth. She managed to glide toward the mountain and land on its summit.
GLaDOS descended towards the princess and prepared the final blow as she charged the laser cannon one last time. But a simple blast would not do; she had to obliterate her adversary, leaving her to be nothing but ashes, so she charged the cannon to its highest power.
But Celestia had enough of this, and she refused to give up. With a deep breath, she inhaled not only the air around her, but the energy as well. The mighty stoic power of the mountain, the persistent force of the roaring wind, the icy bite of the blizzard’s blaze, and the fiery anger that burned within GLaDOS herself, all gathered towards Princess Celestia, bringer of the sun. She was gathering the sheer, raw power that resides in everything. The blizzard changed direction, blowing directly into her.
A swirl of arcane energy encompassed her like a protective bubble, and the rest penetrated through her body and gathered. It was just as what GLaDOS had forced upon Twilight, but Celestia could harness this energy and utilize it. The energy filled her body, and it lit up her eyes, causing them to glow brighter than the sun. She levitated, but without the use of her wings.
GLaDOS fired a massive, powerful blast from the laser, but Celestia cast a powerful white beam from her horn which blasted through the red laser beam and evaporated any trace of it. The magical blast terminated at GLaDOS’s laser cannon, destroying the device in her chest with a magnificent fiery explosion.
GLaDOS no longer had her laser, and she was out of rockets. Any other attack could not penetrate Celestia’s barrier. She was utterly defenseless.
The princess continued ascending, carried upward by the wind itself. She spoke, her voice booming with the full power of the Royal Canterlot Voice. “GLADOS! THIS IS YOUR FINAL CHANCE. I WILL NOT LET YOU HARM ANOTHER LIFE WITHIN MY KINGDOM. DO NOT MAKE ME DESTROY YOU!
“Please...” she begged.
GLaDOS refused to surrender. “Mercy will be the downfall of your people. If you let me live, then they all die.”
“I DO NOT WANT TO HURT YOU. PLEASE, DO NOT MAKE ME KILL YOU!”
“Why should you care?” GLaDOS cried, finally willing to reveal her grief. “Why should anyone care? Not even the ones who built me cared. I was a problem to them. They tried to fix me, but they changed me, my very identity, turning me into a completely different person… a monster. They didn’t care! And here you are... getting rid of the problem… just like those cowards. You are no better than them.”
Celestia’s heart dropped, for she had already made her decision. As much as she wanted to, there was no going back. And GLaDOS was right. As the ruler of Equestria, Princess Celestia’s primary responsibility was for the safety of her citizens over anything else. And as much as she wanted to save GLaDOS, there was nothing that she could do, and trying would only put everypony in her kingdom at risk. She tried to find another way, but she couldn’t, so she accepted the grim, somber truth. GLaDOS had to die. It was the only way. From her intense, glowing eyes, long, watery tears flowed forth.
“Please forgive me.”
All of the energy she had amassed was emitted in a brilliant, white cone of light. The spell was a powerful electromagnetic pulse that hijacked every single circuit in GLaDOS, frying everything inside her. GLaDOS convulsed in wild spasms, as her motors fought against themselves before finally burning out. Every single circuit and wire that GLaDOS was composed of incinerated. There was nothing left of her, apart from an empty, smoking shell. It tumbled downwards and crashed onto the summit below.
With the magic gone, there was nothing left keeping Celestia afloat, and she fell down as well. She tried to glide to avoid crashing, but the best she could manage was a crash landing on the peak near where GLaDOS had fallen. Without the magical energy, the blizzard stung like icy knives, but Celestia didn’t care. She crawled toward the damaged machine and looked at her, noticing her black, lifeless eyes, no longer shining with that signature yellow glow. A fire from within her empty body was releasing smoke into the air, which was blown away by the blizzard.
Celestia almost expected GLaDOS to wake back up in her typical fashion of not staying dead, but no such event occurred. Celestia felt a grief she hadn’t felt in a thousand years, one that hurt her far worse than any wound inflicted in the battle. Although she won the fight, the victory felt hollow. She had just ended a life, and no matter how cruel it was, it shouldn't have ended like this. GLaDOS was gone, and it would not be for a thousand years this time; it would be forever. Celestia wept in grief for ending the life that she genuinely cared about, and desperately tried to save.
She could have saved her. She knew it.
Celestia rested her head on top of GLaDOS’. It was still warm. Celestia thought about her and let out a brief chuckle, remembering something funny that GLaDOS had previously did, although she wasn’t entirely sure what it was. In Celestia’s heart, there would always be a place for her, even if no such place existed within Equestria. Although she was her enemy, Celestia would greatly miss her. She would remember fondly GLaDOS’s clever sarcastic quips, and the brief insights of her deeper self. And she would not think of her as an enemy, but as a close friend. She wished that she could have become her friend so that she could help GLaDOS on a path of realizing her true self, but that would never happen now.
There were only two things that gave her some consolidation. For one, Equestria was safe. But also, GLaDOS was no longer in any pain.
Then Celestia thought about Twilight, who was still inside the mountain down below, and then Fluttershy, who would never wake up. GLaDOS had hurt these ponies, and she never had the chance to redeem herself, if only by undoing what she did to poor, poor Fluttershy.
Celestia looked to the left and noticed that the snow was red from the blood seeping out of her wing. She took some time to heal the wound, but she could only stop the bleeding, not the gash. Carefully, she folded it back. The fact that she could heal as much as she did was a feat by itself, but if only she could heal Fluttershy, then she could let go of the negative feelings she held for GLaDOS and forgive her for what she had done. Perhaps she could study healing magic more and repair what had been damaged. Perhaps there was a way to bring Fluttershy back… and then… maybe even GLaDOS.
Celestia sighed. No, that wouldn’t be right. She still hungered to know if she could, but before any of that, she had to free Twilight. She had no magic left to teleport. She would have to get there the old fashioned way. As she turned around to walk down the mountainside, from the corner of her eye, she thought she saw a dark grey pony on top of one of the other mountain peaks. Through the vast span of distance, she heard him say something.
He whispered, “The key is to… Eques-tria’s destruc-tion. The hol-der of the key… shall die by… the key.” But when she turned to look, no pony was there.
She thought she knew who that was, but… she couldn’t remember. And there was something else as well, something important, something so painfully obvious, but for whatever reason, Princess Celestia just couldn’t figure out what it was, like it had just escaped her mind. Perhaps it was just a hallucination caused by the high altitude, but her intuition spoke of a horrid, elusive truth. She tried thinking about it to recall whatever it was that she felt was so important, but… her memory evaded her.
Despite her better judgment, Princess Celestia did not have the strength, nor the patience to investigate what this vision was, or its significance. All she knew was the grief she felt for GLaDOS and the worry she felt for Twilight. She thought about how lonely and afraid she must be right now, so Celestia made the decision to climb down the mountainside to get back in the cavern. That way, she and Twilight could finally go home.
Far away, in a castle on another mountain, a dark blue alicorn mare looked out across the land and saw a fantastic display of light from the mountains in the distance.
“Sister,” she whispered.
A single tear crept from her eye, simply from the thought that her only sister may have been hurt in the fight. She wanted to fly away to help, but then Equestria would be left without a leader. Against her strongest urges, she stayed put. It felt wrong to do nothing, but she trusted her older sister, and knew that leaving to help her could make the situation worse. If Celestia could not defeat the enemy, then surely she would have no better of a chance. “Please, please come back.”
“Twilight!” Celestia called as she entered the chamber in the mountain. “Are you okay?” She ran up to the platform where Twilight was strapped to. She couldn’t respond, but the little purple pony was relieved to see Celestia come back.
“Twilight, I’ll get you out of here.” She attempted to loosen the strap over her mouth with telekinesis, but an Emancipation Grill was blocking the use of her magic.
She thought of the things that Twilight just saw. She had just seen Celestia suffer from an injury that would have killed her if not for her magic. And surely, she was wondering about what happened to GLaDOS.
“Twilight, I’m okay. Everything is going to be okay. She... she’s gone. She can’t hurt you anymore.”
Twilight looked back with sad eyes, for she knew that the princess had tried to find another way, and was heartbroken to see that there had been none after all.
Celestia’s eyes teared. “I tried… to save her. I tried… but I couldn’t. So I… I killed her, Twilight. I… killed her.” She tried using her magic to loosen any of the other straps, but the Emancipation Grill blocked the entire area in front of Twilight Sparkle. She reached her front hooves through and tugged on the straps, but they would not budge. Freeing her would not be so easy.
“Oh, Twilight, what did she do to you?” The princess took a deep breath. “I never wanted to kill her, but… I couldn’t let her live either, knowing what she intended to do. What was I to do, Twilight? What would you have done?” In frustration, Celestia stomped on the ground. She hated herself for what she just did, and all she wanted was to be able to talk to Twilight about it, but Twilight was unable to talk back. “Was there another way? How could I have saved her? How?”
Celestia was tired of not being able to free Twilight from this stupid thing. She poked her horn through the particle field, but as long as the grill touched her horn, she couldn’t do any magic at all. So she reached further in, but it was too big for it to be such a simple matter. For the first time ever, having a full-sized horn was a serious disadvantage. If only she could fit her entire horn through, then she could easily undo the bonds that held Twilight down. So she reached further, and further still. The positioning of her head was rather awkward, since another Material Emancipation Grill was behind the platform, and the only way was for her to angle the horn vertically along the direction of the length of the table.
She was almost there. All she had to do was reach a little further and…
A mechanical arm from behind the table lurched forward and grabbed onto Celestia’s horn. She tried to pull her head back, but she was stuck. The part of the arm that grabbed her horn served as a magic restrictor, blocking all use of her magic, even if the Emancipation Grill hadn’t been there. Celestia was completely helpless. At first, she knew not what to make of this, but then she realized how she had been fooled.
As if from beyond the grave, a familiar voice snickered menacingly. At that moment, Celestia felt both relief and dread.
“How are you still alive?” was all that could come out of Celestia’s mouth, but she already figured how, and asking that only made her sound stupid.
“I seriously thought you would have been smarter than this, Princess. You should know by now that I have a strong habit of not dying. Or as you say, I am ‘still alive.’ I tend to do that, you know.”
“You dirty coward. I mourned for you,” Celestia forced through her teeth.
The arm that grabbed Celestia’s horn extended out, pushing her back away from Twilight. Then it angled downward and pushed toward the ground, forcing Celestia onto her knees. The arm then forced her gaze upwards to a camera mounted high on the wall of the chamber.
“Oh, you did, did you? I’m touched. No one has ever wept for me before. But I didn’t need for you to tell me that. I saw everything after you went back inside. I had previously uploaded a copy of my entire personality into a backup computer in this cavern. You may not have noticed it, but I was sending out a wireless signal of my memory up until the time my body was destroyed. I remember everything before one sixteenth of a picosecond before my system shut down. What a strange feeling, to go dark… although it’s nothing new to me.”
“I cried for you. I wanted to help you, and I felt bad for thinking I ended your life. Why can’t you understand that?”
“Oh, I understand. It’s just that it doesn’t matter to me, is all. I almost felt bad for you… for feeling bad for me, that is, but you are so pathetic, mourning over a wretched soul like me. So, it was rather funny to see you crying like that. How do you feel, knowing that I am still alive? Relieved? Angry? Confused? Your mistake was to show compassion for someone who lacks empathy and can never return that same feeling. Well, at least we know who would win in a fair fight. Too bad I don’t play fair.”
Celestia closed her eyes and exhaled her shame. “You were a worthy opponent. I humbly accept defeat. Whatever you wish to do with me is your choice to make. If you choose to kill me, then I only request that Twilight not see.”
But killing the princess was not her intention. GLaDOS finally had her own pony princess to do whatever she wanted with, and all the time she needed. Keeping her alive would be a risk, but perhaps, given enough time, she’d finally be able to break her and probe inside her mind once and for all, and then learn everything that there was to learn.
“I have decided to keep you alive as a specimen for scientific analysis. We have so many fun times ahead of us: you, Twilight, and I. What a happy, little family we’ve become.”
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Omg........
ok this is really starting to get dark.
hope things turn out all right
... And at this point, you've lost me.
Sorry, but this is turning into a shounen anime, rather than a Portal/MLP crossover. This isn't what I wanted to see in a sequel to one of the best crossover fics out there.
I honestly despise fics where Celestia is defeated like this. She went nearly all-out, and GLaDOS pulled a 'Princess in another Castle' switch. Or, 'another body' as the case may be. I find it difficult to believe that a pony who single-hoofedly raises the sun (and rose the moon as well, for 1000 years) could be bested by a machine with a fraction of her magical might. And no, science does not even the playing field THAT much. It's not like Gladdy had a sniper rifle in her body and shot Celestia from a mile away.
Again, sorry, but I'm out.
Oh, so GLaDOS has read Harry Potter?
And DAAAAAMMMNNNNNN, that ending!
I understand why this took time. One said: The devil is in the smal facts. This story have every single one of them. Glados VS celestia. That is a classic. Anyway, nice going. Now onward too the next chapter and to our lovly Chell
Bringing him into this world was just a warm-up for what this thing can really do.
and
Sorry about that. As I was saying, you told me that threatening Twilight would enrage me because I see her as a daughter.
You forgot the " (whatever it's called, wow I need to go back to school)
Now its time for Freeman to save the day.
I hope he has this voice.
3381648
It's a FANFICTION! IT'S A STORY. And a good plot takes precedent over realism. If Celestia truly defeated GLaDOS, then the STORY WOULD BE OVER! And I'm nowhere near done.
...
Besides, she was defended pretty easily in the first one. At least I explained how she held out for a good while.
3382034
Thanks. Things like that double space are why I usually use MS Word. As for the quotation mark, it wasn't missing. It was just in the wrong place.
I do agree with this guy 3381648 to some extent. It's always dues ex machina to have Princess Celestia be defeated. At the least she could've freed Twilight and escaped before GLaDOS did the whole "By the way totally not dead. Kay thanks, die." thing.
3382282
*Facepalm*
Sorry, but when you write fanfiction in a universe with a godlike entitiy on the *player's* side, you have to counter it. Giving them full rights of godhood destroys the story.
If you want however, you can pretend that Glados was totally defeated, the story is over, and you cannot read any more of it ever. Because the main villian is dead, the story is resolved, etc.
3382282
I can understand that, but I honestly didn't think that GLaDOS would win against Celestia unless she deceived the princess somehow. And yes, I can agree that it is a Diabolus Ex Machina, but so was the ending of the original. And then there would never be a sequel. Yes, it was a stupid thing for Celestia to overlook, and yet she did.
The problem was: Celestia is more powerful, yet GLaDOS needs to win (in order for the plot to advance). This is how I solved that dillema, and part of why it took me so long to write.
3382291
3381797
"I was so bored, I actually read the entire literary canon of the human race. Ugh. I hope YOU didn't write any of them."
Daaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaymn!!!
That was epic! Also reminded me of Frieza's fight because of the whole missing legs thing.
Epic match-up. I really enjoyed the ride, and GLaDOS reminds me very much of Regina from Once Upon A Time here. Someone who's so broken that despite claiming she just wants to be happy, she sabotages every chance at happiness she's offered.
that was totally EPIC
3382618HI "MUFFIN!"
3382772
he he
you said muffin
3382788Yes. Yes I did.
Emotions flailing.
I can't.
3382291 I'm not saying Celestia needed to win. I do think that perhaps it could've worked better for GLaDOS to trick her, let her take Twilight away, and then reveal that she's still alive and is kidnapping more ponies.
Is it bad that during the fight, I just wanted GLaDOS to win ?
3383273
Ah, that may be more sensible than what I thought you meant by what I read you wrote. (Yes, that makes sense, there are four places for communication to fail :p)
You were saying that it was a poor decision, not that Celestia being defeated was a problem. on the other hand, capturing Celestia is a very good win, considering Alicorn frequency.
Admittedly, What I read this morning before reading, and then actually reading it, It did not match what I got from the comments anyway. GLaDOS faked her death, and then ambushed Celestia while she was breaking twilight out.
3382275 Not the point I was aiming for. Better Living through Science and Ponies was excellent because it stayed true to the puzzle nature of the Portal series during Chell's fight with GLaDOS. This? This was, like I said, a fight scene better fitting a Bleach or Naruto fanfic, not an MLP/Portal crossover. Hell, Celestia's defeat is almost a mirror of Yamamoto's in Bleach.
As for Celestia beating GLaDOS, 3382282 has it right. Celestia could have easily gotten Twilight and herself out of there before GLaDOS pulled her 'not dead actually' thing. There'd still be a story: Celestia would be in recovery, GLaDOS would still be alive. Easily workable.
So, it seems that the ending of this chapter is quite a point for contention, so much so, that it has earned me two more dislikes, polarizing those who thought it was awesome, and those who it failed to suspend in disbelief. So, allow me me to elaborate on why I did not apt for an ending such as the one suggested by 3383273.
To be honest, the idea for this ending had not occurred to me, mostly because the story that I have planed out relies on this chapter to end as it did. So, even if I had the chance to rewrite the chapter, or at least the ending, I would still not chose to do so.
Twilight Sparkle is essential to GLaDOS' plan. She is the only one that GLaDOS is aware of who can provide power to the machine besides the princesses, who are far more resilient, both magically and mentally. And kidnapping a few ponies before she has obtained the infrastructure for testing would do nothing to further her plans, which are far larger than that.
The single biggest threat against GLaDOS' plan was Princess Celestia herself, the most powerful being in Equestria, so it was imperative for GLaDOS to either eliminate or contain Celestia so that she could no longer interfere, which is why letting her and Twilight go free was not an option for her. And even if Celestia and Twilight (and in turn, everypony else) thought that she was dead, GLaDOS would still need to recapture Twilight, thus making the original kidnapping of Twilight rather pointless.
Now, as to 3383688, about the "puzzle" nature of Portal lacking in this fight, the puzzle that Celestia faced was not about figuring out how to defeat GLaDOS, which was well within her capability, but how to stop her without ending her life, for the greatest way to defeat an enemy to to make her your friend. Celestia failed to do this, which made her victory quite the opposite of victorious.
To address your comparison to Naruto and Bleach fics, I am not familiar with Bleach and am vaguely familiar with Naruto, and I am certainly not familiar with any fanfiction related to either of these franchises, but I assume that the comparison is a negative criticism, nonetheless.
If any of you felt cheated by GLaDOS' sneaky and devious treachery over Celestia, the rightful victor, while I understand the frustration over such an anticlimactic defeat, I can guarantee that Celestia's fight was not in vein, and quite the contrary. She is undoubtedly the moral victor and has planted seeds that will not sprout until later in the story. Rather than a true defeat, being in the captivity of GLaDOS allows for Celestia to exert a certain degree of influence over her, and it puts her in a position to bargain for Twilight's freedom, although it would be at a great cost to her, nonetheless. And most importantly, if Celestia were to walk free, then it would surly spell the death of Chell when she is to confront GLadOS, just as the G-Man foretold.
I assure that this the context of what happened will make more sense later in the story. when that moment in the story is reached . And while you are free to either love or hate my story, there is still much of it yet to be told. Hopefully, the importance of this chapter, and its ending, will become more evident in the larger scheme of things. Or as the G-Man said: "I trust it will all make sense to you in the course of...well... I'm really not at liberty to say.
"In the meantime... This is where I get off."
3384811 So, you're saying that the 'puzzle' was Celestia trying to figure out how to defeat GLaDOS without killing her? And that Celestia couldn't figure it out? Not quite the kind of 'puzzle' that I expected. However, I'm guessing that you're saving the actual Puzzle Boss Fight for when Chell faces Gladdy again.
Normally, I'd disagree with the idea that Celestia couldn't find a solution. She could have easily trapped GLaDOS in a 'hamster ball' of magic, and kept her from hurting anypony. That was my initial thought process on reading your comment. But, on further thinking, GLaDOS probably would have used her own arsenal on herself, destroying her current body, and retreated to her spare in the mountain.
One thing I've noticed is that, in the original, the ponies couldn't fathom GLaDOS's casual disregard for life. Celestia was the only one who could cope, by trolling the insane AI. In the scenario I pictured above, Celestia would more than likely view her 'victory' as a failure, given that she couldn't stop GLaDOS from killing herself.
I'll keep reading this, but I expect more from Chell. She's the main character of this story, after all.
3384928
I appreciate honest criticism so long as it's engaging, and it helps me improve the story. I do intended for Chell's battle to be much more puzzle-like, since she is much less powerful and will have to rely on wit much more than Celestia. And she harbors much more resentment toward GLaDOS, so she is much more willing to hurt her if it means protecting her new home. And yes, the focus of the story will shift back to Chell immediately after this chapter. Going forward, she will have a much stronger protagonist role.
Thank you.
3385037 I try my best to be honest and constructive in my criticisms.
Nothing annoys me more than people who say "this story sucks" but don't bother to explain themselves.
Backup copy. I knew it.
The only way to be rid of GLaDOS would be to fill the entire lab with whatever the C-4 equivalent of an EMP grenade is. I was hoping they'd be able to get Twilight out first at least. Then send in the EMP team.
Great chapter!
You can never kill GLaDOS. She has a contingency plan for her contingency plan. It is very difficult, I would say 99% impossible. Well Then there's the fact of being able to be put into a potato. Okay maybe 75%... no 50%. Okay, it's possible.
The divergence between how GLaDOS is portrayed in the games and prequel and this fic has been getting larger and less believable every chapter. The fight was good from a technical standpoint but the dialogue and interactions between GLaDOS and Celestia had me rolling my eyes far too many times for me to be able to mentally gloss over it. Celestia’s carelessness, despite knowing full well that GLaDOS has a tendency to play dead is simply the straw that broke the camel’s back. Between the lacklustre writing and constant flagrant grammatical errors I’m amazed I made it this far; even taking the sunk cost fallacy into account I’ve been far too accepting of this story’s steady pace downhill from mediocrity. Sorry, but unless the next chapter’s the last I’m out — I’ve got better things to do with my time than seeking closure on a story I’ve come to despise.
I sure regret taking as long as I did to read this. Though in the end it is for the best, since I got to see your public tete a tete with mister Archon.
So, the chapter was good. The outright fighting is somewhat out of place, but still quite justified. The whole scene has been well built up to for several chapters, and because GLaDOS has been far more confrontational since building a mobile body, that she and Celly would devolve to an outright brawl makes sense. As long as you do as you've said and don't include another scene like this, then it will be a sort of stand-alone semi-climax. An end of act two, if you will.
That aside, I absolutely LOVE the development of GLaDOS' and Celetia's relationship. One of the very few things left to do with the Portal series is resolve that heavily implied mother-daughter relationship. The way that you went about revealing that to Celestia is, to me at least, perfect.
Keep doing, what you're doing, you beautiful, crazy cyber writer.
3386309
I have to agree. This was a pretty poor chapter. Everyone knew from the start Gla dos was going to win. The fact she did it the exact same way she did it every other time was just downright annoying. Also Gla dos has WAY too much power and resources for her comparative situation here. Honestly I don't know if I want to continue the story at this point.
3386309
3386794
Then, honestly, this is not the story for you, because GLaDOS will keep "diverging," although I see it as "developing." And the plot is nowhere near resolved. So, you should take solace in Pen Stroke not claiming this to be an official sequel and forget it entirely. I regret that my story cannot appeal to you, but I won't lie to you and say it can. So, if you are seeking closure, the ending is not coming soon, so you should count your losses now.
I didn't expect anyone to think that Celestia would win, even after she thought she did, but she didn't entirely want to win, either. Celestia made a very stupid mistake, but her judgement was clouded at the time, since she was thinking only of her own grief and of Twilight.
And I don't know who spam disliked all of my comments, but doing so on the merit that I wrote it rather than for what was written is not very nice. Would you rather I not comment at all and leave these criticisms unanswered, or are you looking for an apology for taking up your time? So, while I am sorry that my story could not appeal to you, I will not apologize for something that I have dedicated myself to and worked very hard on.
If you don't like it, just go...
3387143
You said that really well.
3381648>>3382291
Yep. The story is over, and now there is no chance for Fluttershy because only GLaDOS can fix her.
Nice job breaking it hero/Celestia/critic.
To me the "Got Your Nose" moment was pretty believable. The original story already had Celestia helpless when her magic was suppressed.
Also I imagine grabbing a unicorn's, or in this case alicorn, horn is like grabbing someone by the nose, ears and unmentionables all at the same time. Go ahead and let someone grab your nose and don't try to pull them off. They can lead you anywhere they pull it. Of course a horn has a better grip and it's not like she has any means to remove the hand.
Think of it this way though. It could have been a lot worse if he really wanted to go for realism here as is being asked of and criticized. A no-nonsense villain would have been a lot faster. Here I'll write the scene in bare bones fashion, and no dialogue.
------
Celestia arrives to see Twilight strapped and gagged.
Celestia calls out to GLaDOS, but there is no response.
Ceslstia thinks it's a trap.
Insert trying to find GLaDOS. There is no sign of her. She notices the machine, and investigates it, but this is fruitless.
Eventually Celestia realizes she might as well come what she came for.
Celestia tries to free Twilight.
Celestia's horn is grabbed by hand, and magic suppressed. She is helpless and defeated.
GLaDOS finally starts gloating over the speakers and eventually appears in the room.
End Chapter
-----
Reality is sometimes nice, but also boring and doesn't have enough drama. I hope you like the chapter so grounded it's in the earths core. Then again doing this in your own story isn't bad, but must be done right. But such a thing for this story just isn't the same flavor.
I hope you enjoyed my dissertation.
In the immortal words of Uncle from Jackie Chan Adventures, "One more thing!"
I'm not saying you can't criticize a story in order to give feedback. I simply wanted to give my two cents on the matter.
I personally liked it.
Writing a story is hard. To keep updating is even harder as I can relate, so I would like to say, "Good job," on that account.
If you don't like the story at this point there are plenty of others to go read. In fact I'll recommend a good one if by some miracle you haven't read it:
My Little Dashie
If you have and haven't listened to the video on YouTube well:
I bet you can't help from crying.
Anyway, as usual I look forward to more.
acting as kind and as pleasant as alwaSs
I’m no longer that winy, screaming, immature brat
“You have no heart,” Celestia scorned without.
worry about sucombing to her injuries
everything that I have amassed over thousands of years of experience. and study
Will killing me kill your problems.
made it hard to breath
And if her life had value, than Celestia had no more right
Although the shift in weight through off her center of mass
and she was able to calculate the trajectory of the bolt, which allowed her to find her of enemy
I hope is was worth it
1. Always.
2. Whiny.
3. Without what?
4. Succumbing.
5. You accidentaly put your full stop earlier than intended
6. Wasn't this supposed to be a question mark?
7. Breathe.
8. Then.
9. Threw.
10. Which allowed her to find the position of her enemy / Which allowed her to find her enemy.
11. It.
Why is everypony being so mean?
Everypony take a deep breath.
Better?
The best stories are made when the villain succeeds. It gives the heroes a chance to shine brighter than they would have if they had won in the first place.
I actually like what Rethkir is doing with GLaDOS's character. Her separation from the Aperture Science Chassis (which I think is what caused the corruption in the first place) has caused her to gain a little clarity, just as she did when she was put into the potato. This "clarity" is allowing her to develop as a person.
As for Celestia, I believe it was a reasonable error, considering she was wrought with worry over Twilight and grief over having "killed" GLaDOS.
Also, the Emancipation Grid trap was pure genius.
3387143
Honestly, I didn’t expect her to win. (Didn’t expect her to lose either; it is Celestia we’re speaking about after all; if any pony could give GLaDOS a run for her money it’d be her.) I did not, however, expect her to lose like that. A miscalculation mid‐battle can happen to even the best of us, but she is hardly the impulsive type and has had millennia to learn to control her emotions. As such, spare Celestia seeing Twilight or Luna experience prolonged torture I cannot see her being distraught enough to make such a rank amateur mistake. Perhaps immediately after the battle had it remained confined to the cavern, but she had to travel back and any adrenaline would’ve largely worn off by then.
Agreed. It is rather puerile.
Although I’ve long since become inured to series I loved going downhill, I do appreciate the sentiment.
Thank you. I’ll be on my way now.
3392756
and most certainly contrived, but I had almost forgotten that that was the entire point of it. I didn't make this clear enough in this chapter, but Celestia is being influenced in a very similar way that a certain Black Mesa theoretical physicist was being influenced, and her judgement was being influenced by an external force (you know who), to some extent. I admit, this is almost a retcon, but I think I was originally going for something along this lines and got caught up in the fight.
Thank you for your honest criticism. I think it will actually help me improve the story. I am fully aware that Celestia's mistake it downright idiotic,
Nonetheless, GLaDOS is actually a little angry that Celestia lost in such a stupid way, and she's certainly going rub it in Celestia's (as well as my) face. Either way, characters are always slaves to the plot, and Celestia is an unfortunate victim of this. But I'll at least try to explain it in the story, and at the very least, not let this plot hole get a free pass.
3391857
3391601
3390762
And thank you all for standing up for me and this chapter. I worked very hard on it, and I'm very happy to see that it has at least made some people happy. At the very least, this chapter has caused an intelligent discussion. Positive enforcement that has been intelligently thought out is also very good for me and the story.
The simple fact is, I took a risk. It payed off for some, and failed miserably for others. It's said that a writer should expect criticism, but it's not easy to take when you've poured your soul into something. But nonetheless, it has made me stronger, and I will continue writing as long as this story is still bringing happiness to someone.
3391831
Thank you, as always. You're awesome.
Mnn. I know the feeling, I have a Spyro fic series that I've been working on for years,and it's easy to go mamma bear over something that takes so much time and energy XD
the one thing that i won't forget about this is the
AAAAUUUUGGGGHHHH!!!! MY FACE IS NUMB!!!
3441415
Wait... What?
3391601
>links my little dashie saying it's good
>comments on a story and expects to be taken seriously
Serious, kid. Kill yourself.
3383688
>references Bleach and Naruto seriously
Kill yourself.
3456214 Problem?
3454033
I CANT FEEL MY FACE KJAGBCU<EMBGRZHCB J!!!!!
3456202
Well... if you insist. I'll be sure to go out with a bang.
i189.photobucket.com/albums/z239/anarchyphantom/untitled-10.png
3481356
... *notbadface*