The Legend of the God-Hunter

by BobThePlaneswalker

The Serpent of Sin

Celestia flew south, well beyond the storm, past forests and deserts, over a coastline and out into the deep blue ocean. For most of the flight she and Rei said nothing to each other. They just flew. When the sun sat upon the horizon and painted the skies orange, Rei's patience finally gave. He sped up to fly along her side. “Do you intend to wear me out? You barely have any sun left.”

Celestia shook her head. “No.” She noted a small island just over the horizon and pointed to it. “Let us try there.”

They veered off and descended. The island was small, most likely the tip of an underwater mountain gasping for air. Celestia did a quick scan to ensure that there was no life scurrying about the surface. When she was satisfied she glided down and landed on top of it with the sun at her back. She had managed quite a journey before Rei became impatient. She could only hope that it was enough.

Rei set down across from her and shielded his eyes. “Shall we begin?”

Celestia shook her head. “There is one more step I must complete.”

“You can't be serious,” Rei growled.

“It will be worth it,” Celestia said.

Rei grumbled. “A lot of faith I've put in you today Kilia...”

“You're almost there. Do not let your eagerness spoil the rewards of so much patience.”

Rei stretched his wings and closed his eyes to meditate. “This is the last time I'll wait.”

Celestia grinned. No matter, this is all I need. She closed her eyes, let her snout drift towards the sky, and reached out to her sun with her thoughts. Its answer carried a deep sadness. It had been watching her; it knew her wish, and in fear, it refused to grant it.

I know dear friend, Celestia thought. Please, do not despair. There is no other way...

It didn't reply.

Has our time together not been wonderful? Celestia asked. With my sacrifice, this wonderful new world will receive one more chance at salvation. And you know, it needs as many as it can get. There is no price too great. I know you have enjoyed our companionship, but it is their time now.

A silence fell over her mind. Eventually, a stream bearing the great force of the sun's magic arrived and requested entry into Celestia's magical faculties. Thank you.

Celestia filled her lungs with air and braced herself. Endurance time Celestia. You can do this.

She connected with a stream and instantly her entire body felt as ones skin does when she touches a scolding hot object without realizing it. Her mane and tail erupted into billowing flames and her body sizzled with energy. She gritted her teeth as she struggled to get control of it all. After a minute or two she managed it down to sustainable levels. She opened her eyes and observed her reflection in a small puddle of water before her.

Her eyes were massed in pure white light. Her flames reflected off of her armor causing it to glisten and shimmer. The puddle boiled away and she turned her glare back to Rei. “It is done.”

Streaks of blue lightning were dancing from his body, snapping off of the rock, and the glow of eager energy hovered about him. He snapped his eyes open and met hers. A wide grin spread across his face. “Well, look at that. I always assumed you would attempt mastery at channeling your sun's magic. I did well to wait, you did not lie about that. This, —” he motioned a hoof across her “— was well worth it.”

Celestia chuckled, allowing only a small break in her determined expression. “On the count of three.”

Rei nodded. “Very well.”

Celestia raised to her full stature. “One, —” they spread their wings “— two, —” they filled their horns with energy “— three!”

Rei bolted straight for Celestia. She slammed her hooves to the ground and allowed the energy from the sun to radiate from her body in full force. Rei came to a roaring halt just inches from her as the heat boiled his flesh.

He bolted away from her and re-materialized in the air. Celestia didn't follow. She just kept her eye on him and focused her senses. He unleashed a barrage of lightning strikes. Celestia utilized pinpoint teleports to evade and returned a single fireball.

It slammed into his chest and sent him spinning back. He snapped his wings to regain control and growled as he patted the embers from his chest. “I wonder, how long will it be before this overflow of magic has rent your body apart?”

Celestia furrowed her brow and teleported to him, re-materializing in a burst of flames which sent him tumbling towards the ocean. She sent a pillar of fire after him. In a flash of blue energy he sped away, managing to stay just far enough ahead of the pillar to avoid injury.

Celestia relented the pillar and tracked his movements as she formed six balls of fire. She waited for him to veer in for an attack and countered with a pillar of fire. As she expected he dived to evade. She continued chasing him with the pillar and made a quick estimation of his trajectory. She sent the fireballs off in the opposite direction on a collision course.

She kept a heavy focus on them to maintain her control. He rolled over the first two, snapped a wing across to deflect the third, and used his magic to manipulate the fourth and fifth to slam into each other.

By this point, Celestia's pillar was drawing dangerously close to him. He attempted to accelerate forward and dodge both the pillar and the fireball at once but Celestia had enough control over the remaining fireball to keep it on target.

It erupted upon him and left him as a smoldering heap which was quickly consumed by the pillar. She kept him in the flames until he splashed into the ocean.

She watched the remnants of his splash, anticipating that he would re-emerge, but his splash faded with nothing to take its place. She hovered closer to the water and scanned it with her magic.

Nothing... But he couldn't be dead...

Could he?

She ascended higher into the air and lowered the flow of magic to try and sustain her body. She engaged some monitoring spells, watched, and waited.

And waited.

And waited.

Agitation pulled her muscles taught. Did he intend simply to wait out her demise at the hands of her own magic? Was he such a coward?

Suddenly she was pulled from her thoughts by a scream from one of her monitoring spells. A mass of energy was barreling up from the depths straight towards her! She escalated the flow of magic.

From the ocean emerged a massive serpent of water. Celestia teleported away just in time to avoid being consumed by its maw.

She spun around and gawked. The serpent was one hundred feet tall, its head was large enough to swallow a ship, and the base of its body was thicker than most of the buildings in Canterlot. It would seem that Rei had taken the time to master more than just his mother's domain.

The serpent's snout lumbered down to face her and a wicked grin consumed its face.

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Luna awoke with a start and her head shot up from the cold stone floor. The smell of blood was heavy about her. She glanced around. Nothing but a barren cavern with a little moss and moisture here and there. She glanced down to find herself unempowered and sprawled out in a pool of light. She looked up and shielded their eyes against the glare coming through a large hole in the roof of the cavern. Far above the cavern, peering through a hole in the cloud cover was the faint body of her moon.

It was calling out to her. She quieted her rushing mind to focus on its voice. She closed her eyes and gave it her thoughts.

She saw Celestia, standing alone in the cavern holding Luna's own body in her hooves. Celestia looked up. She said no words but her eyes spoke volumes. She laid Luna's body down, motioned to the shadow behind her from which emerged Rei, and launched off through the hole with Rei close behind.

Luna awoke to the faint howl of winds from above and the occasional droplets of water. “Sister...”

Her brow furrowed and she leapt to her feet, ignoring her aching body. She launched out of the cavern. She flew upwards through the hole in the cloud cover and up until the storm was as a flickering floor below her and the sky was painted orange by the sun whom rested upon the horizon to the West.

She used her horn as an antenna, scrutinizing the magical disturbances in the air. It didn't take her long to find the results of her sisters fight. They were faint, probably dissipated by miles of travel, but they were noticeable. Luna trembled. Depending on how far away they were the signatures could be minutes old. The fight could already be over...

Luna gazed out towards the source and her breaths faltered.

No. You would have done the same. The end goal Luna. Equestria's salvation. You have to get those elements.

She closed her eyes and tuned out the signatures to scan for Ambition's. The magical noise quieted as all other signatures were blocked out and soon, absolute silence. Not a single peep from Ambition.

Luna growled. She opened her eyes and gazed across the storm clouds. The moon prodded her mind. She peered up at it. Its view flashed before her. From its perspective, the storm's tail could be seen reaching far to the Northeast. Maybe... Luna thought. It's definitely worth a look.

She snapped her wings and launched to the Northeast.

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Celestia hardened her expression to meet the serpent's gaze. She thrust her wings to elevate herself away from the water. The serpent followed her upward, circling her as she flew. She pulled forth a pillar of fire and launched it directly at the serpent but it was as a pin glancing off of its face.

She released the pillar and pulled further away as she boggled her options.

The serpent's mouth snapped open and a torrent of water as thick as a road erupted from its throat. Celestia warped out of range.

The serpent caught her out of its peripheral and swung its head towards her. She thrust her wings and dived to stay out of its blast radius. Its tail emerged from the water and swung at her.

She teleported away, emerging directly behind the beast. It swung its head over backwards and sent a torrent of water slicing down. She lunged off to the side barely avoiding it. She turned upward and thrust her wings to climb as the serpent crashed into the water causing a titanic splash.

The serpent erupted again firing its torrent at her. She teleported, this time putting some additional distance between her and the serpent. Her breaths were becoming labored and her horn was starting to sting.

The serpent held its position and stared towards her. Its eyes glowed and it thrust its head to unleash a baritone roar. The water on either side of it formed into four whirlpools. Each one rose into the air to create a waterspout, two on each of its sides. The serpent whipped its head sending the waterspouts barreling towards Celestia and dived under the water.

Celestia circled to the side of the spouts trajectory to get ahead of them. They spread out, a pair looming up on each flank.

The serpent emerged from the water directly ahead of her and lunged with its jaws. She veered to the side just in time to avoid them but she found herself deep in the wind pattern of one of the spouts. She fought furiously to stay in control but hard as she fought she was unable to avoid being pulled into a midair tumble.

The serpent pulled the spout towards itself. Celestia reined in her focus and teleported out of range just as it fired its torrent at the spout.

It swung its tail across the ocean, sending a tidal wave after her. Celestia warped high into the air to avoid the wave but the spouts were now funneling together to form a cloud. The serpent fired his torrent directly into the cloud. Lightning funneled through its body and along the spout, turning the cloud into a storm. The storm grumbled and fired bolts at Celestia, each one closer and more dangerous than the last.

Celestia dove below it to get out of range and once again found herself harassed by the spouts. She weaved, dived, ascended, circled, and spun but every moment the threats grew in number making it more difficult to evade.

She managed to just catch the serpent diving under the water.

She warped to avoid being sucked into one of the spouts and her frustration peaked. This had to stop; she was quickly losing control. She called out to her sun and beckoned for the energy deep within its core.

With great distress, the sun answered her call and lit her body up with energy. She ascended high into the air, shielded herself from the storm, and gathered the surge of energy into a superheated ball of plasma. As she had anticipated, the serpent lunged at her from the depths and opened its maw to swallow her. She aimed directly down its throat and unleashed the ball of plasma.

She watched it travel down the serpent's body until it reached the center where she commanded it to erupt. The explosion bathed the ocean in light, sent steam billowing into the air, and carved a deep crater in the water. Celestia dived into the scolding hot cloud to find Rei. He was floating upside down in the steam rendered breathless.

She charged to capitalize on her advantage, turning herself into a ball of fire. Rei recognized her charge and whipped himself out of his stun. He condensed the steam into a shield and filled the cloud with the web of blue lightning that battered Celestia's body.

Still Celestia pressed forward. As their bodies grew closer their energies crashed violently against one another. Closer they got and louder their energies roared until their clash erupted in a blinding explosion that sent them both hurtling through the air in a daze.

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Luna bolted for the tail of the storm. She could sense the faint signature of Ambition growing a little stronger with each flap of her wings.

The clouds broke from under her and she saw a forest below. Tucked deep within it there was a temple. Luna followed the path of Ambition's signature straight to its walls. She pulled her wings tight against her body and dived.

She snapped them open and leveled off before the entrance. The temple was much larger than it had looked from the air. She stared down the dark hall, imagining all the traps that would probably be laid out.

What she wouldn't give to be in her empowered form. Even if she could get the elements out of the temple without suffering a debilitating injury, how would she get them to Canterlot in a timely manner? Her insides felt like they were being injected with a cold ooze.

Unless...

If there had been an ooze, it would have just lit on fire. If she could use the Elements of Ambition, she'd have enough power. Her mouth went dry.

She had overcome Moon hadn't she? Surely she could handle the elements. She glanced towards the murmurs of Celestia's magic and furrowed her brow. What other option did she have?

She took a deep breath and glared at the temple. No more hiding. No more being afraid. She'd spent too long doing that. She flew into the air and hovered before the temple.

“Ambition,” she called. “I ask you to search me, to see my dreams, my desires, and to make them yours. I want to make the beauty in this world known to all living things. I wish for them to see, in themselves, the wonder of creation and the magnificence of art. I want them to be able to comprehend the vehicles of expression which only the soul can pilot. With your help Ambition, I believe that this can be so.”

A deep hum emanated from the temple. Luna took a deep breath and braced herself. The forest floor rattled and the hum grew to a roar. The temple crumbled and cracked. The cracks glowed with a multihued light.

Luna squeezed her eyes shut and braced herself. You can do this Luna.

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Celestia thrust her wings to pull herself out of her tumble. She hovered just above the water, her breath fast and heavy. She rested, watching closely as the steam dissipated. Eventually, it revealed Rei hovering above the water opposite her, his own body making a noticeable rise and fall with each breath. Celestia smiled. “You're looking a little tired Reiky...”

Rei scoffed. “So says the mare who has already missed her bedtime by, what, three hours?”

Celestia rolled her eyes. “In all seriousness, we can end this without any more fighting.”

Rei laughed. “You're not going to give that up are you? —” He shook his head. “— The answer is still no.”

Celestia sighed and ascended into the air. She pulled some magic from within the sun to fill her body. Her magical faculties screamed and her muscles trembled from exhaustion. Just a little more. Please.

Rei ascended to face her. “I presume you're ready?”

Celestia focused down her trembling and nodded. Rei snapped his wings and put some distance between them. Celestia pressed her body to hold the energy and flared her horn.

Just as they were ready to clash, a wave of energy rushed over them trailed by a deep rumble.

The energy's signature... Celestia's eyes widened. She looked to Rei. His eyes were wider than hers and his pupils were slits.

There was no denying it; that wave had come from Ambition.

“Umarak?” Rei muttured as he centered Celestia in his glare. “You crafty old coot...”

Celestia flared her horn and focused on Rei. They held their gazes on one another, both well aware of what the other intended to do. Gone was their banter and their strategies. It all came down to execution now.

Rei streaked above in a flash of blue. Celestia's instincts matched his path and she warped to collide with his magical form.

Their energies slammed into one another and the interference knocked him off of his course. Both were forced to materialize. Celestia wasted no time. She grabbed Rei before he could regain full control and the two became a tumbling ball of spines, flesh, and feathers.

Unfortunately, Celestia's body was not built like a predator's. She did not have teeth fit for tearing or spines fit for slicing. Rei did, and he used it to his advantage, working like a razor to free himself from her grasp. She did have her mage's armor, but her failing magical capabilities meant that it would not hold.

To make matters worse, the water below threatened to douse her hopes of keeping him at bay. She pulled more and more magic from the sun to maintain enough heat to keep Rei on the defensive while also holding them above the water.

Faster they flew through the air, Rei's spines and teeth flashing in the light of Celestia flames. Celestia felt one of her plates fall from her body. Immediately Rei's spines tore into the exposed flesh. He latched his teeth around another plate and shredded it off.

He lunged his jaws forward again and again. His flesh burned red and little bits of it broke away as ash but a heavy blue glow worked furiously to slow the damage.

Suddenly, Celestia's horn was consumed with a horrible stinging pain that traveled through her entire body. Putting magic through it became like stuffing a bedspread into a tiny bottle. Her fire diminished and they tumbled towards the water.

They hit like a meteor. The water rushed around her and drowned her flames. With them gone Rei was able to tear away at her armor and rip apart the integrity of her muscles. Within seconds, Celestia could no longer hold on. Rei broke free and escaped from the water in a blinding blue flash.

Celestia was left alone, silently sinking, the shimmers of her sun fading behind a cloud of red.

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Luna materialized in an explosion of magical energy. All around her the citizens of Canterlot stood with their mouths hanging open.

Her body trembled with a power beyond that she had reached even in her dreams. Her breath hung in her throat and the sounds of the world around her came as a garbled mush. Twilight and the other bearers emerged from the crowd wearing their respective elements.

Luna's eyes set on Twilight's crown, the only thing that could deny her will now.

Wait what?

Where did that come from?

Twilight's mouth frantically opened and closed as she shouted at Luna. Luna swallowed.

It wasn't her desire.

It wasn't her desire.

Was it?

Her body grew heavy with the bile of uncertainty.

Rei's laughter resounded in her mind. “Poor little Umarak. I know your pain. So long we are raised believing that the souls of our enemies glow with a different light than ours. It is a harsh realization to find that we are all the same. That we are susceptible to the same forces that created our enemies. It is not easy to lose our self pride to the knowledge that what we are is in part given to us by the graciousness of our fate and not purely by the power of our will.”

Luna's eyes fell to the ground where the grass was bending at the force of her aura.

“Now you see little one,” Rei said, “certainty in the righteousness of one's actions is a luxury that can only be granted by naievity. That we can truly know right from wrong is a fallacy upon which you and your sister have built this world. For all of us, right and wrong is but a slave of our perception. You follow your sister because you believe she is right. But even as a deity she is not omnipotent. In truth, your sister could be in pursuit of a form of tyranny where the oppressed are deluded into believing that the force of oppression is in fact that which makes them free. The real kicker? She may not even know that she is a tyrant. Although, I can tell you, deep down she fears that she is. She's always feared that. And she is your symbol of perfection... If even she may be corrupt, what does that say about you?”

Luna felt two hooves upon her cheeks. Her face was raised to find two purple eyes staring into her with terror. And with that she remembered her reasoning. She was not doing this because of some delusion of righteousness. It was much simpler than that. She was doing this because of those wonderful little creatures. She was doing it because she'd been touched by their friendship and she knew firsthand how wonderful it was.

She was doing this because it made them happy, and that made her happy.

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Twilight stared into Luna's eyes, a deep trance held in them. “Luna!” she screamed as she pointed to the blue streak which was cutting through the sky towards them. “Whatever you're planning, it needs to happen now!”

Luna blinked and followed Twilight's hoof. Her eyes doubled. “Right! Here!” She put her hooves to her chest and squeezed her eyes shut. Her body trembled and from her chest materialized the Elements of Ambition.

Twilight's mouth fell open.

“Use your elements Twilight Sparkle!” Luna shouted. “Neutralize Ambition!”

Twilight snapped her mouth shut and nodded. “Girl-”

“No need sugarcube,” AJ said as the bearers took their places.

“Let's end this,” Rainbow said.

They locked hooves with one another as they were engulfed in white auras. Ambition growled at the energy that passed between them and flared their crimson aura.

Rei streaked into range and turned for Ambition. Luna warped into his path and blocked him with a barrier. The barrier was left cracked but it managed to send Rei spinning away in the opposite direction.

The hum of Harmony grew to a roar and its rainbow magic clashed with Ambition's.

Rei erupted towards the elements again. Luna attempted to block him but he hit with enough force to crash through her weakened barrier. They collided with one another and crashed down between the bearers.

The bearers watched in horror, unable to take any of their magical resources off of Ambition.

Rei pressed a hoof against Luna's throat and battered her with a thin blue bolt of energy. Luna attempted a counterattack but she couldn't hold her spell together. Her body jerked and flashed under the assault as the light flickered in Rei's eyes.

When Luna's eyes rolled into the back of her head, Rei relented. He wrapped his aura around her, hurled her into the crowd, and set his murderous glare on Twilight.

Twilight felt a hoof press against her back, then another, and another. She glanced behind to see a crowd of ponies gathering around them, lending their hooves to the bearers. Harmony unleashed a surge which slammed into Ambition causing a shockwave that pressed Rei to the ground. The tips of his wings began to petrify.

He glared at them and flared his horn to halt the process. He slammed the ends to the ground, shattering them, and forced himself back onto his feet. He took another step towards Twilight. A white glow sparked at the end of his tail and it too began to petrify. He flared his horn and smashed it off of the ground.

“Rei,” Twilight called. “Please, let them go! You have to let harmony into your heart!”

He forced another step forward. Just two more steps separated him from her.

Tears boiled up in Twilight's lids. “The friendship we had Rei, you loved it. Maybe it wasn't this you, but it was part of you. Just let Ambition go. Give harmony a chance, please.”

He pressed another foot forward and his irises thinned until they were barely visible. A white glow sparked at the bottom of his hoof and snaked up his shin. He yanked at it to make the next step but it didn't budge. He snarled, flared his horn, and tore the healthy part of his leg from the rest. He fell to his knees just a half step away from Twilight.

Tears raced down Twilight's face. “Please Rei...”

His eyes fell upon her and his glare softened for a moment, but it was soon spoiled by a crimson twinkle. He forced himself to his feet with a roar. He drew back and lunged his maw towards her throat just as the struggle of the clashing elements exploded in a wave of white light.