//------------------------------// // episode 32: Battle Royale! part 2. // Story: Dragonball MLP // by ultrapoknee //------------------------------// [The Moon - Third Person POV.] Once the two ponies materialized on a hard surface, Princess Luna instantly gained some distance from her unknown enemy. Luna glares at the unicorn mare who in turn sent her a coy smile. "Somepony is rather jumpy. And here I thought you would be happy to visit your old home," Hope said. "What doth thou speaketh of now? We hath never been..." Luna slowly trailed off as she took in her surroundings. She looks up to discover the clear blue skies morph into pitch darkness littered with speckles of light. The smooth, marble floor of her bedroom was now a hard rocky texture with a pale gray color. Luna's breathing hit a fever pitch when she glances over her foe to spy her sister's star shining, not above her head, but over the planet, she calls home. But perhaps the worse of it all was the silence. The pure dead silence that somehow spoke louder to the lunar princess than anything else could. A silence she had only known during the time of her banishment. Luna's eyes to shrink to near non-existence at her current dilemma. So much so that she barely heard Hope begin to speak again. "What a sight this is? The ever stoic, calm and collected Princess Luna, frozen in stock fear of being on the moon again," Hope said with vicious glee. "...How? - To transport us this far - Tis a feat no little unicorn could accomplish! How hath thou done so!? The vacuum of space is too great for the likes of a mere unicorn." Luna demanded through a hastened breath. She was brought to another shock when Hope displayed the alicorn amulet around her neck. A red shimmer past over Hope's body; indicating that she had coated herself in a protective barrier. "I simply can't understand why you are so shaken up by being here?" Hope said in mock confusion. "The moon is your station correct? Your ultimate domain that not even Celestia has sovereignty over. I thought I was doing you a favor by bringing you here. I mean really, a moon princess that is afraid of the moon? How redundant is that?" Hope's condescending words and mockery was striking all the right chords within the moon goddess. Luna shot up to her hooves and flared her wings out as she took an aggressive stance. "CURB THY INSOLENT TOUNGE! THOU SHALL FACE OUR FURRY FOR THY TRANSGRESSIONS!!!" However, Luna's threat seemed to have little effect Hope as she idly blew on her nails. Hope did not know how close to the truth she was. Luna had a deep-rooted fear over the moon. The hundreds of years she spent confined to its cold embrace made her see the moon differently than she once did. Every time the princess of the night raised and lowered it, Luna could feel that void calling out. Subtly reminding her that should she fall from grace again, that void would no longer be vacant. "You want to know the ultimate irony in all this. The moon was once your prison..." Hope said as she took an aggressive stance and her horn glowed brightly with power. The red magical aura almost eclipsed the light coming from the sun. "Now, it will be your tomb!" Without warning, Hope fires a beam spell at Luna who quickly summons a shield around herself. However, the beam was stronger than Luna had anticipated as it pushed her along the moon's surface. The beam tore a pathway on against the ground until Luna's shield slammed against a rock formation. Luna recovered and hovered above the moon's surface as she surveyed the amethyst unicorn with caution. Hope idly waves a hand to Luna in a bring it gesture. "Thou would hardly pose any semblance of a threat without thine amulet!" Luna spat out. "Is that concern I hear?" Hope shot back as she summons a whip to construct into one hand and a cutlass in the other. She then flung her cutlass to send a wave of magic at the lunar princess. Luna dodges the attack and forms a pair of cutlass swords of her own. She dives bomb at Hope while their sword constructs clashed. Luna manages to slide Hope a few feet before coming to a halt. Their arms trembled with exertion as Luna spoke. "Thou art a fool. Aligning thyself with the likes of Chrysalis and Sombra shall only lead thee to unimaginable suffering. Be it by their hands. Or ours!!" She stated as she broke the stalemate. Luna went for a spartan kick only for Hope to quickly teleport from harm and reappear beside Luna. She wraps the whip construct around Luna's waist and with a hard jerk, pulls the moon goddess towards her. Hope spun in place and bashes the back of her opponents head with the hilt of her blade. "I have suffered plenty at the hands of you and others like you already!!!" Luna got back to her hooves and fires a beam spell in response. Hope cuts right through it, but Luna charges forward with her sword primed. Hope teleports to evade as Luna creates a crater from the impact. "Thou art confuses little foal. We hath just met this day!" "Wrong! We had met before ages ago before the crystal empire ever vanished from this plane!" Luna furrows a brow at this as Hope went on. "Typical! You royal always seem to forget what isn't worth your time!" Hope responded as charges a beam spell. The beam, however, shifts from a purple hue to crimson red. "Thou knows nothing of us, whelp!" Luna own beam resonates brightly. Both ponies fired their respective attacks and immediately cancel each other out while forcing up a cloud of moon dust. Luna braces herself as the dust settles and is bare witness to an unusual sight. Hope had three orbs of magic orbiting her while she was crouched down on the moon's surface. "What doth thou believe thy'rt scheming?" Hope merely smiles as several moon rocks came together and took form. "I'm just inviting some friends to join us..." The moon rocks finished assembling into bipedal beings. There were 7 in total, and they stood 8 feet tall. Both their eyes and the center of their chest glowed a bright red as they await Hope's command. "How do you like my moon golems?" Luna cursed under her breath as the ensuing battle is sure to be a difficult one. Celestia had informed her that the wearer of the alicorn amulet would gradually become stronger as well as unstable the longer it's worn. "We must remove that bothersome trinket!" Ignoring the golems, Luna decides to tackle the problem at its source. Whizzing past the stone puppets proved an easy task as their bulky frames made their movements slow and chunky. Hope's eyes shot open as Luna stood in front of her. She reached out and grabbed the amulet, attempting to pry it off, sadly, Luna forgot a crucial detail of the alicorn amulet. Only the wearer can remove it of their violation. *ZAAAP* "AAARGH!!!" Luna shrieks out in pain as the amulet releases torrents of electricity into her being. Hope blast the lunar princess into the waiting hands of her moon golem. The golem tightens its grip on Luna, who grunts out in pain. "Tsk, tsk, tsk, you didn't think it would be that easy, did you?" Hope reprimanded. The golem then proceeds to toss Luna high above while she still One of the orbs circling her suddenly shot forward and blasted the airborne princess. Luna started to fall to the straight into the maw of one of the golem. Fortunately, she recovered enough to angle her body to avoid being crushed by its jaws. She used her sword construct to slice the stone puppet in two and watch as it crumbles into a pile of rubble. However, to Luna's horror, the moon golem resembles into two smaller golems. Luna glared at Hope who smiles in return as the amulet shines briefly. "Coward! Thine minions shall not protect you forever!" "I'm surprised the great Nightmare Moon is dragging her hooves against a pile of moon rocks. Perhaps you're not as powerful as we have been lead to believe!" Luna's face morphed into a scowl, but Hope sent one to her as well. "There are many things you princesses omit to everypony. You claim to be shining examples of peace and harmony yet look how easily you turned to the dark forces. You speak as if you want to project all your subjects, yet you quickly abandon them at a moments notice. Do you even have the slightest idea how many of your subjects would've died under the eternal night?" Luna responded by firing a blast of magic at the unicorn. But a golem stepped into the blast pathway and took the blow. Moments later, two smaller golems took its place. "We care not for thy pitiful attempts to rouse us!" Luna said, although her scowl remained. "Thou hath claimed we hat met before. However, despite thou's assertions, we can recall all our interactions with our subjects. Thou does not strike a chord in us," Hope merely scoffs at this before she looks down solemnly at her hand. "There was once a pony native to the Crystal Empire; A filly that excelled in the use of crystal magic like no other. She was so talented, so full of potential that Princess Amore had called the royal sister's of Equestria to take her under their tutelage so that she might one day live up to that potential..." Luna's eyes widened as the memory started to come back to her. "Radiant Hope? This state is what became of thee when thou left us that day...? Pity. Thou hath squandered thine talents by aligning thyself with tyrants!" Hope solemn expression was quickly replaced with rage while the amulet flared to life. "...What do you know about him..." Her eyes glowed a bright red as she glared at the moon princess with contempt. "WHAT DID ANY OF YOU KNOW ABOUT SOMBRA!?" The space around hope became to distort, and several red orbs of magic appeared above them. On the ground, the golem became restless and more formed into existence. The number of spheres and golems grew exponentially. Luna took a small step back at the vast amount of hazards bearing down upon her. Hope raised her hand high to signal her forces. There was a brief pause as Luna and Hope locked eyes again. Then, with a shift motion, Hope brought her hand down and launched everything she had at the Lunar goddess. Luna gains attitude to avoid the now horde of moon golems charging for her. She focused her efforts in disposing of the numerous and deadly orbs seeking to harm. She launches a combination of sword slashes and offensive spells to thin out the hazards. But Hope was through with playing around. She orders her golems to attack, and they followed by shooting rock projectiles towards Luna. The moon princess was barely fending off the onslaught from the orbs when a moon rock grazes her shoulder. She hisses in pain as more stones headed her way. Luna bobbed and weaved through the relentless assault while sustaining minor damage. Sweat began to form on her features as the pressure she was under was growing by the second. Out of reflex, Luna fires a beam spell down at the moon golems and manages to destroy several of them at once. Only for even more to appear in their place. Just when things couldn't become any worse, Luna soon found her arms and legs bound. She struggles for a moment as she realized she had momentarily forgotten about Hope. A costly mistake. "I only partook under your tutelage to help my friend, who was constantly becoming sick back at the Empire. Becoming a princess meant nothing to me if Sombra wasn't there with me!" "Thy loyalty to Sombra is misplaced! He would later slay Princess Amore due to his dabbling in the dark- *Grunt* -magic. Surely, thou hath seen this...!" Hope pauses for a moment as Luna had a solid point. Hope had witness Sombra's aggressiveness. He had even admitted that the properties of dark magic could alter one's perspective. Hope shook her head to dispell the doubt creeping in. "But instead of helping him, you and your allies seek to seal him away again. I knew him all my life. He was my only friend. I will do what you royals failed to do. I will be the one to pull him from the darkness!" "How can thee when thou art losing thyself to it...!" Hope said nothing in response but launched all the remaining orbs at the moon goddess. When the barrage subsided, scorch marks covered Luna from head to toe. Hope then jerks her whip and slams Luna toward the ground. She impacted harshly against the moon's surface as the moon golems descended upon her. Hope watched on as her puppets launched blow after blow on the weaken princess. Sounds of meaty thwacks and thuds filled the area. "Enough! Bring her here!" Hope commanded. The moon golems grabbed Luna by the arms and dragged her up to Hope. The lunar princess was worse for wear as several bruises, scrapes, and cuts covered her form. She barely had enough consensus to aim her half-lidded glare at her adversary. Hope huffs at the sight of the beaten night princess and conjures a board sword construct. They locked eyes once more before Hope thrust the blade into Luna's sternum. Luna gasps out breathlessly as the edge went deeper. Her vision went black, and a small exhale of breath escaped her muzzle. Hope saw Luna go limb and the moon golem releases her. She fell to the surface like a ragdoll while Hope stares blankly at the body. "Dig a hole..." She orders as the golem created a grave 6ft deep. Hope then levitated Luna's body and gently places her inside it. The moon golem then proceeds to cover the hole up. "As promised, your prison is now your tomb... I suppose I should say a few words on your behave. Everypony deserves a eulogy after all. It's funny; I liked you better than the other princesses. You never hid behind some smile or masked your intentions. You were strict but fair in my studies. I can easily say that you were the most relatable of any of the royals..." She pauses for a moment before a frown appears on her face. "But that's where my admiration ends. If it wasn't for you and your sister forcing Sombra's hand in cursing the Crystal Empire, then I could've made him see reason. You believe that you were so justified in striking him down. But you did not solve anything. You merely move the problem so it wouldn't be an eyesore. But the more you run away from your problems, the harder they will chase after you. Think about that as you sleep here forever!" Hope said stoically. It was over. Princess Luna lays in defeat, and hopefully, Princess Celestia has as well. All of the planning and preparation has led to this moment. The sisters lay conquered, the elements captured at the empire, and perhaps their most significant threat, Son Goku, has been sealed in the same plane the Umbrum once resided. With all these obstacles removed, Hope let out a brief sigh of relief. Silently, Hope began to reminisce back to her foal hood. [Crystal Empire - 1015 years ago.] "Stupid advanced studies... I wanna go out and play..." A younger Hope whined. She was currently sitting in the library after being dropped off by her parents. *Shush* Hope jolted up and bit her lip at the noise. She turns to find the local librarian shooting her a disapproving stare. Hope smiles sheepishly and sent her an apologetic look back. She quickly turns back to her book on Starswirls thaumomatic theory. Hope sighed and pouted as she squishes her cheeks on the pages and lazily read the lines. "Psst!" Hope's ears twitch, but she continued to read. "PSST!!" Hope's ears twitched again at the louder sound, but she still disregarded it. "PSST!!! RAI OVER HERE!!! Finally growing irritated, Hope responded. "WHAT!!!" This earned another reprimand from the librarian who threatened to have her removed should she have another outburst. "Wow, She's a big meanie..." A new voice said. "Yeah, I- wait..." Hope realizes someone just spoke to her and she quickly whipped her head around to find a young charcoal gray colt smiling and waving at her. "SOMBRA-- UMPH!!" Sombra quickly covers her mouth. "Shush. You want Orderly Conduct to kick us out!" He whisper-yelled. Hope nodded in understanding, and Sombra lets go of her muzzle. "What are you doing here?" She said in a whisper. "I came to see you. Did you hear?" "Hear what?" "About the Crystal fair?" "Really?! When is it?" "Just two weeks away and..." Sombra paused as he reaches into his pocket and pulls out two tickets. "...I got us these!" Hope stares awestruck at the two purple cards. "H-how...?" "Eh, you should know nothing is impossible for me--" Sombra was saying before he went into a coughing fit. Hope quickly got to his side and patted his back. "Are you ok? You've been coughing a lot..." "I'm fine. Anyway, let's get out of here and go to the park. Or maybe we can look into the Crystal Heart," "I can't I'm studying," "Not anymore..." Hope was about to ask what he meant by that when he pulled out a whistle and blew on it. He quickly tossed it into Hope's hands as the librarian marched up to them. Hope stood there, shocked at what her friend just did. The next thing she knew was that she and Sombra were sitting on their haunches in front of the main entrance. Hope slowly turns to Sombra with a blank expression while Sombra wore a face of pure satisfaction. They both sat there silently until Hope's horn flared up. "You big jerk...!" She said as Sombra got up and plucked her horn and began to run away. "Aaargh!!!" She let out a feral scream as she gave chase all the while with Sombra giggle like a mad pony. [Present Day.] Hope chuckles at the memory before staring intently at Luna's grave. "Sombra is safe, and the Umbrum are free. I can work to rid him of his darkness, and we can finally--" Hope pauses when a small glint caught her attention out of her peripheral vision. She turns to its source, assuming that it was just the glare from the sun, and found a shining light emanating from the planet. Judging from the landmass, Hope deduced that the fire was coming from Equestria. What's more, is that she could swear she could feel Celestia's magic resonating strongly from that point. "...But that's impossible...! Chrysalis should have defeated her just as she did before-- What is happening?!" "Would you like for me to inform you?" For a brief moment in time, Hope's heart stopped beating. She instantly whips around to Luna's grave only to discover that it was undisturbed. Hope dug up the grave again only to find it empty. Hope was panting heavily. That had to have been Princess Luna; there was no mistaking it, but she pierced her heart. She had to be dead. "It's time to put this foolish battle to an end!" "Golems! Spread out and find her!" Hope commanded. Her moon golems began shifting about as each looked around the moon surface. Suddenly, the ground beneath their feet started to quake. The shaking lasted for a full minute until something - or more accurately, someone - erupted out of the earth. Hope watched as the entity hovered above her before flaring her black raven wings out. Her far matched the dark expanse of space and battle armor donned her body. Her eyes remained closed as Hope stares at her dumbfoundedly. (Just in case you forgot Luna's armor.) "N-Nightmare Moon...! Ah-Ah hahaha hahaha" Hope broke out in full laughter as 'Nightmare moon waited patiently. "S-so, Luna, what happened? Are you so weak that you struck a deal with the nightmare to fight your battles for you? Or perhaps you are dead, and Nightmare Moon found a window of opportunity to free herself? In either case, you should thank me, Mistress of the Night," "As I said before, foal..." Nightmare Moon began as she slowly opens her eyes. Hope had expected to be staring into the large reptilian eyes that froze the nightmare enemies on sight. But much to Hope's confusion, Luna's original teal eye's remained the same. "... You know nothing about me! I am still Princess Luna, and you will regard me as such!" She said sternly as she slowly descended. The moon golems are spreading out to form a circle around the two. "B-but how?! You're the mare in the moon! Y-you're just trying to deceive me!" "There is no need for deception at this junctor, but since you appear confused, I must confess something. This information will stay between the two of us, of course. You see, all those moons ago, when I battled my sister for supremacy, everypony believed I came under possession that a foul ethereal force-fed off my jealous and hatred and consumed me. Or that the nightmare was some mentally fabricated persona that took over. A clever lie, for I am honest. My jealousy and hatred were real back then, but they are mere emotions. They cannot warp somepony on their own. I am sure you heard that when I was 'cleansed' by the elements, I shrank in stature correct?" Hope slowly nodded. "Yes...! It was because the nightmare had taken too much magic from you!" "No, that was me in my truest form. Alicorns mature differently than others. In truth, both my sister and I are still considered young adults. We can alter our bodies any way we see fit with our vast reservoir of magic. I used mine to accel my growth to a form that could combat my older and regrettably stronger older sibling. However, I was not counting my sister wielding the elements of harmony and banish me to the moon, which brings me to another revelation, my power. I was still within my matured state during my banishment. And during these centuries, all of my magical prowess flared out and filled up within the moon like an enormous container." "A-are you saying that the moon holds your magic?" Hope hesitantly asked while Luna nodded. "But what about the eternal night?" "That was something of a mistranslation. While I did desire our subjects to appreciate my night's sky, I knew the importance of the day. I also knew my sister drew power from the sun, so I blocked off her connection with the moon. I would have bested her in combat and become Equestria's only ruler. After which, I would have moved the moon back to its original orbit," "B-but the written history? All the textbooks, myths, and legends say differently. Is everything we know a lie?!" Luna shook her head. "It is a pretty common concept: "The victor writes history," Celestia, in her grief, must have fabricated the tale of Nightmare Moon throughout the ages. I assume she couldn't bear the thought of her foolish little sister betraying her. So she lied as a coping mechanism..." Luna pauses as she looks away in what Hope could describe as shame. "I took the name of Nightmare Moon so that if Celestia did defeat me, then I could use that as a scapegoat. But I believe she knew to a certain extent hence the fabrication as mentioned earlier. I was and forever will be Princess Luna," "And your speech patterns?" Luna chuckles at that question. "It is not my fault ponies of this generation don't appreciate fine linguistics!" She said as she stuck her nose in the air. Hope shook her head vehemently in denial as her anger begins to rise. "You're nothing but a liar. You and your sister had always been liars. Pulling the wool over everyponies eyes! I swear I will expose everything!!!" "Perhaps we are what you say, and I will eventually have to come clean with my deception..." Luna trailed off as she stuck out her left arm. She held an open palm out as the space between her finger shimmered with distortion. "But the truth will be uttered by me, not you. For now, you will have to settle for something else!" She said as the distortion grew stronger. Hope narrows her eyes and flares her aura violently. "What?!!!" The space around Luna's hand produced a foreign object. She grabs hold of it and twirls it in her palm before she took a battle stance. Hope regarded the weapon with great caution. Luna was wielding a scythe, but it was far from ordinary. Moonrock was the bases of the staff's composition, and the blade itself resembles the night sky while holding the shape of a crescent moon at the end of it. "My repentance!" With nothing left to say, Luna rears up her scythe back high above her head. She spun in place and released a mighty shockwave that obliterated the moon golems in one shot. Hope barely had time to throw a shield up and even then she was still knocked off balance and thrown back. She manages to recover only to discover that she was several meters away from her original position. Luna stood at the epicenter of her attack and waited for Hope to retaliate. Hope bared her teeth and tried to form her golems again. The moon rocks shifted and cluttered together only to fall apart harmlessly. Hope's right eye twitched as she spoke. "W-what?!! Why can't I form my golem?!?!" "You said to yourself: The moon is my domain. Only I hold sovereignty here. Furthermore, ever piece of matter that's here is bathed in my magic. The moon is an extension of my will," "Fine! I'll take great pleasure in killing you myself!" Hope then closes the distance via teleportation and reform her weapon constructs. She wraps her whip around luna's forearm in an attempt to pull her over. "Get over here!" She grunted while Luna arches a brow. "Come here!" Hope continues to struggle in vain to pull the lunar alicorn towards her as Luna watches. After a few more moments, Luna grabs the magical whip and, with a firm tug, pulls Hope towards her. She readied her scythe for an attack, but Hope teleports above her. She brought her cutlass down on Luna's head, which in turn blocks the blow with her blade. "You are out of your depth my little pony!" "SHUT UP!" Hope spat back, but to her shock, her sword construct froze over and shattered like glass. 'She can freeze my magical constructs?!?' She thought in disbelief. "There is another confession I must make. I once used repentance against the marauding Minotaurs of the north before the yaks claimed the lands. The result caused a climate event that created the Frozen North. My scythe was forged here on the moon, and space is the coldest environment you can imagine. You do not want to feel it's icy bite!" Luna then leaped up and brought her scythe down upon her opponent. Hope reacts by summoning a shield. However, it instantly froze over, trapping her inside. Luna walks up to the frozen sphere and backhands it. It broke into pieces, but Hope was nowhere in sight. "I can tell that your skills have only improved from the last time we met," Luna said as Hope appeared behind her. Even with the shielding spell in effect, Hope still clung her body to stop the shivering. "I suggest you surrender now. Preventing your demise is the most desirable outcome," Hope's breathing became labored from the cold. She took deep shuddering breaths before she spoke. "I-I e-end t-this r-right NOW!" At this proclamation, Hope thrusts both her arms out and gathered magic in her palms. The alicorn amulet radiated with immense power as she summoned up as much magic as the alicorn could give. The spheres of magic in each of her hands tripled in size as she prepared to fire her beam spell. Hope proceeds to thrust her palms forward with a roar. "DIE!!!" Luna looked at the massive beam of death with curiosity before she levitated her scythe in front of her. The rapidly spun in place as she leveled her hands at the center. Luna then spoke in a soft and cooling voice. "Ice Age!" A pure white beam shot forth and instantaneously negated Hope's attack. Hope's eyes widened in horror as her entire being fell under a cold embrace. Luna canceled her attack and surveyed the aftermath. The path before her looks as though a snowstorm struck. A figure stood frozen solid as Luna slowly approached it. If the being in front of Luna hadn't just been a pony, then she would have assumed that this was a skillfully crafted ice sculpture. Luna couldn't help but feel a tinge of guilt at the look of horror on Hope's face. As well as the highly defined tears streaking down her muzzle, Luna carefully places her hand around Hope's neck and over the alicorn amulet. She applied a little pressure and destroyed the artifact once and for all. Hope collapsed to the moon's surface after Luna frees her and check her pulse. She let out a sigh of relief when she found that she was still among the living. "Good! You will live this day, Radiant Hope. I ask that you forgive me for this. Although I do not expect you too..." Luna solemnly said as she returns to her original form. She looks out ahead toward Planet Equis; marveling at the light coming from her sister's power. Despite whatever history she still carries toward the moon, Luna had to admit that the view from her position was simply breathtaking. The two ponies stayed there for several minutes until Luna felt Celestia's power return to normal levels. "It would seem that my sister has the situation under control. Let us return," With that said, Luna lifted Hope in her aura and teleported back to Canterlot. [Celestia's bed chamber's.] A loud pop alerted Celestia that someone had just entered the room. She turns around to discover her sister carrying an unconscious pony before gently setting her down. Relief washed over the solar alicorn now that her sister was unharmed. The sun goddess couldn't help but feel a certain familiarity coming from the mare on the floor. She pushed those feelings aside for now as Luna went to address her. "Hello, sister, I am glad you are unharmed," Luna said. Celestia furrows her brow at her little sister. "Luna, you're speaking...normally?" Celestia said carefully. Luna smiles for a bit before turning to the pony mumbling in her sleep. "Let's just say that I have been through some changes..."