//------------------------------// // Chapter 15 - "Your True Colors..." // Story: The Mare that eats The Monsters // by Skijarama //------------------------------// Horizon grunted in strain as the bladed appendages sprouting from his back were abruptly severed by a swift, horizontal strike of Celestia’s halberd. With a wince, the limbs bubbled and began to regrow. Celestia herself sidestepped to evade his counter attack, which came in the form of a lunge. He anticipated this movement, however, and pivoted mid-step to tackle Celestia with all of his body weight. Thunder boomed overhead; wild stormclouds that had gathered over the city now beginning to spill their contents. Celestia struggled with Horizon for a few moments, grinding her teeth with immense effort. She saw one of the now regenerated arms sprout its blade and lash out for her throat. Acting fast, she formed a barrier around herself and expanded it out, creating a powerful shockwave. Horizon was carried along by the dome and smashed through the side of a two story home. Dust and stone debris exploded out from the force of the impact. Celestia dropped the barrier and took a moment to catch her breath. Horizon fought with an overwhelming amount of ferocity. She had only just now gotten a moment to breath and think about her next move. Her plans were disrupted when a beam of shadowy magic shot from the hole in the building, sparks of dark blue lightning crackling around it. She teleported high into the air and looked down. The beam that struck the ground corroded the stonework and left it bubbling and smoldering as if struck by a potent acid. With a grimace, Celestia readied a spell of her own, sunlight radiating from her horn in an impressive, luminescent display. Not far away, Luna caught sight of the glow. Her eyes widened. Tia, you fool! Why did you run off on your own!? With a quick flick of her magic, breaking the neck of the fiend that was charging her, Luna took to the air and bolted for Celestia’s location. A startled gasp was torn from her lungs as she was abruptly stopped at the edge of the plaza. Recoiling back from the sudden impact, Luna’s eyes widened as she realized that there was a disguised barrier surrounding the plaza; one that Celestia had put up. “Sister! What are you doing?!” Celestia looked back at Luna regretfully before firing her beam of magic down toward the house Horizon was embedded in. The entire structure was reduced to rubble from the force of the blast. Large chunks of stone and flaming wooden support beams were sent sprawling across the plaza amidst a blinding white light. “Tia! Let me in! NOW!” Luna demanded, pounding a hoof against the barrier. Celestia had no chance to respond. Horizon shot up from the debris, horrific burns covering his body. He ploughed into Celestia’s chest, knocking her out of her stable flight and sending both of them free falling to the stone ground below. With a yelp of pain, Celestia was able to shove Horizon off of her in time to evade having her head taken off by a strike from one of his blades. It left a nasty gash along her cheek, but she could shake it off. The two landed on their hooves, pausing to catch their breath and consider their plan of attack. “SISTER!” Luna shouted, amplifying her voice several times. The stones of the building beneath her cracked from the pressure of the sound waves. “Luna.” Celestia finally addressed, turning a guilty eye to her younger sister. “This is my responsibility… Please.” “Don’t you dare, Tia! You are not fighting him alone!” “Please…” “You don’t have to claim any responsibility for what HE did! Let me in, sister! NOW!” “LUNA!” For the first time since she had returned, Luna heard Celestia use the royal canterlot voice. Her words echoed across the entire city and, even if only for a moment, all went silent. Celestia looked into Luna’s eyes. “...please.” Luna took a step back, speechless. She had never seen that look in Celestia’s eyes before. She almost looked… resigned. As if she was aware of something nopony else was and had given up on changing it. Without waiting for an answer, Celestia turned to Horizon, giving him the same expression. His eyes were all that seemed to react, shifting slightly with a brief flicker of worry. It was replaced swiftly by his stoic frown. Thunder boomed overhead. They charged each other once more. Luna could only watch in awe at the display of power they were creating. Neither was holding back, it seemed. Fire, determination and sunlight clashed violently with acid, malice and a thousand years of torment. As the two continued their struggle, the battle in Canterlot gradually began to come to a halt. Both sides coming forth to gaze into the dome and watch the two warriors duel, knowing that whoever won would claim victory for their side. Celestia’s voice erupted in a howl of pain, blood flying free as Horizon sank his teeth into her foreleg and tore a chunk of flesh away. In response, Celestia stabbed her halberd into his side with enough force to rip out his other side, brown, rotted blood bubbling free from the wound and splattering across the ground. The two stepped away from each other, gasping for breath, covered from ear to hoof in numerous injuries. Horizon grit his teeth, slicing one end off of the halberd with one of his blades before pulling the rest out with his sickly telekinesis. Luna watched with bated breath, as did every fiend and every pony. Neither could keep this up for much longer. Luna looked over her sister, sizing her condition up compared to Horizon. With horror, she realized that Celestia would give out before Horizon without help. “...Lumen.” Celestia said between pained gasps, her voice tired and weak. “Yes… Tia…?” Horizon answered, trying to stand upright and failing, the still fresh hole in his body proving slow to close itself up. Luna saw something in Celestia’s eyes, then. She closed them for a moment. When they opened once more, she seemed calm. Relaxed, at peace. As if… Oh, no… “I never got to say it, before… and for that, I am so sorry…” Celestia began, slowly limping towards Horizon, he tensed up defensively but let her approach undeterred. “Don’t you dare, sister…” Luna whispered despairingly. “What would that be…?” Horizon asked, unmoving as Celestia came into his range of attack. “...I can’t begin to imagine how you must feel, Lumen. So much anger, resentment… I wish I could have done more to save you from this.” Celestia lowered herself slightly to be more on his eye level. “You’ve done horrible things, Horizon, because of how much you were hurt… all of that pain needed an outlet… it only ever got worse as a result…” Horizon’s own eyes lost some of their intensity as he locked gazes with the solar Princess. “But I know you, Lumen… so much better than anypony else here… I know who you really are… what you truly believe…” Celestia sighed and reached a hoof out to Horizon’s shoulder. “...I can see your true colors, Horizon… please… don’t be afraid to let them show… after all…” Nopony heard what Celestia said next, as it was whispered into Horizon’s ear. A collective gasp and outcry of shock and alarm ran through the entire crowd as suddenly, Celestia kissed Horizon on the lips. He seemed stunned at first, eyes widening. Then he stabbed her. The despairing screams of ponies and the victorious, maniacal howls of the fiends sounded in unison as all six of Horizon’s blades stabbed into Celestia’s spine and sides, blood splattering everywhere. Instantly, Celestia went limp, falling forward and crumpling at Horizon’s hooves. “SISTER!!!” Luna screamed, her magic coming to life and shredding what remained of Celestia’s slowly fading barrier. Horizon didn’t seem to care as the enraged lunar princess blasted him away from Celestia with an impossibly strong blast of blunt-force magic. He was sent flying backwards, crashing through several buildings and vanishing into the streets in a cloud of dust and debris. Luna turned and looked down at Celestia. She was smiling, however faintly. “Tia, you idiot, what were you thinking?!” Luna cried, struggling to compose herself and settling down at Celestia’s side, lighting her horn to try and stop the bleeding. “I… I did all I could do, Lulu…” Celestia wheezed, coughing up some blood. “...I couldn’t win… but, hopefully now, he’ll have doubts…” “What are you talking about?!” Luna whimpered, realizing with growing desperation and horror that her magic wouldn’t be enough... “...He was a pony, Luna… he never forgot what that meant… and… just like anypony… he must grieve… grieve and mourn for the loved ones he has lost…” Celestia said, her voice growing quiet and weak. “Tia…” “...Thank you, Lulu… Equestria is… in… your hooves… now…” Celestia uttered before closing her eyes. She fell completely still and silent. For what felt like an eternity, all was motionless. The realization swept over everypony present at the same time. Princess Celestia was dead. All at once, the fiends went from gleeful and overjoyed to confused and nonplussed. They all glanced around and at each other, as if to question something. Mutterings among themselves were filled with immense confusion and tortured anticipation. Then, begrudgingly, they began to withdraw. The ponies watched them go, silently hating the creatures whose master had murdered their princess. Soon, all of the fiends were gone from the city completely including Horizon himself, leaving just the surviving guards and soldiers to gather around Princess Luna. Even in death, the smile on Celestia’s face persisted. At the train, the fiends began to gradually fall back before retreating outright, despite it being clear their victory was inevitable. Twilight sighed in relief, collapsing to the ground and panting for breath. Nearby, Drifter sheltered Palmwood and Wonderboom, who both stared fearfully at her, along with a very passed out Fluttershy. The rest of Twilight’s friends were nearby, tending to each other in varying ways. Rarity had blacked out from panic and shock. Applejack and Pinkie were tending to her right now. Rainbow was by Fluttershy, looking her over for any injuries or wounds that would need treatment. “This isn’t right…” Drifter muttered tiredly to herself as the train slowly pulled to a stop so a head count could be taken. “Can we please just be glad for the reprieve?” Twilight asked in exhaustion, looking Drifter tiredly. “The fiends were about to win… the train was tipping over! We were about to crash and victory would have been theirs. Why did they stop…?” Drifter pointed out, looking towards the distant silhouette of Canterlot, barely visible in the night sky. “Could it be a trap?” Twilight questioned dejectedly. When Drifter didn’t answer, Twilight looked up. Drifter was looking out with wide eyes and a gaping jaw. “Drifter?” “Look.” Twilight did look. The storm clouds over Canterlot were parting, pulled away by magic. On the horizon, the glow of the sun could be seen ascending. “Wait… it’s not time for sunrise yet…” “No. It’s not. But look closer.” Drifter pointed at the light the sun was making. It was… dimmer than normal. When it finally peeked out from behind the mountains, it wasn’t even enough to make anypony squint. It’s ascent stopped just as it reached about the same elevation as Canterlot, the glow it let off barely even what would be seen at sunset. “What is Celestia doing?” Twilight asked worriedly before jumping down to the ground. Countless ponies were tending to each other, searching for family and friends among the survivors, calling out names and crying in either joy at finding them, or despair upon discovering they had perished. All the while the sun hung overhead, the faint light painting all of the world in a solemn, sorrowful glow. Twilight felt a chill run down her spine and a bullet of sorrow in her heart. It was subtle and inexplicable, but still she felt it. She wasn’t alone either, it seemed, as everypony still alive seemed to shiver as well, many reaching their hooves up to wipe sudden tears from their eyes or to clutch at their aching chests. What is happening up there…?