"The war is finally over." Velen commented, to which he breathed a sigh of relief, as he was happy that Sargeras and his Burning Legion had been stopped at long last, even though the sacrifice for such a thing was for the Pantheon to be sealed away with the Dark Titan for the rest of time.
"Yes, but now more questions have sprung up in the wake of the Legion's defeat," Khadgar said, his eyes lingering on the right side of the main window of the Vindicaar, where Lyra and Trixie were standing, as he was interested in who was flying through the atmosphere alongside their ship, "Like who and what is that mysterious pony girl that showed up out of nowhere? She was able to stop Sargeras' blade like it was nothing, and he's one of the strongest Titans in existence, so there must be something special about her."
"She said that her name was Sunset Shimmer," Turalyon recalled, though at the same time he looked at Lyra and Trixie, as he was sure that the two of them knew something about the stranger that had saved Azeroth from being impaled by the Dark Titan's blade, "so, who is she?"
"She's a native of Equus, just like Lyra and I are," Trixie replied, though she was concentrated on the person in question, as she was trying to understand what she was seeing at the moment, because the power she wielded was entirely different from what she and Lyra were using, "Back before I first appeared in Northshire all those years ago, and Lyra landed in the Outlands, I heard someone mention that there was going to be a coronation for the newest alicorn princess, one Sunset Shimmer, but then the preparations were canceled rather suddenly. It was like she had reappeared in Equus for a few days before disappearing again, and no one was able to figure out what had happened to her... but it seems we have an answer to that particular question."
"Sunset went off and became a god, according to what she told Sargeras," Lyra commented, but even as she said that she wondered if it was true, because at her current state she could easily feel the power of the Titan Pantheon, and yet at the same time she couldn't feel anything from the person that was following them down through the atmosphere, "She's on a level that's beyond what Sargeras and Argus are at, and all she's done so far is stop Sargeras' blade, obliterate it, and then forced the Dark Titan backward. I'm also interested in how she managed to get to Azeroth, because it doesn't appear that she has a ship or anything like we do, and I'm pretty sure Trixie would have felt a portal opening opened."
Trixie had to admit that Lyra brought up a good point, as they had no idea how Sunset had managed to find them, before she realized that Discord could have easily opened a portal to Azeroth for her to use, which became all the more likely when she thought about it. She also remembered that she and Lyra had brushed off Discord earlier, before they attacked the Broken Shore, and knew that he was likely sour about that, but in the end they had stopped the Dark Titan from gaining the power necessary to destroy all of creation. As they continued their descent, however, Lyra and Trixie watched as two new figures, who had apparently been watching Sargeras' arrival the entire time they were fighting Argus, appeared below the Vindicaar. Both of them were pony girls, that much was obvious, but their eyes widened as they took in the familiar flowing hair and tail, that had multiple colors in both of them, that seemed to be in one direction, even if that direction was opposite of the wind, and the other had purple colored hair and an identical colored tail, with a few different colors mixed in thanks to some streaks.
Sure, both Lyra and Trixie recognized the newcomers that Sunset was moving towards, but that didn't stop them from being shocked at the same time, especially since both of them were wearing some sort of clothing that made them seem like gods as well, which only confused them even more.
"No way," Trixie said, as she was staring at the familiar lavender skinned pony girl that Sunset was now talking to, as the two of them just so happened to have a magical duel at one point in the past, where Trixie had used a magical necklace and had lost, "Is that... is that Twilight Sparkle?"
""Yeah, and she's standing next to Princess Celestia." Lyra replied, as she was staring at the other person in question, though while she did that she knew that Trixie was focused on Twilight at the moment, to which she focused on another observation, "How in the world did the three of them become pony girls like us? It doesn't make any sense."
"That is a valid question." Velen commented, as he recalled what Illidan and Khadgar has said when they were watching Lyra test her new powers earlier, back when the Light gave her something to replace what Xe'ra had taken, "As I recall you two used to be ponies before you appeared on Azeroth and the Outlands respectively, or more accurately unicorns if my memory is correct. Those three never did anything like what you did, from what you have told us, so the question is how they gained the forms that they are using... and how Sunset managed to gain the power to stand up to the Dark Titan."
Lyra and Trixie wondered that same thing, as the greatest powers they had come to understand had been the Light and the Shadows that Lyra wielded and the pure arcane power that Trixie now commanded, and yet they had drained themselves to fight Argus earlier. Sunset, on the other hand, seemed to have a power that was far greater than Sargeras' own power, as she was able to do so much that neither of them had thought was even possible, even going so far as to save Azeroth from being damaged by the Dark Titan. She also called herself a God of Destruction, meaning that if she decided to erase the planet they had fought to save, for whatever reason she desired, both Lyra and Trixie had the feeling that they wouldn't be able to stop her, not after what they had seen her do to Sargeras. Their friends, of course, were more than happy to not be worried about her, as she had helped them after all, but the duo decided to wait and see what happened when they finally met up with Sunset, Twilight, and Princess Celestia.
The three pony girls flew through the air as they followed the Vindicaar towards Dalaran, where Romuul fired a beacon down to Krasus' Landing and allowed the heroes to either stay aboard the ship, more directed towards the Alliance forces, or teleport down to Dalaran. From the sounds of it Velen was planning on gifting the dimensional ship to Turalyon, for what purpose Lyra and Trixie didn't know, but there were greater problems on their mind as they teleported down to the landing and turned towards the sky. That was followed by the trio descending towards the landing until they touched down near Lyra and Trixie, who now noticed that only Princess Celestia carried a weapon with her, a staff to be exact, but that only made them wonder what was going on.
"Lyra Heartstrings, Trixie Lulamoon, it's good to see you again." Sunset said, though at the same time she looked around the area they were in and smiled, as this planet, from what little she had seen so far, was doing good and the people seemed to be advanced in some manner, before turning her attention to the duo again, "So, this is the place that Discord tracked the two of you to... Azeroth, right?"
"That's correct." Trixie replied, though as she answered the question she noticed that Twilight seemed to be listening to something else, making her wonder if she was like Magni now, able to speak and hear the voice of certain planets, before both she and Lyra bowed for a moment, "Princess Celestia, Princess Twilight, and Princess Sunset, it's nice to see the three of you again as well."
"There's no need to call us Princesses anymore," Twilight said, to which she rubbed the back of her head, as she was more used to her new title than the one she had gotten after completing one of Starswirl's spells, "we're actually gods now. Or, more accurately, I'm the Kaioshin, the God of Creation, for the universe, and Sunset here is the Hakaishin, the God of Destruction, for the universe. Celestia is also a god, though she's tasked with being Sunset's attendant, mentor, and a number of other things that you can ask her about."
"What Twilight means is that I'm Sunset's Angel." Celestia said, though there was a smile on her face, indicating that she was just fine with her new role, something that Lyra and Trixie were shocked with once they heard what her role was now, while at the same time she looked right at them, "Though all of us are proud that you stood your ground and faced down the demonic forces that were trying to destroy this world, especially against a powerful creature like Sargeras."
"Thanks." Lyra said, but that only raised more questions for her and Trixie, especially since it appeared that a lot had changed since they were last on Equus, so much so that she was starting to get confused on what the trio knew and what they didn't know, "We have so many questions."
"And we have answers," Sunset replied, to which Celestia and Twilight nodded their heads, though before any of them stepped forward she turned her head towards the sky and watched as something fell through the atmosphere and landed on the island with the dark green structure, a scythe to be exact, "It appears that a fragment of power from whatever being you were fighting, before Sargeras was forced to show himself, has fallen to the ground nearby... I should destroy it before someone gets their hands on it."
"It looks like it fell into a pool of fel lava," Trixie commented, looking out at the area that Sunset was staring at and traced the arcane trail that the weapon left behind, where the weapon would remain since there was nothing, save for the Eredar that were now trapped on Argus, that could retrieve it without dying, "Leave it where it rests... no one will be able to claim that weapon, not where it fell."
Sunset stared at Trixie for a moment, seriously debating whether or not she should destroy the scythe to be on the safe side, but then decided that, since Trixie and Lyra seemed to know more about this world than she did, she might as well put her faith in them. As such she banished her aura, which had activated when she mentioned destroying the weapon, and faced the duo once more, though before anyone said anything Trixie stated that they should go somewhere so they could talk in private. That was when she, Twilight, and Celestia followed Trixie, Lyra, and a few unnamed individuals through the city, allowing them to see some of the sights for a few minutes, before they entered an important building and used the portal at the top of the stairs to reach a larger room that was cut off from the outside world. Of course the return portal remained where it was resting, so they could head back down if necessary, but they were eager to explain things and turned towards the group that was staring at them.
They quickly learned that the people in front of them were Archmage Khadgar and Prophet Velen, as the other leaders of their little group were making sure that the heroes that had saved this world had the celebration that they deserved, which Lyra and Trixie would be a part of once they cleared some things up.
"So, you told Sargeras that it was time for him to retire, because there was a new being of destruction to rule the universe," Khadgar commented, recalling the wording that was used, but even despite that fact he still found it odd for there to be a force that was even greater than the Titans, "or, at the very least, something to that effect. What did you mean by your statement?"
"You know that Sargeras, the Dark Titan, is called 'the Destroyer', correct?" Sunset asked, as Discord had done enough recon on this world to give her, Twilight, and Celestia plenty to work with for when they eventually came to Azeroth, though at the same time the group of four nodded their heads, "I am the same way, a Destroyer, but where Sargeras needs a massive sword to cleave a planet in half and destroy it... well, I think it's best that we show you what I'm capable of. Celestia, can you show them the event that I'm thinking of?"
"Of course," Celestia said, to which she tapped her staff for a moment, staring into the crystal ball at the top for a few seconds, before hold it out and projecting the image of a planet into the area between the two groups, "We came across this planet a few days ago, one that had been twisted by some dark force and the life had been drained out of everything... a dead planet, if you will. We asked a friend if this was going to change, if it was only temporary, and he said that if the planet remained in this state it was only a matter of time until it started corrupting the other planets around it. Sunset, upon hearing that... well, you'll see for yourselves soon enough."
Lyra and Trixie watched with some interest as a much smaller image of Sunset, Celestia, and Twilight appeared near the world again, though that was when the past Sunset raised her right hand and formed what many would mistake for a marble. With the marble created the past Sunset descended towards the planet's surface and let it fall from her hand, where it floated down until it was absorbed into the planet's surface. What came next was the past Sunset heading back to her group as the planet started to crack and buckle, indicating that whatever she had done was setting off a chain reaction that was actually tearing the planet apart. That was before volcanoes started to erupt and the planet turned red as it's atmosphere was broken, before it heaved outwards and was consumed in a blinding explosion, one that made Celestia stop showing them what happened some time ago.
Suffice to say that Lyra and Trixie were shocked that Sunset, with what appeared to be a small fraction of her power, had been able to destroy the planet with ease and didn't need to cleave the planet in half, like Sargeras would, and both Khadgar and Velen were so shocked that they actually dropped their staffs in surprise.
"Like I said, I don't need to cleave a planet in half to destroy it," Sunset said, though where one would assume she was being smug about the situation Lyra and Trixie found that she was neutral, as if she understood that she had been given these powers for a reason and was playing her part to the letter, "I just need to drop a potent destructive attack into the planet's surface or hurl a sphere of destruction at it... or, in the case of Sargeras' sword, simply hold my hand towards it and give the command phrase to destroy my target."
"C... Command phrase?" Trixie asked, though at the same time she was shocked that she and Lyra were right about their original thoughts, Sunset was much stronger than they were and they wouldn't be able to beat her, not if she was able to blow a planet to pieces with a small percentage of her power.
"When I destroyed Sargeras' weapon I used the word 'Hakai', while pointing at the blade," Sunset replied, but she put no power behind the word and her aura didn't spring to life, telling Lyra and Trixie that there was something special about the phrase she had used, "it allows me to erase the existence of something, such as a city or a massive blade, and even people or beings that need to be erased."
"So now what?" Lyra inquired, to which Sunset, Celestia, and Twilight turned towards them for a moment, though the looks on their faces told her that they had been expecting this sort of question ahead of time, "Are you going to force us to return to Equus, now that the Burning Legion and their terrible master have been defeated?"
"We're not asking you to leave your friends behind and never return," Twilight said, as she knew that the two of them had made friends on this planet, because that was something that all of the other displaced ponies did during their adventures were in, "All we're asking is that you come home with us, see what has changed since you two were teleported to this world, and reunite with your loved ones. Then, once we've done all that, you can do whatever you want, be that returning to Azeroth to continue your current lives or staying on Equus and taking up your old lives while adapting to your new changes."
"We'll have to think about that." Trixie replied, as she knew that Lyra had a certain someone that she wanted to fight one last time, and there was something she needed to do before they left Azeroth.
"I expected that there would be some goodbyes and other things you wanted to take care of before you left." Sunset commented, though the look in her eyes told the duo that she knew what they were going through, but they said nothing as she focused on them, "Just tell us when you're ready to leave."
"There's also someone I need to talk to before we leave." Lyra said, though at the same time she knew exactly where the person in question was waiting, as she likely hadn't moved since the way to Argus had been opened earlier.
Maiev stood in the area of the Isle of the Watchers that her tent was in, as well as the tents of the other Watchers and initiates, because they were still training new members to join their ranks and needed to make sure they were ready for whatever came after this invasion. Sure, she had seen the massive gateway opening in the sky and the demonic planet of Argus that had appeared in the process, but no one had ever come to ask her if she could spare some forces and go to the place that the Legion commanded. She was fairly sure that Illidan, the Betrayer himself, was the one responsible for the gateway being opened, but at the moment it appeared that nothing bad had happened, as not even thirty minutes ago the entire thing closed and Argus disappeared. The one thing that had caused her to stop in her tracks, and listen to what was going on, was when she heard some massive creature shout the word 'No' for a few seconds, but before she could pinpoint where it was coming from the voice was gone, leaving her to return to her duties as she considered what was going on these days.
So when one of her guards stopped outside her tent, and told her that Lyra Heartstrings and her allies had landed near the camp, she sighed and followed her guard outside her small tent... though she wasn't prepared to find that there was a large Blue Dragon standing nearby, along with Khadgar, Prophet Velen, and three new pony girls that she had never seen before. What really caught her interest was Lyra, as her skin was no longer tainted by the fel, her tattoos were half golden and half shadowy, her horns had been molded into smaller versions of her master's horns, and it appeared that she was even stronger than she had been the last time they crossed paths... and right now she had no idea where her precious warglaives were, since she held no weapons at the moment.
"Lyra Heartstrings," Maiev said, though at the same time she pulled out her glaive and prepared herself, as the last time they had been here, on this island, the two of them had ducked it out and only stopped when something came up that required their immediate attention, "this is an unexpected surprise."
"Indeed it is." Lyra replied, though as she spoke Trixie roared and reverted back to her hybrid state, but as that happened she could hear Twilight starting to ask her friend how she had taken on her new form, which Trixie decided to tell her, before Lyra turned her attention back to the Warden, "I trust you know why I'm here?"
"Of course," Maiev stated, to which she turned towards the guards and gave the silent order that they knew at this point, as she had made sure they knew that there was a possibility that she and Lyra would duel again and that, when she gave this signal, that they moved out of the area, "Give me a moment and the isle will be cleared... and then we can see who the better fighter is."
Sure enough the initiates and their masters cleared out the camp and moved to a safe area, though before they could actually leave the isle Celestia surprised them by using her magic to separate part of the ground from the isle, creating a platform they could stand on and watch the fireworks. Once that happened Lyra smiled as she faced Maiev, who was standing nearby with her glaive at the ready, to which she raised her hands and her new energies wrapped around them, where Maiev watched in shock as her new twinblades formed from both the Light and the Shadows. Instead of saying anything to her opponent this time around, like she had the last time they fought, Lyra rushed forward and swung the Nightmare at Maiev, who blocked the attack and found herself being pushed back within a matter of seconds. Lyra then used the Daybreaker and attacked from below, opening Maiev's guard in a matter of seconds, before she spun around and kicked the Warden in the chest, sending her flying away from the camp she had set up while surprising those that were watching the fight.
Maiev coughed as she picked herself off the ground, as the kick to her chest had been more powerful than she had thought it would have been, which meant that Lyra, how backed by the seemingly impossible fusion of both the Light and the Shadows into a single body, was even stronger than when she only possessed the fel energy... and, since her attacks were at their strongest when she was battling demons and demon hunters, that meant she might not be able to deal as much damage as she normally did, not with Lyra being something else entirely.
Lyra, sensing some hesitation from Maiev, gripped her twinblades and charged at her target, but unlike their first duel, where she had been blinded by rage of Illidan's death, or their second duel, where her hatred had been ruling her thoughts, this time she was calm and collected as she engaged her opponent. Maiev's attacks were fast, which made sense for a Warden to have swift attacks so their foes couldn't accurately fight back, but at the same time Lyra's new power allowed her to easily match that speed and then some. As such she raised her twinblades when Maiev attacked her, parrying them before they had the chance to reach her, and continued on the defensive for a few moments, as she was taking the time to study Maiev and understand her movements. A few moments later she was slightly surprised when Maiev managed to cut a small gash on her left arm, causing her to pause for a moment, though instead of attacking when the opening revealed itself, like ordinary opponents would, Maiev backed up and readied herself again, indicating that she knew the fight was far from over.
"You may have gotten stronger since we last fought," Maiev commented, as she was surprised that her attack managed to go through, meaning that Lyra had spent a little too long in studying her movements, "but that doesn't mean anything when your defenses are still vulnerable like that."
"I'll admit that I spent a little too long watching your movements," Lyra said, to which she banished both of her warglaives and moved a hand towards the gash, which sealed itself thanks to the Light that was now coursing through her veins, before she stared at Maiev again, "but, since you seem so sure of yourself, I guess I might as well show you the results of what happened on Argus... and the power I gained while I was there."
Before Maiev could say anything the Light and the Shadows gathered around Lyra for a few seconds, allowing her to shift into her Havoc form once more, though her eyes widened as she realized that the form Lyra was using now was different than what she remembered. She could hear Khadgar, who was off in the distance with the others, talking about how this form allowed Lyra to fight a Titan, one of the strongest beings in the entire universe, and she instantly knew that her chances of winning were gone. Sure, she was strong enough to fight a weakened Illidan to the death, and could kill demons as well as a demon hunter could, but she knew that her power meant nothing in regards to the Titans that had ordered Azeroth so long ago, back before Sargeras tore them down. If Khadgar was telling the truth, that this new Havoc form of Lyra's had the power to fight a Titan without her being killed in the process, than she knew that the fight was over before it could even begin. Lyra, on the other hand, used her hesitation to her advantage once more and raced forward, this time rapidly appearing in front of Maiev before she even had the chance to move, but as Maiev realized the danger she was in Lyra's hands glowed as the twinblades faded back into existence.
That was followed by Lyra quickly swinging her right arm first and then followed up with her left arm, allowing the twinblades to carve a gash of Light energy and Shadow energy into the armor that was protecting Maiev's chest, before she spun around and kicked the glowing cross in the center... to which Maiev, as she was knocked backwards, watched as the armor shattered and the fragments fell to the ground as she collided with the rock wall behind her.
This time around Maiev had to lift her helmet a little so she could cough up some blood, which she spat on the ground nearby, before brushing off the remaining fragments of her armor and stepped forward, knowing that Lyra wasn't about to end the fight there. Sure enough Lyra came at her again, this time leaving the warglaives behind, and started attacking her with her fists, though Maiev was forced to admit that Lyra's punches were strong and that all she could do was go on the defensive once the battle resumed. A few moments into the fight Maiev spotted an opening and swung her glaive at it, though Lyra caught her arm before the attack could connect, grabbed onto the glaive, and kicked Maiev in the chest once more, knocking her backwards. Lyra tossed the glaive to the side as she continued her assault, forcing Maiev to stay on the defensive as she looked for an opening that Lyra wouldn't expect her to use, but before she could do that she found Lyra's knee planted firmly in her chest. As Maiev staggered for a second, however, Lyra continued with an uppercut that knocked her into the air a bit, before she spun around and left the side of her left leg connect with the side of her helmet, where Maiev both felt and heard the sound of both metal and bones breaking as she flew through the air and collided with a large boulder... one that her helmet shattered upon when she struck it, to which she laid there and moaned for a few moments as Lyra walked over to her.
"I... I surrender." Maiev stated, to which she coughed up some more blood as she tried to forget the pain that she was feeling, as she had a headache from Lyra's kick and several of her bones were screaming in pain from the other ones, before she glanced up at Lyra, "It seems that, in the end, I did the same thing that I did in all of our other fights... I underestimated your power, and that cost me more than just my pride this time."
"I should have warned you that my full power was enough to fight a Titan without dying before he cheated," Lyra said, remembering what happened with Argus, and how he wiped everyone out in a single attack they couldn't dodge at all, before she sighed and reverted back to her base form and held her hand out towards Maiev, "Here, let me help you up."
Maiev stared at Lyra for a few seconds, wondering why she was suddenly so nice to her, especially when she lied to Trixie and kept her locked in a prison cell for seven years, but instead of saying anything she held out her hand and grasped Lyra's. The moment she did that she could feeling a small bit of the Light pour into her body, her aches and pains from the fight healing in an instant, as if the fight had actually never happened, but the reminder was the fact that her armor and helmet had been shattered, even though she could easily secure another set in the future. She was surprised by this sudden act, as she had assumed that Lyra hated her and would have left her in a pained and broken state until someone came to save her, but in the end this proved that Lyra was actually a better person than Maiev could ever hope to be... and, after a few seconds of thought, she wondered if it was possible to change her attitude towards people and maybe make the world a better place as well.
"Why?" Maiev asked, as that was the only thing she could think of at the moment, because it was the only question in her mind that needed to be asked, especially since it appeared that the strongest person in the world was now from an entirely different planet.
"Because I decided to forgive you for everything you did to Trixie and me over the years." Lyra replied, though at the same time she let go of Maiev and started to walk to the platform that was lowering itself back into the area it had been pulled from earlier, "That's what ponies do; we find it within ourselves to forgive those that have wronged us in the past and either accept who they have become or help them find a new place in society that makes them feel at home. Some of the mightiest heroes of Equus have been able to help certain villains turn over a new leaf and help society improve, so change is possible for everyone... and it starts by letting go of certain emotions and forgiving them, just like I just did."
"If I didn't know any better I'd say you were trying to tell the Horde and the Alliance to get along." Maiev commented, though at the same time she had to wonder if it was possible for the two factions to finally put the past behind them and actually share the world with each other, instead of always fighting over it.
"You and the others should attempt such a thing." Sunset said, causing the defeated Warden to turn her head for a moment, so she could look at one of the other pony girls that had come down here, "Azeroth is such a wonderful place, especially now that Sargeras won't be around to do anything to you, so your Alliance and your Horde should attempt to forge a lasting peace and forgive each other. If they go to war again, and start tearing this planet, along with themselves, apart, then I'll be forced to come back to this planet and blow it to pieces."
"Wait, you don't mean..." Lyra said, though she couldn't put the thought into words, as she had seen what happened when Sunset destroyed a world and knew that she could easily do it to Azeroth, but at the same time Sunset understood what she was saying.
"Yes. The next war the Alliance and Horde have planned will be the last one... but it will cost you everything." Sunset stated, to which she held a hand up and an image of Azeroth appeared in front of them, before she waved her hand and the entire planet exploded, "Tell the faction leaders that if they continue with their plans, to make war on the other faction in an attempt to wipe them out, they'll only bring about the end of this world, which they worked so hard to preserve in the face of such a terrible force. They can truly save Azeroth, or they can be it's destroyers... and I'll know what they picked soon enough."
"I take it that it's time for you to head home?" Khadgar asked, as while he was sad to see Trixie leave, since they had spent many years together as student and teacher, he knew that this was what she had longed for, which was why she and Lyra were now standing beside the trio of gods.
"It is." Twilight said, though at the same time Celestia tapped her staff on the ground and a barrier surrounded them, to which they lifted into the air a little and stared down at the assembled group, "But like we said earlier, we'll let them come back once they've reunited with their loved ones back home... and who knows, maybe they'll stick around to help you sort out the coming war."
Khadgar smiled at the thought of avoiding a war, especially after they had defeated Sargeras and his Burning Legion, to which he raised a hand and waved at the five Equestrians, where Trixie and Lyra waved goodbye before the sphere of energy surged towards the atmosphere... taking them back to their home world and leaving them to preserve a hard won peace that could be shattered with one wrong move. He only hoped that Lyra and Trixie, even if they didn't come back to Azeroth after returning to their home, had a prosperous life in whatever they were doing before they came here, to which he chuckled as he and the others got to work on trying to stop a war.