//------------------------------// // The Battle of Everfree (Sunshine and Fire, Part 4) // Story: The League of Sweetie Belles // by GMBlackjack //------------------------------// Suzie stood on an outcropping near the top of the mountain, looking down at the army below. She could mostly see dragons, but the griffon and pony arrangements were large enough to be visible from where she was. Virtually everyone was in place. The main armies were near the front, mostly dragons, while a few hung back for the specific task forces. The Black Matriarch monstrosity was at the front of the charge—clearly thirsting for blood, even more so than many of his subjects. Well, one of his heads was, anyway. The other one still looked like it didn’t want to be there. Suzie wondered if she should have tried to talk to it… That time was behind them. The armies had gotten their rest. They were almost ready to move out. Just a few more things to take care of and manage. She was not alone on the outcropping—Applejack and Nira. One would be giving a magic-megaphone aided speech to the troops, and the other was there to teleport the three of them down when the charge actually began. And then they would be flying right to Everfree City. It would be impossible to hide a fleet of dragons as they approached, so they weren’t even going to try. They were going to charge in, guns blazing, and get as many sewer-access points as they could for the other teams. The Elements and the Princesses would make it to the Queen, while the rest took care of the remaining armies. Equestria would fall. “Um… Suzie?” Suzie looked behind her, surprised to see Squiddy. “What are you doing up here?” “Had Seren teleport me. I, uh…” She sighed. “I don’t want to fight in another war, Suzie.” Suzie smiled sadly. “...You don’t have to. You can stay and watch Raven with the others.” “Okay. Sorry, I…” “Don’t be sorry,” Suzie said, laying a hand on Squiddy’s shoulder. “Lots of people charging in are doing it despite knowing full well they won’t be able to handle it. It takes a special kind of courage to admit you can’t.” Squiddy wasn’t encouraged by this. “...Yeah…” she muttered, signalling to Nira to teleport her to Raven. She was gone in a burst of darkness. “...What happened to her?” Applejack asked. “She seems the best suited for this out of all you.” “She’s barely old enough to be considered an adult,” Suzie explained. “She fought in a war and killed many out of petty racism more than anything else. When we came, she saw what was really happening, and it changed her drastically. ...She can’t stop the anger.” “Y’all sure she should be out here with you?” “She won’t accept anything else,” Suzie said, frowning. “She won’t stop trying.” “It’ll never end.” “On a good day, she knows that. She just doesn’t care. Or, well…” Suzie sighed. “...You should ask Sweetaloo. She’d… be able to tell you more about what is going on in that girl’s head.” Applejack nodded. She turned back to look at the armies. “Seems we’re ready.” Suzie nodded, holding up the megaphone. “Everyone! We have come so far, but we dare not wait any longer! Today, the Tyrant will fall!” She handed the megaphone to Applejack. “Ah bet you’ve heard it all before,” Applejack said. “The evils of the Queen, the suffering of the eternal day, the pain she has caused so, so many simply for her own amusement. So Ah’m not gonna repeat any of that. Y’all know why we’re here. We’re here to kick that Tyrant down until she’s done. We’re here to end the eternal day. And We’re not going to stop until we’ve fixed this millennium long horror!” She raised a hoof. “You know what to do. Charge!” The Matriarch roared eagerly and took a tremendous step forward, the thundering of his steps drowning out the yells of the army momentarially. Dragons took to the sky, ponies on their backs, falling in line behind the main surge of multicolored reptiles. The griffons moved in perfect arrowhead formation, and two alicorns took up the rear, levitating four ponies, a small dragon, and a Flat between them. Suzie smiled nervously. “Here goes nothing…” “Break a leg,” Applejack breathed. “Nira, teleport us down.” ~~~ The dining room would have been dark were it not for Queen Celestia’s solar presence. She was currently eating a sandwich as if the scene around her were the most normal thing in the world. To her side sat Daylight Sparkle, whose expression was continually shifting from rage at the Sweeties sitting opposite the two of them and shame at having failed Celestia. Cinder had stopped trembling—the Queen didn’t look all that terrifying, and she currently wasn't trying to hurt them, so all she felt was a deep pit in her stomach. She had even eaten some of the absolutely delicious food. Celia had refused to touch anything or even give the Queen a smile. Cinder had noticed Diane hanging around the ends of the dining hall, watching the events curiously. Celestia didn’t seem to mind her presence, though Daylight would occasionally shoot the earth pony a menacing glare. “I assure you, there is no poison,” Celestia told Celia. “I believe you. My race needs no sustenance.” “I saw you enjoy food at the hotel.” “I’m not in the mood to enjoy food at the moment, your majesty.” “Understandable, but petty,” Celestia said, disappointed. “I had thought you above that.” “I thought you would be able to detect a political statement when you saw one.” “I am already aware of your distaste for my regime, there’s no need to keep face here.” “Maybe I just want to be honest, for once?” “Please, when was the last time you weren't living a lie?” Celia remained impassive and gave no response. “Why don’t you tell me about your world? Or should I say worlds?” “Your student already drained all the information you’d want out of Cinder.” Celestia nodded slowly, her empty eyes boring into Celia’s own. “Quite interesting, I must say. An alliance of worlds under a single, mixed government? You have immense power and resources far beyond what I have to offer. Were you not trapped you could come in and destroy everything I have.” “And we will. They will notice we aren’t reporting in eventually. And then your days will be over.” “But by then I’ll have my own dimensional technology.” Celestia grinned with a paradoxical mixture of serenity and malevolence. “You have it already. You’re jamming us.” She pointed at Celestia’s glowing horn. “That is what that is, correct?” Celestia nodded. “A simple spell, really. Taken from a stallion by the name of Brainy Bright, from another world. He was such a delightful earth pony—worked to Tartarus and back to manipulate magic despite his earth pony heritage. Created a wonderful dimensional arch. And now he’s here, working for me, creating devices for me.” She looked Celia right in the eyes. “Naturally, with your arrival he has outlived his usefulness. He will finish his arch for me and he will find that all that work was for nothing.” “Why?” Cinder asked. “Why do you have to be so cruel?” “Why do you have to be so nice?” Celestia asked. “Think about it, why are you?” Cinder blinked. “...Because it’s right?” “No, because that’s the way you are. You garner meaning and purpose from your heroic actions, it gives your life fullness. Who’s to say cruelty doesn’t do that for others?” “Nobody,” Celia said. “You likely do get the same benefit. But arguing this is pointless. Our moral standpoints are so far removed from each other discussing them is pointless.” “Cutting me off before I can get in her head? You continue to surprise me, Celia. In a different world, you would have made an excellent student.” Daylight flinched. Celestia didn’t seem to care. “I would never bow to you,” Celia declared. “Are you certain?” Celestia asked, opening her eyes wider. “Can you really stare into the sun and not feel reverence?” “I have spoken to literal Stars, Celestia. Immense spirits of fire and fusion larger than the distance between this planet and your celestial sphere. I have seen worlds where the very fabric of reality itself is sapient and controlling of every single entity within. I have seen a Green Sun bring forces of millions of universes into conflict. I feel no reverence for these things, and I feel even less for you.” Daylight stared at her in shock. “I’m not exaggerating, Daylight,” Celia said. “I have seen all those things. This world is insignificant. Merodi Universalis is insignificant.” “The Tower?” Daylight asked, haunted. “Ah, the Tower…” Celestia said, a smile crawling up her face. “Daylight thought Cinder was insane when she found that. I find myself thinking otherwise.” “Then you understand what you are?” Celia asked. “I have never tried to hide the fact from anyone that I am a Tyrant, Celia. Every pony in the nation is absolutely convinced of the fact.” “You’re going to be defeated like the villain you are.” Celestia made no response—she just kept smiling. “It’s simple, really,” Cinder said. “You’re the villain, we’re the heroes. There might be a lot of struggles along the way, but we will defeat you.” Celestia chuckled, the noise sending shivers down the spines of everyone present. “My, you speak with such certainty, Cinder…” Cinder nodded, finding her courage welling up within her once again. “You’re going to lose. I know it.” “But you don’t really know anything, do you? You are just a child. You do not know that your friends are charging with an army to Everfree City as we speak. I do.” “WHAT!?” Daylight shouted. “My… my Queen, Everfree City has minimal defenses! I… I must go prepa-” “You will go nowhere,” Celestia declared, shutting Daylight up. “I am well aware of the city’s current vulnerability.” She turned to look at Celia once more with a knowing expression. “What do you make of that?” The gears turned in Celia’s mind. “Do you… do you want to lose?” Celestia smiled—giving no indication either way. Celia growled. “How do you know?” Cinder blinked, losing the context. “Wait, what?” The Queen didn’t even blink. “A Queen never reveals all her cards.” Celia frowned. “Merodi Universalis can offer y-” “Desperate?” Celestia interrupted. “Uncertain? Good. Good…” She levitated Celia into the air and touched her crystal with a hoof. “You’re ready.” “I’ll tell you nothing.” “Oh, you’re right, your will is strong enough to resist mine.” Daylight’s breath caught at this. “But Moganite will tell me anything once I shatter Goshenite. Or vice versa, but I’d much rather have the one that’ll be capable of seeing my side, with time.” Celia couldn’t hide the fear from her face. “W-we wi-” “You know your components cannot stand strong apart. They will fail to resist me. I’m just giving you the opportunity to give in as you are now. You’ll be much more useful if you’re like this and cooperative.” Celia contemplated a self-destruct spell. But no… that was too desperate, and it would leave Cinder alone. She could do nothing but give in. At least like this, she might be able to see a way out later. “Dammit,” Celia muttered. “Fine. What do you want to know?” “Everything.” Celestia insisted. “Open your inner magics to me!” She touched her horn to Celia’s crystal, prompting a scream from the Gem. “LEAVE HER ALONE!” Cinder shouted, sending a gust of fire at Celestia. Celestia responded with a beam of sunlight intended to completely disintegrate the unicorn. Instead, she corralled the fire and sent it back at Celestia with an immense roar. The flames impacted the Queen with enough force to knock her over and melted the wall behind her. Daylight stood up, ready to keep her promise to kill Cinder if she ever did that again—but Celestia forcefully stopped the unicorn by telekinetically tossing her away. The Queen’s smile had not faltered—but her eyes had narrowed. “Daylight was right, you are quite blasphemous.” Cinder was still supercharged with the fire directly from the Queen. “Let her go.” “You think that an immunity to fire makes you safe?” Celestia laughed. “I’ll absorb every last inch of your f-” Celestia lit her horn and froze Cinder in a cube of ice. “Really, what would I be if I only knew one family of offensive spells?” “CINDER!” Celia shouted. “She’s alive,” Celestia reported. “I can revive her whenever. And I probably will, soon, but first…” She touched her horn to Celia’s crystal once more. “Everything.” ~~~ They both did and didn’t see it coming. It was basically impossible to miss a dragon fleet charging at your city across expansive desert. The army should have had enough time to mobilize to intercept them. The sad fact was none of them had ever expected to be attacked by dragons in a million years, especially not this far into Equestrian territory. The alarm was raised quickly but the average soldier had little to no idea what was going on, and the Secret Police spent way too long trying to locate Daylight Sparkle. All they had found was her dragon, and when he had no idea where she was, they finally decided to go ahead without her. The time spent doing this was not time well spent. Everfree City did manage to collect enough unicorns to raise the city-wide shield, which would have repelled virtually any invading force simply due to its size. It would take a dragon the size of a mountain to break the pink bubble. The Matriarch embedded his massive claws into the bubble, tearing it to shreds. The first two hits were quickly repaired, and the unicorn guard started shooting lasers at him. He shrugged these off somewhat easily, the third strike tearing the shield down permanently. “Y o u r_d a y_i s_e n d i n g.” The army retaliated, rushing forward with a squadron of pegasi, going for his eyes. He opened his mouth, engulfing all of them in fire and teleporting them miles away. The Matriarch’s subjects filed in after him, blowing squadrons of pegasi away with simple flaps of wings. Already, two entrances to the sewers had been secured. Blood was raining from the sky on the pristine white of Everfree City. Ponies screamed and hid in their homes as the city walls crumbled, praying to their Queen that the monstrous reptiles would be repelled. The Secret Police acted with much more understanding than the sparse army—every dragon servant within their ranks was grown to full size, matching the dragon army in number if not power. The dragons of the state met the dragons of the wild, clashing into each other at high speeds. Scales went flying in random directions and dragon blood began to fill the streets. The ordered assault had devolved into chaos already. Unicorns began casting complex spells to enhance their dragons with shields, extra flame, and improved strength. The invading reptiles found themselves outclassed by their smaller, almost mindless brethren. Ice breath erupted from a snowy female’s maw, encasing numerous invaders. Several of these dragons focused on the Matriarch, hitting him with every elemental attack under the sun. Metal shavings pierced his hide, toxic sludge eroded his scales, and blue flame taxed the heat resistance even of his scales. He was having none of this. Both of his heads roared with a rage that had slept for a thousand years, flames spewing forth from his maw, teleporting the much smaller dragons far away. With another step, he took out several ponies’ homes, caring not as he bit another dragon in two. However, he was but one dragon—the others were still being beaten back. But they had help of their own as well—the griffon aeromancers flew in, circling the wind around their dragons to deflect the enhanced breath of Everfree City’s defenders. The griffon soldiers moved in to drive specialized spears into the necks of distracted dragons, taking them down, while the best of the best held energy weapons used to combat the beam-spells of the unicorns. Occasionally, a pony would set off a massive bomb that would completely destroy a Secret Police outpost or military barrack. The ponies of Queen Celestia would not give up so easily, however. Despite the blood raining everywhere, the army managed to hold together, augmenting their dragons with smaller forces that easily passed between the tremendous reptiles to attack other targets, such as enemy ponies. The palace itself proved to be impossible to reach—the first dragon who got close enough to attack it had received three spikes of sunlight to the chest from automatic magical defenses. It was clear that victory for either side was not going to be quick. Suzie fought in line with a group of two griffons and three ponies equipped with energy weapons, blasting holes in all the opposition they saw. She had been able to pick out Nira and Seren during the first few minutes of the attack, but had quickly lost them. She assumed Nira was surrounded in so much blood she’d have nearly unlimited resources at her disposal, while Seren was probably somewhere teleport-spamming to confuse the larger dragons. A few minutes later she saw a serpent of coagulated blood larger than most of the dragons rise out of the inner city, so she knew she had been right about Nira. The bloody snake opened its maw and sent out dozens of razor-sharp tendrils, skewering several dragons through the heart, draining their blood into itself. With a twist of the bloody head, it rushed the palace—finding itself held off by dozens of unicorn sorcerers, a few dragons, and the magical defences of the center itself. The bloody head disintegrated, prompting the rest of the blood to lose its cohesion and flood the nearby district. Suzie knew Nira was fine. She’d just find another area to gather up power and make another shot. But this confirmed what she suspected—no matter how poorly defended Everfree City was, that palace was a fortress. Had the Queen not been in there, she would have considered taking the rest of the city and laying siege to the palace as a viable strategy. But the Queen was in there, and they couldn’t let her get out of this battle. She was instrumental to the tragedy of this world, she could not be allowed to hold up in that palace of hers. I hope the Elements have gotten inside… She was torn back to the moment when the Matriarch was tossed back, landing on an apartment complex right next to her. Suzie watched in horror as, out of a primordial rage, he ate an entire building without so much as a care for the civilians within. He swung his tail around, leveling several blocks. Suzie couldn’t just stand by. He was here, and nothing she did would get his dragons to turn back at this point. His motives were no secret to her or anyone else around them, and the dragons themselves… She made a decision with a grimace. “Go on without me!” She called to her group of griffons and ponies, ducking into a nearby alleyway that had been spared the Matriarch’s blind devastation. Here, alone, she focused her inner power. “U-Catastrophe…” she breathed. Behind her, a tremendous tree appeared out of nowhere, colored with a red, white, and black pattern. Its trunk was smooth, like a mathematical function, and its leaves formed into a fractal pattern resembling half a spirograph. Slowly, carefully, she focused her energy and grew the tree into the air. No one saw it. No one could see it—Stands were invisible to virtually all beings. But a few creatures would have been able to sense something, even if they didn’t know what it meant or where it was. Suzie had to be careful not to touch anything or anyone else aside from her target. The results would be catastrophic. But she was clever—she grew the trunk close to the ground, along the lifeless rubble the Matriarch had created. When he was tossed back by another magic explosion, the top of the tree embedded itself in his tail. A thousand miniscule spikes thundered out of the tree’s leaves, severing the tip of the monstrosity’s tail. For virtually any creature, that attack meant instant death. For the Matriarch, it just sent him into a rage, flailing wildly, looking for the mage that dared remove his tail. But, of course, he couldn’t trace U-Catastrophe, and the attacking dragons kept him from looking too closely. It seemed, for all intents and purposes, like nothing had happened. But Suzie knew better. That Matriarch was doomed. It was only a matter of time. She turned away, planning to get back into the fight—but she noticed a crack in the ground. Upon investigating, she found that it went right to one of the sewer systems. She didn’t even need to think—she hopped down, running through the underground tunnels to the palace, alone. If all else failed, she’d introduce the Queen to a very particular tree… ~~~ Blink had been left with the Elements and the Princesses for one reason—to keep them safe at all times. She was to keep them completely intangible until the very moment the Elements needed to strike. She did little besides focus on all of their intangibility. Twilight took a look at her team. Celesta, Luna, four versions of some of her closest friends, Spike, and a Flat. In many ways, the only ones she knew well were Celestia and Spike. But she also knew she’d lay down her life for anyone of them—even the Flat. Strange and quirky so she was, Twilight sensed a hero’s spirit in her just like everyone else. They had come out of the sewers recently and were making their way to the dungeons for their first order of business—releasing any potential allies. Celia was high on the list, but Cinder and Big Mac were also high on the list of priorities. They’d save anyone else who cared as well, and then march right to the queen assuming they could keep that many invisible. Plan A was simple. Walk into the throne room and blast her with the Elements of Harmony. She’d never see it coming. She had no idea they were in the palace—already they had passed through several sets of guards, all of them standing for a threat that had not arrived yet. The other teams attacking the palace from below weren’t invisible. Twilight knew they were being actively sacrificed to give the Elements a chance. This knowledge weighted heavy on her, but this was war. And war was filled with death, no matter what way the cake was sliced, blood would always come out. Rarity, Fluttershy, Applejack, Rainbow… they had all understood that long before Twilight arrived in this world. Only after Twilight had experienced hardship like they had was she allowed to understand as well. This world wasn’t hers. There was not going to be peace at the end of this path. Only a confrontation. Everyone moved more or less wordlessly—even Burgerbelle. They all knew they wouldn’t be heard if they spoke, but they felt the oppressive aura of the situation like anvils on their chest. If there was one point where the plan could break and everything would come crashing down, it was them. They had two princesses, six Elements, and impressive stealth. But if all those things failed… the Queen would have just the dragon Matriarch standing in her way, and Twilight didn’t think for a moment that she didn’t have a contingency plan for him. It all rested on them. They eventually arrived at the entrance to the dungeons, surprised to see no guards there whatsoever. There was, however, a red pegasus in armor indicating a high station. She left the dungeon with a smile on her face. “About time the Queen took out the trash.” She took a step. The entire dungeon was engulfed in white hot flames. “NO!” Fluttershy screamed. “BIG MAC!” “CINDER!” Blink echoed, losing focus on the invisibility for a split second. That was enough for the pegasus’ senses to pick them up. “INTRUDE-” Twilight was already on her, forcing the pegasus’ mouth shut with her telekinesis. “Blink, let her see me,” Applejack demanded. “Bu-” “DO IT!” Blink took her Void off Applejack, allowing her to walk menacingly up to the pegasus. “Duchess Redsky. ...Let her talk. If she starts screamin’, snap her neck.” Redsky growled, but refrained from screaming. “Applejack… I thought I’d never see your ugly mug again.” “What did you do?” “Killed all the prisoners,” Redsky sneered. “Didn’t want to give you a chance to get them back after all.” “Were all of them in there?” “Heh. You know what, I think s-” “Redsky!” Applejack shouted—the noise making Blink wince. But no soldiers came. “Who wasn't in there?” “The two otherworlders.” Blink let out a sigh of relief. “That it?” Applejack demanded. “That’s it. Anyone else you wanted is gone. Burned. This is what you get for attacking us! If you weren't willing t-” Applejack kicked her in the windpipe, shattering it. Unable to breathe, Redsky dropped to the ground, gagging. “If you weren't willing to sacrifice yourself, you shouldn’t have killed everypony,” Applejack said, voice catching in her throat. “A-and…” Whatever she wanted to say didn’t come out. She clenched her jaw and turned away from Redsky. “Let’s go.” Blink surrounded her in Void again. Rarity offered Applejack a hug, but she rejected it. Fluttershy was crying bitter, angry tears. Burgerbelle was trying as hard as possible not to be seen. And Twilight… Twilight’s eyes were on fire. “She’s going to pay,” Twilight declared. “To the throne room.” Fluttershy took the gun Applejack had received from Suzie. “She’s mine.” Applejack, for a moment, looked like she was going to punch Fluttershy. With a sharp breath, she managed to hold her hoof back. “...Anypony who gets the shot can take her.” Celestia nodded. “She will pay for what she’s done.” There was nothing else to be said. The group moved as one once again, marching right through the walls of the palace. One would think the center would get brighter and brighter as one approached Celestia’s location, but instead they only got darker. Everything had shadows now, splayed in multiple directions by the torches on the walls. Blink had to force herself to accommodate for this. Eventually, they ended up in a dark hallway with hardly any lights. They passed by a frail looking white stallion with a shaved horn. “She knows you’re here,” he said, keeping his gaze fixed on the ground. Everyone stared at him. He gave no response to this action. “Gelding…” Rarity said, hoof to her mouth. “How can he see us!?” Fluttershy hissed. “He can’t…” Bink said, furrowing her brow. “I can’t see you or hear you,” Gelding said. “But I know the Queen can. She is waiting on her throne. She is quite eager to meet you.” He paused. “Don’t fall into her trap. Turn around, take the palace by force. Don’t give her what she wants. ...Not that I can tell you what that is.” Celestia looked to Blink. “Let him see me.” “But-” “Do it.” Blink frowned—but nodded, allowing Celestia to step out of the Void. “Prime Minister Gelding,” she greeted him. “Princess Celestia.” He bowed. “You should turn back.” “I do not trust the armies or the new Matriarch to take care of her,” Celestia said. “Even if it is a trap, I do not see how turning back can result in our victory.” “I know not either,” Gelding admitted. “I do know she wants you in there. She’s been waiting since before your attack started.” Celestia frowned. “Why did she not prepare?” “I do not know.” “Do you have any other suggestions?” Gelding shook his head. “She knows I’m here, too. I was foolish to think there was anything she didn’t know.” “She’s not perfect,” Luna said—not that Gelding could hear it. “...She’s not perfect,” Celestia reiterated, cautiously. “Maybe once,” Gelding said. “Maybe once…” “...Gelding, I grant you amnesty. Turn yourself over to one of the Sweeties and tell them what happened here. They will protect you.” “I appreciate the offer, but it is worthless.” He looked her in the eye. “Our only hope is that she cannot plan for herself. Be strong, Celestia.” Celestia nodded. “There is no point to walking in to her invisible, is there?” “None.” “Blink, the disguise will no longer be needed,” Celestia said. “Get Gelding out of here. If you can, find Suzie and tell her what we’ve learned.” Blink dropped the Void and saluted. “Yes Princess. I suggest making full use of Burgerbelle—she’s very hard to predict.” “Thank you,” Celestia said, watching with curiosity as Gelding and Blink vanished. “...I can’t believe it, but I feel sorry for him,” Rarity commented. Applejack growled. “Even he was nothing more than a puppet…” “She views this entire land as her toybox,” Celestia said, grimacing. No longer hiding, they marched through the final hall to the Queen’s throne room. There were guards at the door who lifted their weapons—but a flash of white magic around their heads sent them to sleep. “...That wasn’t me,” Celestia observed. “Get ready girls…” Twilight said, arming the Element of Magic. Rarity, Applejack, Burgerbelle, Fluttershy, and Rainbow did the same. Celestia threw the doors open to the Queen’s throne room with her magic. Luna armed an offensive spell of darkness. The Queen was sitting in her throne drinking calmly from a teacup. Cinder was at the foot of her throne, unharmed, while Celia was curled into a crying fetal position. “Ah, welcome! I hope you’ve found my palace to your liking?” “Queen Celestia!” Celestia declared. “You have been found guilty of tyranny, cruelty, warmongering, petty violence, and a multitude of other crimes that I do not have the patience or the desire to list. Your punishment is to be whatever the Elements deem necessary.” “DIE!” Fluttershy shouted, rising into the air. The element of Kindness faltered for a moment—but continued glowing in the end. Magic, Honesty, Generosity, and Loyalty followed suit. Burgerbelle jumped into the middle of them, brimming with the power of Laughter. “Your day is done, Tyrant!” Twilight shouted, her eyes burning with the fire of Harmony. Celestia and Luna armed their magic, ready to defend against anything the Queen might try. “Rude,” the Queen said. With a sigh, she put her teacup down on its saucer. “Looks like there won’t be any small talk.” With a flash of her horn, a small pink earth pony appeared in the middle of the throne room. The Rainbow of Harmony broke in the middle of its path to the Queen as the Element of Laughter flew off of Burgerbelle and latched itself around Diane’s neck. The magical collar around Diane shot out several spikes of solar energy, fusing the Element to Diane’s very essence. “P… Pinkie Pie!?” Twilight gasped, staring at Diane in disbelief. “Y-you know my name too?” Diane asked, pain in her eyes. “I-” With a flash of fire from Celestia’s horn, Diane’s eyes were replaced with burning orbs of flame. She stood at attention like some kind of robot. “It worked!” Daylight declared, popping out from behind the Queen’s gargantuan throne. “She’s yours, my Queen!” “Yes, she is. She always has been,” the Queen said with a cruel smile. “I always make sure to keep at least one manifestation of the Elements near me at all times precisely to prevent this sort of thing.” Celestia stamped her hoof on the ground. “The Elements still have power separate, and my sister and I are still here.” Celestia lit her own eyes on fire, glaring right into the Queen’s featureless eyes. “You have not won.” “Daylight, grab the Element of Magic.” “Yes, my Queen,” Daylight said, leaping for Twilight. Twilight could feel the Element of Magic desire to return to its rightful owner: the Twilight of this universe. “No!” Twilight shouted, pleading with the Element. “No, she doesn’t understand Friendship! She’s a servant of the Tyrant! She doesn’t exemplify magic!” “I am the strongest sorcerer in the world!” Daylight shouted, pulling on the Element. “It belongs to me!” “NO!” Fluttershy shouted, the light of Kindness grabbing hold of the Element of Magic. “IT BELONGS TO TWILIGHT!” “Hear hear,” Applejack added, adding Honesty to the mix. “You are nothing more than a ruffian!” Rarity shouted. “You understand nothing of Harmony!” “You aren’t even worthy of being a spark!” Rainbow shouted. The Element of Magic shot back to Twilight’s head, severing itself from Daylight. “But… But… No…” The Queen shook her head—the smile still plastered on her face. “My student… when are you going to learn that you are destined to fail me as all others?” “M-my Queen…” “You strive for something you cannot have, Daylight. It’s how it must be.” Celestia glared. “You treat your prized student this way?” “Tell me you think your ‘Twilight’ will ever live up to your glory,” the Queen jeered. “I know she lives up to it,” Celestia said, stepping forward. “A bunch of white unicorns obey an alicorn by the name of Evening Twilight Sparkle, not Celestia.” Twilight gasped. She hadn’t known about that. For the first time, the Queen’s smile faltered. “Those Sweeties are quite an unexpected bunch, aren't they?” “Yeah!” Burgerbelle shouted, smacking the Queen in the face with a frying pan. The implement melted. The Queen didn’t so much as flinch. “Oh, come on.” The Queen smiled at Burgerbelle. “You expect me to be baffled, don’t you? Surprised?” She grabbed Burgerville in her magic and embedded the Flat in the ground between Cinder and Celia. “I’ve seen everything I need to in Celia’s mind, Flat. I know what you are. You are a joke given life by a cruel Tower.” She lowered herself to Burgerbelle and smirked. “Why do you fight me with such vigor when you submit yourselves to a power much worse than my own?” “Because we have a choice with you!” Cinder shouted. “We can’t do anything to the Tower, even if it is evil! But we can do something to you!” “Even after all you’ve been through you still believe that.” It wasn’t a question. “Yes! I do! And we’re going to show you that we do have a choice!” “You don’t,” the Queen stated flatly. “I’ve had enough of this,” Luna said. “You can talk, you can scheme, and you can entice us with your cryptic words. But we do not need answers from you. We need you dead.” Twilight let out a breath. “Luna’s right. Get her!” The Queen shook her head. “I always hate it when conversation is cut short…” She lit her horn, creating dimensional portals that engulfed Celestia and Luna. Twilight looked at where the princesses had just been in panic. “How did… What did…” The Queen looked at Celia with a slasher smile. “It was not hard at all to reconstruct the dimensional spell from her mind. Brainy Bright truly is useless now. I can go anywhere I want with a simple spark of my horn.” Daylight, despite herself, laughed. “And now you have no power that can challenge the Queen! You are nothing!” Twilight twitched, narrowing her eyes. The Element of Magic lit with a brilliant fire, connected to four of the other Elements in a partial rainbow. “We can try anyway.” “U-CATASTROPHE!” Suzie shouted, running through the main doors of the throne room and throwing something invisible at the Queen. “STOP!” Celia shouted at the top of her lungs, coming out of her stupor to stop Suzie from doing what she was about to do. “SHE MIGHT WANT TO LOSE!” A haunted expression came over Suzie’s face. “No…” The Queen laughed—a motion full of disgusting life and joy. “And everypony wonders why I’m so cryptic all the time!” She focused her empty eyes on Suzie. “How does it feel to be out-thought by a low level threat?” Suzie ground her teeth. The Queen smirked. She flared her immense wings and everything went white.