"Back on your hooves! Get ready!" shouted Obsidian, sending his staff flying at the stone barrier.
The staff struck with force that splintered the hard rock, the tip pushing through inside the barrier. Obsidian suppressed a curse, withdrawing his weapon; the dome was empty.
“She’s underground!” shouted Twilight, sending her power into the floor. She felt the stones bulge near Pinkie and Rarity, but her power net bought them enough time to avoid the shrapnel.
Obsidian turned around, closing his eyes as if he were listening intently. “There!” he shouted, and his own spell broke the floor. For a second, an angry, white alicorn was visible, until she dove in again, sending a wave of rubble at Obsidian. The stallion jumped up, and barely avoided the attack, balancing precariously on the piled stones as they stopped against the wall.
“Focus your Elements!” he shouted, “Push away her power!”
There was something in his voice that made the six mares refocus instantly, an authority of one experienced in battle, who knew what he was doing, and could take command. One by one, the six crystals lit up brighter, the girls moving closer to each other as the world around them started to recover its colors.
Pinkie Pie’s ears twitched underneath her helmet. She reared up, bending comically backwards as a stone spike erupted from the floor underneath her. More attacks came, but the mare danced and twisted, her helmet now a yellow hat with a feather, shoving her friends out of the way of the incoming attacks.
Rarity’s Generosity lit up, strands of power flowing into her friends, filling them with strength. Rainbow Dash folded the injured wings and focused on her hooves, standing alongside Applejack, the two following Obsidian’s directions, stomping the floor where he directed them. “Together now!” she shouted, We almost got her!”
A whirlwind rose around Twilight Sparkle, venting the air from around her, removing a pocket of gas before it could be detonated and dispersing it across the ceiling.
Applejack, Rainbow Dash and Obsidian struck as one, their unrefined strength adding to his magic to make the floor move like water, the ripples rebounding across the room until they met at the far end of it, the stone bulging and erupting upwards, spitting Celestia out of the ground. The alicorn was battered and bruised, covered in dust, small pieces of rubble falling out of her mane.
“You can’t fight us all,” said Obsidian, “Now, girls!”
Six gems lit up with blinding light. Six pairs of eyes focused on the Princess of the Sun. The chamber was illuminated with all the colors of the rainbow.
Celestia stomped her hoof, and the stone barrier behind her crumbled, revealing the cages filled with sleeping ponies. She jumped back, landing on top of the middle one.
"Do not move," she said. “You won’t be fast enough.”
The bars of the cages deformed with a whine of twisting metal. Applejack gasped. She hesitated, her power waning slightly, causing her friends to hesitate as well. The light of the Elements faded, and the moment was over.
“What are you waiting for? Shoot her!” shouted Obsidian.
Celestia looked at him with disdain. From her horn spread golden light, clearing the dust off her coat and mane. In a moment, she was regal again, her mane flowing, the dents of her armor repairing themselves. She looked down at her enemies, her breath calming down.
“They won’t attack me, Obsidian,” she said. “Unlike you, they still have somepony they want to save. I didn’t think I would have to stoop that low, but there is nothing I won’t do to save Equestria from your chaos.”
Applejack’s gem glowed brighter, and she stepped to the front of the group. “What do ya want!?” she shouted at the princess.
Celestia looked from one Element to another. “This is simple. You will surrender your Elements,and give up. Sadly, I don’t think I could undo what Obsidian has done with you, you will have to be contained for life. But you can at least have each others’ company. I can promise not to kill you. And the most important of all…” she tapped her hoof on the cage she was standing on, “your loved ones will never know this has ever happened. Unlike you, they can be made to forget things, and I have made sure they wouldn’t see too much.”
“I see this deal does not include me,” said Obsidian with a sneer.
The alicorn turned towards her old enemy. “Of course not. You’re far too dangerous to keep alive. Besides I expect you to help me convince them by attacking me.”
Obsidian bared his teeth, and his staff started vibrating, the runes along the shaft growing slightly brighter.
Celestia lowered her stance. “You really aren’t fast enough, but you will continue, no matter how many innocents you condemn in the process, won’t you?”
“Don’t do anything rash, Obsidian,” said Twilight, looking sideways at the stallion.
Obsidian turned red. He turned towards Twilight, words leaving his mouth through clenched teeth. “Are you so thoroughly brainwashed, Twilight Sparkle? After all I’ve done to help you, you let her make me look like a villain while holding your friends’ families hostage? Perhaps I should let her murder you, and just start over with somepony more fitting.”
“She won’t kill us if we give up,” said Applejack. “Not that I would, but I know she’s been honest there.” She tapped her gorget with a hoof, and looked towards Celestia.
“And neither will she kill innocent ponies,” said Twilight Sparkle.
“Are you dense?” barked Obsidian, “She already has. Thousands of them.”
Twilight flinched, as if physically struck, but did not back down. “I know. I know she was the monster you said she was. But I’ve known her all my life. Whatever she used to be, she is no more. Princess Celestia has always had the good of Equestria at heart. I know she’d never hurt her ponies like this.”
Celestia stared in silence at her former pupil. She then twisted her hoof, just a little, causing the cage beneath it to give another whine of bending metal. “You are right, Twilight Sparkle. I have always had the good of Equestria at heart. But I think you underestimate just how much I’m willing to do to protect it.”
“You were willing to make us the bearers of the Elements,” continued Twilight. “That must have been a great risk for you. But that doesn’t change a thing. The princess Celestia I know would never hurt innocent ponies.”
The other Elements joined Twilight, their foci aglow, but apart from Applejack’s, not too strongly. Obsidian stayed back, watching the situation, though his staff remained ready to strike.
“Just what are you trying to achieve here, Twilight?” asked Celestia. Her pose remained regal, but her eyes darted back and forth, trying to stay vigilant of both Twilight and Obsidian at the same time.
“I want to stop this war before anypony else gets hurt,” said Twilight. “Please, release these ponies and then… we’ll all think about how to solve this.”
“So, you don’t know what to do,” said Celestia. “You think you can find a solution to keep everypony safe, and still win, but that’s impossible.”
“Hey, we’re the Elements of Harmony!” proclaimed Rainbow Dash loudly. “Impossible is what we do.”
“Yea!” agreed Pinkie Pie, nodding vigorously.
“Oh, I’m sure it would be quite a sight,” said Obsidian, “You and the Shattered, sitting around the table, discussing the future of Equestria. How about in the Crystal Empire? Do you think Cadence has managed to get the smell of her guards’ guts out of the floor after the last time Hate visited?”
All six girls turned to glare daggers at him. Rainbow Dash looked like she was about to catch on fire.
Obsidian shrugged. “Just giving you a reality check here. I went with you on what was basically a suicide mission, and managed to make it so that you actually have a chance. Instead of using it, you’re trying to give a chance to your enemy. And every second you spend here discussing philosophy is one more second for the other Shattered to get here, and make your situation hopeless.”
“You can’t both win this fight and keep your families safe,” said Celestia. “The sooner you give up, and surrender, the less blood will be shed.”
“There doesn’t need to be any blood,” said Fluttershy, Kindness glowing brighter on her neck.
Celestia smiled, “Using your aura? So, you do doubt Twilight's assessment after all.”
The glow dimmed, Fluttershy shrinking visibly when Twilight looked at her in surprise. “No… it’s just… I do.” She stopped, horrified, clapping her hooves over her mouth.
Twilight looked at Fluttershy, then at Applejack, then took a long, calming breath. “It’s okay to be scared, Fluttershy. And it was wise of you to try to use your power.”
“She couldn’t stop me anyway,” said Celestia. Her horn started glowing, an orb of light forming above the tip. “I have experience fighting the Elements. For example, she could stop me from releasing this spell. But what if it goes off on its own? There are many ways for you to hurt me, but If you do, this spell will explode, and I am far more fireproof than a bunch of unconscious ponies.” She smiled, the fireball growing larger above her.
“So, what will you do, Twilight Sparkle? If I am a monster as Obsidian says, are you willing to kill innocent ponies to rid Equestria of me?”
Twilight looked around at her friends. “I’m not sure I can stop this spell by myself. We could use the Elements, but then it might give her an opening. Obsidian, can you stop her if we focus on the spell?”
“So now I’m the friend you need?” said Obsidian, his staff twitching in a way that suggested he was about to smack Twilight with it. “I won’t guarantee anything, but I will try.” His staff flew in front of the girls, its tip pointing at Celestia. “I can also shield you when you get so distracted figuring what to do that she simply shoots the thing at us.”
Celestia snorted in derision, but the fireball above her stopped growing. “And if Fluttershy stops me from doing that, you won’t be able to attack me either. It seems we have a stalemate. Or will you risk all these lives trying to take me down, Twilight Sparkle? Hard choices is what it means to rule. Choose a lesser evil, or risk a greater one by always doing the right thing? This has been my burden for generations. Are you ready to take it over from me? Or do you intend to give it away to your new master?”
“He’s not my…” started Twilight angrily, almost choking as her mouth ground to a halt. “Is, he? No. He isn’t. He gives advice, but I make my own choices.” She turned towards Applejack. “Could you turn it off? It’s distracting.”
Applejack nodded absentmindedly, her eyes now focused on the cage Celestia was standing on and her family members sleeping inside. Her own mouth was moving soundlessly, struggling to keep her from asking a question that would distract her friends at the worst possible moment.The light of Honesty dimmed.
“So, there you are, Twilight Sparkle,” said Celestia. “Surrender the Elements, and save everypony but Obsidian, keep waiting, and lose everything… or strike at me and prove yourself just like me. The time to choose is now. There is no other way.”
“You don’t get to tell us what our choices are,” called a voice from among the rubble.
Everypony looked in that direction. A small cloaked figure was picking her way across the shattered floor, walking purposefully between the upturned blocks of stone. Her cloak was stretched in a way that suggested heavy saddle bags underneath
“We’re all free, you hear me? The Elements, me, mom, Scootaloo, Mr Enigma, all of us. You don’t get to control us anymore.”
Celestia turned to look at the approaching figure, her expression turning to one of genuine surprise. “Tourmaline? How did you get here? You aren’t supposed to be here.”
The filly looked up, throwing off her hood to reveal her face. She reached under her cloak, pulling at something with her mouth.
“Get out of here, quickly!” warned Celestia and Twilight in unison.
“I won’t,” said the filly. “You’ve had us all trapped, princess, but I will fix everything now.”
“What?” said Celestia, confused. “What are you talking about, child?” Then her eyes caught a glimpse of the device underneath the cloak, an oblong metal object strapped to Tourmaline’s side.
The princess stopped, her eyes widening in understanding, then darting up at the explosive spell still hovering above her head. Twilight and her friends noticed that - they didn’t know what was going on, but what they did understand was enough; the six gems flared to life. Tourmaline reared, pointing the gun up, and jerked her head sideways, yanking at the rope that served as the trigger. Obsidian’s staff flew forward, runes aglow.
The emitter fired, a wide stream of silvery grey, a light both pale and blinding, all it hit suddenly visible in painful detail. The princess tried to fly out of the way, but the stream was too wide, catching her in the air, just as Obsidian’s staff flew past her, striking at the center of the fireball. The spell turned from an orb into a vortex, the staff sucking it in and shooting the excess power as a beam of fire that shot all the way across the hangar, burning a trail in the opposite wall. The power of the Elements expanded in a wave, but they were too slow to contribute - all it managed to do was shield them when Celestia’s body exploded.
There was a moment of silence, when everypony was trying to make sense of what had just happened, the smoke slowly clearing.
Applejack was the first to act, rushing through the rubble-strewn hangar. She ran past where Celestia had been when the beam struck her, ignoring the stone under her hooves all sprinkled with red. She didn’t stop until she got to the cages and when she did, she broke the middle one open with a kick. Rarity and Pinkie Pie were close behind her.
Twilight and Rainbow Dash didn’t get quite as far. Twilight was the first to reach the body in the center of the room. Dash was about to run past, but suddenly stopped, right next to Twilight, and stared at what was before her.
They hadn’t expected anything to be there. The explosion hadn’t been big, but it was beyond obvious that it destroyed Celestia; both mares were doing all they could to ignore the wet… things, sticking to the underside of their hooves. And yet, there was a body at the ground zero of the blast, a white pegasus mare with a mane of shifting blue and pink, and an opalescent ring for a cutie mark, unconscious, but breathing slowly. Stranger still, apart from where she hit the bloodstained ground, her coat was completely clean. Twilight and Rainbow Dash stared on in confusion.
“Princess... Celestia?” started Twilight hesitantly.
“Well, it looks like whatever that alicorn body was, it couldn’t properly exist without magic,” said Obsidian, appearing beside the two mares. His staff rose for the finishing blow, the magical aura forming a blue spear tip at the end of it.
Suddenly, Dash lunged forward, stretching her good wing over the prone body. “No! Don’t kill me!”
Obsidian hesitated, looking quizzically at Dash. Dash looked back, her expression just as confused.
“I… I don’t know how or why, but… somehow she’s me! I know it.”
Obsidian withdrew his blade, and stared at Rainbow Dash, then at the other pegasus. “I think I know,” he finally said. “Let me take a look at her.” He moved closer, gently pushing Dash’s wing aside, the pegasus reluctantly getting out of the way. Obsidian leaned low, over the unconscious mare’s head, as if trying to smell her breath. He closed his eyes, and for a moment, a pale blue glow flashed under his eyelids. Finally, he straightened himself, looked at Rainbow Dash, and smiled.
“You were right to stop me,” he said. “This is not Arrogance. This is Loyalty.”
“What?” said Twilight and Rainbow together, each raising one eyebrow.
“I’ll explain later,” said Obsidian. “For now, move her with the others, and make sure she stays stable. It looks like that beam almost snuffed her out.”
“Girls?” came Fluttershy’s voice from the other side of the room, “I think I need help!”
The rest of the Elements were busy getting their friends and families out of the cages. But the tone of growing panic in Fluttershy’s voice made them all turn in her direction. Twilight was the first to get to her side.
Fluttershy was standing over Tourmaline, trying to untangle her from her equipment. The girl was not moving, and though the red stains on her cloak were not hers, there was a trickle of fresh blood coming from underneath. The cloak was torn in places, and there was a smell of something burning.
Twilight picked the girl up with her telekinesis, her power peeling off the cloak, then the harness underneath. The strange device had blown up, the broken chassis exposing the scorched machinery within. Twilight threw it aside, focused on the filly. She moved her close to her ear, and listened, finally giving a sigh of relief.
“She’s alive,” she said.
“No, she’s not,” said Obsidian, his usual derisive smirk completely gone.
The two mares looked at him, not understanding.
Obsidian pushed past them, and pointed his hoof at the filly’s rump. The two mares looked, trying to see what he was pointing at. Finally, Twilight spoke first.
“She’s a grown filly. Shouldn’t she have a cutie mark?”
“I’d wager she had one until a moment ago,” said Obsidian. He pushed closer, and moved his head next to Tourmaline’s. “This is something I’ve seen before. I’ve told you how the power that created the Shattered is antithesis to magic, didn’t I? Magic is more than a power we can use. Dissonance is the source of all souls, the essence of all that lives.”
“This weapon she used was clearly created to combat magic with pattern power, just like those devices Arrogance used to set her trap. There were no such things in my time. And this one,” he said, pointing at the smoking junk at their feet, “has obviously backfired.”
He looked from Twilight to Fluttershy. “There is no magic left in this filly. She’s just like the bodies the Shattered possess. She may still be breathing, but all that made her a pony has been smothered.”
“But…” started Twilight, “we have plenty of magic here. We could try to replace it.”
Fluttershy just stared in horror, unable to choke out a single word.
Obsidian shook his head sadly. “Can you replace a beautiful ice sculpture with a bucket of water? Or will you take a new block of ice, and try to sculpt it from memory? Better than you have tried and failed, Twilight Sparkle. Now, let us focus on the ponies we can help.”
And with that, he turned, trotting towards the cages. Twilight stayed there, staring at the still breathing body in her magical grasp. Slowly, she set it on the ground, folding the torn cloak to serve as a blanket. Her tiara lit up, the power flowing into the filly, trying to mend her wounds. Nothing happened.
“Why isn’t it working?” said Twilight, pressing harder.
On the other side of the room, Obsidian was doing his own magic, a transformation spell he had prepared in advance spreading from his staff over the unconscious ponies, shrinking and transforming their bodies. Within moments the horses were replaced by a group of ferrets, which Rarity picked up with her telekinesis.
“Healing spells rely on making the body change to match its self-image of health,” called Obsidian over his shoulder. “But there’s nopony to heal there. You’re just trying to transform meat.”
“That’s a crass way to put it,” said Enigma scornfully.
Everypony turned their heads, Fluttershy jumping with a startled scream, as the blue unicorn appeared right behind her. Enigma opened his mouth to speak, then disappeared. Obsidian’s staff flew through the space where his head had been.
Obsidian’s body erupted with blue runes, the barrier catching Enigma’s bladed foreleg as it appeared inches from his face. The unicorn shifted away, Obsidian’s staff returning to strike at him once more.
“Charge up, everypony!” shouted Obsidian, sweeping his staff around, thin rays of fire following Enigma around the room.
Six gems lit up once more. Then the block of stone Celestia had cut out of the ceiling disappeared into the air, and fell on top of where Obsidian was standing.
“Obsidian!” shouted Rainbow Dash. Her friends were getting close together, around the broken cages. Enigma stood in front of them. He looked down on Tourmaline’s body, then slowly up into Twilight’s eyes.
“It can’t be stopped anymore. If I were you, I’d leave immediately. Envy will be here any minute, and Hate is already waking up.”
“You’re not going to fight us?” asked Twilight confusedly. Her eyes darted towards the stone block, just in time to see it start shaking with a low rumble. Enigma followed her gaze.
“No. This battle is pointless. Enough harm has been done today.”
A cloud of blue smoke erupted from under the block, swirling as it reformed into a very angry earth pony. Enigma looked at it with disdain.
“You have the war you wanted. What will you do with it now?”
Obsidian met his gaze. “I will end it.”
The blue unicorn snorted. “Do as you will. But not now and not here. Unless you want to fight in front of a grieving mother.”
His ear twitched. Obsidian followed its move, listening intently. There was a faint sound of galloping hooves closing in.
“I’ll be leaving now,” said Enigma.
“Wait!” shouted Applejack, taking a step forward, Honesty blazing on her chest. “It was you! You were in the palace!”
Enigma gave her a questioning look.
Applejack took another step. “What have you done to my sister!? Where is she?”
Enigma’s ear twitched again. The sound of hooves was getting very close.
“I didn’t do anything. I have no idea where she is,” he said. And then he was gone.
Obsidian looked at the girls, then at the pony-ferrets gathered between them. He walked towards the group, planting his staff in the middle of the circle.
“I think I’ve managed to break any wards preventing us from leaving. It is time to finish this ‘rescue’.”
The six ponies all nodded, and after a moment their magic started flowing around them, spiralling towards the staff in multicolor streaks. The spell was completed the moment two more ponies ran into the room.
No words were exchanged, but as the Elements started to disappear, Applejack managed to see Bluebonnet’s face. She could see, with horrible clarity, the palette of emotions shifting from one to another; from recognition, as the two mares’ eyes met, to panic at seeing her daughter on the ground, growing as she ran towards her, hope surging for a brief moment, only to crash down into shocked despair as the scientist got a closer look, and realised what exactly happened.
Pierce sent a salvo of needles at them, but the swirling vortex of power blew them away like straws. Applejack opened her mouth to speak, but just then the spell was complete; the ground slid away from under her hooves, as she and her friends were sent hurtling through space between dimensions.