The War in Heaven

by voroshilov

Finale

Penumbra looked out of one of the Citadel's balistraria, surveying the battlefield she had left behind only minutes earlier. From her vantage point, miles above the Aether's land, she could see only a fraction of the wider battle. The force left of her was obscured by the cruiser Victorious Jubilation, whose plasma lance was still firing, torching the Citadel as the group advanced. It was covered in scars, with only two of its twenty engines still running, venting plasma every few minutes from its engineering bay. Yet, as a testament to its crew, it held firm, remaining batteries providing cover fire and its armoured hull providing the distraction that allowed Penumbra and her fellows to continue advancing.

To her right, was the Imperial line. Amongst that block of soldiers, separated only by Monoliths and Titans, were Fusiliers, Rangers, PHALANXs alike. Yet, at the head of the block, marched forwards a thick line of dark green. Penumbra couldn't help but smile as she saw militia, armoured with little more than a steel helmet and cloth, cut through daemons, powered by determination to succeed.

Rainbow Dash and Em stood behind her, with Ellie, Hayden and the two Neophytes guarding the stairwell. Aimee and Douglas, along with Luna and Rarity, headed the group, with the Grand Master sensing the state of the path ahead.

"Come on," Rainbow said, her robotic voice oddly frantic, "we have to keep going. Nicholas wouldn't want us to just wait."

Penumbra chuckled darkly, "no," she said, remembering the look her mentor gave her as he collapsed the bridge, "he would not."

She pulled herself away from the lookout, steeling herself with the reminder of Nicholas. The armoured Rainbow Dash cocked her rifle saddle with a wing. "Let's go, way ahead should be clear."

Em stepped back. "Go up ahead," he said to Rainbow, "I'll get the others to follow.” He turned down to the stairs. "We're moving out!" He shouted down, "get up here."

The four rear guard followed quickly, the Neophytes waiting for Penumbra before they followed. The Grand Master stood ahead, Rarity on his left and Luna on his right. Luna still hadn't fully recovered from Nicholas' sacrifice, as evidenced by the solitary tear that hovered in her right eye. To her credit, she wasn't letting it affect her, still speaking in her authoritative tone, though it had an undertone of anger to it, one even Penumbra couldn't hope to replicate.

"That doesn't make sense," she argued with the Grand Master, "there should be more guards, yet you sense only three?"

The Grand Master nodded. "Yes," he said, his voice still carrying that immense wisdom it had when she first met him, "three. I have no doubt they are powerful. The Light does not need numbers to defeat us if we allow our hubris to take hold."

Rarity hummed. "The more elite the guards," she said, "the less there are."

"Precisely," the Grand Master replied, the purple halo about his hidden eyes receding, only the aura about his head remaining, "prepare yourselves."

Douglas and Aimee advanced towards the next door, only slightly taller than Luna. They stacked up on its left, with Ellie and Hayden stacking on the right. The two Neophytes moved forwards, each grasping a handle, whilst Rainbow and the Grand Master stood in front of it, Rainbow's weapon aimed and the Grand Master's staff ready.

In silence, the Neophytes pulled, flinging open both doors. The PHALANXs and Rainbow moved in as one, encountering the blinding light of the Aether's sky, and a bridge to the Citadel's final tower. Penumbra, Luna and Rarity quickly followed, with the Shade Guards following up in the rear, the Neophytes turned to make sure nothing could follow.

Three statues, each at least three hundred metres tall, stood at the bridge's end. Unlike the walkway Nicholas had cut, this bridge was enormous, wide enough to take a Monolith for sure. Each statue was of a knight, though with bodies far larger than could be possible. Their armoured heads were tiny, barely larger than Penumbra's own, though stood atop bodies that looked like mountains from the distance.

Slowly, they began to move, their arms shifting as they brought their weapons to bear. Each step they took from their plinths sent a shockwave up the bridge, hitting the group stood a few kilometres away.

"Advance team," came the voice of Captain Staker, "you have a problem."

Rainbow Dash opened the communication panel on her left hoof. "We can get past them."

"Negative, not on your own."

"Victorious Jubilation," Rainbow said, putting on her most forceful voice, not that much different from her usual, "your reactors can't take the strain, it'll be a suicide mission."

The three statues made their way onto the bridge, marching single file, in perfect lockstep. The PHALANXs, save Rainbow, made their way into defensive positions, though each knew their weapons would be nigh useless.

"When was this ever not," Staker's voice lowered, before rising again, the silhouette of the Victorious Jubilation transforming into the bow of the cruiser's hull.

Rainbow seemed to realise his plan, sighing, she shook her head. "Copy that, hit them hard."

"Will do. Long live the Empire! Victorious Jubilation out."

When his transmission cut, a burst of light behind the ship propelled it forwards. The engines thundered, the hull around the engineering bay seeming to glow. The cannon fire ceased and the shields crackled and receded, the purple hull scorching black. With a deafening roar, it impacted the statues. They cut long swathes into its hull, before becoming embedded and being dragged along by it, the burning vessel speeding into the Citadel's walls. A flash of purple and an explosion from far below heralded the impact, with Rainbow closing her communicator's panel.

"Come on," Rainbow said, "let's not waste time."

The central tower loomed above as Penumbra turned back to the battlefield outside the Citadel. The first of the Monoliths had reached its walls, with Imperial soldiers already fighting to claim them. Another four cruisers advanced to fill the gap left by the Victorious Jubilation, with a sizeable force of fighters moving to assist. She smiled, before cantering back over to the group, who were entering the tower.

Unlike the surrounding towers, the central tower was incredibly bright. It reminded Penumbra of Cloudsdale back on Equestria, though more symmetrical in its appearance. They were in an atrium, which in itself was larger than the throne room in Canterlot, large enough for the group's voices to echo.

"Target's at the top of the tower," Rainbow said, "though I'm getting nothing on scanners, it's like there's not even a building above us."

The group looked about for a moment, the PHALANXs scanning and Shade Guard sensing to try and find a path up.

"Got it," Ellie said, "there's a stairway just beyond that do..."

She was cut off by a burst, followed by the sound of glass shattering. She staggered backwards, breaths coming out sharp and fast. Without warning, she collapsed, blue blood leaking from her helmet, which had been cut straight through by a crystal the size of Penumbra's horn.

"Ambush!" Douglas yelled, the PHALANXs opening fire at the far roof, where a host of daemons had revealed themselves. Hayden grabbed Ellie's body and pulled her back, whilst the rest of the group ducked behind the various ornaments and pillars in the room. The daemons dropped down, one by one, screeching violently as some of their number charged.

Penumbra's magical wrath was a sight to behold, lances of purple and shadow whipped and tore, slicing daemons in half with merely their shockwave. Yet, even her magical strength was unmatched to Rainbow Dash, who had launched herself with her robotic wings and barrelled straight into the enemy's rear, killing the ranged daemons with nothing more than her hooves.

The ambush was quickly settled, with Rainbow allowing herself a few more seconds to grind a daemon to dust before she sped back over to Hayden, who had Ellie propped up against a pillar.

"Hey," Rainbow said, "hey," She shook Ellie's body. "Wake up! You're gonna be okay. PHALANXs are invincible, right? Come on, wake up."

Douglas pulled her back slowly. "There's nothing we can do, come on, she'd want us to go ahead."

Though Rainbow's face was covered by her helmet, Penumbra knew she was crying. Even though she did so silently, the way she moved slowly, nodded her head slightly and didn't speak were the plainest of giveaways. Penumbra held in her tears, simply nodding in acceptance, she'd become used to death by now, Nicholas' training and tutelage had made her so strong; yet, she was unable to comfort her friend in any way.

The group made their way through the tower, leaving Ellie's body. Hayden had explained it was too much to carry, which Rainbow had accepted only after being promised it would not be touched. What few daemons they encountered were swiftly dealt with, Rainbow taking out her emotions on them, leaving pools of daemon blood in her wake. The stairway Ellie had indicated led only about halfway up the tower, leading the group to a large observation area, where Penumbra again decided to look out over the battlefield.

The Monolith was burning, its hull shattered by something, the soldiers on the wall had been replaced with drifting black smoke. Two of the cruisers lay, shattered and burning, on the ground, one having fallen onto the wall, its fellow having fallen into the Imperial lines. Only half of a third remained, the rear, hanging over the edge of the void filled ravine, plasma leaking slowly down. The fourth was just barely hovering, with only a cavernous gash left where half of its midsection should have been, plasma pouring from its engines. Its plasma lance kept firing, though the rest of its cannon batteries must have been dead.

A transmission came through on Rainbow's communicator. "This is Executioner Uluvan," Haisan's voice came through the speakers, his previous innocent aloofness replaced by a mounting worry, "we're getting cut to pieces down here. Whatever your plan is, do it now."

Penumbra pulled herself away from the window, moving to the centre of the room, where the group had gathered around a pillar of blue energy.

"This," the Grand Master said, "is an energy lift to the next floor."

"Then we've gotta hurry." Rainbow moved towards it, before being pulled back by Hayden. "Hey!" she shouted, bashing at their arm, "you heard Haisan, we can't wait any longer!"

"We will have to," the Grand Master said, "I cannot penetrate the wards that lie above this room, there could be untold numbers of daemons beyond this lift. In fact, there most certainly is."

Douglas stepped forwards. "We'll check," he said, "gather up Red Team. Em, you stay down here. If it goes to shit, wait an hour, then come up."

Em saluted. "It's been an honour, sir."

Douglas nodded. "It certainly has. Alright PHALANXs, let's go."

Together, they stepped into the lift, slowly rising above the group, weapons at the ready. A circle opened in the ceiling, allowing them to pass through, before closing again, the PHALANXs vanishing beyond all sensors.

Em continued looking up. "Been an honour," he muttered to himself.

The group waited for an hour, Em continuing to guard the lift, with Rainbow, Rarity, Luna and Penumbra all sitting together, whilst the Shade Guard held a communion. Rarity spoke for most of the time, mostly about her plans to open a new boutique once all was said and done.

"I would have initially chosen Chronove," she said, "but, apparently, they're not big on fashion there. Nicholas recommended Arcadius, its close to Chronove and is absolutely huge on fashion. Oh, darling, I say, some of the dresses he showed me were spectacular! Apparently the air there even smells like lavender! I think it will also be a perfect home for Luna: it has three moons! He showed me a picture of the sky on a clear night, beautiful darling, I've seen few things prettier."

"It's been an hour," Em said, drawing everyone's attention, "and they're not back."

"We're heading up," Penumbra cut off the Shade Guard before they could speak, "get ready."

They ringed the lift, everyone readying their weapons. Penumbra activated her sword, with Em switching his rifle's mode to shotgun. Rarity cautiously levitated her twin pistols, with Luna standing close to her, her rapier ahead of both of them. The Shade Guard stood together, staffs at standby. In unison, they entered the lift's well, which levitated them all together, up through the opening and the tower's expansive white walls.

When they emerged at the lift's end, they beheld a scene of utter devastation.

The ground over a metre from the lift was completely covered in the bodies of daemons. From the smallest imps to several armoured creatures. All were dead, bodies filled with bullet and knife wounds.

Around the lift were four PHALANX bodies, with crimson red armour. Em looked at them in turn. He shook his head when he came across Douglas, whose chest piece was shattered and visor badly cracked.

"Been an honour," he said, taking the captain's tags. He repeated his ritual for the rest of the team, storing their tags in one of his empty ammo pouches.

Rainbow Dash was silent, though, unlike previously, she wasn't crying. She walked up to Em, who didn't look at her.

"Stairway's up ahead," he said, "let's go."

The group moved on in silence, either not willing, or - in the case of the Neophytes - not able, to make conversation. Rainbow religiously checked her weapon as they went, with Em by her side, checking his shotgun's hammer. Luna and Rarity led the group, Rarity keeping her head high to avoid the sight of the corpses she was treading on, keeping her mind filled with images of grass, imagining she was simply stepping on flowers as they cracked beneath her.

The next stairway spiralled up along a circumference a hundred or so metres wide. Each step was only about a metre wide, with several cracked already. High above, echoing through the tower, daemons screeched and roared. Worse, from behind them came similar sounds, gradually becoming less and less muffled.

"Move up the stairs," Penumbra shouted, "swords at the front."

Em went up first, Luna following close behind, levitating her rapier ahead of the PHALANX. Penumbra stood just behind the Grand Master, in front of the two Neophytes and Rainbow Dash, who was keeping up the rear. The group advanced quickly, having made it about a hundred metres up before the doors below them opened, a horde of daemons spilling out.

The screeched and roared and clambered to get on the stairs, buying the group a few minutes of extra time. Eventually, though, one of the knights pushed their way through, thundering up the stairs as imps followed, halting their clamouring to form orderly - if violent - queues behind.

Every couple of steps, Rainbow would take a few potshots, killing or downing a few imps which were quickly trampled by their fellows, uncaring for losses as they were. The daemons, as athletic as they were murderous, quickly began to gain on the group, whose size, coupled with self preservation, had them practically tip-toeing along. Rainbow's potshots soon became controlled, short range bursts, staggering the larger daemons slightly and outright killing their smaller accompaniments.

The group reached a larger area of staircase, similar to a passing place, where Em turned suddenly as the group continued moving. "What are you doing?" Rainbow shouted as she came to a halt, "they're gaining!"

Em looked at her. "Go," he said, grimly, "I've gotcha back."

Rainbow shook her head. "No," she yelled, "not you as well, come on." She reached out to take his arm, only for one of the Neophytes to grab her. Despite their lithe appearance, they were exceptionally strong, Rainbow could move no part of her body but her mouth, which she used to yell out to Em and anyone who would listen, "put me down! Em, come on! We're not leaving him."

Em just nodded at her, throwing a charge down just above his position. He turned to the daemons. "You wanna piece of me? Come get it!"

He slamfired his shotgun into the knight, which slowly collapsed sideways with a groan, its chest ripped to shreds. Imps clambered over it, most falling to their deaths with it, the others being quickly liquidised by the rapid fire shotgun blasts.

"That was for Sam!"

Gradually, the shotgun blasts grew dimmer and dimmer, with Em himself becoming smaller and smaller as the group ran ahead, Rainbow looking back, yelling everything she could, tears coming faster than her helmet could recycle them.

Eventually, Em was replaced by a swarm of daemons, their glowing white and gold tumourous bodies practically smothering him. One last shotgun blast followed, throwing at least twenty of them down the hole.

"And that," came a final, triumphant shout, "that was for me!"

Suddenly, the stair was wreathed in flames, a thunderous crack echoing throughout the chamber. Below, the stair began to collapse, throwing hundreds of daemons to their deaths, coupled with the hundreds lost in the explosion. Rainbow fell silent, as did all of the group, coming to a halt far beyond the site of the explosion.

No one said anything, but enough of a message was given by their silence. Slowly, they turned back around, making their way up the rest of the stairs in a solemn and steady silence, lowering their weapons.

The chamber above held only a door, with a decently sized area for the group to rest. Luna and Rarity lay down, whilst Rainbow stood in abject silence, the Neophyte having placed her down and moved over to their fellow Shade Guard. Penumbra stood with Luna, recognising Rainbow's need for space.

They were given ten minutes to recuperate, regain their lost breath, before the Grand Master turned to them. "Ahead lies the final chamber," he said, "one final effort and we shall be in the heart. Our journey is nearly at an end."

He walked over to Penumbra, who had nodded her affirmative and motioned for her fellows to rise and make ready. To her shock, the Shade Guard put his free hand on her shoulder. "When the Emperor first told me about you," he said, voice low but still not a whisper, "I was wary. I did not believe you were the one, did not believe you were strong enough - in mind or body - to complete this task. I am thankful to say you have proven me wrong. It is realising this that I can say, for absolutely certain, that we will all survive the coming encounter." He chuckled to himself wryly. "Yes, all of us."

He turned back to his Neophytes, who stood in attentive silence, just like they always did. Penumbra thought his words over for a second, before deciding there was little point. She walked over to Rainbow, who was still quiet and hadn't moved since she was put down.

"Rainbow," she said, "I know you need to mourn, but we have to go. Em wouldn't want us waiting here, he'd want us finishing our mission. Then we can mourn for him and all of the others."

Rainbow nodded, reluctantly. "I know," she admitted, "but, I can't help it. Even after everything: all of the fighting, the missions, the trials, the death; I'm still just that pegasus I was in Equestria. Still as weak as I was then."

Penumbra put her clawed hoof on Rainbow's shoulder. "Look at us," she said, "we're stronger now; we're better now. Who we were before, they're still inside us; even if we've changed our outsides, we can't change our insides, our fundamentals - but we can change how we use them. What matters is we do the right thing, no matter how much it hurts or what we have to do to get it done. Now, are you with me?"

Rainbow looked to her. "Hay yes."

Penumbra smiled, before turning back to the door. She made her way in front of it, turning back to the group to give a speech. "Alright," she said, "we've come far. We all had our doubts initially, we said it couldn't be done. Now look. We're on the verge of victory. We've lost many friends on the way, some would say too many. But, their sacrifices will not be in vain, are not in vain. Because, here we are, one final effort, one final push, away from victory. Now, let's go kick some tail!"

"Hoorah!" Rainbow and Rarity yelled, the armoured PHALANX pegasus surprised at her unicorn friend's demeanour. Luna clapped, whilst the Shade Guard remained silent, but Penumbra could tell the Grand Master at least was appreciative.

The doors opened to reveal the last thing she wanted to see.

The steps leading up to the Great Light's heart were about a kilometre away, across an open field swarming with more daemons than she had ever seen. Imps were like grass, with knights as shrubs and the mightiest statue daemons as trees. There was silence, the daemons seeming to ignore them as they traipsed along small paths, patrolling routes of a few metres long at most.

In unison, every daemon turned to the door. They looked at it in silence, neither side daring to make a move. The standoff continued until Rarity, twin pistols already prepared, blasted a pair of fist sized holes through a knight's head, killing it instantly.

"Take that," she snarled, "you brute."

Carnage broke loose. Daemons charged, imps being trampled by fellow imps or knights, with the statue daemons blatantly just crushing dozens of their fellows with every step. The Imperial group met them with what firepower they had: Rainbow's saddle rifle cut imps apart like they were paper; whilst Rarity's pistols were like scalpels, slicing body parts off the larger creatures or achieving pinpoint headshots on the smaller. The Shade Guard's most basic of spells simply deleted dozens of daemons at a time, whilst Twilight and Luna bisected any who got too close.

Even with their effort, it was clear they couldn't hold the seemingly infinite tide back for long. 'Help,' Penumbra thought, 'if we don't get help soon, this is it.'

Barely a minute later, as if willed by magic, a cracked and battered silhouette emerged from cloud cover. Trailing plasma, with immense gashes through its hull, emerged a cruiser, the same she had seen from the observation point. Energy whirled in its centre, around the plasma lance, as it prepared to fire.

"Prepare," came a transmission from the ship, crackling and barely audible,  over every communication device the group had, "we shall clear a path."

Its plasma lance lit up, burning a hole straight through the daemon lines, evaporating tens of thousands of them in a second. Steadily, it moved towards the group, singeing Penumbra's fur as it did. It stopped when its area of effect was barely a metre from them, before doubling back and burning a swathe clean through the daemons once again, who had reformed where their brethren had been killed.

As one, the group surged forwards, filling the gap left by the beam and staying just behind its greatest range. The floor of the field, originally a whitish dirt, had become twinkling volcanic glass, littered with the ash of the daemons who had inhabited it seconds previously.

Small drop pods landed all around them, dispensing black armoured Rangers, who suicidally jumped into the onrush of daemons, slashing whatever came close with swords or blowing them apart with rifles. The group ran, ignoring the daemons and the heavily outnumbered soldiers fighting them as best they could.

Finally, the group hit the marble staircase, the plasma lance fading away in front of them as the cruiser turned to burn the field again. A dozen Rangers had landed on the stairs, clearing it of what few daemons had been on it before their arrival. As the group moved up past them, they dashed down to provide a rearguard.

Suddenly, Rainbow turned, unleashing a hail of fire into the charging daemons. The vast majority of the dropped Rangers had been overrun, though another dozen or so had pulled back to the stairs. Penumbra was the only one to notice, turning to grab her.

"Rainbow!" She shouted, "come on, we can't waste any more time."

To her shock, Rainbow punched her chest, sending her careering backwards. "Go," she yelled in reply, "don't deny me this."

A pair of Rangers ran alongside her, carrying rocket launchers. "Sight for us," one of them said, "give us a line!"

Rainbow directed them with a laser on her rifle saddle, marking a pair of knights and one of the statue daemons' wounded legs. The knights were completely obliterated, becoming little better than flying mush, whilst the statue daemon's knee was blown out, causing it to slowly collapse onto a host of its smaller fellows. The Neophytes turned next, forming up just behind Rainbow, with the Grand Master slowly following them.

"Where are you going?" Penumbra shouted, "the objective's this way."

The Grand Master turned to her. "Your objective is," he said, "ours is here. Go!" He turned back, lifting his staff into the air. "Mysterios en corpus."

Arcs of purple lightning shot from the three Shade Guards' staffs, melting dozens of daemons as it danced between them. The smell of ozone filled the air, coupled with the pungent stench of burning flesh. Penumbra was grabbed from behind by Rarity and Luna. 

"Let's go," Luna said, "no point wasting more time."

As much as Penumbra hated to admit it, she was right, and it was better that Rainbow die than they all do. She nodded glumly, before following Luna and Rarity up the stairs and into the final hall. Her final view of Rainbow Dash was the pegasus taking flight and knocking back a whole horde of daemons, whilst the Rangers around her fought for their lives.

The final room was enormous, almost entirely featureless save a large hole in the circle. Luna and Rarity led forwards, Penumbra following behind, looking about as to where an exit would be.

"Well," Luna said, looking about, "I think we're lost."

Something rumbled below.

"No," she said again, "wait, I think I was wrong."

From the hole rose a writhing mass of white and gold, not holding any form long enough for Penumbra to recognise it as anything. Its insides became its outsides and outsides its insides every few seconds, writhing against some invisible containment.

"Twilight," a disembodied voice echoed in Penumbra's mind, almost dead sounding in its tone, "you have been betrayed."

Penumbra knew the source of the voice. 'How so?' She thought.

"Nicholas has led you astray," it said, "killed your friends, killed Celestia. He sent you here to kill me as I am all that stands between him and total domination." The voice slowly shifted, from masculine to feminine, to child-like and back again.

'He had told me you'd be tricksy. That you'd try to fight me verbally.'

The voice seemed to laugh. "Fight you? No, I don't have the power to do so. I'm not trying to convince you, simply educate you. If you wish to kill me, then kill me. But, please, listen to what I have to say before you do."

'Very well.' Penumbra had already decided on her course of action, there was nothing this abomination could do to stop her. Some part of her, however, was still interested as to what it had to say.

"I have seen all," it said, "all of time go slowly by. Over time, I have listened, influenced, assisted, all in a lead up to this moment. Nicholas was not who I fought against at first, I fought his master. His master was my greatest enemy: the Darkness. For billions of years I have fought, battled to keep the Omniverse bright, keep it orderly. Now, at the culmination of my work, all threatens to be undone. He did not tell you of the consequences of this battle, did he? He did not tell you that all of the dimensions will collapse, that the Omniverse will be wreathed in darkness for the rest of time, all creatures enslaved to chaos and corruption. I know you have your mind set on killing me, I know you serve the Darkness - if unknowingly. So, I ask you this, please, when you destroy me, take my place. Hold the Omniverse together, keep it bright and orderly, keep it away from the darkness and chaos that now encroaches on my Citadel. Please, Twilight Sparkle, I beg of you."

Penumbra hummed. 'And how do I know you are telling the truth?'

"You don't," the voice said, at least it was honest, "not fully. That is why I am leaving it to your judgement."

"Penumbra," Luna shouted, breaking her from her trance, "destroy it!"

Penumbra hesitated, part of her resisting blindly destroying what was ahead of her. Imagine, she thought, the knowledge it held, imagine the power. Surely, she thought, she didn't need to kill it; she could tame it, work with it. She had triumphed against far more hostile creatures without the need for violence, hadn't she?

"What power do you hold?" She asked the Light aloud.

"Power," it replied, audibly, "beyond the wildest imaginings of any creature. The power to shape the universe, to temper the stars, even to forge life."

Penumbra grinned. "And I could have that power?"

"If you so desired."

She nodded, imagining herself in the future. The dawn was just rising over a new Equestria, one built exactly to her liking, with her family, friends, all ponies living together in perfect harmony, no chaos to threaten their existence ever again. No illness to blight them or age to weary them. No Nicholas to set their planet aflame.

"The temptor," a voice echoed behind her, it sounded like Princess Celestia, "shall fall to the hand of the tempted. So it was written, so it shall be."

Penumbra turned to behold a twisted reflection of Celestia. She was taller, standing a full three metres above her, with an emaciated frame, with glowing eyes a uniform green. Her wings, along with patches of her skin, appeared to have decayed and lost their feathers or fur, replaced instead by dead grey flesh or pulsing tumours that seemed to flow with green blood. All around her was an aura, similar to the magical corona around Penumbra's horn, though it covered her entire body and was a sickly green.

"Light," she said, voice seeming to mix with another, one that sounded similar to Nicholas', though more musical and ethereal, "be silent!"

She rushed forwards, decayed wings somehow giving her incredible speed. She slammed into the Light's mass, causing it to shift awkwardly. Tentacles of green and black wrapped around it, sprouting from all over her body. The Light writhed and tried to fight back, pulling the tentacles into its mass. Though, when one area was pulled under, another was freed, or remade anew within a second. The two seemed locked at an impasse, neither side capable of gaining an advantage over the other long enough to exploit it.

"Kill it!" The not-quite-Celestia's voice echoed, "smother it, now!"

At those words, Penumbra's rational mind took hold again, shaking off the last vestiges of the Light's influence over her. The corona around her horn doubled in size and tripled in intensity in an instant, as she readied the only spell she knew for certain would do the job.

"No!" The Light yelled, though its pleas landed on deaf ears.

"Kar'oi. Nayeel. Jarun'."

Far away, a star exploded.

The Light's mass seemed to darken, from alabaster white and gold to a more subdued grey. Millions of voices emerged from it, crying out a million phrases in a million languages, each one registering in Penumbra's mind as the same thing:

"Run."

As the Light darkened further, the Citadel began to rumble. Further still, and it began to collapse. It quickly dawned on all inside that this was no mere coincidence.

"Twilight," Celestia said, now solely her voice, the green aura and glowing eyes gone and replaced with a dull red respectively, "go. This is no place for you to die."

Celestia seemed to dissipate, becoming a barrier of green energy, which held the collapsing roof up, allowing the three ponies to escape. The walkway cracked as they went, looking dangerously close to simply dropping them into the abyss by the time they reached the door.

They emerged into a scene of utter devastation. All that remained of the Grand Master was his helmet, a single crack travelling up most of its length, through the right eyepiece. The two Neophytes were dead on opposite sides of the staircase, one without their arms and the other totally disembowelled. The Rangers were far worse off, torn in half or sometimes in quarters, their blood and entrails scattered about the stairs like grisly ornaments. Only one of the defenders remained alive, but even then only barely, lying in a pool of their own blood and organs, hacking violently as the three approached them.

"Rainbow!" Rarity kneeled next to the battered pegasus, whose helmet was cracked and shattered in multiple places. "It's going to be alright, dear, we'll get you out."

Rainbow seemed to laugh, though with her permanent hacking cough and blood filled mouth it could have been anything. "Nah," she said, voice sounding more like her own than it had in months, "you're not. We all have our last fight eventually, this is mine."

"Oh." Rarity was barely holding back tears. "Don't say that, you're coming with us and that's final."

Rainbow lifted a shaky hoof, slowly clipping off her helmet with it. "No," she said, again, between bouts of coughing. "You couldn't even get me to a ship alive, I'm staying here, you go get yourself back home, get a nice place, all that stuff. Me? I'm going to enjoy my final rest."

She threw her helmet to the ground beside her, revealing a face none of the ponies had seen since she was first augmented. There was a scar from her left temple to her lower left jaw, crossing a cheek that, like its fellow, was gaunt and hollow. Her eyes were grey, devoid of any colour save the splotches of blood from burst vessels. Her rainbow mane was cropped short on the sides, with enough length on top to fall squarely to her left.

She reached a hoof into her armour's neck, tugging at something within. There was a sound of snapping string, before she pulled out a pair of tags. She handed them to Rarity, who took them reluctantly, eyes tearing up but refusing to move from her friend's face.

"Remember me, would ya?"

Rarity nodded, holding the tags close to her chest. "Penumbra," she said, "take them, I know you'll get out." Penumbra took them, giving her a questioning look, at which she clarified, "if I die," she said, wiping a tear from her face, "I'll lose them."

Penumbra nodded, before the sound of cracking stone reminded her they needed to move quickly. She gave Rainbow one last look, the pegasus having lent her head back, closing her eyes. Her chest was still rising and falling, though slowly, she looked at peace, had she been in any other situation Penumbra probably would have joined her, but not today.

They sprinted down the stairs, heading for the edge of the large open platform. There, waiting for them, was the damaged cruiser, its hangar bay doors open, hovering a couple of feet from the stone and dirt. Fusiliers lined the open area, shouting and beckoning them over, keeping a space open for them to jump. It was Rarity who reached the jump first, propelled by Luna's magic. She jumped, landing square on the very edge of the hangar, a pair of Fusiliers pulling her in. They moved aside to allow Luna in, the alicorn simply taking flight and entering.

"Come on," one, a sergeant, yelled to Penumbra, "let's get going!"

She was only a few metres away when a sudden white flash blinded her, followed by a shockwave knocking her back. The central spire had collapsed, slicing cleanly the stern of the cruiser. The bow, with nothing to hold it afloat, drifted slowly downwards, venting plasma and burning as it went. Penumbra's only hope of escape was slowly falling into the void below, its inhabitants either dead or soon to be so.

First Pinkie Pie, then Fluttershy, then Applejack, then Rainbow, now Rarity and Luna. Her friends, her best friends, who'd been with her for so long; they were all gone. Penumbra couldn't bring herself to move, rather, just lie back, where she had been thrown, tears welling in her eyes that would never fall, her mind flashing forth memories of her friends, from their first meetings to the last times she saw them.

"Aw, shucks Twi. Didn't think you had such a soft spot for me."

AJ? She pulled herself up to just to look for the source of the voice.

"Ya know, I always loved to look out over the town at sunset."

Penumbra slowly walked forwards, following the voice, which was coming from the very edge of the platform.

"Even on the days where ya feel it can't get worse, ya always feel better just looking out over everything."

Penumbra looked over the edge, taking in the whole of the collapsing Citadel as she did. Its walls had fallen, most of its smaller towers little better than piles of rubble. There was still, however, a strange beauty to it all. The whites and the golds were still pleasant on the eye, the little orange fires so far away seemed almost like little fireflies. She took in the whole scene, smiling to herself as she accepted its beauty for what it simply was.

At the edge of the Citadel's collapsed walls, hung a lone cruiser. Its hull was relatively clean, no deep gashes or mortal wounds to speak of, its engines all running smoothly. There were no vessels or soldiers about it, everyone must have fled earlier. So why was it here?

"Penumbra," a voice crackled over her helmet's transmitter, barely audible and totally indistinct through the static, but definitely there, "this is the Glorious Dawn. If you're still there, get down to us."

"I'm coming," she said, unsure if her transmitter even still worked, but holding out hope it did. Without a run up, she threw herself from the platform, spreading her wings out wide and gliding herself down to the ship.

From the air, she could truly appreciate the sheer size of the Citadel: it seemed even larger than from the ground. From where she was, she could see almost its entire size, marvelling at the distance from the now ruined gatehouse where she had entered to where she was now. What remained of the walls looked little more than lines on a page from the Citadel's spire, with the towers that used to mark them like tiny pins.

She saw, far beneath her, the bridge that Nicholas had cut, only its terminators remaining, with even them now cracking and on the verge of disappearing into the void below. She saw, behind her, the central tower, where Red Team had sacrificed themselves to clear a path up to the spire, where their bodies now rested, all the way up to the spire, where the rest had given their lives so the Great Light could be smothered.

A pair of fighters came alongside her, keeping at just enough of a distance to not too heavily knock her off of her flight path. 'Left Hangar,' one of the pilots signed to her, 'open, land there.' She nodded in response.

She passed just in front of a collapsing tower, one of the four that ringed the central, the rush of wind buffeting her slightly. Her two companions waved off, darting towards the open hangar, which was clearly coming into Penumbra's view.

The hangar was rapidly growing larger, with her landing in sight. Fortunately for her, she had picked up a number of skills from all the flying she had had to undertake, which would allow her to bring herself to a stop once within, even encased in armour as she was. Passing through the threshold of the hangar, she spread her wings out to their full length, slowing her enough for her impact to be relatively peaceful.

"She's aboard," a Fusilier with a communication pack yelled, "go!"

The engines audibly thundered, the ship lurching from a hover to rapidly accelerating movement. Penumbra ran to the express elevator, slamming the control to the bridge the moment she entered. Mercifully, the elevators had been designed with immense speed in mind, Penumbra finding herself on the bridge within a few seconds of the doors closing.

"Situation report," she yelled to anyone who would listen as she emerged.

A leftenant turned to her. "Main tower's collapsing, ma'am," they said, worry evident in their voice and mannerisms, "right towards us."

The captain's chair was empty, with Haisan standing over the helmsman's shoulder. "Give it everything, shields won't stop a building."

"I am, sir," the helmsman said, all the speed levers and dials turned up to the maximum, "there's nothing left to give."

Haisan slammed a fist onto the table, before sighing. "Well, let's hope."

"Twilight," Celestia's voice echoed in her mind, "you know what you have to do."

Penumbra knew exactly what she was talking about.

She pushed her way to the central console, drawing the eye of the vessel's captain, stood beside a tactical officer. "What're you doing?" He asked, "stay away from that."

Penumbra didn't bother to even look at him, slamming her clawed foot onto the Rift engage.

At once, the ship's view panel, previously filled with the expansive white, featureless terrain of the Aether, became black and wreathed in purples and reds. The ship rocked violently as it went, emerging barely seconds later into the dark void of space.

Nothing moved, everyone was silent, for a moment.

"Sensors," Haisan said, pointing to the officer manning the sensor console.

He tapped away for a moment, before replying, "we're clear, sir."

The atmosphere of the bridge shifted instantly, from terror to jubilation. Their revelry was loud and boisterous, a sentiment quickly echoed all over the ship, the thousands strong crew erupting into celebration.

"Alright," Haisan proclaimed to the bridge crew, "let's get home."

"Sir," the sensor officer spoke up again, "we're in orbit around Chronove, recommend we move to dock."

Haisan smiled. "Get it done, helm." He turned to Penumbra, recognising the look on her face. He walked over, placing a reassuring hand on her leg. "They'll be remembered," he said, "they all will."

"I just wish they'd lived to see it," was her reply.

Haisan nodded, leaving her be whilst he communicated with the dock's controllers. Penumbra, meanwhile, walked towards the viewscreen, with Chronove just coming into view.

Penumbra looked out of the viewscreen, surveying the new world. She could see the blazing lights of the city planet, along with the thousands of warships that wreathed its atmosphere. In orbit hung giant installations, from docks for entire fleets to orbital defence platforms the size of cities. She remembered her friends, content in the knowledge their sacrifice had served to make this moment, and every other moment she would have thereafter. She smiled, imagining each of their reactions to this new sight.

"Beautiful, ain't it," Applejack's voice said, "just darn beautiful."