The entire landscape of Equestria’s capital begins to change as trees instantly turned into vine-like abominations, other trees underwent other transformations as the wood became a light purple/black color while the very leaves themselves became a much darker purple/black coloration. The grass of the landscape wasn’t spared either as it too became corrupted.
“If we don’t close the Moon Lord’s portal, this infestation will just get worst,” Celebes notes as she watches the Corruption slowly take over.
“It’s time to act!” Celebes exclaims. “Now look, I can explain along the way, but right now, we must confront the Moon Lord. Princesses, I have a plan, but I must have your cooperation.” The Dryad then turns to the rest of the group.
Luna, Twilight, and Cadence nod in understanding, although Luna is still noticeably annoyed. The lunar princess leans down to her sister, and with the help of her magic, she gets Celestia’s body onto her back. Despite appearances, Luna is more than strong enough to hold the weight, likely thanks to her earth pony attributes as an alicorn.
Now everyone in attendance sets their gaze upon Celebes.
“Here’s the plan: I want you seven ponies plus the zebra and the dragon to come with me. Together, we can banish the Moon Lord back to Terraria,” Celebes says as she points to Zecora, Spike, the Element Bearers, and Starlight Glimmer.
“As for the rest of you must get to safety. You cannot stay here. I sensed the landscape around us, and I’d say your capital - Canterlot, I believe you called it, is ninety percent corrupted.”
The Dryad then materialized what seemed to be a pouch filled with an unknown powder in addition to what appeared to be two different flowers: a rose and a rather large sunflower. Celebes tosses the items to Princesses Luna and Cadence, both of whom catch the items in their aura.
“These will help you make your way to a safe location of your choosing. You can escape the Corruption by leaving its territory, but you must contain it by using those items. I have enchanted the sunflower to reproduce itself quickly once it’s planted, and as for the rose, it’s more of an artifact called the Floret of Purity. The powder is more of a deterrent, and should any of these creatures attack you, throw some at them; it will temporarily stop them. You can also use it to purify the Corruption. I have also enchanted that pouch to produce an unlimited amount of the powder, provided the pouch itself remains unharmed. Containment is all you can do for now until you feel as if you and your allies can defeat the monsters within the infection. I pray that you can destroy it before the orbs are created.”
“Those florae are truly out of this world; with them, the Corruption will surely be quelled. I never thought a plant had such prowess as Poison Joke, yet these possess a power that truly makes it look like a joke.” Zecora says as she can’t help but admire the plants before her.
Everyone remains silent for a moment after hearing The Dryad’s plan, and although they are terrified, they know that they must do this to save Equestria. Cadence took the initiative and knew exactly where she, Luna, Tempest, and the last remnants of the royal guards needed to go.
“The Crystal Empire will shelter us; I’ll see if I can find a way to integrate this artifact of yours with the Crystal Heart. Maybe if we can somehow combine them, we could one day save Canterlot.” Princess Cadence says enthusiastically as her hopes begin to rise. Everyone nods happily in understanding; however, a certain dark-blue alicorn is still infuriated by Celebes’s plan.
“If thou thinks that we will simply stand idly by and watch as everypony fights against this corruption, and that fool who dares to defy our moon, thou-”
[WHAP]
Luna’s words were cut off as a lavender-colored hoof strikes Luna across her muzzle, which dazes the lunar princess momentarily. The assailant is revealed to be Twilight Sparkle, much to Luna’s and everyone else’s surprise.
“Luna! That’s enough!” Twilight exclaims as she takes a breath and lowers the very hoof she used to strike Luna with. “My heart is broken because of Princess Celestia’s death, just like yours. In fact, all of us are suffering just like you are, but we need to push those feelings aside to save Equestria or, at the very least, halt the progress of this infection. You, Cadence, everypony... you all need to stop it while we deal with that monster.”
The lavender alicorn’s words cause Luna to look at the rest of the group, all of whom bore the same expression as Luna: sadness. This causes the lunar princess to lower her head in shame as Twilight continues:
“We must also think of the future, Luna. Now that Princess Celestia is... dead, you must carry on her legacy. Remember when she was forced to seal you in the moon when the Nightmare consumed you? She rose the moon in your stead. Why do you think she did that?”
Luna had silence as she couldn’t argue against Twilight’s logic, all while tears started forming in the dark alicorn’s eyes.
“She did it because she loves you, Luna. She did it because she wanted to protect the kingdom you both created. She raised the moon in your stead even though it pained her so much as it reminded her of what she had to do to you.”
Twilight walks closer to Luna and raises their head with a forehoof which causes the dark alicorn’s eyes to meet the lavender alicorn’s own gaze.
“But most importantly... she did it because she wanted there to be a world for you to return to. The world we all call home.” Twilight then walks over to everyone else as they all look at Luna. Most impressively and despite the chaos around them, they all still beamed the lunar princess with a warming smile.
Celebes gives Luna an encouraging nod along with a smile of her own. However, deep down, she was somewhat bothered by something else, as she states internally:
-There’s… something familiar about this one. That includes her sister…-
“It’s time for you to rise up, Luna,” Twilight starts. “As of now, you are no longer just the Princess of the Moon... you are also the current caretaker of the sun. Do for your sister what she did for you, carry on your sister’s legacy and protect the world you both love.” Twilight finishes her speech as she and everyone else in attendance all stand firm before Luna as they shout in unison:
“For Equestria, for all of Equus!”
Upon hearing Twilight’s speech, Luna smiles and looks at her sister, whose body is laid upon her back.
“I shall not disappoint you. Not again, dear sister.”
The group splits up as Tempest, Cadence, Luna with Celestia’s body, and the royal guards are in one group while the Element Bearers, Zecora, Spike, and Starlight glimmer are in the other.
Both Luna and Twilight step forward to converse:
“Be well, everyone,” Luna comments. “Make that fiend pay for our sister’s death.”
“Celestia would be proud of you, Luna,” Twilight responds. “Be safe, and please watch over everyone for us.”
Cadence runs over to Twilight as she embraces the lavender mare in a tight hug.
“I’ll make sure that Flurry Heart knows just how much of an amazing aunt you are, Twily,” The pink alicorn weeps. “I’ll tell Shiny everything as well.” The two alicorns separate as they then proceed to do their signature dance:
“Sunshine, sunshine, ladybugs awake.
Clap your hooves and do a little shake.”
The Dryad nods as all preparations seem to be in order.
“Alright then, everyone,” She turns around in one fluid motion and swipes her blade sideways, her brown cloak fluttering before settling down.
“Let’s go hunt down an eldritch.”
Celebes, the Element Bearers, Starlight, Spike, and Zecora make their way through hordes of the Corruption’s monsters throughout the streets of Canterlot. Celebes takes the lead and makes short work of the horrors thanks to her powerful blade, although bits and pieces of her kills manage to fly onto members of the group behind her. Rarity, in particular, made sure to express her displeasure.
Creatures that did manage to get past the Dryad were finished off by Twilight, Rarity, and Starlight, whose magic was fortunately enough to push back and even kill some of the monsters of the Corruption. If any of the abominations got a little too close for comfort, Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Zecora, and Pinkie Pie repelled them with physical force.
"We're almost there!" Celebes exclaims.
"Wh-where are we going?!" Spike questions, mounted on Twilight.
"There's a mountain just outside of Canterlot that works perfectly for our approach," Celebes answers before hopping into the air and cleaving a flying abomination in half, landing onto the ground before resuming her run.
"Stay strong, everyone! I promise to get you out of this!"
……….
After some time, ruthless fighting, and exiting the ravaged capital, Celebes leads the group to one of the mountains outside of Canterlot, which happened to be perfectly positioned beneath Razeem.
As they follow a path up the mountain to reach its peak, they are ambushed by one of the flying parasites. It targets Fluttershy and takes her away with a pair of mandibles. The group looks on in horror; however, Twilight, Starlight, and Rarity begin to ignite their horns.
“Wait! Y’all might hit Fluttershy!” Applejack exclaims.
“Don’t worry; I’ve got this!” Rainbow dash excaims as she readies herself for combat. Suddenly, a dark pink blur zoomed past the rainbow pegasus as if someone was shooting a bullet toward the parasite. The creature sees this and lets out a roar:
”RRRRRRREEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAWWWWWWW-”
[SHLINK] [SHLINK] [SHLINK] [SHLINK] [SHLINK]
With incredible speed and ferocity, the parasite’s roar was cut off as the blur butchers the flying parasite by stabbing all of its eyes and hacking off multiple limbs, causing the monster to release its captive. The blur catches Fluttershy and lands on the ground while gently laying down the shy pegasus. Everyone’s jaw drops at the revelation of who was responsible for this rescue, even Celebes.
Standing before them was Pinkie Pie; however, her form had changed just as it did in Canterlot. Simply put, it was a darker yet more serious version of the party pony.
”You think you can hurt Pinkamena’s friends, huh? Wrong move, bucko. Now look at you, chopped up and ready for me to stuff into a cupcake if I wanted to. You mess with my friends, I’ll beat you senseless. You threaten to kill my friends, I’ll slice you up...” Pinkamena says as she throws a kitchen knife into the air and catches it. She then turns her gaze to Fluttershy.
“P-Pinkie? I-is that you?” Fluttershy questions. Pinkamena was noticeably confused by this inquiry for a few seconds before a smirk forms on her muzzle.
”Of course it is, silly. No monster is gonna take any of my friends away,” Pinkamena says as she helps Fluttershy onto her hooves. ”And if anypony tries, well, that’s what happens,” Pinkamena comments as she points to the deceased parasite. ”Anyway, let’s get back to the others,” Both mares make their way to the rest of the group and as they pass everyone, whose mouths were still agape, Pinkamena lets out a simple: ”Come on, let’s go.”
Everyone in the group stares at ‘pinkie’ with expressions that could best be described as ”WHAT!?”
Pinkamena and Fluttershy continue to walk along the path until the dark pink mare turns her head back to the group and shouts:
“well? Hurry up!”
Celebes stood shocked as she observed the others taking their leave, her gaze fixated on Pinkie Pie as she states internally:
-First Celestia and Luna, and now, her? That power she used... it's the power of an Ancient. This can't be a coincidence... this world has several connections to Terraria.-
The time has finally come as the group of ponies -- Pinky Pie noticeably returning to her normal state -- zebra, dragon, and dryad now stands at the peak of the mountain, just below the Moon Lord. Their titanic form floated high above them.
“Here we are; I’m confident we can defeat him so long as I have the Terra Blade,” Celebes starts. “Together, we shall banish him from your realm and return the lord of the moon back to Terraria. If you have any last words or questions, now’s the time to speak up. This might be the last battle of your lives.” She turns to the group, her words rocking the core of everyone else present.
This was going to be, without a shadow of a doubt, their biggest challenge yet. Their worries ranged from hoping their loved ones were safe to praying their homes weren’t destroyed by the Corruption. One, in particular, worried about her animals; a certain cowmare tilts her hat as she thinks about a certain apple acre and her family who calls it home.
Twilight turns to her number one assistant, Spike, and hugs him dearly.
“Spike, I want you to know that you have made me very proud. You are, in my eyes, my son, and I don’t care what anycreature says about it.” She says as tears begin to flow from her eyes.
“Thanks, Twi. I always loved you like a moth-”
“Which is why I’m going to miss you, Spike. Please help Princesses Luna and Cadence to defeat the Corruption,” Twilight interjects as she shoves a scroll into Spike’s claws and fires up her horn, taking her aim.
“Take that note straight to Princess Luna, Spike. They should be en route to the Crystal Empire by now... goodbye, I love you.”
Before Spike could say anything, he was sent away in a flash of purple light. Twilight then looks to everyone present with fresh tears coming down both of her cheeks.
“I’m sorry, everyone... but I just can’t ask Spike to do this.”
“It’s fine, darling. To be honest, I don’t want my Spikey Wikey to have to deal with... this, either. You made the right call,” Rarity brings the alicorn into a hug. “And we are ready to fight with you until the end.”
“Exactly, we’re behind you one hundred percent, Twilight,” Starlight Glimmer says as she walks up to her teacher. “You are the reason I’m still here today. You saved me from myself, and I owe you my life for It. If this is our final battle, then bring it on!” Twilight’s student proclaims as everyone gives the lavender alicorn an approving nod.
“We are ready to fight, to show our foe our might, but the Moon Lord is high above; some of us can not fly like a dove,” Zecora says as she looks up at the Moon Lord.
“Um, I agree with Zecora. Only me, Rainbow, and Twilight can fly,” Fluttershy comments.
“I might be awesome, but I don’t think I could carry us all up there to clobber that jerk,” Rainbow Dash says as she punches the air.
“That won’t be a problem for us, well... those of us without wings, that is. I happen to have just the right potion for our current predicament,” Celebes says as she pulls out multiple purple potions, one for every non-pegasus or alicorn present. “And I have ten of them, more than enough for us all. These beauties are a gift from a friend in my world, the Gravitation Potion.”
“Oooooh, that sounds fun!” Pinkie says excitingly.
Applejack smiles contently before she proclaims:
“Then that settles it, y’all. Let’s go get that no-good varmint!”
