Early the next day, Celestia was eating breakfast alone with her eyes to the northwest, waiting on the imminent arrival of the resupply she was told about. A few of the inquisitors’ retainers had volunteered to be bodyguards until proper ones could be assigned, but they were respectful enough to give Celestia plenty of space.
I wish I had more time. But every delay means more unnecessary blood is spilled. Her thoughts drifted to the real enemies of old, the griffins and diamond dogs. Both had ravaged Equestria in its early days before the Sisters had taken power. Behind it all were those acursed minotaurs. I suppose this constant warfare made us strong enough to resist them, because no pony has said two words about any of them. But the armies should never have been turned on one another.
Regret flooded her almost to a point where she didn’t hear her sister land nearby. She perked up (more to maintain appearances than anything else) to watch Luna approach. “The scouts are reporting the resupply is nearly an hour out. Along with a full brigade, which I’m told is about four thousand soldiers, all of whom wear your colors.”
“Four thousand?!” Celestia stood up and watched for movement in the growing light of the dawn. “I was told to expect no more than twenty.”
“Perhaps your subjects can illuminate the answer later,” Luna replied with growing concern. “Tia, yesterday when we agreed to a Uti possidetis treaty, we had not yet been informed as to how this latest war has gone, and I-”
“You saw your soldiers and thought Lunaria was winning,” Celestia finished sharply. When she saw Luna recoil in discomfort, Celestia felt a vindictive tug in her heart that she had difficulty ignoring. “So you would ask me to restore pre-war territorial borders. Tell me, sister, would you agree to that if you were me?”
Grinding her teeth at not being able to refute her, Luna sighed heavily. “What do you want?”
“The territorial return can happen in stages over a couple of years or so under the pretense of other treaties. That will give my soldiers a sense that they didn’t throw their lives away. As for what I want, I must confess to taking some inspiration from the minotaurs on this one. I want you to join me in a higher governing body above Equestria and Lunaria.”
“That’s your plan? A higher body?” Luna snorted aggressively. “You just want Equestrian supremacy with extra steps.”
“If that was all I wanted, Luna, I would continue this war to its inevitable conclusion.” Celestia remained calm, but firm in her tone and posture. “As you said, four thousand of my soldiers are close at hoof, and we are all still deep inside Equestria right now whereas they would be better served in the fight.”
“You already agreed to peace!” Luna barked. “Have you no honor?”
“Says the one wanting to change terms once she knew she was losing!” A flash of anger about her honor being challenged nearly caused Celestia to try and slap her.
Hardly one to back down from Celestia, Luna stood there, daring Celestia to strike her. “It’s called renegotiations.”
“It’s called being impetuous.” With uncommon restraint, she refused to escalate things further. “You never could control that impulsivity of yours.” Upon rendering her sister silent, Celestia couldn’t allow herself to smile in satisfaction. “Sister. We have to be able to trust each other or no peace will last. Do you really want our people going through another nine hundred years of civil war?”
“It is not a civil war anymore.”
“Semantics, and you’re stalling for time you don’t have.”
“To you maybe,” Luna spat heatedly. She dug at the ground once, twice, a third time uprooting rock and stone as she poured her anger into the ground. “Fine! But I still want all prisoners exchanged, and enstripement abolished.”
“Naturally.”
“… So how would this ‘governing body’ work?” A rock had lodged inside in Luna’s hoof, and dug to get it out.
“Give me time, sister. I barely have plan in mind let alone anything solid. We can work it out in private before making any sort of announcement.” Celestia spotted mass movement in the distance, a frightening amount of mass. Time was running out. “But work it out we will.” Celestia pressed her hoof against Luna’s chest. “In a timely manner this go around. I couldn’t accept a fifty year delay before, and I won’t a second time.”
Swatting the hoof away, Luna took a few steps back. “You just be sure to have all Lunarian slaves returned to me. Do that in a timely manner,” she added mockingly, “and I’ll do it.” If she can pull that off, then I’ll know she won’t let herself become a puppet again.
Sighing in relief that she wouldn’t have to end the peace so soon after getting it, Celestia took to the air. “Then we have an accord. I’m going to hold you to this one.”
Flying off to the center of the village with her sister following after her, Celestia arrived to find the camp had an array of white ‘flags’ encircling the place where Rainbow Dash had originally brought them to. Most of the flags were made of tent fabric, but they served their purpose. The Lunarians were in open parade formation as a sign of no belligerent intent.
Rarity stood in her full uniform, wearing Radiant’s rank emblem, and the old stallion was absent. Given his injuries, he wanted the Lunarians to see him in a state of weakness as little as possible.
Across from her was Rainbow Dash who was sweating profusely at the sight of such an equestrian host bearing down on her. In the center, by the Sisters’ request, Twilight Sparkle stood at the ready to arbitrate. By the time the Sisters approached, the brigade was nearly upon them. Four thousand fliers, a great many of them pulling war chariots with mages at the ready, blotted the skies above the village as the army took up positions that would block off any attempt at escape. Many landed in a decent perimeter around those gathered in the village to make the encirclement complete.
Rainbow Dash leaned towards Twilight and Rarity. “Isn’t this overkill for a resupply convoy?”
Giving the officer a bemused look, Rarity shook her head. “Drop the bravado, Captain. It will do you no favors anymore. Let the queens do the talking and you’ll be home by Hearthswarming.”
Her ears wilted as one chariot descended from the rear of the formation, escorted by twenty personal guards. Rainbow hissed back, “you say that, but I got a bad feeling about this.”
“I’m sure we’ll find out in just a moment.” Twilight interjected with just enough command in her voice to focus Rainbow’s attention. “Come now, Captain. You’re the face of the imperial Air Corps. Chin up and look smart.”
The reminder helped, even if Rarity and the alicorns were in ear shot. Twilight kept herself pointing at the chariot as it came down for a landing, but her eyes wandered over the troops hovering above them. It was impossible to tell if they had taken notice of the alicorns at all, or were disciplined enough to keep gossip at a minimum.
One of the escorts peeled off before the chariot landed and approached halfway between both parties. While the mare was taken aback by the alicorns, she did not stop to bow, and pressed on. “Announcing Prince-Consort, Field Marshal Shining Armor!”
Save the alicorns, everyone was left uneasy. For the Lunarians, the Great Scythe of all people was here, and Rarity was no better. If anypony could challenge Celestia’s return to the throne, it’d be him. The army hanging over her head suddenly didn’t look so friendly.
“Shiny?!” Twilight gasped as none other than her brother stepped onto the dirt. She shivered from excitement, and covered her mouth with an armored wing in disbelief as he marched up to them with two unicorns and the pegasus escorts fanning out behind him.
He came to a stunned stop at seeing alicorns, but it lasted only a moment before he did a double take upon seeing Twilight standing side-by-side with the thestral captain. Yet this pause was just as brief as he approached the alicorns.
To the Sisters, and their magical senses, Shining Armor lived up to his name. The inquisitor’s enchantments were discreet and difficult to notice if you weren’t looking directly at them. The prince-consort was another matter entirely. His gold-inlaid steel armor glowed like the sun itself, forcing both sisters to quash their magical senses lest he blind them just by being there. Once they could see him under normal light, he was clearly not in awe of them, but intense forbearance.
Incensed by the perceived lack of respect, Rarity stepped forward, but did not directly interpose herself. “This is her highness, Celestia, the true queen of Equestria, and her sister Luna.”
Rarity you idiot, Twilight thought as Shining’s face hardened.
“That remains to be seen.” Shining Armor stopped just short of Rarity. “Hold on a moment… I fear I miss heard you, because I could have sworn you did not say ‘holiness’.”
“That is correct,” Celestia put forward. “My sister and I want to make one thing abundantly clear: we are not gods.”
Shining studied the alicorns for a brief moment before looking to his sister and the thestral captain. Neither mare gave any reaction to the mundane nature of the alicorns. “Ripping that scab off early, are we? And why does your voice come from that emblem?”
This time it was Luna who answered, making a show of not being impressed by the number of troops. Might as well put on a strong face for her people. It’s not like he’ll act against the obvious parley. “We’ve been trapped in stone for the lion’s share of a millennia. We are trying to learn modern Equiss but we’re not there yet.”
“Trapped in stone she says.” The disbelief in Shining’s tone was palpable. “Twilight, are they the real Sisters and not some homunculi?”
Caught between joy that he still trusted her with such an important question, and left ill at ease by his frigid demeanor, Twilight swallowed the lump in her throat upon realizing what he was leading to. “They are the true alicorns of old,” she said, mostly level, only for a particularly loud spark from her horn to make her flush red. “We freed them a couple of days ago and have been trying to educate them about the present day.”
Souring from the answer, Shining Armor fixed Celestia with a calculating look, one that she tried to meet with calm regality. “Then the only question that matters is, do you plan on deposing my wife? I urge you to speak carefully. My soldiers are loyal to me and Queen Cadenza first and foremost,” he directed partially at Rarity. “Not the church, and not you.”
“Then I like you already,” Celestia replied to keep Rarity from possibly escalating matters. “I do wish to return to my rightful place on the throne. We need not be enemies however.”
If there had been any thawing of tensions from Celestia’s first statement, Shining Armor made no show of it. “Political honesty, how refreshing. So I’ll give you the same courtesy. Why should I let you take the crown? So long as she lives, as an alicorn, Cadenza is a threat to your rule. On the other hoof, if I let you live, Cadenza’s rule would never be secure. The easiest thing to do would be to kill the two of you, and claim this was all a conspiracy to overthrow both nations.”
He wouldn’t exactly be wrong. Luna stepped forward, trying to continue showing no fear against the thousand guillotines flying above her head. “He’s more willing to protect family than either of us, Celestia. Perhaps you should keep him around as a tutor.”
“Now is not the time for your jokes, Luna,” Celestia growled with mounting fear. She saw the veiled fear in Rarity’s eyes and posture. If she believes he’s not bluffing, then this couldn’t get much worse. There was no family tie to hold him back like she could with Luna. “I can assure you Prince-Consort, Cadenza will come to no harm. Given her familiarity with modern times, she would be perfectly suited to be an advisor or my heir. Naturally her official title would be Crown-Princess. Anything less would be an insult.”
If Shining Armor was moved by the assurances he made little show of it. He gave it a moment's thought before fixing Celestia with an iron gaze that briefly danced to Luna. “That sounds workable and all on paper, but you didn’t seem to understand my question.”
He paused, watching the fliers above waiting for him to give the word, one way or another. “Like my sister, I’m a student of history. Not the…” He scoffed in grim derision in Rarity’s direction. “Curated version the church imposed on schools. I read between the lines. Let’s assume for a moment that you are indeed the Celestia of old, why would your return do Equestria any favors, or Luna’s return for that matter?”
Rarity and Rainbow took an aggressive stance forward, but it was Rarity who spoke. “She is our true queen! You would deny that fact?!”
Shining Armor fixed her with a dirty look. “Celestia allowed corruption within the aristocracy to fester in her time, and now you wish to thrust her into a position of power she is wholly incapable of? You don’t correct a gap a millennium wide without catastrophe. Get your nose off the ground and put some real thought into how much damage Celestia's return would inflict, I could write a dissertation on it right here and now.”
Celestia had heard such recriminations from her sister too many times already. For fifty years it boiled Celestia’s blood, and now even after nine hundred years people were saying the same thing. In that moment, her strained regality snapped entirely. “It will not be the same!” She screamed to cut off any reply the others might have given. Celestia stared at a spot on the ground as she tried to contain the roiling emotions. “Everypony thinks that a queen is untouchable, that I have so much power. Well I don’t,” Celestia spat with mounting anger. “You can not run a country alone. I do not make the ledgers, I do not plow the fields, I do not have even cook my own food! By the Sun, I was barely more than the mayor of Canterlot. So I had to delegate everything else. I had to trust those around me to tell me what was going on outside those walls, and I trusted the wrong people.”
In her manic state, Celestia rounded on her sister. “I can’t tell you how many times I’ve admitted that to you, but sure, why not do it again?! How did you expect me to react when you refused to hold court for months, suddenly take a holiday, only to come back with an angry mob telling me most of everything my advisors have been told was a lie?! I needed time to think, to verify, to prove. But no, you finally had supporters and you didn’t want to risk giving them up for a measured response.” She pressed her hoof so hard against Luna she pushed her sister backwards.
Luna became incandescent with fury. “You had fifty years to verify,” Luna chided bitterly. “Don’t you dare put your failings back on me! I did what had to be done to cut the cancer out from our people.”
“Oh will you two just stop!” Twilight yelled harshly, silencing both of them. “Is this it? Is this what we came all this way for? A couple of bickering nags?! There’s a reason we ended up thinking of you two as goddesses. You were supposed to be the best of us. A representation of unity and poise. If anypony needed proof historians sanitize our heroes of old well there they sit!” Running more on momentum at this point, Twilight jabbed a hoof at them. “This feud of yours poisoned us for a millennium, and now the two of you threaten to reinvigorate that poison. At this rate, I’m of a mind to believe you two would more harm than what good removing enstripement would cause!”
An eerie silence fell over the crowd, even Shining Armor was left stilled. Luna stole a glance at Rainbow to see if the captain shared the sentiment. The uncomfortable pawing at the ground and inability to look at anyone sunk Luna’s heart. Celestia had no need to look for validation. She burned with silent shame.
“I’ll be the first to admit my failures are numerous,” Celestia said first. “Perhaps I would compound them, but - but I have a promise to keep.” She faced Luna who met her eyes at the mention of a promise. “We both do.”
“Aye, we do. Anger is a comfortable thing, Tia. It pains me to say this, but the arbiter is correct. I will… put forth more sincerity for peace.” It was a start at least; better than what she felt before Shining Armor arrived.
Giving a weak smile, Celestia breathed a touch easier, but the tangle of mistrust she struggled so hard against was a resistant thing. “We can bury our grievances together, and this time we both find ponies we can trust not to keep us apart.” The sisters shared a lingering moment where the other’s face didn’t evoke recriminations and rebukes, only fragments of the love that had been buried under it all.
Luna broke contact first to address Twilight. “Thank you, arbiter. Your rebuke was justified. Do you know of advisers whom I can trust within Lunaria?”
Caught flat footed by the request, Twilight had to shake her head. “Not personally, no. But the emperor is a good stallion, and he is the one who backed this expedition. He believes your return will reinvigorate the nation, and is willing to abdicate to you. He can help you where I can not.”
Sensing the mare likely won’t know much of Equestrian court, Celestia offered a similar question. “And what of your brother? Does he act with Equestria’s interests above his own?”
“You’re asking me too?” Twilight was forced to shake her head. “I’m afraid I can not answer that without bias. Having said that, you won’t find somepony who loves Equestria more than him.”
Shining Armor huffed in embarrassment at the sentiment, but held his tongue.
“Then that is enough for me.” Celestia stood tall and formal. “Prince Consort, you know our people best, when I take the crown, I would ask you to be my right hoof, and Cadenza be my left.”
Shining Armor mulled it over, and wasn’t happy with it. “A touching sentiment, but repairing our… foreign policy doesn't factor into my arithmetic.”
The comment was already unsettling to everyone, but to Twilight it was deeply troubling. “What do you mean, brother?”
He thought about it for a moment gauging the reaction from the alicorns and his sister before shrugging in the end. “I suppose there’s no harm in telling any of you. In case you two haven’t been told, it is an known fact that the royal army dominates the land, but the imperial navy rules the seas. As such my plan is to remove all of you from the continent, and leave you to the new world.
“The land victory will be enough to declare Equestria reunited, even if our race is not. Cadenza will ensure that we make no attempt politically or otherwise to try and lay any claim on the new world. And slaving ships will be banned from trying to raid your shores, allowing you to sink them without political issue. As a result enstripement will naturally fade away as the numbers dry up, and over the years Lunaria will eventually give up all ties to the mainland. From there relations can normalize and we can find more lasting peace between us.”
Rainbow Dash scoffed at it all. “You really believe we would give up on our ancestral homes here? My tribe came from this land as well.”
“Believe?” He laughed grimly. “You’ve already begun the process. Your capital was moved to the new world long before any of us were born, and it's an open secret that your people constantly flock to the new world to escape us. So as far as I’m concerned it’s going to happen one way or another. Sure, there will always be warhawks and hardliners, pining for yesteryear, but as the generations pass Lunarian eyes will focus eastward, and Cadenza can ensure that Equestria does not try to reach you outside of trade. You may think it impossible to cut ties to the land, but about your children? Or your children’s children? Eventually, they will see the new world as the only home they know.”
To that, he directed a dark glare at the Sisters. “However. Your return is… unfortunate. Preferably I would like to believe that the two of you would leave our lands and never show your faces again, but I doubt you’re willing to do that. So to preserve this future of mine, all of you will have to die.”
Inwardly, Twilight doubted her brother would actually have her killed. He’ll probably put me under house arrest until any damage the truth would cause would be manageable.
Luna wanted to speak out against it, but with so many soldiers around her, doing so without a plan would be pointless. She started searching the skies and ground for an escape route, but everywhere she looked were more of his soldiers.
I refuse to break my promise and allow this to happen. Celestia saved her sister from attempting to target Shining Armor in a foolhardy attack by stepping up to him. She leveled a firm, yet motherly gaze. “The plan has its - merits, but if enstripement is everything I have heard it to be, such a passive touch will fail because you only address half the problem. The practice is legitimized by my supposed support, I can be rid of it by year’s end.”
“You seem to be ignoring how many praise the all might bit before praying to you. You can’t end a practice like enstripement by decree alone. You have to make it cost too much for the greedy to cling to it.” Shining Armor shook his head and magically pulled paper and charcoal from a small pouch in his armor. He started writing an order to encase Twilight in a barrier to begin dealing with the others. “Even if you could wave your horn and put an end to it, the floundering of your out-of-touch rule would be unacceptable.”
The others might assume his writing was innocuous, but Twilight knew better. “Shining, the damage will be great, but I know Cadence and you can help Celestia handle it!”
He paused to look weary at her. “How long exactly have the Sisters been freed from stone? Couldn’t be more than a week.”
“Two days,” Twilight replied sheepishly, but hastily added. “It can work, and Luna will ensure Lunaria will not interfere with the disruption to come. They may not yet be fully with the times for months if not years, but with you and Cadence at her side, I know it. Can. Work,” she stressed with the same fire he knew all too well.
Grinding his teeth trying to foresee how each plan could go, months, years, decades long after he dies of old age, Shining Armor mulled over the possibilities. Yet he was limited. War he knew well, but politics outside of the military was never his forte, and he knew this all too well. It was why he had originally left it all to Twilight to handle.
As his thoughts dragged on, Celestia took a few steps closer to him. “There is only so much words alone can say, Field Marshal. Perhaps we should speak another way.”
Breaking from his whirlwind of probabilities at the evocation of his lesser title, he wasn’t sure if he should be insulted or intrigued. “Such as?”
Turning back towards the original negotiation seating, she spotted her national flag and magically pulled it over and planted it in front of her. “We speak to each other as warriors.”
He instinctively sized her up. She certainly looked powerful, and self-confident, but Celestia had no armor or weapon, and nothing close by looked like it was made for her. “If you’re requesting a duel, don’t.”
Luna snorted playfully. “Didn’t think you’d ask, Tia.”
Ignoring her sister, Celestia drew herself up. “It need not be to the death. Call it a sparring match if you wish.”
Snorting in annoyance, Shining Armor turned slightly to the side to better show his pistol and sheathed sword. “You’re asking me to decide the fate of Equestria on ‘might makes right’. The world doesn’t spin on a sword point anymore.”
“The fact that you’re using war to achieve your aims proves otherwise,” Luna countered with a cheeky smirk.
He huffed bitterly, and shook his head. “War is a matter of foreign affairs.” Still, the comment did cause him to think it over a bit. “Then again, it's possibly a summery execution could end up being more trouble than its worth. In that light, I accept.
You shall have your duel, but I will hold nothing back. If you have a weapon or armor, I suggest you use them.”
Glancing at her sister, Celestia kept a strong front up. “Unfortunately, mine were lost in battle.” Along with the Elements, but given that no pony has said a word about them since waking up, the artifacts can wait. “I will duel you as I am.”
“As you are?” Shining Armor was keen to control his outward feelings as a primal part of him was thrilled at the prospect. With stiff effort, he pushed it down to remain in control. “The world already thinks you’re in Elysium. No sense in proving them wrong, I suppose.” Limbering up his neck, he continued. “I’ll keep the rules traditional. You win by either killing me, forcing me to yield, or remove my helmet.”
He walked away from the center of the village, giving plenty of space between himself and Celestia who remained near the pedestal. An officer of his spread the word of the duel to the soldiers. Everyone fled the area, and even the soldiers in the air pulled away.
At the end of a hundred paces, Shining Armor drew his sword and leveled it at Celestia. It was clearly not a cutting implement; only bearing the vague shape of a blade. Runes coated its surface and it started to hum ever so gently. “I’ll be a gentlecolt and give you the first move.”
Celestia tried to study his magical aura during the time in which he walked away and presented his sword. The blinding light never softened, making magical tracking easy in general, but impossible to follow tightly enough to strike him. That left only mundane sight to her. It also made reading his enchantments impossible. Not that I’d recognize most of them anyway.
Getting a solid footing and scanning the ground for possible tripping hazards, Celestia then focused on her opponent waiting patiently. Let’s see if he has the same spell breaker as the captain does. She fell into a tense stillness staring him down. The grounds fell still, and the soldiers all around them grew eager. The bitter cold winds started howling with the first light snow.
With barely enough time for anyone to see her horn light up, she fired a trio of mana bolts straight at him, each one as fast as an arrow.
She expected him to dodge or allow his armor to soften the blow. Instead the attack acted like it struck water halfway to him. The bolts slowed down tremendously as they pushed on towards him, until they were at a snail's pace when he casually stepped aside. “Impressive power. Never seen a bolt get that far without a staff before.”
Shining’s sword glowed a harsh blue and he made several swiping motions in the air. The air twisted and rippled and sped towards Celestia.
Unwilling to test her magic armor after Rainbow being able to peel it away with ease, Celestia sprinted to the right to avoid the attack and magically grabbed two houses and tore them into pieces, ripping them off the ground and flinging them at Shining Armor.
Still not moving from his spot, Shining allowed the twin walls of dirt, roots, and stone to impact his first barrier, causing the whole attack to rapidly slow to a crawl. With his sword, he slashed a gaping hole in the wall of debris and magically aimed his pistol at her.
Still remembering Rainbow’s weapon, Celestia tried to guess where the attack would go and feigned turning around. His pistol crackled with mana and a thin, blue-hot fireball the size of a fist rocketed towards the alicorn.
He can use fire magic then, Celestia thought quickly. She hastily grabbed more stone and shielded herself with it. The fireball struck a stone mere inches from Celestia’s barrel, super-heated rock exploded into shards. A few pieces struck her, but nothing serious.
She tried to observe him closely now, watching as the marshal cracked his weapon open, letting a dark pebble fall out before inputting a brighter green pebble into the weapon before he closed it back.
“Come now, your highness,” Shining Armor chided as he reloaded. “Are you going to actually force me to move or hide behind some stones?”
I've fought my sister enough times to know goading when I hear it. “If you wish to move so bad…” Keeping the stones up as a shield, Celestia gathered her power into her forelegs, reared up, and slammed down. The earth churned and tore itself apart, with massive cracks spreading in Shining’s direction.
Snorting in disappointment that she had to tear the ground apart rather than directly force him to move, he stepped to the right far enough to avoid the fissure opening up. The effort forced him to take his eyes off Celestia for a moment, but it was long enough for her to disappear when he looked back to where she was.
Suddenly the pressure on his outer barrier shot up. He looked up to find a massive boulder bearing down on him. Attempting to repel the thing, Shining found Celestia was still magically holding the boulder, and her sheer power resisted his efforts. Straight from the rule book, he predicted. Even as he stepped out from under the slow moving boulder his sword reshaped itself into a mace. Upon seeing the sky above him once more, Celestia was not far behind, only just now diving into his outer barrier. She was not slowed down nearly as much, but it was long enough for Shining Armor to raise his mace above his head.
Almost too late, Celestia saw a larger, ethereal version of the mace manifesting above her head. Reflectively she twisted in mid air, and brought up her own shield, only for the strike to not come from the mace. Instead Shining fired his pistol at near point blank range. A razor sharp spear of ice struck her in the back and would have impaled her from back to stomach had she been anyone else. Yet the attack still buried itself deep and caused her to reflexively let go of her protective spell, leaving the ethereal mace to come down and slam Celestia in the side and send her flying into the pedestal.
Shining Armor watched her get back up as if she had only been lightly pushed against it, so he opted reload his pistol with a red gem while keeping his distance. “The battlefield shares a lot of the same rules as politics, Celestia. You have great power, but all you can do is flounder about with it.” He searched around for Luna and spotted the dark alicorn hovering above the village. “And I doubt your sister will do much better.”
Luna swooped down to perch herself on an intact house. “Is that a challenge?” She barked as Celestia brushed off some loose dirt and got back into a ready stance.
He shrugged. “If that’s how you wish to take it. If anything it’d be no better for Lunaria if you took the throne as you are. Everypony would openly welcome you, and you’d have no idea who will exploit your ignorance.”
“The bigger the smile the sharper the knife,” Luna replied with a grim determination.
Shining Armor stopped his next attack and rested his mace against his shoulder. “The forty eighth rule.”
“Your sister is a great teacher.”
“That she is,” Celestia announced calmly. “And I’m a quick study.” Celestia slammed her hooves into the ground, causing twin pillars of stone to shoot up in front of her. She took a moment to enchant both of them with purging magic, and she bucked them straight at Shining Armor.
Unfamiliar with such magic, Shining Armor noticed almost too late that the barrier didn’t slow the pillars down. He jumped to the side, yet the irregular stone clipped him on the armored flank, sending him into a painful spiral along the broken ground. Rocks snagged and cut him along the exposed parts of his armor. The glancing strike was enough to make his armor noticeably warmer, but not enough to force him to take it off. It did however cause his mace to revert back into a sword.
Remaining prone, he aimed his pistol in haste and fired. The small fireball came much too fast to block it, and Celestia used her wings to dash to the left, only to find the spell tracked her movements. The fireball struck her right wing, searing off several feathers but missed the meat.
Struck with an idea, Celestia got back up while Shining Armor did the same. She brought up two more boulders as he reloaded. She bucked them once more, only to spin on her forelegs and sprinted after the flying stones.
Shining Armor kept his distance from the path of the boulders, but not enough to avoid his outer barrier from being disrupted again. Trying to buy time for it to come back, he fired at Celestia. The crackling lightning from the barrel ripped into Celestia, carving burnt fur spreading from chest to tail, but the damage was only skin deep.
She staggered and tumbled, but with deft wing flaps, corrected her fall by leaping into the air before Shining’s follow up air slash from his sword could bisect her. She landed hard and fast to resume her charge. Her horn glowed an angry gold, giving her more speed and to distort her form.
“Try again,” Shining Armor chided as he simultaneously reloaded his pistol while slashing the air between him and her. A ripple of shimmering blue energy tore Celestia’s spell apart, and cut shallow ribbons across her face, slamming her against a house.
As her restabilized his outer barrier, he noticed a bloody Celestia swiftly get back on her hooves, and used her wings to rocket herself right at him, forgoing any ranged attempt. He quickly poured more power into his sword, causing it to reform into a kite shield. A second shield formed directly in front of it and stretched to cover a wide area.
Celestia barely saw the much more solid barrier form in time to flare her wings and propel herself above the shield, only to see the pistol was already aimed up at her. Hastily kicking the barrel aside, she pushed it away from her right as he pulled the trigger. A grapeshot of ice lacerated her left wing to the bone, and ruined all of her feathers on that side.
Crying out in sharp pain, Celestia barely controlled her heavy fall with her right wing and angled herself to slam down next to Shining Armor, too close to kick him. Leveraging all of her earthen strength, she hardened her horn and stabbed at the exposed skin below his helmet.
To her dismay, her horn felt like it impacted solid stone as the gap flashed a transparent blue when she was an inch from piercing his neck. She didn’t have time to process his armor extended beyond the metal itself before the Marshal was able to slam his kite shield against her face, knocking her back before pistol whipping her to further push her away. That gap protection must be selective, she thought in utter surprise.
In half desperation, Celestia kicked the ground, breaking the ground under Shining Armor while he was already off balance. With a cry he fell to the dirt. Celestia took a small stone, and filled it with as much purging magic as she could muster in a split second and threw it at him.
Shining’s grip on his pistol and kite shield slackened long enough for Celestia to magically grab his helmet and try to tear the jaw strap to get it off of him.
She managed to rip the strap off, but not before Shining Armor kicked the purging stone back at her. Her spell collapsed as she yanked on his helmet with all her might. The helmet came off with such force it took a good chunk of his mane along with it.
So caught up in the fight, he aimed his pistol once more at her, only for a boatswain whistle to pierce the air, causing him to stop long enough to see his helmet clatter onto the ground.
Both combatants were left still, save for them breathing heavily, unsure if the other would abide the victory. A second or so passed before Shining Armor averted his aim and de-cocked the hammer. “Well fought.”
“And you as well,” Celestia declared while offering a hoof to help him off the ground.
By now, Luna and Twilight had raced to their side while a number of Shining Armor’s aides had arrived as well.
“Good show, sister.” Luna took a moment to actually spot the plethora of injuries, and wasn’t sure if she could have taken such abuse without passing out. With her chest and barrel, nothing had pierced the elder alicorn’s hide deeply enough to cut an artery, but she was covered in lineal lacerations, while her wing however was a crimson mess. The sheer number of smaller cuts only meant one thing to the dark alicorn: infection was sure to come. “You need to be cleaned up and quickly.”
With the rush of battle winding down, Celestia had trouble staying upright as the threat of blood loss started to register. “Perhaps you’re right.” Luna was quick to offer a shoulder to help keep Celestia on her hooves. “Arbiter, summon a healer!”
Shining Armor waved her sister to remain. “I brought my own. Gilded Hammer, fetch the corpsmares.” He got up and dusted himself off to look presentable before his soldiers. “The matter is settled then. If you apply that spirit of yours to your queenly duties, then perhaps your rule will be a fruitful one after all.”
Accepting it as higher praise than Shining Armor intended, Celestia shakily bowed her head. “With you at my side, I have little doubt it will be. What say you, Prince-Consort, will you aid me in the years to come?”
“Aye… I will have to speak with my wife first, but it shouldn’t be a problem.” A chariot landing nearby saw the arrival of two medics racing up to them. “You two, see to Celestia’s injuries, spare nothing.”
The gathered aides made way for the medics and Luna was reluctant to pass her sister off to their care, but knew her lingering presence would only serve as a distraction. The two medics absconded with Celestia to the sick tent.
One of Shining Armor’s aides collected his fallen helmet and removed the ruined strap before returning it to him. “Moving on,” he stated while latching his helmet onto his armor, then focused on Luna who suddenly fell back a few steps. “There still remains the issue of war between our two nations.”
Never in her history had she or her sister had ever lost in single combat against anyone but each other. To witness such a close run thing excited her to no end. Finally, the common pony can offer us a worthy challenge. I hope my people kept the blood sports alive. If his soldiers could fight at even a fraction of their marshal’s talent, she couldn’t wait to listen to her own soldiers’ tales of bravery or for the gladiatorial entertainment that surely awaited her. “My sister and I had already agreed to Uti possidetis, with the caveat of a full prisoner transfer.”
Nodding slowly, Shining Armor mused over the logistics of the treaty. “The lack of new stripes will anger many, but once Celestia makes her stance clear, the outrage should die off quickly. Publicly at least, inquisitor, I trust you and your fellows will handle the quiet dissenters as usual.”
Through it all, the sheer weight of Rarity’s relief that Shining Armor would enable Celestia’s return to power left her giddy. It was unbecoming of her, and she had difficulty remaining calmly professional. “Celestia’s will has always been our guiding principle. Those of my order who decide otherwise will not be an issue worthy of your concern.”
“Very good.” He once more turned to Luna. The dark mare evoke mixed emotions in him. For all his life she was the ethereal boogie man. Now here she stood before him, and after dueling Celestia who was considered Luna’s equal, he was left a bit underwhelmed. Pushing that aside, he pressed on so he could clear the way to his sister. “When Celestia is well enough to travel, we’ll depart quietly for Canterlot. Once matters are finalized with Cadenza, you can have a grand parade for your return.”
While the War of Strife may have been nearly a millennium ago, the war exhaustion in Luna’s bones seemed to weigh on her almost immediately after feeling that peace was truly upon her. “A parade sounds dreadful, but necessary for the people. Personally though, it will be nice to get back to work and… well, live under a solid roof once more.”
Though he hid it well, Shining Armor was a bit forlorn about the coming days. “I’m sure I don’t need to be the one to tell you that a solid roof is far more fleeting than it seems. At any rate, I’ll organize a full military escort for you back to Lunaria. If you have any last business to settle, do it quickly. I can think of better places and times for Celestia to recuperate than this disease riddled… backwater.”
“On that I fully agree,” Luna quipped. “I’ll speak to you again soon.” She departed, finding the skies cleared up as the thousands of soldiers found places or clouds to rest upon. She sought out a quiet nook to rest and reflect.
With Luna leaving and Shining giving orders to his aides, Twilight remained. When the last of them departed, he focused on his long lost sister. “Twily,” he said with a hopeful smile. “It’s been far far too long.”
Risking a scandal, Twilight came up and nuzzled him. “Same to you. How did you even get here?”
“I followed my nose,” he answered with a cryptic grin just to see her squirm a bit before elaborating. “When General Reed took Blackbluff Fort, the captured soldiers spoke of a missing company in exchange for being released back to Lunaria. So I had my scouts try to locate you. Never did see you, but they picked up the trail. Given that nothing was being raided, and that they were taking great pains to avoid notice, I thought they might have been trying to conduct a suicidal attack on Canterlot. I commandeered the first train back home once I narrowed down your route would lead you straight through the Mirage.”
“Ahh. So when that injured soldier was being sent to a hospital, you intercepted the transport.” Twilight tapped her nose and smirked. “I’m sure Imperial Command had a heart attack trying to find out where you were going when they realized you were redeploying with such haste.”
He gruffed and looked out to the east. “I’m sure Mechiburg was relieved. Not that it ultimately mattered. Even if I did manage to lay siege before winter set in, the Imperial Navy still holds dominion over the sea, so starving them out would be impossible.”
“Perhaps we can forget these wars between us now that the Sisters are more amenable to each other.” Twilight shook her head. “I’d rather not talk about politics, not with what little time we have together.”
A morose frown fell over him. “That is a hard thing for me to avoid, Twily.” Even with her request such concerns still passed his lips. “I’d say Celestia is impossibly naïve to think this will work as well as she thinks, but she’s older than anyone alive, even if you discount the imprisonment. Now though… Perhaps I am the greater fool for going along with her.”
“At least you can see it,” Twilight added cheekily.
“I hope you can too,” he jabbed right back, only letting his brief playful tone dim quickly. “I heard you married. I saw Pinkamena hiding in the crowd, you didn’t bring your husband too did you?”
Alarm bells rattled so hard in Twilight’s head her ears started twitching and her horn sparked impressively loud. To his credit, Shining Armor only closed his eyes against the light. “I know that tone. Shiny, he’s a good stallion, and he only wants to be supportive.”
His protective instincts on high alert, Shining Armor tried scanning the crowd, looking for anyone who might look suspicious. “Is he at least useful for more then siring an heir?” After his showing against Celestia, not one Lunarian wanted to match his gaze, save Rainbow Dash returning the harsh glare.
“He’s a chemist actually, and I’ll need his talents for my work.” Twilight shoved him with her shoulder to focus his attention back to her. “I can take care of myself, you know.”
He backed down a bit and sighed to calm himself. “Of course. I just - nevermind. But I must ask; are you with foal?”
“I am.” Twilight shivered a bit, worried how much Shining Armor might react to the news.
He grinned broadly and tried to clear the air by making no effort to hide his glee by hugging her tightly. “That’s great news, Twily! I have little doubt your heir will have their mother’s spirit.”
“Count on it.” Returning the affection in earnest, it felt like her youth again, where she could bury her face into his neck and feel protected from the world. I miss this…
The feeling of so many eyes upon them, eventually forced the siblings to part. “Mom and dad will surely be glad to hear of it.”
Twilight nervously started smoothing out her frazzled mane, always trying to make it perfect, and always failing. “How did they take my - um - departure?”
Shining Armor deflated a bit upon being reminded of what he did to her, but he tempered it with a thin reassuring smile as he laid a hoof on her shoulder. “They were hurt of course, but the blame rests squarely on me. I… I must confess that I was the one who asked Inquisitor Rarity to check in on you.”
A coy, half grin crept over her and Twilight idly scuffed the cobblestone below her. “I know. She told me as much in Manehatten. I don’t blame you for it, if that’s been eating you. I was doing exactly what you thought I’d end up doing.”
The catharsis of being forgiven warmed his heart. He squeezed her in a tight embrace. “It hasn’t been the same without you, Twily. Mom and dad took it hard, but it didn’t take them long to see it was going to happen eventually.” He pulled away to speak. “I think dad was always worried Lunaria’s embrace of steam and steel would be too much temptation for you one day, and mom constantly blames Pinkamena for luring you into abolitionism.”
“She wasn’t wrong, I suppose,” Twilight agreed with a brittle frown.
Shining Armor nervously scratched a foreleg. “Them aside, the newspapers say one thing, but I’d at least like to know if you’re happy.”
Twilight leaned against her brother, savoring his presence after so long. “I miss all of you. Terribly so. But…” Shining Armor roped her into another hug, as if today could be the last chance he’d ever have. “I am happy there. More than I could have ever been if I had stayed.”
It was difficult to hear, but he couldn’t find it in his heart to blame her. “Hard to compete against learning to fly and going along with your mark of destiny.” Shining Armor squeezed her close, wishing this moment would last. “One day, Twily, I want you to get to know your niece or nephew, so I can do the same with mine.”
“I’d love that.”
Everyone went their separate ways later that day. Fully half of Shining Armor’s brigade escorted Luna and the Ninety Second to the closest rail yard that was connected to the Lunarian network that Shining Armor had made a point to capture intact and repair what damage was done over the last two years. While modern portals could transit items faster, mass logistics made the practice prohibitively expensive, and the movement of over two thousand soldiers and gear left the rail line as the best option. Their passage was made easier by Shining Armor sending telegraphed orders down the lines so no one put up a fuss over it. However, Luna remained disguised as a large stallion with a throat injury that took his voice.
Orders or not, Luna’s overt presence would cause unwanted complications.
While the Lunarians spent weeks transiting back to Mechiburg, Celestia had a quiet procession as well. The only fanfare that awaited Shining Armor and Celestia was Cadence and a small detachment of royal guards for his unexpected early return.
His airborne covered carriage orbited over Canterlot once to let the returning queen gaze upon it from above. Celestia was careful not to stick her nose out of the window as she gasped in awe. “Oh my. The city runs all the way down the mountain and into the valley as well, and is part of the city on a platform?!”
“It is,” Shining Armor answered with pride. “Possible only with magic too. The platform was started five hundred years ago, and part of Skyburn Magi-architecture college’s curriculum is to improve the platform’s size and stability.”
“Cities of this size simply didn’t exist in my time, but this - it’s like a blanket of buildings and streets.” The airspace was also busy, crowded by cloud home and businesses tethered by rope bridges and pegasus taxi services. “How many live here now?”
“Close to one million if you include the sprawl in the valley.”
“One mi-million?!” Celestia stared back out at the city below while the early afternoon light glinted off of roof tiles and roads. Pegasi flittering to and fro in such numbers it boggled Celestia’s mind. “That’s nearly half of Equestria’s entire population in my time.”
Smiling with nationalistic pride, Shining Armor joined her on his side’s window. “Canterlot’s only the fourth largest city we have. Between us and Lunaria, there are sixteen cities that have at least half a million residents… Well, before the war that is.”
“How do you feed so many? Let alone tax them. Earthen farming is good, but surely not this much.”
“A few hundred years ago, landed nobility was - how shall I put this… reimagined. The nobility serve a very different purpose these days and farmers are no longer tied to a local lord, but an elected governor.”
“Elected?!” Celestia gasped in utter shock.
Shining Armor frowned a bit. “I suppose there was only so much my sister could teach you in such a short time.”
Celestia thought she had used her time wisely and focused on mastering modern Equiss in every waking moment. Some vocabulary was still missing and her speech still felt too rigid, but she could speak without her spell. Now she wasn’t so sure skipping civic studies was such a good idea anymore. “She did admirably with what time she could.”
With the carriage’s orbit complete, the pegasi drivers brought them down on a private landing pad for the royal family.
Ten golden armored royal guards lined the carriage and stood at crisp attention. Walking out from the castle, Cadence tossed decorum to the wind and happily trotted to greet her husband. When he stepped out onto the marble floor and flashed that winning smile she adored, Cadence giggled madly while nuzzling him. “You’ve returned early! I take it that those concerning matters of yours have been dealt with?”
“In a manner of speaking.” Shining Armor nuzzled her back, taking a shameless moment to enjoy Cadence’s touch.
He knew Celestia had emerged from the carriage when Cadence went stiff from shock. “We have a lot to discuss.”
Far to the east, the moon rose high above the city of Mechiburg. The city was holding its breath. Uncertainty and low level panic gripped the citizens who were unsure if the fast approaching winter would halt Shining Armor’s advance before a proper siege could begin. All of the westward counties had been sacked or burned, and camp fires could be seen from those on the very outskirts of the city. The fliers’ district had been hit first, and many tattered, broken remains of cloud homes and factories still remained where they fell.
Skirmishes bloodied the fields beyond the city, and few doubted Mechiburg would escape the same fate as Manehatten. It was only in the last few weeks that the royal Army’s advance had slowed to a crawl.
So it came as a surprise to the local defenders when a slow moving train bearing multiple white flags emerged from the main camp of the Royal Army.
A pair of lookouts were holed up on a church bell tower, and had been watching the tracks for some time now. Their fellows had placed explosives further down in the off chance the Equestrians thought to try a ploy to get soldiers inside the city.
One lookout grumbled, “Parley? What are the goldcoats playing at?”
His partner wasn’t exactly thrilled either. “Prisoner exchange? Is the only reason I can think of for using a train. Maybe they’re ending the campaign before the snow sets in and don't want to have to feed them.”
“Since when did the Scythe take prisoners?” The first shot back. “Stay here, I’ll go report this to the commander.”
Onboard the train’s first passenger car, Luna, Rainbow Dash, and Twilight Sparkle waited for Applejack, serving as the conductor, to eventually bring them to a stop. Twilight tried to gaze out of the window, but the city was completely dark. The gloomy moonlight was at least bright enough for her to see a growing number of soldiers gathering around them. In her excitement, a spark crackled off her horn, and she pulled her head back in out of embarrassment.
“Ah, that reminds me, I should return this to you,” Luna plucked her pendant off her neck and returned the ring to Twilight. “You have a far greater need for it than I do anymore.”
“Oh, thank you!” Overjoyed to have it back, Twilight Sparkle reattached the wires and placed it once more on her horn. If nothing else, she was relieved her erratic sparks were under control once more.
Luna was more than a little bemused as to why the ring was so important, but shared her gratitude for something clearly precious to the pegacorn. She almost gave voice to the query on why Twilight placed such importance on it when the mare beat her to a different question.
“Are you sure you want me alongside Rainbow when you get off?”
The genuine concern in Twilight’s eyes nearly insulted the alicorn. “Of course. The good captain here played her part, true. But make no mistake I know I would still be in stone or smashed into pieces by the inquisition were it not for you. I demand you be present for my arrival to the palace and coronation. If you would have it, I would be honored if you agreed to be my royal engineer. That is the word right? Engineer or inventor?”
While Twilight was too paralyzed by the offer to do more than stutter, Rainbow Dash was more than able to answer for her. “Both work I guess, but as far as I know, no such position exists so you can coin whatever you wish.”
“You create such marvelous machines, and yet the imperial court doesn’t have a central figure?” Luna placed a reassuring hoof on the purple mare in an effort to calm her down. “Well that will change soon enough if you want the position.” Twilight was a babbling mess of ideas spouting forth with wild abandon. Luna opted to let Twilight work it out herself. “Must I use the term empress?” She directed at Rainbow while she left Twilight to spin out of control. “It feels a bit too petty just to sound more important than queen.”
“Uh - maybe?” Rainbow weakly offered. “But since Equestria won most of the wars between us, well over three quarters of Lunarian land used to belong to other species. Griffins, Minotaurs, hippogryphs; we’ve annexed a lot. We kicked the other species out, since they refused to accept our rule. Good riddance, honestly. Can’t trust half of them to not eat a foal if you look the other way.”
“Ah, so we’ve driven out our enemies of old, and laid them to ruin. I shouldn’t be surprised that only Equestria could cause us actual concern.” The idea of fighting non-ponies and centuries old grudges made Luna’s blood run hot. If Tia can be placated for the long term, then I can focus the army’s efforts on uprooting those accursed griffins once and for all. They’ll learn to respect their betters.
The loud screech of metal and a slight shake of inertia heralded the train was braking. Rainbow Dash leapt to her hooves. “The garrison must have forced Applejack to stop.”
The action broke Twilight out of her inventive trance, causing her to blink a few times to collect herself. “R-righto then. Captain, I suggest you better go out and spread the word that an armistice has been called.”
“A pity your brother’s camp claims Celestia hasn’t revealed herself yet, or else I’d clear this up myself.” Luna nearly broke the window by opening it as quickly as possible. “Fly, captain, I’d rather not let my subjects start attacking each other.”
Checking her mental calendar and counting the days they had been traveling, Twilight spoke as Rainbow was climbing out. “It’s the twenty seventh now, she said she’d announce herself in two days. So we’d probably still be waiting for a ship to take us to the capital by then.”
Carefully peering through the window while Rainbow announced herself, Luna fussed over delaying her reveal. “My sister never liked being overshadowed. It’s one of the reasons she chose to associate herself with the sun.” Luna cheekily smirked at Twilight. “Which is why I took the moon. She needs an eclipse every now and again to control that self-righteous ego of hers.”
“You… chose?” Twilight looked at Luna’s destiny mark, and it was still the same cloudy moon from lore. “How did you choose your own destiny?”
Flinching as if she had said too much, Luna briefly considered forcibly ending the topic, but worried that could be more dangerous than a small bit of the truth. She’s the one who managed to convince the emperor into launching this expedition. I can only imagine what she’d uncover if her focus goes in the wrong direction. “To - to put it simply, my sister and I are twins, you see. And through happenstance we became alicorns at the same time. It changed us in more ways than horns and wings. Suffice it to say, because we were twins, we tied ourselves to the sun and stars motif because she was an early riser and I am a… how you say… a night owl? Yes, a night owl. Like your sister Pinkie Pie we changed our names after that.”
Okay, that explains why, but not how. Leveraging how to mask her thoughts during business deals, Twilight was able to hide her growing curiosity. Maybe I need to have a chat with Cadence about this if Luna is going to be this evasive. “Interesting, your majesty. But if you’re twins, why is Celestia a little bigger than you are?”
Eager to play a grumpy mood, as it was quite genuine, Luna saw Rainbow had been successful, if the cheering soldiers outside were any indication. “Because the nag had a better growth spurt, and she was born an hour before me. Honestly once we took over Equestria, she said it would be a less embarrassing way to explain our height difference. She was right, and I hate her for it.” The alicorn jumped a bit after realizing what she just confessed. “You will speak of this to no one, understand?”
“To the grave!” Twilight blurted out under the sudden aggression.
Nodding in approval, Luna idly gazed out of the window and into the cloudy sky above. Make good on this, Tia. The world will hear of me in two nights. Make your move quickly.