//------------------------------// // The Lunar Sanctum // Story: Filly Fluttershy: Uprising // by Phazon //------------------------------// Chapter 13: The Lunar Sanctum Fluttershy cantered through the halls on the way to her next mission. Eyes closed and with a smile on her face, she quietly hummed a pleasant tune to herself as she jumped through the portal, a yellow aura enveloping her wings. She felt the gentle breeze and the brisk night air around her coat and opened her eyes. Though it was a cloudy night, Celestia’s portal had taken her directly above the clouds, giving her a clear view of the starry sky. “Why are you humming?” Celestia asked. “Oh, um…” Fluttershy murmured. “I didn’t think you were listening.” “I’m always listening, Fluttershy,” Celestia said. “I also see that you found the orbitars I left for you.” Floating above Fluttershy’s head were a pair of orbitars that resembled cat paws, one yellow and one calico. “I think they’re the most adorable little weapons I’ve ever seen,” she said. “I thought you might like them,” Celestia said. “They’re called the Paw Pad Orbitars. After everything that’s happened, I’ve been searching for a suitable pair, hoping they would cheer you up.” “Oh, thank you so much, Princess Celestia,” Fluttershy said. “You can save the gratitude until later, but right now we have to contend with Luna’s forces,” Celestia said. “Specifically, Fancypants.” “Is he one of Luna’s commanders?” “Yes and tonight is the perfect opportunity to launch an attack on his fortress,” Celestia said. “The Forces of Nature are still licking their wounds after the destruction of their Reset Bomb factories, and another attack would catch them completely off guard. Now, do you see the moon?” Fluttershy looked up at the night sky. There was a full moon that night, and the moon shone brightly overhead. “Yeah, it’s really pretty tonight,” she said. Celestia angled Fluttershy slightly to the right, showing her another section of the night sky, as well as a second object nearly identical to the moon. This object was the same size, shape, and color as the moon, but was brighter by comparison. “And what about that?” she asked. “Like I said, they’re… pretty,” Fluttershy said. “Wait, there are two moons?!” “They’re like eyes watching you.” “Oh, I wish they wouldn’t,” Fluttershy said. “I get stage fright.” Celestia turned Fluttershy away from the moon on the left and started flying her in the direction of this second moon. Suddenly, the moon on the right flashed with a bright white light and appeared to be splitting into two halves. Something remained in between the two hemispheres, keeping them attached to each other. “What? What kind of moon is that?!” “That’s no moon,” Celestia said. “It’s a space station.” “Celestia, was that really necessary?” Fluttershy muttered. “In a few seconds, the music here is going to resemble a John Williams composition,” Celestia said. “Whether you like it or not, this is the Star Wars chapter. And that is Fancypants’ Lunar Sanctum. Clearly, there’s more to it than meets the eye.” “Is it a robot in disguise?” Fluttershy asked. Before anyone could answer her, a massive laser fired from the center of the Lunar Sanctum, shooting just below Fluttershy. “Aah! Okay, I won’t say anything else about Transformers!” The massive laser fired at her again, shooting only a few feet to her left. “Eep!” “We’re going in,” Celestia said. Her magic flared throughout Fluttershy’s wings as she increased her flight speed, sending her up toward the Lunar Sanctum. The fortress’s laser fired at Fluttershy every few seconds, and Celestia maneuvered her flight path away from the laser’s fire to the best of her ability. Nutskis were stationed outside the Lunar Sanctum. When they saw Fluttershy, they descended from their posts to intercept her. Fluttershy fired a charge shot, consisting of a pair of round, bouncy, catlike projectiles at four Nutskis. A group of Parashooters floated down toward her, two of them sending blades of air at her. She dodged the blades and fired pawprint-shaped shots from her orbitars. The Lunar Sanctum’s onslaught only intensified as Fluttershy approached. In addition to the enormous blue laser it regularly fired, the fortress also fired several smaller shots at her. Nutskis continued to move toward her, as well as a number of Trynamites. Fluttershy swerved to avoid two shots from the Nutskis and returned fire with the Paw Pad Orbitars. By now, she was close enough to see that the Lunar Sanctum’s laser was being fired from a lens situated in between its hemispheres. The inner surface of each hemisphere had a golden color, and the smaller shots being fired at Fluttershy came from several guns on each surface. “I’m getting close,” Fluttershy said. Celestia pulled Fluttershy to the right side of the Lunar Sanctum to avoid its laser. Some of the smaller guns could still aim at Fluttershy from an angle, and she continued to maneuver her to dodge their fire. Eventually, she guided her over one of the hemispheres to survey the exterior of the fortress. Three Bladers flew from in between the hemispheres to pursue Fluttershy, but she shot them down with her orbitars. “I wasn’t expecting the Lunar Sanctum to be so heavily fortified,” Celestia said. “With all this firepower, Luna and Fancypants must be preparing a massive attack.” “Why on earth would I be attacking?” a male voice said in a dignified tone. “I’m far too busy… defending, my dear.” “Eep!” Fluttershy passed over a crater as she flew above the Lunar Sanctum. She swerved right to dodge two attacks from a group of Bladers. “You must be Commander Fancypants,” Celestia said. “Pleasure to make your acquaintance, Princess Celestia,” Fancypants said. “And yours too, Miss Fluttershy. I’ve heard tales of your prowess from our Mistress Luna.” Fluttershy flew over a few more craters in the surface of one of the Lunar Sanctum’s hemispheres. Bladers, Nutskis, and even a few Zerts attempted to pursue her, and she returned fire with her orbitars. “Well, that’s… oddly nice of her,” she said. “However, I am on orders to maintain the Lunar Sanctum,” Fancypants said. “As such, I must not let your attacks spread chaos here of all places. Before you cause a most unnatural harm, let us sit down for a chat.” “I might consider it,” Celestia said, “if you withdraw your forces and band with us to face the Underworld Army together.” “Those decisions fall to the will of Mistress Luna,” he said. “Unfortunately, it’s entirely out of my purview. I do hope you understand.” Three Lethiniums were situated within one of the Lunar Sanctum’s craters. They each fired a laser from their stamens, sweeping through the area to aim at Fluttershy. Fluttershy descended and veered right to avoid them. She then dove over the crater toward them, taking out one with a charge shot and the other two with her orbitars’ pawprint shots. Celestia guided Fluttershy away from the Lunar Sanctum’s rocky exterior and in between its two hemispheres. She led her over the lens, allowing her to explore the area without having to worry about the fortress’s laser. Four Nutskis floated ahead of her along with a Mahva. The Mahva, which despite being based on a flower looked more like a bed sheet ghost with eyes, had generated a barrier over itself and the Nutskis. The Nutskis fired at Fluttershy, their projectiles passing through the barrier. Fluttershy moved left to dodge and fired back, but her shots were stopped by the barrier. Meanwhile, a second Mahva appeared with four more Nutskis and produced its own barrier around them. “Fluttershy, remember that you can still use your Special Attack during flight,” Celestia said. Fluttershy dodged a few more attacks from the Nutskis and concentrated on the magic in her wings. Turning her thoughts toward the orbitars floating above her, she then willed them to fire. Several fireballs were shot from the orbitars in a spray pattern, vaporizing the Mahvas’ shields and incinerating every monster nearby. “In addition to helping you fly, the power of flight also augments the abilities of any weapon you’re carrying,” Celestia said. “This includes attack strength, range and charge time, but it also transmits some of the spell’s magic to your weapon over time. At most, your weapons can store enough magic for two attacks, and while the nature of the attack depends on the weapon type, they are generally very powerful.” “And all that for only five minutes of flight,” Fluttershy thought out loud. Fluttershy continued to fly over the lens, dodging fire from the small guns while looking for an entrance into the Lunar Sanctum. Suddenly, the lens pivoted until it aimed directly at her. “Fluttershy, watch out!” Celestia said. She quickly tried to lead Fluttershy downward. “Huh?” Fluttershy said. The laser fired at her immediately, just missing her as it shot over her head. “Aah!” “We can’t stay here much longer,” Celestia said. “I see a corridor we can enter through.” A trench was built into the rim of one of the Lunar Sanctum’s hemispheres. Using her magic, she guided Fluttershy toward the rim of the hemisphere and inside the trench. There were no guns within the trench Fluttershy was flying through, but before long, two Lurchthorns began to fly alongside her, just outside the trench. Fluttershy fired a pair of charge shots, which separated from each other and each destroyed a segment on one of the Lurchthorns. However, both creatures started attacking her with the cannons on their remaining six segments. While she avoided many of their projectiles, some of them struck Fluttershy in the shoulder, side, and legs, knocking her off course. An explosive projectile shot above her and detonated, nearly tossing her into one of the trench’s walls. “It’s not much safer in here!” Fluttershy said. “As I mentioned earlier, the Lunar Sanctum is very heavily fortified,” Celestia said. “But a victory here could help us contain all of Luna’s army.” In addition to the Lurchthorns, two Bladers flew outside the trench and pursued Fluttershy. Fluttershy began focusing on the magic within her wings again and launched another Special Attack. The orbitars fired another group of fireballs in quick succession, destroying the Lurchthorns’ cannons and wiping out all four enemies. With them gone, Fluttershy quietly flew through the trench. After a while, she found a tunnel at the end of the trench and made a left turn into it. “It looks like their defenses are thinning out,” Fluttershy said. “I’m still detecting enemies, so be careful,” Celestia said. Fluttershy flew deeper into tunnel, but no enemies seemed to appear from anywhere. Suddenly, three green, gelatinous creatures with blades attached to their arms appeared ahead of her. “Aah!” Fluttershy yelped, inadvertently firing a pair of charge shots at them. Each charge shot struck one of the enemies, but the third one vanished before she could fire at it. “Let me introduce you to the Flages, the covert-ops specialists for Luna’s army,” Fancypants said. “Do they strike your fancy?’ Two more Flages appeared ahead of Fluttershy, much closer than the previous group. Fluttershy fired several pawprint shots at one of them, but the second one disappeared. “Um, no, not really,” Fluttershy said. “Between you and me, I’m quite fond of them,” he said. The last Flage reappeared again, this time directly in front of Fluttershy. It raised its arms up, ready to slash her with them. “Eep!” Fluttershy squeaked. Her two orbitars each slammed into the creatures head, stunning it momentarily, and allowing her to fly past it. “Well that makes one of us!” “Oh, yes,” Fancypants said. “I almost forgot.” “Forgot what?” Celestia asked. “To close the gates,” he said. “And the gates go shut!” As Fluttershy reached the last stretch of the tunnel, several lockdown doors began to close ahead of her. The power of flight flared up around her wings, and she felt herself accelerated toward the closing gates. “The power of flight is running out!” Celestia said. “We have to hurry!” One by one, Fluttershy shot past each of the doors ahead of her before they could close. Several enemies were stationed in between each gate, and Fluttershy shot down a pair of Dibble Dops and two Lethiniums along the way. She took out two Trynamites with the pawprint shots of her orbitars before making it through the last gate. Now past the gates, Fluttershy was now flying through a vast, dark area of the Lunar Sanctum’s interior. Several metal structures were built throughout the space, and she flew in between some of them while looking for a place to land. Before long, she flew near a large ventilation duct. Controlling the power of flight, Celestia lifted her up over the duct and crashed her straight through the grating. * * * * * * * * * * Fluttershy burst out of another gating in the ventilation duct and landed on the ground. She still carried some speed from her flight, and she slid on her hooves until she came to a stop. “Celestia, please,” she said, rubbing her sore muzzle with a hoof. “I can’t even remember the last time you gave me made a soft landing.” She stopped rubbing her muzzle and looked around at her surroundings. She was standing in what appeared to be a street, except that all of the streets and buildings around her were built from solid gold. Even though she was inside the fortress, there also appeared to be a gold colored sky above her. “Wow, who knew that the Lunar Sanctum would be so nice?” Fluttershy said. She started walking down the street, exploring the city she appeared to be in. “It’s like a whole other world,” Celestia said. “I could almost imagine living here myself.” “I’m deeply flattered by your gracious compliments,” Fancypants said. “But the Lunar Sanctum doesn’t have room for any… more guests.” “That’s alright,” Celestia said. “After all, we only came here to dismantle it.” “I understand,” Fancypants sneered. “You have no regard for other ponies’ property.” Fluttershy eventually saw three Nutskis hovering above the street as she walked along. She fired a pair of charge shots at them, but her attack passed through one of the Nutskis, only killing one of the other two. One of them opened its mouth to attack her, but it didn’t launch any projectile. Instead, Fluttershy was blindsided by a shot from the other Nutski. She took that one out with several pawprint shots before turning to the first one. Fluttershy shut her eyes and shook her head for a moment, but when she looked again, the creature was still there. “Are my eyes playing tricks on me?” she asked. “Fancypants seems to have a penchant for visual trickery,” Celestia said. “It’s just a little something I whipped up to whet your appetite,” Fancypants said. Suddenly, the remaining Nutski turned green and became transparent, confirming it as a hologram. “You should be able to recognize the real enemies from the holograms now, Celestia said. “I’ve also placed markers throughout the Lunar Sanctum to guide your way, in case Fancypants tries to obscure your route.” Fluttershy noticed a green arrow pointing at a wall in the middle of the street. She walked up to the wall and placed her hoof against it, only for her hoof to pass through. She pulled her hoof back and then walked through the wall in front of her, which brought her in front of a door. “Now how did you manage to place those here?” Fancypants said. “It seems you’ve infiltrated the Lunar Sanctum’s control core, Celestia. That leaves me relatively defenseless. I’d best rectify that posthaste. If you’ll excuse me, I must go gird my loins for your arrival.” On the other side of the door, Fluttershy reached the edge of a cliff. The cliff overlooked a canyon in the area, and a number of solid gold buildings were built on either side. A blue pair of rails materialized in front of Fluttershy, leading across the canyon. Fluttershy jumped onto them, allowing them to carry her along. “Celestia?” she asked. “What Fancypants said before… Is he actually a pony?” “Yes, a unicorn to be exact,” Celestia said. As Fluttershy rode along the grind rails, several enemy troops around the canyon tried to converge on her. Many of them were actually holograms exposed by Celestia’s power, but she found a few real monsters among them. She focused her Paw Pad Orbitars on four of them, two Nutskis and two Dibble Dops, and fired at them. The pawprint shots tended to scatter rather than aim at them, but one by one, the four enemies were shot down by them. “And my mission here is to…” “Your mission is to neutralize the Lunar Sanctum by any means necessary,” Celestia said. “Even if you have to terminate Fancypants. Will that be a problem?” “I-I’m not sure I can go through with that,” Fluttershy murmured. “I mean… do we have to shut down this place?” “Fluttershy, you saw the firsthoof the firepower that the Lunar Sanctum has at its disposal,” Celestia said. “On its own, the main laser dwarfs Reset Bombs in terms of destructive power. If Luna calibrates it for long range fire, she could fire it on the earth ponies back on the planet.” The grind rails dropped off Fluttershy at the entrance to another building on the other side of the cliff. Fluttershy walked inside and found herself in a hallway with a mirror at the other end. However, she found nothing else inside the hallway after looking around. “Look carefully at the mirror’s image,” Celestia said. “You’ll notice some inconsistency.” Fluttershy walked to mirror at the other end of the hall and stared up at it. The mirror reflected everything in the room, from the large gold squares in the floor to the door leading back out. However, the mirror also showed a corridor in the right wall, but when Fluttershy turned to look at the real thing, she only saw a wall. She walked up to the wall and passed through it, confirming it to be an illusion. Fluttershy found two green buttons built into the floor in the next room. She stepped on each one, pushing both of them into the ground, but nothing happened. Another door stood off to the side of the room, but even with the two buttons pressed, the door didn’t open. Fluttershy noticed a mirror along one of the walls in this room. She looked into the mirror and saw the door and both buttons reflected by it… as well as a third button behind the first two. She turned around, but couldn’t see the third button behind her. Looking back and forth between the mirror and the floor, Fluttershy walked slowly toward the spot where the third button was supposed to be. She placed a tentative hoof over the spot on the ground and pushed down. She felt her hoof press against something and, after bringing it down completely, she heard a click at the door. Fluttershy walked toward the door, which opened for her, and left the room. The next room was a large square room with support columns lining the walls. This was the control center for the Lunar Sanctum, and while the room was mostly empty, a large blue sphere lay in the floor in the center. However, a familiar sky blue pegasus stood in front of the blue core. “Rainbow Dash?!” Fluttershy said. Rainbow Dash smirked back at Fluttershy, her wings outstretched and her Silver Bow attached to her foreleg. Her smirk faded when she took another look at Fluttershy, or rather, at the pair of weapons floating above Fluttershy. The grin on her face grew wider, and she quickly started giggling at her. Fluttershy cocked an eyebrow, but it did little to stop Rainbow from giggling, much less from bursting into laughter. “Seriously?! She sent you out with Paw Pads?!” Rainbow laughed. “I knew it! She is trying to get you killed! Ha ha ha ha ha ha!” Fluttershy glowered at Rainbow, who held her hoof against her head and continued to laugh out loud. Eventually, she turned her attention to the twin objects of Rainbow Dash’s derision, the Paw Pad Orbitars. Fluttershy fired a pair of charge shots, which bounced on the ground and made their way toward Rainbow. Rainbow Dash didn’t have time to notice before the two bouncing projectiles slammed into her, picking her up off the ground and smashing her against the Lunar Sanctum’s control core. The control core, which was designed to retaliate against any damage caused to it, registered Rainbow’s collision with it as a short range attack. A quick series of beeps sounded from the core, and a second later, several explosives detonated around the core, blowing Rainbow Dash back onto the ground. “Alright, that’s it!” Rainbow said, quickly getting back to her hooves. “That’s the last time you’re getting a cheap shot off of me!” She fired a charge shot at Fluttershy from her Silver Bow. Fluttershy sidestepped the arrow and fired back with a pair of charge shots from her twin weapons. However, Rainbow dodged rolled away from the attack, and the bouncing shots hit the control core instead. Registering damage from a ranged attack, the core fired a guided magic missile at Fluttershy. Fluttershy tried to move away, but the retaliatory attack exploded when it hit the ground, catching her in the blast radius and throwing her in the air. Rainbow Dash fired another charge shot, hitting Fluttershy in midair and throwing her against the wall. “Fancypants, did you call Rainbow Dash here?” Celestia asked. “I most certainly did,” Fancypants said. “She’s not usually one to follow orders,” Celestia said. “How did you persuade her?” “It was quite simple, actually,” he said. “Just the mention of Miss Fluttershy’s presence was enough to send her twin running here.” “Rainbow just isn’t happy unless she’s fighting someone,” Celestia said. “Hey, that’s not true at all!” Rainbow said. “Not that it’s a bad thing.” “You stay out of this, Rainbow!” Fluttershy said. She dodged three small arrows and fired back with a pair of charge shots. “Don’t you realize that you’re helping Luna by fighting me here?” “Luna?” Rainbow Dash said after dodging the charge shot. “Isn’t she the one who nuked all those earth ponies?” A smirk formed on her face again. “Heh, alright then. As soon as I’m done with you, I’d be happy to trash this place.” “WHAT?!” Fluttershy screamed. She fired another pair of charge shots, followed by a barrage of pawprint shots from her orbitars. Rainbow Dash jumped away from the twin charge shots and fired one of her own, hitting Fluttershy in the side. “Oh dear,” Fancypants said. “I certainly did not anticipate this.” “It seems that you didn’t think very thoroughly about your choice of mercenary,” Celestia said. “It won’t matter in the end,” Fancypants said. “Seeing how fiercely these two ladies are fighting each other, neither one will have the strength to battle me when they are done.” By this point, Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy both had their share of cuts, bruises and burns. Rainbow dodge rolled away from another pair of charge shots and lunged at Fluttershy. Fluttershy tried to block her with her orbitars, but was thrown back anyway. Rainbow separated her bow into blades and tried to slash at Fluttershy with them. Fluttershy stepped back from the first slash, but the second one left a shallow cut in her chest and tunic. Rainbow Dash was about to slash a third time with both blades, but was stopped when one of Fluttershy’s orbitars conked her on the head. The other orbitar descended and struck her across the face, sending a mixture of blood and saliva out of the corner of her mouth and onto the floor. Fluttershy then leapt back while releasing a charge shot from her Paw Pad Orbitars. The result was a doubly large pair of catlike objects appearing from the orbitars and crushing Rainbow Dash against the ground. Instead of bounding off like they normally did, the twin charge shots inched their way across the ground from a few seconds. When they disappeared, Rainbow Dash was sprawled face-down on the ground. “And you told me these orbitars weren’t good weapons,” Fluttershy said. “You know, those things remind me a lot of those other orbitars you had,” Rainbow Dash said as she stood back up. “You mean those haunted Fairy Orbitars?” Fluttershy said. “Yeah, those things were haunted,” Rainbow Dash said sarcastically. “I mean there’s no way that could’ve been a goddess whispering in your ear the whole time.” “Wait, you’re saying that was Celestia?” Fluttershy asked. “No, that’s impossible. Princess Celestia would never do something like that. Right?” “Well…” Celestia trailed off. “Right, Celestia would never make you think you’re orbitars were talking to you,” Rainbow said sarcastically. She and Fluttershy continued to fire at each other with their weapons. “Just like she would never risk burning you to ashes just to blow up a third of a Hewdraw. Or just like she’d never risk siccing two Hewdraw heads on you with that pheromone stuff.” Rainbow’s smirk faded away, and was replaced with a scowl. “I’ll bet she got a real good laugh out of it too!” Rainbow Dash galloped toward Fluttershy. Fluttershy fired a pair of charge shots, but Rainbow sidestepped them and kept going. Instead, the twin charge shots slammed into the control core in the middle of the room. Rainbow Dash separated her bow and lunged at Fluttershy. Fluttershy stepped back as quickly as it could, not noticing the magic missile that aimed at the spot she had been standing it a few seconds earlier. The missile hit the ground and exploded, with Rainbow Dash just in front of it when it landed. The explosion hurled her into the air, but Fluttershy had been too far away from the blast. Fluttershy ran under Rainbow as she sailed through the air, and when Rainbow was about to hit the ground, she slammed both orbitars into her. The orbitars collided with Rainbow Dash’s sides, sending her tumbling along the ground when she landed. Fluttershy then fired one more pair of charge shots, hitting Rainbow again before she could stop tumbling. Rainbow Dash lay on her side at one end of the room, bruised and hurting. She tried to stand back up, but Fluttershy was already standing in front of her before she could get to her hooves. “Now what, Rainbow?” Fluttershy seethed. Rainbow Dash rolled onto her stomach, and spread her wings. She aimed her bow at one of the doors leading out of the room and fired a charge shot. The arrow tore the door down, revealing an elevator on the other side of it. “Just wait till next time,” Rainbow said before taking flight. She flew through the doorway and up the elevator shaft. “Now destroy the Lunar Sanctum control center,” Celestia said. The control core did not take much effort to destroy after that. Since it could only defend itself with the same predictable counterattacks, Fluttershy just kept moving in one direction while shooting at it. “Celestia, tell me the truth,” Fluttershy said while attacking. “Those voices I heard coming from the Fairy Orbitars, was that you?” “Yes, that was me,” Celestia said. “Why?” “Because I found an opportunity to amuse myself during what I perceived to be a low-risk point in the mission,” Celestia said. “Low risk?!” Fluttershy said. “I was in the middle of the Reaper Fortress, scared for my life. I was chased by one of those Reapers because of you. That wasn’t funny! That was cruel!” “I understand, Fluttershy, and I’m truly sorry if that was a traumatizing experience for you,” Celestia said. “That’s why I did not attempt it a second time during the rest of the mission.” By now, Fluttershy had destroyed the control core and walked toward the elevator, which ascended when she stepped onto it. “If you wish, we can discuss the incident after you neutralize the Lunar Sanctum. Though if it’s any consolation, I followed through with the practical joke because I thought you could handle the situation, and my faith was not misplaced. Despite the danger involved in attacking the Reaper Fortress, you did successfully complete the mission.” “Well, it wouldn’t the first time you added a little levity to a mission, even if it was at my expense,” Fluttershy said. “Okay, I think I can forgive you for it.” The elevator stopped in the middle of a gray, rocky landscape. Up above, Fluttershy could see thousands of tiny stars against a dark backdrop. Stepping off the elevator, Fluttershy realized that this was either another one of Fancypants’ illusions or the path to him actually led her back outside. “This really is like the surface of the moon,” Fluttershy said. She noticed an Exo Tank sitting near the elevator and jumped into it. Several of Fancypants’ troops were already ahead of her, including Nutskis, Pew Pews, and Zerts. Fluttershy fired the Exo Tank’s guns while she drove, shooting down the two Nutskis while the running into one of the Zerts. “Why was the Lunar Sanctum built in the first place?” Celestia asked. “That information is highly confidential,” Fancypants said. “That only makes me more curious,” Celestia said. “Curious or not, I took an oath of silence, and I intend to honor it,” he said. “As such, I cannot tell you the reasons why this sanctum was built. All I can say is that it runs on my powers. Without me, it’s just a husk, an empty shell, an orbiting house of cards.” “I don’t think you’re giving us the whole story,” Celestia said. “You’re in no position to demand explanations,” Fancypants said. “I am beholden only to Mistress Luna, and you two are thorns in her side.” “You’ve made your allegiances quite clear,” Celestia said. “No he hasn’t,” Fluttershy interjected. She continued driving across the landscape, shooting two Lethiniums and maneuvering around two Bumpety Bombs along the way. “Why are you serving Luna at all, after everything she did to the earth ponies?” “What Mistress Luna does on the planet is not my concern, and even if it was, it is not my place to question it,” Fancypants said. “My duty is to maintain and defend the Lunar Sanctum, nothing more.” “Unfortunately, it’s not that simple, Fancypants,” Celestia said. “Because of your position in the Forces of Nature, every single war that Luna starts is your concern, especially when you’re at the helm of a weaponized satellite fortress.” Fluttershy brought the Exo Tank to a stop near another elevator in the area. The elevator was on a raised platform, preventing her from driving the vehicle onto it. She stepped onto the elevator, allowing it to take her back down. “I’m sorry, Fancypants, but you’re not leaving us much choice,” she said. “Very well, then,” Fancypants said. “Princess Celestia, Miss Fluttershy, I will be expecting you shortly.” Moments later, the elevator came to a stop. Fluttershy stepped off and approached a large door at the end of the hallway. “Fancypants’ quarters are directly ahead,” Celestia said. The door opened, and Fluttershy walked through. * * * * * * * * * * Fluttershy stepped onto a large, circular platform inside a massive chamber. The only lighting in the entire chamber was focused on the platform, so Fluttershy couldn’t tell what, if anything else was in the room or even how high up the platform stood. What she did see was a unicorn stallion with a white coat and light blue mane standing in the center of the room. The stallion wore a black suit and had a monocle over one of his light blue eyes. “Welcome. Please make yourself comfortable,” Fancypants said, taking a bow before Fluttershy. “It is my great honor to represent Mistress Luna and the Forces of Nature.” As he brought himself up from his bow, the pupils of his eyes briefly glowed red. Fancypants floated toward the left side of the room and launched a spray of shots from his horn. Fluttershy ran left to dodge them and fired a pair of charge shots at him. The twin charge shots struck their target, but he floated off to the left. Using his magic, he generated a vortex on the ground that moved toward Fluttershy. Fluttershy galloped around the platform, trying to avoid the vortex, and hit Fancypants with another pair of charge shots. The charge shots rammed into Fancypants’ right side, knocking him to the ground and making him lose control of his magic. “I say!” he grunted. With his focus momentarily lost, the vortex on the floor stopped moving, and spikes shot out of it. Fluttershy galloped toward Fancypants and, when she was close, spun the Paw Pad Orbitars in front of her. As she ran past him, her orbitars struck him in the side of the head. She turned around and fired another pair of charge shots, but he stood up and floated away before they could hit him. “Very impressive, Miss Fluttershy,” Fancypants said. “But it’s time to reveal the true extent of my power!” Fancypants’ horn glowed a bright golden yellow, but a second later, the magic aura around his horn changed to a deep black. Suddenly, all of the light that illuminated the platform started to drain from the chamber. “I-I can’t see!” Fluttershy said. “Focus, Fluttershy,” Celestia said. “Pay attention to where Fancypants’ attacks are coming from.” Fluttershy stood in total darkness and looked around the room frantically. By now, Fancypants could have easily moved to another area of the room, and if he had, he had done it silently. Seconds later, Fluttershy noticed light flashing behind her. She turned around, only to see several glowing blue spheres moving across the floor. She tried to either step over or around the ones that zigzagged toward her, but a few wound up hitting her legs, causing her to fall on the ground. Fluttershy scrambled back onto her hooves, but then noticed a yellow ring spinning above the ground. The edges of the ring were sharp, and before long, the ring was hurled at her. Fluttershy squeaked as she jumped away, barely missing the ring as it shot past her. She wondered where Fancypants was going to move to now and briefly mused to herself that the battle would be easier if the platform was still illuminated. That gave her an idea, and she lifted her right foreleg up in the air. “Celestial Firework,” Fluttershy called out. Tiny, colorful lights spread from her hoof and surrounded her in a sphere. The tiny spheres glowed with some light, but did nothing to illuminate the chamber, and vanished after a few seconds. “That was underwhelming,” she murmured nervously. “I don’t think any of your powers will make an effective light source,” Celestia said. Three lights shone above one area of the platform to Fluttershy’s left. Fluttershy saw the lights and sidestepped them when they shot at her. She then fired a pair of charge shots in that direction, and was delighted when she heard them collide with something. “Even in the dark, Fancypants’ attacks are still visible. As long as you pay attention to your surroundings, you’ll know exactly where he is.” Fluttershy stood in place and looked around the entire room. Before long, she noticed several lights hovering above the platform. The lights scattered briefly and then homed in on her, but Fluttershy dodged to the side and retaliated with a pair of charge shots. As soon as the shots hit their target, the platform became illuminated again. Fancypants had fallen to the ground, and Fluttershy took the opportunity to shoot at him again. Her bouncing charge shots threw him across the platform on impact, but Fancypants quickly recovered and hovered to another section of the platform. Darkness surrounded his horn, and the chamber went completely dark again. A few seconds later, Fluttershy noticed a ring spinning in another area of the platform. She fired a pair of charge shots in its direction, but her attack didn’t hit anything. Before she could react to it, several blue spheres traveled across the ground, coming from another area of the platform. At the same time, the ring split into three rings, and all three were hurled at her. Fluttershy ducked, allowing the rings to shoot over her, and then ran around the room to avoid the blue spheres. As soon as she dodged the blue spheres, Fluttershy fired two charge shots in the direction they came from, this time hitting Fancypants. She waited for him to move to another part of the platform and prepare another attack. Before long, she noticed a large green ball gathering energy behind her. She ran around the room, avoiding a laser that fired from the ball of energy, and returned fire with her orbitars. Her attack stunned Fancypants again, causing the lights to turn back on. Fluttershy launched one more pair of charge shots, which slammed into Fancypants and threw him off of the platform. Fluttershy stood still on the platform, waiting for something to happen. A few seconds later, the lights in the chamber flickered and turned off entirely. Fluttershy anxiously looked around the platform, expecting another attack, but nothing else happened. “Fancypants said that his magic powered the Lunar Sanctum,” Celestia said. “With him defeated, everything in the Lunar Sanctum has lost power.” “So then it’s over?” Fluttershy asked. “Fancypants is—” “Yes,” Celestia said. Both of them were silent for a moment. Yellow light began to shine down on Fluttershy. “It needed to be done. Who knows what Luna would have done to the earth ponies with the Lunar Sanctum’s arsenal? You understand that, right?” “Yeah… I know,” Fluttershy said. Seconds later, she was extracted from the Lunar Sanctum. When she reappeared again, she was standing in the middle of Celestia’s temple, directly in front of Celestia herself. “So what happens now?” “I’m preparing a spell to completely obliterate the Lunar Sanctum,” Celestia said. “It will take some time to destroy a fortress of that size, but this will ensure that Luna can’t send another commander to replace Fancypants.” Celestia was about to draw on more of her magic, but before she could begin to cast a spell, her eyes widened. “Celestia?” Fluttershy asked. “What’s wrong?” “Something just escaped from the Lunar Sanctum,” she said. “What is it?” “I don’t know,” Celestia said. “I can’t find it anymore. Whatever it was, it flew off very quickly.” Celestia looked down at Fluttershy and noticed the worried expression on her face. “I’m sure it’s nothing urgent. For now, Luna’s forces are still a threat, so be ready for another mission in the next few days.” Fluttershy looked away from Celestia. Even after the night’s mission ended, a lot of things were still on her mind. Eventually, she turned around and left the temple.