Luna panted heavily. Several hundred yards to her left, her sister did the same. This battle had gone on for over half an hour. When would it end?
Somewhere behind her, Luna faintly heard laughter. Turning and glaring angrily, she saw Discord doubled over, beside himself with glee at the sight of their suffering.
“What the hay is wrong with you!? Why aren’t you helping us?!” Luna shouted angrily, her blood boiling at the thought of the god taking pleasure in their struggle.
“This is great! I’ve hated you guys for a long time, it’s great to see you get paid back!” Discord hooted merrily.
Luna turned her head in disgust and focused on the task at hand. Hyperion was an intimidating foe- he stood at over four-thousand hooves tall on only two legs (bipedals, her sister called them?), and had immeasurable power. Celestia and Luna were taking a beating at the hands of such a behemoth, and they wouldn’t last much longer without taking drastic measures.
Hyperion moved again, bringing his massive arm crashing down on top of Celestia. “Sister! Shield!” Luna shouted at Celestia.
The air shimmered around Celestia seconds before impact, and Hyperion’s titanic fist smashed into an invisible barrier several feet above Celestia’s head, eliciting a blinding flash while dozens of sparks flew off of the shield. Celestia disappeared beneath the Earth’s crust, her shield forcibly being shoved through the mantle with incredible power from Hyperion’s fist. The shockwave from the impact knocked Luna off her hooves. Thankfully, Hyperion was slow and uncoordinated, so he never took advantage of such vulnerability whenever it presented itself.
“Tia!” Luna screamed, fearing for her sister’s life. She knew not how far their mortality stretched now- without the Elements on their side, their strength was waning incredibly quickly, and they were actually sustaining injuries. She didn’t know how much longer they could last.
A golden ray of energy blasted out of the small crater where Celestia once stood, piercing straight through Hyperion’s hand. Hyperion let out a loud cry and stumbled backward, clutching his hand. Each footstep shook the earth, but the shockwaves receded as Hyperion retreated for a moment. Celestia shot from her crater gloriously, spreading her wings and accelerating quickly. “Quickly sister, while he’s wounded! We’ll strike at his head!”
Luna galloped a few yards before spreading her wings and taking off. The residual ash in the air made it difficult for her feathers to ride the airstream properly, but most of the ash was being shaken up or blown away by Hyperion, leaving them with relatively clean skies.
Celestia approached Hyperion from the left, while Luna approached from the right. She had no idea what her sister was planning, only that it would likely end with Hyperion’s head exploding in one way or another. Perhaps this could defeat the titan once and for all?
Luna’s thoughts were cut short by the sound of Hyperion’s angry roar. She glanced up in time to narrowly avoid a colossal open palm moving toward her at the speed of sound. The turbulence from Hyperion’s massive limb moving through the air so quickly disturbed Luna’s airstream, toppling her end over end while in midair. She eventually recovered and looked toward her sister.
Celestia was preoccupied shouting something at Luna and didn’t see Hyperion lash out towards her.
“Tia! Move!” Luna shouted, but to no avail. A sickening whump permeated the air as Hyperion’s palm made contact with Celestia. Celestia’s limp body flew towards the ground terrifyingly fast, several shockwaves breaking out as she broke the sound barrier on her journey to the hard dirt and rocks below. Luna screamed incoherently and fell into a steep dive, heading toward her sister as if to catch her.
A massive dust plume erupted when Celestia’s body smashed into the earth. Boulders and other debris flew up from the impact site. No, Luna thought. No no NO! She broke the sound barrier as well on her way toward her sister, screaming at Discord to do something, but not really registering the thought.
Luna’s heart stopped at the sight of her sister. Celestia lay in a crumpled heap, her limbs pointing in unnatural, crooked directions. Bones came out in places they shouldn’t have. There was a golden liquid everywhere, the same as what came from her cut earlier. Celestia’s eyes were dull, listless, unseeing.
Luna stood, her eyes seeing but her brain uncomprehending. She couldn’t process the sight before her. Celestia was always the big sister, the one Luna looked up to. Celestia always knew what to do. Celestia always fixed everything. She was perfect. She couldn’t... she couldn’t...
Unforgivable.
Luna’s body began to shake. Rage began to well up inside of her. She hadn’t felt this way since her transformation into Nightmare Moon.
Unforgivable.
A blue aura surrounded her. The earth began to crack around her, stones floating up of their own accord.
Unforgivable.
Luna’s pupils gave way to total whiteness. There was no color to her eyes. Only a blinding whiteness.
Unforgivable.
She turned around to face Hyperion. He was walking towards her with his standard, slow, leisurely gait. The sight of his calmness sent Luna’s emotions into overdrive.
“UNFORGIVABLE!” Luna’s voice was imbued with Olde Canterlot, silencing all in its path. Hyperion stopped for a second, confused, until his body was surrounded by a blue aura. He began to flail wildly as he floated into the air. A creature of such incredible size was not used to being handled.
“THOU SHALT NOT HAVE MINE FORGIVENESS!” Luna screamed, Hyperion flinching with each syllable and struggling even harder. Luna concentrated harder, making Hyperion struggle more still.
“THOU SHALT PERISH AT MINE HOOVES, AND MINE HOOVES ALONE!” Hyperion’s eyes widened as Luna exerted every ounce of her power at her disposal, concentrating on sending Hyperion, far, far away. Hyperion disappeared with a pop, a large clap of thunder resounding from the sudden vacuum where Hyperion once was.
Luna gradually lowered herself to the ground, not even noticing that she had floated upwards. Her mind was preoccupied by something much more important at the moment being.
She walked over to her sister’s corpse, and collapsed by her side. Luna nuzzled Celestia’s neck as the tears began to flow freely. Not even the loss of her people was as great as this. Selfish as Luna may have been, Celestia was the world and more to her. She had always been there, had always known what to do, had always taken care of and had always been there for Luna. And now that was gone.
Discord approached the small crater cautiously, taking heed of the lament that echoed out from within. He glanced toward the spot that Hyperion had previously taken up, half-expecting Hyperion to suddenly reappear from nowhere. But he never did.
Discord glanced over the edge of the crater. His stomach did a flip at the sight of the broken pony before him. But even worse was the heartbroken pony that lay next to her. Luna mourned the loss of her sister openly, not caring for the world who saw. It didn’t matter to her anymore. Nothing did.
Discord slowly approached Luna, resolving to attempt to comfort her. He only made two steps before Luna spoke to him. “Do not get any closer, child. This is no time.”
Discord scoffed. “Child? Why, you’re only a few thou-”
Luna cut him off harshly. “This is no time, child. Leave me be lest you wish the fate of the monster that committed this atrocity upon thyself.”
Discord stood still for several moments, mulling the situation over as Luna resumed her sobbing. He resolved he would tell her right now.
“I can fix this,” Discord announced. “She can be restored.”
Luna looked incredulously at Discord with puffy, bloodshot eyes. “Y-you mean to say you can... can... fix her? Heal her?” Discord nodded slowly.
Luna sniffed and glared at Discord. “If you’re lying or mistaken, it will be your last. That is my vow. But I will not move. Whatever it is you are going to do, you’ll do it with me present.” Discord nodded. That was fine. It wouldn’t affect Luna anyhow.
He made a show of cracking his knuckles, neck, and back several times before his body was surrounded by an orange glow, residual trails of energy floating away from the aura.
“You might wanna back up a bit,” Discord suggested. “Healings can get pretty violent when done through magic. Restoring a deceased pony through magic isn’t possible without the healer giving up their own life, but I’m a god of chaos, so frankly, that doesn’t apply to me.”
Luna stood several paces back, staring in awe at what was occurring right before her eyes. Grotesquely, Celestia’s bones shifted back into place, one by one, the golden liquid somehow oozing backwards through her wounds. It was a fascinating procedure, if not one that made Luna nearly throw up.
After several minutes, Luna broke the silence. “Where on earth did you learn this? I don’t seem to recall you caring too much for the wellbeing of others.”
“Being trapped inside of a shell for thousands of years leaves one lots and lots of time to think,” Discord replied evenly. “Of course, you wouldn’t know this because I don’t seal ponies away like that, but I figured all of this out through observation of the outside world and in my own thoughts.”
Luna was baffled. “That doesn’t make any sense though. How could you figure something out like that on your own, without having any time to practice it?”
“God of chaos, princess,” Discord deadpanned.
Luna wouldn’t take that for an answer. “Nonsense!” she complained, “That’s your answer for every inexplicable thing you do! I demand an actual answer! How did you figure this out?”
“I’m actually just sort of doing this on the fly. Don’t expect me to get this done quickly.”
“What.”
“You heard me. Did I stutter?”
“You sonuvabitch, you had better fix my sister!” Luna shouted, enraged.
“Don’t yell at the doctor, Miss Luna. Besides, I’m done with the healing process.”
“Really!?” Luna bounded forward, Discord stepping out of her way. She stopped short. “Wha-... she’s in one piece, I’ll admit, but she’s still-” Luna cut herself off. She wouldn’t say it aloud.
“Dead?” Discord supplied. “Yeah, I know. I said I was finished healing her, not reviving her.”
Luna turned on Discord again. “Bastard! Get on with it! Don’t tease a woman in this way!” She stomped away.
Discord feigned surprise, throwing his hands in front of him with the palms up. “Goodness, quite the antsy one, aren’t we?” When Luna didn’t respond, practically with visible steam emanating from her being, Discord turned again to finish his work.
He once again made a show of cracking his knuckles again, and said “Now, for the tricky part.” Celestia’s body was enveloped in the same orange glow as before, and all of her limbs were thrust out to their fullest capacity. Discord carefully thread a line of magic flow between himself and Celestia, and starting channeling massive amounts of energy through it.
After just a few seconds, Celestia’s eyes fluttered open. “W-wha... What hap-...” Her eyes closed once more as Discord lowered her to the ground. Putting his finger to her neck and observing her breath, Discord confirmed she had a pulse and was breathing.
“Woona, I fixed your sis- Oof!” Luna tackled Discord in a bearhug, burrowing her face into his chest.
“You may be an ass sometimes, but... thank you, Discord, for saving the life of my sister.” She looked up with watery eyes. “I’ll remember it forever. Thank you, from the bottom of my heart.”
She buried her face into his chest once more and began to sob gently. Discord petted her mane and patted her back. “It’s... no big deal. You’re welcome.”