//------------------------------//
// Chapter 13 - Terra Viventium 
// Story: Fallen Angels 
// by Lt_Voss 
//------------------------------//


"Are you sure you're well enough for this, my liege?"

"Yes, Captain Lightstar. I assure you I am ready. Please, relax yourself. Soon you'll have me worried." I finished buttoning up my overcoat. Captain Lightstar was Captain of my own guard, which in itself was an honour for the both of us. Lightstar had been credited with many, many glorious victories against the monsters during the past war, and was level-headed, calm, and professional at home. He did, however, have a lighter side reserved for only his closest relations.

Today I was to be established as an official Prince. My first announcement of this position many years ago had not exactly been timely, nor was it "successful," so to say. I was only really told I was a Prince, and the public had the same thing. Now, I was to truly be recognised. "If you ask me, you should worry more about Bill. He seems to be the one in need of attention."

It was partly true. Bill was fidgeting in his clothes as if they were uncomfortable to wear, which I knew was not the case since Rarity of Ponyville had them custom made to fit snugly yet breathably. "I'm not nervous," he said to us, both to retort my claim as well as to prevent Lightstar from approaching. "I'm just restless. The sooner this is over, the better." Need I remind you there is a threat over our heads as clear as water? 'You need not to. I know this. I've known this for months. We need to be prepared. But we must not let it run our lives... but I trust you will continue your vigil?' Never doubt it.

And of course, I never would. I trust Bill with my life. Frankly, I trust him with that more than I trust myself with it. There aren't many people I would apply that honour to. Just then, interrupting my thoughts, my mother barged in. "Rude," I shot off before she could get a word out.

"Careful, Will," she warned playfully as she strode over to us. "I'm still your mother."

That caused Captain Lightstar to let out a chuckle against his will, hah, and caused my cheeks to redden. "Yes, yes," Bill said, slightly annoyed. "When can we get out of these ridiculous outfits?"

"And I," she responded, moving up behind him. "Am still your wife."

Lightstar laughed more heartily this time around, saying, "Hah, the bane of men, eh?"

Luna turned quickly and stalked towards my captain. "And I-"

"Alright," I said loudly to intentionally interrupt her. "Now that we've established that Luna should have been named Captain Obvious," I huffed and straightened my suit. "Shouldn't we get this ball rolling?"

My mother glared friendly daggers at me, but said instead, "That's what I came here to tell you. The ceremony is about to begin, and we cannot proceed without the man of the hour, now can we?"

I dipped my head. "Of course. Lead the way."

The trek to the main hall was filled with Luna giving Bill and me our instructions. "When you walk down the aisle, you will both stand shoulder to shoulder. When you reach the end, you will salute the Guard Captain. For you, Will, that will be Lightstar."

"So was the Guard Captain Stargazer for you and Sunwatcher for Tia?"

"Captain Stargazer, yes. Sunwatcher, however, was not Sister's Captain until recently."

"What do you mean?" I asked. "I thought Sunwatcher had been her Captain for a while now."

"He has," she answered. "But he replaced Twilight Sparkle's brother Shining Armour as Guard Captain when Shining Armour married Princess Cadence and went to rule the Crystal Empire. Shining Armour was the last Guard Captain to be present when my sister and I went to reaffirm our rule, so to speak."

"You mean," Bill started. "You two hold a re-coronation every so often?"

"Yes. It is a big day. Every fifty years or so Tia and I hold a ceremony at a city of our choosing to celebrate our crowning."

"Were you two anyone else," I said. "I would say that you two are very conceited."

"Now," Luna continued her instruction, ignoring my comment. "When you salute the Guard Captain, he will call a squire to him, and that squire will bear your crown." She was talking about me at that point, because Bill would not be getting a crown; he wasn't a Prince. "The Guard Captain will accept the crown, present it to the gathering. This is when you will kneel. Both of you," she added. "Bow your head, and the Guard Captain will place the crown on your head. This is the moment. The rest is partying, and I hope I can assume correctly you know how to party?"

I chuckled. "Ball, special day, birth, or get-together party?" I flashed a grin to her.

In response, she stuck her tongue out at me, saying, "Little of them all."



"Ready for this?"

"Yeah."

"You sure?"

"... Yes."

"Then let's go."



We walked forward, really strode, tall and proud. There was clapping -- well, clopping, as it were -- all around us, and it was raining confetti. Luna had found a strip of cloth for Bill to keep from unnerving the ponies, thankfully. Though, its necessity was questionable considering pretty much every eye was on me at the time. Ahead of us, at the stage, were Luna, Celestia, and Captain Lightstar. The two princesses were on either side of him as he stood there, looking proud himself.

I did my best to put on a smile, but the crowds were making me uneasy. I never was good around large numbers of people, or ponies for that matter. The main hall was large, so at our pace it took us a good several minutes to reach the stage. When we did, Bill and I bowed to both of the Princesses. When we turned to face Lightstar, he nodded. Without turning his gaze away from us, he called out for the squire.

The squire arrived with the silver crown, to complement the gold of my aunt's crown and the obsidian of my mother's. Taking it, Lightstar used hi magic to hold it up for everypony to see clearly. "This," he announced with a thunderous voice. "Is the crown with which we here today recognise Will, son of Princess Luna, as Prince of Equestria!" With those words, the crowds almost literally went wild. Cheering erupted everywhere.

Lightstar levitated the crown down and prepared to place it upon my head. However, something shook the ground itself, and he nearly lost his grip. A feminine laughter, sinister in every sense, frightening in every other, echoed throughout the hall. It sent chills down both Bill's spine and my own. "How pathetic you two are!" The voice was dark yet light. Sinister, yet almost... playful. "You think a crown can stop me?" I knew who it was. Everyone in my current "circle" knew who it was. Even Lightstar, who hadn't been present the day of my return.

That didn't stop him from leaving the crown with the squire and rushing forward to take up a defensive stance in front of me. "Leave, demon!" He called.

"Must you continue to use others to fight your battles, Will? Do you truly wish to see this life extinguished so desperately?"

"Stand down," I told Lightstar in the most authoritative tone I could muster.

"My liege, this witch threatens your life, I must defend you."

"I said, stand down."

"But Lord-"

"I don't," I nearly growled. "Want my first order as Prince to be your imprisonment, Captain. Stand. Down." Lightstar stood there for a few moments more, before sighing and returning to his spot on the stage. I turned my attention to the still invisible Styx. "Why are you here, Deceiver?"

"I can smell the fear in your voice, Will." I felt the air to my left move a bit, and a much closer voice said, "I can feel it." I brought my left arm up and to the right. My intent was to land a blow to Styx, but she had moved before I could do so. She laughed. "Too slow, Will." In a much more... sadistic tone, she said, "This will be too easy." She appeared in front of me, about five meters out. Then, she lunged at me.

Everything around Bill and I stopped. I don't mean that this went by so fast it felt everything else was going slowly. I mean Styx literally stopped time as she attacked. Luckily for Bill and I, we were not affected. Nimbly dodging to the left, I drew my courtsword that I had made the month before. As I did, I swung it to the right, hoping to catch Styx. I didn't, but the strike did not leave me unbalanced, so I was fortunate.

Bill, however, was much, much faster than me. And much stronger, as well. He'd already moved to strike at Styx when I was just getting out of the way of her sudden attack, and he had been successful, if only in nicking her in the upper arm. This did cause her to howl though, and for that I was confused. I did, at length, realise that since she was now mortal, she could feel pain. I suppose if you had never felt pain before a small cut would feel as if your arm had been severed.

"It burns!" She screamed.

"That tends to happen when you get hurt, Deceiver," I spat. "But you wouldn't know. You use other to fight your battles. Well," I added. "You used to."

"You..." she was about to call me something that probably would have been offensive, but she instead opted to make another pass. It seemed that when Zeus had made her mortal, much of her supernatural speed and strength had been taken as well. I am almost certain that if Styx had been at the peak of her power, she could easily have overcome Bill and I without breaking a sweat. And, while what Zeus did wasn't exactly favouring us, he did keep his word.

So when Styx passed again, I sidestepped and took another swipe. This one caught her in the cheek, and Bill's slash bit into her right leg. Against her white garments, the deep red blood dripping from her wounds stood out as clear as day. She brought a hand to her face and it, of course, came away red. "Blood?" She asked as if she had never seen the stuff before. I knew, however, that she knew of it, considering how much of it was spilled on her account.

This time, Bill and I took the fight to her. Cautiously but quickly making our way over to her, we readied for a counter attack. However, none came. We swung our blades fast and true, and each time they found their mark. Bill disabled her arms. I, her legs. She fell to the floor kneeling, her outfit spattered with blood. As the final blow, we both went for her neck. We halted when our blades met her flesh.

"Despite all you've done, Deceiver," I began. "Despite your failings, your offenses, your crimes, your lies... I do not wish to deliver this final blow. I do not believe I am within my rights to appoint myself your executioner. However, our Lord Zeus has made it clear this feud can end only with one of us dying. You'll understand if I wish it to be you who dies."

She looked up at me. Her eyes were red, but not with rage. Tears were falling from her eyes, and her mouth hung slightly open. It moved up and down without a sound a few times, but eventually she found words. "I am... he did not lie... I am... mortal..." The word "mortal" passed from her lips as if it were a curse, but her tone belied a sad undertone. "I do not wish to die," she added, her voice regaining some of its strength. "I shall leave you three alone, just... please, do not end me... spare me... please..."

I hesitated, but eventually lowered my blade. I maintained I contact for several more moments before stepping back. "Bill," I called to him. "Step back."

He did not, though. He remained fixed at his spot, as if someone had nailed his feet to the floor. This went on for another few moments. The peace, however, was disturbed by Bill himself. Suddenly, he gasped, and growled, "You traitorous whore!" With that, he pulled swiftly back on his sword, slitting Styx's throat. He then thrust the blade through her heart. He withdrew his blade to allow for her to bleed out of the wound.

"Bill!" I shouted, running up to Styx. "Stay alive, Styx! Stay alive!"

"Will," she whispered, her life slipping away with every word. "Thank you... for showing me... love was possible... for showing me... determination and sacrifice..." she gasped, the added, "Return to terra viventium, Will... live on in happiness..." He head slumped back, and the last of her breath escaped her mouth. Neither Bill nor I said a word for a while. At length, I closed her eyes.

"Bill?" I asked. "Got any coins?" He knew what I meant and handed me two silver pennies. I placed one on either of her eyes, then gently set her down. Bill and I simultaneously wiped our blades and sheathed them. That was when time resumed its pace. When this happened, Bill and I were in the middle of the aisle, and we were standing over Styx's body.

"She's dead!" Luna cried, running to me. She gave me a hug, but I did not reciprocate it. "What... what's wrong?"

I shook my head. "There will be no celebrating this day." I gestured towards Styx. "She was not evil. She was misguided. She did not know love, comfort. She knew only death and anger." I turned my face to my mother's and looked her in the eyes. "I showed her that. So she said before she died, I showed her love was possible. I showed her perseverance and sacrifice would get you almost anything she wanted. And she wanted love." I looked away. "No celebrating. This is not a good day."