“My sister is asleep now. I suppose there is nothing left to do but-”
“Enjoy the evening?”
“Desmond, I should have known. You have a tendency to show up unannounced.”
“Unexpected pleasures are always the best, my dear Celina.”
“Oh, Desmond... ...wait, is something wrong?”
“There is not. Why do you ask?”
“Your eyes. They’re different...”
“Different is good, is it not?”
“I suppose so. Ah, you always know the right thing to say.”
"Celiiiiina... Your mane is so silky~"
"Oh, stop it, Desmond. You're making me blush."
"Oh, but you love it when I brush your mane, don't you? I'll just brush, brush, brush, until all your problems go away."
"...I love you, Desmond."
"And I you, my little pony."
"Oh! I have something to tell you that should bring you happiness.”
“Enlighten me.”
“I have decided to accept your offer. I want to rule by your side.”
“Fantastic, Celina! Oh, this is simply marvelous, because it means I can do this properly.”
“Do what, Des- oh my goodness...”
“Celina my love, will you marry me?”
Chapter 11
The Heartbreak Inferno
"Hmm... this isn't a situation of much good fortune."
"What are you babbling about, Bubbles?"
"The late hours of the afternoon should be upon us, yet the sun has been without motion since it arrived at its peak position. By my calculations, it should be glancing the horizon at this point."
"So, you're saying that the sun has stopped moving?"
"Affirmative."
"Well, shit."
The door to Fluttershy's house was slammed by two hooves repeatedly. "It's horrible! It's terrible! It's a huge- no, enormous catastrophe! Oh, the horror!"
Cerberus flew away from the couch upon which he was resting and opened the door in mid-flight. The shrieking pony at the doorstep was Rarity. "What? What is it?"
"It's Luna... she's..."
He touched down. "Was she harmed?"
"No, she's just... gone! Disappeared into thin air! Do you suppose the royal guards took her away?"
"Even in a weakened state, my mother would be more than a match for a few petty mooks. Are Twilight and Winter Solstice okay?"
"Twilight was resting and Solstice was just being herself."
"Quiet and nonchalent?"
"Yes. Come to think of it, there weren't any signs of a struggle."
Everything that had happened since that morning suddenly made sense to Cerberus. He breathed heavily. "Then I know what this is."
"What?"
"A cryptic letter from Celestia, the sun being suspended in the sky... something big is coming, and my mum knows it."
"What do you think is going to happen?"
"I don't know, but it won't be pleasant, and I doubt there will be anything we can do to stop it."
“Awright, hind legs, show ‘em whatcha got!” After being out of commission for a long while, and under a lot of stress from Luna's unexpected arrival, Applejack was raring to go buck the everloving apples out of these trees. In her mind, there was nothing more thrilling than doing some good honest work, and after the accident, she learned to relish every moment, from her feet slamming against the tree, to the last apple dropping into the bucket. She also took her sweet time to enjoy the many sights, sounds and smells of nature... mmm, smelled like bark, sap, and brimstone... and burning wood... and... smoke.
Applejack looked up and saw a tower of black clouds rising from the apple grove. Her hind legs started trembling. “Ah no... not again!” She couldn’t bear to so much as look at a candle since the house burned down. What would she do with herself if she was caught in the middle of a full-on forest fire? “It’s okay... it’s okay...” she muttered to herself. “If it is a forest fire, then it’s perfectly natural. Just leave it alone, it’ll wear itself out.”
“Applejack!” A streak of yellow and red dashed across the grove. It was Applebloom, a ball of energy as usual, except she was now in a panic.
“What’s th’ matter, sugahcube?”
“F-f-fire!”
“Ah know, kiddo. Just relax, forest fires happen all the time. It-”
“NO! It’s not just the woods! It’s the whole town! Look!” Applebloom pointed her hoof at Ponyville.
Applejack's jaw dropped. Just a moment ago, this had been a peaceful autumn afternoon. Now, there were no birds to be heard, no cheerful sounds of the townsfolk off in the distance, no cheery music played by street performers... only screaming, as Ponyville was now covered in flames.
When tragedy strikes, the victims seldom recall when it began or how long it lasted. Such was the case for Ponyville, as the rooftops and streets had erupted into flames spontaneously in the middle of a saccharine afternoon. It wasn’t long before the sky was filled with black smoke and panic struck the citizens. Any attempt to contain the flames was futile. All the ponies of Ponyville could do was abandon their homes, seek shelter, and hope to the divines that this would end soon.
Cerberus was caught in the center of it. Fire hardly bothered him for his dragon heritage made him more or less immune to all forms of intense heat, even lava. What bothered him instead was watching the town he fell in love with get torn down before his eyes. He’d seen houses destroyed before - Judas’ mansion came to mind. That was his fault. He had a sinking feeling that this was the same... no. This wasn’t his fault. It was the royal guards. Cerberus could see three of them flying across the underside of the smoke clouds, dropping burning coals unto any house in sight. Everypony else was too panicked to notice.
“Bastards!” he yelled, whist he spread his wings and flew to them with clenched teeth and flaring nostrils.
He could hear the pegasus sergeant calling to them from up above. “Get out of sight of the civilians!”
“We can’t see our targets from up there, sir! The smoke’s too thick.”
“Are you serious? It’s fire, you don’t have to aim!”
One of the guards was a little more reluctant than the others to drop his coals. “Why are we doing this again, sir?”
“Don’t question Her Royal Highness’ orders, private. Get back to work!”
That guard didn’t get a chance to do so, because Cerberus had rammed him from underneath. He lost his breath and his balance and toppled to the ground. Cerberus then caught the bucket of burning coals, flew above the smoke (He made sure to hold his breath when he did) and threw them at the very surprised sergeant, who lost his balance due to his feathers burning away. He wouldn’t be coming back.
Two guards remained, but they didn’t seem interested in fighting, instead they tossed their coals away and held their hoofs up in surrender. They spoke to Cerberus at the same time.
“We’re sorry!”
“It’s not our fault! Celestia told us to do it!”
“She said something about rebels or whatever, but I don’t think she was telling the truth.”
“Don’t kill us!”
Cerberus snorted. “Just go away.”
Winter Solstice was in a state of discontent, though that was trivial compared to the sheer mayhem surrounding her. While she maintained her stoic disposition and cautiously navigated the wreckage filled streets and made sure to step away from any falling debris, everypony else was running for dear life. They made hopeless attempts to stop the fires from consuming their homes and businesses, or at least salvage some of their valuables, only to end up with dry throats and third degree burns. Solstice did everything equinely possible to steer panicking ponies away from danger. At times, she was less than successful.
“Mommy! It hurts!” yelled a young blonde unicorn as she cried in sheer pain. Her forelegs were burned when she tried to rescue her favorite doll, without magic. It took her a while to realize the thing was on fire, much to her discomfort.
“I know, Dinky, I know. Just be a brave filly.” Her pegasus mother tried to comfort her and apply bandages.
That was almost enough to make Solstice sad. She hardly had any emotions for anything, and she absolutely hated fire more than anything else in the world. She had been in a position like that little one, only with no parent to heal her. Left to die in a gutter with a hole blown in her life, her horn broken, her heart shattered. She had made a resolution to not let that happen to anypony else. Nopony deserved this misery.
Solstice approached the filly and her mother. "Do not cry, little one." She took her hoofs. The filly winced, but she held back the tears. "Your mother is right. Be brave." Solstice touched the hooves with her horn. An icy current flowed from the horn into the hooves, cooling the burns and mending the cuts. "I understand that pain is inevitable, but all wounds heal. You just need to have a little patience, and a strong mind."
The worst thing in Cerberus' mind was the knowledge that no matter how hard he tried, he wouldn't be able to save everypony. He came to the conclusion that it would be best to help those he held close to him. He flew as fast as he could to Fluttershy's cottage. The royal guards didn't make it easy for him. Sure, they were nuisances at best, but any moment not spent at top speed increased the chances of Fluttershy's home- his home being burned to the ground- "NO!" he pushed that thought out of his mind.
There was something he had noticed about these soldiers; they weren't trying to deal a fatal blow, or tear away his wings. They were merely trying to apprehend him. Why was this? Circumstances had not changed, unless... of course. Celestia would frame him for this tragedy. It had happened before. It was all part of her smear campaign. An unexplained incident would occur and the wanted posters would go up, putting the blame on him. This was the case for other half-breeds, as well, but most weren't as... evasive. Cerberus had witnessed so many hangings. That was another reason he saw Ponyville as his home. Nopony had even heard of a half-breed, and while there were some double takes, he was free from the cruel words and curses and violence. But... by staying here, he brought the cruelty to everypony he had learned to love.
"...I did do this."
He did his best to focus on the present. He had to, as he had arrived at his home, and it was everything he had dreaded. The grass roof was coated in flames, the glass from the windows had been shattered, and the whole interior was unlivable at this point. "Too late..."
Fluttershy was making desperate attempts at keeping order, with minimal success. She was doing her best to fight back tears of stress as she used water from the river to put out the flames, not of the house, but of her animals.
"Oh... my..." Cerberus couldn't fathom it. The rabbits, the mice, all the critters that he and Fluttershy had cared for were burning alive. "HEY!"
Fluttershy turned to him as she doused the flames off an unconscious bunny. She stammered through her words. "Th-the fire, i-it s-spread t-t-too fast!"
He began to fly. "The river won't put all this out. I'll find a rain cloud, or something! Just stay put... and..."
"Half breed! Stay where you are!" Cerberus turned around and saw the only thing that could make this worse. It was Captain Black, backed up by at least a dozen unicorn guards. He could take them. First, he stared them down.
"I recommend you run."
The Captain only smiled. "I recommend you come with us. After all, your friend over there is in no condition to fight."
This was true. One could clearly see that Fluttershy's will had been broken, along with her little heart. Her home and her critters were all gone. She lay on the grass, not blinking, only letting her tears fall to the ground.
"So what?!" yelled Cerberus. "I can bring you all down!"
"Ah yes, but not all at once." Captain Black's smile changed from a mildly amused one to that of a psychopath's. "If you intend on fighting, what's stopping one of us from sneaking away from the scuffle to, well, to put it simply, reintroduce her to her animals?"
Under normal circumstances, Cerberus' adrenaline would have kicked in by now. He would've had enough strength to tear every single one of these guards apart limb by limb. But... a thought crossed his mind. What if he slipped up? If Black truly meant what he said, would it happen? There was something else... many ponies were losing their homes too, possibly their lives. The grunts were fooled into setting Ponyville ablaze, and the higher ranked ones used this disaster as grounds to take Cerberus away. What if...
"If I go with you, will this stop?"
Everyone was gone.
The royal guards were gone.
Cerberus was gone.
The animals were gone...
Their screams of pain as they had burned alive echoed in Fluttershy's ears. Something in her was missing, no, completely destroyed. Her mind went blank. The tears stopped flowing. She stood up and began walking. Something turned on. Some valve inside of her that had long gone untouched was now set on full blast...
...and the handle was broken.
“This is simply horrible. In all my years, I never would have imagined this would happen in my kingdom.” The radiant Princess Celestia addressed her royal subjects as she looked upon the burning town. Everypony began to feel more secure, now that their ruler had come to sort things out. “Citizens of Ponyville, your town has been disgraced beyond all reason, and I know what is responsible for this tragedy. It walked among you, earning your trust, waiting for the moment to strike, destroying all that you hold dear. Its wings strike fear into the hearts of the unwary, and its eyes pierce your very soul. Cerberus! Show yourself and repent for what you have done!”
Many a pony let out a gasp of shock. The half dragon that many had looked upon with wonder emerged from behind the Princess, his wings bound by chains, his hooves much of the same. Clearly he was weak, but his expression showed a contrasting feeling of determination, and at the same time, acceptance.
“My little ponies, we have apprehended the monster that has set fire to your fair town. The one who made an assassination attempt against me a manner of months ago! We are giving it a fair and just punishment.” Celestia looked out at all the ponies, her facial expression souring. “We are sentencing it to... the Death Penalty.”
There were cries of shock and despair, and three earth ponies cried out “The horror, the horror!” before fainting dead away. Cerberus didn’t so much as flinch. He remained as stoic as ever. From a young age, he had learned to accept this day’s coming.
Celestia let a smile slip onto her face for a second. She was finally going to get rid of this stain upon her land. “Ponyville. The execution will commence ...what was that?”
Every head in the crowd had turned away from the Princess as a loud noise cut through her speech. After the echo died down, one could hear a long, continuous drone that became clearer as a streak of yellow rocketed towards Town Square. The sound became distinctive. It sounded like...
“...iiiiiiIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIITCH!” The yellow streak slammed into a shield that Celestia barely had time to prepare. As the light faded away, the last pony anypony would have expected was slamming her hooves into the shield repeatedly, shouting obscenities and inarticulate curses at the Princess. It was Fluttershy.
Twilight Sparkle, Applejack, Rarity, Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash had joined the crowd. They had rushed to the scene when they heard that Cerberus was being executed in hopes of helping him but they were resisted by the guards. Now they were absolutely dumbstruck at Fluttershy’s rage. It was as if she had left her timid and elegant self to die and was reborn into... this.
“You... You BITCH!” she yelled. “YOU KILLED MY ANIMALS! MY HOME IS DESTROYED! IT’S ALL YOUR FAULT! YOU FUCKING MONSTER!” The shield seemed to flicker for a moment, before regaining its full strength.
Celestia was mildly offset at best. “You misunderstand, child. I am not to blame. It is-”
“CERBERUS DIDN’T DO IT! IT WAS YOU! YOU WERE GOING TO BURN DOWN EVERY HOUSE IN PONYVILLE AND BLAME ON HIM!”
“It, dear child. It. This half breed is little more than a blight, a mistake. It is better off dead.”
“I’LL KILL YOU FIRST! I’LL-”
"Fluttershy!"
Everything stopped. All eyes looked to the young dragon colt who had undone his gag and was finally able to speak. Despite his bruises, burns and the chains wrapped around his wings, he had the willpower to crawl to Fluttershy. He did not want to go to his grave and see her as she was, fuming and hungry for vengeance. He wanted to see the pony he fell in love with. He wanted to gaze into her kind, heartwarming eyes, see her soft smile... he could die happily if he could talk to that Fluttershy one last time.
Cerberus spoke to her. "Just... stop fighting. I'm the only one Celestia wants. I knew this was going to happen someday, but if you keep fighting, you'll die too." He lowered his head. "This is my fault. If I hadn't come here, this town wouldn't be a flaming wreck. Once I'm gone, it will all be over." He looked straight at Fluttershy. Her anger had ebbed away. All that remained were tears. She wasn't protesting. "Thanks," he said, "for the best days of my life."
Fluttershy threw herself at Cerberus, knowing very well that this would be her last chance to feel him. She made a note in her mind of every detail, from the scales on his body, to the leathery feel of his wings, his silky hair... she wanted to remember everything. She wanted to remember every second of this moment, when she puckered her lips, and without faltering, without error, she kissed him.
For only a moment, all the chaos, the fire, the crowd, Celestia, and the gallows disappeared. A void surrounded the once timid pegasus and her half-dragon. For just a moment, they were alone, against each other, with their lips locked. Their hearts, minds and very essence were one. She opened her eyes and pulled her head away. It was just like their first date... he was crying again. She reached out with her hooves and held him. He was trembling. For the first time in his life he was afraid to die. She cradled his head and stroked his unkempt hair.
She could feel the void collapsing. Soon, reality would come back, and he would be taken away from her forever. Before that happened, she brushed his hair away from his ear. She wanted him to hear every word, when she moved in close and whispered to him, "I love you."
The world was quiet. Cerberus could hear no chains around his hooves, or the shouting of Captain Black as he ordered his troops to take the prisoner to the noose. There was no sound to be heard of Twilight, Applejack, Rarity, Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash protesting as they were held back against their will. Cerberus couldn't even hear his own heartbeat, though he guessed it would be beating very fast, not because he was about to die, but because he just had his first and last kiss.
There it was. The noose. The messenger of death, ready to take him into the next life. It was secured around his neck by Captain Black, who proceeded to speak.
"For crimes against ponykind, and for violating the rights of its existence, Cerberus, spawn of Princess Luna, will hang today. This sentence is absolute and will carried out... immediately." The Captain's horn began to glow. He gripped the lever that, when pulled, would remove the dragon-colt from this world.
The lever began to turn...
"DO NOT HARM MY CHILD, THOU WRETCHED FOOL!"
Rays of blue and black pierced through the smoke that plagued the sky. Everypony gathered around the gallows turned their heads and saw what had been unseen in years, a mighty force that had threatened to drown the world in darkness. Her armor was blacker than a moonless night, her mane glistened with the constellations and surrounded her massive figure. Nightmare Moon had risen again. Many ponies cried out in terror, but Twilight, Applejack, Rarity, Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash cheered. Fluttershy's broken heart was filled with hope, and Cerberus' tears dried.
The very embodiment of night herself spoke, forgoing everything she had learned about modern speech. "Sister! Thou art the traitor responsible for this tragedy to befall thine kingdom, not my son! Confess!"
Celestia's expression changed little. She called out to Captain Black. "Don't just stand there! Pull the damn lever! End the freak's life!"
The Captain almost cowered at her command, though only for a moment, and he returned to his stoic self. He grabbed hold of the lever, this time without magic- and he stayed there, for he was frozen on the spot by a wave of elemental magic. Winter Solstice stood by Nightmare Moon. She smiled up to her princess, then spoke calmly. "Judas. Free your brother."
A streak of pink and purple cut through the crowd, causing everypony to duck. When they looked back for whatever that was, they noticed that the noose had been severed, and the half-dragon had disappeared. He now stood next to the purple pegasus Judas on the cobblestone.
Celestia was now at a complete loss for words. Everything gone completely awry and she couldn't figure out what to do. Attack her sister, or the element bearers? That would make her the bad guy. Kill the half-breed? Her sister wouldn't let her touch him. Disappear? She would not be made a coward. She never had the time to make a decision, for Nightmare Moon had caught her off guard and she was pinned to the ground by a hoof.
"I said confess! Thou hast betrayed these innocent ponies!"
She was out of options. The only way out this was to talk. She yelled in utter desperation, "YES!"
"Lovely... so, hast thou attempted to hang my son in false accusation?"
"Yes!"
"And what wouldst thou hath done following this crime?"
"Go to hell!"
Nightmare Moon's green eyes lit up like a full moon. "Come again?"
"Fine! I would have had Twilight Sparkle executed too!"
By then, the crowd had gone completely silent. The news fell upon them, settled, and then, the reception. For the first time in Ponyville's history, the Princess of the Sun's name was being cursed.
"You monster!"
"Why would she do this?"
"Witch!"
"Hag!"
"Tyrant!"
"My, oh my, dear sister," gloated Nightmare Moon, "It seems you have lost the worship of these ponies."
Celestia was now spitting with anger. "I couldn't care less about this country town!" She finally had control of her magic, and was able to teleport out of her vulnerable position. She reappeared at the other side of the crowd. "It seems that I have to take a more blatant approach to purifying my kingdom. All of the remaining half breeds will burn underneath a ring of divine retribution!" Her horn lit up once again, as she was gathering enough power to disappear and return to Canterlot. Nightmare Moon wouldn't have it.
The Princess of the Night cast a binding spell that would keep Celestia from using her magic. "Non evanescunt ante vos sentire ira!" Neon blue ropes came forth from her horn and wrapped around Celestia's legs, holding her in place. This was the time to strike. "Winter Solstice! Twilight Sparkle! To my side!" The former and the latter jumped from the crowd and stood near Nightmare Moon on her left and right, respectively. "Give this tyrant everything you have!"
The three of them stood tall, and tapped in to every ounce of power they had inside them. Twilight cast a spiral of magenta colored light. Winter Solstice whipped her hair and reinforced the spiral with a beam of pure ice magic. Nightmare moon followed, and cloaked their surefire finishing attack with a blue energy field that would make any chance of dispelling worth nil. Celestia didn't stand a chance when she was struck by the combined forces of an ice queen, her sister and her former student.
Cerberus' feet felt cold. He blinked several times to clear the white from his vision alongside everypony else who was dazzled by that light show. When he could see, all there was to see was... more white. The smoke and the fire were completely gone and in their place was several feet of snow!
Everypony began oohing and ahhing and what-the-hay-why-is-it-winter-all-of-a-sudden-ing, then they locked their eyes on the only patch of cobblestone that wasn't covered in snow. Laying there was a weak alicorn with pink hair and frail wings. It was Princess Celestia, only she was now less of a Princess, thanks to that spell. It had reduced her to a lesser state of existence. Nopony dared make a move to help her. Some were fearful of taking in Nightmare Moon's wrath if they did, others had already accepted that Celestia was not the great ruler they had thought she was and would let her suffer.
Cerberus relished every moment as he watched his mother approach what was left of Celestia. She spoke, slightly softer than before, to say something personal. "What thou art feeling be much like what I hath endured these last several months; a loss of strength and power, helplessness, hanging by the one hoof at the edge of the abyss! Thou hath felt my pain, now feel that of every half-breed or 'impure' being that thou hast cast away like dust!" Nightmare Moon raised her hoof with the intention to bring it down on Celestia's neck and end her many millenniums of life. "Long live the Lunar Republic!"
"NO!" Captain Black had broken free from his icy prison. He cast a fireball at Nightmare Moon, which hardly itched in her mind, but it was a distraction effective enough, for it allowed the Captain to jump from the gallows to Celestia, and teleport away.
"Your Royal Highness!" Heretic shouted from the distance. "Winter Solstice and I are presenting to you the most disagreeable low ranking soldiers whom of which serve Celestia and await your decision as to what their fate shall be!"
Nightmare Moon chuckled as the group of eleven pegasai guards was brought forward, bound not in chains of steel but magic. "Doth not think we hast forgotten thee, mine Sister's Royal Guards. I request of thee today that thou doff your allegiance towards my sibling, and consider my offer as it stands: Bow to me, or be bound to none. All else shall be punished. And I wish not to be a jailer like mine Sister."
The group shared glances between themselves. Some were still angry. Others were more... receptive. One got up the courage to speak, "And our families, Your Highness? What will happen to them?"
Luna turn a glittering eye to the pony who spoke. "No harm shall befall your families from a hoof of one of mine subjects, whether you choose to side with me, or against me. That, I shall promise."
The soldier nodded, his body relaxing in his magical restraints, as did the others. "Then, if my troops agree, we accept our fate at your hooves." He then muttered, "Hooah."
"Then you are free to go as you please. You shall be the Captain. Just remove thine armor and give it to the local Blacksmith, I shall have him repurpose it." Without further ado, Luna closed her eyes and bowed to the soldiers before her, and the magical bindings faded away.
Another guard, however, was less than satisfied. "You're the tyrant, not Celestia! GET HER!" He and five others gave a bloodcurdling yell and charged... but in a blink of an eye, they were gone. All that remained were six sets of brittle armor.
"I... apologize." She didn't sound angry, though there was an edge of disappointment in her voice. "It seems as though this conflict will continue."
She was surrounded by a cloud of blue and purple, and when it cleared, she was the mild and less threatening Princess Luna, whose appearance was celebrated with cries of joy and relief. While Ponyville had not been spared by any means and many homes were beyond repair, everypony knew that there was hope. Luna was humbled by the cheering and wooing. She hadn't had a reception like this in a very long time. She heard a familiar voice.
"Princess Luna!" The little white and brown foal from Nightmare Night many years ago, Pipsqueak, ran to Luna and hugged her. "It's so good to see you!"
She returned the show of affection with a brush of his mane. "The feeling is mutual, little one. You have grown quite a bit since I last saw you. I suppose I cannot gobble you up anymore."
He chuckled. "So, since Celestia's bad now, does that mean you'll be a Queen?"
"...Something like that. Come, stand by my side as I address my loyal subjects." Pipsqueak did so, and proudly at that. He waved to the crowd as he was joined by Cerberus, Winter Solstice, Judas and Heretic. "Citizens of Ponyville! This day will go down in history, not as the day that your town was destroyed by a corrupt monarchy, but as the day that a new order is established! Celestia has spit upon this land, for behind her warm smile lies nothing more than a Templar with utter distaste for what she deems impure! For more than a thousand years, a war has been waging out of plain sight. Half breeds like my son, Cerberus, along with those who speak highly of him, have been put through hell simply for the crime of existing. Why Celestia does this, I do not understand, but there is no need to! For as of this day, I intend to stop this nonsense as I did a thousand years ago. This time, however, I shall not be alone!"
A roar of support erupted. It could have been heard from anywhere in Ponyville.
"Yes! I already have a small army. Soon we will go from five young pegasi to a hundred soldiers of the night, with an inner desire to drive a stake through the heart of this evil! We will go to the other great provinces of Equestria and have their support. We will form a new ruling power, The Lunar Republic!"
Another roar. This one could have been heard from the draconic lands.
"I will be your guide through hell! I will be your Virgil! I WILL BE. YOUR. QUEEN!"
This time, if an angel had been passing overhead, they would have been knocked out of the heavens from the sheer force of the cheering for Princess- No, Queen Luna.
If it were up to Fluttershy, she would have never let Cerberus go again. They were the only ones left in Town Square. Everypony else had returned to whatever was left of their homes. Clouds had billowed in the sky, and from them came a light snow that fell upon the couple as they danced.
Fluttershy slipped on an icy patch and fell on top of her beloved. Her dasforah. She kissed him, more intimately, more passionately than before. Then, she laughed.
"What's up?" asked Cerberus.
"If Luna is a Queen, and you're a Prince... does that make me a Princess?"
"...I don't know." He laughed as well. "Could you get off me, please? The snow is cold."
"Oh, sorry about that." Fluttershy helped him onto his hooves and nuzzled him... again.
"Um, Fluttershy..."
"Yes, dear?"
"In regards to what you said earlier... I mean, I know I've said this before but... I love you too."
"We've been through a lot in just a few months, haven't we?"