Shades of Grey

by Inquisitor M

15. Zenith

 
Cheating. Yes, it was a lot like cheating, because back here in the real world, everything hurt.
Her eyes stung, already too sore to risk rubbing with her hooves, and even the instinctive twitch to do so left her strained muscles screaming in protest. Her abdomen burned with the aftermath of her airless convulsions while every other part felt weak as a kitten. Rarity burst into an anguished, mournful wail, but when she hugged herself tightly, the outburst abated.
The sensation of pressure on her chest… Luna’s hoof had been there. Luna’s hoof had stayed there. The memory reformed, one layer conjuring the next: a hoof, Luna’s smooth coat, brilliant azure eyes, a heartfelt embrace…
Lighting fizzed and crackled in the distance and the light forest flickered purple.
Luna. You didn’t fail. I just… I wasn’t listening…
She breathed in long, slow cycles, just as they had breathed together. Placing a hoof over her heart, her eyes sprang wide open.
…and you need me!
The light in the distance stopped and a howl of frustration filled the cool night air. Somehow she still had tears left in her to roll down her cheeks, but the muzzle between them hosted a widening smile.
Get up.
She rolled upright and tossed her mane, letting it settle in its usual place. Again, she touched her chest and conjured her memory of Luna.
Get up!
Her muscles still ached and she remained on the ground. In the distance, there were more flashes, followed by an unmistakable squeal.
Pinkie Pie?
 

 
“Twilight!”
Applejack hesitated; the only ponies left standing were herself and Luna. The princess focused on the downed unicorn and prepared another strike. One moment of doubt had been too long already. She sprinted forward, but Twilight was too far away and her reaction had been too slow.
A blue-grey blur shot past and Twilight Sparkle vanished as lightning tore up the empty earth. Seeker rose into the sky, carrying the purple unicorn away as Pinkie Pie bounced into the once-beautiful glade. Springing effortlessly through the debris, she beamed the kind of enormous grin that only Pinkie was even capable of. “I found them!”
Luna growled and stomped her hooves. “Would you accursed ponies stop doing that!” She threw more lightning, but to Applejack’s eyes, Pinkie simply refused to take the whole thing seriously.
“Wheee!” Pinkie leapt into the air to dodge one bolt. “Woooo!” she squealed, cartwheeling to avoid a second.
Strike after strike had no effect as Pinkie pranced, pirouetted, and pin-wheeled. “Will you stand sti—” The clearing fell silent. Pinkie Pie was nowhere to be seen.
Applejack flinched as Luna’s furious gaze fell on her, instead. “Awww, hayseeds. This just ain’t my day.”
 

 
A faint, high-pitched giggle cut through the night air, and Rarity finally sprang to her feet. She took a single step forward and balked, looking toward the mountain instead. The forest seemed to cry out in one voice, a cacophony of rustling, creaking, and snapping, as the sky flashed white for a moment before a thunderous boom reached her.
Pinkie Pie! I should…
She eyed the mountain again.
I should be helping my friends, but… I have to trust Luna, too.
Casting her gaze around the scene, she paused momentarily on Splashdown. Thunderer was right: the best thing she could do was to get this over with. She snared the hacksaw protruding from the golden emergency kit and faced Cloudy Top Mountain.
She started forwards, only to halt immediately and choke out a single sob as her eyes screwed shut. “I can’t do it,” she said in a quiet, mewling voice. Her breathing came in rapid pants now, and every instinct screamed to just collapse on the spot and surrender to the lethargy and despair that weighed her down a dozen times stronger than gravity.
In her mind, Luna bopped her nose—a simple thing, yet so intimate. Rarity placed a hoof on her chest and remembered. Her breathing slowed.
“Stupid mare. Luna needs you, now get on with it.”
 

 
Applejack tensed, but before the expected magic materialised, she saw Luna’s eyes spring wide open. Pinkie popped up from behind and tousled the princess’s mane. “Tag! You’re it!”
Luna’s wings flared wide open as surprise became fury and she unleashed another concussive blast.
“Wheeeeeee!” Pinkie screamed as she flew high into the air and deep into the forest.
“Aww, nuts!” Applejack cried as she, too, was thrown backwards. “Not again!”
“Still gotcha,” Twilight said, lowering the earth pony safely to the ground. “I have a plan. Are you ready?”
“Now hold yer horses, Twi! Ah’m mighty glad you’re okay, but what happened to Princess Celestia?”
“I told her to leave, there’s a pl—”
“You what?” Applejack’s jaw hung so wide that it might have fallen off if she hadn’t spoken again. “What in tarnation would you do that for?”
Twilight raised to hoof to forestall the protest. “There’s a plan,” she repeated forcefully. “Luna’s being controlled, and we need to make her really angry. That wasn’t going to happen while Princess Celestia was here.”
“I—” Applejack began, before Luna’s voice boomed out across the forest.
The two mares followed the sound upwards to the hovering princess. “Come out, you little wretches, before I burn you out!”
Twilight galloped off. “We can’t let her leave yet!”
“Okay! Okay.” Applejack growled, picked up her hat, and forced it back on her head. “Ah hate not knowin’ what the plan is…”
Moments later, the two mares ran into the clearing. “Fools!” Luna cried from above. “You cannot hope to best me!”
Before either pony could reply, Seeker exploded from the tree line in a flash of blue-grey and pink, dropping off his passenger without slowing. He veered sharply, though no attacks came his way, and gave Twilight a salute as he passed overhead. Getting a better look at the pegasus, Applejack gasped. His neck, shoulder, and half his face were blackened, and one eye was forced shut from swelling. He vanished, and a wave of momentary nausea passed through her: Twilight had shifted them again, saving her from distraction as lightning tore up the ground behind them.
“Me next! Me next!” Pinkie cried.
Luna obliged, and the energetic pink blur zipped back and forth, completely unharmed.
“So Ah guess Pinkie already knows yer plan, Twi?”
“Well… not that I know of.”
 

 
 Rarity stumbled again.
Concentrate! Left, right, left, right… it’s just trotting you stupid mare!
Fragments of memory surfaced again and again but would not resolve themselves into a whole. She remembered standing there with Luna, and she had a sense of what she’d been asked to do, but the rest haunted her like an itch in her mind she had no way to scratch.
It was you who…
Left. Right.
…it was enough that you listened.
Left. Right.
Don’t you dare mess this up!
Rarity winced.
 

 
“Curse you! How are you doing that?”
Pinkie giggled and poked her head out from behind another tree. “Over here!” she yelled, repeating the pattern for the umpteenth time. Two seconds later, the tree was obliterated and there was no pink pony behind it.
With the princess high in the air and distracted, Applejack and Twilight stood out in the open. “Pinkie’s gonna run outta trees soon, maybe we oughta do somethin’?”
“You’re right. It’s time to make my play.”
The two mares trotted closer until they were almost underneath Luna. “Hey, you,” Twilight shouted. “Demon.”
The princess froze. After a pause, she flew down and landed face-to-face with Twilight, growling with each breath and simmering with fury. “What did you call me?”
Rarity had mentioned the name at lunch, but she hadn’t expected such an effect. With a huge gulp, she continued. “Do you know what it’s like to be loved by Princess Celestia?”
“Silence!” Luna whinnied and reared up.
Pop!
Applejack and Twilight appeared behind the princess as her midnight-blue hooves bore down into dirt.
“It’s like your mother, your sister, your best friend—”
Pop! Luna’s wild buck found nothing but air.
“…your best friend and your favourite school teacher all rolled into one—”
Pop! This time, a long, faintly sparkling horn pierced nothing.
“She never doubts me, and I feel like I can do anything just by thinking of her!”
Pop!
Luna collapsed, hooves clutching at the sides of her head. “Stop it! Leave me alone!”
Applejack tugged on Twilight’s tail as the princess started thrashing wildly on the ground. Slowly, the unicorn backed up and Pinkie Pie appeared beside them both.
“Wow, that pony is really crazy,” she said, whirling a hoof around her ear.
Raising an eyebrow, Applejack tugged on Twilight’s tail again.
“Applejack, let go, please. I have to finish this; I made a promise.” Her eyes filled with determination, she took a few steps forward and resumed her monologue. “I love Princess Celestia, and Princess Celestia loves me.” Luna flinched and screamed each time the princess’s name was used.
“How does it feel not to be important enough for her to love you, a demon?”
Luna leapt from the ground and soared upwards. Wings raised in frightful majesty, she bellowed, “I will kill you all!”
Her whole body glowed with a pulsing silver aura which exploded into dozens of lightning strikes that rained down across the clearing. Twilight raised her bubble shield but found herself panting immediately; protecting Celestia had taxed her badly. Overhead, Luna screamed howled with rage as the barrage continued, tearing up what was left of the already-devastated glade.
A single hit shattered the shield. Amid the cacophony of magic and destruction, Applejack shouted something indiscernible, but still, all three ponies burst into a gallop. Again, Twilight managed to raise her shield, only to stumble and collapse. The shield shattered again while Pinkie dragged the unicorn back to her hooves and the ponies were showered with dirt, stones, and other debris.
From above, a thunderous boom followed a flash of light. For just a second, there was quiet, and Twilight saw two ponies, Luna and Stormcloud, falling away from each other and plummeting to the ground. Both looked unconscious and were surrounded by the shards of their shattered horns. Twilight bolted towards Luna, already summoning her magic, but the feeble glow did nothing to slow the princess’s fall. Her lungs burned and her mind swam, and a moment later, her legs buckled and she twisted awkwardly, rolling across the ground.
With seconds to spare, Seeker sprang from hiding and caught Luna in a blur of speed. Without enough time to pull up, he spread his wing to slow them both as best he could, before rolling over and placing himself between his princess and the ground.
 

 
Exiting the forest near the unattended chariots, Rarity stared at the mountain. It seemed to loom at her, and her hooves didn’t respond to her will. She tried staring at them, instead, but they still didn’t move.
She hadn’t noticed the sounds coming from behind her any more than she noticed when they stopped, but now the land pulsed with a silver glow from up high. Should she look? Would something terrible be befalling Luna? Or Twilight?
The glowing hacksaw caught her attention, so she gave that a long stare too.
Silence.
You have one task. Don’t fail it.
She tried to recall one of the many images of Luna, or the sensation that had comforted her, but it was all too far away, now. Those were memories of a different life.
Stupid mare! Choose!
Tears rolled down her face, but her hooves still didn’t move. She smiled. There seemed no rhyme or reason, but there was Rainbow Dash, clear as a sunny day in her mind. She’d been more annoying and single-minded than usual, but there was a reason. Oh, how there was such an obvious reason!
You were scared—scared that something was wrong with Fluttershy, scared because you didn’t know what, scared because there wasn’t anything you could do. So you did the only thing you knew how to…
Rarity bolted. Her heart soon pounded as hard as her hooves as she galloped onwards. The exhilaration of simply running filled her from nose to tail. For the first time in days she felt free.
Well, there’s one thing I know I can do!
 

 
Twilight skidded to a halt. “Luna!”
Seeker wheezed as he rolled the princess off him then sucked down a deep breath. He wrapped his legs across his ribs, growling through gritted teeth, and rolled himself back to his hooves. “So much for getting some time off,” he said, wheezing again.
Twilight looked up to see him staring off across the scene of devastation. She followed his gaze to see Stormcloud standing strong, and apparently unhurt. “That can’t be,” she said breathily. “I saw his horn was broken. It’s not fair!”
“Luna!” Seeker bellowed. The princess’s eyes snapped open briefly, before her whole body tensed with pain and she reached a hoof up to feel for her horn.
Applejack and Pinkie Pie moved up to flank Twilight, and they all stared at the new incarnation of Stormcloud. His mane, tail, and horn were pure silver, and he walked towards them at a mockingly slow pace, every bit the predator that Luna had looked while she was under his control.
Luna pulled herself slowly to her hooves, groaning with each unsteady adjustment. The ponies around her dashed forwards when she almost toppled while straightening her back legs. Standing firm regardless, Luna shrank back from them. “Leave me,” she said.
Twilight raised a hoof. “But—”
“Now!” Luna screamed. Rage burned in her eyes, and Twilight backpedalled into Applejack and Pinkie Pie. Together, the mares slunk away as Luna’s gaze turned to Stormcloud.
“This way,” Seeker said in a hushed, uncertain tone. He led the mares away with a slight limp, and Vindicator awaited them in the distance, propped up against a tree. They didn’t look back until they heard Stormcloud’s voice ring out loud and clear.
“Still trying to play the heroine, Luna? Still trying to fill your sister’s beneficent crown, eager to prove yourself worthy? That was a good trick, to be fair. I knew you’d been up to something, but I didn’t expect that. A little cruel, if I may say so, but then I always admired that about you. Of course, I’ve taken away the only thing that made you special, so what have you got left? Harsh language and fighting spirit? Laughable.”
Stormcloud’s tone was acidic and controlled, but Luna let rip a torrent of bile and anger. “You know nothing! You know nothing, you vile creature. You underestimated me when you took control of me, and you underestimate me now. You will come to regret your arrogance!”
“You’re right, of course,” he answered dismissively. “It’s not like me to give you any advantages.” In a flash of light, two large wings appeared at his sides. “Wonderful things, these. I really did enjoy them, and if I’m going to imitate a pony, I might as well make use of all of the available conveniences.”
Luna cackled madly, her previous pain and dizziness seemingly forgotten. “Still you misunderstand! Let me make it very clear… creature. You have made a grave mistake, and I promise you…” Her head drooped and her eyes closed in the brief pause. “...you will never…” Her eyes shot open, glowing brilliant white with magical fury. “…get near… my sister… again!”
A magical pulse rippled out from the princess and the silver-maned Stormcloud leapt backwards on a beat of his new wings. Luna roared, and her whole body shone bright as the sun and white as the moon. The ponies at the edge of the clearing watched in dumbstruck silence as the incandescent shape shifted and grew, and the air itself resonated with the vengeful howl of a wounded animal’s primal fury.
When the light faded, Luna stood imperious and tall, with a full, unblemished horn and a star-filled mane that whipped around ferociously in the storm of magic. Wings spread majestically, she rose into the air, eyes still shining white. She bellowed into the sky with all the might she could muster, both mundane a magical. She howled in pain and sorrow, tears streaming down her face as she raised her hooves up, and thick waves of dark clouds rolled in as if they had been secretly awaiting their mistress’s command. Torrential rain spilled forth, falling so hard it stung the ponies’ flesh as Luna’s cry finally dwindled, lost amongst the secondary roar of the storm.
There was a pause, as if the world itself held its breath. Luna hovered in place, panting for a moment before her face turned harsh and angular. Her nose wrinkled as she sneered and her eyes narrowed, then she raised her muzzle to the sky and screamed. The storm sang her dirge of wrath and fury in tones of thunder and lightning, pounding the ground mercilessly and annihilating trees and rocks with equal impunity.
Three mares and two stallion guards snapped out of their astonishment when the ground itself began to rumble and quake. A mighty crack split the earth between Luna and Stormcloud and a massive chunk of rock rent the ground asunder as it rose into the air under the command of Stormcloud’s silvery magical aura. With a flick of his head, it hurtled down towards Luna. Still at one with the raging storm, Luna didn’t even acknowledge its existence before it collected her on its way down and smashed into the ground, burying her, and itself, in the cracked earth.
 

 
The anguished cry in the distance brought Rarity to a halt.
Are you free, Luna?
Even as the thought flickered through her mind, she saw the clouds gather above. Luna howled a second time and the roiling sea of grey released its deluge.
I... understand. I hear you.
In mere seconds, Rarity’s mane and coat were soaked, but she didn’t flinch. Nor did she react when the third scream brought the last embodiment of Luna’s wrath.
If you know only one thing, know how much I care. I don’t need to hear the words, I can feel your pain. All I can do is to hear you, and hope that it’s enough.
Rivulets of water were already running down the mountainside ahead of her, making the climb look more treacherous than either the darkness or loose rocks alone could have made it. With a quick glance at the hacksaw that still hovered beside her, she lit her horn once more and trotted toward the base of the trail.
 

 
A thin ring of water flew out around the massive rock’s impact, most of the rain having had precious little time to soak into the dry, summer soil. The faint hiss of steam rising from the crater was lost amongst the roar of the torrential downpour.
Twilight sprang forwards, only to be tackled to the ground by Seeker. In one, swift move he was on top of her with a hoof over her mouth.
“Quiet!” he whispered in her ear, pulling back to meet her panicked eyes with his single good one. Without loosening his hold, he looked up at the scowling face of Applejack. “Wait. Watch.”
“Worthless!” Stormcloud bellowed. “Do you see this, Celestia? Come out, or I will do the same to your precious Elements of Harmony!”
“There!” Seeker whispered, pointing at the rock with a hoof. A fine, purple mist thickened and gathered at the top, reforming into a familiar and pristine princess.
“Worthless indeed,” Luna replied. Her features were hard and unmoving as the rain splashed off her. “Perhaps you would care to try again?”
Five ponies felt the harshness of the rain ease as they collectively sighed. Twilight went limp, and Seeker released her from his hold. She watched Luna carefully, taking in the small details: confident and assertive posture, breathing steady, eyes and face stoic and cold. It was as if she had burned away her emotions in preparation.
Growling, Stormcloud unleashed another lightning strike. Between the rain and the thick clouds, the princess’s form was dark until the brilliant silver bolt illuminated her. Luna didn’t even twitch. Twilight pressed her jaws together tightly and a second, then a third, bolt flew out. Each, she realised, bent harmlessly around the princess.
Stormcloud snarled. “Cunning, but it will not be enough!” He fired off a continuous stream of writhing energy. At first it veered away as the previous attacks had, but as Stormcloud guided it, twisted it, and empowered it, it grew steadily closer to finding its mark.
At the last moment, Luna dove behind the lump of rock, and it exploded into shards as the thickening lightning slammed into it. The attack halted as the stallion covered his face against flying debris. Four Lunas stared back at him out of the gloom.
“All power and no skill,” one said dryly, followed by another, “The very definition of a one-trick pony. Must try harder.” A third sighed and tutted loudly before the last added, “No imagination. No talent.”
“Shut up!” Stormcloud bellowed, reaching out with four lances of energy to strike them all simultaneously. “You cannot hide from me with simple tricks!”
The four Lunas soared skyward, drawing the enraged stallion’s attention utterly.
“In truth, it is rather sad,” Luna said from behind the five watching ponies. “His blind rage is that of a feral creature.”
Applejack was the first to turn, her slack-jawed disbelief at the events inside the clearing changing to slack-jawed disbelief at the princess standing nonchalantly behind them. Pushing aside the wing Seeker had spread protectively over her head, Twilight threw herself at the princess, wrapping her hooves tightly around Luna’s rain-soaked neck. “I’m so glad you’re not hurt!”
Luna flinched. “Oh… we… err… Thank you, Twilight Sparkle,” she said softly, producing a hesitant smile while recoiling from the unicorn attached to her.
Composing herself as Twilight let go, she turned her attention to Vindicator.
“You don’t have anything to apologise for,” the guard said, still leaning against a tree. “Miss Pie sought us out. Thunderer’s down, but looks to be in no danger. Seeker says Glory got away with a message for your sister, and Splashdown’s…”
“Badly wounded,” Luna finished. “We saw. We…”
“You don’t have anything to apologise for,” the guard repeated sternly, accompanied by flashes and thunderous crackles from above the clearing.
The princess nodded gravely. “He will not remain distracted much longer, but we are certain we can hold him at bay. We did not want to believe it, Twilight, but that thing really is just an echo, as Stormcloud said. We are not exactly sure what it is, but it is not a pony, not anymore. We may require your assistance later, but for now, we have dampened the sound here so that you will not be heard. Vindicator, Seeker, guard them with your lives. Keep them safe for us.”
The guards nodded crisply.
“Princess?” Twilight said. “Is it safe for us to go and check on Rarity? She wasn’t hurt, but… I’m just worried.”
“We are afraid not, but know that she is safe and away from here… for now, at least. We will keep that thing away, but we must know where you all are to do that.”
“How are you doing that? I mean, I’ve seen totally realistic illusions, but… four?”
Luna smirked. “What illusions?” She dispersed into purple mist and speed off through what was left of the nearby forest.
“Is it just me, or is that a mite unsettlin’ for anypony else? Looks like, y’know, Nightmare Moon.” Applejack fidgeted as she spoke the name.
Seeker gave her a mischievous grin.  “Anything that two-bit showmare could do, Luna can do better.”
 

 
Rarity could do little but watch the ground beneath her. Keeping her head down helped to illuminate the path, but in the heavy rain she needed her full concentration to keep her balance. That concentration broke when she heard the clatter of metal against rock.
Still not completely healed.
She looked back and plucked the hacksaw from the ground with her magic; maintaining simple levitation was usually trivial. To make matters worse, the sounds of the distant magical battle called her attention.
With a growl inaudible in the rain, she set off again. Time after time she slipped, either on the wet rock, or on uneven rubble that shifted under her weight, and each time her heart raced, and her blood pounded in her ears.
I have a purpose! I will not be deterred!
While the rain lessened, it was too late to make any significant difference; neither she, nor the path could get any wetter. The hacksaw slipped from her concentration twice more, but eventually, she crested the trail and looked out onto the plateau.
The hacksaw clattered to the ground. Stormcloud was gone.
 

 
“So, how did ya know about Twi’s plan, Pinkie?” Applejack asked as the rainfall softened enough for easy conversation. The three mares had been watching Luna run and fly circles around Stormcloud, using a series of illusions, tricks, and high-speed manoeuvres.
“Oh, I didn’t know until Seeker caught me. He knew because Twilight told him when he rescued her. My new friends are super rescuey.” Pinkie beamed. “Not that my old friends aren’t totally awesome rescuers too!”
“Soooo, when ya jumped outta the trees you were just… havin’ fun?”
Pinkie’s smile widened further, teeth shining brightly in the dead of night.
“Speaking of having fun,” Twilight said. “Does anypony else think Luna’s having a little too much fun up there?”
Luna re-entered the fight by sneaking up and calling her own lightning down on Stormcloud’s rump, driving him into a frothing frenzy.
“Fun?” Vindicator answered lethargically. Neither guard offered any false bravado about the condition they were in; both rested on their good sides, conserving what strength they had left. “Sure, why not. Everypony needs to test themselves once in a while. And it’s not as if challenges like this are a common occurrence.”
“Ah don’t know who’s more insane: Luna for enjoyin’ herself, of you for bein’ so darn relaxed about it!”
“What’s wrong with having a little fun?” Pinkie asked, then stuck her tongue back out to catch raindrops.
“Ah rest mah case.”
“Never mind that, Applejack.” Twilight stared straight up. “I’m more worried about our visibility if the rain keeps getting lighter. Luna said she’d dampened the sound, but if we get spotted we’re in big trouble.”
Vindicator rolled slowly onto his belly. “I don’t think there’s too much to worry about Miss Sparkle, but I admit that Miss Pie probably stands out a little more than the rest of us. I think we can do something about that, though. Miss Applejack, would you mind if I borrowed your hat?”
“Uh… well, sure. Ah guess that’d be fine. What’s yer plan?”
“Simple camouflage. Miss Pie, would you be so kind as to lie here?” Vindicator tapped the floor next to him. “I trust you can stay still for a while?”
Pinkie dumped herself down, brimming with vim. “Of course! Hiding can be fun too, and hiding with friends is ever better!”
Taking Applejack’s hat in mouth, Vindicator squashed it firmly on Pinkie’s head while spreading his one good, mud-covered wing across her back. Seeker sprang to his hooves and picked up a large branch, dragging it over to lie across Pinkie’s hindquarters. “That should do it, Vindi. Don’t worry Applejack, you don’t stand out as much as you might think. I’ve got two perfectly good, grey wings that would help if either of you ladies want one, though.”
“Neeh, pass.” Applejack shifted uncomfortably. “Besides, I got a better idea.” She dropped, rolled and sprang back to her hooves, covered in thick splotches of mud. “This’ll do just fine.”
Seeker chuckled and lay back down carefully, groaning and wincing as he got comfortable. With a heavy sigh, he finally relaxed and caught Twilight sneaking glances at him. “Are you worried, Twilight? I don’t imagine… wait, are you shivering?”
The unicorn nodded sheepishly.
“Daft mare. Come here. Luna says she might need you, so I need to keep your warm and safe, but I’m not getting up again now that I’m comfortable.”
Blushing slightly, Twilight moved over and dropped down with a splosh. His wing spread over her, and soon she abandoned her timidity and snuggled against him while Applejack plonked herself down on the unicorn’s other side. “That better, Sugarcube?”
Twilight switched to pressing against her friend and gasped. “How do you stay so warm?” she said, snuggling tightly against the earth pony.
“Uh, well, I don’t know ’bout that, but it looks like we might be here a while, so make the most of it, Twi.”
Five ponies, laid out in a rough line, looked up at the fight that raged overhead as another fake Luna disappeared, this time with a powerful buck from Stormcloud. Neither of the pair seemed to be tiring in the slightest, and Luna cackled again with imperious glee.
 

 
Rarity stepped carefully up onto the plateau to look into the cave. “Stormcloud? Are you here?”
“Inside,” came the muffled reply.
She edged forwards slowly and peeked around the bend near the entrance. Although the tunnel provided shelter, the humid, stagnant air was oppressive and her skin rapidly grew warm—moreso where her sodden mane clung to her neck and shoulders.
“Hello, dear. I’m sorry we left you like that, but I know you’re just as worried about anypony getting hurt as we are.”
Stormcloud lay on one flank, tucked tightly around the corner and propped against the wall with his head rested against the rough stone. He ignored Rarity, staring instead at the levitating hacksaw. “Dare I ask why you have that?” he asked with meticulous pronunciation. “I do not appear to be a threat to you anymore.”
“Luna thinks you are, but I’m afraid can’t give you any details. It’s all a bit hazy and strange, but she just said something about the magic going elsewhere and asked me to try cutting your horn off again. I wish… I wish I could tell you more, but this just isn’t my area of expertise.”
The stallion gave Rarity a long, hard stare. “You spoke to her then. Did she tell you what happened?”
Rarity’s lip curled and she looked away. “Well, no, not really. There was this... I’m not even sure what to call it. I suppose it was like you described your dreams to be, and just as you said, I’m having some difficulty remembering it all. It was very tranquil though, and Luna was there. So were you, but a different you. She only told me that she was being controlled by something and that she needed me to stop the magic coming from you. She… didn’t give me much to go on, except to try cutting your horn off again. I admit I didn’t stop to think how you might feel about that.”
Stormcloud continued his penetrating stare and his voice held a dispassionate, clinical tone. “I suppose it fits. I can feel that something in me is missing, and I tried using magic without success. I was already hoping I’d just lost my connection to magic entirely, so losing my horn again does not seem unreasonable. You have my permission to proceed, on one condition.”
Rarity met the stallion’s stare with a tilt of her head.
“Would you mind just… talking with me while you do it? Maybe you could tell me how you met Luna?”
Rarity nodded, but didn’t smile until several seconds afterwards. When she did, it was wide, warm, and grateful. “I think I’d like that. I’m already in such a horrid state you probably won’t even notice if I start crying again anyway. It’s just been that sort of day.”
“Then I hope you won’t think poorly of me if I relish the chance to hear about it. First, though, I must apologise for not asking your name earlier. That was rather rude of me.”
He’s already picking up on the way I talk and act. Is that comforting, or just peculiar?
“Rarity,” she replied in her best lady-like elocution. “And for today I am Lady Rarity, Lady in Waiting to Princess Luna.”
Sliding carefully down the wall, Stormcloud laid out flat and rested his head on his forelegs. “Well then, Lady Rarity, that sounds like quite the story. You may begin cutting now. And don’t worry, it doesn’t hurt... much.”
 

 
The rain had thinned to a drizzle, and Twilight began to wonder how long they’d been waiting. Huddled between Seeker and Applejack, her head drooped occasionally, but Pinkie Pie’s snoring barred any chance of actually falling asleep. Vindicator had followed his charge into slumber, too, but not until after Seeker had taken a few cheap shots at his colleague’s way with mares.
With a wide yawn, Twilight watched the scene overhead: where Celestia was grace and beauty incarnate, Luna was proving to be as fiery and physical as any pony she’d ever known.
Mistaken for another illusion, the princess got in close and jerked her head up sharply, striking the stallion under the chin with her horn and snapping his head back. Without hooves on the ground, he tumbled out of control just long enough for Luna to fly a tight arc above him and slam her hooves into his belly, propelling him towards the ground.
The princess’s eyes flashed white again; the very earth itself swallowed him up, soil washing over him and dragging him down. Roots sprang forth and lashed what little of him remained above ground firmly into place. Lightning strikes leapt from the clouds and converged on the immobilised stallion. The thunder was deafening as strike after strike pounded the ground, making a crater deep enough to hide whatever was left of Stormcloud from sight.
With a loud sucking of mud, the remains of the boulder Stormcloud had pulled from underground floated into the air before slamming down into the crater. Then, all the detritus in sight flew towards the centre of the glade. Every pebble, branch and uprooted plant gathered together, creating a huge pile that entombed the stallion.
It’s not a real pony. It’s not a real pony. It’s not a real pony…
Twilight buried her head between her legs, listening as hooves splashed through the sloppy mud towards her. They stopped just meters away and her head shot up, staring right into the eyes of Princess Luna.
“We believe that is the best we can manage—” A loud snore interrupted her. After a wry grin at a freshly-woken and bleary-eyed Vindicator, Luna continued, “Yet we do not think it will prove sufficient. That thing appears to be impervious to almost all of my magics.”
“Orders, Luna?” Vindicator asked.
“Fall back to Splashdown. Move Thunderer there if you can. We will remain here and—”
The earth beneath them rumbled.
“Go!” Luna shouted.
Applejack raced over to rouse Pinkie while Vindicator winced and struggled to lift himself back to his hooves.
“Luna!” Twilight shouted above the growing quake. “What about Rarity? Where is she?”
Before the princess could answer, the pile of rubble and brush exploded from the crater. Chunks of debris halted in mid-air at Luna’s command, leaving only the smaller pieces to rain down as four ponies hurried away and Vindicator hobbled along behind.
Twilight looked back towards him, but her eyes were drawn to a huge griffon, with gold and silver plumage so shiny that it looked metallic, rising from the crater on its mighty wings. Tiny sparks played across its feathers as the creature flexed its sharp claws.
“Well, well. Two-trick… griffon?” Luna said to herself before raising her voice. “Do you hate yourself so much that you cannot stand the hooves you were born with?”
Furrowing her brow, Twilight hoisted Vindicator off the ground, dashing into the forest with him and passing a semi-conscious, mumbling Pinkie. “Oooooh, shiny,” she said as Applejack dragged her along.
The griffon landed on its hind legs and spread its wings for show. It rivalled Celestia in size and span, and except for a slight change in pitch its voice remained the same. “A more noble creature than any pony, I think. Even a pony princess. Such majesty, and luckily, my form does not limit my power. I can do this forever, Luna, how long can you keep up?”
Princess Luna said nothing and charged.
 

 
Rarity recounted the last two days of her life in graphic detail, leaving no aside undisclosed or complaint unexpressed. She held nothing back, the bitterness in her voice rising as the effort of sawing Stormloud’s horn brought a bright flush to her whole face. The air was stagnant and her magic was still weak—perhaps more so this close to the very thing that had made her ill to begin with.
She was, however, not bereft of a little do-it-yourself know-how. She kept the saw even and took breaks to let the blade cool. At first, she’d let the rain outside cool her, too, but the sheen of sweat no longer evaporated in the windless drizzle.
“That was quite the story, Lady Rarity,” Stormcloud said once she reached the present. “I understand why you asked the questions you did earlier, but as much as I hope the answer was of some use to you, she sounds different to the Luna I knew. I suppose every pony changes with time, though, so I should not be surprised.”
Rarity kept her laboured breathing under control as best she could; a little fatigue was no excuse for a lack of decorum, and not speaking certainly helped. Gritting her teeth, she floated up the hacksaw once more and started biting into the bone of Stormcloud’s half-cut horn.
“Are you certain you are adequately recovered?” he asked. “You still look a little flushed, if you don’t mind me saying.”
“A lady doesn’t like to complain,” Rarity answered, applying a thick coat of well-rehearsed and ladylike pomp.
“Then a lady sounds like a fool.”
Rarity scowled, but continued sawing.
You’re doing this for Luna. Stay focused. You were warned that he might be… difficult.
“Seriously though, is a lady supposed to be so thoroughly dishonest with her friends, too?”
The sawing stopped abruptly, and Rarity backed up a few paces. “How… why… why would you say such a thing?”
Because it’s true?
“It just seems to me that you’re blaming everypony else for not knowing things that you aren’t telling them.”
Rarity let out an exaggerated huff. She scowled as she resumed sawing, pressing down with all the magic as she could muster in her aching horn.
“Ow!” Stormcloud’s cry was muffled by his jaw being pressed into stone. “What are you angry at me for? Ouch! Hot! Careful, you’re going to break it!”
The sawing stopped. “What am I angry at you for?” Rarity screamed. “How dare you be so rude as to say I am blaming my friends? It pained me not to interrupt Twilight’s work, but it was the right thing to do!”
But you didn’t tell her how you felt.
“I may not have told Spike why I avoided him, but it is only because I couldn’t possibly risk hurting him!”
Yet, you probably have already.
That’s not my fault! I’m just trying not to get in anypony’s way!
Stormcloud offered no resistance when the furious sawing resumed. “Well, that temper of yours seems to have done wonders for your magic,” he said, his jaw now rocking back-and-forth against the floor. “Ouch! Careful, even Luna didn’t used to get quite this feisty when—”
A shrill twang echoed through the confined space, followed by a high-pitched metallic ring as half a tiny saw-blade bounced across the floor. For a moment, Rarity stared at the remains of the hacksaw, still enveloped in her magic’s purple aura.
Turning her gaze on Stormcloud, Rarity’s eyes and mouth started to quiver. “I’m not Luna!” She fled the tunnel, the sounds of her hooves on the wet rock announced her difficulty in turning on the plateau.
Stormcloud slumped to his side with a heavy sigh. “Bravo, Stormcloud. She’s not Luna, but you, sir, are still a cretin.”