//------------------------------// // Kilia's Retort // Story: The Legend of the God-Hunter // by BobThePlaneswalker //------------------------------// Celestia paced from one end of the old Ruins to the other. It was a spectacle that, though it didn't look it, was a display of pure practiced discipline. Inside she was bursting with more energy than a foal on Hearth's Warming Eve. It took every bit of control she had to refrain from bounding around the room and charging at phantom adversaries like she was a little filly again. She had never quite felt like this during a conflict. Not when she had faced Discord, not even when she had faced Sombre. During their respective battles she had felt nothing but anger and responsibility. She certainly felt those now, but this time she was actually eager to get to the conflict's gooey center. Memories of long hours spent staring down her goofy looking little dragon-colt companion as he contemplated his next move on any one of her seventeen game boards coursed through her head. This conflict was different because it didn't feel like a conflict. It felt like those games they would play. A clashing of minds, only the minds were a tad bit older and the board was a little larger and more, well, real. Rei had made his move and a grand opening play it was. But now it was time for her counter-play. She already had her first piece, the mighty Elements of Harmony in position and had just received a letter from their bearers notifying her that they were on their way to join her. The first phase of her plan was going well. That was only phase one however. There was still a great deal to do. Still a great deal that could go wrong. It was invigorating. She was stripped from her thoughts by the faint vibrations of six familiar voices. She trotted to the old pedestal that stood in front of the once magnificent window overlooking the Everfree Forest and sat down. Before long the patter of hooves reverberated up the stairs. It was time for phase two. Twilight was the first to appear. “Princess!” she squealed, immediately teleporting herself to Celestia and laying against her forelegs. “I'm so happy to see you!” Celestia smiled and laid her head across the mare's shoulders. “And I am delighted to see you. To see all of you, here, and safe.” “You sure gave us a scare back there Princess,” Applejack said. Celestia sighed. “I'm sure I did, and I apologize my little ponies. Please believe me when I say that I did not wish to worry you all.” “Don't worry Princess!” Rainbow Dash said. “I knew you'd be back. I never doubted you for a second.” She puffed out her chest and stood tall, ignorant of the flat looks she was receiving from her friends. “But, hey, if you don't mind me asking, why didn't we just grab the Elements and blast that loser in the first place?” Celestia chuckled. “Yes I do owe you all a bit more detail as to why I acted the way I did, don't I?” Twilight shook her head. “No Princess, you don't owe us anything. We all trust you to do what you feel is best for Equestria, but... —” she looked sheepishly up to the princess “— some details would help us understand this whole thing a little better.” Celestia smiled, “Thank you for your faith Twilight, it is greatly appreciated, but I am happy to explain. If you would please gather around me girls.” Each spirit bounded into position forming a small quarter circle of mares in front of her. They perked their ears up and gazed at her like foals awaiting ice cream. “Reikavra,” she began, “is an ancient peer of mine. As fillies, Luna and I were raised in the same realm as him. That realm was named Ifringale and it was the Realm of the Immortals.” Pinkie tilted her head. “So does that mean he's super duper old like you?” The question elicited a quick box across the ear from Twilight. Celestia smiled. “Not quite as old as I Pinkie Pie. As I remember I was born one year, three months, and two days before he was. It was a fact I held over his head like a trophy.” She giggled. “Were you two friends?” Twilight asked. Celestia nodded. “Yes Twilight. In fact we were quite close growing up. However early in our young adult lives I was forced to flee Ifringale. When I told Reikavra that Luna and I would be leaving he didn't take it well. Thus we didn't part on the best of terms.” Rainbow leaned back onto her haunches. “Even if he was your friend Princess, he threatened you, threatened us! Why didn't we use the Elements on him instead of letting him get his way?” Celestia tilted her head back, allowing her mind sink deep into her vat of memories. “When I knew Reikavra, his life was rather tumultuous. Magic was his outlet, his escape when everything else around him was falling apart. He would recede into books for days, sometimes weeks at a time, leaving their comfort only to practice what he had read.” She lowered her head, returning to the present to address Rainbow. “If he's continued that pattern over the time I've been away, and I suspect that he has, than we're dealing with a very powerful adversary. I don't foresee us getting more than one shot at apprehending him. I didn't want to waste that one shot while he was in such an advantageous position.” “Advantageous position? How do you figure?” Rainbow asked. “We were all there, and we had Luna.” “Yes but we had no information on his position. We had no clue if he had any allies nearby, traps laid out, or how powerful he's become. We would have been challenging him on his terms.” Rainbow rubbed a hoof along the back of her neck. “Yeah... okay... I see your point.” “Do you think he's evil?” Twilight asked. Celestia took a long breath. “I'm not sure Twilight. However, he has made it abundantly clear that he has no respect for Equestria's laws or my position of authority. Evil or not, he could be very dangerous and I don't wish to simply let him romp around Equestria. Not before I spend a long time catching up with him anyway. I want to know exactly what he plans to do, and why he plans to do it, before he ever comes close to my subjects again.” “Here here!” Applejack cheered. She pulled her hat into battle position, situating the brim just above her eyes. “Just give us the word Princess. We're ready to make the move!” Rarity rose. “Agreed! That brute had no right to talk to you the way he did!” Pinkie leapt to her feet. “Yeah, who does he think he is ruining a Welcome to Ponyville Party anyway?” “He's toast Princess!” Rainbow added. Twilight leaned forward and looked to Fluttershy. “What do you think Fluttershy? Are you in?” Fluttershy stamped her foot down. “That big bully is going to be sorry he ever threatened my friends!” Rarity and Pinkie both looked to her expectantly. “Oh, and me,” she added, her volume once again within normal Fluttershy levels. Twilight beamed. “Alright then, it's unanimous. Just give us the word Princess and we'll go show him just what Equestria's made of!” “Thank you my little ponies.” Celestia stood up. “But actually, this time, you will not be alone in your task. This time, I will be joining you.” Twilight's eyes engulfed the majority of her head. “Princess, is that a good idea? If he's as strong as you think he is, something might happen to yo-” “If he's as strong as I think he is Twilight, we're going to need all the magical firepower we can muster. Remember, I am more than just one of Equestria's Princesses. I'm one of its guardians as well. When it comes to magical prowess in Equestria, I'm still top mare.” She winked. Twilight blushed. “I'm so sorry Princess. I guess I see you with guards so much that I forget that you're the most powerful pony in Equestria.” Celestia brought her head down close to them. “Don't be. Between us, I work really hard to make sure ponies aren't reminded of that. Doesn't sit well with the comforting-motherly 'swagger'.” She uttered her slang with all the smoothness of an out of touch grandmother. The spirits giggled, doing their best to conceal the fact that her joke wasn't exactly what they found humorous. Rainbow collected herself and faced Celestia. “So then, what's our game plan?” “I'm glad you asked!” Celestia said. “As I said, we need to make sure that when we hit him, we hit him with all the magical might we can muster. I don't want to take any chances.” She looked out the ruined window behind her. “I have already sent for Shining Armor and Princess Cadence. They have informed me that they are on their way and will meet us here when they arrive.” She stood up and stepped off the left side of the platform, signaling the spirits to follow her with her wing. They obliged and she lead them past an old dilapidated pillar to one of the room's dark corners. Standing in the darkness, covered by a blanket, was something that looked to be about as tall and wide as an average door. Celestia pulled the cover off to reveal a rather raggedy looking mirror. The sides were scratched, pieces were missing, and the metal was beginning to rust. Rarity couldn't help herself. “Oh Princess I don't mean to sound rude, but that thing looks dreadful!” Celestia chuckled. “Do not be deceived by its appearance my little pony. This is a very powerful magical artifact.” “What is it?” Twilight asked. “It is one of the two remaining Portal Mirrors,” Celestia replied. “Portal Mirrors?” Twilight said, “So, then, if we step through this, will we come out of the other one?” Celestia smiled. “Very good! That is precisely their function. When we activate this mirror, a portal will be formed between it and its remaining sibling, allowing us to travel instantaneously between the two.” “Where is the other?” Twilight asked. “It stands in an old, and intentionally unused, guest room in the lowest floor of the castle's west wing. When Cadence and Shining Armor arrive, we will use the mirror to travel directly into the castle without being forced to cast an exhausting, and potentially detectable, teleportation spell.” “Princess that's genius!” Twilight commended. Celestia blushed. “Oh, well thank you Twilight.” She turned back to the mirror, pointing a hoof at its center. “Now, once we've entered the castle the rest of us will remain in the guest room while you, my faithful student, will be tasked with locating and informing Princess Luna of the situation.” The mention of Luna caused Twilight's breathing to halt with a screech. When Celestia looked down she found the unicorn gazing feverishly between her friends. “What's wrong Twilight?” The rest of the ponies nodded to Twilight. Twilight turned to Celestia but she avoided direct eye contact. It made Celestia extremely uneasy. “Uhm... Well...” she finally uttered. “When Luna and I talked with Rei, he... he... uhm... she... I...” Celestia's stomach seized up. “Twilight, has something happened to my sister?” she asked, keeping her voice soft despite her growing urge to rattle the unicorn and scream, “LET IT OUT!” “Just take a deep breath Twi, you can do this,” Applejack encouraged. Twilight nodded. After exhaling she stood tall and faced Celestia, her determination painted on her face. “Princess... when we met with Reikavra, he used Luna's anger to manipulate her and...” The mare's momentum dissipated and her mouth began to tremble. “And what Twilight?” Celestia asked, unintentionally allowing her voice to quiver. “And...” She shrank down and covered her head with her hooves. “He-resurrected-Nightmare-Moon!” She trembled as though Celestia would lash out at her for uttering such news. Normally such a reaction would have bothered Celestia. This time however, she didn't even notice. All she could do was stare past Twilight, lost in her realization of just what this meant. The world around her spun. Her balance waned and she teetered back onto her haunches. Reikavra had gone straight for the heart. Not only had he neutralized her most important lieutenant, her only true family, and her best friend all at once; he had replaced her with one of the cruelest creatures to have ever stepped foot in Equestria. All the excitement she felt for the challenges that his presence promised evaporated. The void was quickly suffused by more contempt than she had ever felt towards a creature in her entire life. She closed her eyes and collected what chunks of rationality she could find. “So, Luna, you've confirmed that she is Nightmare Moon once again?” By this point Twilight had managed to return to an uneasy standing position. “I don't think she is entirely, not yet. Luna was still in control and doing everything she could to keep it that way before she teleported away.” Celestia grabbed onto that little ray of hope. She returned to her feet and addressed the Spirits. “Then we must act fast my little ponies. We will enter the castle and find Luna. I have an idea of where she might be.” “Princess?” Twilight peeped. “Yes Twilight?” “Rei could still be in the castle,” she murmured. “Should we wait for my brother and Cadence bef-” “My sister does not have that kind of time Twilight!” Celestia snapped. Twilight shrank to the floor and her ears fell flat against her head. “Right, I'm sorry!” she squeaked. Celestia looked at the terrified little mare. Goodness Celestia, what are you doing? She knelt beside Twilight and gently pulled her close with her wings. She laid her head across her trembling shoulders. “No I'm sorry Twilight. Your concern is valid. It's just...” She looked into Twilight's eyes. “This is my sister Twilight... I can't... I won't lose her to that monster again.” She released her and moved towards the mirror. She stared at it for a few moments, contemplating their position. “You girls can wait for Cadence and Shining Armor,” she finally said. “It would be good to have someone waiting to fill them in on the most recent developments. I, however, can't stay here. I have to try and save my sister before it's too late. If she does change, and something happens to the Elements —” She shivered. “— I have to find her.” The spirits, save for Twilight, looked to one another, unsure of how to respond. Twilight however walked up and stood beside her mentor. “I want to come with you Princess.” The others looked to Twilight, then to one another. “I think... we all want to,” Rainbow said. Applejack nodded. “Luna needs us and Ah'm not about to let her down.” Celestia stood her ground against the urge to hug the very life out of them. “Thank you so much, all of you. There are no words to describe how much this means to me.” She pulled a piece of parchment and a quill from a pile of supply satchels she had left laying behind the pedestal. She scribbled a message to Shining Armor and Cadence and secured one edge of the note under the satchel. She searched through the others until she found the one that contained the Elements and fitted it on her back. “Alright girls, are we ready?” They nodded. “Alright then.” She powered up her horn and dipped it into the center of the mirror. Small waves skimmed across its surface. The picture it was casting of the seven mares faded away, replaced by an image of a dark, dusty old bedroom. Celestia put one hoof into it. The reflective material gave way, bending inwards. Once she had pushed it forward far enough it snapped over her leg, pulsating like a bowl of jello. She pushed the rest of her body through. She could feel her foot emerging on the other side. She laid it down on the floor, upsetting a layer of dust. When her head emerged her nostrils pressed straight into the dust cloud she had created. She shot off a sound cancellation enchantment, barely beating the sneeze from her nose. She tugged the rest of her body through, fighting off the rest of her sneezing fit. She stopped by the bed, shaking her head and blowing puffs from her nose to try and expel the majority of the intruding particles. Behind her there was a crash. She spun around to see the six Spirits somehow tangled up in the mirror's surface and one another. Lucky I cast that spell. She puffed one last time and proceeded to separate them from one another. Once she had them untangled and sitting at attention she addressed them. “Now girls, we were fortunate that I was able too cast a sound barrier on this room before that little incident. But from this point forward we have to be extremely cautious. I do not wish to face Reikavra just yet. If anypony in this castle sees us, there's a good chance that in their excitement they'll unintentionally alert him to our presence. So I must ask you for total silence.” There was a small flurry of apologies, each followed by a verbal list of creatures they would be quieter than. Celestia closed her eyes and concentrated on a detection spell, probing the area outside of the door for any life. “It seems to be clear,” she said. “I will cast an invisibility spell and a sound barrier around us. However, we cannot put our total faith in them. Stay close to me at all times. If we see anypony, do not panic. Stay completely still, do not make a sound, and hopefully they will pass.” She opened her eyes to look at them. “Understood?” The mares enthusiastically nodded. “Alright. Twilight, would you mind checking to make sure it's truly safe?” Twilight nodded. She approached the exit and cautiously pushed it open. As Celestia's spell had suggested, the hall was empty. Celestia turned to the others and waved a hoof. They tiptoed to her, forming a small pony wall on each of her sides. She cast the barriers and started for the stairwell to the first floor. Fortunately, like the guest room they had just exited, this particular section of the castle didn't see a lot of traffic, allowing them to make quick progress. They soon found themselves staring up the staircase to the next floor. Celestia approached it, but her first step up was joined by a frantic “Wait!” from the top. “Hurry girls, off to the side,” she whispered, prompting the furry and feathery ball to quickly tip-dash out of the way. A yellowish-green unicorn stallion dressed in a bus boy uniform galloped down the stairs, followed closely by a magenta unicorn mare dressed in the standard attendant attire. Celestia recognized them as Hoofington Stable and Petal Grains. “You can't leave!” Petal called after Hoofington. “This will be your third strike! You're gonna get canned!” To the mission party's dismay, Hoofington stopped right in front of them to address his coworker. “You really think that matters Petal?! Sky Streak told me that there were two more guards found conked out. And you can't really think it's just a coincidence that now both Celestia AND Luna are nowhere to be found. I don't know when that nut-job is coming back, but you can bet your hindquarters that it's gonna be bad news when he does and I sure ain't sticking around to see it.” He spun around and continued galloping down the hall. “If you know what's good for you, you won't either!” Petal looked back to the stairwell, considering the validity of her co-worker's concerns. She turned back down the hall and gave chase. “Wait! I'm coming!” Celestia watched them disappear around the corner and lightly clicked her tongue. A scene like that could only mean one thing. Hysteria was lurking within the castle, just waiting to spread amongst the staff and use them as vessels to escape its walls. Without the Royal Pony Sisters there to put out the flames it would quickly spread throughout the rest of Canterlot, and throughout all of Equestria soon thereafter. A light nudge from her pupil pulled her from her thoughts. She smiled. “Sorry about that girls, let's move.” The second floor was, as expected, far busier than the first. This considerably slowed the party's progress. Celestia observed the rest of the castle staff as they trotted about carrying on the day's duties. She witnessed at least five occurrences of ponies snapping at one another, one of which broke into an all out shouting match. About nine occurrences of ponies uneasily peering around corners before continuing, and at least three occurrences of ponies mindlessly walking into inanimate objects. There was also an incident that involved a stray jawbreaker from Pinkie's mane rolling out of the barrier and lightly colliding with the wall causing poor Fradius Kinderhill to leap into the air and drop a tray full of glassware. It all served to aggravate Celestia's fears. Despite all that, a few close encounters and a lot of careful movement later they had made it to their destination. It was the old astronomy wing that had fallen out of use since the construction of the Astronomy Guild's headquarters just a few blocks away from the castle entrance. It had since been turned into the Princesses' watch tower when Equestria found themselves in danger. It was quiet, off limits, and sported a wonderful view of the midnight sky. It was the perfect place for Luna to hide when things got overwhelming. Celestia turned to face the Spirits. She knelt down and pulled them into a huddle. “Alright girls, this is it. The door at the top of the stairs leads to the Observatory. If Luna is here, that's where she'll be.” She prodded her satchel with her hoof. I have the Elements here, but... I don't want you to equip yourselves.” The revelation was met with a few gasps that emerged from startled faces. “But princess, why?” Rainbow asked. “Because Rainbow Dash, I've been thinking that, the Elements may do Luna more harm than good. She was doing so well, becoming so confident but she always felt so responsible for Moon's actions. Maybe, if we can just help Luna to beat Moon herself, she'll be able to forgive herself for the past... I just don't want to see her suffer anymore because of what happened.” The spirits embraced her. “Don't worry princess, we understand,” Applejack comforted. “Yes by all means we do!” Rarity added. “I would go to the ends of the earth to help Sweetie Bell if she were in trouble. We can...” she shivered and whimpered. She fell from Celestia and pulled her mane around her neck, holding it in her hooves. “We can help Luna just like you all helped me when I was... well.” Twilight moved over to hold her. “That's a brilliant idea Rarity. We'll remember all the things we love about Luna so that she sees that we don't care about what happened to her in the past.” She turned to Celestia. “The Elements will be a last resort.” Celestia smiled to them as they released her. “Truthfully girls, I can never thank you enough. You are all so wonderful.” She looked back to the door. “May fortune smile on us tonight.” She returned to her full height, dropped her barriers, and slowly climbed the stairs. Once she reached the door, she looked down to the old silver handle and wrapped it in her aura. She held it for a few moments, the fear of what she may find on the other side heavy in her heart. She took a deep breath and pressed it open. A cool wind rushed through the crack. There, staring out of the balcony, silhouetted by the moon's glow sat a pony. Her mane waved even in the calm air. “Luna?” Celestia called. “Luna is that you?” “In a way,” the mare replied. Her head turned to reveal a slitted pupil. Celestia's entire body froze up. Her heart's pace accelerated and her limbs trembled. “Luna,” she called, “if you can here me, we're here to help sister.” “Really?” Moon asked. “You're here to help?” She peered past Celestia to the six mares behind her. “Is that why you've brought them?” “They're here because they care about Luna,” Celestia said, taking care to keep her voice soft. Moon scoffed. “If they cared about us, they would not have gotten in our way when we moved to seize Equestria.” Celestia glared at her. “Why must you torment Luna so? What has she done to you?” “Torment?” Moon sneered. “No, no, no dear Celestia, I do not torment her. I make her strong, help her overcome the weakness that YOU infect her with.” She turned towards the moon. “You see Celestia, with me at the reigns, Luna and her moon will finally get the respect that they deserve. The respect that they can never get while they live in the shadows of you and your sun.” A chill ran through Celestia. Something about that statement hit home. She locked her eyes on Moon. An outburst bubbled up in her chest but she repressed it, letting out a quiet breath to vent her frustration. “Your tricks won't work Moon. Luna has had some troubles finding her place in Equestria's heart, that is certain, but it is not because she is stuck in my shadow. She's just faced some major obstacles, like you.” She smiled and stepped over to Moon's side to gaze out at the stars. “She'll overcome them though. She'll overcome all of them because she is ten times the mare that you are.” Moon snickered. “Oh is that so?” “That is so.” “I don't buy that dear Celestia. You see, I find it hard to believe that Luna is ten times the mare that I am when it was I who had to save her from ending up as a mere splatter on the ground.” The words slammed into Celestia like a frosty wave of liquid nitrogen. “Wh-what?” Moon peered out of her peripheral, sneering when she saw Celestia's surprise. “Oh yes, poor Luna thought herself such a terrible creature that she tossed herself off of this very balcony to save everypony from suffering through any more of her existence. But surely being the wonderful sister you are, you knew that she felt this way.” Celestia's mind locked on the horrible thought of Luna falling to her death. Her eyes grew wide with terror. Moon gasped. “You didn't!?” Celestia shook off her emotions, scolding herself for falling so willingly into Moon's manipulations. “Whatever has happened, it does not matter. We know your games Moon, and we are here to remind Luna of how much we love and respect her so that you can no longer manipulate her into thinking otherwise.” Moon pulled back as the Spirits surrounded her. “It won't work!” she snapped. “Her soul is dead!” “We shall see,” Celestia said. Twilight glared at Moon. “Alright girls, just like we did with Rarity. Think of everything we love about Luna, about everything that we respect about her!” Celestia nodded. The others closed their eyes as swirls of energy emanated from their heads. Celestia followed their lead, closing her eyes and delving into her pool of memories dedicated specifically to Luna. She heard Moon snarl, probably uneasy about the power that was about to hit her. The first memory that Celestia pulled out was that of re-uniting with Luna after the Spirits had defeated Moon the first time. “No!” Moon shouted, quickly following her shout with a strained growl. “That's good girls, keep it coming!” Twilight called out. Celestia brought memory after memory from her mind. She recalled the first few meals after her return from her exile. Returning had been tough for her but food had been a break from her difficulties. She was always absolutely delighted to experience the next new delicacy that had been developed in her absence. She remembered how much she loved seeing Luna smile, how much she appreciated her vigilant attentiveness and willingness to help during Equestria's troublesome times. Moon cackled. “What did I tell you?” “Don't give up, dig deep girls, get everything you can!” Twilight yelled. Celestia grimaced, diving deeper into the cavern of memories dedicated to her sister. All the memories she had found thus far had been so short, so formal, and so shallow. Little memories like those weren't going to cut it. She needed something bigger. However, as she searched, she found her way blocked. Something was keeping her from diving into the more meaningful memories. She had seen this before but never really paid much attention to it. Like a catacomb of caves her memories all seemed to branch out from a central tomb of memories. Every path to the tomb was blocked by this mass before her. Celestia hesitated. She opened her eyes, seeing Moon laughing at them, comfortably sitting in the streams of energy. “Give it up,” Moon cooed. “This is getting sad.” Was Luna truly? NO! Celestia closed her eyes and dived back into her memories. She slammed her mental hooves into the barrier that blocked her path. She had to save Luna, she didn't care what it took. She slammed again and again, releasing feelings as she did but failing to grab any actual memories. She realized all too late that the little bits of feelings that were seeping into her psyche from the mass were painful. Feelings of anger, terror, hatred. She slammed into the black mass one last time just as she realized what was falling from it. The mass shattered open, filling her heart with feelings of dread, helplessness and despair in such force that she found herself heaving. She saw Luna running from her in terror. She opened her eyes to find that the pearly white stream of energy that had been coming from her before had been replaced by a pitch black one. “What?!” Moon yelped. She drew back as it rocketed towards her. She flinched when it hit, but she didn't cry out in pain. Instead her eyes opened wide with shock. “This...” she gasped. “This isn't your love...” Her smile grew wide and she cackled. Her aura grew larger and more lively. “Princess!” Twilight shouted, “What's happening?” Celestia tried to respond but she found herself unable to voice any words. Beads of sweat fell from her face. Her pupils dilated. She saw a young Luna standing before her, seated at the center of Ifringale, shivering under her gaze. Something about her made Celestia so angry. She rose her hoof high into the air. “Princess Celestia!” Celestia brought her hoof down on the hapless little Luna. “Princess Celestia!” Luna cried out in pain as Celestia mercilessly slammed her hoof down onto her again and again and again. “PRINCESS CELESTIA!” Twilight screamed. Celestia's focus returned, releasing her from her day terror. She found herself trembling on the floor. Twilight was standing before her, completely terrified. Behind her stood Moon, a massive storm of energy floating above her and a vengeful glare in her eyes. “Princess we have to use them, NOW!” Twilight shouted. Whatever that had been, Celestia could not allow it to plague her mind now. She kicked it out from her thoughts and hopped back onto her feet. She illuminated her horn, pulling the Elements from her satchel. “NO!” Moon shouted. She unleashed a blinding blast from her horn and sent it sailing directly at Celestia. Celestia brought her horn forward to parry, but as she did so she made out the cloudy shadow of Moon's gaseous form bolting directly towards the Elements. She couldn't react in time to prevent her adversary from reaching them and the devious mare enveloped them in her black tornado, rising towards the Ceiling. Celestia returned her attention to the diversionary attack, redirecting her horn to parry the blast directly into the center of Moon. It erupted in a flash that lit up the entire room. The flash blurred her vision but she could hear the Elements clattering against walls and sliding across the ground. “Get them!” Twilight's voice shouted. “Dash, a few flew off the balcony!” Applejack's voice yelled. “I'm on it!” Rainbow Dash replied. Celestia's vision returned just in time to see the pegasus bolt out of the balcony trailed by Moon's cloud. She warped herself directly into Moon's path and cast a repulsion spell that scattered the cloud into a flurry of miniature pieces. Each piece attempted to subvert her by streaking past but she formed a kinetic barrier that sealed off the balcony exit. The clouds bounded off of the barrier and reassembled into a furious Nightmare Moon. “I HATE YOU!” she shrieked, firing tendrils from her magical mane directly at Celestia. Celestia recast the barrier, shielding herself from them as they crashed into the golden luminance. In her fury, Moon did not pull her mane back. Instead she pressed its tendrils harder against the barrier, attempting to force them through. To an alicorn as ancient as Celestia, this was an obvious mistake. With her most formidable weapon occupied, Moon's body was wide open for Celestia's beam. She focused her free energy at the top of her horn, preparing to end the fight. However as she charged it, she heard her sister crying in pain. She saw her beloved sibling, helpless as her own golden beam pierced her heart. The images stole her focus for a vital second. Her shield shattered under the pressure of Moon's mane and its tendrils wrapped around her body, engulfing her horn, binding a number of her limbs and tightly constricting her neck. Celestia desperately struggled to cast a counter spell but Moon's mane absorbed any energy she sent to her horn. She thrashed her limbs and even gnashed at the tendrils with her teeth but both were completely ineffective. Moon had total control now. It would take a simple twitch of the mane to completely snap her neck... A simple twitch that had yet to come. She stopped her thrashing and observed Moon. The mare's entire body was quacking. Her head strained as though some invisible force was holding it back. Could it be? Could Luna? “PUT HER DOWN!” Twilight bellowed. Both Celestia and Moon looked to see the Spirits of Harmony all standing in formation, each wearing their respective element. Note to self, pamper the stuffing out of those mares. Moon retreated a few steps, bringing Celestia between herself and the Spirits. “Don't hesitate girls!” Celestia shouted. “She can't mmmpppff-” She found herself swallowing one of Moon's tendrils. “Use those and I'll crush her skull,” Moon's icy voice said. The Spirits stood petrified in place, rattling their little brains for some solution. Celestia looked to Twilight, begging for fate to just let her look back. She had to have seen, she had to suspect the same as her. If only she could encourage her to take the shot. Twilight was focused on Moon however, watching for any subtle movement. Just then the door of the Observatory flung open, startling the standstill. Everypony save for Twilight turned to see who stood at the door. Before Celestia could even process those crimson eyes peering in from the hallway she felt Moon's tendrils slither off of her, letting her fall safely onto her feet. Moon took her cloud form and flew past the Spirits. She veered around a massive stack of pamphlets in Rei's aura and reformed at his left flank, eyes glued to the seven ponies just beyond him. Rei looked back at her, then back to Celestia and the Spirits. He set his collection of pamphlets down in the stairwell, watching the Spirits as they reformed at her sides. “So, I make one scene and now you're just going to stop inviting me to your little shindigs?” Celestia gave only a cold stare. She was in no mood for his antics. He turned back to Moon who ripped her eyes from the others for just long enough to give him a confounded look. When she returned her focus to the others he grumbled and walked into the room. “Jerks.” “Watch it, they have the Elements!” Moon snapped. Rei panned across the mares before him. “Yes, I see that.” He looked to Celestia. “I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that you have not brought these as bargaining chips for an end to your exile?” “You,” Celestia growled, “You did this!” She charged forwards and locked horns with him. “You're the reason this happened!” she yelled, thrusting his horn off to the side. She cast a stun aura around her horn and swiped at his neck. She had been cautious against Moon because she didn't want to hurt Luna. She had no such handicaps against him. Quite frankly the way she felt about him right now, if during apprehending him she, say, accidentally blew his head clean off of his body, she could write it off as a necessary sacrifice. He pulled his head back, retreating to avoid her swipes until she closed the gap enough that his neck's limitations forced him to defensively swipe her horn away with his own. He electrified his horn and parried one of Celestia's assaults, riposting immediately after. Celestia ducked and dropped back a step to avoid taking a stun to the back of her neck. “I did this?!” he barked, “Need I remind you that the whole reason I even have to be here is because you abandoned us when we needed you the most?” Glares met mere feet from one another as they circled the makeshift arena. “I had no choice!” she snapped. “You HAD a choice, you just refused to see it!” he retorted. Celestia jumped forward and pivoted on her forelegs, firing a powerful buck directly into his left shoulder. It connected, sending him staggering towards the wall. She seized the opportunity to charge at him but as she closed in for a swipe Rei dropped to the floor and snagged her right fore-hoof with his tail, compromising her balance. He launched into her chest with his shoulder and drove forward, thrusting her unwillingly onto her hind legs. She used a hoof to kick herself off to the right side, barely escaping being toppled over. Rei sat down and took a deep breath, watching as she retreated. She retook her position between the Spirits. “Of course, I suppose it's not in your nature to perceive such things.” He brought his tail up to his left side and investigated it. “Doesn't seem to be in your nature to stay true to agreements of exile either.” He laid it around his legs and gave Celestia a mock look of disappointment. After a shake of his head and a “Tisk, tisk, tisk,” he shrugged. “Admittedly though, I already knew that. So looking back, I was kind of setting you up for failure... In light of that I suppose I can relieve you of your agreement.” He raised one brow and scanned each Spirit's element. “I am going to have to ask that you surrender the Elements though. I hear they're a big deal.” “You have no idea,” Celestia said as she spread her stance. “Girls, hold nothing back.” Twilight gave a short glance to Celestia, then took a sturdier stance herself. The rest of the Spirits followed suit. Rei lept into the air flapping his wings twice to put some distance between himself and his opposition. He landed and lowered his head, directing his horn at Celestia. “If this is how it must be.” Moon backed away from him. “Dragonface, I suggest you reconsider. Those trinkets are extremely powerful.” He ignored her. He mirrored Celestia as she gathered energy. Crimson flames danced off of his body and long sharp rays of light jutted out from his eyes. Celestia could hear the hum of the Elements charging. Once she heard their beam erupt, she unleashed her own assault. The rainbow beam shot down from above her and circled around her own beam forming a helix. Rei waited until it had closed about half the distance between them before unleashing his own assault, snagging that extra sliver of time to gather additional energy. The two magical beams crashed into one another shaking the entire room and sending anything that wasn't secured to the ground flying. Despite the colliding beams that blurred her vision, Celestia could make out his eyes. They narrowed, his focus sharpening. Celestia did the same, matching the small surge of energy that followed to ensure that they didn't lose any ground. For a few moments the beams' collision point stayed stagnant. This concerned Celestia. She could possibly match stamina with him, but the others were so young. She peered to them. As she feared, the young mares were beginning to violently tremble. They would need to win this by force, not by stamina. “GIRLS!” Celestia shouted, “When I count to three, give it everything you have left.” She returned her gaze to Rei, blocking out everything else. “One —” She brought every bit of energy she had in her body to the base of her horn “— Two —” She forced it together into one surge “— THREE!!” She unleashed it. Accompanied by a surge in the Elements output the two balls of energy traveled down their respective streams and converged on the impact point. Rei's beam immediately began losing ground. The golden rainbow helix barreled towards his face as he watched with the same look of horror that Philomena domed when she was caught with her beak in Celestia's dessert. He deepened his stance and increased his own output to counteract the surge. Their beam lumbered slower and slower towards his head until, to Celestia's despair, it stopped just inches away. Rei's lip curled up on the right side and his eye's sharpened. He drew his head back and threw it forward with an ear shattering “KIIIAAA!” A surge of energy erupted from his horn and smashed through the already deteriorating helix. Celestia forced herself in front of the others, spreading out her wings to absorb as much of the blast as she could. The crimson mass exploded when it reached her, sending her soaring. Her spine slammed against the wall behind her and she toppled onto the ground. Her whole body was numb and her hearing was consumed by a relentless ringing. Forcefully she opened her eyes, making out two glowing crimson dots at the center of six scattered pastel blotches. Unable to maintain consciousness any longer her head dropped back to the floor and the world faded away.