//------------------------------//
// Unconditional 
// Story: Agape 
// by articunos bitch 
//------------------------------//

	Orange Seed galloped faster than she ever had in her life before. Serene, her best friend of six years, even before Sombra had cursed their homeland, was hot on her heels, howling like the Undead, wielding a plank of wood in her mouth, waiting to smash Oranges’ head into tomato paste. Her eyes were an oil slick of shining black; her tongue has been cut in half lengthwise, when it healed it would be forked, not unlike a snakes’.
Orange had always been skilled at running through crowds when she was young, a skill that came to light again as she raced against the clock to reach home before a Smoke Cloud did. Weaving between ponies, sudden stops and even leaping over the body of a guard, Orange tried to lose Serene in the throng. She looked up at the Heart as she passed it and could not understand; it was powered by the love of the Crystal Ponies and kept the Empire safe from threats like Sombra, why was it not working now? The Courtyard around the Crystal Palace was lousy with panicked ponies, Crystal and otherwise, running helter-skelter; searching for loved ones, looking for Royal Guards, or fleeing the Clouds as Orange had called them. They arrived not five minutes ago and all Tartarus had broken loose.
She saw one of the first ones whizzing through the air, circled and envelope Serene's head, her cries for air and help quickly cut off suddenly when she fell to the ground, blood running from her mouth. The Cloud disappeared, seeping into her head, leaving behind a twisted, dark, acid attack nightmare of her face. Serene stood up on her four hooves again and gave her neck a sharp twist, breaking a vertebra in the process. Her eyes, now one solid color, fell on Orange who had watched the whole thing in a state of shock. Orange Seed took off, running for her life. If she could find her parents and three month old son, they could huddle together and endure this hell that descended so quickly and furiously onto the Crystal Empire.
The monster was behind her still when she leaped the steps to her home and kicked the door, praying it was unlocked. With it swinging open she jumped inside and slammed the door into Serene’s face, breaking what was left of her nose. Please, please be there to bitch at me for that later! That was when she heard the squishing noise coming from the den. Orange slowly poked her head around the corner and nearly lost her lunch at the sight of her parents.
Her father was gone; his head and legs intact, his barrel had been eviscerated. Her mother had smashed him upside the head with a vase, picked up a shard and stabbed him repeatedly. She was still puncturing him, despite dying long ago, her hoof covered in his blood, and her own running in rivers from her hoof to puddle on the floor. Orange forgot to breathe when she realized her mothers’ eyes were a solid black like Serene’s. Pulling her head back and praying her son was unharmed she snuck up the stairs.
Orange’s shock had worn when she reached the second floor and could now hear every jab of her mothers’ shard into her father’s chest. She expected a squishing sound, but it was more of a wet slap. Tasting bile, she opened her bedroom door to find her son sleeping peacefully. Wrapped in his favorite blanket, he let out a snore as she gently picked him up and closed the door. Pacing back and forth on three legs, she went over her options to escape this hell. Her parents were gone, Serene was gone, either waiting for the door to open or run off to murder someone else. She could hide the two of them here and wait for help, if any came, if it didn’t they would starve to death.
She could sneak out the window and make it to the train station. She doubted the train was still running but it was better than hiding here until someone came to kill them. Cracking open the window she heard the cries of the city again. Chaos ruled, but not Discord’s cotton candy clouds or asking for cod fish oil; this was Evil. Something was very wrong in the world, but it was not Orange’s concern, she had a child to shield from all this. Biting down on her son’s basket firmly, she slowly made her way down the fire escape and clopped her hooves onto the concrete alley floor.
Sticking to back alleys she trotted south, kicking her way through two fences and clambering over mountains of trash. She didn’t see anyone, a few Smoke Clouds had whizzed over her head but she and her baby were left alone. It took her a while but she was at the end of the alley, and it was only a fifty meter sprint from there to the train station. Thinking about it now, it made sense that was where anyone still alive would run to. If Cadance couldn’t keep the Smoke Clouds out of the kingdom, why would anyone go to the palace hoping to be kept safe? Biting her basket again, Orange steeled herself for the run of her life and reared onto her hinds, just as everything went black.
Orange blinked her eyes open. The world was blurry, screams echoed in her head, and she was being dragged by her tail. Turning around, there was a unicorn stallion pulling her, and he was smirking. Orange knew how to fight off rapists, if she was in good health and if-Her baby was gone! Orange kicked herself onto her belly and tried running back to the mouth of the alley where she saw him last. Before she even climbed to her hooves she was knocked upside the head again by the stallion.
“Keep still little pony. Maybe I’ll kill you afterwards. Do you want to carry MY child around too,” he taunted her. Orange didn’t hear him though, she saw a Black Cloud flying into the mouth of the alley, past her basket, her basket with her baby. He was on the sidewalk, as if waiting for someone to pick him up, just twenty meters from the train station maybe someone would see him…
The Cloud enveloped her head. Orange coughed, then tried to draw air back in, pulling it into her body. She felt control of her body ripped from her, but her senses worked as well as ever. Her body sharply twisted around, freeing itself from the unicorns’ magical grip. He light up his horn before Orange felt her hoof collide with it, hard. He fell on his face and more blows rained down on him, snapping his horn off after the fifth stomp. She felt her body controlled by the Cloud lift the alicorn off the ground and plunge it into his barrel.
Much later, Orange's body trotted out into the main road to see The Crystal Empire had been reduced to an orgy of violence and mindless bloodshed. There were bodies lying on the sidewalks, presumably they had jumped from rooftops, a couple knelled down and held each other waiting for their inevitable end, and a blue bubble had formed around the palace. And her son was still on his own, and she could do absolutely nothing about any of it.


** ** **


Dipping her quill into the inkwell, Princess Celestia tried to think of a more appropriate way to address the Charon of the Minotaur League when a pink cloud of dust and letter swam into existence out of nothing before her. A letter in a pink cloud of smoke could only have come from Princess Cadance, and could not wait. Urgently flipping it around, noting it was not sealed or even addressed, Celestia read words that turned her veins to ice.

Demons from Tatarus attacking Many dead Send help

Celestia teleported to Princess Luna’s bed chamber, rousing her with a shout. “Sister, awaken. I have grave news!”
She waited for Luna to sit up straight and wipe the sleep crusted on her eyes. “Something terrible has happened. I need you to gather all the unicorns in the Guard, and from my school, then teleport them to the Crystal Empire at once. And Twilight if you can find her.” She turned around to open the glass doors to the balcony before turning around to continue. “I am going to the Gates of Tatarus. Demons have escapes and I need to see what’s wrong.”
Not giving her sister a chance to argue, Celestia stepped outdoors, spread her wings and took into the skies. Flapping her wings several times, Celestia cast a spell allowing her to accelerate faster. Turning north, she flapped her wings harder and felt herself rocketing forward, soon she was flying hundreds of kilometers an hour and still going faster. The Gates were protected by many ancient and strong magic’s, including a spell preventing anyone from teleporting around them, unless they were members of Clan Kreelah.
Celestia grimaced at the thought of Kreelah. A few years ago when Cerberus left the gates and wound up in Ponyville she was fortunate that no demons had escaped. She did not even realize it had happened until two days later, and by then Twilight Sparkle had already returned him. She spoke to the Clan leader about casting spells that would warn her if he “jumped the fence” again, but Fallen Star said flat out he would not allow it. Now with demons escaping and killing ponies in her realm, she would need to speak to him one-on-one again.
Soaring over the permafrost line, Celestia dipped lower to the ground to search for the Gates. Impossible to plot on a map, she still knew where the cave entrance was. Setting her hooves into the snow, she peered through the light snowfall to a mound rising up to end in a cliff. Trotting around, she looked at the cave mouth. It wasn’t much to look at; three meters tall, five wide, and a few steps in the floor fell into a sharp decline before ending abruptly in a wall with a single door, just large enough for a child. The small door always seemed appropriate to her, anything as dangerous and frightening as a demon could only be small. Disease killed and maimed far more than any war did.
Spinning around to look for Cerberus, Celestia cast out one of the few spells she could to locate Cerberus. As a three headed dog with three collars she roped a magic repellant dog tag around one of them. Being a unique blend of copper it was the only object in the world her spell would detect, and her tag was in a pile of snow nearby. Flapping on top of the pile she cast her spell again only to see her tag right under her hooves. Levitating it out, Celestia saw it was still attached to the collar, which was buried deep in the pile. Melting the snow under herself, Celestia quickly recognized the tar black fur of Cerberus.
Lighting her horn she cast an Iron Dome spell over the cave mouth and sat in the snow. Celestia levitated an small orb the size of a marble she kept tucked into her breastplate and spoke into it. “Change of plans, come to the Gates of Tatarus at once!” With a flick of her horn the orb disappeared. She didn’t need to address it to anyone, or say who it was from; she and Luna each carried two orbs and could only be spoken to and heard by each other.
She waited for Luna to arrive. With Cerberus missing the demons would have known he was alive and would have been afraid to leave Tatarus knowing he would return. But being dead, it was obvious something had realized it would be safe to leave. As freighting as Cerberus was to mortals, he was far worse to the Undead and spirits. What troubled her was why only some demons had escaped and not all of them. If more had broken free they would have attacked more than the Crystal Empire, or would have swarmed it so thoroughly Cadance would never have gotten a message to her. Maybe whatever killed Cerberus had wanted to draw attention here away from, somewhere else. If this was part of a coup it was effective.
Celestia went over every possible situation in her head while waiting for Luna and her band, hopefully army of unicorns to arrive. Luna had always been more skilled at flight and would be able to “tow” her entourage along so she would not be too long. Teleporting so many into the snow would be more dangerous than flight. She waited an hour keeping her eye on the cave, ensuring not so much as air got through her spell before she saw Luna in the distance.
She had brought sixty unicorns with her, all alight with her blue magic aura, and immediately cast an Iron Dome spell letting Celestia lower hers. Several unicorns braced and cast their own spells around the cave while others cast barriers to protect against the winds and cold. The two Princesses stepped away towards Cerberus’s body so Luna could maintain her spell and they could talk in private.
Celestia melted the snow on and around Cerberus’s corpse before inspecting what she could. His body was intact, no cuts, he was frozen but her magic showed residual heat still deep inside his torso, so he was not dead for too long, maybe a day, a day and a half at the most. She noted to Luna his skin was burned but the hairs untouched in some places, only a certain branch of unicorn magic could do that. “Pony magic,” Luna pointed out. “It might not have been a unicorn though. Some artifacts could have cast the spell. I guess any hoof prints would have been buried by now.”
Celestia knew where she would have to go next, but if she found anything to point to the beasts’ killer she could make it a less miserable trip. She looked for the other two collars around his heads, and reflexively snapped her wings shut. Both collars had been cut and where he had fallen and were bare. Pulling them up to her face she confirmed it to herself and Luna.
When they were children, they heard the legend of the Rainbow of Light, and the Rainbow of Darkness. Two artifacts, each could give the wieldier the power to change the world. The Rainbow of Darkness corrupted, the Rainbow of Light healed. Despite their names and legends, both were incredible tools for either Good or Evil, it depended entirely on whoever held them. And no known soul could have wielded both, not even their mother.
Being adventuress little souls, they searched for both Rainbows, their efforts turning up nothing. All fun and games, until after they received their crowns and their adventuring for the sake of amusement ended. Many years later, an evil king across the East Sea began a campaign to seize the Throne of Equestria. He claimed to wield both Rainbows set into his Sword and Staff. Celestia and Luna hatched a plan to steal the one Rainbow he did possess and find the other to kill him once and for all.
In the end, the king was dead and each Princess held a world changing artifact, the very items from which Discord himself drew his power, but they doubted he even knew that. One was a Heart shaped locket, and the other was a cow leather coin purse. There was little doubt they needed to hide both Rainbow’s where they would never be found, all references that they might exist had to be destroyed, and should one of them die, the other would make sure another trustworthy pony would know. Heaven knows they might prove to be of use one day. By the time they ended their journey back to Equestria and touched down in the Everfree Castle, they knew Cerberus would be able to keep them safe and out of reach of any who might abuse them. Only they and Fallen Star knew where the Rainbows were kept, until recently.
Celestia had no clue of what she would see, but she had a backup plan. Levitating the broken collar, Celestia looked at the spell markings of whoever cut it. She had a similar spell on the door that once protected the Elements of Harmony, if anyone broke through the door they would leave their unique magical frequency, giving Celestia everything she would need to find them. She even hired several of the best thieves in Equestria to break in and steal their commission, after dropping most protection to the door of course. When she cast her Print spell she saw in her minds’ eye flashes of the pony’s face, their cutie mark, and where they came from up to days before they interacted with whatever object she enchanted.
Casting her spell, Celestia saw a purple wing tucked into a mares barrel just over a Cutie Mark with one dominant star surrounded by six smaller ones. Purple iris’s set in unusually large eyes. Pink highlights in a purple mane, and most telling of all to Celestia, perky, purple, floppable ears flanking an unusually short alicorn horn. Dropping the first collar she turned to the other and saw the same exact pony, only this time she was wearing a golden heart shaped locket around her neck when she severed the collar.
Blinking away the vision, she turned to her sister who looked worried.
“Sister, has the moon reached its Mirror phase yet?”
Luna was intrigued by the question but answered. “Yes, the portal in the Crystal Empire was activated last night at about three AM. Why do you need to know?”
“I have work to do. Princess Twilight betrayed us. Everypony. Everyone the demons could hurt. I am going to tell Fallen Star about Cerberus, then I am going to kill Twilight Sparkle.”


** ** **


Flying further north didn’t give Celestia much time to think. Where she was heading there wasn’t much more north to go, nor much of an east or west. Her history with Clan Kreelah was tense and cold. She first met Fallen Star when his armies crawled out of the newly formed Gate of Tatarus millennia ago, before the wicked king in the east. She and Luna were deeply suspicious of him and gave one chance for him to prove he came to Equestria in peace.
Fallen Star explained how he was at war with other clans seeking to invade and conquer their world, and afterward he did intend to settle his own clan on unclaimed land and live in peace. Celestia never liked to think about that war, how close she and her sister came to death, how close Fallen Star came to revealing himself to Equestria, or how he threatened to cut out Celestia’s tongue when she called him king. That was the first rule she ever learned about Clan Kreelah; the word King is forbidden, punishable by death. She did not want to know why.
He had found unclaimed land north of the Gate, in a valley dominated by the extinct volcanoes. Kreelah mages rebirthed the volcanoes and spread ash over every millimeter of land they owned. They melted the ice and snow, and cooled their lava flows, using them as foundation for their planned city. Kreelah built their own version of markets, blacksmiths, taverns and libraries. Celestia was haunted by a sense of both how foreign and familiar everything seemed the few occasions she came to Kreelah. To prevent any random spirits from escaping Tatarus, Fallen Star even stationed his most powerful war beast, Cerberus, to guard the Gate, after an enlargement spell. She and Luna kept its existence a secret, nopony needed to know about it, but they would answer any questions asked. Ponies quickly forgot the rumors of an army far north and the sisters kept another secret to themselves.
Celestia saw the ground, white snow started to mix with pale ash, and she dropped her altitude to avoid plumes of acrid smoke. The city gate came into view; five meters high, made of simple stone. She was capable of flying over it, but she was not welcome into Kreelah, so she would have to speak to the Guardmaster on duty. Landing far enough away to not threaten anyone, she galloped to the gate and called “I am Princess Celestia of Equestria. I have urgent news for Fallen Star. Please let me in.”
“No-one enters Kreelah without the Gaurdmaters consent!” an imp atop the wall shouted back at her.
“Let me speak to him! Now!”
A voice spoke back to her, deep and foreboding, he could easily be heard without raising his volume and Celestia sincerely hoped he did not. She knew how loud he could be, she meet him during the war; Xeron, Chief of Devils and Arms commanded every manner of Kreelah’s martial actions, answering only to Fallen Star himself. “And what is so important it couldn’t wait for another century or two.”
“It is for his ears only Xeron. Let me in!”
“No! Go back to your grass fields and leave us alone!” Xeron still had not looked over the edge of the wall, shouting at the sky, and she grew impatient.
“I demand you put your Honor on the Line for me!”
Xeron chose this moment to look at her; they always found each other’s appearance to be disgusting. He was shaped like a man, in that the chest, head, and limbs and proper sizes of each. He had no visible hair, his red, leathery skin stretched tight over tendons, bone and muscles. The tar black horns protruding from his forehead, curved around to taper off at the back of his head.
Despite her words, Celestia just placed her own life in his hands. If Fallen Star approved of what Celestia said, to the extent that he should have been interrupted whatever he was doing to listen to her, Xeron would be honored by interrupting him. If Fallen Star did not approve, it was Xeron’s right to kill her, or at least try. Celestia could escape but she would never be allowed in Kreelah again. Xeron growled and disappeared from view, Celestia knowing he would be waiting for her once the gates opened.
The gate did open in thirty seconds and Celestia trotted in to stand next to him. His intimidating two and a half meter stature was not lost on Celestia, but she would not show it. “Grab ahold of my wing and teleport us to his palace.”
He stared at her.
“Lives are at stake.”
Reluctantly, he gripped her outstretched wing roughly with his right hand, bowed his head and threw his left hand to his side in a gesture of servitude. A cloud of orange and black smoke sprang up from his feet, growing up in a mushroom formation, enveloping both of them in the smell of sulfur. Celestia heard the BAMF sound she never heard while ponies teleported, blinked the soot out of eyes and saw the doors of Forsaken Palace. Xeron let go of her as if he were afraid of catching her disease. Without a word he strode through the front door, down a short corridor and into Fallen Star’s throne room.
His voice boomed in the claustrophobic confines of a room slightly bigger than two broom closets in her own castle. “Sir, Princess Celestia wishes to speak to you.”
Xeron looked like a human devil, from his deep voice, flowing red and gold trimmed cape, red skin and horns to the powerful strides he took in lieu of running, except on the battlefield. He was intimidating, but Fallen Star haunted her dreams day and night. He was a dangerous predator, and she had on many occasions feared he wanted something from her; she knew she would let him have anything the moment he asked, and he would ask. He was certainly not a thief. Fallen Star did look like a man; not quite two meters tall, he looked in good shape. His smooth, soft skin was layered over taut muscles and under sandy, golden locks of hair. His blue eyes reflected every desire Celestia had, his voice whispered to her after he spoke. His confident smile never wavered. Fallen Star set his hookah pipe down and nodded for Celestia to have her say.
She took a deep breath. “Cerberus is dead. I found his body where he should have been standing guard. I have a team of unicorns and my sister standing guard at the Gates of Tatarus but they won’t be able to hold it closed forever.”
He shot to his feet and turned to Xeron, “Raise the your troops! Get them to the Gate in five minutes!”
Xeron BAMFed elsewhere leaving Celestia and Fallen Star alone, he looked to her knowing she had more to say. His pressed suit looked similar to the dress code socialite's in Canterlot tried to stick to, but Fallen Star looked as if the fashion was designed to fit him. She looked from his vest to his face and continued.
“Cerberus was killed by unicorn magic. I am familiar with the killer and will set off to find her once I leave here. In the meantime a number of spirits did indeed escape before we knew anything was wrong. My sister and her team will move to the Crystal Empire, or what’s left of it when you relieve them.”
Fallen Star swallowed. “Anything else?”
“Yes. Both Rainbows have been stolen. I can only presume they were what the thief was after in the first place.”
He stared at her for a moment before turning away and clasping his hands behind his head. “Anything else I should know,” growing impatient with the stream of ever worsening news, his eyes wandering across the floor.
“Nothing else of consequence. Is there anything I should know?”
He motioned for her to follow him when he stepped into the hall and brought her deeper into the Palace. “I will be arriving at the Gates with Cerberus’s replacements, and you will not like them. Do you remember Gog and Magog?”
Celestia froze in shock. “The Giants? The ]Niphilim Giants? I thought you caged them and left them to die!”
“That was the plan. They are weak and we are their only source of food.” Fallen Star did not stop for Celestia and she trotted to catch him. “They will obey me, and they will not wander form the Gates. And I will not put them into place until things have calmed down. You can relax. They will not harm a living soul.”
Celestia walked beside him after they descended a stair case leading to the basement. and tried to look him in the eye, emphasizing her every word. “They. Are. Giants. Everything about them is terrible, every drop of blood in their descendants is dangerous.”
Fallen Star did not look to her as he arrived at the dungeon door. “They are the last of their kind. They are brothers, they will never have descendants. And if they wish to eat they will listen to me. Now, is our business concluded so you might go find my pets’ killer?”
Celestia kept her wings tucked close to her side and took several deep breaths, the two of them staring each other down. 
“No. I will see myself out, and I demanded Xeron put his honor on the line for me. Remember him. We will talk when this is over.”
With a flash of yellow magic she left Kreelah.


** ** **


Slamming the doors shut, Flash Sentry of the Crystal royal Guard gulped his first breath of fresh air in half an hour, sweet oxygen rushed into his lungs and he collapsed. Climbing into a more dignified sitting position on his haunches, Flash tried to shake the images from the last home he visited from his mind. He walked in on a stallion beating a colt and tossing him out the window. Throwing his hind legs into the stallions face he looked out to see the colts head twisted at an unnatural angle, driving him to impale the stallion with a nearby furniture leg where he lay. He knew he should not have done that, he should have brought him to the Palace for evacuation, reporting him as a criminal element, but…
Flash thought he did the right thing, despite going against his orders. Not that anyone saw him, Memorial Tankard, his partner for that trip was killed by a Possessed just after they got out sight of the Palace. He would mourn Tankard, he was a good friend, and could drink anyone on the Guard under the table on a good day, he just wanted to see something today that would not haunt him for years.
Still gasping for breath he slowly walked towards Princess Cadance and took a seat next to her. She did not look up. Her head bowed, she focused on her magic. He was impressed that she could look so calm and peaceful, perhaps it was just what she needed to be. Her husband had been one of the first ponies engulfed by a demon, Possessed as she called it. She tried to cage him after he broke her nose, but the only way to stop him was his own death. She had immediately cast her Iron Dome Spell and called everyone in it to her to work out an evacuation plan.
Flash Sentry had volunteered to look for survivors outside the Dome, with a lesser, Tin Bubble spell. Tin Bubble would keep demons from possessing him, and it did expand to cover any ponies he found alive, but air couldn’t circulate in or out, trapping him with the same air as long as he was outside Cadances Dome. And the larger the Bubble the more taxing it was on the unicorn casting it, what few unicorns could cast it of the survivors. Fifty-nine ponies were in Cadances Dome when the demons attacked. Out of a city of eight thousand, it looked like fifty-nine lucky ponies and two survivors pulled in from patrols like Flash’s were safe. For now.
He looked out the windows to see smoke trails curling up from all around the Crystal Empire, all fourteen square kilometers of it. Flash had lived here for years. He had a home, friends, a girl, now it was gone. None of them might survive until sunset, and even if they did live through this, what could possibly be salvaged from the wreckage he saw now?
The door slammed open to allow several Crystal ponies to stumble in, one who he recognized as the mare, Desert Rose, on patrol with his commander. Dashing to her side, he laid her on the floor and tried to patch up the lacerations she got from fighting one of the Possessed. He asked where her partner was.
“He’s gone Shining. He didn’t die trying to be a hero or nothing foolish. A gas leak doesn’t care who you are. I see your partner’s gone too.”
“We were on the other side of town. I-I didn’t get anyone back though.” He said, ashamed of himself while disinfecting her wound.
“Got more bad news for you, with him gone, that makes you Captain of the Guard,” she half joked.
He tried to ignore the slight blush in his cheeks at such a big responsibility. “Doesn’t matter. He set down the plan with the Princess, it’s in her hooves now. I just have to keep doing what I’m doing.”
Desert winced when he applied rubbing alcohol to her cuts. “Well, it will matter once we get to Canterlot. Maybe we can escape after all.”
Flash finished bandaging up his comrade when a flash of yellow light filled the Throne Room. Princess Celestia stood tall and smelling of sulfur. She didn’t acknowledge the ponies bowing to her, or the looks of fear falling from their faces as she made her way to Princess Cadance.
“Where is the mirror?” she asked urgently.
Cadance raised her head and tried blinking away the images of her beloved’s last breaths. “I…I moved it to…uhh..”
“Cadance!” Celestia threw out her hooves to catch her before she hit the floor, casting her own Iron Dome Spell around hers. “Cadance! Can you hear me?”
Flash and some others took a few tentative steps closer, afraid to cause their Princesses any more stress.
Celestia turned to address them, “Where’s Shining Armor?” When no-one answered her ears drooped and she looked back at 
Cadance. “Just hold on…Luna is on her way shortly.”
Cadances eyes fluttered open as her magic failed. “Celestia…I moved the mirror to,” she sighed heavily, and spoke with more strength than before. “To a warehouse on the south side of the empire. There is a box labeled Carnegie Steel in the southeast corner of H+H Tool. It’s on the bottom of a stack of empty boxes, lying flat. Only an alicorn’s magic can open it.”
Celestia helped her back to a sitting position. “Thank you Cadance. I am going to need to go the other world now, so you will need to keep the Dome up. Just hang on, Luna will be on her way shortly.”
“Why,” Cadance asked as Celestia trotted away. “What took so long? What are you…”
“Just tell Luna where I’ve gone.” Celestia didn’t look back at her as she left and called out a final instruction. “And set up our ace in the hole before you leave.”
Flash looked to Cadance and saluted her. “Princess, I was informed Blueberry was Killed in Action. That would make me the commanding officer, and I await your instructions.”
She sighed. “Okay Flash Sentry. Just wait here until Luna arrives. I can’t imagine why they didn’t arrive at the same time.”
“I’ll be here when you need me.” Flash Sentry stood at his Princesses side and tried to drown out the silence of a hoofull of survivors waiting for an inevitable end.


** ** **


It was funny how something so unique had found its way into a dusty warehouse, light spilling onto it through the grimy windows. The yellow aura of magic ripped the top of the box off and tossed against the wall, before levitating the most mysterious object in Equestria before her. From what Twilight had described, it led to a world surprisingly similar to their own. They had different magic, different foods, different bodies, but friendship was just as powerful there as she’s ever known it to be. All her friends were there, they were exactly the same. She knew she would have all the time in the world to be with them, and no time at all. They were not the friends she knew and loved, and at the same time…
Celestia listened to Twilight’s every word, giggle and tear about her trip to Canterlot High. She asked many questions about her old student and she answered truthfully. She made Celestia proud of her she handled herself, and how she directed her friends to include Sunset Shimmer into their clique. She had hoped Twilight would convince Sunset to return, but decided it was for the best. Sunset made her choice, hopefully she would not make the same one again. Celestia could not do this alone, and what better wild-card than a pony Twilight’s equal in magic who she never would have seen again?
Levitating a bent nail she tried to leave a scratch on the reflective surface, only to see it ripple. Satisfied, Celestia took several deep breaths. Her magic would be useless, she would need to learn how to walk on her hinds pretty fast, and she should keep her clothes on. And the trip to the other side would be a bit nauseating.
Taking a few more breaths Celestia turned back to the mirror and leapt through it without giving her a chance to back out.


** ** **


A familiar sound from her past was the first indication that Fallen Star’s army had arrived. Devils could teleport themselves with a BAMF, and large armies with a bit of salt pita and sulfur on the ground, with the same sound. Luna turned to see Pit Fiends walk through her Iron Dome and approaching the Gates. They, like many from Kreelah looked like men; two meters tall, covered in burn scars, hairless, with horns growing out from atop their heads to curl around their backs and sporting sackcloth around their loins. Luna thought of them as hired muscle; slow, brutishly strong and silent. However she had seen many praying or reciting poetry of sorts before and after combat centuries ago. What bothered her most of all were their whips; in addition to stitching lumps of lead and glass in the leather strips as the cruelest of slave masters do, they were also imbedded with magic from Tartarus. Like Cerberus, spirits had far more to fear from them then common mortals did.
Princess Luna lost track as zounds of Pit Fiends strolled casually between her band of unicorns, followed by Effreet. Their bodies, arms, and heads also resembled men with deep, fire red skin. Their legs were replaced by a whirlwind of gold and red fire, giving them eerie shadows higher on their bodies and faces. Familiars, red, biped fairy-like beings with crippled-looking useless wings and spiked tails brought up the end of Fallen Stars’ army. Devils, all resembling small, less muscular versions of Xeron were scattered with every regiment.
Neither Luna or Celestia were comfortable being around any member of Clan Kreelah, but Luna could see their own version of beauty in them. As far as she knew they had no interest in beauty, that didn’t mean it wasn’t there. Shaken from her thoughts by a deep rumble, Luna fell to her haunches and her jaw dropped to the ground.
A man, eleven meters tall stood over her. Standing up straight, the top of her head did not even brush the bottom of his knee. Pale, sickly skin was stretched over a muscular but malnourished body. His straw colored hair still looked thick and healthy, and covered his head, face, body. He wore a simple cloth around his loins similar to the Pit Fiends, but it did nothing for Luna whom he stepped right over. His eyes would haunt Luna’s dreams for days to come; they looked so alive and full of live she could have guessed he was as innocent as a child, though she knew nothing was father from the truth. He could crush her like a bug with one step, rock sturdy buildings with that same step, and eat every living being in Equestria in a matter of days. The only two worse things were he wanted to, and he was not alone.
Gog stepped around the Kreelah armies to stand on the north side of the Gates while his brother Magog took his place at the south side. Both of them held spears Luna knew were also built with magic to destroy demons.
Princess Luna was again knocked out of her train of thought by an actual voice behind her. “We have this covered.”
“I-I’m sorry, what?” It was not Xeron but one of his inferior devils.
“We can watch the Gates now. I am telling you and your unicorns to leave.” Despite the bluntness of his words his was rather nervous to speak to Luna.
“Yes, right away.” She turned away to her own army. “Listen up everypony! Iron Dome Sheilds down. Everyone keeping an environment spell up, stay in formation and walk east. We have a bit of a ways to go before we can teleport to the Crystal Empire. Cadance needs us. Move!”
As one, every unicorn turned around and took each step in uniform away from the Gates of Tartarus, away from the unholy army at their backs. Still, their troubles were far from over.


** ** **


Celestia was first away of how gritty the ground was. She felt pebbles digging into her new digits and knees, and her whole body was weighing her down. Trying to rear herself up on her legs like her new body was supposed to, Celestia’s knees ached more until she set her behind onto her ankles. Bringing her hands up, Celestia was shocked to see how hairless the inside of her palms were. She had four new digits set next to each other and another off to the side on each hand, and one of them was bleeding, maybe a sharp pebble cut through her now delicate skin.
Using the statue base behind her to stand straight up and looking downwards she saw her dress; white as snow with gold trimming, gold colored stiletto’s, and her breastplate, complete with its signature purple gem was now a necklace above her breasts, which were significantly bigger but still fit well high up on her chest. Her dress was held up by straps tied around the back of her neck and waist. Around her wrists were gold bracelets bearing her Cutie Mark. Her hair had retained its unique rainbow of color but lost its effect of flowing as if in a breeze at most times.
Letting go of the statue, Celestia took a set of attentive steps around getting used to her new sense of balance. A pleasant breeze blew her hair into her face, making her pause and look around where the Mirror spit her out. It was a park of sorts, a road running all around, a few carriages honked their way past, fortunately no people were around to watch her struggle to walk.
Seeing the building directly in front of her labeled Canterlot High School, Celestia tried putting on foot in front of the other again and stumbled her way to the only landmark Twilight had mentioned about her own visit. The sun was high in the sky, so if it was a school day the door would be unlocked. Walking upright proved more difficult with high heels, she held out her arms for balance and took her time making it to the front door without falling flat on her face.
Griping the handle, she pulled it open and stared into the silent, dim hallway. The walls not acting as trophy cases were empty bulletin boards, cleared of tacks, panels of cork announcing nothing at all. Maybe it’s summer, she thought. Seeing ‘Main Office’ written on a door, Celestia knocked and waited for someone to find her. The door opened seconds later to reveal someone very familiar to her.
“Luna! What are you doing here! I thought you were…you’re not my sister are you?” Celestia flushed at her mistaken identity.
The woman had light blue skin and two different shades of blue in her hair. Her voice was Luna’s but not her own Luna. Her eyes bugged out when she noticed what had happened. “Celestia? It is Celestia isn’t it?”
The pony Princess turned human nodded.
“Goodness me, come on in and have a seat.” She held the door open and directed her to a set of chairs in the corner. When they both sat down, “You are not my sister. You come from the world of Equestria, the same world Sunset Shimmer and Twilight Sparkle came from. Right?”
“Y-Yes. I am. And I know Sunset and her feud with Twilight caused you no small amount of trouble but that is not why I am here. I am simply here to take Sunset Shimmer home and you will never hear from us again. Please, I miss her.” Celestia did not break eye contact.
Vice Principle Luna folded her arms. “Given what I have heard from her, you had a falling out. She’s frightened of you and may not want to return.”
“Please, just let me talk to her. It’s important. I did not come here to punish her. But I do need to see her soon.”
Luna sighed and pulled out her cell phone. Scrolling through her contacts, she ushered Celestia back into the hall. Leaning against the wall, the Princess let out a sigh herself. She really did miss Sunset Shimmer. She wondered what she looked like in this world. Maybe she would have a gown like her own, hopefully she would have more sensible shoes. Giggling, she wondered what she had done with her life since leaving the castle. From what Twilight had said she had become a student here and ruled the school, somehow without any friends and the help of only two hapless idiots.
Perhaps she would tell Celestia much more about this world. It’s past, its culture, species unique to it. Twilight had mentioned some of their machines worked like magic, and she learned they harnessed electricity too-
“Celestia!”
Shaking her head, she realized Luna was waving her hand in front of her face. “I’m sorry. What did you say?”
“I said Sunset Shimmer will talk to you. There are benches out by the statue where you should wait for her. She said she will be there in five minutes. And I will tell you right now, she is scared out of her mind.”
“I am too. Thank you Luna. I do hope this is the last time we meet.” They shook hands and departed for their separate worlds.


** ** **


Celestia crossed tapped her fingers on her knees waiting, she did not know whether it was her nerves or if Sunset was very late. She looked to her left, ahead, right and left again, searching for a head of fire yellow and red hair. Maybe this was a bad idea, maybe she could rally the other Elements and defeat Twilight the same way she did to other threats before. That idea, and many others like it died in their infancy. The first lesson about the Elements of Harmony was they would only work together, with individuals who were all friends. Trixie, Spell Nexus, Discord, anyone capable of wielding the Element of Magic would not have time to befriend all the others in time to defeat Twilight.
A crunching sound came from behind Celestia, she turned her head to see a beautiful, young woman in an orange skirt and black leather jacket. Her hair was exactly what Celestia imagined what it would be, she had her Cutie Mark stamped on the center of her shirt and knee-high boots. Sunset Shimmer sat on the bench, threatening to fall over the edge and avoided eye contact with her teacher. But she was here.
She cleared her throat and looked over the parks lawn. “It’s good to see you again.”
She was answered with silence. “I don’t have much time to spare. There is a threat to Equestria, and you are the only one who can help me end it.”
Sunset turned away, her back facing Celestia. “Why not Twilight Sparkle? She’s your student after all, even if she is a Princess.”
“Because Twilight Sparkle IS the threat. She is out of control; I can blame the deaths of eight thousand souls on her in two days. And I don’t want to know what she plans on doing next, but she’s just warming up now. I need to see her die. She betrayed everything I taught her, it’s my responsibility. But I can’t do it alone. I need you.” Celestia kept her voice steady but did not hide her pain.
“What’s more, you don’t belong here. This isn’t your world, you were never meant to be here, or leave your own world. You have ponies who love you, ponies who want to see you come back.”
Sunset kept looking away. “Who? Who could want me back? My parents are gone, I haven’t spoken to the rest of my family for years before I left, the only friends I have are here, who could want me to come back?”
“I do,” Celestia said simply.
Sunset whipped around and glared at her teacher. “Why? You said I was an impatient, immature child! You came down on me like a hammer whenever I so much as slept in. And then I broke through your enchantments and used the mirror to get here, showing I AM capable of magic you said I was not, and then I got myself trapped here, showing I was not as capable as I thought. After all I did why would you ever want me back, Princess?” Her voice grew in pitch until she threw herself at Celestia’s chest and buried her head into her shoulder, tears running a race down the smooth skin.
Celestia pat her back and held her tight. Sunset Shimmer always knew when she was beat, and she had a way of crumbling once she had lost. She would have enjoyed their first company together in years if not for the groundskeeper revving up his lawnmower behind them. Both women jumped hearing it roar to life and took a moment to compose themselves.
“They do that. Startle you, but it keep the grass short. And, I know a lot of people say they like the smell of freshly mowed grass, but I used to eat it so it, brings up different memories for me.” Sunset’s eyes glazed over as she recalled The Bamboo Stalk, her favorite fast food joint in Whinieghpeg. She showed it to Celestia the day she agreed to take her on as her student. Royal affairs hosted by staff never served fresh hay, so often Sunset smuggled it in herself  at Celestia’s suggestion. The Princess once complained about the Grand Galloping Gala being boring every year, so one time Shimmer attended with the most “in” crowd she could find and took each piece of her attire off throughout the night, resulting in a public scolding from her teacher who took every word back once they were behind closed doors and praised her for being so clever.
A dozen thoughts ran through her head until she looked Celestia in the eye again.
“I want you to come back because I love you Sunset Shimmer. And nothing you do will ever change that. You thought you knew better than me about so many things, you did act like a child. I did not say those things to brand you, but convict you. You were being impatient, and I tried to teach you to wait. You were immature, so I assigned you tasks to help you grow. I only wanted what was best for you, and often the first step is knowing what is wrong in the first place. I showed you I loved you all along, I now know I should have been more clear.
“And when you left it broke my heart. I never wanted to drive you away. By the time I found out where you went, it was too late. The mirror shut, and I had no other way to get to you. I cried Sunset. Every day for a long, long time. Sometimes my new student would spot me and try to comfort me, but she never wanted to know what was wrong. You were not the first pony I drove away, nor were you first to break my heart, but, you didn’t deserve what happened. You deserve to be held close and reminded that I love you and I am willing to take forever to make you the best student I ever had.
Sunset shuffled closer. “So, nothing can change that?”
“This is an open ended invitation. It’s yours only as long as you choose to take it. You can abandon it at any moment, but I can not allow myself to abandon you. Sunset 
Shimmer, will you come with me back to Equestria?” She held her arms open.
Sunset returned the hug hesitantly at first, soon it was in full force. Neither of them moved for the next five minutes, content to hold each other and smell the grass. They had to in the end, their home depended on them. Celestia took a moment to smooth the nonexistent wrinkles in her dress as Sunset sent a text to her friends explaining she needed to go. Leaving her purse unattended on the bench, she led Celestia to the statue base and stepped through before she could change her mind.
Celestia looked around the world that had been so full of wonder and mystery once, then pained her heart since losing Sunset Shimmer to it. I hope I never see it again. Her dress catching a breeze, she spun around and leaped back into her world.