Both princesses looped and dove about near the ceiling of the throne room. Twilight could tell that the magic they were using was set for serious damage.
“Get down from there!” Salvator screamed at both of them with his dagger drawn. “Ya can't hide from me anymore!”
Celestia heard his announcement, gasped, and looked below. “How did you get in here!? Twilight? Is that you too!?”
Luna took advantage of her sister's brief distraction and shot out a pulsating beam of indigo. The energy struck Celestia and sent her sprawling into one of the windows. The mosaic shattered and let her tumble out into the snow.
“You're going to kill each other! How long are you going to fight?” Twilight shouted.
Luna risked a moment to land in front of them. She was as ragged as Salvator and snorted angrily with each breath. “Until my sister sees reason!” she said. “I've had enough!”
“Let me handle her!” demanded Salvator. “Ya can't deny me my revenge!”
Celestia flapped back in through the window, clumsily knocking shards of glass off the pane. Twilight left Luna and Salvator and sprinted to Celestia. The great ruler kicked glass away from her hooves and knelt down to catch her breath.
“Stop it, Celestia!” demanded Twilight. “Just calm down and talk to your sister! It's your fault she's this upset!”
“You have no idea what you're talking about! Stay out of this!” Celestia seethed. “Luna doesn't want equality, she just wants to usurp me!”
“You're lying!” shouted Luna from across the room.
The two sprang into the air and dashed at each other all over again. They collided and hammered each other with a whirlwind of kicks and punches.
“What do we do?” Twilight hollered to Salvator.
“I dunno! They ain't payin' attention to us!” he said.
Celestia bit into Luna's wing, causing her to wail in pain and drop like a rock. She landed hard on the polished stone floor and rasped loudly.
Twilight instantly ran to her and tried to help. Luna keeled over and wheezed.
“You knocked the breath out of her!” screamed Twilight. “In the name of Equestria, stop it Celestia!”
Celestia landed near her throne. She slicked her mane back and grinned with just a hint of hidden intention. “Good! Maybe now she'll stop trying to overthrow me! This silliness has gone on far too long!”
Luna uncurled slowly and stood up. She compressed her magic into a thick purple ring and set it rotating around her like a giant cog with fat spiked teeth. The spiky semi-shield flickered as if made from hardened fire.
Celestia frowned hostilely. She reared up on her hind hooves and drew a rune in the air. Out of the cryptic circle, she pulled an elongated spear of radiant gold. She took the weapon out of the air and readied her toss.
“Watch out!” cried Salvator.
Celestia flung the polearm forward with rock solid determination. It whistled through the air in a parabolic arch toward Luna. Twilight and Salvator threw themselves to opposite sides, and Luna rocketed into the air with a single wing beat. The spear cracked right into the floor at an angle before exploding powerfully. Luna's ring spun faster and faster until its spikes blurred into a buzzing cone around the base.
“Let Equestria be free!” demanded Luna. “I can't stand to see the citizens blind any longer! They have a right!” She fired her magic spikes at Celestia in quick succession. Celestia reacted in a heartbeat by summoning a swirling black sphere. As if magnetically, the object sucked Luna's barrage right out of the air and into its maw.
“Equestria is free!” bellowed Celestia. “All I'm doing is keeping them safe!”
“Safe from what?” cried Salvator. “From living their lives? There's a reason stoicism ain't around anymore! There can't be true happiness without knowin' tragedy! Ya can't prevent tragedy no matter how hard ya try! Life is gonna tear us a new one whether ya issue a ban on it or not!”
Celestia stomped her hoof. “What do you want me to do!? Just let everypony run around and enact every fanatical idea that pops into their head? They'll kill themselves! I've already tried that! I will stop at nothing to protect my country! If I have to destroy the rest of the world to ensure the sustained longevity of my subjects, I will! You have no right to change that! None!”
The gravity ball shot the magic spikes right back at the three. Luna swiftly rose higher to avoid the incoming projectiles. Twilight threw up a weak shield and Salvator hugged the side wall tightly. The purple bolts mercilessly chewed up the floor, tilling massive potholes in the marble. Luna spawned a new set of spikes set them rotating again, but failed to notice her sister shooting up from under her. Celestia clocked her with a nasty uppercut right in the stomach. Luna retched and dropped again. Fortunately she sustained a small bit of balance and hit the ground more gracefully than before. Without her full concentration, the ring around her wobbled unstably before flying apart completely. Luna's gut heaved from the trauma and she vomited shamefully into one of the holes in the floor. Celestia landed in front of her. Twilight didn't move but Salvator approached his sisters.
“Enough, Celestia!” he said.
“Shut up!” Celestia blasted him with soft stasis spell, temporarily slowing his body.
Luna spat several times and wiped the bile from her lips. “Is that all you've got? That was a low blow...”
“You're not seriously considering fighting me still, are you?” asked Celestia.
Luna charged up her magic.
“What the hell are you doing?” asked Salvator slowly. “Be careful!”
“I'm doing something I thought I'd never have to do again,” said Luna.
Celestia just laughed. “What, are you going to turn into Nightmare Moon or something? Don't be ridiculous.”
Silence.
Twilight gasped in alarm as Luna's body glowed dimly. Behind them all, Shining Armor casually walked up to the ruined doors. He peered inside and entered the throne room, still under the insidious trance of black magic.
“Shining Armor?” called Celestia. “I order you to leave at once! Take your sister with you. I just can't get a break...”
“No!” Twilight exclaimed fearfully. She shuffled over to Salvator and hid behind him. “He's still sick, Celestia! He tried to kill me!”
Salvator lifted his hoof to guard Twilight although at little effectiveness due to his stasis. “Yeah. Son of a bitch took my gun...”
By now, Luna's form was altering. Her teeth were narrowed to points and her eyes were slanted diamonds.
Celestia took flight once more. “No! Don't you dare! I won't let you!”
Twilight backed away from everypony, unsure and terrified. Shining Armor just wobbled in the doorway, short-circuited by the black magic's hefty mental toll.
“I'm already here!” exclaimed Luna in a fanatic voice. “You can't stop me!”
Celestia hovered in midair over the small group. Her wing beats ruffled their coats. “Yes I can! Luna, if you become Nightmare Moon, I won't banish you. I will end your life. Please don't make me do that to my own sister. You know that we can't allow an evil like that to ever be released again. Do not let her out.”
There was a blinding light over Luna's body, signaling completion of her new persona. “When we were kids you always told me to stand up for myself no matter what. Today I'm doing just that. Since you won't respect me as Luna, maybe you'll respect me as somepony with a little bit more power.”
Celestia continued to hover. She lowered her head and sniffled, letting a few of her new tears drop to the floor. “Why did you have to do that?” she moaned.
“Why are you crying? I don't want to fight you either!” said Nightmare. “I'll stand down the second you do as long as you're willing to respect me!”
Celestia landed softly and rubbed her bleary eyes. “Salvator, what was that you said about Shining Armor?”
The King was captivated by Luna's transformation. He vaguely acknowledged Celestia's question. “W-What?”
Celestia leaned sideways and looked at Shining Armor. He hadn't moved from his place. He just teetered hypnotically in place. Celestia summoned her magic.
“Can we stop fighting now?” asked Nightmare Moon. “Let's let this be over. Come to your senses.”
Twilight nodded even though none of them were looking at her.
Celestia gently removed the revolver from Shining's hoof and drew it to hers.
“I specifically told you,” she said. “I warned you. How hard was it to just listen to me? Honestly? Now look what you've done. You've disobeyed.”
“A-”
Celestia pulled the trigger and shot her sister straight in the heart.
Nightmare Moon fell and instantly regressed back into Luna.
“NO!” screamed Twilight. She skidded over to Luna and grasped her desperately. “Princess! No!”
Salvator swore at Celestia and managed to force his way out of the stasis. He galloped toward her, but she teleported away without a single word. “Where are you!? Look what you did!!! Show yourself!!!” Salvator roared.
The color was already beginning to fade from Luna's face. Twilight breathed so fast that she felt lightheaded. She cradled Luna's head. “Salvator help her! Do something!”
Salvator rushed back over to them. He dropped his dagger, squirmed out of his tunic, and dug through it crazily. He pulled out the black magic spellbook and hastily flipped to a certain page.
“What are you doing!?” yelled Twilight. “Put pressure on her wound!”
“Shut the hell up!” Salvator barked. He smacked Twilight, sending her sliding away from Luna. He bent down to his sister. “Give me your power!” he whispered. “There's a spell in here to steal an alicorn's power, but you can just give it to me! Don't die in vain! Give me your strength and I'll avenge you!”
Luna nodded. Her eyes were already beginning to close. Salvator helped her angle her head so she could read the book. She wearily glanced over the page and readied the spell.
Twilight was numb from the hit. She lay on the floor and cried silently as she watched Luna and Salvator. The midnight princess's horn glowed almost imperceptibly. A tiny fleck of light appeared at the tip and ascended up into Salvator's chest. It was followed by another until eventually a steady stream of intense light passed between the siblings. The light seeped up and over Luna's whole body until every inch of her was covered. Salvator kept holding onto her. For the first time since she'd met him, Twilight saw him openly crying.
Luna's gleam was as bright as a star in the sky. Salvator leaned down and kissed his sister's forehead before she turned entirely to light and ascended into her new host's body.
“She's gone,” whined Twilight in an utterly pathetic mess.
Salvator sat awkwardly on the floor and looked at his hooves like they didn't belong to him. He continued to weep to himself as he inspected his body. “This ain't right. Some part of her is still with me,” he said. “It's not right. She's not where she's supposed to be. She wants to go home.”
“W-what does that mean?” asked Twilight.
“It means I need to finish my task and find a way to let her go. I shouldn't have done that to her...”
Twilight forced herself to get up. Her emotions were strangled under thick layers of shock. “That wasn't Celestia back there. Or maybe it was and I've never known until now. Is that the real Celestia? One who would kill her own sister? Poor Luna...”
“I- yeah... Poor Luna...”
“I've never seen an alicorn die before,” said Twilight. “Maybe I'll turn to light someday.”
“Maybe. I've never seen it either,” replied Salvator.
“Where could Celestia have gone this time?”
Salvator closed his eyes. “I think Luna is tryin' to tell us. I can feel her will. She's urgin' me. Toward the throne.”
“The throne,” repeated Twilight. She cantered to the far side of the room and up the small set of stairs.
“Anything there?” asked Salvator.
She didn't notice anything unorthodox. “No.”
Salvator joined her as she inspected the regal chair. His eyes narrowed when he glanced behind the throne itself. “There's a door here.”
Twilight looked up bleakly. “Really?”
He ran his hoof up a hairline seam in the otherwise inconspicuous marble. “Really. This here's a hidden door.” He leaned against it with his whole body. “Sealed up. It ain't openin'.”
“Can you smash it like before?”
“Absolutely,” he said. “Luna transferred all of her power over to me. I could probably level a mountain if I had to. The problem is, there aint' much space here. I can't get a runnin' start.”
Twilight eyed the hidden seam. “I have an idea. Why don't I use magic to get it pried open a little, then you can tear it off the rest of the way.”
“Yeah. Do it.”
Twilight lit her horn and carefully traced her magic over the outline of the door. With a less than flattering grunt, she jerked her head and tugged hard with magical pressure.
“Hurry up!” said Salvator. “More force!”
“I'm trying!” Twilight whined, struggling for leverage. The muscles in her neck strained as she jimmied the door one centimeter at a time. The very instant there was enough space, Salvator hunched down and jammed his hooves in the widening crevice.
“There we go! Thanks kid!” he said. He huffed as he wrangled the massive stone slab open. Even with his doubled strength, the door's immense weight was formidable. Twilight sported a look of confusion when it was finally opened all the way. Inside was a narrow hallway lit only by candlelight. Dozens of framed paintings lined each wall. Each one was illuminated by its own candle and protected by a layer of glass. The very first two were the King and Queen of Equestria. They were the most lavishly garnished of all. At the very end of the hall sat Celestia with her back to them.
“There she is. I've never seen this room before. These paintings look more like photographs,” Twilight said.
Salvator wasn't listening. He walked into the secret chamber. Twilight quit talking and cantered after him. Each painting showed a random pony. Males and females, earth ponies, pegasi and unicorns.
“What is this?” said Salvator coldly as he and Twilight approached Celestia.
The ruler didn't even look up at him. “I often come here late at night. This is my place of mourning. I resonate inside this temple. Each painting you see is somepony I knew personally. I held them all very dearly in my heart. I've lost each and every one of them. There are over a hundred. Previous students, the very few friends I've had, my parents. Eventually I'll make one for you too, Twilight. I started one for Fluttershy. Now I'll have to make one for my sister. This is the worst day of my life.”
Salvator looked at one of the more recent portraits. In it sat a light amber pony with a red and yellow mane. He jerked it off its hook. “Poor poor Celestia! Boo hoo hoo!” He spat on it and pitched it hard to the floor. The frame and glass blew apart. “Ponies die, Celestia. Get over it. If I had a room like this, it would be ten times as big! You have no idea what true loss is! If I could, I'd kill each and every one of the ponies in these paintings all over again just to show ya what true loss is like! Ya murdered millions of my people and you can't even get over a hundred! You can live with my pain, it's your own ya can't take!”
“I never murdered anypony in Halcyon!” Celestia screamed. “You're a lying psychopath! I never sent you a sickness! I'm just one pony! I can't bend nature just to smite you! I don't even know where all these conspiracies of yours come from! When you left Equestria, that was the end of it!”
Salvator cracked his neck. “I'm sick of your deception. You're the most evil pony this world has ever seen. You've lived all your nine lives. Your nights are over.”
Twilight's emotional spectrum was so frayed that she barely felt anything as Salvator picked Celestia up by the throat and thrashed her with a wicked punch.
“That one's for Luna!”
Celestia's mouth bled and she spit out a tooth. Salvator punched her again and threw her down the hall towards the throne room.
“That one's for Fluttershy! Come on! Why aren't ya resisting? Fight me, coward!”
Celestia got up and rubbed her face. Her eye had swollen from the hits.
Salvator grabbed more paintings off the wall and chucked them at her. She retreated back into the throne room.
“Quit runnin' away!”
Celestia pooled her alabaster magic into an enormous rune which she placed on the ceiling. From it, she sent jagged pillars of steel blue ice crashing down upon Salvator. The chunks fell perpetually. Salvator displayed a nearly impossible level of speed. He twirled around each column, weaving in and out without suffering a scratch. Not even the vast sea of ice littering the floor tripped him up. Celestia backed away instinctively. Salvator picked up a particularly sharp piece of ice and hurled it at her, striking her leg. She cried out and knelt down.
Salvator casually walked over to her. From the sneer on his face, Twilight figured he was thoroughly enjoying himself. He viciously kicked Celestia, breaking her back leg. She yelped and tumbled backward into a wall. Salvator kept beating her until her coat was streaked with blood. Salvator's teeth were bared and he spit as he screamed at his sister. “Who's laughing now!? Who's the strong one now!? Look at you! You can't even fight! You're a coward, Celestia!”
Celestia looked near unconsciousness. Her swollen eyelids fluttered half open and she reached her hooves up to Salvator's shoulders. He stopped his onslaught, bloodlust overshadowed by morbid curiosity. Celestia hugged him lightly with her head against his stomach. She cried silently yet again.
“S-stop...” She trembled horribly. “Gaius...” she murmured through a bloodied mouth.
“What?” he spat.
Celestia slowly drew her head away from his stomach, looked down towards the ground, then thrust her head forward, piercing her horn deep into his gut like a drill. “Fuck you.”
Salvator's blood seeped down onto her horn as she withdrew. He dropped her and stumbled. He limped back over to where Twilight stood in disbelief. He knelt down to catch his breath, but wobbled and crumpled to the ground. He shakily held a hoof over the free flowing wound as if to gauge the damage.
“Damn it...” he rasped. Each breath was an enormous ordeal. He forced the air in and out of his lungs. Twilight tenderly lifted a hoof up.
“Please... let me help...”
Despite his agonizing pain, the Salvator smiled. He looked Twilight in the eyes. “Oh no,” he panted. “I'm gonna die now. Ain't no way around that. She hit me good.” He chuckled weakly, churning glistening scarlet out of his belly.
Twilight's feeling came flooding back and she broke down in front of him. “You can't die! It's not supposed to happen like that! You have Luna's power! You're a king! You're the very last thing keeping our freedom alive! I can't do this without you... Please... I can't do this without you...”
Salvator touched Twilight's cheek and shook his head. “No. My part is done. It's up to you now, can't ya see? You're the one keeping your freedom alive. I'm a little disappointed I won't get to see the end now, but it's okay. You'll finish it for me.”
“I can't! I can't do it! I can't...” She buried her head in the dying stallion's arms and sobbed. “I just can't... I'm not strong enough... it's never going to end.”
Salvator closed his eyes. “I never really intended to live beyond this battle. I never even considered what I'd do if I did. I'm finished. But you – ya ain't done yet. Ya have to keep fightin' or everythin' we've sacrificed so far will be in vain. Nothing will change.” He coughed, spitting blood.
“But I can't kill Celestia... I can't kill another pony even if she's a tyrant... Please don't leave me alone...” Twilight begged.
Salvator chuckled again, blood dripping down his chin. “Ya aren't alone. I'll be with you. So will Luna and Fluttershy. Even Sombra. Can't ya see? You are the salvation. You are the savior that Equestria needs. Why else do you think Celestia banished you to the snow? She's scared of ya, Twilight Sparkle. She's scared of your power and your ability to fight back. She knows it's all over now. The last fight was fixed from the start. I'm just a tool to assist ya. Like I said, I didn't even plan on makin' it this far. All these perils, all this fightin', I've been makin' it all up as I go.”
“But you don't have to die! I can heal you! I can't lose you too! Not you too...” Twilight plead, crying hard.
“Losin' me ain't the point,” Salvator said. “What am I gonna do? Watch ya fight on the sideline while strugglin' not to fall asleep for one last time? Look, I know ya can't possibly understand. I've lived for generations. I've watched my citizens enter the world tiny and helpless and cold. I've watched them leave this life as heroes. Patriots. Husbands. Wives. Communities. Can ya even comprehend how that feels? I promise ya that as long as ya live Twilight Sparkle, you'll never be alone.”
Twilight just watched him tearfully. She embraced him. She hugged him tightly.
“Salvator?”
“Yes?”
Her voice was a cracked whisper. “Where do we go when we die?”
Salvator smiled once more and looked up at the ceiling. “A place where everythin' is fine. Ya ain't gotta worry about anythin' up there.”
“W-will you be waiting for me there?”
Salvator nodded slowly. “Yes,” he panted. “We'll all be there. Everypony. We'll be keepin' ya safe. Then one day, when the time comes and you're ready, you'll join us and we'll welcome you with open arms. You'll see all your friends again.”
Twilight clung to his neck and sobbed. The gray King rested his head softly on the floor and closed his eyes again, his breaths becoming less frequent. “Will you do something for me, Twilight Sparkle?”
She struggled to get a hold of herself, weeping like an infant into his greasy mane.
“I want ya to get up. Take my power. Our power. Use Luna and I. Ya won't have to use force because I'll give it to ya. After that, go to Celestia. I want ya to bury her in the ashes of her empire. Will you do that for me?”
Twilight didn't respond. She couldn't.
Salvator drew a final breath. “What a glorious day,” he whispered. “At least I die free. At least I die a true Halcyonite.”
A dazzling gleam washed over him. As his body turned to light, Twilight saw a separate flash on his flank. He'd finally earned his cutie mark. She couldn't make out what it was, but it was there nonetheless. She levitated the spellbook over from several feet away. Her eyes scanned the page and her magic stood ready. She followed the instructions precisely and noticed Salvator's light particles drifting towards her. They entered into her, pouring both of the royal siblings' power into her own. The light grew almost blinding as it softly arched and flowed into her like an ethereal river. She took Salvator's hoof. When the light had dimmed and she could no longer feel him, she looked over herself much like Salvator had done. They were both there. Somewhere deep inside her, a vague part of both Luna and Salvator remained. She felt all of their warmth and pride, all their distrust and confusion. Luna was frightened and unsure; it was obvious that she wanted to be at peace. Salvator felt bittersweet. He was regretful of his death but eager to see his final mission completed.
Princess Celestia limped up over Twilight. A high grade healing magic was already hard at work closing her cuts.
“At last it's all over,” she said. “It's all over.” She helped Twilight up and hugged her gently. “You're a little bruised here and there. Let me heal you.”
Twilight allowed herself to be refreshed by Celestia's magic. “You know, Salvator's last wish was for me to kill you.”
“He was insane. The whole world can breathe a sigh of relief now that he's dead. His terrorism won't claim any more lives,” said Celestia.
Twilight walked over to the shattered window and peered out into the snow. “I'm scared of you, Princess. There are sides of you that I don't care to know.”
Celestia joined her. “I'm sorry. We'll talk about that after we begin the long road to restoration. Once Equestria is back on track and this is all a distant memory, you and I can look into a cure for black magic.”
“Can I tell you something?” asked Twilight, shivering in the arctic wind.
“Yes.”
“I feel betrayed. I'm angered that there was so much you kept away from me – us. All of Equestria. I never knew we were only living in the shadow of a full life.”
“Well you're not, really. That's only what Salvator said. Besides, you're forgetting about how suddenly this all happened. Every single thing that you found out on your own would have eventually been explained to you. You're a princess now. Of course I would have told you all of this at some point.”
Twilight turned and faced Celestia. “What about the crimes you've committed? The ones I know you have, not just the accusations. You just murdered your sister. You murdered Fluttershy. Those alone are punishable by death, under your own law.”
“Forgive me...”
“I don't know if I can. It makes me wonder what you'd do to me if I ever did something to oppose you.”
“I would never hurt you! You know that!” Celestia protested.
Twilight gritted her teeth. “No, I don't know that! Are you saying that you'd sooner bring harm to your own family than one of your former students?”
Celestia was clearly uncomfortable. Her eyes couldn't meet Twilight's. “I'm just a messed up pony trying to find her way in the world...”
“Don't try for my pity. Stop beating around the bush!”
“What do you want from me then? What? I've told you a dozen times that I'll do anything it takes to gain your trust back!” Celestia screamed.
“I don't know if you can,” replied Twilight. “You can't always undo things.”
“Help me rebuild Equestria. Let's just put this all behind us.”
Twilight watched the snowflakes falling. “If we do that, will anything change?”
“Like what?”
“The bans. Firearms. Everything.”
“What for? So there can be more deaths? I've seen where that road leads, Twilight. The only thing at the end of that street is immorality and heartache.”
“Well,” said Twilight quietly. “Maybe it's not up to you. Did you ever consider that immorality and heartache are natural parts of life?”
“If it's not up to me, then who?”
“I don't know,” Twilight admitted. “I just – I wouldn't ever be able to go back now. I couldn't just go back to the Golden Oaks and pretend like I wasn't missing something. Our happiness should never come at the cost of others.”
Celestia sat down against the wall. “That's another topic altogether.”
“It doesn't matter. What matters is that we can't just forget this. Your citizens won't just forget this. The only way you're going to regain anypony's trust is by telling the truth. You're only as sick as your secrets. The truth is the truth, so all you can do is live with it.”
“Okay,” said Celestia at last. “You're right.”
“Thank you. I'm glad you're finally listening to somepony.”
“I listen to others, Twilight. There is no need be snarky.”
Her words bit into Twilight, bleeding out a white hot anger. “You listen to others!? Really!? Did you listen to Luna when she told you to calm down!? Did you listen to Fluttershy when she begged you not to murder her!? How can you even say that!? That's the biggest lie I've ever heard!”
Celestia got up. “Do not raise your voice at me, Twilight Sparkle. I'm trying to be civil. I'm trying to understand your viewpoint. Losing your temper will accomplish nothing.”
“You're being a hypocrite! Are you being serious right now!?” Twilight screamed. “That's what Luna and Salvator and I have been trying to tell you this whole time! Are you that ignorant!? Try living by your own words, Celestia!”
“Look Twilight, I really don't need this right now. My patience is wearing very thin. Stop shouting. We can talk about this later when we've both had some rest.”
Twilight stared Celestia straight in the eye and flapped her wings in rage. “If I said that very same sentence to you, you'd try and kill me.”
“Get out of my castle,” Celestia suddenly commanded. She turned her back to Twilight. “I don't need this. Leave.”
Twilight held her ground. Her anger was mounting again. She could feel a bubbling bought of rage just beneath her skin. “I'll leave, but not yet.”
“Now!” spat Celestia. “Do you want me to remove you myself?”
“No,” said Twilight. “I'll leave, but first I have a promise to keep.”
“What promise?”
Twilight summoned her magic. With Luna and Salvator's combined strength, her horn shone like a comet. “A promise I made to Salvator.”