When Celestia stepped into the place where her foe had fallen, she found something most unusual before her. A confused Blueblood and a mare lying on the ground, in the dead center of a room filled with the cutie mark of the stallion.
"Princess Celestia," Blueblood bowed, eyeing the strange mare at his hooves, "This is not what it looks like."
"Where is Chrysalis?" Celestia peered around the room, though kept an eye on Blueblood in case Chrysalis had swiftly shifted forms.
"At your hooves." The mare spoke, startling Blueblood and Celestia alike. She pitifully rose her head, only for it to drop, as if a string had pulled it back into its proper place on the ground.
"What?" Blueblood seemed surprised, and with a cautious hoof, turned the mare over from her stomach to her side. There, still stubbornly attached to the mare, was the pink-blue, heart-shaped amulet. A crimson stained the floor and the pristine white coat, the grey and yellow mane bearing no semblance of the previous form it had taken.
"What is this?" Celestia demanded, stomping her hooves in anger, "Even so close to death you still mock me with your deception!"
The alicorn chuckled, magenta eyes meeting that of Celestia's with a twinkle left in them. With a smile, she croaked, "Give my regards to Sunset Shimmer."
With a final gasp, the pony finally ceded, becoming still, even as Celestia quizzically attempted to decipher the meaning of the message. In a bright flash, the gem shattered, releasing a large ball of magic. Celestia stepped back as it flew up into the sky, shattering the roof and sending debris down onto Blueblood.
Normally the prince would have been very distraught, but it seemed that his mind was elsewhere. The heart-shaped jewel shattered, leaving behind nothing but dust in its wake. Celestia looked towards Blueblood apologetically. "Perhaps I should have changed my aim, I did not expect you to still be here in your chamber."
"It is fine," Blueblood replied, looking about his ruined quarters, "I have come to expect madness whenever you call for a public event and invite any ruffian from outside Canterlot."
Celestia and Blueblood shared a laugh at the notion. Celestia then frowned, as she recalled that Fancy Pants was still in the throne room. "Well, I had best be off. Be careful now."
"Of course." Blueblood bowed, and Celestia took her leave from the room.
Leaping through the same hole as before, she went to her throne to find a limping Fancy Pants already on his way out. When he noticed Celestia he turned and limped a quarter of the way to her, Celestia trotting the remainder of the way. "Fancy Pants, how are you feeling?"
It was the question of the hour; Celestia might would have sworn that her magic had just went through his body only a few minutes ago. No such sign of that injury was on him, not to mention he very well should not have been alive after that.
"I feel like I was just thrown halfway across this hall. I have the most terrible of migraines, though it is naught in comparison to the one I had a few weeks ago."
"That is a good thing." Celestia would have rushed off to check on the status of things outside, but the mildly burned and bruised Fancy Pants was truly a sight for sore eyes. He would have to be attended to before she got hasty. After all, Luna could handle the matter for just a little while longer after all. Not to mention she needed to find out why he was not a dead stallion.
Back outside, the royal guard had begun to re-establish some semblance of order; many of the guardspony who had been acting strangely became dazed, just long enough for them to be captured. Crystal ponies, however, had begun to rally more in a group, and had quickly descended on the injured badly outnumbered and outmatched Gilda, Flash, and Sunset.
What made matters worse was that both Sunset and Flash suddenly went into a haze, dazed just long enough to be overwhelmed by the unarmed ponies. A blast of light flew from the castle, and descended upon the group, scattering the crystal ponies.
Sunset had regained some control over her body and mind, but the attack of the dazzling lights had only just begun. She had braced for the worst, but rather than meeting her end, she felt a surge of magic course through her body. In a bright, dazzling flash, she felt as if the very bones in her body would melt under the extreme heat that surrounded her form.
It was but for a few moments, and in that short time, she felt a weariness unlike anything she had ever experienced before. Exhaustion beyond comprehension. Her heart rate slowed, her vision fogged, and before she could stop herself, she hit the ground, once again losing all feeling and form.
Gilda shook her head clear, the dazzling lights from earlier more than enough to disorient her. Why there were crystal ponies surrounding them was a mystery, but hearing Flash gasp in alarm brought her attention to Sunset Shimmer. A few burning embers swirled around her, her coat having taken on the same crimson coloration that her mane stripes previously held. Her mane remained largely the same, and her horn had taken on the same color change as before.
However, what likely brought on the gasp from Flash were the newly attached pair of wings, their tips tinted a far darker crimson than her coat. When the mare stood, her eyes opened wide. Gilda sighed in relief, for the only thing off about her eyes was a mild blue glow. Had her eyes been also turned red or something of the sort, Gilda might would have had to inquire about what just happened.
Wait, what did just happen? "Sunset, are you alright?" Gilda inquired, rising to her feet and flapping at her wings, "You look, erhm, different."
"And different I feel as well!" Sunset boomed in a volume quite unnecessary considering that Gilda was hardly five pony lengths from her. "Tell me, what do you see?"
"I see a mistake that needs to be corrected."
All eyes turned towards Luna, who had brushed off Lightning Dust onto Rainbow Dash and Trixie and now approached Sunset dangerously, scowl on her face. "I knew we should have dealt with you before something like this occurred."
Luna took flight, as did Sunset, it becoming clear what was next to occur.
"I think we should move away from here." The crystal ponies were in unison on that, and scampered away from the upcoming battle. The wind began howling, and despite the sun shining as it normally did on a clear sky, a crack of thunder could be heard in the distance. Gilda, eyeing the discarded pegasi and Trixie, began to slowly creep over to them, fearing that one hasty move would have her be the victim of the first blast.
"So Luna, how about we have a proper round 2?" Sunset jeered, still not reducing her volume from earlier "This time as equals!"
"Foal!" Luna shot back with just as much volume and intensity, "I suggest you get in line, because I only have one equal!"
While Gilda would have loved to watch these two go back and forth, she found it more imperative to wake up Lightning Dust and Trixie. Dash was optional, but no sooner had she reached the trio did they all begin to wake at once. Convenient, as already blasts of stray magic began to fly about in a manner akin to a shower of arrows being careless shot at a single enemy of great speed and agility.
"You three had best get on you hooves," Gilda warned, prodding all three of them to help get the point across, "This is about to get nasty."
Dash's eyes focused in on the battle above, and her mouth fell open in surprise. "Wait, is Sunset Shimmer-"
"Yes, now let's go!" Gilda roughly hauled Dash from atop of Trixie. Lightning had managed to get to her hooves on her lonesome, though she held her head in pain.
"Where did you have in mind?" Trixie inquired, "Trixie has been waiting weeks to see Sunset Shimmer fight as an alicorn, and you are trying to usher Trixie away from it? To hell with it, Trixie is staying to watch if it kills her."
"Speaking of that, where is your alicorn amulet?" Dash was the only one to notice this, for some odd reason.
Trixie put a hoof to her chest, recalling that she had unclasped it earlier. "Buck, I must have forgotten to put it back on! Luna might have taken it."
Eyes back to the sky, Gilda became confident that Luna did not have it, or at least was not wearing it. As she flew about in circles and figure eights trying to blast Sunset, and the latter attempting to do the same, no sign of the alicorn amulet could be seen. However, the sign of the crystal ponies regrouping near the train station signaled the proper direction for Gilda to be headed.
"Well, if you want to stay and get blast-"
"Wait, what if Princess Celestia intervenes?" Lightning interrupted, staring up at the fight with a look of confusion, "Sunset cannot possibly take on both them, especially since she isn't acquainted to her powers yet."
"Wait, why is she flying so well?" Dash inquired, "Twilight had to literally learn how to fly before she could do even half those stunts. What is going on here?"
"When you are ascended to alicorn, your coat is not supposed to so radically change." The group turned to see Fleur walking off stage, having apparently stuck around for the fireworks. She looked exhausted yet still, but a renewed vigor had brought her onboard. "Sunset supposedly turned into a demon back when she stole the element of magic. I would not be surprised if a similar manifestation occurred when she stole alicorn magic."
"But she does not look like a demon," Gilda pointed out, "I mean, yeah, she got some crimson on her, but that doesn't make her a demon."
"This fight cannot continue," Fleur concluded, "Even if Celestia were to stay out of it, Sunset cannot win like this. She is likely not even conscious."
"Oh shit, are you speaking alter egos?" Flash had now joined the conversation, no doubt feeling left out with most everyone else grouping up and observing from a relatively safe distance. "Does that mean she might have a chance here?"
"Either their aim is pitiful or they are just dragging this out," Trixie dully stated, "They have hit just about everything in this square but each other and us."
"Flash, if she were to beat or worse kill Luna, Celestia would leave nothing left of her or us for that matter," Fleur pointed out, "I am concerned about my daughter, but bear in mind that Celestia cares about very little if anything more than she does her sister. Sunset literally cannot win, for if she were to 'win' in her fight, she would certainly lose to a wrathful Celestia."
"So how do we stop the fight?" Dash asked, "I can go get Twilight."
"No, Twilight would just fight Sunset as well!" Gilda pointed out, "And that would not help our cause."
"Who cares about you and your cause?" Dash challenged, pointing a hoof towards Gilda, "This is so much bigger than that you backstabber!"
"If I were to stab you in the back, you would know it," Gilda scoffed, "Besides, I'm more of a blunt trauma kind of fighter."
"Uh, is anyone else thinking that they are getting awfully high in the sky?" Trixie stated, putting a hoof to shade her eyes, "Sunset is holding out, but Luna has definitely got her in art. Even in flight Trixie can't shake that grace with a wand."
Lightning smacked Trixie in the back of the head, much to the unicorn's irritation. "What was that for?"
"We are not here to stargaze Trixie," Lightning firmly stated, "As Fleur said, we need to stop this fight. Which means we need to reverse whatever spell turned Sunset into this in the first place."
"That would kill her," Trixie stated objectively, "Not to mention we neither have the runes nor the spellbook."
"Well, Celestia confiscated the latter, but I think I have a better idea," Fleur stated, "I just need a few seconds with Sunset."
"Alright, here is what we are going to do, if you all are up for it." Lightning looked around to see any opposition. Naturally, Dash was the only one to really oppose this leadership call.
"And who is to say that you are not going to attack Luna while you are at it?" Dash accused, " Or cause a bunch of collateral."
"Please, those two would cause more collateral then whatever Lightning has planned," Gilda points out, "Now, if you do not want to at least hear her out, you can go ahead and fly on and get your princess out of her castle. If not, shut up and let her do her thing."
Dash oddly enough did not retaliate, and merely eyed Lightning suspiciously.
Perhaps now granted more confidence, Lightning proceeded. "Whatever Fleur is going to do, it likely requires her to have some 1v1 time with her... daughter." It apparently had just now sunk in what Fleur had said earlier, and though curiosity likely gnawed at her like an angry horse fly, she pressed on. "Anyways, in order to do that, we need to bring their fight back to earth. Only way to do that is to bring one of them closer to the ground. We do not have much time, because the moment Celestia enters the fray, we are all boned."
"Boned?" Trixie clearly was confused by the term.
Gilda was more than happy to enlighten their unicorn friend. "Boned equals screwed, fucked, so out of luck-"
"I think she gets it," Lightning broke in, "May I continue?"
Gilda nodded.
"Anyways, I and Gilda will fly up and mock fight with Dash until the two alicorns get comfortable with the thought of us up there. Then I and Dash will tackle Sunset to the ground while Gilda makes sure Luna doesn't come horn at the ready-"
"What the-"
"Let me finish." Lightning looked towards Gilda critically in saying this, her objection here for obvious reasons. "Trixie, without the alicorn amulet, you can still do tricks right? Help Gilda in any way that you can. Fleur, make sure that spell is ready for action, because the window will be small. Any objections?"
"Yeah, what if Trixie can't help me?" Gilda inquired, "I can not take on an alicorn by myself."
"You have doubt in the great and powerful Trixie, who covered your asses when you left without me?" Trixie put on a scowl, no doubt recalling that. "Least you could have done was come back with Lightning to get me."
"That's Gilda for ya," Dash commented.
"Save it Dash," Gilda commented, "Someone had to make sure Sunset didn't lose her head early, and give her the amulet."
"Time," Fleur gently reminded the group, seeing the two alicorns becoming mere dots in the sky.
"Alright, let's do this then."
Lightning Dust took a deep breath, in part to ease her headache, and in part to loosen her nerves. How to force Sunset to the ground had started out easy, just tackle her. However, now that she saw Sunset beginning to summon orbs of fire and throw them at Luna, whom nimbly dodged them, it was becoming more and more clear that such a straightforward plan would not work.
Just as the three, Lightning, Gilda, and Dash, took off, she also considered one more aspect. The royal guards, who no doubt were staying out of the fight simply because it was two alicorns going at each other, were not going to sit back and watch supposed enemies intervene in the fight. However, before Lightning's plan could get that far off the ground, a screech was heard as Luna at last landed a blast on Sunset.
Sunset dramatically lost altitude, with Luna in hot pursuit.
"Change of plans!" Lightning shouted, her mind working its gears to figure a solution, "Dash, you remember that tornado we made back at the Academy?"
"Yes, but like Tartarus if I am going to do it again with you, not with so many other ponies around." Dash seemed resolute on this. Since Dash was the only pony she had ever met that could keep up with her, it would be impossible to do the tornado without her.
"All it takes is two right?" Gilda looked resolutely towards Lightning, though the latter had to slow down in order to meet her gaze. "I am slower, but give me a head start and I think I can substitute."
"That is nuts!" Dash insisted, "Gilda, you could hardly even race with me, what makes you think you could handle it?"
"I would rather try than get captured again," Gilda pointed out.
Lightning noticed that, as she had been concerned about, winged royal guards of both shifts had taken to the air, and were in hot pursuit. Pretending to fight with Dash was supposed to be happening right about now, but this arguing had made it difficult to stay on track. Even if they did start to fight with her now, Dash would very quickly have backup from the royal guards.
"Alright, go ahead." With the nod from Lightning Dust, Gilda set off.
Not shockingly, Dash looked as if she prepared to intervene. Lightning would have moved to block her, but a blast of magic split between the two, causing them both to veer off their intended course. This was fine, as now all Lightning had to do was to join the formation that Gilda had slowly, but surely, begun to whip up.
Flying in, the difference in flight speed became apparent almost immediately. Lightning slowed her pace, even as the wind cut against her eyes. She could not see Gilda's progress, but she did know that her plan was not shaping up as she had intended. Though it took much longer than usual, a wide spinning vortex began to form, the tornado surely taking up form. At this much slower speed, Lightning had much better control over the relative direction of the tornado.
That would prove a shallow victory, for even as she directed it upwards, the sound of cackling flames began to sound.
"That is not a part of the plan." Trixie had observed things going from bad to worse, with Gilda and Lightning Dust veering off to start the creation of a tornado. Dash, along with many of the guards, flew away from the tornado, especially once it began to pick up in intensity. Sunset, recovering from her earlier hit, turned her fall into a nose dive straight for the tornado. Rather than flying through it, she launched several fireballs towards it.
"No no no!" Trixie clamored, Sunset attempting to fly back upwards. But whatever force had possessed her apparently did not have the flight strength of her pegasus counterparts, and instead got sucked into the tornado as well. From there, the flames ignited the tornado into a bright vortex. Luna managed to avoid being caught, but the tornado began spinning madly out of control, descending ever closer towards the stage and hurling its creators from its grip.
Fleur and Trixie did not need much more of an indication in order for them to hastily gallop away, narrowly avoiding the sucking winds and fiery winds. Fleur skidded to a halt, and began heading towards the tornado. Trixie continue to gallop, using her magic to attempt to prevent Fleur from being sucked into the vortex. She lost her grip on the mare though, and just as it seemed she would fly to her doom, the tornado dissipated, leaving a burning stage, a flying unicorn to land roughly onto the stage, and Sunset Shimmer.
Gilda and Lightning Dust literally dropped from the sky, with Dash not far behind to catch and reduce their fall. While she floated them more gently to the ground, Trixie could see the smoke rising from their coats, their close call no doubt going to be recalled for some time. With that done, Trixie trotted over to where Sunset was literally shaking off the ashes, her body seemingly unharmed by the flames.
Upon closer inspection, however, it was clear that she had suffered some nasty burns, though nothing fatal it seemed. Fleur hopped onto the stage, and from the corner of her eye, Trixie spotted Luna descending for the killing blow. Or blows, she was unsure of how many it would take to finish Sunset off at this point, nor did she really want to find out.
Channeling magic to her horn, Trixie fired off a small blast of magic, it bursting into a colorful fireworks display. This distracted Luna just long enough for Sunset to shake off her stunned state and rise again to her hooves. Before she could re-engage, Fleur had arrived onto that section the burning stage, meticulously avoiding the flames as if they were sentient being capable of reaching out to her if she got too close.
Since the mare was flammable, that would not be a very far-fetched assumption. Trixie turned to look back towards Gilda, Lightning Dust, and Dash, seeing that they were at least moving, trotted to reinforce Fleur. The royal guards, despite their earlier inclination to intervene, now seemed drawn to the train station.
Taking note of that Trixie backed off as a particular flame lashed out at her, as if her interference would be a most fiery experience. She attempted again, this time realizing that the reason for Fleur's actions was not just because the stage was on fire; the still not on fire parts were scorching hot, and practically burnt the hooves to touch. Leaping from the stage, Trixie reasoned that Fleur must have lost all feeling in her hooves to be able to walk on that stage in that manner for as long as she did.
She attuned her ears to what sounded like somepony singing. She did a double-take, and realized that Fleur indeed was singing to Sunset. Despite the cackling of the flames, despite what looked to be an inevitable consuming of both mares, Fleur stood atop the pedestal and sung, horn brightly lit all the same.
The singing voice reminded her of a mother attempting to soothe her foal after a bad night of foul dreams. The lyrics seemed more attuned to a melody intended to soothe the foal back to sleep.
Rest now dear one, mother's here. Though the fires of affliction surround us, fret not. I am not always there to hold you, but I am here now. So take flight monsters from your worst nightmare, and let rest overcome you. Sleep now, my love.
Much to Trixie's surprise, Sunset actually seemed to be drifting to sleep. She returned to her regular color scheme, and as if the fires around her were a chorus of sorts, she plopped onto the stage with a smile on her face, even with Fleur merely repeating the same verse yet again.
Trixie had heard of hypnosis before, but that was the only explanation for what she just witnessed. Fleur nuzzled Sunset just Luna arrived, the flames dissipating with her landing.
"Your timing could have been better, but I won't complain." Luna had a small frown on her face yet still. "Now step aside. This must be done."
Fleur did a full 180, defensively blocking Sunset from Luna's visage. Seeing as Sunset was both in a low posture and curled up, it was surprisingly effective despite the two nearly being the same size as each other. "She is calmed now-"
"And when she wakes up and sees herself as an alicorn, she will no doubt plot and scheme." Luna's frown seemed to grow. "That short engagement may have been her under the influence, but that does not excuse what she did to get here. This ends now."
Trixie then noticed something very odd. The sky indeed was blue, but it was taking on an ever brighter blue, and rapidly as well. She could also feel a powerful magic, one that she could only describe as that from a relic of sorts preparing to let loose its power.
"If Trixie might suggest, maybe Sunset is not the only problem that we have here?" Trixie was naturally ignored, despite the growing strength of the presence.
"If you wish to destroy her, you will have to go through me first," Fleur declared, "I beg of you-"
Luna sighed, her horn lit. "Always the hard way with unicorns." With her own magical strength she shoved Fleur aside, the smoldering stage beginning to creak under its burden. "Worry not, she will not suffer long."
Gilda, Lightning, and Dash galloped to both of Trixie's flanks, the first two arriving a whole minute after Dash had.
Gilda had several clean patches in her coat, her wing feathers were ruffled, scorched, and otherwise touched by fire. Lightning merely had a few burns here and there, but otherwise seemed to be in better shape than Gilda. Dash was, naturally, unscathed.
"What happened?" Gilda demanded to know, "Why is Sunset taking a nap when Luna is about to execute her?"
"Fleur apparently sang her to sleep," Trixie suggested. She had not felt drowsy by the song, but it was the fastest way of explaining to them what just happened.
"Damn, who's side is she on then?" Lightning prepared ready to charge, but Dash put a hoof out to deter her.
"If you guys want to leave, you might as well. Sunset is done."
"Wait, where is Flash Sentry?" Trixie had noticed this only just now. The stallion had not been included in the plan, and already they had completely overlooked his presence altogether. They searched around some before they noticed that he was now on stage, dashing straight towards Luna and Sunset.
"Don't tell me-" Lightning started.
Just as Luna let loose her magical blast, Flash stepped in between the two, upon impact being flung off and behind the stage. He made no yelp, no cry, merely the sound of him rolling and landing on the ground.
"Flash!" Fleur cried out vainly. Luna was already preparing another blast when a streak of blue light shot out from the direction of the train station. Faster than the eye could blink, the blast struck Luna, sending her careening off into the castle, smashing through one of the walls and disappearing from view.
Dumbstruck for a few moments, Trixie could hardly register this oddity when Lightning exclaimed, "Get Sunset and let's buck out!"
"What about Flash?" Dash inquired, as if she were among those Lightning had addressed, "Do you even care?"
"I do care Dash, but I care more about getting my team off of the table before the next spin." Lightning did not allow any further room for disagreement as she set off into the air, likely to prepare their means of transportation. Since it was a clear day, Trixie personally wished Lightning good luck with that and once again approached the stage. Gilda stayed behind while Trixie levitated the still sleeping Sunset in her magic, hovering her up and away from the still cackling flames.
Fleur stepped between the two with a critical look. "Luna and Celestia are the only reasons I am going to allow this. Take good care of her."
Trixie nodded, not entirely out of compliance, but more out of desire to get a move on. Fleur stepped away, and Trixie hopped off stage with Sunset in tow. Dash scowled at Gilda and then flew off to address Flash. Fleur moved in that general direction, and Gilda scowled at Dash in return. Trixie saw no point in this, since obviously Dash would not have seen it by now.
Much to her surprise, Lightning Dust had already returned, though she did not come with a cloud. "Well, the train station and cloud are out. Looks like we're taking the long way out of here."
"Do we have that kind of time?" Gilda inquired, "It will not take them long to return attention to us."
"Considering that the entire royal guard is engaging crystal ponies at the train station, I think we have very little to worry about in that regard," Lightning pointed out, "Whatever that blast of blue magic was, it came from those crystal ponies."
"Then let us make haste!" Trixie announced, rearing up, "Sunset is not going to carry herself!"