The sun rose on a sight so long anticipated by those in attendance, none present had ever really realized they’d been waiting for it. The great brown and gold banners of Griffonia fluttered in the breeze alongside the pastel snowflake of the Crystal Empire. Trumpets and flugelhorns cut the air with their noble notes, and great streamers brighter than any rainbow glittered in the morning light.
Before the great foyer beneath the crystal keep, a massive stage stood resplendent in bright pink velvet and rich golden thread. Ponies and griffons filled the hastily erected seats like an ocean of color, the two species almost indistinguishable at a distance. Everywhere laughter and pleasant chatter rang out, until the crystals themselves soaked up the happiness and cast it back in a brilliant cascade of light.
It was amid this all that Princess Twilight fussed with her mane, Cupcake standing stoically beside her.
“She really thinks I mother her too much?” Twilight ran her hooves through her mane for the millionth time, speaking in a hushed whisper.
“Her greatest fear made manifest was getting devoured back into your womb,” Cupcake said, as though discussing the weather. “I’m not sure how many ways there are to interpret that.”
“Uh, wow, it was really that, um, graphic?” Twilight had to pause her fussing as she digested this information.
“It was,” Cupcake stated bluntly.
“Oh, my poor… oh, wow.” Twilight blushed. “Maybe I do mother her a bit much.”
“It’s certainly possible.” Cupcake perked up a bit, which in her case was truly a bit. “Hey, boss.”
“Ugh, I still hate this dress.” Pandora sulked, slinking up to her seat beside the pair. “I feel like a doll.”
“Darling, it’s…” Twilight stopped mid-sentence, chewing her lip for a moment, before finally swallowing her comment.
“Mom?” Pandora raised her eyebrow, glancing between Twilight and Cupcake for a moment before comprehension dawned. She leaned in to cupcake and hissed in her ear. “You told her about the place?”
“She did ask,” Cupcake said.
“How could…?” Pandora sputtered in mortified rage for a moment before noticing something odd. Her mother had gone a full minute without commenting on her behavior. Pandora pondered this before turning to Cupcake with a new appreciation. “Good call.”
“Thank you, sir,” Cupcake said.
“Well! If it isn’t all my lovely ladies in one place!” Discord slipped into the group, his long, serpentine body allowing him to lay across all three of their laps at once. “I’ve heard men get more attractive with age, but this is just ridiculous!”
Twilight rolled her eyes while Pandora did the same, Cupcake opting for her default of stony scrutiny.
“Wow, tough crowd.” Discord snickered and pulled himself back into his seat. “I know my darling wife is letting the proceedings get to her, but you’re usually good for a chuckle, sport.” He playfully noogied Pandora’s mane, soliciting a small grin that she was quick to smother with annoyance.
“I’ve been expressly forbidden from fun, remember? At least until princess sluttbutt gets her hooks in.” She huffed and used her claws to smooth out her mane. “Until then I have to play dress up.” Pandora stopped, an expression of poor horror playing across her features. “Sweet stars, this is what she always wanted. An entire kingdom to play dress up with.” She glanced down at her dress. “And I’m participating, wonderful.”
“It could be worse.” Discord smirked. “At least her dream isn’t of Equestria’s largest statue garden.”
“That was totally justified and you know it.” Twilight muttered, only to blush as Discord leaned across to kiss her.
“I know, you’re just cute when you’re grumpy.” He grinned more broadly as she blushed even brighter.
“Please, guys,” Pandora moaned. “I’m right here.”
“Sorry.” They both said at once, before sharing a sly smirk and a giggle.
“Uuuugh, could this day get any longer.” At that moment, the fanfare blared across the great walkway, and a tall procession of banners could be seen approaching the altar, among them princess Skyla’s personal standard. “I had to open my mouth.”
“She was going to come anyway.” Cupcake pointed out.
“You’re right, you’re right. I’ll just have to suffer through it.” Pandora leaned back, her eyes gazing up into the pale blue sky above. “I hate suffering.”
High above, wispy clouds drifted by, too high for the pegasai to clear away. She found her thoughts drifting to the cities in the sky, probably still floating somewhere out there, lit by the light of their own sun. There were so many cities there, each one more fantastic than the last. Maybe she’d find her way back there someday. After all, she was a draconequus. She had all the time in the world.
For a moment, she even thought she could see that little rectangle in the sky, opening up to release a lone mote of light. She narrowed her eyes, and her heart began to race as the daydream failed to dissipate. Quite the contrary, the mote grew brighter, and she found herself reaching up to her face to pull her eye out into a telescope. Her breath caught in her throat.
“Pandora?” Twilight asked, squinting up into the sky as well.
“Look out!” Pandora shouted, snapping her paw to form a sudden gush of blueberry jam in the middle of the wedding procession. As she'd predicted, hundreds of well dressed ponies scrambled clear of the tide of instant, indelible stainage.
“Pandora! What the buck--” Skyla began, her shrill voice suddenly drowned out by a terrible roaring in the sky. With a thump that cracked the crystal road clean down to the foundation, a massive steel pod slammed right into the center of the blueberry smear, sending up sweet blueberry scented steam as its heated hull sizzled. There was silence for a second, before the side blew clean off and over the procession, and a hulking metal figure stomped out.
“Guess who filed for authorization, bitch?” blared the voice of Tia, still recognizable even through the distortion of her mechsuit’s speakers. It was built vaguely like a pony, though the blunt, artificial lines of its armor destroyed any similarity to a living thing. Where the wings would have been on a pegasus, two massive sparking tubes sat, their openings bleeding an angry red vapor. “You ready for round two?”
“She is ready for no such--” Skyla stopped short as the mech turned to her, before regaining her courage and bravado. “She is ready for no such thing! This wedding has been planned for months and it will not be ruined by the crass antics of her or her compatriots.”
“I couldn’t care less about your wedding.” The mech extended a leg and gave her a shove. “You want a wedding, hold it fifty meters away.”
“She’s got a point, Sky.” Pandora snickered, before one of those cannons fixed on her. Then she gulped.
“I will have satisfaction, draconequus.” The mech barked, before another draconequus transposed himself directly in front of her face.
“Well, I don’t know about this wedding, but I will not stand for myself or my daughter being discriminated against based on our species.” He promptly folded his arms and hovered in front of her. “I demand an apology.”
“You know,” Tia sighed, “there are places where the local area would already be evacuated, and I’d be having a proper fight. I really hate this place.” She looked at Discord. “I apologize for suggesting you be defined by anything other than your decisions and actions.” She then pointed to Pandora. “You. I'll cut the crap, I filed to kick your ass, which means I'm authorized to kick yours, and only yours. So I’ll cut you a deal. You clear out of the meat shields, and I’ll give you something if you win.”
“If I win?” Pandora stood up. “Don’t you mean when?”
“I’m letting you name your price. Hurry up and name it so I can beat your face so hard it leaves a crater.” Some of the guards started to advance, but the mech shot them a cursory glance, and they backed off.
“Pandora, you can’t seriously…” Twilight began.
“Why.” Pandora stated. “I want to know why you took Skyla.”
“Done.” There was a bass rumble, and the mech rocketed off the ground, thrusters in its hooves propelling it over the rooftops.
“Pandora, this is ab—” Whatever Twilight was about to say was interrupted as Cupcake cleared her throat. Twilight glanced at her, and the mettle faded from her expression. “Be careful, dear.” She whispered.
“I will.” Pandora gave her family one last smile, then snapped after Tia, leaving her dress to flutter to the ground.
“I hope that bitch kicks her ass.” The entire crowd turned to stare at Skyla, who gave an indignant huff. “What? I ask for one day and she can’t even do that!”
There were some mutterings of agreement at that.
Tia landed with a thump, rolling her mechanical shoulders as she waited for Pandora to appear. A moment later, she appeared with a snap. In that moment, if Tia’s mech had possessed a face, it would have been grinning.
“So, at last we meet on the field of battle.” Her hooves ground the dirt, gouging deep furrows in anticipation. “Ohhh, I’ve been looking forward to this.”
“Less talk, more—” Pandora snapped her paw, just barely avoiding the blazing stream of energy that lanced at her. Instead, it sliced into the ground, leaving glowing furrows of molten glass where there had once been grass and flowers.
“Careful what you wish for!” Tia cackled, those cannons whipping up into a staccato of thunderclaps as beam after beam lanced out, perforating the ground. Again and again she swept a flashing web of death into the ground, beginning to growl as salvo after salvo missed their mark. “Stop teleporting!”
“Stop missing!” Pandora teased, snapping her paw and conjuring a massive anvil above the mech. Before it could fall more than a foot, those cannons whipped up on their pivots and sliced it into four symmetrical pieces, leaving them to fall harmlessly to each side.
“If you insist!” The cannons blazed to full power, but instead of firing in searing flashes, they started to sweep around like great lawnmower blades. Using her boosters, Tia flipped into the air, turning the whole area into a kaleidoscope of burning death.
“Nice try!” Pandora pushed her snapping skills to the max, flicking from place to place at the speed of thought, the two engaged in a deadly duel of reflexes only one could win. The seconds dragged on like years, until one of them finally made a mistake.
“Son of a--” Tia swore as one of her hooves slipped on a patch of molten earth. She flipped onto her back, and the impact interrupted the whirring of her cannons. The blow knocked one of the beams off course, forcing its blazing path to cut clean through its brother. With a sputter and an arc of electricity, the bisected cannon guttered and died. “Dammit!”
“Well, that’s one way to not miss!” Pandora chortled, as the mech picked itself up.
“This is bullshit. Stars should have to die to fuel that many teleports,” Tia snarled as she righted herself.
“So spill, unless you think you can still win?” Pandora continued to snicker, even as she snapped out of the way of another bolt. “Because, really? I don’t see it.”
“You know, I really wanted to win this straight up. Clearly that’s not going to happen.” The mech started to make odd noises, and it took Pandora’s ears a moment to pick up on the notes of music. Something about the cadence was strange though, like there was something to the beat that made the blood run quicker. She was so distracted that she almost didn’t snap in time for the next bolt.
Only she didn’t teleport.
“Aaaaghn!” The blast kicked her back a good five meters, flipping her onto her back and knocking the wind from her. She gasped desperately for air even as the scent of burnt fur choked her nostrils. “What on…”
“That’s more like it!” Tia crooned, immediately punting Pandora with another blast. “You know, our scientists had heard stories about the relationship between music and magic. They’ll be so happy to hear they’re right.”
“How…? This shouldn’t be possible!” She tried snapping her paw again, but all that greeted her was the sound itself. She only barely dove out of the way of the next blast, the heat of its passing searing along her back. “It’s just music!”
“Not just any music, scrublord!” Tia proceeded to chase Pandora with another sweep of her cannon, cackling like mad as she raced away from the scorching stream. “This is fight music! It revels in the glories of matched combat! And, it seems, it levels the playing field a bit!”
“Damn damn damn!” Pandora frantically snapped her paws, but nothing at all happened, leaving her to suffer another blazing lash across her body as Tia finally caught her. Laying there in the dirt, the agony of a fresh burn along her side, she suddenly remembered the last time she’d truly been struck down.
Skyla sneered down at her, the prim princess’s own blade held aloft as she wore her fencing gear like royal regalia.
“I told you she was too clumsy.” She sneered, even as her father helped Pandora up.
“She’s not too clumsy.” Shining corrected, shooting his daughter a firm stare. “She’s just a little too aggressive.”
“This is dumb.” Pandora pouted, still nursing the welt on her side where Skyla had really gone after her. “If I could teleport, I’d poke you until you were a pincushion.”
“Girls!” Shining chastised, before turning to Pandora. “Pandora, not everything can be solved with brute force. You’re a very powerful filly, Pandora, but that’s exactly why it’s important to learn control. You can’t just snap your way through life. Sometimes,” he passed the foil back to her, “you have to do things the simple way.”
“Any last words?” Tia leveled the glowing barrel of her cannon at Pandora, leaving her only a moment to think.
“Nope!” Pandora snapped her paw, but instead of trying to teleport, she conjured a shield. Not just any shield, but the strongest shield, one that was as much will as metal. Perhaps coincidentally, what flashed into existence was a dead ringer for her uncle’s cutie mark.
“Technically, nope’s a word!” That cannon lanced out, and for a heart-stopping moment, Pandora thought she was a goner. The shield bucked in her grip, and her hooves dug into the earth as she struggled to hold. Suddenly, the pressure eased. “What? How?”
“You said it was fight music, didn’t you?” Pandora dug in her hooves and charged, that shield rattling like a gong as the cannon tore into it over and over. “Well I feel like fighting!”
“Prove it!” There was an ominous hum, and this time the cannon thundered with force, the gravel on the ground jumping into the air as it ripped at Pandora. It surely would have knocked her over, shield or no, except she held only loosely to her shield. Letting it be torn from her grip, she snapped her paw and conjured a blade just as she had the shield, a mighty side-sword composed of all her courage and determination. Admittedly, it wasn’t as large as she’d have liked, but it’d work.
“Can do!” She swung her blade into the mounting of the other cannon, lopping it off with a screech of steel. Tia recoiled even as Pandora’s followup swing bit deeply into her armor, leaving a deep gash in the pale brown camouflage. “How do you like that!”
“Better!” Tia growled, bloodlust thick in her voice. She thrust out her mech’s hoof and let the rockets tear a roaring gash from the earth.
“Not good enough!” Pandora spun out of the way, possessed of a fighting skill she never knew she had. Twirling her blade with her, she lopped off the leg, and followed with another, leaving Tia’s mech to fall pathetically on its face.
“Ahahahahaah!” Tia crowed, the top of her mech popping open and ejecting her from its depths. “Now this is a fight!”
“You want it, you got it!” Pandora cried as well, rushing up to meet the mare in single battle, caught up in the moment as the music carried her on. Her blade rose as Tia’s razor edged wings fell, and the two met in a glorious spray of sparks amid the scorched battlefield around them. Landing, Tia followed up with twin slashes that Pandora only barely knocked aside before replying with her own.
The two danced for hours, the air echoing with their clashes as their hooves churned the seared earth. Tia was the faster, with a clear advantage in skill, but every time she disarmed Pandora she would simply conjure up another weapon with a snap of her paw. It got to the point where Pandora even let herself be disarmed if only to leave Tia open to a counterattack. Even so, the battle ground to a bloody stalemate, each one giving every knick they received.
“Enough!” Tia barked, causing Pandora to stop in her tracks as the music abruptly died. “There’s only one way to resolve this.”
“What?” Pandora panted, taking a moment to snap up a handkerchief and wipe the drool from her lips.
“We’ve studied magic, on my world. It’s an extension of the will, same as psionics or any such discipline.” She walked up to her mech, a few panels receding away at her approach. Within glittered a light, the color of which Pandora couldn’t properly describe. “They’re all branches of the same tree, sharing the same roots.”
“Get to the point.” Pandora muttered, beginning to notice the ache in her muscles.
“There is a state of being beyond magic, beyond psionics and science and all such things.” She pulled out a canister from which the strange light shone. “It is a state of true being, of self unadulterated. That, is where I wish to fight you.”
“And if I win?” Pandora asked. “That’s it, I win?”
“Is that all you care about?” Tia actually sounded disappointed. “If you win?”
“What should I care about?” Pandora asked.
“The winning should be it’s own reward. I’ve never been here to kill, to hurt.” Tia shook her head. “Just to win.”
“Didn’t seem that way before.” Pandora snarked.
“Well,” Tia smirked, “you were just an annoyance then. Now, I want to crush you for real.”
“Fine,” Pandora grunted. “Let’s roll.”
A sparkle in her eyes, Tia crushed the canister.
And the world dissolved to white.
There was no existence after the flash. And yet, there was only existence. The two of them wavered like flames in the void. Pandora was a sea of violet and white, mirth and mischief mixed with power and pride. Within her flickered twisted endless always-wills and never-weres, an ocean of hidden potential with no bottom and no end.
Tia was a burning plain, so much shallower than Pandora but endless in scope. Ten thousand lifetimes of ten million wars stretched endlessly into infinity. Countless legions of the dead warriors she had once been and always would be stood ready, their blades, hammers, spears and claws forever wet with fresh blood.
They clashed in a way no words could describe. Power against age, desire against determination. They drowned, burned, cut, twisted and died in ways beyond description. Ten billion battles passed in the blink of an eye, every possible permutation and possibility played out at once. The orchestras of war cried their anthems into the void, and oceans of blood washed upon continents of the dead.
And it all boiled down to one moment, upon an empty void that never was and never would be. At one end was Tia, the other, Pandora. Each stood ready, armed with the sum of themselves. They were not blades, not hammers, but weapons in the truest sense. The two of them charged, unstoppable forces coming together in one final clash.
The music rose.
Their weapons met.
And Pandora’s broke.
She sat there on hooves and paws, staring into the churned earth. She slowly turned over her paw, feeling the earth against her pads. She looked up, and there was the scorched wasteland of the battlefield, the fallen mech of her foe. Upon it was her foe herself, sitting and watching her like a sphinx.
“I…” Pandora struggled for words, but none came. It felt like she was a rug, suddenly unwoven and left on the ground.
“I said I’d destroy you like you destroyed me.” Tia shrugged and hopped off the mech, taking a moment to stretch. “In case you haven’t noticed, I’m not all that dead.”
“What?” Pandora croaked, not even really sure what she was asking.
“What you destroyed was my pride. And so I wanted to do the same to you, to destroy you in a way you could never deny.” She reached over and patted Pandora condescendingly on the head. “The very essences of who we are clashed, and I won.”
Pandora could only stare, kneading the earth in her paws with a strange sense of unreality. It was as though she had died, without dying. As if she’d been run through, and had bid farewell by all she knew, only to carry on anyway.
“But, seeing as I’m in a good mood, I think I’ll give you your prize anyway.” She hopped up on the mech, flicking her tail like a pleased cat. “We never wanted Skyla.”
“What?” Pandora managed, the shock of the revelation finally giving her something to focus on, around which to rebuild her identity.
“We wanted you, dumbass. To see what you were capable of.” She lifted a hoof, and inspected it idly. “Of course, we needed to see you give it your all, so we set you up to take the fall. Then we just let you come to us, and passed back your princess once we were done.”
“Why?” was all Pandora could manage.
“Oh, the higher ups have been bouncing around the idea of a cloning program for a while now. Draconequui can be difficult, but the potential is there. So much more than alicorns. The hardest part is figuring out how to reliably cultivate a creature with only the basest ties to reality.” She grinned. “Though, after the show you put on, I’m sure they’ll be working overtime to figure out how.”
“I...I…” Pandora couldn’t think of anything to say.
“Figured as much.” A black shadow fell over the field. “And that’s my ride! Peace out, keep safe, and the commonwealth thanks you for the unpaid donation of your time.” Heavy grappling hooks fell from above, affixing to the mech and Tia as well. “Feel free to drop by, if you ever figure out how! I’m sure your sisters would love to meet you!”
With a roar of the engines, the ship took off for that distant doorway to a sky's worth of cities around a sun of their own.
Pandora merely sat in the dirt, and stared.
The sun was setting when Cupcake finally arrived with a big tray of her namesake, and a slice of wedding cake. She simply sat down and offered one to Pandora.
“Rough day, boss?” she asked.
“You have no damn idea.” Pandora glanced at the cupcakes, noticing that the frosting was done in a passable impression of princess Skyla’s head. She picked it up and demolished it with a bit of vigorous chewing. “And Cupcake?”
“Yes, boss?” she asked.
“Thanks for everything.” Pandora said, staring off into the sky.
“Anytime, boss.”