//------------------------------// // Olympus // Story: The Legend of the God-Hunter // by BobThePlaneswalker //------------------------------// The Royal Sisters set down upon the entrance to the ruined city of Olympus. The architecture looked to be an advanced form of that which had been used in Ifringale. Not a single structure remained unbroken. Pieces of buildings were scattered about the roads and magical scarrings were as numerous as the stars across a clear night sky. A cloud of smog hovered above them, blockading the sun so that the city was set in a thick gloom. They made their way to the center of the city. At its core was an agora surrounded by polls upon which skulls hung. At the very center, was Rei, curled up on the ground like a cat. He opened an eye and peered at them. “Finally.” He stood up, stretched, and motioned a hoof across the city. “Welcome girls, to Olympus, —” he grinned “— the divine graveyard.” “This,” Celestia said, “this is all your work?” Rei nodded as he took it in. He turned back to Celestia. “What say you, daughter of the great Iokin? What say you to this bloody remnant of history?” “I have nothing to say,” Celestia replied. “I have only a question I wish to ask.” “Then ask it,” Rei said. “When you look upon this, do you feel pride?” Celestia asked Rei chuckled. “No. I feel no pride just as I feel no shame. As I see it, I was neither right nor wrong. Had the Olympians lived, they would have enslaved. I did away with them, and as a result the mortals are far more free than they would have been. That is not to say that the world is better off. It is different. —” Rei shrugged. “— Right and wrong... To me, these terms are too limited to describe reality. There are ideals, and there are creatures that fight for those ideals. My ideals have been shaped by the ages and exposed to realms far beyond our own; and so I have confidence in them. As such, I have no regrets.” “I see,” Celestia said. “So what we do we do not out of spite for one another, but simply because in our minds, it is right. Would you agree?” Rei nodded. “I would.” “Then you must see that we need not fight with magic and weapon to bring this to resolution.” Rei sighed. “Would you lay down your elements, and discuss it, with the balance of power so heavily in my favor?” Celestia shook her head. Rei nodded. “Nor would I. We are of equal will. Stones make no compromises. I wish too, Kilia, that it were different. But as we are, there can be no resolution without blood.” Celestia took a deep breath. “Without blood? Maybe. Without death? We shall see.” Rei smiled. “Such determination.” He spread his wings. “Shall we begin?” The Sisters nodded, lowered their stances, and raised their elements from their packs. Like antennas, Rei's wings pulled crimson bolts of energy from the smog. “Good luck.” Celestia met his eyes. “May the ideal most true prevail.” Rei's mouth cocked into a half smile. The smog above collapsed upon the city and obscured Rei. The sisters activated the elements and with their magic, formed a shield which barred the smog from reaching them. It closed in around them, roaring and cackling just outside the barrier. Celestia probed it with her magic. “Sister, you wouldn't happen to be familiar with this particular line of spellcraft, would you?” Luna nodded. “I believe it is a similar variant of the form that Nightmare Moon is so fond of.” Celestia grumbled. “That eliminates quite a few options.” Luna shook her head. “Not exactly. He's difficult to harm like this, but by the same laws he'll need to take a more concrete form to attack us. We just need to be precised with our counter-attacks.” “Alright then,” Celestia said. “You take lead.” Luna grinned. “Why thank you dear sister.” She raised her hoof and illuminated her horn with a detection spell. “You're on shield. Give me window two at my mark.” Celestia nodded. “Shield with window two on your mark.” Luna closed her eyes and illuminated her horn. A ball of magic formed and she made a slight tick with her hoof. Celestia kept an eye on the hoof. Luna's thrust it down and shouted, “five at three!” Had a clock been at their feet, with the twelve pointing forward, Celestia would've pointed her head directly over the five, then repeated the process vertically raising her head to where the three would have sat. Now repetition had shortened the process to little more than a jolt of the head. Celestia opened a hole in the shield and through it Luna fired a pillar of energy. The pillar barreled through the smog and slammed into the charging, full-sized draconic form of Rei. He let out a furious roar as it pressed him back into the smog. “Nice shot,” Celestia commended. Luna closed her eyes and raised her hoof again. Her horn hummed for a bit until she made a tick with her hoof. Celestia braced herself. Luna thrust her hoof down. “Ten at one thirty!” Celestia jolted to the coordinate, made a hole, and again Luna scored a direct hit. Celestia giggled. “You're on a rol-” “Four at five!” Luna shouted. Celestia jolted to the coordinate and opened the shield just as the light in Rei's eyes shone through the smog. Luna unleashed the beam on him but his momentum allowed him to crash in closer and closer to them. “Luna?!” Celestia remarked. Luna slammed a hoof to the ground and growled as she pressed the beam harder. Closer and closer Rei came until Luna finally managed to halt his momentum just inches from their barrier. He roared his frustration and retreated into the smog. Celestia closed the shield and exhaled. Luna's chest dramatically rose and fell with each breath. “Ha!” she bellowed. “What's the matter Dragonface? Having a little trouble?” A thunderous laugh erupted around them. The smog growled and circled around flickering with crimson static, then it calmed until it was no more lively than a morning mist. Rei stepped out in his normal empowered form. “Yes Umarak, I'm having quite a bit of trouble actually.” He set a hungry glare on them and circled just beyond their shield, dragging his tail along it as he went. “I've heard of the elements power. Certainly a little smog would not be too much for it. All you should need to do is send a pulse and you should be rid of my power for good.” Luna scoffed. “And leave window for you to attack? Ha. Nice try.” Celestia glared at Rei as he passed. She knew this tactic. He wasn't trying to fool them, he was gauging how much they knew. Brute force had failed so he was trying his silver tongue. Celestia prodded Luna's shoulder twice. Tag out sister. Luna gave short glance through her peripheral, signaling that the message had been received. Rei cackled. “Well just look at you two! In the words of the little purple one, adorable. Absolutely, adorable. You've been preparing yourselves haven't you? Why you're a genuine team. I'm outmatched. Two versus one and no way to pry you apart.” Celestia followed him with her eyes. “That's enough Rei. We are at a standstill. Time for words.” “Yes!” Rei exclaimed. “Let's do that! Because you see, Kilia, what I've got, is time. We can talk all century for all I care.” Celestia giggled, eliciting a tiny shudder from Rei. “Those eager eyes disagree with you Reiky.” At that Rei let out a drawling laugh. “How observant you are. So time, for me, is at the mercy of my sanity's endurance. Point, you two. Let's talk mobility. I can go anywhere but this little space. It's probably fifteen feet in diameter. But alas, it is just large enough to stop me from getting you. However, I would venture to guess that you have engaged Canterlot's normal lines of defense. Seeing as the elements are here, that puts two sappy little lovers at the brink of their adult lives between me and your precious little subjects. I wonder how confident you are in that?” Celestia rolled her eyes. “You should not write off so easily, the strength of love.” Rei's eyes thinned as he studied Celestia's face. “Nor should I be so foolish as to think that it is love alone that gives you this confidence.” He paced, weaving his head as though swishing the thoughts about his skull. Celestia's heart pattered a little faster. Time to think is not something she wanted to give for free. “Rei, there are better ways than fighting. You know that. Let us just-” “Ha!” Rei shouted. “Of course, now I see what makes you so sure of yourselves.” Luna laughed. “Our tools are stronger than yours. There's no more to our confidence than that.” Celestia felt as though her stomach was floating into her chest. Rei grinned. “Well that's good. That being the case, you'll still be just as confident after considering every aspect of the storm body.” Luna shrugged. “I don't see why-” a jab from Celestia silenced her. Rei's eyes glistened. “Oh come now Kilia, let her be. What could it hurt to consider all the positives and negatives of the spells that I'm unleashing upon you? Obviously the form has defensive purposes, but there's more to it than that. Go on, ask little sister about some of the advantages.” Luna faced him with a confused glare. Her eyes widened. “Ah,” Rei said. “Now she sees it. Will you let her tell you the bad news Kilia, or are you to stay in denial?” Celestia cursed under her breath. No use trying to bluff, Rei was sure of himself now. “What is it little sister?” She asked. Luna swallowed. “The storm body disrupts all magical energies which pass through it.” Rei nodded. “Communication, teleportation, and radar spells all depend upon the clean traversal of magical energy. On the off chance that you're hoping to rely on information from Canterlot, or fallback plans that require speedy relocation of the elements, this information should be quite relevant.” Celestia kept her face as stone, but in her mind she cursed. Rei grinned. “You're cut off Granny. For all you know, this could be an utter illusion, and really there is little more than ten foot of smog around you. The real me could be out bringing Olympus' fate down upon Canterlot.” Celestia rolled her eyes. “And decimate your one bargaining chip? I think not.” Rei let out a sharp laugh. “Canterlot a bargaining chip?!” He shook his head. “Canterlot is far too big to be a bargaining chip. No, what I need is a few skulls. Something that'll give you a bit of an emotional punch, you know?” Celestia glared at him. “The little purple one should more than suffice as a bargaining chip,” Rei said. “The rest can be slain.” Celestia's glare became murderous. “What has happened to make you so sick?” “A lot,” Rei replied. Celestia chewed through her predicament. Too much of their plan had been exposed. It was too risky to continue with it and communicating with Luna just wasn't feasible with Rei right there. Her mind held on that thought for a second. Luna just didn't have enough time in the political scene to have the hardened control over her emotions that was necessary to bar Rei from wringing information out of her. Maybe it would be better if she didn't know the plan. She was pretty good on her feet, after all. That was it then. It was time to reset the board. Celestia smiled. “Alright Reiky, you want things to start moving now, then here are your options.” Luna peered at her. “Option one,” Celestia said, “Luna and I break for Canterlot and this becomes an all-out war between Equestria and you.” Rei smiled. “Option two, we agree on a manner in which we can put aside our elements and continue this the old-fashioned way. You have two minutes to decide or we do option one.” Rei chuckled. “Alright then, let me think... —” He paced before their shield. “— Can a population the size of Equestria even use the elements? —” He studied Celestia as he paced. “— Is Equestria capable of harmonizing at that level...” His eyes thinned. “If you were confident in that, I would think that you would just automatically go for option one.” “Ninety seconds,” Celestia said. “Hmmm...” Rei continued. “If I were to choose one that I thought was less risky, it would definitely be option two. Even at two versus one, I'll take the battle mage over a pair of politicians. The two of you have found quite a chemistry though. Maybe you're thinking that this dynamic duo thing you've got going on can overcome the skill differential.” He pulled his stare from Celestia and studied the ground. “Maybe I don't disagree...” “Sixty seconds,” Celestia said. Rei let out a humorous huff. He looked to Luna. “What do you think Umarak?” Luna stared at Celestia and a wry smile climbed her face. “I'm as confused as you Rei. You're on your own.” Rei squared up with Celestia. “And what about you?” Celestia merely smiled. He had better hopes getting a read from the rocks than he did her. In reality, she didn't know what option favored who any better than he did. “Thirty seconds.” He grumbled and crossed his fore hooves. “You wouldn't happen to be a good poker player, would you?” Celestia laughed. “I'm actually known in Appaloosa as the Princess without a face.” He nodded. “So that was you. Makes sense.” “Ten seconds,” Celestia said. “Nine, eight, seven, six-” Rei groaned. “Option two, option two.” Celestia grinned. “Good choice.” Rei rolled his eyes. “Well it's a done deal, so no use taunting me. How do you want to do this?” “The elements have a distinct signature that's impossible to mask,” Celestia said. “I propose that we allow one another to learn the signature, then hide our respective elements. We shall return within the hour, using whatever magic we feel necessary to assert that the other has left their elements behind.” “The signature can't be masked huh?” Rei clicked his tongue and raised a brow to Luna. “You're the one that possesses honesty, aren't you?” Luna scrunched her mouth and nodded. “Hey!” Celestia exclaimed. “I've used it before too!” Rei raised a brow to her. “So says the Princess without a face.” Celestia huffed. Rei tapped a hoof off of the ground. “Kindness does prefer you though. I suppose that counts for something.” He rolled his head back and forth a few times and sighed. “Alright Kilia, I'll buy it; we do it your way.” Celestia clapped her hooves. “Good! Well —” She pointed a hoof at the Elements of Harmony. “— Our elements are kind of out there...” Rei raised a hoof to his side and summoned the Elements of Ambition from the smog. Their aura burned furiously in the presence of harmony. The Sisters inspected them and committed their signature to memory. Celestia nodded to Rei. “We've got it. You?” He nodded. “Alright then,” Celestia said. “Meet back within the hour.” Her and Luna ascended. Rei turned towards the East. “Can't wait.” “I'm sure Rei,” Celestia said. The Sisters jetted off into the West until Olympus had long disappeared behind them. Celestia motioned to stop. “The bearers should be in range.” Luna nodded. Together they fired a signal to Canterlot. Celestia looked to her. “I'm sorry Sister, I know you have a lot of questions, it's just...” Luna smiled. “I get it Sister. If you truly are the Princess without a face, it is because I have enough face for the both of us... I trust you.” “Thank you Sister.” “I do have a question though,” Luna said. “Suppose he doesn't stay true to the agreement. What are we to do then?” Celestia shrugged. “Honestly, I do not think that he'll fault on it. If he does though... I suppose we'll be making a mad dash for Canterlot. If we're lucky, we'll be under his radar the entire time and he'll never know when we come and go.” A signal reached them and the elements resonated. “Feeling up to it?” Celestia asked. Luna nodded. “Yeah.” They released the elements and watched as they rocketed towards Canterlot. Once they were out of sight, the Sisters headed back to Olympus. As they neared, a heavy storm brewed overhead. Not the black storm like before, but a dark gray summer storm. The kind that is often responsible for battering apart houses with their wind and scarring the trees with their thunderbolts. Luna studied it. “You think this is his work?” Celestia shook her head. “Without the elements, I don't think that he could brew a storm this big so quickly. He may have had a hoof in guiding it here though. We should be cautious. His mother earned the title Reaper of the Skies because of her capability to utilize storms like these to her advantage. I'd not be surprised if Rei inherited that capability.” Luna nodded. “Noted.” When they were just outside Olympus, they veiled themselves and circled the city three times. On each pass they meticulously scanned for Ambition's signature. After the third pass, they dropped their veils and entered the city. They waited for a short while in the agora before Rei stepped up to meet them. He passed a wave of energy over them, scanning for the elements. “Huh...” He raised a brow. “Are you really sure that you're ready for this? How long has it been, since you've fought without your elements?” Celestia shrugged. “Probably as long as it has been for you. We don't need them. You'll see. The powers of unity are far stronger than that of relentless obsession.” “I am eager to see.” Rei said as he stretched his wings. “Let us waste not another moment. Begin on my mark?” The Sisters nodded and took their stances. “Three,” Rei said, activating his horn. “Two.” The sisters prepared their spells. “One!” The Sisters unleashed beams upon Rei but he cleared the spot like a lightning bolt and disappeared into the storm. Luna cast a detection spell. “Can you sense him Sister?” Celestia shook her head. Instead of a detection spell she cast an enhancement on her ears. Even with the additional help she only heard white noise. She was in the middle of scanning across the storm when she was hit by a tackle from Luna. The two tumbled out of the way of a beam of energy just in time to avoid being vaporized. “Run!” Luna shouted. They took off into the air and cut around some buildings as the beam barreled after them, obliterating everything in its path. Luna spun around and sent a torpedo towards the source. The beam ceased but she was not served the pop of a successful hit. A streak of lightning erupted towards them from the clouds. Luna met it with a barrier and responded with a torpedo. She had barely finished launching it when another streak of lightning charged at them from the opposite direction. Celestia raised another barrier to block it but the streak was followed by a thick pillar of energy which pinned her down. Luna sent a volley of bolts to Celestia's aid. They whizzed into the sky and forced the beam to relent. “We have to get out of the city!” Celestia shouted. They jetted off just as another bolt streaked towards them. They headed for the edge of the city, cutting and weaving to try and stay just ahead of Rei's attacks. Luna used whatever chances she got to fire spells back at Rei but the cover of the storm made it just about impossible to connect. When they reached the edge of the city, Celestia initiated a dive. Luna threw up a barrier to cover her and not a moment too soon for a bolt came crackling straight down at her. Luna managed to block it, but the force of the blow stole her control and she fell into a spin. Celestia spun around and shielded her. “Make for the forest!” Luna heard the explosions of spells upon Celestia's shield. She thrust her wings and pulled herself out of the spin. She leveled off above a mountainside river and landed at a dash in the forest. She spun back to see Celestia straining under her shield as a thick pillar of energy pushed her closer and closer towards the ground. Luna roared and swung a thick black shadow tentacle at the source of the pillar. It ripped through the storm, but again her attack could not find its target. Celestia pulled her shield and broke for the tree cover. A blue bolt streaked down from the clouds straight towards her. “Tia!” Luna cried. “Look out!” Celestia peered back just in time to see the bolt form into Rei. He swung his back legs out and kicked her, rocketing her towards the other side of the forest. “Ha!” he called. “You've always been slow Granny!” Luna whipped a midnight tentacle at him. He took his lightning form, looped around it, and responded with a barrage of lightning strikes. Luna tried to evade and block enough of his shots to trade with him but he was getting five shots off to every one of hers. Eventually she was forced to duck into a nearby cave. She cast an array of stealth spells and slipped into the one of the tunnels just as Rei slammed into the ground at the entrance. She could feel the energies of his detection spells passing through the tunnel. “Hide and seek little one,” he called. “Just like old times.” :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: Celestia pulled her head from the ground, blinking her eyes to regain her focus. Her vision was clouded by green and brown blurs. The sounds of thundercracks were pounding her ears. The left side of her body felt like a cheese grater had been taken to it. She shook her head and turned towards the cracking. The green and brown blurs gave way to dark gray ones, one of which flickered with blue light. That had to be Rei. Her vision cleared just in time to see him streak down into the forest. Huh... He wasn't after her. Then he must be... Luna! Celestia jumped to her feet and took off after him. She just managed to catch the last resonances of his detection spell emanating from a cave below. She dived down and followed the resonances into it as fast as her feet could take her. It did not take long for her to leave the light behind, so she activated her sonar spell. So what if Rei found her. Luna was in danger. Rei's resonances grew thicker with each step but there was a gut wrenching silence. Then the subtle resonances were replaced by the sharp cracks of lightning and soon thereafter a rumble. Celestia tried to teleport straight to it but the sounds were bouncing all around the honeycombed passages making it impossible to discern where they were actually coming from. She meticulously analyzed the waves of magic streaming past her until she found the path that resonated the strongest. She charged down it, the pace of her hooves upon the floor outdone only by the pace of her heart upon her chest. The fighting continued and she turned the corner to find flickers of magic peeking through a cloud of dust which rolled towards her. She warped as far as she could see, putting herself at another turn. Silence. No... She warped again and finally she came to an opening. The dust clouded her vision but her magic told her that this cavern was spacious. She pressed forward, pushing back the dust with her magic. She unveiled Rei. He was facing away from her, staring at Luna's unempowered form which lay limp upon the ground. Celestia's stomach curled and her limbs weakened. Rei turned a single eye to her. She glared at him and flared her horn. “You...” Rei raised a hoof. “Mourn. Make your peace. Harden your resolve. Stabilize your mind. I offer you this chance to do that.” Celestia did not ease her horn or her glare. Rei stepped away from Luna and raised a brow. “Unless, I suppose, you insist.” Celestia glanced to Luna, then to Rei. Rei motioned to Luna. “Out of control emotions compromise your capability to fight. Attack me now and you'll lose because of them alone.” Celestia peered back to Luna. Warm tears boiled over her eyelids. She lifted her in her hooves. “I'm sorry little sister-I... I wasn't fast enough...” She steeled her trembling lip. Keep it together Celestia. You still have a job to do. Luna's laugh echoed in her head. Her body was still warm. Keep it together. There has to be something. Some advantage I have. There was no patter in Luna's chest. Celestia had grown so fond of that patter. Dammit Celestia. She took a deep breath and barricaded her mind. The barricade held the thoughts at bay, enabling her senses to escalate. She heard the faint sounds of the storm echoing down the caves. She could smell the subtle hint of Luna's lavender shampoo. Thoughts sparked in the back of her mind but she gave her head a small shake to douse them before they took flame. She returned to her trance and focused on the waves and ripples of the magical energies passing around her. She sifted through them until she came to one she knew. It was the aura that filled the air when Luna raised the moon! It was rebounding from Luna's body! Celestia studied Luna's coat. Upon it was a tiny shimmer. She traced the shimmer to the cavern ceiling where a speck of light was sneaking through a small hole. The moon... was that her? Celestia checked the signature again. Definitely the moon. It was looking down, sick with worry for Luna. Celestia pressed her head against Luna's chest. There were subtle resonances of magic awakening. Celestia smiled at the spec. Thank you. She stared up at it, and soon she had found the answer she needed. Or rather, it found her. Snuck into her brain and posted out like it had been living there the whole time. She focused on the spec. Tell her she must find Ambition. They're vulnerable so far from their bearer and he's getting so close to his goal. She peered to Rei. He was in his own trance, his consciousness betrayed only by a twitch of his tail. I'm positive they'll be flaring. She pressed her cheek to Luna's. You trusted me sister. Now it is my turn to do the same for you. She laid Luna down so that the spec sat upon her heart. She closed her eyes, threw together a course of action for herself, and turned to Rei. “You want a challenge, do you not? That's why you allotted me this opportunity.” Rei's eyes lumbered open and he nodded. “Then you must face me at my best,” Celestia said. “Face me, where I am strongest.” One side of Rei's lip curled up. “Home-field advantage? That's what you want?” Celestia shook her head. “I want complete control over the specifics of the fight.” Rei snorted. “That's asking a little much, don't you think?” “No. Given what you've done, I think it's very reasonable. It's either that, or you kill me right here in cold blood because I won't fight otherwise.” Rei circled her. “What makes you so sure that I won't end it now?” “Nothing,” Celestia replied. “This is what I need. Anything else... I'm as good as dead anyway.” Rei grumbled and made another lap. Celestia's stern glare never left him. “So be it,” he said with a defeated smile. “I suppose you've always been good at reading others. Even with my goal secured, not knowing if I could've won would drive me to insanity.” Celestia nodded. “Yes, I thought so. Follow me.” She aimed her horn at the small hole in the cavern ceiling and fired a torpedo. As soon as the explosion calmed she launched straight towards it, paying no mind to the cloud of dust she had kicked up. When she made it to the other side she could see the faint day moon still gazing down through a break in the storm. Celestia peered behind her, begging the fates that Rei wouldn't put the pieces together. He erupted from the cavern and settled into a lazy glide. The tension in her body dropped away. She turned her head forward and gave the moon one last quick glance through her peripheral. Good luck.