Radiant Bolt let out an agonized cry as the magic of the array ripped through his body and into the pulsing sky above, blasting out a solid chunk of the ceiling overhead. The raw magic he was dealing with was incredibly powerful, practically scalding as he attempted to pick out the traces of spells still locked around them. Radiant had been training in the magical arts for decades, and knew that he was a skilled arcanist. But work of this magnitude was nearly beyond even his skills. But it was also incredibly important.
Grinning triumphantly, his magic latched onto the original framework of their banishment spell, still spiraling about the celestial bodies, and ripped it out. In front of his very eyes, a talisman of a gleaming sun began to piece itself together. The light of the celestials gleamed from every inch of the small coin, and Radiant quickly stashed it away within his robes. His trump card. With naught but a thought, he could send the sisters straight back to the celestial bodies they inhabited. Hopefully it would not come to that, but...
"Alright, all of you hide!" he barked to his acolytes, who raced out of the factory as if their lives depended on it; all but one guard.
Radiant Bolt let out a deep breath, nodding to the stocky earth pony.
"We have three minutes, do your worst."
******************************
Celestia let out a shuddering breath as her organs began to reform; it had been so long since she had inhabited her mortal form, or at least it felt like it had been a long time. As the sun itself, it was hard to keep track of one's thoughts across billions of miles of flaming plasma. Anger, pain, betrayal... the soul-crushing weight of defeat... As the sun, it was utterly devastating. Back in a pony body, able to hold onto emotions and thoughts once more... Burning tears dripped down her gleaming muzzle as she drifted towards the point of her summoning. Slowly, her limbs and wings began to reform, sliding free of her cooling plasma-flesh, and Celestia groaned in relief as feeling returned to them. It took several minutes, but finally her body fully formed, eyes opening as she touched down at the summoning point.
She was in a burned out building space, blackened wood and metal rising up all around her, though the spell had presumably blown out a chunk of the ceiling. Machinery was propped against the two large doorways, and blood coated the ground. The source of said blood was readily apparent, in fact. A crumpled unicorn lay in a small ball on the floor before the summoning circle, using a strip of cloth to bind a deep cut in one side. His face was heavily swollen, one eye nearly swelled shut, and blood leaking from one side of his muzzle. Celestia scowled deeply as she noticed his uniform in an instant- the purple and red of the Equestrian Mage Order, one of those guilds who had sided with the Nobles to banish herself and her sister into the moon. For one, rage-filled second, Celestia was ready to roast the foolish unicorn to ash for his treachery... but his physical state, practically bleeding to death on the floor, stayed her hoof. Barely.
"Who are you?" she snapped, voice rolling across the room like a tidal wave, rocking several pieces of the machinery.
"I-I am R-radiant Bolt," the unicorn managed, voice tight with pain, "H-high Mage of Equestria."
The name did not ring any bells in Celestia's memory, alarms or otherwise, but that meant little. Many ponies had been apart of the Great Betrayal. For a moment, she said nothing, merely scanning around the factory for any other ponies. It seemed, at least, that they were alone- well, somewhat. With a wave of relief blooming in her heart, Celestia watched as a silver blob of rock and moonlight gently drifted down into the factory. Seeing her sister's mortal body forming again was like a wave of coolness for her overheated mind, and she quickly moved to nose and nuzzle Luna's mane.
"Sister..." Luna breathed, sounding just as relieved, "When I felt the summons, I feared- YOU!"
Rage roared into Luna's voice the second she spotted the prone mage, a powerful blade of shadows forming above her gleaming horn, ready to strike.
"No, Luna!" Celestia shouted quickly, raising a hoof quickly to block Luna's stride, "Not yet. He is injured, and I have not questioned him fully yet."
Luna slowly relented and nodded, stepping back, but with a curled lip of utter disdain for the mage.
"Why did you bring us back?" Celestia snapped down at Radiant Bolt, her horn gleaming lightly in a lie detector spell.
"L-look outside, and y-you'll see it plainly."
Blinking in surprise, and giving a small scowl between them, the two Sisters slowly walked over to the large glass wall of the factory floor, and peered out. Smoke greeted them, and several massive, swirling Tartarus portals. Flying succubi and red-eyed batponies winged nimbly through the skies, many laden with nets full of limp ponies. Around them, screeching loudly and breathing fierce flames into the clouds of smog around the city, hell-dragons and wyverns flew unchecked, seemingly guided by a little yellow pegasus. Celestia sat hard onto her rump, eyes widening in disbelief.
"Tartarus h-has been opened," Radiant breathed, "I... I still h-hate you. But t-there are... are m-many innocent ponies out there who will die w-without your help."
Luna snorted loudly, steam billowing out of her nostrils as she glared back at the mage, wings flexing.
"And what, once we end your demon infestation, are you going to send us back?!" she barked angrily, stomping once on the concrete floor, sending cracks all around.
"Y-you know as w-well as I that s-spell is too complicated for m-me to cast on my o-own, Luna. Y-you two will not f-fall for the same trick twice, I am sure."
Celestia glanced back at him, jaw set, "And you would see your kind's treachery undone? After all that happened?"
Chuckling weakly, Radiant looked her in the eye, spitting a gob of blood out onto the floor.
"I w-would rather be ruled b-by you, than demons."
**************************
Opening her eyes slowly, Twilight gave a small chuckle as she glanced over at Cadance. The pair of them, once they realized the ritual the mage was casting, had quickly backed off to prepare themselves. It also gave them a good chance to look over their handiwork, and prepare their friends for the showdown to come. By this point, most of Canterlot had fallen under their control: the Canterlot Police Headquarters was under siege, most of the force having barricaded themselves inside. A small private army was battling their demons at the entrance to the Mining Sector, further up the mountain. But the gates, walls, and Castle remained in the hands of Lust, and that was all that mattered. Once they ended this little... matter, they could consolidate their victory.
"Here they come, Cadance."
"Well, at least this'll be interesting."
"FOUL DEMON!"
A blue blur slammed forcefully into Cadance, launching her high into the air and over the Canterlot Castle; Twilight merely smiled faintly, turning towards the brighter, whiter blur heading towards herself. She wasn't worried for Cadance: the Archdemon had handled far worse in her time, and their plan was set. She was a tad more worried about dealing with Celestia, really. The Alicorn of the Sun was glowing plasma-blue, balls of magical fire orbiting around her at near super-sonic speeds as she powered towards the Archdevil. Tilting her head, Twilight grinned slowly.
"I must say, Celestia," she shouted, voice magically amplified, "That's one I haven't seen you use before!"
As predicted, Celestia's wings shot out to stop her ascent instantly, the light around her body vanishing like mist. She and Twilight locked eyes; one stunned and confused, soon filling with anguish; the other calm, collected and slightly sly.
"H-how..." Celestia whispered, "Twilight... why? What... what are you doing, my student?"
Blinking, Twilight glanced around a few times, peeking down at the city beneath her, "...I'd... say that's pretty evident, Celestia. I'm taking over Canterlot. Well, 'taking.' It's pretty much taken, at this point."
Chuckling quietly, Twilight's horns gave a little gleam, banishing her armor and cloak away; the runes along her body were gleaming brightly, even in the midday sun. Celestia's eyes widened slowly as they trailed over her former student's well-toned, powerful form.
"As for the how and why, well... Tartarus changes you, Celestia."
"Enough for you to betray your home?"
Twilight's eyes lit up in a purple flame, and her voice lowered, losing its playful tone, "Equestria betrayed us. /All/ of us, Celestia. Cadance and I are here to make things right. And a lot more fun."
The Archdevil gave the Alicorn a very self-satisfied smile, "Join us, Celestia. Talk Luna down, and bow before me, and we will remake Equestria into a grander place. Together."
Celestia looked like a filly with a stomped puppy, ears pressed firmly back against her skull.
"This is not my Twilight," she whispered faintly, magic beginning to travel up her horn, "You are being influenced by the diabolic forces below. I will subdue you, my faithful student, and purge you of their taint. I'm so sorry for this..."
So that's how it would be then. Sighing quietly, Twilight summoned her armor once more, the segmented felsteel coating each limb in magical protection. She wore no helm, but a metal neckguard blocked part of her lower jaw. The dark grey metal, combined with her gleaming horns and sharp teeth, left her a formidable figure.
"So be it."
*******************************
Before her ascension, Cadance had been a pegasus, and as an alicorn, Luna had always connected more to her pegasus side. As such, their duel was more brawl than anything else. Kicking, biting, and hissing like tussling birds, the two alicorns rolled about the sky. For all of Cadance's raw power as the Archdemon of Lust, however, Luna was the better duelist and brawler. Twirling and spinning like a dervish, Luna's feathers, gleaming silver, sliced over and over on Cadance's neck and face, driving her back feet at a time.
With a loud hiss and pop, Cadance teleported several meters away, a blast of fel energy lancing out from her dark grey horn towards Luna, only to be deflected with a nimble spin and slap from her enchanted wings.
"Good to see you again too, Auntie," Cadance teased, grinning over at her opponent as she carefully rolled her wings back into their sockets, the many wounds on her face and neck sliding closed.
"SILENCE!" Luna barked angrily, tears in the corners of her eyes, "Thou are not my niece! You are... are a husk! Once I subdue you, I will pull Cadance from the depths of the madness you've placed upon her!"
A single eyebrow raised on Cadance's face, her smile fading slightly, "A husk? Hardly. I may have had to give some of myself to the darkness, but I am still Cadance."
Snarling, Luna launched herself at Cadance, the rooftop beneath her collapsing with a rumble of falling masonry, "I SAID SILENCE!"
Scowling, Cadance's horn gleamed as a chunk of the falling home reversed direction, cutting Luna off as it screamed past her face.
"No! I am Cadance, Luna!" she replied hotly, darting forward to deliver a staggering backhoof to Luna's cheek, then dived away.
"Then you gave in!" Luna roared, nearly blind with the pain of the strike as she dived after her, "After all I taught you about the darkness!"
"You know nothing of Tartarus!"
Snapping her wings out, Cadance zoomed deftly between the many buildings of the Noble Quarters, magic reaching out to fling charged objects at her pursuer.
"I spent a thousand years alone with a demon! Nightmare Moon-"
"NIGHTMARE MOON WAS A PALTRY PRIDE IMP!"
Lightning crackled around Cadance's horn as she whipped around, the bolt blasting out with a concussive thunder clap. Yelping in surprise, Luna barely managed to twist under the attack, her pelt fluffing out nonetheless. Cadance's eyes were wide and gleaming with orange flames as she stared the Princess of the Night down.
"Compared to the Lord of Lust! Compared to Wrath, to Gluttony, TO PRIDE HIMSELF!" she howled, angry tears running down her cheeks, "One thousand years alone? Try three hundred in HELL! Tortured everyday! Raped, beaten! You see this?!"
She jerked a hoof towards her horn, removing a small silver circle from the base. To Luna's eagle eyes, and to her utter horror, ragged scarring surrounded it.
"This is a pike of felsteel! The Lord of Lust himself ripped my old horn out while he raped me! Then he pinned me to a fucking wall by my wings!"
Mist rose up from the broken water pipes of all the homes around them; Luna was frozen, unable to take her eyes away from her shaking niece.
"I had to watch my friends... my friends, DEBASE themselves to him, just to buy Twilight and I time to JAM this fucking thing INTO MY BRAIN! YOU DO NOT KNOW PAIN, LUNA! You do not know torment! I gave up a part of myself, but I never gave up what makes me, me!"
Luna gulped thickly, but her throat was utterly dry. For a few moments, she felt very small indeed.
"Cadance... I am s-"
She never had time to block the lightning bolt that caught the Princess of the Night directly in the chest, flinging her through the adjacent wall.
****************************
High above the Canterlot skyline, two of the strongest magic-users in all the mortal plane dueled. Bolts of solar energy flew towards the lazily gliding Archdevil- only to shatter upon impact with a shimmering purple shield. As the motes of light disappeared, Twilight Sparkle sighed quietly.
"Really? A Solar Barrage? Come now Celestia, you'll have to get more-" she started, only to spot the two tiny glowing balls on each side of her.
"Ah, right."
The resulting explosion was enormous, and Celestia gave a small sob, wincing. She hated to hurt her former student so, but she was obviously not in her right mind. Once she knocked Twilight out, and dealt with the demons below, she could work to... draw out... The Archdevil that was floating serenely on a black little cloud, her armor soot coated, but little worse for wear. An amused cackle rolled across the warzone.
"That was a good one!" Twilight cheered to Celestia, but her own horns were glowing brighter now, "My turn now!"
And suddenly Celestia was in a fight for her life. Diving and cursing quietly, Celestia did her best to dodge and deflect the thousands of tiny fel missiles raining down from Twilight's horns. A single missile would do little to her own protective shielding, but the sheer amount of strikes were beginning to take their toll. Banking sharply into a row of homes, Celestia desperately laid trap after trap in her wake, the magical circles gleaming brightly as they expanded to cover the entire street. ...and promptly exploded into fine dust as Twilight powered through them, a lazy smile on her lips. Too late, Celestia remembered that spell-breaking had always been one of Twilight's highest marks in school.
Damnit!
Holding back was not going to help anypony now. Skidding to a stop in the cobblestone street, Celestia willed her body back into flames, the rocks and concrete around her beginning to bubble.
"I'm sorry, Twilight..."
***************************
Luna grunted as she landed hard on the factory floor, skidding several feet before she could flare her wings and stop herself. Cadance was far stronger than Luna ever imagined. The demonic magic that had overtaken her had taken her already considerable magical powers and doubled them, perhaps even tripled. If she was to have any chance, Luna would have to get the drop on her. But as she began to stand, something firmly tugged at Luna's tail, yanking her back down to her rump with a surprised yelp. Glancing back, Luna's eyes widened as she saw her tail firmly coated in sticky strands of silk.
"What the..." Luna breathed, scowling as she blasted the offending silk with magic... only to gape in shock as it remained perfectly intact. Not a single tiny little strand was destroyed, even frayed.
"Now, now, darling, let's not waste out magic, shall we? Arachnepony silk only comes undone if the weaver, or their mistress, wills it."
Jerking around in surprise, and cursing as more silk became stuck to her rump and hind legs, Luna stared as Rarity slowly lowered to the floor, horns gleaming a soft blue as three creatures followed after her. Arachneponies. With the upper bodies of pony, and the lower abdomen and legs of giant spider, arachneponies had once ruled vast swathes of western Equestria's wooded regions, until Luna and her army had driven them out and into Tartarus. To see the species back again... it brought back many terrifying flash-backs, and in a panic, Luna fired a beam of moonlight, hot enough to melt steel, towards the devilish unicorn- only for a large plant tendril to dart down to block the beam, bursting into ash immediately. Another tendril wrapped tightly around Luna's mane, yanking her head back roughly and causing her to yelp, a warmth growing in her chest.
"Now why don' you just calm down, sugarcube? We ain't lookin' to hurt ya."
Applejack stepped into Luna's field of vision; but also, not Applejack. Her slitted eyes were a brighter green than they had once been, and more than a few vines, tendrils, and even little berries peeked out of her wild mane. The grin she gave Luna was positively predatious, and she teasingly kissed the tip of her nose.
"RELEASE ME AT ONCE!" Luna roared, frantically wriggling about in the tight bonds.
Drawing on her magical knowledge, Luna began to ready a teleport spell, her horn gleaming a brilliant blue. She had to get back to her sister, warn her of the extent of the corruption, she- A firm weight settled a top Luna's back, and she cried out in denial as her magic died, a suppressor ring stuffed down her horn. Most suppressor rings were easy for an alicorn to break, but Luna could tell instantly that it was of felsteel make, impossible for even Celestia to shatter. With a firm, practiced movement, both of her flailing wings were corralled inside a set of padded bags, tied together with cords.
Giggling quietly, Rainbow Dash nuzzled and kissed the inside of Luna's ear, "There, that's better. Don't worry Luna! You and I are gonna have lots and lots of time to talk things out. You'll see our side of things. I know you will... Now, let's go see Mistress Twilight, see how she's putting the smackdown on Celestia!"
*************************
Celestia gasped and panted softly as she kept up the blast on Twilight's shield. At first, the Archdevil had done her best to evade Celestia's plasma bursts, but now she had relented, and stood still, trying to wait for Celestia's energy reserves to run dry. But that was a mistake on her part. Celestia knew that her own magical reserves were incredibly vast, and to deplete them would take several days of sustained magic. Twilight Sparkle's shield could not hold that long. She... was certain of it.
"Just... give in, Twilight!" Celestia shouted desperately to her student, burning tears trailing down her cheeks, "I don't want to hurt you! Please, we can fix your corruption, together!"
"You know that's not true," Twilight's reply came, seemingly right in her ear, sounded... faintly annoyed, "Do not lie, Celestia. You do it too much as it is, and it really does not suit you. Leave that to the demons."
Gritting her teeth, Celestia did her best to focus the spell. She had to break through, and wipe out those devil horns. It was the only way to incapacitate Twilight at this state. But as she poured more energy into the attack, Celestia felt something... very strange. Fatigue. Alarm bloomed in her mind... until she glanced down. An alchemical circle was completely circling her, gleaming a bright, rich purple. Celestia's hooves were firmly stuck to the trap, and with each second of the attack, her power drained faster and faster. It was excruciating, and Celestia began to scream, the etherealness of her mane and tail draining away.
Twilight giggled faintly as she walked through the plasma beam, the heat passing around her shield like water around a rock, "You always taught me how to dual-focus, Celestia. Like that trap? I made it just for you and Luna."
Eventually, the beam finally petered out, and Celestia collapsed to her knees, panting raggedly as she stared up at Twilight in stunned silence. Pink eyes met violet, and violet winked, one of Twilight's armored hooves lifted towards Celestia's muzzle.
"Just a little kiss?"
*************************
Radiant Bolt's telescope slammed angrily to the ground, and he further blasted it into utter ash. Those fucking, useless whorses! The vaunted Princesses of Equestria, rulers of their great nation, bested in combat by a bunch of... of... demons! It was beyond frustrating, beyond angering, it was embarrassing. They were the best ponykind could produce in three thousand years of existance? Pah.
"When we master ascension, we'll show those damn females how to do battle," Radiant growled faintly, turning back to his acolytes, "Begin the mass teleport spell. I will restart the ritual. We must warn the Council of this... abomination."
The golden coin amulet slowly floated out into the light, and immediately began to gleam as brightly as the sun far above. Radiant smirked faintly. As much as he would like to leave the princesses to the tender mercies of the demons, they could not afford their corruption, not for a moment. A simple pulse of magic was all that was needed, and the coin began to gleam. The sun, once more, began to pulse...
***************************
Rainbow Dash and Cadance gently laid a firmly trussed up Luna next to her exhausted sister, and she cried out immediately, tensing as her magic and ethereal mane drained away, leaving her mane a simple dark blue, like any other pony's. A large seed pod had been stuffed in her mouth and tied in with silk, leaving her only the ability to growl and glare at her captors.
"Went a little overboard, girls?" Twilight teased, and Dash merely grinned, bowing her head.
"Maaaybe a little. But I think she likes it! Gotta remember that for-"
"NNNNNH!"
All eyes shot instantly to the princess' as they both tensed, eyes widening in horror. Light was beginning to gleam from their bodies, and the sun was pulsing again, it's rays bearing down directly on Celestia.
"No... not again," Celestia whispered, closing her eyes tightly, tears leaking past her lids.
As Luna frantically thrashed, enraged tears soaking her cheeks, Twilight cursed loudly, delving into the spellwork surrounding and building around the sisters. It didn't take her long to realize exactly what was going on. Someone was trying to send her prizes back to their celestial bodies. Rage- pure, concentrated hatred in fact- roared into place, and she bared her predator's teeth.
No! NO! No one else can have them!
With pure brute force and Power, the Archdevil snarled out loud as she frantically called up her exhaustive repertoire of usual spell-breaking magics. Spell-breaking is, usually, a complex art. Efficiency in a battle was the name of the game, finding the easiest way to sever the weakest of the magical links and unravel the spell so the breaker could move on to the next as quickly as possible. But for this, efficiency was the furthest thing from Twilight's mind. She wanted this spell obliterated. Screaming hoarsely as she entwined herself within the matrix of the spellwork, Twilight's magic ripped out in a burst of purple lightning, crackling between her horns like a storm engine. The spell was ancient and powerful, that was immediately evident. Each spell was rebuffed without a single layer of the matrix unraveling whatsoever.
Spitting to one side, nose beginning to bleed seconds later, Twilight began to work through her even more exhaustive list of pure counterspells, the "anti-magic" that had often saved her life in the depths of Tartarus. Purple beams and balls of light lanced up into the forming spell matrix and, for a moment, it looked as if the matrix was beginning to slow. But with a firm pulse, the array smashed aside the counterspells, and motes of light began to gather more and more around the sisters. Celestia looked sadly over at her writhing, raging sisters, giving a faint whimper, wishing she could calm her panic-stricken younger sister.
"Twilight! HURRY!" Cadance yelled out in a panic, wrapping her legs tightly around Luna as she attempted to calm her down, or at least keep her from smashing her head into the ground in her despair.
Twilight Sparkle, Archdevil of Power, was not a graceful loser. She never had been, and would never start to be. With a howl of rage and a powerful flap of her dragon-like wings, she launched herself into the air.
"It's no use, Twilight," Celestia whispered faintly, knowing well the pure strength behind that array, "Just... let us-"
Gathering her very essence about her body like a great purple hammer, Twilight slammed into the shining, forming array, blasting through the outer protective enchantments, and boring deep into the very matrix of the banishment ritual. Pain ripped through the link and her nerves, and an anguished cry ripped itself out of her core. Her very soul was in this magic, and it chafed at the power. But for a moment, the array did pause, a flicker passing through the ritual. Celestia stared up in dumbfounded silence, eyes wide.
With a crackle like a cannon, a magical backlash slammed into Twilight and her cloak of magic, flinging her back several feet before her wings could arrest her fall. With another snarl and frenzied shaking of her head, Twilight eyed the array in utter hatred.
"THEY ARE MINE!" she screeched, a burst of magic launching her head-first against the array once more, hooves digging deep into the magic.
The feedback shocks were horrific, lightning the color of purple and brightest white crackling around Twilight's horns and burning off sections of her fur. But still she fought on, hissing and screaming in defiance as she worked to destroy the spell that dared try to take her friends away.
*******************************
Radiant Bolt stared in disbelief as he watched the impossible. This devil, this archdevil of some kind, was defying the very laws of ancient magic, and was physically clawing her way past defensive spells. Defensive spells set in place that would disintegrate an ordinary mortal attempting the same insane feat. And she was getting far too close to the core of the matrix.
"Link your magic to me!" he roared back to his scrambling acolytes, "We have to stop her, NOW!"
Even as his acolytes entered the link he had long since trained them in, Radiant scrambled to enter himself into the spell, pouring all the magic he could into its power source. With a small roar, the spell began to fire up once more, the motes of light latching firmly to the Sisters on the ground below. The only chance he and his acolytes had now was to finish the ritual before that fucking devil could destroy work perfected by the Ancients themselves!
********************************
Celestia gritted her teeth tightly as the spell once more began to tug at the very fibers of her mortal body, eager to rip her apart and send her back to the waiting sun. It was a fate she could not imagine bearing again, and for her sister... Luna was practically catatonic now, tears flowing down her face. But now... She stared wide-eyed up at their only hope. An archdevil. Her former student. What kind of choice was it? To be locked away in a celestial body, alone, mentally scattered, emotionless? Or to be the playthings of a devil? But Twilight's screams... her power against the ritual... for captives?
"Why?" she whispered quietly, body trembling, "Why..."
********************************
Radiant realized too late his folly. The ritual was so close to fully activating again, just a few seconds more... But a few seconds was too late. He could feel her baleful gaze bearing down on them all. The archdevil knew exactly who, and where, her opponent was, the ones who wished to send her friends away. And she was going to have none of it.
Hellfire roared from her horns, but her hate-filled, hellish roar put even the screaming fire to shame. A massive wave of the green flame, ready to consume that entire section of Canterlot. Panicked, Radiant Bolt turned towards his guard and acolyte, only to witness them teleport away with a pop, the teleport array now useless. Radiant only had two seconds to recognize the irony before the hellfire swallowed him whole.
**********************************
It was so hard to keep her eyes open. For the first time in centuries, Twilight felt the pure agony of powering through exhaustion, and nearing the limits of one's magical ability. But she had come too far to give up now. This array was her's now. The Sisters were her's. There was no more interference to stop her power. Jamming her horns deep, Twilight can feel the swirling, wounded core of the matrix, billowing harmonic magic like a fan.
"Now, DIE!"
Fel magic roared into the core, destabilizing the ancient magical construct. For the briefest moment, green flames lit the insides of the magic- before it erupted with an almighty bang, throwing Twilight clear. Without a scream or any noise at all, she sailed through the fiery air, smashing apart a large brick wall near her friends, sending flaming bricks flying as she came to a rest on the concrete. Rainbow was at her side in an eye-blink, maroon eyes wide and filled with terrified tears.
"Twilight! M-mistress, speak to me!" she pleaded, avoiding the sizzling, smoking mess that were Twilight's horns as she helped the archdevil sit up carefully.
"My f-fucking head," she muttered, wincing as Cadance landed not seconds later, tears rolling down her cheeks as she scanned her.
"You're an idiot," she muttered, though there was a shaky smile plastered across her face, and she carefully cast a few healing spells, the burned and blackened skin across her body quickly turning a lightly purple once more, even the fur starting to grow back a little.
Chuckling weakly, Twilight gently kissed Rainbow Dash's forehead, reaching up to stroke her cheek with what strength she still had left.
"G-get... the princesses t-to the castle. S-separate rooms, l-let them rest," she ordered weakly, blushing faintly as Cadance gathered her up in her magic, "T-then finish the conquest. I-I want every stone overturned. Don't m-miss anywhere."
"Yes, mistress," Dash replied hoarsely, giving a small salute as Cadance teleported the two of them away.
Nodding quickly to the rest of their group, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, and Applejack carefully gathered the frozen, numb form of Celestia, and the limp, quivering body of Luna up, and made their way towards the castle, all of them utterly relieved, and renewed in their faith of their Archdevil of Power and friend.