A fleet of sturdy icebreaker ships docked at the Diamondian naval base were getting prepped for departure. On the upper deck of the fleet’s flagship, a Diamondian sailor happened to spot The Catgirl slowly approaching the base from the sea. Soon the bell alarms rang out all over the ship. Fully armored Diamondian guards scrambled with their weapons past the fleet’s commander to the upper deck.
“I say, what’s the emergency, commander?” Umbra was asking after getting alerted by the commotion.
“Stay put, Your Highness,” Rover warned the prince. “We’ve got intruders out at the base’s main gate.”
The Catgirl hovered in the air outside the base’s main gate. On the ground, wary Diamondian sailors and guards led by Commander Rover brought their weapons to bear upon Princess Luna and Godslayer Watterson.
Sub-Commander Spot brought his superior’s attention to the princess’ eyes.
“Yes,” the commander agreed. “Without a doubt it must be Nightmare Moon.”
He stepped forward past his guards, holding the bullhorn to his mouth. “You are standing in sovereign land! Stand down and state your business!”
Umbra brushed through the armed Diamondians towards the commander.
“Commander, please!” he tried to explain to the commander. “We all know of the tales. But I assure you, the Alicorn standing before us is anything but malevolent. She is none other than the Princess of the Night herself.”
The prince proceeded to introduce Lord Zachary Watterson to the Diamondians as his royal bodyguard.
“Prince Umbra of the Southern Kingdom, I presume?” Luna spoke.
“Indeed I am, Princess Luna,” Umbra said. “It is an honor to finally meet you.”
Both royalties bowed their heads at each other in respect.
“Feeling is mutual,” Luna said in a courteous manner. “And thank you, for explaining to them. How is your father, Your Highness?”
“He passed away during the time of your banishment,” Umbra solemnly informed her.
Hearing the death of an ally saddened Luna. “My apologies. I’m sorry to hear that.”
As Godslayer Watterson whispered to Prince Umbra’s ear to explain Princess Luna’s disability, Rover lowered his bullhorn but still refused to order his guards to stand down. After all, Princess of the Night or otherwise, an intruder is still an intruder.
“I’m not sure what’s going on here,” he said sternly. “But you have brought your airship into our territory without prior authorization. I’ll have you know that our king won’t be happy to hear this.”
Umbra turned away from his bodyguard to the princess. “Princess Luna?”
Luna nodded curtly at him and proceeded to address Rover. “Very well, commander. Get in touch with your king immediately.”
Against the full moon in the backdrop, Godslayer Dash and the pegasus royal guards flew over Galloping Gorge towards Cloudsdale, a city made on top of clouds filled with Greek-architectural styled buildings and rainbow-colored waterfalls. Tired from their trip from Diamondia, the city would serve as a resting stop before they continue their journey to Canterlot.
The same moon shined over the original royal palace that now stands abandoned and dilapidated. Much of it was destroyed during the last war. It is now a haunting reminder of the violence committed by the minotaur in the past.
Luna carefully stepped into the still-standing main entrance. To navigate herself through the unfamiliar surroundings, she felt the ground with her hooves every few steps. The main hallway, lined with torch wall-mounts shaped like pony legs and old versions of the royal guard’s suit of armor, remained surprisingly intact. Emitting from its end up ahead, was light, along with the unmistakable voice of the Princess of the Sunlight:
My little filly, don't get mad, let mama carry you to your bed.
My little filly, close your eyes, and let mama sing you a lullaby.
My little filly, don't you weep, just let mama lull you to sleep.
And when you wake up the next day, you'll still be the sweetest little filly to me…
In the throne room, battle damages from the past was still discernible despite snow covering most part of it. Aside from wall torches, the gaping hole in the ceiling, also helped brighten the room by allowing in the moonlight. The Equestrian coat of arms depicted on the chipped marble floor had mostly faded.
On the throne was Trollestia, staring lovingly at a picture of her mother. “Goodnight, Tia…. Goodnight, mama.”
The princess cuddled the picture as if it was a living thing and slipped. Shortly, she opened her eyes after sensing another presence alongside her. A part of the royal guards she had previously banished to the moon was gathering around the room.
“Oh, back already?” Trollestia said, apparently drowsy. “Good, good for you. Unfortunately, I’ve run out of bananas to reward you of your victory. So go away and play somewhere else.”
Trollestia got back to her sleep but immediately woke up again, shocked and frightened. Luna now stood among the guards, (seemingly) staring at her with eerie white eyes.
***
A filly unicorn walked along open path alone, her horn act as a lantern to illuminate the path ahead. The jagged tree shapes formed monstrous-like silhouettes in the pale moonlight, which terrified her. As much as she is frightened, the filly also felt mad at herself for easily being duped by Luna into coming out here, away from the comfort of the palace.
“Luna,” Celestia called, “where are you!?”
Luna’s voice echoed far ahead though the younger sister herself was nowhere to be seen. “Just follow my voice, Tia.”
“This isn’t funny!” young Celestia shouted, having a hard time fighting off her fear.
“A little further.”
“If this is part of your plan to get me go trick-or-treating, it won’t work! You know very much how I hate Nightmare Night!”
Young Celestia froze in her tracks. Whispering and giggling emitted around her. The voices are so inaudible that the young princess mistook it for sounds of spirits from the woods.
YOUNG LUNA: Guys, guys! Did you bring the costumes?
FOAL #1: Yeah.
YOUNG LUNA: Great! She’d made it this far. She’ll have to come trick-or-tricking with us this time.
FOAL #2: Can’t wait! Finally, we get to show her the joy of scaring ponies on Nightmare Night.
By the minutes, Celestia was getting more agitated. “Luna! I’m scared! Come on out!”
“I’m right here, Tia.”
The voice was coming from behind her. So she turned around. “Luna-”
Standing so close to her are Nightmare Moon, Ahuizotl, the Headless Horse and a vampire fruit bat-pony hybrid creature. Although in truth they are Luna and her friends in their costumes, to Celestia, they are very much real. Her terrified scream pierced thought the silent night.
***
While the Royal Sisters faced off each other in the throne room, Godslayer Watterson and Twinkleshine waited outside in the hallway.
“Lord Watterson, is this really going to work?” Twinkleshine asked.
“Let’s just hope Princess Luna knows what she’s doing,” Godslayer Watterson said.
Suddenly, a blinding flash emitted from the throne room followed immediately by a loud BOOM, jolting them both into panic.
“Princess Luna!” Twinkleshine gasped.
Godslayer Watterson held the unicorn back from doing anything foolish and told her to wait there where it is safe while he himself would go to check on the situation.
When he came into the throne room, Godslayer Watterson utterly was shocked to find all the guards incapacitated. “What the what!?”
Across the room, he saw Trollestia advancing on Luna, whom is the only the other pony still conscious but hurt on the floor. There was something different about the maniacal look on Trollestia. The hints were subtle but she looked cruel and more menacing than before.
“Haven’t you had enough of wounding me with your treachery!?” Trollestia hissed.
Luna was baffled by her elder sister’s delusions. “Sister, whatever do you mean?”
“How dare you refer me as such!” Trollestia bellowed, notably offended. “I shall end this charade right now!”
Crap, looks like I got no choice but to get involved. Godslayer Watterson took aim at her. “HEY!!!”
Trollestia looked away from Luna.
“You! So you’re in cahoots with her all along!” she accused. “I should’ve banished you when I had the chance!”
“Just stop whatever you trying to do, Trollestia!” Godslayer Watterson warned the deranged princess.
Trollestia surrounded herself with dark aura, and again with the glowing eyes with flowing purple mists.
“Or you’ll do what!?” she scoffed, unimpressed by the feline’s weapon aimed at her. “You really think a mere weakling like you can harm me!?”
Godslayer Watterson of course had no attention of fighting the Alicorn Princess, let alone kill her. His mind raced to figure another way. Remembering that Trollestia is also nyctophobia, he shot at the torch wall-mounts. One by one, the torches around the throne room extinguished.
Trollestia jumped as the throne room plunged into total darkness. She frantically cowered away to the moonlit area in the middle of the room.
“Insolent foals!” the princess yelled in anger. “I am Trollestia, the Undimmed Princess of the Sunlight! How can you expect the darkness to defeat me, when the mighty power of the solar orb is at my command!”
Under the concealment of darkness, Godslayer Watterson and Twinkleshine tried to help Princess Luna up. Suddenly, there was an intense heat quickly followed by blinding light. Luna, sensing the threat in advance, immediately cast a protective shield around the three of them.
Godslayer Watterson, Luna and Twinkleshine hurtled through the exploding wall then landed hard on the floor of the adjacent room.
The princess was the first to recover. “Lord Watterson? Twinkleshine?”
“We’re okay!” Godslayer Watterson declared, as he and Twinkleshine wincingly crawled out from under the rubble.
But after looking at Twinkleshine, the feline corrected himself, “One of us is okay!”
The unicorn was mildly bruised since she was not wearing any protection. If it were not for her great sense of loyalty to Princess Luna, she would have fled by now.
“My sister,” the troubled Luna said, “she’s not herself.”
“Is Princess Celestia possessed?” Twinkleshine asked.
Luna shook her head. “No. The Dark Magic in her is not sentient.”
“So anything we can do about it!?” Godslayer Watterson urgently asked.
“There is,” Luna said. “But I may require assistance from both of you.”
Small energy orbs acted like miniature suns to lit up the throne room. Trollestia’s mane glowed brightly and flowed upwards like burning fire. Appendage-like extensions jutted out from her dark aura. They stretched out further, twisting to be become tendrils that slither towards the crumbled wall.
Blue aura dissipated away from Twinkleshine once Luna was done with her spell.
The princess said to the unicorn, “There. You now have my memories. But you needn’t do anything yet. I’m going to negate the Dark Magic with an anti-magic barrier and will try reasoning with my sister. If something ever happens to me, if I don’t make it, you Twinkleshine, will have to take over.”
“And what about me? How can I be of help?” Godslayer Watterson was asking when he suddenly spotted the dark tendrils slithering through the wall after Princess Luna. “Oh crap! Princess, look out!”
Luna had sensed the dark aura, though she barely had the chance to react. The tendrils seized her then instantly sprang back to the throne room.
The tendrils brought the Princess of the Night before Trollestia.
“Sister, why?” Luna demanded.
Trollestia’s murderous eyes glared intently at her. “Do not allege you know nothing, impostor!”
Impostor? “No, it’s me. Luna-”
“NO, YOU ARE NOT!!!”
Luna winced in pain when the tendrils coiled around her began tightening their grips.
“You replaced Luna a long time ago!” Trollestia proclaimed. “I should’ve realized that the moment you tried to overthrow me! Poisoning the hearts and minds of everypony in Canterlot so that they would go against me, a devious plan indeed! How unfortunate, because I saw it coming. I’m the one who saved Equestria from falling apart into disarray. I united all the ponies in this country in the face of the Minotaur threat. There’s no way the citizens could love you the way they did. Without those traitors I banished away, your plan failed, Nightmare Moon.”
Luna at this point realized that somehow her sister had come to believe that she is Nightmare Moon in disguise.
“No, please don’t do this,” the younger sister begged under the bone-crushing force exerted by the tendrils. “Tia, I am Luna…your…”
“Lies,” Trollestia scoffed, ignoring her sister’s pleas, “to get me off my guard. You cannot trick nor scare me. Not anymore.”
She grinned menacingly at Luna, savoring every moment of life being squeezed out of the supposed supernatural entity.
The tendrils squeezed further and further. As Luna struggled for every ounce of breath, as she struggled to resist against the crush, it almost seemed that death is just around the corner, ready to claim the Princess of the Night. That is, until...
Trollestia frantically looked around for the source of the familiar voice humming the tune that she knows very well. “Mama?”
She did not see Twinkleshine. Instead, in the unicorn’s place was the ghostly outlines of her late mother.
***
Luna’s plan to get her sister into the spirits of trick-or-treating had failed. No matter what she did or said, she could not get Celestia out of her trauma. Ultimately, she had no choice but to cancel her plan of going out trick-or-treating with her friends and take Celestia back to the palace.
“My little filly, don't be scared, there’re no monsters under your bed.
“My little filly, please be strong, mama’s right beside you all night long.
“My little filly, go to sleep, mama promise you’ll have a pleasant dream.
“Cuz in both this world and in your dreams, mama loves you all the same.”
The song had managed to ease Celestia’s anxiousness.
“Mama, please stay,” she begged her mother.
Celeste mustered a reassuring smile and said, “A part of me is always with you, Tia.”
The queen conjured a small orb near the ceiling, it’s dim rays illuminated the small area around the young princess’ bed.
“See?” she reassured her daughter. “There’s nothing to be afraid of.”
The queen tucked the young princess in her bed. After Celestia slipped into a peaceful sleep, she turned to the gloomy Luna standing at the door.
“Luna, go to your room,” the queen instructed. “Your father and I will have a word with you later.”
“Yes, mother,” Luna complied and then left the room.
“Worst Nightmare Night ever,” she grumbled on the way to her room.
Luna stopped in her tracks when she glimpsed something outside the window. There standing outside the palace’s fence are the familiar figures of her friends. The foals were very concerned for their friend after the setback earlier. Once they saw Luna, they waved at her. Smiling, Luna waved back at them.
***
“After so long, you finally spoke to me…” Trollestia said in disbelief.
“I have to,” the queen said. “You’re hurting your sister.”
“Luna? No. No, mama.” Trollestia hoisted the squirming Luna for her mother to see. “That’s Nightmare Moon. She’s been impersonating as Luna over the years.”
“There was no Nightmare Moon from the beginning!” the queen scolded her. “Look carefully, Tia! You’re the one who did this to her! You took her eyesight!”
“I-I don’t recall…” Trollestia hesitated.
“Put Luna down, this instance!”
The queen’s sternness deeply agitated Trollestia, causing her to be more delusional. “I don’t believe this! It’s all a lie! She has to be! The real Luna, she would never hurt me, right? Or-or could it be that Luna did try to betray me-”
“Tia, nopony was betraying you,” Celeste pleaded. “Luna merely wanted you the see the world the way she did, because a lot of things have changed since the last war. Your loneliness, your envy, how you felt underappreciated after all that you’ve done, it has caused you to mistrust everypony around you.”
“That isn’t how I remembered it!” Trollestia persisted.
Not readily yet to abandon hope for Celestia, the queen said, “It’s the Dark Magic in you, Tia. You were tempted by the mirror. And you’ve been freely letting the amulet’s power cloud your judgement ever since. You have to fight it.”
The Alicorn Amulet, the Mirror of Temptation… It was all coming back to her now. There was a warning that Dark Magic could negatively affect the user. Celestia was aware but decided to ignore it. She thought she was strong enough to resist the Dark Magic’s influence on her.
“How?” she asked.
“Remember why you made the decision to ascend the throne in the first place,” Celeste replied.
“I…I…” Trollestia felt a throbbing in her head. “I can’t.”
“Please, try to remember,” the queen pleaded, “for my sake.”
Trollestia tried harder to recall the past, enduring the pained throbbing, looking past through fog of evil suggestions implanted in her mind by Dark Magic. At last, the first thing that came to her mind was the Oath of Allegiance, the oath that is compulsorily taken by every recruit before being committed into full service in the Equestrian Royal Guards. That very oath also reflects her pledge she made years ago when she founded Canterlot.
***
Both royal princesses have reached adult age. Thus the elder princess’ role as crown heir came to an end. The coronation ceremony, officiated by Twilight Velvet herself, was held to install Princess Celestia as the full-fledged monarch of Equestria.
There is also a twist to it. Princess Luna will also ascend the throne as Princess Celestia’s co-ruler, hence where the term ‘Royal Sisters’ originated. Although they will share political power, Luna is not her elder’s equal. She will still require consent for some of her actions from Celestia, the one who holds absolute power.
The crown bearer, Discord Sr. brought the crowns to Twilight Velvet. Scars from her battles against rebels, separatists and the minotaur invaders, was visible if looked closely through the exposed part of the captain’s armor. The Royal Sisters bowed their heads to receive their crowns from her.
After Twilight Velvet bestowed the last crown on Princess Luna, she tactfully whispered to the Royal Sisters, “Not just Canterlot, ponies all over this kingdom will look up to Your Royal Highnesses from now on. Rule wisely. Rule fairly. Please remember that.”
The Royal Sisters walked up the stairs to the throne, turned to face the crowd of Equestrian Royal Guards gathered in the throne chamber and began reciting their respective pledge.
“I, Celestia, the Undimmed Princess of the Sunlight and elder of the Royal Sisters, swear that I will faithfully perform the royal duties lay upon me and to my power shall oblige to fulfill the Pledge of the Royal Sisters.”
“I, Luna, Princess of the Night and second-born of the Royal Sisters, swear with that I will faithfully perform my duty as co-ruler and to my power shall assist the fulfillment of the Pledge of the Royal Sisters.”
Twilight Velvet ordered the guards present in the throne chamber to recite their Oath of Allegiance to the Royal Sisters.
“We swear by Faust Almighty that we will bear true allegiance to the Royal Sisters, their co-rulers, heirs and successors and that we will in our duty serve with honor in defending Equestria against all enemies so as to uphold for what the kingdom stands, one nation united, peaceful and prosperous.”
“All hail the Royal Sisters!” the captain proclaimed.
The princesses stood with pride as all of the present royal guards knelt in recognition of the Royal Sisters as the official rulers of Equestria.
***
“I did that for you and Papa,” Trollestia finally said. “to fulfill our family’s obligation, to our citizens. But in the end, I only cared for my own glory. I wanted to be their favorite, like when I was yours.”
She broke into remorse in realization of her mistake. At this point her eyes and mane reverted back to normal.
“I was the immature one, not Luna,” she confessed. “I let you down. I let everypony down…”
After the unresponsive Luna was lowered to the floor, Trollestia dropped down in anguish. The dark aura around her vanished in an instance.
“You’re right about me,” the anguished princess continued. “I kept finding excuses to justify my actions, that in the end even I was convinced that my own sister was Nightmare Moon…”
Seeing that she had gotten through Celestia, the queen said compassionately, “This is our fault as well. As a filly, you were very shy, so vulnerable, that we overprotected you instead of encouraging you to venture out into the world as we did with Luna. Open up to your sister, Tia. And let her be your guide.”
“She won’t,” Trollestia was doubtful, “not after what I did to her.”
Celeste stepped over to her daughter with a gentle look. “She will. All she needs is your trust.”
“Do you love us, Tia?” she then asked.
“O-of course I do!” the question had clearly disconcerted Trollestia.
“Then promise that you’ll forgive each other and take care of each other from now on,” the queen said pressingly, “like the very sisters that you should be.”
“Yes, Mama,” Trollestia promised without hesitation, “I will.”
Abruptly Trollestia felt jolts of pain throughout her insides. Her ear-piercing scream was one of pure agony. Yet there was nothing Celeste could do to help to ease the pain. Whatever was happening, she must let it to come to pass.
Godslayer Watterson witnessed Dark Magic leaving the Princess Celestia’s cringed body in the form of purple-black misty smoke. After it dissipated into nothingness, the princess passed out instantly. Over the course of the long conversation, he became worried whether Twinkleshine could pull it off. But now that ordeal was over, he can breathe a sigh with relief.
“Finally…” It was Princess Luna’s voice, revealing that she is still alive.
Godslayer Watterson and Twinkleshine both immediately attended to her.
“Princess Luna, I’m so relieved that you’re still alive!” Twinkleshine said with tearful joy.
“Barely,” Luna said weakly, “but I’ll come around.”
Godslayer Watterson was also relieved but at the same time expressed his concern for the unconscious Celestia.
“Trollestia is no more,” Luna explained to them. “Without a host to sustain its form, the Dark Magic was simply reduced into nothing. But right now she’s in a very weak state. Lord Watterson, please call in the others. Get them to attend to my sister.”
“Yes, Your Royal Highness!” and then he rushed off to carry out his orders.
“Twinkleshine?”
“Princess?”
“Well done.”
As Godslayer Watterson went to get help from the remaining guards outside the ruins, he contacted Godslayer Dash whom is currently in Cloudsdale.
“Dash, how’s the (audio) feed?”
“Good, thanks.”
The Catgirl flew over what remained of White Tail. Under the moonlight, crumbled structure cast eerie silhouettes and shadows around the vicinity. After passing over the ruined city, the cruiser ascended towards the moon.
Godslayer Watterson suddenly remembered. “Princess Luna, it just occurred to me that she hasn’t told us where she’d hidden the Elements of Harmony.”
Although hurt on the floor, the Princess of the Night fought the sheer pain from her injuries to call out to all the royal guards and ordered them to scour the ruins until all six gems are found.
“The Elements of Harmony,” Twinkleshine asked whilst tending to the princess’ injuries, “is it really going to help?”
“It is powerful,” Luna admitted, “though I’m uncertain of the true extent of its powers.”
“But you’ll be able to use it, right?” This was coming from Godslayer Watterson.
“It’s rather tricky,” Luna said uncertainly. “Through my studies of Start Swirl’s old journals, the Elements of Harmony are not mere weapons that can be simply be wielded. Originated from the legendary Tree of Harmony said to have once existed in Everfree Forest a millennium ago, it is said that each artifact is quasi-sentient.”
“Sentient?” Godslayer Watterson was surprised to hear this.
Previously he had thought the Elements of Harmony are just what they are- objects, with magic powers.
“Yes,” Luna explained. “Each of the Elements represents a subjective aspect of harmony. It chooses its bearers and can switch allegiance to whoever matches its character. Those whose character conflict or have evil intentions may have difficulty or even not able to use it at all.”
“But you have good intentions and your heart is pure,” Twinkleshine stated her confidence in Princess Luna.
“Thank you for your faith, Twinkleshine,” the princess said appreciatively. “But only time will tell if I possess the spark to wield its full potential.”
While Luna was being tended, the Equestrian Royal Guards vigilantly scoured every inch of the ruins for the Elements of the Harmony.
One guard had already found the first gem under the one of the thrones.
It was not long until the second gem was found hidden inside the torch wall-mounts in the hallways. The third gem followed soon after it was found inside an armor suit.
In one of the few still-intact bedrooms, an Earth pony guard slid herself under the old dusty mattress, searching before popping out again with the fourth gem in her mouth.
In a room that used to be an office, a unicorn guard removed the faded painting to reveal an unlocked safe behind it. The fifth gem was found inside it.
Five had been found, but the royal guards have difficulty in locating the last gem. They searched everywhere around the room yet so far nothing came out. There is still one place they have not look, one of them pointed out. They gazed up at a crystal chandelier loosely hanging from the ceiling.
A pegasus guard hovering by the chandelier nodded at his comrades. After they all backed away to a safe distance, the pegasus brought down the chandelier to the floor. The last gem was found among the shattered glassy remains of the chandelier.
Why all these artifacts were hidden in such manner by Trollestia, nopony knows for sure.
Celestia stared closely at her reflection in the cracked wall mirror. The princess had lost most of her strength after Dark Magic left her body. The cold mists from her breath faded her shattered reflection alternately. She felt mortified. For the princess now saw herself as the same as in the reflection- a broken soul, not a revered god she saw herself to be showed by the Mirror of Temptation.
Celestia turned her gaze the moment her younger sister arrived with Godslayer Watterson and Twinkleshine.
She recognized the pieces of the armor suit the latter two are carrying. “Isn’t that…”
“Yes,” Luna confirmed. “These were once worn by our late father and mother.”
“Luna, I’ve met Ma-” Celestia corrected herself. “Mother. Her spirit.”
Luna feinted a surprise look. “Oh?” I am so sorry, dear sister. I hope you’ll forgive me in the next life.
Godslayer Watterson and Twinkleshine glanced cryptically at each other. They will carry the truth to their graves.
“I really don’t know where to begin,” Celestia sighed. “There is so much to discuss about.”
“Yes,” Luna agreed. “But that will come later as we have a more pressing matter to attend to.”
Twinkleshine stepped forward and said, “Princess Luna, if I may I bring to Princess Celestia’s intention regarding your disability?”
“The magic I used was only meant to take,” Celestia stated and went on to say that she has no clue on how to restore neither her sister’s eyesight nor Twinkleshine’s tail.
“No matter,” Luna dismissed. “We shall press towards Canterlot nonetheless.”
Celestia regarded her younger sister skeptically. “But you are in no condition to fight.”
“As do you, sister,” Luna said. “Yet, look outside.”
Celestia peered out the broken window. Gathered outside the ruins are the royal guards, waiting to be led into battle.
Luna said to her, “They are the direct descendants of their forefather and mothers that had served us before, the same as Captain Discord. Their loyalty is unquestionable. They will fight with us. For us and for this kingdom. But in order for that to happen, you must also lead.”
Yet even with her sister’s support, Celestia remained uncertain after everything that she had done. Am I still worthy to lead? “I’ve wronged so many…”
“Put everything else behind you for the moment,” Luna firmly said. “This kingdom needs us. The war against Ragingheart’s invasion, we will fight it together.”
Celestia suddenly remembered her ‘mother’s’ words.
“Like the very sisters that we should be,” she said.
She was resolved to fight. They were together on the day of Canterlot is founded. Now, they will defend Canterlot together.
After all is said and done, Godslayer Watterson and Twinkleshine helped put the armor pieces on the Royal Sisters.
Currently outside of Equestria’s territorial waters, Diamondia’s fleet of icebreakers effortlessly sailed through the ice-covered waters.
Inside the flagship’s bridge, Commander Rover consulted the atlas Princes Umbra at his side. “We’ll land at Las Pegasus within the next hour, Your Highness.”
“What’s the strategy, Commander?” Umbra inquired.
The commander began explaining whilst gesturing appropriately on the map. “After the beachhead is established in Las Pegasus, our infantry will advance inland through San Palomino Desert under cover of darkness. We will divide into two strike teams. Each will strike the prison and the rock farm simultaneously. Once that is done, we shall join forces and liberate Appleloosa.”
***
The sun rose over Foal Mountains, casting its rays over the snowy landscape around Canterlot Plateau.
Sunset Shimmer felt the sun’s rays. “What the hay…?” That wasn’t my doing. Only one other pony could’ve done it.
Has Princess Celestia somehow regained sanity? If that is true, what will she do? Surrender in exchange for hostages’ lives? Or will she go in an all-out battle with Lyra?
Sunset Shimmer suddenly became nervous as all these questions lingered in her mind.
Away from cages southbound is where Ragingheart’s vast forces have assembled, their numbers stretched from Canterlot River in the eastern horizon up to Unicorn Range in the west.
Dalek Tanks circled over Canterlot on a scouting mission of the evacuated city. A second squadron of the winged tanks was already flying towards the suburban areas.
The Super Speedy Chaser 8000 across the bridge. Up in the sky, Lighting Dust and Gilda towed the royal chariot carrying Celestia-Nova. Once they arrived, Celestia-Nova and Discord, the latter has the chest containing the fake Elements of Harmony, met up with Ragingheart.
The hostages’ spirits lifted at the sight of ‘Princess Celestia’. Many expressed hope that they will be saved. Few discussed rumors they have heard after the Princess of the Sunlight’s disappearance from public view. Amidst all this, Sunset Shimmer has reservations about the princess' presence. She could make out that the changeling was not among the Reserves.
But if that pony is really Nova, she wondered, then who in Equestria raised the sun earlier?
Then to her great dismay, Sunset Shimmer spotted her friends disembarking from the Super Speedy Chaser 8000. Since when Gilda was part of the royal guards? And why the hay is Trixie, Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon even here!?
As part of the act, Celestia-Nova put on an excessively bold look.
“I take it you’re Ragingheart?” There was no hint of nervousness in ‘her’ voice.
Nor did Ragingheart. “I almost think you’d never show up, being a selfish pony such as you are.”
Nova-Celestia regarded the evil ‘Alicorn’ with contempt and said, “Speak for yourself, whoever you are under that ridiculous-looking armor. You conquered every city and town you encounter, enslaved innocent ponies, destroyed their homes, force feeding them with artificial meat. My misdeeds cannot possibly be worse than what you did.”
Diamond Tiara could not help but feel terribly nervous. Not only because she is positioned so close to danger, there was also the question whether Nova can keep up the act so Trixie’s rescue plan can go as planned.
“Is he doing all right?” she asked Trixie.
“So far so good.”
“You made me, remember!?” Ragingheart was enraged that even at such a disadvantage, the Princess of the Sunlight is still arrogant.
“And I’m prepared to face my mistakes,” Celestia-Nova calmly said so as not to give away the ruse. “As you can see, I’m now mentally sound after being institutionalized in Dr. Horse’s Asylum. Therefore, I am fully fit to partake in the proceeding of this negotiation.”
Good, Ragingheart thought cynically, I can’t see a better punishment other than torture your body and soul without you being in derangement.
“I, Celestia, the Undimmed Princess of the Sunlight, am now before you ready to surrender in exchange for their release. As a gesture of showing confidence, I also brought along the Elements of Harmony as you demanded.”
Discord revealed the chest’s content to Ragingheart at Celestia-Nova’s cue.
“Where are the rest of the royal guards?” the ‘Alicorn’ suddenly asked.
The princess’ lack of reaction confirmed it for her the reason for the royal guards’ absence. This correlates to the report from her scouts that no signs of deployment or defenses were spotted in and around Canterlot.
One less problem to deal with,she thought.
“Now, about their release...”
“I never said that I will let them go,” Ragingheart revealed her own ruse, which ‘shocked’ Celestia-Nova. “All I said was I will spare their lives.”
None of the Equestrians looked particularly surprised, not even Trixie. They all had seen this coming.
“The human Rainbow Dash was right,” Tirek whispered.
“Yup,” Flam agreed.
“No!” Celestia-Nova protested. “That’s not how it’s going to work, Ragingheart. I will agree to surrender only if-”
“You're in no position to make demands, Celestia!” Ragingheart cuts ‘her’ off. “My turf, my conditions!”
“Is that so!?” Celestia-Nova yelled in defiance. “You forget! I am the great and powerful Celestia! The undimmed Princess of the Sunlight! What could you possibly do to prevent me from decimating you and your guards right now!?”
“What if I say I can tell you of Twilight Sparkle’s current whereabouts?”
The question posed by the evil ‘Alicorn’ was definitely unexpected. Nova only knew that Twilight Sparkle was a former student of Princess Celestia and presumed dead when her home imploded in a freak accident.
“She’s dead,” Celestia-Nova said grimly.
“No,” Ragingheart insisted. “She’s alive. Have you not wondered why her body was never found? Not even signs of blood and flesh?”
Trixie did not like how the conversation between Ragingheart and the pretend princess is dragging on. She gave the signal. Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon got on the rear car. Lightning Dust and Gilda fluttered their wings, as though they are doing a pre-flight warm up. In the driver’s seat, Flim put on his goggles and secured his helmet.
Sunset Shimmer saw what was happening at the Super Speedy Chaser 8000.
What’re you up to, Trixie? she wondered
Lighting Dust and Gilda’s action served as a cue for Discord and Nova-Celestia to proceed with the plan. The latter stepped closer to Ragingheart.
“What you said are all lies,” Celestia-Nova said as ‘she’ moved around to divert Ragingheart’s attention away from Discord. “You think you can let my guard down by playing on my feelings, yes?”
The diversion allowed the captain to access the chest’s secret compartment.
“But I’ll tell you this,” Celestia-Nova continued. “I shan’t so gullible to fall to your tricks. Do you know why?”
“Just spit it out already,” Ragingheart demanded.
So Celestia-Nova spelled it out to her, slowly. “I…am…not…Princess Celestia.”
Ragingheart flinched. “What!?”
At this point, the smoke bomb tossed by Discord exploded on her visor. She staggered back, coughing hard from taking in the stinging smokescreen. With the evil ‘Alicorn’ distracted, Nova-Celestia and the captain fled.
“Buck you! BUCK YOU ALL!” she screamed from within the smoke screen.
Lighting Dust and Gilda launched themselves with the royal chariot into the air. The hostages screamed as Lighting Dust and Gilda carpeted the area around the cages with smoke bombs dropped from underneath the chariot. All the while the Mithra and White Bunneh guards targeted the fast flying chariot, Tirek and Flam, with protective masks on and armed with super-hot sauce pump-cannons, approached the cages through the smokescreen.
Once the smokescreen had cleared off, Ragingheart saw that ‘Celestia’ was now a distance way over the plain, alone.
“CELESTIA!!!” she yelled furiously.
Putting on a maniacal expression typical to the real Trollestia, Celestia-Nova feint a charging jump and shouted, “Yee-haw! Trollestia’s back in town!!! One simply does not surrender without a fight to the death! You better prepare yourself! For I, Trollestia, challenge you to an extremely high-intense game of Drop Ball- with the SUN!!!”
Enraged, Ragingheart charged forth at the hated ‘princess’.
At that very moment, Lightning Dust and Gilda dived down towards her. They released the chariot, letting it crash on top of Ragingheart. A huge fiery explosion followed, revealing that the chariot was rigged with explosives.
“Looks like you don’t have what it takes to handle the heat! Oooooooh!” Celestia-Nova shouted triumphantly.
But then to his dismay, Ragingheart, under the shielding of her wings, emerged from the fiery debris.
Oh Faust! There’s no stopping to this Alicorn-wannabe! Nova thought.
By the time Ragingheart’s frontline forces reached the cages, the Super Speedy Chaser 8000 was already gone. At least the hostages were still in the cages. Or so they had thought.
The liquefying remains of the guards were visible in the hot puddle of bubbling green mud around the cages. One of the constructs went to examine the cage. It found the lock melted by the same green muddy liquid they found in the snow. Sensing something is amiss, it peered into the cage. Inside, in the hostages’ place were pony mannequins, with wigs and winter coats on. The machine constructs have been duped by the Equestrians.
The constructs relayed the finding to Ragingheart. She fixated her gaze at the Super Speedy Chaser 8000 speeding towards the bridge. Through the side windows, the car appeared to be loaded with royal guards, which was not before.
“So if that’s how it’s going to be,” Ragingheart realized after she saw through the ruse. “KILL THEM ALL!!!”
At their leader’s command, the frontline’s Dalek Tanks gave chase.
Clearly the evil ‘Alicorn’ was no pushover in combat, Celestia-Nova had realized.
“Hey! Hey you, Alicorn-wannabe!” ‘she’ shouted in an attempt divert Ragingheart away from the Super Speedy Chaser 8000. “Look, I still got the Elements of Harmony!”
When Ragingheart saw the chest supposedly containing the Elements of Harmony in ‘Celestia’s’ possession, she drew out her blades.
Blueblood’s tracked Super Speedy Chaser 6000 sped towards the Super Speedy Chaser 8000. With a bazooka slung over his back and clad in full royal guards’ battle armor, he looked set for battle.
Sunset Shimmer through her window spotted the chancellor passed them in the opposite direction.
“Blueblood!?” she cried in shock. “Is he really going take them all on by himself?”
“Don’t worry!” Trixie shouted from her seat. “The captain said he’s a chaos god reincarnate! He’ll survive!”
Chaos god!? That did it for Sunset Shimmer. “Have you all gone INSANE!?”
The Dalek Tanks split into two groups. The main group continued to pursue the Super Speedy Chaser 8000. The other went to engage Blueblood.
On the rear car’s platform, Flam succeeded in taking out more than few of the tanks with his portable Gatling cannon.
As for Blueblood, he proved that the Super Speedy Chaser can in fact rival the Dalek Tanks in of terms of speed. Blueblood swerved his vehicle to avoid an incoming tank causing it collide head-on with the one chasing behind him. A third Dalek Tank continued the chase, shooting at the Super Speedy Chaser at the same time. Yet somehow defying all logic, Blueblood managed to dodge all the shots with his erratic driving.
Blueblood pushed the brake while yanking his steering wheel, in order to steer away from the upward slope ahead. It was too late however. His vehicle swerved down to a stop on the other side of the slope. A split second later, the Dalek Tank vaulted over his head, unwittingly using the slope like ramp then sped away. The tank veered off to make a U-turn when it became apparent that it had lost its target. By then, its rear got blasted by Blueblood’s bazooka, sending the tank tumbling over the snowy ground.
The sight of Blueblood making fools out of her strongest minions completely baffled Ragingheart, whose armor was smeared with pale bluish substance- changeling blood. “I just don’t know what-”
She held forth her blade then snapped, “THERE ARE MORE OF YOU AND HE’S JUST ONE STUPID BUCKING PONY!!! HOW HARD IS IT TO KILL JUST ONE PONY!!?”
In response of their leader’s fury, the rest of the constructs trudged past her to go after the unicorn.
The Super Speedy Chaser 8000 swerved hard left to avoid the pursuing tank’s firing. As this happening, Silver Spoon and Diamond Tiara held tightly on each other, screaming with the other terrified passengers when a nearby explosion rocked their car.
Lighting Dust and Gilda hovered near the cable bridge, facing towards the incoming the Supper Speedy Chaser 8000.
“Gilda, do you trust me?”
“I do!”
They began flying in a loop, one following another, faster and faster as they go. The Supper Speedy Chaser 8000 soon passed below them. Once the vehicle reached the bridge, the pair rapidly increased their speed. A mass of whirling air became visible. A tornado was forming.
Flam came in from the platform outside after exhausting his ammunitions. The rear car was shaking from the turbulent air around it.
“Heads down, everypony!” he warned the passengers after shutting the rear door. “This is gonna be one hay whirlwind of a ride!”
Sunset Shimmer glimpsed the tornado through her window.
Oh no, she thought. History is repeating itself.
But this time Lighting Dust was neither doing it to prove herself nor was she doing it alone. The unicorn was so worried whether Lighting Dust and Gilda will be able to pull it off and make it out alive after that, she started praying in her heart.
For a moment it was a tug of war between Lightning Dust-Gilda and the Dalek Tanks. The latter worked their engines hard in order to avoid getting sucked into the violent tornado. Yet in the end, the pair’s effort won over engine power. One after the other, the tanks spiraled helplessly upwards into the vortex.