Chapter 1: Loved Ones
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The two Princess Lunas fought as hard as they could to move against the forces pulling on them. They felt so close to their destination and yet so terribly far away. The human Luna could see her counterpart begin to fall back. She reached towards her only for her ghostly hand to phase through alicorn Luna's hoof.
"Come on! We're so close!" cried Luna the human. "We can't give up now."
"Maybe...maybe I deserve this," mumbled Luna the alicorn.
Human Luna's eyes widened. "No. Don't you go there."
"After all I did. Maybe I deserve this fate."
Human Luna felt a powerful emotion rise up within her. She couldn't tell exactly what it was. Anger? Sadness? Guilt? Determination? Annoyance? She wasn't sure. Almost acting upon a command beyond her own, she reached towards her pony duplicate with all her might and, to her shock, grabbed hold of one of her dangling hooves. She pulled her counterpart in close and stared straight into her eyes. "It's about time you stopped beating yourself up about all that. Focus on what's happening now and what you can do from now on. You're not in the past. You're in the present. Your sister and your nation need you, Luna. Don't give up. They haven't given up on you."
"How do you know? You haven't been in my world that long."
"Trust me. If the ponies of your Equestria are anything like the people of my Equestria, then you don't have to worry about being accepted and forgiven." Human Luna tightened her grip as she began pushing herself and her counterpart in the direction of their freedom. Her entire body began to glow with a bright mixture of silver and gold. "Hold on. You haven't seen your final night yet."
Canterlot Castle, Canterlot, Equestria, Gaia, Winter, 1002 C.E.
"Your majesty?" Celestia heard a familiar voice asked as she regained consciousness. Several parts of her body ached terribly and she could feel bandages wrapped all over her. As her vision cleared, she saw that she was lying on a towel in the middle of the destroyed hall that once kept the Elements of Harmony safe. Scorch marks lined the walls and the windows were completely shattered. Standing next to her was a pair of Cybermen. "Don't freak out, Princess. We're friends."
Celestia felt relaxed at the sound of Rainbow Dash's voice. "Right. The other Rainbow Dash and Applejack," she stated. She slowly began to sit up. Applejack placed a caring metallic hand up against her back.
"Careful now," Applejack said. "Ya took quite a beating from the looks of things."
"My sister," Celestia mumbled as she slowly stood up. "That monster...I need to find my sister. I need to see if she is truly..."
"Your majesty, it's best if you stay still for a little bit. Your injuries-"
Celestia's face contorted into a threatening glare. Her pupils flashed with fire for a second and her waving mane and tail froze in place. "Now is not the time to make me stay still. My injuries are of no concern to me right now. All that matters right is now that I find my sister. Do you understand?"
Applejack and Rainbow Dash glanced at each other before turning back to Celestia and nodding quickly. They had the feeling that if they made a wrong move then this Celestia would tear them to pieces like a mother bear protecting her cub.
Celestia gave a polite nod and a small smile before making her way towards the exit. Applejack and Rainbow Dash awkwardly followed close behind.
Celestia didn't know what to expect as she reached the room where she had last parted ways with her sister. A part of her wanted to hide away and never see what horrors potentially lay within. Most of her, however, knew that she had to see what had become of Luna and her human counterpart. She needed to see if Black Sun had truly destroyed her sister.
The doors to the next chamber opened with a loud groan. The strong scent of blood hit Celestia's nostrils like a brick wall. "Oh no," she breathed as she took a step through the threshold. "Please no."
The room was filled with smoke from the previous battle. A silver rapier could be seen lying on the ground a few feet away. Celestia was too weak to blow the smoke away with a spell. She could only walk blindly into the chamber and follow the terrifying smell of fresh blood. It didn't take long for one of her hooves to bump into something.
Celestia looked down. She could feel her hoof brushing against something dirty and cold. She tried her best to wave the smoke away. As the smoke cleared, the true horror came into view.
She wanted to scream. She wanted to fall down and sob like a banshee. But her legs would not let her fall. Her face would not let her cry. She had completely frozen in place. In front of her lay the mangled bodies of her little sister and her dimensional duplicate. Their heads were smashed together like they were unmatching pieces in a jigsaw puzzle. Cracks and cuts spread out from the spot where her sister's horn was driven into the other Luna's skull. A small pool of blood was starting to spread out from under their bodies.
Applejack and Rainbow Dash approached the scene and found themselves equally speechless. They couldn't find the right words to say or how to say them. Sorrow for Celestia? Shock at the horror? They couldn't decide what to act upon first.
Celestia slowly knelt down to the floor. Her entire body felt like it was made of pudding. She grabbed one of her sister's lifeless hooves and held it against her chest. Tears began rolling down her face. "I'm sorry, Luna," she choked. "I'm sorry that I was unable to save you." She began shaking her head. "It's not fair. You didn't deserve any of this. I should be the one that's dead. You've had such a sad life...and most of it was my doing. I was never angry with you for what happened all those centuries ago. I mourned for you...but I was never angry with you. I was angry at myself. For all I did to you. For all the pain I both intentionally and unintentionally plagued upon you. I-"
Rainbow Dash suddenly stepped forward and placed a hand on Celestia's shoulder. "You majesty, sorry to interrupt your speech and all that but...do you think we should step back?" she asked.
Celestia looked up and noticed that the heads of the two Lunas were now glowing bright blue. The puddle of blood was now spiraling back into the cuts and cracks like tiny tornados. Their eyes were open and glowing pure white. Their hair whipped back and forth like forces from beyond were pulling them. Celestia could only watch as the two bodies levitated into the air and were surrounded by a bright pulsating light. A sound similar to that of several large bells ringing permeated through the room. A shockwave suddenly spread out and pushed Celestia, Applejack, and Rainbow Dash back a foot or so.
"What in tarnation?!" gasped Applejack as the light faded away. The alicorn and the two Cybermen watched as the figures of Princess Luna the alicorn and Princess Luna the human descended back to the floor, landing perfectly on their feet.
The two Lunas opened their eyes and took in large, loud breaths before tumbling forward. "Luna?!" gasped Celestia as she ran towards her sister. Applejack and Rainbow Dash ran to the other Luna's aid.
Luna the alicorn looked up just in time to see her big sister sitting right in front of her, holding her face tightly in her forehooves. "Celestia?" Luna asked with a smile.
Celestia pulled Luna in for a big hug. Throughout the hug, she couldn't stop herself from presenting her confused delight with the whole situation. "You're alive! How?! Thank goodness! But how?! I thought I lost you! Don't do that again! HOW?!"
"Being very persistent not to die," replied the the human Luna as she carefully massaged the spot on her head which has previously been impaled by her counterpart's horn.
"It was mostly her," explained Luna the alicorn. "I...I was weak. I almost gave in and let go."
Human Luna shook her head. "Don't talk like that. I would have never been able to get us back without you."
"Your heads were literally jammed together," stated Rainbow Dash. "How the heck did you overcome that?!"
"Does it matter?" Celestia asked with a tearful smile. "They're back! That's all that matters!" Celestia then proceeded to tightly hug her little sister once again.
Human Luna turned to Applejack and Rainbow Dash. "I have my own theory on the matter but I'll save it for a better time. Right now, I need to know about what happened to Black Sun. What's the status with the Elements of Harmony?" she asked.
"I was able to fend off Black Sun for a short amount of time and the Doctor was able to obtain the Elements of Harmony. Where they are now...I don't know," Celestia replied.
Human Luna scratched her chin. "I see. Then I suggest we move out immediately."
"Where to?" asked alicorn Luna.
"Manehattan. It'll be better to be around the core of our troops." Human Luna approached a nearby window. "And from the looks of things, most of Canterlot has been cleared of all civilians." She walked over to her fallen rapier and picked it up. "We need to go. Now."
"There is a remaining jet bus we can use," Applejack informed.
Human Luna nodded. "That'll work just fine." She turned to the reunited sisters. "Come on. You can continue your reunion on the way to Manehattan."
Celestia and Luna stood up together and nodded simultaneously at human Luna. Applejack and Rainbow Dash headed off in the direction of the jet bus with Celestia and the two Lunas close behind.
Discord Laboratory, Beneath Rainbow Falls, Equestria, Gaia, Winter, 1002 C.E.
"YOUR DAUGHTER?!" several voices rang out in disbelief.
The Doctor didn't respond. He could only take in slow, deep breaths as he walked towards his daughter. Jenny lowered her gun before approaching her ponified father at a similar pace.
Father and daughter stopped a mere foot from each other. Their eyes locked onto each other and refused to look anywhere else. Wide smiles appeared on their faces and they broke out into a fit of giddy laughter. They then grabbed each other in a tight, loving hug.
"It's you!" the Doctor exclaimed with joy. He caressed one of his hooves against the side of her face and the resonance of their shared home universe coursed through his nerves. "It's really you!" They were still laughing when the hug ended. "But how?!"
Jenny punched one of the Doctor's shoulders, her smile never faltering. "You didn't wait long enough to see me regenerate, idiot!" she replied. She looked past the Doctor and locked eyes with Donna. "Donna!"
Donna rushed forward and hugged Jenny. "I can't believe it's really you!" Donna said.
"Well here I am. In the flesh," Jenny replied.
Suddenly, Jenny and Bright Eyes's ship vibrated slightly. "Blast through this thing already!" the angry voice of Discord Whooves echoed through the metal.
"I think we should save the hugs and the questions until after we've found a way to escape from Discord Whooves and his Cybermen," Matilda insisted.
"Quite right," the Doctor agreed as he turned between Matilda and Jenny. "Jenny, that ship of yours wouldn't happen to be able to drill through earth, would it?"
Jenny rolled her eyes. "A spaceship drilling through earth?" she asked in response. "Please, Dad. Why would you even consider me not equipping my ship with an ability like that?"
The Doctor's smile returned, bigger than ever. "That's my girl!"
"Everypony aboard!" Bright Eyes called as she raced back onto the ship with Clockwork following close behind.
"You don't have to tell me twice!" exclaimed Rainbow Dash as she flew onto the ship.
The large group of people and ponies wasted no time in boarding the ship, which surprisingly had enough room for all of them. Jenny raced to the controls and had the doors close and lock. The ship was still shaking from the attacks coming from Discord Whooves's soldiers as Jenny worked the controls.
"Everybody, hang onto something! This is gonna be bumpy!" Jenny informed as he pulled a nearby lever.
Everyone and everypony held on as a drill appeared on the front tip of the ship. It began spinning rapidly as the ship pushed forward. Jenny reached over and pressed a huge green button. A loud roar shook the cabin as the ship smashed upward into the earth surrounding the underground complex. The sounds of Discord Whooves's shouts and Cybermen blasts faded away as the Doctor Donna Jones raced towards the surface.
The TARDIS, Main Grounds, Rainbow Falls, Equestria, Gaia, Winter, 1002 C.E.
Flash leaned against the TARDIS console. It had been quite an amount of time since the Doctor, Twi, and the others had left on their rescue mission. Everyone else had remained deathly quiet for some time. Not even Spike, as worried as he was, was making any noises. Everything was caught in an uncomfortably still silence.
BOOM! Flash and the others jumped in place as the sound from outside reached their eardrums.
"What the heck was that?!" Spike asked.
"I'll check," said Flash before walking towards the doors.
"Flash, wait!" called Fluttershy.
Flash wasn't listening. He wasted no time in grabbing the TARDIS doors and pulling them open. He was met with a large cloud of dust and the outline of what appeared to be a spaceship protruding from the earth several yards away. Before he could react, the sound of the sonic screwdriver permeated the air. The air outside the TARDIS sparkled slightly and a gust of wind blew through the threshold.
Suddenly, Flash caught sight of a large group of outlines moving towards him. He was ready to close the doors but relaxed when he saw the Doctor and Twi come into view alongside many familiar faces and a few who Flash did not recognize.
"Inside, Flash!" Twi ordered as she pushed Flash back into the control room.
"Hurry! Inside! Inside!" ordered Twilight as she ran in.
"Did you get everything?!" Bright Eyes asked Jenny as she ran into the TARDIS next to Clockwork.
Jenny presented a black backpack to Bright Eyes and winked. "Everything important," she responded.
Pinkie Pie and Opal were the last to pass through the TARDIS doors. Opal hastily turned around and pulled the doors shut. "That's everypony!" Pinkie cried.
"And we're off!" the Doctor announced as he began working the controls.
"I don't think I've seen the console room this crowded before," Derpy stated as she examined everyone and everypony around her.
"Tell me about it," Donna agreed.
"Go to Manehattan, Doctor," Twi ordered with an intimidating, stern look on her face. "We'll be safe there."
The Doctor looked deep into Twi's eyes. He flinched as he noticed something spark deep within her pupils. "Just what I was thinking of," he said as he pulled the nearest lever.
Discord Laboratory, Beneath Rainbow Falls, Equestria, Gaia, Winter, 1002 C.E.
Discord Whooves sat calmly at the table. He slowly drank a glass of wine while dusting the dirt off his coat and clothes. Thalia was sitting on the other side of the table alongside Regina, Alberta, Renet, Pansy, and Flora.
"Are you alright, Mr. Whooves?" Thalia asked. "You seem very...calm."
"I am calm, Thalia," Discord Whooves replied. "What happened today was only a setback. We don't need to fear. Everything will fall into place, I assure you." He clapped his hooves and Pinkie Pie rushed into the dining hall. "Pinkie Pie, please take our girls to bed. We've all got a busy day tomorrow. It's Hearth's Warming, after all."
"Got it, Mr. Whooves!" Pinkie replied with a salute before beckoning Thalia and the others to follow.
Discord Whooves waited until everypony had left before taking his glass of wine and throwing it across the room. It shattered against the opposite wall. Discord Whooves smiled as he watched the splattered wine drip from the wall and down onto the floor. "Tomorrow, this Equestria will celebrate its final Hearth's Warming," he stated coldly. "Tomorrow, this will all come to an end!"