I came out of the rupture in the courtyard of the Everfree castle, with Celestia-unless she gets a Hive form, I will not call her Sekana-Crota, and Alak looking out onto the main streets, from which I heard yelling. I imagine from crazy or angry ponies, if not both.
Guys, I'm in the courtyard, I said over the link.
Copy, we're on our way. Luna and Lone, too. Wanted to help if this turned to bloodshed, Rhino said.
Right. Just. . .don't over react. I then cut off the link, and made my way to where the three Hive royals stood. Though I was also getting ready to run. I'm not stupid. "So, if I may ask, how bad does it look?" I asked.
Crota regarded me with a glare, as did Alak, while it was Celestia who replied, first with a sigh. "It seems more of our subjects fit that description of those few from earlier than both of us thought," she said.
"Perhaps it is because this mote murdered your subjects, sister," Alak said, his voice-which was that calm, soothing baritone one would think was part of a prince archetype-even.
"No, I made sure word didn't leak of that," Celestia said. " And he killed them to defend my, and by extension, your sister.It must be the morons."
"Care to specify which? I ask. "Because I'm sure all of those ponies are morons currently."
"A cult I've only heard whispers of," Celestia said. Also, hello cliche, just how overused are you, exactly? "The guards haven't encountered them very much, but I know that worship me as if I was the creator, and think any other alicorn is a demon."
"Then they're gonna hate it when Cybis, Rhino, and I fuse," I muttered.
"Sister, just what are those demons standing next to you?" Palm, meet face. And I thought the first appearance of season two Luna was tactless.
"And here we go," I muttered.
"Yeah, um, I'll handle this," I said before turning back and seeing Luna, Lone, Cybis, and Rhino walking up, with Luna looking at Crota and Alak, backs turned but heads turned to look at her, suspicion in her eyes.
"Josh, can you explain what the hell is going on?" Cybis asked.
"Short version is that Oryx is helping us protect Luna because we're helping Celestia protect her, and had Crota and Alak come with her to help for now," I said. "Also, Taken swords," I added before bringing the three swords out from behind my cloak, and holding two out to Cybis and Rhino.
"So, I'm guessing those two," Lone said, gesturing to Crota and Alak, "are the two you mentioned?"
"Yeah," I said as Rhino and Cybis took the swords, though they did so cautiously. "Also, just so you know, Luna, Oryx is Celestia's father, and Crota and Alak are her brothers on that side of the family. Also, in a twist of fate, Luna, you're actually a being of the Light, as Rhino, Cybis, and I were to begin with, and Celestia's side are of Darkness."
"That makes this entire situation somewhat ironic," Lone muttered.
"Yep," Rhino said as he examined the sword. "So, what's the plan, Josh?"
"If possible, avoid killing them," I said. "Make 'em flee or knock them out."
Lone scoffed. "If any of them are from that cult, they won't give up. They'll need to be killed."
"And we'll be able to tell them from normal ponies how?" Cybis asked.
"Probably a lot of sun related stuff, including yellow robes," Lone said. "I don't know, to be honest. I just know we have a fight on our hooves."
"And the other guards?" I asked.
"I sent them home," Luna replied. "No need for their blood to be split if it can be avoided."
I was about to reply before there was a loud roar, and Lone paled. "Oh, buck," he said before we made our way to the wall, only to see a few Ursa Minors, though they all had some kind of sun shaped mark on their forehead, not that starburst mark, along with yellow colored Timber wolves. "They were able to tame the bears and wolves."
"Yeah, we can see that," Cybis said. "I'd like to know how."
"That does not matter now," Celestia said as she and her brothers walked up beside us. "If the cult has tamed the Ursas, they do not wish for any in this castle to survive."
"Any way to kill them?" Cybis asked. "We only knocked one out before. Well, for our personal time line anyway."
"I've heard concentrated blasts of light can do that," Luna said. "But if what Josh said is true, Celestia, it won't work."
"Then we can only flee," Celestia said as me and my Guardian allies looked at one another.
Want to try something else crazy? Rhino asked.
You know it, Cybis and I replied. "You all may want to step back," I said out loud as we created shade orbs. There was one difference, though, and that was that, as they formed, the three of us expelled the Darkness energies in them before combining them, which, per usual, resulted in a flash of light.
When it faded, I stood there in my usual fuse armor, only now it was pure white with some gray accents, and it seemed to pulse with energy. "Can't believe that worked," I said, looking at my arms. Another roar brought my gaze up at the five bears that were approaching. "Let's just hope it's got some abilities."
With that, I stepped off the castle wall, and fell down to the ground, using glide to soften my fall as I neared the hard ground. Upon landing, I was met with twenty ponies-five earth, ten unicorn, five pegasai-wearing yellow robes, and each holding swords at me. Calmly, I simply waved my hand, and the weapons vanished in a small flash of purple, red, and blue, and the eyes of the idiots turned pure white before they fell to the ground, not moving and with smiles on their faces. "Insignificant," I said, my voice a perfect mix of my separate personalities individual voices and regal sounding. Ten more ponies, all earth ponies, charged me with spears. Just before they reached me, I blinked past them, and they fell to the ground, out cold but alive, my stride unbroken. From there, most of the ponies avoided me, the few that tried to attack me being sent into unconsciousness.
Eventually, I stopped in front of the wolves and astral bears, one of who roared at me. When it was I done, I simply looked at it. "Is that is?" I asked. "I have faced gods and a major without being at the power level I am now," I said as I charged a blast of Light in my palm. "And I was still quite strong then." With that, I turned my palm to face the bear, releasing a large beam of Light that disintegrated the beast and, far as i could tell, put the others all to sleep.
As the last of the energy left me, I fell to my knees and felt myself being split into three once more, the two organics of us panting, while Rhino did whatever the Exo equivalent is. "Didn't see that one coming," Cybis said.
"Agreed," I said before looking at the ponies crowding around us. "Really wish it hadn't given out when we needed it, though."
"You and me both," Rhino said as we tried to get back up, only to stumble back to our knees.
"Kill the shadow lovers," a pony said, clearly demonstrating the collective I.Q. of a cinder block in this mob.
"But sir, only something that was a being of pure light could have destroyed an Ursa," one pony said. Huh. So not all of them are stupid.
"Then you can die with the rest of the night lovers. Throw him in." Morons. I swear, this is why I hate absolute, word for word religious zealots. Not religious people in general, just the idiots who think the world will end just because gay marriage is legal. Yeah, I'll believe that when the lazy guy actually does something personally without relying on angels and prophets, and he actually shows it was him. Also known as not at all.
Anyway, there was a small struggle before a unicorn stallion with a gray coat and black mane and tail was thrown next to us. "Kill them. Then find the heretics family, and do the same."
"No!" the unicorn yelled. "You said they wouldn't get involved in this!"
"That was befor-" he was quickly cut off by a lance of yellow magic through his head, creating a hole the size of a dime in his forehead, and he fell to the ground, dead.
"If the rest of thee wish to live," Luna said as she, Celestia, Alak, and Crota walked up from the back of the group. "Flee. Now."
"This isn't the last time, night whorse," the presumed leader said before there was a flash of light, and, when it passed, they were all gone, leaving just the royals, Hive and Pony, the unicorn stallion, and us. But there was also a faint whispering in the winds. "And next time, nothing will save you."