“Remember, we must maintain the moral high ground.” Princess Celestia stood above her army, prepared to charge into battle against King Sombra’s hypnotized troops. “No swords, no truly violent actions. Your job is to delay them, hold them back by any means. Remember that the ponies beneath the helmets have no control of their actions, and you must do all you can to ensure that no more lives are lost.”
Her troops responded with a unison “Yes, Ma’am!” and a salute. Celestia turned towards the battlefield and threw her hoof into the air, signalling them to charge. She watched from the hill upon which she stood as the carefully organized battalions ran and flew confidently toward the fight. Their job was clear; hers was harder.
She prepared to fly, stretching her already spread wings to their full length, but still she hesitated.
“Raven,” she said softly, turning to her faithful assistant--secretary, seneschal, friend, and confidante--allowing some of her worry to slip through the determined mask she now wore by default. “You know what my task today is. It has been a moon since Cadence and Shining Armor went in, and now it is my turn--I have no choice left but a direct attack. If… if I do not return, I trust you to try and organize Equestria’s government. If King Sombra remains alive after I find him, and I am defeated, do everything you can to ensure the safety of my little ponies.”
“Of course, Princess.” Raven responded with equal softness, and leaned her head into Celestia’s shoulder for what could be the last time. Celestia could hear the roughness in her voice, indicating that she was holding back tears, even though Raven’s war mask was almost more practiced than her own. Celestia bent down into a hug, even though her peytral pressed painfully into the still-raw scar on her chest that Nightmare Moon had left. She held the hug for a few long moments, before letting go and turning to fly into the smoky dawn.
Already, she could smell blood. Somepony had been hurt. Distracted, she landed, thoughts of the injured pony occupying her mind. Almost immediately, she was charged by four helmeted ponies. Reacting on instinct, she snapped back into the moment and pushed them away with a small magical pulse. Her mind raced--four ponies--they didn’t attack single targets in groups, unless Sombra was controlling them directly. That meant that he had seen her. She launched back into the air, soaring straight for the forest of black crystals.
He stood atop a pillar of fresh stone, laughing as he stared straight into Celestia’s eyes. She sped directly towards him, reaching out with her magic to find some way to trap the evil unicorn. He blocked her spells continually, but made no move to escape. In less than a second, she zipped to where he stood, forming a sword of pure sunlight.
In the moment it took Celestia to complete the simple action and reach the stone, Sombra had gone. She flew upwards, trying to see where he might have gone, and after a few panic-filled heartbeats she spotted him a little further away, atop another pillar. She teleported to him, only to find that he had vanished again. She knew what he was trying to do; he knew she’d come to him, so he was attempting to lure her into some sort of trap. She followed anyway, as the further he got from her ponies, the less danger they were in and the more likely it was that she could face him one-on-one.
The chase continued for some time, but eventually it came to an end. Celestia landed across from Sombra in a ring of jagged, dark crystal. Her heart was racing as she stepped forward to face him, preparing to fight.
“This is the end, Sombra.” She raised her sword and took a battle stance, casting as many protective spells as she could remember.
“But is it my end? You never know how these things will turn out,” he responded. “We will both fight to our fullest, but who will be the victor? Maybe Fate has decided that darkness will conquer light this time, to balance light’s most recent victory.”
“If you are no more than a revenge plan, it would be fitting.” Spite dripped from Celestia’s voice, as venom she hadn’t known existed rose within her. “You will never truly embody the darkness. All you know is the crudest guise of evil, with jagged rocks and a dusty, dark color scheme. At least Nightmare Moon had taste.”
“And yet your sister fell, as will you. What will happen to Equestria once you are gone?”
“Hopefully, it will be safe--if I must die here, I’ll not go alone!”
Celestia charged. The battle began.