//------------------------------// // Final Performance // Story: Champion of the Sun // by Onomonopia //------------------------------// Harp Note snapped her head to the side to barely avoid a metallic fist, one that obliterated the air where the teens head had been a moment before. She leapt back and raked her fingers across the guitar, unleashing wave after wave of musical notes upon the Maestro, but with no concern whatsoever he turned towards Harp Note and simply tanked her attacks. "I would ask you why would you bother fighting me, when you know for certain that you cannot best me, but it clear that your emotions have overridden your intelligence," Maestro told her before he vanished in a flicker of magic. Harp Note blinked and looked around until a blow to the back of her head sent her tumbling into the ground. She cried out with pain as Maestro landed next to her, picking her up by the back of her head. His hand flashed with shattered magic and Harp Note was sent hurtling across the canyon. "So I will simply end you, unless you can prove to me that your emotions are enough to best me," Maestro told her as he teleported in front of her, slamming a metal limb into her back and stopping her dead in her tracks. She let out a weak cough before Maestro blasted her with another shot of shattered magic, returning her to the dirt once more. "Sonia..." Geo weakly stammered out as he tried to push himself back up, but his arms gave out and he collapsed to the ground once more. Harp Note was going through the same issue, as she could barely find the strength to get back up. But when she glanced over at the fallen Geo, along with Celestia and Mega, she gritted her teeth and shakily pushed herself back up to her feet. "Sonia..." Lyra began. "Don't talk me out of it. I'm going to keep fighting," Harp Note spat as she turned towards the Maestro, only to take a metal fist to the head that struck her with such force that her head was snapped to the side. She crashed into the ground, but a moment later she began to push herself up once more. Blood poured from the side of her head where the fist had struck her and her helmet was shattered, but when she turned to face the Maestro he found that there was still defiance in her eyes. "How interesting. You resolve is stronger than I could have believed possible," Maestro stated before he swung another fist at Harp Note, but this time she ducked out of the way and slammed her guitar into the side of his head. Maestro didn't budge from the attack, so Harp Note struck her strings and caused a blast of sound to rip into the Maestro. Neither attack phased the Maestro in the slightest and simply lashed out with his foot, catching Harp Note in the leg and shattered her bone. Harp Note cried out in pain as she collapsed to the ground, holding her leg with tears pouring from her eyes. Maestro pointed his hand at her and unleashed a torrent of shattered magic into her. Her friends screamed out for her, but their voices couldn't be heard over the sound of the magic ripping her apart. It was only after the Maestro could not longer hear her scream that he stopped firing and looked down to see that Harp Note had been reduced to a smoking body that lay motionless on the ground. "And with her out of the way," Maestro began as he turned towards Geo, who was staring at the motionless Harp Note with tears welling up in his eyes. Maestro pointed his hand at Geo and charged up his shattered magic. "I believe I have put this off long enough. At least I get to see the look you are currently wearing upon your face. It is a small consol-" Maestro stopped talking and looked down at his foot, where a pink hand had grabbed hold of his ankle. He looked even further to see that Harp Note had grabbed hold of him, despite the face that he was certain that he had killed her. She was hardly breathing and her eyes were slightly glazed over, but her grip was nearly as strong as the metal that made up the Maestro's body. "You...won't...hurt him," she spat out in a near whisper. "You resolve seems to be unmatched," Maestro said as he spun and grabbed Harp Note by the throat, hoisting her up before looking over at Geo. "But your body cannot match your spirit. That is fine. All this means is that Geo gets to watch once more as his precious Sonia is killed before him. I am almost tempted to let him live, just to see how he would react." "Don't you dare!" Geo roared as he tried to get up once more, but his body refused to move. "Mega," Celestia whispered softly to Omega-Xis, who actual was managing to move, before she flashed a glance to Princess Luna. "I need you to knock me out." "What? How could that possibly-?" "Harp Note is about to die. Do it!" Maestro glanced over just in time to see Mega slam a fist into Celestia's face and cause the princess of the sun to fall over. Even the Maestro had nothing to say at the sight, so instead he began to tighten his fist around Harp Note's throat. "MAESTRO!" Maestro turned and received a blast of lunar magic to his face for his efforts, causing him to roar as he staggered back once more. Harp Note vanished from his hand in a flash of lunar magic, appearing next to Princess Luna who was standing next to her sister. "And now you're free as well," Maestro snarled before he glared at the others trapped within their spheres. "Any of you want to escape as well? How did you manage to escape, Princess. I know for certain that your magic cannot free you from my power." "Because while you can seal my magic, you cannot seal my abilities, such as my power to jump into the dreams of others," Princess Luna spat as she moved her head back to her sister, who was only starting to wake up. "And when I am in another's dream, I chose where I-" "You know what? I do not care," Maestro said as he appeared before Luna, slamming a fist into her throat and driving her into the ground. He aimed at her head, but his aim was shifted when a blast of music struck him in the side of the arm. He turned around in time to see guitar strings wrap around him, though with a flex of his body he was freed a moment later. "And now you've gone from resilient to simply annoying," Maestro said as he grabbed Harp Note by the face and slammed her into the ground, before twirling around to catch Luna out of the air. He lifted her with one hand before driving multiple shots into the gut with his other, before hurling her into Harp Note. Both the princess and the singer cried out in pain as the tumbled across the ground. Maestro spun and fired a shot towards Geo, but in a flash of pink Harp Note placed herself between Geo and the Maestro, taking the shot herself. "Do you not go down?" Maestro asked in a tone that was more annoyed than confused. Harp Note weakly began to push herself up once more, giving Geo a small smile before she rose to her feet. She shakily turned around to face Maestro, trying to lift her guitar to attack. Her strength left her hands and she dropped her guitar, only able to support herself. Maestro tried to kill Harp Note with another blast of shattered magic, but his hand was yanked to the side by lunar magic. He snarled as he turned to see that Luna was standing once more, a smirk on her tired face. "Again and again you continue to interfere, even when you know you cannot win," Maestro snarled as he flashed over to Luna, grabbing her and trying to plunge his hand into her heart. Harp Note threw herself over Maestro's arm and yanked it down slightly. He turned his gaze to her before hurling the princess into Harp, sending them both crashing into the ground. "Why are you so damn persistent?" "Because...we're both trying to do the same thing," Princess Luna said as she stood up once more, supporting Harp Note in the process. "You're trying to hurt somepony we love. And as long as you're trying to do that, we will resist you with all of our might. No matter what you do to us." "And all the broken bones, all the agonizing burns, all of the pain...is nothing compared to the agony of losing someone you love," Harp Note said in a near whisper, taking up her guitar once more. "So it doesn't matter what you do to us, how badly you hurt us. As long as you're trying to hurt them, we'll fight you." "Fine. You can both die!" Maestro roared as he pointed both of his hands at Harp and Luna, both of who were struggling to stand from their injuries. The ground shook beneath the power of his magic, which sucked all the color out of the air. But even in the face of such devastating power, Harp Note turned around to face Geo just as Luna looked at her sister. "Don't worry," they both said at the same time. "I'll protect you." Maestro roared as he fired his magic, unleashing a kamehameha style beam towards the both of them. The blast enveloped both Luna and Sonia, consuming both of them with its magic. Geo and Celestia both cried out as the two were consumed by the blast...before everything went dark. The sun in the sky went black, any source of light was snuffed out and the only sound that could be heard in the blackness was the sound of the Maestro moving. "What is going on?" he asked as he began to look around, only to spin around as a spotlight as pure as moonlight shone on a single figure behind him. "No...not again." The figure wore an outfit that was pure and dark blue as the most beautiful of nights, while her arms and legs were covered in an armor that shone like the stars. On her head was a midnight blue helmet with a unicorn horn in the center, with two crescent moons on either side of her helmet. A scarf the color of the cosmos was wrapped around her neck and a single, blue wing extended from her back. She held a guitar in her hands, a guitar whose base looked like a crescent moon while the neck of it mirrored the image of the stars. But both Celestia and Geo both looked at her face, looking at her hair that matched the color of Luna's mane while her visor was a pure as the celestial satellite itself. Then she opened her eyes, eyes that shone with the power of the stars. "So this is what it feels to have the power of the heavens?" she asked as she looked down at herself, before she twirled the guitar in her hands and rested it upon her shoulders. She then smirked at the Maestro, who was seething with rage. "Time for the final performance. Lunar Diva: taking the stage." Maestro flicked and appeared next to the Lunar Diva, roaring as he hurled a fist at the singer. But instead of striking her his fist vanished into a vortex that appeared next to her. He snarled as he yanked his fist back, but before he could the vortex closed and severed the lower part of his arm clean from his body. He leapt back while glancing down at his arm, but when he thought he was safe Harp Note glanced in his direction and a moment later Maestro found he was standing next to her once more. "What power is this?!" Maestro roared as he unleashed a torrent of shattered magic at the Lunar Diva with his remaining hand, yet she extended her hand to intercept the magic. When the magic struck her arm it swirled around her limb before she transformed it into lunar energy, which she then absorbed into her guitar. "And she can absorb my power as well? How can this be?" Harp Note didn't answer, but instead began to play her guitar. She slashed her fingers across her guitar and called down rays of lunar power that decimated where the Maestro was standing. He roared as his form began to fade under the power of the moon, forcing him to teleport out of the rays. "This next piece goes out to a pair of special someones in the audience that's always been there for us," the Lunar Diva said in a voice that was both Sonia and Luna, before she began to play her guitar with all of her skill. The Maestro looked around him to find thousands of beams of moonlight began to rain down on him, forcing him to move in rapid succession to avoid being struck. Then the Lunar Diva kicked her skills up to eleven and began to play her guitar so fast that fire lanced from her fingers. The rays of light moved as fast as she played and even with his power and speed the Maestro found himself being slowly ripped apart by her power. Roaring with a fury that shook the ground he hurled himself towards her, covering himself in his shattered magic to protect himself from her onslaught. He weaved through her blasts and managed to reach the diva, reaching out towards her with all of his power in his hand. But the moment he entered into the spotlight that shone around her, he found himself stuck in place, unable to move. "What is happening?" he asked as Harp Note stopped playing, smiling at the Maestro with a dark expression. "Sorry sir, but please remain motionless during the performance. And no touching the star," the Lunar Diva said as she walked out of the spotlight, leaving the Maestro trapped there. She then began to play a piece, a piece that caused the light within the sphere to increase in intensity. The Maestro tried to teleport or flicker his form, but under the spotlight he found himself unable to so much as twitch. All he could do was listen as the song Harp Note played got faster and faster and faster...until she stopped all at once and exhaled. "Lunar Symphony," Harp Note said as she plucked one last string, causing the spotlight to fade away. But as the light faded away, so did everything within the light. that included the Maestro, who faded away with the light until there was nothing left of him. The lights of the world came back on the moment she finished playing, leaving the Lunar Diva to sigh as she stared up at the sky. She then turned towards her trapped friends and strummed her crescent guitar, freeing all of them with moonlight. In a moment she was beside Geo, smiling down at him as she rested a hand on him. "Don't worry," she told him as the moonlight healed his injuries. "You're safe now." Once he was healed Geo stood up, glancing down at himself with surprise before turning his gaze to the Diva, nothing but relief and amazement in his eyes. "Like I told you Geo, I wouldn't let him-" Harp Note was cut off when Geo tackled her, pulling her into a tight hug. His body shook as he held her tight, doing everything in his power to keep from crying. Harp Note smiled at him before she wrapped her arms around him as well, returning the hug. "I thought I was going to lose you," he whispered in fear, never noticing that Luna and Harp Note separated, leaving him hugging just Sonia. She glanced over to see everyone looking at them with smiles on their faces, except for both Luna's. The pony was checking on her sister while the other was wiping tears out of her eyes. Sonia then closed her eyes and rested her head against Geo, pulling him tighter. "It's like I promised you, Geo. I'll always be there for you. That's what partners are for."