Ponyville DxD

by Naughty_Ranko

Life 4: Dragons of the Crimson Night - Part 3

Part 3

“Your sister has an alarming tendency to throw away her pieces, Celly,” Sirzechs points out, after we've watched the latest engagement on the monitors.

“Perhaps,” I admit. “But it was a good gamble. Both Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy had their strongest moves sealed. Had their trick worked as intended, they would have taken out three of Rias' pieces.” What he doesn't know is that they came up with it as a last resort themselves. Luna even came to me and begged me to talk them out of it. She was really upset about the prospect. Eventually she saw that it was the best strategy, but she still didn't like it.

Discord nods. “As it stands, she exchanged a [Bishop] and a [Knight] for the same, though. Issei promoted to [Rook], but was injured in the process. Neither side seems to have gained or lost anything. What do you think, Azazel?” He seems pretty calm and observant. Strange that he's not gloating.

The Governor of the Fallen Angels simply has his mouth hanging open, mumbling the words “ponies of mass destruction” over and over again. I suppose there's no point in rubbing it in. After a while he sighs. “I may have underestimated her.”

“Who?” Sirzechs asks.

“Xenovia. I didn't think she was ready to handle that insane sword of hers. But her natural skill seems to allow her to manipulate its aura freely. That's how she saved Issei. I'll have to keep that in mind for the next Rating Game,” he explains, thoughtfully stroking his chin.

“Looks like your student took some flying lessons, Celestia,” Michael suddenly comments.

My attention turns back towards the monitors. Twilight and Akeno have been fighting across Ponyville's rooftops for the past several minutes. Twilight is channeling some of her alicorn magic into her wings. Good, that'll hopefully prevent her power from going critical again. She's made a lot of progress over the last week, but her new magic is still unstable. Unleashing it all at once wouldn't do her any good. Even then, it probably wouldn't be enough to take out the Lightning Priestess in one hit.

Crack!

After passing the windmill, Akeno strikes one of the blades with her lightning, but Twilight dives underneath the falling debris.

“Hmph,” Azazel grumbles. “Stubborn girl. If only you'd be using that.”

I can only assume that refers to the powers she inherited from Barakiel. But even without it, she's still a formidable opponent. “Don't let her catch you on ground level, Twilight,” I say tensely.

It's a pity she can't hear me, as Akeno encircles her in a ring of fire while she's landed near the library. Twilight looks to escape into the air again, but the circle becomes a dome, trapping her, and Akeno doesn't hesitate to pelt her with lightning bolts.

I can feel Discord's paw on my shoulder. “Don't worry. She can handle this much,” he whispers.

Yeah, I know. But I'm still tense. Twilight puts up a magic barrier, much like her brother's, only smaller. When the lightning hits it, it gets redirected to the ground. She's figured out a way to deflect her opponent's attacks and stay mobile at the same time, taking the strategy she used in their earlier fight to the next level.

But Akeno is relentless, and her supply of magic seemingly inexhaustible. Still, there is something off about her. She seems less in control than usual, and there's a fire in her eyes. Seeing her best attacks become ineffective, must be getting to her. It even starts to affect her aim, allowing Twilight to dodge some of the attacks completely.

“She's angry at herself for losing Gasper,” Azazel analyzes.

Sirzechs seems to agree. “She's always had a great deal of affection for her kouhai. It must have rattled her.”

I suddenly begin to grin as I realize what Twilight is doing. “Don't worry, she's about to get a cooling off.”

They both look at me in puzzlement, but my words soon become clear, as Akeno is hit with a torrent of water from behind. The wave continues to put out the fire, and Twilight, now free, takes to the sky once more. Even while dodging, increasing her flight power and maintaining her shield, she managed to rupture the water tower two blocks away with her magic and directed the flow here.

But Akeno is only momentarily distracted. Although she's soaking wet, she redirects the water yet again. The torrent rushes skyward to engulf Twilight, snap-freezing and encasing her in a prison of ice. “Yes,” Azazel makes a fist. “Got her now.”

But I can feel the surge of magic as she vanishes. “What?” Akeno immediately flies upwards to investigate. “Where did she go?” Then she blasts the ice with another lightning bolt.

“Surprise,” Twilight shouts, suddenly reappearing behind her opponent.

Akeno whirls around and stretches out her arm, intent on delivering a deadly blast at close range. But Twilight grabs her hand with one hoof. It's too late, and both Queens cry out in pain as both their bodies are being electrocuted in mid-air. However, due to being drenched, Akeno takes a lot more damage from her own attack than her opponent does. Panting heavily, they both descend to the ground.

“FOUL!” Azazel cries out. “She teleported.”

Before Michael can speak, I interject. “No, she didn't. Replay the footage and you'll see.”

The archangel looks at me with a raised eyebrow, but pulls up the footage and slows it down, so all can see Twilight's move in its perfect execution.

“I don't believe it,” Azazel groans.

“You'd better,” I grin. “While trapped in the ice, Twilight worked a spell to change herself into a breezie. When Akeno blasted it open again, thinking she had vanished, she flew around her and then changed herself back into a pony.” Well done.

“Shape-changing spells are legal according to the rules. The match continues,” Michael agrees.

Akeno gives her opponent a triumphant look. They both look devastated from that last attack. “Not bad, Twilight-san. But this is the end. We're both at our limit, just enough left for one last spell. The outcome will be the same as last time.” I don't think anyone has realized it, not even the people here in the V.I.P. lounge, but Twilight has been maintaining at least four or five spells throughout the entire fight, and even now she's doing dozens of minute adjustments in preparation for the final showdown.

Instead of putting all her power out there, she made use of her versatility, just like Discord was trying to tell her a week ago. Looking over at him, I can see a hint of pride in his expression. Seems like he figured out her plan as well.

Although she's standing on shaky legs, Twilight gives her a smile. “Do your worst.”

CRAAAACCCKKK!!!

“Arrrrgggghhhh!!!”

I can only avert my eyes as Twilight gets hit by the massive lightning bolt. Hearing my student scream in agony like this, there's a sharp pain in my chest. But I force myself to look again, when it's over. I owe her that.

A single point of white light is being emitted from the tip of Twilight's horn. It floats upward and then splits into five rays of light that move off at high speed in different directions. “Take.”

“What?” Akeno asks in bafflement.

I can see her struggling to stand up tall, as a Princess should. Even though the magic, that is about to teleport her off the field, has already enveloped her, there is a triumphant smile on her face. “You're right. I'm just a novice alicorn. Maybe in a thousand years I could match your raw power, but today I can do this. My teacher once told me that …”

Her lips are still moving, but the words are cut off by her being transported off the field.

Michael presses a button on the magic device in front of him, so he can be heard across the field. “Princess Luna's [Queen] retires.”

I can feel Sirzechs' eyes on me, and he decides to ask. “Celly, what was she about to say back there?”

With a tear rolling down my cheek, I recall what I said to my faithful student after her return from the Crystal Empire. “Far better that I have a student who understands the meaning of self-sacrifice, than one who only looks out for her own best interests.” As a proud smile crosses my lips, I add quietly: “Well done, Twilight.”

On the monitors we can see Akeno suddenly looking around worriedly. No doubt, she can now sense the dozens of different delayed spells that Twilight cast all over the town center before and even during the fight. With that last trigger spell, she caused all of them to go off simultaneously.

“There's no way she can escape now,” Discord comments next to me. “She can't shield against this many elemental effects at once, and the radius is just too massive to flee.”

She seems to have realized that as well, unfolding her wings, but then simply letting them hang by her side. With a sigh, she taps the communicator in her ear. “I'm sorry, Rias. Looks like I got careless.”

Just then the monitors show nothing but white, as the massive combination of spells detonates in an eerie silence. When the light dies down, only an enormous crater remains, where Golden Oaks Library used to be.

“Rias Gremory's [Queen] retires.”

---

Team Luna (members still active): 3
Princess Luna [King]
Twilight Sparkle [Queen]
Rainbow Dash [Knight]
Fluttershy [Bishop]
Rarity [Bishop]
Applejack [Rook]
Pinkie Pie [Rook]
Spike [Pawn]

Team Gremory (members still active): 2
Rias Gremory [King]
Himejima Akeno [Queen]
Kiba Yuuto [Knight]
Xenovia [Knight]
Asia Argento [Bishop]
Gasper Vladi [Bishop]
Toujou Koneko [Rook]
Hyoudou Issei [Pawn]

Author's Note:

The titanic Struggle of the Queens comes to an end. With Issei severely injured and Applejack prowling the field in her seemingly indestructible armor, what options does Rias have left?

Comments

[Tatsurou]

Damn! That was a climactic - and epic - conclusion to the Queen battle. Nice to see Twilight use her strengths to her advantage like that.

[Tatsurou]

When the light dies down, only an enormous crater remains, where Golden Oaks Library used to be.

...how prophetic.