Elements: Beautiful Stories for Ugly Children

by Nightmare_0mega

Crownless

It had been quite the strange turn of events for Equestria. Deep within the recesses of Everfree Forest, a potent danger brewed just beneath the soil, biding its time for the perfect moment. Or, it would have, if it weren't interrupted by a blessing bestowed from a wayward angel towards a very particular crystalline tree that was hidden below the Castle of the Two Sisters. Said disruption diminished what was below it enough to stave off its potential for growth for about... a couple weeks. When that time was finally spent, business as usual continued for the plant before It exploded across the Everfree and snaked its way towards Canterlot.

Plunder Weeds, as it was identified by Discord, was the entity in question, which managed to overrun the center of the countryside, stretching south of the Everfree towards Appleloosa, northward to Canterlot, eastward beyond Rambling Rock Ridge, and west to White Tail Woods. It was quite the mess, and the weeds themselves nicked anything that wasn't nailed down. Everywhere you looked, objects, ponies, and even entire houses were snatched by these black tendrils with grey thorns. On top of their thieving nature, the weeds themselves were both incredibly difficult to deal with, and had a nasty habit of distorting unicorn magic and caused any spell to go haywire. Worse, their presence also spawned malicious black clouds which sported the same grey thorns, which had the terrible disposition of striking any wayward pegasus with magical lightning that got too close.

While Twilight and her companions had been running around the immediate area, trying to solve the root cause of the issue, their charges had been tasked with suppressing the weeds and assisting citizens in this time of crisis. While these monsters had more than enough power to level entire countrysides if they saw fit, with their command over ice, fire, earth, magnetic, light, and psychic abilities, each time they managed to obliterate a single tendril, more would take the removed one's place. It was beginning to look like a sisyphusian task, with no real end in sight. Their efforts, however, halted the spread due to the amount of damage they constantly dumped on the wicked plant and spared a fair few ponies the grief, courtesy of those horrible, grabby weeds.

On and on they fought, letting loose their great strength that amazed, bewildered, and terrified all those who watched, before suddenly, the weeds themselves stopped moving, right before they shook violently, and disintegrated from a rainbow-like wave coming from the Everfree Forest. In a matter of seconds, the vicious weeds and black clouds they spawned were purged from the land, leaving only the confused and distraught populous behind wondering what had happened, but thankful the nightmare was over.

It was then the plot twist was revealed to the rest of the rescue crew when all was said and done. The center of this madness originated beneath what was known as the "Tree of Harmony", a crystalline tree that once housed the Elements of Harmony, the magical artifacts the six young mares had utilized in times of crisis. Much to their chagrin and annoyance, it had turned out that Discord haphazardly planted the damnable, kleptomaniacal, magic devouring seeds just before his initial defeat a thousand years ago. The seeds took root and began seeking the strongest source of magic available, which happened to be the aforementioned Tree of Harmony, but were halted by the suppressing powers it had that maintained the relative containment of the forest. In essence, the plunder weeds were being treated as merely another part of the Everfree's bizarre wildlife despite the contrary truth of the matter. Adna had expressed its minor amount of knowledge about said tree, confirmed by the girls themselves as Rainbow Dash explained their involvement with it a fair few moons ago. The extra-equestrian guests, however, weren't exactly thrilled to hear that their efforts were wasted due to the fact that this mess could have been solved much sooner. The angel merely apologized, claiming it simply forgot of the matter, and Rainbow Dash did the same.

Aside from that, it turned out the Plunder Weeds had also managed to foalnap both Princess Celestia and Princess Luna, which created looks of confusion and query among many of the monsters. As far as they could recall, or for what they could believe, they had thought that entities that were capable of raising the sun and moon, a feat regularly mocked and denied by Monsoon, must be creatures of godly power. If the weeds were able to take the two matriarchs so easily, while the darkened monsters were able to easily fight the plants off, then logically it puts the two Matriarchs' power into question. There was only one among the group, however, that had different doubts, and said doubts were not against the two Princesses, strangely enough.

Never-the-less, for their efforts (perceived wasted or not), all twelve had been invited to Canterlot to attend a celebratory hero's banquette. The thought of a high class dinner had the darkened creatures remain silent for the time being as they accepted the invitation, with varying levels of appreciation and dignity. The meetup would be scheduled the following day, allowing everyone to prepare for the journey to the city.

-o-v-o-v-o-v-o-v-o-

The next day began quite uneventfully with the twelve gathered together before the train-station. Bael was given his device to allow him to shrink by a marginal amount to be able to board a special cargo trolley with room to spare, to which Dumah had also boarded due to his own unorthodox size. The others, however, were able to more or less comfortably board a passenger cart, taking up most of the space of one half and, in some cases, slouching a little due to the significant height difference they had over most ponies. While the girls were comfortable enough to begin chatting with one another about a variety of subjects from recent plans and circumstances to future activities, jobs, and aspirations, their charges sat in relative silence.

Honestly, it was better that way to some degree for the monsters on the train. Monsoon, while fascinated by Mantis as one of the legendary members of the covert military unit FOXHOUND, was also utterly terrified, especially given what had happened between them during their second official encounter. Adna was uncomfortable with the thought of sitting directly beside what was essentially an archfiend taking on a human form, and would rather keep its beak shut lest it ended up saying something it really desired to say and earning a predictable result. Elvis himself, diagonally across from his own creature of discontent, tried to keep some sense of civility despite disliking humans on the average. As for Mantis...

It really hadn't been very long since he first arrived in this strange world full of talking livestock and mythical creatures, but he was oddly at peace with the idea. Perhaps it was Twilight's accidental influence that helped the notion to be much less outlandish. Perhaps it was his original epiphany about these equestrians, for lack of a more complete term, that made him see them not dissimilar to human beings. Such thoughts were oddly comforting and normal, despite the bizarre nature of the situation and despite his less than pleasant view on the concept of humanity. If anything, the strangest fact was that he was sitting directly across from two seemingly biblical creatures, one much less obvious than the other, while an example of humanity's technological advances sat next to him. The poetic irony wasn't lost on the mentalist, neither was the fact that this absurd physically present revelation would likely break the average human mind. Worse still were the hosts of the little tea party they were making their way towards. Truth be told, with the scant few interactions he had with the royals of this saccharine land, their presence made Mantis decidedly uncomfortable. What made him more nervous was the opinions that were made semi-public between the bitter rivals of the cyborg and the disguised devil.

"I'm tellin' ya, cabron," Elvis said in a hushed tone, "After what happened with those malas hierbas estúpidas, I'm beginning to wonder about the trasero de sol real that carries the pigeon's colors."

Adna's feathers ruffled from the indignation, but ultimately said nothing, where then Monsoon addressed Elvis' accusations. "For once, I agree. Jack had divulged some interesting information to me in regards towards our dear Solar Princess," he said with a hint of suspicion, "Including her defeat while facing Chrysalis."

"The Bug!?"

"The very same."

Elvis sat back, crossing his arms in thought. The angel at his side, having kept quiet, was somewhat interested in what was and wasn't being said, despite how heretical it all seemed. First, it had heard of that fateful encounter between Chrysalis and Celestia from its keeper, Rainbow Dash, which confirmed the truth of the matter of the Solar Princess' defeat as far as it was aware. That information alone lent credence that Celestia never seemed to be as godly as the denizens made her out to be. Honestly, the leaders of this equine civilization, at least in its perception of them, appeared far more reserved, "down to earth", and vulnerable, so to speak.

"I must agree as well," the angel finally spoke, "However, I have come to the belief that their sires dost not even wish to attempt to lay claim to these notions."

"Nor deny them," Monsoon added.

"One would take kindly to ask their Highnesses the honest opinion on the matter, let alone question how or why they've done naught but stayed their tongue."

"Asking them directly?!" Elvis exclaimed, "Listen, I don't think they'd give us much trouble if they got offended and decided to get physical over it, but I'd rather not be the puta to piss off the ponis princesa."

"Because they're the ones in charge of our final fates and ability to leave this land, correct?" Monsoon pointed out.

"Si," Elvis replied, "Though, while I'm in no hurry to leave, I'd still rather not have any freedom taken from me because of a jodido comentario descuidado."

"I doubt they'll doll out punishment more inane than being forced to play nice with the lollipop guild."

"You really don't like it here, eh cabron?"

"I've made that clear for some time now. It would have been nice and convenient for me if they hadn't figured out how to refuel my powercells and let my systems rot on the less effective replacement I was on, but..."

"The Draconequus," Adna interjected.

"Yes. That mismatched nightmare figured it out, and promptly had some made, at the suggestion of that yellow one."

"Fluttershy," Elvis interjected this time.

"Don't care," Monsoon retorted, earning a scowl from the portly devil. "Back to the topic at hand, I'm still curious about those two."

"If direct queries are out," Adna stated, "Then perhaps we should speak to one that may have a better idea?" The angel then turned its gaze towards the silent Mantis, whom soon noticed it had gained the attention of the biblical fragment. Elvis and Monsoon followed suit, understanding the implication.

Mantis scoffed, leaning back in his seat as the three kept an eye on the mentalist. "I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but despite the fact that I have had direct contact with both the Lunar and Solar princesses on multiple occasions, I'm afraid I have no answers." Monsoon was somewhat surprised at this announcement from the former FOXHOUND member. Before he could even speak, Mantis continued, "I'm afraid you'll have to ask the source, and I have a feeling they'd be happy to answer."

The three then looked to each other, soon realizing plan A was their only option if they wished to satisfy their curiosity, especially since Mantis more or less confirmed questioning the targeted authority would at least be safe to do.

"However," Mantis stated, gaining their attention once more, "Leave me out of it."

Elvis was the one to laugh at the sudden demand. "What, afraid of a little caballo?"

Mantis remained silent and stoic, either refusing to answer or once again having no answer. While the devil sought to wring a little entertainment out of poking some fun at the only natural human he's encountered since his duel with the God Hand, there was something somewhat unsettling about Mantis' lack of response. It was as cold as some of the most frigid regions of hell, which said quite a bit. Instead, Elvis gave another scoff as he too sat back at his seat as best he could, considering his size.

"I guess we'll see what happens when we get there," Monsoon said, somewhat looking forward to this little tea party for the first time.

-o-v-o-v-o-v-o-v-o-

Arrival at Canterlot Castle went along rather smoothly, Twilight believed. Upon reaching the city limits, all guests were greeted by a friendly entourage of guards whom guided them to the palace proper, before being navigated through the many large hallways of the edifice, all towards the ballroom which had been temporarily converted into a banquet hall. Twilight had been given the reasoning behind it prior to their journey here, giggling at the truth of the matter. Fourteen VERY differently sized individuals would be attending, after all.

It was quite the sight to see, though. The location only previously used for the Grand Galloping Gala (and once a private birthday party at the behest of the Princess) was now being used just to seat a formal meeting at a double wide table between the Royals, a group of small town mares, and outer-reality creatures. The term "absurd" really didn't cover what was right before her eyes. At the head of this table sat the two Princesses, for obvious reasons. To the left were Rarity and Fluttershy, each of them flanked with their charges, Dumah and Bael. To the right were Applejack, Pinkie and Rainbow Dash, with Monsoon, Elvis, and Adna paired up with the mares. At the foot of the table, seated far across from the princesses, was the newly anointed Princess, Twilight Sparkle, and the mentalist she was tasked to keep under control.

Aside from the variety of entities seated at the rather lengthy table, off to the side seemed to be another, thinner table that was reserved for the meals, deserts and snacks. Half of it was filled with the variety of Equestrian foods that most ponies delighted over, while the other half remained empty for the time being. Due to the rather unorthodox group presented, the half seemingly reserved for the other six guests were still in the preparation phase, as the new ingredients needed special chefs to handle the decidedly non-equine individuals. Elvis and Adna, however, decided to partake in a little of the other side, Elvis taking up the various confectioneries while Adna simply sampled berries and grapes in small portions. Otherwise, everyone was served a cup of tea to go with their conversations.

While everyone seemed to chat between each other to varying degrees of success, Mantis simply sat in silence, watching with a small grin beneath his mask. Twilight couldn't help but feel a little uneasy for a moment, wondering what was actually going through the human's head.

However, the chatting didn't last too long, as Monsoon broke away from his undesired conversation with Applejack and rose from his seat. The others soon quietened down as their attention was drawn to the cyborg. Even the Princesses relinquished their own conversation with each other to see what their extra-equestrian guest had to announce.

"I do sincerely apologize for interrupting such... riveting conversations," Monsoon stated, with Applejack raising an eyebrow to the not so subtle sarcasm, "However, I'd like to direct a question to our lovely hostesses of the afternoon."

"Monsoon, sit down," Applejack hissed in a hushed tone, "Y'ain't gonna start trouble, ya hear?"

The former Desperado agent ignored his warden and continued, "You see, your Highness, some of us have been talking and we've come to a rather burning question after the recent events."

"Con-sarnet, Monsoon. Ah'm warnin' ya!" Applejack growled, trying to stay hushed.

"No no," the Princess of the Sun then interjected, giving a gentle wave and smile, "Let him speak. I'm curious as to what they've been talking about."

Applejack gave a huff of irritation and concern, no longer capable of stopping the beehive kicker of a ward from Princess Celestia's unintentional command. Monsoon gave a toothy grin as he took a slight bow towards the two matriarchs.

"Thank you, your Highness," he declared before continuing his line of question, "Some of us, myself included, have been somewhat puzzled over the two of you. According to anyone we've cared to interact with, it would seem one would be mistaken if you weren't seen as literal, physical gods among your kind."

Celestia raised her eyebrow mid sip of her tea. The rest of the table, whatever hushed whispers were previously heard before, became dead silent. Applejack tilted her hat down to cover her face from the embarrassment.

"So, what we'd like to know is if there's any truth to these rumors, and if so, why were the two of you captured so easily by overgrown houseplants?"

"Monsoon!" Twilight shouted, stamping her hooves against the table as she rose from her seat suddenly, feeling indignant over the implied slander.

"No, Twilight," Celestia reassured, "It's alright. He has the right to ask."

"I apologize if this seems rude," Monsoon lied with a smile, his gaze turned to Twilight, "But considering our fates are in the... hooves of you and your leaders, I'd be a little concerned if the circumstances lay implications that their capabilities are blown out of proportion."

Princess Luna nearly jumped out of her own seat from such gall but remained silent from a single touch of her sister's hoof on her shoulder. Biting her tongue, Luna let the cyborg say his peace, only expressing her discontent from her deep scowl while sipping her own tea.

"How do you suppose we clear the confusion?" Celestia asked.

"Your Majesty," Rarity finally interjected, "You don't need to entertain this ruffian's insulting insinuations. He has a habit of getting under one's skin, much like someone else we know."

Ignoring the comparison to Discord's behavior, Monsoon instead answered Celestia's question, "I suggest a sparring match between us. The first to make the other forfeit wins."

"Oh my," Celestia said with a rather forced gasp of surprise, "A contest between you and this old mare? I don't think that seems very fair..." She began sipping her tea again.

"We could always allow a handi-"

"... for you." She finished upon putting her tea back down.

Everyone was silent for an awkward amount of time, no one really sure how to process what she had said.

"Eh, beggin' your pardon, cabrona," Elvis said, "But, what was that supposed to mean?"

"Oh, I'm sorry. Allow me to be blunt." She then cleared her throat as she rose from her seat gracefully. "I hereby accept your challenge, Monsoon, but under one condition."

She's actually going through with this? Monsoon thought, Maybe this'll be fun after all. "Alright. What are your terms?"

"You are not to face me alone. Anyone else here in this room is permitted, nay, encouraged to participate at your side."

"Quite the bold condition. Are you a sucker for punishment?"

"We'll see whether there's a mirror before that statement soon enough."

There was a moment of silence, before Elvis rose from his own seat. "I'll join in." Pinkie's eyes shot towards her dear friend in shock. "Sorry, Rosa. I'm curious, and I kinda agree with the cabron. No offense to the two of you," he declared, giving a light bow towards the Princesses.

"None taken," Celestia replied.

"I shall partake in this contest as well," Dumah announced, also rising from his seat.

Rarity gave a shocked gasp as her attention locked towards the vampire. "Et tu, Dumah?!" she pleaded.

Dumah ignored the remark, and continued with, "I do not know the motivations the human has for this, but i would be remiss as to deny the proposal's intriguing nature. Besides, I wish to test how I stack against this world's ruler. Consider it a former King's curiosity." Celestia gave a slight nod in acceptance to the vampire's reason.

"I am not much for combat, even for sport, but the proposition intrigues me. I will join as well," Bael announced. "It'll be a good excuse to work a decent appetite as well."

Adna then rose from its own seat, setting the berries it was snacking on back on the plate before it. Rainbow Dash's gaze shot to the angel. "You too, dude?"

"I wish to test the rulers as well. The recent events doth be concerning, so perchance this shalt lay mine own doubts to rest."

Twilight watched as each of them make their declaration, and then turned her attention to Mantis. Strangely, he simply sat back with arms crossed, attention firmly placed upon the events unfolding before him. Celestia, while taking another sip of her tea, gazed at the mentalist for the briefest of moments. There was silence that accompanied the lack of further rising action, which only broke when Celestia gave a small sigh.

"Well, I suppose this will have to do, though it's still not remotely fair," she uttered while placing her tea back down. She turned to her sister and continued with, "Luna, would you be so kind as to let the guards know that the training grounds will need to be vacated? Oh, and apologize on my behalf for such inconveniences." Luna gave a short bow, rose from her own seat, set her horn alight with magic, and disappeared with a flash. With her sister off to conduct the courtesy call, Celestia left her seat and beckoned her would-be challengers to follow. As she did, she addressed their wardens. "Would any of you wish to come and watch the match?"

Five of the six girls gave quick glances to each other for a moment, All of them shook their head in agreement. Rainbow Dash's gaze then locked onto Celestia's own. "Speaking for all of us," the sporty pegasus finally answered, "I think we'll sit this one out." Rainbow Dash, who'd normally be into seeing healthy competition, knew that whatever Monsoon was up to was anything but healthy.

Celestia merely chuckled, understanding the indirect message, right before she directed her attention to Twilight. "My dearest Twilight, would you kindly assist me?"

Twilight rose from her seat, followed by Psycho Mantis following suit, which surprised the newly minted Princess. "I thought you didn't want to join?" Twilight asked.

"I don't," Mantis replied, "Though, I'd be lying if I'd say I'd rather stick with the current company present." His comment earned him a few annoyed and insulted glares from the other five mares.

"The more the merrier," Celestia declared with a smile, "Come now, my dearest Twilight, We mustn't keep our guests waiting."

Twilight and Monsoon approached the group, as the two Princesses lit their horns with magic. It only took a few moments, but soon, where eight once stood gathered, they were gone with a blinding flash. As the remaining five mares adjusted to now being left alone in the banquette hall, Rainbow Dash gave a light cough to catch the attention of her friends.

"So... my bits'er on Celestia. Anyone else?"

-o-v-o-v-o-v-o-v-o-

At a site a healthy distance away from the city, a large coliseum sat in silence, having been freshly evacuated at the command of Celestia through Luna. Not a single member of the Royal Guard understood why, but they never-the-less complied with the demand, on the condition that at least two guards remain near the entrances and exits, for safety reasons. Seeing as there were only three of these, being the front, back and emergency exits, Luna figured this was a reasonable compromise.

Training equipment had been cleared from the main arena, leaving the scarred but mostly intact floor free of random objects and debris. Indeed, many intense mock battles and competitions were once held in this edifice, with many fans coming to cheer on their beloved athletes in the stands or encourage their loved ones in heavy training exercises. But as the years went one and the upkeep for the grounds became too great in accordance to the House of Lords in comparison to other budgeted items, it had since been repurposed to act as a track and field exercise ground strictly for the Royal Guard.

With the sound of magic fizzling in the center of the arena, followed by a blinding flash, the relative exclusivity and quiet retirement of the coliseum had come to and end for this auspicious day.

The majority of the monsters that had followed shook the stars out of their eyes as they adjusted from the sudden spacial displacement. Only Monsoon, whom had been teleported on more than one occasion, managed to keep from being as dizzy as the others. "I still hate that, though." the cyborg bitterly seethed.

"Something we can agree on, cabron," Elvis stated, "Eugh, that's twice today now. Ick."

"Welcome to the coliseum, my dear guests," the Princess of the Sun announced, "I'd go into the history of this place, but I'm sure you'd really appreciate not going through a lecture." She gave a quick glance towards Twilight, just catching her ever studious little pony's sudden excitement deflate a tad. She didn't need to read minds to know why, which gave her the slightest ghost of a smirk in mirth.

"How shall we commence this contest, Princess?" Dumah asked, finally able to shake the stars from his eyes.

"Excellent question," she replied, "It would be wise to allow our spectators to take their seats. Twilight? Mantis? If you please."

The two addressed gave a bow and a scoff respectively as they took to the air and floated towards the stands that surrounded the arena.

"Aside from that, I believe it would be customary to give the two parties, which would be your team and myself, ten paces each from the center, where we are at."

"To allow preparation room, correct?" Adna surmised.

"Exactly. The rules of this engagement are relatively simple. You are to engage me in battle, and the winner is whomever is able to neutralize the opponent first via domination, submission, or surrender. You are permitted to utilize whatever methods necessary. All battle must remain in the arena. Twilight? Once we have taken our positions, I would like you to announce the start of this contest. Would you kindly do that for us, my dear?"

"Of course!" Twilight beamed, feeling strangely excited for such a rare opportunity. While she wasn't exactly keen on Monsoon and the others take swings at her beloved and revered princess, this was still the perfect way to finally get to see what she's truly made of. As she gazed down to the arena below, she gave one more cursory glance towards Mantis, whom sat with elbows on knees and resting his chin upon the bridge of his fingers. Perhaps I'm not the only one, she thought.

As the two parties began to take their paces, Monsoon piped up with one last question. "What's stopping any of use using lethal force?" he asked with a cheshire grin.

"I did say any methods necessary, my dear," she responded with serene smile. "Otherwise, we're operating on gentlemares', or in your case, gentlecreatures', rules. I'd rather none of us actively try to kill each other."

Monsoon's grin faltered upon the dismissive answer as they all had finally taken their positions. It was then that Bael finally spoke to the rest of the group. "It may be wise to formulate a plan if we are to work as a team."

"Are you kidding?" the ex-mercenary sneered, "This stupid beast of burden has dug her own grave with her arrogance. Just do as you see fit for this match." Monsoon then pulled his sais from their holsters, gave them an experimental twirl, and took a guarding stance.

With a variety of sighs of either resignation or irritation, the other monsters none the less took their own stances, ready for the contest to begin. Across from them, they could see the Princess herself having matched her own ten paces and turned to face the group of extra-dimensional beings. Her stance was not one of a warrior, but of regal grace. They could see her close her eyes gently and give a deep sigh, with a look of calm and tranquility on her face.

"Is everyone ready?!" Twilight asked aloud.

Before anyone could answer, Celestia raised her hoof, stopping Twilight from announcing the match to begin. She then removed her grieves, yolk, and crown from her form, and levitated them over towards the two guests in the stands. "Ah, that feels SO much better. Twilight, would you be a dear and look after those for me?"

"Heh, afraid of getting your crown dirty, cabrona?" Elvis laughed.

"Oh, perish the thought. I just want to make sure I stick to our rules," she answered in confidence. Then, something strange happened. It was feint, but it looked like, for a split second, her entire body had a golden glow. Everyone, except Monsoon, felt a cold chill run down their backs.

"A-alright. Now, is everyone ready?" Twilight glanced between the two parties, all of whom gave a nod in confirmation. "Without further to do, then I, Princess Twilight Sparkle, by authority of Princess Celestia, declare this match BEGUN!"

With a thunderous, roaring warcry, the creatures from beyond their lands charged forward, poised to end this as quickly as possible. Monsoon, whom moved much faster than the others, reached the Princess first and was thus the first to make a move. Leaping into the air, Monsoon poised to drive down his sais into her skull with manic glee. The growing elation however shattered as she swiftly and effortlessly side-stepped the attack, spun away from the Cyborg, and gave him a swift back kick to his side with enough force to shatter stone. Monsoon went flying from the counterattack, already falling to pieces, parts tumbling across the ground. The others then stopped in shock as they watched Monsoon pull himself back together. Their gaze focused back on the princess, whom simply posed as if a show-pony were to act the part of a ballerina, eyes closed with a gentle smile.

Shaking out their stunned silence, the monsters resumed their charge with Elvis at the front of the pack. He lunged forward with a running, fire-infused right hook. She ducked the attack at the last second and delivered a punishing gut-punch with her left fore-hoof. As he tipped forward, she swirled and danced around his large frame, cutting between him and the others.

Adna then lunged forward with its staff while Dumah went for a left straight punch. Celestia leaned back against the doubled over frame of Elvis and kicked one of her hooves up against the lunging staff, which caused it to fly up and deflect Dumah's attack. She then expanded her wings and gave a powerful flap, pushing her body to roll backwards off of Elvis' back before landing in front of the heaving heavy once more. She then rushed forward, body-checking the demon and using him as a plow to run over the angel and vampire. Just after she did so, she leaned down, forcing Elvis to tip forward atop Celestia's back, where she then launched him backwards before being served a back kick the instant he barely touched the ground.

Bael, seeing an opportunity, leapt forward with his mouth open, intending on chew her up and spit her out, but she flared her wings once again, just in time, and vaulted over the massive frog demon, landing at his tail. Before Bael could get back up from the failed attack, she turned around, gripped the great demon toad's tail, flipped him once behind her, slamming him on his back, and then heaved forward, throwing him like an oversized ball and chain like an Olympic hammer-thrower. Bael's body flew in Monsoon's direction, whom was charging forward after he managed to recover, impeding the Desperado's initial intention. Monsoon's cybernetic body managed to help him see it coming, however, as he kick-slid underneath the flying demon's body, barely missing the attack. As soon as he was in the clear, Monsoon rose up at the end of the dodge and leapt into the air, readying another attack. Celestia blocked it with a swift upper cut, and tried to return fire, but Monsoon sparked with purple energies and dodged out of the way in pieces, before reforming on the ground, and racing back towards her.

As she continued to defend against Monsoon's onslaught, Adna took to the skies, and began chanting prayers in its native tongue, calling upon miracles of light for its next move. Elvis finally recovered from his gut pain, and set his sights on the currently defensive Princess. He took a crane stance for a moment, before he shot forward like a canonball, head first. Celestia reacted, dodging with a pirouette to the right, before redirecting the trajectory towards the incoming Monsoon, whom was in the middle of another lunging attack. Unable to react on either end, Elvis collided with Monsoon, shattering the Cyborg's body, scattering his pieces about. Adna, desperate for an opportunity, dove down to smite its opponent, pulling its staff back, aiming for Celestia's head. The Princess of the Sun, however, flicked her head to the side, into the staff's trajectory, parrying the shaft with her horn, before she gave her wings a mighty flap, twirled in the air, flipped forward and delivered a punishing flying roundhouse kick to Adna's beak. Dumah, whom had recovered a while back, stayed on the sidelines, waiting for an opportune moment to retaliate. Honestly, however, Celestia was moving a bit too fast for his liking, and not at all like a normal horse ever would.

While all of that was going on, Bael, after having finally recovered from being tossed like a child's dodgeball, rose to his correct height before he jumped back away from the brawl and pumped magic into the ice on his back, ready to launch. Celestia, upon landing on the ground, noticed the slight change in atmospheric temperature, and shot her gaze at Baels direction. Dumah saw the distracted princess, and decided the iron was hot. Heaving back, he slammed his fist into the ground, cracking the arena's tough rock and eliciting a seismic shake in the immediate vicinity. Celestia wobbled a bit from the earthquake, attention pulled away from Bael, whom fired his barrage of icicle projectiles. Crouching low to reduce the shifting of her stance, she launched herself towards Dumah with an almighty beat of her wings, deftly sliding and side shifting left and right, avoiding the incoming projectiles. Before Dumah could react, he found himself having his legs kicked out from beneath him, before Celestia jumped up and delivered a punishing ground pound to his chest. She then launched upward to the sky as high as she could go before diving down, hoof extended, towards the Master of Frozen Soil. Surprised, Bael jumped backwards, narrowly avoiding what was like a comet strike without an actual space-rock. However, before his webbed feat could even touch the ground, she sped beneath his falling frame and gave a punishing double hooved back-buck, launching the demon frog towards the rest of the monsters, where he tumbled over their battered bodies before coming to a stop just behind them.

Celestia then rose to her full height slowly, giving a small, gentle smile as she looked towards her opponents. "Oh, is that all you have? I was sure you five had much more in you than that." She giggled a little, covering her mouth with her hoof.

Monsoon, after finally recombining and rising back to his feet, seethed. Not just because he felt like he was getting smacked around like a set of bowling pins over and over, but more because of the fact that, for all intents and purposes, the Princess seemed to be enjoying this! To say this turn of events was humiliating was an understatement, and only now did he want nothing more than to take her down a peg as soon as possible.

The other monsters soon rose back up from being downed, rubbing some of their injuries to try to quell, or at least numb, the pain. It was Bael, with a hint of venom and irritation in his voice, who spoke above the groans of discomfort. "I believe I said it may be wise to formulate a plan. Are you going to laugh at the suggestion now, human?" he growled, spitting out mouth bile laced with blood.

Monsoon clicked his tongue as he noticed everyone's attention was firmly placed on him now. He gave an embittered sigh as he decided to swallow his pride this time around. He still may not believe the Princess of the Sun was anything more than some supercharged horse, but it was on him that he severely underestimated his opponent. The match thus far had proved that. It was kinda strange, though. The speed and strength she had was not well reflected on her form.

"Do you boys need a minute? I'm all for letting you catch your breath before you try again," Celestia called out, still with that ever irritating, kindly smile.

Monsoon grit his teeth at the obvious taunt, and turned backward towards Bael, "Since you suggested it in the first place, do you have any ideas on HOW we could 'work together'?"

"I do, in fact, human," Bael spat.

As the monsters gathered to listen in on the plan, while Princess Celestia waited patiently, checking her hooves and wing plumage, Twilight stared on in amazement from the stands. Whatever she knew about the Princess, or even assumed, had been more than just chucked out the window. She turned to Mantis, hoping that she wasn't the only one in such disbelief, only to find him in the exact same position he took when he sat down; elbows on knees, resting his chin on the bridges of his fingers. He was as calm as one could be, despite the scene before them.

Before Twilight could address the mentalist, the action in the arena began again in earnest, with the guests of the world now working in a bit more coordination with each other than before. Some had taken to roles of support fire to help control the Princess' own movement, while others attempted to rush in and attempt to exploit their opponent. The craziest part of this chaos, however, was that despite their efforts both in trying to push back against Celestia and in keeping from succumbing to friendly fire, Celestia couldn't be touched. As if she were a rushing river going through tumbling rocks, the Princess of the Sun ducked, dipped, slid, bobbed, weaved, dove, jumped, and skated between, around, below, and above any attack thrown her way. Her reflexes were as unreal as the creatures that were doing everything they could to assail her.

"Do you even SEE this?!" she squawked, finally able to address her charge for the first time since they were brought here. "What am I even looking at right now? And why are you so calm?! Did you know this was going to happen?"

Mantis gave a deep, filtered sigh as he rose from how he sat and became more upright, turning slightly to the somewhat panicky Princess, "Contrary to your accusations, no. I did not know this would happen. I had my suspicions she and her sister were much more dangerous than they appear, but I don't have the means nor the knowledge to fully comprehend those feelings. I have no magic after all, and my rudimentary understanding due to your influence is still paltry compared to what is and isn't known. That said, considering she hasn't used a single spell, which at least has a visual cue, my conclusions now are so much more... concerning."

"Concerning?" She asked, before turning her attention back to the contest, and noticed it. Celestia, while expertly dodging around everything they threw at her, also handled her combatants like how Rainbow Dash would handle the clouds, or how Rarity would handle fabrics and thread, or how Applejack would handle apple-bucking. Or perhaps it was a combination of those examples? There was a power, elegance, and precision coming from it that was both hard to believe and all too familiar. All while her horn remained entirely dormant. Even her wings, which she could easily use to fly and dart around quicker theoretically were only ever used to amplify a jump or push herself away from an incoming attack. There was no move they made, no effort they put in, no attack they threw that could catch her off guard, and it was actually starting to scare Twilight.

Back at the arena, Celestia caught Monsoon reassembling after another failed flanking assault, gripping him as all of his pieces fit into place and threw his frame at Dumah, whom managed to catch the cyborg, sliding a little from the force of the impact. Before they could recover, Celestia rushed forward, leaped up, and delivered a punishing flying double hooved drop-kick, sending the two flying and bowling over Adna and Elvis. At the same time, Bael staggered, having run out of energy from firing so many ice missiles to try to hit, or even slow down, the princess. Between the incredible damage he sustained from the few direct interactions with the Princess and the sheer amount of demonic power he poured into the constant assault and cover-fire, he was close to giving up entirely.

The others began rising to their feet, staggering a little while rubbing wounds, scrapes, and other injuries sustained. Celestia had backed off once again, taking her almost perfectly pristine stance at the other end of the arena, merely watching them at this point. The air was tense, and it was Monsoon, once again, who broke the silence, spinning around towards Bael. "That was an utter failure. I even wasted one of my electrolyte packs because of it."

"It was worth more of a shot that just flailing around aimlessly," the toad barked back, "If you have a better suggestion, I am willing to listen, but we are all running out of power it seems."

Monsoon gazed about at the other monsters, and finally noticed how beaten and tired they were. They all looked like how he felt right now, and for the first time he began to realize just how bad this whole situation was. Taking his attention away, and looking back at Celestia, he realized in dawning horror that, despite it not making a lick of sense compared to what he thought he knew, she was as powerful as the other ponies said. No, he thought, even more so. They were ants trying to fight a full grown hippo at that point.

However, there was no going back. If any of them were even a little like himself, Monsoon knew that they wouldn't go down without a fight. It was do or die. "We don't have much left in us," Monsoon admitted out loud, catching the attention of the other monsters, whom all silently agreed, "But I don't think we should just roll over either." He turned back to the rest, and addressed them earnestly, "Shall we just charge for one last all out attack?"

"It would never work," Adna confessed.

"I doubt the caballo would let us get that close," Elvis added.

"However, I do not wish to let my pride die here like some pathetic mouse to the wolf." Dumah stated.

"As bothersome as it would be, I must agree," Bael said finally, "This would be our only course of action."

Monsoon gave a smirk as he turned back to Celestia. It was strange. For a moment, upon looking to her visage once more, the former Desperado L.E. officer felt a familiar and haunting sensation. It was like he was back in front of World Marshall Headquarters, dueling to the death with Raiden; AKA Jack the Ripper. However, instead of the cloudy, mixed emotions of fear and defiance, he instead felt clear excitement. His artificial heart was racing. Nothing, not even Jack himself nor his own former employer back on Earth, compared to Celestia, and for the first time, he was excited to meet it rather than defy, cower, or follow it.

"Then, on three, we rush her at once," He declared. The others nodded, preparing themselves for the final rush.

"One." They breathed, giving them a moment of calm.

"Two," They tensed, giving them an opportunity to perform.

"Three!" They launched forward, aiming to put and end to this, one way or another.

As the monsters charged forward in their final, desperate push, Celestia's eyes closed with absolute serenity. The thundering footfalls of the cyborg, vampire, angel, and the ice and fire devils would make one believe a stampede of thousands was taking place at this moment, swiftly closing the distance between them and their opponent. It was then, as her eyes flicked open with that same composed nature and her wings unfurled in dramatic flair, Celestia's horn glowed a brilliant gold before the energy rapidly expanded from her, coating everything in its glittery luster. It was then that the monsters that had been charging suddenly stopped moving entirely and skidded forward in frozen positions. With an upward flick of her horn following another spark of magic, the five contenders all began to float off the ground. Rising higher and higher above the coliseum grounds, the static figures of these extra-equestrians were rearranged by Celestia's magic, positioning them into the pattern of what seemed to be a four pointed star; Bael in the center. Adna above, Monsoon below, Dumah to the right, Elvis to the left. She then let another expanding bubble of magic to erupt from her, coating everything even more in that stunning golden light. Only Adna itself was used to such intensity, while the others winced as best they could while still frozen.

Finally, Celestia's horn began to glow once again, as she drew a circle before her with her horn which crackled with powerful energies. The magic fed into the drawn circle before her as it began to fill and shine brighter and brighter, as if she were creating a star right before their eyes. Then, a low whirring sound could be heard, steadily increasing in pitch, as her eyes too began to glow, and the circle of energy before her pulsed and suddenly shot a spectacular beam of energy directly at her helpless targets. The force was so intense, that anything not currently nailed down to the ground was pushed away from the source, up to and including the large bits of earth and rock that had been upturned from the battle prior. The guards, Twilight, and Mantis all hid behind protective walls, trying desperately to wait out this storm.

The magical attack hit proud and true and blasted the five monsters away. The beam of pure light magic, more powerful than any of them have ever seen or felt, had gone on for a moment or two, before it finally and rapidly shrunk down and dissipated, finally exhausting itself from the magical circle, which also disappeared not long after. As the intense light began to fade and all those present able to adjust their sight after the blinding show they were unlucky enough to witness, Celestia slowly began to canter forward to the five very singed opponents that laid before her. They all moved slowly, now free from whatever spell that had frozen them in place but seemingly in no small amount of injury.

"Hmmm. Perhaps I should have used three protective barriers on you lot," Celestia mused with a gentle, knowing smile, "Or maybe I put too much magic in that last spell." She giggled a little, to which Monsoon slowly turned his head toward her and gave a very disapproving, and also painful, grimace.

With another glow of her horn, she cast another spell over them and healed the fatigue of the monsters. Being such a bizarre assortment of creatures, there was no way to heal them directly. However, given the reports from Twilight, she knew that four of the five had regenerative properties, while Monsoon himself would merely need maintenance and repairs, something that Discord could handle. After she restored their strength so they could heal naturally, she cast a new spell and began repairing the arena they were in. The spell reversed the damage they had caused from the scuffle to the point that it could easily be re-occupied by guards-in-training once again.

"Twilight, Mantis, I think our guests have forfeited. May I have my regalia?" The two addressed rose from their spots and came down to the arena. Twilight gladly returned the requested items, where upon Celestia placed them back on herself. She gave a shudder for a moment, noting how cold they were against her body, and turned back to the group. "The lot of you are permitted to stay here for the time being to recuperate. My sister will be around shortly to escort you back when you are ready." She gave a polite bow, before her eyes locked to Monsoon, "Consider it a courtesy. This whole ordeal was very entertaining. I haven't had so much fun exercising in years." She gave a giggle, and began to make her way to the exit.

Twilight and Mantis followed, leaving behind the monsters to rest their aching bodies. The three remained silent for some time, until they began to pass through the exit tunnel that would lead out of the coliseum. It was then that Twilight, finally snapping out of her shock, addressed the Princess.

"With all due respect, Princess Celestia," Twilight started, as calm as could be, before exploding with, "What in the ever-loving pony feathers was THAT?!"

Celestia gave a short giggle. "Yes, I suppose it would be strange to see someone like me behave like that, wouldn't it? I'll have you know I've trained in the art of combat over the long period of time as Princess. Sometimes, it was necessary to be able to defend myself, or even lead the charge, if danger threatened my little ponies, especially when words alone were ineffective."

"No, I get that, but I meant..." she started, before finally finding the words, "What you did, not how you did it! It was like watching a hundred Starswirls! A hundred Starswirls that could each bench-press a house!"

Celestia stopped walking forward, causing Twilight and Mantis to stop as well. Her mood darkened ever so slightly as her smile wilted. She gave a small sigh, laced with some form of sorrow, or perhaps regret as she stared into the darkness of the tunnel.

"Princess?" Twilight asked, before noticing the drop in mood and demeanor. "I-I'm sorry. I didn't mean-"

"No, Twilight," Princess Celestia interrupted, "It's alright. After all that, you deserve to know." She then gazed to Mantis. "I had no intention of keeping it much of a secret anyway." She pawed at the yoke around her neck gently, before she spoke again. "Have you ever heard of the town of Brhoncomyniad?"

"Bron-co-min-yad?" Twilight repeated slowly, before thinking it over. Her mind raced, trying to match the name to something, anything, that she may have researched in her spare time. Luckily, though somewhat obscure and minimal, she was able to recognize the name. "Wait, the legendary town that disappeared from the world five hundred years ago?"

She gave a half-hearted laugh. "It's been that long? Time sure flies." She gave a sigh, and continued. "Once upon a time, there was a town, far south of the Everfree, where the Badlands now are."

"The Badlands?"

"The town's name was Brhoncomyniad. There was nothing very out of the ordinary about it. If anything, I could safely say that it was a very normal, prosperous town."

"How could it be so prosperous in The Badlands?" Twilight asked.

Celestia ignored the question and continued the story. "Their prosperity, however, did not shield them from danger. One day, somewhere south of the town, an Ursa Minor had gone missing from its mother."

Twilight clammed up, realizing very quickly where the story was going.

"The mother Ursa Major, in her distress, marched forward in a rampage, and began to destroy the once prosperous town. Ponies fled to the north to escape her wrath, hoping that the furious star-beast would soon calm down so they could return and rebuild."

"So... the town ended up being destroyed by an Ursa Major?"

Celestia shook her head. "It was when I then arrived on the scene. Due to my nature as an alicorn, gifted with an abundance of magic and never tiring, I was in the perfect position to defend my little ponies from trouble too much for just anypony to handle. I knew that I had to act as a true guardian to all in that great of a danger, just as I have before countless other times. And so, I engaged the Ursa, trying to quell its rage by giving it a more impenetrable target to tire itself out against." She then gave a deeper sigh. "I... made a mistake."

Twilight listened intently, feeling those few hurt words leave the Princess' own lips.

"It was rare I was able to push myself, so I indulged in my own strength. I ended up seeing a thrill to it, and lost myself completely to the moment, while I subdued the Ursa Major. However, in doing so... Myself and the Ursa Major had utterly annihilated the town itself, and the surrounding area. Those that had fled can recall only ever remember seeing a glowing light fighting the star-beast. It was then when I realized what I had done, how much damage I did, that I made the choice to construct these." It was then she took off her crown, and presented it to Twilight. "The regalia I wear are more than just symbols of my commitment to leading and protecting Equestria, but are also chains that bind myself down."

"And how did you get so powerful?" Mantis asked, concern laced in his voice.

"Mantis!" Twilight barked with a scowl, "I'm so sorry, Princess. I didn't know this was such a sensitive topic."

"No, Twilight," Celestia said, "You must hear of this. Besides, this will happen to you one day too."

Twilight froze. "W-what?"

"You and Cadence both, I believe." Celestia returned the crown to her head. "Do you know about 'ambient magic', Twilight?"

"Yes. It's the natural magic in the air itself that gives most living things attunment, resistance, and/or susceptibility to innate magic. A type of magic that just exists as a part of the world, constantly absorbed by everything around it."

"I learned, on that day, what it means for powerfully attuned and susceptible creatures with innate magic to live long enough to absorb so much ambient magic. An Alicorn's power is the multiplied strength of the Earth Pony," Celestia states, pointing to her greaves, "the speed of the Pegasus Pony," she then points to her yolk, "and the magic of the Unicorn Pony," finally pointing to the crown. "What would happen if the multiplied power of all three lives long enough in Equestria, absorbing all of that magic?"

Twilight gasped, realizing the result was exactly what she saw in the arena today. "But, what about Luna?"

"Believe it or not, but Luna is actually more susceptible than I am," Celestia said with a giggle, before her face became dour again, "Although, she had been gone for nearly a thousand years up to recently, so she hadn't absorbed as much as I have. Perhaps that'll be a good thing for the time being"

Twilight mulled over the new information, and the realization that came with it.

"What you're saying is," Mantis then interjected, "That you are immensely powerful."

"Not by choice," Celestia added, her brow furrowing indignantly from the mentalist's comment, "And definitely to very little benefit. As much I'd like to say to the contrary, I was barely holding back during Monsoon's little contest, and the damage could have been far, FAR worse if I wasn't careful. It takes years of dedication to be able to control that amount of power, and even then it's almost not enough. Hence, my special regalia."

"Many would dream of such power," Mantis added, remembering how intoxicating it was when he was once literally the most powerful psychic in his world. Very few could ever match him, save for...

"And it's a dream of naivete, Mantis," she stated with a slight huff. Mantis snapped out of his trip through the past as he shook his head, returning his attention back to the Princess.

"Why did you agree to his contest, then? And, why would you then remove the one thing that definitely restrains you for it?"

She gave a light chuckle. "I knew they could handle it. They are all stronger then they appear, as are you."

"I'm not a fan of being flattered by a horse," Mantis spat.

"Just take the compliment, you sourpuss," Twilight stated flatly, earning a glare from her charge.

Mantis crossed his arms in irritation, but refused to entertain this asinine banter. Not that he wouldn't mind slinging a few insults their way just out of petty spite, but considering the thrashing he witnessed, he was in no mood to dance with a walking nuke.

"With that out of the way," Celestia started, "What say we all return to the banquet? The rest of the food must be ready by now, and that little session we had certainly worked up my appetite." With that, she continued to trot forward into the light, with the psychic and the scholar trailing behind.

-o-v-o-v-o-v-o-v-o-

Back at the banquet hall, about a few minutes after everyone's return from the arena, all of the guests present, while looking somewhat worse for wear, indulged in the feast prepared for them. A variety of fish meats were available for the carnivores, while vegetarian friendly diets had been set for the girls. Rainbow Dash, whom had a small stack of bits beside her due to the bet she pressured the other girls to participate in, laughed and joked about the sore loss the monsters had against the Princess. The monsters, in turn, simply ignored the jokey braggart and ate in silence, including Adna, whom slowly and quietly pecked at his berries and grapes. Even Monsoon, whom initiated these events, had donned a newfound respect and fear for the solar matriarch and remained quiet while Applejack chewed him out for his behavior, threatening to have Granny Smith lecture him when they returned to the orchard.

Some of the other girls were more polite about the circumstances, however. Rarity was more fixated on the damage done to Dumah's armor, whom assured her it would be repaired in due time when they returned to Ponyville. Pinkie asked a boundless amount of questions in rapid succession, to which Elvis tried to answer her with some gusto. Bael remained silent as he ate his large tray of fish, while Fluttershy gently, if albeit futilely, tended his injuries, which earned her own warning that her food was getting cold.

As for Twilight and Mantis, where they sat quietly at the far end of the table, opposite of the two Princesses, the events of today had granted them some new insight that would likely sit with them for quite some time. For Twilight, it was recognizing the sheer weight of Celestia's burdens, responsibilities, and regrets that she carried for over a millennium. Even more so than what she was already aware of. For Mantis, it was the existential dread of the world he now inhabited and what It really meant for his survival, multiplied already by his own issues with the land of Harmony. Both of their worlds were flipped on their head, and now, in regards to the Princess, they could only see the awe and terror for when the day would come when Celestia would need to be crownless again.

Author's Note:

Nightwish

---

Canon

Comments

[Late_Night]

yeah, saw that one coming
Celestia's essentially Supermare
she lives in a world of tissue paper, never mind the cardboard

[Nightmare_0mega]

11686425
At least I'm trying to give a reason for it. I can't count how many stories I read that have run with the "Celestia is a god", and not only not try to explain it, but also not address how or why she gets stomped/foalnapped so easily.

Still, the fight was fun, right?

[Starheim of Pulsars]

Ooh, we need more royal sisters being OP stories, thanks for making this.

[Nightmare_0mega]

11686496
Thank you very much. Dunno how often I'd be able to showcase that sort of thing in the "Elements" series, but who knows?

[Late_Night]

11686426
imo it could have been a little bit fairer
like, i get the idea you're going for here, but still, not even one meaningful hit?

[Nightmare_0mega]

11686668
No. They have very little (if at ALL) sense of teamwork, severely underestimate her, and she's been alive for over a thousand years, with that much experience behind her. The only ones that come close to that age would be Dumah and perhaps Bael, but their powers aren't much of a match. Adna is the weakest of the lot, but his strengths lie in buffs and defense rather than combat. Monsoon has developed too big of an ego but doesn't play to his own strengths or prepare when he can't, Elvis is probably the only one that's the most balanced of the lot, but his problem is that he didn't want to use his full demon form (for him, it's costly if he takes major injuries).

Inexperienced, uncooperative, not playing to their strengths, and jumping in dick first into a fight without really understanding what they were going up against.

Mantis knew ALL of this, which is why he opted to stay out. If he would have been in there with them, they might have had a chance of scoring a few hits at least (this is why Celestia was hoping all six would fight, and noting it's still not fair without Mantis), but that would have still lead to an embarrassing defeat, which isn't something Mantis wants to suffer a technical fourth time.

The whole point is that they are still under prepared for what's to come, ultimately. If Celestia is this strong, what the hell has got her shaking in her regalia? They need to shape up, and learn to cooperate, play to their strengths, and learn not to underestimate their opponents.

[Late_Night]

11686753
i mean, i get that on a logical level
but i still think that at least one of them should have at least hit her once
not even saying she'd have to be hurt by it, just that one of them(preferably Elvis) manages to touch her at all
honestly, i'd expect any of them to break their hand punching her

[Nightmare_0mega]

11686859
Ok, now, you see, you're misconstruing power. Strength does not equate to defense. It can help it, but it does not directly translate it. If she were invincible, or at least be stupid durable to the point of near invulnerability, she wouldn't need to dodge. She would just stand there, tanking hits, over and over again, while she yawns in a bored fashion.

Not only is that boring, it also makes it seem like ABSOLUTELY nothing could touch her, even if the attack were to connect. She moves BECAUSE she can get hurt.

I think you're focusing too much on the fact that she hasn't been hit at all as a sign of her being invulnerable, which is wildly not the case.

However, congrats. This convo has inspired something. I've written down an idea for a Part 2 sometime down the line. A rematch, with all six. When they've grown to be better capable. It might end up being a shorter chapter, but maybe that'll help drive home what I'm setting up here?

[Late_Night]

11686921
hm
maybe
glad to have been of service i guess

[Nightmare_0mega]

11687021
This is exactly why I like feedback and conversations. Sometimes, I'm shown a proper, inherent flaw in what I wrote and either try to fix it or try to work with it in a later chapter. Sometimes, I can counter-argue or elaborate a bit more on what I'm going for, and perhaps come up with a new chapter born from it anyway (like I have for Crownless).

Sometimes, I can just shoot the shit and enjoy the conversation about the chapter discussed, lol.

So, yeah, genuine thanks, dude. More side-story ideas is not a bad thing.