STAR WARS / FiM: Realms of the Heavens

by Tathem_Relag

Chapter Forty-Two: Rematch

Canterlot Castle
3:43 P.M.

Twilight frowned as she walked to her room. There was something very wrong about the human, but she couldn’t quite place her hoof on what. She had always been wary of him – what she had seen of the humans had almost universally been violent, xenophobic, and unempathetic, and Zem had known far more than she suspected a simple diplomat should have known. But this was different, somehow. It was as if there was a second shadow following him around today, and getting darker and darker as time went on. There wasn’t anything in particular she had noticed to cause this heightened concern; it was more just a gut sensation. All she knew for certain was that she had a very bad feeling about him.

Suddenly, the gnawing worry erupted into a sensation of full-blown panic. It was still totally incomprehensible, but it reminded her of the urge she got to tackle Celestia during the last negotiations with the Imperials. Her instincts had led her well then, so she wasn’t going to question them now. She turned and made for the human’s room at top speed. As she entered the guest hall, she heard a horribly familiar snap-hiss. Opening the door to his room revealed the dark figure of the Inquisitor leaning over Zem’s shoulder. The diplomat held his active holocomm in his hand and was staring blankly at the crimson beam sticking out of his abdomen.

“Damn,” he muttered. “It hurts just as bad as I thought.”

Malen pulled his saber back, and Orramas tipped forwards onto the ground, his holocomm clattering down beside him. Malen’s yellow eyes then locked on Twilight. “Well, now,” he chuckled. “It looks like I get two kills for the price of one.”

“That isn’t your mission,” Aerin’s still active hologram snapped. “Get back to base. You have to –”

With a wave of Malen’s fingers, the holocomm shut off. “So, my erstwhile apprentice,” Malen said, “I see the Force has drawn us together again. But this time, you don’t have the Dark Side to help you, and the Emperor no longer needs you alive. Time to die, pony.” With that, he launched himself over Orramas’s still form, his lightsaber raised to deliver a brutal downward cut.

As he reached the peak of his arc, his cloak flapped away from his side to show a flash of silver. Almost instinctively, Twilight snatched the second lightsaber off his belt and activated it, deflecting his attack and forcing him back with a quick riposte. She couldn’t remember having used the weapon before, but somehow, it just felt right.

Malen threw back his head and laughed. “You think you can outduel me? You couldn’t do so before, and I made sure that you forgot everything you knew. Just lay down and die, child. It will be easier for both of us.”

“What do you mean, ‘you made sure I forgot’?” Twilight growled. “What did you do?! What was Bogan?!”

Malen simply replied with a knowing smile and a shake of his head. “I could tell you… but information’s of no use to the dead.”

He charged at her again, but she took flight while simultaneously slashing at his legs. He somersaulted over her blade, spinning his lightsaber around his body in a wide clearing slash to keep her from goring him with her horn. Upon landing, he quickly spun about to face her again and swept his lightsaber across the floor to block a cut aimed at the back of his knees, leaving a long gouge in the marble and sending sparks flying through the air. Taking his left hand off his hilt, he extended it towards her, unleashing a barrage of lightning that merely splashed off the shield she raised. The stream of electricity cut off, and he lifted his hand in a grasping motion, then turned it parallel to the ground and dropped his arm to his side. With a loud crack, a large section of the ceiling collapsed on top of her, forcing her to the ground. It didn’t break her shield, but the rapid and unexpected movement left her momentarily stunned. As she stood back up, she felt an icy claw seize her throat, cutting off her air and forcing her back to her knees. Her shield shimmered and faded away as shadows clouded the edges of her vision.

“Foolish child,” Malen hissed. “Did you really think you could defeat me alone?”

“But she is not alone,” came a voice from behind him. Malen spun to see Celestia standing in the doorway, with the other Element-Bearers, Shining Armor, and a platoon of Royal Guards behind her.

With a snarl, Malen cast his hand out to his side, slamming Twilight into the wall, then went into the Shien opening stance. He saw Rainbow Dash go into a crouch, and his eyes narrowed as he focused on enhancing his perceptions. She launched herself at him, faster than the human eye would ordinarily be able to track. But that was the normal speed at which duelists of his caliber usually fought, and she was moving in a straight line, clearly not understanding the extent to which the Force allowed him to augment his physicality and intending to simply tear him in half with sheer velocity. Distantly, he heard a distinctive drawl shout for Rainbow Dash to wait, but she was already too close to him. He stepped to the side and made a single, downwards-arcing slash as she blasted by him. The world returned to normal speed, and there was a loud and a soft thump as Rainbow Dash and her left wing hit the ground separately.

There was a short quiet, the only sounds being the moans of the wounded and the humming of the lightsaber. Then the Guardsponies charged into the room. The first two Earth ponies to reach Malen had the heads of their spears cut off. There wasn’t even enough time for looks of shock to fully form on their faces before their own heads followed suit. A burst of lightning knocked three pegasi out of the air. A unicorn collapsed with his horn and front legs amputated. A pegasus trying to take Malen from above was cut lengthwise in two, and another had his belly sliced open. Half of a unicorn’s face impacted a wall. An Earth pony stumbled backwards, his muzzle crushed by a Force-augmented kick. Two unicorns fell with deep gashes in their chest armor, and a third with a hole through his eye socket. A pegasus fell out of the air with all six limbs removed. An Earth pony’s head split vertically in half. A unicorn gaped as his spear seemed to take on a life of its own, ripping itself out of his grasp and impaling a pegasus before turning on its original wielder. Four more ponies fell in various states of dismemberment.

His blade less than an inch from another pony’s head, Malen suddenly froze in place, surrounded by a pale gold aura. Ponies fell back from Celestia, terror on their faces. Her eyes, mane, and tail blazed with fire, and she wore an expression of pure rage. “That’s enough!” she roared, making the room shake and more rubble fall from the edges of the hole in the ceiling. “You and your kind have caused so much suffering and death. Cloudsdale, Phillydelphia, Rainbow Dash, Twilight… Luna… It ends here, now.”

Her horn flared, and Malen’s arm started bringing his lightsaber up towards his own throat. A look of panic crossed his face, soon replaced by one of anger as he struggled to break free of her grip. The blade moved slowly but inexorably towards its target. His face contorted in greater and greater paroxysms of rage and turned even more pallid as he tried to avoid his approaching doom, but he couldn’t even move his thumb to deactivate the blade. His skin began to blister and crack from the proximity of the crimson beam. Then his eyes locked on Celestia’s. His lips drew back to show tightly locked teeth and bloody, receding gums. He took a deep breath, then unclenched his jaws. What came from his mouth was the horrific shriek of a wounded and cornered animal, but far louder than even the Royal Canterlot Voice, making ears bleed and shattering the room’s window. Even Celestia recoiled, losing her grip on him. Panting, he turned and leapt out the window.

Celestia hurried to the opening and looked down, but Malen was nowhere to be seen. Then she gazed into the distance. On the edge of the horizon, a dark point marked where the Imperial base’s spire towered over the treetops. Her horn flared again, melting away the wall, and she took flight.

Comments

[Mr Dorito]

This better not end with an Imperial defeat.

[Kaiser change name]

*insert 'dis just got gud' picture/ animation here*

[Battle154]

Celestia is piss off.

[TheCrusader]

7768254
Me too

[Battle154]

7768254 Wanting the Imperial to win eh? This is a surprise.

[Mr Dorito]

7768402 Of course. I'm like Aerin with that Humanity is Superior mindset, though I'm not as crazy as him.

[Battle154]

7768480 Such as?

[Mr Dorito]

7768498 Well for one, I won't shoot a someone simply because they criticized Humanity.

[Battle154]

7768546 Ok

[Ganondad42]

7768254 yeah, I've been rooting for them from the start

[Fluttercoat]

7768254 same i love the ponies dont get me wrong but i still want the empire to win cause i like star wars more and i liked them first

[Just Sandy]

why do i have a feeling that luna isnt dead?