Troubled New Home: What's Old Is New Again

by SolvableSphinx

Chapter 5

It was still night outside. Ponies, and plenty of non-ponies, were milling about under the brightly lit streets of Ponyville. The restaurants were filled past capacity, with many beings eating in the parks with their friends. Most of the activity was centered around the newly raised plaza just outside of the town proper, which had been built for that purpose. There were even a large number of speakers distributed throughout the park, all wired and set up to be moved easily and adjusted as needed. A familiar white unicorn was overseeing the music, dressed in an unusual high collared shirt. She was bickering with Pinkie Pie, who was in a much more conservative dress.

Between writing in her journal quickly to keep from loosing any data in case she died, and trying to coordinate the plan with the pony she considered Pinkie Pie but who insisted on being called some foreign name. Which still left one question.

“What exactly does Pinkie mean by ‘The Chose One’?” Twilight asked.

“Pinkie?” Applejack asked, before lighting up. “Oh, you mean Diane. Something from her weirdo religion I guess.”

“It’s not some ‘wierdo religion’. I’ve met plenty o’ good zebreas who are moon worshipers, an’ plenty of good ponies who do the same,” Rainbow Dash said.

“Yeah, but it’s still a Northern religion. And those are pretty darn weird if you ask me,” Applejack said. “I still can’t make heads or tails of that prophecy she spat out so quick.”

“Well, there’s several sects and religions that believe time happens in distinct eras,” Rainbow Dash began. “Th’ moon worshipers believe that every generation, there’s a great hero. A little less then a messiah, I guess. Apparently, you’re th’ one who’ll save their patron.”

“And how exactly do you know all this, Rainbow Dash?” Twilight asked.

Rainbow Dash shrugged. “The farm’s hard work, but there’s a lot of time where there’s nothing to do. Unlike somepony, I didn’t run off for my entire foalhood.”

“Just for the two years right after, Zap Apple,” Applejack said, a little venom in her voice.

Twilight looked between the two. “Is this some sort of family thing?”

“No.” “Yes.”

There was a moment of silence between the two Apple mares.

“Yes.” “No.”

Applejack sighed. “I ran away, and Zappy gets adopted. I come back, and she runs away with that white unicorn to discover herself.”

Rainbow Dash was quiet for a moment. “Yeah. Yeah, it was sort of like that. Can we please just drop it an’ all f’r right now? The celebration’s supposed to be a happy time.”

“Okay then,” Twilight said, before looking at Rainbow Dash. “So what exactly should I call you? I keep hearing ponies call you ‘Zap Apple’, but some of them call you ‘Dash’.”

“You already know the name my parents gave me an’ called me by before they… well… yeah. Th’ Apples call me Zappy or Zap Apple, but during flight school an’ while I was travellin’ I called m’self Rainbow Dash, so most ponies know me by that an’ my records are still set f’r it. I don’t mind either way.” She said.

“Fillies, gentlecolts, and civilized non-equine creatures! May I have your attention please!” The pony Twilight recognized as Mayor Mare said through a microphone. “It has been my pleasure as the Mayor of Ponyville to see us through our best year yet. And to cap it all off, we shall end the year with the biggest Summer Sun Festival yet!”

A drum roll began as the Mayor made a sweeping, circular gesture with her forearm. “And now, it is my pleasure to present, Princess Celestia!”

The drum roll ended, and the Equestrian national anthem began. It went on for a dozen seconds, before the Mayor made the same gesture. “Princess Celestia!”

Applejack looked around, as the crowd began to murmur. “Something’s wrong.”

“Princess Celestia!”

“Well no kiddin’,” Rainbow Dash replied.

“PRINCESS CELESTIA!”

An evil cackle filled the air, and everyone in the town square began to look around.

“Well, well, well. A thousand years, and yet so much remains the same. … Except the nudity. That’s new,” a femine voice said.

“What’s that?!” Applejack yelled.

“Remembered that pony I’m supposed to save?” Twilight asked.

“The prophecy’s a real thing?!”

“… and what if I told you that won’t be the weirdest thing you find out tonight?” Twilight asked.
In a puff of starlit smoke, she appeared. She was a pony a head taller than Princess Celestia. She appeared even larger with her intimidating armor. It was a sort of iron plate armor, and at least four individual plates protected her neck. Her legs were covered with the iron bands of greeves over chain mail, though her shoulders and flank were covered with their own large, studded plate. Her wings, in contrast, were covered in diamond patterned scale mail, although to what extent Twilight couldn’t be sure. Her head was covered by a single helm, neck guard flaring out from it. Her horn poked through the helmet, in front of a large circular plate embossed with the image of the moon. Her hair was as night, glimmering with stars and the light of the moon, flowing from her neck guard and down her armored back. Her face was covered by an intimating mask, a stylized pony’s muzzle with vampire like fangs jutting out from her upper jaw. The armor itself was studded with red gems, embossed to a deep blue with white patterns of strange constellations.

The ponies in the open air plaza began to back away, unsure of what to make of the heavily armored party crasher. Pinkie and her unicorn companion stood unnaturally still, their faces telling clearly the rapture that they were experiencing. Rainbow Dash, for her part, stood her ground with Twilight, while Applejack moved to be shielded by the unicorn but not completely away from her.

“Well, not the welcome home I was expecting. But I suppose that it shall have to do,” the strange pony said.

“Who are you?” the terrified mayor asked, backing away from the stand.

“Who am I? WHO AM I?! THOU DAREST TO ASK WHO I AM?!” the armored alicorn roared. She cackled as the mayor fled. “Come now, my little ponies. It should not be hard. For every day, there must be a night. For the sun, there must be the moon. And for dear, misguided Celestia, there must be…”

“Night Mare Moon!” Twilight Sparkle replied, thunder punctuating her proclamation.

The corrupted mare laughed. “Oh, yes. Perhaps there was a time when I would have answered to that title. But I have had much time to meditate upon these things.” She then began walk down. “I have taken the time to observe the empire, such as it is. It has grown soft and weak. Ponies have forgotten that Equestria was forged through blood and sweat and steel. They have lost their ambition. And now, after a thousand years of banishment, I shall remind them.

“No more coddling! IT IS HIGH TIME FOR EQUESTRIA TO BE RULED BY A TRUE EMPRESS! AND I, QUEEN LUNA, SHALL BE THAT MONARCH!” She said, before swaggering up to Twilight. She then leaned down, even as Rainbow Dash and Applejack backed up, coming eye to eye with Twilight Sparkle through her intimidating mask. “So what are you going to do to stop me, my little pony?”

“Absolutely nothing,” Twilight replied.

“As I… really?” Luna asked, taken by surprised.

“Oh yes. I shall not do a thing against you,” Twilight replied, as she began to walk around the confused pony.

“But the prophecy said…”

“The prophecy said that you shall return. That you shall destroy the new order, and restore the ways of old, and begin an eternal night,” Twilight began.

“Well, yes. Metaphorically speaking…” Luna replied.

“And that you shall destroy the old institutions, even marriage. And that you’ll teach ponies new ways of pleasure,” Twilight continued.

“… what?”

“And from their careless reveling shall be birthed a new generation, and that Queen Luna, Goddess of Lust and Fertility, shall preside over, teaching them the ways of pleasure and pain regardless of gender or species.”

“WHAT?!”

“Oh, I can’t take much more of this. TAKE ME, MY NIGHTTIME QUEEN!” Twilight yelled, jumping up to tackle hug the self declared monarch of Equestria.

“NEIGH!” Luna replied. She raised a bubble shield right as Twilight was about hug her, and used her telekinesis to throw the unicorn. Twilight twisted in midair, landing on her hooves even as she slid back a little.

"Get out of here, now. Get help," Twilight said to Rainbow Dash and Applejack. The two ponies nodded, quickly running from the scene.

“THOU DAREST MOCKS ME?!” Luna yelled at the unicorn.

“You deserve to be mocked!” Twilight replied. “Now what have you done to Princess Celestia?”

Luna laughed. Not cackle. Not chuckle. Just laugh a subtle, even laugh. “Oh, well, I was sent to the moon. Being so close to the source of my power for a thousand years has done such wonders for me. So I sent her to the source of her power. May her skin slough off, and rest in pain, wishing for the release of death from the fires of the sun, but never receiving it.”

The night was beginning to fade into day. The stars, one by one, were winking out as a much brighter source of light began it’s slow assent above the horizon. And at that moment, Twilight felt something that she had never felt before.

She felt true righteous anger.

Gathering the magic that she had, she blasted out a heavy attack spell at the mare. It hit her armor, and four of the bejeweled constellations glowed brightly. It broke Luna’s mask, causing the wayward princess to flinch, but the moment it touched her fur the offensive magical energies were redirected to the moon crest, which blasted back at Twilight. A simple teleportation spell popped Twilight out of existence, and she stood above the other mare from the raised platform which Celestia was supposed to be standing on.

“What’s this?” Luna asked. She didn’t seem shocked or particularly angered. She seemed curious. Ponies and other creatures ran, though some stayed behind, ducking behind tables and watching from houses.

“I was considering letting this play out like forty years ago. But not this time!” Twilight yelled.

“Thirty years… wait…” Luna said, before giving Twilight a vicious grin. “How utterly like her. You’re her student, aren’t you? Shall receive two duels instead of one, hmm?”

“Let Celestia go!” Twilight yelled.

Luna laughed, having received her answer. “If you want you’re princess, you shall have to claim her. Come at me, knave!”

Twilight Sparkle’s special talent was magic. She was a well versed arcane scientist and magi in her own right. She knew nearly a hundred spells, when most unicorns learned only the half dozen or so directly related to their special talent, if even that. She could do any number of things, from forming spikes out of the rocks and dirt of the ground to prying off another pony’s armor, and even everything up to transmuting the air around Luna into chlorine gas if she could concentrate hard enough.

Yet with each of these possible spells came a problem. They were impressive on paper, but in reality required a tremendous amount of concentration. And to Twilight this was a real fight, with kit booties off and no bucks held back. Magical attacks that took five seconds could give her opponent the opening they needed, and magical attacks that took five minutes to charge up were straight out.

It is fortunate then that there are spells which can cause a lot damage, but required little time for the experienced magi to perform.

Twilight blasted a ball of bright green magical energy at the rogue princess. Luna threw a hexagonal magical shield to protect herself, but the attack was a feint. Instead of impacting the shield, it exploded in a bright ball that would temporarily deafen anyone not wearing proper ear protection and blind anyone looking directly at it.

Twilight teleported to the side, flanking her opponent. She let loose a series of magical bolts, nearly invisible but capable of piercing Royal Guard armor. The gem inlaid constellations, ornate protective runes from the look of it, deflected the bolts. They shattered holes into the walls of the buildings and caused depressions on the soft dirt of the plaza.

Those who had any sort of real survival instinct fled, but there still a few watchers. Among them were a certain unicorn DJ and a pink pony in an ornate dress, trying to set up some pieces of equipment. Light music began to play, and the lights flickered.

Luna was quick to reply to the magical attack. She gathered her own magical energy into the round circular crest of the helmet. She then blasted a beam of milky white energy from the crest. It very nearly hit Twilight, but even if the unicorn didn’t teleport away she wouldn’t have been hit. The magical flash bang had disoriented the self-proclaimed Empress, cutting through the town’s multi-storied city hall and court house. Splintered wood began to burn as the face of the building facing the plaza began to cave in on itself.

Twilight flanked Luna to the right. Rather than change strategy, though, she simply used a much larger version of her magical bolts. If she was using a magical crossbow before, she would use a magical ballista now. Gathering her energy, she shot forth a barely perceivable stream of energy. It exploded against the enchanted armor Luna. First it was held back by the shield, but it glowed brightly as did her horn.

The gems of the cracked, then exploded into glittery splinters as the active enchantments within the armor failed. Those enchantments drew from Luna’s power, so when the gems exploded, the tip of her horn was burned with mage fire. It blasted into her right wing, yet the magical alloy of the scale mail absorbed the magic and flaked off, sacrificing itself to protect Luna’s limb. Although the effects that could immediately kill Luna were negated, the kinetic energy of the magical blast was still transferred, throwing the Princess into the stage raised stage and causing it to collapse on her.

Twilight wearily began to walk towards the stage. She was panting from the effort that she had spent on those relatively simple magical spells. The rubble began to shift, and the alicorn emerged. Her armor was heavily scratched, and dented in a few places.

“Give up, Luna!” Twilight yelled. “You’re magical reserves have been depleted! There is no way you could possibly…”

Luna unflurred her wings at an angle and used a burst of magical energy to propel her. She tackled the physically young unicorn with the full weight of her armor and body, throwing both of them to the ground. Luna then untangled herself from Twilight, and she waited for her dazed foe to attempt standing before bucking her in the ribs.

Twilight screamed.

“WHAT WAS THAT?!” Luna asked mockingly. “WE CAN’T QUITE UNDERSTAND! IT APPEARS THAT WE’RE A LITTLE HARD OF HEARING AT THE MOMENT!”

Twilight was laying on her side. It felt as though the entire room of spinning. Distantly, she realized that her breathing was making a grating sound. She tried to get up, try to get away, but a light kick to her ribs caused Twilight’s world to explode in pain, sending her to the ground.

“YOU KNOW WHAT, KNAVE? THE HONORABLE THING TO DO WOULD BE TO ACKNOWLEDGE YOUR SKILL AND ALLOW YOU THE CHANCE TO BEND THE KNEE TO ME. THE SMART THING TO DO WOULD TO KILL YOU SO THAT A UNICORN OF YOUR POWER AND LOYALTY TO THE FALSE SOVERIGN CANNOT POSSIBLY THREATEN ME AGAIN. FOR THE SAKE OF MERCY I SHALL COMPRIMISE, AND SIMPLY CRIPPLE YOU. BUT DO NOT FEAR, KNAVE. I SHALL LEAVE YOUR HORN INTACT. AM I NOT A MERCIFUL SOVEREIGN?”

“Screw… you…” Twilight forced herself to say, before Luna stomped on her back leg with armored hooves. Twilight's scream could be heard from the other side of the city. Her sobs, however, could be heard across the plaza.

Or would, if a certain pink pony and her DJ sister were not the proverbial ace up Twilight Sparkle's sleeve.

“Good morning Ponyville!” a certain DJ yelled as the sun began to rise behind her. “This is DJ Pon-THREE, polluting your eardrums with my sweet, sweet music!”

The proclamation itself wouldn’t be enough to be heard by Luna, save for the fact that it was blasted through at rock concert levels as a sort of instrumental music blasted with it. Pinkie Pie grinned a little bit, before backing away from the stage as Luna walked away from Twilight and towards the DJ.

“IS THIS AMATEUR NIGHT?” Luna asked, though still somewhat deafened. “DO YOU PLAN TO FIGHT ME, WHEN I HAVE STRUCK LOW THE PRETENDER’S PROTÉGÉ?”

“Oh, but you’re making a mistake, most holy of hostesses,” the DJ replied with a grin, bobbing her head to the music as it repeated the same phrase over and over in an overly masculine voice that just edged at comprehensibility. “I’m not the one gonna fight you!”

“WELL, EVERYPONY ELSE HAS TRIED. OF COURSE, IT MIGHT NOT BE A PONY THIS TIME. WHAT, PREY TELL, WILL FIGHT ME?” the self proclaimed empress = asked, seemingly amused.

“MAH BASS CANNON!” the DJ screamed back with a grin far too wide, pressing a giant red button with her hoof.

When unicorns fight, they tend to weaponize their special talents. In the case of the Pie triplets, their talents tended towards entertainment. So it was only natural that the pony everyone knew as “Vinyl Scratch” would use sonic cannons disguised as regular subwoofers, as well as a novel style of electronic music, to try incapacitate her opponent.

Only Luna was not a normal opponent. At first the cannons hit with such force that she was blown back on her flank and slid towards Twilight. She then used her freakish strength to stand up against the blast, walking towards the speakers and Scratch. When the barrage of musical assault ended, Luna grinned wickedly, the malice in her eyes communicating full well what she would do to the unicorn who didn’t just defy her will, but made a foal out of her for the briefest of moments.

Right before there was an explosion to her right. A piece of shrapnel embedded itself into her armor, causing Luna to scream in pain. She looked around to see what exactly could harm her, and saw a diamond dog like mechanical monstrosity with a smoking cannon for a hand, it’s obvious mistress, and dozens of strangely uniformed ponies wielding what Luna recognized as hand cannons.

“Surrender or die!” Rarity yelled at Luna. Looking around once more at the ponies who seemed intent on making good on that threat, Luna made a tactical decision.

She unflurred her wings, then blasted straight up into the air with the unnatural speed that only a pegasus could obtain. Only she was more then just a normal pegasus. The Ponyville Guard had enough discipline not to shoot each other when she went up, as flack cannons filled the air with puffs of smoke. Yet it was too late, and Luna was already flying towards the old castle in the Everfree.

The last thing Twilight saw that morning was Rarity fussing her, and Nurse Redheart pulling out a needle to inject her with something. Then she fell asleep, and wouldn’t wake again before noon.

Comments

[source1]

That was magnificent.

[Erik Tiber]

That was a truly badass fight. I can't wait for moar.

I only noticed three errors:
Between writing in her journal quickly to keep from loosing any data in case she died,

“What exactly does Pinkie mean by ‘The Chose One’?” Twilight asked

the self proclaimed empress = asked, seemingly amused.

[ferret]

If you want you’re princess,