Of Wrath and Retribution
Twilight covered ground quickly, her reaction time and endurance enhanced by the magic she wielded. However, she was not prepared for the speed and power with which her friends would be moving. Her eyes widened as she sensed Rainbow Dash moving in behind her, her already impressive skill and speed augmented by her Element. Fluttershy moved in close, and Twilight averted her eyes, sure that if she were to make eye contact with the yellow Pegasus, she would be locked down even more tightly than in their first meeting, and that was something she could not afford. Cadance, Shining Armor, and Rarity let loose with a barrage of force and stunning spells, closing in on the purple unicorn. Applejack and Pinkie moved to flank her, and Twilight began to wonder if she may have miscalculated. Flaring her horn, she teleported a short distance away, back towards the direction she had come, and watched as her friends' assaults closed in on an empty space, the Pegasi pulling up to avoid the magical blasts, and AJ planting her hooves to avoid colliding with Pinkie Pie.
Twilight swiftly ripped several rocks out of the ground, pressing them tightly and listening as the relatively brittle stone was compressed into something much stronger, an obdurate lump of earth that would give her assailants pause if they made contact. Wasting no time, Twilight flung them at Applejack, who was closing the distance quickly. The orange Earth pony lowered her shoulder, expecting to feel the rocks break against her newfound strength. However, the hardened stone beat a rapid tattoo against her, knocking her over and causing her to hiss with pain, her skin livid with the force of the blow. Twilight, wasting no time, teleported once more, realizing that she was unable to see Pinkie Pie, which was never good.
Blinking into existence a short distance away, Twilight was not at all surprised to suddenly feel the weight of the pink mare on her back, as the Bearer of Laughter attempted to slow her down long enough to contain her. Twilight fought the instinctive urge to buck her off, instead choosing the route she knew would remove her most efficiently. Twilight teleported once more, directly behind and above her brother, taking Pinkie along for the ride. The sanguine mare, unused to teleportation, slid to the ground queasily, her body struggling to acclimatize to the rapid magical reconstitution used in the spell. Twilight dodged a kick from Shining Armor, and fired a bolt of magic at Cadance before leaping backward to avoid Rainbow Dash's counterattack, as she landed with enough force to crater the ground. Twilight realized that she would have to change her plan if she was to escape, as her friends were giving her no openings to attack from.
________________________________________
The Equestrian Fifth Fleet was the prize of the north, the largest gathering of airships in existence, tasked with preserving peace near Fillydelphia and the Quilinese Islands. Its crew members had faced pirates, storms, even the occasional Minotaur assault. Nothing had prepared them for this. Spike, in his jealous rage, soared among them, fire and ruin spilling from his jaws. His claws shredded rigging and crushed the hardened sides of the vessels with murderous ease, sending those crew members unlucky enough to be born without wings screaming to their deaths. A frigate, one of the most powerful and feared Naval vessels, unleashed a full broadside with its lightning guns, which impacted the dragon squarely on one side. Spike bellowed, past coherent speech, and turned his attention to the vessel. Landing on the deck, he ripped the top layer of wood off entirely, exhaling fire into the decks below. The screams of burning ponies filled the air, and Spike turned his breath to the gas bag at the top, letting the flame play over every magically reinforced inch of the sack. He took to the air once more, as the fabric was finally unable to contain the heat, and the frigate exploded, killing everypony on board.
He knocked several pursuing Pegasi out of the air with contemptuous ease, following them down to the assembled ranks below. Ponies scrambled for cover, and he felt a very few spells ricochet off of his armored hide as he inhaled deeply, letting fire flow out of his jaws once more. The soldiers below burned, screaming in pain and fear as the armor they wore fused to their blackened bodies, their protection causing them only more agony. Spike landed, crushing one bulky Earth pony underneath his claws. Springing off of the hardened earth, he took to the air once more, his tail lazily obliterating the top of the College's clock tower. A flight of Air Corps Pegasi, moving fast, sped toward the dragon, who simply tucked his wings, spiraling through their midst in a rapid blur of claws and teeth, a bloody mist trailing behind him as the Pegasi were eviscerated. Once more his attention turned to the airships above, one of which was preparing to fire on Golden Radiance. Spike roared in challenge, and sped off to annihilate the vessel entirely.
________________________________________
Golden Radiance moved through the assembled ranks quickly, her horn flashing as she cut down those in front of her easily. Those who attempted to flee simply died, those who attempted to hold their ground died painfully, and those that attempted to fight died horribly. Her magic was strong, and her body stronger. She wheeled, feeling a kick from one Earth pony that had tried to dent her papery hide. Her eyes flared, and the stallion began to blister from the inside out, screaming horribly all the while. Blinking out of existence, she reappeared under a veil, directly behind one unicorn stallion who suddenly found himself buried alive, his horn simply removed as if with the passing of a sharp blade. Focusing, she began to siphon heat away from one pony in front of her, placing it in the body of his comrade. Both collapsed as one died of shock and the other's body boiled away from overheating. Calling more power to herself, she split the earth in front of her, fifty stallions screaming as it swallowed them whole. Her veil flickered and died as she cast a massive hallucinogenic spell over the ponies in front of her, each of whom collapsed screaming, trapped in their own personal nightmare. Within a minute, they would work themselves into fatal heart attacks.
A boot of azure magic sped through the air, catching her squarely on the chin. The unicorn who had cast it grinned triumphantly as she rocked back, apparently in pain. His grin faded as he noticed his spell skittering across her hide, blue lightning sinking into her as she turned towards him. His mouth opened in a scream as his own spell returned, blasting his horn into smithereens as it worked its way into his skull. Golden Radiance sighed as she turned from the collapsing pony, moving on to her next targets.
________________________________________
Twilight glanced up at the collapsing airships, the beginnings of a plan taking shape in her head. She dodged several bolts of magic from her friends, choosing instead to run full tilt towards the spot where the flaming airship was going to land. Bits of burning wood and smoking metal peppered the going around her, as she felt somepony big, probably Applejack, charging after her. The airship was right on top of her, and she leapt into the air, spinning to face her assailant as she teleported once more, taking her beyond the impact zone of the ship. Her eyes widened as she saw that it was not Applejack who had followed her. It was her brother, who looked up in horror as the wreckage of the airship came down on top of him. Planting his hooves, he tried to form one of his signature shields, and Twilight lost track of him as he was buried under ten tons of burning debris.
Cadance was screaming as she desperately began to lift off the remains of the airship off of her husband, and Twilight shook herself, realizing exactly what she had done. Her horn flared as she began to reach for what strength she had, and piece by piece the airship lifted itself into the air. Twilight held the mass of twisted metal and burning wood high in the air as Cadance darted inside, retrieving Shining Armor. At last, Twilight let the ship drop, and realized that she now had her chance. She cleared her mind, reaching for the crystal around her neck, and began to sift through the vast repository of knowledge it now contained, searching for one particular spell. Finding it, she reviewed the contents quickly and returned to reality. Performing each step flawlessly, Twilight sent magic through the earth beneath her, which began to rumble and crack. Noxious vapors spilled forth, wriggling across the ground. Twilight began to channel more Breaking magic through her horn, watching as it poured into the cracks. What she was attempting was very old, very dangerous, and very powerful, one of the most rare of enchantments. Twilight waited until the ground was supersaturated with magic, and then she spoke the words needed to complete her casting, words that had not been spoken since Starswirl himself had walked the earth. "Ata Bra Golem Devuk Hakhomer VeTigzar Zedim Chevel Torfe Yisroel!"
A massive arm of clay and stone burst from the ground, each finger easily as big as Twilight's torso. A twin forced its way from the mud, and Twilight took a step back as a brutish head, that of a wolf, rose from the deeps, its eyes burning with black fire. A massive torso followed, and at last the thing stood over them all, easily a hundred meters high and waiting for instructions. Twilight could see her friends getting ready to deal with this new threat. Closing her eyes, Twilight gave it the instructions necessary to ensure their escape, and sealed the directive inside of its primitive mind. It rumbled with force enough to rattle the teeth in her skull, speaking the language of the deep earth. The elemental stepped forward, with one purpose in mind, Twilight's orders repeating in its very core. "Keep the Elements and Princess occupied. Do not harm them. Above all, make sure that they do not follow us."
"What have I done?" she thought, as the golem lumbered forward, the Elements moving to engage it. "I may have just killed my brother...is what I'm doing worth it?" Shaking her head to rid herself of the thoughts, she began to move, veiling herself to avoid suspicion. Having been wrapped up in her own battle, she had failed to see what damage she had wrought to the College. The direction Golden Radiance had assaulted was little more than a smoking and charred field of corpses, and she could hear the aerial combat raging above her, watching in horror as unicorns plummeted to the ground, and their shipmates who could still fly tried desperately to save them. As she watched, a cruiser in retreat that had been listing to one side, smoke coming from its gunports, exploded, causing debris to rain down on the ponies finding cover below. She caught sight of a sobbing Cadance laboring to save Shining Armor, whose breathing was labored and shallow. As she sprinted by, she caught sight of his mangled back and face, and the stump where one of his hooves used to be. She wanted nothing more than to help, but she hardened her heart and kept running, desperately trying to find Golden Radiance.
Her hooves worked doubly trying to keep their balance on the blanket of corpses she found herself running over. Catching sight of the mare, she gasped. Golden Radiance had what forces were remaining in a rout, sucking stone after stone down as she channeled vast power in a massive assault, annihilating whole regiments in flashes of light. "Golden Radiance!" Twilight called. The mare looked over, ceasing her assault. Her eyes widened at the sight of the golem, which roared and knocked Fluttershy out of the air with a mighty blow. Twilight finally caught up to the construct.
"We need to go. I can't hold off the Elements and Cadance forever, and you can bet that when the Guard detachment my brother brought along gets here, they'll be a damn sight more difficult to deal with. I'm getting Spike and them we're heading east. Come on!" And with that, the two raced across the war zone that was the College, heading for its easternmost edge.
"Spike!" she called, magically enhancing her voice. "Break off, let's go!"
The dragon looked at her, and without looking back disengaged from the vessel he had been dismantling, leaving it to limp to safety. His form began to lose mass as he flew, the power and fury exchanged for speed and precision. Flaring his wings, he landed heavily by her side, the three of them running once again. Twilight caught sight of Applejack who veered to intercept them. The golem turned, a small portion of itself falling into one hand. For the second time that day, the Bearer of Honesty was battered with rocks, the force of the blow carrying her over the trio's heads. Twilight's friend bounced along the ground limply, heading straight for one of the crevices left by Golden Radiance’s attacks. Twilight reached out with her magic, catching the cowpony by one hoof and slinging her roughly away, sighing with relief when she slid to a stop away from the combat, her orange flame extinguished.
The trio sped away from the fighting, Twilight using magic to give them the energy to run. It was barely enough. They had overextended themselves, and exhaustion was setting in. It was a stroke of luck that they had kept the packs, but until they escaped the city limits there was no way they could begin to think of resting. And between them and the safety of the foothills they would be crossing to get to the northeastern mountains was a gate with guards and heavy defenses. Twilight drew on the energy of the crystal as they approached, hearing the alarms of the guards as they scrambled to man their defenses. There was no way out save through the gate, so Twilight regretfully released the spell she had dreaded having to use, watching as each guard slumped over, clots forming in their brains and stopping their hearts instantly. Another bolt of force liquefied the stone of the gate, which crumbled and collapsed just before they passed through it. Out in the open, they spread out, as the lightning guns of the airships began to fire, trying to get their range. Twilight's horn flared again, and she stumbled as yet more power poured into the air around her. Clouds formed overhead with unnatural speed, and a wind began to sweep over the plain, picking up speed as they went. Golden Radiance formed a shield against the wind, which began to pick up in earnest. Twilight pushed harder than ever, and the three friends flew across the plains, the city left far behind as a funnel cloud stretched towards the ground, a massive tornado that stood in place, preventing any of the damaged ships from pursuing them.
As Twilight ran, she could hear Cadance's voice, louder than the howl of the wind around them, from the burning city behind. "Twilight! Is this what you wanted? Is this enough for you? I hope you're happy, because I'm going to make sure you answer for this, all of it! I promise, Twilight! I promise!"
________________________________________
It wasn't until the sun had finally dipped past the horizon, throwing the land into shadow, that Twilight let her magic loose, slumping to the ground in exhaustion. Even after they could no longer hear the storm behind them, or the sounds of battle, they had continued to run. Twilight's elemental, strong as it was, would not have lasted more than an hour, and less than that if the Elements had been joined by Cadance. So they had run, as fast as they could while the city of Fillydelphia fought fires and cared for its wounded, and Twilight further cemented herself as a monster in Equestria's eyes.
They made camp for the evening in a small patch of woods, and risked a fire in order to cook food and boil water from a murky pool nearby, rendering it safe for drinking. The mood that night was somber, as each of the companions realized exactly what they had done. Golden Radiance had destroyed hundreds of lives, ripping them away from the world without thought for their homes, or families, or lovers. She had killed them without hesitation, pity, or remorse. If what Twilight had said about her family was true, and the Guard truly had murdered her and her family, then what she had done was no better. She hadn't given any stallion among them the chance to run, she had merely slain without thought for those around her, without care for them, as if they were toys to be broken and cast aside like trash.
Spike stared at his claws, which were caked with blood even after he had tried to scrub them off in the nearby pool. The fact that he had dismantled an entire fleet of airships, while frightening in its own right, wasn't what bothered him most. What bothered him was the fact that it felt right somehow, that he had, deep down, enjoyed what he was doing. He remembered the coppery tang of blood on his tongue, the feel of ripping through helpless unicorns and Pegasi, and he realized that it had felt good. They had feared him as the dragon he was, and he had showed all of them what it truly meant to fight against one of his kind. He growled softly, and turned in on himself, coiling up and trying to forget what atrocities he had committed.
Twilight was worst off by far. Every time she closed her eyes, she saw her brother looking up at the wreckage of an airship that was about to crush him, or the expression of horror on Cadance's face as she tried to stem the bleeding and soothe his burns, or Shining Armor's broken and battered body lying terribly still, fighting for life. Twilight Sparkle could no longer deny it. If she were to show her face again, anywhere in any city in Equestria, she would be branded a monster, a criminal, and a murderer. She sniffed, fighting back tears. Regardless of what she had said, she had never wanted anything to happen to Shining Armor. Or her friends. Even if it meant that they were now pursuing her, Twilight still hoped that her friends were alive and unharmed.
She couldn't believe what she was prepared to do. Applejack had a foal, and Pinkie was expecting! What right did she have to take that away from them? And it wasn't just them. Each of her friends had lives, and lovers, and hopes and dreams far beyond hers. It wasn't her place to take that from them, any more than it was Celestia's right to take her life away from her. Or was it? Twilight was fighting a goddess, one who moved the sun in the sky and wielded power over all of Harmony. How could she possibly fight against her teacher, the immortal monarch of Equestria, even with help? Celestia had imprisoned Luna for a thousand years with the Elements of Harmony at her side, who was to say she wouldn't do it again? And Twilight would deserve it at that point, too.
The mare chided herself for thinking that way. If she was correct in her assumptions, (and she was, the logic was flawless), then Celestia was nowhere near the perfect monarch Twilight had thought her to be. She was apparently prepared to trade her life for that of a foal she was not going to have, something she had already done in the past. She had done something to her friends, that much was certain. The Bearers pursuing her were no more her friends than Celestia was a normal pony. They were something else at this point, and Twilight was certain from the way they acted that her friends were no longer entirely in control of themselves.
A horrible thought occurred to her. Was she? The magic she had been using looked disturbingly similar to some of the magic she had seen Nightmare Moon using, back before that entity had been banished by her and her friends. She recalled the many passages she had read on dark magic, necromancy and mind control and many others, magic that seemed to offer the world on a silver platter, all for the low cost of your soul, leaving you as nothing more than an unfeeling, psychotic, and entirely too powerful killing machine. Was Twilight following that path? She could never see herself doing the things she had just done before she had started using Breaking magic, but she had also never imagined having to fight half an army and an Alicorn, not to mention the Elements of Harmony. Troubled, she used some of the meditation techniques Celestia had taught her, trying to center herself. Soon, she slipped into restless sleep.
________________________________________
Fillydelphia Medical Center was one of the finest institutions in Equestria, as well as one of the largest. That being said, tonight it was full, with all staff present and working overtime to treat the almost one thousand beds full of wounded soldiers, saving the ones they could and easing the passage of the ones they couldn't. Sadly, there were far more of the latter than the former. Healing magic only went so far, and even with the added assistance of the College and the Regular Medical Corps, many ponies went untreated as doctors worked furiously to staunch wounds, treat shock, and ease pain. The hospital was filled with noise, from the urgent shouts of the doctors to the groans of the wounded and dying to the sobs of loved ones clinging to those briefly covered with bloody sheets before being wheeled away to make room for others.
One corner of the hospital, however, was silent save for the beeping of an EKG and the hum of a respirator. The stallion resting on a bed inside had just been put through an extremely radical surgery, one the doctors had been hesitant to perform until a scroll sealed with the insignia of Celestia herself had appeared and ordered it. By his side was his wife, who had refused to leave his side after he was wheeled out of the room, and had indeed fallen asleep holding his hoof in her own, her normally beautiful face streaked with tears and drawn with exhaustion. She was alone, the Bearers of Harmony beginning their pursuit of Twilight Sparkle right after they had finally brought the golem to its knees, leaving the shattered city to fend for itself as they began to track her. They had angled their pursuit towards Canterlot, pulling away from the mountains in order to bring Twilight in.
So it was that Princess Mi Amore di Cadenza slept the silent sleep of one performing the duties of a guardian angel, waiting on her Shining Armor to wake up, hoping against hope that the procedure had gone as planned. She was woken by a gentle stirring from the bed, the first time he had moved since he was brought into the hospital. Her eyes fluttered open as she looked at the stallion she loved sit up and look around groggily. "Cadance?"
Her face lit up. "Shining Armor!" She kissed him, gentle tears of joy falling from her face. "Thank Celestia you're alright! I was so worried..."
"What happened? I can't...I don't...how did I get here? The last thing I remember was Twily heading for the field, and she was about to get hit by the airship...I had to protect her."
Cadance's face darkened. "It was a trap, to lure one of us in and give herself extra time. I think she intended for me to be the one underneath, not you. She threw the airship off of you before she left."
"Then...she's still in there, somewhere. Somewhere inside of her, Twilight is still there. We can still convince her that Celestia knows what she's doing. How are...the soldiers? What happened to them?"
"The three of them accounted for eight hundred deaths, as well as two hundred civilian deaths between them. Wounded is a little over three times that, but most of them...Shining, most of them won't make it. They were thorough. You're lucky, we were able to help you."
Shining Armor's brow furrowed. "Why is my vision fuzzy? And I'm having trouble feeling one of my legs. Breathing's a bit difficult too."
The Princess levitated a small mirror from the bedside table. "You were almost dead, Shining Armor. They had to replace a few things...but everything will eventually work exactly the way it's supposed to. And I still love you, no matter what. Just remember that." And with that, she gave him the mirror.
Shining Armor's breath caught in his chest. One side of his face was gone, including one eye, which had been replaced with a copy of steel and glass, fused flawlessly into the bronze half-mask that had replaced half of his once-proud visage. It glinted with magic, Cadance's familiar teal magic powering the device. He threw off the sheets, seeing what other changes had been wrought to his body while he slept. His front had been fitted with adamantium plating, a cunningly layered piece of armor that provided more flexibility and protection than any plate he had worn before. His left front leg was gone, replaced with more of the same metalwork. Shining Armor stared at the thing he had become.
"Celestia approved the procedure almost instantly. If everything goes as planned, you'll be even stronger and faster than you were before the crash." Shining Armor was silent. "It was the only option, they were saving the parts for another soldier but he had recently died. The surgeons here aren't as good as the ones in Canterlot, and it was either this or you dying. Do you hate me?" Cadance asked, unable to feel what her husband was thinking.
Shining Armor turned to his wife. "Hate you? No, I could never hate you. This will just take some getting used to, is all. As long as you're with me, I know I can make it through this." And with that, the two kissed, ready to face the world together once more.
________________________________________
E' lei?
Si, penso di si.
Dobbiamo portarla alla Principessa, giusto?
Si, luna pagherà bene per averla..
Non svegliari lei o il drago. Li avvicineremo domani mattino.
Certo. Lo la guardio. Rimanete attenti, non vogliamo essere preso.
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The worst part is that Celestia wins in the end. So all these deaths are meaningless.
1287247
We don't know that. This story technique has been used before. Start with the end, out of context and a seemingly hopeless situation. Then, flash back and show how things reached that stage.
Just because we saw Twilight about to get brainwashed with the Elements of Harmony doesn't mean it will happen. Luna is on her side and Twilight kept wondering where she was. What better time to attack than when Celestia is least expecting it?
What I am curious is what happens to Golden Radiance between now and then. Because she is here now, but not one mention was made of her in the beginning...
At any rate, the battle scenes in this chapter were amazing! The Terrible Trio... Wow. Even with the Elements of Harmony... Twi, Spike and Golden are on another playing field entirely. When the giants are in the playground, you had best get out from under foot!
1287378
I see your point. Twilight could have possibly left something behind as a trump card. Ain't over till it's over. However, I personally believe that it's a little too early to be calling Luna an ally. Especially since she wasn't there to help Twilight when she got blasted by the Elements of Harmony. Never rule out betrayal. Although, it may be part of some larger plan that Twi and Luna cooked up near the end. Would be a little obvious tho. Hmm, maybe this entire thing is going according to Celestia's plan. All these conspiracy theories are starting to get to me.
1287517
That means I'm doing my job right!
1287529
Ugh, speculah. It never ends well.
what does the passage at the end translate too?
1287749
Is that her?
I think so.
We are to bring her to the Princess, correct?
Yes, Luna will pay well for her.
Don't disturb her or the dragon. We will approach tomorrow morning.
Of course. I will keep watch. Stay alert, we don't want to be spotted.
200 civilian death? Shouldn't they have been evacuated from the area before Twilight was called out?
1288031
Evacuations of areas take time, and the collateral damage would have been massive. It's a testament to their efficiency that they were able to call as many away as they did.
1288045
In which case they provoked Twilight into emerging before they were ready.
1288177
Yeah, we in the business refer to that sort of thing as a Charlie Foxtrot.
Right now all i keep on thinking is why Celestia wants Twilight's alicorn foal so much. She has gone through so much planning to get here, there has to be a reason. It can't be simply to help protect the nation. It seems pretty strong as is. My guess is there is some big grand scheme in which Celestia needs more alicorns for.
I also believe That twilight has a backup plan for when she gets captured. Past episodes have proved that she is capable of a great degree of organization. Of course as Lesson Zero proved she can also go nuts, so there is a chance she does not have a fall back plan.....
Keep up the awesome work!
1287517
1288301
Or Twi gets out because Celestia goofs up and only removes any influence from using Breaking Magic.
Remember that Tia is effectively the one that ran the disaster in Filly, by proxy of the Elements.
1287247
gods and demons can be slain same as any mortal.
It just takes timing, and a little extra oomph.
Applied phlebotinum always helps.
I'm betting on ze good guys and gals.
I always do.
1288915
I bet Celestia wins, even tho I'm rooting for Twilight. That way, if Celestia wins, I can take comfort in knowing I was right. If Twilight wins, I'll be pleasantly surprised. Win-win for everyone! Unless neither of them wins. Then I will has a sad.
1288915
Quite a bit of oomph, not so much the timing. Hell, with enough oomph you hardly need to aim.
...
1288951
You forget, my species (while we appreciate brute force) believe that a single well placed shot from five miles away with the proper shell can do a job that would otherwise require a tank battalion. But of course, give us a BFG and we will empty the canister. You know; for safety.
1289072
Or science. I do a lot of things for science.
1289089
"Hold still. This is for science."
1289104
Trust me, I'm a scientist.
Congratulations, Twilight, Spike. You've now officially crossed the Moral Event Horizon (or as I like to call it, The Severing Line) in my book with the killing of eight hundred plus people (and two hundred civilians). It's going to take nothing short of Celestia plotting genocide for me to side with Twilight at this point.
1288301
Well Cadenza's mother wasn't an Element of Harmony (I assume) nor was her father as strong in magic as Twilight is (I think)
Twilight on the other hand is the chosen bearer of the Element of magic, the strongest of all elements, and she also has been massively exposed to it numerous times (This has been stated to be important for where a Alicorn gets a lot of its power). In addition she is quite possibly one of the strongest unicorns ever born. What ever she gives birth to probably won't be a "normal" Alicorn.
Though I can't help but think were missing some important pieces of the puzzle and this is much bigger and different from just bringing another Alicorn into the world.
1289331
Twilight was essentially defending herself. If Celestia had left her alone none of the deaths would have happened.
Celestia is the one responsible for the deaths caused by her orders.
Should Twilight have allowed Cadance (and the others) to capture her to save the lives of the soldiers Celestia ordered to enslave her?
Remember Celestia's goal will eventually include mind-raping Twilight...
1289711
If Celestia were to simply leave Twilight alone, all indications are Twilight would eventually go to Canterlot to overthrow/usurp her (which is probably the only reason Luna is siding with Twilight). This would cripple Equestria and probably spark a civil war.
We don't yet know what Celestia's endgame is. For all we know, she needs more alicorns to prevent the destruction of Equestria. As cold as it sounds, is Twilight's life worth more then the lives of all of Equestria? Not in my book. And it's certainly not worth more then two hundred innocent civilians who were probably killed in ways that would make Assad cringe.
Like it or not, Twilight might have committed war crimes and Spike definitely did.Two wrongs don't make a right.
1289800
Twilight was justifiably angry but i do not know what indications you are talking about. Kick her in the teats and demand answers YES! Overthrow the government? Not so much...
Luna siding with Twilight ... Maby you missed the whole Celly beat her bloody then mind raped her thing that happened a couple chapters ago ... Celestia wrote the history books. How much actually happened and how much was invented by Celly? You are giving Celestia the benefit of the doubt but can not do the same for Luna ...
Judge them by what they have done. Who has Luna manipulated? Who has Celestia manipulated? Who has Luna mind raped? Who has Celestia mind raped?
Civilian deaths .. Celestia was the one who decided to start a magic war in the middle of a crowded university in a populus city. Twilight and co. had every right to defend themselves. Celestia used deadly force. Twilight was justified in using deadly force to defend herself.
1289986
Let's look at what they've done,
Celestia:
1) Manipulated the bloodlines of several powerful noble houses to produce alicorns. Had the, intended or otherwise, side effect of reducing birth rates and eventually caused the houses to dissolve.
2) Nope, that's actually all Celestia's done so far.
Luna:
1) Attempted to usurp the throne and plunge Equestria into eternal night. But, you say, history's written by the winners! She seemed pretty determined to do it in the pilot. (Inb4 "she went insane while on the moon". Awfully convenient she would go insane, and attempt to do the very thing that Celestia "framed" her for.)
2) Like with Celestia, that's all she's done.
Things would be greatly helped if we knew more of the puzzle (what Celestia's plans are, what Luna's plans are) but so far attempted omnicide is worse then a few noble houses being destroyed.
I grow weary of the Tyrantlestia, the Draco in Leather Pants, the Ron the Death Eater, and the Fanon Discontinuity. I don't know why I even bother to read Tyrantlestias anymore. All they ever do is piss me off.
1290090
To Quote Lyra...
"I love them."
They're so awesome and usually grand in scale.
1290090
Celestia directly mind manipulated Twilight many times (Twilight would never have been attracted to Morning without the manipulation). How many months or years did Celestia do things to Twilights mind while she was asleap? (remember Spikes headaches? the ancient power that were causing them?) It is strongly implied that all of her friends (except Spike) have had their minds altered to fall in love with the ponies Celestia chose (taking away their free will love spell kind of manipulation). It is strongly implied that the same love spell has been used for at least a thousand years to bio-engineer Celestia's chosen race.
Celestia may have good reasons for what she is doing. She may not be tyrant Celestia.
Whatever her goals are someone needs to tell her that The Ends Do Not Justify the Means.
Like you, i am not fond of Tyrant Celestia. I doubt that this is a True Tyrant Celestia (doing everything for her own personal power). Celestia has reasons for her actions i just really doubt they are a good justification for what she has done. I guess we wil find out more in the next couple chapters.
I dont know what those two are but if they are Harry Potter fan fic references i dont think i want to know.
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Hell, with enough oomph you hardly need to aim.
Why kill when you can overkill?
I listened to Disco Inferno while reading this chapter. It probably didn't set the mood that you were going for, but it was awesome nonetheless.
Can't wait to read more.
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This is really the only reason I'm still reading this story, in the desperate hope that Celestia's between a rock and a hard place (i.e. save Twilight but let Equestria burn or kill Twilight [via alicorn birth] but save Equestria with the alicorn). Unfortunately, comments the author have made ("I'm gonna bring the whole corrupt system down around Celestia's head...it's gonna be biblical." "Tis now the very witching hour. So have a short chapter about a witch.
" "Trust me, you want no part of Celestia's world.") suggest he's going with a more traditional Tyrantlestia fanfic as opposed to one with a moral dilemma.
Draco in Leather Pants and Ron the Death Eater are TV Trope terms.
Draco in Leather Pants refers to the phenomenon in fanfiction where an author takes a villain (NMM in this case) and downplays their negative traits (wanting eternal night) while uplifting anything positive (establishing the "New Lunar Republic"). This is quite common in Tyrantlestia fanfics with Luna wanting a democracy and the evil Celestia banishing for it. So far, this story hasn't made that mistake as of yet, but it is likely the author will try to downplay NMM at some point.
Ron the Death Eater is the opposite, when an author takes a good guy and makes them evil. Tyrantlestia fits this to tee.
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This. This is why I love writing on this site as opposed to keeping it all on my computer. Seeing how people react to my story is fascinating on a level that most authors only dream of. For the record, the goal here is to create a sort of moral grey area both characters exist in. Granted, I'm trying to make Celestia's grey a considerably darker shade, but still grey. That's what I love about this idea of mine, in the end it comes down to your personal beliefs, regardless of what I write.
I'll be disappointed if you stop reading because you think my portrayal of Celestia is too dark. But I will also understand, and wish you no ill for it. And besides, the story is far from over! There are still secrets to uncover and motives to discern, so I would ask only that you continue reading until you do have all the facts you need to reach an educated opinion.
I'm eager to see what you think of the next few chapters.
Chapters 1-34 in a single sitting. *twitch*
Sanity levels rapidly dropping. *shudder*
FAR FROM OVER?! ARE YOU KIDDING ME?! THATS 34 DAMNED CHAPTERS AVERAGING 3K WORDS APIECE!!!
The finale better damn well be stupidly epic is all I can say.
Seriously though, manipulating ponies lives over hundreds of years to produce alicorns? And birthing one kills the mother? You are one magnificent bastard, sir. I hope you have nightmares. Write on...
Yeah, this chapter goes too far for me as well. Twilight's motives are entirely about saving her own skin at this point... Nothing wrong with that, but still. In order to do so, she and her companions are willing to take the lives of more than a thousand innocent souls, apparently in the most brutal and painful ways possible.
At this point Twilight and her lil group start to become the monsters. Twilight seems reluctant to kill but Spike and Golden Radience are pretty much just monsters right here. I don't see an outcome from this without Spike being at least banished and really from his actions it sounds like execution is a better option. Even Twilight is acting weird, shes encountered her friends a few times but hasn't said a word to them, its possible that she is worried about what Celestia would do if they knew or she just assumes it doesn't matter but its still weird and not spelled out. Oh well, I suppose I shall keep going and see where this leads.
1287956 A better translation:
-E' lei?
-Penso di si. / Si, penso di si.
-Dobbiamo portarla alla Principessa, giusto? (Going from the next sentence, you imply something forceful, so "portarla" is okay; if you want to mean that they should "guide her to the princess", you can use "condurla")
-Si, Luna pagherà bene per lei. / Si, luna pagherà bene per averla. (The first is more literal, the second one sounds better but translates to "pay well to have her")
-Non disturbare ne lei ne il drago. Ci avvicineremo domani mattina. (If you meant "we will approach them tomorrow", then use "Li avvicineremo...")
-Certamente. Io resto di guardia. Resta allerta, non vogliamo farci vedere. ("of course" literally translates to "sicuro", "certamente" o "certo" and in this connotation it's more of an agreement to the previous sentence; you could also use "va bene", but that implies more the meaning of an agreement between the two speakers)
I apologize, I don't want to seem too pedantic, but since it's my native language I don't feel right leaving it like that.
What does that say at the end?
Damn, not gonna lie, i didnt think theyd go full kill mode. and idk why twilight just hasnt tried to explain to any of her freinds whats going on. even a note would suffice. like jesus. words are nice
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fc04.deviantart.net/fs70/f/2010/251/1/e/dakka_lad_by_lgliang-d2ya40k.jpg
Enough oomph? Never enough oomph. Or enough dakka. Besides, aiming is only for people who can't afford enough dakka to bury a planet in shell casings.
Shinning armor sounds like he's a total naughty ass now
So far I really liked this story even if there were some things that didn't make sense, but now things are just plain bizzare:
Why would breeding more powerful unicorns lead to a rapid decline in birth rates?
If Cadance is the only product of these experiments then you can't say that Celestia knew or wanted her mother to die, or that dying would be necessary. If twilight foaled an Alicorn it's entirely possible that with specific diet, letting Twilight drain magical energy or feeding Twilight magic through her element, Twilight could survive.
Celestia's been in charge for 1000 years; she could have slowly molded the culture to accept anything she wanted so who make it abhor what she is really doing? Same with Twilight, Celestia got her as a child who was very eager to please, she could have probably molded Twilight to have any values she wanted, why teach her values that would make her turn on you if she found the truth; and if you can't get the student you're hand raising on your inner circle, how did she recruit people like Morning Star?
What exactly is going on with the Celestia transforming the elements and why didn't she do any of this other times when they could have used this in the series.
Three people slaughtering over a thousand ponies and injuring three times as many??? Over the top, (especially since none of those three people are meant to have had hardly any combat training), and if Golden Radiance was that ridiculously powerful, couldn't she have saved herself and her baby from the eight (or so) guards who killed her?
I LOVE your writing style, and your story is entertaining, but it just doesn't making sense!
A bunch of energy went into those spells by radiance and twi. Must have made a killer twister. I liked how she didn't finish off aj and shining armor, they're just pawns they don't know any better.
why do I have a feeling Shining is now Jeremiah Gottwald?
12883010 reading so far I believe it to be part of Celestias plan for world domination.
Wow... It's hard to remain sympathetic to Twilight after reading about the consequences of the battle she unleashed. True, we don't know the full extent of Celestia's plans, but manipulating bloodlines and even engineering a couple of deaths doesn't seem to be anywhere close to the scale of the massacre Twilight and her friends just casually inflicted. Maybe Celestia's suspicions of Twilight's corruption weren't so unfounded as they seemed initially. I wonder if Luna would want to continue supporting Twilight after this...
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(Hope you don't mind me responding to your comment from a month ago) I agree with most of your criticisms, especially about over-the-top death toll and questionable combat capabilities of rebel trio. A couple of questions could be plausibly answered within the context of the story:
Perhaps, it's a side effect of powerful magic that makes it unlikely for embryos to survive until birth, as they have no means to control it. They are essentially doing to themselves what Cake's foals did to their environment. Plus, it ties with explicit confirmation of alicorns' infertility.
The simplest answer would be that Celestia did transform them only when all other options were exhausted, and it just wasn't necessary before. Or maybe she didn't want to freak out Twilight, who was not yet ready for the next step. There are also multiple hints through the story that the Bearers have become much more attuned to their Elements over the years of exposure (the entire beginning of "Of Plots and Parties" chapter, for example) and it's possible that they became capable of such transformation only after the events of the show.
I'd like to add another questionable plot point: how was it possible for Luna to create a secret militarized order spanning the whole Equestria and beyond in the period of merely 10 years? I understand that outcasts exist in any society, but this group's numerical strength and devotion to Luna seem unrealistic for the country which adores Celestia and prays to her as a goddess. Remember, Celestia had a millennium of influence to mold the society into whatever shape she desired.
Haven't read the rest of the story yet, so please no spoilers, if something has been explained in following chapters.
2974162 You must not have paid attention at all. Twilight felt deep remorse after she was able to stop and think about things.
In the middle of a battle with hundreds of soldiers all trying to capture you so an evil dictator can do something evil to you, you don't think, you fight. The soldiers didn't really give her an option, unless she had somehow teleported out of there.
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Taking another person's life is not as easy as popping head of a random NPC in a video game. IRL military and criminal structures spend a lot of time to psychologically condition people to kill without hesitation or second thought. Twilight had no such training and we have seen multiple times that she preferred non-lethal solutions even in life threatening situations. Also you need to take into account that there were no murders in hundreds of years of Equestrian history and ponies don't love for violent media as we do, which should make Twilight even less ready to consider inflicting death as a viable tactics than an average human. I can accept "murder in self defense", "murder due to heartbreak" or "murder in the heat of the combat" excuse in regard to confrontation with Morning Star. In Fillydelphia Twilight was the one who deliberately went into battle without seriously considering other options. Teleporting, illusion spells, invisibility, escaping with the Doctor immediately come to mind, and I'm sure our genius sorcerer has other tricks in her sleeve.
Twilight felt remorse after the battle, but it still was extremely mild compared to what someone in her situation should have felt. Remember, even a single act of murder is completely alien to ponies, not to mention hundreds of them, plus killing or injuring your friends and family... I was very surprised Twilight didn't turn into a total emotional wreck for weeks or months after she realized full extent of what she did. And I was even more surprised others were willing to cooperate with her, Spike and Golden Radiance after Fillydelphia.
Oh god...Twilight...Spike...what have you just done? Nothing justified this slaughter! That is their point of no return and also sins they have to take responsibility for also with the punishment that goes with it. What Celestia had done is also wrong but this can never never justify the killing of innocent soldiers and civilians!
I also find it strange how quick and icecold Twilight was getting into fight and not even considering other possible non-lethal methods. It is also horrible that Shining Armour has to pay such a high price for this. I´m glad he survived.
You are a very very skilled and gifted writer and I adore your story. I can´t wait to see what happens next and I´m worried what changes Twilight will going under. May the dead in this chapter rest in peace.
I just realized this is a similiar story to fullmetal alchemist where celly is van hohenheim and alicorns are philosopher stones.... dear luna thats horrifying