Tales of Eden

by BlackRoseRaven

Consequences

Chapter Twelve: Consequences
~BlackRoseRaven

Princess Celestia sat in her throne room, her communicator floating in front of her in her psychic grip. She scowled at the image of Thorn on it, and he looked coldly back at her.

“Negotiations have failed, then.” Celestia said.

“Because of you.” Thorn replied, tactless. She had made him angry. She counted that as a personal victory, even if it was likely also a terrible mistake.

“Yes.” There was no point in lying. “But did you really think I was going to entrust Twilight to your care after everything you've done? Or the pieces of the anchor? You promised to help. You've only brought us pain, and suffering, and death.”

“I am not going to explain myself to you again. You are fully aware of what I am doing, and why I am doing it.” Thorn replied frostily. “I am giving you one last chance to surrender, but my patience and my time here are both running thin. I will be forced to launch an all-out assault on Canterlot if you refuse to comply within ten hours.”

Celestia scowled, but this time she forced herself not to snap at the stallion, instead taking a breath before she asked, as calmly as she could: “Will you give me sixteen hours? I would like to discuss terms of surrender with my sister and council. If we can come to an agreement-”

“Ten hours. No more, no less. I am aware of the weapon you are building, Princess Celestia.” Thorn Blackfeather answered calmly, and Celestia scowled before she grimaced and nodded shortly.

But they both lingered for a moment, looking at one-another, until the Princess of the Sun asked abruptly: “Was Twilight Sparkle's performance... satisfactory?”

“Exemplary.” Thorn answered, before he said in a quieter voice: “If you had allowed her to negotiate terms-”

“Yes. She may have found peace between us. She may have convinced you, and more importantly, convinced me, to meet somewhere in the middle of where we are now.” Princess Celestia closed her eyes, saying softly: “And that is why I had to send her away, and could not allow that to happen. I cannot do what is in the best interest of Twilight Sparkle, and friendship. I have to do what is in the best interests of all of Equestria. Because without the energy of the core, we are doomed.”

“Ponies live without artes, using simpler forms of energy generation-”

“I don't care how other ponies live, Lord Black. I care how my ponies live.” Celestia replied sharply. “The entire world is going to fall into chaos when artes disappear. People across the globe depend on artes for their livelihood and their lives, and first there will be panic, then anger. And then? Riots. Uprisings. War. And we could avoid all that if you would just let us use the cores for a little while longer!”

“Your experiments have already seriously damaged the integrity of the anchor. It won't last a century before decaying completely at this rate, and it was originally intended to last for thousands upon thousands of years.” replied Thorn evenly. “And I offered you a power source, which you rejected out of hoof.”

“You offered me an insult.” hissed Celestia.

“So you would have preferred a lie?” Thorn countered.

Celestia snorted at this, before she opened her mouth, but Thorn cut her off before she could say anything: “No. You know the answer is no. Your elemental generators are spirit generators. They consume spiritual energy. I could easily have converted them to run on the Clay of Prometheus, but to create it in such large amounts, I would-”

Princess Celestia snorted, saying contemptibly: “I can't help but note how your absolute refusal to aid us is at odds with your eagerness to bring one of your monsters into our world.”

“I want this resolved as quickly and peacefully as possible. Setting up a corruption facility would allow me to establish a base of operations here. In that case, it benefits both of us.” Thorn answered calmly. “And-”

“It would be like handing my whole country over to you. We'd be dependent on you for power.” Celestia snorted. “As if I could trust you.”

Thorn smiled thinly. “I think I've proven myself more trustworthy than you, Celestia.”

“You've also killed my ponies. Injured countless others. And now, you're going to destroy my country by taking away the one thing we need to survive.” Celestia retorted harshly.

“Yes. But I've been honest about it.” Thorn answered, and Celestia didn't have a reply to that.

They measured each other silently for a few moments, and then the stallion nodded and said: “Ten hours.”

“My reply is thus. We will not surrender and we will not hesitate to use deadly force if you come within a hundred miles of Canterlot.” Celestia said coldly.

“Ten hours.” Thorn repeated, unfettered, before his image vanished from the communicator.

Celestia put it gently aside, taking a slow breath before she closed her eyes. When she opened them, her little sister was standing in front of her, looking up at her silently.

“I cannot give in to his demands.” Celestia said simply.

“Very well. Then activate the Great Horn and channel an earth arte through it. It will revitalize the surrounding countryside. It will buy us time.” Luna replied evenly.

Celestia scowled, before she shook her head and replied shortly: “No. We have no idea how much magic energy we'll be drawing at once from the crystal. Our devices may not be able to handle the power output. If that is the case, then-”

“Ah, yes, then you would prefer to try to knock his floating fortress out of the sky. Very rational of you, sister.” Luna said drolly.

Celestia slammed her hooves down as she leapt of her throne, shouting: “Then what would you have me do? What does it matter if we revitalize only one small section of Equestria? At least this way, we have a chance of stopping Lord Black, and retrieving the rest of the anchor from the rubble!”

“I do not know if that is optimism or nihilism talking. As if there is no choice but destruction.” Luna scoffed. “I would have you do as I said. Even one part of Equestria is better than none. And perhaps it will encourage Lord Black to further negotiations with us.”

“I don't see how.” Celestia retorted.

“Because you do not want to see.” countered Luna. “But I know that I would be much more lenient with a pony who tried to impress me, rather than a pony who attempted to murder me.”

“I will do whatever has to be done, Luna. For Equestria's sake. Even if it means losing everything.” Celestia replied sharply, shaking her head vehemently. “Now, we have ten hours to prepare for the upcoming assault.”

Luna was silent, and then she rose her head and said after a moment: “The ponies who die in this strife will be upon your head, Celestia. And you will have to answer for them. I will not take any part in this. I will lead the civilians to safety and fortify the bunkers.”

“Fine.” The ivory alicorn spun away, but Luna could see the tremble of surprise and hurt that went through her, heard her breath catch before she steadied herself as she said roughly: “I will ask for volunteers, then. And do not worry. I know I am responsible for all of this. But what choice do we have?”

“A thousand choices, sister. But none that you will allow yourself to see.” Luna softened, walking up the steps to stand beside her sibling, looking at her even as Celestia tried to stare anywhere but at her little sister. “You told me once that if we ask for everything, then we end up with nothing. You are demanding everything at once, can't you understand that? Twilight Sparkle, Equestria, the anchor... you cannot have it all. You cannot save it all.”

“I have to try.” Celestia shook her head, before she shivered when her sister hugged her. She tried to throw her off, but Luna refused to let go, resting her head against Celestia's neck, and the alicorn trembled before she clenched her eyes shut and whispered: “I don't want to bear this weight anymore. Even if I could go back to our original deal... then I lose Twilight. Our timeline perhaps... vanishes, and I'll have to look back on that despoiled shadow beneath Canterlot again. Artes will die. Ponies... will die. And even if none of those things are true... I would be handing over Equestria to machines and monsters I don't understand, who would change our way of life forever. I can't. I can't be asked to do that, Luna. I just can't.”

“We survived it once, when we woke up one morning two hundred years ago, and discovered Ponyville hadn't even been built yet, and the world was a happier, better place than the one we had left behind.” Luna smiled faintly. “You were there, when Twilight Sparkle was born. The joy in your eyes, Celestia... and how you could barely contain yourself when we played pretend that 'Nightmare Moon' was coming back, so that Twilight could have all those same experiences, all over again...”

Celestia laughed weakly, rubbing at her face before she rested her eyes in her hoof, whispering: “I said it made all the pain worthwhile. But... I didn't know what would come after. To be given back so much hope, and wonder... only to end up back here, on the verge of it being snatched away...”

“But you don't know that.” Luna said gently. “You don't know for sure.”

Celestia looked away, before she closed her eyes and murmured: “I'm too afraid to find out. And I can't undo what I've already done, Luna. All I can do is move forward, and walk the path I've chosen, and deal with the consequences of it.”

Luna sighed quietly, stepping back and looking at her sister as Celestia turned away, and then she simply nodded before she turned to leave, the Princess of the Night shaking her head slowly as she wished Celestia would just realize that if she didn't want to go down the path she'd chosen, all she had to do was stop.

---

Nine hours had passed, and they were beginning their approach to Canterlot.

Thorn mulled over his options in the bridge, a new cape hiding his mechanical foreleg from view, but his synthetic eye left revealed. A holographic screen projected out to one side of him, responding to the movements and focus of the optic device.

His soldiers were ready: five Kirin platoons, three Adjudicator-led squadrons, and one special tactics team composed of one Valkyrie and several Dogmatists. Thorn had considered activating the Hexad units on board the ship, but had decided that while they would be effective, they would also be too cruel.

“Portia, run simulations again. I want sustained damage against Canterlot and other defensive structures with minimum collateral damage.” Thorn ordered, and the AI rapidly went to work, assembling and testing various strategies for their artillery, and the predicted likely outcomes of each. But they were only estimates, of course: even with the Queen Mary's ultra-advanced scan-analysis technology, there was no way to predict and detect every last living creature moving around a massive structure, and where all those living entities would be at any given time.

In other words, collateral damage was unavoidable. Even with his soldiers armed purely with less-than-lethal armament, he knew enemy personnel would die: all it took was one unlucky shot, one bad fall, one misjudged takedown.

Still, they were going to minimize casualties across the board. Thorn had also issued a stern warning to Gildrynn not to go overboard, like she had with Twilight Sparkle. He knew that her proclivity for violence had contributed greatly to the distrust Shining Armor and Princess Cadance had shown him. He would find it hard to trust someone who just has their soldier bury their weapon in his sibling's back, after all...

Thorn thought for a moment of his siblings, then decided moodily that maybe that argument didn't apply to him after all.

He shook his head, then returned his eyes to the bridge window, studying the results playing across it before a quiet voice said gently: “Thorn, you don't have to do this.”

“I know. But we're running out of time.” Thorn answered, turning a brief smile towards Muse. “I've been away from the Clockwork Empire for too long now, and the reports coming in from Travesty aren't good. Unless we get that anchor back up and running, Orex is going to succeed in exploiting the weakness in the shield around the core world and enter it. And I don't want to imagine what will happen then.”

Muse nodded, then asked: “Why don't you just ask for help?”

Thorn grimaced a bit, and Muse bowed her head but looked almost pleadingly at the stallion, who sighed after a moment before he said quietly: “I have to live up to my mother's expectations. Hecate chose me for this. I do not want to let her down.”

“You have never let her down, Thorn. Ever.” Muse smiled faintly, saying in a gentle voice: “But sometimes you can't handle everything on your own. You've led us right, time and time again, so I'll trust your judgment on this, but... we don't have to do this. You can still find more time. It's not a defeat to ask for help from your... powerful friends.”

Thorn grunted, looking meditatively at the bridge window before he sighed and said quietly: “Unfortunately, I think we're past the point of discussion with Princess Celestia. I was hoping that perhaps Twilight Sparkle could convince her otherwise, but... she is-”

“Stubborn. Like you.” Muse smiled a little. “Are you sure you're not butting heads because you're both so similar?”

“Possibly.” Thorn admitted. “Unfortunately I don't think the rest of Equestria would be willing to welcome us with open embrace, either. We did too much damage in our initial attack. I should have calculated it differently.”

“You did what had to be done.” Muse reassured, and Thorn smiled briefly.

“I do that too often.” he said, before he frowned slightly as a light blinked in the corner of the screen, the stallion ordering: “Bring up the transmission.”

Princess Luna appeared on screen, and Thorn rose his head, frowning slightly. The Princess of the Night looked at him evenly before she said calmly: “I have evacuated the citizenry from Castle Canterlot and only Celestia's hoof-picked soldiers remain on duty. I doubt you will have any trouble finding the last core piece.”

“I am curious. Did you find a way to safely move it, or just a way to hide it completely from my sensors? It was clever to keep the last piece in your possession the entire time.”

“Not my possession, Celestia's.” Luna replied mildly. “But you are correct. It has been hidden here in Canterlot this entire time.”

“So she knew the secure vault where the first piece was hidden wasn't really secure.” Thorn said quietly. “That means Celestia knew-”

“Celestia knows many things, Lord Black, and assumes many more answers. Sometimes, however, she is wrong.” Luna hesitated, and then she said in a humbler voice: “I desire to negotiate, as I believe she is wrong about you and yours.”

“Decretum policy forbids me from aiding and assisting any persons, group, or nation that has actively declared hostilities against us. Celestia has declared open hostility.” Thorn answered. “I do not have the luxury of time any longer, Princess Luna. That anchor must be restored and must be moved to a safer location immediately, or many more lives with be in jeopardy.”

“It is hard to care about lives that we cannot see.” Luna said bluntly, and Thorn appreciated that as he gave a wry smile.

“Your lives will be in jeopardy as well.” Thorn answered pointedly.

“We need the anchor.” Luna said simply, and Thorn frowned before the Princess of the Night explained in a low, serious voice: “Our power reserves are now critical. Within one year, we will no longer be able to draw on artes or use any arte-based technologies.”

“Then I don't see how the anchor would help, unless you plan to use it as a long-term power source, and-”

Luna shook her head, explaining: “We have constructed a device called the Great Horn. It acts like a magic staff, allowing us to cast immense artes. If we use the anchor to cast an earth arte tailored to restore energy to the earth, I believe it will give us... two, perhaps three more years' worth of power. Enough to learn about your technology and begin modifying our own across Equestria. Enough to... change our ways, so to speak.”

Thorn frowned for a moment before Muse gently touched his foreleg, and he glanced over at her before sighing and nodding, returning his eyes to Luna as he said quietly: “I will... consider it. I will be arriving at Canterlot within one hour. I assume that I do not have to warn you our relations are currently tenuous: if I detect any aggression-”

“I will see to it personally. I will make my sister see reason.” Luna promised with a short nod and a brief, relieved smile. “You have my thanks, Lord Black.”

Thorn only nodded in return, then dismissed the screen as Muse said gently: “See?”

But the stallion only shook his head, hesitating before he muttered: “No. I want everyone to remain on alert. You should get to your station too, Muse. Just in case something happens.”

Muse nodded, bowing her head politely before she stepped away from the stallion, and Thorn turned his eyes back to the bridge screen, hoping that Princess Luna would come through on her end of the bargain, but worried that the battle ahead was already set in stone.

---

“How dare you go over my head!” Princess Celestia shouted furiously, and Luna simply stood, expression neutral as she weathered the fury of her older sister.

Celestia paced back and forth angrily, her eyes blazing, glaring down at her as she continued to blast: “You gave away everything! You told him everything! Made a promise I absolutely will not keep! Now that he knows how vulnerable we are, he'll take full advantage of it, use it to press us into a corner! No, I am going to blast him out of the sky!”

Luna didn't speak.

“I... I should send you to the moon again! No, worse, I'll send you to a distant moon! I should send all your things to a distant moon and send you to an even more distant moon!” Celestia raged, her usual demeanor utterly lost, her elsewise-loyal Royal Guards nervously hiding behind the pillars of the throne room – or in the case of one, slipping carefully away through the door – as her mane all but burned like the sun, as her eyes glowed with her fury. “No, if you like Thorn so much, why don't you leave with him and go live on his moon!”

Luna remained silent.

“No, we are going to charge the Great Horn and blast him into oblivion. Then we're going to charge it again and blast you into space!” Celestia seethed. “I will not allow that... that... I cannot allow... won't not, can not, will absolutely not-”

“Look, sister. You have a choice. Start a war you will lose, or bend your prideful neck before it breaks and show grace.” Luna stated bluntly, and Celestia rounded on her, one of her eyes twitching before Luna said honestly: “I will not lose you. I love you too much to lose you.”

Celestia trembled, then slumped and sighed, all of the anger rushing out of her, her mane settling, her head lowering. She stared at the ground for a moment, and then she slowly reached up and rubbed her face before she muttered: “Fine.”

Luna smiled, and Celestia rose her head, looking up at the ceiling as if for strength, and she took a shuddering breath before she said almost despairingly: “We will... negotiate. I will-”

“I will.” Luna said firmly, and Celestia gave her a moody look. “Sister, I love you. You are fair, and just, and better to your people than they deserve. But you also are...”

“Yes. Yes, I know.” Celestia mumbled, dropping her head forwards again, almost childish. And Luna smiled again at it despite herself before she reached up and affectionately adjusted her sister's mane, Celestia sighing again before she said grumpily: “Fine. I will allow you to handle negotiations. I will-”

“Sulk. I shall enlist Twilight's aid as well. I am sure it will put her in good spirits.” Luna said kindly, and Celestia's face puckered, but then she nodded grouchily when her little sister pointedly leaned towards her.

Luna turned to walk away, and Celestia hesitated before she mumbled: “Thank you for... for doing what I couldn't, Luna.”

“I will handle your responsibilities any day, sister. I am far better at them.” Luna replied with a smile over her shoulder.

Celestia began to smile, before all of Canterlot rumbled, an alarm blaring through the halls. The Princesses looked at each other in confusion before Celestia's eyes widened and she leapt to her hooves, shouting as she galloped for the hall: “The Great Horn!”

Luna quickly caught up to her sister, asking sharply: “What is going on?”

“Thorn's ship must have come into view, they must be charging it! We have to hurry and shut it down!” Celestia replied, but part of her feared it was already too late.

---

“Power surge detected!”

Thorn looked grimly up, ordering: “Focus.”

The bridge's main screen flickered before an image of an observatory on the roof of Canterlot came into being. He narrowed his eyes, watching as the observatory peeled itself open, and something enormous and angular pushed upwards out of it. Warnings blazed across the screen: energy readings unlike anything they had seen so far in this world.

“Can we access their systems remotely?” he asked.

“Negative, sir. They don't appear to have any automation, or at least none based on Clockwork technology.” answered Serenity calmly.

“Divert power to shields and anti-shock subsystems. I want full analysis and target heading immediately.” Thorn ordered, leaning forwards over the central control console. “Maintain course! All teams, prepare for launch!”

---

Celestia and Luna slammed through the door leading up to the observatory tower, taking the steps up by two before they leapt out into the converted lab. The single anchor piece that remained gleamed brightly, shimmering as the magic was drawn out of it, focused through the bulky, square, cable-covered machinery above, and fed into the massive, conical Great Horn itself, as the runes carved along its metallic surface gleamed with supernatural power.

The soldiers on either side of the room saluted sharply as other ponies looked up, before Celestia shouted: “Power it down!”

“What?” A scientist in a balcony above that was laced with cables and machinery flinched, before he blurted out: “We... we can't! You gave us the order-”

“I gave no such order!” Celestia retorted, and Luna's eyes widened before she looked sharply around the room: she saw researchers, mages, soldiers in armor, a few officers in uniform...

There.

Luna seized one of the officers, and he flinched in surprise before he swore as she reeled him in with magic, the mare thundering: “What have you done?”

The officer leaned back, gritting his teeth, and Celestia frowned for a moment before her eyes narrowed as the stallion hissed: “What you... refused to!”

“You aren't one of my soldiers.” Celestia said quietly, noting the emblem on the shoulder of the dress uniform, the lack of fit, and the older quality of the fabric.

“My brother died for you! And you were going to repay him by giving up?” shouted the stallion, trying to shove himself free, but Luna held him fast in her telekinetic grip before the unicorn snarled: “No! They all have to die!”

“Princess Celestia!” called one of the mages anxiously, and the alicorn turned her eyes to him. “The Great Horn is almost charged! Once it charges, it's going to fire!”

Celestia's mind raced, but she couldn't see any solution. She looked back and forth, part of her horrified and part of her bitterly joyous: now she would see the fruits of her labor, one way or the other.

“Then aim it skyward!” Luna shouted, before she flung the officer aside and stormed towards the control console, before her eyes widened as she found herself unable to adjust the valves or levers that changed its position.

“We can't! The couplings are already locked to prevent it from shaking itself out of position!” one of the scientists replied, shaking his head.

“Then I will smash the damned thing!” Luna shouted, raising her head and opening her wings, before she gasped in surprise as the false officer tackled her.

“No! I... I won't let you!” he shouted even as Royal Guard immediately ran forwards to pry him off. Luna kicked him away with a curse before she stumbled up to her hooves, but before she could turn towards the Great Horn, there was a tremendous rumble of power, and then a terrible flash of bright light that blinded the shocked ponies not just inside the room, but who were watching from across Canterlot.

The massive laser of light collided with the Queen Mary, and on board, Thorn was barely able to catch himself as the whole ship rocked and jostled, Serenity hissing as the synthetic eye in the mechanical side of her face flickered violently, even as she shouted: “System failure!”

“Shield systems have been damaged! Hull integrity at eighty percent!” called another voice, as power flickered wildly across the bridge.

“EMP detected! Systems have been scrambled, we need to do a full reboot!” added another operator, and Thorn grimaced before giving a curt nod.

“Restore all essential systems and prepare all teams for launch. Switch all Nighthawks to manual mode and have them offer support from above. Our priority, first and foremost, is to disable that weapon and retrieve the remaining anchor piece.” Thorn ordered. “Launch immediately once ready. We will not allow them to fire that weapon a second time.”

“Sir!”

---

Princess Luna swore furiously as she picked up the stallion who had tackled her, slamming him back against a wall as she shouted: “Do you have any idea what you have done?”

He grinned at her, rasping: “The one thing you didn't want to do, you... you trai-”

The stallion was fortunately cut off by a scientist shouting: “The floating fortress is still there!”

“What?” Princess Celestia flapped her wings, launching herself up to the lip of the observatory and gritting her teeth as she saw the ship in the distance, slowly closing in towards them over the city sprawled below. It looked unsteady, and she could see debris falling from the side of it, crashing down...

Into the city below.

Celestia trembled, her eyes widening as she watched flaming meteors of metal crash down across her beautiful city, the crown jewel of Equestria.

And in her anger and her despair, she had almost brought that immense ship, that floating fortress, crashing down on top of her gorgeous, perfect home.

She wouldn't have just killed everyone on board, if it had been successful: it would have killed everyone below, too.

Celestia shook her head weakly, lowering her gaze, before a pony nearby cried: “Something's coming!”

Retaliation? Celestia looked sharply up, her eyes tracing over the things that had broken away from the ship: not debris, and moving too intelligently to be missiles... transports.

“Your majesty, you have to get to safety!” A soldier leapt up beside her, anxiously reaching for her, but not quite daring to touch her even as he hovered close by, ready to throw himself into danger for her.

Celestia smiled weakly, briefly at this loyalty she didn't deserve, and then she looked up at the approaching transports as Luna urged: “We must surrender peacefully!”

“No! We cannot lose you, princesses!” cried another soldier, who shook his head vehemently. “We'll hold them off, you need to get to safety!”

Princess Celestia gazed out at the approaching transports, and then she took a breath before she leapt out into the air. She flew upwards even as soldiers shouted at her to stop, as Luna leapt up after her sister, but the Princess of the Night was caught by several guard, even as she shouted: “Unhoof me! Stupid... Celestia! Celestia!”

But Celestia ignored them as she continued into the sky, as she rushed to meet her destiny. Her horn gleamed brightly with her magic as she flew towards one of the sleek black metal ships, full of fury and fear as she roared: “Leave them alone! This is my fault! Mine!”

She fired a blast of magic at the transport, and the fireball exploded against the transport, knocking it veering off course before it righted itself. The Nighthawk twisted around as the door on the side was flung open, and as it shot past Celestia, an armored mare leapt out and tackled the alicorn with a grin. “Then apologize with your hooves!”

Celestia snarled, seizing the mare as they wrestled in midair, feeling her wings creaking as she struggled to stay airborne before she cried out when a hoof slammed into her face and the armored mare twisted her roughly. Alicorn and Valkyrie fell together even as Celestia tried to channel her magic, creating a blaze of light that followed the two down into the city as a Nighthawk remained above, while the others continued towards Canterlot.

“No.” Luna whispered, as she watched her sister fall, before she gasped as she was yanked backwards, soldiers pushing and shoving her backwards, forcing her back into the observatory, then across the room.

“No!” she shouted. “You must-”

“Princess, we have to protect you!” replied one of the Royal Guard: terrified, Luna saw. Desperate. About to snap.

If she stayed, the soldiers would do anything to protect her. And it would incite a massacre.

If she left?

She didn't know. But it was the better option at this point, especially as the Royal Guard began moving into defensive positions, as the researchers either fled the room around them or rallied to the Great Horn.

“Retreat, then! We will lock down Canterlot and regroup below!” Luna cried as she shoved herself backwards.

She wasn't aware that while plenty of the soldiers followed her, others ran to the core, wanting to protect what Princess Celestia had told them was their only chance at survival, the one thing that Lord Black wanted, and thus, he could not be allowed to have.

A Nighthawk shot by above, circling the observatory before a door opened in the side, and Kirin leapt out to land in front of the opened shell of the dome. But they were quickly driven back by a barrage of magic and several crossbow bolts, and a scientist scrambled over to slam a button that began to close the shutter above.

Voices shouted at each other in panic as the heavy shutter descended on the Great Horn, but a voice shouted over the chaos: “It doesn't matter! We can't recharge it anyway! Get the core, the core is all that matters, we can build another Great Horn!”

Machinery sizzled and crackled, and metal screamed as the core was torn out of the framework meant to hold it. Bursts of gunfire hammered around them, but a unicorn mage managed to sustain a shield, and the Kirin didn't quite dare to duck under the half-closed shutter as the damaged Great Horn bent and groaned ominously, bending slowly forwards under the power of the closing armored door, making locked gears grind and support bars waver.

The soldier holding the core hesitated for only a moment before he turned and bolted for the door, followed by half the group, while the remaining soldiers and mages hurried to defensive positions a moment before several small canisters were flung down into the room through the narrowing shutter.

Smoke hissed into the room: heavy and dense, thick enough to mask the sound of Kirin leaping down through the gap above. A mage tried to dispel it, but the smoke sizzled and sparkled, the unicorn shouting: “It's resistant to magic!”

A pegasus opened his wings, then gasped when a Kirin seized him before he was roughly slammed to the ground. Voices shouted and panicked, before screams and bright flares of light lit up the smoke for a few moments.

And then, silence.

As the smoke began to clear from the room, the Kirin got into position on either side of the exit, the officer in charge saying calmly: “K-Alpha in position. Standing by to breach.”

“Hold position. Let K-Beta and K-Gamma get in position as well, K-Alpha.” ordered the calm voice of their operator. “K-Delta and K-Theta are holding position as well. K-Teams, your orders remain to suppress and neutralize all resistance to clear the way for the Adjudicator teams to retrieve the core.

“Adjudicator Teams.” Muse looked calmly up from where she was sitting patiently in one of the Nighthawks, as her transport and two others slowly circled around Canterlot, surveying the castle and its defenses. “Prepare for entry. Your priority is the anchor. Do not engage or target Princess Luna.”

“Acknowledged.” Muse said softly.

“Valkyrie Team is en route with Princess Celestia.” Gildrynn announced. “She has been subdued and... well, has demanded an interrogation.”

“Very well. Return to the Queen Mary. I will question her myself.” Thorn Blackfeather cut in.

The stallion leaned back from his control console, scowling slightly before he looked at the main screen of the bridge. Icons and colors flashed across it, telling him where and what each member of the assault force was doing.

He lingered for a moment before scowling as power flickered: they had taken more system damage than he would have preferred. Power would continue to fluctuate until they were able to land and perform repairs, which likely wouldn't be for a while yet. Not until after they secured, repaired, and re-hid the anchor.

He noted that Gildrynn's Nighthawk was returning, so he turned and headed quickly to the exit, ordering as he left: “Serenity, assume command.”

“Sir!” Serenity saluted his back as he left, but Thorn was still aware of it and he reminded himself to give her a day off once this was all over.

He strode through the ship, not heading to the hangar, but instead walking to the interrogation cells: he arrived in the plain metal room only a few minutes before Gildrynn dragged in Princess Celestia, but it was long enough for him to get settled in and to have the image screen on the wall already prepared, Thorn pointing at this as he said quietly: “Watch.”

Celestia grimaced, the shackles around her limbs jangling as she tried to turn away, but her eyes betrayed her, watching the silent, moving images as Nighthawks circled the castle like hungry predators, as magic and weapons fire peppered the walls, shattering ancient architecture and ornate windows. She watched as the feed changed to a Kirin's view, as her soldiers were knocked sprawling by electrified rounds and stun grenades, left in helpless dazes and beaten unconsciousness.

She trembled, then turned her eyes to Thorn as he said quietly: “Order a surrender.”

“I can't!” Celestia snarled. “They are... they are afraid!”

“Out of control?” Thorn asked.

“No. But terrified. Fighting for their lives and livelihoods! You know-”

“I know we had a deal. This is the second time your ponies have betrayed me, and I will not take it lightly.” Thorn replied icily.

Celestia shook her head vehemently, then shouted, as her wings struggled to open against the restraining harness around her body, as her horn gleamed helplessly under the suppression ring: “That was not me!”

“Then who was it?” Thorn asked.

“The brother of a soldier you killed.” snarled Celestia.

Thorn meditated for a moment, then he returned his eyes to the screen, and they watched as several Kirin soldiers crashed through a set of double doors. They were immediately met by defensive fire, but the Kirin ducked into covered positions as one of them threw a grenade, which exploded in a silent blast of blinding light.

The Royal Guard valiantly tried to hold. But before their eyes, they watched as the soldiers suddenly stopped fighting, their weapons torn from their hooves, their bodies quaking as if under immense pressure before they fell to the ground. The screen shifted, and they watched as Muse strolled calmly in, before she lifted a heavy trunk with telekinesis, then tore it in half like it was paper to reveal the prize inside.

“Retrieval successful.” Serenity said through the communicator built into Thorn's mechanical leg.

“Good. Subdue any remaining hostiles in the vicinity, then extract.” Thorn ordered.

“No!” Princess Celestia tried to lunge towards him, but Gildrynn caught her and pinned her to the ground, the alicorn struggling helplessly before she shouted: “You're going to kill us all!”

“I have no interest in killing-”

“Then you're leaving us to die!” Celestia shouted again, before her whole body shook as tears rose in her eyes, and she almost demanded: “Punish me! Kill me! I will trade my life for your damned anchor, but leave it and leave them alone!”

Thorn sighed tiredly, before he quietly knelt, and the mare trembled as the stallion said quietly: “I can't do that. I can't do either of those things. No, Celestia.”

He hesitated, and then he straightened and said after a moment: “I will release you from custody after we move to a safe distance to prevent any additional altercations. And then-”

“Take me with you.” Celestia interrupted, and Thorn frowned before he tilted his head as the mare almost pleaded: “Just take me with you. Show me why this anchor is so important, then. If you're going to take it away, I need to know why, and I'm tired of listening to your words. Show me why, Thorn Blackfeather. Stop explaining it to me and show me.”

Thorn hesitated for a moment, and then he sighed quietly and nodded, even as Gildrynn growled: “I don't trust this one. It's on you if she stabs you in the back again.”

“Considering the damage Equestria has impressively managed to do to the Queen Mary and our current standing, I can't give you full privilege to wander the ship as you might like, Celestia. I will have you remanded to the ambassador's quarters. You will be treated in accordance with...” Thorn paused, then smiled briefly. “Well, you'll be treated politely.”

Celestia snorted, and then she muttered: “I think sometimes you're nothing more than an insane stallion with too much money, Thorn Blackfeather. And all this is just some... sick game you've come up with. But I admit... you'd have to be violently creative to come up with all this nonsense that you do.”

“Understandable. I suppose it's more plausible than what I've told you in the past.” Thorn gestured at Gildrynn, who scowled, but grudgingly undid the shackles and restraints from Celestia, who blinked in surprise before the stallion swept past her and into the corridor, saying quietly: “Come with me. Before you get settled in, I want to show you something.”

“Another story?” Celestia asked, as she moodily rubbed at her fetlocks before striding out after Thorn, Gildrynn looming along behind her.

But Thorn only smiled over his shoulder at her, eerie knowing in his mismatched eyes as he answered: “No. A map.

“I want you to see what I am fighting to protect.”

Author's Note:

Bonus chapter for today because tomorrow I'll be out of contact all day. Assuming a horse doesn't trample me tomorrow posting will resume as usual Saturday.

Comments

[Lelouch Vi Britania]

Orex is going to succeed in exploiting the weakness in the shield around the core world and enter it. And I don't want to imagine what will happen then.”

Ah, seems like there’s a bigger story going on in the background...

[Yami Vizzini]

Ah, another reminder that this technically isn’t the Equestria we know from the show. Makes me feel slightly better about Celestia’s raging, delusional incompetence.

And of course she finally sees reason but some random jerk screws it up at the last moment. I’m reminded of BLCA in how apparently nothing is ever allowed to get better, but then I’ve got another chapter to go today, so let’s see how this goes....

[BleuBlooms]

“Ponies live without artes, using simpler forms of energy generation-”

Really? Celestia?