The War in Heaven

by voroshilov

XIX. The Edge

“It is unknown why the Emperor so loved obsidian. It was not simply a liking for its aesthetic, that much is certain from his usage and near reverence of the material. It was a representation of his power long before the Obsidian Crown, long before even the Obsidian Throne. It is said that his only Imperial regalia for over four centuries was an obsidian signet ring on his left forefinger, though the origin of this ring, and even its existence, is unknown.”

- Emperor Nicholas: His Icons by Charles Fulcrus -

Princess Luna watched the night go by from the watchtower. She watched as one star twinkled brightly, as if blinking at her, sending her a message. Which, of course, it was.

"My dearest Luna," it said, "my apologies I could not come to the Cryptum, Celestia has been becoming more and more suspicious. I know that she suspects something is down there, so I have ordered Azin and Tyak to hide everything that could be incriminating, including themselves. I am sorry I cannot spare any more soldiers to assist you, I have become preoccupied as of late. I do not know when I can visit again, but I shall make sure I do. Send my greetings to Sombra. And, if you can, tell him I am delighted with his contribution and that I have placed it in my Throne Room. Warmest regards, your friend and brother, Nicholas."

She smiled, glad in the knowledge her friend was still watching over her. She had prepared her own contribution for his next visit: a bracelet of obsidian she had mined herself, with the sapphire crystal she had created in her first experiment with alchemy attached. She kept it with her at all times, in case he visited, certain that she would give it to him one day, even if it took a thousand years.

---

Queen Luna had acted fast, her forces rising from the underground to the shock of the Solar Guard. Her own Night Guard, halfway through the changing of the guard, had practically exploded into action, taking the Solar Guard's most elite by surprise. Celestia's personal lieutenant, Captain Bright Dust, had been midway through the traditional speech a commander would give before their unit would relinquish their duties, before her head rolled on the parade ground, her most elite soldiers dead in seconds.

The now Queen's timing, however, had not been perfect. In truth, she would have preferred to have waited, but a sudden intrusion by the wretched court magician had forced her to release the attack order, in order to prevent her whole plan collapsing before it had even begun. A century of preparation had gone into making her plan perfect, with a time of attack that would have instantly destroyed all of her sister's military forces in one fell swoop. Now, her sister and a sizeable portion of her army had managed to flee, the court magician with them. Luna had brought about the Night to some of Equestria, though her army's hold only extended so far before it began to wane, with the new Queen painfully aware of resistance to her rule.

Her Elite Guard had crushed what few known supporters of Celestia remained in the capital, carting them off to the deepest, most forgotten parts of Canterlot's dungeons. Though, her Elite Guard were the only ponies she could fully trust in Canterlot, releasing them into Equestria would work in the short term, but be suicide in the long term. The second Celestia got wind of her most loyal departing the city, she would strike and Luna would be forced to rely upon those whose loyalty seemed to change very easily.

Tyak had left with a large force, made up of those Luna could partially trust, but whose abandonment of the cause would either not be missed or be easily dissuaded by the Tomb Guard. The court magician had somehow weaselled out of her grasp, no doubt using a number of his cheap party tricks to evade what few guards she could send after him. Though, the fate of Starswirl the Bearded did not matter, not in comparison to the fate of Celestia, whose forces had definitely suffered in their trek into the blizzards of the Crystal Mountains, but whose core remained alive. So long as Celestia herself was at large, Luna could not know peace.

She took court whenever it suited her, with several petitioners very quickly turning away upon the sight of her newest bodyguards, Qirin and Karavon, whose blades yet hungered for blood. The only thing that stopped her abandoning court altogether was the presence of one or two "gems" amongst the petitioners: those who made fantastic points or highlighted certain troublesome behaviours or practices to her, allowing her to issue crackdowns. It was these ponies, few as they may have been, which kept her feet firmly on the path to pony freedom.

"My Queen." The pony, clad in black robes, bowed before her. "I am sorry to concern you with second-hand information, but my cousin in Ponyville has told me she has seen a number of Celestia's agents in or around the Everfree forest for a number of nights in a row."

Luna's eyes widened. "Tell me everything she told you," she said, rising from her throne and stepping forwards, "rise, rise." She gestured the robed pony up. "Court is adjourned," she said to Qirin, who nodded and moved to lock the throne room's doors.

The two ponies, Karavon behind them, walked deeper into the castle as they spoke, "it started off with just one," the robed pony said, "a glimpse of a royal guard spear under a robe. But, every night she would see more and more. She lives at the edge of the Everfree forest, so she can see some distance into it from her window. Yesterday she told me she saw Solar Guard, not even wearing robes, seeming to be patrolling the forest or scouting the village. My sister is well known for her honesty, your highness, so I am inclined to believe her."

Luna looked the robed pony up and down, they were an earth pony with dark orange fur, nothing incredibly out of the ordinary, with a cutie mark of a pair of red apples, hidden by the robe Luna's corrupted sight could see through. They must have been of the Apple Clan, famed for their honesty and fantastic cider, which Luna had always been partial to a glass of in the summer. The pony showed no signs of magical tampering, hypnosis or otherwise, which would have led her to suspect Celestia was engineering a trap, and they were clearly not lying.

She placed a clawed foot onto their shoulder. "Thank you," she said, sincerely, "this information is more valuable to me than anything, you have done me, yourself and all of Equestria a great service. He will thank you for your service."

The robed pony nodded. "Just doing what's right," they said.

Luna smiled. "You did," she said, releasing their shoulder, "had this been under other circumstances, I would have showered you in rewards. However, I am afraid you must wait until I return, whereupon you and your cousin can consider themselves heroes of the Night.” She turned to a guardsmare. "Return them home," she said, "ensure they are comfortable, then prepare the city's defences."

Luna cantered back to the throne room. "Qirin," she yelled, "rally every soldier you can find. Karavon, rally the Elite Guard, every soldier of the Night, to me!"

She unlocked the throne room's doors with her magic and burst out of them into the full moon, spreading her massive, bat-like wings and taking flight. She hovered a few metres above Canterlot, taking in the view of Ponyville, the tiny village glowing faintly in the distance, and the Everfree forest, where her sister and her army was hidden.

Karavon emerged from the castle behind her, the bulk of Luna's Elite Guard, ponies of all types clad in full body, navy blue armour, flanks bearing the symbol of the moon, ringed in glowing, orange runic symbols. Their helmets all bore horns, or, for the unicorns, a cushioned metal surround, sharpened to a point. If they were pegasi or batponies, their wings had specially produced blades attached, whilst Earth ponies had their hooves covered in spikes. At their lead, were thirty ponies with helmets resembling those of the Tomb Guard, covering their entire face. Each was a unicorn, selected specially for their affinity with combat magic, though their hooves were spiked and they had synthetic wings attached to their backs, with blades so thin they could not be seen covering them. They were Luna's Companions, those who had been with her since the beginning.

Qirin stood below her, an army of other ponies with her, all wearing thinner navy blue metal armour, armed with everything from spears attached to saddles on their backs, swords they held in their mouths, crossbows they held in magic or just massive, dense boots on their hooves. Her Elite Guard numbered a thousand strong, with the soldiers Qirin had gathered from the Equestrian Army bolstering their numbers up to around six thousand. Whatever Celestia had was probably equal to that, but Luna's Elite Guard were more than a match for Celestia's Solar Guard, Qirin and Karavon were probably untouchable, with Luna herself more than a match for Celestia, let alone any of her troops.

"Karavon," she said, "contact Tyak, tell him to bring all of his forces to the Everfree forest, immediately."

The Tomb Guard nodded and closed his eyes, sending a message to his brother through a method Nicholas had promised to one day teach her. Qirin stepped forwards and spoke next, "why are we assembling?" He asked, not a hint of emotion in his voice.

Luna rose slightly, making her voice louder for all her soldiers to hear. "The Everfree forest harbours the traitor Celestia and those foolish enough to follow her, tonight, we strike her down. Tonight, we bring forth the Night to the whole of Equestria!"

Her soldiers cheered, with even members of the Elite Guard releasing a thunderous cry. She smiled at their eagerness. Mmarch," she called, "march, to Ponyville, go swiftly and in silence, we will strike upon my command."

Her soldiers cheered again, quieter this time, before beginning their march out of Canterlot. Normally, they would have been clearly visible under the full moon, but the Night protected her soldiers. Luna smiled again, he was watching over her, influencing in whatever way he could. They would arrive in Ponyville and Celestia would have no idea they had even left Canterlot.

She lit her horn, calling out to a dear old friend of hers.

"Sombra," she said, voice projected into the recipient's ears, as though she was right there next to him, "I have discovered Celestia. She is in the Everfree forest."

"I thought," Sombra's voice floated back, "that Tyak was searching for her in the mountains?"

"He was, but apparently she evaded him."

"He has many troops," Sombra said, "many troops who may not be able to reach you in time to help."

"I know," Luna admitted, "but, I have the element of surprise. He is watching."

Sombra was silent for a moment, before he elicited a small chuckle. "Well," he said, theatrically, "I believe it only right I join in the fun too. I will rally every soldier I can and come down to you. Just don't win without me." Luna could feel his smirk, laughing with him as their connection ended.

---

Though Queen Luna's forces had got the element of surprise, their advantage only lasted for a few minutes. The few of Celestia's troops around the edge of the forest were not the elite Solar Guard Luna had hoped for, instead they were a ragtag group of peasant ponies and the odd grey armoured soldier of the Equestrian Army amongst them. Though even Luna's regular soldiers easily dealt with them, they managed to get a message back to Celestia.

The sky ran purple, once a sign of twilight, now a sign something was very, very wrong. To Luna's horror, her moon, which had held pride of place in the sky for nearly a month, began to turn to the east, as though time was reversing. Exactly as she had suspected, Celestia's sun, far larger than it should have been, rose in its place. Day was beginning to break.

"Get into the forest," Luna yelled, to any soldier listening, "kill every one of the traitors. I will deal with the sun."

She concentrated as much magic as she could into her moon, pushing hard against Celestia to set her sun and rise her moon. The two alicorns became locked in a magical duel far above the surface, creating an illusion of twilight on the surface. Suddenly, Celestia completely gave way, allowing Luna to return her full moon to its rightful place in the sky. She marvelled at the magnificent pearl above her and revelled in her triumph over her sister.

"My Queen," a wounded pegasus, one of her Elite Guard but missing half of her armour, yelled as she galloped at full speed out of the trees, "it's Celestia, she's on the field."

Celestia hadn't given way, she had let go, putting her magic to more practical use instead. Luna did so too, if her sister would try and trick her like that, she would taste the bite of her talons. Her whole body seemed to flare to life, Nicholas granting her a boon at the expense of his own power. She took flight, wings crackling with energy, and sped towards where she knew her sister to be. Celestia was many things and predictable was surely one of them.

Sure enough, right in the thick of the fighting, battling directly with Luna's Elite Guard, was Celestia. She held Daybringer in her golden magic aura, the flaming sword barely being blocked by a group of Luna's Companions. Luna's army separated as she landed with a crash and a burst of lightning overhead, the sky slowly turning to purple from its previous deep blue. Her talons reflexively cut at the dirt, magic flowing through them, before she yelled out her challenge.

"Celestia," her voice thundered and echoed in the clearing, "I've come for you."

Luna's Companions pulled back the second she launched herself forwards. Celestia barely had the time to register her sword was cutting only air before, with a flash of talons, Luna slammed into her, throwing her backwards.

Celestia landed surprisingly gracefully, spinning to bring Daybringer forwards into a guard. "Sister," she said, making a vain and clearly forced attempt at a plea, "end this, now. I have no wish to fight you."

Luna laughed, her Companions and Elite Guard peeling off to battle Celestia's own Solar Guard. She knew as well as Celestia did that the latter was losing. Celestia's plea was less of a desire for peace and more to save her own skin.

She answered it with another attack, launching forwards before pushing upwards to attack from above. Celestia brought Daybringer up just in time to save herself from decapitation, managing to catch Luna's talons only a few inches from her neck. Rather than retreat for another assault, the corrupted alicorn pushed, using her wings and the pull of gravity to force Daybringer slowly downwards. Previously, Celestia had been the stronger sister, though Luna's corruption had granted her a strength Celestia couldn't hope to match.

Luna's talons only needed to touch Celestia's flesh to breach it, the skin burning away and being filled with corruption like a venom. Celestia felt the black poison running through the arteries in her neck, sapping strength from her muscles and feeding it to Luna. Celestia summoned what power she could from her Sun to counteract it, pushing the talons from her neck and back into the air. With a roar and a burst of strength, Celestia hauled Luna off of her, throwing her as far back as she could.

Doing so gave her a few seconds, but only really seemed to enrage Luna more. The poison that ran through felt like fire burning through her, draining her strength out of sheer pain alone. She lost a second before she noticed Luna charge again, again bringing up Daybringer just in time. She was saved, for the time being, but her slow reaction cost her something else.

Daybringer shattered, its blade fizzling as it felt to the floor in two pieces and its handle cracking in Celestia's magical grip. Only an explosion of magic that came from it saved her life, throwing both her and Luna in opposite directions. Fortunately, Celestia had been thrown further into her own lines, allowing her the time to be helped up by a pair of subourdinates and to retreat deeper into the forest, towards the weapons she hadn't wished to use yet.

Luna noticed Celestia's retreat, but refrained from chasing when an unmistakable horn echoed across the battlefield. She felt a pair of presences, Tyak and Sombra, enter about a mile across from her, trapping Celestia and her troops in a pincer movement. Her own Companions, fresh from tearing a hole into the Solar Guard, rallied behind her, Qirin and Azin joining with them, their swords stained with blood.

"Our reinforcements have arrived," said Azin, almost happily, if such an emotion was possible in a Tomb Guard, "the traitor is trapped and sure to fall."

Luna laughed. "We must maintain our guard," she said, "until we are certain we have won."

Qirin and Azin both nodded, charging into the fading darkness of the forest, a unit of Elite Guard charging with them. Above, it looked like dawn, with the sun somehow coming out once again.

Luna cursed. "She must have used a passive spell." She turned to one of her Companions, who nodded in affirmation. "No matter, once she is in chains I will work to reverse it."

Celestia had made her way into the very heart of the forest, where her Solar Guard had fortified the heaviest. She told her warriors to keep watch outside, to alert her only if they saw Luna's soldiers, whilst she descended into the cave which held her most secret weapon.

Luna knew about the elements of harmony, everypony did, but where their knowledge and Celestia's differed was on their location, overall power and how to use them. Starswirl the Bearded, before his retreat to who knows where, had informed her of everything he could gather about them. Luna had fallen right into Celestia's trap. Though Celestia herself had hoped for a more opportune time, now was as good a time as any. The strangest thing Starswirl had told her was how to activate the elements, for only a suitable quantity of power would awake them from their dormant state. She had tried everything before, from her own magic reserves to those held in the sun, but nothing had been enough. Eventually, after days of hiding out in the mountains, watching the Darkness' minions hunt her relentlessly, she had realised what power she would need. Not Equestrian magic, but corruption. Only the Darkness could awaken the elements.

She held the shard of Daybringer's handle to her foreleg and cut, releasing first a thin, yellowish, watery substance, then a black and cyan jelly. The blob on her leg grew and grew until gravity took over and it fell onto the roots of the tree before her. She continued pushing out the black gunk, feeding more and more of it to the tree, which slowly turned black from its original ashen white. The elements of harmony, the real elements of harmony, appeared on the tree's branches. She grasped them in her magic and pulled them down to her, pressing hard on her bleeding foreleg with its fellow. There were six triangular crystals, each a different colour, which fit to form a disc of a ten inch radius and a one inch thickness.

Her magical grip on them failed, as the elements overrode her control. They hovered just slightly over the edge of her horn, where she could control their actions with only her thoughts. Unfortunately, in their current state, the elements were very crude. They only had two settings: shooting and not shooting, but they would suffice to achieve her goals.

"Princess," one of the Solar Guard outside yelled, "we have incoming, from the north!"

The minion of the Darkness, who had hunted her in the mountains, where, half frozen, she had realised the secrets to the elements, came thundering out of the trees to her north. Her guards were swept aside with ease, even braced as they were, the minion roaring as it cut apart her most loyal ponies. Eventually, only one guard of the initial thirty remained, with the minion grasping them by the head and lifting them up to its monstrous face.

"Where is the traitor?" It growled. "I can smell her. I feel her presence like a burning on my skin. Where is she hiding?"

"I am not hiding," Celestia declared, standing as regally as she could on a wounded leg.

The minion almost seemed to smile, before crushing the pony's skull absentmindedly as it turned to face her. "I am Tyak, the Hated, many of your kind have fallen to my blade. Now, your skull shall adorn my helmet, traitor."

Celestia would have recoiled at the hideousness of the creature, but with the elements at her command, she had no fear or horror in her heart, only a burning desire for vengeance. "No, creature," she spat, "you shall die before you even reach me."

Tyak roared and charged, two hands clutching its ready sword, its blade hungry for her blood. Celestia focused, letting the elements simply respond to her wish. A beam of rainbow light shot from the disc's centre, impacting Tyak and driving a whole straight through its thorax. The Tomb Guard stopped in its tracks, before the burning light of its eyes faded and its body collapsed into dust, leaving only a battered, black bone helmet on the ground.

Though Celestia could not feel it, Tyak's soul had not simply vanished, instead it had sent out a pulse, a cry wishing for vengeance, before vanishing into the ether. Tyak's brothers, Luna and Sombra all felt it, even Luna's Companions stopped and focused on where it had come from.

Qirin roared out, "you will be avenged! On all my eyes I swear it!"

Karavon did not speak, but his eyes burned even brighter and orange runes across his sword glowed. The Tomb Guard did not even growl, but its body shook with rage and a desire to kill.

Azin stepped forwards from behind Luna. "Lady Luna, let us end this, now."

Luna, teeth clenched, eyes and mane practically aflame, spread her wings and burst out of the trees, flying like a missile to the clearing where Tyak had fallen. She crashed to the ground like a meteor, facing Celestia with murder in her eyes.

"You!" She yelled, the plants around her withering and the soil becoming black and ash-like.

"I will not allow this corruption to spread any further," Celestia said, "the taint has overtaken you completely."

Luna growled. "I was going to capture you," she barked, "now I think I'll eat you alive, right here." She snarled, baring vicious white daggers of teeth, her long, serpentine tongue seeming to desire greatly the taste of blood.

Celestia shook her head. "I am sorry Luna," she mumbled, before straightening up. "You took my sister," she yelled, "your corruption ends now!"

The elements of harmony fired, with Luna throwing up a shield of writhing black and cyan corruption to defend herself. As the elements' energy wrapped around her, so too did her shield, forming a bubble that lashed out against the magic of the elements and anything around itself. Luna's breathing quickened and her snarls turned into ear-piercing screeches, the corruption within her warping her mind and body as it tried so desperately to defend her. She was sacrificing her own life force to fight against Celestia.

The beam increased in intensity, Celestia pouring her own magic into it, everything she had feeding its power. Like her sister, Celestia too was giving her own life as fuel, everything from the corruption in her blood to the light of her sun was being pushed into gaining even the slightest edge over Luna, though Celestia knew that whatever was inside that shield was not her sister anymore.

Luna's shield began to shrink, as did Luna herself. Her skin flaked off and was absorbed by the darkness around her, before tendrils made of her blood began to bolster it, practically stringing her up. Her eyes became heavy as their light faded, with her mane collapsing onto her body as its magic was eaten. Her only thoughts were of holding on, if she could hold on, she could be helped. Celestia would be defenceless, Azin or Qirin or Karavon or Sombra or anypony could kill her and Luna would be safe. She could recover.

But nobody came.

Luna screeched as a thin beam of the elements' power struck her, burning away at her skin as it melted her armour. The beam became larger, as her shield began to collapse, her magic automatically prioritising healing her over the shield. Luna's shield collapsed, her only chance of defence melting away, ironically, as her body attempted to defend itself. Her fur burned, her skin and flesh melted and what little of her blood remained in her body began to boil. Mercifully, the world collapsed out from under her and her torment ended.

The elements of harmony had given their all, but when the dust settled, Luna was gone, not even armour remained, only a small black bracelet - though it could have just been a stone. Celestia sighed in relief, before collapsing to the ground, her mane pink and no longer afloat. She had put almost everything she had into the elements, she looked as she did when she was a teenager, though with far more wounds and far less colour to her. She was unconscious within a second.

To the horror of Luna's soldiers, their Tomb Guard leaders had simply vanished. One second, Qirin was decapitating a Solar Guard, the next second he was gone, the Guard's head half off, screaming for help before he collapsed down dead. The Elite Guard found themselves leaderless and in their confusion were battered upon relentlessly by the Solar Guard. Their Equestrian Army comrades deserted within moments, some turning to fight the Elite Guard. Luna's most elite fighting force found themselves leaderless, trapped and confused, with only thirteen of Luna's Companions remaining, the other seventeen lying dead on the ground, their horns having exploded when the Tomb Guard vanished.

Thankfully, one of their number, a pegasus, yelled out, "to King Sombra, defend King Sombra!"

The nearly eight hundred strong guard force broke off their engagement, running north to encounter Sombra, who stood over eight Solar Guard bodies, his sword drowned in blood, his guards nowhere to be seen.

"My King," one of the Elite Guard said, "you must retreat to the Crystal Empire."

Sombra shook his head. "I will die here if I must," he said, "but this battle will be ours. At the very least, Celestia will die."

One of Luna's Companions, famously silent, stepped out from the group. "No," she said, drawing shocked eyes except those of her fellow Companions, who joined her. "You must flee," they all said in unison, "enough has been lost this day. Let us not lose everything."

Sombra's jaw trembled, he bowed, recognising who was really speaking, "yes, my Emperor."

The Elite Guard turned, Solar Guard and Equestrian Army ponies just beyond the trees. "Companions," a pegasus yelled, "take King Sombra north, we shall hold off the enemy as long as we can."

A single tear ran down the face of King Sombra. "You will not be forgotten," he whispered, "and you will all be avenged, I promise you."

As Solar Guard burst through the trees, slamming into the Elite Guard, who fought with a ferocity that shocked even Sombra, the King nodded, holding back a sob, and ran. "I promise you."

---

Luna awoke with a start, a cold sweat formed on her brow. Through the thin crack in the curtains of her window, she could see thin rays of starlight, reminding her she was no longer in Equestria. She shuffled quietly from the bed, taking care not to awake her companion, whose blissful expression couldn't help but make her crack a smile. She opened the golden door slowly, before closing it softly behind her, being greeted by a pair of Praetorians who had stood guard by it and another, a new arrival, with a bow slung on her back.

"Nicholas wants to see you," she said, "top of the central Spire, some point in the next hour."

Luna nodded, still shaking off sleep. "I'll be there soon."

The Praetorian nodded and left, no doubt returning to some other important duty. Luna turned to the two by her door, who both held long rifles. "Do you know where the washrooms are?" She asked, rubbing her eyes with the fur of her foot.

One nodded, pointing down the gilded hallway with a thumb. "First door on your left."

Luna nodded, thanked the Praetorian and shuffled over to the washroom, intending to wash off her sleep before meeting with the Emperor.

"Sombra's dead?" She laughed, "good one. Though I'd recommend you keep it more realistic next time."

The halls of the Eater of Worlds were overly long, though Luna's own journey to the Spire wouldn't take too long, fortunately. She passed a small number of Praetorians, patrolling casually, and a pair of Spire Guard, standing to attention like statues at the base of the stairs up the Spire. She didn't bother to nod or attempt to communicate in any way.

"You should have let her live," she sobbed, "I wanted to be the one. I wanted to be the one to avenge my friends."

The spiralling staircase was bland, which, considering it was made almost entirely of gold and marble, was an achievement in itself. She passed only a few on her way up it, including one Spire Guard, rifle in hand, who nodded to her before vanishing down the stairs.

"She took everything from me," she snarled, "if she was here, I would take her blood as wine and her heart as a meal."

Her head pulsed, like her brain was going to burst out of her ears at any second. Memories flashed when her eyes were closed, some even bleeding into the real world, making her shake dizzily. Mercifully, she was nearly at the summit, so managed to pull herself up the last few stairs with her wings and into the meeting room before landing on a chair with a thud, her head slamming into the table, a groan escaping her lips.

"Even in death," she lamented, "she still haunts me."

"Luna?" Penumbra shook her slightly, "Luna, are you alright?"

Luna awoke with a snarl, baring fangs and serpentine tongue at Penumbra, eyes glowing with hatred, before she realised her mistake and pulled back, eyes fading back to their usual. "I'm sorry," she said, clutching her head with her right foot, "my dreams are heavy."

"They shall be," Nicholas said, standing his full fifty feet tall, towering over the meeting room's table, voice echoing, "we have transferred to Cradle whilst you were asleep, the portals to the Veiled Edge are, even deactivated, enabling a partial connection to that dimension. The pain of your dreams comes from the Veiled Mother, who only a few hours ago was killed by forces I had deployed there months earlier. We are now perfectly positioned for a full strike against the Great Light. In a few hours, I shall tear a path into the Aether, and the last battle will begin."

"The last battle?" She asked, at first with disbelief, then realisation dawned on her, "so, we're finally here?"

Nicholas nodded. "Yes, we are. I have had Queen Chrysalis gather up every Changeling able to fight, several members of the Shadow of Sundered Star have sent out calls all across the Empire, rallying every soldier who is willing and able. We need only gather up everyone on the Eater of Worlds and enter the portals, there I shall gather up everyone who will not have rallied already and breach the Aether."

"Who will follow us through the portals?" Lotan asked, "just Chrysalis?"

"No," Nicholas answered, smiling slightly, "Cecilia, Neveron, Belial and Kyhron are already waiting there too, as is Ablazed Glory."

"Cecilia?" Lilith rose, before smiling. "It will be good to see her again."

A pair of Tomb Guard with red armour entered, flanking a white mare with a flawlessly styled coat and mane, her armour polished to a shine. "My Lord," one said, "Lady Rarity, as requested."

Nicholas beckoned her in, floating her out a seat next to Luna. "Rally everyone in court. They shall be the first unto the breach."

The Tomb Guard bowed. "Even the blighted ones?"

"Yes, even them. Though keep them away from the mortals, have them brought in once I have opened the way."

The Tomb Guard nodded and both filed out, leaving the room silent for a moment.

"So," Rainbow spoke up, clearly impatient, "are we going, or what?"

Nicholas nodded. "We shall make our descent to the surface in a moment. Though, I must warn you all, once we enter the Veiled Edge, you will see, hear and feel a lot of things you won't like, but there is no going back once you have crossed the threshold of that portal."

When they landed, they were greeted by an army of Changelings, Queen Chrysalis at their head, bowing as Nicholas folded up his wings onto his back, the dropships landing behind him.

"I have gathered everyone I can," she said, "all are ready and willing."

Nicholas nodded. "You have done well."

To the east of the block of Changelings lay thousands of Tomb Guard. Most had red armour, though some had a more yellowish-beige colour, with splotches of the front few ranks having a light blue and only three having night black. Miles behind the front rank, torso upwards visible, stood what Nicholas identified as a Blight Lord, looking similar to the Tomb Guard though with flesh a mixture of black and cyan swirling about, with a swollen and tumourous head, with at least nine glowing eyes barely distinguishable from the rest of its corrupted flesh. Flanking it were a pair of constructs similar in overall appearance to a particularly large Strategos Class, though with a number of small cyan eyes of varying size set into their upper segment and seemingly composed out of a relatively random mish-mash of assorted machinery, forming a gradient of colour from glowing bright cyan at the bottom to pitch black at the top. Even though they seemed like a collection of junk, they were clearly surprisingly well armed, with everything from pulse guns attached to glowing cables to artillery cannons and ship-bourne weaponry.

Two Tomb Guard stood with Chrysalis, one the size of a regular Tomb Guard, the other well over 9 metres tall, his armour looking as though it was resting on magma just below it.

"My Lord," the largest said, voice crackling like a fire, "all of court has arrived, the Soulless are beginning to hunger."

"They will have plenty to feast on soon," Nicholas replied, "we are ready to begin. Arrok, gather the Cult of the Deep, they shall accompany us through the barrier."

Arrok nodded, turning and marching to the block of other, smaller, Tomb Guard. He spoke to one of those in light blue armour, who in turn lifted his sword and stepped forwards. The rest of those in blue, a hundred or so in all, stepped forwards as well, following Arrok forwards towards Chrysalis.

Penumbra surveyed the army laid out in front of her, there were more soldiers than she had expected, Tomb Guard especially, but she had expected more Fusiliers, with not one of the white armoured infantry in sight. Still, it was an impressive display, which became even more impressive when she took flight, attempting to see the end of the block of Tomb Guard. All the way east, though pocked with Blight Lords, Engines of Malice and several larger of their number, were Tomb Guard. Not a patch of ground lay uncovered, just an army that seemed to go on forever. Nicholas rose with her, levitating those who could not fly and followed by those who could. He hovered forwards, commanding silence with just his presence.

"Today," he bellowed, voice carrying miles, "we stand on the precipice of the end. Today, we march into the Veiled Edge. Today, we cut through the barrier. Today, we attack the Aether. Today, the long awaited day is finally upon us. The War in Heaven will finally end."

As one, the Tomb Guard roared, a bellow that seemed to rock the sky, before silencing as Nicholas raised his sword.

"Children, upon my signal, you will tear at the Aether until all of heaven shakes with pain."

The group descended, turning back to the portal controls. "Come," Nicholas said, leading the way, "we move quickly."

The portals themselves were large, enough to fit Nicholas stood at his full height into one. Though, he paused before the one of the seven he had chosen, Ablazed Glory, stood behind him, pausing too.

"You must be careful," he said, "the Veiled Mother rages at her confines, my warriors have trapped her in a death loop, where she cannot physically harm us. But, you must not allow her rages to get the better of you. No matter what visions you see, focus on walking straight forwards, do not divert from the path. Once the barrier is open, the Veiled Mother will not harm your mind any longer."

Without another word, he stepped forwards, vanishing through the thin, white membrane of the portal. Ablazed Glory, the Cult of the Deep, Arrok, Penumbra, Chrysalis, Rainbow, Rarity and Luna followed through their various portals, opening their eyes to see a land that was somehow wrong, with a white wall of infinite height and length a mile or so ahead.

"Twilight," Pinkie Pie called out, hesitantly, voice wavering and cracking as she did, "Applejack? Fluttershy? Anypony? Please, help me."

Nicholas, Arrok and the Cult of the Deep right behind him, surged forwards, ignoring the innumerable voices that tried to convince him to abandon his task. He recognised many, old friends or otherwise trying to psych him into falling back. His soul, so corrupted as it was, delighted in their suffering, it fed him power; the Veiled Mother's vain lashing out was making him even stronger.

"Oh Faust," a mare cried, head in her hooves, "oh Faust!" A horrible, constant roar slowly approached her, a reddish-purple light filling her window and room. "Please, Faust. Please." Her voice left her, her throat only making hoarse sobs.

Ablazed Glory grabbed Penumbra, the sensation of burning fur bringing her back to the real world - or whatever the Veiled Edge was. "Come on," the burning alicorn shouted, "we need to push forwards."

The corrupted alicorn, half lay on the ground, nodded and rose. Ablazed Glory waved her forwards, trudging through what looked and felt like pure black, wet mud, that went up to about half way up her shins. Penumbra, being far taller, was able to push through faster, catching up to the blazing alicorn, who seemed almost absent from her surroundings.

"Just keep pushing," she mumbled, "they aren't real. Just keep pushing."

"Get back you monster," Shining Armour yelled, throwing a bolt of magic at Nicholas, who grabbed it in his claws. He held it for a moment, before it turned to a corrupted, writhing black and he threw it back, melting the unicorn's forelegs and throwing him backwards. To the pony's credit, he still continued to fight, or, at least, tried to.

"I am Ablazed Glory," she mumbled, fire increasing twofold, "I am Ablazed Glory."

"Shining!" Cadence yelled in horror, dashing to her husband from her hiding spot, attempting to shield him as best she could. "Please," she cried, "don't hurt him, don't hurt him."

Penumbra felt herself sinking, with the barrier so far away. It took her a minute to notice she had stopped moving, with Ablazed Glory's light the only thing allowing her to recognise it.

"The corruption within will eat him alive," Nicholas said, bearing forth Oathbreaker, "truly, it is kinder if you die."

Penumbra yelled something, before she felt her mouth filling with the thick liquid that not long early was at her feet. She tried to yell again, though her mouth and throat was completely clogged. She tried to rise out, managing to do so slightly.

"The child," Nicholas said, "where is the child?"

The dark liquid was up to her eyes, with Penumbra resigning herself to fate.

Cadence didn't even have time to scream, but the child did, giving away its location. Nicholas turned, seeing it through the fake wall. He took one step before driving his sword through it.

All around her was darkness.

Shining Armour, slowly melting, a burning poison spreading through him, watched helplessly as his child fell silent, Nicholas sword rammed straight into her hiding place. He watched on in horror JOY as Nicholas roared out.

There was nothing.

The corruption PLEASURE had engulfed his brain, warping FREEING it for whatever purpose. He cried out REJOICED in pain LOVE as the last of his body was eaten UNSHACKLED by the poison DESIRE.

Suddenly, there was something.

A grey, chitinous fist, arm above clad in light blue, bone-like armour, grasped her foreleg and heaved. With strength she could not even imagine, she was lifted from the infinite depths, breaking out of the surface with a heaving gasp. The Tomb Guard who had grasped her wrapped his arm around her, before thundering forwards, aiming to rejoin his brothers.

"Repeat," he said, "'I am Penumbra.'"

"I am Penumbra."

"Keep going."

"I am Penumbra. I am Penumbra."

The Tomb Guard marched her up to Nicholas, through ranks of his brethren. Ablazed Glory stood to his left, burning far brighter than she had on Cradle. Luna stood at his right, Rarity on her back, the white unicorn unconscious but still breathing. Chrysalis was sat on her haunches, breathing heavily and rhythmically, with Rainbow next to her, the PHALANX pegasus holding close to Arrok, who provided an ideal anchor. The Tomb Guard lay Penumbra down, just behind Nicholas, keeping a hold of her whilst the Emperor was occupied, his hands pressed as flat as they could go against the barrier.

Though the ponies couldn't see it, Nicholas' power was all over him. His soul, adept at multi-tasking, was carrying out hundreds of taxing tasks all at once, from cracking the barrier to reaching out into the Rift and Dimensional Tract, attracting allies new and old.

It took him a minute to finish the secondary tasks, before he recouped his power once again to focus on the main objective. Tendrils and clouds of black and cyan energy rolled over his form, released from his eyes, the energy focused on his claws, which glowed as more and more energy was funnelled into them. The detonation was silent, but its force was enough to be felt in the material world. The visions plaguing the ponies all vanished in an instant.

The barrier opened, only a pair of tiny pinpricks at first, but expanding wider and wider every second. Within five, a space large enough to fit Emperor Nicholas had formed, after another five, a space large enough to comfortably fit a battleship.

Thus, the Cult of the Deep fulfilled their duties, charging forwards into the small groups of Daemons that lay beyond, carving out a space for Imperial forces to deploy.

"Come," Nicholas said, "we advance. Arrok, order Queen Chrysalis' Changelings and the Blood of Luna to enter, I have allies arriving soon."

The titan Arrok nodded, sending out a partially audible psionic message to the Changeling morphs beyond the portal, who led their soldiers in within seconds, Azin, Qirin and Karavon following shortly behind the first Changelings.

As if on cue, a pair appeared. One was small, young looking, with shoulder length white hair tied back by a pair of red pins. He wore a white shirt over a low slung black vest, with black, wide legged shorts held up by crimson suspenders over his shoulders. He looked about, confused, blinking with his grey-red eyes in a new light, hands flexing on a pair of wooden handled, polished knives. His fellow was far larger, standing about five metres in height, with a large build clad almost completely in black power armour. His face was far gruffer than that of his practically tiny fellow, with buzzcut black hair on his dark head, covered in old scars. His brown eyes looked about for something, whilst his hands firmly grasped the thin metal handle of his enormous red bladed scythe.

"Haisan, Ar'Aknos," Nicholas said, holding out his arms in welcome, "it is good you have returned."

Haisan, the smaller of the two, swallowed, looking first at Nicholas, then at Ar'Aknos, before beginning to cry. His fellow, Ar'Aknos, looked at the Emperor, then his companion, before a joyous smile broke out on his previously stoic face. "One last service." Ar'Aknos chuckled, bearing the unmistakable voice of a soldier. "It is good to see you again, Nicholas."

"Likewise for the both of you," Nicholas said, "it took me some time to work out the specifics of that ability, fortunately I got them correct."

"Indeed." Ar'Aknos cradled the young-looking man, who hugged him like a father. "It seems Haisan hadn't expected to see either of us again."

Nicholas nodded. "I wouldn't have bet on it if I was him," he said, "not knowing what I do, of course."

Behind the two emerged three blue figures. Both stood on two legs, with two arms, a body and a head, just like Haisan and Ar'Aknos, though that was about where their similarities ended. They appeared to be composed entirely of energy, though they could still be touched and looked relatively solid. Their bodies were marked with jagged edges, with their left arms shaped like blades, their right disconnected from the rest of them about halfway down its length, though still moving just like a normal arm would. They had one 'eye', in the approximate shape of a diamond, though its only difference from the rest of their heads being that it was coloured white rather than blue. Their 'mouth', if it could be called that, was similar, no changes aside from a very jagged approximation of a wide diamond, coloured white rather than blue.

"It has begun?" One of them said, though which one it was couldn't quite be determined, as all three appeared to make sudden, glitching movements, accompanied by fizzling body mass and electronic screeches.

"Yes," Nicholas said, "now is the time to fight."

"Very well," all three said, before vanishing again, appearing beyond the barrier, slicing through what few daemons were left. The three quickly became ten, then thirty, then eighty, then one hundred. More and more of the figures, all identical save small differences in size, began to appear, fighting alongside the Tomb Guard, the Changelings setting up in positions behind them.

Another figure appeared, carried aloft by four blood red tentacle-like appendages on his back, snow-white hair covered most of his face and his clothes had an authoritative, militaristic flair to them, even worn and battered as they were. Both Ar'Aknos and Haisan reacted with immediate hostility, the latter launching himself at him, causing Nicholas to grab him in a ring of shadow and pull him back.

Duke Alastair Thana, the most reviled traitor in Imperial history, shook his hair from his face, revealing grey eyes and a gaunt face, with skin that looked unhealthy devoid of light. "So," he said, "it's time?"

Nicholas nodded at his past killer, who gave a short chuckle. "Well," the traitor said, "time to get to work I suppose."

Haisan had gone a sick white, his eyes shifting to a deeper red, the desire to kill causing his whole body to shake. "Why," he questioned, through gritted teeth, "is he here?"

Alastair stepped forwards. "I was, and still am, many things," he said, calmly, "what I am not, is a liar. I admit when I am wrong and have made mistakes. Though Emperor Nicholas and I disagree on many things, I can say that he was right. Though I may oppose his methods, I do not oppose his ends. I know he is right, just not in the way you do."

Haisan seemed to relax, still eyeing Thana with hatred but no longer on a knife's edge. Ar'Aknos, meanwhile, had calmed, content that Emperor Nicholas knew what he was doing.

Nicholas and his group stepped across the barrier, touching the completely flat, white expanse of the Aether for the first time. The ground felt like the fields of Equestria, though had no grass and no dirt either, just an expanse of something white that they could stand on.

"Open the portals," Nicholas said, apparently speaking with someone outside, "bring in ships and soldiers. Every vessel, soldier and machine you can rally, our invasion begins now."

The Changelings finished entering, though the entrances did not cease altogether, with Changelings being replaced by Tomb Guard. Upon passing Emperor Nicholas and his retinue, they charged forwards, filling up the ever expanding line of troops that was securing the Imperial landing zone.

A portal opened overhead, barely visible against the backdrop of mostly white in the Aether, a Truth class light cruiser tentatively passing through it. It was followed, a few kilometres to its left, by another cruiser, then another a few kilometres to the right. Within an hour, dozens of cruisers were overhead, firing their plasma lances and various other cannons into the daemons, assisting the thick line of hundreds of thousands, if not far more, Tomb Guard. One cruiser had landed, disgorging nearly twenty thousand troops and several thousand tanks and other vehicles.

Fighters swarmed overhead, based from cruisers, as the line of Tomb Guard thinned it was quickly joined by Fusiliers, then by tanks. Artillery fire lit up the otherwise mostly blank sky, rockets flew beyond the line and warriors from thousands of species prepared themselves.

Amongst them, in increasing numbers, were soldiers clad in clothing little better than khaki cloth, with gunmetal grey steel helmets, like an upside down bowl with a few inches wide lip on their heads, the odd few wearing a gas mask. Some wore beige haversacks over their fronts, with leather belts and webbing holding ammo pouches, grenades and canteens. Their brown leather boots were covered above the ankle by wraps of cloth that extended up to the knees.

"Who are they?" Penumbra pointed them out to Nicholas, internally hoping they either weren't soldiers or just hiding something incredible.

"Planetary Militia," Nicholas said, "volunteers from planetary defence forces."

"Why do they look so...?"

"Poorly equipped? Because they are. They've only got one thing going for them and that's courage, and I'd rather have one Militia soldier with a bucket load of courage than a Tomb Guard, for sure."

Amongst the Militia was an officer, wearing a black overcoat and a peaked with red, polished badge. "If any volunteer wishes to turn back, then they must do so now, I will not hold it against you, nobody will."

No one turned.

The officer nodded, a look of pride on his face. "Ready for march to the front."

His soldiers rose, shouldering their rifles and checking their gear one final time.

"Battalion, forwards march!"