Fallout Equestria : Black And White

by Philweasel

Chapter 5.4 - Wings of Black and White

Xenith, hero of Equestria, companion of Littlepip, champion of the slave pits... was dying.

She slept now. Her expression peaceful and her breathing gentle. The shaman had worked their magic, ensuring that. She deserved that.

Xephyr tore her eyes away from her mother's bruised and broken face, trying her best not to let the tension in her body show as she moved back into the preperation room. She bristled despite her best efforts as she saw Signal Jammer at the table, going over some notes. The unicorn turned as Xephyr entered, her stance tired and her eyes dim. Her voice too sounded defeated, "I'm so sorry... for everything."

"You're sure you can't help her?" Xephyr asked, trying not to let the anger show. Maybe three miricles in a day was a bit much to ask, but still...

"No, I'm not. That's what's so terrible about medicine." Signal Jammer admitted, "I could try. I might even end up prolonging her life. But it might be for as little as a few more days... or it might just leave her a vegetable. And the procedure... I would have her carved out on a table, sticking second hand shards of mental into her spine and brain."

Xephyr reminded herself that Signal Jammer had saved Fluttershy and Ace Gold by cutting up her best friend, using him as an organ and bionics donor without complaint or hesitation. At a point where all hope had seemed lost, the unicorn had sacrificed to save them. That was one of the only reasons she was allowed out of a cell, but admittedly it was a good reason, "I understand... and thank you for all that you have done."

"For bringing Dream Star here? For helping her hurt and kill your friends?"

Xephyr met the mare's eyes, "Why did you? You must have known what was going to happen, seen the terrible things she had already done."

"Why did I?" Signal Jammer asked, her eyes glinting with tears, "Because she was my friend."

Xephyr averted her eyes. She understood that.

¬

She needed to work off some stress more than ever, and honestly she was a mare of singular passions. Though teetotal and celibate, she had her own methods of stress relief. Because she was not the type of hero who dreamed of retirement, or the type that was fired of fighting. Indeed she reluctantly had to admit that she loved testing her hooves against those of her foes.

Or friends. Or anyone really.

Xephyr studied Ace as he stepped out into the ring opposite, admitting that she barely recognized him. His face was covered in scars, his eyes were a different color and clearly hardened by experience, his slim body both boasting even less body fat than before and far more muscle. She instantly identified that last one as counterproductive, but it was called a wanderer's build for a reason. Walking for miles through a desert, interspersed with periods of hitting people very hard, tended to produce those kind of lopsided builds. Not everyone had the luxury of training in a gym.

"I haven't seen you for years, and our first meeting is in a dojo?" Ace questioned, though not aggressively.

She smiled back at him, "Isn't this how warriors communicate?"

"I guess." He replied back, limbering up a little before shooting her a piercing glare, "I'm a lot stronger than before."

She grinned, "Show me."

He burst into action, swinging wildly. His technique had lost some refinement, as expected adapted more to real combat than duels like this. She excused some tension in his movements by the nature of the situation, he was undoubtedly nervous seeing her after so long.

She slapped his attack aside, darting to the side as she continued to study his movements. Ace Gold became a little more cautious and studied, his blows thrown with less wild aggression. She struck him with a quick tap and he skillfully rolled with the blow, landing well before sprawling intentionally in what was obviously an attempt to make himself look more hurt than he was.

She obliged, coming in for the kill and instantly faced with a skillful counter attack as he leapt to his hooves. He tried a side kick and she took it on her shoulder, sweeping his hooves from under him with her wing and sending him flying with a butt of her head.

He landed with an impressive summersault, skidding across the floor before bracing himself firmly. She smiled as she straightened out, nodding to him, "Your skill is really impressive Ace."

He raised a doubtful eyebrow, "Really?"

"You're integrating all the different styles you've learned, figuring out what works for you. That's the sign of a master Ace, one that really understands the art." She relaxed her body, facing him warmly, "You've grown in every way."

He pouted angrily, proving that some things hadn't changed. His angry tone too brought back memories, "Not every way. I'm still a pipsqueak."

She chuckled, "So was Littlepip."

"But she wasn't a martial artist... because she was smart enough to realize it was a poor choice for a diminutive unicorn."

Xephyr frowned now, having never seen Ace expressing such issues before. Previously he had been proud to be unusual among his fellows, determined to prove them wrong, "Ace, your race has nothing to do..."

"It does Xephyr." He quickly countered, frowning hard, "Zebra and Earth Ponies can enhance their own bodies with their magic, Zebra can channel it through their hooves. Pegasi can neutralize friction, and their wings give them immense mobility. Griffons have their claws. But unicorns? There is not a single talent I have that helps me as a martial artist."

She frowned, reaching out, "Ace, what...?"

"I couldn't protect Fluttershy, or myself!" He eventually yelled, face pulled tight, "I couldn’t protect your mother! She’s dying because I wasn't strong enough!"

Xephyr faced him down, though she couldn't say he was 'wrong' as such, "Your magic can't help in a fight?"

"That's... not what I mean." He sighed, lifting his front hoof, "I hit you there, dead on. You didn't even flinch."

"I was braced..."

"I'm the strongest I've ever been." He continued, sounding frustrated, "But that's not strong enough. I'm never going to have the physique or the magical potential to make my talents combat worthy. Ponies mock my flashy summersaults and flying kicks, but that's pretty much the only way I can build up enough momentum to make my attacks effective."

And she laughed. Out of pride in his advancement, and understanding of his frustrations. And yes, a little bit because his offended expression was deeply cute. She cut off his angry retort the moment she saw his mouth open, "Ace... everypony reaches this point."

He glared angrily at her, "Where they realize their entire life has been pointless?"

"Where they hit a wall in their training." She replied, giving her a sympathetic look, "Ace, I started learning martial arts because of my mother, and some old pictures in some books. I desperately wanted to reconnect with my zebra heritage, and find some way of taking down opponents without killing them."

"And you did." Ace Gold commented gloomily.

"No, I didn't." She answered with a smile, placing a hoof against her chest, "I had nowhere near my mother's skill, and while I was strong I was slow too. And I had no idea how to access the magic the old books seemed to assume I had."

Ace paused a moment, clearly trying to bring to mind his history lessons. After a moment he extended a hoof, sounding uncertain, "You... found the element of magic."

"I had a good teacher." She noted with a smile, "Xenos, my fiancé. He was a scholar in zebra magical arts, he spent months helping me unlock and utilize my mana pathways. But it was slow progress, and I had pretty much given up..." She chuckled, even though the memory had little humor, "And yes, I then discovered the element of magic, and learned that I could use it to focus my abilities."

"So I just have to find a immeasurably powerful mystical artifact?" Ace questioned, the sarcasm in his voice a little too apparent.

She shook her head, a little annoyed that he had forgotten, "I thought it was that simple too. That with the... immeasurably powerful mystical artifact, I could just brute force my way to victory. So when Sunny Smiles came for the element, I faced her without fear. I was sure I was powerful enough to beat her."

Ace's face fell, "But... you weren't."

Xephyr had come to terms with it a long time ago. The worst memory of her life, but she felt she had moved past in through her experiences in the dream world, "No. I learned then just how naive I was, that I thought I was powerful just because I could throw a punch and channel some magic. I was totally destroyed, totally humiliated... failed to protect someone I cared about."

Ace Gold averted his gaze, "I know..."

"And again, I wanted nothing more than to give up... until Littlepip told me exactly how much I would betray everyone if I did so." She chuckled, the moment still vivid in her mind, "So I learned from my mistakes, I looked at things from a different angle... and I broke through that wall, and gained a whole new level of power."

"So... I need to look at things from a different perspective?"

She chuckled, shrugging, "You need to have your preconceptions tested... even shattered. I became a Princess partly because the element, my friends, my very memories were both taken from me. I was forced to understand exactly what all those things meant to me, and what I was both with and without them. And as a result I broke through another wall."

Ace Gold frowned, a mixture of frustration and determination shining in his eyes, "Well it's a good time for it. I lost, and Fluttershy got hurt. Because of me. Because I wasn't strong enough."

"So what are you going to do about it?"

His voice broke, looking up at her in anger, "I don't know! I told you, I can't think how I will ever be strong enough!"

She set her haunches, extending her wings, "Well you better think quick."

"Wha..."

She exploded into action, the sonic boom echoing against the walls as she drove herself forward. Her hoof shot down an inch from Ace Gold's forehead, the buck dodging backwards in terror as she shattered the stone in front of him.

He leapt up and kicked at her, slow and predicable. She punished him for that, blocking the blow easily and slamming her hoof into his exposed belly hard enough to break a rib. It flung him backwards to slam against the wall, Ace slumping down and raising his eyes in terror as she dove straight at him.

He escaped only by dint of her holding back and deliberately missing, her hoof tearing through stone as he leapt away. He looked at her with shaking eyes, his nerve clearly shot, "Xephyr, stop! I can't...!"

"Keep up?!" She turned to him, angling her body forward for another strike, "What if it was Fluttershy behind you? How would you protect her?"

He shook his head, "I can't!"

"I'll tell you the truth Ace." She shouted firmly, focusing her mana reserves, "You're the very essence of a rainbow child. So much potential, wasted because you have never had to fight for anything!"

This hit him where it hurt, as she expected it would. He froze for a moment, before frustration cut through his eyes.

"So I will teach you!" She flung out her hoof, feeling the air solidify at her touch, vibrate all the way to Ace's pretty face. That face contorted as the burst of compressed air hit firm, the buck yelling out as blood trickled from his busted lip. Xephyr was openly disappointed now, her attack pretty much cleanly telegraphed. She wondered if she had misjudged his resolve, wondered if she should end this now, "Come on Ace! That horn on your head isn't just for decoration!"

She dove at him, Ace first trying to seize her with his telekinesis. She shrugged it off easily, not even slowing her down. She threw a few easily dodged punches to keep him on his toes, Ace responding with a blast of blinding light and following up with a solid hoof punch.

She blocked it easily, then slammed him with a shoulder check that sent him tumbling. She spat her disappointment as he forced himself to his hooves, "I've fought unicorn mages who studied for longer than you've been alive Ace! That stuff is for kindgardeners!"

He gritted his teeth as he faced her, as ready as he had looked so far. She took that as a sign, diving in for another attack.

...and he seized himself with his telekinesis, throwing himself to his side as his body language telegraphed a forward charge. She legitimately missed with her first blow, Ace in a perfect position to hit her with a double buck to the side.

It wasn't going to be that easy for him though. From him even a double buck was desperately lacking in strength and she still had enough time to brace, plus bring her wing down to cushion the blow even further. He ended up staggering himself and she backed off a little as he recovered, making it clear how little the attack had phased her, "Not bad, but you need to hit me harder!"

Ace threw a horn blast at her, Xephyr having seen so many of those that she dodged near automatically... when it exploded into stars right beside her head. That surprised her more than it should, Ace leaping in with a hard punch to take advantage. She angled herself back to buck him as he approached, Ace once again surprising her by throwing out a gravity spell that threw her off balance and plastered him to the ceiling. He leapt off again and dispelled the gravity effect before she could adapt to his new position, kicking downwards at her head...

...throwing all of his telekinesis into his hoof as it descended.

She flung up her hoof to block, taking the blow on the element of magic. The crystal sang out as it absorbed the bonecrushing force, Ace growling as he used his telekinesis to fling himself downwards and kick out at her belly. She caught this just in time, throwing him aside to tumble across the ground below.

He rolled back into a fighting position, Xephyr smiling in satisfaction and diving in again. They exchanged blows, his telekinesis enhanced hooves ringing off her magically solidified flesh. She drove in a hard blow of her own and it struck what felt like shields about his body, throwing another one and watching the tell tell sign of magical protections breaking down.

He yelled in fury, magic sparking as he flung himself in a desperate punch. He put his whole body into it and she was too close to do anything but block, grimacing as it drove against her hooves with enough force to bruise. She retreated back, not wanting to take another of those any time soon...

...as Ace gasped, his horn sparking with magical burn out and his hooves collapsing under him. He lay there panting, Xephyr taking a moment to get her own breath back before approaching, "That's what I'm talking about Ace. That was incredible."

He grunted, "...did I even hurt you?"

"Yes actually."

"Liar."

She chuckled, "Some ponies would be proud that they kept up with a Princess going all out." She placed a hoof against his shoulder, allowing healing energies to pass into his body, "I even had to use the element of magic."

"Yeah, a little unfair." He commented as he slowly rose, blinking as his exhaustion lifted, "You broke my rib."

"Well your dad isn't around to tell me off." She answered with a grin, "And you're pony enough to take it. You just proved that now."

"To be frank... I'm not sure why it matters anymore." He pointed an accusing hoof straight at Xephyr, "You still destroyed me, and I know you were holding back. You're a princess, you were trained by Littlepip herself!"

She blushed, not really liking where this was going, "Yes..."

"So when are you going to fly out, beat up Star Swirl and Caesar, and save the world? Because frankly, the rest of us need to start making up banners proclaiming your victory."

She took a deep breath. Good question.

¬

Xephyr was really starting to hate the medical wing of the temple.

She approached cautiously, unsure quite how to approach this, how to even begin. The mare sat quietly upon the cushions within the mediation chamber, soft brown robes failing to entirely conceal the scars upon her aged but muscular body. Not to mention the white cloth wrapped around her face, obscuring the still healing cybernetics underneath.

Finally she was forced to speak, "Fluttershy."

"Is that you Xephyr?" Fluttershy asked, her voice cracking slightly with relief and excitement, "It's so good to hear your voice again."

"And yours Fluttershy." Xephyr stated with conviction, "I'm sorry it took so long."

Fluttershy chuckled, extending a hoof forward. Xephyr stepped forward and took it, Fluttershy pressing her hoof firmly against hers, "Perhaps you came back at exactly the right moment."

Xephyr paused, certainly not about to agree. It sounded nice, like a postcard, but she wasn't one to deny the cruel reality, "It would have gone far better if I had turned up twenty minutes earlier."

"It will be ok Xephyr." Fluttershy noted with kindness, "We never have quite enough time to spend with those we love."

Xephyr admitted that she wasn't the first to lose a mother, and that at least they were speaking to one another. But that wasn't all that had happened, "Tandia... and your eyes."

"Perhaps it was time." Fluttershy noted softly, "Tandia told me that... she was soon to die. And that she was perfectly ok with it."

"And..."

Fluttershy chuckled, "Did Ace Gold tell you he lost his own eyes?"

Xephyr raised an eyebrow, "He did? But his eyes... they were still his real ones right...?" She tried to think back, but she was sure she would have recognized cybernetics. They had looked fine, better than fine actually...

Fluttershy nodded, smiling warmly, "Puppysmiles repaired them for him."

Xephyr dropped her head, reminded of another misfortune inflicted upon them, "Well, that's not a option..."

"Xephyr... I've been through a lot over the last few months. And so have you." Her smile settled into a look of absolute calm, "And sometimes it's only by lose everything that we can be open to becoming who we need to be."

"No." Xephyr stated quietly, yet firmly. She repeated it after a moment, louder, "No. Suffering doesn't have purpose."

"Xephyr..."

"Suffering is something I'm supposed to stop." Xephyr felt the anger grow, "Because I'm the Princess of Equestria."

Fluttershy shook her head, "Xephyr, it's a dangerous path, trying to save the world."

"Fluttershy, I cannot sit back, meditate, and passively accept all the bad things in this world." Xephyr complained, then straightened tall and proud. At the very least Fluttershy had made her certain in her chosen path, "I'm going to go. I'm going to go out there, beat Star Swirl, beat Caesar, and make all this better."

Fluttershy dropped her eyes, "Do you think that will help?"

"Yes!" Xephyr shouted, "Beating up the bad guys helps!"

"Star Swirl isn't a bad guy Xephyr..."

"Yes, she is." Xephyr spoke angrily, "I saw her hurt Puppysmiles. She handed me over to the corrupted Twilight, and I've heard what she's done on this side of the veil!"

Fluttershy gave a sad smile, "And you're going to kill her."

"I'm..." Xephyr hesitated, "I'm going to punch her in the face until she says sorry."

"Xephyr." Fluttershy breathed, soft and full of regret, "You're in the center of Zebra civilization, in one of the greatest temples of harmony, surrounded by the wisest minds on the planet. For once in your life ignore your gut, stay still and consider your actions."

"Fine." Xephyr grumbled, though she hardly meant it. Because she knew that for every second she spend considering, even moment spent listening to the wisdom of old zebra in caves... ponies were dying.

And that was on her conscience.

¬

The center of zebra civilization huh? She looked around at the great library, at the thousands of year worth of wisdom, and knew the truth.

She was not a zebra.

She was dimly aware that her family had originally come from a city in the central valleys, a city that was now nothing more than scattered ruins. Reading about it failed to spark any kind of connection in her heart, and the zebra she saw here didn't even look like the ones she knew back home. Their languages felt heavy on her tongue, provided by her connection to harmony rather than any real conception of the subtleties.

She looked at the great murals and statues that celebrated zebra history. It made her homesick, reminded her of the statue of Littlepip in the presidential palace. And at that moment she never felt more alone.

She found herself paused at the shrine they had set up for Tandia, her glasses and a picture of her as a young woman laid out on a podium, along with the books she had written and her traveling cloak. This at least sparked some sort of understanding, some shared bond. Tandia had been element of magic, just over twenty years before Littlepip had exited the vault. From what she had heard, Littlepip might never have succeeded without Tandia's actions in restoring harmony.

Tandia could have taught her so much... and she had died seconds before Xephyr had arrived. Was that the will of harmony? Was there only so much magic to go around?

"You struggle to understand your role."

Xephyr turned, observing the zebra elder standing behind. Another of a thousand brown cloaked figures, she didn't recognize him, "I thought I could just pick up where I left off. I remember it being so much easier."

"Your mother told a very different story."

Xephyr admitted she was sugarcoating a little. With Calamity's injury, him getting divorced from Velvet Remedy, tension within the group, Velvet Promises getting assassinated... it hadn't been easy. But at least she had known who she was, "I just feel so lost, like I don't belong. Back then, I always knew what to do."

The elder smiled disarmingly, "You were certain."

"Yeah..."

"But were you wise?"

"I beat Sunny Smiles, and the enclave." She protested, before admitting that it hadn't been that clean, "I mean, I made mistakes... but I never hesitated."

"And were those mistakes made because of your lack of hesitation?" The zebra questioned, "You have been gone seven years."

Xephyr winced. She still couldn't believe it.

"And you are therefore, seven years older. Along with the benefits of being a Princess, your understanding of the world has expanded." The zebra noted with a smile, "It can be so easy to be certain when your conception of the world is so limited. With age, with wisdom, comes the realization that simple answers are childhood fantasies."

"I don't want to be that pony." She protested quietly, then firmed her expression in anger, "I came this far by refusing to compromise."

"And this place to which you have come. It is better than if you had compromised?"

Xephyr stared at him, wanting to be angry. But... it was a good point. She had always put down her achievements to being a moral paragon, but her actions by that code had often inspired moral criticism. She had often failed, to protect others, to protect herself, to make things better... because she did what she knew was right, rather than what was pragmatic.

Littlepip did what was pragmatic. Xephyr had reasoned that Littlepip had more difficult decisions to make, was forced to compromise. That she had created a world where you could be unyielding in your morality. But maybe Xephyr had just wanted to differentiate herself from her mentor. Be her own hero, follow her own code.

She loved Littlepip. But she had often felt insecure. No matter how hard she had fought, no matter how strong she became... she would never be able to achieve half of the things she had. And even if Xephyr could punch through metal, shrug off hits from dragons and had her own pair of wings, she felt in her heart of hearts that she would never measure up. Because she didn't have... that special something. That mind, that determination. The element of magic might have chosen her, but Littlepip had a power all of her own.

Xephyr sighed, angrily averting her gaze, "They expect me to save them. But if I'm not certain, if I'm not... a hero..." She took a deep breath, "Then I'm just another super powered bruiser."

"The element of magic thinks differently." The zebra noted, "Or it would never have chosen you."

Xephyr looked up, trying to think of some response... but she was cut off as another zebra ran up to her, harried and upset looking. Her heart froze as she beheld his expression, his voice shaking as he spoke, "Princess Xephyr, your mother... they have requested that you come immediately."

"Go to her." The old zebra stated.

¬

Xephyr stood at the entrance to the room, frozen in place. It was like the world had stopped, all thoughts, all emotions locked as she looked across at the bed, those gathered around... and her mother, Xenith, still and lifeless, only the tiniest flickers of energy still clinging to her.

One of the shaman finally broke the silence, turning and walking slowly over. He signed himself, then looked her in the eye with solemn dignity, "I am sorry Xephyr, your mother is dead."

"How!" She tried to ask, finding herself shouting the question as a fierce well of feeling bubbled up, "I asked to be told immediately..."

"It was very sudden." The shaman soothed, "Her heart simply stopped beating. We sent a runner and began aid, but it was fruitless."

She moved past him, approaching her mother's body. The anger she had felt now flooded through her, impossible to stem. Anger at the injustice of it all, the... outright malicious actions of fate, "She spent all those years trying to bring me back... and the moment I return, she's beaten into a coma?"

"Her own life, in return for yours..."

She turned to Signal Jammer, standing by the bed with a look of truly broken sadness. Xephyr didn't realize her feelings in time, was too slow to stem her emotions, "It was your fault, your friends did this to her!"

She advanced in fury, ready to fight as Signal Jammer retreated in alarm. The others cried out but she ignored them, needing to look the mare in the eye...

...and Signal Jammer gave her that, stopping and looking up at Xephyr with tearful eyes, "I'm sorry..."

Xephyr reached over... and placed a gentle hoof against the mare's cheek, the tears soaking her fur. Xephyr felt the anger disparate, leaving her with a profound... nothingness. Her voice came out a monotone, "I know... I'm sorry too." She turned her head away, her lips narrowing, "It's just harmony's will that will all should suffer."

"Harmony has a plan for us..."

She turned and silenced the shaman with a dark glare, expanding her wings across the room and causing them all to step back in fear. She heard her voice echo a little, aware of a dark and intoxicating magic flooding through her, "You want to lecture me on harmony? I'm a Princess of Harmony! Master of the elements!"

They dropped their heads, "Of course Princess..."

She gritted her teeth, sheathed her wings, and strode past them. She couldn't be here anymore, "Give my mother the heroes' funeral she deserves. I need to be alone."

¬

She had been drawn here, drawn by some great sense of purpose. She instinctively felt the touch of harmony, and that touch only intensified the anger inside of her as she climbed the stairs upwards. She liked that anger, that anger blocked out everything else. All the thoughts that she knew would break her, numbed by the fierce desire to avenge herself on existence itself.

She paused a moment as the stone work became rough hewn, more a cave than a building. She felt breeze on her face, saw the daylight ahead. She advanced cautiously, emerging in a large open cave that opened out onto a panoramic view of Garm far below. She looked to the brazier in the center of the room and it's purple flame, realizing after a moment that she was in one of the six caves above the city that represented the elements of harmony.

And this... was magic.

She took slow steps forward, after a moment finding her attention directed downwards. The ground beneath was nothing but smooth sand, but she felt the memories as if they were physical. Felt the hooves of Celestia and Luna where she was now standing, felt the images and emotions as if they were right there...

They had argued here. It had been about some minor interpretation of zebra law, but Xephyr knew that behind it had been deeper feelings. Luna was both shaman and princess, first to walk across these lands. She had been proud of that, fiercely proud. It was the one place where her achievements had been her own, where she was respected.

And Celestia had come here with her, full of wisdom and knowledge. Had failed to even give Luna the same respect she gave the zebra elders, treated her like the 'younger sister' rather than the equal of any one of them. Had once again been better than Luna, at something she held truly dear.

She looked to the flame, felt the echoes within. Friendships, connections... the element of magic governed these things, and the flame remembered each one.

She felt the thread of her and her mother, fragile, insubstantial. Ultimately they had never known each other. They had fought beside each other, argued, embraced, talked, searched for one another... and ultimately they had done all of this because they were 'mother' and 'daughter', and were driven by a sense of duty to that ideal of family.

And it would never be anything more.

Xephyr thought she should cry now, but she had never been good at that. Like when her fiancé had died all she felt was a sense of crushing depression, a hole in her that felt like an organ had been wrenched free.

She searched for a connection to her friends, but she only felt loneliness and grief. She knew then, that back in Equestria her friends were suffering, that they had been left to suffer in her absence. That she had let them down.

She firmed herself, drew on her determination. Reminded herself that she was a hero, that it was her job to restore hope.

She galloped forward, expanded her wings, and jumped. The wind rushed past, she pushed her magic... and burst for the horizon.

She would make all of this right.

¬

She flew for a long time, across the Mutum valley, across the ruined city where her great, great, great grandfather had been born, across the mountain where the All-Mother’s corpse lay sprawled out. She beheld the great land of the zebra below her, feeling nothing but a sense of loss.

And then it emerged. The fields, the well planned villages, the stone towers protecting them... and beyond, a great city on a hill, boxy yellow structures climbing towards a great pyramid like structure at the peak.

Demonivore. She was close.

She felt eyes on her and looked to the side, spotting a alicorn hovering nearby with a wide eyed, terrified expression on her face. Xephyr studied her for a moment, more confused the longer she took. The alicorn was barely more than a filly, built differently from Twilight’s alicorns and far more like an ordinary pegasus, demonstrated none of the balefire and dark magic aura that they did. Xephyr approached and the filly quickly accelerated away, diving towards the city below. Xephyr considered for a moment before following, needing to know exactly what was going on.

She sensed them before she saw them, and saw them long before they were anywhere near her. She opened her wings and dived sideways across their flight path, taking note of their shiny metal bodies and the four long tentacles extending behind, all mounting some kind of weapon. Basic combat droids really, like the kind she had fought dozens of times.

She dived in, coming in from the side and easily outpacing them as they tried to come about. Bullets were flung in her direction but she avoided them with ease, tearing one apart with a quick punch. So far, a decent warm up. Just six more of the things...

...she saw the shimmer in the air, not sure exactly what it was until the wires caught around her wings and brought her to a shuddering halt. She gasped in pain as they bit tight, well aware that they would have broken a normal pegasi's wings and not exactly shrugging off the impact herself. She took hold of the wires in her hooves and swung, crashing two of the robots into each other and taking them out, sending the others twirling off course and causing their weapons to miss. She dove in, hoping to take them out in a few quick moves.

And then a blast of balefire energy erupted from nearby, Xephyr turning to find herself face to face with... another alicorn.

An alicorn with flowing rainbow hair, her fur brilliantly white, golden magic burning at her horn.

...and then the magic faded slightly, the alicorn’s eyes widening in recognition.

Xephyr took her opportunity, dragging the droids behind as she rushed in for the strike. The alicorn recovered enough to send a bolt of energy lancing from their horn, Xephyr ducking and allowing it to cut her free of the wires. That done she had plenty of momentum left to deliver a flip kick to the alicorns chest, causing her to cry out and fall backwards.

She didn't want to risk letting up for a moment. Unfortunately this meant her next strike was a little off balance and the alicorn blocked it with her own hoof, swiping out with her own blow and almost connecting. Xephyr used the opportunity to center herself, searching for weaknesses in her opponent's style...

And then the droids rushed past again, seizing Xephyr's wings and hoof to drag her backwards. She tried to pull against them as the alicorn recovered, but the droids had momentum on their side and she just didn’t have enough time. And as the alicorn charged up her horn and aimed straight for Xephyr, she had absolutely no choice but to take it full in the belly. It burned like acid, the shock worse than being shot, the impact flinging her backwards with very little control over her momentum. She had only just gotten control back when the alicorn teleported in above her, driving downwards with a double buck that flung her towards the ground with bonecrushing force.

She eased herself up from the dirt, spitting out gravel and blood. She tried to get back onto her hooves, her efforts halted as a long, slim leg drove her back down into the dirt.

"Xephyr, element of harmony. Just showing up here, after all this time."

Xephyr forced her head up, only managing to raise her eyes halfway up the alicorn's chest, "And you're... Star Swirl..."

"And you're Lotus." Star Swirl noted as she stepped back, her tone calculating, "Puppysmiles knew, didn't she?"

Xephyr considered it. Given the evidence, it seemed very likely, "And you're... just as awful as I remember..."

"You should have remembered how easily I defeated Puppy." Star Swirl noted, before kicking Xephyr off the ground and sending her tumbling through the dirt. Before she had even come to rest Star Swirl brought her down with a harsh stomp to the hoof, breaking the bone... and leaving the element of harmony pinned their upon the ground, "So this is what it looks like up close."

Xephyr struggled through the pain, "Don't...!"

Star Swirl unlocked the device with her telekinesis, floating it up before her. Xephyr reached out in horror, knowing what was going to happen next... Star Swirl floated it onto her head, the pip buck melting away to be replaced by a shining crown. It landed there, settling down upon her hair...

Xephyr braced for the mutation, but it never came.

"I feel nothing." Star Swirl complained, "Is this some sort of elaborate fake? A trick?"

Xephyr was frozen in shock for a moment, considering the implications. Not being corrupted like Twilight had meant she was not an 'unnatural' being, not a creature of chaos. And the pipbuck changing to a crown meant she had potential, however small. And that meant, "You need to unlock its power."

"How?" Star Swirl demanded.

"You... have to have friends."

Star Swirl gritted her teeth, levitated Xephyr off the ground, and suspended her face to face. Her face was a mask of utter contempt, "I have plenty of those."

And then she unleashed a blast of telekinesis and sent Xephyr sailing back across the horizon with enough force that after everything else... she wasn't surprised when she blacked out before even hitting the ground.

¬

Movement... nearby...

Xephyr dragged herself upright, blinking as she tried to work out exactly where she had landed, eyes struggling to focus. She saw the manticore stalk towards her, its curiosity now replaced with anger. Its stinger lanced forward and missed her by a mere hair, Xephyr sliding her injured body underneath and scoring a hit on its chin with a sharp upward thrust. The beast staggered back a pace before slumping to the ground, spark out.

That done, Xephyr had a chance to study the damage. To her surprise her broken bones had already healed, and bar some stiffness and pain she appeared to be mostly healthy. She marveled at the benefits of a Princess's body as she rolled to her hooves and tried to scout out her location. She had evidently been flung quite a way, not even able to see Demonivore anymore...

...and her eyes fixed on an unfamiliar alicorn, smaller than normal, with of all things a set of stripes indicating zebra heritage down her side. The unfamiliar alicorn turned with shock, quickly swinging up a spear and firing a grenade from the underslung launcher. Xephyr batted it to the side and flung herself forward with a burst of her wings, dodging a swing of the spear before sending it spinning away with a kick.

"I won't allow you to insult Celestia any further!" The alicorn shouted, striking with considerable skill as she pressed her offense, "I carry her will with me!"

Xephyr deflected her strikes, backing off and fighting defensively as she sought to learn more, "So she sent you to finish me off?"

"I don't understand!" She shouted in frustration as she tried to score a hit, "How can you be still fighting after the beating you just took from my lady!?"

Xephyr wondered, letting the alicorn nail her with a hoof. The blow hurt, but not that much. Certainly not as much as it would have once done.

"Abomination!" The alicorn screamed, unleashing a blast from her horn. Xephyr just took it against her linked hooves, leaving only a light burn as she leapt through the attack and struck the alicorn a solid blow between the eyes that knocked her stumbling. She gasped in pain and opened her wings, jumping backwards to take flight, "I don't..."

And then a gunshot took her wings away from her, shredding the important pinions and leaving her flailing. A second shot caught her in the neck, cutting open the arteries and landing her into the dirt in a pool of blood.

"No!" Xephyr rushed forward, her hoof pressing against the wound to stem the tide of blood. She pumped her magic into it, closing the injury little by little, investing life energy into the dying alicorn. She felt the mare stir and begin to stabilize, even as she felt the presence of another girl nearby.

A girl with an assault rifle pointed at her head.

Xephyr swept round and flung out her hoof, sending a blast of force flying outwards and nailing the young zebra who had been standing there with enough force to fling her head over hooves.

"Stand down!" Cried a middle aged pegasi mare that emerged from nearby, rifle trained on Xephyr's head. She was soon backed up by another figure, a similarly aged, fat zebra carrying a shotgun. The mare took a brief look at her fallen comrade before turning her eyes back to Xephyr, "Why are you protecting a Knight? I thought you were fighting only a moment ago."

"Knight?" Xephyr questioned.

"Knights of Celestia." Came another voice, the small zebra she had struck rubbing her head as she picked herself off the ground. She was small but well built, with a powerful intensity that made up for a seeming lack of years, "The minions of the new Queen of Star Fall."

Xephyr nodded, trying to keep an eye on all three of them, "I was fighting her. I just finished fighting Celestia... or Star Swirl." She shook her head, firmly disapproving, "Doesn't mean I want her dead."

"That's... surprising." The pegasus mare stated, lowering her weapon.

The middle aged zebra agreed, "And rare."

"You're pretty unusual in general." The young zebra commented, staring intensely with eyes that definitely had more than a hint of magic about them, "You're not a zebra and pegasus crossbreed are you?"

"No." Xephyr confirmed, having never had time for being shy about herself, "I'm a Princess of Equestria."

"Now there's no need for that." The pegasus mare started, "We're here to help..."

"She's telling the truth." The small zebra stated, cutting her companion off, "Or she thinks she is at least."

She placed a hoof to her heart, looking across the three, "My name is Xephyr. I'm from Equestria."

"Sabah. This is Going Merry and Ethesus." The small zebra replied, "I think you'd better come with us."

¬

Zealous Point brought back all sorts of memories, Xephyr fighting both nostalgia and long buried nightmares as she looked around the hastily fortified settlement, swarming in kids no older than fifteen armed to the teeth. They had the hard eyed look of veteran warriors, as had she once. As many of her old comrades from back then still did.

"Glyphmark..." She breathed, catching Sabah's attention. The child gave her a questioning look, Xephyr taking a moment to compose herself before explaining, "It's... familiar. I grew up in a town of orphans, constantly under siege by slavers. I was just eleven years old when I fought... when I killed for the first time."

"You have a lot in common with them." Sabah responded grimly, "Complete with Princess."

Xephyr had been given a recap, "Princess Luna."

"I met her once, in a dream." Sabah responded, "She helped me. So now I help her followers."

Xephyr thought back to her own time in the deep dreaming, of Midnight Dreamer. How strange she had been. Aware that she was dead, not quite a Princess but clearly chosen of harmony... a follower and servant of the night, even in death, "I met her too. Have my own dept to pay."

"Who is this?" One of the watchers at the gate called out as Sabah approached, looking at her warily, "We saw battle over Demonivore."

"This is Princess Xephyr of Equestria." Sabah introduced, her tone charmingly straightforward, "I think you better call the council together."

¬

Xephyr felt the nostalgia once again, the council meeting in a pre-war building still missing many of its walls and covered in signs of decay. It was only intensified as she saw the council, all dressed in tatty suits and pre-war uniforms, Xephyr reminded of the wasteland how it was just after the day of Sunshine and Rainbows. The civilian leader was a pegasus mare of middle years, Cyan Quills, the military commander a terrifyingly young earth pony buck called Bleak Waters. Xephyr found the whole thing a little bizarre despite how young she herself had started, with Sabah there the council's average age was somewhere in the late teens.

Still she wasn't going to disrespect them, especially as Cyan Quills and Bleak Waters regarded her with deep suspicion. It was Bleak that spoke first, "I'm pretty sure zebra can't be Princesses. And if you are one, where's your horn?"

"That's a little blunt Bleak Waters." Cyan Quills warned, though her eyes weren't exactly friendly as she looked Xephyr over, "But your story does seem unlikely."

"Careful." Sabah warned the pair, "You might want to think a moment before telling zebra what they can and can't do, especially when one of you wasn't even born here."

"You know that wasn't want I meant." Bleak Waters protested.

"I'm no expert on Princesses, but I don't see any reason why a zebra couldn't be one." Xephyr replied, having heard this comment more than a few times in her career, "And I don't need a horn."

Cyan Quills sighed, "She is right that debating the exact definitions of Princesshood is made difficult by our lack of knowledge on the subject." She adjusted her glasses, lips pursing, "But your presence here is rather... convenient."

"No, it's not." Xephyr replied with a touch of annoyance, "I've been trapped in a nightmare for more than half a decade, stripped of my memories, absent while the world I helped make fell apart, came back to find my mother dead, and my first attempt to help saw me beaten senseless and hurled across the horizon." She stood proud and angry, drawing in a deep breath, "So no, it's not convenient. It's a fucking shitshow."

"Well that's something I can get behind." Bleak Waters responded, "To be honest, I have heard of the lost Zebra Princess of Equestria. I thought it was just a story, a story DJ Pon3 made up... but I have to admit, she certainly seems to fit the description."

"It fits precedent at least." Cyan Quills agreed with a sigh, "They were already calling this place the battlefield of the gods. A Princess only adds to the mess.”

Xephyr had heard, "Princess Luna."

"And Starhammer. And now Celestia seeks to claim these territories." Cyan Quills looked across at her, "So Princess Xephyr, do you intend to fight Celestia? Add your name to the list?"

"Yes, I do." Xephyr stated.

"No offense." Bleak Waters quickly responded, "But these aren't your lands, and this isn't your fight. This is the territory of King Radhi and the children of Dusklight. We might follow a Princess and I might be a pony, but don’t think we have any loyalty to Equestria.”

"I don't serve Equestria, and I don't serve the NCR." Xephyr responded, having stated this many times during her life, "They've offered me political power a dozen times, and each time I refused. I serve harmony. I fight the wicked and defend the innocent, and I'm not asking for a damn thing in return."

All three looked rather impressed by this, and after a moment Bleak Waters gave a laugh, "You're pretty cool, you know that Princess? And I'm sorry I doubted you."

She smiled now, rather relieved to be able to. It felt like a weight off her shoulders, "No problem."

"You're really planning to fight Celestia?"

Xephyr turned to Sabah, the filly looking grim, "Her name is Star Swirl. And yes, I am."

"So you know." Sabah acknowledged, "Still, when we met you had just been shot out of the sky, so why do you think it would go any better a second time?"

Xephyr admitted that had been embarrassing. She really hadn't been thinking straight, let her emotions get the better of her. Still she distinctively remembered landing hooves on the mare before being taken out, and they had done damage, "I ran straight into those flying robots before I got anywhere near her, they restrained me in midair and made me a perfect target. One on one, I know I can take her."

"No offense, but I've seen whole teams equipped with anti-armor rifles firing at her shields without making a dent." Sabah warned, "And she hits like a truck, teleports with pinpoint precision and can lay out whole teams with her telekinesis."

Xephyr admitted that was a little impressive. Still nothing there was impossible, "Give an alicorn time to brace and you'd have to drop a boxcar on her head to get through her shields. You need to keep them moving, don't let them hunker down."

"Sounds like you have experience." Bleak Waters commented.

"I've fought my fair share." Xephyr admitted, "So what else do we have to worry about? Does she have an army?"

"Not... exactly." Cyan Quills explained, "Most of the area's troops are in Equestria. She only really has militia forces, which she has so far kept in their garrisons. Her primary assets are the members of the Church of Celestia, and her Knights."

"Ironically it's the opposite to when we fought Starhammer." Bleak Waters explained, "In terms of military force, we heavily outnumber her. But she's avoided a straight engagements, has so far been content to try and subvert our control over the area instead. Bribing local villages to turn on each other, destroying the crops of those who resist, vandalizing and robbing trade caravans, spreading propaganda... and when we do get her agents in a straight fight, it isn't long before she teleports in and hurls us around like amateurs."

"Good." Xephyr concluded, "Then it should be simply to draw her out..."

She was cut off by a sharp rap on the door, Xephyr turning as it opened and a young zebra peaked through, "Sorry, but I was sent to get you straight away!"

"What is it Zebobrim?" Cyan Quills asked.

The zebra gulped audibly before delivering his news, "It's... Celestia. She's here."

Bleak Waters took this news with grim resignation. He looked to Xephyr, "Well it seems you might get that fight sooner than you thought."

¬

She stood in the center of the settlement with her knights lined up beside, to Xephyr's relief not making any aggressive moves as yet. Indeed they didn't seem dressed for it, each and every one of them clad in elaborate regal splendor. The feathers of their wings were linked by gold chain, their flanks clad in shimmering white cloth, her heads each crowned in precious metals and gems. Star Swirl herself looked the most impressive of course, and indeed she did cut a rather divine figure as she stood imperious and unafraid before her enemies.

Star Swirl's eyes turned as Xephyr approached, the alicorn giving her a rather chilly smile, "That teaches me for delegating."

"Star Swirl!" Sabah shouted, the angry little zebra marching out past Xephyr, "What do you want?!"

Star Swirl simply smiled, "I want peace Sabah. I want you to come back with me, to rejoin my church, and help me save this world."

Sabah grimaced back, flashing a look of deep hatred, "You can start by releasing Thousand Sunny and her fath..."

Xephyr knew it wasn't good by the look of smug triumph that passed over Star Swirl's face, the alicorn lifting her wing and revealing another knight below. It was the one who had spotted Xephyr above the city, her true youth very clear admit the older mares around her. And as the filly shyly stepped forward and flashed an awkward smile Sabah uttered a cry of utter horror, "NO!"

Going Merry also rushed forward, her face flush with worry, "Sunny!"

The young knight smiled back at them, even as she retreated closer to Star Swirl, "Hello mother, Sabah. It's fine..."

"No it's not!" Sabah shouted in fury, "How could you let her do this to you?!"

"It's what I've always wanted Sabah." Thousand Sunny protested, "To be a princess. To carry Celestia's ideals into the world, to bring back harmony. She released dad and me, she showed us great kindness..."

"She's a servant of Sunshine Ivory!"

Star Swirl's smile didn't grow any less smug, "Sunshine Ivory lies in my dungeon, awaiting trial for crimes most foul." She looked across the crowd, eyes finally settling on Bleak Waters, "Including the assassination of my sister, Princess Luna."

"And you intend to take up her throne?" Bleak Waters responded with a deep note of cynicism.

"It was what she wanted." Star Swirl replied, trying to look benevolent as she spread her wings wide, "I was deep in the council of Starhammer and Luna both, they both left their legacies to me. The last thing I wish is to fight you all."

"You've dragged hundreds into your labs, performing cruel experiments! You've assassinated leaders who don't support you! You're a fucking demon!" Sabah screamed.

"Celestia just wants to save the wasteland Sabah." Thousand Sunny began, "If that means taking bad people, and using them to create medicine..."

"Shut up Sunny!" Sabah screamed back, cutting the filly off, "I can't believe you joined her!"

Star Swirl gave Sunny a sad shake of her head, "I'm sorry Thousand Sunny. It seems you were wrong about her."

Xephyr saw what was going on, and gave Star Swirl props for so effectively putting her opponents on the backhoof. Still Xephyr had heard a good half dozen of these speeches in her years, "I notice one big difference between your delegation and ours Princess Celestia."

Star Swirl turned, sounding interested in the new challenge, "And what is that?"

"Your inner circle all look, dress and act exactly like you." Xephyr observed with calm tones, focusing her eyes right at the would be goddess, "You can twist your words until even you believe your motives are pure, but at the core of it you're simply back to the same old alicorn shit. Turning the world into a reflection of your own ugly face, just so you can flatter your own ego. Just like your mother, you truly can’t escape the unity can you?"

Star Swirl visibly angered, unable to maintain her smile nor suppress the flicker of balefire across her horn, "And you're a failure of a princess, who abandoned us when we needed you most." She got her smile back at this, smug and self satisfied as she held her head high, "The element of magic looks better on me."

This led to muttering through the crowds, all eyes turned to the element of magic on Star Swirl's head. Sabah lent in, "Is that really the element of magic?"

"It is indeed!" Star Swirl crowed, "The ultimate proof of worthiness to rule!"

"Well stated." Xephyr answered, extending her hoof, "To me!"

And the element promptly dissolved into light, shot across the courtyard and wrapped around Xephyr's outstretched hoof. A moment later and it was solid again, her familiar pipbuck once more in its rightful place.

Star Swirl finally recovered from her shock after a moment, "How dare...!"

"You crow about your right to rule, but you stole the element of magic from me, just as you stole Celestia's appearance and Luna's deeds!" Xephyr stepped forward, shouting now, "And ultimately you are undeserving of any of those things!"

"SILENCE!" Star Swirl screamed, the ground cracking around her and several of her knights sent fluttering away in shock as magic burst from her horn. She gritted her teeth, flared her nostrils and faced Xephyr down with furious anger, "I am your godde... I am..." She drew herself back, though her eyes still shook with anger, "I am Queen Celestia of Star Fall, duly elected by my people. I have established a system of taxes, declared my status as ruler to those living here and trained an army to protect them. I challenge Princess Zephyr of the New Canterlot Republic to a duel under the spirits, with the crown to the victor. She is an invader and a usurper.”

Bleak Waters gave a harsh snort, "Are you for real?"

Xephyr had to agree, not sure why Star Swirl thought getting all formal on her would help, "If you want a fight, just say it."

Star Swirl snorted angrily, her expression growing smug as she straightened out imperiously, "You know nothing of your own people, even as you stand in their defense. I speak the words that have been spoken for thousands of years, the rites of formal challenge between Kings and Caesars!"

"They're not my people, any more than they are yours." Xephyr replied, moving forward with intent and watching as the knights and others who had got too close scattered for cover. She turned her attention back to Star Swirl, circling the alicorn, "And I have no authority over anypony. I stand here because they are innocent, and you seek to take advantage of them."

“I stand here because you failed.” Star Swirl snarled, unbuckling her robes with her telekinesis and letting it fall away, “There are new heroes here now, heroes who will actually make the hard choices!”

Xephyr took a deep breath, adapting her muscles for speed, “Heroes like you?”

Star Swirl glared angrily as the others retreated back to make a circle around the two combatants, “The real hero of this story is already dead. She died while you were off adventuring in dream land, while we were all fighting and dying for what was right!” She crouched low for the charge, “Princess Luna, Zenai, Silver Scribe... I will make you pay for every one of them!”

“Is this what this is about?” Xephyr asked, “Your guilt, over not being able to save them?”

Star Swirl didn’t answer, but the fury in her eyes made it quite clear that this had stung.

Xephyr circled Star Swirl, studying her. Her stance, her body, her eyes. She was built differently from the other alicorns she had met, more proportionate, larger, stronger. It might have just been body fat and muscle, but she was definitely a little more formidable than average. On the other hoof, she was still an alicorn. No matter how much magical power she packed, they were still weak chinned, inflexible, clumsy creatures, unsuited for close range combat.

Star Swirl studied her back, but the alicorn’s expression and twitchy body language made it clear that she ached to get started. Xephyr decided to indulge her. She kicked forward, Star Swirl immediately firing a blast from her horn.

Xephyr ducked, dodged, kicked up dust. She charged in at an oblique angle, doubled back into the obscuring cloud and dulled down her energy and body temperature. Star Swirl advanced incautiously to intercept her and Xephyr pulled off her ambush, leaping out and delivering a full strength blow to Star Swirl’s shields. It bounced off and Xephyr winced as she hit the ground, looking up to see Star Swirl stumble with her shields vibrating.

Xephyr admitted she was impressed. She had tangled with shields projected from static emplacements that weren’t as tough.

Still, it only took one more. She charged back in as Star Swirl turned, shattered the alicorn’s shields and leapt in for the kill. One good hit on her jaw…

…but she didn’t get the chance, Star Swirl expertly using a hoof to throw Xephyr off balance midair and use the other to kick her firmly in the stomach. Xephyr was thrown back to roll across the sands, readjusting her prior assumptions as she recovered from the blow. Star Swirl wasn’t a poor close quarters combatant, that had shown a considerable level of skill.

But Star Swirl then spoiled it all by angling her horn forward for a point blank horn blast.

It might have worked if Xephyr had been stunned or immobilised by that attack but she was neither, rolling away as the attack blasted the ground next to her. A sharp thrust of her legs and wings and Xephyr shot forward, Star Swirl realising too late that she had extended her head far beyond her body and firmed all four legs on the ground for stability. It meant Xephyr’s hoof landed clean on Star Swirl’s forehead with no resistance, Xephyr sweeping herself about with her wings and slamming her back hoof across Star Swirl’s jaw. It was a devastating blow, one that would have knocked an earth pony spark out. As expected Star Swirl went over like she had been shot, hitting the ground in a tangle of limbs.

Xephyr landed smoothly, turning to study the now limp form of her opponent… before it disappeared with a flash of golden light, appearing again a short distance away. Xephyr watched in awe as the alicorn quickly erected another shield, then slowly and unsteadily dragged herself back upright. Star Swirl was missing teeth, her nose was bleeding and her eyes lacked focus, but she was still standing. Still standing, after a kick that would have taken a griffon’s head off.

Xephyr firmed herself, then pushed her advantage. She galloped in, intending to finish this.

Star Swirl summoned up a barrage of energy blasts that rained from the sky, this however was old news. Xephyr even started to enjoy herself as she bounded between the attacks, feeling her old confidence start to burn within her. She reached Star Swirl easily, preparing to strike…

Star Swirl took one blow on her shields, disengaged them herself, and met Xephyr head on.

It was a fight like Xephyr hadn’t had in a very long time, finding herself countered, matched, manoeuvred… and returning that experience in full. They darted around each other, each looking to take advantage of their respective size. Long, sharp alicornian hooves rained down precise blows, Xephyr’s solid legs much slower but making it count with every impact. They eventually tangled together and hit the ground, rolling and struggling as they wrestled for the advantage.

And it was Star Swirl who won it. She shoved Xephyr away, then dived forward and speared Xephyr through the shoulder with her horn. Xephyr gasped and tried to struggle backwards, the pain registering at the same time as something else… the crackle of magic.

It charged through Star Swirl’s horn, a second away from frying her from the inside. Xephyr did the only thing she could, bracing herself against the horn and bringing her hoof down in one powerful blow. Their screams echoed as one as they fell apart, Star Swirl’s shattered horn falling upon Xephyr’s pooling blood.

Xephyr gasped, using her magic to heal the wicked hole in her shoulder. It had punctured an artery, her mind going faint as she started to feel the blood loss… and Star Swirl’s hoof drove into her jaw, slamming her to the ground.

“You don’t understand who I am do you!” Star Swirl screamed, kicking Xephyr in the stomach and sending her tumbling, “I’m a Princess, I’m a Goddess! I am Celestia, immortal and eternal! There is not injury that I cannot recover from!” She grinned wildly, eyes glinting as she stopped for a moment and suddenly began to radiate the bitter scent of balefire. Xephyr felt the rads and already knew what was to come, watching as Star Swirl’s horn slowly regrew itself. Star Swirl laughed, high and smug, “Witness my divin…”

Xephyr kicked out, sending forth a burst of compressed air that smacked the smug alicorn on the nose. A roll later and Xephyr was in perfect position, delivering a double buck to the back of Star Swirl’s front leg. It displaced the joint with ease, Star Swirl giving a shrill cry as she pitched forward and slammed jaw first into the ground. Star Swirl panicked then, already summoning her magic. Xephyr stood, prepared, and waited.

Star Swirl teleported away, as Xephyr figured she would. But this time she was ready.

Xephyr followed the thread, galloped forward and caught Star Swirl right as she reappeared again, driving her hoof into the mare’s jaw. Star Swirl dropped with a yell of fear and pain, then another as Xephyr landed on her chest and started punching. Star Swirl struggled and fought back but she was now off balance and vulnerable, easily outmatched as Xephyr struck her again, and again…

…right until Star Swirl summoned a long pole from the air next to her, driving it forward and cutting deep into Xephyr’s shoulder. Xephyr was forced backwards, gasping as flames burst from her wound. She was taken further of guard as she saw that the pole before her was no simple pole, it was some kind of spear. Covered in gold and silver, shining like the sun, regal and stately in a way that inspired instant respect. Star Swirl grinned through bloody teeth as she rolled upwards, taking the weapon in the crook of her leg and swinging fiercely.

Xephyr dodged the first move, blocked the second… at great cost, the impact of the shaft sending pain lancing through her. Star Swirl swung the weapon upwards faster than anything that heavy had any right to be, smacking Xephyr under the chin and leaving her seeing stars. The next swing took off Xephyr’s ear, spreading flames across her scalp.

Xephyr knew she was in a bad position. The next blow would take off her head. So she leapt, one last desperate charge.

Star Swirl struck her hard with the shaft of the spear, flinging her into the building nearby. Neither building nor mare won the resulting contest, Xephyr coming to rest on top of a pile of dusty rubble, her back shattered. Star Swirl advanced with a dark grin spread across her face, raising the spear point down…

“I surrender.” Xephyr breathed, forcing the words through her ruined body.

Star Swirl hesitated, then backed off a step. Her spear still hovered, ready for the kill, even as Star Swirl looked about for a trap, “What?”

“You’ve beaten me. I surrender.”

Star Swirl frowned deeply, then a note of triumph crossed her face, “Then all your rights and titles go to me!”

“Precisely nothing.” Xephyr smirked, wincing as she felt her bones start to knit together, “Congratulations Star Swirl, you’ve beaten one zebra. And I made you bleed.” She looked about the crowd, “Only a couple of thousand more to go. So who’s next?”

Sabah stepped forward, her eyes fierce, “I’m up for that.”

Bleak Waters snorted, then took a step, “Count me in.”

And at that dozens more put themselves forward, each readying their weapon, each determined to fight. The faces of the Knights clearly showed their realization that they were horribly outnumbered, Star Swirl on the other hoof seemed truly shocked. She stared around, eyes wide and shaking, “Why!? I offer you so much, and yet you refuse me! Why?!”

“Because leaders, real leaders, don’t prove their worth by winning a fight, throwing around free gifts or brandishing a crown.” Xephyr stated, rolling back onto her hooves and shaking her head clear. She then turned her eyes up at Star Swirl, challenging, “They win respect through sustained, consistent, sincere quality. And doesn’t that just terrify you down to your core?”

Star Swirl backed away in shock, lip shaking, eyes darting. She switched between anger, grief and confusion for several more moments before she reached her Knights, looking down at them for some explanation. They only stared back, Star Swirl offering Xephyr one last look of fury before her horn ignited and took both her and all her companions away in a flash of light.

“That was impressive.” Bleak Waters noted as the cheers started to erupt, “How did you know how to get under her skin?”

“Alicorns have a few shared issues... as do megalomaniacal supervillians I find.” Xephyr explained, really glad that had worked, “You’re right though, she’s pretty tough.”

“I can’t believe Thousand Sunny is working with her!” Sabah spat, clearly upset by this betrayal, “We have to stop this! We have to get her back!”

“We will.” Xephyr soothed, “But I think we’ve proved that she’s too dangerous to take on without help.”

“So what’s the plan?”

Xephyr wasn’t normally one for such things. That was why she normally had a team, “We contact the others, tell them to hurry the schedule. Because if we’re going to capitalize on this, the army needs to march today.”

“We invade Star Fall, and take down Queen Celestia.” Bleak Waters noted, then gave a cheerful laugh, “You know how much those two things mean to the zebra? Maybe you are a Princess after all, because right now I feel like we could actually pull it off.”

Xephyr chuckled. Princess of unwarranted optimism. As capstones to her return went, it wasn’t so bad.

_____________________________________________________________________

Xephyr
Str - 12 End – 10 Dex - 13 Int - 7 Per - 9 Cha - 9 Lk – 11

Level 22

Perks
Tough Hide – Gain +2 DT.

Perfect Harmony Level 2 – Gain +2 to every SPECIAL score.

Shield Breaker Level 3 – You gain +60% damage against magical shields, and double the difficulty of horn shock tests.

Clever Prancer - You gain an additional 5% chance to score a critical hit; your enemies suffer a 25% penalty to their chance to critically hit you. This perk is only effective when wearing light or no armor.

Counter Canter - Opponents suffer a -5 to combat skills when attacking you.

Purifier - As a purifier of the wasteland, you do +50% damage with melee and unarmed weapons against abominations.

Life Giver Level 3 – You have an extra 60 health points, and regenerate lost health.

Silent Gallop - You can Sneak at full speed with no penalties.

How We Do It Down on the Farm - Your damage from critical hits, including Sneak Attack Criticals, is increased by 50%. This does not affect the chance to cause a critical hit.

Hit the Deck - +25 DT against explosives

Piercing Strike - All your unarmed and melee attacks negate 15 points of DT.

Unstoppable Force - x4 normal damage through enemy blocks with melee and unarmed attacks.

Zebra Shaman Level 3 – You can now learn expert level zebra magic.

Bone-Strengthening Brew - With this perk, your limbs only receive 50% of the damage they normally would.

Grounded – You gain a +10 DT and a extra 10% failure chance against magical attacks. This includes beneficial magic too, but not magic you cast on yourself.

Traits
Harmonic - You are a Princess of Equestria, as close to divinity as a mortal can be. You are immune to aging and disease, gain a +50 Rad and psionic resistance, gain +2 to every SPECIAL score, gain +15 DT against Dark and Light Energy, can raise SPECIAL scores above 10 and can chose perks and spells from all races.

Element of Magic – Gain +2 to charisma. When grouping up with companions, you all gain +5 DT, and an extra +5 bonus to your two highest skills.

Dreamer - You think a little deeper about things than most, but tend to forget the world around you. You gain +2 skill points a level, but are at -2 perception.

Leroy’s Charge – You never really believed in being cautious. Gain a +10% damage bonus, and a -5 DT.

Hot Blooded - When your health drops below 50% you deal +15% more damage, but you also suffer -2 to Perception and Agility.

Comments

[Kexisoc]

Not only do many FoE writers have the gumption to incorporate Kkat's characters directly into their own works, but arrange to have them killed. But I feel you handled Xenith's passing well. She carried a lot the whole way through since her first (secret) appearance. But also adds to the compounding tragedy, calling back to a previous chapter where Xenith despairingly confided that all she just wants is to find her daughter.

And Signal Jammer probably feels awful all round too. Her own band of true companions have all been sacrificed by one mare she looked up too. Coming to realize the ones she fought against were not the villains. And is now stuck all alone in a foreign land as a prisoner of war.

You know, upon seeing what Star Swirl's become, I like to assume that she switches into a new persona whenever she bears too much baggage and failure to bear. That, or, Star Swirl feels that she cannot save the world as just Star Swirl. But I believe the ending demonstrates that the best way to defeat Star Swirl is invalidating her values. Case in point, you are not in the right simply because you beat somebody up. She would rather flee rather than argue what she fears would put her in the wrong.

And there's still some hope for her. It transformed positively upon switching owners rather than horrifically backlashing. Although I felt some catharsis imagining the element of Magic going, "Yeah...nope." and switching back to Xephyr in an instant.

["You... have to have friends."

Star Swirl gritted her teeth, levitated Xephyr off the ground, and suspended her face to face. Her face was a mask of utter contempt, "I have plenty of those."]

Nope, having throngs religiously praising your name does not count. And ascending them to make them praise harder does not count either.

Damn though, unveiling what Thousand Sunny was turned was very unnerving. I can infer that Star Swirl meant well to reward Thousand from the ordeal of being imprisoned by Ivory, but I can also feel there's an underlying tone of, "Oh Thousand, now that I've made your dreams come true, would you mind looking away from the fact I'm turning your fellow ponies and zebras into medical goop? Need I remind you that I'm the goddess you worshiped all your life, so there is wisdom to what I say!"

So unless there's some new surprises Star Swirl, and by extension, Star Fall, is the last disharmonic holdout for our assemble of cast to fix before they tackle the tornado that's Equestria right now. But oh boy, the chapter Xephyr storms Star Fall is just screaming for Sunshine Ivory to break out of her prison to ruin any salvageable resolution in the upcoming battle to come.