The End is Not the End

by Hoofprintz

Luna : Stalemate

Kis jerked her blood-drenched claw from Twilight's breast causing more of the alicorn's life essence to splatter out of the wound and all over the dog-like being.

"N-NO!" Cadance gasped as Twilight's lifeless body plummeted to the ground below.

"Finally, a measure of our true power in this realm," Kis licked some of the blood that covered her claw. "Delicious!" she savored the taste as a wicked smile spread across her face.

"Y-you-" Celestia moved to speak, but I could not hold back any longer.

"SHALL PAY!!!" I roared as I felt something inside of me snap. The darkness flowed out of me uninhibited in black waves of energy. I could think of nothing other than ending the life of the monster that had taken away my granddaughter and the friend who saved me from the Nightmare.

"Hm?" Kis lifted a brow. I began to shake uncontrollably, a sensation I was intimately familiar with. I had not experienced the feeling in over one thousand years, however, this time was different. This time, I was not concerned with myself or my selfish desires.

Nay, this time I will fight for those most important to me.

This time I would use the hatred within me to make evil pay. Evil named Kismet. Instead of resisting the darkness I cooperated with it, letting it take hold of me willingly.

"PREPARE THYSELF, KIS!" I bellowed. As the dark filled my soul and strengthened my spirit something peculiar happened, something different than before. My body did not morph or change shape. The black clouds around me slowly dissipated revealing a truly baffling sight. I examined myself to find my coat pitch black.

"You look different than before, Nightmare," Kis summoned an abnormally large axe into her claws. The head of her weapon was at least double the size of her body, yet she manipulated it with no issues whatsoever.

"That is because we are not the Nightmare," I summoned a magical scythe made purely of the light of my moon, the perfect weapon to harvest her wicked soul. "We are Princess Luna, younger sister of Princess Celestia, defender of Equestria, and your end, Kis." I flourished the scythe in front of myself before hovering it just above my back.

"Do your worst, little HORSE!" she spat back as she gripped the handle of her axe tightly.

I propelled myself at my target, the tip of my scythe's blade aimed at her neck. She lifted her axe, its hilt intercepting the snath of my weapon, stopping my blade centimeters from her throat. She grinned at me, obviously pleased with herself.

An obvious defense... too obvious.

"Do not get so cocky, Lord of Fate!" I injected more mana into my scythe causing the blade to grow several times longer.

"Tch!" she was forced backwards to avoid the lengthened blade. Once she'd successfully dodged she lifted her axe high above her head in an attempt to make a counterattack.

"We are not finished!" I swung my scythe in her direction, the pure force of my swing strong enough to distort the space she occupied. Kis quickly realized what was happening and shifted to a defensive posture, trying to shield herself from the blow.

A foolish decision.

The shattered reality tore into her with ease, eliciting a pained grunt from her.

"Such an annoying little..." Her wounds were already healing themselves, the cuts and gashes sealing as black energy poured from them. I could not tarry in my assault or she would be back to normal in seconds.

"You shall receive no such chance!" I willed my scythe directly at her chest, the weapon spinning like a helicopter blade as it traveled through the air.

"YOU HORSE!" Kis lifted her axe high in the air, ignoring the damage she had taken. As the head of her axe descended to knock my scythe out of the way I casted a teleportation spell on my weapon. Her slash found nothing but air as she missed her mark wildly. My scythe was now behind her, the blade piercing straight through her back. The tip of my weapon jutted out of her belly, covered in her blood.

"Ugh," she stared down at the blade of my scythe. Strangely enough, she looked utterly bored. "It's gonna take a heck of a lot more than that to put me out of my misery." She reached for my scythe, but before she could touch it I ripped it out of her, recalling the weapon to my side. With a flick of the snath, I cleaned the blade of her blood.

"Then we shall have to do more, shall we not?" I sneered at her. I talked a big game, but her gut was nearly healed from the blow that would have been a mortal wound to most other beings. I launched my scythe forward with enough force to destroy anything foolish enough to be in its path.

"Oh, please," she held her stomach with one claw while she used the other to stop my attack in its tracks. She held the blade of my scythe with a cocky smirk on her face.

"Hmph!" I multiplied my scythe into six more identical copies, all hovering around Kis.

"Well," she looked around at the new threats, completely bewildered. "Gonna be honest, I wasn't expecting that." I casted a telekinesis spell that held her firmly in place, just in case she was planning on teleporting out of harm's way. "Covering all your bases aren't you, Nightmare?"

"WE!," one of my scythes plunged into her shoulder. "ARE!," another drove into her hip. "PRINCESS!," a third ripped into her leg. "LUNA!" The fourth, fifth, and sixth all found their marks with ease, digging into her neck, ribcage, and skull.

A deathblow if I have ever delivered one.

"H-How!?" The look of disbelief on Kis' face as her ravaged body dropped to the ground sent elation and adrenaline coursing through my veins. Once she slammed into the dirt I felt safe enough to check on the others...

No! Not a chance. What an absolutely foolish thought.
Confirm the kill, Luna. Don't let your guard down, even for a second.

I focused my mana into my horn, the silver moonlight outshining my sister's sun. The glowing orb of concentrated magic I manifested was the size of a small island and would grant no reprieve to the adversary I wanted eliminated. The magic resembled a scaled down moon, possessing all the visual qualities of my larger version.

I allowed the sphere to fall where Kis had hit the ground, the globe of moonlight descending slowly, as if it were so light it would float in the air like a bubble. The opposite was actually true. Given an approximate weight, it would probably measure in at several thousand tons.

"Farewell, Kis." I whispered as my spell pressed into the planet. The weight of my magic began to dig into the ground causing a massive crater that continued to sink further and further down. Once it was deep enough I detonated the mana. The explosion was brilliant silver, massive in size, and grew the crater ten-fold while its highest point reached the outer limits of the atmosphere. The blast left little in its wake, other than utter destruction. Even the air itself had distorted and changed from the blast.

Dirt, grass, and debris rained from the sky while Celestia's day appeared to have grown darker in the aftermath of my wrath. And yet... yet something was troubling me.

Tis not over.

I could still sense the malicious aura of my foe. It had not vanished nor was it that much weaker than before.

"You're a real surprise, Luna." The voice that came from behind me was so irksome I nearly fractured my teeth with how ruthlessly I bit down. "Being able to harm me, even to this minor a degree, is pretty impressive."

"What is truly impressive is your durability." I may have loathed the monster, but I had to respect her resilience. "Those were two of my strongest attacks and you have taken both in stride." I turned around to see her in devastated condition. Blood flowed from all of the entry and exit points of my scythes. Bruises, scars, and lacerations decorated every inch of her demolished body. Still, her demeanor was one of boredom.

"Never would've guessed you'd have the strength to take me on, even if I'm not really at full strength." With a completely relaxed posture, her body began the healing process. Mana flowed out of her injuries again, taking on the appearance of a thick billowing smoke. "It's still not enough though," she looked down at a rather large gash on her arm, the disinterest on her face intolerable.

I had no idea what to do. If neither of those attacks had put her into a dying state then nothing short of chopping her into little bits would do the job. I would not give up, but I was genuinely baffled. Crushing, stabbing, cutting, piercing, none had done nearly enough damage. All this strength at my disposal and no idea how to utilize it. It was quite a conundrum.

"We do not know what it will take to put you down, Kis," I surrounded myself with my seven scythes. "but we will not falter when victory is right in front of us."

"Is that what you think, Luna?" she covered her eyes with a claw, suddenly appearing weary for a reason I could not identify. "That you can actually win?" I narrowed my confused gaze on the vulpine.

"As long as we do not give up, there is always hope for victory." I was not sure if she was trying to buy time, but there was no reason for her to do so. I could not fire off spell after spell endlessly as if it would not take a toll on me. I may have limitless mana in reserve, but tapping into it endlessly put a strain on my body that only resolved once I could take a breather.

"Mind if I ask you a question, Luna?" Kis sounded much different for some reason, much more polite than before. It was quite disturbing. So unnerving that it caused me to slacken my alertness just a tad.

"Ask." My weapons twirled and bobbed around me as if doing an elaborate dance, ready to strike at a moment's notice.

"Do you know how many times you've turned on Celestia?" she scratched her face with a sharp nail.

"What?"

"How about how many times she's turned on you?" she continued to scratch.

"Turned... on me?" My scythes stopped moving, a reflection of my confusion.

"What about how many times you've murdered her?" She looked at me, almost looking sad for me, though still scratching.

"I nev-"

"Or how many times she's taken your life?" she was now fully healed, but that was the least of my concerns. I remained quiet. I could not fathom what she was playing at, but I had to see where she was going with it. "From my last count the answer to all of those questions is tens of thousands of times."

"You lie." I tried to sound confident, but for some reason I was not sure of myself.

"No point," she shrugged. "Do you know why I'm doing this?" she stretched her arms above her head, working out the kinks in her joints.

"You said you wanted to manifest in our world." I had to think a bit to remember the specific reason.

"Yes, because if we don't intervene, if we don't put a stop to all of this nonsense, then the cycles will continue," she conjured her axe again, lifting it over her shoulder. "And you and the others will be imprisoned in this never ending existence of repetition... forever."

"Cycles?" I lifted a brow. I had no clue what she spoke of.

"This world and its denizens have lived their lives millions of times over." I gaped at her claim. "The exact number isn't really important. I watched you all suffer. I watched you thrive. I watched you kill. Watched you be killed. Watched you grow. Watched you die. Watched you succeed. Watched you fail. Endlessly I watched," she sighed. As she continued her demeanor became more and more desperate. "It"s enough to drive even a god mad. It's how I was born. Kismet started out as a single entity, but watching, waiting, unable to do anything for so long drove me to madness. My consciousness split into two beings. Kis," she pointed at herself with a thumb. "And Met," she covered her face with her hand. "It has to stop... it has to."

"So then, what do you intend on doing? If all of this ends then... will it not just repeat?" I asked, legitimately curious at this juncture.

"The cycle only repeats if two of us deem it so," she lifted two fingers. "With Discord gone there is no tie breaker, and me and Justice have never cooperated. This is it," she chuckled with a huff, the prospect of that seemingly providing her with a degree of comfort. "This is the last cycle. I can finally give you all the peace you deserve. I WILL give it to you. Eternal rest... for all."

"So you strive to save us... by ending our existence?" I put a few more feet between the two of us, my scythes coming back to life as they began to move again.

"Does it sound so bad? It would be just like sleeping. No strife. No pain. No-"

"Tia," I chuckled as I shook my head. She looked a little surprised by my reaction. "Kis, I was confined inside my moon for a thousand years," I felt the sadness creeping in. "For one thousand years I was separated from my beloved sister," I looked at her with unwavering determination, my vigor renewed. "Never again. I will not let something like that happen again." I brandished my scythes in front of myself, ready for round two. Kis grinned.

"While it is what you were created for, your loyalty is still admirable," she lifted her axe. "I like you, Luna," she smiled, though it was her first that looked truly heartfelt. "You're a lot more like me than you might think. So be it," she took up a combat stance. "It will be an honor to strike you down."

"Funny, Kis." I was ready... for victory... or for death. "I was thinking the exact same thing." A strange feeling stirred within me, a subtle warmth. It filled me with even more strength.

Axe struck scythe. Spell obliterated spell. Claws pierced soft flesh while hooves crushed bone. The flurry of our battle was over in seconds, Kis and I putting distance between each other to recover our stamina.

"Justice really broke the mold when she made you, huh?" she wiped the sweat from her brow.

"I know not of this Justice of whom you speak... but you are no pushover yourself... Kis." It was a struggle to catch my breath. We were evenly matched and it showed on her face as I'm sure it showed on mine. I had not been this pressured since my scuffle with my granddaughter. The recollection of Flurry caused the strange feeling deep inside of me to swell, granting me a light blue aura.

"KIS!" Celestia's earth shattering scream drew our attention. Kis looked stunned as she instantly dodged to her left. The small sun that appeared where she had been only a millisecond earlier nearly blinded me. As soon as the spell dissipated I was able to clarify what had happened.

"Y-You... PEON!" Kis looked absolutely deranged and for good reason. She had not completely avoided Celestia's spell, her left arm, left leg, and a large chunk of her torso gone, burned to ash by the intensity of my sister's ambush. In utter shock, I looked down at Celestia, her visage a collage of tears and sadness.

"YOU WILL NOT TAKE ANY MORE FROM ME!!!" Tia blasted off the ground like a missile, slamming into what remained of Kis' weakened body. I gaped at their retreating forms as they flew across the sky, a streak of blazing sunlight following close behind them.

"AUNT LUNA!!!" my niece's panicked shout demanded my attention. Without thinking or even looking, I teleported down to her location on the ground.

"I am here, Cadance. what can I... I-" My rage had clouded my senses to the severity of the situation at hoof. It would be hard to identify Cadance as a pink alicorn. More than half of her body was dark crimson, her horn shimmering brightly. She was trying desperately to stop her sister's wound from gushing blood, but it was clearly not going well. "Twilight..."

The purple alicorn did not appear to be breathing, the crater in her chest encased in Cadance's spell, yet blood still flowing from within it. For some unknown reason the liquid appeared much darker than it should. Upon closer inspection, I could see black flecks of an inky substance mixed within the dark maroon.

"Auntie, I can't- I d-don't..." My beloved niece looked just as disturbed as Kis had a few seconds ago. As her hooves fumbled around Twilight's injury, she was clearly in the middle of her own panic attack. "Please... h-help her."

Unfortunately, if Cadance was clueless, I would definitely have no idea how to mend Twilight's body. Although there was one thing I was certain of, Cadance could perform miracles when sufficiently energized. I could be that inexhaustible battery for her.

"Cadance," I gathered all the mana she could possibly need into my horn, utilizing my moon to make sure she would have all the power she could possibly need. "I cannot save her," she looked at me with trembling eyes. "But I know you can."

She had already proven capable when Celestia had been on the brink of death. I began to transfer the power of my moon into her horn, despite the expression of doubt that her face had morphed into.

"Auntie, I-" her body began to glow bright silver as her eyes turned into pure pools of moonlight. Without another word she looked down at her sister's prone body. She gently placed her horn against the purple alicorn's, breathing evenly as a steady stream of mana flowed from her horn into Twilight's.

In seconds the gaping hole in Twilight's chest began to fill in with silver light. I smirked, knowing it was only a matter of time before she was well once again.

With that issue resolved, I turned my attention back to the skies, trying to find out what had become of Celestia and Kis. I had not seen Tia so enraged since... well, ever. She must have thought it was the end of the road for her student or else she would not have reacted so ruthlessly.

"Auntie, something's wrong." Cadance's shaky voice drew me back to her.

"What is it?" I looked back down at Twilight, her brow furrowed as she seemed to be having a bad nightmare or struggling with an unseen pain. "Her wound is gone... what could this mean?"

"I think it's the same as what happened to me and Aunt Celestia in Canterlot." The moonlight aura had left my niece, her horn shining light blue signifying she was going to try using her love magic. "If it is," she placed her horn against Twilight's again. "Then I don't think this will work."

I waited with bated breath. After minutes of Cadance trying to cleanse Twilight's internals with her love she withdrew from her sister, a look of great sorrow on her face. She simply shook her head, not looking my way. My own head drooped in response to her resignation.

"Ugh, it helped." Cadance and I lit up as soon as Twilight spoke. It was reassuring, in spite of the fact that the ruler of Equestria broke into a fit of dry coughs. She was pale and she looked exhausted, but she was conscious. "Thank you, Cadance."

"O-of course, Twilight." My niece was both relieved and reserved. This was the first time they had been face to face since all of this began, to be fair. "Any time."

"Cadance?" Twilight also seemed to be having trouble looking her sister in the eye.

"Yes?"

"I'm... I'm sorry. For everything." The purple alicorn did not need to say any more. Cadance did not say a word, instead moving down next to her sister and giving her a gentle hug. While Twilight was shocked at first, her eyes softened as she began to weep.

The explosions that bloomed above us did not offer them much time for a joyful reunion. The three of us looked up, large suns erupting in various spots in the sky, followed by black zones of Kis' evil magic. Only those with absurdly sharp eyesight would be able to follow my sister and Kis zooming this way and that in the air.

While Kis had been content to take my attacks in stride, she was not giving my sister similar luxuries. The brawl was cacophonous, neither combatant giving an inch and neither taking any damage. Kis had already regenerated her appendages and was expertly dodging everything Tia was throwing at her while my sister was displaying the same proficiency at evasion.

"Do you think she can do it?" Cadance asked neither of us in particular.

"I know she can," Twilight replied. "but if there's one thing she taught me was more important than anything else, it's the power and necessity of friendship." She stood to her hooves, more coughs coming from her, but not sullying the determination on her face.

"Twilight, you don't intend to-"

"I doubted Celestia before..." she stared up at the two combatants. "I honestly believed friendship was weak, that it was powerless against death, but..." she laughed, quietly at first before it gradually turned into an all out riot which then turned into another fit of coughs. As soon as she recovered she spoke. "Here we are, staring death right in it's terrible face and the only true path to harmony, the only way it seems we can overcome it, is through friendship and... one thing even stronger than that..."

"And what is-"

"Twilight that monster kill-" Cadance stopped short, her eyes widening as something inside the pink and crimson alicorn began to glow. Twilight and I stared at the ruler of the Crystal Empire as her chest began to shine bright blue.

"What in Equestria..." I could feel the warmth coming from the unknown magic within my niece. As soon as it took the shape of a crystal heart I recalled my granddaughter. "Flurry..." The heart slowly moved out of Cadance's body and floated over to Twilight who smiled weakly as the heart entered her.

"You understand, don't you, Flurry?" Twilight's tears fell yet again as her coat shined brightly. Once the light died down Twilight Sparkle stood before us, her coat back to it's beautiful lavender. "Okay!" she tossed the overcoat she'd been wearing these past two weeks off of herself. "I know what to do, but I can't do it alone..." She turned to the two of us. "I know I've done unforgivable things... and I know it's a lot to ask, but-"

"There is no such thing as an unforgivable mistake, Twilight... at least not in my eyes," I smiled placing a hoof on her shoulder. "You have my cooperation. Let us save Equestria as Celestia said, together." She looked at Cadance with an awkward yet kind smile. Cadance looked down at the ground, a sad demeanor overtaking her.

"Flurry only wanted one thing before she died..." Cadance wiped some tears away from her face before she looked up at us with a glorious smile. "She never wanted strife and she never asked me to avenge her. She only wanted you to go back to your former self, Twilight. She wanted you to be her aunt again," Cadance giggled. "I know for a fact that wherever she is right now, she's watching over us with Shining... and that they'd both agree with you, Twilight," she wiped a tear from Twilight's eye with her hoof. "Let's finish this, together."

"Thank you, girls." We looked up to the sky once again, our determination, our unity, more powerful than ever before. "It's time to show Kismet the true power of friendship!" As one we flew into the air towards Celestia and Kis.

Author's Note:

Luna's best fight scene? Maybe, I really like the Luna/Twilight fight as well.

We also get some genuine feelings from Kis. She's starting to show her real self. I like that.

Comments

[Art]

great story, easy to read even with google translator) thanks for your work)))

[Hoofprintz]

11602934
Thanks for the comment! It means the world!

[Art]

Когда будет продолжение друг? А наконец-то дочитал всё текущие главы)

[Hoofprintz]

11603696
Sometime this week should be next chapter.