Rainbow Of Fate

by Lord Drayvon22

The Long Awaited Confrontation

Five hours later, Ponyvile Square

Night-time Flare stands in the center of town with a confident smile. "Is everything ready, Twilight?"

Twilight nods with a small smile. "Everything's ready, Rainbow. All that we need now are the Princesses and Shining." She looks down. "I only hope that they give us a chance to explain."

Flare smiles serenely. "They will because we won't make any attempt to provoke them. If they attack, we'll use only the minimum amount of force necessary to defend ourselves." She casts a new spell as she looks upwards. "And so it begins."

Presently, Ponyvile staging area

As the royals continue thier planning, Shining Armour instinctively throws up a shield spell. "Princess? The dome's collapsing."

Indeed it is so everypony braces for an assault. After twenty minutes however, nothing happens much to thier confused worry. "Now what?"

Celestia turns to Commander Light Brigade who snaps to attention. "Commander, please instruct the Guards to stand thier ground and make no attempts to enter Ponyvile. Nightmare Moon expects us to march right into her trap but we won't give her what she wants. With the dome gone, hopefully some ponies will be able to escape but be cautious. They may have been corrupted and be acting as an advance guard."

Light Brigade nods and leaves to relay thier orders as Celestia turns back to Shining. "Are we absolutely sure that no other help is coming?"

He shakes his head. "The Royal Guards from the Badlands arrived two hours ago but they won't be much help so spread out around Ponyvile. The Wonderbolts are also here but they function best as shock forces so we can't rely on them as much, The unrest is still keeping most of the Guard busy and the only other help that we have available is from the Crystal Guard. Unfortunately, it's too far to fly or teleport and it takes the better part of a day to get here by train. Even at full speed, they won't arrive for at least another two hours."

Celestia thinks for several moments. "Myself and Luna will enter Ponyvile and confront Nightmare Moon whilst you and Cadance stay here." She sighs as she sees the looks of worry and fear for her that wash over thier faces. "We need to prevent any of the Shadows from escaping Ponyvile. Even if we stop Nightmare Moon quickly, there's no telling the damage they could do first. With Luna's help, I can quickly bring Nightmare Moon down and end this. What will happen to Rainbow Dash remains to be seen but we'll deal with that later."

Luna nods in agreement before turning to thier equals. "The Shadows can't be weakened by traditional magic as it just phases straight through them but they can be weakened by bright lights or light infused magic. When exposed to enough, the shadow magic inside them retracts and leaves thier exposed bodies which you can attack normally." The Guards and royal couple nod as they turn back to the map. "Coming, sister?"

Princess Celestia takes a moment to gaze at the Crystal diarchy and smiles a deep, genuine smile as they hold hooves and nuzzle each other to calm thier nerves. When this is over, I'll find a way to keep them together forever. After everything they've done for Equestria and everything they've been through recently, they deserve it. I failed Twilight and her friends, I won't fail them too. I'll never let my family suffer again after what happened to... She shivers before turning to her younger sister. "Let's go."

A few minutes later

As the Princesses approach Ponyvile, thier concern only grows stronger when they can't see anypony about; be they Shadow, ordinary ponies, animals, Zecora, Spike or Nightmare Moon herself. Out of the corner of her eye, Princess Luna watches her sister subtly grow more worried and angrier. Constantly visually and magically scanning, it doesn't take them long to find thier way to the Golden Oaks Library in silence. "What do you make of it?"

Luna scowls. "We hate this. We've been halfway through town and found nothing. No-pony's run out for us to plead for our help, we haven't heard any screams, we haven't found any bodies and we haven't even been attacked yet. In all honestly, we were expecting to be ambushed the moment we entered Ponyvile if not sooner. This is far more worrying."

Celestia nods grimly but her ears perk up as she hears something coming from upstairs. "Luna, do you hear that?"

Luna listens as well and her face flashes between worry, anger, fear, hatred and determination. "If she's laid even one feather on her..." Luna storms into the Library and to an upstairs bedroom as Celestia follows at an equally sharp pace.

From inside, the sound of somepony quietly sobbing can be heard until she seems to sense thier presence as they hear a sharp inhale. "G-go away. P-please, leave me alone. H-Haven't you done enough?"

Though Celestia doesn't recognise the young voice, Luna's face has turned from worry to protective anger as she forces open the door. On the other side, Celestia sees a very vaguely familiar filly wrapped tightly in warm blankets and visibly shaking until she looks up. When she does, the look of sheer joy on her face is both heartwarming and stomach churning. "PRINCESS!"

Luna's expression switches between relief and poorly disguised disgust at the sight of Scootaloo's horribly broken body; hooves bent in the wrong direction, wings drooping as if every bone in them has turned to powder and bones visibly sticking out from her hooves. "Scootaloo, what happened?"

Scootaloo looks down. "I saved my friends but paid the price. They stopped the pain but... well, look at me.”

Luna turns a funny shade of green for a brief moment whereas Celestia's pokerface become ever so slightly strained. "Don't worry Scootaloo, this'll all be over soon and then we can help you."

For the first time in about a day, Scootaloo smiles with relief before it fades into a worried frown. "Princess? Rainbow Dash told me something that might be important." Princess Celestia smiles reassuringly and gestures for her to continue. "She told me about how she was looking for a way to better protect us from evil. A way that, if anything were to happen to you, we would be able to protect ourselves."

Looks of joint realisation pass over the Princesses ' faces. "We need to have a very serious conversation with her when this is over."

Scootaloo looks confused. "Why? Nightmare Moon took over her mind. What's she done wrong?"

Luna looks at her friend sadly. "Although Nightmare Moon takes complete control of her hosts, her power comes from a great desire that her host has. It's why she's been so selective in choosing her host and hasn't just taken the first pony that she sees. For us, it was a desire to make ponies appreciate our night by any means necessary. For Rainbow Dash, it's her desire to see everypony happier and better protected. The Elements protect thier Bearers from forced corruption but Nightmare Moon is extremely manipulative. She has a way with words, twisting your beliefs so you accept her 'help' even if you don't trust her. While Rainbow Dash didn't mean to do all of this, she'll need a reminder about the dangers loyalty can cause when it becomes obs-"

The conversation is cut off by the sound of the Library door opening and closing. Once second, Princess Celestia is there and the next she's gone. Princess Luna is about to follow but stops when she sees the panic on Scootaloo's face. "Please! Don't leave me here! What if one of those... things comes for me?!"

Luna is torn for a moment between helping a close friend in need and leaving for the greater good of Equestria before casting a light spell over Scootaloo. "This spell will prevent the Shadows from getting anywhere near you. I promise that we'll be back as soon as Nightmare Moon is gone, Scootaloo." Scootaloo nods nervously but gratefully as the Princesses head downstairs.

Moments earlier, the Golden Oaks Library's entrance

A shadowy figure enters the silent Library only to be blinded by a Sun-like flash and magically slammed into the wall. Not hard enough to injure or knock out the creature but enough to stun him. "Where's Nightmare Moon?!"

Despite Celestia's booming and severe tone, Shadowfright chuckles. "Queen Flare asked me to tell you that she's waiting for you at your former Castle."

Princess Celestia then knocks him out, stuffs him into the basement and magically seals it shut just as Luna appears.. "Was that Shadow-" She trails off and looks in surprise at something outside. Celestia follows her gaze and blinks in equal amazement. The Sun is slowly rising into the sky only an hour later than it normally should have. After exchanging a slightly confused look, and without another word spoken, the two Princesses take flight and soar towards the Everfree.

At the same time, the Castle of the Two Sisters

Flare turns to Applejack with a smile. "Are they ready?"

Applejack returns the grin for a moment before looking down sadly. "All's ready tah go, Ah just wish there was an easier way."

Flare's smile fades into a neutral expression. "So do I." She looks out into the woods. "It'll all work out in the end. They may begin."

A minute or so later, Ponyvile Staging Area

As Princess Cadance and Shining Armour continue observing the skyline, they feel thier heart rates accelerate as they see a cloud of solid shadow head towards them from Ponyvile. Immediately drawing on each other, they throw up a powerful shield spell which is infused with light to encase the Shadows in a giant dome. They breathe a sigh of relief when the Shadows don't start trying to breach the dome but are slightly unsettled when the Shadows just linger. Waiting for something. Eerily, they hear Commander Light Brigade chuckle. "That's our cue."

Before the Solar Guards can react, an illusion spell over the local Royal Guards drops and the others are suddenly swarmed by shadows. As the Shadow cloud gets closer to the two rulers, Shining looks over at his horrified wife. After a split second of indecision, he begins charging a spell as Cadance glares at him furiously. "SHINING ARMOUR! IF YOU DARE, I'LL -" Before she can finish, she's already been forcibly teleported away just as the mist consumes Shining Armour. The last thing on his face is a sad smile. I'm sorry, Cady. I couldn't let them hurt you. Equestria, the Princesses and the Empire need you far more than they need me. Take care of our people well. I love you and I always will.

A few short moments later, the Everfree Bridge

The Princesses land on the Everfree side much to Princess Luna's surprise. "Sister, why are we landing here? We're so close."

Princess Celestia doesn't turn. "If we try to approach our old Castle by air, there's a high likelihood that we'll be struck out of the sky before we can get close enough. We don't know what Nightmare Moon is planning so we can't afford to be slowed down or injured. If we can approach on hoof, we may have the chance to surprise Nightmare Moon."

Forcing back a worried look at Celestia's cold and determined tone, Luna nods but there's suddenly a bright blue flash as thier neice suddenly appears before them. Before either of them can question it, they notice a look of pain on Cadance's face. "What happened, Cadance?"

Shock and worry slam into Luna as Cadance looks up blankly for a moment; a very similar look to the one Celestia had earlier. When she speaks, she is visibly holding back tears. "T-they got to the Ponyvile Guards before we arrived. I-it was a trap and we all walked right into it. They got everyone including S-Shining."

Instantly, a subtle frown appears on Princess Celestia's face but it's very presence worries Luna as her sister races away without a word. "Was it something I said?"

Luna sighs as they follow. "Celestia hates losing those that mean a lot to her, even more than most ponies. She hasn't been like this in a very long time. She knew that she'd have to say goodbye to them someday but was always hoping it'd be a long time. Although she never admitted it, she was always worried that, every time they went to save Equestria, one or more of them wouldn't come back. They were formidable and she has always had absolute confidence in thier abilities but all it would have taken was one unfortunate magic blast or a very minor miscalculation at a key moment and they'd be gone. If it wasn't for the greater good of every living creature on Equus, she wouldn't have done it. She still blames herself for the untimely death of somepony she deeply cares about and now she's feeling it again sixfold."

Cadance's look of worry only increases. "What happened?"

Luna hangs her head. "His name was Legionary Phalanx but it isn't our place to say much else. Our relationship with him was strictly professional and, as you can guess, didn’t end well. All we'll say is that he died long before his time, that what happened hurt Celestia a lot and that she continues to blame herself for it today. It's one thing to lose somepony to the ravages of time, it's quite another to lose that somepony to an enemy. It's why she forces herself to be so stoic as well as part of why she couldn't use the Elements after we were banished. She’s been like this for so long that no one remembers that she used to be much more... open instead of reserved. Celestia’s lost over a thousand partners in her time but there's always that one pony you feel you were made for. The one you could spend the rest of eternity with and be happy. We believe she truly found her soulmate and then lost him long before his time. Losing the love of your life and one of only three beings that you had ever been truly close to… changes a pony."

Cadance nods understandingly but they then almost walk into a grim looking Princess Celestia. "We're here."

Inside the ruins

As the three Princesses enter into what was once the throne room, they find themselves face to face with a very familiar and immensely smug looking being. "Good day. I hope you've been-"

Immediately, Nightmare Moon is forced back by a massive energy beam from Celestia; bright but not blinding flashes of light visibly streaking through the energy. "It's over. You're going to release Rainbow Dash and then you're going straight into the Sun where you can never hurt anypony ever again. I made the mistake of believing you were destroyed once. I won't be making that mistake again."

Despite the Princess' tone making it clear in no uncertain terms that she is deathly serious, Nightmare Moon smiles as if she just told a side splittingly funny joke. "Come now, I thought you were supposed to be the benevolent Princess and Luna the-"

She finds herself blasted into a crumbling wall. "Release her."

Nightmare Moon just smiles as she gets back up. "Touchy, touchy Celestia. Is that any way to treat your other sister?"

Despite an even expression and a calm tone, Celestia's voice is as bitingly cold as the Arctic North. "You are not my sister. You're a parasite that tormented and held my real sister captive for three hundred years."

Nightmare Moon just smirks. "Whatever you say, sister. It hurts, doesn't it? Knowing that you failed your friends, Ponyvile, your 'daughter' and your beloved neice's-"

This time, Nightmare Moon is blasted completely out of the room and into the chamber where the Elements were once held. "I hope you do realise that, by banishing me, you'd banish Rainbow Dash as well since we're one and the same? Tell me Celestia, are you willing to banish one of your only friends just to stop me? Is that what you want?"

Celestia is almost literally burning with hatred but her eyes become nearly imperceptibly sadder. "What I want is you gone forever and, if it means protecting the rest of Equestria from you, so be it."

Despite the Princess' hatred being so great that it's almost a physical force, and the intense pressure from the energy beam, Nightmare Moon approaches with a foul smile. "Really? If you're so sure of yourself, why haven't you already banished us? Why are we standing around chatting? Surely, if you meant what you said, I'd already be on a one-way journey to your beloved Sun. Is is possible that you can't bring yourself to save Equestria because it would hurt your dear friend?"

When she's almost muzzle to muzzle with Celestia, the dark pony stops and her expression becomes a sneer. "What would your little ponies think of you now? The big, strong Princesses that are absolutely unbeatable can't even protect one small town or thier own friends and now the almighty Sun Princess can't bring herself to sacrifice one pony for the sake of her kingdom. I wonder how much faith they'll have in you when Tirek escapes or Chrysalis makes her return. Pathetic."

Seeing her sister seething, Princess Luna advances on her doppelganger. "Is this why you came back? To insult us and get petty revenge?"

Nightmare Moon snarls at her 'twin.' "I came back because I needed a way to survive and your beloved Element of Loyalty just so happened to need a solution to her dilemma. Thanks to her, I even made you pay. Made you feel the same sense of utter crushing failure that I did when they banished me. Makes you feel absolutely awful, doesn't it?"

Nightmare Moon throws back her head for one long, triumphant, mocking, painfully loud and glorious laugh as Princess Celestia starts to let anger show on her face. "Tell me Luna, how does it feel to fail the ones that helped save you? To know that they saved you from me but you can't do the same for them?" As the younger Princess glares, Nightmare Moon turns to Cadance. "You know, you almost impressed me Cadance. You managed to defeat an entire army using just the power of love and held off his royal pain in the flank but you couldn't even save your beloved husband." Smiling at the youngest Princess' burning anger, she turns at last to Celestia who has a face like thunder. "And pray tell Celestia, how does it feel to fail your friends so spectacularly? To know that you let down your beloved student when she needed you the most? That even Solar semper invictus herself can fail this badly? And you had such great aspirations for her future. Like mother, like daughter as they say. I've watched it secretly eat you up inside whenever you sent them to 'save' Equestria. And now, you were helpless to stop me. In the same way you were hopeless to save Legion-"

Before Nightmare Moon can finish, over a thousand years of repressed emotion combined with a mixture of grief and burning hatred finally boil over. With a resounding and almost deafening bang, Nightmare Moon is sent flying over three hundred feet from an almighty slap. Whilst the shadow pony staggers back to her hooves, Celestia's eyes burn with hatred. "Shall we?" Still sightly stunned by the sudden burst of anger from the usually calm Solar Princess, the other two Alicorns channel thier magic.

For her part, Nightmare Moon just smiles knowingly. "Look behind you."

The three instead prepare to unleash thier combined magic until they hear an all too familiar voice. "Princess?"

Comments

[Swordfighter125]

New chapter when?

[Lord Drayvon22]

11512500
I hope to have it out by next week since it's about halfway done. The biggest problem with the story is deciding where to go from here. The first chapters were finished so quickly because I was getting the foundations out of the way but now more time is needed. Now though, for better or for worse, I know where the story's going and I'm going to die on this hill if I have to. Whether it turns out to be a popular decision or not remains to be seen but the foundations will be set in the next chapter.

You've also unintentionally given me a motivation boost. Before, I was getting views but no comments for a while and I began to think no-one gave a hoot anymore. After the rather... mixed reception of "The Truth," things went pretty much radio silent comment wise. Any story can get views over time but the lack of clear response made it feel like people were clicking on, reading the first chapter and clicking off. The mostly negative reaction to the original version of "The Long Awaited Confrontation" didn't help, especially as I wrote myself into a corner with that chapter so I had to almost completely rewrite it. Hell, for about a week, the story was deleted as I was not at all happy with it but I then had it restored by the admins and decided to continue it. It's nice to know someone is interested.