Chapter 1
Princess Celestia looked out the grand windows of her throne room, over the city of Canterlot, awaiting the confrontation that was coming, and wondered where she had gone wrong. The once brilliant city was blackened by smoke from fires that had sprung up, and dyed red by the blood that now flowed through the streets. It was the first revolution she had seen since she and her sisters had risen up against their own father, all those centuries ago. What had happened that everything had gone to Tartarus in a hoofbasket so very fast?
The more she thought about it, the more certain she became that it ultimately could be traced to when she accepted her old student, Twilight Sparkle, into the noble ranks of Alicorn. At first, Twilight had been exceedingly pleased at the transformation, as it granted her access to previously Hidden Libraries, containing the Secret Histories of not only Equestria, but all Equus . It also boosted her magic levels far beyond what she had been used to, and so, had required some time to devote to training with her newfound strength. Once she had a handle on her magic, she immediately dove into the Secret Histories, initially seeking the answer to some of magic’s oldest questions. And, find those answers, she had. Until a few months before this day of blood, Celestia’s top unicorn scientist had been studying the devices Twilight had created from blueprints found deep within the Hidden Libraries, devices that would allow any pony to wield various aspects of unicorn magic, including the more destructive types.
Naturally, though, once that purpose was discovered, Celestia had immediately put her hoof down, and halted any and all research, even ordering the devices, and their blueprints, destroyed. After all, she couldn't very well risk there being more magic wielders than her census-takers could record. Most likely it was that moment, she thought, that first turned Twilight against her. It had been a mistake, a decision born of desperation to remain in a position of power, which led her to commit what, in Twilight’s eyes, was a mortal sin: the destruction and loss of information.
After that day, Twilight grew more and more secluded, choosing to live exclusively among the shelves of the Secret Libraries, and declining the multitude of dinner and party invitations, accepting visits only from her friends from Ponyville. In retrospect, she realized that was when the planning had taken place.
Her internal musings were interrupted when she heard a commotion from outside the tall doors leading to the rest of the palace. Sighing, she turned, and braced herself for the accusations she knew were about to come. The commotion continued for a few more minutes, as her private guard laid down their lives to protect hers.
The grand doors burst inward with a powerful blast of magic, and Twilight came running in, along with three of her friends. The aptly named Rainbow Dash quickly darted around the room, doubtlessly checking for additional guards or secret door. Applejack finished bashing in the helm of a guard with her famous buck, and ran inside, kicking the door shut, after Rarity backed in, providing a magical force field as cover.
Twilight ran to the throne, and proclaimed, “Your oppressive reign of evil ends today, Celestia!”
Celestia sighed yet again, shaking her head. “Oh, Twilight. You always were my best student. But you seem to have forgotten one of my first rules: never take action when words will work just as well. Now, can I correctly assume that you and your friends have some grievance with me?”
Applejack snorted a laugh. “Oh, please, ‘Princess’. Twi here has told us all about what you've been up to the last thousand years. Suppressing any sort of advancement across Equestria, keeping us all in the dark about state of the rest of the world? I don’t rightly think those are the sort of actions any ‘benevolent’ ruler would take.”
Rarity nodded her agreement, saying, “And besides that, even the densest filly can see, when you oppress the people, you also remove any real hope for new fashion! Why, the trends of the last decade have basically just been the same fashions as 500 years ago!”
Rainbow Dash, ever the action-taker, opted to skip any talking, and went straight for action, charging full-speed at Celestia. The Princess, however, had expected this, and had set a number of spell-inlaid runes along the walls and ceiling, which were now activated. A powerful electrical field snapped into existence just in front of Celestia, shocking Rainbow Dash into a painful retreat. Twilight quickly went to her friend, casting a combination healing and rejuvenation spell, restarting the cyan Pegasus’s heart, and restoring her to full fighting potential.
“What did I tell you about just charging in like that?” Twilight said to her friend. “I told you, she’d have something in place to protect her!”
“Ugh, yeah, yeah, I know. I just…” Dash shook her head, clearing out the fuzziness from the rejuvenation spell. “I just couldn’t help myself! I mean, look at her! All high and mighty, lording it over all us ‘lesser’ ponies, like she thinks she’s some sort of god! I mean, Harmony! Not even Discord’s a real god, and look what he can do! How can she even think she has any claim to a title like that?!?”
Twilight perked up at the mention of the Lord of Chaos, and turned to the Princ—No, to Celestia. From this day forth, Twilight vowed, no-one would think of her as a Princess ever again. “Say, that’s right, Celestia, what about Discord? You couldn’t possibly get enough power to deal with him, and if he’s still well, he’s sure to be watching us even now. So, what have you done with him?”
Celestia looked past the electrical field with a deep sadness on her face. “I did what I needed to do. I am sorry to do it, but if I was to even survive this day, I knew what I had to do. You know, he truly did care for your friend, Fluttershy. He was willing to give anything for her, even his powers. Sadly, even that was not enough to save her.”
The ponies stared at Celestia, utterly horrified. Rarity was the first to return to her senses, demanding, “What have you done to her?”
Celestia bowed her head. “Only what needed to be done, my ponies, only what I had to do.” She raised her head again, taking a defiant stance. “And now, it appears I am being forced to do the same to you. For what it’s worth, I am truly sorry it had to come to this.” She lowered her head as her horn began to glow brighter and brighter, belying the powerful nature of whatever spell she was preparing.
Applejack and Rainbow braced themselves against whatever would come, but Twilight and Rarity could see that it was a teleportation spell, albeit an incredibly powerful one, being aimed at the Earth pony, Pegasus, and Unicorn. Thinking quickly, Twilight leaped in between the tyrant and her friends, readying a counter-spell of her own, one that would force Celestia’s spell to affect her as well. As both Alicorns fired their spells, the secondary doors burst open to reveal the Lunar Guard marching in, with a visibly weakened Luna at their head. Twilight barely even acknowledged this though, as she realized belatedly that the radius of the resulting spell would take herself, along with Celestia, to wherever Celestia decided. When the spells impacted, a deep whine filled the palace, and an intense light blinded the other ponies in the throne room. As their sight and hearing slowly returned, they saw nothing more than a smoking crater where the throne had once stood. Rarity and Luna immediately began scanning the area with their magic, but could not discover where the pair had teleported to.
“Wherever they are,” Luna confided to Rarity, “Twilight will now have a better chance to fight. That powerful a spell would have taken them extremely far away. As a result, my sister will be weakened, though Twilight won’t be. At least, we can only hope…”
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Twilight groggily shook her head, trying to clear the cobwebs that had formed in her mind, keeping her thoughts from forming. She was in Canterlot, right? Not just the city, no, she was in the palace itself. There was something else, something important that she was doing, but what was it? She shakily stumbled to her feet, and started to look around. This didn’t look like the palace, not by a long shot. She stood on a great grey plain, with hills that rose sharply and dropped off abruptly, and with pock marks of all sizes. Where was she? She looked up, and gasped. Above her head, the sky was gone. In its place, there were millions upon millions of stars, far more than one could see even on the clearest night on the tallest mountaintop anywhere on Equus. The analytical portion of her mind finally began to work, and she quickly realized that the only place where one could see that many stars had to be outside of the planet’s atmosphere, which could only mean that she was standing on the moon. As she looked around in awe, she saw her home world just beginning to rise over the lunar horizon, a sight that took her breath away. “Wait a minute,” she thought. “How am I breathing? Is this another effect of becoming an Alicorn? Or is there something more at work here?”
Suddenly, she felt a powerful magical spell building up behind her. She whipped around, and threw up a shield just in time to meet the blast. Now, she remembered what was so important. Celestia. When faced with yet another rebellious princess, she had resorted to her final gambit, sending them to the moon. After all, nopony, not even a fellow Alicorn, was strong enough to manage that powerful of a teleportation spell. Then again, Twilight doubted that any other pony would have been strong enough to shield themselves from this strong a magical blast for more than a few seconds, and here she was, barely even breaking a sweat. She never had been confident in her abilities enough to want to risk a full confrontation with the solar princess, but now, she saw that not only had her own powers grown, but Celestia’s power had weakened over the centuries. “Time to press the advantage,” Twilight thought, as she peeked around the edge of her shield.
“So, is this where you sent Luna all those centuries ago?” Twilight had to shout to make herself heard over the noise of the destructive beam. She also saw Celestia preparing a number of other spells, which meant that she wasn't putting her all into the beam spell, but also that she was forcing herself to split her concentration, something Twilight could use to her advantage. “That would explain how we’re breathing. Let me guess, there’s some sort of underground housing around here, right?” Even as she taunted, Twilight had a hunch on how to gain an additional foothold. She continued speaking as she scanned the lunar surface, looking for any seams, joints, or hinges, anything that would let her see--- Yes! There! Some sort of trapdoor, and directly underneath Celestia’s hooves, too. “You do know the first rule of fighting in a new space, right? Always know where you stand.”
Celestia glanced down, and her eyes widened as she saw where she was standing, even as Twilight slammed her hoof down on the ground, sending a wave of purple energy through the lunar surface towards the door, flinging it open suddenly. Celestia’s beam cut off as she fell down the new hole, and Twilight dropped her shield and ran forward, readying herself to strike a fatal blow while Celestia was distracted. While she ran, she took stock of her inner self, trying to decide if she really could perform this final act.
She skidded to a stop in front of the hole, and looked down, horn shining and sparking with untold power, ready to be fired at the former princess. What she saw as she gazed into the hole, however, shocked her.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~5 days later~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
In the twilight hour just before dawn, Applejack watched as the chariot bearing Princess Luna descended into the palace gardens. The Princess was just returning from scouring the entire planet, searching for any trace of the spell that stole away both Twilight and Celestia. From the look on her face, though, Applejack knew what the answer was before she even asked the question, though she asked it anyway.
“No sign of ‘em, huh?” She said, as Luna disembarked.
Luna shook her head sadly. “No, we fear our sisters are well and truly lost. They must have been teleported to somewhere not of or on this world. The sort of power that went into Celestia’s spell was truly incredible, there would have been traces at the other end, why can’t I…” She cut herself off before the tears started running again.
Applejack shared her sentiment. “Well,” She said, “It’s a right shame we can’t find. Rarity had this whole dress line all worked out for when Twi came back. And Pinkie? Oh, you should hear the party she has planned. Heck, it’ll outshine the next 10 Grand Galloping Gala’s, easy.” She tried to chuckle, but it came out as more of a sigh.
Luna looked at the small earth pony. “Indeed, it sounds as though it would have been wondrous to behold. Alas, that it should all be for naught. We cannot find them. Oh, Harmony, we do not even have any bodies to bury…” The tears Luna had been trying to push back finally started to come, and she was suddenly glad there was only Applejack to see her in this moment. “She may have become evil, but she was not always that way. Once, she was good. Once, I was proud to call her sister. Once…” She finally broke down, falling to the ground, sobbing. Applejack didn't even hesitate as she went up to the Princess, and hugged her with her forelegs, joining her in tears. Luna at first resisted, wanting to keep some semblance of royalty, but she soon gave in, and returned the hug, now all but bawling into the orange pony’s mane.
Applejack was just about to suggest that they depart to Luna’s room, to preserve dignity, when a breeze began to pick up through the night. Neither pony paid much heed, but the breeze swiftly became a wind, which in turn became a maelstrom. Applejack and Luna looked to the center of the garden, and saw a small orb of light appear. It was this light that was causing the wind, as it seemed to be sucking it in. Luna suddenly stood bolt upright, looking around frantically. “She is returning!” Luna hollered, shoving Applejack towards the door. “Quickly, you must warn the others, prepare them for battle once more! This is the destination end of an impossibly powerful teleport! The only one powerful enough to perform this sort of spell is my sister! Quickly, warn them!” She shoved Applejack away, and braced herself, her own horn glowing brightly in preparation.
Applejack started to holler for help, but as she looked towards the palace, Shining Armor and several dozen unicorn guardsponies cam rushing out of every door she could see. They swiftly took their place beside Luna, in a ring around the fountain, all with horns shining, ready to defend their home against a tyrant returned. Luna glanced over at Shining, but he was utterly focused. He knew that if Celestia was returning, then that meant Twilight Sparkle, his sister, was dead. All his life, he had sworn to her that he would protect her. He knew that oath could no longer be upheld, but if he couldn't protect her, then he was blasted sure he was going to avenge her.
The wind reached a fevered pitch, threatening to fully uproot the hedge maze entire, and suck it in. Even the statues were wobbling crazily on their plinths, about to fall over. The light grew bigger, and brighter and brighter, until it was like looking into the noonday sun. As Luna was about give the order to fall back several paces, the light seemed to double in its brightness, then, with an explosion that scattered the guards, and nearly toppled Luna, it shut off. Luna was dazed on her feet, but already preparing the most powerful spell she knew. She glanced over, and saw that amazingly, Shining Armor was also still standing, and preparing his own spell. Luna focused on the dust cloud that had just moments ago been the fountain, letting the dust settle so she could be sure of where exactly to fire.
What she saw as her field of vision cleared, however, made cut off her magic, and leap over to block Shining Armor. “No, wait, do not fire!” She shouted. “Please, everypony, hold your fire!” The guardsponies reluctantly did so, some worried that Luna was once more under the spell of her older sister, but most simply wondering what her keener Alicorn eyes had seen in the dust.
Applejack gazed into the slowly settling cloud of debris, barely aware she had been joined by her friends, the remaining Elements of Harmony. Gradually, a pair of forms became visible, one lying prone on the ground, and the other standing shakily, wings outstretched, and horn dimly glowing. Applejack and the Elements started to back towards the door, while the guards began to ready their destructive spells again. Then, without warning, Rainbow Dash streaked straight into the dust cloud, tackling the standing figure, toppling her to the ground. The guards froze for a second, then stopped charging their spells and rushed in to take control the physical way.
Applejack was the first of the Elements to arrive, and the first to see what Luna had seen. Beneath a crying Rainbow Dash, Princess Twilight Sparkle was laying, unconscious, on the ground, and beside her, lay Celestia, neck twisted at an unnatural angle to her body. Luna cried out for the healers, praying to harmony that she was not too late.
The bearers of the Elements gathered around their friend, all openly weeping now, as she groggily opened her eyes. Seeing her friends, a wave of relief swept over her “I made it,” She said weakly. “I wasn't quite sure if my destination was here, or the Griffon capitol… Glad it was here…” She muttered this last before passing out again, just as the royal healers arrived with a stretcher. The Elements reluctantly parted, and allowed the healers to gently pick up Twilight and take her away, accompanied by Shining Armor and her friends. The guards slowly dispersed, returning to their own duties. Applejack looked back, and saw Luna, still sitting beside the body of her sister.
She paused, and then said to the others, “You girls go on ahead, all right? I’ll… I’ll be right with ya.” She slowly walked back to Luna, and sat down beside her. After a few minutes of silence, Luna began to speak. “She always loved to play in the maze. When we were children, that is. Tartarus, even when we had grown, and assumed the mantle of leadership, we sometimes slipped off, and simply played in it. That shall be where her monument will rest. Most every pony now will only ever remember her as an overlord, but We… But, I shall always know her as my sister.” At this last, she broke down again, leaning over to rest her head on Applejack’s shoulder, as the sun slowly rose on a new day.