> Battle for the Crown
>  by Cloperella
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Chapter 1
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Battle for the Crown

        Miles below the grounds of the illustrious city of Canterlot, a lone cave mouse scurried through the corridors, scavenging for any trace of food left on the floor. Most ponies would have found themselves lost in such darkness, without any light to reflect off of the smooth surface of the gemstone walls. But hundreds of years of evolution had created rodents who could see their way around these halls as clear as day. Food was scarce in the abandoned caves, but the little rodent found a possible source of nourishment when it happened upon a group of cockroaches scurrying the grounds. The mouse had hunched down and was moments from pouncing on its prey, when a glimmer of light began to form from the corner of his eye. The rodent and roaches alike fled the vicinity in fear of this new source of light, composed of three different hues: one of purple, one of blue, and one of brilliant gold, each borne by a different alicorn princess.
        “This is uncanny, Tia.” The azure alicorn commented as she examined the gem walls reflecting their light. “I was not even aware such caves existed.”
        “Nor was I, Luna.” The largest of the three responded. She looked down at the small purple alicorn leading them from the front. “What did you say these caves were used for again, Twilight?”
        “Gem mining.” Twilight Sparkle responded with an eager smile. “When Chrysalis imprisoned me here, she boasted about how greedy unicorns used the caves to mine precious gems for their own gain long ago.”
        “I see; how strange that their discovery didn’t cause inflation in Equestrian currency.”
        Luna turned her gaze towards her sister. “Perhaps these ponies were smart, and took their treasure to a faraway nation to live out their days in luxury.”
        “Well, hopefully none of them were foalish to cross over the southeast ocean.” Celestia replied with a smirk. “Otherwise, they and their hoard might have ended up as lunch for a hungry dragon.” The two alicorn sisters chuckled amongst themselves as Twilight smiled sheepishly. 
        “Thank you for coming down with me. When Cadance and I were trapped here, all I wanted to do was escape and save my brother. But after he and Equestria were saved, I started to wonder more about it, enough so that I wanted to come back and do some investigating for myself.”
        “It’s no trouble at all.” Celestia replied. “As a new princess, it would do well for you to explore parts of Canterlot even Luna and I are unfamiliar with.”
        Luna flicked her star-filled mane back as she stepped forward. “Tis a shame that you could not have found a less musty place to explore, Twilight.”
        The trio reached the end of the corrider, and found themselves at the foot of an expansive opening that reached far upwards and outwards. Twilight’s eyes widened in excitement at the sight of the sparkling walls that seemed to stretch on forever. They could spend all day poking around this place, and still have so many secrets that would remain undiscovered. 
        When Twilight’s gaze descended, she noticed a small ledge on an elevated platform from where they stood with an odd pattern of gems that stuck out more roughly than the rest of the walls. Rearing her hindlegs back, Twilight flared her wings as she prepared to take flight. 
        “Careful Twilight.” Celestia advised her student.
        “Oh, don’t worry princess. I’ve gotten a lot better at flying lately.” Twilight jumped off of the ledge and flapped her wings once, twice, and then began to lose air as she descended back towards the floor with a proper face plant. “Ow!” Twilight rubbed her forehead embarrassedly, not even bothering to look at the princesses behind her who exchanged painful winces towards each other. “I’m okay…” Twilight resounded, picking herself up and flapping her wings with more concentration this time. She finally touched down on the elevated platform and pulled her wings back in above her flank. The two other alicorns promptly followed her and touched down immediately behind Twilight as she stepped forward and touched the crystals jutting out of the wall. 
        Tapping her hoof to the surface, the object gave out a dull thud. She continued to tap against the surface all the way down towards the smooth wall, where she heard a different sound, a thud even deeper than before. She compared the two taps, and deduced that the irregular crystals were hollow, and had possibly been crafted there by other ponies, or whatever creatures might have dwelled in these parts. 
        “Stand back, you two.” Twilight warned as she lifted her head and concentrated her magic into her horn. Celestia and Luna each raised a wing to shield themselves, while Twilight fired a blast of magical energy onto the jutting crystals, making them shatter and blow away to the lower level below them. The three princesses coughed as a mess of crystalized dust blew past their faces. Once the debris had cleared, Twilight looked at the wall and noticed a small hole near the floor of the platform they stood on. Crouching down, she noticed the hole would be just big enough for her to squeeze under. 
        “This is so exciting!” Twilight said with shimmering eyes as she looked at the tiny hole.  She looked back at Celestia and Luna behind her. “Who knows what we might find if we follow-! Oh…” Twilight took note of their size difference and clenched her teeth.
        “That seems a bit small for me and my sister.” Luna declared. “But that should not stop you from sating your desire for knowledge, should it?”
        “You be careful Twilight.” Celestia offered. “If you find yourself in trouble, you scream out immediately; we will find another way to reach you.”
        “Thank you princess. I’m sure I’ll be fine.” Twilight turned her head back towards the small opening, and crawled forward carefully. She had to keep her head tucked into her shoulders and her hindlegs stretched out to slide on her belly, lest she risk getting stuck on her way. After crawling for several minutes, Twilight saw the edges of the crawlspace fan out, and she pulled herself through the other side and into a new room, with the same walls of gem, but with a smaller space than what she and her mentors had walked through. To the side of her peripheral vision, she saw something with a bright golden glimmer. Stepping towards the brightness, she saw that there was a crystal stand affixed to the wall, bearing an object that was the source of the shimmering she had noticed before. Twilight was awestruck at what she saw: there lay a large golden crown, resembling the appearance of her element of magic before it had transformed after obtaining her princess body. However it was larger, and lacked the twinkling star at the top that her own had, and had a ring of bright golden leaves affixed in a ring to sit atop the wearers head. 
        “What… is this…?” Twilight asked aloud as she marveled at the golden crown in front of her.
        “Twilight?” Celestia’s voice was barely audible through the hole she had crawled through. “Twilight, can you hear me?”
        Twilight pranced over to the crawlspace. “I’m alright!” She called loudly. “I’m coming back right now!” Illuminating her horn, Twilight hovered the crown off of its stand and levitated it behind her rump as she ducked down and inched forward back through the tight space. She would have levitated it in front, had it not obstructed her sight as she crawled forward; besides, she wanted to surprise the princesses on the other side with her new discovery. She eventually saw the two faces of Luna and Celestia at the end of the space as she pulled herself towards them. Once she was close enough, the two backed up and gave her enough room to stand. 
        “Phew, thank goodness you’re alright.” Celestia sighed.
        “I haven’t been gone that long, have I?” Twilight asked.
        “No, but I’m not comfortable with us being separated in an unfamiliar place. Just because the miners abandoned it doesn’t mean some undesirable creatures haven’t crawled in to take their place.”
        Luna trotted up to Twilight’s side. “Was whatever you found on the other side worth getting your coat all dirty?”
        Twilight looked down at her forelegs and down her barrel, and noticed that she was indeed covered with moisture and dirt from her crawling. She shook her body to rid herself of the filth that clung to her until she was mostly clean. “I’ll say it was!” she retorted, using her magic to lift up what she had left at the head of the crawl space. The beautiful golden crown levitated between the two sisters, and the two of them looked upon the headpiece with their jaws seemingly unhinged. “Ta-da!” Twilight exclaimed with triumph in her voice. All too soon, Luna’s gaze turned to one of an accusing frown, and Celestia averted her eyes, biting her lip in worry. Feeling dismayed, Twilight dropped the crown to the floor and nervously glanced between the two princesses in front of her. 
        “What an interesting find, Twilight.” Luna spoke in a bitter tone as she looked at the crown. She then turned her gaze towards her sister, who was still avoiding eye contact with the other two alicorns. “In fact, it looks familiar. Have you seen it before, Celestia?”
        Celestia turned her eyes towards her sister only a moment before she looked away. She took a deep breath and let out a sigh. “Yes, Luna. I have seen it before. I know what it is.”
        “Oh, do go on sister! Tell us what you know about this beautiful little gem Twilight has found.”
        Celestia looked from her sister, still glaring fiercely at her, and to Twilight whose eyes nervously danced back and forth between the two sisters with her teeth clenched in worry.
        “Very well.” Celestia replied, steeling herself and walking towards them. “But not here. We will need to return to the castle before I explain anything.” Celestia lowered her head so that her horn was on Twilight’s level, and Luna begrudgingly did the same. Twilight held the crown in her teeth, and cautiously touched her horn against the other two, and Celestia generated her magic between the three of them. A white aura overcame the trio, and a bright flash resounded through the cave. The ponies that were once there had vanished, without a trace of their existence ever being there. 



        Another magical pop, and the three princesses found themselves on solid ground once again. When Celestia and Luna raised their heads, Twilight looked at her surroundings and realized they were not at the majestic gleaming castle that she had spent her time as a filly in under Celestia’s tutelage. This place was dark and musty, with only the light from the afternoon sun gleaming in through the shattered windows.
        “Princess, this isn’t the castle…” Twilight remarked, after placing the crown gently on the floor.
        “Yes it is, Twilight.” Celestia responded as she looked about the walls covered in cobwebs. “It is our castle… the first one we have ever known.” Hearing Celestia’s words, Twilight noticed a familiar stand at the end of the room they stood in, and it finally clicked that she knew this place as well. It was the same castle that Twilight had discovered the elements of harmony, and formed her bond with her five best friends in all of Equestria. “Luna and I called this place our home when we were children. We laughed, and played, and cried, and did so many things together in these walls, up until…” Celestia’s words trailed off as she looked towards the floor.
        “Up until my heart was overcome with jealousy.” Luna continued flatly, causing Celestia and Twilight to look towards her. “I was taken over by Nightmare Moon, and you were forced to take action.” There was no resentment in Luna’s explanation of past events; she stated them as if she were an instructor on Equestrian history.
        Celestia turned her head and walked towards the platform that Nightmare Moon had stood on when she had been overcome by the elements of harmony on that night. She looked up at the large window that had lost all of the glass that had filled it. Closing her eyes, a soft bright glow appeared over her horn, as tiny pieces began to hover off of the ground and reconstruct the mural that had once been there before. 
        “We did not live in this castle by ourselves though.” Celestia explained as she continued to repair the broken window.  “We did not create this world, nor were we placed here fully grown and ready to govern an entire nation. We were born as tiny helpless foals, I first, and then my sister some time later.” The bottom portion of the window mostly fixed, and a crudely drawn image of two small alicorns could be seen, one dark with a small cobalt mane that hung to her shoulders. Twilight recognized her hairstyle as the same Luna had when she had been purged of Nightmare Moon’s control. Parallel to her was a white alicorn of a similar size, and a mane of identical style and color. The two alicorns stood atop a hill, watching a large gathering of ponies playing beneath them.
        “There was another alicorn who lived with us.” She continued, a smile appearing on her face as she reminisced over warm memories of her past. “She was the one who bore us, sheltered us, and raised us to be the best princesses we could be. She never had a name, as far as we ever knew of her.” Celestia’s construction of the mural finally came to completion as she reached the top of the frame. The sun outside shined through the colored glass, illuminating the head of a white pony with a grayish tint and a brown mane, who towered over everything in the picture with a warm and loving smile on her face. “We simply knew her as ‘mom’.”
        Twilight stared in awe at the beauty of the face of this new alicorn she had just learned of. The knowledge that Celestia, the pony she had looked to as a source for infinite wisdom for most of her childhood and even her adult life had a mother shook her to her core. 
        “Our mother was a wonderful pony.” Luna explained, with a tender smile on her face. “She was kind and generous. She spoiled us on days we were good, with wondrous goodies and trips to far off lands and sights that filled us with wonder at their beauty. But she was also strong and valiant. She was ready to stand up for this nation at a moment’s notice, never once hesitant for her own safety. The security of Equestria and ourselves was her top priority. Equestria could not have asked for a better queen.”
        At hearing the word queen, Twilight noticed at the top of the brown haired alicorn’s head was a large golden crown. She gasped and looked back at the crown she had placed on the floor, and realized that they were identical. 
        “This is… your mother’s crown?” she asked in astonishment. The smile that the two sisters wore suddenly faded. After a long pause, the two alicorns of the day and night looked towards each other again intensely. 
        “Some time when we were still young, our mother was taken from us.” Luna continued, as Celestia turned about and began to walk towards them again. “Hardly transcripts of her rule are recorded in the Equestrian archives. I had believed that there was no trace of her to be found, and that her legacy would be lost forever.” Luna eyed the floor, and the golden crown that rested across from her. “But now I have seen for myself that I was mistaken. Is there anything you would care to explain, sister?”
        Wearing a face of determination, Celestia took a deep breath before she spoke. “I found the crown sometime after she was gone. I knew that I should have held onto it, that it needed a bearer to take the mantle once again. But… I panicked. I hailed one of my guards to take it, and arrange for it to be hidden so that I would never know where it resided.”
        Luna’s eyes widened in anger. “You told me that it was lost.” Despite the anger in her voice, Luna was able to keep her voice in check.
        “I said that it was lost to me, Luna. And that is the truth; I never knew of the gem mining caves below the city. I can only assume that my guard had known of the place before the greedy unicorns had discovered them.” 
        “And why exactly did you hide it, sister? Why did you keep this from me?”
        “I was afraid. You and I both admired our mother, and we often dreamed of becoming the queen of Equestria ourselves one day. But unlike being a princess, there can be only one queen to a nation…”
        “You thought the crown would cause a rift between us, because we would not be able to agree which of us was entitled to it, didn’t you?” Celestia remained silent at Luna’s inquiry. “That was selfish. You realize that, don’t you? How dare you make that decision all on your own. She was my mother too, Celestia, I am every bit as entitled to decide the fate of that crown as you are!” Luna was shouting at this point, keeping herself composed enough to keep from slipping into her royal Canterlot voice. “Equestria needs a queen, sister. The kingdom has been incomplete for far too long.”
        “Fine then.” Celestia replied curtly. She used her magic to envelop the crown and raise it off of the ground. “If it is so important to you, then I shall accept this crown, and inherit the legacy of-“ 
        “Excuse me?” Luna  interrupted, her own magical aura overtaking half of Celestia’s. “Did I not just say that the fate of this crown is not solely yours to decide?”
        “Are you suggesting that you should be the rightful heir, Luna?” Celestia argued, strengthening her magical hold.
        “I am saying that because we are both her daughters, it is at least up for debate.” Luna sustained, matching her sisters hold.
        “I am the eldest daughter. I have had more experience in this nation, therefore I am more qualified to be its proprietary ruler.”
        “Being older doesn’t make a world of difference, sister.”
        “Let go of the crown, Luna.”
        “You let go, Celestia!”
        “Both of you let go!” A smaller voice screamed out, as a purple orb surrounded the crown and broke the hold that the two squabbling princesses had on it. The crown began to hover away from them, and towards the youngest princess in the room, the purple alicorn who stood looking between them with gritted teeth and teary eyes. “I am not going to sit here and watch my two elders bicker over something I would have been better off not finding at all. A thousand years have split you two apart, but after you reunited, your bond has been stronger than ever, hasn’t it? You two are better than this!” Celestia and Luna looked away from Twilight and to each other again, both of them looking ashamed of themselves. “I am going to hold onto this crown until you two work something out. No more fighting.”
        An ominous silence hung at the room. None of the princesses uttered a word for several minutes. Luna was the first to break the stillness.
        “Do you remember what mother said…” Luna began, her voice just above a whisper. “When things began to get bad? The day before she was taken?”
        Celestia looked her sister in the eyes, and nodded. “I remember. She said that being a queen and being a mother is essentially the same thing. That any trial that is presented to you should be overcome with compassion, discussion, and agreement. But…”
        “But, if your opposition cannot come to an agreement…” Luna continued. “Then you must fight to protect what you love.” The two sisters locked eyes as Luna finished. “I believe I am capable of ruling this nation just as much as you are, sister. And I am prepared to fight for what I believe is right. Are you?”
        “I do not wish to fight you, little sister-“
        “Nor I you. But I will do what I believe is best for Equestria. If you cannot say the same, then I do not see how you can bear the responsibility of that crown.”
        “Your mind is made up then?” Celestia asked, walking closer to Luna, and towering over her. “I cannot persuade you otherwise?”
        “If you believe yourself more capable than me, then you will need to prove it for yourself. “
        “So be it. In three days’ time we shall duel each other for the crown of our mother, and the right to preside over Equestria as the queen it deserves.”
        “Agreed.” Luna and Celestia each lifted a foreleg and bumped it forcefully against the one across from them, drawing a gasp from Twilight as she watched them settle on the idea of combat. “We should return to Canterlot so that we can properly discuss the terms of our battle.”
        “Come on Twilight. It’s time to go.” Celestia bowed her head and touched her horn with Luna’s, and began to draw her magic as Twilight scampered towards them and connected just in time to teleport out of the ruins of the castle along with them.



         Just outside of Celestia’s throne room, Twilight Sparkle paced at the bottom of the stairs, two royal guards posted on each rail of the steps. Every few minutes, Twilight would stop pacing and nibble at the toe of her hoof, unable to hide the anxiety building within her. After several minutes of agonizing worry, the doors were finally opened, and the princesses of the sun and moon stepped through, both wearing faces of stone. Twilight hurriedly pranced towards them.
        “What did you two decide on?”
        Celestia levitated a parchment with golden lining between them, and held it in front of Luna’s face. Luna eyed her sister and swayed her hoof, urging her to read it. Celestia shrugged and took a breath before she read. 
        “In three days time, Her Majesty of Equestria Princess Celestia, and Her Majesty of Equestria Princess Luna, will engage in combat over the right to crown that once belonged to their mother, as well as the title of Royal Majesty Queen of Equestria.” She read, as if practicing reading for an audience. Twilight winced at the announcement, any remaining hope that the issue could be resolved peacefully crushed in an instant. “The battle shall take place in the center of the region known as the Foal Mountains. There will be a small gathering of witnesses to this event: Princess Mi Amore Cadenza, and her husband Captain Shining Armor. Princess Twilight Sparkle, Element of Magic, as well as the other five Elements of Harmony, including and limited to Applejack of Honesty, Rainbow Dash of Loyalty, Rarity of Generosity, Fluttershy of Kindness, and Pinkie Pie of Laughter.”
        “And Spike.” Twilight interrupted Celestia, and the two princesses looked at her sternly, causing her to pull her head into her shoulders. Celestia looked down at Luna, and the darker alicorn nodded her head, lifting another quill and scribbling across the parchment. “As well as Princess Twilight Sparkle’s faithful assistant, Spike the dragon. The mare who yields, begs for mercy, or loses consciousness first will forfeit, and her opponent will be declared the winner of the competition. This document has been forged and signed by Princess Luna and myself, and requires witnesses- that would be you Twilight, as well as these guards- to sign their names as well.” The document turned itself towards Twilight, whose eyes quickly poured over the transcript and seeing that it matched what Celestia had said aloud verbatim. She used her own magic to sign the document, after which it was immediately passed to the guards on either side of the staircase who quickly signed it as well. 
        “With the presentation and signing of this document complete, the battle will take place in three days’ time.” Celestia presided, rolling the scroll up and tying a ribbon around the middle.  “Combatants may prepare in any way they see fit, excluding unnatural magical or supplemental aids. Twilight…” Celestia passed the scroll to the smaller alicorn who looked up to her with a worried expression. “We shall need you to look after this document for us. You are to be the sole proprietor  over this competition. Is that understood?” Twilight nodded her head grimly. “Very well.”
        “Celestia…” Luna began, her older sister turning her head to look back at her. “I think it may be in our best interests to avoid each other’s presence until the day of our battle.”
        “I think that would be wise, Luna.” Celestia replied with a stone expression.
        Luna tilted her head back and closed her eyes. “May the best mare win.” She said out loud, before turning away and leaving the other two alicorns in her wake. 
        With Luna gone, Celestia drew a deep breath and offered a reassuring smile towards her student. “My apologies dear; this day hasn’t turned out like you planned at all has it?” Twilight said nothing, and kept her eyes to the floor. “How would you like to spend some time in my bedchambers, and share a pot of tea with me, so we can let the stress of this whole thing blow over. Doesn’t that sound nice?” She asked, extending her large white wing and holding Twilight’s chin up.
        Twilight looked up at her mentor longingly. Her suggestion apparently did sound wonderful to her, but she closed her eyes and stepped away from her teacher’s embrace. “If you and Luna aren’t going to be seeing each other until… until the day that you fight,” Twilight said uneasily. “Then I think it would be best for me to do the same.”
        Celestia’s smile faltered at Twilight’s suggestion. “Why would you do that?”
        “Because you are both equally important to me, and I am equally against the both of you for coming to this decision. I am not going to show any favor to either side of this squabble.”
        “Twilight, please; you’re still most likely anxious about what has happened today. If you could take a moment to calm-!”
        “My mind is already made up.” Twilight interrupted, before turning away from her. “I am returning to the library in Ponyville. Please don’t try to contact me unless it’s dire.” Twilight began to draw energy into her purple horn as a magical wind overcame her. She turned her head just for a second, then steeled herself from taking one last look at her mentor. “Goodbye, Celestia.” She uttered before vanishing into thin air.
        Celestia looked at the point where Twilight had just vanished, her eyes glistening. Shutting her lids, she took in a breath with her voice raising a pitch as she inhaled. When she opened her eyes again, her face wore a look of cold determination. She turned about and stepped into her throne room, the large doors shutting behind her, and leaving the large hallway empty save for the two guards on either side of the entrance. 




        A beam of blue energy soared into the sky, passing right over Princess Celestia’s head. Another ray rushed towards her, which she avoided by jumping to the side, followed by another which she had to roll to avoid. Quickly climbing to her hooves, a rapid assault of energy began to fire at her, forcing her to sprint at a high speed away from. The assault moved in front of her, and Celestia skidded to a stop, before jumping into the air and taking flight. The rapid fire continued to trail her as she twirled through the sky to avoid being hit, zig-zagging to and fro in quick succession. Celestia looked down just in time to see a massive collection of scattered shots racing towards her, and she jerked her body in multiple directions to just barely avoid each one. Once the volley had passed, all was calm and no more beams of magic tore through the clouds at her. Celestia looked around the sky for anymore unseen bolts racing towards her before she concluded that the attack had truly ceased. 
        “Why did you stop?” Celestia called, looking down below her. 
A young alicorn with a violet and rose mane stepped forward and flicked her hair as she looked up at Celestia. “Because, you said I was to keep shooting until I hit you.”
“Cadance, I don’t have a scratch on me.”
“I’m pretty sure your hair was a little longer when we first started.” 
Celestia looked at her shimmering mane wafting from her head, and saw that at the very end of her shining hair there were in fact a few frayed and singed marks. Rolling her eyes, she conjured a bit of magic in her horn, and the burnt ends of her hair healed and resumed their previous majesty in her mane. “Fine then; good hit.”
“Are you alright, Celestia?”
“I’m fine.” Celestia replied hastily. Looking at her niece, Cadance wore a rather worried look as she stared at the older alicorn. “Well, maybe not so fine. I’m nervous. I feel like I’ve slowed down over my time ruling this nation. I’ve grown soft.”
“But you’ve been doing great so far.” Cadance encouraged.
“I need to be better. Luna’s most likely pushing herself even harder. Being her older sister, she sees me as a challenge she needs to overcome. She doesn’t know that ruling by myself for a thousand years has dulled my abilities from what they used to be.”
Cadance stepped towards her aunt and placed her neck underneath hers, drawing her head up above her shoulder in a hug. “You’re really determined to win this, aren’t you?”
“I have to Cadance. You know what’s at stake don’t you?” Cadance nodded her head. “Then you know why I have to win. It’s for her own good.”
“Do you really think that she wouldn’t make a good queen?” Cadance asked. 
“On the contrary; I think she would make a great queen. I’ve seen what Twilight has taught her, and how she has blossomed to be a firm yet kind ruler alongside me. She is every bit as capable of bearing the crown as I am.”
“Then… why are you so desperate to keep it from her? Cadance asked. 
Celestia sat back and looked up at the bright sky, and followed the sun which had only just begun its descent towards the horizon. “What happened when Chrysalis invaded Canterlot? Who was the first one that fell victim to her after she revealed herself? I did. I was overpowered and strung upside down in my own throne room, while Luna was off somewhere else. If she were to take a position higher than mine, that would shift the focus of a future attack on her. I couldn’t bare to have her face that kind of danger.”
“But it’s okay for you to be in peril yourself?” Cadance asked.
“I promised mother that I would look after her. She’s my responsibility, and I would rather myself be in that kind of danger over worrying about her.” Celestia rose to her hooves and tilted her head from side to side, stretching out her slender neck. “Let’s start again.” Cadance stepped away and retook her previous position as she began to conjure magic within her horn, and Celestia lowered her head, taking a ready stance as she stared her niece down. 


	
Beneath the black midnight sky, Princess Luna stood at the center of a deserted plain, with nopony else surrounding her. With her eyes closed, she channeled her blue magical aura to the tip of her horn. She grit her teeth together and her face twisted as if she were in pain. She opened her blue eyes for a moment as she cried out, a a shimmering replica of them appeared just to the side of her head. The new set of eyes began to poke out as an identical head to Luna’s jutted out of her neck. The new head pulled further and further away from her until a body matching its original took form, joined at the hip as it took on its form, until it pulled away and ripped from its joint, the physical tear healing between both bodies. Princess Luna looked to the side to gaze at what had just spawned from her with a stone-like grimace on her face, her new double returning the same expression. 
At once, the two princesses hunched down and sprung towards each other, Luna herself throwing a foreleg out to swipe at her opponent, while her double jumped to the side and spun herself around to counter with a spinning back kick. Luna had to sprawl all four of her legs out and hug the ground just in time to have the hindleg pass over her head. She used the time it took for her double to right herself to bounce off of the ground and ram her head into the chest of her attacker, sending her sprawling back. Bracing her hooves, the double grinned before diving back to her and tackling her to the ground. 
The two foes spun and rolled against the ground, thriving and swiping at each other as they tumbled so fast that it could no longer be certain which Luna was which. One took the offensive and kept her hindlegs sprawled on either side as she brought her forelegs down on her submitted opponent,  who put her own legs up in front of her face in defense. She quickly summoned a protective barrier and knocked her offender far away from herself. With a distance between them, both alicorns lowered their heads and began to build energy in their horns, ready to fire at once another at any moment.
Suddenly, one of the alicorns horns lost its magical flair, and found themselves propelled towards the other princess, struggling against their will as they flailed helplessly in the air. She found herself forced into the side of the other mare, and she began to lose form as she was painfully fused with her opponent, until there was only one singular Luna left standing, no trace of her sparring partner apparent whatsoever. Luna dropped to her knees and panted heavily, exhausted from the recent combat, as well as the energy her spell had taken from her. As she fought for breath, she began to hear a singular clapping noise from behind her.
“Well done, princess! Well done!” A jovial voice encouraged her. Luna turned to see who spoke to her, and saw a tall snakelike figure wrapping his eagle’s claw against his bear paw happily, leaning against a cactus that she didn’t recall being there in the first place.
“Begone dragonequus.” Luna commanded flatly. “We have not requested an audience.”
“Oh come now, I’m not hurting anypony. I’m just admiring the show you’re putting on. It’s a shame you stopped, right when it was getting good too!”
“The doppelganger spell is still not one that comes easily to me. It requires much energy, and that power is drained twice as fast if I’m fighting. Now please leave; I am in no mood to be bothered by your mischief.”
“Hrm, mischief.” Discord chuckled as he snapped his claw and a lounge chair appeared behind him as he lay back with a smoothie in his grasp. “You trust me even less than your sister does. I would hope you’re not as boring as she is.”
“Boring?” Luna scoffed. “Celestia is the one who says that I need to learn to have more fun.”
Discord wore a puzzled expression as he looked at her. “Which Celestia are you talking about?” 
“The same one who thinks that when we are ‘co-rulers’ of a nation, that it means she takes all of the responsibility, and lets me attend to all of the trivial matters of being a princess. The one who wouldn’t dream of letting me take even the smallest bit of real royal power for herself. The one who is so desperate to remain the one in charge that-!” Luna took note of Discord’s stunned expression as he stopped in mid-sip of his drink. Luna composed herself and cleared her throat before she resumed. “We apologize. The subject is still a bit sensitive for us.”
“I getcha. But, if it’s any consolation, I think you’re just as capable of ruling as she is.” Discord vanished along with his chair, and Luna turned her head to see where he had vanished to, before she noticed a looming shadow over her. “After all, it took the both of you to put me away the first time around, didn’t it?” Luna turned around and felt her jaw drop as she saw a giant stone sculpture of she and her older sister taking flight over a downed dragonequus, the two alicorns happily joining their horns together. The real Discord could be found on top of Luna’s horn sporting a beret with a hammer and chisel in his grip, chipping away at a few details to the tip of the shaft. 
Luna turned her eyes to the ground and allowed herself to smile. “This is true…” she mumbled to herself. “Dragonequus, we have decided that you shall stay, on one condition.”
“Oh?” Discord asked as he turned his head up from his work to look at her. “And what would that be?”
“We could use the aid of a most capable sparring partner.”
An ecstatic look came over Discords face as he smiled. “Yes! That’s what I’m talking about!” Lifting his hammer over his head, he struck the chisel rather forcefully, causing a splinter of a crack to spread throughout the giant statue and crumble in a rather large commotion of marble and dust. Luna shielded her eyes, and once the dust had cleared, looked ahead to see Discord balancing himself on a small tower of marble chunks on his goat’s leg, and adorned in a white martial arts outfit. “Come on then; show me what you have learned.” He uttered, extending his bear arm and beckoning her towards him. 
With an eager smirk, Luna jumped forward with the tip of her horn glowing. Discord leapt from his structure with a flying side kick. The force of his lizard leg clashing against Luna’s sapphire horn produced a burst of magical energy, one so powerful that it expanded and covered everything within the span of a mile in a dazzling and blinding flash. 

 

> Chapter 2
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------



	
Up in her bedroom of the Golden Oaks Library, Twilight Sparkle sat on her rump, her head hunched over a book. Her eyes furiously poured over the text in her copy of Equestrian Myth and Folklore. She was just starting to gloss over the tale of Beohoof and his victory defending Celestia’s dining hall when her head slammed against the parchment and she let out an aggravated groan. She lifted her head off the book just enough so that her magic could sweep it to the side and neatly on top of a pile of books next to her. For the past few days, she had been trying to take her mind off of the coming battle between Celestia and Luna by immersing herself in her favorite pastime. But no matter what book she picked, it could only hold her attention for an hour at most before her thoughts returned to the tension she had felt between the two sisters, and she realized her eyes were pouring over the text without really absorbing it. It didn’t really help that she had already read most of the books in her library at least thrice by now. She was wishing now that she had been able to arrange a visit to the Crystal Empire’s library for some fresh reading material.
She heard a knock at the door downstairs. Looking out the window and noticed that the sun was nearing the end of its decent, meaning that she would need to step out and raise the moon momentarily. She was at least relieved that at this time of day she wouldn’t have to deal with anymore patrons for her library since it was past visiting hours. Twilight stepped down the stairs and opened the door to whoever was on the other side. 
“I’m sorry, we’re closed for the day.” Twilight stated, then noticed the worried expression of a yellow pegasus biting her lip behind her pink mane. “Oh, Fluttershy!”
“I’m sorry Twilight.” Fluttershy uttered, her eyes shining as she looked at her alicorn friend. “I was just here because of the letter you sent me, about wanting to tell us something important. But, I guess closing up the library is more important. I won’t bother you if-!”
“Fluttershy, it’s okay. You’re fine.” Twilight reassured her, exhaustion apparent in her tone. 
“Um… are you okay Twilight?”
“Of course I’m okay!” Twilight replied, quickly putting on a false smile. “What makes you think I’m not okay?”
“Well, I know you were up in Canterlot with the princesses a few days ago…” Fluttershy began, flipping her hair out from her face. “Usually you’re so excited to tell us all about visiting with them, especially if you’ve learned anything new. But I didn’t even know you were back until I got your letter today.”
“I’m okay Fluttershy. I’m… fine. I’m fine.” Twilight replied with a toothy grin. 
“She’s fibbin.” A familiar country voice rang out, surprising both mares. An orange pony with a Stetson hat covering her blonde mane trotted up to the side of Fluttershy with a confident grin on her face.
“Applejack? I-I’m not fibbing!”
“Sure ya are. Whenever you’re tryin’ to cover stuff up, you start to question who y’all are talkin’ to, and you repeat yourself a lot.” Applejack pointed out, walking past the two mares and into the main reading room of the library. 
“I do? I mean, I guess I do. Yeah, I do.” Twilight muttered as she looked between her two friends. “But, that doesn’t mean-!”
“Which is why we’re so glad you invited us over!” A cultured voice chimed in, accompanying a white unicorn with a dazzling purple mane, and a rainbow haired pegasus and pink earth pony to her side. “We want to make sure our BPBFAE is back to her proper and cheerful self.”
“B-P-B… what?” the rainbow pegasus asked, touching down on the ground once they were inside with Applejack.
“Rainbow Dash! Rarity means Beautiful Princess Best Friend For All Eternity of course!” The pink pony explained. “She came up with it herself.”
“Actually Pinkie Pie, I initially came up with Prettiest Princess Best Friend For All Eternity.” Rarity corrected her. “But you wouldn’t stop giggling after I pronounced the first two letters of the acronym.” Rainbow Dash tilted her eyes up to the ceiling in thought, then begin to chuckle when the idea clicked. Pinkie Pie snorted and joined her in a fit of laughter while Rarity’s brow furrowed and her eyes rolled in disgust. 
Twilight looked at all four of her friends in her house- wait, four? There was one missing. Twilight did a head count and turned towards her front door, seeing Fluttershy still standing there looking at Twilight and the rest of her friends who had let themselves into her home.
“Um…” Fluttershy looked from side to side nervously. “May I come in?” Twilight grinned nervously and motioned with her hoof to invite the pegasus inside, closing the door behind her with her magic as she timidly stepped inside. 
“We all got your letter this morning telling us to come by around sundown, and usually your letters are super-duper long and full of a lot of big fancy words and stuff, but this time they were all teeny-weeny and right to the point. But I’m not supposed to say that to Twilight, because she might get all self-conscious and get… mad...” Pinkie Pie’s ears drooped as her four friends glared at her disapprovingly. “Whoopsie.” She said with an apologetic grin.
Twilight let out a disapproving snort, but cleared her throat and composed herself before she spoke. “Well, thank you all for being concerned, but I can assure you that I’m perfectly fine.”
“I, uh, wouldn’t say that.” A boyish voice sounded from behind the group of ponies. They all turned to see Spike sitting on the edge of the stairs, his claws holding onto the steps as he swung his tiny legs back and forth, and looked away from Twilight with a dismayed look on his face. “You’ve been worrying me for the past two days Twilight.” He explained in a soft-spoken voice. “When I picked up your bookstacks, I noticed that none of what you were reading was related in the slightest. Usually when you go on reading binges, you at least keep your subjects somewhat connected. I’ve never seen you so distracted before in my life. I’m worried about you, Twilight.”
Twilight felt her lower eyelid twitching. She tilted her head up and closed her eyes, while she raised her forehoof and put it to her chest, taking a deep breath. She slowly let it out, extending her foreleg out and then placing it on the ground again. “ I shouldn’t be angry with you when you had my best interests in mind. You’re really a sweetheart.” Spike moved his eyes up to her and smiled a bit without tilting his head up from the floor. Twilight then turned around to face her friends and offered them a smile. “Girls, it’s nothing you need to worry about. I promise, I’m not going to flip my house upside down or anything over it. I promise.”
“But that’s not why we’re here.” Fluttershy spoke up gently. “Even if you’re not showing anything destructive on the outside doesn’t mean that it isn’t hurting you on the inside.”
“She’s right, partner.” Applejack concurred. “Keeping your problems to yourself is almost as bad as lyin’: it just sits inside ya and festers until you feel like you’re just rottin’ away. And being your friends, we feel the same way knowing something’s troubling you.” Applejack trotted up to Twilight and gently prodded her with her hoof. “So whaddya say? If not for yourself, can ya at least put our minds at ease?”
Twilight took a moment to look at all of her friends, each of them looking at her with genuine concern for her. Twilight lowered her gaze to the ground and sat her rump on the floor as she relaxed her shoulders. “Princess Celestia and Princess Luna are going to fight each other the day after tomorrow.” She explained, all of them gasping in response. “You’ve all been selected to attend as spectators. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you until now.”
“My goodness…” Rarity expressed, her voice full of dread. “That sounds just aw-!”
“Awesome!” Rainbow Dash cut her off excitedly, leaping into the air. “Radical! And we get front row seats!”
“Rainbow! How could you be excited for such a thing?” Rarity retaliated, looking up at the pegasus with berating eyes.
“Why not? I’d love to see the two most powerful princesses in Equestria duke it out! That’s like, the match of the millennium. Ooh, I’m getting chills just thinking about it!” The excited pegasus wrapped her forelegs around her body as she shivered.
“But it’s barbaric! I don’t understand what would possess the figureheads of our nation to subjugate themselves in such an uncouth way of settling their differences.” Rarity glanced at Applejack who had her head tilted in concentration. “You don’t agree with her, do you Applejack?”
“I dunno.” The farmer replied. “Twilight, can you give us a little more context on why they’re fightin’?” 
Twilight nodded her head. “When I was visiting Canterlot, the three of us went on a personal excavation in the caves where Cadance and I were held prisoner. While I was there, I found this beautiful crown hidden in the walls. That crown actually belonged to their mother, who was the queen of Equestria a long time ago. Now they’re going to battle each other for the right to the crown, and the title as queen.”
Applejack offered an impressed whistle as a response. “Golly, sounds like the stakes are pretty high. But if it’s a clean fight and they ain’t gonna inflict any serious injuries on each other, I don’t see anything wrong with it.”
“I don’t think it’s a good idea.” Fluttershy stated in a loud whisper. “I don’t want to disrespect the two of them or anything, but I think seeing the two of them fight each other is teaching a very poor example to young ponies. And… it doesn’t really look good to other nations if they were to find out.”
“Hey, guys, anypony want to play a game?” Pinkie Pie called out enthusiastically.
“Pinkie, do you really think now is the best time to suggest playing games?” Rainbow Dash chided her.
“But I think you’ll all really like this game! It’s called ‘Don’t Argue About What We Feel, And Ask Twilight How She Feels, Because That’s Why We’re Here’. But I can’t really play it by myself, it’s more of a group game, you know?” The other mares looked unabashedly at each other, until they all turned to Twilight.
“Hey, Twilight… are you holding up okay?” Rainbow Dash asked gently.
Twilight looked up at all of them, and took a deep unsteady breath. “I… I don’t…” Twilight’s lip began to tremble and her eyes welled up with moisture suddenly. “I don’t want them to fight.” She said, her voice cracking suddenly.
“Come here, darling.” Rarity said sympathetically, wrapping a foreleg around the back of her neck in a hug. The other mares all crowded around her and hung their legs or their heads near her for support where they could reach her, and Twilight began to sob deeply. 
“I care about them so much.” Twilight continued to weep, her eyes shut tight and tears beginning to stream down her cheeks. “They’ve taught me so much about being a princess, and the thought of them hurting each other kills me. I really wanted to stop them, but they were so determined that I couldn’t stand up to them anymore. I felt so powerless.”
“There there, sugarcube.” Applejack soothed her, rubbing her orange cheek against Twilight’s neck. “It ain’t your fault. We know how important they are to ya. There ain’t nothing you could have done.”
“I’m so sorry, Twilight.” Pinkie Pie chimed in, fighting herself from crying as well. Twilight continued to cry, sinking down to the floor and breaking down completely. It wasn’t for a few more minutes until Twilight’s sobs began to die down, and she took a few deep breaths to compose herself. “Ugggh…” Twilight groaned as she picked herself up, her cheeks red and puffy from her tears. “My face feels like a mess.”
“It is, darling.” Rarity said with a smile, levitating a handkerchief to Twilights eyes and dabbing her face. “But I can promise you that I look much worse after I’ve been crying. You’re lucky you don’t have mascara under your eyes.” Twilight chuckled softly before Rarity put the cloth in front of Twilights face and allowed her to blow. Rarity hastily tossed the wet cloth into a waste bin as Twilight shook her head. 
“You girls are the best. I love you all so much.” 
“We love you too, Twilight.” Fluttershy beamed, all of them nodding their heads together. 
“Hey, I know it’s getting late, and I need to step out to raise the moon up in Luna’s stead, but…” Twilight looked about the floor before she continued. “Do you think you guys could stay, as long as you don’t have anything to do tonight?”
“You know what I think Twilight wants?” Pinkie Pie asked excitedly, all of the others looking at her in confusion. “It’s a lot of fun, and it rhymes with ‘Yumber Tardy’.”
“How’s about it, Twi?” Rainbow Dash asked earnestly, swooping over to her and nudging her in the side. “You think you’re up for a slumber party with all five of us?”
Twilight giggled joyfully. “That sounds wonderful. I’d love to have you all over tonight.”
“Woo-hoo!” Pinkie Pie cheered, reaching out to the side, and pulling out a small pink cannon on wheels which she aimed at the center of the room.
“Hit the deck!” Rainbow Dash yelled, each of them jumping towards the walls (Rarity letting out a vicious shriek as Applejack pulled her to the side). The cannon burst in a haze of glitter and streamers, and what was left of the mess was a collection of sleeping bags, chocolate, marshmallows and grahm crackers, a stand with various kits of make-up and facial mask creams, and stacks of board games all surrounding a small fire in the center of the room. The ponies stepped away from their hiding spots and gathered towards the party area, except for Twilight who stepped upstairs with Spike trailing close behind her.
“Spike, where are you going?” she asked. 
“I figured I’d read up on some gem cake recipes up in your room while you were down here.” Spike explained casually. “You know, give you girls some space.”
“Spike, you care just as much about my feelings as the ponies down there. You’re a part of this as well.”
“I… guess so… But, what makes you think I want to join a girly sleepover party anyway?”
Twilight scoffed and looked down at him with a doubting grin. “If you say so. I guess enjoying one of Rarity’s hoof-crafted smore’s does sound pretty girly now that you mention it.”
Spike raised a claw to offer a rebuttal, then paused as his eyes went wide, and he looked down below to see the fair unicorn using her magic to ease a cracker delicately over a toasted marshmallow over some chocolate. Slithering his tongue over his lips, Spike scampered back down the stairs in a hurry. Twilight beamed and trotted up the stairs and out her window to focus her magic on the moon, just as Spike reached the group of ponies, and received the snack that Rarity just happened to be preparing for him especially. 


	
The icy wind of the frozen northern mountain swirled about through the terrain, blowing over some of the crystalized dust that blanketed the land. A family of penguins enjoyed tobogganing down the side of a steep hill on their bellies all the way to the bottom to join their pack. Several mountains over, a lone polar bear dipped his paw in the chilled water where the surface of the ice had been broken, and tried his luck at nabbing some fish to make for a nice lunch. Up at the top of the tallest mountain in the terrain, Princess Celestia looked down and smiled as she watched the wildlife of the arctic scurry about its day. She heard the crunching of snow behind her as a pair of purple hooves stepped near her, and she saw out of the corner of her eye Twilight Sparkle sitting down close to her. 
“I never expected I would find you here.” Twilight commented as she looked about the terrain alongside her mentor. 
“I enjoy being here.” Celestia explained in a soft voice. “Along with watching the animals here, I absolutely love the way the sun hits the area, and its rays sparkle against the snow. Isn’t it beautiful?” She asked, watching the sun illuminate the snowy fields below them.
Twilight nodded as she leaned against Celestia, and snuggled up close to her. “’Tis a most glorious sight, princess.” She said, closing her eyes and brushing her head into her side.
Celestia turned her gaze down to Twilight, and looked at her nuzzling into her. Her eyes darted back and forth, and then she giggled. “You know, I adore giving affection when I sense somepony I care about is in need of it.” She went on, extending a wing and laying it over the alicorn at her side. “But I must admit, I’m rather puzzled as to why you would disguise your appearance… Luna.”
Twilight’s eyes opened and an uncertain look came over her face. “Pardon? I’m not sure what you mean.” Celestia turned her head to look at Twilight directly. The two stared at each other in silence, Celestia raising one of her eyebrows, and then Twilight sighing in defeat. “Oh, phooey.” She uttered, her voice dropping an octave deeper. A magical ring appeared at the tip of her muzzle and traveled all the way down her body, her purple coat and violet mane replaced by a more sapphire hue, and her blue mane swayed to one side to illuminate her twinkling stars in her hair. 
Celestia giggled. “You can’t fool me, little sister.”
“I am sorry.” Luna stated humbly. “I did not want you to think I was intruding on your dreams. And, I was also embarrassed that I was violating our rule of seeing each other before…”
 “I’m glad you did though.” Celestia replied before Luna could trail off. “I have missed you. “
Luna smiled up at her, and then turned her gaze away. “Tia… I’m sorry.”
“For what?”
“For letting my pride get the best of me. I was angry, and I may have said some things I did not mean; things that I regret. I didn’t want you to think I harbored any ill will towards you.”
“Thank you Luna. To be honest though, I never once thought you did. I knew why you were upset, and I understood completely even if I didn’t like it. I owe you an apology as well.” Luna turned her gaze back to her sister as she went on. “I made a decision without you when you had every right to be a part of it. I went behind your back because I thought I knew what was best, but that wasn’t fair to you.”
“… I forgive you.”  Luna said sincerely. “Can I ask why you did it though?”
“Because, I promised mother that I would look out for my little sister as long as I live. If I let you have that crown, then that means you’ll have grown up, and you won’t need me to look out for you any longer.” Celestia let out a worried sigh before she went on. “If I don’t have my little sister to take care of, then who do I have?”
A pained expression came over Luna as she heard her sisters’ confession. “You… you always have Twilight.”
“Twilight is a very special pony, and she will always be dear to me. But…” Celestia placed her hoof on top of Lunas.  “Nopony will ever be able to replace you. Never ever ever. You are my only little sister Luna.” The darker alicorn smiled up at her again and leaned her head in against her shoulder. “I don’t suppose this changes anything about tomorrow morning, does it?”
Luna shook her head gently. “No. I think it still needs to happen. By now Twilight has told her friends of what is to happen, and we need to honor the commitment we’ve made.”
“Agreed.” Celestia responded gently.
“But… I am glad for this moment, sister. I think we needed this heart to heart.”
“We did.” The two of them touched their muzzles to one another.
“Shall I leave you to your fantasies then?”
Celestia pulled her head over Luna’s neck. “I wouldn’t dream of it.”
Luna closed her eyes and laid her head across her sisters foreleg, Celestia keeping her head gently over Luna’s neck to cradle her. And the two savored the embrace of the other, as the sun above them disappeared and a gentle wave of lights illuminated the dark sky. 


	
The sun escalated just under the horizon in the sky, gently illuminating the wasteland below. The wind blew ominously through the wind, carrying small traces of sand throughout the air. The rocky terrain was vacant, save for Twilight Sparkle who stood in the middle of a mountain, looking below at Princess Cadance and her husband Shining Armor who stood with their heads lifted towards the sky. A large golden chariot flew through the air and touched down on the mountain behind Twilight and her brother. Her five friends exited their vehicle and gathered around her. None of them spoke a word between themselves, but instead offered Twilight encouraging smiles, which she returned in kind. 
Her smile faded when a shadow passed over her, and she whipped her head back around to see Princess Celestia gliding down towards the ground several feet to one side of Cadance, Princess Luna swooping in as well far behind her and landing on the other side. The sand crunched beneath  their hooves as they landed, and they each rose their heads and turned to face one another, their gaze locked in grim determination.
Princess Cadance glanced towards each alicorn, and then cleared her throat. “Before we begin, I will conduct a routine search for any unauthorized magical aids on yourselves, to ensure no foul play.” Cadance illuminated her horn, and a blue aura overcame Celestia’s neck, and moved its way down her body towards her haunches. 
As the crowd on the upper rocks looked down, a magical pop sounded out behind them. “Did they start yet?” An excited voice called out, the accompanying dragonequus looking over Twilight’s shoulder down at the group of princesses. “Oh good, it looks like I haven’t missed anything! Okay, all bets in! I’ve got ten bits on Luna, any takers?”
“Really Discord?” Rarity scolded. “Gambling on a matter as serious as this?”
“Oh lighten up, it’s all in good fun. I just want to make things interesting. You know, as if watching these two slug each other won’t be entertaining enough.” A red foam claw with the number one printed on the front appeared over Discord’s arm as he chuckled to himself. 
Twilight furrowed her brow as she looked to Discord out of the corner of her eye, then turned her sights back down below, where Cadance had just finished patting down Luna. “All clean. Now then, let me say this before you begin:” She said, Shining Armor scribbling on a piece of paper attached to a clipboard. “This will be a clean fight between the both of you. No matter how high the stakes are, you are still family, so keep yourselves in check throughout the match. If I see any excessive force on either of your parts, I will end the match and the prize will be lost to the both of you. Is that understood?” Both Celestia and Luna nodded wordlessly. “The match will continue until one of you gives up, or is no longer able to continue fighting.” Cadance turned to her husband, who levitated a small gong and mallet. “The match will begin at the sound of the gong. Fighters ready?” Celestia and Luna immediately lowered their heads and bent their knees, their chest low to the ground with their backs completely straight, their hindquarters slightly in the air. The wind began to pick up, carrying their mane and tails more viciously to the side as they stared each other down.
“Psst!” Up on the mountain top, Discord felt something tap his shoulder, and turned to see Rainbow Dash hovering behind him. She leaned her head in and whispered into his ear. “Twenty bits on Celestia.”
“Ha ha, you’re on!” Discord replied smugly, lifting his bear paw to bump it against her hoof. 
Down below, Shining Armor glanced nervously between the two combatants. Gulping loudly and closing his eyes, he reared the mallet back and struck the gong, the small crash echoing throughout the immediate area. Princess Cadance tilted her head towards Shining and with a quick spark of magic, surrounded she and him in a glowing field and quickly teleported away. 
The pair reformed on top of the mountain along with the rest of the group. Cadance jumped away from her husband who still had his head covered in his hooves, and joined Twilight at the edge of the mountain to watch the battle between their cherished princesses unfold. 
And surprisingly… nothing happened. The two alicorns remained just how they were before Cadance had teleported away from them. They were locked in a stare down, neither one of them moving an inch as their eyes burned into each other, hardly even a blink coming between them. 
In an instant, Luna’s form flashed out of sight. Celestia darted her eyes to the side that she heard the wind picking up, and lifted her left foreleg up above her face, just in time to shield herself from a vicious kick that Luna inflicted onto her. The force of her hindleg colliding with her sisters hoof rang out emphatically, sending a shockwave of energy powerful enough to push back the spectators watching down from their mountain platform. Celestia pushed her sisters leg away forcefully, and ducked down flat against the ground to avoid another swift kick above her horn. Luna quickly dropped to the ground with her foreleg extended, attempting to tackle the alicorn beneath her. Celestia spun on her left hindleg, turning herself about and out of Luna’s charge. With Luna’s momentum still stuck towards the ground, she had little time to avoid the force of Celestia’s right back hoof against her chest.  The sudden blow rang throughout Luna’s body, her jaw dropping as she felt overwhelmed by the powerful blow all at once. 
Taking advantage of Luna’s stunned state, Celestia whipped her body around and hurled a spinning kick to her side and sent her flying forward. She bounded forwards towards her sister who tumbled helplessly through the air and delivered a somersault kick to send her upwards. She immediately teleported up above her sister’s trajectory, and raised her hooves up as she anticipated her approaching target. Once Luna was a mere inches from her, she brought both of her forelegs down hard in a double hammerhoof, slamming against her back and send her plummeting towards the ground. The impact of Luna’s body shook the ground, and left a crater the size of a large wrecking ball, with Luna lying in the center motionless. 
Luna’s face scrunched as she struggled to clear the stars dancing in front of her eyes. Her eyes opened and looked up to see the faint image of her sister above her in the distant sky. She could see a building glow coming from her horn and pulled herself out of the hole just as Celestia released her magical energy and let it hit the ground with a powerful screeching sound. As Luna ran, she looked behind and saw the ray of light following her, picking up dirt and rock as it tore up the terrain. Celestia carefully turned her head to guide her powerful magic beam towards her fleeing sister. Luna aimed her horn up at her pursuer and fired six shots of purple magical energy. Celestia quickly cut off her energy beam, but the shots pulled themselves into rings around her legs and wings before she could evade. She found her front and back legs constricted, as well as her large wings, and she began to plummet helplessly to the ground. 
Celestia hit the Earth with a thud. With her limbs bound underneath her, she struggled to break free as Luna stepped towards her, a look of grim determination on her face. Merely a few feet from her downed sister, she bent her knees and then jumped high into the air. With Celestia in her sights, Luna barreled forward quickly to deliver a finishing blow. 
Celestia closed her eyes and quickly built up her magic in her horn. Opening her lids, her eyes glowed with a fierce energy, and her body projected a light so powerful that it blinded Luna in her tracks. With her concentration broken, the rings keeping her body constricted vanished, and Celestia rolled to her hooves, just in time to dodge Luna’s blind charge into the ground. She lunged towards her sister head first, and Luna regained her sight just in time to jump to the side. Luna reared back on her hindlegs, and began to conjure a spell, but before her magic could properly form, Celestia jumped up at her with her forelegs darting out and swatting at her face. Luna’s energy vanished from her horn as she hastily lifted her hooves to protect herself, parrying Celestia’s strikes as she swung her hooves toward her. Celestia’s chest bumped hard against Luna’s, pushing her back and forcing her to stand on her forelegs to regain her balance. She again rose her legs up to swat at Celestia, but her sister moved in enough to avoid her strikes. The taller alicorn wrapped her legs around her sister's neck, and bared her weight down to overpower her. Luna’s hindlegs wobbled as she felt herself waning under Celestia, and she desperately shot a blast of magic in front of Celestia’s face to shake her off. Luna jumped forward and slammed her shoulder hard against Celestia’s chest, sending her tumbling backwards. With her large form rolling violently across the ground, the sun princess quickly dug her hooves into the ground to bring herself to a sliding stop. She sprang towards her sister headfirst through the air, and Luna blocked her advance by clenching her horn against her sisters. Celestia’s charge was so powerful that she found herself pushed back at least a yard, her hooves digging through the dirt as she struggled to keep her ground. 
With their horns locked and grinding against one another, Celestia and Luna glared into each other’s’ eyes, each of them burning with intensity. Celestia bared and ground her teeth as she pushed forward; Luna wore a more reserved grimace, unrelenting to her older sister. The two of them wanted this; needed this. They began to realize that this was about much more than just the right to their mother’s crown. As the two continued to push into each other, the corner’s on Celestias’ lips turned upwards, morphing into a twisted eager smile. Luna’s mouth worked into a smug grin of her own. 
Celestia found enough strength to push her sister’s head to the side, and used the momentum to spin her body around and deliver a swift back kick, which Luna defended against with a back kick of her own. The two sisters reared their legs back and kicked again, meeting another clash. They began to unleash a furious barrage of kicks towards each other, both of them deflecting one another’s attack, until they both reared back and kicked so hard that they pushed each other away. The two alicorns slid back into the dirt and faced each other from afar. 
“Hah… hah… hah…” Celestia breathed deeply, keeping her eyes locked with her sister.
“Huff… huff… huff…” Luna found herself short of breath as well, her barrel expanding and shrinking with each bated breath.
“Hah… hah… ha… ha ha ha ha ha…” Celestia began to laugh as she raised her head up a bit.
“Heh heh heh” Luna began to chuckle as well. Soon, the two alicorns had their heads tilted back and were laughing jovially with one another. Luna began to compose herself, but still kept her emphatic smile on her face.“Enjoying yourself, are you Tia?”
Celestia’s shoulders bounced up and down as she tried to control her laughter. “Oh, Luna… it’s been so long since I’ve gotten to play like this. I’ve forgotten how much I missed it.”
“And to think; up until now, we’ve merely been warming up. Are you ready to fight me seriously?”
Celestia narrowed her eyes towards the princess across from her, keeping her confident smile. “You mean, no holds barred? I might…” She looked over to her right, seeing the crowd of ponies watching them from atop their cliff. “But not here. We’ll need somewhere more private.”
“Well then… shall we?” Luna flared her wings, and shot towards the sky, her sister following close behind. The two alicorns barreled towards the sky at a steady speed. 


	
“Where in the world do they think they’re off to?” Rarity asked, squinting through her miniature jewel encrusted binoculars levitating in front of her face. The group watched as the two princesses rocketed towards the sky and left twin contrails behind them, one blue and one a brilliant white. 
“Now they’re going to fight for real.” Discord chided eagerly. “Up until now, they’ve merely been playing each other. Testing the waters in a manner of speaking.”
A look of dread overcame Twilight’s face as she looked up at where the two alicorns had ascended to. “I’m going after them.” she declared. “I can’t let them tear each other apart!” Twilight flared her wings and took off towards the sky. She skidded to a halt in mid-air as Cadance soared in front of her, cutting off her ascension. “Cadance, get out of the way!”
“No. You are not going up there.”
“But look at them! Do you think they’re just flying up so that none of us can watch? They moving so they can fight even harder; they know there’s a chance we might get hurt if they fight down here where we can see!”
“I know, Twilight. And I don’t approve of it either.”
“Then why…?”
“You said it yourself: Because we’re going to get hurt if we go up there. You are going to get hurt.”
“Not if you let me go right now! I can still talk to them, try to convince them not-”
“It won’t work Twilight. If you were watching closely, you could have seen that fire in their eyes as they fought. They already know in their hearts that this is going all the way, and they won’t listen to you, or me, or any of your friends if they’re told otherwise. The best thing you can do right now is stay back and wait it out.”
Twilight looked up to her former foalsitter with pleading eyes, but Cadance’s face remained set. Twilight’s head sunk, as did her body as she gently descended to her place on the mountain top in front of her friends. Cadance dropped to her side and rest one of her wings over her back for support, as if it would do her any good. 



	
 The two alicorns dashed up towards the sky as fast as they could, each of them feeling the wind brush by their faces intently. Looking down and taking note that they were so high up that Twilight and company weren’t even visible in her vision, Celestia came to a stop and took stance on a large cloud. She watched her sister do the same on her own cloud adjacent from her. 
Celestia’s sparkling hair whipped up behind her as she bowed her head, drawing magic into her horn. The warm golden glow began to intensify and increase as its aura overcame Celestia’s entire body. The intense glow surrounding her began to take form, shaping into solid armor in the form of horse shoes around her hooves, sturdy bracelets across her legs, a robust breast plate with a ruby red jewel across her chest, and finalized with a sleek golden helmet, with a makeshift protrusion jutting out to protect the underside of her horn. Embroidered on each piece of her new gleaming armor was a spiraling sun, similar to the one on her flank. A few sparks appeared around her hair in the form of small golden cuffs, keeping her majestic mane and tail wrapped up behind her to keep an unabashed focus on her opponent. 
As Celestia’s transformation finished, Luna’s magic began to fluctuate over her body as well, in  the form of a dark mist that circled around her stance and across each of her limbs. Armor similar to her older sisters began to appear across her body; however, her accessories had a light teal color to them, and their form was more sharp around the edges than Celestia’s. In addition, Luna’s armor had another piece protecting her flank with a large silver moon crescent affixed to the side. 
With their transformations complete, Celestia pushed off of her hooves and charged towards her sister, a shining bright atmosphere streaking behind her as she rushed forward. Luna took a defensive stance, and the large metal crescent to her side shifted across her barrel and took stance in front of her. In the empty space of its crescent, a glowing dark force field appeared, just as Celestia rushed in and slammed her head against Luna’s protective barrier. Celestia found herself thrown back by Luna’s shield and tumbled through the sky. Once she had righted herself, she charged forward again with the same ferocity as before. Luna reared her crescent back to her side, keeping focus on the alicorn charging towards her. Once Celestia was in range, she heaved her head to the side, and commanded her weapon to swing all the way across.
Just before Luna swung, Celestia focused her power and pivoted in her trajectory, darting underneath Luna just as the metal swung above her tail. Celestia zoomed behind her sister, who turned in haste and fired a beam of blue energy out of her horn. Celestia barreled forward quick enough to dodge the shot, and slam her head into Luna’s chest. The darker alicorn flailed backwards, tumbling head over hooves as she struggled to right herself. As her head veered upwards, she flung her silver crescent forwards towards Celestia. With the object spinning towards her, Celestia rushed forwards and twirled and evaded the object with ease. She reared her hoof back for a left hook, and swung forward, just as Luna darted upwards and avoided her sisters swipe. 
As Celestia looked up at Luna, she heard a building whooshing sound behind her. Turning her head, she saw Luna’s spinning crescent flying back towards her. She hastily flew upwards and away from its path, but was then met by a sudden headbutt from her sister. As Celestia plummeted downwards, she felt the crescent bash against her as well and cried out in pain. Luna darted towards her and delivered a front kick to her breastplate. Celestia fortified her wings to stop herself from falling too far, and looked up to see Luna charging towards her again, retrieving her spinning crescent and preparing to launch it again. She rushed up towards her sister ferociously, and Luna tossed the disc towards her. Celestia whipped her hindleg forward and knocked her hoof against the spinning metal, with such precision that it was sent flying right back at Luna and whapped her in the face. She stumbled to the side just as Celestia paused in the air and pointed her horn towards her sister for another attack. In a panic, Luna whipped her crescent in front of her face, but Celestia charged forward before she could summon her protective barrier and slammed into the metal, shattering it into fragments and knocking Luna away. 
Luna’s eyes darted as she watched her weapon fall through the sky and disintegrate into a magic vapor, then disappear altogether. She gritted her teeth and charged forward at her sister, who charged her horn up in anticipation of her assault. 


	
Twilight and her friends, Shining Armor and Cadance, and Discord himself stared up in awe. Overtaking the entirety of the sky was a brilliant flash of golden and blue energy as each princess  clashed with the other, the sound of their attacks meeting sending a thunderous boom and an accompanying wind current throughout the area. Fluttershy kept her head hidden in her hooves, as she had done since the fight had started on the ground, Rarity doing her best to keep the poor trembling pegasus in the comfort of her forelegs. 
“Is this really their idea of keeping things ‘subtle’? Or do they want all of Equestria to know what they’re doing now?” Rarity fussed as she kept her legs around Fluttershy.
“Who cares? Let ‘em find out!” Rainbow Dash cried eagerly. “This is way more awesome than I thought it was gonna be! I’m just ticked we can’t see it for ourselves!”
“If it’s as rough down here from this far away…” Applejack began. “You really think you’d want them to be even closer to us with all this going on?”
Twilight felt her heart choking up inside of her. By now, Cadance had both her wings draped around her, pulling her close to her chest in comfort. Twilight’s teeth were clenched together tightly as she felt her eyes burn. She wanted so terribly to fly up there, rush in and demand the both of them to stop before one of them was hurt. She looked up at Cadance again, who merely shook her head at Twilight’s disdain. Burying her head in Cadance’s fur, she internally prayed to whatever force that would listen, that the thunderous clashes above them would come to an end soon. 


	
Celestia’s head rushed forward and met Luna’s in another clash, each of them trying to overpower the other. Their horns grinded against one another as they pushed, their eyes bloodshot and staring daggers at one another. Luna felt herself beginning to wane, the raw strength of her old sisters larger body beginning to get the upper hoof on her. Luna felt her head thrown down as she lost her struggle, and then was bashed underneath her stomach upwards. 
Celestia watched her sister tumble away from her towards the stratosphere, and began to channel her magic into her horn. She felt the strain on her forehead as she poured her energy into it, the sound of an intense vibrating generating above her eyes. Luna began to slow her ascent, and after seeing the force of her sisters charge beginning to overtake her body, she hastily concentrated her magic as well. Each of them poured the entirety of their magic, their energy, their very being into their stance. Celestia’s body began to glow a bright gold, as if she were channeling the sun itself into her body. Luna’s form took on a ghostly white twinkling, her eyes glowing red as she met her sisters glowing orange eyes. 
The two alicorns sprinted forwards through the air, the speed of their flight causing the wind to bite ferociously at their ears. They could each see their sister closing in on them, their faces becoming more apparent, and reflecting the intensity for them to win. At last, their heads collided, and the magic they had built up flowed out of their bodies and into their opponent. The resulting blowback caused a deafening explosion in the sky, as each alicorns form was lost in a blinding haze of blue and gold. 


	
The clear morning sky had been drowned out, and instead replaced with a sea of sparkling blue and golden energy. Not a word was uttered from the audience below as they looked helplessly onwards. Pinkie Pie was the first to break the ominous silence of the group.
“Look! Look up there!” She cried out suddenly, just as the sea of colors was beginning to fade. 
Twilight looked up at the sky, and saw it: not one, but two contrails of the same twin colors that had overtaken the sky a moment ago. The two trails plummeted downwards towards the ground, until they dropped out of sight. A soft thud in the distance signaled that the two had finally reached the end of their descent. Without warning, Twilight flared her wings and pushed off of the mountain, rushing towards where she had seen them fall.
“Twilight, wait!” Cadance called out, taking off after her, but unable to keep up. Following her, Discord slithered away from the rocky surface and unfurled his bat and dragon wing to follow them, Rainbow Dash jumping into the air as well, pulling Fluttershy behind her. 
“Hey!” Applejack called out to them angrily. “How are we supposed to get down?” Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy looked back to her along with Rarity and Pinkie Pie who looked up at them pleadingly, then looked back at Discord who kept his head forward. 
“Not it!” the dragonequus replied, zooming forward at an increased pace. Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes and hovered back towards the group, she and Fluttershy helping them down one by one. Once the three ponies had reached the ground below, they all three ran towards the direction Twilight had flown, with Rainbow and Fluttershy flying above them in the air. 


	
No. Twilight pleaded as she flew. No, please no. Twilight flapped her wings faster, rushing through the air faster than she had ever flown since she had gained them. No no no no no! Twilight gasped as she looked ahead, and saw a thick cloud of smoke and sand billowing up from the ground. She zoomed forward into the dust, her head darting from side to side as she searched. 
“Celestia!?” She called out, coughing as she fought to keep the blowing particles out of her throat. “Luna!?” Twilight coughed again, and decided that calling out wasn’t the best idea at the moment. Twilight lowered herself to the ground and kept searching, her eyes squinting to try and see through the haze. She pranced around the area, blindly searching for any sign that her mentors were still okay. She couldn’t see anything in this looming dust, she could hardly even speak. Her horn glowed with magic as she prepared a wind spell, anything to help her find them. As she squinted her eyes for the spell, she saw something:
Silhouettes of two downed ponies masked by the haze, neither of them moving an inch. Twilight felt her heart catch in her throat, and her magic immediately faded. She moved a hoof towards them, to dissuade herself that the worst of what she feared wasn’t true. She lost her strength and her legs gave out underneath her. She didn’t even want to create any wind to clear the area; she couldn’t bare to see them like this. Twilight sobbed with her head barely above the dirt as she cursed herself for being unable to stop them. It’s my fault. If I hadn’t found it in the first place. If I had been stronger, and stopped them, then they…”
Twilight’s ears flicked as she heard it: a rustling in the sand, followed by a loud crunch. She looked up and saw one of the forms moving, picking its head up and pushing itself up on its hindlegs. Twilight’s eyes widened as she watched the pony raise her hindquarters into the air, followed by her head as she tilted her chin upwards, her mane blowing out majestically behind her. Twilight jumped to her hooves and hurriedly bound towards the standing form, who she saw leaning her head down to the form still lying on the ground, and causing it to stir weakly. 



	
Princess Twilight Sparkle marched forward down a long ceremonial red carpet. The golden leafy crown she had found many days ago levitated above her head in front of her as she kept it aloft with her magic. Her eyes remained fixed ahead, only darting from side to side once as she neared the end of the tapestry. She looked to her left, and saw princess Celestia , with medical bandages wrapped around her barrel and keeping her feathery white wings to her side. She looked down and watched Twilight approach, her gentle smile lifting the row of stitches on her left cheek. Adjacent to Celestia was her sister Luna, whose bandages were wrapped around both hindlegs, as well as her head allowing her horn to poke through. Twilight reached the end of her march and stood between the two princesses. Celestia and Luna lowered their heads and bowed in syncrhonization at Twilight. With the crown still airborne, Twilight looked upon the two alicorns at her side. Twilight focused her magic, and golden crown slowly began to move towards its rightful place…
The headdress found itself raised high above the grand entrance to Canterlot Palace, and fixed into a small circular opening, where an image of two alicorns, one white and one dark, flew in an infinite circle around the new crown at the center. Celestia and Luna raised their heads and each focused a beam of magic that combined and formed a hard translucent casing to keep their prize up above the doors for all to see who entered through them. Once the material had hardened, Twilight looked upon the cerulean podium in front of her, and read from the golden inscription at the top.
“This crown once belonged to Equestria’s queen, the mother of Princesses Celestia and Luna. It now finds ownership under the two sisters, who rule their fabled home as equals. Let their teamwork be a shining example to their nation and its citizens.”
With her speech concluded, Twilight turned around and looked at the two princesses behind her. Their gaze was fixed upwards, eyes locked on the last remnant of their mother. Luna began to trot forward towards Twilight, wrapping her wing around her in a hug. Celestia made her way towards the two alicorns and draped her neck over the both of them. Taking a deep breath in each other’s embrace, the trio split up and moved towards the open doors and into the castle. The doors closed behind them as the sunlight glistened down and reflected off of the glittering crown in it’s crystallized case, and sent a spectrum of light across the moat in front of the castle.