To Make Amends: ~Luna V. Celestia~by FoxvoltChaptersOf Princesses and PervertsA Wing and a PrayerAn Eye for an Eye Leaves The Whole World CryingOf Princesses and PervertsChapter One: Of Princesses and Perverts -- The Sun-Baked Plains -- Ninity is not an astoundingly large number for any army. Ninety stallions could do many things, but it took hundreds to fight wars. Ninety was not the size of the army that Celestia had bid into battle, but Ninety was the size that were left after the first assault of the Lunar warriors. The battle had been short, brutal, and very bloody. Dozens of casualties from both sides lay strewn across a sun-baked stretch of earth, armors of both Gold and Astrum twisted and indented in symbolism of a soldiers' death for each one. This is what it meant to fight for what you loved, and this was the way to fight for it; Tooth-and-horn. "STALLLLLIONS!" A voice roared across the ninety sweaty, sore, and starved stallions before it. "ASSEMBLE!" Only minutes after a brutal battle between Gold and Midnight, one would think the warriors would take a moment to breathe, and recuperate before preparing for the next wave. Normally one would be correct, but these were Celestia's warriors. These were Spartan Stallions. The very best. Within moments, eighty-nine shining stallions were formed in a four-row semi-circle around him. "Vivat Solarem Imperii!" The voice of a very burly stallion yelled from atop a jumble of rock and stone, which served as his platform and podium; The Captain, as shown by several red-stripes across his breast-plate. "Defend the Empire!" He roared once more, straining his neck as high as it could go, and his fellow men did the same beneath the blistering sun. "For the Honor of Celestia!" They sang in unison, voices filling the hot air between them and the heavens. "Fight for your lives!" He shouted, waving his head back and forth at the crowd. "For the lives of our people, for their life means our own!" They responded, synchronization coming perfectly to the network of brothers from repeated practice. "Know your enemy!" He boomed, yelling this time at the heavens itself, as if to claim superiority over them. "The Mare of the Night! The Mare of the Night! Fight! Fight! The Mare of the Night!" "WIN THE BATTLE! NO MERCY TO THE ENEMY!" He roared in finality, rearing back on his hind legs and making a display of courage for his allies. "Victory at any cost! Celestia save them all!" They all yelled, cheering and raising spears high into the air, stomping their free hooves to shake the ground under their massive weight. They quickly dispersed into several groups to share sharpening stones and hammers, and a select few to be attended to by the lone solar mage mare that now also doubled as their medic. But no matter where they went, the words were the same. Death to Nightmare Moon. --Celestia's Throne Room -- Three battle-fronts. Three. For the sake of Faust, those Lunar finatics had a way with tactics, but to split their forces that thin was to commit suicide! Letting her mane free of its' braid, Celestia began to pace below the dias of her throne (something very seldom done in itself,) to ponder her next move. Her next move was already planned of course, as were the next three after that, but revision was key when it came to Nightmare Moon, as she had a craft for being brilliant in the lesser-noticed ways. Only two days ago she had sent twenty of her pegasi on an air-raid on the castle. It was suicide, she knew, and though none of them even made it to the inner-rings of the city (let alone the castle,) it distraced Celestia's troops just long enough to send a lone earth pony to sneak in the back and burn down half of the nation's food supply, escaping unharmed. Needless to say, Celestia had been furious at the occurance. 'What treachery have you bestowed upon us this time, sister?' She wondered in the safety of her own mind. Approaching the bay window on the far end of the room, she couldn't help but to stare at the boards right before the glass. There were far too many memories in that window... "Your highness," A voice unexpectedly interrupted, making her jump backwards suddenly. Looking back, she saw it was only Light-hoof, her courier. She had made it explicitly clear to her guards that she wasn't to be allowed company for the next twenty minutes so as to think. Concealing her agitation, she nodded for him to relay his message. "Your highness, Nightmare Moon has revealed herself at the Sun-Baked Plains." He said nervously. Celestia looked at him without any trace of emotion for a moment, making sure she wasn't imagining what she had just heard. "Nightmare Moon is fighting the Spartans?" She asked, slowly approaching him. A suddenly sweaty courier stepped aside as she brushed past, stammering "Y-Yes, Princess." "Thank you." She spoke calmly, opening the doors to her throne room. Once they had parted wide enough for her so pass, she flared her wings, and darted out of the room, and into the hallways. Startling more than a few guards, she expertly weaved through the corridors of wood and stone, until she reached the main foyer. Not bothering to open the giant door further than the sliver it already was, she cork-screwed through it, taking several chips of expertly-crafted Elder-wood with her. She flared her wings once more, and soared into the sky, and straight for the Sun-Baked Plains, with two thoughts to her. The first, the safety of her subjects. The second, 'I hated that door anyways.' -- The Battlefield -- "The Beast approaches!" A watchpony yelled to his allies from atop his captain's former podium, which now served as his watch-tower. "The beast herself, and the fury of her army follows!" There was a moment of disbelief lingering in the crowd for a moment. Every eye stared directly at him, and several jaws were slacked. Nightmare Moon has finally come? She's here?! One stallion closed his eyes, and raised his spear. "Win the battle." He said, opening his eyes once more. Several looked at him without expression. Raising his spear higher, he spoke louder. "WIN THE BATTLE." The other soldiers sighed and stood, spears in arms, and looking to each other desperately. They may be the best, but they were still no match for a Goddess, and they all knew it. In their distraction, they neglected to look up, to see an alicorn rapidly descending upon them. Even the Watchman wasn't looking up at the time, but even if he had, it was too late. She plummetted down, twisting last-second to land on her hooves, and sending a dust-cloud in all directions. None of the soldiers could see, and they all fell back, hiding behind whatever rock they could find. When the dust settled, an alicorn stood there, with ferocity in her eyes, staring at each and every one of them in turn. That alicorn was Celestia. "He said," She repeated, an acidic edge in her voice as she walked atop the large pile of rocks besides the stunned watchman. Raising a hoof in the air, she yelled in a magically enhanced voice, "WIN THE BATTLE!" The stallions, spirits reinspired with the presence of their leader, raised their spears high, yelling in less-than-unison voices, "Victory at any cost!" "THIS ENDS HERE!" Celestia boomed, tying her hair back behind her head. "THIS ENDS TODAY!" All of the stallions roared their agreement, raising spears and stomping the earth. Celestia allowed herself a smirk, if nothing more, as she watched her soldiers prepare for their final battle. 'Perhaps I should prepare as well...' She thought. Looking to the horizon, she saw they had minutes before the enemy forces marched in. Concentrating a moment, a golden aura enveloped her horn, and a worn crate appeared before her. Magically prying the top off of it, she found her armor uncereamoniously jumbled about it, covered in hay to keep it from rubbing against itself. It was glossed to a perfect sheen, and the levitated the helmet before herself, staring at her reflection in it. "I will save you, Sister." She whispered to herself, keeping her eyes and voice as level as she could. "I swear it, I will..." She closed her eyes, and took off her robes to re-equip for combat. Many eyes turned at the princess without her clothing on, as public nudity was not very common among royalty, but they said nothing. The watchman backed off of the rock-pile, but not before taking a quick peek at her majesty's haunches, and chuckling quietly to himself for being so sneaky. A golden aura appeared beside him, and curtly slapped him. "Mind your manners." Celestia spoke softly, without even turning around. A Wing and a PrayerChapter 2: A Wing and a Prayer -- Several hours into the battle -- Flashes of light shot arc'd across the sky in a flurry of magic, and feathers, ripped from their place, whipped behind the princesses' air currents, rejected their natural rights to fall to the ground for hours. The moon was the only true source of light as the two clashed in the air for their third straight hour. Both were now bleeding, but Celestia had lost the upper hand early when her sister had gotten a blast directly in her left wing. It hadn't taken Celestia out of combat, but it sure did sting with each wing-beat. For the moment, they both hovered, regaining their lost breath, staring the other down. Glancing down, they both saw that it seemed to be a stale-mate between their armies. Not that it mattered who won down there, either of the alicorns would have no trouble wiping the ground clear of both armies in less than a minute. No, this war would be over tonight, and whichever sister won would claim the nation as their own. Suddenly, Celestia charged silently towards Nightmare, and the unexpected motion threw her off. She evaded the blow, but just barely, and her right wing dragged her backwards in the air current, putting her in a tail-spin for a moment. In that moment, Celestia turned, and let loose a flurry of half-a dozen bolts of energy in her direction. Unable to correctly manuver away, two found their mark, painfully singing both Nightmare's left hind-leg, and super-heating her helmet on contact. Cursing as many things as she could as quickly as she could, she removed the helmet and let it fall to the battle below, later falling on one of her own mages, and knocking him unconscious. Looking up just in time, she once more dodged a charge from Celestia, only this time she was clever enough to ride the current and dive-bomb directly towards her. When Celestia turned around to charge yet again, she received a hoof traveling at over seventy miles per hour in her muzzle for her troubles, no magical barrier to cushion the blow. Nightmare used the shock value to her advantage, latching onto Celestia, and wrapping her wings around both of them in a binding, vice-like grip, holding them together as they began to plummet to the earth below. Celestia charged a blast, but Nightmare shoved her horn against hers, as they battled in a head-of-war while speeding towards the ground -- The lack of lightning and magical strikes worried both ground parties, and they began to look up one-by-one. Soon, the entire battlefield was silent, as their princesses accelerated towards the heart of the battlefield faster with each passing second. A few seconds later, one Lunar stallion had the sense to call out "Run!" before high-tailing it away from the scene, some Solar stallions in tow with them, some Lunar stallions in tow with the other party. One Lunar stallion limped slowly away, a spear sticking out of his leg, and it was clear that he wasn't going to clear the impact zone. Looking up, he shook his head, and said a few quick prayers to Faust before something scooped his legs from beneath him, and he found himself flopping around on the backs of one of his comrades, whom was now booking it from the Goddesses' landing zone. -- Celestia tried to let loose a teleportation spell, but found, too late, that Nightmare had cast a magic-supression ward on herself, and in her very aura. "You'll kill us both, you fool!" Celestia cried, though to deaf ears. Nightmare looked on as the ground rushed up to meet them. If she couldn't best Celestia, she was taking her down with her. "Vivat Noctus, Celestia!" She cried, a tear streaming into the current behind them, and a smile of insanity overcame her, as she cried as passionately as she could; "VIVAT NOCTUS!" -- Several Minutes Later -- The Lunar stallion stirred. His back leg was no longer sore, just numb. Looking down in a haze, he saw the spear was no longer there, but there was a slight tear in the wound; It had been pulled out. He shifted, and a screech of metal-on-metal rang for his ears. Looking down, he saw a robust pony in golden armor knocked out beneath him... But that meant... 'A solar pony saved me?' All around the battlefield, stallions Golden and Blue alike arose from their stupors. Some looked angrily at one another, but they all silently agreed that the will and power to fight wasn't there for any of them; This was a fight of the princesses, and the princesses alone now. -- Sore, tired, hungry, thirsty, things that make for an overall bad day, and Celestia felt them all. "Luna..." She whispered through the rubble- She wasn't beside her. Blinking the pain away, Celestia pushed a fair-sized boulder off of her, and rose in the middle of a fourty-meter-wide crater, coated in debris and her own blood from various cuts across her body. "Luna...?" She called, a bit stronger than before, beginning to scan the rubble, her blurred mind failing to recognize any of the shapes as her sister. "Luna... Luna..." Celestia kept repeating to herself, staggering across the shifting surface of pebbles and rocks. She was here somewhere- There! A bit off to her right something twitched; An armor-clad hoof attached to a dark-blue hoof stuck out from an entire layer of rocks entombing her foe. Without hesitation Celestia summoned magic from sheer willpower, and forced them, with an audible grunt of effort, off of her sister. Looking down into the small crater within the crater, Celestia's heart dropped; Her side was torn open from a jagged rock still lodged slightly in her, there was a bit of skin missing on her front hooves, and her head was swelling and bleeding with many more cuts than Celestia herself had. "L- Lu-" She stammered, falling to her knees, siphoning any energy she possibly could forth into a green aura that begun wrapping itself around the battered alicorn. "You're not going to die on me, I swore you wouldn't..." Celestia said. It wasn't a plea, it was a fact. "You are not dying today..." She had already been sapped of energy, but a severe healing spell had literally drained the Solar princess of every drop she had in her. 'I can't be done...' She thought in a panic. 'I can't be...' Celestia shook her head violently. 'Awake. I have to stay awake.' She thought. What could she do? There was no sunlight here, and she had no magic left to her... she was on the verge of collapsing, and she felt her eyes closing as she sank lower... 'Something... I need something...' 'No.' She thought. Opening her eyes, she forced herself onto her hooves. 'Say it.' She commanded herself. She remained silent, and shifted a hoof further out to steady herself. 'SAY IT, DAMN ME!' Her mind screamed to her. 'SAY IT OR YOUR SISTER WILL DIE!' "n-... not..." She took as deep a breath as a collapsed lung allowed, and looked to the heavens, eyes closed in the agony to follow. "YOU ARE NOT GOING TO DIE TODAY!" She commanded her sister, daring the universe to challenge her finality. With a scream, Celestia summoned every fiber of her being forth into one burst of extreme power, and channeled it into her healing spell. She felt as if her insides were going to burst from the self-inflicted torture, but through a slitted eye she saw the gashes sealing across the Lunar princesses' body quicker than Celestia's eye could follow. Before a few seconds had passed, Celestia did what she knew she had to, and pushed herself over the brink. "LUNAAAAAA!!" She yelled, the violent tears streaming down her face as she cast her spell, and collapsed, her body violently jerking and contorting in spasms of uncontrollable agony. She tumbled into her Sister's crater, and felt only rock. 'I'm so sorry, Lulu... Please... Please forgive me... I'm so sorry... ' Was all she could pray to her sister, before the icy darkness of agony-ridden sleep grasped her body and mind. An Eye for an Eye Leaves The Whole World Crying-- Chapter Three: An Eye for an Eye Leaves The Whole World Crying -- -- Present Day; Mid-day Court -- "... Third day in a row, as you can see here," The creamy white stallion expertly flicked a wooden pointing stick to a hanging graph to his left, emphasizing a spike of red on a line graph. " Which is making raising funds for the reconstruction project all the more difficult; This is where I must ask for your help, Princess." Celestia blinked quickly a few times, her tail flicking subtly behind her as she arose from her daydream. Was that the third time she had drifted off today? This had to stop... Shifting a bit to her left, the Princess regained her posture; Slumping was a very un-professional and un-dignified position. "Ah... Yes! Surely there can be some way we can reach an agreement; If you explain your situation to one of my secretaries, I'm sure they will be able to supply you with the relevant paperwork to suit your needs. Will there be anything else today, mister...?" " Handyman. Bill Handyman. " The colt smiled lightly, taking a humble bow. " And no; I believe you have helped me quite enough. Thank you for your time, Princess." She nodded, and he scuttled off to one of the desks of the nearby worker bees, sorting and stamping mounds of gibberish-embedded papers in record time in rows around the room. Once he had gathered all the information and paperwork he required to apply for government aid in funding, he trotted off through the large double-doors through which he, and every other entity, had come. One way in, one way out, fifty guards visible through the walk, another hundred concealed. The Sun goddess sighed, shaking her head lightly at the pointlessness of it all. There was really no need for such a mass of guards in such peaceful times, and no doubt an assassin whom attempted to enter would be halted by one of various protection and detection spells set up along the various halls twisting about the castle before even seeing a guard. Alas, security was no longer her department, and the head of it deemed it completely justified... 'Think of discord and it shalt appear,' She thought to herself as the large double-doors were swiftly shoved aside as a slightly smaller Alicorn-of-the-Night appeared before her, huffing and puffing from running halfway across the castle, from the western wing. Without bothering with the formalities such as acknowledgement and walking, a strong, single beat of her wings and she was before her sister on the throne. Holding a hoof in the air and looking at the ground, she silently pleaded a moment to catch her breath. "Sister; What might you be doing up at such unfausty hours? It's nearly noon, you should have been asleep hours ago." Celestia teased, though being sure to push the merit through with her tone. She had Night Court to attend to, after all, even if there were rarely any citizens desperate enough to travel to the capital and stroll through the castle in the dead hours of the night for menial favors; Most of those could wait until morning, even if it did mean being pushed back on a roster a day or nine. "S-Sparkle... *Gasp* - T- Twi... Oh, a moment, please..." She requested, kneeling. She really was out of shape, having no real reason to exercise since her return; Then again, the Sun Goddess couldn't say she kept herself in much fairer a stature. Though if Luna wasn't setting off alarms (again,) there couldn't be that much of a problem that she hadn't heard of already. After a moment of gathering herself, the Lunar Deity re-poised herself, and breathed deeply, reassuring herself that her heart was not susceptible to bursting. "My apologies, Sister, for the years have taken their toll on our flesh, what with all the nobles running the government day and night... Alas, I digress. Firstly, my apologies for the rude awakening-" "Excused." Celestia interjected, attaining an acknowledging nod from Luna as she continued. " Secondly, I've received a letter from your faithful student and her assistant; They request an audience with you at your earliest convenience. " Celestia nodded. " Thirdly and lastly; I wish to ask a... relatively large favor of you." Luna's voice trailed off, and she avoided eye contact for a moment. Celestia raised a bemused brow, but nonetheless remained poise and dignated. "Thank you for the news, I am sure she will be following up with a letter directly to me once Day Court is over. As for the favor, that will depend on the magnitude and justification, as you well know." Luna's whole body visibly twitched, though she turned to face her sister head-on, and swallowed. "We wish to take leave the day after next; We have made... Engagements, and prefer they remain private for the time being." Celestia shook her head, and began her speech on why secrets were not allowed and the seven curses that plagued crossings, but Luna quickly cut her off with a sharp "Listen!" Slightly taken aback at her tone and forwardness not used lightly between the two, Celestia leaned back, and closed her eyes, taking a deep breath to help her retain her focus. After a few tense moments of silence, she nodded, and a deadly serious Luna continued. " We know of the pacts we have made, and we know the consequences of such breakings of the pact; We may easily assure you that nothing we re involving ourselves with will break any ties or bindings between the two of us, but we simply request that we are allowed a day to ourselves outside the castle, Unmonitored," A sharp tone coated that last word, and Celestia couldn't help but take the full force of guilt from it; There wasn't much that Luna did that Celestia didn't send a guard or twenty to protect or spy on her, and it had become fairly obvious as of late. Once Luna was sure her words had the desired weight to them, she continued. " ... Unmonitored so that we may freely act without the breath of a fly weighing paranoia on us for fear of the judgement of our subjects." A tense silence lingered a long moment, and the sisters locked eyes, one set pleading, the other discerning. Celestia knew her sister well, and truly, truly giving her a night to herself with no guards watching her could prove to be a terrible idea in more ways than one; Especially after last time... Celestia shivered as she forced the less-than-desirable thoughts of her nephew from her head, and re-addressed her sister. "Okay." Luna's ears shot up and her ethereal tail began doubling over itself in excitement. " Thank you, sister!" She said through her large grin. With a pulse of her wings, Luna was upon her sister, affectionately nuzzling her neck with happiness. "I understand what this means to you, I truly appreciate your trust, 'Tia." Celestia smiled lightly, but no more. She couldn't bring herself to return the affectionate nuzzling, too lost in her own thoughts about the mare beneath her chin. A lot of things could happen in Canterlot, and a Princess such as Luna, with little social knowledge at that, was bound to draw some unwanted attention, presuming she was planning on what Celestia believed she was. 'She's my sister, and my equal. I have to trust her. If I do not, who can I trust...?' Celestia pondered sullenly, looking down at her sister, who was still nuzzling away. 'Wait, what is this vibration...?' Celestia wondered a moment. Was Luna...? Celestia jerked upright and out of her stupor, accidentally pushing Luna back a good foot in the process. Luna had just been purring on her! 'What did she- Why would...' Celestia scrambled " My apologies sister, I was unaware you were not comfortable with such displays of affection; I learned of it some days ago, I'm sorry if it startled you, I just-" Celestia held a hoof up, silencing her. The other hoof slowly circled her temple, attempting to numb an oncoming headache. "Luna, that's not something you generally do with friends. That's a symbol of... Love, not affection, sister." Luna's ears flattened, and her head tilted slightly. "But... We are sisters, are we not? Do you not love me as I so love you?" "That's a loaded question, Luna." Celestia snapped, her voice rising "I love you, as a sister. You know full well the boundries between a sisterhood and a mate, and this is not the first time you have played the fool in such an insensible act." Celestia's wings flared as she punctuated herself. "I understand your lack of interaction with other ponies may be upsetting, but it is NO reason to attempt to urge yourself to express this lack of emotional stability through me!" Celestia was standing now, though she didn't notice. She was hovering over her cowering sister, attempting to absorb what she had just said to her sibling. She blinked once. Twice. Three times. "L- Luna... I..." She stammered, "I'm sorry, I don't know why I just-" "i understand..." Luna whispered, unable to look up any longer. Instead, she cowered meekly in her sisters' shadow, visibly upset by her sisters' disapproval of what she thought was just a way of displaying her love for her sister. "i'll just... just go..." In a flash, Luna spun around, and launched herself off of the dais, tears trailing behind in her wake as she flew from the court. Celestia called her sisters name in vain, and within moments was left alone to stare at the doorway her sister had fled through. 'I've crushed her...' Celestia thought. 'I knew she was still fragile, and I just laid her out in front of everypony here... What kind of a sister am I?' Celestia's brow furrowed, and her gaze began to bore holes in the carpeting before her. Looking up from the regal floor decor, she found that all eyes were on her. The episode had halted all activity in the Court, and all the secrataries and clients with it. As the Goddess looked up at them, one by one they turned away, and akwardly went back to their work. Rising from her suddenly uncomfortable throne, Celestia announced an early Lunch, if so desired for the workers. Without waiting for comformation, she made her way out of the Day Court. She knew where Luna would be, and she knew she couldn't ignore her sisters' strange behavior as of late any longer. It was time for a heart-to-heart. 'I just hope I know what I'm doing...'
Of Princesses and PervertsChapter One: Of Princesses and Perverts -- The Sun-Baked Plains -- Ninity is not an astoundingly large number for any army. Ninety stallions could do many things, but it took hundreds to fight wars. Ninety was not the size of the army that Celestia had bid into battle, but Ninety was the size that were left after the first assault of the Lunar warriors. The battle had been short, brutal, and very bloody. Dozens of casualties from both sides lay strewn across a sun-baked stretch of earth, armors of both Gold and Astrum twisted and indented in symbolism of a soldiers' death for each one. This is what it meant to fight for what you loved, and this was the way to fight for it; Tooth-and-horn. "STALLLLLIONS!" A voice roared across the ninety sweaty, sore, and starved stallions before it. "ASSEMBLE!" Only minutes after a brutal battle between Gold and Midnight, one would think the warriors would take a moment to breathe, and recuperate before preparing for the next wave. Normally one would be correct, but these were Celestia's warriors. These were Spartan Stallions. The very best. Within moments, eighty-nine shining stallions were formed in a four-row semi-circle around him. "Vivat Solarem Imperii!" The voice of a very burly stallion yelled from atop a jumble of rock and stone, which served as his platform and podium; The Captain, as shown by several red-stripes across his breast-plate. "Defend the Empire!" He roared once more, straining his neck as high as it could go, and his fellow men did the same beneath the blistering sun. "For the Honor of Celestia!" They sang in unison, voices filling the hot air between them and the heavens. "Fight for your lives!" He shouted, waving his head back and forth at the crowd. "For the lives of our people, for their life means our own!" They responded, synchronization coming perfectly to the network of brothers from repeated practice. "Know your enemy!" He boomed, yelling this time at the heavens itself, as if to claim superiority over them. "The Mare of the Night! The Mare of the Night! Fight! Fight! The Mare of the Night!" "WIN THE BATTLE! NO MERCY TO THE ENEMY!" He roared in finality, rearing back on his hind legs and making a display of courage for his allies. "Victory at any cost! Celestia save them all!" They all yelled, cheering and raising spears high into the air, stomping their free hooves to shake the ground under their massive weight. They quickly dispersed into several groups to share sharpening stones and hammers, and a select few to be attended to by the lone solar mage mare that now also doubled as their medic. But no matter where they went, the words were the same. Death to Nightmare Moon. --Celestia's Throne Room -- Three battle-fronts. Three. For the sake of Faust, those Lunar finatics had a way with tactics, but to split their forces that thin was to commit suicide! Letting her mane free of its' braid, Celestia began to pace below the dias of her throne (something very seldom done in itself,) to ponder her next move. Her next move was already planned of course, as were the next three after that, but revision was key when it came to Nightmare Moon, as she had a craft for being brilliant in the lesser-noticed ways. Only two days ago she had sent twenty of her pegasi on an air-raid on the castle. It was suicide, she knew, and though none of them even made it to the inner-rings of the city (let alone the castle,) it distraced Celestia's troops just long enough to send a lone earth pony to sneak in the back and burn down half of the nation's food supply, escaping unharmed. Needless to say, Celestia had been furious at the occurance. 'What treachery have you bestowed upon us this time, sister?' She wondered in the safety of her own mind. Approaching the bay window on the far end of the room, she couldn't help but to stare at the boards right before the glass. There were far too many memories in that window... "Your highness," A voice unexpectedly interrupted, making her jump backwards suddenly. Looking back, she saw it was only Light-hoof, her courier. She had made it explicitly clear to her guards that she wasn't to be allowed company for the next twenty minutes so as to think. Concealing her agitation, she nodded for him to relay his message. "Your highness, Nightmare Moon has revealed herself at the Sun-Baked Plains." He said nervously. Celestia looked at him without any trace of emotion for a moment, making sure she wasn't imagining what she had just heard. "Nightmare Moon is fighting the Spartans?" She asked, slowly approaching him. A suddenly sweaty courier stepped aside as she brushed past, stammering "Y-Yes, Princess." "Thank you." She spoke calmly, opening the doors to her throne room. Once they had parted wide enough for her so pass, she flared her wings, and darted out of the room, and into the hallways. Startling more than a few guards, she expertly weaved through the corridors of wood and stone, until she reached the main foyer. Not bothering to open the giant door further than the sliver it already was, she cork-screwed through it, taking several chips of expertly-crafted Elder-wood with her. She flared her wings once more, and soared into the sky, and straight for the Sun-Baked Plains, with two thoughts to her. The first, the safety of her subjects. The second, 'I hated that door anyways.' -- The Battlefield -- "The Beast approaches!" A watchpony yelled to his allies from atop his captain's former podium, which now served as his watch-tower. "The beast herself, and the fury of her army follows!" There was a moment of disbelief lingering in the crowd for a moment. Every eye stared directly at him, and several jaws were slacked. Nightmare Moon has finally come? She's here?! One stallion closed his eyes, and raised his spear. "Win the battle." He said, opening his eyes once more. Several looked at him without expression. Raising his spear higher, he spoke louder. "WIN THE BATTLE." The other soldiers sighed and stood, spears in arms, and looking to each other desperately. They may be the best, but they were still no match for a Goddess, and they all knew it. In their distraction, they neglected to look up, to see an alicorn rapidly descending upon them. Even the Watchman wasn't looking up at the time, but even if he had, it was too late. She plummetted down, twisting last-second to land on her hooves, and sending a dust-cloud in all directions. None of the soldiers could see, and they all fell back, hiding behind whatever rock they could find. When the dust settled, an alicorn stood there, with ferocity in her eyes, staring at each and every one of them in turn. That alicorn was Celestia. "He said," She repeated, an acidic edge in her voice as she walked atop the large pile of rocks besides the stunned watchman. Raising a hoof in the air, she yelled in a magically enhanced voice, "WIN THE BATTLE!" The stallions, spirits reinspired with the presence of their leader, raised their spears high, yelling in less-than-unison voices, "Victory at any cost!" "THIS ENDS HERE!" Celestia boomed, tying her hair back behind her head. "THIS ENDS TODAY!" All of the stallions roared their agreement, raising spears and stomping the earth. Celestia allowed herself a smirk, if nothing more, as she watched her soldiers prepare for their final battle. 'Perhaps I should prepare as well...' She thought. Looking to the horizon, she saw they had minutes before the enemy forces marched in. Concentrating a moment, a golden aura enveloped her horn, and a worn crate appeared before her. Magically prying the top off of it, she found her armor uncereamoniously jumbled about it, covered in hay to keep it from rubbing against itself. It was glossed to a perfect sheen, and the levitated the helmet before herself, staring at her reflection in it. "I will save you, Sister." She whispered to herself, keeping her eyes and voice as level as she could. "I swear it, I will..." She closed her eyes, and took off her robes to re-equip for combat. Many eyes turned at the princess without her clothing on, as public nudity was not very common among royalty, but they said nothing. The watchman backed off of the rock-pile, but not before taking a quick peek at her majesty's haunches, and chuckling quietly to himself for being so sneaky. A golden aura appeared beside him, and curtly slapped him. "Mind your manners." Celestia spoke softly, without even turning around.
A Wing and a PrayerChapter 2: A Wing and a Prayer -- Several hours into the battle -- Flashes of light shot arc'd across the sky in a flurry of magic, and feathers, ripped from their place, whipped behind the princesses' air currents, rejected their natural rights to fall to the ground for hours. The moon was the only true source of light as the two clashed in the air for their third straight hour. Both were now bleeding, but Celestia had lost the upper hand early when her sister had gotten a blast directly in her left wing. It hadn't taken Celestia out of combat, but it sure did sting with each wing-beat. For the moment, they both hovered, regaining their lost breath, staring the other down. Glancing down, they both saw that it seemed to be a stale-mate between their armies. Not that it mattered who won down there, either of the alicorns would have no trouble wiping the ground clear of both armies in less than a minute. No, this war would be over tonight, and whichever sister won would claim the nation as their own. Suddenly, Celestia charged silently towards Nightmare, and the unexpected motion threw her off. She evaded the blow, but just barely, and her right wing dragged her backwards in the air current, putting her in a tail-spin for a moment. In that moment, Celestia turned, and let loose a flurry of half-a dozen bolts of energy in her direction. Unable to correctly manuver away, two found their mark, painfully singing both Nightmare's left hind-leg, and super-heating her helmet on contact. Cursing as many things as she could as quickly as she could, she removed the helmet and let it fall to the battle below, later falling on one of her own mages, and knocking him unconscious. Looking up just in time, she once more dodged a charge from Celestia, only this time she was clever enough to ride the current and dive-bomb directly towards her. When Celestia turned around to charge yet again, she received a hoof traveling at over seventy miles per hour in her muzzle for her troubles, no magical barrier to cushion the blow. Nightmare used the shock value to her advantage, latching onto Celestia, and wrapping her wings around both of them in a binding, vice-like grip, holding them together as they began to plummet to the earth below. Celestia charged a blast, but Nightmare shoved her horn against hers, as they battled in a head-of-war while speeding towards the ground -- The lack of lightning and magical strikes worried both ground parties, and they began to look up one-by-one. Soon, the entire battlefield was silent, as their princesses accelerated towards the heart of the battlefield faster with each passing second. A few seconds later, one Lunar stallion had the sense to call out "Run!" before high-tailing it away from the scene, some Solar stallions in tow with them, some Lunar stallions in tow with the other party. One Lunar stallion limped slowly away, a spear sticking out of his leg, and it was clear that he wasn't going to clear the impact zone. Looking up, he shook his head, and said a few quick prayers to Faust before something scooped his legs from beneath him, and he found himself flopping around on the backs of one of his comrades, whom was now booking it from the Goddesses' landing zone. -- Celestia tried to let loose a teleportation spell, but found, too late, that Nightmare had cast a magic-supression ward on herself, and in her very aura. "You'll kill us both, you fool!" Celestia cried, though to deaf ears. Nightmare looked on as the ground rushed up to meet them. If she couldn't best Celestia, she was taking her down with her. "Vivat Noctus, Celestia!" She cried, a tear streaming into the current behind them, and a smile of insanity overcame her, as she cried as passionately as she could; "VIVAT NOCTUS!" -- Several Minutes Later -- The Lunar stallion stirred. His back leg was no longer sore, just numb. Looking down in a haze, he saw the spear was no longer there, but there was a slight tear in the wound; It had been pulled out. He shifted, and a screech of metal-on-metal rang for his ears. Looking down, he saw a robust pony in golden armor knocked out beneath him... But that meant... 'A solar pony saved me?' All around the battlefield, stallions Golden and Blue alike arose from their stupors. Some looked angrily at one another, but they all silently agreed that the will and power to fight wasn't there for any of them; This was a fight of the princesses, and the princesses alone now. -- Sore, tired, hungry, thirsty, things that make for an overall bad day, and Celestia felt them all. "Luna..." She whispered through the rubble- She wasn't beside her. Blinking the pain away, Celestia pushed a fair-sized boulder off of her, and rose in the middle of a fourty-meter-wide crater, coated in debris and her own blood from various cuts across her body. "Luna...?" She called, a bit stronger than before, beginning to scan the rubble, her blurred mind failing to recognize any of the shapes as her sister. "Luna... Luna..." Celestia kept repeating to herself, staggering across the shifting surface of pebbles and rocks. She was here somewhere- There! A bit off to her right something twitched; An armor-clad hoof attached to a dark-blue hoof stuck out from an entire layer of rocks entombing her foe. Without hesitation Celestia summoned magic from sheer willpower, and forced them, with an audible grunt of effort, off of her sister. Looking down into the small crater within the crater, Celestia's heart dropped; Her side was torn open from a jagged rock still lodged slightly in her, there was a bit of skin missing on her front hooves, and her head was swelling and bleeding with many more cuts than Celestia herself had. "L- Lu-" She stammered, falling to her knees, siphoning any energy she possibly could forth into a green aura that begun wrapping itself around the battered alicorn. "You're not going to die on me, I swore you wouldn't..." Celestia said. It wasn't a plea, it was a fact. "You are not dying today..." She had already been sapped of energy, but a severe healing spell had literally drained the Solar princess of every drop she had in her. 'I can't be done...' She thought in a panic. 'I can't be...' Celestia shook her head violently. 'Awake. I have to stay awake.' She thought. What could she do? There was no sunlight here, and she had no magic left to her... she was on the verge of collapsing, and she felt her eyes closing as she sank lower... 'Something... I need something...' 'No.' She thought. Opening her eyes, she forced herself onto her hooves. 'Say it.' She commanded herself. She remained silent, and shifted a hoof further out to steady herself. 'SAY IT, DAMN ME!' Her mind screamed to her. 'SAY IT OR YOUR SISTER WILL DIE!' "n-... not..." She took as deep a breath as a collapsed lung allowed, and looked to the heavens, eyes closed in the agony to follow. "YOU ARE NOT GOING TO DIE TODAY!" She commanded her sister, daring the universe to challenge her finality. With a scream, Celestia summoned every fiber of her being forth into one burst of extreme power, and channeled it into her healing spell. She felt as if her insides were going to burst from the self-inflicted torture, but through a slitted eye she saw the gashes sealing across the Lunar princesses' body quicker than Celestia's eye could follow. Before a few seconds had passed, Celestia did what she knew she had to, and pushed herself over the brink. "LUNAAAAAA!!" She yelled, the violent tears streaming down her face as she cast her spell, and collapsed, her body violently jerking and contorting in spasms of uncontrollable agony. She tumbled into her Sister's crater, and felt only rock. 'I'm so sorry, Lulu... Please... Please forgive me... I'm so sorry... ' Was all she could pray to her sister, before the icy darkness of agony-ridden sleep grasped her body and mind.
An Eye for an Eye Leaves The Whole World Crying-- Chapter Three: An Eye for an Eye Leaves The Whole World Crying -- -- Present Day; Mid-day Court -- "... Third day in a row, as you can see here," The creamy white stallion expertly flicked a wooden pointing stick to a hanging graph to his left, emphasizing a spike of red on a line graph. " Which is making raising funds for the reconstruction project all the more difficult; This is where I must ask for your help, Princess." Celestia blinked quickly a few times, her tail flicking subtly behind her as she arose from her daydream. Was that the third time she had drifted off today? This had to stop... Shifting a bit to her left, the Princess regained her posture; Slumping was a very un-professional and un-dignified position. "Ah... Yes! Surely there can be some way we can reach an agreement; If you explain your situation to one of my secretaries, I'm sure they will be able to supply you with the relevant paperwork to suit your needs. Will there be anything else today, mister...?" " Handyman. Bill Handyman. " The colt smiled lightly, taking a humble bow. " And no; I believe you have helped me quite enough. Thank you for your time, Princess." She nodded, and he scuttled off to one of the desks of the nearby worker bees, sorting and stamping mounds of gibberish-embedded papers in record time in rows around the room. Once he had gathered all the information and paperwork he required to apply for government aid in funding, he trotted off through the large double-doors through which he, and every other entity, had come. One way in, one way out, fifty guards visible through the walk, another hundred concealed. The Sun goddess sighed, shaking her head lightly at the pointlessness of it all. There was really no need for such a mass of guards in such peaceful times, and no doubt an assassin whom attempted to enter would be halted by one of various protection and detection spells set up along the various halls twisting about the castle before even seeing a guard. Alas, security was no longer her department, and the head of it deemed it completely justified... 'Think of discord and it shalt appear,' She thought to herself as the large double-doors were swiftly shoved aside as a slightly smaller Alicorn-of-the-Night appeared before her, huffing and puffing from running halfway across the castle, from the western wing. Without bothering with the formalities such as acknowledgement and walking, a strong, single beat of her wings and she was before her sister on the throne. Holding a hoof in the air and looking at the ground, she silently pleaded a moment to catch her breath. "Sister; What might you be doing up at such unfausty hours? It's nearly noon, you should have been asleep hours ago." Celestia teased, though being sure to push the merit through with her tone. She had Night Court to attend to, after all, even if there were rarely any citizens desperate enough to travel to the capital and stroll through the castle in the dead hours of the night for menial favors; Most of those could wait until morning, even if it did mean being pushed back on a roster a day or nine. "S-Sparkle... *Gasp* - T- Twi... Oh, a moment, please..." She requested, kneeling. She really was out of shape, having no real reason to exercise since her return; Then again, the Sun Goddess couldn't say she kept herself in much fairer a stature. Though if Luna wasn't setting off alarms (again,) there couldn't be that much of a problem that she hadn't heard of already. After a moment of gathering herself, the Lunar Deity re-poised herself, and breathed deeply, reassuring herself that her heart was not susceptible to bursting. "My apologies, Sister, for the years have taken their toll on our flesh, what with all the nobles running the government day and night... Alas, I digress. Firstly, my apologies for the rude awakening-" "Excused." Celestia interjected, attaining an acknowledging nod from Luna as she continued. " Secondly, I've received a letter from your faithful student and her assistant; They request an audience with you at your earliest convenience. " Celestia nodded. " Thirdly and lastly; I wish to ask a... relatively large favor of you." Luna's voice trailed off, and she avoided eye contact for a moment. Celestia raised a bemused brow, but nonetheless remained poise and dignated. "Thank you for the news, I am sure she will be following up with a letter directly to me once Day Court is over. As for the favor, that will depend on the magnitude and justification, as you well know." Luna's whole body visibly twitched, though she turned to face her sister head-on, and swallowed. "We wish to take leave the day after next; We have made... Engagements, and prefer they remain private for the time being." Celestia shook her head, and began her speech on why secrets were not allowed and the seven curses that plagued crossings, but Luna quickly cut her off with a sharp "Listen!" Slightly taken aback at her tone and forwardness not used lightly between the two, Celestia leaned back, and closed her eyes, taking a deep breath to help her retain her focus. After a few tense moments of silence, she nodded, and a deadly serious Luna continued. " We know of the pacts we have made, and we know the consequences of such breakings of the pact; We may easily assure you that nothing we re involving ourselves with will break any ties or bindings between the two of us, but we simply request that we are allowed a day to ourselves outside the castle, Unmonitored," A sharp tone coated that last word, and Celestia couldn't help but take the full force of guilt from it; There wasn't much that Luna did that Celestia didn't send a guard or twenty to protect or spy on her, and it had become fairly obvious as of late. Once Luna was sure her words had the desired weight to them, she continued. " ... Unmonitored so that we may freely act without the breath of a fly weighing paranoia on us for fear of the judgement of our subjects." A tense silence lingered a long moment, and the sisters locked eyes, one set pleading, the other discerning. Celestia knew her sister well, and truly, truly giving her a night to herself with no guards watching her could prove to be a terrible idea in more ways than one; Especially after last time... Celestia shivered as she forced the less-than-desirable thoughts of her nephew from her head, and re-addressed her sister. "Okay." Luna's ears shot up and her ethereal tail began doubling over itself in excitement. " Thank you, sister!" She said through her large grin. With a pulse of her wings, Luna was upon her sister, affectionately nuzzling her neck with happiness. "I understand what this means to you, I truly appreciate your trust, 'Tia." Celestia smiled lightly, but no more. She couldn't bring herself to return the affectionate nuzzling, too lost in her own thoughts about the mare beneath her chin. A lot of things could happen in Canterlot, and a Princess such as Luna, with little social knowledge at that, was bound to draw some unwanted attention, presuming she was planning on what Celestia believed she was. 'She's my sister, and my equal. I have to trust her. If I do not, who can I trust...?' Celestia pondered sullenly, looking down at her sister, who was still nuzzling away. 'Wait, what is this vibration...?' Celestia wondered a moment. Was Luna...? Celestia jerked upright and out of her stupor, accidentally pushing Luna back a good foot in the process. Luna had just been purring on her! 'What did she- Why would...' Celestia scrambled " My apologies sister, I was unaware you were not comfortable with such displays of affection; I learned of it some days ago, I'm sorry if it startled you, I just-" Celestia held a hoof up, silencing her. The other hoof slowly circled her temple, attempting to numb an oncoming headache. "Luna, that's not something you generally do with friends. That's a symbol of... Love, not affection, sister." Luna's ears flattened, and her head tilted slightly. "But... We are sisters, are we not? Do you not love me as I so love you?" "That's a loaded question, Luna." Celestia snapped, her voice rising "I love you, as a sister. You know full well the boundries between a sisterhood and a mate, and this is not the first time you have played the fool in such an insensible act." Celestia's wings flared as she punctuated herself. "I understand your lack of interaction with other ponies may be upsetting, but it is NO reason to attempt to urge yourself to express this lack of emotional stability through me!" Celestia was standing now, though she didn't notice. She was hovering over her cowering sister, attempting to absorb what she had just said to her sibling. She blinked once. Twice. Three times. "L- Luna... I..." She stammered, "I'm sorry, I don't know why I just-" "i understand..." Luna whispered, unable to look up any longer. Instead, she cowered meekly in her sisters' shadow, visibly upset by her sisters' disapproval of what she thought was just a way of displaying her love for her sister. "i'll just... just go..." In a flash, Luna spun around, and launched herself off of the dais, tears trailing behind in her wake as she flew from the court. Celestia called her sisters name in vain, and within moments was left alone to stare at the doorway her sister had fled through. 'I've crushed her...' Celestia thought. 'I knew she was still fragile, and I just laid her out in front of everypony here... What kind of a sister am I?' Celestia's brow furrowed, and her gaze began to bore holes in the carpeting before her. Looking up from the regal floor decor, she found that all eyes were on her. The episode had halted all activity in the Court, and all the secrataries and clients with it. As the Goddess looked up at them, one by one they turned away, and akwardly went back to their work. Rising from her suddenly uncomfortable throne, Celestia announced an early Lunch, if so desired for the workers. Without waiting for comformation, she made her way out of the Day Court. She knew where Luna would be, and she knew she couldn't ignore her sisters' strange behavior as of late any longer. It was time for a heart-to-heart. 'I just hope I know what I'm doing...'
