Knights of Harmony

Nightmare Moon had to fly way from the chair she was sitting on. Shadow Blaze, with a strong punch, sent Lightning Dash flying right against it, reducing the chair to nothing more than splinters and the stuffing scattered everywhere and sliding a few meters on his back. Not giving up, though, Lightning Dash slammed both fore hooves on the floor and back-rolled, facing against his rival once more.

Both Knights of Harmony were smiling, despite their intentions of killing each other. The link they shared thanks to Cadance told them both were enjoying this fight and in return, they gave their most so the other also had someone to fight with all their strength. In spite of all their provoking shouts and insults, their bond was slowly increasing along the battle they fought.

From a vantage point, Nightmare Moon could see another fast and strong series of punches shared among the colts. Not wanting to be caught off guard, she had already summoned her most powerful armor. If worse came to worst, she would be ready. For the first time in millennia, Nightmare Moon felt a strange excitement for she couldn’t foresee the result of that one battle.

And with that distraction, neither could she listen to her numbers fighting against Celestia’s.

****

Golden Breeze had to summon again her wind barrier to stop another of Onyx Star’s powerful punches. Her opponent was unbelievably strong and sturdy, more like an earth pony given wings than a proper pegasus. Instead of teleporting, though, Golden Breeze preferred to block his attacks, for it more often than not opened his guard for a quick, besides seemingly useless, series of attacks.

After one of those series of attacks, Onyx Star was thrown back and he then flapped his wings, stopping above a tree’s trunk and smiling.

“You’re not half bad, I must admit…”

“Said the pony that can’t land a hit at all,” Golden Breeze said.

“That’s because you keep summoning your barrier!” he answered a bit more anger than she thought he would. “But once you run out of mana…”

“Not going to happen in your life,” Golden Breeze answered. “You think I’m wasting mana on the barriers? I barely use more than the usual amount for cloud manipulation…”

“What?”

“In the case you haven’t noticed, I use wind magic, which is part of weather magic all pegasus are born with. All I do is focusing my weather and flight magic and the result is a pressure barrier, created by the wind in front of me.”

“It can’t be that simple!” Onyx Star shouted.

“Too bad it is.”

Onyx Star then jumped and flew right against Golden Breeze, with the yellow pegasus ready to create another wind wall, but instead of doing that, though, she gave a back-roll. The Nightmare Shadow’s punch passed harmlessly over her and whit her hindlegs Golden Breeze locked him by the neck and threw his body against the forest ground, making a rather large cloud of dust rise.

“You really thought I would use that again after you learned how to pass through that?” Golden Breeze looked at him. “Or you really thought I wouldn’t feel you charging your weather magic?”

“Somehow” the voice of Onyx Star came from the thick dust cloud, “you can feel the mana around you… Well… Let me tell you something about me… When I was born…” Golden Breeze heard him flapping his wings but no magic was charging up. Useless: for the size of a pegasus, their wings had to be much longer or they have to be much stronger than their bodies can handle to fly without magical assistance.

And even so, in less than a second, Onyx Star was there, face to face with her, and her senses told her he wasn’t using magic at all, “I was born an earth pony.”

With barely any warning, Golden Breeze put up another wind barrier, but this time, Onyx Star’s punch crossed right through it with sheer strength, earth pony strength in a pegasus body probably enhanced by Nightmare Moon’s power!

Even with her armor, the punch hurt a lot on her and she was sent flying. Her wings and magic only managed to stop her a couple meters later. She looked into Onyx Star’s eyes, the pegasus stallion with an angry look in his face and an evil smile in his muzzle.

“You... What have you done?” Golden Breeze asked.

“I just give up my connection with the earth. All I ever dreamed was to be able to fly, see the world from above! But I had to be born an earth pony!” he almost spat on those last words. “There wasn’t a single moment in my life when I didn’t regret being born as a wingless piece of trash!”

“How can you say something like that about earth ponies? They are as much important part of Equestria as pegasi!”

“HA! As if! Without the pegasus to bring rain and open the sky for sun’s light, they’re as worthless as mud!”

“And without the food earth ponies produces, pegasi are worth the same. For we can’t cultivate anything on clouds and without the earth pony magic to enhance their crops, food production would be delayed beyond the limits we can think of!”

“And what? A little planning in advance and that’s covered!” Onyx Star smiled at her once more. “Earth ponies aren’t worth the dirt on their hooves! THEY ARE A WASTE OF LI--”

Before he could finish, Onyx Star was surprised by Golden Breeze connection a hoof to his face. So strong was her attack, the earth-pony-turned-pegasus was sent back to the ground. The small headpiece protection his head crumbled and now was scattered to the floor.

“Do not dare say something like that ever again,” Golden Breeze’s voice wasn’t furious, neither was it hateful. No, her voice was deadly calm. “They don’t have any inherited ability but being sturdy and resistant. However, they honed that to bring life and joy to Equestria without asking anything in return.”

“You… broke a… moon metal armor…?” Onyx Star looked at her now wide-eyed.

“There’s a reason why I decided to become a Royal Guard,” Golden Breeze commented. “All I wanted was to give others the life I didn’t have, a life they could live without worrying every second for their lives and their loved ones… And I won’t let somepony like you say anything against them!”

****

Lightning Dash dived, avoiding another of Shadow Blaze’s strong fire-infused hooves. He then punched the immense and surprisingly intact table so it lifted well above the ground, held it with his fore hooves and hit Shadow Blaze with it as if it was a club. The earth pony screamed in pain when the heavy stone table was smashed against the floor, breaking in smaller pieces.

Nightmare Moon watched their deadly match with surprise. It has been so long she has seen a fight like this. These fighters were at par with the long gone Knights of Harmony when they trained with all their strength. Maybe these two would pay to be nurtured in her army when she took over control?

Then, she noticed something. As strong as they were attacking each other, their armors weren’t even cracking in the slightest. Were they holding back? Not a chance. The first to hold back dies. Were they getting stronger? Possible, but that’s a process that, at the soonest, take dozens of years of intense training.

“What are you…” she whispered.

Suddenly, a flash of light take over the whole room.

****

Golden Breeze darted once more against Onyx Star. The scared pegasus’s armor was becoming nothing more than shards of metal scattered on the forest’s floor.

“You monster! Leave me alone!”

The golden pegasus mare just flapped her wings stronger and reached the stallion. With a somersault, one of her hind hooves hit straight on his back, sending him to the ground. She then landed at his side, looking him in the eye.

“You call me a monster. However, it’s you whom attack innocent people,” she said simply. “And also, it was you whom gave up your true self just to gain wings. You’re a spawn of a lost mind and not even a pony anymore.”

“What?” he asked fearful.

Golden Breeze raised an armored hoof.

Star Onyx’s eyes widened in fear.

“Enough,” a gently voice coming from somewhere else stopped what would happen next.

“You said… we’d do what was needed…” Golden Breeze said, not giving in her position at all.

“Even so, let’s not spit blood unless there’s no other way at all,” Celestia said. Only then the pegasus mare sighed and got off her prisoner.

Celestia focused her magic and, in a blink of eyes, Onyx Star was teleported to somewhere else. Only the white regal alicorn and the two Knights of Harmony at each of her sides continued the journey. Scarlet Boulder and Golden Breeze now walked tranquil at Celestia’s side.

****

“General Celestia…” Scarlet Boulder said after some time they were walking. “If you are there, why send us to fight Nightmare Moon? You have much more chances of breaking her armor…”

“I do have more power than you, my little ponies,” Celestia answered simply. “However, I also have something else that you don’t. Nightmare Moon, deep inside, is still Luna. I can’t fight her again…”

“Why not?” Golden Breeze asked curiously. “If you won, it could…” as she saw Celestia’s headshake the pegasus stopped mid-sentence.

“I can’t. The first time I fought with her, I couldn’t fight her full force. Time has not improved that ability any.” She then turned to face Golden Breeze, “Answer me, sincerely. If it was your sister, Golden Breeze, would you fight her with all your strength to save her?”

“I…” Golden Breeze downed her head for a moment. “I should have… I mean… If I did, maybe she would be alive today…”

“You should have all right, just as I should.” Celestia answered raising her head to look forward again. “However, would you? That was my question after all.” There was no answer. “That’s my actual dilemma, you see. I love my sister dearly, but she’s unreachable to me. I can’t fight her, I can’t even break her armor, for if I attack her stronger than I need to, she could be hurt. I just… can’t.

“You, in the other hand, have no such limitations. Nightmare Moon is somepony you had grown up to fear and avoid. Given the chance, you could destroy her with your full strength. That’s why it must be you. I’ll stay close, but for different reasons. If all go wrong, I’ll be here to protect the innocent, just like I did long ago.”

Scarlet Boulder and Golden Breeze shared a glance and nodded. They made a decision on that very moment: no matter what’s the cost, Nightmare Moon had to be stopped!

After making up their minds, both ponies looked at Celestia, which never stopped walking, and bowed quickly before taking each of her sides. Suddenly, the regal white alicorn stopped and looked at them.

“From there, my knights, our paths diverges. I have priorities that must be addressed without delay. Your destination is the Castle inside this forest--”

“I already know, General. I felt the magic signature of a powerful being coming from that Castle,” Golden Breeze commented.

“Never expected less from you,” Celestia nodded with a smile before teleporting away in a flash of light.

Scarlet Boulder and Golden Breeze nodded and trotted towards the castle in a straight line, their eyes filled with determination stronger than before.

****

Celestia appeared at the bottom of a ravine and sighed heavily. She looked straight into the dark sky, a tear crossing her face.

“I’m so very sorry, my knights, for you have to take this burden. However, I finally have the chance to undo my mistake of a thousand years ago... This chance must not slip...”

She then focused her magic. It was close to the time she should be appearing at the Summer Sun Celebration in Ponyville, and she was preparing herself. A small swirl of magic began to form around her body, seeming like a golden mist and, after encasing all her body, it start changing color, from bright golden to dark blue. She then opened her large wings to look at her preparations: a black coat covered her body protected by a minimal armor mostly on her head, back and chest and the four ponyshoes she wore in a dark blue color. Her flank wasn’t adorned by her stylized sun anymore, but by a crescent moon inside a purple cloud-like shape.

The disguised Celestia then charged her magic, now with an extra charge of spell to turn her magic a dark blue hue, before she transformed herself into a cloud of very dark blue mist just as like her new ethereal dark blue mane and tail.

And the disguised Celestia headed to the Ponyville’s town hall.