There were three war cries of battle in the beginning, with two coming from the local inhabitants and the third from their intended victim. A wounded creature wandering their home alone and without an escort was too much for their chivalry and like all good citizens came to the aid of this lone, defenseless woman. That was was one and only mistake.
Yet another hellish resident fell to her blade, and with it a satisfyingly loud thump answering her waiting ears.
The sharp slurping sound the sword made as it was withdrawn always managed to put a smile on her paled face. Decades for sure, a millennia at least of endless conflict tended to grow just a bit dull, but its an existence all its own; a job she had willing accepted and fanatically executed in her younger years now barely managed to fill the increasing hollowing hole in her chest.
Before, in the years when she first took up the sword and gun, she knew there was a real reason for the fighting; a certain flare behind the slaying of the un-pure. Now… it was nothing more than a simple habit of the day-to-day meant to stave of the temptations of chaos. A means to remind her which side of the line she stood on and which side was the wrong one.
Though, the lines have been gradually blurring over the centuries.
Ironic, since this damnable place was literally spouting fire from every solid rock face. Yet it failed to cleanse anything but the grass and insects. This only reinforced her very need to be here and show this plane the cleansing light it so desperately needed; a worthless plane if even the flames of salvation were ineffective to stave of the hordes of deamons.
The woman of valor and holy righteousness, with a single whip of her arm dislodged the crimson filth that momentarily stained her blade. Her old and battered wings continued to limply hang just off the ground before rising slightly at their owners flurrying excitement. Having lived here for so long, it had become easier to sense the smallest amount of change; it had become almost second nature, like a spider feeling the strings of its web being plucked.
“Something has opened the gates… and willing enters?”
Never before had a creature willing entered this wrap inspired prison of their own accord. Who or what could it be? A simple question she asked as it took root and consumed all other thoughts in that moment, before the answer became apparent.
“A being of questionable intelligence.” The angel of death, for the first time since arriving here and proclaiming her own form of exterminatus, smiled. This place, with laughable fire and deamon infested creatures was her home and this being had just entered said home…
She should go and welcome them.
______________________________________________________________________________________
Celestia, newly created “super pony” as her sister called them, casually trotted further into the abyss. While the flames scaled the rock with the skill of a monkey, she took note of how little resistance there was. Surely for a prison meant to house the worst of the worst, there would be at least a body or two? Even a little screaming would be welcome for the stillness was disturbing. Even the stories from before Discord’s rule were clear on the unspeakable horrors and challenges meant to serve as Tartarus’ protection/guards… yet Celestia had literally walked right on in.
Oh, and the quiet left her mind and eyes racing as they scanned everything. Meaning every second, the mare was constantly changing her line of sight to observe something new. Coming from a land plagued with weather that could change in the blink of an eye or having sweet tasting rocks growing from trees were the norm, to experience something remaining constant unnerved her greatly.
It was enough to question her motives for coming here in the first place. Why come here seeking a creature that could very well hold the power to not only defeat Discord but possibly to become a new one? What proof other than a simple passage from a long dead epic, would this thing even be real and not a work of a wild imagination?
This entire endeavor wasn’t even a guarantee, but a wild chance that a myth may yield true and the three of them could up throne the lord of Chaos. Celestia wasn’t going to hold her breath, but this was just too good to pass up.
The beloved tree was one such story. The very same mystic tree that ended up bestowing its power on the very same two little ponies and gave them a dream; a fantasy born from a thin layer of truth and tempered by the wills of those that would dare desire something more than the status quo.
Everything she had worked for in these last, few precious months of planning and search had paid off. The tree had been found and now Luna and her were on the threshold of a new era… the noise was profound.
Celestia ceased her once purposeful stride, ears lit with a new and now unnatural sound of life. Adaption and the drive to push on are key components in the grand scheme of survival, where the odds of prey and predator are divided by fractions of a second.
The apex pony, Celestia, scanned every nook and indention with renewed vigor as her horn roared to life. The humid air wisp away as the pale pony’s magic dominated the surrounding area, looking for the origin of the foreign sound. Flocks of pure mana and earth rose with all the delicacy of a parent picking up their child.
“Come out and acknowledge me like a proper civil being! Not as a lowly creature but as a pony worthy of…”
The terrible display of ‘diplomacy’ had worked. Celestia’s blood froze ten times over as the warm blade pressed against the side of her neck. Her display of power and strength quickly faded as the will from her was quickly extinguish. The blade only pressed harder against her coat, drawing a collective gasp every time she tried looking over her shoulder.
“If you have time to preach, than you have the desire to die. Kill if you desire a death, speak if you seek a death.”
Celestia shuttered. Her heartbeat pounded against its cage in a desperate attempt to warn its owner. The heart wasn’t alone as the mare’s mind was saturated in discorded thoughts, undermining Celestia’s outer appearance; her wings would twitch, and the creature would say nothing letting its sword do the talking.
“What manner of creature are you?” the captive mare heard it asked. “You must have no regard for your life if you willing entered this place of your own accord. No matter how many I slay, it seems I will never understand Xenos.”
“Pony.” Celestia responded instinctively, only to realize what she had just done. Her muzzle retracted in terror once she grasp what she had said with the feeling reaching its peak once the pressure on her neck was relieved. It was going to behead her!
“A xeno with a spine or is it another brainless grunt with no understanding? Either way, you’re an idiot.”
“I’m not your enemy! I only came here looking for sompony to help my sister and I against a great evil.” She tried reasoning with the creature in the hopes it would spare her life. Creatures even more deadly than the lord himself seemed farfetched but then again, having lived under his rule had taught her to never believe in anything; in that everything was subject to change on a whim.
Here, not even half a day’s walk in and already Celestia found herself in trouble. Held captive not by a being capable of enacting an unknown amount of power, but one that had in one move put the her in checkmate. Its blade may no longer be resting against her neck, but the aura it leaked still permeated the air around her as a constant reminder of its watch.
She dared not use any magic since she still needed to use her horn. So putting into practice the earth pony way, Celestia allowed the flow of magic to flood forth from her hooves reaching out; the tendrils surging rapidly in all directions, most notably behind her trying to read the level of magic her captor was capable of using. What she found disturbed her.
“Impossible.” She whispered. Celestia was sure she was searching in the right area but she felt nothing but an empty void. A hollow shell where every pony’s magic should be… The blade hovering just next to her venerable neck was proof enough there was some magic involved else how could it levitate the blade with such precision?
How could anything survive this terrible place without the use magic?
“Turn around deamon, so I may look upon your face before passing judgment.”
Celestia felt her breath catching in her throat, as the trembling took hold over her. When she failed to act, the comforting steel found its place once more against her lonely neck; this time Celestia complied and with heavy shoulders, turned to face and meet her captor, and sight nearly broke her heart.
The creature towered over a normal pony with such an extreme form, it matched Celestia at the tip of her horn or it would have it weren’t for its rear legs. It… she from its slim figure stood weakly, but proudly on two almost broken slender legs that folded inward to support their owner’s equally mangled body. Deep chunks and gashes coiled all around the back of the tarnished armor it wore, where the damaged jumped all the way to the pauldrons that still clung desperately to her shoulders.
Its mercury eyes held Celestia in place as she struggled to maintain her grip over the sword’s handle. The entire situation was a true representation of the Discordian style of life; were a pony couldn’t predict which path their day would follow or what they should expect when traversing it. Here Celestia had planned to simply prove whether or not such a creature could survive this long in Tartarus, and if proven true could she convince it to join them in confronting the Lord of Chaos?
Right now, none of that mattered as Celestia tried her best to stay off its blade and her untimely end. She watched as its claw shook slightly from side to side, each little movement only added to its increasingly unstable stance. Why every little detail about it portrayed a…
“I don’t need your pity nor do I need to be treated as a wounded animal.” It clarified as Celestia’s emotional turmoil started spilling outward.
“I’ve seen and experienced suffering no mortal should ever know existed and prevailed all in his name. A never ending tour of duty I still continue to this day and will continue until my unfortunate discharge; an end I will welcome with open arms and praise from his golden voice.”
What a wake up call! The conviction behind each word awed Celestia whom all her life couldn’t remember hearing, let alone witnessing any being fanatically standing by their beliefs even if it meant death. Those that stayed true were lost beneath the flood, while those willing to change and betray found themselves on the top. It frankly left her feeling more unsure and optimistic given her current containment.
The young mare snapped herself back to the present when the familiar blade once more found her neck, which suddenly disappeared when the wheezing came. Celestia watched with a strange morbid fascination as her captor dropped her weapon and fell to her knees. It brought both of its damaged claws to its chest, trying to constrict its labored breathing. The act was lost to Celestia but from how her captor’s body started thrashing less, than she could guess why it had done so.
For a split second it seemed the creature’s decision was paying off, and her fit was at an end but growing up in this age taught Celestia and many ponies the difference between sickness and death. It was clear her body was failing after suffering at least decades of abuse. Too many times Luna and her had witness this and many times they chose not to act in fear of attracting attention to themselves. Decisions both sisters regretted and overtime had learned to handle in their own ways, but never learning how to forget.
Celestia found it slightly ironic that her once would be aggressor was now laying on the floor, helpless and unable to stand. In a twist, the pony could continue on with her search for the legendary being of power unhindered; a tempting option for Celestia to take but found it difficult to follow through.
Strange considering her prior life choices.
“Be still creature.”
Celestia’s words were firm, mirroring her distrust toward the wounded being. She felt wary of helping but given how isolated they were, the likelihood of it making it were slim to none. Sadly her act of generosity came back to bite her flank.
The second the last sparkling flares of her magic had ceased, Celestia found herself hugging the floor. The shrill screaming was the first to hit, followed by the whirlwind slamming into her side, and thankfully that was all.
The previously wounded, and near death bipedal had risen tall and proud before a cowering Celestia. Its muscles built tension as the blade finished its ascending arc, readying to propel it on what would be a coward’s death.
“Hold your ground and die with some shred of pride.” It called out as the blade missed, shattering the earth where the pony had once been.
Celestia was frantically back-pedaling away in an effort to put as much distance between them in a short amount of time. Its ruby eyes burned unnaturally bright against the backdrop of fire and brimstone; the new energy coursing in her veins really brought out the marauder in her. With a quick yank, the blade was freed to scrape against the floor as its owner walk ever closer to her prize.
“Stay back or I’ll defend myself…” Celestia jumped swiftly to her left as her old friend, sharpened steel, made friends with the ground once more. The impact caused several large shards to scatter, forcing Celestia’s wing to act as a shield.
The damage wasn’t too bad but it was enough to draw a single trail of blood and with it the sharks. Celestia panicked when she noticed her assailant rushing forward once more, forcing her to dodge the charge with a quick hop backward. Her horn fired defensively as it collided with the crazed bipedal, sending it flying several yards back but Celestia cursed as it proved how dexterous it was. Instead of crashing into the ground like she expected, it had used its wings to correct itself!
“How? How can you be this strong already?” Celestia asked has her winged adversary twisted backward in mid air to land crouched as she hit the floor.
Its wings shimmered before vanishing back to the void, the clinks and clacks of its armor signaled she was already readying for another attack. Celestia used the chance to heal her injured wing before summoning two phantom swords in front of her, gripping each handle with her magic. She noted even with this show of magical powerless to summon such weapons, her opponent only gripped its own sword even harder.
The situation was getting worst and Celestia knew it couldn't last much longer. The journey itself wasn't bad but it was a non stop walk and then she even spent a nice bit of energy to heal her current enemy. She had felt sorry for the creature and now it was sought to kill her for no reason other than simply being near it.
Celestia returned her thoughts back to battle as the creature lunged straight at her. She crossed both of the magical swords in order to catch the massive single blade, but nearly toppled once it connected. It was no surprise that its entire weight went behind the attack, only reinforcing the belief there was no room for diplomacy as this being sought her death.
She felt the ground giving first as the height difference started becoming more pronounced, with each passing second she sunk further into the heated rock. Celestia kept her entire focus on maintaining her depleting defence even though she knew it wasn’t going to last much longer. Her eyes shifted back and forth from her opponent, who showed no sign of faltering its attack, to the area surrounding them in some desperate move to hatch a life saving plan.
In this obscure moment, Celestia noticed that as her hoof sunk deeper into the rock it was crumbling into loose piles of gravel in each hole. It wasn’t much of a plan but it was better than nothing. With hope slightly restored she began pushing back in a weak attempt to overpower her opponent, but it did its job and forced the deadly blade back some. In response, the bipedal threw herself further into the struggle which continued to strain her already depleting strength.
During this moment of attack, Celestia lit her horn and with one move caked the being’s face in heated gravel. Instead of ceasing the attack to care for her wounded face, the bipedal only cringed and grunted irritability as it shook its head side to side. The reaction wasn’t what Celestia had expected, in fact she had hoped it would have allowed her a chance break this duel and run. Even though this plan was dashed, it did momentarily leave her blind and Celestia took full advantage of it.
Risking everything in this one move, she quickly broke her defence which allowed the giant sword to fall uncontested toward her. With both swords now free, one shot directly above her just in time to catch the falling sword and cushion the blow to her left shoulder with the blunt in of her blade; the second found its journey unheeded as it sailed in a wide horizontal arc and sliced open her opponent's side.
“Arrgh! It’ll take more than a mere flesh wound to kill a Saint!”
“A saint you certainly are not!” Celestia retorted as she withdrew her sword for a second attack.
The saint felt this more than saw it, with the warming waters of life free flowing unhindered it made everything else seem less important. The wound was the catalyst for reflexive instinct and with it came only further heightened senses as her body began its fight to preserve its life. As the second blade came in for another blow, the saint was ready and met it with an iron hand.
Celestia’s eyes widen as she applied more pressure into the second attack, and couldn’t believe this mad saint had caught her sword even if it meant serious injury to herself. This unexpected move had put Celestia in a bind, her decisive strike had been stopped which not only prolonged this fighting but had smashed her momentum. With such a drive lost, it had forced both combatants in a stalemate with each locked fighting and guarding on two different fronts.
Much to Celestia’s surprise again, the saint had noticed this deadlock and had retracted a leg close to its chest, forcing her to watch as its steel boot suddenly rocket forth and collided with her chest. The force behind it was equivalent to be hit by a tumbling boulder the size of a small hut, with the speed only adding to the kick’s deadly efficiency.
Even after just hitting the ground, she knew no rest as the roaring mechanical boots drowned all other sound, signaling that the saint wasn’t kind enough to grace her a moments peace. Celestia raised her swords at the ready only to be blindsided by a burning flash of light and then her entire face discovered it was possible to have more than one bruise stack.
Before her hooves could even leave the ground, Celestia felt something immediately clenching the back of her neck and driving her right into ground. The strong presence of mercury quickly became the overwhelming sensation in that moment, clouding all other thoughts and functions as her world titered between the grounding reality or the weightless void. Her lungs laboured but held true and so did the rest of her twitching muscles as she struggled to rise from the defeat, ready to stand once more against the challenge presented before her.
As Celestia rose and spat out excess blood, she noticed the mad bipedal some distance away nursing its own wounds; instead of using the heated gravel to blind, she was using it to sear her own wound shut. Understandably, this being could have just as easily killed her and then nurse its wounds so why did it let her live?
It would be an answer to a question she’ll never receive for the shifting of metal and rock ceased her attention, just in time to witness the saint rise warily- its knee covers leaving a faint imprint of twin skulls in the ground. Both said nothing as each silently fell into their stances, a mutual understanding of what was expected before the saint drew its sword and charged. Falling into the routine, she raised her own swords before staggering forward to meet her assailant head on.
“This is it.” Celestia thought as she parried a swing, noting how weak this one felt when compared to her earlier attacks.
She ducked as the saint came in for another swing. Celestia went in to block but quickly abandoned the idea as the long sword sliced through her own weaken magic, almost claiming her horn in the process. This struggle had lasted far too long and even though the bipedal was tiring it still fought on with an ungodly amount of stamina and determination. It was clear who would eventually come out the victor at this continued pacing.
“Why do continue when your fate has already been decided and laid before you?” the saint asked as her body leaped into the air, letting Celestia’s remaining blade glide just beneath her as she jumped and twisted in an unnatural way for anything creature not bipedal.
As the saint finished her air ballet and landed awkwardly on her hands, she promptly used the momentum to propel her legs in a long sweep in order to kick the hooves from under Celestia who managed to jump back at the last second. When that failed, the saint found herself once more on the defensive as the magical sword came in from above, forcing her onto the ground to harness it for extra support as her own sword came up to meet the rouge blade.
“I continue not just for myself, but the future of every soul alive and not yet born.”
“You follow a fool’s path, one that will lead to not only your death but the death of everything you once stood far.”
“My path will lead to no such disaster. It will…”
“... be the death of you! I should know!”
“Than you didn’t try hard enough! I must live if I’m to stop the chaos he has saturated my beloved home in.”
The bipedal said nothing as her strength gave way to Celestia’s height advantage, giving both for the first time since this entire affair start a good look into the others soul. In these bubbling pits of hatred and ferocity, a light could be seen shining through the barest of cracks; so dim were they a speck of dust could block them, but they were there. Even a creature as violent as this saint could still nurture embers of virtue and if so then what about Discord? Is there a possibility that somewhere in his distorted mind he was once a normal, everyday being dealing with the struggles o…
Celestia’s philosophical ramblings were interrupted when the smashing impact of jagged iron met the vulnerable side of her face, re-acquainting her with the metalic taste of pain once more. The shock and suddenness came and went and with it her hold over the last physical defense she had against this survivalist.
Her impact this time was much lighter than before, but the entire context had changed. This time she wasn’t fighting to stay relevant in a struggle of wills, but instead fighting against the world as it began collapsing all around her. Celestia forced her body to move before she could even see where she was going as the all familiar metallic grinding lurched closer.
“Don't you get pony?” the saint's voice echoed all around Celestia.
Its death call chilled her very bones as it summoned her to the web once more. What little will she had left to fight fled that very moment when the surreal vision of a giant spider with the saint’s otherworldly face descending from the ceiling, fangs as long as its weapon extending...
Her will to fight may have been destroyed but in return she had been blessed with the energy to make the sprint for the exit of her own hell. Despite her various wounds and foggy eyesight, Celestia found it strange that as she discarded her wounded pride her damaged body felt comparable to a bolder.
“You can't kill a creature of chaos let alone a Chaos Lord, you can only stall the inevitable. I know because that's all I've ever done!”
Celestia kept her eyes on the prize in the form of a rock cliff surrounded by multiple signs of danger; the most telling was the preserved collection of its past visitors littered around the exit. She rounded a small boulder in the bend just as the path behind her ripped opened to expose this world’s darker secrets. Rocks to dust was the answer as each hoof struck the fracturing earth, propelling Celestia over shattering bone fragments, boulders, and some new sinkholes gapping all around.
“You can't kill Chaos!” The saint’s voice resumed again, silencing the chaos all around but it did little to halt the pony’s overall retreat from this hell.
The boundaries of Discord’s chaos and this mad-saint’s tomb were fast approaching; forcing Celestia to ignore the pain of her splintered hooves as they propelled her forward the last leg. Never in her young life did Celestia believe running from death would be a literal event; growing up it was expected to meet your end early by tempting fate and that is exactly what she foolishly had done.
“I KNOW BECAUSE I TRIED!” the mad-saint sounded closer. So close that Celestia swore the heavy breathing wasn’t her own but of the fallen creature to chaos and its effects so long ago.
Scraping the bottom of her magic, Celestia casted one last spell and in one blink had traversed the last leg of her journey. The world behind her sounded a league away but the ever danger remained a constant threat. Without stopping, Celestia gave her hell one last glance and tripped when the spinning form of a sword clipped her shoulder and impacted the ground just a hoof step ahead of her.
There was no pain, just a mild warmth flowing down her shoulder as the possible savior of ponykind shook that distortion with her near scrape with death. Terror caressed her as waves do to a boat, keeping Celestia barely afloat as the tension saturating every fiber of her muscles and tired mind. In retrospect it shouldn’t have been a surprise for it to have ended like this; a fool’s endeavor but an optimist’s hope for a better world.
“I tried and failed to stop its spread…” its mad voice whispered.
Celestia paid the voice no heed as a new wave of turmoil clashed with the remnants of her crumbling sanity. The wound from the blade was no more, healed not by her own merits but from another outside force. Sanity and logic won for a moment as the poison inflicted upon her became clearer.
“I tried and fell alone…”
Neither pony nor saint could respectfully defeat chaos. Both had tried and failed in their own way; order clashing with chaos, while purity burned away the corruption. Conviction and belief meant nothing with knights and followers unless they were willing to defend what they preached. Saint and Celestia, were pinnacles of such respective beliefs but both greatly differed in the method of execution.
“We’re Adepta Sororitas, sisters meant to share the pain and challenges thrown against us.”
Temperance of the will: fortitude of the mind,and dedication to the cause were the key components required for this trek into the unknow. A coming of age pony with desires to shoulder unnecessary burdens decided that a mythical creature molded by fire and emptiness was to be their shining light. Alone into the depths she dove with no trepidations to how her other-half was faring; already their united front was divided.
"Go home xeno and summon your sisters for the fight; together and not alone, that is the only way to endure.”
Enlightenment through the eyes of another with a much greater understanding of her foe. Realization derived from experiencing and listening, a task Celestia never had time for in her quest for a brighter world. Always with running hooves is the world to her, no rest for the weary or else they’ll sleep for eternity. More wood for the fire as its flames grow to the heights of the flying stars; her work isn’t done just yet and the flames crackled in hunger.
“Why don’t you come with me? Join me and my sister in our fight and end your isolation. We’re sisters in all but blood already, so won’t you please walk beside us and live again?”
The former Adepta remained stonewalled in her decision, forcing an uneasy silence to fall over the wasteland between. Woman and mare stood unmoving as they waited for the other to make their intentions known first; it would be the saint to crack first.
Celestia watched as it..she raised one of her metal gauntlets to hide her face; there was no hidden agenda behind it other than to keep the smirk to herself. With the same claw it reached out and held that pose, like she was trying to grab something. That something became known as the rogue blade, in a powerful display of stubbornness shattered the earth that had entombed it and forced Celestia to roll out of the way.
She watched as rubble and dirt exploded high into the air, enough to cast a small shadow over the newly formed crater. Celestia flinched in shock as the blade began to sing as it flew into the waiting hand of its master, who welcomed it back with the love of a parent greeting their returning child. A simple flick of her wrist and any imperfections on the ancient blade disappeared, leaving it to rival the intensity of the glaring sun.
“It seems blood wasn’t want it wanted, but to see the light one last time.” the former saint said to no one but the wind as she watched her only companion humming brightly in the sunlight.
“You. You remind me of someone...it’s hard to say who for it was long ago. But!” she raised her weapon, pointing it right at Celestia, who despite the vast ground between them felt the need to shake. “ I remember she was a true ideal, another reason to serve his holiness; A saint worthy to lead the order she had founded and kindly allowed us to join.”
Memories as old as the wind itself. Always lingering in the recess of her mind, but like the wind it didn’t last as it constantly kept moving. These visions of death, fire, and steel refused to cease, but the pattern presented was obvious; her entire world then and now was nothing but fire and death. Still, like the old sweeping hills of the ancient Terra landscape, the wind carrying memories just kept coming back whenever it damn well pleased and that frustrated the old warrior to know end.
How is she suppose to function if the past kept her chained? The answer is you couldn’t; only learning from past mistakes was acceptable but anything less only hindered and blinded the able bodied. A habit thoroughly expelled during the recruitment and training phase of early order life and it was one she was thankful for and wished it had stuck.
The creature of Tartarus: Adepta Sororitas, Living Saint, and living relic of the limitless fight against good and evil gave the would be Sister one final look over before retreating back into the cavernous depths of her own personal heaven. Celestia said nothing but watched slacked-jawed as ponykind’s possible savior returned into the lawless plan of Tartarus, taking with her what little hope remained.
________________________________________________________________
The roaring flood of dirty milk was troublesome.
It’s bad enough during a normal flooding but to use milk in these scarce times was nothing more than mocking. With this surprise midnight flooding, Luna had been forced to seek shelter elsewhere in the cliff side of the mountain. This mountain, newly raised just the previous week had already seen its share of the lands harsh and unpredictable laws; no longer would ponies see rocks as simple stone, but something edible and filling.
With her new home carved out and a belly full for the first time in her young life, she had collapsed uncaring onto the floor. After three days of constant eating, Luna could finally give in to a well deserved nap, alleviating the continuous strain from her body. Oh how it felt to be at peace!
Even with the flooding just outside her cubby hole in the mountain, it was dry and somewhat warm and combined with a full belly made it all the more special. Just to have this ability to live was worth it alone, but why not share it? Discord didn’t know about this little hole and with Celestia’s help, it could be expanded and transformed into a cozy, and hidden home.
Luna cracked one eye long enough to observe her sleeping sister, noting how her shoulder was no longer bleeding. Whatever happened in there, she may never know but what she did know was it shook Celestia on a personal level. The innocence was no longer there when Celestia had finally returned; that foalish hope was gone, having grown up into a mare that understood the world just little bit more. For better or worst was left to be seen.
Even while awake, Celestia was always silent. The only indication Luna had she still walked with the living was from the minute way her chest expanded and then constricted, but besides that there was virtually no conversation or the usual spark to seek something new. This by all means was her sister in flesh and blood, but not in soul or mind; it felt more accustomed to an older mind, wisen by years of personal experience than that of a pony just barely out of their foalhood.
“Are you awake sister?” Luna probed hoping she’ll be answered this time...
“This wasn’t suppose to have happened. She was suppose to have said yes...not try to kill me and my dreams.”
This time she was rewarded with just a little more but for the most part her response remained the same. Having received these segments for the last few nights had been unsatisfactory, but had given her mind much to ponder. Each segment was by the very least a trove of knowledge even if it didn’t give the full story; Celestia’s fantasy had in a way been proven true, but instead of gaining an ally she instead gained a greater fear of non-ponies.
A shame when it was non-ponies that had sheltered them and gave them the idea to use their new found power to confront Discord in the first place.
With the feeling she’ll get nothing but ghost answers again, Luna laid down and faced her side of their home once more, letting tonight’s brief exchange linger for a moment before pondering how long she could live without eating ever again.
Unbeknownst to Luna, her sister didn’t let sleep take her but instead allowed herself to remain awake. Celestia hadn’t been moping for the past three days but had been painstaking examining and recalculating every detail she could remember of her encounter with the mad saint in the hopes of discovering what had went wrong.
For the past three days and nights this had been her routine, and like the previous nights she came up with the same conclusion…
”I need sisters. I need more than one sister.”
After finishing this thought, Celestia carefully turned her body so she could look over her shoulder, watching Luna as she “fought” to stay awake. With her busy staring at the chocolate wall, Celestia’s eyes took their time eating Luna’s form but paying special attention to the biggest physical qualities she possessed- one sword like horn, and a set of wings that were lighter than a cloud.
The longer her eyes lingered, the more the answer become clearer. It would take Discord’s defeat and many, many years of planning but if she could manage to pull it off than perhaps she could be the first to usher in an age of true and lasting order. It would require one simple, yet big detail to achieve this dream, and no matter how hard she pondered it, Celestia came to the same conclusion.
“I need sisters. I need more sisters just like me.”
Author's Note
Ok, so this started out as a one-shot to be about Celestia encountering this saint in the hopes of having her join them in their fight against Discord, but in the end will come to the realization that it is your strength to stand up and fight that makes them stronger or something like that…
But in the end I had the idea Celestia would come back from this fight a bit scared and take a different message from it. The dark kind where she believes she needs more Alicorns if she's to get anywhere in life, which this thought process was inspired by Airstream’s fantastic story called “Lines and Webs.”
I'm a fan of the 40k universe but I know very little about the lore, so I'm aware there will be conflicting words between canon and what I wrote. This was merely a one-shot for the sake of creating something different than what I normally read and/or see, so if there is something you have questions about or find wrong please feel free to point them out.
I wrote most of this back in the fall and over this last week picked it up again and finished it; I managed to do a very rough proofread, but will be the first to admit its far from perfection.
