Arms of Arceus

Celestia was struck dumb by the disappearance of Twilight and her friends. Her mouth fell open as the whole courtyard filled with gasps. But the pulsating evil quickly intensified, and she was forced back to reality. Dark Arceus exerted more of its strength as the circle became weaker, forcing the remaining members back. Cadance fought valiantly, but it was a losing battle. Despite her efforts, her spell had failed to mesh properly with the existing seal. Roaring with fury, Celestia and Luna ran forward together and poured all of their might into forcing the thing into submission. In its current state, it had two powerful sealing spells holding it, but its energy was leaking through many cracks and disconnected overlays in the spell work. The sisters strained as they forced the cracks and overlays shut. After several minutes of struggling against the entity, they finally succeeded in closing its prison. When they were done, they collapsed to the ground, leaning against one another for support as they looked in disbelief at the silent, floating orb. The city shuddered one final time before they were met with the sight of a dark, alien sky.

“Perhaps you two should have led this from the beginning,” Cadance said as she walked over to her friends. “You actually sealed it.”

“This is just patchwork,” Luna said between heavy breaths. “We welded the two spells together through sheer force of will, but it does not change the fact that the spells are incompatible. This could last a day, a week, a month or a year before that vile thing breaks free again.”

“Regardless, we are in your debt,” Joan said as she and the council approached the princesses. “I am beginning to think the council was able to seal the god for a week only because it divided its energy through too many tasks. It did not do that this time. Those weak creatures were summoned almost as an afterthought. It brought most of its power to bare against us, and it would have overwhelmed us if not for your Elements of Harmony.”

“But we failed to seal it properly,” Cadance said, turning her face down to the ground in shame. “My fear held us back, and then Twilight…”

“Cadance, you are not responsible for Twilight’s disappearance,” Celestia said gently as she rose to her feet. “And you did a wonderful job in casting that spell. Luna and I could not have finished that task if not for what you accomplished. Don’t look down on yourself for your fears. We were all afraid of that thing.”

“Indeed we were,” Luna said. “I know that you would have succeeded had the task not been to meld your magic with that of another. King Siebold was truly powerful and loving to have created such a spell, but his magic is not ours.”

“Thank you,” Cadance said as she wiped tears from her eyes with her wings. The sisters gave Cadance a comforting hug, and Lord Chompy sobbed a little at the touching scene.

“They speak the truth, Princess Cadance,” Lord Ra said, floating forward to rest before the ponies. “What you did was impossibly difficult, and yet you came so very close to success; closer than any of the council could have hoped to. What’s more, you ponies represent everything our king stood for, and everything he was. For that reason, we will gladly follow your lead.”

The High Council knelt before the princesses, each in their own way. Celestia could feel their emotions clearly through the psychic link. The love and admiration they felt made her smile and filled her heart with hope. She turned to her fellow princesses and saw that they shared her feelings.

“Princess Twilight and her friends still live,” Joan said as she and the council rose to their feet. “You may not notice it, your majesties, but their presence still exists within the psychic link. They are very far away, and hard to make out, but they are alive.”

“Then we must find them as soon as possible,” Cadance said, confidence returning to her as she spoke.

“I suspect we shall be together for some time,” Celestia said, her tone hopeful and business-like. Her mind immediately began working to make sense of their situation as she checked her armor's pockets for the dragon tooth shard she had brought with her as a precaution. “We are honored to lead you, my friends. But for now we must make ready. I don’t like the feeling of this new world. Hal, where are we? Is there any sign of the others?”

“One moment, your majesty,” Hal said as he paused to speak to the Alakazam Enclave. “We have jumped into a new universe. The Enclave is searching for Princess Twilight and her friends as we speak. As for our current location, we are in the Milky Way Galaxy, in a sector of space known as Octarius, on a planet known as Octaria, in the middle of a desolate land that will become a battlefield at any moment. We must prepare for war.”

“Then we shall do so. Have the enclave focus all of their efforts on finding our friends. For now, we must focus on our survival. Prepare the defenses. Keep us out of this battle if at all possible.”

The council roused immediately at the orders, issuing commands to their subordinates who raised the city’s shields. Teams of Zoroark, freshly healed and released from the hospital, began casting illusions around the city. An army of the physically toughest and strongest Pokémon in God’s Breath took their places all along the perimeter, while ranged attackers took their places in lines along the city’s outer walls. As the first wave of enemies appeared on the horizon, God’s Breath stood ready to meet them.