Equestria's Supreme Commander

Silence.

That is all there was in the Crystal Empire a noon. I sat inside my ACU in the center of the Empire, where the Crystal Palace used to be, looking over the preparations I had made yesterday and last night for this fight. I may have an ACU, but Celestia's the Solar Alicorn, and I am not going to be overconfident like most people with a nine story mech would be here.

Cadence, Luna, Twilight, and Chrysalis were in the estate, everypony else in their homes. They knew that this was my fight, and they weren't going to interrupt. Besides, I had a plan for Celestia with this fight.

You know, I wonder if that volcano is still there, the one that Luna and Celestia made when they went against that ACU. Definitely worth checking out after this.

Anyway, it was about twelve thirty when I heard the pop of teleportation, and, with the main camera, I saw Celestia wearing the armor Luna had described her wearing from the story, along with the five remaining Elements loyal to her. "Afraid to face me alone," I asked. "You do realize you bring the five of them into the firing line as well?"

"I brought them so that they could remove the taint in Twilight and my sister," she retorted in a yell.

"Good luck with that," I said. "If there is one here that is corrupt, Celestia, it is you with power."

She did not seem to have a response to me. Instead, she said to the Elements, "Find my sister and Twilight. They are most likely in Cadence's estate."

"You got it, princess," Applejack said to her before she and the other Elements ran off to the estate. Good. So far, everything's going to plan.

"You aren't trying to stop them," Celestia asked me.

"Why would I," I said. "They need all six of the Elements to use them, and even with their rainbow form, they are going against two alicorns who can still use magic, one of which has a rainbow form. Besides, when I'm done, they won't want to do anything to Twilight and Luna anyway."

"And why do you think that?"

"Because I plan shit out," I said. "Now, can we get this fight underway? I have stuff I need to do."

"Like becoming the next King Sombra," she said before she unfurled her wings, and launched up to my ACU's head level, her horn charged with magic as I raised my main cannon at her.

"No," I said. "Protecting your subjects where you can't," I said before I fired my cannon, and she fired a spell, the two projectiles colliding in between us, a large explosion occurring, bot of us enveloped it the fireball, but unharmed. Myself because obvious reasons, and her because of a shield she put up around herself. The fireball itself enveloped the entire center of the Empire, but was stopped by Cybran shield generators, at the fifth expansion level for maximum coverage, which stopped the fire ball from expanding past our combat area.

"I see you actually protected your hostages," Celestia said.

"One is not a hostage if they are willing," I replied. "Every Crystal pony here sees me as a hero, an honor I do not deserve, and would give their lives to help me, but to me, if it cost their lives, I'd rather kill myself to remove the threat that would lead me to seeking their help. And as much as I wish to have been left alone, something impossible, apparently, I would rather protect a single pony, even you if needed, than let a city die. Which reminds me, do you have any other weapons other than your magic?"

"Why," she asked. "So you can defeat me?"

I chuckled. "Oh, Celestia," I said. "You should know this rule as a leader: a battle can be won or lost before it's even begun by choosing the environment, and I have used my environment."

"What do you mean?"

"Simple," I replied. "Look around, what do you see? Innocent ponies, believing what they believe. As I said before, if it meant their lives, which I sorely wish it wouldn't, they would help. You would not see them harmed if at all possible, which it is. If you did harm them for no other reason than they follow someone else, even if said someone was controlling them, which I assure you, I am not, then you would be labeled as a hypocrite, quite possibly a tyrant, even. As such, I have already defeated you."

It was here that she did something I didn't think she would under the circumstances. She began to chuckle. "You think I care about the crystal ponies?"

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"Wait, what," I said, shocked.

"I never cared about the Crystal ponies well being," she said, and it was here, with my ACU's camera, as well as some over head spy planes, I saw something. . . odd with her. A faint yellow shimmer around her, one I knew well from my time with Forged Alliance, and I even saw here eyes change from magenta shaded red to blood red, as well as the magic on her horn. Fuck my life, I know each of those. "All I cared about was having offerings for when my lords would arrive. That's what the Caribou were for as well. Offerings so that they would spare me and Equestria."

"By 'they', you don't mean the Seraphim, do you?"

"Oh, you are smarter than you look," she said with another chuckle. "Indeed I do. When they arrive, they will bring The Way to all who follow me, and we shall be spared. I spent years charging a spell to allow them here, and it is almost done."

"Then you'll need to wait a while longer," I said. "Activate Stealth field Generators." Yeah, those jammers? They're the stealth field generators. The frequency they operate on is able to neutralize any horn based magic. In short, Celestia's going to nee dot restart that charge. But first- "Though I do have a question. If you need your magic to charge for this, and you were doing it for years, than why did you not restart after Tirek?"

"I had items that retained a large amount of magic, which I drained to get to my current charge. Which is to say, you'll ruin everything!"

"Good," I said. "Oh, and I had Twilight and Luna use a transmission spell to show everything to Equestria. So everypony in Equestria saw that little speech of yours."

"It doesn't matter," Celestia said, the shimmer behind her that I associated with Seraphim construction fading away. "The spell I placed on them after my sister's banishment ensures that they will side with me and see me as a goddess!"

"You mean the spell Twilight Sparkle broke through, and the one my jammers just removed?" Realization appeared on her face. "Everypony knows, Celestia." I said. "And they're forming their own opinions. You control them no more."

"It still matters little," Celestia said. "I have lead them since before they were born. They see me as their Goddess. And even so, you are but one. You can not hope to stand against me."

And now, it was my turn to laugh. "One thing you haven't learned Celestia. I may be one, but, well (00:57) I am one, but sparks turn into flames." With that, I raised the main cannon, and fired off shots at Celestia, who was agile enough to avoid each shot in the air, the shots impacting on the shields as she flew to my left side, and with her earth pony strength, remember, unicorn magic was blocked, nothing else, used a Halberd to slice through the constructor arm. Okay, so construction is lessened, but not removed, I thought as I turned to face her again, and fire off a shots at standard rate of fire, as i had to remove the fire rate upgrade to put in a tech two suite so I could build the jammers. She dodged these shots as well, and made her way to the cannon, slicing the power cable at the elbow, which made it fall limp to the side. The repairs are definitely going to take a while this time.

"I still have two weapons left, Celestia," I said, redirecting the power flow from the main cannon to my unibeam- I mean microwave laser mounted in the ACU's chest before firing it at her. Fortunately, even though she was able to avoid the beam, I was able to retract it behind the main armor at will, which prevented her from destroying it.

"Face it, Demon," Celestia said. "I've destroyed every weapon you have, and the one you still have can't hit me."

"Already forgotten, apparently," I said. "I said I have two weapons left. One was my chest weapon."

"Then what's the other?"

"Ingenuity," I said as I activated the construction drones my ACU had stored, which then hovered over the ACU's head. "You may be agile, but so are these little buggers. Now, En guard." With that, I directed the drones to use their beams, meant for construction, but, with enough skill, can be used as air based weapons, and, as I went to tech three suite, I was able to hold ten, which meant ten single beams, or five combo beams, each Celestia had to dodge, which, I noticed, she was doing with difficulty, as one happened to graze a wing. She could still fly, but she flapped the wing slowly to avoid the pain. Good. Now I have the advantage. "Celestia, give it up," I said. "So long as the jammers are active, and I have control over each, you have a disadvantage." 'Twas after I said it that I realized I had jinxed myself.

"So you think," Celestia said before she flew off to a distance, the edge of the Empire, and then, with a speed one would think impossible with an injured wing, she rocketed towards me almost like she was Ruby from RWBY, both pronounced the same if you don't watch Roosterteeth stuff, doing her crimson tornado move, the Halberd in front and making the tip.

The only thing going through my mind as I realized what she was doing was, Aw, shit. Before I was able to move to get out of her way, she hit the ACU's chest, and tore right through it, and i find it a miracle the reactor wasn't breached. Still, that action cut all power to the ACU, which began to fall face first into the crystal ground, a large crack appearing there when it had finished the fall.

"It seems as if you've lost," Celestia said as I began to climb out of the control cabin. "You've lost anything you could use."

"Not really," I said, chuckling as I fell back onto my ass. "You see, I said we can use everything at our disposal. I just so happen to have a link to the command system, which extends to all of my units," I said. "Of which, twenty AA Gunships and Combat fighters are on their way here to knock your ass out of the air, or vaporize you on the ground. That leaves no too many options for you," I say as I stand up. "One is you stay and die. The second: you surrender. Three is the one where you leave, and I declare war on you, and anyone who still follows you. What's it going to be?"

She snarled. "I'll admit, you are definitely more intelligent and crafty than I had thought," she said. "But I will bring an army with me next time."

"And you'll still lose," I said. "Deactivate jammer one." Said jammer deactivated. "If you want to go back and face the consequences, go to the southern edge. You'll be able to teleport back."

"Your kindness will not save you next we meet," Celestia said before she spread her wings and flew in the indicated direction.

"Maybe not," I said. "But one thing that will are the tactics I'll use. Unicorns can't stand against an ACU." It was here I coughed, and I saw drops of blood come out. "Well, shit," I said as I realized I had internal bleeding, adrenaline and my armor numbing the pain, and promptly fainted as I heard hooves running towards me."

Celestia-1st- a few minutes later

I had teleported back to my castle in Cantelrot, where, I had found, a riot was going on outside. The me then, the one Josh had brought to light, didn't care, but rather, I was filled with rage that a single interloper had stopped me from opening a Quantum rift for the Seraphim to use to enter Equestria and bring The Way to my subjects. Most of which, in Canterlot, anyway, were now in rebellion. Only a small group of guards and Nobles, all of whom were in the castle with me, were still loyal to me without the spell the old me had cast.

sigh I feel ashamed for what she did, if only because I have her name and memories. But more on that later. We, those still loyal to me and myself, were in the Throne room, preparing to leave the city, and vanish from the public eye for as much time as needed to rework the Quantum spell, and bring the fury of the gods.

Once all of that was done, myself and the unicorns in the group lit our horns for teleportation. Just before that happened, my thoughts went to my, or, rather, her sister and former student, and I remember rage. Nothing else. No sorrow. Just rage. And, just as those rebelling broke into the castle, the Loyalists and myself, their leader, teleported to parts unknown, leaving Equestria in the hands of the Moon, the Student, the Paramour, and the Soldier.