Redux: Lineage

If Sanguine felt intimidated or scared by the presence of the Alicorn, something the very world itself seemed to be if the violent change in weather was any indication, she didn't show it. Her eyes continued to examine the Alicorn, making no move to free herself, as she looked Celestia up and down.

"So... this is what your kind can be, eh?" she chuckled. "I must admit... I'm more than impressed."

Celestia cast Sanguine's hand aside, eyeing up both her and Selana as she examined the situation.

"I believe introductions are in order," Celestia said to the Vampire Goddess. "But, if the power I can sense from you is any indication... I believe it may confirm something I'm not ready to hear."

"You need not worry, so long as you don't interfere," Sanguine said, bowing her head with her hand across her chest. "My name is Sanguine, Vampire Goddess and Eternal High Queen of the Vampire Throne. It's a pleasure to meet you."

"I'd extend the same compliments if our meeting wasn't on opposite sides of a battleground," Celestia sighed, opening her palm and conjuring a white-and-gold longsword with a phoenix engraved onto the crossguard. "But I'm glad you were at least pleasant about this."

"I can only say the same, Celestia," Sanguine sniggered, stepping back slightly as her eyes became engulfed in a blood-red mist that poured out of her darkened orbs, summoning up her own weapon; a black-steel bearded axe with a silver hilt.

"Not what I was expecting, to be honest," Celestia shrugged, squaring her stance and gripping her sword tightly.

"Giant weapons and serrated swords?" Sanguine questioned in a knowing tone.

"Yup."

"Beyond worthless in a fight," Sanguine sighed. "A serrated sword can be defeated by a cloth shirt. What good is that?"

With that the two launched at each other, clashing weapons with a mighty din. The force transferred between the two of them was so incredible that it shattered the stone flooring around them, digging them both into the bridge as they skidded back slightly. There was a brief moment of calm as they readied their next strikes, a flash of lightning, a magical bolt aimed at Celestia, and then the two of them teleported away, taking the noise of their clash as they did so.

There was silence apart from the storm thundering down around us, the usual peaceful drum of the rain on stone being more than an ominous sound to me now. I turned to look at Selana, the Vampire Queen staring down at her daughter as Verella began to stir. There was another moment of quiet between us as our eyes drifted together, faces stone and expressions cold, before a bright bolt of light struck the ground, glowing a heavenly blue colour as a voice followed it.

"I don't have time for the usual ceremony!" I heard Luna's voice echo. "Celestia needs my help, so don't expect me to dig you out of this one!"

The two of us covered our eyes slightly, shying away from the bright light until it faded slightly. As it did so I spotted the sword I'd dropped in the castle back in Beaumont, Luna clearly having recovered it. I gripped it quickly, taking it from the spot in the air where it was suspended and readying myself, Verella slowly getting to her feet and processing her surroundings again.

"Ugh... what..." she said, looking to her mother and then back to me. "My tongue tastes like rotten bananas... what the hell..."

Selana sighed loudly, looking up into the rain storm, eyes closed as the water his her face. She then cast her crown aside entirely, throwing it into the river beneath the bridge and untying her braided hair, allowing the long, flowing locks to fall free for the first time in a long time. With her hair styled in a similar way to Verella's, I could clearly see the resemblance between the two of them now more than ever. With a flick of her wrist, Selana summoned up her own sword moments before Verella did the same.

"The crown means nothing to me now," she sighed, taking up a fighting stance. "No matter the outcome, I'll have no need of it. Either you strike me down and my life comes to and end, or Sanguine wins and takes over the rule."

"And you're okay with losing your right to rule?" I asked.

"It was never about power, Richter. It was about helping my people," Selana stated, her soaked hair plastered to her skull. "If I have to give up the throne to a greater ruler to do so, then I shall do it with a smile on my face."

"You're too good to die for this, Selana," I said, shaking my head as I rinsed the water from my fringe.

"I can say the same about you," she nodded. "Now enough talking. We all know what must come next."

I narrowed my eyes and gritted my teeth, my nerves steeled and my mood sombre. I knew that I was going to take no pleasure in a victory here and no shame in a defeat. I couldn't argue of good versus evil in this battle, only seeing it as two sides, both equally valid in their stances, bringing and end to the conflict. Selana rushed towards me with a lunge, a strike that was intercepted by Verella as she glanced the blade off the side of her own, opening Selana up to a counter-thrust from myself.

She brought up her arm, conjuring a magical, red and black energy shield on her arm that blocked my own strike, the sword point hitting it and sending the shockwaves down my arm as it would've done with any physical object. I stepped backwards, knowing I was slightly over-extending my lunge, and Verella took the offensive afterwards, lashing forward with two strikes, one aimed for her mother's neck and the second aimed for her lower right side.

Both were deflected expertly, showing Selana to be more than just strategy and belief, knocking her daughter's blade hand aside and booting her in the stomach, sending her sprawling backwards onto the wet, stone bridge. I could tell that the impact had hurt her, even during her recovery roll. Her hand clutched at her shoulder as she got back to her feet, teeth bared and chest heaving.

She was getting angrier now, lashing her hand forward and firing a bolt of magic that her mother slapped away with the tip of her finger. Verella launched forwards again, swords once again clashing in a brilliant show of defensive and offensive capabilities that Selana once again seemed to be winning. Verella was pushed back once again, hand cast aside, just as she caught her mother's knuckles straight to her face, staggering her viciously.

I decided to not stand around any longer, moving towards Selana and really having to play it defensively, knowing that I had to stay as light on my feet and fast as my arm could go against a Vampire due to her naturally greater physical abilities. I'd be a bit more relaxed if I had my shield with me, but the fact that I was wearing it still when captured meant that it had to have been claimed and locked away inside the castle.

I heard a series of noises behind us, back across the bridge, barely managing to make out the sounds of approaching soldiers and rattling gear over the din of the rain and the clashing steel swords. If Selana was reinforced with extra troops we were through. Neither of us could turn our attention away from Selana to deal with the approaching forces as we were barely keeping up with her in a two-on-one fight. We needed some other plan to keep us from getting captured or killed here and now. That need was met, however, when Celestia reappeared for a brief moment. Her hair was soaked and stuck to her body, her eye was blackened, a large gash was open on her cheek, and her armour had more than enough dents to render it nearly scrapped.

She threw her hand sideways, conjuring up a glowing wall in the middle of the bridge to prevent the approaching Vampires from interfering. She turned to me with a determined nod just before Sanguine reappeared above her, launching downwards with a one-handed strike from her axe. Celestia brought her sword above her head, gripping it with two hands, and barely had the strength in her arms, spine, and legs to not be instantly crumpled the second she blocked the strike. She groaned from the strain, Sanguine's eyes alight with a sense of enjoyment, before Luna teleported in the air next to her, looking just as beat up as her older sister.

Luna's energy-charged fist slammed straight into Sanguine's face, knocking her clear off the edge of the bridge with a thunderous crack, but she appeared no less than two seconds later, a large cut on her own cheek from Luna's armoured strike, to aim a hack with her axe at the dark-skinned Alicorn's spine. My attention was dragged away from the battle between the Alicorn and the Goddess as Verella cried out in pain, Selana having sliced through one of Verella's wrists and cut through her tendons, causing her to drop her sword and collapse to the floor, clutching at the injury.

"Enough is enough!" Selana yelled, mostly at her daughter. "Surrender now and it all ends here!"

I gritted my teeth angrily, lashing forward at Selana and trying my best to get her on the back foot. I worked on a defensive-offense strategy, one Luna had taught me a while ago. The main tactic was to get into baiting range, keeping your defenses up as you did so, and waiting for the opponent to strike. Once they'd thrown their cut and left themselves open, you'd move in for the strike, either catching them off guard and hurting them, or forcing them into a defensive stance of their own.

It worked surprisingly well against the Vampire Queen, managing to bait out a long cut from the fighter, managing to dodge it, and managing to return my own to the unarmoured inside of her leg. I cut into her skin, drawing blood from her as well as a pained grunt. She threw her hand outwards, firing a bolt of black and red energy at me, which was something I was somehow able to catch on the flat of my blade.

The bolt hit the glowing metal, diffusing immediately, seemingly thanks to the holy enchantment Jenevive had put on it days ago. Reminding myself to offer her a marriage proposal for being the best being in existence, I moved forward on Selana once again using a defensive parry to knock aside her next strike and stabbing my sword deep into her thigh, crippling the fighter instantly and bringing her to the floor.

I tossed her sword aside, pinned her down to the ground and, with a hand on my hilt and a hand gripping the centre of the tip of my sword, I pressed it against her throat, hearing the sizzle of her skin burning from the holy enchantment on the weapon as I applied pressure.

"Selana, I don't want to kill you, you know that!" I roared over the sounds of battle, rain, and thunder. "Surrender now and allow yourself to be arrested, or I will kill you here and now."

Selana's eyes darted between myself and Verella, a mix of sadness and desperation in her red orbs, seemingly making her decision.

And it was not one that went well for me.

Her entire body unleashed a shockwave that launched me up into the air, lifting me at least ten feet off the ground and shocking me with electricity, the blast doing the same to Verella. The only difference was that she was blasted into a wall, whereas I was a set up for a volley, where Selana waved her hand, blasting me with magic from the side that sent me clear over the side of the bridge...

And plummeting the eighty feet into the water below.

The fall was not a particularly long one, taking just longer than a second or so, and had I been able to position myself, I'd have walked out of it with sore legs and a beating heart. But I went over sideways, spiralling out of control to the point where I had no decision on what hit the water first. Sadly, it was a mix of the right side of my lower leg and my right arm, extended outwards in desperation

I'd fallen from ten feet onto cobblestone before, and even that would've felt like diving headfirst into a pillow compared to this impact. My right leg broke immediately, bones splintering and piercing through the skin, spilling blood into the water. My right arm both dislocated and bent back at the elbow, breaking both the bone and the elbow joint instantly. The pain of the impact, the pain of the breaking, and the pain of the icy cold water I was now drowning in was more than enough to shock me awake... but if I didn't get out of the water soon, I'd end up going into shock from the injuries and drowning.

It hurt to breathe at this point, my head was still spinning, the river too dark and my body too disoriented to tell which way was up. I tried so hard to focus, remembering a technique Luna had taught me when it came to getting disoriented in water. I exhaled briefly through my nose, forcing my eyes open and just being able to make out which direction the bubbles went it, going past the lower right side of my jaw.

That told me I was upside down and that the surface was in the opposite direction. I kicked and directed with my good leg and arm, the mere idea of the water currents touching my destroyed limbs brought in new, fresh waves of agony that helped keep my mind focused and alert. I honestly felt like vomiting and crying from it, being the single worst pain I'd ever felt in my entire life.

After fighting through the agony, I broke the surface, taking a loud, heavy gasp I forced air into my lungs, only now realising that I'd definitely broken a rib or two on impact as well. The currents were nothing too strong, as it was more of a moving moat than it was a real river, so I didn't have to fight too hard against it. My sword was gone, either being flung to the next continent after the blast or, if I'd managed to keep a hold of it before I hit the water, now at the bottom of the river with no hope of me getting it back alone.

I swam over to the shore, clambering out onto the rocks. I felt my nerve physically break at this point, as the pain of my shattered leg dragging over the stone beach of the river was too much for me to take. I collapsed, groaning and screaming as the pain seemed never-ending, blood leaking from the bone-punctured skin and mixing with the river water and rain on the bank. I could feel the tears streaming down my face, unable to stop them or compose myself as I sobbed from the agony.

"Grael?" I called out mentally, like a child screaming for their parent in times of suffering. "Grael, please answer me..."

It was no good. While I didn't have that block in my head anymore, I imagined Grael was somewhere where he did. I had no idea what I hoped to achieve by shouting for him, he was no mage, no teleporter. He couldn't have done anything for me even if he wanted to... but the pain had brought on some primal desire for survival, seemingly regressing me to the same attitude an infant has, where the only thing they can think to do is call for their loved one, no matter how little effect it would have.

I gritted my teeth once again, trying my damnedest to drag myself back up the beach and to get out of the water, but it just wasn't happening. I was too weak, too broken to help myself. I collapsed once again, head smacking off a jagged rock and cutting my brow again, stars dancing before my eyes as my breathing became more and more shallow. I wasn't losing consciousness, hadn't sustained enough cranial injuries or lost enough blood for that just yet, but I was going into shock.

Apathy overwhelmed me, my body began to ignore my commands, and no matter how hard I tried to get myself going again, all I could do was lie still, bleed, and hurt. Nothing was going to change that. All I could do was sit here and hope that Celestia and Luna emerged victorious and that they'd find me before I bled out from the leg injury. It was out of my hands and with fate at this point.

And fate seemed to smile on me once more, whether through kindness or pity, I knew not.

"Richter!" came the yell just after the loud crack of teleportation.

The came the hands, the soft, warm hands followed by the soothing bliss of sedation. I felt my entire body go limp, my neck losing the ability to hold my head up just before I was rolled over. I spotted two familiar faces kneeling next to me, those being Twilight and Cadance, the latter of whom looked ready to pass out through sheer panic.

"You still conscious?" Twilight asked, dragging her finger through the air over my face.

I tried to follow it, but my eyes didn't feel like moving, whether due to shock or the pain relief magic, I knew not.

"Yeah, he's completely gone," Twilight said, casting her bag aside and tying her hair back. "Get his pants off, I need a look at that leg."

Cadance did as ordered, immediately removing my legwear before crawling up to my head, resting it on her lap as she gently began stroking my hair. That primal part of my brain that had screamed for familial protection was now sated and full, overjoyed at the fact my mother, the first presence I'd ever known, even while developing, was here by my side once again. A blissful feeling of warmth and safety rolled over me as my breathing caught the scent of her perfume, the familiar sensation of her touch, and the heat of her body.

"Ooh, that is a bad one," Twilight hissed, turning over the shattered, slashed remains of my lower right leg with a grimacing expression. "At least its all in one piece."

"Can you fix it?" Cadance asked, using her own magic to keep the pain relief coming as Twilight examined with my deformed leg.

"Severed arteries, both the fibula and tibula shattered with more than a few comminuted fractures in the upper thigh bone, the patella itself has split cleanly with a transverse fracture, thank the Goddesses for that," she muttered to herself, my leg giving me a dull throb of pain that I proceeded to grunt at in response, stunning both Cadance and Twilight as I did so.

"Amplify the pain relief even more," Twilight said. "I wouldn't be surprised if every nerve in this fucking leg is screaming in agony from the damage and I do not want him feeling even a ten-thousandth of it anymore."

"Can you fix it?" Cadance repeated.

"Easily, just give me a few minutes to restructure, realign, and close it all up," Twilight nodded, using her expect medical knowledge and masterful workings of magic to begin healing my leg. "Check him over for anything else while you're here."

"Twilight, I'm not a medic," Cadance growled.

"But you know the way stuff's meant to bend, right?" the younger woman asked. "He fell something like eighty feet off a bridge into water. Those injuries aren't really the easiest things to miss."

Cadance growled angrily, the fear and desperation that clutched the two over my safety clearly making them irritable, but they both seemed aware of it, which is why the chatter came to a minimum after this point.

My mother's gentle hands probed and examined my body as softly and as thoroughly as they could, looking over nearly every inch of me with an experienced eye, knowing exactly what was meant to be where on me, what colour it was supposed to have, and how large it was usually. Years of changing, bathing, and merely being around me had made her an expert at this.

"Right arm's dislocated, I think the elbow joint's snapped, and a few ribs feel a bit looser than normal," Cadance said to her sister-in-law as she finished her examination.

"Right," Twilight nodded, her dark skin and darker clothes soaked with fresh blood as she continued to work on my legs.

My mother's eyes never left my body at this point, and every time my eyes wandered to meet hers, she'd smile widely at me, that basic part of my brain reassuring me that if my mother was smiling about something, then I needed to be smiling about something.

"There, done," Twilight said, giving my fixed leg a gentle tap on the side of it as she raised it, testing the range of movement the joint had and listening out for any clicks, grinding, or snaps that shouldn't occur. "Lemme see his arm."

She moved up to me, using her magic to cut away the right arm of the shirt I was wearing before she grinned widely and cracked her neck.

"Something to smile about?" Cadance asked.

"This'll take literally seconds," Twilight chuckled, shoving my arm back into its socket with a gentle grunt, pulling my arm back the right way it was meant to be on the joint, and using her magic to reconstruct and put my elbow back in the right place before looking at my mother.

"Ribs next, right?"

"Yes," she nodded.

Twilight gave a quick feel of my chest, found the lower right section to be the broken ones, and healed them in a matter of seconds with a golden glow on her soft, skilled fingers.

"And there we go, all that's fixed," she smiled. "Just gonna do a quick look over for any internal damage..."

She ran her hands over me once again, checking organs, brain, eyes, tongue, teeth, genitals, and anything else that might have been damaged in the fall.

"Right," she said, turning to Cadance and nodding.

Cadance snapped her fingers and the warm, numbing sensation of the pain relief faded away, being replaced with a cold, shivering feeling as the cold of the rain water bore into my skin.

"Fuck me," I growled, sitting up and trying to warm myself up.

My mother nearly tackled me to the floor as I did so, her arms wrapping tight around me as the warmth of her body leaked into mine.

"Alright, Cadance, we don't wanna break him again," Twilight urged, trying to pry us apart.

My mother adjusted herself, kissing me passionately and driving her tongue into my mouth. She pulled back after a long second, tears streaming down her face as she struggled to speak for a moment.

"I... I thought you were... oh, my baby!" she squealed, hugging me once again and tucking my head under her chest. "I'm so glad you're safe."

"Yeah, safe is a bad word to use here," Twilight said, getting to her feet and grunting loudly, her body being enveloped with magic as her usual scrubs switched out for a dark, tight-fitting witch robe, a black staff with a purple gem set in the top of it, and a large dagger in her left hand. "We're not out of the woods yet."

"Verella," I said, getting back to my feet. "We need to save Verella."

"I'll get right on that," Twilight snarled. "I owe Selana a thank you for her last little trick. Cadance, you go and back up Luna and Celestia. Try to keep to support as much as you can, but avoid engaging Sanguine directly."

"And you two?" Cadance asked.

"We're going to go play nice with the Vampire Queen," Twilight said, poking me in the chest and summoning a fresh pair of leather boots, padded fencing pants, and a gambeson.

"My sword," I said, turning towards the river. "I have no idea where it's gone, but I'm not leaving it-"

Twilight tucked her dagger into a sheath on her belt, holding out her left hand and grunting loudly again, seconds passing before the glowing black and blue sword flew in from the miles it had travelled into the blast, and slamming into the palm of her hand with a metallic thud.

"Here you go, fuckboy," Twilight said, tossing it over to me. "You ready for round two?"

"Aching," I nodded, ready to finish this once and for all.

"Then hold tight," she said, grabbing hold of me before turning to Cadance.

"Good luck," she said, watching as Cadance summoned her own armour and sword, this time with the addition of a pink, fox-shaped domino mask.

"You too," she grinned before all of us teleported away.

We were instantly back on top of the bridge, Twilight seeming to have located Selana faster than I had, seeing her and and the other Vampires, who had seemingly broken down the wall Celestia had conjured, leading Verella away in chains. Twilight roared loudly, jabbing her staff forwards and firing a giant blast of screaming, green energy. The swirling, charged mass of power soon formed into the mouth of a dragon, hitting into every single one of the Vampires on the bridge and incinerating all but two of them instantly.

"Charged wards," Twilight growled. "Clever girl."

"Chancellor Twilight," Selana said in a disappointed tone. "I was hoping you'd be sitting this one out."

"I'm afraid not, dear," Twilight snarled, her own rising power creating a purple aura around her that had the same effect on the weather that Celestia's had earlier. "Not when I have a debt to pay for your hospitality in Beaumont."

Selana sighed quietly, her hands on her hips, as she looked between her daughter, myself, and Twilight.

"You're more than aware that you have no chance, right?" I called out to her.

She didn't respond, her eyes hidden behind her rain-soaked hair as her hands soon balled down by her fists.

"Selana, listen to me. I know you fight for a noble cause, I know you want to help people, and I know you aren't the villain everyone makes you out to be," I said, trying to reason with her as best as I could. "It's over here and now, nobody here's hurt, nobody here's dead, and nobody here's looking for revenge," I continued.

"Speak for yourself," Twilight mumbled under her breath.

"You're the enemy right now, but you're not a monster to any of us here. If you end it now, if you come with us and agree to be trialled, you know what'll happen, right?" I asked her.

"I'll be executed," she spat.

"Wrong. You'll be jailed," I answered. "You've fought as honest and as fair a war as one can fight. No war crimes, no genocide, no plagues, and no monstrous choices. You took up arms to fight for your people and your cause, and there's no evil in that. Surrender now, and I promise that not only will I speak at your trial in your defence, I'll do everything I can to make sure there's a place you and your kind can go to be safe from harm."

Selana looked up at me, her eyes brimming over with tears, only crying harder as her daughter turned to her, wrapping her arms around the taller Vampiress as best as she could with her arms in chains.

"Mom, please..." Verella begged, sobbing quietly herself. "I... I don't wanna lose you. Please don't throw your life away. Listen to Richter."

Selana tightly gripped her daughter, kissing her on the top of her head, as they sobbed together. I fell silent at this point, wanting to see if Selana was going to make the right decision, or if she was going to carelessly throw away her life on a lost cause.

"Okay," Selana said, turning to look at me with her arms still around her daughter. "It's over... I'm not spilling any more blood just to prolong this war."

"Thank you," Verella mumbled. "Thank you."

"So, let's go tell that to Sanguine, shall we?" Twilight asked in a hurried manner, teleporting us and the other Vampires to where she could sense Sanguine.

The second we hit the ground after reappearing, we knew the fight was already reaching a climax. Blasts of magic were flying everywhere, the ground was soaked in blood, the grass, trees, and hills for several miles were burned, smoking, and destroyed. And in the centre of all of it, stood the other three Alicorn, bruised, bloody, and beaten, unable to make a move against Sanguine, who seemed to be in that exact same position.

"I gotta admit, girls," Sanguine giggled. "You've gotta be some of the best opponents I've ever had."

"After all we've been through..." Luna panted, blood-staining her face, armour, and sword. "I've gotta say the same. I can't remember... remember a time where I've been pushed this hard."

"And I'm sorry to say it looks like it's still not enough," Celestia said, tearing her sword from the dirt where it was and readying herself. "We're gonna end up wiping ourselves out here."

"You know... you're probably right," Sanguine said. "But I can't go back to my people and tell them I gave up the war effort. One more clash, that's all we need, and whichever force stays standing gets to be the winner. No deaths, just a knock-out. Sound fair?"

"You're... you're awfully diplomatic for a murderous Goddess, Sanguine," Cadance said, hunched over and panting with dented armour and a bruised face.

"No reason for there to be any bad blood once the war's over," she shrugged. "I want you all to know you lost in a fair and honourable fashion."

"Goddesses above, the confidence..." Celestia chuckled, a genuine smile on her face. "Alright then, Sanguine. You're on..."

"No," Selana said, walking between the two groups. "No she isn't."

"Selana?" Luna asked.

"I'm not?" Sanguine asked in just as shocked a tone.

"No, you're not. This war's over. I've seen to that already," Selana nodded.

Sanguine's eyebrow cocked in a confused manner, her head turning to see Twilight, myself, and Verella standing, much more conscious than she'd expected us to be.

"You surrendered, I take it?" Sanguine asked.

"We've lost, Your Excellency," she sighed. "These three might be a fair match for you... but with Twilight? Maybe even Verella, too? That's a force we can't handle."

Sanguine stood up straight, as hard as that was to do for the injured Goddess, and looked over at Celestia, then to me, and then back to Selana.

"I'm not saying you're right... but I'm not saying you're wrong, either," she chuckled, rubbing the underside of her nose in a cheerful manner.

"Princess Celestia, may I discuss something with you?" Selana asked.

"Of course..." the injured monarch nodded, smiling through bloody gums and bruised lips.

"This is so weird..." Luna muttered. "It never ends this peacefully."

"Richter told me that if I surrendered, I'd see no death penalty for a lack of... atrocities," Selana said, trying to find the general term for the word. "Is this true?"

"If we find that to be the case, then yes," Celestia said, still as confused as everyone else about this sequence of events. "A prison sentence will usually be handed down to those we find committing acts of 'Just War' as well as a removal of power. However, if we find any atrocities to be committed under your command, you will be put to death for them."

I fully expected this new threat of execution to deter Selana, to get her fight or flight reflex going and put her on the offensive once again, but instead she nodded in understanding.

"I am more than sure you will find no crimes committed under my orders," Selana nodded. "And how long will this search take?"

"It depends many things, usually how easily we can find plans, notes, and orders written by yourself," Celestia responded.

"And if I were to hand them all over to you personally?" she asked.

"Then that would be a great help," Celestia smiled.

"Am I dreaming? This cannot be happening," Luna said, pinching her own cheek.

"I will do so on one condition, and its the condition Richter promised me," Selana stated, crossing her arms.

"And what would that condition be?" Celestia asked.

"You give my people a safe place to stay, a land of their own we can live and walk about in peace in without fearing hunters or attacks," Selana said.

"That..." Celestia said, looking back and forth between her sister and Selana. "That is doable, but not swiftly."

"All I ask is that you do it, Celestia," Selana said. "And you shall have my unconditional surrender."

"So no fight?" Sanguine asked in a bemused manner. "No final round?"

"I'm afraid not," Celestia chuckled. "But... I'm sure we could be persuaded to spar every now and again."

"That's good enough for me," Sanguine said, collapsing onto her back and dropping her bearded axe. "Now if you excuse me... I need a bloody nap."