Lunar Spartan

The outskirts of Equestria remained as such, all around being fields of grasslands and the water by the edge of the beaches. It was considered the border line of the east, and was heavily patrolled by the Guards, both solar and lunar, keeping on constant watch if the Griffons decide to invade this land once more. Far into the past, Griffons had some territory in the eastern part of what Equestria would reach, but before, the country of ponies would be new with the three races coming together and making its expansion of territory rapid, meeting no trouble from the south and west besides a few skirmishes. Upon learning movement towards the east, the Griffons paranoid of being attacked made the first strike, not knowing the ponies would leave them be and thus creating a war between the newly formed Equestria and at the time the Griffon Empire. The fight would only last three years, the ponies pushing out the Griffons out of this part of land and holding its newly gained territory until Discord made rein, and again being taken back by the now grown and powerful princesses.

Hundreds of years have passed, but the ponies knew their rival race would strike if they left an opening. What they expect were Griffons, but the Guards on duty gained something much, much worse.

Two guards spoke to one another, speaking about their time here in the border and how their families are, cracking jokes from time to time. One of them took notice of something approaching and quickly switched into a soldier.

“Halt! State your business!” The guard spoke, but met with no reply. “If you continue to march forward, we will have no choice but to use force against you!” The red centaur continued to walk forward, ignoring the guard’s warnings. The guard shook his head and moved towards it, sword drawn with his magic. “I order you to-” He was cut short as the red centaur grasp the guard and began absorbing the magic from him. The other guard made haste behind the border walls, making way to a horn to make notice of an attack. The horn echoed out throughout the border, calling all guards to battle stations.

The red centaur continued to walk forward, leaving the magically drained guard on the ground. He stopped once more, seeing that more guards had arrived to fight him. This only made him smile.

In the barracks, the guard rushed over to two pegasi messengers who was about to make way to the border line. “Soldiers! I need one of you to relay a message to the princesses about the attack happening right now and another to mobilize the army east!”

The three turned to see none other than the red centaur with a smirk. The guard pulled out his sword, noticing that the enemy looked stronger. “Go relay the message!” He yelled, striking the centaur with his sword, but no connection was made.

The pegasi rushed out of the barracks like their lives depended on it, hearing the screams of the guard they spoke to as they flew away. The two saw many others on the ground, motionless. This kind of attack could not be of the works of the Griffons; this was something much worse. Without notice, both saw the centaur jumping as high as they were trying to capture them. Both maneuvered passed his grasp, flying higher to a part of the sky where air was limited. It may come to harm the two, but they noticed they were not in the enemy’s grasp anymore. The dense air pained their lungs, but the two would remain in this area until they reached their destination. Both broke off into different directions, one to castle of the royal sisters, the other to the main army.

At the castle, the royal guards began to take over the posts the lunar guards had, making constant watch non-stop with fresh eyes. With only minutes of the switch, the royal guards saw one of their own crashing down onto the grass, making many rush over to his aid. A dozen surrounded him, helping him up. The pegasus grasped one of the earth ponies, startling the rest. “Tell Princess Celestia,” he coughed out before continuing, “the eastern border has fallen.”

All the guards remained still. “Is it the griffons?” The earth pony asked.

“No. A red, powerful, centaur…” The pegasus fainted, exhausted from the haste of flying.

“You two, take the pegasus to the medical room. The rest of you come with me,” he said, trotting fast with many behind.

In the Solar Throne, Celestia remained seated while filling out paperwork given to her one at a time, paying close attention to what she was signing and vetoing those she didn’t approve would suit the ponies of Equestria. Today she hoped for another day of calmness in her castle but such thing would not happen as many of her Royal Guards’ started to pile in in front of her. The earth pony walked more forward, bowing to her before speaking. “Your highness, there is urgent news for you to hear,” he spoke.

Celestia put down the paper and quill, seeing all her guards here making her know it had to be something threatening. “What is wrong?”

“We have received news from the eastern border that it has been attacked and overrun.”

Her eyes went wide-eyed upon hearing the news. It couldn’t be. “Griffons?” She asked.

The guard shook his head. “From what I’ve been told, it was a red, powerful centaur that has broken the border line.”

Even though it wasn’t the rival kingdom, she still wasn’t relieved hearing that one pony had defeated many guards in the east. Soon upon hearing the news, another pony, a pegasus, walked up to her and bowed before speaking his message. “Your highness, the three-o-seventh Royal Brigade has made movement towards the east to defeat the enemy.”

Celestia nodded, knowing that waiting for her order would cost too much time to get back to the general. “Call all guards available to start mobilizing to the east,” she said, getting a reply of saluting to her before her guards made way to follow her order. She herself made her way down the hallway to alert Luna about what is conspiring. Stopping in front of her door, she knocked a few times before entering. She walked forward to her sleeping sister and gently placed a hoof on her to wake Luna. “Luna…Luna please wake up…”

Luna grumbled, wishing not to awake. Her eyelids slightly opened seeing some light bleeding through her curtains. “Celestia it is too early for me to wake, please return later.”

“The eastern border has fallen Luna.”

This made the night princess fully rise awake. “What!? Are the Griffons invading!?”

Celestia shook her head. “Nay, it is something else that I do not know of. A single centaur caused the fall of the eastern border.”

Luna moved out of bed and magically placed her royal military armor on. The grayish-blue armor contrasted with her natural coat color, the pommel of her sword having the lunar crescent identical to her now armored chest plate having the insignia. “Should I awake my Lunar Guard?”

“One of my brigades are on the march towards the insurgent. Us both would be all they need,” said Celestia.

“I see,” Luna nodded, “Let us make haste then. I suggest placing your armor on, dear sister.”

With her magic Celestia was instantly in her golden armor, her sword slightly glowing with pure light of the sun being the shoulder of the sword. Both sisters had never needed to have such armor on, Celestia knew, for there was no need as they solved everything with their magic. Taking this threat seriously, she knew that it would take more than magic to defeat the enemy invading the land of Equestria.

The two walked out of the room and made their way outside where Celestia’s guards stood-by. Letting Celestia go inside the chariot first, Luna walked up to one guard and told him to wake the Lunar Guard to take control of the security of the castle. He saluted to her and turned to do the order given. On the chariot, both rode in silence as it quickly took speed to the east where the possible battle was commencing.

“What do you think Aniketos will do once he figures out we are gone?” Asked Luna.

Celestia was silent, forgetting about Aniketos since she was focused with what is occurring. “I believe he will be okay. He rarely leaves the room if you noticed.”

“True, though most of his time he was a prisoner.”

“The nobles and others took a liking in him yesterday.”

Luna raised an eyebrow. “Strange. I would have believed something else would have occurred once other ponies besides the guards know his presence in Equestria.”

“You missed him getting touched by them since the general yelled out of he being made of iron,” Celestia giggled, “the rest grew interested and joined the general while Aniketos remained still and confused as to what was happening.”

Luna had laughed as well for a moment before returning to her focused state. “He is rather entertaining when with me. Unlike the rest, the night before with him was filled with much knowledge and some laughter. I learned he enjoyed poetry and music and I being a fan of poetry made me excited with glee, though I didn’t show it to him. I practically pulled him to our private library and showed him all kinds of poetry before he collapsed into slumber.”

“Maybe you bored him with your poetry, Lulu,” teased Celestia.

“Hmph,” her sister sounded, “you’re just jealous that I having a poetry companion.”

Silence soon took over between the two the closer they were to the far east of Equestrian territory. What estimated in an hour time was cut short when the chariot halted abruptly, startling the two princesses. Both looked out and saw small camps set up which looked to be rushed. The two got off and trotted over, slowing down to see many ponies lying on make-shift beds. Celestia walked over to one and saw how pale the guard was. Using her magic, she started to sense what may have caused such paleness. She stopped wide-eyed. His magic is gone.

“Your highnesses! You have arrived!” Yelled out the captain of the 307th as he rushed over to the two.

Celestia moved away from the guard and stood by Luna. “Anything to report Captain?”

He removed his helmet, looking awfully unsure. “The brigade is collapsing, your highness. I do not know how much longer my guards will last.”

“Take us to the site,” ordered Luna.

The captain nodded and quickly started to trot to the site along with the two princesses and what guards followed from the castle. Halfway, Celestia ordered her guards to hold while she and Luna continued up hill. Once up top, their eyes widened in shock. Many guards surrounded the red centaur that was reported, but did not expect it to look and feel so powerful. Both princesses felt the magic from where they stood, feeling his power rise as another victim was drained of their magic before being tossed away like nothing. They knew their magic would not help against this monster.

“He roared out to us once we made contact: Bow down to I, Lord Tirek, and I will be merciful to you,” explained the Captain.

Celestia nodded. “Captain, call your troops to fall back. I will fight this monster.”

“Tia,” Luna interjected, “we should fight Lord Tirek together.”

“Nay Luna, you remain here for now,” Celestia told her.

She wished to object, but knowing her sister saying her true name meant she was serious. “Alright then. I will come to your aid when I see you require such.”

Celestia extended her wings out and pushed out into the sky, the wind blowing past Luna and the Captain. She knew how much Luna wanted to be by her side, but she did not want to risk her or her life upon fighting this monster. Taking Tirek out would be a challenge, she knew. Through her ears she listened to the horn sound out and she watched the guards who were not drained retreating along with those who were victims.

Tirek laughed as he watched the little ponies retreat from him. “Run! Run from me ponies! You only prolong the inevitable end, ha-ha!”

His laugh was cut short as he met a strong strike against his head. With her sword, Celestia landed hard onto the ground with her hooves, leaving a dirt track of where she slid. Tirek turned around, seeing a much taller pony in front of him with her sword drawn. Feeling her magical aurora, his angered mouth slowly turned into a smile. “Oh, heh-heh, well what do we have here?” He softly spoke, inspecting her armor. “From the look of you, you are no ordinary pony I’ve so far seen. You are a much different, powerful, pony.”

Celestia raised her sword by her magic, seeing the slash she made onto him quickly heal back to normal. This only angered her more. “I will give you one last chance to leave this land!” She yelled out.

This made Tirek laugh even more, magically creating a black and red sword. “I will ensure that all your magic is in my hands!” He charged forward, swinging down his sword and clashing onto Celestia’s.

The solar princess struggled to keep the blade up, feeling the sword shake with strain. Pulling back, she stuck back and returned the strike with a much bigger force. It did not look like he strained much. Both clashed with one another, their blade’s echoing throughout the battlefield as they came into contact. With luck, Celestia slashed his arm but in the same process met a slash on her front right leg. The only difference between the two was Tirek’s arm healing while Celestia’s leg remained, the cut starting to bleed. Sweat was already forming on her head, knowing this would not be an easy battle.

Slowly, Aniketos awoke from his abrupt slumber, noticing that he was no longer in the library but on his bed in his room. Being fully awake, he sat up, swearing to himself as he realized he had committed something that was forbidden. No matter what, do not succumb to slumber until slumber is allowed. He stood up, knowing he would be punished. However, he had forgotten he was no longer in his world, and such punishment was not going to be done to him. He shook his head, knowing he must be punished for giving in to weakness. He was a spartan, not a peasant. “I wonder if I can have a whip from Celestia,” he softly spoke.

Walking towards the door, he opened it and saw many Lunar Guards trotting back and forth in haste to wherever they needed to be. “What is happening?” Aniketos said, watching everything unfold. Knowing he would not get an answer, he randomly pulled one Lunar Guard inside his room, closing it with his back. He felt the guard struggle to be freed, her bat wings trying to unfold but met no results. The Spartan moved next to the guard’s ear, “If you do not stop moving, I will break your neck.”

This made the guard still and relax. He released the pony and watched it back away from him. “How dare you assault a guard of Luna!?” She yelled.

“I will assault you more if you do not answer my question,” said Aniketos, looking down to the mare with threatening eyes. She turned silent, letting him resume his speaking. “What is happening in the castle? There is a lot of movement occurring, as well as much of the Lunar Guard being active in a time where you would be resting.”

“Did you not hear about the attack in the east?” She questioned back.

“I had only awoken just moments ago to this. I am uninformed to what is happening.”

The mare sighed. “Well, there had been reports about a single centaur wiping out the border guards and making his way more inland. Once the news reached both their highnesses, they took all Celestia’s Royal Guard from the castle and quickly marched to meet with the three-o-seventh brigade. Luna has given an order to guard the castle while everypony is away.”

Aniketos remained still, silent to what he was hearing. Even in a world of magical talking ponies, there can still be deadly conflict. Moving past the mare, he proceeded to place his armor on, getting each piece tighten and ready. Placing his red torn cloak and helmet on, he tightened the sheath holding his kopis onto his waste. Once ready, he lifted his shield and dory into his grasp and stood tall in front of the mare who stared in awe.

“Can you take me to where the princesses are?” He asked.

She returned into the world from her mind, backtracking to what he asked. “Uhh y-yes! Yes, I can! Follow me!” She said, opening and walking out the door with the Spartan not too far behind.

“We must make haste, guard. I do not wish to delay assisting the princesses,” said Aniketos.

She soon sped up her movement into a canter with him running along behind her. “My name is Astra Akeldama, not ‘guard’.”

Aniketos raised an eyebrow behind his helmet, knowing he fully understood the meaning of the name. Bloody Star? “A pleasure to meet you Astra.”

Both left the castle and was out in the sun still running through the trees before reaching clear grasslands. “Damn sun. You know, for a spartan from another world, you can still keep up,” said Astra.

“My agoge consisted in running long distances back in my world,” he replied.

“Agoge?”

“Training to turn boys into warriors.”

“And what about mares?”

“No ‘mares’ in this training. Only me-, er, stallions.”

“Well then, I see how it is.”

Aniketos chuckled a bit before the two became silent throughout their rush towards the battle site.

The fight between both Tirek and Celestia came to a halt as the princess huffed in fatigue from doing all she can to defeat the monster. For him, he did not show any signs of tiredness, not even a sweat. All damage done to him only healed back to the way it was before while Celestia’s wounds remained bloody, staining her white pure coat. Her armor was slightly damaged, but showed she needed to be wary of herself for she could have perished many times over.

A brush of wind blew away between the two, and from Luna’s eyes, she saw her sister struggling to stay strong to defeat him. The captain noticed Luna’s concern, seeing that this battle was not going the way they thought it would. Once the wind passed, Celestia charged forward, contacting Tirek’s sword with a growl of anger and determination to defeat him. Both dueled again, she making him walk back as her strikes were becoming more rough filled with rage. She was calm and collected throughout the fight, but now she had released herself from such and let go to what bottled inside her from now and from times before. Times where she could have been angry but did no such thing and took the alternate path to remain as such.

Tirek laughed softly as he blocked her attacks. “I see someone is angry,” he said.

“Silence!” She yelled swinging her sword to his stomach but made no contact. She then blocked a strike coming down to her head.

“The blue one on the hill seems concerned of you, my sweet.”

Celestia flinched and quickly fired a magic blast to him but did not affect to him. “Do not speak about her, beast!”

“Oh, did I hit a nerve?” He fired back a magic blast, it being more powerful and making Celestia scream out as it made contact.

She dragged the dirt with her, lying still, exhausted, and with no more will to continue to fight. Tears started to form as she softly sobbed. “I am sorry Luna.”

Tirek towered over her, seeing the powerful pony now in his grasp. “With your magic, I will now conquer all this land you hold so dearly,” he said, reaching over to grab her by the neck. Hearing her squeak in pain made him laugh loudly. “Do not fret, I will not take your life for a battle I haven’t enjoyed so much for many years.”

Soon he felt a powerful magic blast impact him, pushing him across the land as Luna flew and caught her sister before she made contact to the ground. The captain and two other guards rushed over with a stretcher. Once back on the ground, Luna softly placed Celestia on it. “Rest Tia, you have done enough.” Luna said with a bittersweet smile. Celestia couldn’t stop crying and only nodded in response. Hearing Tirek return to his hooves, Luna turned to see him as angry as she was. “Take her back to the camp and treat the damage done to her.”

“And what of you, your highness?”

Luna pulled out her sword and started trotting towards the beast. “I will fight him. If I may suggest an option, everypony should retreat and regroup.”

The guards remained still for a moment before moving Celestia to safety. Luna pushed up with her wings and quickly flew to Tirek, who he himself was charging to her. Both rapidly made contact, both their swords screeching on one another as sparks from the contact fell onto the grass. Smoke soon started to rise from the grass as the two fought. Tirek was met with more slashes from this pony than the other one, noticing she had less control of her rage than the white one. She was more dangerous, but knew she will be defeated once he regains control. Both separated for a moment, staring down into each other. “You are quite the fighter,” Tirek spoke, “more deadly…” he rushed over to her, their swords making contact but he with his free arm to back hand her, slamming her to the side far from him, “…but more reckless.”

Luna stood back up, feeling her head throb in pain. “I will not be defeated so easily Tirek!”

“That I know, but in the end, you will be defeated.” He struck down his sword, it being block as he shot a magic blast to her. She herself countered it with her, the magic creating a brighter light and magical electricity echoing out as it exploded between them. Both flew in opposite directions but quickly got back up, Luna taking the sky and firing her magic towards him. Back and forth the two shot at each other, the princess’ magic creating large craters by the beast. She made a quick dive straight towards him, their swords made damaging contact with one another, the sparks reflecting in both their angry eyes as they stared down each other. Without notice, Luna maneuvered her sword and took away his own, making it fly away from his grasp. Both separated once more. “It is over Tirek! Give up!” Luna announced to him.

His anger frown soon turned into a mischievous grin. “No, it is you who is over.”

Luna soon felt his powerful magic from behind him and jumped up into the air. It was too late for her to dodge his attack as she felt a sharp pain through her chest. Struggling to look down, she saw the blade of the black sword going through her chest. Her facial reaction was only able to form a face of disbelief as she crashed back onto the ground, her sword stabbing the ground with her beside it. She could not believe such attack went unnoticed. Her eyes watched Tirek walk over to her slowly with the fire behind him. It was over for her. At least Tia is safe, she thought.

The guards remained still behind the hill, hearing silence through their ears which could not be determined if the battle was won or lost. All soon turned to the center as they watched a tall armored creator with a bat pony by its side quickly walking past them and up the hill. Aniketos reached the top of the hill along with Astra by his side seeing the battle site. From there, he saw much holes on the ground along with fire, and soon what both princesses were fighting. He went wide-eyed as the beast inched closer to Luna who remained in the ground. He soon made a quick sprint towards her.

Tirek laughed loudly, staring at the defeated pony. “I shall take your magic before your death can take hold of you,” he said, getting closer to her. Luna closed her eyes, awaiting such event to unfold. Instead, she was met with a large scream coming from Tirek. Opening her eyes, she saw that a spear had stabbed his arm. It looked awfully familiar. She watched Tirek grow increasingly mad as he charged up his magic and shot down towards her. The deadly magic wouldn’t reach her as the shadow of a spartan blocked her with its shield. The black silhouette of the side of a spartan helmet was burned into her memory as the magic was deflected. Once the magic cleared, she saw Aniketos standing tall. Tears started to form as she saw him in full armor. “Ani…,” she whispered, seeing him place his cloak onto her before she fainted.

“Do not worry your highness, I will take care of him,” he told her. Looking towards Astra, he motioned his head to come take Luna away from here before he turned to face Tirek.

Tirek pulled out the dory and snapped it in half. However, the wound that it received never healed. “What is this foolery?”

“No foolery is around us, beast,” Aniketos responded, pulling out his kopis.

Tirek formed another black sword in his grasp. “What are you!? You are nothing like a pony!”

“You are correct. I am not what you think.” Aniketos started to walk towards him. “I am Aniketos Xenagoras of Sparta. And you will meet your end.”

“You dare mock me Spartan!” Tirek yelled, slashing down his sword to Aniketos but only making contact to his bronze shield. His wrist was soon cut deeply by Aniketos’ kopis, making him yell in pain as he moved back. His wounds were not healing. “What magic is this!?”

“No magic,” Aniketos responded, “only bronze.”

Celestia moved around to each magically drained guard, helping them restore what was lost after she had been treated of her injuries. Seeing Aniketos suddenly appear and making his way towards the battle site assured her that Luna would be safe, but it seemed not likely as a lone bat pony of the Lunar Guard quickly trotted over with Luna on her back.

“Luna!” Celestia called out, rushing over to her.

Astra laid her lunar princess onto the make-shift bed, pushing away Aniketos’ cloak to reveal a large stab wound which continued to bleed. The sword had disappeared suddenly and without and reason she could not put together. Seeing Celestia rush over to the other side, she readied herself for any questions. Celestia saw the wound with wide-eyes, quickly working on her magic to treat and heal her sister. She had never seen so much blood. It is sickening for her to witness. “What happened?” Celestia asked, trying to keep herself calm and focused.

“Tirek’s sword stabbed straight through behind her. He was about to blast her highness with strong magic but Aniketos managed to deflect it with his sword. Last I saw, Tirek was bleeding from Aniketos’ spear.”

“Did his wound heal?”

Astra shook her head. “No. It remained as it were, blood running down from him.”

Celestia could not speak anymore words hearing what the bat pony had told her. While she knew he could heal rapidly back to full power, even from her attacks, hearing the Spartan can make some damage to him was something she could not comprehend. He held no sign of magic in him. He could deflect Tirek’s magic and do damage as well. She was grateful he would be able to fight him, but something deeper in her made her feel concerned about everypony’s future safety. Even if he did not wish to harm anypony, he being this strong was something to watch over.

“Your highness,” a guard spoke, breaking Celestia’s thoughts.

She ceased her magic once Luna’s wound healed and turned around, seeing a large chest in front of her. “Thank you for bringing them,” she said.

The guard saluted her and returned to his position. Astra looked at the chest, puzzled to what it might be. “If you don’t mind me asking, your highness, but what is it that he brought?”

Celestia opened the chest and brought out six ruby-like artifacts with her magic, each in their own different color. Astra’s mouth widened upon seeing it. “A-are those…”

“The Elements, yes.” Celestia answered, placing back her helmet on. “Our Spartan had bought us time for these to be able to arrive without problems.” She started to trot back to the fight. “Watch over Luna please.”

The bat pony saluted her. “Yes, your highness,” she said, wrapping the cloak back around her. She looked at her lunar princess remain unconscious, a face of pain no longer visible.

Tirek bashed Aniketos with his fist, making the Spartan fall back onto the ground hard as the ground separated between his body. He stood back up, seeing his shield beyond any use to him. Gripping his kopis hard he charged back to the beast, each strike being blocked as he took a step forward. Tirek had an advantage since the Spartan had no shield and used his magic to blast him away from him. Aniketos flailed away from Tirek, his body again rolling on the ground painfully but still got back up. He didn’t have time to react as magic took hold of him and he was lifted then forcefully dropped onto the ground repeatedly. Soon Tirek tossed him to the left, seeing dirt rise as the Spartan once more made contact to the ground. A smile grew for only a moment before an angered frown returned, seeing the Spartan still stand from all that was done.

Aniketos coughed out blood, knowing how damaged he was but still could not give up. Until his life is taken, he will always stand back up to keep fighting. He charged towards Tirek again, this time sliding to the side and slashing his chest. A roar erupted from Tirek, making him swing his sword down. Aniketos felt the sword slash down his armored body, the sparks from it coming off as the metal screamed out in both combatants’ ears. He took a few steps back, seeing the slash down his body start to form red with his own blood. Soon both remained still staring towards each other. They were currently at a stalemate, both sides having much damage done to their bodies.

“It seems we’ve reached an impasse,” Tirek spoke.

“Are you sure you believe such a foolish idea like that?” Aniketos replied.

“You have fought well, Spartan, but in the end, I will be defeating you. I will give you an opportunity to give up your sword and spare your life.”

Aniketos stood idly, looking straight into Tirek’s eyes that many would not dare to try. An opportunity to be able to walk away from all of this and not possibly perish death again like before. He looked up to the sky, thinking about his brothers, then back to Tirek. He knew his answer, getting back into his fighting stance. “Come and take it,” he told Tirek.

“So be it,” Tirek raised his sword, continuing the battle that would only result in death.

Celestia quickly reached the top of the hill, seeing the large craters and fire around the two fighters who looked beaten. She knew no pony would be able to withstand their attacks if faced against them. The movement Aniketos made was swift and with no strain as he continued to fight. Soon a sight she did not believe happened for a moment. Tirek roared out as the Spartan’s kopis contacted his chest, thrusting it deeper before pulling out. She sighed in relief but soon saw Tirek still alive even now on the ground and knew Aniketos would not show mercy. She quickly pushed through the sky with her wings, still having the elements in her magical bind.

Aniketos stood over the fallen Tirek, seeing him still breathing. He listened to him speak, hearing him say such thing could not happen to him. He raised his kopis, “This is the end for you, Tirek,” he yelled, thrusting down towards his head. Such contact was never made as he felt a magical bind like he felt before. He knew all too well this was Celestia’s doing. As merciful as she can be, he cannot allow him to live for he would return for sure to take all the ponies’ magic for his own gain.

Celestia felt her magical bond onto Aniketos tightened as she felt him slowly moving to break her magic. Even with all the power she had with her, he soon broke her magic and again readied himself to finish what he started. “No!” She yelled, shooting a magical blast towards the Spartan.

Aniketos felt the shock hit his back, making him yell out from the contact. It didn’t feel life threatening, but he soon started to feel dizzy. He tried to focus on killing Tirek, but it was no use. He struggled to stay awake, dropping his kopis as he started to lose balance. He fell onto his knees, seeing Celestia land down by him. Merciful to this extent he knew before he collapsed onto the grass, fainting but not fully unconscious.

Celestia turned to see Tirek, who struggled to stand back up. “Tirek, for your crimes of harming many ponies and plot to harm more, as well as attacking a princess of Equestria, I hereby banish you from stepping foot onto this land and be imprisoned in Tartarus for all eternity!” She spoke to him, aligning the elements towards him before her magic fused with it, firing a large beam of magic towards the beast.

Tirek stared into the beam before being engulfed by it. “NO!” He yelled out before his very existence was no more. To Tartarus he would be.

The solar princess breathed hard, falling back sitting on the grass. It was all over. The magic he had stolen from many had shot to the sky and exploded all around, sprinkling down on everypony. “It’s…it’s over…” she sighed, moving back up and walking over to Aniketos who was suddenly getting back up. “I am sorry, Aniketos. I did not feel like death was the necessary decision to make.”

Aniketos wrapped his arm around Celestia, having her as support. “As I said in the past, you are too merciful.”

Celestia smiled, seeing he was not angry. “I suppose, right.”

Both walked slowly towards back to the camp, the guards marching forward to rendezvous to those in the eastern border. They reached the campsite, many remaining cheering for the victory Celestia had achieved though it was mostly Aniketos who defeated Tirek.

Luna slowly awoke, feeling the pain she had no longer there. Seeing that she was moving, she looked up to see battle-damaged Aniketos looking straight ahead as he walked. She felt wrapped around his cloak as she was carried, a blush forming on her cheeks. She disliked looking weak to the Spartan, but she was not able to do much as slumber soon took hold of her once more, and she cuddled more into him before she went back to sleep. Aniketos only smirked to her as he saw the castle not too far away. He walked along with both Astra and Celestia, the guards not too far behind from them. The day was long and hard fought, but it did not mark the end of conflict.