The Mark of Duty

I dropped Twilight off at Sugarcube corner, after extracting a promise to keep my involvement secret from the girls. I didn't want to deal with the backlash of all this. I then turned around, Twilight had asked why I grabbed all my gear again, but I refused to answer. This was personal. I rolled up to the school again. This time I paused outside the statue. "And here we are again." I looked around and saw a woman with skin paler than a fresh snow walking towards me. Even after all these years, I still saw a flash of what once was. The pony form of her, eyes wide in fear, blood staining her pristine coat as my blade pierced a mad hippogriff atop her. I shook my head, ridding my mind from the dark image. "Hello principal, an interesting evening, huh?"

She glared at me. "You could say that, care to explain how your sister turned into a demon?" She crossed her arms, tapping a foot. The very image of impatient sass. I smiled.

"Probably corruption from failed warpcraft, messing with things unknown in a foreign element. You know, the basics." She didn't look happy with that, so I went with my fallback. "I'll cover damages, but I have some business to take care of with Sunset's mother."

Principal Celestia glared at me. "Oh no, you are not getting back on that bike until I get an explanation I'm happy with."

Despite the grim determination I felt, I still cracked a smile. I took off my helmet and passed it to her. "Of course not, I'll only be a moment." She grabbed my helmet with a confused expression before I walked through the statue. Going through the acid trip of portals once again.

I landed with a thump and found my body was back the way I had gotten used to. Augmetic foot, full armor, and HUD included. I looked up to see two very confused guards and didn't bother drawing my blade. "Celestia. Here. Now." They scattered like roaches as I slowly drew my blade, and moved to an adjoining wall. I was not an inherently angry person, but if she hadn't written back to Sunset, then my rage couldn't be contained. And it would burn cold until I talked to her.

It only took a moment before a flash of teleportation heralded Celestia's arrival. I looked at her with utter contempt as she stared back. She spoke first, barely contained fury. "WHAT DID YOU DO?!"

I moved slowly, every step a nail in Celestia's coffin, before stopping right in front of her. "Nothing." She deflated a but, but there was still a flash of anger in her eyes. I didn't stop though. "When Sunset was hurt by Twilight due to her use of dangerous and mysterious weapons. I did nothing." Celestia at least had the grace to look hurt. "When I was bandaging her wounds as Twilight read in my living room, I did nothing." I leaned in, nearly whispering to her. "But when I found out Sunset wrote to you, and you abandoned her every SINGLE TIME! I DID SOMETHING!" I was shouting now, barely an inch from her face. "So here's what's going to happen. Either you are going through that portal right now to apologize, or you are going to admit right now. You are too weak to comfort your own daughter."

She looked at me strangely at that. "She's not my-"

The sound of my gauntlet hitting her ended her sentence. "SHE CALLS YOU MOM!" I stomped towards her, hearing crystal crack under my foot. "SHE DRAWS PICTURES OF YOU WHEN SHE'S SAD! I HAVE HEARD HER CRYING YOUR NAME DURING NIGHTMARES!" Celestia lay on the ground, a thin trickle of blood dripping from her mouth. I leaned in, my beaked helmet touching her snout. "SO YOU ARE EITHER GOING THROUGH THAT PORTAL RIGHT NOW, OR SHE ISN'T GOING BACK TO EQUESTRIA UNTIL I AM DAMNED SURE SHE COULD STAND AGAINST YOU! BECAUSE SHE DESERVES HER LIFE FREE OF SOME WHELP WHO IS SO CAUGHT UP IN HER OWN POSITION THAT SHE CAN'T EVEN FACE HER OWN ADOPTED CHILD!"

She made no move to get up, instead glaring at me. The anger was still there. I saw her aura spark once, and that was all the cue I needed. My sword revved instantly, meeting her barrel. I saw blood splatter from the impact and listened to the ripping flesh as Celestia gasped in pain. Her spell crumbled from the sheer force as I felt the blade chop through her ribs. I knocked off her crown and grabbed her peytrel. "Fine. If you ever want these symbols of your office back, come and see your daughter." She let out a rasping noise, which I ignored as I forced the blade deeper until I saw faint wisps of gold energy flow from the wound.

There I stopped, watching with some morbid joy as the blood around me evaporated. Golden energy now fogging the room, until her corpse disappeared. She'd be back by noon tomorrow, that was the way of alicorns. Immortal, but not deathless. I grabbed the crown and peytral and looked them over. No runes or enchantment s lay on them, just finely made gold. I nodded at it, before pausing. My helmet giving me another warp signature. I walked to the mirror, and paused. "Luna, for your faults your more direct than Celestia. Talk some sense into your fool sister, or I'm going to purge all she loves from Equess. My own soul be damned." I stepped through the mirror without another thought.

When I made it through the portal I saw a very confused Celestia still holding my helmet. Albeit looking over the design on it. I looked down and found the crown jewels still in my hands. I walked calmly up and passed the peytral to her. "24 karats, probably. Jewels are all flawless, count it as repayment for damages, keep the rest."

She stared as I took my helmet and placed the peytral in her hands. She stared at me in curiosity. "I thought you were talking to Sunset's mother?"

I nodded, feeling chattier after my murder. "I did and killed her. But she's powerful." I pointed to the crater in the middle of her school's entryway. "That magic is common in Sunset's home. Her mother is the strongest mage I have ever seen, with only three others of her kind. I smiled at that. "I believe you met one. But, I digress. For beings such as those, death is an annoyance at most. I just needed to get a point across."

Principal Celestia seemed to think all that over, before sighing. "Nope, today's been too weird. If this... thing doesn't cover damages I'll be looking to you for the difference. And... may I ask a personal question?"

I paused. Celestia was a meddler. It was an immutable law, but she was also generally kind. Maybe someone who relied on plans, but all she did was for the good of her subjects. Or, in this case, her students. "Yes, you may."

Celestia looked over the peytral. "Sunset's mother, what did she do to you both, to make her own children hate her so?"

I stared for a moment, watching Celestia shuffle a bit nervously before I laughed. Loud and hard. "Oh dear, I needed that." I paused a moment, recovering from my laughter. "No, no. I am not the child of Celestia. We were family, once. She imprisoned me, for longer than you can imagine. Simply at the bequest of a spirit who threatened her subjects." My eyes flashed. "And family should fight for family. But, as for Sunset. She banished her for pride. I cannot fathom the reasons. But on the night it was to occur Sunset accidentally freed me. And with that, I promised to help her in exchange. I only recently truly believed she was my sister."

I smiled as I put my helmet on. "Besides, she fought and bled for me, and that's what family does. Until the last slight is evened out, a family fights for their family."