Titanomachy

Twilight

Twilight screamed until she landed on her back. She had expected to feel the burning agony of volcanic glass shredding her skin and the muscles underneath. Instead she landed with a "thump" as her shoulders impacted with solid, smooth-feeling stone. Her magical light sputtered out as her head cracked against the stone as well. She closed her eyes and inhaled with all of her might, trying to gather a breath to hold before the darkness closed in on her.

"That isn't the response I was expecting." Its... his voice was like mountains rubbing against each other. Twilight felt the hairs of her coat shake with the basso tone. She opened her eyes again and, unexpectedly, was able to dimly see. Everything was stained ruddy by the fires in the god's eyes but the miracle was that she could see at all. Nor, she realized after a moment's assessment, was there the terrible pressure that had greeted her upon her arrival.

"H-how?" she asked in a shaky voice, her curiosity beating our her fear.

"How what?" The terrible face with the flaming eyes asked her.

"How can I see and breathe?"

"If you don't know that, what are you doing here?"

Feeling that her diligence was being questioned Twilight responded with a sharp tone in her voice. "I'll have you know I performed quite a lot of research on Tartarus. In fact, I've read every book in the royal library on the subject before coming here."

"Hmmm, how about this: I'll tell you, if you answer my question first."

Twilight nodded but got no response. After an awkward moment she said, "I agree."

Grogar pulled himself to his feet. Chains layered his body like a second coat of fur. Each seemed to be made of a different size of link and a different metal and they rang in a cacophony of pealing bells. The face approached her, coming within only a few hooves of her own muzzle. He then inhaled deeply through his nose.

Her eyebrows knit together when she realized that he was sniffing her. "Of all the rude-" she thought to herself before he spoke.

"What are you?"

"I...I'm a mare." Embarrassed by the thought that he could smell such a thing and then ask for confirmation.

"No. What kind of being are you?"

"Oh," she said while feeling much relieved. "A unicorn."

An eyebrow was cocked in the craggy face above her.

"A unicorn!" she repeated a bit louder, wondering if he had heard her the first time.

His face went sour, "Liar." The bulk shifted with another tinkling maelstrom of bells as he turned away.

"What!?! What do you mean liar?" Twilight asked, feeling both angry and confused.

"What you said is not true. Isn't that still the meaning of the word? Since you will not deal honestly with me, I don't have any reason to speak with you."

"But I AM a unicorn. Just look at me!"

The face turned back to her, straining at the end of his neck. The sudden movement caused some of the lava to slosh and spill over the edges of his eye sockets. They burned smoking furrows into Grogar's cheeks and plopped, smoking and sizzling on the smooth stone underneath them.

"You...you're blind?" She asked, her voice offering a touch of sympathy.

The hatred was thick on his face. "A gift from an old foe, perhaps you know her? I smelled her on you! I smell god after god on your flesh and yet you claim to be 'just a unicorn?' Don't play me for a fool, little one."

"Celestia? You smell her on me?" She looked at her fur in panic as the thought of someone else's scent clinging to her brought on the hysteric need to shower.

"And why would that be, 'just a unicorn?"

She licked her lips before answering, predicting trouble. "I am her personal student, her protege and occasionally her agent and representative."

"See, that wasn't so hard." Grogar reoriented on her, his massive bulk only hinted at in the reflected, red light.

"Very well," she said while nodding. "Now for my question."

A deep rumble emanating from the goat god interrupted her, the sound blended with a distant crash and thunder coming from the tunnel behind Twilight. "You aren't finished answering me yet."

"But, I-" She interrupted herself to think about what the god meant. "I am an Element of Harmony."

"Good, which one?"

"Friendship," she proclaimed while trying to sound defiant.

"And?"

"Friend and companion to Luna, goddess of the night."

He snorted. "Not quite right, but close enough for the moment. And?"

"My brother, he married Cadance."

"Who?"

"Princess Mi Amore Cadenza, the alicorn of love."

"Ah, yes. And?

Now Twilight was confused, "What else could there be?" She had listed everything that could possibly be a divine connection and she wasn't entirely sure why the Element qualified in that way. "It seems that I have more to ask Celestia when I get home," she thought to herself.

Grogar cleared his throat, focusing her back to the here and now.

"I...I don't know." she said quietly.

"Good, that is truer than any other answer you could give me."

Twilight felt truly confused and was starting to get quite tired of the puzzles all gods seemed to love.

"Now for your question. The-"

"Wait!" Twilight shouted, causing Grograr to snuffle and cause more of his flaming ichor to slosh down his face.

"What!" he demanded through a grimace of pain.

"Can I change my question? You said you'd answer a question of mine, does it have to be about the dark?"

The goat took his time answering her. "I suppose it is allowable, but I reserve the right to refuse answering you."

"But anything you tell me will be the truth?" the mare asked.

"If I choose to accept your question, my answer will be truth. I swear it."

Twilight nodded, then felt awkward and guilty at using the silent gesture. "Good. Here is my question: Princess Celestia has lost control over the sun. What can be done, that would result in her regaining this power?" She phrased the question carefully, trying to not give Celestia's ancient enemy any room for deceit.

Grogar's eyes felt like they met her's despite just being burning pits. She felt like a kind of skin was being removed from her, that she was exposed in some way that was far more intimate than simple nudity. She felt a presence in her mind, very much like the quiet internal voice of her subconscious. Instead of speaking, the presence seemed to be looking. Flitting through her mind she gasped when it latched onto the memories she had regarding Celestia's condition. She could feel it, him, Grogar pouring over her recollections. An unknown time later, she was released and he was seemingly satisfied with his research.

"I will answer your question, 'just a unicorn'. The answer is 'nothing.'"

"Nothing." Twilight repeated flatly. "There is nothing I can do."

"You have my answer. Now go home, you amused me so I will not slay you where you stand."

"You're wrong." Twilight was standing stiff-legged in anger.

"Why do you say that?" His massive face was showing a hint of irritation.

"Because that cannot be truth and I won't accept it."

"I gave you my word."

"And you are an evil creature who tried to kill off all ponykind."

He snarled, "Is THAT what they tell little ponies? If you are looking for a liar, I'd suggest you start with Celestia."

She snorted her irritation at the giant. "I want a second opinion."

"I am not a physician and that's not how this works. I gave you the answer to your question, now get out!"

She didn't budge despite his volcanic tone. "What leads that way?" She asked while pointing further down the tunnel past his site of incarceration.

"It depends." he asked, mostly out of reflex from the non-sequitur.

"I thought so," Twilight responded smugly. She turned towards the gaping tunnel, re-lit her hornlight, and focused on 'someone who has Celestia's interests at heart.'

"Just a Unicorn," Grogar called after her, using it like a name.

"Yes?" she asked without turning around.

"Remember what you are, Just a Unicorn. You are like a sister to one goddess, like a daughter to another, and like a paramour to the third."

Twilight shivered in response and trotted off into the darkness.

A few minutes later Grogar heard the approach of limping hooves trying to gallop and the desperate flapping of wings. He smiled as he said to himself, "Right on time."

Celestia

The last 12 hours had been some of the most stressful that Celestia had ever known. She didn't dare go after her student and sister; without access to her magic Tartarus would have been a deathtrap, even to her. The immortal found herself in the unusual situation of having to hold faith in other people, one of which was a young mortal and the other was her baby sister. She honestly couldn't say which she trusted more. Luna had the weight of experience on her side but she was her little sister. Placing faith in Luna. Quarrelsome Luna. Passionate Luna. Temperamental Luna. Nightmare Luna. She dashed the last one from her thoughts, not feeling capable of holding faith while remembering of that old betrayal.

Twilight was talented and smart, smarter than herself she sometimes admitted to herself. But she was so young. Her face still showed the roundness of foal-fat. She was neurotic and full of social phobias; a near recluse prior to being forced into her current studies. Twilight had power, sometimes a terrifying amount. More than half of their time as student and teacher was spent on control. In life or death emergency, Celestia still wondered what Twilight was capable of and what Twilight would allow herself to be capable of.

The injured goddess looked up from her desk and sighed. The wood surface wasn't visible underneath the glacier-like pile of reports she had requested. They were a depressing read, the largest agricultural earth-pony clans were in open revolt. One of several distressing aspects of the protest was that they were calling themselves the "Cider Rebellion." The Apples were one of the largest and most prosperous clans, with their orchards being found in every region of Equestria, and they were right at the center of this mess. The Apples had intermarried with so many other clans that odds were good that every orchard oriented family were about a quarter Apple. Except for the Pears, there was some sort of bad blood there.

While the protest in front of the palace was annoying, the protest in Ponyville was the most dangerous. Applejack, an Element of Harmony, recipient of the Equestrian Medal of Honor, three-time national hero was the face of the rebellion in Ponyville. Celestia didn't know if it was quick thinking by Mayor Mare or if it was just the natural competitiveness between Applejack and Rainbow Dash, but Ms. Dash had been deputized into the local constabulary. Having the Element of Loyalty opposing the rebellion helped the optics of the situation immensely. It appeared from the reports she had just finished that the Apple clan, and their relations going by other fruit-themed names, were a major factor in nearly every protest. Celestia had made up her mind; she knew what she needed to do.

Less than an hour later she was airborne. Despite vigorous protests by her physician, she had decided that the royal chariot sent the wrong message. She insisted that she fly under her own wing-power to Ponyville and kept her personal guard to the minimum level that Shining Armor could be pushed into accepting. The six white pegasi surrounded her in a triangular pattern, the point about a thousand lengths ahead. Celestia doubted that there was any need for this escort, unless there were more goddesses unknown to her lurking in the shadows she would be fine no matter what happened.

The site of the stand-off was obvious from the air as she approached the town. A pair of fires were burning brightly in the pre-dawn gloom, illuminating a ramshackle yet impressively large barricade. Ponies milled about on either side of the impromptu wall, she could see that their expressions were a mixture of anger and boredom as she drew closer.

"Archer's. Draw!" Came a shout from the battlement ahead. Celestia pushed herself to try to catch up with her advance escort, far more worried about their well-being than her own. "Fire!" the same voice shouted and Pony-length missiles were launched into the air. The arrows universally flew wide of the two armored pegasi that were presumably the targets. Shouts of alarm broke out among the ponies on the ground as the projectiles randomly fell from the sky.

Celestia was moving at speed now, her mane and tail were leaving a trail of luminescence the color of the dawn sky behind her. Tucking her wings she fell the last hundred lengths and landed solidly on her hooves atop the wooden structure. Wood splintered and beams snapped like twigs as her golden-shod hooves transmitted her momentum into structure. She felt a trickle of magic leak from her damaged horn, her anger at the pony-on-pony violence overcoming the half-healed damage. "YOU WILL CEASE THIS, NOW!" she shouted at the full volume she was capable of. Earth ponies on top of the wall dropped their bows and fled to the ground, some jumping to get away faster.

She examined one of the hoof-made weapons that was left lying were it was dropped in terror. Her little ponies were clever, as always. The bow had a flattened area near the center where both hind hooves would be placed while the fore hooves pulled back the string. Given a typical earth-pony's strength, these things would be deadly against even armored foes at ranges of hundreds of lengths. She stepped on the accursed thing, snapping the wooden body and causing the broken pieces to smolder. When she looked back towards the earth-ponies now gathered below and behind the wall she was immediately confronted by an orange and blond mare with bright green eyes.

Applejack was standing firm at the front of the gathered protesters. She showed no fear of Celestia and it bolstered the courage of the ponies behind her. "Apologies for tha fright there, ma'am, but as you can likely tell by now, those were warnin' shots not meant to hurt no-one," The mare's rural twang was as thick as Celestia remembered but reminded herself that such an accent meant nothing about the intelligence of a pony.

"You are fortunate that none of those arrows fell on anyone by accident." Celestia replied with heat still in her voice.

"We're confident in our ability." the earth-pony replied, unfazed and unapologetic. "So, anything in particular brings ya down here to our neck of tha woods? Ma'am?" The last was added, deliberately Celestia thought, as an afterthought.

The alicorn realized that the mare was trying to goad her into taking insult, into losing her temper, and into making a mistake. "She's smart, that's what I would do if I was in her situation." Celestia thought to herself. Forcibly calming herself down, Celestia responded, "I'm here to address a complaint that was brought to my attention via peaceful political demonstration. I am in need of a representative from the group protesting the Dictum Emancipare. It needs to be someone who can negotiate in good faith."

"I'm your mare." Applejack predictably replied

It didn't take long for Mayor Mare to set up a the main gathering room in the town hall for the negotiations. What appeared to be a kitchen table sat between two cushions, the relative sizes clearly telegraphed who their intended occupants were to be. On the table sat a silver tea service, several sheets of paper, ink and other writing utensils, and a pitcher of water. Celestia had insisted that the Mayor not seat her first. The two mares, one a goddess and the other a farmer, entered at the same time via separate doors. Nods were exchanged, seats were taken, and tea was poured. The single attendant was Hort Cuisine, who had begged the Mayor for the chance to serve tea during this event despite having his own restaurant.

Applejack's patience gave out first, not being accustomed to the glacial pace of formal negotiations. "So, how do we start?" she asked.

Celestia sipped her tea and replied in a patient and ethereal tone that she knew was infuriating to anyone in a hurry. "Usually, negotiations like these begin by each side making a declaration of their guiding principle for their position. The pattern of the negotiation and the likely solutions are very different in cases where both parties can agree to each other's principles than in cases where the statements are not held to be true by both parties."

Applejack nodded along. "I guess that makes sense."

"If you like," Celestia offered, "I'd be willing to go first so as to provide an example."

"Thank ya ma'am, but I'm pretty sure I understand and would rather go first."

"Please, go right ahead." Celestia replied.

Applejack didn't take long to think about her reply. "Ponies have the right to their property. Theft of that property by the government is no different than someone stealing my apples off of my trees."

Celestia was familiar with the argument, the right to personal property had been invoked nearly universally by the protesters. "A very compelling statement, Miss Applejack. One which I fully agree with. May I go?"

Applejack blinked at Celestia's quick and unconditional agreement. "Um, sure."

Celestia looked the mare directly in the eyes. "The enslavement of any sentient creature is a moral wrong." She made sure to project the conviction behind her words and was pleased to see that the question made the farmer uncomfortable. She gave Applejack a few moments to digest the simple and unequivocal statement. She knew that the orange mare was trying desperately to find a way to say the truth while supporting her position. "Ms. Applejack. Your answer?

Luna

The standoff ended as Luna launched herself into the air with a thrust of her hind legs and a powerful down-stroke of her wings. Erebus instantly responded, darkness flowed upwards while the monster began toppling in Luna's direction. The tactic was simple and brutal, much like Erebus itself, Luna noted. "Also predictable," she thought with a smile.

The darkness crested like a tsunami, intent on crushing the relatively tiny goddess in a decisive first move. Luna's response was to increase the power of the horn-light and focus it into a lance of burning silver. She aimed the radiance at the intended point of impact between herself and Erebus. The darkness seared and boiled at the lance's touch, burning a crater into the giant's umbral substance. An instant before collision she shifted her protective shield away from her body, forcing the inflicted wound even wider. She burst through the other side of the monster, flying free of the Hungry Dark while momentum carried the formless mass down to the floor of the chamber.

Luna pirouetted gracefully in the air and hovered a few lengths below the ceiling. She sent bolt after bolt into the writhing mass below. A keening howl filled the chamber as her attacks boiled away more and more of her opponent. Luna pressed her advantage, turning almost all of her available power into more and brighter bolts. In that instant, with her attention turned completely upon the steaming mass cringing before her might, a pony-sized dollop of darkness launched itself from one of the tunnels above her. It landed astride her withers and sent sharp tendrils into the flesh at the base of her wings. She screamed as this minor part of Erebus dug chunks of bloody muscle from the base of her wings, causing her to plummet.

The darkness coating the floor pulled away, revealing the obsidian daggers that awaited her impact. She threw a pulse of telekinesis at the blob attacking her back, flinging it away to join the rest of itself. As the air whistled by her she then focused her will against the direction of her fall, slowing her descent into something painful but not crippling. Again her focus betrayed her; a tendril of blackness snaked around her rear-right leg and swung her into a tight, flat arc. At the apogee the tendons and bones of her leg gave way under the centrifugal force. Her scream rose in pitch as blinding pops and snaps traveled up the length of her leg. The scream ended abruptly as she collided with the chamber's sharp wall with explosive force.

Luna regained consciousness a moment later and the pain and terror washed over her mind again. She felt like she was floating, weightless and wondered if it was simply shock or some sort of horrible spinal damage. It was after that thought that she landed upon the chamber's floor with a sickening impact that shattered several ribs and pushed the floor's spines into her flesh. She gave a shuddering moan out of agony, her consciousness once again threatening to leave.

Forcing her eyes to focus, Luna could see Erebus gathering itself together for the kill. It extruded a massive pseudopod that swelled in a horribly organic manner as more of the creature's substance was dedicated to forming that weapon. Luna desperately reached for what magic she could gather and found only a guttering candle-flame. "Forming a shield would leave me just as dead," she though as Erebus positioned its limb for an overhand swing. "The force would impale me upon the spikes," she concluded. The pseudopod began its arc, accelerating constantly but moving with a deceptive slowness due to its size. As the weapon curved overhead, she poured all of her remaining power into another ray of moonlight. She aimed it at the point where the limb attached to the counterbalancing hulk of its remaining mass. She didn't have enough power to sever the limb but the damage was enough and the pull of the limb's arc tore it free from the rest of Erebus.

The crushing limb was sent careening into the ceiling and wall, shaking the entire chamber and breaking up into a monsoon of black droplets. Erebus howled again in shock and pain. Seizing the moment, Luna tore herself free from the floor spines with the stomach-turning sensation of suction and tearing. She immediately cried out and collapsed as she tried to get her hooves underneath herself, the right-rear limb wasn't of any use anymore. It just dangled limply as broken bones ground against each other with her every movement. The alicorn could all too easily imagine Erebus reconstituting itself for another strike while her back was turned to it. She gritted her teeth and flapped her wings as best she could, trying to make up for the crippled limb. The damage to her wing muscles was extensive but she was able to produce enough lift to allow her to scramble gracelessly towards the nearest tunnel opening.

Luna panted, partially out of exhaustion partially from the pain as she pushed herself forwards on three legs and two injured wings. Her horn sputtered and smoked as she dug for the smallest residual of power to throw telekinetic barriers behind her. They collapsed on their own as soon as she lost line of sight with them but she hoped that they would at least slow down the darkness that hunted her. Her world had narrowed to a single focus, "Find Twilight." Every moment was punctuated by that thought.

"It hurts. It's just pain, find Twilight."

"It hurts so bad. Stop crying, you foal, find Twilight."

"I'm so tired. Stop whining, find Twilight."

"Am I dying? I don't care, find Twilight."

"Maybe she's already dead and I can go home? Don't you dare think that, find Twilight."

She could feel the slope of the tunnel increasing. The smell of blood was thick around her and she could hear dripping. "How much blood did I lose?" she wondered. "Don't think about that, find Twilight." She climbed with the grace of an injured bird, pushing with her three barely functional legs and pulling with her injured and blood-soaked wings. Her vision was a narrow tunnel as she strained upwards. Her faith in her senses was lost as she began to hear the tinkling of tiny silver bells. "Hallucinations, I must be close to passing out. Focus, find Twilight." She wept in relief as she pulled herself onto the plateau at the top of the climb. She laid panting and bleeding on the smooth cool stone, simply grateful for a place to rest for a moment.

The bells continued to ring, her brow knit as she realized that they were much louder and variable in tone. She felt the touch of something metallic probing one of the open wounds on her torso and her eyes flew open.

"It's been a long time, sweet Selene." a familiar and dreaded voice rumbled from out of her line of vision.

Luna looked up and gasped as she saw the two burning eye-shaped holes in the darkness. A face she knew, one that she used to consider family, arose out of the darkness. He was older and grayer than she remembered. The eyes were the same horror Celestia left him with and his cheeks bore the scars of countless molten tears.

"Grogar," Luna said as she backed away but came up short with the silvery peal of a chain pulling taut. "What?!" she gasped.

"Have you forgotten? Was it so long ago for you?" More chains detached themselves from the goat-god's form and whipped around the alicorn's legs and torso.

"No, wait. You don't have to-" Luna stuttered

"Yes. I do. Only a god's blood will satisfy these chains. Only a god's blood could empower them to hold us for all eternity."

"I'm not here to fight. I'm looking for a unicorn." Her voice shook as more and more metal dug into her coat.

"Yes, yes, I know all about that. I'll thank her for this, if I ever see her again."

"No...Please..." the chains were now thick around Luna, leaving only her face exposed. Her fur bunched as the edges of the chains dug into her flesh.

"But Luna, you were the one that loved irony so. You forged my chains out of my own bells and laughed at the joke of it. My beloved bells," Grogar smiled, "bells that loved me back. How does that irony suit you? Are you amused?"

Her eyes were the only part of Luna visible through the blanket of chains. She was rendered mute by the bindings around her muzzle but her terror-filled eyes answered his answer clearly enough.