The Devil You Know

Rain fell in torrents, dampening the fires in the city and putting out the choking smoke at last. The wind howled around every nook and cranny, blowing away char and cinder while the storm itself washed away the blood, guts, and gore that had littered the city. Queen Powēhi stood over Daybreaker's body, smirking. She had won, she was victorious over her opponent and her summoner's desire had been partially fulfilled.

Queen Powēhi lifted Daybreaker's sword with her umbral magic, ready to deliver the final blow that would kill one of the princesses of Equestria. Nightmare Moon lay on her side, also defeated. Raising her head, she saw the blade hovering in the air before it sank home and ended her sister's life. "No!" She cried, trying to raise up on a hoof. Her body failed her, badly battered and broken from the onslaught of the queen.

"You can't!" Nightmare Moon was desperate, and with a loud cry reverted back into the form of Princess Luna. Her eyes were huge, pleading with Powēhi to stay her hoof and spare her alabaster twin. Her starry mane pooled around on the ground, glittering in the rain and the wind. "Please! Spare her life, Queen Powēhi!" Luna begged now, all but groveling before the insanely powerful pony who had won.

Twilight Sparkle rushed upon the scene, soaked to the bone with wings rendered useless in the rain. "Wait!" She called, panting. "The deal was that you defeat Daybreaker, not kill her!"

Queen Powēhi paused before swinging the blade down and severing Daybreaker's head from her neck. Her captive moaned under her hoof, and with a quiet glow of magic began reverting back into Princess Celestia. The armor shimmered and vanished, her mane shifting colors and lengthening to match her sister's. Her tiara re-appeared on her head, rich gold instead of reddish bronze.

The pastel of her tail matched her mane, undulating across the earth even though she lay still. Princess Luna watched as the rage that had filled her sister's heart finally melted away, but it seemed to have come at far too high of a cost. Was she to lose her sister, forever, at the whim of this absolutist queen? The fear that this might be her future here and now filled her heart, and tears freely spilled from her eyes.

Twilight Sparkle made sure she got front and center in front of Queen Powēhi, ensuring she had the mare's attention. "You can't just kill her now!" She continued. "You've won, you beat Daybreaker and Nightmare Moon, you've fulfilled your part of the bargain completely!"

The sword seemed to hum as it hovered there, a weapon of Damocles waiting to rend asunder. Time seemed to stand still in those moments, save for the steady downpour of rain. Queen Powēhi appeared to be considering something, and though the sword didn't move it didn't seem to be an active threat to Twilight Sparkle either. Finally after what seemed an eternity, the queen spoke.

"I told you that the end to this would ultimately be up to you, little pony. Here we are at the precipice, and you will decide which way we fall."

Rain pattered on her mane and her fur as she considered these cryptic words. Twilight's mind was struggling to keep up in light of everything that had happened, not just Princess Celestia going dark and killing innocent ponies but now Queen Powēhi showing just how powerful she really was. While evil did exist in Equestria, it was nowhere close to the abilities this mare had. She was on a completely other level, and had the confidence to match.

Powēhi's eyes seemed cold as she observed Twilight Sparkle, but there was an odd sense of respect since she could still simply end Princess Celestia's life at any moment without anypony being able to stop her. The fact that she hadn't meant that there was more to this, something that wiggled in the back of the lavender pony's mind. She could feel the frustration riding against the fear within her. Come on, come on! Think! Twilight Sparkle desperately wracked her brain, trying to frantically connect the dots.

She remembered how to summon Powēhi to Equestria originally, and she narrowed her eyes in concentration. Of course. Harmony. The spell had mentioned that the ancient one would bring harmony, which was of course achieved by ending the fight. Princess Celestia had been made herself again, reunited with Princess Luna underneath the stormy sky.

Since she was the Princess of Friendship, she knew how to use the power of the Elements of Harmony. Would she have to call upon her friends to banish Queen Powēhi back to the cosmos from which she'd came? Twilight Sparkle hoped it wouldn't have to come to that. Instead, she opted for trying to talk to the victorious mare.

"Queen Powēhi," Twilight began slowly. "When I summoned you using the ancient spell, the terms of our contract were that you would put an end to Daybreaker and Nightmare Moon battling each other at the expense of the kingdom." Her words were carefully chosen, spoken with weight.

"You have fulfilled this contract as the victor of this battle, so I humbly request that as you have achieved harmony for our people once again that you retreat back to the heavens from whence you came and continue your rule in peace."

From there, she fell silent while waiting to see what the cosmic queen would have to say. Twilight Sparkle sent up a quiet prayer that this royally oppressive autocrat would be willing to listen to reason and accept the terms as they were presented. If she didn't, Twilight wasn't sure that anyone in the world would have the power to stop her. It was a scary moment of silence while watching Powēhi consider.

"Perhaps, little pony," Powēhi responded, her words cool and calm. "But, you did not state how I was to achieve harmony by defeating these dark foes, so it is perfectly reasonable for me to execute them here and now to prevent such things in the future."

"NO!" interjected Princess Luna, who was given a scowl of disapproval from Queen Powēhi. She was immediately cowed back into silence, despite Powēhi having not said anything to her.

Twilight Sparkle absorbed this bit of information, improvising on the spot. "Surely you can see that without the darkness within them that Princess Celestia and Princess Luna are logical ponies, who would be more than willing to appease your decision with whatever you desire."

Queen Powēhi's left ear flicked in Princess Luna's direction as she mulled this over. "Are you absolutely certain that you wish for me to spare this alicorn's life?" She asked Twilight.

"Yes," was the immediate answer.

Her ear flicked again as Powēhi opened her mouth and spoke once more. "And should the darkness return, will you call on me to eradicate them?"

Twilight shook her head. "No," she said simply. "I will handle it on my own, with the help of my friends and the Elements of Harmony."

The pumpkin and amber gaze held Twilight Sparkle still within them, almost as though chains had suddenly bound the much smaller lavender alicorn to the spot. It was clear now that Queen Powēhi was making her decision, and pinpricks of fear seemed to caress her body like painful little kisses of despair. The rain continued to fall, drenching them further and seeming to absorb all but the loudest of sounds as everything seemed to hinge on what happened next.

"Very well," Queen Powēhi replied. The sword lifted into the air, then gracefully came to a halt lying flat on the grass. As her magic released the blade, she removed her hoof from Princess Celestia's body and shifted backwards so that she stood tall once again. Her attention was still on Twilight Sparkle though, who waited to see what the cosmic queen's next move was going to be.

"I will take my leave, little pony. Should you decide to join my court someday, I will await you amongst the stars." With that, she flapped her massive wings and began her ascent to the heavens, clouds parting enough to let her leave before the storm became whole once more. There was no trace of her left in Equestria, save for the damage wrought to the city and the wounds on both ruling princesses. A few heartbeats passed in silence, and when Twilight realized Queen Powēhi was well and truly gone she rushed to her mentor's side.

"Don't cry, my little pony," Celestia soothed, raising a hoof to try and comfort her student. "This was my doing, and without your bravery could not have been undone."

Luna tried to get to her feet, but failed. "Twilight, you should try and get some help now," she said, favoring the younger pony with an exhausted smile. "We are not yet ready to leave this realm. We'll be fine."

"Okay," Twilight replied, then ran off to wake up somepony who could rescue the princesses, get them to safety, and administer first aid.

"....So, you see, that's what had caused Daybreaker to come forth," Celestia finished explaining, resting on her hospital bed as Doctor Whooves and Nurse Redheart looked on.

Twilight Sparkle furiously scribbled down detailed notes, nodding as she finished them off with a flourish. "Sounds like you were under quite a lot of stress," she replied, and Celestia nodded in return.

"I'm sure you'll be taken good care of during your extended sabbatical from your duties," she said matter-of-factually. Spying Celestia's look of protest, Twilight held up a hoof. "Princess Luna can handle raising the sun for you, just until you are well enough to do that and no more."

Celestia smiled at her. "Thank you, Twilight. And thank you for not holding this against me."

"Of course not," was Twilight's upbeat reply. "We managed to get Discord through more than one rough patch, and in time I think the ponies will come for forgive you like I have."

Celestia winced, but Twilight was already leaving the hospital so she could report back to Princess Luna how her sister was faring in recovery. It wasn't going to be easy, but all three were confident the ponies of the realm could recover from this. After all, Equestria had weathered far more from far worse. The ponies would eventually come around and love their Princess of the Sun once again.