The Devil You Know

Powerful wing beats sheared the wind, as light and darkness ascended above the city. It was a mutual understanding that they would fight where there would be minimal collateral damage, since the fires had done enough. Once they were high enough in the sky, the shifting smoke lay like a heavy pall beneath their hooves. From here it was more of a mild irritant when the smoke blew into their eyes, and not the choking hazard it was below.

Sunshine brought light to the kingdom of Equestria and the city of Canterlot, but you wouldn't know that at ground level because of the pall that stung the eyes and burned the nose. It glinted from the armor of the dual mares, shimmered on the distant waters, and brought heat to the wood and stone of the houses and stores. Daylight was an advantage to one, and a disadvantage to the other. It seemed as though both Daybreaker and Nightmare Moon were aware of this fact, sizing up the other before deciding on their first move.

Both knew that battles were often decided as soon as the first move was made, so each calculated carefully. Moves and countermoves blazed in their minds, a mental game of chess playing out before deciding to act them out for real. In their thoughts words were thrust and riposted, parried and blocked with ease. Action, reaction, advantage, disadvantage, opportunity, kneel kick lunge spin -- all of this happening at the speed of imagination.

Therefore, when one of the pair finally moved, it was not one that was expected. "You and I both know that you will lose, Daybreaker," Nightmare Moon said, breaking several minutes of silence at last. Daybreaker responded with a scoff and a toss of her head, every inch as proud as her mirror image. "I will beat you down, and you will bow before me on the Equestrian throne as I rule this kingdom in eternal night."

"Fat chance," Daybreaker replied, her horn glowing the amber of freshly stoked fire as she readied her magic. "It is you who will bow before me, as I claim my birthright in the blood of the fools who stand in my way and take my place as the Eternal Sun." Nightmare Moon had no time to verbally parry, as Daybreaker fired off a bolt of flame at the midnight alicorn. She'd hoped for a direct hit to start off this battle, but maddeningly the egotistical maniac stepped out of the way as smoothly as if they were on the ground instead of in the sky.

Nightmare Moon grinned at the alabaster mare, giggling in her realization that the first shot had missed. "All that effort, and you couldn't even hit me on the broadside. Were you born in a barn?" She taunted, flaring her wings before charging her horn with her own obsidian spell.

Daybreaker growled, firing a spinning halo of fire to counter the pure void of black being shot at her face. "Did you buy your gear in the latest trend at Hoof Tropic?" She countered, cackling with the insult. She was rewarded with a sound of pure fury, and Nightmare Moon chose to rush at her, using her body as the weapon instead of her magic. Daybreaker chortled, absorbing the blow and spinning in the air. Following it with a flung out hind leg, Daybreaker turned the motion into a windmill kick and landed home.

Nightmare Moon grunted in pain, but her helmet kept it from being too nasty of an impact to her face. "I mean come on, we get it Nightmare Moon. You're so black and sad all the time. Really, I'd think you're the best customer at Hoof Tropic with all the dye and glitter to look like the latest disco ball." Daybreaker's words dripped with condescension. "Do you get a rewards program from buying up all their stock? Or is it just a photo and a sticker to show the world how scary you are?"

The reply was Nightmare Moon firing several inky balls of magic, landing a few of the shots in the process due to their close proximity. "Tell me, does that hurt more than your childish insults best left on the playground?" She challenged, grinning at the other alicorn. "Because if that's the best you can come up with, then I think I can beat you easily."

Daybreaker huffed, backing away with a few flaps of her wings to create distance between them once again. "You underestimate me, sister," she sneered. "I will end you and take up the mantle of The Living Star, Solar Empress and Unconquered Sun."

"You and what army?" Nightmare Moon replied, charging her horn and firing a huge bolt of obsidian magic at the boasting mare who had just left herself wide open in the process.

"I don't need an army to conquer Equestria," Daybreaker countered, opening her mouth and breathing fire as easily as if she were a dragon to stop the shadows that rushed towards her body. "I can bring you, and the other ponies to their knees by myself."

Twilight Sparkle let out a heavy sigh as she rested among the books that were scattered on the table. Her previous research had been frenzied, this was much closer to a snail's pace and she hadn't been able to find any more information. So far it seemed that the word she'd encountered by chance had been the only mention of something that could very well be the key for deciding the battle that would determine the fate of Equestria's future, but there had to be other things. Some other way that Daybreaker could be brought down, and bring Princess Luna back into control.

She kept trying, searching the older tomes since that had gotten her pay dirt the last time. If she didn't love books so much, she might end up going cross-eyed with a headache from reading so much in a short amount of time. Either way, Twilight knew she had to keep examining to find any clue that might help her and the rest of the kingdom. The fate of everypony hung in the balance with the fight currently going on outside, and they needed whatever edge they could get.

Finally, she stumbled across something just when she was beginning to think there was no hope after all, and they would be stuck with either Nightmare Moon if she couldn't be persuaded to let Princess Luna back into the foray, or Daybreaker and her bloodthirsty rule. Twilight Sparkle huddled close to the book, slowly translating the words from an older ponaic language to their current, more modern tongue.

It took a little while, but eventually Twilight puzzled out the words before her in the little manuscript. From what she could guess, it was a ritual to summon somepony or something. Peering closer, her muzzle all but touched the page that held the words in an apparent chant.

Fire, Water, Mountain, Air
Sunrise, Moonlight, Balanced Fair
Mother Earth, Father Sky
Open The Heavens Completely Wide
I Call To Thee, Oh Ancient One
Come To Me, Make Them See
You will Show Them
Harmony

Seemed simple enough, all she'd have to do is say these words until whoever it called for actually showed up. Of course, the real question aside from who would come, is if they would be an Ally or an enemy. Despite pouring over the little book until it was in danger of falling apart within her hooves, Twilight Sparkle was unable to find an answer to that question. It looked as though no one had ever actually completed the ritual and called them forth, so there was no way to know if they would help or hinder.

Twilight Sparkle was hopeful though, since the chant included the word harmony. That had to mean that they would be a good guy, right? She'd just have to hope it would be enough before the twin alicorns destroyed everything that she called home. Sucking in a breath, Twilight shut the book having committed the chant to memory. The odds were good she was going to need it, and so she carefully returned the tomes to their spots on the shelves before leaving the library and going outside. She was going to need a good vantage point for the summoning, and it was better to go now with the fight keeping attention away from her.

Please, let this work, she prayed as she maneuvered her way out of the castle and into the city. This just has to, or she'd just made a colossal mistake by letting Nightmare Moon fight Daybreaker. Then she'd have no other choice than to go through with the summoning, and leave all of their futures to the chance that this ancient one would show up and bring harmony to the kingdom once again.