Rest in Peace

Luna awoke in the most comfortable bed she'd ever felt in her life, with something warm and soft in her arms. Up above her was the inky black of the night sky, painted over with violet and amber. Beneath the silky blankets, Luna could feel whatever was in her arms breathing, and with each exhale, she felt that breath on her bare chest. Upon looking down, she saw Midnight looking up at her with a confused, but pleased expression.

"Um. Hi?" Luna said to herself, waiting for her brain to do its job putting together why she was currently cuddling one of the pony princesses.

"Hello..." ~Luna~ said. "Wait what."

"UM?" Luna let go of the ~alicorn~ and backed up, pulling the sheets up over her chest to stay covered.

"Wait... am I speaking your tongue?" ~Luna~ asked, her ears pointing forwards as she listened carefully to herself.

"WHAT THE FUCK!" Luna reached out to her Light, and a small purple sphere formed in her hand. Without hesitation, she threw the smoke bomb at the bed, making it burst into a cloud of smoke. Upon the smoke bomb's detonation, Luna's body became wrapped in glossy stealth, hiding her from sight for just long enough to don her armor. Once the effect wore off and she became visible again, she stood in full armor with the Ace pointed at the princess. "What did you do!?"

"I don't know!" the pony cried as tears began to well up in her eyes. "Please put that down..."

Luna kept her weapon aimed squarely at ~Luna~. Her instinct to pull the trigger was screaming in her head, but she held it back. She couldn't afford to lose the support of the ponies, and killing royalty was certain to make getting off this planet much more of a hassle than it already was.

"Did you make a wish...?" the Guardian asked softly, lowering her weapon.

The pony didn't answer for a while as she thought of the best answer.

"I promise I won't be mad... I just need to know what you wished for..." Luna added. "I need to know if I need to fight..."

"I wished I could help you," ~Luna~ murmured.

The feeling of betrayal pierced her chest. Even after she'd warned them of the danger, no, even after opening up to them about her past, that icy dagger through her heart was the reward.

"Why?" Luna asked, her eyes narrowing behind her helm. "Why do you want to help me?"

"Because you've suffered enough," ~Luna~ said, looking up at the Guardian.

"How can you be sure?" Luna asked. "Plenty of my comrades have suffered far more than I have, and are still fighting now."

"Do any of them have this power to grant wishes?" the princess countered. "Do they have magic as powerful as yours that using it would render them comatose? Your comrades are nowhere near your equals."

Luna felt her Light flare as a pang of anger shot through her. "You know nothing of my comrades! You hardly know me! And it certainly seems you still can't understand me when I clearly told you not to make a fucking wish!"

~Luna~ winced, and hung her head in shame.

"What I've been trying to say is that I don't want help. I'm here because I need to isolate myself before anyone else gets killed because they tried to help me," Luna said coldly. "I was trying to disappear, and I couldn't even get that right. So please forgive my bluntness when I say I don't believe that your wish was just to help me. What did you wish for?"

"I have spoken only the truth to you, Violet," ~Luna~ said. "I only wished I could help you somehow."

"If you won't tell me what you truly wished for, then I need to ready my weapons and prepare for the next apocalypse," Luna said, bowing with a cold and mechanical stiffness, as though she were trying to infuse sarcasm into the gesture. "Thank you for your hospitality, your majesty. May the Light be with you."

With that, Luna transmatted back to Ponyville, her mind racing to put together what loadout she'd need for her next fight.

——————————

At first, Luna could only stare at where Violet had just been as shock set in. She had done exactly what Violet had told her not to do. She'd done it intentionally. It wasn't a slip of the tongue on a common phrase. It wasn't an accident. She had explicitly made a wish. And in so doing, she'd destroyed Violet's trust. Upon that realization, Luna felt a pair of tears running down her cheeks.

Luna wiped away her tears and began to draw like a madpony. She didn't know how long she'd be able to speak to Violet in her native tongue. She didn't know if Violet would even want to talk to her if she could. But if she could express herself, express her feelings in a way Violet could understand, maybe she would believe her. Maybe Violet could believe that all she wanted was to help if her feelings were laid bare.

But this time, she couldn't even get the first line correct. She tried and she tried but she couldn't get the image from her mind out onto a page. There were too many words buzzing around in her brain, and her magic refused to hold her quill steady. Her feathers started to itch, and her mane was billowing with far more magic than usual. She could hear the stars whispering in her ears.

Her art failed her.

She growled in frustration and threw her balcony doors open, and with a powerful leap, she took off into the night. In the sky, she could see Violet's colors vividly, and the image of the {Awoken} would not leave her head. Even as she tried to focus on flying, on the sensation of the wind against her body and the feeling of freedom, she couldn't help but be distracted. Violet was right. She had killed her allies. She was a monster to them.

But she was still so wrong. Isolation would not bring safety to anyone. Running would not carry her away from herself. Her dream flashed in her mind, as did the voice of the {Ahamkara}. Your daughter, my heir, is born. The voice of Violet's mother followed. I wish to conceive a child with my wife!

Violet's mothers couldn't have her without wishing on the {Ahamkara}, which means she was born as a direct result of its magic, Luna reasoned as she subconsciously began to descend towards the Everfree. Violet's magic is the same purple as her mother acquired from the {Ahamkara}. And the {Ahamkara} called Violet her heir... Is one of her mothers an {Ahamkara}? Is Violet an {Ahamkara}?

She touched down in the Castle of the Pony Sisters, still lost in thought. No, if one of her mothers was {Ahamkara}, they would have granted their own wish. Even without knowledge of that power, if either of them made that wish, then it would have been granted. Her mothers are not {Ahamkara}, but Violet must be.

(Recommended Listening)

Luna snapped back to attention as she felt ancient magic pulse around her. Thousand-year old wards activated, and the familiar whispering chill of Violet's magic echoed like wind through the ruins. The icy fangs of dread bit down on her yet again as the memory of this spell came into her mind.

Nightmare Guards...! I forgot that spell was— Her mind stopped. VIOLET!

She charged her horn and teleported towards where she felt Violet's magic. Luna then found herself in the ancient throne room, witnessing the result of her own attempt to keep Nightmare Moon from surfacing. Dozens of faceless, markless alicorns surrounded Violet, charging and attacking her with ethereal weapons, and Violet was clearing all of them with her weapons. A projected alicorn leapt up for an overhead strike with a halberd, but was shot in the head by Violet's weapon with the familiar mark of the Ace of Spades. It exploded in a brilliant ball of flames, just as the Timberwolves had. How her physical weapons were affecting the magical constructs, Luna had no idea.

Violet seemed to dance through the battleground as her magic continued to build. She continued punctuating her steps with the explosive shots from her weapon, each one piercing one of the ethereal guards and destroying them, the explosions afterwards shredding the armor of any nearby. But for each one that fell to her, another would rise and take its place. Soon, Violet was forced to leap into the air to deal with a few projected guards flying in from the open roof.

Her magic spiked, and in her hand formed a dense sphere of empty magic. Luna recognized the feeling of this particular spell from her fight with the Carnivorous Mutae. The sheer destructive force of the spell could collapse what ceiling remained, killing both of them in the process. She tapped her magic and teleported to a spot with an open line to the sky.

Violet released her spell, bombarding the area with several explosions of her magic, culling the horde of ethereal guards, but not enough to end the fight. One by one, the projections returned, filling the ruined throne room once more. Violet put away her weapon, pulling a sword from her back. The blade crackled and chirped with lightning.

One of the projections charged a spell and fired a bolt of lightning at Violet. She raised her blade to block, only for the spell to shatter her blade and pierce her heart like an arrow. Blood splattered against the wall behind her, and she fell to the floor shortly afterwards. The guards charged forwards.

The Shape pulsed with light, and Violet rose to her feet once more. She threw a smoke bomb at the floor and rolled to the left, her body becoming invisible as the smoke bomb went off. Before she returned to visibility, a wall of purple flame erupted beneath a line of the ethereal guards, burning them away. Violet's invisibility wore off, and she was once again standing with the Ace of Spades in her hand. The scales Luna had seen earlier were now piercing her armor. Her body was glowing with a soft purple light, and her magic was flaring in intensity.

(Recommended Listening)

Reality around them was starting to creak.

The battle began anew, but the rhythm of the fight was different. Her steps didn't line up with any of her previous battles. Anxiety turned up to eleven and Luna's heart redoubled its efforts to escape its bony prison cell. The projections charged towards Violet, casting their own magic, seeking to overwhelm her by the endurance of the spell they were cast from. But Violet didn't seem to care. She switched weapons on off-beats, plucking the two-handed weapon from the small of her back every so often. That weapon's charged shot of blue lightning caused explosions upon the death of its victims as well, and electricity chained from those hit by it. A lucky guard pierced her armor with a halberd, killing her. But she just got back up again. She switched back to the sword, swinging the two-handed blade with only one, abandoning any formal technique in the interest of raw strength. She hacked and cleaved and shot through projections, tossing spheres that turned into walls of flame or smoke bombs to control the rhythm of the battle.

Airborne guards rained down lightning on Violet, killing her more than a few times, but never managing to keep her down. Each time, she'd just get back up and shoot them down with the Ace of Spades. Every time she went down, she got back up and kept fighting. She didn't tire. She didn't seem to even notice pain. Death was merely a rest in the melody of the battle.

The world glitched.

The roar of the dragon tore through the night. Violet's curse magic flared, and her body was now coated in scales, most of her armor covered by the new natural plating. From nothing, she drew a pair of purple blades made of her magic, and called out into the night in a voice not her own:

"Foolish specters! Your writhing masses are unworthy of witnessing our truth! You attack without mind a darkness that does not exist! There is only Light here! We feed upon desire, and shape reality with our claws! You will be consumed by our Nightmare Fangs!"

The blades in her hands grew longer and jagged. Moonlight refused to touch her, and she slipped out of view without a sound. The {Ahamkara} roared, and all of existence trembled at Violet's might. Luna could only watch as the projected guards were ripped apart by the unseen blades. One by one, they fell, and were replaced. But each time one fell, Violet grew faster. The specters kept coming, and Violet kept slicing them apart, tearing their magic from reality. Two fell, only one had time to reappear. Three fell, only one appeared.

Luna cast a spark of magic into the sky, hoping the tiny flare would be enough to signal her sister or the Elements.

The room was cleared of the specters, and the spell Luna had placed on this room over one thousand years ago dissipated. Violet roared, her blades fading out of her hands as she became visible again, revealing her dragonoid form.

No...!

Luna ducked behind a pillar as the spark of magic burst into a brilliant flash of light. She heard Violet blast the spark with black fire, snuffing it out only two seconds later. Unless Tia and the Elements were watching for that spark, there was no way that two seconds was enough to catch anypony's attention in the dead of night. Knowing her chances of defeating Violet were non-existent, she flared her magic and reached out to the moon. Slowly, as she poured every bit of magic she could muster into her celestial body, the moon lit the sky as bright as daylight.

Violet roared in response, and lunged towards her position. Luna ducked just in time for Violet to crash through her pillar, sending stone fragments and dust everywhere. Using the very last of her magic, she cast as many barriers as she could, ending up with a grand total of four. She could only pray that they'd allow her to buy enough time for the Elements to arrive.

"Violet! Be at peace!" Luna called as she pounded her wings to leap away.

Voilet did not respond with words. She lurched forth with impressive speed, though far slower than she'd been in her dreams. Luna found herself able to dodge the simple linear attack just enough to avoid damage to her barriers. As her momentum carried her forwards through where Luna had been standing, the alicorn caught the stench of curse magic and pain. When Violet attempted to stop and rebound, her legs gave at an odd angle, and a distinct snap met Luna's ears. Between her knee and hip, Violet's left leg was bent where there was no joint. And her momentum was still carrying her.

Violet crashed into a pillar at a full gallop, shattering it and her body at the same time. Numerous scales were fragmented, and the skin beneath was torn and bleeding. The stingers tried to push her back to her feet, but there was no strength left within her. She fell in a slump against the cold stone floor, blood beginning to pool around her wounds. But she wasn't returning to normal, and her magic was building.

A signal. Bright magenta magic in the shape of Twilight's Cutie Mark stained the sky. Help was on the way.

Luna cautiously approached Violet, staying just out of reach of her stingers. Even if she was down, her magic made both dreams and reality fracture. If her magic undid the damage she'd sustained from her use of the curse, she would be a vast threat that Luna would be unable to stop with how little magic she had left. Only she had knowledge of Violet's fighting style in this form and the danger it posed. Twilight, though certainly adept, was no match for Violet. Celestia was no match for Violet. Luna herself was no match for Violet.

Reality groaned in pain, and Violet's leg twisted back into place. A feral growl emanated from her maw. She tried to lift herself up, but still couldn't. She reached out with an arm, and grabbed hold of the ground, pulling herself an inch closer to Luna.

Luna took a step back, Violet pulled herself to follow. Luna's heart had migrated into her throat, its panicked pounding echoing in her ears. Luna took a step back, Violet pulled herself to follow, leaving a bloody smear on the ground beneath her.

"LUNA!"

Twilight's voice called out through the ruins. The sound of hooves resounded in the night. Luna took a step back, and Violet pulled herself to follow. A soft breeze carried the scent of blood towards the source of Twilight's voice.

"Twilight! Be cautious! Violet has lost control!" Luna called out in response.

The light of the moon dimmed, and soon, the night was once again dark. Twilight and her friends arrived through the main archway, the Elements around their necks. Luna took another step back, and Violet dragged herself forward, a stinger trying to reach for her.

"Twilight, this is Violet! Please, help her!" Luna said.

Violet roared, and her curse magic flared again, and the {Ahamkara's} voice echoed in the night once more, "Foolish wielders of ancient Light, there is no discord to harmonize. There is no darkness to snuff out. This is the nature of the universe: Nothing has ever lived that will not one day die! I sentence your kind to suffer your end! Extinction Event!"

The universe screamed in pain. The night sky fractured, and massive spheres of Violet's curse magic shot through. The atmosphere and aetheric field failed to push them back. Dozens, scores of the volatile meteors of condensed gravity began to rain down from the sky, the first striking just beyond the doorway, sending Twilight and her friends forwards into the throne room proper and shaking the ground. Luna fell to her haunches, and Violet dragged herself just a little closer.

The entire Everfree was immediately destroyed by the curse...

But none of the impacts killed them. Even direct hits did nothing to harm either herself of the Elements. Twilight stood on shaky legs, and her friends soon followed suit. The Elements of Harmony began to glow, and their bearers' hooves left the ground. All six ponies gently floated as magic saturated the area, building to levels that rivaled Violet's curse magic. With a deafening boom, the Elements' magic pulsed outwards, washing over Luna, Violet, the castle ruins, and the Everfree.