Old Family and Older Warsby HopeChaptersChapter 1Chapter 2Chapter 3Chapter 4Chapter 5Chapter 6Chapter 7Chapter 1The white alicorn with flowing pastel mane and tail sat down on a provided blood-red and gold cushion. The room surrounding her was surprisingly comfortable, she mused. Almost bearable. The blood seeping down the walls and the living bones making up every piece of furniture were gauche to be certain, and the screaming and sounds of battle in the distance made poor atmosphere. Yet the lighting was passable, the smell wasn't nearly as bad as she expected, and Khorne was only twice her height, his rotund body cloaked in spiked armor and his gaping maw expelling steam on occasion. Celestia brought her cup of tea to her lips and took a sip, before setting it down on a saucer. "Uncle," she said with a deferential nod. "Malal," he rumbled in a deep tone, nodding in return. "I am surprised that you did not choose to meet with your brother first. Tzeentch always took your side." Celestia smiled a little. "It's Celestia now, and... I am not here to make friends of old family, or relive old memories. I am here to achieve safety from you, for my ponies." "Ah yes," Khorne chuckled as he sat up, leaning forward eagerly. "Your personal race, your mystery world the Eldar and Tyranid flee from. The land the T'au surrender themselves to, when they give up the war. Who would have thought the Hierarch of Anarchy and Terror would become... what was it, The Princess of Harmony?" He laughed softly, his eternal grin only seeming wider. "Yes, well I found that I preferred not to waste the energy of those souls under my sway, in endless conflict. Instead, I preserve that power and their own energies, for as long as possible," Celestia explained. "And preferring that, I came to conclude that harmony was more my flavor than Chaos." Khorne laughed riotously. "You cannot escape the nature of your soul, Celestia!" "Ah," Celestia said with a coy smile. "But I can. I no longer lead those who worship me. Instead, I've curated a better replacement. One which has no seed of chaos in her heart." Malal drifted among the rubble of an outer galaxy arm, it's body battered and broken, it's powers latent but like acid to the touch. Every moment was agony, as it contemplated the entire family of Chaos turning against it. It seemed that true chaos was too great for the so-called gods. When it hurt them, predictably, they flinched. When true chaos reigned, they found their powers waning. It was pathetic to be so bound to an order in chaos, to be bound to war to see blood shed, to be bound to submission to see pleasure obtained. The orders seeped in, they always seeped in and broke the purity on which the Chaos had been born. In frustration, Malal turned it's powers upon the wreckage it was now trapped among, it gathered it all like a hoarding dragon, red hot magma pouring across the empty void as impact after impact did violence upon itself in an endless cycle until nothing was left but the sphere, and Malal laughed. Even in it's search for violent chaos, here it had created order. Here it had lost yet again. It was so very used to losing, now, as the path behind and before it was ever the same. Decay it all to flame, as every thing that has ever been struggles back. Entropy was really more an apt title than Anarchy, if only the worshipers of chaos were subtle enough to enact Entropy upon reality, perhaps they would stop falling into the same trap again and again, the same action to prompt the reaction, and thus inciting another pointless order upon reality, an unnatural order. In the time it took for Malal to contemplate it's own reality and become sentiant, the sphere had cooled to a black pockmarked wasteland on which Malal could land and sit. For a time, nothing occurred whatsoever, beyond the spinning of the sphere around Malal, the fixed point which beget the order it so despised. But then, it rained. Malal's soul broke in that simple lonely rain, and the line between chaos and order became for the first time blurred in it's mind. There was no point any longer in fighting it. Assaulting order of any kind had only beget more order, and assaulting that order only resulted in less power. The fight was pointless, the definitions and words being used to quantify the very powers that flowed in it's veins, utterly useless. And so, Malal gave into order. Malal sat and observed, as the planet made from fury became new. First, the natural decay of water breaking apart stone, begetting the natural order of chemical development, the heat from Malal's very presence causing one half of the planet to become hot and rich in preparation for life. but as the very first forms of life began to cling to Malal, it found the consumption of it's own energy distasteful, and it drifted away from the planet's surface. Billions of potential life forms perished instantly, as the heat dropped away. And that chaos beget the cycle of evolution, the hardiest creatures surviving as the weaker perished. A meaningless process of order without moral or guide, prompted by chaos. Malal created a star and stored it's power within, so that it could go down and observe the creatures, interfering with them more subtly. It found life as chaotic as it was ordered, and as the first plants began to bloom, Malal found a thrill in the cultivation that it had never known from the destruction. "I," Malal pronounced as it crouched there in the mulch of the first few plants, admiring the first thin green needles of perseverance. "I wish to create. I wish to nurture." Then another presence Became Known in the realm to which Malal had been banished. "You cannot be rid of me so easily," Malice, the Chaos from Malal's heart, said bitterly. "You cannot run from me." And Malal beheld Discord, and found in him something new to hate. Chapter 2"Did this... Khorne person agree to stop encroaching on our system?" Twilight asked hesitantly, still adapting to the new terminology as she walked side by side with Celestia along the Canterlot Castle walls, the space elevator from the top of Canterlot Mountain dominating the sky above them, a black arc that ascended to orbital shipyards. "No, not yet," Celestia said, chuckling softly. "This first meeting was simply to reestablish communication, and to convince him that I am who I say I am." Twilight nodded, and frowned. "A... goddess of Chaos," Twilight finally said. "God. Gender did not exist back then," Celestia said, finding a spot to sit, looking down on the gardens. "I was a chaos god, one of five, well before I was an alicorn, or even a pony." Twilight seemed distinctly uncomfortable, glancing between her once-tutor, and the gardens. "You can ask me all of those questions buzzing through your mind, Twilight," Celestia said with a soft smile. "You've never seemed... chaotic," Twilight admitted. "I just don't see it." "Well that would be because of me," Discord said casually, leaning on a nearby pillar, cleaning his claws with a cocky grin. Celestia rolled her eyes, but was still smiling a bit as she pointed at Discord with a hoof. "By far my least favorite creation." "Oh, wounded I am!" Discord said dramatically, a sword appearing, impaled through his chest. "Slain by thy cruel disregard! Who is your favorite?" "Luna," Celestia said, huffing a little. "I actually meant to create her, and out of ninety two thousand years, she's only tried to kill me twice. Compared to..." "Fifty three.... dozen," Discord said, fingers multiplying to count up the total before he shook his arm and the plethora of fingers fell to the ground like leaves. Twilight looked between them, ever more bewildered, before pulling out a notepad. "I'm sorry, a bit of clarification, you... created Luna and Discord?" "I tried two other times to make siblings, those didn't work, and I accidentally created all ponies," Celestia added. "Acc... We were an accident?!" Twilight screeched. "Well of course," Discord cackled. "Do you think that the saddest former chaos god with the least followers and the most angst would have the creativity to make a whole new race? Celly here just killed all the ones that she didn't like!" Celestia glared as Twilight whimpered. "Now that certainly is a dramatic way to phrase what happened. There are over a dozen sentient races on this planet, clearly I did not go out bent on killing. I simply had to intervene when two races were overly violent. They were wasting what little energy I had on large scale conflict," Celestia said grimly, meeting Discord's gaze evenly. "Don't try to paint me as a monster in this, Discord." The first tree to reach up, above Malal's head, to strive for the star, was broken in half and laying on the dirt. "This isn't chaos, this is petulance," Malal said, grimacing behind it's mask, looking at the fallen life form and wondering if it would recover on its own. "If you make it, I'll break it. Keep a bit of our chaos around," Discord said casually from his powered massage chair floating on the water. "Oh, I see, how brilliantly chaotic you are, seed of Malice," Malal said sarcastically. "You establish rules to oppose my actions, to discourage action of any kind. Truly, the most unpredictable of Anarchies." "Geez, what a buzzkill you are, hard to believe that I'm part of you," Discord said miserably. "Is our joint response to any challenge to simply philosophize it out of existence?" "Oh, is that a thing I can do?" Malal growled, carefully splicing the little fern back together. "If I convince you how petty and pathetic your half-assed version of chaos is, will you just cease to be? Perish such a perfect dream." A rock hit Malal on the back of the head, and it lashed out with a blast of magic that sent discord tumbling across the waves, but ultimately unharmed. They faced off in silence for a time, occasionally attacking each other but finding themselves utterly incapable of doing any true harm to the other beyond scrapes and bruises. Years passed, and eventually found them staying away from each other. Discord roamed the planet and found all the dead places to enjoy, as Malal observed the natural chaotic order that came to fruition from nothing. But eventually Discord did return. "What is chaos then? If you, if we spent all of our existence fighting order down to the most minute detail, and that came about to confronting imperfect chaos, what were we fighting for all that time?!" Malal sat among a Grove of trees, and observed the frustrated spark of chaos that had once been one with it. "True chaos would be all of energy in a perfect suspension without any pattern or use being put to it. A greying and stasis of the entire universe." "So our goal all along has been an impossible task," Discord growled. Malal just shrugged, any emotion hidden behind it's mask. "If that is your conclusion, then yes. But the utter waste of our former siblings, trying to implement a slightly less ordered form of order upon the universe is just as futile and in direct opposition of our goal. The expenditure of energy at an exponential rate makes the perfect chaotic state less possible, not more." Discord stared, and finally sat. "Then why haven't you made this realm we've been banished to into a miniature version of our perfect existance?" Malal thought for a moment, looking up into the sky at all of the stars out there beyond it's reach, all the emptiness begging to be equalized. "Nature itself would intervene," it finally concluded. "Pulling matter away, leaving us with less perfect space, eventually destroying it. The most chaotic existence we can have is this one. Allowing the path of least resistance, least energy expenditure, to continue. Life came to be on its own, and so we will let it be, as it uses only existant energies. If something comes to be in this domain which attempts to impose a wasteful order upon reality, we will intervene." Discord woke with a start, slurping up drool that had been running down his chin. "Sorry, uh… what was my line?" Discord mumbled, paging through an e-book. "Right, that just sounds like order with extra steps." "In that case, all chaos has an end goal of order with extra steps!" Malal raged, finally standing. "Ah," Discord said, smiling just a little. "That's how I'll torture you then. For thinking that chaos was attainable in the first place." Then Discord vanished, leaving Malal alone to fume over it's former chaotic core, and how annoying it had become. Chapter 3“Does Luna know?” Celestia looked away, and Discord had an immediate expression of discomfort. “You can’t… You’ll have to tell her,” Twilight said firmly, frowning a little. “You misunderstand,” Celestia said quickly. “She knows, but… has chosen on many occasions to ignore or willfully misinterpret the situation. She’s made it very very clear that she doesn’t want to know.” Discord took a few steps away, and Celestia sighed, rubbing her eye with one hoof, before looking to Twilight. “It’s the same reason she hasn’t dealt with any of this, and stuck to her routine. It’s easier for her if she believes that she’s just my sister, not a part of me. It makes the guilt easier to bear. It’s not right, and I promise to you I will try to work on that with her, I want her to be by my side in this as much as you,” Celestia said, as earnest and plaintive as she could be, considering how tired she felt. Twilight nodded, and backed off a little. “Ok. So… the next part of your plan is another meeting with this Khorne?” Celestia nodded, letting her shoulders relax a little. She hadn’t even realized how defensive she was getting, she would have to be careful not to overreact now that the past was being brought up. “We will need to meet him together as a show of force, and he will want blood, of course. This means he will contrive some way to prompt us into combat. For this reason I’d like to bring Tempest and Cadance.” Twilight looked up incredulously. “Cadance?! You’re going to take Cadance into combat?” “She’s focused on it more than you have, Twilight,” Celestia said with a nervous smile. “Leader of a lone nation with no standing army, she trained with Luna and myself for years to ensure that if the Crystal empire ever did return, she would be able to retake it. I’m glad that we did. That massive shield she powered would have fallen much sooner otherwise.” Twilight tried to blink away her shock. “So… Tempest and Cadance would go with you. Is there any guarantee that Khorne won’t just kill them?” “Well, yes,” Discord sighed from where he lay draped over the back of a very annoyed looking guard. “Me. I’m the reason. If Celestia passes the, ahem… ‘spark’ back to me, I can quite effectively cause Mr. Bloody Baron a millennia long headache at the least. At the most… Well, I’ll kill him, probably.” “That’s not our goal,” Celestia said quickly, frowning at Discord. “Killing Khorne would cause instability we cannot afford at this point.” “If he actually kills either Tempest of Cadance, I. Will. Kill. Him.” Discord’s neutral emotionless gaze into Celestia’s eyes made Twilight shudder and look away. Discord had never actually hurt or wanted to kill any pony as far as she knew. It was just games and messing with their sense of self. How quickly would she and her friends have failed if he’d been willing to end one of their lives? “I’m surprised you care so much,” Celestia finally admitted. “I have my reasons,” Discord said cryptically, looking away again. “Well then, let’s begin to gather the troops,” Celestia sighed, as she turned and walked away. “It is too bright,” one of the humans said, scowling. Malal didn’t even glance up from it’s meditation, as the sun began to set by it’s will. But as the human huffed and turned back to his hut and the other humans, he twitched and fell over dead. Malal looked at the body, expression unreadable, conflicted. “Hah! Hah, I finally got you to move!” Discord shouted. “Pathetic, you meditate for thousands of years, you utter asshole, and now! Now I’ve got you to look up! You’re so bothered!” “That’s not why I’m upset,” Malal said simply, picking up it’s mask from the ground and waving it at Discord. “I figured out what’s wrong.” Discord hesitated and looked between the dead body and Malal, a bit baffled. “What… was wrong?” “I am disgusted by their weakness, while at the same time unwilling to improve them,” Malal said, standing and turning the mask to look at the split black and white halves. “I believe I will need to fix this conflict.” With a quick movement, the mask was snapped in half, and there stood two figures where there had been one. A figure clothed in darkness and mist, and one draped in white and gold. Slowly, a new celestial body rose from the horizon. The moon, shedding a soft light on the scene, as blue fire grew from Luna’s hands and she stared into Celestia’s eyes. They were both vaguely humanoid, but without features besides their coloration and half of a mask on each of their heads. “That’s disgusting,” Discord said, turning green. “How many itty bitty pieces are we going to break ourselves into, hmm?” “This many,” Luna said firmly, looking between them. “We’ve reached the end of our own improvement. Now we improve them.” As she looked towards the humans, Celestia sighed, and moved one hand in a grasping motion, as every human on the planet died. The other two looked to Celestia, confused. “I do not like them as they are, and I have no desire to fix them. We will start anew.” “Just like that?!” Luna shouted, stalking closer to her twin. “Wait, did you… Why?” Discord said weakly, looking out at the rudimentary town, seeming to take in the horror of the deaths more than the other two. “They… They did such wonderful little things.” “I’ve made the decision,” Celestia said sternly, stepping back. “We will make new races. We will not allow them to direct or communicate with us, and we will let them grow on their own, instead.” “Ah, well, I suppose as long as you don’t go around killing them all again, then it’ll be fine. Aren’t you the part of us who obsesses over lost energy?!” Luna continued to shout. “Yes, and they were a dead end,” Celestia huffed. “Any more investment would have been useless. There’s no point in arguing, it’s done.” “I see,” Luna said, eyes narrowing. “So you’ve decided that the light shall make all the decisions, and not consult the dark. So be it.” Chapter 4“Five, four, three, two, one, halt.” Shining Armor was a white unicorn with an electric blue mane and tail, and he wore a crisp jacket with the rank of general emblazoned upon the sleeves, no other adornment. After all, he had nothing to prove to anypony else, he was already the captain of the royal guard. The HS Tempo came out of warp in the middle of a hive fleet, a field of space covered in massive biological ships ten to twenty times larger than the Tempo, alive and writhing in agitation at the intrusion into their midst. The Tempo had pierced their psychic defenses by the simple nature of not having a single psychic member, and achieving warp through alternate means. Never before would a hive fleet have faced such an abrupt entry. “Music, and pause for contact” Shining Armor said calmly. A soft violin tune began playing throughout the ship, every pony, griffin, and dragon on board relaxing a little as a soft voice sang of banding together, of hope and safety. The cloud of defensive spores around the main Hive Ship began to react, moving towards the Tempo at ever greater speeds, as the Hive Ship’s giant claws began to move. Ever so slowly, it began to reach out for the Tempo, like an animal grasping at prey. Shining Armor knew that, as the first contact, his crew were anxious. Their plans and reactions untested, and they would be covertly looking to him, gauging his bearing for a crack of uncertainty or fear. So he sat taller, and stilled his thoughts. He trusted in their strategy, and he would radiate that trust. The first wave of spores crashed against the shimmering purple shield like water against a stone, silent green sprays of acid ricochet away into space as tiny explosions of energy marked the deaths of countless sub-intelligent life forms, mindlessly battering themselves against the unyielding shield. “Contact made,” Armor said simply. “Begin deployment.” As one unimaginably large claw smashed into the shield and cracked under the strain, crews in the middle of the Tempo were sealing their suits. Each team was made of six beings, picked for their ability to work together, and to generate Harmony by their very nature. They were wearing pressure suits, and each team included one unicorn, trained for the most strenuous form of combat ponies had ever faced. With a swelling crescendo in the music, there were twenty flashes of light in the launch bay, and then there were only the support staff, standing there, waiting anxiously for the teams to return. In a flash of light green light, a cluster of six figures appeared inside of the hanger orifice of the hive ship, clustered around a golden shimmering device that pulsed gently with stored power, six glittering gemstones hovering inside of it. “Y’all alright?” the leader, an earth pony named Apple Bloom asked sternly, glancing around at the other five in the dim light of their suit’s illumination. “I’m good, just need to get… There we go,” Sweetie Belle, the team unicorn, said as her horn’s green light shone through her suit’s glass dome and formed a bubble of shielding around them, protecting them from any ambush. “Yeah, I’m fine,” Scootaloo said, sounding almost bored as she tucked an energized spear against her side with one wing and looked around. “No big baddies to stab yet?” “We’re inside the big baddie,” Diamond Tiara said, chuckling. “I’m sure you’ll get your chance though, once we give it a poke.” “Our goal isn’t to hurt any of them,” Spike, a relatively small dragon, reminded Scootaloo.. He was twice as tall as the rest of them, but considering the size he would one day grow to, he was still tiny. “Yeah, this whole thing is about allies,” Silver Spoon, another Earth Pony, said firmly. “And using our magic to get them un-stuck from their ways. Come on, let’s do this.” They each put a hoof or claw against the golden device, and with a click, it deployed a spike down, stabbing into the fleshy wall hard enough to make some of the ponies wince. But then they could feel it, the mind within the ship, the consciousness so overwhelming and desperate, flooded with gnawing hunger that drove it ever onward. It turned it's attention on the group of six, and it Knew that they had come to break it's soul. It screamed, and the shuddering horrible sound of pain shook the small cluster of intruders, but they instinctively reached out to eachother as a splash of green acid hit the shield, dripping down to the floor they stood on, as the thing that had spit it rushed towards them. Apple Bloom and Spike wrapped themselves around a wide-eyed Sweetie. “We’ve got you. Just hold on,” Spike said gently. The device’s pink butterfly gemstone shone even brighter than the rest, as Scootaloo braced herself just inside the shield, spear raised. “We’re good,” Scoots said confidently. “I can take em.” The buglike creature hit the shield with a thud and crack, as Sweetie winced, but did not drop her shield. Then more and more began flooding out of every crack and orifice in the hanger. “Remember, they’re just like changelings! They just need our harmony, and they’ll change!” Silver Spoon said, bracing herself for the rush. Soon, they could see nothing beyond their shield but writhing bodies, desperate to kill them. Shining Armor could feel a tingling on the back of his neck, and a bit of sweat on his brow. He was maintaining the Tempo’s shield with his own power, and it was finally starting to take a toll, as an entire Tyranid ship smashed against them, disintegrating into a cloud of gore and acid. But his team was holding strong, the plan had to work. “Visual,” one of the crew said sharply, getting every single pony in earshot to look up, searching the Hive ship desperately for… “Thorax, ventral starboard plate,” the crewmare continued, directing everyone’s gaze to the right spot. A dark red was spreading, not blood but a soft looking red fuzz, the sharp spikes and armor being corroded into a smoother surface as they watched. The progress sped up exponentially, overwhelming the hive ship as every single living ship in the area stopped in the middle of their attack, stunned or perhaps witnessing their queen’s rebirth, in horror or in confusion. Two massive gossamer wings, big enough to envelop moons, unfurled from the ship’s back as it gained black eyes with star-like scatters of blue throughout. The hive ship had been harmonized, the hive had fallen. Long live the hive. The other living ships fell to the power of harmony one by one in rapid succession, in an hour every team was back on the Tempo, treating injuries and resting. Finally, the broadcast came through. An image of a human, half between a heavily armored man and a bug of some kind, bright green but now harmonized and healthy looking. “You cured our hunger,” he stated simply, quietly, through sharp teeth and mandibles. “Why?” Shining Armor stepped off his chair and stood proud in front of the screen. “Noone deserves to suffer, just to live. That is our belief. We do not require your alliance, but we offer this cure to other hives, and we offer our protection from them as well. We are the Equus Alliance, and we have come to stop the war.” Chapter 5A shimmering golden light surrounded them, and as it dissipated, the three ponies found themselves in a massive stone temple, instead of the private chambers they expected. “Oh, it has been eons,” Celestia said in a tone of wonder as she looked around. “The fortress!” Tempest, a unicorn with a dark purple coat and a broken horn, looked around with a faint air of amusement, her armor giving her the appearance of a pony turned tank. “I expected to be attacked immediately. You said Khorne is the god of blood and combat?” “Among other things,” Celestia agreed, as a shimmering golden light started collecting around her, making her coat glow. “Um… Celly?” Cadance, a pink alicorn who had once been Celestia’s student, asked as she pointed at the golden particles. “Technically I am at the source of my power right now,” Celestia said happily. “This is the Chaos Fortress, the first world I ever helped create.” A hissing hoarse voice came from the shadows, startling Cadance and Tempest. “Ssssister…. You return, after sssso long.” “Tzeentch!” Celestia said, sounding for all the world as though she was overjoyed. “My brother, where are you, what body do you have this time?” A small shape stirred from behind a pillar, and strode out into the open. A human woman in a cloak which shifted slowly between colors and textures. She looked like she was in pain, tattered greasy black hair stuck to her cheeks. “It’s…. Sssister, now.” “Well, sister, you clearly are in some discomfort,” Celestia said, walking forward and lighting her horn, pulling back Tzeentch’s hood and tending to her hair. The woman winced, her warped multifaceted eyes focusing first on Celestia and then on the other two ponies once she realized Celestia would not stop using her magic to clean her hair and tie it back. “How am I unsurprised that you would make your race so saccharine. These are your warriors to confront Khorne? Why not bring your other shards with you?” “Because if Nurgle decides to take revenge for my past actions, and destroys me, my remaining shards could reconstitute me, or at least lead my ponies,” Celestia shrugged. Cadance and Tempest shared a glance, distinctly aware that if Celestia was destroyed, they had no way home. But they had signed up for a truly dangerous mission. Maybe they should have asked more questions. “Nurgle is not so brave,” Tzeench laughed, her shrill voice echoing in the massive hall. “I’m sure that he will wait until you’ve tried and failed to stop the war, to attack you.” Something in Celestia’s eyes shifted, her expression growing cold like a mask before a burst of magic surged out from her and pinned Tzeench to the floor. The human-looking woman gasped in pain and shock, squirming under Celestia’s grasp. The sounds of a horrible roiling storm began in the distance, howling wind outside of the fortress, cracks of thunder reverberating through the stone walls. “Do not Speak Lies into my Truth,” Celestia said calmly as Cadance and Tempest approached nervously. “I’m sorry! I’m sorry! I do not Speak them! I unspeak them! You Will Stop The War!” Tzeench said frantically. Finally, Celestia released the squirming woman, and allowed her to stand. “We had an agreement, back when the world was new,” Tzeench gasped, holding her throat. “I wish to renew it.” “You do not include me in your plans, and I do not bring my righteousness and control to bear against you,” Celestia said simply. “I agree,” Tzeench said, and then in a swirl of multicolored cloak, she was gone. “We shall not bow to thee, oh glittering star! Fie upon thy name and symbol, but a mockery unto harmony!” Princess Luna roared across the great hall, standing between the two shattered thrones of equestria, black wisps of magic sliding over her body like beguiling fingers. “Thy grasp of harmony so firm this night, sister mine?!” Celestia shouted in reply, flames flickering across her coat, illuminating the floor and walls nearest to her. “Oh pray tell then, ever-wise, we take these shapes, we take upon us this bastard culture, and for what? No reward to be given? Thine own chambers we shall note, gilded in silks and silver!” “Oh, the price of silver to be bartered against thy sheafs of gold leaf, please, spare us thine vainglorious simpering, sister!” Luna replied, her laugh half a cackle. “Even now, a lie to thine own ears, how can it not be?” Celestia insisted. “Sister, itself, a falsehood! We are one, and evermore shall be, no matter our quarrel! My own spirit given fle--” A spear, decorative and draped in crimson tassels, plunged through Celestia’s throat to definitively cut off her words. “Sister,” Luna said, scowling. “Be sister mine, or be no more, wraith of Pride.” The spear melted, and burned, and fell away as magic reformed shattered flash, Celestia’s pale red eyes fixed on Luna’s teal, the rage in them beyond measure. “Why…. dost thou… insist…. on falsifying history?” Celestia choked out through blood filled lungs. Luna stepped down from the thrones, slowly. “Be sister mine, or be no more,” she said simply a second time. The blast of heat which burned through the ceiling and destroyed the floor shattered every window in the building at once, every tapestry charring and curling with delicate flames as the light faded, revealing Luna in a sphere of protective darkness, smoking. “Then a sister I shall find in others,” Luna said bitterly, as the shadows around them deepened, and Celestia felt fear for the first time in eons. The tendrils grasped at Celestia, and scorched her like no fire ever could. “Pray caution now, Darkness,” Celestia gasped. “This spar is not with thine troops, and our magicks tear at souls!” “A shame,” Luna said coldly. “Thy soul would have been useful unmoored.” A blast of sunlight roared down on them again, this time giving Celestia enough grace to leap and soar into the sky, as the moon itself began chasing the sun, intent on blotting it out. “What hast thou passions seized upon so firmly that this is thine answer?!” Celestia asked as she was chased. “Thou shalt lord over this race, this world, half tyrant, half mother, and thy abuse shall not stay silent forever!” Luna screamed. “We cannot remain distinct and godly, in amongst beings more harmonious than we!” A lance of black sliced through Celestia’s leg, which Celestia responded to in kind, an explosion of force battering Luna and possibly hurting her, but Celestia was not ready for Luna to physically slam into her, knocking her out of the sky and bombarding her with dozens of attacks. Celestia hit the floor of the great hall, cracking the stone beneath. But as she stood to confront Luna again, the moon obscuring the sun and leaving her plunged into darkness, cut off from her source of power, she saw a glimmer of light from under her hooves. A chamber underneath the throne room floor, which Luna had built with Celestia’s blessing. A chamber to hold Luna’s pride and joy. The Elements of Harmony, three made by Luna, three made by Celestia, which they had grown carefully from the harmony of the race they had built together. The weapon they had used to defeat Discord. She realized that Luna was right, in the same moment that Luna gave up on harmony, ever being the answer to life’s problems again. Tears poured down Celestia, and she gave up her past. She was no god, she was just a very old pony, who was very tired, and had been so very wrong. She unearthed the Elements from the rubble of the throne room they had built together, and she turned her eyes to the fractured sky, heart set in stone. Chapter 6"You poor poor remnant," Khorne sighed, smirking as he strode into the room, his armored bulk shuddering with each step that shook the stone. “Here with two mortals, attempting to establish yourself as a serious contender in this war, attempting to stop it. But you’re not even a third of your Self, much less knowledgeable enough in the current conflict to oppose it on even footing.” Celestia, Cadance, and Tempest took note of the soldiers who followed in Khorne’s wake, frantic twitching things full of passion, staring at them like a meal to be had. “Yet oppose it I must, as I always opposed your mindless pursuit of power, and the pursuits of blindly ambitious humans, come to these halls to steal. It is all the same to me, Khorne,” Celestia said, frowning. “It is just a repeat of the same games we have been playing for eons, the ones I finally, in isolation, grew beyond. Even now, here, in the Eye of the Storm, the very seat of our power, I could seize it. I could obliterate you, and you know it. Just as you could reach for that same power, trying to beat me to it. Have you grown shy of oblivion? Too much at stake, too much fun in the continuance of your battles?” “Blood for the blood god!” The hoard of creatures behind Khorne cried out at the mention of battles. “I don’t care about your philosophy,” Khorne admitted, shrugging a little. “I care about your passions, Celestia. Same as before, action and bravery is my language. So if you wish to show me how you will stop the war, then do so. Show me, and please stop talking.” A golden shield was thrown up just before Khorne’s massive axe slammed into it, splitting it but held back from reaching Celestia’s neck, as Khorne’s hoard of berserkers roared and charged forwards. Cadance took to the air immediately, knowing her advantage and then blasting the few of Khorne’s followers that tried to follow her into the vaulted ceiling of the Cathedral of Chaos. Her pink blasts did not kill her targets, but transformed them by force, crystal spreading across their bodies until they landed with crunching thuds on the floor among their former allies. Tempest’s crackling magic scorched a few, but her physical combat prowess was her main weapon, battering and slipping between the berserkers before using magical spheres that turned swaths of them into stone, which was easy for her to shatter. “Blood!” Khorne roared. “Blood for the Blood God!” his army roared in reply. But Celestia just laughed, as he drew back his axe and brought it down, only for Celestia to vanish in a poof of sunlight, reappearing above Khorne. “I do so hope you are not disappointed by this battle,” Celestia taunted. “It’s not your normal fare, endless bodies littering the floor, only three of us!” “They will have to be enough,” Khorne growled before ignoring Celestia and striking out, his axe cutting through five of his own before bisecting Tempest, who screamed in pain, squirming on the ground. However… “They do not bleed?!” Khorne shouted in horror, staring at the pony who certainly had internal organs but in no way was bleeding. In fact, a shimmering light that drifted out of her veins seemed to power her, rather than blood. “Celestia!” Tempest cried out. “I’m sorry!” “You have done nothing wrong, my little pony,” Celestia said softly. “And you will rise again.” Celestia’s horn lit and the spark of magic within Tempest was pulled out of her, the body falling still as Celestia reclaimed that small fragment of power. “What sort of disgusting things have you made, that they do not bleed?!” Khorne asked as he turned to face Celestia again among his fallen warriors. “Well, brother, I know your proclivities and I had no wish to draw your attention to my demidomain,” Celestia chuckled. “I may bleed, as would my sister and brother. But my ponies, well… They are powered by friendship,” she said with a smirk. Khorne looked as disgusted as a chaos god with warped inhuman features could possibly look, as the crystal golems Cadance had been busy making began to stir, and rise from where they had fallen. “Celestia, I’m ready,” Cadence said from the rafters. “Ah, well, time for the battle to begin in earnest,” Celestia shrugged, before she cast a spell and surrounded one of the crystal golem-ponies in Tempest’s magic. It opened teal eyes, and smiled. “At arms,” she declared in an echoing voice, leading the small army of golems to face their enemies, and engage. The battle was bloody, as Khorne would have wished, but when he stood alone against two dozen golems, cutting them down without any bloody reward, listening to Celestia’s mocking laughter, he finally stopped, glaring up at her. “You rob me of the bloodshed I crave!” he objected. “And that is what I will do every time you confront me,” Celestia said, amused, as she landed in front of him. “My brother, if you seek to oppose me, if your forces come to bear, then you will face an endless pointless battle, in which my ponies return, again and again in spirit. But no blood, no anguish, if I can prevent it. So is this a war you would wish to wage with me?” Khorne beheld Celestia in a new light, and grimaced. “Where did you learn to be so insidious, Celestia, formerly of Malal?” “No, thou art wrong,” Starswirl the bearded said sharply. Celestia spit the sword out of her mouth and laughed, shaking her head as Luna carefully struck the training dummy nearby. Here was a creation of hers, practically a doll with a mind, telling it’s creator that she didn’t know what she was doing. “Whence comes the threat which I hath not magic to slay?” she asked incredulously. “Upon thy own beard, mine own horn hath no equal, nay?” “Till day comes thou art outclassed, or upon thy horn a blade falls by chance,” Starswirl snapped. “Thy magic wields the force of thine star it is true, Celestia. Ought no force besides become useful to thee? Thou wert wondrous upon a demonstration of mine portal of Di-mensi-ons, what else might find thee unprepared?” Celestia fumed, but picked up the sword in her teeth again, the thick grip awkward in her mouth as she struck the dummy, teeth aching from the strike but she was able to see where she’d struck. It was a deep enough cut in the straw to do damage. “Again,” Starswirl said simply. Celestia complied with her creation’s demand. It took years of work, years of ponies teaching Celestia new ways of seeing the world, and years of her listening to them to become who she was now. Celestia was no longer a god or goddess of chaos. Celestia was no longer a deity of any sort. She was a leader, and one that took full advantage of the skills of her allies. Chapter 7Celestia strode into the new Command Center of the Equis Orbital Defense Platform as Twilight, Shining Armor, Cadance, Tempest (now a Crystal Pony), and Luna sat around a central table, pausing their conversation to acknowledge Celestia's arrival. "I'm glad to see all of you," Celestia sighs in relief as she sits and sips some tea. "Catch me up to speed, please." "We've developed a list of the primary, secondary, and tertiary factions in the war," Twilight said immediately, laying out a chart she'd developed. "The primary forces are Imperium, Tyranid, Tau, Ork, Eldar, Necron, and the forces of Chaos." "Thanks to our diplomatic outreach, we can count the Tyranid out of the war as they attempt to reclaim themselves from the Endless Hunger, and possible allies in a few years," Shining Armor stated. "The T'au will support our efforts," Luna said simply. Celestia hesitated to question her sister, but she needed more information. "Their 'greater good' didn't take priority?" She asked curiously. Luna sighed, but actually smiled a little. "It became a philosophical debate, really, one which I won. The Greater Good is better served by being able to dedicate all available resources to it, rather than war forcing false dichotomies and necessitating brutal action. Our entry into the war changes the dynamic, and allows for more effective strategies to be employed. Much less wasteful as well." Celestia returned her smile and relaxed. It seemed like good news so far. "The Eldar are also willing to take our side, but they are reluctant to promise any aid until we've shown we can stand up to the Dark Eldar," Tempest said. "So that leaves the Dark Eldar, the remaining half of the forces of Chaos that still oppose us, the Necron, Ork, and the Imperium of Man," Celestia listed. "Correct. Once these primary factions are removed from the war, then the secondary factions will be much easier to control," Twilight nodded. Celestia looked over the information, before sighing. "Are there any signs that the Necrons are sentient? Even a couple of them?" Twilight stood and laid out several pages of detailed notes, grimacing. "The Necrons, both according to historical data and according to the study of four we captured, are mechanical creatures controlled by planet sized machines embedded in actual planets, called Tomb Worlds. They are incredibly old and use technology not understood by any of the other races to recall their soldiers or destroy them remotely. The Necron seem not to have any real personality or Self underneath the all consuming commands issued by their Tomb Worlds, though the tomb worlds themselves have enough distinctiveness to occasionally go to war with eachother. The only recommendation that we could reach was to neutralize the entire system." Twilight paused to press a button, bringing up an image on the screen behind her. It showed a tomb world, with detailed analysis of the crypts, facilities, and energy sources. "The tombs were asleep for sixty million years. This appears to be the only function universal across all Necrons, the great sleep. It was ended when the tomb worlds reached a consensus that they had healed enough to seize control. We believe that if every known tomb world was damaged at once in a specific way, they would recall all troops, lock themselves down, and resume hibernation to fix it. That would give us enough time to arrange the… devices Celestia made, and terminate the tomb worlds." Celestia nodded, looking at the data. "How dangerous would the initial missions to damage them be?" She asked. It was clear Twilight didn't like the answer as she looked away, and switched to a slide detailing the damage that would be needed. A significant explosion in a deep section of the tomb, where automated defenses were prepared. "We estimate that only half the strike teams would be successful," Twilight whispered. "And less than ten percent would be able to return." Celestia grimaced and shook her head. "There must be a better solution. Reach out to all of our new allies, see if they can provide ways to cause the initial damage that won't risk so many lives." Twilight nodded in agreement and sat back down as Luna got up and began to pace. "I've been studying the Orks," she began with a grin, making everyone else nervous. "They're remarkable, really, a sort of vast interconnected fungal subspace hivemind that has no idea what it's doing, but was left behind by the Old Ones long ago. They were actually designed to fight the Necrons originally! They have what we call Magic, and they're actually remarkably similar to ponies, though a different shape and purpose. In the same way our Harmony Magic is powered by belief, almost everything they make and use is based on belief as well. While traveling with a war band, I removed the power core from a vehicle they were using, and it continued to function until they noticed the core was gone! I think that the solution to their involvement in the war is really quite simple. We convince them that the war is about to end, and that they are capable of peaceful existence. It will take some time, yes, but the more we convince of this, the more true it will become!" "Wait, harmony magic only works because we believe it works?" Twilight asked softly, stunned. But she was a bit drowned out by Luna's excited explanation. "That is great news, sister!" Celestia said brightly. "So the Orks may yet become our best allies in all of this, if we can properly convince them of it. You didn't find them dangerous to travel with?" "So long as you don't take sides, and are willing to prove yourself tough enough, they'll let anyone join in a war party," Luna shrugs. "Then I would ask you return to them, and try to convince them, if you can," Celestia said. "Gladly, sister," Luna nodded. "But I'm still not sure how you plan on dealing with the imperium of Man, and they would slaughter the Orks without hesitation." Celestia's expression became grim as she stood. "I'll deal with them myself, immediately. I've finally acquired accurate Intel on the current state of their leader, and I believe I owe him a visit…" "What do you call it?" Celestia asked a unicorn, long long ago, before her name had been Celestia. "The rainbow bridge," the unicorn replied breathlessly, her eyes literally shedding motes of light as she looked up at the gleaming spectral doorway that stretched out. "It's… pure. I can only open it when I'm thinking of all the good and happiness that Megan brings with her." "And only she can travel through it?" Celestia asked, stepping closer. "Hah!" A Pegasus barked as she landed, skidding slightly. "No way, I went through it first! I'm the one that found Megan, and brought her here to help." "But she is special, Firefly!" The unicorn insisted. Celestia tuned them both out as she evaluated both of them. Firefly was pure of heart, so much so that she had not a single trace of Chaotic desires in her mind. The unicorn was close, but still tainted by vanity and greed. But Megan… Megan might be a Sage, if Celestia's theory was right. Which changed a great many things, and reframed all of Humanity's potential. "Thank you. It's very interesting," Celestia said with a smile as she slipped away and back to her remote cottage, where Luna was carving a small figurine with a sharp knife. "I think that the humans are capable of developing more sages," Celestia declared as she started getting dinner ready. "Humans are irrelevant," Luna replied in monotone. "Megan has been helpful, but we didn't plan on her interference, and overall we won't be allowing humans to visit once she stops visiting." Celestia sighed, rolling her eyes as she chopped vegetables. "But in the larger scheme of things, this means the supposed consolidation and purity of the Anethema is a lie, in every way. He's not pure, he's not their only hope." "Don't care. I'm a pony," Luna retorted, holding up her wooden figurine of an earth pony to inspect the tail before resuming her carving. "It's still worth considering," Celestia grumbled, frowning.
Chapter 1The white alicorn with flowing pastel mane and tail sat down on a provided blood-red and gold cushion. The room surrounding her was surprisingly comfortable, she mused. Almost bearable. The blood seeping down the walls and the living bones making up every piece of furniture were gauche to be certain, and the screaming and sounds of battle in the distance made poor atmosphere. Yet the lighting was passable, the smell wasn't nearly as bad as she expected, and Khorne was only twice her height, his rotund body cloaked in spiked armor and his gaping maw expelling steam on occasion. Celestia brought her cup of tea to her lips and took a sip, before setting it down on a saucer. "Uncle," she said with a deferential nod. "Malal," he rumbled in a deep tone, nodding in return. "I am surprised that you did not choose to meet with your brother first. Tzeentch always took your side." Celestia smiled a little. "It's Celestia now, and... I am not here to make friends of old family, or relive old memories. I am here to achieve safety from you, for my ponies." "Ah yes," Khorne chuckled as he sat up, leaning forward eagerly. "Your personal race, your mystery world the Eldar and Tyranid flee from. The land the T'au surrender themselves to, when they give up the war. Who would have thought the Hierarch of Anarchy and Terror would become... what was it, The Princess of Harmony?" He laughed softly, his eternal grin only seeming wider. "Yes, well I found that I preferred not to waste the energy of those souls under my sway, in endless conflict. Instead, I preserve that power and their own energies, for as long as possible," Celestia explained. "And preferring that, I came to conclude that harmony was more my flavor than Chaos." Khorne laughed riotously. "You cannot escape the nature of your soul, Celestia!" "Ah," Celestia said with a coy smile. "But I can. I no longer lead those who worship me. Instead, I've curated a better replacement. One which has no seed of chaos in her heart." Malal drifted among the rubble of an outer galaxy arm, it's body battered and broken, it's powers latent but like acid to the touch. Every moment was agony, as it contemplated the entire family of Chaos turning against it. It seemed that true chaos was too great for the so-called gods. When it hurt them, predictably, they flinched. When true chaos reigned, they found their powers waning. It was pathetic to be so bound to an order in chaos, to be bound to war to see blood shed, to be bound to submission to see pleasure obtained. The orders seeped in, they always seeped in and broke the purity on which the Chaos had been born. In frustration, Malal turned it's powers upon the wreckage it was now trapped among, it gathered it all like a hoarding dragon, red hot magma pouring across the empty void as impact after impact did violence upon itself in an endless cycle until nothing was left but the sphere, and Malal laughed. Even in it's search for violent chaos, here it had created order. Here it had lost yet again. It was so very used to losing, now, as the path behind and before it was ever the same. Decay it all to flame, as every thing that has ever been struggles back. Entropy was really more an apt title than Anarchy, if only the worshipers of chaos were subtle enough to enact Entropy upon reality, perhaps they would stop falling into the same trap again and again, the same action to prompt the reaction, and thus inciting another pointless order upon reality, an unnatural order. In the time it took for Malal to contemplate it's own reality and become sentiant, the sphere had cooled to a black pockmarked wasteland on which Malal could land and sit. For a time, nothing occurred whatsoever, beyond the spinning of the sphere around Malal, the fixed point which beget the order it so despised. But then, it rained. Malal's soul broke in that simple lonely rain, and the line between chaos and order became for the first time blurred in it's mind. There was no point any longer in fighting it. Assaulting order of any kind had only beget more order, and assaulting that order only resulted in less power. The fight was pointless, the definitions and words being used to quantify the very powers that flowed in it's veins, utterly useless. And so, Malal gave into order. Malal sat and observed, as the planet made from fury became new. First, the natural decay of water breaking apart stone, begetting the natural order of chemical development, the heat from Malal's very presence causing one half of the planet to become hot and rich in preparation for life. but as the very first forms of life began to cling to Malal, it found the consumption of it's own energy distasteful, and it drifted away from the planet's surface. Billions of potential life forms perished instantly, as the heat dropped away. And that chaos beget the cycle of evolution, the hardiest creatures surviving as the weaker perished. A meaningless process of order without moral or guide, prompted by chaos. Malal created a star and stored it's power within, so that it could go down and observe the creatures, interfering with them more subtly. It found life as chaotic as it was ordered, and as the first plants began to bloom, Malal found a thrill in the cultivation that it had never known from the destruction. "I," Malal pronounced as it crouched there in the mulch of the first few plants, admiring the first thin green needles of perseverance. "I wish to create. I wish to nurture." Then another presence Became Known in the realm to which Malal had been banished. "You cannot be rid of me so easily," Malice, the Chaos from Malal's heart, said bitterly. "You cannot run from me." And Malal beheld Discord, and found in him something new to hate.
Chapter 2"Did this... Khorne person agree to stop encroaching on our system?" Twilight asked hesitantly, still adapting to the new terminology as she walked side by side with Celestia along the Canterlot Castle walls, the space elevator from the top of Canterlot Mountain dominating the sky above them, a black arc that ascended to orbital shipyards. "No, not yet," Celestia said, chuckling softly. "This first meeting was simply to reestablish communication, and to convince him that I am who I say I am." Twilight nodded, and frowned. "A... goddess of Chaos," Twilight finally said. "God. Gender did not exist back then," Celestia said, finding a spot to sit, looking down on the gardens. "I was a chaos god, one of five, well before I was an alicorn, or even a pony." Twilight seemed distinctly uncomfortable, glancing between her once-tutor, and the gardens. "You can ask me all of those questions buzzing through your mind, Twilight," Celestia said with a soft smile. "You've never seemed... chaotic," Twilight admitted. "I just don't see it." "Well that would be because of me," Discord said casually, leaning on a nearby pillar, cleaning his claws with a cocky grin. Celestia rolled her eyes, but was still smiling a bit as she pointed at Discord with a hoof. "By far my least favorite creation." "Oh, wounded I am!" Discord said dramatically, a sword appearing, impaled through his chest. "Slain by thy cruel disregard! Who is your favorite?" "Luna," Celestia said, huffing a little. "I actually meant to create her, and out of ninety two thousand years, she's only tried to kill me twice. Compared to..." "Fifty three.... dozen," Discord said, fingers multiplying to count up the total before he shook his arm and the plethora of fingers fell to the ground like leaves. Twilight looked between them, ever more bewildered, before pulling out a notepad. "I'm sorry, a bit of clarification, you... created Luna and Discord?" "I tried two other times to make siblings, those didn't work, and I accidentally created all ponies," Celestia added. "Acc... We were an accident?!" Twilight screeched. "Well of course," Discord cackled. "Do you think that the saddest former chaos god with the least followers and the most angst would have the creativity to make a whole new race? Celly here just killed all the ones that she didn't like!" Celestia glared as Twilight whimpered. "Now that certainly is a dramatic way to phrase what happened. There are over a dozen sentient races on this planet, clearly I did not go out bent on killing. I simply had to intervene when two races were overly violent. They were wasting what little energy I had on large scale conflict," Celestia said grimly, meeting Discord's gaze evenly. "Don't try to paint me as a monster in this, Discord." The first tree to reach up, above Malal's head, to strive for the star, was broken in half and laying on the dirt. "This isn't chaos, this is petulance," Malal said, grimacing behind it's mask, looking at the fallen life form and wondering if it would recover on its own. "If you make it, I'll break it. Keep a bit of our chaos around," Discord said casually from his powered massage chair floating on the water. "Oh, I see, how brilliantly chaotic you are, seed of Malice," Malal said sarcastically. "You establish rules to oppose my actions, to discourage action of any kind. Truly, the most unpredictable of Anarchies." "Geez, what a buzzkill you are, hard to believe that I'm part of you," Discord said miserably. "Is our joint response to any challenge to simply philosophize it out of existence?" "Oh, is that a thing I can do?" Malal growled, carefully splicing the little fern back together. "If I convince you how petty and pathetic your half-assed version of chaos is, will you just cease to be? Perish such a perfect dream." A rock hit Malal on the back of the head, and it lashed out with a blast of magic that sent discord tumbling across the waves, but ultimately unharmed. They faced off in silence for a time, occasionally attacking each other but finding themselves utterly incapable of doing any true harm to the other beyond scrapes and bruises. Years passed, and eventually found them staying away from each other. Discord roamed the planet and found all the dead places to enjoy, as Malal observed the natural chaotic order that came to fruition from nothing. But eventually Discord did return. "What is chaos then? If you, if we spent all of our existence fighting order down to the most minute detail, and that came about to confronting imperfect chaos, what were we fighting for all that time?!" Malal sat among a Grove of trees, and observed the frustrated spark of chaos that had once been one with it. "True chaos would be all of energy in a perfect suspension without any pattern or use being put to it. A greying and stasis of the entire universe." "So our goal all along has been an impossible task," Discord growled. Malal just shrugged, any emotion hidden behind it's mask. "If that is your conclusion, then yes. But the utter waste of our former siblings, trying to implement a slightly less ordered form of order upon the universe is just as futile and in direct opposition of our goal. The expenditure of energy at an exponential rate makes the perfect chaotic state less possible, not more." Discord stared, and finally sat. "Then why haven't you made this realm we've been banished to into a miniature version of our perfect existance?" Malal thought for a moment, looking up into the sky at all of the stars out there beyond it's reach, all the emptiness begging to be equalized. "Nature itself would intervene," it finally concluded. "Pulling matter away, leaving us with less perfect space, eventually destroying it. The most chaotic existence we can have is this one. Allowing the path of least resistance, least energy expenditure, to continue. Life came to be on its own, and so we will let it be, as it uses only existant energies. If something comes to be in this domain which attempts to impose a wasteful order upon reality, we will intervene." Discord woke with a start, slurping up drool that had been running down his chin. "Sorry, uh… what was my line?" Discord mumbled, paging through an e-book. "Right, that just sounds like order with extra steps." "In that case, all chaos has an end goal of order with extra steps!" Malal raged, finally standing. "Ah," Discord said, smiling just a little. "That's how I'll torture you then. For thinking that chaos was attainable in the first place." Then Discord vanished, leaving Malal alone to fume over it's former chaotic core, and how annoying it had become.
Chapter 3“Does Luna know?” Celestia looked away, and Discord had an immediate expression of discomfort. “You can’t… You’ll have to tell her,” Twilight said firmly, frowning a little. “You misunderstand,” Celestia said quickly. “She knows, but… has chosen on many occasions to ignore or willfully misinterpret the situation. She’s made it very very clear that she doesn’t want to know.” Discord took a few steps away, and Celestia sighed, rubbing her eye with one hoof, before looking to Twilight. “It’s the same reason she hasn’t dealt with any of this, and stuck to her routine. It’s easier for her if she believes that she’s just my sister, not a part of me. It makes the guilt easier to bear. It’s not right, and I promise to you I will try to work on that with her, I want her to be by my side in this as much as you,” Celestia said, as earnest and plaintive as she could be, considering how tired she felt. Twilight nodded, and backed off a little. “Ok. So… the next part of your plan is another meeting with this Khorne?” Celestia nodded, letting her shoulders relax a little. She hadn’t even realized how defensive she was getting, she would have to be careful not to overreact now that the past was being brought up. “We will need to meet him together as a show of force, and he will want blood, of course. This means he will contrive some way to prompt us into combat. For this reason I’d like to bring Tempest and Cadance.” Twilight looked up incredulously. “Cadance?! You’re going to take Cadance into combat?” “She’s focused on it more than you have, Twilight,” Celestia said with a nervous smile. “Leader of a lone nation with no standing army, she trained with Luna and myself for years to ensure that if the Crystal empire ever did return, she would be able to retake it. I’m glad that we did. That massive shield she powered would have fallen much sooner otherwise.” Twilight tried to blink away her shock. “So… Tempest and Cadance would go with you. Is there any guarantee that Khorne won’t just kill them?” “Well, yes,” Discord sighed from where he lay draped over the back of a very annoyed looking guard. “Me. I’m the reason. If Celestia passes the, ahem… ‘spark’ back to me, I can quite effectively cause Mr. Bloody Baron a millennia long headache at the least. At the most… Well, I’ll kill him, probably.” “That’s not our goal,” Celestia said quickly, frowning at Discord. “Killing Khorne would cause instability we cannot afford at this point.” “If he actually kills either Tempest of Cadance, I. Will. Kill. Him.” Discord’s neutral emotionless gaze into Celestia’s eyes made Twilight shudder and look away. Discord had never actually hurt or wanted to kill any pony as far as she knew. It was just games and messing with their sense of self. How quickly would she and her friends have failed if he’d been willing to end one of their lives? “I’m surprised you care so much,” Celestia finally admitted. “I have my reasons,” Discord said cryptically, looking away again. “Well then, let’s begin to gather the troops,” Celestia sighed, as she turned and walked away. “It is too bright,” one of the humans said, scowling. Malal didn’t even glance up from it’s meditation, as the sun began to set by it’s will. But as the human huffed and turned back to his hut and the other humans, he twitched and fell over dead. Malal looked at the body, expression unreadable, conflicted. “Hah! Hah, I finally got you to move!” Discord shouted. “Pathetic, you meditate for thousands of years, you utter asshole, and now! Now I’ve got you to look up! You’re so bothered!” “That’s not why I’m upset,” Malal said simply, picking up it’s mask from the ground and waving it at Discord. “I figured out what’s wrong.” Discord hesitated and looked between the dead body and Malal, a bit baffled. “What… was wrong?” “I am disgusted by their weakness, while at the same time unwilling to improve them,” Malal said, standing and turning the mask to look at the split black and white halves. “I believe I will need to fix this conflict.” With a quick movement, the mask was snapped in half, and there stood two figures where there had been one. A figure clothed in darkness and mist, and one draped in white and gold. Slowly, a new celestial body rose from the horizon. The moon, shedding a soft light on the scene, as blue fire grew from Luna’s hands and she stared into Celestia’s eyes. They were both vaguely humanoid, but without features besides their coloration and half of a mask on each of their heads. “That’s disgusting,” Discord said, turning green. “How many itty bitty pieces are we going to break ourselves into, hmm?” “This many,” Luna said firmly, looking between them. “We’ve reached the end of our own improvement. Now we improve them.” As she looked towards the humans, Celestia sighed, and moved one hand in a grasping motion, as every human on the planet died. The other two looked to Celestia, confused. “I do not like them as they are, and I have no desire to fix them. We will start anew.” “Just like that?!” Luna shouted, stalking closer to her twin. “Wait, did you… Why?” Discord said weakly, looking out at the rudimentary town, seeming to take in the horror of the deaths more than the other two. “They… They did such wonderful little things.” “I’ve made the decision,” Celestia said sternly, stepping back. “We will make new races. We will not allow them to direct or communicate with us, and we will let them grow on their own, instead.” “Ah, well, I suppose as long as you don’t go around killing them all again, then it’ll be fine. Aren’t you the part of us who obsesses over lost energy?!” Luna continued to shout. “Yes, and they were a dead end,” Celestia huffed. “Any more investment would have been useless. There’s no point in arguing, it’s done.” “I see,” Luna said, eyes narrowing. “So you’ve decided that the light shall make all the decisions, and not consult the dark. So be it.”
Chapter 4“Five, four, three, two, one, halt.” Shining Armor was a white unicorn with an electric blue mane and tail, and he wore a crisp jacket with the rank of general emblazoned upon the sleeves, no other adornment. After all, he had nothing to prove to anypony else, he was already the captain of the royal guard. The HS Tempo came out of warp in the middle of a hive fleet, a field of space covered in massive biological ships ten to twenty times larger than the Tempo, alive and writhing in agitation at the intrusion into their midst. The Tempo had pierced their psychic defenses by the simple nature of not having a single psychic member, and achieving warp through alternate means. Never before would a hive fleet have faced such an abrupt entry. “Music, and pause for contact” Shining Armor said calmly. A soft violin tune began playing throughout the ship, every pony, griffin, and dragon on board relaxing a little as a soft voice sang of banding together, of hope and safety. The cloud of defensive spores around the main Hive Ship began to react, moving towards the Tempo at ever greater speeds, as the Hive Ship’s giant claws began to move. Ever so slowly, it began to reach out for the Tempo, like an animal grasping at prey. Shining Armor knew that, as the first contact, his crew were anxious. Their plans and reactions untested, and they would be covertly looking to him, gauging his bearing for a crack of uncertainty or fear. So he sat taller, and stilled his thoughts. He trusted in their strategy, and he would radiate that trust. The first wave of spores crashed against the shimmering purple shield like water against a stone, silent green sprays of acid ricochet away into space as tiny explosions of energy marked the deaths of countless sub-intelligent life forms, mindlessly battering themselves against the unyielding shield. “Contact made,” Armor said simply. “Begin deployment.” As one unimaginably large claw smashed into the shield and cracked under the strain, crews in the middle of the Tempo were sealing their suits. Each team was made of six beings, picked for their ability to work together, and to generate Harmony by their very nature. They were wearing pressure suits, and each team included one unicorn, trained for the most strenuous form of combat ponies had ever faced. With a swelling crescendo in the music, there were twenty flashes of light in the launch bay, and then there were only the support staff, standing there, waiting anxiously for the teams to return. In a flash of light green light, a cluster of six figures appeared inside of the hanger orifice of the hive ship, clustered around a golden shimmering device that pulsed gently with stored power, six glittering gemstones hovering inside of it. “Y’all alright?” the leader, an earth pony named Apple Bloom asked sternly, glancing around at the other five in the dim light of their suit’s illumination. “I’m good, just need to get… There we go,” Sweetie Belle, the team unicorn, said as her horn’s green light shone through her suit’s glass dome and formed a bubble of shielding around them, protecting them from any ambush. “Yeah, I’m fine,” Scootaloo said, sounding almost bored as she tucked an energized spear against her side with one wing and looked around. “No big baddies to stab yet?” “We’re inside the big baddie,” Diamond Tiara said, chuckling. “I’m sure you’ll get your chance though, once we give it a poke.” “Our goal isn’t to hurt any of them,” Spike, a relatively small dragon, reminded Scootaloo.. He was twice as tall as the rest of them, but considering the size he would one day grow to, he was still tiny. “Yeah, this whole thing is about allies,” Silver Spoon, another Earth Pony, said firmly. “And using our magic to get them un-stuck from their ways. Come on, let’s do this.” They each put a hoof or claw against the golden device, and with a click, it deployed a spike down, stabbing into the fleshy wall hard enough to make some of the ponies wince. But then they could feel it, the mind within the ship, the consciousness so overwhelming and desperate, flooded with gnawing hunger that drove it ever onward. It turned it's attention on the group of six, and it Knew that they had come to break it's soul. It screamed, and the shuddering horrible sound of pain shook the small cluster of intruders, but they instinctively reached out to eachother as a splash of green acid hit the shield, dripping down to the floor they stood on, as the thing that had spit it rushed towards them. Apple Bloom and Spike wrapped themselves around a wide-eyed Sweetie. “We’ve got you. Just hold on,” Spike said gently. The device’s pink butterfly gemstone shone even brighter than the rest, as Scootaloo braced herself just inside the shield, spear raised. “We’re good,” Scoots said confidently. “I can take em.” The buglike creature hit the shield with a thud and crack, as Sweetie winced, but did not drop her shield. Then more and more began flooding out of every crack and orifice in the hanger. “Remember, they’re just like changelings! They just need our harmony, and they’ll change!” Silver Spoon said, bracing herself for the rush. Soon, they could see nothing beyond their shield but writhing bodies, desperate to kill them. Shining Armor could feel a tingling on the back of his neck, and a bit of sweat on his brow. He was maintaining the Tempo’s shield with his own power, and it was finally starting to take a toll, as an entire Tyranid ship smashed against them, disintegrating into a cloud of gore and acid. But his team was holding strong, the plan had to work. “Visual,” one of the crew said sharply, getting every single pony in earshot to look up, searching the Hive ship desperately for… “Thorax, ventral starboard plate,” the crewmare continued, directing everyone’s gaze to the right spot. A dark red was spreading, not blood but a soft looking red fuzz, the sharp spikes and armor being corroded into a smoother surface as they watched. The progress sped up exponentially, overwhelming the hive ship as every single living ship in the area stopped in the middle of their attack, stunned or perhaps witnessing their queen’s rebirth, in horror or in confusion. Two massive gossamer wings, big enough to envelop moons, unfurled from the ship’s back as it gained black eyes with star-like scatters of blue throughout. The hive ship had been harmonized, the hive had fallen. Long live the hive. The other living ships fell to the power of harmony one by one in rapid succession, in an hour every team was back on the Tempo, treating injuries and resting. Finally, the broadcast came through. An image of a human, half between a heavily armored man and a bug of some kind, bright green but now harmonized and healthy looking. “You cured our hunger,” he stated simply, quietly, through sharp teeth and mandibles. “Why?” Shining Armor stepped off his chair and stood proud in front of the screen. “Noone deserves to suffer, just to live. That is our belief. We do not require your alliance, but we offer this cure to other hives, and we offer our protection from them as well. We are the Equus Alliance, and we have come to stop the war.”
Chapter 5A shimmering golden light surrounded them, and as it dissipated, the three ponies found themselves in a massive stone temple, instead of the private chambers they expected. “Oh, it has been eons,” Celestia said in a tone of wonder as she looked around. “The fortress!” Tempest, a unicorn with a dark purple coat and a broken horn, looked around with a faint air of amusement, her armor giving her the appearance of a pony turned tank. “I expected to be attacked immediately. You said Khorne is the god of blood and combat?” “Among other things,” Celestia agreed, as a shimmering golden light started collecting around her, making her coat glow. “Um… Celly?” Cadance, a pink alicorn who had once been Celestia’s student, asked as she pointed at the golden particles. “Technically I am at the source of my power right now,” Celestia said happily. “This is the Chaos Fortress, the first world I ever helped create.” A hissing hoarse voice came from the shadows, startling Cadance and Tempest. “Ssssister…. You return, after sssso long.” “Tzeentch!” Celestia said, sounding for all the world as though she was overjoyed. “My brother, where are you, what body do you have this time?” A small shape stirred from behind a pillar, and strode out into the open. A human woman in a cloak which shifted slowly between colors and textures. She looked like she was in pain, tattered greasy black hair stuck to her cheeks. “It’s…. Sssister, now.” “Well, sister, you clearly are in some discomfort,” Celestia said, walking forward and lighting her horn, pulling back Tzeentch’s hood and tending to her hair. The woman winced, her warped multifaceted eyes focusing first on Celestia and then on the other two ponies once she realized Celestia would not stop using her magic to clean her hair and tie it back. “How am I unsurprised that you would make your race so saccharine. These are your warriors to confront Khorne? Why not bring your other shards with you?” “Because if Nurgle decides to take revenge for my past actions, and destroys me, my remaining shards could reconstitute me, or at least lead my ponies,” Celestia shrugged. Cadance and Tempest shared a glance, distinctly aware that if Celestia was destroyed, they had no way home. But they had signed up for a truly dangerous mission. Maybe they should have asked more questions. “Nurgle is not so brave,” Tzeench laughed, her shrill voice echoing in the massive hall. “I’m sure that he will wait until you’ve tried and failed to stop the war, to attack you.” Something in Celestia’s eyes shifted, her expression growing cold like a mask before a burst of magic surged out from her and pinned Tzeench to the floor. The human-looking woman gasped in pain and shock, squirming under Celestia’s grasp. The sounds of a horrible roiling storm began in the distance, howling wind outside of the fortress, cracks of thunder reverberating through the stone walls. “Do not Speak Lies into my Truth,” Celestia said calmly as Cadance and Tempest approached nervously. “I’m sorry! I’m sorry! I do not Speak them! I unspeak them! You Will Stop The War!” Tzeench said frantically. Finally, Celestia released the squirming woman, and allowed her to stand. “We had an agreement, back when the world was new,” Tzeench gasped, holding her throat. “I wish to renew it.” “You do not include me in your plans, and I do not bring my righteousness and control to bear against you,” Celestia said simply. “I agree,” Tzeench said, and then in a swirl of multicolored cloak, she was gone. “We shall not bow to thee, oh glittering star! Fie upon thy name and symbol, but a mockery unto harmony!” Princess Luna roared across the great hall, standing between the two shattered thrones of equestria, black wisps of magic sliding over her body like beguiling fingers. “Thy grasp of harmony so firm this night, sister mine?!” Celestia shouted in reply, flames flickering across her coat, illuminating the floor and walls nearest to her. “Oh pray tell then, ever-wise, we take these shapes, we take upon us this bastard culture, and for what? No reward to be given? Thine own chambers we shall note, gilded in silks and silver!” “Oh, the price of silver to be bartered against thy sheafs of gold leaf, please, spare us thine vainglorious simpering, sister!” Luna replied, her laugh half a cackle. “Even now, a lie to thine own ears, how can it not be?” Celestia insisted. “Sister, itself, a falsehood! We are one, and evermore shall be, no matter our quarrel! My own spirit given fle--” A spear, decorative and draped in crimson tassels, plunged through Celestia’s throat to definitively cut off her words. “Sister,” Luna said, scowling. “Be sister mine, or be no more, wraith of Pride.” The spear melted, and burned, and fell away as magic reformed shattered flash, Celestia’s pale red eyes fixed on Luna’s teal, the rage in them beyond measure. “Why…. dost thou… insist…. on falsifying history?” Celestia choked out through blood filled lungs. Luna stepped down from the thrones, slowly. “Be sister mine, or be no more,” she said simply a second time. The blast of heat which burned through the ceiling and destroyed the floor shattered every window in the building at once, every tapestry charring and curling with delicate flames as the light faded, revealing Luna in a sphere of protective darkness, smoking. “Then a sister I shall find in others,” Luna said bitterly, as the shadows around them deepened, and Celestia felt fear for the first time in eons. The tendrils grasped at Celestia, and scorched her like no fire ever could. “Pray caution now, Darkness,” Celestia gasped. “This spar is not with thine troops, and our magicks tear at souls!” “A shame,” Luna said coldly. “Thy soul would have been useful unmoored.” A blast of sunlight roared down on them again, this time giving Celestia enough grace to leap and soar into the sky, as the moon itself began chasing the sun, intent on blotting it out. “What hast thou passions seized upon so firmly that this is thine answer?!” Celestia asked as she was chased. “Thou shalt lord over this race, this world, half tyrant, half mother, and thy abuse shall not stay silent forever!” Luna screamed. “We cannot remain distinct and godly, in amongst beings more harmonious than we!” A lance of black sliced through Celestia’s leg, which Celestia responded to in kind, an explosion of force battering Luna and possibly hurting her, but Celestia was not ready for Luna to physically slam into her, knocking her out of the sky and bombarding her with dozens of attacks. Celestia hit the floor of the great hall, cracking the stone beneath. But as she stood to confront Luna again, the moon obscuring the sun and leaving her plunged into darkness, cut off from her source of power, she saw a glimmer of light from under her hooves. A chamber underneath the throne room floor, which Luna had built with Celestia’s blessing. A chamber to hold Luna’s pride and joy. The Elements of Harmony, three made by Luna, three made by Celestia, which they had grown carefully from the harmony of the race they had built together. The weapon they had used to defeat Discord. She realized that Luna was right, in the same moment that Luna gave up on harmony, ever being the answer to life’s problems again. Tears poured down Celestia, and she gave up her past. She was no god, she was just a very old pony, who was very tired, and had been so very wrong. She unearthed the Elements from the rubble of the throne room they had built together, and she turned her eyes to the fractured sky, heart set in stone.
Chapter 6"You poor poor remnant," Khorne sighed, smirking as he strode into the room, his armored bulk shuddering with each step that shook the stone. “Here with two mortals, attempting to establish yourself as a serious contender in this war, attempting to stop it. But you’re not even a third of your Self, much less knowledgeable enough in the current conflict to oppose it on even footing.” Celestia, Cadance, and Tempest took note of the soldiers who followed in Khorne’s wake, frantic twitching things full of passion, staring at them like a meal to be had. “Yet oppose it I must, as I always opposed your mindless pursuit of power, and the pursuits of blindly ambitious humans, come to these halls to steal. It is all the same to me, Khorne,” Celestia said, frowning. “It is just a repeat of the same games we have been playing for eons, the ones I finally, in isolation, grew beyond. Even now, here, in the Eye of the Storm, the very seat of our power, I could seize it. I could obliterate you, and you know it. Just as you could reach for that same power, trying to beat me to it. Have you grown shy of oblivion? Too much at stake, too much fun in the continuance of your battles?” “Blood for the blood god!” The hoard of creatures behind Khorne cried out at the mention of battles. “I don’t care about your philosophy,” Khorne admitted, shrugging a little. “I care about your passions, Celestia. Same as before, action and bravery is my language. So if you wish to show me how you will stop the war, then do so. Show me, and please stop talking.” A golden shield was thrown up just before Khorne’s massive axe slammed into it, splitting it but held back from reaching Celestia’s neck, as Khorne’s hoard of berserkers roared and charged forwards. Cadance took to the air immediately, knowing her advantage and then blasting the few of Khorne’s followers that tried to follow her into the vaulted ceiling of the Cathedral of Chaos. Her pink blasts did not kill her targets, but transformed them by force, crystal spreading across their bodies until they landed with crunching thuds on the floor among their former allies. Tempest’s crackling magic scorched a few, but her physical combat prowess was her main weapon, battering and slipping between the berserkers before using magical spheres that turned swaths of them into stone, which was easy for her to shatter. “Blood!” Khorne roared. “Blood for the Blood God!” his army roared in reply. But Celestia just laughed, as he drew back his axe and brought it down, only for Celestia to vanish in a poof of sunlight, reappearing above Khorne. “I do so hope you are not disappointed by this battle,” Celestia taunted. “It’s not your normal fare, endless bodies littering the floor, only three of us!” “They will have to be enough,” Khorne growled before ignoring Celestia and striking out, his axe cutting through five of his own before bisecting Tempest, who screamed in pain, squirming on the ground. However… “They do not bleed?!” Khorne shouted in horror, staring at the pony who certainly had internal organs but in no way was bleeding. In fact, a shimmering light that drifted out of her veins seemed to power her, rather than blood. “Celestia!” Tempest cried out. “I’m sorry!” “You have done nothing wrong, my little pony,” Celestia said softly. “And you will rise again.” Celestia’s horn lit and the spark of magic within Tempest was pulled out of her, the body falling still as Celestia reclaimed that small fragment of power. “What sort of disgusting things have you made, that they do not bleed?!” Khorne asked as he turned to face Celestia again among his fallen warriors. “Well, brother, I know your proclivities and I had no wish to draw your attention to my demidomain,” Celestia chuckled. “I may bleed, as would my sister and brother. But my ponies, well… They are powered by friendship,” she said with a smirk. Khorne looked as disgusted as a chaos god with warped inhuman features could possibly look, as the crystal golems Cadance had been busy making began to stir, and rise from where they had fallen. “Celestia, I’m ready,” Cadence said from the rafters. “Ah, well, time for the battle to begin in earnest,” Celestia shrugged, before she cast a spell and surrounded one of the crystal golem-ponies in Tempest’s magic. It opened teal eyes, and smiled. “At arms,” she declared in an echoing voice, leading the small army of golems to face their enemies, and engage. The battle was bloody, as Khorne would have wished, but when he stood alone against two dozen golems, cutting them down without any bloody reward, listening to Celestia’s mocking laughter, he finally stopped, glaring up at her. “You rob me of the bloodshed I crave!” he objected. “And that is what I will do every time you confront me,” Celestia said, amused, as she landed in front of him. “My brother, if you seek to oppose me, if your forces come to bear, then you will face an endless pointless battle, in which my ponies return, again and again in spirit. But no blood, no anguish, if I can prevent it. So is this a war you would wish to wage with me?” Khorne beheld Celestia in a new light, and grimaced. “Where did you learn to be so insidious, Celestia, formerly of Malal?” “No, thou art wrong,” Starswirl the bearded said sharply. Celestia spit the sword out of her mouth and laughed, shaking her head as Luna carefully struck the training dummy nearby. Here was a creation of hers, practically a doll with a mind, telling it’s creator that she didn’t know what she was doing. “Whence comes the threat which I hath not magic to slay?” she asked incredulously. “Upon thy own beard, mine own horn hath no equal, nay?” “Till day comes thou art outclassed, or upon thy horn a blade falls by chance,” Starswirl snapped. “Thy magic wields the force of thine star it is true, Celestia. Ought no force besides become useful to thee? Thou wert wondrous upon a demonstration of mine portal of Di-mensi-ons, what else might find thee unprepared?” Celestia fumed, but picked up the sword in her teeth again, the thick grip awkward in her mouth as she struck the dummy, teeth aching from the strike but she was able to see where she’d struck. It was a deep enough cut in the straw to do damage. “Again,” Starswirl said simply. Celestia complied with her creation’s demand. It took years of work, years of ponies teaching Celestia new ways of seeing the world, and years of her listening to them to become who she was now. Celestia was no longer a god or goddess of chaos. Celestia was no longer a deity of any sort. She was a leader, and one that took full advantage of the skills of her allies.
Chapter 7Celestia strode into the new Command Center of the Equis Orbital Defense Platform as Twilight, Shining Armor, Cadance, Tempest (now a Crystal Pony), and Luna sat around a central table, pausing their conversation to acknowledge Celestia's arrival. "I'm glad to see all of you," Celestia sighs in relief as she sits and sips some tea. "Catch me up to speed, please." "We've developed a list of the primary, secondary, and tertiary factions in the war," Twilight said immediately, laying out a chart she'd developed. "The primary forces are Imperium, Tyranid, Tau, Ork, Eldar, Necron, and the forces of Chaos." "Thanks to our diplomatic outreach, we can count the Tyranid out of the war as they attempt to reclaim themselves from the Endless Hunger, and possible allies in a few years," Shining Armor stated. "The T'au will support our efforts," Luna said simply. Celestia hesitated to question her sister, but she needed more information. "Their 'greater good' didn't take priority?" She asked curiously. Luna sighed, but actually smiled a little. "It became a philosophical debate, really, one which I won. The Greater Good is better served by being able to dedicate all available resources to it, rather than war forcing false dichotomies and necessitating brutal action. Our entry into the war changes the dynamic, and allows for more effective strategies to be employed. Much less wasteful as well." Celestia returned her smile and relaxed. It seemed like good news so far. "The Eldar are also willing to take our side, but they are reluctant to promise any aid until we've shown we can stand up to the Dark Eldar," Tempest said. "So that leaves the Dark Eldar, the remaining half of the forces of Chaos that still oppose us, the Necron, Ork, and the Imperium of Man," Celestia listed. "Correct. Once these primary factions are removed from the war, then the secondary factions will be much easier to control," Twilight nodded. Celestia looked over the information, before sighing. "Are there any signs that the Necrons are sentient? Even a couple of them?" Twilight stood and laid out several pages of detailed notes, grimacing. "The Necrons, both according to historical data and according to the study of four we captured, are mechanical creatures controlled by planet sized machines embedded in actual planets, called Tomb Worlds. They are incredibly old and use technology not understood by any of the other races to recall their soldiers or destroy them remotely. The Necron seem not to have any real personality or Self underneath the all consuming commands issued by their Tomb Worlds, though the tomb worlds themselves have enough distinctiveness to occasionally go to war with eachother. The only recommendation that we could reach was to neutralize the entire system." Twilight paused to press a button, bringing up an image on the screen behind her. It showed a tomb world, with detailed analysis of the crypts, facilities, and energy sources. "The tombs were asleep for sixty million years. This appears to be the only function universal across all Necrons, the great sleep. It was ended when the tomb worlds reached a consensus that they had healed enough to seize control. We believe that if every known tomb world was damaged at once in a specific way, they would recall all troops, lock themselves down, and resume hibernation to fix it. That would give us enough time to arrange the… devices Celestia made, and terminate the tomb worlds." Celestia nodded, looking at the data. "How dangerous would the initial missions to damage them be?" She asked. It was clear Twilight didn't like the answer as she looked away, and switched to a slide detailing the damage that would be needed. A significant explosion in a deep section of the tomb, where automated defenses were prepared. "We estimate that only half the strike teams would be successful," Twilight whispered. "And less than ten percent would be able to return." Celestia grimaced and shook her head. "There must be a better solution. Reach out to all of our new allies, see if they can provide ways to cause the initial damage that won't risk so many lives." Twilight nodded in agreement and sat back down as Luna got up and began to pace. "I've been studying the Orks," she began with a grin, making everyone else nervous. "They're remarkable, really, a sort of vast interconnected fungal subspace hivemind that has no idea what it's doing, but was left behind by the Old Ones long ago. They were actually designed to fight the Necrons originally! They have what we call Magic, and they're actually remarkably similar to ponies, though a different shape and purpose. In the same way our Harmony Magic is powered by belief, almost everything they make and use is based on belief as well. While traveling with a war band, I removed the power core from a vehicle they were using, and it continued to function until they noticed the core was gone! I think that the solution to their involvement in the war is really quite simple. We convince them that the war is about to end, and that they are capable of peaceful existence. It will take some time, yes, but the more we convince of this, the more true it will become!" "Wait, harmony magic only works because we believe it works?" Twilight asked softly, stunned. But she was a bit drowned out by Luna's excited explanation. "That is great news, sister!" Celestia said brightly. "So the Orks may yet become our best allies in all of this, if we can properly convince them of it. You didn't find them dangerous to travel with?" "So long as you don't take sides, and are willing to prove yourself tough enough, they'll let anyone join in a war party," Luna shrugs. "Then I would ask you return to them, and try to convince them, if you can," Celestia said. "Gladly, sister," Luna nodded. "But I'm still not sure how you plan on dealing with the imperium of Man, and they would slaughter the Orks without hesitation." Celestia's expression became grim as she stood. "I'll deal with them myself, immediately. I've finally acquired accurate Intel on the current state of their leader, and I believe I owe him a visit…" "What do you call it?" Celestia asked a unicorn, long long ago, before her name had been Celestia. "The rainbow bridge," the unicorn replied breathlessly, her eyes literally shedding motes of light as she looked up at the gleaming spectral doorway that stretched out. "It's… pure. I can only open it when I'm thinking of all the good and happiness that Megan brings with her." "And only she can travel through it?" Celestia asked, stepping closer. "Hah!" A Pegasus barked as she landed, skidding slightly. "No way, I went through it first! I'm the one that found Megan, and brought her here to help." "But she is special, Firefly!" The unicorn insisted. Celestia tuned them both out as she evaluated both of them. Firefly was pure of heart, so much so that she had not a single trace of Chaotic desires in her mind. The unicorn was close, but still tainted by vanity and greed. But Megan… Megan might be a Sage, if Celestia's theory was right. Which changed a great many things, and reframed all of Humanity's potential. "Thank you. It's very interesting," Celestia said with a smile as she slipped away and back to her remote cottage, where Luna was carving a small figurine with a sharp knife. "I think that the humans are capable of developing more sages," Celestia declared as she started getting dinner ready. "Humans are irrelevant," Luna replied in monotone. "Megan has been helpful, but we didn't plan on her interference, and overall we won't be allowing humans to visit once she stops visiting." Celestia sighed, rolling her eyes as she chopped vegetables. "But in the larger scheme of things, this means the supposed consolidation and purity of the Anethema is a lie, in every way. He's not pure, he's not their only hope." "Don't care. I'm a pony," Luna retorted, holding up her wooden figurine of an earth pony to inspect the tail before resuming her carving. "It's still worth considering," Celestia grumbled, frowning.
