Sun Slayer's radiance

Celestia sighed as she rolled herself over in the silk-sheathed bed of her chambers. The previous months had been the busiest she had experienced in over a hundred years, which she considered an impressive feat.

Compared to everything else that has happened so far, it should have been the complete opposite. The solar and lunar guards had undergone a new training regiment in order to compete with the demons. Thankfully it was working, demon reports in cities and small towns around Equestria had gone down to almost 50% since then. And Canterlot has been nearing completion since the attack three months ago. So everything should be going smoothly and returning to normal.

But there was one thing that no blade or magic spell could get rid of. And that would be economic depression, for the world of Equestrian politics was a cold and unforgiving one.

As most know, in Canterlot, you have two types of ponies. The first is the kind and respectable ones. Those who were either born into wealth or not that put themselves out for anypony in need, a gentle colt like Fancy Pants.

Then you got the second type. Despite being at the very top, the one percent, they are the lowest of the low. Greedy, rude, and stuck-up would be the best way to describe the high nobility of Canterlot if Celestia was being honest. Unfortunately, she had the misfortune of dealing with the second type after the attack.

It all started back after the demon Starburst and Muzans demons attacked Canterlot. Some business owners thought it would be a great idea of seeing a national incident as a way to gain profit. They didn’t care that ponies' homes and livelihoods were all but gone, they didn’t care that ponies lost their lives, if there was an opportunity to make a quick bit, then it was fair game to them. Insurance prices went up in most Canterlot hospitals, building equipment, and supplies were taxing on the royal reserves, and everything else in between went up as well. It got to the point where Canterlot was on the brink of bankruptcy. So for the past few weeks, after court session after court session, and many arguments later, things in Canterlot had begun to die down, if only a little.

Some ignored or tried to slip around the new laws she had placed into effect to limit big businesses, but she let her sister deal with it in the courtroom in the meantime. As for Luna during all this, she was taking on court sessions when her older sister was exhausted, which Celestia was hesitant about considering Luna's lack of experience in modern-day courtrooms.

But after some talking, Luna suggested that Raven Inkwell would help guide her during court and that Celestia could trust her completely. Seeing this as a learning opportunity for the Lunar princess, Celestia reluctantly agreed.

This brings us to now, where Celestia sighs heavily and rolls out of bed, landing on her hooves. Walking over to a hanged portrait of herself and moving it to the side with her magic, it revealed a hidden fridge within the wall. A small smile spreads across Celestia as she opens the fridge and levitates a bottle of special apple cider to her side. It was a gift from the apple family about two hundred years ago, aged like the finest of wines and just as expensive.

And she was about to drink it to get rid of a headache.

Celestia closed the fridge and turned away after moving the painting to its original place. Then walked over to her writing desk with her bottle and sat down on a large pillow. Golden magic surrounded the bottle's cork top and pulled on it until it made a loud popping sound. Celestia put the bottle to her mouth and let the dark-golden liquid flow down her throat, the taste of sweet apples flooding her taste buds. Eventually, Celestia removed the bottle from her lips with a satisfied sigh. Maybe it was going to be-

“Greetings.” A deep voice called from behind.

This startled the solar princess as she dropped the bottle with a yelp, shattering it into pieces and spilling the contents all over the ground. Celestia slowly rotated her head around to see who the pony was, only to have a sudden burst of anxiety hit her.

He sat upon the balcony railing with a calm expression. His snow-white fur practically glowed in the sun’s rays and his medium-length black hair moved slightly in the calm breeze. But despite the… creature… calm exterior, she felt nothing but a burning hatred and bone-chilling blood lust that rivaled even an enraged hydra. The thing in pony skin looked up at the sky with a smile.

“I’ve got to admit, the day looks just as beautiful as I remember, if not better in this realm.” It said, Lowering its head back down to face Celestia with the same unnerving smile. “If I’m not mistaken, you are Princess Celestia I’ve been hearing about.” It asked, awaiting an answer with a cocked eyebrow.

Celestia tried to back away, but found that her trembling legs wouldn’t respond, “W-Who are you?!” She shouted, charging her horn if the worst was to happen.

In a flash, the unicorn stallion appeared in front of Celestia and slammed his front hoof into her face. There was a resigning crack as Celestia was sent colliding with the back wall, her body forming cracks in the hard marble. The Solar monarch slid to the floor face first with a small spray of blood under her head, staining her white coat. Celestia attempted to stand, but her mind was swimming and her limbs barely responded to her commands. A bile taste rose in her throat she couldn’t hold back, quickly throating up her stomach contents that mixed with her blood. The sound of the hoof steps alerted the Princess, making her look up to see the unicorn stallion's foreleg kick her into the wall, this time he pinned the diarch against the wall with his blood-red magic.

“Let’s make this clear, princess.” The stallion said in a low tone, saying the last word with venom, “You will address me as Lord Muzan. And I do not tolerate lower beings not knowing their place, got that?” He asked.

Instead of responding, Celestia glared at Muzan with a burning hatred and lit her horn. That was quickly shut down, as the unicorn stallion used his hoof to hold her horn back, nearly breaking it off as tiny fragments chip off. Celestia held back her pained screams and continued to glare at Muzan, even if she could fully see him.

“It seems you have a hard time learning.” Muzan sneered, “But that won’t matter when I inevitably steal your status and make you into one of my servants, Celestia.” He chuckled.

“S-So it’s true, about the war.” Celestia croaked out, her speech slightly gargled by the blood in her mouth, “ We w-will stop you!” She shouts, resulting in her getting into a coughing fit. Her anger only flared when Muzan began to laugh maniacally.

Muzan’s laughter instantly dies out and is replaced by a cold scowl that gave Celestia the same horrible feeling as before. “I would say I’d like to see you try. But that would imply my demons would also have to put in the effort, which I highly doubt will happen. Even though you have those breathing style nuisances, it won’t be enough.” Muzan then let go of Celestia, letting her limp and weak body fall on the floor.

Muzan started to walk towards the balcony and only stopped as he leaped onto the railing. He turned his face back at Celestia with a disappointed frown. “Five days. That is how long you have to pray before I snuff out your pathetic existence.

Celestia’s eyes widened when a pair of wings shot out of his back and spread out. She gritted her teeth and lit her horn, sending out a blast of magic at the demon lord. It was too late, as, without a word, Muzan jumped off and took to the air with blinding speeds, the magic blast destroying the balcony and missing entirely.

A loud ringing filled the princess's ears and her vision started to dim as the doors to her chambers swung open. With her heavily blurred vision, Celestia saw a hoof full of solar guards storm the bedroom, some making their way to the solar diarch as she finally fell into darkness.

—----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Applejack let out a heavy sigh as she wiped the sweat from her forehead. The last batch of apples from the orchard was packed and ready for shipping.

Thanks to Yoriichi’s training, life on the farm became a breeze for the apple farmer as she would buck tree after tree in quick succession. Due to this, her big brother and little sister, Big Mac and Applebloom, were able to go out into ponyville to enjoy a free day. So applejack had the whole day to herself, minus Granny who was sleeping in the house upstairs.

But since her workload was done, the farm mare decided to walk into town and join her siblings. So placing her hat back on, Applejack made her way over to the barn doors while whistling a toon. When she pushed the door open, a rainbow-colored blur slammed into Applejack, sending it and her rolling backward into the carefully stacked pile of apples. Applejack quickly regained her bearing and shot up from the pile of broken wood and smashed apples and scanned the area until she saw Rainbow climb out, dazed.

The farm mare was about to chew out her prismatic friend, when the pegasus eyes widened and she immediately rushed for the barn doors, slamming them shut and holding her body against the doors.

“Rainbow!” Applejack shouted, “What in the-” Rainbow dash shushed the farm mare, turning around and cracking open the door.

“RAINBOW DASH, I SWEAR WHEN I FIND YOU, I’M GOING TO KICK YOUR ASS!” A familiar voice angrily shouted. Thankfully, the barrage of swears and threats went quieter and eventually went silent.

“Few!” Rainbow wiped her forehead with a hoof and turned to Applejack with a thankful smile. “Thank Celestia you opened the door for my AJ, I wouldn’t know what would happen if he got his hooves on me.” She chuckled nervously.

When Rainbow Dash saw the enraged look on Applejack, and the destroyed pile of apples behind her, the prismatic pegasus’s smile turned sheepish.

Before she could get a word out, Applejack beat her to the punch. “Mind explaining ta me why Michikatsu sounded like he wanted to kill ya?” Applejack's glare deepened as she pointed back to her ruined apples, “And why ah shouldn't finish the job?” She said, not as much as a question, but more as a threat.

Rainbow’s eyes widened and she frantically waved her hooves, “Wait, wait, wait! I can explain!”

“Start talkin’.”

“Well you know how Yoriichi and Fluttershy are…a thing, ya know?” When Applejack nodded, Rainbow sighed and continued, “Well, when Michikatsu woke up, I told him about his brother and Flutters. Apparently, he didn’t take it too well and spent an hour yelling enraged nonsense. He then jumped out the window and started a pony hunt to find ‘the whore that seduced his poor brother’.” She said with air quotes, “Good thing me and a couple of stallions from the hospital got a hold of him before anything could happen.”

Applejack stared wide-eyed at the pegasus for a moment before shaking herself from her stupor, “Then why is he still outside the hospital?!” She asked with a fearful expression.

“Apparently, the anesthetics they used don’t work on demons.” Rainbow answered as she glanced away.

The farm mare deadpanned and facehoofed with a tired groan. “Of course,” She muttered under her breath. Applejack then walked past Rainbow, opened the barn doors, and left without speaking a word, followed by a paranoid and confused Rainbow Dash. The pair walked away from the barn until they reached the main house and quickly entered.

The smell of apples flooded Rainbow’s nose to the point it was bordering on homely and sickening. She followed Applejack into the kitchen where she took a seat at the table. Applejack placed a plate in front of Rainbow that held two fritters on it.

“Ah’ll keep ya here where it’s safe. I’ll go out, find Michikatsu, and hopefully get him to calm down.” Applejack said.

Before Applejack left the kitchen, Rainbow turned to her apple-farming friend, “Hey, AJ.” She said in a small voice, the tone of which had caught Applejack's attention. “Can I…ask you something?” She said hesitantly.

“Um…sure?” Applejack said slowly, not liking the usually energetic mares' tone.

“Are you…scared?”

The question had caught Applejack off guard, causing her to blink stupidly. “What kinda question is that? What is there to be afraid of?” She asked with confusion written on her face.

Rainbow shifted nervously in her seat, looking at the fritters, then back to Applejack. “Are you scared when somepony you love might get hurt, even though you know full well that they can handle themself?” She said, not daring to look the farm mare in the eye.

“Well…yeah.” Applejack answered, “I worry myself every time Big Mac goes out and works in the winter even when he’s sick.” Applejack then walked up to Rainbow and placed a caring hoof on her shoulder. “But what does this have to do with anything?”

“I-It’s just…I…Applejack I…” Rainbow sputtered out. She eventually gave up and shook her head with a sigh. “It’s nothing, just a dumb question.” Rainbow pushed her chair back and stood up, a somber look on her face. “Thank you for the food, but I’m not hungry right now.” She mumbled before trying to pass Applejack and to the door.

Her path was blocked by Applejack, who held out a foreleg and stared at her friend with a look of concern. “Hold it right there.” Rainbow was gently put back in her seat, feeling like she was being overshadowed by the farm mare standing before. “Somethin’ is botherin’ ya, Rainbow. And as your friend, not one of us is leavin’ until you tell me why your acting this way.”

Rainbow scoffed and looked down, “I told you, it’s nothing.” She tried standing up but was held in place by Applejack’s hoof. “Let me go, Applejack.”

“Ah’m sorry, but you are a terrible liar. Ah don’t have to be the element o’ honesty that you are lying to my face!” Applejack leaned closer to Rainbow, not noticing the faint blush on Pegasus's face. “And as your friend, I need to know what is buggin’ ya so ah can help.”

All that the shocked Rainbow could respond with was sputtering as she tried to formulate a single word. She looked around for any exit she could escape, but with the strong farm mare looming over her, it was next to impossible.

Silence gripped Rainbow's throat as the flustered mare wished she could dig a hole and bury herself inside it. For months it was something she carefully planned down to the finest detail. Never in her life had Rainbow dash spent so much time on one task and not rushed through it, for it was years before the two mares knew of each other.

Back then, Rainbow had only begun discovering her interest in mares but felt none of the ones she came across had caught her eye. That was until she moved into ponyville years ago when Rainbow discovered the farm mare. Something about Applejack clicked with her instantly. Maybe it was her good body, the fact she was a hard worker, or she had a pretty face; Rainbow didn’t exactly know. It took as long as it did to even make friends with Applejack, and it was taking longer to say her true feelings.

No matter how hard the prismatic pegasus tried, no moment felt right, especially now. But at that moment, the speech that Michikatsu gave her back at the hospital flashed in her mind.

"The future is uncertain, and we can't make promises that everything will turn out fine. That is why you and I need to get stronger so that we can protect the ones we care about. Not by hiding our fear and weakness, but embracing it and molding it into something that can help everyone."

If Michikatsu was right, she needed to take action. No more of this ‘is this the right moment?’ bullshit! So, Rainbow dash’s nervous expression shifted to pure determination, confusing the farm mare. But Applejack did have to question the pegasus before her hooves gripped Applejack's shoulders tightly.

“Applejack,” Rainbow called, gaining the attention of Applejack, “I love you.”

“What-” Was all Applejack could get out before Rainbow dash practically smashed her face into Applejack’s, sending the two mares to the floor. Their lips connected and were held for the longest time before Rainbow pulled away, her face redder than any apple on the farm.

“Rainbow…did ya just-” A blushing Applejack whispered out.

Reality must have finally caught up with Rainbow, as she yelped and fell back off of Applejack. “I-I’m sorry, AJ! It just happened so suddenly, and I wasn’t thinking straight, and I just-” Rainbow rambled on, waving her hooves in a vain attempt of explaining her thought process. The prismatic pegasus’s rambling ended when faint chuckling came from Applejack, soon developing into full-blown laughter.

It took a second for her laughing to die down, but she pushed herself back up onto her haunches and looked at Rainbow with a friendly smile. “Wow, Rainbow. I must say, you are a sloppy kisser.” She teased, earning her a flustered scowl from the pegasus. “Ah’m only playin’. But on another note, Ah…never knew ya felt that way, Rainbow.” She chuckled once more, readjusting her hat.

Rainbow looked down at her hooves in shame, “Yeah. As I said, I have feelings for you.” She admitted. “It’s just I never knew how to tell you. And with everything going on, I was worried something might happen, to the point where I never got to tell you how I feel, ever, you know?”

“So that’s what is buggin’ ya?” Applejack said with a sly grin. “Ah be lyin’ if ah said you weren’t also on my mind.” Seeing the shocked expression on Rainbow dash’s face only made Applejack giggle. “Never thought ah would fall for a mare.”

“Applejack…I-”

Rainbow was interrupted when a loud and quick trio of knocks came from the front door. Applejack huffed, annoyed by whoever ruined the pair's moment, as she walked over to the front door and swung it open. On the other side was Yoriichi, only his usual stoic look had a heavy sense of anger that downright terrified the farm mare down to her core, like looking into the eyes of a beast.

“No words, castle, now.” Yoriichi said before he turned back and started to run off into the distance.

“Hey, AJ, who was that?” Rainbow asked from the kitchen, snapping Applejack out of her fear.

“I-It was Yoriichi.” She called out, trying not to stutter.

Rainbow dash quirked an eyebrow, “What does he want?” She asked.

Applejack closed the door and rushed to the kitchen until she was in front of Rainbow. “He ain’t at the door no more. But all he said was Library and now.” She explained, leaving out the look Yoriichi gave her that activated her fight or flight instincts. “Ah think he wants us to go to the castle for somethin’.”

“Well, isn’t that vague?” Rainbow joked. Getting to her hooves, she smirked, unfurled her wings, and gave them a good test flap. “Wanna race there?” she asked with a cocky smirk.
“...Why the heck not?” Applejack sighed.

The two were out the door in an instant, running side-by-side as they quickly made their way past the countless rows of apple trees and near the edge of ponyville.

—----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Time passed as each element of harmony, including the two brothers, was situated in Twilight’s castle. All ponies sat around the cutie map, shifting their eyes back and forth at each other with unnerved and tense stares, sans the young alicorn herself.

Applejack and Rainbow dash were mostly confused about the whole situation. Rarity, pinkie pie, and Fluttershy looked the most scared out of the bunch, with Rarity and Pinkie trying to soothe the quaking Fluttershy. As for the two brothers, both were undeniably the tensest out of everyone in the room as they stared at the blank map with stern looks. Even Michikatsu, who was nothing short of a raging bull a few minutes ago, was now silent. The tension in the room was so thick that you could cut it with a knife.

That tense silence was relieved when the doors to the cutie map opened to reveal a disheveled Twilight, her eyes puffy and slightly red with tear stains on her cheeks. She shuffled into the room as a rolled parchment levitated next to her in a lavender aura. Twilight grimaced at the concerned faces of her friends and took a seat at the table.

“Dear Celestia, darling! What happened to you?” Rarity gasped.

Twilight looked over to the fashionista and held up the parchment, “It’s about Celestia. She…was attacked.” Everyone gasped in shock at what they had been told, except for Yoriichi and Michikatsu, their brows furrowing in anger.

“What the hay?! How could that happen?” Applejack said with a bewildered look.

“Yeah. I mean, it’s the princess we’re talking about! Who would just walk up to somepony like her and attack her?” Rainbow agreed, throwing her hooves in the air.

Twilight’s horn glowed a little brighter, and the parchment unrolled itself, a pained expression going across Twilight’s face at its words.

“Dear Princess Twilight,

Earlier this morning, Princess Celestia was attacked in her bed chambers and physically assaulted. Her condition, at the time I am writing this, is stable with most of her injuries already healed due to her alicorn nature. But still, her majesty has yet to wake up. She suffered a fractured jaw, hairline fractures on some of her ribs, a fractured skull, and a cracked horn. As I’ve already written, most of these injuries have vanished.
If you must, or have time out of your day, Princess Celestia has been administered to the royal infirmary under heavy guard. Visiting privileges have been granted to you and your friends. I’m sorry for the troubling news.

Signed Straight cut, head surgeon of the royal medical team.”

The room went quiet as the ponies inside of it let the letter's words sink in. All had a wide range of expressions of sorrow to internal rage written on their faces. Each turned and talked to the other, eventually discussing how to proceed after such a jarring letter.

Yoriichi, in his case, knew full well who would do something so appalling.

“It’s Muzan, no doubt about it,” Yoriichi whispered to his brother, his usual calm voice holding back his inner feelings.

Michikatsu scoffed and shook his head, “I want to say I agree. But I knew Muzan for hundreds of years; there’s no way he’d let his victims survive, especially if they threatened his power.” He said, giving his younger brother a knowing look.

“Maybe it’s different this time. Since he got his han-hooves on a powerful artifact and learned how to manipulate the magic of this world, then there is reason to believe that he has gotten more powerful. His rapidly growing forces are evident of that.”

“So what, are you saying that he did it to flaunt his power?” Michikatsu questioned with a worried look.

Yorrichi nodded slowly, “I know it seems unlikely, but Muzan isn’t known to do drastic actions like the attack three months ago. Today’s event only adds to my theory and hope of a possible victory.”

Michikatsu looked at Yoriichi with a shocked expression, “You have a plan?!” His whisper shouted, almost gaining the attention of the mares. “Go on, tell me.”

He responded only with a shake from Yoriichi’s head, “Not yet. As I’ve said, it’s still a theory. I promise by tomorrow that I will have formulated a plan.” Yorrichi said. Michikatsu sighed and went back to looking at the mares talking amongst themselves.

“Let’s hope whatever you have in mind will save us all.”