Prison Break

For a week, Radiant Hope and Moony travelled without incident. As they grew closer to their destination, more signs of civilization began to appear. Ponies passed them more often, branches off of the road led to towns instead of small farms, and pegasi could be seen flying through the sky, some travelling, some managing the weather, and some, to Moony’s horror, wearing the armor of the Equestrian royal guard.

Once it became clear that the royal guards were unaware of their existence, Moony calmed down. Not enough to stop her from complaining every single time one flew overhead, of course, but enough that she stopped demanding Radiant Hope blast them out of the sky.

The pair avoided every town on their journey, either taking a different route or, if none were present, skirting around the edges of the communities. Though Moony’s horn being hidden by her hat made her appear a simple pegasus, neither pony wanted to risk a repeat of the incident with Heart o’ Gold. Sure, it had technically worked out, doubly so in Radiant Hope’s case, but it was very uncomfortable and not something they felt the need to go through again. With plenty of food and water, as well as a contentedness with sleeping on the ground, their avoidance of civilization didn't cause much of a problem.

That was, if one ignored the elephant in the room.

“Where are we!?” Moony shouted, glaring in disbelief at yet another small town. “Where is this!?”

“Well… I have no idea.” Radiant Hope admitted, looking at the town with far less anger but no less disbelief. “There are a lot more towns in Equestria than I remember.”

“Of course there are. It's been a thousand years!” Moony yelled, before blinking and processing her own statement. “A thousand years. Is– is anything where I think it is? Are we even going south!?”

“I think so?” Radiant Hope said hesitantly. “I started in the Arctic Wastes and we haven't changed direction all that much, so we still should be going south.”

“Of course, ‘we still should be’, wonderful.” Moony grumbled. “That salespony should've given us a compass.”

“Well, it's not like it's that important.” Radiant Hope said. “As long as we're heading towards Sombra, we're good.”

“And are we?” Moony questioned.

Radiant Hope closed her eyes and checked for the hundredth time in the past week.

“Yes.” Radiant Hope answered plainly.

“Good. However, the central problem remains unsolved.” Moony stated. “We know very little about the modern day.”

“I mean, it's just like a thousand years ago, right? How much could've possibly changed?” Radiant Hope asked.

“Well, we’ve already seen that economic inflation has rendered your money irrelevant.” Moony noted. “Then, there's the way everypony speaks, no ‘thou’s or ‘thy’s.”

“I don't think we ever used those in the Crystal Empire.” Radiant Hope noted.

“Yes, well, we didn't use them on the moon, either. Something of an Equestrian trend, from my understanding.” Moony paused and shot Radiant Hope a look. “You're getting me off-track.”

“Sorry.” Radiant Hope apologized.

“I accept your apology.” Moony replied. “Anyway, did you know that there are new bearers of the Elements of Harmony?”

“You've mentioned it once or twice.” Radiant Hope responded, mentally marking down a ninth tally mark. “I’m not too worried.”

“You should be.” Moony said darkly. “They were the ones who struck me down at the height of my power. Underestimating them will ruin us.”

“That is true…” Radiant Hope trailed off, then looked at Moony with a questioning expression. “Do you have a plan for them, then?”

“Well, first I will tear that rainbow pegasus’s wings off. Then, I'll throw the pink one into the upper atmosphere and watch her suffocate. Next, I'll bury the one with the hat under a mountain. I'll probably toss the yellow one to a rabid mob of ponies, I'm sure I could find one somewhere. I’ll just annihilate the white one; sometimes simplicity is best. Then, lastly, the purple one… oh, the purple one. I have so many plans that I can barely imagine what I will do first. Probably something to do with the eyes.” Moony paused. “Wait, no, that would screw up my plan to make her watch her friends’ deaths on loop for a thousand years. The blinding will have to come later.”

Radiant Hope stared at Moony, which the nightmarish pony seemed confused by.

“What?” Moony asked.

“I was asking for your plan to beat them.” Radiant Hope clarified. “Not… that.”

Moony blinked.

“You weren't clear enough.” Moony stated, before considering Radiant Hope’s actual question. “No, I don't have a plan for that. I was hoping King Sombra would incapacitate them for me.”

“What if they’re guarding him?” Radiant Hope asked, feeling this was a fairly likely scenario. “He won't be able to help until after we free him.”

“Hm. Instead of answering, I will ask you a better question: how are we going to free him at all?” Moony questioned.

“I… I'm working on it.” Radiant Hope said defensively.

“You haven't even thought about it.” Moony claimed.

“I have! It's just very hard to come up with a plan when I have absolutely no idea what I'm planning for. I mean, is he in jail? Turned to stone? Hung by the hind legs above some city gate?” Radiant Hope listed, growing panicked the more she thought about it.

“Oh, that's a good one. I'm stealing that.” Moony said.

“Maybe… maybe our lack of information is a problem.” Radiant Hope admitted.

“Of course it is. I am very knowledgeable on this and also everything else.” Moony replied.

“If you were, we wouldn't be in this situation.” Radiant Hope mumbled under her breath.

“What?” Moony asked.

“Nothing.” Radiant Hope replied.

Radiant Hope looked to the town.

“I think it might be time to get some first-hoof information.” Radiant Hope said.

Sombra was sitting in a half-asleep daze when the door to his cell slammed open. Before he could react, he was picked up by a familiar raspberry aura and slammed into the wall opposite the door.

“I have reached my limit with you, Sombra.” Twilight Sparkle spat, standing in the doorway with a furious, well, everything. The magic on the tip of her horn flared and dulled erratically, her wings were spread as far as the doorway allowed, and the look on her face was one that matched even the worst of Princess Luna’s in intensity.

“What?” Sombra groaned, still reeling from the sudden spinal rearrangement.

“I already had an insane amount on my plate before you decided to throw yourself on it, and all I needed was a few months of peace to deal with it all. Just a few! I would've preferred years, obviously, with how much I have to do. I mean, do you know how hard it is to take control of an entire country?” Twilight Sparkle questioned.

“Yeah.” Sombra confirmed half-heartedly.

Twilight Sparkle glared at him.

“That was rhetorical.” She growled, then shook her head. “Equestria has never once had a transfer of power, well, ever. It turns out there's a lot more involved than simply declaring me ruler, and of course Celestia and Luna are already off on their world tour, so I have to navigate every part of this unprecedented transition alone. I've slept four hours in the past three weeks, and now, during my first break in days, I have to spend my time dealing with you.”

“Well–” Sombra started.

“And that's not even the worst part!” Twilight continued to rant. “The worst part is why I have to be down here, which is that my student, my friend, took it upon herself to abuse her authority in order to come down here and speak to you. Trixie I can handle, she’s already dedicated herself to making this transition as hard as physically possible, but Starlight? How dare she, and howdare you?”

Twilight breathed heavily as she finally finished her rant. Sombra waited for a long moment, making sure she didn't start back up again, before he spoke.

“Is that all?” Sombra asked.

“Excuse me?” Twilight Sparkle questioned, eyes narrowing with an unsubtle threat.

“Are you done? Can you let me down? Are you going to stop pretending I’m even slightly to blame for Starlight coming to visit me?” Sombra pressed, uncaring of the threat. “She’s the pony who made that choice. I didn't tell her to, I didn't ask her to, I didn't even imply that I might appreciate it. If there's anypony you should be slamming against walls, it's her.”

“I would never–”

“No, and you shouldn't. She’s a lovely mare.” Sombra said. “But, clearly, it's fine to do it to me.”

“Yes!” Twilight Sparkle snapped, stomping her hoof hard enough to crack the floor. “How do you not understand this!? You're a monster!”

Sombra instinctively bared his teeth, ready to fire back, but hesitated. Instants in time flashed through his mind, all the moments he'd had that word thrown at him. By his peers, his teachers, ponies on the streets, that giant crystal that called itself his mother, Princess Amore’s guards, Princess Amore’s eyes, Princess Amore's broken pieces, Radiant Hope…

His rage was extinguished before it could begin. He didn't have the right to be mad, not when he'd done nothing but confirm everypony's fears about him. All he could do was… change.

“I… I know. But, I'm trying to be better. I know you can't tell, but I really am. I don't want to be the pony I used to be. I don't want to keep hurting the ponies around me.” Sombra admitted, looking into Twilight Sparkle's eyes, searching for even the slightest hint of understanding. “Please, give me a chance to prove I don't deserve this. To prove I can fix myself.”

In Twilight Sparkle’s eyes, faced with Sombra's earnest, pleading gaze, there was nothing but hatred.

“You’re wrong, Sombra.” Twilight Sparkle spoke coldly. “I can tell you're trying. It's just not nearly enough.”

“Oh.” Sombra voiced, nothing more fitting coming to mind.

Twilight Sparkle released him from her magic and was already turned away by the time he hit the ground.

“Your actions have consequences, Sombra.” Twilight Sparkle stated. “It's time to face them.”

With that, she left, leaving Sombra with an aching back and a messy mind.

Radiant Hope and Moony entered the town after only a few minutes of light argument. Legitimately light, interestingly enough. Radiant Hope suspected Moony was just as worried about their minimal knowledge as she was. The only difference was that Radiant Hope was comfortable asking for assistance, while Moony was… not. Her pride couldn't outlast her fear of failure and the likely annihilation thereafter, though, so enter the town they did.

The town was a quaint little thing, most of its buildings seeming to exist on the quite predictably named Main Street, which was really just a slightly better maintained section of the dirt road they'd been traveling on for the last few days. A couple offshoot roads barely big enough for a wagon branched off of the main one, but the little Radiant Hope saw of them revealed little of interest.

There were more ponies on the street than Radiant Hope had seen in a while, but when compared to the number in a proper city or even an average town, it was small. Additionally, unlike most of the ponies they'd encountered on their travels, these ones were rather… shy.

“Is there something on your face?” Moony asked in a whisper.

“I don't know.” Radiant Hope whispered back.

She tried to make eye contact with a nearby pegasus, who was whistling a little tune as they walked. When the pegasus noticed her, they jolted and took to the skies, disappearing behind the clouds with nothing more than a few stray feathers left in their wake.

“It is odd.” Radiant Hope continued, watching as an earth pony turned a corner, saw her, and immediately rushed back the way they came. “Is there something on my face?”

“Let me check.” Moony and Radiant Hope stopped and faced each other, Moony scanning her face for imperfections. “…nope.”

“Hm.” Radiant Hope glanced around the deserted street before awkwardly pulling up her hood. “Just in case.”

The pair walked for another minute, Radiant Hope growing uncomfortable in the now deserted street. It was looking like they weren't going to get any of their questions answered, and she was maybe getting just a tiny bit stressed about the future.

“Hey.” Moony prodded, waiting a moment for a response that didn't come before repeating herself. “Hey. Hey. Hey. Hey–”

“What!?” Radiant Hope questioned sharply, realizing her mistake a moment later. “I mean… yes, Moony?”

“We just passed a bookstore.” Moony stated, either not noticing or not caring about Radiant Hope’s slip.

“And?” Radiant Hope questioned. “Do you even know how to read?”

“I do, in fact.” Moony replied proudly. “I taught myself on the moon.”

“What were you reading on the moon?” Radiant Hope asked, her curiosity getting the best of her.

“Books, obviously. I could see the whole planet from up there, you know. I'd simply find somepony reading an interesting book and follow along.” Moony explained, then scoffed. “Some of them took far too long to turn the pages.”

“I'm sorry, you were reading books in Equestria? From the moon?” Radiant Hope questioned in disbelief.

“Mhm. When I'm in my original form, my vision is unmatched! I can see everything. Including souls!” Moony said, sounding legitimately excited to talk about herself. Unsurprisingly.

“We have souls?” Radiant Hope asked.

“Most of you.” Moony replied vaguely.

“…moving on, do you really want to buy a book?” Radiant Hope asked.

“Huh?” Moony asked, knocked off-balance by the fact that the conversation was no longer focused on how cool she was. “Oh, no. I don't pay for things. I simply figured we could ask the pony running the shop for information. They are surely knowledgeable, running a bookstore and all.”

“Oh. That's… a good idea.” Radiant Hope admitted.

“Of course it is, it's one of mine.” Moony responded, turning back the way they came. “Come on.”

So, they retraced their steps. Still, they saw no other ponies, and Radiant Hope would've been lying if she’d said it hadn't gotten to her.

“Here it is.” Moony announced, stopping in front of a small building on the corner of Main Street and one of the small roads. The building had a wood carving of a book above the door and two large display windows, though both showed nothing but the world-facing side of dark curtains.

Radiant Hope glanced around the empty street one last time before opening the door and stepping inside. Immediately, she was hit with the smell of… lavender. The inside of the store was lined with bookshelves which were filled, of course, with books. The far end of the store had a wooden counter, behind which was a door presumably leading into some employee-only space. On the counter was a purple candle, the only light source in the store, which filled the store with a relaxing warm light and the lavender scent. In the near corner of the store, right next to one of the curtained windows, were a pair of comfortable-looking seats and a small end table.

However, the most striking feature of the bookstore was not its cozy atmosphere. It was instead the massive sword hanging above the history section on the right wall, dark as night from hilt to tip and blade curved to a surely unnecessary extent. Radiant Hope couldn't imagine the thing was ever used for anything except ceremony, considering it was twice as long as she was.

“Starstriker…” Moony whispered breathlessly, taking a step closer to the sword.

Or, maybe, Radiant Hope still had too much faith in her fellow pony.

“Welcome, welcome!” Somepony said, causing Radiant Hope and Moony to jolt. “Heh, scared you, did I? Sorry about that.”

Radiant Hope looked over to the counter, finding it was now manned by a pony. He was a tan earth pony with a gray mane, and between that and the wrinkles covering his face, it was safe to say he was an old one. Also, he talked like an elderly know-it-all. Normally, Radiant Hope had opinions on such ponies, but she’d come for knowledge, so she’d have been a hypocrite to complain.

“My name is Page Finder, though I admit my years of championship gold are long behind me.” Page Finder said, chuckling at his own joke. “What can I do for you two?”

“Well, we were hoping–” Radiant Hope started.

“How did you get this?” Moony interrupted, waving a hoof at the sword.

“Ah, that old thing?” Page Finder gave the sword a light smile. “Been in the family for generations, it has. It's said to have been wielded by Princess Celestia during a great battle many, many years ago. She left it stuck in the ground, and one of my ancestors decided to pluck it out and hang it up in his store.”

“And it's sat here ever since?” Moony questioned.

“Oh, of course not. This town's been torn down and rebuilt so many times, we aren't even sure this is where the battle happened! To be honest, the old thing’s probably a replica, or maybe a fake some ancient youngsters got everypony to believe was real. It's a nice legend, though, and where's the harm in playing into myth a bit?” Page Finder asked, throwing in a wink. “Certainly helps with business.”

Moony, of course, didn't respond. Instead, she looked back to the sword, Radiant Hope getting a brief glimpse of an odd look on Moony’s face as she turned.

“Sorry about my friend.” Radiant Hope said quickly, covering for Moony’s persistent lack of social grace. “She's… really into history.”

“Hey, not the first. I say it's good for business, but a lot of ponies really just come to see the sword.” Page Finder explained. “Speaking of which, you buying anything?”

“Oh, well, um…” Radiant Hope didn't have to check her pockets to know she had zero usable currency. “Can I ask you a few questions first?”

“Well, sure, not like I’ve got anything better to do.” Page Finder agreed, eyeing Radiant Hope. “Gonna have to ask you to take off the hood, though. It sounds like you're speaking through a pillow in that thing, and my ears aren't what they used to be.”

“Oh, of course!” Radiant Hope said, using her magic to remove her hood.

Page Finder took one look at her unobscured face and paled.

“Oh… oh no.” Page Finder breathed. “You have to leave.”

“What?” Radiant Hope asked, caught off-guard by the sudden shift.

“You need to leave, now.” Page Finder pointed to the door with a shaking hoof. “Go! Quickly, before they–”

The front door slammed open.

“Pops! How's it going, you old coot?” A youthful voice called out, accompanied by a chorus of snickering. “I thought you keeled over months ago! I guess you’re just enjoying life without that old hag, yeah?”

“Ea–Earnest Skies.” Page Finder said shakily, ignoring Radiant Hope’s questioning look. “Why– why are you here?”

“Oh, it's an interesting story, actually! See, my crew and I were hanging out by Floral’s house, having a grand old time, when this mare came running up to us, shouting about seeing one of them entering your little bookstore. I just had to come see for myself, assuage her fears and all that.” Earnest Skies chuckled, the sound accompanied by the starting of slow hoofsteps on wood. “I’m glad to see she wasn't lying. ‘Course, then I gotta wonder why you didn't tell us.”

“Please, I– I didn't know–” Page Finder pleaded.

“Yeah, I'm not buying that.” Earnest Skies interrupted, his hoofsteps getting closer. “But, hey, I’m feeling generous today. So, just sit there, stay quiet, and don't take your eyes off the show.”

Radiant Hope didn't let herself so much as twitch when Earnest Skies came to a stop behind her.

“So, you gonna turn around or am I gonna have to turn you around myself?” Earnest Skies asked dryly.

Radiant Hope took a deep breath and slowly turned to face Earnest Skies. He was a dark pink pegasus with a short yet untamed gold mane and a scar stretching from just under his right eye down to his jaw. Crowding the front of the bookstore behind him were about a dozen ponies of various types and colors, though with the common feature of a similar but much smaller scar on the same side of their faces.

“A mare, huh?” Earnest Skies looked Radiant Hope up and down, and she barely managed to repress a shiver. “What’s a little thing like yourself doing so far from home?”

“Oh, I'm just… traveling! Seeing the sights, hearing the sounds, smelling the smells.” Radiant Hope sniffed exaggeratedly, getting a noseful of lavender for her troubles. “Equestria is so different from how I remember!”

“Is it now?” Earnest Skies questioned, taking a step closer.

“Yeah, it's sooo interesting! Almost makes me glad to have missed the last millennium, you know?” Radiant Hope replied, taking a step back.

“Of course, of course.” Earnest Skies said, continuing to advance. “We have a pretty good thing going, don't we?”

“Y–yep! You really do!” Radiant Hope’s flank hit the counter, and she felt her heart skip a beat. “Actually I'd really love to get back to sightseeing so if you could let me leave–”

“Pale Scraper?” Earnest Skies called out, not breaking eye contact with Radiant Hope.

One of the unicorns’ horns lit up, and there was a knife against her throat.

How– how dare they who do they think they are stay calm stay calm stay rip their heads off don't drop the facade don't kill them all–

“See, I can't do that.” Earnest Skies said, his easy-going tone unchanged. “Quite simply, I've got a problem with you crystal ponies.”

“D–do you now?” Radiant Hope questioned, head drooping slightly as she fought to stay composed stay composed stay composed.

“Yeah…” Earnest Skies said, pausing for a moment. Suddenly, he grabbed Radiant Hope by the mane and yanked her head up. “I do.”

Radiant Hope stifled a gasp at the sudden pain, knowing the knife was already dangerously close to breaking skin.

“I hate you crystal ponies. You think you can come in out of nowhere and impress everypony with your tragic enslavement. But, guess what? That's your fault. You were too weak to save yourselves and needed us to bail you out.” Earnest Skies snarled. “And as thanks for our selfless deed, what did you do? You took our jobs, our celebrations, our Alicorn, and now you prance around our land all happy-go-lucky like you aren't parasites.”

Radiant Hope didn't dare open her mouth.

“What, no stupid comment to make? No ‘oh, you're wrong mister, I’m a good pony!’?” Earnest Skies questioned.

Radiant Hope stayed silent.

“Come on, say something. Say something!” Earnest Skies shouted, getting right up in her face. “Say something or I'll kill you right now–”

*CRASH*

Radiant Hope and Earnest Skies froze. They stared at each other for a moment, before turning to face the source of the noise. What Radiant Hope saw was Moony, standing on top of a bookshelf, holding in her mouth the hilt of the no longer wall-mounted sword. The blade of the sword was instead embedded about an inch into the floor, chunks of the floorboards scattered around the hole it had created. Moony looked around the staring crowd with wide eyes, giving a brief glance down at the hole created by the sword she had failed to sneakily acquire.

“What in Celestia’s name–” Earnest Skies started.

Moony snapped out of her trance and, with strength Radiant Hope couldn't fathom the source of, yanked the sword out of the floor and slashed a sweeping arc through the air. From the sword, a cyan crescent of magic shot out, heading straight for the crowd, Radiant Hope included.

Radiant Hope used the moment of distraction to magically wrench the knife out of Pale Scraper’s telekinetic grip and dive to the floor. The cyan magic passed overhead a split second later, catching the gang and sending them into the wall of the bookstore. Then, with a grand cacophony of splintering wood and screams of pain, through it.

Sunlight poured in through the gaping hole in the wall, lighting the store with a brightness she'd begun to miss. Through the hole, though truly it was better described as the complete non-existence of a wall, Radiant Hope watched the gang smash into the building on the opposite side of the small road, though through that wall they unfortunately did not go.

“Wow…” Radiant Hope breathed, taking a careful step out of the building to better observe the writhing criminals.

She turned to say something to Moony, but a pegasus dive-bombed her the moment she turned her back.

“I don't know what happened in there, but I won't let you–” The pegasus, who shared the same scar as the rest, was cut off by Radiant Hope blasting them in the face.

They went flying into the air, though they quickly righted themself with a harsh flap of their wings. Before they could attack again, a cyan slash cut through the air and smashed into the base of their left wing with an utterly delightful sound. They went spiraling down to the ground, the harsh collision resulting in a plume of dust and an out-of-commision pegasus.

Moony climbed out of the store over the shattered pieces of wood, dragging behind her the sword that she absolutely shouldn't have been able to lift.

“You good?” Moony asked, voice somewhat muffled by the hilt in her mouth.

“Yeah.” Radiant Hope confirmed, climbing to her hooves.

On the other side of the road, Earnest Skies and his gang were just about done doing the same.

“Good.” Moony said, eyes narrowing at the sight before her. “Because we're not out of the woodwork just yet.”

“I’m going to skin you alive!” Earnest Skies screamed, wings beating furiously as he rose into the air. “I’ll turn both of your hides into doormats!”

“Starstriker.” Moony whispered. “Let us make them fear the Nightmare.”

Moony slashed another magical arc at the gang, though most dodged out of the way this time. Two didn't and were sent through the wall, presumably dealt with.

Three of the gang’s pegasi used the momentum of their dodges to lift off and barrel towards Moony, and she–

Radiant Hope heard a whoosh and threw herself to the side, barely avoiding Earnest Skies diving at her.

“Pale Scraper! Tear Hoarder! Help me out over here!” Earnest Skies yelled, righting himself and diving once more at Radiant Hope.

With a flick of her head, Radiant Hope created a magical barrier between herself and Earnest Skies. He frantically slowed himself down, stopping moments before he crashed into the barrier. She took the opportunity to stick her tongue out at him, reveling in the snarling rage he responded with.

A sudden sound behind her reminded Radiant Hope that Earnest Skies was not alone. She spun to face the noise, igniting a ball of light blue fire on the tip of her horn as she did. The moment she could, she shot the fireball at the source of the sound, a gray earth pony poised to buck her head off. A shaky barrier popped into existence in front of the earth pony and ricocheted the ball of fire through the window of a nearby building. A moment later, it exploded. Screams echoed from the building, which was quickly engulfed in the magical flames.

Who cared about that, though? More importantly, Pale Scraper dropped their barrier, and Radiant Hope could only bring her hooves up in a vain attempt to protect her head from the earth pony’s kick.

The hit sent her flying, though thankfully she didn't feel anything break. Before she could tumble to the ground, a pair of dark pink hooves grabbed one of her own and dragged her higher into the air. Above the buildings, above the smoke from the burning building, above even the clouds.

“Let's hope you leave behind enough for that mat, yeah?” Earnest Skies taunted.

Then, he halted his upward movement with a harsh flap of his wings. Before Radiant Hope could blast him, he spun in a quick, decisive motion and threw her straight down.

As she plummeted, as the air whipped around her and roared in her ears, as she stared with unblinking eyes at the scarred pegasus watching her fall with a smirk on his face, Radiant Hope had but one thought.

Screw this guy.

Radiant Hope reached out with her magic and gripped Earnest Skies’ wings, forcing them to still. He frowned at the sudden resistance, and his eyes widened when he looked to his back and saw the light blue aura surrounding his wings. The fear built as he fruitlessly struggled against her magic, increasing to all out terror when he started to plummet.

Radiant Hope knew she'd keep the look on Earnest Skies’ face close to her heart forever. It was wonderful.

Suddenly, ruining the moment, Radiant Hope was hit with the smell of smoke. She, regretfully, flipped over so she could see the ground, which was rapidly approaching. From her vantage point, she could see Moony fighting three ponies, dodging and weaving between spells and physical attacks and responding with magical slashes. Nine unconscious ponies were strewn out across the road, including the two who had attacked her, all in various states of injury. The burning building’s flames were higher than before, no one coming to its aid presumably due to the all-out brawl going on outside.

Radiant Hope built up her magic, hoping with all her heart that the idea that had just popped into her head wasn't going to result in a painful death. Reinforcing her grip on Earnest Skies to make sure he couldn't escape his fate, Radiant Hope took a deep breath to prepare herself.

Then, mere feet from the ground, Radiant Hope surrounded herself with half a dozen bubbles. She hit the innermost bubble moments before the outermost bubble hit the ground, causing her to bounce off of the relatively kind surface instead of the ground. Of course, all that built up momentum still had to go somewhere, and, over the next five seconds, Radiant Hope bounced around the inside of the multilayered bubble no less than seventeen times.

When the bouncing finally stopped, Radiant Hope dissipated the bubbles and fell to the ground with a groan. Everything hurt. It was better than being dead, but that wasn't saying much. As soon as she freed Sombra, she was going to find a feather fall spell and practice it until she could do it in her sleep.

Earnest Skies crashed into the ground a dozen feet from her, breaking Radiant Hope from her thoughts. He also bounced on impact, though the packed dirt was certainly less forgiving than her magical bubbles. When he settled on the ground, Radiant Hope realized with annoyance that she could still hear faint noises coming from him.

Pegasi.

Radiant Hope climbed to her hooves and slowly, painfully, stalked over to him. He was curled in on himself, whimpering in pain like a little foal. Radiant Hope pushed him with a hoof so that he was on his back, forced to look up at her.

“Shame how this all turned out, hm?” Radiant Hope said. “I mean, there was no need for any of this. You could've walked away, could've let me go, could've not started a fight you had no chance of winning.”

Radiant Hope giggled. Earnest Skies glared up at her with the one eye he could still open, so she lightly placed a hoof on his neck.

“It's funny, actually, because I know you still have absolutely no idea just how outclassed you are! That mare over there?” Radiant Hope nodded her head in Moony’s general direction, knowing the sword-wielding pony was still distracted by her fight. “That’s Nightmare Moon! Take off the hat, and she's got a little bitty horn and everything!”

Radiant Hope shook her head.

“Oh, but I'm weak, yeah? Even if Moony’s a sword-wielding Alicorn, little old Radiant Hope should've been an easy target! Well, newsflash, buddy! I am a thousand years old. I was Celestia and Luna’s personal student, the first from the Crystal Empire in history. I’ve made deals with beings that would eat you alive, I’ve spent almost my entire life surrounded by the most monstrous creatures this world has to offer, and I've come to Equestria to burn it to the ground.” Radiant Hope pressed down on Earnest Skies’ throat, relishing at the choked gasp the movement elicited. “Most importantly, though, I have had to spend the last week of my life with the most unpleasant, obnoxious, egotistical bitch on the planet. I have had to constantly rein in my desire to rip her apart because, unfortunately, she’s still useful. You, on the other hoof?”

Radiant Hope leaned in close, smiling down at the shaking pony below her.

“Nope.” She whispered, her smile growing to the point of pain and beyond. “Not at all.”

Radiant Hope stamped down on Earnest Skies’ throat as hard as she could. He flailed, frantically trying to bat away her hoof, but she magically held his hooves down. His wings tried to spread, so she held those down too. His mouth tried to scream, so she stopped that too. His eyes tried to cry, so she stopped that too–

“Yo.” Moony said.

Radiant Hope jolted and flung herself away from Earnest Skies. She glanced at Moony, who was giving her a questioning look, then around at the ponies strewn about the road. Her smile grew fragile.

Stupid, stupid, stupid! How long had Moony been done fighting? Long enough, surely! She knew. After a whole horrible week of tip-toeing around Moony, making sure not a single crack in the facade showed, it was over in an instant. Moony knew and was going to kill her with her stupid oversized sword and she'd never be able to save Sombra! It couldn't end like this, it couldn't! It wouldn't. She wasn't going to lose it all. She'd–

“Why'd you stop?” Moony asked around the sword still held in her mouth.

Radiant Hope’s thoughts came to a screeching halt.

“…huh?” Radiant Hope asked.

“Why'd you stop choking him out? I was enjoying it.” Moony said, pausing for a moment to stab the sword into the ground. “Honestly, I didn't know you had it in you! We might just make a stone cold killer out of you yet!”

Radiant Hope stared at Moony. Then, she chuckled. It escalated into laughter, and further into a cackling fit, bringing her to the ground, clutching her stomach.

“You– you are the worst pony I have ev–ever met!” Radiant Hope cackled, tears in her eyes.

“I am, aren't I?” Moony agreed proudly.

“Heehee… oh, I don't know why I even worried!” Radiant Hope exclaimed, lifting her head to look at Moony. “There’s not a single nice thought in your head!”

“Nope.” Moony nodded, before holding out a hoof.

Radiant Hope looked at it for a long moment before taking it and pulling herself to her hooves, her laughter subsiding. The two smiled at each other, the smiles plainly nasty and cruel.

“Y–you… monsters.” Earnest Skies groaned, shakily climbing to his hooves. “I… won't le–let you get away with thi–this.”

Moony’s eyebrows furrowed, and she in one smooth motion pulled her sword out of the ground and slashed with it, sending a cyan arc at Earnest Skies. His wings twitched weakly, but he could do nothing more before the magic slammed into him and sent him flying.

“Bye!” Radiant Hope called out, waving after the pegasus as he crashed through a building.

“You know.” Moony said, watching Radiant Hope with a smirk. “I think this is going to go just fine.”

“Oh, it will.” Radiant Hope agreed, turning from the carnage to look at Moony with one of her own. “It’ll go perfectly.”

Then, out of the corner of her eye, Radiant Hope noticed movement near the wrecked bookstore. She spun and fired a blast of magic at the movement, and, simultaneously, Moony did the same with her sword.

Their magic mixed in the air, combining into a single blue projectile which glowed with a brightness that hurt to look at. The source of the movement, Page Finder, stumbled back, causing the projectile to narrowly miss his head and instead blast through the remains of the building behind him.

“Ah, ah, ah.” Radiant Hope warned, smiling at the cowering pony. “I never got to ask my questions.”