The Ascent: To Liberate a Kingdom

Chapter Nine: The Worst Place in the World

“Dearest Sister...” began Celestia. “I’ve discovered the true nature of the sixth Archon.”

“Do tell.” asked Luna. His true nature had been bothering her for quite some time.

“He can absorb any blow hurled his way, be it magical or physical.”

“I see. It will take the both of us to attack in synchronisation then.”

Celestia nodded. They both knew what to do. The Blademaster made the first move; he lunged forward with a blade in his mouth and two being levitated. It required both Celestia and Luna to keep his blades in check. As the three engaged in melee, The Elemental was casting long range barrages their way. Luna successfully goaded The Blademaster into attempting a stab at her; freeing up Celestia to kick him in the side. He travelled some distance before making contact with the pillar; he was clearly winded by the kick. Celestia fired a concentrated beam of fire at The Elemental. The Sixth moved in between them and absorbed the entirety of the beam; Luna took the opportunity by racing behind The Elemental and sweeping his legs. As he lay on the ground, The Sixth turned his back to face his comrade, only to get hit in the back by Celestia’s continued beam. Luna’s stamp on The Elemental was blocked in time by The Sixth, and she was forced back to her sister’s side.

The main Archon hadn’t moved a muscle. “That’s it? That’s the power of Day and Night combined!?” he burst into a short lived fit of laughter; it was clearly forced, but it still enraged the two sisters. “Have you had time to think, Celestia? I asked you earlier if you thought that you could protect Equestria better than I can. From what you’ve learned about me; from what I’ve told about love and hate. About fear, anger, and sadness. From your battles as a leader. From everything you’ve ever done on the throne of Equestria, can you honestly say that you can bring a true peace to the world? How do you truly believe that you can stop these wars?”

Celestia could only look back to the floor. Her sister gave her a concerned look. Celestia had always enjoyed debates, and this was a face she pulled when she had no answer. Something happened then. Celestia thought back to Twilight’s room; the two posters that she had, and specifically the one of ‘the rest of the world’. She looked back up, then straight at the unconscious Twilight. She then looked back at The Archon with a determined look.

“I would... I would...”

The Archon looked expectantly.

“I would embrace both love and hatred in this world. I would throw my arms around my enemies, and let them know that their actions, regardless of whether they are perceived as good or bad, are understandable.”

The Archon remained focused on Celestia.

“I have lived as a leader; but on my way back up here I have been introduced to things that I never would have seen a month ago. Your story is truly a miserable one, Archon. You have had to feel emotions that no one would want to ever feel. You have had everything taken away from you. And for that, I can only apologize.”

“What are you...” began The Archon.

“I still believe that a genuine peace can exist through compassion between all things; and that war can be made a thing of the past. This is where we differ. Whilst I believe in a time where war is asked about by children and their parents can reply: ‘We defeated War.’, you on the other hand believe the opposite. You think that war can only be stopped through fear.”

“So what if I do? We share the same goal. That is evident. But the method is far more important than the result, for without a sound method, you cannot achieve the desired result.”

“How can we have the same goals if our methods completely warp the original goal? You let your negative feelings control you; you let them make you believe that you are something more than a mere mortal. They made you believe that you were a Deity. You were blinded by these feelings into thinking of yourself as immortal.”

“I am immortal! I am The Archon!”

“No! You are a simple living being, no different from me, Luna, Twilight, the soldiers fighting your battles, or even the trees and grass that make this beautiful land we call Equestria!”

“False! A creature, be it great or small, is defined by what they do in their time in this place. I have taken over the world, and have become a god because of that!”

“You would deny somepony their right to exist because they hadn’t done anything worthy of your recognition? By that logic, your sister never even existed!”

“My sister...” The Archon fell to the floor. He closed his eyes, trying to hold in his tears. “How dare you twist my words this way.”

“I haven’t twisted your words, Archon. Your emotions have twisted your words.”

With this, The Archon started weeping. The rest of his group stared at him, awaiting his next action. He stood back up again, giving the two sisters a look of pure anger. The Archon roared as he leapt into the air and began glowing profusely. He lowered his head, aiming his horn at Celestia.

“I will show you how much faith I have in my goal! Archons! Hold them off whilst I charge myself up!”

“Wha... what’s going on?” said a voice from behind the two siblings.

“Twilight!” called Celestia. “Are you okay?”

“I think so. What happened?”

“You passed out after taking care of The Mender.” stated Celestia as she beat away The Blademaster. “You did a great job.”

“Celestia!” yelled Luna. “Behind you!”

Celestia effortlessly deflected a bolt of ice from The Elemental. It was absorbed by The Sixth on its return.

“Feel the power of a god!” bellowed The Archon as he clapped his hooves together. The ground rumbled, and a massive beam of black energy thrust from the skies above him. They were all fired at major cities of Equestria. The impact completely covered the lands below as they fought. When the beams ceased, The Archon dropped back to the ground with a thud. The spell had taken its toll, and he had a large nosebleed. “And then there were three.”

Luna looked at him, shocked. “What did you just do!?”

“Have no fear, Princesses. Now there is no one that needs protection. They’re all dead.”

“You wiped out an entire nation!?” yelled Celestia tearfully.

“Indeed. Now none of us need to rule this land; there’s no one to rule over.”

“Celestia.” whispered Luna. “Over there.”

Celestia looked over at the eastern horizon. The sun was beginning to emerge. She then looked to the west; the moon was setting. Both were visible.

Luna leapt into the air, her sister following suit. They both fired a wisp of energy at their respective domain, and were suddenly hit by a beam from each.

“Using the Sun and the Moon’s power to empower yourselves. Didn’t think you’d bother.”

“The odds are in our favour, Archon.” Stated Celestia.

Luna simply glared at The Sixth, and he fell to the floor screaming as they made eye contact. He picked himself back up soon after that. He was crying.

“What have you done to him?” asked an infuriated Archon.

“I’ve sent him to sleep; he’s currently living an intense nightmare about his worst fear. Apparently, yours and his worst nightmares are about your sister being locked in a burning barn.” laughed Luna.

“Whore!” spat The Archon. The Sixth began running around as if he was on fire, and fell off the side of the Tower to his doom below.

Celestia glared at the remaining three Archons. The Blademaster, The Elemental, and The Archon. All offensive types; their defensive counterparts were all dead.

The battle continued for a while. The two sisters were embroiled in a bitter struggle with the three Archons, and they were all exchanging powerful blows. Luna took off into the sky to engage the hovering Elemental, leaving her elder sister to battle The Blademaster. The elder sibling fired a bolt of short bolt of light at The Blademaster. He may be a master of evading, but this was an unavoidable attack, and there was no Sixth to hinder it. The light burned the word ‘Flare’ into his skin, and a huge ball of flame scorched him in a matter of moments. Using that may have been a bit reckless, she thought to herself. But The Blademaster was one of the more dangerous Archons, and leaving him alone was like betting your life in a game of poker. Luna was able to teleport above The Elemental, and she kicked him with all of her strength and passion toward the ground. He impacted, and was left a lifeless mess after the dust had settled. The resulting impact also reawakened Twilight’s magic, and she again was swallowed up by the purple aura that had covered her when she shot The Mender.

Time appeared to slow down for the sisters then, as Twilight’s horn exploded towards the sky. There was a brief moment where nothing seemed to happen, and the Last Archon was left laughing to himself.

“Once again, Celestia. You and your allies bottle it at the last minute.”

He was interrupted by a deafening boom, as a huge portal ripped the sky open. The Archon was swept up into the air; he was being dragged into the portal by Twilight’s sheer magical prowess. He could do nothing but curse them as he disappeared into what looked like a familiar place to Celestia, and was lost to the arrow of time forever. Celestia collapsed, she had overdone it a lot, and felt that she was dying as her eyesight faded to black.