Chapter 13 – Howling At The Moon
A magnificent gold and silver chandelier illuminated the entrance chamber of the Castle of the Two Sisters, white luminance gems shining light over the walls and floor. Twilight looked around. The walls hosted an eclectic array of old architecture and technology, the latter which had been cutting-edge a thousand years ago. Stone statues of ancient pony heroes stood on either side of ancient video monitors, their glass screens cracked and caked with dust. Gorgeously carved pillars hosted ancient security motion sensors, the metal on their casings rusted through to show the interior circuits covered in cobwebs. Tattered and faded banners hung from the ceiling, variably orange with sun emblems or blue with moon emblems. Stained glass windows that once might have been gorgeous were now broken or covered in dust and impossible to see through.
Twilight saw four hallways splitting off from the chamber, and two sets of stairs on the far wall rising to become one and going to a second floor. Below them opened a fifth passage. "Which way, Spike?"
Spike's hologram scratched its head. "Um… good question. I have a map, but the castle is so old and falling apart, the passages might have collapsed. And this place is pretty big, it could take us hours to explore it all."
Twilight looked between the passageways. "We don't have hours. We can explore later, for now we have to find Luna." It only took her a moment to figure out where the rogue alicorn mostly likely was. "Where's the throne room?"
"That would be straight ahead."
Twilight walked forward, entering the passage that went below the stairs. In this hallway a red carpet stretched between rows of status of ancient pony soldiers, replica steel armor covering their bodies. Twilight eyed them warily as she passed and called up her display. Nothing hostile was in the area, but there was so much interference she couldn't trust Spike's readings. The castle was eerily quiet, not the slightest sound of the environment reaching her. Her hoofsteps sounded dulled on the carpet, and the noise died off down the hall.
"At the end of the hallway the path will diverge into a three-way fork, stairs down and hallways left and right. Either left or right will lead to the throne room," Spike said behind her. Twilight nodded and squinted down the passage to see the end. She passed a pair of side-passages and paused to glance down them, seeing nothing but more darkness and more twisting passages. Twilight continued on, passing a pair of portraits of ponies in various nature sites. Then, the castle's silence broke.
Twilight looked around as the walls hosting the paintings began to shake and move towards her. "Spike!" Twilight backed up, and noticed they weren't closing in as she feared. The walls were turning inwards to the hall. Twilight watched as the carpeted passageway she had followed vanished, and where the walls had opened two doorways appeared, each containing a spiral staircases made of black metal.
Twilight looked over her shoulder. "Was this on your map?"
"Nope." Spike held up his claws. "I guess, pick a door?" Twilight turned to her left and headed into the stairwell, taking the stairs carefully. She looked up as she walked, then down; it was too dark to see far either way. As she crested the next step, she heard a creak, and the stairs groaned. She sent the command to her Multitool in preparation for what she thought was coming. Her fears were quickly justified; the stairs shifted and fell down, forming a spiral slide into darkness. Twilight's hooves gave out beneath her, and she fired the Apple Whip. The claw shot up and dug into the stone walls surrounding them. The chain snapped taut, stopping Twilight's descent.
Twilight looked down and groaned. "This whole castle is going to be like this, isn't it?"
"Seems so."
Twilight slowly retracted the Apple Whip until she could wrap a hoof around the railing of the stairs to keep steady. She cautiously released the claw, smiling when she found her grip kept her in place. She aimed her whip higher up the stairs and fired. Using the Apple Whip to pull herself up the railing, Twilight slowly ascended, the stairwell filled with the sound of metal scraping stone. She finally reached a land and leapt off, looking at her new surroundings. Another carpeted hallway, indistinct from the one downstairs. She didn't need to ask for a direction this time and set off down the hall the same way she had gone below.
"Uh, okay, second floor. This hallway goes to a staircase up and two side passages. We want the stairs," Spike said. Twilight thought back confirmation as she passed another set of statues of ponies in guard armor. She heard metal rustling behind her, and spun around.
The stone statue of the guard ponies in the hall glowed, the stone texture fading to reveal coats in varying colors. The now-living ponies turned towards Twilight, raising their spears and swords. Twilight lowered her head and activated the lights on her saddle. The Flutter Stare flashed, and the guards stumbled, toppling off their bases. Twilight's Multitool shifted, and she fired the Rainbow Tornado down the hall, sending the ponies tumbling back.
"Spike, need a crowd control option. Something to keep them down."
"Try that fireworks attack we got from Trixie!"
Twilight sent the mental order. Her hoof elongated into a familiar blaster shape, the end glow blue. Twilight swung it up and fired. The Shooting Star lit up the hall as it sailed forward, splitting into a cluster of six smaller sparkles of silver-blue light. They bounced off the walls and continued on, striking the cluster of guard ponies and bursting into small explosions of magic. Twilight fired again as some of them moved, and the raised hoofs and moving heads went still. As she watched, the limp guards lit up in dark purple magic and turned into stone, which cracked apart over the floor.
Twilight shifted her hoof back to its default form, a piece of rubble rolling down the hall towards her. "So, what were those anyway?"
"Judging from what happened to them when they went down, it was a come-to-life spell," Spike said. "Luna must have set it up to activate when we got near. Could be more, I'll keep a sensor open."
Twilight lightly kicked the stone away from her. "Good." She turned down the hall, the pairs of remaining statues looming before her. Twilight shifted her hoof as she walked. Each statue she passed, she paused to fire the Pinkie Cannon before moving past them. Dozens more pieces of stone rubble littered the hallway behind her by the time she reached the end. Twilight looked over the room before her. She was standing before a balcony that stretched over the room below, the balcony also going along the walls to staircases down. Twilight looked over the edge of the balcony and saw more hallways stretching off.
"Where to, Spike?"
"Right forward."
Twilight lifted her head and crossed. Across the balcony to the other side of the chamber, there was another carpet-lined hallway with statues. Twilight paused at the entrance and fired the Pinkie Cannon, blowing apart as many statues as she could reach before heading inside. The rubble piles her blasts created were all that was left of the statues as she reached a large pair of doors. Throwing them open with her magic, Twilight saw a room similar to the earlier, a balcony stretching over a chamber.
"Straight again," Spike said. Twilight stepped forward, and the balcony under her hooves shifted. The entire construct tilted down to a steep angle, and Twilight tumbled down, seeing a pair of doors coming into view at the end. She smashed through them and finally stopped with a heavy landing on her stomach. The doors behind her shut, leaving her in total darkness. Twilight groaned and slowly climbed to her feet, squinting. There wasn't a single source of illumination in the room, and she couldn't see the floor under her hooves.
"Spike? Activate the saddle lights."
At the command, the violet lights on her saddle lit up, illuminating the room. Twilight's breath caught in her throat, her eyes widening in horror.
The room was large, stretching high overhead with balconies ringing the walls and doorways to other rooms and hallways. Dust caked the windows opaque and the floor tiles were filthy, the entire room in a state of disrepair and neglect as the rest of the castle. However, Twilight was far more concerned with what was in the room with her than the room itself.
The room was full of robots. Black pony-shaped robots lined up in ranks in front of her and beside her, staring blankly with large green eyes. Some had horns, others had wings, some neither. Between them, in smaller numbers, glaring at her, were dozens of biological pony guards, eyes glowing red. Unicorns with energy cannons, pegasi and earth ponies with bladed hoofguards and spears, wearing the familiar silver-blue armor.
Twilight looked between the robots and the guards, who were motionless. She would have expected an attack, but none came. "What is this?"
"Welcome, Twilight."
Twilight gasped as a voice filled the room. It was a highly synthesized, metallic voice, and she looked for the source but found none.
"I regret that I am not able to meet you in person. You picked a busy time to show up; I've a lot of work to do tonight. But don't worry, I've prepared for your arrival. I believe these will serve as adequate entertainment for you."
There was a crackle of static and the voice stopped. The rows of robots twitched and jerked to life in unison, and their eyes lit up bright green. As Twilight watched, one of them came apart in a series of small metallic plates, green light shining from inside them. The plates re-arranged, shifted, folded, shimmering and changing color as they moved. Twilight took a step back as a familiar form began to emerge. A long yellow mane… pale orange coat… a hat…
As the transformation subsided, the robotic copy of Applejack opened its eyes, still glowing green.
The other robots began to glow and come apart as well, and Twilight had to spin in place to watch them all. It wasn't just Applejack's form the robots were copying. Three Pinkie Pies stood on her right in front of a Fluttershy and two Rarities, and two Rainbow Dashes were finishing taking shape beside them. A duo of Octavias rose on their hind hooves to stand over a Derpy, and a Trixie stepped up beside them, then another. The room was filling up with robotic copies of the eight ponies she had defeated. There were dozens, perhaps even hundreds.
"Spike…" Twilight swallowed as the robotic ponies took a step towards her in sync. "Need some advice. Now."
"I… I got nothing. There's… they don't have all the capabilities of the originals, not according to these scans, but…"
"How many are there?"
"… you don't want to know. You really don't."
Twilight nodded, her breathing getting deeper. She tried counting quickly but gave up. Spike was right, it was better she not know the exact number, but it was obviously enough. Even the sky over the robots contained robotic copies of Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, and Derpy. Everywhere she looked in the room she saw her former enemies watching her with glowing green eyes.
"The only way out of this room is the door behind them…" Spike said.
Twilight looked at her Multitool and tried to think of what weapon she'd need most. None of them seemed like they would be enough, but she switched her hoof to the Rainbow Tornado anyway.
"Then we don't have a choice, Spike." Twilight tensed, looking around the room for the best place to strike as the robotic ponies took another step forward. She had to try, punch a way through their ranks, make a break for it, take out as many as she could, maybe…
Suddenly, an explosion rocked the room. The sound came from overhead, and pieces of rock and glass rained down. Twilight squinted through the smoke and dust overhead to see the debris coming from the ceiling. She tried to figure out what had caused it, and even the robotic ponies seemed to hesitate. Then…
"YEEEEEEE-HAAAAAAAAAAAAW!"
A blur of orange shot past Twilight's vision, and she heard the sound of a metal scraping on metal. Lowering her eyes she saw a cowpony hat shoot through the air on a chain and sweep sideways, knocking four Rainbow Dash copies aside and slamming them into the wall. Twilight gasped as the owner of the weapon retracted it, standing tall in front of her.
"Applejack!"
A trio of Derpies began to descend towards them, and an orb of pink energy fired from above and detonated against the middle one, sending shrapnel across the room as all three of them exploded. Pinkie Pie landed beside Applejack and swung her hoof around at a pair of advancing guard ponies, the two stopping in their tracks as she aimed at them. She gave them a knowing smirk.
"Go ahead; make my party."
Two Fluttershies raised their hooves and fired a barrage of energy bolts from their hooves. Four gemstones encased in auras of blue magic swooped down in front of Twilight's eyes and moved to catch the blasts. The jewels then swung out to slam into the two robots and fired back the absorbed attacks. The robots exploded, the gems emerging from the smoke to circle around Rarity as she landed behind Twilight.
"That was for making me spend all that time in a mine!"
Two Trixies raised their blasters, and a flurry of shots from above distracted them, before a tornado swirled around them and four other robotics around them, flinging them backwards into the crowd. Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash landed next to Twilight, bumping hooves with a smirk.
Twilight turned her head, smiling widely as the five turned their attention towards her. "You're back!"
Applejack nodded. "Celestia told us ev'rythin'."
Fluttershy hung her head. "And, um, we're really, really sorry about it."
"And we'd love to chat more, but I think we have bigger problems than apologies right now." Rainbow Dash turned as she spoke and fired another tornado to blast four copies of herself into a wall as they flew towards them.
"You said it, Dashie. It's party time!" Pinkie smirked and held up her Multitool, the Pinkie Cannon humming loudly. Another orb of pink energy scattered a trio of advancing robots.
"As for you, Celestia sent us with this." Rarity lowered her head, and Twilight noticed an armored white band with a familiar blue gemstone in it around her neck. The band set with the gem from Trixie's cloak lit up in blue magic as Rarity floated it over to put it around Twilight's neck above her armor. An incredible sense of magical energy was pouring off it, like nothing she had ever seen before. Twilight looked down at it and raised a hoof to touch it carefully, realizing what Celestia had used it for.
"This…"
"The Harmony Program," Applejack said. "We've done the best we could for it, dunno if it worked though."
Pinkie Pie nodded. "Celestia said you're the only pony who can use it to its full power, so we're counting on you to finish this!"
"Once you've defeated Princess Luna, link your systems up to the console she was using to control her minions. The Harmony Program will be able to cure them all through the same data feeds she used," Rarity explained.
"We'll stay here and buy you time while you deal with Luna. Just, please be careful," Fluttershy said.
"Yeah, and kick moonbutt's flank back to wherever she came from!" Rainbow clapped Twilight on the back and grinned.
Twilight gave them a smile and a nod. "Right. I won't let you down girls!"
"Good luck to you; you're outnumbered more than ten to one," Spike said. The six ponies turned towards the horde of robots, and Fluttershy stepped forward.
"Close your eyes, everypony!" Rainbow Dash yelled. They obeyed, and Fluttershy's own eyes lit up. The robotic ponies collapsed, the full-power Flutter Stare paralyzing them. Twilight turned back to the swarm, and Fluttershy looked over her shoulder and smiled sheepishly.
"Um, you might wanna go before they get up."
Twilight narrowed her eyes and took off at a gallop, leaping over the fallen robots and dashing towards the doorway behind them. She heard the sounds of battle behind her as her friends went to work destroying the robots while they had the chance, and she saw some of them twitching and starting to rise. One of them, a Trixie robot, stood up and aimed its twin blasters at her. Twilight dove, tackling it through the door. A point-range blast of charged magic obliterated the robot's head, and Twilight turned and reconfigured her hoof. Her horn glowed and she snapped the doors closed, the robots on the other side almost fully recovered, and the Pinkie Cannon fired twice. Two stone pillars beside the door exploded at the base and crumbled, blocking the path back and cutting her off from the battle.
Twilight approached the collapsed stone and strained her ears. The sound of crashing metal and various types of magic and blaster fire reached her ears, muffled but unmistakable.
"They'll be fine, Twi," Spike said softly. Twilight wished she had Spike's confidence, but nodded and turned away. Side-halls and doorways converged into a single room stretching before her eyes. Balconies ran along the walls overhead, connecting to a massive staircase that ran down the far wall, splitting into two to run sideways and curl down the floor. The wall below where the stairs split off contained a gemstone mural of two alicorns spiraling around each other in swirls of blue and orange energy, dust and cobwebs obscuring its former brilliance.
Twilight looked around, but saw nothing. She slowly approached the left stairs and walked up them, eyes scanning the balcony as she ascended. Seeing and hearing nothing, Twilight reached the top and turned to the larger single staircase up to the wall. The massive room filled with the metal clopping of her boots as she took them carefully. She stopped at the top to look down through the doorway at the top of the stairs.
Before her stretched a long hallway lined with ancient statues of armored ponies beneath massive paintings of Equestria's ancient cities. At the end of a long, faded red carpet, rose a pair of wooden double doors. They stretched high overhead, one carved with the image of a radiant sun, the other with the image of a crescent moon. Twilight swallowed and headed down the hall, watching the walls for any movement. There was none, and soon she was stopping at the base of the doors. This close they stretched so high overhead they seemed to curve down over her. She lifted her eyes and took a breath.
"Spike…"
Spike hesitated. "Based on the map I'm looking at… that's the door to the throne room."
His response only confirmed what Twilight already knew in her heart. She took another breath.
"Got any advice before we go in?"
"Wish I did. Sorry."
Twilight ran a check of her systems. Everything was in perfect operation, and her Multitool's energy was full. She took a third breath and looked down at the band of armor around her neck, the blue gemstone with the Harmony Program glowing faintly.
"Celestia said the Harmony Program can subdue Luna… but how do we use it?"
"I'm not sure. I could try to wire it into your systems, but it's putting off so much magical energy it could harm you," Spike replied. "The coding of your armor's software implies they're designed to interface, but I can't make the connection without damaging it and potentially you."
Twilight sighed, her ears drooping. "Then Celestia was right… it's still incomplete…" "She told the others I was the only pony who could use it. But I have no idea how."
"So what do we do?" Spike asked, reading her thoughts.
Twilight thought and shook her head. "We can't wait around here to figure it out. They're back there fighting to give us time, we can't squander it. Figure it out during the fight, if we can."
"Roger, I'll keep trying what I can. I'll let you know as soon as I have anything."
Twilight focused magic into her horn. The giant doors lit up in the same violet aura, and slowly creaked open. Dust fell around her as they moved, and Twilight stopped when they were open enough for her to pass. She walked forward, staring straight ahead.
The throne room of the castle stretched high overhead, the walls arching gracefully to support a stone ceiling, carvings of ancient Equestrian heroes filling the masonry work and paintings of starlit night and rainbow-streaked noon skies decorating the ceiling. The floor was polished amber and auburn tiles, smaller tiles in paler shades forming the image of a crescent moon with a sun between its tips in the center of the floor. Twilight saw various side passages and stairwells branching out of the room, but her focus was what was against the far wall.
The opposite end of the room was mirrored in architecture, differing only in design. Two small staircases rose to a platform holding twin thrones, each beneath a tapestry hanging from the wall. The left throne, tapestry and platform were pale blue and decorated with images of a crescent moon, while the right side was orange with sun emblems. Between the thrones on the wall was a large stained glass window depicting a stylized tree. Moonlight shone through it, beaming down on the platform between the two thrones.
And standing in the moonlight was a cloaked figure.
Twilight stopped her approach on the sun and moon emblem under her hooves. The silver and white light of the moon glided down the black fabric of the pony's cloak, a hood over their head.
"Princess Luna!" Twilight called out.
The figure turned, hooves clicking on the stone. With a flick of their head, the hood of the cloak slid down their neck. A nebula of stars amidst a field of shimmering blue billowed out, fluttering about a long spiral horn emerging from a dark blue coat. A steel-blue cybernetic helmet covered the figure's head, pulses of light filtering along its edges. Blue eyes opened, and the mouth below them twitched in a small smile.
"Welcome. Twilight Sparkle."
Princess Luna stared at Twilight for a moment, then turned and slowly stepped around the platform to come down the steps, her astral mane floating in her wake. Twilight didn't blink until her hooves touched the floor, tense and waiting for an attack.
"You have changed since last I saw you." Luna looked Twilight over and tilted her head. She narrowed her eyes. "Impressive armor… it stinks of my sister's power."
"Celestia made it to help me stop you," Twilight replied.
Luna snorted. "And then my sister sends you to your doom alone? She has grown more cowardly than I remember."
"I came alone because I chose to. Nopony else will suffer at your hooves."
"Suffer?" Luna chuckled. "Twilight, you misunderstand. What suffering have these ponies endured under my banner? Nothing more than what you and my sister's minions have put them through."
"Don't you dare blame me for that!" Twilight glared and grit her teeth. "I've done what I had to do to free them from you, to stop you from seizing Equestria."
"Didn't my sister tell you? Equestria is a diarchy, or was before she sealed me and seized the kingdom for her own. I am here only to take back that which she stole. By what right do you presume to deny me what is rightfully mine, and attack my loyal subjects that flock to my side?"
"You're not in your right mind, and they're not loyal. Celestia did tell me about you, she told me everything. That's why I'm here." Twilight stood proudly, sucking in a breath. "I'm not here to kill you, Luna. I'm here to bring Celestia back the sister she remembers."
Luna shook for a moment, closing her eyes. When she spoke again, it was in a lower tone. "Ignorant. Just like her. Of course Celestia wants the old me back. The mewling little whelp that stood back and let her big sister rule the world as she pleased! Does Celestia miss the sight of me cowering in the shadows, forgotten and alone, while she basks in the love and the light of our subjects!?" As Luna's voice grew louder, her eyes began to glow. Wind picked up in the room, blowing her cloak behind her and revealing the armored cybernetics over her neck and hooves. They were glowing bright blue, the moon emblem on Luna's neck pulsing with light.
"Luna, it isn't like that!" Twilight shouted to be heard over the winds. Luna either didn't hear her word or didn't acknowledge them. Eyes blazing with white energy, she slowly rose into the air, her cape unclasping in an aura of silver-blue magic and flinging itself away. Her wings unfurled behind her head and flapped furiously. Her voice was as a roar when she spoke, the sound echoing off the walls.
"I WILL NOT BE CAST ASIDE A THIRD TIME BY A SELF-RIGHTEOUS USURPER! I AM LUNA, ALICORN OF THE STARS AND MOON, MISTRESS OF DREAMS, AND THE ONE TRUE PRINCESS OF THE NIGHT! ALL OF EQUESTRIA WILL KNEEL BEFORE ME! AND ALL WHO WOULD DENY ME WILL KNOW MY FURY!"
Luna descended, stomping her hooves into the ground. The tiles cracked, an aura of magic flared up over her hooves, and jagged lines of magic shot out over the ground, zigzagging and racing towards Twilight. She activated her thruster boots and leapt away, the magic lines meeting and exploding in a blast of energy. She landed and swung her head to aim at Luna, but the alicorn had vanished.
"Twi, the right!"
Twilight turned and saw a blip of silver energy. In a flash of like-colored light Luna appeared to Twilight's right, wings outstretched and eyes glowing. An orb of blue magic appeared on the tip of her horn and shot beams of energy to the tips of her wings. Energy blasts lanced from Luna's wings, tracing along the ground leaving burn marks in the tile. Twilight ran to avoid them as the beams followed her, fading after several seconds. When she turned to attack Luna, she had already vanished again. She sent a command to her Multitool, the steel prosthetic transforming into a familiar cannon.
"Left!"
Twilight spun around and fired the Pinkie Cannon. Luna appeared in a flash of magic, the glowing energy blast exploding against her neck plate in a direct hit. To Twilight's surprise, the alicorn didn't even flinch from the blast. Her horn lit up in blue light, and Luna flung her head forward. Four blue crescent-shaped energy waves shot out from her horn, turning to the sides and arcing towards Twilight. The thruster boots activated, launching Twilight backwards as they converged on her and exploded, pieces of rock and tile flying from the cloud of smoke.
"Spike, she didn't notice my attack!"
"Yeah, that's a problem."
"Solve it!"
"Already trying. On your right again."
Twilight saw Luna appeared out of the corner of her eye and fired a blast of charged magic. The violet orb hit Luna straight-on, but once again she didn't register the impact. Another orb of magic formed on the tip of her horn and split into two, and her wings unfurled to fire twin blue lasers over the floor. Twilight ran to avoid them, firing another shot at Luna. The lasers caught up to her as she slowed to aim, and her right rear hoof exploded into pain. The two lasers detonated and threw her across the room. Twilight winced as she landed and struggled to her feet, watching for Luna's next appearance.
"Running down the arsenal. Try Flutter Stare," Spike said.
Twilight saw the blip of Luna's teleportation, and activated the attack. The violet lights on her saddle flashed brightly, and Twilight paused. When the light faded Luna was holding her head down, her horn glowing with magic. Another quartet of crescent energy waves shot out and Twilight ran to avoid them, the waves exploding on the ground in her wake.
"Why didn't it work!?" Twilight focused her attention on the question than attacking Luna, who had teleported away again.
"I don't know! She's an alicorn, she must have some sort of counter-spell, or she's too strong for it to affect," Spike replied. Twilight grunted in annoyance. "Next is Octave Blast."
Twilight shifted her hoof, the speaker-shaped cannon forming from the metal plates, and turned towards the blip of light that signaled Luna's appearance. She swung her hoof out and fired. As usual there was no sound or visual aid to show the Octave Blast had fired, but as Twilight watched, she saw Luna close her eyes and pause for a moment. Twilight took the chance to fire, but Luna was back to her senses and stomped the ground, more shockwaves of magic racing towards Twilight. She jumped away as they met and exploded, and when she landed and turned her head Luna was gone.
"We can't hold still long enough to fire off Derpy Thunder. Rainbow Tornado isn't going to do much." She didn't need to ask if Apple Whip or Rare Shield would do anything. One option left. Twilight reconfigured her hoof into the Shooting Star, the blaster barrel glowing blue. She didn't need Spike to tell her where Luna's next appearance was, she saw the flash herself. She turned as Luna reappeared and fired, the silver-blue energy blast leaving a trail of particles in the air. It slammed into Luna's neckplate in a show of sparkles.
To Twilight's delight, this got a response. Luna shrieked and reared up, her eyes wide. She put her hooves back down and shook her head. Twilight smiled and lowered her head, charging energy into her helmet and firing. The empowered concussive blast slammed into Luna's neckplate, sending her stumbling back. Twilight began to charge another shot, the Shooting Star still recharging. However, Luna came to her senses, her rage clear. She snapped her head down, waves of energy shooting towards Twilight. She jumped away, the waves flying past her under her hooves and hitting a stone column behind her, slicing it apart and leaving the rubble to collapse to the ground.
Twilight looked around the room, Luna teleporting again. She saw a blip of light to her left, and swung her hoof towards it. The Shooting Star lit up the floor as it burst out of Twilight's Multitool. However, as Twilight watched, it passed the spot of space she had seen the light, and went beyond it to crackle against a wall. There was another blip of light, and Twilight realized what had happened. With the Shooting Star recharging, she powered energy into her horn and fired a concussive blast at Luna as she reappeared in another part of the room. As before, Luna appeared to barely feel the attack, and raised her wings, orbs of magic forming at the tips. Twilight turned and ran as the laser blasts traced the ground towards her, ending when Luna had vanished again.
"She's too clever to fall for this again. We need to be alert," Spike advised. Twilight nodded, scanning the room. She saw a flash of silver light and darted her eyes to it, but paused. No Luna. Another flash from the far left, and she spun around. Once again, Luna didn't show herself. "Behind you, Twi!" Twilight turned to see Luna appear and swung her hoof up. Luna fired off a wave of crescent magic blasts before the Shooting Star hit her, the force sending her stumbling back. Twilight activated her thruster boots, leaping into the air over the attack and shooting as many magic blasts as she could before Luna recovered. Without even raising her head again, Luna vanished, two of Twilight's blasts dispersing against the ground.
Twilight looked around, ready for Luna's next appearance. On either side of her peripheral vision, she saw two glimpses of light, and looked between them. "Spike?"
"I can't pin her down!" Twilight turned around, looking to the sides to see more rapid flashes of light around the room, some up on balconies. She had no way to tell which one Luna was going to appear at, her Multitool wavering between targets.
"The right!" Twilight whipped her head around and saw Luna, and fired the Shooting Star. Luna cried out as it struck her, and a charged blast from Twilight's helmet sent her recoiling.
"Enough of this foolishness!" Twilight turned to see Luna teleport to the middle of the room, eyes glowing. A large orb of blue magic began to gather at the end of her horn. "Begone from my sight!" Luna thrust her head into the air, and a large beam of blue magic shot towards Twilight. She leapt away, her boots blazing in the air below her. Luna's blast carved a trail in the floor, pieces of tile thrown away into the air as she tracked Twilight. Twilight landed and kept running as the beam closed in on her.
"Twilight, that beam is pure alicorn magic. Even with your armor, you won't to survive if it hits you!"
"Wasn't planning on that." Twilight weaved in and out of the columns holding up a balcony on one side of the room, the beam lancing through them. The balcony groaned and crashed to the ground behind her, the smoke and rubble obscuring Luna from her for a moment. The beam stopped, and Twilight skidded to a halt and turned. "But we can't just run forever."
"What are you gonna do?" In response,Twilight called up her data banks and searched Spike's assorted scans of the battle. The smoke cleared, revealing Luna glaring at her.
Twilight smirked and stamped a hoof on the ground. "Come on, Luna! Take your best shot!"
Luna's eye twitched, and she let out a roar of fury, her horn sparking with energy. An orb of magic appeared on the end, slowing bright. Twilight took a breath and focused magic into her own horn. Luna lowered her head, and the blast of blue magic fired forward, racing towards Twilight. Twilight closed her eyes and cast the spell.
The wall exploded into rock and dust, a hole to the adjacent hallway beyond appearing as it crumbled. Luna looked to the sides, her eyes narrow. Twilight was nowhere to be seen. She settled her eyes on the pile of debris she had just blasted, and grinned.
Then, Luna cried out as pain shot through her body from her flank. She felt a powerful blast of energy explode against her back and stumbled forward, more lances of pain hitting her in the side in rapid succession. She turned her head and gasped.
Twilight stood at the foot of the two thrones. "You missed." She swung her hoof up, the Shooting Star recharging in a blue glow. "I won't."
Twilight fired the Shooting Star again, the sparkling silver-blue stars slamming into Luna's neckplate. Luna reared up, throwing her head back. Twilight focused energy into her helmet and fired a final charged blast of magic. It hit the moon emblem around Luna's neck and exploded in a brilliant array of violet light. Luna was thrown backwards, her hooves flailing in the air. She hit the ground and skidded back to hit the pile of rubble her last attack had created. As Twilight watched, she put a hoof on the ground and attempted to stand.
Then, she let out a loud groan, and slumped to her side. The moon on her neckplate flickered and went dim, and her eyes slid shut.
Twilight kept her horn and weapon ready, watching carefully. Luna's chest was moving as though she was breathing, but otherwise she was still.
"Twilight, we did it… we did it!" Spike's hologram threw up his claws in a cheer. Twilight relaxed, slowly approaching the fallen princess. Luna was unconscious, her chest rising and falling gently.
"But, how? Celestia said we'd have to use the Harmony Program to cleanse her system corruption, and…" Twilight looked at the gem around her neck. She had never called upon its power in any way she had noticed. Was it a more subtle effect, or was it just not needed after all?
"Remember, she might not be purified yet. But that can wait," Spike said.
Twilight looked at the thrones. "Right. She was standing there before." She galloped up to the raised platform the castle thrones were on and walked behind them to see a small computer console on the wall. "This must be the console she was using to coordinate her minions. Let's find out what she was up to." Twilight pressed a few buttons and looked at the screen. It flashed red, words scrolling across.
"Access denied? Network connection off-line?" Twilight looked around the room. "But, this is the only terminal here! How was Luna controlling things if not from here?"
"I'm scanning the area, but this is the only working console I can find," Spike said.
Twilight stepped backwards and turned to look at Luna. "I don't understand. If she's defeated, and she wasn't controlling them from here… this doesn't make any sense!"
There was a burst of static, and Twilight jumped. She turned to see the computer screen behind her displaying a mass of static. The speakers were now blaring out a soft, sinister chuckling in a voice she hadn't heard before.
"Make sense?" The voice laughed. "What fun is there in making sense?"
The static continued to play, and Twilight came closer. A small camera on the top of the screen pointed at her, and she looked up at it.
"Who are you?"
The voice from the speakers let out an irritated sigh. "Oh, don't tell me Celestia didn't fill you in. The little princess never did show me proper respect."
"Who are you?" Twilight repeated, glaring. The voice chuckled deeply.
"I... am Discord."