Chapter 14: Estefania
Alpha woke up 4 hours after Luna left. He packed his bag, rolling up and storing the blanket that Luna had given him and was about to walk out when he looked back at The Heart of Equestria.
"What is it?"
"What I am about to do will do either 3 things; it will enhance us, kill us, or it won't do anything." Alpha told Beta as he walked to the curtain. "Are you ready?"
"If we die, I want you to know it was nice knowing you."
"If we die, we will both see each other. Remember, ghosts like you only happen when ponies die unnaturally."
"Just do it."
Alpha extended his metallic brace and held it to The Heart of Equestria. "Well, here goes nothing." He said as he plunged his wing into the heart. At first nothing happened, but when Alpha began to pull his wing out, he was hit by a bolt of magic squarely in the chest. He flew backward, hitting the wall behind him and fell to the ground, hurt and stunned. He slowly raised his head and watched as the suit of armor, glowing white in patches, approached him.
"You, Alpha and Beta, have been charged with the following charges of Torture, Multiple Homicide, Attempted Murder to kill her Majesty, and Theft. Therefor you are now an Enemy of Equestria and Her Majesties. You are hereby sentenced to Death. How do you plea?" said the suit of armor.
Alpha stared in the suit of armor in sheer horror, unable to understand what the suit of armor just said for his ears wear still ringing and his head was still spinning. He just stared suit of armor, stunned, unable to move or respond.
"Your plea will be written down, now go back to the hell where you belong." The suit of armor raised an Axe, and brought it down towards Alpha's Neck.
4 hours earlier in the Castle's observatory…
"YOU DID WHAT?!"
"My job."
"You did not do your job, my dear sister. You aided an enemy of Equestria. Not just any Enemy, but one who nearly defeated me 900 years ago!"
"Neither of them are enemies to Equestria. Both are currently victims of your doing, or do you not remember what you did?" Luna said.
"Don't be sarcastic with me, Sister."
"Then stop acting like it's not your fault!"
"It isn't!"
Luna instantly spread both wings, transforming into her darker self. "LIES!"
Celestia took a few steps backward in caution. "Luna, calm down."
"NO! YOU DID THIS TO THEM BOTH AND NOW YOU SAY IT ISN'T YOUR FAULT!" Nightmare Moon yelled. "YOU HURT THEM BOTH. YOU BROUGHT THEM INTO THIS, DESTROYING WHAT LIVES THEY HAD AND BRINGING THEM INTO HELL!"
"Luna, be quiet! There are ponies asleep." Celestia said, looking around, hoping no-pony was listening
"I THOUGHT THE RAINBOW FACTORY WAS BAD, BUT THAT IS NOTHING COMPARED TO WHAT YOU DID TO ALPHA, LET ALONE BETA!"
"Luna, listen to me. I tried to help Beta, but ponies made rumors, started hating him for what he was."
"YOU HELPED HIM LIKE YOU HELPED ME; BY PUNISHING US, BY PUNISHING THE VICTIMS!"
"I had no choice, when I got to him; he had already killed hundreds of ponies. I had to stop him. I had to stop the damage he was doing."
"AND ALPHA? WHAT WAS SO IMPORTANT ABOUT HIM THAT YOU HAD TO REMOVE HIS WING?"
Celestia took a breath. "He saved a mare from hurting herself, it was his punishment."
Nightmare Moon relaxed but did not transform to her original self. "His original punishment was to be killed, like all others who broke the rules in that slaughter-house. Why was he not killed like the rest?"
Celestia looked away in shame. She walked to the rail guard of the tower and stared out into the distance. "Because I did not want to kill him."
"Why?"
"We all have our dark sides, Luna. You of all ponies should know that.
Nightmare Moon transformed into her original self as she realized what her sister had done. "Y..You..punished..him..because..you wanted to..." Luna stuttered. "You, out of all ponies, hurt Alpha; a stray, a victim, because you wanted to…"
Celestia looked behind her to see her sister stare at her in shock, in fear. Luna was in total disbelief of what she had just heard. "No." She began to shake her head.
"Sis," Celestia began.
"No." Luna said, interrupting Celestia. "I will not. No." She took off her crown and threw it to Celestia's hoofs. "I will not side with you when you punish ponies for fun. Absolutely not."
"Fine, leave then." Celestia said, trying her best not to break down.
Luna walked to her room, packed what she needed, and flew off into the night sky. Celestia watched as her only sister flew off into the night sky. Once she could no longer see her, she closed her eyes and let out a scream of sorrow and rage. Somepony knocked on the door.
"Come in."
"Ma'am," Shining Armor said. "Luna has left the castle in a rush, is everything alright?"
Celestia stared at Shining. Is everything alright? She thought. No, nothing is alright. Luna has abandoned me and Alpha/Beta is still out there. Time to finish what I have started.
"Ma'am?"
"Shining, gather 5 of your best guards and meet me in the armory."
"Ma'am?" Shining repeated; worried.
"I will explain everything in the Armory. Go, that's an order."
"Yes Ma'am." Shining took off down the hall at once, galloping at full speed. Celestia looked out into the night sky one last time then made her way into the armory.
Celestia walked into the armory and looked around. The armory was built as a bunker for herself and Luna in case something like a plague hit Equestria. After her confrontation with Beta, Celestia refitted the bunker, turning it into an Armory. The walls were made up of reinforced Dragon Metal, brick, and stone. It was built into the mountain behind the Castle. The torches that were aflame created a medieval atmosphere that was unneeded, but felt appropriate for what was happening. On the right and left sides of the room stood mannequins with chest plates and leg guards resting on them; The Royal Guard's Armor. In the back of the room stood a statue of herself and Luna; standing together. In the middle of the room stood a table, on it containing a full map of Equestria.
She saw Shining with 5 of his best ponies, all suited up in armor, standing at attention in front of the statue. She smiled, amused. "You will be going against a Pegasus who has another soul bonded to him. Both are extremely dangerous. You will need a special type of armor to defeat him."
The guards looked at each other, then back at Celestia. "A special type of armor?" Shining asked.
Celestia nodded as she walked past them to the statue. She looked at the statue carefully, then raising her front right hoof; she pushed the chest of herself in the statue. Her hoof lurched forward as the hidden button moved. The statue slowly moved to the right, revealing a small room. Celestia walked inside, and brought out a plastic model of a pony. On it was an armor Shining had never laid eyes on before.
It was Carbon gray in color. Deep scratches covered the chest plate, leg guards, and wing braces. The symbol of the Sun was on one side with the moon on the other. If one were to look carefully, they would notice a burnt portion of the armor underneath the left wing brace.
"This," Celestia began, "is a variant of the amour I used against Beta, modified to fit a Royal guard. Although it is 900 years old, make no mistake, this is a very powerful suit of untapped ancient magic. Created when combining the magic from The Heart of Equestria with Dragon Metal, this suit, dubbed Estefania, after the creator's cousin, amplifies the user's ability to use magic twentyfold, while increasing both agility, strength and giving the user the ability to fly, if they cannot already." She called in her servants and looked at Shining Armor. "Suit up."
It took nearly an hour for the Shining and his guards to fully suit up. For the Armor to amplify the user's power, it had to tap into his/her blood, for all blood is just magic in its raw and unstable form. To tap into the user's bloodstream, a hollow needle is inserted into the back of the neck. The magic would then be used to power the armor and in turn, amplify the user. The Armor also gave the user the ability to fly, if he/she was a earth pony or a unicorn. A thin needle would connect to the user's nervous system, connecting their wings to the brain. Although very painful, none of the guards made a sound. Celestia walked past the servants that were helping the remaining guards put on the armor and made her way to the Captain. Shining Armor was the first to be fully suited up and was trying to get used to the wings that the armor provided, an axe already stored on his back.
"How is it?" Celestia asked.
Shining watched as he moved his left wing up and down, then relaxing it, placing it back on his side. "Different. I can feel the armor amplifying my magic."
"You trained in all forms and styles of fighting, correct?"
"Yes Ma'am."
"Have you mastered fighting while standing on only two hoofs?"
"It took me much longer than I expected, but yes, I have mastered Human combat."
Celestia looked around and noticed that all remaining guards were fully encased in the armor. The only thing that told who was who was the color glowing from the armor. Once the armor tapped into the bloodstream of its user, it glowed in the color of the user's skin. Shining Armor was glowing White. Celestia smiled as she looked at the suits of armor standing at attention in front of her. She took a deep breath and explained the situation.
"You five have been picked because your captain thinks you are the best out of The Royal Guard. I hope he is right. Your objective is to eliminate a colt." The guards looked at one another. "This is not your everyday colt, His name is Alpha." Celestia continued. "Alpha has bonded with the legendary soul of Beta, the same colt who slaughtered hundreds of Ponies 900 years ago. Now that Beta is back, I fear that Equestria is at risk. A much higher risk of destruction than Discord or King Sombra ever dreamed of creating. If Alpha and Beta survive, you can be damned sure that Equestria will be in more risk of destruction than it has ever been." She walked to the table and gestured the guards to come forth. "Alpha has located and entered The Heart of Equestria." Celestia said, placing her hoof on the location of the Crystal Mountains. "You are to fly there and end his life. He will be armed. He was a Dragon Metal wing, replacing the one he had lost fighting a royal convoy 3 years ago. Any Questions?" The suits of armor were silent except for the sound of metal scraping against metal as they moved, ever so slightly "Good. Go now!"
The Guards nodded. Shining Armor ran out of the armory, his guards following him. He turned left and right as he navigated through the maze of corridors. Once he located the garden, he extended both of his new found wings and took off into the dark sky, his guard's right behind. They took a hard left as they made their way toward the mountains, all eager to test out their new abilities but unaware of the galaxy-blue mare following close behind.
Alpha watched as the axe slowly fell toward him. He was stunned. He could not move. Beta, however, could. He instantly took over, blasting Shining Armor with his magic. He flew through the curtain, missing the fire by mere inches, and hit the rock wall at the other end of the room. Beta stood up, extending both wings. Shining Armor got up and stared at the handle of the axe in his grasp, the head of the axe was stuck in the side of the rock face on his right. He dropped the handle, lowered his head, keeping his eyes on Beta and charged.