Chapter 19:

Master Luna Vs Tai Lung

Meanwhile, back at the Celestial Palace, Luna can sense Tai Lung long before he revealed himself. A small smile graced her lips as lightning flashed… and she heard him land before her the instant she shut her eyes.

'My silly dragon. Always making your entrances dramatic' She thought.

Luna opened her eyes, beholding her son and a Changeling stood behind him, but not like a bodyguard. But more like a follower. This was something unexpected. Where did the Changeling come from?

"Hello, Mother. I have come home," the Snow Leopard greeted, inclining his head. It was shocking how calm he was. He was acting like he had just been on a journey and was just returning home, not spent twenty years in prison.

Luna inclined her head as well, "Welcome back, my son. But I'm afraid this is no longer your home, and I am no longer your mother or your master," She said to him. Not really cold, but stern and taking no nonsense.

Then Luna flicked her eyes to the changeling behind him, "I see the rumors were true. You have allied with a changeling," She noted.

Urtica winced, but Tai Lung didn't turn to her. Instead, he sighed.

"And I heard that you have a new favorite. So where is your new favorite? This… Twilight? Did I scare her off?" Tai Lung grinned as he looked at the empty looking palace.

Luna's glare turned harsh… yet her voice cracked when she spoke, she didn't really want to fight Tai Lung, but there was no other choice.

"No one could replace you, my son. This battle is between you and me," She whispered.

Tai Lung's grin faded, "Just give me the scroll. I do not wish to fight you," He requested. He still care for his mother, and didn't want to fight. He just wanted what was his. What had been denied him even though he was entitled to it.

"You know I can't do that," Luna reminded him. She had to buy everypony some time. She knew the fight would be a difficult one.

Tai Lung turned to Urtica, "So, is that how it's going to be?" He asked.

"That is how it must be!" Luna said, reluctantly taking her combat stance.

For a moment, Tai Lung didn't turn to her. But a low growl slipped from his lips.

Suddenly, he lunged into the air. Luna barely backflipped out of the way before he struck the ground. A burst of stone was dislodged from the ground, which he promptly kicked at Luna.

But the alicorn blasted it away with a punch until Tai Lung was already charging at her. And with a punch of his own, he threw her into the Hall of Heroes.

"I rotted in jail for 20 years! All because of your WEAKNESS!" Tai Lung snarled, storming into the palace.

"Obeying your master – obeying your sister – is not weakness!" Luna tried to argue, but Tai Lung's voice cracked with fury.

"YOU TOLD ME I WAS THE CELESTIAL WARRIOR!" Tai Lung reminded her as another flashback begins…

( Flashback )

On his 21st birthday, Luna presented Tai Lung to her sister. Tai Lung stood before his mother and aunt young and proud as he waited for Celestia's verdict. Confident that Celestia would choose him.

"You always told me," Tai Lung hissed.

After Celestia gazed at the student that had worked harder than any master before him, all she saw in his heart was a small light, surrounded by ominous darkness.

"But when Celestia said otherwise… what did you do?" Tai Lung asked.

Celestia placed a hand on her sister's shoulder and before shook her head at Luna walking away, leaving Tai Lung staring after her with confusion, denial, and slowly growing anger in his eyes.

"What did you do?!" Tai Lung insisted, with fury returning to his voice.

Luna turned to her son with a downcast look and tried to comfort him, but fury filled her own heart, and she left her son to talk to her sister while Tai Lung just watched with shock as the flashback came to an end…

( Flashback Ends )

"Nothing!" Tai Lung whispered, glaring at Luna.

"You were not meant to be the Celestial Warrior! That was not my fault!" Luna argued.

"Not your fault? Who filled my head with dreams?!" Tai Lung seethed. On impulse, he seized Bright Mac's armor.

He hurled the armor at Luna, but of course, she deflected it.

"Who drove me to train until my bones cracked?!" Tai Lung demanded, seizing a gold shield and hurling it at Luna.

But, of course, she dodged that too. But it made Tai Lung's anger burn brighter, and he seized an entire weapons rack.

"WHO DENIED ME MY DESTINY?!" Tai Lung all but screamed, throwing the weapon rack at Luna.

Yet, even as Luna deflected the blades, her voice cracked when she spoke.

"It was never my decision to make!" Luna hissed, struggling to keep her voice from cracking.

Growling, Tai Lung's eyes landed on the shrine to Celestia. His stance faltered, as did Luna's when she followed his gaze. Before she could stop him, he lunged at the shrine and seized Celestia's staff. When Luna moved to take it from him… she stopped as he handed it to her.

"It is now," Tai Lung taunted. He knew Celestia was dead, so he felt he could make the decision. Or change her sister's decision.

But Tai Lung touching Celestia's staff had an unexpected effect on Luna. With a scream of rage, Luna charged her son. But Tai Lung was not as off-guard as she believed. Deflecting her with the staff, Tai Lung pinned her to the wall with the end of the staff.

"Give. Me. The Scroll!" Tai Lung ordered.

"I cannot. I would rather die," Luna choked, barely holding the staff back.

Snarling, Tai Lung tried to increase the pressure, but the staff was not made for such violence. With a crack like thunder, it snapped in two. Briefly, Tai Lung backed up. Mother and son stared down in horror at the staff, as several peach blossoms blew past it.

But grief did not stay in either of their hands. Looking up at each other in rage, the two masters of kung fu dueled. Back and forth they went, their battle smashing them into the walls and the pillars of the Celestial Palace, until their fight brought them out onto the roof, and even higher up.

Fighting in midair, Luna managed to pin Tai Lung's head under her foot. For a brief moment, she angled him towards the roof, ready to crush him underfoot.

But once again, hesitation overtook her. And in her moment of weakness, Tai Lung squirmed free and flipped her around.

Pain flared through the alicorn's body as she was smashed through the roof and flung into the wall. Luna barely managed to regain her feet before Tai Lung landed, knocking over a set of blue flames. Charging through the flames, Tai Lung continued his assault, his claws alight and burning through her GI sleeves and into her arms.

"Everything I did! I did to make you proud! Tell me how proud you are, Mother!" Tai Lung screamed as he attacked Luna.

Luna couldn't respond. It took everything she had to keep him from carving her into ribbons.

"Tell me! Tell me!" Tai Lung insisted, his voice cracking, turning desperate.

"I…" Luna whispered.

"TELL ME!" Tai Lung screamed, finally blasting through her guard.

Luna rolled to the edge of the reflecting pool, a scorched, battered mess. Tai Lung's fists clenched, smothering the flames as he approached. Before he could continue his attack, Luna found her voice.

"I have… always been proud of you, Tai Lung. From the first moment, I was… proud," Luna whispered.

Tai Lung froze, taking in every word.

"And it was my pride that blinded me. I loved you too much… to see what you were I… was turning you into," Luna whispered, tears forming in her eyes as she lifted her head to look at him.

Tai Lung's brow furrowed. His frown turned sad. His fists trembled by his side. He couldn't believe Luna was taking the blame for everything that happened to him.

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry… my Great Dragon…" Luna cried.

Tai Lung shut his eyes. His fists were unclenched. He let out a soft, tired sigh, and for a moment, Luna breathed, wondering if she had got through to him.

But then his eyes opened. And they were hard with anger. His claws shot out, seizing her by her throat.

"I don't want your apology. I want my Scroll!" Tai Lung growled.

But as he lifted her up, he saw the Celestial Dragon statue. And something was missing from it.

"What?!" Tai Lung whispered, lowering her to make sure.

But it was impossible to miss. The Celestial Scroll was gone.

"WHERE IS IT!?" Tai Lung screamed, slamming her into the ground. Her head bounced hard off the marble, and her eyes fluttered, her grip on reality fading.

"Celestial… Warrior…Taken scroll… halfway across Equestria… by now…" Luna breathed with the last vestiges of consciousness.

"You'll never see the Scroll again, Tai Lung. Never… N-never…" Luna whispered as her eyes rolled in her head, and her words were almost impossible to hear while Tai Lung bared his free claws. Yet Luna didn't even seem to notice. She was too weak to care.