Post by Apple Bloom on Mar 2, 2014 13:05:07 GMT -5
The Crusader is soaring through the sky. Apple Bloom is of course at the helm and actually finds herself grateful that battling crazy fake alicorns can be rather easy to find. Magic is a rather conspicuous thing. Would also help to have a plan. Plans are good. She now starts thinking while piloting. A plan... She doesn't think just flying the Crusader between the two would be wise... so maybe she should try reason. Which is the most reasonable princess?
Hopefully the Crusader has good airbrakes. There's a light building up under the clouds ahead, and then they sort of boil up and tear apart as Celestia herself - wearing the body of Fluttershy, but still clearly Celestia - bursts through, shedding a light that makes the clouds around her glow as if it were dawn. She whips around this way and that, hovering, then fixes eyes on the Crusader just in front of her. "Hold!" she bellows, throwing out her hooves.
Apple Bloom shouts a very bad word of surprise and turns the Crusader and uses said air breaks. They aren't capable of stoppong on a dime, however... so it soon drifts slowly and just very very lightly bumps against the hoofs, then drifts back a little before steadying. Apple Bloom sighs. Well... that's Celestiashy. She stands and climbs up on the sky deck of the Crusader. He, it's a fastvehicle. Gotta expect that the air brakes would take time to brake. "Crawin' out loud, if ah haive t'give th'Crusader another paint job ah'm chargin' Fluttershaw..."
There's a soft bump as the ship goes through some turbulen...no, as it bumps against Celestia's hooves. She barely nudges. Celestia flaps and raises herself up to peek over the flight deck, squinting until she sets eyes on... "Young filly. Have we met before?"
"Uh... yeah. But y'all ain't in yer rawt mawnd, so ah'm probably expectin' t'be th'rational one... which is kawnda new fer me. Are y'all USUALLY this big? MAkes it hard t'talk." Apple Bloom says. Okay, so she has Flutterlestia's attention. What's step two?
Celestia climbs, hovering over the deck, looking down...and then sets her hooves down delicately, as if she weren't quite sure it wouldn't suddenly vanish under them. "Forgive me. I had never seen one of these flying houses in my day, so I didn't realize one would be passing by. Have you any need for assistance?"
Okay, seriously, what is step two? Apple Bloom clears her throat. "Uh..." Come on, come on. "Ah'm a filly from Ponyville... and yer... not what y'all seem t'be." Okay, handle this delicately.
Celestia's smile is soft and understanding, but wan. "So we - I've been told. Filly, this world is not what I know. / The skies are so full, and my castle is old / and crumbling / And I stand all alone, one thousand steps out of line / While my sister runs wild, rage rumbling. o/~"
"Well, ah know it's confusin'. Yer jus' gonna have t'trust me. Ah saw it all happen. And it seems lawk ah'm outta mah league but ah'm an adventurer and ah'll fix this'r daw trawin'. But... ah need y'all t'trust me Celes... Fluttershaw. Yer name is Fluttershaw. And ah need yer help." Apple Bloom is trying to form a decent plan in her head. "Ah'll ask agin. Do. Y'all. Trust. Me?"
At this, the Princess lowers her head, coming eye-to-eye with Apple Bloom. If she were only Fluttershy, this wouldn't be much of a difference, but there's no mistake that she' been getting taller, grander, more *regal* ever since the possession started - Celestia is taking hold. "Of course I do, dear. What sort of Princess would I be not to have faith in my subjects?" She pauses for a moment, looking at her reflection in a polished shoe. "Fluttershy...no, I'm afraid it doesn't ring a bell. But...you aren't the first to tell me this."
"Well, unlawk all those other ponies... ah haive no plan, no sense of decency, and an airship. Ah think that's a good combo to fix everythin'. How adventurers work, but ah need y'all t'stay with me. So y'all kin be... correct." Apple Blossom says, then turns to enter her airship. She's gone for several minutes, with her saddlebags on. "Ah need t'show y'all somethin',"
Fluttershy tilts her head. o/~ I understand, filly / that you pine for your friend / but you say that we're one and the same / If I'm the Sun Princess / then the past we could mend... / Do you think she would put out our flame? o/~
Apple Bloom retorts, "Y'know what, princess? YER BOTH WRONG. Th'past already happened. Y'all did have a war against yer sister. Y'all *really* banished her. And ah ain't about t'allow y'all t'ruin th'lawvs of not jus' two innocent ponies but two ponies important t'Equestria." Apple Bloom huffs, then out climbs Bandit, who perches on her head. '... This here's Bandit. He was a gift bah someone really special. And if yer thinkin' what ah think yer thinkin' ... Yer gonna take that someone special away. Someone who loves animals, shows kawndness t'others, and fergives any pony their sins. Celestia... y'all know what yer doin' is wrong. And if y'all repeat th'past, ah lose a sister, too."
There's a long silence. Celestia locks eyes with Bandit. She mouths something at him, and...her eyes get dewy. Then she shakes her head. "I would...I would never take your sister from you, filly." She reaches out a wing, cupping it around Apple Bloom and the ferret, and lowers her head close. Celestia is warm, like the first rays of dawn evaporating the fog around ponies' minds. "I've already suffered that loss myself. We...I know what happened before, dear one. When I saw my castle, I learned that a thousand years had gone by, and I know now that I acted in haste."
Apple Bloom gives Flutterlestia a hug and says, "Thank y'all. Now ah jus' need t'convince mah sister she's not Nawtmare Moon. Ah'm thinkin', and ah cain't believe how crazy this sounds... we need t'let her win." Apple Bloom knows that's make Flutterlestia uneasy, so she raises a hoof. "Only fer as long as it takes t'git'er calm so ah kin talk t'her. Ya think y'all kin law low fer a wahl?"
Celestia's ears fall a bit. "No. I'm sorry, but...I must do what I have to." She stands tall again, looking out over the clouds. o/~ I've spent a long long thousand years just sitting idly by / Now's my chance to see my Luna return to her night sky / Some wounds cut much too deep to heal by time alone / I can show her she need not fear her sister's heart of stone... o/~ But then she looks back over her flank, smiling at Apple Bloom. o/~ But I couldn't do it alone. o/~
Apple Bloom looks very grave. She is silent for a while. She really hoped Flutterlestia would cooperate. She really did. "Ah'm really sorry. But... if y'all insist on doin' this... bad thing. Ah'll fawt y'all both. If ah haive t'daw trawin' ah WILL git Fluttershaw and mah sister back. Never thought ah'd haive t'take a third sawd against mah own friends and princesses. Ah will fawt t'the ends'a Equestria, because y'all and Nawtmare Moon are our biggest threat now. Even t'the real Celestia and Luna."
Celestia looks astonished and stricken. "Fight? Little Smith, no. Of course I wouldn't fight you. ...or Luna. Not again."
"Then stand down! This ain't yer fawt anymore. This here's..." Apple Bloom hesitates. "Mah fawt. We need t'git NAwtmare Moon t'see reason. *No* banishin'. Nothin' but calmin'er down enough t'help us git y'all both back t'who y'all are s'possed to be. Ah;m just skeered y'all flawin' off mawt git th'fawt goin' agin and we don't want that. At least... stay here on th'Crusader. She's small, but she's probably th'fastest, toughest lil airship flawin' these here skaws. Courtesy th'real Luna."
Back comes the wing, comforting Bloomie. o/~ I don't know now what might be true or might be fake o/~ - she looks into her reflection again - o/~ I see another's eyes where it should be my own face / But even if it's true, it's not just your heart on the line / because the Nightmare was not born from your hubris, but from mine / This wound can only close if I get things right this time / And I swear I won't let my sister fall without a fight / I'll lift her curse, come ruin or end of time o/~
"Well... maybe ah kin help. Ah got another thing t'show y'all. If y'all wanna see it." Apple Bloom pats bandit with a hoof and the ferret dashes back into the vessel. "He'll be jus' a minute. But ah figure t'git NAwtmare Applejack t'listen, she'd need a bit of somethin' t'remawnd her lawk how seeing Bandit helped y'all jus' now. Come t'think. Ah know what twalawt told me about 1000 years ago, but it seemed so... uh... academic. Bein' an adventurer ah lawk history a bit. But one thing worries me and that's wah ah'm not lettin' y'all do this alone..." Apple Bloom looks Flutterlestia right in the eyes. "Didn't y'all traw t'reason with her last tawm?"
Celestia sighs, putting her hoof up on the ship's rail. "I know. But it was too little, too late, and I'd turned a blind eye to her pain for far too long. But you understand more than anypony else that...I must try. I thought I had duty only to my subjects, but...I forgot my duty to her."
"Well... in a way she was also yer subject. Ah mean, puttin' asawd yer royalty fer a moment, yer majesty. She's yer little sister and she's hurtin'. Ah dunno how ah'd feel if Applejack were t'overshadow me. Big MAc does but that's because he's so tall. But mah point is ah think Luna don't care about th'nawt. Not really. Ah mean, she *says* it's th'nawt, but it'd be lawk how ah say it's about somethin' ah mawt want but what it's really about is how ah feel. Not that ah've ever been so mad at Applejack lawk that." Apple Bloom pauses a moment, realizing she's rambling. "Er... ah guess that even all-powerful princesses haive their faults, yer majesty. And maybe y'all both were too proud."
Celly smiles again, and this time, it's real. "Then we agree."
"Yeah, we agree. Ah'll help y'all if y'all help me, too. Give y'all a chance t'git it rawt this tawm... and ah kin save Fluttershaw and mah sister. Also ah admit ah REALLY wanna kick th'plot of th'one who did it t'them." Apple Bloom is not above revenge it seems.
And Celly ruffles Apple Bloom's glossy little mane. "Thank you, little one." She draws in another deep breath as the starlight itself provides her music: o/~ Though I never met the pony whose skin I live within / I think she'd see / And say to me / That we can bring this long divide...to mend. o/~ And Celestia's song finally fades out. "What's your name, dear?"
"Mah name's Apple Bloom." Apple bloom says, and then Bandit comes to the sky deck, carrying a small box over to Apple Bloom. "And mah big sister's Applejack, though rawt now she thinks she's Nawtmare Moon."
"I'm afraid it's more than just an illusion, Apple Bloom," Celestia cautions, "but I have no doubt that...no matter what's happened, if what you've said is true, then your sister is still there. And so is mine. No matter what she's...become, I know Luna would never harm an innocent pony. And..." She looks down, placing a hoof on her golden yoke. "...if that's true, then...I know your friend must still be with us, too." "...the only thing to do is make Luna see she has to let go."
Apple Bloom takes the box. "Well... here's what ah'm thinkin'. Well... after th'opera ah wanted t'give mah sister somethin', but, well..." Apple Bloom ahems. "It cost me a lot, but ah saved up, 'cause ah wanted t'let'er know ah thought she was great." Apple Bloom opens the box, in it is a pendant, gold with what looks like a crystal cut into the shape of Applejack's cutie mark on it. "Ah flew th'Crusader t'the Crystal Empawr t'git it."
"The Crystal Empire?" Celestia jerks her head back up to full height, nearly rearing back. "The Empire lives still?!"
"Oh, rawt. Keep fergettin' yer Celestia from way back when. Uh, yes, it came back and ah'm pleased t'tell y'all it's been saved fer good." Apple Bloom says. She is still holding the box open. "Curse liften, and th'bad gaw lost th'battle. It's nawce when th'forces'a good prevail, though, if y'all will fergive me fer waxin' philosophical, don't we need evil'n'chaos t'understand good'n'harmony?"
Celestia chuckles. "Philosophy in the abstract is a little hard to compare to actually seeing King Sombra or Discord in action, our little pony. Thought I am glad that I don't have to worry about Sombra as well as Luna..."
"Oh mah... Discord. Ah beg yer forgiveness fer this one..." Apple Bloom clears her throat. "Me an' mah friends... kawnda... technically, sort of... released'im couple years back." Before Flutterlestia can panic again she flails and says, "But Twahlawt outsmarted him... then about a year ago th'real Celestia had'im released agin and he sorta got reformed bah... well, Fluttershaw. Good friends, those two, though, Discord bein' Discord, still has th'occasional scheme, but ah noticed they're more a cause fer trouble aimed at makin' a pony realawz somethin' important. Though ah'm still scared of him... or rather... what he did t'me once..."
Celestia frowns, brow furrowing deep. "If Discord were to learn that the Elements of Harmony had but one bearer left...Twilight. Who is this Twilight, Apple Bloom?"
"Ah wouldn't worry about Discord. He wouldn't do nothin' t'make Fluttershaw unhappy." Apple Bloom explains. "Twahlawt's yer student. Also th'newest princess, though ah think she's still learnin' just what that means, exactly. When she was a filly she got yer attention bah showin' herself t'be a mawt bit powerful. Y'all personally put her in th'School'a'Magic and she got'er cutie mark. Later she became a princess, though ah'm a lil fuzzy on th'details. Some old magic a pony named Starswirl was workin' on. She's also really OCD. Ah'm serious. Ah think only Thunderfawr's dad is worse."
"Starswirl!" Celly's eyes twinkle. "Of course! Nopony else could think for the future like Starswirl the Bearded...except for the week he was Starswirl the Clean-Cut. That wasn't his most flattering look," whispers the princess to the filly. "A new princess--surely you don't mean she's...?"
"An Alicorn? Eeyup, though she was born a unicorn. Agin, ah'm not sure how that works because th'chances'a somethin' lawk that happenin' t'an Earth Pony lawk me are slim. We ain't exactly magic. But it sure makes adventurin' more excawtin' when ah gotta relaw on mah wits an' body, makes it more excawtin'. Magic makes things easy, don't it?" Apple Bloom reasons. It's not a bad take on things, actually. An Earth Pony is in touch with their bodies probably more than any other race, and a lot tougher to boot, usually.
"You are more magic than you realize. You just have to know how to look." Celestia says this as if it were as plain as the moon in the sky.
"Not sure how that works." Apple Bloom says, closing the box and hoofing it back to Bandit. "Not that ah'm sayin' we ain't special. Earth Ponies'r th'reason Unicorns and Pegasaw didn't starve a long, long tawm ago, since pegasaw were up in th'clouds and... unicorns thought manual labor was beneath'em."
Celestia crosses the deck, for lack of anything else to do. It gives the impression of somepony used to giving lectures. "Hm. Well, I'm sure you'll be able to see someday. After all, surely not everypony has a ship that sails the skies. At any rate, if there are new alicorns arising from such kind ponies, then...maybe the future's in good hooves after all."
"Y'all kin definitely say that." Apple Bloom says. "Ah mean, sometawms somethin' worryin' comes up... lawk when Nawtmare Moon came back, or Discord... or... th'Bloom Doll." Apple Bloom doesn't want to relive being displaced by that thing again. Whatever Discord MEANT that other world to be like, the Bloom Doll did... something to it.
"But," answers Celly, "it's heartening to know that the bonds of Harmony have carried our ponies through."
"That and maybe a bit'a luck." Apple Bloom says, looking out to the sky. "Equestria's definitely a place worth protectin' though. Ah kin see wah y'all and Luna fought Dicord so much fer it."
Clouds seem to have gathered somewhat in the west. Certainly the sky seems a bit darker there. And from that direction comes an impossibly loud, impossibly angry voice! "CELESTIAAAAA!! o/` Where are you? / Where where, where where? / Where are you? / Where where, where where? o/`"
Apple Bloom makes Celestia smile, but before the Sun Princess can answer, the clouds begin to churn. Celly lifts her head and whips it around, raising her hoof to guard herself. "Luna."
"Uh... yer hawness... maybe y'all should go midship fer a sec. Ah mawt be able t'quell'er with mah gift if she doesn't haive a reason t'blow this here airship int'the next several counties?" Apple Bloom then motions frantically to Bandit to give her back the box. Bandit looks confused for a moment.
The Dread of Night, trailing angry sparks, flits about the horizon for a few seconds, then aims herself directly for the Crusader! "o/` We woke up in a damaged country / With a legend full of shame! / We sought some kind of understanding light / But Our position has not changed! o/`
Celestia pauses for just a moment, but answers, "Be careful, Apple Bloom. We trust your judgment, but remember that my - our sister is far from her right mind." Then she vanishes into the cabin like a fleeting sunbeam.
There is another here, neither Sun or Moon, who comes forth before a host of tempered wind, sharpened by clouds of energy. Red and gold are his colours, streaming forth from banners aloft in the sky, embossed upon sheets of mithril gleaming in the eerie light of the stars. The air seems to thin, to refine and rarify. Here a great potential is building to fruition as he glides forth on wings of faded silver.
Finally the ferret scurries over and gives the box back to Apple Bloom... and that's when she notices that Nightmarejack is making a charge right for the Crusader. Now... the Crusader is no doubt fast enough to get out of the way... *If* the filly were to have actually been midship at the helm instead of on the sky deck. "Oh, this ain't good." Apple Bloom takes the box and rushes to the railing on the side Nightmarejack is charging. She sets the box down and flails to the charging princess. "WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIT!"
The darkness - and the music - soon overtake the Crusader. "o/` We hearkend back to the olden days / And recalled the way things were / We remember being punished for love / And the guilty one was her! / Well, WHERE ARE YOU? / We really wanna know! / Twll us, where are you? / Take it like a mare and show! o/`" At which point Nightmare Moon touches down on the deck of the airship, only inches from where Celestia had been standing only moments before. She looks around coldly, and soon fixes her gaze on Apple Bloom. "CHILD! ... approach us."
Celestia has just finished hiding herself from Luna's sight when she feels the air begin to shudder and looks back. Apple Bloom flailing, the air darkening - "No!" She reaches out with her magic-- ...but the ship doesn't break? Celestia waits, still.
"No," a voice demands from above, magnified by steel and sigil. He has come at last, borne upon force condensed, effervescent, tight as a coiled spring. There are others like him, emerging from the depths of charge clouds, their armor glistening as like their commander's. "Not this day, and not for a thousand years, False Monarch. You will fall from the heavens as Mephistopheles of old!"
Oh, great. Things just keep getting better and better. At least Nightmare Moon didn't knock her beloved Crusader out of the sky, but now these idiots she doesn't even know show up. Well, she's gone too far to let them keep her from saving her sister and Fluttershy. The Crusader could definitely evade these foals... except for the fact the only pony even remotely qualified to fly it is *still* on the sky deck. She shouts over the edge. "BUZZ OFF AH'M HANDLIN' IT ALREADY!" She gulps and walks over to Nightmarejack, carrying the box. "Ah jus' wanna talk, okay? Will y'all listen? Ah haive somethin' y'all need t'hear."
Nightmare Moon squints at Apple Bloom. "We need to hear one thing and one thing alone: Where is our dear sister, your beloved ruler? We have unfinished business." She looks over at the approaching warriors and regards them for a few moments, then fires a blast of magic that coats one of them with ice, causing him to plummet out of the sky! "LEAVE US! LEAVE US, OR THY FAMILIES WILL NEVER KNOW THY FATE!"
Just leave it to Apple Bloom--that's what the filly said. Celestia's already felt the bite she gets from refusing to trust other ponies. But peeking out the window, she can see and hear that something strange is going out there. Celly's a stranger in a strange land, but she can tell these sky soldiers aren't friends of her sister OR her sister's body's sister. "Hurricane?" she mouths to herself. "Surely not him, too..." The falling warrior is cupped by a gentle grip from magic unseen, lowering him like a feather instead of a hailstone. That's it--Celestia can't just sit back and watch her one and only sister murder somepony.
The armored warrior does the sensible thing and ignores Apple Bloom's assertions, focusing instead on the False Princess as his fellow warriors dodge (but just barely) the first attack. "So be it!" he declares, reaching behind his back and producing a glimmering blade that seems to contain starlight. Or is that...no, not starlight. Something else. The others have such weapons, too, the host of them shining like a great celestial mirror, the hilts brazen and etched with the symbols of the Diarchy. "Cavaliers, engage!" he commands, and they ride forth, diving down towards their great enemy.
Apple Bloom needs to act, and fast. The adventurer drops her saddlbags and starts rummaging. Sometimes she wishes the Crusader had weapons, even non-lethal ones. Books (She's a well-read filly.), pringles (Once you pop, you can't stop! Except Bandit stole most of them. So apple Bloom kind of did anyway.), jacks (She gets bored a lot.), three and a half socks (Don't ask.), a jar of pickle juice (She got peckish during her search for Flutterlestia.) and then she finds them. Two apple pies! She *knew* she would need these! She grabs them both, runs to other side of the sky deck and HEAVES the two pies at the lead cavalier as hard as she can. "THIS HERE IS A ROYAL VESSEL, UNDERSTAND! AH'M ON A MISSION'A PEACE AND BAH CELESTIA AH'LL KEEP IT PEACEFUL." That taken care of, the filly turns to Luna. "Ah know where she is, but if y'all want me t'tell y'all ah'm afraid yer gonna have t'talk t'me first b'fore anyone else innocent gets hurt."
But Apple Bloom is not even noticed. Nightmare Moon's eyes widen at the determination of the incoming warriors, then she begins to laugh, quickly building to a hystirical cackle as music... how, why?... begins to come from everywhere and nowhere at once. She leaps to meet the warriors and starts weaving and diving in and out of their attacks, always not big there at the last second, letting them occasionally strike each other in the melee! "o/` We must admit your combat tricks are amusing! / We bet you spent an eon learning that! / So here's your chance, you want a piece of me / Hope you're flying hot! / Come on, fools, let's see what you've got! o/`" She turns aside the occasional blow with her enchanted-armor-clad hooves and even at one point pops up to lightly slap the leader's cheeks as she flits among them! "o/` You try to cut me with your sharpest stuff / But your might and magic isn't up to snuff / There just is no debate / Now that you've sealed your fate / You're only second rate! o/` <more>
The black alicorn even hops across the warriors' helmets at one point, delicately as dandelion fluff! o/` You think you're elite, but your skils are lame / You can't take a PRINCESS, you can't play this game / So with you ponies I'll recriminate: / You're only second rate! o/`
"HOLD!" The deck bursts into brilliant sunlight as Celestia, Princess of the Sun makes her presence known once again. "All of you ponies, enough!"
The commander easily dodges Apple Bloom's pies, but dealing with Nightmare Moon proves a tougher affair. A large portion of his companions are thrown off by Nightmare Moon's playful blows, their flight patterns going erratic as they are beaten out of formation. The surviving knights, though, have more than just swordplay at hoof. As a single unit, they line up their blades, swirling forth energy from the rarefied clouds, and at last the true nature of the light becomes apparent: lightning surges forth from their weapons as they strike at the False Monarch with the power of the weather itself. Amidst this confrontation, however, the deck of the Crusader shines with blinding force, throwing off their attack at the last moment.
Apple Bloom winces at the sudden light. It's just as well, the filly was starting to get really angry and probably would have actually gone midship to plow the crusader into those knights herself if not for Celestia's intervention. At least they stopped attacking Nightmarejack. Quickly, she whispers to Flutterlestia. "Please, keep'em distracted. Ah need Nawtmare Moon's attention." She scrambles for the box and grabs it as if it was precious treasure. She needs Nightmarejack to come for her, she thinks. But how?
The Dread of Night winces and blinks, her song stopped and temporarily blinded by the flash of sunlight! Her slitted eyes (which are still a rich sap green instead of sickly teal) adjust quickly, and she realizes what... or WHO... has happened! "Sister..." she looks at the squadron and puts all the physical strength AND magical force of a full-blooded demigod princess into a massive surge of wing from her wingbeats, trying to blow them entirely out of the picture! "Go away." Then she wheels on the ship and dives straight for her most beloved and most hated sister! "CELESTIAAAA!!"
But Celestia doesn't move. She doesn't even shield herself; she puts her magic into protecting Apple Bloom. "Luna, cease! Please, listen to the filly."
The False Nightmare's great storm is enough to scatter almost the entire unit, the knights and apprentices tumbling right out of the sky, save one: the Commander himself. He is still for a while as he observes, listens, decides, his sword crackling with thunder. Then, slowly, he sheathes his weapon, letting the embers of lightning peter out, and slowly and carefully he descends to the Crusader's deck to watch as history is played out all over again.
Not this time. Not while Apple Bloom breathes a single breath will she allow history repeat itself, because it means Applejack will be gone and she might also have no hope of getting Fluttershy back either. Her mind is racing, going over the history in a non-academic way. Forget what scholars say the battles were about, what is Nightmare Moon supposed to be FEELING? Gripping the box now tighlt in her mouth, the filly runs back over, leaps up on the sky deck's railing, then leaps *out* from the Crusader boldly to grab hold of Nightmarejack. But it's not for a violent purpose. Provided the filly can get ahold of Nightmare moon, she shifts to the right place and... gives the dark princess a tight hug and closes her eyes, tears coming out. "Stop... jus'... Jus' come home. Ah love y'all, big sister." After all, what is Nightmare Moon but a frustrated foal seeking approval and love? "Ah haive something fer y'all."
Eyes burning with green flame, Nightmare Moon arrows straight towards Celestia, fully intending to 'solve' her once and for all. Just before impact, Apple Bloom leaps on her - one small filly without even the magic of her unicorn classmates won't make a difference. Except she does. Nightmare falters in her dive, and her eyes ar normal - are Applejack's - for just a fraction of a second. It's enough. The black Princess loses her momentum and crashes to the deck, sliding hard on her chest and knees! She fetches up against a bulkhead in a crumpled heap not far from Celestia's hooves... but the strangest thing was how she inexplicably instinctively protected Apple Bloom with her wings when she struck the deck.
"Luna!" Celestia practically leaps to close the few steps between herself and her sister. "Luna! Can you hear me?" She didn't miss that protective gesture, either.
The Commander is still, silent, anxious as he watches this all unfold before his eyes. He reaches up and undoes the straps holding his helmet in place, letting it slide off his head and onto his hooves. All he can do is witness, his mane starting to flow about in the breeze.
After a moment, Apple Bloom notices she is back on the Crusader and... Nightmarejack protected her. She did it. She made that same sort of connection she did with Flutterlestia! Apple Bloom lays back on the deck a minute or two and sighs. Yes, nothing like an adventurer's instinct to do something reckless and unplanned to save the day, though it's not over yet. She gets back up and yet again recovers the box. "Ah was hopin' t'give y'all this after th'show, but..." Apple Bloom opens the box and withdraws the treasure she had inside and holds it before Nightmarejack. "Ah flew t'the Crystal Empawr special t'have it made." It's a pendant, a gold necklace with a crystal cut into the shape of Applejack's cutie mark. Three colors, One red, one orange, one yellow. "Ah wanted it t'be a surprawse." That's for the Applejack side. Now... for the Nightmare Moon side. "L-Luna... Please, talk t'yer sister. It's tawm t'stop fawtin' and work this out b'fore innocents git hurt. Y'all don't want t'hurt no one innocent, do ya?"
Nightmare Moon staggers to her hooves. Her head is spinning, much more so than an impact like that should have caused. What's going on? She spreads her hooves, trying to cover the weakness with aggression. "We hear thee, DEAR SISTER. Prepare to- what?" Suddenly there is a filly in front of her with an attack! No. No, a... present? "No! Move aside, child! Ah reckon ya might get hurt- OW!" She falls to her knees, breathing hard, and in passing knocks Apple Bloom's pendant to the ground, where it touches her hoof... which, just for a split second, if you wer elooking from the right angle, was orange. Panting, the Dread of Night's eyes widen. "No... NO. NO! Celestia! What foulness hast thou visited upon us? A poison? An enchantment?" She stands again, flapping her wings to assist. "Somethin' ain't right. Argh. We are... Ah reckon... WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO ME!?" Without warning, Nightmare Moon suddenly flashes into the air in panic, not looking where she is going at all and smashing huge pieces out of the Crusader's bulkheads and rigging in her desperate flight! Finally she samshes free and begins winging away as fast as she can go, leaving behind serious wreckage and even some small fires! Her voice fades into the distance: "CELESTIA! This is not over! There shall yet be only one Princess in Equestria! Aha! Ha! AHAhaha!"
"Luna! Wait! You don't know--" Celestia rushes to the railing, but Luna is gone. "...she doesn't know." Celestia stands silently, mane flowing as serene as ever.
Some of the pegasi knights from earlier have managed to remain aloft and, after some struggle, returned to the Crusader's height just as Nightmare Moon disappears into the distance. They form up, right about to chase her, but the Commander stops them, holding out his hoof. The day was not for them. Instead, they start helping to put out the fires that have started on Apple Bloom's little airship.
Apple Bloom looks very hopeful as Nightmarejack even seems to reverse at points. Then the faux princess become convinced of foul play. This turns out to be the *least* of Apple Bloom's problems, though. The damage is reparable... unfoooortunately the Crusader's damage jostles it enough to knock it askew momentarily and, to the filly's horror, causes the pendant to sail overboard, she dashes to grab it, to no avail as she watches it fall. She looks in shock until, again, this proves to be even the LEAST of her problems yet again when some collatoral shakes the Crusader and it beging to lose altitude. "No!" The filly dashes for the hatch and climbs down midship. "Ah ain't losin' mah ship!" She grabs the mast, and finds herself pleased her little innovation in the engine design seems to be working and the Crusader starts circle-spiraling downward. The landing will be rough, but the vessel is reparable. She is fighting it, though, trying to level the descent and keep it airborne. "AH AIN'T LETTIN' GO!"
The Commander watches as Apple Bloom dashes inside and makes to run after her, but retty soon his subordinates arrive and salute him. "Sir, the unit's still operational; we only have 14% attrition. Shall we-" -- "No," says Pauldron Sheen, his sandy blonde mane matted with sweat and soot. "It is not our time. We need to ensure this vessel remains skyworthy. And try to help the filly; she has a royal warrant." -- "Yes sir!" they answer, saluting again and dispersing to do their duty. Alone, Pauldron sighs in resignation, supposing that, really, the results of this day weren't too unexpected. He floats over to the edge of the ship and peers downward. Maybe he can find something important for Miss Apple Bloom before long...
Celestia has gone back to being motionless, staring out over the clouds with her impassive face and sad eyes. When the ship begins to spin, she flicks her horn in a small, graceful sweep and a cushion of light covers the bottom of the Crusader. She does not turn away.
Apple Bloom, due to the help offered by Celestia, manages to get some control of the airship. Though there's no stopping this ship from crashing for now, Apple Bloom realizes she's ssafe. After several more minutes the Crusader almost floats down to teh ground and shudders as it lands rouchly on its landing apparati. After a few moments... the filly lets out a relieved sigh. "Thank Celestia." After a few moments, the filly runs for the hatch when she sees the damage to the bulkhead and winces. Well... won't keep it from flying, but she'll have to do full repairs to that when she gets this back to the hangar. She throws open the hatch and jumps out, maybe feeling a little dizzy. She doesn't know what would have happened if Flutterlestia didn't help. She wouldn't have likely been seriously hurt, but she can imagine being laid flat on the floor of her ship... and a lot more repairs. She looks up at those still airborne.
Celestia lets out a sigh, which itself seems to make the air in front of her glow and sparkle. "Forgive me, Luna. Forgive me, little filly." She turns and crosses the tilted deck back toward her ponies - the hurt and wounded must come first.
"Well... when ah see him agin ah'm definitely gonna have some choice words." Apple Bloom soon turns to attending to the Crusader and any others injured. Fortunately Bandit is fit as a fiddle. "Well... ah think ah kin git'er t'flaw agin, but ah'll need t'kit some parts but back t'gether. Damage t'the mast ain't so bad, ah could probably git it fixed with mah tools here..." Mostly looks like some hardward came free. Replace a few bolts here and there. The filly then hops back down to the ground and runs around to open the engine compartment. She looks grateful. Not a scratch. Even the magic core looks intact. "Well, ah'm glad mah desawn worked. Though it probably helps y'all coushioned th'fall." Finally Apple Bloom flops on the ground. "... Ah was so close. Ah almost had'er back."
Hopefully the Crusader has good airbrakes. There's a light building up under the clouds ahead, and then they sort of boil up and tear apart as Celestia herself - wearing the body of Fluttershy, but still clearly Celestia - bursts through, shedding a light that makes the clouds around her glow as if it were dawn. She whips around this way and that, hovering, then fixes eyes on the Crusader just in front of her. "Hold!" she bellows, throwing out her hooves.
Apple Bloom shouts a very bad word of surprise and turns the Crusader and uses said air breaks. They aren't capable of stoppong on a dime, however... so it soon drifts slowly and just very very lightly bumps against the hoofs, then drifts back a little before steadying. Apple Bloom sighs. Well... that's Celestiashy. She stands and climbs up on the sky deck of the Crusader. He, it's a fastvehicle. Gotta expect that the air brakes would take time to brake. "Crawin' out loud, if ah haive t'give th'Crusader another paint job ah'm chargin' Fluttershaw..."
There's a soft bump as the ship goes through some turbulen...no, as it bumps against Celestia's hooves. She barely nudges. Celestia flaps and raises herself up to peek over the flight deck, squinting until she sets eyes on... "Young filly. Have we met before?"
"Uh... yeah. But y'all ain't in yer rawt mawnd, so ah'm probably expectin' t'be th'rational one... which is kawnda new fer me. Are y'all USUALLY this big? MAkes it hard t'talk." Apple Bloom says. Okay, so she has Flutterlestia's attention. What's step two?
Celestia climbs, hovering over the deck, looking down...and then sets her hooves down delicately, as if she weren't quite sure it wouldn't suddenly vanish under them. "Forgive me. I had never seen one of these flying houses in my day, so I didn't realize one would be passing by. Have you any need for assistance?"
Okay, seriously, what is step two? Apple Bloom clears her throat. "Uh..." Come on, come on. "Ah'm a filly from Ponyville... and yer... not what y'all seem t'be." Okay, handle this delicately.
Celestia's smile is soft and understanding, but wan. "So we - I've been told. Filly, this world is not what I know. / The skies are so full, and my castle is old / and crumbling / And I stand all alone, one thousand steps out of line / While my sister runs wild, rage rumbling. o/~"
"Well, ah know it's confusin'. Yer jus' gonna have t'trust me. Ah saw it all happen. And it seems lawk ah'm outta mah league but ah'm an adventurer and ah'll fix this'r daw trawin'. But... ah need y'all t'trust me Celes... Fluttershaw. Yer name is Fluttershaw. And ah need yer help." Apple Bloom is trying to form a decent plan in her head. "Ah'll ask agin. Do. Y'all. Trust. Me?"
At this, the Princess lowers her head, coming eye-to-eye with Apple Bloom. If she were only Fluttershy, this wouldn't be much of a difference, but there's no mistake that she' been getting taller, grander, more *regal* ever since the possession started - Celestia is taking hold. "Of course I do, dear. What sort of Princess would I be not to have faith in my subjects?" She pauses for a moment, looking at her reflection in a polished shoe. "Fluttershy...no, I'm afraid it doesn't ring a bell. But...you aren't the first to tell me this."
"Well, unlawk all those other ponies... ah haive no plan, no sense of decency, and an airship. Ah think that's a good combo to fix everythin'. How adventurers work, but ah need y'all t'stay with me. So y'all kin be... correct." Apple Blossom says, then turns to enter her airship. She's gone for several minutes, with her saddlebags on. "Ah need t'show y'all somethin',"
Fluttershy tilts her head. o/~ I understand, filly / that you pine for your friend / but you say that we're one and the same / If I'm the Sun Princess / then the past we could mend... / Do you think she would put out our flame? o/~
Apple Bloom retorts, "Y'know what, princess? YER BOTH WRONG. Th'past already happened. Y'all did have a war against yer sister. Y'all *really* banished her. And ah ain't about t'allow y'all t'ruin th'lawvs of not jus' two innocent ponies but two ponies important t'Equestria." Apple Bloom huffs, then out climbs Bandit, who perches on her head. '... This here's Bandit. He was a gift bah someone really special. And if yer thinkin' what ah think yer thinkin' ... Yer gonna take that someone special away. Someone who loves animals, shows kawndness t'others, and fergives any pony their sins. Celestia... y'all know what yer doin' is wrong. And if y'all repeat th'past, ah lose a sister, too."
There's a long silence. Celestia locks eyes with Bandit. She mouths something at him, and...her eyes get dewy. Then she shakes her head. "I would...I would never take your sister from you, filly." She reaches out a wing, cupping it around Apple Bloom and the ferret, and lowers her head close. Celestia is warm, like the first rays of dawn evaporating the fog around ponies' minds. "I've already suffered that loss myself. We...I know what happened before, dear one. When I saw my castle, I learned that a thousand years had gone by, and I know now that I acted in haste."
Apple Bloom gives Flutterlestia a hug and says, "Thank y'all. Now ah jus' need t'convince mah sister she's not Nawtmare Moon. Ah'm thinkin', and ah cain't believe how crazy this sounds... we need t'let her win." Apple Bloom knows that's make Flutterlestia uneasy, so she raises a hoof. "Only fer as long as it takes t'git'er calm so ah kin talk t'her. Ya think y'all kin law low fer a wahl?"
Celestia's ears fall a bit. "No. I'm sorry, but...I must do what I have to." She stands tall again, looking out over the clouds. o/~ I've spent a long long thousand years just sitting idly by / Now's my chance to see my Luna return to her night sky / Some wounds cut much too deep to heal by time alone / I can show her she need not fear her sister's heart of stone... o/~ But then she looks back over her flank, smiling at Apple Bloom. o/~ But I couldn't do it alone. o/~
Apple Bloom looks very grave. She is silent for a while. She really hoped Flutterlestia would cooperate. She really did. "Ah'm really sorry. But... if y'all insist on doin' this... bad thing. Ah'll fawt y'all both. If ah haive t'daw trawin' ah WILL git Fluttershaw and mah sister back. Never thought ah'd haive t'take a third sawd against mah own friends and princesses. Ah will fawt t'the ends'a Equestria, because y'all and Nawtmare Moon are our biggest threat now. Even t'the real Celestia and Luna."
Celestia looks astonished and stricken. "Fight? Little Smith, no. Of course I wouldn't fight you. ...or Luna. Not again."
"Then stand down! This ain't yer fawt anymore. This here's..." Apple Bloom hesitates. "Mah fawt. We need t'git NAwtmare Moon t'see reason. *No* banishin'. Nothin' but calmin'er down enough t'help us git y'all both back t'who y'all are s'possed to be. Ah;m just skeered y'all flawin' off mawt git th'fawt goin' agin and we don't want that. At least... stay here on th'Crusader. She's small, but she's probably th'fastest, toughest lil airship flawin' these here skaws. Courtesy th'real Luna."
Back comes the wing, comforting Bloomie. o/~ I don't know now what might be true or might be fake o/~ - she looks into her reflection again - o/~ I see another's eyes where it should be my own face / But even if it's true, it's not just your heart on the line / because the Nightmare was not born from your hubris, but from mine / This wound can only close if I get things right this time / And I swear I won't let my sister fall without a fight / I'll lift her curse, come ruin or end of time o/~
"Well... maybe ah kin help. Ah got another thing t'show y'all. If y'all wanna see it." Apple Bloom pats bandit with a hoof and the ferret dashes back into the vessel. "He'll be jus' a minute. But ah figure t'git NAwtmare Applejack t'listen, she'd need a bit of somethin' t'remawnd her lawk how seeing Bandit helped y'all jus' now. Come t'think. Ah know what twalawt told me about 1000 years ago, but it seemed so... uh... academic. Bein' an adventurer ah lawk history a bit. But one thing worries me and that's wah ah'm not lettin' y'all do this alone..." Apple Bloom looks Flutterlestia right in the eyes. "Didn't y'all traw t'reason with her last tawm?"
Celestia sighs, putting her hoof up on the ship's rail. "I know. But it was too little, too late, and I'd turned a blind eye to her pain for far too long. But you understand more than anypony else that...I must try. I thought I had duty only to my subjects, but...I forgot my duty to her."
"Well... in a way she was also yer subject. Ah mean, puttin' asawd yer royalty fer a moment, yer majesty. She's yer little sister and she's hurtin'. Ah dunno how ah'd feel if Applejack were t'overshadow me. Big MAc does but that's because he's so tall. But mah point is ah think Luna don't care about th'nawt. Not really. Ah mean, she *says* it's th'nawt, but it'd be lawk how ah say it's about somethin' ah mawt want but what it's really about is how ah feel. Not that ah've ever been so mad at Applejack lawk that." Apple Bloom pauses a moment, realizing she's rambling. "Er... ah guess that even all-powerful princesses haive their faults, yer majesty. And maybe y'all both were too proud."
Celly smiles again, and this time, it's real. "Then we agree."
"Yeah, we agree. Ah'll help y'all if y'all help me, too. Give y'all a chance t'git it rawt this tawm... and ah kin save Fluttershaw and mah sister. Also ah admit ah REALLY wanna kick th'plot of th'one who did it t'them." Apple Bloom is not above revenge it seems.
And Celly ruffles Apple Bloom's glossy little mane. "Thank you, little one." She draws in another deep breath as the starlight itself provides her music: o/~ Though I never met the pony whose skin I live within / I think she'd see / And say to me / That we can bring this long divide...to mend. o/~ And Celestia's song finally fades out. "What's your name, dear?"
"Mah name's Apple Bloom." Apple bloom says, and then Bandit comes to the sky deck, carrying a small box over to Apple Bloom. "And mah big sister's Applejack, though rawt now she thinks she's Nawtmare Moon."
"I'm afraid it's more than just an illusion, Apple Bloom," Celestia cautions, "but I have no doubt that...no matter what's happened, if what you've said is true, then your sister is still there. And so is mine. No matter what she's...become, I know Luna would never harm an innocent pony. And..." She looks down, placing a hoof on her golden yoke. "...if that's true, then...I know your friend must still be with us, too." "...the only thing to do is make Luna see she has to let go."
Apple Bloom takes the box. "Well... here's what ah'm thinkin'. Well... after th'opera ah wanted t'give mah sister somethin', but, well..." Apple Bloom ahems. "It cost me a lot, but ah saved up, 'cause ah wanted t'let'er know ah thought she was great." Apple Bloom opens the box, in it is a pendant, gold with what looks like a crystal cut into the shape of Applejack's cutie mark on it. "Ah flew th'Crusader t'the Crystal Empawr t'git it."
"The Crystal Empire?" Celestia jerks her head back up to full height, nearly rearing back. "The Empire lives still?!"
"Oh, rawt. Keep fergettin' yer Celestia from way back when. Uh, yes, it came back and ah'm pleased t'tell y'all it's been saved fer good." Apple Bloom says. She is still holding the box open. "Curse liften, and th'bad gaw lost th'battle. It's nawce when th'forces'a good prevail, though, if y'all will fergive me fer waxin' philosophical, don't we need evil'n'chaos t'understand good'n'harmony?"
Celestia chuckles. "Philosophy in the abstract is a little hard to compare to actually seeing King Sombra or Discord in action, our little pony. Thought I am glad that I don't have to worry about Sombra as well as Luna..."
"Oh mah... Discord. Ah beg yer forgiveness fer this one..." Apple Bloom clears her throat. "Me an' mah friends... kawnda... technically, sort of... released'im couple years back." Before Flutterlestia can panic again she flails and says, "But Twahlawt outsmarted him... then about a year ago th'real Celestia had'im released agin and he sorta got reformed bah... well, Fluttershaw. Good friends, those two, though, Discord bein' Discord, still has th'occasional scheme, but ah noticed they're more a cause fer trouble aimed at makin' a pony realawz somethin' important. Though ah'm still scared of him... or rather... what he did t'me once..."
Celestia frowns, brow furrowing deep. "If Discord were to learn that the Elements of Harmony had but one bearer left...Twilight. Who is this Twilight, Apple Bloom?"
"Ah wouldn't worry about Discord. He wouldn't do nothin' t'make Fluttershaw unhappy." Apple Bloom explains. "Twahlawt's yer student. Also th'newest princess, though ah think she's still learnin' just what that means, exactly. When she was a filly she got yer attention bah showin' herself t'be a mawt bit powerful. Y'all personally put her in th'School'a'Magic and she got'er cutie mark. Later she became a princess, though ah'm a lil fuzzy on th'details. Some old magic a pony named Starswirl was workin' on. She's also really OCD. Ah'm serious. Ah think only Thunderfawr's dad is worse."
"Starswirl!" Celly's eyes twinkle. "Of course! Nopony else could think for the future like Starswirl the Bearded...except for the week he was Starswirl the Clean-Cut. That wasn't his most flattering look," whispers the princess to the filly. "A new princess--surely you don't mean she's...?"
"An Alicorn? Eeyup, though she was born a unicorn. Agin, ah'm not sure how that works because th'chances'a somethin' lawk that happenin' t'an Earth Pony lawk me are slim. We ain't exactly magic. But it sure makes adventurin' more excawtin' when ah gotta relaw on mah wits an' body, makes it more excawtin'. Magic makes things easy, don't it?" Apple Bloom reasons. It's not a bad take on things, actually. An Earth Pony is in touch with their bodies probably more than any other race, and a lot tougher to boot, usually.
"You are more magic than you realize. You just have to know how to look." Celestia says this as if it were as plain as the moon in the sky.
"Not sure how that works." Apple Bloom says, closing the box and hoofing it back to Bandit. "Not that ah'm sayin' we ain't special. Earth Ponies'r th'reason Unicorns and Pegasaw didn't starve a long, long tawm ago, since pegasaw were up in th'clouds and... unicorns thought manual labor was beneath'em."
Celestia crosses the deck, for lack of anything else to do. It gives the impression of somepony used to giving lectures. "Hm. Well, I'm sure you'll be able to see someday. After all, surely not everypony has a ship that sails the skies. At any rate, if there are new alicorns arising from such kind ponies, then...maybe the future's in good hooves after all."
"Y'all kin definitely say that." Apple Bloom says. "Ah mean, sometawms somethin' worryin' comes up... lawk when Nawtmare Moon came back, or Discord... or... th'Bloom Doll." Apple Bloom doesn't want to relive being displaced by that thing again. Whatever Discord MEANT that other world to be like, the Bloom Doll did... something to it.
"But," answers Celly, "it's heartening to know that the bonds of Harmony have carried our ponies through."
"That and maybe a bit'a luck." Apple Bloom says, looking out to the sky. "Equestria's definitely a place worth protectin' though. Ah kin see wah y'all and Luna fought Dicord so much fer it."
Clouds seem to have gathered somewhat in the west. Certainly the sky seems a bit darker there. And from that direction comes an impossibly loud, impossibly angry voice! "CELESTIAAAAA!! o/` Where are you? / Where where, where where? / Where are you? / Where where, where where? o/`"
Apple Bloom makes Celestia smile, but before the Sun Princess can answer, the clouds begin to churn. Celly lifts her head and whips it around, raising her hoof to guard herself. "Luna."
"Uh... yer hawness... maybe y'all should go midship fer a sec. Ah mawt be able t'quell'er with mah gift if she doesn't haive a reason t'blow this here airship int'the next several counties?" Apple Bloom then motions frantically to Bandit to give her back the box. Bandit looks confused for a moment.
The Dread of Night, trailing angry sparks, flits about the horizon for a few seconds, then aims herself directly for the Crusader! "o/` We woke up in a damaged country / With a legend full of shame! / We sought some kind of understanding light / But Our position has not changed! o/`
Celestia pauses for just a moment, but answers, "Be careful, Apple Bloom. We trust your judgment, but remember that my - our sister is far from her right mind." Then she vanishes into the cabin like a fleeting sunbeam.
There is another here, neither Sun or Moon, who comes forth before a host of tempered wind, sharpened by clouds of energy. Red and gold are his colours, streaming forth from banners aloft in the sky, embossed upon sheets of mithril gleaming in the eerie light of the stars. The air seems to thin, to refine and rarify. Here a great potential is building to fruition as he glides forth on wings of faded silver.
Finally the ferret scurries over and gives the box back to Apple Bloom... and that's when she notices that Nightmarejack is making a charge right for the Crusader. Now... the Crusader is no doubt fast enough to get out of the way... *If* the filly were to have actually been midship at the helm instead of on the sky deck. "Oh, this ain't good." Apple Bloom takes the box and rushes to the railing on the side Nightmarejack is charging. She sets the box down and flails to the charging princess. "WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIT!"
The darkness - and the music - soon overtake the Crusader. "o/` We hearkend back to the olden days / And recalled the way things were / We remember being punished for love / And the guilty one was her! / Well, WHERE ARE YOU? / We really wanna know! / Twll us, where are you? / Take it like a mare and show! o/`" At which point Nightmare Moon touches down on the deck of the airship, only inches from where Celestia had been standing only moments before. She looks around coldly, and soon fixes her gaze on Apple Bloom. "CHILD! ... approach us."
Celestia has just finished hiding herself from Luna's sight when she feels the air begin to shudder and looks back. Apple Bloom flailing, the air darkening - "No!" She reaches out with her magic-- ...but the ship doesn't break? Celestia waits, still.
"No," a voice demands from above, magnified by steel and sigil. He has come at last, borne upon force condensed, effervescent, tight as a coiled spring. There are others like him, emerging from the depths of charge clouds, their armor glistening as like their commander's. "Not this day, and not for a thousand years, False Monarch. You will fall from the heavens as Mephistopheles of old!"
Oh, great. Things just keep getting better and better. At least Nightmare Moon didn't knock her beloved Crusader out of the sky, but now these idiots she doesn't even know show up. Well, she's gone too far to let them keep her from saving her sister and Fluttershy. The Crusader could definitely evade these foals... except for the fact the only pony even remotely qualified to fly it is *still* on the sky deck. She shouts over the edge. "BUZZ OFF AH'M HANDLIN' IT ALREADY!" She gulps and walks over to Nightmarejack, carrying the box. "Ah jus' wanna talk, okay? Will y'all listen? Ah haive somethin' y'all need t'hear."
Nightmare Moon squints at Apple Bloom. "We need to hear one thing and one thing alone: Where is our dear sister, your beloved ruler? We have unfinished business." She looks over at the approaching warriors and regards them for a few moments, then fires a blast of magic that coats one of them with ice, causing him to plummet out of the sky! "LEAVE US! LEAVE US, OR THY FAMILIES WILL NEVER KNOW THY FATE!"
Just leave it to Apple Bloom--that's what the filly said. Celestia's already felt the bite she gets from refusing to trust other ponies. But peeking out the window, she can see and hear that something strange is going out there. Celly's a stranger in a strange land, but she can tell these sky soldiers aren't friends of her sister OR her sister's body's sister. "Hurricane?" she mouths to herself. "Surely not him, too..." The falling warrior is cupped by a gentle grip from magic unseen, lowering him like a feather instead of a hailstone. That's it--Celestia can't just sit back and watch her one and only sister murder somepony.
The armored warrior does the sensible thing and ignores Apple Bloom's assertions, focusing instead on the False Princess as his fellow warriors dodge (but just barely) the first attack. "So be it!" he declares, reaching behind his back and producing a glimmering blade that seems to contain starlight. Or is that...no, not starlight. Something else. The others have such weapons, too, the host of them shining like a great celestial mirror, the hilts brazen and etched with the symbols of the Diarchy. "Cavaliers, engage!" he commands, and they ride forth, diving down towards their great enemy.
Apple Bloom needs to act, and fast. The adventurer drops her saddlbags and starts rummaging. Sometimes she wishes the Crusader had weapons, even non-lethal ones. Books (She's a well-read filly.), pringles (Once you pop, you can't stop! Except Bandit stole most of them. So apple Bloom kind of did anyway.), jacks (She gets bored a lot.), three and a half socks (Don't ask.), a jar of pickle juice (She got peckish during her search for Flutterlestia.) and then she finds them. Two apple pies! She *knew* she would need these! She grabs them both, runs to other side of the sky deck and HEAVES the two pies at the lead cavalier as hard as she can. "THIS HERE IS A ROYAL VESSEL, UNDERSTAND! AH'M ON A MISSION'A PEACE AND BAH CELESTIA AH'LL KEEP IT PEACEFUL." That taken care of, the filly turns to Luna. "Ah know where she is, but if y'all want me t'tell y'all ah'm afraid yer gonna have t'talk t'me first b'fore anyone else innocent gets hurt."
But Apple Bloom is not even noticed. Nightmare Moon's eyes widen at the determination of the incoming warriors, then she begins to laugh, quickly building to a hystirical cackle as music... how, why?... begins to come from everywhere and nowhere at once. She leaps to meet the warriors and starts weaving and diving in and out of their attacks, always not big there at the last second, letting them occasionally strike each other in the melee! "o/` We must admit your combat tricks are amusing! / We bet you spent an eon learning that! / So here's your chance, you want a piece of me / Hope you're flying hot! / Come on, fools, let's see what you've got! o/`" She turns aside the occasional blow with her enchanted-armor-clad hooves and even at one point pops up to lightly slap the leader's cheeks as she flits among them! "o/` You try to cut me with your sharpest stuff / But your might and magic isn't up to snuff / There just is no debate / Now that you've sealed your fate / You're only second rate! o/` <more>
The black alicorn even hops across the warriors' helmets at one point, delicately as dandelion fluff! o/` You think you're elite, but your skils are lame / You can't take a PRINCESS, you can't play this game / So with you ponies I'll recriminate: / You're only second rate! o/`
"HOLD!" The deck bursts into brilliant sunlight as Celestia, Princess of the Sun makes her presence known once again. "All of you ponies, enough!"
The commander easily dodges Apple Bloom's pies, but dealing with Nightmare Moon proves a tougher affair. A large portion of his companions are thrown off by Nightmare Moon's playful blows, their flight patterns going erratic as they are beaten out of formation. The surviving knights, though, have more than just swordplay at hoof. As a single unit, they line up their blades, swirling forth energy from the rarefied clouds, and at last the true nature of the light becomes apparent: lightning surges forth from their weapons as they strike at the False Monarch with the power of the weather itself. Amidst this confrontation, however, the deck of the Crusader shines with blinding force, throwing off their attack at the last moment.
Apple Bloom winces at the sudden light. It's just as well, the filly was starting to get really angry and probably would have actually gone midship to plow the crusader into those knights herself if not for Celestia's intervention. At least they stopped attacking Nightmarejack. Quickly, she whispers to Flutterlestia. "Please, keep'em distracted. Ah need Nawtmare Moon's attention." She scrambles for the box and grabs it as if it was precious treasure. She needs Nightmarejack to come for her, she thinks. But how?
The Dread of Night winces and blinks, her song stopped and temporarily blinded by the flash of sunlight! Her slitted eyes (which are still a rich sap green instead of sickly teal) adjust quickly, and she realizes what... or WHO... has happened! "Sister..." she looks at the squadron and puts all the physical strength AND magical force of a full-blooded demigod princess into a massive surge of wing from her wingbeats, trying to blow them entirely out of the picture! "Go away." Then she wheels on the ship and dives straight for her most beloved and most hated sister! "CELESTIAAAA!!"
But Celestia doesn't move. She doesn't even shield herself; she puts her magic into protecting Apple Bloom. "Luna, cease! Please, listen to the filly."
The False Nightmare's great storm is enough to scatter almost the entire unit, the knights and apprentices tumbling right out of the sky, save one: the Commander himself. He is still for a while as he observes, listens, decides, his sword crackling with thunder. Then, slowly, he sheathes his weapon, letting the embers of lightning peter out, and slowly and carefully he descends to the Crusader's deck to watch as history is played out all over again.
Not this time. Not while Apple Bloom breathes a single breath will she allow history repeat itself, because it means Applejack will be gone and she might also have no hope of getting Fluttershy back either. Her mind is racing, going over the history in a non-academic way. Forget what scholars say the battles were about, what is Nightmare Moon supposed to be FEELING? Gripping the box now tighlt in her mouth, the filly runs back over, leaps up on the sky deck's railing, then leaps *out* from the Crusader boldly to grab hold of Nightmarejack. But it's not for a violent purpose. Provided the filly can get ahold of Nightmare moon, she shifts to the right place and... gives the dark princess a tight hug and closes her eyes, tears coming out. "Stop... jus'... Jus' come home. Ah love y'all, big sister." After all, what is Nightmare Moon but a frustrated foal seeking approval and love? "Ah haive something fer y'all."
Eyes burning with green flame, Nightmare Moon arrows straight towards Celestia, fully intending to 'solve' her once and for all. Just before impact, Apple Bloom leaps on her - one small filly without even the magic of her unicorn classmates won't make a difference. Except she does. Nightmare falters in her dive, and her eyes ar normal - are Applejack's - for just a fraction of a second. It's enough. The black Princess loses her momentum and crashes to the deck, sliding hard on her chest and knees! She fetches up against a bulkhead in a crumpled heap not far from Celestia's hooves... but the strangest thing was how she inexplicably instinctively protected Apple Bloom with her wings when she struck the deck.
"Luna!" Celestia practically leaps to close the few steps between herself and her sister. "Luna! Can you hear me?" She didn't miss that protective gesture, either.
The Commander is still, silent, anxious as he watches this all unfold before his eyes. He reaches up and undoes the straps holding his helmet in place, letting it slide off his head and onto his hooves. All he can do is witness, his mane starting to flow about in the breeze.
After a moment, Apple Bloom notices she is back on the Crusader and... Nightmarejack protected her. She did it. She made that same sort of connection she did with Flutterlestia! Apple Bloom lays back on the deck a minute or two and sighs. Yes, nothing like an adventurer's instinct to do something reckless and unplanned to save the day, though it's not over yet. She gets back up and yet again recovers the box. "Ah was hopin' t'give y'all this after th'show, but..." Apple Bloom opens the box and withdraws the treasure she had inside and holds it before Nightmarejack. "Ah flew t'the Crystal Empawr special t'have it made." It's a pendant, a gold necklace with a crystal cut into the shape of Applejack's cutie mark. Three colors, One red, one orange, one yellow. "Ah wanted it t'be a surprawse." That's for the Applejack side. Now... for the Nightmare Moon side. "L-Luna... Please, talk t'yer sister. It's tawm t'stop fawtin' and work this out b'fore innocents git hurt. Y'all don't want t'hurt no one innocent, do ya?"
Nightmare Moon staggers to her hooves. Her head is spinning, much more so than an impact like that should have caused. What's going on? She spreads her hooves, trying to cover the weakness with aggression. "We hear thee, DEAR SISTER. Prepare to- what?" Suddenly there is a filly in front of her with an attack! No. No, a... present? "No! Move aside, child! Ah reckon ya might get hurt- OW!" She falls to her knees, breathing hard, and in passing knocks Apple Bloom's pendant to the ground, where it touches her hoof... which, just for a split second, if you wer elooking from the right angle, was orange. Panting, the Dread of Night's eyes widen. "No... NO. NO! Celestia! What foulness hast thou visited upon us? A poison? An enchantment?" She stands again, flapping her wings to assist. "Somethin' ain't right. Argh. We are... Ah reckon... WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO ME!?" Without warning, Nightmare Moon suddenly flashes into the air in panic, not looking where she is going at all and smashing huge pieces out of the Crusader's bulkheads and rigging in her desperate flight! Finally she samshes free and begins winging away as fast as she can go, leaving behind serious wreckage and even some small fires! Her voice fades into the distance: "CELESTIA! This is not over! There shall yet be only one Princess in Equestria! Aha! Ha! AHAhaha!"
"Luna! Wait! You don't know--" Celestia rushes to the railing, but Luna is gone. "...she doesn't know." Celestia stands silently, mane flowing as serene as ever.
Some of the pegasi knights from earlier have managed to remain aloft and, after some struggle, returned to the Crusader's height just as Nightmare Moon disappears into the distance. They form up, right about to chase her, but the Commander stops them, holding out his hoof. The day was not for them. Instead, they start helping to put out the fires that have started on Apple Bloom's little airship.
Apple Bloom looks very hopeful as Nightmarejack even seems to reverse at points. Then the faux princess become convinced of foul play. This turns out to be the *least* of Apple Bloom's problems, though. The damage is reparable... unfoooortunately the Crusader's damage jostles it enough to knock it askew momentarily and, to the filly's horror, causes the pendant to sail overboard, she dashes to grab it, to no avail as she watches it fall. She looks in shock until, again, this proves to be even the LEAST of her problems yet again when some collatoral shakes the Crusader and it beging to lose altitude. "No!" The filly dashes for the hatch and climbs down midship. "Ah ain't losin' mah ship!" She grabs the mast, and finds herself pleased her little innovation in the engine design seems to be working and the Crusader starts circle-spiraling downward. The landing will be rough, but the vessel is reparable. She is fighting it, though, trying to level the descent and keep it airborne. "AH AIN'T LETTIN' GO!"
The Commander watches as Apple Bloom dashes inside and makes to run after her, but retty soon his subordinates arrive and salute him. "Sir, the unit's still operational; we only have 14% attrition. Shall we-" -- "No," says Pauldron Sheen, his sandy blonde mane matted with sweat and soot. "It is not our time. We need to ensure this vessel remains skyworthy. And try to help the filly; she has a royal warrant." -- "Yes sir!" they answer, saluting again and dispersing to do their duty. Alone, Pauldron sighs in resignation, supposing that, really, the results of this day weren't too unexpected. He floats over to the edge of the ship and peers downward. Maybe he can find something important for Miss Apple Bloom before long...
Celestia has gone back to being motionless, staring out over the clouds with her impassive face and sad eyes. When the ship begins to spin, she flicks her horn in a small, graceful sweep and a cushion of light covers the bottom of the Crusader. She does not turn away.
Apple Bloom, due to the help offered by Celestia, manages to get some control of the airship. Though there's no stopping this ship from crashing for now, Apple Bloom realizes she's ssafe. After several more minutes the Crusader almost floats down to teh ground and shudders as it lands rouchly on its landing apparati. After a few moments... the filly lets out a relieved sigh. "Thank Celestia." After a few moments, the filly runs for the hatch when she sees the damage to the bulkhead and winces. Well... won't keep it from flying, but she'll have to do full repairs to that when she gets this back to the hangar. She throws open the hatch and jumps out, maybe feeling a little dizzy. She doesn't know what would have happened if Flutterlestia didn't help. She wouldn't have likely been seriously hurt, but she can imagine being laid flat on the floor of her ship... and a lot more repairs. She looks up at those still airborne.
Celestia lets out a sigh, which itself seems to make the air in front of her glow and sparkle. "Forgive me, Luna. Forgive me, little filly." She turns and crosses the tilted deck back toward her ponies - the hurt and wounded must come first.
"Well... when ah see him agin ah'm definitely gonna have some choice words." Apple Bloom soon turns to attending to the Crusader and any others injured. Fortunately Bandit is fit as a fiddle. "Well... ah think ah kin git'er t'flaw agin, but ah'll need t'kit some parts but back t'gether. Damage t'the mast ain't so bad, ah could probably git it fixed with mah tools here..." Mostly looks like some hardward came free. Replace a few bolts here and there. The filly then hops back down to the ground and runs around to open the engine compartment. She looks grateful. Not a scratch. Even the magic core looks intact. "Well, ah'm glad mah desawn worked. Though it probably helps y'all coushioned th'fall." Finally Apple Bloom flops on the ground. "... Ah was so close. Ah almost had'er back."