Helios 22: Sunrise.


                                            =Helios 22=


                                            >You, Twilight, Rainbow Dash and Applejack marched through the streets of the almost city.

                                            >The four of you were getting ever closer to the tower at the city center.

                                            >It erupted out of the ground and into a jagged point several hundred feet up, with the moon seemingly resting perfectly on the tip.

                                            >You could feel the thrum of magic in the air grow more and more intense as you drew closer to the spire.

                                            >Rainbow Dash perked up in the air next to you. "I see something up ahead!"

                                            >You and the rest of your party dropped down low in the hopes of avoiding another encounter.

                                            >It was only after you noticed the alabaster white coat of whoever was in the lead that you calmed down.

                                            >Twilight jumped up and ran to her "Princess Celestia!"

                                            >You, Rainbow and Applejack ran close behind her as Celestia and Twilight exchanged their usual greeting. "I'm very glad you're safe my faithful student."

                                            >Celestia walks up to you and quickly wraps her wings around you.

                                            >"And you too dear..."


                                            >She glances over the four of you. "We assumed the worst when we heard the noise, what happened?"

                                            >You point a thumb back the way you came.

                                            "Some air brigade of Luna's tried to stop us. We have the four that are still alive tied to a statue."

                                            >Celestia's face sours. "Still alive...?"

                                            >You rub the back of your head.

                                            "One of them tried racing Rainbow Dash and crashed into a building...there wasn't much left after that..."

                                            >Everyone is silent for a moment at mention of the dead.

                                            >She may have been the enemy, but she was sill just a kid...

                                            >Celestia's face hardens as she faces the spire. "Not one more."

                                            >"Let there be no more death this day." She says looking back at the rest of you.

                                            >You all stared at the gargantuan spire.

                                            >And then you started marching towards it.


                                            >The eight of you make your way through the spire, staying in a group partially as to not get lost and partially just due to the sheer oppressive nature of the building.

                                            >Pillars shot up from the ground to support the massive stone ceiling above you.

                                            >Arcane lines of power thrummed and hummed as you followed them deeper into the spire.

                                            >This was the only building that looked built as opposed to grown, made for aesthetics instead of utility.

                                            >Over the thrumming came a new noise.

                                            >Chanting.

                                            -Music: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mWyB447vNjg-

                                            >That's when you entered into the room and saw them.

                                            >There were hundreds of people in the room.

                                            >Not just ponies but everything else you had seen.

                                            >Zebras, Griffins, Minotaur, you even saw a few small dragons in the back.

                                            >All of them were wearing midnight blue cloaks.

                                            >And they didn't seem to notice you, just continuing to chant as they stood otherwise motionless.

                                            >You reached out to touch one of them, if only to try and find out what was wrong.

                                            >Your hand was engulfed in a white aura and stopped in its tracks.

                                            >Celestia shook her head when you turned to look at her. "They don't notice us right now, let's keep it that way."


                                            >You kept walking through the massive room of chanters until you reached a raised dais at the rear of the hall.

                                            >On the dais was a large crate.

                                            >Inside the crate were blankets and toys.

                                            >Asleep in the blankets and toys were the stolen foals.

                                            >The eight of you looked inside.

                                            >They all seemed healthy and unharmed, they were just being prayed to by a bunch of cultists.

                                            "The stolen kids...what?"

                                            >Celestia's head darts from side to side as she examines the room.

                                            >"We found another child in our search, he said he was meant to be a king here..."

                                            >She looks down at the foals, none of them looked over the age of two.

                                            >"It seems that these children are meant to be placed in similar roles..."

                                            >You reach down and caress a sleeping colt along the cheek.

                                            "How'd she get these kids?"

                                            >Celestia's face fell. "Canterlot has many orphanages..."

                                            >...Damn. Stealing orphans.

                                            >You heard a gasp from Fluttershy behind the box. "Everyone, come look at this!"

                                            >You walked over to Fluttershy and pulled back the curtain she was pointing at.

                                            >Behind it was a room that put the previous one to shame.

                                            >You figured that this room was at the exact center of the spire, and the scenery helped that assumption.

                                            >In the center of the room stood a raised section with a brilliant midnight blue light shooting from above it.

                                            >Twilight gasped. "A magical resonator..."

                                            >"This is worse than I thought..." Celestia said.

                                            >You step behind the curtain and make for the resonator as the chanting in the room behind you seems to get louder.

                                            >The eight of you inch your way towards the resonator until a growing shadow from the top of it stone cold stops you.

                                            >Before you all stood a regal looking alicorn.

                                            >With a black coat and midnight blue armor.


                                            >You and the rest of the girls reel back at the mythical figure standing before you all.

                                            >As you do, Celestia calmly walks forward.

                                            >"Nightmare Moon." She said in an icy cold voice.

                                            >The alicorn boogeyman leapt from her perch down to the floor with the rest of you.

                                            >"Celestia."

                                            >Twilight stomps forward. "That's PRINCESS Celestia!"

                                            >Nightmare Moon scoffs. "Be silent knave! What is a Princess to a QUEEN?"

                                            >"How are you here?" Celestia asks.

                                            >Nightmare grows an evil grin. "Why Celestia, I never left! True your Element bearers managed to do away with me, but there was always that small piece of me that remained...waiting in our dear Luna's mind for just the right moment to make my glorious return!"

                                            >"So, you were plotting this from the start." Celestia says as she and her counterpart orbit each other.

                                            >"Close to it Celestia...Ever since that faithful night I have been effecting Equestria...The Prince? The Griffins and their magic? Why, the fact that Canterlot has been growing ever more dangerous over the recent months?"

                                            >You feel your pulse quicken.

                                            "You...BITCH!"

                                            >Nightmare chuckles. "Angry over the loss of your friend? Why? It was his death that allowed you to bed your lovely wife here!"

                                            >That sets Twilight off. "My brother was a brave knight and you...murdered him!"

                                            >Nightmare chuckles. "A brave if ineffectual knight..."

                                            >Her horn flares. "Allow me to show you a TRUE knight!"

                                            >From the darkness above comes the sound of flapping wings.

                                            >And then comes the monster they belong to.


                                            >It lands with a tremor that you swear could be felt in Canterlot.

                                            >It was big, bigger than a dragon. Bigger than anything you had ever seen.

                                            >But that wasn't the scary part.

                                            >It oozed shadows and had a roar that spilt the sky.

                                            >It's soulless eyes spoke only of anger as they bored down at you and you alone.

                                            >But that wasn't the scary part.

                                            >The scary part was the fact that it looked like a pony under all that, simply supersized.

                                            >The scary part was that it had thick midnight blue armor.

                                            >The scariest part was that it had a crescent moon emblem on its chest that you had only seen once before.

                                            "Dammit Sunshine...I told you to watch out for anything..."

                                            >The mutated Sunshine Smiles reared his head back and breathed in.

                                            >While you braced yourself for the torrent of magical energy that followed, you knew that the only thing saving you was the golden shield blocking its path.

                                            >As Smile's attack ended, Nightmare Moon took to the air.

                                            >Celestia lowered her shield and turned to the girls.

                                            >"We need the Elements of Harmony back on the ship! Rainbow Dash; I need you to fly there and get them!"

                                            >The pegasus wordlessly saluted and zipped off.

                                            >And that left the remaining seven of you to go up against the monster that was Sunshine Smiles and Nightmare moon.

                                            >You draw your sword and look to Celestia.

                                            "What's the plan?"

                                            >Celestia glanced your way, worry in her eye.

                                            >"Try to stay alive."


                                            -Music: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aQyNEhzJhpA-

                                            >Nightmare Moon shot a magical blast, surely intended to incinerate you, out of her horn before Celestia shot off the ground and met her head on.

                                            >Smiles spawned shadowy tendrils from his body and shot them towards the rest of you.

                                            >You sliced through the first few in a single wide sweep before they could get close only for them to multiply and shoot forward for another attack.

                                            >Your blade becomes a flurry of movement as you continue to try to break the tide of shadow coming at you.

                                            >You turn your head back to the girls.

                                            "Scatter! I can't hold this forever!"

                                            >The girls break and run to all corners of the room just as the tendrils become too much to handle.

                                            >You dive out of the way just as the tendrils leave a temporary opening.

                                            >They snake past you and break off into groups to chase after the girls.

                                            >Fuck!

                                            >You turn to Smiles and release a war cry as you charge him.

                                            >Your blade sparks against the ground as you swing for his mouth...

                                            >...and bounce off at the razor sharp tongue that shoots out.

                                            "OH COME ON!"

                                            >Where does it end?

                                            >You dodge and parry the blows from smiles tongue as he pushes you back.

                                            >Shit, this sucked!

                                            >Smiles lumbered towards you, his tongue lashing out and keeping you on the defensive.

                                            >You risked a glance behind you to see where you were going.

                                            >And of course, it's the wall.

                                            >You REALLY can't get trapped against this guy.

                                            >You need some wins and fast.

                                            >You twist yourself around and extend your sword arm out as far as it can go, drawing a thin line across Smile's snout and eliciting a roar of pain as a reward.

                                            >Ha!

                                            >The wound then seals itself up in shadow.

                                            >Smiles then lunches forward and attempts to swallow you, getting you into his mouth up to your waist.

                                            >Motherfuck!


                                            >Smiles tries to bite you in half, only being repelled by the wards on your armor.

                                            >Still hurts like a motherfucker though...

                                            >You listen to Celestia and Nightmare argue as you bash your elbow against Smiles snout.

                                            >"...NEVER NEEDED YOU! I WAS THE ONLY TRUE FRIEND LUNA HAD AFTER HER "SUBJECTS" TURNED ON HER!

                                            >Celestia dodged Nightmares attack delivered a gout of solar fire.

                                            >"A birth born of ignorance! Luna learned of the friendship all of our subjects freely gave her!"

                                            >The two alicorns lock horns.

                                            >"It is YOU who is not needed Nightmare! Never forget that!"

                                            >Nightmare roars in outrage and continues the battle with Celestia.

                                            >Meanwhile, you could feel Smiles breaking through the wards on your armor.

                                            >Fuckfuckfuckfuck.

                                            >"I got 'em!" A voice calls.

                                            >All eyes turn to Rainbow Dash in the entrance to the room, holding a bejeweled chest above her head.

                                            >"I got the Elements!"

                                            >Bingo!

                                            "Hold on Dash!"

                                            >You twist your sword around into a reverse grip and drive it deep into Smiles eye.

                                            >He drops you in pain, but not before clenching his teeth and denting your armor.

                                            >Smiles begins to rampage around the room, screaming at the sword still wedge in his eye.

                                            >Sorry buddy...

                                            >The rest of the girls take advantage of the reprieve you bought them from the tendrils and run to Rainbow.

                                            >They slip on their Elements and begin floating in the air...

                                            >"NO! NOT AGAIN!" Nightmare shouts.


                                            >The alicorn slams into the ground, sending waves of black magic over everyone in the room from you to Celestia to Sunshine.

                                            >"I WILL NOT BE CAGED AGAIN! NOT BE CONFINED AGAIN!"

                                            >You hold your arms up over your face, the wards that still worked glowing bright as they tried to keep the magic off you.

                                            >The girls and Celestia tried to weather the storm of magic, but there was no way they could cast in this state.

                                            >Only you could move...

                                            >You looked to Celestia, the mare you loved and the wife who graced you when she said yes...

                                            >You looked to Twilight and the girls, the ponies you swore to help protect...

                                            >...

                                            >For the Princess.

                                            "No! You won't!"

                                            >You run through the shadowy magic and tackle Nightmare to the ground.

                                            >The girls and Celestia regain themselves as the spells stops.

                                            "Do it!"

                                            >Twilight nods and begins to use the Elements again.

                                            >Celestia's eyes grow wide. "Anon, no!"

                                            >You don't say anything as time slows to a crawl, just throw her your best smile.

                                            >The rainbow wave of magic rockets towards you and the still struggling Nightmare Moon.

                                            >You feel it wash over you as the two of you take the hit that saves Equestria.

                                            >You feel your consciousness fading as your body grows numb...

                                            >And then you feel nothing at all.


                                            Helios: Epilogue.


                                            >You float in a shapeless, timeless void.

                                            >Darkness stretches out all around you.

                                            >You remember being hit by the Elements of Harmony...but nothing after...

                                            >Suddenly, voices.

                                            >"...is not taking visitors now." A male voice said.

                                            >You grasp onto it and drag yourself towards it.

                                            >Will all your will, all your conviction, you inch towards the voice.

                                            >Another joins it.

                                            "Can't stand to see...like this..."

                                            >The darkness edges away the closer you get to them, being replaced with a blinding light.

                                            >The light that becomes your hospital room as you regain consciousness.

                                            >You look around the room you're in and spot a pegasus and a unicorn.

                                            >Both of them you know.

                                            >The unicorn, the one you were related to, looked at you and grew a big smile.

                                            >"Aunt Luna! You're awake!"

                                            >You cough as your nephew Prince Blueblood rushes to your side.

                                            >The pegasus, your personal guard Sunshine Smiles, handed you a glass of crystal clear water.

                                            >You noticed the eyepatch he now wore...


                                            >As you downed your drink you looked to Blueblood.

                                            "Nephew? Where am I? What are you doing here?"

                                            >Blueblood smiles. "You are in the hospital Aunty, they brought you here after the...incident..."

                                            >Bluebloods eyes looked haggard, as if he hadn't slept in days.

                                            "Are you well nephew?" You ask as you place a hoof on his cheek.

                                            >He pulls back with a smaller smile. "I am... doing well at the asylum."

                                            >He risks a sheepish look in your direction. "Your...other half's influence has been receding by the day..."

                                            >Those words are what bring the memories flooding back.

                                            >All the things you did listening to that voice...

                                            >The ponies you hurt...

                                            >You look to Sunshine and Blueblood.

                                            >Those you cared about...

                                            "I-I..."

                                            >"No no no Aunty, it's safe!" Blueblood says as he shakes his head.

                                            >You calm down just a little bit.

                                            >"The royal magisters have given you every test they were able to in the week you have been asleep...They have found no trace of Nightmare Moon inside you anymore!"

                                            >G-gone?

                                            >She was gone?

                                            >"Well? Isn't that great!?" Blueblood all but shouts.

                                            "Yes nephew..."

                                            >Gone...after all this time...

                                            >She was finally gone!

                                            >Your spirit flies, but just for a moment.

                                            >Your mind suddenly locks on to one event in particular.

                                            "Celestia...-a-and Anonymous! What happened to them!"

                                            >Blueblood smiles. "Why, they aren't here right now Aunty."

                                            >Damn his ineptitude...

                                            "Where! Where are they!?"

                                            >Blueblood looks up to the sky.

                                            >"Away..."


                                            >You looked down on the planet below.

                                            >The endless fields of green and the vast blue oceans...the swirling clouds and the rays of light poking through from the sun behind it.

                                            >This must be how she sees things all the time...

                                            >You could see why Luna would fight so hard for it.

                                            >A lance of pain shot through you, causing you to grab what was left of your arm.

                                            >The Elements had released a wave of force when they hit the two of you, had blown your arm clean off.

                                            >And so it was for the second time that you were saved from certain death by Celestia.

                                            >Heh...You were a bit worried.

                                            >If this was the token of her love, yours would pale in comparison.

                                            >You felt Celestia approach into the room the two of you shared through the link.

                                            >She walked up behind you and placed her head upon your good arms shoulder.

                                            >"I felt the pain...are you well?"

                                            >You grimace a bit as the pain dies down.

                                            "Yeah...yeah I'm fine..."

                                            >You reach your hand up and stroke her mane.

                                            "Just a little stinging from the magic."

                                            >"Re-growing a limb is a long and hard process Anon...I hope you're ready for more of that..." She says with concern.

                                            >You take a deep breath in the artificial atmosphere this palace had.

                                            "I feel like I could take on Nightmare, Blueblood and the Griffin Thane again with you around."

                                            >You give her a small kiss on the neck.

                                            >The two of you look over the lunar landscape.

                                            >"It truly is beautiful up here..." Celestia said.

                                            "It is..."

                                            >She glanced down at your arm.

                                            >"Anon, would you like to accompany me to the gardens?"

                                            >You were wise to this...

                                            "It would be my pleasure Celestia.


                                            -Music: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PIqailPd89I-

                                            >Celestia stood under the waterfall in the gardens, letting the water cascade over her and wash away all her tension.

                                            >You sat back on the edge and took in the view again.

                                            >And what a view it was...it really was criminal how you never got to take in her beauty like this.

                                            >Celestia turns to you with a smirk. "I can feel what you're thinking, you know."

                                            "It's all good, I promise."

                                            >Celestia left the waterfall and waded over to you, her eyes half lidded.

                                            >She placed soft lips against yours and sat next to you on your good side.

                                            >"I'll bet."

                                            >You reach out and place your arm on her shoulder, rubbing it gently.

                                            >She leans over and rests herself against you.

                                            "Will your sister mind that we're borrowing her moon palace?"

                                            >"I'd say we're entitled to it for a while longer, considering that we never got a honeymoon and just saved her life." Celestia said, a hint of mischief coming through the link.

                                            "Do you have a sun palace."

                                            >"I do, but it's not a place for a private getaway."

                                            "Rough climate?"

                                            >"Loud neighbors."

                                            >The two of you sit in the silence for a moment before you partake in a hearty laugh.


                                            >Celestia calms down. "Enjoy it while you can Anon...we have lots to do once we get back."

                                            >You remembered...fallout from this crisis.

                                            "Yeah..."

                                            >Celestia pulls away and looks at you, her eyes sparkling in the light of a thousand stars in the sky above the gardens domed roof.

                                            >"Can I count on you to be there by my side Anon? To help me bare the load a bit?"

                                            >It flattered you that she still cared enough to ask.

                                            >You would have said yes for a number of reasons.

                                            >She was your wife, the love you had befriended and defended for so long.

                                            >She was the one pony alive that you truly could talk to about anything.

                                            >But those weren't the reasons you said.

                                            "Of course..."

                                            >You grabbed Celestia's chin and pulled yourself close, giving her the same tender kiss she gave you a few minutes ago before pulling away and giving a smile.

                                            "It's my job."


                                            -The end.