*Plains outside of Ponyville, June 18, 2021; 6:45 PM*

Twilight had returned to Ponyville with the others, and Celestia had explained everything once she, along with the others, had made it within The Castle of Friendship.

She'd seen blissful peace, and brutal war. More in her comparatively young lifetime than Celestia had in roughly 2,000 years.

She knows what a suicidal, half-baked plan looks like. But the worst part was... Celestia really had no other option.

From what Twilight could gather, Celestia's nuclear option was to bring back the Crimson Shade, either for Equestria's defense, or something far more sinister.

Twilight had, after her own ascension, read up on how brutal and unforgiving Ancient Equestria had been. If Celestia was seriously considering unearthing these... relics... Could that possibly mean that the 1,000 years of peace Celestia had worked for was all for nothing?

Enough of that.. She couldn't afford to show weakness at such a crucial time.

"The Rites stated the Ritual needs to be done when the Sun and Moon are aligned... It is time." Celestia sighed as Luna and Cadence started forming the Ritual's Circle.

The Ritual's Circle was more or less in the shape of a pentagon, with Ancient Equestrian rites and artifacts systemically and immaculately scrawled within it. Five Circles on each 'corner' and one within.

"The Sun and The Moon stand across from one another in the skies, we are to take our place." Luna stated as her and Celestia stepped inside of their respective circles.

"Harmony and Friendship have gone hoof and hoof since the dawn of time. Take your places in the circle."

Twilight very reluctantly stepped forward, as did her other friends... All but one.

"Princess Celestia, not trying to be Rarity or anything, but this 'idea' is terrible!" Rainbow shouted.

Applejack backed out of the Circle as well, along with Fluttershy, who followed soon after.

"She's right! We have no idea what we're letting out of the bag!" Applejack agreed.

"It... Could be really bad.." Fluttershy squeaked.

Celestia sighed.

"I don't like it either, but we don't have any other choice. The fate of Equestria hangs in the balance, and the only way we can defend it is by completing this ritual. We have little time, and we need the Elements of Harmony for it to work." Celestia seemingly relented.

"Glad to see you've come around-."

Applejack, Fluttershy, and Rainbow found themselves wreathed in golden light as they were pulled back to the circle with the rest of the Elements, who were enveloped in the bubble as well.

Twilight and Cadence gazed in horror at the scene before them as Luna seemed to waver, but stood fast anyway.

"Love is ultimately what holds all in balance. Cadence, take your place in the circle." Celestia continued, her voice stricken and remorseful as Cadence stepped towards the circle.

Cadence's hoof stood over the circle, looking to Celestia with uncertainty in her eyes.

"I need to know one thing if I'm to take part in this ritual, Auntie. Can you say for certain that nothing wrong will come out of this?" Cadence demanded.

Celestia sighed before facing the third princess.

"I can't.."

Cadence visibly shifted before entering the circle herself.

"No matter what... It will take time for Equestria to heal from this." Cadence relented.

By now, all the necessary anchors stood within the Ritual Circle, and the timing was near-perfect. All that was needed now was to place items of great power within the 6th circle within and read an Ancient Equestrian incantation.

"The Sun and Moon, Friendship and Harmony, Love. These forces tie the magics of the Ritual to this physical plane. Anchors for power to flow from the land of the forgotten to the land of the sun and moon. Place the relics now." Celestia continued as Luna sorted through several artifacts: 5 in total.

The first of these Items was the Alicorn Amulet. This and Sombra's Crown were difficult to procure as the SCP Foundation of Kat's homeworld had claimed them as dangerous anomalies in need of secure containment. Celestia had pressured the Foundation so frequently that an entire mailroom had been dedicated to holding Celestia and Luna's protests. It was fortunate that Kat, the current director, had been friendly enough to relent and return the artifacts.

The Amulet had been placed slightly above center within the 6th Circle. Sombra's Crown was placed above the cursed Amulet. Dark reminders of the Battle of Cairo chilling the Elements to their cores.

The third item was The Crystal Heart itself. With Sombra seemingly dead after the Battle of Magnolia, there was no real need to keep it within the Crystal Castle's walls where the enemy could steal it and use it against Equestria. The Operation had been done covertly so the Crystal Empire's citizens had no idea anything changed. The Crystal Heart had been placed within the center of the 6th Circle, below the Alicorn Amulet itself.

The 4th Artifact was less an artifact and more something to give the rest a bit of a power boost; A vial of Dimensional Essence. Dimensional Essence was essentially the foundation of most Magical Items within the entire multiverse. The Dimensional Essence was placed to the left side of the 6th circle.

The 5th and final artifact was one of Celestia's own; One she hadn't used in 1500 years when Equestria was still in it's early turmoils; The Scepter of the Sun.

This artifact harnessed Celestia's magic and acted akin to a conduit; focusing and tempering Celestia's raw power and using it as sort of a wand. Luna had her own equivalent, but Celestia insisted on using her own.

The Scepter of the Sun was placed to the right of the central 3 artifacts.

With the building blocks finally in place, Celestia could finally recite the proper incantations.

Dark waves of ancient, esoteric power flowed from within each circle, drifting about searching for the one who would speak the ancient incantations.

Only Celestia knew these ancient words.

The shadows flowed around her as her eyes began to glow a deep red.

"nosmirC edahS

nosmirC edahS

nosmirC EdahS

enO derdnuh tnecrep lanigiro

oD ton laets

...xis xis xis

nosmirC edahS

NOSMIRC EDAHS!!"

A pillar of shadow shot directly into the sky, turning the pristine sunset of purples and oranges into a far more foreboding red.

Waves upon waves of red light rained down in front of the Ritual Circle. 16 with two directly in front.

Shapes appeared within the beams of light. Taller than Celestia or Luna and far more brooding.

All of them Alicorns.

"... It has been so long since I've breathed Equestrian Air.." A voice of one of the Alicorns states, breathing in the once peaceful air. This first Alicorn had a marble-white coat with a flaming mane and tail billowing in the esoteric winds.

"Truly... Who has summoned us, Matriarch?" The second Alicorn asked. The second had a black coat with a hazy, smoking mane and tail.

The red light surrounding the 16 Alicorns began to fade.

Of the 16, two Alicorns stepped up to face Celestia, Luna, Cadence, and Twilight.

"Who are they, Patriarch?" The 'Matriarch' asked.

"I know not... Our descendants, perhaps. They do look awfully similar to Lux and Tenebris." The 'Patriarch' noted.

Celestia and Luna's eyes widened as Twilight quickly reached the same realization.

Lux and Tenebris were the Two Princes of Middle Equestria, usurped by Celestia and Luna roughly 200 years before the whole 'Nightmare Moon' Incident.

If these two Alicorns knew of the Gray Princes, then this 'Crimson Shade' predated them.

"Greetings, honorable precursors.. I am Princess Celestia. This is my Sister, Princess Luna.." Celestia began.

"Truly you are the Daughters of Prince Lux." The Matriarch spat distastefully.

"Matriarch... Please. We are well aware of what has happened. You two have lost your hold on Equestria in the face of these Dimensional Relations, and now that everything has fallen apart, you summoned us." The Patriarch began.

"I.. Wouldn't phrase it that way." Twilight shifted.

The Patriarch glanced towards Twilight, wreathing her in dark red magic and levitating her over to closely inspect her.

"... You've elevated a lowborn. Times have gotten desperate, it seems.." The Patriarch stated.

Rainbow immediately sped towards the Patriarch, with a Rainboom-charged punch to the face at the ready.

A green aura immediately surrounded Rainbow Dash, who struggled as she was pulled to the ground.

"Listen, and listen well, Celestia. I am Abaddon, Patriarch of the Crimson Shade. And now, High Commander of your forces." The Patriarch, Abaddon ordered.

"Crimson Shade, arrest these usurpers!" The Matriarch ordered as Abaddon levitated all the Artifacts over to himself.

"Matriarch Apollyon, what is our plan now?" One of the other Crimson Shade alicorns asked.

"I'll oversee a detachment sent to Canterlot. Have our finest armies sent to Earth. It's time for Equestria's rebirth." Apollyon ordered.

"I'll see these weaklings imprisoned within the bowels of Tartarus, then I will join you in glorious conquest. The Crimson Shade is reborn!!" Abaddon roared to the cheers of the 16.

Twilight stared in abject horror at Celestia. Her one hope has flown directly in her face.

'What have we done?'

*SCP Headquarters, Outside Washington D.C, NAF, June 18, 2021; 10:00 PM*

Kat had been sent back to the Foundation HQ to face the oncoming Inquisitorial/Imperial/Everything and Everyone else threat due to arrive tomorrow. It seemed that, since all hell was breaking loose anyways, that Chancellor Smith called in an especially rare Contingency plan.

This plan had been the subject of many exceedingly dark jokes permeating the dimension's foundation HQ. One that put the HQ at odds with the rest of the Foundation.

Contingency Plan 78425: Codenamed Blood Rain.

This entailed the release of every single SCP at the HQ's disposal.

While most of the HQ's containments were considered Euclid, they did have more than a few Keter-Class at their disposal.

It didn't take a genius to see that this plan was essentially murder-suicide in it's most powerful form. Which is why Kat, along with Dr. Clef, Dr. Gears, Dr. Bright, and Dr. Rights were called in to discuss the matter.

"Director Anderson, you must understand what we're up against! Our nation stands on the precipice of annihilation! This is our last and only shot at preserving our democracy!" Representative Hanson begged.

"If we enact Blood Rain, we may lose more than just the country!" Dr. Malkevic, one of the local doctors, exclaimed.

"I'm sorry, Blood Rain? I was hoping for a bit more... pizazz for this protocol name." Dr. Bright frowned in disappointment.

"There's a reason the Foundation Higher-Ups banned this protocol!" Security Lieutenant Reeves added.

"The Chancellor's issued an ultimatum-"

"The Chancellor clearly doesn't have much authority over his own staff, much less the Foundation. There's a reason people have fled to Concordia, after all." Dr. Clef deadpanned.

"Well, what is this 'Ultimatum?" Dr. Gears asked.

"W-Well, either you enact Blood Rain, or-" Hanson began.

"Or what, we can just pack up and leave?" Dr. Clef rolled his eyes.

"N-No, don't do that..!"

"So. Let me get this straight... You waltz into my Headquarters, demand me to enact this ham-fisted, draconian, self-annihilating protocol on pain of literally nothing, and you expect me to just go along with it?" Kat glared, staring down the representative with scouring, disdainful eyes.

"Y-Yes..?" Representative Hanson piped out, quivering in his $800 dress shoes.

"Alright, let's do it!" Dr. Bright cheered, pressing a big red button.

EVERY ALARM blared a horrifying cadence as dozens of Foundation Personnel of all designations began screaming and running in circles.

**WARNING. WARNING. SECURITY BREACHES ON ALL LEVELS. TAKE THE CYANIDE PILL LOCATED IN YOUR LAPELS. THE END IS NEAR. THE END IS NEAR.**

Kat glared coldly at Dr. Bright, her aura positively bursting into flames.

"What? If we're being invaded, we may as well pull out all the stops. Haven't had a Containment Breach like this since 2012." Dr. Bright defended, grabbing a bag of popcorn.

Dr. Clef shrugged, teleporting the lot to the HQ's rooftop.

"May as well enjoy the view." Dr. Clef nodded indifferently.

Everyone but the seasoned doctors stared in horror at the scene before them as a tidal wave of blackness, death, and wanton destruction reigned as several cruisers teleported into view.

"Idiots. All of you. Idiots."

Cade's comm chatter started picking up.

"Um, Kat? The fleet's been ready for a while... Where's that signal... Wait... What's that wave of death and destruction coming from that building? Is that the signal?"

"Might as well be. Ready our counter-attack." Kat grumbled.

*Concordian Trenches, June 19, 2021; 1:00 AM*

Alex S 1-14 had heard that the Battle in Washington had formally started. This dimension's Team RWBY had gone to not only defend their loved ones there, but to ensure no Inquisition, SCP, Imperial, or any enemy combatant made their way to this island.

The situation here, however, was grim.

With most of the Concordian-Aligned forces currently on Earth, there was naught but a minimal force of troops, including the multi-dimensional mix of different Unities, Teams RWBY and JNPR, and a single carrier lent from the Auroran Fleet; The Carolus Dreadnought.

"Any update, Saisho?" Alex S 1-14 asked grimly.

"We've caught sight of the Armies of Remnant." Saisho replied.

"How many?"

"100 Fighters, 2 Airships, and roughly 800,000 men, if that estimate is correct."

"And what do we have here?"

"Just the Carolus and it's fighters, about 30 of them. About 150,000 people, but we've got a huge thing going." Ruby answered, rushing in using her Semblance.

"There is no time to be lost. I must address ze men. Come with me." Alex S 1-14 demanded.

Not since the Great War had things looked so dismal. The refugees who either couldn't or refused to fight were teleported safely and covertly off Concordia to Corsalia, where one of the Countesses promised relief from the battle. One less thing to worry about.

They were outnumbered, yes, but hopefully, the huntsmen would be so low-level that any attack of theirs would be ineffectual.

Alex S 1-14, Saisho, and Ruby stood to face the now-battle hardened soldiers, all but itching to face the coming tidal wave of destruction.

"Brothers! Heroes! Today, we stand firm against not only lead, dust, and steel, but we stand firm against blasted tradition! We stand now on the precipice of a new era for Remnant! If we lose here, and now, then all is truly lost!

The Auroran Fleet has drawn most of the enemy to Washington in a bloody battle for the American Homeland, which means we will be facing a fraction of what we faced days ago! We are starving, and wounded, but we will never be broken!

The Armies of Remnant come clawing at our doors! From the beaches come the infantry! From the skies come Hunters and Paratroopers! We will pluck their wings and turn the sand itself to glass! Your sacrifice ensures the liberty of the coming Concordian People! Concordia Stands!"

Alex S 1-14 raised his sword, Blitzhander, to the skies, sending a flash of lightning to the skies as though to taunt the incoming armies of Remnant.

"CONCORDIA STANDS!" Came the battle cry as the thousands flocked to their battle stations.

In no time at all, a wave of flashing lights could be seen in the dark skies above Concordia. Starting in the mere tens, but growing into hundreds as gunfire and rockets began peppering the battlefield.

"Für Koncordia!!" Alex S 1-14 roared, charging towards the beaches alongside Yang S 1-14 and the rest of the Adenkorps.

****Sirantis Monastery****

Artemnas opened his eyes in shock.

He had been meditating with his grandson ever since he'd arrived with the winged beast, Osiris. His visions had come to pass.

He couldn't worry about that now. He had to train the Catalyst for the Final Battle.

Artemnas knew this was only just the beginning.

"Alright, boy. Have you made a connection yet?"

"I can't tell..." Alex replied, struggling to move his arms and legs.

"You're concentrating too hard. It must come naturally to you. Try to find your center, boy. It will come to you." Artemnas nodded.

Alex's breathing slowed. Artemnas felt his grandson's force trying to come through, though not as harshly as before. The young man had all the experience with Energy Manipulation he needed. He knew how to focus his old powers well enough. Finding this new center, in the Monastery, no less, should have been a piece of cake.

Something was holding him back.

Himself?

Artemnas felt something within Alex that he couldn't simply overcome. Some mental barrier he couldn't break through. Emotion. Memory. Pain, Artemnas figured.

The Grandmaster sighed, trying to look deeper within Alex, but even that proved futile. For some reason, his mind was impenetrable. Nothing in or out. Suspicion. Doubt...

Something more...

Author's Notes:

I take too long with these.

So, Chapter 90 is done and over with, which means WE CAN FINALLY MOVE ON TO SOME OF THE MAJOR BATTLES OF THIS ARC!!

Eve of the Eclipse Part 1 should be done in hopefully a week. I'm going to try and have these done every Sunday if possible. If not, then it'll likely come some point during that week.

Please feel free to comment if you have any questions or anything, Happy Reading!

The Destoyer