Twilight Sparkle and her friends were taking a casual stroll around the darkened streets of Canterlot, which was filled with guards at every door of every house of every block, hoping to locate any suspicious activity within the magical force field that engulfed the entire city like a brightly coloured snow globe. The girls all gathered in a restaurant and talked about their day.
The girls were all expressing how happy they were to partake in the Royal wedding which was to take place two days from then. All except for Twilight Sparkle, who had been the only one to witness the bride’s high-and-mighty attitude and disregard for her friends hard work, yet they did not take it the way Twilight had thought they should have, chalking it up to nerves as the day loomed closer. She decided to leave the girls to their blind admiring and decided to take a stroll around the city to think about her situation.

Why would Cadence treat my friends so badly? She wondered as she continued to stroll onwards towards her brother’s home, paying no attention to her surroundings, wrapped in her thoughts as she was. So, she never noticed the strange, bipedal creature hiding in the shadows of a nearby alleyway, trying to cover the faint glow from one arm, while keeping the other arm ready to draw its sword...
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What the hell is with this place? I mean, unicorns, pegasi, and, the other ones, I knew they existed, even though most said it was only in myths and legends, but how the hell is there an entire city filled with them? Die was struggling more and more to keep her thoughts together and her emotions in check with each passing second. Nothing made any sense. She just couldn’t understand how she had gone from being caught in a massive explosion on a cliff beside a small village, to being in a city filled with creatures she’d only ever heard about from her parents and seen in paintings and carvings on the walls of the ruins from all those years ago. To see them walking through the streets so openly, it was just so, strange. It didn’t help that the solar materia was constantly glowing brighter and brighter all the time, making it much more difficult to stay hidden, and she didn’t want to take the chance that these things would try and lock her up or worse. Not before she found Noctis anyway. Seriously, where is that idiot? If I’m here, he should be too, right? I swear, if he got himself killed, I am gon-AGH!

Die clutched her arm, it felt as if it was on fire, and the solar materia produced a bright flash. She saw an image in front of her, like the equines she had seen around the city. It was a pegasus with a red body, a yellow mane and tail, and a mark on its flank that she couldn’t make out. It was only there for a moment, and then it was gone, and she was alone in the alley again, trying not to cry out and still clutching her arm, waiting for the pain to subside...
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Twilight had just left her brother’s house after seeing Cadance perform a spell on her brother, one she was sure was intended to manipulate him. She had to warn the princess about it and save her brother. She was so focused on the task at hand that she almost missed the bright flash coming from nearby. She almost assumed that it was her brother performing maintenance on the shield spell, but then she remembered that he was back at his home with her. Thinking that it was another possible danger to her friends and family, she cast a spell to trace the source of the flash to the alley she had passed on the way to her brother’s house. She was unsure whether or not she should proceed, but the thought of her friends, her family, being harmed in any way strengthened her resolve. She stepped into the alley, her horn aglow, and what she saw shocked her.

It was some sort of strange bipedal creature. It had no visible fur anywhere except on the top of its head, and it was wearing some sort of strange clothing. It had a bag, and it was clutching one of the appendages on its upper body. As soon as it noticed her, it started slowly backing away and reaching for something on its back. Not wanting to take any chances, she fired off a bolt of magic, electrocuting and knocking the creature out. She saw its open backpack filled with strange orbs, and the sword strapped to its back, and she was sure that it had something to do with the threat to Canterlot. With that idea rooted in her mind, she levitated the creature and its belongings through the empty streets of Canterlot towards the mansion where her friends were staying, only to be confronted by Princess Luna.

“Twilight Sparkle, what is that strange creature you have with you?” She asked curiously.

“Princess Luna, I believe that this thing may be a threat to Equestria. I need to bring it to Princess Celestia, right now.”

“Twilight Sparkle, my sister is at the palace, and she is resting. I shall bring this creature to her. You shall head indoors and remain there.” She said sternly.

“But I-” Luna just gave her a hard look until Twilight bowed her head in submission.

“Alright Princess.” She handed over the creature to the Princess of the Night and ran inside to her friends. The princess meanwhile, brought the creature to the palace’s throne room and ordered the guards to fetch her sister, with the instructions that it was of grave importance. As she waited for the guard to return with her sister, she looked over the creature and its possessions, with only one thought running through her mind.

Where is your brother, Day Warrior...
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Noctis stood at the edge of the volcano, surrounded by dragons, though this was nothing new for him, considering the past few days were almost exactly the same. Ever since he woke up in this barren wasteland filled with cracked, scorched earth, active volcanoes, ash-coated trees, and of course, the creatures that thrived in such conditions, the most notable of which being dragons, he’d been attacked over and over again, barely having more than a few minutes to rest, and it was taking its toll. His entire body felt heavy, he was barely able to stay awake, and his mind was feeling sluggish. Regardless, he pressed on, taking down anything and everything that tried to make a meal out of him. He was determined not to die as long as his sister was alive, and he had every belief that she was.

Alright, just gotta take these things down, then I can go back to finding Die, and hopefully, civilisation. This should be fun.

One of the creatures charged him. He simply grabbed it and crushed its throat. Two more tried to rush him together, only for their skulls to be smashed together with such force that they were completely shattered.

Three down...and only a whole lot more to go...
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Die woke up slowly, her body and mind still stinging from the shock of whatever that purple unicorn had done to her. As her mental capacity returned to normal, she was vaguely aware of someone watching her. She stayed as still as possible, trying to wait until her reflexes were back to full capacity. Her sight was blurred, but she could make out two figures approaching her, and she could make out the sound of hooves on stone.

Great, more equines. This time though, I’m not gonna be surprised. This time, they’re go-

“Glad to see you’re awake, Day warrior. Are you alright?”

Die shot up and jumped away from the two equines, her left arm reaching for her blade, while her other was raised in preparation to use the solar materia. The two equines in front of her shared a look before turning back to face her, each with a different expression. The midnight blue one looked slightly amused, while the white one’s face showed slight concern. She didn’t pay attention, choosing to rush the two equines, only to be knocked back by an unseen force and restrained. She noticed that both there was a golden glow emanating from the white equine’s...horn? She looked at the two of them more closely, and sure enough they both had horns. But they also had something at their sides. Die couldn’t believe it, they had wings as well. Their expressions never changed, though the blue equine chuckled lightly at Die’s shocked expression. Suddenly, something clicked in Die’s head.

Die: “Oh my God! You two...you look like the statues from those ruins!” She exclaimed in disbelief.

The blue equine looked at her and laughed softly.

“That’s not surprising Day Warrior, seeing as those were statues of us.” She said with a smile.

Die: “What? But how, those ruins were several millennia old. How could you be alive so long ago, unless...no, that’s impossible, you can’t be...” She trailed off.

The white equine took her turn to speak.

“It is quite true. My sister and I are immortal, and, because the celestial orbs bound themselves to you, the same is now true of you and your brother.” Die tensed up at the mention of her brother’s name.

Die: “How do you know about Noctis?” She said quietly.

“Because we were alerted when the orbs were removed from their resting place. We assumed that it was grave robbers attempting to steal valuables with the intent of selling them. Imagine our surprise when we discovered that instead, it was two children, and what’s more, that the orbs were bound to them. You are quite lucky they chose you. If not, you would have been burned to ash in an instant, and your brother would have been encased in ice for eternity.”

Die said nothing, allowing the information to sink in.

“Anyway, allow us to introduce ourselves. I am princess Celestia, and this is my sister, princess Luna.” She gestured to the blue equine, who walked over and raised her hoof towards Die. She took it in her hand and shook it. Luna walked back to Celestia, smiling.

Die: “Well, my name’s Die, SOLDIER 1st Class. Actually, I should say ex-SOLDIER, seeing as I no longer work for Shinra. Um, sorry for, you know, trying to rush you.”

Celestia: “It is alright. From what my sister has told me, you had a less than civil encounter with Twilight Sparkle, my faithful student. Sadly, she has let her paranoia get the best of her, accusing my niece of manipulating her brother, Shining Armor. He and Cadance are to be married tomorrow.”

Die: “I see. So, this Twilight Sparkle, she’s your student?”

Celestia: “Yes, she is my most gifted pupil, as well as a holder of one of the elements of Harmony.”

Die: “The elements of Harmony? What are those?”

Celestia: “They are artifacts which hold great power, a power whose sole function is to protect the harmony of our world. I would explain further, but unfortunately, there is not enough time.”

Die: “Alright then. Well, do you mind if I have my backpack back? I want to make sure I didn’t lose any of my materia.”

Celestia: “Materia? What are those?” She inquired.

Die: “They’re crystallised orbs of mako, the lifeblood of our planet. They’re what allow us humans to use magic, but they can do other things too. Some can be used to summon creatures to aid us in battle, some can make other materia stronger, but most allow us to use spells. Noctis and I always carry the same materia. So may I have my backpack?”

Luna: “Ah, yes, you may, on the condition that you explain the powers of each ‘materia’.”

Die: “Sure, no problem.”

Die looked through the backpack, grabbing each materia, explaining its purpose and giving a small demonstration. She started with her offensive magic materia. Firaga, Thundaga, Blizzaga and Aeroga. After explaining their uses, she moved onto her healing materia, Curaga, which could heal all but fatal wounds and Esuna, which could remove almost any illness. She then explained her summoning materia. She and Noctis only had one each. She had Phoenix, a giant bird with colourful plumage and wings surrounded by flames, while Noctis’ was a mystery, even to her, seeing as he’d never once used it. Lastly, she told them about the solar and lunar materia.

Die: “Ever since we found them, we felt like we had some sort of connection, me with the sun and Noctis with the moon. It was like they were feeding us power, making us even faster, and stronger, than the SOLDIER procedures made us.”

Luna: “That is to be expected. It was the celestial orbs, as we know them, that gave my sister and I our powers in the first place.”

Die:“Powers? What do you mean?”

Celestia: “My sister and I are alicorns. We are literally the physical embodiment of the three species of ponies, as our race, in general, is called. Those three are pegasi, unicorns, and earth ponies. Our world is much different from yours, Die. Here, the weather can be controlled, and pegasi are responsible for that particular task. My sister and I are responsible for raising and lowering the sun and moon, for our planet does not orbit the sun, nor does the moon orbit our planet, as yours do. Our talent is shown by our cutie marks, a symbol which appears on every pony’s flank when they discover what makes them special, the skill that makes them who they are. The celestial orbs helped us find ours, but afterwards, they disappeared. We found them again, but we could not remove them from their resting place. They were only meant to guide us in the right direction. But they were meant to bond with you and Noctis.”

Die was speechless. She had seen the markings on their flanks, Celestia’s sun and Luna’s crescent moon, but she had no idea what they meant. She thought they were just tattoos. The fact that these two in front of her were responsible for raising and lowering the sun and moon in this world was making her head spin violently, and the fact that it was the lunar and solar materia, no, the celestial orbs, that gave them their powers and responsibilities? It was taking all her self control not to have a mental breakdown right now. Celestia noticed this and placed a hoof on her shoulder.

Celestia: “Die, I understand if this is a lot to take in, but I need to ask, where is your brother? Where is Noctis?”

Die looked at her as if she had just been slapped.

Die: “What do you mean? You don’t know where he is? This is bad! This is very bad!”

Luna: “Die, calm down, I’m sure he’s alright.”

Die: “NO! You don’t understand. I have to find him. We keep each other in check. He keeps me from rushing into trouble, and I keep him from losing control when he fights.”

Celestia and Luna started to become worried.

Luna: “What do you mean, ‘losing control’?”

Die took a deep breath.

Die: “Noctis doesn’t remember this, except for what I told him, but a few months after we joined SOLDIER, someone came in and told us that Sephiroth, another SOLDIER, had gone insane and burned down Nibelheim, massacring everyone in the village. Nibelheim was my hometown, and my parents were among the dead.”

Die took a moment to examine their reactions. Both were visibly shocked at hearing of such a thing, though Celestia was hiding her anger better than Luna, who seemed ready to burst. She took another breath and continued.

Die: “When we heard about it, something happened to Noctis. His entire body turned pitch-black, and his eyes turned to yellow slits, like a dragon. His whole body started shaking, and his face was set in an enraged expression. He started calling himself Akumu, and said he was going to destroy every living thing in existence. He went berserk and attacked the everyone in the room. A lot of people were injured by him. He ended up killing his closest friend, Chris.”

Luna was visibly shaking, and Celestia had placed a wing around her sister, trying to comfort her.

Luna: “How could he do such a thing?”

Die: “He wasn’t in control of himself. Akumu was a spirit born within the lunar orb when Noctis bonded with it, and it came out when his anger surged, as far as I could tell. It took over, and it used his body to try and realise it’s sick desires. I had to fight it myself, and it almost killed me. At the last second, when it was about to finish me off, it lost control for a brief second, and Noctis threw the blade to me, asking me to end it. At first, I refused, but then, I saw something. It was like some sort of vision. I saw the blades in the ground, and a bunch of symbols, and a flash. Then it was gone, and I was facing Noctis, or Akumu, again.”

Luna: “What did your vision mean?”

Die: “The solar materia was responding to my desire to save Noctis, and it showed me how to perform a technique called the celestial seal. The technique worked, and Akumu was sealed inside Noctis’ mind, but Noctis lost most of his memories regarding what happened that day, and I have to stay in close proximity to him, or the seal could be broken from the inside, and Akumu would break free again.”

Celestia faced Luna, her expression stern and serious.

Celestia: “Luna, I want you to find Noctis, and bring him here, no matter what.”

Luna nodded and left the throne room, spreading her wings and taking off into the sky, praying that she could find Noctis before this Akumu could take over...
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Noctis was busy trying to find some source of water to wash the blood out of his clothes. The dragons hadn’t gone down easily, but they did go down, and he had been left standing among a multitude of corpses. It took him a while to make his way down the side of the mountain, and the whole time there was a dull throbbing in the back of his head, and it got more painful every second. Eventually, he managed to find a small stream, and though the water wasn’t clean enough for consumption, it was enough to wash out the bloodstains. The ache was almost unbearable at this point. Then he heard it.

‘Noctis...’

“Who’s there?’

‘Noctis...’

“Show yourself!”

‘Oh Noctis, you know I can’t do that yet. Or do you?’

“The hell are you? How do you know my name?”

‘All in good time, Noctis, all in good time.’

“Back off!” He said in a quiet, but dangerous, tone of voice.

‘Alright, but know that I will come for you, and I will take what is mine...’

The voice grew fainter and fainter until he could no longer hear it. His headache disappeared with it.

Good riddance. Maybe I can f-AHHHHHHHH!

Noctis’ arm began to throb. It felt like his entire arm was encased in ice. The lunar materia produced a flash, and he saw an image. It was some sort of equine creature, a pegasus, like the ones from the walls of the ruins. It was blue, with a dark brown mane and tail, and it had a mark on its rear-end, though he couldn’t see it clearly enough to figure out what it was. It was only there for an instant, and then it disappeared, leaving Noctis holding his throbbing arm, waiting for the pain to stop...
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Luna had been searching for over a day. She was visibly tired, but she could not take any time to rest. She had to find Noctis, for the sake of Equestria, but also for his sister. She knew the pain of being separated from a loved one, and even though she had been imprisoned on the moon, she always knew that she would see her sister again one day. However, if this Akumu was anything like the Nightmare, and she was terrified that it was, she didn’t know if she or her sister would be able to help Noctis overcome it. From what Die had said, this Nightmare’s desire was nothing short of the death of every living thing in existence, while her own wanted only eternal night. Granted, an eternal night would eventually result in the deaths of every living thing, but her Nightmare never wanted to end those lives by hand, it didn’t want to feel the life leave a body. Akumu however, did. It was more malevolent, more bloodthirsty, than her Nightmare had ever been, and she shuddered to think what would happen if it ever took Noctis over.

Please, please let me find him in time. I don’t want to have to harm him. I may not have met him, but from what his sister said, he’s already been through enough. Please.

As if her prayer was being answered, a massive flash came from nearby. She turned towards the source of it, and sure enough, at a nearby stream, sat a human male. She was absolutely sure it was Noctis, and she set down nearby to meet him. She didn’t expect him to draw his sword when he saw her however, and she shrank back, more than a little afraid.

Noctis: “Don’t come any closer. I had to take down a whole army of dragons already. Don’t make me kill you too.” His voice was completely devoid of emotion.

Luna: “Please, I mean you no harm, I only wish to help you. My name is Luna, alicorn and co-princess of Equestria.”

Noctis: “Well, I’m Noctis, ex-SOLDIER 1st Class. Now, tell me why I shouldn’t drop you where you stand.” Still nothing.

Luna was slightly taken aback by his hostility, but she chalked it up to nerves and the fact that he had to fight an ‘army of dragons’.

Luna: “Well, for one, Die sent me.”

Noctis stumbled at the mention of his sister’s name.

Noctis: “My sister? Is she alright?” This time there was worry in his voice.

Luna: “Yes, she’s safe. She is currently staying with my elder sister Celestia. I promised her I would bring you to see her safely.”

Noctis: “Yeah, well right now, I don’t feel safe. This whole place feels haunted, what with the voices coming from nowhere.”

Luna became puzzled.

Luna: “Voices?”

Noctis: “Yeah, I heard a voice a few minutes ago. It knew my name.”

Luna’s puzzled expression turned to fear as the realization hit her.

Luna: “Noctis, we need to go now! We need to get you back to your sister as fast as possible. Unfortunately, I cannot teleport us from this distance, and even if we get within range, I cannot try using magic while you are in your current state, or there is a risk of your mind being damaged.”

Noctis took a moment to think. He couldn’t be sure if this creature was telling the truth, but she knew his sister, and he felt, deep down, that he could trust her. He didn’t understand it, but he went with it. He placed his sword on his back, and walked slowly towards Luna.

Noctis: “Alright. I’ll go with you princess. If it means I’ll see my sister, I’ll trust you.”

Luna tried very hard to contain her relief and...something else. She couldn’t quite place her hoof on it, but she felt something about Noctis. She put it out of her mind for the sake of the task ahead.

Luna: “Thank you Noctis, but please, just call me Luna. I’m not really fond of formalities. I just wish we would have had time to make it to the wedding.”

Noctis raised an eyebrow.

Noctis: “Wedding? Aren’t you being a little forward.” He questioned with a small smirk, and Luna started blushing profusely.

Luna: “No no no, that’s not what I meant. There is a wedding today between my niece, Princess Mi Amore Cadenza, though she prefers to be called Cadance, and Shining Armor, the captain of the Solar Guard. I’m sure you will get to meet them someday.” She said, still blushing.

Noctis: “Okay. So, shall we get going?”

Luna nodded and grasped Noctis with her magic, placing him on her back. She flared her wings in preparation to take flight. She looked back towards Noctis, and smirked, her previous embarraassment forgotten.

Luna: “You may want to hold on if you don’t want to fall.”

Noctis took her advice and wrapped his arms around her neck not a minute too soon. They took to the skies in an instant and flew towards Canterlot..
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“Dammit, what is going on here!? What the hay are these things!?”

“All guards fall back! Evacuate the citizens!”

“There’s too many, we can’t stop th-AAAAAAAAAAGH!”

Great, I fall asleep for a couple of hours and everything goes to hell.

Die stood atop the tower overlooking the city, analyzing the army of strange creatures scattered throughout the city, and at the guards who were either restrained by the strange green goo the creatures secreted, or were busy trying to evacuate the citizens. The city was, for all intents and purposes, a warzone.

Well, might as well make myself useful. Good thing I got my materia ready before I came up here.

Die smirked as she jumped from the tower, timing it so that she landed on one of the creatures around halfway through her descent. The creature tried several times to shake Die off, but in doing so, it failed to avoid crashing through a window of a nearby house, destroying the owner’s kitchen. Die shrugged it off, but the creature wasn’t so lucky. She frowned as she noticed it’s head at an awkward angle, it’s neck clearly broken. She climbed out the shattered window, and was immediately surrounded on all sides by more of the creatures. She smirked as she drew Taiyo no me and raised her right arm, preparing to use the solar materia.

Die: “Well, COME GET SOME!” She yelled as she charged into battle...
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Celestia was trapped in a pod on the ceiling, helpless as she saw her student and her friends being led back into the chapel, several changelings surrounding them, including the two who were restraining Rainbow Dash. She could do nothing but hope for a miracle as Chrysalis began to lord her victory over everypony.

Twilight, Cadance, everypony, please forgive me. I failed you. I failed Equestria. I-

*CRASH*

“Ok, who put that window there!? Cause I’m not paying for damages!”

Celestia looked towards the now shattered window behind Shining Armor and her niece, and who was standing there but Die. Everypony had mixed reactions. Celestia was relieved, Chrysalis was unimpressed, Cadance and Twilight’s friends were speechless, and Twilight herself had a mixture of confusion and anger on her face as she recognised the ex-SOLDIER.

TS: “YOU!” She shouted.

Die: “Hey, you’re the one who electrocuted me. How’ve you been?” She replied nonchalantly. Twilight never got a chance to answer as Celestia spoke first.

Celestia: “Die, thank you for coming. We need your help.” She sighed with relief.

TS: “Princess Celestia, you know this thing?” She exclaimed with disbelief.

Celestia: “Twilight Sparkle, this is Die, a human, ex-SOLDIER, and a friend.”

Chrysalis: “Oh Celestia, this is too rich. You actually mean to say you befriended this freak?” She said with a smirk. Die frowned as she turned towards the changeling queen.

Die: “Look who’s talking you overgrown cockroach.”

Chrysalis’ eye twitched, and she became enraged.

Chrysalis: “Cockroach? COCKROACH? Listen here you walking abomination, I am Chrysalis, Queen of the Changelings, and compared to me, you are nothing, you hear me? NOTHING! I’ll smite you where you stand!”

Die just smirked and drew her sword.

Die: “Then bring it on, Chryssy.”

Chrysalis lost what little composure she had left and charged at Die, fangs bared, wings flared and horn glowing. Die just sidestepped her, and Chrysalis flew out the window. Die took this opportunity to quickly take down the changelings surrounding Twilight and the others, and to free Celestia and Cadance, before jumping out the window and crashing into Chrysalis, sending them both hurtling towards the ground far below them.
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A massive cloud of dust rose up on impact, and Die was blinded for a few seconds. When she finally got the dust out of her eyes, Noctis was standing in front of her. She placed her sword on her back, relieved to see him, but confused as to how he was here.

Die: “Noctis? When’d you get here? And where’d Chrysalis go?”

Noctis didn’t answer. He just stood there, unmoving.

Die: “Noctis? You ok...” She asked worriedly, stepping towards him. She barely had time to move out of the way when he drew his blade and cut through the space where her throat had been just a second earlier.

Die: “The hell, Noctis! What’s going on with you?” She exclaimed, preparing to draw her sword.

Celestia: “Die!”

Celestia flew down to Die, while staying out of the battle, as she had not recovered enough of her strength to go up against Chrysalis again.

Celestia: “So, this is what Noctis looks like?”

Die: “Looks like? What’s that supposed to mean?”

Celestia took a deep breath and instinctively rubbed her horn.

Celestia: “Chrysalis is a changeling, they can copy the forms of others. She must have gone through your memories while you were falling and decided to copy him.”

Die took a look at ‘Noctis’, and noticed she couldn’t sense the Lunar orb’s presence. That was impossible, she could always feel it when he was nearby, just as Noctis could always feel the Solar orb’s presence when Die was nearby.

Die: “You’re just imitating my brother?” She whispered, lowering her head. The faux Noctis smirked, but that smirk soon turned to a horrified gasp, as Die’s body became coated in armor that burned and flowed like flames, and when she brought her head back up to face the impostor, her eyes were filled with rage.

Die: “How DARE YOU! HOW DARE YOU INSULT MY BROTHER’S HONOUR! I’LL KILL YOU!”

Die rushed the fake, and grabbed it by the throat. She started to squeeze, cutting off the air supply. She started to squeeze harder, but just as she was about to crush the copy’s throat, she felt something on her shoulder. She turned to see Celestia with a pleading look in her eyes.

Celestia: “Die, don’t. Please don’t kill her.”

Die: “Why? She tried to take over this place, she tried to kill you, your friends, your family. Why shouldn’t I kill her?”

Celestia: “Because if you do this, it will be in cold blood. Do you really want to be a murderer? Do you really want to become like Akumu?”

Die froze at the mention of that demon’s name, and the flames surrounding her died.

She, she’s right. If I kill Chrysalis like this, I’ll just be a murderer. And Noctis would never forgive me. I’d, never forgive me.

She loosened her grip on the changeling queen’s throat, and brought her back up to the chapel, where Shining Armor and Cadance were already performing the shield spell together. A purple dome started to form around them, and it grew exponentially, forcing all the changeling invaders out with it. The last to go was Chrysalis, and she screamed silently, her throat damaged from being choked by Die. Die watched her go, and turned away just in time to be surrounded by Twilight and her friends, while Celestia, Cadance and Shining Armor looked on, chuckling.

RD: “I’m Rainbow Dash, fastest flyer in Equestria, and I got one thing to say to you!” The cyan pegasus mare said with a smirk. “THAT. WAS. AWESOME! HOW’D YOU DO THAT!” She exclaimed.

AJ: “Wow, I reckon that if you’re willin’ to take on that ornery changelin’ queen for us, you’re ok in mah book. Name’s Applejack by the way, proud worker of Sweet Apple Acres.” The orange earth mare with the stetson tipped her hat to Die.

PP: “I’m Pinkie Pie, Ponyville’s premier party planner! OOH! You’re new here, aren’t you! THAT MEANS I HAVE TO THROW YOU A PARTY! It’s gonna be a ‘Welcome to Equestria and thanks for saving Canterlot from that meanie Chrysalis’ party!” The pink earth pony said while bouncing.

FS: “U-um, I’m F-f-Fluttershy. Thank you for saving us. I appreciate it.” The yellow pegasus whispered.

Rar: “Thank you very much. I’d hate to think what would have happened to us if you hadn’t stepped in. I owe you a favour. Stop by my boutique sometime and I’ll make you a fabulous dress to replace that hideous ensemble you’re wearing.”

Die: “Hey, I happen to like this gear. I’ve worn it to hell and back, so to speak, so it happens to mean a lot to me. Almost as much as Taiyo no me.” She said, drawing her blade so they could get a good look at it.

Rar: “I apologise, I would never be so cruel as to toy with something that has sentimental value to you or anypony. But I would like to at least fix it up for you, sew up the tears and such.”

Die: “Thanks. I might just take you up on your offer.” Die turned to face Twilight Sparkle, who flinched, afraid that Die would try to hurt her. Die put one hand on Twilight’s shoulder, and ruffled her mane with the other. Twilight opened her eyes, confused.

TS: “Y-you’re not going to hurt me? I mean, I electrocuted you and knocked you out. Aren’t you angry?” Die chuckled.

Die: “Nah, you were trying to protect your friends and family. I’d probably have done the same thing in your position. No hard feelings, right?” She took her hand off of Twilight’s shoulder and held it out. Twilight met it with her hoof, and they shook.

TS: “No hard feelings.” She said with a smile. With that, Die started to walk out. Cadance called out to her.

Cadance: “Hey, where are you going? We still need to thank you for saving us. And we still have to have the wedding.”

Die: “I’m tired after fighting all those Changeling things. I’m gonna catch some Zs. Talk to ya’ later!” She said, waving her arm in a lazy goodbye as she left the chapel and walked through the city towards the castle and her room...
__________________________________________________________________

Noctis felt great, better than he’d ever felt before. He and Luna had talked all the way to Canterlot about several different subjects, and found they had a lot in common. They both had trouble opening up to others, they both felt they could only really confide in their respective sisters most of the time, and they both loved the night, Noctis because the beauty of the moon and stars helped him feel at peace with himself, and Luna because she enjoyed guiding the moon and making the constellations, especially now that so many ponies stayed up to see them. He was currently walking through the palace hallways while Luna was at the wedding reception, trying to avoid the guards, completely unaware of what had happened while he and Luna were on their way here. For the first time in a long time, Noctis was happy. So happy, he almost missed his room. Luna had said it was at the far end of the castle, the room beside the stairs that led to her own room. It was very nicely furnished. A large bed, wardrobe, mirror, desk and a bathroom. It was definitely better than the SOLDIER barracks. He smiled and walked towards the desk. There was a note.

Greetings Noctis,

I hope that the accommodations are acceptable. I understand if you wish to meet with your sister Die, but there has been quite a commotion, and she is currently resting. I would advise that you rest as well, as you are no doubt tired from your journey. And do not worry, you may meet with your sister tomorrow. My sister and I will be there also, I look forward to making your acquaintance.

Yours sincerely,
Princess Celestia

Noctis put down the note and walked over to the bed, looking out the window. The moon was high in the sky, and the stars shined with an intensity they had never had back home. He let his mind wander, and it wandered to thoughts of Luna.

She’s amazing. She’s smart, funny, kind, and she’s beautiful. It’s weird, but I think I actually like her. But she’s a princess, I’m just an ex-SOLDIER. Plus, I’m not a pony. I doubt there would be many who would accept it if she did like me, but I don’t even know if she does. I just wish there was some way I could be like her. If I was, then maybe I’d have a chance. You know, it’s funny. The first time I ever have feelings for someone, and it’s an immortal alicorn goddess from another world. I should just ask her how she feels. If she likes me, then that’s great, if not, I’ll accept that. Don’t really have much choice...

He drifted off, his thoughts fading as he let sleep take him...