hollyverse 23. Heaven’s fury

There was so much of it.

So much destruction, so much fire, so much death. Celestia, wingless and hornless, walked down the streets of what had been the bustling city of Everfree Capital, its ancient woodland razed to the ground. Above, her worst fear spread its inky-black wings, dripping with stolen immortality. It opened its terrible eyes, and through fanged maws, it spoke

“Celestia!”

And suddenly blue brilliance was breaking through the blood-red sky, the guardian of night banishing the shadow that had blinded the queen. Luna’s slender form glowed with bustling energy, and from her horn sparks still crackled. Her swift spell had pushed the dark stallion back, and with a sound that was half laugh half snarl he directed a beam of wicked red at the dusky alicorn. Forced back to reality from the dreadful vision, Celestia was quick to summon a golden shield between the attacker and their own persons, but her stomach was roiling with nausea, her head still spinning. Her mind was just recovering from the rawness of the vision, body dodging on autopilot, watching Luna attack relentlessly and the way her eyes widened at whatever was happening below.

King Sombra’s shadow veil came off like a mask; behind his scowling face, the Crystal Heart stirred weakly, obediently granting him its strength… And next to the relic was a statue in the form of Princess Amore, patron of love, beloved of the goddesses, the pony who had known the moon like no other. She posed determined, in battle stance, a hint of fear staining her noble face; frozen in time, eternal in her defeat, lifeless yet defiant.

The Usurper thought himself clever, for two most powerful royals had fallen to his trickery. Why not a third? Legend says he might’ve even planned to keep one of the Sisters alive and captured… for what is a queen’s lord husband, if not a king? It was thus that, pulling away from the quickfire struggle against the reeling alicorns, Sombra directed his magic at a most precious crystal; not the Heart, as he had done once already, but to the still form of Princess Amore, sealed in stone.

There is no doubt to historians now of what Queen Luna would’ve done, left to her devices. Her Worship had been deteriorating for some time now, and after the defeat of Amore, many thought her senses and wit gone for good. That she wanted to intervene as her lover once did, and put herself between her treasure and the King no one can doubt, and surely she would’ve been struck by Sombra’s spell… Were it not for the swift action of the solar alicorn. Celestia’s shimmering shield wrapped around the sisters both, even as Luna raged within the bubble of golden energy. It all happened in a heartbeat, but the Sun refused to lose another of Equestria’s pillars to this war, and so the Moon was kept restrained, even as Sombra’s dreadful spell struck the statue, shattering it with a crack as terrible and loud as thunder: Princess Amore’s crystallized body broke. And Luna broke with her.

Her raw shriek of rightful wrath and grief broke through the rabble’s battlecries, and legend claims a crack appeared across the face of the moon, as the Night Sovereign gave in to her pain. Luna screamed, and below the armies looked to one another in confusion and wept too, for the moon’s magic was on them. Ponies dropped their weapons and looked up through their tears, sobbing as they had the day the Sisters died and were reborn. A faint blue tint had taken hold of the world, as Luna forced the very Universe to cry with her: so heartwrenching was her moan of agony that for a moment Celestia thought her sister struck and wounded, instead of the statue that had been her lover once.

Sensing her distress, the Elements stirred, almost trying to pull away from the darkening alicorn with a will of their own. Her sister, eyes widening, called to her own Elements, taking this for an opportunity to attack the shadowed unicorn and end this for good. Celestia and Luna summoned the primal magic of Creation, and the Earth shuddered as heaven’s fury rained down in the Empire as it did half a millenia ago.

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in case it was a little confusing aahhh: celestia was trapped in one of sombra’s worst-fear visions, but luna smacked them both out of it!
tried to go back to my roots with the few first hollyverse pieces, a different stylization and sketchier lines that id grown afraid of working with, but still enjoy very much! also, luna’s power to literally project her feelings onto others is vaguely inspired by blue diamond from steven universe. i didnt watch the show, but i do think her nature of magically making others cry just because she’s hurting so much is very neat, symbolically. it’s certainly not something only luna can do, but i think this is the first time either of the sisters has felt something so awful, so strongly. positive feelings can probably be spread too, in quieter, slower ways, like how ponykind’s overall happiness (and that of the sisters) kept the changelings effortlessly well fed for so long.

i hope you like this piece!!! the rollercoaster keeps doing down from here hehe