As Twilight led the group through the Everfree forest, she could not help but wonder why the tree that had been holding fine until now was most likely dying before peering at the crown on her head along with the girl's necklaces. She did not inform the girls about when she was able to peer into the past because the weapons they were wielding were surprisingly weaker than before, which was utterly confusing to Twilight. As far as she knew, the weapons were growing strangely, and that fits none of the information she has about magic. Foci do not grow more robust. That has been one of the truths that she had to know for so long during her magical education. Before she could continue her thought process, she heard one of her friends ask a question. Twilight quickly spoke up. "Could you ask that again, Rainbow, sorry I was thinking about something?"
Rainbow nodded and spoke again with curiosity in her tone of voice. "What was it like watching Princess Celestia and Princess Luna duke it out?"
Twilight slowly started speaking, describing a battleground scene that was probably better off forgotten by everyone.
---Flashback 1001 years in the past ancient Castle of the Sisters---
Twilight followed behind Celestia, who was radiating a tired but determined aura of energy. They slowly walked into the throne room where Nightmare Moon was currently using. Twilight could only look at her mentor's back and realized that there was something much more different about this Celestia compared to her teacher. There was a hardness that is not in the current Celestia, which made Twilight slowly nod her head because, in all honesty, there had been no real threat in a while.
What Twilight did not realize was there her current teacher was able to hide her past exceptionally well compared to her past self. Twilight was seeing Celestia in a full battle mode that not even the Changeling Princess Chrysalis was able to wake Celestia from her almost lethargic mindset. Celestia is so very tired and would rather be a teacher instead of waking those war instincts back up. Luna was much the same two tired ponies that have more bodies to their names than most. They have repeatedly buried Equestria's enemies, keeping their subjects safer than most beings of power do.
Twilight saw Nightmare Moon sitting on Luna's throne and could not help but wonder how Luna had been weakened by the Filth to let out her alter. Twilight had been informed about the duo personalities of all Alicorns. Twilight had still not met her alter while she had the pleasure of meeting two so far, Asmund and Daybreaker. She still wondered what her alter was like, but Celestia did not want her casting the spell that allowed Asmund and Onyx to split bodies and fight in the Changeling invasion. Celestia had warned her that Asmund and Onyx's relationship was bizarre, and what she had seen from Celestia and Daybreaker conformed, Celestia's words of warning.
Celestia slowly let out a stifling heat that was burning everything she passed into ash, she was quick to call out in anger at the being wearing her sister's skin. "Return my sister to me, Nightmare Moon. I give you this one warning to return yourself and give me back my sister."
Nightmare Moon let out a dark chuckle while the ground around her started freezing and cracking apart in the darkness, her voice like two massive ice shards grinding against each other. "Or you will do what Celestia, you do not have the strength to strike me down. After all, poor baby sister Luna will die if I do. So go ahead posture all you want. The only way you are getting her back is over my dead body."
Celestia growled and launched a massive blast of pure sunlight, which was scorching and melting everything into pure lave. Nightmare Moon blinked before grinning savagely and launching a massive blast of dark ice right back at Celestia, which was able to equal her in power. Nightmare Moon smiled down at Celestia and the throne room already becoming a battleground just for the two of them. No other mortal being could interfere with these two now.
Twilight could only watch in shocked awe at the causal power that these two were throwing out. Twilight could only wonder when she would be able to do something similar before realizing that there was no need for people like this, in the current era. Before she could continue down the memory, she watched as the two put bubbles made of the very magic around them and started flying after each other and smashing into each other. Twilight watched what was becoming a magical slugging match in worry. The reason for her worry is because she knew her teacher needed the weapons to seal her sister, but there was no way Celestia had five users handy to use the elements.
Celestia was thrown away by Nightmare Moon because she was still holding back at the end of the day, not wanting to kill her sister. Twilight quickly followed the falling Celestia and watched as she was crushed under a roof that she had fallen through. Twilight stood there and silently cried as she looked at her mentor torn and bloody while Nightmare Moon, from what Twilight had seen, was regenerating because of the Filth infecting her. Celestia slowly pushed the ground off her body and stood bloody, beaten but unbroken.
Celestia looked at the tree that she had landed next to and sighed because she knew what she had to do. She quickly kneeled in front of it and began speaking, which surprised Twilight. "My lady Harmony, I know I am not one of your wielders, but I beseech you. Help me stop my sister, I cannot truly strike her down, and so I beg as a big sister. Help me seal her away."
Twilight looked at the approaching Nightmare moon before she heard the tree itself start moving and looked back in shocked awe, as the weapons slowly started spinning around her teacher, faster and faster they spun before a rainbow bubble surrounded her teacher. Twilight followed the now enhanced Celestia and could only watch in shocked awe as she started throwing Nightmare Moon around before using the weapons to seal Nightmare Moon onto the moon. Where she would stay for a thousand years.
Twilight looked at her teacher, who was standing there panting, watching the weapons slowly stop turning and falling away from her inert, completely lifeless. Twilight walked over and moved her arm through one. 'Why did you go inert from Helping princess Celestia?'
Celestia slowly tottered forward before she smashed her foot down, pushed herself back into a standing position, looked at the weapons, and picked them up. Before she could move forward, a female pony in a maid uniform walked forward and kneeled, waiting for Celestia to speak. Celestia looked at her current maid and sighed because she knew what was going to be said and slowly nodded while she tottered backward and was caught before falling asleep.
---Back in the Everfree forest---
Twilight finished explaining the battle and showing the girls with a little bit of magic. The girls could only sigh in awe because it was genuinely awe-inspiring the height that Alicorns could reach. They knew in the back of their minds that Princess Celestia and Princess Luna are probably extremely strong compared to normal; they might be even stronger now than they were in the past. While they were walking through the forest, they heard a snapping and looked up to notice a dark plant shooting some type of gas at them.
They quickly dived out the way and readied themselves to defeat a plant.
---Canterlot---
Onyx looked at Candance, who had just arrived from the north with an entourage of Crystal guards in battle regalia. Onyx could only hum and look her over in worry because this was the first time he was seeing any of the presence preparing to wage a battle in Candance. He spoke while standing up and smiling at her happily. "Welcome back to Canterlot, Candance."
Candance only smiled and rushed up and hugged Onyx deeply before pulling back and smiling at him. She noticed that he was exhausted compared to normal and quickly looked him over for some kind of information as to why he was showing such extreme signs of exhaustion. Before she could begin questioning him, she saw Discord slither almost like a snake off of one of the pillars, causing the various guards to tense up in fear. Candance only sighed while looking them over because from what she had learned from Celestia, Discord could destroy their entire country if he wanted to, and the only ones that could do something were the girls currently on a mission to rescue their missing Princesses.
Discord poked Onyx in the side of the head, knocking him out and looking over at Candance. Who was standing there moving side to side with worry but at the same time little to no fear. Discord nodded because from what he was sensing, Candance knew how he operated. He spoke with a tone of voice bordering nobility which surprised Candance. "I knocked him out so he would finally rest. You can take over the paperwork and speak with the parishioners. He already strained his magic dealing with the two celestial bodies out of position."
Candance nodded and was not surprised when Rose rushed forward and retrieved Onyx along with a couple of Runic Guards, failed Rune Warriors. She slowly looked at the trio of thrones and decided to just sit in Onyx's because it was probably the only one that would not offend anyone.
---Ponyville---
Ponyville residents started cleaning up the plants that were still in the town itself, which was causing massive problems because the damn roots were not coming out. Discord sighed and looked at the cordon because leaving the plants in town was a problem. Shining was quick to speak up. "Go deal with the plants outside of the Everfree forest, I will handle everything, for now, dealing with the cordon."
Discord nodded his head and snapped his fingers and raised massive Golems made of earth that moved through the very earth, destroying the very roots themselves and throwing it out into the open air. Where a Golem made of a razor-sharp wind appeared and ripped it apart, creating mulch. Shining watched this happen with genuine curiosity because from what he has seen and heard about Discords magic, this should pretty much be one of his high-end abilities. To give life-like sentience to the very earth and wind. Shining decided to ask because he was curious how this pertained to Chaos. "How are you doing that Discord? It in no way fits what we know about your magic?"
"Really, giving life to the elements is not chaotic, or how about making it so things that cannot move unless under extreme circumstances move." Discord snorted at Shining's questions because what he was doing was creating life, which is highly chaotic at the best of times. When Discord looked over at Shining, trying to parse through Discord's statements, he could not help but shake his head. Because there would generally be an order to these things. before he could continue down that path, he felt his clone knock out Onyx and push Candance to hand the people coming to bother them. 'At least Onyx is now resting from moving those to Celestial bodies around, damn things nearly killed him.'
---Ethereal Realm---
Harmony hummed while looking over Candance and Onyx. Onyx was currently sleeping in one of the royal bed chambers. Which was probably the steward's way of saying that 'yes, you are royalty. No, we do not care that you do not want to be.'
Discord lounged on the back of his other selves' throne in smug catty-likeness. He was so happy at the Chaos that was happening, and the tree would be okay because the Elements were almost there, and then they would save the damn tree and Harmony.
The two did not notice that while they were doing this, the Filth was moving some pieces of its own that were still on the continent to prepare to let out one of its champions from the afterlife.