For a moment as the sound of a smack filled the air everything became quiet. Only a faint heartbeat could be heard, which Dawnbreaker soon noticed as his own. Despite being in the air he felt nothing, as the world seemed to stop for a moment. He could still see the ragefilled eyes of Daybreaker, until he met the ground falling before Celestia who looked down at him with a face of horror. A faint mark of a hoof still being visible despite the already orange redish coat he carried.
Daybreakers teeth were gritted as she slammed the pest out of the way. Nopony gets in between her and her victo... wait... who did she... Her anger was gone within the moment she realized what just happened.
"D-Dawnbreaker... what... what have I done?" she asked herself stepping closer and trying to reach over to him only for sompony else to interfere.
Celestia looked down at the bruised foal that she just called a few minutes before a mistake to be brought here, the slightly redish mark and a small bloodtrail still on his cheek. She didn't even try to stop her tears of despair, the feelings that she had been holding back ever since he arrived as a meteor, slamming into the everfree forest.
She moved her hoof forward and started to pull him towards her. She couldn't leave him in his mothers grip... not like this.
"Don't you dare!" she heard Daybreakers shriek, who stared at the young colt with her eyes full of tears. Growling the walking campfire turned to her counterpart. Her shock now turned to rage.
"You turned him against me!"
"You have done that yourself." Celestia spoke with a tone that made Cadence shiver beside her, Luna wasn't any better off. Her sister had perfectly recreated the stern tone of their father.
"You will not take him from me!" Daybreaker began to get closer, to get to her child and bring him away from this... thief.
"Your anger and your lust for power have already done that."
Dawnbreaker in the meantime held up to his cheek before slowly getting up. With wobbly feet he almost fell down only to be held by none other than Celestia. Looking up he saw her saddened gaze look into his eyes, her own filled with nothing but regret.
"I am sorry, this is all my fault." he quietly whispered, not only to her but to himself too.
Daybreaker in the meantime was stressed. Seeing her colt next to that mare brought new ways of pain she didn't deem to be possible. That he didn't resist was even worse. Her instincts were now set out to try to kill her, trying to rip her heart into thousand pieces. She couldn't just stay there. She needed to act, try to get her son back. For him to understand, what she meant.
"Little one listen to me, I am bringing peace, freedom, justice and security to our new empire. I am sorry for what just happened bu-..."
"Your new empire." Dawnbreaker corrected her as his cheek continued to sting as he stepped down. These three words stung the mare far more than any weapons ever could, her mother instinct now burning inside her.
"Young one, get out of my way please..."
"I won't. I have been bowing down for far too long. Stood aside when peo... ponies got killed. Watched my own mother die and accepted the fate that the state gave me. I won't do that any longer." with that he stepped closer away from Celestias grip who immediately reached out to him.
"Little one, you can't she will kill you!"
"Then that is what I deserve for bringing her here and killing the planet by eternal fire."
This made Daybreaker snap her attention to the colt. For a few moments she was quiet as the forest burnt to the ground, leaving nothing but ashes scattered everywhere. The mare looked at the colt in front of her, her once so precious foal, who once snuggled into her coat now facing off against her, his horn even if it was perhaps unintentional glowing with power.
"Is this your final decision?" she asked in a tone that he almost didn't recognize. A mix of grief, pain and worry.
Taking a gaze back at the three princesses who now bundled up to a ball he watched over their terrified faces. If they were scared of what is going to happen to them, he didn't know but one thing is for sure. They all knew they were already dead.
Turning forwards he gave his answer. "It is."
Something changed the second he said this. Instead of the gentle smile she normally gave he only saw one thing in her gaze. Rage.
Making her decision her eyes narrowed. "... If you are not with me, you are my enemy."
Hearing this sealed even the slightest bit of hope he had. A small memory came back on where his mother was shot on the wall.
"Only a tyrant deals in absolutes." with that the young colt lowered himself. Celestias eyes widened as she tried to reach for his leg but failed to do so as he stepped closer the empress. Inside of him was a turmoil going on. His child instincts fighting against his still human side. Shaking his head he readied himself.
Turning to her again he began to circle her so the three alicorn were out of reach should any magic blast happen to miss him. Gritting her teeth Daybreakers horn lit up as she released a wave of fire heading straight for the colt, her mother instinct apparently vanished.
Dawnbreaker gazed upon the wave of fire that he saw heading to him. He thought back at his birth mother back at earth. It kind of reminded him of her, both knowing it was a lost cause but still fighting for it. He knew he could never dream to defeat this mare but... its better to die for something you believe in than to be responsible for something you hate right?
"UAGH!" he shouted as the shockwave slammed him against the tree.
That didn't make a heroic death any less painful.
Her voice filled the air.
"I can not believe that you have thrown away all of this just for those... fools. Look at you, burning with pure power and passion yet fighting for the wrong side... fool."
Gritting his teeth the colts eyeholes lit up on fire as a shockwave of fire was heading for her. The mare grinned as she merely knocked it aside, almost as if relocating the power to... OH FUCK!
"Sister!" Celestia shouted as she casted a shield together with her wounded sibling which prevented the blast from hitting them.
The mare turned back and grinned. "You perhaps have immense power but your body can not effectively use it. Can you not see that it is useless to resist?"
Still laying on the ground Dawnbreaker stood up. "Fuck... you..."
"Ah yes, still resistant to the end, wouldn't expect any less of you."
Using her magic his entire body started to feel constricted before he was lifted into the air. Suddenly his body was being crushed by the magic field making him feel like his rips would burst. Before this however he was thrown backwards slamming through a burning tree effectively breaking it apart, with a burning branch laying on his back immobilizing him.
"Stop it Daybreaker this is your own son!" Cadence shouted from the far back.
The mare looked at the coughing colt, buried beneath all of the wood.
"I have no son."
She grabbed him by the throat leaving him to gasp as she lifted him into the air, his back legs kicking.
"Running short on oxygen now are we?"
Gritting his teeth Dawnbreaker lit up his horn "Never needed any in the first place!" the blast that followed was a little too fast for her to react to. It none the less send her dazed letting him fall to the ground. Grasping to her cheek she winced as stinging came from the region.
"He... he hit... me..." she spoke in pure wonder which then turned to fury before gazing at the colt. He in the meantime was far too occupied trying to sing 'Dumb ways to die'
The mare got closer as she gazed at the colt who tried to get up. Finally on his 4 legs she lowered herself letting her horn glow.
Suddenly his entire body felt energized as his wounds seemed to heal. Gasping in surprise at the warm feeling he saw the glaring visage of Daybreaker.
"I will not be injured by a weak unicorn show me your true power!" she shouted letting the child blink. Before he could react however she slammed him over to the next tree leaving another hoofprint on his cheek.
"Use your pain for you anger, turn your anger into rage and burn your rage into ashes!" she shouted at the colt. Seeing no reaction she growled "I think your mother might even deserve the fate given to her for giving birth to such a weakling."
…
…
…
Something just literally exploded inside his heart. Being slammed into a tree? Alright, being crushed by magic? Alright but this sentence alone started a fire which was beyond quenching at this point. His entire heart felt like it was melting at that point, every bit of restriction every bit of love he felt for the mare... every bit of sympathy gone, burned inside a flame.
His mane flared up into a brighter white flame as he rammed his hoof into her stomach which send her flying near the pony princesses.
Dawnbreaker flew forwards to engage her again noticing how his heart and body became hotter and hotter...
Suddenly however the enormous heatwave became noticeable to the three.
"Sister... this... what is happening?"
"Sister... heat resistant shield NOW!" Celestia shouted as the two collided, revealing a ball of flame.
Looking to the princesses the mare grinned wickedly before turning back to Dawnbreaker.
"Come now you are not getting tired now are you?"
"Of bashing your face in? Never dreamt of it!" he shouted at the mare in question whose grin widened.
...
...
…
"Sis... ter... this..."
"I... know..."
"Aunt... what..."
The three princesses, despite their injured status were now keeping the shield combined as the heat inside the shield started to increase and increase.
"How... could... you... keep... this... shield... for so long around him?!" Cadence shouted out the last bit.
"The... shield was... never... so... hot... inside..."
True to their word, the shield was starting to become a more pure red instead of the orange like it was before. Daybreaker grinned before grabbing the colt and making him see the three struggling mares.
"Look at those weaklings... look at their struggle just because of you. Perhaps I am feeling merciful and I end up just killing all of them." using his head he slammed straight into the maw of Daybreaker and charged up his horn.
"Bolt of you to assume that you are going to get so far!" he replied making her just grin.
Celestias mind began to go wild. She was not prepared for a day like this, but she still couldn't understand. One can not simply 'turn off' their maternal instinct like this. Even she was struggling for twenty five years not to smoother Twilight into submission how is thi...
…
…
No
…
…
Gazing at Daybreaker she saw the mare take a short look at her, her eyes showing nothing but pure satisfaction. Celestia almost whimpered...
Daybreaker had won... she had won even before the battle had started.
"I... can... not,..."
"we... ha..."
"Ce...le...stia?..."
…
…
…
"I am sorry." this made the two mares snap out of it as the shield suddenly went white before bursting and a shockwave of fire started to cover the planet. Stopping at nothing, not the trees, mountains, Ponyville, Canterlot, the Crystal Empire not until it covered all of Equestria. All life as it was once known, has been eradicated.
Dawnbreaker woke up with a jolt, his entire body felt weak, just as if all of his strength had been taken away. Looking down he didn't see the black, ashy ground anymore... it has melted red lava. Looking around him he saw how the entire landscape had devolved into nothing but molten ground. The princesses nowhere to be seen. Looking down he then found one last reminder of one of them.
A golden tiara with a purple diamond inside.
The one that Celestia carried. With his eyes widening, he stepped closer ignoring the pain in his body. Holding the tiara in his hoof he felt tears flowing down his cheeks.
"Dawnbreaker." he heard somepony speak behind him. "What have you done?" she asked.
"I... I never... she..." he turned to the saddened face of Daybreaker who immediately brought him into an embrace.
"Shhh I know my foal, I know." she rubbed the back of his neck as he broke down while leaning against her. His mind breaking in as his human side lost the final battle. Daybreaker in the meantime stared forward at the golden tiara which was slowly sinking into the molten lava making her smile with satisfaction.
"I... I am... I never want-" he tried to speak in between his whimpers but was soon hushed by the large mare.
"I know my foal, I know." she guided his head to look into her eyes. "But regardless look around you. Everything is destroyed and only because you didn't listen to me." his grip around her got stronger.
"I tried to warn you but you just wouldn't listen, I tried to show you the truth but..." she let out a sigh. "There is nothing we can do anymore, but to wait and until the planet calms itself. Then we can build an empire that is made to last, one that only we two would rule."
"Bu..."
"Dawnbreaker." she spoke much softer. "The illusion of freedom that those ponies so desperately faught for, infected you and caused all of this. Freedom causes chaos, chaos causes destruction. We do not wish to have chaos again do we?" the colt just peeked outside of her grip for a moment before pressing against her again.
"N-No mother."
"You will listen to me from now on won't you?"
"Y-Yes."
"Do you promise me to never rebel against any of my decisions anymore?"
"Yes..."
The mare let a smile come to her lips. 'Finally' she thought with a smile. Leaning down she used her magic to create a crown and a small tiara, which was still made out of molten lava.
"Then, we have a legacy to restore my heir." Looking up the colt never broke contact as he only nodded still with tears in his eyes.
The mare looked up at the gigantic red sun still glowing down at them with a smirk.
Finally she laid down letting the young colt rest against her stomach once again. He followed without any struggle desperately trying to get deeper into her fur, as if trying to escape the guilt he was feeling. His attempts seized after a few minutes leaving her to stroke his mane.
'That is for taking my son from me, Equestria.'