Sunset

[letteropener]

Who: Princess Celestia, Luffy, Keimi, Brook, possible others in the crew
Where: Aboard the Million Merrily
When: Sunrise, the 13th.
What: Princess Celestia at last succumbs.
Warnings: Brutal violence. Brutal death. Seriously. You have been warned.
Style: Prose.
Status: Open to the crew.



She had ignored. She had discredited. She had fought. She had refused to bend, had pushed every last iota of her being to ignore the impulses and the urgings. Where others had muttered into the journals, had dissolved into unsubtle rantings or violence, Princess Celestia had allowed no troubles to touch her, had walled away all hints that anything was wrong. She believed she could fight it. She believed she could wait it out, as she had lasted through the darkness and the cold. She believed, right now, that nopony should waste their time worrying about her when their friends and allies were faltering.

But the words and the music had passed beyond influence, beyond suggestion and hinting, into something far more insidious: complete delusion. Though she had fought, she had not counted on the terms of the engagement changing so subtly and without warning.

As the sun rose, so too did the alicorn, her wings spread to full extension as she stalked across the deck, hunting the captain.

Comments

[allendsmeat]

Luffy opens his eyes, it's happening again. The growing darkness. He thought it had left with Sanji. He clutches Sanji's journal briefly before nearly falling out of his hammock, placing the journal in the center. Then he pulled his hat over his head and tells his legs to stop shaking. He still feels sick from the stew and he needs more meat to feel better. He should be stronger than any of Sanji's food. So he will be.

He pushes the hat over his eyes, shoring himself up until he's not trembling at all and moves up to where the sense is. Seeing Celestia who must have fought long and hard to hold out this long. It must be have been even harder for her because she was against hurting people and was pretty gentle.

"Thanks," he said in a low hoarse voice, for holding out so long. For trying so hard. "We're going to kick someone's ass and make it better."

But he didn't know who yet. Maybe the witch person. Right now the who didn't matter.

[letteropener]

She inclined her head to him, spreading her wings as she bowed. What a shame. She liked him. She was sorry that his death was necessary to preserve Equestria, to preserve her sister and her student and Twilight's friends, who had not come to this terrible place...

She would take his blood on her hooves. To save everything that mattered, she would become a villain.

"I am sorry," she said quite sincerely, as her horn shone with golden energy that she reached out to grip him with.

[allendsmeat]

The light wraps around him before he can react. He struggles against it but he feels like he hasn't had any meat in forever and it's hard to move. Maybe if he's not strong enough to push it away, maybe he can get too big for it.

He sucks in a short breath, lets it out again too soon, then arches back and sucks in deep.

"<Gum gum no fuusen"

[letteropener]

Celestia hadn't been prepared for the sudden expansion, and before the feedback could stagger her she released the spell and stepped back. She wasted no time in summoning it again, but as her horn shone with greater strength, Luffy had a moment in which he could act before the spell took hold on him again.

[fortyfivedegrees]

[Perhaps there would have been only a moment for Luffy to react if not for the sound of something whistling through the air; the flash of a purple cane coming between the spell and Luffy as Brook seemed to flash in from thin air, hopefully pushing Celestia back or at least canceling out the spell as he held the aforementioned cane out in front of him in a fencing stance.]

Miss Celestia, I must ask you cease and desist such actions against our captain immediately, I have no wish to engage in combat with a member of my own Nakama.

[letteropener]

You don't seem as if you will go quietly. So I am afraid you must.

[She spares enough energy for a blast of magical energy, fired at him as casually and without thought as a boxer might throw a haymaker -- then, back to attempting to telekinetically hurl Luffy overboard.]

timeline, what timeline?

[thetruehistorian]

Robin had no sixth sense, no ability to manipulate haki to warn her of murderous intentions. She had simply grown up among pirates, keeping herself alive by staying, somehow, one step ahead of those who wished her harm. Sanji's betrayal of the crew shook her deeply, made her understand just how strong the Witch's influence could be. If Sanji could be brought to use poison, when his life's pride was cooking, his life's joy giving sustenance- then no one was immune.

Even herself.

Perhaps she would be wrong, keeping a careful watch over those who remained still on the Million Merrily and seeing suspicious activity where there was none. Perhaps that would be how the Witch deceived her. Well. If she was deceived, she was deceived. Luffy would understand, she hoped. And if she was not deceived, then perhaps she could move quickly enough to save the others.

Celestia's changed demeanor did not escape Robin's notice. While Robin was not accustomed to reading meaning into the subtle postures and expressions of ponies, there were sudden differences. Small things- the set of the pony's mouth, the uncharacteristic position of her wings, the slight narrowing of her usually wide, kind eyes- but enough that Robin decided to act.

The solid clack of high heels on deck ought to have been enough to draw the pony's attention. A fully-formed clone walked purposely toward Celestia, expression impassive but for the breath of a smile, as was Robin's wont. It was the mask she wore when facing reality's harshness.

"A beautiful sunrise this morning," she said. "Crimson, like the sky itself wept tears of blood. There's an old saying among the sailors of my world, perhaps others as well. 'Red sky at night, sailors delight. Red sky in the morning, sailors take warning'. I hope we won't all be slaughtered before nightfall."

[letteropener]

"No. Not all of us," Celestia said, and without further preamble, she seized the clone with her magic to hurl it into the sea.

[thetruehistorian]

The clone, for its part, never looked worried as it was seized and forcibly thrown. It simply dissipated, a shower of flower petals drifting over the deck and nearby waves. Another Robin sat on the rail, one leg crossed over the other, her chin cupped in her hand.

"What a sudden change of heart you've had, Celestia," she smirked. Another Robin leaned against the mast, arms folded beneath her breasts. "Though I daresay you're more outnumbered than you anticipated." Hands reach out to stroke the flowing, colorful mane. "It's a pity, really. I've enjoyed your quiet beauty gracing our ship."

[letteropener]

"I had thought to take Luffy down first," she said quietly, just as calm. "But I see that first, you will need to be disarmed."

But first to address the hands. Celestia gathered up her power, then teleported -- to exactly where she was already standing. But this was not a graceful and elegant teleport; she deliberately did it poorly, recklessly. The danger of a poor teleport, after all, were not to the caster, but to those along for the ride, who would find themselves singed to downright seared by the magical energies involved. Celestia, of course, aimed for the latter.

No sooner did she reappear then she hurled a blast of magical energy at Robin. No subtlety there either.

[thetruehistorian]

Perhaps unsurprisingly, a muted yelp could be heard somewhere below decks. The arms and both clones vanished instantly. Robin set her jaw and narrowed her eyes. She should not have thought she could play. It was cocky.

A mistake she would not make again.

For the time being, Robin admitted defeat. Other than a few watchful eyes, Robin ceased her attack. She moved about the ship quietly, looking for a weakness, devising a plan.

[letteropener]

Oh. She feels pain from those?

If Celestia had known that, she would have dealt with Robin's extra limbs much less delicately.

In time, though. For now, she has other priorities.