"Unbelievable..." Crimson said in a stunned silence. "I was taught as a young child about the Atlantian Emperors, but it turns out that there was only one of them." The rest of the girls looked at Circuit, who now knew the truth of himself and her....older sister. "What are we going to do?" Pinkie said, looking at Circuit.
"Why the brainwashing?" asked Circuit, now angry, "Why force innocent people to behave the way you want them to, instead of letting them make their own choices?" "Oh, I couldn't have my people be able to rebel against me, could I?" she said ominously, "I, Sorannia, mother of man, was meant to rule, not to herd sheep." "But that is exactly what you're doing!" Circuit said angrily, "By giving them no choice in the matter, you make them mindless drones!" He summoned his sword. "Sorannia, huh? 'She who guides?' You've done anything but! And someone who manipulates a whole species to do her bidding is no sister of mine!" "I have no qualms about killing you, Teramus..." "The feeling is mutual!"
Starlight just shrugged as she took a single step forward, charging up her aura as looked down the humans. "Then let's get started, shall we?"
Circuit charged forward, sword held outward, as he prepared to run her through. But she dodged faster than he could blink. "You won't get away that easily!" he said. Suddenly, he was hit in the back with an energy blast. "Behind you," she said. Circuit turned around and fired a beam from his sword.
Starlight moved around the attack, rushing towards and delievering a blow to Circuit's stomach that sent him flying across the Royal chamber. She ran over towards Circuit before Crimson teleported himself in the way and dropkicked the Queen of Atlantis, stunning her for more then a few moments as he worked to buy time. "Come on, we need to help!" Applejack told the girls, as they all rushed to attack.
Starlight raised her finger, and soon, the girls were under her control. "If you want to stop me, Teramus, you'll have to go through them," she taunted. Circuit stood there, panicked. He didn't want to hurt his friends, but he wanted to kill Starlight. "What's the matter, huh?" said Rainbow Dash, a deranged look on her face, "Can't handle the fact that we've gone over to the better side?" Circuit simply dematerialized and floated around them, only to re-appear on top of Starlight. "Let them go!" "Why should I?" she said. He pierced her jugular with his sword. "That's why." "This isn't... the last... you'll see... of me..." she choked before dying. The girls returned to their normal selves. "Are you okay, darling?" asked Rarity. "Fine," he replied. "I need some answers, though." He pulled out his crystal. "Yes, my son?" said Erethor. "Why didn't you tell me about Starlight?" "Ah yes..." he replied, solemnly, "Sorannia, my greatest failure... I had hoped she would guide humanity in the right direction. Turns out I was wrong." "And why did you keep me in stasis for nine millennia?" "After what Sorannia did, I simply believed humanity to be a lost cause. That is, until the time period you refer to as the 1940s. From then onward, I noticed they had grown at an astonishing rate since Atlantis submerged. And that growth had exponentially increased since that time. However, it wasn't until the year referred to as 1998 that I felt the Earth was ready for you. For it was then that humanity reached its maturity. Normally, when a race of exceptional cerebral size is discovered in your universe, we send one of our children to guide it. However, Sorannia succumbed to power corruption. After she disappeared, though, man did something no other race with similar brainpower had done. He developed on his own. Why do you think that is?" "Because humans have a natural drive to learn, to explore," said Sunset. "Exactly."
Crimson walked over to the body of the fallen Queen, and just held it up with one hand. He just shook his head, so much wasted potential. She could have truly led the human and Atlantian races to something absolutely magical, but it seemed to never have reached that potential before that power went to her head. Knowing that the brainwashing spell was now fully broken, the citizens of Atlantis were now wondering what they were doing with their lives among the rest of the world. The vast majority of the world was destroyed when Atlantis resurfaced, but it seemed to have had lasting consequences for the nearby future. The human population received an enormous blow, with only several thousand in a couple of countries surviving. Canterlot, at least the school, was the last surviving oasis in California. The question sat on Crimson's lips, he looked at the fallen Queen. He knew that he had the Atlantian blood in his veins, and that he was a possible successor to the throne. But...he had a question to ask. A question that must be answered for the futures sake. "Where do we go from here?" Crimson asked Erethor. "90% of the human race has been killed when Atlantis resurfaced. Anything remotely nearby the Atlantic Ocean has been absolutely leveled, not to mention the absolute mess that the rest of the world is in. And I'm sure as advanced technologically and powerful in the Arcane that the Atlantians are, these innocent people would be ruined against any surviving human forces. Atlantis has never had a new ruler, and mankind is going to survive and declare war upon themselves for broken glory as we always have been." Crimson turned to Circuit, Rainbow and the rest of the girls. "I've wondering...do we have what it takes to truly unite the two of our races to a new world?"
"Y'know... in a twisted sort of way, she did what she was meant to do," said Rainbow Dash. "Huh?" Everyone turned to look at her. "The human instinct to learn was an evolutionary development, present as far back as Homo habilis," she continued, "This is what separates man from all other life on Earth: his curiosity. All man needed was a little spark to ignite civilization and his advancement as a species. Starlight here was that spark." "How did you possibly know all that?" said Rarity, "It was my understanding that you don't pay attention in school!" "Because I already know at least half the stuff they teach you there," Rainbow replied, "I'm not as dumb as I act, y'know." "I never thought of it that way," said Erethor. "May I ask your name, madam?" "Rainbow Dash," she replied. "Well, Rainbow Dash," he continued, "I'm sure you're an excellent companion for my son. As for your question, Mr. Lionheart," he added, turning to Crimson, "I'm afraid I don't know how to answer. Once a race reaches maturity, we can no longer interfere directly, except as a means of defending said race. That is why my kind call themselves the Guardians. What humanity does next... lies with the eight of you." Circuit sighed and said, "I have one more question. Will I outlive my friends, since Sorannia lived for at least a thousand years?" "Not if you don't want to," Erethor replied, "There is a spell that keeps our kind from aging, but you don't need it if you don't want it." "Thank you, father," said Circuit. "You're welcome," Erethor said as he vanished. "So what now?" asked Applejack.
Crimson looked at the empty Atlantian throne and nodded. Although he was powerful enough, the throne didn't deserve a half-breed ruler. They need a strong pure Atlantian ruler, one that would fill in the gap. Although, Sorannia wasn't even human or Atlantian at all and still took the throne. He considered himself or Rainbow to be the next successors, due to them having blood relations to the Atlantians, but he felt as if it wasn't enough. "Let's hope that Sorannia had an heir...."
"Well," said Circuit, "considering I was the only family she had on this planet, as much as I hate to admit that... I will take up the throne."
"Like hell you will!!" said a voice behind them, as Circuit was blasted across the room. "I told you you hadn't seen the last of me," said Starlight, standing up slowly and entering a state that was similar to Circuit's second battle form, except purple. "Impossible!" said Circuit in shock, "I killed you! I stabbed you in the jugular!" "Fool," she said, "as long as the body part is still attached, any wound on a Guardian, no matter how harsh or where it is, will slowly heal. And in this state, you'll be lucky just to scratch me." "You dare call yourself a Guardian?!" shouted Circuit, as he entered his second battle form, "I'll make sure you're dead this time!"
The others stood behind Circuit in a defensive stance, ready to make sure that Starlight was truly dead this time. The girls began to power themselves up, looking down at Starlight. Although they were powerful, they were nowhere near the level that the strongest three of them were. Crimson and Rainbow was an entirely different story however. They were actually a threat...
Circuit rushed forward, ready to finish what he started. He summoned his sword, and raised it high above his head, preparing to slice Starlight in half. But Starlight hit him with a paralysis spell, which froze him in place. After staring in shock at Circuit's motionless body, Rainbow Dash charged forward. "I'll crush your windpipe for that!" she said in rage. But before she could so much as take another step, Starlight fired a beam from her finger, which blasted clean through Rainbow Dash's chest, killing her. Circuit could do nothing but watch as the love of his life, his closest friend, and the one person he could count on above any other, was slaughtered before his eyes. As the others ran to Rainbow Dash's lifeless body, horrified by the loss of their friend, Circuit couldn't even scream. Why..., he thought. A single tear ran down the left side of his face, his mind flooded with memories with Rainbow Dash... the day they first met... the day he confessed his love for her... their first kiss... their first date... their first time having sex... Rainbow... I swear on your grave... he thought, I will not let your death be in vain... Circuit's body began to steam, as his lime green translucent figure began to glow blood red. Pain and rage coursed through his body, as he slowly took a step forward, completely defying the paralysis spell placed on him. "Something wrong, Teramus?" Starlight taunted, "Was the rainbow-haired one close to you in some way?" This only angered Circuit more. He began to charge forward at Starlight, letting out a bloodcurdling, agonized, hateful scream of a thousand voices as he did so.
As Circuit rushed towards Starlight, hundreds of brainwashed guards managed to blast the doors down and charge towards the girls and Crimson. All of these guards sprinting through the main door with weapons and shield's in check. Sunset took a step forward in valiant bravery and threw her jacket off, a small smile on her lips. "This is Circuit's fight, and our job is to protect him!" Sunset told her friends, while a ball of flame appeared in her right hand. "We will take care of each other. It's what we've always done. And we will never give up!" Sunset aimed her arm at the crowd of guards as the fireball flew across towards it's targets, exploding on contact with the first guard and blowing many of them away. All the girls smiled and nodded towards each other, along with Crimson, as they all prepared to make sure Circuit's fight didn't have any more problems.
Circuit put his sword away as he grabbed each of Starlight's arms in each hand, roaring as he did so. "What are you doing?" she demanded. Circuit simply smiled, in a very sadistic manner, as he began to pull on Starlight from either side. She screamed in agony as he did so. As her screaming intensified, so did his smile. Eventually, there was a loud snapping sound, like the snapping of bone. Then another, and another... Circuit tore Starlight in half, quite literally, before burning each half with an energy beam from his sword. "AND STAY DEAD!!!" he bellowed, his sadistic grin now almost literally from ear to ear.
The Atlantian guards looked in horror as Starlight was ripped apart, as they body of their queen remained burning. Almost immediately after her death, the mind control which had kept the Atlantians under the rule of the tyrannical Empress was broken as all of the guards came to their senses, and dropped their weapons after looking dumbfounded at one another. "It's over...." Crimson said as he looked at what had happened. "Atlantis has been liberated..."
Circuit said nothing; he just stood there, soaking in his victory. "You alright, sugarcube?" asked Applejack. Circuit began to laugh, in a very twisted manner. "Oh dear," said Rarity. "I DID IT FOR YOU, RAINBOW... I DID IT FOR YOU, RAINBOW..." Circuit repeated.
Slowly, his deranged laughter turned to hysterical sobbing, as his red glow faded and his body returned to normal. He collapsed to his knees and buried his face in his hands, crying in front of Rainbow Dash's corpse.
