//------------------------------// // Chapter Ninety Five // Story: HiE - A Hollow in Equestria // by Charlie_K //------------------------------// Chapter Ninety Five "It's useless," Twilight sighed dejectedly, shaking her head as she stopped looking skyward, and instead returned her attention to the ground and her present surroundings. "They're moving way too fast. I can't track their movements at all. I know they're up there... but I don't have a clue just what they're doing right now. I mean, besides trying to kill each other, that is." She had no source material at hoof that would enable her to properly perform a compare and contrast, and allow her to draw an accurate conclusion on the subject. But that matter aside, this engagement between Luna and Nightmare Moon struck her as being more akin to a brutal street fight in nature, than anything resembling a formalized duel between opponents who possessed something resembling a begrudging respect for one another. There was no fluid movements that suggested long-studied out choreography on how to not only move yourself, but to move in relation to the moves being presented by the opponent. Nothing that gave the illusion of this being steeped in established tradition that would be high romanticized and glamorized by a writer. None of that was present in this engagement. Nothing but sheer and utter brutality. And yet at the same time... it somehow felt different from the brutality demonstrated by Celestia just minutes ago in her own engagement. She didn't know how to explain it exactly. It was... more purposeful in its execution perhaps? Luna's movements, what they could actually see during those brief periods when they were visible, almost seemed to convey a deliberate and meaningfulness in how they were delivered. It was... almost like watching Ulquiorra working, rather than Luna. Ulquiorra excelled in the practical approach to doing things, regardless of what they were. Celestia's movements had been full of fury and vengeance, and all but broadcast the fact that she intended to make Nightmare Moon suffer as much as possible. What they were seeing right now, however? It was in stark, stark contrast to what had been seen. If asked, she wouldn't be able to offer up a rational explanation to justify her position of belief. But despite all of the brutality that was witnessed -when it could be witnessed- Luna's demeanor felt -to her at least- like she was treating the entire thing as being purely business; like she was reading a tax bill that was presented for her consideration. It was... what was that term, tranquil fury? She wanted Nightmare Moon dead as much as any of them, but she was maintaining control of her emotional state, and refusing to give into the baser instincts and desires that all sapient beings unwillingly possessed within them. "They're utilizing high-speed teleportation in this engagement, making it impossible for us to follow their movements. I didn't even know something like that was actually a practical application. The considerations in need of being factored in for the deployment of such are, admittedly, beyond me," she acknowledged. The teleportation itself was hardly a difficult skill; at least as far as she was concerned. For her it was as basic as levitation would be for any other unicorn. But teleporting in such a rapid fashion, and in an armed conflict against an opponent who possessed equal skill in the art, that was where things got difficult. Knowing where somepony was going to appear when they teleported themselves, and how to intercept them as they emerged, was something that actually boggled even her mind, and made her own understanding of things feel so very small in comparison. "Coming out here was a huge mistake. Forget being unqualified for dealing with this, we're unqualified just to be out here right now! This is beyond any of us! This is..." Twilight could feel the oncoming panic; it was a concept she was intimately familiar with. The only thing that stopped such from fully materializing and consuming her, was the timely intervention by Applejack hugging her firmly, and holding onto her tight. She'd chalk it up to the two of them having lived together for the better part of a month. Anypony who spent that much time together tended to pick up on slight cues and little tells about those around them, and could figure out how to best interact with them. "Us bein' unqualified really ain' nothin' new fer us. We really weren't qualified the first time somethin' like this happened," Applejack pointed out as she let Twilight go once again. "Now, wit' that bein' said, lemme ask ya somethin'. Do ya think Princess Luna an' Nightmare Moon are even aware of us bein' here right now?" "I... I don't know. It's possible, but at the same time their focus would, realistically, be on each other rather than anything else, since they're trying to kill each other," Twilight replied. "Well then in that case Ah vote we get the hell outta here and let 'em fight it out without us bein' in the middle of it! Princess Luna's got the situation well in hoof, let's get outta the way," Applejack stated. "Quite frankly I'm in agreement with Applejack, profanity and all," Rarity said as she gave a nod. "The only reason we had for staying out here was Nightmare Moon's threat. But if she has her hooves full just trying to stay alive, she'll never know that we're gone, and thus won't be able to retaliate against the others. I say we make use of the opportunity while we have it." Applejack's proposal was met with a near-unanimous round of agreement from everyone present, with the group consensus being that they take the opportunity and un-fuck the situation with the swiftness. Near-unanimous, with the sole exception being Rainbow Dash. "You go on ahead. I'm gonna hang back until this is over," she stated, shaking her head, and returning her focus skyward. "Rainbow Dash..." Twilight started, but found she didn't know how to go about finishing the sentence. Why would Rainbow Dash even say something like that? It didn't make any sense. Fortunately for her, Rarity was there to speak up where she couldn't. "Darling, without the Elements of Harmony at our disposal, there's nothing that any of us can do here. There's no reason for any of us to just stay here with danger unfolding all around us. We should escape while we still have the option, before it's too late." Rainbow Dash turned back around to face the others. "It's not like any of you have to stay here just because I am." "And leave you behind where all the danger is? What kind of friends would we be if we did that?" Rarity asked. "The smart kind," Rainbow Dash stated, "look. This doesn't affect you the same way that it does me. You wouldn't understand." "Well maybe we would if ya actually explained it to us," Applejack pointed out. Rainbow Dash mulled over the matter momentarily, before finally responding. "Luna was there for me when Nightmare Moon fried my brain with her hallucinations, and left me not knowing what was real or not anymore. She was there through all the crying, the screaming, the cursing, throwing things... she was there through all the ugly stuff I put her through when I couldn't even think straight, and never called it quits or gave up on me. She wasn't there as "Princess Luna" carrying out some royal obligation, she was "Awesome Big Sister Luna" in how she went about doing what she did. She was there for me when I needed her, even when I didn't know it myself. The least I can do is be here for her in return," she stated, doing her best to deliver the explanation evenly and not let her emotions run wild as she recounted her stay in Canterlot. "Look. Call it honor before reason, or whatever you want, but the point is I'm staying until this is over," she said as she gave a dismissive shrug and turned her focus back to the battle at hoof. The others stood in silence as they tried to make sense of Rainbow Dash's explanations for her -admittedly- illogical actions. She knew what she was doing didn't make sense, but she was still going to do it regardless, even if it put her in mortal danger in the process. That matter aside, however, the reasoning behind her decision was proving difficult to mount a reasonable counterargument to at the moment. going by Rainbow Dash's explanation -what they understood of it- she saw Luna like she was family. And which of them didn't have a family member they wouldn't do anything for, even if it wasn't the smartest decision available? Without a word, Applejack stepped over to Rainbow Dash's side and sat down next to her. Rainbow Dash... she didn't expect that. "AJ?" Applejack shrugged in response. "If you're family enough ta be helpin' us out durin' Cider Season when we're facin' a crisis, you're family enough ta warrant stayin' behind with when things are really goin' bad." "Yeah, you're not getting rid of us that easily," Spike added. One by one, like a floodgate had just been opened, the others were quick to follow Applejack's example, and stake out a position for themselves at Rainbow Dash's side, leaving the cyan pegasus not sure just what had happened to change their minds so rapidly. They'd been all set to flee just a moment ago. But now they were all staying. "This makes absolutely no logical sense whatsoever," Twilight spoke up from where she sat by Fluttershy's side. "In fact this is probably the dumbest, most boneheaded thing that could ever be done by any of us under circumstances like these, second only to all of us coming out here. But you know what? I'm well past the point of caring about stuff like that. Fuck it." Ever since they'd first met Ulquiorra, the Espada had been challenging the way they went about seeing and regarding the world around them. He presented thought-provoking -and sometimes worry-inducing- theories that had never crossed their minds, simply because they had no reason to consider such concepts of thought before. And he did it all so effortlessly. Whether by conscious effort on his part, or just some unexplained matter, his simple interactions with them had provoked significant changes in the way they saw the world, and interacted with it. They were more logical in how they thought about addressing a problem, that simply couldn't be denied. But even with all of that, the simple matter still remained that the brain just couldn't out-think and reason with the heart. High above the ground in the night sky, beyond the reach of mortal eyes, Nightmare Moon was learning firsthoof just how poorly the situation was stacking up for her. Luna was demonstrating a significant amount of focus and dedication in this skirmish; far more than she'd assumed was possible after all of her efforts at undoing the sisters. Celestia had been easy -and also quite fun- to bring down to the level of a vicious, reactionary beast that had no use for critical thinking skills. She'd been brought down from the figurehead of a nation, to just another wild animal that could easily be baited and led into a trap. Luna, however, was something else! In terms of focus and dedication she was a bucking machine! Whereas Celestia's main source of danger came in the form of the sheer amount of strength she commanded, Luna's came in the form of mental clarity. She was more vicious than a Zebricanized honeybee, no argument there, but she was going about demonstrating it in a thoughtful, deliberate manner of approach befitting of a politician. Her attacks were calculated and cautious, and being executed in a manner that wouldn't result in her overextending herself, and being left vulnerable to a counterattack as a result of overzealousness. Further efforts at destabilizing her weren't doing much better, either. Luna was simply refusing to trade banter with her. Small talk, quips, insults, all forms of chatter had been kept to an absolute minimum, no matter what she'd hurled at her opponents; and she'd lobbed some truly heinous stuff in Luna's direction to try and get a rise out of her. But despite it, despite every horrible thing she'd said to try and get a rise out of Luna, she'd kept her composure throughout it all, carrying on as if she hadn't heard a single word of it. How exactly was something like that even possible!? Teleportation had been no aid to her in this battle either, as Luna had been on her the entire time like a filthy gryphon on a bit! It was like Luna somehow knew just where to go before she'd even finished teleporting there herself! And when they clashed, they clashed hard! More than once she was certain her scythe was going to shatter from the force delivered by the impact of Luna's halberd. She'd also come to learn that under the right circumstances, coming to an immediate stop in a cloud bank wasn't too dissimilar from coming to an immediate stop against solid concrete. She was cut up and scraped up, bruised and bleeding, the simple act of breathing felt like it was a complex action that required a great deal of focus, and her legs felt like they were made from rubber as she tried to climb back onto her hooves again. Her armor wasn't faring much better than she was, either. If things kept going as they were, it wouldn't be much longer before she found herself as naked as any common pony was. That simply wouldn't do at all. "As soon as I-" Her thoughts were interrupted as Luna entered her field of vision once again, touching down on the surface of the same cloud bank she currently rested on, and just stared at her. "Are we having fun yet?" She asked. The only response she got was Luna continuing to stare at her, with eyes full of dismissal. "Fine. Stay silent for all I care. It won't help you." Getting back up onto her hooves again, she redirected her full attention at Luna. If this was some sort of psychological warfare being attempted, then it was drastically unimpressive. She was going to crack that placid veneer like a walnut. The assault came fast, and it came hard, catching her entirely off guard. But it had been Nightmare Moon who'd been caught off guard rather than Luna, her senses being completely overwhelmed. She hadn't even seen Luna make a move before the maelstrom of sensory overload struck her. Sight, sound, everything was white and hot for what felt like an eternity. Exactly how long it stretched on was anypony's guess. All she knew for certain was that once she could comprehend her surroundings once again, she was experiencing an excruciating degree of indescribable pain that made her yearn for the whiteout once again. Everything on her ached, her vision was unfocused, and her throat felt stripped and burned from when she must've been screaming endlessly in pain previously. "The only reason that you are still alive, is because I made a promise to Rainbow Dash. It is a promise that I intend on keeping..." The words were distorted and the context didn't properly register in Nightmare Moon's ears. But the sound itself did, and explained much. Luna was presently behind her, meaning the one standing before her had to be an illusion. Now it made sense why it had been so silent, and why she hadn't seen what had hit her so hard. "My only regret is that I do not possess the same mind rape capabilities as you. If I did, what you put Rainbow Dash through would be nothing compared to what you would be experiencing yourself," Luna continued. Try as she might, Nightmare Moon found that she couldn't bring her body to move. She couldn't bring her magic to bear either, as something was restraining her horn; something that she couldn't even see. "But lacking such skills, I will simply have to go about doing such the old fashioned way..." Something in the way Luna's voice had carried her sentence, sent an unconscious shiver down Nightmare Moon's back, and left a lump forming in her throat. "I really don't like this..." Rarity and the others might not've been able to see the battle between Luna and Nightmare Moon, but that didn't mean they couldn't hear what was going on. The sounds of battle had raged on all around them as the two combatants clashed and teleported about, providing at least some idea of not only where they were, but what was happening. Now, however, that was no longer the case. The forest had grown disturbingly still and quiet, as if the conflict had just suddenly ceased and they simply hadn't known about it. One of them had to be dead. That was the only possibility that would really make sense right now. There was no way it would be this quiet if the both of them were still alive. The sudden, piercing scream from somewhere in the distance quickly put an end to such speculation, spooking them in the process. The both of them were definitely still alive, somewhere out there; one simply didn't -and wouldn't- scream like that for no reason. "I don't know which one of them is actually screaming," Rarity admitted, "and I do not want to know what's being done that would warrant... that," she added and unconsciously shuddered, trying not to contemplate whatever horrors might be getting administered right now. Fluttershy said nothing as she covered her ears with her hooves. "Yeah. No," Pinkie added and quickly shook her head, her mane bouncing about as she did so. "Some secrets are better off left secret. No, buried in a locked vault and thrown off a bridge into the ocean!" "Twilight." Twilight looked to Rainbow Dash, noting only after the fact that her voice had a certain... sternness to it when she spoke. "Can you get back to Ponyville, and get back here with the Elements of Harmony real quick? If Luna's the one screaming up there, we can't afford to wait any longer, we need to do something, and we need to do it fast." "I could probably be gone and back in about thirty seconds," Twilight admitted, "but if the Element of Loyalty still isn't resonating with you-" "Then I'll just have to make it work. One way or another," Rainbow Dash finished before the conversation could go any further. Celestia was out of commission, Ulquiorra was absent, and Luna's whereabouts and condition were unknown. They were all out of options as far as she could tell. "-AND FUCK YOU!" Or maybe they weren't. That was definitely Luna's bellow, and she sounded like she was in full control of the situation. The sound of air rushing was heard just before something that looked suspiciously like Nightmare Moon slammed into the ground at a roughly forty five degree angle, kicking up dust at the point of impact. Almost immediately a rain of hundreds of magical bolts descended on her position, kicking up even more dust and dirt, and completely obscuring their view in the process. All the while minute tremors could be felt radiating through the ground. Twilight hadn't hesitated to erect her shield, for fear of them being caught in the spread as they watched, trying to get some idea of the fate currently befalling Nightmare Moon. "My goodness! What sort of assault is that?" Rarity asked. "I don't know what it's called, but I saw Luna using it earlier. She's channeling her magic through her wings, and using her feathers as conduits instead of her horn," Rainbow Dash explained. "What!?" Twilight asked as she turned to look at Rainbow Dash. "Alright, on the one hoof I'm amazed to learn something like that is even possible. But on the other, it seems like a rather wasteful application of mana. She's pretty much just saturation bombing the entire area around Nightmare Moon in hopes of getting a lucky shot in. I don't even know why she'd be going with such an approach in the first place. It's just so impractical," she said as she turned back forward to continue watching. "Because more dakka is regarded as being more awesome," Pinkie explained. Luna wasn't satisfied with merely killing her. No, she was trying to humiliate her as well! That was the only thing that made any sense to Nightmare Moon as she laid prone on the forest ground, subjected to the constant rain of pain that Luna was bringing down on her. But she wasn't about to give her opponent any satisfaction in that particular matter; not after everything she'd been subjected to already! She still had her dignity. Finally the rain of pain- "It's called the Licht Regen! Everypony knows that!" -came to an end, and she could no longer feel herself being assaulted by the magical equivalent of a hailstorm. Although it took a moment for her body to quit reading the aftershocks coursing through it, and finally motivate her to quit huddling and open her eyes. It was all quiet, and there was no sign of Luna anywhere; not even behind her. Concerning, but at the same time it was a bit of a relief, as it gave her a small moment to breathe, and properly evaluate the situation. It was currently bad, but not nearly as bad as some moments had been in the past. If she could make it through all that, then she could make it through this as well. There would be no need to flee to safety somewhere far removed from here. "Luna obviously doesn't know who she's dealing with, if she thinks her little temper tantrum is going to actually amount to anything," she muttered as she pushed herself back up into a standing position. As soon as she found her counterpart, she was going to be made to regret her actions here tonight. She just had to actually find her first... She looked all about, trying to spot some sign of her quarry, but saw nothing. Nothing except for those obnoxious seven in the distance. If Luna was hiding somewhere, perhaps she could use them to draw her out into the open; they'd make excellent leverage. She smirked at that particular nasty thought. The only warning she had that Luna was making her move at that particular second in time, was a bright point of golden light in the sky, and the sound of rushing air. By then it was far too late to respond, only react. Were it not for Twilight's shield having already been erected previously, being only a hundred paces from ground zero for the resulting shock wave could've been quite lethal for all of them. Even with the shield up, they still managed to experience a great deal of the brunt of the force behind it, and it was utterly brutal; brutal enough that it hammered all of them to some degree or another, with cracks forming along the surface of the shield itself before all was said and done. Exactly what Luna had thrown at Nightmare Moon was a mystery. All they knew for certain was that it was big! At the rate things were going, with all the damage that'd been done, the Everfree Forest might not be a forest much longer. "What... just what was that just now?" Pinkie asked uneasily, once she was certain they were still currently alive. "Did Princess Luna hit Nightmare Moon with an entire freight train?" As crazy as the question would sound under different circumstances, Twilight really couldn't say for certain if it'd been done or not. That much wood and steel, accelerated to an appropriate velocity, could potentially have such destructive effects upon immediate deceleration from connecting with anything in its path. But the sound hadn't been... industrial? It didn't sound like a train crashing, at least not as far as she knew anyway; there wasn't enough steel being crushed and twisted for it to sound like that. As the dust eventually began settling over the battlefield, she looked out to try and see some sign of either combatant, all the while not knowing what to expect to see, or what to prepare herself for. Whatever it was, it likely couldn't be... "Oh wow!" The ground came up to meet Nightmare Moon as her legs finally gave out underneath her, leaving her little more than a panting, wheezing mess that was more or less teetering on the edge of consciousness. There had been no time for her to respond to the incoming attack, only to react on an instinctual level. React in the form of immediately raising her shield to protect herself from Luna's incoming assault, and just barely managing to do so in time. Luna had thrown everything she had at her in that attack just now, including not only her halberd, but her own self as well! She'd flown straight at her on a collision course, and rammed the spike of her weapon forward in a deliberate effort to skewer her skull at high speeds. Had she hesitated even just a fraction of a second longer, it might've actually succeeded in hitting its intended mark. Fortunately for her that hadn't been the case, as her shield had prevented it from coming to pass. Unfortunately for her, it hadn't been a perfect interception. The point of the halberd had violently pierced her shield just before it'd completely solidified, allowing it to slide through the newly-created breach all the way to where the the weapon expanded to form the back hook and forward cutting edge, leaving it just barely a foot away from where her head currently was. There were numerous cracks radiating out across the surface from the point of impact and penetration, showing that the structural integrity had been compromised; not that she would've needed to see them, as she could feel them. She'd felt them forming when her shield had been pierced, with the painful feedback in her horn from the move nearly breaking her concentration and toppling her on the spot. She had managed to stop Luna's efforts at killing her, but she was in no way certain that she'd be able to do the same thing again. "It all makes so much sense now! That commotion and destruction wasn't from a freight train, it was all Luna! She threw herself at Nightmare Moon so hard and so fast, she literally exceeded the speed of sound in the process!" Twilight stated in amazement. "Okay? And what's that mean?" Spike asked, uncertain of what Twilight was trying to say. "It means that Luna hit Nightmare Moon with not only the concussive forces a sonic boom erupting at point-blank range, but all of the force needed to actually generate one!" Twilight elaborated. Applejack said nothing in response, although she did aim a knowing, smug grin in Rainbow Dash's direction at hearing this. "The amount of planning needed to time everything just right is difficult to fathom, to say nothing of actually surviving the physical strain that would be involved. Honestly, I don't know how either of them is still conscious, much less standing, after experiencing forces like that," Twilight continued, torn between maintaining the force field for their own safety, and deeply analyzing the struggle unfolding in front of them. "Rarely am I impressed by a villain, Nightmare Moon. But in your case, I am willing to make an exception." Touching down on all four hooves once again, Luna inspected the quality of her work. While the end result was far from what was desired, they could nonetheless still be respected on their own individual merits. Nightmare Moon might've succeeded in shielding herself from the attack, but the act had taken quite the toll on her in the process, leaving her a crumpled mess teetering on the edge that was between consciousness and unconsciousness. Piercing the shield had been one matter. But much to her own surprise, she'd hit with enough force to actually crater the ground the shield had been resting on top of, evidenced by the raised radial area visible along the outside edge. How Nightmare Moon was still conscious after weathering that, she didn't have a clue. Nor did she particularly care on that matter, as it was soon to be all academic. "You have no moves left to play, Nightmare Moon, simply give up already, and allow this entire matter to come to an end once and for all!" she demanded. "Spare... spare me..." Nightmare Moon wheezed weakly, the words themselves barely discernible from her own efforts at breathing. Luna blinked at hearing this. "Spare you? After all that you have done, all those that you have hurt, you have the nerve to plead for mercy!?" she shrieked in response. "Spare me-" Nightmare Moon repeated, "your self-righteous, delusional ramblings. I'm in no mood to hear you acting all high and mighty, thinking you have the upper hoof in this matter," she continued, before groaning as she slowly stood back up once again. She followed this with stretching as best she could within the cramped confines of her shield, and popping several joints that were currently bugging her. "This is hardly over, Luna, I won't be defeated by the likes of you." "Is that so?" Luna asked, before letting out an annoyed sigh. "Very well then." The strain on Nightmare Moon's shield had become somewhat static since the moment of penetration. But now she could feel that strain increasing significantly, as Luna started pushing with her halberd once again. "You want to do this the hard way? Then fine. You are obviously pinned into place, meaning escape is not an option for you. I will simply force you to maintain your shield until you can no longer do so," Luna growled angrily. "First I am going to pop that shield of yours like a pimple, and then I am going to do the same thing with your head; squeezing your skull until your brains erupt out of it!" Nightmare Moon grunted, paying more attention to the strain on her shield than on Luna's threat of great bodily harm. The stress fractures hadn't yet been regenerated, and now they were actually growing once more under Luna's assault. If she was going to have any hope of making it out of this, she had to focus on maintaining the integrity of her shield to stave off the assault. She wasn't about to be defeated here tonight, and certainly not by the likes of Luna of all ponies! She was going to persevere throughout this all, and come out on top, one way or another! "This is like watching the irresistible force meeting the immovable object," Rarity commented as she and the others watched the struggle unfold between Luna and Nightmare Moon, with neither one of them showing any signs of yielding to the other. Pinkie shook her head in response, her pink mane bouncing about in the process. "We don't even have time to get into how wrong that comparison is." Applejack opted to ignore her friends' nonsensical evaluations and observations, and instead opted for trying to get answers from Twilight directly. "Do ya think Princess Luna can win this one? Nightmare Moon doesn' look like she's on the ropes yet." Twilight shook her head in response. "I don't know, I can't tell. Clashes like this are... difficult to accurately map out. Luna has the most obvious advantage since she's on the offensive, whereas Nightmare Moon is operating from a disadvantage by being on the defense. She has to use a lot more magic to keep her shield held together than Luna does to press the assault," she explained, before turning her attention back forward again. "Largely it boils down to who has the greatest mana reserves to draw upon. But at the same time it's a matter of mental focus. Assuming they both have equal or similar reserves at their disposal, it all comes down to who can maintain their focus long enough to outlast the other, and there's no way to accurately determine that. They could keep this up for hours, or even days if they try hard enough," she continued. "Days?" Fluttershy asked in disbelief. This could go on for days before they knew who was going to win? Rainbow Dash scratched the side of her head with a shod hoof, careful to avoid the cut that'd only recently been patched up. "We had to deal with another shield like an hour ago when we were rescuing the foals. Luna, Ulquiorra, and I each hit it from three different points to maximize the strain until it collapsed in on itself." "Well then let's go for it!" Spike stated as he clutched the handle of his hammer even tighter than before. "Nightmare Moon uses dark magic, that means her shield has to be charged with it. I'll get behind her and smash her shield with my hammer 'til it cracks like an eggshell, then Luna can skewer her skull, and bada-bing, that's all she wrote!" Twilight didn't even bother finishing opening her mouth before rethinking her immediate response to Spike's proposal on how to proceed. She realized now wasn't the time for objecting, and warning him that it was too dangerous for something like that. The time for such protesting had long since passed, ever since they essentially bullied Luna into letting them tag along on this insane mission to put an end to Nightmare Moon. "Screw it. Just be careful out there, Nightmare Moon is still dangerous. And try not to get too close to Luna, otherwise she might get caught in the blast as well. That won't do her concentration any good," she stated as she allowed her shield to drop, which allowed Spike to immediately take off running towards his destination. "Right on!" Rainbow Dash stated, just before finding herself ensnared by both Pinkie and Rarity at the same time. "What the-" "You're staying right here with the rest of us," Rarity stated firmly as she held onto Rainbow Dash, despite her best efforts at squirming away. "You've done more than enough already." "Yeah, Dashie, you're sitting this one out even if I have to sit on you," Pinkie added. Rainbow Dash growled in frustration at how things were going. This was way too much. "Of all the-" "RD," Applejack spoke calmly as she regarded her stubborn friend. "Jus' sit the fuck down an' shut the fuck up." It was more the unexpected nature of the statement that caught Rainbow Dash's attention than what had actually been said. Out of everypony, Applejack struck her as being the least likely to make use of Ulquiorra's particular type of dialect for expressing herself. "Well that certainly came outta nowhere," she stated. "Ya don' know the half of it," Applejack replied back. Charging Nightmare Moon head on, screaming and wildly swinging away, would only do more harm than good, and Spike was well aware of that. He'd only make himself a target for Nightmare Moon to focus on, and put himself at risk of a counterattack. That was why he wasn't going such a route, but was instead circling around the long way, to come up behind his quarry where she wouldn't be able to see him. Beyond that matter, Twilight was right. He didn't want to unintentionally wind up putting Luna in the path of harm with his intervention. His aim had improved significantly since the beginning of everything, thanks in no small part to the numerous hours he'd spent working to improve it, learning how to at least partially compensate for how it tumbled when thrown, and how to best keep it on target. Knowing that he now had the ability to do some measure of actual good, he'd thrown himself into his practices, determined to do all he could to actually accomplish that goal. And while he was confident that he could hit Nightmare Moon's shield without hitting Luna at this angle, now really wasn't the time to be proving his skills. He could go about proving himself later, when everypony was back home and safe again. Even going the long way around to approach Nightmare Moon from behind, it'd taken little time to close the distance between them. He could've simply thrown his hammer and called it good enough, but that wouldn't actually be good enough in this case. After all of the crap they'd been put through, all of the mindfuckery they'd been subjected to unmercifully, he was craving something far more visceral in terms of satisfaction provided. Whether it was wise or not, he didn't particularly know, nor did he even care at this point. All he knew for certain was that he was going to get within striking distance of that shield, and slam his hammer against it with everything he had. The explosion against the back of Nightmare Moon's head when Spike's hammer had made contact with it had been violent, loud, bright, and left many wondering just how she could've survived experiencing something so destructive at point-blank range. The explosion against the back of Nightmare Moon's shield when Spike slammed his hammer against it, had dwarfed the previous explosion in every single field of qualification, making it look like the equivalent of a firecracker in comparison. Twilight, and most everypony else who had been watching, immediately hit the deck out of instinct, opting not to be standing when all manner of fuck was unfolding right in front of them, and filling the area with blinding light, deafening noise, and dust billowing up and obscuring all visibility. Perhaps it was from the fact the hammer was making direct contact with dark magic energies that weren't buffered by flesh and bone. Perhaps it was from Spike being in direct contact with the hammer, meaning it could draw directly from the magic he held in his body, rather than what it siphoned off of him when it was thrown. Whatever the explanation was, nopony could say for certain. Beyond that, any explanation about what did and didn't happen, would have to wait until their ears quit ringing, and they could actually see again. Luna was quick to recover from being in such close proximity the explosion, momentarily dazed from everything. Looking down at where she had been, she saw the entire immediate area had been obscured by a large dust cloud. But she knew that Nightmare Moon was still alive, having survived the blast whatever it had been. She knew that as an absolute certainty, as she could still feel it. She just didn't know exactly where her counterpart was at the moment. But she was going to find her in very short order. And once she did, she was going to kill her. Her eyes quickly darted to a disturbance in the smoke, confirming that Nightmare Moon was indeed alive, as she tried to make a hasty airborne retreat while using the smoke and dust as cover. As if such a cheap tactic would work against her! "Huzzah!" "I... wasn't expecting... that," was the only thing that came to Pinkie's mind in terms of a response once her senses had cleared. An explosion, certainly, based off of what they saw back in the town square, but nothing quite on that sort of scale. "My Pinkie Sense must need a systems update or something." "Yeah. Now I'm really glad I didn't get to go out there," Rainbow Dash commented, thankful that she'd been held back by the others. If she'd gone out there to assist, she would've been caught in that explosion herself, and she doubted her armor could've held up to that. If not for her friends once again, she could've been dead right now. As she process that particular unsettling thought, an even more unsettling thought came to mind. "Wait a sec, what about Spike!?" Nightmare Moon had the benefit of being protected by her shield, but Spike didn't. He'd been at ground zero for that explosion going off. He hadn't been safe back here with the rest of them. An uneasy, semi-sick feeling was resonating in the pit of her stomach as these thoughts played out in her mind, no matter how much she didn't want to consider them. They knew up front that they could die coming here, but they'd never really given the matter much thought beyond simply acknowledging it like it was an afterthought. But now, when the possibility was starting them in the face? Suddenly it was very, frighteningly real. Had he... had he actually... Such dark thoughts were -thankfully- interrupted, by a loud yell from above. All heads turned upward, just in time to see the sight of Luna slamming Nightmare Moon into the ground, back-first, not even fifty feet away from them, and crushing whatever was directly underneath the two of them. They watched in something resembling stunned silence as both alicorns were reduced to physical grappling against one another, kicking, swatting and even outright biting, before Luna finally managed to get the upper hoof and straddle Nightmare Moon's frame, essentially sitting on top of her barrel, and commenced viciously delivering a series of right hooks to Nightmare Moon's exposed face and head with her armored hoof. They watched, but unwillingly, wanting desperately to turn away at the sound of each sickening impact just seemed to echo throughout the forest, accompanied by Nightmare Moon's shrieks of pain. Nopony would ever claim that Nightmare Moon was innocent of her crimes. Nor would they try and suggest that her punishment had been harsh. But to actually witness the utter brutality of the beating that Luna was delivering, each of them tensing up and flinching at the sound of each blow delivered, each shriek that erupted as metal loudly contacted with flesh and blood... they simply wanted it to end. Every shriek of pain elicited in between periods of Nightmare Moon choking on her own blood, and having to spit out her own dislodged teeth... it was all just too much for them to take. "I can't watch this," Twilight finally whimpered as she covered her eyes, trying to drown out the brutality. "Somepony tell me when it's over." There was something satisfying on an entirely primal level about getting physically involved in a matter. Something about the visceral connection of hoof against face, as she sat on her chest, and beat the living daylights out of Nightmare Moon with a wet crunch with each blow delivered. It was very therapeutic in a way, to watch as the wicked mare's head violently slammed against the hard ground beneath her, and bounce back up from the force of the impact, just so she could punch her back down again. She'd lost count of the number of blows she'd delivered to Nightmare Moon's face. But she'd been fully aware of the progression from defined face, to what laid before her now. She couldn't even tell how much bone structure remained intact anymore, due to the sheer amount of bleeding and swelling that was taking place right now. If she were thinking clearly, she would be ashamed -and even horrified- to admit that she was actually enjoying it. She'd continue beating Nightmare Moon to a bloody pulp for as long as there was breath in her body, but she knew they still had important business to tend to. "And now, Nightmare Moon," Luna said in a sinister whisper as her halberd was conjured back, and left hovering just over the two of them, with the point aimed downward. "You die!" she roared and slammed the halberd down at her throat with all of her might. The speed at which they were traveling might've been sufficient to hamper communication between two ponies. But such was not the case for Ulquiorra. Even at present speeds, he could still hear Princess Celestia's sudden, anguished screams over the sounds of the air rushing past them. Even if he couldn't hear her screams, he would still be able to feel her body stiffening and locking up as one would when in severe pain. Already he was significantly reducing his speed of flight to facilitate proper communication. "What is it? What's wrong?" "Faster-" Celestia managed to choke out. "Go... go faster!" Ulquiorra wasn't about to question the order. The flight over Ponyville had taken far longer was necessary, and significantly delayed their travel time back to Canterlot. But even so, Princess Celestia was barely hanging on and tolerating the speed they had been traveling at. Left without assistance, she would've blown off before now. And yet she was calling for even greater speeds? For exactly one and a half seconds, he actually considered disregarding his assigned orders, and investigating whatever had motivated her initial outburst. But he had to weigh that against the consideration of Equestria as a whole. Without further hesitation, he tightened his grip on his passenger to avoid losing her in transit, and set off for Canterlot once again at greatly increased speeds.