Zack dodged to the side as a fireball landed where he stood only moments before. He gripped the handle of the Buster Sword tightly before lunging forward to bring the hefty blade down on his opponent. Twilight easily blocked and spoke to Zack as their blades ground together, showering them with sparks.
"So, would you say I've improved?" challenged Twilight.
"Without a doubt," said Zack sarcastically with a smirk.
"Hey!" Twilight protested as she used her magic to give her blade an extra push, forcing Zack to jump back in retreat.
Twilight had struggled at first with Zack's sword, so he ordered one from the griffons across the sea as soon as he learned about their ability to forge weapons. Zack had given her pointers from the sidelines for the first few days, unable to completely engage her in combat or give her any real instruction. As soon as he had recovered enough, he began to teach her how to swing the sword quickly but efficiently, doing his best to be patient with the mare as she struggled to hold it.
Eventually, he had taught her to swing in such ways that she could string together her attacks to form combos. She used these techniques whenever she could, realizing their power when she had accidentally cut through a tree.
Now, in just one weak, Twilight was nearly matched with Zack. She really is something else, thought Zack. The two came together again, striking at each other hard and trying to break the other one's guard for just long enough to land a hit. Both sides stayed evenly matched, until Zack changed his attack pattern.
Jumping back from Twilight's successive strikes against his sword, he began to charge up his materia. When he was ready, he yelled, "Fire!" A ball of flame launched from his hand, striking Twilight's sword with extra force and causing her to falter. In that second, Zack knocked her to the ground with the flat side of the buster sword, jumped on top of her, and held the massive blade up to her throat.
"Fine, you win," groaned Twilight through her heavier breathing. Zack jumped off of her and hooked his sword to his back. He then helped her off the ground and they went back inside the library. They grabbed some green tea, then sat down in the main room on the couch.
"You're getting much better," said Zack.
"Thanks. I've been practicing at night, too," said Twilight as she took a sip.
"So, how's Rainbow Dash been doing with the spear I gave her?" asked Zack.
"Surprisingly well. One thing's for sure. She could knock you out with a few hits," said Twilight playfully.
"When have you had time to spar with her?"
"Mostly at night."
"Ah," said Zack as he took a sip of his green tea as well.
Suddenly, the TV in the main room turned itself on as a news flash came on screen. "Citizens of Ponyville, stay inside of your homes," came a voice from the box. Mayor Mare stood in front of the camera personally addressing the city. "Changelings have attacked Sweet Apple Acres and we have reason to believe that they are coming to town next. I repeat, everypony, stay in your homes." Of course, Zack and Twilight weren't about to listen. They grabbed their gear and rushed out the door, leaving Spike sleeping upstairs.
As they stepped outside, they found that the town was empty apart from a few pegasi in the skies and a couple of townspeople who apparently hadn't gotten the memo. A rush of wind and a quick look to the left of the library door revealed Rainbow Dash standing next to Twilight on Zack's left side. "I came as soon as I heard," said the cyan mare.
Zack finally noticed the weapon that was on Rainbow's back. It was the spear that Zack had given her, yet there was something different about it. The weapon looked the same and when Zack held it with Rainbow's permission, it weighed the same. Yet, there was still something that Zack couldn't quite put his finger on. He dismissed the thought in favor of the current situation.
"Good. We'll need all the help we can get," replied the SOLDIER. "The changelings will show up soon and I'll need your help on air defense. Twilight, you're with me. We're gonna take a look at that farm that got attacked." Twilight and Rainbow both nodded their understanding and Rainbow immediately took off, leaving Zack and Twilight alone again.
Zack began to run in the direction of the farm with Twilight close behind. It was mere minutes before the sound of hundreds of insect-like wings could be heard clearly in the mid-day air. Before anypony realized what was happening, the changelings had begun their attack, dive bombing shops and stands, destroying buildings, and attacking innocent ponies. A few brave townspeople had left the relative safety of their homes with weapons, doing their best to fight off the attackers.
Zack looked at the town's defenders and donned a smile of victory. "Let's keep going to the farm, Twilight. The townspeople have the changeling problem here covered." Even as he was saying these words, he saw changelings beginning to fall from the Ponyvillians' resistance.
"Right," responded Twilight, excitement lining her voice. This was her chance to prove herself in a real battle with her new skills. She wasn't about to let Zack down.
A few changelings tried to stop Zack and Twilight on their way to the farm, but they only succeeded in being cut clean to pieces, not leaving even a speck of blood on the road.
When Twilight and Zack arrived, what they saw horrified them. The Apple Family barn was on fire, its contents of stored apples burned to a crisp. As they watched the fire raging, a single word rung out over the burning property. "Octaslash." Zack knew the word all too well. Before he could react, the barn was lit up with eight white, straight lines across its surface. A second later, the barn exploded, sending chunks of red wood in all directions along with a tsunami of smoke and dust.
When the mess cleared, Zack had to blink his eyes furiously to clear them. As he looked out at the Apple Family property, his jaw dropped. Every last apple tree had been destroyed, along with the family house. He saw no signs of life amidst the ashen remains of what was only hours ago fertile acres of land in Equestria. His eyes continually swept the horizon, his brain unable to fully process the complete destruction he had just witnessed.
He felt something touch his shoulder. He turned his head to see a purple hoof on his shoulder plate. As he continued to turn, he saw Twilight, her head down and tears flowing from her eyes, hidden by her mane.
Zack gained a new resolve. Sephiroth had already hurt enough people. But to go forward and destroy a whole farm? And for what? What was Sephiroth's goal? As he thought of the destruction of the rich orchard, he was reminded of Angeal and his love for the Banora White 'dumb apples'. As the memories flooded back to him, his hands clenched into fists. I'm not about to let any more ponies get hurt because of that demon's unstable mind, he thought. "Come on Twilight. We need to get ready."
"Ready, *sniff*, ready for what?" she said through her sobs.
"Revenge."
/)*#*(\
Sephiroth walked into the main hall of the old castle in the Everfree forest. As he approached the throne on the far side, he took note of the number of changelings lining the walls. There were much fewer than before. "So how did it go?" asked Chrysalis, hanging upside down inside of a pod that was slowly regenerating her body.
"Perfectly. Now, we just wait for the prey to take the bait," said Sephiroth slyly.
"And you really think they'll fall for it?" she hissed.
"We need the other five, and there's no doubt that they'll bring their friends."
Chrysalis couldn't help but smile inwardly at how clever Sephiroth was. Or at least, how he was acting. She could never be too sure with him. She just hoped that he hadn't discovered her deception.