//------------------------------// // Chapter 9 // Story: Griffons and Magic and Nightmares, oh my! // by bahatumay //------------------------------// “Sir?” one of the griffons said. “What?” Inas’i snapped. “There's a strange storm appearing from the east.” Inas'i turned, and found that he was right. Thick, black clouds billowed out, and they seemed to be heading right towards their path, looking somewhat like a sandstorm. It was wide and thick, and cast a deep shadow over the earth as it passed. “Go clear that out,” Inas'i ordered the weather griffons. He was not taking any risks this time. Their power must remain secure. A squad of about twenty griffons headed up, ready to bust the cloud. As the first neared it, a bolt of lightning struck him, and he fell to the ground, dead. The second didn’t even have time to change his flight pattern before another flash of lightning came and he, too, met the same fate. “That's not a normal cloud,” hissed another griffon, pulling back. The writhing black cloud continued approaching. As it neared, flashes of gray fur and metal armor could be seen through the darkness. Suddenly, a portion shot to the ground, looking like a tornado had landed. A Lunar Guard dropped out of the cloud, took a few steps to the side, and inhaled deeply. “Fillies and gentlecolts of all ages, races, and orientations!” he roared. His voice had been magically enhanced, making him sound like an announcer of some kind. “It gives me great pleasure to present, for your imminent destruction! She is! The Empress of the Night! The Mare in the Moon! The Keeper of Dreams!” The clouds on the ground started to give way. A black horn and purple helmet could be seen poking through the dissipating smoke, and nebulous clouds of a dark purple sky peeked out from the sides. “The Mistress of Midnight! The Elegance of Equestria! Fillies and gentlecolts, I give you! The one! The only! Nightmare Moooon!” The roar of thunder filled the air and lightning flashed repeatedly as all the Lunar Guards that were natural pegasi flew out of the clouds and began jumping on them. Wind from the wings of the other guards finished revealing Nightmare Moon, terrifying and beautiful in her armor as she stood upon the ground. Her mane flowed rapidly in the wind, but she stood unmoved and undisturbed. She smiled widely, revealing her sharp fangs. Yes, Luna's talent may have dealt with the moon, but the da̕r̴k̕ne̛s̛s had always had a bit of a soft spot for thunderclouds and lightning flashes. Inas’i, however was not so impressed, and raised an angry claw. “Destroy her! And by destroy her, I mean kill her until she is dead!” Inas’i roared. Griffons flew towards Nightmare Moon with their claws raised and their expressions snarling, ready to obey. One side of Nightmare Moon's mouth curled up in a brief smile. The first griffon neared, beak open, claws extended… but his path was sharply interrupted by a jet black wing that clotheslined him. With a quick motion, Nightmare Moon redirected his flight up and then right back down, slamming him into the ground with an awful crunch of bone. She reared up in challenge, and caught the second griffon in her ponyshoes, and the griffon didn’t even have time for her eyes to widen before Nightmare Moon dropped down to all fours again, crushing the metal armor (and the warrior inside) nearly flat. The third griffon was knocked back into other flying teammates with a punishing left hook. Nightmare Moon sidestepped the fourth just enough to keep her body safe, but remaining close enough that she could bite his trailing tail--her fangs easily pierced the bones and blood spurted up in her mouth--and she flung him back at the army. She spat out a bit of fur and blood. “Who’s next?” she roared, baring her teeth. Another griffon was either brave or dumb enough to try, but as he neared, the guard who had announced her flicked a wing sharply, and a throwing blade embedded itself into his neck. He collapsed, gagging on his own blood. Nightmare Moon lit her horn and charged. “Take no prisoners! For the Niiight!” “For the Niiight!” the gathered Lunar guards shouted, charging. The cloud began to spread out as the ponies who had been maintaining it turned to attack, fangs bared, wings spread, blades glinting. With a thousand years of peace, the Solar Guard has been reduced to a shiny squad of police ponies. In contrast, Lunar Guards are still trained in war and dark fighting arts. Luckily, griffon fighting styles have not changed much in the last thousand years. It was just a quick in-battle combination of anti-griffon and anti-magic technique, and it was deadly effective. The Lunar Guards may have been few, but they were a powerful enemy. The cloud covered the battle as the fighting continued. One griffon seemed to have had enough, and fled to the edge of cloud. The mare known simply as G followed, intent on physically kicking him back into the fray. She outflew him and appeared in front, her lunar armor glinting in the sun. He instinctively slashed with his gray magic. She looked in shock at the deep gouge it had left in her armor. Then, it clicked. She changed tactics, and instead of kicking him, tackled him back into the shade and let him strike again. This time, the armor was barely scraped. “Their power is tied to the sun!” she called as she ended the scuffle with a simple flicked wingblade. “Keep them under the cloud!” The Lunar Guard armor was not as strong in the sun; this was the purpose of the cloud in the first place. Even with the cloud cover, though, the sun was still strong. Orders flew back and forth above the rage of battle. “Stay in the sun!” “Keep them out of the sun!” “I hate the sun!” “Praise the sun!” “The sun is our lifeline!” Nightmare Moon screamed in primal rage. “The sun this. The sun that. Everything is the sun, the sun, the sun, the sun, the sun! Well, here's what I think of your pitiful sun!” And she dug her hooves into the ground, grit her teeth, and lit her horn, blinding any who were near; and with an inequine strength and fury, she cast the spell. The sun began to descend. Griffons desperately raised their claws and tried to hold the sun in place, but Lunar Guards receive extensive, rigorous training—especially about how to recognize magic users hiding in a crowd, and how to neutralize them. It was a small matter to spot the ones holding the sun up, and, with a flash of sharpened teeth or a buck from extraordinarily strong hind legs or a quick swipe with a wingblade, take them out. The sun slid further. Some griffons had the bright idea of attacking Nightmare Moon herself, but a swarm of Lunar guards surrounded her, flying around her, protecting her like a gray whirlwind of teeth and armor and metal blades. Slowly, the sun set. This was, to say the least, slightly worrisome to the griffons. Ponies (especially pegasi) have excellent eyesight; griffons (being hunters) have even better eyesight. But griffons fly and hunt during the day, meaning they have crystal clear day vision, while leaving their night vision with much to be desired. On the other hoof, ponies used to be a prey species, so their vision adapted to seeing well at night as well as in the day. A more urgent problem quickly made itself manifest—their magic didn't work at night. Griffons squeaked in fear as their magic weakened, and finally fizzled. Horn still alight, Nightmare Moon raised the moon. And, to be honest, it was a large, beautiful full moon. Her eyes glowing pure white with power, Nightmare Moon threw back her head and roared her challenge to the skies. “THIS is beauty! THIS is majesty! THIS IS THE NIGHT!!” The Lunar Guard seemed to be shifting slightly. On closer look, their fur seemed to be growing darker, their eyes yellower, their teeth sharper. Audible in the darkness was their elevated breathing. One mare licked her sharpened fangs, quivering with desire to fight. Inas'i laughed and, with a powerful blast of magic, blasted back a Lunar Guard. His claws lit up with a foreign gray glow. “I too gain power from the moon!” he crowed. “My first attempt tied my power with the moon!” “Oh, so you like my moon, do you?” Nightmare Moon asked in faux politeness. Her horn lit again, and this time her voice was colored with fury. “Well, allow me to indulge you for a bit!” Tides all over Equestria shifted as Nightmare Moon brought the moon down, closer to earth. It began to fill the sky, brightening it. Not that it helped the griffons much, though. Inas'i laughed insanely as power began to flow through his body. “The power! It is all mine!” Griffons looked in nervous anticipation at their leader. Sure, he had magic; but what did that leave them? Still Nightmare Moon's horn glowed. “So much power!” To make matters worse, the Lunar Guard seemed to be getting just as much of a powerup as he was. Their armor and their eyes glowed brighter, and some could not restrain laughs of exhilaration of their own as arcane power flowed through them. Still Nightmare Moon's horn glowed. Wings flared and breaths got shorter among the Lunar Guard. Tails flicked eagerly. Sparks started to fly from the armor they wore. Inas'i's eyes started to glow with light and power... and his body began to smoke. “What?” he asked, confused at the pain that started to spread through his body. Still Nightmare Moon's horn glowed. Inas'i screamed as power, more than he had ever experienced before, coursed through his body (or, more accurately, burned its way through his body). With an awful sound, his body exploded in a burst of white lunar magic, leaving nothing but a pile of blood-stained armor, covered in bloody feathers and the random patch of fur. Griffons stared in shock. Finally, Nightmare Moon released the magic. She held up a hoof. “Lunar Guard?” she said quietly. A very pregnant pause followed. Griffons half-blinded in the dark shuffled nervously. Lunar Guards quivered in anticipation, excess lunar energy sparking off their armor like tiny lightning bolts, giving the impression of a very tiny, but very deadly, meteor shower. Nightmare Moon's eyes narrowed again as she gave her next order in the same, quiet, emotionless voice. “Avenge the death of thine comrades.” Her stony expression did not change. Not even when the full moon was blotted out with blood, fur, and flying feathers.