Point of No Return

by Wild_Heart

Tenth Judgement (Part Three)

(Author's Note: Okay, people. Look here. I've had a few fans tell me that they hated it when I released a chapter of Dumb Luck that was only there to let them know some things, and some of them suggested I use the blog function on FiMFiction for that kind of thing instead. So I did. And I have been. Except NO ONE READS IT. Not even the bronies that suggested using it in the first place. Or, if they did, they're not giving the feedback I request in said blog posts.

I understand that not everyone wants to read dumb blogs, I certainly don't. But I promise, only stuff related to my writing will be put there. No personal feelings, no "boohoo waaah i cut myself" bullshit, and no attention-mongering. I just want feedback on my ideas and my fics. If no one wants to read it, cool, but I'll have to go back to shoving info into my chapters, and I hate doing that. Like this here. So please, for the love of Meatloaf, please read the bloody blog and comment. That is all, enjoy (finally) the final chapter of Point of No Return.)

~~~

Trixie had plenty of combat training. After all, even if she was never expected to face actual battle, she needed to learn just in case she might find herself in a bad situation. No training could prepare for the actual thing, however, and she'd never actually been drilled to the point of said training being second nature. So, with a dragon trying his best to skewer her on his short sword, she'd fallen back on pure instinct. It wasn't working very well. The unicorn couldn't get a single spell off, caught constantly on the defensive. She had no time to concentrate, instead only able to attempt dodging every strike. Trixie had no weapon of her own, and Spike seemed quite capable of using both sword and shield in tandem. It was a wonder she wasn't dead yet, and she already had several lacerations on her fore-legs and sides.

A slice came at her from the left, and she ducked under it, only for it to flick down. Trixie jerked back, and the tip of the blade cut into her snout, barely leaving a flesh would, but it was yet another reminder of how terrible she was in such close quarters. Spike pressed forward with his shield up, guarding against any possible counter attack as he moved back into blade range. Trixie barely had time to recover, let alone think, before he jabbed for her. Luckily, when she rolled, it was to her right, putting her to Spike's shield-bearing side. And she happened to be just out of range when the dragon's swung said shield in her direction. She finally had enough time to gather her thoughts, and she spent those precious seconds well.

Her horn glowed, and the smell of ozone filled the air, Spike's scales starting to tingle. Before he could react, a bolt of lightning surged out from Trixie's horn to his shield, blasting it back. The blow had enough force to rip the leather straps from its back, forcing it up and into the air. She grinned in triumph and leaped forward, to press her own attack, only for her face to receive a retaliation in the form of Spike's fist. Tumbling mid-air from the blow, Trixie landed on her back and let off a deep groan. Her vision swam and her nose felt stopped up and numb. She felt something warm trickling down her face, and rolled over before it got into to her eyes almost instinctively, leaving Spike to shake his wrist out. "Jeez, and that's why you never punch a face." Aside from some singeing on his former shield-arm, he looked perfectly fine.

A stunned Trixie tried to process this as he came closer, the unicorn's mind screaming at her. But that voice felt so far away, and her head was still spinning even as Spike picked her up by her neck, and drew his fist back again. The last conscious thought she had before it came down onto her was, Oh right. Dragons are resistant to destructive magic.

---

Spike grimaced down at the rebel as he dropped her into an unceremonious heap. He never liked Trixie, and had even less reason to like her these days. But I don't want to kill her. That's not on me, he thought to himself, mostly just to justify his nervousness. He'd never actually killed anypony, and he didn't want to start now. That's Perfect's job. The dragon looked back to the door, ignoring a groan from the passed-out pony. Probably not gonna get back in there easy. He was right. The door was jammed in tight. Oh well. Knowing Pinkie, she'd probably just get lost and wander around harmlessly before she was caught. No need to worry about her. Trixie was slowly beginning to come back to, and the dragon had no idea what to do with her at this point. With an apathetic shrug, he jerked her up again by her tail, and started dragging her towards the front gate. That was when he heard the sound of battle coming from the rear gate. Oh, for the love of... Well, she's just gonna slow me down. He dropped the unicorn, and charged towards the source of the racket, leaving his prisoner behind.

---

Pinkie wasn't lost. She knew exactly where she was, and that was right here. It wasn't her fault that right here didn't know where it was. But as long as she knew where she was, Pinkie figured she would be just fine. She was getting a little worried about right here, however, and was considering asking it where its parents were (or maybe throwing it an "I'm Lost Party") when she bumped into a thick iron door. "Ow!" She glared at the offending portal, rubbing her nose with a fore-hoof, then pushed it open.

Past the door, it was quite dark. Pinkie peered in, barely able to see at all. Pulling her head back, the earth pony tried to grab a torch from the wall, only to jerk back with a gasp. The torch's handle itself was very hot, and trying to take it out of its fixture would probably only result in her dropping it. Giving up on that, Pinkie stepped into the room, reasoning that she would either find a way out, or at least a way to not be lost. She tested the ground in front of her with her fore-hooves before she actually moved. The unusual caution was brought about by an odd feeling of unease this place gave her, and she couldn't quite place the source.

She knew that something about the smell bothered her, and the darkness wasn't helping, making her bump into something very cold, and made of metal. With a gasp, Pinkie leaped back from it, and began trembling. I-It's okay, Pinkie. Nothing to be scared of, right? R-Right. I'll just... I'll just sing, like usual. She drew in a deep breath, and began. Her singing was quiet, as if she didn't want to attract the attention of whatever might lurk in the choking darkness.

"When I was a little filly, and the sun was going doooown..." Her nose bumped into something wet, and she jerked back with a cough, a metallic scent filling her nostrils. She didn't like that at all, but she hurried into the next verse. "The darkness and the shadows, they would always make me froooown..." She wiped away that fluid. It was thick, gooey, and cold. "I'd hide under my pillow, from what I thought I saw..." She stepped around that... Whatever it was, and as she continued, her hoof bumped a metal rod on the ground and sent it clattering. Shrieking in surprise, Pinkie actually cowered for a moment, hunched down to the ground. "B-But Granny Pie said that wasn't the way to deal with fears at all..." She stood up again, taking a deep breath and steeling herself against her quaking. The song was making her feel better, or so she tried to convince herself.

"She said, 'Pinkie, you gotta stand up tall, learn to face your fea-'" Pinkie was cut off as she tripped over something on the ground, something that rolled with her. It felt like a pony. "H-Hello...?" Getting no response, she continued to lay there for a moment, her breath heavy and quick. "Th-This isn't funny... Please, say something!" The earth pony gulped, and slowly rose up after another few moments of silence. Must be a dummy, or something. Isn't a real pony. That's right, Pinkie. It's not real. It was hard to convince herself. After all, that cold, thick fluid was now all over her under-belly from whatever she'd tripped on. "You'll see that they can't hurt you, just laugh and make them disappear!" Her heart almost stopped when light flared up in the room. All around her were horrible machines, all built specifically to hurt ponies in unspeakable ways. Hoof-screws, racks, hooks and claws, knives... The rod she had tripped over was some kind of rotisserie, which had something attached to it. Something red, slimy, and long, like some kind of worm. Oh Celestia, that's... That's...

Pinkie couldn't help herself. She leaned forward and retched, vomit splattering on the floor. Half-digested apple chunks joined all-but whole cupcakes in a puddle of yellow bile on the stone in front of her, swirling into the cracks between the tiles. Panting a bit, Pinkie closed her eyes tightly, giving off a soft whimper as tears started to stream down her cheeks. She didn't want to look back at the "dummy" she had tripped over, but she found herself doing so anyway. It was as if her mind was rebelling against her, and what she saw made her nausea much, much worse. The "dummy" was of course a real pony. A blue stallion with a like-colored mane. His rib-cage had been pulled open, each rib snapped off, and each and every organ carved from his chest and stomach. The empty cavity had been stuffed with candy, all stained by blood and worse. Two dead eyes met Pinkie's, and she found even her breath ceasing as a fly crawled over one of them, the expression of the stallion frozen into a look of absolute horror and agony. Thread lay to the side, as well as a needle. Her hooves almost gave out from under her, and it was a miracle she managed to keep standing. After a few more dry heaves, she looked back up, and froze when she was staring into the face of another pony, one with a very wild, wicked grin. Pinkie leaned back as the dark pink pegasus drew closer, and mockingly finished her song for her. "Ha. Ha. HA." The earth pony screamed, and darted for the door, but it slammed shut before she reached it with a loud note of finality.

The pegasus approached, grinning still, that smile much wider than a pony possibly could smile. In fact, it literally reached from ear to ear, two rows of razor-pointed teeth gleaming in the light of a chandelier which had a skeleton hanging from it, swinging slowly. "Hi there! You must be Pinkie Pie! I heard you like partying, and that you were here earlier, so I started making a party for you. But Spike wouldn't let me take you to it." She huffed, and took on a pout. "What a meanie. So, I thought to myself, 'Pinkie has to come back, right? So when she does, I'll have an even better party ready! With a pinata!'" Perfect giggled madly as she advanced. "Do you like it? You got here early, so I didn't finish sewing it up. Oh well! Guess we gotta play without one!" Pinkie pressed up against the door, hyper-ventilating and eyes darting around, looking for a way out. "Oh! Better idea! I'll use you as the pinata!" The depraved pegasus suddenly pounced, and Pinkie jumped to the side. It was a better decision than even suspected, as two spiked bones had jutted out of Perfect's hooves, puncturing through the door. "Hey! Stay still!" She jerked them out with some effort as Pinkie ran away, bobbing and weaving from torture device to torture device, eventually managing to hide herself.

Perfect let out a frustrated sigh, and Pinkie could hear her hooves on the stone floor, echoing through the chamber. The echoes made it impossible to tell where they were coming from, and the earth pony could only try to quiet her sobbing, with very little success. Not really registering what she was doing, Pinkie grabbed a cleaver from a nearby table. She couldn't see herself using it, but it felt comforting to have something to cling to. And cling she did; she held the knife to her chest as if it were a teddy-ursa and bit her lips so hard they bled to keep the noise of her sobs from getting out. A slight shift of the table she hid behind made her dart forward just as another spike came down, this one jutting from Perfect's wing. "Found ya! Oh, c'mooon, stop running! You're ruining the party!" The pegasus gave chase, and Pinkie was so very glad that all the devices strewn about and the relatively low ceiling kept Perfect from flying. Pinkie took a running leap over an alicorn-sized upright coffin, landing on the other side of it with a roll. With a glance behind her, she took in the most disturbing thing she'd ever seen. Perfect's body deformed into a flatter shape, squeezing itself between that coffin and a furnace with a loud slurping sound.

"N-No! Get away from me!" She brandished the knife with her teeth, the earth pony's legs shaking from adrenaline. Perfect just laughed, a wing striking out and bone smacking the blade, jarring it against Pinkie's teeth. Surprised by the sudden pain, she dropped it to the floor, and could barely react before Perfect Cut pounced and pinned her to a table with basins on either side, seemingly meant for dissection. And it had been used recently, blood filling said basins. The pounce knocked the wind out of Pinkie, making her groan and go limp. She closed her eyes tight, expecting to be skewered at any moment.

When she wasn't run through after a few seconds, the earth pony opened her eyes, to see a contemplative Perfect. The pegasus noticed Pinkie's confused look, and giggled. "Oh sorry! Just wondering what to do to you! I mean, I have you on a surgery table, but I wanted to make you a pinata! But then when I was squeezing past that furnace, I was thinking, why don't I stab you with a red hot pole a few times first? But that's not very creative, so..." She kept jabbering, the earth pony feeling more and more sick by the second. Fear gave way to anger, anger over how casually her assailant could be about these horrible things. While Perfect was distracted, Pinkie yelled out, raising her hind legs, and giving the pegasus a solid buck.

Pinkie wanted to hurt her, to be sure, but mainly she wanted the psychotic pony away from her. Pinkie let her anger overwhelmed her kindness, and, with another cry, tackled Perfect Cut as hard as she could. The pegasus grunted as she was forced back onto her hind-hooves from the impact, and began to trip backwards. A hind-hoof struck a pressure plate, and the coffin behind her swung open, revealing a small chamber filled with jagged spikes. Pinkie cried out in alarm and reached a hoof out, but it was too late. The iron-mare slammed shut upon Perfect, and as her almost-victim watched in shock, blood seeped out from some holes in it a few seconds later. Pinkie took a step back, horrified by what had just happened. Oh no oh no oh CELESTIA I didn't mean to kill her! Before she could get too deep into her self-loathing, however, a chuckle started up from the coffin, making her freeze in her tracks. Is she... Is she still alive?! Pinkie rushed to it, and tried to pry the device open. The laughter was getting louder, more insane, more maniacal, even as the pink mare exerted herself. Soon, the laughter grew too loud, the utter madness of it forced Pinkie to turn and run. Reaching the iron door, she ripped it open, and darted out. Only when the door slammed shut behind her did the cackling end.

---

Applejack leaped over a fallen tree trunk, vines snaking after her. She'd had to divert her path from its original beeline towards Wild Heart, as the earth pony had been surrounding himself with these vines, and getting caught by them was not a prospect she savored. Her group was still frantically trying to fend off the plants assaulting them, kept firmly on the defensive. Applejack's hooves hit the ground again, and she jerked to the right, ducking under a swinging tree branch. Wild Heart ain't the brightest candle in the bunch, she thought as she kept pace with those vines. S'long as Ah don't look like Ah'm comin' right fer 'im, he prolly won't notice. Jus' gotta make sure Ah don't tire myself out in the process. She didn't try to outrun the vines. Keeping them at tail's length was enough.

Just as she had thought, Wild Heart barely noticed her for now, more concentrated on attempting to wipe out her battle-group, which was proving annoyingly hard. The rebel troops had been able to clear a small area of trees and under-growth via magic, and had formed a circle inside it to see his assaults from all directions. A mere second of respite allowed an archer to notch and loose an arrow in the giant's direction, and he quickly jerked up his front left hoof, the arrow burying itself in the earth where it had been. When the hoof was lifted away, all of the plants suddenly stopped. Giving off a growl of frustration, Wild Heart stomped down on the arrow, snapping its shaft, and the flora pressed the attack once more.

That hadn't escaped Applejack, as she doubled around to the earth pony's backside. Why'd it all stop? Checking behind herself, she confirmed that the vines pursuing her had flopped to the ground, and were just now back on her trail. Getting an idea, she grinned and surged forward, putting all her might behind her pounding hooves. Wild Heart jerked his head back towards her, but it was too late. The much smaller earth pony tackled Wild Heart with everything she had, headbutting his side. With a wheezing grunt, Wild Heart rolled under her, and Applejack's momentum carried her over him and to the other side. As soon as even one of his hooves left the dirt, his plants all ceased movement. "Ah gotcha now!" She skidded, her hindquarters sliding in a half-circle when she landed, which left her facing him again. Queen Nyx's lieutenant had barely enough time to scramble back to his hooves before Applejack was on him again. This time, she didn't have nearly the same force behind her attack, and he leaned towards it, bracing himself. He skidded a few feet, but ultimately didn't fall over again. "... Horseapples."

Applejack had no time to react before vines wrapped around her torso, forcing her legs to her body. "No, I believe I have you at my mercy." He smirked, and those vines began to squeeze as the stallion stepped over her, a hoof pinning her torso to the ground. It was the mare's turn to wheeze as the pressure forced the air out of her lungs. She struggled, giving it her all, but Applejack had no leverage with which to break free, and the creaking of her ribs made her ears lay flat, her mouth desperately trying to suck in air which couldn't reach her lungs. "I see no reason to take you alive. Perfect will simply have to deal with not being able to have her fun with you." Applejack's lungs were burning, and dull, throbbing pains in her chest told her that her ribs wouldn't be lasting much longer.

Wild Heart was taking a sick joy out of having his old rival in his grasp... To the exclusion of everypony else. His ear twitched as it picked up a thunderous din, and he lifted his head with a brow raised to see a charge of ponies almost a hundred strong coming straight for him. His eyes went wide, and the momentary distraction loosened his vines' grip on Applejack. A deep gasp filled her burning lungs again, and through her coughing, she took the opportunity to wiggle her hind-legs free. Meanwhile, Wild Heart used every bit of the talent Queen Nyx had enhanced with her dark magics, and raised a wall of woven trees in the path of the advance, stopping them dead in their tracks. He smirked at the multiple thuds onto the wood, the wall groaning, but holding. Despite that victory, he was panting in exertion. Took jus' about ev'rythin' he had, but he don't need that much to finish me off. She grinned as she pulled her hind-legs as far back as she could. But he ain't gettin' the chance. "HEY! Wild Heart!" He looked down, his vines squeezing down again.

"Oh, I haven't forgotten you, rebel. Were were we? Oh yes, the crushing."

Applejack smirked, wheezing out, "Somethin's... Gettin' crushed... Hnnnh... Alright..." And she lashed out with her hindhooves.

---

In Ponyville, the clock-tower rung the 2nd hour of the afternoon. The population, unsuspecting of the battle at the palace and around their small town, were set about their business. The clock chimed a second time, just as a unicorn cracked open some walnuts. For some reason, every stallion in the town winced as a pain struck them between their legs, wondering where that feeling could have come from. But ultimately, they dis-regarded the occurrence, and went about their business.

---

Wild Heart froze for a moment. His vines loosened up completely, and Applejack slid out from them just in time to see the giant fall. With a loud thud, the earth pony hit the ground, sending some dirt up into the air, and he curled up a bit quivering and with a pathetic whimper. The mare stood up, grabbed her hat in her teeth, and flipped it up on her head. "Showed you, varmint. ALRIGHT, MARES AN' GENTLECOLTS! Le's move it on out!" Every stallion under her command complied immediately, and they rode out, leaving the lieutenant to suffer in peace.

---

"All we want to do is send you home!" A streak of flame drew closer to a rainbow, and the two clashed in a flash of multi-colored light, predominately red. Spitfire's goggles fell away from the impact, and Dash spun mid-air, recovering quickly enough to slip away from her fallen idol's deadly contrail. Dash's speed against Spitfire's pure agility made the two evenly matched. "But you have to be difficult about it!"

"If my best sis couldn't get me to abandon my friends, you think you could?!" They flew away from each other, coming back for another pass. Rainbow Dash's coat was a bit singed, but she could tell Spitfire felt that impact more than she did. This time the older pegasus split away at the last second, causing Dash to have to dive to get away from the intense flames trailing behind Spitfire. That fiery contrail of hers had set most of the tower ablaze, and a loud groan signaled that it's structure was weakening. I've gotta finish this quick, before I either roast or get crushed then roast.

"I was hoping you'd have a brain in your head!" Spitfire gave off a growl as she passed by a beam, giving it a good kick to loosen it. Dash hit the floor and pushed off to launch herself forward and restart her momentum. However, the former Wonderbolt dove in front of her, forcing her to stop dead as the sound of a loud crack rang out, that beam falling downwards. Dash grunted as it struck her, and slammed her to the tower's floor, cracking the paneling. Spitfire landed in front of her, panting just enough to be noticeable. "Ya know, Dash, lemme tell you a little secret."

The younger pegasus struggled to get out from under the beam, and was making progress before a hoof was brought down onto her back. Roughly enough to knock the air out of her, but not enough to break anything. "Dash, I had a lot of respect for you, ya know that? You were a good kid. A fast flier. Even better, a good leader, which I honestly didn't think you had in ya." Dash glowered up at Spitfire, trying to suck in more air to her lungs. "But you wanna know the honest truth? The real reason why you were never accepted into the Wonderbolts, kid?"

Rainbow fluttered her wings as they got free, a bit uselessly, though. Dash had been completely focused on Spitfire this entire battle of theirs', and she couldn't help but notice her main weakness. She's got experience on you, Dash. Sure. But she's old. She's an old mare, and all you need to do is keep fighting, and you can't lose. She'll run out of juice long before you will! So get up and fight! Try as hard as she could, though, Spitfire had the leverage of that beam and her entire body to keep Dash on the floor, and no matter how hard she tried, the pinned pony couldn't wiggle free. "I'll bite. Tell me why I wasn't good enough for a lousy traitor!"

Spitfire grit her teeth together, ignoring the crash behind her as burning chunks of the ceiling rained down to he floor. The impact smashed a crater into it and kicked up a cloud of dust. "That's why, kid. That's why. You can't think five minutes ahead! For you, it's all now, now, now." Spitfire didn't know why she was getting so angry. After all, why would she let this punk kid's words get to her? Nonetheless, she yelled out her next words. "You don't have a brain, or at least you never use it! I didn't run off to Nightmare Moon as soon as I could because I was some kinda opportunistic coward!" She stomped again, bringing up a gasp from her opponent, but that gave Dash an idea as the beam shifted and slid a little lower. She started shifting her weight, gradually, as much as the beam's own heft would allow, towards the part of it that was slanted upwards.

Maybe this using my head thing's got something to it after all. She fought down a grin. She needed to keep Spitfire angry, so she didn't notice this. "Oh, sure, I bet you did because you thought she'd give you a free Celestia-damned puppy, right?" She sneered, praying to whatever deity was listening that her next taunt would have the impact she wanted. "Or were you jumping at the chance to kill some upstart that was lookin' good to replace a run-down, rickety old nag?!"

Oh, have the effect she wanted it did. Spitfire roared out, and reared up, kicking her fore-legs and readying herself to slam them both down. Now she wanted to hurt Dash. But the younger pegasus was having none of that. Swinging both her powerful wings up, Rainbow Dash smashed them up against Spitfire's cheeks from either side. It wasn't quite as hard as she wanted, and a lesser pony would have been clocked out just from that. But Spitfire received a glancing blow from the wings when one of her fore-legs caught on them, and was merely knocked aside. That was all Dash needed, and she scooted out from under the beam and swung her body around on it's side before kicking with both hind-legs. Unfortunately, Spitfire didn't stay off-balance for long. The older mare ducked to the side from the kick, and seized Dash's tail in her mouth. Swinging her 180 degrees before letting her loose, Spitfire watched as the cyan pegasus hit a wall that almost matched her colors, were it not for the flame's angry glow reflecting from it. The fire had become a raging inferno, but Spitfire didn't care at all. She stalked towards the groaning pegasus, and raised a hoof to bring down on her head. But she hesitated when Dash said one word, one simple word, that made the anger fly away as easily as it'd come.

"Why?" The question was sincere, not a trick. Dash stared up at Spitfire, her red eyes sad, almost begging. The older mare shuddered, losing her scowl, now struggling just not to cry. That look was the look of a failed fan, desperate to know how their idol had fallen so far.

"The other Wonderbolts were talking about joining a rebellion. I couldn't just let them do that, they would have gotten killed!" She couldn't stop the tears now. "For Luna's buckin' sakes, Rainbow Dash! Do you know how long I've flown with some of them?! How long we were friends?!" That hoof stomped down finally, but in front of Dash, not on her. "I joined because they were scared of my indecisiveness. Because they needed something firm to believe in. So I gave them that. I made my choice." She stared down at Dash, her eyes filled with a lack of surety that betrayed her tone. "The right choice." The older mare flapped her wings a bit, stepping back. She was ready to charge again, if her opponent moved. Dash didn't. "What happened to you was an accident. I lost my temper. I just wanted to teach you a lesson for being so high and mighty. I didn't want to kill you. I'd never want to kill anypony! But I swear... If I have to, I'll kill you again. Right here, right now, so my friends will be safe and secure." She stared right into Dash's eyes, a glare of grim certainty meeting a sad, but equally determined expression. "Can you even possibly understand that?"

Dash took a deep breath, trying not to choke on the heavy scent of charred wood and metal. "Yea. I can." She closed her eyes, and without any warning, dove for Spitfire. Even with her experience, the old pegasus wasn't expecting a lunge from a prone position, especially not one so fast and vicious. Before she knew it, the Element of Loyalty had pinned her to the ground, and struck out a hoof which caught her right in the cheek. "YES, I CAN!" Dash growled out, and struck again. "I'm the buckin' Element of Loyalty, and I'm not about to let you," Another smack punctuated the statement. "Nightmare moon," SMACK! "Or anypony EVER," Crack! "Kill!" Spitfire groaned as she raised up her fore-legs to try to block the blows. "My!" It wasn't enough. "FRIENDS!" The crack that sounded out that time was a little too loud, and Dash jerked her head up and froze as she saw rubble coming down towards them. Time seemed to freeze as both mares looked up. There would be no time to disengage. No chance mere scrambling would get them away from it. Only one of them could possibly survive, and that was Dash. She didn't want to see her ex-fan die again.

Spitfire made the call.

"You've got what it takes, kid." Then she bucked as hard as she could with her hind-legs. Dash was thrown clear, and hit the floor sliding, as a thunderous crash rang out from where she'd been pinning the older mare previously. The once-aspiring Wonderbolt stared at the pile of burning wreckage for a moment, then hung her head. After a moment, she straightened up. She didn't have time to let her emotions get the better of her again. She needed to be calm, collected. Her friends needed her to be like Spitfire. She turned to leave, when a glint nearby caught her eye. The pegasus hesitated and scooped them up. The goggles that had belonged to the Wonderbolt's leader were amazingly undamaged, aside from the wear and tear they'd been through with so many years of use.

"Yea." Rainbow Dash put them on slowly. It felt right, somehow. "I guess I do." And with that, she spread her wings, and flew out of the tower. She didn't look back when it collapsed a few moments later.

---

The sounds of battle only intensified outside. As Applejack and Rarity led their battle groups to the back of an unsuspecting army attempting to get into the rear gate, Twilight dashed down a hallway, panting as a filly clung to her back. She was searching for the Queen, and so far all the safe places she checked were empty. How could I have been so cruel?! A little voice inside her told her Nyx had deserved it. That she was being a monster. Twilight had to admit that was true. But a mother shouldn't act like that. ... Even if it is true. She had one place left to check, and she prayed it wasn't where...

Twilight Sparkle burst into the throne room, and regarded the Queen with a falling heart. Her Majesty was holding herself high, in her full armor, staring at the barred doors that were between her and the rebels. The last bastion she had. She was alone, having sent her last guards away to fight for her. Waiting for what she knew was the end of her. "Nyx! Don't do this!"

The alicorn turned her head slowly towards Twilight. The unicorn had expected a vitriolic greeting, or at least a hateful grimace. Instead, she only saw the haughty, proud expression of Nightmare Moon. "Twilight Sparkle." She had to wince at that. The acknowledgement of her as Twilight, and not mother, spoke more about how Queen Nyx felt than any rebuke. "You should not be here. Leave me to my end." Her head simply turned back to the door, her unblinking gaze upon it.

Twilight slipped in front of the throne, putting the younger Nyx on the floor. The filly stared sadly up at the larger alicorn, who refused to even glance her way. "Nyx, please, listen to me. You don't have to do this. It doesn't have to be this way. Just... Just surrender."

"No." There wasn't any arrogance behind that. She knew she had no chance at this point. No creature, no matter how mighty, could stand against the Elements of Harmony. But her pride would not let her surrender.

"Nyx, please! I'm sorry for what I said, I just was upset, and..."

She stopped dead as the Queen affixed a dreadful stare upon her, a shiver going down the unicorn's spine. "You meant every word. And it was true. I fully admit it. But I will not admit to wrong doing." She spread her wings out, and looked up to the ceiling, and the mural of her victory over the sun and moon painted upon it. "Everything I have done since I began my reign, I have done for the ponies of Equestria." She closed her eyes, forcing down a shiver. She refused to show her fear. "You claim I have gone too far in that." She lowered her head and folded her wings back to her side. "Perhaps. But..." She opened her eyes, once more locked on the throne room's entrance. "Was it necessary? I believe so. And I always will." A silence filled the hall as Twilight struggled to find some way to put the news she meant to deliver. She was so sure a few moments ago that if only Queen Nyx knew the truth about Nightmare Moon, it would be alright. Now?

She didn't think it mattered.

The dark ruler of Equestria finally turned her eyes to her filly counterpart, who shifted a bit in fear, stepping back. "Do you fear me, foal?" She smirked, and held her head high. "Good. Take a look at me. See my might? My pride? This is what you might have been, child! This is what you gave up for the sake of foalish loneliness! I have crushed mountains! I rule the night mercilessly, yet justly! I have brought a world under my hooves!" Her wings spread out again, her mane and tail flaring up. "I am the one this very war is fought over!" She stamped a hoof, and the throne cracked where she struck, the alicorn letting out a proud, yet empty laugh. "I, and I alone, had the power to do this! To be this! I ALONE DARED!" The air around her swirled into her mane, as the room darkened, all light being muffled by the power of the dark alicorn. "LOOK UPON ME, AND DESPAIR AT MY GLORY! You, who may have held the world in her hooves, see how I became CONQUEROR! RULER!" Her voice softened, and her mane and tail retracted, as she settled down in her throne once more. "... A mother." Her glance returned, as it had so many times before, to the gate. "Remember it well, for these are my last words, before I go into the battle that shall end me. My defeat shall be as glorious as my victory."

Once more, quiet reigned, heavy and oppressive. Twilight lowered her head, closing her eyes. This Queen was no longer anything resembling her daughter. Just the creature of hatred and spite that Nightmare Moon had been. She could only wait for her friends to arrive, to put an end to this. But, sometimes, a foal knows more wisdom.

"You talk big, but you're scared, just too proud to admit it!" The sudden voice snapped both Twilight and Nightmare Moon's shocked faces to the source. The alicorn filly glared up at the adult version of herself, shaking her head. The larger alicorn growled out, and stamped a hoof once more.

"Be silent, foal!"

"NO! YOU be quiet!" Twilight had to face-hoof at how childish that sounded, but Queen Nyx seemed too shocked by the audacity to respond. The little Nyx took that as her cue to continue. "Nopony's gonna remember this! They're coming to beat up a tyrant, and that's what they're gonna do! That's what they're gonna remember! A tyrant! Some ponies might like you, sure, but that's a pretty small number!" Nyx jabbed a hoof at the Queen on her broken throne. "All that talk about being concerned is just a heap of horseapples!" Twilight would definitely have a talk about the use of that word later. But right now, she didn't want to break the roll Nyx was on. It was giving her hope. "I should know! Like you said, I'm what you could have been! But I'm NOT! And you wanna know why?"

Nightmare Moon tried to sputter out a response, but she felt so on the defensive. Being faced with oneself is always the hardest foe to conquer. "Because you... You were too weak to..."

"WRONG! I'm stronger than you'll ever be, and I'm just a foal! I knew that I could break the mold! I didn't HAVE to be this way if I didn't want! So I didn't! It was hard, sure, but it was the right thing to do! It wasn't the easy way out that you took!" The filly huffed, and turned her nose to the air, a little trick she'd learned from Diamond Tiara's disdain of practically everypony. "And all that dumb talk about glory? PLEASE. What glory?! You're sitting on a big chair you just broke because you threw a tantrum! You're not glorious, you're all alone, scared, and trying to convince yourself and two other ponies that you're all big and scary! You never ruled anything but Ponyville! Isn't that why you were gonna be so mean? You never had any control over anything! The only things you crushed were sandcastles and houses of ponies too small to stand up to you!"

She growled, and hopped up on the throne. Twilight reached out in alarm to stop her, but rather than lashing out at the bold little filly, Nightmare Moon pressed against the back of her throne, eyes wide. "And this war isn't being fought over you! It's about the ponies of Equestria and how scared and defenseless they are because of YOU! YOU are just a big BULLY who wanted everypony to do what YOU wanted! That's it! Just a bigger version of Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon!" And Nyx then delivered the coup de grace.

"But you know what? You're right! You're a momma now. Adagia seems really happy, and nice. She really loves her momma, just like I love mine." The little Nyx looked back to Twilight, then up at Nightmare Moon, her judging glare the worst criticism the alicorn had ever received. "But if you're such a good mother, why are you here all ready to throw your life away without even a single thought for how scared she is of losing her momma?!"

---

"You poor thing. What did you dream about?"

At that, the youngest of her lieutenants jumped into the bed and squeezed herself close to the alicorn's flank, shuddering. Queen Nyx finished Adagia's ascent for her, with her tail gently wrapped around the foal. "I-I dreamed that y-you were defeated, and you left forever... !" The filly buried her face to the dark queen's side. The monarch just smiled as Adagia cried.

"It was just a silly dream, Adagia. I am not going anywhere. My rule is as eternal as my night, and I will never leave you. Never." Queen Nyx lowered her muzzle to gently nudge the filly over onto a pillow. Her dark magic suspended a blanket over the small unicorn, covering her up and tucking it snugly around her. "I will make sure your dreams won't turn so unpleasant again tonight. Sleep well."

The filly yawned, closing her eyes. A happy smile graced her muzzle as she nestled into the blanket and pillow. "Goodnight..."

"Goodnight, my beloved daughter."

---

That was the final strike necessary. Nightmare Moon hung her head, tears forming in her eyes, pouring down her cheeks. For a moment, all she could do was cry in shame, and that released more sobs of the fear of death she had been holding back. The filly looked up at her with pity in her eyes, and Twilight moved forward to hug the alicorn, to offer her comfort. However, the older alicorn jerked herself up, causing Twilight to jump back, seize Nyx in her magic, and pull her back. It was for naught, however, for a moment later, Nightmare Moon's helmet hit the floor with a loud clatter, and rolled in a circle for a moment, before stopping on it's side on the ground. It was cracked on the side from the force of the impact. Soon, her chest piece was released by her mane and fell as well, followed by the rest of her torso's armor, flung to the side by her wings. "Oh, mother... For all that time I mourned your loss, I was ready to abandon my own daughter... And willingly at that." Twilight approached the now bare Alicorn once more, and wrapped her fore-legs around what she could of the much larger pony, Nyx following suit. "But I can't be a mother to her. I'll hurt her eventually, as well. I am Nightmare Moon, and I cannot help my nature."

Twilight shook her head. "I was trying to tell you." She pulled back and smiled, beaming even as the doors to the throne room crashed open. "You don't have to be, just like Nyx said. You're not Nightmare Moon, you're just corrupted by her power! All you have to do is reject it! All you have to do is try!"

Behind her, voices rang out:

"Where're th' Elements?!"

"I have them here!"

"Hey, where's Trixie?"

"Ugh. I'm here. With a terrible headache."

"O-Oh, I have some medicine for that..."

"Not now! There she is!"

Twilight gulped, her smile now strained. "We don't have any time! Please, just try." Nightmare Moon, Queen Nyx... No, just Nyx, closed her eyes, and tried.

Comments

[Gwenio]

Nice chapter, I suppose the next one will wrap things up?

And you may want to look at the character tags as the limit is now five, before they decide how to deal with existing stories above that limit.

[La Vallett1]

NO!!! NOT CLIFFHANGERS!!!

[Wild_Heart]

440232

The epilogue will, at least.

440317

Haha, sorry bro. Tomorrow, I'll do the epilogue. I've been looking forward to that.

[Alanith]

Well, Well, Well. Filly!Nyx is turning out to be quite the badass in this fic.

Also Rainbow Dash is a boss, but we all knew that already.

[Wild_Heart]

440429

More like turned out, since that was the last chapter. The epilogue is all that's left. :P But yea, I had fun typing that Shut Up Hannibal speech.

[Zobeid]

Seemed sort of verbose to me. Actually, when Queen Nyx was ranting about all the conquering she'd done -- and telling filly Nyx, this is what you gave up... The first response that came to my mind was, "But I don't want to conquer ponies, I want to protect them -- that's my special talent."

She knows what her purpose is. Queen Nyx still hasn't found hers.

[Sgt. Brony]

WoW, so what would the punishment be like for all those that followed, killed and torture for evil Nyx, especially spike and scootaloo ( can't remember if she's dead or wounded?)

[Wild_Heart]

440807

That's more of an "after the fact" kinda thing. Filly!Nyx needed to convince her that she needed to stop, right then and there, and the best way to do so was to crush her. Tough love would have been the only way to get her to listen. Queen Nyx just considered herself fundamentally different from her filly counter-part, so she wouldn't have listened to any pleading to that note until after she was blam'd.

I could have thrown that in there, but still, remember: Even if Nyx didn't really want to conquer, QUEEN Nyx convinced herself she did.

441193

The tags and description both say it's an alternate universe, friend.

441910

Epilogue will handle that, as well as a bunch of other things, including the cliff-hanger I so kindly left you with.

[Sgt. Brony]

443715. Well, I hope at least there will be a revaluation with NMN and her blank flank and finally noticing and seeing Nyx's cuitie mark, that's the only thing that's been bugging me after their first encounter.

[Bubbler]

Twilight had to face-palm at how childish that sounded, but Queen Nyx seemed too shocked by the audacity to respond.

Twilight had to face- WHAT NOW?

[stag the story teller]

congrats, for actually managing to create a pony monster similar with the candy mare but which is actually insane and not driven by revenge