Revisions of Past Mistakes

by SC_Orion

Supremacy

The ten ponies appeared in the wake of the flash of light that signaled their arrival, and immediately they were buffeted by wind and rain. They were jarred by the unexpected weather, but most of them managed to keep their composure. After a few seconds to recover from the shock of the storm, they all turned around while maintaining the circle, as if they shared a connection and understood what to do without it being said. For a few seconds, everypony held their breath as they searched their surroundings for any sign of their enemy. Nightfall was the first to relax, and Fluttershy was the last to relax. The group slowly spread apart and lingered around the spot of their arrival, allowing the four alicorns to make a quick assessment.

"She is not here, but I can sense her nearby," Nightfall commented as she glared in the direction of the thorn in her side known as Starlight Glimmer. She hated the unicorn with a passion, her betrayal and the subsequent actions she had to take left a bitter taste in her mouth. She would relish ending the unicorn's life.

"This weather is simply dreadful!" Rarity whined as she fiddled with her mane in a futile attempt to save it from the relentless storm.

Applejack gave her a stern look, "Now Rarity, you know we have bigger problems than the weather..." she trailed off as she rested her hoof reassuringly on her shoulder. Rarity looked at her and smiled, but Applejack could tell her heart really wasn't in it.

Eclipse ignored them as she walked over to stand beside Nightfall and Fluttershy. "We have to do this together," she said evenly. She turned to meet Nightfall's gaze, and her eyes bored into her. For a few seconds, neither of them said anything. Nightfall eventually nodded and turned her gaze back to the direction Starlight was in. Eclipse continued to stare at Nightfall.

Applejack and Rarity walked over beside Nightfall and Eclipse, and they stopped beside Rainbow Dash. "Uh, Rainbow, is it supposed to be raining this hard?" Applejack asked as she lifted her stetson from her head and shook the floppy, water-drenched hat.

Rainbow stared blankly at her, "How the heck am I supposed to know?" she asked incredulously. "It's not like I'm the manager of Manehatton's weather."

"This isn't right," Cadance stated with worry. "This storm... It almost feels unnatural." Everypony turned their head towards the Princess of Love at that but said nothing. "And... the buildings," she pointed a hoof at a nearby apartment building. Not a single light was on inside the building, and even the nearby street lamps were dead. After a few seconds, fear and worry crept down her spine as she tried to locate anypony outside of their group. "I... can't sense anypony... nearby..." she said in near panic.

The rest of the ponies, save for Eclipse and Nightfall, all shared worried glances. "She likely put them in stasis and then teleported them into a pocket dimension," Nightfall said simply.

"That... would take a lot of magic..." Twilight trailed off as her mind raced through all the possible consequences of Starlight's actions, and what it would mean if she had done that. It wasn't long before she was struggling to control her breathing.

"She was a very strong unicorn," Eclipse grimaced, "and she has the power of two alicorns..."

Applejack stepped beside Twilight and rested a hoof on Twilight's shoulder reassuringly. It took a second for Twilight to register the gesture, and when she did she looked up and back at Applejack and smiled her thanks.

Rainbow Dash tentatively spread her wings, only for a gust of the wind to set her off balance. It was only Eclipse's fast reaction that kept her from falling down. The action drew the attention of everypony, and Rainbow smiled sheepishly. "I'm awesome... but I don't think I'm awesome enough to fly in this..." she said sheepishly, her voice crackling more than normal in embarrassment.

"We should split up and-"

Shining Armor's suggestion was cut off by a scoffing Nightfall, "That is the absolute worst idea we could act on in this situation."

Eclipse glanced at Nightfall, "We should keep that option in reserve... If we can't take her down head on..." Nightfall's eyes narrowed at Eclipse's suggestion that they might fail.

After a few seconds, Nightfall tilted her head and looked at Eclipse quizzically. "I thought you were determined to stop Starlight and myself?"

Eclipse nodded, "I am," she said calmly.

Nightfall examined Eclipse's facial expression, and the concern she felt only grew. It took her a few seconds to piece it together, and when she did, she clenched her jaw. 'Neither one of us will survive this,' she mused. 'We will defeat Starlight together, and then we will die fighting each other... How fitting.' To her surprise, she felt her anxiety slowly rising at that realization. She slowly turned her head away from Eclipse.

"Shouldn't we get going, darling?" Rarity said as she lifted a hoof from the wet concrete and shook it. A look of disgust crossed her face as droplets of water flew from her hoof. "The sooner we defeated her, the sooner this will all be... uh..." she glanced nervously at Nightfall, who was looking away from everypony, "over," she quickly finished.

"I reckon you're right," Applejack replied.

"Indeed she is," Nightfall said beneath her breath. Her words were further drowned out by the rain, the wind, and lightning. The only pony with the barest hint of what she said was Eclipse, who briefly glanced at her.

Eclipse looked to her left and then right. Everypony was either looking in the same direction she and Nightfall had been or looking at her to lead them. 'I can do this. I have to do this. They're all counting on you to succeed, to stop Starlight and then stop Nightfall.' She took a step forwards and mentally prepared herself for the coming battles. Another step, she steeled her resolve. Another step, she thought back to all the spells she knew that she could use at the right time to win the battle. Another step, the spell she swore never to use again. And another, the memory of killing Starlight zoomed through her mind. She hesitated at that thought.

"You have a plan, right?" Rainbow Dash asked from beside Eclipse.

"Stick together but don't make yourselves targets. Cover each other's weaknesses, attack her when she's busy with somepony else." Eclipse started walking again. "And do not let her take you down." she said firmly. Nightfall felt a smile tug at her lip, hearing Eclipse's resolve strengthen.

---

Eclipse slowed as their destination became clear. 'A stage...' she realized as she walked out from the blind spot of a tree. She could barely make it out through the darkness and rain, but every flash of lightning illuminated the platform well enough for her to spot the long unicorn standing center stage. It reminded her of Trixie, and she hadn't thought about her for a very long time. They were still too far away to make out her expression and body language, but from what Eclipse could tell, she was prepared. She slowed her pace and cautiously walked forward. The hoofsteps of her and her group walking across the concrete were muffled by the wind and rain.

Nightfall kept an eye open. She glanced at Eclipse who was focused intently on Starlight before scanning the surroundings. Each flash of lightning briefly lit up the park, casting shadows in every direction. Each shadow could hide a threat, but she made sure they didn't.

"You're all working together?" Starlight yelled over the rain. The anger in her voice was impossible to miss, and Twilight winced at the sheer rawness of it. She had never encountered anypony with as much raw hatred as Starlight, except perhaps Nightfall or Nightmare Moon. "How cute!" Starlight venomously added.

Eclipse stepped forwards. "Starlight Glimmer! I told you before not to get involved in this!" she yelled her warning, though she knew it would change nothing. She breathed deeply as she waited for a reply from the unicorn and felt drops of rain rolling down her muzzle. After a few seconds of not receiving an answer, she spoke again, "We don't have to fight, you can surrender now and-!"

"Surrender!?" Starlight shouted furiously. "Now why would I do that!?"

Nightfall bared her teeth in disgust, stepped forwards and ignited her horn, an action Starlight mimicked, followed closely behind by every alicorn and unicorn present. Nightfall stared down Starlight and she met her gaze. Nightfall twisted her head to the right and then to the left, getting several satisfying pops from her neck. "You are severely outnumbered and outmatched. Eclipse and I have killed alicorns before. You're nothing but an insect compared to us!" Nightfall shouted.

"Oh is that so?" Starlight asked in a calm voice, which sent warning flags through the more tactically inclined of Eclipse's group.

"Don't antagonize her!" Eclipse quipped at Nightfall without breaking eye contact with Starlight Glimmer.

Nightfall slowly looked away from Starlight and met Eclipse's gaze, "The more angry she is the more likely she will make a mistake we can capitalize on," she explained just loud enough for it to carry to Eclipse. Eclipse's strained smile calmed at that, and she reluctantly nodded. Nightfall held her gaze for a few seconds before looking back at Starlight. "Challenge us at your own peril," Nightfall taunted.

"U-um... girls... we're not actually going to... to kill her... R-right?" Fluttershy squeaked out. She shrunk down when nopony gave any indication of even hearing her: her quiet voice was drowned out by the rain.

"Yeah! We can take you any day!" Rainbow Dash shouted as she rallied beside Eclipse. She fought hard against the urge to jump into the air. Knowing her only reward for trying to fly would be getting forced back to the ground helped her suppress the urge. Eclipse quickly glanced at her absently before looking back at Starlight.

"If it means I get to show you just how wrong you are and get revenge on you for ruining all I had built, I'M GAME!" she shouted. Everypony immediately tensed up as Starlight threw her head towards the sky. She let out a blood-curdling scream and released a pulse of light into the sky.

Nightfall reacted on instinct and threw a barrier up around herself. The barrier barely had time to form before a dark blue flash of light signaled the arrival of Princess Luna- who immediately attempted to skew her upon her horn. As it was, Nightfall grunted in effort as Luna's horn collided with her barrier, and she was pushed to the right because of bad traction.

Eclipse froze up as Princess Celestia appeared in front of her in a flash of pale yellow light and she saw the dark magic rolling off of her eyes. Her breath caught in her throat and her resolve was immediately shattered, like a glass pane trying to stop an anvil falling from the sky. It was only Rainbow's quick reaction that prevented her from being skewed upon Celestia's horn. Rainbow jumped at Celestia and awkwardly impacted her, throwing her head off trajectory and causing them both to crash into the ground.

"P-Princess Celestia! What are you-!?" Twilight was cut off by Starlight teleporting in front of her, blocking her from reaching Princess Celestia. Starlight smiled menacingly, and Twilight immediately felt fear, confusion, doubt, and pain. Fear of the unknown, confusion of not knowing what was happening, doubt that they would win this time, and pain at how much hate Starlight's expression showed.

Starlight swung her head down and released a spell at her. Cadance's magic flared to life and met Starlight's spell, protecting Twilight. "Starlight corrupted Princess Celestia and Luna with dark magic!" Cadance yelled, her voice almost breaking up from the pain of knowing what she did to them.

"Twilight!" Shining Armor shouted as he ran from Cadance's side and stood beside his sister, who was still in shock. Twilight's mouth kept shaking as she held it open. Starlight's next attack was focused on Shining Armor, who defended them both with his barrier. The impact made him dizzy, but it was nothing he couldn't handle.

Nightfall swiveled and jumped forwards as Princess Luna charged her horn with magic. Luna tracked Nightfall's maneuver and followed her with her horn, and released her spell when Nightfall came to a stop. Nightfall crouched down to the ground in response to the spell hitting her barrier, reacting in an almost primal manner. Luna's attack was immediately followed by a second spell and a third. The barrage was relentless, but Nightfall held until Applejack collided with Luna, throwing her off balance and forcing them both to the ground. Luna recovered first and jumped back up and pressed her hoof into Applejack's ribs, holding her down as she lowered her horn to the base of her neck.

Luna was thrown off of her by a single spell from Nightfall, who then calmly strode forwards with a maniacal smile plastered on her face. Applejack looked up at Nightfall who barely spared her a glance as she walked by. The way the light from Nightfall's magic illuminated her expression sent a shiver down her spine. After Nightfall left her vision, she forced herself up and took stock of the situation.

Rainbow Dash's cry of pain drew her immediate attention, and more importantly, broke Eclipse's trance. Eclipse's eyes immediately darted to Rainbow Dash, who was being crushed by Princess Celestia. Her heart skipped a beat as Celestia pressed her hoof into Rainbow's back at the base of her wing and lowered her horn to the base of her neck, where her shoulder blades met her backbone. She flared her wings out and re-ignited her horn. The aura surrounding her horn glowed brightly and violently, a result of her rage, tamed only by knowing it was Princess Celestia she was about to fight. She didn't want to fight her, but she had no choice, so she would. To protect her friends, but not for revenge, unlike last time.

Twilight's gaze was drawn to Princess Celestia, protected by a yellow barrier, being thrown aside. She finally closed her mouth at the sight and refocused on the task at hoof. She glanced to her brother and took in his expression. He was strained against the unicorn, but he was on the defensive and defending his family. He was at his best. A bolt of light blue magic slammed into Starlight, causing her to stumble. Twilight looked at Rarity, who had a very unladylike glare plastered on her face. Shining Armor dropped his barrier and pushed his head beneath Twilight and forced her onto his back. "Shining!" Twilight exclaimed in surprise. "What are you doing?!"

"You're in no condition to face her, Twilight!" he said in reply without stopping as he ran back to Cadance, who had been calmly making her way to the back of the group with Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie to protect them.

"What's going on!?" Applejack shouted amidst the chaos. "What's wrong with the princesses!?"

"Starlight is-" Nightfall grunted as one of Luna's spells collided with her barrier "-controlling them with dark magic!" she shouted in response. "We need to-" she paused to lower her barrier and sidestep an incoming spell before retaliating with a spell of her own and reforming her barrier around herself. "-free them from Starlight's control either by disabling them or-" she smiled as her bolt of magic collided with Princess Luna "-disabling Starlight Glimmer."

Eclipse levitated Rainbow Dash off the ground, and she clutched her side in pain as Eclipse carefully put her on her back so that Rainbow's head rested on her shoulder. Rainbow wrapped her hooves around Eclipse and held on firmly. Eclipse quickly glanced around to see just how bad their situation was. Starlight was facing down Rarity, and much to her surprise, Rarity was doing a decent job at defending herself. She watched Rarity for a second before she moved on to Nightfall, who was engaged with Princess Luna.

Luna and Nightfall were trading blows with magic, but both of them were holding back, or at least Nightfall was. She was surprised by that but pushed it aside and looked around for Princess Celestia. She felt panic grip her entire being when she couldn't find her. She took a deep breath to calm her nerves and tilted her head back to look at Rainbow, "You doing okay?" she asked. Rainbow grunted in response, and she felt a sharp stab of pain. Not physical, but emotional. She was solely responsible for Rainbow's pain because she hesitated.

Eclipse felt a disturbance in the air to her right and created a barrier around herself just in time to block Celestia's spell from blowing them away like paper in the wind. She turned to face Celestia and lowered her horn to face her. She channeled magic into a spell to strike out at Celestia, who teleported out of the path of the spell before it reached her. The spell impacted a nearby tree and chips of wood joined the rain that fell from the sky.

Eclipse swiveled around and jumped backward, narrowly avoiding a spell which landed where her hooves had been. Rainbow grunted in pain at the action and she made a note not to do that again.

"I'm going to help Rarity!" Shining yelled as he ran towards Rarity and Starlight Glimmer. "Keep them safe!" he commanded. Twilight and Cadance exchanged a worried glance.

Twilight looked at Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie, both shaking behind Cadance. She felt pain and confusion. 'They shouldn't be this afraid...' she frowned. She couldn't place their fear, but whatever it was, even Pinkie Pie was shaking all over her entire body. But it wasn't constant, and she wasn't sure fear was the right way to describe her expression. "We need to get them out of here..." she said softly.

Applejack slid to a stop just out of reach from Celestia and then spun around and bucked out with her hind legs. Celestia was prepared for this, and jumped to the side, firing a spell at Applejack in the process. Applejack jumped out of the way and grunted as she landed hard on the concrete and slid to a stop. 'That'll bruise worse than when...' Her thought was cut off by Celestia charging at her horn first.

"Eclipse... Get her..." said Rainbow in a quiet, yet firm voice.

Eclipse took a deep breath and lowered her horn and released another spell at Princess Celestia. It hit her in her shoulder and punctured her skin, causing crimson to briefly flow from the wound before it was healed. Celestia looked at Eclipse with hatred and channeled more magic into her horn, then exploded a shockwave outwards from herself. Rainbow was thrown off of Eclipse's back and Eclipse was thrown to the ground. Celestia smiled as she calmly walked over to Eclipse. Rainbow Dash cried out in pain as she landed on her injured side, protected only by her wing.

"You know," Nightfall started as she rolled out of the way of Luna's spell, "If it wasn't for this storm, we could be trading much more powerful blows in the sky than what we are on the ground. I know what you're capable of. And this? This is pathetic." She launched a spell at Luna, who teleported out of the way, causing the spell to impact a tree and explode. The tree promptly fell down, but Nightfall had already reacquired Luna and launched another spell. "Though, granted. I am holding back for a reason. More than one, actually."

Luna teleported again, and appeared behind the bolt, in front of Nightfall. Nightfall took a step back, startled by Luna's unexpected appearance. Luna spread her wings and lowered her head before jumping forwards. Nightfall took another step back and to the side and met Luna's horn with her own horn, parrying the blow and pressing her head firmly against Luna's. It became a tug of war as to who would push the other back, both of them held their ground, and shook from the forces they exerted on each other.

"Scatter!" Eclipse shouted out as she defended Rainbow Dash with her barrier, blocking an attack from Starlight and Celestia at the same time. She was thankful it was storming and night, nopony could see just how much effort it was taking her to hold her ground and not breakdown.

Shining Armor and Rarity redoubled their efforts to contain Starlight, but it wasn't enough, and Starlight was able to slip another spell passed them. The spell barely missed Applejack by a hair's width. Rarity and Shining Armor shared a glance before going on the offensive in sync, forcing Starlight to defend herself with her magic, sending bolts of magic to intercept their magic in a display of skill, accuracy, and power.

Starlight formed a barrier around herself and jumped back. Her jump was aided by the impact of spells, and she was pushed back even more. Her horn grew brighter and twin flashes of light appeared on both sides of Shining Armor and Rarity. Four earth ponies of varying builds, each with dark magic rolling off of their eyes like with Princess Celestia and Princess Luna immediately charged at them, forcing them both back on the defensive.

A lavender wall formed between the two groups. Everypony looked around in confusion before settling on Twilight. After a few seconds, Starlight, Celestia, and Luna started bombarding the barrier with all their might, having failed teleporting inside of it. Twilight grunted in the effort it took to keep the barrier up under the bombardment and keep Starlight out, buying time for Cadance to grab each of her allies and teleport them the short distance to Twilight and herself. Twilight took a deep breath and grunted in effort from protecting her friends and preventing the alicorns from teleporting inside the barrier. "I... can't hold them out for long..."

"We need to scatter. Now," Eclipse commanded. "Break into groups, we need to separate them and defeat them alone." She watched as Twilight slowly contracted her barrier until it just surrounded the ten ponies. The smaller area would make the barrier stronger and put her under less strain, but Twilight was breathing short, rapid breaths, and didn't look too well. Eclipse frowned.

"Separating is a bad idea, remember?" Nightfall chided as she wiped a mixture of blood and rain from her arm. She eyed the fresh gash on her arm dispassionately before lifting her gaze back to Eclipse.

"I don't know if we can take all three of them at once, and if Starlight realizes our weakness..." Eclipse trailed off and swallowed. Nightfall's eyes narrowed in fear for a brief second before she stomped it out and recovered. Eclipse looked around her group and realized just how bad a shape they were in. They weren't expecting to have to fight Celestia and Luna too, just Starlight. She couldn't help but feel a little pride in each of them at how well they were holding their own against the two alicorns and unicorn, even if at the moment it wasn't enough. She looked at Fluttershy and felt a pit form in her stomach at how afraid she was. "Take Fluttershy and go, I will-"

Twilight grunted in pain and fell to her knees, immediately drawing fearful looks from the ponies surrounding her. The aura surrounding her horn and the barrier keeping Starlight and the princesses out failed. Celestia and Luna immediately teleported on top of them, horns charged and prepared to deliver killing blows. Shining Armor and Eclipse ran over to Twilight and checked her over, both concerned and worried that she wasn't able to keep her barrier up for longer than what she did. Even under the intense bombardment, she should have been able to last longer than she did. Eclipse found her mouth dry, 'This is my fault...'

Nightfall's barrier flared to life, forming a semi-sphere around the ponies, blocking the dual death strikes of Luna and Celestia. She grunted in the effort it took to hold it back and prepared two spells in the back of her mind in case she failed. One of them was the teleportation spell she was sure she was going to need, and the other one was the spell she did not want to use. "Run!" Nightfall commanded.

Cadance, Pinkie Pie, Rarity and Applejack wasted no time before taking off heading away from the twin corrupted alicorns. Shining Armor hesitated, worried for his sister. Eclipse met his gaze and nodded. He clenched his jaw and nodded in reply, knowing what Eclipse meant, even if it went unsaid. He reluctantly stood up and looked her over for a few seconds before he turned around and ran off after his wife and three of his sister's friends.

Nightfall stepped back as another spell struck her barrier. As soon as it was safe, she collapsed the barrier and made a quick assessment of the situation. Her attention was drawn to Fluttershy, paralyzed in fear and unable to move, standing back and to the right of Nightfall. She felt her heart skip a beat at seeing her still near her, frozen in fear, with her legs and arms shaking like an earthquake. She glanced back to Celestia and Luna before grabbing Fluttershy in her magic. She looked at Eclipse who had started to stand up. Their eyes briefly met, "Good luck," Nightfall said calmly. Eclipse nodded at her and Nightfall teleported away, leaving Rainbow Dash, Twilight Sparkle, and herself behind.

Eclipse channeled more magic into her horn in preparation to defend against Celestia and Luna and to teleport what remained of her group away.

Twilight rose back to her hooves, "AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" she screamed of deep, primal rage that had built up over months of powerful emotions. Her horn flared to life with dark magic, and Celestia and Luna were thrown away violently. They collided with a stunned Starlight Glimmer but quickly righted themselves and stood up.

"T-Twi?" Rainbow said in fear as waves of dark magic seemed to roll out of her entire being. She tried to sit up, but the pain coming from her side wouldn't let her. "Twilight!?" Twilight ignored her and flared her wings out to their full extent. The sight of the roiling dark magic surrounding her horn was both mesmerizing and terrifying. After a few seconds, Twilight's breathing became labored once more and she staggered forwards before she fell to the concrete.

The dark aura surrounding Twilight's horn faded and Eclipse felt a cold chill run down her spine. She turned to face a stunned Rainbow Dash and then lifted her up onto her back with magic before grabbing Twilight in her magic. The glow surrounding Twilight's horn immediately returned and she fought off Eclipse's magic before looking at her fiercely and teleporting away in a flash of dark magic. Eclipse swallowed in fear. She glanced at Starlight for a split second before teleporting away to safety.

---

The low rumble of lightning and the darkness were broken by a popping sound and a flash of light, respectively. Fluttershy immediately latched onto Nightfall's legs for dear life, hoping that the alicorn would protect her. Nightfall stood completely still as Fluttershy held onto her, she felt every single shake of her body from fear and the damp cold that was starting to affect them both. Nightfall listened intently to the sounds of her surroundings, the rain pummeling the concrete and brick buildings, the almost constant rumble of thunder, broken occasionally by a sharp crack of a nearby discharge.

Every time there was a flash of lightning, Fluttershy held onto Nightfall a little tighter. Nightfall reached out with her magic to check their immediate surroundings for any sign of danger. "We are safe for the moment," Nightfall said evenly but kept her horn lit just in case.

Fluttershy's grip on her slowly loosened as she relaxed. Eventually, she pulled away, still shaking from fear and cold, but a little more confident. She looked around and panic set in again, "Wh-where are the others!?"

"We were separated from them. It is just you and me, now," Nightfall said evenly.

"J-just y-you a-and m-me?" Fluttershy stuttered out as she backed up against the brick wall of the alleyway. When she felt the cold brick impair her movement she shrank back further and hid her face behind her mane.

Nightfall turned her head to get a better look at Fluttershy. It was difficult to tell in the darkness, but the light from her horn and the occasionally flash of lightning lit up the alley enough for her to get a good look at Fluttershy. Her entire body was soaked with rain, from her mane to her tail, her wings to her hooves. The sight caused a grimace to tug at her lips and she felt pity for her friend, but there wasn't much she could do about it with it still raining. She could also see the fear in her eyes and more than just a little bit of it was directed at her.

"You're afraid..." Nightfall trailed off. Fluttershy quickly nodded her head and looked away from Nightfall. Nightfall looked at the water standing on the concrete. A flash of lightning offered just enough illumination for her to see her reflection. She looked at the face that stared back at her while the illumination lasted. She looked back up at Fluttershy's dark silhouette, "Come here," she said softly. Fluttershy tentatively crossed the distance between them and stood beside Nightfall.

Nightfall extended a wing and covered Fluttershy's back with it, then pulled her closer to herself. She knew it would provide her with some protection from the storm, even if it was at her own expense, and she thought Fluttershy might find it comforting. She felt Fluttershy's shakes slowly calm down as the pair stood there for a few seconds. They never completely left, but they became more manageable. She looked out into the street and scanned the darkness for any sign of another pony. Eventually, she sighed and "Stay close. I will protect you," she said firmly. She looked at Fluttershy and hesitated briefly before stepping forwards. It only took a second for Fluttershy to fall in sync with her, and together they walked out of the alley and into the dark, empty street.

"W-what are we going t-to do now?" Fluttershy asked. She shouldn't have come with them, she knew she was just a liability. She was afraid. She had thought that she had the courage to help them, but she didn't. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a menacing flash of lightning and pressed herself closer to Nightfall. She knew Nightfall might betray them at a moment's notice, but she also knew Nightfall was the only protection she had. Nightfall was still evil, but she didn't believe Nightfall was evil enough to do something to her. Despite being no drier than her own wings, she found Nightfall's wing slightly comforting, if only because it blocked some of the rain from hitting her coat. She knew Twilight would do anything to protect her friends, and Nightfall was another version of her friend.

Nightfall looked to her right across the empty street. Her eyes trailed over each minuscule detail and each dark silhouette as she spoke, "We need to either take down Starlight or Celestia and Luna. I doubt we can take all three of them on at once in our... condition." Nightfall grimaced and looked to her left, down the street and analyzed their situation. "I would imagine if we attempt to engage Starlight and start to win, Celestia and Luna would come to her aid. If we beat Starlight before Celestia and Luna could intervene, the spell would collapse and they would be free." She looked back to her right and started turning towards her left. She kept her gaze focused on the dark street behind her as she started walking forwards. "Defeating Celestia and Luna first is our primary objective," she said.

"D-def-defeating them?" Fluttershy shivered as she pondered what Nightfall meant by her choice of words. "Y-you don't me-mean k-kill th-them?"

"No, I do not," Nightfall said quietly. "With that being said, it will likely have a better outcome if I engage Luna rather than Celestia."

"We're go-going after Princess Luna?" Fluttershy said a bit more relaxed, calmed by Nightfall's assurance, though still afraid.

Nightfall nodded. "I am the best candidate for facing her. Eclipse..." she felt a bitter taste in her mouth, "I honestly don't know if she has it in her to defeat Celestia. If it comes down to it... she can. After they're both free, we will assault Starlight Glimmer..."

"M-maybe you should f-fight Princess Celestia instead of Princess Luna?" Fluttershy suggested softly.

Nightfall slowed her pace, "I don't know if Celestia would... I do not know if I could prevent myself from killing her if I were to engage her in combat. It is better if we don't put my self-restraint to the test." Fluttershy shivered. After a few seconds of letting the words linger, Nightfall once more quickened her pace.

---

"What are we going to do?" Rarity asked, hoping that speaking would distract her from the blood-chilling scream each of them had heard before they escaped the park. It had been Twilight screaming. None of them knew what happened, and only Princess Cadance managed to convince them to not go back for her. 'She's safe with Eclipse...' Princess Cadance's words echoed in her mind.

"We need to defeat Starlight Glimmer..." Princess Cadance trailed off. She peaked her head around the corner of the building she was pressed against and scanned the street for anypony they were looking for or running from. The occasional flashes of lightning offered just enough illumination for her to clearly see there was nopony in sight. "Let's go..." she said as she jumped around the corner and quickly walked down the sidewalk.

"And how do you plan on doing that now?" Applejack asked as she walked beside Pinkie Pie who was still occasionally shaking all over. "With the princesses all corrupted and such, and without Eclipse and Nightfall, I don't know if we can do it by ourselves..."

"This isn't right..." Pinkie Pie trailed off sadly. "It's not supposed to be this way!"

Everypony stopped and looked at Pinkie. They could clearly see the tears flowing from her eyes despite the poor lighting. "Pinkie..." Applejack said softly. She stepped closer to her and wrapped her arms around her neck and hugged her tightly. "No, it's not right... But we have to fix this..." Pinkie nuzzled Applejack and sniffled.

Shining Armor looked away from Pinkie Pie and kept his eyes open for any danger. He scanned their surroundings and the tops of the buildings methodically. He wasn't about to let any of them get hurt on his watch, and he wasn't about to let Starlight Glimmer get through him, not now, nor ever. The group stood still for a few minutes until Pinkie finally pulled away. "We should keep moving..." he said after a few more seconds as his gaze was drawn to a shadow cast from a flash of lightning.

"I reckon you're right..." Applejack sighed.

"Stay close," Cadance said as she looked up and down the street. After she was sure the coast was clear, she dashed out into the street and crossed to the other side, followed closely behind by the other four members of her group. When she reached the other side of the street, she pressed her body against the wall and peeked in through the glass door of the building. She tentatively grasped the handle of the door with her magic and silently opened it, then Shining Armor rushed out from behind her and ran inside.

Shining Armor quickly swept his head from right to left and back to the right. He kept his horn at the ready and pointed where he was looking, prepared to defend himself against any threat. He let himself relax, the building, though dark, was empty. "Clear..." he said as he stood up taller and looked around again. He heard the four other ponies walk in and felt Cadance press up against his side. Normally, the gesture was reassuring. It didn't reassure him much now, he was too preoccupied, his guard training, desire and duty to protect his loved ones, and fear for his sister all at the forefront of his mind.

They slowly spread out through the room- the ground floor of an apartment complex, they discovered, following Rarity, Shining Armor, and Princess Cadance. The glow of the trio of horns aided by the flashes of lightning allowed the ponies to navigate deeper into the structure until they reached a dark hallway. Shining Armor stepped into the hallway first, he cautiously walked forwards, the thought that it was the perfect spot for an ambush was kept in the back of his mind. He slowed as he approached a T in the hallway. He glanced back at Cadance and motioned her to stay close behind him. He peered around the corner to the left, and then to the right.

To the left, he could see a flickering glow, faint light from flashes of lightning coming through a window or door. He slid around the corner and quietly made his way over to the door and looked out across the street. The rain continued to come down in sheets, but it looked like the wind was letting up some, perhaps blocked by the tall structures. He subtly raised a hoof and pressed against the bar of the door and pushed it open, then slid out into the street. "Stay close to the building," Shining commanded as the mares followed him out into the street. They all obeyed his command and stayed on the concrete sidewalk, close to the buildings.

They walked calmly and quietly until they reached the end of the block. They all hesitated when they reached an intersection, each corner had a tall building right at the edge of the sidewalk. They couldn't make out what the buildings were through the storm and darkness, but they offered a good vantage point. Shining Armor grimaced at that. If Starlight, Luna or Celestia were on one of the roofs, they would easily spot his group. If they were looking in the right direction, that was.

Shining Armor carefully scanned the rooftops for any sign of the three ponies they had to fight. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the silhouette of a pony standing atop the roof of the building immediately to their left. His head shot over to the building and he quickly locked on to the small unicorn. He turned to Cadance and Rarity, "Go left, dim your horns!" he said in a hoarse whisper. Both mares immediately complied and the glow from their horns died, followed shortly by his own aura dying. As soon as the four mares were passed him, he turned around and ran, thankful Starlight Glimmer hadn't spotted them.

---

Eclipse grunted as she appeared in the middle of a deserted street. She quickly scanned her immediate surroundings before running over to the nearest building. Carrying the weight of Rainbow Dash slowed her down noticeably, but she said nothing, though she winced with each step as Rainbow grunted in pain, although each grunt sounded less painful than the last. She slowed as she approached the door, and then pulled it open and quickly ran inside.

She angled her head down and looked over the room before quickly walking over to the nearby couch. She looked over the couch briefly before deciding it was acceptable and levitating Rainbow Dash off her back. She gently laid her down on the couch, and Rainbow grunted as she tried to force herself to sit up. Eclipse lightly set a hoof on her shoulder to keep her down. Rainbow glared at her as she gently pushed her back into a lying position.

Eclipse swallowed as she looked at Rainbow's chest. She went over her body with her magic and identified the source of her pain, a fractured rib. She bit her lip but breathed a sigh of relief that it hadn't been anything worse, like a broken leg, although it was still dangerous to both of them and painful for her. "How are you holding up?" she asked.

Rainbow looked up at her somewhat harshly, "Just... fine..." she said evenly. As much as she tried to hide her pain, Eclipse could still hear it.

"You have a fractured rib..." Rainbow groaned at that and tried to push herself up again, but Eclipse's hoof held firm. Eclipse sighed and shook her head, "I don't know healing magic so I can't help you..."

Rainbow looked at her incredulously, "What? You're Twilight Sparkle, what do you mean you don't know healing magic?"

Eclipse smiled sheepishly, "Sorry... I never got around to it. Never had a use for it before becoming an alicorn, and once I became an alicorn... I just... didn't have the time..." She looked down at the floor in shame at being unable to help her friend, knowing it could end up costing her dearly. 'Another mistake...' She tentatively lifted her hoof from Rainbow's shoulder. When she was sure she wouldn't try to sit up, she removed it fully.

Rainbow's expression softened, "Hey... it's okay, alright? You're trying your best..." Eclipse looked back at her and met her gaze. "Leave me here, go get Starlight and kick her flank for me, alright?"

Eclipse smiled and snorted, "I'm not leaving you here alone." She shook her head at the notion, there was no way she was going to leave her in such a vulnerable state. Her injury would slow her down and make her an easy target for anypony after her, not to mention she knew she wouldn't be able to concentrate if Rainbow wasn't safe.

Rainbow frowned at her. "Hey. I'm fine, alright? Just a-" she grunted in pain as she forced herself up before Eclipse could hold her down with her hoof, much to her displeasure, "little mishap, no biggie." Eclipse looked at her absently. She smiled confidently, "I can totally take any of them on if they come after me."

Eclipse shook her head. "No."

Rainbow met her gaze for a few seconds before laying back down. "Then what? You can't take them on while carrying me, you'll get yourself killed!"

Eclipse clenched her jaw and looked towards the door. She grimaced as she looked out into the storm-ravaged street. They weren't safe that close to the entrance. Anypony looking in at the right time could spot them. "I'll... figure something out." She looked back at Rainbow to see her sliding off the couch and standing up. She looked at her confused and worried, "You shouldn't be standing up! You shouldn't even be..."

Rainbow winced as she turned to look deeper into the hotel lobby, towards the hallway leading to the rooms. "Adrenaline rush?" she said with false assurance, hoping to mask the lie.

"That's a very delayed adrenaline rush..." Eclipse trailed off in thought. It took all of Rainbow's effort not to cry out in pain as she stepped forwards while taking a breath. Eclipse watched her movement and could tell she was in pain. "You... Rainbow Dash, don't lie to me. You're not fine. You're not hiding it very well."

Rainbow paused and hesitantly tilted her head to look back at Eclipse. "Would you forgive yourself if something happened to one of us because you were keeping an eye on me instead of helping them fight Starlight?"

Eclipse swallowed. She was afraid Rainbow would ask that question. She knew the answer even before she asked. She steeled her mask of determination and courage before it faltered, and walked over to her, doing her best to suppress the shakiness of her hooves. "Then I will carry you."

Rainbow turned around to face her. "You are not carrying me."

Eclipse came to a stop in front of her and met her fierce gaze with calmness. "I will not let you get hurt again. I promise." Eclipse picked Rainbow Dash up in her magic, much to Rainbow's displeasure, and carefully levitated her over onto her back, despite the pegasus's resistance. "And I will protect all of you."

"You'll get yourself killed, Twilight!" Rainbow shouted in protest, fuming at the alicorn's stubbornness. She felt Eclipse's muscles relax at that, and she was puzzled by it.

"No, I won't... I have that promise to keep. The one where I don't get killed." She looked back at Rainbow and forced a soft smile. She turned around and walked over to the door before stopping and looking out at the storm-ravaged street. She didn't particularly want to go back out into it, but she would because she was needed. Eclipse lifted a hoof to the glass door. She felt a shiver run down her spine as the cold seeped into her hoof.

"You don't actually intend to keep that promise, do you?"

Eclipse swallowed and then sighed. "I want to keep that promise, Rainbow Dash. I really do... If only to..." She closed her eyes and shook her head. "We can beat Starlight. That I know for a fact. With Nightfall, Cadance, myself and... Twilight... we can defeat her, Celestia, and Luna. After that is over... on the other hoof... I will be forced to fight Nightfall." she trailed off and took a deep breath. "In any fight between myself and her, I can force her into a stalemate. Neither of us would win, and I would make sure of that, even if it cost my life. But it won't be a one on one battle. Nightfall knows how that if she targets any of you, she wins immediately. I would be forced on the defensive and..." she trailed off and clenched her eyes shut. "My entire plan is a failure."

"No. It's not." Rainbow said as she shifted her weight and wrapped a hoof around Eclipse's neck in an awkward hug.

"If I hadn't come back-"

"Don't," Rainbow Dash said firmly as she released her grip on Eclipse's neck. "If you hadn't come back, sure things might be better right now, or maybe Nightfall would be here without anypony to stop her. If you hadn't come back, things might have played out the same way, and Twilight... could still end up killing Princess Celestia."

Eclipse clenched her jaw and nodded. "You're right," she said at length.

Rainbow bit her lip as she contemplated her next question, a question she was afraid to ask. A question whose answer she feared, but needed to know, "What happened to her... with the dark magic?"

Eclipse felt a pang of guilt and sighed. She opened her mouth to speak, but closed it, and her ears fell back to her head. "It's all my fault," she said. "But I'll fix this, I promise." After a few seconds of silence, she pushed open the door and walked back out into the storm, followed by a perfectly timed flash of lightning and crack of thunder as the door shut. Both of them shivered as Eclipse once more stepped back into the downpour of rain.

Author's Note:

Another chapter I really enjoyed writing.