Knights of Harmony, Episode I: Rise of the Elements

by bahatumay

Chapter 4

Pinkie shivered. Something wasn’t quite right. She wasn't sure what, though. It wasn't a draft or anything. But it had definitely been cold.

A new person walked in, and Pinkie quickly darted over, distracted by this new development. “Hi! I’m Pinkie Pie! And you are…?”

The woman cocked her head. “Do you not recognize me?” she asked quietly.

Pinkie shook her head.

The woman smiled darkly. “Believe me, you will know my name soon enough. And it's one you'll never forget.”

“But I don't... Ooh, do I have to guess?” Pinkie asked excitedly. “I love guessing games!”

The woman scowled.

“Um, Hokey Smokes! How about... Queen Meanie! No! Black Snooty! Black-”

But the woman had had enough; she flicked her hand, and Pinkie Pie flew backwards and slammed head first into the wall. She slumped to the ground, unconscious.

The people nearest turned and stared, but the party was too loud for this scene to be a huge attention-grabber.

Unfortunately, it seemed as though attention was exactly what she wanted. The woman walked up to the stage and jumped up, flat-footed, a good meter off the ground; without any apparent effort. She walked over to Rarity, who was singing. “My turn,” she growled.

Rarity raised her eyebrow, but continued singing.

The woman scowled and held up her fist. Rarity’s singing quickly stopped, and her fingers reached for her throat as she gasped for breath. The musicians stopped and backed away as the woman raised her fist higher. Rarity’s body raised up slightly, her toes scrabbling for grip against the ground, her lekku writhing desperately as she fought to release herself from this unseen attack.

The woman held her up for a few moments longer, then tossed her aside. Rarity tumbled to the ground, landing on her hands and knees, gasping desperately for air. Completely calmly and apparently quite unconcerned about her actions, the strange woman stepped forward to the front of the stage and pulled the microphone up to her level. “Ladies and gentlemen,” she started, her voice cold and low. “I have an important announcement. Today is a momentous occasion.”

“Yeah!” someone who had spent a little too much time with the drinks shouted. “The thousandth year anniversary of the founding of our town!”

The woman scowled, but retained control of herself. “It is also the thousandth year since my banishment. That time has expired. I am free; I have returned.” She spread her arms wide.

If she was expecting genuflection, awe, or perhaps eve applause, she didn’t get it. Instead, a stunned silence answered her.

This more than anything else seemed to bother her. “Does no one remember?” she demanded.

There was a quiet murmuring, but nobody dared speak too loudly.

The woman nearly howled. “I am Nightmare Moon!” she roared, her mouth wide open enough to reveal teeth that had been filed down to sharp points. She drew a lightsaber handle from her belt and pointed it at the crowd. “Remember it well; for soon, all across the galaxy shall know my name and tremble!”

Si’s voice came cutting through the commotion clearly. “That’s a threat if ever I saw one. Light her up, boys!”

Every clone lifted their blaster and began firing. Nightmare Moon lit her lightsaber, and a brilliant red blade burst into being. She spun her lightsaber, almost lazily deflecting the bolts. Civilians scattered, ducking behind tables and generally trying to flee as the shots were redirected into the crowd.

“Hold fire! There's too many civvies!” Si called.

“Where's Twilight?”

“Circle around! Spread out!”

“Wait for a clear shot! Fire when you get one!”

Nightmare Moon lifted her hand and the doors crashed closed, trapping everyone inside. “Before I’ve finished my introduction?” she asked, her voice almost sickly sweet. “I come not to destroy, but to invite.”

“Invite this!” a clone cried as he opened fire.

Nightmare Moon deflected the first bolt right into the chest of another clone. She jumped off, spun backwards, and drove her lightsaber through his chest. More bolts flew, but she had already decided on a course of action. With a flick of her hand, she tore the blaster out of Si’s hands and darted forward, her speed letting her duck under the defensive punch he threw. She seized him by the neck and yanked him against her front, holding her lightsaber against his throat and using him as a living shield. “You. You are the leader. Order them to stand down, and you may live. I could use a few foot soldiers in my new order.”

Si struggled.

“Give the order,” Nightmare Moon repeated, tightening her grip.

“Oh, I'll give the order alright,” Si grunted. He looked back over at the other clones. “Don't cry for me, boys! Get in a good shot! Make ‘em count!”

And that was the last thing he said.

“Loyal,” Nightmare Moon sniffed disinterestedly. “Stupid, yes; but loyal.” She deactivated her lightsaber and stepped backwards; no longer supported, Si’s headless body fell to the ground. “I suppose I can respect that. But will the rest of you-?”

Her answer came in the form of more blaster bolts. The clones circled, spreading out as far as they could.

Nightmare Moon scowled. She flipped through the air and slashed, felling another clone trooper. She deflected two shots from the next trooper, killing the two troopers on either side of him before running him through.

Applejack rushed over to a downed trooper, desirous to help. Her eyes scanned his body, but he had been struck in a vital part, and she could see that he was not going to make it.

He looked up at her, and raised a shaky hand, pointing at her lightsaber. “Use it!” he urged in a pained whisper before he collapsed to the ground.

Applejack stood up and drew her lightsaber. She lit it and held it out defensively. This felt wrong. She'd never actually raised her lightsaber against another person.

Nightmare Moon perked up at the sound. She turned to look at Applejack, and then barked a laugh. “Put that away before you hurt yourself, girl,” she taunted, circling slowly.

“Or before you get hurt!” There was the sound of another lightsaber igniting. Rainbow Dash let out a challenging roar and charged, her shoto shining brightly.

Nightmare Moon sidestepped and lashed out with her boot. Rainbow caught it in her ribs, and she stumbled backwards. Undeterred, she picked herself up and swung her lightsaber wildly, and Nightmare Moon easily slid around it.

More blaster fire erupted. Spike had picked up a blaster from a fallen clone and was firing at her, his eyes narrowed and snarling viciously. Nightmare Moon laughed as she easily deflected the shots, forcing Applejack to dive for cover behind a table. As Rainbow prepared to charge again, she decided to eliminate this threat, and with a quick hand motion, she flicked him out of the window as if he were nothing more than an annoying pest. Spike crashed backwards through the wall, and did not return.

Applejack got out from behind the table. She could watch no longer; she had to act. Applejack neared and swung, intending to trap her by coming from both sides; but Nightmare Moon deflected it easily before batting it away with a second swing. She turned and faced Rainbow Dash; but as Applejack hesitated, she lashed out backwards with her boot in a punishing back kick, hitting Applejack in the chest and knocking her sliding backwards. She dropped her lightsaber, and it clattered to the ground as she gasped desperately for breath. Had she cracked a rib? Maybe two ribs? Before she could even self-diagnose anything, Nightmare Moon swung her lightsaber again, carving a mid-size gash into her shoulder. Applejack collapsed, howling in pain. She couldn’t even attempt to stand; she was out of this fight.

Rainbow’s hit had been more of a glancing blow, and she recovered quickly. She hacked and slashed wildly, her swings out of control. “Stay still so I can hit you!” she shouted.

Nightmare Moon laughed as she simply sidestepped out of the way, not even bothering to bring her lightsaber up. “It wouldn’t do you any good,” she taunted, twisting and gliding just out of reach.

“I can try!” Rainbow spat, still swinging.

Nightmare Moon chuckled as she effortlessly caught her blade with an almost lazy flick of her lightsaber, then kicked her hard in the stomach. Rainbow buckled over. In a move more designed to punish her than end the fight, she brought the hilt of her lightsaber down and smashed it into the top of her head, dropping Rainbow to the ground.

“Rainbow!” Applejack called. Still in pain but determined to help, she reached for a dropped blaster; but with a quick movement of Nightmare Moon’s hand, she was blindsided by a flying table.

Now on her knees and with her world still spinning, Rainbow reached for her lightsaber, only to see a black boot kick it away. She looked up. Nightmare Moon smirked as she twirled her lightsaber once, swung it out and brought it up; then swung it down, intending to decapitate her.

But the impact never came.

Its devastating arc was abruptly halted by the presence of a new, blue blade. They collided with a resounding crash.

Rainbow looked up, somewhat surprised to still be alive. She was even more surprised at who she saw. “Twilight?”

Nightmare Moon looked over at her new opponent. Her eyes flicked over Twilight, and her eyes widened. “I recognize those robes,” she whispered, taking a step back. “You're a Harmonist.”

“I am,” Twilight growled. Her chest was heaving from the run back, but her eyes were narrowed with determination.

Nightmare Moon smiled and took a step back. Her yellow eyes flicked across Twilight’s body, finally landing on her braid. “A Padawan?” She grinned, twirling her lightsaber up. “This is what Celestia sends against me? Oh, how the mighty Harmonists have fallen!”

Twilight twirled her lightsaber into high ready position. She circled around, both for more room to work and to make sure the still-recovering Rainbow was out of range of the oncoming fight. “Judging me by my appearance, are you?” she taunted. “That’s an unwise move.”

“Indeed?” Nightmare Moon grinned, revealing once more her sharpened teeth. She flicked up her lightsaber in a mocking salute. “Well, my dear Harmonist, would you ever so kindly enlighten me as to why?”

Twilight bared her teeth right back. She would remain focused. She would not rise to the bait.

Seeing that no more banter was forthcoming, Nightmare Moon shrugged, then began with a quick slash, which Twilight easily parried. She followed up with a jab and then a low swing, which Twilight easily avoided. Nightmare Moon brought her lightsaber up and then swung down, and Twilight rotated to one side to let the blade glance harmlessly off her own.

Twilight suddenly recognized this pattern. This was one of the old katas used for training younglings just starting out with their lightsabers. Though it was long since depreciated and replaced with new forms, she had studied it (for the sake of knowledge, of course), and knew what techniques were coming next. She rotated her body, letting Nightmare Moon’s blade pass over her shoulder, and blocked it as it came back for the returning cross. One side of her mouth perked up in triumph.

This particular kata had a mostly superior attack pattern; most strikes were aimed above the waist. This left the lower half of the attacker somewhat exposed. During training, this meant that a youngling would keep the saber away from sensitive toes while first learning how to swing it; during actual combat, though…

In the middle of the triple upper strike, Twilight retaliated by ducking under and delivering a quick slash to Nightmare Moon’s knees; but Nightmare Moon rotated her wrist and blocked it easily.

But she was far from annoyed. If anything, she almost seemed pleased. “Good, good,” she said, withdrawing her lightsaber slightly. “You know your kata, and how to improvise. But how's your footwork?” She began to circle, and Twilight slowly and carefully shuffled around to stay centered.

Nightmare Moon suddenly attacked, spinning herself and traveling forward. She swung her lightsaber out low, and Twilight lightly stepped out of the way. Nightmare Moon kept her strikes low, making Twilight dance lightly on her feet.

Nightmare Moon grinned.

And then came the sound of another lightsaber igniting. Rainbow Dash had recovered enough to charge in. Twilight realized this and quickly struck as well, intending to pin Nightmare Moon between their two blades.

But Nightmare Moon took this in stride. She deflected Twilight’s attack, and at the same time rotated her hips and drew a second blade with her off hand, this one a beautiful midnight blue, and stopped Rainbow’s attack cold. This one, though, did not appear to be an ordinary lightsaber. Its hum was a slightly deeper pitch, almost throatier in tone, and it had a long cord leading out the back end that attached to a power pack hanging on Nightmare Moon’s belt that Twilight hadn’t noticed before.

Twilight’s eyes widened as she recognized it. “A protosaber?”

But any time she could spend pondering this archaic weapon was quickly used up when Nightmare Moon retaliated with another punishing kick to Rainbow’s stomach before turning both weapons on her. Though the cord definitely limited her somewhat, it was clear that Nightmare Moon was a highly skilled fighter. Her blades danced together, red and midnight blue, in a swirling motion that almost appeared purple. Twilight found herself completely on the defense, and only her connection with Harmony kept her from being filleted alive.

Rainbow pushed herself up, winded but not injured. She roared and charged, diverting Nightmare Moon’s attention. She spun around to face this new threat, giving Twilight a bit of a breather. Red, blue, and green blades sparked together.

Twilight realized instantly that Nightmare Moon was just toying with her.

Rainbow, however, only realized this when Nightmare Moon spun around so her back was facing Rainbow, and proceeded to block all of her attacks anyway with her off-handed blue blade. Twilight jumped and attacked from the front side, if for no other reason than to try and give Rainbow a clear shot.

Nightmare Moon blocked her attack, too. She blocked both of them simultaneously. And she did it while laughing. She stood between two enemies in a straight line, quite literally one of the worst positions to ever be in during a fight, and she was easily holding her own. Twilight realized that she was horrifically out of her league. She'd sparred many good duelists in her training, but she'd never been so outclassed.

She dodged Rainbow’s lightsaber to bring both blades against Twilight’s, She laughed as she spun them around and brought them both straight down, as if trying to shear off both Twilight’s arms. Twilight managed to get her lightsaber high enough for the overhead block and tilted enough to stop them only by the barest of margins.

Nightmare Moon spun, her blades whirring past Rainbow by the barest of margins. Rainbow let out an inarticulate challenging roar and redoubled her efforts.

“Good, good!” Nightmare Moon laughed as she slid past her swing. “That’s it. Get angry at me!”

“Stay calm!” Twilight shouted even as she dodged a blade so nearly that she could feel the heat on her face. “She’s trying to draw you to the Dark Side of Harmony!”

Nightmare Moon kicked at Rainbow’s lightsaber, making her cry out in pain as she smashed her fingers between the handle and her boot. As Rainbow stepped back and shook her hand out, she suddenly spun, clenching her lightsaber against Twilight’s and pinning her in place. She leaned in, rocking Twilight off balance and giving her a great view of her filed teeth. “Oh, don’t tell me you still believe in that false dichotomy,” she purred, her breath a gentle brush of mint against Twilight’s face. “Harmony is Harmony, no matter what others may have you think.” She pushed Twilight back, blocked Rainbow’s next swing almost lazily by holding her lightsaber backwards over her shoulder, and then spun to deliver a kick to Twilight’s knees.

Twilight jumped over it and swung again. No matter what she said, she would not rise to the bait.

Nightmare Moon seemed to sigh as she continued. “Really, now,” she said, spinning once more, knocking Rainbow’s blade aside and using that same momentum to slash downwards at Twilight. “You’ve got the potential inside of you. Show me your power! Show me your skill! Show me you deserve more than a quick death!”

And then she slid aside and brought her hands together. Her two opponents were brought together, and Twilight found herself barely blocking one of Rainbow’s overhead swings. Both girls froze.

Nightmare Moon smirked from her position about two paces aside. “Really, this is just pathetic,” she said sadly. “But still, you do show some potential. In fact, I believe you two could be the first of my warriors in my army; the first of the Shadowbolts!” She deactivated her lightsabers and clipped them back onto her belt, and then held out her right hand. “Kneel and swear fealty to me.”

“Corellians aren't good at giving up!” Rainbow shouted, turning to continue the fight.

Nightmare Moon Harmony-pushed Twilight backwards, sending her careening over. With her protosaber, she blocked Rainbow’s wild swing, and then kneed her in the stomach. As Rainbow recoiled, she swung right towards Rainbow’s head.

Twilight gasped.

A large chunk of rainbow-dyed hair floated to the ground. “I doubt they're good at much,” Nightmare Moon laughed as the acrid smell of burnt flesh and hair filled the room.

Enraged (and now sporting a giant burnt bald patch on her head), Rainbow Dash turned and began hacking and slashing, attacking so viciously that Twilight felt the need to stay back, if for no other reason than her own personal safety.

Nightmare Moon, however, felt differently. She demonstratively held her right hand behind her back, and continued blocking everything Rainbow could throw. She lively stepped backwards, drawing her in close.

And then, with a little whine, her protosaber suddenly fizzled out. Rainbow saw her opportunity and shouted triumphantly as she swung.

“Rainbow, no!” Twilight cried, but her warning came too late.

Nightmare Moon nonchalantly hooked the protosaber handle back onto her belt and raised her left hand. Right before Rainbow’s strike fell, blue lightning burst from her fingertips. Rainbow Dash was blasted backwards. She hit the ground hard; her lightsaber deactivated and rolled away. She coughed and attempted to roll over; but the wind was completely knocked out of her, and she slumped back to the ground, groaning in pain.

“The Corellian needs work,” Nightmare Moon said airily as she folded her hands behind her back, “but you…” She turned back to Twilight. “You are quite the enigma. I know not what I sense in you, but believe you me, I’m eager to find out. I offer you the chance again. Join me, and I will teach you of the ways of Harmony. I will teach you things you’d never even considered; things Celestia would never dare teach.”

How did she know Master Celestia? “Some things are meant to remain hidden,” Twilight spat, raising her lightsaber in case the lightning made a reappearance.

“That's a shame. I'd sooner destroy a work of art than you,” Nightmare Moon murmured. “You would make a fine apprentice.” She raised her arm out to her side, and her lightsaber handle zoomed back into her hand from her belt. She ignited it with a subtle flick of her finger, and a little smile crossed her face. “Oh, well. It can't be helped, I suppose.” And with no further warning, she attacked. She swung, missing Twilight by inches, rotated the blade in her right hand to a reverse grip, then swung back.

Twilight stopped it, holding her lightsaber in front of her. She glanced over at Nightmare Moon’s twisted posture, legitimately confused. What advantage did she get from this position?

Her answer came when she skipped her left foot up to where her right had been and lashed out with her boot in a crescent kick aiming for Twilight’s unprotected kidney. Twilight barely managed to torque her body out of the way, but in doing so, spun and exposed more of her back to Nightmare Moon. She quickly kept spinning and held up her lightsaber to block Nightmare Moon’s attack; but the attack never came. Instead, Nightmare Moon jabbed forward, underneath Twilight’s block. Twilight cried out as the lightsaber brushed against the side of her face.

“Twilight!” Applejack cried.

Twilight stumbled backwards, clutching the side of her head. She looked up.

“That was a warning,” Nightmare Moon grinned.

“Yeah? Well, I’m not that good at heeding them,” Twilight growled through gritted teeth, blinking a few times to make sure that her eye had not been damaged. The scratch seemed to be superficial, though the high temperatures of her lightsaber guaranteed it would scar.

“Twilight!”

Twilight looked over. Applejack, still nursing her cracked ribs and other injuries, had managed to crawl over to her lightsaber. With a herculean effort, she tossed it over, and Twilight reached up and caught it. Now dual-wielding lightsabers, she twirled both of them and lowered herself in a ready stance. Nightmare Moon grinned and twirled her own lightsaber.

And then the fight began.

When a Harmonist dual-wields lightsabers, many new options open up. Few Harmonists wielded two lightsabers as their standard weapons, and those that did usually carried blades of different lengths; keeping the shorter to be used as a defensive weapon while attacking with the longer. But two blades of equal size could be used for a solid defense or a continuous, devastating offensive attack.

Twilight began, spinning like a whirlwind, her boots kicking up dust and both blue blades whirring in the air as she slashed and hacked, varying her blows and weaving a pattern in the air as she attacked, desperate for any hit to land. Nightmare Moon remained light on her feet. She seemed to almost dance around Twilight’s strikes as her wrist worked overtime to keep Twilight’s blades at bay. Though she was not hit, Twilight’s constant attack drove her backwards.

Twilight leaned down and dragged one blade against the ground, sending up a spray of sparks as she spun, attempting to distract from her attempt to stab with her other blade. Nightmare Moon jumped backwards, flipping out of the range of the sparks. She pushed off against the wall and launched herself towards Twilight, who was only just able to get her blades up to deflect the lightsaber. Nightmare Moon stepped aside, easily sliding past Twilight’s next swipe.

And then she swung back.

The two-handed slash stopped Twilight’s attack cold. Twilight’s eyes widened. This woman was strong.

Nightmare Moon grinned, flashing her fangs again. “My turn,” she whispered, before she lashed out with her boot once more. Twilight was forced to spin dodge to get out of range, and though she let her lightsabers swing, Nightmare Moon was not there.

She appeared in front of her, lightsaber primed as if it were a club. With powerful two-handed swings, Nightmare Moon battered Twilight back. With only one hand on each blade, Twilight wasn’t strong enough to completely stop her strikes; all she could do was work on deflecting them and keeping herself in a safe range.

Nightmare Moon suddenly raised her lightsaber high and brought it down. Twilight whipped her lightsabers up into a high x-block, and the two women clenched their blades tightly. Twilight felt a trickle of sweat run down her temple. Nightmare Moon kept smiling. Twilight tried to adjust her weight for a more solid stance, but so did Nightmare Moon; and Nightmare Moon was faster. She shifted her weight to her back foot and snap-kicked at Twilight, forcing her to step back.

Nightmare Moon jumped again, flipping over Twilight (and traveling just barely out of range of her lightsabers). Twilight quickly followed, launching herself upwards. Nightmare Moon slashed at her knees, but Twilight jumped and brought both blades down in a twin strike, hoping that Nightmare Moon wasn’t fast enough to stop them.

Nightmare Moon was fast enough. Her blade blocked both of Twilight’s. “Not bad,” she said. She grabbed her lightsaber with both hands. She shifted her weight and with a rainbow-like motion, forced both blades down to the ground, kicking up a new spray of sparks. As she did, she brought her knee up and delivered a roundhouse kick to Twilight’s exposed ribs. Twilight managed to move her arm back, taking the impact to her upper arm instead. She gasped in pain. It would leave a massive bruise there, but at least she could still breathe.

But as she landed, she knew she was still off-balance. The kick had been harder and had thrown her off more than she’d expected. She stumbled, her legs crossing as she took a step to keep herself upright.

The worst part of any lightsaber battle was that horrifying moment when you knew that you'd made a mistake, and you simultaneously knew that your opponent was skilled enough to take full advantage of it. And that was exactly what happened here. Nightmare Moon’s red blade shot out, easily slipping through Twilight's nonexistent defense, and dropped down, passing right through Twilight’s left forearm as if it hadn't even been there.

Twilight let out a long shriek of pain and dropped to the ground, dropping both of the lightsabers and cradling her left arm. Gasping for breath, she looked up and tried to fight through the pain. She raised her right hand to try to use a Harmony attack; but Nightmare Moon lifted her leg and drove her boot into Twilight's chest, knocking the wind out of her and laying her flat on her back. She brought her lightsaber down to Twilight's neck.

“You are defeated,” Nightmare Moon gloated, showing off her fangs once more.

Twilight grit her teeth defiantly even as she coughed and fought back tears. She would not die begging.

Nightmare Moon held out her left hand and almost lazily flicked two fingers up, and Twilight’s Padawan braid ripped itself off her head. She screamed again and rolled on the ground, unable to determine which part of her body was in more pain and needed to be covered more.

Nightmare Moon turned and faced the crowd, tossing aside the braid derisively. With a gentle flick, she deactivated her lightsaber and calmy clipped it back onto her belt. “This is what the Harmonists have become,” she whispered, her voice carrying easily through the stunned crowd and over Twilight's anguished cries. “Weak. Ineffective. Unwilling—or unable—to embrace true power. Light side, dark side; such distinctions are pure semantics. Harmony is Harmony, no matter how it is obtained.”

Behind her, Rainbow Dash pushed herself to her feet once more, fueled by rage and pure determination. She bent over to pick up her lightsaber and ignited it. She charged.

Without even deigning to look at her, Nightmare Moon lit her protosaber and deflected her attack. With a quick flick of her wrist, she disarmed her again, and Rainbow's lightsaber handle deactivated as it flew twirling through the air towards the spectators. “And those of you without training-” here, she drove her boot into the side of Rainbow’s knee, and she collapsed to her hands and knees with a cry of pain; which was cut off with a choking gasp when Nightmare Moon lashed out and kicked her under the chin, knocking her out instantly, “-are implicit in their corruption,” she finished as Rainbow’s unconscious body toppled over. She clipped the protosaber handle back onto her belt and rotated back towards the crowd. “If you want to be trained in the ways of true power, of the power that some call the Dark Side of the Harmony, come find me.” She held up a fist, and a low rumbling shook the ground; and then the whole building began to shake. It seemed as if the whole roof were coming off.

And that's exactly what happened. The roof peeled back like the top of an old can, literally torn off as a spaceship of ancient design forced its way inside. People shouted and panicked as debris fell from the ceiling.

Nightmare Moon waved her hand, and the loading ramp dropped. She took a single step forward and then leapt up onto the ramp, her body flying unnaturally high through the air. She landed lightly and laughed. She laughed as the ship slowly turned around, and she laughed as it took off, rising higher and higher into the atmosphere. Her laughter could still be heard as the ship flew away, shrinking away into the distance.

And all Twilight could do was watch her leave through one painfully squinted eye.

Comments

[badninja]

So Twilight got Skywalkered! In the first part too! Now how will she come back from this crushing defeat is the question?

[Maran]

Wow Twilight and her new friends got their butts handed to them. And no Fluttershy in sight. Not that I expected her to fight, but I did expect some kind of reaction from her. Maybe her absence or inaction will be explained later.