//------------------------------//
// Chapter 135: Beyond the Shadow of a Doubt 
// Story: Piercing the Heavens 
// by Calm Wind 
//------------------------------//

MLP: FiM
Piercing the Heavens
By: Calm Wind

Chapter 135: Beyond the Shadow of a Doubt





Night was falling over the canyons, the hot weather of the barren landscape slowly replaced with a cool breeze under the cloudless night sky. The setting was deceptively peaceful with a whole portion of the canyons scorched and damaged from the day’s extended conflict between the Wonderbolts and Shadowbolts. While the canyons spanned much farther than from where the cacophony occurred, if the canyon biome were a living being, it would have a noticeable scar for the rest of its life.

While the Nimbus lay hidden somewhere in the deep canyons, the Shadowbolt fortress was right out in the open, resting on the ground for what was now half a day with no protective, natural barriers surrounding the mobile stronghold. With the darkness of the night now descending upon it, the large crystal formations were releasing a soft pink light that illuminated the area, the hallway lights from within barely able to reach beyond the windows as the crystals’ illumination snuffed their glow.

It was a quiet scene, and if not for who occupied the vessel, perhaps it would be a beautiful sight from afar… but within the fortress, the mood was far from peaceful and quiet.





“No, and don’t ask me again,” Blade snapped.

“But…” Rapidfire took a step forwards, but Blade’s crystals began to glow. Rapidfire flinched and backed away several lower ranking Shadowbolts behind him doing the same.

“I said no, now beat it,” Blade glared at the Shadowbolts standing behind Rapidfire. “ALL OF YOU!” 

The Shadowbolts all immediately backed off and scampered away, but Rapidfire gritted his teeth, ready to step forwards again as Blade turned away from him and faced the main entry doors.

But before Rapidfire could speak or say anything else, his body completely froze in place, he couldn’t even blink. Pink blips of light were dancing around him as his body suddenly lifted up and floated towards the back of the lobby before he was set back on his hooves next to Moon as he casually paced back and forth. The moment Rapidfire was released, he ignored Moon and took one step back in the direction of Blade, only to be frozen in place again.

Moon cleared his throat as he turned Rapidfire around with his magic. Moon just shook his head, not even looking at Rapidfire as he released him again. 

“Rgh…” Rapidfire grunted as he turned and ran face first into Shadow, who wasn’t really looking where she was going, her eyes locked on Blade. The two yelped, Shadow immediately pushing Rapidfire away from her.

“Watch it, punk!” she growled right in his face, but then the two were BOTH knocked aside when the door next to them was forced open and Void came storming through.

Moon, without any sort of change in his expression, activated his magic and stabilized both Rapidfire and Shadow before setting them back down.

The moment Shadow was released, she turned and glared at Void, but didn’t say or yell anything in fear of retaliation.

“Hmm…” Moon hummed to himself, getting a sigh in as he watched Void stomp all the way up to Blade, any nearby Shadowbolts immediately stepping aside as Void trudged along.

“BLADE!” Void yelled, but Blade kept looking out the doors. “HEY! I’M TALKING TO YOU!”

“Believe me, I can definitely hear you,” Blade said with a sarcastic grunt. Void stopped right behind him, standing a head taller and glaring down at the back of Blade’s head.

“Why the hell are we still here?!” Void pressed his case. 

“Why do you keep asking?” Blade shot back while tapping his hoof.

“We’ve been holed up here since mid-day!” Void continued to shout angrily as he stepped around beside Blade. Blade only stole a brief, annoyed glance at him before snorting and whipping his tail about.





“And you know exactly why,” he reminded Void. Void gritted his teeth, growling quietly as he turned his head towards the doors.

“Well, I don't like it!” Void said with a loud snort, followed by a pause and then another snort.

“You can stop saying that too. What’s this, the fourth time you’ve stormed in here and started complaining? Quit your loud mouthed whining already,” Blade hissed, slowly losing his patience with Void. Void sharply turned to him and bared his teeth. 

“You speak sharply, but you’re sitting here and doing NOTHING! Coward!” he yelled right into Blade’s ear, causing him to wince before scowling at Void.

“Will you please just shut your damn, loud trap already?!” Blade yelled back, finally raising his voice.

“Not while I’m being held back on a leash like a DOG!” Void pushed towards Blade, giving him a shove. Blade was not amused and got right back in Void’s face as the two continued to bicker.

Moon exhaled through his nose and shook his head subtly as he watched Void and Blade get at each other’s throats, the surrounding Shadowbolts avoiding any close proximity with the two commanders as they jawed back and forth.

“Grrrrrr…” Shadow started growling beside him. Moon immediately reached a wing out and tapped her shoulder with it.

“Shadow, just stay out,” Moon instructed. Shadow scrunched her face and glared at him, but Moon kept staring forwards. “You know it’s not worth it.”

Shadow kept looking at Moon for a moment, but then huffed, puffed her cheeks outward, and looked away as Moon’s ‘advice’ stuck.

“Maaaaaaaaaaan…” a new voice came from the same door Void burst through. Moon didn’t look, but Shadow blinked and turned her head quickly to the door as Sin stumbled out and blinked. Unlike the others, he was without any of his Shadowbolt uniform and had thick bandages wrapped around his forehead. He was rubbing a hoof on the bandage as he teetered over to them and almost fell on top of Shadow, who reached up to support him. “What’s with all the noise out here?” he asked groggily as Shadow flattened her brow.

“Sin… you’re supposed to be in bed. You’re still concussed,” she pointed out to him, but Sin just rolled his eyes and scoffed. 

“Nah, I’m fine,” he said even though he was still mostly leaning on Shadow. “Been awake for six hours, I’m bored as shit. The hell is going on out here, anyway?” he asked as he looked towards Void and Blade.

“If you really want to disobey our leader then be my guest!” Blade yelled as he and Void butted heads.

“Maybe I will!” Void yanked his head back and turned around while standing with his chest puffed out and harrumphing loudly. Blade scoffed and rolled his eyes.

“Just don’t come crying to me when she bends you over and gives you her own special ‘punishment’ after finding out!” Blade’s words made Void flinch and freeze in place. “I don’t know about you, but I like where all my innards and bowels are right now!”

Void turned around and opened his mouth to speak, but his voice cracked and he instead released an embarrassingly high pitched nicker, his eyes widening right after. Blade just lifted his brow as if quietly saying ‘I told you so.’

“You can call me a coward all you’d like,” Blade snorted and turned his back to Void. “But you’re nothing but talk! You always have been!”

“Shit…” Sin shrugged casually while rubbing his head again. “Which one of them was on top last night?”

Shadow’s eyes widened as she snickered and released her hooves from Sin. As a result, Sin toppled right over and fell right on top of her.

“OOF!” Shadow grunted as Sin’s weight pressed down on her. She instantly growled and began pushing at him. “Dammit, Sin!”

“Eeyai… whoops…” he said groggily as he rolled off of her and shakily stood up. Shadow immediately popped up and pressed a hoof to his chest. 





“GO… BACK… TO… BED!”

“Sheesh, come off it already,” Sin nudged her away, but she didn’t back off. 

Moon sighed and shook his head… again. He just kept his eyes on Blade and Void as the two continued to argue. Moon looked all around at the Shadowbolts all watching. He glanced off to the left to see Rapidfire was still in the room. He was holding himself steady, taking Moon’s silent advice not to try and stop the arguing commanders.

Not like he could if he tried. The only present pony who could possibly subdue the two was Sin, and he was too busy being a casual idiot. But what Moon was focused on was less just Rapidfire, and more the present Shadowbolts as a whole… and how they simply cowered as Blade and Void seemed on the verge of dueling. Moon didn’t like it any more than Shadow or Rapidfire did, but what was the point? Part of being a Shadowbolt had always been a healthy awareness and acknowledgement of those stronger and more powerful than you. There had always been scuffles, ponies got into fights, it wasn’t out of the ordinary to get the shit kicked out of you if you stepped out of line, but it was always contested, nopony backed down. Now there was just fear, plain fear of those in power with ponies scurrying away with their tails tucked between their legs if one of the commanders so much as coughed in their direction. The Shadowbolts weren’t the same anymore. 

Then a loud, sudden slam echoed throughout the lobby from the direction of the front doors. Everypony in the lobby jumped, Blade and Void’s pointless argument stopping abruptly as they and everypony else turned to look towards the entrance.

It was Nightshade. 

She had pushed the doors open so roughly that one of them nearly unhinged while the other swung back and smacked her in the side. She instantly punched at it, breaking it right off the hinges before it crashed and clattered to the ground.

“NNNNGGGGGHHH! GRRHHH!” Nightshade grunted loudly and painfully as she took a step forwards, her legs gave way, and she fell face first to the floor. “GRRAAAAAHHH!!!!” she yelled out as she pressed her hooves down and forced herself back up.

She looked like an absolutely disheveled mess. Her eyes were wide, she was breathing heavily, her suit was all scuffed up, and her magic was flickering repeatedly around her. The crystals floating with her were shuddering and blinking while making quiet screeching noises that sounded like tiny screams.

None of the Shadowbolts knew what to make of the sight, all of them looking towards Nightshade with a mixture of shock and confusion. Even Moon showed some surprise, even though it was considerably less than the rest.

“C…Captain?” Void spoke up, his previously booming voice pacified and hesitant.

“GRRRRHHH!!!” Nightshade growled as she stood all the way back up and began moving forward with heavy, shaking steps. “HHHNNRRGGGG!” her expression, while distorted by her flight mask, kept contorting and churning between those of anger, worry, and dread. Nopony was able to make a clear read on her, what she was thinking, or why she was acting the way she was. 

Moon glanced to his right to see Rapidfire had emerged from the back corner. He was staring towards Nightshade with a look of concern, but he was hesitating like the rest. Moon examined the demeanor of all the Shadowbolts looking upon their captain and it was all the same: Hesitation. Nightshade had suddenly ordered them all to remain behind while she took matters into her own hooves, a move that seemed unprecedented after how things had been handled leading up to this point. None of them questioned her, but the moment she was gone the outrage over the lack of explanation spread immediately, the peak of which was showcased just now with Blade and Void arguing. Yet, now that she was back, not even the two of them could bring themselves to get in her way. It was one kind of suicide to confront and question Nightshade when she was in her normal state of mind, but now? 

This was a completely foreign sight to the Shadowbolts. Nightshade, their brutal, sadistic, confident leader, barely able to stand and grunting in pain as if she was being stabbed continuously? If she was in such an unstable state, there was no telling what she was capable of.

Void and Blade remained still, standing side by side as Nightshade trudged towards them. She was not looking at either of them, her face still shifting between expressions erratically and her magic unable to keep a constant aura. As she drew within a few steps of the two, Blade found his voice.

“Captain… what the hell happened to y—,”

“NNNNNGGGGGGGGGAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!” Nightshade suddenly cried out with a loud, ear piercing wail that echoed throughout the lobby. She forced herself forwards, pushing herself right between Blade and Void while forcing her wings out and shoving them aside. Both of them flinched in surprise as the force of Nightshade’s wings against their chests pushed them both up onto their back hooves.





“Hey!” Void grunted.

“Captain!” Blade also voiced his disapproval.

But it didn’t reach Nightshade. The moment she was past the two of them, she broke into a limping, awkward gallop, turning towards the west wing hallway. 





Everypony in her path backed off in an instant as she stumbled and staggered. Her galloping hooves and the constant grunting and wailing echoed from within the hallway, slowly dying down until she was too far away from any of them to hear her.

For several moments, nopony in the lobby spoke, much less moved. A quiet, uncomfortable stir eventually made itself known as the Shadowbolts began looking back and forth at each other, anxious murmurs barely audible. 

“What in the world…?” Void finally spoke, the first to say anything remotely loud enough to hear. Blade blinked a few times as he stared at the hallway before slowly shifting his expression to a glare, growling to himself.

“Void,” Blade called his name as he turned and looked at the larger commander. Void looked down at Blade. He stared into Blade’s glare for a moment, but understood, hardening his own face.

“Should we…?” Void trailed off. 

“Come on,” Blade made a head motion towards the east hallway. 

Without another word, the two turned and left the dumbstruck Shadowbolts behind, leaving into the east hallway unnoticed. 

Or at least almost unnoticed. 

While everypony else was still focused in the direction of Nightshade, Moon was not.

He noticed the very brief exchange between Blade and Void. It seemed a little strange considering the two were just at each other’s throats.

“Hey…” Sin suddenly spoke up, drawing Moon’s eyes back to the group around him. “Was she… crying?” Sin asked, wobbling a little as Shadow continued to prop him up. He looked back and forth between Shadow and Moon. “Did anypony else see that? I swear I just saw tears.”

“Nightshade?  Crying?” Shadow said incredulously, grunting as she continued to hold Sin’s bulk. “Get real. I’d sooner believe Ruin wasn’t crazy.”

“She WAS crying.” Rapidfire suddenly cut in. Shadow blinked and lifted an eyebrow as she, Moon, and Sin all looked at him. Rapidfire was not looking at them, his focus entirely on the west hallway. “What… happened out there?” Rapidfire said to himself as he started making his way towards the hall.

“Wait, seriously?” Shadow’s eyes widened in disbelief. “Rookie, are you nuts? She’ll—” Shadow was cut off as Moon placed a hoof on her shoulder. Shadow flinched and glanced at Moon. He was shaking his head with his eyes following Rapidfire.

“Get this oaf back to bed,” he said while pointing to Sin before breaking away from them and following Rapidfire.

“Huh?” Shadow stared blankly, and then glared. “HEY! Why do I have to—WHOA!” she grunted as Sin suddenly lurched into her, and fell on top of her again. “DAMMIT, SIN!”

“Ugh… whoops…”





“RGH!!!!” Nightshade forced the doors of her room open, stumbling through and kicking the doors shut as hard as she could before slipping and falling on the ground. The doors slammed back against the frame, but only one of them caught, the other bouncing and remaining cracked open an inch.

Nightshade didn’t give any effort to get up at first, breathing heavily as she rolled onto her side, her crystals floating in circles around her and flickering along with the aura surrounding her. Nightshade rolled back and forth, grunting and groaning, holding a hoof to her chest as she wailed.

Outside the door, Rapidfire stopped several paces away, hearing all the noises of agony coming from within Nightshade’s room. He swallowed and continued on slowly, taking long, careful steps as he snuck up to the door, shifting himself to the left since it was the right door that was cracked open slightly inward. He reached the left door and slid his body up against it as he peered around and peeked in.

His eyes widened and he held in a quiet gasp as he saw Nightshade groaning and writhing on the floor. Her face turned towards the door, prompting Rapidfire to pull his head back and hold his breath, but then he heard sobs and sniffles.

He looked back in to see her eyes were slammed shut and tears were flowing from her eyes like a broken dam. 

What the hell happened to her? What could have possibly caused a mare like Nightshade to break down so intensely? Neither he nor any of the Shadowbolts had ever seen anything like it, it was no wonder she tried to get away from them so fast.

Rapidfire flinched and stiffened as Nightshade suddenly lurched and rolled onto her stomach. Her wails turned into growls, angry growls. 

“RRRRRAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!” Nightshade suddenly roared out, the aura shining brightly around her as she slammed her hooves to the floor several times, loud banging and heavy vibrations reverberating and making Rapidfire shudder as his hooves felt the floor shake. “AAAAAHHHHHH!!!!!” Nightshade continued to yell as she reached her hooves up and grabbed the stretchy fabric of her suit. “RRRRGGGHHH!!!!!” she growled as she yanked hard in different directions, her suit tearing with a loud RIP as she pulled it apart. She continued to shout and growl as she tore her own suit, tearing it off her body, pulling on every end until it was in pieces and lying in a pile of shreds at her hooves, her scarred, muscular body now exposed. She swiped and kicked her hooves back and forth, scattering the shreds all around in one big mess.

Rapidfire didn’t know what he was seeing, and at this point he was starting to fear for himself. If for some reason, Nightshade suddenly turned and stormed out of her room, she’d run right into him… and based on what he just saw, he wasn’t sure if there would be much left of him after the fact. But at the same time, his hooves were refusing to move, refusing to take him away from the horrors he was witnessing as if the drive for answers outweighed his own safety.

“HHHNNNGGGGG… HHHHNNGNGGG!!!” Nightshade continued to grunt heavily as her body contorted and turned.

Rapidfire then saw something that he wasn’t sure what to make of. He had not seen Nightshade without her suit on for a long time. He was well aware that she was covered in scars… but when did she get one that large on her chest? There was one, huge, dark scar extending from the top of her chest, down between her pectoral muscles, and stopping just above the curve of her barrel. 

Where and when did she get that? 

The question was pushed aside as Nightshade suddenly fell to the floor, kicking up a weak gust that made the shreds of her suit nearby dance and whisk away from her. She pressed her head to the floor, groaning loudly and grabbed at her chest a few times before slamming her front hooves to the floor. She began pulling on the floor, dragging her body across it as her three crystals dropped onto her body and held themselves there. 

She eventually reached her bed, which was a mess in itself, with the pillows on the floor beside it and a large mound under the wrinkled sheets.

But if the pillows were on the floor… what was causing the mound in the sheets?

Rapidfire’s jaw dropped as Nightshade grabbed the sheet in her teeth from the floor and gave it a hard yank. The room was suddenly brightly lit with an intense pink glow. 

Under the sheet… was a large pile of pink crystals, more than Rapidfire had ever seen in the same place at once. There had to be at least forty or fifty of them, maybe even more. One or two of them rolled off the pile and clattered onto the floor as Nightshade removed the sheet, but she quickly grabbed them as she forced herself up. She tossed them back on the bed before she threw herself right into the pile, not caring at all about the sharp jagged edges of the crystals as she dove in. The pile was toppled, the crystals spreading out on the bed as Nightshade fit herself right in between all of them, grabbing several of them and hugging them tightly to her body as she curled up on her bed. Her breathing became more intense, nearly hyperventilating as the crystals glowed even brighter and many intense ribbons of magic began surging around her. Her body twitched, her muscles flexing and tensing uncontrollably as she surrounded herself with the crystals. Her eyes were stuck open wide, bloodshot and wet as her mouth was agape, deep wheezing breaths shooting in and out. She clung to the crystals like they were the only thing that could save her from a perpetual fear or pain that was creeping over her shoulder and slowly running sharp claws softly on her back in a taunting manner, never knowing when they would sink in.

Rapidfire couldn’t take it. So many conflicting emotions were surging through him. Should he stay and help, or should he run? Should he be worried about her, or afraid of what she might do to him? Should he tell somepony or keep it secret? He owed Nightshade a lot, but would taking action of any kind be her salvation or his demise?

He struggled to come to any sort of conclusion, but before he could… something happened. 

He wasn’t sure what it was, but he felt a sudden shiver travel from the end of his ears to the tip of his tail. What gave him such a sudden, cold feeling? It felt like the way one would react to something that terrified them, that chilled them to the bone and made their fur stand on end, but what was causing it? He had already been looking at Nightshade and her broken state for several minutes, nothing new had come about to make him feel this way.

But then the light in Nightshade’s room began to darken… in fact, the light right outside suddenly darkened as well. The lights in the hallway were still working and the crystals in the room were still glowing. It was almost as if the shadows from the corners of the room and the hall were suddenly reaching out, creeping along the ground and gathering together. Rapidfire was frozen in place, his eyes positioned just far enough to continue peeking in, but something else was in there…

Something was in there with Nightshade.

The room grew darker and darker until the shadows managed to completely overpower the bright glow of the crystals, reducing them to a low intensity as if the light itself was afraid of the dark gathering together.

“Nightshade.”

“AH!” Nightshade yelped and flinched as a sudden deep voice with a slight sinister undertone called her name, a few crystals clattering off the bed and to the floor from her sudden movement. The voice did not seem to come from any one specific point. It came from every direction as if the room itself was talking to her. 

Nightshade’s body curled up further, squeezing into a ball as tightly as she could. She clutched the crystals with all of her strength, some of the sharp edges digging into her, puncturing her skin and drawing blood. The room dimmed further, a swirl of gusts suddenly swishing around out of thin air. Each gust that passed Nightshade made her wail and cringe. 

Rapidfire had no idea what he was seeing or feeling. The room had gone pitch black, everything completely hidden by the shroud of darkness… except for Nightshade. Nightshade was completely visible as if she was being surrounded and choked by a dark entity that had no form.

But then something else appeared.

Two, small, white circles appeared in the darkness and hovered over Nightshade. The dots grew brighter, but did not illuminate the room. They looked like two swirling spheres of magical energy. If the sight wasn’t already mysterious and chilling enough, the spheres suddenly shifted their shape and… blinked?

Slightly darker circles of a whitish grey color formed within the center of the lights and glanced around. To Rapidfire, it looked like a pair of eyes… and it wasn’t long before that suspicion was confirmed.

The two lights turned the darker circles down towards Nightshade, and they suddenly compressed into what looked exactly like a pair of glaring eyes.

“Unbelievable…” the voice echoed again, every syllable causing a cold chill to shoot down Rapidfire’s spine.

Who… or what… was this?

“NNNGHHHH!!!!!!” Nightshade groaned, keeping the crystals pressed tightly to her, the sharp points still digging into her body as if she would gladly take the pain she was inflicting on herself over whatever this… thing... was.

“What a pathetic sight you are…” the voice continued. “A ruthless warrior on the outside... and a broken, helpless filly hidden on the inside? Is this the real you?” The eyes floated down near her, Nightshade cried out and whipped her body around, rolling over and knocking several crystals off the bed, but a good number of them were stuck to her, the magic and flashes of pink light dancing about, only to be swallowed up by the darkness as soon as they jumped. “Don’t you think for a moment that I didn’t see that little episode you just had out there.”

Nightshade shivered, her eyes stuck wide open as the floating eyes glared into the back of her head. The voice released a scoff as the eyes hovered up and backed away from her a little.

“I’ve been observing your tactics for quite some time now…” the eyes looked away from her and began moving around as if they belonged to an invisible being pacing back and forth. “And I’ve been curious about your rather… indirect methods recently. However, you have a reputation of being the best, so I gave you the benefit of the doubt. Your track record speaks for itself, really.” The eyes stopped moving, facing away from her. “Nightshade, the mighty leader of the most powerful mercenary force in all of Equestria. A mare who is ruthless and unyielding… A heartless killer with a strong sadistic desire to inflict pain on others for her own satisfaction. A living, walking, flying nightmare to those unfortunate enough to face her.”

The voice paused as the eyes slowly turned back towards her.

“But that’s not who I saw… when THEY appeared.” A low growl accompanied his emphasis on the word ‘they.’ The eyes narrowed further as they started slowly hovering towards her again. “At first I thought your shift in tactics was just a different approach after your shameful defeat at the hooves of Soarin. But that’s not it, is it? No… that’s not it at all. After that battle… something changed for you. Or should I say… two things changed for you.”

Nightshade stopped shivering, her whole body freezing like a statue except for her ears and eyelids twitching. 

“I could scarcely believe it when I finally put the pieces together…” the eyes suddenly shifted all the way around and moved right into Nightshade’s face. “You really are avoiding them… aren’t you?” the voice questioned, Nightshade’s pupils shrinking to tiny dots. “How… cute…” the voice snarled in an angered, condescending tone.

“Ah… Ah…” Nightshade began to gasp loudly, as she tucked her head back, trying to get away from the eyes glaring right in front of her. The voice grunted, pulling away from her before hovering up and over to the other side of her again. 

“Perhaps… my faith in you has been misplaced,” the voice spoke as the eyes floated further away, but began to glow a little more. “Perhaps I failed to properly look into your past.” The eyes turned around as they remained across the room from her. “Or maybe… you’re nothing but a fraud?” one of the eyes opened wider, giving the appearance of a raised eyebrow. “Maybe you’re not really the feared, heartless mare you’ve built yourself up to be? Maybe you’re just a pathetic, pitiful soul who cannot stand on her own? Hiding your weaknesses behind a veil of viciousness?” the voice grew sharper as the eyes narrowed sharply into an angered glare. “Did you deceive me?! WAS I WRONG TO TRUST YOU WITH MY POWER?!” the voice grew louder as the gusts of wind swirling around grew intense. “MAYBE… I SHOULD JUST TAKE IT ALL BACK!” The eyes grew incredibly bright, almost blinding.

Nightshade gasped, her voice nearly cracking as she turned over. The crystals began shuddering and ripping free from her one by one. 

“AH! NO!” Nightshade cried out as the crystals jumped from her body. She was sitting up immediately, throwing her arms out and trying to grab the crystals before they could fly away from her, but they jumped and danced away from her, avoiding her hooves and shooting towards the eyes. “NO, NO, NO! STOP IT!” She yelled, desperately trying and failing to corral the remaining crystals, but even those she had latched onto were ripping free from her grip.

“Why should I?!” The voice boomed and echoed as the crystals swirled and orbited around the eyes. “You consistently send out your INEPT underlings to do your dirty work without you! The contract I agreed on was for your services! NOT those undeserving of my power! I GAVE you the gift of magic! I GAVE you the chance to feel power and strength that nopony else can experience! I trusted this gift to YOU! I trusted that YOU would come through for me! Instead you cling to your force of ponies and give out the crystals like candy! THESE…” a few crystals clumped together and shot out, stopping just out of Nightshade’s reach as the last remaining few crystals around her began pulling free. “ARE NOT YOURS TO CONTROL! Yet you peddle the lie that you are free to decide who gets them and who doesn’t. I can see right through you! You have been using them as another way to spread fear and keep control, intimidating them and averting their eyes from your incredible weakness!”

Nightshade began shrieking, tears pouring down her eyes as she clung the last crystal to her chest, but it was no use.

“And then when you surprised me, and restored some faith by taking action on your own… you failed to deliver!” The crystal began pulling from Nightshade, she screamed as she held onto it with both hooves. “You finally made a move, you finally did what I wanted you to do in the first place, and what happened?! You got lost in your own pleasures, disregarding the contract to have a little ‘fun…’ Only to get turned inside out and deconstructed by an old, worn out soldier, matched head on by a pony without the gift of my power, and then when your old comrades appeared, you ran! YOU RAN AWAY FROM SOMETHING YOU CAN’T LET GO OF!” The crystal was ripped from Nightshade’s hooves, pulling her off the bed and onto the floor with a loud THUD. “You had the perfect opportunity to fulfill our contract and finally bring me what I desire… AND YOU SQUANDERED IT!”

Nightshade shuddered on the ground, grabbing at her chest as her body tensed. The final crystal floated up, joining the large collection now swirling in several, erratic, ring orbits around the eyes.

“I should take ALL of these away from you and the rest RIGHT NOW and let you ALL DIE!”

“NNNGGGGHHHH!!!!!!” Nightshade suddenly grunted, heaving her body up off the floor and slamming her hooves to the ground. “NO! NOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!” Nightshade roared fiercely as she faced the eyes, her teeth biting down on her lower lip that it was turning purple. Her eyes were stuck wide open, but her eyebrows were strained downwards, giving off the expression of a crazed cornered beast. She spread her wings so harshly that multiple cracks and pops sounded out from her joints before beating them downward and leaping into the air right at the crystals.

Then an arm extended out from the shadows beneath the eyes, an appendage surrounded and distorted by the same shadows that filled the room. Nightshade’s whole body twitched as the air left her lungs, she immediately tumbled out of her flight path, crashing against the floor and sliding along until she came to a stop right beneath the eyes, the arm still reaching towards her. 

“AH! AAAAAAAGGGHHHHH!!!!! RRRRRRGGGHHHHH!!!!!!” She began grunting, groaning, and wailing as a bright pink glow appeared over her chest… specifically upon the large, new scar that extended down the middle of her chest. She grasped at her chest, writhing and rolling back and forth on the floor as her neck arched backwards, her mouth opened as wide as it could, slightly foaming in the corners with her tongue nearly straining out of it. She sounded like she was trying to scream and grunt, but she only managed sputters and gasps. A hissing, sizzling sound came from Nightshade as pink steam began rising from the glowing scar.

The eyes slowly lowered all the way down to Nightshade. They hovered right in front of her face as her eyes twitched and her voice continued to gag and choke.

“I don’t take kindly to my bidding being ignored, you know…” the voice began again, but its tone had returned to its calmed demeanor it had at the start. “You should consider yourself privileged that I would even allow you to have a taste of my power through these crystals. I gave you the freedom to do with them as you please, but I am not pleased with the way you have mismanaged them. If you keep taking my power for granted…” the voice paused as a single crystal floated down in front of Nightshade. She immediately reached out for it, grabbing and flailing at it, but it was just out of her reach. “Perhaps I should seek out OTHERS who would make better use of it? That wouldn’t work out to well for you now, WOULD IT?!” the light around nightshade’s chest scar intensified further, finally squeezing a blood curdling scream out of Nightshade as she slammed her head backwards against the floor.

“NO! PLEASE!” Nightshade suddenly found her voice, but it was squeaky, cracking, and several octaves higher than her natural tone. “I’LL GET SOARIN! I’LL DO AS YOU ASK! I’LL BRING HIM TO YOU! PLEASE!!!” she yelled as she suffered, the burning in her chest becoming so hot that it was unbearable.

“Hmmm…” the voice hummed as the eyes began slowly pulling away.

“I’LL DO ANYTHING! ANYTHING!” Nightshade added as she hugged her arms around her chest. “PLEASE!!!!!!!”

The voice said nothing. Staring down at Nightshade as it hovered above her. The eyes narrowed, angling sharply into a glare.

“Hmph…” 

The light instantly disappeared from Nightshade chest. She gasped and cried out, rolling over as the pain subsided. She curled up and panted, sharp wheezing breaths shooting in and out of her mouth and nose. A single crystal dropped to the floor right beside her. The moment the soft metallic CLINCK of it touching the floor met Nightshade’s ears, she reached out, grabbed it, and clutched it to her chest. A soft pink glow surrounding her that barely managed to shine within the shroud of darkness engulfing the room.

“You’re lucky I’m even willing to consider it after your continuous blunders and your constant bending of my most basic guidelines for these…” the voice growled as the rest of the crystals remained floating around the eyes. “If not for my current situation and lack of immediate options, I’d search out other means in a heartbeat,” the eyes lowered towards her. “But that doesn’t mean I’m unwilling to… do you HEAR me?”

“I’ll… I’ll…” Nightshade’s tone was weak and helpless. “I’ll bring you… Soarin… I will…”

“That’s right, you will.” The eyes floated back up, staring down at her. “And from this point forwards, you will kill ANYPONY that stands in your way… understand?”

“Yes… I’ll do anything you ask… I swear…” Nightshade sounded completely broken, her eyes locked on the rest of the crystals still floating with the eyes that glared down upon her… as if they were hoping she’d say more. When she said nothing further, they narrowed and a low growl filled the room.

“Even Descent and Starry Skies.”

Nightshade suddenly flinched, her eyes going wide and a high pitched gasp escaping her throat. 

“Wh-what? I…”

“EVEN. DESCENT. AND. STARRY SKIES,” the voice repeated as a snarl accompanied the growl.

“N-no…” Nightshade shook her head hard, tears whipping from her eyes. “Please, no… we can spare them, just let me—”

The arm reached towards her again, and the glow once more surrounded her chest. It wasn’t as intense as it was before, but it was enough to hurt, a little taste of the pain again to threaten and convince her.

“Ah! AH! AAAAAH!” Nightshade cried as she felt the burning sensation flare up in her chest again.

“WELL?!” The Voice yelled as the glow grew brighter and the sizzling sound resurfaced. 

“AHHHH!!!! YES! YES!” Nightshade pleaded. “I’LL DO IT! EVEN THEM! EVEN THEM!” 

“Good,” the voice snorted, the arm disappearing and the glow ceasing. Nightshade exhaled sharply and sprawled out on the floor, panting and sweating. A moment later, the rest of the crystals rained down on top of her, bouncing and ricocheting off of her and clattering out along the floor. Nightshade reached out with her arms and legs, grabbing as many of them as possible and pulling them into her body. She sniffled, twitched, and squeaked as the light around her grew larger, the comfort of the crystals back within her grasp.

“Nightshade,” the voice spoke as it the eyes backed away from her slightly. “I don’t know if I can make this any clearer to you than I’m about to. You have but one choice to make. Either you fully embrace my power and show me the ruthless mare you’re famed to be… or you cling to these pathetic feelings and emotions that make you weak. You seem to respect the traditions and code of the very force you lead. And to lead, you must be the strongest. This shouldn’t be a very hard choice for you.”

Nightshade didn’t look up at the eyes. She just remained on the floor, panting while clutching the crystals. The eyes remained fixed on her for several moments, but then the arm suddenly reached out again.

“How about I throw in some… extra incentive?” the voice suddenly suggested. 

Nightshade flinched as the scar on her chest began to glow again, but it was different this time. It wasn’t painful at all. 

She gasped as a tickling, tingling sensation suddenly spread out from her chest, moving all over her body.

“Ah…” Nightshade slowly un-tucked her body, a good number of the crystals in her grasp falling back to the floor as the glow extended form her scar and slowly engulfed her body. She rolled over and rested on her stomach, looking back, forth, and over her shoulder at her body as the tingling feeling started to feel warm and… satisfying. “Ooo… oh…” Nightshade began moaning, biting her lower lip softly as the sensation spread all over her. “Ah… AH!” she suddenly gasped, her neck arching back and her eyes going wide.

The sensations were starting to feel good… really good. Any trace of pain was gone, instead replaced by a feeling of intense pleasure. “Ooo! AH!” Nightshade began twitching as the sensations grew stronger, a smile slowly making its way onto her face as she continued to release borderline-sexual noises. 

“Stop lying to yourself,” the voice spoke as Nightshade pushed herself up and inhaled sharply, her body shivering and tingling. “You love the feeling of this power.” The glow around Nightshade intensified. She yelped, caught off guard as her body began to shake with delight. Her body began to tense and relax rapidly. She turned her head and neck back and forth, humming to herself as she began to giggle sinisterly. Her joints began to crack and pop as her body continued to twitch all over, her muscles subtly swelling up as if a surge of magical energy was filling every sinew and fiber. “You love the strength,” the voice continued to coerce her. Her body was being filled with the same effect as when she boosted herself, only something was different about it. She wasn’t even using the crystals, this was coming from within.  “You love how this makes you feel, like you’re invincible, like nothing can stop you.” The eyes circled around her as she continued to quietly laugh to herself, every inch of her body filling with power, veins visibly popping up over her scars where fur no longer grew. 

“Ahhhhhhhh…” Nightshade released a long, loud sigh as the build-up finally stopped, panting as she continued to twitch, holding her mouth shut tightly, breathing sharply through her nostrils, and released periodic, uneven quiet chuckles.

“This is the REAL you,” the voice pointed out as the eyes hovered back up above her. “This is what you really want and you know it, you can feel it, and you can’t deny it.” The eyes narrowed as they continued to look upon the crazed, power-hungry expression that was solidly attached to Nightshade’s face. “There is NOTHING that your old, traitorous comrades can do for you that will ever give you this feeling or this drive.”

Nightshade suddenly blinked, clearly registering what the voice just said as she turned her head towards the eyes. Her eyes twitched for a moment, her expression faltering, but every time it looked like it would fall, the devious smile and the hissing, snickering giggle resurfaced, the lustful feeling that filled her was overpowering any of her previous resistance.

Part of her was still fighting. Part of her was still grasping at the thought of Descent and Starry Skies, but she couldn’t latch on, she couldn’t push aside what she was feeling right now, how the magic had surged into her, how strong and how powerful she felt right now. It completely blanketed everything else as she threw her head back and started laughing while arching her neck in different directions, the power tickling every fancy from every angle to the point where she just couldn’t help it.

“I’m glad you agree,” the voice said with a slight tone of amusement as the eyes turned away. “Since we are on the same page now… I’ll let you keep this extra boost of power. This is for you and YOU only, none of your underlings will ever know of what you feel now. And… if you come through for me, bring me Soarin and his inner power, I will give you even MORE as a reward.”

Nightshade’s ears pointed up and her eyes grew wide with delight at the thought.

More? She was almost overwhelmed by what she felt now. Her smile grew so wide that she almost strained her face.

“But DON’T test my patience,” the voice stated harshly as the eyes looked back at her and glared. “There are only so many more chances I’m willing to give you.”

The moment the voice finished, the eyes closed and disappeared. A loud WHOOSH echoed throughout the room and an intense whirlwind swirled around Nightshade, the crystals rolling and clattering along the floor as the darkness suddenly dissipated as if being sucked out of the room by an unseen force. 

The rest of the room was visible again, leaving Nightshade alone in the center of the room, still giggling, snickering, and shivering with delight, crystals spread out all around her hooves on the floor.

Still watching from the door, Rapidfire found himself able to move again, pulling himself back from the door immediately and covering his mouth with a hoof as he released several muffled gasps and pants. The chilling feeling had disappeared, but whatever he had just seen was disturbing, frightening, and unsettling. Who was that? What did they do to Nightshade? Did he just accidentally catch a glimpse of the source of the crystals and their power? His single crystal rolled off his back suddenly, dropping to the floor. He quickly reached down and caught it before it could bounce, make noise, and give him away. 

How did that happen? The crystal always remained attached to him when it wasn’t in use. As he stared at it, the crystal itself was shaking as if it was reacting to how uneasy he felt.

He looked back up at the door as the sound of Nightshade’s laughter again came from the slightly cracked door. He took a step forward and peered in again.

Nightshade was looking herself over, smiling wide with great satisfaction, she reached down and picked up several of the crystals, the light surrounding her growing intense as she added their power to that already within her. She laughed maniacally as the ribbons of magic danced around her, her body still twitching from her boosted strength and power as her laughter began to borderline what one would describe as a cackle. Ten of the crystals lifted up from the ground and began spinning around her as she turned and approached the wall mirror along the side of her room, moving away from the large cracked portion to get a full view. She hummed seductively at her reflection as she licked her lips as she looked at herself and reached a hoof up, running it up down and all over her strengthened body. She turned to the side, striking several suggestive poses as she looked over her muscles and shivered with delight.

She was already very intimidating in both size and musculature for a mare, but with the little boost she was just given, mixed with her adding the crystal’s power, she almost had the same amount of body bulk as Descent. But it didn’t look right, it looked artificial and unnatural. 

It was a freaky sight for Rapidfire, seeing Nightshade so enthralled and hypnotized by herself even though it looked so wrong on many levels. Her body looked like it had literally been inflated, bulky to the point where it didn’t fit her frame correctly, like her joints were struggling to hold her together, yet she was enjoying it?

Rapidfire couldn’t take it anymore, self-preservation finally overtook curiosity. He feared what would happen if Nightshade just happened to glance over and see him. He looked down at his single crystal again as he began shakily backing away. He did so much, sacrificed everything for the power he held right there in his hoof, but at what cost? Did he just see what was destined to happen to all of them? Were the crystals not the boon they thought, but instead shackles? 

And even if they were, could they even afford to shed them? Without the crystals… they…

With his thoughts swirling madly in his head, he swiftly turned around and readied to break into a gallop, but he ran face first into something. He flinched and gasped when he realized that he had actually run into somepony.  

His eyes went wide as he stared directly into the calm, stoic eyes of Moon.

Rapidfire immediately panicked.

“Ah! I—” he frantically looked back and forth, looking back at Nightshade’s door. “I wasn’t—!” he completely froze as he took note of how loud he had just yelled out. And all the air left his lungs as he heard the sudden heavy clip clop of hooves approach the door from within Nightshade’s door. His instincts kicked in and he prepared to try and run from Moon, to put as much distance in between him and Nightshade as possible. But before he could, Moon reached out and clamped a hoof down on Rapidfire’s shoulder, his three crystals glowing as the pink sparks of Moon’s telekinesis surrounded him.

But it wasn’t Moon’s usual hold, it was strong, intense. Rapidfire had been subjected to Moon’s magic more than once in the past, but it was never this powerful… it was so strong that he felt completely paralyzed, he couldn’t even speak… or breathe!

Dread set in as Rapidfire assumed Moon was holding him in place for Nightshade… he was dead meat.

But then Moon huffed, his eyes glowing pink as a bright aura surrounded them both… and then he disappeared from sight completely. Rapidfire winced, his eyes shifting towards Nightshade’s door as her hoof clasped the edge of the door and her head poked out from within. She glared directly at Rapidfire, snarling, her eyes alight with magic, and veins popping from her neck connected to her shoulder muscles and upper body.

But then to Rapidfire’s surprise, Nightshade looked back and forth as if there was nothing in front of her at all. After a few seconds, her devilish smile returned, as well as the devious giggling. She turned and went back into her room, slamming the door behind her before more laughter came from within.

What just happened?

Moon suddenly reappeared out of thin air, the glow around them both fading as he also released his magic from around Rapidfire, placing a hoof over Rapidfire’s mouth in the process to prevent him from yelling out.

Rapidfire remained silent as Moon looked towards Nightshade’s doors and stared at them for several moments. He sighed before refocusing on Rapidfire, who was shaking in fear.

“Relax, I’m here for the same reason you are,” Moon explained quietly without a smidgen of similar anxiety that Rapidfire expressed visually. 

“I… what?”  Rapidfire was incredibly confused, blinking repeatedly as he tried to put together what was going on. Moon let go of him while taking a few steps forwards and turning his head and ear towards Nightshade’s door, listening as she continued to coo and cackle. Rapidfire kept his eyes glued to Moon the whole way as several other questions started popping up in his head. Did Moon follow him or was he curious like he said? Was Moon aware of everything he just saw? He sure didn’t seem quite as affected. How the hell did Moon prevent Nightshade from seeing him? “Did… you use an invisibility spell or something?” Rapidfire asked in a hush tone as that particular question found its way out of his thoughts and onto his lips.

“Yes,” Moon replied simply as he stepped back from Nightshade’s door and just stared at it.

“How?” Rapidfire pressed, keeping his tone down.

“Because I can,” Moon replied, looking down the hallway opposite of Rapidfire.

“But I thought…” Rapidfire tipped his head. “Didn’t Nightshade only teach one technique to each one of—,”

“You learned how to use your clones on your own, did you not?” Moon cut him off as he turned and faced down the hallway. Rapidfire froze midsentence and lifted his brow. “I simply expanded my abilities on my own, just the same,” Moon explained as he began walking. Rapidfire looked back and forth between Nightshade’s door and Moon as he began to leave.

“W…wait!” he called after Moon quietly, trotting softly after him. “What about Nightshade?”

“What about Nightshade?” Moon asked as he kept his eyes forwards and kept walking.

“You saw everything I just saw, right?!” Rapidfire exclaimed as he stepped in front of Moon, forcing him to stop as the two stood eye to eye.

“Yes, and?” Moon asked while lifting an eyebrow.

“You’re not the slightest bit put off by it?” Rapidfire pressed.

“What Nightshade does is none of my business,” Moon stepped around Rapidfire and kept walking. “I have more important things to worry about.”

“But she’s your leader!” Rapidfire growled while stepping up beside him. Moon grunted and shook his head. 

“We aren’t the Wonderbolts,” Moon put flatly, drawing a hard flinch from Rapidfire. 

“I… But… We…” Rapidfire sputtered, failing to form a full thought or sentence. 

Moon said no more, leaving Rapidfire behind as he made his way down the hallway and around the corner.





As Moon walked through the halls of the fortress, he didn’t have a specific destination in mind, at least not yet. He was simply putting thought into everything he just witnessed. He didn’t lie to Rapidfire, what Nightshade did was her business… but she was clearly compromised. And while she did matter in terms of dictating them, giving them orders, and distributing their crystals, she wasn’t his main concern. 

He was more concerned about what else he saw just now. It was no mystery to him that somepony else had been pulling the strings behind Nightshade’s moves, but he had never had the opportunity to learn about who it was… who had provided them with the crystals. While things were still in the dark, literally, Moon suddenly found himself in a bind. His personal safety from being controlled by this outside entity had always been one of his top priorities, but now it was clear that he was not dealing with something simple, or natural for that matter. 

That shadow… those eyes… the manipulation of magic and the crystals. It was either something omnipotent or demonic, possibly from the pits of Tartarus itself. He had no idea what it could be, but it definitely wasn’t something he could hope to face or avoid without careful thought or planning. 

Was this something he should pass on to the Wonderbolts? Perhaps, but he wasn’t sure. Should they know about something like this, they may become more passive. That wouldn’t help him. He needed the two forces to keep clashing. It was the only way he could keep moving towards his ultimate goal. He had made a promise, and he was going to do everything in his power to—

The moment Moon turned the corner he came face to face with Angel. The two came to an abrupt halt, Angel’s long mane flowing forwards slightly before once again resting on his chest and shoulders.  Moon’s eyes widened, his usual calm expression fading immediately. Angel tipped his head down, looking upon Moon with a smooth, faint smile, lifting an eyebrow as Moon’s eyes slowly narrowed into a harsh glare.





The two remained still and silent, Moon’s hardened glare holding firm, his face contorting and twitching slightly with anger. Angel’s smile just grew slightly wider, tipping his head slightly as if he found Moon’s expression… amusing. 

“Heh…” Angel released a single chuckle, shaking his head, his long mane swishing back and forth with it as he stepped forwards, bumping right into Moon and forcing him aside as he went on his way. 

Moon didn’t retaliate, he just kept his eyes locked on Angel, glaring with all his might and gritting his teeth as Angel completely ignored him and slowly disappeared down the hall.

Moon released a sharp breath of air from his nostrils as he slammed his eyes shut and shook his head out. He took several deep breaths before refocusing and moving on as well, but—

“Oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo… Hohohohohohoho…” a twisted, deranged voice came from directly above him. “Now wasn’t THAT quite the little standoff with Pretty-Mane right there?”

Moon stopped for a moment, blinked, flattened his brow, and grunted in frustration before he continued walking. He wasn’t even going to acknowledge the owner of the annoying voice.

“Oh, Moony-Moon, I’m hurt!” the voice continued, staying lined up with him as he walked. “At least let me see those WONDERFUL eyes of yours!” the voice taunted.

Moon kept walking, but knew he wasn’t getting away. He sighed gruffly as he glanced up. Ruin was floating right above him, literally just a few inches away, backward, upside down, and arching his neck all the way back while holding a silly grin. Moon’s eyes twitched, surprised at the proximity, but only for a moment as his stoic demeanor held.

“THEEEEEEEEEEEEEERE! Was that so hard?” Ruin chuckled as he puttered along above Moon, only fluttering the very tips of his wing feathers to stay afloat.

Not in the mood for dealing with Ruin, Moon sharply and suddenly turned down another hallway. But after his second step, Ruin popped up from the floor, right in front of him, bouncing his eyebrows. Moon stopped before running into him and sighed.

“Stop it,” Moon requested sternly, but without raising his voice.

“Okay, I’ll just talk to the other moon!” Ruin snickered while sliding around behind and staring directly at Moon’s plot. Moon snorted and just kept walking.

“Very funny, now please find somepony else to bother,” Moon said as he started walking again, only to stop as Ruin slid right back up in front without picking his hooves up off the floor.

“Oh, but none of them are as fun to bother as you,” he pointed out while tipping his head really far to the right and leaning towards Moon’s face. “And the rest of them are so boring! You’re full of mystery and plot twists!” he wiggled his plot. “And for the record, I’m not talking about your butt this time.”

“Dandy,” Moon said flatly as he stepped aside and kept walking, but much to his dismay, Ruin turned and trotted right beside him.

“Oh, come now Moony-Moon, you can’t really blame me for being interested! I mean, the way you glare at Angel is so precious. Careful, some of us might get the idea that you DISLIKE him or something!”

“How very perceptive,” Moon continued to speak flatly, but the mention of Angel made one of his eyelids twitch. 

“I SAW THAT!” Ruin reached over and touched Moon’s cheek, but Moon immediately pulled his head away and grunted. “It’s too bad you can’t DO anything about it, hmmmmmmmmmmmmmm?” Ruin hummed with a faint giggle in the back of his voice as he leaned in closer.

Moon suddenly stopped in his path and slammed his front hooves to the floor, turning his eyes to Ruin and scrunching his face. Ruin opened his eyes wide and made a very cute face in a joking manner. Moon snorted and gritted his teeth beneath his lips.

“Are you just trying to get under my skin?” Moon asked with clear tone of anger building up. Ruin’s face shifted from cute to absolutely smug.

“Is it working?” 

Moon suddenly lunged at Ruin, reaching out and shoving his hooves into Ruin’s side. Ruin yelped as Moon pushed him roughly, Ruin’s hooves skidding and slipping along the floor until Moon smashed him up against the opposite wall.

“OOF!” Ruin grunted as he hit the wall, his head whiplashing against it. “HO! HO! OHOHOHOOOO!” he laughed regardless of the position he was in, sneering at Moon. Moon was baring his teeth, growling as he applied intense pressure against Ruin’s body and pressed him hard to the wall, looking one more taunt away from throwing a punch. “I’ll take that as a yes!” Ruin cackled as he threw on a crazed smile. “Please do go ON! I’ve never seen THIS side of you before!”

Moon’s eyes widened as Ruin baited him further. He slammed his eyes shut and released his hooves from Ruin taking two steps backwards as he tipped his head down and shook it back and forth. He took a deep breath before looking back up, his calm expression back in place. He looked calm again, but his ears were folded back, staring flatly at Ruin’s disturbing smile for a moment before turning and walking again.

“Aw…” Ruin put on a pouty frown as he pushed off the wall and followed. “That’s it? You really got my hopes up there…”

“I’m not about to attack somepony who’s more powerful than me,” Moon explained without missing a beat. Ruin stopped in place and stared blankly for a moment as Moon kept on moving.

“Hm, well then,” Ruin shrugged while smirking. “I can’t argue with that, but WAIT!” he broke into a gallop to catch back up with Moon. “Waitwaitwaitwaitwaitwaitwaitwaitwaitwaaaaaaaaaaaaaait!” he repeated over and over in a silly tone as he got back in front of Moon, skidded to a halt, and pressed a hoof to Moon’s chest, putting on a rather creepy smile with narrowed eyes. “Please… tell me more about this little peeve you have with Angel!”





Moon scrunched his face, his calm demeanor being tested again, especially with the mention of Angel. 

“Stop trying to push me, you already know exactly why!” Moon snarled at him.

“Oh, I do,” Ruin tipped his head and placed his other hoof to his lips before twisting completely around and balancing himself on his wings as he stared at Moon upside-down. “I just want to hear you SAY IT.”

Moon continued to glare at Ruin as he received inverted puppy-dog eyes in return.

But Moon said nothing. He just stepped around Ruin and kept going as Ruin shakily turned himself around, still balanced on his wings. Ruin’s lips curled into a devilish, mischievous grin as Moon tried to ignore him. He turned himself back upright and leaned against the wall casually.

“I guess I could always just ask Iris…”

Moon froze in place, but only for a moment. He was already taking his first stride as he turned around. He charged at Ruin without hesitation, his crystals up and glowing brightly as he roared out in anger. Ruin remained right where he was as if inviting Moon to attack him. And he did. But Ruin was clearly expecting it.

He shifted at the very last moment, allowing Moon’s hoof to pass right between his face and the wall. He immediately reached up and clamped his arm around Moon’s. His three crystals jumped up and smashed into Moon’s forcing them down and holding them to the ground. Ruin turned and threw Moon to the wall, pushing him up onto his hind legs and smashing his back against it hard. Ruin stood on his hind legs and slammed his hooves to the wall right over the top of Moon’s shoulders, completely reversing the prior positions as he forced all his weight against moon. He held his face an inch from Moon’s, a sinisterly crazed smile nearly breaking his face as his eyes turned black with white tiny dots for pupils.





Moon growled and struggled briefly, Ruin’s tongue slipping between his teeth and licking his upper lip as he snickered and giggled.

But it was over quickly, Moon didn’t fight for very long, stopping abruptly again and shutting his eyes tight. When he opened them, they were back to normal. He took several calmed breaths before staring stoically at Ruin again. He didn’t even react at all to Ruin’s little messed up trick he always pulled with his eye colors.

“My, my, my… what happened to not attacking those who are better than you?” he turned his head slightly, closing one eye as if taking a very close look at him. “That’s QUITE the hot button you have there, and all it takes is saying her name? You might want to get that looked at!” he said in a taunting manner.

Moon’s ears flopped down as he turned his eyes away. 

“Just… leave me be,” he said with a long, fed up sigh.

“That wouldn’t be any fun now, would it?” Ruin’s eyes shifted back to normal, but his smile remained as he released Moon from the wall, the two placing all four hooves back to the floor. “Come on!” he opened his eyes wide while shifting his head down to right beneath Moon’s chin. “You can take me seriously!” he beckoned his hooves towards his own face. “I promise I won’t hold it against you,” he said in a slightly sassy tone.

“Believe me,” Moon shook his head. “I’d be much more willing to take you seriously if I knew what you are actually all about.” Moon turned and started walking again.

“Ooooooooh?” Ruin slid along the floor on his hooves, forcing Moon to stop again as he placed himself right in his path. “Elaborate.”

“You’re insane,” Moon immediately began with a completely straight face as Ruin burst out laughing right in his face. Moon waited patiently as Ruin guffawed, his eyes remaining open wide, never leaving Moon’s as he also sprayed tiny bits of saliva at him. Eventually Ruin stopped, coughed a few times, cleared his throat and leaned up against the wall beside him.

“Go on,” he encouraged calmly as he turned a hoof over in front of him.

“And you do everything just for the hell of it as far as I can see,” Moon continued. “I actually have an agenda, and many things I have to address and worry about, so I don’t have time to listen to you if you’re just doing it all for personal amusement. Now if you’ll excuse me…” Moon stepped around him and started walking again, but Ruin scoffed loudly, his lips vibrating as he held the scoff for several more seconds than necessary.

“Yes, yes, yes…” he waved an arm in the air sarcastically. “All that stuff that just happened to Nightshade, and the visit from our client, yadda, yadda, blah, blah, yoohoohoo, derby-doo… I guess that’s something.”

Moon stopped and immediately glanced over his shoulder as Ruin sat down and slowly tipped backwards, somehow going all the way down to the floor on his back very slowly and landing softly, his ears pressed flat against the floor as he grinned and lifted an eyebrow.

“What? Please tell me you aren’t really that surprised. I know EVERYTHING that goes on in this dusty old place!” Ruin snickered as Moon rolled his eyes and faced forwards. 

“No, I guess I’m really not surprised…” He flinched as Ruin suddenly slid along the floor on his back until he was right beside Moon and popped right up, leaning against Moon’s side.

“But really, Nightshade? Pff, oh please… spare me,” he shrugged. “She’s a wreck… I haven’t been listening to a word she says for a long time now!”

“Nightshade isn’t the problem,” Moon pointed out, bothered by Ruin touching him, but he learned his lesson from past retaliation. 

“Who, Kayn Ost? A real charmer, isn’t he?” Ruin chuckled as he pushed away from Moon. Moon furrowed his brow. “He sure has Nightshade on a leash, doesn’t he? That’s no easy feat! It’s not often you see the alpha become the pet.”

Moon looked Ruin over carefully, not sure how to read what he just said. Did any of it bother him? Was he worried, thinking about it, or did he just not care?

“So, what are you going to do about it?” Moon asked, taking a chance and grasping at straws.

“BAAAAAAHAHAHAHA! HOO! HAA! HEE! OOOOOH YOU ARE TOO MUCH!” Ruin absolutely lost it as he fell over and rolled around on the ground. 





Moon blinked in surprise as Ruin got his laughs in before rolling right back up onto his hooves. 

“DO anything about it?! WHY WOULD I? HAHAHAHAHA!” Moon flinched as Ruin suddenly disappeared completely, only to pop up on the other side of him, wedging himself between Moon and the wall. “Are you kidding me? This is the MOST fun I’ve ever had!” he continued to laugh maniacally in between thoughts, walking out in front of Moon and moving in a circle. “The Wonderbolts are in disarray, the Shadowbolts are in disarray, at this rate all of Equestria will be in disarray and I can’t get enough of it!” he floated up into the air, continuing his circular path right over Moon. “I could seriously eat this up forever… ahhhhhh, so much chaos everywhere! So much rampant bickering and jawing, so much emotional drama, and so much senseless violence!” He tipped down, floating upside-down and lowering his face down an inch from Moon’s. “It’s the kind of thing that makes me want to get up in the morning! I don’t give a damn what happens as long as we all keep it up! OH HO HO!” he did a back flip, turning right-side up and holding a cowbell in his hoof, he began shaking it, loud echoing clangs reverberating through the halls. “OH, RUIN! Breakfast is served nice and hot! I made some fresh pandemonium pancakes with some fresh squeezed juice mixed with the tears of crying nitwits!” He tossed the bell over his back and got right back in Moon’s face, snickering into his stoic visage. “Ya get me?”

“You’re naïve,” Moon put plainly.

“Oh, nonononononoNO! Please, I liked it much better when you called me insane!” Ruin turned his head and nearly touched his cheek to Moon’s, but Moon shifted aside, causing Ruin to nearly tip over forwards. Moon turned and faced Ruin as he stumbled, scrunching his face. 

“You’re completely ignoring the bigger picture,” Moon began, though he wasn’t sure why. Ruin fell flat on the floor, but rolled on his side and held a suggestive pose as Moon talked.  “Nightshade is in control of our crystal distribution, we can’t get them without her, and she gets them from Kayn Ost, whom you clearly just saw threatening to take them away from us if we don’t deliver on his contract.”  As he talked, Ruin rolled over and somehow managed to hover up into the air, floating all the way up to the ceiling. “This is a problem for all of us. If you had half a brain, you’d be a little more concerned about what to do if he eventually turns on us.” Moon continued as Ruin turned himself upside down and rested his stomach against the ceiling while yawning. “If that happens, we’re done for.” Moon looked up at Ruin as he held a hoof in front of his face and turned it over several times, looking bored. “Unless you forgot what happened to Witch, Trance, and Devil when their crystals were no longer… ARE YOU EVEN LISTENING TO ME?!” Moon lost his temper, yelling up at Ruin as he continued to look uninterested. 

Ruin blinked and looked down at Moon as he yelled, lifting his brow.

“Hm? Oh, cut that out… You’re not fooling me, Moony-moon.”

“You’re intolerable…” Moon growled as he decided right then and there that he was walking away and not looking back.

“Quit the loyalty talk, I can see right through it,” Ruin suddenly said, stopping Moon before he could take more than a single step. His ears stood up as Ruin snickered. He looked up as Ruin walked on the ceiling until he was standing right above him, looking down with a wide grin. “You don’t care what happens to Nightshade, and you sure don’t care what happens to any of us… or even yourself for that matter!”

Moon’s eyes widened as Ruin detached from the ceiling and slowly floated upright, landing right in front of him.

“In case you’re confused, let me lay this all out for you…” Ruin began as he started walking in a slow circle around Moon. “You don’t care about the Shadowbolts, you don’t care about the Wonderbolts, you don’t care about Equestria, and you sure as hell could care less about Kayn Ost…” he completed a full orbit of Moon, stopping right in front of him. “You’ve only ever cared about one thing… Iris!” He suddenly lunged forwards, slamming his hooves down right in front of Moon’s hooves as he leaned all the way in, his eyes turning black and white. “AND SHE’S GONE! OH HO HO HO!” He pulled his face back, his eyes reverting to normal, but kept his hooves on the ground right in front of Moon’s. “And now you’re simply out to satisfy one thing. How noble, how devoted, it’s so sappy I swear it’s giving me gas…” he taunted while blowing a brief raspberry.

Moon gritted his teeth and growled, causing Ruin to burst out laughing.

“Yes, YES! Go on! Growl at me! Snarl at me! I love knowing when I’m right! HOHO! HO! HOHOHO!”

Moon grunted before forcing his way past Ruin, stomping down the hall. 

“That’s right! YESSSSS!” Ruin yelled as Moon moved. “Keep lying to yourself! Keep denying it! Hell, I’m not gonna stop you… but isn’t it refreshing to know somepony is in tune with you?”

Moon stopped, growling louder as he tried to contain himself. Ruin was clearly doing this to bother him, but he just couldn’t get away no matter how hard he tried. He lowered his neck down, slamming his eyes shut as he faced the floor.

“You…” he let slip out.

“Yeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeesssssssssssssssssss?” Ruin’s voice came from directly below him. Moon’s eyes shot open to see Ruin slide out from beneath him, right between his legs before spinning around and looking up, still on his back. Moon glared at him, but quickly averted his eyes quietly swearing under his breath, more or less admitting defeat. “That’s right…” Ruin giggled as he stood up and patted Moon on the head. “Be a good little colt and keep me entertained with your dramatic personal life, I’d hate to get bored here…” Ruin slid around, pressing his side to Moon’s and draping a wing over him in a buddy-buddy manner. 

Moon was still looking away, shaking his head very subtly.

“At least… I have something to fight for…” he struggled to defend himself, Ruin tearing him and his demeanor down piece by piece.

“If you can even call it that,” Ruin nudged him in the side while snickering. Moon looked up, but not at Ruin.

“Talk down to me all you want… Ignore what’s right in front of you… I have a goal, and I’m going to achieve it. I refuse to go quietly,” Moon said adamantly.

“Oh for crap’s sake,” Ruin scoffed. “There you go again, acting like you have a real reason or actually care.”

“I’m doing this for more than myself… It’s what Iris would have wanted,” Moon’s voice became a little shaky.

“Sounds more like what you want,” Ruin chuckled while releasing his wing from Moon. “Iris never struck me as that kind of pony, but what do I know?!  HOHOHOOOOO!” Ruin tipped onto his right hooves and bounced. “You don’t really know, do you?  This is only what you want, but you justify it with her… what a simple excuse, I expected something more sophisticated from you! The way I see it, your so called revenge will be a dish served for one at a table set for two. And when you’re done, you’re only going to wonder if it was really the right thing to do! That is… of course, if the food doesn’t kill you first! It may not be high in fat, sugar, or sodium, but ooooo, is it filled with SMUG!” He tipped over on his other hooves and bounced right up to Moon. “But even if you do somehow pull it off… that will be it. You’ll have nothing left to care about. If Kayn Ost comes after us at that point… I doubt you’ll even try!”

Moon began to shake slightly, gritting his teeth, his eyes twitching.

“And YOU will?!” he spat back at Ruin. “He’ll kill you just the same!”

“Him?” Ruin tipped his head. “Kill?” He leaned back and pressed his hooves to his chest. “Moi?!”He scoffed and whipped his short mane around. “Don’t make me laugh…” he looked back at Moon with his expression completely blank for a moment before smirking. “Oh, who am I kidding?! I’LL LAUGH ANYWAY! OOOOOOH HO HO HO HO HO!!!!!!”  he guffawed while nearly falling backwards. Moon just stared at him, no longer sure if he had much frustration left to feel.  Ruin finished laughing and released a long, satisfied, sigh. “Ahhhhhhhhh… Oh, Moony-Moon… You are so one-track minded and fatalistic!”  He reached a wing forwards and tapped the feather tips against Moon’s chest. “Don’t stop, it gives me the giggles,” he said in a deeper than usual tone while bouncing his eyebrows. Moon looked ready to retort, but Ruin slipped around, again pressing his side to Moon. “Sure, sure, sure… Kayn Ost may have control over Nightshade…” he reached his opposite hoof over and tapped Moon’s shoulder. “And the rest of you, but… Heh… heheh, hee heeeeeeee,” he started giggling as he closed his eyes. “But, believe me…” his voice was suddenly filled with a demonic echo. His eyes shot open, once again black with tiny white pupils. 







"NOPONY..."







"CAN CONTROL ME!”







There was a sudden flash of pink light from his crystals. Moon winced and shut his eyes, blinking as they readjusted. 

Ruin was long gone… but his laugh was still echoing in the hallway. 

Moon stood still for a moment, his thoughts swirling as Ruin left him in a state of denial, shock, and confusion all in one small package that was overstuffed and tied too tight.

After a moment, Moon’s ears perked up.

“Rapidfire, you can come out now,” he said without looking behind him. All he heard was a yelp. Moon rolled his eyes as he turned around and faced a doorway not too far behind him. Rapidfire slowly poked his head out. “So you saw all of that?”

Rapidfire swallowed, but then stepped out as he noticed Moon wasn’t showing any signs of anger or retaliation. 

“I… was… uh…” Rapidfire stuttered as he averted his eyes, but Moon only shook his head.

“Watch your back,” he began, drawing Rapidfire’s attention. Moon turned and face away down the hall. “If I were you, I’d take a good look around you.” He started walking away. “Don’t believe for a second… that anything you see or hear is as it appears…”

Rapidfire remained still, simply staring after Moon as he reached the end of the hall and turned the corner.

---To Be Continued---