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// The Cathedral 02: Fight on the Roof 
// Story: Sunset Shimmer - The Princess of Lordran 
// by ratedoni 
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They were grey, just like every day in the world of Lordran, just like the sky, and they were looking at them, or at least Sunset thought they were looking at them since their head and their eyes were hidden beneath a rusty green helmet that were as old as the cathedral they were obviously guarding. Some were flying, others patiently standing on top of the cathedral. Waiting maybe? Sunset didn’t know, but it was clear that these monsters, these gargoyles, were the guardians of the Bell of Awakening.

She should have realized that things would not be as easy and there would be something in their way. It seems that her theory about the fog gate was correct and that it had something to do with the amount of magic or darkness that was amassed behind it.

Looking into the sky and their surroundings, Sunset counted the figures looking at them and she cursed loudly at the perfect ambush. As the stone crumbled and the figures freed themselves of their outer shell, she counted six gargoyles and knew that they were in some deep trouble.

She had never seen creatures like them, although she had read about experiments and sculptures of the type. Gargoyles that were not alive, but instead were made like golems, pure magic and stone, of metal and rock, that guarded places of utmost importance.

Whatever the case may be, or whoever created them ages ago, it seems that the evacuation of the city and the subsequent invasion of hollows meant nothing to them, because here they were, ready to fight and defend the bell from invaders, in this case, Sunset and company.

“Well, this is definitely a surprise,” Madeleine commented on a very weak attempt of humor at the sudden appearance of their opponents. Her shield high alongside her spear, the female knight stood in a circle alongside the other two as they watched the gargoyles circle around them, the flying monsters taking their time to go ahead and attack them.

“Surprise must be an understatement Lady Madeleine. I never considered the cathedral will have guardians like this, nor did I think that the ambush will come from the sky.” Alongside them, Solaire had his circular shield, its solar illustration catching the few rays of light on its almost pristine surface as the knight held his sword, ready to strike any opponent that came close to them.

Far away from them, in another reality, six girls huddled together as they recovered from the sudden appearance of the monsters, several of them already holding each other in fright as if this were a horror movie and the monster had finally appeared. In Rainbow’s case, she felt as if the only thing missing were a bag of popcorn considering the epicness of the situation. Across her, Applejack had her hat on her hands and was nervously shifting it around as she watched the action unfold in their screen.

Everything was calm, but that was only because they were in the eye of the storm and things could get bad really quickly. Staying calm and collected allowed Sunset, Madeleine and Solaire to remain still on top of the cathedral. With their backs to each other, the three kept looking at their enemy which, for now, were content with just watching and flying around, that is until one rushed into them. That was the wrong thing to do.

As one, the trio of warriors acted, intercepting the green halberd with their shields, slamming against them so hard that the gargoyle recoiled back, losing his footing on the tiled roof of the cathedral. Following this, the three warriors struck as one, with spear, claymore and sword going through the rock like skin of the gargoyle, impaling him with ruthless, but effective synchronization.

The weapons found their target, making the creature vomit blood as dark as night and on his back, with the three weapons coming out of it, a shower of more darkness was jettisoned into the roof, where it splashed and echoed across the battlefield.

With a kick by them, the weapons were pushed out of the now dead gargoyle and the battle began. Now, the gargoyles struck as one, flying closer and trying to overwhelm the invaders. With halberds, tails and jaws full of powerful teeth, the creatures fell upon them like birds of prey.

Sunset was almost sent flying off the roof when one of the gargoyles hit her shield with such strength that sent her flying backwards. Thankfully she was sent in the direction of the door that served as the only access to the roof, not into the air, where she would have turned into a stain of blood and guts as she struck the ground. Shaking her head to get her bearings, she had to roll away from her opponent who, taking flight, aimed his bladed tail on her, cracking the tiles and almost cutting Sunset’s body in two halves.

As this fight went on, Madeleine had her own worries and could not help her friends. Both gargoyles, instead of taking flight, battled her two on one, with the two using their halberds. Unfortunately, Madeleine’s weapon was made for thrusting attacks only, while the gargoyles’ weapons were multipurpose, being designed to cleave their opponents in two while also serving as excellent clubs due to their extreme weight.

Seeing that she could not be in the defensive all the time, the masquerade wearing woman used her spear in a rather ingenious way. Instead of sticking randomly, Madeleine twisted her spear and, in a movement that took the gargoyles by surprise, stuck it with the halberd of the gargoyle at her left side. Thanks to the small wings of steel at the sides of her spear, Madeleine was able to make it hook on the halberd’s long axe blade and with a movement of her hand made her surprised opponent strike the halberd of his teammate, leaving them defenseless.

Striking with her left hand, Madeleine struck the Gargoyle right in the jaw with the top end of her shield, sending him reeling backwards, stunned for a few seconds. Rolling her spear, she unstuck it and with a thrust, she aimed to finish her next opponent. Sadly the gargoyle acted quickly, dropping his halberd and taking flight, so Madeleine’s spear only scratched the rock like skin of it as it took some distance from her.

As the gargoyle took flight, Madeleine quickly noticed how it tried to spin and immediately ducked underneath the bladed tail of her opponent. Sadly this was not the only thing that happened because the other gargoyle, the one she had struck with her shield, opened its maw and with a roar, it filled with red energy before sending out a cone of flames. Thankfully, due to her own blue and silver shield, the damage of the flames were mitigated, but it pushed Madeleine backwards as the warrior tried to not lose her footing and fall backwards due to the strength of the flame.

“Oh, come on! Those things also have fire! That is not fair!”

“Ah call bullshit on it too!” Both Rainbow Dash and Applejack stood up from the table they were sitting before remembering where they were and with a sheepish grin to Cherilee, they both sat down once more. One thing they learned was to never make Miss Cherilee angry in her domain known as Canterlot High Library.

“I may not have the same reaction as you two, but I do believe that giving those hideous creatures fire was too much,” Rarity told them as she and Fluttershy hugged each other as they watched the battle unfold in front of them. Thankfully, this time the battle was being transmitted on one of the library’s computer, so they were able to get a better view of it. For her part, Fluttershy was almost biting her nails due to how nervous and surprised she was.

At their left side, wearing rather gaudy old 3d glasses and holding a paper bag full of popcorn, Pinkie Pie was enjoying the fight. She wasn’t nervous. After all, she knew that no matter what Sunset would win. There was no way she could be defeated at this point of her adventure. Maybe next time she could make a foam hand with Sunset’s favorite symbol.

In the middle of her friends, Twilight Sparkle didn’t know what to do with her hands, so instead she was gripping her skirt a bit too tight, enough that there would be obvious wrinkles on the fabric.

She was nervous, she was hopeful, but most importantly, she was afraid. Afraid of what Sunset was doing and what it could mean, not only for her survival, but her mental stress and the torment she must be going through. This was in part her fault and if there could be a way in which she could help Sunset, she would have done it a long time ago. Sadly, the only thing she could do was be witness to her struggles and silently pray for her survival.

On the battlefield, Solaire was faring a little bit better than his companions, quickly striking the knee of one gargoyle, making the creature scream in pain and rage. Kicking him down while leaving his sword inserted on the knee, Solaire concentrated the energy of the flame on his right hand. The energy was strong enough that sent shivers through Sunset as her hair began to stick up as static began to be stored. In seconds, a spear made out of lightning appeared in Solaire’s hands and with a mighty heave, he sent it hurling through the air as it struck one of the flying gargoyle’s wings, sending it spiraling out of control until it struck the ground and didn’t move again.

The energy felt familiar to Sunset, almost warming despite the electrical shiver down her spine and the smell of ozone in the air. It was almost nostalgic in a way, making her think back on days where she spent training and studying with the help of an alicorn as white as clouds and with a smile that could always calm her. It hurt to think of her, of the life she had thrown aside, but it was this feeling, this spark of nostalgia and love that revived the embers left behind by her sins and the elements of harmony.

As she thought about the magic and the world she had left behind, the gargoyle that was her opponent prepared himself to attack, opening his maw, ready to roast Sunset into cinders. But with eyes full of conviction, Sunset pulled magic from deep inside of her, from her heart and soul, things that she herself though she had lost a long time ago. In her hand, sparks instantly turned into embers and then in a powerful flame as Sunset took aim and hurled it into the air, striking the gargoyle on the head, mixing with the flame already on its mouth, doing a chain reaction that ended with an explosion, sending bits and pieces of the gargoyle’s head everywhere, culminating with the gargoyle’s now dead body plummeting into the ground.

With half of their forces down, the fight was now even having three fighters on each side. The gargoyles attacking Madeleine now had to look out for a pyromancer that had finally found her flame and this was what the white armored woman needed to turn her battle around. With a quick movement of her left hand, the halberd’s attack was sent awry, quickly counter attacking the now wide open gargoyle, sending her spear deep into the other creature’s chest and soon, another gargoyle laid dead.

Turning around to deal with one of the last gargoyles, Madeleine struck the leg of the flying menace as this one was trying to hit Sunset with its tail. This meant that it stood floating for just the right time for Sunset to do a vertical slice with her claymore, cleaving through the bladed tail as if it were butter, making the creature flop into the tiled roof.

As Solaire inserted his sword in the other gargoyle’s chest, there was now only one last opponent for them on the roof, one that was right now trying to stand up and keep on fighting. Stabbing her claymore on the floor, Sunset took a look at the axe tail, finding that the severed member felt more like a conventional weapon than skin or a normal tail. Seeing the downed gargoyle still trying to stand up, Sunset took aim and with a big swing, she struck behind the head of the gargoyle with its own tail, sending splatters of dark blood everywhere on the roof.