______*unknown time*______
Fire......so much fire, my life is hanging by a thread, and I don't know what to do.
How could I have known this would happen?......I thought I was free?
But she found me, determined to destroy me in her own twisted demented way, she did this, and I hate her for that.
As I face my opponent, I stand frozen in complete silence and shock as I am assaulted, only rage is remembered, no longer tethered by reason, only seeking revenge.......I can't fight back, not against her.
As another wave of flames approached me, I uttered two words under my breath. "I......I'm sorry."
_____*the present, two day's later, Umbrea's house, 8:54 AM*_____
"Ahhh!" Umbrea screamed as she shot up out of bed, her breathing was ragged, her fur was covered in sweat, she felt fear overwhelming her thoughts.
Umbrea kept reminding herself that it was just a dream, that she was alright, soon, she calmed down, she slowly got off the bed and stood up. "What in the hell was that?.....a nightmare? a vision?.....a memory?" She asked herself in confusion, the memory of the fire as clear as day.
Umbrea rubbed her eyes and walked to her door, she opened it and walked out.
As she walked through the house, she was released to hear that it was silent, she was thankful that she had thrown up a sound barrier over the room now.
Umbrea sat down on her couch and sighed, she held her forehead and closed her eyes as she leaned back. "Maybe I should just take the day off?" She pondered. 'I've been working too hard anyway, I need some time away to clear my mind.' She told herself.
Umbrea stood up slowly and walked to the kitchen, she pulled out everything she needed to make breakfast for three, once she had it going, she walked upstairs to the room Spark and Apache were staying in.
Umbrea opened the door and turned ok the dim light. "Hey kids, wake up!" She said.
Surprisingly, the kids actually woke up, which was odd considering Star told her that they were impossible to wake up at times. "I'm making breakfast, then you two have school.....I think." She said before leaving the room.
Umbrea teleported to the kitchen and proceeded to continue making breakfast, it was eggs and fried potatoes, one of the few things Umbrea could make without fear of burning.
Of course, she would never admit that.
______*Two days later, Ponyville, 2:00 PM*______
Firefly was walking with Estalli as they explored the town, even though Firefly was positive that Estalli knew the entire layout of the town, she insisted that they explore the town in person.
Even though most of the townsponies avoided Estalli, the reptilian did not seem to mind.
"So, what does Umbrea look like?" Estalli asked.
Firefly shrugged. "Cyan fur, white mane and tail, bright red eyes, red web cutie mark." She answered.
Estalli did not reply, she simply continued to look around. "So uh.......what are we doing, exactly?" Firefly asked.
"Exploring." Estalli replied.
The simple answer was enough to make Firefly silent, and they were now walking around without speaking.
After what felt like an hour, Estalli spoke. "Anything interesting to say about your memories?" She asked curiously.
Firefly blinked, surprised by the question. "Well, I think I've lived two lives......I have memories of me talking to a fox like creature, and I called, her?.....mother?" She said, not entirely sure of what she was saying.
Estalli shrugged her head. 'Your closer than you think.' She thought.
It was not long however, until the two found their way to the park, and there, Firefly noticed someone familiar, she lightly bumped Estalli's arm. "Over there." She whispered.
Estalli looked at where Firefly was talking about, and she saw a mare that could only be Umbrea, cyan fur, white hair, red web cutie mark, red eyes. "I see." She then looked at Firefly. "Shall we go say hello?" She wondered.
Firefly sighed, she was hoping that it would take longer, but now, she was left no choice. "Alright, I'll introduce you." She said.
They walked up to Umbrea who was sitting on a bench relaxing. "Umbrea?" Firefly started.
Umbrea looked over her shoulder and blinked. "Oh, Firefly.....and friend." She stood up and walked to the side of the bench. "I'm guessing your Estalli?" She asked.
Estalli nodded. "I didn't know you two met." She replied.
Firefly laughed nervously. "It might have slipped my mind." She said nervously.
Estalli rolled her eyes and looked at Umbrea. "Sorry about my friends odd behavior, she has a lot on her mind right now." She said calmly.
Umbrea nodded. "It's fine, I know a bit about being stressed out after all." She replied.
Estalli crossed her arms and looked around. "As do I, I suppose we all have stress in our own rights." She then looked at Umbrea. "Then again, take my brother for example, he doesn't have any responsibility, he's lucky." She mentioned.
Umbrea chuckled. "What's his name? I'll send him some hate mail." She teased.
Estalli shook her head. "He doesn't really like it when I give out his real name, but he likes going by Sonic.....at least, I think." She replied, with confusion.
Umbrea chuckled. "Well, anyway, I need to get going, perhaps I'll see you some other time." She said before walking off.
Estalli looked at Firefly. "We're heading back." She said before blinking.
______*the hotel*______
Firefly shook her head rapidly. "I'm never going to get used to that." She said to herself.
Estalli's eyes glowed golden and the room sealed with powerful magic, she looked at Firefly. "Our business is concluded." She stated calmly.
Firefly felt a wave of emotions swarm over her, mostly, it was relief, and anger. "What......no, no! we had a deal!" She snapped.
Estalli blinked and walked up to Firefly. "Yes, we did, and I shall honor that deal, as promised, I will return all your memories to you." She then placed her hand on Firefly's head.
A soft golden glow filled the room, soon, Firefly fell unconscious as Estalli picked her up with her mind, and placed her on the bed.
Estalli witnessed all of Firefly's memories as she restored them, but for now, she had a transmission to send.
______*Firefly's mind.*______
Firefly gasped as she opened her eyes to the familiar sight of Cloudsdale, she blinked and looked around, she recognized the area, she used to play here with her sister Gwen and the Black Cloud gang, as they called themselves.
She blinked at the unusual recollection. "What in the world?" She asked herself.
Firefly watched as the world shifted to an all too familiar temple. "Jandoka's temple?" She muttered.
"Miss me?" She heard her past self say quietly.
"If you mean your annoying grin, then no, if you mean you in person......ehh give it time." Roxanne teased.
Firefly then heard fighting nearby, she looked and saw her past self fighting alongside Roxanne against a dragon, she blinked as she watched the memory shift.
She was now watching as a kid version of herself was fast asleep on Roxanne, she was confused but was beginning to remember why this was.
Emerald, The Judge, had placed her inside a magical prison of sorts, to judge if she was worthy of being the Corrupted Element Of Lightning, she was not, as such, she was reverted to a state, where she would be.
Firefly watched as her younger self awoke, and how she eventually spoke to Roxanne after reuniting with the others. "Hu Koni." She said at the same time as her younger self.
The memory shifted once more, as more of her memory returned, she found herself feeling unwell.
"Hey Mom." Firefly heard voices say.
She looked and saw herself, she was in bed talking with a white furred Pegasus mare with a fox tail and ears, she knew in her mind that it was Roxanne. "What is it Firefly?" Roxanne asked quietly.
The younger Firefly smiled as she looked up at her mother. "Are you sure you don't me to teach you how to fly? it can be very fun?" She offered.
Roxanne chuckled. "Sorry Firefly, but I'm going back to normal tomorrow, maybe I can ask Lyaroa if I can switch at will?" She suggested.
Firefly shook her head. "I don't want to bother her with this, she has a lot on her mind right now anyway." She replied.
The memory shifted again, and now she was in the Ponyville park, she looked around and saw her younger self running around with a familiar baby dragon. "Brother?" She said quietly.
The two kept running and playing as Firefly watched, but at one point, the world shifted once again.
The world shifted from the bright atmosphere, to a gloomy one.
Firefly watched as her younger self came out to the main room, she watched as she approached an all too familiar colt in a wheelchair. "Do us both a favor, and forget I exist." He said.
Firefly's younger self sighed. "Goodnight." She said quietly.
"Whatever." The colt said.
The memory shifted once more, this time, it was inside the training yard, in Lyaroa's house, and she watched as her younger self slapped Storm. "Your a jerk." She said.
"Thanks!.....I have no issues with that!" Storm replied happily.
"You like being insulted?" The young Firefly asked.
Storm chuckled. "What did I tell you the one day?......I'm completely insane!" The colt replied.
"You could stay you know, I would love to have you around." She heard her younger self say, as she grabbed the wheelchair, ready to send him home.
"Here." Storm said to her younger self as he handed her a broken claw with a chain. "That's mine, I gave it a small charm, it'll let you remember any moment from your life." He said.
The memory shifted as Firefly unconsciously clutched the claw.
She was now inside Sugurcube corner, and she immediately remembered this, this was when she turned into a Werewolf, where she not only killed her captor, but tore him apart.
Firefly clutched her head as she watched the world shifted to one of destruction, and she remembered it, the fall of the world.
As the Centaur Tirek battled Twilight Sparkle over the fate of Equestria, Lyaroa had gathered as many as she could safely transport away, and once, they were gone, she watched as Lyaroa and Roxanne kissed one last time, then left the world that was being destroyed.
Firefly dropped to her knees as she tried to breathe, she felt as though her mind was being torn apart, then she blacked out, seeing nothing but darkness.
_____*Unknown.*_____
"Computer, awaken Subject One." The creature ordered.
"Subject One awakening." The computer replied.
The wolf creature walked over to Roxanne and crossed her arms, the Pegasus certainly had a different air about her, as though something had changed. "Computer, revise recovery time." The creature ordered.
"Analyzing.......recovery time, three days, apologies for the inaccurate results from before." The computer apologized.
The creature looked up at Roxanne and looked into her mind. "Computer, cease recovery on Subject One, she is ready." She ordered.
"Warning, halting recovery of Subject will result in unpredictable behavior and actions.....confirm?" The computer asked.
The creature nodded. "Confirmed......Roxanne, what is it you feel?" She asked.
Roxanne's eyes were burning Amber, she looked at the creature. "Hatred......a desire for revenge." She replied in a dangerous tone.
The creature nodded. "Good, you will be free to enact that revenge soon, for now, rest, and recover your strength." It said as Roxanne was forced into unconsciousness by the machine.
"Computer, awaken Subject Two and revise recovery time." The creature ordered.
"Awakening Subject Two.....scan complete, five day recovery." The computer replied.
"Night Frenzy.....or should I call you Nightmare?.....what do you feel?" The creature asked.
Night Frenzy looked at the creature with disgust. "Hatred for you, for imprisoning me." She replied weakly as she fought against the stasis.
The creature would not have cared for the Thestrals struggling, were it not for the fact that it seemed to be working. "Computer, increase sedative levels on Subject Two." She ordered.
Night Frenzy immediately felt her strength leave her as she grew drowsy, only the machine kept her awake. "When i get out of here.....your dead." She threatened.
The creature blinked and Night Frenzy was asleep. "Computer, cease recovery on Subject Two, add anger enzymes to her tank, and be ready to direct them to Lyaroa." She ordered.
The computer processed this, and soon the stasis tank holding Night Frenzy glowed red as the enzymes were absorbed into her. "Subject is now completely unpredictable, targeting program will only be sixty percent effective, caution is advised." The computer replied.
The creature then heard her communication device go off, she walked to it and activated it, seeing Estalli on the other end. "Report." She ordered.
Estalli nodded, she checked behind her for something and then spoke. "I have located Lyaroa, she is hiding as Umbrea, chief of Ponyville Police, orders?" She asked.
The creature pondered her next move as she looked to the stasis tanks. "I want you to make Lyaroa remember who she truly is, I am putting my own plan into motion, if this works like I think it will, she will not know what hit her." She replied before cutting the transmission.
_____*Ponyville*_____
Estalli sighed. "This is not going to go well." She muttered.
She walked over to the bed where Firefly appeared to be stirring from her slumber, she waited a few moments and Firefly awoke.
Estalli noticed something wrong with Firefly almost immediately, she could feel the mares mind being torn apart, so she did the best thing she could, she forced the mare to be completely awake then spoke. "Now that you have seen your memories, you must make a choice." She stated quickly.
Firefly looked at Estalli in shock, she had just received these memories, but now she had to lose them?......she would have begun to argue but she felt a massive headache suddenly appear. "What.....do you.....mean?" She asked through the pain.
Estalli waved her hand and the two were suddenly inside of a chamber made entirely of stone. "The mortal mind cannot handle the amount of memories you contain, they will compete, and if you don't not forget them, you will revert to how you were previously, an unstable mess unable to tell reality from fiction." She then made three doors appear on a wall.
Firefly felt her headache fade as the doors appeared. "What is this?" She asked.
Estalli motioned to the doors. "These doors represent your memories, when you walk through one of the doors, you will remember only those, no others." She walked to the center of the three doors.
Firefly walked to Estalli. "How will I know the memories, and how do I make my decision?" She asked.
Estalli pointed at each door. "The door to your left contains the original memories, you will hold every memory until that moment when you were made a child once more." She explained.
"The door behind me contains the memories after the change, and before the fall of that world, and the one to your right, contains the memories of this world alone, as for your decision, you merely must walk through the door." She explained.
Firefly looked to all three doors, she then looked at Estalli. "And.....how will I cope with this world? after all, no matter what I choose, I will be dooming myself in some way." She wondered.
Estalli blinked. "You.......are correct, i will assist you how I can no matter the decision, but I need to know what you choose." She said.
Firefly looked between the doors once more, she sighed as she looked at Estalli. "Can you give me some time to think on this?" She asked.
Estalli nodded. "This form you see before you is simply a conduit, whatever you choose, it shall inform Estalli, be warned however, the decision is final, there is no way to reverse it." She explained.
Firefly then sat down, thinking upon her options. "This will take a while." She muttered.
_____*Ponyville, later that day, 9:00 PM.*_____
Apache quietly made her way to her home, she looked around for anyone following her, seeing no one, she grinned and continued moving.
When she eventually reached the house, she made her way to the basement after unlocking and locking the back door with her lock picking skills.
Apache moved to the center of the basement, she then reached down and pulled up the fake floor boards, she set them aside and kneeled down, she examined her secret for a moment.
What Apache was looking at was a circular rune made out of dirt, mud and sticks, it had the appearance of a glaive and had jagged edges as it spiraled inward, in the center was a shed dragon scale that Spark had lost.
Apache replaced the scale with a new one and hid the old one in a small pouch, she then spoke quietly. "Ukhan Lomaj Infae." She chanted twice.
"Apache, it's good to see you once again." Said a voice familiar to Apache.
The young filly looked up and saw a small ghostly figure hovering above the scale. "Hey Estalli, you busy right now?" She asked.
Estalli nodded. "I am, but I can spare a moment, what's bothering you my friend?" She asked.
Apache pulled out the crystal from before and showed it to Estalli. "I was hoping that you would know what this was, since you know everything else?" She asked.
Estalli tilted her head and then smiled. "You have been blessed my friend, what you are holding is part of something wonderful, keep it with you, do not part with it." She replied.
"But.....what is it part of?" She asked.
Estalli shook her head. "It is not my place to say, suffice to say, that Crystal is infused with great power, treat it carefully." She said before vanishing.
Apache looked at the crystal with curiosity, she then sighed and put it back into her bags, she had hoped to find out what it was, but instead she got more questions.
______*Umbrea's house,*______
Umbrea whispered to herself as she slept, she fidgeted as she felt her dreams be consumed by nightmares, terrible visions of the past, and the future.
Little did she know of what fate had in store for her, or of her friends......and of friends lost.
Suddenly however, Umbrea awoke and was sweating all over, she looked around and saw that everything was fine, she sighed in relief as she rubbed her forehead.
Suddenly however, Umbrea heard glass shattering downstairs, she quickly rushed out of the room to see what was wrong, but as she opened the door, a torrent of flames burst into the room, engulfing everything.
Umbrea could do nothing but recover and put the flames out on her body as her vision was consumed by the flame, she coughed as she weakly walked through the collapsing building, she didn't know why, but her house had caught on fire, and she was going to make sure the kids were not harmed.
Umbrea made her way to the guest room as quickly as she was able, her movement and vision impaired by the relentless fire, she turned the corner to the hallway where the kids room was, only to find that a wooden beam had fallen down, using her magic, Umbrea lifted it out of the way, using whatever muscle strength she could to help.
The beam crashed onto the floor as it ignited, and now with the pathway clear, Umbrea pressed on, she reached the kids room and tried to open it, only to discover it was jammed, she banged on it as hard as she could, but it did not budge.
Umbrea then backed up, she then charged at full speed to the door, and it broke down as she collided with it, she coughed as she looked around for any sign of the kids, but she found none, panicked, Umbrea quickly got up and looked under that beds for them, she did not see them.
As Umbrea looked away from the beds, she was startled by a tall figure standing over her, she backed up only for it grip her with some unknown power. "Why did I give up my life for YOU to take it!?.....clearly I made a mistake, one that I shall rectify right now!" The tall creature was covered in darkness, but Umbrea watched as a white claw swung towards her.
Her eyes widened as the claw reached her throat.
______*Umbrea's house, 1:00 AM*______
Umbrea screamed as she shot up out of bed, sweat was dripping from her brow, and she could see scorch marks on her hooves, she looked to her right and saw that her window was cracked, she got up and walked over to it, she placed her hoof on it and felt the sharp glass pierce her hoof. "Ah!" She exclaimed.
She looked at it and saw that her hoof was now stained in blood. "What.........was that?" She asked herself.
_______*Ponyville, later that day, 8:00 AM*______
Umbrea wandered aimlessly through town, still shaken by the previous events, she didn't even notice that she left town and ended up on an open field, she blinked and she soon realized something. "Where's the town?" She asked herself.
"About a mile away." Said a familiar voice.
Umbrea felt her head stinging as she looked to see Estalli. "You?.....your giving me these nightmares!" She accused.
Estalli walked until she was five feet from Umbrea. "I gave you nothing, those nightmares are your own, your own mind is creating them." She replied calmly.
Umbrea growled as she ignited her horn, only for her to feel a sharp pain in her mind, she clutched her head and screamed in agony. "AAAAHHHHH!.......WHAT ARE YOU DOING TO ME!?" She screamed.
Estalli raised her hand and a golden orb appeared in her hand. "I am fixing you, you shall be whole again." She said as the orb flew straight into Umbrea.
Umbrea did not notice the orb, but once it went inside of her, she dropped to the ground, writhing in agony, and she began to experience memories, memories of another world beyond imagining. "No......no, I don't want to leave." She cried as the pain became unbearable.
Estalli watched calmly as Umbrea began to experience memory after memory, she then recieved a transmission. "Estalli, fall back, now, that is an order." The wolf creature said briefly. "Why?" Estalli asked.
The wolf creature narrowed her eyes and Estalli bit her lip. "As you wish mother." She said quietly before vanishing.
As Estalli screamed in pain, she felt her body changing, but worst of all, worse than even the mind splitting pain, she felt herself dying. "PLEASE!......MAKE IT STOP!" She pleaded in vain.
Soon enough, Umbrea's struggles ceased, as her body ceased to change, no longer was she the cyan furred Alicorn, no longer was she the wise cracking chief of police, she was something different now.
Umbrea's body was replaced, by a white furred wolf that stood upright, her irises were cyan with black pupils and blood red sclera.
Umbrea blinked as she slowly sat up, she shakily looked at her hand and her eyes went wide and her breathing sped up.
She stood up shakily as she processed everything, she remembered it all, Jandoka, Firefly, Fang, Golden........Roxanne. "No........no." She muttered.
Umbrea felt a change in the air, as though it were burning, she froze as she felt something powerful nearby......and something else as well, but this other power was fueled by pure rage.
Umbrea turned around slowly and saw a brown furred wolf walked up to her. "You?....." Umbrea asked quietly.
The wolf creature stopped three feet from Umbrea. "Ah, Lyaroa, returned to that disgusting disguise after all this time, did you really think you could just escape justice?" She asked calmly, but with barely contained digust clear in her voice.
Lyaroa recognized that tone of voice, only one person could hate her that much. "......Mother?" She asked weakly.
The wolf creature chuckled. "You cling to that word like a child, you are better then that Lyaroa......or at least, you were." She replied.
Lyoara watched as her mother walked away and snapped her fingers, revealing two stasis cells holding two very familiar faces. "Your actions have made you many enemies Lyaroa, and now, you will face the consequences of your actions." She said she and the cells vanished and the two awoke.
"Roxanne?.....Nightmare?........" She asked shakily.
Lyaroa watched as Roxanne opened her eyes, they were burning Amber and her arms ignited immediately, she could see only rage in the fox's eyes.
Nightmare however, had her dark green eyes and bloodied fur, unlike Roxanne, Nightmare's rage seemed artificial, as though someone forced it onto her.
Lyaroa stood, frozen in fear as the two charged to her. "Please......don't make me fight you." She whispered.
To avoid hurting her friends, Lyaroa resorted to evasion, even though her mind was broken and she was in shock, she was able to dodge. "Roxanne! Nightmare! I'm not your enemy!" She pleaded.
Roxanne however did not believe it, she unleashed a nova of flames towards Lyaroa. "You took everything from me!......you robbed Fang of his life! I'll tear you apart before I believe you!" She snapped angrily as she charged up her fire.
Lyaroa just barely dodged a frenzied strike from Nightmare, when a massive stream of white flame engulfed her, she screamed and teleported away as Roxanne prepared for another. "I never killed Fang!......I tried to make amends! Don't you remember!?" She cried out.
Nightmare wordlessly charged to Lyaroa, she threw a wild punch at the Sentinel's stomach but it was dodged. "Liar!......you used him like the rest of us!......puppets to string along for your amusement!" Roxanne shouted.
Lyaroa dodged another stream of flames and then Nightmare, she bit her lip. "Nightmare! do you remember Dalcorus? We fought together to against Fang!.....please say something!" She pleaded, tears dropping from her eyes.
Nightmare blinked but continued her attack, but once she was close, she gripped Lyaroa's arm. ".......Free..........Me." She said, as though fighting to speak.
Lyaroa gasped at that, but she was forced to let go as another wave of fire was released.
When Nightmare was close, she latched onto her body and released a red glow that enveloped Nightmare, she let go and then yet dodged another torrent of fire. "Roxanne!....don't you remember what we went through together?....we fought through Tartarus itself to save Fang!....you have to remember that!" She pleaded.
Roxanne charged her fire in both hands. "You put him there you bitch!......if it wasn't for you, he would have lived!" She shouted as she unleashed two enormous waves of fire from each hand, intent on burning Lyaroa to a crisp.
Nightmare blinked as she looked between the two, she felt her mind repairing itself, she felt a wave of emotions flood her as Lyaroa pleaded with Roxanne to see reason, but she also felt pain and weakness within herself, since she was severed from her host, Nightmare's power was steadily draining, so she could only watch helplessly as Lyaroa tried to avoid Roxanne's rage driven assault.
Lyaroa dodged another massive nova of fire as she tried to plead with Roxanne. "Roxanne! please! think of Firefly!.......she wouldn't want you to be a killer!" She shouted.
Roxanne paused for a moment, her eyes and limbs twitched and she growled, she felt her anger rise to incredible proportions. "DON'T YOU DARE SPEAK HER NAME!......YOUR.WEAKNESS.LOST.ME.MY.DAUGHTER!" She screamed out, every time she said a word, she threw a fireball the size of a house at Lyaroa, and she still showed no signs of tiring.
Lyaroa's eyes widened and she attempted to evade, most managed to hit directly, the rest she was able to avoid, she prepared herself soon after, ready to dodge more of the fire.
Roxanne however seemed to be done with her firey assault, she ignited her arms and formed her crystal armor, she then materialized two very familiar swords. "Life and Death?" Lyaroa said in shock.
Roxanne charged wildly, swinging the swords with incredible ferocity and precision. "FIGHT BACK YOU COWARD!" She damanded.
Lyaroa was not able to dodge these strikes in her current state, she could only attempt to lessen the damage, she used her arms as shields as the blades tore them apart. "FIGHT.....BACK!" Roxanne screamed as she threw Lyaroa to the ground with a powerful kick to the waist.
Lyaroa watched with her eyes wide open as Roxanne went to swing down at her head, but just before she swung, Lyaroa saw.....a tear?
Roxanne's blade was just about to touch Lyaroa's neck when a bloodied claw grabbed her hand and stopped her. "Nightmare?......how are you-?" She didn't have time to finish before Nightmare shoved Roxanne back. "You want someone to fight back Love?, then fight me." Nightmare demanded, her voice eerily calm.
Roxanne growled as her anger soon returned as she discarded her armor and blades, throwing them aside. "You forced me to suffer!.....now it's your turn!" She swore as she charged.
Nightmare closed her eyes. "It hurt me more than it hurt you Love, you just don't realize It."
Just as Nightmare opened her eyes, she was able to block Roxanne's wild punch and follow up kick, she then punched her in the face then grabbed her arm, spun her around quickly then threw her back. "See reason Roxanne, you don't have the full story in your mind, you remember only the hatred, but you must remember the rest, the good, and the bad." She said calmly.
Roxanne recovered and charged up her fire once more. "I will NOT hear more lies! you were born of darkness!.....why should I believe you!" She snapped.
Nightmare walked up to Roxanne calmly, she completely ignored the flames Roxanne threw at her, and the flames themselves seemed to part. "Stay back!" Roxanne shouted.
Roxanne tried everything, she even called on a crystal wolf, but it just ignored Nightmare. "Don't come any closer!" She shouted, her voice starting to crack, she then threw a fireball at the injured Lyaroa, attempting to make Nightmare leave, but the fireball did nothing.
Nightmare stood in front of Roxanne and looked her in the eye. "I was made as a conduit for you, I was created to absorb and mitigate the negative emotions and pain, I am a part of you, the part of you that you renounced, you tried to forget about me, and for that." She held out her arms.
.......And hugged Roxanne, the fox's eyes widened as she was stunned by this unexpected act. "......wh......what are you doing?....let go!" She snapped.
Nightmare released the fox and crossed her arms. "I forgive you Roxanne, but as I said, you don't know everything." She then placed a hand on Roxanne's shoulders. "You must remember the rest, and stop fighting the wrong person." She said calmly.
Roxanne growled and forced Nightmare's hand off. "I'm not fighting the wrong person!" She insisted.
Nightmare then stepped aside and grabbed Roxanne's head, she forced her to look upon the sentinel. "Look at Lyaroa!......look at her and tell me!" She said angrily. "She did not fight back against you!....even as you tore her apart, she did not fight back!" She then let go and stood between Roxanne and Lyaroa. "If you want her dead, you will have to kill me, and trust me, you won't." She stated.
Roxanne growled as she balled a fist in anger as she tried to look away, she then found herself looking at Lyaroa for a moment, she felt immediate anger, and a desire to kill.......but then she felt something different, regret, then sorrow, she felt, sorry? "I........I......." Roxanne's fire extinguished, and her eyes dimmed as she fell to the ground.
Nightmare soon felt the pain kick in, she coughed up blood and fell to the ground, she grunted and groaned in pain as she lay on the ground. "Fucking.......hell, this hurts." She said to herself as she collapsed.
_____*a few moments later*______
Estalli and her mother looked at the three. "I have to admit it Estalli, those pathetic creatures were worth something after all." The creature then approached the bodies of the three. "Computer, prepare Lyaroa for transportation." She ordered.
Estalli then sensed something nearby. "Wait, we have company." She said.
The creature looked at Estalli. "Well then, what are you waiting for?" She asked.
Estalli then summoned a long sword, resembling a katana. "Alright! come on out, and you will not be harmed!" She commanded.
No response, Estalli grumbled to herself and then teleported away to find the intruders.
The creature then looked at the three, she then noticed Lyaroa getting up slowly. "It would seem that you can't even defeat these two weaklings because of those foolish emotions." She taunted. "That will be your last mistake." The creature said.
Lyaroa looked at the creature with confusion and anger. "Why?......I finally found peace! you couldn't just leave me alone could you!?" She snapped as she stood weakly.
The creature shook her head. "Poor deluded child, you don't deserve peace for what you did, I have my duties to uphold, not even YOU can avoid justice." She said as she raised her hand. "But if you won't come quietly....." Her voice trailed off as her body changed.
_____*Estalli's point of view*_____
Estalli had just found the intruders as her mother began to change, they were hiding behind a small hill. "You?" She said in confusion.
A young filly looked up at Estalli, along with a stallion and another filly. "Estalli?" Apache's voice asked,
The three intruders were Apache, Star, and the now young Firefly, Estalli however, would not tolerate intrusion. "What are you doing here?" She demanded as she put a blade to Star's throat.
Star blinked. "To be honest, me and Apache were walking by when we saw her running out this way, so we caught up to see what was wrong, and we ended up here." He answered quickly.
Estalli narrowed her eyes. "You must leave, now! leave and forget everything you've seen and heard here!" She said with anger.
"Estalli........what's going on?" Apache asked out of fear.
Star and Firefly looked at Apache. "You know that thing?" Star asked out of shock.
Apache laughed nervously. "Um.....yea, I MAY have accidentally summoned almighty beings to our planet?" She then laughed nervously.
Estalli then looked at where her mother and the others were. "Leave now." She ordered before teleporting.
Star and the others looked over the little hill and watched as the creatures stood off, Star had a strange sense of familiarity with three of them, but the others he did not recognize. "We should do what......Estalli?......said, and just leave." Star said as he started to sneak away.
Firefly looked at Star with a shocked expression. "You can't leave!......my mom is out there!" She argued.
That sentence made Star stop, he bit his lip and looked back at the site of the previous battle, he closed his eyes and shook his head. "I'm not risking Apache's life, I'm sorry kid, but i..." He opened his eyes just to see Apache and Firefly running into the impending fight.
Star groaned and started to run after them. "Get back here you little shits!" He shouted as he chased the fillies.
______*meanwhile.*______
Lyaroa clutched her side as she struggled to breathe and stay focused, Roxanne did a massive amount of damage to her due to her weakened state, she watched as her mother revealed her true form and stood before her......floating would be more accurate.
The body of a Sentinel is slender, they have long legs that are similar to a human skeleton, they end in three pronged toes, the bodies are smooth and usually only differ by slight variants of shoulders, the arms are similar to the legs but they have four fingers, the shoulders are usually rounded, but they sometimes have small spines surrounding the shoulder blades, the head is rounded, the face is always expressionless, no mouths or noses, they don't even have ears or hair, instead, their heads vary by eye shape, the body of a Sentinel is made out of a unique crystalline metal, that is also organic so they can grow, regenerate, and repopulate.
The Sentinel's all share the same fundamental body structure, the only true way to determine the difference, are the patterns covering the bodies, the patterns are nothing special, merely a way to tell who is who, and the color of their bodies.
Lyaroa's mother has no spines on her shoulder blades, and her body pattern is very reminiscent of DNA strands, her eyes were oval shaped, and her body color was golden brown, the pattern was golden in color.
Lyaroa chuckled to herself as she stood. "Well mother, you have another sentinel, and your in your true form, I guess I really don't have much of a chance." She joked.
Her mother simply waved her hand and multiple pillars of steel surrounded Lyaroa. "If you do not resist, it will be over quickly.
Lyaroa grinned. "Now where is the fun in NOT resisting?" She asked as she slammed her fist into the ground and the pillars shattered.
Lyaroa took a quick breath and looked behind her, Estalli stood there, waiting to strike, she quickly thought on her options. 'I don't have my full power, clearly the majority of it was missing from the orb, but I am not alone, if I can heal Roxanne and Nightmare, they might even the odds.....if only slightly.' She threw her hand back and aimed at Estalli, who readied herself to dodge.
Lyaroa winked and fired a nova of red energy, Estalli and her mother were unaffected by it. "A healing wave?" Estalli asked curiously.
Lyaroa's mother quickly shouted. "Estalli! kill those two! Now!" She ordered.
Lyaroa tried to intervene, but her mother appeared in front of her and fired a beam of pure energy, forcing Lyaroa to block with her own, weaker beam.
Estalli quickly moved to Roxanne and swung down while the fox was still recovering, she was surprised however, when the fox vanished from her sight, as did Nightmare. "What the?" She asked herself.
"Sorry, but it won't be that easy." A male voice said calmly.
Estalli looked in the direction of the voice and saw a male unicorn stallion kneeling over two very confused foxes. "Who are.......wait, I know you." Estalli said as she readied her blade.
Star looked at Estalli with a grin. "Attacking a woman while she isn't in a condition to fight back.....wow." He joked as he stood up. "And here I thought you had some decency about you." He taunted.
Estalli narrowed her eyes and watched as the two fillies rushed to the others. "This is not your fight, why would you interfere?" She asked.
Star shrugged. "My idiotic sister and the other girl wanted to save these three, I didn't have a choice." He said.
Estalli then tightened her grip. "Then you will die fighting for strangers?" She asked.
Star grinned. "Heroes do stupid things, this is no different." He replied.
Lyaroa meanwhile, was losing horribly, her mother was completely overwhelming her with sheer power, she grunted as she forced out more power, barely holding on to what little power she had. "Give up you foolish girl, you are weaker than ever!" Her mother said.
"Your right on that, Butcher, but I'm not just giving up!" She shouted defiantly.
Estalli had heard enough talk, she quickly dashed forward and swung her blade at Star, to her surprise, he dodged it with ease, as though he just sidestepped it. "Missed." He taunted.
Aiming her strike once more, Estalli swung, only for the stallion to dodge again. "Close one." He taunted.
Estalli then felt an explosion on her back and she was flung forward, she recovered mid air, only to be threw to the ground by a powerful blast, she grunted and stood up, she saw Star standing there, between her and the fillies, as though he did nothing. "Are you alright? you seem to be having trouble getting up?" He asked.
Estalli focused her vision on Star. "Ah......so that's how you fight." She muttered.
Star shrugged. "Well, if anything, I don't recommend fighting me, it'll just frustrate you." He taunted.
Estalli smirked, a sight that unsettled Star. "I see your trick unicorn.......you aren't moving quickly at all, your just manipulating time to make it seem as though you were." She stated.
Star did not allow his surprise and shock show. 'Shit, this isn't good.' He then charged his horn and summoned multiple orbs of magic. "I have other methods to fight you with, I don't need time manipulation to kick your ass." He stated calmly.
Estalli took her stance once more and charged her power. "Neither do I." She stated as she charged at Star.
Star threw one orb at Estalli, sent one above then threw it, but saved the last one.
Estalli's swords sliced through the orb with ease, she sliced upwards and removed the second, anticipating the last one she swung down, destroying the third while it was underground......only to be hit with a large explosion that struck directly in front of her.
Star grinned as he stood still. "Like I said, I have many ways to fight." He said calmly.
Estalli clearly had enough as she recovered from the explosion, she teleported behind Star and swung her blade Down at Nightmare.
Star's eyes widened as he manipulated time and moved between Nightmare and Estalli, the blade cutting into him.
Estalli was shocked at this as well, she quickly grabbed Star by the throat and looked into his mind. "Star!" Apache screamed out, Estalli ignored the fillies futile attempts to strike her as she spoke. "Your mind.......it is fractured, broken, fragile, you hide behind this façade of a fearless hero, but you are the most frightened of all." She stated calmly.
Star struggled to breathe as he tried to free himself from Estalli's grip. "I.....am.....not......afraid of.......you." He defiantly declared.
Estalli stuck her blade in the ground and forced Star to kneel in front of her, she placed her left hand on his head and it glowed gold. "For your noble act.......you will be healed." She stated as she released him.
As Estalli retrieved her blade, Apache ran up to her brother, who was now motionless on the ground. "Star! big brother?.....get up!" She pleaded.
Firefly watched in shock as she witnessed the exchange, she quickly looked at Roxanne and shook her violently, trying to wake her from her trance. "Mom!.....snap out of it!" She screamed.
Estalli calmly approached Roxanne and Nightmare. "Orders are orders.......I am sorry." She said as she raised her blade.
______*meanwhile*_______
Lyaroa collapsed to the ground as her mother stood above her. "Your defiance is just as annoying as I remember, but your hubris, to assume your inferior creations could stand against a Sentinel?......that is new." She stated.
Lyaroa growled as she looked up at her mother. "They are not inferior......monster!" She attempted to punch her mother with a strong blast of energy, only to scream in pain as she felt herself be electrocuted by thousands of volts.
Lyaroa's mother sighed to herself as she placed her daughter in a thunder trap, effectively neutralizing her. "You are a fool, you fight like a child, you were taught better than that." She said.
"Wow......you really are a bitch." Said a new voice.
Lyaroa's mother sighed. "Now what?" She asked, her voice revealing her annoyance.
She looked and saw an orange unicorn mare with white and orange hair. "Let me guess.....you decided to see what was going on, even though it didn't concern you?" Asked the annoyed sentinel.
Gem, the unicorn mare, narrowed her eyes in the direction of the voice. "Hearing my best friend screaming for help Does concern me." She replied, her voice oddly dark in tone.
Lyaroa's mother's simply snapped her fingers, seeking to send the unicorn away, but it did not work. "What trickery is this?" She asked herself.
Gem grinned as her body engulfed in green flame, revealing a changeling. "Clearly, you've never dealt with my kind before." She said as her body vanished.
Lyaroa's mother looked around for signs of the changeling, but saw none, she used her powers, and saw her over by her daughter. "You were a fool to come here." She stated as she raised her left hand, energy beginning to build up.
Gem shrugged. "Maybe, but it beats watching the kids." She said as she charged her horn, and cast a spell.
Lyaroa managed to look at Gem, fighting to intense pain. "Skitter?.....how.......are you....." She tried to say.
Skitter grinned as she summoned multiple crystal bears. "Let's just say you suck at removing memories and changing species." She said as she focused on the fight.
_______*meanwhile.*_______
Firefly saw Estalli's blade swing down at Nightmare, her eyes widened as she reacted. "NOOOOO!" She screamed out.
Estalli was stunned and forced to abandon her attack as Firefly exploded into a practical thunderstorm, lightning surged around the filly and threatened to electrocute Estalli to death.
Estalli jumped away and watched as the Lightning surged and shot out towards her, she used her blade to block the Lightning, thankfully, it soon passed. "How is this possible?" She asked herself, completely unaware of that power.
Firefly breathed heavily as she looked at Estalli. "If you so much as lay a finger on my family.....I will rip your limbs off!" She shouted out with a newfound ferocity and anger.
Estalli wouldn't normally be concerned, but the filly's incredible power spike had her worried, especially as Firefly changed, her hooves turned into claws, and her teeth grew sharp, her eyes changed to slits, they gave the impression of a rabid animal.
Firefly remembered this power, but this time, instead of running away from it, she embraced it, driven to protect her mom and Nightmare.
Estalli drew her blade once again as she readied herself for Firefly's attacks. "As I said, I have orders, not even you shall stand in my way." She said as she approached, blade in hand.
Firefly growled and charged forward at surprising speed, as she got close to Estalli, she released a small lightning surge ahead of her, but also roared, shooting lightning from her mouth.
Estalli was able to dodge the initial surge, but the Lightning breath caught her by surprise, thankfully for her, she was able to surround herself with a shield that guarded against electricity.
Firefly once again stood between her family, Apache and Star, who was unconscious on the ground, and Estalli, who was ready to fight once more.
Apache was by her brothers side, watching as Firefly and Estalli fought, her mind was overwhelmed, she had thought Estalli was a good person, but she had attacked defenseless people, and even struck her brother in cold blood, but, then she said she would.......fix him?
Apache looked at her brother and shook him. "Star........please get up." She begged as a tear began to fall down her face.
A savage roar was heard, and Firefly charged wildly at Estalli, who threw a blast of energy at Firefly, who dodged by jumping over it.
Firefly swung her claws wildly trying to strike Estalli again and again, but the sentinel continued to evade her.
Estalli focused on dodging, but her thoughts were elsewhere. 'I need to get to those two before that damned healing wave finishes, but I can't do that because of this damn girl.'
Firefly noticed a weakness in Estalli's defense, a mistake where she left her side vulnerable, she took the opportunity and charged her claw with her lightning and struck, her strike connected and Estalli was soon pinned to the ground as Firefly constantly snapped her jaws at her, trying to take her throat out.
Estalli was certain that she would be taken out of the fight as Firefly managed to actually sever her arm, but as the filly pulled her claw back to strike, a white clawed hand grabbed her and stopped the attack, making Estalli very concerned yet relieved at the same time.
Firefly tried to free her arm to no avail, she reluctantly looked up and saw Roxanne standing over her and Estalli, her eyes widened and she began to breathe heavily as her eyes returned to normal. "Mom?" She said in disbelief.
Roxanne released Firefly's claw and the girl quickly jumped up to her, hugging her as tightly as she could. "It's alright Firecracker......I'm here." She said quietly.
Firefly's body returned to normal and Roxanne set her down. "Mom.....I......I." Firefly stuttered, trying to find what she wanted to say.
Roxanne smiled and knelt down, she shook Firefly's mane and stood back up. "Do me a favor, keep out of trouble." She said as she walked to where Lyaroa's mother and Skitter were fighting.
"Mom?.....what are you doing?" Firefly asked with a breaking voice.
Roxanne looked at her daughter as she paused. "Someone has to save those idiots over there......might as well be me." She said.
Firefly felt relief wash over her, she felt her doubt and fear vanish, so she smiled. "Go get em!" Firefly shouted as her mother was halfway over.
Roxanne simply gave her daughter a nod and rushed over to the fight.
Estalli meanwhile, was busy putting her arm back into its socket.
______*meanwhile*______
Skitter breathed heavily as she summoned more Crystal minions to defend herself.
Lyaroa's mother was getting tired of this by now, the changeling had already sent a small army at her, but it did little. "You cannot keep this up, your energy reserves will not last forever." She stated as she waved her hand, destroying the minions.
Skitter grunted as she fell to the ground, exhausted from constant summoning. "You are so lucky I didn't go into combat training." She said in between breaths.
Lyaroa's mother scoffed. "It matters little, I have expended little to no power and I have defeated both you and my daughter, no amount of training would have saved you." She summoned a large blade and threw it at Skitter, only for it to be blocked by a crystal covered claw.
"Now what!?" Lyaroa's mother asked out of pure frustration.
Roxanne stood between Skitter and Lyaroa, and the angered sentinel. "Miss me bitch?" She replied with a frown.
"Why do you defend that weakling?.....you have every reason to tear her apart for what she has done to you." The sentinel asked.
Roxanne looked at Lyaroa, who was barely fighting her urge to scream in pain. "Hey Migraine......hey Skittle." She teased.
Skitter would have complained about the nickname, but right now, she didn't care. "Give her hell."
"Skitter, go to Nightmare, she will need your help while she heals." Roxanne said before walking closer to Lyaroa's mother.
"Let's see how you handle someone closer to your strength." Roxanne said before calling on her Crystal armor for her arms.
Lyaroa's mother scoffed. "You are nothing more than an insignificant spec of dust, you are nowhere close to my power." She stated confidently.
Roxanne grinned. "Then why haven't you won yet?........whatever your name is." She taunted.
"An inferior creature such as you does not deserve to know my name." Lyaroa's mother stated arrogantly before summoning multiple steel blades and throwing them at Roxanne with her powers.
Not only did Roxanne deflect the blades, but she managed to throw some back, all the while advancing forward.
Lyaroa's mother continued to throw blade after blade at Roxanne, but nothing seemed to halt the fox, she then summoned walls of spikes and unleashed novas of energy.
Roxanne's armor easily defended against the spikes, and the novas were dealt with just by leaping over them.
Soon enough, Roxanne reached her target, and threw a strong punch at Lyaroa's mother, who did not seem bothered or even concerned by the action.
Roxanne's punch collided and staggered the sentinel, even drawing some blood, she quickly lept back and braced for a counterattack.
Lyaroa's mother seemed to be stunned, she reached her hand up and pulled it back, her anger grew as she saw the bluish blood. "How is this possible?" She asked herself as she looked at Roxanne.
"What a shock, you get hit hard enough, you bleed." Roxanne taunted as she ignited her legs and arms.
Lyaroa's mother's eyes glew golden and she rose into the air. "I know not how you can harm a sentinel you impudent mortal!......but you shall pay for your actions in blood!" Her voice boomed as her hand glowed brightly.
Roxanne looked around in shock as they were all transported to a seemingly different dimension. "You should be honored to even see this place!" Lyaroa's mother shouted.
The area they were in was a large circular chamber with multiple floors and low walls, they appeared to be in outer space, but it was different, there were no stars, just the empty blackness with golden mist filling the void, Lyaroa's mother waved her hands and blades were summoned, they were enormous, they were over fifty feet large, and were twenty feet wide, they surrounded the area like a wall, partially obscuring their view of the outside.
Lyaroa's mother clenched her hand into a fist and Lyaroa screamed as she was thrown into a wall near the apparent ceiling, she screamed as the Lightning intensified immensely.
Skitter blinked as she and the others were teleported to a small dome like area, she watched as Estalli got back up and started to approach them with her blade drawn.
In one swift motion, Skitter threw up a defensive magic dome around the group with all of her remaining strength. "Do you think that shield will stop me?" Estalli asked.
Skitter breathed heavily as the dark green dome shimmered, she collapsed as the barrier took its toll. "It.......will hold." She said with little to no breath.
Roxanne looked back at the group, seeing Estalli approach made her blood boil, but Lyaroa's mother would instantly strike if she ran to help them, she turned her focus back as a series of blades were sent after her, she dodged them in the nick of time and threw a quick fireball at the sentinel.
Estalli swung her blade at the barrier, the shield fell apart instantly as she approached the downed changeling. "You should not have interfered." She said as she raised her blade.
Skitter grit her teeth as she looked up at Estalli, in one last defiant act, she cast a spell, it was weak, but for a small blinding spell, it did surprise Estalli long enough for her to back away.
Estalli however, recovered immediately, she quickly charged forward and held onto Skitter's throat, she readied her blade to plunge deep into the changeling.
Skitter grunted as she felt Estalli grip her neck, she then screamed in agony as the blade penetrated her carapace, she no longer had the strength to fight back.
Estalli was about to twist the blade when she was punched hard in the face and then she felt a strong kick to her lower chest.
Estalli slid across the floor and she got up, she saw who attacked her.
Nightmare breathed calmly as she removed the blade from Skitter, the changeling screamed and clutched at her wound helplessly as she cried in pain. "Sorry.......not good at healing." Nightmare said quietly.
Nightmare walked forward and stood against Estalli, she looked down at the floor. "What kind of monster are you?.......you attack those who cannot fight back, you try to take a mother away from her child." She clenched her left hand into a fist. "You will be lucky if I let you keep a limb, let alone live." She said as she looked up.
Estalli summoned her blade once again as she faced off against Nightmare. "Orders are orders, I will obey them before my personal honor." She replied as Nightmare threw a stone shard into her chest.
Estalli removed the shard without a fuss. "You cannot kill me, I know that for a fact, you are weak from your ordeal, and you have been seperated from your host for too long." She stated.
Nightmare breathed and looked at her left hand, she looked back at Star, Apache, Skitter and Firefly, she then looked at Estalli. "You don't know anything about me." She said as she felt a surge of power and life course through her veins.
Estalli looked on in confusion and surprise as she felt her oppenent become empowered. "Intriguing, you revitalized yourself." She said as she began to charge.
Nightmare's green eyes shone for a moment as she grinned, she suddenly felt her old strength return to her, and as Estalli went to swing her blade, she threw more strength into her jump, she lept up and as she evaded the strike, she threw a powerful blast of energy at Estalli.
The sentinel dodged the blast by rolling to the side, but Nightmare had anticipated this, she already had a blast on the way.
Estalli threw her blade up and she sliced the blast in half. "That tactic will not work on me." She stated.
Nightmare landed and stood up calmly, she and Estalli stood off once more. "We will be fighting for some time it would seem." She said.
Estalli readied her blade. "A worthy opponent, one who can fight me on equal terms, I have been waiting for this." She said as she felt a tinge of excitement.
Roxanne removed her Crystal armor as she readied herself for another charge, so far, her attacks had little effect, as she could not get close, but she had an idea that may turn the tide in her favor.
After Lyaroa's mother threw another barrage of blades towards Roxanne, the fox unleashed a massive stream of flames before charging once again.
Lyaroa's mother sighed, Roxanne had done this before, but it had not worked before. "You should just accept judgement, and stop delaying the inevitable." She said as she threw up walls of blades and threw more blades to defend herself.
Roxanne did not stop, as the swords missed her, they vanished, just before Roxanme got close to Lyaroa's mother, she grabbed one of the blades, and threw it at the sentinel.
Lyaora's mother simply floated, unconcerned as the blade evaporated before it got close. "My own attacks cannot harm me, but by all means, go ahead and attempt it you ignorant mortal." She said as she threw another barrage.
Roxanne grinned as she channeled a massive amount of power into her right arm, she dodged and reflected the blades as best she could, she got cuts and gashes each barrage, but she simply ignored the pain. "I'll do better than attempt to harm you.....I'll injure you to the point you need more power to defeat me." She declared as she unleashed her attack.
Lyaroa's mother was surprised at first, but unimpressed all the same, she watched as a massive dragon formed entirely of flame charged for her.
Roxanne quickly moved as she guided the dragon, having it put as much pressure on as it could.
When Lyaroa's mother defeated the dragon a few moments later, she was caught off guard as Roxanne assaulted her from behind with Life and Death.
Lyaroa's mother soon released a nova of dangerous energy, Roxanne was able to dodge it as the sentinel looked at her, rage clear in her eyes. "You arrogant creature!.......you will suffer for even thinking to harm my kind!" She shouted.
Roxanne simply grinned as she readied her swords. "I am not arrogant, I know when I cannot defeat someone In battle, but I have angered you, and that will be enough." She countered.
Lyaroa's mother raised her hand and summoned hundreds of blades, they all sparked with golden electricity, the power radiating from them was strong.
Roxanne prepared to dodge as the blades were soon thrown rapidly towards her, she managed to deflect one with her blades, but they rest got close......and promptly exploded, sending metal shards everywhere, she screamed in pain as the shards impaled her body and tore her arms apart so much that she was forced to lose her swords.
Lyaroa's mother seemed to calm down as Roxanne fell to the ground, her body torn apart beyond belief, she summoned one more blade and aimed it. "Perhaps now you will learn, you cannot stand against me, nor any Sentinel." She stated.
Roxanne coughed up blood as she slowly looked up at Lyaroa's mother. "Go on......finish it." She said through the pain.
Lyaroa's mother then threw the blade, aiming directly at the fox's heart, she then looked to Lyaroa, and began to float closer.
Roxanne looked down at the floor, her vision hazy and her strength failing, she smiled as she closed her eyes. 'Firefly, I'm sorry, I tried my best.' She thought as the blade neared her.
The blade began to pierce Roxanne's skin, and just as it began to go deeper, time seemed to slow down, and a clawed hand removed the blade and threw it back.
Lyaroa's mother appeared to be confused as the blade disintegrated in front of her, she looked back and saw an unfamiliar wolf standing in front of Roxanne. "And who are you?" She asked as she floated back to her previous location.
The wolf took up a defensive stance and let his gaze wander to stare at her. "I am Fang, and I'm not going to let you kill my daughter." He declared. "Who are you?" He asked in turn.
Lyaroa's mother scoffed. "There is no reason for you to know my name, you shall be dead soon regardless." He said as she once again summoned her blades.
Fang looked to Lyaroa, the sentinel completely trapped by the Lightning trap. "Lyaroa, tell me her name." He said calmly.
Lyaroa screamed in pain and fought to look at Fang, she could not believe the stupidity of the question, but chose to answer. "Galesh." She forced out.
Fang watched as Galesh clenched her hand into a fist, and Lyaroa's bindings intensified, causing her to scream loudly in pain.
Fang looked at Roxanne. "Get to Firefly, your just going to get in my way." He ordered.
Roxanne coughed and spat out blood, she shakily stood up and clutched one of her wounds, she forced herself to walk away, pain shooting through her legs. "Kick her ass." She said, forcing herself to speak.
______*meanwhile*______
Nightmare lept back and threw a blast of energy at Estalli, who then sliced it in half with her blade, the two stood off once more, neither one had budged in the entire time they had battled.
Nightmare took a breath and grinned. "We seemed to be evenly matched love." She pointed out.
Estalli nodded slowly, her gaze never leaving the fox. "Agreed.......but neither one of us shall relent." She added.
Nightmare relaxed her stance and held her left hand out. "You seem to understand honor, to some degree.......as such, the winner shall determine the fate of the other, do you agree?" She asked.
Estalli gripped her blade tightly, and a subtle smile formed. "Agreed.....your terms?" She asked.
Nightmare's eyes glowed dark green and she summoned a dark red and dark green steel blade, it was long and could be considered demonic. "The first one to yield or die loses." She challenged.
Estalli took a different stance, and her smile grew slightly. "I accept." She said.
The two charged at eachother and their blades clashed, much to Estalli's surprise, Nightmare's sword did not split in two, instead, it released a powerful nova of shadowy energy, blowing Estalli back, and giving Nightmare the chance she needed.
Estalli's eyes widened as Nightmare vanished before her eyes, she quickly shoved her blade into the ground and spun around, she spotted Nightmare swinging her blade, she swung her own blade at an angle, expecting to slice Nightmare in half, she also unleashed a sudden blast of powerful energies at the fox, intent on annihilating her.
Instead, she was greeted with thin air as Nightmare vanished completely, Estalli was too late to react as she heard a shift in the floor behind her, she tried to swing, but was greeted by a powerful explosion and a strong kick to the head, sending her tumbling.
Nightmare breathed calmly as she walked forward, Estalli had lost her grip on her blade, and was now trying to stand, she threw a punch at Estalli's chest, forcing the sentinel to the ground, she held the blade to her throat. "Yield!" She demanded.
Estalli blinked as she stared at Nightmare in astonishment. "How.......how did you?-"
"Yield!" Nightmare insisted as she pressed the blade even closer.
Estalli closed her eyes and looked away, she grit her teeth, but she relented. "I......I yield." She said.
Nightmare withdrew her blade and stared down at Estalli. "Then I shall decide your fate.......you will assist us in forcing the other sentinel from this world, back to where she came from, and you shall never harm us again." She stated.
Estalli recovered her blade silently. "I.......cannot, I cannot harm my mother." She said.
Nightmare narrowed her eyes. "Then you will assist in another way, you will aid me in freeing my friend, that will be enough." She stated.
Estalli sighed as she dispelled her blade. "What......would you have of me?" She asked.
Nightmare looked up at the battle above, Fang was holding the line effectively, but she knew they would need Lyaroa for this fight, she then looked back at the protective dome, Skitter was still unconscious, Roxanne was badly injured, Firefly was busy caring for her mother and friend, and Apache was frozen in shock.
"I have a plan." She looked at Estalli. "How effective are you at hiding your presence?" She asked.
Estalli blinked at the unusual question, but she answered. "I am a sword wraith, an elite assassin, I am supposed to be stealthy." She replied.
Nightmare looked at Lyaroa. "You are going to free Lyaroa, so she can fight your mother." She said.
Estalli looked at the protective barrier, which was falling. "Lyaroa is not at full strength, she is missing of piece of herself, if you wish for her to win this fight.....she will need to be whole." She stated.
Nightmare looked at Estalli. "What is she missing?" She asked,
Estalli placed a hand over her heart. "A piece of her heart, I......hid it away, not wishing for her to be full strength should she return......until she has that piece of herself, her power will be diminished." She replied.
"And......how will we return her heart to her?" She asked.
Estalli looked at Apache. "The girl, she has the piece, but she doesn't know it yet." She stated.
Nightmare looked at the sentinel. "Estalli, this is your part of the plan, follow my instructions to the letter, and you and your mother may survive, you are to free Lyaroa and return her heart to her, afterwards, you are to take no action against myself, Roxanne, Fang, Lyaroa, or the others, in short, you are to do nothing." She stated before walking to the failing barrier.
Estalli looked away and grit her teeth, she mentally berated herself for failing her mother, and for losing in battle to Nightmare. 'I am a sentinel, the same species as Lyaroa, the one who created them all, how could I lose?' She pondered.
As Estalli was left with her thoughts, Nightmare approached the group and knelt down. "Roxanne, how are you?" She asked.
Roxanne grunted and looked at her, she pulled a shard out of her arm and exclaimed in pain. "Horrible......tending my wounds.......you?" She asked through the pain.
Nightmare looked at Estalli, then at Apache. "I have a plan to end this, but I need Apache." She said before standing and walking over to the girl.
Apache noticed Nightmare approaching and back up on reflex. "Stay away from me!" She said in a panic.
Nightmare sighed as she set Guardian aside, not noticing that the blade vanished immediately, she knelt down close to Apache. "Apache........you may not recognize me, but I am Night Frenzy, and I'm a friend to your brother." She said.
Apache shivered as she held her arms. "No......your not Frenzy, she was a Thestral, your one of those monsters." She muttered.
Nightmare shook her head. "Only two people know this Apache.......but you once told me of something you and Star Shifter did, years back, you and he switched bodies, and when you did, you used your newfound power to set up a massive prank in his room." She said, causing Apache's eyes to widen in realization.
Apache let tears out as she shivered. "I......I wasn't meant to see this kind of stuff, I just wanted to spend time with my brother today........and now he's gone." She choked out.
Nightmare sighed to herself. "Apache, Fang......the wolf fighting out there? he IS your brother, they are the same person, the only difference being species." She tried to reason.
Apache looked out to Fang, she watched as he dodged blades and threw some back, she did notice something familiar though, a look in his eye, one that screamed confidence, it was the same look that Star always had, she looked at Nightmare. "What do you want?" She asked, now just wishing all of this to end, praying it was just a nightmare.
"You found a rock, did you not?.....that rock is part of my friend Lyaroa, part of her heart, that is.......I need it to help her." Nightmare said.
Apache looked to her side, she didn't know why, but she was still holding onto it, she blinked and looked at Nightmare. "How do I know I can trust you?.......your all probably just going to leave me to die anyway." She asked, her mind going to a dark place.
Nightmare shook her head. "We may not be the same species Apache, but that doesn't define a person, we changed and lost our memories so we could start fresh, so that we would be free to act as we saw fit, while not having the burden of the past on our minds." She explained.
Apache wordlessly passed the heart piece over. "Do what you want, my brother's gone, I don't care anymore." She said blankly, fighting back more tears.
Nightmare carefully took the heart piece. "When this is over, you need to talk with Fang, he may look different, but he is still your brother." She stated before standing and walking away.
______*meanwhile*______
Fang dodged another volley, and due to his innate abilities, he was able to dodge the explosions from the swords, he looked at Galesh and spoke. "Call me curious, but why are you here?.....what is this justice that your going on about?" He asked.
Galesh paused as she surrounded herself with a barrier and summoned more blades. "Lyaroa committed an atrocious crime back home, she murdered a sentinel, and then fled her own home." She answered easily.
Fang narrowed his eyes. "Then why send you? her own mother to capture her.........unless it's to make up for a mistake?" He prodded as he breathed.
Galesh seemed to be disturbed by the question as she summoned more blades. "I have made no mistake, she slew a sentinel in cold blood, and I know her powers, it is simple logic." She replied.
Fang noticed something odd, a pause in the Lightning snare, he was able to catch a glimpse of Lyaroa's eyes, they appeared to be, sad?
Fang looked at Galesh. "Who did she kill?" He asked.
Galesh narrowed her eyes and filled the chamber with blades that crackled with power. "........She is attempting to free herself, she will do anything to silence my next words." She spoke.
Fang watched as Galesh moved and gripped Lyaroa's head, forcing her daughter to look at her. "Lyaroa, former sword wraith, is guilty of murdering Huralo Juzor........her father." She stated, enhancing her voice so all could hear.
Fang's eyes widened as he looked at Lyaroa, he saw the tears forming in her eyes, he could sense the sorrow, from these, he knew that this was the truth.
______*Meanwhile*______
Nightmare looked at Estalli and took a breath. "Is she correct?" She asked.
Estalli shrugged solemnly. "I.....don't know, I wasn't old enough to remember things accurately at the time, but that was how I heard it from everyone, they all said the same thing." She answered.
Nightmare sighed and looked at the heart piece, she then looked at Estalli. "What Lyaroa did in the past is of no consequence to me, she is my friend, her past is her business." She handed the piece over. "I care not for your reasons, you were following orders, but now, you will follow this order, free Lyaroa from her bonds and return the last piece of her heart, when this is done, you are to take no further action in this fight." She stated.
Estalli looked at Nightmare with a curious expression. "Why not do this yourself?.......you have no reason to suspect that I will assist you, yet here you are." She asked.
Nightmare crossed her arms. "I am wagering that your survival instinct is stronger than your obedience, I have proven I can kill you.....do you truly think you could survive Lyaroa?" She countered.
Estalli sighed to herself as she looked to her mother, seeing her battle Fang. "I never thought I would be forced to betray my mother, of every scenario, this was not one I had foreseen." She said as she vanished from sight.
At this, Nightmare quickly ran to Fang, seeking to assist him.
_______*meanwhile*_______
Galesh was growing impatient as her fight against Fang went on. 'These mortals are pests, no matter what I do, another seems to take their place, and where is Estalli?....she should have slain those pests by now.'
Fang was able to slip past her defenses every now and then, but unlike Roxanne, he was unable to harm her with his strikes.
Galesh was able to finally injure Fang, or so she thought, the blade that had impaled him was pulled out quickly, revealing no damage.
Seeing that her current tactic led to a stalemate, Galesh waved her hand and summoned orbs of energy that surrounded her. "If physical damage will not injure you, then I shall fight differently." She stated calmly as she unleashed barrages of energy.
Fang was completely caught off guard as the energy was able to hit him instantly, not even his time manipulation worked, so he just had to bear the pain as long as he could.
Galesh fired wave after wave at Fang as the wolf tried and failed to dodge, it was almost saddening at how pathetic it was.
Galesh watched as Fang shakily stood up after a particularly nasty blast, she clenched her fist and the orbs started spinning rapidly around her, the wolf would not be able to force himself to stand after this attack.
Then came the other fox, she did not jump in, she did not make a surprise attack, she simply walked up calmly, holding something in her hand. "You would abandon your friends to Estalli's wrath?" Galesh said in surprise.
Nightmare held out the object she held, she then dropped it on the ground, where Galesh spotted it, and she felt overwhelming rage overwhelm her.
It was Estalli's severed head, it was bloody and battered, but it was her.
Galesh roared and hundreds if not thousands of orbs appeared in the room, they were all spinning faster and faster, and in one swift motion, Galesh threw them at the fox and the wolf, they all detonated and completely obliterated the nearby walls.
Galesh simply floated, sne formed a fist in her right hand and felt despair take hold, but she stopped it, she felt life in front of her, she looked at where Fang and Nightmare had been, and she was shocked to discover they were unharmed
Nightmare raised an eyebrow. "Wow......anger issues?" She said as the severed head in front of her turned into a rock. "I thought you would see through the illusion, but I guess not." She said as she gathered energy in her hands.
Galesh realized that she was simply tricked by an illusion, but she recognized the attack immediately, Nightmare was preparing a powerful beam of energy, she countered by quickly firing her own, seeking to annihilate the fox quickly.
Nightmare however, was able to fire her beam at Galesh, the beams collided and powerful shockwaves erupted from the center.
Fang braced as he felt powerful winds threatening to throw him away from the battle. "Nightmare! are you insane!? she'll overpower you in an instant!" He shouted.
To his surprise, Nightmare simply looked over at him and winked, her eyes telling him that she had a plan.
As Galesh poured more power into the beam, it moved closer and closer to Nightmare, eventually it reached her, and Nightmare vanished into thin air.
Galesh ceased her assault and let her power return for a moment. "Foolish fox, if a sentinel could not defeat me, what hope could she have had?" She asked no one in particular.
Fang looked at Galesh, ready to fight her once again, but he was soon thrown aside with a wave of a hand, he crashed into a wall and was soon bound by a lightning trap.
Galesh spoke calmly, though her voice was one of annoyance. "You inferior beings......so overconfident, so sure of your power, believing nothing is above you." She narrowed her eyes as she summoned an orb right in front of Fang. "But then you come face to face with a God, and you fall apart in an instant." She said as the orb began to spin.
Fang looked at the orb and then at Galesh out of defiance. "If nothing else, you did better than I expected." Galesh said calmly.
Galesh detonated the orb, obliterating Fang in an instant, she turned her attention to the group that was still recovering, she summoned more orbs and prepared to annihilate them just as easily.
But she soon felt something, a sudden power spike from nearby, Galesh looked to her daughter, expecting to see her still caught in the trap, but her eyes widened as she felt the sheer power eminating from her.
Lyaroa was free, and she looked angry. "How are you free?.....nothing could break those bonds!" Galesh questioned.
Lyaroa looked up at her mother as she let out a calm breath. "I am going to give you ONE chance, to leave, leave this place, never come looking for me again." She stated calmly, surprising her mother.
Galesh scoffed as she looked down upon her daughter. "You forget your place Lyaroa, you forget who gave you that power." She replied.
Lyaroa's narrowed her eyes. "Oh yes, I had almost forgotten that torture, the pain, the agony, the despair." She spoke with clear hatred for the next word. "The betrayal." She growled as she raised her hand, clenched it into a fist, and threw it down, slamming the ground.
Galesh was shocked as she was violently forced to the ground, as she stood up, she attempted to float, but was unable, she looked at Lyaroa and fired a powerful beam of energy, in retaliation.
Lyaroa simply fired one back and spoke. "You are not welcome in my world, butcher." She spoke out of hatred. "You have no power here!" She stated as her beam easily forced Galesh back, she moved incredibly quickly and uppercut her mother on her chin, she followed up by kicking her in the back, and then slamming her to the ground with her fist.
Galesh coughed, Lyaroa took a few steps away, she forced herself to stand and she spoke. "Until now, I had no reason to reveal my true power." Galesh said.
Lyaroa and her mother once again fired beams of energy at each other, the sheer power thrown in was enough to disintegrate an entire city.
Lyaroa once again struggled as her mother poured her power into the beam, seeking to comepletly destroy her, but instead of considering the possibilities, Lyaroa began to laugh.
Galesh was confused as Lyaroa laughed, she threw more power into her beam to try and defeat Lyaroa, but it only served to make Lyaroa laugh even more. "What is so funny!?.....I am going to destroy you!" She shouted.
Lyaroa grinned as she stared at her mother. "Tell me butcher, have you noticed how powerful my friends are?" She asked calmly, the beam then reached a sudden stalemate.
Galesh scoffed. "They are weaklings, not even fit to lay eyes upon us." She replied arrogantly.
"And yet......they managed to overpower Estalli, your daughter in battle........now put this in your mind, they are only six people, on a planet of billions." She started as she equalized the beam.
Galesh tried but was unable to push the beam forward, she needed to call on the rest of her power. "Silence!......you are going to face justice for your crimes, and that is final!" She screamed out as she forced almost all of her power into the beam.
"Take this into account butcher." Lyaroa said easily. "You are on ONE planet, there are millions out there.......and I have created thousands upon thousands of worlds, each with millions of planets." She continued.
Galesh's eyes widened as Lyaroa casually pushed the beam towards her. "So, let's see how much power I get for reclaiming all that was mine from the dead worlds......more than enough to knock you out of your, 'inferior beings' power level." She commented as the beam slowly moved to Galesh.
"Now, let's take power from all of the dead planets on every world." Lyaroa said, closing her eyes.
Galesh groaned as the strain grew immensely. "No......no!" She strained to say.
Lyaroa then opened her eyes. "Now, I will take power from EVERY living thing on every world I have created." She said calmly.
And just like that, the beam collided with Galesh, sending her flying into a wall, she looked up and watched as Lyaroa walked forward, all of her injuries healing themselves, and soon, she had no scars, no burn marks, no scratches or cuts, she was completely healed. "How......how is this possible?" Galesh asked as she struggled to stay awake.
Lyaroa spoke calmly. "You called us world builders weak, pointless, but I saw the truth, we create life, we create beings that surprise even ourselves, I have lived among them, I know what it is like to see the world through their eyes, but not you......you never felt the hardships they face, nor the strength they obtain when it matters." Lyaroa said as she held a hand out from her side.
Galesh spat as she spoke. "Go ahead then......finish it, go and live among your barbaric 'friends' more Sentinel's will come, and they will not be as lenient as I was." She forced out before falling unconscious.
Lyaroa snapped her fingers and Guardian was in her hands, she held the blade to Galesh's throat and moved to finish the job with one quick thrust.
"Sister no!" Shouted a voice.
Lyaroa looked behind her and saw Estalli holding her blade to Lyaroa's back. "I am not your sister Estalli, this butcher lost the right to call herself my mother when she turned me into a sword wraith......so put that toothpick away and step back." She warned.
Estalli gulped and tightened her grip. "If you kill her, you will never be free, killing a council member is one of the greatest crimes, don't give the Sentinel's a reason to send an army after you, our brother as well, he will never stop hunting you." She said.
Lyaroa raised an eyebrow at that, she then looked at Galesh, she stared for a few moments before huffing. "Whatever, she can rot for all I care." She said as she sent Guardian away.
Estalli lowered her blade and walked to Galesh. "I......I will send her home, the ship is ready as it is." She said.
Lyaroa waved her hand and they were all back in Equestria, she looked at Estalli. "Get that butcher off of my world." She ordered.
Lyaroa looked over at the others, Roxanne was fully healed and Firefly seemed happy, Apache was busy talking with Fang, who Lyaroa had saved at the last second, Nightmare was talking with Skitter, at the sight of it all, Lyaroa smiled. "The gang is back together." She muttered.
______*meanwhile*_______
Estalli sighed. "Computer, set a course for the Forge, mother will need the med bay until she arrives." She said.
"Forgive me for being so rude as to ask lady Estalli.......but you sound as though you are not coming with?" The computer asked.
Estalli looked out from the ship and into Equestria. "I.......I have something I need to do, I will get back my own way." She replied before leaving the ship.
"Destination, Forge of the Void, time to arrive, twelve days." The computer said before flying off.
Estalli looked to the others and took a breath, she walked over, hoping this wasn't a bad idea.
______*a few minutes later*______
Lyaroa sighed as she looked out into the fields, she had a lot on her mind right now, but the most prominent concern she had right now, was that Estalli was approaching her. "Why are you still here?" Lyaroa asked calmly.
Estalli stopped approaching when she was four feet away. "I......I want to apologize for my part in this, I thought this would be a simple retrieval mission, I didn't think mother would let this get out of hand." She said.
Lyaroa looked at Estalli. "Let me get one thing straight, that butcher is not my mother, you are not my sister, I have no siblings." She started, before Estalli could speak, she continued. "Furthermore, if you truly are sorry for what you did, I am not the one you need to speak too." She said flatly.
Estalli winced at Lyaroa's harsh words, but she also knew she was correct. "I........I'll leave you alone." She said before vanishing.
Lyaroa sighed to herself as she placed her hand over her chest, feeling a sharp pain growing. "What the hell is this?" She asked herself quietly.
______*some time later, 4:00 PM*_______
Roxanne looked over at Estalli, who was sitting on a hill by herself, lost in thought, she had been like this for hours, she shook her head and walked up.
Roxanne walked up and sat down next to Estalli. "I'm surprised your here, you have every reason to want to kill me." Estalli said.
Roxanne shrugged. "And you had every reason to try and kill me, besides, you looked like you needed someone to talk to." She replied.
Estalli sighed as she looked at Roxanne. "I'm sorry for trying to kill you, I had my orders, even though I didn't approve." She said apologetically.
Roxanne said nothing at first as the two looked out to the fields, a few minutes later though, Roxanne spoke. "She didn't mean it you know." She said.
Estalli looked at Roxanne. "What are you talking about?" She asked.
"Lyaroa......she didn't truly mean what she said." Roxanne answered.
"How would you know?" Estalli asked.
Roxanne chuckled. "I was in love with the Migraine for years, I think I know her by now......she just needs time to sort things out." She replied.
Estalli blinked in confusion. "Migraine?" She asked curiously.
Roxanne shrugged. "The first thing she ever did with me was give me a migraine, hence the name." She replied.
Estalli looked and saw Lyaroa talking with Skitter, she blinked in confusion. "When I came along for this mission, I had hoped to learn about her, to know and understand my lost sister, but now that I'm here, I can't help but wonder If I made a mistake." She said.
Roxanne reached her left hand out and slapped Estalli in the back of the head. "Ah!" Estalli rubbed the back of her head and looked at Roxanne in confusion. "What was that for?" She asked.
"Dont think like that, the only mistake you made was pissing Nightmare off." Roxanne stated as she placed her hand on her leg.
"She's part of you, isn't she?" Estalli asked.
Roxanne nodded. "Yea, Nightmare used to be part of me, the being I created in my mind to act like a lightning rod, she was supposed to block out the negative, specifically my old nightmares." She replied easily,
Estalli looked at Nightmare. "How did she become sentient?......it seems like she is a seperate entity, not just a mental barrier." She asked.
Roxanne shrugged and shifted her posture to a kneel as she looked out to the vast fields. "I have no clue how Nightmare became what she is, it just happened, oh well, nothing I can do about it." She said.
Estalli looked at Roxanne. "You think they're pissed?" She asked.
Roxanne nodded. "Nightmare?......probably not, Fang?........most likely.......Firefly? Definitely." She answered.
"You think any of them will try to kill me?" Estalli asked curiously.
Roxanne chuckled as she patted Estalli on the back. "I wish I knew, but I wouldn't worry about it, we mostly fight in self defense, so you shouldn't be too concerned." She said as she stood up and walked off.
What Roxanne did not notice as she walked away however, was that Estalli had clutched her chest due to a throbbing pain.
______*by the group*______
Fang looked at Skitter who was busy pacing. "So how did you avoid getting the memory wipe and race change?" He asked.
Skitter shrugged. "Like I told Lyaroa, she is bad at that stuff, when she tried to change me, it didn't really work, guess she didn't know enough to change me." She replied.
Nightmare looked at Skitter. "So, you remember everything?" She asked.
Skitter nodded. "Yes, sadly." She replied.
They heard footsteps approaching, they saw Lyaroa walking up to them. "Can we go home now?" Skitter asked irritably.
Lyaora grinned. "Just as irritable as before I see......and I'm not stopping you." She replied.
Skitter huffed and locked eyes with the Sentinel. "And my son?.....what about Garth?" She asked.
Lyaroa breathed and rubbed her eyes. "Skitter, how about we get settled back in, THEN we get Garth back?" She suggested.
Skitter muttered something under her breath and went back to pacing.
Fang looked at Apache, and then at Lyaroa. "If I may, can you do something for me?" He started.
Lyaroa nodded. "Of course, name it." She said.
"Can you give me the ability to change between this body and my unicorn body?.....it'll be easier to get things back to some semblance of normal that way." Fang asked.
Lyaroa snapped her fingers. "Done......it works by your will, whenever you wish to change, just say so in your mind." She replied.
Fang looked at Apache. "Come on, let's get back to Ponyville, I don't want Spark to think something bad happened to us." He said before starting to walk.
Apache just nodded silently and followed Fang back home.
Lyaroa looked at Nightmare. "Ok Nightmare, your turn." She said.
Nightmare crossed her arms. "As pleasant as Roxie's mind is to live in, I happen to like being free." She stated.
"Then what do you want me to do?" Lyaora asked.
Nightmare held up three fingers. "First, I want you to make it so I don't need to fuse back with Roxie to survive, second, I would like to go back to being Night Frenzy, that was far more enjoyable than this." She then held only one finger up. "Lastly, I want you to heal me." She stated.
Lyaroa blinked and raised an eyebrow, the first two requests were simple, but the third one confused her. "What do you mean?.....heal you?" She asked curiously.
Nightmare sighed sadly. "Have you ever stopped to ask yourself why Night Frenzy was so enthusiastic about kids?" She asked.
Lyaroa bit her tongue before answering. "You can't have kids......am I right?" She asked.
Nightmare nodded. "I found out several years ago, during a visit to the hospital.....so, can you fix it?" She asked.
Lyaroa nodded and snapped her fingers, changing Nightmare back into Night Frenzy. "Stay her for a moment alright?" She asked before looking at Firefly. "Do you want anything?" She asked.
Firefly looked at her necklace and smiled. "Na.....I'm fine." She said.
Lyaora nodded and noticed Roxanne walking over. "Hey Firecracker." She greeted after meeting her halfway.
Roxanne nodded. "Migraine." She replied.
Lyaroa walked with Roxanne back to the group. "Do you want me to make any changes for you Roxie?" She asked.
Roxanne tapped her chin I'm thought. "Well......not really, I mean, I'm pretty sure Nightmare and me need to get back to Canterlot for whatever crap we need to deal with there." She said.
Lyaroa grinned. "Not to worry, I can send the two of you back, making it as though you never left." She said.
Roxanne smirked. "Well, I guess I wouldn't mind fooling around with you a little bit." She teased.
Lyaora laughed and ruffled Roxxane's hair playfully. "Slow it down would you, no need to rush things." She replied.
Roxanne rolled her eyes. "So, I'm assuming that you gave up on that rule you made a while back?" She asked.
Lyaroa shrugged. "Not quite, after all of this is said and done, I'll be leaving things alone, but I'm not going to just let a world ending event occur again, that's for sure." She replied.
Roxxane looked up at the sky. "Hey Lyaroa." She said.
"Hmm?"
Roxanne grinned and looked at Lyaroa rather suggestively. "Maybe we could.......get together somewhere alone, have some fun?" She offered.
Lyaroa looked at Roxanne and tapped her forehead. "Don't go teasing me Roxie, it's rude, besides, you usually just ask for sex, or have you forgotten?" She asked.
Roxanne wordlessly looked away and said nothing out of embarrassment. "You've gone soft on me Roxie." Lyaroa teased.
"Shut up Migraine." The fox said, elbowing Lyaroa's side.
______*a few minutes later*______
Lyaroa approached Estalli, who was still keeping her distance from the others, not that Lyaroa blamed her. "Estalli." She said calmly.
Estalli looked at Lyaroa. "What is it?" She asked.
Lyaroa motioned to the others. "We are heading home, you should probably do that as well." She stated.
After a few moments of silence, Estalli spoke. "I'm sorry for my part in all of this, I know you said that you aren't the one I should apologize too, but still." She paused and then continued, as Lyaroa listened.
"When I volunteered for this mission, it was so that i could learn about my sister......what she was like, if the rumors were true, that sort of stuff." Estalli explained.
Lyaroa turned to face the others. "Well, you have your chance to learn, and maybe, one day, we can be sisters, but for now, acquaintances will suffice." She stated before walking back.
Estalli thought on Lyaroa's words for a moment before teleporting away.
Lyaroa however, had a small grin on her face as she walked to her friends. "This time, things will be different." She said in her mind.
_______*later that night, Ponyville, Night Frenzy and Roxanne's house.*_______
Roxanne was once again in her Pegasus body, like Fang, she had asked for the ability to change at will.
Right now, she was in her bed, deep in thought, at hers and Night Frenzy's request, Lyaora had altered the timeline, she had made it as though the Celestia had never considered bringing the Shadowbolts back.
She felt happy, she truly did, she had Firefly back, even though she was staying with her psychotic girlfriend at the moment, she was her old self again, which was awesome, she had Night Frenzy as a sister, which was great on its own.
However, she still held doubts in her mind, she was skeptical about Estalli, she also felt a ridiculous fear that Firefly would hate her, but that was probably just the parental fear returning.
Roxanne closed her eyes as she slowly drifted off to sleep, hoping that these thoughts would be gone by morning.
______*meanwhile*_______
Lyaroa stood in the room of Umbrea, the persona she had taken on for over twenty years, and she found herself......sad.
While Umbrea was simply an extension of herself, Lyaroa truly did like her, she was strong, beautiful, confident and caring.
Lyaroa sighed as she snapped her fingers, a mirror appeared in front of her, she saw Umbrea staring back at her, she smiled as she dismissed the mirror. "I only wish that none of this had happened." She muttered to herself.
Lyaroa walked to the bed and sat down, she looked out the window and saw the moon shining bright, she smiled as she laid down. "I'm just glad to be back.....I don't know why I ever wiped our memories in the first place." She said as she closed her eyes.
______*meanwhile*______
Fang had his arms crossed as he looked outside, earlier, Spark had revealed that he remembered everything from the beginning, and that he knew that Star Shifter was Fang immediately.
Fang also had a long talk with Apache, the filly was conflicted, she claimed that while her heart knew that Fang really was her brother, she could not comprehend the situation at all.
Fang was unable to provide solace for the filly, instead, he had said that he would try to help her through this however he could.
Fang sighed to himself as he looked out into the night, it was peaceful, quiet, but that didn't help his confused state, even though he knew that he wanted to keep his friends safe, he was still confused, now more than ever. "I should just get some sleep, it's been a long day." He said to himself.
______*Night Frenzy's room*______
"So, what now?" Skitter asked.
Night Frenzy sighed to herself as she laid back on her bed. "I have no clue, I guess I try to get a life here in Ponyville." She muttered.
Skitter looked up at her friend, even though Lyaroa altered the timeline, Night Frenzy was wearing the Shadowbolt uniform. "No one will blame you for wanting to leave Ponyville Frenzy." She said.
Night Frenzy laughed silently. "It's not that, it's just........im not the type to settle down, that's all." She replied.
Skitter nodded as she laid down on the cot that Night Frenzy pulled out. "No one is asking you to do anything, take your time to find out what you want to do." She said.
Night Frenzy nodded. "Good advice, I'll think on it a little.......good night Skitter." She said as she rolled over and closed her eyes.
'Maybe I can have some fun......my way, tomorrow.'