The Ever Changing Moon

by CommanderX5

Confrontations - Teamwork

“I keep telling you, I am not brainwashed or manipulated!” Twilight shouted in frustration, standing between two sides eager to battle. One after another, more hunters entered the area from the stairs while a few pegasi flew inside through the holes in the roof. She pointed at herself and added, “I wasn’t turned, nor bribed. I am here by the order of Princess Celestia herself and I demand that you stop this foolishness.”

“If you’re Her Highness student, you should be helping us. Do you have any idea how many ponies this monster killed?” one hunter asked, a scar on the left side of his face barely visible due to lack of light. He shook his crossbow, gesturing at her. “Help us or step aside. Unless you already betrayed Her Highness and joined the pureblood.”

Twilight’s face turned red. “Betrayed?! You’re the ones betraying her! First, Nightmare Moon isn’t a pureblood, she’s an alicorn. Second, Princess Celestia ordered me to surrender Ponyville to her to prevent conflict, something you ponies ruined!”

“Surrender Ponyville to that monster? Like we’d believe in lies like that,” a pegasus hunter said as he and his squad aimed their crossbows at the dark mare.

“I… I’m not sure she’s lying. If we consider what happened tonight and what Chains said, what she says kind of makes sense,” another pegasus spoke, looking at his comrades with a hint of hesitation.

The officer aimed his crossbow at the hesitating pony. “Betray us and you’ll die traitor’s death. Orders are orders and the enemy must be eradicated.”

Twilight examined faces of each hunter, spotting hesitation and even fear on many faces, yet none lowered their weapons. The discipline must be enforced with harsh measurements. Princess Celestia would never allow her to kill a fellow pony, nor enforced orders to execute traitors. Those ponies must be really desperate.

“Enough talking. Assist us or step aside!” He gestured at his squad. “Aim, set…”

“No, stop!” Twilight shouted, summoning a protective barrier as if trying to separate the room with a wall.

“Fire!”

Rain of silver bolts assaulted her forcefield as Twilight grit her teeth, keeping the assault at bay. Much to her surprise, a few ponies threw gems with engraved runes in them, creating holes in her magical wall. She screeched the moment one bolt struck her forearm. Distracted, she released the output of her magic she directed towards the barrier.

She ducked and covered her head with her hooves as bolts flew over her head. Seeing as numerous hunters charged forward with melee weapons under coverage of bolts, she lit her horn, teleporting behind the massive ruble that was left after she activated a devastating trap.

“So much for negotiations, to battle!” Nightmare Moon commanded.

Twilight peeked from behind her cover as she could only stare at the battle before her. Applejack and Big Macintosh rushed to the frontline, deflecting projectiles with their shield and weapons, occasionally enduring them with their bodies, a display of durability given only to hardworking hardened earth ponies.

Rainbow Dash zipped between shots, delivering a punch or a kick to a few pegasi, only for a few bolts to pierce her wing, forcing an emergency landing as Dash’s chin slammed into the dusty stone. Twilight narrowed her eyes and concentrated, summoning a protective dome over the grounded pegasus.

Hawkeye held his massive shield protectively over himself and Rarity as they both kept distance, wary of silver bolts which worked exceptionally well against their kind. As if a sniper, the fashionista struck wings of a few pegasi, grounding them with enhanced bolts. Her attempt to harm earth ponies failed though, as they blocked her strikes with shields of their own, while unicorns summoned a much weaker version of Twilight’s barrier to keep themselves safe.

Nightmare Moon, now in her fog form, charged at the enemy, ignoring the piercing projectiles which simply passed through her. One after another, she wrapped her star-filled limbs around numerous weapons, pulling them away from the enemy. Crossbows and more vulnerable equipment ended up crushed swiftly by her grab, while more durable ones were gathered together into a pile away from the battlefield. Disarming and relocating such a quantity of weapons took time though, giving the enemies opportunities to strike.

A few unicorns withdrew their weapons, focusing on casting offensive spells instead. Fireballs, lightings, arrows of ice, or a simple barrage of magical beams was sent against the fog that was Nightmare Moon as at least one spell struck her for every five cast. The fog seemed to be pushed back due to magical assault, forcing it to reform back into flesh and blood as the princess now had numerous new burns covering her body.

It seems that while she can ignore physical strikes in that form, she becomes vulnerable to magic. To make matters worse, taking away weapons from spellcasters won’t stop them from fighting. This is bad.

With the hunters' attention on the alicorn, Fluttershy snuck in towards Rainbow Dash to provide aid. Fangs struck her own foreleg, and she summoned her own blood to restore the pegasus' wing before licking her wound in order to close it.

“Watch out!” Dash warned, pointing at the approaching enemy. She jumped to her hooves, but was stopped from moving by a pureblood’s wing.

“Don’t worry about me, I’ll manage,” Fluttershy said as she opened her eyes widely, her pupils now flashing in red. The hunter who was about to swing his armed hoof stopped in his tracks. Whatever mental warfare began, the earth pony was losing. Sweat slid down the hunter’s face, his goggles cracked and fell to the ground in pieces, his teeth grit as his willpower finally broke. He dropped to his knees, now looking more like a terrified puppy.

“Was that ‘The Stare?’ Wow, I completely forgot you can do that. Thanks for the save, I’ll go help the rest,” Dash said with a salute, flying away to support the clan from the air.

“Applejack, Big Mac, over here!” Fluttershy called as she gestured at her friends, leading them towards a nearby pillar. A few bruised hunters chased them, only to be discouraged the moment Fluttershy opened her mouth.

Twilight pressed hooves against her ears, her eyes half closed. She could hear the verbal assault despite the distance and see as the pure strength of Fluttershy’s soundwaves pushed the attackers away.

“Oh my!” Fluttershy gasped, staring at her dizzy foes in confusion. “I don’t remember my voice being this strong. My powers and techniques have really improved. I need to be careful not to overdo it.”

Applejack and Big Mac showed signs of discomfort, but recovered quickly and approached Fluttershy who immediately started healing their wounds. As the healing was nearly completed, Applejack quickly jumped in front of Fluttershy, standing on her rear hooves as she blocked a silver dagger with her own belly.

“Applejack!” Fluttershy flew up, her eyes flashed red as she concentrated on bits of blood that now covered the floor, ordering said blood to rush towards the attacker's saddlebag, melting it alongside daggers inside it. While her magic proved ineffective against the silver itself, the rear part of each dagger seemed to be made of some other metal, leaving a stack of silver edges which wouldn’t be as easy to throw. The huntress escaped immediately.

“Don’t worry, it will be alright,” Fluttershy said as she licked an injury on her friend’s belly.

“Ah swear, as efficient as yer healing is, Ah still have hard time gettin’ used to it,” Applejack said as a weak blush appeared on her cheeks.

For a pureblood, she’s really caring for her friends, focused more on healing them than the actual fight. Twilight looked at the pureblood in confusion. What was happening before her was more than just a master/servant relationship. While she herself was more interested in gaining knowledge and studies over social interactions, she still recognized that the ponies before her displayed true friendship. Each member of the clan did their best to help each other, not showing fear as they gave each other courage.

So this is what true friendship is like. And they seem a lot stronger thanks to it. There was a bit of admiration she felt towards Fluttershy and her friends as she now understood why the Element of Magic chose her. As a hardworking student of the princess, she truly believed that one can only achieve great things with hard work, she believed that she should rely only on herself to get the job done. If the Element of Magic always picked great leaders, it was no wonder she was unworthy.

Even Nightmare Moon risked her life for me even though I am her enemy. I don’t know if I would be willing to do something like this for another pony.

Twilight watched as the unicorns kept pressure against the alicorn, keeping her from moving. Earth ponies and pegasi used this opportunity to engage Nightmare Moon directly, attacking with their silver blades similar to the blades inside the bracelets used by Applejack. The alicorn fought back with her hooves, though unable to hold her ground against numerous foes as the alicorn’s durability was put to the test against the enemy’s strength.

Despite the constant onslaught of blades and spells, Nightmare Moon managed to summon a spell, striking a few unicorns with lightning while leaving burned marks on their backs or heads. Were those lethal strikes? Twilight didn’t think so, but were just enough to knock a few spellcasters out of commission.

Twilight’s eyes became wide as she spotted Derpy, who all this time seemed to move from one pillar to another, as if an assassin trying to get close to the enemy without being spotted. Without hesitation, Derpy flew at the group of unicorns, diving into them as if a falling boulder. A collective yelp of pain could be heard from the cloud of smoke while numerous pebbles rained over the battlefield.

As the smoke finally descended, Twilight could see a few unconscious unicorns with Derphy stomping on their saddlebags and crossbows, destroying all kinds of mixtures and magical gems as rainbowlike liquid and fragments of crystals and wood now decorated the floor around the unconscious ponies.

Nearby earth ponies quickly rushed at Derpy, slamming her with their shields as if she was a volleyball.

Using this opening, Nightmare Moon turned into a fog, wrapping herself around the blades that previously were used to slice her body.

Fluttershy flew towards Derphy, grabbing her in mid-air before flying away from pursuing pegasi. Fortunately, Rainbow Dash intercepted the pursuit, knocking half of the pursuing ponies to the ground with aerial kicks while Rarity scared the rest with her crossbow.

With the chaos now raging on the battlefield, Hawkeye galloped away from Rarity, engaging enemies in direct combat alongside Applejack and Big Mac.

“Enjoying the view?”

Twilight flinched, her attention now on Nightmare Moon who reformed herself next to her. “You scared me.” She took a few quick breaths, trying to calm her hasty-beating heart.

“Oh, I am sorry, but I just can’t help but notice how you just sit here and watch as we are fighting for our lives.” The princess lowered her head and narrowed her eyes while raising Twilight’s chin with her hoof. “Now would you kindly cast a spell or two to assist us? Or is the student of my cursed sister really that useless?” she asked, venom clear in her voice.

“Oh, s-sure, but how…”

“I don’t care how you wanted to end this sentence! Any spell that can help us disarm the enemy will do you useless scholar. Just don’t stand and watch like a brainless idiot!” Nightmare Moon commanded before spreading her wings, flying back into the field of battle, summoning lightning spells in order to intercept the reinforcing pegasi.

Twilight gulped before brainstorming over her arsenal of spells, searching for the best one for the current situation. “I got it!” Her eyes became wide at realization. She shut her eyes close and bent her legs, then grit her teeth. Aura around her horn grew in strength with each passing second.

After several seconds which felt like a minute, she unleashed her spell, spreading a powerful wave of magic. Everypony except members of Fluttershy’s clan ended up wrapped in a lavender aura, unable to move a single muscle as if frozen in time. “H-hurry! I… I can’t hold them for long!”

Nightmare Moon and other ponies didn’t need to be asked twice, destroying any weapon that they could get their hooves on.

Growing headache, intense pains and strong desire to stop this torture, those emotions Twilight felt in each passing second as she kept the enemies imprisoned, knowing full well that she couldn’t give up just yet. Trying as much as she did, her legs bent and she collapsed, losing hold on her spell as sweat now covered her face. She breathed heavily as she raised her heavy head to look over the battlefield.

Most weapons were now either in fragments lying over the battlefield or stocked in a pile with broken blades. Every saddlebag was burned to ash and whatever was inside now covered the floor, be it liquid from potions or glass from bottles.

The hunters who were still conscious withdrew immediately, breaking their formation as pegasi flew away through holes in the roof or damaged windows. Earth ponies and unicorns picked up their comrades, forming a final defensive line near a wall, now more concerned about their own well being over killing their target.

“D-don’t worry, we won’t hurt you,” Fluttershy said as she slowly approached the cornered enemy. “If you surrender, we will aid the wounded. There’s no need for us to fight anymore.”

The hunters looked at each other in confusion, yet none dared to say a word.

“Y-you promise,” one hunter said.

“You seriously believe her?” another asked.

“Well… Shackles and Chains negotiated with her. I’d rather take my chances with her than with fighting.”

“Our Lieutenant is unconscious. I say we just forget about our orders and surrender.”

“But what if they’ll kill…”

“If they wanted to kill us, they would. I think they were holding back.”

Murmurs became louder and louder before the ponies nodded in agreement. They placed all their injured in one spot, then stepped to the side, lowering their heads as if awaiting judgement.

“Thank you, you won’t regret it,” Fluttershy said encouragingly before running towards the wounded, assisting each one with enthusiasm.

Twilight stood up on her trembling legs, approaching the group with slow steps as her strength slowly returned to her. After all they did to her, after all attempts on her life she’s still willing to heal them? How did she manage to preserve her innocent heart after all those hardships and trials? They may call her shy, but it requires a lot of strength to be this forgiving.

“Good job, Twilight Sparkle.”

She looked to the side and up, being met with a proud smile from the alicorn.

“See, you can be useful and efficient if you just put in some effort. All you needed was some… encouragement,” Nightmare praised, patting the unicorn on the back with her wing. “This was an incredibly strong spell, and for a unicorn, you maintained it very long. It would be a lie if I said I wasn’t impressed.” She withdrew her wing and narrowed her eyes. “Yet your initiative was lacking. You need to work on your reflexes and gain more field experience, my little sheltered pony.”

The alicorn poked the crown on her head. “Maybe when you learn a bit more about teamwork, the Element of Magic may consider you worthy.”

Teamwork… Twilight looked at Fluttershy who was now surrounded by her friends, all sharing encouraging words and smiles which clearly confused the nearby hunters. In the past Princess Celestia encouraged her to make friends, something she dismissed as a waste of time. Now however, she witnessed the strength coming from such a bond as Fluttershy seemed to be a great example, one worth following.

“Cool princess, we bring news.”

Twilight, Nightmare Moon and Rainbow Dash turned towards the source of the voice, spotting Vinyl who jumped inside through the roof, though not making a single noise upon landing. Pinkie Pie did the same, landing on Vinyl’s back.

“We bought you some time, distracting their boss. I see it was a time well spent,” Vinyl said, admiring the pile of destroyed equipment.

“It was like a game of tag with a lot of ponies, but they stopped playing a moment ago.” Pinkie sat, crossed her forelegs and frowned. “And it was just getting fun. I didn’t even get to say hi to Maud and Limestone.”

Vinyl shook the party mare from her back before fixing a bowtie on her uniform. “I think Shackles recognized it was a diversion and is heading here. Sadly, I get the impression he won’t be interested in negotiations this time around.”

Fluttershy wanted to speak, but Nightmare Moon beat her to it. “Shackles, the one who led the attack on your family, the one who took advantage of the corruption in the guild.” She grinned, allowing herself a sinister chuckle. “I am looking forward to meeting him. I’ll enjoy punishing this miserable being.”

Twilight looked at Fluttershy, who opened her mouth as if willing to speak, but closed it immediately and lowered her head, ears now flattened against her head. While Twilight didn’t get much time to spend with the kind-hearted pureblood, she suspected that Fluttershy wanted to protest, to ask Nightmare Moon to show mercy, but had decided against it. Not that she could blame her. According to Fluttershy’s story, Shackles hurt many ponies due to his greed and didn’t seem like somepony deserving forgiveness. Her ears perked up as she heard numerous hoofsteps.

Everypony looked at the stairs, now on guard with Nightmare Moon taking the frontline position, smiling despite unhealed bruises still present on her body.

While they managed to disarm a third of the enemy force, the true peace could be attained only after dealing with the enemy leader, and something told them that not using lethal force was going to be difficult, or maybe even impossible.