//------------------------------// // Act II - Ch. 17 Three-Fold Mark // Story: Justice Itself // by Autocharth //------------------------------// It was a shadow that crept between shadows, cloaked in darkness far less sinister than that occupying the innocent town. But a whisper of wind told of its presence, a touch on the grass that faded away through means no more arcane than the skill of a master craftspony. Not a wayward sound announced her presence as she searched and sought a way for a presence far less subtle than her own. Zecora frowned. There were hidden sentinels along the edge of Ponyville with enough to make it near impossible for anypony to get in unseen. Near impossible, since she had done just that. Her frown turned concerned and she began to retreat. As she slipped through the gloom to where Paladin and Fluttershy waited with Trixie and the fillies Zecora pondered the flash of light she had seen. The clouds had shifted and began to spark with lightning in greater force until at last it had unleashed the power of a storm. She even thought she knew where it had been aimed and hoped she was wrong. If the town hall had been the target of that attack....Zecora banished the darkness from her thoughts. There was no point fearing the worst yet, not when she had no idea as to what happened. Her ears flicked at the sound of voices the closer she got to others. They were talking but at least only in whispers. Living in the Everfree made listening closely a mandatory survival trait. “Are you sure?” She heard Fluttershy asking, concern colouring her voice. “Yes.” Paladin’s voice, on the other hoof, was flat. “But you-” “I’m fine.” Despite being unable to see them through the thick foliage around them Zecora would easily tell from his tone the large pegasus was frowning. “The lightning startled me.” Zecora waited before revealing herself. She was curious to see what this was about first. A few seconds of silence passed before Fluttershy finally spoke up again. “You reacted just before the big flash of lightning though. Um, and you haven’t done anything like that with other flashes...uh, I think at least...you don’t really get startled or surprised by much.” The zebra restrained a chuckle. Whatever had happened was clearly something Paladin wanted to ignore or hide, but Fluttershy was just as clearly not about to do that. Her concern over another’s wellbeing was not about to ignore something just because they were ignoring it themself. Paladin could probably get the meek pegasus to stop asking but after his earlier outburst and apparent guilt she doubted he would do anything more drastic than a frown for now. “...I promised to explain once this has been resolved. Now please Zecora, we must plan. Cease your lurking and tell me what you saw.” Zecora emerged and she felt a jolt of guilty pleasure at the way Trixie and Fluttershy jumped at her appearance. Paladin might have seen her but to them she was as invisible as a shadow on a moonless night. “Not lurking my mighty friend of glowing wings, but merely waiting to see a few things.” She smiled in a knowing way and saw a flash of annoyance in his eyes. There was something reassuring in knowing that whatever he was or had once been Paladin was not immune to the feelings common to equines. Annoyance was certainly common, as three sleeping fillies could certainly attest to when their antics got out of hoof. “I beg your pardon for my intrusion, I did not realise until too late it was a private conversation.” “It does not matter.” He dismissed with a flick of a wing. Zecora caught a quickly stifled look of surprise directed at his own limb before Paladin continued as though nothing had happened. “I’m glad you’re back safely Zecora.” Fluttershy told her, smiling with relief. Zecora gave her a nod and smile of thanks for the welcoming of her return. Paladin began before either could say another word. “Quickly now, tell me all you have learned. We saw a tremendous flare of lightning not long ago. I...suspect powerful magic was used at the same time.” Zecora’s eyes narrowed. There was something he wasn’t saying, something more he was concealing. “Indeed there was. I do not know the cause.” They both remained silent and their eyes exchanged everything they didn’t need to say. Hers made quite clear she knew he was holding back and if that’s how he wanted to play so be it. His said he was in no mood for games. Zecora’s expression shifted minutely into a smug smile that told him she knew he would break before her. Paladin sighed. Time was of the essence now more than ever. “I believe Twilight was the cause. The change to her horn during the Nightmare’s time as the dark root is connected to certain elemental energies of which lightning is one.” “There is more.” Was all she said, not even bothering with another sentence to rhyme. The mighty pegasus tightened his expression. “There is. But it has little relevance. Suffice to say I can be nearly certain Twilight is the cause of the lightning burst. The particulars of why she would summon bolts of lightning to the centre of the town are not known to me but I think we can assume it was done with good reason.” There was still more, of course, but he decided this was as far as he would go. He could feel it now, six burning threads from his soul. They didn’t really go anywhere in the physical sense, they conveyed no sense of direction but he could feel the weights at the end. One he clearly recognised as Fluttershy and from the confused glances she had been throwing him when she thought he wasn’t looking since his reaction the bright flash of lightning showed she had sensed it as well. Each of the six mares had awoken the well of angelic energy that had infused their souls and with the completion of their circle the threads had blazed into being. There was little information from them but he could feel enough to know Twilight was not in danger. There had been a certain quality to the sense of her thread when it had manifested that had faded. When he concentrated on it now he could faintly pick up something that sent a surge of familiarly through him, the feeling of a general planning a counter-attack that was about to bloody the nose of the enemy. Of more interest was the thread that was glowing with power. This one was, he was certain, Rainbow Dash’s. Whatever power afforded to her by Tyrael’s life-force was being used frequently. The gathering clouds concealed the teleporting pegasus in her dogfight with the hosts of the Nightmare from their view and only Zecora had been able to see the little difference between the flare of teleportation and the flash of lightning across the sky. Realising she would get no more from him Zecora quickly explained what had happened. Listening from the edge of the group Trixie looked at the rough sketch of sentry placement the zebra was drawing in the dirt with an expression of growing terror. “It could just possess you at any second!” She said desperately. “Shouldn’t we be galloping to Canterlot to get the Princesses? More guards? Anything but this!” Paladin returned her exclamation with a level look. “Canterlot is too far and we still have the threat of the sky crystal that must be resolved quickly. The Princesses are either unconscious from the trauma of a mental attack, as you should well know, or unconscious from the strain of breaking through powerful magic designed specifically to sap her strength.” Trixie flinched, but he went on as if he hadn’t noticed. “Getting more guards does nothing to solve the problem, simply supplying our enemy with reinforcements. We must root it out and destroy it here and now.” Paladin’s hoof dug into the ground, cutting a deep impression. “The Nightmare must have no chance to escape or flee a third time. There will be no last resort for it to call upon, there will be no mercy for it to exploit. It has dared to bring chaos and pain upon a place undeserving of it and I will not let it do so again. Final justice will be delivered.” The cold fury in his voice and the diamond set of his eyes set Trixie back and she was so very glad it wasn’t still in her if that was how he was going to look at it. “O-oh” Was all she said in reply, unable to think of a way to respond. “Please calm yourself Paladin.” Zecora murmured from where she worked on the last points of her crude map. “When we enter you must be so quiet you might hear the drop of a pin.” ‘I don’t want to enter Ponyville.’ Trixie thought dejectedly. Not so long ago she planned on doing exactly that once she had acquired something to increase her magical power. She had even found a possible method, an obscure amulet. Her plans had been derailed quite substantially by the Nightmare, however. Now she just wanted to find somewhere safe with lots of lights and warmth and absolutely nopony else to disturb her. Trixie fell into a fit of self-pity, ignoring the quiet planning going on between Paladin and Zecora. A freakishly large pegasus and a zebra who lived in a forest! How much lower could she fall? A memory of a whispering voice full of hate and mockery reminded her exactly how much lower she could fall and a shudder ran through her entire body. After a deep breath and a lot of focus Trixie managed to suppress her shaking. The fact she couldn’t even attempt to use magic didn’t help her stay calm. In truth she hadn’t even tried yet. Horn wounds were not something to take lightly. Hers was cracked from tip to base and she feared the slightest use, even just basic telekinesis. She hadn’t really had time to consider the consequences really. Once it had left her body and broken her horn Trixie had simply fled, the pain in her horn and horror the Nightmare had inflicted on her mind too much. By the time she was capable of rational thought the unicorn had found herself deep in the Everfree Forest with animals and even plants on every side that seemed to hate her. The conversation going on went over her head as she lowered it to the ground and pressed her hooves over her eyes. It was all too much. Her magic had meant everything to her, even more so after her disastrous appearance in Ponyville. With the ruination of her show she had been determined to get back at the ponies there, at the unicorn who had outdone her. Although she had never seen it at the time, Trixie had been so full of righteous anger and hate, so certain she was right in what she was doing. Yes, Trixie remembered thinking, she would use any means she could find to make Twilight Sparkle pay for showing her up like she deserved and Trixie would have the fame of defeating the pony she learned was Celestia’s star pupil like she deserved. Now... Trixie could see where that path led now. The Nightmare had shown her, had rammed into her mind, the memories of how she fell. Incomplete and vague the monster that had taken her body ranted and raved at how she had been wronged and how she deserved better. All the little ponies who shunned her night deserved everything she deemed a proper punishment. One step at a time, the magician realised. A single step with each step afterwards a little bit easier. If she had found a way to increase her magic’s strength and returned to prove herself the superior how easy would it have been to be a little bit crueller? She had already been so certain they deserved whatever she dealt out. That knowledge had been something she had held onto for a long time. The three ponies she would learn to be Bearers of the Elements of Harmony had deserved humiliation for daring to question her magic, for not being awed as they should be! What was wrong with what she had done to them? Why should she feel sorry? Trixie had loved every moment of it, from stuffing the apple in the hick’s mouth and leaving her in a bundle to sending the pegasus tumbling away in her own rainbow and watching the unicorn run screaming in horror at her mane. She was better than them; her magic proved it and Trixie had never questioned that. At least until the Nightmare had come. Her justification had turned against her; the Nightmare’s power was greater than hers and it had delighted in running through her mind and tormenting her. In the weeks it had held her it had passed it the time many days by finding that which would humiliate or shame Trixie the most and crafting little dreams to lock in, convinced they were reality. Her deepest fears pulled from her mind and forced upon her until the Nightmare grew bored. Trixie was shaking and didn’t notice. She wanted to go back a few short hours to when she couldn’t remember any of it. She wanted to go back to being in that cell all alone with all the blissful ignorance in the world. It was the knowledge that she had been taking the first steps on the same path as the Nightmare that made her wonder why anypony would want to help her and in the quiet the feeling began to seep back out like a poison. Unnoticed, tears had begun to pour from under her hooves. Curled up and sobbing Trixie couldn’t see the concern of the ponies with her. She wasn’t even aware they had stopped their conversation at the sound of her crying. Fluttershy was at the side of the unicorn in seconds. She gently took her into an embrace, letting Trixie sob into her shoulder. A hoof began to stroke Trixie’s back soothingly as Fluttershy held her. She wanted to help the unicorn so badly and now something was telling her how. Fluttershy remembered the feeling when her eyes had connected with Paladin’s after they found Trixie and the spark that lit her mind. The second time in her cottage had been different, so very different, and the connection had done so much more. Deep down Fluttershy knew what she was doing now. “...be kind...” It was a whisper she had heard somewhere, only two words out of so many more but they were all she needed. Fluttershy’s eyes changed again and she reached out neither with her hooves nor her mind. Her heart touched the wound left in Trixie, a vast thing torn by the claws of a monster from a bygone age. It filled it with the fleeting touch of a million happy memories and the everlasting mark they left in their wake. Not just Fluttershy’s happy memories but Trixie’s were drawn to the surface. The pain and sorrow were not banished but they fell to the wayside and all the memories that were good and pure, not soiled by the hate of another or even her own floated to the surface. To Paladin, it was a tingle of energy in the air and down his spine. He looked at Fluttershy and something like pride warmed him. The guilt of sacrificing power he should have used to protect Sanctuary lessened. Whether or not Tyrael made a mistake in his choice to put this world before that of Man had been right he still didn’t know but here at least he saw the good it had brought. That he could have brought such a gift to soothe a shattered soul into being by his – by Tyrael’s sacrifice made it almost worth it. ‘Auriel.’ He thought distantly. ‘She is like Auriel, forever seeking to heal. But Fluttershy lives it where the High Heavens have frozen, refusing to give comfort or aid to the world of mortals.’ Yet just as easily as he thought of the High Heavens is thoughts dwelled on a little town filled with colourful equines. Zecora could feel that some event was happening, and the aura around Fluttershy was unmistakable. Emotions and memories were coming to mind without conscious effort on her part of her far distant homeland. For the first time that night Zecora could honestly say she was feeling at ease and her mouth curved up in a genuine smile. Even Paladin was not immune judging by the suspiciously upward turn at the corner of his lips he seemed to be fighting. She shot him a knowing look when he glanced at her and his expression stilled into neutrality. An amused chuckle coming out of her mouth for a moment, Zecora murmured to him as Fluttershy stayed with Trixie. “I am feeling warmth in my heart like I have not felt since I was young and naive.” She whispered to the pegasus. “I wonder if this power might be work on the darkness, the bond between monster and innocent it might cleave.” He seemed to consider this for a moment before shaking his head. “I am not certain. It likely lacks rules in the strict sense of most magic. She has gained something that exists much more spiritually than a simple spell.” “To draw from the heart love and laughter is a great power. Yet even now you seem ever so dour.” Paladin fixed her with an unamused stare. “There are consequences for every action. If this is the greatest result of mine I will cheer in the streets but I fear it is not.” He sighed regretfully. “Not in the least.” Pushing away the mental image of Paladin running through Ponyville cheering madly, which was perhaps impossible to even picture, Zecora just turned back to their planning. Fluttershy would care for poor Trixie for now. Zecora resolved once this was over to make a trip or two into the Everfree Forest. She knew a trick or two that might help heal a horn, but she would leave the healing of a wounded heart to Fluttershy. “Fluttershy will tend to Trixie. I believe the current plan is the best we can do.” Paladin went on, turning away. Zecora shook her head. “You risk yourself acting as bait. To be devoured by the darkness would be a foul fate.” “It is necessary. Without a distraction there is no way for you to get these two into Ponyville. Fluttershy must rejoin her friends if they are to harness the Elements and I fear leaving Trixie on her own would not be a kindness in her state. Nor will I allow the Nightmare to find and retake her.” His eyes darkened. “Whatever she did under its influence I know what torture looks like. She will be far safer with the protection of the Elements.” “You truly brought the Elements of Harmony here?” Zecora asked. “They are the only thing our enemy might fear.” He shook his head. “Not the Elements themselves. But they are mere trinkets. Their power comes from their Bearers. I have faith they have not succumbed to our foe. I thought you would appreciate that they were worthy of their burden because of who they were. We must trust them.” The look Zecora gave him was just shy of annoyed. “So in other words; you’re hoping they have a plan. It feels like into the fire we’re jumping, right from the pan.” Fluttershy looked up from Trixie. The blue-white light had faded from her eyes by now and the unicorn next to her was drying the last of her tears. “I’m sure the others will have a plan.” Fluttershy offered quietly. “I mean, Twilight is always good at plans.” “In truth Zecora, we need Twilight. She is the only one with the chance to remove the corruption from the innocents taken by this evil. You would have said something if you had a way to free them. Her magic is the only reliable answer.” Paladin explained as he inspected the dirt sketch once again. “I am expendable. But Twilight’s power, her confidence, is tied to her friends. If they are there she will not let them down.” A frown crossed Fluttershy’s face at that even as Zecora concurred. “But...you’re one of her friends too.” She murmured quietly, apparently unheard. One of Paladin’s ears flicked. Zecora sighed. “This is true, I’m afraid I agree. But if you’re captured, you are trusting us to get you free. Of that we have no guarantees. A deadly gambit if corrupted you can be.” She said her tone warning. “It is a risk I will have to take. We have no other reasonable choice and unless Twilight Sparkle appears in our midst we must-” As if to mock him a muted flash of purple light appeared behind him. Zecora’s expression turned surprised and then supremely amused. Paladin’s went stiff and blank. “Twilight!” Fluttershy threw her hooves around her friend the moment she appeared. “You’re alright!” Despite having a somewhat singed mane and smelling of ozone and smoke Twilight smiled back and held her friend tightly. “Of course I am Fluttershy. I was hardly going into a battlefield.” “I would disagree.” Paladin said, stepping forward. He inclined his head. “Twilight Sparkle. You seem to have found us. How?” Twilight sighed at his stiff greeting. “Well hello to you too Paladin. I’m not entirely sure how I found you guys, actually. I was hoping you could explain.” She narrowed her eyes at him. “And why would you think that?” Paladin asked sharply. “You warned me to be careful with elemental magic.” She shot back. “You knew even when the Princesses didn’t know anything about the change to my horn. I wonder if you’d be surprised to learn that Rainbow Dash can now somehow teleport, that Applejack can summon magical armour or if Rarity has the strange ability to see the flaws in anything she looks at? How about Pinkie apparently being able to give magical commands?” Paladin said nothing as Twilight listed her friends’ abilities, only a tightening around his eyes giving away anything. When she finished he said nothing for a moment. “You forgot her.” Paladin nodded at Fluttershy. “Fluttershy has awoken empathic powers.” Twilight looked at Fluttershy, who gave a cross between a shrug and a nod. It sounded about right to her, even if she wasn’t sure exactly what to call whatever it was she did. “We’re connected. All of us are linked to you, that’s how I was able to teleport all the way here Paladin, and we’ve gained strange magic. When I think of what could be responsible there’s only one explanation I can come up with.” Twilight looked at him, something like disappointment in her eyes. “When you transferred your life-force to keep us alive. No normal pony’s life-force could cause changes like this. You’re keeping a secret, one you’ve been keeping since we first met.” Looking her straight in the eyes Paladin could see she was disappointed. He wasn’t sure whether it was the fact he kept a secret from them that had affected them or that she hadn’t realised more before now. “You knew, all of you, that there was more I was not telling you.” He found himself saying somewhat defensively. Twilight nodded. “We did. But not something like...whatever it is! Something so big. I don’t know what your secret is Paladin but I know it’s something amazing, something huge. Maybe even something completely unique.” Paladin chuckled at that. “Amazing perhaps. Unique? Only in this world.” He sighed, closing his eyes solemnly. “I understand you feel hurt I did not share more with you, particularly as it has affected your friends but right now we must put it aside. I have already sworn to reveal all once this is over. If you can wait until then, you will learn what you wish to know and more besides.” Walking to her unicorn friend’s side, Fluttershy laid a hoof on her shoulder. “Paladin is doing his best to help us. I think it will be alright if we wait until everypony is safe.” She looked at Twilight wide, trusting eyes. The unicorn sighed and nodded. “Alright, I’ll leave it alone. But don’t think you can wriggle out of it after this is all over mister!” Twilight added, looking straight at Paladin. He snorted in response. “I do not ‘wriggle’, Twilight Sparkle, not in the slightest.” Twilight found herself smiling at Paladin’s sober reaction to an everyday saying. She turned to say something to Fluttershy when her mouth snapped shut and she stared at something she hadn’t noticed before. Truthfully she stared at somepony she hadn’t noticed before. “Trixie?!” She cried in alarm. The broken unicorn flinched at the sound of her own name, trying to get to her hooves and back away. Fluttershy was quick on her hooves, reaching out to her before Trixie had taken two steps. “It’s alright Trixie, Twilight is just surprised.” She said standing between the two. Fluttershy looked back to Twilight her expression pleading. “It’s not her fault Twilight, the Nightmare was using her. She didn’t even remember all the horrible things it did to her before letting the Princesses find her.” “Okay Fluttershy, I believe you. I also trust you.” Twilight reassured her friend, although she noticed Trixie had yet to say anything. The magician had hunched up as though trying to make herself as small as possible. “Can somepony please run them through what’s happening...and why the Crusaders are sleeping on the ground?” Once an explanation of what had happened to them after they separated was given, Twilight returned the favour. She kept an eye on Trixie the whole time but she failed to do anything but watch and listen with a depressed look. “Rarity and Applejack will be happy to know their sisters are safe. Before I decided to try triangulating the centre of the connection – that’s you, Paladin, – they were getting awfully worried. I think what happened to Spike made them realised how bad the Nightmare can be, especially if it knew it had their family.” She frowned as she spoke, remembering Spike’s ordeal again. Happy was currently far from her current mood. Determined and maybe a little vengeful were more in line with her feelings. Fluttershy let out a whimper of concern. She wished she had gone into town now if only to be able to help Spike. “Rainbow Dash is being so brave, keeping all the pegasi distracted. I’m sure she’d be relieved to know her little fan is safe.” Zecora quickly turned the conversation to another matter. “I am very pleased you came to us so quickly. Our situation is more than a little prickly. Had you been a few minutes late, this foal might gone through with his plan to be the bait.” Paladin let out a grunt that may have been offended at that, which failed to pierce Zecora in anyway. “Heheh, well...” Twilight smiled nervously, rubbing the back of her neck. “Funny thing, that’s kind of my plan too.” They all stared at her for a moment. “To use Paladin as bait I mean, not myself.” She clarified helpfully. Paladin’s expression twitched, managing not to turn into a satisfied smirk. He did nod approvingly however. “Oh my” Whimpered Fluttershy. “....” Zecora just facehoofed. *** The pegasus had vanished! The skies of Ponyville shook with the enraged wings beats of the Nightmare’s hosts as they searched and searched, bursting apart clouds and scouring the winds for signs of its prey. It glared across the open air seeking the flash of prismatic colour or flash of light in vain. The Nightmare stood before the ruined town hall in a dozen stolen bodies as its primary host screamed its anger. The Mayor’s vocals cords strained at the unleashed rage but the Nightmare disregarded the sensation, choosing to let the sleeping mind of its carrier suffer it instead. All across the town the Nightmare’s anger was felt as it casually bade its hosts to shatter and break things around them. Windows cracking up and down every street the Nightmare didn’t notice the dark furred pegasus with brilliant white wings charging down one of the main roads until he was more than a block into the town. When it at last paid attention to the eyes seeing him the view from above was an interesting one. Enough dark shapes to count all of Ponyville began moving at once in reaction, flowing through the streets. Paladin’s hooves dug into the ground, his legs pumping for all they were worth. It just so happened they were worth an awful lot and the speed at which he went from the outskirts of Ponyville to near its heart was evidence enough of that. Howling shadow-clad ponies appeared at every street corner attempting to intercept him. Paladin dealt with them as one might deal with a leaves blown in one’s face by the wind. He brushed them off, although it was a rare leaf indeed that required a swift hoof to the face to deal with. Others he leapt over and more he struck with a lash of his wings. When the corrupted aura of a unicorn tried to grasp him Paladin kicked a stone from the ground into his horn and knocked the body senseless long enough to break free. Pegasi dived as the flock fell upon him but Paladin moved through and between, using his wings not to fly, but to misdirect and strike. Each blow was one Paladin regretted. He counted each strike he delivered and where he could tell whom it was he hit. Hurting these ponies was the last thing he wished but he had to avoid capture for now at least. But each attack he was careful of how much force he used in an attempt to minimise the damage or harm. Soon he was ahead of them and the possessed ponies came in his wake like the tail of a dark comet. “Nightmare!” He roared as he galloped. “Show yourself to me, you wretch! I burned you when you were but a pathetic plant but this time I will leave nothing from which you can flee like the coward you are.” He skidded to a halt outside the ruined town hall. The fires that had gutted it after the lightning strikes had been put out by something, leaving not even smoking embers. He sniffed, practically smelling the dark magic the Nightmare had used. ‘Twilight destroyed this place trying to save it. Yet a dark creature here to steal from the innocent saved it further harm.’ He thought. ‘I suppose some may find that an amusing turn.’ “Can you hear me through your madness, queen of nothing? Do you so fear the wrath of justice that you hide the vessel from which you control your web of stolen souls? A thousand years of hiding on the moon and you weren’t content?” He turned, watching his trail of followers spread out around him. They gave the same hiss of anger at his words. Above him the pegasi began to circle in a great living dome. “Who dares mock Nightmare Moon?!” The scream hit him with almost physical force. Paladin tensed, refusing to give an inch. “I do. Are you as blind through the eyes you stole as are through your own?” Again came the wave of sound that nearly rocked him back. It came from the shell of the town hall, and there arose the creature Twilight had described. Her words had failed to capture the hate that burned in its eyes though or the fury in its voice. It strode, shadowy hooves crushing charred wood with every step. “You belittle the Queen of the Night, meddling foal. I remember you, the freak. A pegasus who cannot fly with a soul good only to serve as a battery for my sister’s little weapons.” The Nightmare snarled, pacing before the ruins as it fixed him with a hateful glare. “Better to grant strength to others than to steal it from them.” He retorted. “I am confident in who I am that power is not the sole definition of identity. Are you?” The Nightmare’s glare intensified. “You question me? I am your greater, mortal. Power is its own reward and those who give it up deserve nothing but contempt and destruction. I will deliver both, the latter slowly and painfully. When you scream in agony as I use your body like a puppet you will realise that you suffer because you lack power.” He hmph’d at that. Paladin regarded the tall shadow-alicorn with a sneer. He saw an indistinct shape in the distance, on the other side of the town square where the chariots had been left. The Nightmare’s attention was fixed on him for the moment but he had to ensure it would stay there. It wouldn’t do for it to catch Pinkie while she was busy putting her strange outfit to work. “You steal the strength of others; you are a mewling spirit making one last gasp at survival through the might of others. You might call what you have power; I would call it desperation. You lost all power of your own and as a last resort cling to this world through theft and deception.” He spat in front of it for good measure. Blasts of sound and shadow began to assault him but Paladin barely felt the blows. For nearly five minutes he endured the beat with words of insult and mockery on his lips. He preferred in combat to merely defeat his foe rather than taunt them but now he needed to do it. The inner ring of the crowd began to become indistinct as their shadow coats blended together as the beating came to an end. Only the shadow-alicorn remained individual. The rage on the darkness constructs face suddenly vanished, replaced by insidious glee. “You seek to enrage me mortal, seek to trap my attention.” It sneered. “I knew your plan was to distract me the moment you came thundering in like a foal but I thought you would at least amuse me. I’ve caught the Bearers you were working with.” Paladin did what he had learned to do with some skill since his arrival and learning how to use his face; his expression went stony and blank. Dark mirth bubbled up from the horde around him and the Nightmare laughed at his attempt to conceal his emotions. “Oh yes, mortal, I worked it out and I left hosts hidden for your allies. They thought you had drawn all my hosts here but not so! Generosity, Kindness and Honesty are being dragged here even now. They didn’t even get past a single one of my watchers!” Around him the same mocking laugh erupted in stereo as the shadow-alicorn withdrew into the veil. Paladin’s lips drew back in a silent sneer. He could no longer see outside the ring of darkness to track Pinkie’s progress but he had no need to worry now. If the others had been caught she would be done with her part of the plan. If she had been caught they would have had no chance of success. ‘No chance of victory.’ He reminded himself. ‘Success and defeat can happen at the same time, it merely takes...perspective.’ Certain the Nightmare would do nothing until it had all its prizes together, Paladin said nothing. Instead he watched and he planned. Mortality was clearly something of a weakness for it, not that he could claim much better in that regard. Looking around him he knew any moment his life could be snuffed out by a mad beast. He could fight but he could not hope to defeat such overwhelming numbers and sheer hate. That didn’t mean he wouldn’t try if it came to that. The trick lay in it not letting events take such a perilous course of action and he knew just how to do it. It wasn’t long before the shadow wall parted, the baying ponies half exposed through the veil stepping aside to allow Applejack, Rarity and Fluttershy to enter. They stumbled in, pushed by the hosts who had taken him. Their captors merged with the dark herd and the mocking laughter began again. Rarity still wore the old raincoat she had been using to hide the brightness of her coat but she trotted with dignity usually reserved for glittering ball gowns. They clustered with Paladin at the centre of the circle where he stood with the immovability of a mountain. Around them the possessed ponies gave voice to the rage of the Nightmare. Its attention focused on its primary host as it gathered its power its subconscious spread among them. The wordless fury was embodied through her growls and snarls. They were more animal than pony as the evil permeated their bodies. The Nightmare’s shadow-alicorn appeared again through the mass of madden hosts, half its body still within the veil. “Kindness, Generosity and Honesty. Your little plan failed. Your capture is merely the beginning, you know.” “Ah don’t know a lick ‘bout that, missy.” Applejack immediately shot back with a snarl. “Jus’ ‘cause ya got us don’t mean nothin’!” “Clearly your Element was a mistake,” Hissed the Nightmare. “For the only greater lies told in a thousand years are those spouted by my sister in my absence! Both your lies and hers will be quickly corrected and with the proper prices exacted.” Fluttershy whimpered and backed away as the monster ranted at them. She stopped when she ran into Rarity and took another step to the side, running into Paladin. He glanced back at her for a moment. The hard look he had been directing at the Nightmare softened. “Be calm, Fluttershy. All will be well.” He assured her too quietly for the Nightmare to hear. “Another lie.” Or so he had thought. The Nightmare sneered. Rarity fixed the shadow-alicorn with a look that could only be called imperious despite the old raincoat and her words were acidic. “I think you’ll find Sir Paladin is far too gentlecolty to ever lie to a lady. Although I do suppose a leathery old thing like you wouldn’t know much about being treated by a gentlecolt now would you darling?” The Nightmare’s eyes narrowed. “Impudence, Generosity, sheer impudence. The words you speak are yet more crimes added to your sentence. Not that you were getting mercy before.” “C-crimes?” The Nightmare’s gaze switched to Fluttershy at the stuttered question and she recoiled again. “The greatest crimes of all! Treason. Every time I make my bid to reclaim my throne you and your cohorts have stood in my way! The last was the final time. You shall submit and my dominance will be assured.” It spoke as though its words were fact and indisputable. Its captives quickly proved their opinion otherwise. “Y’all are even crazier than ah thought! We ain’t submittin’ ta anything an’ nothin’ o’ yours is gonna be assured ‘cept mah hoof right in yer spooky face!” Applejack spat at it with a fierce scowl. Rarity stepped forward, throwing back the hood of the coat, her glare agreeing in spirit if not precisely in word with Applejack’s statement. After only a moment’s hesitation Fluttershy joined them albeit with more than a few shakes in her step. “I was willing,” the Nightmare hissed, leaning down to bring its eyes to their level, “To show you mercy if you gave in. If you let me take you without fighting back. But no more!” It barked and the shadows quaked at its scream. The braying ponies in the darkness suddenly stilled as a ripple ran from where the shadow-alicorn suddenly withdrew again, running across the wall until it met opposite side where the Nightmare burst from. Its lower side was a misty trail of blackness leading back into the wall as it slammed its front hooves down around them. Paladin didn’t flinch but the same couldn’t be said for the others. Even Applejack gave a startled yelp. The Nightmare towered above them and glared down at them with eyes flaming with hate. “You have defied your queen and for this crime your bodies will be confiscated. The bond you have stolen of the Elements of Harmony shall return to me along with those of the Elements once aligned with my sister.” Declared the Nightmare, its head framed by a mane that swirled about its head like a living halo. “I will be imbued with the power I need to overwhelm Equestria once more- who did that?” It glared down at them. One of them had the temerity to snort! The Nightmare focused on Paladin, whose expression had become amused. “YOU!” “You truly think yourself so powerful?” Paladin snorted again. “Amusing, if only because you are perhaps the most deluded creature I have ever seen. You claim to wield such power, yet require a trinket stolen from others?” The Nightmare glared at him, slowly winding back along its shadow trail until its upper half once more stood from the veil. “You are foalish mortal. You speak of the Apex Crystal as though I no longer possess it. Once the Bearers give in to me I will not even need it.” “I begin to doubt you can even control it. The most you can do is leave it hovering in the sky and you can’t even control it enough to stop the power bringing a storm down around us.” Paladin’s voice was cold and dismissive. “Shadows and mist, that’s all you have to show and what can you do with that?” Circling them the Nightmare spat as it screamed back. “My power is more than you could ever imagine!” “Twilight Sparkle showed more control over the crystal’s power than you did, monster.” He said as condescendingly as possible. “All you can do is steal and scream. If your power is so vast, show me storm and thunder. Show me winds and rain. Show me lightning.” Throwing its head back it eyes became slits and its mouth stretched into a dark grin. “You want to see control? You want to see me wield the power of a storm? Taste what you have begged for, mortal!” The word ‘power’ rang out like a great gong and from above a blinding white bolt of lightning fell at ‘storm’. It struck Paladin before the Nightmare had finished. His eyes widened and his lips pulled back in a silent snarl. Lightning spider-webbed across his body as the mares cried out in dismay around him. Unlike a natural lightning strike this one continued for nearly ten seconds, a constant stream of electrical power from above. The power thrummed through his being, electrifying every inch of his body. He felt it like a thousand burning knives. It broke at last with only a smoking pegasus left to indicate its presence. His eyelids drooped but he remained standing, feeling a remnant heat in his chest. Immediately they tried to reach Paladin to help him, Fluttershy stepping up to steady him. Rarity laid her borrowed raincoat over him as though it would protect him. His wings shot out to warn them off a second later and he staggered a step away. “Get back.” He croaked. “Before anoth-ah!” Another bolt fell as he spoke and Paladin writhed in the grips of the lightning. The elemental energy burnt away the old raincoat without even slowing down. His wings twitched and jerked as his nerves burned. This time the flow of lightning poured into him for nearly half a minute before it relented. Again he warded them off with his wings, not letting them get close enough to risk harm. His chest burned, like a tiny piece of lightning was still piercing his chest. Around them the Nightmare laughed at the staggering pegasus. Applejack began to shout, trying to turn its attention on her instead of Paladin. “Applejack.” She stopped when she heard her name, looking to Paladin. He stared her in the eye. “Stop.” “So protective of them, aren’t you mortal? And just as helpless!” Paladin turned his head to meet the shadow-alicorn’s eyes. “Wrong.” Lightning fell and this time he screamed. “Paladin!” Applejack grabbed Fluttershy before she could reach Paladin. “You claim control, yet with a single word I manipulated you.” Paladin gasped when the lightning stopped. “With a single word you did as I wished. What contr-argh!” His body shook. Every nerve screamed at him and Paladin’s mind was assaulted with the agony. But with every volt that ran through him he grasped at the elemental energy and pulled. Coursing through him was the power every pegasi had been born to wield and his body was no different. He fell to the ground, gasping for breath. Paladin barely noticed when the Nightmare loomed above him. “You are a fool. My power is greater than any this world has seen before. I will be the darkness that consumes Equestria and you will watch every second of it.” It hissed in his ear. Fluttershy tried to help him but Applejack held her back. The earth pony wanted to buck this monster in the face but she knew she couldn’t interfere. Even if stopping her from helping was hurting Fluttershy inside, she couldn’t let her. Applejack felt something wet dripping onto her shoulder where Fluttershy’s chin rested as she held her in place. Another flash of light and Paladin’s bellowed pain made Fluttershy shudder against her as the Nightmare tortured him. “The rest of this weak herd sleep away their enslavement but soon I will awaken them. They will watch as my sister falls. They will forever watch as she is bound to me for eternity. Their hope in her will die and their hope will turn to me as the end comes.” Lifting his head Paladin chuckled. His throat screamed in pain at the action but he ignored it. “You will never be their hope.” Dirt erupted around him when it began to ram its hooves into the ground around him. “You still defy me! How can you still deny my claims?” It lowered its head to snarl at him. “You want to know why you’ll never be Hope?” He asked, staring up with white-blue eyes. Forcing his legs to move he managed to stand, lifting his head closer to that of the Nightmare’s. “You’re much uglier than her.” He hissed into her ear. A shadow hoof slammed into the side of his head launching Paladin through the air. He smashed into the ground, rolling into the girls as they rushed to help him. “I have had enough playing with you, mortal! Your soul is MINE!” The Nightmare pointed a hoof at Paladin’s downed form and a stream of shadows shot forth. It speared him and his lidded eyes snapped open as he felt it trying to crawl into him. It bled through his fur and skin, it ran into his eyes and mouth and nose without regard. The darkness seeped into Paladin as it sought to taint his soul and body. Paladin roared and the shadows screamed. He rose to his hooves and reared, wings flared. “Never!” His front hooves came crashing back to the ground and he glared with renewed strength at the Nightmare. Around them the shadows were still as a hundred faces reflected the same shock. “Impossible.” The Nightmare spat disbelievingly. “Impossible! You can’t resist me, not here where my power is gathered.” Rarity scoffed but said nothing, letting the Nightmare focused on Paladin. She took the chance to look up again, her eyes scanning the grey clouds. She had watched the lightning fall; all she needed was a single glimpse of the crystal to find its weak spot. Then it was all up to Rainbow Dash and Twilight. “I can, monster, and I will. I never asked for this body but I will not relinquish it to as mad a beast like you. Throw everything you have at me and it will gain you nothing.” He said but despite his words he swayed slightly. His body was still feeling the effects of the elemental lightning. His body’s need for the natural magic all pegasi normally possessed had served as a vacuum but he had not absorbed enough of it to stave off as much damage as they had been hoping. The veil of darkness around them began to thin as the Nightmare gathered its power into its shadow-alicorn. “You. Will. BOW!” The dark spear struck him but Paladin forced it from him. He felt the whispers of the Nightmare in his ears but with a flap of his wings he rejected it. Another spear, and another. A third and a fourth. A fifth. Sixth. Seventh. More and more flowed from the alicorn until it was a torrent that slammed into Paladin, swamping him in darkness. Curses in an ancient tongue hissed in his ear and his mind. Forgotten oaths rang around him, vowing destruction and revenge. Chaos to drive a mortal mind into submission assaulted him. The Nightmare struck at Paladin as it had done every pony so far but with a hundred times the power. Its power came from its hate and its hate came from its memories. Darkness, endless darkness reaching from the beneath the world. Seeking the light it drove and fought until all was dust and ash. Relentlessly it consumed everything until only a world of eternal, empty night was left. All that was would not be and all that could be would never be. It showed him visions the mind of a mortal lacked the senses to understand and in their weakness they would slam shut instinctively to avoid it. “You. Will. Fall.” The Nightmare didn’t scream this time, it merely spoke what it knew to be true. Head bowed against the onslaught and the power trying to claw its way in, Paladin lifted his eyes. Their white-blue light cut through the river of darkness to meet the Nightmare’s. “Never.” Power exploded around him and the Nightmare’s attack increased. It drew on everything it had, no longer caring to keep its essence compartmentalised in so many different bodies. Rage overtook its senses and all it wanted was to crush his will. It called on everything it had invested in its hosts and all gathered so close it began to unite. All that mattered was destroying the mortal who dared to resist it. His mind held against the assault, not supported by the bond of the Elements or a familiar connection. So dedicated to its attack the Nightmare failed to understand how it was being fought when there was no magic holding it off. Simply a mind that was like a fortress carved from a mountain of unbreakable granite. There was no spell at work save Paladin’s own refusal to give in. He called upon an existence that led back to the dawn of creation to feed his strength. A million battles took place in front of his eyes. He saw billions of demons dead and his blade wiped clean of their blood as it took another’s life. War eternal was his response to visions of eternal night. A conflict that lasted forever against a darkness that never ended. Unable to help their friend the three mares stood by helplessly. “Ah still don’t like this part o’ the plan.” Applejack growled in Rarity’s ear. The fashionista nodded, staring at the whirling mass of darkness around Papladin, fed by the Nightmare’s attack. “I rather think Paladin didn’t either. We simply have to trust Twilight and Rainbow Dash.” With that said she looked away, no longer wishing to leave her flaw seeking vision on Paladin’s struggle. Her head was aching from just a few seconds of it and she continued to scan the skies. Fluttershy’s voice got their attention. “Oh my. The ponies...they’re....” She raised a hoof. Applejack looked where Fluttershy was pointing and her eyes widened. “It’s workin’...” On all sides the possessed ponies were falling to the ground. The darkness surrounding them flowed through the air, streaming into the shadow-alicorn. Every second that passed another shadow joined the others as the Nightmare called on its power. “It’s using everything...” Rarity said. She had looked down to see what the matter was and her Sight perceived the flow of energy from the hosts. “Paladin is holding off the Nightmare and it’s just throwing everything it has at him. Goodness, it’s leaving them!” Colour was returning to the once-possessed ponies as they collapsed. The magic that had stained them retreated and the Nightmare’s mind consolidated around a single body. Within the depths of the shadow-alicorn a hapless pony’s body struggled to endure the power flowing through it. High above them a flash went unseen and a blur began to fly through the clouds above the centre of Ponyville. Winds picked up and the grey storm clouds began to shift and move at the hooves of an experienced weathermare. “You....cannot...win...” The Nightmare began to approach Paladin, every step an effort. “You are...tied...to mortal flesh...my mind is free...of such...bonds...” “You’ve already lost. You are but spirit and thought, dominated by your whims and single minded when fury overtakes you. You are predictable.” Paladin retorted. His tail twitched, exposing through the hairs a slender metal rod placed in it by Rarity when she had thrown the coat over him. The lightning rod stabbed downwards into the dirt. He looked into the eyes of the Nightmare as it reached him, a grim smile on his face. Rarity looked up against and at last the clouds broke to expose the Apex Storm Crystal. She Saw its flaws and its weakness. Her horn glowed and fired a single glowing streak. It hit the crystal leaving a dot barely a centimetre across right on the underside. It was followed a moment later by a spell she had only just learned, a crude firework like blast of light and sound erupting from Rarity’s horn. Breaking from the clouds Rainbow Dash fell like a comet with a colourful trail. She curved under the crystal and stabbed the lightning rod, twin to Paladin’s, into the dot of Rarity’s magic. In one flash she was gone from the sky, in another she was on the ground with her hooves around another pony. Twilight smiled up at the naked surprise on the Nightmare’s face. “Hello again.” She said, her horn bright with magic. “Princess Luna’s book on sky magic was very useful.” The lightning rods glowed under Twilight’s magic. She had studied the book in the time they had left and began to do what it claimed was impossible for all save alicorns. The lightning rods had been repurposed, the one jammed in the crystal modified. A minor spell of sharpness and piercing were the least of its changes. The tip stabbing the crystal’s heart did as it had always done when Twilight cast her spell and began to call lightning to it, sucking in magic of the crystal. The power flowed through the rod and where once it would have expelled the magic into the earth where the natural elemental forces would have essentially grounded it like lightning it instead sent the magic down a bond to its twin. The unruly elemental power may have fought it once but a second bond had reinforced it when lightning had been called onto Paladin and through him into the rod hidden in his tail, the spell on the rod altering it to call to identical energy. Lightning, the same as that which had struck Paladin flowed from one rod to the other. The grounding rod did as it was meant to do and harmlessly fed the power of the storm deep into the earth. “No!” The Nightmare roared. The shadows around Paladin burst into mist and rushed into its shadow-form. “No! The crystal! I need it!” “Sounds like somepony was lyin’ ‘bout not needin’ it before.” Applejack called, rushing to Paladin’s side with Fluttershy before he could collapse. “Whatcha gonna do now?” Twilight tried not to smirk triumphantly. “You’re beaten, Nightmare Moon. You even used the power you had protecting the crystal to try taking over Paladin and now it’s being drained away.” Rarity stood next to Twilight, giving the enraged shadow-alicorn a smug little smile. “What’s wrong dear? Did you realise we worked out you can’t control those bodies and absorb the sky magic at the same time?” “How....” It hissed. “Once I knew who you were and how sky magic worked it wasn’t that hard to figure out. There’s only a few ways to control it. Only alicorns can – normally – do anything but the crudest of spells with sky magic but you don’t have an alicorn’s body to channel it through anymore. That’s why you needed us, two of each kind of pony who were linked by the Elements. With our bodies you could make a new alicorn body for yourself capable of a channelling it. The only other option would be abandon all the bodies, even that last one you’re in now, and return to being purely a spirit.” explained Twilight. Rainbow Dash floated up behind her. “So if you want all that magic you gotta give up the Mayor’s body. Sucks to be you, doesn’t it?” The Nightmare looked between the ponies around it as every second more sky magic was drained. “You will regret this.” It hissed. “I swear, I will return and destroy each and every one of you.” With that the shadow-alicorn dissolved into a living mist and dived for the grounding rod. The Mayor fell with a thump, not moving. Paladin jerked up, his lidded eyes snapping open. He saw the Nightmare’s spirit gathering around the grounding rod and absorbing the sky magic and he acted. He saw Twilight’s horn glow as she started to reverse the spell and activate a second layer concealed within the rod that would send the Nightmare’s spirit up into the Apex Crystal where they had planned to trap it. They had planned, but not him. His wing flicked out as Twilight began to cast the other spell to reverse the rod in the crystal so it could absorb, the tip of his wing hitting her horn and knocking it away, disrupting the casting. It was vital that the lightning continued to fall. A stream of darkness was sent wailing upwards against the lightning. Before they could even comprehend his action Paladin’s wings flared. He flew. He reached the centre of the power exchange. Lightning flowed across him but this time there was nowhere to go. His hooves no longer touched the ground and couldn’t go anywhere else but into him. The Nightmare had little choice for this time when it struck him he didn’t fight. He opened his soul and let the Nightmare in. It fell upon him, desperate to escape the trap above. Paladin would have screamed in pain if his teeth hadn’t been grinding together. The sensation of being about to explode filled him as elemental energy overran him but he endured. He endured and he took it all in. There was nowhere else to go and so it was forced to change, reshaping into the magic of the pegasi by his body. Paladin closed his eyes outside and opened them within. He stood against a shifting plane of black and white. It was so much like when he had been in the Nightmare’s root system fittingly enough. This time he was not the intruder. An alicorn he had seen only in pictures since his arrival in this world glared at him. The armour of Nightmare Moon left little room for guessing. “So.” Her voice was cold but calm. “You’ve let me in. Why?” He stared back and made no move to go on guard. In his mindscape it would mean little. “You are here to be brought to justice.” She laughed, coldly and cruelly. “Justice? You, the cutie markless freak who has defied the rightful queen of this world, dare to call fighting me justice? I will destroy you in your own mind.” Paladin sighed and shook his head. She might seem calmer but Nightmare Moon was just as insane as before. “No, you will not. We are in my mind and the crystal’s magic is feeding me. I could do nothing before when you had a body in your possession but you no longer do. You are trapped and this time there is no mercy for you.” The feeling of empowerment from the crystal filled him. Paladin took a deep breath and let it settle into his mind form’s chest. “You mock me for the lack of a cutie mark, yet I wonder if you know what the one I possessed meant. I didn’t, not really.” He said almost casually. “I made assumptions, only one of which was near to correct.” Nightmare Moon attacked with a blast of power. He ignored it as he spoke. “Wings. Wings not because I can fly but because I must hold myself highly. I must always hold myself to the highest standard, for what right does a sinner have to judge others damned? Yet if I do sin, if I do fall, my wings might carry me high again. I must soar forever upwards and even should I falter, my wings will lift me back into the light.” Black lightning struck from every direction, piercing his body. “Weighting scales. Justice must be fair and balanced in all things and so must I. I must never allow myself to lean on a side unfairly, and so the scales weigh down the wings that would lift me above others for even I can be weighed and found wanting.” Spikes of shadow formed and tried to gut him with no success, sliding across his fur and leaving no mark. “And a sword. I thought it was merely an image of Eld’ruin, but no. Sometimes, justice must be final. A blade must fall and mercy be sacrificed so the innocent may live.” He opened his eyes again and for a moment Tyrael looked upon Nigthmare Moon. “My mark was three-fold and yet together they paint a greater purpose; justice.” She recoiled. “W-who are you? What are you?!” “I am but a mortal now, but I carry justice with me. The time for mercy has ended. You will end no more lives, you will torture no more souls.” Paladin advanced on her and Nightmare Moon retreated, scrambling back. She was in his mind and soul now with nowhere to run and he had the power of the skies burning through him. A bodiless spirit, no matter how powerful, had but one choice when it entered the mind of another; victory or death. When she had taken Trixie the unicorn had been unprepared and young, nowhere near strong of mind enough to stop the spirit. The same could not be said of Paladin. He would destroy his own mind before another would take it. There could be no victory here. “No, no.” She screamed. “I don’t want to die! I am Nightmare Moon! I am the Bringer of Night. I am the saviour of Equestria! The darkness, the darkness it would have come anyway! I was sparing them, sparing generations spared by me me us we me it was me not here, she abandoned me me my not my fault! Not my fault!” Paladin felt the power gathering within him reach a crescendo. Its form did not matter, not while they were in his domain. He gathered it and it took form, a blade hovering above the ranting, broke spirit. He looked down on her with pity. Evil had stained every inch of the shattered soul before him. He could feel it now, the raw edges of a wound never healed. Nightmare Moon wasn’t even an entire soul, merely a fragment that had been torn from a greater being. “There is nothing left untouched in you.” He said sadly. “I said I had no mercy to give you but now I see I was wrong. Good bye, Nightmare Moon.” He lowered his head but did not look away. The mental blade was merely a construction to symbolise what he was about to do. “It’s not my fault, not my fault not my fault not my fault she left me, cut me off, tore me off to save herself herself herself herself why am I not her? Why is she her her and am I not she her me we us? Why did I have to-“ The blade fell. * “What was that?” Rainbow Dash demanded. “This is what you meant when you said make Paladin fly? What the hay just happened?” Twilight rubbed her horn, staring at Paladin. “I- I don’t know.” “Is that what ya meant when ya said ya’d make him fly? What’s he doin’?” Applejack demanded. His body was at the epicentre of swirling light and darkness as the two energies mingled and fought. “When I said we’d make him fly I was talking about using his deficiency in natural sky magic to act as a conduit. He absorbs some from the lightning and the lightning lets the spells on the rod match the energy frequency of the crystal, that’s all!” said Twilight, shading her eyes from the glow. “I thought his inability to fly would be fixed but not this quickly! I’m more worried about what the crystal’s magic is going to do to him now, not to mention the Nightmare!” Fluttershy stared in horror silently while her friends frantically tried to work out what to do. Staring through the alternating glow and gloom of the energy around him, Fluttershy wished she could know what he was doing, what he was feeling.... Feeling. He said she had empathic powers. Fluttershy’s expression changed. Determination she so rarely showed shone through. Her friend was doing something dangerous but she knew he had a reason. Her eyes flickered for a moment, turning white-blue and she reached out. Certainty. Whatever he was doing he was certain it was the right path, he was certain and sure in his course of action. Sadness. Regret. She felt it keenly. Whatever Paladin was doing, he was feeling regret. Fluttershy could grasp his emotions for a moment, not his thoughts but she was almost sure he was regretting doing whatever he was doing without telling them. “I’ll ‘port up and grab him!” Rainbow Dash was saying to the others, wings flaring as she prepared to go. “Wait!” Twilight, who had been about to shout the same thing, closed it and looked at Fluttershy in shock. So did the others. The pegasus looked back at them not confidently but without shying from their gazes. “Paladin is doing something he’s certain of. I don’t know what, but he thinks it’s the right thing to do.” She looked up at the shifting melee of energy. “He’s sad he didn’t tell us before.” Snorting Rainbow Dash gave the timid mare disparaging look. “’Shy, how the hay could you know that if he didn’t tell us before? What, are you psychic now or something?” “Empathic, actually.” Twilight cut in. “She can read emotions. That’s what you’re doing right now, isn’t it? You’re reading Paladin’s emotions.” Relieved she was being listened to Fluttershy nodded. “He’s alright, I think. I– I can’t read his thought but I’m just getting something like he’s not worried or anything. The opposite, really. I think we should trust him.” “He hasn’t done us wrong so far.” Rarity pointed out as she looked away from where Paladin hovered. “I think Fluttershy is correct, we should trust him.” Applejack nodded in agreement. “Ah don’t like that he didn’t let us know, but ain’t much we can do.” “What? I can totally fly up there and get him!” Rainbow Dash flapped her wings and hovered above them. “It would take like two seconds.” “Actually, I was going to stop you anyway Rainbow Dash. There’s too much magic up there, I doubt you’d be able to even reach him. With all that sky magic taking the form of lightning Paladin was safer when he was on the ground. Now there’s nowhere else for it to go so it’s going into him.” Twilight explained, staring up with concern. “He’s being forced to try absorbing all of it. If he can’t....” She looked down, her meaning clear even if she couldn’t say it. “He’ll be fine.” Twilight looked up in surprise, staring at Fluttershy. The storm clouds were beginning to break and sunlight fell upon them, highlighting the look on the pegasus’ face. She was looking at the whirling chaos with surprising calm. “He’ll be fine.” She repeated. Running a hoof through her mane Rainbow Dash landed. “Sheesh, he better be. I didn’t spend ages looking for the stupid crystal while you guys got caught for me to go and blow himself up.” Despite her words she looked just as worriedly. “Hey guys, what’s up with Pally?” Spittle rained from Dash’s mouth as she jumped at the voice in her ear. “Gah! Pinkie, don’t sneak up on me!” She glared at the party pony still wearing her spy outfit. “He’s doing who knows what and we can’t do a thing!” A black clad hoof fell over her shoulder and Pinkie pulled Rainbow Dash into a hug. “Aww, don’t worry about him. Pally probably knows what he’s doing.” “Probably?” Rainbow Dash asked sourly. “Probably.” agreed Pinkie with a smile hidden by her spy mask. “Great.” The pegasus put plenty of sarcasm in one word. Fluttershy started to say something to remind them that Paladin wouldn’t do something foolish like blow himself up when the emotions changed. Not completely she realised, more like an addition. Pity. The swirly black and white sphere froze, contracted and with a rush of air exploded into nothingness. A crack filled the air as the power of the crystal vanished and it began to dissolve, cracking from above until it fell into slivers that themselves broke apart until nothing was left. The attention of the ponies below however was fixed on a different falling object. Paladin crashed to the ground and they rushed to him. The first to reach him was Fluttershy and she began to search for any sign of damage from the fall. She abruptly drew back with a gasp, pointing at his flank. “This isn’t the time to drool over a colt’s flank ‘Shy.” Rainbow Dash landed next to Paladin, poking him. “Is he okay or not?” Fluttershy cringed but kept pointing. “Um, no, I mean yes but, look. His cutie mark.” “Huh? Would ya look at that!” Applejack whistled, staring at Paladin. A winged blade, weighing scales hanging from each wing-tip, marked him. “He got his cutie mark back and...oh my....” Twilight’s horn glowed, finally using the original spell Princess Luna had given her the book for. “His internal magic levels are normal. Well, they looked normal at least. What happened to the Nightmare?” “Destroyed.” Paladin lifted his head weakly, looking at them expressionlessly. “I destroyed it.” They began to help him up, the stallion swaying on his hooves. He wasn’t smiling but there was an air of victory about him nonetheless. “How is that even possible? The Elements couldn’t even destroy it!” Twilight asked, although demanded would be closer to how she said it. She flushed when she realised how she was coming across. “I mean not to doubt you, but-” A croaking chuckle interrupted her. Now he was smiling slightly. “The Elements. They are merciful. But in the end the only mercy it needed was mine. I let it into my soul and it had nowhere to go. I turned the power of the crystal on it. It...She died. Nightmare Moon is no more.” They exchanged looks. Dying was...there hadn’t even been a murder in Equestria in decades. Paladin didn’t seem to notice. “Justice has been done.” With that proclamation he collapsed. *** “Hmm.” Three letters forming a single word and they carried weight like a king’s judgement. The spectator watched as the Nightmare was destroyed. It watched the strange pegasus. It thought. As ponies awoke in confusion and distress it watched and it studied, its eyes tracking one of seven ponies at all times. It watched the pink one appear with a pair of foals and give them over to crying parents, her explanation for where she had hidden them drowned out by the two pulling her into the hug with their foals. It watched the orange one when she found her gauze wrapped brother limping into town and rushed him over to the hospital where a doctor with a broken leg ignored his own leg and did his best to care for the ponies around him until a nurse got him with a sedative when he was distracted. It watched the purple one hugging a baby dragon, promising to be better at anything and everything if he just never got hurt like that again. The white one and her tearful reunion with her little sister and thoroughly confused parents. It watched the strange pegasus, standing alone on a hill where he could not be praised as the news somehow spread that he had destroyed the creature that had left so many ponies with vague impressions of something dark around them and destroyed the town hall. It watched when the yellow one left her herd of vermin and beasts to hesitantly approach him and offer company, company he didn’t have the heart to refuse. Not after she ignored his first attempt to convince her he was fine at any rate. It watched and it studied. It looked for bonds and relationships, where they were weak and where they were strong. Great leathery wings spread and it took to the air, fleeing only minutes before the only two ponies who knew it arrived surrounded by a battalion of their royal guards. “Hmm.” It planned. Somewhere, deep below the world, a chain began to break. ***