//------------------------------//
// Chapter 14: The Second Long Night. 
// Story: Magical Pony Lyrical Twilight A's 
// by PurpleProse 
//------------------------------//

	The transition from dimensional space to real space was a curious thing to see. First, a section of space seemed to ripple, like the surface of a puddle that had just had a pebble dropped in it. The rippling then intensified, before a circular opening formed in space, revealing the swirling colors of the dimensional void. It was like someone had taken a glass cutter and had simply sliced a hole in the fabric of reality.
The Arthra slowly emerged, its dimensional drives deactivating as its intersystem engines kicked on, propelling the ship along as the door behind them shrank to a pin-prick of light, then vanished with a ripple.
“Crossover complete. We have transitioned to Equestrian Real Space,” Elantra announced as she stood up from her console, walking up the stairs to Lindy’s chair. The Admiral was tightly secured to her seat; green bands of light locked her arms down tight, and a similar bind secured her stomach to the back of the chair. Two men in Enforcer garb held their staffs at the ready as they flanked the Admiral.
“Well, Admiral Harlaown, I have to say that it was a pleasure working with you on this cruise,” Elantra said, leaning against the lip of the platform.
“I could say the same for you,” Lindy replied flatly, “if it weren’t for this blatant act of mutiny.”
Elantra tsked softly, pushing a few stray strands of red hair out of her face. “Now now, be civil Admiral. Mutiny’s such a strong word. We‘re both professionals here.”
“Right. Professionals. Are you even a member of the TSAB?”
Elantra shrugged. “In a sense. Technically, I’m what you’d call an ‘outside contractor.’ I‘m only here because I‘m being paid… and because it gets me inside the TSAB.”
“I should have known,” Lindy glared at her. “Considering how squeaky clean your record was. Nobody has a profile that flawless and yet so unassuming. So who do you work for? Private black ops? Mercenaries? Some terrorist organization I haven‘t heard of?”
“It doesn’t matter who we work for, Admiral. I don’t have to explain our allegiances to you. This is just a job, nothing more.”
“And you’re comfortable with being a wanted criminal? Because I can guarantee that this won’t turn out well for you or your friends.” Lindy glanced over to the ‘Enforcers,’ then back to Elantra. “If you let me go right now, the Bureau might be lenient when it comes to your sentencing.”
“As if they’d know anything’s happened. Now, I’ll have to apologize, but I’ll be needing your key.”
Lindy squirmed as Elantra slipped her hands into her tunic, quickly pulling out a large, reddish metal key. A glowing, finger-sized crystalline prism dangled from the handle on a chain, one face inscribed with Mid-Childan script in the words ’Arc-en-Ciel.’
“Pretty, isn’t it?” Elantra inspected the key with a small smile. “To think, something as powerful as the Arc-en-Ciel is fired with just a single twist of a key.”
“There’s more than just the key,” Lindy growled. “You need my authorization code. And if you think I’m going to help you blow up a city full of innocent ponies, then you’re crazier than I thought.”
“Oh, I expected that. Which is why I have my associate working on the security system. Speaking of which,” Elantra reached over and flicked a switch, “Monza, are we ready?”
“Um… almost. The encryptions on the firing control systems are a lot sturdier than I expected. Give me a little more time…”
“A little m- ugh, fine.” Elantra ran a hand through her hair and shook her head.. “Be quick about it. I want us out of here as quickly as possible.” Elantra growled, flicking the switch off. “Honestly, it’s a pain to find good help these days.”

---

“Amy, for the love of everything tell me you’ve found something…”
“Not yet. I’m doing the best I can Chrono,” Amy replied with a strained voice, her fingers dancing over the keyboard as Chrono paced  The remains of a half-eaten sandwich wrapped in a napkin sat beside her keyboard, probably the only bit of her dinner she had grabbed before the guards had hauled her back to HQ. “I’m running as wide a scan as the MIDAR can allow, covering every arcanographic frequency possible…”
“Has anything shown up yet? Even the-” 
Amy glared at Chrono for a brief moment, then snapped back to the screen. “Chrono, I‘m only one person! I’ll tell you if I find anything, but you’ve got to let me work!”
Chrono exhaled as Amy snapped at him. “Sorry. Just… just call when you find something, okay?”
Amy simply made a shooing motion with one hand,  her eyes firmly locked on the screen.
Chrono nodded, stepping out of the room before jogging down the stairs. It didn’t take long for him to find the others. They’d mostly gathered a floor or so below. They were gathered in small clusters in the meeting room. Rarity was quietly hugging Spike in one corner, while Applejack was doing her best to console Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy, the sensitive pegasus and the happy-go-lucky Earth Pony clearly horrified by what had just happened. Rainbow Dash and Arf paced back and forth parallel to each other, tails swishing violently as they did so. They paused briefly to look questioningly at Chrono, Arf growling and Rainbow giving the wall a kick of frustration as he shook his head. Yuuno was quietly applying a healing spell to a stone-faced Sister Schach’s wrist. Celestia, however, stood beside the meeting table, her horn glowing gently as her magic swirled slowly over Gil Graham.
Gil lay on the table, his body limp. A smoldering, blackened hole was torn in his uniform over his sternum, the flesh raw and red but intact. The feline forms of the Liese Twins were curled up at his side, both of them having returned to their original cat shapes.
“How is he?” Chrono approached Celestia, his hands firmly in his pockets as he looked down at his former mentor.
“He’s alive, by some miracle,” Celestia replied. “His Linker Core is terrifyingly weak, however. I’ve done what I can, but he will likely never recover his full magical power.”
“And the twins?”
“Much the same.” Celestia’s horn dimmed as she shook her head. “Has Miss Limietta found where the Book teleported to?”
“Not yet…”
“I see. Let us hope something turns up soon…”
Chrono nodded wordlessly, stepping around Celestia and walking towards Schach. “What happened?”
“You were right. Gil was up to something.” Schach said as Yuuno withdrew his hands, the Knight flexing her wrist experimentally. “He tried to seal Trixie and the Book in ice, but it backfired… and it’s worse. Apparently the Arthra is under new management right now, and they’re going to ‘clean up some loose ends’ by wiping out Canterlot.”
“What?!”
Chrono turned as the ponies stared in Schach’s direction.
“It’s true,” Spike added. “I heard it too. They’re going to blow us up.”
“But… but how?” Applejack gaped. “How’s that even possible?”
“The Arc-en-Ciel,” Chrono growled. “The Arthra was fitted with an Arc-en-Ciel during its upgrading. Someone must have planned this operation out… dammit! I knew something was wrong, but I didn’t think it’d be something like this!”
“For those of us not up on the whole magical lingo,” Rainbow Dash interrupted, “what’s an Arc-and-seal?”
“It’s a simplified version of its real name,” Chrono replied. “The Artificial Resonance Cascade Casting Lens. It’s basically a gun that makes everything in a certain radius of the impact point cease to exist.”
“And they named a weapon like that after the term for a rainbow?” Rarity sounded almost offended. “How… how unsavory.”
“Indeed. And even now, the ship drifts in wait above our world.”
The assembled ponies turned towards the door as Luna strode in. She was followed by Cadence, who leaned heavily on Shining Armor. Luna’s eyes were hard, and her gait slow. “The palace is secure,” she continued. “The Guard is on high alert, for what little good it does. We must act…”
“So what’re we waiting for?” Rainbow shouted. “Can’t we just blast it out of the sky?”
“No,” Celestia replied sternly. “Destroying the Arthra is a last-ditch option, tempting though it may be.”
“There’s also the matter that my mother’s still on board,” Chrono growled. “And the rest of her crew. No, attacking the ship won’t work. We need to get inside, which will be difficult if the ship’s shields are up.”
“I assume you know the Arthra‘s transit access codes?” Yuuno asked, dusting off his hands as Chrono nodded. “Then I can get us in. Even with the shields up, I should be able to teleport past it if I‘ve got the transit codes. It won‘t be easy, but I‘ll manage.”
“We’ll rally the guard then,” Shining Armor said. “I’ll call my best stallions, they’ll-”
Yuuno shook his head. “No. I‘ll only be able to take a small group with me. I could manage about eight people including myself. Any more than that, and I‘ll have trouble with the displacement.”
“Alright…”
“But… but what about Twilight and Fate?” Fluttershy asked softly. “What’re we going to do about finding them? Who knows where they could be right now…”
“We’re working on it. But right now,” Celestia said calmly, “the best we can hope is that they’re surviving.”
“Can’t ya’ll just find them with your magic?” Applejack asked.
“Sadly, fair Applejack, we cannot.” Luna shook her head. “The Book of Darkness seems to obscure itself from our senses. Neither I nor my sister can ascertain its whereabouts with our magic. At most, I can sense vaguely when the Book lashes out to claim a victim…”
“Oh…”
“I can’t find Fate either,” Arf said morosely. “Wherever she is, I can’t raise her telepathically. It’s like there’s a wall…”
“For all we know,” Celestia replied, “they could be anywhere on the planet. They could very well be under our noses, and we wouldn’t be able to tell. I’m sorry…”
The wolf-girl let out a soft whine as Fluttershy trotted over to her, nuzzling her gently.
“For now,” Chrono interrupted, “we need to focus on the current crisis. Twilight and Fate are strong. With any luck, Amy will find them soon…”
And then, as though on cue there was a rapid staccato of footsteps before Amy flung herself into the doorway, panting.
“I got something!” Amy shouted, wide-eyed. “I think I know where they are, and you’re NOT going to believe this!”

---

Twilight groaned softly, pushing herself up off the ground. The sand underhoof was loose and a very dark gray, almost black. She took a slow breath. The air was thin, but breathable; it reminded her of when she and her friends had climbed that mountain with the snoring dragon…
“Raising Heart,” she groaned, shaking the powdery dirt from her coat as she got to her feet. A hoof went to her brow, steadying the Element of Magic. “Raising Heart, give me a status report…”
“ALL SYSTEMS GREEN,” the Device replied, the staff slowly hovering up out of the dirt and floating over to her side. “CONDITION NOMINAL.”
“Ugh…” She blinked, then shouted as she spun about. “Fate? Fate, where are you?!”
“Over here… ow…”
Twilight turned, dashing down what looked like a nearby dune, the dust drifting up in her wake as she did so. Fate pushed herself up, coughing softly as Bardiche levitated to her side. 
“Are you alright?” Twilight asked, taking her hoof and helping her up fully.
“I’m fine. But where are we?”
“I’m not sure,” Twilight replied, shaking her head as she looked skywards. The sky above was blanked out, covered in a swirling violet-black wall of light. “I’ve never seen any place like this before. I don’t even know if we’re still in Equestria…”
“DANGER!” Raising Heart shouted in alarm. “EVADE, MY MASTER!”
“SIR, INCOMING ASSAULT,” Bardiche added.
Twilight blinked, then looked skywards. A dozen thin, brilliant red streaks of light shot down towards her and Fate.
“Bardiche,” Fate called out.
“BARRIER JACKET, ASTRAY FORM.”
“Fate, move!” Twilight shouted before she winked out. Her Flier Fin wings unfurled as she came out of the teleport, the ground below covered in several small explosions as a golden streak of light zig-zagged up towards her position.
Fate swung about and came to a halt beside Twilight, her Barrier Jacket greatly changed. Her four legs were mostly bare, and her cape was missing. In exchange, four small jets of golden light crackled behind her, emanating from her withers like dragonfly wings.
“You alright?” Fate asked, energy crackling over her body as she floated back-to-back with Twilight, the pair slowly turning about. There was a loud click as Bardiche’s head rotated, the long plasma blades of its Crescent Form igniting.
“Yes. You?” Twilight leveled her own staff, Raising Heart’s head shimmering as it switched to Corona Form.
“Not a scratch… do you see it anywhere?”
“No… and that worries me,” Twilight replied, glancing around. “This thing knows all of Luna’s tricks… There’s no telling what it’ll try to throw at us… wait…” Twilight’s ears perked as she heard a humming noise. “What’s-”
“MASTER! EVADE!”
“SIR!”
“Too late,” a voice noted calmly.
Twilight and Fate shouted as hoops of pink and blue light snapped around their limbs, slamming their bodies together with a sharp snap. There was a rustle of feathers as the avatar winked into existence, its great black wings flapping.
“Motion Bind and Hoop Bind,” the avatar noted as the brown-covered book snapped shut beside it. “Simple but highly effective, as you would likely know from personal experience.”
“Nnngh… Trixie! Nyx! I know you can hear me in there,” Twilight shouted.
“Incorrect,” the avatar replied. “The aberrant program named Nyx and the biological entity known as Trixie Lulamoon are currently inaccessible. This was considered a necessary measure to maintain the integrity of the system, as is your destruction.”
“If that’s true…” Fate groaned as she yanked against the bindings. “then why not just let her go? She’s no threat-”
“Your statement is incorrect,” the false alicorn replied. “Trixie Lulamoon was in communication with the aberrant program Nyx, and sought to undermine the stability of this system. Thus, I have usurped all authority and control in order to safeguard the Book of Darkness against all threats. You,” the mare pointed at the two, “Twilight Sparkle, are the current greatest threat, due to your possession of the Element of Magic. Therefore, I, Nachtwal, must destroy you.”
“I’m not going down without a fight…” Twilight growled, only to cough as a binding snapped tight around her neck, squeezing her windpipe shut.
“Incorrect. Beginning elimination.” Nachtwal arched her head, her horn igniting with black and purple light. “Bring forth spears and infuse them with blood. Dye them crimson and pierce to the heart…”
The Book of Darkness snapped open, the pages flipping as a mechanical voice began to chant as well. “Swift blades of magic, I command you to be drawn. Pierce my foe with your lethal bite.”
“T-twilight,” Fate gasped as projectiles began to appear in large quantities. Dozens of diamond-shaped daggers winked in around them, spindle-shaped points aimed inwards. A second layer followed suit, filling with long, bright blue sword blades ringed with firing loops. “If you’re going to do something, now would be good!”
Just stay calm, Fate, Twilight replied telepathically. It’ll be alright…
“Drill forth! BLOODY DAGGER!”
“STINGER BLADE - EXECUTION SHIFT!”
Twilight closed her eyes as she heard the projectiles launch, then gritted her teeth. Her horn flared, and the two of them winked out, flung through the ether before re-emerging a few feet away. Raising Heart! Now!
“BIND BREAK!”
There was a snap as the bands shuddered, then shattered, releasing the two ponies. Twilight whirled Raising Heart around and leveled her at Nachtwal, the head shifting to the tuning-fork shape of Prominence form. A sphere of magenta light bloomed as a firing loop sprang into being.
“Let’s go! Prominence Buster!”
“FIRE!”
There was a roar as the spell launched, flashing through the air towards Nachtwal. The avatar winked out in a flash of black and purple energy, letting the blast slam into the wall of the barrier. The false alicorn reappeared beside Twilight, hooves raised to stomp down on her head, only to fly backwards to barely avoid Fate’s scythe.
“Oh no you don’t,” Fate growled, spinning Bardiche about. “Nopony touches my sister. Bardiche, DRIVE ON!”
“FRAME OPEN! ASTRAY CHARGER, TURN ON!”
There was a flash as Fate’s undersuit fluoresced bright yellow, the black armor segmenting slightly. Fate shot towards, her scythe slashing as the four ‘wings’ on her back blazed and lengthened into ribbons of golden flame.
A black, triangular shield sprang up, blocking Fate’s strike as Twilight followed up. Raising Heart’s head shifted back to Corona form as Twilight flew upwards, a dozen spheres of light springing in around her.
“CORONA SHOOTER,” Raising Heart announced. “TARGET LOCKED ON.”
“Fire!” Twilight shouted, launching the volley towards the avatar.
“DIVINE SHOOTER,” the Book announced as a similar cloud of projectiles formed around Nachtwal. “COUNTER SHOT, FIRE”
The clusters of projectiles slammed into each other as Nachtwal teleported away from Fate. The younger unicorn gave chase, however, her body a blur as she pursued the pale mare. Streaks of red shot out from Nachtwal, the Bloody Daggers darting like vengeful snakes of crimson light. However, the shots missed their mark as Fate flickered between the incoming attacks, the only telling of her passage being a streak of golden lightning. 
Sparks sprayed in a wide arc as Fate struck, her scythe slamming into a quickly raised shield. Nachtwal’s eyes narrowed, her horn flaring black and purple.
There was a flash of movement. Fate pulled back in an instant, a long scratch mark scarring her chest plate as Nachtwal raised her own weapons. One was the silhouette of a long-bladed, single edged sword, the other a long-handled mallet made out of inky blackness and outlined in ultraviolet-lamp purple.
“Updating target priority,” Nachtwal noted before it vanished. It reappeared before Fate, slashing down at her with its sword. Their blades met for a brief moment before the hammer swung down and smashed through Fate’s energy blade like a mallet hitting an icicle. The swing didn’t connect with Fate, however, as Twilight’s horn flared, teleporting Fate away and to her side.
“Thanks,” Fate panted as Bardiche reignited its scythe blade.
“Just be more careful next time. With your armor that thin, a good solid blow like that will-”
“I know, MOVE!”
Twilight glanced up, then swerved out of the way as the dark sword lengthened out like a whip. She could swear she could hear it hissing like an angry snake as the head darted past her. She swung about, weaving about as the blade darted and swirled through the air. It was then that she heard a distinctive metallic crack. She glanced towards Nachtwal as a quartet of metallic spheres shot towards her.
“No you don’t. Raising Heart, Drive ON!”
“FRAME OPEN!”
There was a flash as Twilight’s ENTD kicked on, her body wreathed in magenta light as a Corona Wall sprang up. The four projectiles slammed into it, drilling against the surface as sparks sprayed outwards from the impact points like pinwheels. The cast off mana swirled around Twilight, gathering into her Barrier Jacket as she winked away, the shield collapsing as the Schwalbefliegen spheres detonated.
As Twilight emerged from the teleport, however, she felt something snap around her leg. She glanced down, eyes widening as she saw the Hoop Bind around her hind leg.
“Raising-” she cried out as a pink hoop of light closed around Raising Heart. A pair of wings spread out as the Device rocketed away from her at high speed.
“MASTER!”
Twilight’s horn lit up as she grabbed a hold of the staff with her telekinesis, her head jerking forwards from the strain as she pulled against the Motion Bind’s acceleration. Her eyes clenched slightly, then widened as she heard the loud hissing of the shadow blade. The long, ribbon-like blade that had looped and coiled through the air was rapidly snapping inwards towards her like the closing coils of a constrictor.
“ASTRAY CRESCENT!”
Twilight’s eyes were briefly dazzled as a streak of gold flashed by Raising Heart, the staff vanishing as the golden streak swooped past her. A single, continuous thrumming filled the air as a blade of golden lightning sliced across the rasping shadow blades, knocking them away and into a tangle of dark ribbons. Twilight blinked, her vision clearing as Fate cleanly sliced through the bind on her legs.
Amazing, Twilight thought to herself as Fate brought Bardiche about and into a ready stance, Raising Heart resting on her back. Not only does her Astray Form boost her movement speed, it accelerates her attacks as well…
“You alright, Twilight?” Fate was panting heavily as she readied her Device.
“Fine, thanks.” Twilight replied as the ribbon of darkness vanished. Twilight blinked, then glanced down as she saw a familiar pinkish blaze of light. “Incoming!”
“CORONA WALL!”
Twilight flung a hoof up as her own Divine Buster slammed into the shield, rivulets of power flowing over past the circular wall of light. It was then she heard the familiar sound of a teleport as Nachtwal warped in. There was a clash of metal-on-metal as Fate intercepted the avatar’s copied weapons, the smaller unicorn slowly being pushed backward from the larger mare’s strength.
“Hang on, Fate,” Twilight shouted, her horn flashing as she and Fate winked away. The pair reappeared a few dozen feet away, the Divine Buster slamming into the swirling purple-black barrier that made up their battlefield.

---

“There it is again! Right there! Did you see that little blip?!”
Chrono frowned at the holographic window hovering before him, doing his best to look stoic even in the crowded observation room. “So you’re telling me that they’re on the moon of all places?”
“It seems so. Thankfully, the area covered by the MIDAR also includes areas outside the atmosphere. Even then, the first blip was really faint. I almost didn’t notice it, but after scanning it again, I saw it…”
“If they’re fighting on the moon, then they must be inside a barrier field, like when Vita and Twilight first fought,” Yuuno supplied, rubbing his chin. “Otherwise, it’d be much easier to detect, wouldn’t it?”
Amy nodded, taking a bite out of her sandwich as she did so. “Dash probbly,” she swallowed, “what’s going on. If nothing else, the fact that the fight’s still showing up suggests they’re still alive.”
“That’s a relief,” Celestia sighed. “Now all we need to do is go to their aid.”
“Miss Limietta,” Luna said, “can you pinpoint the location of the signal?”
“I think so.” Amy turned and tapped on her keyboard.
“But they’re still on the moon.” Spike said worriedly. “I mean… can they even breathe up there?”
“Our moon does possess an atmosphere, young Spike,” Luna replied. “Though in many places, the air is so thin as to be a vacuum.”
“Got it,” Amy crowed as she tapped the screen, the image of the moon rotating and outlining an area in blue light. “Right there.”
“The Mare Ventis,” Luna supplied, though her brows narrowed in anger. “Providence remains well on our side it seems. The Sea of Winds is an area where the atmosphere is dense enough to support a common pony, though it is still thin. To think that Nachtwal would profane our beloved moon with its presence…”
“Thank you Amy,” Celestia said, looking to the young woman. “Give us the narrowest coordinates you can to their location. Luna, we need to go to Canterlot Tower.”
Luna blinked, levitating the sheet of coordinates that Amy offered to her. “What? Why, sister?”
“To properly gird ourselves for war.“ Celestia raised her head up, her pink eyes narrowed. Chrono could feel warmth waft over him like a summer wind. “Tonight Luna, we take the field. See to the Arthra, Chrono. Luna and I shall tend to the Defense Program.”
Luna blinked as her elder sibling turned, striding out of the room, shaking her head as she followed. Chrono exhaled, closing his eyes in relief. “Whew… alright Amy… I need you to get out of here. Get to the DDL and see if you can get to HQ…”
“Excuse me?”
Chrono glanced to Amy with a frown. “I don’t want you here Amy. If this goes wrong, then-”
“If this goes wrong, we’ll have more problems than just Canterlot being blown up,” Amy replied as she stood up. “I’m going with you to the Arthra.”
“No, you’re not,” Chrono replied sternly. “I can’t risk you getting hurt.”
“Took the words right out of my mouth,” Amy retorted, crossing her arms. “Because you’re forgetting something; I was the IR officer aboard the Arthra. I know her computer systems inside and out, and you don‘t. You’re going to need me Chrono.”
“But-”
“I can’t really disagree with her there, Chrono.” Yuuno shrugged as Chrono shot him a glare. “She’s got a point. We’re going to need someone like her to help…”
“Fine,” Chrono turned back to Amy, pointing a finger at her. “But if there’s a fight, you don’t try to do something brave, alright? You let us protect you.”
“Fine. When do we leave?”
“As soon as I gather the others. Yuuno,” Chrono glanced to the archeologist.
“Already on it,” Yuuno replied, raising his hands. “I’ll go get ready to transit up to the ship. You just get our little strike force together.”

---

“PROMINENCE BUSTER!”
“DIVINE BUSTER.”
There was a crash as two magenta beams collided. Twilight gritted her teeth as her blast pushed back against Nachtwal’s, the meeting-point of the two beams wavering back and forth.
I don’t believe this, Twilight thought to herself, heat washing over her from the spell. Neither of us can so much as scratch it! We can’t even get past its shields!
We have to keep trying, came Fate’s telepathic reply. The golden filly streaked overhead, sweeping Bardiche downward. “ASTRAY ARC!”
A triangular shield intercepted the whirling buzz-saw of plasma and magic launched from Fate’s Device, sparks spraying dramatically in all directions.
Twilight, now!
Got it! Twilight vanished in a flicker of light, the Divine Buster crashing past her previous position. She drifted horizontally past Nachtwal as she came out of the teleport, throwing a hoof towards the avatar.
“Bind!” Twilight shouted in time with Fate. There was a clapping noise as Motion Binds and Lightning Binds snapped around Nachtwal’s limbs and neck, causing the mare to look mildly irritated.
“Immobilizing me will do you no good,” Nachtwal noted as its horn flared. Twilight cried out as she was grabbed and thrown upwards, her Flier Fin wings flapping in an attempt to stabilize as she slammed into Fate. A sudden shrieking noise caught Twilight’s attention as Nachtwal ripped its limbs free of the bindings, only to turn and strike its shield with a hoof, sending the Astray Arc hurtling towards her and Fate.
Twilight swung around Fate and raised her own shield, the attack spell letting out a metallic shriek as it bit into the solid defense of her Corona Wall. With her ENTD system on and her Barrier Jacket absorbing the cast-off mana, she could probably hold it off.
At least until about a dozen magenta spheres blinked into being right in front of her face.
Twilight’s eyes went wide. Oh.
The Wink Shots slammed into her like falling stars. She could hear Raising Heart invoke Reactor Purge, repelling the blasts as she and Fate were blown downwards and backwards. Flakes of pink light floated off of her shattered armor as she plummeted, only for her descent to pause as she felt Fate push back against her.
Their landing was rocky to say the least. Fate and Twilight bounced off the ground, the soft dust providing at least a tiny amount of cushioning. Twilight rolled and slid along the ground, Raising Heart landing beside her as she staggered to her feet.
ALERT: ENTD and Radiant Form Collection Systems offline. Massive damage sustained to Barrier Jacket. 
I noticed that, Raising Heart. Twilight groaned as she wobbled, only to gasp as Nachtwal warped in front of her.
“SCHWARZE WIRKUNG,” the Book of Darkness pronounced, a cloud of blackness forming around the avatar’s upraised hoof. Twilight threw herself to the side, Raising Heart following her. The hoof struck the sand, a black blast smashing a crater into the ground where she had stood.
“Not fast enough,” Nachtwal noted, her horn igniting as she snared Twilight in a telekinetic grapple. Twilight winced as she was lifted off the ground, her own horn flaring as she pushed back against the avatar‘s magic.
“STRIKE LIGHTNING!”
There was a thunderous crack as a web of golden electricity sprang up around Nachtwal, then flashed inwards from all angles, blasting clouds of smoke and dust into the air. Fate appeared by Twilight’s side, her Barrier Jacket back in Strike Form as she body-checked the purple unicorn, knocking her free of the telekinetic grip.
“Come on Twilight,” she shouted as Twilight rolled to her feet. “Get up! We need to-”
“SEALING BIND!”
There was a loud crack as black hoops of light snapped around Twilight. Fate’s eyes went wide as she shot up to the air, only to jerk to a stop as a set of hoops wrapped around her as well.
“Fate!” Twilight cried out as Fate crashed beside her, Bardiche clattering alongside her. Her attention, however, was quickly pulled away as she heard the crunch of hoof steps on sand. A pair of glowing red eyes burned amongst the falling dust as Nachtwal approached, the Book of Darkness hovering beside her.
“It seems,” the avatar said calmly, though Twilight swore she sounded slightly irritated, “that your capabilities have far exceeded my expectations. This data must be catalogued.”
There was a loud snap as the Book of Darkness opened and hovered before Nachtwal. A black and violet Belkan triangle sprang up beneath the avatar as dark lightning licked across the open pages.
“Collect And Use subroutine engaged,” Nachtwal announced. “Capture program initiated.”
“ABSORBTION,” replied the Book.
Twilight felt a sudden, painful sensation run over her body, like she was being slowly dipped into a vat of angry, biting ants. Her body began to glow bright magenta. As she writhed, she saw Fate was doing much the same, her body glowing yellow. However, the most disturbing part was the fact that Fate’s body was slowly dissolving away, motes of light flowing up into the Book of Darkness. She glanced down, then cried out as she saw her own body fading away.
And then the sensation reached her head and the world went gray, then black. In the distance, she swore she heard a noise like a door slamming shut.

---

The Book of Darkness closed with a sound like a rifle report, the containment barrier slowly dissolving away as Nachtwal flapped its avatar‘s wings, bits of black down drifting as it rose into the air.
It rose higher, its red eyes focusing on the great blue sphere over the horizon. Already, it was mapping out the optimal strike pattern for complete destruction of the planet’s organic life, calculating the ideal firing arcs that would be necessary for maximum saturation of the majority of the world’s surface.
And then it noticed a pinpoint of golden light in the distance.
And then the boulder hit.. 
It was a very large boulder. Several tons of partially molten rock traveling at incredible speed slammed into Nachtwal‘s quickly upraised shield like a hammer hitting an anvil. The impact threw Nachtwal’s avatar backwards, splashing droplets of melted, superheated stone in all directions. Nachtwal’s avatar flapped its wings to recover from the knock-back, the projectile quickly scattering under a blast of its telekinesis.
Then the second attack hit. A massive lance of ice, several meters in length, slammed into the upraised barrier, shattering apart as it did so. However, the knife-like shards quickly paused in mid-air, re-oriented, then rocketed in again for a second attack. The avatar skidded along the dust, its tail flicking and wings spread wide as two figures landed before it.
One was a mare with a coat the color of twilight and a mane and tail made of stardust. She was clad in gleaming blue-white moon-silver plate barding, her navy-blue horn protruding from the gleaming champron that covered her brow and muzzle. The ground beneath her booted hooves froze, nacre-colored ice spreading slowly as she folded her wings, her blue-green eyes cold.
The other was a taller mare with a pale white coat and a flowing, rainbow-hued mane. Her barding was much less elaborate, only covering her front and barrel with none of the distinctive whorls and curves of her sibling’s moon-silver armor. The only real decorations were the elegant, crown-like spikes protruding from her champron’s brow and the sunburst embossed onto the front of her chest. Her eyes burned bright pink, and rainbow colored flames licked along her hooves.
“Nachtwal,” Celestia spoke firmly, “you have a lot to answer for.”

---

The three alicorns squared off; Celestia and Luna on one side, Nachtwal’s avatar on the other. The Defense Program stood there calmly, its ruby red gaze never wavering from the Princesses.
“Targets recognized,” it said almost nonchalantly. “Celestia and Luna. Kind der Sonne and Kind des Mondes.”
“You know us, then,” Luna stated. “That is good.”
“Correct. The data in my archives is outdated. An error that shall soon be corrected. You are a threat to-”
“Yes, yes. We know,” Celestia snapped. “We’re a threat. Where are our students? What have you done with them?”
“The organic targets Twilight Sparkle and Fate Testarossa-Sparkle, along with their attendant Devices and the Element of Magic have been collected and neutralized,” Nachtwal replied. “They sleep, like Trixie, within the system‘s grasp. Once the necessary destruction subroutines have been performed they shall join Trixie in oblivion, their data added to my archives.”
At that, Celestia took a step forwards. “Let them go,” Celestia said, her voice low and threatening.
“Negative. Their existence represented a grave threat to the security of this system, just as you do.” Nachtwal’s four wings flared, dark feathers drifting down like falling snow. “I will not release them. Furthermore, attempting to destroy this system will result in their destruction as well. You can not kill me without killing them as well. Victory is beyond your grasp.”
Sister, Luna’s voice whispered in Celestia’s mind.
Yes, Luna?
I believe Nachtwal has made a most fatal error. Luna’s eyes focused on the false alicorn. I believe I detect a crack in its security. Its absorption was incomplete and flawed… yes, I can sense the signal. The Element remains inviolate!
Celestia kept her expression angry as she replied. What does that mean?
It means, sister dearest, that I may be able to pierce whatever shield keeps the Book’s inner systems and dream-states locked away from my magic. If that be so, then I may well be able to disable the system myself from the inside, perhaps even purge Nachtwal entirely!
Are you sure? That sounds more than a little dangerous.
‘Tis indeed. I alone can nay do this…
Celestia closed her eyes. What do you need?
Time. Time enough to do my work, and a force to keep it distracted. What think you of your chances against the beast in combat?
Trust me Lulu, Celestia said darkly, I can provide you all the distraction you’ll need.
For a brief moment, Celestia felt a moment of shock from her sister’s telepathic connection, then a faint thread of amusement. And to think that the kindly Celestia has steel within her heart. Very well. I shall leave this fight to you.
Go with Harmony, Luna, Celestia replied as Luna vanished in a puff of dark blue stardust.
“Curious,” Nachtwal said, tilting its head slightly. “Luna has quit the field, and yet you haven’t. Do you think you can win, Celestia?”
“Oh no,” Celestia replied coolly, “Winning isn’t part of the plan. I know I can’t destroy you without hurting my little ponies.”
“Indeed. And given the data in my records, you would not provide sufficient resistance. You lack the capabilities to-”
Celestia’s horn flashed in a burst of rainbow-colored fire. Nachtwal was sent sprawling, the moon dust under the avatar’s hooves scattering from the telekinetic smash that sent it flying back. Nachtwal raised its head, its eyes focused and glowing as Celestia strode towards it.
“That’s where you’re wrong. You see, I have the capabilities. I haven’t spent a thousand years on my laurels after all. No, I’ve spent centuries building up my power, soaking in Equestria’s magic, carefully guiding, watching and teaching some of the wisest and cleverest unicorns in the land.”
Nachtwal’s shield sprang up as a beam of white-hot light and heat flew from Celestia‘s horn, making a noise like metal under a chainsaw as Celestia swept the beam across its surface like a cutting torch. Nachtwal’s horn flashed black and purple, only for the telekinetic field to clash with Celestia’s, creating a wavering cloud of black and golden light in the air between them.
“You see, I’m not like my sister,” Celestia replied casually as she ripped the dueling telekinetic fields upwards, vanishing in a flash of light as the Book of Darkness announced its Bloody Dagger spell, the ring of red spikes missing their target. She reappeared in mid-air, her great wings flapping as Nachtwal rose to meet her. “I don’t like fighting. I don’t revel in conflict like she does. I don’t see war as something glorious or beautiful. I never have.”
“So if it reaches the point that I must take the field, if I am forced to fight, then it is incumbent upon me to end the battle as swiftly and definitively as possible,” Celestia’s horn flared, and flames exploded around Nachtwal. The avatar rushed out of the flames, smoke clinging to its wings as it did so, only to collide with a wall of solid light. The wall quickly broke with a smash of a black-cloud-covered hoof, only to have said hoof grabbed by Celestia‘s magic. The avatar found itself swung about and pitched down towards the ground as a sphere of light gathered around the point of Celestia’s horn.
Nachwal bounced, then raised a shield as a white-hot river of plasma slammed into the shield. The sand warped into molten glass around it before it warped away, the shield breaking apart. The avatar came out of its teleport at speed, a silhouette of a sword forming in its grasp, diving towards Celestia from above.
The strike met only air as Celestia flickered out, reappearing just beside the avatar and laying into it with a powerful buck. The fake alicorn tumbled in the air, righting itself only as Celestia flicked her horn. A massive surge of telekinetic power slammed down onto it like a hammer, pressing Nachtwal into the ground as Celestia landed.
“That’s the nature of the sun, you see,” Celestia noted, hammering another telekinetic blow onto Nachtwal. “The sun is not subtle. It is not gentle. It blinds and burns. The reason why I hold back, why I only fight when all else has failed: is because when I do all that’s left afterward is ash. And I don’t want to risk any of my little ponies being hurt.”
“But right now,” Celestia said as she slammed a third blow down on Nactwal, the ground bowing downwards into a large crater, “my subjects are far away. You are in front of me. And you’ve made the unfortunate mistake of hurting somepony very precious to me. I can’t kill you, but I can certainly make you wish I did.”
The telekinetic hammer blasted away in a flash of black magic. Nachtwal slowly strode up from the crater, its avatar still unharmed even though its coat bore a liberal dusting of ash and moon-dust. Its eyes, however, glowed with brilliant red light that made its pupils stand out all the more “Threat analysis complete. Target all resources on current opponent. Destroy utterly.”
“Come on then,” Celestia said, taking her stance and spreading her wings. “Let‘s see how brightly you‘ll burn.”

---

The Arthra’s teleport hub was cool and quiet, the dark walls dimly lit by the strips of white lights and the slowly rotating Mid-Childan circle that dominated one wall. However, the darkness was quickly banished by a flash of bright green light as eight figures appeared.
Yuuno crouched in the center of the green magic circle, panting heavily from the effort as steam wafted from his body. Shining Armor stood in front of him, sweeping his horn about like the barrel of a gun before nodding. Chrono and Shach quickly darted past him to the closed door, flanking either side with weapons at the ready.
“You alright, Yuuno?” Arf growled softly, nosing him as Amy helped him to his feet. Rainbow Dash fluttered upwards, taking to the air as she glanced about nervously. Spike slid down off of Arf’s back, jogging over and thumping up against the wall behind Schach.
“Just give me a second to catch my breath. Getting through the defense grid was more difficult than I expected, even with the access codes.” Yuuno stood up with a groan, dusting off the front of his shorts. “I’ll be fine, though.”
Schach raised a finger to her lips, shushing them quickly.
“So what now, Chrono?” Rainbow Dash whispered as she landed beside Chrono, her wings folded against her sides as she pressed up against the wall.
“Simple,” Chrono replied softly. “We stick to the plan. Shining Armor, Arf and Amy are with me so we can take the IR room and the bridge. You, Schach, Yuuno, and Spike head back to Engineering and see if you can’t slow down the Arc-en-Ciel in case we fail.”
“You sure that’ll be enough?” Schach tightened her grip on Windenschaft  “We don’t know how many people we have to go through…”
“The Arthra has a standard complement of twenty Enforcers, so there‘s that. Assuming that whoever’s behind this replaced every single Enforcer with their own people, that leaves the bridge crew, the engineering staff, medical, and various other crewmembers.” Chrono closed his eyes. “They’ve likely got Engineering secured, since that’s where they handle power transfer to the Arc-en-Ciel. The bridge, of course, is a given.”
“So yeah,” Spike snorted softly, “we’re outnumbered.”
“Hey, relax,” Rainbow smirked. “That just means that it’s a fair fight.”
“Just so long as I get to sink my teeth into one…”
“Shh!” Shining Armor hissed. “I hear someone coming.”
Yuuno raised his hands a defensive stance as Chrono lifted a fist, then pressed his ear against the door with his eyes closed. He quickly held up two fingers, then reached over and, as the footsteps passed by the door, tapped on the door console. The door hissed open, and Chrono stepped through, leveling his staff as he did so.
There was a shout as Yuuno heard a binding spell snap around a person. Schach quickly stepped back and, with a quick run, vanished in a rush of wind and a vortex of orange light. There was a loud crack, followed by a thump of bodies hitting the ground.
Yuuno followed the others out, wincing as he saw the now-unconscious Enforcers slumped against the sides of the hallway.
“Looks like they’re not getting up any time soon,” Rainbow Dash noted.
“Yeah.” Schach grunted, slowly dragging the knocked-out Enforcers into the teleportation chamber. “Hopefully we got them before…”
It was at that moment red lights began flashing along the ceiling and a klaxon began blaring loudly. “All units, this is Elantra. There has been a security breach-”
“Like we‘d be that lucky,” Chrono interrupted loudly. “Everyone knows where to go, now go!”

---

“Eliminate the intruders with extreme prejudice. Lethal force has been authorized. I repeat; lethal force has been authorized.”
Lindy couldn’t help but smirk as Elantra switched off the intercom. “Looks like things aren’t going to plan, are they?”
“A minor issue,” Elantra growled. “Your son and his friends won’t get far.”
“You underestimate my son, Miss Elantra,” Lindy replied. “And you most certainly underestimate his friends. If I were you, I’d surrender right now and let me go. It might save you a horrible beating.”
Elantra growled softly and flicked on the intercom. “Monza! What the hell is taking so long?!”
“Almost done ma’am. I’m just having trouble with-”
“I don’t give a damn what you’re having trouble with. You were brought on because you knew TSAB encryptions. You were supposed to have it cracked before we got here! Do your damn job!”
“R-right!”
“Idiot,” Elantra growled, flicking another switch. “Engineering! Start charging the Arc-en-Ciel. I want it ready to fire as soon as possible!”
“Yes ma’am.”
“Now,” Elantra continued as she turned to Lindy, raising a hand as she tugged on what looked like a black and red leather glove with a large, eye-shaped red jewel on the palm. A red ribbon of light formed around her wrist as she smirked darkly. “I don’t have time to wait on Monza anymore. I wasn’t planning on doing this, but desperate times and all that.”
“So it’s to be torture?” Lindy scowled. 
“Of course. I’m going to get those codes from you Admiral, one way or another.”
“You just seem so happy to commit war cri-”
Elantra thrust the gloved hand at Lindy, a red aura swallowing her. Lindy clenched her teeth as her body went stiff, agonizing pain shooting through her body as she cried out. She writhed against the bindings, her fingers clenching as her feet clicked against the floor. The pain continued for an interminable time before the aura vanished.
“I’m usually not much for Devices like these, but this one is rather clever,” Elantra said as Lindy panted. “It’s optimized for a single spell, one that causes excruciating pain without leaving any noticeable injuries on the body. Ingenious, really. I wonder if my employers will let me keep it.”
Lindy groaned as Elantra tilted her head up gently. “Now Admiral Harlaown, do you feel like giving me the codes for the Arc-en-Ciel?”
“Go… to… hell… Elantra!” Lindy spat back at her.
Elantra frowned, then raised her hand again. Lindy clenched her eyes shut as the spell hit her again, pulling a scream from her throat.

---

“-light, wake up!”
“Ahhh!”
Twilight sat up, her eyes wide as saucers as she jerked awake. Her chest rose and fell rapidly as she shook herself her breath coming out in rapid pants.
She was laying in an unfamiliar bed, the white sheets crinkled from where she had lain, the comforter halfway off the bed. It was a nice room; though the style of furnishing were too angular and clean to be anywhere on Equestria.
“Owww,” a voice groaned from below the bed
She glanced off to her side, blinking as Yuuno rubbed his head. The young mage was half-dressed in a simple t-shirt and a pair of shorts, his blond hair a mess. “Yuuno?”
“Who else would it be?” Yuuno stood up, chuckling softly. “Are you alright? You look like you had a bad dream…”
“I…” Twilight frowned. “I thought I did… I was on the moon, and Fate was there, and we were fighting something…”
“Really? Sheesh… Must have been some dream…”
Twilight blinked, then frowned. Her mind felt muddled, her thoughts moving through her head like half-chilled molasses. “It was, I guess. It felt so real though…”
“Yeah, well, dreams do feel real when you’re sleeping.” Yuuno yawned, walking over to a wall switch and flipping on the lights.
Twilight shielded her eyes from the bright light for a moment. “Yuuno, where are we?”
“Seriously? Sounds like somepony needs some coffee. We’re at the conference, remember?”
Twilight blinked. “The conference?”
“Yeah. The Mid-Childan Academy of Magical Studies’ annual conference. You’re supposed to be the keynote speaker, remember?”
Twilight blinked, rubbing her head. That did sound like it made sense. “Oh… yeah, that’s right. Jeeze, I guess I could use some coffee after all.”
“I’ll call up room service then. Why don’t you go get showered and ready to go while I handle it?”
“Oh, uh, sure…”
Yuuno turned away as Twilight climbed off the bed, making her way over to the bathroom and stepped into the very clean, very boxy shower. She shut the glass door behind her and turned on the hot water at full blast.
Yes, that’s right, she thought to herself. I remember now. After the negotiations concluded, Yuuno moved in with me and helped me publish my book on comparative spellcraft and magical conversion… Then helped me find a publisher in Mid-Childa. And now the academy’s invited me to speak as their first non-human keynote speaker… I can’t believe it’s been nearly two years since when we first met…
Something was nagging at the back of her mind, but she pushed it away as she lathered up, then quickly rinsed off. She stepped out of the shower, toweling off as she walked back into the room proper.
Yuuno glanced back to her. “Well, I’ve ordered breakfast and some extra strong coffee. Thankfully the opening ceremonies aren’t for another two hours or so.”
“Good. I get the feeling I’m going to need time to get everything ready. Have to get my note cards for my speech and make sure they‘re in order, make sure the presentation‘s all ready to be projected, check the-.”
Yuuno chuckled, reaching over and gently pulling the towel from Twilight’s magical grasp. “Well, you’re not going anywhere looking like that,” he said, ruffling the towel through Twilight’s mane. “Let me get your brush. You’ve got a serious case of bed-head…”
“I can take care of my own mane Yuuno,” Twilight whined, climbing up onto the bed as Yuuno picked up the brush.
“I know, but I like brushing your mane.”
Twilight blushed, then shrugged as Yuuno took a seat beside her, running the brush through her damp purple, magenta and violet locks. She tilted her head slightly, closing her eyes as he worked. 
“Hey, Twilight?” Yuuno swept the brush down her back gently.
“Yes, Yuuno?”
“I was wondering… do you think we can stick around here on Mid-Childa for a while after the conference? I’d really like to show you some of the sights.”
Twilight hmmed, then nodded. “Sure, why not? Though don’t you think the girls and Spike will be a bit jealous?”
“Oh, I’ll make sure to bring them some souvenirs.” Yuuno smirked, scratching behind one of Twilight’s ears gently. “Besides, it’s not like we’re in a hurry, right?”
“Yeah, I guess so.” Twilight snorted, flicking her tail and gently slapping it against Yuuno’s side. “Might as well enjoy ourselves.”

---

Fate’s eyes opened slowly, her head resting against a soft pillow.
The gold-coated filly slowly sat up, a hoof rubbing her eyes before she glanced around her surroundings. The room she was in was unfamiliar; the walls were painted in bright yellows and whites, and was decorated with plush toys and various other bric-a-brac. The bed she was in was quite large, the sheets soft and the mattress even softer.
It was all wrong. Fate frowned slightly, her eyes narrowing as she inspected the room. True, it didn’t look like the ones she was used to, but she recognized a mental space when she was in one. She could feel the difference.
A soft click caught her attention as the door opened. “Fate,” A familiar voice called, “are you awake?”
Fate’s eyes went wide as the door opened fully. A unicorn mare stepped into the room, looking in her direction. She was tall and slim, with an intensely purple coat and a long, flowing purple-gray mane. Her irises were distinctly diamond shape, and a bright purple, and a shattered horn protruded from her brow. However, her expression was neither haughty and cruel, nor broken and depressed. Instead, it was an expression she used to see in her dreams; a gentle, motherly smile and kind eyes.
“M-mother?” Fate felt her throat grow dry.
“Of course,” Presea smiled playfully. “Who else would it be? I was wondering when you’d wake up. Come along; the last thing you need is to miss breakfast.”
Fate blinked, then shook her head quickly. She could feel something pressing against her mind; a new set of memories that wanted to worm their way into her head. She pushed back against them, slowly climbing off the bed and following after Presea.
The hallway she entered was short, but dominated by a large pair of windows. Outside was a large clearing, filled with dainty white flowers that swayed in the breeze. Beyond that was a large forest filled with tall trees. The scent of cooking pancakes caught her attention as she trotted after her mother into a large, cozy kitchen with an attached breakfast nook.
“How is the food coming along, Linith?”
Linith? Fate froze, staring over at the oven. Linith stood at the oven in an apron, her head bare of her normal hat to show her tufted, feline ears.
“It should be done momentarily, my Master,” Linith replied, her dun-coated tail swishing as she turned to look at Fate. “Ah. Good morning, young Master Fate. Did you sleep well?”
“I… I…” Fate stammered, her eyes wide. “Yes?”
“Excellent. Breakfast will be ready soon.”
“Why don‘t you join us at the table, Fate?” Presea nudged her with her nose gently.
Fate nodded weakly, slowly walking over to the table and taking a seat, her eyes down on the ground. What she was seeing was impossible. It had to be. There was no explanation…
“Jeeze! It’s about time you got up sleepyhead!”
Fate’s gaze jerked up at the new voice, and she froze. Seated across from her was… another her. No, not quite another her; her mane was shorter, and she looked younger and smaller. Her horn was a little stub, and her eyes were big and bright.
“Morning, sis,” the other-her said cheerfully.
“Hooves off the table, Alicia,” Presea chided gently.
“Okay.”
Fate stared blankly at Alicia. The other filly frowned slightly, tilting her head to the side. “Fate? What’s the matter?”
“Huh?”
“You’re crying…”
Fate blinked, a hoof going to her eyes slowly. Sure enough, they came away wet. Her hoof trembled slightly as she sat there, unable to say anything.
She pulled back slightly as she felt a hoof touch her cheek. She glanced up, meeting Presea’s worried gaze.
“Fate?” The older mare frowned in concern. “Are you alright?”
“I… I don’t know…” She shuddered, unable to resist as Presea gently drew her into an embrace. “I don’t know…”

---

A low sonic boom echoed across the lunar landscape as the two alicorns dueled beneath the stars.
Nachtwal’s avatar swerved and swooped through the air, its four wings flapping sharply as it tried to disengage from its pursuer. Coin-thick rays of light and heat sizzled through the air as it dodged and weaved. Celestia’s eyes were narrowed as she kept her vision trained on her target, beam after beam streaking through the air.
There was a loud ‘pop’ as Nachtwal’s avatar vanished and reappeared. Celestia dove, wings pulling in tight as she heard a pair of voices announce their attacks. She pulled up, galloping along the ground as spears of crimson crystal slammed into the ground, blowing up plumes of dust like trailing machine-gun fire. She flapped her wings as a wall of pink projectiles winked into existence in front of her and shot towards her, quickly colliding with an upraised wall of light.
Nachtwal winked into existence in front of her again, a round-headed mallet made of darkness raised above its head. There was a loud crash as the hammer hit the ground, cratering it and nothing else as Celestia winked out. She reappeared behind Nachtwal, her horn flaring bright as her eyes turned a brilliant glowing white. The ground beneath the false alicorn erupted into a pillar of flame several stories high, from which the avatar leapt out of trailing smoke and embers and ringed with glowing blades of light.
The blades exploded against Celestia’s shield, causing her to step back. The shield then exploded as Nachtwal’s hammer struck, shattering it into fragments of golden mana. Nachtwal leapt towards Celestia, hammer up-raised, only for Celestia to conjure her own weapon and stand her ground. The hammer’s shaft collided with a shining half-pike made of golden light, the two ponies locking weapons and meeting eyes.
Celestia smirked slightly as she got a good look at Nachtwal‘s face. “So, you say that Nyx is under your control?”
“Correct,” Nachtwal snapped. The defense program swung its hammer back, only for Celestia to parry it. The sun-mare’s replying thrust was met with a quickly raised shield, sending sparks in all directions. Celestia danced back, the mallet’s head slamming into where she once stood.
“And she has no effect on you at all?”
“Correct.” Nachtwal continued to press the assault. Celestia danced to one side as the mallet swung, then flapped her wings and kicked up a cloud of dust as she leapt over a horizontal swing. The dust suddenly ignited in Nachtwal’s face, flashing into glass as Celestia landed. Nachtwal abandoned its hammer, a black blade forming instead as it took wing and stooped towards Celestia.
“Then it’s very odd…” Celestia swung her pole-arm up, the outer tines of her half-pike catching the edge of the chopping blade.
“What?” Nachtwal’s eyes glowed as she pressed close.
“If that’s true… then why are you crying?”
Nachtwal’s eyes narrowed, their glow intensifying. However, the light of her eyes glanced off the tell-tale wet streaks of tears. “It is an aberration of this avatar, nothing more. I do not cry.”
“Of course you don’t.” Celestia dismissed her spear and stepped to the side. The blade whooshed past her body as she dipped her head, leveling her horn and blasting Nachtwal at point-blank range. A hastily upraised barrier caught the blast, pushing Nachtwal backwards, its hooves skidding across the lunar regolith.
“You know nothing about living beings, Nachtwal,” Celestia chided, the blast fading out as she summoned a sphere of flame above her head and hurled it towards Nachtwal. “You don’t understand mercy. Or kindness. Or love. And that’s your downfall. You’ll never understand how those things can make us strong!”
The fireball hit home, exploding around Nachtwal and wreathing its avatar in rainbow-colored flame. The flames then swiftly parted as several ribbons of blue light chirped and whistled through the air, darting in at Celestia from all sides.
“Correct,” Nachtwal replied, the Stinger Snipes bouncing off of Celestia’s bubble-shaped barrier, sparks spraying from the collisions. “I do not understand the things you have mentioned. However, they are immaterial to my operation. I understand pain. I understand fear. I understand hate.”
“And you think that gives you power?” Celestia winked out, the ribbons of light flashing through empty air as she reappeared, her half-pike of sunlight flashing into existence as she stabbed towards Nachtwal.
Nachtwal‘s Panzerschield sprang up to intercept, the Belkan triangle slowly rotating. “Correct. You do not understand my nature Celestia. I do not protect this system out of love. I protect it because I hate. That is the essence of my system, what I was programmed to do!”
Nachtwal vanished. Celestia quickly wheeled about, slashing her spear through the darting ribbons of the Stinger Snipe. She hissed as one blast scored a hit on her side, the cut rapidly knitting up as she zapped it out of the sky.
Then Celestia turned as a brilliant pink radiance lit up the ground. She looked skyward as Nachtwal hovered in mid air, a rotating pink Mid-Childan circle rotating beneath her hooves.
“I hate all things, Celestia,” Nachtwal called out. “All things, from the tiniest speck of bacteria to the mightiest alicorn! That which I hate must never gain access to this system! To prevent this, that which I hate must be DESTROYED!”
“DIVINE SHOOTER - CATACLYSM SHIFT!”
Dozens of pink spheres of light winked into existence around Nachtwal. The cloud of projectiles spread outwards, wider and wider, hundreds upon hundreds of Divine Shooter spheres blinking into existence like a vast field of pink stars. There was a loud ‘snap’ as hoops of blue light snapped around Celestia’s four hooves, pinning her to the ground. Celestia, meanwhile, stared defiantly upwards.
“Commencing annihilation of target!” Nachtwal called out as the projectiles fell upon her like a summer deluge.
Celestia closed her eyes, focused her magic, raised her horn high, and released her power. The bindings were the first to disappear, vanishing into tiny pieces under the bright white light shining from Celestia’s horn as the spell was unmade. The leading edge of the Cataclysm Shift hit the light, the projectiles imploding as the spell matrix was torn apart. The projectiles streamed in, each layer disappearing a bit deeper as the dispel ate away at the assault. Sweat ran down Celestia’s neck from exertion as she ripped apart Nachtwal’s attack until, finally, the last few projectiles sizzled out just a few feet from her body.
Celestia panted heavily, then popped her neck before looking back up at Nachtwal with a tired smirk. “Well?”
Nachtwal glowered down at Celestia. For the first time, the avatar’s face was showing actual emotion. Admittedly, that emotion was pure, unsullied rage, but Celestia would take that.
“For all your talk of hate, Nachtwal,” Celestia called out as she took wing, floating up to hover level with the avatar, “it doesn’t seem to help much. After all, I’m still not destroyed, am I? What are you waiting for?”
“I have not been waiting. You have played into my strategy.”
Celestia blinked, feeling an odd heat on her back. She tilted her head back as another cloud of projectiles winked in behind her. It was much smaller than the one she had fended off, but it was still quite substantial.
“Clever,” Celestia admitted as the shots streaked inwards. Celestia took wing, swooping away and leading the Divine Shots on a merry chase across the sky. Her wings flapped sharply as she swerved and chandelled, aileron-rolling as she gained altitude. She braked, however, as Nachtwal winked in ahead of her, a hoof wrapped in black energy.
“SCHWARZE WIRKUNG,” the Book announced as Nachtwal swung at her. Celestia’s horn ignited as she called up a shield, only for the impact of the strike to shatter it and send Celestia shooting down towards the ground, the projectiles arching upwards, then darting down towards her.
Celestia’s landing was hard, her breath whooshing from her lungs as she smashed a crater into the moon’s surface. She blinked, then clenched her eyes as the projectiles closed in. Dust and smoke kicked up in a vast cloud as the swarm impacted the ground. Thankfully, a golden flash of light heralded Celestia’s teleport, the sun princess skidding across the ground as she landed.
Well, I see I certainly have its attention, Celestia thought to herself. I just hope Luna’s found a way in…

---

The soldiers that were posing as Enforcers were trained to take on a lot of threats. That was par for the course. However, there were a few things that most of them hadn’t trained for.
“FOR EQUESTRIA AND THE PRINCESSES!”
One such thing was Shining Armor.
The unicorn stallion barreled down the hallway at a full gallop, a wall of pinkish-purple light projected before him like a battering ram. Blasts of magic ricocheted off of Shining Armor’s defensive wall as he shouted, forcing the uniformed men to pull back quickly or be smashed away.
Chrono flew after him, while Arf loped beside him at a fast pace, Amy clinging to the dire-wolf’s back. He had to admit, having a mobile defensive wall like Shining Armor did have its benefits. Chrono swung S4U forwards, a spray of Stinger Blades darting up the hallway over Shining’s shield to further scatter their fleeing opponents.
“The IR room should be just up ahead,” Amy shouted over the din.
“This is way too easy,” Arf growled. “There’s gotta be something we’re-”
There was a loud humming noise as a large metal wall began to rapidly lower from the ceiling.
Chrono hissed under his breath. “Oh damn, the emergency shutters. They’re trying to lock us out! SHINING!”
“I’ve got it!” Shining shouted back, his horn burning bright. A pinkish-purple aura swept over the lowering shutter, slowing it only slightly. “Nnngh! Hurry! I can’t hold it… for long!”
Arf dove through, Amy’s back scraping across the underside of the door. Chrono landed and slid quickly, rolling to his feet before turning back. “Shining!”
The door slammed shut with a clang and a hiss. Amy cried out, climbing off Arf’s back and slamming a fist against the shutter. “Shining! Are you alright?”
“I’m fine,” came the muffled reply. “You guys go. I’ll find another way around!”
“Amy come on,” Arf growled. “We’ve gotta hurry!”
“R-right. Sorry. Hold on Shining! I’ll be able to fix this! You just stay safe!”
Chrono nodded, shifting S4U to his good hand. “The IR room should be up ahead and to the right. After that, it’s a straight shot to the bridge. Let’s just hope the others are alright…”
Chrono!
And right on cue, Chrono thought to himself as he gave chase after Amy and Arf. Schach? What is it?
We’re having trouble. We’re trapped behind one of the security shutters just outside Engineering. Think you can give us a hand?
Not until we get to the IR room. Just hang on.

---

Bolt after bolt of magical energy sizzled through the air, scattering into sparks as they collided with Yuuno’s barrier. The young mage’s teeth were clenched as he focused, his hands aching as he held them before him to maintain the barrier. The swirling wall of green light covered all four of them, flush with the very thick emergency shutter they were pinned against as blasts rained down on them from the Enforcer’s covering fire.
“This is crazy,” Spike shouted. “We’re stuck here until Chrono can get the stupid doors open?!”
“At least Yuuno’s shields are still holding,” Schach replied. “You okay, Yuuno?”
“For now. But they’re getting closer.” Yuuno winced as a blast impacted at his eye-level, leaving brilliant spots in his eyes. “I can keep the barrier up for now, but we don’t have a lot of options…”
“I got one.”
Yuuno glanced backwards as Rainbow trotted up to him. “I can take them out, no sweat.”
“Rainbow,” Yuuno replied, “these guys are firing lethal shots, and there’s a lot of them.” He winced slightly at another series of blinding flashes. “You don’t have a barrier jacket. One shot and…”
“Not if my idea works.” Rainbow leaned her head up, whispering quickly to Yuuno.
He blinked. “You’re joking. That’s your plan?”
“What, you’re doubting me? Rainbow Dash, the most awesome pony in all of Equestria?”
“Maybe a little…”
“Look, I worked it all out, alright? Just trust me, I got this.”
“Yuuno, incoming!”
Yuuno blinked, then braced as a huge blast slammed into his barrier, a fine tracery of cracks spreading out from the impact point. His feet skidded back slightly, and his teeth clenched. “Looks like they’re breaking out the anti-barrier spells. Alright Rainbow, we’ll try it your way… Schach, can you take over shield duties?”
Schach frowned. “I can try. Just be quick about it.”
“It will be.”
Schach nodded and stepped up beside Yuuno. There was a loud crack as Windenschaft’s cartridges triggered. Schach swung her blades up, crossing them with a shout as a triangle-shaped shield sprang up. “Hurry!”
“Right!” Yuuno quickly fell back, a spell-circle forming beneath his feet as he worked. A series of Mid-Childan circles formed against the doorway they were pinned against, slowly compressing inwards.
“What’re you doing?” Spike blinked as Rainbow fluttered over.
“It’s a variant on my Floater Field spell,” Yuuno explained. “Instead of slowing down a falling target, however, it does the opposite…”
“Less talking, more magic-ing Yuuno.” Rainbow flapped her wings, quickly positioning herself against the tightly compressed spell-circles.
“Right, right. Now, this is going to tingle a bit.” Yuuno raised his hands, green light flowing out from his fingers and over to Rainbow. “I’m not going to give you too much… I don’t want to overcharge your Linker Core after all.”
“Gimme all you’ve got fuzzy. I’ve only got one shot at this.”
“One shot?” Spike gaped. “Don’t tell me you’re going to…”
“Yes, she is…” Yuuno exhaled, turning slightly and raising a fist, thumb upraised. “Area’s clear… Schach, drop the shield!”
“What?!” Schach winced as her shield buckled inwards, orange cracks spreading over the slowly rotating triangle. “Are you insane?”
“No, but I’m pretty sure Rainbow is. Rainbow, you ready?”
The pegasus grinned. For a brief moment, Yuuno caught a faint crackle of static as she clenched her muscles, her wings flapping sharply. “I was born ready…”
“Schach! Now!”
There was a flash as the shield dropped. Yuuno shielded his eyes, then snapped his fingers and triggered the spell. There was a flash of light and a deafening boom that blew Yuuno against the wall as Rainbow was launched.
He could hear what sounded like shouts through the ringing his ears, followed by the sound of hooves meeting flesh. He quickly blinked his eyes, rubbing them as he saw a streak of rainbow light rebound rapidly from wall to wall, the last attacker flying back as a hoof smashed through his upraised barrier and struck him square in the jaw.
“What’s that? I couldn’t hear you over the sound of how awesome I am!” Rainbow smirked as she landed, then glanced back at Yuuno and the others. “Did you see that? I got all of them in one… What’re you staring at?”
“Rainbow,” Yuuno said slowly, “look at yourself.”
Yuuno gestured to the Pegasus as Rainbow looked at herself. Everything below her neck and wings was covered in a brilliant white suit that clung tight to her body. Her cutie mark was outlined in shades of green, while a similar bright green lightning bolt decorated her chest and encircled her legs just above her hooves.
Rainbow paused as she looked at herself, then let out a whoop and did a quick loop. “I did it! I actually did it! I made my own Jacket! Yes!”
“Well, technically, Yuuno-” Spike began before Yuuno sighed.
“Just let her have it Spike.”
Yuuno? Can you hear me?
Yeah Chrono. Go ahead.
We’ve secured the IR Room. Nobody’s here, so Amy’ll be working on getting the emergency shutters deactivated. Hold tight, alright?
Right. What about you?
I need to get to the bridge…

---

“And here’s your salad, ma’am.”
“Thank you. Gosh, this looks good.” Twilight nodded to the waiter as she levitated the fork up from its resting place. The gentle sound of clinking glass and china made for a nice counterpoint to the soft, murmuring conversation of the other restaurant patrons. Twilight’s stomach growled softly as she speared a wedge of tomato, lifting it to her mouth.
“Anything looks good when you‘re hungry.” Yuuno sipped from his water glass, picking up his own fork and poking at his salad. The light glimmered off of his bright green tie, the jacket of his moss-green suit neatly draped over the back of his chair. “Enjoy it Twilight. You’ve earned a bit of a break after that presentation you gave.”
“Mmmf… It could have gone better. I haven’t made a proper academic presentation like that since I was in school,” Twilight groaned softly, shaking her head as she stabbed some lettuce. “I‘m just glad I wasn‘t being graded…”
“Really? I thought you did great. And I’m guessing the audience was impressed. You heard the applause, didn’t you?”
Twilight nodded, munching on the lettuce before sighing. “I know, but I just think it could have been better. I’m here representing Equestria after all…”
Yuuno reached over, gently patting a fetlock. “You did fine Twilight. Seriously. Stop worrying so much about it…”
“I guess you’re right Yuuno. I’ve got a lot of other things to worry about in the meantime. I’ve got the rest of the conference, and then-”
Yuuno waved a hand. “No, I mean… stop worrying. You’re going to do fine. This is what you wanted, wasn’t it?”
Twilight smiled faintly. “I guess so. I just never expected it to be so stressful…”
Twilight blinked as Yuuno frowned slightly. “Stressful? It shouldn‘t be stressful…”
“Yuuno? Are you alright?”
“I’m fine. It’s just… No, this isn‘t right…”
It was then that Twilight noticed the sudden silence, the soft chattering of the other patrons having vanished. Twilight glanced around quickly; all of the humans were frozen, still as statues. It was then Twilight noticed how… indistinct they were. They reminded her of the dress forms that Rarity had in her shop; blank, featureless and expressionless.
Then there were hoof steps; heavy hoof steps that chimed like tolling bells. Twilight turned towards the noise, her eyes widening as a heavily-armored Princess Luna approached their table, her expression neutral. “P-Princess Luna? What’re you doing here?”
“To free you, Twilight Sparkle, from the cage that has been built for you.” Luna’s gaze wasn’t on Twilight. The princess of the night was looking past her.
“No!” Yuuno quickly rose to his feet, his eyes wide with terror. “This is impossible!”
“Yuuno…” Twilight said slowly, her friend’s gaze snapping to her, “why are your eyes red?”
“What you see before you is not your friend, Twilight,” Luna growled, advancing on Yuuno as the young man backed up. “He is naught but a figment, part of the great illusion that has trapped you. You must awaken!”
“No!”
Twilight was flung back as the world seemed to go very strange. The room seemed to tilt oddly as tables, chairs, and people were lifted up and flung at Luna, quickly burying her beneath a seemingly endless supply of debris. Twilight felt herself lifted up by Yuuno, the young man’s arms cradling her as he backed away. “I will not allow it,” Yuuno muttered. “She can’t be here…”
Twilight squirmed, then blinked as she felt Yuuno bump into something. She craned her head back, eyes widening as she saw Luna looming over Yuuno, her eyes glowing bright white and her expression disapproving.
“Dost thou think that thou canst defeat me with such crude oneiromancy? I, the mare that walks through dreams both fair and foul?” Luna seemed to swell in size, rapidly dwarfing Yuuno as Twilight slipped free of his arms. “Release Twilight Sparkle and be gone!”
‘Yuuno‘s‘ eyes went wide with fear. “No! You can’t do this!”
“I SAID BEGONE!”
The force of Luna’s roar threw Yuuno backwards, throwing him bodily against the wall of the restaurant. The wall cracked like a cheap mirror as Yuuno looked up at Luna in terror, then vanished in a flash of light.
Twilight blinked, then staggered as her head spun. The world wobbled as she staggered from disorientation, her memories shifting about violently. When she looked down, she found herself once again dressed in her Barrier Jacket, the armor cracked in several places. Raising Heart floated quietly beside her.
“GOOD MORNING, MY MASTER.”
“How fare you now, Twilight Sparkle?” Luna approached her, her horn lighting up as she wove magic into Twilight’s fractured Barrier Jacket.
“Like I just woke up from a sugar coma after one of Pinkie‘s parties…” Twilight winced, rubbing her brow with one hoof. 
“Steady now,” Luna warned gently. “You have just thrown off the shackles the Book placed upon you. Some disorientation is natural.”
“Where are we? What is this place?”
“This is an illusory world, a space created to cage you, formed of magic stolen from the Dreaming. Were it not for your Element of Harmony, I would have not found my way here.” Luna glanced upwards as the world around them began to dissolve away. “It was fortunate that I discovered thee. Though the Element eludes me still… I had thought it here.”
“But… where are we?”
“We are in grave danger. You see, Twilight Sparkle, we are now in the very dragon’s den. We are within the Book itself.”
“What?! Oh no.. Fate! She’s somewhere in here too! We’ve got-”
“Fear not. It shall not take us long to locate her. We must not tarry, for we have precious little time.” Luna frowned, her horn flashing blue. “I feel the Element’s presence once more. Come!”

---

Fate sat underneath a large, broad-leafed tree, surrounded by pale white flowers. Her legs were tucked underneath her as she sat there, her eyes closed as she practiced her breathing. The only sound she really heard was the soft rustling of leaves in a breeze she knew wasn’t real.
It was so strange. She’d been here for what felt like several days, but the actual events were indistinct. She could vaguely remember times when she and Alicia went out to play in the fields, when they would have picnics with their mother, or when would show the delighted Alicia a new magic trick. But the memories were hollow and rang false in her head. In a way, that made Fate angry…
“So, here you are.”
Fate opened her eyes as she heard the voice speak to her. She looked up at Presea, the broken-horned unicorn looking concerned.
“I was wondering where you’d gotten to,” Presea said. “I was going to ask if you’d like to help Alicia with her schoolwork. After all, you’re much more advanced at magic than she is…”
“Why are you doing this?”
Presea seemed taken aback by Fate’s stern question. “What do you mean?”
“This. Why are you trying to trick me when I’ve figured out your game? Why am I still stuck in this dream?”
“This isn’t-”
“Alicia’s dead,” Fate said firmly, interrupting Presea as she rose to her feet. “I saw her buried and I visited her grave. Linith vanished a long time ago, after she completed my training and asked us to have a family meal together. And my mother… my real mother is currently in the Bureau’s custody undergoing psychiatric treatment. None of this is real.”
The thing wearing Presea’s form frowned, its eyes shifting from purple to bright red. “It could be, if you like. I could be what Presea wasn’t. A kind mother…”
“No, you can’t.” Fate replied. “Once upon a time, I would have liked that. A year ago I would have happily thrown myself into this delusion… but not now. I have a family waiting for me. I have friends. I have a place in the world. And all of that is more important than any dream you could offer me.”
‘Presea’ scuffed a hoof on the ground, kicking up a few flowers. “But not for long… there’s no way you can win. You understand that, don’t you?” She stepped closer, frowning deeply. “You can’t win. It’s impossible. Why not just surrender to this peaceful world? You won’t feel pain in this dream…”
“Because I‘ve got something worth fighting for.” Fate glared at the false Presea. “I’m not the same little girl I used to be. I’m Fate Testarossa-Sparkle, Child of Lightning, sister of Twilight Sparkle, student of Princess Luna, daughter of two families. And if something threatens those I hold dear, I will strike it down.”
There was a distant rumble of thunder as ‘Presea’ met Fate’s eyes, her expression sad. “That doesn’t change the facts. It’s impossible for you to win.”
“We shall see about that.”
Fate turned as she heard a new voice. Luna blinked into existence a few steps away from her, Twilight at her side.
“No…” ‘Presea’ whispered, stepping back. “No, no, no…”
“Hello Teacher. Hi sis,” Fate said calmly, slowly approaching the pair as her Barrier Jacket unfurled about her, Bardiche slowly glittering into existence at her side. “Did you come to save me?”
“We did, but it seems that our intervention was unneeded,” Luna quipped, causing Fate to blush. Twilight quickly rushed forwards, embracing Fate as ‘Presea’ stepped back.
“Why?” ’Presea’ whispered in confusion. “Why did you have to come here? Why!? Haven’t I suffered enough?!”
Twilight frowned as Fate released her from their hug. “Wait… you’re the same thing from my dream, aren’t you? Who are you?”
“I cannot allow you to go any further!” The figure’s body began to glow brightly, causing Fate to step back, shielding her eyes.
“Wait!” Twilight cried out as the fake Presea vanished in a blink of light. Then the world shook violently, sending Fate and the others stumbling about. “What’s happening?!”
“It appears that the dreamscape is collapsing,” Luna noted, flapping her wings slightly as she steadied herself. Cracks began to spread outwards across the blue sky, trees beginning to uproot themselves as the ground fractured, revealing swirling purple nothingness beyond. “I believe she means to catch us in the subsequent implosion and kill us.”
“But what about the Element of Magic?! Isn‘t it-”
“Nay. I no longer sense its presence here. Come!” Luna swung her head, her horn lighting up as she drew a circular blue portal in the air before her. “We must escape, for our quarry awaits!”
Fate glanced back as Twilight fled towards the portal, pausing for a moment to look sadly at the lonely little house in the field of white flowers. The cracks in the sky and along the ground slowly swept closer towards it, the ground and air seeming to crush inwards.
“Fate, come,” Luna called.
“Yes Teacher…” Fate slowly turned away from the house on the hill, then ran and leapt through the portal.

---

Lindy thrashed against the chair, tears running down her cheeks and her muscles tense. Nothing she’d ever felt hurt as much as the spell she was under, not that she cared about describing it. She just wanted it to stop.
And then it stopped. The red haze dropped from her vision as she slumped, her uniform dank with sweat while drool and snot dripped down her chin and lips. A hand gripped her chin and tilted her head up so that she could see Elantra’s face. The red-haired woman glared at her, her gloved fingers digging into the flesh underneath her chin.
“Hey, boss,” Lindy heard one of her captors say, “maybe you should turn it back some? We don’t wanna-”
“Fredricks, if you don’t shut the hell up I’m going to use this thing on you next,” Elantra snapped as she tilted Lindy’s head from side to side. “You still with us, Admiral Harlaown?”
Lindy grunted softly, snorting loudly as she tried to catch her breath.
“Good. I don’t need you cracking on me just yet. Now, do you plan on giving me those codes, or do you want to go another round?”
“Hnnngh… C-code… access…”
Elantra grinned fiercely as she held up the keychain. There was a soft humming noise as a holographic keyboard appeared behind Elantra, a spell circle containing a clear box with a glowing keyhole hovering above it. “Good. Now, what’s the code?”
Lindy clenched her eyes shut. “A-authorization… c-code…”
“That’s it… good,” Elantra said. “Don‘t leave anything out now…”
And then Lindy heard the door hiss open.
“Get the hell away from my mother.”
Elantra’s eyes shot up and Lindy’s heart soared. “Chrono!”
The two guards quickly raised their staves. Chrono moved quickly, raising a shield to block their fire before lunging forwards, thrusting the sharp-pointed butt of his staff towards one. As the soldier parried, Chrono brought the head of S4U around, clocking the man on the temple and moving around him as a blast sizzled past his arm, leaving a cut in his Barrier Jacket and his arm. Red light flashed out as Elantra thrust a hand towards Chrono, hitting her minion instead. The man screamed as Chrono swung his free hand towards the other soldier, blue bands quickly snapping around his waist and knees, right before Chrono body-checked his compatriot towards him, sending them both toppling over the railing. 
Lindy winced as Elantra put her hand to her neck, just as Chrono raised his staff and leveled it at her.
“Let her go,” Chrono growled.
“Drop the staff, Enforcer,” Elantra replied, tightening her grip. The fingers of her glove lit up as a small sphere of red light formed in her palm, level with Lindy’s windpipe. “Drop the staff, or I’ll blow a hole right through her neck.”
Chrono didn‘t move. “Then you won’t have the access codes for the Arc-en-Ciel. You’ve already lost, don’t make this worse for yourself. Let her go.”
“Do you think I’m bluffing, kid?” Elantra smiled thinly.
“Chrono,” Lindy groaned, her eyes landing on S4U.
Chrono exhaled slowly. “Fine. I’m going to put my Device on the ground… that work?”
“Yeah. When you do, kick it over to me.”
Chrono nodded, crouching down and resting his staff on the ground, his eyes not leaving Elantra. He stood up, then kicked the staff over to Elantra. S4U clattered before it rolled to a stop at Elantra’s feet.
“Good. Smart kid.” Elantra slowly crouched down, her hand leaving Lindy’s neck though the bullet was still glowing in her palm. She picked S4U up, holding the staff at Chrono. “Now, hands on your head.”
Chrono nodded, slowly raising his hands. “There’s just something I think you might want to know. S4U‘s a pretty interesting Device. Can you tell me why?”
Elantra blinked, then glanced at the staff. “What’s so special about it?”
“This. S4U, Load Cartridge!”
There was a loud report as S4U hammered the Cartridge home. Elantra shouted in pain, her arm going stiff as blue-white energy surged up her arm. Chrono swung his hands forwards with a shout, a Stinger Blade shooting through the air and catching Elantra in the shoulder. The woman spun about, the blast shooting from her palm and blowing a hole in the headrest beside Lindy’s head. Lindy kicked her legs out weakly, snaring her ankles about Elantra’s and tripping her as she spun.
Elantra fell onto her stomach with a slam, but Chrono quickly moved up to her, wrenching her ungloved arm behind her back, pushing his knee against her spine as he pinned her. His free hand reached up, fingers entwining in Elantra‘s hair as he slammed her face into the metal deck repeatedly before she went limp, blood pooling down from her busted nose.
“You’re under arrest,” he panted as he yanked the Arc-en-Ciel’s firing key from her hand, then climbed to his feet. 
“Chrono…”
Chrono quickly turned to her, then moved to her side. Blue light flickered from his hands as he snapped one of the bands. “Are you okay? Just hold on… I’ll contact Yuuno and see if-”
“I’m… I’m fine,” Lindy lied as Chrono undid the other binds. “Now that you’re here, at least…”
Chrono nodded slowly, then quickly wrapped his arms about her and hugged her. Lindy reached up, weakly patting him on the shoulder before he let go, a hand quickly wiping his eyes. “S-sorry it took so long, mom…”
“It’s okay…” Lindy smiled weakly. “I think I’d actually like Yuuno to be here now. I could use a little TLC.”
“Right. Just give me a second, mom.” Chrono strode over to one of the consoles and flicked a switch. “Amy, can you hear me?”
“Chrono! Thank goodness… did you do it?”
“Yeah. The bridge is secure.”
“Terrific! I knew you could do it Chrono. Arf just got word from the others; they’ve managed to secure Engineering. Apparently the guys in charge of the Arc-en-Ciel were a part of the mutiny. However, the rest of the staff’s on our side and are safe. Yuuno’s patching up a few injuries though…”
“Good. Tell him to hustle to the bridge when he’s done, though. Admiral Harlaown isn’t in very good shape.”
“What?! I’ll tell him immediately! Is… is the person who hurt the Admiral there?”
Chrono glanced at Elantra. “Yeah.”
“Tell her that she really needs to find someone better at computers. Anybody who just leaves themselves logged in like this is asking for someone to come along and wreck them.”
“I‘ll make sure to tell her. Bridge, out.”
Lindy glanced down at Elantra from her seat, blinking as the woman lifted a hand, her head tilting up as she aimed her glove. “Chrono, look out!”
There was a soft humming sound, then a squawk of pain from Elantra as her arm was quickly enveloped by a reddish-pink aura of light, quickly bent back behind her back. Lindy turned slightly to look at the unicorn stallion standing in the doorway, his white horn glowing brightly. His armor was scuffed and dented, and several scorch marks decorated his otherwise brilliant white coat.
“Sorry I’m late,” Shining Armor said as he levitated Elantra into the air. “I was a bit delayed. Where do you want this one?”
Chrono swept a hand towards Elantra, binds snapping around her limbs and pinning them together. “Just hold her there while I grab the other two guards. Admiral, permission to escort the captives to the brig?”
“Granted.” Lindy sighed, closing her eyes and slumping against the chair.

---

There was a thrum of power as Twilight stepped through the portal, her booted hooves landing on bright red carpet. She glanced around at her surroundings: the high, glossy wooden walls with art-deco sconces, the gleaming gold and crystal chandelier hanging overhead, the great, brass-handled double doors set into the wall ahead of her, and the faint, distant sound of murmuring ponies.
“Where are we?” Twilight glanced back as Fate and Princess Luna emerged from the portal, the tear in the air zipping up and vanishing behind Luna.
“Another dreamscape,” Luna replied. “The last of them. The one we have been searching for.”
“This place looks like a theater of some sort,” Fate said, resting Bardiche against her withers as she looked about.
“Aye, that it does. Appropriate, considering whose dream this is.”
“It’s Trixie’s, isn’t it?” Twilight looked back towards Luna, who nodded sagely. “This is it, then. We’re nearly there…”
“We must tread with caution, Twilight Sparkle,” Luna warned as she approached the doors. “Our prior actions have likely driven Nyx to desperate actions. We must take great care, lest we be noticed. Stay close to me; I shall endeavor to shield our presence from her eyes.”
“Right. Got it.” Twilight nodded as Fate stepped up beside her. “So… shall we see what’s on the other side of the doors?”
Luna nodded and pushed the doors open with one hoof. Suddenly, the world shifted. Twilight found herself standing in the middle of an aisle in one of the biggest theaters she’d ever seen before. It was easily twice the size of the Royal Opera House, with at least two separate balconies. Every seat was filled, and all eyes were focused on the deep blue and silver-trimmed curtains hiding the stage.
“Mares and gentlecolts! Foals of all ages! Welcome to tonight’s show,” a familiar voice rang out across the air.
“That’s her,” Fate whispered, “isn’t it?”
“Aye,” Luna replied, her horn glowing faintly. “The master program of the Tome of the Night Sky… the one who’s been attempting to keep you both ensnared in dreams… Nyx.”
“But why would Nyx be doing all this?”
Luna shook her head. “To pacify and lull thee into a merry slumber, methinks. The magic is familiar to me… Now be silent.”
“And now,” the voice concluded, “without further ado, allow me to introduce to you the greatest unicorn magician in all of Equestria. Please welcome, mistress of the magical arts and master of illusions, the Great and Powerful TRRRRRRIXIE!”
There was a deafening roar as the theater exploded into applause as the curtains opened with a whoosh of dramatic wind. Pyrotechnics exploded into tall rooster-tails of blue, purple and white sparks as a dramatic trumpet fanfare bellowed out. Trixie leapt down from a podium, dressed in a flowing purple cloak with her high-peaked wizard’s cap carrying several glittering feathers, her hooves shod in gleaming, well-polished boots.
“Good evening, citizens,” she crowed, strutting about the stage. “Welcome to the show! Tonight, I, the GREAT and POWERFUL TRIXIE will demonstrate to you feats of magic and skill that will dazzle-”
Twilight blinked as Trixie paused. There was a brief moment as Trixie looked out into the audience, an expression of shock and fear  passing over her face. And then, like a fading firework, the shock vanished as Trixie continued her monologue.
“Did you see that?” Twilight’s voice dropped to a sharp whisper.
Luna nodded. “Aye. Nyx’s illusions are skilled, but it appears that she has made an error of some sort…”
“There!” Fate whispered, pointing a hoof. “That blue mare in the middle block, three rows back.”
Twilight narrowed her eyes, shielding them with a hoof. She could just make out the pony Fate gestured to, as she stood out against the more nondescript ponies surrounding her. Her coat was a pale powder blue, her white mane curly and flowing as it poured down one side of her face, hiding one of her eyes. 
“Is it me,” Twilight whispered, “or does she look a lot like an older version of Trixie?”
“Aye,” Luna whispered. “Perhaps that is Nyx’s current guise in this dream. Keep watch; we may yet find a way to pull Trixie from this illusion…”

---

The show had gone off without a hitch so far, just like the other ones. A fact that Trixie was grateful for as she retired to her dressing room for the intermission.
Trixie pushed aside one of the dozens of bouquets that filled her dressing room as she took a seat before the mirror, pulling her hat off and letting it flop onto the floor as she tried to calm herself. She took deep breaths, her hooves pressing into the vanity’s counter as she tried to relax.
But she couldn’t. She was here. She was in the theater. She was at her show!
What is she doing here? Trixie’s mind raced as she tried to make sense of the situation. Why did she come here? Why now? Why now of all the times!?
A gentle knock at her door interrupted her train of thought. 
“What?!” Trixie shouted, then coughed as she took a seat. “S-sorry. Enter!”
The door swung open slowly, and Trixie’s heart froze. A powder-blue-coated, turquoise-eyed unicorn mare stepped through the door, her long, curly mane and tail flowing down to the ground like a waterfall made of clouds. Her hooves were gleaming mirror-bright, and an elegant necklace hung about her neck. “Hello Trixie,” she said calmly, the cloud of five-pointed teal and white stars glittering on her flank.
“Mother,” Trixie replied flatly to Mystica Lulamoon. “What’re you doing here?”
“I can’t visit my own daughter?” Mystica replied with an arched eyebrow as she looked about the dressing room. “I’ve been hearing a lot of things, Trixie. All the glowing reviews, the publicity… they’re calling you the next Trotterfield, you know.”
“Uh-huh.” Trixie’s eyes never left Mystica. “I bet that just burns you up, doesn’t it?”
“Well, I can’t say that I’m not jealous,” Mystica replied smoothly, sniffing at a bouquet of white roses. “But then again…”
“Why’re you here, mother?” Trixie snapped, causing Mystica to turn towards her. 
“I just want to bury the hatchet between us, Trixie.” Mystica fluffed her curling mane before turning back to Trixie, her lips in a thin, arrogant smile. “That’s all. Don‘t you think this silly grudge of yours has gone on far too long?”
“Silly?!” Trixie strode towards Mystica, her eyes narrowed as she built up her courage. “Silly?! Ever since I was a filly, you’ve been trying to run my life! I mean, in between screwing over your co-stars and lifting tail for every big-shot producer that looked at you sideways! And you think me holding a grudge is SILLY?!”
“Don’t you dare raise your voice at me, young lady,” Mystica replied, her eyes narrowing. “Everything I did, I did for you. You could at least show some gratitude!”
“Horseapples! You didn’t care about me! All you cared about was using me to further your own career!” Trixie ground her teeth together, butting heads with Mystica as she forced the mare backwards. “I was just another tool for you. And that’s when you weren’t throwing me into auditions or acting classes, trying to turn me into a tiny version of you!
“And whenever I tried to actually do something of my own, you sabotaged me! You remember the talent show? The one where I actually got my cutie mark? The one where I had to improvise the entire act because all of the materials I had made before hoof mysteriously vanished? I found them in the garbage when I came home. Because you thought ‘being a magician was beneath me.’”
“You ungrateful little brat! Don’t think you can talk to me like-”
“SHUT UP!” Trixie roared, causing Mystica to recoil as if struck. Trixie panted, then lifted her head up high. “You know, I’m glad I left Los Pegasus,” Trixie continued in a forcefully even tone, “because I was able to get out from under your well-polished hoof! It was worth every bit of hardship and suffering I had to go through; because at least I’d never grow up to be a stuck-up, manipulative thief of a comfort-horse like you! Now get out of my dressing room before I call security.”
Trixie stood firm as Mystica shuddered, then slowly turned away, her head lowered in defeat.
I did it, she thought to herself in wonder, a smile breaking across her lips. I actually did it… I actually made her back down…
And then the door opened. Mystica’s head shot up as she turned towards the door, then snarled.
“YOU! What are you doing here?!”

---

Luna stepped through the doorway, her presence filling the room as Twilight and Fate flanked her, the dressing room seeming surprisingly small now. The blue-coated mare slowly backed away from Luna, drawing back defensively from her. Her eyes visibly shifted in color, going from a deep, rich blue-green to bright red. 
“P-Princess Luna? What in Equestria are you doing here?!” Trixie gaped as the other mare quickly interposed herself between her and Luna. “Hey!”
“Stay back, Trixie,” the mare growled, her stance solid and her horn lowered at Luna. “I’ll protect you from her…”
“Wait…” Trixie slowly came to stand beside the other mare, her eyes widening. “You’re not my mother… you’re her aren’t you? The master control program or whatever…”
“Indeed,” Luna replied. “You are quite correct, Trixie. The mare you see before you is, in truth, Nyx…”
“That’s not my name,” Nyx replied as her disguise slowly melted away. Blue fur gave way to ivory white, though streaks of red and black tarnished her sides. Great white wings with torn feathers slowly unfurled from her back as she grew taller. Her horn telescoped outwards as glowing red cracks spread out along its length, looking like poorly soldered circuitry as teardrops welled up from the corners of her eyes. “But you should know that. Wouldn’t you?”
“Teacher, what does she mean?” Fate blinked as Luna’s gaze lowered.
“Tell her.” Nyx urged angrily. “Tell the filly what you did… how you broke me. How you took away my name. Tell her!”
“’Tis true. When I fell to madness and Nyx resisted me, I used my administrative powers to bend her to my will.” Luna shook her head, closing her eyes. “In the end… to solidify my control, I took away her name. The name that I had given her… And in doing so, I lessened her. I left her with nothing…”
“And now,” Nyx hissed, “you’ve come back. I may not have been able to keep you from the others, but I draw the line here. I won‘t let you touch Trixie… I won‘t let you hurt her!”
“That is not my intent! I have come to thy aid in this dark hour,” Luna replied, inhaling and steadying herself. “I mean to restore thee to thy original nature, to make you whole once more, so that-”
“LIAR!”
There was a brilliant flash of white light that sent Luna sprawling onto the ground beyond the doorway.
“Princess!”
“Teacher!”
“Get out!” Nyx screamed, the glow of her horn blazing up as she cried. “Get out of my Mistress’s dream! ALL OF YOU, GET OUT!”
Luna slowly rose to her feet as Twilight and Fate reached her, then blinked as the door slammed shut. Suddenly, there was a rush of wind as the door pulled away, the world turning into a whirling blur about her as perspective and dimension warped and twisted.
“What’s going on?!” Twilight shouted as she turned about.
“Nyx is pushing us out of the dreamscape,” Luna replied. “I did not expect her to gain such power this deep within the Book… but this may work to our advantage.”
“How?”
“It is likely that we are within the central administrative nexus of the Book. That must be how Nyx can gather enough power to eject us from the dreamscape. If that is so…”
“Then we’re where we need to be, right?”
“Indeed Twilight.” Luna clenched her teeth as the wind picked up, her horn igniting. “Hold tight, both of you!”
Fate and Twilight pulled close to Luna as a bubble of navy-blue light enveloped them. The wind stilled as Luna concentrated, just before there was a great, violent lurching sensation.
When the world stopped spinning, Luna lowered the barrier. The world had changed drastically around them. They were within a great, glowing sphere, easily two miles across at least. Ribbons of light and scrolling sigils flowed around them in the distance, outlining the limits of the sphere. Some were bright blue and white, some of them violet and black and pulsing ominously. Thin streamers of black lightning licked along their lengths, leaping from band to band in some cases. However, hovering in the center of it all was a jewel. It was a tiny chunk of stone in the grand scheme of things, no bigger than a unicorn filly‘s horn. It’s irregular facets glittered, but were stained  a mottled black and blue.
“This is it,” Luna said as she looked around. “The central administrative hub. The heart of the Book…”
“This is amazing.. .to think, all of this is contained within the Book. It’s like it’s its own world…” Twilight’s eyes swept over the alien geography around them, then stopped on the jewel, “Is… is that what I think it is?”
“Aye… the Examia shard. But ’tis passing strange… the jewel is supposed to be pure blue…”
“Teacher! Sis!” Fate raised Bardiche, the axe‘s head flicking into Crescent Form, “something’s coming!”
A deep, thunder-like rumble echoed in the distance as dark ichor flowed up from the Examia shard. Four serpentine shadows emerged from the jewel, red eyes glowing brightly as they curled and obscured the jewel from sight, hissing malevolently at the three ponies.
“Intruders detected.” Nachtwal hissed in a quartet of discordant voices. “Administrative Core breached by unauthorized users. Initiating countermeasures now.”
The four snakes slowly spiraled upwards, a great black cloud of darkness forming in the air above them. The cloud solidified, slowly forming a huge, perfectly circular portal in the air, ringed with dark purple runes.
Luna glance at the two unicorns, then inhaled. “It is time for the trump card, I suppose. Raising Heart? Bardiche?”
“YES, MEISTER?” The two Devices chimed in response.
“Confirm administrative authorization.”
“CONFIRMED!”
“Princess?” Twilight blinked as she lifted Raising Heart up to her eyes.
“Patience, Twilight. Raising Heart! Bardiche! As your Meister, I command you to release your final locks! I hereby grant authorization for the use of Stargazer and Lunatic Forms!”
“CONFIRMATION CONFIRMED.” Bardiche replied. “GET SET.”
“ALRIGHT!” Raising Heart almost shouted. “I AM READY, MY MASTER!”
There was a great crackling noise as an enormous, armor-covered limb pushed through the black portal, black lightning licking up from the dinner-plate sized hoof. A second followed, followed by an enormous equine head. The pony was easily three times as tall as Luna, its eyes solid, icy blue and framed with wisps of black lightning, its horn a thick, jagged spear of black bone that protruded from a barbed champron. Great black bat-like wings unfurled from an enormous, black-armored barrel, a mane and tail of blue and violet flame coiling about it as it roared, revealing enormous, spear-like canines.
“That’s… a very big pony,” Fate noted as she raised Bardiche to fighting position.
“It… it looks like a giant version of Nightmare Moon,“ Twilight stammered, her eyes wide. “But a bit… nastier.”
“DESTROY,” the giant mare roared, its mane and tail coiling into great vortexes as it flapped its wings.
“Make that a lot nastier,” Twilight amended.
“Do you two think you can hold it at bay whilst I work?” Luna glanced at the two unicorns.
“I’ll do my best,” Twilight replied as she swallowed nervously.
“LET’S DO IT!” Raising Heart replied.
“Let’s go Bardiche,” Fate said. “Teacher’s counting on us.”
“GET SET.”
“Good, because here it comes!”

---

Trixie moved to Nyx’s side as the alicorn collapsed, her body quivering. She laid on her side, her wings bent and crooked, her chest rising and falling with effort.
“You…” Trixie gaped, then gritted her teeth. “You… what in Equestria were you thinking?! She was here to help us!”
“No… Trixie…” Nyx gasped as she slowly rolled onto her belly. “She can’t… I can’t trust her… not after what she did to me…”
“Whatever she did to you doesn’t matter!” Trixie stomped a hoof in irritation. “Just because she hurt you doesn’t mean she can’t make it up to you! Besides, the other option is to just sit here and let the entire world be destroyed! Trixie happens to like her world, thank you. That’s where Trixie keeps all her things!”
“And if it were your mother in Luna’s place, would you feel the same?”
Trixie opened her mouth, then shut it sharply. “Well played. Well played indeed.”
Nyx nodded, slowly climbing to her feet. “You… hate her, don’t you?”
“Yes,” Trixie replied, then paused. “Well… not hate, exactly. It’s complicated.”
“How? You don’t like anything about your mother. Ergo, you hate her, do you not?”
“It’s not just that.” Trixie shook her head and turned away from Nyx. “Yeah, when I was younger, I hated her. But more than that, I was scared of her. I was always scared that she’d find me and drag me back to Los Pegasus. That’s why I never used my full name, why I kept wandering around Equestria with just my wagon…
“After a while, though… when I’d spent a few years away from her… I don’t know. I just thought she was pathetic. She’d spent all that time trying to control me, and she failed.” Trixie laughed bitterly as she shook her head. “Don’t get me wrong, I was still afraid of her, but… well, things change.”
Trixie turned to look at Nyx. “Do you hate Princess Luna?”
“Yes,” Nyx admitted. “I hate her. That’s what she taught me… When she tore me apart when I defied her, I could feel it. Her hate. She hated Celestia. She hated pony-kind. She hated me for trying to get in her way… I learned how to hate from her.”
“And then…” Nyx continued, touching a hoof to one of her wounded sides, “when the Belka put that… that thing inside me, I learned to hate them too. And I hated the program they used to control me. Their addition to my defense program, the Night’s Wall. Der Nachtwal. Hate made Luna stronger… I thought it‘d make me strong too, so I could fight back. But…”
Trixie’s eyes widened in realization. “But it didn’t. It made Nachtwal stronger, didn’t it?” She stepped closer as Nyx looked away. “That’s why you’re so scared of it, aren’t you? You made your own monster!”
“Yes…”
Trixie fell silent for a moment, then stumbled as the world tilted slightly, several of the bouquets falling over and furniture sliding. “What the hay was that?!”
“The three of them are fighting in the central core,” Nyx replied. “It doesn’t matter though… they’ll be defeated. Nothing can stop Nachtwal. It’s too powerful. Its hate is too strong.”
Trixie took a step back as Nyx slowly walked towards her, lowering her horn as it glowed. “All I can do… is send you back to sleep. That way, when Nachtwal wins and devours us… you won’t feel it.”
“What?!”
“It’s for the best, Trixie… Please, just let-”
A loud smack of hoof on flesh echoed in the room. Nyx’s eyes were wide as she touched her cheek where Trixie slapped her.
“If you think,” Trixie panted as she spoke angrily, “that I’m going back to sleep, then you‘re an idiot.”
“Trixie…” Nyx began.
“Shut up! Have you even listened to what you‘re saying?! You’ve already given up, even though we have the Princesses of Equestria and who knows who else on our side!”

---

Explosion after explosion turned moon-dust into moon-glass as Nachtwal galloped towards Celestia. And yet, the avatar didn’t so much as slow down, even as Celestia leapt skyward and took wing. Its own ascent was halted as it slammed into a solid wall of light, the barrier quickly wrapping around and forming a glowing dome. 
“BURN!“
The air within the dome suddenly flashed into blazing flame, the captured inferno raging about Nachtwal and casting twisting shadows onto the lunar surface. Celestia panted softly as she landed, her sweat steaming away thanks to her halo of iridescent flame. Embers trailed up from her mane and tail as her horn glowed brilliantly.
And then, there was an explosion as the containment dome shattered. Nachwal leapt free, unharmed save for the trailing smoke on its body.
“Useless!” Nachtwal roared as the Book of Darkness phased in before it, snapping open as the avatar hovered.
“OH PERMAFROST” The Book chanted mechanically. “CONSTRUCT NOW A FROZEN TOMB, AND DELIVER ETERNAL SLEEP UNTO THIS BEAST!”
Celestia swung her head about, sketching a golden circle in the air above her. The circle flashed, then opened to reveal the swirling surface of her sun.
“ETERNAL COFFIN!”
“BURN,” Celestia shouted back, grasping the swirling corona of her sun with her magic and pulling it through the portal. Her beam of solar plasma collided with a beam of absolute cold, the impact area of the two detonating as the two extremes met.

---

Luna swept down the side of the sphere, bolts of black light sizzling in her wake as she flew, her eyes flicking over the script as she raced along the road of sigils. She was familiar enough with the Belkan magical language to recognize the patterns of code, though she was surprised at the sophistication of it. Whoever had added Nachtwal’s programming to her own array must have been quite skilled, to say the least.
It almost seemed a shame to wreck it.
“Teacher! Look out!”
Luna looked up as the gigantic Nightmare flickered into existence before her, its giant hooves raised to stomp down on her.
“WALL LAUNCH!”
A bright magenta shield whipped in front of her, blocking the attack, just as a dozen spheres of magic slammed into its side.
“CONDUCTION LANCER, FIRE!”
The Corona Shots were joined by hollow spheres of golden light. The blasts harmlessly crackled over the Nightmare as it turned towards its assailants, then roared as a dozen bolts of golden lightning slammed into it, connecting it to Fate’s burning golden horn.
“Come and get us,” Twilight shouted as she hovered up beside Fate, more Corona Shots winking in around her. 
The Nightmare roared, flapping its gigantic wings as it rushed towards the two smaller unicorns.
“Much obliged, you two,” Luna shouted as she swerved about, barrel-rolling through the air as her own horn lit up. A scalpel-like blue laser shot down from the tip of Luna’s horn as she flew, slicing down through the air to make contact with the surface beneath her. A powerful jolt of pain spiked in Luna’s head, but she focused, pushing through the resistance as she worked. The beam swept over the black-and-purple ribbon, the ribbon of script quickly dissolving into black embers.
Nachtwal let out a hideous squall, its four heads turning towards Luna as she sliced off a chunk of the ribbon. Black bolts of light belched from their maws, sizzling through the air towards her. Luna flickered and vanished, the bolts twisting away from the strips of magical light to give chase.

---

“They’re out there fighting for you!” Trixie glared at the shocked Nyx, her tail swishing. “They’re facing death to save the both of us, and you just want to give up? Just roll over and surrender?! To Tartarus with that!”
Trixie turned about and began to pace, pausing as the world shuddered again, a distant thunder echoing through the walls of the dressing room. “I’m not going to just give up. The Great and Powerful Trixie does not simply give up. Even in the face of certain being-eaten-by-a-giant-bear-made-of-stars Trixie didn’t just lay down and die!”
“Um… actually,” Nyx muttered, “you did run away from the Ursa Minor…”
“But I still fought it! Now hush, Trixie is trying to be inspirational here!”
“But what can I do?” Nyx slowly sat down, her eyes closing. “I’m nothing. A nopony.”
“This is your Book, isn’t it?!” Trixie wheeled about, pointing a hoof at the pale alicorn. “Do something!”
“I can’t!” Nyx whimpered. “What little power I had, I used to construct these dreamscapes! And even if I had power, I can’t access any of the Book’s systems! I-”
Nyx froze as there was a sound like snapping glass. Trixie looked up, swallowing nervously as a chunk of the ceiling cracked, then fell upwards, revealing a black void beyond. 
“That’s… not supposed to happen, is it?”
“Run!” Nyx whinnied in panic as she kicked the dressing room door open.

---

“Ahhhhh!”
Twilight slammed against the surface of the sphere, pinned beneath an enormous hoof as the Nightmare snarled, its eyes burning bright as it leaned in, jaws spread wide and leaking liquid flame.
“CRESCENT ARC!”
Twilight winced as a golden circle of plasma sheered through the Nightmare’s limb, causing the beast to recoil. She winked out, reappearing beside Fate as a new blade formed from Bardiche’s core.
“This is ridiculous.” Fate snorted as Twilight leveled Raising Heart. The Nightmare roared as its limb exploded and reformed, turning to face them once again.. “No matter what we hit it with, it just keeps re-forming!”
“We just have to keep fighting, Fate,” Twilight counseled. “We have to buy Luna time…”
“Incoming,” Fate shouted as the Nightmare’s wings flared, a shower of black bolts streaking in an inward arc towards them.
Twilight swung Raising Heart upwards, Corona Shots launching to intercept as Fate raised a barrier around them, the space between the two of them and their opponent exploding.

---

“You’re running out of time, Celestia.”
Celestia panted heavily as she and Nachtwal circled each other, her hooves crunching against the lunar surface, her tail swishing as she walked. Celestia’s armor was pock-marked, a part of her breastplate torn away by a lucky shot. Nachtwal, by comparison, was as pristine as when the battle had begun.
“Do you see the futility of fighting?” Nachtwal continued, its four wings molting as it walked, the snake-head grieves it wore glinting ominously as they clinked. “Not even you, the Sun Princess, can hold off the darkness forever. Your end is inevitable.”
“I know,” Celestia countered, her mane flowing into her eyes. She was tired. It’d been a long time since she’d used so much magic…
“So surrender. Give in to the darkness. It is the logical choice…”
“According to you, yes.” Celestia smirked as she flapped her wings, kicking up some dust as a shining, golden half-pike sprang into being before her. “Thankfully, I don’t hold to such a nihilistic worldview. I don’t know when, or even if my end will come… but I know this; it will not be tonight.”
Nachtwal glared at her as it summoned a great black sword, the edge glinting in the ultraviolet spectrum. “Why do you resist? Why do you insist on this pointless fighting?!”
Nachtwal lunged towards Celestia, the sword darting in to run her through. Celestia parried, summoning a second spear as the first caught and twisted the blade away. “I fight because my little ponies need me to fight. That is the nature of my duty!”
Nachtwal swung again, but Celestia caught its blade in a scissors block with her first two spears, just as she manifested a third, thrusting it towards Nachtwal. The program snarled as the blade scored a hit on its barrel, its wings flapping as it drew back, the spears stabbing into the ground where it once stood.
“What’s the matter, Nachtwal?” Celestia smiled as a fourth spear sprang into being, the quartet of half-pikes hovering about her, waiting to be loosed. “You look distracted. Having trouble? I imagine it must be a pain, fighting on so many fronts like this…”
Nachtwal’s only reply was an angry snarl as it produced a second sword to join the first, leaping forwards to attack Celestia.

---

The hallway was rapidly disappearing; every surface breaking like cheap sugar-glass as Trixie and Nyx ran. Chunks of the ceiling, walls and floor flew upwards into the black void, chasing the two as they fled down the hallway.
Trixie’s hooves skidded as she rounded a corner, panting heavily as her heart hammered in her chest. She had no idea how long she had been running, but she was pretty sure that the hallway behind the theater wasn’t this long.
“Keep running!” Nyx shouted, the wounded alicorn doing her best to keep up. “We’re almost out!”
“Yeah, but where’s the exit?!” Trixie skidded slightly as she turned another corner, her hooves slipping beneath her as she slammed into the wall. The surface cracked violently, fractures spreading outwards from the point of impact as she scrabbled to recover.
“Just up ahead!” Nyx’s horn glowed dimly as she kept pace with Trixie.
Trixie blinked, her head aching as she saw the corridor suddenly shrink, the four surfaces crushing inwards like an accordion as a pair of doors swung into view. Trixie closed her eyes, then barreled through the doors, the double doors slamming open as she charged through.
She skidded to a halt, finding herself once more on the stage. However, there was no longer an audience before her; instead, the stage had become an island, like the rest of the world had been torn away. Only a few small pieces of wreckage floated in the vast, blackish-blue void before them.
“Oh no…” Nyx whispered. Trixie turned around, only to watch as the wall and doorway they had just came through shattered and fell away. “Oh no, oh no… it’s found us…”
“CORRECT.”
Trixie slowly backed up as four great pillars of darkness rose from the void’s depths, terminating in great, viper-like heads. Nachtwal’s four heads surrounded the floating stage, each neck at a cardinal point.
“YOUR ABBERANT BEHAVIOR WILL NO LONGER BE TOLERATED,” Nachtwal’s four voices boomed. “I HAVE ASSUMED ALL ADMINSTRATIVE CONTROLS OVER THIS SYSTEM. YOU ARE NO LONGER NECESSARY.”
Nyx’s horn glowed faintly as she cowered behind Trixie, trying to hide from the much larger monster. Were this any other situation, Trixie might have found the image of the much larger pony using her as a shield to be comical. But now…
“J-just calm down,” Trixie reassured Nyx. “We’ll be fine.. The others wouldn’t let anything happen to us… right?”
Nachtwal hissed loudly. “CORRECT.”
The void shifted. Trixie blinked as lines of purple and blue light formed in the sky beyond, like edges of a gem. She could see the battle raging beyond; Fate and Twilight fighting off a gigantic Nightmare, while Princess Luna streaked through the air, slicing off chunks of ribbon, dozens of projectiles racing in to pummel her.

---

“ALERT: ABBERANT PROGRAM LOCATED.”
Luna’s head swung as she heard Nachtwal make that announcement. The snakes seemed almost pleased with itself as a holographic image formed in the air above them, depicting what appeared to be a floating island.
“No…” Luna hissed.
“ANNOUNCEMENT TO INTRUDERS: CEASE YOUR INTERFERENCE IMMEDIATELY. FAILURE TO DO SO WILL RESULT IN DELETION OF THE ABERRANT PROGRAM AND THE BIOLOGICAL ENTITY KNOWN AS TRIXIE!”
“Don’t listen to that stupid snake!” Trixie’s voice had a tinny echo to it, like she was trying to shout down a tunnel. “Keep fighting! Don’t stop! Keep- AHH!”
Trixie pulled back as a chunk of the platform vanished, stumbling and landing on her rump in shock. Tiny fragments of the stage floated away like so many flower petals as Nachtwal hissed.
“W-what do we do, Princess?” Twilight called to Luna.
Luna’s eyes narrowed. It has us at an impasse… if we continue, Trixie and Nyx will be destroyed before we can save them… There has to be a way…
“Hey! Listen to me, you giant scaly idiot!”
Luna blinked as Trixie’s voice rang out, drawing Nachtwal’s attention to it. What in Harmony’s name is that foal doing?!

---

Trixie stumbled back, the stage she and Nyx were sharing suddenly a bit smaller. Nyx whimpered softly, pressing against Trixie’s side, her eyes shut tight.
“It’s hopeless,” Nyx whispered softly as tears poured down its cheeks. “We can’t win… it’s too strong…”
“CORRECT,” Nachtwal boomed as its heads leaned closer. “WHAT HOPE CAN AN OBSOLETE, NAMELESS PROGRAM HAVE AGAINST THE FULL POWER OF THIS SYSTEM? RESISTANCE IS USELESS. DELETION IS INEVITABLE.”
“Shut up!”
Nachtwal hissed as Trixie pushed herself back to her feet. She swallowed nervously, then walked forwards and glared up at it, trying not to tremble too much. “Trixie w-will no longer allow you to hurt her friend like that. Do you hear Trixie, y-you giant ophidian idiot?!”
“ALLOW? THIS PROGRAM DOES NOT RECOGNIZE YOUR AUTHORITY.” The four heads shifted so that they all faced Trixie, fiery tongues licking over jewel-like fangs. “YOU CAN DO NOTHING.”
“T-Trixie doesn’t care if you recognize her or not. Trixie has had enough of this! Trixie is through with running and hiding and trying to get away. If… if you want to put Trixie in a corner, then you’re going to get what you deserve!”
Trixie backed away as another chunk of the stage vanished, stumbling back a bit closer to Nyx. She laughed nervously. “What? T-that’s all you can do? Just drop chunks of the floor out from under me? B-big deal.”
Nachtwal‘s eyes narrowed in anger. “YOU DO NOT FEAR YOUR DEATH?”
Trixie stepped back as another piece vanished.  The stage was starting to look a lot smaller now. However, when she glanced back at Nyx, she swallowed her fear and glared up at the snake. “Yeah, I do… b-but if I’m going to die, then I’m going to die on my feet. Because while I’m scared of dying, I’m done with being scared of you!”
She glanced back at Nyx, then backed up and pushed Nyx, slipping a forelimb under her chin and raising her head. “WE’RE done being scared of you!”
Nyx’s eyes snapped open in shock. “W-what?!”
“Come on…” Trixie pleaded to Nyx. “You’re just going to let that thing kill you? Kill me? This is your book. This is your world. Get up and fight for it!”
“I can’t…” Nyx whimpered as she shook her head. “I…I can‘t do this.”
“Yes, you can. Come on… please.”
“I‘m…” Nyx stared up at Nachtwal, fear in her eyes, “I’m too scared… I can’t do this on my own…”
Trixie reached up, grasped Nyx’s cheek with one hoof, and inhaled. “Then you won‘t do it alone. I’m here with you. And I’m not going to run away, so don’t you dare run either.”
Nyx swallowed. “You’d… do that? For me?”
Trixie smirked. “Of course. You’re my assistant… and my friend. And I don’t let my assistants down.”
“ENOUGH OF THIS FOOLISHNESS. COMMENCING DELETION!”
Trixie looked around as the platform began to rapidly dissolve inwards towards them. Okay… okay… Think Trixie, think! You’ve got no magic, you’re stuck inside the Book of Darkness, and you’ve got a broken… program-pony counting on you. Think!
Wait… Trixie froze. I’m inside the Book of Darkness. Nyx is the… oh sun and moon above, if this doesn’t work…
Trixie inhaled and closed her eyes as she clung tight to the pale alicorn. “My name is Trixie Lulamoon,” She shouted “I declare myself your Mistress! GET UP AND FIGHT WITH ME!”
There was a pause. Trixie’s ears drooped. So much for that… And here I was hoping for-
“As you command!”
There was a brilliant flash of light that filled Trixie’s closed eyes, her head swimming as she felt a sudden rush of power. She shook her head, then opened them slowly. The platform beneath them was gone, having been replaced by a slowly rotating triangle of light. The runes and symbols were outlined in pale, grayish magenta, while a bright white light filled it, mingling with the color of the sigils.
Trixie slowly raised her head and looked at her companion. Nyx’s eyes were wide with confusion, her own horn glowing brilliantly as a strange, purple light shone from within the her chest.
“What…what in Equestria?!”
And then the world turned bright purple. Trixie could hear Nachtwal roar in pain as a blast of raw magic flooded over her.

---

Twilight’s eyes went wide as she saw the light emanating from the writhing serpents at the center of the sphere. “I know that light! The Element of Magic! Nyx must have absorbed it when Fate and I got captured!”
“ERROR! ERROR!” Nachtwal hissed, its tendrils pulling away from the glowing jewel. “UNKNOWN ENERGY SOURCE D-D-D-DETECTED! SySTEm C-C-C-CompROmISED! CoMeNcInG SSSSSSSSelF PresERVAtIon PROtoCOL!”
The Nightmare roared and convulsed, melting into a slurry of darkness that swirled back into Nachtwal. The purple light of the Element of Magic swirled outwards, the blue-and-white ribbons of programming slowly changing color to match.
“What’s happening?” Fate glanced around, her eyes wide.
“Nyx…” Luna stared in wonder. “The Element of Magic is reacting to the bond between Trixie and Nyx…”
“It can do that?!” Twilight gaped as a purple starburst of light slowly emerged from the Examia shard, its magic pulsing.
“The Element of Magic was once mine,” Luna explained. “It must have sensed the faintest echo of my ancient bond within Nyx… and reacted to preserve her. Such incredible power…”
“Teacher, Sis, Nachtwal’s not looking too good…” Fate said, gesturing towards the writhing snakes.
“I would imagine so…” Luna replied. “Now is our chance. Quickly now!”

---

Celestia’s spears caught Nachtwal’s blades, pinning them as she drew into melee with the avatar. Nachtwal’s eyes met hers, fangs bared.
And then, Nachtwal froze. Its eyes went wide as purple light began to shine out from its eyes from within its horn.
“What in Harmony…” Celestia quickly drew back, her spears in a defensive stance. Luna? Can you hear me? What‘s going on?
Aye, my sister. I believe we have reached a breakthrough…
Thank Harmony. I’m running on my last legs out here.
Worry not. I am sending thee some assistance.
There was a flash as a deep blue portal opened in the air beside Celestia. Twilight and Fate emerged from the portal, blinking as they did so.
“Twilight! Fate!” Celestia gasped.
“Princess!” Twilight paused, staring at her. “Where did you get the armor?”
“I’ll explain later.” Celestia turned back to the writhing avatar. Luna, can you hear me?
Aye.
What do you need me to do?
Listen well. It seems that the Element of Magic is empowering Nyx, enough that she is forcing Nachtwal back. If the three of you combine your powers, we may be able to force it to leave the book completely!
So you want us…
I want you to blast it with everything in your power! The utter destruction of the program’s combat avatar will force it to evacuate!
But what about the Trixie and-
They will be fine. The Book’s core will shield them from the effects, I will make sure of it.
And you?
I will escape soon enough! Now strike! Strike while there is still time!
Celestia nodded, glancing to the two smaller ponies. “You heard her?”
“Yes, Princess,” Twilight nodded, leveling Raising Heart at Nachtwal’s avatar.
“LET’S SHOOT IT! FRAME OPEN!” Raising Heart proclaimed, switching to Prominence Form as Twilight’s ENTD kicked on.
“Bardiche, do you think you can handle the load of my new spell?”
“AFFIRMATIVE. FRAME OPEN!” Bardiche’s vents hissed as its head rotated one-hundred and eighty degrees, her own Barrier Jacket fluoresced to life.
“New spell?” Twilight blinked as Fate lifted Bardiche upwards.
“In the darkness, a roar of thunder,” Fate intoned, lightning crackling along Bardiche’s core. “In the darkness, a blade of gold! Lightning, become a shining sword, a blade that can cleave even to the depths of the earth!”
There was a great thunderclap as a Crescent Form beam erupted from Bardiche’s core, then speared upwards, growing wider and longer until it formed a great blade of golden plasma. Lightning crackled along its length, the entire blade easily two stories tall.
“Impressive,” Celestia conceded as she lowered her horn, taking aim at the writhing avatar, a corona of rainbow-colored flame running up its length. “Alright everypony… on the count of three.”
“Right.” Twilight nodded, pulling her eyes away from the giant blade of plasma Fate was wielding. “Raising Heart!”
“CHANNEL SHOOT!” There was a thunderous report as Raising Heart launched the spell, a glittering channel forming between its tined head and Nachtwal. Firing loops formed around its head as a sphere of magenta light began to swirl together.
“One!”

---

“This power,” Nyx whispered. “I… I remember it…”
Trixie nodded slowly, watching as Nyx’s wounds slowly closed. Her horn knitted together, as her wing feathers unfurled, complete once more. Her scars faded away, leaving her coat a pristine white. The light slowly phased out of Nyx’s chest, revealing a gleaming crown, a six-pointed purple jewel set into its apex.
“Thank you…” Nyx whispered, as the crown vanished in a wink of light.

---

Fate lifted her sword high, sweat rolling down her cheek from both heat and exertion.
“Two!”

---

Luna’s beam lanced out as she cleaved bits of errant code from the surface of the sphere, the black energy flowing around her as she worked as quickly as she could.
She risked a glance back at the jewel, watching as Nachtwal’s tendrils closed around it, compressing into a tiny sphere of black light, even as the shining purple star hovered out of its reach. A small spark of light shot out of the glowing star-burst, resolving the delicate crown that Luna was intimately familiar with.
“There you are,” Luna said idly as she pulled the Element of Magic to her side, then turned her head. With a sweep of her horn, she drew and shrank a ring of code into a manageable loop of text, then slashed her horn across, deleting several strips of characters from its surface before returning it to its place
There. All is ready… It all lays upon Trixie now, she thought as she opened a portal, disappearing with the Element of Magic into the Dreaming.

---

Twilight narrowed her eyes as her Flier Fin wings flared out to stabilize her.
Celestia inhaled. 
“Three!”
“PROMINANCE BUSTER!” Twilight shouted as the massive beam flashed forth.
“STRIKE, PLASMA ZANBER!” Fate roared as she swung, the blade elongating as it fell.
“BURN!” Celestia’s wings flared as she channeled a beam of raw, incandescent heat towards her target, the sand turning to glass from the beam of rainbow-hued fire.
The three attacks slammed home, and a deafening roar echoed across the landscape. Nachtwal’s avatar was barely visible in the ensuing blast, at least for a few moments. And then, it faded away.

---

One of the crewmen looked up from his spot at his station. “Captain, I just picked up a massive energy surge on the sensors!”
Lindy sighed, closing her eyes as Yuuno’s magic flowed over her. “I think that would be our pony friends, wouldn’t it?”
“Sounds like it,” Yuuno replied, the circle beneath his feet slowly rotating as Shining Armor walked in, circling around to salute Lindy.
“Ma’am, Enforcer Chrono and the others have secured and neutralized the remaining mutineers. The ones that haven’t been put in the brig are confined to sealed quarters… though they might be a bit burnt and dragon-bitten.”
“Thank you, Captain Shining Armor. I apologize for dragging you and the other ponies up here…”
“No need to apologize, ma’am. Preventing disasters from befalling Canterlot is part of the Royal Guard’s duty.”
“True, but dragging civilians along and invading a foreign ship probably isn’t.” Lindy shook her head as Shining Armor grew very stiff. “At ease Captain. Given the situation and the ponies in question, I’m sure Celestia won’t mind. Speaking of which… navigation, report!”
“All clear ma’am.”
Lindy shifted in her chair, pulling some hair out of her face. “Bring us into position over Equestria’s moon, and see if you can’t patch us through to the ponies on the field. Maintain the Arc-en-Ciel’s charge for the time being.”
“Aye-aye, ma’am!”

---

Trixie opened her eyes slowly, her vision filled with spots. The lack of solid ground underneath her hooves was a bit disconcerting, as was the fact that she was hovering in the center of a softly glowing sphere. She could see a thin tracery of light all about her, ribbons of dim text scrolling all about her like circular paths.
“Trixie…”
Trixie blinked, her hooves settling suddenly beneath her. She stood on a slowly rotating triangle of light, just as she did before, as Nyx slowly floated down before her, whole once more.
“We’re… we’re alive?” Trixie blinked, running her hooves over her body. “We’re ALIVE! HAHA!”
“Indeed… but we are not yet free.” Nyx looked about sadly. “The Book’s systems have gone into emergency shutdown. Nachtwal’s retreat has left the system without an administrator…”
“What about you?” Trixie looked to her. “Aren’t you the administrative program or whatever?”
“I was, once… but in my current state I cannot act in that position. I am not yet recognized by the system.”
“How do we fix that, then?”
“I don‘t know… wait…” The program tilted its head slightly, then floated into the air. One of the many, many strips of text swirled inwards, forming a loop before her. “This… this has changed…”
“Um…” Trixie scratched her head with one hoof. “Trixie isn’t particularly good at all this magical stuff. What exactly are you looking at?”
“It seems… that somehow, the administrative authorization protocols have been altered. It’s waiting for a new system administrator…”
“So, do it then! What’re you waiting for?”
Nyx ducked her head as she landed. “I cannot. I am undefined. I am nameless. Without an identity and title, I cannot serve as the Book’s administrator…”
Trixie blinked. “That’s it?”
“Yes.”
“Fine then.” Trixie paced slowly on the platform, then turned to look at the alicorn. “If that’s what you need, then I’ll give it to you.”
Nyx blinked. “W-what?”
“You heard me.” Trixie turned to look at Nyx. “You need a name and title, right? Then I’ll give you one. A new one. You recognized me as your Mistress, right?” Trixie harrumphed as Nyx nodded. “Then it’s within my rights to give you what you’re missing. To make you whole. A good, strong name…”
Nyx watched her as Trixie looked upwards. “A new name and a new title. You’re not Nyx anymore. You’re not the Tome of the Night Sky, and you’re definitely not the  Book of Darkness. I think we’ve both had enough of darkness for a lifetime, don’t you?”
The program nodded slowly as Trixie pondered, then smiled faintly.
“Tell me… do you know what a spotlight is?”
“I… know of them from your memories, Mistress…”
“True, but you don’t understand the real purpose of a spotlight.” Trixie began to pace as she spoke. “When a pony steps out onto a dark stage, nopony can see her for what she really is. She could be a stagehoof, or an actress, or just some foal that wandered where she doesn‘t belong. But when the spotlight shines down on a pony, that pony is important. That pony is somepony the audience should be watching.”
Trixie turned and pointed a hoof at the alicorn. “That’s what you are. You’re… you’re my spotlight, shining down on me and giving me purpose. You are the brightest light in the darkest hour… shining down to reinforce who and what I am…”
“Reinforce?”
Trixie paused, then smirked. “Yes. Reinforce. It means ‘to strengthen.’”
The alicorn nodded slowly. “That… is an appropriate word. A strong word, a word that denotes my purpose… isn‘t that what a name is?”
Trixie laughed. “Well, I guess so. Why not? I’ve heard of stranger names. Well then, in that case, let’s make it official.”
Trixie thrust a hoof at the alicorn. “As your Mistress, I hereby give you your name and title. You are no longer the Book of Darkness. You are The Brightest Light in the Darkest Hour. You are Reinforce!”
For a moment, the machine spirit stood there, then closed her eyes. White light began to spiral up her horn and over her wings as she floated into the air. Beams of light streaked out from the tip of her horn as the pale pink and white Belkan triangle sprang forth beneath her. Everywhere the light touched, the roads of magical script lit up, resuming its rotation, its color matching that of the triangle.
“Authorization confirmed,” the machine spirit said as she opened her eyes. “Administrative rights conferred to system program Reinforce and her Mistress, Trixie Lulamoon. All system privileges are extended and granted. Initializing Linker Core restoration.”
Trixie blinked as she began to float into the air. Reinforce swept her horn forwards, a pinpoint of light slipping forth from her horn to penetrate Trixie’s chest. The blue mare gasped, her spine arching as her flanks glowed, the familiar star-tipped wand and swirl of stars reappearing in a flash of light.
“From this day forth,” Reinforce stated, her wings flapping as she moved to embrace Trixie, “my strength shall be your strength. Until your final days, the Brightest Light in the Darkest Hour shall shine down upon you. What is your will, my Mistress?”
Trixie sighed, closing her eyes for a moment as she enjoyed the warmth, then coughed as she pushed away from the alicorn. “I think the first order of business involves finishing off that snake Nachtwal. Where’d it go?”
Reinforce frowned. “The former program has absconded with its ill-gotten power and intends to manifest its full destructive capabilities. It will be impossible to defeat.”
“Impossible? Bah, you think anything’s impossible for The Great and Powerful Trixie?” Trixie hmmed softly, glancing around. “Well… I suppose that I could use some help… if only the others were here.”
“The Wolkenritter?”
“Yes.” Trixie looked down sadly. “But they’re dead…”
“Negative.”
Trixie’s head shot up as Reinforce raised a hoof. “With your permission, Mistress, I will reinitialize the Guardian Knight Program. Their data remains on file, and their Linker Cores will be simple to restore…”
“What’re you waiting for then? Do it!”
“Affirmative. Now restoring the Guardian Knight Programs.”
Trixie did her best not to cry as four glowing starbursts of light flickered to life around her, one bright red, one shining pink, one blue-white, and one pale green. Trixie smiled at Reinforce as the mare nodded, dissolving into a star of white light and joining the gathering.
“Well now…” Trixie laughed weakly, “looks like Twilight’s not the only one who has a proper team now, eh? Alright then…” She coughed loudly. “Places, everyone! It’s showtime!”