Light filled Animus' view for only a second before it dissipated. As he suspected, the brightly lit and well occupied environment of the library was gone, replaced instead with a large and dimly lit room.
He examined the new bearings, spotting large double doors a ways behind him, and all around several elegant pillars led up to high arches. Above those was a high ceiling, the center of which held a glass window that let in the light of the moon above. There were sparse arrangements of streamers and other decorations wrapped around the pillars and arches with pastel colors that seemed faded and dark from the faint moonlight. Few and incomplete though they were, all of the decorations seemed to converge on a single point in front of him, sweeping up to accentuate a high balcony that looked over the entire room.
Hand flipping through the air, Animus called up his menu and quickly brought up the map. According to it, he hadn't left Ponyville with that little forced teleportation, but he was now dead center in the middle of the town. Wherever this was, it was the most sensible place to be brought for the start of this game's Grand Quest.
At first he was the only one there, but one by one other flashes of light started to spring up all around the room. Human after human emerged from the lights, and ponies as well. Many of the first ponies were just children; little fillies and colts that were no doubt curious and naive to their situation. Moments after, panicked parents appeared from the many erupting lights and embraced their children whom they had watched vanish before their eyes moments before.
All of the lights of teleported players seemed to be forming a large half-circle around the room. To Animus' right, all of the humans appeared, and to his left, a myriad of ponies of each race and innumerable colors.
He was hardly even surprised at this point when Twilight appeared right next to him at the point where the crowd of ponies began. Following right behind her were the handful of ponies that he had seen at the party. He spied Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, and everypony else, including little Spike all gathered together. Right to his other side were the human party-goers including Mia, Agil, Sasha, and the others. The many human children that had arrived immediately crossed over and huddled around the one he'd heard was called Fluttershy, who did her best to reassure them.
The flood of arrivals began to taper off quickly, and everyone looked around. The entire atmosphere was tense. Almost suffocating. Any eyes that weren't examining their environment were peering warily at those across from them. Humans and ponies alike didn't know what to make of each other.
"Oh dear, how embarrassing," Rarity shook her head, looking around the room. "Did we really need to be taken to the town hall? I didn't get a chance to finish decorating at all, and it looks just awful."
Well, that cleared up where they were. Made sense that the town hall would be at the center of town.
"With all this ruckus goin' on, yer worried about a few decorations?" Applejack raised an eyebrow. "Sugarcube, I reckon you need to get yer priorities straightened up a bit."
"Nonsense," Rarity huffed, turning her nose up, "appearances are very important. How else can we make a good impression on our human guests?"
As Applejack and Rarity continued to debate the importance of decorations at a time like this, Animus kept looking all around. Moments ticked by and nothing happened except for the atmosphere growing more and more oppressive. It was on the very cusp of the morning hours, and the legend had said that on the the longest day of the thousandth year... the stars would aid in her escape!
"She's coming," Twilight said. Her voice trembled somewhere between fear and determination.
Animus turned to see Twilight looking straight up, confirming his thoughts. He followed her gaze to see the moon beaming down through the skylight roof. The moon itself was printed with the dark outline of a mare's head looking down on the world, and surrounding it were four stars, creeping closer. These stars inched inward until they vanished behind the moon, and in an instant the shadow decorating the moon vanished.
She was free.
The hairs on the back of Animus's neck suddenly stood up as a sensation like he'd never felt filled the air all around. It was as though the air was crackling. The only thing he could guess was that it was the feeling of a huge magical power coming closer. The feeling grew heavier, and reached a peak. From the corner of his eye, Animus spotted a line of bright blue light trailing out from the wall where the half-circle crowd ended, on the human side. It lanced out along the ground and drew a dazzling array of shapes and runes within its arching path. The same trail of blue light also emerged from the pony side, and arced out until it met its sister line in a bright burst right in front of Animus and the others.
Everyone threw up an arm to shield their eyes from the blinding array of light, squinting through slitted lids as the glow began to dim.
The first thing Animus saw was stars. Countless tiny motes of blue light within a shimmering dome created by the magic circle that glowed on the floor.
"This spell," he heard Twilight mutter, "Is this an Astral Conference array?"
The familiar bite of Mia's voice sprung up from off to Animus' right, asking, "Astral Who's-it-what's-it?"
Twilight didn't answer, but Animus knew that look on her face. She was steeling her resolve; working up her nerve. He'd seen that expression before back in Aincrad, the floating palace of SAO. That was a good look.
She stepped forward. Walking right through the shimmering outer wall of the dome, her body passed right through effortlessly. Her form was surrounded by a pale blue glow when she entered, and any stars her body touched just vanished. They were just an immaterial projection in the circle.
"Twilight, what are you doing?" Spike shouted, running up to the edge of the circle. He hesitated at the edge.
Again, Twilight didn't answer, but turned her head up to look at the balcony ahead of her. That was where the dense feeling in the air was coming from. Animus could sense it. That's why her attention was there.
An unintelligible murmur of uncertainty came from the crowd as all eyes fell on Twilight. For being such an introvert, it was actually quite impressive that she was putting herself at the center of attention like this, but she had an undeniable look of purpose. She knew what she intended to do, even if how she should do it wasn't clear yet.
With a deep breath, she shouted, "I know you're there, Nightmare Moon! Come out and show yourself!"
The murmur turned into a gasp of shock from the pony half of the crowd. The significance of the name was clearly lost on the humans, but the reaction did show that it was a name to be feared.
"My my, this is a surprise," A distinctly powerful and malicious female voice cackled from all directions. "I really didn't think anypony would be expecting me."
A cloud of starry, ethereal material surged around the balcony and condensed into the shape of a new pony. She was distinctly taller than any other pony Animus had seen yet, with her long black coat stretching out as dark as midnight behind sky blue armor that shimmered in the similarly colored light of the circle. Perhaps most striking was the mane. That very same starry cloud she had appeared from was flowing from her head in an obvious display of just how much magic must reside within her. Shining above that flowing mane was the icon of a commander, two crossed sapphire swords.
The last difference that he noticed was that she had a horn and wings, not just one or another. Twilight had mentioned this rare kind of pony, an alicorn. They possessed all the strengths of the other three pony races, and their magic was on a completely different level. That was why the alicorn Princess Celestia had been the benevolent ruler of Equestria for over a millennium. And according to the legends, Nightmare Moon could only be defeated by Celestia with the help of the Elements of Harmony.
Simply put, with those Elements gone, her enemies were outmatched. It was a simple conclusion, really. Twilight, as brilliant as she was, had to see that too. Yet there she stood, the first out of anyone to step forward and confronting this undeniably powerful enemy. It was really admirable.
"Yes, I found out about your return," Twilight shouted up to Nightmare. She stamped a hoof down firmly. "I came all the way from Canterlot to stop you!"
Another shocked murmur rang from the audience. It was a bold declaration, no matter who heard it.
Nightmare Moon only scoffed, a vicious smirk spreading across her muzzle as she looked down on the defiant unicorn. "You are going to stop me? Child, you really shouldn't make such sad jokes. You're embarrassing yourself in front of all of Equestria."
What did she mean by that?
In a rush of her ethereal mane, Nightmare Moon vanished from the balcony, only to appear on the floor below it. She swept her gaze around the entire room and said, "Right now, everything that happens inside this field is being projected in identical circles all around Equestria. Every city, town, and village is watching. After all, what happens now will decide the fate of all of Equestria."
So that was it. That made sense. She couldn't very well be in every location at once, so what better way to announce herself to the entire realm than this?
Right. Enough sitting on the sidelines. Time for him to make a move.
Animus stepped forward slowly, passing through intangible wall of the magic circle. It was a strange sensation, passing that threshold. He could practically feel the flow of the magic around him as the blue glow silhouetted his form. "You've been imprisoned for a thousand years now," he said simply, showing his own knowledge of her.
"My question is, what do you hope to accomplish, Nightmare?"
The dark mare turned her slitted turquoise eyes on him with a mixture of surprise and curiosity. If a pony being aware of her was surprising, then a human knowing had to be a shock.
Before she could answer just yet, Animus kept talking, walking past Twilight and getting closer and closer until he stopped halfway between the two mares. "The stories say that you seek to make nighttime eternal, but is that all there is to it? And where do we humans fall into this?"
An amused smile was given from the armored mare. "Very direct. I like that, young human. You're right, I shall be ending the cursed day and making night last forever, but there is more to my goals than just that." She turned to the pony half of her surrounding audience. She walked to the edge of the magic circle, scaring all of them into backing up considerably. Tracing a path along the inner edge of the array, she cast her eye over them and continued to speak, "After all, what good is my beautiful night without anypony to appreciate it? I am going to rule all of Equestria as its new princess, taking my rightful place of which I was robbed." The edge in her voice went razor sharp as she kept going, "To achieve this, I will gladly exterminate any that dare fight against me in this little game that Discord and his acquaintance have created. I will crush all opposition and rule Equestria!"
Her words had their intended effect, causing most of the ponies to flinch back in fear. The sadistic smile on the dark mare's face only grew.
Twilight's burning gaze followed as Nightmare walked the edge of the circle. Her limbs trembled clear as day, but she held her ground and shot back, "We'll never let that happen. Celestia is our princess. We'll never accept you!"
Nightmare turned to look at Twilight as though she had completely forgotten about the little unicorn. "Oh? Really now? And what can you hope to..." Nightmare stopped mid-sentence as she saw Twilight from the side, her eyes riveted on her with sudden interest. "That mark. Who are you?"
"My name is Twilight Sparkle," came the bold answer. "I'm Princess Celestia's personal protege, and I swear that I will fight till my last breath to stop you and save my teacher!"
Caught up in her stand against Nightmare Moon, Twilight didn't seem to catch something that Animus took notice of. Nightmare had seemed distinctly interested in Twilight's cutie mark, the symbol of her talent and nature. Had the ancient alicorn seen it before or something? It seemed the mark had some significance to Nightmare. Dare he think he even saw a touch of worry in those slitted eyes?
That small glimmer of worry that Animus spied vanished quickly, and the appearance of total regal confidence returned to Nightmare. She cackled, "I wonder if that confidence will hold when this is over, Twilight Sparkle." She continued trotting along the edge of the circle until she passed in front of the humans.
The only ponies that didn't back off as she passed were Rainbow Dash and the others. They held firm on their side of the dome, but most of them were busy holding back Rainbow from recklessly charging Nightmare.
"As for your other question, young one," Nightmare looked from Animus to the rest of his kind. "I have a proposition for all of the humans that have been brought to Equestria against their will."
A proposition, huh? He'd expected as much. Animus crossed his arms and waited expectantly.
"It's really quite simple," Nightmare nodded, ignoring the glare Twilight was giving her. "Once I am victorious in this little game, my rule of Equestria will already be absolutely undisputed. As such, I have no need for the prize Discord has offered. My offer stands thus: Side with me, and fight for me to end this little war as quickly as possible. If you do, once we are victorious, I will gladly have all of my loyal warriors transported back to where you came from."
That was it. All he wanted was to be able to go home. She was offering just that, and she was in an undeniable position of power to ensure it.
Animus' thoughts were interrupted as another man stepped into the circle. Orange hair spiked like a morning star, the man already had a broadsword drawn, and pointed the tip at Twilight. "Hell yeah, that's a deal I can get behind," he sneered. Speaking to the people behind him, he declared boldly, "We don't want to be trapped in this world for god knows how long, do we? And what does it matter what happens in this silly virtual world? All of this is just a game, so I'm gonna take the winning side!"
That was a face Animus could never forget. It was Kibau, a fellow survivor of Sword Art Online. Even as he spoke, the icon over his head shifted from gray to the same deep sapphire color of Nightmare Moon's. His allegiance had been decided pretty quickly.
Nightmare smiled at Kibau as he stepped forward, tipping her head to him. "Good, you know a smart choice when you see it. Side with me, and I can assure you that once Equestria is conquered, you will all be able to return to your own precious reality." Back to Animus, she asked, "That is what you want, isn't it? You have no reason to care about this world. Once you've left it will all be just a memory anyway."
The choice seemed so simple, but was it really? He could go home in due time. Just side with Nightmare Moon's unmatched power and make a clean sweep through everything... Killing everyone that resists. Human or pony. His path home would be all but guaranteed. It all really would be just a memory when that happened.
He looked to Twilight, who was glaring between Nightmare and Kibau. Her entire body was as tense as a tripwire, ready to move the instant Kibau even twitched at her the wrong way. She had been so scared when the game was announced, and she obviously still was, but in the span of a single day she'd adapted as best she could and was putting herself in harm's way for what she believed she had to do.
Behind her, past the shimmering wall of the magic dome, he saw everyone he'd met since arriving here. The group watched with rapt attention. All except Rainbow, who was pacing the edge of the circle. It looked like she'd cooled off enough to not go flying right in Nightmare's face, but it was apparent that it was taking every ounce of her willpower to do so. They all just watched though. Most of the humans in that group had already decided to side with the ponies. In fact, Mia was the only one he saw that still had a gray icon like his and the rest of their kind.
Their decision was already made, and if Animus took Nightmare Moon's side, he would have to fight and kill them, and be killed by them. Many times. Until a commander fell and their deaths became permanent.
Could he do that?
"Well? Don't you want to go home?" Nightmare Moon prodded once more for a response.
"Yes. I do," he answered. "I'm certain that every one of us wants to return to our own world."
He saw Twilight's eyes flick over to him for just a moment. That fear and worry he saw cut deeper than he expected it to.
"Good, then you understand that the only sensible choice is to-"
"But..."
"-But?" The calm air Nightmare had started to shift again. A hint of venom laced her eyes as her expectations were beginning to uproot.
"But we could just as well side against you and achieve the same thing, couldn't we?" he finished his thought.
"What the hell are you thinking, kid?" Kibau flicked his blade to point at Animus now. "It's obvious that this Nightmare Moon has way more power than the rest of the wimpy horses in this game. They're all a bunch of weaklings that wouldn't even leave their own homes once we arrived. Creatures like that would only weigh us down."
"I resent that!" Rainbow Dash shouted from the sidelines. She shot into the air and brandished a pair of small triangular blades that emerged from her Casts. "We're not horses, we're ponies. And we're a lot stronger than you think, bub!"
Kibau only grunted, "Like I'd believe that, bird brain. You're all a bunch of frightened cowards from where I'm sitting."
Surprisingly, while Rainbow did simmer where she hovered, Twilight's anger boiled over. She lifted a hoof, Casts gleaming to life and aiming her own weapon at the offending man. The barrel of her cannon lit with magenta light as she growled fiercely, "You-"
Animus cut her off quickly, holding a hand up in her line of fire. "You're the worthless coward here, Kibau!" he finished her thought with equal spite.
This earned a look of genuine surprise from Twilight. He didn't even expect it himself, but he had just acted on instinct.
Nightmare Moon stepped forward, her eyes trained on Animus. "What reason do you have to help the ponies of Equestria, child? If you know my legend, then you must be aware that I am far more powerful than any of them."
"Yeah, what she said," Kibau agreed, "We don't have any reason to help them. They're nothing but a bunch of stupid AI programs anyway. They're not real. None of them are! We kill them like we would any monster and we go home, simple as that!"
Not real? Just programs?
"You're wrong, you bastard," Animus hissed through his teeth.
It wasn't right. Not one bit. They were too real.
Twilight was real.
Spike was real.
All of them were.
"Like hell I am, you little brat!" Kibau yelled back. "They're just a bunch of code. Zeros and ones that talk. They're nothing. We're real!"
All eyes in the room were locked on Kibau and Animus as they argued, and Animus could feel the pressure mounting. Where he sided, and how he justified it would probably sway some people. Still, even though he was speaking in favor of the ponies, was this really the side he wanted to be on? On Nightmare Moon's side, the war would likely be easier thanks to her powerful magic. On the other hand...
No, there was no other hand. Nightmare's side was the easy route. The fast-track home. Worse yet, it was quite clearly the way that Kibau preferred, and he couldn't even stomach the thought of choosing the same way as that coward.
"I should have killed you that day," Animus said, loud enough that everyone could hear it clearly. He clenched his fist tight and pulled himself into a ready stance. Casts and armor appeared around him, and his long spear manifested at the ready. "I should have killed you when I had the chance back in Aincrad, and spared so much future misery for others!"
Kibau's eyes snapped wide at that declaration. The recognition in his eyes was clear as he looked over Animus in a new light, examining his weapon and stance. "You're that little runt?" he asked. He held his broadsword up in a ready stance and sneered, "Guess I should be thankful for the chance to get back at you and kill you myself!"
"I'm not scared of you, coward," Animus glared down the length of his spear. "You call these ponies nothing but programs? I don't believe that for a second. However, even if they are programs that doesn't mean they aren't real! I once knew a program that was more real to me than anyone else!"
He took a deep breath, the image of the black haired little girl filling his mind. He'd only seen her one time, for only a few moments, but her smiling face, black eyes, and white sundress were perfectly clear in his mind. "Her name was Yui, and she pulled me out of a dark time in my life with nothing more than a handful of words and a smile. So don't you dare try to tell me that a program can't be real! I don't know if these ponies are just code and data or not, but even if they are, then they're still real to me!"
A loud jumble of voices filled the air as his own words found purchase in the crowd. This was the moment of truth. He'd thrown his ideals out there, and now it was time to hammer them home. He released some of the tension in his body, but kept the tip of his spear trained on his enemy. He couldn't take his eyes off of Kibau for a second though, or else he'd be inviting an attack. He wouldn't take damage to his Hp, but that wasn't important in this situation. Weakness in combat would make his own ideals seem weak too.
"The choice we humans have here is simple," he said to their audience. "We can choose to side with Nightmare Moon, who is undeniably powerful. She would be tough for anyone to beat, and her allies are at a great advantage. It's the easy way home, I can understand why some will take her side. We do want to get home, after all. Our other option is to fight alongside the ponies. They're not as powerful, but they're good creatures with good hearts. There's no way in hell that I could live with myself if I chose to ruin this world and kill them just to get back to our world." He looked to Nightmare, just behind Kibau, and added, "More than that, I'm not about to vindicate a pitiful temper tantrum of a jealous little sister!"
If Nightmare's eyes had been venomous before as she watched events progress, then now they were completely toxic. Her ethereal mane went erratic behind her, but before she could say anything, two figures entered the dome from the out of the corner of Animus' field of vision. Translucent blue, ghost-like images of Commanders Shining Armor and Asuna appeared within the starry field. The two had wide grins and fierce looks in their eyes as they faced Nightmare.
"That's exactly what I hoped to hear from you, Animus. You're a good kid," Asuna said, calling out the slender blade of a rapier with a flourish of her wrist. To Nightmare she announced, "My name is Asuna, commander of the Canterlot forces. I wield my blade in defense of Equestria."
A tall man with short black hair and glasses stepped out. He looked quite spindly and light, but he carried himself as though he were twice as broad and imposing. A moment later a similar looking man stepped into the field after him, with similar short hair and facial features. Only this man was a few inches shorter and far more broad and muscular.
The taller man spoke up, adjusting his glasses slightly, "I am General Eugene, and this is my brother, Mortimer. We, the leaders of Alfheim's Salamander tribe, lend our power to Equestria from here in Vanhoover."
His imposing brother, Mortimer, nodded, "We'll crush you into dust."
Several more people stepped into the circle, their projections showing them from where they stood miles away in their respective areas. Some of them had a pony at their side, and almost all of them had the gleaming symbol of commander status spinning over their heads in the form of crossed golden swords.
Once it seemed no more would step forward, Shining Armor spoke, "You may be stronger than any of us, Nightmare, but we have friends at our side to help us stand against you every step of the way. Don't even think this is going to be an easy win for you. For better or worse, this war won't be over for a long time."
Nightmare's cackle rang through the building, even as icons around her started changing to gold or sapphire hues. "There may be some of you humans that won't side with me, but not all of you are so idealistic," She looked at all the humans and ponies that stood against her, then to those that had chosen her side. Her eyes fell on Twilight, behind Animus, last of all before saying, "Twilight Sparkle was it? Looks like I'll have to keep my eye on you. I have even more reason to eliminate you now, but I'll be sure to stop by the dungeon in my palace to tell Celestia you said hello."
Animus was nearly knocked over with how violently Twilight brushed past him. He barely kept his footing enough to see her raise her Cast and fire a beam of focused energy right at Nightmare's head while screaming, "Don't you dare lay a hoof on the princess!"
The shot merely struck the wall behind her, as Nightmare once again became wisps of ethereal smoke and moved well out of the way in time.
It was then that Animus noticed something surprising; Twilight's icon had changed. The prismatic diamond over her head had now become the twin swords of a commander.
This wasn't good. She was attacking recklessly, and she likely didn't even know about her new status. She couldn't be killed in town, but she was still making herself a huge target.
The attack came from two sides. Nightmare Moon quickly reformed and sent her starry mane, turning into razor spines, straight at Twilight. From the other side, Kibau's blade blazed with orange light as he came in for an overhead blow.
He couldn't protect her from both attacks, not even when his weapons were polearms. He didn't have time to think though, and quickly threw himself in the path of Nightmare's attack. The leafed tip of his spear expanded and extended forward, transforming into the sword-like blade of a japanese glaive, a naginata, glowing brightly. He cut through the first black spine in an instant, and as the rest closed in, the effect of his «Burning Tassel» skill activated. The moment his weapon stopped, flames erupted from the top of its shaft, traveling back along the path of his strike and produced a wall of seething fire, burning up the rest of her attack.
Behind him, Animus heard a painful shout, and turned his head in an instant. Twilight was unharmed, thankfully.
Kibau, on the other hand, had been halted mid-blow. His sword arm was being pulled back by the long tether of a whip. On the other end of that line was Mia, who had the back end wrapped tightly around her forearm.
"You bitch, don't get in my way!" Kibau growled, trying to bring his blade down on Twilight in a futile effort.
"Now now, it's not nice to ignore a pretty girl when she's trying to get your attention," Mia teased.
With a flick of her wrist, she unravelled the whip around her forearm, and it began to change. The grip turned into a sword's crossguard, and light traveled along the length of its leather as it changed shape and simultaneously activated a skill. The binding leather around Kibau's wrist transformed into serrated segments of blade connected with long steel cord, forming a menacing looking chainblade. Once the light reached Kibau's arm, the blades tightened and slit in his flesh in a saw-like style, severing the limb right above the elbow.. The dismembered hand burst into thousands of aqua-tinted pixels as it was deleted.
Kibau screamed in agony at the severed limb, stumbling back in a stream of curses and gripping the wounded limb. Even with pain levels lower than in reality, something like that had to really hurt. Limbs regenerated after a time though, and he’d be back to fighting form within hours.
"I knew my good looks were disarming," Mia laughed at her own bad pun. Her weapon retracted, the chord reeling into the hilt and returning the weapon to the length of an ordinary longsword.
Rainbow Dash flitted up next to her and smirked, "More like he’s screaming from how ugly you are."
"I can fix that," Pinkie chimed in. She popped up behind Mia and pulled a paper bag over her head, eyeholes and all. "There, all better."
"Bite me, Dash," Mia growled through the bag.
Animus barely acknowledged the sound of a chomp and a cursing yelp as he turned forward again. He had more important things to worry about.
"Don't you worry, Twilight Sparkle," Nightmare spoke from the other side of the screen of flames. "I have no intention of harming Celestia. Yet. I want her to watch in despair as all hope is extinguished. Once Equestria falls, so shall my accursed sister."
"You're wrong!" Twilight shouted back through the flames as they began to die down.
"You're the one going down!" Animus agreed. "We'll get home our own way!"
Willing his weapon to change back to its spear form, he held it behind himself. He lowered down, bending his knees and hunching his back until the desired skill kicked in. It activated with a flash of white light, the entire shaft of his spear shining brightly and his body moved of its own accord.
He leapt high into the air. He soared well above the fading screen of fire his last skill had created and kept rising until he could nearly touch the roof.
He spotted Nightmare Moon, and she spotted him. Their eyes met as his arm cocked back, ready to throw the spear.
Two loud bangs rang out, and Twilight shot forward like a rocket with the recoil of her cannons. One hoof blazed with red light as she swung it back in mid flight.
Animus' «Shooting Star» skill released, and he threw his spear down. The weapon created a wake of light through the air, a trail of white that befit its name. The lance of light shot down in the blink of an eye, meeting a steely-eyed Nightmare Moon in the exact same instant as Twilight did.
Instead of their target, Animus' spear and Twilight's hoof met a powerful barrier, the attacks clashing brilliantly against the blue surface. Another bang shook the air as Twilight's weapon fired right after the moment of impact, striking the barrier with full force at point blank range. The force of the shot sent Twilight flying back, and she skidded to a halt right where she started.
Animus landed right beside her. His spear, stopped dead against the shield, vanished in a wink of light and reformed from his Cast.
"Foolish. Did you really think that would work against me?" Nightmare leveled a cold glare at them.
"Damn it, it didn't budge," Animus cursed under his breath as Nightmare's protective spell vanished. "She really is powerful."
"She's not invincible," Twilight shook her head. "It was only there for a second, but we managed to put a small crack in her shield. I saw it just after my shot."
That was good information. To be expected of someone as analytical and observant as her. He'd noticed something as well that held a glimmer of hope for the future of this war.
"That means we're just not strong enough yet," he replied. "We can't beat her magic right now, but I noticed she hasn't tried to use her Casts at all. If I had to guess, her magic has started at a higher level because she's an alicorn. Her Casts must be the same level as ours though, and I think that she doesn't have enough confidence in using them to try against us."
"I really must congratulate you two," Nightmare started to trot slowly towards them. "You both now have my full attention, and have made it to the top of my list."
Animus could guess what sort of list she meant. His fist tightened around his spear as she got closer, and he could see Twilight tense up in the corner of his eye too.
They'd both caught sight of hope for the future, but that didn't erase the fact that here and now they were outclassed.
"I am going to take great pleasure in crushing every one of my enemies in Equestria," she said smugly, transforming into starry wisps mid-stride and passing right between Animus and Twilight. When she reformed, she was standing beside Kibau, who was still clutching his stump in agony. A flash of magic from her long horn cast a cool blue light around the severed limb and slowly turned his pained expression to one of relief. She turned back to the two of them and said, "I wouldn't want the fun to be over too quickly. This is a game, afterall, and I don't want my victory to be handed to me. That's just not very sporting. Most of all though, I want to take my time to crush you two. Animus. Twilight."
"Well what an honor," Animus answered dryly. "I'm not going to go down that easily though."
"Tough talk, little boy. Best not make any mistakes then. I expect this game to last, but it had better not get boring," Nightmare grinned slyly. Her horn flared brighter and brighter, the glow spreading to everyone that had the sapphire icon, and in the next instant, every last one of them vanished. Her last words trailed behind, "Until we next meet, enjoy my eternal night!"
Several long seconds passed in silence with Nightmare Moon gone. Within moments the magic circle began to fade, and the projections of everyone that stood forward from around Equestria disappeared with it. With the circle gone, all that was left to light the dark room in the town hall was the moon shining through the skylight.
It was over. For now.
Animus let out a long sigh, venting the tension out of his body. "Well, I guess my position is set now. No turning back," he mused.
"Don't go regretting it someday down the line." Twilight raised an eyebrow at him.
Rainbow Dash, Mia, and the rest of their little group ran up to the pair, followed after by the rest of the crowd. Old and new inhabitants of Ponyville gathered around the two that had stood up directly against Nightmare Moon.
Animus flushed slightly at all of the attention. Even more so when Mia came up to him, no longer bag-headed, and threw an arm around his neck. “Congratulations, leader!” She grinned wide. “You’ve successfully pissed off a super-powerful magical villain!”
“Huh? Leader?” he blinked. Did she mean-?
He looked up, but saw nothing. He tried turning his head any number of ways to see it, but it moved out of view every time his head moved.
“You’ve got a lot of guts, Animus,” Rainbow Dash nodded in agreement, “I may just have to change my opinion of you if you keep this up.”
Rarity seemed to pick up on what he was trying to do, and produced a small mirror from her inventory, holding it up in her magic. “Here you go dear,” she angled it properly for him to see. “In my opinion, you’ve really earned it.”
He looked in the mirror and saw it. Exactly as he had expected, his icon had become golden. What he didn’t expect was that he, just like Twilight, had the emblem of a commander spinning over his head.
“Oh boy, I’ve gone and done it now, haven’t I?” he smacked his palm to his forehead. “Guess now I definitely have to give this everything I’ve got.” He looked over to Twilight and smirked, grabbing the mirror and showing her own icon to her, “Guess I just can’t seem to get rid of you, can I, Commander Twilight?”
Her eyes widened at the sight of her new icon, and she pouted, “That’s my line.”
Agil stepped forward from the crowd, his imposing figure making many back away to make room. “So what’s the first order of our new commanders?” he asked.
Order? He’d never really given anyone orders before. Still, he’d been chosen by the system for this, and he’d have to get used to it. He thought about what should be done next. Probably should start off small so he had time to think about the bigger things.
He looked to Twilight, who just shrugged, conceding the first decision to him. He knew more about these games than her, after all.
“Alright everyone, it’s been a long day and night for all of us,” he announced to the crowd. “We all should get some sleep to be ready for tomorrow. The sun won’t be rising anymore, so we’ll need to set alarms for waking up and keep good track of time. Most of you ponies don’t know how to operate the menu yet, so find a human player to teach you how to do so.” That was a good start, but more was needed. After a quick check to see that the time was 6:30 in the morning, he continued, “We need rest. Everyone should go home and set an alarm to wake up at around 2pm. I ask that any ponies with a bit of space in their homes please allow a human to stay with you.”
Looking around, he saw that a huge chunk of the humans that had been here before were gone. It seemed that most of them had sided with Nightmare Moon, but the number that had chosen this side wasn’t insignificant. They had a good force here. “I ask that you all please come back at 3pm to meet in front of the town hall. We’ll be setting up a training regimen so that everyone can be ready to fight Nightmare Moon’s forces. It will be tough, yes, but everyone should learn how to fight, even if you won’t be part of the main combat force. It’s an important skill.”
He could see the uncertainty among the ponies, but they all were nodding slowly, acknowledging his words. It was going to be a long, hard road ahead of them all, but none of them had a choice in the matter.
“Alright everyone, dismissed!”