//------------------------------//
// Chapter 21: Battleground Canterlot 
// Story: Oathbound 
// by ChronicleStone 
//------------------------------//

Canterlot
May 1, 8:30 AM

Tartarus.  The ancient underground world where corrupt and evil entities went to be tortured and pay their punishment for their terrible deeds.  Sky had often wondered what it was like there, though he had never desired to experience it personally.
He didn’t need to imagine any longer.
Oh, he wasn’t in the actual Tartarus.  He was still in Canterlot: the bright, shining capital of Equestria.  The palace gleamed to the north; its golden spires radiating in the sunlight.  The homes and stores of the citizens of Canterlot were filed in neat rows all throughout the city.
But it was Tartarus enough.
This was his home.  He lived here.  He had memories of friends and good times here.  He had built a lovely relationship here.  He had found his life’s calling here.  And his heart had been broken here.
But now, his heart felt like it was about to shatter entirely.
Buildings below were on fire.  Screams of terrified ponies rose from the city below; a gut-wrenching sound to Sky, who had built his existence around protecting the very ones who now cried out in fear.  Blasts of magic rifled through the air and ricocheted off surfaces and blasted holes in the walls and pavement as former friends stood against each other, fighting for the fate of all Equestria.
Before him, Razor hovered in the air, a cruel scowl etched upon her face as she stared down the blue pegasus.  Nearby, Nighthawk and Nova were busy keeping the controlled Rimshot and Sprocket busy, while even more fighting continued between unicorns and earth ponies on the ground.
A distant buzz radiated from the back of Sky’s mind; a small warning siren amid the conflict around him that seemed to say, “Hey, take it easy.  Zecora’s potions can only do so much, you know.”  But Sky merely shut the door on it and focused in on Razor.  He would worry about himself later.  Right now, Equestria was the priority.
“Pulling your punches, Blitz?” Razor taunted.  “How very noble of you to resist hitting a lady.  I hope you know I’m not going to show you the same courtesy.”
“I don’t want to hurt you, Razor,” Sky replied.  “I’d much rather be fighting beside you than against you.”
“Too bad,” she fired back.  “I guess you’re just going to have to accept the fact that you’re nothing more than a casualty of war!”  She surged straight at him, and the swirls of air to her sides suddenly transformed into lethally sharp blades.
Sky was tempted to launch himself straight into the air, but at the last moment, he changed his mind and dove into a backwards somersault.  As he came up again, Razor was right on him, teeth bared in a vengeful smirk, taut as a rubber band, prepared to strike.
Sky was familiar with Razor’s speed, of course, but this was different.  Perhaps in their spars, she had always held back, knowing that it wasn’t for real.  She had no need to go in for the kill then; they were merely practicing.  So it was that Sky was surprised by the speed of her attack; almost to the point that he didn’t have an opportunity to brace.
Thankfully, Sky didn’t intend to brace.
He brought a hoof straight up and into her windpipe, which caused her neck to buckle, pressing her chin against Sky’s leg.  Instantly, the wind blades dissipated into thin air.  Sky pressed harder into Razor’s neck, and, using her chin as leverage, brought the strike upwards, over his head, until he slammed the pegasus mare into the roof of the building on his other side.  He held his hoof in her throat as she looked on with rage etched across her face.  Sky could feel the stinging in his eyes as he thought about what he was doing.
It’s not really her, he forced himself to believe.  It’s for her own good, and the good of everypony.
But that didn’t make it any easier.
A blast of magically-summoned wind forced him up into the air, releasing Razor from his hold.  Instantly, she rolled over and clambered to her hooves.  “Not bad, Blitz.  But we’re pegasi.  Ground-based combat isn’t our style…even on a roof.  Let’s see how you fare in the air!”  She rocketed into the air, cackling like a witch as she rose.
Sky had just taken off after when a voice resounded in his head.  Blitz, we’ve got a problem.
He sighed.  Just one?  That’s nice for a change.
Drop the sarcasm, Blitz, Scope chided.  Apparently, Juggles and Hobo have been busy.  They’ve managed to set up a magic barricade at all the palace entrances.  We can’t get in.
Sky rolled his eyes.  Razor suddenly stopped on a dime and came hurtling back at him, leg extended in a powerful strike.  He barely managed to roll out of the way as she went screaming past him.  Tried a window? he offered.
He could have sworn he heard a scoff.  Blitz, did either of us have wings the last time you looked?
Fine.  Gimme a minute.  He glanced off to his left, where Nova and Nighthawk were corralling Rimshot and Sprocket into a corner of the city.  He surged ahead, leaving Razor behind.
“You’re in quite a rush, Blitz!” Razor called out to him.  “Hope you weren’t planning on leaving so soon!”
Sky ignored her.  He had more pressing issues to deal with.  He focused on the lavender pegasus ahead of him.  “Nova!” he called out.
“Little busy, Blitz!” she shouted back, deflecting a pair of jabs from Sprocket.  “Can it wait?”
Sky slammed into Sprocket, sending him tumbling onto a row of houses below.  “Afraid not,” he answered.  “Ace and Scope can’t get into the palace; the gate’s been barricaded with magic.  I need you to get into the palace through a window and warn Mystic about what’s going on.”
“What if they’re all blocked, too?”
“There are too many windows for them all to be barricaded,” Sky hoped.  “Keep trying till you find a way in.  She needs to know what this is all about.  Hurry!” he shouted.
“But what about you?  You’re outnumbered…”
“Never been a problem before,” Sky muttered.  He stared down at Sprocket, who had gotten back to his hooves and had wings spread wide, preparing to charge.  “Now GO!”
Nova's on her way, Sky messaged Scope.  Keep trying to get in, though.  I'll need you two on the inside.
If there was a reply, he didn't hear it.  Sprocket was in the air, but apparently, Sky was not his target.  He was aimed for the palace, with Nova dead in his sights.  A quick blast of magic sent him spinning off course.  When he finally came to a stop, Sky was looking at him expectantly.
“Picking on the girls?  Shame on you, Sprocket,” Sky said.  “Why don’t you try me for a change?”
Sprocket frowned in frustration for a moment, but his expression changed to a confident smile rather dramatically.  “Think you’re hot stuff, huh, Blitz?  Well, you think you can take on two of us at once?”
It was all the warning Sky had.  Quick as he could, he twisted into a horizontal spin.  He could hear the twin blades of air whistle just above and below him.  He brought his hoof up yet again in a magic-enhanced uppercut, but this time, Razor was expecting it.  Their hooves met in a flash of sparks, and Sky contorted and began to spin in the opposite direction.  He threw his rear leg out wide to try and catch Razor in the back, but she merely backed out of the way.  He extended the spin and tried to connect with the kick a second time, but again, Razor managed to stay out of reach.
He finished his spin, spread his wings, and surged ahead like he had been launched off a springboard.  Razor apparently had the same idea, and their hooves clashed in a blaze of light.  Again and again, they matched each other blow for blow: Sky, quick and sudden as a bolt of lightning, and Razor, twisting and swirling like the winds of a tornado.
Finally, their hooves met again, leaving the two pressing against each other, their faces, mere inches apart, etched in determination.  “Don’t do this, Razor,” Sky grunted.  “You’re no villain.”
“No?” the crimson pegasus replied.  “Guess I’ll need to change that!”
Suddenly, the air between them seemed to explode, and Sky went tumbling head over hooves into the air.  But he hadn’t lost all control.  As he flipped, he saw Razor come back into view.  With a quickness that was almost too fast to follow, he stretched out and launched a bolt of magic right at her.
But again, she surprised him.  She managed to block his blast with a compressed mass of air, then redirected it to the street below, where it blew a crater into the pavement.
Sky hadn’t expected Razor to be so skilled or powerful, but showing that would only give her more of an advantage.  “Oh, I’m sorry,” he mock apologized.  “Did I make that spell too powerful for you to throw it back at me?”
“You’re adorable, Blitz,” Razor replied, voice dripping with sarcasm.  “If you really thought that I meant it when I told you that you were better than me, you’re more gullible than I tho—”
She was suddenly cut off as a black and beige body crashed into her from above.  They both plummeted to the buildings below, where Sprocket was forced to jump back to avoid becoming crushed by the sudden rain of pegasi.
Nighthawk descended until he was hovering beside Sky.  “Sorry to drop in like that,” he said, regarding the trio of mind-controlled pegasi below, “but sometimes you just have to throw somepony at another pony.  Especially when they’re rude like that.”
The three pegasi struggled to get to their hooves, looking up at Sky and Nighthawk.  “It’s a shame, really,” Nighthawk called to them.  “Maybe if there were another four or five of you guys, it’d be a fair fight.  But I guess you’ll just have to try extra hard to keep up with us.”  He winked at Sky, who merely looked on in surprise.
Has he always been this…competitive?
“Nighthawk.”  Razor regarded the elder pegasus with interest.  “You’re still alive.”
“Sorry to disappoint you,” Nighthawk replied.  “But Blitz was kind enough to give me a chance to redeem myself here.  And I can’t just say no to such a gracious offer.”
“You’ll regret that decision,” Rimshot growled, grimacing as he rotated his leg.
“Oh?” Sky asked.  Nighthawk’s competitive spirit was contagious.  “We’re waiting, then.”
The three pegasi suddenly exploded into a trio of shining comets, slashing through the air as they charged the two others high above the rooftops of the city.  Sky watched for a second, then exchanged a quick glance at Nighthawk, who signaled to his right with a wag of his head.  Sky nodded a quick affirmative, then turned into a straight nosedive to the street below, causing the meteoric trails of Razor and Rimshot to shoot harmlessly past.  More screams echoed through the alley, causing Sky to wince in agony.  There’s no good reason to do this to do this to the good ponies of Canterlot.  None at all.
Sky turned even with the ground and skipped his hooves along the pavement for a meter or two before accelerating along the street.  The homes and storefronts on either side of the street whipped by as a sequence of blurs, highlighted by the occasional light or neon sign in a window.  The wind whipped in his ears, but above all sounds, he heard the buzzing alarm in his brain, warning him not to overexert himself.
I might not have a choice.
The sound of an oncoming train triggered a reflex maneuver in his wings, though it was only as an afterthought that he questioned the sound of a locomotive in a wide alleyway in Canterlot.  He rolled to his left, then mentally chastised himself.  Stupid, Sky.  You should know better than to fall for that.  Rimshot’s magically-conjured auditory distractions were convincing, if nothing else—especially if used against someone with a predictable response.  As he came out of his roll, he caught sight of a bright flare diving straight for him.
Quick as he could, Sky pulled into the tightest somersault he could, pinwheeling through the air several times before he heard the clash of hoof against pavement.  Instantly, he spread open and fired his legs straight out.  As it was, he was upside-down and facing backwards, but it could hardly have worked out any better for him.  Rimshot’s gambit had left him wide open.
Sky’s rear hooves found their mark right in Rimshot’s gut, and his rotation sent his foe straight to the pavement below.  Sky came down on him as the black and beige pegasus continued to skid along the pavement for several more meters.  “I hope you’ve got better to show than that,” Sky muttered as he took off into the air again, leaving Rimshot on the ground.
He ascended above the rooftops for just a moment, hoping to catch sight of any of his allies.  Off to the north, he saw several telltale flashes of magic; probably Keeper from the look of it.  Back to the east, he heard the rise of screams…though no indication of magic.  Must be Trucker engaged in a brawl with somepony.
But as he continued to look around, he realized that Nighthawk was nowhere to be seen.  “That’s odd,” he muttered.  “I wonder where he’s gotten off to.”
“No telling,” a female voice answered.  “So let’s focus on you.”
Sky was in motion faster than a blink.  He brought his hoof around in a perfect half-turn, where it met Razor’s already-advancing leg with a clang and a flash of sparks.
“Such power you have,” Razor whispered, driving her hoof against Sky’s.  “Just imagine what you could do if you didn’t hold back.”
Sky clenched his teeth and continued to push back.  “I hold it back because I value you too much to use it against you.”
“Aw, that’s so sweet,” Razor mocked.  “I’ll make sure that’s written on your tombstone.”
For a second, Sky’s restraint gave way.  He unleashed a barrage of magic straight into Razor’s face.  “See to your own gravestone first!” he yelled as she spiraled away.
Then, as he reined in his anger, he was struck with a pang of regret.  Can’t do that; Ghost is looking for opportunities to use my rage to his advantage.
Razor had recovered and was rubbing her jaw.  Dark scorch marks lined her cheeks and just below her ears.  “That’s more like it,” she said through a pained smile.  “Can’t you see how strong your anger makes you?”
“I had a taste of that power once before,” Sky returned.  “That was more than enough, thank you very much.”
“I’ll just have to keep it all myself, then,” Razor continued.  Her wings lit up with magic and arched above her as they flapped.  “Let’s see how well you handle it.”
Sky knew that pose.  It was an ancient form of martial combat called Ars Alarum in the old Alicorn tongue, or “Art of the Wings” in everyday speech.  It was based off the work of a pegasus combat specialist from hundreds of years earlier, but with the Alicorn Guard’s magic qualities, it had become a ferociously potent form of melee combat.  All the pegasi of the Alicorn Guard were well-versed in it, though it was rarely used (because it was rarely needed).  “Going a bit old school, huh, Razor?”
“It’s a duel, Blitz,” Razor replied, looking annoyed.  “Can’t you respect a time-honored tradition?”
Sky rolled his eyes and rose to Razor’s level.  His wings illuminated with magic and rose high above him as he flapped.  He stretched one foreleg straight out in front of himself, while the other extended downward at his side.  “Whatever honor there is here,” he replied, “isn’t in some duel.”  His eyes lit up with white flame.  “It’s in those that hold to their vows to protect this land from any and all threats to its safety.”
“You’re like a broken record,” Razor sighed.  “I’ll have to break you for good.”
The two stared each other down for several seconds, unmoving save for the rhythmic flapping of their wings.  Then, without warning, Razor spun in the air and advanced; leg cocked for a mighty blow.  Sky merely leaned out of the way, but the follow-up strike was already on its way before he could move out of the way.  Instead, he deflected the hoof with his leg, only to be greeted with a rapidly approaching strike from Razor’s foreleg.  Catching it with his leg, Sky sensed an opening and threw an overhoof strike, hoping to send Razor to the ground.
However, his blow was stopped by a shield of Razor’s wings, which had wrapped around her shoulders and caught Sky’s hoof just in time.  And, before Sky could realize what was happening, a blast of magic had sent him spinning away.
He saw Razor coming.  She was racing in like a comet.  Sky quickly contorted his body in anticipation, then let loose with a haymaker that had her name written all over it.  But to his unending surprise, he could only watch as Razor gracefully changed her trajectory in a curve around him.  It reminded him of watching a fish in the water: smooth and easy, but to do it in the air would have defied the very laws of physics.
And Razor had just done it.
He felt the impact of her hoof with the back of his head like he had just been hit by a freight train.  His sense of balance and presence shattered as he was sent flailing across the Canterlot skyline.  He was dimly aware of the world flying across his vision as he tumbled onto a rooftop and rolled out of control for several meters.  And even after he came to a stop, the world continued to whirl past him.
After an agonizing period of disorientation, Sky shook off the dizziness and rose to his hooves.  He looked around, trying to piece together the events of the last thirty seconds when a voice spoke from above him.  “You’re far too deliberate with your movements.”
Sky glanced up, wincing as his head ached from Razor’s last blow, only to see the lavender pegasus hovering above him, looking unimpressed.  “I’ve been practicing Ars Alarum for years.  I like to think of myself as a master.  I’m just too good for you, Blitz.  Don’t think you can beat me just all of a sudden.”
Sudden.  The word seemed to resonate with him.  Sudden…
He slowly rose into the air, again taking the opening pose for Ars Alarum.  “We all have our methods and preferences.  There’s never just one right way to do things.  Especially when it comes to wings.”
Razor opened up with the same attack pattern as before, with a quick opening strike followed by a pair of jabs.  And again, Sky dodged and blocked the blows just as before, even catching the third attack on the same leg.  Sky hauled back with a rear leg, ready for a low attack against Razor.
But she was watching, and even as Sky’s leg began to flex, she smirked in anticipation.  Her own leg came up high in a blocking position, and her foreleg drew back for her own knockout shot.  “Predictable as ever,” she whispered.
But Sky’s attack never came.  He surprised her with his own smile.  “You certainly are,” he returned.
Sudden.  Unpredictable.  Like lightning.
Without any warning, Sky surged ahead like he had been fired out of a cannon, thrusting all his momentum and weight right into Razor’s body.  He unleashed a torrent of magic into her as he flew, and he heard the whoosh of air as the breath was knocked out of her, leaving her flailing as Sky continued to plow ahead.  He flew straight ahead for a few more moments, then turned dramatically toward the ground.  As the street approached, Sky contorted, holding Razor between his hooves, and threw her into a nearby collection of trash cans, which clanged and clattered as they rolled and tumbled in all directions.
He tried to calm his haggard breathing, though he could hardly be blamed for it.  Razor was no pushover, the buzzing sensation in his brain had only worsened, and the bruise on the back of his head from where Razor had kicked him wasn’t helping.  He reached back and gingerly rubbed the spot, when he felt the rim of his cloak’s hood.
He had been so occupied with Razor, he had forgotten about his cloak entirely.  It was certainly useful, but it took magic to use, just like so many of his other skills.  Is it more efficient to use this as opposed to direct combat?
He didn’t have time to entertain the question.  A metallic grinding sound was rapidly approaching.  Sky turned towards the noise, and as he did, he spotted an odd metallic disc come sliding up to him.  He stared at it suspiciously, when a pair of latches unclicked, revealing two small holes which began spewing some kind of foggy gas.
Sky leapt back instinctively, covering his mouth with a leg as he watched.  His ears detected a high-pitched whirring coming from the machine, and as he continued to stare at the source of the sound, he was caught off-guard by a blinding flash of light that left him dazed.
The cloak.
He reached up and pulled his hood over his head and triggered its magic, vanishing into the darkness of the alleyway.  He heard hooves rapidly approaching, and he shuffled to the side of the road, hoping to stay clear of the approaching pony.  He lowered his head and worked to clear his mind and steady his vision as a familiar voice called to him.
“Hey Blitz,” Hobo’s voice echoed in the alley.  “How’d you like that little device?  Cooked that one up a while ago, but I kept it a secret for a rainy day.  You know…like today.”  Sky could almost smell the eagerness in Hobo’s voice as he hunted for the weakened pegasus.
Sky almost fired back his own reply, but realizing that Hobo might not be alone, he held his tongue.  “C’mon, Blitz,” he taunted, “I can feel your magic here.  And it’s not like you to hide.  You’ve always been bold and unafraid of a fight.  Did I scare you so much that you can’t stand to come out and face me?”
A long cloth flew out of the shadows right into Hobo’s face, causing him to stagger for a moment.  As he pulled it away, he felt something latch onto his foreleg.  He turned around just in time to find himself staring into the angry blue eyes of Sky Streak.
Sky summoned all his strength and hefted Hobo into the air, then spun in place before hurling him into a nearby brick wall, which he slammed into with a loud smack.  The unicorn stuck to the wall for a moment before peeling away and landing in a crumpled heap at its base.  Sky reached down and picked up his cloak, slinging it across his back and clasping it again around his neck.  “Don’t flatter yourself.  I don’t have time to be afraid.”
Behind him, Sky heard the clatter of metal against pavement.  He turned around to see a lavender blur erupt from the ground into the blue sky above.  Sheesh, why can’t she just go down after one good shot like everypony else?  He spread his own wings and raced after the mind-controlled pegasus.
He broke the skyline into the clear air, hot on Razor’s hooves.  The mare looked back several times, appearing to become more and more furious with each glance.  Finally, she turned and looked Sky straight in the eyes, her face a mask of pure malice that reminded Sky of the Chimera.
“You keep trying and trying, but you can never understand what you’re up against,” she growled.  “And you can never win because of that.”
“Like that makes a difference to me?” Sky shot back.  “There was no condition upon the oaths that I took!  I just said that I would keep them, and so here I am!”
The deep purple glow in Razor’s eyes began to pulse with an almost violent frequency.  “We are through with you!”  All around the pegasus mare, the air swirled into a dozen miniature tornadoes, eventually shrinking down until they were little more than deadly-sharp darts of magic, all pointed at Sky’s heart.
But Sky’s mind had been drawn to something else.  ‘We’?
His attention snapped back to the matter at hand when Razor launched her opening volley of air spears at him.  He somersaulted out of the way, then sped off again, able to stay just ahead of Razor’s aim.  However, with each shot she took, another spear took its place, quickly turning to track the blue pegasus as he zigged and zagged through the air.
Then, as Canterlot sped past him, Sky’s eyes focused in on a building on the edge of the city: the hospital.  His heart sank.  To him, it had been the very embodiment of sorrow and pain.  No cheer or joy could come from that place any longer.  It was a source of tragedy.
“No.  You don’t have to accept that.  You don’t have to succumb to despair.  Do you still carry your love for her in your heart?”
Time seemed to slow down.  Razor’s magic darts slowed to a crawling pace.  The voice in his head was not his own: it was the same voice that had been calling to him for days now.  Of course I do!  But what does that do for me now?
“Haven’t you been listening to anypony?  How many friends of yours have told you that your friends are there to help you, even when they aren’t with you?”
Sky hesitated.  The voice was right, but…somehow, there was more to it than that.
“You yourself have said many times that Lily is the one pony that completes you.  She makes you whole.  Trust me when I tell you that I understand what it’s like to be torn inside.  In times like that, you need a direction.”
I have direction!  I’m protecting Equestria! Sky protested.
“Yes, you are.  But Ghost thinks he is, too.  The only difference between the two of you is the influences that brought you to this point.  Ghost seeks revenge and conquest.  You, however, use your power to preserve peace.  And did you not once write in your journal that Lily was the one that holds you in check?”
A flash of irritation rose in Sky’s head.  You certainly seem to be well-versed in my affairs.
“I’ll explain everything in due time, the voice assured him.  But not now.  Right now, you need to be the one thing Lily taught you to be: the calm at the center of the storm.”
Sky arched an eyebrow.  The way he had said “storm” sounded…strange.  Like it was incredibly important and equally personal.  But he moved it to a far corner of his mind.  He had more pressing issues to deal with.
Like just about everything.
Time was returning to normal.  The magic spears of air were closing in rapidly now.  Razor continued to glower hatefully at him.  And just as he finished re-assessing his surroundings, he became aware that somehow, his hoof was once again pressed up against his chest, but instead of feeling only one of his brooches, he was handling them both.
And, like the sun breaking through the clouds, he felt a peace for which he had longed for days.  His body rose up in response, and he felt a surge of magic shoot through every corner of his being.  I’ll never leave you behind again, Sky thought to himself, picturing his beloved unicorn.  We’re together forever.  He continued to hold the brooches for just a moment more.  Power, purpose, and peace: together at last.
And just like that, everything changed.
Sky adeptly spun out of the way of Razor’s latest wave of missiles, then took advantage of his opportunity.  He closed his eyes, channeled his magic through his body and opened his awareness, projecting a magic field around himself.  He hovered gently in the air, moving very little (save for his wings).  He opened his eyes and looked to Razor, who was in the midst of launching another furious salvo at him.
This isn’t for Lily.  It’s not for me, or for any single pony.  This is for all of us.
As the first spear entered his magic field, a bolt of magic sprung from Sky and vaporized it.  A second spear was victim to the same fate.  The third was deflected away, spinning away until it disintegrated entirely.  Another three approached all at once, and three bolts of magic intercepted each of them in one brilliant flash of light.
With each bolt of magic, Sky became more deeply aware of the sense of peace surrounding him.  The siren in his head had vanished.  His movements felt freer than they had before.  By all counts, he was pushing himself to the limit.  His strength shouldn’t be able to last much longer.  But the revelation from that strange voice had unlocked something within him.  He wasn’t trying to fight against his own limitations anymore.  He had always said that his friends travelled with him, but when Lily had been hurt, those beliefs had been shaken.  But that was before.  Now, he held onto the belief that Lily would always be with him, no matter where he was…or where she was.
The air around Sky flashed and sparked with each attack he blocked, so that it looked much like a compressed thunderstorm above a small portion of the city.  His defense held like a wall of lightning, barring passage of Razor’s attacks like a magic seal.  And as he opened his eyes, he saw something that made his chest swell with confidence: a streak of flaming red, inbound from the north, flying over the tops of buildings like a comet.
It’s about time.
Nighthawk tackled Razor where she hovered, and instantly, her arsenal of magic darts vanished.  The pegasi tumbled through the air, and Nighthawk delivered a smack with his leg right into Razor’s face.  “Blitz!” he shouted.
“On it!” Sky replied.  He launched another pair of bolts right into Razor’s midsection, and she released a sharp scream in response.  Sky shuddered, hating what he was now forced to do.
Nighthawk was beside him in a heartbeat.  “I know, Blitz,” he said solemnly.  His eyes were aflame with an unwavering determination.  “But we need to finish this now.”
Sky nodded.  He aimed his hoof at Razor’s body as she struggled to regain control of herself.  Beside him, Sky felt Nighthawk’s own magic building as his hoof lit up with an intense flame.  “Sorry, Razor,” the orange pegasus apologized, “but it’s for your own good.”  Then, with perfect synchronization, the two stallions unleashed matching blue and red streaks of magic.  They slammed into Razor, who gasped for a moment as she was engulfed in the magic blasts before plummeting to the city below.  Her body landed with a thump on a pitched roof, slid to the edge, then fell to the street, where a teal-maned, yellow-bodied unicorn caught her and gently laid her on the ground.
Sky breathed a heavy sigh of relief.  “Nice catch, Keeper!” he called as he and Nighthawk descended beside the unicorn.  “Is she alright?”
Keeper’s horn was glowing in use as she inspected Razor’s vital signs.  “She’ll certainly be sore for a few days, and I think she may have a cracked rib or two,” she said, pointing an accusing eye at Sky, “but she should be alright.  She’s certainly made of stern stuff to have lasted as long as she did.  I think I can heal her a bit, but—”
“Let’s hold off on that until we’ve settled all this,” Nighthawk interrupted.  “As much as I’d like to get her healthy again, I don’t want her to get a chance to ambush us when we aren’t expecting it.  We need to keep any advantage we get.”
“I can’t believe we’re actually even saying that,” Sky muttered.  “It’s just so wrong to have to face our friends like this.”
“I agree, though I think we’ve just about seen the worst of it.  All but Boulder and Ghost are accounted for from the Alicorn Guard, and Trucker’s managed to round up a bunch of the royal guards to help maintain control in the city,” Nighthawk explained.
“Trucker?” Sky inquired.  “Why not you?  You’re the ranking officer.”
“I thought I’d be better used in other ways,” Nighthawk answered with a wink.  “Besides, Truck’s got a level head on his shoulders, he’s smart, and he’s got quite the commanding presence when he needs to.  He’ll be fine.”
“Huh.”  Sky shrugged in acceptance.  “Guess I never pictured Trucker as that kind of leader before.”
Keeper smiled knowingly.  Her horn continued to glow as she encased Razor within a cocoon of magic.  “All ponies, even those closest to you, are perfectly able to surprise you at any given moment.”
“The rest of Ghost’s Alicorn Guard are being kept in a holding cell in the guard station by the palace,” Nighthawk continued.  “Keeper’s managed to keep most of them in some kind of induced sleep,” he explained, gesturing to where the yellow unicorn had finished putting Razor into a deep slumber, “so they can’t do any more harm.  I saw you take down Hobo in the alley, Blitz, and I can take him back to the station, if you and Keeper can get Razor back.”
“I don’t mean to be rude, but Keeper will need to do that alone,” Sky said.  He looked to the palace, and a flicker of magic sparked from his wings.  “I have some unfinished business to attend to.”
Keeper looked up in surprise, but Nighthawk merely nodded.  “Right.  When you see that ugly turncoat, tell him that I’ll never forgive him for what he’s done.”
Sky spread his wings, but did not take off immediately.  He inclined his head back towards where Nighthawk stood.  “You know, it’s that kind of thinking that nearly got you killed earlier.”
A startled look came to Nighthawk’s face, but it quickly faded into understanding.  “You’re right.  I guess that’s why you’re the one to face Ghost instead of me.”  He paused for a moment, but his voice was loud and commanding when he spoke again.  “Go, Blitz,” he shouted, gesturing to the palace.  “We’re standing with you.”
“Thanks,” Sky said, slowly beginning to ascend.  “I’m gonna need it.  Listen,” he continued, “tell Trucker to makes sure one of the Alicorn Guard with the royal guards at all times.  I’m not convinced that Ghost isn’t saving some of them for a later time.  You’ll need to keep an eye on them.”
“That sounds like a hunch,” Nighthawk commented, “but if there’s one thing that I’ve learned today, it’s that whenever you have a hunch, I should trust it.”
“I hope I’m wrong, but I don’t like taking the risk,” Sky replied.  “Take care of things here.”
The two ponies on the ground waved farewell to him.  Sky hesitated, unwilling to leave to company of his comrades.  But he had no time to waste.  The final darkness awaited him, and it was his destiny to face it.  He turned and shot towards the palace, steeling his mind for one final battle.
An oily darkness seeped into his thoughts.  Come get me, Blitz, he heard the mocking voice of Ghost whisper to him.
Sky’s teeth clenched.  His heart rate increased, and his wings began to flap harder.  Even through the sense of peace that had come to him, he could feel the anger bubbling under his skin.  It was a war: peace against rage, each vying for control in his head.  And perhaps more.
He levelled his eyes as the palace gates grew in his vision.  As you wish.