//------------------------------// // Armed by Moonlight // Story: Hold Your Color // by Quillery //------------------------------// Hold Your Color by Quillery Suggestions, Editing and Pre-Reading by : Siyray, Willsons, Izraill Z, BabySkittleMonster, Legion222, Dreamshadow, edensbane, amacita Chapter Twenty Armed by Moonlight Dash stared down into an endless desert valley. Sand and dust kicked up from unnatural winds and raked across her skin. The sun held itself perilously in the sky above, beating down waves of unbearable heat. The ground she sat on was hard, rough and blisteringly hot. She paid no mind. Her body was coated in days of accumulated sweat, dust and hunger. A lesser pony would have collapsed long ago from the punishment she was exerting on herself. Dash was not a lesser pony. Endless days of training, blood sweat and tears gave her the will and power to struggle through anything and come out on top. There was little in the world that could hold her down, and if anything came close, she would work tirelessly at overcoming it like anything else. What she faced now, however… was far different than any challenge she had faced before. A race she could do wind sprints for hours a day to prepare for. A marathon took some more, focusing on stamina exercises that could span weeks. Agility was easy, especially if there was a dense forest on her training route. Years of hard training had given her plenty of opportunities to prepare for anything life could throw at her. Fighting a megalomaniac spirit incarnation of darkness and nightmares born from an ancient sorceress queen bent on resurrecting a mad king by stealing a magical artifact that provided the world with colors took… finesse. Finesse Rainbow Dash wasn’t sure if she could handle, not when said maniac had the love of her life in captivity. Dirt and rock ground behind her and she casually turned towards it. Aurora stood with her on the high mesa. Khroma was not far away, sitting down and wiping his brow. Aurora’s expression was serious. It had been since they left Canterlot. Days of endless flying south. Always south. Dash gripped at the necklace she wore. It glowed bright, brighter the further south they went. They were on the right track. They had to be. “Prizma, we must rest,” Aurora said. “We’ve been flying for days.” Dash glanced back over the barren vista below. The sun danced on the dead earth. Her mane fluttered in the rough winds. Only two colors remained. Purple, and most of the blue. It was steadily fading before her eyes, and the rate only quickened with each passing moment. “No,” Dash said shortly. “We don’t have time to stop.” “Prizma,” Aurora said sternly. “We are all strong of body to push ourselves like this, but we are not immortal. The body needs rest. It needs food. We can afford a few minutes to make use of our provisions. You haven’t eaten since we left Canterlot.” “M’not hungry.” Dash’s growling stomach said otherwise. She sighed in relent and turned to follow her aunt over to her dad. Khroma was busy setting down some of the food they had packed away. Aurora sat gently beside her brother, while Dash took her place opposite them, still facing the south horizon. She placed a hoof to her necklace, filling her mind with images of Twilight, safe and whole, back home. The gem glowed brightly, pointing ever southward. Dash lost herself in her mind, falling back into the despair that led her to this moment. Dash was certain the train conductor was about to lose his mind with how much Dash pestered him to go faster after leaving the Crystal Empire back to Canterlot. After Twilight’s disappearance, Dash had to get back to Luna and tell her what had happened. Shining Armor returned with them with a group of his best guards. After the madness the Nightmare had caused back in the Crystal Empire and the ponynapping of his sister, he was prepared to go to war with any resources he could get his hooves on. Preparations that were short lived, however. Luna was waiting for them at the train station. Her first order was for Shining Armor to return to Cadence and the Crystal Empire. With the threat of Sombra’s return, and the Nightmare’s power becoming rapidly public knowledge, the many populaces of Equus must be kept calm and under control. Shining Armor resisted, but in the end, Luna made short work of any rebuttal he could muster. He was still a member of the royal guard, and his princesses command was his to carry out. Luna assured that every available resource would be used to save his sister. She could spare nothing less. Which left Dash, Khroma and Aurora, once again standing in Celestia’s bedroom. Crystal Dream was preoccupied with Celestia at the moment, leaving Luna to stand and confront the issue with full attention. Dash was a trembling mess as she stepped into Celestia’s room. Khroma and Aurora were ragged from their battle with the Nightmare, and found little time for rest on the train back. Luna’s expression was serious but calm as she paced in front of her window. She cast long, worried glances at the moonlight cast down on the city below. “There are times that I never believed I would let worry grip me so,” she said, turning back. “In times like these, I would look to my sister for guidance and strength.” She glanced to the bed. Celestia’s trembling had lessened, but Crystal Dreams face was strained, even in her dreamstate. “Now, my sister sits idle, on the verge of being a silent husk forever more, and I am the one who must guide and strengthen her.” A single tear drifted down her cheek, glinting in the silver light of the moon. She drifted towards Dash, placing a hoof on her head. Dash’s trembling stilled, if only for a moment, as Luna’s presence the first vestiges of calm Dash had felt in hours. “You are strong, Rainbow Dash. Do not fear for your lost love. Pray for her. Fight for her. If you do with all your heart, nothing can stop you.” Dash swallowed a lump in her throat and steadied herself. “How? How can I be strong when she’s gone? How can I fight something that I can’t hit, something that hides where the light isn’t? Nocturne just took Twilight, just like that, and I couldn’t do anything to stop her.” Luna’s expression narrowed. “Nocturne is not one to play fair. She caught you off guard, when she knew you would be vulnerable.” She sighed. “I knew sending you out of my sight would not end well, but I did not foresee how quickly she could pursue you.” Dash glanced at Celestia on the bed. “And with Celestia like this… you can’t leave to chase after her.” Luna nodded. “Nocturne has grown wiser. She knows approaching me without a clear advantage would end in her failure, so she shackles me to my sister’s bedside.” Luna moved her hoof from Dash's forehead to her chest. “But she does not know the power you possess within yourself, Rainbow Dash, and what it can be used for.” Dash raised an eyebrow. Luna smirked and returned to the bed. Her magic washed over Celestia. Peice by peice, Celestia’s regalia began to unlatch and float over to the center of the room. Her crown, her torc and her slippers one by one, golden and glittering in the moonlight floated around Luna in her silver glow. “Khroma, Aurora. Please step forward,” Luna said. The two siblings glanced at each other warily. They warily approached Luna, who held Celestia’s jewelry in tow. Luna bowed her head. “There are few artifacts that we have in our possession that would harm the Nightmare, but sometimes, the simplest weapons can be found in the most unlikely of sources.” The regalia began to glow as its shape began to bend and warp under the Luna’s magic. The various pieces grew and reformed to her will as easily as folding paper. When she was finished, she had in her grasp instead a formidable set of armor. “That looks like…” Dash said. Luna smiled. “Not quite the armaments myself and Celestia wore in ages past to unseat the mad king, but I believe it will be more than sufficient.” She turned to Khroma. “If you will, Khroma of Stalliongrad.” Khroma shrugged his head, and Luna slid the freshly formed breastplate, once Celestia’s torc, over his head. It fit him well, guarding his neck, his barrel and his back in a golden sheen. Aurora stifled a laugh. “You look ridiculous, brother.” Luna chuckled. “We had blacksmiths of the finest order prepare our armor in the past. This will have to suffice.” Aurora gasped as Luna quickly clamped Celestia’s slippers, now a shapley set of sabatons, to her legs. Celestia’s crown slid onto her head, now bent and hollowed like a helmet. Luna stepped back, admiring her work with a satisfied nod. Dash stared, unable to find the words. Khroma glared at Dash. “Not one word to your mother.” Despite all that had happened, Dash found the strength to smile. She looked at Luna. “Was there a point to making them look like badly dressed royal guards?” Luna nodded. “Celestia’s regalia was forged from the very first mirror of Reshef. It glows faintly with the might of the sun at all times, but in much smaller amounts than her device that once powered the Prism. The enchantments upon it would allow you to strike the Nightmare and her minions with ease.” “But what about me?” Luna didn’t allow a moment of pause as she now turned her magic on herself. Slowly her own regalia floated from her body and reshaped in the air. A helmet, chestplate and sabatons, not quite what she wore in the past, but light enough for a pegasus chiseled itself from nothing and equipped itself to Dash. She shrugged her body under the new weight. The last time Dash had worn armor, it was during the same time they were dealing with the threat of Sombra’s return just the past fall. It was a mock display of jousting armor, but it fit all the same. This was far heavier. The edges sunk lightly into her flesh, and she wriggled to smooth how the metal sat on her body. Luna placed her hoof on the moon sigil on the front of the chestplate and stared into Dash’s eyes. “Nightstone, when properly forged under the sunlight purges its evil taint and shimmers like the light of the moon. While the light of the sun lingering in Celestia’s regalia will give an edge against her and her minions, such an object forged in the power of the moon will give you a distinct advantage. Her trickery and shadowy illusions will not harm you any further than a mundane weapon.” “I…. Thank you, Princess.” Luna nodded. “Nocturne will see through this ruse soon enough and will keep her distance. I trust your speed will be sufficient to keep up with her.” Dash smirked. “Oh yeah, that won’t be a problem.” Luna’s expression turned serious. “Stay your pride, Rainbow Dash. I know full well of your talents in speed, but this is not a time to misplace our abilities for arrogance. You must take this with the utmost seriousness in the hours to come, for we are on the verge of darkness if Nocturne’s will shall come to fruition.” Luna brushed Dash’s mane with a sweep of her hoof. “Your colors are nearly depleted. Whatever barriers Nocturne has to use the Prism for her own ends will soon be gone.” Dash sighed. “I know… It’s just… How can I do this without Twilight? How can I do this when she’s the one in trouble? How can I even find her?” Luna looked away. “Such is the risk you both share in love.” Luna’s hoof returned to Dash’s barrel. “But, as I recall, the bond you share is far more than one of mind.” She smiled and touched her hoof the Dash’s amulet. It’s light was faint, but not extinguished, not yet. Dash blinked. “The necklace…” She smiled. “The necklace! That’s it! I can’t believe it… this is the…” Dash paused as a sombre memory drifted to her mind. “Stalliongrad, when she ran. I tried to find her with it before, but she broke hers. The scrying enchantment stopped, but when I did a Rainboom to clear out the rain, it lit up again. I found her… I saved her….” She gripped the necklace tightly in her hooves. “And I’ll do it again, for her.” Luna smiled. “Your love will keep you together, that is the magic of life in our world.” Her expression turned suddenly grim. She turned around and walked over to the window again. Staring up at the moonlight, she let out a long, painful sigh. “Princess?” Luna didn’t turn around. “Nocturne’s power has grown considerably in her new form. An intangible shape of darkness… even my ability to harm her in such a state would be difficult. But through her host… she has her vulnerabilities.” Luna turned. Her eyes were trained town in quiet anger. “I must ask something terrible of you Rainbow Dash, if it comes to the worst.” Dash tilted her head. “W-what do you mean?” “If you cannot separate Nocturne from Trixie Lulamoon and break her control, then you must destroy her physical tether to limit her power.” Dash jerked back. Her ears pressed against her head, her mouth went dry. “P-princess, you’re not saying I need to—” “Yes, Rainbow Dash. The Nightmare only has true power should she control a host. If you cannot forcibly break the connection, you must terminate it. Even if it means killing miss Lulamoon.” “Pizma?” Aurora said. Dash’s shook her head, returning to the present. She looked up at her aunt. “I believe we are rested enough for another journey.” Dash nodded and got to her hooves. She glanced down at the bundle of cloth she kept her lunch in. A few carrots were nibbled, but none completely eaten. She shrugged and re-tied the knot and placed it with her things. Khroma and Aurora moved to the edge of of the mesa, wings open. The harsh breeze ruffled their feathers as they shrugged their muscles in preparation for another long flight ahead of them. Dash stepped beside them and tugged at her necklace. The gemstone glowed bright, brighter when facing south. Always south. Dash turned to the others and nodded. “Let’s go.” The three pegasi dove from the edge of the cliff, letting the errant desert currents carry them deeper into the badlands. Dash kept the necklace always in hoof, glowing with thoughts of Twilight stuck in her mind. Hang on, Twi. I’m coming!