//------------------------------// // Scorched Earth // Story: Night Patrol // by Foxgear //------------------------------// Night Patrol chapter 30 By Foxgear “Cover fire!” The sound of five screaming rinin breathing fire raged in Applejack’s ears as she ducked under a fallen wall. On the other side, the thundering stomps of the charging Mammoth grew quiet, followed by one large thump of a body slipping and skidding on the ground. Picking up a rock, she stood over her cover wall and threw the stone, striking another mammoth. The rock bounced off its armor, and the Mammoth charged at her! She got out of the way as Sixies flew overhead, dropped lava from the sky, creating a molten barrier that stopped the mammoths cold, at least till the lava cooled, which wouldn’t take long in this temperature. The snowstorm was as bad, if not worse, then last time. Applejack could barely see her hoof in front of her face. What’s more, Lumi was nowhere insight, and the mammoths just kept coming no matter how many fell. To her left, P-Rex wrestled with one of the mighty beasts. The giant pony was only a hair more massive than the hairy elephant, but the added weight of his armor made him a hard opponent to throw around. He reared up, hooves waving in the air smacking the Mammoth in the face. The Mammoth’s helmet dented from the blows and wobbled on his feet. P-Rex whirled, bucking his opponent in the head, breaking open his skull. Chunks of brain landed beside her. “Keep it up, P-Rex!” She cheered, retreating to the next level up. The attack came out of nowhere. Only a few snowflakes fell at first, then turned into a raging storm by the time she got everypony awake and ready to fight. Ice had built up at the base of the city, creating a false hill for the mammoths to easily walk up, with some help from the spikey cleats attached to their feet. They’ve been fighting for three hours now. “Any word from Rawhide yet!” Applejack screamed over the storm, sliding behind cover, a giant ice ball smashing the house behind her to pieces. The pony next her shook his head. “Gods, dammit! We’re sitting ducks here! They’ll just keep destroying the city bit by bit till there’s no place to hide!” A mammoth came barreling through a nearby building with several pegasi throwing thunderclouds at him, creating blasts of lightning that sent the hairy monster stampeding into a nearby house. The beast roared, flinging up debris with his tusks. A few of the flying rocks caught two of the pegasi, and they fell to the ground. They were immediately crushed by two more incoming mammoths. “Sixes!” Applejack screamed into the wind. The black rinin crashed down from the sky, his wings covered in ice as he spat out a river of lava. Mammoths rushed in from all sides; one caught him with their tusks and smashed Sixes through a building. For a moment, nothing happened, and then the building exploded! Gold lava flew everywhere, and Sixes stood panting in the rubble, lava spilling down his mouth like slobber. His eyes burned bright gold, the slits of his eyes narrowing like a predator. With a guttural roar, he launched back into the fray in a berserk rage. Applejack watched as Sixes took on six mammoths alone in a frenzy. The black rinin wouldn’t be much of commander in his current state, meaning she had to take over. Turning to the pegasus beside her and barked orders. “Gather everypony up, we’re getting out of here. We’ll rally at the top level of the city and fly up over the plateau to the top and fly to Rawhide’s rally point. Hopefully, he’s nearby.” “Roger, ma’am!” The pegasi saluted flying off. The one that remained looked concerned at her. “What about P-Rex ma’am? He can’t fly, and we don’t have enough wing power to lift him this time.” Applejack sighed deeply, lowering the brim of her hat, “Ah’ll think of something. No pony is getting left behind, not if I can help it.” Determined to save her friends, Applejack rushed up the stone stairs, screaming for her fellow patrollers to fall back. Ice had built up the stairs, making them slippery and hard to climb, the air so cold that icicles hung from her hat. Things were doubly bad for the pegasi. Despite being more suited for the colder climate, they were shivering, and the ice hanging off their wings grounded them. Down below bursts of fire broke through the wall of white, the remaining rinin doing their best to slow the mammoths. As she reached the top, Applejack saw no sign of Sixes or P-Rex. “Where are Sixes and P-Rex? Are they with you?” She grilled VeeVee as the pink rinin reached the top. The medic shook her head. A cold feeling of dread filled the earth pony’s stomach, and she began to climb back down, but VeeVee grabbed her by the scruff the neck and pulled her back. “You can’t go back. It's too dangerous! We need to get out of here now while we still can. Besides, there’s nothing you can do to help the commander and P-Rex, you would just get lost in the storm looking for them!” VeeVee told her flatly. Grimly Applejack nodded, “Yeah… your right. Get a fire going and melt the ice off the flyers wings, so we can get out of here. Sixes and P-Rex… they’ll find a way out.” VeeVee nodded. She and the other rinin began melting the ice from the pegasi’s wings. Applejack stood on the edge, looking down, seeing nothing but white. She never would have found them she realized. “Applejack, it’s time to go,” VeeVee said, taking to the air with the others. “High Rise and Slip will take you up.” “Right…” She replied absently, the two fliers pulling her up. There was white all around him. The path had disappeared entirely, he could no longer tell which way was up or down, there was only white. Feeling around with his claw, Sixes tried to find his way through the storm. His claws failed to find purchase in the icy ground, causing him to slip, falling down the icily slop for several yards. Gritting his teeth, he dug in harder, slowing but not stopping. If not for a ruined wall, he would have kept going. “Fuck!” He cursed, rolling on to his side, holding his ribs. He was pretty sure something was broken. “Anypony out there? VeeVee, Applejack, P-Rex?” Sixes yelled into the wind, his voice barely reaching through the white void. Sighing Sixes rested his head against the cold hard ground, where has everypony gone to? Where was he even? The ground shook. Quickly Sixes rolled and pressed against the demolished wall. On either side, mammoths stomped in a single file line around Sixes. They hadn’t noticed the patroller thankfully, yet, but when they did, he was a goner. There was no way he could take on this many and survive. Maybe he could fly out, but the storm made it impossible to navigate. Flying was mute anyway. His wings were frozen. He’d have to thaw them first before they could be used, but that would take fire, and fire would attract the enemy. Pressing his body closer against the wall, Sixes accidentally knocked a brick loose, causing it to fall. He grimaced as the rogue stone bounced and clattered across the ground. Surely nothing could hear such a thing in this storm, let alone see it through the falling snow. The universe was out to prove him wrong, the stone fell in a mammoth’s path, causing it to stop. “Hey, keep marching, Woolly!” The Mammoth behind shouted. Woolly pointed his trunk at the fallen stone. Something is here, this stone fell into my path. Spread out and search!” Grumbling, the Mammoths broke their line and fanned out, their stomps shaking the ground. Two were heading right for his position. The black rinin began charging up for a lava breath attack, the pulsing glow of his chest was like a beacon in the night, and the mammoths fixate on it. However, before he could unleash his attack, a shadowy figure came charging down the mountain, a prominent mysterious figure! It was P-Rex! The big pony landed right on top of Sixes, covering him from sight and fending off the mammoths. Sixes rushed out from under P-Rex leaping into the air and spat lava in one of the Mammoth’s face! “Come on, P-Rex, we got this!” Sixes rallied vigorously attacking the mammoths’ ranks. They were in such disarray they were tripping over themselves trying to avoid the lava and P-Rex. The two patrollers share a hearty laugh knocking Mammoth after Mammoth down until the hairy beasts finally wizen up and back away. “Come on then you cowards!” Sixes taunted, the adrenaline pumping through his body. He was panting with the excitement of battle while the heat of the lava warmed his body, thawing his wings. However, he began to notice the storm was clearing, everything was becoming more visible, and it was revealed that they were completely surrounded. Not only that, but the enemy commander has shown herself. Sixes’ eyes narrowed, glaring at the bundled mare, trying to pierce through the thin fabric of her veil. She seemed… familiar. “You must be Lumi.” The light blue mare smiled, “Correct and you are Sixes, and I’ve heard many things about you. I must say you seem to have more heat than Overheat. Lava is quite hot as I’m sure you know, much hotter than fire. Maybe you can warm my cold heart.” Sixes bared his teeth at the ice pony, letting hot steam rise off his body. “Sure, I’ll warm your heart. I’ll melt it to the point that there won’t be any vapor left to make a glass of water!” “Such a charmer,” Lumi said as Sixes spat lava at her. Shaking her wings from under her coat, she unleashed a blast of icy wind that cooled the hot liquid instantly. A smug smile playing on her lips as Sixes fumed, and blasted a stream of fire at her. Dancing around the flames, she sucked in a deep breath and blew out a stream of ice, the two elements exploding in midair. Bits of ice pelt Sixes’ hide, (This will be tough! I better finisher quick before the Mammoths jump in too!) He was formulating a plan to do just that when he was suddenly picked up. “P-Rex we… hey, what are you doing? P-Rex! Let me down!” He yelled as the big pony grabbed him with his mouth. Sixes struggled to get free, but P-Rex wasn’t having it as he began to spin. The black rinin knew precisely what he was doing, and he couldn’t let him! “Don’t do it! I’m not leaving you here! That’s an order let me go now!” The big pony grinned and did just that. P-Rex let him go, flinging Sixes through the air over the plateau. His duty finished P-Rex turned to Lumi snorting and kicking up dirt. Lumi wasn’t very impressed. “Oh please, as if you have any hope of even scratching me.” She snorted as the big pony charged. Rolling her eyes, Lumi formed a horn of ice atop her head and charged up a small blue sphere. The ball shattered, raining down thousands of ice arrows on top of the giant pony. The arrows destroyed his armor, piercing flesh and spilling hot blood on the ground. P-Rex continued his mad charge! His wounds bled profusely, with frostbite spreading across his skin, turning it black. Several more arrows pierce his knees, and he fell to the ground skidding to a stop only a few feet away from Lumi. Lumi, nose upturned, walked around the giant, batting away his feeble efforts to attack her with his weak and bloody limbs. She smacks the hoof aside and summons hundreds of long ice lances, long enough to pierce the entire length of P-Rex’s body. The big pony gave shuttering breath, and the lances fell upon him. Lumi continued walking, never looking back, summoning the storm again at full force. “P-Rex!” Sixes screamed, climbing out of the snowbank. The storm back in force, blinding Sixes to as he made for the cliff. “P-Rex! P-Rex, you get your ass up here now! That’s an order! P-Rex!” Icy tears stung his eyes, the cold freezing them as quickly as they formed. This wasn’t how this was supposed to happen, but since when do battles ever go according to plan? He should know better by now. He should be used to losing friends; he’s lost many over the years, to monsters and other ponies. What made this different was they never died saving him before. “Sixes! Sixes is that you!” Applejack’s voice carried over the storm. He yelled back, shooting a blast of fire to confirm his position. Lifting a claw, he stopped Applejack before she ran off the cliff. “You’re alright! Is P-Rex with you? You both made it, right?” He turned to her with frozen tears on his face, shaking his head at the white abyss below. He wanted to go down there. To go back and get his friend, but that would be foolish, and he’s been stupid enough today. Every logical conclusion points to P-Rex being dead, he couldn’t save him, but he could still save the others. “Come on,” He said, pushing Applejack away from the edge. “We need to get moving.” “Yeah… your right.” They trotted back to the others. They had dug a trench in the snow, all of them huddled together with the rinin providing fire for warmth. Sixes and Applejack joined them, waiting for the enemy to scale the cliff. It would only be a matter of time for Lumi to make a path with ice. They could run for it, but they wouldn’t get far in the cold, better to preserve their energy and fight. “I guess Rawhide didn’t make it.” Applejack dejectedly said. “He’ll be here.” Sixes assured her. “He’d never leave us hanging. Not now, not ever.” “But how can he find us in the storm? It’s impossible to see!” Sixes looked to the sky. Applejack was right. Rawhide would never spot them from the Solar Flare, not without something to guide him. “Every dragon pony shot fire into the sky, it’s our only chance!” Sixes ordered firing a bright blast of fire into the air. The others look at him, confused, wondering why they were giving away their position. Regardless they lined up beside their leader and together fired multicolor flames into the air; they exploded like fireworks in the white sky, bright and colorful, but also short-lasting. Along the cliffs, the silhouettes of mammoths began to appear in the snow, marching straight for them! “Well, what now fearless leader,” VeeVee retorts, baring her teeth at the immediate threat. “Now, we make our stand.” Sixes replied as the mammoths formed two lines of twenty. They began a steady charge, slowly picking up speed as they wade through the snow. This would be it, their final stand. The small group prepared for what very well could be their last battle. Then something caught their attention, a soft rumble coming from behind them like thunder. Bright headlights shined through the falling snow. Another noise accompanied the rumbling a “click, click, creak, click” sound that they were all familiar with. The lights grew brighter and then fade as the hulking massive of metal that was the AT-1 slugged past them. “Tanks… those are tanks!” Applejack jumped with glee, looking to the sky, a big smile on her face as the lights of the Solar Flare became visible. The flying ship swooped down next to them, ready and waiting with a full broadside of cannons. “Yawl alright,” Rawhide drawled over the com system. “I’ll get ya up here in a bit. I just gotta put down a few vermin first.” The tanks open up a barrage of cannon fire, armor-piercing rounds rocketed through the air with a high pitched whistle. Three Mammoths exploded into piles of gore before they could even register the sound. Another volley roared, this time four of five-hit their marks, four more mammoths exploded, raining guts in blood on the pure white snow. Tusk and bits of metal flew, creating more chaos as the large mammals struggle to comprehend what happened to their friends. Their march came to a grinding halt, and the tanks were reloaded and aimed. “Get to cover!” One Mammoth screamed the next barrage shredding their ranks, all around him blood and guts flew as the rounds hit home. He wavered, searching for someplace to hide, but there was nowhere to run to, no cover to be found. They were easy pickings. “Everyone down the hill, retreat!” The stampede backpedaled to the edge of the cliff, where Lumi stood in their path, with a frown dispelled the ice ramp, cutting off their escape. The mammoths came to a halt before the blue pony. “Where do you think you’re going?” She asked, stepping closer. “You weren’t thinking of retreating, were you? That’s not allowed, you know?” “But the enemy…” “Shush now, the enemy is over that way. Now you can A) go and fight, B) jump off the cliff to your deaths or C) dye by me. Take your pick. Cause either way, you die.” “But… but… we’re allies!” “I don’t ally myself with cowards.” The mammoths shiver in fear as the cold intensifies. They look to the tanks, to the cliff and then to Lumi and made their choice. Sixes furrowed, watching the enemy line with confusion. The cannon fire stopped, patrollers don’t shoot ponies or mammoths in this case in the back. What could they be planning? He could make out the blue spec that was Lumi. She seemed to be talking to them. He saw one mammoth start shaking and shivering turned around, and then he turned around again and ran for the cliff! “What in Luna’s name!” A mammoth, a mammoth, jumped off the cliff! He wasn’t the only one, either. Dozens, no all of them, they were running off the cliff! Their screams echoed against the plateau’s walls as they fell and then silence. None of them could believe their eyes, they fought so hard against the mammoths, lost friends to them, and they just jump off a cliff in the end? That… that was unacceptable! They don’t get to decide their fates for killing his friends! No, that was up to him! Applejack nervously backed away as gold magic began to seep from Sixes’ body, “Sixes… what are you…” The black rinin screamed with rage, barreling towards Lumi with fangs bared. Gold lava split from his mouth, leaving a trail of gold fire in his wake. “Rawhide, we need to give Sixes some cover fire! He’s gone berserk again!” “We can’t get a clear shot, he’s too close!” Rawhide replied over the coms. He smacked the controls in frustration. “Can anypony in down there get a shot off without hitting Sixes?” “I got clear shot,” One of the tankers said, “It’s within variance give or take five feet.” “Give take or five feet? That’s too close! You can forget about it!” Applejack said over the coms. The line went silent, no pony knowing what to do. Meanwhile, Sixes was still getting closer to the ice mare and possibly his death, if they didn’t do something! Suddenly a cloud of white explodes ahead of Sixes, covering him from view. “I said, don’t shoot!” “I didn’t,” The tank driver barked back, sweating up a storm. He did not want Applejack on his back! The three took a moment and think it over if the tanks didn’t fire, and the ship didn’t fire, then what caused that explosion? Hot steam fills the air, blinding him, first, it was cold now it’s hot, couldn’t somepony just pick a fricken temperature! Regardless of that, the heat did feel good and gave Sixes a moment to clear his head. He was still angry, but he was mad with focus and awareness, and right now, he was aware somepony else was with him in the steam. “Who’s out there?” Sixes hollered, swiping at the steam. Damn stuff didn’t want to go away. Staggering ahead, a bright figure came into view. The temperature soaring upwards the closer he got to it, ash caking his claws. Whatever this was had enough firepower to melt the snow, dry the grass, and then set it on fire. A grin played on his lips, he knew a pony that could likely do that. Dashing up to the figure Sixes called out to the pony ahead, the intensity of the heat was starting to bother him, and he swam in lava! A solid line of fiery hoof steps leads up to his target, Overheat, who looked different. The fire pony was a blaze of pure fire, not on fire like usual. It was as if he was fire. Sixes trotted up to the big fire pony, he noticed an odd shape on Overheat’s sides, the form was a different color of flame sticking out away from his body a bit, curving upwards almost like a pair off… wings. “What did you do?” Overheat chuckled at the question lowering his head, mixed in with the pony’s blazing mane was a horn of fire. “I did want you did, wasn’t quite expecting this, though.” (What I did? What… oh. That.) Sixes’ eyes suddenly snap open, realizing what Overheat had done. The crazy stallion had eaten an alicorn amulet! “Figure it out?” Overheat teased, amused by the look on Sixes' face. “Ate the orange one, it was surprisingly easy to get it out of Gadget’s lab. He hid them pretty well, but I felt an almost like a calling to the thing, almost like I was meant to have it. In hindsight, maybe I should have just worn it and not eaten it. I don’t think it really agrees with me.” “You’re burning up. This fire it’s not magic; it’s your life force! You gotta turn it off! Change back!” Overheat shook his head, “I can’t. I can’t change forms anymore. Can’t turn into a skeleton, can’t turn into a flesh and blood pony, I’m only fire, now. I’ll be this way for as long as there’s fuel to burn. I’d like to talk more Sixes, but this form burns a lot of energy, I gotta get going if I want to make this worth it.” “You did all this just beat her? Why would you do that? What in the hell were you thinking?” Overheat gave a pondering look, “I guess… I did it for the pony we love most. I didn’t want Luna to see, I didn’t want Luna to see what Lumi really is. I saw her face Sixes. She looks exactly like Luna, almost like twins, but there’s a feeling of fakeness around her. Something that says she isn’t natural, like us, I guess. I didn’t want Luna to see this perverted version of her, a tool of those doctors. I’m going to turn her to ash, so our Princess never has to set her sights on that thing. That’s what I’m going to do, what are you going to do, I wonder?” “What do you think?” Sixes said, sawing his fangs, “I’m gonna kill the bastards for what they’ve done.” The fire pony nodded, “Sounds good, I’ll leave that to you, leave this to me. Get aboard with the others. You won’t want to be around here.” Overheat trotted forward towards Lumi, briefly, he looked back to see Sixes taking off for the Solar Flare, it would be a few minutes before they would clear the area, but that was no bother. They just need to be far enough away before the fireworks start. As he walked, Overheat couldn’t help but imagine what it must feel like to have this amount of power all the time, the power of an alicorn. There must have been an alicorn of fire; he wondered what he or she thought as they walked the earth, knowing they could burn everything in their sight in an instant. The temptation to do so now was overwhelming. He wanted to scorch the earth black and fill the sky with ash. He wanted to watch the world burn in an ocean of fire. That was a scary desire to have, his guess that if the alicorn of fire had such an attitude, then they must not have lived a long life. Not that he would have the time to act on his desires of destruction. He could already feel his body burning hotter and with it more of his life. He wondered how long he would really have left even if he won. A day, a week, maybe a few hours, less than that? He didn’t know or need to know. He just needed to focus on the mare in front of him. “My, my, aren’t you looking hot. I like the new look, very fiery.” Lumi chuckled sultry, shedding her cloak and veil, revealing her wings and horn openly. “And look, you made me strip, not an easy feat, I assure you.” “I really wonder just how you can look so much like the princess, yet be so different.” Lumi shrugged, “Different upbringing. My creation was not much different from yours, really. Doctor Hoofenstein only had so much of Luna’s blood; he couldn’t afford to be careless with it, so he did the tried and proven method and something new. My original body, as you could call it, was made from three mares of each race. All three were injected with a little of Luna’s blood, and then we were made into one. We carry some of Luna’s memories, fractured bits here and there of her life mixed with our shared experiences. Though I don’t know how or why. The most important thing was that we became what the doctor wanted, an alicorn. However, we didn’t gain control of the moon or the power to dream walk.” “The moon and the night are often considered to be cold, hence the ice powers?” Overheat said, curious about the whole thing. “Maybe, can’t say for sure, maybe the unicorn in me was an ice mage, I don’t remember. I don’t really care for the doctor either or his plans, I just want to freeze everything. To cover the world in ice, it’s beauty frozen forever for me to gaze upon.” He chucked, it seems they share a common interest. “Funny, I was just imaging burning the world to ashes.” “Oh, do go on,” Lumi said coyly. “I would, but I’m on a bit of a schedule.” “Pity and things were just getting good.” The two elementals began to circle the other, leaving trails of fire and ice in their wakes. They pick up speed, blowing gusts of hot and cold air, the air cracking with power as the two elements met head-on. Their pace quickened as they circle closer, forming tornado in their wake. They rammed each other, clashing, fire meeting ice. Bursts of hot steam explode as their bodies collide. The two skid away from each other, each one quickly healing from the encounter. Both elemental ponies stagger away from each other, staring the other down with a wicked grin on their muzzle. This was the battle of their lives, and they were enjoying it to the fullest. Rearing up Overheat spewed out a stream of fire at Lumi, the ice mare countering with ice breath, a cloud of steam clouds his vision. Jumping back, he fired another blast, the steam clearing, and Lumi was nowhere to be seen. Frantically Overheat eyes roam in every direction, looking for any sign of the ice mare. Pain erupted in his side, and he cursed as two ice lances pierced his body. He didn’t think he was actually wounded, but he still felt the pain of the attack. Flaring up, he melts the spears instantly. The water hissing as it boiled on his coat. The attack came from the right Overheat noted spreading his wings. He gave the fiery appendages a few test flaps rising off the ground. Flying was still a new concept his brain had yet to comprehend, nether the less he took to the sky, sending waves of heat through the entire area. He flew above the steam and snow and took a deep breath! Chest ballooning Overheat unleashes a broad stream of searing flame towards the ground. Sure enough, a mountain of ice formed, giving away Lumi’s position. He swooped down, firing a barrage of fireballs at the mare as she fired back with ice arrows. He flew through the arrows, the ice quickly melting against his skin, Lumi was rearing up for a more powerful attack, but he wasn’t letting that happen. Claws and fangs bared he bit into Lumi’s neck! Ice cold blood fills his mouth as he wrestled her to the ground scraping away with his claws. She screams, whipping her head widely about, her horn cutting across his shoulder. Overheat grimaced as the burning pain of freezing ice, assaults his nerves as fiery hot blood sprays from the wound. Funny, he thought he wouldn’t have blood anymore. Lumi wiggled free, letting a huge chunk of her skin be torn away as she ran out from under Overheat. The ice mare quickly ran and turned as Overheat tried to recover his balance. Horn lowered, she rams headfirst into him, her horn hitting Overheat center mass, right through his heart. “Guh…” Overheat bulks vomiting burning hot blood. Staggering away, Lumi’s horn slips free and more blood pours onto the ground, igniting into flame. He steadied himself, his legs nearly giving out on him as he stared down the ice mare, she wasn’t doing much better. She was shivering as blood flowed down her neck and body, turning to ice crystals on the ground. “You’re not looking too hot,” Overheat coughed, feeling dizzy, his vision was blurry. He could feel the fire inside him, burning hotter. Looking down at his claw with squinted eyes, he saw his coat had changed to a bright white color. The earth was melting beneath his feet. Lumi chuckled, coughing up frozen blood, “Yeah, well, you’re not exactly looking too good yourself. This kind of reminds me of those old stories about the hero and the villain injured beyond belief as they set up for one last attack.” He chuckled along with her, having read the same story once before. “It does, doesn’t, I wonder who wrote those. Too bad, no pony is around to write this down; it would be nice to be remembered in a fable tale like that.” “Yeah, it would be.” They share one last chuckle before rearing up and charging one final time. Circling, they stabbed at each other with their horns, bashing into one another, spilling blood with every hit. Each one gathered a sphere of magic at the tip of their horn. Both sources of power growing by the second aimed at each other. The two attacks met and then exploded! The shock wave of the explosion rippled for miles leaving behind blackened slabs that look like frozen fire. In the center of the blast, two ponies like statues stood entangled in each other. Their horns interlocked for the rest of the time. The ship rocked with the shock waves of the explosions. Once it finally stopped, Sixes rushed to the back of the Solar Flare, gaping at the newly minted wasteland. Huge black slabs of rock spread out from the crater where the blast started in a giant circle. He grabs a telescope from a nearby deckhand and peers out into the wastes. He could barely make out the black massive of stone that looked like two ponies, despite that, he knew it had to be Overheat and Lumi. What else could it be? “We need to go back for Overheat,” Applejack got in his face as he set the spyglass aside. Sixes shook his head, walking towards the cabin. “There’s nothing to go back for. Not now, at least. Overheat already moved on, we can mourn later. Right now, Luna needs our help, full speed ahead!” “Yes, sir!” The crew saluted, running back to their stations. He could feel Applejack glaring a hole in the back on his neck. He paid her no mind, watching the devastated wasteland recede into the background. He waited till everypony cleared the deck before shedding a tear for his lost brethren. “Push them back! Keep fighting!” Luna yelled over the carnage. Grabbing three griffons with her magic and Luna flung them against the deck of the Moon Cutter, snapping their necks on impact. Snorting angrily, she bucked two more incoming griffons into a fire raging on the ship’s bridge. Up above griffons circled the ship dropping bottles of liquid explosives. The cannons of the Moon Cutter fire back, creating a constant roar of noise. Dead bodies literary rain from the sky. One just fell beside her, a pegasus with her neck sliced open. Teeth grinding together, Luna grabbed a fallen griffon sword. In her rush, she forgot to bring her star blades and tossed the sword with all her might! The edge twirls in the air, cutting a griffon cleanly in half from front to back, the two pieces falling to the ground in a rain of gore. “Look out!” A pony yelled it was, Emerald. Barreling across the deck, swinging her horn with deadly precision, cleaving griffons with ease. Blood dripped down the green pony’s horn and face, giving her a savage look. Luna nodded in thanks, throwing up a shield to block incoming arrows. “What’s our status?” Emerald took a few calming breaths before replying, the adrenaline racing through her, making it difficult to think calmly. “The ships taking too much damage, causing us to lose altitude, we’ll be grounded within the hour at this rate. It would be best if we made a break for the castle.” “I would agree, but we’re too slow, we would be fighting them the entire way there. Has there been any contact from Rawhide?” Luna cut down another assailant, discarding one weapon for another. “We could really use some help here.” “He did send a message, but it was so scrambled we could barely understand it. We haven’t been able to call him back and probably won’t be able to. We’re losing functions faster than we can fix them. Princess, we can’t keep this up!” Emerald whipped around, slicing off three heads. She sighed, of course, they couldn’t, “Get back to the captain and tell him to head towards home, even if we can’t make all the way there, and it’s better than being stuck out here. Try to round up some unicorns that can use shield magic, I will try to send Celestia a message via magic, but I need time to focus the spell.” “Roger that!” Emerald saluted, running off. Lowering the shield, Luna grabbed several fallen weapons with her magic and took flight just above the deck of the Moon Cutter. She couldn’t fly too far, but she could at least draw in some easy targets this way. A squad of griffons changed their flight path, coming right for her. Grinning, she levitated several spears and throwing them with her magic. They flew fast and true, the spears piercing two of the five griffons, one managing to dodge, the inky black one leading the attack. There was something strange about that one. “Come on, then!” She challenged brandishing her swords. Flinging the swords, she watched as the blades tore through the incoming griffons, cutting them to ribbons, all except one, the black griffon. Holding her remaining swords close, she prepared for her skilled foe. Once they were close enough, Luna swung with the blade to her left. The griffon twisted its entire body. Luna could not believe her eyes. It moved like a snake around a tree branch, slithering around her blades and around her barrel. She tried to rip the strange creature from her; clearly, whatever this was is not a griffon, but the beast grabbed her horn with its beak, sending a joint down her entire body. Her mind went blank, and her wings stopped moving. Slowly Luna hovered in midair until she angled down into a dive towards the ground. She tried to shake off the creature, she could feel… something… seeping into her horn, and it could not be good. “Luna!” Emerald screamed, watching the Princess fall towards the ground. Without a moment’s hesitation, she jumped off the edge of the Moon Cutter, summoning a wave of gems from the ground to slow her fall. “CRUSADER, TOPAZ YOU TWO ARE IN CHARGE!” Topaz ran to the edge of the ship, screaming, “Emmy!” Watching his sister disappear into the forest. The orange rinin growled, cutting an attacking griffon with his plasma wings, he turned back to the deck; some of the crew staring at him. “Back to your stations and get this thing turned around! We’re heading home!” “What about the Princess and Emerald?” A deckhand asks. He bared his teeth, passing the deckhand, “They’ll find their own way back.” The ship lurched, making a full one-eighty turn in under a minute. The cannons never stopped firing once the entire time, nor did they stay as they began to fly towards home. The griffons were hot on their trail as they sailed through the sky. “Get more power to the engines! We need more speed!” Topaz ordered from the upper deck. Beside him, Crusader, his horns a light with magic, kept the enemy at bay while he issues orders. Seemed they figured out he was the commander, “Shields up!” A dome of colorful shields lines the sides of the Moon Cutter, the remaining griffons trapped inside were quickly dealt with, and any outside the shield were hesitant to slip through the cracks as they would be unable to swarm. However, while they couldn’t attack the decks, the underbelly of the ship was still exposed. “Fliers get below to the clouds; keep them away from the engine!” Topaz yelled. Pegasi scramble below the deck to the hidden doors at the bottom of the ship. There they settle into the clouds carrying the Moon Cutter, lying in wait for the enemy. They didn’t have to wait long. As they drew further from Luna and Emerald’s location, Topaz’s only thoughts were of how at least they were pulling the bulk of the enemy force away from the two, giving them a better chance of escaping unnoticed. They sailed far, covering miles by the hour, but their time was limited. Explosions rocked the underbelly of the ship, and they began to descend. The Moon Cutter skids a mile across the earth, destroying everything in its path before coming to a stop. Once Topaz regained his footing, he stood to find the shields cracked and the griffons assaulting it with all their might. It was only a matter of time. “Prepare for close combat!” Ponies line the rails, armed with anything they could find. The shields cracked, some even shattering, but the griffons didn’t charge. No, they were waiting to swarm all at once, an effective strategy that would probably result in an eight percent chance of their death. However, just as the shields were about to give, an entire line of griffons was cut down! “For EQUESTRIA! HOOFRAA!” Nightingale cried flying through the enemy lines, her metal wings glistening with fresh blood. Through the chaos, Princess Celestia called out, “Everypony to me!” She barked, appearing in a burst of gold. Ponies were quick to rally to the Princess, ready and eager to fight now that she was here, but she had something else in mind as she began pulling magic from the surrounding unicorns. “Is that everypony aboard?” She asked, receiving many nods, “Good, Nightingale!” “Roger!” The winged metal pony replied, landing in with the group. A gold aura of magic encased them all as Celestia’s brow contorts with stress. “You can’t escape, Celestia! There’s nowhere to run from us!” King Silverous proclaimed. Celestia just smiled, whispering, “Just watch me.” In a flash of blinding gold, Celestia and the entire crew of the Moon Cutter disappeared before the Griffon King’s eyes. Safety appearing in the courtyard of the Royal Sister’s castle. “Prepare…” Celestia staggered and fell to the ground in a heap, blood tinkling down from her nose. Everypony stared in shock and then turned to Nightingale, Topaz, and Crusader. With Princesses out of action or missing and Sixes, Kira and Applejack away, and Overheat and Emerald MIA, they were the highest-ranking ponies in Night Patrol. Nightingale sucked in a breath and stepped forward, “Take the Princess up the medic wing, the rest of you prepare to defend the castle at all costs!” Ponies scatter, leaving the three commanders alone in the courtyard, staring at the marble bridge stretching across the ravine. “Are you thinking what I’m thinking, Topaz?” Topaz nodded, “Yeah, I see where you’re going. Let’s get to work.” Luna hit the ground hard. The impact of fall finally caused the inky creature to release its grip on her. At least something was going her way today, finally. The beast was nowhere to be seen through; it must have flown off into the brush. She’d have to be careful. “I wonder where… OUCH!” Luna hissed quickly, lifting her front right leg off the ground, it was twisted with a large bugle on it, probably the bone. Great, she’s broken her leg. “Did the little princess hurt herself?” A menacing voice cooed from the darkness. Luna whipped around frantically for the source, but the sound seemed to be coming from all around her. “Does the little princess need her sister to kiss it better?” “You dare mock me!” She barked back, charging her horn. She fired several magic bullets randomly into the brush, the voice cackling mockingly. “Come out and fight me!” The laughter stops. “If you insist,” The voice replied. From the dense forest undergrowth, the sound of hooves clopped in the night, a tall shadowy figure emerged from the forest. It was a mare with an inky black coat like the creature that attacked her, not only that, the pony sported a horn and wings. Warily Luna trotted around for a better defensive position, keeping her injured leg hidden from view. “Is this your true form, or merely another insult?” The inky black mare chuckled, “Nightmare.” Luna’s eyes narrowed, “What was that?” The mare chuckled again. “Nightmare that is my name, Nightmare Moon to be exact, I must say it is so nice to finally meet you… mother.” “What nonsense do you speak? I have born no children in the last century or longer. Now speak the truth, or I shall pull it from thy tongue by force!” Nightmare Moon chuckled, moving closer to Luna, who backed away. “Well, I thought calling you my mother would be the simplest explanation, you are responsible for my existence, yet I guess we could be called sisters. I guess it really depends on what you consider a clone. A child, a sibling, or maybe an impostor, whichever you choose doesn’t bother me.” A clone, those bastards made a clone of her! When she finds them, she’s gonna send them straight to the moon and then bring them back and do it again, before crushing them to paste! “I would choose impostor. We may share the same blood, but we are nothing alike!” “I wouldn’t be so quick to judge, after all…” Nightmare’s appearance suddenly changes, contorting into an exact copy of Luna. “We look so much alike. I would also point out that we do share many of the same thoughts and emotions. I simply choose to go on a different path.” “You know nothing of my life!” Nightmare chuckled again, it was really starting to grate on Luna’s nerves! Just what was so funny! Nightmare circled around her, seemingly lost in thought, Luna considered attacking her then and there, when she began talking again, “When you and Celestia were teens you both came upon a village in trouble. The village was being attacked by bandits and required help. You wanted to train the villagers to protect themselves, while Celestia chose to defend them. You both argued for days about what to do, protecting the village all the while. When it seemed the bandits had been taken care of while you debated, you two moved on. You happened to travel back to the same village by yourself one day and found it sacked and burned to the ground. I believe that is the day you began to resent your sister’s “we can protect everypony” policy. Celestia didn’t like fighting; she would rather fight for others then let them fight for themselves. That’s when you first began to resent her, isn’t it?” Luna slowly backed away, her mouth agape with shock. No pony should know that no pony could! That happened hundreds of years ago! There was no possible way for this imposter to have that knowledge! “How do you know that? Just because we share blood, doesn’t mean we share memories! Explain yourself!” “Isn’t blood magic amazing, Luna?” Nightmare chuckled, appearing behind her in a puff of black mist. “Our blood connects us, it lets me tap deep down into that little noggin of yours and see everything that’s ever happened in your life and everything you ever felt. Feelings like your burning hatred for Celestia, don’t you just wish you could gather up the courage put her down? Think of all the lives you could save from her weak-minded thinking.” “No! You’re wrong! I don’t hate my sister! I-I-I love her! She’s my only family! I could never…” “Abandon her?” Nightmare interjected, “Like she abandoned you? Left you all alone for fifty years, not wanting to hear your pleas for help because it might raise a fuss with the nobles if she did. After all, she is the big sister, older and wiser then you could ever hope to be, why does she need to listen to you, the little sister?” Tears roll down Luna’s cheeks, she tried to shake away the dark thoughts, the feelings she’s kept hidden from everypony, but they wouldn’t go away. They stayed, taunting her like the nobles and many others had over the years. “Celestia… my sister isn’t like that! We may share different ideas about how to do things, but she respects and values me.” Nightmare Moon’s face appeared in front of Luna, her ever mocking smile present. “If that’s true, why does she second guess everything you say? Why must you defend your idea, yet she doesn’t? Why are you automatically wrong about anything and everything? Face it, Luna, your just your sister’s little soldier, met to be seen, but not heard.” “Shut up…” “You know I’m right, Luna, its ok, give in, let the darkness out. Show Celestia and her sun-loving ponies just how powerful you really are.” “I SAID SHUT UP!” Black inky darkness pooled around Luna’s hooves, crawling up her body, turning her coat black as night, the darkness clung to her like a shroud, covering her, protecting her, empowering her. This was the same power she felt when she fought in Rainbow Factory, but much more potent. Why she felt like she could block out the sun! “Feels good, doesn’t?” Nightmare said, creating a mirror for Luna to look in. The Princess of the Night gasped, looking at herself. She was taller may be as tall as Celestia, maybe even taller. Her mane was longer with black and silver mixed in with the usual blue and purple. And her coat, her coat was pitch black, the same as Nightmare Moon’s. “What… what’s happened to me.” “You finally stopped holding yourself back.” Nightmare said, circling around her. “This is the real you, your true form. You can feel it right, the power, the power that Celestia fears, the power that can surpass her. Equestria only needs one Princess, Luna, and it’s you, why bother with that weakening of a sister. With your power, no pony will dare to ever attack the ponies we love again. No pony will dare question us or tell us what to do. We will rule all.” Luna backed away from Nightmare; her horn charged for attacking, “There is no we! I have no desire to overthrow my sister. I may be more powerful than before, but even you must realize that it will not be enough to take Celestia down, not without leaving us valuable to attacks afterward.” Nightmare grinned, “How right you are, if you were to attack Celestia now, the margin for victory would be slim, so about we stack the deck a bit, shall we?” “What are you…?” Luna didn’t get the chance to finish as Nightmare dissolved into a cloud of black mist and pounced, forcing Luna to inhale the black mist. She coughed and bulked, trying to disperse the smoke, but it kept forcing itself down her throat like a lousy drink, till finally, the fog was gone. Leaving what once two as one. With this power, yes, she could defeat her sister. Once she did that, she would take Celestia’s magic for her own and take control of the sun, and after that, no pony or otherwise would dare cross her. She would be the ruler of both day and night! Luna began to laugh, loudly, and hysterically. She was in the middle of a full-blown evil cackle, she heard the sound of a twig snap. “Who is there?” From the bushes, Emerald gasped as the dark Princess’s eyes turn her way. She had arrived just as the black mist entered Luna. Quietly she slowly began to back away when that chilling voice spoke. “And where are you going?” The black pony that had been Princess Luna asked stalking towards her. “I don’t believe I said you could leave Emerald.” Emerald continued to back away as Luna’s horn began to glow. Hesitantly she lit her own horn, but the light wilting as the Princess towered over her. “Don’t worry, I won't hurt my friends, you’re still my friend right, Emerald? You weren’t going to, oh say, warn my sister, right?” Fearfully Emerald shook her head, her body filling to the brim with terror as the Princess frowned at her. “I don’t like liars, Emerald. I really don’t. You should have been honest, Emerald. Now have to hurt you.” “Princess Luna, please, you’re not well!” “I’m not LUNA!” The Princess screams angrily, rearing up, “I am NIGHTMARE MOON!” She brought her hooves down.