Chapter 15: The Darkness Before The Dawn
“Is everypony alright?”
Twilight nodded as the ENTD system deactivated, steam hissing from Raising Heart’s vents as she pulled the staff back and against her side. “I think so, Princess. Fate?”
Fate exhaled as her Zanber faded into a spray of golden sparks, Bardiche’s head rotating back to Selene Form with a loud click and a hiss of steam. Rivulets of sweat ran down her neck as her horn guttered out. “I’m fine sis… exhausted, but fine.”
Twilight nodded, turning to glance at the havoc they had wrecked. The combined attacks that the three of them had unleashed on Nahctwal’s avatar had utterly demolished the landscape. A vast chunk of the ground, easily as large as a hoofball field, had been turned into so much smoking, blackened glass from the combined heat, force and magic that the three of them had unleashed. Twilight had never seen so much destruction in her life.
“Um… Princess?” Twilight glanced nervously at Celestia.
“Yes, Twilight?”
“Do you think Princess Luna will be mad when she sees what a mess we’ve made of the moon?”
Celestia shook her head. “I’m sure she’ll understand, given the circumstances. After all, she did ask us to blast it at full power…”
And as if in answer to Celestia’s statement, a dark blue portal formed in mid-air. There was a soft hiss as a swirl of royal blue stardust whispered out of it, quickly reforming into Princess Luna. The dark mare shook out her mane as she walked towards the others, Fate quickly running up to meet her.
“Teacher! You’re alright!”
“Of course. The deed has been done. Twilight, I believe this belongs to you?”
Twilight gasped as Luna’s wing unfurled, the Element of Magic hovering in Luna’s grasp. She trotted over, letting the Moon Princess set the crown on her brow. “Thank you, Princess. Um… sorry about the moon.”
“Hmm?”
Twilight gestured past Luna to the blasted expanse. Luna looked, then sighed and shook her head. “Our moon has seen far worse calamities, Twilight, and yet still it endures. But now is not the time to worry about such trivialities. Our work is not yet done.”
Twilight took a step back as a distant rumbling noise filled the air, like a volcano threatening to erupt. A sphere of darkness slowly formed in the center of the glassy plain, darker than the space between the stars and just as ominous. The sphere pulsed, then began to swell outwards like a balloon attached to a faucet..
“Is… is that…” Twilight swallowed as Luna nodded, her ears folding back.
“It seems so,” Luna replied as the sphere continued to swell. “When the three of you destroyed the monster’s avatar, you forced Nachtwal to flee from the Book’s inner workings. The beast has been flushed from the den in which it hid, but now it stirs and grows ever-more wrathful.”
And then, there was a soft humming noise as a small circular pane of light formed in the air before them, ringed with runes. “Hello? Can anypony hear me? This is Enforcer Harlaown…”
“Chrono!” Twilight shouted as the image within the communication window cleared up, revealing the navy-haired Enforcer. “Yes, we can hear you! Are you alright?”
“A bit worse for the wear all around, but we’ll survive. The Arthra is closing in on your location now. Is everything alright?”
Twilight blinked as she and the other mares glanced skyward. Far in the distance, she could see a shining, tuning-fork shape ship float across the starry sky. Twilight glanced back to Chrono and nodded. “Sort of… it’s complicated.”
“Enforcer Harlaown, this is Princess Luna.” The dark princess leaned in, frowning into the field of view. “Has the situation aboard the Arthra been contained?”
“Yes, your Majesty. The ship’s been restored to it’s rightful command.”
“Excellent. Please bring the Admiral on the line.”
“Yes ma’am. Admiral?”
The view shifted with a flicker to Lindy. Twilight winced. Lindy looked miserable, with her messy hair and her slumped posture. Yuuno stood by her side, his hand resting on the back of the headrest. “Admiral Harlaown at your service, your Majesty,” she said weakly. “I apologize for my current unprofessional appearance. Mutinies are hell on the hair, after all.”
“Completely understandable, Admiral,” Luna replied. “We would expect nothing less. Are your ship and crew at the ready?”
“We are. We’re well within teleportation range, and our Arc-en-Ciel is fully charged. If you want, we can teleport you out and initiate a strike at any time.”
“Nay. We do, however, believe that we will require the use of-”
“Um… Teacher,” Fate said. “I don’t want to interrupt, but there’s something happening…”
Twilight turned, then blinked, raising a hoof to her brow as a quintet of twinkling, star-like balls of light formed in the air above, almost directly opposite of the swelling black sphere of doom.
“What in Equestria,” Twilight began, then winced as the balls of light landed, then exploded into beams of colored light. They were lined up in a single row, two beams of colored energy flanking a pillar of white light.
“Are we getting a sensor reading off of that?!” Lindy called over the screen as the light-beams slowly began to shrink inwards bit by bit.
The four outer beams dwindled away first, revealing four very familiar individuals. The Wolkenritter stood at attention, each one in the center of a glowing Belkan triangle. However, their appearances were notably different, thanks to the alterations made to their Knight Clothing. Each one, in addition to their original clothing, now wore a flowing cape and a high-pointed witch’s hat, the fabric color matching their magical color.
“As clouds, we knights gather,” Signum intoned formally, raising her head to look at the other ponies. “To shield our Mistress.”
“So long as our Mistress lives,” Zafira growled, an ear flicking as he spoke, “so too shall we live, for her sake.”
“And as long as life remains in us,” Shamal stated, her eyes hard with determination, “we shall stand together as one, for her sake.”
“We are the Wolkenritter,” Vita stated, her own wizard’s hat having a small stuffed bunny’s head pinned to its band. “And we shall never fall again in the service of our Mistress, The Great and Powerful Trixie!”
The last pillar of light collapsed inwards, revealing Trixie herself, a glowing Belkan triangle slowly rotating about her hooves. A great staff hovered at her side, which caused Twilight to gape a little. It was easily twice as long as Raising Heart and gleaming gold. The head was a large five-pointed star, the center open and the tips decorated with small blue gems at each point. A great length of glittering blue silk was tied at the neck of the staff, swirling down its length as Trixie swung the staff about.
I should have expected something like that, Twilight thought to herself as she eyed that massive Device.
A Device’s size has little bearing on its capabilities, my Master, Raising Heart noted idly.
“Taking to the stage, in her long awaited debut,” Trixie shouted as she lifted the staff high into the air. The center of the star glowed as a ball of white light formed inside it, then flittered down to hover before Trixie. “Brightest Light in the Darkest Hour, shine down on me! Reinforce! SET UP!”
“UNISON IN!”
And then, white light erupted from Trixie as the sphere entered her chest. Bands of magical light swirled about her limbs, forming white boots with angular golden trim and soles. A white tunic formed over her chest as a white cloak with gleaming golden stars unfurled about her neck, pinned together at the nape of her neck by a gleaming, star-shaped blue jewel. A white wizard’s hat appeared on her head, the stars and hatband golden as well.
However, that wasn’t the only thing that changed about Trixie. There was a bell-like tone as her eyes opened, her eyes visibly shifting from purple to bright, glowing red. Her mane and tail lengthened, flashing from blue-white to silver. Finally, a pair of white wings unfurled from above her back, hovering and glowing above her withers.
“Now,” Trixie said with a note of triumph, “that is how you make an entrance, wouldn’t you say?”
---
“Mistress…”
Trixie blinked and turned as the Wolkenritter closed around her. Vita was the first to run to her, her hat falling backwards off her head as she slung her arms around Trixie’s neck. Trixie blushed, running a hoof through Vita’s red hair.
Signum quietly removed her hat as she spoke. “I believe I speak for all of us when I say this… thank you for bringing us back”
Trixie snorted softly. “As if Trixie would let you stay dead. Trixie would never forgive herself if she simply let her assistants vanish like that. Besides, Reinforce deserves your thanks as well.”
There was a soft thrum as a small, phantasmal alicorn appeared beside Trixie’s head, her wings flapping as she hovered. “I know this doesn’t begin to address the debt owed to you four, but…”
“It is a start,” Signum replied. “Far be it for me to hold Nachtwal’s actions against you now…”
“Thank you, Knight Signum…”
“You’re… looking better, Mistress,” Shamal said, her eyes wide as she looked Trixie over.
“Trixie feels like a new mare,” she grinned.
“That’s because your Linker Core has been restored to its full power,” Reinforce replied. “Much of the damage to your body has been fixed as well, allowing you to draw on your full magical potential. It may also be an effect of my Unison with you…”
“Right… whatever it is,” Trixie shook her head, leaning her new staff against her side. She then winced as the long weapon tilted over her back and landed with a ‘clunk’ on the ground. “Trixie feels like she can take on anything.”
“I certainly hope so,” Celestia smiled playfully as she approached, Twilight and the others following behind her. “Welcome back, my little pony.”
Trixie blinked, gently pulling away from Vita and bowing her head to Celestia and Luna. “T-thank you, your Majesty. Trixie must admit, she owes all of you a great debt… even you, Twilight Sparkle.”
Twilight shrugged. “I just helped out. The Princesses deserve most of the credit for saving you. Not to mention that you were the one who stood up to Nachtwal…”
“I hate to interrupt,” came a voice from a floating panel of light. Trixie frowned as Chrono leaned into the field of view, clearing his throat, “but we have a problem. That black sphere is getting progressively bigger. And if our sensor readings are right… that thing is Nachtwal.”
“You’re correct,” Reinforce said, her eyes closed. “Nachtwal is using the stolen magic to build itself a new avatar. However, unlike the previous one, this new body will likely be designed for a single purpose; the destruction of everything in this system, including the Book of Darkness.”
“Isn’t that a bit at odds with its purpose as a defense program?”
“Nachtwal is no longer a simple defense program. It never was.” Reinforce shuddered. “The original program was implanted in my system in order to serve as an alternative administrative program, supplanting the original defense protocols. However, its exposure to the Examia shard corrupted it… and after a thousand years of negative emotions felt by both myself and the Knights, it has become a monster.”
“Its madness has likely grown worse now,” Celestia glanced to Luna as the dark princess spoke. “We have done great damage to it, enough that it has fled with the Examia shard…”
“If it is in direct possession of the Examia shard, then destroying it will likely be nearly impossible,” Reinforce said sadly. “Its madness and hatred will feed into the shard, providing it with increasing levels of energy. This, in addition to its defensive capabilities, will make fighting it a suicidal proposition at best…”
“Then it would likely be best if we performed an Arc-en-Ciel strike” Chrono said. “It won’t matter how powerful it is, it won’t survive a dimensional dislocation event…”
“Chrono, you’re also talking about vaporizing a good chunk of my sister’s moon,” Celestia said firmly. “Harmony knows what that would do to it…”
Reinforce nodded in agreement. “And unless you hit the shard, then Nachtwal will simply regenerate from the strike… and I doubt that it will allow you to get off a second one. It would swat the Arthra out of the sky.”
“Well, does anyone have any better ideas?” Chrono glanced at the Wolkenritter. “Anyone?”
“I don’t think we can be of much use,” Zafira growled irritably, crossing his arms.
“This is far beyond any of our expertise,” Shamal said apologetically, the wide brim of her new hat hiding her eyes. “Sorry.”
“Can’t we just smash it?” Vita asked, picking up her fallen hat and dusting it off before jamming it onto her head. “I mean, it’s a big monster. We’re used to fighting monsters. We can just keep hitting it until it stops working.”
“I’m completely fine with that,” Trixie noted.
“That’s unlikely to work,” Reinforce shook her head. “Unless we can locate the core and extract it somehow-”
“Then let’s do that.”
The Wolkenritter and the other ponies turned as Twilight spoke up. The purple mare blushed, then coughed. “That’s a viable strategy, isn’t it? If we can locate the core and extract it, then we should be able to put Nachtwal down once and for all. We-”
“That’s easier said than done,” Trixie snorted. “Unless you think-”
“Hold,” Luna said, raising a hoof. “Let us hear her out.”
“Thank you, Princess Luna… as I was saying, we have the capabilities. With our combined offensive power, the Elements of Harmony, Shamal’s extraction abilities and Yuuno’s sealing magic, we might be able to defeat Nachtwal permanently.”
“Are you serious?” Chrono blinked.
“Definitely.” Twilight looked to Celestia, “Princess, we’re going to need the girls and Cadence here, now.” Twilight paused for a moment, then brought both front hooves to her lips. “Oh gosh, I didn’t mean to order you around like that Princess…”
Celestia chuckled at Twilight’s nervous expression. “It’s alright Twilight. If you’ll excuse me, everyone, I think I have an errand to run.”
Twilight swallowed as Celestia vanished in a flash of light before looking to Chrono. “Chrono, can you and the others come down here as well? We’re going to need every hand and hoof to make this work…”
“We’ll be there as soon as we can, Twilight.”
Trixie coughed and adjusted her white hat, drawing Twilight’s attention to her. “Well, Sparkle, it seems that Trixie will be allying with you in a more… active role now.”
Twilight nodded. “That’s not going to be a problem, is it?”
“Oh no. Just stay out of Trixie’s way.” Trixie bared her teeth as she lifted her Device, her telekinetic field flaring as she hefted the heavy staff up and pointed it at Twilight. “Trixie has a bone or twelve to pick with that snake. Stealing Trixie’s magic, putting her in a coma, trying to horribly kill her… Trixie could maybe forgive all of that, if it weren’t for one small thing…”
“Oh?”
“Yes. That beast hurt Trixie’s assistants. Trixie can not, and will not abide by that.” Trixie glanced back at the Wolkenritter with a smirk. “After all, only Trixie gets to abuse her assistants. Isn’t that right?”
Signum shook her head and sighed. “As is our Mistress’s prerogative…”
Vita smirked, hands on her hips as she pushed her cape back over her shoulders.. “Wouldn’t have it any other way, Trixie.”
Trixie turned back as Twilight laughed. “What’s so funny?”
“It’s odd,” Twilight giggled softly. “I guess I’m just glad that you’ve finally got some friends, Trixie…”
Trixie huffed and snorted. “Laugh all you like, Sparkle. Trixie’s friends are clearly superior to those ponies you call friends…”
“Are we really going to fight over this?” Fate stepped in between Trixie and Twilight, shaking her head. “Can this wait until after Nachtwal is dealt with?”
“Trixie agrees with your younger sister, Sparkle.”
“Well, I think I’d be willing to put aside our, ahem, ‘rivalry’ for the time being, Trixie,” Twilight replied.
“Good.”
“Although…” Twilight glanced up at the massive staff, “I have to wonder about why your… ahem… staff is so big.”
“It was at her request,” Reinforce replied simply. “My original plans were a bit more… modest.”
“Yes. And your original plans involved a big, pointy crucifix. I’m sick of crosses.” Trixie leaned up and nuzzled one of the points at the tip of her staff. “Hellstestern, my Bright Star, is definitely superior.”
And more than a little self-referential, Twilight appended mentally, then glanced about. “But what did you do with the Book?”
“It is here,” Reinforce flicked her head as a large tome materialized beside Trixie. Instead of the brown cover with the golden cross, the new book bore a gleaming white cover with an elaborate five-pointed star in blue and silver. “I just now finished altering the outer cover to match the new administrative control.”
“And you did an excellent job,” Trixie replied, letting the Book land on her hoof.
“May we inspect your hoofwork?” Luna asked.
Trixie glanced to Reinforce, who nodded slowly. “Of course, your Highness.”
Luna nodded, levitating the book up gently and looking it over. “An excellent design. It seems that Reinforce truly has chosen you as her Mistress.”
“Do you disapprove?” Reinforce sounded a bit nervous.
“Nay,” Luna floated the book back over. “We do not. We are… happy that you have found somepony to stand beside you.”
Trixie nodded, glancing to Reinforce. “See? No problems at all.”
Reinforce nodded quietly in agreement, though her body seemed to flicker oddly as Trixie glanced away. Twilight glanced over at Luna, noting the dark princess‘s faint frown.
Why do I get the feeling that’s not entirely true?
---
The rallying point had been set; the destination being a large outcropping of stone near the edge of the Mare Ventis. The outcropping was high enough that Chrono could see the entire valley, as well as the thing that pulsed at its center.
Chrono frowned as he leaned against S4U, staring quietly at the massive black dome that dominated the valley. That thing looks big enough to swallow Ponyville whole, with room left over, he mused. Who knows what sort of horror is going to crawl out of that thing.
Behind him, he could hear Twilight’s joyful reunion with her friends. Yuuno, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy and Rarity had promptly tackled Twilight to the ground in an embrace, while Applejack was busy talking with Rainbow Dash and giving her a piece of her mind. Then again, Applejack had had some misgivings about Rainbow joining Chrono’s away team. Not that it mattered now. Arf, meanwhile, was cradling Fate and snuggling her like a baby, causing the golden filly to squirm and blush. Shining Armor and Cadence had quietly embraced, the pink mare tutting over the Captain’s injuries.
Chrono looked upwards towards the Arthra, then shook his head and sighed, his stomach fluttering a little. This was it…
“Chrono?”
The young Enforcer glanced to the side, blinking at Princess Cadence as she approached. “Princess,” he replied.
“Are you alright?”
Chrono nodded. “I’ve been better, but all things considered, I’ll survive…” He paused as Cadence’s horn lit up, blue light flowing into him as he felt a sudden jolt of energy. “Whew… thank you…”
“It’s not much,” Cadence replied sheepishly. “I’m not very good at fighting like Celestia and Luna, but I’m not that bad at supportive magic. I‘ve already given everyone else a recovery boost” Cadence glanced about. “Where’s Spike and Lady Schach? Didn’t they-”
“I asked Spike to stay aboard the Arthra. Schach’s there as well, keeping an eye on the prisoners in case they try something…”
“I see.”
Chrono exhaled. “Was there something else, Princess?”
Cadence nodded. “There is… though I’m not sure you’d like to hear it.”
“Well, out with it then…”
“Admiral Graham woke up for a while after you and the others left.”
Chrono tried his best not to let his emotions show. Cadence slowly unfurled her wing, producing a white metal card and presenting it to him. “He asked me to give this to you. He said you’d have a better use for it than he did.”
Numbly, Chrono took the card, the blue rhomboid gem glowing gently as he looked at it. “Is that so?” His voice strained to stay neutral.
“He did… I believe he referred to it as Durandal, the Staff of Freezing.”
“I see…”
Cadence scuffed a hoof gently on the ground. “Um… Chrono. I know it’s not my business to pry, but-”
Chrono shook his head, lifting S4U and resting it against his shoulder. “I’ll deal with him later… we’ve got more important things to worry about right now.”
Cadence nodded as Chrono walked past her, heading back to the group. “Ahem! Can I have everyone’s attention, please?”
The chatter quietly died down as Chrono spoke, a transmission window popping in with Lindy and Amy in the pane. “We don’t have much time, so I’ll be brief. That thing,” he gestured to the massive black sphere with his staff, “is Nachtwal. In a few minutes, that sphere is going to vanish, revealing Nachtwal’s new avatar. When that happens, we’ll be forced into combat with it. I don’t think it bears repeating that if we don’t stop it, then there won’t be anything between it and the rest of Equestria.
“Now, I think Twilight might have a plan of some sort to stop this thing. Twilight?”
“Thank you.” Twilight coughed, looking around the group. “Though I have to stress, this is only theoretical. I’m not sure if it’ll even work, but it’s our best bet right now.”
“Essentially, Nachtwal’s actual ‘body’ is the core. It’s a small jewel that the actual… thing is using as a power source. It’s also its greatest weakness. If we can force Nachtwal out of the core, then we can finally destroy it.”
“How they hay are we going to do that?” Rainbow Dash glanced at Twilight.
“Simple,” Twilight exhaled. “The plan comes in four steps. First, our main forces attack Nachtwal’s avatar. We batter down its defenses and smash it with everything we got. That’s only step one, though.”
Twilight glanced to Shamal. “Step two involves Shamal. Using her magic abilities and aided by myself and the Arthra, she will try to locate Nachtwal’s core. When she does, Shamal will use her extraction ability to separate the core from the avatar.”
“The third step involves myself and the other Elements of Harmony,” Twilight looked to her friends. “We’ll use the Elements of Harmony and blast the core. With luck, Nachtwal will be forced to escape from the core out of self-preservation. When it does, Yuuno, Arf, and Shamal will nail it down with as many seals as they can manage. Yuuno will then forcibly teleport Nachtwal,” Twilight looked skyward, “into orbit, where the Arthra is stationed.”
“Which brings us to step four,” Lindy said with a thin smile. “Where we annihilate it with the Arc-en-Ciel.”
“Will that work, though?” Arf asked.
“Don’t underestimate the power of the Bureau,” Amy said, lifting a thumbs up. “If you get that thing up here, then it’s toast. Nothing survives a hit from the Arc-en-Ciel.”
“I have to admit,” Twilight groused, rubbing her mane, “it’s not the best plan. There’s a lot of ways this could go wrong.”
“How so?”
“Well, just off the top of my head, Nachtwal could be immune to our spells. It could have some way of regenerating any damage we deal to it. It could teleport away and reappear on Equestria. Our spells could just bounce off. It could blast us out of the sky…”
“I think we get it, sis,” Fate interrupted.
Rainbow Dash glanced around. “Well… I don’t know about everypony else, but I love this plan. I’m excited to be a part of it! Let’s do it!”
“Wait, Rainbow,” Twilight raised a hoof, pushing the pegasus down. “I need you to stay here with the others.”
“What?!”
“One of us going out there is bad enough,” Twilight said. “But if both of us go down…”
“I don’t know if you haven’t noticed, Twi,” Rainbow tapped a hoof to her chest, “but I’m wearing a Barrier Jacket now. I’ll be fine! I can take whatever this thing dishes out! Besides, you’re gonna need all the help you can get, right?”
“But Rainbow-”
“I have to admit,” Chrono interrupted, “Twilight has a point. I don’t think we need this to be a repeat of what happened at Neighagra.”
“But it w- you know what, fine.” Rainbow puffed out her cheeks in irritation. “I’ll just sit here and be useless then…”
“You won’t be useless, Rainbow,” Twilight replied, “You’ll just be… on reserve! In case something really bad happens. Isn’t that right, Chrono?”
Chrono blinked. “Um… right.”
Rainbow quirked an eyebrow. “Seriously?”
“Yeah! And besides… what happens if something slips past us? If something were to get past Shining, then you’d be the last line of defense…”
Rainbow seemed to mull it over for a moment before looking at Twilight. “I guess that works… I mean, I am the most awesome pegasus here right now, no offense to Fluttershy. So it falls to me to be the cavalry, huh?”
“Exactly,” Twilight nodded earnestly.
“Alright. I think I can handle that. Just don’t go and get shot up, okay?”
“I’ll try not to,” Twilight replied as Rainbow trotted off, then looked up at Chrono and wiped her brow.
“I have to admit, that was pretty smooth,” Chrono joked softly, causing Twilight to look down.
“I’m just glad she went along with it,” she replied in a hushed tone. “I don’t want a repeat of what happened at Neighagra… especially not right now. If something happened…”
“If something happens, it happens,” Chrono replied. “Don’t start freaking out on me, Twilight.”
The unicorn glanced up at him, causing him to quirk an eyebrow in confusion. “What?”
“How can you be so calm and matter-of-fact right now, Chrono? I don’t know about you, but my stomach’s all butterflies right now, thinking about how-”
“Just focus on the task at hand, Twilight,” Chrono replied. “If you start thinking about all the things that could go wrong, then they’ll likely go wrong. Focus on the job at hand. Trust in your team. That’s all you can do.”
Twilight nodded. “Right.”
“To arms, one and all,” Luna shouted. “Let the mobilization commence!”
Chrono glanced away as Twilight took to the air, glancing at the gleaming white card in his hand.
Very well, an old memory whispered in the vaults of his mind. If this is what you want, child, then I’ll help you. But remember this; when you become an Enforcer your duty is to the Bureau, not to your desire for revenge. Your duty is to seek out and find those who would do harm to our worlds. And it is not an easy or simple task.
No, Admiral, Chrono agreed as he flicked the card into the air, a blast of cold washing over him as Durandal assembled in the air. It isn’t easy or simple.
He grabbed the staff in his injured hand, S4U held in his good hand as he took to the air, following the others.
---
Twilight tried to steady herself as she flew over the massive black dome that hid Nachtwal from view, the wings of her Flier Fin gently flapping as she came to a stop and began hovering. Vita floated up beside her with her hammer resting against one shoulder, while Celestia herself took up a position higher in the air.
Twilight glanced off to the side as Yuuno floated up past her, giving her a quick thumbs up as he placed himself between them and Celestia, landing on a slowly spinning spell-circle. She nodded in reply, then shook herself, her ears folding back.
“Scared, Sparkle?”
Twilight glanced over to Vita. “Yeah… you?”
“Nah.” Vita swung Graf Eisen down, then rolled her shoulders as she took a tight grip of its handle. “I’m used to this kind of stuff. Now though? I’m just going to enjoy pounding Nachtwal until it’s a messy smear on the ground.”
Can everyone hear me?
Twilight blinked as she heard the telepathic voice in her head. Amy?
Yup! I’ve patched the three strike teams unto the Arthra’s communications net. We’ll be serving as mission control for the time being. We’ve also got sensors trained on the battle, so we’ll be doing our best to analyze the target.
Thank you. Twilight inhaled, glancing over to Raising Heart. “Raising Heart?”
“YES?”
“Be ready to initiate Stargazer Form on my command…”
“YES MY MASTER.”
Twilight glanced down at the sphere. Truthfully, she hoped that Stargazer wouldn’t be needed, but in this sort of situation she’d rather be safe than sorry. She remembered back to when Luna told them about the systems.
Three hundred seconds, Twilight thought to herself. Five minutes. After that, the auto-shutdown kicks in…
“Here it comes!”
Twilight blinked, then quickly took aim with Raising Heart as it shifted to Prominence Form. The dark sphere pulsed, then began to fracture, red light spilling out from the wide cracks along the sphere’s surface.
And then it shattered.
What emerged from the sphere wasn’t quite what Twilight expected. It resembled a gigantic arrowhead; broad, flat and diamond-shaped, and easily over a thousand feet long and several hundred feet wide. Red lightning crackled along its underside as it hovered above the ground. Its surface was like blackened glass, gleaming, glossy and reflective, while thin patterns of red light traced along the edges. Pyramid-shaped barbs protruded in two long rows down the center from fore to aft like the dorsal spikes of a dragon.
“What the hell?! When did it decide to turn into a ship?!” Vita snarled.
“It doesn’t matter what shape it takes,” Twilight replied as she took aim, then blinked as dozens of thin slits formed in the upper side of the ‘ship,’ lining the outer edge. The slits then opened, revealing… eyes. Large, unblinking red eyes with serpentine pupils that glowed purple and rimmed in black flame.
“Everyone,” Celestia shouted as several of the eyes turned to look in their direction, “Move!”
“Raising Heart,” Twilight shouted, “DRIVE ON!”
“FRAME OPEN!”
And then the shooting started. Thick beams of red light flashed out from the eyes, sizzling past Twilight and the others as they scattered out of the way. Twilight herself dove quickly, doing her best to swerve around the beams as firing loops formed around Raising Heart’s tip.
“Prominence Buster! Fire!”
A thunderous boom echoed as Raising Heart fired her beam, the ray of pink light slashing down towards the ship, only for the blast to scatter harmlessly against the thing’s skin.
Target has resisted the attack, Master, Raising Heart noted.
“So I noticed,” Twilight shouted back. Amy!
We’re scanning as quickly as we can, Twilight. Just hang in there…
---
Fate swooped about rapidly, the crimson beams lancing past her as she flew. Each beam was nearly as big as one of Twilight’s Divine Busters, and likely just as powerful. The air sizzled as Fate dove down, flying at full speed over the glittering black carapace of the ship. In the distance, she could see the tell-tale lights of attack spells streaking down and slamming harmlessly against Nachtwal.
There has to be some weak point, she thought to herself. Something that isn’t shielded…
“SIR, INCOMING ANTI-PERSONELL ATTACKS.”
“What?!” Fate blinked, then quickly rolled to the side. Mouths had opened on the carapace beneath her, lined with gleaming, drooling fangs. Thin tendrils vomited forth, ending in long, sharply barbed stingers that lunged towards Fate, seeking to stab at her.
There was a rapid thrumming as Bardiche switched to Crescent Form, the energy blades flashing to life as Fate slashed her way through the forest of tentacles. The flesh sizzled out and vanished into flakes of black ash as she struck, the mouths closing quickly as she flew past.
“Bardiche! Astray Form!”
“YES SIR! ASTRAY FORM, SET UP!”
There was a brilliant flash of golden light as Fate’s Barrier Jacket switched out, the cloak dissolving into a quartet of golden jets as armor pulled back from her four limbs. “Drive On!”
“FRAME OPEN! ASTRAY CHARGER, TURN ON!”
There was a roar as Fate rocketed along, Bardiche’s crescent blade like a swirling cloud of death as she flew, leaving behind a golden contrail as she flashed by. Her eyes darted rapidly as she flew, then quickly ascended, the tendrils following her upwards.
Let’s try this then, she thought to herself as she turned sharply, drawing Bardiche over her head. “ASTRAY ARC!”
She swung, sending a buzz-sawing blade of plasma downwards, slicing through the attacking tentacles in the blink of an eye. The mouths, however, quickly snapped shut as the crescent neared, causing the blade to slam and shatter against the gleaming black carapace.
“Damn…” Fate hissed, turning quickly as she heard the tell-tale slithering noise of the tentacles… which were closing in on her quite fast.
At least until a snake-like whip of blades sliced through them, rasping like unfurling chains.
“It would be wise not to pause like that,” Signum shouted, whipping her sword-handle backwards. The ribbon of blades swirled about Fate, cleaving easily through the tentacles.
“Much obliged, Signum,” Fate shouted back, quickly darting upwards. Signum soon joined her, Laevatein quickly reforming into its Schwertform as they ascended.
“It seems this monster has adjusted to our combat strategies,” Signum noted. “Its armor is impervious to most spells, and its attacks are frighteningly quick…”
“I know, but there’s got to be something we can exploit…”
Signum shook her head. “Patience, Testarossa-Sparkle. Soon enough, an opportunity may present itself. Then we can strike.”
---
Trixie rolled to one side, the massive crimson laser flashing past her as she dodged. Her magical wings left a trail of fluttering down as she flew, her head swimming as she tried to keep up. She wasn’t used to flying like this, to say the least; she was just thankful that Reinforce was handling the flight for her.
And Twilight makes it look so easy, she thought to herself as Hellstestern floated at her side, the massive staff glowing gently as she ascended. I just hope my stomach can keep up…
I’m sorry Mistress, Reinforce replied. I’ll do my best to keep the aerobatics to a minimum. However, I believe I’ve located a small blind spot outside of the eyes firing arcs… I will maneuver us into position.
“Trixie would appreciate that,” she replied as she banked and came to a halt. She could see the dancing lights of Chrono’s Stinger Snipe spells darting below, while flashes of orange light flickered out from Arf, vaporizing tentacles as they reached skyward. Zafira, meanwhile, was quickly rising up to meet her. “But the bigger question is; how do we hurt that thing?”
Nachtwal’s armored carapace is resisting energy and kinetic attacks. Unless we manage to locate a weak spot on the monster’s body, it is unlikely we will be able to do any significant damage.
“A weak spot? Do you really think that thing left any weak spots?” Trixie glanced over as Zafira moved up beside her. “Zafira, any ideas?”
“None, my Mistress,” the wolf-man responded gruffly. “Not even my Steel Yoke can penetrate its armor… wait, something’s happening!”
Trixie looked downwards. The long double-row of dorsal spikes began to thrum and elongate, shifting into obelisk-shaped spires that crackled with red lightning.
Everyone, Trixie heard Amy shout, Nachtwal’s doing something weird! Our sensors are picking up a massive electromagnetic surge coming from its surface. It’s also begun changing its orientation. It’s rotating eastward…
I see it Amy, Chrono commented. Anything from the scans?
Not yet. I’m not sure what the heck the stuff covering it is made of. It’s not in any of the databases-
Luna’s voice snapped across the connection. Harken to me everyone, I believe that we may have a predicament… look to the horizon!
Trixie glanced eastwards, then blinked as she saw the barest crescent of a blue-green world on the horizon. The red lightning began to intensify as the armor near the rear of the ’ship’ swelled upwards, starting to form into an enormous, lozenge-shaped bulge.
I’m not sure I like the look of that, Twilight chimed in.
Neither do I, Celestia added, and I think I know what it’s planning. It’s going to launch a kinetic strike on our planet!
It certainly seems like it, Amy added nervously. That bulge is giving off a similar emission pattern to our intersystem drives… but the readings are off the charts! If that thing launches…
Trust something Belkan-made to employ mass-based weaponry, Chrono growled. Any idea how we can stop it Amy?
I don’t know! I don’t even know how you can even damage it! Unless you can somehow drill down past its armor-
Actually, that may be possible…
Trixie blinked. “Reinforce?”
My archives do possess such a spell. If we were able to somehow weaken its armor, I should be able to penetrate through. And given that it seems to be diverting power towards this new attack, this may be the best chance we have…
How? Fate’s reply shot through hurriedly.
I don’t know…
What about thermal shock? Trixie frowned as Twilight spoke. A sufficiently massive shift in temperature could weaken the structural integrity-
Short version, Trixie called out.
If we expose its armor to alternating extremes of heat and cold, we might be able to weaken a segment of the armor enough to break through.
“I think we can do that,” Chrono called out as he flew up to Trixie, Arf following just behind him. Princess Celestia, would you mind obliging us?
Gladly.
Trixie blinked as a streak of golden and rainbow light shot across Nachtwal’s surface, then swooped upwards. Celestia banked, her glowing contrail staying in place behind her as she drew a wide ring in the air.
You might want to stay well away everyone. Things are about to get a bit warm…
Several streaks of light flew away as Celestia completed the circle. Trixie lifted a hoof as the circle rippled, then opened up. And then, fire came roaring through. A pillar of golden light slammed down into the surface of Nachtwal’s back, the black matter beginning to glow as Nachtwal let out a hideous, keening shriek.
She opened a portal directly into the sun‘s corona, Reinforce whispered almost fearfully. If it weren’t for the fact that she’s channeling the plasma with her magic, we’d likely be incinerated…
Alright Princess, it’s my turn. Chrono inhaled, lifting Durandal as a pale blue magic circle sprang up beneath his feet. Chrono swung the staff downwards, taking aim. “Alright… the aria…”
“I know this one,” Trixie said with a shiver. “Repeat with me…”
“Oh permafrost,” Trixie said, Chrono following along as the air began to glitter with frost, Chrono’s breath coming out in mist, “construct now a frozen tomb, and deliver eternal sleep unto this beast!”
The circle expanded as Celestia flashed away, the portal snapping shut with a loud, thunderous crack.
“S4U!” Chrono shouted, his good hand raising his other Device, crossing the black shaft with Durandal‘s white shaft, “LOAD CARTRIDGE, THREE SHOTS!”
Report after report cracked in the air, causing Chrono to shout as blue light rushed down S4U’s length, playing across Durandal as well.
“Freeze! Durandal!”
“ETERNAL COFFIN!”
Trixie drew back as a wave of cold washed over her, Zafira quickly moving in and raising a shield to protect her. A pillar of white light slashed downwards towards the still-glowing armor like an onrushing avalanche. There was a loud crackling as ice spread outwards from the impact point, growing like moss over the black armor and tall black obelisks. The lightning quickly stilled.
A S+ class spell, Reinforce commented. Cold enough to instantly lock anything in its area of effect into stasis-s-s…
Reinforce?
Sorry, Mistress. Stuttered there for a second…
“Trixie!” Chrono shouted as the wave of ice slowed to a trickle, the ice still slowly spreading, though it was beginning to pause…
“Right… Reinforce!” Trixie lifted Hellstestern high into the air above her. The Book flickered into existence before her, resting in an outstretched hoof as it opened and flipped its pages.
Repeat with me, Mistress…
“Wyrm that gnaws at the root of the world, harken now to these words of mine,” Trixie chanted, the alicorn‘s voice overlaid on hers. Purple lightning crackled from within Hellstestern’s center, then leapt upwards.
”Open wide thy maw and lend to me thy fangs, dripping with poison, to slay my foe!”
There was a roar of thunder as the bolts of purple lightning crackled and flashed. A six-pointed Belkan circle formed in the sky, two triangles laid over one another in the center as a portal opened. A great black auger descended from the portal, the vast, cone-shaped drill glittering with purple sparks of mana. A tether of white lightning crackled from the hind tip, lashing down and connecting to Hellstestern’s head.
“STRIKE WITH ALL THY MALICE! NIDHOGGR!”
There was a whine like a thousand jet engines roaring to life as the drill began to spin. Trixie grabbed her staff between her teeth and, with a swing of her neck, swung downwards. The drill plummeted like a guillotine’s blade, stabbing down towards Nachtwal.
The eyes on the creature’s back turned to look up at the approaching weapon and red beams of light blasted upwards, slamming into the drill. Bits of black stone flew in all directions as the rays ate at the broad threads of the bit, but didn’t slow the weapon by much. The sharp point slammed home with a loud crack, sending chunks of ice in all directions as sparks sprayed out in great concentric circles.
“Rrrrgh! Come on!” Trixie snarled, the tether crackling. “Punch through! We’re almost there!”
“Hang on Mistress, I got this! Graf Eisen!”
Trixie blinked as Vita shot past her. Trixie blinked as she heard three distinctive reports of the Cartridge system fire off as Vita skidded to a halt, swinging Graf Eisen above her head. A brilliant red Belkan triangle exploded out from beneath her feet.
“GIGANTFORM!” There was a loud, mechanical clanking as Graf Eisen’s head exploded, re-forming into a massive, octagonal head. The head was easily wider than Trixie’s barrel, but Vita held it as easily as a child’s toy.
“The iron hammer that crushes mountains!” Vita let out a shout, taking a hold of Graf Eisen’s red grip with both hands and swinging it about her head. Trixie’s eyes widened as the hammer’s shaft lengthened like a stretching rubber band, growing longer and longer before Vita swung it upwards. The head of the hammer glowed bright red, then grew outwards, ballooning to massive size in the span of a few heartbeats.
That thing’s bigger than the royal palace, Trixie thought in awe.
“GIGANTSCHLAG!”
The hammer dropped. The massive golden head slammed into the Nidhoggr drill, sending out a massive shockwave.
And then the drill punched through. Reddish-pink goop blasted up around the massive spike in thick, ropey gouts around the wound as Nachtwal screamed, the many eyes twitching about with dilated pupils.
“Yes! How does that feel you pile of gar-” Trixie paused in her exultation as a horrible stink reached her nostrils. It was like carrion, rancid grease and roofing tar all mixed together. Her stomach turned as she swallowed her bile.
“Did we kill it?” Arf’s voice was nasal as she pinched her nose shut.
There was a loud slurping noise as the red effluvium began to pulse. Red cracks spread outwards from the impact site. Steam exploded from the cracks as the armor began to segment, the gooey flesh surging up the drill and dragging it deeper.
“No,” Chrono said darkly, “ I think we just made it angry.”
“Good,” Trixie replied.
---
Twilight shot across Nachtwal’s surface, heading towards the squirming, pulsing mass of red goo that was sliding up from the fresh wound. She banked around the massive drill-bit that was impaled deep into Nachtwal’s surface, a few spheres of pink light drifting out in her wake.
Wide Area Search launched, my Master, Raising Heart reported as Twilight banked away, the spheres drifting down and slowly swerving, slipping into the wound as more red gunk fountained up.
“Good. Make sure to patch a link to Shamal’s Device too Raising Heart. Let’s just hope it can give us a peek inside this thing,” Twilight said as she ascended.
CRUNCH!
Twilight glanced back and swallowed. The massive wound had… metamorphosed. Enormous, stalactite-like teeth jutted out as the hole in the armor widened, thick, striated muscles pulling on the newly minted jaws. The enormous mouth had bit through the drill, causing the rest to topple over slowly as it chewed and gnashed against the stone.
And then the rest of the armor began to segment as well, twisting along the fracture lines from the drill’s impact. Large, conical spikes pushed outwards from the crevices as the outer edges of the ‘ship’ broke apart, forming into enormous, armored tentacles. Thick cords of viscous tissue and muscle glistened wetly in between chunks of black armor, the limbs ending in great, teardrop-shaped beaks, like hungry baby birds. However, most chicks didn’t have what looked like jagged knives lining the insides of their beaks. The beam-firing eyes closed, melding into the flesh as the arms lifted skyward.
That wasn’t the end of it, though. Vast jets of whitish mist belched outwards from the cracks in the monster’s armor, radiating a sharply chemical stink. Twilight felt her eyes begin tearing up and her nostrils burn from the smell even at her altitude. She climbed higher, shaking her head as she inhaled the cleaner air.
Be careful everyone, Amy’s voice called out. That mist Nachtwal is producing is extremely dangerous! Our sensors indicate it’s some form of highly acidic compound, but I‘m still trying to figure out its chemical make-up. Avoid contact with it at all costs!
Duly noted, Twilight replied, then cried out as one of those gigantic tentacles loomed over her, its massive maw opening wide. Air began to rush inwards as Twilight pulled back, the sudden vacuum pulling her inwards.
Which probably wasn’t the wisest decision. Twilight took aim as she was pulled towards the maw, a large sphere of light forming on Raising Heart’s tip.
“PROMINENCE BUSTER, FIRE!”
The magenta beam flashed out from Twilight’s staff, disappearing into the thing’s mouth. Nachtwal roared in pain as the tentacle pulled back, the bombardment spell carving along the side as the flesh inside the tentacle smoked and bubbled.
“CHAIN BIND!”
As it tried to pull away, however, a half-dozen green mana chains snapped around it like a collar, wrapping around it like a choke-collar on a dog. Twilight glanced upwards, then grinned as she saw Yuuno standing atop a large green Mid-Childan spell circle, both of his wrists encircled with ribbons of light as he clenched his fists, his teeth clenched tight with effort.
“Yuuno!”
“Nnngh! I can‘t hold it forever Twilight!” Yuuno pulled his arms back, the spell responding as the tentacle moved back towards Twilight, the chains creaking and groaning from the strain. “Take the shot! Blast it right down its throat!”
“You don’t have to tell me twice. Raising Heart!”
“PROMINENCE BUSTER,” the Device replied, firing loops forming as Twilight took aim.
“FIRE!”
The second blast flashed forth, spearing into the tentacle’s mouth and slamming into the back of its throat. Black and gray smoke billowed outwards as Twilight slowly pulled Raising Heart upwards, raking the beam along the upper surface of the tentacle until it reached the beak itself.
There was a loud, wet crunch as the Prominence Buster blew a hole in the upper lip of the beak. The chains fractured as dozens of spikes thrust outwards from chinks in the beast‘s armor, piercing through and shattering the bindings.
“Yuuno, hang on!” Twilight shouted as the young mage cried out, losing his balance as the spell broke apart.
There was a loud whine as the spikes launched, leaving trails of flame as they flew outwards in ballistic arcs, aiming towards Twilight and Yuuno like a rain of enormous needles.
Twilight turned, shooting up towards Yuuno. The spikes bore down on them both as she wrapped her front limbs about his waist, teleporting them away in a flash of light and heat. They re-emerged several hundred feet away, tumbling in the air as they came out of the teleport.
“You okay, Yuuno?” Twilight gasped as they separated, the young human blushing in embarrassment.
“Yeah. Thanks for the save. I didn’t expect it would break out of my bind that easily… It kind of surprised me.”
“No problem.” Twilight glanced down at the beast, shivering at the enormous maw on its back. “This thing really is a monster, isn’t it?”
Yuuno nodded. “Yeah. Come on, let’s get back to work…”
“Right. Just like before… we keep each other safe, alright?”
Yuuno nodded to her with a smile. “You shoot, I defend?”
“You got it.”
---
“Hah!”
Laevatein whirled about, the segmented blade snaking about as it sheered through the incoming spines. The cuts remained molten as purple fire swirled along Signum’s blade, the shrapnel whizzing by harmlessly as the Knight continued her dance of destruction, leaving plumes of white mist in her wake.
The rockets, however, kept coming, the long, tapered spines seeking to impale the Knight. She could hear the sound of Vita’s Schwalbefliegen spheres coursing through the air and hitting their targets over the din of battle. Signum turned, quickly flying upwards as she aileron rolled, the blade-whip swirling around her as she rose higher into the air, only to halt as a dozen rocketing spikes arced overhead and shot down towards her.
“STRIKE LIGHTNING!”
Signum blinked as she heard the distinctive thunderclap of Fate’s lightning, then shielded her eyes as the golden bolts danced about, detonating the spikes and setting fire to their misty payloads. There was a loud clack as Laevatein’s blade re-formed into its normal shape as Fate swung around to meet her.
“I think you said something earlier about not staying still?” Fate smirked faintly as Signum shook her head.
“Indeed. However, I am endeavoring to block as many of these projectiles as possible, lest the air space become too crowded.” Signum lifted Laevatein and frowned at its edge. The normally indestructible blade bore tiny, nearly imperceptible scars from the acid, even with the flames that had coated it. “Though this mist of Nachtwal’s is damaging to my blade…”
“It’s trying to wear us down and keep you and the others from using physical strikes,” Fate noted, turning as her horn crackled. Lightning flashed outwards, forming a golden web in the air and catching several of the incoming spines. “At least this stuff makes them easy to knock down. Come on Signum, let’s keep moving.”
Signum nodded, quickly angling upwards as she shot off with Fate. “Where is Princess Luna? Where has she gotten to?”
Fate pointed as Signum heard a deep whooshing, like a roaring wind. She glance to the side as she saw a streak of dark blue and iridescent light stoop downwards into the banks of white acid that gushed up from the creature’s surface. The haze quickly collapsed inwards as the rushing wind filled the space left by Luna’s passage, pulling the gas along and away before it exploded into slender rivers of flame. “She’s been keeping the gas under control for now… but we need to keep damaging it.”
A hideously loud roar filled the air as a massive tentacle slowly swung upwards through the air ahead of them, the crevices in its armor bristling with spikes, ready to fire. Signum smiled, her brows furrowing. “The spikes, Testarossa-Sparkle! Detonate the spikes!”
“Right, Signum. Bardiche!”
“STRIKE LIGHTNING!”
Signum drew her sheathe from her belt as Fate unleashed a storm of golden lightning, the rockets exploding into balls of flame along the tentacle’s surface. A purple Belkan triangle sprang up beneath her feet as she slammed Laevatein’s pommel home.
“Signum, what’re you-”
“Demonstrating the full potential of my Device,” Signum replied as flame ran along Laevatein’s length. The fire quickly vanished, revealing a broad-limbed recurved bow strung with a shining purple string.
“BOGENFORM!”
“Hold them off, if you would,” Signum noted as she took aim and drew the string back, a cartridge firing off as she did so. A plume of flame leapt from her fingers to the shaft of the bow, just above her gripping hand. The flame resolved itself into a broad-headed arrow made of gleaming silver metal. A ring of fire leapt up around her feet, swirling upwards about her.
Signum’s eyes narrowed as she scanned her target for an appropriate spot.
Where is it… where is the weakness… ah! Her eyes landed on a thick crevice filled with organic material, large enough to stand out. There!
“ZIEL AUF GESPERRT,” Laevatein announced.
“Then fly, my falcon!” Signum shouted as she loosed her arrow.
“STURMFALKEN!”
The arrow ignited as it streaked forth, the metal projectile glowing white-hot. The shot crossed the intervening distance in the blink of an eye, detonating against the tentacle with a gigantic explosion. The tentacle’s maw howled as it buckled, a gaping hole left from the arrow.
“I do believe that counts as an opportunity,” Signum stated.
“I noticed. Bardiche, let’s go!”
“GET SET!”
There was a crack as Bardiche’s axe-head rotated a full one-hundred and eighty degrees. Fate swung her Device back, a great plume of golden plasma exploding outwards as she shouted.
“Let’s go! STRIKE, PLASMA ZANBER!”
Fate swung, the blade elongating as it traveled. Signum shielded her gaze as the mssive blade landed, the golden plasma sending showers of sparks as it ground against its armor.
“Again, Laevatein!” Signum drew the string back, another cartridge firing as a new arrow formed.
“STURMFALKEN!”
Her arrow flashed out, slicing through the hole she had already made and exploding inside the tentacle. The black armor buckled.
Fate let out a enraged whinny as her horn blazed and crackled, golden flame running up Bardiche’s shaft as she put all her magic into the blow.
The armor gave way. Black smoke billowed out as Fate’s Zanber finished its arc, the blade retracting as the massive tentacle fell away, cauterized flesh left in its wake as the decapitated tentacle burst into black, snow-like ash.
Fate turned back to Signum, panting heavily, her sweat-soaked coat glittering under the fluorescing light of her Barrier Jacket. “Thanks.”
Signum nodded in reply, then drew back as several bolts of orange light shot through the intervening space. Signum could hear several spikes explode as she glanced upwards.
“Hey you two,” Arf shouted down at them as she flew past, “good shot!”
“Thanks Arf!” Fate called back, the Zanber vanishing as Bardiche’s head steamed. “Come on Signum. Let’s keep moving. Don’t want to be a sitting target, do you?”
“No. Let’s go, Fate.”
Signum turned to fly off, but couldn’t help but notice a faint smile on Fate’s lips.
---
“Keep it up everyone! You’re doing great!”
Amy’s fingers tapped away at the keys, her eyes flicking from monitor to monitor as she worked. Data poured in all around her as the Arthra’s sensor suites kept a watchful eye on the battle below. Everything from spectrographic readouts to thaumic radiation analysis to thermal data was displayed on the numerous screens that filled the I-R Room’s wall, as well as the numerous smaller holographic panels hovering in a semi-circle around Amy’s chair.
“Amy?” A voice piped in from the transceiver, “can you hear me?”
“I hear you Shamal,” Amy replied. “Any luck with the scans so far?”
“No. I’m doing my best, but even with Twilight and the Arthra’s assistance I’m having trouble finding the core. There’s just so much interference. I can‘t get a clear reading.”
“I know,” Amy replied, flicking her fingers along one of the holographic screens and moving some readouts into view. “It’s weird. The sensors keep reading massive fluctuations of energy inside that thing, but I can’t pin down anything specific that may give us a clue. There was a dip when Fate and Signum took down that arm, though…”
“It’s likely the interference is due to the size of Nachtwal’s avatar,” Shamal replied. “I’ll keep scanning though…”
Amy blinked as an alert went off, quickly swiveling her chair before she reached out and tapped on one of the holographic displays hovering before her. “Hold that thought Shamal. Guys, I’m picking up a huge thermal signature coming from within Nachtwal’s body. I think it’s preparing some sort of attack…”
---
We see it Amy, Twilight sent quickly, her ears ringing as she heard a loud crackle like stone shattering. The great maw on the back of the ship crackled, pushing upwards into a huge, elongated muzzle. The armor segmented into scales as four blood red eyes opened, the face pushing upwards into a dragon-like head. Thick red ropes of flesh pulsed as it pushed upwards, forming a short neck that twisted about slowly, the four eyes tracking multiple targets with their slitted, glowing pupils.
Thick beams of red energy blasted out from those eyes as its maw opened wide, an ominous blue-white glow welling up from within its throat. Twilight dodged and dived as rocket-propelled spikes shot and strafed past her, the red beams slicing arcs through the air as the head slowly turned, seeming to take aim at the glowing dome of Shining’s shield at the far end of the valley.
“Oh no you don’t. You‘re not getting anywhere near my friends!” Twilight narrowed her eyes as she turned in mid air. “Yuuno! Keep me covered!”
“You got it Twilight,” Yuuno shouted, flying up beside her and swinging both hands out. “Sphere Protection!”
There was a flash of green light as a sphere of energy formed around the two. Twilight swung Raising Heart up, a circle of Corona Shots forming around the sphere as spikes smashed and shattered against the barrier.
“TARGET LOCKED ON!”
“Fire!” Twilight swung her staff down, the shots flashing out, swerving around incoming projectiles and the lancing red beams. Twilight narrowed her eyes, her horn glowing as the shots winked out, then reappeared, slamming home into the thing’s eyes.
The beams winked out as viscera and smoke erupted from the thing’s eye sockets, even as fire licked out from around the creature’s maw.
“We need to keep that thing from shooting,” Twilight said, glancing skyward. Vita, mind shutting that thing’s mouth for us?
Sure. Why not? Just don’t get in the habit of asking me for favors. Give me a second to get a run-up…
Right. “Yuuno, on three, I’m going to teleport us over that thing’s head. I want you to tie it’s mouth shut before it can fire!”
“It’ll be tough with all those spikes flying around, but-” Yuuno shielded his eyes as he saw a ray of golden light slash down from the sky, igniting an incoming wave of projectiles. Twilight glanced skywards as Celestia swooped by, her horn blazing as she did so.
“Or maybe not.”
“Ready, Yuuno?”
“Forget the count down, Twilight, let’s go!”
Twilight nodded, her horn glowing brightly. The two of them winked out, suddenly emerging above the massive dragon’s head.
Vita! Now!
There was a flash of red as Vita shot downwards, Graf Eisen still in Gigantform. There was a loud crack as the mallet connected with the top of the dragon’s snout, smashing the head downwards as blue-white rays of light flooded out from around its teeth.
“Yuuno!”
Yuuno swung his hands forwards. “Already on it Twilight. Struggle Bind!”
Peridot-green chains shot downwards from Yuuno’s outstretched hands, quickly wrapping around the dragon’s mouth and clenching it shut. The bindings creaked as the creature’s head writhed back and forth, causing Yuuno to strain against the pressure.
And then the light suddenly died out.
Hold on, Amy called through the telepathic link, the thermal signature is shifting! It’s moving towards the other head!
Fear not, a formal voice stated calmly, it shall be handled…
There was a brilliant flash of silver light as a voice boomed out across the air. “In the darkness, a flash of silver! In the darkness, an argent flame! Moonlight, become now my shining sword, a blade that cleaves even the heavens in twain!”
Twilight’s eyes quickly moved to the bird-beaked tendril she had wounded earlier. A flicker of dark blue light swerved and circled around the tentacle, then vanished into its mouth. The creature’s roar was cut short as blood and viscera fountained outwards, black smoke billowing up from a massive wound as a long, smoothly curved blade of silver erupted from the inside, punching through a chink in its armor.
And then the blade moved.
There was a noise of ripping tendons and shredding flesh as the tentacle fell away, sliced neatly in half from the inside. The tentacle slurped back inside the armored shell as the rest of the flesh turned into black, snow-like ashes. Twilight followed Princess Luna’s quick ascent, her eyes locked on the shining, slowly curving blade that trailed behind her.
“Wow…” Yuuno whispered under his breath, only to shout as the chains were suddenly yanked.
“Hang on Yuuno!” Twilight’s horn glowed brilliantly. “Raising Heart!”
“MOTION BIND!”
Several hoops of magenta light snapped around the draconic head, Twilight’s horn glowing brightly as she pulled the hoops tight. Wings emerged from the bindings, holding the thing’s head still. “Vita!”
“On it!” The little Knight let out a shout as she flew upwards, Graf Eisen swinging back over her head. “Tödlichschlag!”
There was an deafening crunch as Vita’s massive hammer struck the head right on the snout, the Device’s Gigantform increasing the sheer force of the impact. The saurian neck crumpled downwards like an accordion, red goop spurting in all directions as it was crushed.
And then Amy’s voice cut through urgently. Wait, something’s not right!
Amy? Twilight blinked as thin rays of white light began to pour out from the chinks in the armor, the exposed flesh bubbling and sizzling.
The thermal signature is growing, and there are some massive fluctuations… oh no…Get out of there everyone! That thing’s going to explode!
Get clear, everyone, Celestia’s voice rang out over the telepathic connection.Luna and I will contain it!
“Yuuno! Vita!”
“On it!” Yuuno quickly flung his hands upwards, a green Mid-Childan circle springing up beneath him. Vita, meanwhile, quickly pulled up alongside Twilight.
“You really think it’s going to blow up and take us with it?” Vita glanced down at the slowly spreading shafts of light, a heat-haze wavering up from the armor, causing her to start sweating.
“I wouldn’t be surprised. Yuuno, how’s the teleportation coming?!”
“Ready when you are!”
“Then let’s go!”
There was a brilliant flash of green light as Twilight felt herself pulled into a warp. When the light cleared, Twilight turned back towards Nachtwal. She blinked as she watched Celestia and Luna do their work; two large domes of light, one pale gold, the other deep blue, slowly formed in the air, around Nachtwal, enclosing the beast in a huge spherical barrier of magic.
“Think they can hold it?” Vita glance towards Twilight.
“I’m sure they can,” Twilight replied, glancing up as Fate and Signum landed beside them. There was a second bright flash as Trixie, Chrono, Arf and Zafira appeared as well. “They’re the Princesses. I’m sure they-”
In the distance, there was a loud, yet hollow booming noise. The huge sphere shuddered violently, cracks rapidly spreading over the surface.
And then the sphere shattered. A great plume of blue-white flame blasted upwards as the shockwave radiated outwards, kicking up a dust storm as it approached.
“SHEILDS!” Chrono’s voice could only be heard faintly as the group raised their defenses.
“SPHERE PROTECTION!”
“CORONA WALL - EXTENSION!”
“STRIKE DEFENSER!”
“PANZERHIDERNIS!”
The shockwave slammed into the layered defenses, pushing the group backwards. Twilight’s eyes clenched tight as she felt her hooves skid against the soft lunar regolith, the shockwave battering against the shield as her horn flared bright. The wind roared as it whipped her mane and tail, the noise so loud she couldn’t even hear her heartbeat.
For what seemed like an age, the winds blasted past her, before finally they became still. Twilight shook her head sharply, rubbing a hoof to her ears as she tried to get the ringing out of them. She quickly glanced around, staggering slightly as the others picked themselves up from the dust and shook themselves off.
Hello? Anyone? Can anyone hear me? Amy’s voice rang tinnily in Twilight’s head.
We‘re here Amy. “Is… is everyone okay?” Twilight shouted, her own voice sounding weird in her ears as her hearing came back.
“Ugh,” Trixie groaned as Zafira and Vita helped her to her feet. She spat a bit of sand out of her mouth. “Trixie is fine… though she wishes her ears would stop ringing.”
“Fate? Are you okay?” Arf nudged the golden filly as she nodded.
“Wait,” Twilight paused, quickly turning about to look at the enormous cloud in the distance. “Where are the Princesses?!”
Her question was answered with a loud crackle of magic as Celestia and Luna appeared, the sisters staggering as they landed out of their teleport. Both of them looked exhausted; Celestia’s mane flickered unsteadily and her golden breastplate looked partially melted, while Luna was missing a few chunks of metal from her barding while the rest had been blackened and scorched.
“Princess!”
“Teacher!”
Twilight ran to Celestia’s side as Fate dashed to Luna’s, her horn glowing slightly as she helped steady the solar mare. “Are you alright?”
“I’m fine, Twilight,” Celestia replied, giving her a wan smile. “Containing that explosion took a lot out of me…”
“Had we not acted,” Luna added, her head dipped tiredly, “it is likely that the force would have destroyed everyone. We were fortunate that our containment spell absorbed the brunt of the blast…”
“What about Nachtwal?” Chrono strode forwards, Yuuno falling in beside him. “Is it…”
It was right then that a brilliant red beam of light streaked out of the massive pillar of smoke. Twilight followed the arc of the beam, her eyes widening as she saw it collide with the Arthra. Though she couldn’t hear it, she could see a bright flash of light.
“Shit!” Chrono cursed, a hand going to his head. “Arthra! Come in! Status-”
WHUD
Twilight froze as she heard something very large and very heavy land in front of them. Celestia stepped aside, turning as Twilight’s eyes went wide.
Before them stood a huge creature, easily twenty feet tall at the shoulder. It resembled a pony in stance, but that’s where any resemblance to their species ended. Its head was long and bullet-like, a cross between a pony’s and a snake. It had no nostrils, a thin, smooth slit of a mouth, and four glowing red eyes, two on each side one atop another. Its skin was gleaming black, made entirely of elongated hexagonal scales. A long, jousting-lance like horn protruded from its brow, the spiraling striae glowing a bright red just like its eyes. Its neck was long and sinuous, decorated on either side by a row of six glowing eyes. It’s mane was an ethereal mass of black flame, cut through with red lightning that emanated down the creature’s spine. Two smaller unicorn horns protruded from its withers like shoulder spikes, glowing ominously. Its body was thick, and its limbs long and strong, ending in broad hooves. Instead of wings, however, two great serpents emerged from its back, each snake easily as wide as a tree trunk and ending with a familiar snake head. A third snake took the place of the beast’s tail, the long, slashing length of the snake’s body coiling up to look at them.
“You have got to be kidding me…” Vita said slowly as the thing’s mouth opened, revealing a row of shiny red teeth. A second set of jaws, ringed in knife-like teeth emerged and opened as well, revealing a large, glowing red eye. Red energy swirled inwards, forming over the slitted pupil
“MOVE!”
Twilight and the others scattered as a carmine-red beam of energy blasted through the air, turning the sand to glass.
---
Red lights flashed across the bridge’s ceiling as Lindy held tight to her seat. She could hear shouts coming from the crew below intermixed with blaring emergency klaxons. A large holographic screen appeared in the air above with a diagram of the Arthra, several of the rear and port sections highlighted in red.
“Damage report,” Lindy shouted. “How bad are we hit?!”
“Aft shield emitters are nonfunctional! Port shield integrity at twenty percent!”
“Port intersystem engines are offline! No response from maneuvering thrusters four through seven!”
“There’s massive structural damage to decks thirteen through nineteen! We‘re venting atmosphere!”
“Close the emergency bulkheads! Redirect energy from the port engines to the defense grid!” Lindy reached over, flipping a communication switch. “Engineering, I need all available hands to contain the damage…”
“We’re on it ma’am, but we’re a bit short-staffed…”
“Make do with what you can. Just make sure the Arc-en-Ciel remains online.”
“Aye-aye ma’am!”
Lindy flicked the comm to another channel. “Amy, what about the others? Are they alright?”
“I’m not sure, ma’am,” Amy’s voice crackled over the communication link. “I can still detect their magical signatures, but not much else. There’s too much interference. I can’t get a clear reading…”
“Keep trying. Helm, reposition us to present our remaining shields to the battle front.”
“Aye aye ma’am.”
Let’s just pray the shields hold. We can’t get hit like that a second time, Lindy thought to herself, her hands gripping the arm rests of her seat tightly. I just hope the others are alright…
---
Cadence’s tail swished nervously as she watched the fight in the valley below through Shamal‘s scrying spell. The explosions and flashes of light were muted by Shining Armor’s barrier spell, the pinkish-red bubble shielding them even as the others fought.
“Rrrgh! I can’t just keep watching like this!”
Cadence glanced over as Rainbow Dash flitted into the air, her wings beating angrily. “We should be out there helping, not sitting here on the sidelines!”
“Rainbow, we talked ‘bout this,” Applejack said firmly. “Now as much as ah’d like to help Twi an’ the others, we just ain’t on their level. We don’t have any fancy Devices an’ stuff. We’d jus’ get in tha’ way.”
“Maybe you aren’t, but I sure as heck am,” Rainbow snapped in reply. “If you-”
“Be that as it may,” Shining Armor interrupted sternly, “our orders are clear. We’re to stay here until Shamal can locate Nachtwal’s core.”
“Has there been any luck on that, Shamal?” Cadence glanced to the green-clad Knight.
Shamal frowned in concentration, her eyes closed. “No… I know the core’s inside that thing, but I can’t get a lock on it to extract it. It’s like there’s a wall between it and my magic…”
“Is it because of the fighting?” Fluttershy frowned as Shamal shook her head.
“No. I’ve done combat extractions before. It’s just… there’s too much interference I think. It’s hard to describe.”
“I don’t want to interrupt,” Rainbow said, pointing to the scrying window, “but I don’t think the guys are doing all that well.”
---
“CORONA SHOOTER!”
“STRIKE LIGHTNING!”
“STINGER BLADE!”
“BLOODY DAGGER!”
“SCHWALBEFLIEGEN!”
“PHOTON LANCER!”
Dozens of projectiles rained down on Nachtwal from every direction and in every color of the rainbow. All of the shots exploded against a translucent violet energy shield, shedding excess mana and smoke into the air.
Twilight swept upwards, quickly gaining altitude as Nachtwal’s reprisal came. Thin rays of red light streaked out in all directions from the thing‘s numerous eyes, bending and reflecting off the empty air at odd angles as they chased after their targets.
Twilight quickly erected her shield as two of the rays caught up to her, the beams splashing against the Corona Wall and sending sparks in all directions, cracking the shield like a pair of hammer blows. She could hear the crackle of the other beams slamming into upraised defenses as well.
Then she heard a scream cut through the air.
“ARF!”
Twilight quickly turned as Arf fell through the air, left hand clenched tight over her right shoulder as black smoke trailed from around her fingers. A great black serpent lunged towards her, mouth open wide and fangs dripping, only to be intercepted by Zafira. The wolf-man snarled, muscles bulging as he held the jaws open, white smoke drifting up from his fingers from the acid dripping from the thing‘s fangs. There was a loud, hollow boom as a thick ray of golden light slammed through the snake’s neck, decapitating it and leaving molten, cherry-red scales and sizzling flesh behind. Zafira threw the head away, quickly grabbing Arf and flying down to where Celestia stood., the exhausted alicorn’s horn glowing bright golden with a tinge of rainbow color.
Red viscera erupted from the decapitated snake’s body, quickly melting and forming into a new head, black armor spreading up the thing’s length to cover the newly minted flesh before it pulled back. The nightmarish equine abomination quickly turned, slashing its tail out in a wide arc as Signum leapt up towards it from the side, the massive length slamming into the Knight and sending her spinning sideways. A set of Floater Fields popped into the air, catching Signum as Yuuno flew up beside her. Signum crouched on the field, then leapt back into the fray, slashing past the tail-snake’s head with her sword, her sword trailing purple flame as she slashed and sliced at the serpent’s body. Blood and viscera scattered in all directions as the length of scale and flesh was sliced to pieces, turning into black ash.
Princess Luna, meanwhile, was contending with the third head. Her crescent-edged blades clashed with the snake’s open jaws, the dark princess’s teeth clenched tight as she held the maw at bay. At least until a loop of golden plasma scythed in, the buzz-saw edge of Fate’s Astray Arc chewing at the black armor, biting deep. This was followed by Vita, her hammer in Raketenform, slamming down on the thing’s head and driving the golden spiked tip of her mallet into its skull. The three of them leapt away as the head’s eyes flashed, beams erupting from the pupils. Luna swung to parry the beams, but one darted around her strikes and landed a blow, blasting away part of her armor just as the head was sawed off.
Twilight saw the main head turn towards her, its huge horn glowing and sparking. She flickered out as she felt a magical aura clench the air around her, reappearing as she heard the distinct noise of an implosion where she had once been. Red lasers flashed out from the numerous eyes on the thing’s neck, zig-zagging as they flew up towards her. Twilight’s wings flapped as she tried to evade, Corona Shots winking in around her and flying off to intercept. Pink explosions dotted her wake as the lasers collided with them, though several of the rays seemed to dodge around the intercepting blasts.
“Hang on Twilight!”
There was a whistling, chirping noise as a Stinger Snipe sliced through the air, batting aside the rays that evaded her shots. Twilight stooped as Chrono flew up to meet her, the two circling back to back as several more rays flew up, their own spells countering the blasts.
“This is insane,” Twilight shouted, launching another wave of shots. “How is this thing so strong after it just blew itself up!?”
“It’s a smaller form,” Chrono shouted in reply, raising a shield as a ray evaded his Stinger Snipe, the beam scattering against the defense. “It’s learning to use its energy more effectively. It’s probably adjusted to our combat styles!”
“Then how the heck are we supposed to beat it?!”
“I don’t kno-”
Chrono’s reply was cut short by a loud, implosive pop, followed by a scream of pain. Twilight spun, her eyes wide; Durandal went spinning through the air as Chrono’s lower arm bent at an unnatural angle.
“CHRONO!”
“Nnnngh! D-dammit!” Chrono’s other hand went to his limp arm, the sleave of his Barrier Jacket starting to grow stained…
Yuuno, break off, Twilight snapped, Chrono’s hurt badly. I‘m going to-
It was then that Twilight felt a powerful magical aura grab a hold of her, a black cloud of magic forming around her and Chrono. She let out a scream as she hurtled through the air, slamming into the ground. Her head spun as she was yanked back into the air, spinning around to face Nachtwal.
That’s when she saw it. The three heads tha had been cut off each now bore a long, fluted unicorn horn, each one glowing in time with the one on the main head. There was a soft thrumming noise as the others were pulled around; Luna and Celestia’s horn burned brilliantly as they pushed back against the magic, while Arf and Zafira writhed against their bonds. Trixie was shouting defiantly as her limbs were bent and locked in painful positions, while Fate’s body crackled with lightning.
Nachtwal’s main head smiled thinly, then wordlessly opened its mouth in tandem with its three other heads. A second set of jaws opened within each mouth, revealing a glowing eye. Energy began to collect inwards as the beast’s numerous eyes began to glow, lasers charging in tandem with the thing’s beam cannons.
Twilight swallowed, her own horn lighting up. Her magic slammed into a brick wall of force. She couldn’t even erect a shield to defend herself…
Then she saw a circular, blue-green portal open up beneath Nachtwal.
KAAABOOOOOOM!!
A familiar rainbow-colored shockwave erupted beneath Nachtwal, slamming into its chest. The massive equinoid abomination toppled backwards, beams of energy blasting in all directions. Twilight dropped to the ground with a thud as Rainbow Dash soared through the air.
“R-Rainbow?!” Twilight gaped as the Pegasus swooped back down, coming in for a landing.
“Not just her.”
Twilight paused as she heard Cadence’s voice throught he portal. The portal snapped shut as another one opened just behind the group. Cadence, Shining Armor and the other ponies stepped through, followed close behind by Shamal, Klarwind’s wires snapping back into place as she shut the portal.
“W-what art thou doing Cadenza?!” Luna snapped as Cadence stepped forwards. “We expressly ordered thee to remain safe!”
“I couldn’t just stand there and watch, not when it had you at its mercy,” Cadence replied, her wings flapping nervously.
Nachtwal roared angrily as it rose to its feet, just as a brilliant pink dome of light slammed down around it. Shining’s teeth clenched as his horn flared like a tiny reddish-pink star. “I don’t want to rush you guys,” Shining growled through his teeth, “but I won’t be able to keep it contained for long. If you guys are going to pull a miracle out of your collective hindquarters, then you better do it now!”
“Just hold on a little longer Shining,” Twilight replied as she climbed to her feet. “Fate! Let’s go!”
“Nnngh… I was wondering when we’d turn them on…” Fate shook herself off, Bardiche hovering up beside her.
“What are you two going to do?” Trixie blinked as Twilight lifted Raising Heart high.
“Watch. Are you ready, Raising Heart?!”
“STANDBY READY, MY MASTER!”
“Bardiche?” Fate asked as she held the axe before her.
“GET SET.”
“Alright then,” Twilight replied. “Let’s go! Drive MAX!”
Power surged through Twilight as Raising Heart’s frame exploded, the Device’s core turning into a brilliant pinpoint of red light. The sphere streaked around her as her Barrier Jacket shifted, the breastplate opening to reveal a v-shaped crest with a socket that the sphere slammed into. Pink light swirled around Twilight as her Barrier Jacket changed. The armor shifted from white to gleaming gold, smaller red crystals forming on her boots as small wings sprouted from her fetlocks and coronets. A large golden ring, similar in design to Raising Heart’s Corona Form, formed behind her and clasped onto her back like a great halo.
Twilight blinked as her vision turned slightly pink, a heads-up display overlaying her vision as she heard Raising Heart’s voice in her head. Direct energy transference rate at one-hundred percent. Mana channel expansion confirmed and stable. Artificial mana channel generation complete. Radiant Carriage halo interlock complete. All checks green.
Twilight glanced to the side as Fate emerged from her own transformation. Her sister’s armor remained black, though golden lines of light traced along the black plates, radiating outwards from the golden triangle of Bardiche’s core. A pair of large, crescent-shaped blades clung to her back like oversized pegasus wings, while much of her head was covered in a sleek, black helm. The black wings flapped, a pair of great, golden blades of plasma extending from the edges.
“Incredible,” Twilight heard Yuuno whisper. However, Twilight’s attention was elsewhere. There was a noise like shattering glass as Nachtwal punched through Shining’s containment barrier. Twilight crouched slightly, the wings on each leg flashing brightly as a corona of pink flame crackled up from the chinks in her armor.
Hybridization complete, Twilight heard Raising Heart comment. Limiter released. Three-hundred seconds remaining.
Nachtwal roared, taking aim with the large eye in its main mouth, a sphere of red light forming as it prepared to fire.
Raising Heart‘s core chimed against her chest, her horn glowing brilliantly as she channeled magic. “LAUNCHING WINK BEACONS. INTERCEPT AND REDIRECT!”
There was a flash of light as a ring of pinkish light formed in front of Twilight, imploding into a large portal. The carmine beam blasted into the portal, vanishing inside. Meanwhile, several spheres of pink light winked into existence, surrounding Nachtwal on all sides. One of the spheres quickly expanded, Nachtwal’s own beam blasting out and slamming into the beast’s side, blowing off is hind legs and eliciting a horrifying screech of pain.
Twilight, meanwhile, took to the air. She could feel power surging inside her; her skin felt too tight on her body, like she was a balloon filled with too much air. And yet, it was exhilarating; there was just so much magic. She felt like she could do anything.
And right then, what she wanted to do was smash Nachtwal.
She flickered in and out, red lasers flashing by her harmlessly as she evaded. She couldn’t even feel the disorientation from the teleport; her body was insulated against it thanks to Raising Heart’s hybridization. She wasn’t simply carrying the Device anymore; Raising Heart was a part of her, overlaid over her body like an insect’s exoskeleton.
Below, she could see a faint flicker of gold. Nachtwal’s three snake-bodies froze for a moment as golden lines traced along their lengths, the thin lines quickly exploding with lightning before the three ‘limbs’ were sliced into nubs. Nachtwal turned, its massive hooves slamming into the ground as red flesh bubbled out from the numerous, only to be yanked to a halt as tall, white blades of light erupted from the ground, quickly fencing the monster in. Green and orange chains quickly flashed out, wrapping around Nachtwal’s limbs to further restrict its movement. Its horns ignited, red rays sheering through the bindings as it struggled.
Looks like Zafira, Arf and Yuuno are lending us a hand, Twilight thought with a smirk. Let’s put it to good use Raising Heart.
Yes, Master.
There was a loud click as the large halo detached from Twilight’s back, the ring hovering around her and floating in front of one of Twilight’s hooves. Loops of magenta light formed within it, a larger set of concentric rings forming in front of it as Twilight took aim with one hoof.
“Stargazer, Radiant Charge! Divine Buster,” Twilight shouted, a sphere of light forming inside the Radiant Carriage as it began to rotate rapidly, the second set of rings opening into a portal, “GATECRASHER!”
The blast fired, vanishing into a portal. She could feel Raising Heart back-trace the signal of the Area Search beacon she had launched earlier, channeling the bombardment spell along the pathway. There was a distant rumble as part of Nachtwal’s armor bubbled upwards, the scaled armor bending into a huge dome before bursting like a lanced boil, a thick pink beam blasting outwards. However, it didn’t stop there; a beacon quickly swerved to intercept, expanding into a second portal and capturing it. A third beacon opened into an exit portal, the Divine Buster slamming directly onto Nachtwal’s withers, one of the thing’s horns melting as the beam hammered home.
Nachtwal’s long neck slung backwards, its main horn glowing with black flame, right before a flash of golden light shot by, neatly slicing the horn with a crackle of lightning. Twilight blinked as Fate braked, her body briefly becoming visible as her wing-blades crackled and flashed, folding back over her body as the black crescents disconnected. The two ‘wings’ slammed together, forming a single large crescent that hovered before Fate. There was a deafening thunderclap as lightning crackled along its edges, just as two long blades of plasma erupted out of the inside, bending inwards to form a single massive, double-edged blade. Fate’s neck arched, a beam of light connecting the tip of her horn to the crescent before she swung it about, the gigantic blade sweeping about and neatly cleaving into Nachtwal’s neck. The thing’s numerous eyes went wide as black smoke billowed outwards, red sparks spraying in all directions.
There was a sickening crunch as the blade finished its swing, decapitating the main head. Then there was a flash of purple light as a blazing arrow shot inwards, lit with brilliant purple fire, followed by a mighty explosion.
However, the creature would not stay down. Red viscera erupted outwards, a half-formed head slashing about, red beams of energy blazing out blindly as Twilight flashed away, reappearing on the ground.
“This isn’t going anywhere,” Chrono gasped in pain, Celestia’s horn glowing as her magic flowed over his ruined arm. “We need to… we need to overwhelm its regenerative powers… while it’s reeling…”
“That, I think we can do,” Twilight noted, glancing over to Celestia and Luna as Fate landed with a crackle of lightning. “Though I think it’d work better if we weren’t aiming at the ground…”
Celestia and Luna glanced at each other, then nodded. “Indeed. Better we not blow up too much more of the lunar surface,” Celestia replied with a wan smile.
Twilight turned as Celestia and Luna’s horns ignited. There was a soft rumble as their auras intermingled around the wounded Nachtwal, right before the beast was flung skyward. Its black magic crackled against their combined auras, causing both Princesses to strain.
“M-make haste, Twilight Sparkle,” Luna gasped, her eyes shut tight.
“Right. Fate! Hit it with everything you’ve got!”
“Forgetting somepony, Twilight?”
Twilight blinked as Trixie stepped forwards. “You’re going to need more than just you two. Besides, Trixie owes that thing a pounding, if you’d remember.”
“Sure. The more the merrier. Just make sure not to miss!”
Trixie scoffed, lifting her massive staff. “Like Trixie would miss…”
Twilight shook her head, then took to the air, followed quickly by Fate and Trixie. Her Radiant Carraige clasped onto her back as she stopped, spreading her hooves wide.
“The sun sets in the west, the moon rises in the east, and above me shines a glittering sky,” she intoned, a vast pink ring slowly sweeping through the air.
Another voice joined hers. “In the darkness, a roar of thunder! In the darkness, a blade of gold!” Fate’s crescents crackled and sparked, lightning flashing amongst the tines.
Then a third voice joined. “Across heaven and earth, resounds Gjallarhorn,” Trixie spoke, a Belkan triangle forming beneath her hooves, her Book’s pages rapidly turning.
“Motes of light, gather forth in my name. Forge for me a sword of stardust, so that I may grasp victory!” The loop spun and rotated, excess mana swirling inwards to form a great magenta sphere, like a captured star.
“Lightning, become a shining sword, a blade that can cleave even to the depths of the earth!” Golden lightning roared forth, crafting into a sword easily two-stories tall.
“It’s clarion call, across sky and sea, cries out a warning. Harken well oh mighty ones, your destruction approaches!” A second, enormous Belkan triangle appeared before Trixie, a sphere of white light forming at each tip, rimed with black lightning.
“Gather, oh light of the stars!”
“Strike!”
“Ring out, song of the end!”
Twilight swung a hoof back, the Radiant Carriage swinging about and hovering before her hoof. Fate swung the massive blade back, over her head as Trixie drew her staff back.
“STARLIGHT BREAKER!”
“PLASMA ZANBER!”
“RAGNAROK!”
The three spells blasted forth, aiming for the same target. A massive pillar of pink energy, a titanic blade of golden plasma, and a trio of white beams slammed into Nachtwal, hammering the creature from all sides.
Twilight clenched her teeth. She could see Nachtwal silhouetted against the swirling collision of mana, its shield holding back the combined spells even as its body regenerated.
Come on… Come ON! We’re almost there!
And then, Twilight blinked as she saw blue lightning crackle over her body. She dared chance a glance behind her, her eyes widening as she saw Cadence below her, the pink princess’s horn crackling with blue light.
“Twilight! Fate! Trixie! Take my power,” she shouted, her horn blazing pale blue. “Take it and end this!”
Of course! Raising Heart!
CHANNELING!
Twilight broke out into a grin as blue lightning surged upwards, joining the beam of her Starlight Breaker even as the same light melded with Trixie and Fate’s spells. Nachtwal’s enraged shriek was cut short by the roar of the spells smashing through its barrier and hammering home.
---
Shamal’s eyes were narrowed as she stared into the scrying window, both hands raised before her as Klarwind’s gems glowed. Vita and Signum stood beside her, watching intently as Shamal’s spell did its work.
“Come on Shamal,” Vita urged. “Find it. It’s gotta be in there somewhere…”
“I’m looking Vita. I’m doing- wait.” Shamal paused, her eyes going wide as she saw a glimmer of energy. “Wait! I see it! The core’s exposed!”
“Right,” Signum nodded, lifting her sword up. “Laevatein!”
“You too, Graf Eisen,” Vita added, raising her hammer.
Both Devices let out a bell-like chime. “PANZERGEIST!”
Shamal raised a hand as a purple and crimson aura surrounded it, the two defensive spells mingling about her limb. She took a deep breath, then thrust her hand into the window, right into the heart of the inferno.
Her fingers closed around something hard and faceted. Even through the Panzergeist spells, she could feel a powerful cold, like she’d just had liquid nitrogen poured onto her hand. She staggered forwards slightly, her target resisting.
“Nnnngh! H-help!”
“We got you Shamal,” Signum shouted, her hand grabbing onto Shamal’s bicep.
“Pull!” Vita shouted, grabbing onto her midsection.
Shamal clenched her teeth and pulled with all her might. There was a noise like silk being torn, then she stumbled back, almost falling as the core came free.
Black lightning crackled out from within her fingers, followed by a swirling purple-black miasma. Shamal stammered in fear as her hand opened, the shadowy serpents of Nachtwal’s true form hissing and snapping at her shielded arm, red eyes wide with rage and hate.
“N-now,” she screamed, right as a green loop of light formed around the black and blue gem. Green ribbons of light quickly wrapped around the gem, though Nachtwal continued to bite and shred the sealing-spell’s bindings. Shamal yanked her hand away, stumbling back into Zafira’s arms as the gem hovered there.
“NEIN! NEIN!” The snakes hissed in concert, writhing about as a black aura of energy crackled, bloody-red goop spontaneously forming and dripping from the jewel in thin streamers. “WIR WERDEN ES NICHT ZULASSEN! NEIN!!!”
A heart-shaped bolt of blue light struck the gem, causing the snakes to howl in pain. Cadence stepped towards the gem, her horn glowing as the snakes turned their baleful gazes on her. She was soon followed by five other ponies, the necklaces about their necks glowing.
“STERBEN! UMKOMMEN! VERFALLEN! VERFLUCH DICH!”
“That’s enough!”
The four snakes snarled as Twilight landed amongst her friends. Cadence flicked her horn, drawing the Element of Magic from her side and settling it onto Twilight’s brow. “This ends now, Nachtwal. Girls! Positions!”
The Elements of Harmony stepped forward, the six jewels harmonizing and beginning to glow.
“NEIN!!!” Nachtwal snarled, black lightning lancing out towards the six mares. The blast was met with a wall of light, right before a rainbow of energy blasted out, swallowing the energy and striking the jewel.
The light scattered in all directions from the Examia shard, casting an iridescent halo onto the gray moon-dust below. A cloud of blackness swirled up, howling and hissing as it fled, only to be trapped inside a glowing blue bubble of light.
“Yuuno!” Twilight shouted, Cadence’s horn glowing as she contained the roiling blackness, “now!”
“Initiating forced transmission,” the young mage shouted, a green Mid-Childan circle springing up beneath the sphere. “Destination confirmed! Launching!”
There was a flash of light. Then the sphere was gone.
---
“Transmission confirmed! Target is in transit to strike zone!”
“Engines are holding steady! Stabilizers functioning within tolerable limits!”
“Beginning barrel expansion for Arc-en-Ciel firing sequence!”
“Oh my god,” she could hear Amy shout over the comm, “the energy signature is growing! Don’t tell me that thing’s regenerating in the warp!”
Wordlessly, Lindy lifted the glowing keychain into the air before her. A holographic keyboard winked into existence before her, a spell circle containing a clear box with a glowing keyhole hovering above it. Her fingers moved quickly, tapping in the string of numbers and letters before hitting the confirmation key.
“Authorization code accepted,” a voice replied, the clear box twisting like a Rubik‘s cube before splitting in half, revealing the keyhole.. “Arc-en-Ciel firing lock released.”
Lindy inhaled and slipped the red key into the slot, the spell circle turning red. Through the viewport, she could see a small flash, followed by a slowly spreading darkness. She could barely make out flashes of purple lightning and glowing, crimson eyes in the mass, even through the slowly rotating concentric firing loops that hung in space between the Arthra’s dimensional drive wings. A swirling sphere of light formed in the center, a prismatic coronal disc rotating around it
“Target locked, ma’am!”
“Good.” Lindy glared at the roiling cloud of darkness. “This is for Clyde, you monster,” she whispered under her breath as she turned the key.
“Arc-en-Ciel, FIRE!”
There was a flash. A white beam of light flashed out, the spinning corona flashing along it. The ray pierced the darkness like a shaft of sunlight right before the actual strike hit.
The darkness swirled, then began to collapse inwards. Refracted shockwaves of light and energy flashed outwards, then pulled inwards as a spatial rift formed, swallowing everything in its path before it collapsed inwards, taking the darkness with it in a blaze of rainbow-hued light.
For a moment, there was silence.
“Direct hit,” Amy whispered over the comm, breaking the hush. “No remaining thaumic or regenerative energy signature. Sensor readings indicate that target… has been annihilated!”
Lindy let out her breath slowly. “Continue scanning. I want to make sure it’s dead.”
“Aye-aye ma’am!”
---
Luna looked away from the sky, exhaling softly and wearily. It was over. It was finally over.
“DRIVE OVER!”
There was a loud clack as Raising Heart and Bardiche separated from their Masters, the two Devices falling into the dust in their Standby forms. Twilight and Fate staggered, the former quickly caught by her friends, the latter leaning against her injured Familiar.
“Twilight? Twilight, ya’ll okay?”
“Come on Twilight, wake up! We won! We won!”
“Fate, are you alright?”
“They shall be fine,” Luna replied, slowly walking over to them. “Such is the nature of their Full Drive forms. Leave them be for now. They shall awaken soon enough.”
“Is it over?” Trixie slowly looked up at Luna as Reinforce winked in, hovering beside her Mistress. “Is it-”
“It is,” Luna nodded. “It’s over now.”
“Good… Trixie-” Trixie blinked as Reinforce’s avatar rippled. There was a bright flash of light as the Unison ended, the sphere of light floating out and forming into the alicorn’s avatar. “Reinforce? What’s the meaning of-”
“I’m s-s-s-sorry, Trixie,“ Reinforce staggered, then fell to her knees and onto her side.
“Reinforce!”
Stats
Page generated in 0.035 seconds
Total duration
1,052 users online
1,989,548 hits today, 2,561,572 yesterday
FIMFiction
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Fanfiction
Designed and coded by knighty & Xaquseg - © 2011-2024
Follow & Support Us
Support us
SubStar
Chat!
Discord
Follow us
Twitter
MLP: Friendship is Magic® - © 2024 Hasbro Inc.®
Fimfiction is in no way affiliated with or endorsed by Hasbro Inc.®
Oh no. I thought Princess Luna had made sure that all traces of Nachtwal's programming had been removed from Reinforce.
Please, don't make her die like she did in canon...
Patience. All will be revealed soon enough.
You dirty rat-bastard.
Explanations, now, before I suffocate you with your own stomach. 
Rainnuke suckerpunch!
Just 16k words? Given the counts so far that almost seems short.
Yes, yes I'd say it is.
Gotta love Dash’s enthusiasm.
Woah, ship form? And a kinetic strike on the planet? And then Celestia opens a portal directly into the sun??
And then such awesome combat I couldn't tear myself away to build my usual "as I read" comment. I particularly liked the Hybridization form, as well as Dash’s well timed Rainboom.
Ehehe, that Ghostbusters quote.
Short comment was short earlier because I was kind of pressed for time.
Now that I'm actually able to sit down and write a real comment...once again, awesome author is awesome.
The fight, combined with the Stargazer music, plus the fact that I was already watching a few Ultraman music videos just before the chapter came out, totally made me visualize the battle as being similar to the climactic battles from the Ultraman Mebius and the Ultra Brothers movie, the Suprerior 8 Ultraman Brothers movie, and Ultra Galaxy Legends: Mega Monster Battle.
And on the forum, our author said after asking for our opinions that Rainbow Dash would be sitting on the sidelines of this battle. So much for that. And as usual, the Sonic Rainboom strike was beautifully done.
And the debut of Stargazer and Lunatic Forms was astounding! And the Triple Breaker...spectacular!!!
fc08.deviantart.net/fs70/f/2011/282/e/5/twilight_sparkle_approved_by_ambris-d4c255h.png
fc05.deviantart.net/fs70/f/2011/282/7/5/rainbow_dash_approved_by_ambris-d4bdn33.png
fc02.deviantart.net/fs71/f/2011/282/4/e/rarity_approved_by_ambris-d4cdq6y.png
fc05.deviantart.net/fs71/f/2011/277/e/a/pinkie_pie_approved_by_ambris-d4brtm4.png
fc04.deviantart.net/fs71/f/2011/345/9/d/applejack_approved_by_ambris-d4ivlan.png
fc00.deviantart.net/fs70/f/2011/345/0/9/fluttershy_approved_by_ambris-d4ivleb.png
fc03.deviantart.net/fs70/f/2012/060/f/5/princess_celestia_approved_by_ambris-d4rftlj.png
fc05.deviantart.net/fs71/f/2012/057/f/a/princess_luna_approved_by_ambris-d4r3ibw.png
fc08.deviantart.net/fs70/f/2011/345/f/a/the_great_and_powerful_trixie_approved_by_ambris-d4ivli5.png
Now as for the aftermath, I have kind of come up with a theory. Let us remember that unlike canon, it was Reinforce who collapsed at the end, not Trixie. She was bonded with a rampant program that was similar to a parasite for a very long time, and it's possible that now that she's no longer in the middle of a battle, her programming is noticing the lack of said parasite, and while it might be difficult for her to recover, I think it certainly beats the alternative that happened in canon Nanoha, where she was forced to sacrifice herself because if she didn't, the nature of her programming would have killed Hayate in a slow and painful way. I know it's a long shot, but I'm kind of hoping I'm right. *crosses fingers to hopefully avoid jinxing myself*
FANART! We need FANART of this Chapter! STAT!
Nanoha ain't got shit on Twilight... SSS? Pff, Twilight is like SSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS! XD
Also, behold, the birth of Reinforce Zwei!
The calamity passed. Perhaps this bond shall be strengthened between two enemies of tragedy like this?
It seems there are thing yet to occur.
Beware.
Awaiting further releases.
Erm... I can't help but agree.
Was your intention to have Amy's voice unitalized here?
3510622
No. I've already gone back and fixed a bunch of the missing italics. Ye gods and little fishes, I hate FimFiction sometimes...
Well that is over and done with.
Now back to the interesting parts of the story.
Nice to see a bit of Wrath from Lindy.
Shame Rin seems to be biting it. Shame, but not surprising. At best she just had the equivalent of a limb vaporised, at worst a major organ or two.
3510181 Personally, I think it might be a little too soon to assume that Reinforce Eins is actually going to die.
After all, the reason she died in canon was because over there, defeating Nachtwal's avatar did nothing to undo the way it had messed up her programming, and if she stayed, her programming would continue to paralyze Hayate until it got to her vital organs, causing a slow and painful death.
Over here, however, the previous chapter had Princess Luna basically do the equivalent of surgery to Reinforce's programming. And as the creator and original partner of Reinforce, I think she would know how to successfully handle that. Sure, Reinforce might be in a state of Heroic RROD for a while as her programming returns to its original format after almost a thousand years, but I think she still has a chance of surviving this.
I wonder how the upcoming local threats will go down in this verse.
First Chrysalis, despite what some ofthe fandom might say she's no idiot the introduction of an extra-planetary power with advanced magic and technology setting up an embassy in Canterlot is a game-changer she's unlikely to go with the same plan as in-canon without a lot more information on the newcomers and what their magic can do because for all she knows the humans have a way to see right through changeling disguises. One nasty possibility is that she's got her entire hive looking for the slightest scrap of useful information, meanwhile the brains-in-jars are expending all their resources searching for a check on Equestria's power, a meeting of their respective agents and "alliance," from there is disturbingly plausible.
Sombra depends on how much intelligence you believe he had left. If you go with the interpretation that his mind is mostly gone and that he was almost just a cloud of dark magic seeking the Crystal Heart on instinct then the situation is resolved even more quickly than before as Twilight and Fate can probably just scatter him on the wind. Another take is that he was just as smart as ever and the simple tactic of becoming all-consuming fog was because it was so bloody effective and he didn't see any threats capable of stopping it . All indications are that he was a mastermind capable of overthrowing an entire country and setting up advanced contingency spells that banished said country for a thousand years. If he concludes he's outmatched and retreats he could stay a thorn in the girls side for a long time.
The Alicorn Amulet is still gathering dust in that curio shop and as noted above individuals a lot more ruthless, with a lot more resources than Trixie are desperately searching for any edge they can get.
Discord could be interesting. Its almost certain that he still ends up reformed in the end but with so many additional personalities in the mix with Fate, Trixie and the Wolkenritter, things will probably be even more chaotic than they were in the show. And the brains-in-jars will not be happy about such a powerful entity making Equestria even more formidable.
Season 4 Spoilers The exact nature of the Everfree threat is unknown for at least a few more days. But an imbalance in nature isn't something you can just blast away so things probably wont turn out too differently.
Nice!!
I really, really love this series. How do you make the most unreasonably OP magical girl in history even more OP? Give her kit to Twilight Sparkle. I especially like how you actually had to increase the threat level of the opposing factions in A's in order to keep the Equestrians from curb-stomping them as badly as they did Precia. . .
However, there is one thing I do have to complain about: the lack of a "Feito Moment." The best part of any Nanoha season is when Fate is being mindscrewed by the villain, and for a second she's almost thinking of giving in. Then she's reminded about her friends and decides she's heard enough. The insert song plays and she stands up delivering a short speech about who she is, and in the next sixty seconds she proceeds to do more damage and kick more butt than the rest of the season combined.
Sadly, this Fate got bailed out of the matrix by Luna and Twilight right before she was going break out on her own. And while having a couple allies on the inside definitely helped the following fight, I can't help but feel like she was denied a good chance to show off and wreck a few things.
3515998
The thing is, this version of Fate is a lot different from the canon Fate. I'm planning on doing a side-story series focusing on her development between MPLT and A's, but I've been focusing more on the core series.
3515998 ...actually, this version of Fate had already rejected what Nyx was trying to say. Because she wasn't fooled by this dream at all.
So if Fate and Princess Luna hadn't showed up, she would have proceeded to fight on her own, without almost being broken by words.
I hope Reinforce doesn't die.
Awesome battle!