The Chimera

by Scarheart

Chimera 15: Shattered Skies

"Observation deck to bridge. Observation deck to bridge. Captain, one of the patrols reports smoke on the horizon south by southwest. Bearing starboard at two o'clock," came a tinny voice through the speaking tubes and drifting into the bridge. "Possible steamship accompanied by unknown flyers. Range: Twenty thousand yards."

It was dawn. The Aurora crawled along at twenty miles per hour into a headwind after an eventful night and a light rain squall for a better part of three hours before sunrise. The last of the clouds had passed behind the great airship as she flew a few hundred feet above the surface of the ocean. The sun rose slowly in the wake of the Aurora's passing. The map tantalized those on board with an unknown shore just one more day away.

"Eleven miles. A bit close for comfort. Too close. Perfect," muttered Gilda, adjusting her cap. Sitting in her chair, she sipped a fresh cup of freshly brewed coffee and eyed the large ship's compass. "Sound general quarters. Initiate the cloaking field. Wake the horny ponies who work it and get them to it." She might as well have been reading line scores from the sports page out loud. The griffon's golden eyes flickered with smoldering anticipation of battle. "Get two flights up in the air while we're at it."

Several voices responded to her orders, the shuffling and knocking of talons and hooves clattering the aluminum floor. It was supposed to be another simple morning of going through the reports of the night shift. The watch had been diligent, reporting a possible contact over the horizon. Gilda had come to the bridge with the officer of the deck during the night mulling over a report from one of the night patrols. Apparently a pair of changelings had come across an unknown surface contact an hour ago. Only now was there confirmation on their find. The griffoness let them work it out while she made herself comfortable in her chair and waited for the coffee she now clutched in a talon. She read the report again. Her first officer arrived on the bridge and without hesitating went to her side and waited expectantly.

She continued to sip her coffee, draining its contents before sliding from her seat. "Mr. Flick, you have the conn. I'm going topside to see if I can't get a look at our new friend."

"Yes, captain!" he replied, already holding out binoculars out for her as she rushed past him. "Be careful," he added, throwing her a snap of his beak and a grin.

"Yeah, yeah, don't crash the ship while I'm gone." She went up the elevator to the observation platform. The ship's alarm blared down every corridor and in every room, red lights rotating and flashing down every hall. Ponies and griffons and a changeling or two shouted at each other. There was no panic; just a little confusion as the drills were put to practice.

The ship-wide communication system crackled to life. A monotone voice called out, "Attention to all personnel. Attention to all personnel. This ship will be engaging its cloaking field. Please close all windows. This is not a drill. Attention to all personnel. This ship will be engaging its cloaking field. Close all windows. I repeat, close all windows. Contact confirmed to starboard. Possible hostile vessel. All vital personnel to battle stations. Non essential personnel please remain in your cabins." It repeated itself three times in a carefully measured tone.

Captain Gilda was greeted with as many questioning eyes as nods as she appeared on the observation deck, the platform opening above her. The small railings around the elevator swung open to one side and she stepped through. Her first instinct was to check for cloud cover. Glancing aft, she noted the storm from last night in the opposite direction she needed to go. The towering thunderheads told her the squall was probably not as gentle as it had been. They were drifting west by northwest, building up steam. There was a good chance a tropical storm might develop. The trade winds suggested they might drift west a bit more before turning north the closer they came to the continent. It was already sweltering. Their course had taken them towards the tropics. She grimaced, the griffon not really keen on backtracking. She accosted a crewman going down, telling him to instruct Flick to turn the ship around. Gilda stole a moment as she strode with purpose to the fore of the observation deck to take in the surrounding skies to be sure.

There were no other clouds in the area.

One of the first things she noted were the changelings. They had been on patrol all night and they had landed, waiting for orders. They appeared worn, having also been the ones responsible for spotting the ship. Right now their relief was already out. Each one wore expressions of excitement. The griffon had been that age once.

Gilda knew they knew she didn't really care for them, but Frakas came up to her, snapped to attention and said, "Captain, if you would be so kind as to give us preemptive orders to pass on to the prince when he joins us."

He was dressed in his leather flying gear, goggles resting on top of his head and just over his eyes. His fellow changelings were dressed in the same fashion. Despite flying all night, they were excited and eager. They were also willing to get back out there and do what they could to make up for the loss of face three of their number no longer with the ship had done. These were changelings determined to restore the image they wanted to craft.

Well, she had to admit he was very professional for a bug. She thrust a talon skyward. "Top cover. Let the Pegasi handle the scoutin'. Who spotted the ship?" Gilda asked the changeling colt.

"Myerzin and Aelix, Team Two, Bravo Squad," he replied crisply. Frakas made up the team and bravo part, but Gilda never seemed to care what he called his boys. He imagined he could have called them the Cutie Mark Crusaders and she would not have given a buck.

She nodded. "Tell 'em good job. Get them for me. I want them to point it out." She called out to the changelings in question, "Hey! You two. Where's the ship? Point it out to me." Spreading her wings and not waiting for Frakas, she took off as the Aurora flickered and faded around her until only the long and narrow observation deck could be seen. It was unnerving to those who had not experienced a magic cloaking field swallowing the great airship.

Unicorns were already filing out along the observation deck, the second half of the team who would be maintaining the cloaking shield. It served two purposes; to blend the ship into the sky and to protect it from exterior assaults to a certain extent. There were nine of them and they fanned out along the edge of the observation deck. An equal number of Unicorns were arranged on the bottom most deck, opening windows designed specifically for the purpose of extending the shield. They were the only ones allowed open while the Aurora was cloaked.

Her cloaking magic had been activated.

Wordlessly the changelings in question followed, finding it very difficult to keep after the powerful griffon. Gilda was a very fast flyer. She hovered, waiting for them as her sharp eyes scanned the direction called out to her from the two smaller dark forms joining her. Both had their hooves pointed where the sky met the ocean. She could make out a funnel of black smoke slowly drifting beneath the metallic charcoal gray hull of a ship with a tall superstructure and a narrow profile. She was coming nose-on.

"Perfect," she muttered for the second time, again adjusting her cap. "I was having a good cup of coffee." Lifting her binoculars to her eyes, she scanned the skies around the ship first. There were a lot of black dots on the horizon. The ship itself was some sort of warship. Gilda could not make out the make of the ship nor her origin. Size was impossible to determine as well, not at a range of more than ten miles. "Just damn perfect."

Four pairs of Pegasi shot past them and at an upwards angle, Blazing Cruise being among them. They would fly as high as they could and try and get a bird's eye view over the canopy of the approaching ship. None wore heavy metal armor, opting with soft leather more to keep them warm at high altitudes. Each of the flying ponies wore flight goggles and bore a leather helmet.

"Stay safe, you nitwits," Captain Gilda called out to them. Cruise waved at her once and sped off into the blue, his group in a loose 'V' formation.

Luna approached, along with Silent Wing. Rainbow Dash was also with them as well as her colt, Lightning Dash. Just beneath Silent hovered his changelings. They waited eagerly, watching their prince emerge, still trying to fit on his own leather helmet. Goggles dangled from the wrist just behind his left hoof, part of it tucked into one of the holes in his leg.

"What is this I hear about a ship?" Luna asked sharply.

Gilda pointed to the horizon, holding her field glasses to the Alicorn. "Just look for the smoke. You shouldn't have a hard time seeing it, Princess."

Luna nodded and accepted them with a polite smile, staring through them at the area indicated to her. She hovered, wings beating in rhythm and the binoculars up to her eyes, squinting through them, then closing one eye, then the other. She had never used a pair before and found it fascinating. Understanding the seriousness of the situation, she reluctantly lowered them from her eyes and ignored the captain's amused grin.

"I would wager that is not a friendly ship approaching," she said, returning the field glasses to Gilda. "It would appear we have a battle before us, unless the augmenter has been miraculously repaired."

Gilda shook her head and grimaced. "Don't I wish, princess. We're barely able to get enough speed as it is and I think that ship out there can run us down. On top of that, they've got flyers. I'd love to assume they did not see us, but if we could make them out from here, then I'll bet my tail they've seen us." She peered up at the sky, wishing for the thousandth time the cloud cover was better.

"Turning the ship back to the storm?" Silent Wing asked, watching the great airship begin a slow one hundred and eighty degree turn, turning to starboard and away from the approaching ship.

"I ain't takin' the cloakin' magic for granted it's gonna do the job. I'd rather be safe than sorry. I really don't think we have the numbers to do anything more than defend. Captain Cruise will get us an estimate of what we're up against." She was already making other calculations in her head, her eyes darting back and forth, always focusing back on the approaching ship. "Let's get back to the ship. Silent, get your boys up and watch for bogeys."

Silent nodded, clapping his goggles on. Unleashing a shrill whistle, he made a circling motion near his head with his hoof. Eight dark forms shot into the air, buzzing past with droning wings seemingly eager for a fight.

"Prince Silent!" Luna called out. "Please be careful!"

He grinned, adjusting his helmet. "I will."

Luna said something else he could not hear as he pulled away to join his changelings. Rainbow Dash heard it. She might have been mistaken, but she could have sworn she heard the princess say, "Please come back to me."

"Yo, Dash!" Gilda called out to her old friend. "Can you head over to the clouds and check to make sure nothin' bad is waitin' there for us?"

"Yeah! Sure." Dash nodded to the griffon and grabbed her son's attention by flicking him in the face with her tail. "Come on, kiddo. We've got work to do. Try and keep up!"

He had heard Luna's words as well and was staring after the Alicorn princess as she continued to watch the approaching ship with silent determination. There was no fear on her face. If anything, she was just as eager for a fight as any pony around. Hearing his mother's voice, he turned and followed her rainbow trail. Old enough to be interested in mares, he found he envied Silent Wing and even felt a pang of jealousy.

The way Luna looked at Silent Wing wasn't really much different than the way Applejack looked at her husband. Well, he mulled it over in his head as he found himself locked in comparison, maybe not exactly like that. As he pursued Rainbow Dash, the colt thought the look on the princess' face bore hope and worry and even, just maybe some determination. Did Silent Wing feel the same way about her?

"Hey, mom!" he called out to Rainbow. "I have to ask you something." The wind tore past his face. Lightning didn't really mind it. This was sometimes the best part of flying, the sensation of freedom by just feeling the air rush by. No, he didn't mind it at all. The colt loved flying and wanted to be as good as his mom at it.

She peered over her shoulder, slowing enough for him to pull even with her. "What's on your mind?"

He felt it out with a query to make sure he was asking the right kind of question. "Luna likes Silent, right?"

Mom gave him a funny look, crinkling her nose at him and smirking. "That's Princess Luna to you, 'Light. Remember that," she said sternly. Dash was not looking serious about it. "Is that your question?"

"No, it's kind of leading up to it though." He flushed, not really in his comfort zone, but his curiosity was getting the better of it. Besides, Silent had become a pretty cool friend. There were times he seemed a bit too serious, but he almost always had a grin and seemed to want to be everywhere on the ship.

The two had even flown together, especially the past three weeks as Silent got him more and more interested in griffon-do jujitsu. It was even fun the way the prince taught it. Lightning was not exactly going around breaking boards or anything. He discovered the art was more about being able to move like water, taking the path of least resistance. Naturally the boys got around to the subject of girls. He knew Silent liked girls, going oddly quiet and not answering certain queries, but there would be that little shy smile when Luna's name was mentioned. Not exactly sure, he decided to ask a higher authority. Never mind it was his mom.

She peered ahead at the looming clouds. They seemed dark an ominous, rising like a great anvil before them. Yeah, Rainbow knew that was one nasty storm brewing ahead of her. Gilda would be stupid to send the ship into that. The chromatic maned mare was definitely going to advise not going in there. Still, she needed to check. Maybe there was a pocket or some offshoot clouds away from the main storm they could use. She considered the distance to go.

There was time to humor him. "Shoot," she called, already wondering if she knew the question.

"Does Silent like Lu—, I mean Princess Luna?"

There it was. Rainbow Dash laughed despite herself. Throwing him a knowing grin, she asked him, "Well, what do you think?"

"I think he's mushy for her," he said, not wanting to get sappy or anything like that.

"Can't you even answer your own question?" Rainbow was laughing again, incredulous, shaking her head.

Dark forms darted in front of them. The pair split, Rainbow uttering an oath and Lighting yelping as their agility coupled with their instincts saved them from a pair of ruddy colored creatures appearing like pony sized dragons with bat-like wings and wicked talons. Their tails were curled like a scorpion's, each one bearing a barbed tip. They shrieked, a high pitched sound that shivered the bones, their cruel black eyes blinking, rolling a third clear membrane as they turned beneath the ponies, glaring up at them.

"What the buck are those?" Rainbow Dash asked herself. Where was Lightning? She glanced over to where he was. He was hovering, wondering her thoughts, staring with wide eyes and a heaving chest. Her own heart thudded like the pounding hooves of a thousand ponies on a cobblestone street.

"Mom!" Lighting called out to her, scared out of his wits.

"Back to the ship!" she yelled at him, darting over and giving him a hard shove. "Go, Light, go!" She had to urge him from his frozen position, biting an ear and tugging hard to get him moving with a startled yelp.

Mother and son started towards the hidden Aurora, angling upward for altitude and towards Silent Wing and his changelings. Behind them shrieked and hissed the flying lizards, giving chase. They snarled, spat and were really noisy. The two ponies pulled away as fast as their feathered wings could carry them, leaving a few feathers to drift in the wind. A backwards glance by Rainbow showed the beasts in hot pursuit, eyes horribly wide with dreadful intent and jaws slightly agape, showing fangs glistening in the morning light. They screamed at them, pumping their leathery wings furiously.

They were beginning to close the gap.

"No way!" Rainbow snarled. "Pick it up, kid! Don't let a couple of dumb lizards out fly us!"

"Mom!"

"Just fly, Lighting! Fly as hard and as fast as you can!" She dared to look over her shoulder. Her son was lagging, nowhere near as fast as his mother. Rainbow Dash slowed, throwing him an encouraging smile. "I'm not leaving you, just keep flying and don't look back!"

She looked back and saw the two flying lizards looming every closer.

"Mom! My wings are cramping up!" he cried out, desperation on his face. The onset of panic was beginning to set in.

"Come on, baby, stay with mom!" she called out, drifting beneath him and coming up under his belly. She tried to gamely add her strength to his own, but it only served to slow them both down. Where the buck are you, Silent Wing?

They came closer and closer, the scaly flying lizards, their smooth heads snapping eagerly as their prey was slowly coming within reach. Savoring the meal to come, they even snapped at each other, neither wanting the other to get the first kill.

Nine forms darted down, two crashing into their backs. Eight were dark, the same size as Rainbow Dash. The other was slightly smaller, his morning yellow fur touched with the color of a fog enshrouded bay. The color of red flared from beneath a helmet, its owner roaring an open challenge. Crashing headfirst into his target, Silent Wing completely surprised his target, it having been so intent on closing in on the two Pegasi. Frakas took the other creature while the other seven changelings formed a ring around Rainbow and Lightning Dash.

Silent Wing and Frakas broke from their larger opponents, falling back to assess their enemy and to buy the mare and her colt precious time to get away. "Get to the ship!" he snapped, baring his fangs at the flying lizard snarling at him. For a few seconds the two locked eyes, gold to black, snarling at each other in open aggression; one out of frustration from being denied his meal and the other in determination nothing was going to go past him.

"Lightning, go back," Rainbow told her son sternly. The tone in her voice left no room for the colt to object. "Please, just be safe and go. I'll be there in a minute. Go find Applejack and see how you can help her." They were in the middle of a changeling escort.

"Fly the world, meet new faces," complained Frakas to his opponent. "Why couldn't you just be the mare of my dreams instead of..whatever the hay you are." He, along with all the other changelings sported his griffon claws. They snapped in and out of their sheaths with metallic twangs. Though he wore a smile, his eyes were narrow and watchful. "Yo, boss, ya think that stinger is just decoration on them?"

"Only one way to find out," replied his friend with a tight grin. "What did you make of their speed while they were coming in?"

"Formidable. Takes them a minute to build up, though."

Both changelings were backing away from the creatures who seemed confused by the newcomers. They were not happy at being out numbered. Both let out high pitched shrieks.

"That can't be good," Frakas noted dryly.

"Really? What was your first clue?" Silent Wing reversed course and surged forward on the attack. Frakas rolled his eyes and did the same.

The lizards were quick and fast, but they lacked agility. They were also not very well armored. Silent Wing went in with a surge of adrenaline, slashing at the snapping head with his claws and was rewarded with metal on bone and a shriek of pain. The creature shied away, having not anticipated its prey to fight back with. The prince struck again, slashing as he passed under the lizard repeatedly, following it, waiting for the tail to curl up and dart at him. When it did, as he thought it would, he simply cut it off when it was extended as far as it would go. The thing's instinct's were used against it, leaving the colt to wonder if he had expected too much from the creature. It shrieked again, tried to pull away and flee. Silent Wing let it go, turned to see Frakas was having similar success with his opponent. His was trying to keep its insides from falling out, having darted in and out repeatedly, gauging the speed of the tail and easily avoiding the slashing talons. It could only curl over the back, not underneath, he discovered from observing the physical makeup. The creature fell away towards the ocean below, its body shuddering from loss of blood and its injuries.

"That wasn't so bad," Silent told Frakas with a grin.

Frakas grinned as the two high hoofed and made their way back to the Aurora. "I wonder how the others are doing."

---

Blazing Cruise found himself in the middle of a swarm of tan colored changelings, darting in at his group from all different angles. They had flown higher, the two groups sighting each other and nearly the same time. The changelings outnumbered the Pegasi two to one, one of them blaring on a horn. More creatures were approaching, bigger with big leathery wings. Scorpion tails twitched expectantly in their wake and smooth heads filled with wicked teeth snarled at the ponies.

They split, sticking to their pairs, not in a position to mount any form of assault. Soon they were engulfed in a massive confusing swarm of feathers and insectoid wings, shouts and oaths out into the clear blue skies. Two of his flyers were overwhelmed, turning right into four of the flying lizards, who caught them and immediately employed their wicked stingers. The feebly struggling ponies screamed in agony as fangs and claws tore into them while the poison worked through their bloodstream, paralyzing them with painful spasms. Two bodies spiraled to the shimmering surface of the ocean below.

The ship was still five miles away, but it was a little more defined. Long-barreled cannon bristled on its decks sticking from round turrets. She wasn't as big as the airship, but she was big enough and far more intimidating than the Aurora. More changelings were emerging from it, taking wing along with more of the larger creatures.

Cruise cursed loudly, angrily, mostly at himself. Where did those things come from? "Fall back!" he bellowed. They were sitting ducks out here in the open. But they were surrounded. It was as though they expected them to investigate.

They had arrived at a very high altitude, supposedly too high up to be seen, but somehow a string of changelings flying wing to wing spotted them just a thousand feet below. Beneath them another five hundred feet was another similar string. The jig was up, the small flight of ponies were spotted and quickly set upon.

Blazing Cruise cursed again, turning on a wingtip, snapping his muzzled this way and that to get a feel for where everything was. Trusting his instincts and the ability of his wingman to keep close, he dove, heading towards the Aurora. He and other Pegasi had a weight advantage over changelings, so diving at a sharp angle was their best chance of escape.

"Go ocean! Go ocean!" he cried to the others. They echoed the command, stopped whatever they were doing, and pressed for the green-blue waters fifteen thousand feet below them. The six remaining ponies darted past their pursuers with grim determination. Fear and adrenaline urged them on as they headed for the ship. Three dozen changelings and their large flying lizard companions gave chase.

Then the shadowy form of gray and blue scale roared past. "Run them down!" it roared, massive wings carrying it with terrifying speed towards the airship. Tantibus had his target in mind and sought her out deliberately, savoring the battle with her in wicked anticipation.

Luna saw him coming and was not about to wait patiently. Ponies needed her help and badly. Though it was day, she was still formidable, she would be unable to call upon the power nightfall gave her. The night time was her time, not the day, not beneath the Glory of Celestia. Still, she had seen the dragon appear miles away, teleporting in form and creating a great billowing cloud of broiling blue smoke. Tattered wings snapped open and even from the distance between them, the Princess of the Night could feel him seeking her out through her magic.

She went forward as if to meet him, gathering her magic and preparing her first spell. She could already see Blazing Cruise and his ponies were in serious trouble, already down by two. Not having the time to see where the missing were, she noted the incoming dragon, his speed, and her own position relative to the ponies trying to escape. She already had a second spell in mind, released her first spell.

Luna teleported, reappearing a blink later in the path Cruise was following, patiently waving the diving Pegasi past her, indigo magic filling her horn as she gathered herself to swat away the pursuers. Above her and behind her, the dragon was now realizing what she was doing.

Tantibus decided to continue on towards the airship, stoking his inner fire. The self-styled Night Dragon also preferred the darkness, but the enemy was exposed, outnumbered, and completely vulnerable. Speaking of vulnerable, the dragon cast his golden eyes upon where he suspected the ship was and felt for the magic enveloping it. Something shimmered in front of him, low and to the right. He grinned, starting forward again with a snarl.

Luna unleashed her spell, streaks of magic bolts spraying out in a wide cone, shredding wings and skin and flesh. She was not merciful, having felt the full intent of those who were chasing her ponies, her subjects. Luna was already upset at knowing two were already gone, their bodies consigned to the vast expanse of the ocean. So, she indeed was not and knew she could not afford to be merciful. This was war. As much as she loved a good fight, she absolutely loathed killing. Most of it had to do with what she remembered doing when she was Nightmare Moon so long ago. At least this time, she was not killing ponies.

Shattered bodies fell away behind cries of pain and agony. The flying lizards shrieked and died, tattered wings on some flailing uselessly in the air. Luna was already gathering up her magic for another teleportation spell. Her power might not have been at its fullest because of the day, but she had enormous reserves to call upon.

Now, where had that dragon gone off to? Her eyes darted about, seeking, her head turning towards the direction of...

There! Going straight for the Aurora. A small group of defenders were moving towards him. She already knew it could only be one group. Fear gripped her heart. Silent Wing could not hope to match against the dragon. Even as he moved in to attack, his changelings advancing from both flanks, the dragon bathed the Aurora in flame, hovering on wing beats, tail curling back and forth to maintain balance as the Tantibus clung to the air. Ignoring dark changelings now crawling over his body and stabbing at his thick scales and hide, he raked the ship from stern to stem. The Aurora lurched, her magic absorbing the flame and the Unicorns on board trying to maintain a protective shield.

Luna blinked again, already forming another offensive spell to unleash as soon as it was ready. She relied on quick spells, needing them at that moment for rapid use, to change from one target to the next or to unleash in rapid succession magical bolts.

---

Tantibus flinched as Silent Wing landed on his snout, griffon claws slashing near the eyes enough to force the dragon to pay attention to him. Shaking his nead violently, the dragon roared angrily at his little brother. "You're not worth my time!" he snarled at Silent.

"I'll make myself worth your time!" taunted the colt fearlessly. He fell away as the dragon brought a talon up to swat at him, his body leaning back as he fell away, agile maneuvering pulling him effortlessly around flailing claws and the swatting tail trying to knock him out of the sky.

Snapping his wings out, he pulled up behind the dragon as his strokes pulled him up and up and up until he was even with the dragon's shoulder blades. His changelings were having little effect with their weapons and fell off of his back before the dragon decided to start focusing on them. They instead buzzed around his head to annoy and harass the beast.

"Go away, you little pests!" he snarled at them. Tantibus unleashed his own magic, flaring a pulse of bright light from his body and blinding all those around him.

Blinded changelings cried out in shock as their eyes only registered white spots, cringing away from Tantibus.

Gilda could feel the heat of the dragon flame as it washed over the Aurora, pulling hard on the wheel to turn the ship away from the dragon. "Are those ballista loaded?" she demanded to her weapons officer.

"Manned and ready, captain," came the reply in a slightly cracking voice.

"Drop the cloak and open the ports!" she snapped. "Give me flank speed on the engines, maximum output. I'm taking us towards land." Gilda adjusted her hat.

"Flank speed, aye!" The world flashed.

Thankfully, nopony on the bridge could see the dragon's body go brighter than the sun. The observation deck was a completely different story. Rainbow Dash, Applejack, and some of the crew preparing to fire crossbows at the dragon were exposed. The magic barrier had defended them from most of the heat, but there had also been a good deal of singed fur and hair in the aftermath. Most of the blinded included the Unicorns. Trying to hold the magic barrier against the dragon flame had drained most of them from the effort. It was powerful!

Spike and the others not contributing to the fight were below, feeling useless. Most were told to be ready to aid in the infirmiry.

"No flying lizard spits fire at my ship and thinks he can get away with it!" She spun her head again to the weaopns officer. "If the gun crews miss at point blank range, I swear I will start skinning ponies and griffons alive!"

"Cloaking magic is down. Ports are opening!"

"Fire once target is in sight." She was practically shrieking now, not from fear, but in anticipation for the retaliation. In a much quieter tone, she turned to Flick, "Stand by to abandon ship."

The Aurora flickered, became whole and no longer was a part of the sky. As she did so, six ports on her starboard side opened, revealing massive catapults designed for launching giant bolts. Sharpened edges gleamed menacingly as the ship turned as hard as she was able, like a pregnant whale in shallow water. By now the dragon was occupied with Luna, three fewer changelings able to battle him. They followed the Alicorn's lead, firing bolts at a target too big to miss even though colored spots still danced in their vision. Silent Wing, as he could not use magic, simply darted in and out and around the dragon's head, relying on his nose and his ears while his eyes recovered. It had been less than fifteen seconds, but he already heard and felt the loss of three of his own.

He was angry, slashing with his claws with every pass, focusing on one spot at the tip of the dragon's nose. Rivets of blood gushed from the deep slashes in one of the few vulnerable spots on the dragon.

Then the ballista fired twelve foot long and three inch thick bolts with tempered steel heads six inches across. Designed for ship-to-ship action between airships, they required a lot of torque for medium range and accurate firing. At a range of less than twenty five yards, they skewered the dragon.

THWAAAP!

THWAAAP!

THWAAAP!

Tantibus screamed in agony, pulling away with three shafts in him, one having gone all the way through his neck just above the collar. Another jutted from his chest just below his left breast. The third had pierced his belly, its point lodged against his spine. He raged, thrashed, spat flame as he began to fall, in denial of what was happening.

"No!"

The changelings continued to fire at him with their magic, swarming, always swarming, staying behind him as he continued to flame away at the sky, his flames licking at the Aurora.

"NO!" the dragon shrieked again, a piercing call of endless wracking pain.

Luna tried to shield the ship as best as she could, but the hull was blackened and smoldered. The airship lurched like a drunken elephant as one of her engines blew up from overheating, the coolant pump having been melted away. Black smoke billowed, but otherwise the ship remained intact.

"FATHER!" The dying dragon feebly tried to stay aloft, the ocean already shades of billowing and spreading crimson with his falling blood. In a final surge of life and pain, he glared one final time at Luna, the only opponent he felt had been worthy, then at his brother, the little weak thing that refused to bow to his elder brother. If he was to die, then they would come with him. Gathering his magic within, he built it up, concentrating it.

Luna realized what he was doing. Just then, Blazing Cruise and his Pegasi managed to make it back to the ship. "Get away!" she cried, her eyes wide as she spun upon them. "GET AWAY FROM THE DRAGON, MY LITTLE PONIES! FLY AWAY AS FAR AS YOU CAN! FLY YOU FOALS!" Princess Luna screamed in her Canterlot Voice, gathering within her the magic she hoped was enough to deflect the coming blast.

"Luna!" Silent Wing went to her. Something told him not to leave her side, no matter what. Was it his instinct? Was it something else? "I'm not leaving you!"

She wanted to push him away, throw him to safety. But there was no time. She nodded once at him. "Stay close then," she bade. "Behind me."

Together they heard Tantibus begin to laugh, a sickening gurgling cackle soon lost to choking sounds as his lungs filled with blood. The air around him began to charge. Luna and Silent felt their hair begin to stand up on end. Static electricity was building as both the Alicorn and the dragon gathered their magic, both desperate and both putting their all into their power. The very air, the humidity, and even a draining sensation of energy being sapped from every living thing within ten miles was drawn towards the falling dragon, now nearing the surface of the water. It created a displacement of water beneath his form, going deeper and deeper, drawing even the water itself towards the dragon. He was tapping into anything magical around him, drawing it to himself.

"I will use my magic to shield the ship," she said to him, glad to have him, even happy to have him with her. Luna was not sure what would happen next. But with what she could feel building below her, it was something she was not sure she could stop it. Slowing it down was also a question mark. Yet, she was not afraid. Silent Wing was with her, staring at the dying dragon, his gaze flickering along the details of the failing Battlesinger, as if thinking of something.

A wild thought occurred to Silent Wing. Desperately, he shot down in a dive towards the dragon, saying loudly, inaudibly as the world around him shrieked, coming from the dying monster, his wings curling towards the sky as the last vestige of life flickered in its waning moments. Luna called out to him, gave chase, screaming at him.

Tantibus spoke one final word, a dreadful, hiss. It was deep, resonating, shaking the very foundations of the soul in cold reality, fully understanding the implications. "Die."

At the last possible moment, Silent spun around, throwing his wings and legs wide to Luna, enfolding her in a fierce and protective hug with his hooves, not letting go as he whispered two words in her ear, just before the moment of clarity, the judgement. The dragon exploded, unleashing an ever expanding blast of unleashed and unfettered magic, utterly lacking in control and wildly lashing at the air, the wind, the water, the currents, the magical energies a part of the planet itself. It was a tiny sun before them, hot and cold, painful and wonderful, absolute and utter destruction, shattering, crushing, obliterating. Everything went white.

---

Halfway around the world, Princess Celestia and Queen Chrysalis felt a powerful surge of wild, unleashed magic, the likes of which they had never felt before. They were watching the western sky, wondering why they both felt compelled to watch the setting sun. Something felt wrong and they interrupted their work to come to the balcony, Celestia floating on her magic while Chrysalis felt a sudden lump in her throat.

"Luna," Celestia whispered, "what are you doing?"

Forgive me, my sister...I fear we have failed everypony...

Chrysalis watched the expression on the princess' face. She was so confused, not understanding.

A second sun appeared on the horizon, smaller, yet by far brighter as streams of energy spread out across the sky in the highest layers of the planet's atmosphere, like the Northern Lights, but made up pure magical energy. The very air shimmered, like an angry rainboom, rippling through the sky in several ominous waves. There was no joy, no sense of wonder as the waves washed high overhead.

"Silent?"

Both matriarchs felt a sudden, crushing feeling in their hearts, as if something had opened a great black hole in the middle of them both. Echoing their silence was the slowly rising, mournful keening wail of Scarheart filled with indescribable loss. His cry tortured the still onset of twilight, so profound in sadness those who heard it felt their own hearts break, their eyes moisten. The emotions of sadness and loss a mindless dragon could express in no other way reached out and touched every soul in Canterlot.

Author's Note:

Pretty intense chapter, eh? I had to do a little research on nautical terms as I really don't know which one applies appropriately to airships. I assume using seagoing terminology would be acceptable. Please let me know if I made any errors.

Comments

[Evowizard25]

Luna can't die. It was just a dragon....Right? I mean, that would suck...Okay, does Flamespyre secretly have a deathwish, cause he just keeps piling up things that are so going to backfire on him. {Of course, the Imperium of Man does state that all heretics secretly desire death.}

[Razzy]

Tantabus got punked out by ballistas. Not so high and mighty now, eh?

Silent's body negates magic, they should be fine.