Justice Itself

by Autocharth

Act IV - Ch. 30 Essence of the Apples

Chapter 30 Essence of the Apples

***

“Alright,” Applejack panted, jumping over a fallen tree. “Maybe Ah don’t got this.”

Behind them the fallen tree cracked and splintered beneath the foot of the scaled beast. It roared, adding to the cacophony of destruction with a wave of its thick tail. Earth and rock were as nothing to its charge, smashing aside any obstacle with its bulk.

Apple Bloom, despite clinging to her sister’s back, found the time to roll her eyes with a sarcastic, “Really? ‘Maybe’ ya don’t got it?”

“No sass-whoa!” Throwing herself forward, Applejack could have sworn she felt the tip of her tail brush the monster’s teeth as it snapped at her, the jaws missing by mere milimetres. “Alright, alright, Ah don’t got this!”

Apple Bloom looked back, staring that the monster that was trashing the farm behind them. Its great jaws hung open, closing only to break whatever happened to be handy, with rivulets of saliva leaking from its maw. The little filly shuddered, tightening her hold on Applejack as she stared at the darkly scaled beast. In the clear moonlight, she could see the draconic scales were interrupted by stony outcroppings and even patches of...grass? Or hair, sprouting between scales and rock. It wasn’t even just a really big cragadile; its body was weird, like it hadn’t grown properly, its shape as much like a reptile as it was a pony.

Yelping as she bounced from Applejack’s rough gallop, Apple Bloom tried to keep her eyes on the monster.

“Put yer magic armour on!” she urged.

“Ah can’t! Ah mean, Ah can, but Ah gotta focus for a sec. If Ah do that, he’ll gobble us up!” Applejack tried to look through the trees as she ran. “Look out for Mac! He’s gotta be here somewhere!”

At least, she really hoped he was.

***

The shattering of glass hit the party like a wave, leaving silence in its wake. All eyes turned to Fluttershy, who stood frozen with eyes wide.

“Applejack!” she cried before anypony could ask. She began to look around frantically. “A-Applejack is afraid, and worried, and something is happening, something bad!”

The stunned silenced continued for a moment, broken by Paladin’s stern commands.

“Rainbow Dash, teleport to the farm. Twilight, get whatever medical supplies you can in case somepony is hurt. Spike, send a letter to the hospital to alert them to prepare for something severe.” He went for the door. “Pinkie Pie, Rarity, come with me. We’ll head for the farm along the main road, then the most direct route. Rainbow Dash, go, you can find us on the road if there’s bad news. Go!”

Rainbow Dash went in a flash of light, leaving the others staring at Paladin.He stared right back.

“Everypony, go,” Paladin ordered, more firmly. He pushed open the front door, beckoning Pinkie and Rarity.

“W-wait, what do you want me to do once I have the supplies?” Twilight asked frantically.

“And what do I do? I...I want to help,” added Fluttershy. She shook her head, as though she could stop the feelings from Applejack and, now, those of her worried friends.

“If you must leave the house, return with the supplies. Fluttershy, you can stay, so that if Rainbow Dash returns before Twilight, we don’t lose contact. If anypony doesn’t know what to do or anything, come back here. Fluttershy, you and Spike are our base, our centre.” Paladin waited a moment for any more questions.

None came, Spike busy searching for a quill and ink, Twilight making a mental checklist of what a first aid kit would need and Pinkie Pie bouncing and chattering at Rarity about what awful possibilities she really, really hoped weren’t happening.

***

Rainbow Dash flared into existence above the farm, and promptly stared with her mouth hanging open.

“Whoa.”

She could see why Applejack would be afraid. That was a bi~iiiiiig monster. It dominated the scenery, seven shades of shadow that ate at the light from the moon and the stars. From above she could see the path of destruction that cut through the orchard, a swath of broken trees and torn earth. Rainbow Dash winced at the sight. She had a feeling Applejack was going to be angry when this was over.

Its roar was dying away, but the flash of her arrival had brought its head swinging up to her. Though she couldn’t see its eyes clearly, Dash could imagine them staring at her with a look of challenge in them. She could read it like it was written in bright neon lights. She smirked right back.

“Challenge accepted,” she grinned.

Applejack looked back, feeling her sister prodding her. The sounds of the monster had, if not quieted exactly, moved a bit further away. Of course, that was because she was still running. Risking a look back, Applejack saw the dark shape of the monster, its attention clearly no longer on them.

“Oh, no.” Even at night, Rainbow Dash’s brilliant contrail was bright. Applejack’s hooves dug into the ground as she forced herself to stop. “Rainbow Dash!”

The monster’s maw split open, its breath rumbling out in a fetid roar that shook the heavens. With shocking speed it moved, lifting its forelegs off the ground to snap its tremendous jaw at the descending pony. The agile mare darted out of the way at the last second only to be nearly knocked out of the air by the wave of pressure the snapping jaws created. With a powerful flap of her wings she threw herself at its eyes, lashing out with a hoof.

“Got yahhhhhhhh!” Dash’s victorious cry was cut off by a thrash of the beast’s head that knocked her away.

Applejack shook her head in disbelief. “That mare! Hold on lil sis, Ah gotta help her. Start headin' for town.” She slid Apple Bloom off her back. With a soft breath, Applejack steeled her heart.

Apple Bloom had only seen her sister’s armour once or twice, and it looked awesome. Her mouth fell open, staring at the beautiful, shining metal that enfolded Applejack. It had been amazing before, but now it was...it was…

“Perfect.”

She stared as her sister charged away to fight the monster, but she didn’t really see her sister. She saw the armour, its angelic form adorned with stylistic engravings of Applejack’s cutie mark. Despite that, despite the mortal flaws she saw the perfection of it. It was flawless.

Rainbow Dash was back in the fray, having arrested her flight and launched herself back at her foe. She zipped across the beast, its scales zooming past her as she searched for a weak spot. Her hooves grasped a coarse tuft of hair she found on its back, pulling them hard. Fetlocks curled, wrapping the long hairs around her hooves, Dash grinned. The monster shook and thrashed, roaring wildly as it sought to remove the annoyance.

“What’s wrong? Too big and stupid to get me off?” she taunted. Her smirk died as the world lurched sideways. The sky revolved away, leaving her looking up - or rather, down - to see the earth rushing towards her. Dash’s eyes shrunk to pinpricks of fear. “Oh crabapples.”

The ground heaved, groaning with the shock wave it sent across the farm. The beast’s great weight obliterated trees and shattered the ground, gouging through the dirt. Applejack skidded to a halt.

“Rainbow Dash!” Her insides froze. It had crushed Rainbow Dash. She had seen no flash of light to show a teleport. No brilliant rainbow contrail leading away at the last moment, a narrow and daring escape by the cocky pegasus smirking smugly at her near miss. The chill that had overtaken Applejack melted away, icy fear running into a flood of hot fury. She didn’t spare any thought to anything but making this monster pay.

She launched into the air, powerful legs supplemented by raw rage and angelic enhancement. Steel-shod hooves slammed into the crocodile beast’s stomach, digging into the scales.

“Get. Off. My. FRIEND!” She roared, standing on her forelegs and slamming her rear-hooves down. Scales groaned and cracked beneath her strike, dark blood seeping out. With a snarl she pushed her forehooves in, keeping herself in place despite the writhing of the monster. Again she struck, widening the wound of broken scales.

It roared, and finally got rid of her by smacking her with a claw. Applejack was thrown free of it, sent flying hard enough that the first tree she hit lost the contest between it and her armour. Unhurt and still full of anger, she stood up bristling with fury in the broken remains of the tree. That animal was still standing, rolling back up after smashing her best friend into pulp between scales and dirt, killing-

“Yo.”

***

About twenty seconds ago….

The moonlight was gone, blocked on all sides by the monster’s bulk and the ground seconds from smushing Rainbow Dash into a nasty red smear. Her wings flicked, the only light she could see, revealing dirt and stones about to-

She vanished.

The flash of Rainbow Dash’s return to Paladin’s home was followed by the cacophony of her crash. She bounced to a halt against the table, spilling chocolate chess pieces over her head.

“Monster!” she blurted before Fluttershy or Spike could say anything. Sitting up, chocolate knight in her mane, Rainbow Dash repeated her cry. “Monster! Big, scales, all of it! Tell Pally, gotta go help AJ, bye!”

Fluttershy and Spike stared at the spot Rainbow Dash had occupied, the pegasus gone in a flash.

“I...I better rewrite that letter,” Spike muttered, gulping.

***

Rainbow Dash returned to the farm much closer to ground level than usual, although, fortunately, further than when she had left. Pulling herself onto a bush, Rainbow Dash blinked and rubbed her eyes. Applejack appeared to be doing her best to kick her way into the monster’s stomach without bothering to take a detour through the throat. Eyes narrow, Rainbow Dash tensed, ready to charge to her friend’s aid. Fortunately, the monster saved her the effort by knocking the earth pony over.

“Yo.”

Applejack’s mouth hung open as she stared at her friend. She looked at the monster, then back to Dash, back to the monster, and again to Dash.

“What?” Rainbow asked.

Applejack’s stare became a glare. After a second of that Dash’s cocky grin faltered slightly. Even with her face hidden by her armour, Applejack managed to convey all she needed through her eyes.

“...Rainbow Dash, next time Ah think ya’ve been crushed under a giant monster, don’t just pop up an’ say ‘hi’ or lemme think yer dead,” Applejack growled. She let out a heavy sigh. “Ah thought ya had been pancaked!”

“Alright, geez, sorry,” Dash said with a roll of her eyes. She landed next to Applejack, wringing a crink out of her neck. “I was letting Fluttershy and the others know about the monster, Paladin is already on the way. Hey, where’s Mac?”

As Rainbow Dash looked around, Applejack winced and glanced at the monster as it began to search for them. “Don’t know. Wish Ah did, but in all this Ah ain’t seen him. Even if he, Ah dunno, got lost he shoulda come runnin’! How could he not see this thing makin’ a mess of our home? ‘Bloom said he’d been taken by the monster…”

“Is that why you were trying to kick your way into its stomach?” Rainbow Dash recoiled at the glare that question got her. “Uh, never mind! Let’s go beat that thing up!”

Comparing the rampaging monster to Applejack, and then herself, Rainbow Dash gave her friend a critical look. “How? I kicked it in the eye, pulled its hair-”

“It has hair?”

“Yeah, weird, right? I did all that, and it didn’t do much. I don’t think its gonna just roll over again and let you whale on its stomach.” The pegasus shrugged. “What are we gonna do to it?”

Applejack chewed on that for moment, then shook her head. “Ah don’t know, but we need to get it outta the orchard. We’re losin’ too many trees; if it does much more damage, Ah’m not sure how the farm’ll hold up.”

A wide, wild grin spread over Rainbow Dash’s muzzle. She began to laugh. “Hey, AJ,” she asked, “Wanna play tag?”

Slowly, a look of understanding dawned. Her grin was hidden by her helm. “Sure as sugar, sugarcube.”

***

The monster snapped up another tree, crunching wood, leaves and apples into a mulchy mess. A twang of pain inside was ignored. Raw hatred for the trees, the damn apple trees overwhelmed it. The bestial mind had long since forgotten about hunting its prey. Such overwhelming hate all the trees and their fruity payload consumed the beast.

“Hey, ugly! Tag, you’re it!”

Something splattered against its muzzle . Turning its head, the beast caught sight of the little blue bother again, throwing another apple. Rumbling in response, it put on a burst of speed to snap at her. She was gone before its jaws closed, slipping out of range with a mocking laugh.

“Come on, tall, dark and scaley, you can do better than that...or maybe not! Ha!” she called. A wall of sound and stinking air erupted from the toothy maw in her wake, threatening to blast the pegasus from the sky. Had she not been an experienced weatherpony and skilled flyer, it might even have done so. As it was, she compensated and continued to dangle just out of reach, dipping back to let it try snapping at her. Claws crunching dirt and knocking aside trees, it followed her, pursuing the pegasus to the field.

Rainbow Dash smirked. All she had to do was act as bait and the big stupid thing came charging after her. It wasn’t like it had any chance of catching her, after all. It was a huge ground-bound lizard, whereas she was Rainbow Dash, master of the skies-

She moved without thinking, the shifting air and rush of wind through teeth enough to send the pegasus blasting forward with a moment’s subconscious notice. Those massive teeth were only a few feet behind her, providing ample excuse to lengthen her lead.

‘Okay, maybe not so slow,’ she conceded. Dash began to dodge, dip and dive until at last they cleared the tree line. A field, ploughed and prepared but holding nothing but dirt, was a far better place to fight this out. Flying to the centre of the field, Rainbow Dash grinned at the oncoming jaws of death.

Its maw was filled with light, the pegasus vanishing before she could be devoured. Turning in circles, it searched for its prey with a foul glare in its dark eyes. Only a tiny, momentary pinprick flare, hidden by branches and leaves, gave away a hint to where the ponies were. Its growl rumbled through the dark field and the shadowed orchard, its own hearing filled with the sound. This was only relevant because it meant it did not hear the whistle of air from above.

Applejack smashed into its back at terrible velocity. Its legs buckled at the sudden force pushing it down, roaring so loudly it almost overpowered the crack of scales snapping and stone shattering. Cursed blood welled up around Applejack’s armoured hooves. Her heart trembled, seeing the dark liquid pooling, and resisted the urge to vomit. She was hurting this monster, breaking its scales and leaving it bleeding. Despite the destruction, she felt guilt for the pain she was causing.

‘Toughen up, sugarcube, this thing is gonna hurt my family an’ leave the farm in ruins! We don’t have time for fancy plans!’ she thought, glaring down at it. Yanking her hooves from the distinct impressions she had left, surrounded by the broken natural armour, Applejack began to unleashing her formidable strength against it.

Descending to grab her, Rainbow Dash paused. “Uh, AJ? Stop that and get off, before it hits you flying again!”

“Get off,” Applejack snarled, pushing Dash away. “Whatever this thing is, it was tryin’ to hurt my sister. We gotta stop it.”

Rainbow rolled her eyes. “Yeah, I know, which is why we’re gonna do the whole ‘drop you from up high’ thing again!”

With a shake of her head and a shove that pushed Rainbow Dash up when she tried to hold on, Applejack reared and brought her hooves down hard. Sparks flicked out, like flint on stone, but she attacked again regardless.

“Ah can do this! It can’t hurt me with the armour, sugarcube, so don’t ya worry none.” Her tone was confident through the anger. Dash’s suggestion about her brother’s fate haunted her, lurking in the back of Applejack’s mind and lending her blows ferocious might.

Rainbow Dash squinted at her, then glanced at the pained beast. “Stop, Applejack, this thing is gonna start moving again! I was just joking about the eating Mac thing, he’s probably fine, now come on!”

For once she wasn’t willing to take the riskier path simply for the sake of it. Dark as it was, she could hear - and smell - the result of Applejack’s work. The coppery tang of blood was far too palpable for her taste. This wasn’t how they solved problems, this wasn’t how they beat monsters and bad guys. Somepony came up with a cunning plan, they used wits, or luck, or ancient super-powerful magical relics. Their hooves weren’t covered in blood literally beaten out of their foes.

“Ah’ll be fine! It ain’t movin’, an’ Ah ain’t givin’ it the chance!” roared Applejack. Her sister had been terrified and her brother vanished, and Rainbow Dash wanted her to take it easy on this thing? This thing. Not even a monster, just something she had to remove.

“We gotta-” Whatever words Rainbow Dash intended to put to her furious friend were lost to the smack of thick scales striking something far softer.

Applejack looked away from her ‘work’ digging her way through the monster’s back to see her friend catapulted up by a flick of its nimble tail. The muscled tail curved again as it shifted, swinging out and up before coming back again, winding up for a second strike. A chill ran through her; it reminded her of a sport, throwing the ball above so it would be in just the right position when you swung.

“Dash!” she called. The monster moved beneath her and she only just held on. The pegasus regained control, wings beating hard, but she spent a few seconds too long staring down at Applejack atop their foe.

“What-” began Dash.

This time its tail struck with far more force. It wasn’t just knocking her up. Rainbow Dash, dazed and ears still ringing, saw it far too late. She had no time to react, no moment to focus on escape. There was a meaty thud and she went flying across the orchard, limp in the air. All Rainbow Dash felt was a force that left her numb and made her ears ring before it all went dark.

The world suddenly cleared in Applejack’s sight. Even as she leaped from the monster’s back, she knew she couldn’t reach her friend before Dash came to a messy end against the ground somewhere, and she knew it was her fault. The rage that had been overwhelming her vanished as though it had never been there, leaving only the sharp sting of shame. She had been stupid and reckless, her own invulnerability proving to be not her own downfall, but her friend’s.

“Rainbow Dash!” she screamed, her plummeting friend lost in the trees Applejack was galloping through.

***

In the darkness of the Everfree, Tirek grunted. He lowered his arms. Sweat poured down down his crimson skin, his beard hanging heavy with moisture and dripping into the corrupted earth. A dissatisfied rumble echoed from his throat, but through the distant eyes of his slave he watched the pegasus’s fall. The last vestiges of his rage-spell faded with scraps of shadow dissipating from his fists.

“Yes, one falls, and the other fails.” He was speaking to himself, which was only natural. There were few others worthy of his conversation, and in the last few eons of imprisonment he had provided himself with most of his entertainment. “Hrmm….”

Despite his pleasure at the impending death, the fact the other mortal had shed his magic was vexing. She should barely have been capable of words; in fact, she should have struck her erstwhile ally in fury instead of just pushing her away. The blood of her kin was the perfect medium, and it soaked the hooves of the soul-armour she wore when it should have been staining it. Despite his magic, something had shielded the mortal from the worst of his spell and even fought back! Few things so infuriated him as that. Taking what solace he could in what was sure to be an amusing scream of anguish when the pegasus’s mostly horizontal flight came to its inevitable abrupt end, Tirek focused his slave’s eyes.

“Yes…” His cruel smile grew, but a flash of something of brilliant white made his eyes widen. The ancient demon leaned forward as though it would reveal some trickery upon his slave’s eyes. A nearby tree was reduced to shrapnel at his fury moments later. “...No! No!”

***

Dark legs with light blue hooves wrapped around Rainbow Dash’s limp form. With a grunt of effort Paladin took control, wings flaring and flapping. Once he had her secure in his hold, the large pegasus turned one white-blue eye on the crocodile monster as he descended. They stared at each other, the massive reptile demon apparently willing to simply watch for a moment so long as their eyes met.

Paladin pushed down the bubbling anger in his chest. Whatever the monster was or did, Rainbow Dash mattered first.

“We both owe Pinkie Pie for this,” he muttered to his unconscious friend. ‘Were it not for Pinkie, I would still be with her and Rarity. Had I not flown ahead...’ He wasn’t the sort to ‘shudder to think’, but in this case it was apt.

At first glance, Rainbow Dash appeared to be asleep. Paladin was willing to bet that in a short time she would be one big bruise, from forehead to rear-hooves. He prayed that was all she would suffer, and he ran a hoof along her chest as he laid her in the branches of a surprisingly soft tree.

‘Nothing internal, although I am no real judge,’ he thought, wishing he had bothered Twilight for more information on pony anatomy, or at least a book. Wings spread to take off, Paladin paused. A moment later the bushes below erupted into upset, armoured earth pony.

“Paladin! Ya got her!” Applejack called in relief. She came to a halt, hooves digging into the ground. "Is she okay?"

"She isn't bleeding and nothing seems to be broken, Applejack, calm down. Where are your siblings? She should be taken to the hospital just to be safe," he suggested. Dropping to the ground he gave her bloodied hooves a hard look. It was dark but he had slain too many demons to forget the smell of blood.

Applejack shied away from the attention, stepping out of the moonlight where the shadows cast by the trees hid her stained steel hooves. She hoped she was far enough that Fluttershy couldn’t sense her shame and guilt. At least Paladin is choose to say nothing. He just flexed his wings.

"Ah left Apple Bloom further back an' told her to stay safe." She was beginning to feel like leaving her sister alone had been a horrible idea. "No idea where Mac is, all Ah know is that 'Bloom said the monster took 'im."

"I see. That monster? Something about it feels...familiar." He frowned. After a moment Paladin shook his head. "Regardless, we have to stop it and find Macintosh. "

"Ya think Ah don’t know that?" Applejack tried to calm down with little success. "Ah do!"

Paladin gave her an arch look. He didn’t need to say 'calm down', she could imagine the stern words easily enough. Wincing, Applejack looked back towards the monster. At least it had gone still, no longer rampaging. She turned to face Paladin.

"Sorry," she muttered contritely.

He made a dismissive gesture. "I understand. We must act before the fiend begins its rampage once more. Tell me, quickly, what are its capabilities?"

"Its fast, real fast, especially considerin' how damn big it is. Scales are hard, but my armour is harder. It hates apple trees!" Applejack glared. "Even if it don’t kill us, it mighta killed the farm."

“Smart?”

“It let Dash lead it out to the field, but Ah don’t know. What’s it doin’, just...staring?” She shook her head, plates of armour clinking.

The beast was just staring in their direction, but it didn’t move. Neither could see the twisting darkness that left nothing but blackness visible.

“Attack, damn you!” The beast shuddered.

Paladin twitched, looking around. “Who said that? Attack? Rainbow Dash?” He glanced at the mare in the tree, but she was still unconscious.

“She can’t attack with us, she’s out of it. Leave her where she is, that tree’ll kept her safe.” Applejack nodded towards the rows of trees around them. “Ah planted these ones.” Her tone darkened. “My first tree is here...Mac helped me plant it when Ah was a filly…”

“Attack! You will obey!”

Grunting, Paladin put a hoof against his head. He was sure he had heard something, whispers on the edge of his hearing. Commanding and violent, somehow familiar in a way he couldn’t grasp. He knew he had heard it somewhere, but he struggled to find it. This struggle grew rather more difficult as a pained roar filled the orchard and the monster began its march towards them.

“Oh no ya don’t!” Applejack snarled. She gave Paladin a concerned look. “We gotta stop it! Its coming right for us!”

“Go for the legs,” he commanded. Pushing away his uncertainty about the familiarity he felt, Paladin focused on the oncoming enemy. “Kick them out from under it, or go for its joints. I will distract it.”

He blasted into the air, feeling the joy of flight, the song of wind rushing past his ears as he ascended. With a flap he rocketed towards the monster. His pure white wings were lit by the moon, and he knew he would have their foe’s attention, at least until Applejack attacked. Veering away, he led the beast away from where Rainbow Dash lay. Their path curved to the side and he prayed none of the trees Applejack cared about were there. Looking back, he found her warning on its speed as honest as anything she had said; it was catching up to him faster than he expected, forcing Paladin to push himself.

Down below, Applejack cursed and began to gallop after them. Now the damn thing was practically running away from her! She sighted on one of its back legs, trying to pick out where to attack. It was no easy feat given it was night and her own faithful apple trees conspired to block her view. She was pretty sure she could see a spot where the rock and armour scales didn’t quite mesh properly, above its back left leg. If she could hurt it there, they could slow it down, hopefully enough for...for...ugh…

‘Never thought tryin’ not to hurt somethin’ would make me wanna spit,’ she thought darkly.

Hopefully, she could slow it down enough to capture it when her friends arrived to help. It would mean one less explanation to Fluttershy about how she had hurt it. Smiling grimly, Applejack charged closer and closer until at last she jumped. Propelled by the enhancement of her armour she got up to its knee in one jump. Its scales gave her enough hoof-holds to pull herself up a few more feet so that the tree tops didn’t knock her from her precarious perch. She scaled the scales, doing her best to ignore the snaps of its heavy jaws and its rumbling roars of anger at yet another pegasus mocking it.

‘This oughta have woken the town by now, with all the wailin’ this thing does! Its like it can’t shut up!’ She was in no mood to be charitable to the insane lizard as she pulled herself up its leg.

Paladin dodged another attempt to snap him up, lashing out hard enough to dent the pointed scales behind him. He was doing negligible damage, but that wasn’t the goal. He wanted it angry, and fixated on him.

“Maddened beast!” he called, striking again before shooting out of reach. It glared up at him, gnashing its teeth, dark eyes full of hate. He glared in turn, unafraid and prepared to show it. Even in the dark of night he could see the unnatural shadows that twisted within eyes of dull, dead green. Again, he was struck by a sense of familiarity. Unlike the barely heard whisper, this time it was different. Closer to home, as it were. He knew those eyes, but from where he had no idea.

Finally in place atop the beast’s flank, Applejack grinned savagely. She braced herself and began to hammer away at the spot where scales and stone met. Whatever unnatural magic had mutated this cragadile had done a bad job on the meshing here so she kept the pressure on. She felt it begin to give beneath her, the weight and power behind her constant assault finally attracting attention.

Paladin dived in the moment it looked like Applejack would get its attention. “You will heed me when I talk,” he roared. He slammed into the side of its snout, hooking a hoof around its nostril and giving it a kick before taking off again - aided by a jump that would surely hurt its nose. Once more he felt the gust of wind blast him from behind as it tried and failed to devour him.

The scale her hoof was battering was finally being torn loose. She gave it an extra strong kick. With a sickening lurch the scale finally ripped out and fell away. A weakspot had been revealed, one she was going to exploit the hell out of. Fluttershy shouldn’t be too upset if it just ended up with a broken hip, right?

Looking down as she swung her hoof out, the moon’s shine surrounded her for a moment. Applejack’s attack suddenly lost coordination, the mare unable to keep from gasping as the sight beneath the scale was revealed to her. This proved a mistake, the thrashing of the shadowed reptile sending Applejack bouncing away in her moment of weakness.

Her cry wasn’t the loudest thing, but Paladin still heard it. He paused only a moment to realise what it was. Then he was swooping down, determined to catch Applejack. A length of scale-armoured tail disagreed with his choice, the beast swinging like a batter on the pitch and swatting Paladin from the air. Only long practice with Rainbow Dash allowed him to retain some coordination, and when Paladin hit the ground he kept his landing as controlled as he could manage, rolling into it until he came to a dazed stop at the base of tree.

It took a few seconds to regain his bearings and open his eyes, cracking them wide to the sight of the monster looming above him. One claw was raised, waiting to fall. It was a particularly cruel pause, giving him enough time to understand but not enough to think of fleeing as the claw fell towards him.

“Damn,” was the best Paladin could muster.

Paladin kept his eyes open for the end. He refused to simply give up, to accept this fate at the monster’s claw. Even as it struck he tried to move despite the protests of his aching body and paid heed only to the need to end the rampage. He had to stop it, although in all honesty he knew there was no way he could move fast enough. What light there was in the gloom was blocked out by the falling claw.

Nothing happened.

He stared at the claw hovering above him. The tip of one shovel like nail brushed against the tree, but it didn’t move. The entire creature was still, as though caught in time, frozen in an everlasting moment.

“Crush him!”

Paladin winced. He heard it more clearly, a frightful voice filled with hate and anger. Why the beast had stopped he couldn’t say, but he was willing to take advantage of it. The why still remained in his thoughts as he leaped up and dived to the side. He looked back as he shot up and away. Its dark eyes were fixed on the tree, and now Paladin could see the subtle tension in its body, as though it was trying to hold itself back even as it also tried to crush the tree.

“You will obey!”

The monster shook at the ethereal command. Paladin’s questions only grew. His ears twitched, picking up another voice. This one was very real, and very frantic.

“Paladin! Don’t hurt ‘im!” Applejack shouted. She galloped through the trees, looking at the frozen beast. “It’s not just a monster! On its side, its got...its…” she stopped, staring at the tree being threatened. ‘That tree…’

Paladin hovered above her, eyeing the monster. “Quickly, Applejack, we have to hamstring it. The beast must be brought low, before it begins to move again.”

“That...that tree...that was my first tree…” Applejack said quietly. “Mac helped me plant it.”

He gave her a confused look. “I’m glad its not damaged-”

“Mac helped me plant it,” she repeated. “An’ the monster ain’t touchin’ it. An’...under the scale…” Applejack took a ragged breath. “It had Mac’s cutie mark. It ain’t gonna touch the tree that means so much to me, it has his cutie mark-”

“And it has his eyes,” cut in Paladin, his beating wings faltering for a moment. “By the Silver Spire; the beast didn’t take him, it is him! The voice, the orders I can hear, must be related. When he stopped attacking, I could hear a voice cursing and ordering him to attack. Dark magic is afoot.”

Applejack looked at her hooves. The blood had dripped away, but she could still feel it. That was her brother she had been hurting. “How? Who could do this? My brother turned into a massive monster? Its...” She hesitated. “Okay, its not the weirdest thing that’s ever happened, it’s still out there.”

The monster - Big Mac - threw its head back, thrashing and roaring as it retreated from the tree.

“Ah can’t hurt my brother! What are we gonna do?” Applejack stared at the monster she was sure had been her brother, horrified by what she had done to him.

“You are going to get Rainbow Dash, then your sister, and find Rarity and Pinkie Pie on the road. They should nearly be here by now,” Paladin commanded. He didn’t give her any time to question him, simply asserting himself. When in a crisis, all one needed to do was appear confident and in control. “I shall ensure he remains focused on me and away from the trees, without doing much damage to him.”

She gave him a nod and took off. Her trust in the angel-turned-pony was ironclad; Big Mac was his friend, and he would do whatever it took to help him.

Paladin flew up, his eyes fixed on the monstrosity that was his friend. No fear touched his expression, not a hint of hesitation or uncertainty. His eyes were hard as the beast turned to him. His wings made him an easy target.

“As a friend would say…” Paladin’s eyes narrowed. “‘Bring it’.”

As a friend would say, the Big Mac-adile certainly brought it. With tails and claws and slavering jaws, he brought it as earthen thunder that rocked the farm.

***

Apple Bloom groaned. She tugged at the door again. It continued to defy her, the mangled latch resisting her best efforts. Given she was a filly, even an earth pony filly, her best wasn’t quite much. The filly released it with a grunt, huffing and puffing as she glared at the defiant door. Even her mightiest buck did nothing but rattle it. Her glare failed to sear the wood.

“Ugh!” she cried, throwing her hooves up. “Stupid door! Open up! Stupid Mac, why did ya do this? Why why why why why?!” Apple Bloom was bouncing up and down as she shouted at the door, shaking her head furiously.

Her glare and attention fixed on the shed, Apple Bloom had no hope of detecting the shadow watching her. It was perched above her, talons flexing silently within its cloak of darkness. Scorpan didn’t bother wondering what the vessel was doing; he had abandoned mortal concerns long ago. Watching as the mortal began to beat at the shed door again, Scorpan tensed. There were few things as satisfying as the seconds before a pounce. She was practically his already.

Scorpan slipped from the branches without a sound. Oh, this felt too good, watching the vessel attacking the door. She had no idea he was there. With but a thought his shadow reached up, parting the trees to let moonlight shine down on them. It added the perfect touch, his shadow returned to normal and slowly casting over the filly as he approached.

He stood there, his monstrous shadow blocking the moonlight around her. A demonic silhouette surrounded her for half a minute. Apple Bloom failed to notice. The amusement in Scorpan’s eyes began to fade. He glared at the back of her head. At last his patience ran out. His tail whipped against the ground, the sharp crack filling the night.

“Ha! Ah knew Ah’d do somethin’!” Apple Bloom cheered. She blinked. “Wait, that came from behind me…” She trailed off, her eyes widening as she finally noticed the definitely not-at-all normal shadow over her.

She continued to stare at the door, trembling slightly, the shadow growing with each step Scorpan took towards her. She moved away when he finally got too close. Apple Bloom gulped, turning and trying to back away until her back hit the door. She stared up at the looming monster.

“W-where’s my brother?” she tried to demand. “H-he shoulda beaten ya up.”

Scorpan chuckled darkly. “I’m afraid not. Come now, let’s not make this difficult. I would hate for your brother’s rampage to interrupt us.” He extended a claw towards her.

Apple Bloom’s eyes widened. “Mac? That’s...that’s a lie.”

He took another step. There was nowhere to go now. He savoured this, the helplessness and weakness. It was like a drug. She was weak and afraid, unable to stop him. He was powerful, greater than some filthy pony. As it should be.

“Boo.”

Scorpan stopped, blinking. He turned his head. He had time to see a wide. wide smile before the chirpy, far too cheerful voice repeated itself.

“Boo!”

He sailed over Apple Bloom, his breath blown out of him by the force of the invisible strike. The wood of the door crunched and buckled. Slamming one claw into the side Scorpan began to pull himself up from the creaking, barely standing door. His expression was twisted further into ugliness with hate and fury. The sight of his prey being pulled away from him by a unicorn’s shimmering blue magic did little to deter him.

Rarity collected Apple Bloom in her hooves, holding her tight as she glared at the thing that had tried to take the filly. “Calm down, dear, we’re here. We heard you shouting before, well, Pinkie Pie did. Are you okay? This ruffian didn’t hurt you, did he?”

Apple Bloom shook her head numbly, watching Pinkie Pie standing in front of the monster, forehooves raised as though about to partake in a boxing match.

“I’m going to kill you,” Scorpan snarled as he stood. This was shortly going to turn out to be a mistake.

“Nuh uh!” Pinkie Pie bounced to a landing in front of him. “Mister Monster, you need a time out. Not only are you being a real meanie making nasty threats, but you didn’t even knock on that door, and its rude when you BANG it.”

He was flattened against the door by the force of the attack. It was only for a moment, however, given the door’s battered state. This time the door was destroyed with the winged monster being punched through it. Brilliant white light lanced out, turning the dark clearing as bright as midday. Pinkie shielded her eyes with a squeal. The shriek from Scorpan drowned her out.

Rarity shifted her sight to, well, Sight instantly. Her eyes widened in shock and her hold on Apple Bloom went loose. “Goodness! What is that?”

Scorpan howled. It was a tortured cry, the voice of a creature suffering utterly. He threw himself from the blinding order and perfection within the shed, his fur smoking even in the faintest escaped light. Everything was pain, pure and undiluted agony beyond what a body should be able to even feel. Shadows twisted about him as he fled, ignored by the mortals.

Rarity stared with her mouth hanging open, Seeing clearly through the light. She had no spare attention to give Pinkie Pie or the would-be foalnapper. It took her a few seconds to notice Apple Bloom had left her hold, running for the now opened shed.

“Owie, it’s so bright! I’m sure glad I took off my nightvision goggles!” Pinkie rubbed her watering eyes. “Applejack needs to remember to turn the lights off!”

“Pinkie Pie, darling...that isn’t just a lamp. It’s..I..I hardly have the words!” Rarity was transfixed by the sight before her. She could See the perfection worked into it all, the glow of the completed posts bright and powerful. It covered everything around it, and for once Rarity was able to use her angelic Sight and not be tormented by the utter bevy of imperfections that so cursed mortal creations. Even as Apple Bloom began to gather them into her hooves, they were perfect. Completely, indisputably perfect.

She shook her head, trying to bring her senses back into order. Order. Perfect ord-

‘Focus, Rarity! This is not normal!’ She gave herself a mental slap, then followed it up with a physical one. Rarity Looked again, and snatched up Apple Bloom in her magic. Unable to resist, she caught the posts and pulled them out too.

“Hey! Lemme go!” Apple Bloom tried to get away, flapping her arms wildly like she could fly away if she did it hard enough. “Ah wanna make more! Ah nearly finished the set!”

“That’s enough of that, young lady! What exactly was that dreadful creature, and what in Equestria is happening in that shed?” demanded Rarity. She gave Apple Bloom the same look she used on Sweetie Belle when she wanted to show she was utterly serious.

“Ah was just tryin’ to make the posts better! Ya got magic eyes, Ah know y’all can see. Look at ‘em!” Trying to get free, Apple Bloom reached for her creations. They were set just out of reach. She stretched and strained but Rarity held her back.

Pinkie Pie had finally stopped rubbing her eyes and turned her attention to searching for a sign of the meanie monster. “Hey, where’d he go? His time out isn’t over yet!” She pouted. “And if whoever is making all those roars doesn’t start thinking about the ponies they’re waking up, they’ll join him in the naughty corner!”

“Its Mac! That thing said Mac is the big cragadile monster thing! Now lemme at my posts, Ah can finish ‘em. Lemme go!” Rarity tightened her hooves, ignoring Apple Bloom’s protests. She looked at Apple Bloom this time, and she Saw. There was only so surprised one mare could be, and Rarity was already straining it. What she Saw in Apple Bloom...

Pure whiteness, the very essence of luminance, shone within Apple Bloom. It burned at her centre, pulsing with her heart and growing with each beat. Even as Rarity watched it coiled more tightly within its vessel. Against reason, there was only one thing it could be. She knew what it was, but she didn’t want to admit it. The knowledge imposed itself upon her, implicit in the act of viewing it.

It was the soul of an angel.

She blinked, trying to keep her attention on it. No, that wasn’t right. Rarity looked at Pinkie, then back to Apple Bloom. It was nearly the same thing, but wrong. Where the brilliance of the angelic power meshed seamlessly into Pinkie Pie it was torn and jagged within the filly. It pulsed, and a little bit more of it spread through Apple Bloom, taking with it a little bit more of her essence into itself. No, Rarity had been wrong; it wasn’t nearly the same thing as the essence within her friends. Their gift didn’t slowly devour the rest of their non-angelic soul.

“Apple Bloom, what have you done?” ‘How could this happen? Paladin would have told us if he knew, but he hasn’t said a word! If he doesn’t know, who could be responsible?’ Rarity pondered frantically. A bestial roar interrupted her thoughts.

"Ooooh, lookie, I think Pally is playing with the big ol' monster!" Pinkie, now sitting atop a tree, waved. "Pally! Pally-walley, Mister P, yoohoo!"

Rarity snapped, "Darling, stop that before you bring the beast upon us!"

"Awww, come on Rarity, don't be so down, I'm sure we could have him back to bucking apples and saying 'eeyup' in a jiffy," said Pinkie. She grinned. “Mac wouldn’t hurt anypony, even if he was a big monster Mac-adile!”

“See?! That thing said that was Mac! We gotta help him!” Apple Bloom finally got out of Rarity’s hold and scrambled towards the shed. Rarity was standing in her way an instant later, hooves thrown out to each side over the doorway. “Let me through!”

“Not. A. Chance! We have no idea what going in there will do! Did you not hear the sounds that fiend was making? I will not endanger you. You are my friend’s little sister, and my little sister’s friend, and neither would forgive me if I let you get hurt.” Rarity fixed Apple Bloom with a stern look.

Anger filled Apple Bloom’s face as she was denied yet again. “Ah didn’t know ya cared about Sweetie Belle when it ain’t convenient. She sure doesn’t think ya do!” she spat.

Rarity froze, expression crumbling at the low blow. Apple Bloom began to dart past only to pause as she saw Rarity’s face and realised, with the sinking feeling of a stone dropping through her chest, what she just said. The filly backed up, shaking her head.

“A-Ah’m sorry! Ah didn’t mean it, really! Sweetie Belle don’t think that, Ah was just bein’ mean, Ah’m sorry! Please don’t be mad!” she begged. Tears threatened to spill from her eyes.

“It’s…” Rarity cleared her throat, looking away for a moment. “It’s fine, really. Now, enough of this ‘Macintosh is a monster’ nonsense. Just because that brutish foalnapper said he was does not make it true.” Trying to regain her composure, Rarity gave Apple Bloom a brittle smile and a gentle push to move her away from the shed.

Pinkie slowly slipped down the tree trunk, giving Rarity a narrow look. “Rarity, do you need a hug?” she asked with utmost seriousness.

Her initial denial on the tip of her tongue, Rarity hesitated. Before she could actually say anything, another roar made her jump in shock. When she came down, it was in Pinkie’s forelegs, her own in a deathgrip around Pinkie’s neck.

“I’ll take that as a yes!” she chirped happily. “Are you su~uuuuuure that’s not Mac? It sounds like him.”

“Pinkie Pie, first of all, it does not. Second; you’ll scare poor Apple Bloom. Third; put me down this instant.” Once she was back on firm ground, Rarity looked down at the tearful Apple Bloom. The remark had hurt them both, it seemed, and so she gently reached down and brushed away the tears. “Now now darling, I said it was fine. You are not yourself right now.”

Apple Bloom sniffled and nodded. “A-Ah’m still awful sorry, Miss Rarity, if Applejack heard me sayin’ something like that...that was nasty of me.”

“Water under the bridge, I assure you,” Rarity told her with a weak smile. "Have you seen Paladin? He flew on ahead."

"Nuh uh, after Applejack told me to run, y'all are the only ponies Ah've seen. She was gonna help Rainbow Dash- oh no! They're gonna hurt Mac!" Apple Bloom wailed.

Rarity did her best to soothe Apple Bloom, but it was an uphill battle. The filly, the pulse of angelic energy slowing, seemed to react with more guilt and worry than was strictly necessary. Even Pinkie seeing somepony heading towards them did little to calm her, at least until Pinkie added; "Oooh, shiny!"

Apple Bloom looked up, twisting to look around frantically. “Shiny? Is it Applejack? Applejack! It’s Mac! Don’t hurt him!”

They could hear the pounding of somepony galloping, and with each second the sounds got closer. Pinkie called out, waving eagerly at whoever it was. Apple Bloom’s guess proved correct for soon enough a shiny mare, or rather, an armoured mare came barrelling into the clearing. She swept Apple Bloom from Rarity, holding her in a metallic hug. She almost broke it, lifting her tail in time to keep the unconscious blue pegasus from falling off her back.

“Applejack!” the ecstatic filly cried.

“Sugarcube, yer alright! Ah saw that light an’ Ah got so worried!” Applejack looked up from her sister, giving Rarity a thankful look that was largely wasted by her helm. “Ah don’t know what happened, but thank y’all so much!”

“Not a problem, darling, but I must rush to ask why you are carrying Rainbow Dash? Is she- oh my! Poor thing, she’s bruised all over!” Rarity gently picked Rainbow Dash up, running a magically enhanced eye over her friend. “Was it the monster out there, or the brute we had to deal with here?”

Apple Bloom poked at her sister’s armoured chest. “Ya can’t hurt the big one, he’s-”

“Big Macintosh, Ah know. Don’t worry sugarcube, we ain’t gonna let any more harm come to him. Paladin’s keepin’ him busy while Ah came to find y’all. Pinkie, can ya see him from up there?” Applejack called.

“Yupa-ronie! He’s keeping Huge Macadile entertained...I think! Its kinda hard to tell…” Pinkie trailed off, staring intently ahead. She wished she had her spy suit with her, her night vision goggles had a zoom function.

“Don’t call my brother that,” Applejack and Apple Bloom said at at the same time. They shared a look of surprise before Applejack shook her head and released the filly from her hooves. “What happened here? What other monster? No, darn it, tell me later, we gotta do something. Wait, what’s that?”

She pointed at the pile of wooden posts. They resembled ornately carved wooden stakes over half as tall as a pony, but they were more than mere fence posts now. The wood possessed a silvered quality to it, its fibers shimmering.

“Ah made ‘em! An’ Ah think they can help Mac! Least they could if Ah could finish ‘em,” Apple Bloom grumbled, kicking at the ground. She gave her sister a pleading look. “Ah just know they’ll make everythin’ better.”

Applejack looked down at her in confusion, then away when she caught a gesture from Rarity. The fashionista gestured off to the side, clearly wanting a talk out of hearing. With time running short, Applejack was nervous about it but she nodded after a moment. Rarity surely knew they were in a rush, so whatever it was must be important.

“Ah’ll...give me a minute, Ah just gotta talk to Rarity. Do not go anywhere,” she ordered her sister.

Rarity wasted no time once she had Applejack’s ear. “There’s angelic...something or other inside Apple Bloom. I have no idea how it got there, but I only saw it when I looked at her with my angelic Sight. It’s not like ours, but I think that’s why your little shed is all glowing, and such.”

“What? Paladin woulda told me if he went an’ gave Apple Bloom some of his soul!” protested Applejack.

“Perhaps he is not responsible?” Rarity pointed out.

Applejack said crossly, “Well, the only other fella like Pally was Ardleon, an’ Ah don’t think he was really the sort to go around givin’ lil’ fillies bits of himself, do you?” She regretted the harsh tone she had taken almost instantly, sighing and giving Rarity an apologetic look.

“I quite understand.” Fortunately for them both Rarity read the intent without seeing more than Applejack’s eyes. She returned it with a forgiving smile. “The posts, or whatever they are now, have the same thing inside them. They’re…perfect,” she finally said, struggling for the right word. “There’s a sense to them, but unfortunately it seems just seeing the patterns in their perfection does not quite mean understanding them. I can just see that they are, well, perfect fence posts. Utterly perfect.”

While they spoke Pinkie Pie had dropped from her treetop seat. She sat next to Apple Bloom. The mare turned her head this way and that as she looked over the artful creations. She went to poke one only to get a slap on the hoof from a defensive Apple Bloom. The filly frowned at her.

Applejack glanced over to watch Pinkie keep Apple Bloom busy. She chewed over the idea of using the unknown, apparently randomly magical or angelic fence posts. She wished she knew more, but she didn’t and time was running out.

“Where’s Twilight? An’ Spike an’ Fluttershy?” she asked to keep Rarity talking. She needed more time to think, but time was just what they didn’t have. Where was Twilight and her super-thinking when they needed her?

“Twilight should be on her way here by now, after returning to Fluttershy, and- oh, yes.” Rarity fell silent. Applejack didn’t need to ask why. While Fluttershy couldn’t send them thoughts, she could send them feelings. Right now, reassurance and trust came from Fluttershy, and a surge of frantic impatience that tasted like Twilight. ‘Tasted like’ was a crude term, but it was the best they had been able to agree on when describing the feeling of each other’s emotional presence. “I suspect Twilight is on the way now, with first aid supplies too no doubt.”

Breathing a sigh of relief, Applejack looked at Rarity for any ideas. None sprung miraculously forth, leaving them with a grand heap of nothing useful.

“We don’t know how to help Mac, or why he’s turned all monstrous-”

“Duh!” Pinkie interrupted. “All you have to do is shout in a dramatic, anguish filled voice ‘I know you’re in there somewhere!’ and after some struggling Mac’ll go ‘Eeyup!’ or something that’s his verbal tic and he’ll be fine! That’s how it works!”

Applejack tried not to roll her eyes, she really did. “Pinkie, this ain’t like some silly story! We gotta have some idea on what we can do for him! He’s a monster, for landsakes! Somepony turned my brother into a huge, evil, apple tree smashing monster!”

“Ah told ya, my creations can help!” Apple Bloom whined. “Ah know they can do somethin’!”

They didn’t have time for this! Applejack slammed a hoof into the ground, frustration bleeding into her tone. “Fine! We ain’t got anythin’ better, so grab the posts! Pinkie, go to the road, find Twilight an’ bring her to the fight. Take Rainbow Dash. Rarity, grab as many posts as ya can.”

Not waiting to see if they did as she said, Applejack just threw Apple Bloom onto her back, grabbed half a dozen posts in her bizarrely powerful tail and took off. She barely heard Pinkie’s ‘aye-aye!’ or Rarity frantically picking up more posts in her magic and trying to gallop after her.

Rarity wailed, “Applejack! Wait for me!”

She was huffing and puffing before too long. Despite the frequent running their adventures called for she wasn’t exactly a physical or magical powerhouse, and running through a dark orchard with roots and rocks and bushes to make it even harder was strenuous. The need to carry the silver-wood stakes just added another ‘fun’ layer of difficulty.

The sound of the monster’s - of Big Mac’s - rampage grew closer. Macadile had been drawn back into the field, jaw chomping and claws smashing. His tail was bashing the ground in wild attempts to turn Paladin into a pony paste. Silent commands flooded the chaotic mess that dominated Big Mac’s mind, ordering him constantly to stop failing and kill the pony. Regardless of the motivation it provided, very little of those commands were actually helpful.

Paladin rose and fell with equal speed, skill and desperation in the increasingly deadly dance this battle had become. The frantic pace kept him constantly moving and reacting. Always in motion and never with a chance to rest, the limitations of a mortal body were hitting home and reminding him he had been treating his mortal body very badly indeed. His wings protested the demands he was putting on them. He was feeling tired. There were few things Paladin hated as much as being tired. Already he knew his evasions were getting narrower, his dodges not quite as fast.

‘I need help,’ he realised with a pang of regret. But this time he wasn’t off playing hero on his own for some silly guilt. His friends would be back soon, he was sure of it. Even as he thought of it, he felt Fluttershy reaching out. No words were passed, but he felt what she wanted him to know nonetheless. Help is on the way. Trust us. We believe in you.

“Hey, Pally!” called a voice from below. A brilliant silver blur charged from the forest. “Get down here!”

The silver blur, Applejack, slammed into Macadile’s back leg, upsetting the beast. No tears or wailing, but a stagger that nearly dropped it. Paladin wasn’t about to waste the chance she had given him. “Keep him there!” he called as he shot away, vanishing into the tree tops and circling beneath until he found Rarity, Apple Bloom and...a pile of odd wood spikes?

No, not odd. He nearly made a crash landing when he made out the odd contortions that bent light and shadows. Carvings, angelic carvings no less!

“What...no, not possible. What are these? They reek of angelic power!” he said, disbelief clear in his voice. Forgoing greeting filly or mare, Paladin pressed his hoof against one. He could feel the power that had been ingrained into the very wood itself. By feel he could guess at the meaning of the carvings; warding and containment. No wonder they hummed with such power! “Whoever made these used them to store power...but why?”

“Well, hello to you too darling. Apple Bloom, is that true?” Rarity asked the filly. She kept one eye on the fight in clearing. Applejack was holding her own, albeit in an entirely different manner than Paladin. The only attacks she dodged were those jaws, instead meeting slashes of huge claws with her armour alight with inner power and slaps of his tail with powerful bucks. The ground was beaten and broken, but Applejack remained standing.

Paladin turned a confused look on the filly as she nodded. “Uh, Ah dunno. Ah just had a lotta….pressure, Ah guess, an’ making those made it feel better is all. Ah wasn’t tryin’ to do nothin’ special, except make really good fence posts. An’ Ah did!”

“You made these?!” Paladin was amazed he could still be surprised tonight. His incredulous stare was interrupted by the ground trembling. He cursed; they didn’t have time for him to investigate. These posts offered a way to fix things.

“Ah did! Ah made ‘em real good! See, he thinks Ah made somethin’ cool,” Apple Bloom said as smugly as a filly could while her sister was fighting a monster that was normally her brother. She winced when Applejack was thrown a dozen feet, only to breath a sigh of relief when the armoured mare stood up unharmed. “Ah hope Applejack’s okay…”

Paladin tried to focus on the posts, his shock at the filly possibly being responsible having to go on the backburner for now. As much as he wanted to know how in all the raging fires of the Burning Hells that was possible, right now Applejack was being battered about by her cursed brother.

“Her armour will protect her. She is buying me the time to plan. I can use these. My own power may be gone, but my knowledge remains undiminished.” He looked across the field. It was hard to judge distances in the dark. “We need to spread the stakes. Surround Macintosh with these.”

He took one, inspecting it. The angelic energy within hummed its presence across the ether, a tingle at the edge of his consciousness. Such closeness to it brought back a rush of memories, thoughts of his lost home in the High Heavens. He grasped the power tentatively. Whatever had changed he was still able to hold the angelic energy, and the stake was aglow with in.

Rarity lifted two in her magic. “Around him? How close? I shudder to think how easily he could break them. Can you really use these?”

Paladin nodded. “I can. You just need to to place them around the field. So long as he remains near the centre of their formation, I may be able to purify him of whatever curse holds him hostage.”

“May? Whatcha mean, ‘may’?!” Apple Bloom demanded. “Ah made these, an’ they’re good!”

“The worry is not with, uh, your creations. Spells of purification were never my forte, and I have spent far too long without the power to even attempt this,” he corrected her gently. “I wish I could avoid this, but I must ask you to aid us.”

“Paladin! She shouldn’t even be here!” Rarity protested.

Apple Bloom didn’t agree. “Ah wanna help! Whatcha want me to do?”

Ignoring Rarity’s outrage, Paladin leaned down to Apple Bloom’s height. “Your job is just as important as ours; think about your brother. Everything he means to you, everything he has ever done for you. I want you to remember your brother at his best. I want you to think of what defines him. That is the most important part.”

“...” Apple Bloom gave him a suspicious look. “Is this just so Ah won’t get in the way?”

Paladin shook his head. “No. If you really did make these, they are tied to you. I need you to do this, Apple Bloom.” He looked at the dark-scaled monster. “Your brother needs you.”

She nodded, looking fearfully at the battle between her siblings. “Ah...Ah can do it. Ah’ll start right now!” Apple Bloom closed her eyes, expression scrunching up into a look of intense concentration.

Smiling, Paladin glanced up to see Rarity watching. “Go,” he said softly.

That seemed to break the spell over her, and Rarity went off. Paladin hefted his post and closed his eyes. Bridging the distance between his mind and the power was difficult because he had little power of his own to form the connection. He grunted, drawing in a sharp breath. Feeling and using power were entirely different things.

‘No. I am not powerless. I may not have the might of an archangel, but the magic of this world flows through me. Wind and rain, thunder and lightning, the skies themselves.’ He called on his reservoir of sky magic, the innate power of the pegasi. Paladin could taste the tickling of static building in reply.

The barrier between him and his grasping the full power of the post vanished. Even with the sounds of Macadile throwing Applejack across the field he found a smile on his face. If he could do this, he could do more. Much more.

The key was the hum, the constant beat and stirring of angelic notes that formed Heavenly magic. As he tapped into the store of energy he heard it. The sound carried into his bones, inundating his mind. Only with conscious effort could he resist the allure to simply let it flood him. It was beautiful, but right now it was useless. The song meant nothing, had no meaning beyond its presence.

His awareness opened, Paladin heard the music of the Heavens filling the fiber of the wood and the other sources. Rarity’s posts, one now buried in ground, hummed in the same manner. As he listened he heard another source. It was stronger and brighter, yet incomplete and broken. It was Apple Bloom, or rather, the source of her strange gift. It sung of order and creation but nothing else.

‘A fragment. It’s...it’s a fragment of an angel’s soul. Impossible.’ Yet it was clearly not impossible. He could sense it himself. Somehow, an angelic soul had fragmented. Limited in aspects that comprised it, this union was utterly unlike the gift of essence he had given. There was only one angel who it could be. ‘Ardleon.’

Guilt assailed him. Immersed in a state beyond his mortal form his mind’s wraith and ghosts rose with little prompting. Fear joined guilt as his emotions struck at him. Guilt for Ardleon’s fall, for his death and the pain that had been brought to this world. A fear he had not acknowledge finally made itself known. A chill descended on Paladin as he struggled against the sudden shift against him. He should have remembered the risks of such states, where the unconscious could alter the tides against him.

Warmth began to spread across him like the breath of spring melting winter’s frost. His breathing calmed and Paladin smiled. He knew where - who - this came from. A warm, caring emotion he couldn’t bring himself to put a name to filled him, though he wasn’t sure from which of them it originated.

‘Focus. I have to alter the magic,’ Paladin reminded himself. Fortified by her presence with him, he went back to his work. The song was going to be changed. He would shape it, but he would not give it meaning. No, for that he had Apple Bloom.

Rarity galloped past, sweating as she collected more posts. She didn’t know how many she needed, exactly, but she was sure she would know she was done when she Saw it. As she passed him she saw Paladin shudder. A single post was held before his closed eyes. It might have been her imagination but something about it was...different.

While the others worked, Applejack kept her brother busy. She could see Rarity doing something, running about like crazy around the edge of the field. The farm-mare lost sight of her friend when she, Applejack, was forced to dodge another overhead blow. She might not get hurt but being struck like the nail to Macadile’s hammer would only end up with her buried far more than six feet under. Dirt crunched under her hooves as she skidded between his legs and unleashed a buck against the back of one of his legs. Scales shattered.

‘It’s for his own good,’ Applejack told herself for the nth time. It didn’t make it any easier. She was hurting her brother! Suddenly she understood something of what Princess Celestia must have felt. For all she had to stop him, it hurt her to do such things to him. Time healed all wounds. She wondered if this included wounds to the soul as she was slapped a dozen feet away by his tail.

“Big Macintosh!” Applejack shouted. “Ya gotta stop attackin’ me! We can help ya!” She had said that before but he never answered. He just roared and attacked.

Fighting him on her own was getting Applejack nowhere fast, except closer to visiting a therapist in the near future. She was only delaying him, and for all her best efforts she could only keep her armour around for so long. Each minute longer she felt more and more drained and exhausted. Her legs rose with greater weight after each step. Every jump or dodge or buck got harder. This couldn’t go on forever. Whatever her friends were doing she hoped it was soon.

***

The song was changing in Paladin’s hooves. What had simply been white noise took on new meaning. Purify, he whispered into the angelic power. Notes of clarity and restoration became the expression of ethereal magic and Apple Bloom added the vital component; she flavoured the song with everything she knew and thought about her brother. A sister’s love for her brother gave the spell the key. As the post he held changed so too did the others. They had been made together and their song, their power, was as one.

“Nearly…” he whispered. Fluttershy’s presence reinforced his optimism. She was so distant but for him she might as well have been with him. Nothing inspired confidence like knowing she trusted him. She was certain he could help, and whatever fears he had hidden in his heart were not strong enough to fight that. The last post slammed into place as he felt the spell began to spread between them. They were ready, and the posts were ready.

***

Rarity couldn’t help but beam as she shoved the last post in. Eight! That was the perfect number for this! She had placed eight posts in a ring around the field. It was a wide circle. It had to be, as the monstrous melee ranged back and forth.

“It’s done!” she called. She went running back to Paladin but drew up short. A flash of magenta heralded Twilight’s arrival. The unicorn staggered for a moment, panting.

“Well, I didn’t teleport into a tree so- oh, wow!” Twilight’s mouth dropped open. “That’s what’s been roaring?”

Rarity called out, “Twilight! Wonderful of you to join us! Paladin is about to do some magic to remove whatever has cursed poor Big Macintosh.”

“Big Mac? Wait, that’s really him like Pinkie said? Paladin is using magic...I have missed way too much,” Twilight complained. She ran next to Rarity, following her back to Paladin. “Is Applejack going to be alright? That thing- er, Mac seems to be throwing her about pretty roughly.”

“Oh yes, she’s keeping him busy. Although I don’t think she knows what we’re doing…” Rarity shook her head. “I’m sure she’s fine. Surely. Paladin wouldn’t risk her fighting alone. Ugh, ‘fighting’. What happened to solving problems with some quirky little solution instead of violence?”

Twilight shrugged, panting. It was a somewhat disturbing trend. Her eyes widened at the sight of Apple Bloom and the look of intense concentration on her face.

“What’s she doing here?” she asked. The question went unanswered. She saw Paladin. He held a post like the ones circling the fight, but his shimmered as magic pulsed through it. Drawing to a stop before him, Twilight focused her magic. With arcane knowledge like hers came ways to view things other could not, and what she saw was beautiful.

Magic was as often called an art as it was a science. It came in so many forms across the world and was expressed in so many ways. The Heavenly magic swirling around Paladin was not actually music; it was not truly a song of perfect notes, but her senses translated the energy into such a form. Paladin had explained that the soul of an angel was light and sound, the Lightsong that defined them. Angelic magic took a lesser form of this. To cast angelic magic was to conduct a chorus that bespoke light and creation in its rawest form.

Paladin’s eyes slowly opened. “Twilight,” he said. “We have little time, but allow me to do what I should have done weeks ago. I shall teach you the magic of the Angels.”

She nodded, stepping closer.

“All things of the Heavens have their part in the Angelic Choir. Each angel is but a part of it, and all possess the power to shape it. Through this arcane forces are reshaped and created to our- their bidding. You too have this power, Twilight Sparkle. I have given form to this spell. I have created the song, and I have prepared the instrument. Each note has been imbued with Apple Bloom’s love for her brother.” Paladin held up the post. “Add your voice to this choir. I can create the spell and prepare the angelic power that will fuel it, but your magic is the spark that will activate it.”

Twilight nodded. She could feel the power tremble within her. When she drew on her magic the essence that had fused to her soul came with it. Her horn’s glow shimmered, shifting from her usual colour to gloriously pure white.

“I can do it. I can feel the spell. Paladin...how did you make this? I-I’ve never seen spellwork like this,” she whispered. The spell Paladin had created was almost complete, and it was beautiful. Whatever unicorn magic might be, this was art at its finest. Only a single aspect was left unfinished; the trigger.

Rarity interrupted before he could answer. “Not that this isn’t simply fascinating, but Applejack is having some trouble against him, which really isn’t a surprise since its twenty times her size!”

“Be calm.” Paladin spread his wings. “I shall deliver this into Macintosh. Twilight, complete the spell when it is within him.”

“Alright- wait, ‘into’? What does that mean?” Twilight asked.

Apple Bloom’s eyes popped open. “Huh? Ya can’t stab my brother with it!” she whined.

He sighed. “I won’t stab him, I promise.” Paladin didn’t give them another chance to delay him; he took the air. Passing over the ring of posts, he circled for a chance to get the post into Mac’s mouth. That was the only option if Apple Bloom insisted on not stabbing him.

Well...not the only option, but he decided that was more trouble than it was worth. Besides, the tail was in the way and it would be still be stabbing him, as it were, with the post.

“Applejack!” he shouted down. “We need to get this into his mouth!” That was weird to say.

Applejack landed heavily on her back, looking up at Paladin. He thought she nodded, but she had to roll out of the way of a stomp.

“We can beat this thing, big brother, ya just gotta fight it!” Applejack shouted.

Macadile roared. That was all the answer she was going to get. He lurched forward, jaw opening wide and she had to jump away. Paladin swooped down, trying to get an angle where he could throw it in. Despite his great size Macadile moved fast. His jaw was shut again and he was following Applejack’s retreat.

“Ya gotta listen, Ah’m yer sister! Mac, please!”

The shadowy reptile continued its pursuit and her heart despaired. This was her brother yet none of her words reached him. Whatever possessed him was giving no room for mercy in the wake of his defiance over her tree. He had stopped and fought it before. He had shown enough willpower to resist the curse laid over him.

Her hooves slammed into the ground and Applejack stopped retreating. ‘No. Ah ain’t takin’ one more step back. He stopped for that, because he knew what it meant. He’s in there.’

She faced the monster her brother had become fearlessly. The ground shook with his steps but she did not. Applejack was resolute. Her will was as strong as her armour; unbreakable.

“Yer still in there. Ah know it. More importantly, Big Macintosh, Ah know you. An’ ya won’t hurt me, not really. Ya know this armour is gonna keep me safe from everythin’ ya throw my way.” Closing her eyes, her last sight - perhaps truly her last sight - was of the enraged monster charging towards her. She took a breath, pulled through her helm. When she released it there was nothing to hinder the flow. Her armour was gone. Just Applejack and her hat were left.

Paladin stared at her in horror. He could hear Rarity’s loud, terrified gasp. She was probably fainting on a couch as Macadile bore down on his sister, ready to pulverise her. Wings pumping Paladin tried to get there first to sweep Applejack away. He couldn’t let this happen but he knew he was too slow.

Everything seemed to stop. Macadile certainly did. Applejack slowly opened her eyes as a hot, rancid wind blew over her. A foot away from her was Mac’s scaly snout. Parted slightly, her brother’s eyes peered at her through the shadows coiling around them. She smiled, hoping to assuage the fear and guilt she saw in them. Most of all she hoped she could take the pain away.

“See?” she asked softly. “Ya can’t hurt me. Ah shoulda realised that before. Don’t matter what anypony does to ya. Yer my big brother.”

Her smiled faded. She reached out, resting a hoof against his cold scales. His breath blew from his impressively big nostrils in front of her.

“Which is why Ah’m gonna feel really bad about this.”

Her other forehoof came up. One hoof gripping the rim of each nostril she pulled. It wasn’t enough to pull him, but that wasn’t the point. Her back legs slid out from under her and her rump hit the ground. Before Mac knew what was happening she had her rear hooves braced under his mouth. Before he could react she kicked with all her considerable strength and a shine of white-blue in her eyes for all of a second.

His head was kicked up. He roared in shock and surprise, maw opened wide. It was hardly a challenge for Paladin. The post flew from his hooves like an alicorn from the hooves of her husband. Impressive as it was, with this target no such skill was really required.

Twilight’s horn burned like a white sun. Night became day for a few brief seconds. Mac’s jaw slammed shut on the post with a sickening crunch.

Nothing happened.

Apple Bloom blinked. “...nothin’s hap-”

Pure white light burned away the shadows once again. The eight posts that encircled Mac released their stored up power. Macadile roared not in pain or anger, but in triumph as the darkness was peeled away. The dark magic unravelled in the face of the pure Heavenly magic. Applejack stared with tears streaming down her cheeks as the giant form shrunk. Despite the brightness she couldn’t look away. Nopony could. Not Paladin, enraptured by the glory of the spell he had crafted. Not Rarity, who didn’t need her magical sight to see the perfection. Not Apple Bloom. Most definitely not her. She was fixated on what she saw. The angelic infestation within her wanted to reach out for more. The spell was a perfect creation and it called to her. She reached out into the light, but there was nothing for her little hoof to touch.

The wood of the posts and the powerful connection between the Apple earth ponies and their farm carried the excess magic across the farm for a split second before the fury of the purification spell faded. Night returned to the farm .

***

In the Apple house, Granny Smith snorted, rubbing her eyes as the bright light awoke her where tremors and roars had not. “Wha-huh?”

***

Applejack caught her brother as he fell. He smiled weakly at her as he teetered, unable to stand without her help. She hugged him with tears in her eyes.

“Yer okay,” he mumbled. His expression was weary but relief filled his eyes. His breath slow and calm, he fought the fatigue trying to drag him into unconsciousness. “Ah’m...sorry…”

She shook her head. “Ya ain’t got nothin’ to apologise for.”

“Ah c-couldn’t stop it. Happened...again…” Mac groaned. His head pounded and his body ached, but it was his heart that hurt worse of all. “Ah’m...sorry…”

Even as Applejack repeated her words his eyes slid shut and he fell limp against her. She nearly fell when something small and fast hit Mac. Little hooves wrapped around his neck. Apple Bloom hugged her older brother.

“Yer fine! He’s back to normal! He’s...ah, he’s dead!” she shrieked.

Applejack sighed. “No, Apple Bloom, he’s just exhausted.” She smiled and looked around him so Apple Bloom could see her. “But he’s fine now.”

Paladin landed between the Apples and the watching unicorns. His wings slowly folded as he watched the heartwarming sight. ‘Yes, heartwarming. I can almost physically feel it.’

So could Fluttershy. She glowed in his mind with joy. She could feel the excitement and joy from them all. Paladin found it easy to imagine her and Spike cheering in his home. He chuckled tiredly.

“That was amazing.”

Paladin looked up, glancing towards Twilight. She smiled sheepishly when he just raised an eyebrow.

“Well, it was,” she added defensively. “I didn’t think you could use magic anymore.”

“I can’t,” Paladin replied. He hesitated, then added, “Not like you think. I was able to use the power already invested within the posts. It was just waiting to take form, I only had to guide it. That’s why I needed you; I can’t actually cast any spell, let alone a purification spell of that magnitude.”

Rarity said, “Oh, pish posh. Look at what you did! Macintosh is back to normal and aside from a few trees, nopony was hurt. Oh, well, Rainbow Dash was, but not badly.”

The distant sound of a party-bomb going off told them Pinkie Pie had realised what Fluttershy’s empathic sending meant. All three smiled at the sound.

“It was still amazing. Why haven’t you shown me how to do it? I’m sure I could work it out if you guided me,” Twilight went on. She gestured towards the Apples. “If that’s what your purification magic can do, surely you have healing magic just as strong!”

Paladin shook his head. “Perhaps later,” he said gently. “For now, we should take Macintosh to the hospital. He is exhausted and bruised at the very least. After that, of course, we must deal with the source of whatever changed him and the issue of Apple Bloom and her angelic power.”

The unicorns exchanged worried looks. Now that the adrenaline of the encounter was beginning to settle, questions were popping up one after the other. Twilight wished she had kept some of her first aid kit rather than just giving it all to Pinkie Pie for Rainbow Dash.

“How is that possible? How is anything that happened tonight possible?” Twilight asked.

He hesitated. A moment to collect his thoughts turned into seconds as he tried to puzzle out how to answer her. “I-...I don’t know,” Paladin admitted with clear reluctance in his voice. “Something about the magic is familiar but how, I cannot say. As for Apple Bloom...It should not be. It is nothing like any of you.”

“It certainly is not!” agreed Rarity. “I Looked into her, and the poor darling has such a ragged, broken thing inside her. Wondrous to behold, but simply not all there, like somepony just ripped it all apart.”

Applejack was limping over with as they spoke, hauling her brother. Murmuring that they could discuss it later, he dipped his shoulder and helped carry Big Mac.

“Gals, Paladin, Ah...Ah don’t know what to say. Without y’all, Ah don’t know what-” she began. A white wing cut her off, slipping over her mouth.

“There is no need for thanks. He is my friend as surely as you are. And friends help friends, I am given to understand.” He gave her a small smile. “I had certain ponies making this quite clear to me not so long ago.”

Words were lost to Applejack, so she just let out a sigh and smiled back.

“Let’s get Macintosh to the hospital,” Twilight said. Her magic eased the burden of carrying Mac, but the look Applejack gave her made it quite clear he was staying in her hooves. “I saw Pinkie Pie on the road, and sent her to take Rainbow Dash there.”

Applejack nodded. “Let’s go,” she agreed. Together with her friends and her little sister, she set off for the hospital.

***

A pained yelp filled the sinister forest. The sound of something splattering on the dirt followed. A meaty smack brought a repeat of yelp and splatter seconds later.

Scorpan lay on the ground. If he was the sort to appreciate irony when turned against him, he might have noticed this had been where he had deposited Big Mac. Since he was not, all he cared was that his face hurt. Despite the pain he grovelled before his master.

“A child,” Tirek thundered. One of his hooves slammed into the ground, inches from Scorpan. He sneered at his underling’s flinch. “A filly. All I asked of you was to bring the child to me.”

The ugly minion said nothing. He knew well his master’s short patience and violent temper. Whatever others might say, the cost of dealing with devils was not something as frivolous as a soul. The true price came in keeping the devil’s mood from swinging in a direction aimed at your neck.

“They have seen the power in her now, and will surely strengthen themselves against further attempts. A vessel has been lost to me, but worse, my enemies are aware of it and you!” Tirek kicked Scorpan. The blow sent his servant into a tree. “Do you understand what your incompetence has cost me?!”

It took every drop of Scorpan’s willpower not to point out that his lord has been the one too weak to completely override the mortal’s mind or completely twist his form. Saying such a thing would have only lead to more pain. Lord Tirek did not like to be reminded of his temporary weakness.

“Answer me!”

“Yes, my lord!” He threw himself face-first into the ground. “I do, my lord, but if I might be so bold, is this not a benefit in the long run?”

It was a dangerous ploy, and for a moment Scorpan feared the next blow would end his life. Such would be madness, of course. Whether he wanted to admit it or not, the Lord of Betrayal needed him. Insane as the demon was he knew he needed time to regain his power and a stealthier agent to seek the vessels.

Tirek snarled, his voice low, “Explain.”

“The pegasus! The one with the mark of the winged blade! We thought him powerless but was he not the one behind the spell? Was there not a force that defied your spell of rage on the mare and your spell of dark feelings upon the pegasus? We know more about the capabilities of our enemies now,” Scorpan explained. He spoke in a rush, aware that time was of the essence and that several thousand years of imprisonment had clearly soured the demon’s opinion of him.

“They know of you.” Tirek’s tone was remarkably calm. The change was sudden and disturbing. “They have seen you. If any records remain of my war...”

Scorpan shook his head. “They do not! The Sisters may remember it, but I never faced them in battle. Only in the Monkey Kingdoms am I remembered.” He dared to show his lord a savage smirk. “Few mortals have slain the Monkey King, even in treachery.”

Tirek snorted derisively. “Yet like so many mortals, he overthrew you within days of his rebirth. Regardless, the Sisters will know that I am free…” He paused. “...or perhaps not.”

He smiled, a slow and terrible smile. Scorpan’s relief at his master’s improved mood vanished.

“Congratulations, Scorpan,” boomed the ancient demon. “I have a plan and you have a part in it. In fact, you have been...promoted.”

***

The snow had piled high atop the frozen landscape once more. Tonight in the ice field it was perfectly still, nothing stirring, nothing moving. No wind disturbed it. It was a dead place where even recent conflict was soon lost to the snows and ice.

The night was lit by a flare of icy blue for a moment. It lasted less than a second. In that time a sharp thrust ripped something from deep within the snow. The stormy grey cloth that appeared was not, despite its stay in such conditions, at all ragged. It sat on the snow for a moment. Blue light flickered.

The outline of a fist, a gauntlet, shimmered above the lost scarf. There was a sound like the howl of the wind. Yet if there had been anyone to listen, to pause and wait and focus on the sound above all else, they might have heard three faint words.

“Tyrael! Please! Beware!”

***

Author's Note:

Well, there you have it! Chapter 30 is done! I tried a new method of editing besides having my word-slaves going over it. Reading it out loud (to Web of Hope via skype because, bah, talking to myself was hard and weird) and hopefully this will show in fewer errors.

Please comment, give feedback, all that fun stuff! I hope you enjoyed this chapter!

Comments

[Nealend86]

Hopefully this won't give Big Mac more nightmares...

[Web of Hope]

BOOM

[clonezero]

The post flew from his hooves like an alicorn from the hooves of her husband.

Off all the comparisons to use!

[RanmaChaos]

Great

[Aurora Dimmet]

4303561

Best reference 2014. Surface-to-air Wife, the ballistic bane of evildoers everywhere.

[clonezero]

4303830
Amen bro!

[sjo3989]

thanks for the update!!

[SwimmingDalek98]

I read Tirek's voice like Megatron from the Unicron trilogy:

Dear GOD, the nostalgia… As a kid, I always wanted to have either Megatron's or Optimus' voice when I got older… And now I look back, I still do! I mean, just LISTEN to that voice!

Anyways, it was an amazing chapter, as usual!

[Jorofrarie]

Waiting eagerly for him to get his powers back, but I know I must wait until the story has run its course...

Dammit impatience!

[Always Breakfast]

So Ardleon is pulling a Ventus. And maybe accidentally devouring Apple Bloom's soul in the process.

[71M073J]

Tyrael...I need you...
Make me a New Chapter !!!
Awsome as always

[Rakaziel]

This chapter was wonderful!
I find this song oddly fitting:

[Baraka Obama]

In the Apple house, Granny Smith snorted, rubbing her eyes as the bright light awoke her where tremors and roars had not. “Wha-huh?”

Of course

[Nealend86]

4309328 Those problems thankfully lessen as you get further in.

[Cyana Flame]

4304352
those are good but how about these?

[Autocharth]

4311721 Yes indeedy. In fact, it's Pinkie Pie with a Mohawk, blue runic tattoos on her chest and face, and a massive axe. I had this pic commissioned as the cover for another story of mine, a one shot Warhammer Fantasy crossover wherein Pinkie replaced a psychotic Slayer, a dwarf vowed to find the biggest, baddest monsters and die doing his best to murderise them.
fc08.deviantart.net/fs70/f/2012/193/7/a/pinkie_pie_gurnisson_by_hollowzero-d570for.png

[Autocharth]

4315124 So, perhaps you'll read the entire chapter next time before you get worked up over something? Just a thought. And yes, Spike is criminally underrepresented. Even by me at times, which annoys me.

[Topaz Moon]

Nice update.

The post flew from his hooves like an alicorn from the hooves of her husband.

[Sailorleo]

4303561
They're never going to let him get over winning the All-Equestrian Wife Throwing Contest, are they?...

[clonezero]

4318713
Nope, this is gonna be a lifelong thing I believe.

[Autocharth]

4321168 Just so you know, none of your youtube links work.

[TheBlackPony]

4321174
Centaur eh? Sounds like a Euphemism for saying 'combining humans and horses is evil' XD!

[Black Snow]

The post flew from his hooves like an alicorn from the hooves of her husband.

I see what you did there

[Asmodemus]

Love this, hate that I can only like it once.

Looking forwards to Paladin eventually telling Fluttershy he 'desires her as a mate'. Will either be romantic or funny.

Tirek shaping up to be interesting.

And do I sense a fetch quest with Ardleon's fragments?

[Surprise Pie]

I find it both interesting and ironic that I stumble across the lest few chapters of this story (the parts with Tirek) only after having watched the Season 4 finale. Oh well, my creativity remains stimulated! I shall play more Reaper of Souls to celebrate! Then, I will resume writing my own fanfiction!

Regardless of my own excitement, keep on writing! This is getting even more interesting...

[The grey paladin]

HE LIVES! ARDLEON LIVES! ... And he's terrible at suicide... Not sure if that's a good thing or not.

[Autocharth]

4440782

Paladin, formerly Tyrael, more or less is a subject of the Equestrian throne. He is not currently an archangel.

Also, clearly Ardleon could not do all that. He is a powerful high ranking angel, but not an Archangel.

I'd like to point out you don't know yet how Celestia and Luna fit into this world in terms of angelic and demonic or not. The exact nature of alicorns is something yet to be shown, so I suppose it makes sense you don't know. And I'm afraid stuff I want to happen will happen. again. Because it would so very boring if Ardleon couldn't be beaten, or if Celestia and Luna were push overs. On the world-rending, Mathael had to resort to the Black Soulstone to do any world-ending stuff, so not even a single archangel could do that. They are not all powerful. They can be fought and defeated, especially if they're underestimating their foes like Ardleon, In many ways, he had the exact same attitude as you.

As for how the world works; it's not about purity, and pureness is subjective. Is wrath-filled Imperius pure? But anyway, it's about alien-ness, not pureness. Ardleon is alien to the world Equestria inhabits, and for whatever reason that means it rejects his previous. You'll have to find out why later, or (if this stuff annoys you so much and you stop reading) not.

Refuse to accept whatever you want mate, it's still in the story.

[phlamingsoul]

4450306

I did warn you!

[Frazzled Pony]

It's funny, I'm more and more getting the suspicion that you have an inside source to the MLP creation team or that they are glancing your way or that you just think alike now, what with the latest season. Black vines, Tirek and a few other things that I can't quite recall just made me think, "waaait, isn't Tyrael supposed to be involved in this plot?" Of course, your Tirek seems pretty different, but you know what I mean.

[The1templar]

4572981 um what¿

[Sketch Scribbles]

4485213
Actually, His villains remind me more of G1's monsters with a Diablo twist, than their G4 counterparts. more than likely both groups are just looking at past generations of MLP for inspiration, and hitting on the same ideas.