The Battle of Manehattan
Nightmare Moon barely had time to reorientate herself from coming out of her teleportation spell before the cries of, “Your Majesty!” reached her ears.
She turned towards the source as soon as she could; Cadance stood flanked by two batponies, while a half dozen Royal Guard unicorns followed up behind them. The batponies both fell into hasty bows, then the one on Cadance’s right, adorned with the rank of Colonel, quickly strode over to stand before her.
Nightmare nodded in acknowledgment and took a moment to briefly survey the group. None of them bore any injuries, though they were visibly tense under their armor. She met Cadance’s gaze and found her niece’s eyes haunted by fear, shock, and concern. Cadance’s lip trembled as if to say something, only to falter at the last moment.
She nodded at Cadance, then faced the Colonel. “What is the situation?”
“At least a dozen Minotaur warships steaming to port in Manehattan. They used a scheduled storm to get close to the city and avoid detection. A Royal Guard flight was sent to investigate but was intercepted. Captain Spitfire believes this is what happened to the missing Wonderbolt patrol, and has taken command of the defense until ordered otherwise.”
Nightmare sneered and tossed her head back. “Of course. Of course!” she spat, then growled and shook her head. “Dammit,” she snapped, stomping her hoof into the floor. “Tonight of all nights,” she said under her breath.
Cadance’s lips and eyes twitched from hearing her grumble.
Nightmare held back a growl. “How were they intercepted?”
“Griffins,” the Colonel answered coldly. Nightmare tightened her jaw. “We’ve yet to see any evidence of any attacks from the griffin lands. Based on the survivors’ reports, Spitfire believes they’re hired mercenaries.”
Nightmare breathed in deep, then cast aside the agitation at how callously the Minotaurs had ruined her evening. And some griffins even had the audacity to help them! She leveled her gaze on the Colonel. “I need more information than this! A dozen warships? How many soldiers? How many griffins?”
He stood rigidly, unphased by her demands. “We don’t know, your Majesty.”
She breathed in, then exhaled sharply. “Magic?”
“None that has been reported.”
‘One advantage.’ She kept that in mind. “I need an estimate of how many soldiers, Colonel.”
“Maybe two thousand at most, but I’m not qualified to give a proper estimate.”
She snarled and tossed her head left and right. Notably, the throne room was empty beside them.
“Shall I assemble the recruits—”
Her eyes snapped back on him, silencing him. “They would be more likely to get themselves killed than help, Colonel—”
“Manehattan’s garrison isn’t that large, Nightmare,” Cadance tentatively voiced, audibly unsure herself if she wanted to suggest what they both knew was a bad idea.
Nightmare looked at her niece and nodded once. “I am aware.” She straightened her head and breathed in deep before exhaling at length. “I have precious few options to work with.” She shook her head in agitation.
Of course, there really was only one option, one solution. The reason she was in the Throne room, the reason she had donned her armor.
But Manehattan? That was an urban environment, and how right she had been! Too much of strategic importance nestled in one city. A city ripe for the Minotaurs’ taking. Or was that even their goal?
Why attack Manehattan?
She squinted. “Colonel, you said there are no other signs of attack, but how sure are we?”
Cadance frowned as the Colonel shook his head. “From what I’m aware, this is the only hint of an invasion that’s been reported.”
“What are you thinking?” Cadance asked.
She looked at her niece and asked, “Why Manehattan? It is a strategically important city, true, but why concentrate their efforts on one city? They would be better off dividing Equestria’s limited—” she hated the idea, “—forces among multiple locations, or coming through the griffin lands. I can only—”
She paused, realizing what she should have seen before. Several seconds passed in silence. “I see.” Yes, that made sense. “They are concentrating on Manehattan to draw me out. They want me.”
Cadance frowned.
“Your Majesty, perhaps you should remain here—”
She looked at the Colonel reprovingly, silencing him. “I will not lose Manehattan, Colonel. Even if they have come for me, they will plunder the city for resources and tens of thousands of ponies live in Manehattan. If I do nothing they will suffer. And regardless, if I do not engage them and they win, they will not stop at Manehattan.”
She nodded once to herself. “I am taking to the field.” She faced Cadance. “Remain here. Tend to things in my absence. Since I do not know what I am dealing with, prepare a division of batponies should I need them.” Cadance gave a startled nod. She leveled her gaze on the Colonel once more. “I want more patrols along the coast and the border with the griffin lands. If anything remotely amiss happens, I am to be informed at once.”
“Of course, your Majesty,” the Colonel dutifully answered.
She tentatively turned her gaze to Cadance. ‘You are not a warrior, but I may need your help.’ Her jaw tightened at the thought.
No. Only as a last resort.
She turned back to the Colonel. “I presume the detachment I requested earlier is prepared?”
“Yes, your Majesty.”
“Good.” Finally, something that went right! “Then we shall leave immediately. With haste, perhaps we shall arrive before the battle begins in earnest.”
The world warped and twisted around her as she teleported herself and her accompanying Royal Guard detachment to Manehattan. Once the spell finished and the flash of light fadded, a heavy silence filled the air, broken by distant, dulled shouts. The moist air was warmer than in Canterlot, pleasantly warmer, though still carried with it a lingering chill.
A low rumble overhead drew her gaze skyward; the stars were obstructed by a thick layer of clouds. The passing storm had already left the street wet with rain. Perhaps it was a contributing factor to the minotaurs’ invasion; perhaps they had known about the planned storm, and such was why they chose tonight as their time to attack.
The only way Minotaurs could have known would have been if a pony had told them.
‘Dammit...’
She breathed in deep and caught the detestable stench of Manehattan, nearly drowning out the more pleasant scent of the salty ocean and the crisp fragrance of the rain.
But there was no time to consider the smells, no time to procrastinate. If the Minotaurs had not landed yet, they would soon, and Manehattan, no matter how important it was, was underdefended because of how stretched for ponypower she was.
She took a moment to prepare herself and noticed an uncomfortable anxiety in her chest where there normally wasn’t. Why? She was Nightmare Moon! The minotaurs and griffins here tonight would fall before her as all of Equestria’s enemies had before.
But there would be a cost.
There had always been a cost.
She gradually tilted her head left, then right, surveying the faces of the Royal Guards accompanying her. Where they were normally stoic, attempting to betray no expression, now, many of them were unable to hide fear and worry. Yet there they stood, they did not shake or tremble in their boots. Maybe just for now, still removed from the imminent danger.
So many of them were young stallions. All of them had enlisted under Celestia’s reign. Could she count on any of them? Undoubtedly, they would lay down their lives in a heartbeat for Celestia, for they loved her.
But she was not her sister.
She was not their Princess.
The Royal Guards were loyal to her only by Celestia’s orders, such that they might be spared. ‘The fact that you had to order them to obey me...’ She hated the idea; their loyalty was not to her, but to Celestia.
How many of them would die? Not for her, no. If they knew what the minotaurs wanted, they would likely join the minotaurs to try to defeat her to save their Princess. No, if they were to die, it would be for Equestria, for ponies who would otherwise suffer from their inaction.
And she felt a sense of comradery at that: Luna had fought so long for Equestria. Perhaps, in a way, the Royal Guard carried on some of Luna’s legacy. She breathed in, feeling some of her anxiety washed away, then nodded to herself.
“Your Majesty?” Prince Shining Armor’s voice.
She faced him and gave the Prince a quick nod. “Proceed to the town hall and inform Captain Spitfire of our arrival. Remain there until I return.”
He gave a rigid salute while Nightmare spread her wings wide. “All right stallions..!”
His voice grew distant and she soared into the air. The wind against her wings was almost comforting, yet for feeling the cold bite of her chestplate and helmet, she knew the truth of what was to come.
The changelings wanted ponies alive; ponies were food to them so long as they lived.
The minotaurs and griffins did not.
The changelings had magic with which to stun their prey.
The minotaurs and griffins did not.
She flew on, soaring past the town hall and briefly sparing a look down at the sparsely assembled guards and batponies. She passed by apartments and businesses, and with every passing building, she felt a growing weight in her stomach.
How many homes and businesses would be ruined or destroyed?
How many innocent ponies would lose their lives tonight because of the minotaurs?
Another rumble of thunder among the clouds overhead.
She felt anger, she felt fire, swelling together into an inferno in her chest that pressed back against the cold, and so she resolved herself to one simple promise: ‘I will not fail.’
She turned her gaze away from the city to behold the minotaur fleet. A dozen warships hardly described it with justice! At the sight, her wings faltered for a moment before recovering.
A dozen warships and their escorts; each warship was built from wood and steel that stood out for how dull it was compared to the water catching what light of the moon that pierced the breaks in the clouds, dirtied by the thick black smoke that billowed out of multiple chimneys from the tops of the vessels.
Several smaller ships had already docked in the port; she could make out their soldiers descending the ramp and moving into the city proper. She clenched her jaw and passed over them, knowing she needed to investigate the warships first.
Of the warships, she could clearly make out three separate kinds. The largest, of which there was only one, was centered in the main armada, far out in the harbor such that it was protected from any attempt to board it. It was a behemoth, a fortress in its own right. The armor on the hull scattered the light as if were a beacon in the night, something for the fleet to rally around. A command ship, most likely.
She dared to fly closer to examine the warships better from above. She held her breath as she sank through the coal smoke so that she could make out more details.
The largest ship—the command ship as she was now certain—bristled with large turrets in the front and back, each with three long-barreled cannons. Hatches adorned the ship’s hull, possibly betraying even more cannons hidden inside, lying in wait for their order to fire.
The ship was massive by Equestrian standards. And such was a marvel of what they had accomplished with their industrial might. Equestria had nothing anywhere close to that warship, let alone any of the other warships. Trade vessels were one thing, but ships of war were another.
She banked and flew closer to the next closest ship. It wasn’t as large as the command ship, perhaps three-fourths as long and wide. The deck had several turrets along the sides, while ropes hung over the edges of the hull. Minotaurs bristled on the ships’ topside, wearing dull steel armor and carrying their axes and spears and crossbows as they climbed down to their smaller landing craft. There were four ships of such class.
The third class of warship was again smaller than either of the other classes. Far sleeker, and likely far more maneuverable and easier to produce. She wasn’t sure what role the ship was meant to fill, aside from escorting the larger warships. And like their command ship, the hull was lined with hatches likely hiding the ships’ cannons.
What had these warships been designed for? Surely they had not been intended to use against Equestria, as Equestria had no navy! The minotaurs would have had to design and build the fleet in a year in response to her return. It seemed unlikely they would have been able to achieve that, even with their industrial might. The only ideas she could imagine were that they were built to fight the Minotaur Republic, or perhaps to defend from dragons.
She pushed the thoughts from her mind and took in the smaller escorting ships. Support ships, she decided. Likewise, unloading more soldiers into smaller boats headed into port.
She wasn’t sure how many minotaurs there were, but regardless of how many were left to land, many had already reached the city and taken the port.
But not a single griffin walked among the minotaurs that she could see.
“Dammit...” she muttered.
She flew further up into the sky, just below the cloud and smoke layer so that she could still see the fleet. ‘If I destroy their warships, they still have soldiers in the city. They will not be able to escape. Perhaps they will surrender but then that is more resources we have to expend.’ Yes, guarding captured minotaurs could weaken her forces even further, but she doubted that was the minotaurs’ plan.
‘The warships are a threat to the city. If they fire on Manehattan, there will be much destruction that I cannot afford. Ponies will die...’
She grimaced, contemplating her options.
‘If we push them back out of the city, they may yet fire on Manehattan to spite me. Thus I will have to cripple their fleet once their forces are out of the city.’ And her grimace twisted as she considered, ‘Assuming they do not fire on the city while they have soldiers in it.’
She doubted the Prince would be able to shield Manehattan against the fleet’s weapons, even more so since Cadance was elsewhere. Perhaps with her own help, but they did not share the same bond that Cadance and Shining did.
She could unleash her magic on the fleet. She considered the idea: starting with the command ship, and making her way through the ships from largest to smallest. Tearing the hulls apart with her magic would be simple. She would end up trapping the soldiers in the city.
Would they fight harder or give up?
Perhaps a message needed to be sent.
Yes, a message would do nicely. The Minotaur Emperor needed to be taught a lesson.
So at least one ship had to escape.
Preferably more than one. Preferably with as few minotaurs killed as possible. Yes, as many wounded minotaurs as there could be needed to make it home.
After all, if they were dead, that was the end of it. If they were still alive, the minotaurs had to use resources to save and take care of them which meant fewer resources to use against Equestria. However, if the warships started firing on Manehattan, she would destroy them.
A crack of lightning, the roll of thunder. Her shadow fell upon the deck of the ship she observed.
For a passing moment, they noticed.
A passing moment, and no more as the light faded.
She could imagine their dread, for she had it in the eyes of griffins long since felled. Not all of them, but enough.
She turned her gaze back to the boats docked in the port and the smaller boats ferrying troops into port. ‘If I destroy them, it will limit their ability to land more troops, however, it will likewise make it more difficult for them to withdraw.’
While such would inevitably result in her victory, the protracted fight until the minotaurs either surrendered or fled would prove costly.
Movement from below caught her notice; she set her gaze upon a griffin flying up towards her. He wore steel armor that, while distinctly different from the armor of old, still bore resemblance if only for being suited for a griffin. In his talons, he held a crossbow aimed at her.
He fired.
Her magic burst to life, enveloping her with a shield.
Her shield flared as the bolt struck it and slipped through her magic.
‘Dammit!’
Crack!
Searing pain assaulted her wing and side as the bolt detonated just inside her shield. The concussive force rattled her insides, her armor doing little to block the blast.
Wind whipped around her, the sea raced up towards her.
‘I’m falling.’
Fighting through the disorientation, ringing in her ears, and headache, she righted herself, glanced back up to see the griffin readying a second bold, then fell into a dive. She summoned her magic again.
Crack!
She appeared above the griffin. He was unprepared for her change in position. She was not.
Her magic punched through his armor and tore through his body, the force launching him back towards the ship he came from.
With her magic, she collected his crossbow and bolts, then cast another teleportation spell.
Crack!
Nightmare flew out of her teleportation spell and hit the ground with a grunt. Her chestplate screeched against the water-slicked roadway but took most of the impact, leaving her to tumble to a slightly less unpleasant stop.
“My Queen!” a batpony called.
She breathed in deep—her side burned and ached as she inhaled. It felt like little shards of metal were stuck in her body. She closed her eyes and scowled as she forced herself to stand up. Moving the wrong way, she found herself flinching against the feeling.
She had no choice but to fight through the pain.
She never had a choice.
Nightmare opened her eyes and wrapped her magic around herself while a batpony mare rushed to her side, a medical kit tucked under her wing. Sure enough, there were shards of metal embedded in her body. The two largest shards, each about half as long as her forehoof from tip to end, barely missed her lungs.
She grimaced and hastily wrapped the shards in her magic to pull them out of her body. No matter how much she tensed, it hurt just as much, if not worse, than when they went in. Yet she stood defiantly until both shards were free. She exhaled sharply once they were out; it would not do for her soldiers to hear her scream.
Her left wing trembled when she went to fold it, so she turned her head to examine it. Her entire wing was cut up and bleeding. Feathers were cut off, broken, or outright missing everywhere. She held in a growl and set about pulling the smaller bits of metal out of her wing and side.
“My Queen, let—”
“No,” she hissed.
The batpony stayed at her side, hesitating.
‘Dammit.’ Once the last bits of metal were out, she closed her eyes and washed her magic over her side and wing, stitching her flesh back together with a healing spell. The pain faded as her magic healed her wounds, but a phantom sensation, the memory, lingered. She briefly considered regrowing her feathers but decided against it for the moment; if it became too troublesome, she would. Nightmare opened her eyes and looked at her body as she used her magic to clear the blood from her coat, leaving it to mix with the water on the pavement.
She stamped her forehoof into the ground, making the batpony mare jump back. ‘You incompetent foal!’ She clenched her teeth and turned her gaze back to the town hall as she folded her wing. ‘Once this is over, I need to forge myself better armor.’
She gave the idea the briefest thought and felt her anger subsiding to the back of her mind for the time being. She glanced down at her chestplate, then looked back up at the batpony. “I presume Captain Spitfire and Prince Shining Armor are inside?”
The mare gave a hasty nod. “Yes, my Queen.”
Nightmare breathed in once and nodded. “Very good.”
She took a moment to turn her attention to the crossbow and bolts. While there was nothing too special about the crossbow, the tips of the bolts were larger than they should have been and they shimmered faintly with some enchantment. She exhaled sharply and levitated the crossbow and bolts over to the medic. The mare reached out to grab them; the weight from the weapon and ammo made her lurch toward the ground before steadying herself. “Have these examined; the bolts were able to pierce my shield before detonating.”
The batpony frowned suddenly before nodding. “Of course, my Queen.”
Nightmare scowled and calmly walked to the town hall, passed the two unicorns standing guard, and walked inside. The one who could see her side stared as she passed by.
Both commanders were just inside the entrance, and at hearing the door open, they both turned to see her and saluted. She carried herself in at a calm stride; the pain was a distant memory now.
“Queen Nightmare Moon,” Spitfire finally spoke, “what are your orders?”
She waited until she was a few steps away from Spitfire, then bowed her head once at the pegasus. “If it is at all possible, contain the minotaurs close to the port and beaches. I do not want them to get inside Manehattan proper. Evacuate ponies as needed, if you have not already done so.”
Spitfire tensed. “We’re already working on evacuating ponies.”
She tilted her head up higher. “Good.”
“The trains aren’t going to be quick enough though,” the Prince put in.
Spitfire grimaced.
Nightmare looked at him. “I am not losing Manehattan. Prince. Captain.” She nodded at both of them in turn. “I presume the two of you have discussed what we discussed, Prince?”
Shining nodded tersely. “Yes. How did your recon go?”
Nightmare tossed her head back and ruffled her wings. “Ah... I should have taken time to cloak myself but I did not.” She straightened herself to face him once more. “A griffin came to intercept me—” she extended her wing for a moment to draw their gazes to it, then folded it back to her side and continued, “—so I would presume the griffins will be used to interfere with pegasi and batponies. Likewise, I believe an assault on the fleet would best be left to myself.” She gradually bowed her head and looked off to the left, knowing, nay, imagining the slaughter that would be any batpony or pegasus assault on the fleet.
Their lives would be wasted. They would die for nothing. The thought left a bitter taste in her mouth.
She looked at the Prince again, her head still bowed. “I will not throw away lives pointlessly. I do not yet know how effectively we will be able to use aerial supremacy tonight because of the griffins and their weapons, however, the storm should provide ample cover for the batponies.”
“Might I suggest a supporting role then, your Majesty?” Spitfire suggested.
Nightmare lifted her head back up and turned to Spitfire to consider her suggestion. “Pray tell?”
Spitfire continued, tentatively nodding, “I was thinking from a mobility standpoint. Pegasi and batponies could probably carry unicorns or earth ponies into better positions on the rooftops, then we could bait minotaurs into ambushes.”
She considered the idea and tentatively bowed her head. “Perhaps, though there is the risk that they would be spotted and would become targets of the griffins. I would rather not have ponies defenseless under griffin assault.”
Spitfire stood up straighter. “All right. However, there are a few more ideas to consider. You could lower the moon—”
“Not for this,” Nightmare preemptively countered.
Spitfire waited a moment before reluctantly she nodded. “Okay... Then we could have the pegasi work with the storm over the city. The minotaurs wouldn’t be able to do anything to defend against lightning strikes.”
Nightmare tilted her head and pondered the idea. “Effective. However, the pegasi would have to deal with griffins, though batpony escorts could provide proper cover. Yes, I believe we can work with this. Have the pegasi who are not assisting with the evacuation focus on this and ensure they are escorted properly. And see to it that batponies are dispatched to disable the streetlights. Once the streetlights are off, deploy the batponies to hunt down groups of minotaurs and griffins. Since they can see better in the dark, they shall have an added advantage in addition to being harder to spot and quicker than both.”
Spitfire nodded. “Yes, Ma’am.”
“Prince—” she turned to face her nephew-in-law, “—though I have ideas of my own, I would hear your thoughts on this situation.”
He shifted uncomfortably and grimaced. “We’re outnumbered and outmatched—”
“I will be evening those odds,” Nightmare put in with an incline of her head.
“You can only be in one place at a time,” he reminded.
She breathed in and lifted her head up. “You are correct.”
He gradually turned his head left, then right. Another second passed before he looked at her. “Earth ponies should be kept back. I’m not sure how well they will fair against the minotaurs in a fight, assuming they aren’t picked off from a distance.”
She nodded in agreement. “It would be pointlessly throwing away their lives. They would better fill the role of assisting with the evacuation, or protecting the unicorns fighting the minotaurs.”
Shining nodded. “I think Spitfire’s ideas of luring them into ambushes is worth a try.”
Nightmare nodded idly.
“However, depending on how many griffins there are, it could leave them very exposed unless they’re inside buildings, which would take time and could cause collateral damage.”
“I am aware...” she admitted.
Shining Armor straightened and gave a terse nod. “Of course, your Majesty.”
If things went poorly, many ponies were going to die tonight, and that would cripple the Royal Guard in addition to Equestria as a whole.
A few seconds of silence lingered between them.
Her Nephew eventually broke it. “And we can’t match their ships. If the batponies are as good as you think they are, and you’re able to do as much as you say you can, we can deal with their soldiers in the city. Their ships are another story. If we can hold the city but they still have the ships, then holding the city is probably pointless, if not impossible.”
She squinted at him and nodded. “I will deal with the armada, but not yet. Equestria is unprepared for a war, despite my best efforts. Thus, I believe it is in our best interests to inflict as much damage on them as possible to force them to retreat with their wounded and damaged warships so to force them to deal with that rather than building anew.”
Shining considered what she said and tentatively nodded, only to pause. “To slow them down?”
She nodded once. “Correct. If it is at all possible, avoid killing them. If they have medics, do not engage them unless the medics are fighting back. Do give them time to retrieve their wounded and bring them back to the ships.”
He seemed uncomfortable but nonetheless nodded. “And you’re going to the front...”
She nodded again. “Correct. I may be new to fighting in such an urban environment, and I may have limited experience battling minotaurs, but Luna was quite adept at defending Equestria. We will have much to discuss after this battle is won.”
“What if their ships start firing on the city?” Shining asked. “I don’t think I can shield Manehattan against that.”
Nightmare bowed her head. “If their ships fire on Manehattan, I will destroy them.”
Shining Armor and Spitfire shared a look. She wasn’t sure if they believed that she could accomplish it, but unlike them, she knew she could. “If nothing else, I shall take to the front. You both know what to do.”
“Good luck,” Shining and Spitfire chorused.
Nightmare nodded once to both of them and summoned her magic. Since she wasn’t sure where the best location to begin was, she settled on teleporting into the sky and immediately unfurled her wings to glide down about halfway to the tallest rooftops so that she had an overhead view as she flew towards the port.
Below, she could make out the guards and batponies ushering massive herds of ponies along some route to the train station. Fortunately, the line of ponies was uncontested by any minotaurs. At least for the time being.
She banked right and reached out with her magic and momentarily stalled, overwhelmed by just how many ponies she felt in the city below. ‘Focus,’ she told herself as she ignored the ponies to search for minotaurs instead.
Zap! Pop!
If there had been no resistance at the port, then the battle had now begun. She swiveled her head around to find which direction it came from and then shot off in that direction, tracking down the sound with her ears and searching with her magic until she came to hover over the intersection where the battle had broken out.
In the street below, from her perspective, she could make out a dozen minotaurs taking cover behind carts and wagons and in alleys, gradually making their way towards a small group of about half as many Royal Guard unicorns. The minotaurs carefully avoided the streelights, meanwhile, the body of one Royal Guard lay in a pool of blood under a light. A crossbow bolt stuck out from his neck. Many unarmored ponies galloped away from the scene, and several more cowered in fear wherever they could find to hide.
She forced herself to ignore their cries of terror, forced herself not to be drawn into the memories those cries brought back to the surface.
Crack! Crack! Zap! Zap! Crack!
She watched one of the unicorn’s shields flare as it was pelted by bolts. Unlike the bolt used against her, none of these pierced his magic. As the bolts dropped to the street, she could make out little cracks forming in his shield before new magic washed over it to reinforce it. The guards were retreating as the minotaurs advanced, though not before making sure the unarmored ponies were well on their way to safety.
She breathed in deep, then angled her wings and silently dove toward the advancing minotaurs.
Crack! Crack! Zap! A bolt of magic struck a minotaur in his chest as he ran towards a wagon for cover, sending him to the ground. A second minotaur charged over and crouched down at his side, aiming his crossbow at the guards, and a third minotaur followed a second later.
They didn’t see her until it was too late. Three of them startled, turning and raising their crossbows to her as she neared the ground. She shielded herself. Their bolts struck her shield and dropped to the street; her arrival, now announced, drew the attention of more of the minotaurs as she landed in the middle.
She hastily took in the minotaurs’ position and watched as they operated their crossbows or drew their axes.
They fired at her.
She stood defiantly as each bolt struck her shield and fell to the street. Their futile volley having finished, they stared at her for a brief second before remembering what they were supposed to do.
The ones with their axes charged her while the crossbow minotaurs quickly rearmed.
She met one of the charging minotaur’s eyes. He was young, like the stallions she had brought to Manehattan with her, and just like them, afraid. Afraid and worried. Afraid of her and worried about what she would do. There was no predatory intent in his eyes, none of the hunger of the griffins. Yet there was a certain hardness, a certain determination there, one she recognized as ingrained by training. And a certain comradery. He wasn’t a monster.
She dropped her shield and dove to the ground as the crossbows fired. Their bolts missed her. She grabbed their weapons with her magic and tugged, only to notice how sluggish it was. ‘Enchanted? Magic resistance?’ One or the other, she wasn’t sure which. The charging minotaurs held tight to their axes. The crossbows were torn free. She swiveled to face the two who she had disarmed and shielded herself before any of the others could prime their weapons again.
She spun the crossbows back on their owners; the bolts readily pierced their chestplates, dropping them to the street. Their blood ran over their armor, glistening under the streetlights.
Their only sounds were shocked gasps.
She launched the two now-expended crossbows at another pair of minotaurs with enough force to send them to the ground as the crossbows struck their heads.
She shifted under a broad swing from one axe and caught another in her magic, tore it free from its owner, and caught him in his chest, readily breaking through his armor, crumpling his body, and sending him to the ground. The other minotaur was met with a blast of magic to his chest that readily cut through his armor.
Two more minotaurs stood up from their cover to fire their crossbows at her, but with a quick nudge from her magic, their aim was knocked off and the bolts bounced off the street.
Her magic enveloped their necks and—Crunch. They fell to the street.
Metal boots against the pavement.
She turned to face the new arrivals. A dozen more minotaurs barreled in, keeping to the sides of the street, crossbows all aimed at her.
When they walked through the cones of light from streetlights, she could see their steeled, determined expressions.
They wanted her.
She met them head-on. Charged towards them, bracing herself. Their charge broke as they ducked into alleys to take cover. They staggered their crossbow fire, forcing her to keep her shield up so that she couldn’t cast spells at them.
She grabbed a crossbow from the street, notched a bolt, hastily aimed, and fired, striking the wall behind the one she aimed at. He hastily ducked back for cover as she readied another bolt. He stuck his head out and dropped straight back to the ground as her next bolt hit where she wanted. His body disappeared behind the wall, likely moved out of the way by another soldier.
Nightmare reached the first set of alleyways they occupied and stopped. Minotaurs on both sides retreated deeper into the alleys, some taking cover behind dumpsters. She watched them, feigned left and teleported into the alley on the right. As soon as she appeared, she launched the dumpster through the alleyway, crushing the soldiers as they ran.
A second teleport; the minotaurs in the other alley turned to see her right on their trail. Three held drew their axes and charged her, one ran. She grabbed the weapons of those who defied her, overpowering whatever resistance there was, and rammed them back into their owners, making them stagger back long enough for her to slash the backs of their legs with the axes. They grunted and collapsed, and a swift follow-up strike laid them low.
She discarded the axes and lifted a discarded crossbow, notched another bolt, and fired at the running minotaur’s leg. The armor did little to stop the bolt and he collapsed to the ground with a cry of pain.
She notched a fresh bolt and paused to listen, idly watching the minotaur crawl to the wall, where he clutched his leg. Distant cracks of magic and shouts of battles, muffled cries and groans from the minotaurs she had wounded. None of them dared to stand as she looked around at their crippled forms. None of them dared to aim their crossbows at her.
She lowered her shield, satisfied that she had done enough here. Quickly stripping a satchel of bolts from one minotaur's back and swinging it over her own back, she teleported herself and her newfound tools back to the sky.
An explosion below, followed the dull crack of an armor’s enchantment shattering and a cry of pain caught Nightmare’s attention. Debris from a destroyed cart rained down through the street as a minotaur’s axe threw a unicorn down to the street and drew blood from his shoulder. Two more Royal Guards lay unmoving with bolts through their chestplates.
She circled around and saw a group of minotaurs approaching the remaining Royal Guards who were taking cover in the alleys. The minotaurs approached methodically, their crossbows aimed at all times.
She dove.
Not fast enough.
A unicorn stuck his head out to aim, only for a minotaur to fire first. The unicorn’s head snapped back and he hit the ground with a bolt sticking out, just below his horn. She was fortunate to be far away. His companions were not.
One of the minotaurs rushed up to another abandoned cart, overturned it and ducked down before reaching to his side. She couldn’t make out what it was, but he threw it towards the alley.
She snatched it out of the air before it could land. It gave her presence away.
A moment later, she landed, and a second after that, whatever he had thrown exploded in her magic.
Her leg trembled as something slid through her flank. She held in a hiss of pain as she slammed her magic into the minotaurs. They flew back like nothing more than toys under her might; some of them hit the pavement, others hit the walls.
In their momentary haze, she tore their crossbows from their grips and pulled the metal shard from her flank. As they scrambled to draw their axes and spears, she aimed each crossbow back at its owner and fired. The thuds came almost all at once, sounding so final as the bolts punched through the minotaurs’ bodies. Some of them screamed and cried in pain, others simply gasped in shock and surprise.
She levitated the crossbows back to her side and reloaded each one in turn, not having the focus to reload each simultaneously.
“Y-you’re Majesty?” came the shaky voice of one of the Royal Guards.
She looked back over her withers. One unicorn had his head stuck out, and a moment later, a second joined him.
She turned away from them and nodded. “Rally on me,” she commanded, making certain to keep her voice steady so as to reassure them.
They obeyed her orders; the remaining Royal Guards grouped up around her. An unarmored stallion tentatively looked around the corner at her, wide-eyed, and below him, a young filly looked at her.
Nightmare’s jaw tightened. She hated the sight of that fear in their eyes. She met the filly’s gaze and bowed her head carefully, then met the stallion’s gaze. “Go. Head to the train station.”
At that, he grabbed the filly and swung her onto his back, then galloped down the street.
She turned her attention back to the Royal Guards; they surveyed the bodies of the fallen, both their comrades and their enemies.
“W-what about them?”
“We leave their wounded. We will gather our dead after the battle is won,” she said. One of the guards favored his left foreleg. A bolt stuck out of his right shoulder that left him trembling. His armor, though enchanted, had not done its duty to protect him. The minotaur’s crossbows packed too much punch; it was wise to keep the earth ponies back. She breathed in deeply and walked around to face him. Ran her eyes over his bloodied golded armor, then followed the trail of his blood back to the alley from where he came.
“Y-yes, your Majesty?” he stuttered.
“I am going to heal your shoulder. This will hurt,” she forewarned as she reached out with her magic.
“Wha-AHH!” he screamed and tensed as she pulled the bolt back out of his shoulder. He staggered, nearly falling over, but she was swift to catch him with her magic. “Wh-what the buck!?”
She nodded once and showed him the bolt. He stared at it unblinkingly before slowly wincing. He didn’t even react to her magic healing his shoulder.
She nodded once and turned back around. “We are spread thin and are being pushed back.”
“You don’t say?” one of them quipped.
She ignored him; lashing out wouldn’t benefit any of them, least of all her.
“I didn’t sign up for this,” one of them muttered.
She pointedly turned her head to look at him. “And yet now we are here,” she retorted, swiveling around to face him. “I know that you do not want to be here. None of us do!” she hissed.
He stepped back, regretting speaking.
Nightmare took a deep breath, then slowly exhaled, trying to calm the irritation the colts’ words gave her. She took another moment to meet each of them in the eyes. “I am not your princess. I know none of you want to be here. None of you want to lay down your lives to save mine. I have no illusion that you would. You would sooner put a dagger in my heart,” she stated. She looked back over them; they did their best to conceal their thoughts and opinions, yet to her, they were plain to see. “I do not want to be here either. I am doing my best to save as many of your lives as I can.” She shook her head and turned back around. “I am only a single pony. I cannot be everywhere at once. If you do not do your duty as I do mine, innocent ponies will suffer and die tonight.”
She levitated crossbows over and thrust them against the unicorns’ chests, earning a grunt from two of them. “Take these.” Once she felt their magic wrap around the weapons, she let go of them and distributed satchels of bolts, but was still left with three crossbows for herself. They didn’t seem to have any difficulty holding the weapons in their magic, but they examined the crossbows unsurely, unfamiliar with the weapons. “Aim and press this in to fire it,” she demonstrated, “Crank this to draw the string back and then place a bolt in here to reload it. If you can shield yourself and leave the crossbows outside to fire them, all the better.”
She strode forward confidently. A moment later, she heard the hoofsteps of the trailing Guards rushing up to walk beside her. None of them were bold enough to walk in front of her.
They walked the length of the street and came to an intersection. She looked both ways; on the right she saw minotaurs guarding a warehouse while more minotaurs loaded up supplies into a wagon. She tightened her jaw and turned to charge, already taking aim with her crossbows.
She loosed her bolts. All three shots missed and the minotaurs dove for cover. Her escort followed behind her, and a moment later, the whizzing of their bolts followed.
The minotaurs returned fire as she reloaded. All of their shots missed and they ducked back behind cover before she could fire. One of them made the mistake of using the wagon for cover; she wrapped her magic around the wagon to lift it up. The minotaur froze in surprise.
A bolt found purchase in his chest and he hit the ground.
One of the minotaurs winced and looked over at him. She reloaded as she set the wagon down across the street. A minotaur ducked out and aimed at her. She shielded herself—the minotaur fired and the bolt skidded off her shield. The first minotaur charged over to his fallen companion. Two more minotaurs rushed out and took cover to fire at her.
Aiming more carefully, each of her bolts hit this time. One of them fell, the other two staggered and reloaded to fire again. Her escort finally figured out how to reload and another volley of bolts descended upon them.
Enough bolts hit to bring down both minotaurs.
The minotaur lying on the street lifted his crossbow while the other one froze up. She heard the fallen one say something she couldn’t make out. The one still standing shot something back at him. The fallen one fired and threw in another bolt. One of her escorts put a quick end to his resistance. The last minotaur looked between his now-deceased companion and her several times before stumbling to his feet to run.
She aimed. Her bolt hit him in the back. She heard his yelp as the bolt struck him. He hit the ground.
“Your Majesty?”
She glanced at the Royal Guard; he was looking up. She turned her gaze upward to note the churning cloud bank, and she could even spot the dark forms of a formation of batponies on the hunt.
A bolt of lightning descended to a street some distance away, followed by the sharp crack! of thunder which then rumbled through the city.
“Pegasi and batponies are providing aerial support,” she announced. ‘Assuming they are not too troubled by griffins.’ She frowned; so far she had only seen one griffin. There had to be more, but the question was where.
She hastily surveyed the immediate area. “We should withdraw from here. More minotaurs will be along soon enough to retrieve their wounded. We would not want to interfere with that, would we?”
None of them answered her. Good.
She wrapped her magic around all of her companions and then teleported all six of them back to the town hall. The sight that greeted her was far more chaotic than she had hoped. Where earlier there had been some semblance of order, now, the makeshift headquarters also served as a field hospital. She clenched her jaw, briefly taking time to look over her wounded.
Many of them had their armor stripped off and had bloodied bandages covering their wounds. Some of them limped along to assist the batponies treating the ones lying on the ground. Discarded armor glistened from blood around holes or large gaps where bolts or axes had broken through.
“AHHHH!” one pony screamed loud enough for her ears to fold back as she winced.
The stallion’s scream calmed into a croaked whimper.
She took one single look at him before turning away. Her guards would have nightmares about the sight.
She would too.
For as much time had passed, little had changed. The minotaurs' brutal strength more than made up for the relative agility and maneuverability of griffins. Where Royal Guard armor would have readily protected them from the strikes of griffin weapons, the sheer force with which a minotaur could bring an axe down was overwhelming, and their crossbows were far superior to those bows and crossbows that the griffins once used.
And their explosives. Pony armor had not been designed or enchanted to deal with the concussive force of the blasts.
They were brutal.
They were efficient.
Where ponies had adapted to relying on magic and griffins had adapted to take advantage of their claws and being able to fly, the minotaurs took advantage of their sheer, brute strength and industrial might. The minotaurs didn’t have magic like ponies or griffins, no, they had to rely on that brutal strength and efficiency.
She doubted their weapons would be enough to bring down a dragon, but against ponies, they were deadly.
She tentatively approached the wounded stallion; he trembled, clutching at his chest while two batponies tended to him.
‘What did he do to deserve this..?’
A bitterness settled in the back of her throat; she summoned her magic, drawing the notice of the stallion and the batpony medics, and wrapped his wounds in her aura.
She could not help all of them. She was one pony. She could not be everywhere at once.
She numbed his pain and set about knitting his broken body back together.
Her aura faded as she finished. Two of the batponies scurried away to help others, leaving one to make sure he would be all right.
‘How many lives will that decision have cost?’
She turned away from him at the thought.
The Prince hurried out from the town hall towards her.
Nightmare forced the thought from her mind. She turned her attention to her nephew-in-law and nodded once he came to a stop in front of her. “Why are they here and not being evacuated?”
“They need the attention immediately. Evacuating them on the train would take too long,” he answered in a hushed tone.
“I see,” she responded quietly. She looked around the mass of ponies. Most of the ones who were injured were unicorns. Even if it was expected, it wasn’t a beneficial outcome. A mixture of Royal Guards assisted the batponies tended to the wounded. ‘Dammit.’ Many of the wounded pegasi and batponies among them had their necks and bodies raked with the markings of griffin talons. “How are the pegasi fairing?”
Shining grimaced. “They’re not very experienced in controlling the weather, so they’re not as effective as we’d hoped, and the griffins have been harassing them despite the batponies efforts.”
Nightmare exhaled sharply. “I have not seen griffins outside of one who attempted to intercept me earlier.”
“They’ve mostly kept inside and above the cloud layer to deal with the pegasi and batponies,” Shining answered. “And they’re attempting to avoid the batponies.”
“Dammit...” Nightmare muttered. She looked at the unicorns standing at her side, awaiting her orders. “You are dismissed,” she told them. They all gave hasty salutes, then broke away from her, staying in one group as they sought out some commander or another to give them new orders. She turned back to Shining and inclined her head. “We may have to adjust the pegasi’s training so they can better manage storms; it could prove advantageous.” Shining nodded in agreement. “How is the evacuation proceeding?”
He grimaced and turned his head to the side. “Slowly.”
“I see,” she acknowledged.
He shifted uncomfortably. “The minotaurs seem to be avoiding the evacuation route.”
“They are not attacking them?”
“No.”
She felt a sense of dread she did not know she felt lift from her. She breathed in, then exhaled. “I see. Good. Though I suspect they are raiding warehouses at the port?”
Shining grimaced and nodded. “And everywhere else they can. They’re still pressing deeper into Manehattan. Are you sure that leaving their fleet alone is a good idea? We might lose Manehattan at this rate.”
Nightmare shook her head decisively. “We will not lose the city, Prince,” she assured.
Shining let out a tired sigh. “And yet the minotaurs are still advancing, and ponies are still dying.”
“I know,” she acknowledged. “My options are limited. Were this an open field the battle would be won by now,” she stated. “I will not destroy Manehattan, the homes of countless thousands of ponies, for the sake of killing a few thousand minotaurs.”
He nodded soberly, haunted by the alternative. “The batponies are helping out more than I expected if I’m being honest. Even if the griffins are still harassing the pegasi, they’re at least helping unicorns deal with the minotaurs.”
She allowed herself a brief smile. “Such is their purpose, Nephew. I did create them to be soldiers to protect Equestria.”
He turned to look at her, visibly conflicted at the idea. “Is that all they are to you? They’re ponies too, just like my Royal Guards.”
Where had that question even come from? Taken by surprise as she was, she had no immediate answer.
He turned away from her. “They’re stealthy, I’ll give them that, but the minotaurs are a lot stronger than them. If they don’t disable the minotaur with their first strike, they lose.”
Nightmare knew exactly what he meant, and she nodded reluctantly. ‘How many batponies will die tonight because of the minotaurs and griffins?’ And yet, their sacrifices would not be in vain. They would save countless Royal Guards, perhaps even the whole of Equestria. It reminded her of her past, of the batponies she had led into battle against the griffins and other monsters.
And then it brought her to realize something else.
Celestia had given them peace where she had failed.
The first wars Equestria had truly known in over a millennium. Perhaps the changelings were not her fault, but the minotaurs? They wanted her. And because of it, they now killed her soldiers, threatened her country, and destroyed ponies’ lives.
And more than that. If she failed, they would conquer Equestria, wouldn’t they? And then what? Equestria would be shattered and every pony who had fallen in defense of Equestria, every battle Luna had fought, it would all be for naught. And Twilight and her friends and family would all suffer.
Because for as soft as Celestia had made Equestria, she could not deny that they knew peace and happiness and, somehow, security.
And she felt anger and determination burn all the hotter for it. Luna’s battles were not in vain. Luna’s death was not in vain. The deaths of the Royal Guards and batponies would not be in vain!
“The minotaurs will pay for this, Shining,” she growled. She turned back to face him and met his gaze, then bowed her head to seal the promise, “I give you my word.”
Shining nodded tersely.
Nightmare breathed in deep to settle her anger, then exhaled. “And what of the rest of Equestria? Are there any new reports of invasion?”
“None so far,” Shining answered.
Nightmare nodded. “I see. Good. I can continue to keep my focus on Manehattan, then.”
The cold night air embraced her, cooling her body from the heat of battle and evaporating her sweat from her coat as she soared over Manehattan. She watched a train steam off for Fillydelphia, where the evacuated ponies would be temporarily sheltered as best they could until it was safe.
The rumble of thunder signaled more strikes of lightning descending upon minotaurs below.
The distant screeching of griffins.
The cracking of spells and magic meeting steel.
The dull umpfs of explosions.
She turned her gaze back to the harbor and beheld the minotaur armada. Stared at the command ship and contemplated.
‘Perhaps I should have simply destroyed their fleet earlier.’
She beat her wings once to keep herself in the air.
‘Perhaps they would have withdrawn sooner.’
She steadied herself against the wind so that she stayed level.
‘How many ponies have they killed already?’
Her eyes flicked to the city below. Sporadic flashes of spells dotted the streets, meshed with the subtle glow of unicorns’ horns, some falling dark.
‘How many ponies have died because of that decision?’
Several bolts of lightning crashed down to the city.
‘How many lives will my decision have saved?’
Another crack of lightning; the silhouette of a pony locked in combat with a griffin.
‘How vulnerable will Equestria be after tonight is over?’
She saw an explosion in the street; ponies were thrown away from the epicenter and hit the pavement. None of them moved.
She held her breath.
Watched as minotaurs approached them.
A unicorn swiveled out of an alley. The Royal Guard got a spell off. A minotaur fell. The others aimed, and the unicorn fell too.
War.
Death.
Destruction.
Equestria did not prosper. Equestria did not know peace. How could she say she overcame her sister if this was her fate and the fate of her ponies?
She angled her wings and dove toward the minotaurs.
‘They’re ponies too, just like my Royal Guards. If they don’t disable the minotaur with the first strike, they lose,’ her nephew’s voice echoed in her mind.
The minotaurs did not see her as she descended upon them. They cleared the street, making sure there were no more of her soldiers. Her comrades. They must have found a family in hiding because two minotaurs dragged the ponies out kicking and screaming into the street.
But they didn’t look up.
Was it faith in their griffin allies, or was it arrogance?
‘How many batponies will die tonight because of the minotaurs?’
She landed. The minotaurs turned on her and the family rushed to escape while the minotaurs aimed at her.
She was quicker. Her magic, more keen than their hands. Their weapons, easier to seize than hers. Oh, they fought back. They tried to hold onto their crossbows and draw their axes, they tried to reach for their explosives.
But they failed.
They knew how efficient their weapons were when she turned them back on them.
They knew how brutal their weapons were she used their explosives against them.
They knew the horrors of war that she had seen over a dozen lifetimes.
And they lay in pools of their own blood, dying, as every other fallen soldier had before them.
Nightmare strode towards the minotaurs who sheltered behind an overturned cart. They thought themselves safe. They believed that a simple cart would protect them!
How foolish!
She wrapped her magic around the cart and threw it at them. She heard them grunt under the cart’s weight, but they pushed it off themselves with hardly a challenge and rose back to their feet before scattering into alleyways.
One of them was slowest.
She grabbed his leg and pulled him back. He fell face-first to the street and rolled onto his back.
He raised his crossbow at her.
The bolt bounced off her shield.
Four more pings as more minotaurs arrived, charging toward her in an attempt to save their comrade.
The fallen minotaur readied another bolt.
She waited for him to reload, then tore the fallen minotaur’s crossbow from his hands and turned it back on him.
The four charging minotaurs staggered before redoubling their efforts.
One screamed a battle cry, threw his crossbow aside and drew his ax.
His three companions ducked out of the alleyway. They fired on her.
Batponies descended from the sky. Three of the four who had charged her fell forward as the batponies’ hind hoofblades sank through their armor into their backs.
One batpony missed, and for her reward, the minotaur grabbed her.
Nightmare lunged forward and grabbed the minotaur with her magic.
But he was faster than her, and the mare didn’t even make a sound as he wrung her neck and threw her body aside like she was nothing but trash.
The batpony’s three companions gave her a momentary look. It was over so fast, yet at the same time lasted so long. It was a look Nightmare had seen too many times before. Pain, surprise, emptiness. An inability to understand what had happened, what went wrong. Why was it her, and not me? All the while, recognizing, knowing, nothing could be done; they had failed, and one of them had paid with her life.
And then the three surviving batponies launched back into the air, knowing there was nothing they could do for their dead companion. They couldn’t even mourn her yet. They had to act, or more would join her.
She snapped the minotaur’s neck and threw him at the remaining minotaurs before taking their lives.
But it would not bring her batpony back.
A minotaur fell and a second took his place, aimed, and fired. The bolt struck her shield and bounced right off as she charged at them.
One of them threw something at her. She heard the click of metal striking pavement.
A second later, the explosive detonated against her shield. Fragments and bits of metal pelted her shield and bounced right back off.
Her shield was unbroken.
Her comrade’s shield was not. He staggered at her side, and then a dull thwump was punctuated by him falling to the ground.
The minotaurs kept firing as fast as they could.
She tore their weapons from their grips, forced the metal to bend and twist under her magic until the crossbows were unrecognizable and their axes were scrap.
Some of them ran.
She lowered her shield.
Some of them reached for explosives.
She pulled the pins from the explosives of those who carelessly ran.
She held the explosives firmly in the hands of those who in panic tried to throw them.
And their mistakes cost them their lives.
And the street was silent aside from the whimpers of the dying.
She stood and contemplated the dead minotaurs.
She turned and looked at the fallen unicorn. Her fallen comrade.
He trembled on the pavement; his blood painted his golden armor red.
He tried to stand but couldn’t find the strength.
She had seen it too many times before.
How fragile his life was. Did he have siblings? Was he a father?
She sat down at his side and wrapped her magic around him. His trembling faded. She pulled the bolt from his chest and healed his wound.
He looked up at her, shocked, horrified, afraid.
The same fear she had seen in so many eyes before.
It was natural, wasn’t it? Being afraid of death.
She stood back up. He staggered back to his hooves.
His legs gave out.
She caught him with her magic before he hit the pavement and steadied him.
She looked back at the rest of his fallen comrades. The rest of her fallen comrades.
Some were still alive.
Some could be saved.
Good.
Minotaurs took cover as she approached. Behind her, half a dozen unicorns followed her.
Each one, armor stained by their own blood.
Faces etched with determination.
The minotaurs fired on them.
Her shield protected all seven of them.
The flash and crack! of lightning.
The scream of a minotaur as he staggered back, his chest smoking.
Some of them aimed at the sky, some stayed focused on her.
It changed nothing.
Another bolt of lightning fell another minotaur, and two more bolts followed behind the first, both striking the street and scorching it.
She walked on, her approach unphased by her pegasi’s assault and the minotaurs’ defense.
Some of them ran inside a building whose door had been broken down. Some of them ran to an alley.
She lowered her shield and channeled her magic into a beam that she directed onto the minotaurs as they ran.
She cut them down; her magic tore through their armor and bodies with the same ease as she had the changelings.
Glass shattered from her right. She turned—
Thwump!
Her shoulder exploded with pain and she staggered to the left from the impact. One of her comrades caught her.
Her jaw clenched and her eyes pressed close. She forced back a scream.
“Your Majesty!”
She heard the chime of the guards’ magic weave together into a shield. The pings! of more bolts fired at them, the impacts, the splintering of the shield, followed by the shield’s collapse and the unicorns’ grunts.
She sucked in a deep breath and righted herself.
Forged her magic into another shield for all of them before the minotaurs could reload.
Pulled the bolt from her shoulder and numbed the pain.
Opened her eyes to gaze upon the busted window on the third story.
Healed her shoulder.
Sent her magic into the room.
Grabbed the minotaur.
And dropped him.
He lived.
She snapped his neck.
He died.
The others followed soon enough.
Around her lay strewn the bodies of the fallen. Minotaurs and ponies and griffins alike. Not just unicorns this time. Pegasi, earth ponies, and batponies joined them. Lives all cut short.
None of them could she save.
For all her power? For all her magic? For her authority? For her skill at taking life?
They were dead, and she could not change that.
Nothing could.
She stood amongst them, surrounded by six unicorns and six batponies.
What had any of her comrades done to deserve their death at the hands of the minotaurs?
Or the pegasi and batponies, the ones who had survived a griffin’s attack, only to plummet to their death?
They fought.
They resisted.
For those they loved.
For her Sister.
For hope.
To protect.
Just like Luna had.
Some of the armor’s enchantments still held; their bodies were all mostly indistinguishable from one another. And their faces all blurred together now.
And she hated it.
She hated it.
She hated the minotaurs and griffins who had killed them.
She hated the minotaur Emperor for starting this war.
She hated the griffins who helped them, who took the minotaurs' gold with the same greed that they then took her ponies’ lives.
Hated their weapons for the lives they had taken.
Hated their ships for the pain they had brought.
Hated her sister for letting the minotaurs fester and grow so powerful as to be a threat to their ponies.
“My Queen!” a batpony mare shouted.
She turned—
The batpony collided with her body—
Thwump!
The mare gasped.
Nightmare fell to the side.
The mare dropped to the ground.
Zap! Magic washed over one of the minotaur’s bodies.
It twitched, and its crossbow slipped from its grip.
Still alive? Yes. It was still alive.
She looked at the batpony mare.
The mare didn’t move. Didn’t breathe.
She touched her forehoof to the mare’s exposed neck.
No reaction.
No beating of her heart.
Checked with her magic.
Dead.
Her expression wasn’t scared, no. Resolute.
Fated to die for her Queen.
The mare hadn’t deserved that.
None of them did.
And that bastard minotaur stole her life. And for it?
It was still alive.
Was she married?
Was she a mother?
Were her foals now orphaned?
How many more lives did she have to see cut short?
She stood.
Her body trembled.
She grabbed the minotaur with her magic and held it up so that it might face her.
She healed its magic-induced wounds. Dispersed the numbness from the stun spell.
Watched it stir.
Watched it struggle.
Pointedly approached it.
Considered all of the countless spells she knew.
Considered all of her experiences of the pain the griffins had inflicted.
Considered all of the torment she had known.
Considered all of the dark magic she knew.
Sundered its mind.
Silenced its screams.
Threw it into a wall.
And repaid it for what it had done.
Nightmare walked alone, having sent her impromptu escort away so that they might better help protect others, and listened to the silence.
Most of the fighting was over now, it seemed. She hoped. Minotaurs were fewer and further between, but so were her ponies.
From what she had seen, the Royal Guard had been shattered. She lost count of how many of her ponies had been killed. She never counted how many minotaurs fell. Only now, most of the minotaurs’ bodies were gone, having been taken back to their ships where they would tend to their wounded.
Where the Royal Guard had faltered simply from lacking the numbers, the batponies had risen to the challenge. They soared through the sky, keeping eyes on the minotaurs' movements and pouncing on their prey.
But so had the griffins.
She felt drained as she trudged along the street. The cold weight of her armor, her blood-soaked fur, the sweat clinging to her forehead and body, and how sluggish her movements felt.
She forced herself to stay as focused as she could, but her thoughts were haunted by faces that blurred together.
Not only from tonight but the ones who had fought alongside Luna.
Her wings sagged from her sides as she silently carried herself along.
She did not feel like a victor, nor like a Queen.
She didn’t even feel like a guardian. No, she had failed that duty as soon as the minotaurs had attacked.
And everypony, every guard, every batpony, every mother and father and foal who had been taken from their homes and families and friends, they all looked to her for safety and comfort and reassurance.
How many of them she had failed.
And she had nopony.
There was nopony to tell her that it would be okay.
Nopony to count on to help her.
Nopony to whisper honeyed lies into her ears.
Nopony to hold her.
But she wasn’t Luna. She was stronger than Luna.
Wasn’t she?
And yet she felt defeated.
Just like Luna.
She stopped and looked over the street. Took in the blood streaks under the dark streetlights, took in the shattered glass and busted-down doors and overturned carts.
Nightmare remembered seeing Manehattan like that before. Back when she was so much younger, back when Twilight was afraid of her own shadow. Back when Twilight was scared of her and she had only mistreated her in return.
But now it was worse—the mingled bodies of a batpony and griffin lay crumpled on the sidewalk; the stallion had given his life to take the griffin with him.
He was not the first.
She hoped he was the last.
She didn’t have the will or strength to stop her wingtips from touching the pavement.
Water and blood soaked into her feathers, but mostly blood.
It was good that the battle was almost over. It was good that there were no minotaurs nearby to bear witness to her weakness.
She could picture Twilight standing at her side. But how would Twilight look? Would she be confused, with a blank expression showing her friend’s inability to comprehend the scene before her? Or would Twilight be afraid and cling to her for safety as a foal would cling to her mother while a griffin stared them down?
At the latter thought, something stirred in her. Renewed strength, renewed fire. She had made a promise. She had made many promises.
She blinked the sluggishness away.
Ponies were counting on her.
Twilight was counting on her.
The sooner the battle was over, the sooner she could leave.
The sooner she could leave and return to Twilight. Feel Twilight’s fur against her own, feel the warmth of Twilight’s body. The gentle caress of her friend’s muzzle as they nuzzled. The scent of books and ink and lavender and Twilight’s friends.
She steeled herself, knowing such thoughts would only make it that much more likely that she would slip up and then her promises would go unfulfilled.
She strode to the end of the block and turned right.
“Nightmare Moon!” a gruff voice bellowed.
She tensed and readied her magic.
“Do you know how many of my bulls you killed today?” the voice demanded.
Some minotaur leader or another? The commander of the attack, perhaps? She drew in a deep breath, preparing herself for a fight. Perhaps it would be no different as the other fights, or perhaps he had some advantage his troops did not. “Are you challenging me?”
“Yes. I am,” the voice answered. “And then I’m going to drag your body back to the Emperor with me. Or you could make this easier on both of us and surrender.”
“Bold words coming from one who hides in the shadows like a coward!”
“This!” the minotaur bellowed with a thunderous laugh. “Coming from the Queen of the Night herself!” His laughter slowed to a stop. “How priceless.”
Nightmare licked her lips and watched as a hulking brute of a minotaur walked out from the busted-down door of a warehouse. He stood nearly twice her height, clad entirely in thick, rough steel armor that shimmered from some enchantment or another, dragging some weapon on the ground behind him by his left hand. The screeching of metal scraping against the pavement made her uncomfortable. Two smaller minotaurs flanked him, both wearing their usual steel armor and carrying crossbows held slightly lowered.
The tips of their bolts were unusually large.
She studied his weapon as he dragged it into view and strode out onto the street to face her. Some combination of a warhammer and a battleax, with the blade on top while the head dragged on the pavement. The hammerhead was larger than her head, more fitting of some kind of mace, fit with short, stubby metal knobs all over. The blade was twisted with a wicked curve, seemingly more intended to inflict pain rather than kill. The entire weapon shimmered with the magic of enchantments, like the armor.
He came to a stop about ten feet from her and braced himself, then purposefully lifted the hammer with one hand and brought the handle up and over to rest firmly in his other hand. His escort held back another five feet or so. Both of them watched her from where they stood, neither seeming any more important than the countless other minotaur soldiers she had felled.
She breathed in deep and steadied herself as she readied her magic. “I respect your courage,” she stated as she bowed her head, aiming her horn at the minotaur’s chest. “But it will not help you.”
He let out a guttural huff and charged at her.
She wrapped her magic around the handle of his weapon, only for her magic to slip off. The surprise cost her precious time. ‘Dammit!’ The enchantment or the metal itself was resistant to magic.
He brought his warhammer back to his side as he rushed in.
She cast a bolt of magic at his chest; his chestplate lit up as it absorbed the blast of magic.
He swung his weapon at her. She snapped her wings out and jumped back, using her wings for added lift.
The hammer’s head swung passed where she stood and continued on until he stopped it, cocked at his left side.
She landed and fired again. Two spells.
He closed the distance and lifted the warhammer up over his head.
Her spells flashed against his chestplate.
She stepped back and hammered away at his armor with her spells, only to see her magic wash harmlessly over the metal.
He brought his warhammer down.
She shielded herself.
The force of the blow buckled her shield. A spiderweb of cracks raced outward from where the studs collided, and in the center of where the hammer struck, a large crack split her shield in two.
She grunted, feeling him forcing the weapon down against her shield as hard as he could.
It wasn’t enough. She reinforced her shield with more magic, then gathered magic in her horn to detonate her shield.
The blast made him stagger back, but he recovered and grabbed his hammer with both of his hands.
Faster than she expected.
He brought the hammer down. She threw herself to the right.
The hammer smashed into the pavement. She felt the impact through her boots, felt the air ripple from the impact, felt little bits of the road strike her side as the pavement exploded from the impact.
He roared ferociously and yanked the hammer free from the pavement while she tried to grab his armor in her magic.
The same magic resistance.
She growled and ducked under a swing, then threw her weight into the minotaur’s legs.
He took the blow in stride and kept standing.
Realizing her mistake, she jumped back, but his hind leg still struck her chestplate with enough force that a graceful landing was impossible. She hit the ground and rolled back to her hooves.
Another noticeable dent joined the one Applejack inflicted.
Nightmare ignored it as he brought the hammer back to rest in both of his hands and sized her up. “You didn’t really think we forgot about your magic, did you?” he growled. “The very same magic you used to take away the sun?”
She threw her head back and laughed. “If this is the full extent of your capabilities I am hardly impressed!” she hissed.
He let out a battle cry and charged.
She reared up and gathered more magic in her horn, then slammed her forehooves into the roadway as she released her spell. The shockwave struck him and broke his charge, momentarily staggering him.
Long enough for her to capitalize.
She heaved her weight forward into a charge and focused her magic into an intense beam. Her magic slammed into his chestplate head-on, making it glow brighter as its enchantments struggled against her magic.
She wasn’t finished yet!
But neither was he. He lunched at her and met her charge head-on. His elbow slammed into her muzzle, throwing her horn out of position hard enough that she had to catch herself so she didn’t fall down.
And that was all the opening he needed. His hammer collided with her wing a moment later.
The impact was disorientating. She wasn’t entirely sure what happened. The world twisted and spun around her.
Her wing crumpled under the blow and her ribs cracked. The air was ripped from her lungs as a magical shockwave tore through her body, tearing up her lungs. She didn’t give him the satisfaction of hearing her scream. She wasn’t even sure she could scream. The city twisted around her as she flew until something—a brick wall—stopped her. Her head whipped into the wall last. She couldn’t stop herself from grunting at the impact.
For a split second, she saw naught but darkness.
The first thing she could make sense of was lying crumpled on the street against the wall. Breathing hurt, it was nearly impossible. She coughed up blood and her whole body screamed in protest. The only sound she could make was a groan, and that turned into a cough.
The detestable taste and stench of her own blood.
The sound of metal clicking on pavement as something approached her.
She sluggishly stood back to her hooves. She had to force it, because her body protested every movement. The pain was nauseating. Her legs nearly gave out, and she ended up leaning her left side against the wall for support. Her lungs burned, her body ached, her legs trembled. Her right wing was useless. She gasped for breath and coughed again, and for it was rewarded with pain.
Yet over it all, she could hear the distinct clicks of his metal boots on the pavement as he approached.
She wanted nothing more than to keep her eyes closed, to teleport away to be with Twilight and heal herself, to take a bath and forget about everything.
But she would not. She was stronger than that. She forced herself to fight on as she always had.
Because she was Nightmare Moon.
She opened her eyes and turned to face him.
“I was expecting a challenge,” he growled.
She forced herself to snort, despite how much it hurt, despite it turning into a cough that brought up more blood to streak her muzzle, and then wrapped her magic around her body to numb the pain and heal herself.
But he gave her no reprieve and launched himself at her.
She pushed away from the wall and backpedaled. His hammer struck the wall, and bricks exploded everywhere, nearly demolishing the whole front of the building.
It gave her an opening. She took it and fired a blast of magic at his side. His armor shrugged it off. He spun and kicked her in the chest. She screwed her eyes shut as she stumbled back, reeling from the pain of her reawakened injuries. Her legs nearly betrayed her, almost making her fall to the ground, but she was steadfast.
He swung his hammer. She deflected his swipe with a blast of magic and stepped back. ‘Dammit!’ It gave her the briefest moment to look at her shattered right wing.
And he kept lunging at her; there was no opportunity for her to heal herself. She ducked low when he swung high and jumped back when he swung downward. Dodged to the side when he swung upward.
It was all she could do to evade his attacks.
Another blow toppled a streetlight over. She grabbed it with her magic as it fell, then swiftly spun it around and caught him in the head with it. He staggered back, stumbling from the sudden, jarring blow.
She followed up and thrust the base at his chest. He stumbled again. She spun the rod around and crushed the concrete base down on his head. He growled in pain and hit the ground, but immediately started picking himself back up.
It was the opportunity she needed to heal her lungs, ribs, and wings. He lunged before she could finish, but she could finally breathe easier, and the fresh air was wonderful.
‘If I lose, I will not see Twilight again.’
She parried a blow from his hammer with her streetlight, only for the once-straight post to wind up bent almost back to the base.
‘Buildings can be replaced. I cannot.’
Perhaps collateral damage was unavoidable.
She strode back and steeled herself against his unflinching march towards her. The arrogant bastard smiled, thinking she was retreating.
Nightmare snarled and hammered away at his armor with her magic. Bolts of magic, stun spells, spells to tear through his armor and body, spells to slow him and confuse him, none of them did more than wash over his armor, leaving it glowing brighter. Not enough to overwhelm the enchantments. She couldn’t aim well enough to hit his exposed body, either. ‘How did you acquire such armor!?’ her mind snapped.
Regardless, he would fall. It was only a matter of balancing how much destruction was needed with how much was acceptable.
Surely she could defeat him without dropping a building on him. But perhaps he was worth the cost to rebuild.
She switched tactics and refocused her magic into a beam. The initial impact staggered him; his armor glowed brightly as the enchantments worked overtime to disperse her magic, and for his part, he charged full speed ahead at her.
She focused more magic into the beam, enough to match a Royal Guard’s full magic.
Enough to cut through their ships’ armor.
Enough to lay a dragon low.
Enough to match Twilight’s magic.
For the briefest moment, she considered using more.
The enchantments flickered.
He swung his hammer. She had to jump out of the way and let up on her attack. He followed up his swing with another downward thrust. She focused her beam again and struck his helmet.
The enchantments burned away instantly and her magic sliced through his armor, then tore through his head and body.
He collapsed on the ground.
She stamped her hoof into the ground and ignored the pain that she felt. ‘Next time I will not take the chance and hold back at the beginning.’
She cast her gaze on the two minotaurs who had escorted him. They both stared at her, frozen in place, shocked. She wrapped her magic back around her wounds and strode towards them. “If you run, I will let you live,” she snapped. “Your fleet has twenty minutes to be underway before I turn it into your tomb.”
Both of them forgot about their weapons, broke rank, turned, and ran.
She snarled and surveyed the street. Certain that she was alone, she strode back to their fallen champion and examined his armor with her magic. The minotaurs couldn’t have enchanted it. Who had, then? Surely not the griffins, surely not the zebras, and certainly not the deer. It felt like unicorn magic, but who? And how?
She surged her magic into the enchantments to burn them all out to vent her frustration, then ran her magic over the metal. She wasn’t sure what it was, it wasn’t steel. Something else. Something that was harder for her to grip than normal armor, akin to the metal that their weapons were made out of.
Did they have more?
How much more?
But then did that matter how much they had? Equestria was still difficult for them to reach. Even if they succeeded in taking the city, it would be difficult for them to hold it.
‘We cannot fight in a city again, at least not an Equestrian city.’ The costs were simply too high and the risks too great. Ships would have to be intercepted, and she would have to make sure the griffins were lending no aid to the minotaurs.
She exhaled sharply, then looked back at their fallen champion.
She stripped the minotaur of his armor and cast his body aside, then studied the armor until she heard a quiet clink of metal hitting the pavement.
Had she dropped something? No, she had not.
She turned to see one of their explosives. She barely managed to shield herself before it detonated, and a dozen pings! immediately followed it. Her shield was assaulted from all sides.
She braced herself, but none of the bolts slipped through her magic.
She sent her magic out.
She was surrounded by minotaurs inside the nearby buildings; they had been lying in wait for her.
An ambush.
One that they had completely butchered.
She grabbed them in her magic and threw them through the windows. Glass shattered and cut them up as she dumped them on the pavement just in front of where they had taken to waiting for her battle to finish.
She considered killing them as they picked themselves up but thought better of it.
But making them think she was retreating wouldn’t do. “Leave now and I will spare your lives!” she hissed.
Either pulling them out of their hiding spots or the threat was enough to make them retreat. Or perhaps it was their dead champion, now stripped bare before them.
She watched them run while she healed herself, and once she was certain they weren’t about to change their minds, she growled and teleported herself and the armor back to the outside of the town hall.
Most of the ponies who were there now were batponies. The wounded Royal Guards had been evacuated alongside the other evacuees. She didn’t spot her Nephew or Spitfire anywhere so she walked to the town hall and stepped inside. A cursory look around was all she needed to locate the Captain, conversing with a batpony colonel.
She made her way over to them; both of them saw her and turned their attention to her. And both of them gawked at her blood-covered muzzle, but their shock faded after a few seconds. The batpony bowed while Spitfire saluted.
Nightmare nodded once in acknowledgment. “I believe they will be retreating shortly. I will be giving them one last parting gift as they do.”
“And if they don’t?” Spitfire asked.
She tilted her head and flared her magic. “Then I am not taking prisoners.”
The Colonel shivered.
“What do you have there?” Spitfire asked, nodding towards the armor she held.
She turned her gaze to the armor and scowled. “I fought a minotaur who I believe was their commander. This was his armor. It was... far more resilient than I anticipated.” She breathed in; though fully healed, her lungs and side still ached. The phantom pain made her look over at her right side, at her wing. She could still feel the agony from earlier, but her right wing at least looked fine compared to her left wing. Regrowing the fur and feathers was a frivolous waste of magic, so long as she could still fly.
Of course, red smeared her coat and muzzle, and as she thought about it, blood wasn’t the only thing on her. Sweat, smoke, little bits of metal and pavement and dirt, and for thinking about it all, she felt filthy.
She scowled in disgust, even as she thought back on all the times Luna had returned from battle just the same.
A bath would be nice, but first, there was one last matter to attend to.
Nightmare Moon soared through the skies, just below the sparse cloud cover erected by the pegasi. The minotaur’s fleet was indeed retreating, just as slowly as she was sure their best speed was. The hulking behemoths that were their ships seemed almost still atop the water, though the scattered reflection of the moon in their wake betrayed their movement.
Neither of her wings felt right as she flew along, but they would be fine in a few nights, if not sooner, so she put the discomfort aside as she contemplated the fleet below her.
Besides, perhaps the memory would be a good motivation for her to do better.
Did the fools know she watched from above? She saw no griffin patrols attempting to guard their retreat. Did they think they would escape so easily?
Of course, no patrol could help them.
She glided along at a casual pace, keeping up with the fleet and watching the ships as they lumbered through the sea. Every so often, she looked back at Manehattan to gauge how far out they were.
And she waited. She waited patiently. Lulled the bastards into a sense of security so that they would lower their guard. Let the ones who had never left their ships think they were getting away without seeing the worst of the battle.
She summoned her magic and charged up her horn.
How wrong they would be.
Her first beam of magic ripped through their command ship’s hull. She missed where she was aiming, but it didn’t matter. The ship’s reinforced hull bowed before her, exploding in a spray of splinters and metal shrapnel. The ship lurched away from the impact. They let loose fearful cries.
And she cut a path of destruction through the ship’s hull until—
A blinding flash of light as their weapons store detonated. The ship’s hull disintegrated around the blast and split into two sections.
For a moment, all was silent.
BOOM!
The shockwave hit her body; she grunted and steadied herself.
She took aim at the next ship, one of their cruisers, and cut open the ship’s side with more ease than doing the same to a dragon.
BOOM!
Her magic hit another weapon store.
The ship listed and nearly capsized.
Half-armored griffins shot into the sky.
Her magic readily shot them down. The ones she sparred dove back to their ships even quicker.
She reached out and grabbed a second cruiser with her magic. The ship was massive; surely no single unicorn could hope to achieve the feat she did! But such was her magic, such was her talent. She lifted the ship from the water.
And crushed the hull.
Felt the resistance, felt the way the wood and steel strained against the force she put on them.
Felt them give, then twist and splinter and shatter.
Watched the hull implode.
Dropped the ship back to the water. It shook and listed side to side unsteadily.
She had made her point clear.
And so she watched the fleet limp along. Watched their little boats ferry survivors and supplies from their crippled cruisers to the smaller escorting warships.
She felt satisfied.
Satisfied and drained and tired.
Was war all she was good at?
She turned to fly back to Manehattan. Eventually, their panicked shouting faded to nothingness, leaving her flight in silence broken only by the occasional rumble of thunder.
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Nightmare seems to have realised that she's still no different to how she used to be, hiding behind her mask while berating herself constantly and second guessing her decisions at every turn.
I can't help but feel sorry for Equestria at this point, they're all praying for the return of their princess but they have a war goddess instead, she seems to be stuck in a difficult situation fron both ends. Her guards just aren't as ready as she wants them to be, the fact that they only won because they were decimated by having their weapons turned on them, makes me fear for their future.
This fic lives!
11701929
which is another faailure of Celestia. they should have always been prepared. but Celestia relied to much on Diplomacy.
Well congrats Minotuars, you just lost the high ground. You killed innocents because you didn't like NMM. and any ponies they helped them. the blood of the innocent are your hooves
Nice to see this is still alive.
But no, Nightmare is not even good at fighting anymore.
War maybe, but not fighting.
If she is that good at magic, then she should use it more
than her physical capabilities.
Like . . Teleportation. That is a horrible weapon to have.
She may want to teach twilight that.
Enemy that can not fly?
Teleport up about 100m, let drop.
Done.
Enemy that can fly?
Teleport down below ground about 10m. Much cleaner.
Or for a more complicated trick. Teleport a rock into an enemies head.
Or anywhere else in his body basically.
I like how Nightmare cares about her soldiers and the civilians. The old Nightmare never would've considered their lives at all. Great character development.
I loved the atmosphere in this chapter too. The whole 'war is hell' thing. Good update.
Nightmare is beginning to realize her shortcomings. A lot of comparisons here to Luna and Celestia. Is she beginning to forgive Celestia? Is she beginning to remember herself as Luna?
I am glad that Nightmare decided to spare Twilight from dealing with this. I don't think she would take it well. Defending herself is one thing, but actively seeking and disabling/killing an enemy is another, and I don't think she would do very well after that.
This story is so good and I cannot wait for more. :)
Honestly super impressed the author is still trucking away at this story. I've been following it for years and kudos he's gonna make it man. Lot's of drama still in store though.
11708303
I have every intention of finishing this. It’s just a matter of how long it’ll take.
In truth, I’ve not written much for this story in probably 2 years, but I still have a lot of chapters that just need reread, edited, and so on. I’m not sure when I’ll actually return to working on drafting new chapters, however.
That was a good chapter goodluck with the next one. Its nice to see Nightmare Moon cares more about saving innocent ponies than killing her enemies hopefully its a sign she is becoming a better pony. I blame Celestia more for this invasion and the deaths it caused. Avoiding war with diplomacy is a good thing but relying on it so much your almost defenseless against a small invasion force is the height of incompetence.
11708363
are. are you sure.
Anyway, great chapter! I'm enjoying this fic a lot. Love seeing Nightmare's character development and her inner monolouge. Your writing is really good. The fact that Equestria's forces struggled so much against the minotaurs is kinda concerning for Equestria's future. They only won because they managed to use their enemy against itself, though with Nightmare retreiving the minotaur's armour maybe there'll be some better equipment for the army in the future?
This story very quickly become one of my favorite fanworks. I have lost HOURS of sleep over the last couple weeks rapidly binging this. I just caught up recently and I wanted to indicate that I adored the story you had to tell and am eagerly looking forward to more.
And so war has reared it's head over Equestria. The first true one in a LONG time. How did Celestia prevent this kind of thing? Perhaps the threat of any nation invading ending up incinerated?
But now comes the counting of the dead and the damage done. It will not be pretty.
This was good. I wish it hadn't taken me nearly half a year to read it. I've been following this story for a few years, my life has changed in a lot of ways since I first started it. I've been burnt out and too busy to have time to read fics, but I just want you to know that as long as this site is still up and you're still updating, I'll read whatever you write. You've absolutely earned that from me. Hope you're well, you've not been online in a few months.
The action was really gripping, and the way her anger builds throughout at all the unnecessary bloodshed is brilliant. Along with her continued self-doubt on the overall impact of her actions and if she's truly worthy. God, I want more, I wanna see where she ends up, whether that be Luna, or to continue being her, but with her sister at her side. Some of your thing with repeated phrases does crop up a few times, but it didn't diminish anything, it's just how you write, not a flaw.
I can't wait to see more, at least, I hope to. Take care of yourself.
11885973
Hmmmmm, whatever.