Sigil of Souls, Stream of Memories

by Piccolo Sky

Nightwatch: Midnight Waltz, Part I

Merely seeing the figure from the “children’s storybook” in the flesh would have been enough to render the six of them mute without the threat. Everyone was motionless, not knowing what would happen if they made a move.

Twilight swallowed at long last. Tightening her grip, she took a single step away from the others and toward her.

“Nightmare Moon.” She stopped afterward, swallowing again and steeling her resolve. “We’ve come here for one reason. We want you to end this night over Equestria right now. If you don’t…we’re here to stop you. By force, if necessary.”

The cruel serpentine pupils zeroed in on Twilight the moment she stepped forward and remained there.

Her face showed nothing for a few seconds, but then she swished her lips and shrugged.

“You have a funny way of begging.”

She raised a hand and extended its taloned, armored fingers.

“But it sounds like you’re done just the same.”

A wave of darkness erupted from her hand, and all six women were smashed with the raw power simultaneously. Their faces tightened and their eyes widened with shock from the sudden force and pain, but they had no time to dwell on strength of the blow before their bodies were blown away as if they were no more than leaves on a breeze. The power cast them easily out of the chamber, through the open doorway, past the walkway, and right to the lip of the foyer.

It was only when they were moments from going over the edge that the group came to life. Applejack swung out the “claw” of her hammer and anchored herself. Pinkie lashed out and grabbed the bannister as her body went over the side, while reaching out with her other hand and catching Rarity’s as she went screaming and flailing over the edge as well. Both of them were left dangling over the drop to the second floor. Fluttershy was knocked off all together too, but Rainbow Dash quickly leapt after her. She didn’t do a straight jump off, but instead sprung over the railing for the nearest column, kicked off of it, sailed a distance, kicked off another, and then moved into Fluttershy’s path to catch her before touching down on the floor below. Both tensely looked upward.

Twilight herself nearly joined them but managed to keep her feet planted and generated a wind spell of her own. It wasn’t enough to stop her body all together, but it lessened the power of the attack enough for her to grind to a halt moments before reaching the edge. Even then, it was enough to make her pant and she and the others looked fearfully back the way they had come. Applejack began to pull herself up and pry out her hammer as Pinkie grit and grunted, struggling to pull Rarity higher. Rainbow Dash set Fluttershy down and began to move for the stairs as the latter cowered.

While they went on, Nightmare Moon nimbly hopped off of the fireplace foundations. Her wings stretched out but didn’t need to bother flapping as her body levitated above the floor. In moments she was coming out of the entryway too; making the women freeze in their tracks.

She alit on the tile soon after and calmly walked forward; her heavy armored feet letting out a resounding echo with each step. She strolled by the remains of one of the bodies and reached out to pluck up his skull, easily manipulating it and gazing at it like a sort of curio.

“You creatures are all the same,” she mused dismissively, almost as if not even addressing them. “Such feeble bodies. Such weak spirits. Such tiny brains. So frail. So annoying. So stupid.”

She snapped her wrist down as she kept approaching, flinging the skull to the ground hard enough to shatter it.

“So you knew my name. You knew I created the eternal night over Equestria. You knew I made the Light Eaters. You knew I was the god of this world.”

The moonlight suddenly dimmed as the sky over Nightmare Moon began to darken. The moment Twilight heard a rumble on it she began to tense up.

“And you were still ignorant enough to think six of you could come here and intimidate me?”

Bolts of black lightning erupted from the heavens and cascaded down over the area. Applejack quickly sprung back to avoid one hitting her, then turned and bolted downstairs. Dash had to backpedal to avoid her own as Fluttershy cried out and went for cover. To avoid being struck, Pinkie had no choice but to let go. Yet as Rarity cried out again, somehow, she was agile enough to move beneath her and act as a cushion as both slammed down to the second floor. It wasn’t a high enough drop to be fatal in all circumstances but it should have still broken a couple bones. Nevertheless, as Rarity scrambled up Pinkie jumped up just as easily with no sign of pain.

Twilight was forced to recoil as two different bolts of black lightning nearly hit her, but no sooner had she dodged the second when the floor gave out beneath her, and she cried out as she went over the lip. Fortunately, Dash saw it and quickly darted in—catching her a moment later. No one felt much relief, however. They all looked back to the third floor foyer.

Nightmare Moon walked up to the edge and glowered down on them; her shadow only seeming darker and stronger in the moonlight that framed her.

“In one night, I took from this world its order, its sanity, and its stability. Gone, just like that.” She grinned wide enough to show her sharp pale teeth again. “Everything you ever knew or put faith in destroyed in an instant. Nature turned on its head. And in eight years, the six of you are the best your miserable little society could throw at me.” She let out a few haughty chuckles. “I’d be disappointed if this wasn’t so amusing.”

By now fully getting a grasp of her power, the group felt even more of their resolve begin to fade. All save Twilight. Frowning again, she forced herself up and out of Dash’s arms.

“Why are you doing this?” she shouted. “What has anyone or any country in this world ever done to deserve this? Before you got those Anima Viris, you were a person just like everyone you’ve murdered!”

Her smile turned into a scowl. “I take back what I said a moment ago. Apparently, you are still ignorant. You really don’t understand anything, do you? You don’t have the slightest idea who I am or what I am.” She scoffed. “And how could you? You creatures always needed some ‘mother’ to come along and spoon feed you everything…”

Twilight grew angrier. “I don’t know what you mean by that, but I don’t have to! All I have to know is what you’re doing out there is wrong! You’re killing everything! Not just the people but the plants and the animals too! Why? What does it give you?”

“You don’t even know who or what I am, and you have the audacity to think I owe you any sort of explanation?” Moon hissed back. A moment later she leapt off of the edge. The six quickly recoiled, including Twilight, but she didn’t sink like a stone. Her wings spread wider and she slowly lowered herself to the ground. She came a few inches from touching down and faced them as her hands went to her sides. Dark vapor began to gather within them. An instant later, she held them up and let both go at once.

This time, Twilight was ready. Planting her feet, she generated a fierce wind tempest in front of her as fast as she could cast it. The others quickly moved in behind her and braced themselves as the waves of darkness struck. Yet in spite of Twilight’s attempts to counter it and the reinforcement, the six of them still found themselves shoved away a good sixty feet. Nevertheless, they managed to keep their footing when the darkness waves died down this time. Twilight remained poised there with her wand aimed forward.

Moon smiled, looking amused as she began to hover toward them. “It looks like you’re the only one of you six that even has much of a mastery of one Anima Viri. That means I know exactly what you are.”

Her teeth flashed again.

“You belonged to Celestia, didn’t you?”

Twilight let her arm fall. “Wh…what? You knew Celestia?”

Moon let out a short chuckle. “You…might say that.”

Twilight stared at her wide-eyed as the rest of the ladies began to step back. She swallowed hesitantly after a moment.

“Were…were you the one who…who killed her?”

Moon stopped where she was and planted her feet on the ground, but only to crane her head back and let out a much louder and longer laugh. Biting and cruel. It made Twilight’s face twist and wince, not just from the reaction but hearing that response to what she had asked. Her jaw clenched and her grip on her wand tightened.

Moon finally looked at her again. “Celestia died as she lived: a fool.”

Twilight’s fear was swallowed by a surge of anger. “Don’t talk about her that way!”

The goddess snorted; her smile turning into a sneer. “So you did belong to her. One of the little chicks she took under her wings managed to survive, eh? Good. Feels good to know I can tell someone about what a failure she was who can appreciate it.”

This got her to point her wand at her again. “I said don’t talk about her that way!”

“Your precious princess could see into the hearts and minds of everyone in Greater Everfree. She knew what secrets they kept and the color of their souls. She knew people better than they knew themselves. With her power, she could take one look at civilization itself and see all the healthy pieces and all of the sick ones.”

Twilight was stunned again, her and the rest of the women with her. All of them were focusing on Moon’s words now. “…Really?”

“And what did she do with that power?” Moon snorted as she began to spread her wings wider to hover again. “Nothing. She saw the way the world was moving and recognized all the foulness and decay that was in society itself and possessed the might to change it. Instead she thought nurturing and coddling was somehow going to save this world. I, on the other hand?”

She rose higher until she was a full body length above the others. She grinned as she held up her hand, letting a fire of darkness ignite in it.

“I prefer to clean and scour what is diseased, and to let die what was meant to perish all along.”

Snapping her hand out, she flung the dark fire out of it. The six braced themselves but it wasn’t aimed for them. It landed on one of the sets of remains and ignited in a burst. It flared up in a tall pillar of black flame for a few seconds before ebbing again. When it faded, even the bones were burnt to ash. All that was left, gleaming bright and free of grime, were a set of copper buttons, coins, and a gold pocketwatch.

“Like a true queen, I don’t let the earth wither and fester in the name of touchy-feely ‘mercy’. I make it pure with justice—no matter how hot the fires must burn.”

The six remained silent but a moment before Twilight frowned. “‘Justice’? ‘Justice’?! You’ve killed hundreds of thousands of innocent people! You’ve ruined the environment! You’ve filled this world with corrupted monsters!”

“I should have known Celestia would have taught you nothing…” Moon snickered. “This is nature, little fool. Completely fair and completely unbiased. Serves as a refining oven. Even if most of this world ends up destroyed, the ones who survive will be exceptional. They will be strong. They’ll be the ones to create a true and lasting kingdom for the entire human race.”

“That’s a buncha bull spit!” Applejack snapped out.

“I must say it sounds awfully pretentious…” Rarity muttered.

One of Moon’s eyebrows raised. “Oh, you don’t believe me?” Her teeth flashed again. “Surely you don’t believe the six of you are here by accident, do you?”

Everyone paused again.

“What…” Twilight began, more uneasily, “what did you say?”

“Your Promethian Sigils and Anima Viris give you the power to withstand my will. To counter it. To kill it. Did you really think I didn’t notice it when you destroyed my Tantabus in Grifftham City?”

She spread her wings all the way out, spanning nearly the entire hall, and gestured to herself.

“I am your destiny! Not only of you, but all who were born with your power! The weak among you will succumb to misery and death like the rest of your society of simpletons! When the day finally comes in which there is no one left except the inheritors of the world, the strong will come to me as one! Then…only then…will I be struck down, and my end will mean the beginning of a glorious new age!”

Her eyes flashed with madness as she nearly laughed.

“I’ve brought this world order! I’ve brought this world perfection! I’ve brought this world…purpose! Tell me who but the one true god could accomplish this?!”

The very air seemed to charge with her words as she hovered over them, the moon making her shadow greater and darker than ever. The six were left standing mouths agape at her.

“She’s…she’s…” Fluttershy stammered.

“She thinks she’s god!” Pinkie yelped.

“She’s crazy is what she is!” Dash retorted. “She wants to kill everybody!”

Twilight stared on at her in silence for two more seconds but then stiffened herself. Keeping her wand at the ready she called behind her. “Everyone…you know what to do.”

The other five looked nervously at Nightmare Moon for a little longer before they nodded; even Fluttershy. They moved out and around Twilight and readied their own weapons, planting their feet and staring at her.

Her smile turned into a frown. “You’re joking, right? You don’t honestly think you six little nothings are going to destroy me, do you?”

“Everyone get ready!” Twilight shouted behind her. “You know what to do!”

Moon frowned more, enough to show her teeth off again. She snorted as she held her hands up, darkness gathering around them along with the rest of her.

“Alright. I could use the skulls of six more idiots to decorate that one bare spot on the wall.” Her grin returned. “Get ready to know the difference between some wretches sharing souls and a true goddess!”

The darkness continued to gather around her hands, but Twilight called out before she could make her first move.

“Pinkie! Now!”

At once, the Rogue reached for her belt, snapped off a pouch of gunpowder, and held it up.

Moon laughed. “You weak imbecile! You think some little bomb is going to hurt me?”

Pinkie’s only answer was to fling the pouch…right at the floor in front of the girls. It instantly erupted in a loud bang, blasting out a cloud of smoke and light in front of them.

Moon raised an eyebrow on seeing the gesture as the smoke expanded outward. A moment later she extended two fingers and swung them. In response, the wind picked up and swept the cloud away…revealing nothing behind it.

She grinned and laughed out loud again. “You come here threatening to kill me, and then you run away with your tails between your legs the first chance you get? Do you really think I’ll let any of you escape? No one can defy the will of the god of this world and expect to-”

A flash went off in the corner of Nightmare Moon’s vision. She turned to look, and was just in time to see a flash of rainbow hair before a fist swung out and punched a broken piece of masonry at her like a sling stone or bullet. It quickly darted away behind the nearest column afterward.

As for Moon, she frowned tiredly as the masonry sailed right for her head, only to go right through it as if it was nothing more than mist and vapor. As soon as the stone harmlessly sailed by and clattered to the third floor, the vapor reformed along with her head.

“Is that the best you can do?”

In response, a blur shot out again from a completely different column and smacked another rock toward her, with much the same result.

She grinned and laughed again. “Fools! I can’t be hurt by physical means any more than my aspects can! Is this it?”

In response, not one but two figures darted out, one on either side of the chamber. A rapier and a wand were pointed at Moon and a sigil was executed. The sky darkened, and as she looked up she was just in time to see two bolts of lightning, one large and one small, streak out of the sky and strike her in the chest simultaneously.

Her position in the air barely shifted, and her face registered the same amount of discomfort one might get from getting a very mild static shock. “I felt that…” she admitted with some irritation while holding up one of her hands, igniting it into black fire. “Too bad you’re not as motile as your friend.”

She snapped her hand down to cast the fire around the column, meaning to destroy what was on the other side…

“Surprise!”

Hearing the yell not only from behind her, but from the level above her, stunned Moon and caused her hand to fling the fire too early. The ball went out and struck the ground, instantly igniting not only into a dark blaze but spreading out to lash out for who was hiding behind the column, but it was too soon and Twilight immediately took off and ran for it. Moon herself snapped around, just in time to see the Rogue grin before flinging another bomb; this time at her.

Her teeth grit as she stood her ground, intending the bomb to sail right through her as the stones had. Instead, on making contact with her chest, it ignited in another flash of powder and smoke. Nightmare Moon gave the slightest noise as she vanished into the blast, before her wings swept once and blew the dust and flame away. She showed no damage; only surprise and irritation, but when she looked up Pinkie was already bounding for it. She raised her hand and the sky darkened in response, sending down black lightning after her. The first struck a few feet behind her. The second was nearly on her heels as she ran for the nearest column…

Before a third could fire, however, she gave two more noises as two more blows struck her along her backside. One was from Dash. The Disciple charged at the nearest column, scaled them as she had earlier to ascend to Nightmare Moon’s level, then gave her a kick to the small of her back. No sooner had she descended when Applejack stepped out from behind her own column; her ever-present lasso tied to the end of her hammer. Giving it a couple swings, she lashed out and smashed Moon in the same place where Dash had struck.

Neither attack did much more than shift her a bit in the air, but it was enough for her to whip her head around and glare at them angrily. The horn on her helmet suddenly lit up with a pale, silvery light, which ran along from forehead to the tip before it let out a piercing noise. A pair of thin beams emitted from the end for either woman; raking the ground in its wake and leaving burning incision marks. It was too late, however. Both were already running for cover behind columns and the lasers cut nothing but stone.

Looking more annoyed than before, Nightmare Moon quickly dove for the ground, hovering much faster now. She held both of her hands up and began to gather more power into them as she flew toward one of the columns; in particular the one she saw Applejack run behind. Yet as she dove for her, Rarity popped out behind a new column and quickly pointed her rapier at her again. This time, a stream of small fireballs fired for her helmet. Moon intended to simply push through them, but on reaching her headpiece they ignited in flashes of flaming light and her vision, much to her anger, was obscured once again.

Yet when one of her gauntlets reached for her eyes and she slowed, Twilight popped out from behind another column and quickly performed a more advanced spell. Moments later, Nightmare Moon’s eyes began to clear only to feel a sudden pull on her body. To her surprise, her lift on her wings gave out and she went sailing for the ground. She quickly put her arms and legs out to catch herself, but she barely had time to realize what happened when a pink blur went skipping by. She looked up to try and see what it was, only to hear something land at her feet. She glanced back down and spotted another explosive moments before it went off.

Gritting her teeth, she hissed as she was blasted again and staggered back. Dash and Applejack quickly leapt out from their own positions again and ran at her. Dash streaked by in a blur and gave her another blow across the side of the head, even though it barely phased her in spite of being off balance. Applejack, however, didn’t use her lasso. She dashed in and swung her hammer out to try and club her harder the other way.

The blow connected, but it barely made her move her head. Her serpentine eyes narrowed on the Warrior, growing irritated, and she casually swung the back of her hand out with talons outstretched.

Applejack shouted in pain as the flesh across the upper part of her right torso was easily cut, before the forced ripped her off of her feet and smashed her into the nearby wall. The impact was so loud it sent a resounding crack through the entire ruin, and she immediately went limp and slid down along it; leaving blood in her wake. Nightmare Moon herself stood up, flexing black flames to burn the Warrior’s blood off of one hand and unfurled her wings. She aimed her other hand to drive it through the woman…

Twilight darted out and quickly flung another spell at her. Quickly, Moon stopped in mid-motion and turned around to fling more black flames at her. Twilight had to quickly retreat to avoid them, and on touching the stone column she had been hiding behind they began to eat away at it like some sort of magical acid, but she had already gotten her own spell off. It cast up the wind at her feet; picking up a large amount of grit and dirt and flinging it at Moon. This time, she was forced to hiss and cover both her eyes as well as her nose and mouth, and collapse her wings around her to keep them from getting filled with the grit. In the time in between, Fluttershy quickly ran out of her own hiding space for Applejack. She reached her in moments and quickly went to work.

She was still working when Moon cleared her eyes and looked up again. The sky began to darken and thunder again, but as she held up her hand to complete her own spell the sound of a gunshot went out. Moments later a bullet passed through her neck; turning her into vapor once again. An interesting side effect was demonstrated as a result, as her spell broke in the moment she was intangible. Pupils thinning, as soon as she reformed she wheeled around to see Rarity holding a smoking gun, swallowing, and flinging it away soon after as she went for cover.

Before Moon could counter her, a rainbow blur shot in front of her. She looked down, only to see it shooting in front of her again. She glanced one way and another, seeing more of the blur, before it suddenly materialized. Dash was there, sticking her tongue out at her. She vanished in another blur and reappeared next to her, pulling her eyelids down and making another face.

Letting out a small growl, Nightmare Moon sent down a bolt of black lightning after her, but it was too slow. She vanished again and reappeared, this time flipping her off while blowing out her cheeks at her. She growled a bit louder as the lightning came down again. Dash vanished in another blur to avoid it, but this time Moon’s own hand shot out just as fast. Moments later, Dash materialized again, giving out a loud noise as her body slammed itself against her outstretched arm and fell to the ground. The armored woman raised her talons to rip into her…

Only to feel another lump rest itself in the crook of her neck armor.

“Tag!”

Nightmare Moon had just a moment to register the voice of Pinkie again before it went off; this time loud enough in her ear to not only make her stagger but to leave it ringing. She gnashed her teeth as she reached for the side of her head, stumbling to one side from the latest blast.

Yet when she got her footing again and looked up, she saw they were gone alredy. Even the Warrior and the Healer had departed; the latter having apparently finished her work.

“Well, I was going to go easy on the six of you,” Moon practically growled, “but since you’re making such nuisances of yourselves…”

She held out her hand behind her and extended her talons. At once, all of the metal remains in the two highest halls—buttons, gun parts, bullet casings, jewelry, clasps, cigarette cases, buckles—were wrapped in bits of darkness and raised up in the air. The darkness turned itself into black fire again, heating them up and beginning to deform them into slag in moments. As soon as that was done, each one was grasped by the shadow and reformed long and thin. The objects continued to hover and were soon gathered behind Nightmare Moon in a splendid array of deadly, gleaming, metal arrows.

Her serpentine eyes flashed out for the columns. She saw nothing, and a moment later ground her boot into the ground as she twisted about and began to advance. The arrows kept pace behind her, hovering over her head as she kept walking.

A moment later she saw a flash up ahead of purple: Twilight trying to step out. With the barest flick of a finger, one of the arrows shot out for her. She quickly gasped and went behind her column. The deadly missile struck so hard it pierced right through the structural support and sailed on through to the other side. Without looking away from the column, she flicked her finger three more times. Three more arrows were sent into and through the column, and she heard progressively louder gasping in fear from the other side. No cries of pain, however, but the cries of fright alone made her smile as she kept walking.

Another movement came from her other side. Without looking away from her current target, she flicked her finger again. Two more arrows were sent after that movement, and she heard a cry as whoever was trying to intervene was forced into shelter again. A moment later, she saw a hint of a rainbow blur, but she merely flexed her whole hand and sent out a stream of arrows after her so fast they seemed to imitate a hail of bullets; cutting through the air with whistles and tearing apart more of the ruins in their wake. She smiled even more as the blur was not only forced away but she heard a yell from it as she continued to focus on the column ahead.

By now, she could hear the gasping of the one behind it. She raised her hand and took aim at the column and was ready to pierce it with a mass of arrows at once; leaving no way for who was hiding behind it to escape or dodge…

“Here I come!”

Pinkie once again ran out from behind a column slightly behind Moon’s target and ran right at her. Without looking away, Moon made another gesture; sending a stream of five arrows at her. However, she was forced to look away from her target in surprise when she didn’t hear any cries or see the shape falter from the stream. The Rogue was undamaged and kept running forward with an energetic smile. Staring at her in puzzlement, she quickly brought up ten of the arrows and flung those at her in a stream next. To her astonishment, Pinkie neither slowed nor missed a beat; easily evading and jumping over each one no matter how fast. She could have sworn she saw at least two of the arrows hit her, but no marks were left. As she neared casting range, Pinkie brought out two of her bombs at once.

Not wanting to risk taking another hit, she grit her teeth and summoned her darkness again; before flinging out one wave after another at her. This one she couldn’t dodge. She let out an exaggerated cry as the first slammed into her and swept her off her feet. The second one sent her flying down the hall all the way to the opposite end before smashing her against the masonry with an even louder impact than she had struck the Warrior.

She didn’t rejoice in this, unfortunately, for she realized she had been distracted…

A moment later, one of her wings swept out to her left. It was just in time to catch Applejack’s hammer and wrench it and her arms to the ground; pinning her down. Her other wing swept out to the right, just in time to catch Dash (one of her legs bleeding) in mid-lunge and throw her body against a column; holding her there.

Seeing her success, Moon laughed darkly as more of her arrows orientated around and positioned themselves to pierce either woman. She took a moment to relish their fear on seeing themselves at her mercy…

Yet, at that moment, another form ran out behind a column and up to her. Rarity had her rapier naked and aimed it right for her chest. Moon looked at her and snorted dismissively. Her talons went out and easily caught the blade with the point a good foot from her face. In another moment she would have broken it apart in her grip.

The moment didn’t come, for Rarity used that instant to shout out an arcane word and complete a spell she had been preparing. Razor sharp daggers of ice erupted in Nightmare Moon’s face.

Her irritation growing all the time, to say nothing of being genuinely stung, she snarled angrily and stepped back to clutch for her eyes again. In the process she once again let her quarry escape. Applejack and Dash backed down, Rarity felt back, and Twilight left her hiding spot. Nightmare Moon continued to fume a moment more, but when her eyes cleared her face was now distinctly angry.

Her hands waved about her and all of the arrows she had already fired quickly ripped up out of wherever they had landed and were drawn to her. At the same time, she flapped her wings again and took to the air, hovering in the open space in the middle of the floor to easily look around. She didn’t bother flapping idly this time. She only searched a moment before she took off, going in a rapid dive and sweeping around the first column looking for one of the women—the arrows following behind her with points out.

She darted between two columns before she spotted Fluttershy. The Healer gasped before she turned and tried to run around the column, narrowly missing a stream of three arrows that shattered the floor tiles in her wake as Moon banked around and went after her. Soon she rounded the column, still hot on her heels, and sent out another stream. Applejack popped out from nearby and tried to interrupt the fire before it could tag her comrade, but another stream simply shot in her direction as well as the Healer’s. Her eyes widened before she planted her feet and crossed her hammer in front of her; intending to use the broad surface as a shield. To her credit, it held up against the first few shots, although she buckled more under every strike, before the fourth was too much and jarred her arms away—knocking the hammer clean out of her grasp. She quickly pivoted and ran before any more shafts could follow up and finish her.

Fluttershy, meanwhile, gasping and panicked, ran behind another column as Twilight stepped out and aimed another fireball spell at Nightmare Moon. Spreading her wings out in a V, she nimbly spiraled in a circle and let the fire shoot underneath her before firing away at Twilight with the deadly shafts. She tried to break off and run away, but two arrows pierced her cloak before another raked along her forearm, making her cry out as she spun back for cover. Nightmare Moon quickly flew after her; changing targets at last. As she did, Dash darted out and kicked away at two more pieces of broken masonry. Moon’s blazing serpentine eyes never wavered as she simply dematerialized into vapor for either stone, before sending the streams after Dash. She was forced to run for it and Moon quickly rounded the Caster’s column and flashed out her metal talons. She spotted Twilight for a moment, who was struggling to run for it only to gasp on seeing her right in front of her. Instead, she dropped to the ground as the silvery talons raked through the stone closest to where her head had been.

She didn’t immediately follow up with another strike; instead spinning around. Her serpentine eyes rested on Pinkie, who had been in mid-bound to try and run at her backside with both hands bearing bombs. She froze in mid-jump, gulping before grinning innocently and backing up. Moments later, she quickly flipped back, letting the bombs in her hands fall and explode uselessly, as streams of arrows went after her. While they pursued her, Moon’s horn lit up again as she spun back to Twilight. Moments later, two beams of light shot out from it. One traced in Dash’s direction again, cutting her off and slicing along her path to freeze her in her tracks before she could attack. The second moved vertically up in an attempt to vivisect Twilight from stem to sternum.

She quickly backpedaled along the ground to try and evade it, but she knew it would be too slow and quickly generated an ice spell to try and form a shield in her path. Yet on striking it, the force behind the “lunar laser” shattered the shield so violently and suddenly that the beam caused it to explode before shooting straight through and atomizing half of her wand. Ironically, the gesture ended up sparing the rest of Twilight as the blast smacked her with several jagged pieces and flung her away. She cried out in pain and alarm before colliding with the nearest wall. She slumped soon after, still conscious and able to writhe in pain, but now disarmed.

Moon immediately swung her hand out to gather the arrows back to her for a follow-up kill. Before she could fire, however, her eyes flickered to one side. Rarity was running up the stairs, trying to get the higher ground on her and aiming her rapier for a spell of her own. Quickly, she swung out her fingers and several of the arrows went in her direction instead.

The Magician gasped, breaking off her attack and trying to backpedal, but it wasn’t good enough. She evaded the first two arrows but the next two found their marks in her upper thighs. Blood erupted from both behind and in front and she cried out as she collapsed on the stairs.

Nightmare Moon glanced back down at Twilight, making sure she was still stunned and out of action for the moment, then bid her time for a few fateful seconds. Sure enough, Fluttershy soon ran out from behind a column a moment later for Rarity. Aiming her sights on her, she quickly swept her arrows back up and sent the full stream after her. The Healer looked behind her, and nearly screamed on seeing the deadly missiles headed her way like a swarm of angry birds…

But they never reached her. A rainbow blur shot in her path and practically shoved her forward and onto the stairs before darting around several times. Moments later, Dash, still bleeding from her side and sweating hard, nevertheless grinned as she grasped five of the arrows in either hand. The stream kept coming, but Pinkie soon did a cartwheel in their path and nimbly sprung to and fro in its wake. When it was over and done with, she simply sprouted up to one side with a smile. Her own hands…and feet…had seven arrows apiece and the rest were gathered in her poofy hair.

Nightmare Moon was honestly stunned at her failure for a fateful moment, until she heard a whistling sound behind her. She spun around and saw Applejack was up again, and she had tied the end of her lasso to an honest-to-goodness broadsword—the result of spreading her power to the combat knife. A moment later it flung up straight for her; the blade aimed like a deadly dart. Moon sneered slightly before simply veering to one side, letting the sword sail past and embed in the top of the column nearest her.

Before she could counter, however, the Warrior followed up by still holding the rope with one hand and reaching behind her and hoisting up her reclaimed hammer with the other. She snapped her arm back and swung it out like a spinning tomahawk for Nightmare Moon’s head. Her teeth grit a bit more at the additional irritation, and she simply swung her hand out and backhanded the attack away like it was no more than a dried twig.

Yet no sooner had Applejack gotten her hand free when she grabbed the rope with both hands, dug in, and yanked with all her might. A crackling sound was heard behind Moon, and she looked behind her just in time to see the upper part of the broken stone column snap loose, anchored by the sword, and come crashing down. She spun her body around and tried to turn into mist, but the effect of Applejack’s aura spread through the rope to the sword to the stone itself and she gave another light noise as the huge bulk fell on top of her and began to push her out of the sky to the floor.

She was halfway there when she let out an irritated growl, seized the huge stone column section with her taloned hands, and threw it away and to the floor with such an impact that it smashed part of the way into it. The floor shook and trembled as portions were knocked clear through to the first, but she paid it no mind as she wheeled on Applejack. She aimed her arrows at her as the Warrior dove for cover, only to hear arcane syllables along with a rush of wind. To her surprise, her attack didn’t come, and she looked around to see Twilight was sitting up again. A fresh wand was in her hand and she had used it to cast a strong tempest around her deadly missiles and tie them up in a whirlwind.

Moon wheeled on her and her horn began to light up again, but before she could fire another blast went off in front of Twilight; covering her behind a veil of light and smoke. Her eyes widened before narrowing again in anger, but when she looked for the source she only caught a glimpse of pink…from the upper floor. Scowling, she turned back to the mist and let the beam from her horn fly, slicing it apart and trying to dissect what was on the other side. Although it parted the mist in an instant, all it revealed on the other side was a fading purple glimmer: the remains of a teleportation spell.

She paused only a moment before she wheeled to the stairs, but other than bloodstains they were clear. She heard footsteps echo on the upper floor; no doubt Fluttershy and Rarity already going for cover again.

She scoffed. “Is this how you plan to defeat me? Making yourself such a nuisance that I get frustrated into giving up? You’re only postponing the inevitable, and I grow tired of playing hide and seek!”

Holding her hand up, she made a fist before making a pulling motion. In response, the arrows were seized and forcefully pulled out of the whirlwind. She let them continue to hover there before she darted her eyes around below. After a moment, she saw a bit of a rainbow blur shoot behind one.

“This game is over!”

To be continued...

Comments

[dvdspires]

Her irritation growing all the time, to say nothing of being genuinely stung, she snarled angrily and stepped back to clutch for her eyes again. In the process she once again let her quarry escape. Applejack and Dash backed down, Rarity felt back, and Twilight left her hiding spot. Nightmare Moon continued to fume a moment more, but when her eyes cleared her face was now distinctly angry.

Fell.