Book 1 - The Behemoth came to Canterlot

by Equimorto

Lo'TC

Twilight let the briefcase shift around her body. It had been designed specifically for that. Part of it rested itself on her back and secured itself there with a rigid strap extending around to the bottom of her chest, behind her front legs. Another part, connected to the first by a squared tube of sorts, similarly wrapped itself around her front leg instead. In the absence of a better alternative, it would allow her to aim directly where she wished to fire the contents of the black box. Under different circumstances she would have held it in her magic and aimed with that, but she needed her powers focused on defending and moving herself and she could not afford to accidentally drop the briefcase and its contents in the middle of the fight, in case her magic failed or she needed to use it for something else in the immediate. Physical securing was her best option.

She brought her leg up and aimed towards Nightmare Moon's body as best she could, lining up her eyes with her hoof. She didn't need to be too precise, her target was big and the projectile wouldn't be small either, but it would still be good if she made sure she didn't miss. While she had more than one shot available, she didn't want to have to fire more than once, as if Nightmare Moon avoided the first she would be much more aware of what was there and much more likely to dodge subsequent ones as well.

Falling to the side to avoid another blast, she prepared to shoot. Her muscles tensed with nervousness and her chest grew tight, but she steadied her aim and made sure her leg did not tremble. There was a chance, not insignificant however slim it was, that it would all end in just a moment. She would hit her mark and everything would work, and Nightmare Moon would be gone. It wracked her nerves. The moment she let the shot go, she could be ending things for good.

But she did not get to fire then. Just as she was about to, Nightmare Moon disappeared. Almost purely out of instinct, before she could consciously conceive of the thought, Twilight threw herself to a side and backwards. That was enough to save her in that moment, as the blackened skeletal form of the other alicorn passed where she'd been a split second before with her horn held forward. She had not disappeared. She'd jumped.

And in pushing herself she'd unleashed all that magical energy that had merely built up about her before. The wave reached Twilight after Nightmare Moon already had passed her, and the alicorn struggled to hold herself in the air against its strength. The crater cracked open and black ichor began to pour out of the earth to fill it, as massive ripples pushed outwards from its edges and swept over the entire town with immense energy both magical and physical.

Twilight did not have much time to contemplate the damage, though no doubt she knew it would be great indeed. Nightmare Moon had not merely launched herself charging into the air with no purpose other than to strike her directly. Shortly after she'd passed Twilight, her wings spread and she quickly turned around, and her empty eyes settled on the princess.

Despite the charred, carcass-like nature of her wings, or perhaps thanks to it given the unnatural winds she sailed on, she easily gripped onto and moved through the air that so many problems had given and was giving Twilight. She charged again, and spears of crystal erupted from her shoulders and shot towards her target, and her horn shone a sickly blue unlight as she readied a blast that Twilight did not even try to match, merely dodging it as she'd dodged the spears by flying upwards and above Nightmare Moon herself.

Clad in golden magic to shield herself from any blast and spark she may have failed to avoid, and to protect her body from the violent storm of violet raging around her, Twilight twirled in the air to keep her eyes on her opponent. The black box remained attached to her back and leg, almost weightless and never obstructing her movements. Things it seemed would be harder than merely aiming and firing one shot. She grit her teeth and let herself fall down and backwards to avoid another onslaught of darts, and her mind began to churn a plan of action.

Comments

[Sejen]

When did Twilight become a Ghostbuster?

[Speckle]

It figured it wouldn't be that easy. Though I'd hoped the good guys would catch a break after everything that came before since the first shot was fired.