Tartarus Infernum

by Sunderbraze

Chapter 10 - Wings of Dusk

**********

Silence descended over Fillydelphia. Its residents gazed speechlessly at the empty night sky, which had been swarming with volatile shadow birds moments ago.

The few minions that had not been caught in the blast began squawking fearfully and scattering into the sky.

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen anything so powerful,” Spitfire sighed, exiting the safety of the gazebo and watching the remaining minions carefully. They flocked to the southwest, showing no indication of returning to the city.

“Amazing, wasn’t it?” Starswirl asked, floating over to Fluttershy, who was still ducking for cover. “If you wouldn’t mind, we should probably regroup now. I can safely teleport us to Grand Cent-“

“We’ll fly, thanks,” Spitfire replied angrily, glaring at the wizard. She cantered past him, grabbed Fluttershy's hoof, and pulled her out of the gazebo. “Come on, kiddo, I’d rather not end up spiraling out of control again.”

“If you’ll just let me explain!” Starswirl called out, watching the two brightly-colored pegasi take flight. All three of them paused, seeing a jet of golden magic shot into the southeastern sky.

“That’s probably the princess,” said Spitfire. “C’mon, Fluttershy!”

“I’m sorry!” Fluttershy called back to Starswirl, as the Wonderbolt pushed her along.

“…Drat,” Starswirl muttered. “That wasn’t such a good start to our adventure..." Lowering his head from the sky, he turned towards the gazebo and waved at the civilians and the two guards. "Be safe, friends!”

The wizard dematerialized in a CRACK of blue magic.

---

“Now that was a sparkler emergency if Ah’ve ever seen one,” Applejack said in awe, cautiously opening the wooden door of the clock tower.

The city streets were deserted. The civilians of Fillydelphia couldn't decide which was more frightening—hundreds of thousands of shadowy birds attacking the city, or the skies suddenly bursting into brilliant violet fire. Despite the absence of minions after the inferno, most of Fillydelphia still feared to leave their shelter.

“Of course it was!” Pinkie gushed, bouncing past Applejack and into the streets. “Every fireworks show needs a grand finale!”

“Quite the finale…” Terra commented, cautiously flying from the balcony and hovering over the street.

“I knew Twilight could do it!” Dash cheered, swooping out of the clock tower. She scanned the empty sky for any remaining minions, noticing a jet of golden magic shoot into the northwestern sky.

“Celestia signals us,” Terra told them, pointing at the beacon. “...Come, mortals.”

“I don’t get her,” Dash, hovering to the ground and watching Terra fly away. “If she’s Celestia’s sister, wouldn’t she like, be a princess?”

“Whatever you do, don’t call her that,” Ironmane muttered, passing Applejack and Pinkie and galloping towards the north.

“Well, bein’ a princess ain’t for everypony,” Applejack replied, walking after him. “Ah remember tryin’ the hoity-toity lifestyle when Ah lived with Aunt an’ Uncle Orange in Manehattan, and that was just upper-class... Ah can’t imagine tryin’ to live like a princess.”

“Yeah, dresses and fancy dinners aren’t really my thing either,” Dash agreed, hovering next to Applejack. “But still… mortals? What’s her deal?”

“Ah'm not sure-“

“The princess summoned us!" Ironmane yelled back to them. "Move out!" He galloped around a corner, following the street signs towards Grand Central.

“He reminds me of Sergeant Sprinkles!” Pinkie giggled, bouncing past her friends and following him. Dash looked at Applejack, mouthing the word “what?” and shaking her head in confusion.

“Ah have no idea,” Applejack chuckled, galloping after Pinkie. Dash shrugged and followed from above.

---

“That was rad!” Soarin’ cheered excitedly, landing on a slightly blackened concrete rooftop and eyeing the city. “She totally torched them!”

“The Element of Magic is quite a powerful force,” Luna said reminiscently, landing next to him.

“W-what should we do now, princess?” Soarin’ stuttered, turning towards her nervously and taking a couple steps back. He did not notice Celestia's golden flare streaking the sky behind him.

“Rejoin the others,” Luna replied bluntly, pointing a hoof over his shoulder. As Soarin’ turned to look at the beacon, the princess dematerialized in a startling CRACK.

“Whew…” Soarin’ thought, exhaling. “She’s intimidating…” As soon as he took flight towards the beacon, a shrieking voice caused him to halt in midair and cringe.

“Soar-IN!” Rarity screeched, carefully balancing herself on the third floor of a creaking fire escape. “You come back here this instant! D-don't let me fall-AH!" She yelped, feeling the metal floor shift slightly.

“...Speaking of which…” Soarin’ rolled his eyes and descended towards the unicorn in distress.

---

“Ah’m pretty sure they’re all gone, partner!” Ashton called out to Shining Armor from the street below.

Twilight's infernum spell had not damaged his shield, leaving the area inside bustling with civilians taking refuge from across the city. Standing at the edge of the rooftop, Armor heard Ashton's suggestion and nodded at him.

“Alright, I’ll lower the power,” the captain replied, relaxing his channeling of the shield. As soon as he was able to move freely, he galloped across the edge of the rooftop, looking for his wife among the crowds below.

“Cadance!” Armor called out, spotting the tall alicorn next to a row of injured refugees.

**********

Hurriedly finishing the healing spell she was casting on those around her, the young princess hopped into the air, diving into Armor's chest and tackle-hugging him in relief.

“Told you it’d be okay,” Armor laughed, embracing her tightly and kissing her neck.

“I-I believed you… I just…”

“Aw, ain’t that just the cutest thing ya ever saw?” Ashton sighed, watching the couple’s happy reunion from below. Several of the refugees around him smiled in agreement, relieved that everyone was okay.

“Look, that’s Princess Celestia’s magic,” Armor said, pointing one of his hooves towards the jet of light in the northeastern sky. Cadance lifted her head from his shoulder and turned to look at it.

“You should go and join her," he continued. "I’ll stay here and keep the shield ready, in case they return.”

“Okay…” Cadance replied, sniffling.

“Tell her if we can get confirmation that the rest of the city is clear of those things, I’m ready to widen my shield over the whole city,” Armor told her, telekinetically pulling a handkerchief from his saddlebags. He rubbed it under her eyes, drying her tears.

“Alright… I’ll be back soon,” Cadance said, letting g and taking flight. She hovered over the edge of the rooftop and called out below her. “Ashton, head to Grand Central! The princess sent up a signal!”

“Ah’m on it!” Ashton replied, starting to gallop south. He paused for a moment, watching Cadance fly in the opposite direction. “Er…”

“Other way,” Armor laughed from the rooftop. “Take a left at the end of the street, and…”

“Just follow me, friend,” Professor Aeon offered, overhearing their conversation from above. He lowered his altitude and flew between the buildings.

“Ah! Much obliged!” Ashton exclaimed, galloping after the white pegasus. He followed him through the streets, but as he ran, one of his hooves got caught on something, almost tripping him.

“Hold up a moment, partner!” Ashton hollered, opening his saddlebag.

---

“You’ve done well, Twilight,” Celestia sighed, sitting next to her faithful student after conjuring the beacon. They had landed in a deserted intersection. “I don’t think anypony in Equestria could have done what you just did.”

“It didn’t feel very good,” Twilight admitted, still slightly out of breath from casting the powerful spell. “It didn’t feel like regular magic… it was too, well… destructive.”

“I’m sorry to put you through this,” Celestia replied, lowering her head and closing her eyes. “If there was any other way…”

“I understand, princess,” Twilight smiled; Celestia returned the gesture in relief.

With a CRACK of blue magic, Starswirl appeared next to them. “Magnificent!” he gushed. “Absolutely brilliant, Twilight!”

“Thanks, I guess,” the unicorn replied, her cheeks starting to redden from the flattery.

“I owe the two of you an immense apology,” Starswirl continued, his tone dropping to a sorrowful one. “I tried to break your fall, but it seems you were gravely injured because of the slightest miscalculation…”

“If I had been able to catch her, it wouldn’t have been necessary,” Celestia told him. “It was my fault we were injured, Twilight… Can you forgive me?”

“Everypony’s okay now, princess,” Twilight replied. “Neither of you have anything to apologize for… But, did you figure out why we were teleported into the middle of the sky?”

“It was actually a fail-safe feature I embed in all of my teleportation glyphs," Starswirl explained. "If the exit point of the teleport is blocked for some reason, the fail-safe kicks in and shifts the coordinates into the middle of the sky. It prevents the horrible alternative of telefragging..."

"...Telefragging?" Twilight gulped. "That doesn't sound very good..."

"It's what happens if the destination of a glyphed teleport is obstructed," Celestia told her. "It isn't good at all." The princess turned back to Starswirl. "Where was the teleport supposed to take us initially?"

"The very rooftop you crashed into," Starswirl sighed. "It was an ideal location when I scouted it from orbit, but I hadn't counted on competing for space with seven hundred thousand-"

A sudden CRACK of indigo magic to Celestia's right interrupted the wizard; Luna materialized and approached them. Twilight started to greet her, but she too was interrupted.

“Twilight!” an excited voice called out. Leaving multicolored trails behind her, Rainbow Dash darted into her friend from behind and pulled her into an aerial hug. Terra flew around them, landing at the edge of the intersection behind Celestia.

“You were amazing up there, Rainbow!” Twilight said, exhaling sharply as Dash squeezed the life out of her.

“I don’t remember doin’ anything that beats setting the sky on fire!” Dash exclaimed, lowering to the ground and releasing her.

“I meant your sonic rain-AH!“ Pinkie Pie and Applejack seized her from each side. Ironmane said nothing, but patted Twilight on the back with an armored hoof as he walked past.

“Rainbow’s right, sugar cube!” Applejack told her. “You’re the hero'a Fillydelphia!”

“She sure is!” Pinkie agreed, her puffy mane rubbing Twilight’s face. The unicorn sighed, exasperated that they insisted on squeezing the life out of her, but relieved at the same time.

“Hey, there they are dude,” said Spitfire, flying over the intersection. Fluttershy swooped past her, seizing the opportunity to embrace Twilight as soon as Applejack and Pinkie let her go.

“I’m so happy you’re alright, Twilight!” Fluttershy squeaked, with her silent approximation of extreme excitement. “I was so scared, having to leave as soon as I finished healing you…”

“It’s fine, Fluttershy, I was al-“

“There you are, Twilight Sparkle!”

Twilight looked upward, stifling a giggle as she saw Rarity lounging comfortably in Soarin’s grasp, while he huffed his way to the ground. As soon as his passenger hopped away to join the group’s embrace, he collapsed to the ground, breathing heavily.

“You’d make a good taxi service, chief,” Spitfire laughed, hovering over to her fellow Wonderbolt.

“Great to see you too, boss,” Soarin’ replied, lifting his head and turning towards the group of celebrating mares. “Hey, Rainbow! That was some pretty crazy flyin’ up there!”

“He’s right, dude,” Spitfire agreed, as chills of excitement started to run down Dash’s spine.

“Crazy is exactly how I’d describe it!” added Professor Aeon while he and Cadance landed on Celestia’s right. “We need to work on our teamwork, gang.”

Terra galloped to her daughter’s side as soon as she landed, placing a hoof on her shoulder as she nervously checked her for injuries. “I’m fine, mother,” the young princess smiled.

“Y’all say crazy like it’s a bad thing!” said Ashton, galloping past Aeon and over to Twilight. “Was it you who went and burnt the skies like that?”

“That was me,” Twilight replied quietly, as Rarity released her.

Just as her aching body started to recover, Ashton seized her hoof and shook it cordially. “Don’t think Ah’ve ever seen anythin’ like it, not in all mah days!” he exclaimed, releasing her hoof as Twilight thanked him humbly.

“Oh, and Ah found somethin’a yours, Miss Applejack,” Ashton continued, reaching into his saddlebag and pulling something out of it.

“Somethin’ of… mine?” Applejack asked curiously, as he unfolded a brown hat and placed it on her head. She recognized the fit, her cheeks starting to redden. “Aw, shucks! Ya found mah hat…”

“Darn shame Ah couldn’t find mine,” he replied cheerily. “’Twas mah dress-hat, no less. Ah reckon somepony in the city’ll find it, Ah hope they give it a good home--“

He was cut off mid-stream as Applejack suddenly kissed him on the cheek.

“Ah can’t thank ya enough, Ashton!” she said, quickly drawing her head back. “It’s like a part of mah head sometimes. Ah’m sure ya know what Ah mean!”

Ashton blinked twice, staring straight forward. “Ah sure do!” he piped up, after a moment of recovery. “It looks good on ya!”

“Get a load of those two,” Dash giggled quietly, elbowing Fluttershy in the ribs.

“Shush!” Rarity hissed, although she was scrunching her own face in an attempt to stifle laughter.

**********

“I apologize if we must cut our celebration short,” Luna’s voice boomed, snapping everyone back to attention. “But the Nighthawk still draws breath, and she is likely spawning more minions as we speak.”

“There’s been some ponies captured, too,” Spitfire added quickly. “I heard from a couple of the City Guards—they attacked the guard station first and kidnapped a whole bunch of them!”

“Then we have little time,” Aeon said hurriedly. “They’ve been taken for harvest! The more victims added to her nest, the more power she gains... If she gets too many, I fear she’ll become unstoppable.”

“Do you know how many were captured, Spitfire?” Celestia asked, shifting her concerned gaze towards the Wonderbolt.

“He said they took almost everypony in the barracks,” Spitfire continued. “I’m not sure how many that is…”

“At least a hundred, your highness ma’am,” Ironmane interjected. He galloped over and stood at attention; Celestia nodded at him to continue. “Possibly twice as many—the attack coincides with the night guard swapping shifts for the morning.”

“...She knew exactly where to strike, and when!" Starswirl exclaimed. "The Nighthawk was nowhere near this clever when we last encountered her!"

"...We?" Aeon thought, looking over at Starswirl. "Surely he doesn't mean..." Realizing that there were more pressing concerns, the professor turned back to Celestia. "I had suspected the Nighthawk to be feral, but this changes everything," he explained quickly. "With this level of intelligence, we should proceed carefully..."

“Hold on,” Celestia cut in. “Two are missing. Does anypony know the whereabouts of Shining Armor and Ragehoof?”

Starswirl lowered his head, his hat beginning to glow. Most of the other ponies in the group shrugged in response to the princess’s question.

“Shining Armor is still maintaining the shield,” Cadance explained. “He’s also ready to expand it, as soon as we know that the city is all clear of those things.”

“That’s good news,” Celestia replied, turning back to the group. “Ragehoof?”

“...When I caught him, he insisted that I drop him off at Red Mane Row,” Aeon explained after a moment of silence. “He galloped off, and I joined with you just a few minutes later, princess.”

"And yet he had been seen nowhere since?" The Elite shook their heads at the princess.

“…Trajo has a lock on him,” Starswirl spoke up suddenly, lifting his head and turning around. “He’s spotted a single earth pony, heading southwest beyond the city limits!”

“Running away, of course,” Dash grumbled. “Forget him, princess, let’s make a plan to take down the Nighthawk!”

“No, not running away,” the wizard corrected curiously. “He’s headed towards her nest, and he's already in combat with its guardians!”

“By himself?” Celestia asked, mildly surprised.

“Yes, and he seems to be faring well, for the moment,” Starswirl continued. “Trajo’s checked the entire city; it’s clear. All of the minions that survived Twilight’s blast are heading to the south...”

“…Flocking to defend the nest!” Aeon finished for him. “Brilliant! I wish he’d have told me his plans!”

“…I’m lost,” said Dash, scratching her head. “He ran into the nest by himself, and that’s brilliant?”

“It’s a distraction,” the professor clarified. “The Nighthawk and her minions are telepathically linked, so I’m sure that in the event of an attack on her nest, she’d recall them to defend it!”

“They’re not fleeing the city because they’ve given up; they’re fleeing because the mother hen is under attack!” Twilight added, stepping forward to join the conversation.

“Oh no,” Fluttershy interjected worriedly. “Who would attack a mother hen?!”

“He got lucky,” Dash huffed, while Twilight reassured her friend that she was only speaking metaphorically. “There’s no way he knew they’d do that.”

**********

“Regardless,” Celestia cut in loudly. “We must come swiftly to his aid! The Nighthawk is not brave, but she will defend her nest with everything she has!” She turned to face her niece. “Cadance, please inform Shining Armor that he may now shield the entire city. Stay with him, and tend to any wounded civilians!”

Princess Cadance nodded, spreading her wings swiftly and hopping into the air, heading for the glowing dome in the south.

“Starswirl, please ask Trajo watch the Nighthawk carefully,” Celestia continued. “We must know as soon as she moves!”

The masked wizard nodded and lowered his head, relaying the orders to Trajo.

“Airborne combat team, assemble,” Celestia continued, her eyes traveling across the pegasi in the group. Aeon immediately hopped in front of her, followed shortly by Spitfire and Soarin’.

“Oh yeah!” Dash said, remembering the team setup. She pulled Fluttershy along and hovered at attention next to the others.

“Professor, lead the team to the southwest and provide air support for Ragehoof,” Celestia ordered. “Keep him alive, but do not rouse the Nighthawk! If her minions flee to the nest, do not pursue.”

“Understood, princess. Team?” Aeon asked, looking to his right.

“Yes, sir!” the Wonderbolts barked; Dash quickly echoed them. Fluttershy gulped and nodded as well.

“Stay on my wing, let’s move out!” With Aeon setting a pace that Fluttershy could keep up with, the five pegasi took off into the night sky, arcing over Red Mane Row towards the southwest.

“Ground team, assemble,” Celestia ordered. Ironmane, Ashton, and Applejack immediately galloped in front of her, with Pinkie Pie bouncing along behind them. Celestia paused for a moment, formulating the next stage of her plan.

“Starswirl, please blink-port Ironmane, Ashton, and Applejack to the edge of the city. Go the rest of the way by land, and catch up to Ragehoof. As soon as you’ve reached the battle, form a perimeter and be prepared to free her prisoners as soon as she leaves her nest.”

“Ma’am, yes ma’am!” Ironmane replied, saluting her.

“Yes’sm, princess,” Applejack added. “But uh, what’s a blink-port?”

“Starswirl, please explain to your group how a blink-port works,” Celestia told the wizard, who nodded and ushered them aside. “Sisters, we will fly the remaining team ourselves,” she continued, addressing Terra and Luna, both of which shot unsure glances in her direction. “Twilight, with me. Rarity, with Luna. Pinkie Pie, with Terra.”

“…Fly them?” Terra questioned, as Pinkie Pie happily bounced over to her. “Um…”

“Like this,” Celestia replied, kneeling down to allow Twilight to climb on.

“You’ve got to be kidding me,” Terra muttered, watching the unicorn climb onto her sister’s back.

“I assure you, princess, it’s an honor,” Rarity gushed, approaching Luna and bowing. The indigo princess rolled her eyes and illuminated her horn, causing a haze of magic to surround Rarity; it lifted her off of the ground and planted her on her back, positioning her legs properly.

“I love flying almost as much as I love teleporting!” Pinkie exclaimed, waiting for Terra to allow her on.

“Come now, sister,” Celestia said, a subtly mischievous smile appearing on her face as her horn began to glow. When Pinkie next bounced into the air, Celestia's golden magic caught her, carried her over Terra’s back, and planted her onto it.

“Wee!” Pinkie cheered, positioning her legs like Twilight’s and Rarity’s. “Don’t worry, Terra. I’m the best co-pilot in Equestria!”

“Ugh…” Terra moaned, spreading her wings and testing her new flight weight.

“To victory!” Luna shouted, kicking off of the ground and taking flight. Rarity yelped and held tightly, burying her face into the princess’s neck.

“Hold on!” Celestia said to Twilight, following her sister into the air.

“Blastoff!” Pinkie screamed, holding on with one hoof and raising the other excitedly into the air as Terra swooped upwards.

“…Would ya mind explainin’ it in Equish?” Applejack asked. Her head was spinning after hearing Starswirl fully explain the physics of a blink-port.

“We take short, quick, jumps,” Starswirl replied dully. “I teleport us a little ways, then teleport us again, and again, and again, until we’re there. I’m the only one who rematerializes, you all remain energy. It’s really efficient for taking small groups medium distances!”

“Can’t ya just use yer magic to fly us there?” Ashton asked, indicating the fact that the wizard was magically suspended in midair.

“Believe it or not, it takes a lot of effort to carry and propel the full weight of myself and three well-built ponies,” Starswirl explained. “Well, at least while you’re materialized. If you’re an energized matter stream, well, that’s a different story!”

“Enough time’s been wasted,” Ironmane told them, watching Celestia and her sisters disappear into the night sky. “Let’s get moving, wizard.”

“Smashing idea,” Starswirl replied cheerfully, his hat glowing bright blue.

Applejack gulped; a field of blue magic crept around her and the others, and with a CRACK, they disappeared.

---

**********

“What’s the plan, doc?” Spitfire asked Aeon, when the airborne team reached the edge of the city.

“First of all, we need to split into two groups,” the professor shouted to his team. “Rainbow Dash, Spitfire, Soarin’—the three of you will move to engage the minions head-on! Fluttershy and I will stay back; I'll keep them away from her while she heals you.”

“Thank you, professor!” Fluttershy tried to call out, but her quiet voice did not reach him over the whipping wind.

“Rainbow Dash, I must stress this—do not go supersonic while you fight!”

“Aw, why not?” Dash asked disappointedly.

“We’re trying to cover for Ragehoof without scaring the Nighthawk away,” Aeon told her. "Loud noises won't accomplish that!"

As they continued, they started to see a dark, massive, building-sized nest on the horizon. The moonlight only partially illuminated it, making it seem like an eerie stack of black needles.

“If the Nighthawk is scared away too soon, we risk her escaping before we can deal with her,” the professor continued, before Dash had a chance to ask why. “If she flees before we’re prepared to attack her, she’ll escape and spawn another army of minions!”

“But there’s no way she can get away from me!” Dash replied. “I’ll take’er down before she reaches cloud level!”

“Please, just trust me!” Aeon shouted back. “She’s as fast as she is cunning! We need to work together!”

“You got it, doc,” Dash replied in annoyance, rolling her eyes.

“Good! I see them! Thirty degrees starboard!”

“Thirty degrees wha-?”

Fluttershy and Dash struggled to keep up with the other pegasi as they banked off course, approaching a flock of shadowy minions swarming the ground ahead.

“Break formation and scatter dive!” Aeon shouted, diving at a steeper incline from the group. Unsure of what to do, Fluttershy tried to follow him.

“Scatter dive, scatter dive,” Dash thought to herself, trying to remember what Aeon had explained about the maneuver during their brief time together in Canterlot. Realizing that they were on a direct collision course with the minions, the term suddenly made sense--dive and scatter.

In a whirlwind that sent the minions fleeing in every direction, the three pegasi slammed their way through the group, immediately pulling up and banking around in the sky. Aeon motioned to Fluttershy and guided her away from the swarm.

“It’s about time you showed up!” Ragehoof yelled at them. He smashed his hooves into the face of a downed minion in front of him, causing it to burst into shadowy energy.

Aeon waved at him, but Ragehoof nodded only once before returning to combat. “You dumb birds are lucky I don’t have my armor!” he shouted, leaping into the air after another.

---

“There they are!” Pinkie called out excitedly over the wind. “Looks like we’re missin’ out on a pretty crazy party!”

“I’d much prefer a party to this roughhousing,” Rarity complained, trying not to think of what the wind was doing to her mane. “Princess Luna, what shall our plan of attack be?”

“Channel your power onto the group whilst I defend you,” her booming royal voice replied--Rarity’s eardrums rang from being so close to the princess’s voice.

“S-sounds good,” Rarity replied, burying her head back into Luna’s neck as she increased speed.

“The same goes for you, Pinkie,” Celestia called out from ahead. “Terra, protect her from the minions while she uses her power to keep us healed!”

“Okie-dokie-lokiEEEEEEEEEE-“ Pinkie screamed as Terra went into a steep dive, following her sisters.

“One-by-one, Twilight,” Celestia told her passenger. "Be precise; there are allies out there."

Twilight gulped and nodded, readying her horn as they approached the swarm.

---

“See, that wasn’t so bad, was it?” Starswirl exclaimed. He and the three earth ponies had just rematerialized outside the city’s southern gates, completing the trip in a fraction of the time it would have taken them to hoof it.

The wizard was met with no response as Applejack and Ashton nearly keeled over, trying to keep their balance. Ironmane shook his head, fighting the disorientation.

“Ah’d prefer... stickin’ to the road... next time,” Applejack replied dizzily, trying to shake it off.

“Aw, for shame,” Starswirl sighed, watching as she and Ashton finally cleared their heads. “Well, I can understand your aversion to teleporting, but surely you won’t say no if I cast a speed spell on us?”

“A… speed spell?” Applejack asked, blinking at the wizard. “Ya can do that?”

“Go for a little run, see for yourself,” the wizard replied facetiously, his hat glowing. Applejack started trotting cautiously; her legs felt suspiciously lightweight.

“This’s fantastic!” Ashton hollered, running a circle around the orange pony--he was moving so fast that he was almost a yellow blur.

“Good call, let’s move out!” Ironmane ordered, testing his knees and turning around. He broke into a speedy gallop towards the black nest in the southwest.

“Let’s,” Starswirl agreed, his hat glowing as he floated after the speedy sergeant.

“Ah’ll race ya there!” Ashton said, lowering his head and eyeing his competition.

“Yer on!” Applejack replied intensely. “Ready, set, go!”

As the three ponies galloped at rapid speeds, a dust cloud began to form behind them.

---

**********

“Hah!” Dash yelled, clashing with a larger minion and knocking it backwards. “How’d ya like that?!”

With an angry war cry, Ragehoof jumped into the air, biting down on her foe’s wing. Dragging it back to the ground with him, he jerked his head downwards, slamming the bird into the ground. Before it could get back up, he drove a hoof into its face, causing it to disperse into shadowy energy.

“Hey, find your own!” Dash hollered in annoyance--Ragehoof ignored her and repeated the process with another large minion, this time biting down on its talon and dragging it to the ground.

"Jeez, he's pretty mean," Dash thought, cringing slightly as Ragehoof's downed victim was stamped out of existence. "Guess he suits his name..." She watched him take out another minion with barbaric efficiency.

“Rainbow!” Aeon shouted from above and behind her. “Look out!”

Dash yelped in pain as a minion's talons swiped her back—despite the protection of the Element of Loyalty, the powerful bird still left three painful cuts where the blow had landed. She ignored the pain and chased down her attacker, baring her teeth angrily.

Spitfire and Soarin', despite their extensive training in aerial martial arts, were ill-prepared to face an entire swarm of opponents. One-on-one against the minions, they were deadly and effective, but their foes faced them in large groups with coordinated attacks.

“Oh, you've gotta be kidding me!" Soarin' yelled, looking over towards the nest. A fresh batch of minions, at least a hundred in number, were flowing out of the dark structure and making a beeline for the battle.

Fluttershy was doing her best to catch up to each of her teammates and heal them as they were injured, but they were starting to sustain injuries faster than she could patch them up. As soon as she finished healing Spitfire, she suddenly paused, hearing a cacophony of screeches from the minions around her.

"...Destroy him?" Fluttershy asked, looking around at the swarming shadow birds. All of their screeches were the exact same phrase, over and over—destroy him.

"You have to keep moving!" Aeon ordered frantically, narrowly intercepting a minion that was inches from swiping Fluttershy from behind. "Mobility is our best defense!"

Fluttershy swooped out of the way and started heading for Dash, worriedly dwelling on the chanting of the birds. "Destroy who?" she thought. "Are they talking about... about us?"

"AGH!" Soarin' yelled, feeling a pair of talons swipe the side of his face. His attacker swung around, preparing to strike at him again, but was suddenly disintegrated by a flash of indigo magic.

Luna and the others had arrived—jets of golden and violet magic began streaking the sky above, and stones began to burst from the ground, flying through the air like cannonballs.

"I believe that's two you owe me, Soarin'," Rarity told him, grinning. Soarin' dodged a swooping minion and looked confusedly at Luna's back, where her voice had come from.

"Oh no..." he thought, gulping. "Both of them at once..."

The aerial battle had become evenly matched—minions were flooding from the Nighthawk's nest to replace the fallen as fast as they were defeated.

“We don’t have time for this!” Terra said angrily, looking at the aerial battlefield around her. “Get out of the way, all of you!”

“Don’t have time for whaaAAA-“ Pinkie tried to ask—Terra suddenly jerked to a stop, interrupting Pinkie's question. Her horn began to glow a deep shade of red, and the ground below suddenly started to rumble.

Feeling the vibrations, Luna came to a halt and looked over at Terra. "FLEE FROM BATTLE!" her booming voice suddenly ordered.

The airborne team and Celestia looked at her questioningly, but their eyes soon diverted to Terra, who had begun screaming furiously. Her eyes faded to white, and the rumbling from below intensified greatly.

"DO AS SHE SAYS!" Celestia reinforced, turning and soaring in the opposite direction of Terra. The airborne team began to scatter as well.

"...What the?" Ragehoof stared at the ground, barely able to stand up straight through its intense quaking. A huge section of the ground several yards away from him suddenly split open--a red glow began to rise from deep within the crack.

Ragehoof continued to back away from the chasm, watching an explosion of molten rock suddenly eject from it. The sheer heat from the fissure caused the minions above to scatter frantically, though they could not escape the fragments of molten rock which now rained on them from above.

As each burning pebble fell from the sky, Terra manipulated them to hail upon the fleeing minions. Pained screeches filled the air as the shadowy birds burst into flame and began to tumble towards the ground, most of them disintegrating before they reached it. The molten fragments that did not strike a minion landed in the grass, causing smaller fires to flare up—Ragehoof frantically dodged the fire raining around him.

When the screeches of the minions were finally silenced, Terra closed her eyes and hovered towards the ground, willing the fires to subside and the fissure to seal up.

“That was…” Aeon started, staring at the newly formed fault line on the ground. “…Interesting… Let's hope that didn't scare the Nighthawk from her nest."

“Pretty rad, Terra!” Dash cheered, looking around for any remaining minions--she couldn't see any. “Glad you’re on our side!”

“Haha-ha-haaaaaa!” Pinkie exploded into laughter, unable to contain herself. “Terra’s so funny, you guys, she can even make the ground crack up!”

“Form up, everypony!” Celestia’s voice boomed, as she landed across from the nest. Luna landed next to her, and Terra swooped over to join them. Ragehoof galloped up from behind, and the five pegasi took positions above them.

“Everypony, stay here,” Celestia ordered. "Be prepared for anything..." She slowly stepped away from the group and approached the nest, looking up at the towering structure. It was nearly three stories high; neither the princess nor the hovering pegasi could see over the edge into its interior.

**********

With a shrill screech that pierced the eardrums of all who heard it, the Nighthawk slowly emerged from her nest, lowering her altitude to just above ground level across from Celestia.

The Nighthawk’s light blue eyes glowed eerily as they scanned the ponies formed up across from her; her wings glowed brighter than that of any of her minions, casting a purple glow for dozens of yards in every direction.

“As breathtaking as she is deadly,” Aeon breathed silently, watching Celestia walk towards the monster.

“Do you remember me, Nighthawk?” Celestia’s voice boomed, as she stared into the creature's glowing eyes. “I’ve imprisoned you once, and I shall do so again! Submit!”

The Nighthawk responded by lowering her head and screeching furiously, causing the entire team to bring hooves to their ears in response to the deafening sound. Celestia bared her teeth and stepped backwards a few feet.

“I don’t think you heard me,” Celestia replied bravely. “As ruler of this land, I place you under arrest. Submit!”

“Don’t back up, princess,” Aeon told her, trying to keep his voice down. “She’s asserting her territory… Don’t back up!”

The Nighthawk screeched again, and she started to hover towards the princess, who continued to back up.

“Gimmie a reason, birdbrain, I dare you,” Dash growled—Spitfire placed a hoof on her shoulder, shaking her head. Dash exhaled through her nostrils furiously in response.

“Princess!” Aeon hissed. “Stop backing up! She’s going to charge!”

“Nighthawk, submit!” Celestia yelled, standing her ground. “Sub...“

The sight of something yellow hovering over her head caused the princess to cut off abruptly.

**********

“Excuse me, miss,” Fluttershy said quietly, floating past the speechless Celestia and towards the Nighthawk.

Everyone stopped and stared at her in amazement—suddenly, the only audible sound was that of flapping wings.

“Who is he?” Fluttershy continued, gazing into the Nighthawk's eyes. "The one you and your minions keep talking about... Is he the one who did this to you?”

The Nighthawk continued to hover in place, silently staring back into her eyes.

“Flutter-SHY!” Dash called out angrily. “Get BACK here!” It took both Spitfire and Soarin' to restrain her.

“Ignore them,” Fluttershy told the Nighthawk. “They don’t understand what you were saying, but I do..."

The Nighthawk’s eye twitched and she blinked, watching Fluttershy continue to approach her.

“When you were screaming just now, you said you’d…" Fluttershy paused. "Well, you said you’d do mean things to us because of what we did,” she continued, slowing her approach. “But I don’t think you were talking about your minions… They’re just like little puppets, aren’t they? You were talking about something else...”

“…Is this actually happening?” Aeon scoffed quietly, watching Fluttershy slow to a hover a mere five yards from the Nighthawk’s razor-sharp beak. “...She can communicate with animals?”

“It's among her special talents,” Celestia whispered over her shoulder in amazement. Fluttershy extended a hoof towards the Nighthawk's face, gently stroking her cheek as she resumed talking.

“You were talking about him again, weren't you?” Fluttershy asked softly. “Whoever he is, he isn't with us... We were just trying to defend our city, we don't know anything about him...”

The Nighthawk continued to stare into her eyes, not having shifted an inch from her spot.

“Maybe we can fix what he did,” Fluttershy continued, backing away slowly. “Me and my friends can-“

**********

As soon as Fluttershy backed away, the Nighthawk suddenly lunged, screeching and snapping wildly.

Just as her gnashing beak threatened to clamp onto Fluttershy, she dematerialized in a flash of purple magic, reappearing behind Twilight seconds later.

“That was really brave of you, Fluttershy,” Twilight told her, raising a large violet shield between the Nighthawk and her friends. “I’m very proud of you for trying!”

The Nighthawk clashed into the shield, screeching wildly.

“Oh no,” Fluttershy replied morbidly. “She… she can’t control herself! She said she’s sorry…”

“She’s… WHAT?!” Dash asked furiously, watching the bird tear wildly at the shield. “Oh, she’ll be SORRY!”

“Hold on, Rainbow, we’ll attack her together,” Aeon ordered. “Twilight, drop the shield in seven seconds! Take wing, Fluttershy—we’ll attack in a V formation. Dash, take the lead! Spitfire, Soarin’, stay on her flank! Ready… CHARGE!”

As soon as Twilight dropped the shield, Dash ignored Aeon's plan and immediately charged, plowing into the Nighthawk’s upper body and sending her flying backwards.

Screeching as she tumbled, the Nighthawk recovered before she hit the nest, bailing into the night sky.

---

“What’s that, Trajo?” Starswirl thought, shifting some of his concentration to allow for telepathic communication with his orbital companion.

“Statement: Large movement detected in the southwest. Subject: Nighthawk.”

“Oh, bollocks,” the wizard said aloud. “Change of plan, mares and gentlecolts!”

“What’s wrong?” Ironmane called back to him.

“The Nighthawk’s on the move!” Starswirl replied, pointing a hoof at the southwestern sky. “She’s probably going to try and flee back to Tartarus! Change direction, we’ve got to head due south!”

Applejack, Ironmane, and Ashton changed their course, heading slightly east of the nest.

“As soon as the pegasi get her close enough to the ground, roper her and hold her down!” Starswirl continued, floating along just above them. “Ashton, I’m putting an extra rope in your saddlebag! Ironmane, yours too!”

The two stallions noticed the weight of their saddlebags increase slightly as Starswirl’s hat flashed blue.

“Stay on her tail! I’m going to find the airborne team and see if I can’t get them to knock her down a few levels!” the wizard concluded, floating off of the ground and into the sky. “Whoa, there she is! Big girl!”

The Nighthawk, roughly the size of a barn, came soaring away from the nest, increased her altitude dramatically.

---

“Get back here, you!” Dash screamed, ignoring Aeon's shouts and pursuing the Nighthawk as she tried to flee. It became difficult for the pegasus to breathe as she continued to jet upwards, but she ignored it and continued the pursuit.

“There’s no way we can catch up to that, doc!” Spitfire called out to Aeon, as they failed to match Dash’s increasing speed. "She's way too fast!"

“By Jove," Aeon gasped, abandoning the pursuit and hovering with the others. "At this rate they’re both going to-“

Leveling out at the highest altitude possible, the Nighthawk suddenly doubled her speed, and her wings began to glow even brighter. With an ear-shattering BOOM, a shockwave of purple energy blasted the pursuing pegasi away.

The Nighthawk had gone supersonic.

“No way!” Dash shouted in denial, recovering from the blast. She looked down at the Element on her neck, pounding it angrily. “C'mon! If you can’t do anything but make me stronger, what good are you!?"

**********

The furious pegasus bared her teeth, locking her magenta eyes onto the escaping Nighthawk.

“You almost snap Fluttershy in half, and now you think you can just fly away?” Dash asked, almost laughing at the escaping bird. “...I don’t think so... You’re goin’ down.”

The Element of Loyalty around Dash's neck began to shine brightly, and she suddenly felt a deadly calm take hold of her. She closed her eyes and hovered in place, feeling a surge of power flood her body.

“Flutters, this one’s for you,” she said quietly.

Dash opened her eyes—both of which glowed brighter than the moon—and suddenly exploded with speed.

She broke the sound barrier in seconds, producing a powerful shockwave that illuminated the plains below with every color of the rainbow. Ignoring the intense wind and g-forces, Dash calmly continued to increase her speed, her eyes fixed on the purple trails of the Nighthawk.

“I don’t believe it!” Aeon exclaimed. “...She’ll break Mach five at that rate!”

Soarin’, Spitfire, and Fluttershy simply hovered in place behind the professor, watching in awe as their teammate faded into a blur of rainbow trails.

The wind whipping through Dash's mane suddenly became supercharged, leaving thick white clouds in her wake. Lightning bolts colored brilliant hues of red, yellow, and blue streaked from the clouds, flashing across the Dream Valley below.

Dash continued to pick up speed, increasing her altitude slightly and preparing to arc downwards. The moment she dove, she plowed into the upper neck of the Nighthawk, the sheer impact of which sent vibrations through the air for miles. Her enemy screeched in pain, tumbling downwards and barrel rolling in an attempt to recover.

“Rainbow reached hypersonic speeds...” the professor breathed. “What in Equestria could have possibly held her together? A normal pegasus would have burned up!”

“Must’ve been the Element of Loyalty,” an equally fascinated voice suddenly suggested from behind the hovering pegasi. The airborne team turned around, realizing that Starswirl had been hovering behind them. “I’ve got a plan to help her bring the Nighthawk down," he continued quickly. "But we’ll need a couple more pegasi to go supersonic first.”

“I, uh,” Spitfire said, looking at her fellow Wonderbolt. “I’ve never done that before...”

“Me neither,” Soarin’ agreed, shrugging. “If I could, I totally would!”

They heard another ear-shattering impact as Dash clipped the Nighthawk from below, knocking her upwards.

“Well, now you can,” the wizard laughed, his hat glowing. “I’ve been handing out speed spells like free cider today. Have some, on the house!”

“Speed spells?” Spitfire asked, feeling her wings growing lighter.

“Go on, catch up and give her a hoof,” Starswirl told her and Soarin'. “The plan is to get the ‘hawk low enough so the ground team can rope her in!”

“Check this out, boss!” Soarin’ shouted excitedly, zooming in circles around Aeon.

“That’s… really awesome!” Spitfire cheered, following behind him. The professor began to feel dizzy as blurs of orange and blue swarmed around him.

“Get moving!” Starswirl yelled, watching nervously as the Nighthawk dodged Dash's next attack and grazed her with her talons. Though Dash was stronger and faster, the Nighthawk was somehow besting her in maneuverability.

Leaving their shenanigans behind, Spitfire and Soarin’ took off towards the dogfight, feeling a vapor cone thinning in front of them as their newfound speed took them far beyond their previous limits.

Spitfire broke through first, producing a bright orange shockwave and leaving red and yellow trails behind her. Moments later, with a deep blue shockwave, Soarin’ punched through as well, trailing with hues of cyan and royal blue.

The two Wonderbolts broke their side-by-side formation, flying to the left and right and converging on the Nighthawk before she was able to strike Dash again.

Brilliantly colored trails of rainbow, fire, and wind streaked the sky as the three pegasi attacked together--the Nighthawk was becoming increasingly overwhelmed, and was no longer able to dodge them. She screeched angrily, completely abandoning her attempt to flee in favor of defending herself.

“Better get the others,” Starswirl said to Aeon and Fluttershy. “Once she’s close enough to the ground, it’s gonna take all of us to keep her there!”

The wizard descended rapidly—Fluttershy and Aeon followed along as he approached the group below, who were all staring in amazement at the supersonic battle above thier heads.

“Listen up, everypony!” Starswirl shouted, hovering just above the ground in front of them. “Dash and the Wonderbolts are going to coerce her to ground level! As soon as she’s down, the ground team will rope her—they’ll need everypony’s assistance to finish her off!”

“Wait, we can’t do that!” Fluttershy squeaked. When the others ignored her and began flying and galloping south, she helplessly tugged Celestia’s tail.

“What’s wrong, Fluttershy?” Celestia asked hurriedly, allowing Twilight to climb onto her back again. “We have to move!”

“Please, wait, princess," Fluttershy begged. "I have a better idea...”

---

The Nighthawk screeched viciously while she rolled away from her attackers. Unable to shake the three pegasi, the shadowy matriarch pulled into a steep incline, reaching so far into the sky that her wings began to stall out.

As her smaller wings failed faster, Dash dropped out of supersonic speed and began to fall backwards before reaching the Nighthawk, who had already turned and started to regain control. She swooped into a nose dive, clamping her talons around Dash.

“Get off me!” Dash yelled, bashing her hooves against the bird’s metallic talons as they rapidly gained speed. Producing a shockwave of shadowy energy, the Nighthawk again broke the sound barrier, continuing to dive towards the ground.

“She’s gonna crash!” Spitfire thought frantically, altering her course in an attempt to intercept the Nighthawk. She only managed to plow through a shadowy bunch of her tail feathers.

Just before reaching the ground, the Nighthawk pulled up, extending her talons—and Dash—towards the ground below her. The matriarch slammed her opponent forcefully into the ground, creating an explosion of dirt, grass, and shadowy energy.

Leaving Dash in the crater, the Nighthawk started to ascend again. The impact with the ground had caused her to drop out of supersonic speeds, leaving her vulnerable to the Wonderbolts.

Soarin’ seized the opportunity to plow through her left wing, and Spitfire banked around, climbed upwards, and dove into her back from above. The Nighthawk screeched in pain, trying to reestablish her vertical incline—the unrelenting Wonderbolts circled around and struck her yet again.

Spitfire hit her in the chest, and Soarin’ hit her square in the neck. The Nighthawk screeched again, abandoning her attempts to fly away—she hovered in place, trying desperately to snap and swipe at the Wonderbolts that were now swarming around her like bees.

---

“They’re forcing her down!” Ironmane yelled to the two earth ponies galloping behind him. “Get ready!”

Keeping pace with the sergeant, Ashton reached his head around to his saddlebags, opening them with his teeth and grabbing a coil of rope.

“Catch!” he mumbled over to Applejack, jerking his head upwards and tossing the coil of rope to her. When she caught it in her teeth, he pulled his own rope from the saddlebag.

Reaching the ground right below the aerial battle, Ironmane slowed to a stop and pulled his crossbow from his saddlebags. He flipped it open and immediately ejected its pre-loaded bolt, catching it in his teeth as he used his other hoof to pull the rope from his saddlebags.

“They need to get’r down just a little further!” Ashton yelled, sizing up the distance of the bird above them. “Ah can’t catch’er from here!”

“I can,” Ironmane replied, tying the rope around the back of the bolt in his teeth. Carefully inserting it into the firing chamber through the muzzle, he aimed his crossbow at the Nighthawk’s underbelly, observing her motions.

As soon as Spitfire struck her again, Ironmane fired the bolt—it jetted through the air and buried itself deep in her chest, the rope trailing behind it.

“Good shootin’!” Applejack shouted, watching the sergeant coil the rope around his forearm and pull with all his might. The Nighthawk screeched painfully, her altitude dropping slightly.

Ashton and Applejack each tossed their lassos, coiling them firmly around the left and right talons of their foe.

“Hold’er steady!” Ironmane roared. The shadowy matriarch pulled at the ropes, nearly lifting the three earth ponies off of the ground.

Celestia, Luna, and Terra—each with their passengers—arrived several moments later to assist them.

“Get ready, girls!” Twilight shouted, hopping from the princess’s back. Pinkie and Rarity jumped to her side, and Fluttershy swooped in from above.

“Where’s Rainbow Dash?” Celestia asked, casting a golden jet of magic at the Nighthawk and further restraining her. Luna did the same, using her indigo magic to shackle the dark bird’s talons. Terra manipulated the white storm clouds in the sky and forced their lightning onto the bird from above.

“...Found’er!” Starswirl shouted, teleporting Dash out of the crater in the east and materializing her next to the others. Her mane was filled with dirt, she was covered with bruises, and her wings were folded at an awkward angle, but she was alive.

“Fluttershy, fix her up!” Twilight ordered. “Applejack, get over here! We need you!”

As soon as Applejack released the rope, the Nighthawk lurched, threatening to break away from the shackles that held her down. Applejack quickly grabbed the rope again.

“Ah can’t let’er go!” she called over her shoulder. “Somepony’s gotta take this rope!”

“Give it to me!” a furious voice demanded. Ragehoof pushed his way through the group—he jumped into the air and bit down on Applejack’s rope. He landed in front of her, dragging the Nighthawk even closer to the ground as he pulled with all his might.

As soon as Fluttershy healed Dash, they flew into formation above their friends. Applejack lined up with them, and the Elements of Harmony prepared to strike their shackled foe.

“Now!” Twilight shouted, her eyes turning white as she called upon the Element of Magic. Rarity, Pinkie, and Applejack started to float off of the ground as they called upon theirs, rising into a circular formation with Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy above them.

With a flash of white light, the six mares produced a powerful wave of rainbow-colored energy, sending it sailing into the sky, where it curved downwards and flowed into the Nighthawk from above. Screeching violently, the shadowy matriarch suddenly burst into a brilliant multicolored fire.

Ablaze with flames of red, orange, green, yellow, blue, and purple, the ropes that the ground team restrained her with snapped in half, sending the three stallions flying backwards. Celestia, Luna, and Starswirl’s restraining magic dissipated, and the storm clouds above above were disintegrated by the blast.

Screeching one last time, the Nighthawk finally stopped flailing her wings. She collapsed to the ground, disintegrating into black ashes as the multicolored flames incinerated her. As she burned, the Equestrian Elite was suddenly blinded by a flash of light from the sky.

The sun had come back.

---

Comments

[Bairiko]

I still love the cupcakes reference, intentional or not.