Starlit Knights

by BlackRoseRaven

I Am Become Death, Destroyer Of Worlds

Chapter Twenty Nine: I Am Become Death, Destroyer Of Worlds
~BlackRoseRaven

Slowly, afternoon settled into evening… and at dusk, Scrivener Blooms and Luna quietly watched as the clouds grew darker and deeper, as the few trembling rays of sunlight that pierced the canopy of thick gray and lurched weakly past the stony mountains in the distance shivered and faded into nothingness. And, as starless, moonless night shrouded them, the Starlit Knights looked back and forth with both awe and sadness at the sight of the Pales that faded into existence all around them, the spirits pacing aimlessly, staring silently, leaving trails of sparkling frost that gleamed in the air around them.

Luna and Scrivener Blooms gazed at these, wondering why they were here, why reality was so thin, and what lured them into this world… and then, after a few long, silent minutes of surveying these strange, shimmering spirits, they had raised the moon. The moment the ivory rays had touched the grim clouds above, the Pales had faded from reality, slipping back into the folded air… but still, their presence could be felt, like the cold, lost spirits hadn’t gone very far.

The clouds were heavy tonight, the sense of something coming, something impending, keeping everypony on edge. Luna took the time to visit through the encampment, talking to the Starlit Knights calmly, rearranging the groups, comforting and encouraging those who were still struck by the loss of their compatriots. Scrivener Blooms followed her, admiring her prestige, her dignity, the way she naturally led them so well and brazenly… and, strange as it seemed, he thought one of the most inspiring things she said had been to a nervous Pegasus in Celestia’s golden armor: “No, thou art not a Pegasus Guard any longer. Thou art a Starlit Knight, like us.”

The minotaurs she also spoke to, but trusted in Aleksandr to order them to do what needed to be done: he was calm, a natural leader, well-versed in war and strategy. In battle, they were fierce and brutal and merciless… but outside of fighting, as they were learning, they had a strong sense of culture all their own, and were dependable and loyal for all their appearance.

Luna told Aleksandr about the rumors of the Gatherers, and asked his thoughts on the subject… and for a while, the minotaur only stood moodily, looking up at the grey clouds above before he had finally nodded slowly and said softly: “We have belief, that those who die… they must stay on this world for forty day as prividyeniye, to finish old business and cleanse self of wrongdoing. Then they leave for other world… but sometimes, prividyeniye get lost. Get confused. Or do not wish to go… they may even become nechistaiasila or polunochnitsa.

“Baba Yaga, I do not know much of the dead, even less of dead four-hoofs. I know that fire purifies, and the sign of Byelobog scares walking dead more than hammer-blow… but also that firm hammer-blow returns walking corpse to state of being properly-dead corpse.” Aleksandr hesitated, and then he looked down at Luna, asking quietly: “But if dead were once living, do they seek leaders? Is old saying in minotaur army, I shall tell you: we do not die until after the battle, when the commander tells us we may rest.”

Luna twitched visibly at this, and Aleksandr frowned a bit… but the winged unicorn only laughed dryly, saying quietly: “’Tis… fine, my friend. It is only very similar to a saying of my own… and such words have great power. I was merely surprised… but aye, I fear thou art right. Only the evil use the dead as bait and soldiers, however… whether the dead are willing or not.”

Luna hesitated, then she shook her head slowly as Aleksandr studied her curiously and Scrivener gazed at her quietly… but she merely smiled a little before moving on, checking on everyone else. Cowlick was serious and calm – and almost sparkling clean, thanks to the bath she had set up in the second building – and running Applejack and others who had shown they could handle one of the carbines through last-minute drills, and Luna stopped to watch this for a few moments with curiosity, listening close as Cowlick explained the way the weapons worked with a strange sort of exhilaration: not for what the guns did, but the way mechanical parts played off one another to make the weapons work.

Then the winged unicorn had moved on as Pegasi shot over their heads, running aerial drills with Rainbow Dash leading them… past Rarity and Spike and Fluttershy as they worked to put last-minute touches on arms and armor… past Pinkamena as she sat quietly polishing weapons with Big Mac, the two silent but less-than-hostile towards each other.

And lastly, they came to Twilight Sparkle, who was talking quietly with the few other unicorns they had who could work magic to appreciable effect, and the violet pony glanced over her shoulder before she smiled a little, saying quietly: “Just give me a minute. I’m almost done here, and I’ll join you two.”

“Nay, take thy time, they look to be doing well under thy tutelage… I merely wished to check upon the preparations for the Starlit Knights.” Luna said softly, gazing at her with a quiet smile in return, and her eyes slid up to the moon-shaped stud in Twilight’s ear before she reached a hoof up and quietly rested it on her shoulder. “Thou art all performing admirably. Come, Scrivener Blooms… we have much else to do.”

Twilight bowed her head respectfully to the two as they turned and made their way towards the second apartment building, the more-recently renovated structure… and inside, they headed to a room that Luna had claimed, and effectively transformed into a planning and war room, even if they would hopefully only be here another few nights. And, waiting for them and studying the map of North Neigh that laid out on the tabletop, was Swiftly Wing.

She had provided the map, as well as marked out the mountains: hidey-holes, hidden passes, tunnels, everything else she knew around the outskirts. Swiftly had added moodily that even she wasn’t stupid enough to go digging too deep in the quasi-mythical place, though… too many ponies said they were going for ‘day-hikes,’ only for their remains to be discovered a few days later… which often amounted to little more than a few broken bones and rags that looked as if they had been thrown out like garbage from some high peak.

She also provided them with information: the rough position of turrets that were programmed to shoot earth ponies and apparently also Luna, as well as any invaders, and the routines of the Pegasus soldiers and the unicorn elite guard that Scutum directed. Swiftly grumbled a lot about Scutum, but Luna and Scrivy thought it was less because he was a unicorn and more because he was both competent and a hard-ass… apparently he had more than once almost caught her running and smuggling.

More and more, Luna felt that Scutum could be depended on: he was a loyal warrior, and while the Pegasus soldiers of North Neigh simply closed down and fortified their own barracks every night while the unicorn elite guarded their precious unicorn district, Scutum could sometimes be seen wandering the streets by himself, keeping his eye on things. If something happened, they might be able to count on his help… while every other capable soldier in North Neigh would probably only try to shove them into the jaws of whatever evil was lurking around their village and then run away.

Luna had plotted a rough, possible map of where the Draugar, the Gathering, or whatever the parade of ghosts was, apparently entered and exited the city, and it gave her an idea of where they likely headed when they left: the edge of the Gray Mountains weren’t a great distance away, and there were two mountain passes within easy reach as well as the maw of what Swiftly said dubiously was just a shallow cave… but Luna had her doubts. She remembered, even now, that Celestia’s letter to them so long ago had mentioned tunnels, had mentioned that it looked like there had been tectonic activity around Silver Hoof… and she had only shaken her head slowly, not wanting to rule anything out, scared as that made her of what they could be faced with.

Others came in and out of the strategy room to make reports, to share sightings: a few Pales had been spotted, wandering silently amidst the campsite, and Aleksandr had managed to squeeze his way into the narrow apartments to add that he thought he’d seen a Velite past the fence bordering the edge of North Neigh. But whatever it had been, it had looked almost like it was fleeing from something to the north… and this only made Luna’s foreboding worsen. There were many different kinds of living dead and demon, and not all of them worked together… and if she was wrong, if whatever had destroyed Silver Hoof was risen by the darkness, but not working with whatever foul forces had manipulated Ignominious and guided Ekleíp…

These thoughts lurked in her mind the entire night, as she ordered the soldiers to all head to quarters early, leaving only the minotaurs and tireless Pinkamena on watch duty. Cowlick, Twilight Sparkle, and Swiftly Wing also stayed awake to plan with Scrivy and Luna, however, despite the sapphire winged unicorn’s half-protests… and Fluttershy and Ross had both volunteered already to take care of Scarlet Sage for the night, and would be keeping her safe in the Pegasus wagon.

Luna was more thankful than she could say for such reliable friends… for having such ponies around her she could depend on. When Rainbow Dash came stomping in, looking to help as well and unable to sleep, she sent him on a scouting mission through the town. It made him grumble at first as he thought they were just kicking him out… before she told him quietly: “It is the most important mission I can give, my friend, and I could entrust it to no other. Intelligence is what will aid us in winning the upcoming battle… and furthermore, I wish for thee to stop in at a shop thou should be able to locate without much trouble. The Allsorts Emporium, there should be an elderly unicorn there, named William Isehorse. Please check on his safety, and if he will deign to join us, we could use his knowledge and company.”

Rainbow had puffed up a bit more at this, but nodded seriously as he’d gone on his way… but when he had returned, a little less than an hour later, he had shaken his head slowly and muttered: “There’s… god. Twenty Pegasus around that walled-in place north of town alone, and turrets are set up all around the barracks, too, with more Pegasus with guns, some of them doing a bad job of hiding in clouds in sniper position. And I couldn’t find your friend Isehorse… the shop was dark but unlocked. I let myself in, looked around a little, but there was no one there. Still… it didn’t look like he lived there, you know? No food, no bed or anything. Probably just went home.”

“I hope thou art correct, Rainbow Dash.” Luna murmured, shaking her head slowly, and then she motioned to him, saying quietly: “Swiftly Wing has been telling us more about the ghostly parade… she spoke of a large hole in the fencing. Did thou see it?”

“Northeast, right? To the uh…” Rainbow Dash rose a hoof and shook it absently as he thought to himself. “Left, yeah. To the left of the walled-in place when you’re facing it, I’d say… two blocks away. Road dead-ends past what looks like a burnt-down house and then there’s just this big gaping hole in the fence, maybe ten, fifteen feet wide.”

Swiftly shook her head slowly, muttering under her breath: “Great. They repair that almost every day and yet somepony keeps tearing it down. Ponies argue whether it’s because somepony wants us all dead or they just want wood to burn, but… being around you guys is making me paranoid and think that maybe…”

“Yeah, well, believe me. Apparently those two are magnets for this kind of thing… that’s why we’re all here helping out.” Rainbow Dash said mildly as he gestured towards Luna and Scrivy, and Swiftly snorted before the Pegasus rubbed absently at his armored chest. “You guys need me to do anything else?”

“Aye, Rainbow Dash, look at this map and note what I’ve plotted already. Tell me if thou has seen any other noticeable security precautions or… anything out of the ordinary, and mark the location. Even if thou just felt… strange… in a place, point it out.” Luna said quietly, flicking her horn and lifting a marker from the table to float it over to the male, and he winced a little at the seriousness before he took it and sighed, leaning apprehensively over the map.

There were only two points on the map where Rainbow had felt like something was… wrong. One was near the unicorn district – as close as he dared to go, with the patrolling Pegasi that all seemed eager to attack him with their crosshatch blades glinting on their forelegs – and the other was, strangely enough, near the center of the town, close to an old, frozen-over well where the ruins of some monument sat in ugly disarray. He hadn’t been able to say why… only that for some reason, the place had chilled him to the bone.

Rainbow Dash stayed to talk and offer his thoughts, the Element of Loyalty around his neck gleaming every so often, as the night wore on. None of them tired, however, all of them could sense the growing unease in the air, as the darkness outside grew steadily, the clouds thickening above, the moon blocked out and even the light cast by the lanterns seeming faded…

Every Starlit Knight was on their hooves, standing in quiet groups outside on the frost-covered road or apprehensively walking through the dim corridors of the revamped servant quarters, tense, not a single pony able to sleep. Pinkamena and Applejack joined them in the strategy room, Applejack with her teeth grit and lasso on one hip, rifle across her back, and vest securely covering her body as she sat by Rainbow Dash, and Pinkamena licking her teeth compulsively, her breathing a bit hard beneath her heavier medium armor as she polished her knives again and again.

Luna looked back and forth, focused and calm, her voice clear and strong in the silence as Scrivener Blooms gazed at her quietly, the two aware of almost every nerve on their bodies, every gesture, every sound, every chime of the bells in the distance… and Luna frowned slowly at this as the other ponies looked back and forth, as the soft sound rang quietly through the air again, vibrating through their bodies despite being so gentle and soothing, hazy, warm, heavy; at first like a blanket that scratched, was itchy over their minds and bodies but becoming quickly like a heavy fleece comforter, so soft, snuggling so tight…

Slowly, Luna tipped sideways until she half-slipped, half-fell to her stomach, breathing evening out as her eyes fluttered, and Scrivener Blooms drooled as his head hung slackly, swaying weakly on his haunches before his glasses fell off his muzzle. The quiet tink they made against the ground went unnoticed as the other ponies groaned and shook their heads, as all throughout the encampment, the bells chimed in gentle rhythm to soft singing that could now be heard, wordless, sweet, divine…

Rainbow Dash and Applejack collapsed against each other and slid to the ground, the earth pony managing to stay awake a moment longer than her husband before she collapsed and twitched once, Pinkamena rasping, the last awake, holding herself up against the table as her body shivered wildly and her eyes bled from the pain of resisting before she arched her back, trying to scream… but all that came out was a whimper before she fell forwards against the table with a quiet thunk, staring sightlessly before her eyes finally closed.

Outside, Aleksandr’s fingers dug into the snow as he lowered his head forwards, looking almost as if he was praying as his muscular body trembled, fought to resist, several minotaurs already laying in unconscious heaps and another clutching his hammer back against his chest as he stared at the sky with grit teeth… but soon, both he and Aleksandr collapsed as well as the chimes rang quietly, as the singing only grew in power, the flames that burned in lanterns turning to eldritch green, spilling dark and poisonous light over the snow and throughout the buildings.

And, as the singing grew, as the chimes rang louder, shapes appeared in the snow fields: around them, snow rippled like water and spilled upwards into steam, leaving a path of only rock and mirror-like ice beneath their hooves as a parade of terrible callous phantasms strode calmly forwards. Ponies, not formless, not glowing, but that were terribly, undeniably dull and dead, their eyes glowing with horrible, unnatural light as manes and tails floated and rippled, their skin ill-white, rubbery and translucent. The congregation strode in several loose columns, walking with strange intent, some grinning, others smiling, others staring, as amongst them the Pegasus ponies sang and the unicorns shook their heads back and forth, their horns glowing with eldritch flame and releasing the soporific ring of the chimes, as the earth ponies breathed steam and white fog.

As they walked towards the fence at the edge of North Neigh, first the snow cleared itself away in a rippling tide… and then the fencing tore itself free from the ground, wood rending itself apart, metal twisting and flying, opening a clean, gaping path for the awful spirits. And they strode onwards, the Pegasi and unicorns continuing their divine and yet soulless music, as the earth ponies strode here and there to the fallen in the street, leaning down and breathing their misty breath over their faces.

The eyes of the ponies snapped open, and they stared upwards with slack jaws, then slowly smiled as if they were dreaming, letting the ghastly ponies pull them almost tenderly to their hooves, joining the parade as they laughed, and cried, and stared back and forth with awe, their eyes blind with white light, tricked into seeing divine shapes, images so pure they went beyond holy, a Pegasus Guard crying as he walked alongside grinning, dead unicorns, whispering: “Angels of the Vale of Valhalla…”

Yet the ghastly spirits could not enter the wagons or the buildings, even as they scratched mournfully at walls and doors and stared in through the windows; they breathed over the glass and sent cracks of frost spiraling through it, but never could even the terrible fog they exhaled slip very far into the buildings… and the unnatural earth ponies did not linger far from the parade, taking instead what victims they could as the congregation of perhaps two dozen unnatural spirits strode calmly onwards into North Neigh.

Luna twitched quietly in her sleep, dreaming a wonderful dream with Scrivener Blooms… a dream of mixed memory and reality and everything she wanted, where they lived in Valhalla, the male a warrior poet, and she was Brynhild, and they fought with Sleipnir and Celestia and none of it made sense in the tangle but all of it was wonderful as they ran together down a mountain path dotted with white lilies and black roses… and then all of a sudden, a massive black wolf leapt down into their path, and Luna twitched with such violence in her sleep that she kicked both her rear hooves into Scrivy’s stomach where he lay unconscious.

Pain shot through both of their bodies as Scrivy rolled onto his back with a curse and Luna snapped awake, blinking rapidly… and then she looked dazedly back and forth, her mind slow and stupid, hearing a strange ringing in the distance. It sounded like chimes… and even as she began to smile dazedly through the faint ache in her body, as Scrivener looked weakly up, she forced herself to gaze around… and shock rippled through her system at the sight of the strategy room, and the ponies that lay prone and unconscious.

Scrivy blinked, then gritted his teeth, adrenaline pulsing through his body for a moment… and then a shiver spilled down his spine and seemed to drain the strength from him as he began to topple to his knees, looking weakly back and forth as Luna staggered and cursed under her breath. She shook her head quickly, trying to awaken herself before she clenched her eyes shut… and then she winced, her starry mane sparking as Nightmare Moon whispered in her mind: You must act quickly. This is no time for weakness, little Luna.

Luna gritted her teeth… and then she reared back and snapped her head upwards as her horn glowed vibrantly, her mane fanning backwards as electricity ran through it and she shouted: “Do not call me weak, creature!”

A shockwave of force emitted from her horn, electricity sparking through the air around her as vibrations rippled almost visibly through the air, and the unconscious ponies across the floor snapped awake, static ripping through their minds and shattering their wild dreams as they scrambled to their hooves.

The entire building rumbled with the force of Luna’s magic burst, windows cracking and shattering completely, wood breaking and groaning, ponies throughout the structure snapping awake and gasping in shock as the few that had been left in the snow outside staggered stupidly to their hooves… and then Luna snarled, looking back and forth as Scrivy felt her anger – and beneath that thinner-than-it-seemed layer, her fear – radiating through his own mind and body, as the winged unicorn shouted: “Have every capable warrior still standing assemble outside, Twilight Sparkle and ready them for battle! Scrivener Blooms, rally those in the other building and meet me in our apartment, go now! Swiftly, I implore thee to head quickly now to the wagons, ensure that the young filly there and her guardians are alright. I must also prepare for the battle ahead, do not be slow, do not ask questions, hurry, hurry outside!”

The ponies hesitated only a moment before running to their assigned duties, and yet Luna barely saw them, even as she narrowly followed Scrivener Blooms into the apartment building: knowing his task, however, the male turned right instead of left, running down the halls and shouting to stunned ponies who didn’t understand what was going on to assemble outside as Luna barreled into the apartments and flicked her horn sharply upwards, her armor lifting from the floor and swirling rapidly over her body, snapping loudly into place as she called to the chirping, panicked pseudodragon half-hiding under their bedding: “Samael, we have an emergency to deal with, I must send a letter to Celestia immediately! This magic, this terrible feeling… quick, gather Scrivy’s supplies!”

Sammy whimpered but skittered quickly out from under the bedding to do as asked, running over to Scrivener’s saddlebag as Luna looked back and forth… then smiled grimly as her eyes settled on the telescopic spear resting in its sheath. Her horn glowed, lifting this into the air and bringing it quickly back to settle it behind her, the straps tightly binding it into place over her upper back before she looked towards the pseudodragon, who had managed to wriggle most of the supplies out of the bag, and she nodded quickly, lifting a quill and parchment with only a glance as she murmured: “This is good, thou hast my thanks.”

Scrivener came in a moment later, looking with surprise to watch as Luna hurriedly wrote a few short sentences of long-forgotten, runic script over a scrap of parchment. Then she rolled this quickly up and tossed it to the pseudodragon, who caught it with a squawk of surprise as Luna flicked her horn towards Scrivener Blooms, and the male winced as his armor lifted from the ground and locked and strapped itself into place over his body as the winged unicorn ordered: “There is no time to waste, send the letter and hope that Celestia is true to her word. Twilight Sparkle is powerful and knowledgeable, and I am strong and our Starlit Knights will fight fiercely… but we require Celestia’s power and experience to ensure our victory here. This is not the work of a single entity… this cannot be the work of a single entity.”

Scrivener winced, reaching up to adjust his glasses and realizing with surprise they weren’t there… but Luna only smiled grimly as she stepped forwards and firmly kissed him, the male looking at her with surprise before she drew her head back and said quietly: “Now come, Scrivy. I am prepared, thou art prepared… and now we must prepare our troops. ‘Twill be draining… but it is necessary. Still I hear the chimes in my head… still, even now, I hear them compelling me to sleep.”

The male nodded slowly as she turned and headed past, and he followed hurriedly after Luna as Sammy whimpered in the apartment, but then quickly breathed blue flame over the letter to reduce it to ashes before scrambling after them. Scrivy winced a bit as the skeletal pseudodragon leapt up onto his shoulder, but Luna frowned thoughtfully before she looked across at the creature, saying quietly: “Thou will not be affected by the deceitful melodies of the creatures that have taken us by surprise, Samael… I implore thee, run ahead and spy upon their movements for us. Thou do not live, thou do not breathe, as ponies do… they shall not notice thee unless they literally trod upon thee, and even then thou will be almost invisible to their wicked senses. Follow their march. Send up a flare when they begin to leave North Neigh.”

Sammy nodded and chirped, before he leaned back and spat a burst of blue fire that shot high into the air: it was small, but the desolate lack of light made it easier to see, and it dissipated slowly into blue motes that continued to mark the sky. The two nodded to the skeleton, and Sammy hesitated for a moment, then he grabbed the back of Scrivy’s neck and nibbled at his mane before turning suddenly and leaping away, scampering through the snow, almost invisible amidst the white powder.

Luna shook her head slowly, then she and Scrivy looked grimly up to stride down the side of the road. The Starlit Knights were assembled in armor, many with weapons, but many were having trouble staying on their hooves… even the minotaurs seemed to be having difficulties resisting the echoes of the chimes, as Aleksandr rested in a kneel with his fist pressed into the ground and head bowed, breathing hard as he rumbled away in his own language to himself in either prayer or meditation.

The winged unicorn strode in front of the group, and they all looked blearily up at her, even Pinkamena standing almost docilely in line as she blinked exhaustedly. Then Luna glanced to the side as Twilight Sparkle slowly approached, shaking her head miserably as she whispered: “Thirty-one. That’s how many are left, including us… we… we had about sixty when we left Canterlot if you include the Pegasus Guard, we lost twelve on the way, and now we just lost… seventeen more? Nineteen more? I can’t remember… the exact numbers, except for the head-count I just did… Luna, what happened? I don’t even remember falling asleep.”

“It is very powerful, very old magic that was brought against us… these are not simple evil spirits, or a banding-together of malicious ghosts by unnatural means. They are puppets of a much greater force. But there is no time… they will move quickly through the town, and I must prepare all of thee for what is to come next.” Luna replied quietly, and then she glanced at Scrivener Blooms, and the male nodded before they both closed their eyes, slowly bowing their heads towards one-another as Luna’s horn began to glow.

The glow grew brighter and brighter, bathing them in blue iridescence as Twilight winced back a bit in surprise, the other soldiers looking up and murmuring between themselves, staring in amazement as the light spread. A hum built steadily in the air, washing away the sounds of the chimes that still rang in the minds and memories of the Starlit Knights… and then Luna arched her back and grit her teeth, Scrivener Blooms mirroring her, the two raising slightly onto their rear hooves before Luna’s horn released another powerful shockwave that burst over them, tingling blue waves of light spilling over the army, clearing their minds, reviving their bodies before Luna and Scrivy both collapsed against one-another, breathing hard.

Ponies and minotaurs looked down at themselves as their bodies tingled, glowing faintly: the aura faded quickly from around their bodies, and lasted only a few moments longer where it clung to armor and weapons, as Luna looked up tiredly to Twilight and murmured: “I have insulated all present against being enchanted… but ‘twill work both ways, understood? They cannot be manipulated by wicked magic or illusion, but likewise, they cannot be shielded or empowered by protective spells. ‘Twill only last a few hours… thou will have to focus on most of the spell-casting now.”

“Luna, Scrivy, are you two okay?” Twilight asked worriedly, stepping forwards before she bowed her head, her horn glowing… but Scrivener and Luna only winced, and the violet winged unicorn blushed as she felt a faint spark of recoil twist down her horn, murmuring: “Oh, I… see what you mean now.”

“Aye, exactly. As I said, magic-proofing will last only for a few hours, but much will be decided in that time… and while pure magical force will be diluted, think not this protects against fireballs and large pieces of rock thrown at great speed.” Luna grimaced a little, then she shook her head, straightening as Scrivy felt a wave of vertigo, but it quickly receded as he rubbed slowly at his face. “My strength returns, bit-by-bit now. Now… the truly difficult part.”

She quieted, then shook her head before facing the soldiers, clearing her throat as she called: “Starlit Knights, silence and listen to me!”

For a moment, worried murmurs continued… but as Luna stood up and gritted her teeth, mane sparking as it flowed back from beneath her helm, the ponies quieted and fell to attention, looking towards her for leadership, for guidance. Luna looked over them, then drew her eyes to Aleksandr… and the minotaur smiled a little as he nodded to her firmly: the small gesture seemed to help, as the winged unicorn took a slow breath before her cyan eyes focused, gleaming in the darkness as she said calmly: “We have already been ambushed by malign forces… but this battle has yet to truly begin. We must now pursue and destroy the creature that summoned these wicked beings forth and guided them against us: we may engage the creatures themselves as well, but strange as it may seem, they are not important. They are merely arrows, weapons, designed to attack and confuse us… we must not attack the arrows, we must attack and destroy the archer to render them ineffective, and then we shall reap and burn the tattered remnants that remain.

“We march against an opponent that will be sly and fierce, and may be ancient. We now engage the creature that likely destroyed Silver Hoof… and it is imperative that all listen to my orders when they are given.” Luna said quietly, but her voice carried easily even to the ponies at the very back of the lines of soldiers. “If I order thee to fight, then even if we face one of the Black Wolves of Hell… charge, and fight. If I order thee to retreat despite a seemingly-assured victory… thou must retreat, with all haste, and keep in mind this: should we retreat, it does not mean we flee. This creature will not be allowed to see the sun rise… not unless Celestia herself arrives to bring the burning sun crashing down upon its head.”

Luna halted, looking back and forth as a shiver spread through her body, Scrivener grimacing over his shoulder. “We must march, and march with haste! The creatures have a great lead upon us, and we must not lose their trail… come friends, to do as the Starlit Knights have sworn to do. To push back darkness and destroy this evil, once and for all!”

She spun around as the soldiers stomped and shouted, then dropped quickly into pace after her, naturally sorting themselves into the groups they had been assigned over the course of the day as the minotaurs brought up the rear, Aleksandr adding words of encouragement in his own language to his kin. Yet Luna and Scrivy both gritted their teeth as they looked back and forth in disgust: the trail left by the awful creatures, whatever they had been, was all too clear from the brushed-aside snow and the path of ice.

They passed several collapsed ponies of North Neigh that had been lured out onto the road, as well as ponies that stared in shivering terror from inside their homes… and Luna called the Starlit Knights onwards, shouting: “We have no time to slow, no time to stop! If thou truly wishes to help those in need, then we must catch the monster before it can slither into hiding in the mountains, and destroy it!”

In the distance, they could still hear the echoes of the chimes, which now sounded not divine but terrible, like mocking portents of doom… and every now and then, a sung word would float to their ears through the bitter night air. The only light came from lanterns that shone like eyes out of windows in homes, hung by their scared inhabitants, so Luna, Twilight, and the few unicorns of the Starlit Knights lit the way with their horns… yet even this magical light the darkness ate greedily, seeming intent to block them in, extinguishing light but carrying awful sound.

Near the edge of town, they came across Commander Scutum as he knelt over a body, a cluster of ponies nervously standing behind him… and Luna called a halt to stop and stare down at this as the unicorn looked slowly up, saying quietly: “I was catching a nap… and that awful, horrible music woke me up. When I looked outside… I saw these… these things marching by. Things I couldn’t explain… things that looked like ponies, luring real ponies with them. I watched them, and I realized… they were the ghosts from the parade of phantasms that storms through here every few nights, except somehow… they looked like they had been made real.

“This one was straggling, at the back of the pack. It was greedy, tried to do something to the slave-hoof behind me that had just sleepwalked out of his home.” Scutum jerked his head towards one of the shivering ponies… and when Luna and Scrivy looked up, they realized the group was mostly earth ponies and a few Pegasi… but ones that the unicorns likely called ‘shorn-wings.’ “I got out here, fought it. Killed it. And it turned into this.”

He looked silently down at the dead body… and Luna shook her head slowly at the sight of the corpse. It was nothing more than a skeleton, with mummified, gray skin pulled too tight over the bones, black stitching holding skin like paper together, eyes missing from staring sockets. A large knife was buried through its chest… and Scutum slowly stood, looking across at them as he flicked his head to the side, the weapon ripping free of the bloodless wound as he said quietly: “I’m coming with you.”

“Me too!” added one of the Pegasi, and he stepped forwards, swallowing thickly but looking determined, rusty crosshatch blades glinting dully on his forelegs. “North Neigh’s a horrible place but… they took my friend.”

“Shorn-wings and slave-hoofs should stay out of this.” Scutum said over his shoulder quietly, and the ponies both glared and quailed from him before the unicorn added in a softer voice: “You have nothing worth dying for. But you do have something to live for… hope for a better future for your lot. Let us unicorns handle the dying part.”

“You don’t give us orders, unicorn.” one of the earth ponies said quietly, stepping forwards… but he smiled faintly all the same, bowing his head in honest respect to Scutum. “If we want freedom, it’d be a sick goddamn joke to have you unicorns fight for it for us, after taking everything away from us.”

“Well, Champion Luna, I guess you got me and some rag-tag split-hooves who are determined to fight beside you.” Scutum shrugged after a moment, looking both rueful and entertained all at once. “At least we’ll be cannon fodder.”

Luna didn’t know whether to grin or to snap at them… but before she could think of what to do or say, both she and Scrivy glanced up as a faint blue streak of fire went up in the distance, and she shook her head quickly, grimacing across at them. “Very well, I do not have the time to argue… but thou must listen to me, understood?”

“Ma’am.” Scutum smiled wryly, and Luna snorted before she shouted an order to move forwards over her shoulder as she began to jog over the frosty path, gritting her teeth in disgust as Scrivener Blooms and Twilight ran on either side of her and Scutum let himself follow on the flank, moving with surprising ease into line as he asked clearly over the thudding of hooves: “So what the hell are we up against?”

“These are not evil spirits, these are not ghosts or zombies… they are Dead Dolls.” Luna shook her head, snarling in disgust as they followed the path through the hole in the fencing and into the snowy fields, a sharp, bitter wind whispering around them as the music in the distance finally began to fade. “’Tis vile, unholy necromancy… and ‘twas usually done only by the most wicked of Blood Seers. Corpses are dried and mummified, and made into hideous dolls… then living ponies are kidnapped, and their life force is drained from their bodies to power them, and that same life force encapsulates them, disguises them as ghosts. Those who gaze for too long upon the Dead Dolls when they are active see lost relatives, and lost friends… and the Dead Dolls feed off emotions, off warmth, off life force.

“And whoever created these, designed them all too well… for the unicorns, they likely fashioned horns of crystal to carry the dark enchantment, hidden in the awful bells. In the wings of the Pegasus, I expect there are concealed instruments, flutes, and musical feathers as well as unholy tampering down with their throats, making them a living orchestra to add power to the phantasmal melody… a melody that lulls the awake to sleep, and wakens those who slumber. To the earth ponies, they have filled with Lethe’s perfume, wiping out memory, replacing with illusion. I fear they must be made by Ekleíp but powered by a monster versed almost-too-well in dark powers…” Luna snarled, then glanced up as another blue burst of flame went up in the distance, whispering: “Sammy, thou brave creature, thou does not need to follow them now… thou does thy job too well, and the master of these minions will not be as blind to thee…”

She gritted her teeth as the looming shape of the mountains appeared in the distance… and then her eyes widened as she saw a great congregation. The Dead Dolls were filing down the path into an enormous, cavernous hole in the wall, and a large group of living ponies merely stood calmly before this gaping mouth, slack and dull, some laughing weakly, some crying, but most of them emotionless and all of them confused and dazed… and Luna began to tilt her head forwards, preparing a spell, before a terrible, enormous claw reached out of the shadows of the cave beyond and seized three ponies in its grip, crushing them and yanking them into the darkness beneath the mountains before there was a horrible crunch.

Luna cursed in shock, then she snarled and leaned forwards as the claw appeared again: mottled gold and black scales covered it, ending in massive talons that glinted like metal as a long, guttural hiss floated out of the cave… and Luna felt a terrible shiver roll down her spine, felt like something was terribly wrong even as she shouted: “Hide not in the shadows, and release yon ponies, foul monster, and I shall make thy death a swift one!”

The claw halted… then slowly lowered to the ground even as Luna looked over her shoulder and snapped: “Everypony, first rescue those trapped in a daze! Smite them, drag them back, do whatever thou must to get them away from the battlefield and restore the sense to their minds!”

Starlit Knights shouted in confirmation as Pegasus leapt up and took to the air, the earth ponies breaking formation to head into the throng of dazed ponies before Luna stumbled to a halt with a curse of surprise, glancing down to see that there was not frozen ice under-hoof… but mud and mire. Swampland, warm and pulsing and disgusting, that stood in a fifty foot wide, rotten-smelling waste in front of the cavern… and then Luna’s eyes widened as she looked up and a quiet chuckle emerged from the cave, Scrivener staggering to a halt and looking over his shoulder at her with disbelief even as Luna leaned forwards and screamed: “Retreat! Retreat immediately, grab who thou can and retreat!”

Ponies looked up in dumb surprise… and then the grinning head of the golden, draconic monster leaned out of the cavern as the monster pulled itself eagerly forwards, blue smog hissing up from its nostrils and jaws as it licked its lips with a long black tongue. Golden scales marred with terrible blotches and streaks of both black and white covered its face and armored its body, its eyes sunken back into its skull and lacking pupil, white-rimmed azure in its sockets. Its teeth were stained black and red in oozing gums, and a crown of six immense, gnarled horns twisted back from the monster’s head.

It looked like a dragon… but it couldn’t be, even as its long neck twisted downwards, as its crocodilian features contorted with a horrible grin. There was something too monstrous about it… and as it pulled itself forwards so half its body leaned out of the cave, six immense spikes of bone that jutted cruelly out on its back in place of wings gleamed, almost pulsing with energy as they shifted and moved like pistons as the monster leaned down, its thick, squat forelegs pushing against the ground as ponies stared up at this horrible thing with shock, before Discombobulation popped into being next to Twilight with a snarl, seizing her around the body and vanishing from the spot with her as the monster’s jaws lulled open.

“Shallok cra’ tels talos…” The monster’s voice was calm, mocking, terrible… and the ponies who heard it stared up at its words, as vibrations rumbled through the air around the monstrosity as it leaned down over them, continuing to speak as its alien language ripped into the minds of ponies near and far before they even realized what was happening, like hooked claws that punctured their thoughts, swirled down into their very souls. “Shallok rai baskaa…”

The ponies nearest began to scream, and yet they could barely hear one another’s cries of agony, Scrivener staggering backwards in horror as tears spilled down Luna’s face as she howled, but none heard her: none heard, as the ponies nearest the monster clutched their chests and their faces as blood flowed from their eyes and ears in rivers with their shrieks of torment, as they staggered and collapsed to the ground to convulse senselessly. “Shallok hez’raa tor…”

Then Luna snarled and lashed her horn upwards, and a blast of lightning erupted from the skies, smashing into the creature’s face and making it flinch backwards with a snarl… but that was all, immediately glaring down at her as Luna threw herself into the air and flicked her horn as it glowed brightly, spear ripping free of her holster and spinning to its full length beside her as she shouted furiously, even as her tears froze on her cheeks in the cold: “Silence, Tyrant Wyrm! I know not how thy wretched, heinous, godless self could have survived for a thousand years alone in shadow… but today, thy kind shall be driven to extinction!”

The Tyrant Wyrm grinned at this, its eyes glowing as it seemed to understand her, Scrivener staring in horror as the ponies that still had some sense in their minds scattered, retreating… and those that were too broken, too damaged by the awful recitation of the monster’s awful words, only lay on the ground. One was dead… and then the draconic monster rose a claw and slammed it down savagely on top of a cluster of crying ponies, crushing them like they were nothing more than paper and tin as Luna’s eyes blazed before she snarled and lunged forwards, driving her spear in front of her-

“Shallok talos, shallock, baskaa!” The monster reared back as it roared these words, punctuated by a laugh, and Luna shrieked in pain as the waves of sound rippled past her, knocking her off balance as the awful words tore through her mind, before the monster’s claw lashed out with horrible speed and infuriating disdain, slapping her out of the air and making Scrivener stagger to the side as ponies fled past him in terror. “Tallos baskaa!”

He swayed weakly on the spot as Luna crashed down past the swamps into the snow, cursing and more humiliated than pained, even as her insides and mind twisted, as the Tyrant Wyrm leaned forwards and greedily scooped up several ponies that had been too damaged to flee, tossing them upwards and into its jaws. It crunched them loudly between its teeth, ignoring clothes and armor and weapons, slurping loudly as blood and acidic drool dripped down its chin. And Scrivener could only stare, standing stupidly alone, some forty feet away just in the beginning of the bog, as behind him, ponies panicked, Twilight Sparkle reappearing in a horrified daze with Discombobulation, Cowlick shouting uselessly as she tried to marshal soldiers and others fled, Scutum roaring orders of his own…

The Wyrm leaned forwards, and then it said in an almost mocking voice, ignoring Scrivener as it gazed instead at the horde of ponies: “Loka…shallock… tantrass…”

Luna snarled, hauling herself to her hooves and shaking herself out, shouting at Scrivener Blooms as behind him, ponies froze up, grabbing at themselves, some firing wildly, uselessly with guns, with crossbows, with anything they could find at the gigantic dragon-monster and others simply trying to run away… and then Scrivener whispered: “There’s a pattern, I… I can understand it. I can almost understand it… the formation of words, the placement of the letters, no, no, the sounds, it’s all about the rhythm… it’s the rhythm!”

The monster began to open its mouth, began to speak its cursed language again as Luna took to the air and swept in towards it with a snarl, but its eyes flicked to the side, opening its jaws… and then Scrivener stepped forwards, yelling desperately: “Shallock!”

Immediately, the Tyrant Wyrm twitched violently, rounding completely on Scrivener Blooms, looking down at him with fury, with hate, with rage, like he was a sinner who had just howled some unforgivable, bastardizing blasphemy in the holiest of sanctuaries… and then Luna crashed into the side of the dragon’s skull.

She smashed straight through its head, shattering through the cheekbones and making it howl in what sounded horribly like frustration and rage, not pain, even as she executed a sharp, twisting dive that sent her ramming through the underside of its jaw and out the top of its skull, leaving awful wounds behind. Terrible, not just because of their size, but because that for all the same they were bloodless, even as splinters of bone and scale flew around her as she spun around in midair and crashed viciously through its enormous head again, smashing through the temple with the spear thrusted out in front of her but crashing her entire body through the monstrosity with every movement, as unholy, sapphire-tinged light pulsed out of the enormous holes.

Luna began to spin around, and then the Tyrant Wyrm threw back its head and roared, the raw waves of sound enough to send Luna hurtling backwards with a wince, launched through the air like a catapult as the mountains quaked and rumbled, the swamps beneath them pulsed and hardened… but all around Scrivener Blooms, ponies surged forwards, Cowlick shouting: “Come on, give her support! This is no place for cowards!”

“No!” Luna shouted desperately, even as she spun around to recover her balance… and then she looked up in shock as a formation of Pegasus ponies shot towards the monster at head level, Rainbow Dash at the head of the group. “Thou do not understand what we face, halt!”

But they couldn’t hear her: they could only hear each other, could only hear the call to arms, could only see that the monster had been wounded and they had become too eager for revenge, too confident despite Luna’s warnings, Luna’s yells. Bullets and bolts peppered the monster’s front from a distance as Pegasi slammed into the creature’s surprised face, the Tyrant Wyrm’s head twisting backwards with a grunt of shock as all five collided at once before kicking savagely off, sending cracks through the brittle, metal-like scales covering its muzzle as four of the Pegasi launched themselves backwards and Rainbow Dash instead sprang upwards, shooting high into the air…

And at the creature’s feet, ponies swung in weapons, attempted to drive spear and sword into the thickly-armored, low-to-the-ground underbelly, hacked at its claws as a minotaur leapt upwards and slammed an axe into a knee, knocking a leg out from beneath it and making it drop forwards with a hiss of frustration as it rose its other limb, the soldiers swarming it not seeing this, not hearing Luna’s shout of warning before it slammed its claw down into the ground, crushing several soldiers underfoot as a wave of black, horrible mud exploded upwards and splattered over ponies, driving them backwards and to the ground before it hauled itself to its feet and viciously stomped both claws downwards, crushing ponies and minotaurs like bugs beneath it.

Luna shouted in denial, then looked up in shock as Rainbow Dash dropped like a meteor towards the creature, testing the speed barrier, likely meaning to hammer it with the full force of a sonic rainboom… and then the monster’s head snapped upwards, the terrible holes throughout its skull making its glare all the more baleful before it exhaled a blast of poisonous blue smog like a geyser, buffeting Rainbow Dash backwards through the air as one of his wings bent painfully and he winced before one of the monster’s wagon-sized claws slammed into him.

He was sent rocketing bonelessly downwards, crashing into the hard ice at the edge of the bog as chunks of armor flew of his body, skidding forwards as there was an awful crack… and Applejack dropped her rifle with a shriek from beside Cowlick as Scrivener Blooms cursed and Luna dropped her face in a hoof for a moment, hovering silently in the air as Rainbow Dash lay dead and broken, skin showing through a blue coat that had been half-scalded off by the monster’s toxic breath, his head twisted almost all the way around on his shattered neck, feathers silently settling around his corpse from his shattered wings.

“No!” Twilight shrieked, and then she snarled, glaring at the monster as the Tyrant Wyrm growled out at them, its eyes glowing before the violet pony broke into a charge, a bright glow forming around her horn as Discombobulation sprinted along at her side. Above, Luna snarled, then she shot down towards the monster, only wanting to make it suffer, only wanting to kill it, no matter what sanity and reason said.

The monster began to open its jaws, to chant its foul language… and even as Scrivener felt Luna’s rage, his own horror, and the terrible sense of doom that ripped like static through the skies around them as Cowlick shouted for order at their backs, as ponies still forced forwards even with tears of blood and terror in their eyes, he also felt something else. He felt cold, awful knowledge in his mind, coming from a mix of Luna’s memories and his own talents, letting him understand this monster… letting him maybe open a way for them to make it suffer, even as its words rolled over the charging ponies and made them twitch with agony: “Bow to us, powerless ones…”

“We are not powerless! We are not slaves!” Scrivener Blooms shouted, and he didn’t know if he spoke in his language, or the monster’s, as the Tyrant Wyrm’s eyes flicked to him, its terrible, resonating voice somehow blocked, somehow halted, as Scrivener stepped forwards and snarled with a voice he didn’t know he had, in a language he didn’t know he knew: “Tyrant slave, filth of darkness, rot-eater, crawl back into the Void!”

The monster snarled, its eyes blazing, attention once more drawn to Scrivener Blooms… before Luna slammed into its skull, her spear sinking through its forehead as her hooves crashed between its eyes, making its head snap backwards as it bit savagely up at her, blue smog bursting out of its jaws… but the winged unicorn fled quickly, and its raised head gave Twilight an opportunity to snap her horn upwards with a snarled spell, a blast of red flame crashing into the underside of its jaws with a powerful enough explosion to send its head snapping backwards and cracking painfully and loudly off the top of the cavernous archway.

It roared in fury, sweeping a claw forwards, and a massive wave of terrible black muck surged upwards, washing towards her as she winced… but Discombobulation stepped smoothly in front of Twilight, snapping his fingers and turning the tidal wave of goo in front of them into nothing but harmless smoke before he seized her by the back of the mane as the monster’s head snapped downwards, and both he and Twilight vanished from the spot a moment before its jaws crashed into the earth. It yanked its head back, and Scrivener began to open its mouth before its blue eyes flashed as it hissed: “We will show you the true meaning of the Black Verses.”

Scrivener winced as a spark went off in his mind… and then he screamed in agony, trembles running through his body as horrible, inexplicable, awful knowledge entered his head, of torture and violence and war, blood running from his eyes as he fell to the ground with shrieks of torment, beginning to convulse as Luna howled and arched her back, electricity sparking along her body as she felt Scrivy’s mental pain bursting wildly through her mind. And the Tyrant Wyrm only grinned, leaning forwards, beginning to open its jaws as in Scrivener’s mind, its voice whispered with unfathomable tenderness: Know all of us. See all of us. You dare quote our Verses to us? See the meaning behind them. Experience the countless eons of Hell we have inflicted as we consumed race after race, world after world. And now become part of us…

The monster’s jaws opened as its head leaned down, and Luna was helpless, barely able to keep herself from plummeting from the air as she screamed Scrivy’s name, as in the distance, Twilight and Discombobulation reappeared too far away, too late to help, as ponies stared at this unstoppable abomination even as a glow began to spill through the sky…

And then the monster’s head rose slightly as shimmering light shone over its features, snarling in shocked surprise before a massive golden meteor slammed down into its head, and its skull simply exploded into fragments that dissolved amidst an echoing wave of holy, glowing flame, the monster’s jaws shrieking as it staggered backwards… and then the shape that had crashed into its skull leapt backwards, enormous white wings propelling the ivory equine away before Celestia landed beside Scrivener Blooms’ prone form, straightening slowly in her glorious, golden full plate armor as her radiant rainbow mane sparked with electricity.

The Tyrant Wyrm gargled, the only thing left of its broken, now violently-burning skull its jaws and part of its crocodilian muzzle. Its mouth snapped open and closed spasmodically, holy fire mixing with unholy blue light and arcs of energy that twisted back and forth as it half-slithered back into the cavern, then it fell forwards on its stomach in what seemed like a dead collapse. Celestia, however, only grimaced in disgust before she tilted her head downwards, her horn glowing as she touched it gently to Scrivy’s skull as he continued to sob helplessly and convulse on the ground… and a moment later, a shudder tore through his body before his back arched with a hiss, and he blinked stupidly as he sat quickly up, breathing hard as the ivory equine said calmly: “It is not dead, but stunned. Scrivener Blooms, can you stand?”

“Celestia!” Luna shot towards them, twisting just past her sister to land beside Scrivener Blooms, gritting her teeth as she looked over him worriedly… but he smiled weakly as he slowly forced himself to his hooves, shivering violently. Luna winced, then she looked up at her sister as Celestia spared a brief, faint smile, and the smaller winged unicorn whispered: “Thou has my thanks from the bottom of my heart, for… for coming here. For saving us.”

“No one is saved yet.” Celestia said quietly, looking ahead as the Tyrant Wyrm twitched on the ground as the last of the golden flames slowly died out… and the monster snarled as its head lolled to the side, grinding against the ground as mud and diseased soil from the bog spread upwards, transforming into bone matter as the white winged unicorn gritted her teeth. “Faster than I’d hoped, but I saw what happened… I saw what it did. Scrivener Blooms, Luna, will you listen to me?”

“We’re at your command!” Twilight Sparkle’s voice shouted, and Celestia looked over her shoulder to see the violet pony standing with Discombobulation as the chaotic creature rested a hand silently on her back, Spike snarling as he wiped at his eyes with the back of his wrist, Cowlick standing with her rifle at the ready and the soldiers that still survived gathered and prepared… including Applejack, even as tears flowed down her face.

“Nothing but slaves and toys…” rasped the awful voice of the monstrosity, and Scrivener snarled, wincing backwards even as he tried to swallow his terror, as the monster rose its head slowly, the mud of the bog forming a grisly, ugly mask that jutted rudely from its shattered head, with empty sockets through which unholy light shone before its wrinkled jaws curled in a twisted grin. “Mortals obey death. We welcome it. We command it.”

The Tyrant Wyrm lowered its head, and Scrivener cried out in disgust, in horror, as Celestia and Luna both set themselves, snarling as the monster breathed blue, awful smog out over the mangled corpses in front of it… and, to the horror of those gathered against this awful, seemingly-invulnerable monstrosity, the dead ponies began to rise, their eyes filling with horrible, soulless life as black drool dripped from their jaws, hauling themselves upwards as Celestia shouted over her shoulder: “Do not allow the monster’s minions to make contact with you! They are not your friends or your loved ones! Hack them apart, and purge them with fire!” Then she halted, clenched her eyes shut… and whispered: “Sister… I do not wish to ask this of you, and I know you are weakened. But they will spread their disease, and their numbers will quickly overwhelm these ponies here… unless…”

Luna trembled, looking up, watching as the Tyrant Wyrm laughed at them, watching as the living dead made from their former companions reaches down, and with only a firm press of their hooves and a rasp of breath over a corpse’s face, dead bodies convulsed, and began to rise… and there were many dead. The explosive wave of muck it had thrown at Twilight had hurled maybe a dozen corpses over the battlefield, maybe more… and Luna clenched her eyes shut, trembling violently, before she leaned forwards and shouted as her eyes glowed white, as her horn took on a terrible black sheen: “My friends, I am sorry… but as thy commander, I have not yet said thou may rest… now do thy duty!”

She snapped her horn upwards, and black lightning erupted from the skies, ripping over the ground, sending shocks through the bog as the Tyrant Wyrm snarled in surprise… and then corpses twitched as a faint blue glow surrounded them, before a dead earth pony slowly sat up as it rasped in shock before gritting its teeth as it pushed to its hooves… and others followed.

They looked silently over their shoulders with sadness and with understanding at the ponies behind them as they formed into battle lines… and Luna shivered as she dropped her head forwards, whispering a silent apology as Twilight moaned weakly, but Celestia only looked ahead, saying quietly: “When the Tyrant Wyrm dies, the thralls will die. And you too, shall be laid to rest. Luna, we have no time. Scrivener Blooms, I think you know what to do. Take wing.”

Celestia leapt into the air, and the Tyrant Wyrm snarled an order, the corrupted, puppeted zombies in front of it charging with animal howls towards the line of cold revenants as dead ponies stood in a wall in front of their friends… before Cowlick ran forwards, shouting angrily over her shoulder: “I am not sitting back and watching them die again to save my sorry ass!”

She dropped to a kneel between two revenants, raising her rifle and firing a round that smashed into the skull of a charging Tyrant thrall… and it screamed in pain, collapsing forwards on its face. And like a call to battle, Pegasi shot into the air as Twilight lunged forwards and swept her horn out with a snarled spell, a massive wall of flame slicing the battlefield in two, the thralls howling in agony even as they forced themselves to keep charging forwards through this, burning zombies hungrily reaching forwards… only to be met with silent revenants they couldn’t infect, couldn’t destroy, couldn’t stop.

The Tyrant Wyrm began to speak its awful, terrible language… and even as Scrivener Blooms winced and flinched at the awful images the words sent tearing through his mind, he yelled back at it, interrupting its verses with other lines, making it stagger in mid-speech as it snarled at him… then hissed when Luna shot past its head, distracted for a moment by the winged unicorn before Celestia flicked her horn, eyes cold. A blast of lightning erupted from the sky, smashing into the back of the monster’s neck and then chaining off it to hammer into the cavern mouth overtop it, the monster snarling… and then arching its back with a gargle, head tilting backwards, as several large, broken chunks of rock crashed down into its back, snapping one of the strange, piston-like bones standing out of its shoulder blades.

It began to turn towards Celestia… and Luna darted across its throat with a snarl as she lashed her spear out with a flick of her own horn, ripping through its throat and cutting it off before it could begin to roar, the draconic monster learning forwards with a hiss as it grasped at its neck, the evil light glowing out of its shattered head intensifying with its rage as the sisters harried it savagely with attacks.

In the melee, Scrivener winced as a zombie tore past a revenant to lunge towards him, sensing living flesh… and then an axe flew past Scrivy’s head to smash into the revenant’s, the monster staggering backwards with a shriek before Pinkamena charged forwards. She leapt up at the last moment, seizing the handle of her weapon as she grinned savagely and kicked both rear hooves into the monster’s body, yanking the axe free as she sent it crashing backwards and howling in misery as it landed in the firewall Twilight had created across the battlefield.

Applejack cursed under her breath as she fired a rifle round into the head of another zombie, but more were swarming up out of the caves past the Tyrant Wyrm now, coming over the battlefield eagerly, victims of who knew how many rampages this monster had gone on… and then she cursed and sent a rear hoof slamming into the face of a zombie behind her as it lunged, knocking it backwards, before she looked up too late as another jumped at her… only to collide with an armored Pegasus that slipped quickly in front of her. It bit savagely down into its neck, but the revenant didn’t even twitch as he yanked the zombie free and then launched into the air with it still held tightly by his front hooves, kicking it roughly backwards into the wall of fire before he flipped and neatly dropped back down… and then Rainbow Dash smiled over his shoulder at Applejack as she stumbled towards him, but he held up a hoof, shaking it quickly… then giving a single wink as he mouthed: ‘I love you, AJ.’

“Rainbow!” Applejack shouted, but the Pegasus was already gone, lunging back into the crowd, towards the monsters… and the earth pony clenched her eyes shut before she howled in longing and misery as she rose her rifle, snarling as she fired almost wildly in the direction of the Tyrant Wyrm and the undead thralls, tears flowing down her cheeks. “Why, goddammit? Why?”

The Tyrant Wyrm roared, and reality almost shuddered with the force of it as both Celestia and Luna were blown backwards in midair, driven away from the monster… and then Twilight Sparkle shot between the two with a snarl, her wings spread, flying for the first time on her own without hesitation, without fear, as she lashed her horn forwards and sent a fireball shooting into the monster’s jaws.

It struck the back of its throat and exploded in a tremendous blast that knocked Twilight zigzagging towards the ground with a curse… but a moment later, Discombobulation winced as he appeared in midair and stomped a heel into the folds of reality, shattering it like glass and forming a green portal that the winged unicorn fell through before leaping in himself. The portal blinked out of existence as the Tyrant Wyrm howled and shook its head wildly back and forth, jaws shattered, smoke pouring up around its features as Celestia looked at Luna and shouted: “Now, while we have a chance! The chest!”

Luna nodded curtly, dropping into a steep dive as Celestia flapped her wings and flew backwards, her horn beginning to glow bright gold as Luna dove down and skimmed along the surface of the bog, whipping past zombies that had forgotten everything but how to run and claw and bite, that lunged uselessly at her as she shot past, her spear clutched tightly in her forelegs and aimed out in front of her as her horn began to glow blue, her starry mane sparking and falling out behind her as Scrivener dropped his head forwards on instinct, adding his concentration and power as he stood filled with desperation amidst a battlefield of the dead and living. Then Luna snarled, her eyes glowing, twisting herself violently to corkscrew her body as she became nothing but terrible, sapphire blue mist wrapped around a blackly-glowing spear.

She slammed into the monster’s chest, spinning savagely and ripping upwards, tearing its chest open… and the monster’s breast shattered like it was nothing more than a shell of porcelain as Luna reformed in a crouch against its body before kicking hard off as the monster howled. Its back arched, its head snapped back and forth, and its shattered chest left open a clear view of not gore or blood or flesh, but a terrible, enormous crimson eye that stared wildly back and forth, surrounded by thick, pinkish tendrils that writhed in surprise and horror, seeing too late Celestia shooting down as she flicked her horn forwards, a golden fireball erupting from the tip.

The sphere of flame and light smashed into the hideous, staring red eye… and then it exploded in a terrible burst, an awful, shrieking cry rising up as the Tyrant Wyrm staggered backwards and the zombies throughout the battlefield all wailed in agony, collapsing as their bodies steamed before exploding into flames. And the Tyrant Wyrm, the hideous, draconic monster, howled as the eye was consumed, as its body toppled forwards and it stared blankly from the sockets of a mask of mud-bog-made-ivory… before, hideously, the creature grinned, rasping: “My death is all part of the Wise Horse’s plans. You’re too late. Ekleíp has won.”

The Tyrant Wyrm chuckled quietly… and then the gruesome beast finally fell still as its body broke apart into pieces, collapsing into dust and brittle clay as it lost all color, all density, and Scrivener Blooms could only stare in horror even as behind him, faint, weak cries of the agony of victory rose up through the bitter air.

Comments

[green477]

“My death is all part of the Wise Horse’s plans. You’re too late. Ekleíp has won.”

That doesn't sound good.

[Narcosis]

10
I still hate you
I am not emotionally prepared for this

On a random unrelated note, how do you decide what kind of emotions you want the reader to feel, what kind of reactions you want to see? Do you actually design the story around that or do you really do like you keep saying, and just let the story tell itself?

[Revan]

That last section sounds very ominous.

[cometstarling]

Fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuck damn it

[thaecrasis]

It's Infinity War all over again, dammit all, so many dead