New Beginnings

by Black Alicorn

Chapter 47: Midnight Raid

"Bring him down, bring him down!" The Lieutenant of the Royal Griffon 42nd Infantry Brigade shouted as his troops all fired into the darkest depths of the forest, felling whole trees. The Lieutenant himself was firing his own sidearm into the bushes around him, certain that his target was there, hiding away from the hail of bullets. The bush merely rustled as hot lead ripped through it's leaves, breaking it's branches into multiple splinters. Nothing was there though. He was just wasting ammo. Not like if he had actually hit the target, it would have done any damage. That damn thing, whatever the hell it was, seemed to be completely bulletproof. He hadn't been briefed of this. His men weren't prepared for this! How are you supposed to stop something bulletproof with just assault rifles?

"This is Eighth Armored, ready for close engagement, just point him out and we'll take care of the rest. ETA sixty seconds." A heavy voice, cracked over the radio.

The Lieutenant almost didn't hear it over the gunfire all around him. The commander of the 8th armored sounded almost bored, as if he knew that this would be quick. He was confident, and with good reason. Before they all defected from the Griffon Kingdom, the 8th armored had received a batch of the new Talon IV medium tanks. Armed with a long-barreled 75mm cannon and a 20mm heavy machine gun, they would be able to wipe the asshole that killed off half of his men off the face of the planet. The Lieutenant smiled as he knew his vengeance would be exacted. He wanted to go to the radio and thank him, but to do so now would be tantamount to suicide. Bullets buzzed past his head as the creature returned fire from his hiding spot in the forest. There was no muzzle flash, from it's weapon, strangely. As if being bulletproof wasn't enough, now his enemy could hide anywhere, and return fire without ever revealing his position.

Even more of his men fell over dead, their pristine white feathers turned red, soaked in the own blood. There were almost no wounded at all, it made sure of that. The bullets were flying at an alarming rate, and with deadly accuracy. The bodies of what was once the 42nd Infantry Brigade littered the ground. The Lieutenant hoped the 8th Armored would arrive soon and kill this son of a bitch...

"Incoming, get out, get out!" The confident, bored voice of the 8th armored commander turned into a panicked alter ego of itself. The Lieutenant was terrified now. What could possibly have spooked the commander that much as o order his men out of their tanks?

Three explosions both over the radio and audible in the distance completely derailed his train of thought. With no armor to support them, how were they supposed to defeat this...this...Ghost or whatever the hell it was?

"There he is, shoot him, shoot him!" A new barrage of gunfire echoed as all the Griffons that were left under his command all trained their rifles on the tall, grey figure that jumped out of the treeline and charged them. The Lieutenant had never been trained to deal with an enemy that would charge against the barrels of over thirty rifles. How the hell were they supposed to beat that? He could only watch as the tall, bipedal creature shot two more of his men with the rifle it was holding. Before he could do anything, the creature had dropped his rifle, and thrust his wrist's forward, sending two long blades shooting out from slots on it's armor. His own hands were now lethal weapons. The Lieutenant could tell that this thing knew how to use them very well, and that they were beyond all salvation now. He could only watch helplessly as the creature plunged it's arm right into a Sergeant, then using his left, pushed the impaled Griffon off his right. Turning to the left as he went, the left arm reached to it's hip and pulled out a pistol, shooting two more Griffons as he dodged another one trying to hit him with the butt of his rifle. Behind the first Griffon lay another one unfortunately, which suffered from a blade to his chest. This thing just killed five of his men in less than that many seconds!

Within a matter of moments, his entire unit was eviscerated. The creature just continued to walk forward, stepping over the battered corpses of what was once an elite combat force. The least the Lieutenant could do was warn the next unit of what was coming. He crawled over to the radio, sickened by the sight of his butchered men lying dead before him. The metallic smell of blood filled the air, turning his stomach. The crimson fluid leaked out of every open wound, pooling on the ground. The blood of over fifty soldiers mixed together, possibly uniting the brothers-in-arms in death.

The Lieutenant had to st...crawl over the bodies of his own soldiers to get to the black device that could possibly save many lives. It was impossible to tell where the Eagle ended, and where the Lion began. Both parts of his body were covered in the blood of those who followed him. His heartbeat grew faster and stronger as he drew closer to the radio. Just a few more feet, and he could give the second unit a chance to exact his revenge for him. He knew he wasn't going to make it. He could feel his own blood seeping out into the pool, joining with that of his fellow soldiers. He had hidden his wound well, not wanting to demoralize his troops further with the knowledge that their leader was wounded. Lot of good that did. He would be with them soon, this much he knew, but now he had to make sure that no one else would join them...and that they would have a second chance with the bastard that sent them there.

The Lieutenant finally reached the jet black radio, grabbed the mike after untangling the cable, then practically shouted into it:

"First line has broken, I repeat, first line has broken! Enemy is advancing towards the second line, I say again-"

A sinister voice interrupted his frantic, desperate attempt at a warning.

"You'll say nothing more..."

"Wha-"

The young Lieutenant's life finally extinguished as the blade cut his heart in two. For just a split second, he could feel it exiting his back. He tried to look into the eyes of his assailant. All he could see was the tinted visor of his helmet, before he finally went off to join his troops.

- - - - - -

Wolf slowly pulled his wrist blade out of the Griffon's chest as he saw the life drain out of it's goldish brown eyes. He silently cursed at himself for not making sure that it was dead. Now the enemy knew he was coming for them, to retrieve what they had taken from him. Fighting through a second wave of Griffons, one that was ready for him and had armor support didn't really appeal to Wolf, so he decided to call down the thunder.

"Sam, you got anything on your scope?"

Sam had taken remote control of one of the Hunters in the Red Dawn's large drone fleet and was flying it 35,000 feet above the engagement zone, well out of the range of Griffon anti-air weaponry. The camera on the underside of the drone zoomed in to an area a few hundred meters in front of Wolf. All she could see was the dark canopy of trees that made up the birds-eye view of the Everfree Forest. It was given a new green tint as the nightvision finally came on, illuminating the whole forest.

"Negative sir. I can't see anything through the trees." Sam replied with the light British accent that was she was programmed with.

"Switch to thermal imaging." Wolf commanded her. He knew that there were more hostiles ahead, and walking straight into them was not on his to do list.

The images the drone was sending suddenly became grey as the camera switched to thermal vision. Now things cleared up greatly. The drone's on-board computer had already marked the unnatural heat signatures. A large infantry force had taken up positions guarding the entrance to some kind of underground lair. Tanks were hastily covered in branches, leaves and anything else that could make them less visible.

"Multiple targets detected sir. Permission to engage?" Sam asked, hoping to receive permission. It had been so long since she had fired a projectile at something, and she didn't want it to end.

"Do you even need to ask?" Was Wolf's stern reply.

With an overwhelming amount of giddiness, Sam sent the signal to fire three high-yield Banshee missiles. It was enough firepower to level a building, and Sam was overjoyed to use it. She was happy as could be as the clamps around the three missiles suddenly shot open as a fountain of flame erupted from the back of the missiles, sending them hurdling towards their targets with a high-pitched scream. That's why they called them Banshees.

"The suspense is killing me!" Sam joyously shouted as the drone's camera tracked the missiles as they fell towards the ground, accelerating rapidly.

"I almost forgot!" Sam declared worriedly, as she forgot to adjust the feed from the camera. The grey enviroment suddenly turned green as the camera switched from thermal to nightvision, then black as it reverted back to standard imaging. The moon was not nearly full, so it reflected little sunlight back to the ground, making the whole area darker than the darkest pits of hell. She watched the timer count down with ever growing glee as the missiles drew closer and closer. As it hit zero, the black images sent by the drones camera suddenly came alive as three geysers of orange flame spewed from the ground in sequence, sending many enemies to their doom. Sam sighed contently as the images went through her CPU.

"I wish I had a body and some popcorn..."

Suddenly, an idea popped into her hard drive, then in a matter of moments, a screen on the bridge of the Red Dawn came alive, playing the feed from the Hunter. The small circular projectors on the roof and floor housing a blue haze between them suddenly shifted, taking the form of a young woman, sitting on a deck chair, wearing sunglasses, munching on a bowl of popcorn. The smile on her face only grew as the flames climbed higher and higher into the sky.

"Wolf's gonna be suprised when he see this!" She yelled once more, this day was oh so fun, and it was just going to get better!

- - - - -

Wolf charged towards the explosions, rolling under branches, jumping over large roots, vaulting over random rocks that dotted the landscape, until he finally reached his destination. By this time, he had reclaimed his discarded rifle from the ground, a modified LMG-240 and was now ready to gun down any survivors. There didn't seem to be any however...

Wolf stepped over many charred sets of bones until he reached his goal. What these Griffons had given their lives for. A hole in the ground. Wolf didn't know how or why it was put there, all he knew was that what he had come for was inside it. With a soft grunt, Wolf jumped in, rolling as his feet hit the ground. Stalactites dotted the ceiling of the subterranean passage, and the sound of the crystal clear water dropping from their tips echoed through the cramped quarters of the tunnel. As he walked through it slowly, always shifting the barrel of his rifle towards every new sound, he recalled the events that had led up to this...

- - - - -

42 hours earlier...

Wolf woke up slowly and calmly for a change. He couldn't remember when was the last time that happened. The sun was just starting to rise, taking back the skies from the moon. It's warming rays slowly crept through the open balcony doors, illuminating the floor and the white walls around it. As they continued to rise they eventually met his half open eyes. Now he had to get up. Shifting away from the sunlight would mean letting go of Twilight, and running the risk of waking her up. Getting out of bed wasn't a very appealing option, but he had to in order to complete the task at hand. Wolf slowly took his arm from around Twilight, then turning around as softly as he could he got up off the bed. The springs creaked as his weight shifted, making Wolf wince.

"Oh please don't wake up..." Wolf whispered, worried that she would indeed wake up. Twilight merely sighed and shifted a bit, ignoring the loud noise completely. Wolf sighed from relief as he glided across the room, making almost no noise at all. But as he stood up, the suns warming rays hit his back. Unable to ignore them he had to get out onto the balcony. A cool breeze entered through the balcony, cooling off the whole front of his body. The whole front of his body.

The balcony could wait a few more seconds for a pair of shorts hastily put back on. The shirt wasn't required, so it was ignored. As he walked out onto the balcony, he had to place his hand in front of the eyes as the sunlight intensified. He was reminded that while the sun usually gave a warm embrace when it had control over the ground, it could also be a vicious ruler. Once his eyes were adjusted to the brighter light, his arm came down, back in it's normal position. He breathed in the crisp morning air, cooling his lungs as the cold air mingled with the hot air that already occupied them. Wolf walked towards the railing and leaned over once again. He had watched Canterlot come alive at night, and now he wanted to see it coming alive in the morning.

The first ponies to come out were also the most tired. Wolf could see them all yawning from high atop the Palace towers. A sweet, pleasing scent filled the air as many restaurants and bakeries came alive, preparing themselves for the breakfast rush that was to follow shortly. Donuts, bagels, muffins...Wolf couldn't tell which was which. The scents blended together seamlessly, making them even sweeter than ever before. Cinammon, orange, and so many other scents danced around his nose together, putting the old city streets of Paris to shame . Wolf had gone to Paris on leave before it was destroyed, and it was one of the few good places he had visited, leaving a lasting impression on him. That impression was sent flying out the window by Equestria's beautiful capital. Wolf couldn't believe how calm they all were considering that Equestria was preparing for a civil war.

Unfortunately, he couldn't completely grasp it, due to the guilt he felt for what he was going to do. Wolf had told Twilight that he was not going to fight in the coming war. But that did not mean he would just sit idly by when the war came to Canterlot. And he knew it was. Twilight was right about the Griffons. They were a major threat, and with them at Nightmare Moon's side, Wolf doubted that Equestria's military forces could turn back the tide. He also seriously doubted that the Royal Guards would be able to stop them from bringing harm to Twilight. Sure, Shining Armor would give them hell, but he could only do so much. If that time did come, Twilight would need a real soldier to protect her. And that was where he came in. Yes, he wasn't going to fight, but if they came anywhere close to harming Twilight, he would rip their hearts out and toss them to the hyenas. But to do that, he would need equipment, and Wolf knew just where to get it.

"I should be able to get this right this time..." Wolf said as his hand glowed deep blue. He raised it in the air, and in a bright flash of blue light, he was gone.

- - - - -

"Well, that went nicely." Wolf said as he grasped the hull of his beloved warship once more. The repairs he had made were holding, that much was certain. The black armor of the ship glistened in the sun. Sam had cleared him through one of the ships many airlocks. Wolf quickly weaved through the halls of the ship as he reached his destination.

DECK 3 ARMORY

Wolf smiled as he opened the door, and saw the rows upon rows of weapons and ammunition within.

- - - - -

40 hours earlier...

Wolf had stuffed everything in crates and tied them together with heavy duty rope. An extremely strong titanium hook was tied at the end of the rope, waiting to be lifted away. The silence was shattered as rotor blades whipped the air mercilessly, generating the thrust that was required to lift the Guardian Angel into the heavens. It hovered above the crates, intent on carrying them with it.

From within the cockpit, Wolf looked out to make certain the chopper was put into hover mode. He pressed the button that released the hook that was placed on the Guardian Angel, behind the troop bay. The Guardian Angel wasn't designed to carry just troops into battle, but also any required supplies and light armor whenever heavier transport craft were unavailable. As the hook fell close to the ground, Wolf stopped it's descent. He closed his eyes, and focused on the hook of the chopper and the hook of the crates. They glowed blue as Wolf focused on them. Suddenly, defying the laws of gravity, the hook from the crates lifted into the air and joined with the hook of the chopper. As Wolf adjusted to the increased weight of the helicopter, he lifted into the air, sending dust and debris towards the ship behind him. It would be a short flight to Canterlot, and he hoped it wouldn't end like the last one.

- - - - - -

Wolf switched on the radio as he neared Canterlot and started broadcasting on all frequencies.

"Whiskey Seven-Thirteen to Canterlot, requesting permission to land." Wolf said into the mike, awaiting an answer.

Static dominated over the radio waves. No answer came for a few minutes.

"Whiskey Seven-Thirteen, requesting permission to land." He repeated into the mike, annoyed by the delay.

"Wake up assholes!" He finally gave in and shouted into the mike after a few more minutes wait.

"Whiskey Seven-Thirteen, priority clearance granted for pad three, repeat, pad three." A voice cracked over the radio, giving Wolf his much desired response.

"Thank you...Be advised, I'm carrying cargo, say again, carrying cargo." Wolf said into the mike again. He could at least give them proper warning. After a few minutes passed, Wolf regretted his decision. What the hell could they be doing now?

"Revert to pad six." The voice said once more. Wolf was glad the wait had finally ended. He pushed the stick forward, and the helicopter jerked forward, heading towards pad six, as instructed. As he flew around the landing pads, he finally reached number six. It was larger than pad three, most likely because of the cargo he was carrying. The pad was empty, and it was going to be a smooth landing. Wolf maneuvered the helicopter so that the crates were placed to the side of the white landing pad, so that he would have enough room to land. Once the crates were detached, he gently guided the Guardian Angel back to solid ground. The helicopter touched down on the pad with a soft thud as Wolf switched off the engine, generating a metallic whine as the gears stopped turning, bringing the rotor blades to a stop. Silence ruled over the landing pad, as if the air was happy that the merciless assault on it by the helicopter's rotor blades finally ceased to turn.

The canopy hissed as it slowly opened. Wolf jumped out and met the ground. He was glad to be back on solid ground, but things on the landing pad were quiet. Too quiet. No one was around, no deck officers, no loaders...nothing. The place looked deserted. Wolf started to walk over to the door in the side of the mountain when it started to open. Wolf's heart sank as he saw what had opened it.

Standing in the doorway, wearing her regal robes, crown glistening as the sunlight bounced off it, murderous look in her eyes, was Twilight.

"Oh boy..." Wolf knew he was in for a long, long talk.

- - - - -

28 hours earlier...

Wolf was suprised to find out that he had been gone for a little over two hours, during which Twilight had awoken alone in her bed, no note, nothing from Wolf to tel her where he was going, and all of a sudden he showed back up on her doorstep, carrying a large load of weaponry, including his armor. Wolf lost track of time as the hours passed by while Twilight continued to rant, until a whole day had past. Too angry to allow him into her bedroom for now, Wolf set himself up in an unoccupied watchtower looming over the city like a giant dagger in the sky, it's alabaster walls reflecting sunlight back to the city. By some mistake, Wolf had also packed a cot into those crates. Turns out it wasn't a mistake after all. Wolf wondered however if he had made a mistake by bringing all that hardware into the palace. He had barely been there for 3 days and already he had caused another fight between him and Twilight. Maybe he was too hasty to judge the outcome of the coming war. Maybe Equestria would win. Maybe Twilight wouldn't be in any danger after all. So he just caused a fight for nothing. Wolf turned in his cot as he sighed in disappointment. He had serious issues that he had to work on. But working on his personality quirks would have to wait till morning. Wolf was just too tired to do anything else. A day of scolding made sure of that. Wolf slowly closed his eyes, and drifted to sleep.

- - - - -

25 hours earlier...

Twilight couldn't sleep. She just couldn't. She had spent hours already just tossing and turning in her bed. Maybe she overreacted just a bit, after all Wolf just wanted to protect her...

Protect her...That he would go to such lengths to protect her, ready to enact terrible retribution on any that dare harm her, yet unwilling to fight against those who would order their subordinates to do so. A light breeze blew through the open balcony doors, sending chills down her spine. Those doors were pretty much useless considering that they stayed open almost constantly. Twilight pulled the blanket over herself even more. It was chilly tonight, and she was unwilling to get out of bed to close them. A light thud caught her attention. It wasn't anything important, so Twilight dismissed it. When another four were heard, Twilight had to see what was going on. As she reared her head out of the pillows, hey sight was blotted out by some kind of bag as something metal clasped around her horn. She tried to scream, but was silenced as a gag was stuffed into her mouth. Twilight tried to cast a spell and free herself. She could feel the energy gathering in her horn. Soon whoever was attacking her would feel the wrath of a princess.

A wave of pain washed over her head as her own magic was discharged back at her, shocking her. She started to feel lightheaded. The gag must have been laced with something.

"Mustn't close my eyes...Don't close your eyes..." Twilight thought to herself. She HAD to stay awake. But the bag she was placed in combined with the anesthetic laced gag rendered all of her efforts in vain. The last thing she heard was said figures talking to each other, mentioning something about the Everfree Forest, a Queen, and a note as she fell asleep...

- - - - -

17 hours earlier...

Wolf awoke by the sound of shouting Guards. He stormed out onto the balcony, straining his eyes immensely. He looked down towards the courtyards however, so the sunlight didn't bother him much. Below the watchtower he had spent the night in were large groups of Guards rushing in all directions. Their commander frantically barked orders at them. Something was wrong. Very wrong, and Wolf knew it. He had to find out just what the hell was going on. And he knew he had to go straight to the horse's mouth to find out. Wolf pushed the door open, rushed down the stairs and wove through the hallways of the palace. He didn't know where his target was, so he asked one of the Guards running about.

"Hey! Where's the Captain?" Wolf shouted to the panicked Guard.

"Down the hall and hang a right! Keep going till you're in the courtyard!" The Guard shouted as he ran off further into the palace. Wolf followed his directions and found himself in one of the palace's larger courtyards. Shining Armor was standing in the center, giving a speech or something to his Guards. Wolf only caught part of it.

"...Search parties sent everywhere, and I mean everywhere. Leave no stone unturned until you find her! Is that clear?!" Shining Armor barked towards the mass of Guards gathered before him.

"Sir yes sir!" They all responded as they marched off into the distance.

"Hey! Shining Armor!" Wolf shouted to him as he walked up towards him. Shining Armor turned to face him, then walked towards the castle. Wolf turned as they met midway, then walked with him.

"What's going on?" Wolf asked. Shining Armor just ignored him until they were inside, despite Wolf's multiple attempts to get his attention.

"Hey! Talk to me, what's going on?!" Wolf finally asked after getting in front of him, looking him straight in the eye. Shining Armor was captivated by their tranquil appearance. He had to answer now.

"Twilight's been kidnapped." Shining Armor said, waiting for a frantic response.

"What?!" Wolf asked, eyes going wide with dread. How could this have happened? He blamed himself. If he hadn't brought all that weaponry, then he would have been with Twilight when her kidnappers had come for her. He could have stopped them. But now they had gone too far.

"They left this for you." Shining Armor interrupted his thoughts. Levitating a small note, he gave it to Wolf. Wolf scanned it, needing to see what it said.

Hello Wolf, by the time you've found this, your precious Princess will have been in our hooves for hours already. If you want her back, then come and claim her. You know where to find her...

As he read the final passage, an image forced it's way into his mind. A cave, surrounded by dark green trees. Somehow, he immediately knew how to get there. Wolf crushed the note in his hand and walked off into the halls of the castle. Now Shining Armor was following him, peppering him with questions. It was his turn to be ignored. He followed Wolf up the winding stairs up to the watchtower, but his path was interrupted by a closing door. Shining Armor banged on the door mercilessly, hearing commotion from within. A few minutes passed, before the door finally creaked open. Shining Armor pushed it aside and entered. Within, he saw a new Wolf, one he didn't recognize. One clad in a grey suit of armor made from an unknown alloy, picking up a long metal device that was obviously a weapon of terrible power. Wolf turned around to face him. Lifting up the weapon and putting it on his shoulder, he said one thing.

"Whiskey Seven-Thirteen ready to kick ass."

- - - - -

5 &1/2 hours earlier...

Wolf looked through the binoculars at the multitude of hostiles before him. Griffons, many of them. Heavily armed, all of them. He overheard them mention something about tanks arriving late at night. Wolf wasn't sure of what to do. If he attacked now, he would be easy to spot. If the Griffons could see him, they could shoot him. And Wolf didn't intend to be a bullet magnet. On the other hand, if he waited till nightfall, he would not be spotted as easily, and he would have the support of a small army of Guards, but that would mean they would also have to face enemy armor. The latter was easily disposed of however. He went down a couple of branches on the tree he was perched on, turned around it, and activated his comlink.

"Sam, I need a Hunter fueled and ready to go, and I need it in about five hours. How copy?" Wolf whispered. If he was heard, then the whole plan would be shot straight to hell.

"Copy all sir. Hunter will be ready to go. Just give me the targets and I'll take care of the rest." Sam replied. Oh goody! She would get to blow something up!

"You have my location?" Wolf asked her.

"Affirmative sir." Sam assured him. Of course she had it. She would aaaaalways trace his signal when he contacted her.

"Check back with me when the Hunter achieves standard orbit." Wolf instructed her. Sam would do it. She always followed his orders to the letter. Well, unless they would backfire and end up in him blowing himself up.

"Yes sir. Talk to you in five hours. Don't be a stranger! Out." Sam said, then proceeded to prepare the Hunter that Wolf had requested.

"Good ol' Sam..." Wolf said, before hunkering down. He had a loooooong wait ahead of him...

- - - - -

7 minutes earlier...

Wolf's patience was wearing very thin. This was the perfect time to attack, when they didn't expect it. Those floodlights weren't doing much good for the Griffons. They had missed him many times. Stealth was something Wolf enjoyed, but the waiting that walked hand in hand with it wasn't on his list of favorite things. Like a ghost, he had evaded patrols, searchlights, everything the Griffons had thrown at him. And now he needed to get this over with, rescue Twilight, and get the hell out. He couldn't wait. He got so anxious, he didn't notice the three Griffons below him until it was too late.

"There!" One of the shouted, and all of a sudden he was nearly blinded by three flashlights shining at him. In an instant, Wolf jumped down after drawing his wrist blades, plunging them into two of the Griffons before they could do anything else. Gravity only increased the force of the blows. The two of them were dead before they even hit the ground. With one swift motion, the blades were out, and now he had to focus on the third target. Wolf lunged at him, using his left hand to knock the drawn rifle out of the Griffons hand. With his right, he plunged the blade into the Griffon's stomach, but not before he could discharge his firearm. The gunshots echoed through the forest, followed soon by the alarms blaring throughout the whole enemy encampment.

"Shit..." Wolf hissed. Oh well. At least now he could finally attack...

- - - - -

Present...

Wolf stepped out of the long, dark, damp tunnel, and found himself inside a large circular room. A smaller stone circle rested in the center of the room, with four stone pillars rising from the floor. Wolf couldn't see the ceiling. The room didn't seem to have a ceiling. A bright white light, as if heaven itself had opened up, illuminated the room. A little bit further than the center of the stone circle, was a certain lavender Alicorn...

"Twilight!" Wolf shouted as he ran towards her. A few feet away, he dropped to the ground and slid next to her, leaving his LMG next to her. He ripped his helmet off and tossed it to the side. It bounced off the ground with a series of sickening thuds, before finally resting at the edge of the room. Wolf lifted her head up, and turned her head to face him. He placed fingers on her neck, to make sure she was alive. She seemed to be unconscious, but all right otherwise.

"The bastards didn't hurt her, Thank God... " Wolf whispered to himself.

"Twilight? Twilight can you hear me? Speak to me..." Wolf said to her, hoping that she would wake up.

The illusion that she was unconscious quickly faded away when her eyes opened quickly, and after grasping who was in front of her, Twilight desperately shouted to him. The fear and desperation in her voice was clear. Wolf hadn't heard anyone so desperate.

"Wolf it's a trap!"

As his eyes went wide, from the other side of the room 5 heavily armed Griffons emerged from the shadows in a straight line formation and started firing. Wolf was vulnerable now, he knew it. Twilight fell to the floor, taking cover from the barrage of bullets. Wolf took a bullet to the shoulder, the force of impact knocking him back. With his right arm, Wolf grabbed his LMG, aimed at the closest Griffon, and fired. As the first Griffon fell, Wolf started to walk the LMG to the left, taking full advantage of the weakness of their formation. Soon they were all dead, their blood forming another pool on the floor. The Griffons he had already sent to Hell were going to have some more company...Wolf made sure that the area was secure, then returned to Twilight, who had just lifted her head up and was scanning the room. As he knelt next to her, holding his bleeding shoulder, Twilight shouted at him again.

"It's a trap!" The words echoed in the air for a moment, before Wolf replied.

"Yeah, I know, I took care of them." Wolf reassured her that everything was all right.

"No, not them! You need to-"

Before Twilight could say anything else, Wolf was swept away by a wave of magic, sending him flying straight into the center of the stone circle. Once he was above it, bolts of red lightning shot out from the pillars at the edge of the circle. Wolf could only scream in agony as the energy made it's way through his body. The bolts focused on his arms and legs, but the sheer strength of the magic sent the energy coursing through the rest of his body. Twilight yelled to him, feeling his pain. She tried to cast spells to help him, but to no avail. The ring around her horn made sure that no magic could be discharged from it.

"You cannot help him now." An eerily familiar voice echoed through the room amidst the crackling of the red lightning.

Nightmare Moon stepped out of the shadows, and circled the magic encased human as her clever trap was doing exactly what it was designed to do.

"Nothing can. I made sure of that. This is Old Magic..." Nightmare Moon taunted her. The person Twilight loved was being tortured in front of her, and there was nothing she could do about it. And Nightmare Moon was rubbing it in...

"I'll be greatly suprised if he survives this..."

Twilight could only watch Wolf squirm and listen as his pained screams echoed in the chamber, torturing her with their continuity.

Wolf was in sheer agony. He felt like thousands of volts of electricity coursed through his body, ripping it apart as if it was looking for something. His heart was beating like crazy, on the brink of complete collapse. His lungs hurt like fire was encased within them as they forced the air out of them. His vocal chords were resonating so hard they felt like they could snap at any moment. His ears stung like crazy as they were tortured by his own screaming.

The pain subsided a bit, as if the energy found what is was looking for.

- - - - - -

The air was being sucked out of the very space that surrounded him. Jekyll could fell it pulling him back, trying to consume him, whatever it was. A bright red light shone overhead. It's source, a bolt of red lightning cast out into the shadow and grabbed hold of something. A scream echoed through the shadow as Hyde was pulled out from his lair. The bolt past right by him, and so did Hyde. Acting on instinct, Jekyll reached out and grabbed his hand. Only now did he grasp the force behind this lightning. It took all of his strength just to hold on to Hyde. With his left hand, Jekyll grabbed hold of the ground.

"Hyde! Hold on!" Jekyll shouted to his evil companion as the lightning crackled overhead. It had grabbed Hyde by the leg and it didn't intend to let go.

"You can let me go Jekyll...I wouldn't blame you..." Hyde's deep, raspy voice was barely audible as the crackling intensified. Jekyll looked into Hyde's eyes and for the first time saw some sincerity behind them. He may have been evil but Jekyll wasn't going to abandon him to a horrible fate. His grip tightened, as he shouted his reply.

"No! I'm not gonna let go!"

For the first time ever, Hyde felt genuine respect for Jekyll.

- - - - - -

Nightmare Moon gave off an amused chuckle. The spectacle was entertaining for her. A powerful being such as Wolf, fighting against impossible odds. But now the time for amusement had ended.

"Putting up a fight eh? Amusing...Yet unacceptable."

Wolf's screaming only got louder as the pain got worse. Much worse....

- - - - - -

Hyde began screaming panickedly. Jekyll looked back to see why. The tip of the red lightning bolt that was wrapped around Hyde's leg started to turn black, as if it was sucking something out of him. Before long, he could see the tip turn red again, after extracting whatever it came for. Suddenly, it let go, and both of them fell to the ground.

- - - - - -

Wolf's screams ended in a sickening crescendo as something black and pulsing was ripped out of his chest by the lightning. Suddenly, the bolts that held Wolf's arms and legs in a tight embrace let go, now focusing on the black mass that they had taken out of him. Wolf hung in the air for a moment, before falling to the ground, smoldering in complete silence. Twilight rushed over to him. He couldn't be dead! Not after all that he had survived! She blew past a smiling Nightmare Moon and fell to the ground at his side, to see if he was still alive, and to try and bring him back if he wasn't.

Nightmare Moon ignored Twilight's frantic cries as she finally saw it. The fruit of her many labors. Such power...She could feel it from where she was standing! And now, it was at her disposal, all she had to do now was claim it. The bolts of lightning disappeared as Nightmare Moon absorbed this mass of pure energy. The power! There was just so much of it! She could feel the energy coursing through her, adjusting to the new body. She was lifted into the air by the sheer voracity of it. Once the process was complete, she gently floated back to the ground, stronger then ever before. Her task was now complete. With this new-found strength, she could easily conquer Equestria. But now she had to destroy the one being that could still pose a threat to her. If it could survive such an ordeal, and having it's magic stripped away from it in such a manner, it could still be a dangerous enemy.

Much to Twilight's relief, Wolf was alive. Barely. How he survived didn't matter to her, what mattered was that he did. His breathing was irregular as his eyes opened, fear painted on his face. He would not survive going through that again.

"So he survived...Impressive..." Nightmare Moon's poisoned words hung in the air, stinging Twilight's thoughts viciously. She would pay for what she did to him...she would pay.

Twilight got up and charged Nightmare Moon. Her horn may not be much use for magic now, but she could still use it to stab her.

"Don't waste my time with pointless offensives." Nightmare Moon said as her horn glowed and Twilight was swept off her hooves, and sent flying into the wall of the chamber. The sheer force of the blow knocked her unconscious.

Wolf saw it all. He had to stop this bitch before she could do any more damage. And he saw it, lying a few feet in front of him. His pistol, knocked out of it's holster from the wave of magic that struck him just seconds ago. It's well cleaned and polished structure glistened in the light, giving Wolf the feeling it could defeat anything.

Despite the overwhelming amounts of pain in his chest, Wolf slowly crawled over to his gun. Right arm...Left arm...Right, left. Right, left. Right, left...

As his hand finally gripped the handle, Wolf smiled. A new wave of pain washed over his body as the Dark Queen of The Night stomped on his hand with as much strength as she could muster. The gun glowed black as she gripped it with her magic.

"What were you planning on doing with this?" She asked him in a mocking tone. She only smiled and laughed at his attempt to vanquish her. Wolf looked at her with hatred that burned with the intensity of a thousand suns. Nightmare Moon ignored his glare and examined the weapon that Wolf would have used to harm her. Such a simple thing, yet it had such destructive potential...

"A crude...yet effective weapon." Nightmare Moon concluded as she cocked the weapon, intent on using it.

"Ironic isn't it? The very weapon that would have been my end...will be yours." Nightmare Moon declared, as the weapon turned midair, the barrel facing Wolf. He looked straight down it and knew it was all over. Nothing more could be done.

"Goodbye, Wolf." She said, grinning madly.

"NO!"

That one word echoed through the chamber as a large white mass, followed by a smaller dark blue one crashed into Nightmare Moon just as she pulled the trigger. The bullet missed Wolf by mere millimeters. He looked towards the two allies that had come to his aid, and identified them immediately. Princess Celestia herself, and a smaller Alicorn Wolf recognized from a painting he was shown. Celestia's younger sister, Princess Luna. The three battled for a few seconds, before a booming voice echoed through the chamber walls.

"ENOUGH!"

A burst of black energy, and both regal sisters were sent soaring through the air into opposite sides of the chamber. They had been defeated so easily. Nightmare Moon stood in the center of a small crater that was created when she generated that wave. They were all doomed, unless Wolf could do something...anything.

A gentle flash caught the corner of his eye. He looked towards it, and there it was. Still in it's pristine condition, his pistol. Wolf knew he would only have one shot at this. He mustered all of his strength, and kicking up a small cloud of dust lunged towards the pistol. He grabbed it, turned around, and emptied the five rounds that were left in Nightmare Moon's direction. He could hear two of the ripping through flesh, and the other three bouncing off her battle armor. Nightmare Moon hissed in pain as the small projectiles dared to tear into her. In pain, unable to fight now, she simply yelled.

"You will pay for that!"

And she was gone in a puff of black smoke.

The final dash draining what was left of his energy, Wolf collapsed to the ground. His breathing had become heavy, labored. Before long Wolf was unconscious once more.

The silence of the chamber was restored, as all who occupied it were unconscious.

The silence was quickly broken however, as the ceiling slowly began to crack...

End chapter 47

Author's Note:

WHOO! Longest chapter yet! Here's hoping they'll all be this long in the future!

Comments

[Crimson Valor]

Man, this story is tense...my butt cheeks cant take any more....

[Justy]

Congratulations, gentlemen. We have succeeded at synthesizing pure, crystalline, elemental cliché.

[Zephyr]

Bravo at the fight scene in the beginning of the chapter.

3088520 <- this in the end of the chapter.

Sometimes you just have to end it and done,. Let it be over. 2 bullets taken? That equals death. No magic can save any being from being shot. :/
Oh whatever.

[Brother_William]

DUH DUH DUUUUUHHHHH!!!! Stealing the Magic of a Super-Soldier? Who is, for lack of a better term, 'mated' with the Princess of Magic? Nightmare Moon is doomed. I just can't wait to see how Wolf deals with her and her army of Gryphons.

[Diamond dust]

can't wait to see the next chapter

[Maeroon]

24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lxi2f67QYt1qd0s1wo1_500.gif

That bitch just can't die, doesn't she?

[Black Alicorn]

SORRY, SORRY, Clicked Publish instead of edit...SORRY folks...

[Black Alicorn]

3097919

This was WAY back before I actually started thinking...

[dude2976]

Dude keep up the awesome work!

[Bazing]

[DarthMalentai]

This story is amazing.

[Redspore]

When the next chapter?

[Ablesoap]

Can't wait for moare