“Challenging me will be the last mistake you ever make, Lex Legis!”

Steel Soul’s cry was followed by a shrill laugh as he sprung...but not toward Lex.

Instead, he leaped backward, the air in front of him shimmering as he activated some sort of field around himself even as the cannons he’d deployed from his chassis began to fire, unleashing beams of energy that were the same azure color as his eyes.

Lex was already moving before they’d gotten halfway to his position; even if his foresight didn’t work against Steel Soul, he was still more than fast enough to get clear of the incoming attacks. Nor did he need his mystical senses to immediately recognize the pattern laid down by where the mechanical stallion was firing.

He’s aiming slightly ahead of me, he noted as he slid past one beam and ducked under a second. Which means he’s more concerned with keeping me at a distance than actually inflicting damage.

That strongly suggested that Steel Soul was trying to create an opening so he could do something else. But at the same time, Lex couldn’t help but take notice of the shots themselves. Although he’d lost access to most of his sensory abilities, he could still analyze everything from the sound they made when fired to their total lack of scent to how they didn’t seem to make an impact when they struck the ground or the nearby stalagmites.

These aren’t just mechanically generated, he decided as he dove past a third shot, immediately reversing course to narrowly avoid a fourth. There’s some sort of magical component to them also.

Except the attempt he made an instant later to take control of the shots via Nenet’s countermagic failed. Worse, so did his attempt to weaken them via Mei Li’s feng shui.

Whatever magic Steel Soul was using, it wasn’t reacting like magic should have...

Similar to how Sanguine Disposition had passed through the magic-suppressed area around Mare Occultum without changing back from mist-form, Steel Soul apparently had some sort of supernatural power that Lex wasn’t familiar with.

Worse, his failed attempts to figure out what that was had given the mechanical stallion the opening he’d been striving for.

“I really must thank you for this opportunity!” cackled Steel Soul, continuing to fire even as he reared upright and made a sharp gesture with both of his mechanical forelegs, as though pulling something open. “You’ll make an excellent test subject on which to try out my new close-quarter combat units!”

Even before he’d finished speaking, a half-dozen figures had appeared, leaping out of the empty space where Steel Soul had just swung his forelegs and immediately rushing forward.

A pocket dimension, just like my own, Lex realized. He’d never entertained the idea of putting other creatures in the folded space that he’d created – Belligerence notwithstanding – since he hadn’t bothered imbuing it with a self-sustaining supply of air.

But that hadn’t been a problem for the six metal quadrupeds moving toward him now, their movements smooth and precise in a way that belied their mechanical appearance. Unlike their creator, their matte-grey exteriors had no gaps, their internal components completely hidden. Lacking anything in the way of facial features, they could have almost been futuristic suits of armor, except for being faster and quieter than any living pony clad in that much metal could have been.

“This will be the first field test of my new CH54-36 ‘gladiator’ model fighters,” came Steel Soul’s voice as the half-dozen creatures spread out, moving to flank him. “Their current design is only on version 0.96, so try to give me enough combat data to make it worth upgrading them later.”

Lex didn’t bother replying as the first of the gladiators rushed in, seamlessly switching to an upright posture as it swung its foreleg-

Which was already in the process of transforming, panels sliding back as a series of serrated blades popped out in a radial pattern, a high-pitched whine filling the air as they began to spin.

“Their primary weapon is a buzzsaw. A bit crude, perhaps, but given that it’s made out of adamantine with a cerametallic coating, it gets the job done.”

“Not this time, it won’t,” retorted Lex, easily avoiding the buzzsaw as it passed by his neck. Unlike Steel Soul, the robot’s futures were easy to see, giving Lex more than enough advance notice to defeat its attacks, a second such swipe from its other foreleg also striking nothing but air. After which-

“Then the rest of its onboard weapons will!” laughed Steel Soul as the gladiator kicked upward with one hind leg...which just like its foreleg, had transformed into a spinning blade. But where its forward limbs had become buzzsaws, the back one was now a chainsaw, the blades moving so fast up and down its length that Lex could tell just from how they sounded that they were moving at close to mach speed, somehow even faster than the buzzsaw.

Just as it had with the buzzsaw, Lex’s foresight informed him that he’d be injured if that hit him. Not very much – his innate toughness and defensive magic would reduce the damage down to almost nothing, and his restorative abilities would heal the resulting wound almost immediately – but enough that if all six units started piling injuries on him, he’d gradually be overwhelmed. It was with that knowledge in mind that Lex brought his back knee up sharply, striking the gladiator’s chainsaw-leg on the flat edge and knocking it aside-

Just as its faceplate opened up, revealing the end of a small tube that immediately began to spit tiny projectiles at a rate of several dozen per second, each discharge accompanied by a momentary flash of light and a loud popping sound as it broke the sound barrier.

“Of course, just because they’re close-quarter combat models doesn’t mean they lack for ranged weaponry.”

Having seen the attack coming, Lex had already brought his claw around, striking the gladiator on the side of its head and throwing off its aim. But although he’d torn half of its head apart with that strike, the others had already closed in, leaving him with almost no room to maneuver as they slashed and shot at him from every direction.

Which was what Lex had been waiting for.

While it was possible that the Night Terror’s aura was affecting only him, leaving the senses of everyone else in Mare Occultum undiminished, Lex doubted it. The fact that Steel Soul had only backed off to the point of still being within Lex’s range of vision suggested that retreating further would have put him outside of Steel Soul’s own line of sight. That strongly suggested that, regardless of whatever methods the mechanized stallion had for perceiving the world around him, they were just as drastically limited as his own.

Which meant that within the press of the melee that was taking place, Steel Soul would have a hard time seeing him, slowing his reaction time if Lex did something unexpected.

Which is exactly what he did a moment later.

Four gladiators moved in, the deadly puppets pirouetting madly on one hind leg as the other three – all whirling with spinning blades – lashed out at him from every direction, their heads remaining focused on him as they spat projectiles rapid-fire. The other two had kept their weapons sheathed as they dove inward, one sinking into a crawl and skuttling forward like a spider as the last one leaped at him from above, both looking to grab him and pin him in place.

Lex waited until they’d almost gotten him.

Then he turned and ran.

Activating the Pentachromatic Armor as he broke through the encircling gladiators – while it was designed to protect against energy damage first and foremost, it was still a powerful ward against physical blows – Lex let it soak up the hits he knew he’d take as he rocketed forward...directly away from Steel Soul.

And toward Nisha.

Fighting Steel Soul gained Lex nothing. Even if he destroyed the mechanical stallion completely, it wouldn’t change anything; the Night Terror would just assign someone else – most likely Sanguine Disposition – to assume his duties, including pushing her influence into Equestria. For that matter, as odious as he found his fellow champion, Steel Soul’s destruction would leave Darkest Night that much more vulnerable to outside forces.

Even if everyone here was his enemy, they were all still the Night Mare’s subordinates. Annihilating them would mean indirectly weakening her, and if she was still alive – something he quite literally had faith in, even if he didn’t know it for certain – that would mean he’d be hindering the goddess he wanted to help.

All of which meant that there were two things he needed to do now:

First, escape from Darkest Night.

Second, take Nisha with him.

Intellectually, Lex knew that second goal was less important. Nisha simply didn’t matter with regard to any of his other concerns. She had no powers worth noting, no information that he needed to have, and no connection to anyone or anything that he cared about.

But that didn’t change the guilt that he felt, both for how he’d treated her before and what had happened to her since.

While Nisha had been presumptuous in the extreme to ask him to form a soul-bond with her, Lex knew now that he’d used her indiscretion as an excuse to vent his own fears and frustrations – both about the consequences of his merging with that monster he’d fought on his last trip to Darkest Night, and his uncertainty about his relationship with Solvei in light of her own joining with Akna – onto her. More than that, Grim Darklight had insinuated that it was her association with him, brief though it had been, which had brought her to his attention, leading to what had likely been a great deal of pain at the deranged stallion’s hooves.

As an exercise in ethics, Lex knew that he had no reason to feel culpable for that. What had happened to her wasn’t something he could have reasonably anticipated, he’d had no further duty of care toward her once she’d tracked down Sissel for him, and he wasn’t responsible for Grim Darklight’s actions. His conscience, he knew, was clear.

But just like with Branwen, it didn’t feel that way.

Particularly since the Night Mare herself had been the one to send him Nisha in the first place. Given how the barbed wire around his foreleg had cut him repeatedly upon his chastising the purple-eyed wolf, she’d apparently wanted him to bond with the wolf, likely for his own benefit. And he’d thrown it in her face, even after his journey to her realm and subsequent transformation had shown him just how much gratitude he’d owed his goddess.

I won’t make that mistake a second time! vowed Lex as he rocketed toward Nisha, moving faster than the eye could follow.

Grabbing her was a temporary measure, but once he had her they’d be able to slip deeper into Mare Occultum, using the Night Terror’s aura as cover in order to slow any pursuit. That the avatar herself wasn’t attacking was likely because she was wary of Belligerence, in which case-

“YOU WILL NOT FLEE!!!”

Lex had almost reached Nisha when Steel Soul’s voice rang out.

An instant later, he ran face-first into a meat grinder.

There was no explanation for it. One moment he was barely a dozen feet away from Nisha with nothing in between them. The next, his entire body was being shredded.

Every inch forward that he moved, more of his body was flensed, with skin pulping, muscles tearing, and bones shattering. Nor was the Pentachromatic Armor helping; instead, whatever was attacking him seemed to bypass it altogether, the overlapping scales of the armor being completely undamaged and intact even as his body fell apart. The same was true for his defensive spells, and yet the sheer scale of the wounds was enough to force him to abort his rescue attempt, reversing course to try and put some distance between himself and whatever was happening...

And the instant he ceased moving toward Nisha – and away from Steel Soul – he stopped accruing new wounds.

“Interesting,” murmured Sanguine Disposition. “That armor is beyond mortal ability to construct, but even it couldn’t stop the Dominata.”

“And yet simple compliance could,” snorted Grim Darklight. “What good is inflicting pain if the one receiving it can make it cease anytime they wish simply by obeying?”

“N-no!” yelped Nisha, her eyes wide as she took a hesitant step toward Lex. “Master!”

That earned her a sharp look from Grim Darklight. “You seem to have forgotten who that title belongs to now, Nisha.”

The black wolf cringed, ears flattening to her skull as she lowered her chin almost to the ground. “ “ “Please, my lord/master/owner, forgive me!” ” ”

Giving Lex a quick glance before looking back at her, Grim Darklight shook his head. “No, I think not. I had hoped that seeing Lex Legis fall would make you realize how foolish you’ve been to have kept pining for him, but instead it seems to have done the opposite. Clearly, you haven’t grown as much as I’d thought.”

Shaking all over, Nisha started backing away. “I have! I swear I have! That was just-”

“Return.”

As soon as the word left Grim Darklight’s mouth, Nisha’s protest cut off as her body suddenly dissolved, becoming translucent even as it seemed to collapse in on itself, as though she’d become a ghost that was being drawn down a tunnel. Still wailing protests, her voice grew softer and softer as she was drawn through the air toward the scarred stallion, shrinking down more and growing fainter as she approached him...

Until at last the spectral, miniature image that she’d become flowed into his chest, directly over his heart, and vanished from sight.

Smiling as he patted where she’d disappeared, Grim Darklight paused. “Ah, I forgot to try and dispel Lex Legis’s pain-dampening spell. I hope she’ll still be able to feel everything I do.” He raised and lowered one foreleg as she spoke, the hooks in his outfit gouging his flesh.

But Lex had no time to process what had just happened to Nisha, stumbling as his recuperative powers began to reverse the incredible damage that he’d just suffered even as Steel Soul’s gladiators rounded on him, the mechanized pony himself cackling as his weapons powered up again.

Sanguine Disposition had once told him that there were three paths to exercising power over others: heroic charisma, secret knowledge, and the threat of violence. The Night Mare’s champions each had a blessing that epitomized one of those methods of control. The Charismata allowed him to empower magical beasts that he encountered, while Sanguine Disposition’s Secreta granted him knowledge that he otherwise wouldn’t have had. And as for Steel Soul’s blessing...

Now Lex knew what the Dominata did.

Which meant that he now had no other choice but to fight.

Author's Note

Lex tries to make a tactical retreat with Nisha, only to be foiled as Steel Soul unleashes the Dominata!

What will Lex do now that he can’t retreat? And what exactly did Grim Darklight do to Nisha?