Midnight Rising

"Loyalty means a lot to me, Twilight. Perhaps even more so than it does to Rainbow Dash. You are more than the one who hatched me, more than my sister, you are my Empress, and I intend to guard you as such."

The Sisters' Pie, Maud and Limestone, calmly stepped forward, their energy staves held to their sides. The simple weapons were poles made of steel, with two collimators ringed with gold. When activated, latent magical energy would 'jump' the gap between the collimators, and the gold would perpetually sustain the circuit, creating a beam of magical energy with enough power to blast a gun in two at the mere touch of the beam.

As the two mares moved towards us Shining AIrmor and I moved in separate directions, looking to kite the two mares. They followed us silently, the lighter of the two splitting off to follow the Shining Armor AI. The darker sister, Maud(if the tag on the collar of her cloak was to be believed), coming after me. I watched her as she moved slowly, her expression completely blank. I don't mean she looked apathetic, or stoic. No, her face was blank. Purely no emotion whatsoever. Her eyes and body followed me robotically, and I began to question whether she was even a living pony.

My eyes falling on her I blinked twice in rapid succession, the lost echo of Equestria's past rolling to the side, effortlessly dodging my shots. She came up near me, twirling her staff around and slamming it down overhead. I dodged forward, the energy staff striking the floor in a shower of sparks. I turned around and blinked again, my shot striking the floor at Maud's hooves. She jumped back, twirling her staff and waving it out horizontally, trotting back towards me slowly. I fired once more, and she dropped to her stomach, my shots flying over her. From her prone position she planted her forehooves in the floor and pushed her body forward, her hindlegs coming up into the air as she cartwheeled onto all-fours, striking out with the staff and forcing me to dodge to the side.

Coming up again I found myself facing the array of tanks at the back, catching sight of the Shining Armor AI locked in battle with the other sister; Limestone. Unlike Maud, Limestone actually had a sense of life to her. She was fast, striking out with speed and purpose, yelling out grunts and cries as she hefted the magical melee weapon and tried to bring it to bear on my mechanical ally.

Turning my attention back to Maud I tensed as she thrust the staff forward, prompting me to drop to my stomach. As she pulled back I blinked, my shot hitting the magical beam of her staff. The magic was briefly captivated, overcharging the beam, before Maud twirled the staff around and slammed the butt of the weapon into the floor, discharging the excess magic into the air. My fur stood up on end and I smelled ozone. I fired again and she rolled to dodge.

I'm getting nowhere with this. Time to switch up my tactics I thought, kicking my hoof to drop a grenade. I rolled past Maud, coming up and firing. My shot hit her barrel as the grenade went off, the mare rolling away, black smoke trailing in her wake. Her cloak was apparently armored, as my shot had done no discernible damage, nor had the grenade, but I knew the concussive wave of the explosion would've had some effect.

Leaping back I opened fire, blinking rapidly, forcing Maud to gallop along as my shots trailed her. I adjusted my aim, firing where she was going to be, and she skidded to a halt, turning around. My gaze followed, my gems quickly depleting as she bobbed and weaved. I closed the gap between us and reached out with a hoof, intent on throwing her to the floor. To my surprise Maud grabbed my hoof and yanked, pulling me to the floor on my back. I rolled as she brought her staff down, scrambling to my hooves. Her counter proved that CQC wasn't going to fly, and her agility meant scoring hits was very difficult, leaving me with my grenades as my only viable option.

I had two grenades left.

Rolling forward I passed Maud, turning around and firing at her. She somersaulted, keeping her forehooves on the ground as she threw her body through the air. My eyes followed and I fired twice, both shots hitting her as she landed, with little effect. I fired a third shot that cooked off half her mane, though her expression remained unchanged. I fired and Maud rolled forward, towards me. I charged forward, but she came up with my right hoof in her grasp, holding me up. I blinked, the shot lancing up through the gap between our bodies, cooking the fur off her nose and singing my armor. She released me and I rolled away, coming up and turning to find her in my face, swinging her staff. I ducked, firing into her armored barrel. She dodged away and I got back up to my hooves, backing away to let my gems recharge.

As I backed up I checked on the Shining Armor AI, seeing that his fight with Limestone had moved to the catwalks that ringed the upper area of the room. Limestone was swinging wildly, her staff slashing off bits of the railing and the catwalk itself. I sent a few errant shots her way, distracting her long enough for Shining AIrmor to get some distance between him and her.

Focusing back on Maud I dropped another grenade and rolled away, the characteristic WHUMP! slamming the high walls of the room, sending shrapnel into the pods at the back. I looked up and saw that Maud had dodged the explosive once more, through a few pieces of shrapnel had slashed along her armored cloak, leaving it slightly ripped. I fired at her and she rolled away again, my shots scorching the steel. The air reeked of ozone and sulfur, a thin haze of black smoke from the grenade detonations near the ceiling.

Maud rolled towards me once more, thrusting her energy staff at me. I ducked to the side, my shots hitting the floor at her hooves, where her armored cloak did not reach, but the extent of the damage was cooked fur and boiled flesh. Nothing that would knock her out of the fight or kill her. She swung her staff wide and I dropped, rolling away when she transitioned to an overhead downward swing. I fired again and hit her in the shoulder, causing her to recoil. With the mare stunned I closed the gap, reaching out with a hoof to grab. She countered once more, grabbing my hoof and yanking me up, the two of us on our hindlegs. She raised her staff and I blinked, the shot catching her in the hoof that was holding mine, cooking the appendage off up to her elbow, leaving her with a charred stump of a left hoof. I rolled away, released from her grasp. With her right hoof holding her weapon she was forced to stand on her hindlegs, using her tail to maintain balance as she approached me again. I was shocked to find her expression was still unchanged, even with half her left foreleg now gone.

She must not feel pain. It's the only way that makes sense I mused. With my adversary on her hinds she'd be slower, and she likely wouldn't be able to roll well. I fired and she dropped down, releasing her staff from her grasp as her only remaining forehoof propped up her body. I dropped out another grenade and kicked it towards her. She grabbed her weapon and dropped to the floor, rolling end over end to escape the explosion. The room was once again hit with a WHUMP!, with Maud once again unscathed by the explosion. She got back up to her hindlegs and swung out with her staff, the beam audibly whipping past me with a loud humming. I fired and hit Maud in the right shoulder, causing her to drop the staff. She rolled forward, towards me, and I kicked out with my right hindleg, knocking her off balance. I fired, the shot going over her head and cooking off the last of her mane.

As I turned to face her Maud grabbed the back of my neck, looking to yank me off my hooves. I kicked out again, my hindleg striking her square in the barrel, knocking the wind out of her. She let out an odd croak and started robotically sucking in as much air as she could, her lungs struggling to refill themselves. I stood on my hindlegs, pulling her forward and knocking her hindlegs out from under her. She twisted and fell onto her back, still in my grasp, and I blinked twice, my shots cooking off her face and neck, the magical energy melting half her head in an instant. I released her from my grasp and dumped her body unceremoniously to the floor.

All that remained was Limestone.

I turned around and saw that Limestone and Shining AIrmor were still on the catwalks, the walks themselves telling the story of their battle thus far. Missing pieces of railing and melted, sagging steel spoke of their struggle. The Shining Armor AI looked untouched, for the most part, but so did Limestone. I fired at Limestone, forcing her to leap off the catwalks and land on the floor in a roll, coming up and facing my direction some 50 feet away. She saw the half-baked body of her sister lying on the cold floor, my stoic form standing over said corpse, my face unreadable behind my helmet, the smell of burnt flesh lingering in the air amidst the ozone and sulfur. At the sight of her dead sister Limestone flew into a rage, charging at me.

YOU MURDERED MY SISTER, YOU FUCKING PSYCHOPATH! I'LL KILL YOU FOR THIS!!" Limestone yelled out as she charged me. I opened fire and she veered off course, the Shining Armor AI remaining on the catwalks, blue slivers of magic being shot out, punching through the floor and the pods at the back. Limestone raced behind them and my fire followed, slagging several pods and even blowing one up, bits of steel and mangled cables being thrown across the room. Limestone leapead out from behind the pods and landed in a roll, coming up in front of me in a slide, swinging her staff upward. I dodged back, the staff leaving a visible trail of distortion as it slashed through the air harmlessly. With Limestone open I fired, hitting her in the barrel. The Shining Armor AI fired as well, one of his shots lancing through the mare's cloak and body effortlessly, coming out the other side and disappearing in the pods. The mare cried out in pain and swung at me again, raking her staff along the floor as she swung upward, a shower of sparks spraying both her and my armor as I dodged away.

Scrambling to my hooves I backed away as Limestone swung wildly, leaving gouges in the floor as she desperately tried to hit me. I fired as I backpedaled, my gems rapidly depleting, the shots absorbed by her armor or going wild and missing. Shining AIrmor was having better luck than me, his shots punching through her body at high speeds, but doing very little damage it seemed. I dropped out the last of my grenades and galloped away, the explosion lifting Limestone off her hooves and sending her through the air. She hit the steel floor hard, writhing in pain for a moment before rolling over. I kept my distance, letting my gems recharge. She had landed underneath the catwalks, where the Shining Armor AI couldn't hit her.

With my gems recharged I opened fire, Limestone charging at me once more. She ducked back and forth, bobbing and weaving as she closed the distance between us. I rolled forward, past her, as she got close and swang, the backside of her staff hitting me in the barrel as I sailed through the air, doing no damage but knocking my dodge off kilter. I landed awkwardly, rolling over onto my stomach and firing at Limestone. She dodged to my left, her right, towards the pods, leaving her open to the Shining Armor AI, who resumed firing at her. She turned tail and ran back to the pods, taking cover and giving us all a moment to recover. I got back up on my hooves, slowly strafing to the side. The Shining Armor AI changed his firing mode, a thin beam lancing out and blasting apart the pods Limestone was behind, the explosion throwing her through the air.

Moving forward I opened fire, eldritch fire lancing across the room, hitting Limestone's prone form. She sluggishly rolled over, getting back to her hooves as my magical fire pounded her, doing no damage to her armored cloak or her. Shining AIrmor went back to its usual firing mode, shooting the magical bullets that were punching through Limestone's entire body. Limestone wavered as multiple ethereal slugs pierced her, exiting her body and dissipating in the floor. Fully recovered she charged forward, stopping suddenly and swaying in place, stumbling forward. She used her staff to hold herself up, struggling to get back onto her hooves. Shining AIrmor and I ceased fire, carefully watching her as she sluggishly got back up.

"SURRENDER" I called out, keeping my eyes firmly planted on her, "AND FACE THE EMPRESS'S JUSTICE!"

"FUCK YOU! I'm...a dead mare anyway. If I'm g-going to...go, it's gonna be on m-m-my own terms, and I'm tak--- taking the two of YOU WITH ME!!" Limestone shouted, getting back up and charging forward in full towards me. I backpedaled, firing at her, she ducked and dodged, my shots succeeding only in singing her armor and cooking her fur. Ethereal bullets lanced through her and hit the floor around her, and she let out a long, loud cry of defiance as she galloped towards me. My gems depleted all I could do was turn and run towards the pods, never taking my eyes off her. She turned to follow me as I thundered up the steps to the platform the pods were on. I watched as she raced towards me, seeing dozens of shots pass through her. She seemed unstoppable, and I began to wonder if she too was even a living pony.

Limestone had just reached the steps to the platform when she gasped, her eyes going wide with terror and shock, her body jerking as she was riddled with ethereal bullets fired by the Shining Armor AI. I heard a terrible, high-pitched magical whine, emanating from Limestone's body as she was overloaded with magic. The excess magical residue that had been deposited in her body was explosively vented out, a hole being punched through her chest from the inside and one of her eyes popping, wisps of blue smoke being pumped out through the new holes she had. I heard a grisly pop and a river of blood flowed out of her chest as her heart exploded, and she collapsed on the steps, her breaths coming in increasingly shallow arcs.

"S-Sisters... I'm....."

And Limestone Pie was no more.

Silence befell the room, the sounds of frenetic battle over, leaving the room with a strange, solemn stillness. My eyes were still fixed on the body of Limestone, even as the Shining Armor AI dropped down from the catwalks and approached me. The robot AI nudged the mare's body, rolling her over onto her side, the mangled corpse sliding down the steps to the floor.

"For my sister" Shining AIrmor whispered, looking up at me. I only nodded, stepping down off the platform and joining my mechanical ally by its side, taking one last look around the room to ensure that there was nothing left for us here.

We said nothing more as we headed back to the elevator.