Nebula's War

Back at The Castle of Friendship, Azure and the others were pouring over the collection of spell books that the soldiers had left behind.

"Illusions? Concealment spells?" EagleHeart remarked. "Why would King Blueblood be interested in this stuff?"

"I told you, it's not Blueblood!" Azure sighed. "Blueblood is a pompous idiot who wouldn't know a spell book from a mule’s flank!"

"Bah, this is preposterous!" Trixie scoffed. "Equestria is more peaceful than ever before! All of the monsters are helping us, and Discord hasn't been seen for months!"

"But hasn't it occurred to you that the monsters aren't CHOOSING to help us?" Azure asked. "Haven't you noticed their blank stares and stiff movements?"

"Now that you mention it, that is pretty odd." Anamir said. "It gives a whole new meaning to those badges they wear."

"Yeah, I've had my suspicions about those things, too." said Azure. "I'm sure the imposter is using them to control the non-equines, but I've never seen anything like them before. I don't know how he does it or how to stop it."

"This is horrible!" Aaron cried. "Next thing you know he'll be controlling us bat ponies, too!"

"Look, I admit that things aren't quite the same as they were with Princess Celestia," Chiarascura said. "And maybe you're right, and King Blueblood is an impostor planning a hostile takeover of the nation, but what can we do about it?"

"Join me and my team." Azure replied. "We're hiding out in-!"

"Excuse me, are we interrupting?" Inquired a familiar voice. Everypony turned to see King Blueblood and six armor-clad soldiers standing in the doorway.

"Oh, Your Highness!" Silver Lining exclaimed. "Sorry, we didn't mean to intrude, but the door was open, and, um…" His voice trailed off as Azure shot a dirty look at him.

"I've sat in the shadows for too long, 'Blueblood'!" Azure growled, and unsheathed his swords. "I might not have enough proof to expose you, but I can always beat the confession out of you!"

"Oh Azure! I was wondering where you'd gone." King Blueblood laughed. "You know, The Royal Guard just hasn't been the same without you."

"Yeah, it's been improving!" Strong Arm laughed. "Go back to the shadows before we lose our perfect record!" The other soldiers chuckled, but Azure and the others were not amused.

"Back off!" Jacob growled. "If you want Azure, you'll have to go through me!" He bared his teeth and flexed his claws, but the soldiers weren't intimidated.

"Nice to see you again, Jacob." Strong Arm remarked, and Jacob frowned.

"How do you know my name?" Jacob stammered.

“What, you don’t remember me?” Strong Arm gasped in mock surprise. “And after all we’ve been through!” As he spoke, he grew larger and furrier, until he was a ghostly white wolf with blood-red eyes. "Well… how about now?”

"… MALUM??" Jacob cried. "What are you doing here?"

"Lord Tenebris got me a cushy new job as King Blueblood's second in command." Malum said with a shrug. "See, I-!"

"ENOUGH! I'm finishing this here and now!" King Blueblood shouted, and his horn glowed scarlet. "Goodbye, Azure Night." Blueblood fired a shaft of energy directly at Azure, which was deflected back at him by the sudden appearance of an emerald green shield. Azure turned to see EagleHeart walking toward him, his horn glowing the same shade of green as the shield that had saved his life.

"I don't know what's going on," EagleHeart said, "But I've seen enough to know that you're up to no…" His voice trailed off as he saw King Blueblood, who was no longer a handsome stallion with pristine white fur, but a tall, slender stallion with a sparkling magenta mane.

"What the-who the hay are you?" choked Melody Guardian.

"Okay Nebula, you proved your point." Malum sighed as Nebula stood up. "I guess our disguise spells leave something to be desired."

"Shut up and kill them, you idiot!" Nebula snapped.

"Finally, a plan I can get behind." Malum chuckled, revealing a set of pearly white fangs. "Okay boys, you know what to do." In an instant, the five soldiers transformed: a reptilian horse with sharp fangs and a long, muscular tail, a hairless stallion covered in black tattoos, a skeleton with beady red eyes, a stallion with a flaming mane and tail and yet another with a mohawk made of spikes.

"Can’t we talk this over?" Silver suggested.

"ATTACK!" Nebula shouted, and the castle exploded with the noises of combat. EagleHeart and Trixie began casting spells at Nebula, which did little more than inconvenience him.

"I'm not afraid of you!" EagleHeart cried as he fired another shaft of green energy that hit Nebula in the chest. "Princess Twilight and her friends faced power-hungry tyrants like you every week! What makes you so different?"

"I seek peace, not power." Nebula replied, and fired a shaft of crimson energy that missed EagleHeart by an inch. "And in case you haven't noticed, I've achieved peace in a matter of days while Princess Celestia sat on her flank for millennia!"

"Peace? More like apathy!" Trixie remarked, and conjured a shimmering pink cage that surrounded Nebula on all sides. "They may be monsters, but they don't deserve such unkind treatment as you provide! They deserve to make their own decisions and live their own lives!"

"That's what they all say, until the 'independent' monsters decide to smash a peaceful village or devour an innocent family!" Nebula retorted as he smashed through the cage.

"These monsters are too dangerous to be left to their own devices, and too stupid to know right from wrong! I'm keeping them under control for their own good!"

"So says every tyrant." Azure said, and opened a gash in Nebula's chest with his sword. Nebula winced, but resealed the wound with a magic spell and kept fighting. In the center of the room, Jacob and Malum began circling each other, bristling and growling in their fearsome werewolf forms.

"What's the matter, Jacob?" Malum taunted. "Your brother died, so you decided to slum it up with the ponies instead?" He spat on the floor. "You're a disgrace to our people!"

"I don't care! I'm happier here than I've ever been in my life!" Jacob barked. "The ponies accept me for who I am, and I won't let you hurt them!" Jacob and Malum charged at each other, scratching and biting with terrible ferocity.

“Hold on, Jacob, I’m coming!” Silver shouted, but before he could approach he heard a low, menacing growl. The huge reptilian stallion was stalking toward him; its fangs were bared, and its long, muscular tail swayed from side to side. However, its fangs closed around empty air as Silver soared into the air. “Geez! Which swamp did you crawl out of?” The demon roared snapped its jaws at Silver, who flew higher with every passing moment. "Oh, you want to dance, ugly?" Silver taunted. "Well okay, but I'm leading!" Silver tucked his wings in tight, fell through the air and landed with a sickening 'crunch' on the demon's head. Several pearly white fangs clattered to the floor, but the beast was little worse for wear. Its tongue dabbed at the spot where the fangs had been, and it let out a bloodcurdling roar. "Oops." Silver squeaked. "Is it too late to change partners?" The demon roared, and began chasing Silver around the room. Meanwhile, Anamir was squaring off with the tattooed demon.

"Just stay back!" Anamir warned. "I don't want to have to hurt you."

"Gonna cut your throat and eat your heart!" The demon snarled, the blade of his dagger glinting in the afternoon sun. "Skin you and wear your flesh!" He laughed hysterically and thrust his dagger at Anamir, who yelped as the dagger opened a gash in her cheek.

"Okay, that's it!" Anamir growled, and delivered a blow that dislocated the demon's jaw. The tattooed demon was knocked back several feet, but he smiled as he reset his jaw. Angrier than ever, the demon charged at Anamir, growling and salivating like a maniac.

"Tear off your head, drink your soul!" He howled. Once again, he had made the wrong move: Anamir tackled him in mid-charge and wrapped her hooves around his neck.

"I won't let you hurt my friends!" Anamir growled as the demon's face turned red, then purple, then blue. "Not now, not ever!" The demon's limbs flailed in every direction, and as they went limp, Anamir let go of his neck: she hated the monster, but she didn't want to kill it.

"Let that be a lesson to you." Anamir said, and looked up as Silver and the reptilian demon ran past.

"Silver, what are you doing?" Anamir shouted.

"I'm running for my life!" Silver cried. I find it helps when I don’t want to be eaten alive!"

"Hold on, I'll be right there!" Anamir stepped forward, but at that moment Silver spread his wings and flew over the demon's head. The reptilian demon crashed headfirst into the wall, and Silver landed gracefully on the floor.

"Muscles of an ox, and a brain to match." Silver laughed. "Maybe I should quit the cloud factory and become a matador."

"Silver, look out!" Anamir shouted. Silver dove out of the way just in time: the skeletal demon had picked up the dagger and tried to stab Silver with it.

"Hey! Watch it, numbskull!" Silver cried, and the skeleton ground his teeth in frustration.

"You dare mock me with your feeble bone puns?" He hissed. "I'll teach you some respect!" He slashed and jabbed at Silver with surprising speed, but Silver was just as quick.

"Looks like you've got a bone to pick with me." Silver remarked.

"Try as you might, you can't dodge forever!" The skeleton retorted. "None can escape the wrath of Ossium, the greatest warrior in-!"

CRACK! With a single punch, Anamir knocked Ossium's skull clean off his shoulders. The skull bounced along the floor, but the body continued to slash blindly at the air.

"Gah! You wretched interloper!" The skull shouted at Anamir. "When I put myself back together, you will be the first to feel my wrath!" The skull began shouting directions to the body, which pawed around the floor blindly as Anamir and Silver watched.

"Well, that was… odd." Silver remarked. "Thanks for the help."

"Hey, you're my friend!" Anamir giggled. "I'll always be here for you." They embraced, but Anamir let out a gasp of surprise as the reptilian demon stirred and stood up.

"Ah, here we go again." Silver sighed. "What do you say we fight this one together?" Anamir nodded in agreement, and together they ran to meet the demon in battle. On the other side of the room, Melody Guardian was living up to his name: he did not fight, but guarded Chiarascura from the demonic duo that advanced upon them.

"Stay behind me, Chiarascura!" Melody warned. "I won't let them hurt you!"

"Aw, did you hear that?" Laughed the demon with the mane of flames. "He won't let us hurt her."

"Don't you get it, kid? We're demons!" said the demon with the mohawk of spikes. "Just give up, and maybe we'll kill you instead of eating your souls."

"Not a chance!" Melody shouted. "I'd sooner die than lose my girlfriend!"

"And I won't let you hurt Melody, either!" Chiarascura added, and stood proudly next to Melody. The demons looked from Chiarascura to Melody, and laughed hysterically.

"Aww, they're going to fight us! I'm so scared!" The horned demon laughed. "Sorry kid, that was your last chance. Say goodbye to your little-!" And he called Chiarascura something so rude that Melody's temper got the better of him.

"WHAT DID YOU CALL HER??" Melody roared, and sent the horned demon flying with a swift kick to the jaw.

"Hey! You little-!" growled the flame demon, but stopped talking when Chiarascura pummeled his chest with a flurry of punches. Twenty punches later, the flame demon collapsed on the floor next to his partner.

"Mind. Your. Manners.” Chiarascura muttered. Meanwhile, Aaron was shivering with terror as he watched the battle unfold from the ceiling.

"Oh geez, I shouldn't have come here!" He cried. "I just wanted to see the castle, I didn't think I'd get killed for it!" He looked down at the battle unfolding before him, and his gaze fell upon Nebula. EagleHeart and Trixie were casting every spell they could think of, but nothing seemed to have a lasting effect on Nebula. Azure was attempting to get in an attack with his swords, but Nebula knocked him off his hooves every time he got too close. Aaron's mind was racing: on the one hand, his new friends were in terrible danger, but on the other hand, if he entered the fray he'd be killed for sure! What was he to do?

"You're made of tough stuff, Azure, but all warriors fall in the end." Nebula laughed. "Just give up! You're a unicorn who uses swords instead of magic to fight! Do I really need to explain how pathetic that is?"

"Yet your little pets still can’t beat me." Azure grunted, and spat out a mouthful of blood. "But you’re responsible for Princess Luna’s disappearance, and for that I shall end you!" Nebula gave a dry smile and pointed his glowing horn at Azure.

"Cute." Before Nebula could deal his killing blow, a mass of red and yellow knocked him to the ground and sank its pearly white fangs into his neck.

"ARRGH!" Nebula screamed, and involuntarily fired a spell that knocked the reptilian demon into the wall.

"Thank you!" Silver called from across the room. Azure was amazed to see that Aaron, the pony he had taken for an air headed simpleton had come to his aid. Once his initial shock had worn off, Azure galloped over and pulled Aaron away from Nebula's twitching body.

"Hey, hey, calm down!" Azure shouted. "That's enough! He’s no use to me dead, I need to interrogate him!" All of a sudden, Aaron seemed to come out of a trance; his eyes grew wide as he saw Nebula's body, and tasted blood in his mouth.

"I-I'm sorry, I didn't mean to!" Aaron whispered. "I just didn't want you to get hurt."

"It's okay, I appreciate the help." Azure replied, and gave Aaron a grateful pat on the back. EagleHeart nudged Nebula's body with his hoof.

"Is he dead?" EagleHeart asked. Azure shook his head and pointed to Nebula's neck; the flow of blood was slowing, and the holes in his neck were shrinking.

"He's healing!" Azure gasped. "We've got about ten minutes before he wakes up.” Azure grimaced at what he was about to say, for another chance like this might not come. “We need to go, now.”

"But what about the spell books?" Trixie asked. "Nebula will surely steal them when he wakes up!" Azure looked to the books, then Nebula, then to the others: they were covered in cuts and bruises, but the demons were quite clearly subdued.

"Okay, fine, we'll take the spell books with us!" Azure sighed. "But seriously, we need to get out of here before these guys wake up! Hey everypony!" Anamir, Silver, Chiarascura, Melody and Jacob turned to look at Azure. "Be ready to leave in two minutes! We're going to gather up these spell books and make our escape!" Everypony nodded in agreement, even Jacob, who admitted that it would make more sense to leave the castle now that Nebula knew who he was. While EagleHeart gathered up the spell books, Azure and the others tied up the unconscious demons and piled them against the wall.

"I don't know about this." said Silver. "I don’t approve of murder, but won’t they hunt us down and kill us if we leave them alive?"

"They shall, but we couldn’t kill them if we tried.” said Azure. “Demons can’t be killed by conventional means, and I didn’t plan on running into Nebula this soon. Besides,” Azure added, “I’ve got the perfect hiding place.” Azure loaded the last of the books into the bag and called, "Okay, that's everything! Let's go" Azure grimaced as he stared down at Nebula, lamenting that he had to give up this opportunity.

"Yeah, let's get - WAIT!!" Jacob cried. "I can't believe I forgot about the mirror!"

"The what?" Silver asked. "Look, I'm happy you take pride in personal grooming, but we can't-!"

"No, not like that! It's a special mirror that Nebula tried to steal!" Jacob explained, and turned down a dark hallway. "Follow me!"

"Look, maybe you don't understand the gravity of-!" said Azure.

"Come on, everypony! We need to get that mirror!" Anamir called as she and the others followed Jacob down the hall. Azure rolled his eyes and ran down the hall, where he found the others staring at a tall, jewel-encrusted mirror that was plugged into a set of complicated machinery.

"What's with all the bells and whistles?" Silver asked. "Seems like a lot of effort to put into a fancy mirror."

"Oh, it's not just a mirror." Jacob explained. "It's a portal to another world."

"There are other worlds out there?" Melody gasped.

"Yeah, and this one is called 'Canterlot High'." Jacob continued. "It's a world run by 'humans', these weird hairless creatures that walk on two legs."

"That's horrifying!" Chiarascura cried. "Why would Princess Twilight want a portal to such a place?"

"It's okay, the humans are actually pretty nice." Jacob said. "One of them is an old friend named Sunset Shimmer. Sunset grew up in Equestria, but now she lives in the human world. She comes back to visit occasionally."

"Well, no wonder Nebula wants the mirror!" EagleHeart said. "He'd have an entire world of creatures to enslave!"

"That's fantastic, really fascinating." Azure said. "But we can't take it with us, so let's smash it and get out of here before-!"

"Not. So. Fast." Growled a very unfriendly voice. Everypony turned to see Nebula standing in the doorway, a little dazed but just as dangerous as ever. "None of you are leaving this room alive. I'm going to turn you all to ash and take the mirror and those spell books in the name of King Blueblood." His appearance occasionally flickered to that of a half-crazed King Blueblood as he pointed his horn at Azure. "It's been fun, Azure, but I'm afraid your services are no longer required." Nebula continued. "Consider yourself… dismissed."

In a moment of desperation, Silver Lining grabbed a book that was lying next to the mirror and threw it at Nebula. The book hit Nebula in the face, and his spell, instead of hitting Azure struck the mirror, reducing it to a pile of glittering rubble. When the smoke cleared, Silver was horrified to see that he was the target of Nebula's murderous gaze.

"… Oops?" Silver mumbled, and gave a tiny shrug.

"That portal was my only chance to expand my influence," Nebula whispered, his face contorted with rage. "And you destroyed it."

"Well technically, YOU destroyed the portal, I just-!"

"I'LL KILL YOU!" Nebula bellowed, and loosed a shaft of bright green energy from his horn. Silver leapt aside, but fell over as a horrendous burning sensation coursed through his veins. It felt like his leg had been dipped in molten lava, which wasn't just burning his flesh but actually melting it. Silver's vision went dark, and his friends' cries of horror were drowned out by the sound of his own heartbeat, which was growing slower by the moment. Everything was fading away, and in a matter of minutes he would be no more.

"SILVER!" Anamir screamed, and before anypony could move she galloped across the room and delivered a powerful uppercut to Nebula's jaw. There was a sickening 'crunch' as Nebula hit the opposite wall, and several pearly white teeth clattered to the floor. At the same time, Azure galloped over to Silver's prone body.

"Is he okay?" Melody gasped.

"No, but if we work fast he might just survive." Azure replied, and wrapped a length of blue fabric around Silver's leg. As Melody approached he nearly retched: Silver's left hind leg was covered in a bright green acid that was melting his flesh before their very eyes. Where there had once been sleek grey fur was now a mass of bloody muscle, which was giving way to pearly white bone.

"But how do we stop it? Is there a counter spell or something?" Chiarascura asked.

"It’s an ‘or something’, all right." Azure said as he drew his sword and imbued it with intense heat. "If you’re squeamish, look away." As she closed her eyes, Chiarascura heard the chilling sound of a limb being severed and cauterized at the same time.

"You’ll live, you gutsy kid." Azure sighed as he returned his sword to its sheath and the blue fabric to his foreleg. "Now follow me, we're going to hide out in The Everfree Forest."

"The Everfree Forest?" Anamir gasped. "I know this is a serious situation, but can't we take a few minutes to go home and gather our things?"

"You can't go back. As of thirty minutes ago, we're wanted for treason, resisting arrest, attempted regicide, assault and so forth. Nebula will have a ten thousand bit bounty on our heads before sundown." Anamir hung her head, but Azure put his hoof on her shoulder. "Look, I know it's hard putting your life behind you and starting fresh, but there’s no sense in looking back now. Our best hope is sticking together." Anamir looked up at Azure, and was amazed to see that despite his stern face, his eyes held an inner gentleness and understanding.

"I… I guess you're right." She said. "After all, we've gotten this far. If we stick together, maybe we can figure out what happened to The Princesses and Discord."

"That's the spirit!" Aaron cheered. "Now come on, let's get out of here while we still can!" Anamir lifted Silver onto her back, EagleHeart gathered up the spell books, and the team ran from The Castle of Friendship as fast as their hooves could carry them.

"Wait a minute, hold on!" Azure called. "We're missing somepony. Where's Jacob?"

"Right here!" Jacob called as he rejoined the team, a large square held close to his chest. "Sorry, but I couldn't leave without this." He held up the framed collage that had once sat in Twilight's bedroom.

"Are you insane?" Azure shouted. "We're running for our lives, and you go back to pick up a stupid picture?"

"I… I'm sorry, I just wanted something to remember her by." Jacob admitted. "I didn't mean to put the group in danger."

"Azure, please!" Anamir said. "Obviously this picture means a lot to Jacob, or else he wouldn't have gone back for it. He just misses his friend." Azure looked back at Jacob, who was looking down at the collage with tears in his eyes.

"Fine, whatever." Azure sighed. "Let's just keep moving." The group continued to run out of Ponyville and into The Everfree Forest, where all but the bravest ponies dared to venture. The forest was dark and filled with dangerous plants, but they felt safer knowing that they were that much farther away from Nebula. Nearly an hour later, they pushed through the brush to find themselves in a small clearing with a bonfire, several makeshift tents and three male bat ponies. At the sound of rustling leaves, Eclipse, Night Shade and Nox turned their heads and glared menacingly at the new arrivals.

"It's okay, guys, they're with me." Azure said, and explained what had happened in Ponyville.

"Geez, if I'd known what was going to happen we would've insisted on coming with you!" Nox said.

"Aw, I wasn't worried! I knew you could do it!" Night Shade laughed and patted Azure on the back. "They haven't invented a soldier that can take down Azure Night!"

"That’s never stopped them from trying.” Azure noted. "This 'Nebula' guy has half a dozen demons working for him, maybe more! This is worse than I expected." The bat pony trio exchanged nervous glances.

"You're right, Azure, none of us have seen this before." Eclipse said. "But we're a team, and we got this far by sticking together. As long as we help each other out, we'll find a way to save the day." Azure didn't smile, but his frown straightened out a bit. Meanwhile, Aaron, Anamir, EagleHeart, Jacob, Chiarascura and Melody were sitting on the grass and recuperating from the battle. Anamir held Silver in her hooves and sang sweet lullabies to him, while Chiarascura and Melody sat wrapped in each other's wings, nuzzling and kissing each other with gentle passion. EagleHeart and Trixie poured over the wealth of spell books, their horns occasionally alight with color as they practiced the spells. Meanwhile, Jacob trotted over to Aaron, who was sitting alone with his ears pressed flat against his skull.

"Hey there… Aaron, was it?" Jacob said. "You were really brave back at the castle."

"Thanks." Aaron replied without looking up. Jacob shuffled his hooves, unsure of what to say. "Um… I've never seen a bat pony in Ponyville before. I thought they usually lived here in The Everfree Forest." Aaron closed his eyes and let out a long, low sigh.

"Yeah, I was born here, but I didn't live here. A werewolf bit me when I was a colt. My parents looked after me, but when the other colts saw my paws they either teased me or ran away. One day, a team of scientists kidnapped me; they wanted to study the effects of werewolf venom on ponies." Aaron lifted his legs, revealing a set of padded paws and clawed toes instead of hooves. "The venom gave me these paws and made me more resilient to sunlight, but I'd give it all up if I could just be normal again."

"Hey, don't say that!" Jacob coaxed. "I mean, look at me! I'm a demon pony who ran away from home to learn about friendship. You saw how the other demons at the castle treated me, I'm not exactly welcome back home. But moving to Ponyville made me the stallion I am today, and I wouldn't trade that for the world!" Aaron looked up at Jacob for a few moments, and then hugged him.

"I didn't realize how much I needed to hear that." Aaron said. "Thank you."

"Hey, no problem." Jacob said, and patted Aaron on the back.

"Looks like a nice group." Nox said. "But why are they here?" Azure just chuckled.

“New recruits.” He said.