Leaping back over the bridge to avoid overexerting herself and the rolling smog of Umbra from touching her, Rainbow Dash could hear in the distance as Maud collapsed the first bridge connecting to the artisan district. Now the only issue remained that the Cinch abomination seemed fully intent on going the exact opposite direction from the taciturn Pie sister’s. Scootaloo ordered a cadre of archers and Night Quill to hurry on over to try and impede its progress in that direction.

To say that they were at an impasse was an understatement: With only one among their ranks capable of engaging in melee range, and the limited arrow volleys dealing minute damage at best, it was the most uphill battle they’d experienced so far.

Cinch in what might have been some remaining shreds of frustration, let loose a bellowing belch of Umbral smog that wafted over the cobblestoned ground like rolling mist, wafting over the moat. Before anyone could so much as attempt a retreat, an arcing wall of waist high gems, bathed in divine light materialized in its path, the motes sizzling away like ashes on contact.

“Good work,” Applejack could be heard uttering beside Rarity. “Oh, hey; this an oil barrel?”

Rainbow could not help peeking over her shoulder, seeing the farmer tap the side of a barrel near the rearguard archers.

“Affirmative, ma’am.”

“Alright, Ah’ wanna try somethin’!” With her geode-gifted strength, Applejack effortlessly lifted the barrel over her head. “Get ready to fire!”

Getting a good running start, and with a herculean grunt, Applejack sent the barrel hurtling towards Cinch. The velocity was far more than enough to not only close the distance, but also shatter the wooden casket against her form. With the command from Scootaloo, another volley of flaming arrows was let loose. Whether or not they’d deal damage was irrelevant, for when even a few embedded into the Umbra-Touched monstrosity, the oil now saturating its inky flesh lit aflame.

“Nice!” exclaimed Rainbow, added with Applejack pumping a triumphant fist, watching the monstrosity go up in flames, a shrieking, skeletal inferno as it had no visible means of putting out the flames.

All the monster could do was writhe and shriek as fire licked at its, now most certainly, pitch-like skin.

“Think that’ll be enough?” asked Rainbow, as the lot of them observed the monster be incapable in extinguishing its personal inferno.

“I don’t know,” muttered Scootaloo. “This one seems to be stronger than your average Umbra-Touched.” She turned to the archers under her command, “Don’t let your guards down just yet. The moment you see it acting in aggression, let the arrows fly.”

Triumphant as it seemed, given that the Cinch creature hadn’t attempted to make a break for it, nor did it seem to have the cognizance to simply hurl itself into the moat, the sounds of its unearthly wails was beginning to ebb at everyone’s psyches. And Rainbow had not the stomach to get anywhere close to something that could spew what might as well have been vaporous death. Or something that could spew vaporous death that was currently on fire.

Cinch abruptly clutched around its head. With another deathly wait, it pulled, literally tearing the inky substance, now aflame, from around its skull, revealing a dull grey, shimmer of bare bone, though possibly slightly charred. Despite not possessing any of the intricacies of the human body, it was still a thoroughly morbid sight as the monster tore its skin off with its gangly hands to rid itself of the flames… Which it then lobbed towards the city’s defenders, a gruesome black blanket of darkness that was also in flames!

Everyone around was scrambling for cover, when Rarity, by what might as well be instinct on her behalf formed a dome of golden diamond where she estimated the center of mass was. The glob of Umbra splattered against her barrier, the impact making her falter and reel. Bits of burning murk slid and dripped off around the sides, which seemed to burn away to nothing, while the barrier seared away its bulk, albeit slowly.

“Rarity, look out!”

Rarity seemed to only comprehend much too late when Cinch’s legless skeletal form came plummeting from up above: It had taken the opportunity to run on its arms and leapt across the bridge with impossible strength. Picking up speed in but a blink, Rainbow zoomed to snatch and drag Rarity out of the way, but she lost her footing as the ground shook underneath the both of them tumbling over, just as Cinch raised a skeletal arm to smash down on both of them.

“Oh no you don’t!” Applejack, barked lunging forth and smacking the skeletal aberration in the face with her shield. Which shattered into pieces on impact. “Aw shoot…”

Rainbow took this chance to pull Rarity and herself up and get some distance, their hearts seizing when the aberration tried smashing down on Applejack with its other arm, but the farmer was fast enough to retaliate by punching the giant limb coming down on her to divert it away. Subsequently followed by something pink and sizzling flying into Cinch’s eye and detonating with a powerful vibrant blast.

The four of them gathered together, Pinkie still having the spear jutting from her hair, when Cinch brought her skull-head back on them, now significantly further charred, those lifeless white orbs in the eye sockets glaring down at them balefully. With a scream, Rarity conjured a dome over them all when Cinch let loose a bellowing blast of Umbra. It was terrifying to realize hadn’t they discovered the celestial shards’ light being somehow transferred through Rarity’s magic, they might have been dead at that very moment.

“If she decides to go smashy-smashy, we’re toast!” exclaimed Pinkie. “That metaphor is just a-a-awfu-u-u-u-l!”

“Incoming!” screamed Rainbow as she witnessed Cinch raise a fist for a smash through the radiant light of the enhanced gem barrier. However, she’d stopped spewing Umbra from her maw, but given the size of Cinch’s skeletal hand it would undoubtedly cause a tremor, and it would be impossible to know if all four of them could get out of dodge fast enough.

When she thought they’d met their maker on this veritable apocalypse world, Applejack intercepted the blow with a haymaker, her magical herculean strength diverting and sending the blow directly into Cinch’s own face. Under most circumstances, it would have been outright comical, if not for the skeletal Umbra-Touched toppling over and bringing an entire town building down around her, kicking up an enormous dust cloud.

“Hey, Cinch!” Pinkie yelled out. “Why did you hit yourself?!” With that she joined to rest of them in getting distance. “I know it was low for me, but I couldn’t help it.”

“Right, now Ah’m more worried we didn’t crush anyone or none got hit with that smoke,” retorted Applejack.

“Yea- Oh, hey!” Pinkie exclaimed more jubilantly. “Twilight’s okay!”

“Girls!” Sunset called out, her, Fluttershy and indeed Twilight close behind.

“Wait! Stay back, it’s not-”

Applejack’s warning was cut off when Cinch arose from the newest pile of wreckage, the ground booming as she hand-walked after the lot of them.

“She’s gonna wreck the whole city at the rate we’re going!” said Rainbow Dash hands clenched at the hilt of Scootaloo’s sidesword. “We’ve tried fire, we’ve used lightning, but she’s not staying down!”

“There’s something we haven’t tried,” said Sunset in urgency. “Everyone, pony up!”

Everyone put actions to words as they almost simultaneously clutched their geodes, the spark of Equestrian magic erupting within each as their bodies underwent the transformations: Equine ears appeared through their hair, which itself elongated and became separated into a tied portion, mimicking the tails of ponies, and Rainbow, Fluttershy and Twilight unfurled their wings.

Their plan was cut short as Cinch’s hand came slamming down towards the lot of them. Everyone managing to get out of dodge with their Equestrian granted enhancements, the three with wings being able to handily avoid the shockwave: Rainbow and Fluttershy had grabbed Applejack and Rarity respectfully, while Twilight had snatched and levitated Sunset and Pinkie along with her powered-up telekinesis. They retreated a ways back into the market square, Cinch continuing her pursuit, seemingly intent on them as her primary victims.

“No fair! We can’t let loose with her swinging at us!” said Rainbow in frustration.

“Oh! Ooh! I’ve got an idea!” called Pinkie, reaching into her hair to pull out… two sticks of gum. “Jawbones, don’t fail me now!” And with that she started chewing hastily.

“Pinkie! This ain’t the time!” exclaimed Applejack as they all landed on the platform previously used for executions.

Pinkie summarily ignored Applejack’s scolding when she spat out the freshly chewed up wad of gum into her hand, then finally pulled the spear out of her hair and adhered the gum to the flat of its blade. She proceeded to hold a hand out to Rarity, “Rarity, shard me!”

Rarity, still holding onto the shard in question, looked at their friend in apprehension, “Pinkie, I do not know what you’re on about, but shouldn’t we…”

Pinkie briefly pinched the bridge of her nose, “Oh just give it here, woman!” She snatched the shard and stuck it to the gum, then held the weapon to Rainbow, “Now make like a Rainbow, Valkyrie- I mean, like a Valkyrie, Rainbow and stick it to ‘er!”

At this point she was not one to argue and snatched the improvised holy weapon from Pinkie and took off. With her impeccable speed, coupled with her Equestria-given power of flight, she spun around the girth of Moonlink twice over before coming down for a direct charge at Cinch, a fearsome battle cry resounding over the skies of Moonlink through it all.

The spear was delivered right at home into one of Cinch abomination’s hollow eyes, barely giving Rainbow a blink as she swerved upwards and hooped around back to her friends. Cinch was flaying its head madly, an unending stream of radiance erupting from her eye. The spear had to have embedded itself, miraculously not having snapped from the sheer force behind it.

“Now’s our chance!” Sunset called out. She and her friends bravely rushed to confront the monster.

When they were close enough but remaining out of reach, the seven held hands, the powers within their geodes primed. The magic lifted them further out of reach off the ground, the seven Equestrian artifacts around their necks lighting up in a rainbow of brilliant colors and each shot forth a beam, coming together into a veritable rainbow that blasted forth, enveloping the Umbra-Touched that was once Abacus Cinch.

The monster of the dark howled its last as the rainbow ray washed over it, a streak of gold trailing in its wake, causing it to disintegrate before their eyes, until there was nothing left but the abating echo. The spear lodged in its eyes clanked to the ground, its blade glowing from the holy light of the Divines, as did four further shards scattered about on the ground.

Moonlink’s tyrant and elusive monster was defeated. The city was saved.

Author's Note

A short one this time, bringing an end to what I guess could amount to the "Moonlink saga".