Oh oh oh, hehehe. One went through, and now come three! Three come through, but one comes back. The Void will claim its little snack!

I said ENOUGH! One of you, silence him before I do it myself!

The voice finally shrank away to a mere whisper in the back of his mind, barely audible above the roar of the gateway around them. Nearly a hundred years had passed, yet they had made almost no progress at all. He looked over his shoulder briefly to catch a glimpse of the room full of ponies they had left behind. The five stood still as statues, the barriers of time holding them in place on their side of the mirror. Yet only a few feet away, the wanderer, his student and the princess had been struggling for the better part if a century to reach the dark realm beyond.

They had tried to speak at first, but their words were drowned out by the screams of the Abyss. They gave up on that and continued their journey in silence until their minds finally snapped under the strain of timelessness. They ran as long as they could, yet each time they looked back the mirror was just as close as it had been before.

Its an illusion, nothing more. We've been through this a thousand times, it is no different now... Yet the knowledge made it no easier to cope with their inevitable lack of progress.

The shadows would eagerly claim the unprepared, swallowing them up in a matter of seconds. But when one entered the Void willingly, with their mind and body guarded against its allure, that dark plane would do everything in its power to break the intruder's will. The three travelers continued on with their bodies undeterred, but with their minds raged a myriad of wars which that ended their very sanity.

Voices, images, doubts and despair all flooded their thoughts as the years crept along. He could never know what his two companions experienced during that time, but the terrors washing over his own mind more than made up for it.

It will pass. It always passes. Once we are through it will be as if this entire journey took no more than a few seconds... The faces of his fallen comrades flashed passed again, each one more gruesomely detailed than the last, flying faster and faster each time they appeared Mesqa Lam Ench Aeh, let it end soon!

It did not. Twenty more years passed before the Abyss finally gave in, accepting that it would not be able to claim these three for itself. And so the doorway fell behind them, and the vast emptiness of the Void rushed forward to greet them head on.

Their minds cleared, the entire experience fading to nothingness as they crossed into the unending darkness. Just another typical crossing. They had all experienced it before, and would all experience it again. Torrent stepped through first, his boots finding support upon the empty shadows that made up the floor.

Yet it was not an empty world of darkness which waited for him as he emerged from the doorway; their luck was no so good as that. There was a split second where the scene surrounding him made no sense to his mind at all. Then, all at once, they were upon him; arms flailing, wings flapping, and blades streaking toward his arms and legs and face.

Two he stopped with his sword as it materialized in his right hand, the third he caught with his left his hand shifted into a claw. The beasts wielding the blades were the same simple-minded brutes who had overwhelmed him the first time, though now only three chose to strike at him at once. He knocked two away with a sweep of the large emerald sword, pulling the third in close with his clawed left hand. His cloak took care of the rest, relieving the creature of its sword and then devouring before devouring the mindless beast in its folds.

One of the streamer-like appendages which split from the cloak constricted itself around the hilt of its meal's sword. As the wanderer moved toward the other two beasts, the cloth tendril whipped out from behind him like the tail of a scorpion, burying the sword into the first creature chest before it could regain its footing. As its blood escaped, its concentration slipped. The Void seized the opportunity to claim another soul for its own. A second after the blade was yanked free, the beast found itself falling through the shadowy ground it had been standing upon.

The third met a similar end, with the wanderer's bright green sword imaging him through the stomach as he tried to attack again. The knight pulled the blade free of its target, bringing the beast's soul with it. Its empty shell of a body fell through the veiled ground a moment later.

This is too easy... Where are the rest of them? There was an entire army here last time... Where is whatever was causing those cracks?

Are you truly so blind as to not see what is going on here, boy? They baited you in here so that you wouldn't be on the other side when they broke through! They've found some other way in, we need to get back now!

The old hag is right;our prey has made a fool of us, we must find them and make them pay for this insult, brother!

Quiet, you! I need to think... This isn't now this was supposed to work... They must have know we would be drawn by the growing of the cracks. If they found another way in it will still take them some time to move the entire army through their new doorway. We have no way of knowing where this other portal of their's opens on to, they could end up anywhere in Equestria. If we find them on this side we will have a better chance of stopping them.

Oh please... There's only one place they're going to go, and you know it. Do you really think they would enter that world and pass up an attack upon your precious little Ponyville? Think about it. If they found another portal, it would have to be one that w opened before now... Since we used the newest doorway, the one your little student made, who would have made the next most recent one?

There was no denying the logic in that, try as he did. The last thing he had wanted was to drag Luna into all this, but she had made it clear early on that she had no intention of allowing sitting idly by while the threat of the Void hung over her world. As such, his focus had shifted from protecting the princess herself, to simply keeping the reasons for her involvement a secret from those around her. A simple task by comparison, yet now he found himself facing the fact that he was about to be forced to fail at that task, as well.

Beyond Celestia and Luna herself, there were few who had known the details of the rise and fall of Nightmare Moon. Over the years rumors and legends had worked their way into the knowledge of the general public. In the end, this had been for the best. If no one knew the truth, who would be tempted to duplicate her actions?

His thoughts were cut short as his two companions appeared behind him, the bridge they had crossed from Equestria to this dark realm beginning to fade as they exited the gateway. Twilight immediately took notice of the extra sword gripped in one of the tails of his cloak. "How many were there? Where's the army that you to,d us about? You couldn't have fought them all off already."

"No... There were only three of them. Some sort of oafish beasts, poorly armed and armored, untrained judging by the way they struck..." That much was true at least. They were clearly not trained in any true combat style, yesterday their attacks had come perfectly in sync. They had seemed weak to him, but that could simply have been because he was back in his own element now, the power of the Abyss revitalizing him once more, filling him with its strength.
The more he thought about it, the more suspicious it seemed. The three opponents had moved as one, striking with blade as well as fist, each of them exactly identical to their comrade. They had either fought beside one another for years, perfecting that type of attack or, more likely... something paws controlling them... Working them like a bunch of puppets all on the same strings.

His suspicions took hold of his mind, his body moving involuntarily to adapt to the situation. "Both of you get behind me, now. I don't think we're quite done here..." His cloak formed back together into a single piece of metallic cloth, the stolen sword dropping from one of the trailing ends as it melded back together. Twilight caught it mid-fall, the hilt of the weapon glowing with a deep purple aura as she brought it back to float beside her.

A second later the cloak had shifted into a pair of ragged black wings, florescent green veins glowing beneath their leathery surface. The green swirls along his hood began to glow with a similar light, as did those along the gauntlet on his right hand. His left remained in its claw form, hard and black and seething with the foul energies of that dark void between worlds.

He spread his wings wide apart, fanning them out to make himself seem larger than he was. They concealed the student and the princess from view, making him appear alone to any eyes too distracted to see though the cheap illusion. "I don't think any of them saw you yet. If we're lucky, they'll think I came through alone again."

"Don't think who saw us? There's no one out there. Just more darkness..."

You're not wrong about that last bit... The darkness surrounded them with a thick veil, one not easily pierced by normal eyes. But he could still smell the beast in the air, their scent trails blazing orange and red against the blackness of the Void. Thousands of them, all heading off in one direction. A few other groups had moved that way as well, only to double back and surround the area that they knew Twilight's portal must have let out in. They're still here, but they're not going to strike until the three that were standing guard fail to report back.

Suddenly a new scent presented itself, gold in color when he finally spotted its source. "Their leader is still here, along with at least a hundred or so soldiers. Its sent most of its army toward a different portal, the one you opened, Luna. I need you to go back and warn the others. Get any defenders that are fast enough and race to wherever that portal is on Equestria's side. It will be in the exact, location you stood when you performed the ritual. I trust you remember where that is?"

"We do, yes. But we are not about to leave thee and Twilight Sparkle to face a hundred of these creatures alone. If they truly mean to reopen our portal they will pay for their intrusion dearly. The forest defends what belongs to it, and does not welcome outsiders warmly..."

He wanted to make her understand, to make her see that he still wished to protect her. Yet in the end he knew no argument would sway her mind, and telling her flat-out that he was doing this for her own safety would only make her angry. You protected her more than enough the last time you two met. She knows what is best for herself.

She doesn't though! And its not just her I'm worried about. If anything happens to her here that world of hers may never recover.

Her sister is more than capable of carrying on without her, you know that as well as we do. Besides, nothing is going to happen to her. She's far more powerful than you give her credit for. Were this battle in her world you would be taking order from her right now.

But it isn't! She needs to get back to that world before they break through.

You worry so much about this princess you forget your own student! What of her, you really think this little witch of your will be more useful here than the living embodiment of the moon god?

Arggh... For the last time, she not a god! That's not how it works in their world. She shepherd the moon, yes, but she no more a god than you or I am. If she's mortally wounded in here the Void isn't going to think twice about sucking her down through the darkness and making a puppet out of her! The moment her will breaks she's just another target for its corruption. Twilight has my life to draw off of, so long as that manacle is on her leg. Luna though, I have no way to save her if something happens; she needs to go!

She is not a child any longer, Torrent! Oh you helped her once, yes, but that was long ago. She's clearly grown since then and is more than capable of defending herself... You never have been able to let go. Its high time you learned from the past. You can't save everyone... and risks need to be taken for results to be attained... Or did my death teach you nothing?

...Master, I-

A sudden burst of laughter in the distance cut off his thought. "Its starting," he whispered, "if your going to stay then remain behind me. I have an idea... Just be ready to make the first strike, Luna. Twilight, I want you right by my side through this, understand?"

"Got it."

That was all the time they had to talk. A pair of large humanoid creatures lumbered toward them, their hands encased in great iron balls, effectively turning their very arms into massive clubs. Smaller soldiers, identical to the three guards he had slaughtered closed after them, forming a wall behind the two vanguard. They were each about five feet tall, each covered in mismatched scraps of metal armor that may have once been iron or steel before the twisting air of the Void had worked its way into it.

Their skin was orange beneath it, both the giants and the foot soldiers; both sizes apparently being of the same general species. Large, sagging jaws protruding from beneath identical half-helms. Their top jaws were little more than a slab of bone, while their lower jaw was so heavily laden with large, gnashing teeth that the weight of it prevented them from closing their mouths for more than a few seconds at a time. Grey bone spikes protruded from every joint on their body between their shoulders and their knees, forcing them to wear armor which awkwardly fit around them.

Each of the smaller fighters carried a single weapon, most a sword or club. The knight found no signs of sheathes or holsters on their armor, leaving him to assume that they simply carried their weapons everywhere they went. They were primitive warriors, to say the least. Still, the fact that he had never encountered their race before troubled him extensively. They're no natives of the Void, that much is for sure... So why are they here?

The answer, unfortunately, came only moments later as the wall of bodies parted to make way for their leader, the golden scent trail that the wanderer had picked up only a minute earlier. Her voice split the silence like a serpent's hiss, not entirely alien to his ears, yet still more than enough to curdle his blood as he stood before his Equestrian companions.

"So you have arrived at last! Good, good! I trust by now you realize the folly of that course of action?" She moved forward, slithering along on a lower body resembling a great snake's tail. From the waist up she was more human-like, though the likeness was little more than a coincidence. This race he had come across in the past, briefly though it had been. A displaced people, driven into the Abyss by the constant expansion of their world's version of mankind. When he had encountered them, their entire population was returning to said world to reclaim their native land... with the help of some abyssal new allies.

This one was only slightly different in appearance than the millions who had fought him off during that encounter. Where her comrades had been shades of green and red and brown, her scales were a pale white color. Her eyes were black slits upon orbs of emerald red. Golden hair fell down her back from the gap between her massive helm and the plated armor which was augmented to her upper body. More plates covered her tail, lobstered and interlocking slabs of green steel which fit together like puzzle pieces when her muscles contracted. The effect essentially turned her into a suit of impregnable living armor.

Theres only one... What is she doing here? Her people have their world back, did she get left behind?

Its possible. It may simply be that this one enjoys conquest. You remember the strength of their army as it marched through our barricade. We didn't even slow them down. Her kind are naturally-born warriors. Be grateful she's the only one.

Right... Still though, something's not right here. We watched millions of the smash through our defenses and not one of them had that coloring to them. I wonder if she's simply an outcast... One who found some followers in whatever world she ended up in-

Ohhohoho, I know this one! Yes I do, hehehehe! "Her lips are red, Her looks are free, Her locks are yellow as gold! Her skin is white as leprosy! The NIGHTMARE LIFE-IN-DEATH is she! Who thicks man's blood with cold! Hehehehehehehehhe...

I told you to keep him quiet! One of you, silence him this instant! I can't focus with his incessant-

TORRENT, PAY ATTENTION!

The bolt ripped through the upper section of his right wing, a good two inches above where Twilight's head was currently hidden. The pain was intense, but faded after a few seconds as the cloak repaired itself.

"Tsk tsk tsk... I'm sorry, was I boring you?" She reloaded the crossbow mounted to her left arm, an ornate instrument which seemed as though it might snap apart at any moment. Still, if it had enough power behind it to puncture his wings, it would have no trouble cutting through flesh and breaking bone. "I do hope that woke you up. What thoughts were you so engrossed in that you couldn't return my greeting? I gave you my name, where I come from its common curtesy for you to give me your's in turn... Or were you busy trying to remember it? Thats it isn't it; you're so overwhelmed by the situation that you cant even remember your own name? Its alright, I understand."

She raised her arm once more, this time lining it up more carefully. "Perhaps this will help you remember it!" The bolt flew toward his chest this time, spinning and whistling as it tore through the air.

The wanderer released his grip on his sword and smacked the projectile away with his gauntleted right hand. Sparks flew from the metal dart as it deflected off to his left, the green veins running through the gauntlet blazing with florecent light for a split second as the bolt turned off the metal glove.

Now's as good a time as any, boy... Strike some fear into them, then press the attack. Time to put that voice of yours to work.

"...You said we made a mistake in coming here?"

"Oh ho! So you can speak! Well, I'm glad to see you heard some of what I said, at least. It would have been such a shame if all of my precious words had gone to waste just now... And yes, a mistake. I'm certain by now you understand whats happened here? Even now my army is launching an assault upon your pathetic little world through a second gateway. One which has apparently been laying dormant and locked for centuries."

"You lured me here so I wouldn't be present for when your army broke ground... But you don't really believe that I'm this world's only guardian, do you?"

"The only one of any consequence. Why? What terrors would you have me believe await my army on the other side? Trees? Flowers? Rainbows? Or perhaps you think the world's native rulers will rise up against us. Pathetic, pacifistic, grass-eating creatures devoid of weapons or claws, or fangs."

Her words struck hard, leaving him feeling like he'd just had the wind knocked out of him.

How does she.... Damn, we must have missed one! One of the soulflayers must have reported back to her.

You can still save this. After all, she still thinks you are here alone.

That was all it took. The seed was planted, the rest of the plan wrote itself from there. He regained his composure, settling his breath back to a slow, even pace. He laced his voice with another coat of venom, allowing each word to seethe from his lips like a death sentence.

"So you do know them then? Excellent, that will make explaining this all the easier. One of your little soulflayer scouts reported back to you no doubt."

"Hmhmhm... Perhaps they did. Perhaps they did."

"Then surely it explained to you what it witnessed when it crept into town that night. And as such, you must surly know what horrors are ACTUALLY awaiting your forces on the other side of that gateway."

The dark green mask of her large, horned helmet betrayed no emotions of the face beneath it, but the wanderer hoped that his words had caused her to frown behind that steely faceplate.

"She saw a gathering of the creatures who inhabit that world of yours, the colorful little herbivores. She even managed to get a taste of one before you arrived. She said it was delicious, I can't wait to find out for myself!" She laughed, the sound reverberating beneath the heavy metal headpiece.

"Haha, yes... I'm sure you can't. However, I'd advise you to have another little chat with this scout of yours. Because if she failed to inform you of just what that 'gathering' she observed was, there is a serious lack of discipline that you may want to address."

She stopped laughing for a moment. "...She said it was a... a party? No that wasn't it... A feast! It was a feast! A feast with not a single piece of meat present. If such a pathetic offering can even be called a feast. Hahaha..."

He couldn't help but smile at that. "Why, I believe you just hit the nail on the head with that assessment actually, for it was just that: a feast... and an offering."

She simply laughed harder at that. "Oh yes, such a glorious offering it must have been too! Tell me, what sort of creature were they making said offering to? Some giant livestock god?" A few of her soldiers joined in her laughter this time; stiff, choking guffaws which escaped each of them simultaneously. Puppets on a string indeed...

"Now, you see, that's where I think you are missing the real joke. The food wasn't the offering at all... You asked what sort of creature they were offering to? One who has a taste for neither meat nor grass. One far more ancient than you or I or any living being in that world. One who came straight out of this dark abyss we are having our little talk in right now."

He snapped the fingers of his right hand, the metal of the gauntlet emulating the sound as if he had done so barehanded. His sword began to fade, drawing the eyes of many of the guards around the Barren. "You see, thousands of years ago, another portal just happened to have been opened into the Void from this world." He adjusted his gauntlet, shifting it from side to side and flexing his fingers until he seemed satisfied with the results. "And before they knew what they had done... Something came through."

He pulled back his hood for a moment and ran his fingers through his hair from front to back, straightening out the grey mess before replacing his hood again. "The ponies immediately began to revere her as a god, a dark being of unparalleled power. They asked what they could do to please her and she told them... In no uncertain terms...

"So after many generations it became tradition to make an offering to her, once every year. All the ponies celebrate during the night before, holding a great feast to glorify life and all the good things in the world... Because the following night will be the last that many of them will know. The food was not the offering... but the souls of those enjoying it was."

She scoffed at that. "Ha, you really expect me to believe that some primitive denizen of the Void worked its way into that world and is being revered as a god by these spineless creatures? Impossible."

"Oh I beg to disagree. True it took a great deal of sacrifices, but then you would no doubt have noticed that there is no shortage of life in this world. As for the spinelessness of the ponies living under her rule? Well, lets just say they have become her 'favorites' among the species inhabiting that world and, as such, she often showers them with her favor. And now, not only have you succeeded in ruining the holiday dedicated to commemorating her glory, but you have gone so far as to actually attack, kill, and, according to your own confession just now, devour one of her little favorites..."

The shadows behind him began to shift, changing from the typical black of the Void to a bluish mist that trailed out from the darkness in small, pale streams as if caught on some unknown wind.

"If I had to guess, I'd wager your troops have broken through to the other side by now, and are finding out first hand what happens to those who damage our goddess' possessions. The suffering they will endure at the hands of our Dark Queen's servants will be spoken of in stories and songs for centuries to come. Who knows, if the torturers really take their time with the work, some of their victims may even still be alive when their agony becomes the stuff of legend."

She chewed on that bit of information for a moment, going over everything he had just said. Her soldiers stood impatiently by, eagerly awaiting the moment that they would be set loose upon the lone ambassador.

"Torturers you say..."

"The best this world has to offer. I trained several of them myself, so that they would be able to make use of abyssal forms of... tickling. Hahahaha....ahhh... They will make such sweet music from your soldiers' screams." He offered her an assuring smile. She returned a cold glare through the eyeholes in her mask.

"This goddess of yours is a coward. If she has such strength as you claim, why have her minions meet my forces as they cross over? Why not simply do the job herself? Is she just going to hide in whatever pitiful palace she has made for herself? Just wait it all out while her subordinates do all of h-"

A growl echoed forth from all around them, the Void twisting the sound and sending it back from every direction until it sounded as though a hurricane had descended upon their little parley. "...Are you truly so blind? So narrow-minded? ...Very well, let me spell it out of you. Of course she would love to greet your little army when they arrive, but in truth it wasn't them that ruined her festival. They didn't choose to march all the way here on their own, did they? They were just taking orders form someone else... Now, who could that possibly have been?"

The smoke billowed out around him, blue and pale as it drifted toward the forces standing at the ready before them. "Oh, that's right... It was you, wasn't it?" His grin widened as he folded his wings back up. A wall of blue fog burst forth from behind him, concealing him and Twilight from view. A split second later something dark and devilish tore free from the smoke and shot up into the air, fog trailing behind it briefly as it left the confines of the smoke screen. The Barren's head jerked upward as her eyes followed the flying creature, causing every present member of her army to do the same.

The shape disappeared into the darkness of the Abyss as the knight's voice carried on through fog. "What fun would there be in crushing the mindless puppets of one's enemy, when their leader sat back and waited like the coward she was at the back of her army?"

A scream escaped as one of the soldiers in the rear ranks vanished into the black void below them.

"And so my Lady sent me to seek you out."

Another scream as two more were dragged off by some the shadow, two more warriors from the back lines.

"To alert her to your position."

A shriek of agony as a figure in a shroud of blue-black smoke planted her hooves into the spines of two more unwary soldiers.

"To draw you out of whatever corner of the Void you were cowering in."

A warrior only a few feet to the left of the general was suddenly hoisted into the air, dragged into the impenetrable shadows of the sky, and dropped upon several of his comrades a few meters from where he had been standing.

"And to stall you... until she could make her entrance into the Abyss herself."

The general was about to take a step forward, about to draw her blades, about to curse the wanderer and tell him that he and his goddess were the cowards here. All of it was about to happen, when she suddenly noticed a tendril of blue fog running down her shoulder.

"We assume thou now understands the mistakes of thine actions?" The whisper came from directly behind her, barely audible over the wanderer's laughter. The general turned, her hands still on the hilts of her matched dueling blades, yet she could not remove them from their sheathes.

No one was behind her, no goddess, no shrouded figure, even the fog was gone. Yet when she looked at her shoulder there was still a small stream of blue smoke trailing down it and onto her armor. Suddenly she realized her mistake. She craned her neck upwards, her slitted eyes searching the sky frantically. And there, directly above her, with her ethereal mane and tail trailing behind her and her great black wings silently beating the air beneath them, hovered the Queen of Darkness.

"Good, thou does understand... AND IS NO DOUBT PREPARED TO ACCEPT THINE PUNISHMENT!" Her voice boomed like thunder as she dove toward the Barren. Her wings beat the air mercilessly as she picked up speed, finally folding to her sides as she reached the focal point of her dive. Her eyes aglow with pale blue flames, her razor-sharp teeth gleaming like knives as she rocketed toward her foe.

For a brief second true fear flashed in the eyes of the serpentine warrior as she stared the supposed Dark Queen in the face. But at the last second her arm shot up and the crossbow released one of its dire needles at the approaching Nightmare.

She spun, narrowly avoiding the projectile, and collided with the general a fraction of a second later. It broke the Barren's concentration and left her unable to maintain her footing on the Void floor, allowing Luna to drag her through the misty ground with ease, the sheer speed of her descent driving them downward as she locked her front legs around the snake-creature chest. They plunged into the darkness, leaving the battalion leaderless as the blue fog continued to spread.

In the blink of an eye the tables turned. There were more than a hundred of the creatures present, all armed with their single weapon of choice. The moment Nightmare Moon had driven her opponent through the shadows a glowing green bolt brought down the general's nearest soldier. A few others rushed to examine their fallen comrade. One reached out to take the creature's axe, just as the body erupted into a pillar of emerald flames which engulfed them and several other nearby warriors in its spinning mass.

One of the giants roared and made to plunge into the smoke, but his right arm suddenly took on a ghostly purple glow as it swung full force at the second behemoth. The iron ball that covered its fist smashed the second beast dead in the face with a sickening CRACK, leaving it flailing as it fell backwards. Through a truly tenacious show of strength, the creature recovered, only to then attempt to take his vengeance on the first brute.

With the chaos caused by the brawling giants and the tower of spinning green fire distracting many of the simpleminded warriors, several did not even notice as their weapons sprang to life and began hacking, impaling, and bludgeoning their wielder's. The blades, hilts, and handles of each weapon glowed with that same violet aura as they struck out at more and more of the beasts. Bodies began to fall through the tenebrous floor of the Void, unable to die but with no strength left to remain conscious.

Nightmare Moon and the Barren warrior resurfaced for a brief second as the Princess drove her prey back up through the shadowy ground and into the air, one of her front hooves buried deep into the serpent's plated stomach. While unable to break the armor, the force of her strikes were clearly knocking the wind out of her foe, making its impossible for the general to escape as she was viciously propelled through the air.

The soldiers on the ground finally seemed to awaken from their stupor, many of them suddenly charging headlong toward the smoke with weapons raised, roaring cacophonously as they did. A large green sword came whirling out of the mist, dragging a few blue plumes of smoke behind it as it sailed through the air. The blade cut through at least five oncoming warriors before it disappeared, only to reappear seconds later as the wanderer leapt form the smoke with it in his hand once more.

As he dashed forward Twilight sent a barrage of purple bolts hurtling toward the mass of bodies charging at them. They impacted on the armor of most of her targets, only a few stray blasts missing entirely. Two combatants lost a limb each to the hostile magic; an arm and a leg, respectively. Others were driven back a few steps from the force of the blast, but proceeded otherwise undeterred.

"Try something a bit more substantial, Twilight," the wanderer shouted as he spun into a group of four club-wielding brutes. Two lost their heads, another was cut in half horizontally, and the forth had a chunk of his face removed as the spiked cross-guard caught him in the cheekbone.

He had just enough time to watch as his student abandoned her idea of shooting at the beasts and instead began hurling the bodies of their own comrades at them instead. Excellent. No lack of critical thinking skills, even in the heat of battle.

Indeed. Perhaps there is hope for you as a teacher after all... Though it seems to me that this particular student could have done just fine on her own had you not come along. Try taking on a somewhat less gifted student next time and we'll see how differently things turn out...

A club cracked him over the head, sending the wanderer staggering for a moments before he whipped around and eviscerated the attacker with his clawed left hand. You stupid boy, you didn't even try to stop that one! What's gotten into you?!

I thought maybe a good concussion might finally shut you all up... But it looks like some part of that plan didn't quite work out.

Te battle dragged on for at least another half an hour, Twilight and Torrent slowly fighting their way through the oncoming mass of enemies like it was nothing. Without their general controlling them directly the creatures fought in an ugly, ineffective fashion; arms flailing wildly as they attempted use their fists and weapons equally. Their movements were wild and unpredictable, but ultimately too clumsy to prove to be much of a threat. Without their formerly vast numbers there was little to fear from them.

Finally, as their forces were beginning to dwindle down to nothing, the beasts began to get more daring with their attacks. It was at this point, when victory seemed all but certain, that Twilight noticed a pair of warriors rushing up behind her instructor as he fought off a group of spearmen. The two held metal clubs, both emblazoned with bright green symbols and florescent veins like the wanderer's armor.

Torrent never saw them coming, never heard their approach. The spearmen had formed a semicircle around him, each warrior alternating between jabbing at the knight's body and stabbing at his limbs when he attempted to retaliate. He never would have had any idea that the two others were right behind him.

Just as they neared they neared their target Twilight made her move. Both were bringing their clubs up to a striking position when a roar broke out from below them. A they stopped and looked down, the wanderer and the spearmen following suit. A moment later a massive cylinder of purple and black flames erupted from beneath their feet, encasing the entire group in its shadowy form.

The knight shielded his eyes with his left arm, not entirely certain what had happened. What new devilry is this? The flames encompassed them all, licking at the spearmen as they scrambled about in their panic. Suddenly the walls of fire began to close in, the spiraling inferno growing tighter and tighter. One of the warriors was busy jabbing his spear into the flames when he backed up into the blade of the wanderer's sword. The knight gave it a twist, ripping the soul from the poor creature's body and letting the husk fall through the ground. He turned to another who had forgotten him in the confusion; he planted a kick square in the monster's back, sending it falling head-first into the flames.

Thats when he noticed the colors, finally understanding what happening. Twilight! "Twilight," he called out, grinning with pride at the mastery his new student was demonstrating, "if you can hear me out there, close it up a few more feet!"

The walls suddenly grew closer. The flames, while warm to the touch, seemed content with simply passing over him with a light flicker. He reached out and found that he could pass through unharmed. He walked through the fiery wall as the pillar collapsed in on itself, the flames devouring the remaining soldiers as they screamed and scrambled.

He emerged smiling. "Twilight, that was fantastic! When did you learn to con-"

As the last of the flames drifted out of his vision, he saw his student finishing the spell. Her eyes were shut, her teeth were clenched, and her horn was glowing faintly as she began to cut off the flow of magic. However, her immense concentration on the spell had left her blind and deaf to the world around her, so she hadn't noticed when one of the behemoths had come up behind her.

The creature was at least three times Torrent's size, bulky and riddled with unyielding muscle mass. The living siege weapon had strode up behind Twilight easily enough, his footfalls muffled by the ghostly floor of the abyss. By the time the wanderer had made it out of the flames it was too late, though that did not stop him from unfolding his wings and launching himself toward the beast, an arsenal of shadowy blades orbiting around him as he tore through the air toward his student.

Twilight had just enough time to open her eyes before the massive iron ball reached her. Looked at Torrent with an expression of utter confusion as he flew headlong toward her. What have I done?!

Not enough... Hahhahahhahahhaa....

He was still at least two yards away by then. All he could do was watch.

Author's Note

Before anyone says it, NO, that's not what I'm saying actually happened to Luna/Nightmare Moon in this story. Torrent was making up a story to buy some time for Luna to change forms. This was drawing on the idea that he is a captivating story teller and was able to use that skill to divert what could have been a desperate combat situation. Anyway, enjoy the chapter!