Angel of Justice: Blood Moon

Pandemonium.

The entry hall of the royal castle, normally peaceful and elegant, was in the midst of the worst battle it had seen since the hooded ponies invaded. The entire room and the area outside were steeped in pandemonium.

A myriad of shouts, feral barks and growls, and the ring of silver weapons filled the air as the members of Spirit and their allies tried to fend off the small horde of vampiric ponies.

Glimmer Shine and a unicorn guard stood back to back, dodging swipes and pounces from two of the creatures and trying to land a decisive strike.

Glimmer held his dagger and a hoof against the chest of the surprisingly swift creature as it lunged for him, keeping its snapping jaws at bay with his strength until it realized it was being burned by contact with the silver blade and backed off.

“Gah!” The guard behind him yelped, followed by a loud thump.

The yellow stallion turned and widened his eyes as he spotted the unicorn on the ground with a strigoi on top, ready to bite.

“Holy…!” Glimmer stammered before rushing to aid his companion. He stabbed his dagger into the beast’s side. With a pained howl, the withered pony erupted into flames and collapsed into ash, freeing the guard.

The unicorn stallion took a stiff breath and looked up to the younger pony, sharing a grateful nod before the both of them darted their eyes to the side at an abrupt snarl.

Glimmer Shine Widened his eyes and flinched back as he spotted the first creature in mid-flight, coming toward him with elongated forelegs reaching out. “AHH!”

Before death incarnate could reach him, Glimmer was surprised to see a brown aura wrap around the strigoi, suspending it in the air. He looked to the side to see the guard already struggling to keep the supernatural creature from breaking free.

Wasting no time, Glimmer made a stab at the trapped creature, but not before it could buck to the side, awkwardly locomoting through the air and putting even more stress on the guard. So much stress, in fact, that the creature flopped back to the ground as the aura around it vanished and the unicorn yelped in pain.

A few feet away, Sparkplug and Glitterball were having their own problems.

Glitterball was doing her best to assist whoever she could at range with her crossbow and magic, while Sparkplug was using a dagger to keep one of the creatures away from her friend.

“There’s too many of them!” Sparkplug exclaimed as two more of the beasts found their way over to join the one trying to get at her. She stabbed one as it lunged toward her. Glitter encased another in a magical bubble, but the third managed to jump at the two of them before either could react.

Suddenly, a crossbow bolt pierced the creature in the back, scattering it to ash. The two mares uncovered their faces and looked up as a blur of black and orange flew overhead. It took a moment for them to realize that it was Sunspot with her bow drawn.

“Where did all these things come from?!” Sunspot asked as she dove down to help a group of guards that were struggling with a pack of the creatures.

“It looks like Dusk took out a few patrols around the city. He must be here somewhere.” Glimmer Shine noted as he briefly counted how many were visible. For this many guards to have gone missing without being noticed, it must have happened recently.

“Someone needs to fire your scouts!” Raincloud shouted as she sent a pair of the beasts flying and cut another’s head off near the door with a shadowy blade. Even she was starting to get tired from fighting so many of the pale ponies.

Suddenly, the pale blue mare felt her ears shoot up as a fearful squeal filled the air. She looked to the side, only to spot her new allies in trouble.

Two more of the creatures had pounced into Glitterball and Sparkplug. Both ponies were struggling to keep the beasts at bay, but it seemed like the unicorn was having the most trouble.

Glitter cringed with pain as her previously sealed-up injury burned from being so violently stretched. However, she couldn’t focus on this for long, as the withered pony on top of her snapped and bit at her with feverish tenacity.

“Somepony help!” She cried.

Off to the side, Sunspot’s face paled as she saw her friends in peril. “Guys!” She reached out, preparing to dart off to help before getting tackled to the floor by another of the creatures.

Still absorbed in his own battle, Glimmer Shine looked over to see the three mares struggling to stay alive. The other guards in the room were occupied, as was he, so nobody was available to help.

Nobody, that is, except a certain pegasus.

“Raincloud, help them!” Glimmer shouted to the pale mare as he ducked under a swiping foreleg.

The stallion’s frantic commands and the fearful yelps of the trapped mares might have stirred Raincloud to act. However, something else caught her eye.

Looking beside her, she noticed the front doors of the palace, open wide and letting in the pale moonlight. There weren’t many of the creatures left out there, and they didn’t pose much of a threat to her anyway.

The only thing between her and freedom was the collar around her neck, and the thick cord keeping her wings tucked in.

“Raincloud!” Sunspot yelled, struggling to stand up while also keeping the vampire from biting her. She wasn't doing as poorly as Glitterball was, but she still couldn’t ignore the creature to assist her friends.

Raincloud looked over to see the suited pegasus glaring at her, silently communicating a threat, or rather, a promise that if she betrayed them now, she would pay. She looked down to her own hoof, contemplating for a moment, before letting a smirk across her face and a spout of dark energy across her foreleg.

In one swift motion, the pale mare swiped down at her midsection, cutting the rope binding her and allowing her wings to spread. She looked back to the team of ponies and the guards, who by now were also stealing stunned glances her way in between fighting. “Sorry guys… it’s been swell, but I’ve got other places to be… namely, anywhere but here!”

And with that, she ran for the door and took off into the air.

Sunspot watched the pale pony swiftly growing smaller against the sky, her blood boiling and her teeth grinding progressively more and more. She used this anger to help her fend off the creature struggling with her with one hoof while she reached for her dagger on the floor, but the blade was just out of reach.

Just then, a mechanical click and a swoosh sounded out, followed by the creature fighting her erupting into a pained howl as a silver bolt struck its form. Sunspot looked to the side as the creature collapsed to ash, only to find Sparkplug aiming her crossbow with her injured foreleg while fighting off her own creature with the other.

In one swift move, the gray mare dug into a pocket on her vest and pulled out another silver bolt, which she then stabbed into the beast’s side. Once the weight was lifted off of her, she breathed a quick sigh before shooting to her hooves and turning to Sunspot.

“Go after her! I’ve got Glitter!” She exclaimed, already rushing forward and wrapping her hooves around the creature pinning the unicorn to the floor.

Sunspot locked eyes with the gray mare, surprised to see a level of determination normally reserved for a seasoned soldier that perfectly understood their role in a battle. She looked around, making sure nobody else needed her immediate assistance, received an approving nod from Glimmer Shine, and took off like a bat out of Tartarus out the front doors and into the air.

.
..
…
Meanwhile, several yards away in the skies above Canterlot, Raincloud was putting as much distance as she could between her and her former captors. However, even if she had escaped seemingly scott free, there was one lingering reminder from her supposed comrades that she couldn’t get rid of.

Her collar.

The pegasus grunted and heaved as she pulled on the metallic contraption with all of her might. The device had activated and spun closed after she took off, almost like it had to be within a certain distance of the remote to even stay open.

“Grr… that damn gearhead is smarter than I gave her credit for.” She grumbled in annoyance as she let her hooves fall away from the collar. She would have to get it off later, without her shadow magic. A slight complication, but not one she couldn’t handle with enough time.

However, it seemed like time might not be on her side.

Noticing an out-of-place shadow on the clouds beneath her, trailing behind her own silhouette, Raincloud looked back, only to reel in surprise as she spotted a familiar orange shape hot on her tail.

“Oh boy…” She cringed uneasily before sighing and shaking her head. “Alright, carrot head. You want to do this? Let’s do this.” She muttered to herself before banking down and to the side.

Sunspot narrowed her eyes as she followed after. If Raincloud wanted a chase, she would get one. She picked up speed as her elusive target flew closer to the city. And as Raincloud zipped between two buildings, her suspicions were confirmed. The grayish mare was trying to lose her through a mixture of speed and breaking sight.

With the ease and grace of a bird of prey, Sunspot twisted her body and drew in her wings, gliding between the towers where she fell down and out the other side before stretching her wings back out and flapping. She spotted Raincloud further ahead, trying to change directions.

Weaving above and around some other buildings, the ex Wonderbolt followed the convict through the upper plazas, ducking through alleys, windows, arches. Wherever her bold target dared to go in an attempt to shake her, she either followed or went around, keeping pace and slowly closing the distance between them.

Ponies on the ground would almost be impressed by the display of the two pegasi if they weren’t flying by with little care for how disruptive they were. They nearly knocked into bystanders on balconies or back streets, clipped into clotheslines hanging between buildings, and even managed to knock over a few tables in an outdoor restaurant.

Raincloud panted lightly, her breathing taxed but not overwhelmed, as she looked behind her. She was outclassed and she knew it. Without her shadow magic to give her the upper hoof, the orange mare’s experience was going to win in this little chase sooner or later.

Speaking of the orange mare, she was suddenly nowhere to be seen.

Where before, she had been right on Raincloud’s tail like she was attached by an invisible chain, now she was missing entirely.

Raincloud darted her eyes around as she rounded a curve in the street. Had she lost her? Were her constant maneuvers and detours enough to give the orange mare the slip? Perhaps if she acted fast enough, she could land and blend in with a crowd while the suited pony searched overhead.

And then a blur of black and orange slammed into her from above, sending her down to mingle with a crowd much sooner and rougher than she wanted.

A series of gasps and startled yelps from bystanders filled the street as two full-grown pegasi crashed to the ground. The pair bounced and skidded to a stop, with the pale blue one on the bottom taking most of the impact.

Sunspot panted, her eyes hardened with anger as she looked down at the mare pinned under her hooves. She lifted her head briefly, taking note of where she was and the small crowd of ponies keeping their distance and watching them like they were crazy. A few ponies seemed to recognize her, but they also recognized that it was probably best to keep out of her way.

“Did you really think you could out fly a Wonderbolt?!” Sunspot glared down at the other mare, who was still recovering from the rough landing they had.

Raincloud squinted an eye open and tried to lift up, only to be stopped by two hooves being pressed into her shoulders. Her hind legs were pinned too, and judging from the ringing pain in her back and head, the orange mare hadn’t at all braked in the air to slow their fall.

“Can… can you… blame a girl for… trying?” She coughed.

Sunspot growled under her breath and prepared to reach to her suit so she could grab some restraints, when Raincloud abruptly jerked her head upwards, knocking foreheads together and sending the orange pony reeling back.

“OW!” Sunspot yelped. “Mother b-” She started until she felt one of the gray mare’s forelegs jerking out and away from her hoof.

With a cringe-worthy smack, Raincloud punched Sunspot square in the side of the face. Using the stunning recoil, she kicked out from under the other pony and scrambled to get away. Once she was free, she broke off into a sprint.

“Stop right there!” Sunspot yelled as a slight click sounded out. “You take one more step and I will shoot you.”

Raincloud paused. She slowly turned around, half expecting the suited mare to have drawn her crossbow, only to see her holding a vial out. She snorted softly and lifted the corners of her mouth ever so slightly. “Haven’t we been through this before? I’m not scared of your fancy pop guns.”

*POP*

With a startling crack, a bolt of green light zipped into the ground at Raincloud’s hooves, leaving behind a smoking pinhole. Several members of the crowd yelped and drew back even further.

Looking up, Raincloud saw the vial in Sunspot’s hooves smoking lightly from the tip. There were slits of glass in its sides revealing a green glow that slowly dimmed. This was not one of the team’s usual pieces of equipment. This was an actual weapon.

“Ok…” Raincloud said, slowly lifting her hooves into the air. “Ok… you got me.”

“Yeah… I thought so.” Sunspot muttered. She then turned to see the gathering of ponies watching her, some whispering to each other nervously and pointing. “Sorry for the noise, folks. Official royal business, move along.” She waved, making sure to keep her vial pointed toward Raincloud.

After a moment of hesitation, the ponies all started walking toward their previous destinations. Perhaps they would have to think again before ignoring a seemingly harmless curfew order from the Princess.

Once the scene had cleared a bit, Sunspot walked over to her former colleague, now prisoner, keeping her eyes on the pegasus the whole time. She knew something like this was going to happen right when this idea came up. At least she was the one that got to deal out the karmic retribution this time.

Making her way behind Raincloud, Sunspot took a foreleg and wrenched it behind the pale mare, taking pains to be not quite rough enough to constitute abuse, but just rough enough to give her some satisfaction. The pegasus cringed and grunted, but that was just about all she could do. She knew she was beaten. She played her hoof and lost.

Once her new prisoner was safely locked into hoof cuffs, Sunspot took a moment to bring a hoof to her bruised muzzle. Her nose stung as she touched it, and as she recoiled slightly, she noticed some blood on her hoof.

“A headbutt? Really?” She muttered, thoroughly annoyed. “Who does that?”

Raincloud hid a smirk, which was swiftly replaced with a cringe as a hoof was roughly clamped on her shoulder and a very irritated-looking orange mare came around to glare at her.

“For your sake, you better hope that nobody got hurt while we were away, or the best you can hope for is just going back to jail.” Sunspot said before standing up and spreading her wings as she grabbed the pale mare by the foreleg. “Come on, get to flying. I know you can handle being off-balance after that stunt you pulled.”

- A few minutes ago -

“AHHH!!!”

Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy screamed as the pack of feral ponies rushed for them. Rarity was too stunned to react further than a series of panicked stammers. She fumbled with her silver dagger, twitching it back and forth as she tried and failed to decide which creature to attempt and retaliate against.

Applejack stepped in front of her friends and tensed up as she readied her meager weapon. Before she could even raise her blade, she realized that she wouldn’t be able to do much against all of the creatures. Even if all of her friends acted in perfect harmony, they would still be overwhelmed.

The group flinched back as three of the beasts reached them and pounced. Just before a set of vicious teeth clamped down onto Applejack’s foreleg, a luminous blade of energy swiped in from the side, stabbing itself into the closest creature.

In a flash, a ball of fire slammed into another of the beasts, while the third was wrapped in a purple aura and yanked away.

As the pale ponies settled from the sudden attacks, Applejack and the others looked up to see their friends, shields down and horns lit up.

Luna glanced between the four creatures left standing while the others recovered on the ground. The one that was struck by flame ended up being overtaken and turned to ash, leaving the rest to turn toward their new foes.

"Girls! Keep back and wait for your opening!" She yelled.

"Princess, look out!" Shining Armor shouted, conjuring a small shield behind the alicorn as a series of crimson bullets nearly pierced into her.

Both of them ducked as a bloody tendril slashed over their heads, nearly taking a few strands of their manes with it.

"Remember who you're fighting, Luna. It will keep you alive longer!" Dusk stated, waving a hoof around and controlling a stream of blood floating out of his wrist.

While Cadence stayed behind with Luna and Shining, waiting for a chance to assist the pair, Rainbow Dash and Twilight fell back to the rest of their friends.

Rainbow leaped into the air and used her wings to speed over and kick one of the strigoi as it started turning back to the group of four mares. She spun around and faced three more of the creatures, only to have one of them break off and head back towards Shining Armor and Luna.

"Uh oh!" Rainbow paled as she watched the beast heading towards the pair. It seemed like four of the creatures were focusing on her and her friends, while the others were focused on Luna, Shining, and Cadence.

"Dash, look out!" Applejack exclaimed, rushing to tackle one of the beasts as it got up from the floor and leaped for the pegasus.

"Woah!" Rainbow widened her eyes as she turned to see the orange mare stabbing a dagger into one of the creatures. "Thanks for the assist."

"Girls! A little help here!" Rarity squealed as she hesitantly squared off with three of the creatures with Pinkie and Fluttershy.

Just then, Twilight appeared in front of the three mares in a flash of purple. She faced the feral ponies and conjured a wall of light before sending it blasting forward. The wall collided with all three of the creatures, knocking them down like a set of bowling pins and distancing them.

Twilight formed a slight smile at her work before a grave expression returned to her face as she saw her brother and the two alicorns fighting off attacks from Dusk and the other strigoi.

"Did you guys bring the elements?" She asked, somewhat urgently, as she turned back to her friends.

Rarity glanced back to the palace behind her and lit up her horn, producing a familiar brown bag before placing it back out of sight. "I never come to a battle without the proper accessories, darling."

"Good… Be ready to use them at a moment’s notice. Something tells me that we won't have much of an opening." Twilight said, turning to the battle ahead of her uneasily.

"Umm… Twilight, I don't want to sound too pessimistic, but how are we going to get enough time to use the elements with all of these monsters around?" Fluttershy asked, glancing around at the various strigoi still recovering from being knocked to the floor.

“That’s simple.” Rainbow Dash chimed in eagerly. “We thin the herd.”

Without even conferring with her friends, the cyan mare turned to the lone strigoi to their right, still recovering from her swift kick before. Rainbow let a determined smirk cross her face as she swooped over with dagger in hoof and prepared what she imagined to be the death blow for the beast.

With a mighty yell, Rainbow stabbed her foreleg out, putting all of her momentum behind the attack. However, the creature had managed to just barely get to its hooves in time to spot the pegasus in mid-flight. At the last moment, it jumped to the side, letting the pony’s attack miss and leaving her exposed.

“Ack!” Rainbow squawked in surprise and reeled her whole body back, barely getting clear in time to miss a snap from the creature’s powerful jaws by the graces of her powerful wings. She kept fluttering back, keeping her dagger out in front of her as she sized up her opponent with a bit more tact and caution.

“Hey, ugly!” A voice came bellowing from the side, drawing both the monster and Rainbow’s attention to see Applejack sprinting into the fray.

The orange mare threw caution into the wind and her body into the feral pony before it could even react. She managed to send it to the ground, kicking up some dirt and ruining some of the few flowers in the area untouched by the battle.

“Holy hay, Applejack! Are you crazy?!” Rainbow Dash asked, half concerned and half impressed by her bold friend’s actions.

Applejack responded with a grunt as she tried her best to keep the feral pony pinned on the ground, taking pains to keep its head immobilized so it couldn’t snap at her. “Y’know, Dash, it might be nice if’n you could lend me a hoof with this feller!” She exclaimed, struggling to keep from getting socked in the face by an elongated foreleg.

Suddenly, the beast bucked its whole body upwards. With its immense strength, it sent Applejack sliding forward. As her hooves briefly fell away from the beast’s head, she cringed and reeled back away from a vicious snap of teeth mere inches away from her face.

A hoof smacked across her side, knocking her off and leaving a hefty bruise. She ignored the throbbing pain in her ribs and reached for her misplaced dagger, only to fail as the creature got upright before her.

Just as she prepared to feel her flesh getting ripped into, a cyan blur shot up from behind the creature and a silver blade was jammed into the back of its skull, coming straight through the mouth.

Applejack watched the feral stallion swiftly convert to glowing ash before scattering to the wind, leaving her staring at her pegasus friend, who had more than a bit of smug confidence to her expression.

“See? I had it handled.” Rainbow stated, offering a hoof to help the farmer back to her own four limbs. “Although, I gotta admit, you did pretty good yourself.”

Applejack gave the cyan pony a flat look. If she had been a bit more careful, she wouldn’t have needed help in the first place. “I guess I’ll take the compliment.” She said, managing a slight smile as Rainbow pulled her to her hooves. The two of them looked at the dim remaining embers in the grass that once was a vicious monster before turning to the rest of the battle. “Two down…”

“A lot more to go.” Rainbow finished, trying to keep the twinge of unease building inside of her from showing outwardly.

Meanwhile, while the two mares were dispatching their creature, Twilight and the others were dealing with three of the beasts.

“Ok, you big meanies! Bring it on!” Pinkie stated, balancing on one leg and waving her dagger around like a skilled fencer at one of the beasts. She and her friends had spread out slightly to make it easier to dodge and to make it more likely for the creatures to pick individual targets, with Rarity, Twilight, and herself in front, and Fluttershy close behind.

The leftmost pony sniffed at the shiny object the pink mare was swishing about. It snarled as the odor stung its nose and swiped a foreleg at her, knocking the blade from her hooves and casting it off to the side.

Immediately, any bravado or confidence Pinkie had vanished with her weapon. “Uh oh…” She muttered, flashing a nervous smile and hoping that she could challenge the creature to some other form of combat more suited to her. As it lowered into a hostile stance and growled at her, these hopes were all but dashed.

“AHH!” Pinkie yelped as the creature lunged for her, teeth bared and red eyes burning into her own.

Just then, Rarity stepped forward bravely and lit up her horn. She wrapped her aura around the feral pony in midair, using all of her strength to power through and toss it back with a mighty yell. “Take that, you malnourished cur!”

Pinkie smiled at her unicorn savior, but the relief and joy were short-lived as the both of them noticed a second creature heading straight for them.

Seeing her friends in danger, Fluttershy cringed and acted as fast as she could. “Rarity, catch!” She yelled, tossing her dagger to someone more willing and qualified at using it.

Rarity spotted the silvery weapon twirling into the air ahead of her. In one swift motion, she grasped the dagger with her magic and stabbed it into the approaching creature. “Hyah!”

With a pained howl, the former guard caught the blade in its chest. Its body crumbled to fiery dust soon after, ending its tormented existence and its never-ending hunger.

“Nice one, Fluttershy!” Pinkie cheered.

Fluttershy smiled awkwardly. “Heh… you should be thanking Rarity.”

“The perfect catch can’t happen without the perfect throw, darling,” Rarity added, tossing the dagger up and catching it again in her aura.

Hearing some magical discharges, the three mares looked over to see Twilight firing magenta bolts of light into the third creature. It took about three bloody holes opened into its form before it was blown tumbling back to the ground a few feet away.

“Keep up the good work, girls,” Twilight said, noticing how many of the beasts her friends had already taken care of. As she turned to see the one she just knocked away already getting up, she mentally cursed. The holes in its body were slowly closing up. With limited silver weaponry, and flora all around making fire-based spells a liability, she would have to get creative with how she dealt with the creatures.

Then, an idea popped into her head. They didn’t necessarily have to kill all of the beasts right away, they just needed to knock them down far enough away from them to give them time to activate the elements. Once Dusk was gone, his minions would most likely follow.

“Rarity, how do you feel about bowling?” Twilight asked, looking at her friend and eyeing to the creature closest to them.

“Is now really the time to ask about that, Twilight?” Rarity gave her purple friend a flat look before bringing a hoof to her chin pensively. “Although, if you must know, I find it a touch too noisy to enjoy.”

Twilight stared at her friend for a second and fought the urge to face hoof. “Just help me with this one!” She instructed, letting her horn glow brighter and straining to pick up the closest creature before it could start sprinting toward them.

“Oh… I see what you’re doing.” Rarity smiled, and then adopted a more serious look as she wrapped her own aura around the floating beast.

With their efforts combined, the two mares managed to fling the creature far and fast, completely overpowering its supernatural resistance to magic and sending it flying, where it sailed through the air-

-and into the creature Twilight first knocked away. The two beasts collided with a mighty thwack, and the both of them rolled and tumbled with a series of not-so-happy sounding snarls and yips as they got even further from the six mares.

Rainbow Dash and Applejack rejoined their friends just in time to watch the spectacle. The cyan mare threw her hooves up triumphantly and laughed. “Haha! Strike!”

Twilight breathed a sigh of relief and wiped her forehead. Even with Rarity’s help, throwing the beast with that much momentum was a hard task. “Good… that should give us a minute.” She turned to the others. “Rarity, go grab the elements and-”

Suddenly, Twilight widened her eyes as she looked off toward the side, and then at her yellow friend.

“Fluttershy, get down!”

“Wha-” Fluttershy started, turning her head to where the unicorn had looked with a bit of alarm. However, she cut off abruptly as a gasp escaped her, her wide eyes being met by a streak of red heading straight for her.

The crimson stream zipped through the air like a thin spear, coming between the shy mare’s eyes. It would have pierced straight through, had it not been for a set of orange forelegs wrapping around and pulling her out of the way. However, the pegasus couldn’t get fully clear of its path before it raked across her cheek, leaving a trickle of her own blood and causing a painful yelp as it shot past and into the palace wall behind them.

The others watched with jaws agape and wide eyes as Applejack landed on the ground with Fluttershy in her grasp. They started to approach the pair to assess damage when another yell from Rainbow Dash drew their attention away.

“Scatter!” The cyan mare exclaimed, pointing ahead frantically. No sooner did she get her frantic statement out was she forced to dodge upwards as another crimson snake zipped past her. However, instead of colliding with the far wall like the last projectile, this stream slowed and curved back toward the ponies.

Twilight and the others darted their heads forward, only to spot even more attacks coming their way.

Pinkie yelped and dove to the floor, covering her head with her hooves as a stream of blood whizzed past. Rarity squeaked fearfully as she dodged side to side, narrowly missing getting run through on a few occasions as two more streams joined the fray and curved back.

Applejack looked up to see one of the streams curving back towards her and Fluttershy. She did her best to shield her friend, but before an impact could be made, a magenta forcefield appeared in front of them just in time to scatter the crimson spear into liquid droplets.

Twilight cringed as she followed the three remaining streams flying through the air. One was chasing Rainbow Dash around, while the other two seemed to be zipping around aimlessly. Then, a shooting pain erupted across her back. “Agh!”

“Twilight!” Pinkie gasped as she watched a stream clip the unicorn, leaving behind a shallow gash that looked worse than it probably was.

“GAH!” Rainbow Dash yelped from above as she had a hole punched clean through her foreleg by the surprisingly nimble stream of fluid.

She clutched the injured limb to her chest and staggered in the air, nearly plummeting before she caught herself with her wings. However, she couldn’t linger for very long as the floating stream whipped back around and started heading toward her again.

As she groaned through clenched teeth, her back stinging as she stood up, Twilight looked up to spot her cyan friend struggling with an injury of her own. However, what was most concerning was the sight of all three remaining blood missiles heading for the pegasus.

With time running out for the wounded pegasus, Twilight raced to light up her horn once more and projected a bubble around Rainbow Dash in midair.

Rainbow nearly bumped into the top of the magical barrier as it appeared, but she managed to flutter down just in time. As she turned to the ground to see her unicorn friend, the outside of the bubble was suddenly spattered with red from three distinct wet impacts.

“Phew…” She breathed a sigh of relief, thankful that she had a moment of rest. As she sank down and sat on the bottom of the bubble, Twilight lowered her back to the ground before letting the barrier fade.

“Is everypony ok?” Rarity asked, looking to the various injuries her friends had sustained with soft eyes. Twilight and Fluttershy’s cuts were cringe-worthy enough, but Rainbow’s bleeding foreleg made the white mare frown with concern.

Before anyone could answer, an amused cackle brought their attention to the side.

Off in the distance, Dusk was beside himself laughing. He had a hoof outstretched in their direction, seemingly the source of the bloody projectiles. “My, my, I have not had this much fun in what seems like centuries!”

Then, the pale stallion grunted in pain as his whole body flew back into a tree behind him, wrapped in a faintly shimmering deep blue aura.

“Remember who you are fighting, Dusk,” Luna said, managing a smirk through her exhausted features. She had been preoccupied with fighting off the lone strigoi and Dusk’s attacks, but once the alicorn started focusing on the six mares, she had an opening to knock away the feral creature and shift her focus to him.

As a flash of orange filled the air, Luna glanced over to see a flaming silhouette of a pony being held aloft by a magenta aura before it turned to ash. Shining Armor and Cadence had apparently also used their new opening to the fullest and dispatched the strigoi attacking them.

“Guh…” Dusk grunted, lifting his head up shakily before it was shoved back into the tree. He glared at the blue alicorn momentarily before chuckling to himself. “I suppose that is what happens when one… what was the phrase? Goofs off.” He muttered before looking off toward what remained of his scattered minions. One was struggling to get upright again, while the other two were seemingly unconscious in a heap. “Get off your worthless hides and attack her!” He commanded, his eyes flaring up for a moment.

Almost like a switch was flipped, all three of the remaining strigoi sprang to life. The two that were unconscious shot up clumsily and unknotted themselves before standing up, while the other one stiffened and turned its head to look at its new target with a vicious snarl.

Luna eyed at the three beasts nervously, sweat forming on her brow. However, it wasn't from fear. It was from magical strain. Her horn was sparking and fitting as she struggled to keep the unnatural pony pinned to the tree against his will.

“Shining, Cadence! I require your aid!” She pleaded, desperate to not let their enemy gain the upper hand again.

The trio of monsters barked and suddenly leaped forward into a sprint straight toward the princess of the night. She couldn’t move or retaliate against them without letting Dusk go, so all she could do was watch as they drew closer.

Then, a light blue bubble sprang up, encasing all three of the creatures and causing two of them to thump into a transparent wall with a sound like glass being struck by a bird.

“Leave my auntie alone!” Cadence exclaimed, her horn glowing fiercely and a look of determination on her face.

Luna smiled at her niece before suddenly yelping and clutching a hoof to her head as a great strain was put on her magic. She squinted an eye open and looked up, only to see Dusk struggling to his hooves through her hold on him.

The pale alicorn cringed, though it seemed less out of pain and more out of exertion, as he made jerky movements to push up and away from the tree. His legs wavered, but soon he pushed himself to a standing position once more, his mouth now curled with anger and his fangs exposed in a snarl.

“If you think… that I will be defeated… by petty magic…” He grunted, his movements getting easier to make the weaker Luna got. “Then you… are sorely mistaken!”

“Gah!” Luna fell back to her haunches, her horn dimming as the connection was broken with one last powerful jerk.

Then, just as Dusk started walking forward, he hit his muzzle onto a freshly appeared barrier made of magenta light. Confused, and more than a little irritated, he looked out to see a certain unicorn stallion with horn aglow, much like the pink alicorn beside him.

“Woohoo! Go, Shining!” Pinkie cheered from back near the entrance with the others.

Shining turned to the six mares with a slight smirk. However, he still had a serious air about him as he turned to see the pale alicorn and the three creatures being held at bay. “Twilight! Now’s your chance!”

“On it!” Twilight exclaimed with a firm nod. She then turned to her friends, particularly the white mare next to her, with an urgent expression. “Rarity, grab the-”

“Already ahead of you, darling!” Rarity stated, running back to the entrance and pulling out a familiar brown bag.

As the group came together and picked up their respective elements, Twilight cast a worried frown to her cyan friend as the pegasus winced from the still bleeding hole in her foreleg. “Are you up to doing this, Rainbow?”

Rainbow Dash noticed her friends giving her stares of concern. She could barely put weight on the injured limb right now. Still, she flashed her usual confident smirk to put them at ease. “I wouldn’t miss putting this creep in his place even if I was missing a leg.” She assured, snugging the element of loyalty against her neck.

Twilight smiled at the determined pegasus and the rest of her friends. They had all fought so valiantly alongside her to make sure that this wasn't just a final stand, but a battle to be won. Now, victory was within their grasp.

However, her smile faded into an irritated scowl as she heard a smug laugh from the pale alicorn.

Dusk contorted his face up into a wide, closed-lipped grin as he spotted the legendary objects of power, the likes of which made many of Equestria’s mightiest villains tremble with fear. “I suppose you expect me to simply allow you to put those on and use them?” He condescended. Just then, a stream of blood leaked out of his neck and floated into the air, stopping just shy of his magical prison. “Well, I can assure you that I will not.”

“Like we’d give you the chance!” Rainbow Dash boasted as she got into formation with her friends. “This is for Tom, Blue Bolt, and everyone else you’ve hurt.” She said, staring into the stallion with a fiery intensity.

“Nobody messes with my friends and family and gets away with it!” Applejack stamped a hoof.

Rarity smiled, keeping her steely gaze fixed ahead as her thoughts turned to her sister. You don’t have to cry anymore, Sweetie.

At the front of the formation, Twilight felt a sense of determination and confidence as she stood with her friends, staring down a monster. However, Dusk didn’t seem particularly upset or nervous. He was still looking at them like buzzing flies.

“You told me that we weren’t equals when we first met… and you know what? You were right,” Twilight said. “You’re the lowest, most cold-hearted, detestable individual I have ever met. You think that you can just step on whoever you want, just because they’re beneath you…”

The unicorn intensified her stare as a low hum filled the air and the elements started glowing.

“But now it’s time for you to get what you deserve, and I’m only glad that I’m one of the ones that are giving it to you,” Twilight stated. Soon, she could feel a tingle around her body as the power within the tiara and the necklaces was called forth.

Then, the sound of earth shifting came, and a blur of red sprang up and out of the ground. In an instant, the blur shot forward, cutting through the air on a direct path for the six mares, whereupon it drifted to the side and aimed right for Rarity.

The white mare stared ahead, reality slowing to a crawl as the crimson bullet drew nearer. The elements hadn’t activated, so she could still move, but it happened so fast that few would be able to react in time.

Her body tensed. Her thoughts raced as she locked eyes on the razor-thin point of the stream, turning not toward her imminent demise, but toward her sister.

Sweetie…

Then, the sound of flesh being pierced rang out.

Twilight and the others froze. It happened so quickly that many of them didn't even have time to watch. With their hearts caught between beats, they turned their heads, eyes wide and jaws falling agape.

They were met by the sight of a crimson arrow, surrounded all around by a spray of blood as it pierced clean through the chest-

-of a cyan pegasus.

"DASHIE!!" Fluttershy screamed as she watched her lifelong friend collapsing to the floor beside Rarity, having pushed the white mare out of the way. A gaping hole was left in Rainbow’s form that was already pouring blood from both sides.

Rarity landed on her tail end roughly after being shoved. She looked up, a startled gasp escaping her, as she witnessed her friend’s body crumpling to the grass in a bloody heap. “Rainbow Dash…?! RAINBOW DASH!” She shot forward, gently turning the pegasus over and recoiling briefly at what she saw.

The pegasus was bleeding heavily, her chest fluff already matted and stained red from the sheer flow of her own lifeblood. There was a pained and dazed look in her eyes as she stared up at the unicorn above her.

However, what caught Rarity the most off guard was that she was smiling. At death’s door, she was smiling, as if she had accomplished her sole mission of making sure her friends didn’t come to harm.

Up ahead, Luna looked back at the six mares in shock as she heard the panicked shouts and cries of alarm. Her pupils shrank as she saw one of the proud bearers of harmony on the ground, barely clinging to life from a mortal injury. “Hh… how did…?” She muttered, her eyes shifting back ahead until another rumble came from the ground.

Off to the side, Cadence watched as a spurt of red shot up from a newly formed hole in the grass before she could even react and pierced through her husband’s shoulder.

“GAAAHH!” Shining cried as he fell to the ground, clutching his only good foreleg to the agonizing wound he now had.

“Shining!” Cadence reached for the stallion, only to draw her eyes down and flinch back with a startled yelp as another crimson stream erupted from the ground, this time nearly taking her head off.

Twilight looked up from her friends gathering around Rainbow Dash to see the shield around Dusk fading. And as the magenta tint around the alicorn faded, she soon saw how he had attacked them from within the barrier.

Two streams of blood were flowing out of Dusk’s wrists, concealed from view by his posture and flowing into the ground behind his forelegs. The smile was still on his face, bigger than ever as he looked out at the chaos he caused.

“No!” Luna cried in refusal, lighting up her horn and focusing on a spell to retaliate. However, before she could even form enough energy to do anything meaningful, the ground split beside her as a crimson snake shot up and wrapped around her neck before whipping her to the ground with a painful jerk.

The blue mare choked and coughed as she clutched her hooves to her neck. The tendril around her throat was unrelenting, and it squeezed harder the more she struggled against it.

“Princess!” Twilight reached for the pinned alicorn.

“You’re going to give me what I deserve, Twilight Sparkle?” Dusk scoffed, his eyes narrowing and an icy intensity falling over them as they settled on the purple mare. “Let me tell you what I deserve.”

“Twilight, look out!” Applejack yelled as she watched another stream of blood flying out of Dusk’s neck and toward her friend.

Twilight was frozen to the spot in horrified shock. Watching her friend getting impaled and seeing her brother, her foalsitter, and her mentor’s sister getting attacked was too much for her. She scarcely managed to react to her friend’s warning in time to dart her eyes ahead, only to feel a thin rope wrapping around her neck and pulling taut.

“Gack!” The unicorn sputtered, her hooves reaching to her neck as she was lifted off the ground and pulled forward with unnatural force for such a spindly tendril.

Cadence looked up to see her sister-in-law being carried toward the pale stallion, her heart dropping to her stomach as she did. “Twilight, no!” She whirled around, ready to shoot a blast at the alicorn and break his concentration. “Leave her alone you heartless-”

*Thwack*

Then, her vision blurred and her legs buckled as a tendril whipped into the back of her head. Her angered grimace faded into a dazed stupor as she slid to the ground.

As the pink mare lost consciousness, the forcefield around the three feral creatures faded. They all stepped forward, snarling and baring their teeth in an almost joyful display, even if their master had commanded them to stay put and let him have his fun.

Dusk eyed around at the others for a moment before turning his gaze to Twilight as she was pulled right up to him by the stream protruding from his neck. “I deserved to be recognized for my talents… I deserved to be feared and respected by all. I deserved to rule by Celestia’s side! But clearly, fate had other plans.” He growled through his teeth, his face wrinkling with anger briefly before he relaxed his expression, even managing a smile. “But now… fate bows to me, and soon, so will all of the world.”

“Twilight!” Applejack exclaimed. Both she and Pinkie started to rush forward, daggers at the ready to attempt and rescue their friend when a few more holes suddenly opened up in the grass ahead of them.

Three bloody tendrils snaked into the air, pointing at them menacingly, but not striking. They cowered back, preparing for the inevitable, but it strangely never came. It seemed as though these tendrils were to keep them from interfering.

Meanwhile, Twilight stared into the luminous red eyes of the alicorn, tears streaming down her face from a mixture of sorrow and the strain to her windpipe. This was it. She lost, and now she and her friends were at the mercy of the alicorn.

She feared something like this happening, but she never imagined it would end up so bad.

“You know, at first I was going to make Celestia kill you.” Dusk explained, bringing a hoof up and lifting Twilight’s chin. “But then I realized how much of a waste that would be. After all, the moment she tasted your blood, she would no longer care that she was slaughtering her beloved student.”

Twilight kicked at the air and gasped for each breath. She tried to light up her horn and teleport away, but she couldn’t focus through the pain in her neck and her racing heart. Even despite her situation, she turned her head away as the alicorn drew closer to her to the point where she could feel his cold breath on her face.

“Now, I’ve come up with a better plan. All I have to do is kill you and bring you back. Then, I will make Celestia watch as you kill all of your former friends and drain them dry.” He said, his mouth splitting into a devilish grin as he opened his maw wide, drawing the unicorn closer and setting a hoof on her back.

“NO!” Shining Armor cried, watching with one eye squinted open in pain and reaching toward his sister from the ground as the alicorn drew her in. “TWILIGHT!”

“Please, don’t hurt her!” Fluttershy joined the choir of voices calling out for their unicorn friend. Her eyes were freely flowing with tears, unable to cope with potentially watching two friends die.

The shouts from her brother and her friends barely reached Twilight’s ears as her life flashed before her eyes. She clenched her lids shut, letting a fresh set of tears fall down her face in one final act of denial to her fate.

Princess… Spike… Tom… Everyone… I’m sorry.

*Crack*

A deafening boom of thunder filled the air as the garden was briefly bathed in light. Everyone, even Dusk, stopped what they were doing and looked up.

The sky was clear as ever, with the moon clearly visible overhead. Yet somehow, another bolt of lightning split the air.

Fluttershy lifted a hoof to the side of her face as the wind suddenly picked up, blowing her mane to the side wildly. Oddly, it wasn't a cold wind as would have been expected in the fall. It was warm.

“What’s happening?” Rarity asked, looking around the cloudless sky with confusion and a hint of fear.

“I don’t know…” Applejack raised her voice over the rising wind, clamping a hoof down onto her head to keep her hat in place and holding a hoof on Rainbow Dash’s side. “It can’t be much worse than what we’re dealin’ with already!”

Over at the back of the garden, Twilight fell onto her back as the pale stallion abruptly let her go. He slowly receded all of his tendrils as well, freeing Luna and allowing her to gasp for air.

Dusk stared up into the sky for a moment before turning toward the sourceless wind. He narrowed his eyes curiously, seemingly just as confused as to what was going on. “What sort of magic is this…?” He spoke to nobody in particular before casting his gaze to the blue alicorn still recovering on the ground a few feet away. “Luna, is this your doing? Perhaps one of your monster hunters?”

Luna didn’t answer him. She was too busy staring off into the distance, processing the strange energy she was feeling. “What on earth?” She muttered. It was everywhere and nowhere, sourceless but all around, and it seemed to be gathering in a spot just ahead between her and the element bearers.

The lightning flashed more and more, though the sound of thunder had since ceased. Suddenly, the wind died down to a slight breeze.

“Hey… look over there!” Pinkie announced, pointing a hoof forward as she caught a hint of light.

Everyone who was able turned their heads to where their pink friend was pointing, only to spot tiny flecks of orange sparking to life in the air a few feet off the ground. It resembled the embers that the vampires turned to upon death, but these were seemingly coming out of nowhere.

More and more of the embers appeared, floating a short ways into the wind before blinking out, until suddenly a more solid-looking flame sprang to life in four spots on the ground.

The four flames were spaced evenly apart, and they didn’t seem to be spreading to the grass around them. Instead, they started traveling upwards in a mixture of sparks, embers, and licks of fire.

Everyone was transfixed on the strange spectacle with anything from curious awe to confused bewilderment on their faces as the embers continued to rise. They seemed to be filling out a shape as they went, and nearly all at once, Twilight and the others realized that the shape being formed was that of hooved legs.

Soon, the flames converged in the air, forming an equine body. A tail, bits of a mane, then a head. Once the shape had filled out completely, ember and flame dimmed and fell away, leaving behind dark blue fur and black hair.

A stallion was left standing in the middle of the garden as the wind died down and the sky returned to calm blackness. Not only that, but a pegasus stallion. And as the group stared at him in stunned silence, they realized something.

They recognized him.

Fluttershy’s mouth fell agape and her eyes went round. She stammered, her voice having left her behind amidst all the shock, trauma, and now confusion she had gone through. “B… Blue Bolt?”

Sure enough, there he was, standing a mere few feet away from her. He didn’t look terribly different from the last time she saw him. He still had his Nightmare Night costume on, or at least most of it. The monocle and tophat were missing, leaving him clad in his fancy-looking black and blue vest.

The stallion stared ahead blankly, his eyes glowing a dull orange before suddenly fading back to their usual blue coloring as a sense of clarity came over him. He scanned his head side to side with a wrinkled brow.

He almost seemed confused, and as if to further this observation, he muttered a single question.

“Wh… where the hay am I?”