Angel of Justice: Blood Moon

The moon vanished from sight over the skies of New Hoofshire as clouds gathered. Thunder shook the few remaining citizens to the core as they desperately tried to hide or flee. The wind picked up, creating a disconcerting rustle of fallen leaves and debris to accompany the frequent flashes of light.

And right in the thick of things, a fierce battle was still being fought between the royal sisters and Celestia’s monstrous former student.

Luna narrowly avoided a long-reaching tendril of blood whipping at her as she fired off a few bolts of blue energy. She hovered up toward her sister, who joined in her attack by sending a barrage of fireballs down at the pale alicorn.

Much like both of their individual fights with Dusk, he was dodging nearly every attack they sent his way. They were managing to hit him more often than they did when they were alone, but any damage he took seemed a minor inconvenience more than anything.

Celestia stole a glance upwards as a particularly loud crackle of thunder came, accentuated by a flash of lightning. The clouds above her had an ominous-looking red tint to them, and they were roiling and shifting around in a disconcerting display.

“What manner of spell is this, Dusk?! What did you do?!” She shouted down as she swooped to the side, avoiding a small number of crimson bullets zipping toward her.

Down on the ground, Dusk continued to dodge explosions, flames, and lasers without so much as an exhausted grimace. All the while, he would send half-hearted attacks at the pair, usually one at a time. He was toying with them, and they knew it.

“If you must know, it’s an advanced form of blood magic,” Dusk answered, gesturing off toward the symbol on the ground. “Fascinating topic, really. Thankfully, the previous owner of my castle hideaway was a kindred spirit of mine, and so graciously left behind a plethora of materials for me to peruse. He was a better teacher to me than you ever were, and I’ve never even met him.”

Celestia snorted at this. “Perhaps I did fail you as a teacher. I thought I was molding you into a caring and wise pony.”

“What? Like you failed to do for your sister?” Dusk retorted, causing the white mare to fall silent briefly. He smiled at this reaction. “Oh, don’t act like it was a secret. I should have known far sooner than I did, I admit, but it was plain to see you were just using me to fill the void in your soul.”

A sudden barrage of magical blasts made the pale stallion shift to the defensive. He looked up, only to see Luna hovering further down toward him with an angry scowl on her face.

“Enough!” She shouted. “I will not stand idly by while you besmirch my sister’s name with such slander!”

Dusk chuckled. “Slander? Just look at her! Every word of it is true.”

Looking over, Luna noticed Celestia staring down with soft eyes and pursed lips. Still, she turned back to Dusk and glared at him once more. “She wasn't using you… She was offering you a great kindness in taking you under her wing, especially at such a hard time! Just because you were too blind to realize your monstrous crimes, does not mean that she is at fault for punishing you!”

A soft growl passed between clenched teeth as Dusk glared up at the blue alicorn. His ruby eyes intensified, and a sense of cold-blooded hatred could clearly be seen.

“I think it’s time you stopped meddling in matters that don’t involve you, Luna.” He said quietly, not once breaking eye contact as two streams of blood slowly lifted out of his wrists. However, before he could act any further, his body was enveloped in a blue magical aura.

Dusk struggled in place, but the magical hold over him held firm. Up above, Luna could be seen with visible discomfort on her face, but a sense of determination in her eyes.

“No… I think it is time that you received your dues.” She said before turning to Celestia with somewhat of an urgent expression. “Now, sister! Hit him with sunlight!”

Not one to waste an opportunity, Celestia snapped herself from her uneasy thoughts and lit her horn. She knew that her sister couldn’t hold him for long, and she also knew that the stallion could easily dodge such a slow attack with ease. However, one thing that she knew for certain. She was not going to miss.

Celestia’s horn slowly intensified its glow as its tip was enveloped in a radiant golden light. A low hum started building in volume and pitch.

And then, a blinding light.

The entire area was enveloped in a bright yellowish glow as a cone of scorching fury was sent toward the ground. Any and all ponies within a mile radius could see the light above the otherwise darkened city.

Almost immediately, Dusk produced a raw scream of pain as his form vanished into the glow. The pavement around him started to sizzle like it was a hot summer day, or perhaps it was merely the stallion that was sizzling.

Luna could feel her magical hold straining. Even under the blinding light, Dusk was still struggling to get free. Despite her sister being the one casting such powerful magic, it seemed as though she was the one about to buckle under the pressure.

“Stay strong, Luna! We must keep him restrained until he is ash!” Celestia yelled over the sounds of magical energy and agonizing screaming.

“I am trying, sister! Please hurry… Ngh… I’m not certain how much longer I can hold him!” Luna replied.

Celestia grit her teeth as she poured more energy into her horn. There was only so much power she could produce in a continuous beam without scorching the earth beneath her. Thankfully, she didn’t need to produce flames for the stallion to burn, she merely needed concentrated sunlight.

Just then, something wet dripped onto Celestia’s muzzle from above, followed closely by another droplet. Gradually, more and more drops of water came from the sky as the clouds seemingly opened up in a light shower that was only growing by the minute.

Luna looked up into the swirling clouds above, only to shield her face from the downpour. The rain looked oddly darker than water should have. And as she caught a few droplets on her lips, she noticed the unmistakable taste of copper. “Blood…?”

“Luna, look out!” Celestia exclaimed, drawing the younger alicorn’s attention back down.

Much to her horror, Luna widened her eyes as she caught a glimpse of movement through the crimson rain. A flying tendril was zipping out of the cone of sunlight toward her.

Beating her wings, Luna dodged to the side just enough to mostly escape the bloody bullet. However, she wasn't fast enough to prevent the projectile from piercing clean through her shoulder.

“GAHH!” Luna yelped, clutching her newfound wound and struggling to right herself in the air.

Meanwhile, the bloody projectile whipped back around in the air after punching through the blue mare, heading straight for Celestia. The white alicorn quickly projected a shield around herself, forcing an end to the continuous beam of light. And while the crimson bolt scattered to liquid against her shield, she knew that they were in big trouble now.

Both sisters looked down to see a few whiffs of smoke trailing up into the air amid the scarlet rain. They could immediately make out the form of Dusk, though he seemed like he was barely standing.

The stallion’s body was mostly charred, with only a few patches of smoldering fur remaining. There were even large holes in his form that had burned clean through to his bones. He was breathing heavily, and he took a labored step forward before lowering his head and seemingly trying to stay upright.

Still, in spite of all of this, the exhausted panting and wheezes slowly shifted to choked laughter as his form started to mend. New flesh and fur slowly shifted into being out of a layer of blood. The whole process seemed to happen quicker than they expected from such a grave set of wounds.

Finally, Dusk lifted one of his formerly skeletal hooves and examined it for a moment before trailing his eyes up to the storm above and the two alicorns in the air. “You like it? I must admit, I had hoped to use this on that slayer of yours… but, it serves just as well to keep me from wasting too much energy recovering from your irritating power. Not that I need much help.” He said, chuckling warmly at the pair.

Celestia growled in frustration as she saw the smug confidence on his face. He wasn't worried at all, like he wasn't even counting on the rain of blood to give him the edge he needed to free himself. Without a larger, more permanent source of sunlight, he could simply lash out at her or Luna and get her to stop. And now, even if she wanted to accept the risks of raising the sun prematurely, there was a thick covering of clouds protecting him.

However, a slight glint of fear came over her as she watched the stallion shift his attention back over to Luna.

“And now that I don’t need to conserve my energy… let’s have some fun, shall we?” Dusk grinned.

“Luna, get close to me!” Celestia called, reaching a hoof out to her sister.

Luna scarcely had time to react to her sister’s words. All at once, a series of spurting sounds came through the downpour as Dusk waved a foreleg across the air, sending out a dozen small blood streams that each zipped into the air toward her.

The crimson bullets all blended into the constant rain of blood, making it hard to keep track of them. Not that it was easy before to keep track of them with their blinding speed. Luna widened her eyes and dove down. She would have tried to think of some kind of spell to use to protect herself or get away, but around that time, a burning pain erupted across her side.

Luna yelped and spun around in the air, letting herself fall to hopefully gain more speed as she clutched her side. However, opening her eyes revealed a cluster of tiny spears all heading straight for her at once. She flinched and felt her body seize up as she realized that she couldn’t dodge them in time.

Just then, she bumped into something solid behind her. A wall of light appeared out of nowhere, shielding her from the numerous impacts about to take place. Before she could even fully process what was going on, she felt a hoof on her good shoulder and turned to see her sister apparently standing beside her in midair.

“Are you ok, sister?” Celestia frowned as she examined the wounded alicorn. The hole in her shoulder and the slash in her side were bleeding somewhat profusely.

Luna turned to see the last few blood bullets striking the outside of Celestia’s magical bubble before breathing a slight sigh of relief. “I am now… More importantly, what do we do?”

“I’m not sure,” Celestia replied tensely as she glanced down toward Dusk, or at least where she thought he was. With the red rain spilling off of her barrier, it was nigh impossible to make out any shapes outside. “I’m afraid any hope we had of running down his stamina is gone now.”

“Quite.” Luna cringed and drew air between her teeth as she lifted a hoof from her shoulder, only to have the tip of her shoe completely stained red. “I hate to say it, but I think we should start thinking of a way to escape.”

“We can’t flee while there are still ponies in the city,” Celestia replied.

Luna let her head thump against the back of the bubble behind her and sighed. “I know…”

“Still, I think you’re right,” Celestia added. “Cast a detection spell and see how many are left. Maybe we can somehow help them get to safety while evading Dusk’s-”

Before she could finish her sentence, Celestia was interrupted by a shattering sound.

Luna suddenly felt the solid bubble beneath her give way. All the color left her face as she stared ahead wide-eyed.

A single shot of blood had pierced through the bubble, breaking it apart as it flew forward. Celestia barely had time to react to the pain of her magic being overwhelmed, as a new pain erupted in her stomach. Another spurt of red flew out as the alicorn was nearly impaled clean through to the other side.

“AGH!” Celestia yelled and clutched her stomach as she fell toward the ground.

“SISTER!” Luna cried, zipping down through the air and reaching for the plummeting alicorn.

The two sisters fell dangerously close to the earth. Celestia started to flap her wings and right herself, allowing Luna to catch up and slow their descent to a safe level as they landed on the street. The older mare’s face was contorted in pain, and blood was already leaking out from under her hooves.

Luna started to try and help Celestia somehow when her ears suddenly pricked up. She spun around just in time to catch sight of a series of crimson needles flying through the rain toward both of them. She produced a startled gasp and lit up her horn, racing to save herself and her sister.

The pair blinked out of existence and back just in time to watch the bloody projectiles striking the ground where they just were, creating a sizable spray of debris and cracking the pavement as they punched through.

An out of place noise in the rain. Another attack. Luna just caught a glimpse of the crimson whip leaving scattered blood droplets in its wake, about to add her and Celestia’s blood to the red tide falling.

She teleported again, and again. More attacks followed. A whip here, a set of skewers there. Her head was throbbing and her lungs were struggling to keep up.

Finally, she couldn’t keep up anymore. A solid tendril smacked into the blue mare, knocking her away from her sister and sending her tumbling down the street.

Celestia lifted her head and grit her teeth against the burning pain in her stomach to light her horn. As more flying trails of blood prepared to impale Luna, she projected a shield just in time to stop them. Then, a strangled croak escaped her as a tendril wrapped around her throat, allowing her just enough time to grasp at it with her hooves before it yanked hard.

With the older alicorn getting dragged through the blood-soaked cobble and mud, Luna pushed herself to her hooves and whipped her head toward Dusk, who was still standing a dozen or so feet away from either of them. Letting loose a few bolts of magic in his direction was only met by tendrils of blood appearing out of nowhere and swatting them, blending into the rain as if they only just came into being solely to spite her attacks.

Dusk seemed thoroughly amused as he watched the strength leaving the two mares. He pulled his foreleg in, tightening the stream curling out of his wrist until it yanked on Celestia’s neck, creating a satisfying choked gasp. He would have enjoyed it a while longer if it wasn't for Luna picking up a nearby carriage with her magic and swatting him like a fly. She picked up the carriage again and slammed it back down a few times, creating a thunderous clamor.

Luna managed a smirk through her exhaustion as the tendril around Celestia collapsed into liquid. However, her mouth fell open as the top of the carriage suddenly exploded into a shower of splinters, with numerous blood streams piercing it before leveling out and heading straight toward her.

The most she could do was put up a shield, but much like before, the barrage shattered the barrier like fragile glass.

Down the street, Celestia’s eyes shot open as she heard a pained yell cut off abruptly. She lifted her head up, her heart skipping a beat as she saw her sister being pinned to the wall of the building behind her. Several tendrils were stabbed into her chest, forelegs, and stomach.

“LUNA!” Celestia cried. She forced herself to sit up, but a stabbing pain from her wound forced her to stop. After a moment, she pushed through the pain and managed to stand on shaky legs. She had to move forward. She had to reach her.

Without so much as a warning, her legs were swept out from underneath her by a bloody lash, sending her to the harsh ground where she settled with a sharp grunt.

She tried to get back up, managing to plant a single hoof on solid ground. Her muscles were refusing her commands, having lost too much energy from the fight and the bloodloss. However, before she could continue her struggle, a hoof roughly pushed down on her side, pinning her just enough to dissuade any movement.

Looking up with one eye flinched closed from the pain, she found a set of burning red eyes standing out from the rain, staring down at her with a prideful smirk.

“Well… if nothing else, I must admire your tenacity, Princess.” Dusk said, craning his neck slightly to better allow the streams of blood to retract back into his body. “After I nearly killed you and Luna the first time, I never expected you to come after me alone.”

Celestia averted her eyes from him and clenched her teeth. She used this moment to look up toward her sister, who was now slumped against the side of the building now that the tendrils piercing her were gone.

The white mare felt her heart race as she entertained the dreaded thought that Luna was already dead, but some sluggish movement from her sister brought her some relief before the hoof stepping on her shifted down to her wound, bringing her attention back with a restrained yelp.

Dusk reveled in his former mentor’s pain for a moment before leaning in close. “Ready to admit your wrongs? Maybe I can find it in my heart to forgive you for everything you did to me?”

Through all the pain, through all the exhaustion and suffering, Celestia had a fiery edge burning in her dull eyes. “To my dying breath… I will never absolve your actions.”

“Hmm…” Dusk pursed his lips pensively and looked up for a moment before stepping off her and walking forward a few steps. He looked over to Luna briefly before turning back and smiling. “And what about her dying breath?” He asked.

Although she didn’t want to let him affect her, Celestia’s glare softened ever so slightly and a glint of fear came through the malice in her eyes. “Dusk… we both know that this fight is between us. Leave her alone.” She threatened, though her words were less impactful as she struggled to push herself up.

Dusk snickered a bit and turned back around. He waited for her to get all four hooves planted on the ground again, even lowering himself to be at her level. “Don’t worry, Princess. I’m not going to kill you or Luna… not just yet. After all, I want you both to be there when I take everything from you.”

And with that, the stallion turned and walked away, leaving Celestia to sit with her thoughts amid the pouring rain. She tried to get up and chase after him, but just getting up was difficult enough, so much so that she nearly stumbled back to the ground.

After taking a few labored breaths, she looked up to see Dusk standing several feet away over by the glowing symbol on the ground, by the corpse of his former minion. He knelt down and removed the oversized cloak from the creature, ignoring how filthy it must have been by now and wrapping himself in it before shooting a devilish smile back at the white mare and spreading his wings.

Celestia growled in frustration as she watched him preparing to escape her grasp once more. “I won’t let you win, Dusk! You hear me?!” She shouted over the rain.

“Well… then, by all means, feel free to try and stop me. You know where I’ll be.” The pale alicorn said, taking a moment to enjoy the sheer anger and desperation radiating off her before leaping into the air and flying away.

She watched him vanish into the crimson sky, clutching one hoof to her largest wound and trying to get a handle on her erratic breathing. Shoving her worrisome thoughts from her mind, she turned down the street with newfound alarm in her eyes. “Luna…!”

It took her a minute to walk over to her sister, or perhaps hobble was a better term. She was battered, bruised, and bleeding, and as terrible as she felt, she feared that Luna had it worse.

Thankfully, her racing heart calmed as she saw the scope of the younger alicorn’s injuries. Her body was littered in mercifully shallow puncture wounds. Just another way for Dusk to rub in how much more powerful than them he was. She didn’t exactly care. All she cared about was that Luna was alive.

“Sister…?” Luna muttered weakly as she lifted her head before cringing and hugging her forelegs close. She panted heavily and rested her head against the building behind her. “Wh… what happened? Is h-he gone?”

“I’m afraid so,” Celestia said, a bittersweet air to her voice before she softened her features with concern as she rested a hoof on her sister’s foreleg. “Can you stand?”

“That… is an excellent question,” Luna said, taking a moment to psych herself up before pushing up the brick wall. Simply moving seemed painful for her, which was unsurprising, given the scope of her injuries. Still, surprisingly enough, she managed to get to her own teetering hooves largely on her own merit. “I believe the answer is… sort of.”

Celestia lifted the corners of her mouth ever so slightly as she saw how brave her sister had gotten. She always viewed the younger alicorn with such pride and respect, even before their mettle was being tested like some sort of monthly event.

Noticing a hint of movement out of the corner of her eye, Celestia turned to see a few figures walking toward them from the edge of town. Even through the rain, she could make out the armored forms of her loyal guardsponies. She recalled telling them not to enter the city again, but apparently, their sense of duty involved disobeying an order or two if they thought she needed help.

“Come on, Luna.” She said, wrapping a foreleg around Luna’s barrel and taking pains not to touch any open wounds. “I think between the two of us we can walk. I also think that some first aid is in order.”

“Mmm…” Luna’s smile twitched under the near-constant stinging throughout her body. “Perhaps a bath is in order as well. We should really do something about that symbol… lest we never get the metallic smell out of our coats.”

Celestia blinked a few droplets of blood out of her eyes as she looked up. Supernatural occurrences such as this usually sounded more remarkable on paper, where their after-effects weren’t taken into consideration.

“Yes… that too.” Celestia smiled, though her expression quickly fell into a grim line as she returned her thoughts to Dusk. Something didn’t feel right. He was planning something, but she could only imagine what it was.

And her imagination could come up with some dark and horrifying results.