Angel of Justice: Blood Moon

Up above, the combined Elements of Harmony and their stallion friend charged forward into the gallery room, into battle. They didn’t know what was going to happen once they faced Dusk. All they knew was that they would all do their best to protect their friends and put an end to the nightmare plaguing Equestria.

Twilight and the others kept a tight huddle as they entered the room, with Glimmer Shine working his way in front of them protectively. They darted their gaze around, expecting to find blood tendrils whipping about or bolts of magic flying through the air.

What they found instead, was an empty room with a gaping hole in the floor leading into what must have been a cavernous space.

Hearing faint zaps, explosions, and shouts coming from below, the group quickly rushed over and gathered around the edge.

Twilight stepped up to the pit and gazed down into it. She saw an expansive space full of what must have been hundreds of gallons of blood. The sight wasn't all too unfamiliar for some of the group, and those that had prior experience with the lower levels felt an uneasy pit forming in their guts.

Suddenly, the seven caught sight of two winged figures flying around and doing battle. Fiery light exposed the area as Celestia shot at Dusk in one of the far sides of the room.

And down in the center of the room, almost directly beneath the hole, was a bloodied and battered-looking blue alicorn. She seemed in a great deal of pain from her posture, but her focus seemed to be on the crimson waters below.

“Oh my gosh, is that Princess Luna?” Pinkie asked, voice laced with concern.

Rainbow Dash hovered up slightly, anxious to do something. “Is her wing hurt or something? Why is she down there?”

Although the intense fight going on between Celestia and Dusk worried her, Twilight knew that this was no time to let fear stop her from acting. Luna possibly needed help, and that was all she needed to know.

“Stay here for a minute, I’m going in.” Twilight instructed her friends gravely.

Glimmer Shine skewed a brow. “Going in…? What do you-” Then, as he looked over, the purple mare blinked out of sight amidst a magical glow. She appeared shortly afterward down in the cavernous room, right on the stone platform Luna was on. “Twilight!”

Ignoring the concerned eyes staring at her from above, Twilight steadied herself on her new surroundings and looked around briefly before turning to the alicorn beside her.

Luna looked up to the newly arrived unicorn, her face flashing with worry. “Twilight… what are you doing here?!” She said quietly, looking to the side to see if Dusk had noticed yet. If he had, Celestia seemed to be keeping him occupied.

Twilight knelt beside the alicorn and briefly examined her. “Are you ok? Can you fly?”

“No…” Luna grimaced slightly. “My wing was hurt in the blast Dusk made that sent us down here. Blue Bolt was going to heal it, but…” She trailed off as a particularly close sounding crack drew their attention to a wayward blood tendril. It didn’t look like it was aimed for them, but it was enough to make them tense.

“Where is Blue Bolt?” Twilight asked as she looked around, only to find no sign of the stallion. She was surprised to have the alicorn reach out and pull her back from the edge of the platform.

“Do not go in the blood. Blue Bolt sensed something, and then he got pulled in. Dusk is not the only creature down here with us… and I’m afraid I may know what it is.” Luna explained tensely.

Twilight wrinkled her expression. “Pulled in? Wh… what do you mean? Is something down there?” She turned to the pool of crimson liquid uneasily.

“Something you and your friends are all too familiar with, I’m afraid,” Luna said, glancing up toward the others. Seeing the unicorn’s tense confusion, she frowned. “You recall the monster you faced at the school, yes? The one the hooded ponies summoned?”

Suddenly, a look of shocked revelation came over Twilight’s face. Her wide eyes flashed with memories she had long since tried to forget of her time trudging through damp, musty halls while some unseen horror lurked in every puddle and trench.

“No… please don’t tell me-” Twilight trailed off as she looked to the water. She shuddered as images of a bloody skull staring at her flashed before her mind. Realizing the severity of the situation, she shook her head and took a breath before turning back to the alicorn. “Ok… if that thing is down there, we need to get out of here, right now.” She looked up to the hole above, and then back at Luna, frowning softly as she did. “Can you teleport?”

Luna groaned as she tried channeling the necessary energy through her horn, only to let it dim shortly after. “No… I’m sorry, but I have spent too much energy.” She said. Her frown only deepened as she saw the unicorn diving into her thoughts to try and come up with a solution. “Twilight, don’t worry about me. Get yourself to safety and use the elements on Dusk.”

Instead of listening to the alicorn, Twilight sighed tensely and lifted a hoof to her ear while gazing skyward. Her ear lit up with a blue-tinted glow as she triggered the spell. “Pinkie, tell Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy to come down here. We need to carry Princess Luna out.”

After a moment, she saw a pink silhouette up above waving to her and heard a familiar voice in her head.

“Okie dokie lokie!” Pinkie said.

Twilight grew softer and more grave as she spoke again. “And Pinkie… tell them to be careful. Something’s in the water… something really bad.”

There was a pregnant pause before the pink mare spoke again. “We know… Please be careful down there.” She said, voice soft with worry. Judging from her tone, she knew exactly what the unicorn was talking about.

Shortly after, a pair of familiar pegasi swooped down into the hole and quickly approached the stone platform floating amongst a sea of red. Their faces were grave and tense with fear, and it wasn't just from the battle taking place on the other side of the room.

Rainbow Dash darted her eyes around the dank space. “Where’s Blue Bolt?” She asked.

“He got pulled under.” Twilight eyed down to the sloshing waves hesitantly. The pair understandably gasped with surprise and concern. “Look, there’s not much we can do for him right now. We just have to hope his powers will keep him safe. Right now, we have to get the Princess out. If that monster attacks us, we’re sitting ducks here.”

“Dangit, Blue…” Rainbow growled uneasily, casting her eyes to the crimson depths briefly before shaking her head. “Alright, alright, let’s get moving. Come on, Flutters-”

An out-of-place splash breached the surface of the blood as movement caught the ponies’ eyes. They looked over just in time to watch a bloody claw stretching up into the air and clamping down on the yellow pegasus’ hind leg. In the moment it took for alarm to reach them, the arm reeled back, pulling the shy mare down with it.

“AHHH!” Fluttershy screamed as she was yanked from the air. She hit her upper half on the stone platform, smacking her chin. As she was dragged further, she flailed and dug her forehooves into the stone.

Twilight, Rainbow Dash, and even Luna all widened their eyes, faces going pale as snow.

“FLUTTERSHY!”

Immediately, Twilight dove forward, grasping the yellow mare’s hooves just as they reached the edge of the platform. Most of Fluttershy’s torso was now under, and her terrified eyes were big as dinner plates.

“Gotcha!” Rainbow Dash assured as she dove down and joined Twilight in pulling, working her forelegs under Fluttershy’s as best she could. Still, even with her help, it was hard to keep the yellow pony from losing ground with their awkward positioning.

A third set of hooves clamped down on Fluttershy’s forelimbs as Luna rushed forward, ignoring all her wounds in an adrenaline-fueled rush. With the alicorn’s help, they started making progress against the creature, managing to get the mare’s chest back up on solid ground.

“Fluttershy!”

“Hold on!”

“You can do it!”

Voices shouted from up above as the others helplessly watched the struggle taking place.

Rainbow Dash flapped her wings and pulled with all her might. Strangely, this creature was pulling harder than she remembered from before. Either it was from their awkward positioning, or perhaps it was done messing around with its prey after they had escaped so many times. Either way, it was not making it easy for them.

Just then, Twilight looked up at another hint of movement. She shrank back as she saw a blood stream zipping straight for them. “Eeep!” She squeaked in fear, racing to light up her horn and place a barrier in front of her and her friends. She narrowly made it in time, causing the projectile to ping uselessly against her shield.

A few more flying streams of blood came much faster than the first. They crashed into Twilight’s shield and almost immediately shattered it, sending a wave of pain through the unicorn’s head.

Rainbow Dash yelped as she narrowly dodged to the side, just barely getting out of the way as one of the streams zipped past. Thankfully, while they were close to be sure, none of them managed to hit anypony.

However, they did do damage in another way.

As Twilight recoiled in pain, losing focus and instinctively lessening the grip on one hoof, and Rainbow Dash moved to the side, Fluttershy swiftly dipped back down as the force pulling on her was met with less resistance.

“AH!” Fluttershy squeaked in fear as she went down to her neck, the element of kindness fully vanishing from view under the crimson tide. Now, only her head and part of her forelegs were above the surface.

“Fluttershy!” Twilight’s face paled as she and Luna were dragged forward along with the pegasus. She reaffirmed her grip on the yellow mare’s hooves and even lit her horn, wrapping her magic around and using that to pull as well.

Fluttershy could feel the grip on her ankle tighten, the sharp claws digging in and doubtlessly breaking skin. She could almost picture the bloody skull grinning eagerly at her, waiting to pull her under and wait until she drowned before it drained every drop of blood from her body.

“Don’t let it take me! Please!” Fluttershy cried, her eyes streaming tears freely as she fought to stay above water. It pained the others to see so much terror in her face. It also pained them to think that they might lose her.

Rainbow Dash threw caution to the wind and hovered behind the yellow mare, close to the water’s surface. “Hold on, Fluttershy! I’ve got you!” She assured, dipping her forelimbs under the crimson tide and wrapping them around her friend’s waist before flapping like a life depended on it.

Over at the back of the room, Celestia stared ahead with wide eyes as she saw the others losing the fight for Fluttershy’s life. She had tried to keep Dusk from interfering, but she was doing good to keep him from hitting her. There were only so many blood tendrils she could block with a well-placed shield at this distance.

“Girls!” She swooped forward, fully prepared to pull the pegasus out with her magic, until a tight coil wrapped around her neck, forcing her to pause midair with a strangled croak.

A few feet away, Dusk snorted in amusement and allowed every tendril of blood except for one recede into his body. He tugged on the tendril snaking out of his wrist, the one wrapped around his mentor’s neck, and lightly pulled her along.

“Look closely, Celestia. I want you to watch her die… I want you to hear them wail when she goes under.” Dusk said, lighting his horn and forcibly turning her head towards the sight ahead of her instead of toward him. His mouth split with a twisted smirk as he too watched closely.

Then, a series of cracks came from above, followed swiftly by a bolt of green light piercing into Dusk’s side, and another whizzing past uselessly.

“Gah!” The stallion yelped and shrank back in the air. As another bolt whizzed past his head, he looked up toward the ceiling angrily.

Through the hole above, Pinkie Pie, Glimmer Shine, and even Applejack were all wielding their poppers and shooting down.

One of the orange mare’s bolts struck Dusk in the chest, causing another burning pain to course through him. He briefly lost concentration on his blood tendril, which drooped weakly as a result.

“Why you impertinent little- AGH!”

Before the stallion could finish flinging his curses on the meddling ponies’ heads, a fiery ball of magical energy exploded into him, sending him flying back and smacking into the stone wall behind him with a newly acquired crater in his form.

Celestia, horn still ablaze with crackling energy, took an unlabored breath as the coil around her neck fully dissolved. She glanced upwards, flashing an appreciative smile to the trio firing down, before shifting her eyes down and softening them as she saw the others struggling to save Fluttershy.

“Hold on, girls!” She called after them, flying forward and starting to cast her magical influence outward to grab onto the sinking pegasus until a sharp stream of blood shot right in front of her. The alicorn looked to the side just in time to see more wayward streams curving through the air, heading straight for her.

“Not so fast, Celestia!” Dusk yelled, eyes flashing red with anger as he waved a hoof, mentally controlling the crimson spears and sending them chasing after as Celestia scrambled to evade.

Up above, Glimmer Shine and the three mares felt their hearts pounding as the situation worsened.

“Oh no… We have to do something!” Rarity dragged both hooves down her ears and to the sides of her face. She couldn’t bear to watch Twilight, Rainbow Dash, and Luna struggling to keep their pegasus friend alive.

Applejack growled through grit teeth. “All we can try to do is keep that creep off’a Princess Celestia so she can help!” She suggested, leveling her popper back and starting to line up a shot.

However, a stray noise pricked Glimmer Shine’s ears. He scarcely had time to react before something crashed up through the stone floor beside him and Pinkie. A blood bullet zipped right by, narrowly avoiding hitting either of them.

“Look out!” Glimmer yelled as more pings and crashes came from below. Rarity shrieked and darted back as several more projectiles came up toward them. The ponies all scattered and leaped to what they presumed to be safety, all the while having miniature geysers of blood shoot up through pinholes in the stone floor around the opening.

Back down in the cavernous room, Twilight gasped in alarm as she saw a hail of blood streams spearing up where her friends were. However, she had something more pressing to worry about as she dug her hind hooves into the platform beneath her, fighting just to hold her ground.

“Pull harder, Rainbow!” She pleaded.

“I’m trying!” Rainbow Dash stated through clenched teeth. By now, she was starting to be submerged as well, but she didn’t care. At any rate, the creature seemed to be fully focused on the yellow mare.

Luna’s expression fell as she watched Fluttershy sink further down. The pegasus was forced to close her mouth to prevent any liquid from getting in. “We are losing her!”

“No!” Twilight’s eyes trembled as she stared at her friend. She could feel her hooves slipping and her magic faltering.

Fluttershy whimpered and took quick, shallow breaths, though she couldn’t make much sound with her mouth under the surface. She shifted her eyes up to meet Twilight’s. The fear and sadness within her shimmering orbs were enough to break the unicorn’s heart even more.

However, a look of somber realization seemed to take hold. Fluttershy seemed to silently communicate so much through her eyes in the span of a few seconds. She knew she wasn't going to make it, but she was at least glad to be surrounded by her friends at the end.

Finally, the pegasus was forced to hold her breath as her entire muzzle went under. She gave Twilight and Luna one last look before clenching her eyes shut.

Then, the tenuous hold Twilight had over her hooves ended.

“Fluttershy!”

The last thing she heard before going under was the unicorn shouting her name.

Without her friends pulling on her, Fluttershy was being dragged down much faster now. However, much to her surprise, Rainbow Dash hadn’t let go.

Rainbow…?

Fluttershy gazed upward. It was hard to make out through the dark fluid, but she could just barely spot the cyan mare’s silhouette, most likely because Rainbow was right on top of her. The forelegs clasped around her waist refused to release her unto her fate.

What are you doing…?! You’ll die too!

She felt a pang of sadness as the other pegasus kept pulling on her in vain. Even though communication had left them on the surface, she could almost hear her friend’s protests.

No way! I’m not letting you die!

Fluttershy brought a hoof to one of Rainbow’s forelegs and squeezed it. The pulls on her stopped for a moment, but the grip didn’t loosen.

Fluttershy… just hang on. I’ll… I’ll save you!

She was sure the pegasus would say, if only she could.

A bittersweet smile crossed Fluttershy’s features amidst the crimson depths. She could feel her lungs crying for air, and she knew her friend must not have been far behind in terms of lung capacity.

Dashie… It’s ok… Please, let go.

She gently tried pulling Rainbow’s forelegs off, but her friend fought against her. She felt the cyan mare’s body hugging close, and the warm sensation of a cheek pressing against hers as a chin rested on her shoulder.

Flutters…

The cyan mare tried so hard not to let her friends see or hear her in an emotional state. Still, Fluttershy could almost feel Rainbow’s body trembling against hers. Just like with Blue Bolt, she was going to have a friend die without saying goodbye.

Her body jerked and she clenched her eyes harder, both out of sadness and because she was out of time. Soon, she would be forced to inhale whether she wanted to or not. It took everything she had not to give in yet. She couldn’t blackout, not while Rainbow was still trying to save her.

She grasped her friend’s forelimbs again with both hooves and tried again. Even if she was at full strength, she probably wouldn’t have won. Still, as they drifted further into the crimson abyss, only one thought was forefront in the yellow mare’s mind.

Let me go…