Luna's dreadful screams are heartbreaking. The black mass sticks to her fur like tar and slowly spreads over her body like an ant colony. I turn to Celestia frantically. "You have to help her!"

Celestia shakes her head in shock. "How?! I'll hurt Luna if I hit it with my magic!" Celestia's horn flares and there's a faint yellow glow around the dark mass that gradually covers Luna, but nothing happens. Celestia's eyes bulge in frustration. "That stuff is immune to my magic! I can still blast it, but it would hurt Luna!"

Celestia pants furiously. "I'm sorry, I'm exhausted from holding the palace together!"

The Garges return and there's now six of them who step forward, watching us eagerly. Behind them is the love of my life, slowly being tortured by this black mass. Zaran is on his side, panting wildly and groaning in pain. Somehow, I didn't peg him for a faker. This Misera must have been inside of him for a while. It could have been the only way he was able to defeat Daruk and Umbra.

I look over my shoulder at the five Taraskans behind me on the ground who are in good condition. They lock eyes with me and with triumphant nods, get to their feet and stand in formation behind me. I pull out my sword and yell before charging the field with my soldiers in pursuit. The Garges roar and take off towards us.

My heart was pounding out of my chest. We'd each have to single handedly take on a Garge. Versa was the only one to do that without an element and she was renowned for feats like that. I drop my shield, as there'd be no point in it. One hit to its metal surface and I'd go flying with a broken arm. How did Versa do it? She stayed close, something none of us did. That was its weakness though, so close that it's reach didn't matter.

I turn my head to the side while looking forward so my units can hear me. "Ba dai senzo! Chez Kah!" Our best way in, was to blind it with daggers then get in close to avoid ax swings. Right within grabbing range to a hand that could literally pick you up and crush your ribcage in a single squeeze. Garges were stronger than they looked and that was a mistake we had made too many times. I turn slightly to the right, aiming for the Garge on the very end so we don't fight them all in a big group. With no armor and only three of them having weapons, we had some form of a chance.

The Garge raises its ax and roars. Fifty feet out and I turn to the soldier on my right. "Sergeant Thyra! Hor dez! Chez Kah!" She nods but her eyes show bewilderment. She gives her legs all she's got and keeps her eyes on the Garge while circling to the right. She draws her weapon and readies it. The Garge looks over at her. The moment his eyes aren't facing me, I toss my sword into the air, pull out a throwing knife from each gauntlet and hurl them at his face. One pierces his cheek, the other hits him square in the eye. He roars and shuts his other eye while shielding his face with his free hand. Sergeant Thyra darts in from the right and slices his hamstring during her sprint.

He roars and goes down to one leg. I skid to a stop and take a knee. A Taraskan plants a boot on my back and leaps into the air. He plunges his sword directly into the forehead of the beast. The Garge goes down silently with limp arms. Lieutenant Gaval tries to pull out his sword from the Garge's forehead using both hands. "Lieutenant! Get down!" I shriek, as a Garge ax comes flying through the air. Gaval lets go of his sword and tries to slide down next to the beast. The ax catches his back armor and wrenches him to the right on impact. I hear a nasty pop in his back and he's on the ground screaming in agony with both hands on his tailbone.

We don't even have time to examine him as the next Garge is here. He covers his face with his hands as my units try to blind him with knives.

"Maniz dez!" I call out. The two units who just tried to throw daggers, dart away and to the sides of the Garge. I call out to it while holding my sword. He ignores me so I hurl it into his upper chest muscle. He roars and glares at me as I come charging in with the knife from my back. Right as he's about to grab me, my people rush in and slice the backs of his legs. He roars and falls to his knees. I jump up, let both my feet sail past his head and wrap my arm around his skull like a reverse headlock. With a single moment, I slam my dagger into the back of his head, right as his fingers grab one of my legs. He falls forward and unable to let go in time, I hit the ground on my upper back, letting out a pitiful grunt.

Sergeant Thyra leans over me. "Are you okay si-" She goes flying as an ax hits her dead on. She doesn't make a sound as her upper body gets flung several feet away. The rest of my units look up in terror as the third Garge descends upon them with two hands open. He grabs both soldiers who drop their swords to instinctively grab at his hands. He leans over to bite the head off the soldier on his right when a flurry of knives slam into his face so fast, it was like hearing a tray of cutlery fall to the floor.

The Garge drops both people and before he can even roar, there's a knife in his windpipe. He grabs his throat silently with a gaping mouth. Lieutenant Termin comes up behind me out of nowhere. She silently leaps onto the body of the dead Garge and uses the height to slice off the Garge's head at eye-level. Her blade was three feet long and she used the last foot for the slice. It looks like it wasn't long enough for the job until the Garge's upper head falls off and the rest of his body falls backwards. Her precision was shocking.

She motions at my soldiers. "Gai." she says casually. They bolt over to me and help me to my feet before attending to Gaval, who gasps in pain as they lift him up. He walks with his back arched backwards and his face a silent scream of agony. Termin quickly snags her daggers from the Garge's body and stuffs them into a thin contraption on her back. It looked like a backpack made out of metal, with a few gears and small sheaths meant for knives in it. She pulls out two daggers from the bottom and as soon as they're free, it clicks and pushes two more down. That's how she was able to throw so many knives so fast. This contraption kept pushing new knives down to replace the old ones.

Another Garge catches up with an ax, but he doesn't throw it. He holds it in front of his face lengthwise while jogging, just barely able to peak over it. Termin doesn't even flinch as she unloads daggers into his knees. In one brief moment, he roars and instinctively reaches down to protect his legs. In just that moment, Termin steps back with her right leg, while simultaneously pulling out a longer knife from that same leg and hurling it into the Garge's face in one smooth motion. He turns around while running then collapses and slides across the dirt to Termin, who snags her knife from his head while running past him. She looks over his body and determines there's not enough time to get her other daggers back.

The other two Garges skid to a halt. One cocks his arm back with an ax. Termin is still glancing at the Garge's dead body. I reach towards her with an open hand, despite her being twenty feet from me. An arrow sails by my head with a sharp whistle and nails the Garge in the bicep. He roars, drops his ax and yanks out the arrow.

The second Garge is already running at her by the time she looks up on shock. The Garge leaps into the air, ax in both hands with Termin frozen in place. In a teal flash, Emeris is in front of her, bow drawn and arrow ready. When he releases it, the arrow slams into the Garge, sending him back where he came from, but in eight pieces. His limbs clobber his alley, who picks up his ax with his other hand. He holds it in front of his face as a shield. Emeris' next arrow slams through the ax and exits the Garge's skull instantaneously.

Emeris groans, recoils a bit and falls on all fours. The teal flash vanishes and Emeris pants heavily. His eyes are wide and he looks up at me. "I...I feel like I've...lost someone. Like grief and heartache in one. What...what is this?!"

I hear Zaran chuckle. He's laying on his side, panting as well. He has to call out to us, using magic to boost his voice a tad. "You didn't think your elements were limitless, did you? sorry little buddy, they get bored easily. And when they're gone, they're gone for good. Each one has their own unique interests and if you don't measure up, they'll find someone who does."

Emeris stares at Zaran in horror before looking up to me again. "Is...is he serious?! Is my element actually gone for good?!"

Zaran was definitely down for the count. Was Misera the real reason he was so powerful? Was he vulnerable now? I pick up my sword and start trotting towards him when Luna's cries of agony grab my attention. She shakes her head back and forth furiously while stepping back. The darkness is under her jaw and completely covering her forelegs. She screams my name desperately over and over. Zaran's cackles are making my blood Bal, however.

I turn to my soldiers. "All of you, take down Zaran. Do whatever it takes to finish this! Emeris, can you hit him from he-" We're all lifted with yellow magic and flown into the palace, with Celestia running behind us frantically. She sets us down and the doors slam shut. I get on my feet immediately. "What the hell are you doing?! Zaran's right there! We can finish him once and for all!"

Her eyes are so wide, it makes me uneasy. "Raiden...you don't know what Nightmare Moon is capable of! Head to the back of the palace and hide! I shall do what I can!"

All I can do is blink. Emeris is still hunched over, but he's on his feet. "Celestia...didn't you defeat her last time?!"

Celestia shakes her head. "No. She had me beat, I had to call upon the Elements of Harmony to banish her! I don't have those anymore! I...I don't know what to do!"

I ball my hands into fists and for a moment, I'm tempted to slug her. "At the very least, we could kill Zaran once and for all! We might still be able to stop Luna from transforming!" I sprint to the door and try to yank it open. It doesn't budge. As I step back, I see the yellow glow.

Celestia shakes her head sadly. "I tried that. There is nothing that makes Misera "come off" to my knowledge. Luna will either have to fight off her control internally or we'll need someone with more experience and power."

Emeris stands up with a hand on his stomach. "Just...let us out there real quick to kill Zaran and then we'll come back, alright?! It has to be now! He's right there and wounded!"

Celestia purses her lips. "I...I think Nightmare Moon might be the bigger threat at the moment." The palace rattles continuously and Celestia throws a shield around us. Her face strains and outside we hear an ominous hum. Once the palace stops shaking, Celestia drops her shield and we race to a nearby window. Where Luna once was, is now a being I've never seen before.

It was still Luna's body, but with a faded purple helmet and the same sort of armor on her hooves that winded into sharp knots and points near the end. Her chest even had its own metal that sprung out from a teal gem. Her wings were no longer feathers but spread out to sharp points like a bat. Her iris' glowed teal and her black pupils almost seemed like they were dripping a dark mist. Her fur was the color of coal and the look on her face was that of pure rage. She glares at the palace without moving a muscle. Celestia gasps and covers her mouth. Just how bad was this nightmare Moon about to make things?

Zaran struggles to get on all fours with wobbly legs. "Remember our deal." He groans pitifully. Nightmare Moon turns her head just enough to look at him over her shoulder. Zaran pants heavily and can't even fully lift his head. "I got you back into Luna. You kill Raiden for me. That was the deal."

Nightmare Moon closes her eyes and laughs. "Oh, silly pony. You tried so hard to keep your thoughts hidden from me. but I saw it all." She turns around and takes a few steps towards him. Zaran's face scrunches up. Nightmare Moon stands there without a single drop of fear.

"You wanted to use me to take care of the alicorns, to do what you couldn't because you're weak. Even with those two elements, you were still no match for Equestria's elites." She turns her head to the palace and looks up at the window we're peaking from.

"Then you were going to try and betray me by stealing the elements from the humans while I fought my sister. Isn't that right?"

Zaran's eyes dance angrily. Nightmare Moon cocks her head back and laughs.

"Oh, sorry little pony, did I just...spoil your plans? Yes, I could hear you scheming away. You thought you could hide your deepest ideas from me, safely thinking I'd be content and foolish enough to think you were merely here for revenge and not more power." She looks over at a tree and obliterates it with a quick, effortless blast of her horn. A strange device made of gold and other gems falls out. Her horn flares again and the device is blown into millions of tiny bits. Zaran sticks a hoof out towards it with a silent scream of rage.

Nightmare Moon giggles. "Oh, what a bummer. Without your ability to steal elements, that's really going to put a hamper on your plans isn't it?" She turns around and starts casually walking towards the palace while calling over her shoulder. "I'm going to take revenge on Celestia, kill the human element bearers...then you and I are going to have all sorts of fun Zaran. Just you and me...in a world of darkness...forever."

Emeris scoffs. "So that's how he was so strong. For a moment there, I really did think Zaran was all-powerful. Guess we're not so screwed after-" A black flash appears in front of the double doors. Nightmare Moon stands there and looks over at us lethargically. "Knock knock." She says gently. Her horn flares and the doors explode violently. Pieces of wood go flying over the massive room, colliding against the walls and ceiling. Celestia snags us all with her magic and flies through the palace with us in tow.

The pillars sail by and as we fly, she calls out to everyone to flee the palace. We set down somewhere in the back, far past the towers that housed numerous other ponies. We were only a few doors down from when I was in the medical wing recovering. Emeris places his hands on the side of his head and screams at Celestia. "What the hell are you doing?!"

Celestia's legs quiver so hard, I start to question if Zaran really was the biggest threat. Celestia looks between Emeris and me. "I...I don't know how to stop her! I barely held my own last time!" We hear a chorus of screams and explosions come from the front of the palace. Emeris shakes his head rapidly while looking off to where the sound came from. "She's killing civilians! We have to do something!" Celestia looks the same direction Emeris is, but her eyes are not full of determination. They almost crawl back inside her head as she almost cowers from an invisible threat. "I...I do not know what to do, Raiden…"

I take Celestia's face in my hands and force her to look at me. "Luna said that Nightmare Moon took her over but clearly she was able to get out, correct? Then Luna is still in there! We don't need to defeat Nightmare Moon, we just need to hold her off long enough for Luna to gain control!"

Celestia's eyes are still of complete defeat. "Raiden...Luna had to take the life of the minister, she basically killed Daruk, even if he did end up taking his own life. She's spent much of her time as an outcast and also had to watch her kingdom burn helplessly. After all that, I don't know if she can come back. Even if we stop Nightmare Moon, what about Zaran? Where are we going to keep getting more reinforcements from?"

Emeris calmly puts an arm around her shoulders, but his eyes vibrate in place as he does his best to hold it together. "Celestia, we Taraskans have a rule: you keep fighting until you can't. If you can't win yourself, you hold out long enough until something else helps you. Sometimes you get lucky, sometimes you don't, but there's no reason not to try."

Celestia purses her lips and tears stream down her face. "Raiden...I'm sorry that I'm so scared! Living all that time knowing I had sent my sister to a solitary life...that...thing in there is more than Nightmare Moon! She represents everything I've come to fear! Being alone, being powerless, having to make the most horrific decisions for the good of your kingdom!"

We hear more explosions, but they're followed up with angry yelling from Cadence and Shining Armor. Emeris makes a triumphant fist. "See?! Cadence must have healed him and they're holding off Nightmare Moon!"

Celestia still stares at him with that petrified stare. "You don't know what it took…you just don't."

I massage the back of her neck like you would a loyal pet. "Celestia...we got this. We just need a little help. Take me to the dungeon, I have an idea."

Celestia nods hesitantly and we're whisked up in a yellow glow. She flies outside a window and we stay low enough where we won't be seen. Emeris keeps his voice quiet. "You have any idea what you're going to say to the 4th?"

I give him a nod but don't bother replying. Celestia pokes her head up just enough to look around. We can hear one hell of a battle going on a few rooms over and numerous civilians run rampant in fear. Celestia lifts us up and we take a few flights down into the dark, freezing basement. After a few cells and guards, I see the worst Taraska has to offer. They were packed in ten to a cell that was meant to hold only four people. They look up as I walk by, having no idea what's going on upstairs. Emeris clamps a hand on my shoulder. "Make your speech good and make it from the heart. The words will follow.

I give him a respectful nod and turn to face the 4th. "You're all being drafted as fodder. Upstairs is a horrific creature that is tearing this place apart. I need you to attack her. Do this, and you'll be granted amnesty. Refuse, and I'll come down here afterwards and behead you myself."

They stare at me with open mouths.