Upheaval: Reckoning

Chapter 4: One More Fight

It had been less than a month since the wolven captured FangBreaker Fortress and, already, their great symbol of victory represented something else: a giant grave marker for its new wolven defenders. With the army on the retreat and enraged thunder-foots already surrounding "their" fortress, FangBreaker's wolven occupants had dug down and prepared to be slaughtered to the last warrior.

Most of the main army had already retreated to Wolvengard to prepare it for an invasion. Not a single wolven believed that the thunder-foots would be satisfied with simply taking back their fort. A large group of them stayed behind to delay the thunder-foot advance and provide the main army enough time to get away. It was no secret that to stay and fight was a sure and violent death and hundreds volunteered, so much that not every wolven who wanted to stay was allowed. Otherwise, Fenrir would have lost his entire army holding the place.

The wolven didn't really understand their ultimate goal in conquering Equestria. They knew of their king's desire for Fair Luna but very few of them really understood it. Settling the land was no great prospect. Indeed, the few wolven who had managed to journey into the western and southern portions of Equestria found the place uncomfortably warm and did not relish the idea of settling in such place. The final goal didn't matter however. The fighting was what did. Most of the warriors who had now consigned themselves to a bloody last stand had joined the army because it was simply the natural thing to do after growing up and the bloody death that accompanied that career at some point was accepted as a natural end to one's life.

For Hasrok, that basic choice was not one without some pleasures. He picked his fangs of the last bits of sinew and threw it to the nearby pile of gnawed wolven bones. As far as the physical meal was concerned, Hegiskra was an awful dinner, far too gristly and bony. But Hasrok enjoyed every bite regardless. The old crone was an arrogant witch and it was almost worth seeing the siege of the thunder-foot city fail just to see her "visions" count for nothing. Not one wolven protested when he meted out her punishment.

"Enjoy your meal, pup, you think I was mistaken only because you can barely see past your snout!"

Hasrok snorted at his meal's last words. He had never met a more delusional dog in his entire life. He was far too ashamed of her to call her a proper wolven. A true wolven would not rely on dreams and strange creatures. It was a shame indeed. He had known Hegiskra before old age had broken most of her fangs. Just a few years ago, he would have happily slaughtered thunder-foots by her side. Now she was doing him a final favor by filling his belly and granting him the strength to kill as many of the thunder-foots before falling in this wretched fortress.

There was a complication however. Moon-Shadow, the same Moon-Shadow that Hegiskra dragged him to thunder-foot territory just to summon, was still around. As was her thunder-foot slave. Like the rest of the wolven army, Moon-Shadow had been forced to retreat by the coming of both cursed Celestia and the unrecognized thunder-foot leader who decimated their forces. Unlike the rest of the wolven army, she wasn't doing her part in slowing the thunder-foots down. All she had done so far was stand on top the fortress and glower uselessly for the past few days.

'Here I am just a battle away from getting into the Final Hunting Grounds and it has to be marred by this unnatural…thing,' Hasrok thought. The walls continued to take a pounding while he waited. The thunder-foots didn't seem to have a problem with destroying their precious fortress. The reinforced gate that had been built was also on the verge of falling apart. Even with the final surge of thunder-foots about to happen soon it looked like Moon-Shadow was only there to watch them die.

"How long are you going to put up this infantile resistance?"

Just a few days ago, Pyre Valor would have answered Nightmare Moon's angry taunt with a stinging remark of her own. Now, she just didn't have the strength. What was a humiliating retreat to FangBreaker for Nightmare Moon had been a triumphant return for her. The Legion had pulled through, just as she knew it would. She wasn't interested in the why's and the how's. The Legion had done what needed to be done, just as she did. Right now, she was already on her final mission. As soon as Nightmare Moon had landed on the fort, she had summoned every ounce of her will to hold her body rigid, rooting Nightmare Moon to one spot and preventing her from aiding the wolven.

That was days ago. She had been locked in a battle of wills with Nightmare Moon for all that time and was on her last legs, so to speak. Already, Nightmare Moon was able to partially move some of her legs and was slowly climbing down her perch. She was barely aware of their surroundings, having already given up the use of her senses to Nightmare Moon. She had focused on holding her limbs and shutting down her magic but control over those was also being slowly wrested away. It just seemed that Nightmare Moon's mental strength was limitless while she was only mortal.

The faint sound of howling among the wolven brought some ray of light to Pyre's slowly darkening world. The Legion was taking back FangBreaker and their last push was almost here. Nightmare Moon lifted her legs with more ease. They were galloping from the rooftop now. Pyre abandoned trying to control her legs and focused all her remaining strength on trying to keep Nightmare Moon's magic down.

"They're here."

Nightmare Moon's mental tone all but assured Pyre as to "they" were. She had heard "The Elements of Harmony" often enough from the shadowy being and each time the term was used, it was with a tinge of concern. Nightmare Moon feared the Elements of Harmony. The thought of it was amusing if nothing else. Pyre hadn't cared about the Elements of Harmony save for the fact that Twilight Sparkle was part of them. Recently, she had viewed them with a bit more concern. They were important tools, the only tools likely good enough to destroy her now unwanted "passenger". Through Nightmare Moon's enhanced magical senses she had felt the barrier go down. She had seen Celestia appear in the Barrier Lands. For all intents and purposes, her mission had been a success. Nightmare Moon's presence was the final wrinkle in this whole affair and her disposal will be Pyre's final gift to the Legion.

But then there was Blademane.

With her vision gone and her hearing following, Pyre had no idea what had become of Blademane. He was in the fort somewhere, likely waiting for the right opportunity to die by her side. She had told him to leave even during the siege of Bastion City, begged him when he refused, berated him when begging did nothing, going so far as telling him that his devotion was useless and she was never going to return his feelings. Nothing moved Blademane. She would have been touched but all she seemed to feel was a wish that it was Vanguard instead.

A trickle of magic slipped past Pyre and Nightmare Moon used it to float to the front gates. Cursing at her distraction, Pyre shoved aside all her other thoughts and focused.

There was little time to get their bearings once Twilight and the rest of her friends arrived in front of FangBreaker Fortress. The Legion was pounding the front gates with catapult shot and fireballs. The snow had let up momentarily, providing a small measure of respite. Vanguard led them the front lines and then went over to speak with the siege commander.

"How's the siege going?" she heard Vanguard ask.

"We're giving them a thorough beating. Losses have been minimal and we're expecting the final charge pretty soon," was the reply.

"What about Nightmare Moon?" Twilight asked.

The siege commander looked at Twilight in askance and then glanced at Vanguard, unsure if he should reply or berate this legionnaire for speaking out of turn during a conversation between him and a Special Operations Captain. When Vanguard nodded, he spoke with some reluctance. "If by "Nightmare Moon" you mean that black flaming thing that's been perched on top of the fort throughout the siege, it hasn't moved an inch since we started attacking."

As if in direct response to the siege commander's words, the burning figure descended from its perch and then jumped, only to float downward the rest of the way.

"Well, will you look at that," the siege commander muttered. "Almost like it was waiting for your group."

"She was waiting," Twilight replied grimly. Vanguard gestured for her and her friends to move forward.

"Twilight…" Vanguard said. He looked at the gates that the wolven had constructed after Pyre destroyed the previous ones. Their enemies had done well with the time and material that they had but there was no way that their makeshift gates could hold out much longer. It was badly scorched and splintered by the time he and his squad had arrived. "Finish the job," he told his new subordinate.

Twilight stepped forward in response. There were still wolven bolters on top of the gates but the pegasi were keeping them pinned with crossbow fire. There were also several earth ponies in front of her carrying enormous shields should a bolter risk getting turned into a bloody pincushion to take a shot. Upon Vanguard's request, she remembered the first time she came to the Barrier Lands with her friends and the horrific sight of the ruined gates of FangBreaker. Pyre Valor had destroyed those gates, this time it was she who was going to do something similar. She briefly went through the spells she could use. A fireball won't cut it, in one shot. No, she was going to have to use something with a stronger impact. Chunks of earth began to form in front of her, turning into a large sphere of red-glowing rock. After a few more moments of concentration, the rock burst into flames.

The siege commander looked on in awe. He was puzzled at first as to why Special Operations was working with chosen but seeing such an advanced fire spell made it clear now. The lone meteor hurtled towards the gates as if it was launched by one of their catapults. It struck the gates hard, splintering the wood and igniting it. In the next instant, it exploded into a massive blast of red-orange flames. The explosion flung smoldering splinters as far as the rear lines and left a partially burning and open path towards the fortress.

There were no cheers at the sight of the gates collapsing. No battle cries followed by a rush of charging legionnaires. For the next few moments, there was only an awed silence, like a brief calm before a storm. Several ponies stared at Twilight dumbfounded until one pony decided to give a shout. That shout was soon followed by others until there was finally a wave of legionnaires pouring in for an attack.

The wolven, after an initial daze from such a powerful blast, quickly filled the resulting opening with their troops. Legionnaires crashed into them so violently that several wolven were actually flung back into their rear lines. The air filled with snarls and howls mixing with fierce neighs, the thuds of something hard and blunt striking flesh and the awful whining of metal grinding against stone.

Twilight stepped forward to cast a spell and help out the attackers but Vanguard pulled her back. "Stay together," he told her. "This squad was brought here to deal with Nightmare Moon. Do not let yourself be distracted by anything from that mission." He turned towards the rest of his squad. "Vice-captain!" he called out.

From the back of the squad, Applejack trotted forward. In addition to her usual barding, she now had the chain she had received earlier wrapped around her neck. It was too short to be used for any form of lassoing she was used to but she insisted on keep it around just in case. Indeed, from the looks of it, it was probably only decorative. She had been assigned to rear-guard earlier, when Pinkie Pie had been briefly separated from them, to make sure that the squad stayed together. "Need something, captain?" she asked.

"Make sure the squad stays together. If the Elements need some kind of formation make sure you can get into it right away. Scarlet and I will see if we can lure her out to a more open place." Vanguard pulled out his weapon and clamped it between his teeth. He gestured at Scarlet, who was already taking to the air.

Applejack gave a salute. "Right away," she replied.

Twilight watched the exchange in confusion. It was a simple exchange between a higher-ranked legionnaire and a lower-ranked one. That was all. At least, that was what her brain told her. Applejack had told them a few nights ago about her new position. Nopony seemed to have a problem with it. She was certain that she didn't. Yet, that increasingly annoying twinge in her chest was back. It made no sense. Was she envious of Applejack's promotion? 'No,' she told herself. 'Applejack has worked very hard in the Legion so far. She deserves it.' A cold, resentful tone badgered her anyway. 'I've been working hard too. And wasn't Pyre Valor the previous vice-captain in his squad? She was a unicorn mage…'

"Twilight, what are you doing?" Applejack's sharp question shook Twilight out of her reverie. The earth pony was already wearing her necklace. "Put your big fancy crown on and let's get everypony here," she added.

The two of them turned towards the rest of their friends. None of them actually needed any prompting. The Elements of Harmony were out and ready. Twilight closed her eyes for a moment, trying to get a feel of how ready they were. The Elements of Harmony resonated silently with each other, something she realized she could feel if she concentrated hard enough. There was still a lot of wavering between them: Rainbow Dash in particular but she sensed some in Applejack as well. To her dismay, she also felt a lot from herself.

Nevertheless, actually having the Elements of Harmony with them this time seemed to have a reassuring effect. The ones who weren't used to the front lines: Fluttershy, Rarity and Pinkie Pie, looked a bit more confident. They could still use some more harmony but Twilight was sure that they were coming into this fight in better condition than the last time. Besides, they didn't have Fenrir howling at a distance to paralyze them.

It wasn't long until they spotted the daunting sight of Nightmare Moon's blackened aura. Twilight spotted Vanguard slowly backing up while Scarlet was hovering nearby firing bolts. She focused her attention on Nightmare Moon and immediately noticed that something was wrong. This wasn't like their previous battle and it wasn't just because of the different location or their possession of the actual Elements of Harmony.

When Nightmare Moon moved past the wolven defenders and towards Twilight's group, it wasn't through the blazing, explosive leap she had done the last time. Instead it was a slow, laborious walk that made Twilight hesitate not out of intimidation but out of sheer confusion. Was this some kind of trap? Was Nightmare Moon baiting them into attacking? Sensing weakness, the other legionnaires were about to charge in but Vanguard warned them to stay back and focus on their more mundane enemies.

"Twilight," Applejack said as she looked to the center of their formation. Twilight answered the look with a determined one followed by a nod. This wasn't the same Nightmare Moon who had so proudly attacked them.

The effect was telling. Faced with a weakened Nightmare Moon, their determination to fight on and finally defeat a dangerous foe resonated well. Everypony took a step forward and that lone step increased the flow of magic from one Element to the other. Twilight began to feel her crown hum with energy, a familiar sensation. It was the same one she felt when she and her friends drove Nightmare Moon out of Princess Luna and when they returned Discord to stone. When they took another step forward, she saw Nightmare Moon visibly flinch and raise a hoof as if to step back. More power flowed through the elements.

"Why are you still doing this?" Nightmare Moon snarled. "Twilight Sparkle is standing right there! Don't you want her dead?"

There was no response from the wretchedly obstinate Pyre Valor. Nightmare Moon took another step forward to show the Elements of Harmony, who were steadily gathering their courage, that she was not out of the fight yet. She unleashed her magic, or at least tried to. Instead of unleashing, it felt more like desperately coaxing an animal out of its den. The blackened aura of her magic was no longer ablaze with Pyre Valor's own when it finally burst from her horn. This was even worse than trying to fight against the Elements with Luna's constantly hesitant body. Her synergy with Pyre Valor had been superb because the white unicorn never hesitated. When she wanted to do something, she dove right into it so that, when they both wanted the same thing, the resulting power was incredible. Now that Pyre Valor planned on hindering both of them, she did so with equal fervor.

Pyre Valor was already weak from the struggle however. Nightmare Moon had control over all their physical form. It was their magic that the stubborn unicorn shackled and that was failing as well. The blackness spread from their body like ink spilling, threatening to engulf anypony that tried to close in. It was no field of dark tentacles but it gave even the Elements of Harmony some pause.

The pause didn't last long, Twilight Sparkle had likely gauged the amount of magic she was putting forth and realized how weakened she was. The purple unicorn's horn blazed with magic while the crown on her head began to glow. A wave of dispelling magic burst from Twilight and smashed right into the gathering darkness around her. Her weakened array easily dispersed, like a guttering candle held up during a gale.

"Now!" Twilight Sparkle cried out. More power swirled around the Elements of Harmony, centering on her crown. What started out as invisible wisps of power were now brightly colored streams of light. They swirled about until a prismatic tornado whipped into being. Nightmare Moon let out a cry of rage and frustration. It was happening again. For the second time, she was going to be beaten back by toy-wearing foals!

"Let go, damn you!" Nightmare Moon shouted at Pyre Valor. There was still no response. No words anyway. To her rage, Nightmare Moon felt a measure of amusement coming from Pyre Valor. The miserable unicorn was actually pleased by what was happening! She considered abandoning the body, itself a painful process, but it was unlikely that she would find another body remotely even compatible.

The prismatic cyclone of light enveloped Nightmare Moon, searing away any magic she tried to use. Desperate, she flailed her front hooves about to push away the inevitable banishing. "Not again!" she shouted in frustration. It couldn't end like this. Trapped in a falling fortress like a rat and then shoved aside by foals like a fly. She felt her grip on Pyre Valor slowly tear away. Desperation seared away any other concern, the only option remaining was…

"Master Oceanus, your handmaiden beseeches you!"

It was a final plea said more out of rage than any realistic belief that aid would come. The firstborn was still dormant, as was nearly all his followers. But, to complete her remaining tasks, she had to try. She wasn't going to face him with tasks still to be done. Especially with all the opportunities she had been provided with.

Twilight had to admit that seeing the Elements of Harmony working in full concert was a little surprising and immensely elating. She was worried that they wouldn't be able to get the Elements to work. The light surrounded Nightmare Moon just like it did the last time all it would take now was that final flash and…

"Master Oceanus, your handmaiden beseeches you!"

The sudden outburst nearly caused Twilight to lose her focus. Oceanus. She had heard the name before. Hearing it from Nightmare Moon suddenly enclosed her heart in an icy grip. The bright glare of hope that the Elements gave forth wavered.

Then Twilight saw it: a small spark of blackness that seemed to pierce the whirlwind of light surrounding Nightmare Moon. She felt the magic that accompanied that spark, a small yet chilling presence that sent the hairs on the back of her neck rising. Something was wrong. Something was going to go horribly wrong.

The light from the Elements flashed but the brilliant white explosion was tainted by great arcs of blackness and a long, drawn out and unearthly scream that set Twilight's teeth on edge. One look towards her friends told her that none of them expected it. Around them, the Legion continued to fight against the remaining wolven defenders but several had stopped to see what was going on.

That was when Twilight realized that something else was still coming after that blast: an immense explosion of harmful magic that could very well destroy her and her friends. "Everypony, stand back!" she cried out. She ran forward and raised a magical barrier. It wasn't as good as Applejack's golden shield but it was more reliable for now.

Just as Twilight predicted, another explosion, this one as dark as midnight, erupted from the still fading light. She gritted her teeth and concentrated all her magic on the shield. The last thing she saw was a wave of darkness advancing towards her and then nothing at all.

The sudden explosion of darkness sent Applejack and the rest of her friends flying. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Vanguard try to reach Twilight only to be sent careening off, his armor dragging loudly against the ground. She rolled on the ground for a good distance before finally coming to a stop. The clouds of dust and snow raised by the blast made her cough as well as obscured her vision. "What in the hay just happened?" she asked in between coughs.

"Did we do it?" Rainbow asked as she dragged herself to her hooves just a few feet away from Applejack. "Is Nightmare Moon gone?"

"I don't know," Applejack replied. "Things went a little too smoothly. Well, except for that second explosion. I can't believe something can explode twice."

"Is anypony hurt?" came Fluttershy's worried call. They saw the yellow pegasus's hovering silhouette slowly approaching them.

"I'm fine," came Rarity's reply from behind them. "Pinkie here hit her head on the ground but she's already recovering."

"I'm over here!" came Scarlet's enthusiastic call. He flew through the dust and snow and landed next to Vanguard.

"Everypony regroup on me," Vanguard called out from the cloud. They followed suit and soon found each other. "Did you do it?" he asked them once they had gathered. "Has the threat been neutralized?"

"I dunno," Applejack replied. "I think-" She stopped when she heard a faint, metallic cracking sound just around her neck. Worried, she looked down on her necklace. To her horror, she saw a thin crack near the apple-shaped jewel. The crack quickly spread into a spidery network of lines. "No!" she cried out. "How in the hay-?"

The cracks continued to spread for another second and then the necklace completely shattered into fine, powdery pieces. With a gasp, Applejack tried to save the fragments as they fell but a stiff breeze caught them, blowing them all across the snowy plain.

Cries of alarm from Rainbow and the others told Applejack that the same was happening to them as well. She looked to them to see Rainbow desperately crawling through the ground to find any pieces and Fluttershy holding up an inch of gold chain, almost ready to burst into tears.

"How can this be?" Rarity asked in horror. "The Elements are gone!" She looked around. The dust had settled and she noticed that a lot of the legionnaires around them were also recovering. Where Nightmare Moon was standing was now an empty, still-smoking crater. "Wait a minute," she began.

Vanguard had looked around as well. At once, he saw what had caught Rarity's concern. "Where's Twilight?" he asked.

All of them looked around. Vanguard walked over near the edges of the crater to see if Twilight was down there. As he did so, something crunched underneath his tramplers. He raised his hoof and looked down.

On the ground was a crushed fragment of large crown.