“{RUN!}” A voice cried into the woods. “{For the love of God, everybody just run!}”

“{What is that,}” a man near him gasped, his rifle aimed at a violet cloud surging across the field towards him. “{My God, what is that!?}”

“FOOLISH MORTALS!” A voice boomed from the cloud as it surged up to the edge of the forest. “YOU CAME HERE TO CONQUER, BUT HAVE FOUND ONLY YOUR DOOM!” Suddenly, an equine shape reared up out of the cloud, eyes glowing white with power, coat black as night, body covered in a strange, teal armor that shimmered hauntingly in the moonlight.

“BEHOLD, THE TRUE GODDESS OF THE NIGHT! THE SOURCE OF ALL NIGHTMARES!” The equine shrieked, revealing rows of fangs where blunt pony teeth should have been. “NIGHTMARE MOON!”

“{Holy God…this place wasn’t supposed to have any monsters…}” the man with the assault rifle muttered as he squeezed the trigger in futility.

The creature turned that terrible gaze on him. “SOMEONE DARES OPPOSE THE TRUE RULER OF THE NIGHT!?” It screamed before the glow in its eyes flared up again. There was a terrible sound, like a lawn mower revving up, and suddenly the trees around the man splintered into a thousand pieces. He looked around himself, shaking in fear, before dropping his rifle and joining the other men as they ran.

Of course, there was no demon. Just Luna standing behind some smoke effects, while Swarm leaned against a nearby tree, thumbing the barrels on his cannon. “RUN!” She screamed, her voice projecting all throughout the forest. “RUN AND HIDE WHILE YOU CAN, PUNY MORTALS! FOR THE NIGHTMARE HAS ONLY BEGUN!”

“I still don’t get why you won’t just let me take care of this,” Michael replied, finger resting on the trigger for his Gatling Cannon for when Luna had to unleash her “eyebeams.”

“Well…” the Princess replied, the memory of Swarm’s incredible and terrifying power replaying over in her head. “…we just think this would be better, you know? It’s just…”

“You’re scared, arentcha?”

The Princess turned to him, shocked that he’d seen through her so easily. “How?”

“Nightmare Moon, Princess,” he replied, smiling as he gently turned her back around to face the forest. “Remember?”

“Oh, of course,” she said, clearing her throat. “YES, RUN! RUN LITTLE MORTALS! RUN FOR YOUR VERY LIVES, FOR NIGHTMARE MOON NOW RULES!

She turned back to the man standing next to her. “NOW, WHAT MAKES YOU SAY…I mean, what makes thee think we scared of thou? Thou hast done very little that was not in the name of protecting others since we have become acquainted.”

“Please don’t patronize me, Princess. You might have a few centuries on me, but I’ve been around the block a few times,” he replied, deadpanning. “I know fear when I smell it.”

“Smell?”

The man tilted his head back and sniffed the air. “Adrenaline, mild perspiration, your breath from an increased respiration rate, and a light hint of night dew that I find particularly refreshing.”

“Th-thank you,” she said, cheeks lightening. “And…I’m sorry. It was just so overwhelming: what you did back there, I mean.”

“Forgetting the royal tone, Princess?” Swarm smiled warmly as Luna realized she’d addressed him in the personal tone she’d only ever used with her sister, and only ever in private. Her blush turned deeper and she turned away. “And don’t worry: I understand. Seeing something like that can be pretty scary for anyone…and if you’re afraid that somehow makes you less royal, don’t be.”

“Okay, now how did you guess THAT without magic!?”

“Like I said,” he replied, smiling easily as he lit his cigarette up again. “Been around the block a few times. Being scared doesn’t mean you’re weak. Being scared just means your normal, trust me: I would be concerned if you WEREN’T scared by something like that. Nightmare Moon.”

“YOU CANNOT RUN! YOU CANNOT HIDE! FOR NIGHTMARE MOON HAS YOUR SCENT IN MIND! …and are you rather sure you aren’t simply psychic?”

“I get asked that all the…” he paused, his breath in mid-drag.

“Swarm?” She asked, turning back to the Everfree. Squinting, she switched on her night vision to peer into the darkness. A group of humanoid shapes was gathering, grabbing what weapons they could find in the darkness as they all grouped around some shape in the forest. “Why have they all stopped running?”

“Only one thing could scare them more than Nightmare Moon,” Swarm grimaced, reaching for his holster.

“Hello, daddy dearest!” A voice mocked from somewhere overhead. Both demigods turned to the gray-coated, boot-clad creature hovering over their heads, a fist resting against his cheek as if he were sprawled over an invisible throne.

“Mars,” Swarm mouthed, taking a step forward. Luna could see a look of hope growing in his eyes, and she realized something: Swarm still didn’t believe it. There was still some part of him that thought he could talk Mars out of his madness, that there could still be some reasoning with him. But then, he hadn’t seen the things Mars had done in the nether…

“Swarm…” she said, reaching out to him. He brushed her hoof away as he hovered up to the gray-clad man.

“Mars,” he repeated. “Mars, I don’t…could…”

“Nice antique, daddy,” Mars interrupted mockingly, eyeing the weapon at Swarm’s hip.

“Huh?“

“Wanna see mine?” Suddenly, Mars reached behind his back and pulled a round object out, pitching it at Swarm just like an MLB player. The man in the leather jacket caught it easily, holding it in his hands as the moon shone on it.

“What is…” Luna started.

“It’s Bannon,” Swarm gasped as the features of the head in his hands grew clearer. “My God, it’s Lieutenant Bannon!”

At the sound of Swarm’s voice, Mars threw his head back and let loose with a wicked cackle that bounced into the night, echoing all around them. The howls of his men soon joined in, magnifying the effect as the whole forest seemed to break out into laughter.

“He killed him! Butchered him like a pig!” Luna gasped in shock, her voice nearly lost in the rising cackles and snickers around them.

Swarm’s hands tensed over the head, shaking. As Luna watched in terror, a dark aura seemed to descend around him. She recognized it instantly: anger, brighter and more intense than anything she had ever seen or felt during her centuries as Nightmare Moon. The man placed the head gently on the ground, his teeth grinding audibly as rage-induced tears streaked down his face. His eyes met with the cackling man in the air over their heads.

“What do you say, daddy? Think we should just stow ‘em both in a museum?” Mars laughed.

“He wasn’t even in his forties, you murderous LITTLE SHIT!” Swarm screamed before rocketing upwards faster than Luna could blink, his fist meeting Mars’ chin in a devastating uppercut. Quick as lightning, he followed by drawing the “antiques” on his waist and blasting a pair of shots through his fallen son’s body, who promptly fell to the ground. The moment his body touched down, Swarm was on top of him, pounding away at his face with the butt of his pistol.

“You take up that symbol of hatred with pride,” he bellowed, tearing at the swastika on Mars’s arm, “You mock everything we are supposed to stand for,” he added, bringing the pistol down on his son’s nose, “and bring death and destruction to countless billions all over the metaverse,” he hissed in between blows. Dropping his weapons, he grabbed Mars by the lapels of his coat and screamed: “Just tell me WHHHHYYYYYYYY!? WHY!? WHY!? WHY!? WHY DO ALL THIS!? WHY GO TO ALL THE TROUBLE!? TO HURT ME!? TO PULL OFF SOME SICKO PLAN!? WHY WHY WHY WHY WWWWHHHHHHHYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!?”

Swarm laid on top of Mars, panting heavily, teeth bared. For a while, nothing moved around them. The enemy soldiers stayed within the tree line, the Americans remained paralyzed behind their barricades, even Luna seemed to be rooted to one spot. Finally, Mars spat out a bit of blood and coughed pathetically, looking up at Swarm with tears in his eyes. “God….Dad…” he whimpered.

In a flash, the hatred blazing in Swarm’s eyes evaporated. The tears of rage became tears of relief. “Marsy,” he gasped, hugging the other being close. “My little Marsy.”

“God…Dad…” Mars groaned over and over again as Swarm kneeled there in the mud, rocking back and forth with his arms around his shoulders, not even caring about the dirt soaking into his jeans or the blood staining his shirt. “God…Dad…”

Mars’ fingers closed around something by his belt. Luna started to scream a warning, but far too late. The evil grin reappeared on the fallen demigod’s face. “God Dad, didn’t anybody ever teach ya to keep an eye on a fallen enemy?”

“Wha…” Swarm was interrupted by a pair of shots tearing through his chest, followed by a kick to the stomach that sent him flying. The demigod landed on the other side of the field, slamming headfirst into a tree.

“C’mon, daddy!” Mars screamed as he hovered overhead. “I know you can do better than that. Show me somethin’!”

“You wanna…see something…Mars?” Swarm panted, glowering as a couple spurts of goo sealed up the twin holes in his chest. “Fine. I think it’s time you got a SPANKING!”

Slamming a now tattered and worn boot into the ground, Michael’s Gatling Cannon burst from the dirt, immediately unleashing hell Mars’s way. The demigod simply dropped below the line of fire, landing on the ground and dashing across the field to arrive eye-to-eye with his father. “Please don’t tell me that’s the best one-liner you have,” he asked dully.

Screaming with rage, Swarm quick-drew his Peacemaker and blasted a pair of shots at his fallen son. The evil demigod dodged both easily before drawing his own sidearm: a stout, ugly little gray weapon that crackled with energy. Laughing, he replied with a pair of shots leveled on Michael’s legs that sent the demigod flying with a pair of cannon-sized explosions. “High-kinetic impactors!” He explained, lobbing a few more rounds Swarm’s way before he could even get his bearings. “Do you like them, daddy? The boys in the labs worked real hard on them!”

Suddenly, a blue bolt of magic sideswiped Mars, knocking the weapon from his hand. The demigod turned to find the Princess of Night glowering at him, her horn glowing and a look of determination in her eyes. She snorted at him.

“How cute,” he mumbled, rolling his eyes. “C’mon dad, do you really think you can beat me with allies this pathetic?”

Suddenly, the whole field went dark, the moon disappearing. Mars’ ears automatically perked, tuning to fill in for the loss of sight. Something rustled behind him, and he turned, pistol raised. Something else rushed off to his side, and he fired off a wild shot. A streak of magic blasted against his back, his cap flying off, followed by a gunshot slamming against his shoulder. Practically frothing with rage, Mars fired blindly into the dark, shots booming harmlessly into the distance until the hammer fell on an empty barrel. Panting heavily, he hardly even heard it when something swooped up behind him and walloped him across the back of his head, followed by a flaming burst of magic that ignited his coat. Rolling on the ground to smother the flames, Mars pushed himself back to his feet, only to come face-to-face with two Alicorns, the barrels of an M1911 and a Peacemaker, and the blunt edge of a strange, vaguely human-shaped thing in silver.

“I dunno, Marsy. For a bunch of pathetic allies, they seem to be doin’ alright,” Michael said, thumbing the hammer on his Peacemaker as the moon’s light returned.

“Four against one,” Mars grinned. “This might almost be a fair fight for you guys.”

“You underestimate us at your own peril, boy!” Celestia bellowed.

“Oh, don’t worry thunderthighs…”

“THE HELL DID YOU JUST CALL ME!?”

“…’cause I’m gonna fix this, no problem. After all,” Mars snapped his fingers, and a dozen rockets suddenly streaked into the night sky. “What are meat shields for?”

“Mikey, you got the six on the…” Chen started, but before either could react, the rockets suddenly nosed down and activated a new series of boosters, slamming into the dirt with unbelievable speed, faster than even the brothers could anticipate. A few seconds later, the ground rumbled and the American defensive line, having stood firm throughout the battle to guard Coltton, collapsed into a massive sinkhole. Jaws dropped amongst the four allies (except for Chen, who currently didn’t have a jaw) at the sight of hundreds of men and several hundred tons of military equipment disappearing into the gaping maw, spilling head over heels into the pit.

“Another gift from the Fuhrer’s weapons labs,” Mars grinned. “Very handy for taking out enemy defenses. I figured a few might come in handy here. And now, the very men you were hoping would tip the scales of battle in your favor are nothing more than sitting ducks.”

“Princesses! Your magic!” Michael said.

“But you require our help to…” Luna started.

This is not up for debate, just go! Those men will be butchered without you! Chen screamed into their minds.

Giving in, the Alicorns nodded and swooped into the skies, diving into the pits to provide shielding for the Americans as they started to clamber their way out. Finally, Mars turned to his progenitors. “Two on one now,” he said. “Still hardly seems fair.”

“What have I told you about runnin’ your jaw, boy?” Michael hissed, readying his pistols.

“Right, why talk when actions speak so much louder than words?” Mars’ hands fell to his belt, grabbing for something. The brothers weren’t going to give him the chance. They attacked at once: Chen rocketing in from the left while Michael dove to the side, pistols blazing. The pair grinned at each other. Certainly, even one with as much power as their lost son couldn't possibly withstand a two-pronged assault from a pair of gods.

CLANG!

POW!

The pair gawped at the sight, barely able to believe their own high-powered, hi-def eyes. Michael took a step back, staring down the barrel of a pistol leveled on a spot right between his eyes. Chen followed suit, dancing back against the long, silvery spike sticking out of Mars' wrist that had just completely and totally blocked him.

It was Mars' turn to grin. "You have no idea how long I've been waiting for this," he said, a maniacal grin spreading across his face as the battle for Coltton began around them.