The Sound of Thunder- Tempest

Festering Nightmare

Part VI

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0355 NCST

Twilight Sparkle

Chief...

Chief.

CHIEF!

“CHIEF! WAKE UP!”

Light exploded its way back into Twilight’s world as she opened her eyes. Voices screamed their agony all around her while gunfire filled the air.

“Chief! Yer awake! Thank the trees…”

Twilight rose shakily to her hooves to look at the pegasus standing before her. The world remained blurry, but she could vaguely make out the yellow stallion who stood before her.

“Uhhh… Commander Cutlass?” She shook her head, trying to clear her vision.

“Aye, ye have th’ right of it!” The pegasus stood on three hooves and held his blade in the other. His wing, bound in bandages, hung limply at his side. “We though’ that we’d lost ye!” He swung his sword at a nearby ghoul, cleaving it in half.

Twilight levitated her fallen sword up from the ground, raising it to a block position. “What happened?”

Cutlass parried a blow from an enemy. “Ye got hit in th’ head by a flying plank and left us for a bit. Th’ Quartermaster managed to cast a heal spell on ye, but then knocked himself out in th’ process.”The pegasus nodded to the fallen unicorn. “Judging from his last recovery, he’ll be back up in just a few.”

Two other ponies moved their way over to Twilight and Cutlass. “Woah, Twi! I told you that it’d be dangerous up here!” Rainbow Dash pivoted, firing off a pair of bullets into her enemies.

The other, a longwing pegasus, stood beside the mare. He cocked his head to the side with a grin. “So kind of you to join our parade, Chief; we've missed your seemingly endless wit. I hope you don't mind me completely owning this battlefield, because frankly, ol' Cutlass here is useless.” He nudged Cutlass with a wing.

“Oh, shut up Joker,” Cutlass growled with a slight snicker.

“Pssh, you know that it’s true. Even a marine like this one is getting more kills than you!” He pointed his wing at Rainbow Dash, who either ignored him or didn’t hear.

Twilight couldn’t help but giggle.

Cutlass smirked before turning back to Twilight. “Chief. ‘Afore he went down, Armor said tha’ he wanted ye to get to th’ Princess. He said that th’ way’s clear, but he didn’t know for how long. And since that was a good while ago, ye should probably get going afore—”

The deck shook, throwing Cutlass to the ground. Twilight, Rainbow Dash, and the other stallion all turned to face the source of the disturbance.

Across the deck stood one of the most terrifying beasts that Twilight had ever seen. It stood twice as tall as a pony, and had the thick skin of a kirin covering its giant form, but that was not the most terrifying part.

As the beast charged across the deck, Twilight saw a trio of goblin ghouls upon its back. At least, it looked like three ghouls riding on the back. But as it closed the distance, Twilight’s jaw dropped in horror. The goblins were a part of the beast itself.

The three torsos seemed to have been sewn into the creature, and each of the sets of arms manned a mounted heavy gun.

The beast tore through marine after marine, and the bullets from the guns ripped even more to shreds.

“Oh.”

“TWILIGHT! GO!” Rainbow Dash shouted as she took to the air. Cutlass and Joker drew their blades and charged their foe.

Twilight spun on her hooves. She knew what her friends had just done for her. What they had done for the Princess.

She ran toward the hatch before her. She pulled it open with her magic and jumped in.

As she dropped down to the lower part of the deck, she ran through the schematics of the ship in her head. If what she remembered was correct, then she should be able to make it to the bridge from here.

The mare raised her blade and readied her magic. As she charged off down the corridor, she spoke a whispered battle-cry.

“For Princess Luna!”

-=-=-=-

0315 NCST

Captain Princess Luna

Hoof and tooth clashed and collided in a flurry of pain and grace, Luna dancing swiftly upon the tips of her fetlocks, each barely set on the hard oaken boards before they were off again, a deadly game of cat and mouse being played in the center of a battle beyond them. Her starstruck mane flew about beautifully as she moved, her eyes glowing a harsh white, the shine from the skies seeming to pool into them alongside her anger and worry.

Another blow connected, a rotten hoof solidly pounding into her shoulder and knocking her off balance. Regaining her footing just as the wayward attacker closed in for a second strike, she spun about and delivered a fearsome buck to his torso. Yet even as the chest of her victim caved, Luna projected herself with grace to rival even the most stately of nobles. Her eyes were a gorgeous soft azure as her hooves became doused in blood, her smooth and well rounded face projecting undying beauty. Sleek and sultry curves only hid her dangerous ferocity as a tense feel came about the air - the next wave of pirates no doubt making their way towards them.

“You’re a good fighter, Princess,” Shadow Streak muttered as he swept a hoof across his brow, wiping off the few beads of sweat and replacing them with a thick line of blood that wasn’t his. “I had assumed you’d be sub-par, but I was happily misinformed.” He didn’t smile, but he did pass Luna a glance of appreciation - she’d covered his flank as much as he had hers during that fight.

“We are abated by these words, Shadow. Your blows are like the dunnest night of moiety skies, We hope to ingraft with you, magnanimous guardian.” A hint of sadness tinged her voice as Luna smiled and gave her companion a small nod.

Shadow titled his head slightly and quickly flicked his gaze over to Noteworthy, who for the most part remained uninjured. Clearing his throat and tapping his chest, Noteworthy remained quiet for a moment, listening to the hooves heard pacing below them. He then turned his attention to Shadow Streak and smiled, allowing his voice to rise above the clamor beneath. “She’s basically humbled by what you said, and looks forwards to befriending you in the time to come,” he explained swiftly, turning his attention back to the doors of the ruined command deck.

It certainly was ruined; in fact a large amount of the equipment had been either bashed or slashed during the battle. Waves of pirate ‘hit squads’ had come after Luna, and so far they were all dead beneath the guardians and their Princess. The numerous panels of dials and readings had been shattered, broken or battered; and the doors had been splintered badly. What may have been the worst damage of all was that on the steering stands; the second was ripped from its place and out the window upon the deck below.

“The bridge is truly qui, it makes Us mowing in horror.” Luna said under her breath, casting a sad glance over a large amount of the damaged equipment.

Noteworthy was about to speak up and explain her words to a confused Shadow Streak when he was suddenly interrupted by a Unicorn telekinetically driving a knife into his side. He cried out in pain as the blade was ripped out of the wound, casting a shoving fire-spell in retaliation; his attacker toppled over, flesh charred, but it was clear that Noteworthy was badly wounded.

The subtle scent of blood in the dark room, the candlelight reflecting against pale wounds and fire tipping the cresting of ornate panels. Luna’s eyes shot to the size of pinpricks as her ancestral memory kicked into gear, the next seconds to play out like minutes as time became irrelevant. The air became a little thinner as if some force was playing its hand, but in reality it was a mere instinct reaction. What was soon to be a vicious and deadly blast of searing heat had become a soft plume of ginger grace, tips of the fire gently dancing against Noteworthy’s foe. In turn the wound which had been inflicted upon him spewed a macabre jet of warm blood, the wave rippling in the slower time scale. All this combined with a sudden feeling of dread set Luna’s mind back a few paces, no flashback or recollection, more a realisation.

Fire which sprung forth from a spell unseeable to all but the wise cast a shroud upon Luna’s heart. What stood still was not time in essence but more like fair Luna’s soul; indeed her mind had become a minefield as reflections were poured against her. Fire was a thing which her sister, the dearest Celestia, had enjoyed and embodied well. It would be foolish to try conjure another way of describing her, for she was raw power, a crackling flame beseeched upon by cruel waves of rain.

Luna had always been the quiet one of the two until that fateful day, for she had been the physical manifestation of all passion and dunnest night; which lead to her corruption as the horrendous shroud of evil, Nightmare Moon. But there was no other way to describe her fair and frail heart, lonely as one breeze among empty space, a delicate flower between worlds. She was night incarnate, bringing both the beauty and deadly loathing of darkness for she was like the blanket of night, both mysterious and curious in all natures - beautiful in her own rights, yet deadly as well.

Random stray thoughts such as these at a time like this both confused and upset Luna, who was still new to this age of oppression. Black seas of cruelty and cold? A sun which shone with the power of Unicorns rather than that of a ruler? It was simply not meant to be and could not remain as such, which was why she had decided to undertake this mission. It was more than just a mere journey, it would become something whispered among even the most villainous of dens, and sung in praise across lands.

Like a candle snuffed out her sister had become, the fair maiden of the sun stripped of what little rule she had after a deadly fight of ambition. Fire and ice clashed that day and set into place a chain of events which would kill a golden age, the great mourning of an empire. The Princess could feel her sister’s presence still warm and beating, yet somewhat deflated and beaten; as if stripped of what little was hers, the gracious and daring fire replaced with a mellow and dim flame, snuffed out and beaten into the dust.

Exactly why Luna had to act, for she was about to become more than she was meant to be. This new age asked for a Princess whose mettle was tested in blood rather than court? So be it. Her night and embodiment was nothing besides the power of a god who drowned the world? That would stand. Luna could feel the world around her slowly sinking back into place as her mind snapped upon the idea presented, a new soul, reborn from the ashes of an empire long past; christened in the basin of ruined foundations.

Moonlight might have shone upon the Nocturnal Thunder as they lay under siege and peacefully bask it with a glow, but the chest of the cooled Princess was ablaze with a flame unlike any other. For she was undertaking a mission which could not fail, one to retake the world and reunite the people slumbering in fear of the sea. Sister Celestia had been a mare of fire and of the sun, but it was now Luna’s job to be the flame which ignited the hope of thousands! Was she not the Princess which they all looked upon? If so it was her duty, no her honour to lead them with a shine in her eyes.

It was in that exact moment that the world around her shifted its gears and came into play, the fire which had appeared beautiful now spiralling into a deadly inferno which traced the torso of a would-be killer. Noteworthy had shifted to a more hostile position as Luna’s eyes swept the room, her chest and soul ablaze with a passion, her passion. Then everything came into play as fire sunk beneath flesh, steel clashed with steel, and a Princess prepared for yet another battle.

The next wave had arrived.

Shadow leapt to protect Princess Luna from an attacker who had slipped past her cautious gaze, snapping his wingblades out with a light metallic scrape. The blades shone in the moonlight as he barricaded the way to Princess Luna, slicing through the soft flesh of the pirate before them. The rotted beast was already tattered enough before the huge steel wings had their way, but as he staggered back all one could see was blood pooling out the gashes in his chest.

With a smile of ambition and pride Luna pounced upon a long dead monster of a pony. It lumbered towards her stiffly, the massive rows of decaying muscle and flesh proving that once upon a time this somewhat stallion looking pony had been huge. Not to say he wasn’t still huge. The Princess snapped her mind on to the beast before her with ease, letting a small grin replace her worry; showing what great fire lay inside her heart. T’is but a mindless beast, lest it be the undead come to weep for Us, she reminded herself internally, letting no word escape her mouth as she landed on the monster with a solid thud.

“What be this? Flesh or horrid construct fit to serve purpose?” Luna was puzzled by the texture of this beasts hide; it was like a rough leather padding but yet appeared to be flesh.

Her hesitation proved to be a mistake in the gravest field when the pirate underneath her took his chance and flipped her off his side, lifting one of his mighty hooves and striking her own chest with a thunderous boom. The blow propelled Luna across the room with tremendous speed, her insides screaming pain, each individual nerve in her body bellowing and as her ribs shook. Luna uttered a sharp cry of anger and a small string of profanities as she landed, neither of which saved her from completely wrecking the row of dials behind her. The metal casing which held the apparatus crushed on impact and bent around her sprawled body, her horn caught within a small temperature gauge.

She spluttered as mercury poured down her face. “Filthy fearhhama beast! Lest you wish to incur my wrath of torturous knowledge, let me slay thee in peace!” Luna dug herself out from within the metallic device and grunted, ripping her horn free from a particularly sturdy plate. As the great beast made as good a charge as a lobotomite can, Luna looked over to her guard and translator, Noteworthy - who was just finishing off the deceased pony which had tried to kill him, his horn aglow as spells were cast in rapid succession. The Princess saw another band of pirates bursting through the door behind him, and so she made quick work of her call.

“Scribe, cast me your aid through way of flame, or shall you stay John-a-dreams?” Luna gave Noteworthy a small grin before turning her eyes back to her rampaging attacker just barely in time to nimbly dodge his charge. Dancing overtop his back and landing behind him with ease, she spun around and jumped onto his back, leaping off of him and spreading her wings as she set her eyes down to her guards.

What started as an inferno surrounding Noteworthy soon spread outwards with fury and grace, a single bolt of fire lacing its way throughout the dusty and ruined room towards Luna. The ripple of great fire seemed to ebb and flow as it was distorted somewhat, time slowing down to beyond a snails pace as the fire spreading before Luna became a warm display of beauty. If somepony had been able to see the world in this state, they would have thought the bolt of pyromantic prowess was about to collide with Luna.

The Princess had thought the exact same thing as she had gone to conjure her spells, and in turn the world had suddenly stood somewhat still in her mind. The last time she had been hit by a raw bolt of pure fire had been over a thousand years ago, in the castle of two sisters under an eclipse that threatened to end the world as she knew it. Such a feeling she had held in her gut as the mighty fire roared across her ears and singed her mane, the great inferno of her sister’s bitterness and sense of betrayal threatening to burn her soul clean.

That night had most certainly changed her in many ways, although for better or worse was something that she’d never be able to answer. In truth that night opened a gateway for a god as old as time itself who then took it upon himself to drown the world, and she also lost her best friend, ‘Tia. In turn she awoke a thousand years later as she was cast from her lunar prison, only to find the crumbling foundations of a once beautiful empire. Yet through this she gained real friends, not family, but still extremely close to her heart. The six mares who dared save her from what cruel dunnest hatred had blinded her heart, had come to be strong friends and advisors.

Remorse had set upon Luna’s heart as her mind brought back a few events of the past, although nothing to make her truly lose herself to her mind and experience a flashback. The searing heat before her begged a question though, and that was of mastery. Was she ready to wield fire as her weapon much like Celestia had done countless seasons before? Was it even hers to wield in the first place, for she was more for the colder magics than those of warmth. More importantly was the Princess of the night worthy of her claim of the Equestrian Remnant?

The answer to this was surely yes, and for a mighty reason at the very least. Once again a great blaze of passion began to bloom within her spirit, Luna sensing the time slipping back into place with ease. As the searing hot bolt of fire spun towards her with beauty and danger, she merely twirled in midair alongside it and gathered her attention towards the flames. What followed next was an extremely complicated series of steps that ended with the conjuration of a spell, triggering a return to reality.

Casting her grasp around the bolt in a measurement of time unable to comprehend, Luna brought it down with her and enveloped it in a dark blue aura. It was completely encased by the time she landed solidly on her hooves about ten paces from the beast, silently forming within her grasp as she went on the offensive. Snapping her wings open,, Luna moved her hind legs out far back and stretched herself down low to the floor, suddenly throwing herself forwards into the beast with the combined force of a hardy buck and a huge gust of wingpower.

Slamming into the huge fiend with a ferocious battle cry, the Princess brought her captured spell down upon his armoured flesh. What had once been a ginger bolt of fire had become a cool purple sword, a small inferno captured and morphed into a weapon of night itself. It cut straight through the decaying monster as Luna buried herself into its side, and the split between decaying flesh spat a thick black ooze from within. Attempting to twist the ethereal blade did nothing but cause her foe discomfort, so she leapt backwards to attempt another strike.

Suddenly the beast swept a mighty hoof towards her, and Princess Luna barely had time to dodge it. Using the fleeting hole in his defense she leapt onto him, attempting to drive the blade straight through his spine. The mutated flesh resisted her blow as the beast let out a roar, and she jumped off to the side before he could throw her yet a second time."

It was then that Luna noticed a small gap in-between the rough hide and lobotomized bone, thinly spread along the back. Brittle bone and rotting muscle showed through, the slightly black ooze of this beast’s blood flowing freely down the tissue. She landed roughly and accidentally rolled right beneath a pirate who seemed to have slipped past Shadow Streak. His raspy breath smelt of rotting flesh and disease, his supposedly once white fur coat had been tinted a dark grey by blood, grime and rot. He had no hair, he had few teeth and his wings were little but stumps clinging onto petty lumps of dead flesh.

The lobotomized beast moved in for the kill as Luna fought to kick off the decaying pegasus, its heavy hooves thudding against the deck. It chuckled, and a stream of black tar oozed from its right side. Luna noticed her Starswirl gland wasn’t producing any magical flux; the fall must have knocked her gland out of order, as her strength was all but gone. Bereft of its power source, the ablaze sword she had been using simply vanished from her grasp as the flames flickered and died

“Shadow Strike, companion!” She cried out in desperation, her eyes scanning the room as she struggled to fend of her beastly attackers.  “We are suffering an earth-vexing attack! Our pleurisy strength has faded and We... We...” The Princess’s words suddenly died in her throat as something overtook her and rendered her mind useless, tossing it aside.

Like an icy grip enveloping each nerve within her body, slowly at first, but soon picking up pace as her mind eventually felt a terrifying sense of cold. From there the ancient power seeped into her bones and soul, supercharging the fire of hope and determination; sitting back and handing her body back to her as time became irrelevant. For she was Luna. Semideum sacrum caelo noctis!

Her mind was as still as water as she sunk into the moonlight atop her, blinking out of sight and re-appearing near the window as her attackers grunted in confusion.

She was now stealth incarnate, her mind under guidance of an ancient instinct unique to each Alicorn Sister. She would be like her beautiful night sky: the fiery passion of the stars, the dark whispers of the night shadows, the gentle call of the moon, lulling her victims into a false peace before striking them down.

She traversed the room as the fiends advanced on Shadow Streak, who tirelessly fought back with his steel wings. He did not freeze up like his comrades may have as the new pair of foes staggered towards him; he believed his Princess dead and his duty failed. He had no mission left, meaning he had no restraints on his actions. Whispering a solemn prayer for himself, he spread his bloody and battered wings menacingly.

As he charged his opponents, eyes full of vengeance, Luna made her move. She reached out with the night, snuffing out every candle until only moonlight remained.Shadow took advantage of the sudden darkness, chopping the head off an unaware ghoul pony; unseeming him from the waist upwards and lobotomizing the fiend.

As Shadow Streak began to move against the larger foe, striking with hateful precision, Luna magically ignited a small starlight fire beneath the two of them. Shadow Streak quickly adjusted his position as the light revealed him, and the lobotomite turned towards him. Luna then sunk into the pure moonlight beneath her, surfacing between the pair with a small smile on her face. A large spine of shadows curled up beneath the beast and struck at its head, mangling the cranium and killing it permanently.

As the spine of shadows sunk back beneath the floor and set back to their normal places, Luna re-appeared before her guard and companion, giving him a small smile although she doubted he cared for such things. Behind them Noteworthy finished off the last of the pirates with a large strike of lightning. The illumination faded as the room quieted down, the atmosphere once again peaceful, yet still tense.

“T’was not an easy fight, nay dearest protector? Hath you come across such faitors before? Or t’were you merely shocked by the frippery clothing?” The Princess spoke the last line with a small chuckle, quickly casting her gaze around the room as she trotted over to the front window slowly. Shadow Streak came up besides her and gave a short laugh alongside the most forced smile Luna had ever seen. She made no comment on that, it was fine for a subject to be his own self.

“I’m sorry to say I didn’t understand too much of that, although the part about the fight was fairly straightforwards. It was hard, and I’m glad you had my back there as much as I had yours, Princess.” He said with a more genuine look upon his face, looking down upon the deck of the ship from their position; much chaos could be seen in the now bright moonlight.  “Just no more disappearing acts, okay?”

Princess Luna gave a hearty laugh and stretched her wings out with a small groan, finding them tense from the fight. “I can’t make any promises my protector in double trust, but I will try to do so less often; whence say does this come into effect, lest now?” She spoke with honesty but a hint of play, egging her companion on for a small bit of fun in-between the fighting. When he rolled his eyes in her direction and gave a small tut she couldn’t help but laugh a small amount, quickly finding her powers drain.

“Noteworthy! Get over here, scribe.” Shadow Streak said with little emotion, ruffling his steel blades for a moment before letting them fall back into place besides him. “Do something other than translate or get hurt, please. I want you to teleport over to Major Rosy Overcoat, we have a message for her. Tell her that the Princess is safe for now, then relay to me with the information from her side.”

Noteworthy merely gulped in response and rubbed the back of his neck, wiping the blood onto his already stained orange coat. In a flash he was gone from sight, leaving both Luna and Shadow Streak alone until the next wave arrived. Shadow merely sighed and trotted over towards one of the ruined doors with haste, preparing for some kind of pirate band to wander up here. Luna however merely stood watching the main deck with a keen eye, observing the battle from overhead. She hadn’t had much time to see what was going on, fighting for her life and all.

With the sudden situation dealt with for the time being she was left to ponder exactly what was going on, firstly who was attacking them? Looking outside and towards the tempest, Luna squeezed her eyes for a moment and saw with horror that there was some kind of decaying dragon attempting to tear the Nocturnal Thunder apart. So if this beast really was attacking them and not a figment of her tired mind, then who was in command? So far none of the pirates who had faced here carried the air of a commander, and she hadn’t seen or heard of one being killed.

Becoming lost in her own thoughts triggered something inside Luna, as soon her Starswirl gland was cooperating once again. With this in place, her higher powers left her in an instant and her mind returned to its somewhat normal state. Deciding to test whether or not she was fit for more combat, Luna attempted to gather some of the moonlight together with a spell. To her surprise the light bent to her will, as thin as it may be.

Letting the spell in her grasp relax for fleeting moments, Luna began to focus on her inner self; and her connection to the celestial heavens, namely the moon. She rose it each dusk and set it each dawn, yet her connection had only bloomed since the time she spent imprisoned upon it. Drawing her power from her spiritual bond with the moon, she began to pour magic into it, causing it to shine brighter over the world for a few mere seconds. With this she gathered the starlight around her, and began to do what she had done with Noteworthy’s flame.

Taking the pale moonlight of the air she shaped it into a serrated blade, taking time in its construction. Coating the outer layer with the shadows which hid in the corners of the room, conjuring a physical and tough weapon unlikely to disperse upon being dropped. It took time to craft the weapon before her eyes, the azure orbs reflecting more than just the blade before them. in her own mind Princess Luna began to think back to when she was making the armour for Nightmare Moon, and the process that had required.

It had been much bloodier than this.

The Princess would have slipped into another reflection had a rasping voice not called to her from below, one she knew far too well. “T’is but an illusion, surely just so?” She thought to herself as the voice died out, examining the blade a moment longer before the voice called again, louder. Looking over to Shadow Streak she could notice his eyes set dead straight down the hallway outside, and for the first time in a thousand years Luna felt her spine tingle. However it wasn’t just the voice which made her shiver, it was the breathing on her neck and the words in her ear.

“Hello, my sister. Did you miss me during your stay in the heavens?”

“Vile and facile fiend! Infecting me with your rotting qualm shall not do!” It took extreme effort for Luna to stop herself from shattering every window upon the ship as she spun around to face her attacker, whose appearance matched one of days gone by. A slender figure with curves once the envy of most mares, now merely decaying and rotten muscle with a thin coating of skin. A once gorgeous mane that flowed without wind, now a shriveled and bloody mess. Her smile once filled with kindness and hope, now a sneer facing the Lunar Princess.

“Speak, beast!” Luna spat as she drew the weapon in her grasp closer, scanning her would-be sister. Something didn’t add up here and Luna didn’t like it, she felt as if there was something she should know. A dragon attacking the ship? Hordes of pirates coming for her alone? A crewmember who looked like her fair sister, ‘cept buried and unearthed? What had she not been told? Or was it merely overlooking on her part, had she been to blame here?

“Oh dear Lulu, you failed me so.” The unclear embodiment of Celestia uttered with a tut, slowly walking around Luna with strides of show and power play. “We fought so bitterly, and you failed me by losing - had you killed me, I could have escaped my fate as servant to the hate you created.” Celestia scoffed as her sister’s eyes widened a small tad, a dumb stricken face set upon her face.

“Lies! Fiendish lies straight from Tartarus ‘self! I would never, no’ere put the fair-land in danger. You, you accuse me of this, what daemon be thee? Show me my sister!” The tension in the room suddenly spiked as Shadow Streak backed up to his Princess, quietly standing away from her and watching the crowd of ghouls gathering. “I say unto you, give me my damned sister, vile wench!”

“You created me, Luna.” The fiendish copy spoke with an insane laugh, soon turning from feminine to male and then to that of a monster. Flesh bubbled and twisted in vile harmony as his laughter only grew louder, in turn a vile black thorn appearing from his forehead in place of a rotted white one. What had once appeared to be rotting white flesh accompanied by dead features rippled with a purple glow, becoming a mess of hardened chitin and purple muscle hanging dead beneath. The mane which had once been a reminder of days gone past simply burnt away in a purple flame, replaced by a thick black spine. Those eyes of kindness and love, that mouth of smiles and care; simply burnt away before Luna’s eyes - showing Mort incarnate, Scorn, the reaper of the black seas.

“See?” He said plainly as his snide sneer twisted into a smile of sick and sadistic pleasure. “You created me Princess, I am a hate incarnate and you might well be my mother. For you are the true monster between us!” Spitting out her title with force Scorn stopped before Luna once again, cackling with a raspy insectile tone. He tapped his chin in thought for a moment as he waited for her to speak again, instead he was met with an angry glare. “Are you not... impressed?”

“I’ll rip your throat out if you disrespect the Princess again.” Shadow Streak said boldly as he flexed the wings besides him, itching to face the new foe. He wasn’t suicidal, he was mad; and that was possible the worse of the two. His anger translated over well as Scorn made a mock attempt of drinking the air as he smiled wickedly, just daring the guard to try. He took the bait and leapt forwards swiftly, reaching his hooves out to jump across Scorn, only to be thrown backwards into the mob of ghouls surrounding them.

“I am no beast!” Luna cried out as her face hardened and became one of fury as opposed to grace, “Shalt be known as Princess Luna, here’s ruler and one of an older time; from whence you were but a pathetic animal, t’Bedlam as you may be now! Stay safe and surrender dog, lest I unseam you from the hoof to the crown!” Bringing her dark blade upon Scorn, Luna sprung into action with haste.

Leaping into the fray and taking comfort in the sounds of fighting behind her, Luna went to strike at Scorn’s chest. He merely brought an arm up to the blade and cast it off, using his darkened and tainted aura to lift his own weapon. The Princess stumbled backwards for a moment as she realized his magic was no magic at all, projected within the bloody shroud were the faces of the souls he had reaped. He let out a shallow laugh and charged forwards brutally, going to strike Luna.

She raised her ethereal sword, deftly pushing his hooves aside as she leapt out of the way, firing a bolt of magic from her horn as he passed. Scorn skidded to a stop, ducking underneath the bolt and rushing forwards once more.

Luna was still finishing off her dodge, and was too unbalanced to get out of the way a second time. Her horn flashed, and a gently glowing purple shield rose before her. Scorn smashed into it, sending ripples along its surface, unleashing a flurry of punches and kicks in a vain attempt to get through.

Luna didn’t give him the chance. She shattered the shield outwards, spraying Scorn with an onslaught of magical shards and assaulting with her sword at the same time. Jab, slash, feint, push.

It  was a series of blows received and returned, like a wild match of fencing gone wild. Neither of the two could gain the upper hand in the chain of strikes, each was either matched by skill or bested by magic as the chain went on. Meanwhile Shadow Streak was being surrounded by pirate ghouls and under heavy pressure, he was skilled but not a master of his craft - he wasn’t used to killing a horde in one go.

Luna pounced over Scorn backwards and finally managed to score a hit, slicing through the chitin on his shoulder and tearing the decaying limb to shreds. He let out a  scream of pure rage and threw his weapon backwards directly into Luna, causing the blade to pass through her leg and out the window; to the decks below. Landing badly with an injured limb, Luna fell quickly and fought her way back up, only standing as Scorn cast his first spell.

A bolt of pure twisting insanity made its way towards Luna in a somewhat slow motion, and she swiftly lept to the left frantically. Her mind wandered as she re-entered combat with Scorn, each twist and flurry of strikes blurring slightly as her senses closed off. Whilst on the outside she became less aware, inside her mind was an entirely different matter. She felt as if something inside of her was stirring and waking up from depths unexplored,

”Strike left, up, down - cut off that hit, proceed and drive him back. Dodge left, twirl and jump right, make sure to strike his underside. Connected? No, crouch then uppercut.” Luna’s thought process slowed as something seemed to press down on her, her mind slipping further and further into some kind of pit. ”Jump! No wait better stay put, now strike!” Scorns eyes seemed to glow a faint red in the moonlight, but how was that possible? He was just...

”Wait! That spell he had cast, what had it been again? “ Luna thought.  Scorn struck harder now, making it difficult to focus. Each blow forced her backwards, giving her barely enough time to recover before the next.. ”It couldn’t have been anything too complex, otherwise I would have felt it...” Was it just her imagination? Her Starswirl gland might be acting up after being treated so roughly, or maybe it was something in the air? Air... yes that was it.

“Poison me not, sea demon; lest you die by my hooves rather macabre.” The Princess stopped and looked upon her opponent with a deadly glare, matching his sneer with her own as she focused on a nearby leyline. Tracing the magical tether she found what she had been looking for, a node. Thankfully for her, Scorn had decided to take this opportunity to speak rather than strike. This would let her compile the runes in order, although it was no small task to merely think up the twenty or so required, while tapping a node.

“I see you didn’t much fancy my spell Luna, was it perhaps a little too... dark, for your tastes? I wouldn’t expect you to cope, I mean after all it is designed to crush willpower. Not many can withstand fighting in a room filled with the souls of the damned, I’m surprised you haven’t died yet.” Letting out a shrill laugh as Luna’s eyes began to glow a subtle white, Scorn turned to her guardian; who was getting swamped by a horde. “Then again, the real manifestation of evil here is you.”

Luna struggled to overcome the presence around her as she finished compiling the spell, fully utilizing the node as the magic flowed through her. Her eyes glowed a pale white as the shadows around her sprung forth upon Scorn, his eyes widening and his spell failing as he attempted to block the spectral illusion. His vision blurred as everything around him was engulfed by bitter blackness, his senses becoming overtaken by a ghostly visage of death. Luna merely stood there and watched him fidget and curse as he ran around slashing at things which were not there, his mind was extremely well worn as she struggled to keep the illusion going.

Meanwhile Shadow Streak dove under yet another attack, quickly parlaying the next blow and slashing upwards clean through the arm of his attacker. From his over side a strike connected and sent a shock throughout his shoulder, forcing him to snap his wing open and attempt to cull the attack for the time being.

Leaping up into the air as another strike came his way, Shadow Streak flung himself outside of the horde and quickly ran to Luna, standing up against her back as he let a small smile cross his bloodied face. “Guess this is where we shine, huh?” A shattering cough racked his bones for a moment, spitting out a small drop of blood and sneering. “Might as well get the job done with.”

As the remaining goons ran towards them with fury and pace, Luna snapped her neck towards them and gave a cold glare. With her eyes shining, and her guardians wings reflecting the moonlight; the two tensed and prepared for the final wave. Each thunderous step sent a chill down their spines and made their hearts race, although neither would admit it.

They pounced at once as Shadow leapt forwards into the fray, casting his fear aside as his deathly wings made a solid connection with bone. Meanwhile Luna dodged one of the attackers and was tackled by a second, shaking him off deftly and sending a strong hoof through his skull; pulling out and twisting around to kick the nearest foe. Shadow Streak spun around on all fours and kept pace with his enemies, swinging forwards and scoring a mark on one, whilst being struck by another.

The rotting pirates managed to score another blow before he slid away, backing up a swift princess as she landed strike after strike on a slow opponent. She looked almost as if she were dancing, each move precise and crisp. Taking his time, Shadow managed to score marks on another shambling pirate as they wandered too close, before crouching as Luna jumped overhead and landed on the poor soul; crushing his fragile and rotted head.

Quickly adjusting to the now dwindling numbers of enemies, both Luna and Shadow Streak went for the same pirate. Going either side they began to land strikes in quick succession, before kicking him back towards the entrance and facing the next. Shadow moved in quickly and began to duel with him viciously, Luna on the other hand leapt into the air and dove on him. She was met with resistance as he threw her backwards with surprising strength, before being cut open by Shadow Streak.

As the two dueled side by side against the horde of pirates, Twilight Sparkle scrambled through the hallways below. Her breath as coming in short gasps as her mind took in what was happening around her, the grim sights setting in. The wooden panels beneath her hooves creaked as the ship suffered from the attack, and all around her she could hear screaming and the clash of steel.

Her preoccupied state led her around a corner that led into a rather ruined part of the ship, a hole having been torn throughout the deck, She was currently just below the top deck and she would hear hooves running above her and fighting, the hole before her no doubt easily made due to the thin roof. She stopped for a moment to peer upwards at the fight, only to see a rotting face peer back down at her. With a high pitched yelp she threw a blast of raw magic at him and scampered off back down the hall, turning left and continuing her dash to the Princess.

It was a good thing she wasn’t too far off from the Command Deck, otherwise she’d have feared for Luna’s wellbeing. However each passing moment filled her stomach with more unease than the last, and from within the ship she could feel a foreboding presence. Shaking her head slightly as she ran, Twilight pushed the dark thoughts out of her mind as she came upon the stairwell that lead to the Bridge.  

It was battered and broken from the waves of rotten beasts which had shambled up its steps, pieces of sodden wood lay littered around the once grand set of stairs. The panels that ran the length of the wall were chipped here and there, some even dented from the immensely strong beasts which had lumbered towards the Princess. Twilight cautiously made her way up the steps as the wind outside swept up a mighty gale and shunted the hull, causing the beaten timbers to utter a low groan. It was as if the ship were calling out to them for aid, the mighty war vessel battered but not broken; still in the fight.

It was at this time as Twilight crept up the stairs with the sound of a church mouse, that the cannon decks below chose to unleash their might. She could hear a great clash of gears and the roar of powder as the Nocturnal Thunder let her guns go, firing with pure vengeance upon the enemy who dared rupture her hulls and lay waste to her crews. A small shudder went down Twilight’s spine as she imagined the battle beyond, and she turned her attention to the hallway before her as the rain outside lashed upon the exposed floor relentlessly.

Faint moonlight trickled through the cracks and surviving windows as Twilight trotted down the hall towards the open doorway, the door itself nowhere to be seen; although the torn hinges hinted to its location. Her hooves ran against scarred wood fresh with chips and dents, and her eyes scanned the bloody and battered walls with unease. How bad was the fighting here? She thought to herself as she neared the door, the voices from within giving her faint hope for the safety of her Princess and friend, Luna.

Rounding the corner and stepping into the room, Twilight could only look on in bleak horror as she struggled to adjust. The guards were nowhere to be seen, besides one of them, and Luna herself was covered in more cuts and blood than Twilight thought possible. Her beautiful mane was matted with gore and her hooves were covered in a thin layer of internal gunk. The fierce and apparently loyal protector besides her was in no better shape, perhaps even worse. His deadly metal wings were battered and clogged with different chunks of bloody corpse, his mane was slick with the blood of the fallen, as was his face. A set of piercing eyes lay beneath the bloody and broken features, his body bearing scars both fresh and old.

The body count within the Command Deck was phenomenally high, there was literally no place you could step without touching a dead thrall. They were scattered around like confetti and their corpses lay bare of all dignity, unseamed, decimated and pulpy.; it was like staring death in the face, pure cold blooded demise. Within the endless pile lay a humongous beast beyond sizes Twilight thought possible, its flesh was bubbling and splitting open as it rapidly decayed. There was a sickening puddle of thick black ooze spreading around it as the lobotomized corpse buckled from its own weight, pouring out the internals slowly and horrifically.

Whatever damage Twilight had hoped to examine was wiped from her mind as an insane laugh rang throughout her mind, and she sensed a heavy presence in the air; like the overwhelming touch of death and misery. Turning her attention left she spotted Scorn, a few cuts across his body and a twisted smile upon his face. His sword hung in the air playfully as he considered his options, seemingly chewing his words as his face changed from one expression to the next.

“Twilight Sparkle, dear me...” he rattled as the gruesome black eyes beneath his brow lit up, his magic hurling the doors and debris into each exit besides the broken window. “Your intrusion was certainly not expected, and you are unwelcome to say the least. Care to join us?” Hissing the last word as his insectoid wings buzzed slightly, the chitin flesh splitting open with a disgusting bubbling, slick purple ooze pooling from the wounds as he cackled.

As the sickening transformation of rotten chitin flesh to ungodly moulded disguise began, Twilight stepped to the right side of the Princess and focused her magic briefly. “Sorry I’m late, Princess.” She said quietly as the other two merely stared up at the bubbling and twisted Scorn, long since having adopted an attack stance each. “It’s been chaos around the ship... but we’re holding out, and I’m glad you were too.” She gave a small smile before returning to focus, preparing for whatever Scorn had planned.

It was then that a thick crack like the sound of a whip rung through the air, the purple bubbles popping suddenly as a bright flash swept upwards upon Scorn. Deformed chitin legs thick with decay became a dirty grey fur matted with blood, the sharp spines upon his back cracking and splitting into an array of dead colours hanging in torn stumps. The bleak black eyes set into his deathly skull became rotting eyes filled with burning hate, and his voice beat against Luna like a cane. “So, noble Princess... are you ready to die?”

They were staring into the eyes of a dead ruler, or at least the faked image of one, Princess Celestia.

Luna snarled and flicked the tears from her face in anger as the aura around her sword began to glow a brighter hue, her eyes looking up and locking with a ghost. "Scorn? Thou dost Abhor Us and set upon Our brow a demask face! Dan Us no more, lade your lag and gaingiving eyes!” Luna spat at the ground beneath his raised ground as her snarl turned to a look of bitter hope, and vengeful glee.  “Your men are gallimaufry and cadent in honour. Quarrel not with Us, magnanimous fiend, take your Kern and Tom o'Bedlam to Tartarus - or suffer ignomy!"

“What she said and more, you son of a mule!” Shadow Streak shouted up at the rotting Princess, extending his battered wings fully in a show of anger. “I’ll mop the floor with you twice over, unless your little crusaders get any bright ideas. Or has your futile cannon fodder already ran out?” Sneering and crouching low as Scorn merely looked one with burning eyes filled with pure resent, Shadow couldn't help but smile a little. “You’re nothing more than a relic of a time past, forsaken hiveling.”

Twilight had no words. The images of the unimaginable cruelties that this being had inflicted upon her crew, her family, flashed before her eyes.Little Scootaloo, orphaned before her time. Silver Spoon, maimed for life. Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Cutlass, Joker: all maybe dead or dying. Her eyes cast themselves upwards onto the face of an Alicorn she had never seen nor heard of before, or was this the fabled Princess of the Sun that legends spoke of? It could be true, just as the Princess besides her now was a myth until a year ago. Whatever, whoever and no matter the odds; this was a fight needing to be fought.

This was a being that needed to die.

Scorn leapt into motion, charging for the moon princess with horn aglow. He ducked, sliding underneath her sword, and came up behind her.

His horn flashed, summoning a magical cutlass that glowed the same eerie black as his aura. Luna twisted, bringing her own blade up against the cutlass as it came down upon her. For a brief moment the world fell silent as the black of death met the blue of night. Powerful magical forces battled for supremacy as the swords clashed, Twilight and Shadow Streak alike watching in awe at the display before them.

Bang!

The sound came rushing back. The wind, the screams, and the cannons all added their voice to the enormous explosion of magical energy. Luna felt herself pushed back, her hooves skidding across the wood as the world flashed white.

Luna locked eyes with Scorn as the white light dimmed, breathing hard. “What great trickery is this, foul captain? Just how long have you fed to abate me as such, and arch-mock my crew like they be lame?”

With a wooden groan and a sharp crack, half of the command room’s roof collapsed on top of Twilight and Shadow Streak. Twilight grabbed the roof above them with her magic, moving the heavy chunks of wood aside.

“I have devoured the hatred of this world since the day your sister failed us, or should I say, the day you failed us.” The zombie-Celestia grinned, flicking its ghostly scimitar to the side.

“Do you believe yourself Machiavel, for if you are then perhaps you will explain why you no longer fight for your Queen. A horde of thralls batters the walls and timbers of my ship, attempting to malign my crew, and you dare call me a failure?” Luna’s eyes began to glow. The wind picked up, pulling at her mane. Above, through the holes in the roof, Twilight saw stormclouds circling.

“Do not speak of my Queen false god, you know nothing of her or those she led. The souls of the damned are mine to command, Princess, and the thralls you seem so quick to forget will be your undoing.” Black magic traveled up the false Celestia’s mangled horn, focusing at the tip before leaping out towards Luna. The dark princess smirked, her form fading to black and dissipating into the shadows as the arcane bolt passed through where she had stood.

Scorn grimaced, swiping his sword through the shadows that suddenly began to swirl around his legs. The darkness around his hooves shot up, above him, coalescing into the form of Princess Luna, blade at the ready.

He leapt aside, barely avoiding her pounce. She bent her hooves as she landed, bouncing back up and towards him, circling her sword around her head in a vicious cut at his neck.

Scorn raised his own blade to block the blow, flinching at the magical shockwave that the contact spawned. Luna wasted no time in launching another attack, twisting around, kicking at one of his forelegs, and taking another swipe at his neck.

“Enough!” he snarled. His horn flashed as a black shockwave pulsed from it, pushing Luna’s sword back. She stumbled, briefly exposing herself, and Scorn rushed forwards, driving her back with his weight.

Once more Luna dissipated, her body seeming to shatter into a dozen shadows upon the impact. The dark tendrils flowed over Scorn’s rotted grey body in an instant, coming together behind him once more and—

“Your trickery shall fool me no more!” A dark shockwave caught Luna just as she was materializing, sending her flying backwards. She smashed into the far wall with an audible grunt, splintering the wood with the force of the impact, and slowly slid to the floor.

Twilight stepped forwards, eyes wide. “Princess Luna!”

Shadow Streak wasted no time, sprinting straight for the sneering, rotted Princess Celestia. “Lay another rotten hoof on the Princess and I’ll send you to the sixth circle of Tartarus!”

Scorn ignored him, steadily stepping towards the dazed form of Luna.

Shadow Streak pounced, only to be intercepted by a suddenly materialized magic wall. With the sound of breaking glass the wall shattered and threw him back across the room, unconscious.

Scorn laughed, still advancing on Luna. “Did you really think you could beat me, princess?” He spat out the title with obvious disgust. “I am the Demon of the Seas, with an uncountable sea of souls at my command!”

He launched another black bolt at Luna as she struggled to rise, knocking her down once more.

“You've been gone a millennia!” he roared. “You come back and think you can just start changing things? This is my domain, Princess! My waters, my world!”

“Your world is nothing more than... a petty kingdom of rash-levied tabor insanity. You are but dust against this world and her grace, tike.” Twilight watched, eyes wide at the approaching demise of her beloved princess. She could barely believe it. Princess Luna had always been so strong, always like a figure untouchable, and yet here she was, struggling just to get to her hooves.

“Hah!” Scorn scoffed, coming to a stop before Luna. The false alicorn leveled its horn. “Welcome back, Princess.”

Twilight gasped. Her horn flashed. “No!”

Scorn raised his head. “Hrm?”

Twilight’s eyes began to glow as a second aura enveloped her horn, shortly followed by a third. Beams of light shot from its tip haphazardly, illuminating the room with a harsh and flickering purple glow. For a brief moment light, shadow, and time seemed to bend around her.

Scorn’s eyes widened. He raised his matted grey wings before him, summoning an arcane barrier to intercept the devastating wave of magic that tore across the room, emanating from Twilight’s horn. He grunted as the wooden wall behind him and the planks around his hooves were torn away and his barrier shattered. The room was filled with a purple light so bright it drowned out everything else. It was impossible to see.

The light faded as Twilight collapsed into a little heap of purple fur amongst the rubble.

Scorn was on his knees and breathing hard, the scarred and tangled coat on the false Celestia’s chest heaving as he climbed to his hooves. Eyes wide with the aftermath of fear, Scorn shook his head. He flexed the bloody stumps remaining where his wings had once been.

The false Celestia scowled, stalking towards Twilight’s unconscious body with a pained limp. “You... you think you are stronger than me? Beyond me?! I am feared across oceans you will never see, my hatred has existed for years longer than you can count. I am hatred incarnate, how pathetic of you to attempt to better me!” A weak aura surrounded Scorn’s horn as he approached her.

“Scoundrel!” Luna gasped, struggling back to a standing position. “You would dare to attack an innocent bystander, one who lacks the honour code and training of a true warrior? Your facinerious acts cannot continue, beast, where is your honour? Has it left you like the sanity you once held?”

Scorn’s eyes narrowed. “The honour you speak of died long ago alongside my Queen; the death of someone you serve can twist the soul.” He snarled and spat upon the scorched floor. “I lost my way the day I was removed from the equation, something you could never understand, Princess.”

“Any warrior can claim to have lost their way, but you have gone beyond the path of the lost. Your capon attitude and unending cacodemon manipulation paint you in a far darker light, whoever you once were, you are far beyond saving. You must be purged for redemption, it is the only merciful thing to do.” Flinching from the strain, she summoned a crude magic sword, a mere ghost of the blade she had previously crafted.

“Not done yet? Come at me, then!” Scorn turned to face Luna, nearly falling in the process. The stumps of his wings briefly spurted blood as a partially transparent black dagger materialized besides him.

“Find grace in the embrace of shadows, demon,” The moon princess hissed. Closing the distance with a clumsy canter, Luna took a wild swing at Scorn.

He raised his dagger and parried the attack, losing his balance and stumbling backwards. Slowly recovering, Scorn countered with a sloppy riposte.

Luna tripped over her hooves as she dodged, falling to the ground. Scorn followed up with a volley of downwards stabs, each one being just barely deflected by Luna’s sword. The false princess screamed fury, horn glowing brighter as it poured more and more energy into the black dagger.

Scorn reared up, purple fire flowing over him as he lost the illusion and returned to his changeling form. Physically grabbing his dark dagger in his hooves, he fell upon Luna, driving the blade towards her heart with all his might.

Luna screamed back, eyes widening as her sword vaporized and she grabbed her adversary’s dagger with her hooves, struggling to hold it back. Her eyes flashed white as her innate alicorn power resurfaced, a powerful shockwave pushing Scorn back and shattering his dagger.

Changeling and princess alike fell back, drained and exhausted as magical residue clattered to the wooden floor. Shadow Streak limped weakly out of the dark corner he’d been laying into, one eye swollen closed and steel wings dragging across the floor. Stirring amongst the rubble, Twilight raised her head, moaning.

Slowly, painfully, Twilight and Shadow Streak arranged themselves around their princess. Scorn struggled to his knees, eyeing them with unfiltered hostility. Shadow Streak raised his wings and slid into a ready crouch, growling. Twilight’s horn gave off a feeble glow.

Outside, a pained dragon’s roar sounded out. Scorn narrowed his eyes, glancing aside. “We’ll have to—” He coughed, blood spurting from his mangled wings. “We’ll finish this later, ponies.”

The changeling flinched as the sound of a heavy splash drifted in from outside. Black fire rose from the floor, dancing around his hooves. He locked eyes with Twilight as the flames licked higher, and then he was gone.

Just as he teleported from the room a bright flash appeared in front of the Princess, and Noteworthy appeared before them with a small smile planted on his lips. “Princess I have a message from Colonel Spitfire, she’s getting reports of retreat -- the battle has been won in our favour, and losses were near nil.” The smile which adorned his face soon fell as he cast his eyes around the broken and bloody room, nearly falling over in shock. “D-did I miss something, Princess?”

“No.” Shadow Streak said with some annoyance, nodding towards the wounded Princess and Protege, “Twilight came upstairs and we all played cards, nevermind the massive battle against Scorn!”  Noteworthy looked over at his fellow guard and sighed, crossing his brow and looking at the decimated doors. There was an awkward silence in the room for a few moments, broken only by the Princess’s heavy breaths.

“Remind me how you got your job again?” Shadow Streak asked, before Twilight and the Princess burst into laughter. The feeble attempt at humor finally broke through the stress of the battle, seeming to signify that it was finally over.

Noteworthy merely stood there for a few moments before turning around to look out the shattered window, the rain softly touching against his face as he examined the deck below.

“Noteworthy, you and Twilight go find some medical pony -- maybe Doctor Zeta, or Fluttershy. I’ll stay with the Princess and see how she remains, I’ll also take care of any stray thralls.” Shadow Streak grunted and lifted the Princess up, leaning her against him as Twilight teleported away. Noteworthy hung in the room for another moment before following suit.

The two remaining ponies stood there for a few moments before moving over to the window in silence, the mighty tempest beyond the ship roaring and howling against the pitter-patter of rain drops. The cascade of water had made its way within the shattered command deck, and few timbers around the window remained dry. Faint lightning flashes illuminated the deck below as the battle wound down to a close, ending in their favour.

Princess Luna leant against Shadow Streak a little heavier as her eyes began to droop, the battle had surely taken a number on her. Blood dripped from both of their wounds slowly as they each stared out into the maelstrom of events finally closing, the ships cannons no longer roaring against the enemy. Everything had slowly silenced until the only noises left were the heavy breathing of the pair, and the raging storm ravaging the seas.

“Many thanks upon thee’, protector. We... I mean, I... cannot tell you how glad I was to have help during those dark moments.” The Princess staggered in place slightly as the two comrades fell side by side, laid and looking out into the beautiful night sky. The limelight shone upon them as Luna spoke softly, her words falling a each turn and becoming more subdued. “You are much better than that... Noteworthy fellow...”

“That’s just because he’s not a fighter, Princess. His uses are more suited for your academic needs, I’ll just stand there staring at you two mindlessly: I’m not a smart pony.” He let out a shallow chuckle as his lungs brought up bile and blood, a jab to his chest having snapped a few things in bad ways. “I’m just your stubborn ass-” another cough brought up more blood as his eyes drifted slightly, “...guard pony. No need to thank me. Besides, soon enough you'll need to... to ship me off in a bodybag, once Chrysalis learns she didn't get a punch at Scorn.” A bitter laugh followed his sentence, as a stream of blood gushed from the corner of his mouth, ”

“I find need to thank you... for you served me in double trust, which is a debt I intend to repay someday.” Luna fell silent as the storm carried on, battering them with a mighty cascade of rain and wind. Hey eyes fell gently as her companion fell to his side, the wear and tear of the battle having tired him out. The Princess quietly stood up in the rain and looked out towards her moon, beginning to lower it for a new day.

Then with a swift move she was standing atop the center platform of the room, looking over and out the window. Shadow Streak however didn’t notice, and he was left alone in the ruined command deck, wounds bleeding and body slumped under the rain. Noteworthy teleported in a few seconds later, bringing a doctor over to his injured friend; the Princess now out of his mind as he took in the sight before him. But even as the nurse wrapped torn cloth around him and began to cast a spell, Shadow Streak slept.

Sitting atop the captains chair within the room, Luna examined her desk once again. It was a little different from when she had first asked for it to be taken from Old Canterlot, and refurbished by the best craftspony around. There were a few marks from the fight that had ruined some of the carvings, and there was a massive hole in the middle where some timbers had fallen through. Although this upset her quite a bit, her worries flowed free like the blood of her wounds as time became irrelevant.

Petty eyes scanned a carving of two sisters, one of gold, another of pure darkness; the coin, heads and tails. Yet even as the world had ordered her fast departure and Celestia’s sudden demise, Luna’s sister had returned in the form of an enemy. An elaborate ruse designed to unstable her no doubt, crumble her already weakened foundations. But she had surpassed the demon’s expectations and managed to understand his message.

This brought her to even more troubling thoughts. Was her sister in fact nothing more than a lost soul among the black seas? Was the flicker of life she felt tied to her own instead merely the remains of her kin? She couldn't tell for certain, and she wouldn't know until they reached their destination. Edge Island it was called, the farthest point that anypony had ever dared to map -- or the last place they had ever been seen. It was about as far out as one could go, the most remote and desolate of islands.

Luna knew it was more than that though, she knew it held some kind of secret deep within its flora. Something inside her stirred at the mention of the name, upon the imagining of the place she couldn't help but shiver. A dark force was at play within that part of the world, and her crew would soon need to face it. Yet why would her sister be there? Furthermore, why would she never attempt to escape?

During the battle that had occurred between Luna and her sister many moons ago, Celestia had never once given up or held back; her subjects were worth more than her own sister. So if she would be ruthless and unrelenting during a time in which the darkest hour was the brightest day, why could she not be as such when the world needed her so much? Had Luna doomed the entire world by failing her sister, failing herself?

Scorn had called her a monster, the real monster between the two of those. He accused her of being the fountain from whence his troubles came forth, the mother of his curse. But had she truly doomed him, and the world, through an act of self? No, she knew she couldn’t have done such a thing. Her departure hadn’t caused the end of the world -- sooner or later, Nathasha would have struck them both down.

The Princess denied the thought that she had ended the world through an act of immaturity, being filled with desire for self rather than a beacon of selflessness. The more she thought about this issue, the stronger her resolve became. No! She had not doomed the world, she was here to save it! Celestia was more than alive, she was trapped somewhere at Edge Island and Luna needed to save her. This crew, this mission, this hope... was worth any price.

With her heart content and her mind set upon her mission, Scorn having been pushed from her thoughts for now, she could feel the world gradually slip back into place. The sting of her wounds slapped her from her state as the fresh splatter of water fell from a hole above. Luna slumped onto the sodden and torn desk before her station as Noteworthy came rushing towards her, some other pony not too far behind. She attempted to stand but failed, slamming her head down onto the table with force.

The last thing she saw before the sea of black overtook her; was a dragons silhouette looming within the tempest beyond.