Chapter 18: War in the Heavens

“But Aunt Celestia, I can fi—”

“Uh, uh, uh, no buts. You have special cargo. There is no way I would allow you to fight.”

“But—” Celestia placed her hoof on Cadance’s lips with a smile, tilting her head ever so slightly, a look of pure content on her face a contradiction to the war all around.

“This is not a point you can argue, Cadance,” Celestia said warmly, her voice like that of a mother soothing her child. Removing her hoof from Cadance’s lips, she looked to Night Light and Twilight Velvet behind Cadance along with the handful of Royal Guards. “Your place is with them, to keep them and your foal safe.” Celestia’s smile never faulted as she looked at the ponies before her. “Now go, the tunnels will get you safely outside the city and out of harm's way. Before you know it, this will all be behind us and we will be enjoying dinner once again.”

Cadance looked to Celestia, wanting to stay, to fight beside her and Luna like an Alicorn should, but deep down she knew Celestia was right.

“Fine. But please, be safe,” Cadance breathed, as she turned to leave through the tunnel. “And when you see Shining, tell him I’m safe.”

“Will do,” Celestia said, her horn glowing gold and causing the pillar that had hid the secret tunnel to lower, concealing it once more. Smiling as it fell back into place, she turned back to the dining hall. Once one of the most well kept and prestigious places in the castle, it was now littered with broken glass, fine china, bits of food, and the remains of fallen enemies.

Walking forward, Celestia paid no attention to the enemies climbing through the large broken window that looked down upon Canterlot, now in flames. The attackers charged at her; but before they could get within striking distance, a silver streak zipped through the air silent as the wind, dancing between them like a spark. As it did, it left a trail of fading silver behind it, and Celestia’s would be attackers fell to the ground dead. Celestia gave s small sigh as she walked over them, and towards the source of the silver streak.

Sitting a few feet away with a cup of tea to her lips was Luna, eyes closed. All around her the silver streak flew through the air, taking out any threat that got to close to her or her sister. The way she sat there, enjoying her tea, one would have thought she was enjoying a calm evening instead of in a room surrounded by a ever growing pile of bodies. As Celestia neared, Luna lowered the cup from her lips and opened her eyes slightly. “You can feel it, can’t you sister?”

Celestia sighed at Luna’s question, before turning her head towards the shattered window overlooking the burning city of Canterlot. Out in the distance she could feel dark magic at work, a chilling sensation, an invisible force twisted and bent, distorting the natural order of the universe. The magic was ice-cold, coiling around the attackers like barbed wire.

That was not the only magic she could feel, though. Out there in the darkness, there was another, force, one that had disturbed her every night for the last five years. While the first magic was cold and dark, the other was ablaze, a firestorm of untamed magic that burned widely. It was the magic of the Ghost Rider.

“Yes Sister, I feel it,” Celestia whispered as she made her way to the shattered window. Flashes of bright green and orange radiated in the distance, flames of intense magic crashing against one another.

“Do you believe that they are connected?” Luna’s voice came from behind, the sound of glass crunching under hooves as she approached. The tiny sliver of moonlight still danced through the air, felling any attackers before they could interrupt the Sisters.

Celestia still looked out over Canterlot, feeling the magical energies of those like Shining Armor fighting against the dark magic with everything they had. Shining Armor’s magic was pulled from the purest of skill and emotion, to defend and protect, a power driven from life itself to protect life. The forces he was up against were much darker, and the only way she could describe it was savage. The magic Shining and the rest of the Royal Guard fought was a swirling mass of greed, lust, and rage, fueled by negative emotions. The magic the enemy used felt cold when she reached out to feel it with her own power.

“No. I doubt they are. The magic at work here is much too dark, nothing like the Ghost Rider’s,” Celestia said. “The Rider’s magic is pure and unrelenting rage, searing hot and demonic. This feels... cold. Hollow.

“Besides, the Ghost Rider wouldn't launch such a large attack. When he attacks, the battle is over in a matter of minutes and normally the only innocent ponies present were the victims of those the Rider was after. Whatever power that is attacking Canterlot is not the Ghost Rider’s power.”

As Luna had stood next to her sister as she contemplated, the streak of silver zipped around the room, taking out any that would try to do them harm. “Then who might it be? The magic here is far superior than that of the most talented of unicorns,” Luna stated, squinting her eyes trying to get a better look at the battle raging on.

“I do not know sister, but whoever it is they shall regret harming our subjects,” Celestia’s voice grew cold, as sparks of golden energy cascaded across her body. She would never consider making direct contact with her enemies, in the possibility that unleashing her full power could harm any ponies too close to her when she did so. Even with centuries of practice with her magic, not even she could fully control the immense power gifted to her.

Luna took a cautious step to the side, as the temperature around Celestia’s body grew hotter, as her power came off of her in waves like the sun she controlled. “Dear sister, dost thou think it wise to use so much power?”

Then, as if to answer Luna’s question, the twin heavy wood doors blew open, sending splints of wood in every direction as they were blown clean off their hinges. Both sisters turned to the door, raising their shields in unison. The shards of wood and rubble from the surrounding stonework clashed against the shields of gold and silver, but shields never wavered and both Sisters stood there unharmed and ready.

Black smoke billowed into the room, along with the sound of metal clashing and the yells of those in combat or wounded. Even so, a sharp metallic clatter could be heard within the mass of sound, growing louder with each passing second. The sound of it synchronized with hooves hitting the ground, approaching with an easy pace as though time worked for them and would allow the source of the noise all the time it needed.

“I would deem it wise for her to use her full power. As should you, my beautiful Princess Luna,” a rich, deep voice said, echoing off the walls of the grand hall, its point of origin unseen in the murky haze. The sisters kept their eyes on the twin doors as the sound of metal striking the ground grew louder. “It’s not everyday you fight your better.” An invisible force shot out of the hallway with those very words.

The force itself would have been enough to send anypony tumbling backwards, but the princesses of night and day were not anypony. They stood their ground, not even registering the force worthy of their recognition as they gaze unwavering into the hallway, as the smoke was pushed out and left the corridor clear.

Standing there in the ruins of the entranceway was a pony clad from the tip of their horn to the end of their tail in black armor. Across the black armor what appeared to be sigils and runes were carved into the armor, glowing bright red that shone against the armor like jagged claw marks of a hellish beast. A cape of black silk billowed behind the pony as all traces of the assailant were hidden under the armor; all except for their bright red eyes. Though the red eyes were not what made Celestia’s blood turn hot, and Luna’s cold but what they saw what the armor was shielding.

“You… you’re a…” Celestia stared at the pony before her, who stared right back at her as it unfurled its wings.

“Ah yes. It’s shocking to see an Alicorn outside your little group, isn't it? And a male to boot,” the armored figured said, his voice filled with scorn, his red eyes never leaving Celestia’s purple ones.

“Who art thou?” Luna growled, stepping forward herself as sparks of silver gathered around her horn, glaring at the figure who dare attacked their home and city. “So we might write it upon thy grave.”

The figure threw its head back and laughed, though with its armor one could not see his mouth open to laugh as hard as he did. “Ah, that is rich! Oh, I might have kept you as a jester if I did not need to kill you this night,” the armored alicorn laughed, lowering its head once more, red eyes burning as he glared at Luna. “But you may call me Blackhea—”

A blast of bright yellow energy struck the stallion before he could finish saying his name, sending him flying backwards into the hallway for whence he came. Luna whipped her head around to see sparks of pure power rolling off Celestia’s horn as she stepped forward, her gazed fixed upon where she had sent the figure.

“Sister, did you… did you…”

“I have no time to play games,” Celestia snapped, as she took another step forward. “If he believes he can invade our home and threaten us like that I will show him the error of his ways,” her words were a low growl as golden sparks cascaded all around her.

A primal roar rang out just as a wave of red energy shot down the hallways, covering the floor, walls, and ceiling as it came through. The instant the sisters saw the attack, they jumped opposite of one another, avoiding the attack as it smashed into the wall on the far end of the dining hall. The energy shook the entire area, as the wall behind started to collapse the stonework seared in the heat of the attack.

The glow from the attack had barely faded when another barrage of power came streaking down the hallway in the form of red sparks, jumping from one surface to another before entering the room and seeking out the sisters. As times before, both sisters acted in unison and their shields came up once again, causing the sparks of deadly red energy to splash against the shields harmlessly.

“I am Blackheart!” The voice of the dark alicorn roared, the magic he had used before to make his voice echo at work again. “Son of the Devil!” As the sparks entered the room and occupied the attention of both princesses, Blackheart had made his way back into the dining hall, his cape billowing in an intangible breeze. As he entered, red tendrils of energy ran across his body forming a second layer of armor around him made of pure magic.

“You’re a son of a something,” Celestia spat, as her shield faded as golden energy sparked off of her body and the ground around her. Then with a simple flick of her head golden gems came into existence around her in a circle, each giving off heat as they spread out from Celestia and into the air around her. With another flick of her head, the gems started to fire off beams of energy at Blackheart.

Blackheart jumped out of the way of the first blast, which gouged out a piece the floor as it struck it. Blackheart unfurled his armored wings and took to the air just as another blast of energy struck the ground where he had been just a second before. The red energy still congealed around him as he flew, but didn’t hinder his ability to cast his own magic.

As he flew through the air of the spacious room, Blackheart’s armored horn sparked with power before sending out a blast the size of his own hoof at Celestia with deadly intent. Before the power could reach her, a beam of silver energy intercepted it and the colliding powers exploded in a dazzling shower of yellow sparks.

Luna had taken up position next to her sister and a silver-like mist encircled them. The mist was a collection of Luna’s own power, ready to be used and changed into whatever she might need to defend herself and Celestia. This was not the first time the sisters had been in combat together, and the dance was the same as always: Celestia was on the attack, while Luna played defense.

While Blackheart was coming to realize this, he failed to notice three of the gems Celestia had formed rise next to him and let out a simultaneous blast of gold energy into his side. The demonic pony gave out a roar of pain as the red shield flared around him, taking the magical part of the attack, but not the kinetic. He flew across the dining hall and into a stone wall, breaking off pieces of marble as it he collided with it.

Before he could even begin to fall down the side of the wall, two more gems appeared before him and let out three round bursts of energy, hitting Blackheart at point blank range. He gave out a roar of pain before falling the rest of the way onto the marble floor of the castle, his armor clanking upon impact.

Celestai and Luna turned towards the fallen Blackheart, both smiling as they looked at the limp form as they advanced, the silver mist never fading.

“My beloved sister, is it me or does it seem that this ragged mongrel is all bark and no bite?” Celestia asked in a mocking tone, her golden gems floating back to her still pointed at Blackheart.

“Thou must agree sister, we are most unimpressed by this battle,” Luna tittered, as they took another step forward.

Just as they did, fire erupted from the ground around Blackheart, shooting straight upward. Fames washed across the ceiling as Blackheart stood up, the sigels on his armor growing a brighter red.

“Don’t you dare think this battle is over! I, Blackheart, shall end your lives tonight!” He roared out, as flames began to grow and intensify around him, now spreading across the floor towards the sister ready to strike like an angry cobra.

Before the flames could reach them, both sisters took to the air as the mist around Luna intensified swirling around her and Celestia to shield them from the flames. The gems fired their golden energy at Blackheart in rapid succession, but the blasts only faded when they got within a foot of him. Even within the storm of fire, Blackheart’s red eyes stood out amongst the growing inferno.

With another roar of pure anger and hatred, twin bolts of red energy shot out of the fire and towards Celestia and Luna. The gems flew to intercept and fired bolts of their own power, but the darts of red energy smashed through the gold ones and into the gems themselves, which exploded. As the gems flew forward to intercept more blasts of red power from Blackheart, the silver mist around Luna and Celestia started to grow and swell in size.

As the mist began to become a fine cloud of power, an aura of silver energy started to emanate from Luna as her eyes closed in concentration. She started to take in deep breaths, breathing in through her nose and letting it slowly out of her mouth seemingly unaware of the battle around them, not even when her sister’s magical gems exploded close to her when they were lost to demonic power.

At once Luna’s eyes flew open, showing nothing but pure white and a faint silvery glow coming from them. The silver cloud expanded to encompass the whole room, swallowing the fire within it as it encased itself over Luna and Celestia. The cloud also tried to ensnare Blackheart within it, but the outer layer of magical protection kept the cloud away from him. As the two powers met a loud hiss, like that of cold water being poured onto white metal, rang out.

Blackheart growled in anger, still shooting out the beams of red lightning at the sisters, but the gems kept intercepting them as Celestia and Luna changed roles of attacker and defender. Once the cloud of silver engery fully encompassed the room, Luna’s horn gave out a single spark of silver energy. The cloud burst into a solid light for half a heartbeat, before fading as fast as it came.

When the light returned to normal the cloud had vanished, as well as all the fire that Blackheart had summoned up, leaving the room in charred ruins and the smell of sulfur and brimstone heavy in the air. Blackheart glared up at the two sisters, those red eyes still burning bright as the energy around him crackled and popped with power.

Celestia and Luna glared down at him as they hovered in the air meer feet away from him, Luna’s silver mist already starting to reform once again.

“You are no threat to the two of us,” Celestia said, her voice tinged with annoyance. “Do you really believe you could take on the two of us with cheap tricks? Any spell you could cast, any spell you could dream of we have seen or done ourselves. You are outclassed and outpowered in every way,” Celestia’s voice was sharp and crisp like a teacher talking down to an upstart student. “Surrender!”

Blackheart’s gaze never left Celestia, dark energy flaring up around him. “So, you have seen all that this world has to offer in magic then?” Blackheart asked, as he raised his hoof up to one of the leather straps that held the breastplate of his armor. The armor fell just enough that a bit of his fur shown through. “Then let me show you the magic of Hell!”

Without a second of hesitation, Blackheart drove his hoof into his own chest with the cracking and popping of bone being broken. Blood gushed out of the wound splattering against the floor, forming a puddle in mere seconds. Blackheart coughed in pain, blood spurting out of the gaps in his visor to trickle down the front of his helmet and breastplate.

“Stars above…” Luna gasped, raising a hoof to her mouth as she watched the grotesque display. “What madness is this?”

Blackheart gave out a weak chuckle as he pulled his hoof from his chest, a gallant of blood falling from the wound in a sickening plop. “What you call madness, my dear Luna, is a way of life in Hell,” Blackheart said, as red sparks started to form around the massive wound before he redid the leather strap. Blackheart stood in the pool of his own blood, having stretched to include his back hooves. The blood continued to stretch out, filling causes of the floor with dark liquid till it overflowed and sought out more space. “Pain is strength, and strength is life!”

“You are sick,” Celestia hissed, tossing her head back and forth again summoning more gems into existence. “It will be a kindness to put you out of your sick misery,” Celestia watched the blood, not understanding what he could help to achieve with wounding himself so greatly. There was a power in blood for the dark arts, but never had she heard or read about any kind of magic that would use the caster’s blood in such a way besides summonings.

“My sickness is what will give me the strength to kill you!” Blackheart bellowed, as he ran a hoof through his blood. As he did, dark purple sparks ran through the blood till the sparks found their way back to Blackheart and ran up his body and coalescing around his horn. A thunderous cry came from Blackheart as the dark red blood around him turned a dark purple, nearly black.
Then at the same instant it rose from the ground in single droplets, no bigger than the tip of a hoof, and hovered around him.

“Now… die!” with the hiss of the word, the blood gathered around him shot into the air towards the sister in darks streaks of gore. At once, Luna’s horn sparked with silver brilliance, making the mist rise up to intercept the attack as Celestia’s gems moved around it to get into a position to attack.

Yet, before the droplets of blood struck the shield they vanished, as if imploding on themselves. Before either sister had time to react to the sight, explosions rang out in ear splitting detonations. The shock alone sent both sisters flying through the air and crashing into the wall far behind them. The force of the impact shattered the stained glass windows behind them, shards raining down upon them.

Blackheart was far from done. With a cry with vicious glee, more of the tainted blood flew towards Celestia and Luna. Each droplet formed a small spear, no bigger than a needle, but with the speed behind them and formed into a solid substance, it would end any that got in the way of the storm.

Celestia was able to recover faster than her sister, and without a spark or motion a shield of bright gold formed a dome around them, right as the bloody needles struck the shield. While holding up a shield against a barrage like this would be a challenge, to even the most gifted of unicorns, Celestia had millenias of experience and power to spare.

As she held up the shield, pieces of the fallen glass, stone, and any other object within her imident sight gained an aura of gold around them. Celestia then fixated her sight on Blackheart, her eyes going completely white as sparks of gold ran across the length of her body. The objects held in her power, shot at Blackheart with the speed and intensity that would make any Wonderbolt envious.

Blackheart saw the attack coming the moment that Celestia’s magic ensnared the items. Before the projectiles could make it halfway across the room, Blackheart’s horn flared with red sparks and ran down across his head and causing his eyes to burn an even brighter shade of hellish red. His aura removed the visor from around his mouth just in time for him to let a torrent of blue fame escape his mouth, incinerating the improvised weapons, and racing towards Celestia.

Behind her, Luna managed to get to her hooves and the silver mist once again formed up around the outer layer of Celestia’s shield and went forth to combat the flames. The two forces of magical energy struck each other in such force that the entire castle shook with the collision, causing cracks to form in several surfaces around them.

As the explosion rang out, Celestia condensed the shield down into a triangular-shaped one with a star in the center of it, still large enough to hold the storm of needles at bay. Her horn then blazed with golden fire as balls of fire started to form on either side of her. With an effort of will, the two golden orbs of fire shot out from Celestia and curved back around,focused on striking Blackheart from both sides, as he kept up the wave of torrent of fire at Luna’s mist.

Before either fireball could strike him, the droplets of purple blood that surrounded him started to combine together, forming shapes of greater size than the fireballs. When the fireballs drew near, the large globs of blood spread apart and engulfed the balls of fire as easily as one could put out a candle. Though Celestia could not see Blackheart in the exchange of power, she was sure the smug, arrogant son of a bitch was smirking in delight.

“Luna, we must strike him together,” Celestia called out, facing her sister as she crouched down like a cat ready to pounce. “He could not defend against our combined strength,”

“Indeed our sister,” Luna said, turning her gaze to Celestia, her eyes pure white as well. “We shall hold this barrier till you are…” Luna’s eyes widened before the blue of her eyes returned filled with panic. “Tia, behind you!”

Celestia barely heard the warning when a burning pain shot from her stomach and all the way through her till it struck her back. Before she could even see what had struck her, another pain, and another, and she did something she had not done in such a long time.

She cried out in pain.

Staggering on her hooves, she looked down to see three purple spears jutting out of her torso like claws, and sticky red blood—her blood—running down the tips and pooling on the ground. How long has it been, since I have been struck? Celestia thought, the pain an afterthought to just the shock of being struck. Since, I have seen my own blood? The three purple spears, made of Blackheart’s own blood, slowly pulled out of her twisting as they did. Another cry of pain escaped Celestia, as the spears removed themselves and repositioned themselves slowly, ready to take their time with next strike.

Before they could strike, silver energy struck each of the spears and they became enshrowded with ice. Celestia turned her head to the source, though it felt slower than before, the reaction needing more effort than it should. Her lilac eyes fell upon Luna, her face scrunched up, her teeth bared in under rage as tears flowed from her eyes. She knew where Luna’s rage came from, why she was crying, and she should have felt the same, should have been in screaming in pain yet she couldn't, as one thought swam in her mind.

Luna is much too beautiful to make such a face. It does not suit her one bit. With that, she fell to her side, her body engulfed in unimaginable pain.

Luna looked down at Celestia, fear, panic, rage, and sorrow all trying to fight for dominance in her mind she had to push it all away! She needed to act!

As Celestia fell, so did her shield and the bloody needles resumed their attack. She could not keep Blackheart’s attack at bay, and defend at the same time. Instead she gathered up all the energy she could spare, and threw herself upon her sister.

In a flash of brilliant silver, both she and Celestia disappeared, as the storm of fire and bloody needles smashed into where they had been only mere seconds ago. While powerful in her own right, teleportation had never been one of Luna’s more skilled arts. She managed to teleport herself and Celestia to the very end of the dining hall, away from the large doors.

As they appeared, Luna jumped off of her sister and began to examine her, unsure how to place her with such an injury to her stomach and back. When rolling onto her side to get a better look, Luna gave out a gasp of pure horror. The area around Celestia’s had worsened already in the short amount of time.

Purple veins snaked around the wounds and spread across Celestia’s body, pulsing in evil beats as Celestia’s breathing became more shallow. Her face was covered in sweat as she squeezed her eyes closed in complete agony. Blood was still seeping from the wounds as well, staining Celestia’s brilliant white coat as it fell.

“She was so certain she understood the magics of the world,” Luna’s head whipped around to face Blackheart, a rage that she had never felt before building up inside like a dam ready to release. If Blackheart had felt anything in the murderous look in Luna’s eyes, he did not show it as he slowly advanced on the younger sister, his armored hooves striking the ground with metallic clicks.

He had put his visor back on, making those wretched red eyes the only defining feature about him. The purple droplets of blood swirled around him, ready to be shaped and used however their master saw fit.

“The blood of a fallen is quite poisonous. In fact most morals who merely touch it die instantly. Then again, neither of you are mortals,” Blackheart let out a cold dark laugh as he advanced, taking all the time he needed to savor this moment. “But, it won’t matter for long and I shall put her out of her pain, it’s the least I could do,”

No sooner had he said those words, the temperature in the area around them dropped instantly. Frost formed on the windows that remained, the exhale of Blackheart’s vile breath became visible, and ice snaked across the ground from where Luna made contact with the ground growing like her rage.

Blackheart stopped in his tracks as the ice started to overtake the room and heading towards him. He gave out a low snort as it approached, blue fire escaping from between the gaps in his visor halting the ice from touching him, forcing the ice to move around him. Looking up from the ice, Blackheart fixated on Princess Luna, who stood over her wounded older sister ready to keep her from further harm.

Luna’s eyes had turned pure white once more, her wings fully extended as an aura of glacier-blue surrounded her. Sparks of furious silver darted across her body, her furious eyes locked upon Blackheart who stood motionless as he watched her.

“Thou thinkest the night belongs to thyself and kin. For tis only when the sun is down that thy foul power can grow. Thou forget who rules the night! Who brings upon the night!” The sparks of silver became lightning, shooting out from Luna and striking the stone around her into fine dust. “For we are the ruler of the night! Ruler of darkness and cold! For we are Princess Luna!”

Blackheart’s red eyes widen at the sight of the enraged Princess Luna. Not in living memory could one remember what a truly angered alicorn looked like, the full power that they could wield once provoked to that point. Ice began to take the ground from under him, his own power unable to hold Luna at bay no longer.

When Luna took a step towards him, power crackling all around her, he lost it. Fear overtook the Son of the Devil as he roared in defiance of her power.

All the droplets of blood gathered around him rocketed towards Luna, as the blue flames he had summoned earlier started to shoot out of the gaps in his armor, collencing in a storm around him, until he pulled his visor down again and a cataclysm of fire erupted from his mouth towards Luna. As before, his blood imploded upon itself when near Luna in detonations of destructive force. The fire raced towards her like a locomotive slamming into Luna as Blackheart fired in rapid succession blasts of red energy.

The amount of magical energy that was being turned into a single attack of destructive force was more than most unicorns could summon up throughout their entire life. Throughout it all Blackheart screamed in primal fear and hatred towards the force he was opposing, the sigils and runes upon his armor growing their brightest they had been all night as he threw everything into the attack. Stone cracked and shattered at the relentless attack, anything that could ignite tuned to ash, and the last of the windows shattered under the mighty force.

Finally, Blackheart could not withstand the taxation he was putting his body through, and sagged where he stood, the fire cutting out and the blasts of red energy fading. The ice that Luna had summoned was completely melted, and had evaporated in the heat of his attack. The entire back wall of the hall had been destroyed, as parts of the roof started to cave in. Even some of the stonework had been heated to the point where it no longer could hold its shape.

Blackheart stood there, breathing heavily as the smoke hid whatever damage he had brought upon the Princess of the Night.

“I must have killed her… I had to have killed her! She must be dead!” He roared, watching the smoke. “This armor… the power he gave me… the power of a fallen! Not even one of them could have…” The smoke that hid Luna from him was pushed away by a force Blackheart could not see, but pressed against him, forcing him to take a step back.

Where Blackheart thought he would find the singed remains of the rulers of Equestria, where he thought nothing could have survived a shield of glacial blue held strong humming with power. Frost had gathered on the inside of it, concealing all within it in its icy depths but a pair of glowing white eyes could be seen, the eyes of Luna.

“No… No… No!” Blackheart cried, sparks of red dancing around his horn as he brought forth power again, and shot it at the shield. “Die! Die you bitch! Just die!” He snarled, before his yelling became intangible as he threw whatever fleeting power he had left at the shield. He would have been better off throwing snowballs at the shield constructed by Luna, as it didn’t even flicker as the blasts of energy smashed against it, disappearing like hoofprints in a blizzard.

“Silence” it had came off as a whisper at first, like when one thought they heard their name upon the wind, but it grew louder and in power as it filled the space between Luna and Blackheart before coming a solid force striking Blackheart full in the chest.

The black metal of Blackheart’s armor shattered as he was thrown backwards, skidding across the remains of the hall as he cried out in pain. Coming to a halt several yards away, Blackheart tried to pick himself up, fresh blood spilling onto the ground before, unable to infuse it with power again. Looking up, his red eyes filled with fear Blackheart could only watch as Luna walked towards him.

The uneven ground didn’t phase her as she approached, like a vision from a dream she made her path towards him, her hooves never seeming to touch the ground. Ice spread out around her, as the temperature grew steadily colder with each passing moment, with each step she took.

Blackheart’s eyes darted around, searching for something, anything to help him to turn the tide. His eyes found it, emerald green light in the distance far behind her. His face still hidden by the helmet, a smile formed on his face as he lifted his head high as his body fell back onto the ground.

“Fin Fang Foom! I summon you!” His voice was loud and crisp, echoing into the night air above the clashing of metal of the battle going on around them. He then turned his eyes on Luna’s glowing white ones and wheezed out a laugh. “Die bitch,” he snarled.

As the name was called out, the emerald flames subsided and Blackheart could feel the power of the Lord of Dragons coming towards him, the centuries of power that had been gathered in a single creature that was far beyond those of Torch and his kin. Yet, he also felt something else. There was another force upon the mighty dragon, one that he only began to realize all too late.

The large form of Fin Fang Foom crashed into the wall leading further into the castle. Bright red and pulsing burn marks covered most of the dragon’s body. Pieces of the dragon’s flesh were missing, and large gashes had been made in his scales, a yellow substance seeping from them that Blackheart could only assume was blood. The once mighty dragon’s right leg looked like it had been broken in two with the unnatural way it was laying, twisted and misshapen. Other parts of Foom’s body were also misshapen, the scales and flesh around them had collapsed in on themselves from immense trauma.

The dragon’s body was broken, and his breath was a shallow wheeze as stood upon the edge of death. Upon the dragon’s chest, clad in black and spiked armor stood a pony with a burning skull. Blackheart’s eyes grew wide with renewed rage seeped in.

“Damn you! Damn you vile vermin! I swear! I swear by HIS name I shall still have my revenge upon you! You wretched dem—” Blackheart’s voice was caught in his throat, as a sudden and unrelenting cold went through his hooves. Looking away from the Ghost Rider, as he approached the dragon to use the Penance Stare, he found Luna standing above him.

Her eyes were still glowing white, and watching him without the slightest hint of emotion. Blackheart couldn’t help but shudder as the cold crept up his body. Looking down, his body now shivering beyond his control, he saw that Luna had placed the very tip of her hoof upon him. From where her hoof touched, ice spread across his armor and into any gaps it could find inside to his body. The ice formed upon his body, layering it in burning cold.

The pure agony of it kept him screaming, as his lungs froze and he became unable to breathe. All he could do was stare up into the emotionless eyes of Princess Luna, as she slowly bent over to him next to where his ear was, as ice started to move up his neck.

“Die… bitch,” she whispered into his ear, before the ice fully enveloped him, leaving him in a coffin of ice.

As the ice over took Blackheart, the glowing white of Luna’s eye faded and she staggered slightly. It had been a long, long time since she had called upon that much power and she could already feel the effects of the use starting to take its toll on her body. Her work was far from over, however, as she looked up at the Ghost Rider.

She was just in time to witness this infamous, Penance Stare -as one of her sister’s personal agents called it- take place. The Ghost Rider stood on the tip of the dragon's nose, the sockets where his eyes should have been had two pints of orange flame within them as they stared into the dragon’s eyes. Wisps of purple mist flowed from the dragon’s eyes into the Rider’s, in an unbroken wave until the essence fully left the dragon and flowed into the Rider.

As the last of the mist entered the Rider, the points of orange light went out and the Rider let out a growl of what could only be satisfaction as he rolled his neck, popping of his vertebrae audible from where she stood. The Rider then turned towards her, his empty eyes focused on her. Before the Rider could utter one word, Luna used her will and slammed the Rider into the ground before her.

The Rider roared in defiance, but before he could so much as move ice began to creep over him as well, as silver tendrils of energy erupted from the ground and held him there. The Rider started to thrash about, but Luna held no fear for him and approached.

“What art thou?” She demanded of him, glaring down at the flaming skull and metal horn of the Rider. Ghost Rider looked up at her, his body still thrashing around as he gave out low growls as he tried to free himself. After the monster she had just faced, Luna was in no mood for games and with a single flick of her horn the tendrils of energy tighten around him. “What. Art. Thou?” She growled through gritted teeth.

“Where is Blackheart?!” The Rider shouted back, a demand more than a question. Luna fought the urge to take a step back, the raspy sound of the Rider’s vice and the hint of cruelty within it was enough to give any pony a start, but she would no show fear.

“Over there,” she said gesturing to the block of ice that held Blackheart. The Rider moved his head to look at the frozen Blackheart before turning back to Luna.

“Where is Blackheart?” He roared again, the fire from his skull already starting to melt the ice that held him. With her eyes growing white again, Luna created more ice around the Rider to hold him in place.

“Listen beast, we do not know what thou art, nor why he is here. But he is now in our power, and shall answer us when we ask him a question!” Once more the energy around the Rider tightened, but Luna only got a growl of annoyance from the Rider. That was enough to push Luna’s anger further, as the Rider defined her authority. She readied another enchantment of ice, when a voice came to her.

“Lu… Lu?” Luna’s heart skipped a beat as the voice of her sister called to. The remainder of her injuries came like a flash flood to the front of Luna’s mind and promptly forgot all about the Rider as she raced to Celestia aid.

Celestia was still laying on the ground where Luna had placed her, tears were now in her eyes as she tried to push herself up. As Luna approached, she placed a hoof gently on her shoulder to keep her down. “You mustn't rise sister, we do not know how injured you are,” Luna whispered, trying to keep her voice low and comforting. Celestia tried to rise further up, but fell back as a yelp of pain escaped her lips.

“It hurts Lulu, it hurts so much…” Lun could feel her heart breaking as she heard Celestia’s words, the words of her elder sister that had spent years protecting her, cry out in pain.

“Shh… we know sister. We know. We shall find help as soon as we can,” she said, leaning forward and running her nose against Celestia's cheek. Celestia gave out a whimper of pain, before opening her eye up ever so slightly.

“Is he… Is he…”

“We have been victorious this day,” Luna whispered, unable to keep the note of pride out of her voice. “He will cause you no more pain,” Celestia’s lip curved into a smile at the end, just as another tremor of pain went through her. “Please, do not try to move or speak. We will have help so—”

A vicious roar cut Luna off, as the sound of ice and stone cracking followed. Luna turned around to find the Ghost Rider free of his binds and walking towards the edge of the crumbling castle wall that overlooked the city. She could hear him take in several deep breaths through his nose, before letting out a howl of pure frustration as he slammed his armored hooves against the ground.

“Where is he?!” The Rider bellowed, before looking out toward the city again. This time he opened his mouth ever so slightly, and a high pitch whistle erupted from him. It was louder than any train whistle than Luna had ever heard, and it was so high that it made ear ears hurt. Celestia gave out a muffled cry of discomfort that, drew the anger back inside of Luna as she glared at the Rider.

When she looked up at the Rider again, his head was cocked to the side as if he was confused, the flames around his skull dimming slightly. Luna knew that she should be attacking, that she should be restraining the Rider but the idea of the Rider being confused intrigued her. The Rider opened his mouth again, and whistled, not as high pitched this time but just as loud. This time, something flew past the Rider, clanging against the ground.

The Rider turned around to face the source of the sound when another object flew past him, and then another. Soon pieces of something were raining down from the sky, spreading across the crumbled ground of the once grand hall. Luna just watched as the Rider scanned the area, his jaw still ajar as he did so. He then gave out a roar of anger, another piece of the object fell this time Luna recognizing it as a handlebar.

“Th… that sound,” Luna looked back down at Celestia, who was craning to look up. “Is that… is that…” Luna shushed her sister, as she looked back to the Ghost Rider who had formed chains to hold up the handlebars.

“Yes. The Ghost Rider is here,” Luna said, as she felt Celestia try to push herself back up. “No, you mustn't. We shall see to it,” Luna rose from her spot beside her sister and walked towards the Rider again, unsure on how to handle the demon before her. He was holding the handlebars before him, as another chain moved across the ground to retrieve a wheel that was bent out of shape.

With the two objects within his grasp, the Rider’s head shot up to the sky and gave out a roar. This roar was not one of rage, anger, or defense, or at least Luna didn’t believe it to be. Even though it was still rough, and the source of the roar was that of a demon the sound of it almost seemed… sorrowful.

As she approached, she did not watch where her hooves were being placed, and her hoof landed on a large shard of glass, breaking it. The Rider turned to her, the sound cutting off at once as those flaming eyes locked onto her.

For a moment, she was paralyzed, unable to move or look away from those eyes. They seemed to be drawing her closer, as to pull her into those flames around him. Before she could find out, the Rider gave out a roar and fell to his side, clutching at his skull.

“No! It is not your time! The night still belongs to… Argh!” The Ghost Rider roared in pain, as the flames around him started to turn red, and fighting the orange flames that encompassed the Rider’s skull. The armor the Rider wore began to fall apart, clicking onto the ground as he fought his way back onto his hooves, only to fall over again in a roar of pain. As more of the armor disappeared, Luna could make out a leather jacket under it, with spikes running across the shoulders and sleeves.

“You are not yet healed fool! You are wounded!” The Rider yelled, but to whom Luna did not know. “You will not have your mask! Do you not understand? She will know who you—” The Rider gave out another roar of pain as the red flames engulfed him fully. The flames grew brighter for several seconds more, before the form of the Rider exploded in a burst of red fire.

Luna took a step back to avoid the flames, but the flames never made it to the ground. Instead, standing where the Rider had been before, was now a large red earth pony in a leather jacket. He was breathing heavily as blood dripped off of him, his red fur matted in it as he looked up at her. His yellow mane was drenched in sweat and shrouded a part of his face, but Luna could see the bright green eyes hidden behind them.

“We… we know you…” Luna said, though from where she did not know. She tried to put a name to the face, yet she could not find one. The red stallion, shook his head hard as he looked around till his eyes fell upon the block of ice that held Blackheart.

“Who… who is that?” the stallion asked, still breathing hard as he pointed to the ice. “Who did ya fight against?” Luna cocked her head at the stallion, was this still the Ghost Rider? Was this how he was able to hide from them for so long, was another one of that Bentgrass’ theories correct?

The stallion gave out a growl of frustration, just as an orange fire engulfed his right hoof, turning it into a skeletal hoof. “Shut up!” The stallion bellowed, slamming the hoof into the ground. “You were gettin’ us nowhere! We need ta find that bastard before the sun rises!” Once again, Luna had no idea who the stallion was talking to, as he slammed his hoof into the ground.

Then something clicked.

“You… you are the Rider host, are you not?” The red stallion looked up, one of his eyes having turned orange since she saw them last.

“Yes. Ah share a body with the Rider. That is besides the point! Who is in that there ice?” Luna just shook her head slowly, she knew she had seen this stallion before. She looked to the block of ice, and while she could not remember the stallion's name she knew the creature inside of the ice.

“Blackheart,” Luna said, still trying to place the stallion. At once the stallion got to his hooves and ran to the block of ice in a dead sprint. As he did, Luna saw the stallion’s cutie mark and felt realization come over her. Though the mark was badly burned, and had a few cuts around it, there was no denying that it was a green apple. A big, bright green, macintosh apple!

“You are the brother of the Element of Honesty Applejack!” Luna shouted, as the red pony was examining the block of ice. “You are Macintosh Apple! Yet, you are dead! We presided over your funeral!” Mac turned to face Luna and shrugged.

“Surprise. Not dead,” he growled, as he tried to get a better look at the inside of the ice. “Though Ah wish Ah was,” he said, before thumping his hoof against the ice. “What do you mean it's not him? Then who is it?” Luna watched as Mac slammed his hoof against the ice again, his ear twitched as though he was hearing something that she could not. Before Luna could ask again, she watched as Mac slammed his head against the ice and growled in frustration. His head turned back to her, blood falling from where he struck his head.

“Open this! Ah need ta talk to him!” This request pushed the confusion from Luna’s mind, as anger powered her once more.

“We will do no such thing! This demon is responsible for this attack, and nearly killed our sister!” Luna marched towards Mac, her eyes starting to glow again. “Why would we release him?”

“He ain’t Blackheart! His name is Zadkiel! A fallen angel!” Luna stopped midway, looking at the stallion that shouldn’t even be alive.

“A… what?”

“A fallen angel!” Mac shouted, his voice filled with anger. “It’s a long story, but this here used to be an angel till he went mad! Rider and Ah killed him years ago, but Blackheart has an army of dead monsters and he dragged Zadkiel up as well!” Mac said, pounding on the ice. “If Ah don’t find out where Blackheart is, he’s gonna open up the Gates of Hell!” Luna stood there look at Macintosh in disbelief.

Here was the stallion that she spoke at the funeral of, alive, and the host of the Ghost Rider no less. Not only had he escaped justice for these long years, but he was talking about fallen angels, and the Gates of Hell. Luna couldn't handle anymore of this and started to build up her power again, wanting to get to the bottom of this mess without these riddles.

Before she could summon forth the power to restrain the stallion, a spark of fading gold flew past her and hit the icy prison. Luna turned around to find Celestia, with her head raised, panting in visible effort.

“Tia! What are you—”

“Trust him… sister. I believe him,” Celestia’s voice was barely above a whisper, but Luna could hear every word she spoke. Turning back to Mac, he had already shifted his way through the ice, and was ripping the now brittle armor off of the figure. Underneath the black armor was an off white colored pony, with a rust colored mane. He was shivering uncontrollably, and was trying to open his red eyes. Before he could fully open them, Mac struck him in the face as hard as he could with his hoof.

“Now listen here ya fallen bastard,” Mac growled through gritted teeth, as he shook the fallen angel. “The Rider is tryin’ ta tear right through me ta get a taste of that fallen soul of yers again, but Ah’m holding him back,” Mac raised his hoof back again, and struck Zadkiel again. “While Ah’d love ta see him tear into ya, Ah’d figure you know where Blackheart is so spill!” Zadkiel, opened his bleary eyes again, and let out a choking laugh as he saw Macintosh.

“I had a… chance to finally… pass judgment… on you. The Devil’s puppet.” Zadkiel choked out, blood trailing from his mouth. “My… my master gave me power… armor… training to fight… and kill an alicorn. To kill them… he would… he would get me back to Elysium Fields… home to my father,” his red eyes looked up at Mac, and he spat blood into his face, grinning as he did so. “You… won’t beat him… heathen,”

Mac let out a roar, as he pulled Zadkiel up by his head and slammed the back of his skull into the ground, once, twice, and then a third time with vicious force. “You were an angel! An fucking angel! Yer just gonna let Blackheart rule here and Hell? Are ya mad?” Zadkiel let out more laughter, as Mac rose him up and smashed his skull into the ground again. “What’s so funny?”

Zadkiel looked up at Mac, his eyes starting to gloss over in death. “If you had… if you had stayed home… you… would… know…” the breath went out of Zadkiel as his body went limp, before combusting into blue flames. Mac looked down at where the angel had been his eyes, wide, his hooves shaking, and the hellfire in him rose.

“Home? What did he mean?” Luna’s voice was a far off sound to Mac as he kept looking down at his hooves, “Macintosh. What did he mean by that?”

“He… He’s… No!” Mac got to his hooves, as his head whipped around the area in a wild frenzy. His eyes fell upon the handlebar and the bent wheel, before looking at the fallen Fin Fang Foom. “No! Damn it no! You damn dragon!” Mac shouted, orange flames running across his body.

“Macintosh!” Luna bellowed, watching the stallion. “What is going on? Where is Blackheart?” Mac turned to her, both eyes now orange, a fire behind them as he looked back.

“He’s in Ponyville! He tricked us! He fooled us into being here!” Mac slammed his hooves into the ground as he looked at the pieces again. “And that dragon destroyed our motorcycle! We can’t get back in time! He’s gonna kill mah family!” Mac roared again as he slammed his hooves against his head like a madstallion. “Ah failed them! Ah failed them again!” Luna shook her head, looking down at the pieces.

“Can you not simply restore your motorcycle?” Mac gave out a laugh, a dry humorless laugh of a stallion that could not win, and could not bear to think about it.

“The power that would take would leave the Rider with little power to fight Blackheart! The damage was done with magic! We can’t fix that!” Mac shouted, slamming his hoof against his head again. “He’s gonna kill Applejack, Bloom, Little Macky, Rainbow Dash! Damn it! Damn it all! Damn him!” Mac fell forward, his whole body trembling in fury and sorrow. Luna looked down at the fallen stallion, a pang going through her heart.

Her blue eyes scanned the wreckage of the destroyed motorcycle. She knew the Apple family, she knew Applejack and her honest work. If this was truly the stallion who had help raise her into such an honest mare, worthy of the Element of Honesty, she knew that she could trust that he wanted to save them.

Closing her eyes, Luna took in a deep breath as silver magic started to flow from her. Pieces of the Rider’s motorcycle started to be pulled towards her, as well as the fallen pieces of the Rider’s armor and other objects she deemed worthy of this task. She pulled them all together, the metal scraping against the stone floor as they drew near. The sound of it all pulled at Mac, causing the stallion to sit up and watch at what Luna was doing.

As the pieces gathered in front of Luna, she took in another deep breath as her eyes open to reveal them glowing white again as the pieces she gathered started to glow with the same intense light. Mac had to raise a hoof in front of his eyes to shield himself from the light. The light did not last long however, and began to fade. He had to blink several times to get the spots out of them, but when he did he could not believe them.

Standing before Princess Luna was a motorcycle, it was not the Nightrod that he and the Rider had been used to, but a new one, a more powerful looking one. Luna watched Mac’s reaction, and smiled at what she saw.

“We could not make it the same as before, and we might have taken a few privileges with it,” Luna said, as she examined her handy work. She had changed the color scheme to that of a burnt orange with a black racing stripe running across its sides. Luna had shaped the motorcycle into the one she had seen a few stallions rode that got her own engine running. “Does it suit you?”

“Stars and stones…” Mac murmured as he approached it, running a hoof over it. “It’s perfect,” he said, nodding up at Luna.

“Good, now let’s fight this Blackheart,” Luna said, spreading her wings to take flight.

“No!” Mac shouted, causing Luna to stumble. Looking at the stallion, his eyes were full of panic and alarm. “Ya can’t go with me!”

“And why is that stallion?” Luna asked, her tone bitter. “If this Blackheart is stronger than this fallen angel you will will need our help!” Luna said, striking her hoof to the ground as silver energy emanated from her. “Our place is to be there to protect this world from evil!”

“Yer place is here!” Mac barked back, pointing his hoof at the still downed Celestia. “There is another way to open the Gates of Hell, involving yer two’s death!” Mac growled, as he got onto the motorcycle. “Rider won’t protect ya during the fight, and if we’re gone, who will protect her?” Luna looked back at Celesta and then to Mac, orange flames starting to form around him.

“But…”

“He is right,” Luna turned back to Celestia, a pained look on her face. “I need you here Lulu. I do not have the strength to raise the sun by myself, and if he is truly the Son of the Devil, the sun’s power will be needed,” Celestia turned her head to face Mac. “Will you save this world, Rider?”

A grin broke out across Mac’s lips as he shut his eyes and took in a deep breath and held it. A metal horn broke through his skull, making his eyes shoot open in pain, but he did not dare yell. Flames started to consume his body, as well as the motorcycle beneath him. The fire kept growing, burning away all that was Mac till once again the Rider sat there, burning skull and all. The motorcycle had become a black color again, but the orange still remained, a secondary color on the new Hell-Cycle, also replacing the blood red lights with orange ones. .

“Eeyup,” the Ghost Rider said, before revving the engine, orange flames shooting from the exhaust pipes as the wheels burst into orange flames. The Hell-Cycle shot forward and flew into the night sky, straight towards Ponyville.

Straight towards Blackheart.

Author's Notes:

First off thank you to Jake the Army Guy, Biker_Dash , and my fraternity brothers (Frat Boys can be Bronies) CategoricalGrant

This has to be one of my favorite chapters I have ever written! Just so much fun exploring the powers of Luna and Celestia. Now before some of you lose your heads about the powers I gave them, have we ever seen the full power of either? I look around a lot for possible powers they could have it was very limited. Instead I turned to my second favorite book series, The Dresden Files, and based Luna off of Queen Mab who is a total bad-ass! So really, is it so bad that I gave her those powers?
...
...
...
I feel like some of you will hold that against me. Also I started to write this before Flurry Heart was born, so I didn't really want to go back and re-work that, because I would have to go over the last few chapters with Shining Armor. Too lazy for that.

More big fights on the way, and I know some of you are missing the Ghost Rider but not to fear we will have him again soon! The next chapter is the one you have been all waiting for though, and since it might take me awhile, I will give you a bit of a spoiler. Blackheart vs. Discord.

Please make sure to leave comments!

Here is the Rider's new ride The Victory Gunner!