***

"In the words of the man Elliot's generation, come at me!"
The Avatar, The Avatar of Albion.

***

London. January 16th. 2032.

Command Post Regal. 12:15.

Hooves pounded on the splintered concrete of the streets as pony regiments marched towards the battle. Once again the offensive had been renewed and thousands of ponies were being redeployed. Arcguns boomed in the distance as the magical artillery at CP Majestic increased their bombardment. The Ivory Guard intended to shatter their enemy’s fortifications, and once that was done then they would overrun their disoriented forces.

The ground shook as Earthbreaker rounds burrowed into concrete and earth and threw it back up again. Even from the Command Post the tremors could be felt by those who waited for their own orders.

Lemartia held herself steady with a dignity and poise that was almost second nature to her. Her sisters, many of them shaken by Seraphia’s fall from grace, stood beside her. She felt for them - still young, many of them new recruits as yet untested. It was upon their shoulders that the greatest burdens of this conflict would fall. They were all assembled for battle, their armour strapped to their bodies and various weapons at their sides. Only Seraphia - or the thing that had once been Seraphia - was absent, awaiting Lemartia’s word.

“Your graces,” a voice said from behind them.

Lemartia turned, to find an Earth Pony dressed in an officer’s barding and uniform staring at them. He stepped forward, deference and a slight hint of fear in his voice and stance.

“What is it?” Lemartia said in an imperious tone.

“We have received new orders,” he said. “Her Majesty has told us to target the human avatar. She’s ordered all of the Chosen on the field to converge upon him and eliminate him.”

Lemartia’s eyes widened slightly but she kept her composure.

An order to eliminate the ‘Avatar of Albion’, the humans’ weapon? That could only mean the Empress had once more sensed his presence upon the field. He had been absent for days, and most of their glorious sisterhood had been ordered held in reserve, awaiting some sign. Now, it seemed, their sign had come.

She looked at her sisters, seeing eager expressions on their faces. Many of them had been waiting for new orders since they had purged the southern bank of the River Thames and the prospect of a fight, and one against the enemy’s leader no less, was an enticing possibility.

“Very well,” she said to the officer. “Thank you for informing us. You are dismissed.”

“Your graces,” the nervous Earth Pony replied. He then turned and marched away, a little too quickly for what would normally be considered appropriate.

Lemartia considered. To simply commit all she had would be unwise.

“Sidonia,” she ordered one of her assembled sisters, a mare with a longsword girt at her back. “Take a cohort and seek their Avatar. Lysandra -” and here another mare, in heavy armour and wielding a Warhammer, raised her head. “Take your cohort and join the assaults on their main position. Despatch additional sisters to guard the artillery at Majestic. The rest of us will remain on reserve should you fail.”

“Sister,” one of the others said. “Our orders are to destroy this avatar, not wait -”

“I will not charge blindly like some oafish Minotaur,” Lemartia snapped. “We shall do this properly. We shall win.” She paused, smiling. “Our duty is now clear. We will find the demon that calls itself the Avatar of Albion. We will be the ones who bring him down for the glory of the Empress.”

“For the glory of the Empress,” her sisters intoned, and as one they moved to carry out her commands.

***

Point Gamma. 12:25.

Luna sighed as she turned back to the barricades. The Gladius di Lune was covered in blood - pony blood, the likes of which it hadn't been since -

“I must supplant her.”

“Did you really expect me to sit idly by while they all basked in your precious light? There can only be one princess in Equestria! And that princess... will be me!”

“Luna, I will not fight you! You must lower the moon! It is your duty!”

“Luna? I am... Nightmare Moon! I have but one royal duty now: to destroy you!”

Shaking that memory from her head, Luna planted the sword in the ground for the moment.

“Princess Luna?” a voice asked quietly. She turned, to see the mint-green mare from earlier looking up at her: Lyra Heartstrings, that was it.

“Yes, Miss Heartstrings?” she asked.

“Uh, it's Lieutenant, actually,” Heartstrings said awkwardly, pronouncing it in a manner not-unlike the Griffon or Trottingham way.

“Very well, Lieutenant,” Luna said quietly, copying the pronunciation. “What may we do for thee?”

“A Commander Charlie Horse has begun deploying troops to various defensive points,” Heartstrings said, now sounding more professional. “He says they don't have enough ponies to send a significant reinforcement to Gamma or Sigma, though.”

“Necessitating our remaining here for the moment,” Luna guessed. “Our presence has apparently turned the tide.”

“Yours and Elliot’s, yeah,” Heartstrings said. She looked at the Avatar, who was standing by the barricades, scanning the horizon with a frown on his face. “They’ll have noticed he’s back by now. They tend to respond by sending attacks on multiple positions, try to get his attention at seven places at once.”

“A sound tactic,” Luna said thoughtfully. “With myself here, the strain on our forces will be lessened, but not enough should they choose to press the attack in several places.”

Heartstrings nodded. “With the reinforcements you've brought, hopefully some of that strain will be lifted.”

“Hopefully,” Luna said quietly.

***

Ser Eric walked up to the Avatar, feeling a mixture of trepidation and awe around his idol. The man glanced at him as he approached, and greeted him with a nod.

“My lord,” Eric said quietly. “It's… good to see you returned.”

“Eric,” the Avatar said with a slight smile. “You have all apparently done well in my absence.”

“We have tried our best, my lord,” Eric said quietly. “We can do no more than that.”

“Your best seems to have been a strong effort,” the Avatar said quietly. He pointed to the battered barricade. “I have heard what you did here. You saved the soldiers who were stationed here. If you had not sent them away and held this place without them, they would have fallen here.”

“I… thought it was for the best,” Eric said quietly.

“I know some who would say you are soft-hearted for such a choice, Eric Smith,” the Avatar said quietly. “But we will need men of your calibre in the days to come. I fight for the present. You, and those like you, will build the future.”

Eric’s eyes widened, and he drew himself up.

“I will do my utmost not to disappoint you, my lord,” he said quietly.

“I know, Eric,” the Avatar said quietly, turning back to watch the street once again. “I know.”

***

“So,” one of the humans said. “You're an Alicorn, huh?”

Luna glanced at the man, frowning slightly. “Wouldst thou like a sarcastic answer, or a truthful one?”

The man gave a short bark of laughter. “Maybe both. Fokked if it matters. World’s gone mad anyway - being bosbefok is about the only thing left to do.”

Luna nodded slowly. “We have never heard the phrase… ‘bosbefok’, but if it means what we think it does, we can agree with that.”

The man chuckled again. “Viktor Kraber. Since you didn't ask.”

“Good to meet you,” Luna said quietly.

“It is?” the man asked, sounding surprised. “Huh. That's a change.”

“Kraber, gimme a hand with this,” another soldier said. With a sigh, Kraber headed off to help move bits of barricade.

Luna frowned - there was something, like a tingle, edging along on the air. She couldn't quite place the feeling - it felt familiar, somehow, and yet…

“Do you feel that?” she asked.

Heartstrings frowned. “Feel what?”

“I feel it too,” the Avatar suddenly called over. “Something is coming.”

Luna tensed slightly, a frown of confusion on her face. Then a cry went up - a cry containing two words she thought never to hear arranged, two words that chilled her blood.

“FALSE ALICORNS!”

***

Point Beta. 12:35.

True Grit marched with purpose as he and his comrades strode confidently down the streets of the ruined city. Though he had been completely surprised by what they had seen when they stepped through the portal that had supposedly led to another world, he was determined to do his bit.

Mind you, he’d been completely surprised by even hearing about a portal to another world, so there had come a point where surprises had apparently become commonplace. Now he had been thrown into a war between - if what they'd been told was true - evil versions of his countrymen and creatures from the most obscure fairy tales he had ever heard.

It was still strange, knowing that those odd bipedal things were humans. He'd heard the word maybe once? If that? And now here he was, fighting alongside them. He could see the ones that had come as “guides” for their unit - only five of them, heavily armoured, carrying those strange weapons of theirs.

“Company halt,” Stronghoof’s loud voice bellowed. The entire column stopped in their march with only a few seconds delay, followed by the clatter of heavily armoured ponies straightening themselves back to attention. True Grit swayed from a little under the weight of his enchanted shield, the massive device unbalancing him for a moment.

“Eyes up front,” another voice, that of the Cohort’s captain, a Pegasus named Steel Spear, shouted. A few seconds later lightly armoured Pegasi shot out of the ground and flew ahead of the formation.

True Grit strained slightly, seeing Stronghoof speaking with Steel Spear. There was a momentary lull, and then Steel Spear nodded.

“Shieldbearers, form a wall!”

With surprising speed and grace despite lack of actual practise, the Unicorns at the front of the formation unslung large blocky tower shields - each larger than the pony who carried them - and slammed them into the ground. There was an audible thud as they crashed into the concrete of the road and then a noise not unlike a click as whatever enchantments these shields had been placed under recognised they had been locked together.

True Grit knew that he was now part of an indomitable wall. So long as these shields stood and remained locked together they would never move. The enchantments made them impossible to push over or back. The hordes of Tartarus itself could throw themselves at their shieldwall and they would not pass.

That didn't, however, prevent things from going over the wall.

Which is why ponies still need to be standing behind these things, I guess, he thought to himself wryly.

“You alright?” Steady Hoof asked from behind him.

“No,” Grit admitted.

The Pegasus scouts suddenly shot back to their formation, the lead flyer landing in front of Stronghoof and Steel Spear. True Grit kept an eye on the commander as the Pegasus frantically spoke to him. He could see the flustered look on the scout’s face as he rapidly gave his report, but he couldn't hear any of what was being said. Once the Pegasus was done talking, Steel Spear spoke to Stronghoof.

“Company!” Stronghoof shouted. “Guard stance and brace.”

True Grit swallowed as he pushed his weight against the shield. He could see the Earth Ponies behind him lower their spears, their faces set in expressions of stoic preparation.

There was another sound, a familiar one: marching hooves, moving as one. After a moment, the marching ceased.

“Hail!” a voice called from beyond the shield wall. “What company is that?”

True Grit could see Steel Spear’s expression turn to one of surprise. The voice was none other than his own!

“Well?” the copy of Steel Spear’s voice shouted again from beyond the shieldwall. “Identify your company. Who are you and what are you doing in this position?”

Steel Spear took a breath. “I am Captain Steel Spear. I serve Princess Celestia. I am here under the command of Commander Charlie Horse and Princess Luna. You will stand down!”

There was a momentary, confused paused, and then the other Steel Spear started barking orders.

“IVORY GUARD! ASSAULT FORMATION!”

“SHIELDBEARERS!” Stronghoof barked in turn. “HOLD RANKS! UNICORNS! SHIELDS!”

“CONCUSSIVES READY!” the enemy’s Steel Spear yelled.

A bubble of energy, semi-transparent but tinted a colour reminiscent of mud, appeared over the top of the Royal Guard position. True Grit grimaced as he added his own energy to the shield.

“UNLEASH!” came the cry from the enemy’s position.

The enemy’s spells came a moment later - a hail of concussives, tinted in purples, greens, magentas, scarlets, blues and yellows. There must have been a good two dozen variations on a simple concussive spell raining down on the shield.

“HOLD!” the enemy’s Captain yelled.

“REINFORCE!” Stronghoof bellowed.

True Grit took his attention off of the magical field he had been helping maintain.

“Swap out!” he called. Another Unicorn’s horn glowed, and Grit finally released his own spell, sagging slightly.

“You alright?” Steady Hoof asked quickly.

“Yeah,” Grit replied. “Come on!”

He moved to the tower shield, and pressed his body against it. He swore he could feel the impact of the other Shieldbearers as they did the same and threw themselves at the back of the shieldwall.

“IVORY GUARD!” the enemy Captain shouted. “ADVANCE!”

“ROYAL GUARD!” Stronghoof bellowed in return. “DON’T LET THEM PASS!”

More concussive spells fell upon the shield, slamming into it as the enemy continued their bombardment. True Grit grimaced at the sight.

“That's not going to hold!” Steady Hoof bellowed.

“Worry about your wall!” Stronghold snapped at him, before turning to look at the Unicorns behind. “MORE UNICORNS! REINFORCE THAT BUCKING SHIELD SPELL!”

True Grit could hear the sound of the approaching enemy, the pounding of hundreds of steel-shod hooves echoing around him. Harsh whinnies and brays also announced these Ivory Guard, making the entire situation seem even more surreal and nightmarish than it already was.

“BRACE!” Stronghoof shouted one last time before the enemy hit.

There was a disturbing crunch as dozens of heavily armoured bodies impacted enchanted steel. True Grit felt his shield shift slightly as the enemy literally threw themselves at it. He couldn’t make out exactly what was going on beyond his shield but he occasionally saw a pony rear up over the edge only to get impaled by the Royal Guard behind him.

Grit clenched his teeth and pressed harder against the shield as he felt the metal flex and shudder at the weight of the enemy beyond it. Blood splattered on the crown of his head as his comrades butchered any that tried to climb over the top of the shieldwall. The gore trickled down onto his face as he tried to concentrate on keeping the shieldwall stable and he blinked fiercely as he tried to get the blood out of his eyes.

Time passed and crawled at the same time as Grit held up his barrier. He could feel the enemy scrambling on the other side, trying to either push the shields down or clamber over the top.

“FALL BEFORE THE EMPRESS’ MIGHT!” a loud voice suddenly shrieked. He had only ever heard such an overtly powerful tone when the princesses used the Royal Canterlot Voice.

Suddenly, three of the shields - and their bearers - simply vaporised in a blast of fire and energy. There was a sound almost like an absence of sound, and then a shockwave blasted outwards, knocking dozens of Guardsponies backwards.

“BREACH!” somepony shouted.

“ATTACK!” somepony else screamed.

True Grit shook his head, trying to clear it of the ringing that threatened to drive him mad. He saw ponies in Ivory armour charging through the gap in the shield wall, his comrades and the humans moving to engage them, and then he saw the pony responsible.

She strode through the gap, a sword resting against an armoured shoulder, eyes narrowed as she glared at the Royal Guard. Her coat was soft blue, her flowing mane a darker shade of blue. Her armour was ornate and shimmered in the light. Laid over her back was a flowing purple cloak with glowing golden runes woven into the fabric that fluttered behind her. As she marched forward her horn glowedg with a sickly yellow light.

“For the Empress!” she called to her Ivory-armoured compatriots, forming a massive ball of magical energy over her head as she did so. “ATTACK!”

True Grit gritted his teeth and braced as he saw the decorated mare throw the ball of energy into the rear of his own formation. Ponies were sent flying by a tempestuous detonation that threw True Grit to the ground. Metal clattered against concrete as shields, spears and armoured bodies were thrown into the air.

True Grit tried to pull himself up, wincing as he felt sharp pain lance through his chest. He grabbed about for his shield trying to raise it up. The blast had torn two massive holes in the formation, decimating the shield wall and throwing the phalanx behind into disarray. Ponies everywhere were trying to reform but most were too stunned to move.

It was then, as he lay against his raised shield, struggling to catch his breath, that he saw the silver line advance.

***

Point Gamma. 12:50.

They were Alicorns. Luna had met every single Alicorn and nearly-Alicorn that had ever lived in Equestria - had known Cadence, fought Divine Right, and grown up with Celestia. These things were Alicorns - similar in stature to her, elegant wings spread as they flew towards the defences, horns glowing, armoured, and armed.

There were something like fifteen in total with this group, landing with elegant precision in front of the barricade. Luna’s eyes widened in horror - Elliot had mentioned them, but somehow Luna had not expected them to be as close to the true Alicorn form as this. There was something off, but she couldn't tell what it was without closer study. Something to do with the energy they exuded perhaps.

Bullets and spells lanced out immediately from the BDF position, Eric aiming his Coilgun at them and firing, Kraber bringing his hastily repaired LMG up to rain hell on them. Even Lieutenant Heartstrings fired spells from her horn, her eyes wide with horror.

As one, the Alicorns’ horns flowed into a latticework that deflected the spells and bullets like they were nothing. They maintained calm expressions, one of them looking Luna directly in the eyes. The Princess of the Night met the False Alicorn’s gaze evenly, and eventually the other turned away.

The Avatar stepped down from the barricade, his cloak flowing behind him. He raised up a gauntleted hand, and fired a blast of golden energy that dissipated their shield. The BDF troops fired, but the shield reconstituted itself too quickly. Again, he dissipated the shield, and again they raised it again. Finally, the Avatar raised a hand and the firing ceased. He stepped toward the Alicorns.

Luna floated down to stand next to him, keeping a step behind him, wondering what he planned to do. The Alicorns tensed.

“Your mistress has deceived you into believing you can triumph here,” he said to the Alicorns, his voice strident and commanding. “You will stand down now, or you will die.”

The head of the Alicorn group frowned slightly, before drawing a longsword not unlike the Gladius di Lune. She pointed it at Elliot in challenge.

“Do you think we fear death, human?” she asked. “Ours is the righteous light of the Empress - no mare died in Her service that died in vain.”

“Let us test that,” the Avatar said with a growl, clenching one fist.

And then it began.

A hail of spells suddenly flashed towards the Avatar and he held up his swords. They struck, and masonry simply disintegrated around the barricades. Dust and smoke filled the area for a moment, and the leader of the False Alicorns smirked.

“So strikes the spear of the Empress, demon,” she declared.

And then the smoke cleared. Much of the surrounding masonry and structures had been obliterated, but the Avatar was intact, holding a hand up. A golden shield of magic had surrounded the embattled BDF, enhanced by Luna and Lyra’s own efforts, all three of them visibly straining. The Avatar lowered his hand, and the shield dissipated.

“Competent, but blunt,” the Avatar said, raising his sword. “Now allow me to reply.”

The Avatar dashed forward, bringing his sword to bear on the new, hastily raised shield the Alicorns were behind. In a flash of light, the thing disintegrated again, only this time the Alicorns scattered, leaping around and surrounding the Avatar.

“Again!” the leader yelled. The Alicorns’ horns glowed and a hail of spells flashed towards him, but he leapt into the air before the spells impacted. He brought Excalibur up and aimed it at one of the Alicorns, and a spell lanced out, smashing into the mare and throwing her into a nearby building. He dashed towards another, knocking her to the ground, and landed in front of her. He brought his sword up to block another spell, the energy splashing against the blade, before lashing out at the Alicorn before him. She brought a blade out, trying to block him, and he growled, shoving her backwards with a grunt.

A spell suddenly struck him in the back, sending him flying over the mare he had forced back. He hit the ground hard, rolling slightly and trying to get back on his feet. He righted himself just in time to throw himself aside as another of the Alicorns charged straight toward him, her horn lowered and alight. He dodged her strike and lashed out with Excalibur, clipping her head and sending her reeling off to the left, blood streaming from the ruin of her ear.

Just as he was about to turn back to the other Alicorns one of them barreled straight into him. Both combatants were sent back as the mare continued crashing into a wall. Both of them fell, winded and disoriented by the impact. The Avatar shook his head, trying to clear his thoughts, and saw a blade coming down for him. He raised his sword just in time to block another strike. The Alicorn had drawn a short glaive and brandished it threateningly in front of her, a snarl on her face.

The other Alicorns moved to throw spells at him, but suddenly Luna was in the centre of them. Her horn flashed, a shockwave flaring out and sending many of them reeling, stunned.

“You face a true Alicorn now!” she declared, her horn glowing again as she brought a shield up to block the spells sent at her. Her horn flared again, creating another shockwave, and she turned to see how the Avatar was faring.

He was still duelling the mare he had engaged - he blocked a few strikes. She parried another blow, but he leapt and glided above her, landed behind her, and stabbed through her throat.

“Engage him!” the Leader yelled, even as Luna threw a spell at another False Alicorn.

They were all armed similarly - swords, axes, spears and glaives. They brought their weapons to bear at charged at the Avatar. He growled and brought his blade to bear, and a deadly dance began, as the warriors charged into battle, parrying, blocking and riposting.

One of the False Alicorns flew into the air, firing spells at the defenders, who scrabbled to take cover.

“Cur!” Luna yelled, wings out as she leapt into the sky. “Come back and fight!”

She swept the Gladius di Lune towards her foe, and the other Alicorn was forced to bring her own weapon - a reinforced spear - out to block the strike.

“You are not the revered Luna,” the Alicorn said to Luna with a sneer. She shoved backward, before throwing a spell that Luna barely managed to block. “You are some abomination these traitors have summoned -”

“Silence!” Luna snapped, sending her own spell that threw the False Alicorn through a wall. The other mare did not fly out of the broken masonry, and Luna snorted derisively, before looking down at the fighting.

Most of the False Alicorns were still duelling the Avatar. He was blocking strikes, but many of them were throwing spells that disrupted his flow and forced him to dodge or leap. The BDF troopers were still trying to fire at them, but it seemed that the Alicorns were ignoring them for the moment. Luna growled, and threw another spell down towards the False Alicorns, who scattered as the spell obliterated masonry. She charged at one outlier, her horn glowing, and unleashed a shockwave as she landed, the power of the spell throwing the mare backwards, bones breaking and limbs twisting.

“Charge!” she heard one of the humans yell, and insanely, the armoured human (Ser Eric, was it?) charged out, bringing his weapon to bear on one of the False Alicorns while it was paying attention to Luna, and stabbing it through the throat. The body bucked and juddered slightly, before he removed his sword and the corpse dropped. Another Alicorn turned to face him, and he was the target of a spell, but he managed to hold his hand up and conjure a magical shield that withstood the spell, just, though he was thrown to the ground. Luna growled, and conjured as powerful a spell as she could and threw it at the False Alicorn, just as she had conjured her own.

The combined force obliterated the False Alicorn: a splash of blood and offal was all that remained.

The spread of gore and the sound of the explosion of energy seemed to suddenly dull the sound of the world around Luna. Her ears were ringing, and she shook her head, dimly aware of a flare of golden light. When her head finally cleared, she looked up, only to see another False Alicorn charging her, throwing a spell as she did so. Almost on instinct she deflected it with her sword, but the spell blasted the weapon away. Grimacing, she charged her own spell and threw it back at her opponent, the destructive magic blowing a chunk of the False Alicorn’s head off. The momentum of the charging body made it slam into Luna, who staggered slightly under the weight. She shoved the corpse off of her, and turned to look - to her relief, only two False Alicorns remained: the leader, and one other, and both were duelling the Avatar.

The leader was competent - blocking strikes that moved faster than mere mortal senses, and retaliating with efficient, elegant precision. The other Alicorn was blunter, stabbing and hacking. The Avatar merely blocked these attacks in turn, his own style graceful and yet blunt, moving like water while hitting like the hardest of hammers. With one sudden sidestep, the other False Alicorn overreached, her momentum carrying her forward, and he hacked at her, cleaving her head off and sending the once graceful creature to the ground. Elliot noticed, for a brief moment, the look of utter surprise on his former opponent’s face as its head fell unceremoniously to the floor. At the same time, the leader of the False Alicorns threw a spell that smashed into the Avatar: he was blasted backward, but he somersaulted in mid air and landed heavily on his feet, dropping to one knee from momentum.

He looked upward, glaring at the False Alicorn with pure rage.

“You appear to be out of troops,” he said to her in a cold, monotone voice. “Are you prepared to surrender?”

“Never,” the leader said. “You may win a brief respite on this field for a day, demon, but against Her light there will be no victory.”

“And yet, here I am,” the Avatar said, gesturing to the corpses of the other False Alicorns. “Your mighty have fallen, and you are alone.”

“We will not be the last,” the leader hissed. “Lemartia has ushered in the terror. You.” And the Alicorn's eyes flashed at Luna. “You will know a true Nightmare.”

Luna’s blood ran cold. “What does that mean, cur?”

“The madness of our kind,” the lead False Alicorn said, a slow grin coming upon her face. “You know it. And as it came for you, it crawls upon our sisters too. All of us feel it. And now it is here.”

The Avatar brought his blade up and pointed it at the leader in challenge. “Enough of your riddles. Surrender.”

The leader twitched. “Never.”

There was a moment, and then suddenly her horn glowed and she threw another spell at the Avatar. He raised a hand and the spell crackled against a shield of white light. At the same time, Luna dashed forward, and the Gladius di Lune slammed into the False Alicorn’s chest.

The Alicorn’s eyes widened, and met Luna. At that moment, the Lunar Diarch felt a strange sense of kinship with this mare, this falsehood that nonetheless bore part of the same power that she and Celestia had been born to. How strange it was to see. The mare’s eyes glazed over, something leaving them, and the corpse slowly slid to the floor.

Luna stepped back.

“Art thou alright?” the Avatar said softly from behind her.

“No,” Luna said honestly. “No, I am not.”

“No,” the Avatar said quietly. He wiped a little blood from his nose, staring at it with an expression that might have been distaste. “I suppose you would not be. Hearing of False Alicorns is one thing - battling them another.”

“This… this is abomination,” Luna said quietly. “Ascension is something earned, not forced. I have never seen an effort at forced ascension succeed, and yet here these… things are.”

“Yes,” the Avatar nodded. “Here they are.”

Luna shook her head, turning away from the bodies - only to see Lyra Heartstrings galloping up to the pair of them, Ser Eric hot on her heels.

“Elliot,” she said quickly to the Avatar. “Point Sigma reports that a force of ponies is on the move near them! They also report heavy artillery bombardment - they think they're being targeted deliberately -”

“To try and get my attention,” the Avatar finished quietly. “They want to divert my attention between so many points that I cannot help all at once. No doubt if I appear there -”

“They'll attack here again,” Heartstrings finished.

“We can hold them, my liege,” Eric said softly.

“My friend, strong as you are, you cannot battle dozens of these False Alicorns at once and expect to survive,” the Avatar said quietly. “Should they strike here again -”

“I will not fail you,” Eric said quietly. “I swear it.”

“It is possible they were not anticipating my presence, though,” Luna pointed out to the group. She turned to address the Avatar. “It strikes me that these falsehoods were seeking to slay you. Maybe the attack elsewhere is meant to be their true assault.”

“Even if it is not,” the Avatar said quietly, “I cannot stand idly by.” He turned to Heartstrings. “Hold the line here.”

“Don't I always?” Heartstrings asked with a wry smile.

The Avatar smiled too, and then with a sudden leaping motion he had taken off into the sky.

“Interesting,” Luna said. “I did not know he could fly.”

“He can leap,” Heartstrings corrected. She pointed to the top of the building, where the Avatar could be seen. “And hover. Never seen him fly. Maybe he could if he tried.”

“Still,” Luna said softly. She looked around. “This…”

“Surprised?” Heartstrings asked quietly.

“Slightly,” Luna said quietly. “Elliot’s words did not convey this with all the… viscerality.”

There was a moment's silence as the two contemplated the scene of carnage before them.

“We’d best get ready for the next assault,” Heartstrings said quietly.

“Indeed,” Luna said quietly. “I fear this is not over yet.”

***

Point Sigma. 13:25.

Point Sigma was a mess. Ruined defensive positions lay covered in bodies, both Imperial and BDF. A handful of troops were cowering in cover. Every so often, a large projectile would impact in the streets slamming into the concrete and sending a shower of rubble and wreckage over the survivors.

“Sir!” a pony trooper said, waving him over.

Striding over to the soldier, the Avatar crouched by him.

“Speak quickly,” the Avatar instructed.

“There's an artillery position across the river!” the pony said. “It keeps hitting us - we’ve been pinned, barely able to mount a defence!”

“I see,” the Avatar said quietly. He stood. “I will silence the guns.”

He began striding in the direction of the river.

“But Commander - won’t you need help?” someone called out.

He didn't answer, save for a glance back at the lines, a soft smile on his face. Then he turned back, and with a slight crouch he suddenly vaulted into the sky.

***

Command Post Regal. 13:40.

Lemartia scanned the horizon, her horn glowing softly. For the past ten minutes she had been still, her eyes searching for her victorious sisters… but there was no sign, which meant only one thing - there had been no victory.

“They're dead, aren't they?” the sibilant hiss of the mare behind her said.

“I believe so,” Lemartia said simply. “It is little surprise. Skilled as they were, this demon the enemy have summoned -”

“Is a demon,” her sister replied. “Sister. Let me seek the creature out.”

Lemartia turned to stare at the mare who had been Seraphia. The thing had a neutral expression on its face, but there was a glint in her eyes not unlike that of bloodlust.

“You think you can kill it?” Lemartia asked honestly.

“I am Death,” the not-Seraphia - this Cherubael - said. “If it is a demon, only a demon may slay it.”

“Do you believe yourself strong enough?” Lemartia asked.

Cherubael snorted. “In the heart of battle shall I find my place. In the face of the impossible I shall meet my destiny - and I shall kill it.”

Lemartia sighed, before turning back to the horizon.

“It was last seen in Target Scion,” she said. “Do as you will.”

She didn't look as the not-Seraphia took to the skies. There would be blood this day, she knew.

***

Point Gamma. 14:10.

The Gladius di Lune bit into the armour of another Guardspony. Luna scowled as she looked around: most of the enemy had been slain or routed, and yet she did not feel the elation of victory. THere was something wrong about all of this.

“These are no challenge!” she called back to Heartstrings, who was still dealing with a few herself.

Heartstrings scowled and she threw the last of her opponents through a wall.

“Are they meant to be, your highness?!” she asked irritably.

“It bodes ill that they should send a force such as these when they sent such a powerful strike before,” Luna replied. “If I were leading them, with the forces they have shown, I would drown them in bodies or smash them apart. They are holding back.”

“They’ve learned fokkin’ better than to drown us in bodies,” Kraber put in. “We can fokkin’ swim.”

Ser Eric, who was rolling his shoulder tenderly after a particularly unpleasant impact, was frowning.

“She makes a valid point, though,” he said. “This seems too easy after the last few attacks.”

“They might be dealing with Elliot,” Heartstrings theorised. “That might be distracting their more powerful forces.”

“Maybe,” Luna said. “But still - I sense something… afoot…”

She trailed off, her eyes widening, as a sudden closeness seized upon her chest, constricting her lungs until she felt as though she could hardly breathe at all. Something was here - something was coming, something more familiar to her than blood, and yet alien and terrifying. And then a voice spoke, echoing across the silent battleground.

“You are not the Avatar.”

Heartstrings’ eyes widened in horror. Ser Eric’s hand strayed to his sword, and Kraber raised his rifle. Luna turned to look at her enemy, knowing what she would see.

The eyes, so full of hatred. The alien energy flowing from an ethereal mane, flowing like a river of blood. Scarlet wings bursting from beneath black armour, and a long, elegant horn sprouting from beneath the blood-river mane. Sharp teeth pulled back in a grin. Scarlet pupils in a sea of black. A pair of short, cruel blades held in a guard stance around the thing’s head.

“Princess Luna,” the thing said. “The first Nightmare. I am honoured”

Luna said nothing, but held her sword out in challenge, her eyes widening in horror.

“Do you not recognise your blessing in me?” the thing asked. “I am hurt, forebear. Truly I am. I am your child - my flesh molded in the image you left us, a humble traveller in the wake of the sickly light of your beacon. Do you not see yourself in me?”

“You are diseased,” Luna hissed. “A monster. You have let madness claim you, False Alicorn.”

“Ah, a madness you call it,” the thing said. “But this is not madness. I am the future - you lit the way for us, all those long years ago, and now by the grace of the Empress’ gifts and the guidance of the blessed Lemartia, I have claimed my true birthright. Behold the ascendance of ponykind, and despair!”

The demon-thing’s horn glowed, and suddenly a shockwave of crackling scarlet energy burst out. Luna was just barely able to raise a shield in time to block it, and could only watch in horror as many of the defenders around her were obliterated. She saw Kraber and a handful of others duck behind cover, Heartstrings raise her own shield and manage (just) to avoid being blasted to nothingness (though she was thrown backwards) and Ser Eric hold a hand up, his armour glowing with runic symbols as his cape fluttered in the wake of the blast.

And then it was over. Luna lowered her shield, as Eric stepped up to one side of her. A moment later, Heartstrings was at her other side, eyes still wide.

“Well,” Eric said. “Shit.”

“We can take her,” Heartstrings said, though her expression belied the confidence of her tone.

“Foolish things,” the demon-Alicorn said. “I am Cherubael. I am Death, and I bring it in my wake.”

Luna snorted, her hoof pawing the ground as she raised her sword high.

“You talk too bucking much,” she swore, and then she charged.

Author's Notes:

This one's been difficult to write, but I'm confident that it was worth it :-)

My especial thanks to Royal Psycho for his tireless efforts to bring blood, gore and unpleasant amounts of awesome violence crashing into my battle scenes in the most realistic way possible, to Doctor Fluffy for his continued friendship, support and ability to write funny stuff, and to The Void, who keeps my writing honest.

My thanks as well to those who have followed, favourited and commented. Your presence is always a welcome sight.

Til next time, guys.

Jed.