Discord looked at his wrist, on which a watch had suddenly appeared. "It's time to go. I'll teleport the three of you to the gates of the Gulag. Getting in is your problem." He turned to Silver. "Holly and Nightshade will stay here, for the time being. Don't worry about them." Discord snapped his fingers and the trio suddenly found themselves standing in front of a massive steel gate. A group of Solar Flares had noticed their sudden arrival, and were rushing towards them. Silver grinned and drew his swords. "Obsidian, take the dozen on the left. I'll take the dozen on the right. Princess, please deal with the gate."
Obsidian gave a large, toothy smile at the Solar flares as they closed in on him. "Cheetah." He took a lone step foreward, and was behind the guards. "Hawk." His weapon flew off his back and into the air as wings exploded from his back. He shot up after the bar and grabbed it in his teeth. He started spinning in the air, and hurled the bar down onto the guards, easily smashing the skulls in of four of them. The wings vanished and he plummeted to the ground, crushing one of the Solar Flares underneath his hooves. The blood splattered, and he licked the blood from one of his hooves. "Wolverine." Claws grew from his front hooves and he slashed through the remaining Flares without trying. The last one stood in front of him, glaring, weapon held in front of him. "I'll give you one attack, prey! Try to harm me!" Obsidian growled loudly as the Solar Flare charged. "Armadillo." The Solar Flare's weapon struck an indestructible shell. "Good try, now to quench my hunger!" Obsidian tossed his head up and brought his fangs down on the Flare's armored neck, shattering the armor and biting deeply into his neck. He tossed the limp body around a little before throwing it away. "This prey is not worth my time! I HUNGER!" (Bam. Obsidian, alpha of the Everfree. Talk about dangerous. And gory.)
Silver used a Dragon shout to send the Solar Flares flying backwards into the stone wall. He heard a snap as a neck broke on impact. "One..." He flew forward, impaling a stunned Flare on each blade. "...Two, three..." The remaining Flares recovered quickly and surrounded him. He spun held out his blades and spun, and four Flares were cleanly decapitated. "...Four, five, six, seven..." The remaining warriors began to panic. More than half of their number had fallen in a matter of seconds, and they had not even managed to touch their opponent. Their leader, a Unicorn, used a powerful fire spell to completely immolate Silver. The flames rolled harmlessly over Silver Crescent's body. He grinned at the Flares. "Not bad... my turn!" He opened his mouth, and a torrent of magical Dragon fire incinerated four of the remaining Flares. "...Eight, nine, ten, eleven..." The last Flare, the Unicorn that had set Silver on fire, threw down his weapons and ran. Silver tackled him and held him in a tight chokehold as the flames from his own body slowly burned the Unicorn that had created them. As the Flare breathed his last, the flames went out and Silver got to his hooves. "...twelve." Silver looked at his companions. Nightmare Moon stood smiling in front of the molten remains of the gate, and a blood-stained Obsidian stood over the mangled bodies of his own opponents. "Are we ready? Let's go."
Midnight heard the sound of fighting from the surface, followed by the unmistakeable sound of an explosion. Due to the barrier stopping him from leaving the room, followed by the devices placed on his horn, his wings and the rest of his body. Midnight had no chance of leaving the barrier, with the exception of an afterimage. Even then, using the technique was painful with the restrictions placed on him. He could hear outside the talk of two Flares, one of them sounding in a position of power. He listened closely to their worlds. “What’s the casualty rate?” “500 sir” “Per year?” “No, per hour and person. The enemy has made it inside of the complex, they are incredibly strong and are tearing through us like paper.” As the two finished their discussion, footsteps of a large number of flares stood outside of Midnight’s cell. Something was happening outside, he just had no idea what. Whatever it was, it was coming closer. Possibly allied help, but he was not entirely sure.
"Ram." Obsidian charged through several guards, his head encapsulated in a hard yellow magic shield. "Elephant." A blast of water erupted from his mouth, tearing straight through a couple more guards, and the wall behind them. "Lion." He leapt and tore through the last of the guards with his oversized fangs. "Snake..." His tongue shot from his mouth and tested the air. "Clear. Move." Obsidian snarled loudly, and leapt up to halfway up a wall nearby. Jack phased back into the prison. "Obsidian, Silver, Nightmare Moon." Jack pulled a large sword from his cape. "They will split up. I will kill Nightmare Moon... Maybe take out that little dolt of a deer while I'm at it. Hehehe."
Finding Midnight was taking too long. The Flares would simply execute him if he wasn't located soon. Silver realized that they had only one option. "Split up. We can cover more ground. I'll take the upper floors, the Dark Princess can search the lower floors. That leaves the basement levels to Obsidian. Let's move! The prince needs our help." Silver flew off to search his designated area, slaying every Flare in his path. The Dark Princess ran in the opposite direction, leaving Obsidian alone.
"Groundhog." Obsidian dug through the floor, falling and landing safely on the floor below. (bababa- boss battle 4 - Jack versus Nightmare Moon!) Jack sat in one of the cells, empty save for him and the mangled body of the prisoner that had once been there. "Aunt Luna! Come help me!" Jack imitated Midnight's voice and echoed it telepathically in Nightmare Moon's head. He held the sword in front of him and his eyes, as well as the necklace with Sombra's power, glowed bright purple.
Nightmare Moon sensed a trap right away. Midnight Dawn would NEVER call for help. "Is that you, Jack? I suppose you expect me to rush into an ambush..." Her eyes glowed menacingly. "...I'll be there soon, you pathetic little foal." She walked calmly towards the cells, quickly locating Jack. "There you are. So... you are what Discord was worried about? I am far from impressed."
"Expected actually. Seeing as that's merely my double." Jack flew at Nightmare Moon from behind and slashed at her neck. He spun away from the attack and vanished into the shadows of the prison. His laughter echoed as her blood dripped slowly from the large slash. Obsidian sniffed deeply, inhaling the scents of the prison. "Come out Midnight... Come out, come out, wherever you are!"
The cut was long, but not deep. It served only to annoy her. She laughed when she realized that Jack was attempting to conceal himself in the darkness. She could see him perfectly. "I am the ruler of the night, foal! You think the shadows are your ally? Let me show you just how wrong you are!" Her horn glowed, and the shadows around Jack rose from the floor and formed blades. The shadow swords flew at Jack at an astonishing speed.
Midnight could hear the sound of battle getting louder and louder, until it almost deafened him. The Flares rushed into the room and quickly guarded the prince. The moment they faced the door, they instantly collapsed onto the ground in pain. He may be immobile and weakened, but Midnight was not entirely helpless as he casted a spell which knocked the guards out. They were not to be waking up any time soon. The light purple bubble like barrier preventing him from escaping the room and also limiting his telepathic capabilities to only the room. With the door being left open, Midnight could now detect very familiar energy signatures. The unmistakeable one being his Auntie’s, the second of them was the stranger known as Jack which appeared the other day and, of course, Silver’s. If it weren’t for Silver’s intervention on that faithful day, Midnight would have wiped out the Royal family and established a totalitarian rule over Equestria. He could detect another signature, currently unknown and very powerful, but allied. At his current state, Midnight was restricted extraordinarily with devices on his horn and wings. He could still defeat a entire platoon of Flares with his bare hooves however, after taking extensive martial arts practice at a young age, not to mention magic. Silver’s power felt incredible, sitting nicely at Alicorn level. His friend had improved drastically over the years. His Aunte was stronger than ever as well, getting stronger everyday. The other signature was drastically powerful as well, more than a match for any Equestrian Ranger and Flare. What had surprised him is the sheer amount of power that Jack processed. He was sitting on par with the night princess in magical power, not to mention his capabilities with weapons. Jack however, had no idea about the power Midnight processed. There was a reason why he was known as the strongest magic user in history, a reason that he was the infamous Ardak Luvanius known as Dark Plague. If Midnight were to be released, even in his calm state, he was sitting exactly on the same level as Nightmare Moon. Hopefully, the open door and the bodies leading out onto the hall way said something about where his cell was located. The moment Midnight is released from his cell, he would be taking the fight to Jack and provide an invaluable asset to the fight and then the war. It was about time he decided to discipline Jack the old fashioned way.
Silver Crescent found Midnight's cell without much difficulty. He simply followed the screaming. He arrived into to see the last of a squad of Solar Flares collapse into unconsiousness. Silver walked up grinned at his old friend and sparring partner. "Hello, Midnight. Long time no see. Hold tight. I'll have you out in..." He swung his sword, destroying the device that created the barrier. "...well, right about now, actually. Let's get those restriction devices off of you and we can go find your aunt. It would seem that she has already found Jack."
"Long time no see as well. You're a sight for sore eyes..." Midnight said with a grin on his face. He watched as the restrictions were unchained from him just as easily as the destruction of the barrier. It had taken Silver mere seconds what Midnight had tried to perform in over half a century. For the first time in many years, Midnight was free. He stretched and then flew into the air and did a short flip to get his athletic ability up to date. "You have no idea how long i have been waiting to do this. " Midnight said. "I will tell you what Celestia does not want to hear after this ordeal. Hold onto me, i can teleport us directly to Jack's location." Silver then held onto Midnight as they instantly teleported in the same room where Jack and Nightmare Moon were clashing. Out of hate, Midnight flew across the room at ludacrious speeds and delivered a blow strong enough to shatter mountains. It sent Jack flying across the room like a pinwheel and through several solid concrete walls. "Wow! That felt really good." Midnight said before looking at Jack. "Allow me to introduce myself properly. My name is Midnight Dawn, son of The Phoenix Queen and one of the most powerful beings in history. You threatened to kill me, my auntie and apparently my excuse of a mother. Your views of preserving order are now defunct, prepare yourself."
"Hello, nephew. May I ask why you are attacking MY opponent? Nightmare Moon glared at Midnight Dawn, annoyed by the interruption. She sighed and turned her attention back to Jack, firing dozens more shadow blades at him. Silver whispered to Midnight "The Dark Princess is not the aunt that you once knew. If she wants to fight alone, it would be wise to stay back. Besides, it is rude to interrupt a duel. I would suggest that we instead find Obsidian, instead."
(Here it comes.) Midnight looked at his enemy disappointed. He then looked back at Nightmare Moon. He powered down before nodding silently, as if saying, "As you wish Auntie" before he left the room and went to find Obsidian. He then looked at Silver with an apologetic smile. "Sorry about that. Manners were not at my top priority to the stallions who held me here. Now, the news that is worth so valuable to this war. The truth to what had happened to the elements of harmony. Now the truth might shock you, but it's nothing to be blown away at. While we find Obsidian, shall i tell you what had happened on the day my mother betrayed me ?"
Silver hesitated. "We really should wait. There are many others who need to hear this as well." He sighed. "However... I must admit that I am curious. Please, tell me how this nightmare came to be."
(Last post for tonight. Gotta get some sleep.) "I will tell you exactly what had happened before i got here. Before The Phoenix Queen." Midnight began. "With Equestria falling into chaos during those times such as the Changeling incident and The eve of the Final Eclipse, mother became paranoid. All she wanted to do was to protect the ones she loved, no matter the cost. She began to learn stronger spells, which led to something far worse than what we could ever believe. She told us that what she was learning was simple magic spells, every book increasing her knowledge. She lied to us all, the books she learnt were the most dangerous of all forbidden magic. She hid her new powers under her original form, ensuring no suspicion was put against her. Every night for many years, she began to lose herself. Auntie, Princess Sparke, Candace and myself were becoming very worried. We knew something was happening." "One morning, all of us except Celestia had to attend Crimson and Ocean's funeral many years later. For some reason, she could not attend. Me and Twilight were going to see what the problem was personally. When we seen her again, nothing could have prepared us for what happened. Mother had turned into the same murderer that destroyed the Alicorn's almost a thousand years ago. Twilight tried to be diplomatic with her, but ended up being having a fate worse than death. Before i could react, i was knocked out by a Solar Flare with a poisoned arrow. When i woke up, i was in the gulag tied to these cursed restrictions and barrier. She was standing there, smiling. I was tortured by her until she left me alone, saying that Equestria will be turned into something legendary. I screamed at her as she disappeared. Auntie abdicated on that same day, retreating to the Everfree." "It's the oldest story in the book. She desires the one thing she cannot have. And now, millions of lives have been spilled because of me and Princess Sparkle for not investigating further." Midnight began to get upset, punching a concrete wall in frustration. "I should have known that this would happen. We all believed that everything was ok...."
Jack walked slowly out of the crater his body had left. He coughed. "Oh well. I was hoping to keep this secret." Jack's body was now glowing gently. A bright orange armor grew like a liquid over his body. "Today, Equestria loses a princess!" Jack roared and charged at Nightmare Moon. Obsidian wandered slowly in the basement of the prison. He approached a stack of books, and picked up one of them. He growled slightly, tossed it away, and sat down.
The Dark Princess sidestepped the charge, and looked calmly at Jack's armor. "An impressive use of magic. Well done. I suppose this is the part where I beg for my life?" Transforming herself into a cloud of ethereal blue smoke, Nightmare Moon flew across the room at Jack, reappearing behind him and firing a bolt of pure destructive magic at his head. "You will find that I am no easy opponent, foal!" Silver looked at Midnight in confusion. "I do not understand. A fate worse than death? What does that mean?"
Jack smiled as the magic flew at him. "Game, set, match." The magic hit his armor and stopped. It turned into an orange liquid ball, which then flew at and struck Nightmare Moon. The orange quickly started covering her. "An invention of my father. He called it "grotesque attacking kill-shield" or G.A.K. He was a strange man... but a genius." Jack turned to face the princess as she was being overtaken. "It feeds off it's target's magic, until they are but a husk... Then returns the magic to me." Jack walked to her, and put a hoof to her cheek. The orange liquid flowed slowly onto her face. (I know... Gak! He weaponized gak!)
