//------------------------------// // Chapter 6 // Story: Clash of the Bolts: Battle for the Skies // by Whooves235 //------------------------------// The Shadowbolt army descended from the sky and all Shining Armor knew was that he needed to hold the line, he had to do it: the fate of the Crystal Empire and all of Equestria hung in the balance. As he charged into the Horde of Shadowbolts, he and his army battled them, horns blasting, wings clashing, hoofs bashing. It seemed that there would be no end to this conflict. As the Army's continued to battle each other, Princess Celestia and Luna did their best to fend off the battle. ¨It seems that Cinch has outdone herself Sister" Luna said ̈Then we must push harder Luna, let nothing enter the Empire" Celestia shouted, she then shot a yellow blast through the oncoming Shadowbolt Army, causing them to fall instantly, however as soon as that happened more Shadowbolts arrived to take the place of the fallen. ¨It seems that the more we take down, they somehow keep coming back in bigger numbers!!" Luna shouted "Celestia at this rate, our Army will fall, we need to do something to turn the tides" "Luna, if we are going to defeat Cinch, we're going to need to show them everything we got," Celestia said with a stern tone. "Do you have that spell you've been working on?"  "Sister, are you sure this is a good idea? Once I do that, I may not be able to go back!" Luna replied. "Do not worry. The Elements will return you back as soon as possible, I know it," Luna looked at Celestia in the eyes, she could see the same emotions she herself was feeling, fear sorrow, and above all determination, she could see that even Celestia wasn't sure about the spell. They'd been practicing the spell for just such an occasion. After the Storm King came, they knew that if anything like him were to ever happen again, they would need to fight with something or someone equally as powerful as the threat. Luna knew this was the perfect opportunity. As she closed her eyes she thought of every other option she could think of, however, all of them ended in them losing. So he whispered a spell under her breath that she hoped she would never have to use again. "The Blackest Night falls from the skies, The darkness grows as all light dies, crave your heart and accept your demise, By my black hoof, a Nightmare shall rise!" Luna cried out. Then, a giant black magical ball surrounded Luna; as she saw her sister for the last time, she hoped for Celestia’s sake she knew what she was doing. As the black ball consumed her, a familiar voice came out of the shadows. "You think your princess can rule Equestria?" the dark figure said as she came out of the black ball. "I will show you what true fear is and who deserves to sit on the throne!" Then the sun was shining right on her, and Nightmare Moon had once again returned. "Now the darkness shall consume you all!" As Nightmare Moon blasted magic into the Shadowbolts, Celestia hoped that her sister could hang in there "Shining Armor, make sure your soldiers stay away from Nightmare Moon, she has no idea who is the enemy" She said ̈Celestia, I am not sure that will be necessary" Shining said, he then pointed to Nightmare Moon who was only fighting the Shadowbolts and not the royal guard. But before Celestia could say anything to her former adversary, more Shadowbolts came out of the cloud, and she prepared to take them down.  The Shadowbolt Flight Camp While Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, Rarity, and Starlight Glimmer listened to the battle going on outside, they scoured around the entire area looking for anything that could help their friends defeat the Shadowbolts. Unfortunately, the only thing they could find was a couple of pieces of armor and swords, which, while helpful, could not help them at a time like this. ¨I do say, whoever provided The Shadowbolts with there wardrobe, has no taste in fashion ̈ Rarity complained "Its about Camouflage Rarity, their outfit blends in with the Shadows" Starlight said ̈Ohhhh that's why they are called Shadowbolts" Pinkie said "I thought they just really liked playing Pony in the graveyard" ̈Um, not to be a bother, but what exactly are we supposed to be looking for?¨ Fluttershy said ̈ ̈Anything that can help us fight an Alicorn" Starlight said ̈Makes me wish Trixie where here, her amulet would be really helpful right now" Rarity said ̈Yah, that amulet sure was powerful" Pinkie said "All Tho I don't want to end up without a mouth again, so....¨ Starlight then got a weird feeling, as if she was missing something "Guys, we did not forget anything back at the Empire did we?¨ "Not that I can recall" Fluttershy said ̈And even if we did Twilight would have reminded us to double-check before we left" Rarity said ̈ ̈Wow this armor sure is heavy, I wonder how The Shadowbolts deal with wearing it" Pinkie said, as she put on the Armor in question ̈Pinkie put that dreadful armor down, It clashes with your color so much" Rarity said, then Starlight started looking at Pinkie and she then realized something very important. "Pinkie, do you have a way of contacting Maud?" Starlight asked. "Of course I do, but why do we need her?" Pinkie Pie asked. “That doesn't matter! Right now, I need you to contact her, then I need you and her to go outside and help with the battle" Starlight said "Darling, why do you need Pinkie Pie and Maud outside battling in those ugly uniforms with the Shadowbolts?" "In my vision, Pinkie Pie and Maud saved Rainbow Dash from a falling boulder! That means we also need Rainbow Dash to be out there right now," Starlight said. "I don't understand why we need them to be outside," Fluttershy said. "Remember, my vision is a vision from the future! If Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, and Maud aren't outside with Princess Celestia right now, then the timeline could be corrupted or worse," Starlight said with a worried tone. "Okie Dokie Loki!" Pinkie Pie hopped out of the cave to join the battle. "I hope Rainbow Dash is having better luck than we are," Starlight said to Rarity. "Darling I'm sure Rainbow Dash can handle herself," Rarity said. But before she could do anything, the ground started to shake, the caves got dark then black crystals started to form around the three ponies, then giant green and purple eyes came out of the darkness and using an unfamiliar type of magic knocked Fluttershy, Rarity, and Starlight out. Captain's Quarters/Throne Room Rainbow and Lightning flew through the air, clashing metal wings and daggers, both seemingly exhausted. One flew left, the other flew right, back and forth over and over again. "You're not going to win Lightning. Unlike the Shadowbolts, the Wonderbolts know how to fight as a team," Rainbow said. Lightning spat the dagger out of her mouth "Why do you throw away your life so recklessly, Rainbow Dash?" the pony asked. ̈ ̈That's a question you should ask yourself, Lightning Dust" Rainbow Dash said. Then Rainbow Dash and Lightning Dust started clashing again As she did so, she could only think of the things that Lightning had done to her: she had taken her wing, and she’d taken her friends, and now she was going to pay for it all. As they battled in the air, Princess Cinch chuckled, then took her attention off the pegasi and on to the rest of the group. "You honestly think that you can win this battle?" Cinch said. "With the Seventh Element by my side--” "Understand this, Princess Cinch: you may have the Seventh Element, but we are never going to give up," Twilight said. "And that will be your downfall!" Cinch said. "I may have failed taking over the mirror world, but I will not fail to take over Equestria! Soon my Shadowbolts will take care of my sisters and then I will rule over Equestria" "Not if I have anything to say about it!" Using all of her might, Twilight blasted purple magic at the evil princess. In response, Princess Cinch created a giant black and green shield made of dark magic. "You think that you're the only one who studied magic in the restricted section?" Cinch asked. "Now I will show you all the true power of Fear!" She blasted a giant energy beam at Twilight, sending her flying into the wall. "Twilight!" Sunset cried out. As she ran over to Twilight, she saw that she was not severely injured, but she was still bleeding. "It's going to take a lot more than that to beat me!" Twilight said. Then using the same kind of attack, she sent a powerful purple energy beam towards Cinch, who sent another energy beam at Twilight. Both of the magical energy beams gathered up power into one giant ball of energy. ¨You will pay for that!¨ Cinch said As Applejack saw the battle unfold in front of her, she could only think about what she could do, but the only thing she could think of was joining Starlight in finding weapons. As she slowly went to exit the throne room, the room became black and dark crystals started spiking out of the floor. Twilight was immediately struck with fear and lost her concentration, then Cinch got the upper hand and knocked Twilight to the ground. Before she could finish Twilight off, she saw what had made the alicorn lose her concentration, and she knew where these crystals had come from and who had made them.