(10)
“Hey little man, wake up...” a voice in the darkness lightly called out. Zack was shaken softly; his eyes fluttered sleepily awake. He turned and noticed the figure who had stirred him gently. Zack was silent, calm, blissfully curious; he took a moment to regain his grasp between which state of consciousness he was experiencing, unsure whether he was still asleep or awake.
“What time is it?” he finally murmured in a slow, sluggish manner.
“Five-thirty. Now come on, let’s get going.” Upon hearing the time, he turned away and curled himself up in a tight knot.
“But it’s a Saturday...” he weakly grumbled beneath the blankets. “Where are we going? Why this early?”
“You’ll regret it if you don’t get up.” the voice denoted. His tone was a bit more stringent, and with that notice Zachary sighed heavily in defeat. He tossed the blankets off of his body and rose half way up from his bed. The figure in the night-laden bedroom smiled, the rim of his angular glasses gleamed silver in the moonlight of a nearby window. He then placed a hand on Zack’s head and rubbed his mess of hair.
“At a boy.” The figure rose and turned towards the door. “Get ready, we’ll be leaving in ten minutes. I made breakfast, so the faster you wake up, the hotter it will be.”
Zack rubbed his eyes and replied, “Yes, dad.”
__________
Zachary followed his father out the back door and towards the edge of their yard. Zack carried himself as if he were dragging a great weight behind him. The air was thick and wet, autumn was fast approaching; even through the jacket he wore, he could feel its cold bite over his skin. His feet sloshed through the dew-laden grass as he forced himself to catch up with his father, a man whose gait was twice that of his youngest son. Near the end of the yard was a wooden fence with three thick beams that could easily be climbed over. On the other side of this barrier was the sleeping forest, still and forbidding. Towering pines guarded the wooded haven, and all manner of singing insects cried out to one another from the creeping shadows. Zack’s father reached the fence first and in one swift motion, he placed a single hand on the top railing and vaulted himself over onto the other side. Zachary audibly griped in distress as he squeezed through the lower and middle railings; he wished he could have hopped over as easily as his father, but Zack was only four and a half feet tall at the time.
The son stayed close behind his father, he didn’t want to leave sight of him in fear that he himself would get lost. His eyes adjusted slowly to the dark, yet still the forest was blanketed in blackness. When the light of the moon was blocked out by the forest canopy, his father removed a small flashlight from his coat pocket. The stars peered out like little eyes through the forest ceiling, it did not ease Zachary’s fears. He had been in these woods plenty of times with his brother and by himself, but never had he been here at night. The once familiar forest felt foreign to him; cloaked in night, it was an entirely different woodland. His mind felt disconnected from what was recognizable to now what was unfamiliar, and this is what scared him the most.
They trekked onward as the distraught Zachary weakly shivered. Grey fog crawled towards them and licked at their ankles; thinly spread mists lingered from wide gullies and narrow creeks, lying low over the forest floor. Leaves and twigs crunched with each step, and every so often a small animal would dart away between the trees or through the branches that would startle Zack. As they kept going, the forest seemed a little less scary to the young boy, and his torpid mind began to rouse awake. He began to wonder why he was alone with his father in the woods, and why his older brother was undisturbed and left behind in their warm house. Zachary was more annoyed than curious with this reasoning, seeing as how this supposed punishment was given to him solely and not his brother as well. His brain sought the answer to why he had to endure this, and what he had done recently to spur his father into doing such an unreasonable act.
As he spaced out and walked through the darkness, his leading foot found a root that brought him forwards onto the ground. His elbows took the blunt of the fall, but a few tiny acorns and twigs scuffed his arm, breaking the skin and leaving his outer forearms and elbows scraped red. His thin jacket was useless against the tumble and he slowly picked himself up to his knees, soothing the pain in his elbows with his hands. His father turned and walked back towards him, lending a hand to help his son. Zack was still angry at him and refused his aid.
“I’m fine,” Zachary affirmed in a level, but livid tone. He rose up and brushed the remaining twigs, leaves, and dirt off of his knees and jacket. He looked up at his dad, vividly expressing his disapproval.
His father noticed his son’s vexed mood and sympathetically apologized, “I’m sorry.” He turned and offhandedly stated, “We’re almost there.”
The forest ascended gently, cool air softly billowed downward upon them. Zachary placed his footing after each of his Dad’s step, being careful not to slip and fall down the slippery climb. As the hill leveled out, the forest crept away slowly and the amount of trees grew thinner. The sky was clear again, unhindered by a lack of foliage. The night grew brighter about them, but around them the shadows that lingered in the edges of the forest seemed painted black among the dark sky. His father approached a fallen tree, long dead, but sturdy and firm. He ambled around it, his eyes scanning every detail of the timber. He then took a seat and looked over at his son, a simper of delight brightened his face in the darkness.
“Come, sit next to me.” He smoothed his hand on a spot next to him. “It’s not so wet here,” he confirmed, patting his hand on the peeling bark cover. Zachary approached after little consideration, silently obeying without protest. He joined close to his father and sat on the damp log, it was uncomfortable and rough, making him squirm a little until Zack had gotten use to it.
“Dad, what are we doing?” he asked again. He hoped to get a better response out of him then when he asked the question while still in bed. The boy looked where his father looked, above the tree-line and at the eastern stars.
After a moment, he answered, “Be still, be quiet. Be as quiet as the forest.” He turned to him and rose a finger between them, “But most importantly, listen. Listen with not just your ears, but listen with your mind, listen with your heart.” He turned and looked away from him, closing his eyes and taking in methodical breaths of cool, mountain air. He had never seen his father act this way and wasn’t sure whether or not to take him seriously. He turned back and was unsatisfied with his response.
Anger welled up inside of the young boy, he hated being in the cold forest and didn’t understand why he was even here. It was chilly and damp, his legs and elbows ached from the fall, he was frustrated by his father’s lack of sense; his mental list of things that bothered him grew beyond his reckoning as he seethed inside. He didn’t dare focus on the forest around him in a futile act of protest. Zack simply crossed his arms and legs, wishing he was back in bed and away from his father.
A few minutes went by, which felt like hours to the boy, and he thought a few times to ask his dad if he could leave. Just before he would consider saying it out loud, he stopped himself and sighed heavily. He didn't dare to complain in front of his father in such a way, the possibilities of getting punished or scolded worried him too much to take that action. After almost an hour he finally worked up the courage to either ask his father if he could go back home or leave on his own. He turned towards him, mouth open and ready to speak his mind, but he drew his breath back in and closed his mouth upon seeing his dad. To Zachary, he appeared unbelievably peaceful, more so than he had ever seen anyone be before. His eyes were gently shut, hands open and on his knees. Each breath was strong and in rhythm of every inhale and exhale. This image before Zack inspired him to stay and at least try what his father had asked him to do. To be still, to be quiet, and to listen.
He took a recovering breath and sat motionless, keeping his mind relatively free from distractions. It was difficult, but he learned after a while to focus on breathing or the sounds around him. The forest grew much more audible around him, as did the land and sky. A breeze he did not know of could be heard from the tops of the trees. Creeping things and tiny songbirds were now discernible to the relaxed boy. A brook not too far away murmured sweetly in the distance; Zachary was wondrous and surprised at what he was able to accomplish. His breathing became rhythmical to the point where control became unnecessary, he was deeply and subconsciously empowered. A slight tingling with each breath climbed up and down his spine. An energy of unknown sorts entered into him and seemingly pumped through his arteries. Never had he experienced anything like this before in his young life.
Beyond his command, his eyes opened. The sky was now a deep, icy blue and the Eastern horizon was gilded in amber. His father took in a longer than usually breath and opened his eyes after his son. They turned to look at each other, both gave a relaxed smile and looked back towards the coming sunrise.
“It’s almost here,” his father said with a voice tender with love. Zack turned and looked into the depths of his father’s concentrated eyes. In a split second, a flash of red dazzled them as Zack silently gasped.
“Look Zachary!”
Before he could turn his sight towards the sun, he found himself propped against a clear window, his body swayed awake by a moderate turn in the passenger car.
__________
Zack had arrived in Canterlot a few minutes after he awoke from his dream. A silver, steam engine in the shape of a windigo pulled up gently into a flourishing train station. Zachary rose up from his seat and grabbed from the rack above his few possessions, neatly secured in a borrowed, pink and blue suitcase provided by his dearest friend. He awkwardly waddled down the aisle in the train car, he had to bend low not to hit his head while inside the cabin. He slowly moved in a line of traveling equines, each as equally disturbed by the human as the next. The train doors slid open and cautiously Zachary made his way out. When he exited, he stood up straight and stretched his cramped back. He took in a breath of fresh air and smiled happily.
The terminal enough would have impressed him by Equestria’s forward movement in technology, but leaving the station was what captivated him to an even greater extent. He knew what to expect from what he had seen in Ponyville, yet still nothing could have prepared him for the immaculate sight that was Canterlot. The main street twisted up the mountain towards the distant Canterlot Castle, still as impressive and gleaming as it always had been. The afternoon sun gave it a subtle, yellow wash amongst the ivory spires; the highest rooms refracted brightly above like beacons of silvery fire. Along the main strip were impressive white, alabaster and beige colored buildings that were built upon once beautiful shops. The sidewalks were packed with ponies who were just now getting out of work, and each slyly peered up at the passing human with looks of discomfort. Each stallion wore a fedora and tie, almost matching with dark and warm hues, while the mares were adorned in more elongated hats with wider brims, and occasionally one would be seen sporting simple jewelry and makeup. Down the streets were rudimentary stoplights powered by the city’s magictech grid, and bustling by were rolling steam cars, mostly taxis or freight vehicles.
Zack walked aimlessly forward on the sidewalk, flabbergasted by the immensity of the new city. He couldn’t quite wrap his head around the innovation of technology before him, he didn’t think he ever could. He remembered the first time he snuck into Pumpkin’s parent’s house with Pinkie and how he was curious and amazed at their kitchen appliances of that time; how all of that had changed so rapidly was unbelievable to the human. Every street and district was new to him except a famous few; with these additions, it was a whole new city. He was sure he could easily get lost in the many quarters and communities that had sprung up within the city. He continued forward and up towards the castle with eyes scanning anything that seemed interesting to him.
It was around late afternoon when he arrived near Canterlot Castle. Zack was impressed that it took him this long to get to the palace; the ascent—as he remembers it—was by far less time consuming. He purposed the amount of traffic slowed his process, as well as arriving at a leisurely pace, instead of racing through alleyways with Pinkie on his back. The sun was cradled by a few passing clouds, yellow and warm hues made the passing buildings and cobblestone beneath him blush in peach cream colors. Less shops and homes filled these districts, and less ponies lingered near Canterlot Castle’s perimeter. Instead, more parks, fine restaurants, and exclusive getaways for visiting ambassadors filled the clean and narrowing streets. The bastion that surrounded the front and wide entryway of the palace was still in fine shape, nothing new stood out for Zack as he smiled and placed a hand on the thick fortification.
He noticed up ahead that Twilight Sparkle was waiting patiently for him near the entrance. She stood straight with excellent posture, but her eyes denoted that she was spaced out on other matters. She didn’t notice Zack until his footfall was in earshot of her. She blinked awake from her daydreams and pleasantly greeted him.
Zack approached saying, “I hope you haven’t been waiting too long.”
Twilight flicked her hoof out and replied, “Not at all, just a few minutes ahead of you actually.” A thought occurred to her and she questioned, “Why didn’t you ride Nox here?”
“He’s been flying for two days straight. I thought I would give him a little rest.” Zack thought if anyone would be able to deduce that, it would have been her.
He grinned and placed a hand on her head, messing her mane up and shaking her glasses off. He sarcastically laughed as she placed her spectacles on again.
“You better be thankful my reading glasses are beaded around my neck,” she stated in an irritant tone of sarcasm. “These are my only ones, and I am very fond of them.”
“Why do you even need them?” he asked, just now realizing that she had been bestowed with immortality.
“To keep up appearances, to... well, pretend I’m getting older. I feel like-”
“I see,” Zack cut in. “I understand, no need to explain.” He looked off towards the far western cliff and continued with his own thoughts aloud. “It’s hard for me to even be around my friends, seeing them much older than me, and me looking the same as always.”
“Watching them grow older and you remaining the same age is even harder.” Twilight said with unwanted gloom in her voice. Zack remained silent as they stood before the gates.
“Well,” Twilight started anew, “shall we enter, Mister Zachary?”
He turned and gestured, “Ladies first.”
Twilight smirked broadly and magicked the gates open. Royal Guards moved across the yard as they made their way down the pathway towards the palace. They circled up the main stairway and onto the porch where the front doors were opened by two butlers. One of the two ponyservants took Zachary’s pink luggage and whisked it away down the hall and towards his supposed room. The sights and sounds were all coming back to Zachary as he made his way through the entwining palace. The city itself had changed, but the castle was a relic to his memory. Each corridor he passed was rekindled in his mind, he began to remember where every passage lead to. Even the furniture and decor of the halls were the same.
As they progressed, he commented on everything he passed to Twilight. “And here’s the room where I was moved to when I had broken my legs. And here’s the doorway to the dungeon me and Pinkie were locked in upon arrival.” Zack stopped and looked towards a dreary and gray painting on the wall. “And here’s that one, ugly picture of a stallion, still here!”
“Zachary! That’s Starswirl the Bearded!”
He pondered this for a moment and retorted, “Are you sure? Cause I met the guy, you know?”
“Yes, this is the Starswirl you met briefly when he was released from Pinkie Pie’s body.”
“But he’s... he’s... obviously he’s unromanticized! The artist did a terrible job on this. Why even keep it around is beyond me.”
A voice next to Zack vividly expressed, “I was the one who painted it.” Zack panicked and turned, only to see Princess Luna smiling at him.
After he realized who it was, he gulped, “Oh, really? I mean, hello. I mean, sorry. Both I mean though-” Zack was interrupted as the Princess of the Night embraced him with a crushing hug. Twilight stepped back in surprise and took in Luna’s strange, out of character response. She had never seen her hug anyone to such a degree in her life, not even her sister. She was truly excited that Zachary had returned.
The three made their way down the hall as Luna spoke of other matters to the two. “I am glad you have fulfilled your task, Twilight. I did not doubt you once!”
“Thank you, Luna. It was a pretty interesting quest you and Celestia sent me on.”
“I’m sure it was.” was all she said on the matter. She jumped to the next topic, directed at Zachary. “How have you enjoyed the city? The sights? Isn’t it marvelous what we have accomplished?”
“It is! I was shocked at how much change had occurred in such little time.”
“I had been urging my sister to redact the bans on magitechnology, since many neighboring cities had done so long before us. Since then, our economy here in Canterlot has been ever rising, as well as population and inner advancements.”
“I noticed! Well, how have you been, Luna? Anything exciting in the last thirty-three years?”
“The moon rises and falls, nothing too terribly thrilling about that. Every once in a while I’ll slip away from Equestria, as you know. Everypony wonders where I’ve gone and my sister has to fulfill my chores. Everything fun and exciting now is handled by the Elements of Harmony. Any natural disasters, dark magics, or emerging god kings from Tartarus is thwarted by those ponies. They have taken all the fun out of being the warrior princess that I once was.”
“Sorry,” Twilight spoke up in a sarcastic manner, “but if you wanted to have fun, you shouldn’t have banned yourself to the moon!”
Luna promptly turned her gaze towards Twilight and looked down upon her with inner loathing. “If you weren’t who you were, I would have you exiled for such a remark,” she turned back and concluded under her breath, “or beheaded.”
Luna lead the two towards the Eastern courtyards where Celestia was located. They exited the castle and walked along the pathway of a high wall between two separate yards. Each was used by the Royal Guards as a training ground. Hundreds were scattered about, practicing and training with their fellow soldiers. One side of the courtyards was a shooting range, the other was an obstacle maze that one could watch from the high wall while others maneuvered through the course. The walls met near the center where a large parapet tower was. The tower divided the courtyards into four main sections, which each could be viewed from via the watchtower. The three climbed the encircling stairway upwards and entered the tower. The interior was buzzing with magitech electronics with operators controlling them. They could raise hidden barriers, obstacles, open doors, and control other devices all from a single, long panel on each of the four corners of the tower.
Celestia and Shining Armor were turned away and looking down into the training pits as the three entered.
“You have summoned me, my grace,” Zack announced while bowing to one knee.
She turned and laughed, “Yes! Welcome home!” Both Celestia and Shining Armor greeted Zachary. “It’s time you had a haircut, I barely recognize you!”
“I’m sure you would have recognized me with or without hair.”
Shining reached a hoof around Zack’s shoulder and roughly brought him down to his level.
Shining asked, “And just where do you think you’ve been, man?”
“Away from you! You blockhead!” He pushed himself out of his grip and stumbled backwards.
Twilight approached her brother and hit his torso armor a few times saying, “I’m glad you rushed to your sister and hugged her first! It’s not like she was on a dangerous mission for days on end! Risking her tail to get this guy over here!” Shining sighed and pulled her into a hug.
“It’s not like I wasn’t going to hug you, Twily!” He pushed her back gently, but held onto her shoulders and asserted, “but meeting the Zachary again! A legendary warrior and—might I mention slayer—of the real Discord. He is who I want to fight side-by-side with, he is the hero we’ve been needing; and now that we have him, we are sure to win the war now!”
“Well,” Zack quietly brought up, “I really don’t-”
“‘Legendary warrior’, you say?” Luna chuckled. “He may have been a worthy advisory against Alwaid at the time, but he’s without Prevailer and Catalyst Stone. If he battled against Alwaid again he would have no chance.” She turned towards him and keenly wagered, “Let’s say we put this to the test? A magical test of strength and wit.”
Zachary tiresomely moaned. “I don’t see why not.” He crossed his arms and shrugged his shoulders. “I may be a little tired from the walk up to Canterlot Castle, and a little sleepy from my train nap, but I’m always up for a challenge.” He looked over at Shining Armor and suggested, “You want to go?”
“W-woah now,” Shining Armor stammered, “I didn’t propose this!”
“I haven’t been in combat in years, you’ll probably have an upper hand, err, hoof.” He weaved his fingers through his long, wavy hair and humorously mused, “You would think after a few decades I would get my pony idioms right by now.”
Luna stepped forward, “I was suggesting us.”
Zack’s eyebrows raised upon the realization, “Oh, I see now.”
“Don’t do this,” Celestia firmly requested Luna. “Are you a filly? He hasn’t trained in years, you could injure him!”
“I’ll be alright, Celestia. This type of training will do just fine.”
Twilight brought a hoof to her face and mumbled, “Oh brother.”
__________
When the sun fell that evening, the training grounds became alive with an audience of silent Royal Guards. Word quickly spread among the guards and many from the castle and city attended the event that was about to unfold. A rounded sector was where the onlookers encircled above, this area was built as a crucible to test one’s strength against others. Braziers and torches were lit upon the walls and on the barriers, lighting the sandy arena in flickers of reds and yellows. The moon was half full and bright, and the stars above gazed down to see the coming match.
Celestia, Shining Armor, Cadence, and Twilight Sparkle sat above in center view of the court of battle. Celestia was unamused and highly irritated that such an event was soon about to occur. When other matters could be discussed and plans could be moved into action, crucial time was wasted on such arrogant entertainment.
“I can’t believe it,” the Princess of the Sun groaned apathetically. “I barely speak with Zachary and he’s already about to fight my sister in combat.”
Cadence spoke up, evaluating the situation with a more open mind, “This could be a good opportunity for the Royal Guards to learn more about combat, I suppose,” Cadence scanned over the scene and audience, then considered that what she had said probably wasn’t the wisest choice of words.
“Perhaps,” Twilight added, “they could come out of this inspired...” She tilted her head and shrugged, “Maybe?” Celestia’s horn glowed brightly for a moment and before her was summoned a bag of popcorn. She levitated it and a popped kernel before her, eyeing the confectionary lazily.
Before she tossed it into her mouth, she stated in a lethargic tone, “Those two are as stubborn as ever.” She chewed the single kernel, swallowed, and reckoned, “Vallak needs to arrive already before we end up destroying ourselves by accident.” Twilight cringed and turned her gaze back towards the crucible.
On each side, Luna and Zachary faced one another from a distance. High, brown walls encased them, made from stones the size of food stall carriages. Dry, flat earth and wine-colored sand comprised the floor of the pit. The ground was hard enough to keep your footing, but one could easily slide and lose their balance if they were too careless. Luna eyed Zachary from afar with keen eyes as sharp as daggers. She was adorned in a light armor of her making, with similarities between her Nightmare Moon ensemble and that of the Royal Guards. Their colors crossed between dark shades of black and purple with pearl white, decorative trimming. Zachary wore no armor, but found himself some of his old clothes that he dressed himself in when he went to his chambers before the battle. They were a combination of Rarity’s first collection and of Celestia’s making. He was dressed in tan khaki shorts and a white, long sleeved shirt tailored from a curtain within Canterlot Castle. Lastly, he found his old chucks, an ancient souvenir from Earth. It was strange wearing such clothes again instead of the more freeing clothes that he had become accustom to, but he enjoyed the change nonetheless.
As they waited patiently for Shining Armor to give the signal to go, Luna called out towards Zachary saying, “Will you not summon your Prevailer? You will need it!”
Zachary, while stretching his limbs and back, responded, “Don’t fret about it! I’ll figure something out. That’s what I always do.”
Luna thought for a moment, and pledged, “How about this: Lunar magic only!”
Zack pondered about it while trailing his fingers down his beard. He wasn’t the best at lunar magic, but by Luna’s new challenge, he assumed a condition: Luna thought that he hadn’t been studying her lunar scrolls she gave him to read while in Cervidas.
He smiled and replied, “Very well, but go easy on me!” He straightened his back and took in a deep, meditative breath in. He focused on his teachings while breathing methodically and keeping his eyes closed. He knew that he had become even more influx with his magical abilities over the years, and that not being in the presence of the Prevailer strengthened his will even greater. His mind was as clear as glass and as sharp as a blade. He knew his thought patterns and inner workings considerably well through his many years of disciplined meditation. He was ready to face this challenge head-on.
“Easy?” Luna replied, slightly breaking his concentration, “I know not of easy!” In that moment, Shining raised a rifle and pulled the trigger. The noise ringed through their ears and the trial began.
Zack opened his eyes and thought, “Lunar magic. Okay, I got this. Night above and shadow below, I've got to use this to my advantage.” He looked towards his shadow and focused his will on it. The shadow whisked upward and behind him, spreading out like a sheet of cloth. It was as if he was being thrown in a great, black maw of a beast as it loomed over him, about to overtake his form. As he looked back up, a flicker of offensive magic burst towards him, and just in the nick of time, he was absorbed by his shadow and pulled towards the floor of the arena. The missile failed to reach him and struck the back wall. The arena had a protective spell around it, causing all magical blasts within the crucible to be cast elsewhere where it was safer. The blot of shadowy starlight that Zachary had become swam over the sand and onto the wall of the arena. Luna stretched her wings and held herself above the floor.
“Very good,” she commended him, “let’s see how quick of a shadow you can be!” From her alicorn horn shot bolt after bolt of dark magic towards Zack’s shade. He snaked around each attack, racing across the wall’s face. The crowd began to lightly cheer as they intently watched the duel.
Zack noticed that Luna was beginning to predict his movements and it was getting harder for him to evade her attacks. Suddenly, Zack had to force himself out of his shade when a speeding bolt nearly struck him. He flung himself out and rolled onto the sand pit. He hopped out of it and threw his right arm forward. A surge of lunar magic twisted up his body from his shadow to his legs, up his torso, and down his arm where it materialized into an inky, black orb. He shot it towards an oncoming bolt, hoping it would deflect it in some way. Upon impact, Zachary’s missile pierced through Luna’s and flew towards her wildly. She flapped out of the way as the orb veered skyward and out of sight.
“Your lunar magic,” she commented with a huff of surprise and vexation, “you’re using too much of it into your actions. It’s heavier and stronger, yes, but you need to know how much power you’re putting into your magic or you’ll tire yourself.”
“Thanks for the pointers. Can we continue now?”
She smiled and laughed, summoning two orbs of navy blue lunar magic above her raised hooves. Zachary adjusted his stance as Luna fired away, throwing magical orbs at impressive speeds. He dived to his left, barely evading the singing orb that rushed by his head. He leaped and danced around a few others, but as he dodged one that would had been a headshot, he took a firm hit to gut from another. It scorched and evaporated around his stomach as he was pushed back from the blow. It was cold and hard, like a firm medicine ball being thrown firmly at him. It knocked the air out of Zack for a moment and Luna chuckled upon seeing him in minor pain. The crowds cheered and stamped, applauding their princess.
“Come on, Zack,” he said to himself, “Think creatively, that’s what Luna wrote to you about when learning this stuff. Lunar magic is just like unicorn magic, you can bend it to your will.” Zachary took a breath and readjusted his breathing pattern. He focused intently on what he wanted to accomplish, although he was unsure whether or not it would work out in his favor. His faith in himself was stronger than his doubts, and he brought forth the lunar magic needed to do what he aspired for.
Luna turned to see that from his fingertips, gauntlets of starlight fitted around his hands. She flippantly teased, “Trying something new out? This isn’t the time to be testing such things, Zachary!”
She fired a few more orbs towards him speedily as he braced himself. He placed a hand before each of the coming attacks and swatted them away. They struck the ground behind him, spraying sand and rock upward. He still continued to dodge and maneuver around her limitless projectiles, waiting for the right moment to make his counter-attack. When he saw the orb he was looking for, he reached out an arm and grabbed hold of it. He pivoted his body with its momentum and launched it back at Luna with all his strength. The alicorn’s eyes widened as she twirled around it, narrowly missing the ball of shadow.
Zachary kept his arm out, still in the position he was in when he threw it back. Luna turned back and stuck her tongue out towards him in a very un-regal manner. He returned with a sly grin as he swiftly retracted his arm back toward his hip as if pulling something down. The orb stopped before hitting the barrier and flexed back towards the alicorn, striking her in the back of the head. Her helmet was flung forward as she tumbled towards the ground before Zachary. The crowd roared wildly as Celestia grinned with satisfaction.
Luna tossed herself up into the air again, appearing more livid than playful. Zack loosened himself up upon seeing the angry princess.
“You look a little tense, Luna.” Zack teased her softly. “This is just an exercise, remember? No more than a game.”
Luna sought to control herself a little and huffed, “I’ll make sure I train you well by the time I’m through with you!” Her tone and look was one Zack didn’t want to relish. He knew that she hated losing, he knew this ever since they played chess many years ago. Her eyes burned with an intensity that a wild animal might give when looking to make the kill. He stepped back and readjusted his posture to dodge whatever she was about to throw at him. He was certain he would make it out of this predicament in one piece, however he didn’t know how he would accomplish it. Nevertheless, he braced himself for the fury of the Princess of the Night.
Luna raised her hooves, summoning multiple orbs of shadow. First a dozen, then two dozen, then more then he wanted to count as they began to float threateningly above the walls of the crucible. In one swift motion, she threw them all down upon him without warning or wait. Zack panicked and sprinted toward his right as the focused blast followed him. He slid to his knees and threw his hands up, the gauntlets spread out and cloaked him in a thick shadow. He sunk swiftly in a pool of midnight as the pit was fully bombed with Luna’s missiles. Rocks shot upwards from the impacts and sand was sprayed high into the air. Zack slowly emerged from his shade after the bombardment. He felt battered and worn from the impact, as if he had been punched a few times over every area of his body.
“What the hell?” he thought, “that could have been lethal!” Before he could snap back a response to the enraged Luna, her eyes glowed vibrantly blue like the night sky. In a flash, two beams raced across the pit towards Zachary. He threw up a wall of night before him and upon impact with the lasers it was blasted away. Zachary stumbled backwards, but caught himself with is hand.
Zachary reformed the gauntlets around his arms, and by doing this he began to feel his energy depleting. He knew he didn’t have much time or power left to pull off anything impressive or worthwhile offensively. He had to wait for the right moment if he wanted to win this battle. Zack just hoped that he could evade Luna long enough to use his lunar magic for more offensive than defensive purposes.
“You’ve done well,” Luna said, “But do you think all of what lunar magic is is orbs and shields? Let me show how impressive it can be.” Without any physical effort or sign of stress, three circular shades formed on the ground before her. Rising from them appeared three of her personal vampire pony guards, armed with spears and adorned in plate armor. It had slipped his mind that lunar magic could conjure such creations, but seeing this, he wondered if he could do it too.
He popped his knuckles and said aloud, “Never tried it, and don’t have a lot of energy left, but let’s see if I can match you.” He had an idea in his head on what he wanted to conjure and tried to force it through him. Suddenly, he felt a great deal of lunar magic strain within him, so much so that he was brought to his knees and sweat began to bead down his head. He knew he had taken on too much, but stopping now would only show his unwillingness to compete against Luna. His body couldn't handle the amount of magic in him and he couldn’t shape what he originally wanted. He didn’t know how to handle this much magic within him, especially a magic that he wasn’t entirely familiar with. Compared to Luna, she had had a thousand years to perfect this art. She stood firm like an oak while summoning three fully sized and fully armed bat pony guards. Seeing her effort against his made him look weak in front of the audience, so his pride continued to pain him more than the actual pain blazing through him.
“Having a little trouble there?” Luna laughed as the guards began to walk forward with their spears pointed towards the human. Zachary knew he would be in dire trouble if he didn’t do something before the guards reached him.
“I need... more time!” He said mentally. “I need more... more...” with that notion, he had an idea, a way to salvage his magical build up of energy. He used the mass of lunar magic in him and split it multiple ways. Instead of summoning one large lunar creature of his creation, he used his magic to split it eight ways. Eight small circles of twilight appeared before him as the energy began releasing from his body into the portals. As he rose back to his feet, he felt as if he was lifting a heavy weight above him. From the portals sprang a group of creatures that made the crowds gasp; even Luna was shocked at what Zachary had accomplished.
Twilight Sparkle grimaced at the creations and commented, “Oh, wow. Those are... interesting renditions of...”
Zack lowered his arms and smiled, looking at his twisted fabrications come to life. They were shadowy ponies, fillies with hollow eyes like moon craters and beaming, starlit smiles. Their manes were black as chimney smoke and their fur was bathed in the night sky.
They bounced up and down and around Zachary chirping in shrill, un-pony like voices, “Fun! Fun! Fun!”
“Pinkies!” Zack commanded. The eight shades stopped hopping around and promptly stood in a row before him, hooves resting on their brows in salute. Zack pointed towards the bat ponies and yelled, “Attack!”
They turned and rushed towards the bewildered creations of Luna. They bounded forward and into the air, making fierce faces that warriors were known for. The bat ponies were beaten, kicked, bit, and ravaged by the shadow Pinkies. Many in the crowd looked away, others watched with horrified expressions. Twilight covered her eyes, Cadence looked on with a sickly expression, Celestia laughed wholeheartedly.
As the last bat pony was stomped into misty shadow, the Pinkies rose up and gazed towards their creator, eyes wild and smiles wide.
“My fillies!” Zack ordered the lot. They looked towards him and awaited his direction. He now pointed at the Princess and shouted, “Charge!”
They eagerly raced one another towards the Princess. Luna desperately tried to attack the group, but many of them evaded her lunar magic with ease. They were small, quick, and difficult to target, but still Luna was able to take out a few before they were in range. Four remained as she fled skyward, but the Pinkies leaped a tremendous height and grabbed hold of her, dragging her back down into the pit. She swatted and punched the shadow creatures as they bit and beat her. Luna grabbed hold of one, flung it like a ball and zapped it with her lunar magic vision. She stomped another with her hoof, turning it back into a vapor of shadow as the other two grabbed hold of her front legs. With a swift motion, she swatted them together. They then conformed into a cloud of dark lunar magic that dissipated like smoke.
Zack thought that they would had been a little more help to him and wondered what he should do next. He was only able to conserve a sliver of energy left from conjuring the Pinkies and didn’t know how that energy would aid him now. Luna wasted no time as she rose up into the air a few meters off the ground and lifted her hooves up. Her fury had arisen once more, and her eyes showed no mercy towards the human. The shadows casts inside the pit began to diminish as they came under her control. Soon enough, Zachary had nothing to work with; with no source to fuel his magic, he was at her mercy concerning lunar magic. He began to panic as Luna formed overhead a great orb of shadowy magic. It vibrated with intensity as it expanded out further. She began to laugh maniacally as Zachary fell onto his back, in shock at the ever increasing magnitude of the spell. Many of the Royal Guards raced away from the pit in fear that they would be consumed by the coming destruction. Luna gave no restraint to her power as she continued to pump more energy into the death sphere.
“I concede!” Zachary shouted towards her, “You win!” She paid no attention to his cries of desperation as the orb grew greater and greater in size. “Luna! Stop! I give up!” Zachary clasped his hands together and pleaded, “Please! This is insane!”
“Luna!” Celestia called out in a voice as loud as thunder. It reverberated off of the circular walls with a might that only magic could produce. The Princess of the Night snapped out of her mania upon hearing her sister.
“Enough!” commanded Celestia. “Your foalish game is over!” Luna sighed as the orb slowly rose over the crucible, gradually gaining speed as it soared into the darkened sky. After a silent moment of wonder, the night lit up with a bright and quiet explosion. Zack shielded his eyes from the brightness; it was as if a star had exploded a few thousand light years away; it was beautiful and terrifying all at once. As the cold light began to fade from view, a gentle wind fell upon the arena. The shadows casts by the flames in the braziers returned as did the shadows from the torches.
Luna flew up above the crucible and spoke with the remaining guards, “The show has concluded, and I am victorious. Praise me and the night!” A few subtle stamps and half empty cheers filled the air as the guards turned and left the crucible walls. Luna, irked once more by their lackluster admiration, called out, “Are you not entertained?!”
“Return to your barracks,” Celestia said, “There is nothing more to see.” The royal guards did as they were commanded and left silently, chattering amongst themselves in small groups.
Luna glided down next to Celestia and implored, “Why did you do that? Bring them back! I was not going to murder our Zachary.” Celestia gave a look disapproval over her shoulder. The expression soon turned to ire as she confronted her sister.
She pressed a hoof against her armored chest plate and tapped it saying, “You could have injured him or have possibly murdered him! You’ve done it before!”
“That was one time,” Luna offhandedly retorted, trying to both defend herself and defuse the conversation. “And it was thousands of years ago... and by accident. Look, Zachary’s not hurt, just a little bruised.”
“I don’t want you or Zachary to do anything foolish like that again!” Celestia fired back, enraged at her sister’s response. “There are important matters that need to be discussed and no time for games of this type!”
“Sister,” Luna crossly inquired, “what is the matter with you?”
Celestia was near her breaking point as she violently responded, “Have you not been paying attention? There is an army coming to Equestria that could easily wipe our race out of history. We have no defense planned as of yet, no certain allies as of yet, and when we finally have one you want to challenge him with your silly, barbaric game of pride bashing. We need to stop these heedless hinderances and start planning on what we need to accomplish in the next few days if we want to survive what’s coming!”
Celestia caught her breath and added, “And don’t give me that look! You know what’s best just as well as I do.”
Zachary finally made his way up the stairs and onto the high walls where Celestia and Luna were. Twilight, Cadence, and Shining Armor were behind Celestia, silently listening from a safe distance. Celestia sidestepped her sister and approached the human.
Her eyes were level with his as she firmly imposed, “Zachary, return to your room in the Western Keep. We have a busy day tomorrow. Scouts say Vallak’s army is only a few days away. We need you to stay safe and to train safely. No more of these games.”
Zachary bowed slightly in Cervian habit. “Understood.” He complied in a tone lacking hostility and favor. He was aware it was foolish to fight against Luna before a crowd, but he knew it would also help his training. Everything Zack had learned about combat was only through genuine threats and tests of strength. Whether as a game, or in a life or death matter, it was the best way to teach himself.
Celestia nodded, Zack knew his cue for when he was excused. He rose from his bow and walked past her. He smiled at Luna as he went by her towards the castle, she smiled back. Their silent intentions were clear to each other: now both were ready for what was to come.