Chapters Allen Keller, a guy of only sixteen years, laid on the same old couch that he had bought off of an old lady, who he suspected had been only fifty-five or sixty years old. His house was a single story place with two bedrooms, two bathrooms, and all the other basic essentials that a house offered. Sure, he had bought the majority of his old furniture from anyone that was willing to sell stuff that was old or they didn't want it when they moved. Gave him a feeling of being at home without actually being at home.
That, and he loved to annoy his roommate whenever the guy happened to show up from work or a party.
His roommate was a man, though he looked like he was a fifteen year old teenager, by the name of Christan Miller and he happened to work at the closest Pizza Hut. He also worked somewhere else, which would have explained how he could have afforded the dump that he called his home. As for Allen...he was in trouble with the law and he was currently living in the house with the rest of the money he had illegally earned. The only reason he had been caught was because the last assignment he had taken on had been approached too early, the intelligence on the guards was sloppy, and the tools he had used were outdated.
He had been sentenced to this fate for three months, which meant that he had to stay in the house for three whole months with a sensor around his ankle. House arrest for the crimes he had committed didn't seem too bad, considering his roommate didn't mind that he was sharing his place with someone who could have robbed him at any point. Christan was a nice guy, sort of a control freak at times, but he had a heart of gold and still offered Allen a place to stay while his mother considered throwing him in jail for five years.
He sighed and flipped on the television, looking through the guide of channels as he searched for something to watch like he had done for the last two months and three weeks. So many of weeks, browsing the stations as he looked for anything interesting, and the only thing he actually watched was a show that was supposed to be watched by little girls. My Little Pony Friendship is Magic. It was a show his mother had thought he needed to watch so he could learn the morals of friendship and turn his life back around.
Truthfully the only thing he had learned from the show was that the villains, Nightmare Moon, DIscord, Chrysalis, and Sombra, had the thought of taking over and had lost. They were his favorite characters, seeing how they were the evilest beings in all of existence, and he longed to be like them. Maybe not take over the world crazy, but still he longed to be on the streets again and maybe taking some evil from those villains was his ticket to the top.
Besides, he had finished season three and had to wait until season four to learn anymore from them. He wasn't one of the die hard bronies like everyone else, but he held some respect for the show and whished he could have left the house a few days ago. Equestria Girls had been shown not twenty minutes from his house and he wanted to see who this new villain was supposed to be.
After turning off the television he sighed and stared at the ceiling. Seeing how it was only five in the afternoon he wouldn't be expecting Christan to be home until at least seven if not eight if they still needed him. That meant he was going to be alone for the next two to three hours with nothing good on the television to watch for the moment. The best thing that he could for the moment was close his eyes and get some not deserved sleep while he waited for his roommate to come home.
~ 7:10 PM that same day ~
Ugh, how long was I out? Allen thought as he lightly woke up from his sleep.
From the light in the living room he could determine that it was in the late afternoon, almost the time of the night from the looks of it. He didn't recall drawing any blankets over himself as he fell asleep earlier that afternoon, so he flung his arms forward to find that his arms weren't working properly. The rest of his body felt strange as well, which worried him as he twisted himself around to kick the blanket off. When he finally kicked off the blanket he found out that his body wasn't the same as what he had fallen asleep to. He had hooves, long black furred legs, a large black body, and attached to it all were large black wings that were folded up on his back.
"Ugh, what the buck happened...?" he began to asked himself as he stopped himself, his voice wasn't the same as it was before. While the voice, which was female in nature, was familiar to him he couldn't help but feel like life was going to get a whole lot more interesting.
He rolled to the left and fell onto the floor. Why was moving with hooves so hard anyway? He swore that whichever brony or pegasister said that walking with hooves would have been easy was getting strangled the next time he saw them. And wow, he was having some dark thoughts lately. Of course he also felt something hit something on the higher end of his head and wondered what the buck else was wrong with him.
He struggled to get up off the floor, which was tougher with the length of his new legs, but after about ten minutes of moving around and attempting to do anything with his hooves. Or maybe it was her hooves, seeing how he somehow had a female voice and likely a body as well. On second thought Allen was personally sending the person who promised walking on hooves would be easy to the nine rings of Hell.
He sighed, he needed to stop thinking dark thoughts while he tried to figure out what had happened. Seeing how he had no idea what the rest of him looked like he needed to look at the large mirror that he kept in his room...which just happened to be closed at the moment. Of course his roommate had to have doors with knobs, which meant that he was going to have to figure out someway to open the door...short of using his teeth.
As he approached his door the answering machine, old house and furniture meant he also had an old phone system, just happened to turn on. That meant his roommate was calling and it just went straight to voicemail.
"Hey Allen, its Christan," the machine said, "I'm stopping by the store and picking up some groceries before I get home. I should be back before seven thirty, so try not to be asleep when I get home."
Seven thirty? Allen thought, looking over his back to the clock and reading the time, Oh buck me.
It was exactly seven thirty on the dot. That meant his roommate was going to come bursting through the door any minute with bags in his hands. So yes, Allen was very much bucked and there was no denying that things were going to get both interesting and chaotic at the same time.
"I'm home," came the loudmouthed roommate as he burst through the door with two bags in his arms, "Now whose... hungry?"
What Christan saw was a fully grown alicorn mare, one with a black coated body, fully grown black wings, a black horn the size of Princess Celestia's, and a cutie mark that consisted of a purple cloud with a crescent moon. She had cyan colored eyes with the familiar cat-like irises that he knew were familiar. Even the mane and tail, both of which seemed to be full of stars, that flowed in the wind were strangely familiar to him. Within an instant he knew exactly who he was looking at and he still refused to believe it.
"Holy Hell," Christan said, staring the mare in the eyes, "Well what do you know? Never would I have guessed Nightmare Moon would grace my humble dump from another dimension."
Allen's eyes widened as he realized who he had become. Yeah, he was definitely bucked six, maybe seven, ways from Sunday.
"Yep, I'm definitely bucked," Allen said, lifting his front hoof to his face and doing what most bronies would call facehoofing, "Of all the ponies I had to turn into I had to become the Mistress of the Night herself? I can think of a dozen things I could do with a body like this."
"There is only one person I know who has that type of attitude," Christan said, nearly throwing the bags onto the table as he approached the surprised alicorn, "that person is named Allen Keller. There is absolutely no way that you, the Princess of the Night, are my roommate who can't even leave the house. Hell, I bet he's outside the house, breaking his punishment so he can get some excitement back into his life."
"You foal, does thou have any idea who thou are speaking to?" Allen shouted, activating the Royal Canterlot Voice by accident and nearly blasting his friend into the wall, "Oops, sorry dude."
Christan coughed and looked up at the concerned alicorn, still trying to get over the fact that somehow his roommate had become Nightmare Moon.
"There is only one way I'll believe your really Allen Keller," Christan coughed, straightening up against the wall, "Tell me the reason your under house arrest. Don't bother making some crap up to make me believe you; I want to know the whole reason that Allen Keller was under house arrest for three months."
That was a subject that not even the real Allen Keller wanted to touch, yet in order to prove that he is the real Allen Keller and not just Nightmare Moon standing in his living room he had to prove it. The truth was painful and sometimes Allen wished he had never gone through with it anyway.
"The cartel I worked for gave me an assignment to rob a charity building," Allen spat, setting his flank on the ground while he stared at his roommate, "They told me that the building had a hoard of wads of cash, including briefcases, laying around the vaulted basement. I was to break into the building, make sure the guards wouldn't be a problem in the long run, and maybe steal a case or two to prove it could be possible.
The problem was that the building wasn't a charity building, it was a full blown police station with armed guards and the like. Unfortunately for me I was crazy in the head and decided that I just had to prove that i could break into a police station and steal something worth to the cartel. They had some file that would have taken the cartel down, which would have been the perfect present to my bosses. Deliver to them the tools that would have put them away and save the cartel from being torn to pieces early. I got caught, was tried in court, and was lucky to end up with house arrest instead of jail."
"Dang man, it really is you." Christan said, watching his former roommate notice that the infernal ankle bracelet was still attached to his leg, "And I guess that just because you turned into an alicorn it doesn't mean you can release yourself from your house arrest early."
"Quiet you foal," Allen snapped, his horn lighting up as he focused on the damned bracelet, "I will shatter this infernal device and escape this prison if its the last thing I do."
"There's one more thing I want to know before you attack that device," Christan began, drawing the eyes of the mare, "What did you get me for my birthday a few months back?"
"That's quite easy," Allen said, returning his attention to the bracelet as he spoke, "I got you a complete set of My Little Pony character cups. Damn things were expensive buying them all at once. Now quiet you foal, I have some work that needs to be done."
Christan, having locked the door and sat down, watched for ten whole minutes as his roommate wrestled with the one device that was keeping him from leaving the house. More like her now anyway, seeing how he was technically Nightmare Moon and she was the Princess of the Night and such. She had somehow ended up with her back on the ground, her wings spread out as she tried and failed to deal with the ankle device. While all this happened Christan noticed one small detail; Nightmare's armor was nowhere to be seen.
The azure armor that Nightmare Moon was always seen with in the show was missing, which led Christan to wonder what his roommate had done with it all. That was considering that she had awoken with the armor on and had put it somewhere safe. He doubted that Allen alone would have the idea to hide the armor, but he knew that Nightmare Moon would if she thought she was in need of hiding it. Come to think of it he had caught her trying to enter Allen's room, which could very well be where the armor was resting.
"Aha," Nightmare exclaimed, the bracelet turning to dust after being released from her leg, "The bracelet has been removed. How many points does the Mistress of the Night receive?"
"That wasn't the best idea Allen," Christan started, pausing as the alicorn turned on him with a dark look in her eyes, "Okay then, I take it you'd rather be called Nightmare Moon?"
"Yes you foal," Nightmare snapped, returning to the door that led to her room, "If I am to be stuck in this body then I shall be known by who she was before. And I care not that it was a 'bad idea' to rid myself of that infernal bracelet that confined me to this house, it was bound to happen sooner or later. Now, time to move this door and prepare myself."
Before Christan could object to the door being vaporized his roommate simply turned the knob with her magic and the door opened slowly. Nightmare gave him a smirk before entering the foul odor ridden room, causing her to back up and cough a bit. She had forgotten how terrible the smell of old laundry had been and hoped that she didn't have to suffer the smell much longer. But to the surprise of both of them they noticed that, laying on Allen's bed, was the complete azure armor that Nightmare Moon wore.
Christan moved to get a better look at the armor and found the door slammed shut right in his face, just mere inches from actually hitting his nose. His old roommate wasn't such a jerk to him in the past, there were times where they were quite friendly towards the other, but now she was damn annoying. He guessed it was due to the fact that he had become the Mistress of the Night, the original deadly villain of the first season. Her personality was, or had, spilled over into Allen and his darker side, the criminal side, was bound to reemerge from within.
The world was in deep trouble if the criminal and the true Nightmare became one.
~
Okay, maybe shutting the door on her friend's face was the best course of action, but seeing how Aleen was buried deep in Nightmare's mind he was having a hard time determining what was right and what was wrong. That wasn't important right now. What was important was that Nightmare had found her armor and she was in the process of putting it on, that was considering her magic would allow her to do so with certain pieces.
"Buck this," Nightmare shouted, tossing the laundry basket across the room in anger, "Why is this set of armor so hard to put on?"
So some of the real Nightmare's memories hadn't crossed over to Allen's mind, such as the one that allowed her to put on her own armor. Then a thought occurred to her; the leg pieces shouldn't be too hard to put on seeing how all she had to do was slip her hoof down the edge...and now she had one on. With victory closer she slipped on the other three iron shoes and turned her attention to the chest piece, which was hard for her to slip over her head and attach to her chest. The head piece, on the other hoof, fit perfectly over her head and allowed her mane to flow perfectly.
She looked at herself in the mirror and smirked, the Mistress of the Night was back and now she could do whatever she wanted. Once she learned how to use her wings again and mastered all the difficult spells all over again she would be a force to be reckoned with. Besides, if one person became a pony then it was a matter of time before more and more became like her. That meant that her old enemy, her sister Celestia, would eventually arrive and the two of them would battle it out all over again. And this time Nightmare was going to win.
Christan looked up from the television in time to see a fully armored, and more menacing looking, Nightmare Moon walk out of the bedroom. Now that she was clad in the azure armor she literally made him feel afraid of anything that she could dish out at the world.
"Quit staring you foal," Nightmare snapped, catching the eye of Christan easily, "I must leave this house and begin working to repair my power...what's happening on the television?"
"Reporting live from Dallas, Texas, " the reporter was saying, "It appears that Discord, the God of Chaos from the My Little Pony Friendship is Magic television show, has suddenly appeared in the center of Dallas earlier this morning. He announced that he was playing some game with the other immortals from the show and then told the cameras that he was heading to Las Vegas to gamble. A minute after his departure Dallas received it's first ever chocolate milk rain storm, a 'gift' as the strange being called it. "
"Now I know what I'm doing." Nightmare proclaimed, heading towards the front door of the house.
"And what exactly would that be?" Christan asked, wondering what his roommate could possibly mean.
"Your quite the foal if you can't figure it out," Nightmare chuckled, turning to look back at her roommate, "I'm heading to Las Vegas to meet Discord and put an end to his 'game' before he interferes with my battle with Celestia. If you can't figure it out now than you truly are the most foalish person I will have ever met."
There was a knock at the front door of their filthy house, which came as something of a surprise to Christan since none of their friends knew where their house was even located. Other than both of their parents, both parties having already said they never wanted to visit the 'run down shack' again as they called it, there was only one other group that knew where they lived. Course when Christan realized who was at their door he sighed and got up, cursing his roommate, or former roommate or whatever he/she was, as he unlocked the door and opened it to find two police officers standing there.
"Christan Miller?" one officer, a young man, asked, receiving a nod in return, "Good. We received a code red from this house not twenty minutes ago, indicating that Allen Keller has disabled or even destroyed his ankle bracelet. We would like to have a word with Mister Keller before taking him into custody."
Christan didn't say a single word, he had grown to not having to say anything around the cops when they came to grab his roommate every now and than. Every time there was a robbery or some sort of misadventure in the city the cops would come here to talk to Allen if they didn't have their suspects yet. How the cops had found Allen living in Christan's spare room the first time he still didn't know, but he quickly learned not to bother lying to the police. Besides, the two cops, one a guy and the other a girl, were relativity young for being cops, so he guessed they were about twenty-five at the least.
Christan wondered what the cops would think when they saw the alicorn standing in his living room, staring at the television while she tried to determine how to get to Discord's location. If they were bronies or pegasisters then they might jump at the chance to finally meet Nightmare Moon, but if they weren't then they might think Christan was playing a joke on them. And as much as Christan liked having Allen around the house he wasn't willing to go to jail for something the guy had foolishly done earlier.
"Why is this strange game even in the news?" Nightmare asked, raising an eyebrow as she watched a game of poker on a whole different channel that clearly wasn't the news, "Three of these contestants are clearly cheating each other out of their money. Why haven't the judges arrested and carted them off yet?"
"Its just a game Nightmare," Christan answered, sitting down at his table while the two cops gave him funny looks, "Your supposed to bid on the cards you have and try to take in as much of the chips as you can while making sure you don't run out. If someone runs out of chips then they are eliminated from the game and the rest move on with fewer players then when they started."
"Where is the war?" Nightmare asked, the remote bouncing in her magical grasp as she waited for the event to come on, "Where is the carnage and gore of spilling one's guts out? Where's the sound of swords clashing and magic blazing through the air as two armies fought for supremacy? Where's the flash of the cannons and the sound of the warriors fighting for what they believe in?
And what in Faust's name does a little pink rabbit with a drum have anything to do with this game?"
Christan was at the point of laughter as there was nothing greater than listening or watching Nightmare Moon complain about what was on the television. Or as the case was with what was currently on, a simple card game that she didn't understand and a certain energizer bunny who showed up during one of the commercials. He was sure the cops were confused at this point and he hoped they didn't decide to question him about what was going on.
"Wait a minute," the first cop said, getting a full glimpse at the alicorn who wasn't paying attention to them, "Is that who I think it is or is my mind playing a prank on me?"
"I'm sure our minds aren't playing a joke on us," the second cop said, tilting her head to the side, "I'm just confused as to why there's an alicorn watching television right now. And where is Allen Keller?"
"Your staring at her." Christan said, beckoning to the mare as the cops stared at him, "I come home this afternoon and found her standing next to the couch with no Allen in sight. After a few questions and answers I have discovered that this armored alicorn is, in fact, my roommate Allen Keller. Where the ankle bracelet went I have no idea, but she wasn't wearing one when I got home."
The cops looked at each other and sighed, so Christan wondered if they were going to ask Nightmare Moon to come along quietly with them. It was going to be weird asking the Princess of the Night to come with them before they transported her to the police station. That was if they were going to arrest her for shattering the bracelet, but considering that this was something they had never trained for there was something of a unpredictability factor.
"So, um, Miss Nightmare Moon," the male cop continued, facing the alicorn as she continued to watch the television, "Excuse me? Mistress of the Night? I think she's ignoring me."
In truth Nightmare was listening to the guy, but the pictures on the screen captured her attention and she wasn't about to let something else shake her off. There was something about the fact that the players were wearing caps and drinking what appeared to be some form of alcohol that the refs were okay with them drinking. Some even wore sunglasses, which was strange since they were currently indoors, but it was the way they played that caught her attention. One player was fooling his ways through the turns, somehow winning hands with the greatest of luck, and he was draining his opponents of chips.
There was something about his goatee, the toothy grin, and the fact that he was drinking some form of grape wine while he was playing the game that captured her immediate attention.
"Let's just paralyze her and drag her to the station," the female cop said, "We don't have time to waste on her while we can get some of our other jobs taken care of."
"I don't think that will work too well," Christan spoke up, causing the two cops to turn their heads again, "She's the Princess of the Night and a master of battle magic. I doubt that she will allow herself to become paralyzed easily. Besides, she seems to be searching for a clue as to where Discord is located."
"Huzzah, that's who this man reminds me of," Nightmare proclaimed, lifting a hoof to the television to point at the man, "I have found you Discord."
Christan looked up to see who Nightmare was referring to and sure enough he caught a glimpse of the infamous young man that most bronies drew Discord as. He let a small chuckle escape his lips, if she knew where her target was supposed to be then Nightmare was going to escape the cops before anything else happened.
"I'm going to radio this in," the female cop said, grabbing her radio and holding it to her mouth, "Attention all officers, the renegade known as Discord has moved on to Las Vegas. My partner and I have found an alicorn by the name of Nightmare Moon, who seems intent on hunting the renegade down as well."
"Information received," said a voice on the other side of the radio, "All units be advised that Operation Nightshade is a definite go."
Christan was confused; as far as he knew police officers didn't talk in code or speak of operations that don't exist. Then there was something about Discord that made them seem even more energized than before, as if that was even possible for cops.
"What's going on here?" Christan asked, voicing his confusion.
"Come along Nightmare Moon," the male officer said, somehow getting the mare to follow him to the door, "We have some things to prepare for."
"It's quite simple young man," the other officer spoke up, "The New Lunar Republic is going to tear Discord and Celestia a new one."
"The New Lunar Republic?" Christan asked, grabbing his coat as he followed the cops out the door, "Whatever do you mean by that?"
"Here I thought you were a true brony," the female cop chuckled, "Not many know that our republic is based on the fanfiction army that Princess Luna founded to fight against her sister, Princess Celestia, after her return to Equestria. Ever since it was announced that there were two sides anypony could take people have taken to creating the factions on Earth itself, in the off chance that ponies began to pop up across the world.
Sure enough we were correct in our preparations, seeing how Discord has emerged and has declared war on the rest of the alicorns. We know that the Solar Empire is searching the globe as they search for Princess Celestia, who has yet to arrive as far as we can figure out. Though we have some news that not many know about; Princess Cadence, Queen Chrysalis, and Lord Shining Armor have already arrived somewhere across the United States."
"How are you so sure that the three of them have already arrived?" Christan continued, locking his front door as they loaded Nightmare into what looked like a police van, "We haven't seen anything about their arrival on the news."
"Both factions are keeping the news of their arrival a secret for now," the female cop continued, "With the arrival of both Princess Cadence and Lord Shining Armor means that the Crystal Empire's forces are bound to take action and join us. As such Queen Chrysalis' arrival signals the arrival of the Changeling Empire. Seeing how so few have already arrived might mean that more will be joining them eventually, but there is one pony we think that wont come until later on."
"Whose not supposed to arrive just yet?" Nightmare asked, as if the news that more ponies had finally caught her interest.
"King Sombra." the male cop said, checking the mirrors before pulling out of the driveway, "We're afraid that if he arrives he'll join Discord in the fight against the Princesses. So we're hoping to take Discord down before that happens so we can easily shift our focus to the next target with ease."
Christan was amazed; here was two cops, in the presence of Allen and Nightmare, who had yet to arrest his roommate and were, instead, taking the alicorn to where Discord was located. He had learned that there were two factions keeping the arrival of the royal ponies a secret from the rest of the world. He was painfully sure that something was going to happen in the near future, but whatever it was he had no idea. For now he was going to get in the van and find out what the hell was going on with the world.
Maybe he would even figure out how to reverse people becoming ponies and fix the world.
-Seattle, Washington, ten minutes later-
Nighttime, the familiar part of the day where people often grew wary of the alleyways and the inhabitants that called the dark alleys home. It was the time of the day where most people returned to their houses for the night, leaving the thieves and lowlifes to do as they wanted. During the night there were times where thieves were caught red handed and arrested on the spot, cleaning the streets of the city one step at a time. But there was only so much the police officers could do when some of the thieves were crafty and tended to only target places they were sure they could rob.
Jackson Smith was one of those types of thieves who liked to only target places that would amuse him or places that would provide him with a challenge. He stole items, whatever his employers wanted him to steal, and in his downtime he scouted areas that his employers might consider stealing from. Right now he was just awakening from his nap, something he had time to do while he waited for his employers to contact him. He yawned and bit down on his lip, somehow breaking the skin and drawing a small stream of blood with ease.
"Son of a...wait, what's up with my voice?" he spoke, finding that his voice sounded like a growl of some kind, "I don't remember my voice being that rough."
He lifted his hand to his mouth and instead of feeling a finger brush against his teeth he felt something metal bump right into his nose. Strange, he didn't remember wearing anything that was made of metal when he decided to take his nap earlier that day. What was even stranger was that whatever he was wearing ran into his face sooner than what it was supposed to do, which made him think that he might have gotten drunk before his nap. He was only twenty-two, so he hadn't developed the taste for beer or wine and he doubted that he had gotten drunk.
He popped open his eyes and was assaulted by pure darkness, which was strange since he usually turned on a light when he decided to take a nap. Then, as if something else was playing its hand in his suddenly blindness, the darkness eased up and eventually he could see his apartment. Hanging in front of his face was what appeared to be some sort of iron gauntlet, like the type he saw in the movies and television shows, but there was something odd about it. It was rounded off like a horseshoe and it was being worn by what appeared to be some gray colored limb.
"What in the Nine Hells is going on?" he growled, using his own style of cursing as he tried to get up, "And why am I wearing this freaking iron clad horseshoe?"
That was before he rolled to his left and hit the ground, the sound of a large body of metal hitting the floor in the process. He groaned and looked down at himself, finding that he had some sort of giant metal plate necklace around his neck and that his body was working in all the wrong ways. He pushed himself onto his feet and found that his feet had been replaced by hooves, gray limbs wearing the same iron clad horseshoes as his hand. He looked up at his twelve inch flat screen television and was shocked, to some degree, with what he saw in the blank screen.
He appeared to be a strong bodied stallion with a gray coat, one that was covered by what appeared to be a lush red cape with a white trim. His hooves were all covered by the strange iron clad horseshoes he had discovered and his entire neck had some sort of metal brace. His hair, his beautiful light brown hair, was now a vile black mess that seemed to flow as if it was made of darkness, like the same darkness that was flowing out of his now green eerie eyes. Eyes that had a red center that seemed full of hatred while an iron crown sat on his head with a horn piercing part of it.
"What in the Nine Hells am I?" he muttered, surprised to find himself in the body like this, "There is no way I can do heists in such a form. Television, turn on the news."
His television turned on and flickered through the news, allowing Jackson to scan through the collection of news articles before choosing the one that caught his eye. He selected an article that was settled in Dallas, Texas that seemed to be about some strange weather patterns that no one has ever seen in the history of the world. According to what he saw it appeared that Discord, the Spirit of Disharmony from the show My Little Pony Friendship is Magic, had appeared out of nowhere and spread his chocolate rain around.
So it appeared that characters from that one show were beginning to manifest themselves in the real world and one of them was waging an all out war with the other demigods and gods of the show. As far as the public knew there had been no sighting of either Princess Luna or, more importantly, her sister Princess Celestia. There supposed sightings of Princess Cadence and Lord Shining Armor somewhere in the middle of the United States and Queen Chrysalis was supposed to be in Florida. There was something about the names Cadence and Shining Armor that made his blood boil and his hatred rise.
Jackson knew his ponies as much as any other person did, so if there was any pony who reacted negatively towards the royal couple he knew who it was. He had become King Sombra, the Crystal Tyrant of the Crystal Empire before his fall at the hooves of Princess Celestia and her sister Luna. That explained the lush cape and the crown and all the rest of the equipment that came with being the vile ex-king. If he could harness the dark magic of Sombra then maybe he could help the Princesses when they actually arrived.
Or he could take over the whole of Seattle with his dark magic and submit the citizens to the power of Sombra's crystals and assemble an army that Discord might respect.
Jackson stared out the window of his apartment, looking out at the night that surrounded his home city as he formulated what he was going to do. Thievery was his calling, his cutie mark as the ponies and Bronies called it, but with his new borrowed abilities he figured he could do so much more. Simply stealing from others would soon prove to be boring, despite being paid for it all the time by his employers.
The news reported that Discord was in Las Vegas, somehow having changed his shape into that of a human being, but Jackson knew the Spirit of Chaos would assume his true form in due time. Discord was trashing players left and right, bringing in the chips as he kicked players out of the game in a matter of turns. As he played he drank some type of wine while his foes drank beer, yet somehow he failed to get wasted while the others did exactly that. Jackson knew he was using his magic to do exactly what he said he was going to do, gamble while he waited for the other gods to arrive.
The sky flashed with lightning and thunder filled the air, telling Jackson that a storm was on its way. Rain was a simple part of life in Seattle, something that Jackson had grown used to and now he saw more opportunity in such a simple thing. Tonight he was going to test some of his abilities and, maybe, blow something up that wasn't too important to his current employers. That was after he ended up stealing all the valuables he could find within the building and placed them at a safe distance before blowing the place sky high.
"Hmm...where to steal from?" he asked himself, levitating a list of store names that his employers had given him a while back to hone his skills on, "JCPenny? Nah, far too easy. Starbucks is hardly worth the effort. Can't exactly rob a coat factory or a run down hardware store. There's always that gemstone shop I stole that Hope Diamond lookalike from a while ago. They likely got some new stones in and there's always the hope of a new challenge."
There were literally a dozen jewelry stores in the area, several of which were actually on his employers list of stores he couldn't target, so his own list was much shorter. His chosen target was the same store he had broken into and had stolen that one necklace from for his employers. He knew the routine of the guards already, so bypassing them wouldn't be a problem, and he knew where the cameras were as well. All in all he could easily pass by all the buildings defenses and rob them blind before they could even detect what the problem was.
And ironically enough his apartment was across the street from the exact store he had stolen from in the past, making it easy to watch everything while keeping an innocent face for the public.
So at exactly eight-thirty Jackson left his apartment and locked the door behind him, hiding the key behind the lamp that rested next to his door. No one ever came around his door area for some reason, but he expected that his employers had something to do with making his other three floor mates leaving the area. So until three people moved into the area he was all alone on the top floor of the three story apartment complex that he lived in. Made it good for him, he could curse however he wanted without his neighbors getting pissed off at him and now he wouldn't have to worry about people figuring out he had become a pony.
He eyed the store as he walked down the stairs, noticing that one of the guards, a fat man by the name of Thomas, was currently on duty at the front door. How easy it would be for Jackson to slip by the easily distracted man and enter the store without having to do much to the poor guy. One lone guard, while unusual for the store, proved that he could easily test his powers without disturbing the area. He grinned a big toothy grin as he prepared to do what he had been planning on doing since he had focused on it earlier.
Thomas had a very bad day today. Thanks to the recent thievery of their lookalike Hope Diamond necklace the head boss had chewed everyone out that had been on the late night shift. So now several of the employees had their hours and their pay cut into ribbons while some unlucky souls had been outright fired, but Thomas had lucked out on both accounts. Sure he had been chewed out for the loss of the one item, but he was somewhat glad he still had enough hours and a job to support himself.
Right now he wished he could wrap his hands around the neck of the dirty little thief that had sneaked passed their guards and wring the dirty bastard until his neck snapped. That or he could always bring the thief to his employer and see what she did to the person who had cost her hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars. Thomas had a thing for making sure those who broke the law were reported and caught like they should be, but this one thief had passed him by one time too many already.
"Hehehehehe," came an eerie laugh from somewhere in front of him.
"Hello?" Thomas called out, lifting his flashlight to scan the area in front of him, "Is someone there?"
"Hehehehe, crystals." a second laugh followed by a word.
"Seriously, whose out there?" Thomas called out again, this time his left hand slipped to his stun gun in case the thieving punk decided to return.
Across the street he couldn't help but notice that one of the streetlamps, the one on the corner of the apartment complex, had burned out completely, leaving the area in darkness. It was the perfect place for someone, hopefully the damned thief, to hide while he taunted Thomas by laughing and saying one word. Thomas hoped that his gut was correct and that the thief was staking out the building again, that way he could tase the bastard before the night was over.
Darkness surged out of the unlit area and barreled right into Thomas, knocking him backwards as the stun gun fell out of his hand. Something wasn't natural about the attack, as if there was something working the night against Thomas and his guard duties. He got back up and got sucker punched in return, causing him to cough as his eyes focused on what was swirling around him. But even as he focused on the darkness he was surprised to find part of it suddenly open up to reveal who was assaulting him, making him even more shocked.
Standing in front of him was the ex-tyrant of the Crystal Empire, King Sombra himself.
"Im...impossible." Thomas groaned, staring into the hate filled eyes of the fallen king, "You...DON'T...exist..."
"Hehehehe, that's what you think," Jackson said, approaching the fallen guard, "I am only the first in many to arrive from Equestria and you, you shall be the first slave of my new empire."
Before Thomas could even attempt to do anything he felt the icy sting of what could only be Sombra's dark magic assault his mind. All he saw was what he assumed was supposed to be his greatest fears, such as losing his job or even failing to protect the store from harm. In a matter of seconds, or what felt like an eternity to Thomas, he was released, but instead of a normal eyed person standing there Thomas stood there with hate filling his eyes.
Jackson smiled as the rush ended, leaving him in the center of a swirling mass of darkness with a mind slave that would do whatever he wanted. He turned his gaze to the door leading into the store and with a quick burst of his horn the door blew open as the darkness filled the area. He was painfully aware that the alarms would soon be going off, unless they were silently going off this time, and he had minutes to secure some gemstones for himself.
So he wasted no time in letting the darkness seep into the store and shroud the cameras while he browsed the glass containers that lined the floors. Everywhere he looked he saw rubies, sapphires, emeralds, and every other gemstone in various sizes that he could imagine seeing. But even with the selection he knew he would have little time to gather the stones he really wanted, the ones that were hidden in the back room of the store, before the cops showed up and noticed Thomas.
Without wasting another minute he strode to the back of the store, where the locked vault full of gems would be located, and tore through the locked wooden door with his new magic. He barely glanced at the iron clad door as he worked his magic into the seams of the buildings frame, allowing the darkness to corrupt the surrounding area. Once he was satisfied with the results he tore the door off the hinges and threw it into the opening area, not caring as he focused on the prizes of his efforts.
Resting in the center of the store's container for the special gemstones was a locked window filled with three of the finest cuts of black ebony opal stones he had ever seen. Jackson could tell from his side of the glass that the three gems would have been on his employer's list if they had known the gems were even inside the store to begin with. He smiled and smashed the glass with ease, carefully drawing out the three stones and depositing them in a small pouch before returning his attention to the rest of the store.
The darkness he had thrown into the store had remained where it was, continuing to block the cameras and Thomas while Jackson had done his work. All the owners of the store would know is that someone was violently angry with them and decided to trash parts of the building while knocking out the one guard and making off with three priceless gemstones. Thomas would make an excellent first edition to his slave army when he got around to conquering the city, but for now he could return to his normal life until he decided it was time.
Besides; if Jackson wasn't in the mood to conquer anything or anypony than King Sombra, on the other hoof, would do it for the fun of making himself known to the masses at large. And Jackson was beginning to seriously love the power that the darkness was giving him.
Christan was still amazed that two complete strangers, police officers that were on duty, were willing to believe him when he had said that Nightmare Moon was really Allen, but transformed. That they were members of the New Lunar Republic, a sect hidden in society that prepared for the arrival of their patron and the eventual battle between Celestia and Luna or, in the case they had, Nightmare Moon. But while the two cops sat in the front of the van and Nightmare occupied the central area Christan sat with his back to the back door, which had been locked to prevent him from falling out.
Christan was beginning to regret choosing to follow Nightmare and her new allies.
Nightmare, on the other hoof, was using her magic to touch the mouse, as her new friends had told her what the strange contraption was named, and browse what appeared to be the internet. The strange lists full of words, explaining the various symptoms of diseases and pictures to show what they meant, and she found herself drawn to what appeared to be articles based on herself and her vile sister. There even were videos based on them, some of them being 'fan made' as the labels suggested and others being the real deal. She highly doubted that there were any real videos that showed the war with her sister, no matter what the links said.
"It's strange that I forgot to even ask this," Nightmare spoke up, her eyes scanning the links for nothing in particular, "but I have to ask anyway. What is your guys' names?"
"I'm Corporal Thunder Strike," the man answered, causing Christan to raise an eyebrow in confusion, "and my partner is Lieutenant Silent Wind."
"Why are you answering with pony names?" Christan asked, "Why not use your real names?"
"The two worlds are colliding you foal," Nightmare answered, her eyes never leaving the screen as she read the strangest story of them all, "Sooner or later more and more people are going to be turning into ponies and with us comes the eventuality of a complete and all out war. Celestia and her army will rise up and come after Discord, but when they do me and my army will crush them and Discord in one fell swoop."
"I hate to burst your bubble, but what happens if one of the other immortals arrives?" Christan continued, "What happens if, say, King Sombra arrives and throws your entire plan into disarray?"
"Then I will smash him into the ground his so wrongly worships," Nightmare growled, her anger mixed with confusion for the story she had read, "but I am confused. Why would the freaky party pony do so much harm to her beloved athletic friend?"
"Great, she read Cupcakes ," Silent remarked, though she was surprised that Nightmare wasn't the least bit frightened by the story, "I guess you didn't care for it?"
"I am not scared of some story," Nightmare said, looking for another story to read, "I have seen greater horrors during the time of Discord and even then there wasn't much to frighten me. Now, anypony care to explain to me the importance of the Rainbow Factory?"
~Police Van, three a.m. the following day~
Christan was shocked that the police officers, or the Corporal and the Lieutenant of Nightmare's republic, had managed to get them packed out in the parking lot of a walmart. He would have thought that the cops would have come and given them a notice to move before officially making them leave, but as he found out there had been no one that annoyed them. So he allowed himself to fall asleep, which was tricky with two other human beings occupying the front area of the van and a fully spread out alicorn sleeping in the direct center.
By falling asleep him found himself in what appeared to be a mist covered landscape filled with tall oak trees and a silence that was unnatural. He had read stories and the comments about the abilities of Nightmare Moon, such as the common trait that she and Luna share with their connection to the dream world. That was where Christan believed he was in at the moment, the only problem was he had no idea how he was supposed to get out of the world without doing harm to anything.
He could have sworn that his own dreams were filled with things that made him happy, like the sun or the rain for instance, but he hadn't been expecting what he found. He suspected that the dream he was in was none other than that of Nightmare Moon, only because there was none other who had the power to do such a thing. Where he expected to find the dream reveal to him the secrets of Nightmare's past all he was was the mist, the one thing that shrouded everything from his view.
"My dreams are empty," said a voice from behind him, causing him to turn around and find Nightmare standing behind him, "There is nothing for me to dream about, leaving me to wander the dream world as long as I want until everypony stops dreaming for the night."
"You don't dream?" Christan asked, wondering why the Alicorn of the Night and Dreams wouldn't dream of anything at all. It literally made no sense at all. "What did you do for a thousand years before you returned to Equestria? You must have slept most of the time away and during all that time you must have dreamt at least once."
"You wish to see what I dreamt about during my thousand year exile?" Nightmare nearly shouted, the sky darkening just a bit before she and it calmed down, "Fine...allow me to show you what I had been dreaming about for all that time. Be warned, what your about to see if not for the faint of heart."
The area shifted until the trees were the same as the ones from the Everfree Forest, the sky filled to the brim with black smoke, and the once grand towers of the Old Castle of the Alicorn Sisters stood there in all their glory. Several monsters, like a manticore and a cockatrice for instance, roamed the open area while pegasi preformed in the skies. Christan noticed a dozen unicorns practicing battle magic, the type of magic that involved tossing magic at ones enemy to harm them, and the same amount of earth ponies working on suits of armor.
Christan could feel the magic in the air spike, he could literally see the magic fill the air as two streaks entered the sky and landed on the two balconies of the two towers. On the right tower stood a very familiar dark blue coated alicorn mare, one dressed up in light silver armor that held the emblem of the moon on it. Her light blue eyes scanned the crowds of ponies and beyond, looking for the potential hazards that could hae threatened the kingdom at the time.
Standing on the other balcony was a tall, elegant white coated alicorn mare, adorned with what appeared to be the grandest golden armor of the age. Her mane was just one color, the prettiest pink color that Christan had never before laid eyes on in his entire life and suspected that none other had ever seen before. Her eyes showed the brightest light he had ever seen, one that let other know that she mare knew what she was doing and displayed the years of experience she had.
Christan was gazing upon the original alicorn sisters, the original Princess Luna and Princess Celestia before the two went to war against each other for the brief moment of history.
"Now you see what I once dreamt about," Nightmare continued, reminding Christan that he wasn't alone in this vision, "I once dreamt of the old days, the days before I let the words of hatred enter my heart and corrupt my very mind until I became the mare before you. In these days Celestia and I rarely spoke to each other, save for the occasional greetings and good nights whenever we switched roles.
During this time I was ignored by the citizens, they having chosen to sleep during the night and let my creations fade away when the sun rose the following morning. When I tried to talk to my sister she always told me that too much night time would cause great harm to the whole of Equestria, that crops would wither and die in due time. That ponies would die if I took too much time to be recognized. But she failed to understand that all I wanted was just another hour or two for my subjects."
"Maybe you can teach me about the night some time," Christan said, hoping to lighten the alicorn's mood so she didn't go all evil on him.
"Maybe," Nightmare agreed, staring at the younger version of herself while speaking.
"Do you regret what you have done?" Christan asked, risking a look back at the evil mare, "Turning into such a creature, twisting yourself from a peaceful mare into a monster, and fighting against your sister?"
"You...you are a foal," Nightmare angrily snapped, turning her back on him as the vision faded into nothing, "I have shown you something that I would have never shown anypony else in all of Equestria. I have shown you the days that I have relived for countless years until my release. These are but the beginnings of the days I choose to relive, the surface of what made me remember my plans and fueled my hatred. Right now I have no reason to trust you, Christan Miller, as you have questioned me at every turn of my journey to defeat Discord thus far.
Keep this up and I with have my new guards...dispose of you in a manner that they deem fit."
Christan snapped awake not a second later, drenched in sweat as his mind recalled the threat that Nightmare Moon promised him. He doubted that the police officers would consider killing him, considering they weren't that evil in their hearts, but considering that they were willing to follow the rules of the New Lunar Republic he was in danger. As far as he could see if he stayed with Nightmare and her guards he was likely to end up dumped somewhere far from home, but if he chose to play along he might see the end of all this disaster.
Though he tried to fall back asleep until morning arrived Christan felt the eyes of Nightmare Moon staring at his soul, even though the mare was asleep the entire time.
"Hmm...latte...how delicious," Jackson said, sipping from a latte he had his mind slave, Thomas, purchase before coming up to his room, "This will prepare me for my meeting with my employer today."
The call had come in an hour after he had destroyed part of the jewelry store and had made off with their rare black ebony opals, which were now displayed on his frame above the fireplace. He had been told that his boss, the one who was running the entire organization that Jackson was a small part of, would be coming by to propose a new job offer. Jackson had eagerly invited his boss over to his apartment, eager to show him that he had ascended to a higher being that could take whatever he wanted.
No one but the blank minded Thomas knew that Jackson had been transformed into the Tyrant King Sombra, but that was going to change. With his corrupting powers he was going to control his boss' mind and take over the empire he had established in Washington, giving the former ruler something to rule at last. Then he was going to slowly expand out of the area he was already in and make an empire that would rival the one he had lost in Equestria.
The news on Discord remained the same, he was still in Las Vegas playing poker and drinking wine while he waited for his enemies to get closer. According to Thomas, who reported whatever he heard while he was out and about on Sombra's orders, had heard something about Nightmare Moon appearing in Arizona. Two pieces were already on the board; the Spirit of Chaos and the Nightmare herself. Sombra smiled with the knowledge that neither of them knew that he had already arrived and was just biding his time until he was ready to show himself.
There was a knock on his front door, causing him to look back and smile at Thomas.
"Thomas," Sombra said, waving a hoof as he turned back around, "be a dear and invite our guests into my homely abode."
Standing on the other side of the door were three men, two of them dressed up to look like secret agents in their black suits, while the third dressed in a white suit that almost made him look like a mob boss. The two men wore shades, making it difficult for an opponent to read their eyes and detect what their movements truly were. The third smoked a cigar, something that must have been imported from Cuba, as he stared as the man before him.
"Who in the blazes are you supposed to be?" the man asked, raising an eyebrow as he looked over Thomas in disapproval.
"I am just a servant of King Sombra," Thomas replied, moving to welcome them into the room, "Please, come right on inside. The King is expecting you."
The three men entered the room, allowing Thomas to close the door as they neared the couch that Sombra was already sitting on. The white suited man nodded to his guards and continued to the seat in front of the couch alone, his eyes noticing the three gemstones above the fireplace. When he saw the pure black flaming haired stallion sitting on the couch he thought he was being played by his employee, but the misty eyes unnerved him.
"So good of you to come," Sombra said, giving the man a slight scare, or what looked like one anyway, "Have a seat and tell me about the new job offer you have for me."
"Hmm...so where is Jackson?" the man asked, looking around for a hidden camera that would tell him if this was just a set up to get him to confess to crimes he had committed, "I take it he decided not to show up and left his life size doll of a pony behind to talk for him?"
"I am not a 'life sized doll', as you call me," Sombra snapped, his eyes flicking over to the man as a wall of darkness appeared behind him, "I am King Sombra of the Crystal Empire. I am afraid that in order for me to arrive in this world your underling Jackson had to be the vessel of my reincarnation, but it will be worth it in the end. Surely you have heard of me and how ruthless I can be when ponies don't listen to what I'm saying? Now sit DOWN."
The man sat in the chair, his eyes never leaving the stallion as he thought about what he had just learned. Surely this was just a giant prank constructed by Jackson in his free time, which was a good time because he had a new job for him anyway. But there was something nagging in his mind that was telling him that none of this was even possible for Jackson to accomplish. Sure the man had a lot of time on his hands, but he couldn't have constructed something of this magnitude in the week he had been given off.
"This is all just a waste of my time," the man said, standing up and staring at Sombra, "I can tell that you have gotten so bored that you have forgotten all about stealing and the organization I recruited you into not too long ago. I wish you a good day and a...good life?"
The darkness swirled around the man and forced him back into the chair, wrapping his arms and legs against the wooded legs of the chairs. Before his guards even knew what was happening they were pinned to the wall by the same darkness that was keeping their boss down. Thomas didn't move or even make a sound, as if by moving that would make the darkness pin him to a wall while his king spoke to the man. The stallion just sat on the couch, sipping from the cup of Starbucks latte while he waited for the darkness to do its job.
"You said you had a new job for me to do," Sombra said, looking at the man while he spoke, "and, seeing how I share the memories and abilities of Jackson, I would like to hear it. Maybe it can provide a pastime for me while I gather my forces here in this 'Seattle', as you people call it."
"I wanted Jackson to steal a huge diamond known as the Crystal Heart," the man answered, "It was found off the western coast of Washington a few days ago and one of my competitors has taken an interest in the gemstone. The gentlemen responsible for the discovery, one Rayger Fell, has posted that the stone is worth over 33.5 million dollars. Fell has transported the gemstone to somewhere in this area, to one of his numerous warehouses scattered across the entire city. I wanted the gemstone stolen from Fell and brought to me so I could sell the stone to a buyer who is willing to pay whatever amount I desire for the priceless gem."
"Describe the stone for me," Sombra commanded, his voice faltering as he dared to hope the stone wasn't the one that had defeated him.
"I can do better than describe the stone if you release my hands." the man said, his hands being loosened so he could toss a picture onto the table in front of Sombra, "The stone is said to have the purest light blue color that anyone has ever seen in their entire lives. The workers that found the stone said that their tools were either chipped or broken when they tried to work on the gem itself. They said that there was some magical element to the stone that allowed it to keep its natural shape and break anything that came at it. You okay...um...Sombra?"
Sombra stared at the picture, recognizing the stone from just the photo. The stone in the picture was none other than the real Crystal Heart from the Crystal Empire, which meant that if it was in this world then so were the Princess Cadence and her husband. He needed to steal the heart and keep it somewhere where the troublesome ponies wouldn't be able to find it this time around.
"Sombra? You still there?"
Sombra looked up at the man and the darkness surged into the man's eyes, the intent to turn him and his lackeys into members of his new slave army. With the man under his control the vast network he commanded was now Sombra's to command as he saw fit for the moment. With this vast amount of slaves he could mind enslave all of them and start building his empire at last, but he needed something to amplify his powers to recreate the real empire.
He needed the Crystal Heart and the magic that was stored inside the crystal structure. And maybe he could enslave Princess Cadence and Shining Armor if they showed themselves.
Christan woke to the bumpiness of the road yet again, something that he was getting used to now that he was traveling with two police officers and an ancient alicorn. He took a look at his watch and noticed that it was barely ten minutes past five in the morning, which made him was to sigh and go back to bed. The bumping prevented him from really getting back to sleep, which meant that he didn't have to deal with Nightmare and her personal problems. At the very least he didn't have to worry about Thunder and Silent, as the officers wished to be called, throwing him in some foreign place to fend for himself.
At least that was the case until Nightmare tired of his presence and demanded that they got rid of him.
Speaking of the mare Christan noticed that she was already up again and was already browsing the internet like she was hunting for leads on the other ponies. Across the van from where she was sitting was a map of what appeared to be the United States with several icons that resembled cutie marks. She appeared to be cross referencing where each individual pony was in relation to their own location. And by the looks of it Nightmare had constructed three symbols that represented Discord, Chrysalis, and Sombra, but only one was on the map currently.
"Ah, I see your up," Thunder remarked, turning back to look at him and Nightmare while Silent was driving, "We're planning at stopping at a Denny's later on, so feel free to pick up a laptop and pass the time if you can't fall asleep again."
The guy was friendly, Christan gave him that as he picked up on of the dozen laptops and powered it on, but he still didn't know about the woman. He really didn't know if he should trust them, but if they were letting him tag along and let him help out however he could then he should be grateful. But he lost whatever thought he was on as he searched for something, anything, that could help Nightmare create her positioning map. Then he noticed a news article, one from some newspaper up in Washington, that mentioned some sort of gemstone they had found earlier.
A gemstone that resembled the legendary Crystal Heart of the Crystal Empire in Equestria.
The way Christan thought about it was simple, if the stone existed in their world then that meant that the first thing that Princess Cadence and King Sombra would be going after would be the same stone. Whenever they arrived they would make like a bee and travel across the entire country to be the first to claim the powerful stone. King Sombra would corrupt it, turning the magic against whoever was near it and he would reconstruct the foul Crystal Empire he had controlled until his defeat. Princess Cadence would use the stone to wipe out Sombra's darkness and then turn it against Discord so the would would be left alone.
Christan spent the next three hours reading articles about the gemstone they had found in Washington and the broken tools the workers had used to haul it out of the water. According to what he read there were dozens of broken tools scattered around the work area of where the stone was found, tools the workers hadn't bothered to pick up after the work was finished. Another thing he noticed was that the finder and the current owner of the stone, one Rayger Fell, was willing to sell the stone for a king's ransom of thirty-three and a half million dollars.
Christan knew that if someone found the Elements of Harmony, the six jewels used to defeat some of Equestria's most dangerous villains, the prices would be off the charts. He knew that a single one of the elements, regardless of which of the five necklaces, would be so expensive that many wouldn't consider buying it. The Element of Magic, the most powerful of them all, would be the most expensive gemstone in all of existence and the most fought over. The Bronies must already be gathering in force to claim the real Crystal Heart from the man who had found in in Washington.
"Here we are," Thunder exclaimed, the van coming to a full stop as Christan looked out the back window, "Denny's, exactly as I promised."
True enough Christan saw the familiar Denny's building, which begged the question as to why they had chosen here of all places to eat. Not that he was complaining, he was rather hungry and the food was a good idea at the moment so they could have something while they discussed their next move. He had some things he needed to mention to the rest of his group, but first he was going to eat something before he dared to open his mouth.
So the four of them got out of the van and, after locking the doors, they made their way to the front door of the restaurant. Thunder and Silent ran up to the doors and opened them wide for their master, bowing as a sign of respect as Nightmare walked right into the waiting area. The hostess and the rest of the staff who had been watching the door stared at them all, wondering if it was their imagination playing tricks on them.
"Quit staring at me you foals," Nightmare commanded, her voice being projected towards the staff, "Serve the Mistress of the Night or become ruined in her wake!"
The staff that had been staring at her got a move on, counting four members to their group and beckoning them to one of the round tables in the center of their restaurant. Christan was surprised that they weren't asking questions as to why Nightmare Moon herself had come to their place seeking food and such. Then again he was being surprised more and more every single day, so this really wasn't all that surprising when he thought about it. Though some of the looks the staff gave Nightmare were starting to disturb Christan, afraid that they might randomly attack the group while they were sitting down.
"So...um...what would you like to order?" the waitress shyly asked, reminding Christan of Fluttershy.
"Ah, the shy one," Nightmare remarked, not bothering to look up from her menu, "I will have the stake and eggs with the eggs scrambled, fours sides of bacon, and a stack of some of these buttermilk pancakes. And a mug of the finest coffee you have in stock."
"Bacon and eggs with some pancakes and a coffee," Thunder spoke up, Silent indicating she would have the same as well.
"And for...for you sir?" the waitress continued.
"I'll have the same as them," Christan said, folding the menu and looking up to find that the waitress was none other than Fluttershy in the flesh.
Standing at the edge of their table was a yellow coated pegasus mare with a long pink mane that covered one of her eyes and a long pink tail. On her flank was her signature cutie mark, the three butterflies that signified her connection to the animals and wildlife in the world. Christan was through being surprised while he traveled around with Nightmare and her guards, but when he looked at her neck he had an even bigger surprise. Around Fluttershy's neck was a golden necklace with a big butterfly shaped gem that represented the Element of Kindness.
Christan looked over to Nightmare to see if she noticed that their waitress was actually the Element of Kindness, but she seemed to be staring at Thunder instead. So Christan kept his mouth shut while Fluttershy walked away with their menus, allowing his mind to relax just a bit while he he waited for someone, or pony, to speak.
"Here is what we know," Nightmare explained, a miniature map of the United States appearing on the table, "Queen Chrysalis was last reported to be seen somewhere in Florida, but the reports could have been faked by people hoping to let others know their Queen has arrived. Also according to the reports and news articles there was a supposed sighting of both Princess Cadence and her husband Shining Armor somewhere in the central part of the United States. Discord has remained at the poker table since his arrival, so we know he's still in Las Vegas.
King Sombra and my sister, Princess Celestia, are still missing in action, so we know that the Solar Empire is currently missing in action. Right now the rest of the New Lunar Republic is gathering somewhere around Las Vegas, waiting for my arrival before we storm the place. We are currently amassing as many ponies, or people as the case is, as we can gather and word of my arrival has been spreading like wildfire. Besides my sister and Discord there is only one other force that I must overcome to ensure my rule over this world; the Elements of Harmony."
"Their talking abo...about me," Fluttershy weakly said, peeping out from behind the corner as she watched Nightmare Moon speaking to her group.
"Come on Fluttershy, quit staring at them," the other waitress said, pulling the mare back so she didn't have to stare at the dark mare at the table, "Nightmare is likely just talking strategy so she can deal with Discord when she and her pals reach Las Vegas. She doesn't need to know that you and the real Element of Kindness are right here under her nose."
"She...she'll find me," Fluttershy whimpered, cowering under an open sink while her coworker spoke, "I'm...I'm the waitress for...for her table. She knows I'm...I'm here."
While Fluttershy hid under the sink her coworkers went to work making sure they made the order that Nightmare Moon and her group had put in to perfection. They didn't want the wrath of Nightmare to come down on their heads, which was mostly due to the fact that they didn't know how much magic Nightmare currently knew. If she had a long range of spells then they were doomed if they screwed up the order, but they had no way of knowing how many spells she had already mastered.
So for the next twenty minutes Fluttershy hid in the kitchen, only daring to look out at the table she would have to eventually serve twice the entire time. Both times she noticed the four talking amongst themselves, on whatever subject Nightmare Moon happened to bring up to keep the conversation going. Both times she also noticed that one of the men keep an eye on her, a kind eye of someone who would never be in the company of Nightmare unless he had something up his sleeve. She liked the one who seemed to care less about what evil Nightmare Moon had planned and more on what good could be accomplished at some point.
When the food was finally ready Fluttershy gathered herself and pulled herself out from under the sink that she spent the majority of the last twenty minutes under. She quietly made her way to the table, hoping that Nightmare Moon was too occupied by talking to notice her appearance in the slightest. As she drew closer she noticed that two of her three companions were members of the New Lunar Republic, mostly due to the patches inscribed with the letters NLR on their uniforms. The third man, the stranger with the strange kindness in his eyes, smiled at her as she neared, giving her the confidence to approach the table.
Nightmare dug right into her stake as soon as Fluttershy had delivered it to the table, much to the surprise of those who were her companions. Thunder and Silent shrugged as they silently ate their food, keeping an eye on both Fluttershy and the man they had brought with them. Christan, on the other hoof, was just silently picking away at the food he had ordered, wondering if he should run and take Fluttershy with him.
"So whats the next move?" Thunder asked, looking at the front of the restaurant as some more customers walked in.
"We head to Las Vegas of course," Nightmare answered, her eyes hovering on Fluttershy for a second before moving on, "We'll need all the help we can get, so we'll need to keep an eye out for any other members of the New Lunar Republic. But there is one thing we'll be needing before we leave this place."
Fluttershy didn't like the tone of her voice, mostly because Nightmare was staring at her when she had finished her sentence. There was a strange feeling that her fate was now entwined with that of Nightmare Moon and her new guards, but she couldn't be sure.
"Um, wha...what do you mean?" Fluttershy asked, afraid of what her answer was going to be.
"You," Nightmare Moon answered, flashing her fangs at the mare, "You, Fluttershy, are coming along with us when we leave this place. And don't even try to run, otherwise something rather unfortunate could happen to you."
Nighttime had fallen over Seattle yet again, blanketing the city with dozens upon dozens of shadows as the people slept the night away. The moon was shining in all its glory in the center of the sky and most would say that the night went off without so much as a problem. That was mostly due to the face that most did not know that Sombra, King of the Crystal Empire, was amongst their people and was plotting to control them all.
The Feller Shipping Company, the FSC as many people called it, was located at the edge of Seattle's docking area, surrounded by the hundreds of freight's they transported across the world. This was the housing area of all of Rayger Fell's goods, sort of like his stash of goodies that he collected and transported to his buyers. What most people failed to realize was that Rayger Fell was one of the biggest criminals in the entire northwestern area of the United States. The only reason Sombra knew this was because of the man that had come looking for Jackson had revealed everything he knew about Fell to him.
Fell was a man who had amassed a network of spies, mercenaries, corrupted officials in both the police and the government, and a group of thieves who rivaled Jackson's own skills. His entire warehouse was filled with stolen treasures from across the entire world, anything from a replica of a priceless artifact from a game or the real deal itself. Even now he had obtained a priceless artifact, the legendary Crystal Heart from the Crystal Empire itself, and had put it on display in the direct center of his warehouse.
Even now he had beaten three thieves to death because they thought they were world class thieves that could steal the Crystal Heart from under his nose. They weren't dead, not yet anyway, but if they continued to tell him nothing about who employed them to steal from him then he was going to execute them in the manner of the old ways. He'd likely behead the three thieves and toss their bodies into the water with weights so they wouldn't be discovered in a few weeks time.
The only thing he knew about the thieves were that they were wearing patches with the letters NLR, which meant whatever the heck it stood for.
Rayger was a man in his late forties, what with his pure black suit, his trimmed back grey hair, his polished nails, and the whitest grin in Seattle. He was never going to settle down; he was far too busy stealing priceless artifacts and pocketing the money from the items he sold. He already had three hundred and thirty five million dollars in his name, making him one of the wealthiest men in the entire world at the moment.
"Look, I've had a rough day, what with having to torture you three on my DAY OFF!" Rayger said, twirling around a watch as he thought about the time, "I should be at home, sound asleep in my bed, dreaming of the next heist I pull off in the near future. But instead I'm here, having to deal with three lowlifes who think that they have the skills needed to break into this warehouse. In the immediate area there is only one thief that I even considered worthy of having the skills necessary to break into this area and I'm quite sure he's not interested in this place.
I'll tell you what; tell me who sent you to steal from me and I won't kill you and dump your bodies in the river behind the warehouse. It's really simple, I let you live and you get to rat out the one trying to steal what is rightfully mine. Considering that you have managed to breach the first line of my defenses I might actually offer the three of you a place in the lower ranks of my employees. Keep you all alive to properly train you to be true thieves."
"Sir, Unit 01 has not reported in," said a voice over his earpiece, causing Rayger to look out his window, "We heard a thud and are currently investigating."
Rayger couldn't believe his luck; first he found three thieves snooping around his warehouse and now one of his security guards was slacking on the job. He was going to be executing three thieves and firing one guard by the time the night was actually over. He watched from his balcony, his eyes trained to watch the shadows as his mind worked to figure out what he was going to do to everyone else who disappointed him tonight. He was going to have some fun, that much he already knew.
Before his eyes he noticed that another of his guards, Unit 02, got shot right in the shoulder, knocking him right off his feet as he sailed into a freight container. Strangely enough there was no blood on the ground, almost as if something like a beanbag had hit him right off his feet. Then Rayger noticed that armed soldiers came right out of the shadows, bullets flying into his guards as several were taken down before they were aware of the assault. Before Rayger could even issue the order to begin the counterattack he saw something out of his nightmares walk right out of the shadows.
Walking right out of the shadows, or more like the shadows split so he could pass without hindrance, was none other than King Sombra himself. The ironclad stallion stepped out of the shadows, his cloak blowing as he pinned one of Rayger's guards to the ground. His hate filled eyes seemed to zero in on where Rayger was standing, because when he moved the stallion's head moved with him. Rayger would have been a fool to even wonder why the King had come to his secure warehouse with his brainwashed soldiers.
Sombra was here for the Crystal Heart.
"All units, converse on the north entrance of the warehouse," Rayger shouted into his headpiece, watching the King and his forces get closer, "Do whatever it takes to bring down the ironclad King Sombra and his forces before they enter the inner sanctum and claim the Crystal Heart."
"Hehehe, the third force has come into play," one of the thieves said, making Rayger turn to look at him, "King Sombra has arrived to do battle with the Solar Empire and the New Lunar Republic before turning on the world at large."
Sombra watched at the used to be underlings of the man who wanted him to steal the Crystal Heart attacked the underlings of the one called Rayger Fell. It was quite easy for them to discover the exact location of the warehouse, seeing how the network already knew where the heart was being held. Corrupting the man's underlings was a simple task, so now Sombra had a fighting force that would help him gain the heart he craved without too much worry. Besides, why shouldn't he be on the front lines of a battlefield and crushing his foes like the evil King he was?
Whenever an enemy got close to him he would either pin the foolish person to some random object and move on or he would pound them into the ground so hard that their armor would do nothing to protect them. Sometimes he would even toss a foe into the path of one of his new allies, stopping to watch the unfortunate person become unconscious. No real reason to waste the lives of so many new workers that would be working in his crystal mines or serving as his new guards.
His fun was nearly short lived as a lone enemy jumped in front of him and raised his gun, something that had been explained to Sombra but it went over his head anyway, aiming right for his head. Before either of them made a move a bullet tore through the man's kneecap, making him buckle to the ground as the gun slid across the pavement. Sombra smiled and ignored the conflict around him as his magic grabbed hold of the injured man's neck and brought him close.
"So, you thought you could end me eh?" Sombra growled, darkness gathering around him as he stared into the man's eyes, "You think your so tough, what with your puny suit of armor and the foolish contraption you call your weapon. Do you have any last words before your mind belongs to me?"
"I used to be an adventure like you," the man spat, both words and blood, "but then I took an arrow to..."
Before he could finish the vile sentence Sombra summoned a broadsword out of the shadows and pierced it right through the man's heart. The darkness swirled around the man as he felt his heart stop beating, his mind decaying as he watched his left hand slowly begin to disintegrate before his eyes. Flesh became bone as his body was devoured by the darkness that served King Sombra and soon the man was no more.
"Milord, was that necessary?" Thomas asked, the surprise death stopping their enemy and let their forces breeze through them.
"That joke is soooo old," Sombra growled, his eyes staring up at the box where Rayger was located, "I was just going to make him a slave in the mines, but that joke was so overused that he deserved it."
Rayger watched the stallion and his army tear his own forces a new one, knocking out the vast majority of his guards while the rest seemed to turn tail and run away. He was surrounded, trapped between King Sombra, his own army, the river he buried bodies in, and the decisions that landed him in this predicament. He held his gun straight as he waited for the evil king to break through the door and confront him, seconds ticking away until he was almost certain that Sombra had forgotten about him.
He failed to notice the shadowy mass on the wall behind him that ended up grabbing him and securing his arms and legs to his body. The door melted into nothing as King Sombra walked through the ruined doorway, his eyes locked on the man his shadows were holding.
"So your Rayger Fell," Sombra said, his allies moving to release the thieves while he spoke, "the finder of my Crystal Heart. I must commend you for locating such a priceless artifact, surely you realize the power that courses through the ancient stone? Surely you knew that with the arrival of Nightmare Moon I as bound to arrive in this world and claim the stone that is rightfully mine."
"It is not your anymore," Rayger spat, the shadows tightening their grip on him, "It belongs to Princess Cadence and Shining Armor now."
"Does it look like it matters anymore?" Sombra asked, dragging the man down to where the light blue heart was contained, "The heart is mine now, as it means that everything Princess Cadence and her friends did to keep it from me has fallen and failed. I control the Crystal Heart now and with it I will reconstruct the Crystal Empire as it should be, full of my slaves, workers, and my loyal army. You and your people will make a fine addition to my army."
Before Rayger could even comment the darkness sealed his mouth as Sombra's black magic seeped into his eyes, corrupting him from the inside out. Sombra smiled as the hate filled the man's eyes and the darkness settled into his skin, creating another loyal thrall for the evil king. He cast a look at the three thieves and cast their minds to the pits of darkness, leaving them to wander as new workers in his crystal mines. Sombra would deal with the rest of Rayger's forces later on, right now he had a heart to claim.
The double security doors that were protecting the inner sanctum stood tall in front of King Sombra and his forces, but not against the darkness he commanded. The doors melted under the intense darkness that he used against them, blowing open the way to the one item he had come for. He marched right up to the Crystal Heart and shattered the glass, catching the glowing stone in his magic before it could hit the ground. Now that he had the stone he could turn his attention to rebuilding the Crystal Empire as he saw fit.
And with the building of the Empire meant that he could taunt Princess Cadence and her husband to his lair and take complete and total control of their minds so he could do whatever he wanted to the both of them.
Susanna Lovington was just another ordinary eighteen year old girl; she went gaga over boys until she found the one that she really wanted. She was a well built girl who had shoulder length dark brown hair, light green colored eyes, and polished nails that most other girls would kill to have. She would spend her down time either online with her friends in a chat room or she would go out and window shop with whoever was available. She even checked the news whenever she was bored out of her mind like the majority of her friends, most of who didn't bother to do even that.
Unlike most girls she actually had a boyfriend, one who was very protective of her to the point where he literally told her he would guard her with his life. Her boyfriend, an eighteen year old guy by the name of Jordan Miller, was actually a sweet guy who worked in the gym for personal reasons and for a job. He took karate so he could defend not only himself from attacks, but also the girl whose heart he had won once upon a time. Susanna had joked at times that he sounded like Shining Armor from MLP FIM at times, to which he replied that she would be Princess Cadence then.
Right now she was sitting on her bed, scrolling through the news articles on her laptop while the night ticked away. She was trying to discover where each of the ponies who had arrived were at the moment and the known locations of any powerful artifacts. From her research she knew that Nightmare Moon was somewhere before the Arizona-Nevada border with two human members of the New Lunar Republic. Discord was still in Las Vegas, which meant it was a fixed location that was beckoning his rivals to come to his lair and challenge him.
She yawned, at the moment it was only eight o'clock and she was bone tired. It was Friday night and instead of partying with her friends she was thinking of turning in early for once. With a second yawn she turned off her laptop and put it on her desk before climbing under the pink sheets, allowing herself to drift off into a dream. She always dreamed about hanging out with Princess Cadence and Shining Armor, so she hoped that history would repeat itself once again.
~Seattle~
Sombra misstepped for a second, his mind feeling a disturbance in the world that could only mean one of a few mentionable things. He was connected to magic, so if somepony who was equally connected to magic arrived in the world he would know about it. Nightmare would not know, seeing how Luna was trapped deep in her and had no hope of escaping unless the Elements were gathered. But the reason for his misstep was the fact that he felt the familiar presence of Princess Cadence enter the world.
Sombra grinned; now that he knew Princess Cadence was here he could truly begin preparations for her arrival in the Crystal Empire dungeons. She and her husband would be spending the majority of their time in the dungeons until he broke them and forced them to bend their knee. He would create an empire that would beckon the two of them to Seattle, where he could trap and torture them until they were his slaves.
~Susanna's house, six o'clock in the morning~
The early morning rays reached into Susanna's room, washing over her bed as they beckoned her to get up and start a new day. She squirmed under the sheets, turning so she didn't have the beams in her face and so she could get some more sleep before she really started the day. She felt a strange pain, a small one, on her side, but she dismissed it as she fell back asleep for a minute or two. Only reason she couldn't stay asleep was because her bloody cell phone happened to go off as it received a call.
Normally she would ignore the Gangnam style ringtone she had set up, but for once she wasn't in the mood to listen and brought her head up. She reached to her nightstand, where she usually kept her cellphone, and knocked the phone right onto the ground. Granted she had yet to open her eyes, but she knew better then to knock her phone onto the ground, which now meant she had to open her eyes and actually get up. She stared at her hand and was both shocked and scared to find it replaced with a pink hoof that was wearing a small golden horseshoe.
"Holy buck..." she began, only to stop when she didn't recognize the voice.
She looked over at her large sized mirror and was equally shocked to see who it was that was staring back at her; it was none other than Princess Cadence. She tore the sheets off of her and looked down at herself, finding the familiar pink body of the Princess of Love. On her flank was the same crystal heart surrounded by a golden frame cutie mark, while her mane and tail were colored with a dark purple, hot pink, and cream section. She was even wearing the same golden necklace and crown that Cadence was seen wearing in the show. Her wings twitched, which made her remember that she had slept on one of them on accident for a few minutes before her phone went off.
Oh my Celestia, she thought, I've become Princess Cadence.
Then she remembered that she had knocked her phone onto the ground, so she scrambled out of her bed and hit the floor hard with a thud. She was thankful that her parents were heavy sleepers, otherwise her hitting the floor would have woken them up and they would have come running to investigate. Before she even began to struggle with her legs she noticed her phone laying on the ground to her left and sighed, she was lucky to have gotten to it quickly. Her horn barely ignited as she focused on the item, intending to bring it to her so she could answer whoever was on the other side.
"Hello?" she asked, hoping whoever was on the other side was still there, "Is anyone there?"
"Susanna? Its Jordan," her boyfriend said, though he sounded strangely like Shining Armor, "I know this is going to sound strange, so I'm asking that you don't laugh at me. I woke up a few minutes ago and found myself in the body of Shining Armor. I've got his shield cutie mark, his light blue eyes, his pure white coat, and even his light blue and blue colored mane and tail. Celestia almighty, I even sound like him.
I called because I remembered that you always said that I was Shining Armor, the knight that would defend his wife from any harm. I figured that maybe you would have some words of comfort for me, seeing how something like this hasn't happened to us before. I mean, I'm just the dumb body who loves to exercise, watch My Little Pony in his free time, and pretend he's someone that he's not."
"Oh come on Shiny, don't be like that," said a second voice on the other side, one Susanna could have sworn belonged to Twilight Sparkle, "You know that Cadence wouldn't let you say that in front of her. What do you think she would tell you if she were actually here?"
"Tell her that Cadence would say she loved him anyway," Susanna replied, smiling as she heard two gasps on the other side, "What? Am I not allowed to know what my favorite character would say in such a situation?"
"You can say that, but your voice is all wrong." Jordan said in alarm, "You sound almost like Cadence does."
"I'll...um...tell you later," Susanna shied away from the fact that she WAS Princess Cadence now, "How about we meet at the park in an hour and I'll see how you look in Shining's body."
Before Jordan or his little sister could respond to her comment Susanna ended the call and closed her phone, her nerves fried. She wanted to tell her boyfriend the truth, that she was technically Shining's wife and they were, in effect, now husband and wife. It was also ironic, Jordan had a seventeen year old sister by the name of Alex and she had become Twilight Sparkle, Shining's little sister. She and Jordan were fated to be married one day, not because they were a married couple in Equestria, but because they truly loved each other.
She only hoped that Jordan would be happy to see her when they met at the park later.
As soon as Nightmare and her group finished their breakfast and the bill had been paid by Thunder did the Mistress of the Night make her move. Using her magic she pinned poor Fluttershy to the ground before dragging her by her tail out the front door and into the parking lot. For her it was turning out to be a fantastic day; she had a grand breakfast and she was dragging the Element of Kindness along for the fun of it. Mostly because she wanted to keep an eye on the Elements and make sure they didn't try blasting her to pieces before she fought Discord.
By the looks on the faces all around her she knew that her Shadowbolts, her new allies as they called themselves, were indifferent to her actions and went along with it. The locals who watched her seemed scared that she was kidnapping one of their own, but they weren't making any movements to stop her. They were likely afraid of what she, Nightmare Moon, would do to them if they tried to stop her from taking a fellow pony along for the ride.They would be afraid, because those who dared stand in her way would be visited during the night and have their dreams plagued by the most vile nightmares she could conjure up.
And as for Christan...he had a look of horror on his face that must have been from the fact that she was dragging the shy mare by her tail.
"Get in there," she growled, opening the back door of the van and forcing Fluttershy to get in, "Let's move already. We don't want to give Discord any more cushion time then he already has. We must strike hard and we must strike fast if we want to best his magic and tear him down."
Christan sighed and climbed in after Nightmare and Fluttershy, making sure he sat at the back like last time and watched the others sit where they had been previously. Silent took the wheel while Thunder sat in the passenger seat and Nightmare occupied the central area of the van all by herself. With another pony things would soon become cramped and they would have to trade up to a new form of transportation that wasn't this small van.
"When do you think we'll change our mode of transportation?" Nightmare asked, echoing Christan's thoughts perfectly, "I like this van, but now that there's another pony on board we'll be needing more room."
"We have a Headquarters already set up after we cross the border," Thunder replied, "We've got several large trucks, equipment vans, and just about thirty members of the New Lunar Republic waiting for us. We have received no word on the movements of the Solar Empire nor the arrival of Princess Celestia as of yet."
"She'll arr...arrive soon enough," Fluttershy spoke up, laying next to Christan while keeping her eye on the others in the van, "She...she'll be here to fight Discord. I... I know she will."
Christan pulled out the laptop he had been using earlier and brought up the browser so he could continue his search for any strange happenings. There was one article he found that was related to the Crystal Heart, something about the warehouse run by Rayger Fell being sacked by either his employees or his enemies. A man like that was sure to have made dozens of enemies, but to have his entire warehouse attacked in the middle of the night and have every piece he had stolen was remarkable.
Remarkable and downright disturbing.
It was disturbing to think that a man who would have brought an army of security guards to protect his treasures had been beaten by a lesser rival. Rayger Fell had millions of dollars to his name, yet someone had beaten him as if he were just a poor man who had nothing to defend himself with. That meant that the Crystal Heart had been taken, moved so some unknown location and likely never to see the light of day again. Which meant that Sombra either missed his chance to steal the gemstone from Rayger or he had attacked in the middle of the night and had made off with the gemstone.
"It seems that you found something Christan," Nightmare commented, noticing the look on Christan's face while he did his research, "Care to share what you have discovered?"
"Rayger Fell has lost the Crystal Heart," Christan sighed, wondering what was going to happen next, "The news article says that he was attacked by either his own employees or a rival who decided to take matters into their own hands at last. No one knows the exact location of the Heart anymore, but it is rumored that King Sombra might very well be in the general area of Seattle and that he has the Heart now."
"Bah, rumors." Nightmare cursed, "Nothing solid for me to hold while I try and find out what is happening to the rest of my enemies. They say Chrysalis is in Florida, but there is nothing about her movements that suggests that she is actually there or that she has even truly arrived. I cannot trust you humans to correctly tell me where my enemies are with all the rumors that appear to be flying around the place."
Christan sighed and let Fluttershy lay her head on his side, he really wasn't planning on doing anything that would upset the evil mare more than she already was. He was thankful that the two cops, if they were real cops, hadn't tossed him on the side of the road and were still carting him along, He guessed his services were now to care for any and all ponies, be they the Elements of Harmony or not, that Nightmare decided to gather along the way. Which meant that all he had to do was make sure the ponies she brought with her were alright and he would still be accounted among their number.
He also assumed that they were trying to turn him into a supporter of the New Lunar Republic by just keeping him around them. He had some silent news for them, he was a supporter of the Solar Empire at heart and he would flock over to Princess Celestia's side the moment she arrived. And now that he had a position in the Republic he could always make sure he could make off with the ponies Nightmare collected so they could be free later on.
He opened a new tab on his laptop and entered in the address for Facebook, which he logged into for the first time in over three months. To his relief he remembered the password correctly and it loaded up his page, which looked unfamiliar since he hadn't been on in such a long time. He typed in a search for two names, one being 'Princess Celestia' and the other being 'Queen Chrysalis'. To his disappointment there were no entries under Celestia's name, but when he searched for Chrysalis he found something interesting.
Queen Chrysalis, Empress of the Changeling Swarm, was actually in Dallas, Texas under the name of some girl called Ashley Anderson. Upon closer inspection he discovered that Ashley had turned into Chrysalis about the same time that Allen had turned into Nightmare Moon, only she was more on the having fun part of things. According to what he read that meant that she was partying the nights away and only taking as much love as she needed to keep herself going, but seeing how she was Chrysalis and people loved her it made things easy for her.
It was a mystery as to how Nightmare and her network had failed to discover Chrysalis' arrival, seeing how she was partying and the news should have posted something about her already. Christan wrote her a quick message, mostly asking how she was doing and if she had seen any other ponies so far in the time she's been Chrysalis. He hoped to gain some more information that Nightmare and her Republic didn't have, giving him a card they didn't know about. He thought about logging out of the system, but just as he went to press the logout button he noticed a popup on the bottom corner of the screen.
Ashley said; Who are you? Who do you work for?
Christan smiled and immediately wrote a reply back.
My name is Christan Miller and currently I work for no one, or in the situation I'm in, nopony as it were. I am currently riding in a van with Nightmare Moon herself, who is preparing for battle with Discord and is also keeping tabs on where anypony else is at the moment. She's also claimed Fluttershy, the Element of Kindness, who just happens to be laying on my shoulder at the moment.
A moment passed after he clicked send and then;
Very well then Christan Miller, we believe you. You say the Dark Mare has the shy pegasus? How has something like that come to pass?
Well, we stopped to eat at Denny's earlier this morning and there she was as our waitress. At first I hoped that Nightmare would ignore her and just concentrate on her enemies, namely Discord and her own sister. Unfortunately she knew that Fluttershy was there and, once the meal was over and paid for, she dragged the poor dear right out of the restaurant by her tail.
By the might of the Swarm, that evil mare has one of the Elements close at hoof already. I have been seeking the Elements by means of this world I find myself in, using this 'Facebook' to see if I can find anypony who is claiming to be one of the missing links. So far all we have is Fluttershy's location, mostly thanks to you giving it to us, and some dead leads on Twilight Sparkle. Say, how do you usually curse?
Mostly I say Holy Heck or something like that, but it doesn't change the fact that you already know where we are.
Yes, I assumed I could manage to keep some tabs on whoever had already arrived, such as the Dark Mare known as Nightmare Moon by everypony else. There is reason to believe that our old enemy, King Sombra, has arisen in Seattle, Washington and is building an army to fight both Discord and the Royal Sisters. But I must ask the question; who are you aligned with? Who is it? The Dark Mare, the Solar Rump, the Chaos Lord, the Mad King, or myself?
Seriously? I'm more willing to follow Princess Celestia then anypony else.
Ah, but there lies the problem that you'll come to face soon enough. Until Princess Celestia, the Mighty leader of the Solar Empire, arrives in this world you are out of a master to serve in the upcoming war. Which is better; serving an evil mare who is going to be rid of you the moment you prove your worthless to her or serving a Queen who treats her subjects in a respectable manner like they should be?
Am I to understand that your offering me a place in the Changeling Swarm?
That is correct, Christan Miller. I am offering you a chance to save yourself and any other pony you come across when the Swarm makes it's move against Discord. I do not require a direct or an immediate answer, but I would prefer you reply before midnight is two days time. Do not contact me by this 'Facebook' again until you have made a decision and are ready to tell me what that decision will be.
Christan stared at the screen as his new chat buddy left the chat, leaving him to just log off while he considered telling anyone or anypony what he had just discovered. Telling Nightmare that he had found and made contact with Chrysalis wouldn't be the best idea in the world and he wasn't about to trust her after everything that she had already done. What he needed to do was high tail it out of Nightmare's moving fortress before she joined up with the rest of the Republic, but he also wanted to get Fluttershy out of this mess.
He really didn't know if he should stay his hand and wait for Princess Celestia to arrive or if he should get Fluttershy out of here and join Queen Chrysalis until the time was right. He was on thin ice, that he realized all too well at the moment.
Discord was actually having the time of his life, what with the constant gambling that was going on in Las Vegas and the constant violence that came from it. There were literally hundreds of drunken brawlers in the city, people who just let loose after they lose their life savings in a couple of rounds of poker. He had even seen one of them come close to killing another man, one who he had accused of cheating and had drawn a knife on. Needless to say the man with the knife was in jail at the moment and the wounded man was in the hospital, making sure that he wasn't going to bleed out of his side.
Las Vegas, Discord decided as he checked his poker hand, was the most chaotic place he had ever discovered.
Right now Discord was in the middle of trashing the last two members of his competition, two men who didn't realize he was the one cheating and not their former competition. He wasn't afraid of getting stabbed by anyone, so he just played the game and let his opponents think the other was the one cheating. Besides, the round had been rigged by Discord so he could pull out a Royal Flush and beat the two of them in one go, effectively eliminating them both from the tournament seeing how they were already all in with their chips.
"Read it an weep boys," Discord said triumphantly as he showed his cards, "What about you Jackson? Long John? What do the two of you have on the table?"
As it turned out Jackson had a pair of tens, not the best hand to bet all your chips on if you weren't confident you were going to win the hand at all, and Long John had a pair of fives, one of the worst bluffs Discord had ever seen. Discord had beaten them and they knew it, meaning he was free to collect the chips as his last two opponents cleared off of the table. It was the same as the last four rounds of poker he had won; he cheated without them knowing and had cleared off all his opponents. Right now he had earned himself a quarter of a million dollars, which had been the easiest money he has ever earned in his entire life.
For the most part his day was open to do whatever he wanted, be that joining another table and clearing them all out or just relax and check up on the progress of his enemies. He stopped at the counter and placed half of his chips on the counter, the gentleman on the other side staring at him the entire time.
"Ah, Mister Discord," the man said, seeing only a fine young man dressed up in a punk suit with the hood up and not the Spirit of Disharmony, "I see you have earned yet another grand assortment of chips. Shall I transfer these into your account?"
"Yes," Discord smiled, making sure to pocket the remaining chips for his next match, "Put them into my account. I will be taking a break from sitting around for so long, so be sure to call me when my next match is ready. I have the feeling that whoever is next on my roster will be in a world of trouble."
Discord walked outside and took a seat in the first open table he came to, kicking his feet up and resting them on the other chair. He reached into his coat's pocket and pulled out a cellphone, a rectangular device called a smartphone by the humans, and dialed a number. He wondered if the person, or in the case of the person he had chosen, the pony was even up and if he was willing to accept his call. He figured he would soon find out.
~Seattle~
Sombra, still using Jackson's apartment as his base of operations, stopped at the doorway to his bedroom as the phone went off again. He wasn't used to the unfamiliar ringtone, the one that kept repeating the Spirit of Disharmony's name, but he assumed it wasn't anything good. He considered having his mind slave answer the phone and then slam it down on whoever was called, but he crossed it out of his head. He levitated the phone up to his ear and allowed the call to connect, silently wondering who was calling.
"Hello?" he asked, "This is the residence of King Sombra. May I ask who is foolish enough to call me?"
"Hiya King Sombra, this is Discord calling," the other voice said, with a hint of the caller being older or even ancient, "How's the progress of turning Seattle into the new Crystal Empire going?"
"By the Black Crystal," Sombra cursed, nearly jumping and tossing the phone against the wall, "How in Faust's name did you get this number? You aren't in this pathetic human's list of contacts."
"Oh come now Sombra, you know I have all the cards in this game of ours." Discord replied, sipping some of his wine while he spoke, "I know that you have possessed and taken over some poor guy known as Jackson Smith who, as my memory serves me, is a thief and a lover of gemstones of all sizes. Talk about lucky on your part pal."
"I am not your Pal ," Sombra spat into the phone, already wishing he had never picked up the blasted device to begin with, "and it matters not who I have possessed for that matter. I don't see why you care about what I'm doing."
"I'm just keeping tabs on you right now," Discord continued, as if he really didn't care what Sombra said to him, "So, I take it you stole the Crystal Heart not too long ago from that Rayer Fell fellow?"
"How do you know about that?" Sombra panicked, wondering if the Spirit was near and knew of the Heart's new resting place. He hadn't even mentioned the hiding place to his mind slaves, not that they would have remembered in the long run, and yet the Spirit knew he had it.
"Oh Sombra, how am I supposed to hold all the cards if I don't know what's going on with my enemies?" Discord asked, very direct of him for once, "Of course I know you took down Rayger Fell and acquired the Crystal Heart, though I must say nice touch with the whole stabbing a guy through the heart when he uttered that vile phrase. It matters not what you do to the Crystal Heart, for I really have no love for such a artifact that repels your darkness and beckons to Princess Cadence like a beacon. Trust me Sombra, Cadence will come after the Heart now that she has arrived."
"What are you..?" Sombra asked, but not before something caught Discord's eye.
"I'm sorry Sombra, but I'll have to call you back later." Discord said, standing up as the announcer called his name, "I'm needed at my table so we can begin another exciting round of poker."
Sombra stared at his phone as the call was abruptly ended, leaving him to wonder if he should move the Heart or just leave it where it was for now. He would have his mind slaves make sure that the perimeter of his place was secured and that there was nothing he had missed. Right now he couldn't afford to let any of his enemies get close to him and learn the location of the Heart.
~Las Vegas~
Discord smiled as he ended the call and put the cellphone away, there was nothing better than making his opponents were sweating bullets while he enjoyed making these mortals lose all their money in a simple card game. He got up and made his way inside, eying the filled table with joy as he noticed five new players ready to lose all their chips. Two girls and three guys, meaning Discord could have a little fun making sure they thought someone else was out to eliminate the other competitors.
One of the girls kept eying him as he took a seat and he noticed that she was wearing some light blue shirt that went with her light pink dyed hair. He could have sworn that the chick reminded him of Princess Celestia, before she became the conduit for all six Elements of Harmony and blasted her sister to the moon for a thousand years. He also knew that Celestia wasn't going to arrive for some time and when she did she would be occupied with her new world and having to relearn everything.
Oh how he loved to mess with the reality of both the humans and the ponies.
Sombra sat in the center of a large apartment room, which had originally been his hosts former place until he grew tired of the small area. He had used his magic to reshape the walls and overran the other apartment rooms on his floor, making the entire top floor his personal flat. That was good, seeing how he was keeping the Crystal Heart in the center of what appeared to be a maze for his mind slaves that were running around. Sure several of them had entered the maze, but they always returned looking like they had seen their worst fear come true in front of them.
He hadn't told his most trusted mind slaves that he had been contacted by Discord, the very being that was responsible for everything that was happening. He really didn't want anyone else to know that his enemy knows what they are doing at the moment, even though it was stated that Discord didn't care. For now he was keeping his forces busy with the construction of his empire, using everything around them in order to do so.
He was also messing around with his hosts computer, researching anything that might give him an edge for when it came time to do war with his enemies. Nightmare was doing something at the border between the states, Chrysalis was somewhere on the other side of the US, and Cadence would be arriving at his location soon enough. But the one enemy he could not yet figure out was Celestia. The Goddess of the Sun had not yet arrived, which allowed her younger, and more violent, sister to do as she wanted until she actually arrived.
Sombra sighed and got out of the chair he had been sitting in, moving to the window so he could view the entire block that he currently resided in. From what he was told there were countless gangs that patrolled the area, not to mention the constant police presence thanks to his first outing a few days ago. He had dozens of people to choose from and those chosen would become the next few in his slave army, bringing him more and more people to corrupt. Eventually he would have everyone who lived in Seattle under his iron hoof and the empire that was stolen would be returned to him.
"Oh silly Sombra, we don't enslave ponies." a familiar annoying feminine voice, "We make friends and throw parties and get to know them and, best of all, we get to have LOADS of FUN."
"Pinkie Pie," Sombra growled, seeing the pink mare standing on a cloud and staring back at him, "I was not looking forward to seeing your ugly mug again. What in the name of the nine hells do you want?"
"Isn't it obvious Somby?" Pinkie asked, tilting her head to the side while she somehow communicated with him, "I'm here to make sure that you learn the true meaning of having fun, being peaceful with those around you, and to stop harassing everypony with your crystals."
"I've already had it with you, you miserable mare," Sombra said, turning back to his mind slaves, "Thomas, Rayger, get some of your 'weapons' and take down this annoying mare. Feel free to throw her into the dungeons when you finish."
Thomas, dressed more like a military general, grunted as he pulled out one of the pistols that he carried, leaving one hand open for another weapon. Rayger, on the other hoof, came out of Sombra's armory with something the human's called a bazooka, something that fired exploding projectiles. It was another one of those weapons that had been explained to him, but he laughed at it and let his slaves collect whatever weapons they wanted. All he cared about was eliminating the bloody mare that annoyed the hell out of him...and maybe sending her soul to the nine hells in fragments would lighten his mood.
"Come on Somby, don't sic your minions on me," Pinkie complained, as the two men stepped out of the apartment and faced her, "At least give me a chance to gather a weapon or something."
Both mind slaves turned and looked at their master, the question plain on their faces. Do they give their target a weapon or just start blasting away at her?
"Just blast her already," Sombra sighed, thinking that he needed to tweak his mind spell a little more.
Rayger heaved up the bazooka and locked on to Pinkie, watching the pink mare start to sweat as she realized that she wasn't getting a weapon. Thomas just stood there, his own weapon at the ready in case the mare got closer so he could blow a hole in her skull instantly.
"Oh bugger," Pinkie said, turning tail as the projectile launched out of it's container and zeroed in on her.
Sombra smiled; the pink mare was bouncing from cloud to cloud in an attempt to avoid the missile that seemed to be chasing her all over the sky. The pink one seemed to enjoy annoying others, but when something was following her it seemed that she didn't want the attention.
Pinkie, deciding not to take any chances, led the projectile away from where Sombra and his army, and the innocents, were located, leading it towards the tallest structure in the area. She spied the Space Needle and raced across the clouds, bouncing quickly so the missile didn't light up her rear end on accident. Reaching the structure was easy, running up the side with a missile behind her was even easier, but leaping into thin air with the bloody device not hitting her was the hardest thing ever. The missile soared past Pinkie, exploding a mile above the top of the Space Needle with no harm to it or the mare it had been chasing.
Sombra stared at Pinkie with anger, watching the mare's movements as she danced out of the reach of his mind slaves when he noticed something odd. On another roof of a different building sat a bundle of pink hair, a bundle that looked exactly like the cotton candy mane that Pinkie Pie had. He was sure that there was another pony lurking around the rooftops, one wearing Pinkie's mane to distract him and his mind slaves. If they were bringing an army to fight him then he was going to use his mind slave army to best them.
"Attention all mind slaves," Sombra spoke, his voice echoing in the heads of his followers, "It would seem that the pink mare, known by the name Pinkie Pie, has assembled an army to take us all down. Be on the lookout for any trespassers that do not belong in this place, as you now have my full permission to engage them. Have fun hunting the annoying mare and her cohorts down like the dogs they are."
Without warning the skies lit up, explosives lighting up everything as Pinkie realized that she had her allies had been discovered by the fallen king. She spied dozens of men, all under the dark influence of Sombra, pulling out a variety of weapons and aiming them directly at her and her ally on the rooftop. She even spied a dozen bazookas being pulled out, some aimed at her and some aimed at the roof where her ally was located.
"Soldiers of the Swarm," Pinkie yelled, her form falling apart to reveal a black changeling underneath, "ATTACK!"
Suddenly a force of at least fifty changelings appeared in the sky, raining down on Sombra's slave army while making sure he couldn't counter them. Rayger heaved his reloaded bazooka up and pointed it right at the mare he had been tasked with ending, only to receive a swift kick to his face. The changeling that knocked the man out scooped up his weapon and blew a hole right in the top floor of Sombra's apartment, opening a hole for the Swarm.
Sombra growled, summoned the broadsword from earlier, and turned into the maze he had created to protect the Crystal Heart from his enemies. He should have known that Discord would have tipped off his enemies to the fact that he had the Heart in his possession and was intending to use it against any who opposed him. He didn't know that Chrysalis and her 'Swarm' were so close to his actual position, otherwise he would have used his black magic to make sure they couldn't touch him.
"Come on Somby," said a changeling, who had entered through the hole in the wall, "We can still be friends. There's no need to hurt each other anymore."
"My name is Sombra," he growled, slicing open the changeling chest with his weapon, "and I will blanket this world in a shroud of darkness. No one and nopony will escape my rule as I corrupt the minds of everything that stands against me until you are all my slaves. You and I will never be 'friends', only enemies and then slave and master. Now groan in pain as this entire place is covered in complete darkness."
Trapped inside the center of his maze was the Crystal Heart, but it wasn't the same Heart that everypony had known about anymore. Instead of a light blue color radiating from the gem it now glowed with an eerie evil red color, one that was surrounded by blackness. Sombra had spent nearly every hour with the gem after obtaining it, corrupting the magic so he could corrupt the very fabric of this new world. And if there was anything that could scare off the Changelings it would be the power of hate that would soon fill the very skies above them.
The poor wounded changeling was hauled out of the apartment by one of his brothers, but not before they witnessed the sky turn as black as night even though the sun was still out. The ground shook violently, as if Mother Nature herself was in pain, as giant pillars of black crystals shot up out of the stone and cement. The two Changelings knew exactly what was happening, mostly because their Queen had explained what would happen if Sombra channeled hate through the Heart. They knew they were too late to stop him now, not with the amount of hate already filling the air.
"Soldiers of the Swarm," the lead changeling shouted, his voice filling the air for a moment, "Retreat as fast as you possibly can."
The fifty Changelings that had gathered in the area took to the skies once again, this time heading in the direction of their Queen and the rest of their brothers and sisters. The wounded Changeling took a look back and noticed that Sombra was staring at them, with one gigantic grin on his vile face. It apparently wasn't enough for him to have bested them with such a cheap trick, but he had to gloat and watch them flee before they were taken out.
"Go ahead and run," Sombra called after them, hoping to install fear in their hearts, "Tell that Queen of yours that I look forward to seeing her bound in chains as my slave for the rest of her natural life. And the same goes for all of her precious changelings and every single one of my enemies. You will ALL be my slaves eventually."
Crossing the border between states hadn't been a problem. Nightmare and her group found themselves in the waiting arms of the rest of the New Lunar Republic, though the five of them noticed an immediate difference. They were expecting to find thirty people, all dressed up in armor they had spent months making in anticipation for their chosen leader's arrival, but what they actually found shocked them.
The thirty people were now a bunch of pegasus ponies, each of them actually moving around as if they were used to trotting around like a pony. The caravan was full of vans, large trucks, and everything else that Thunder had said that they had waiting on the border for them. Nightmare was greeted by the full force of the New Lunar Republic, all thirty ponies saluting her as she climbed out of the van she had been riding in. She grinned, the republic was small and it was already ready for complete war.
"Discord has been busy," Thunder remarked, coming to a stop by his princess as a stallion, dressed up in what appeared to be a captains uniform, "Captain Stormtail, allow me to introduce Princess Nightmare Moon. Princess, met the captain of your army."
"Princess," the stallion said, bowing slightly before looking her in the eye, "It is a pleasure to see you have safely arrived at our humble stronghold. I see that you have captured the Element of Kindness on your way here, which is good since we have also captured an Element of our own."
"Is that so?" Nightmare asked, raising an eyebrow at the stallion, "Show me which of the remaining Elements is foalish enough to dare an attack on the New Lunar Republic. Allow them to meet the one they dared to hinder and let them know the punishment for their transgression."
Captain Stormtail whistled and two of guards, who none of the group had seen before, came forward with chains in their mouths, holding a struggling pony down. Christan leaned out of the driver side window in time to see the flash of pegasus wings and the figure of a cyan coated pegasus mare trapped by the chains appeared before Nightmare. He noticed the ruby colored lightning bolt, which was attached to a golden necklace around her neck, and he put two and two together.
"Ah, the arrogant and lazy Rainbow Dash," Nightmare happily said, almost as if she was a kid in a candy shop, "You should have taken my offer and become a Shadowbolt, but then we would not be in this situation at the moment. How about it? Will you reject my sister and join me in bringing about eternal night and my rule to Equestria?"
"Fat chance Nightmare Moon," Rainbow growled, struggling to get at the mare as the two guards held her back, "There's no way I'm going to let you take over Equestria. Me and my friends will blast you into the sky once we're all together."
"Cute." Nightmare remarked, rolling her eyes as she faced the captain, "I take it you have devised a way for us to transport the captured Elements of Harmony with us? One that would allow me to make sure we had them under lock and key, but would keep them as far away from me as I would like?"
"Yes, my Princess, we have," Stormtail answered, beckoning to one of the large carrier trucks near them, "Inside our six special holding cells that will allow us to hold all six bearers of the Elements of Harmony. It was where we were holding Miss Rainbow Dash while we were waiting for you and your companions to join us. Each is reinforced with specialized metals to prevent any magic from passing through the bars and they wont shatter no matter how much pressure is applied to them."
"Just a quick question," Nightmare spoke up, making the captain turn to face her, "Exactly how long have you been working on all of this?"
"Going on two weeks now," the stallion replied, keeping a straight face as he noticed the shocked expression on his Princess' face, "I have had plenty of time to consult our mages and build these cages in two weeks time, that is with some of the results coming up as unacceptable. The ten unicorns who currently make up your magical forces are currently on the outskirts of Las Vegas, watching Discord and waiting for your arrival. I take it you have somepony in mind to keep an eye on the captured Elements while we travel?"
"I do," Nightmare answered with a grin, turning to face the van she had been riding in. "CHRISTAN MILLER. Come out here and present yourself you insolent foal. And bring the Element of Kindness with you."
Christan scrambled out of the van, making sure that he didn't step on poor Fluttershy's wings as the two of them made their way to the six ponies. Should he have been shaking in fear as he approached Nightmare Moon? Maybe, but with everything she had done Christan wasn't going to admit that he was actually a little scared of her now. She had captured Rainbow Dash, which meant that he was going to have to enlist Queen Chrysalis' help in escaping with the two of them. It was a good thing he had his laptop with him, he'd be needing it to contact Chrysalis as soon as possible.
"This is the man that will be in charge of making sure the captured Elements remain locked up," Nightmare continued, "I assume that each of the six cells has it's own key that allows us to lock and unlock the barred doors?"
"Yes, each cell has a unique key to open it," Stormtail agreed, pulling out a keyring with six different colored keys on it, "Take this cyan colored key for example; it is tied to the cyan colored door that will forever remain as Miss Rainbow Dash's prison. As such the yellow key will unlock and lock the prison cell of Fluttershy and Fluttershy alone. The other four cells will remain vacant until we capture another one of the Elements."
Christan only nodded as the two guards and Stormtail led him right up to the truck that held the cells, his nerves almost making him wish he could escape with the two poor mares. He watched the stallion open the cyan and yellow colored doors, which were located in the back area of the truck, and ushered both Rainbow and Fluttershy into their cells. He quickly locked both of the doors and tossed the keys to Christan, leaving him with two trapped ponies in the barely lit area.
"Great," Christan heard Rainbow say, "Back into this dull cell with no windows and nothing to read. Damn the New Lunar Republic, they could have at least given me a book or something instead of assigning me such a dull person to watch over me. Sure, they want to contain my pure awesomeness, but isn't this 'unbreakable' cell a little too much?"
"C...come now Rainbow Dash," Fluttershy loudly whispered, "Christan isn't like those meanies. He doesn't...doesn't like the methods of Nightmare...Moon and her allies."
Christan sighed and took a seat on the chair that happened to be right next to Rainbow's cell, which was the last cell in the truck. As he sat down he looked over at the mare and got a dirty look from her, indicating that she couldn't believe that he wasn't in league with Nightmare Moon and hadn't sprung them out yet. She might not like him, but at least Fluttershy knew that he was on their side for the moment.
"I'm going to get some reinforcements to get us out of here," Christan said, pulling up the chat menu he had with Chrysalis from the previous time they chatted, "Give me a couple minutes and let me see if she's still online, otherwise we might be in trouble."
Queen Chrysalis, I realize you asked me not to respond to you in such a manner again, but, not knowing if you have any other means of communication, I have dared to do so again. I need to tell you something that you will deem important.
Christan took the next three minutes to research any strange happenings that were related to the other ponies and any new pony sightings. Changelings had attacked King Sombra in the heart of Seattle, which was now becoming his new twisted Crystal Empire, but had fled the moment he had done something to the Crystal Heart. Chrysalis was already on the move, attacking her enemies while they thought that they were safe from their rivals. It made Christan wonder if the New Lunar Republic caravan was as safe as they thought they were. Then he noticed a reply to his post and prayed that the Changeling Queen was in a good mood.
As much as I recall telling you not to contact me this way until you had made up your mind I will admit that the tone of your post has my interest. So tell me; what is it that you have found that you deem to be important enough to contact me now?
Nightmare Moon has captured both Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash. At present she has two of the Elements and she plans on imprisoning the other four in cells that will keep them there until she says so.
By the might of the Swarm. It is a good thing that we are already close to your location, as we will be bombing the encampment before they have a chance to move any further. I trust that you have thought about my offer and are willing to throw your lot with whoever you believe deserves your allegiance more? Right now the Dark Mare has the beginnings of an army that will cut it's way through whatever stands in front of her, the Mad King is corrupting the very heart of the area he has arisen in, and the Solar Rump has not yet arrived.
Am I to understand that the three of us will be secured by some of your guards when you attack the caravan?
I will not let any harm come to the Elements of Harmony, as they are the only means of actually defeating Discord and Nightmare Moon without a long, drawn out fight.
One second, someponies coming.
Christan looked up from the laptop in time to see one of the guards, one of the two ponies who had brought out the bound Rainbow Dash, approach him. He didn't like those two guards, didn't trust them as far as he could throw them, so whatever the stallion guard had in mind he knew he wasn't going to like it. He made sure to set the laptop on the floor next to him, the screen facing away so the guard didn't figure out what he was planning on doing.
"Why do we need such a fragile thing like you guarding the captured Elements?" the guard asked, making it clear he had something dangerous in mind when he glared into Christan's eyes, "You squirm the moment somepony like me comes along and distracts you, as if your afraid of getting your hooves - or whatever you call those things- dirty. I should just bash your head into the floor and take the keys so these two can never escape."
"You can't do that," Christan replied, catching the stallion by surprise, "Nightmare Moon will figure out what happened if you did and you would be in a complete world of trouble. Would you like to acquire your master's ire at the fact you went behind her back and took out the one she appointed to guard the Elements? She could erase you from the world or cast you out of the very republic you have sworn to defend and for what?"
"You will die Christan Miller," the stallion promised, his voice oddly cold as he stared deep into Christan's eyes, "The name is Tempest and in the coming days you had better watch your back. I will be the one, out of hundreds of the Princess' followers, who will put you in the ground."
As the insane stallion, now named Tempest, turned and left the holding area Christan picked up the laptop and read the last couple of lines. He also noticed the newest post that was a direct response to what he had quickly posted before Tempest had bothered him.
I am a Queen you insolent foal. You will not tell your future Queen to wait a moment without giving me a valid reason for leaving the chat suddenly. I demand that you reply immediately.
Sorry about that. I was just being threatened by a pegasus stallion by the name of Tempest. How long until your Changelings bomb the caravan?
Within minutes actually. I take it you are willing to allow us to escort you and the captured Elements to a safe location and to get you as far away from the insane Nightmare Moon? Maybe even change sides until your true ruler decides to make an appearance?
At this point I don't see what choices I have left. Its either stay here and become the forgotten guard who happens to be defending the Elements of Harmony or join an army of shapeshifters who are actually doing the right thing. Just tell whoever is coming for us that the back door will be unlocked and I'll be waiting with the Elements.
As soon as the post was up Chrysalis broke the chat, leaving Christan to stare at the screen and wonder if he truly made the right choice in turning on Nightmare Moon. The main reason he had stayed so long is because he thought there was a shred of his old roommate inside the vile mare, but the last couple of events said otherwise. Allen was gone and Nightmare Moon was at full power, which made Christan wonder if the other poor people who had become villains were going to disappear as well.
"Not to be rude or anything, but could you please share with us what the plan is?"
Christan looked up to see Rainbow Dash staring at him from behind the bars of her cell, making it clear that if he wasn't with Nightmare Moon then he had better spring them loose while nopony was around.
"I've been chatting with Queen Chrysalis and she's agreed to help us escape," Christan replied, selecting the yellow key and releasing Fluttershy from her cell, "She's going to attack Nightmare Moon's location soon and she has agreed to take us under her wing so we can use those Elements against Discord. I, honestly, don't care if you like the Changelings or not, but I am not leaving you here for Nightmare Moon to find after the attack. The three of us will be escaping the moment one of her guards comes for us."
Rainbow glared at him, but her gaze softened when he opened her cell and took the chains off of her, allowing her to move freely once again. That was before they heard something explode outside and felt the truck rock just a bit, threatening to send them into the same cell. They could hear the sounds of ponies creaming for their artillery, which made Christan's blood run cold, but he sighed when he realized they couldn't use the guns and were resorting to something else. Then the door burst open, almost as if magic had torn it right off of it's hinges.
A black coated pony, one with small fangs in his mouth and pure green eyes, popped himself into the truck, looking around for any signs of something. It gave Christan the chance to realize that the pony was a changeling, maybe one of the ones sent to recover him and the Elements. He was wearing what appeared to be a dark blue suit of armor, one that allowed him protection to the head, his chest area, and his hooves.
"Christan Miller and the captured Elements I presume?" the Changeling asked, climbing into the truck in an effort to make sure he wasn't discovered by an enemy, "The Queen asked that I escort the three of you to safety."
Christan nodded to the ponies and the four of them exited the truck, Christan turning back to pick up the discarded multicolored keys. If he was leaving then he might as well make sure that the prison cells Nightmare's forces had constructed would be a complete waste. The outside was clearly a mini war zone, the fact that the New Lunar Republic was having itself blasted to pieces by the Changeling Empire.
There were hundreds of Changelings swarming the area, bombs raining down on the republic as they tried to get some weapons that would even the odds against the swarm. It was clear that among the rulers of Equestria that Queen Chrysalis was the one in control of where the war was currently heading. She had already attacked King Sombra, even though it had resulted in failure due to him cheating, and now she was beating Nightmare Moon, who was nowhere to be seen at the moment. Before they were spotted Christan and the three ponies fled to the north, allowing the sound of the explosions to cover any noise they made and the dust to cloud their enemies vision.
Christan was sure that he was going to have to consider taking Chrysalis up on her offer to join her force, because if Princess Celestia wasn't to show up then he had to choose another ruler. Nightmare Moon was out of the question, she was already insane and was likely going to skin him the next time they saw each other. Discord was the reason everything was happening and Christan knew that the God of Chaos needed no help in the manner Christan knew the other rulers would accept. Sombra...he was concentrating on rebuilding his empire and corrupting the minds of those around him, so he was out of the equation. That left Queen Chryalis...Christan only hoped that Princess Celestia would arrive soon so he wasn't allied with a bunch of Changelings for too long.
~Las Vegas, that same instant~
The light pink haired woman, after a long day of keeping an eye on Discord, finally sat down at a empty table when she felt a pain in her heart. She only felt something like that whenever someone, or somepony, had chosen to forsake the Solar Empire and take up the banner of one of the other rulers. She had lost another soul, one of the couple dozen she had felt the last few days, but she couldn't let it get to her. She looked up to be sure her target was still there and sure Discord was on the other side of the bar, his back turned on her while he drank his wine and watched a poker match.
He was blissfully unaware that Princess Celestia had indeed arrived in the world, taking the form of the woman she was now so she wouldn't draw attention to herself. She needed the Elements present so she had a hope of defeating Discord, which was why she continued to keep her human form on. Until she either slipped up or revealed herself there was no way Discord would ever figure out that she was as close to him as she was. The only thing to do was wait until Twilight and her friends arrived, which meant a lot of gambling and shadowing Discord until then.
She only hoped that they didn't arrive too late to stop him.
Discord was bored. That wasn't unusual when he had spent the better part of the month twisting people into ponies and paving the way for the rulers to arrive. How much fun it had been making some of the highest members of the government turn into soldiers and scholars for the New Lunar Republic, giving them the means to make unbreakable cages to house the Elements. But then they had lost the only Elements they had captured during an attack by the ever bold Changeling Swarm and their Queen.
How he despised the changelings and their Queen. They were making things harder for him to really enjoy the game, with the constant bombing they were doing on their enemies. Sombra had turned the tide against the Swarm by using his hate to corrupt the heart, but who knew how long that would last? Nightmare Moon, on the other claw, had been caught by surprise and had her entire caravan blown apart, the vehicles mostly, while the soldiers were scattered. Evidently Chrysalis deemed Nightmare Moon the immediate enemy, otherwise the city would have been crawling with soldiers looking for him.
Discord looked up from his table, the top of his grey hood covering his eyes, and he scanned the crowds of people walking around the street. He could have easily summoned up a cloud of chocolate milk and rained it down on them, but then the real Pinkie Pie would have appeared and started drinking it. She would know he was close at hoof and would stop at nothing to find him, likely to make the entire city become covered in the drink. Then he spotted the perfect target to practice his chaotic powers on.
Two guys were arguing over some random instrument, something that he couldn't see from his current position, and it looked like they could break out into a fight at any moment. Near them was some drunken idiots that were shaking, likely due to the amount of beer they had shoved down their throats for the last couple of hours. All Discord had to do was snap his fingers and the chaos would begin, but he had the feeling that someone - no, somepony , - was watching him.
He snapped his fingers and the drunken idiots charged at the two arguing bystanders, engaging a fight as the first punch hit someone's face. The instrument, turning out to be some sort of small guitar, was smashed over the head of it's owner by a drunkard, the strings and wood breaking on impact. People ran and others cowered as blood was spilt, making one guy receive a cut lip and another a cut on the head thanks to a broken bottle to the head. Discord grinned and returned his gaze to his drink, one of the best wines he had tricked the bartender into serving him, when he heard the fighting suddenly stop.
The woman from earlier, the same one that seemed to be following him ever since he had seen her at his poker table, was standing over the fallen men. Whatever she had done was already over, making him wonder if she had actually been following him or if she was following a similar path to his own. She marched back to her table, which had been behind his at the time, shuffled through the bag she had left behind, tossed some bills on the table, and left without leaving anything personal behind.
He shrugged, returning to his drink as he pondered the fact that he was seeing the woman all over the place. Maybe after some more mischief on some other unsuspecting targets he might figure something out about the stranger and how to deal with her. For now he would drink, rip some more people off, and see how much more money he could drain out of the people he played against.
~Later, Celestia's apartment~
"Ugh, I shouldn't have interrupted that fight."
That was what Celestia had said the moment she had shut the door behind her, locking it so she and her guest wouldn't be disturbed. She set her bag on the counter next to her and removed her golden bracelets, slipping them on as she made her way to the table in the living room. The curtains were drawn back, making it so that it was dark in the room so if anyone was looking they wouldn't be able to see her and her guest. She couldn't let others see her in her golden attire, otherwise people would know she had arrived and then Discord would come after her.
"Oh Tia, you know you can't help but stop any fights when you see them," said her guest, who happened to be a fully grown changeling, the size of Celestia's pony form, and was resting on the couch, "but if we are to succeed in our mission we can't let Discord know that we're actually here. I'm sorry for bombing your sister, but she isn't willing to listen to reason and we need the Elements to clear her mind."
Celestia was engulfed in a slightly bright light, one that allowed her to shift into a more comfortable form, namely her alicorn form. Her white coat and brilliant three colored mane and tail returned, giving her a sense of normalcy in the time of chaos. Her horn and wings grew back to their original size, taking her necklace and her crown from their hiding place and attaching them in their normal places.
"I'm not kidding Chrissy, Discord will know we're here sooner or later," Celestia continued, sitting on the couch as she noticed that her guest was staring at the computer she had brought with her, "How are Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash doing?"
"Their chosen handler reports that they are fine and that they are currently heading here," Chrysalis answered, her eyes solely focused on the screen, "Look, I'm sorry for stealing one of your followers away from you, but you are going to have to reveal yourself at some point. The Solar Empire needs to act before the New Lunar Republic claims victory over Discord and I'm doing all I can to stop them while gathering the scattered Elements."
"Any news on where the rest of the Elements are?" Celestia asked, hoping that they might be closer then what they really were.
"The real Pinkie is supposed to be somewhere around the city, likely lurking in Discord's shadow as well," Chrysalis spoke, scrolling over her notes she had been writing down on the screen, "Rarity is in one of the shops somewhere in the city, but where I do not know. Applejack could very well be anywhere, seeing how I haven't heard anything about her yet. And Twilight is supposed to be Utah with her brother and her sister-in-law. I have some of my soldiers silently gathering them up and I'm hoping that Discord doesn't notice our movements."
Celestia looked out the small crack in the curtains that allowed her to overlook the sky, watching the moon slowly rise in the distance. The moon reminded her of her sister Luna, the kind hearted mare that had succumbed to the darkness and then had been restored thanks to Twilight and her friends. Now, thanks to Discord, Luna had succumbed to her darker and more evil alter ego all over again, the dreaded Nightmare Moon.
Applejack, Rarity, Pinkie, and Twilight were still missing, which made her worry. Without the Elements of Honesty, Generosity, Laughter, and Magic itself they had no hopes of changing her sister back to normal, much less taming Discord. They needed to make sure that the Elements reached Las Vegas without delay, for every day the six of them were apart the stronger that Discord would become. And at the rate things were going they were going to need the combined power of the Solar Empire, the New Lunar Republic, the Swarm, and Discord to beat down Sombra and his twisted empire.
Celestia and Chrysalis silently hoped that the soldiers would keep Twilight and her friends safe before Discord made his move against them all.
Seattle, the once peaceful city, was now covered by a permanent black cloud that was growing larger by the hour. Scattered across the entire city were pillars of black crystals, either coming out of the ground itself or growing out of the buildings that surrounded the Space Needle. Some of the buildings were already falling apart, due to the fighting that occurred between King Sombra and the Changeling Swarm a while ago.
Sombra had prematurely activated the hatred in the corrupted Crystal Heart when the changelings attacked, but it was worth making them retreat in fear. Now it sat at the top of the Space Needle, his new palace that sat away from others, with a beam of pure hatred pulsing out of it and connecting to the large black cloud. Here he observed everything, his eyes scanning the immediate area for the telltale signs of the changelings in case they decided to attack him once more. He could, even now, see several of them staring at him before turning around and fleeing to the immediate south.
Sombra wasn't an idiot, he knew that some enemies attacked again after feigning defeat so they could attack their enemy while they let their guard down. He had never allowed that to happen to him; he had always kept his guard up and made sure that his enemies were kept at bay, away from him. Thanks to the black cloud and the hatred that filled the air the changelings were thinking twice and were leaving him alone, if he could trust that they went after Nightmare Moon a day ago. He allowed himself a rare smile, it seemed that he was winning after all.
"My King," Thomas radioed in, the strange contraption making some noise in the man's voice, "Everyone that you captured on your latest raid, including those from your former employer and Rayger Fell's personal army, have become ponies. Everypony is awaiting your word to begin the advance towards Discord's location in Las Vegas."
Another thing he had seized when he had conquered both of the men his servant had mentioned; he had taken in a vast amount of weapons and a bunch of military vehicles. As such Sombra now had the means to traverse the land he had arrived in, thus allowing him to travel wherever he wanted whenever he chose to. With the expansion of the black cloud he could afford to take the battle to Discord, which is why he had sharpened his broadsword earlier that day.
"Prepare the troops," Sombra commanded, his voice ringing out across the entire city, "We march on Discord and whoever else dares to stand in our way. Nothing will stop me from taking control of the entire continent, nah, the whole world. Discord had better watch out, because I'm coming and I'm bringing the destruction of Chaos itself."
~Las Vegas, that same moment~
Discord's ears twitched, causing him to look to the north and imagine what Sombra's plans really were. The stallion had said something about him, something that had caught the attention of the sensors he had placed around his name as soon as he had arrived. He didn't track those who simply said his name, that would be too easy, but he did track those who truly threatened him and the chaos he was trying to create. Right now Sombra was doing something that was messing with his sensors, which led to his ears twitching under his hood at the moment.
He returned to his poker game, allowing himself to mess with his competition on auto pilot while he mentally prepared his chessboard. Nightmare Moon and her New Lunar Republic were currently controlling the eastern boarders of Las Vegas, making it hard for many to enter and exit. Queen Chrysalis and her Swarm were covering the southern and western exits, seeing how many changelings that covered the skies on those locations. The Solar Empire, without it's mighty leader Princess Celestia, were somewhere inside the city, covering their tracks and watching his every movement.
The Elements of Harmony, on the other claw, were a different ballgame altogether. Rainbow Dash and the ever loveable Fluttershy had been captured by the Swarm and were currently being held somewhere around Las Vegas. Rarity and Pinkie Pie were hanging around the city itself, seeing how he had seen the pink mare the day he had appeared in the city and he made sure to steer clear of her. Applejack was everywhere and nowhere, seeing how the changelings liked to play games and that made it harder to find the real farmer. Dear Twilight Sparkle was in Utah, but she was so close that he could literally taste her nerdiness in the air itself.
Returning to the game at hand he flipped over a royal flush and knocked everyone out of the game in one turn, making him the winner yet again. Money was just the pastime while he waited for his enemies to make their plans clear. He just had the feeling that Sombra was going to do something against all of them sooner or later.
~Seattle, Sombra's military caravan~
Not ten minutes after announcing that he was declaring war on the rest of the rulers from Equestria did the military caravan of King Sombra leave his new Crystal Empire. There were dozens of vehicles, ranging from troop carrying trucks to hummies with armor plating, and, for good measure, a tank as well. Sombra had lucked out with Rayger Fell's stash of military vehicles and weapons, seeing how his entire army was loaded up with stolen weapons and were driving the stolen machines. The only difference between them before and after he acquired them was now they were powered by the dark magic that coursed throughout his entire body, hence the black aura around each machine.
With his dark army he was going to obliterate all of his competition and claim the land for himself, such as was his conquering nature. Four enemies to defeat and the land would be his. Six annoying elements to dispose of and the rest of the world would follow him into the darkness. Sombra grinned and rested a hoof on his broadsword, waiting to cut open any of the opposing ponies that would dare to stand in his way. Soon everything would be his and there was no one and nopony that could stop him.
Nightmare Moon walked down the streets of Las Vegas, her eyes scanning the people she passed, who were looking at her in fear and moved in the immediate opposite direction she was going. That was fine, as anyone who got too close to her was taken down by one of her New Lunar Republic guards. Her entire army was combing the city as she walked around, keeping tabs on Discord while she searched for the vile changeling Queen that had ordered the attack on her caravan.
She knew Chrysalis was in the city and she wasn't going to stop until she got some revenge on the shapeshifting mare.
She was also on the lookout for her runaway Elements, Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash, but she really wanted to find the runaway guard that had allowed the Elements to be captured. She wanted to grab the traitorous man by his neck, pin him to the ground she walked on, and maybe drop a building on top of him. Or maybe pour lighter fluid all over him and light him on fire, watching him parish in a flaming fireball for all to see. Christan Miller was a dead man to her.
Nightmare looked up at one of the apartment buildings she was going to be walking by and stopped, her eyes catching the glint of pure gold in the window somewhere in the top part of the complex. Or more like four specks of golden light that could only reflect off of one special set of jewelry. Despite what everypony told her Nightmare now knew one thing everypony else didn't; her sister had already arrived in this world and that she was spying on Discord. And now she knew where her sister was.
Without wasting a moment she dashed over to the complex's front doors and knocked whoever stood in her way to the floor so hard she likely bruised them. Some foolish person stepped in front of her, trying to stop the alicorn mare in her tracks, and Nightmare threw magic at them, pinning them to whatever surface they landed on. She had no time to deal with the people around her as she ascended the stairs, either kicking people out of her way or forcefully moving them with her magic.
The one thing she didn't expect to happen was that her guard Tempest, the stallion who had supposedly threatened Christan with death before the war was even over, was following her up the stairs. Normally she would have been angered that one of her subordinates had threatened another with death, but considering that the one he had threatened had defected she didn't care much anymore. She bounced up the stairs, going through the floors until she reached the one she believed contained the room where she had seen the golden specks. They had arrived on the twenty-fifth floor and were welcomed by a long hallway with dozens of doors.
Nightmare began to walk down the hallway slowly, her ironclad hooves hitting the floor with a thud that would surely attract the attention of her sister. Several of the doors opened as they passed, people sticking their heads out to behold the Princess of the Night walk right on by without a word. Some of them closed their doors after she passed, no doubt wondering if the end of the world had come at last, while others came out to watch her search. She stopped at the door numbered 2525, which must have meant the twenty-fifth floor and and twenty-fifth apartment, and found an odd sight.
The door in front of her was slightly open and, even if she could determine if her sister was behind the door, she had to admit the sequence of numbers interested her.
"Tempest," she softly said, as to not alert whoever was in the room to her presence, "I'm going into the room, so be a dear and make sure none of these people come near this door."
Before the stallion could even reply Nightmare charged up her horn and walked right into the room, making sure the door didn't make any noise. The door eased shut behind her, but what she found in front of her made her glad she had stayed silent. Sleeping on the couch, curled up in a ball, was the changeling Queen herself, completely unaware that danger was literally around the corner. Nightmare smiled and summoned up a magical ethereal blade, raising it so she could end one of her enemies in an instant.
"Ah, Luna, you have arrived," said a voice as none other then Celestia, in all her alicorn glory, stepped out from the bedroom and faced her, "Its good to see you again sister."
"Celestia?" Nightmare exclaimed, turning her weapon on her sister, "How did you know I was here?"
"You gave yourself away with your ironclad hooves," Celestia laughed, pointing at the iron bracers her sister always wore, "and I was hoping that you would catch my little slip up with the golden specks. I wanted you, and you alone, to find out where I was hiding in this gigantic city."
"And the changeling Queen?" Nightmare asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Chrissy has allied herself and her Hive with me and my Solar Empire to combat the magic of Discord," Celestia answered, gently shaking her new roommate, "Besides, she needed a place to crash while we gathered the Elements of Harmony and I offered to share what room I had at the moment."
"The Elements," Nightmare growled, realizing she had fallen into a trap, "You plan on turning me back into weak little Luna while you knock Discord out at the same time. You clever mare. I should have known you had a plan."
"Luna, it doesn't matter how many times you try to deny it, but you're still my sister." Celestia replied, sighing as she looked out the window and in the northern direction, "While I want to say that it was my intention to turn you normal again and beat Discord before he became too powerful I simply cannot say that anymore. I'm forced to say that we need the combined power of all four of us to defeat Sombra before he blankets this world in complete and utter darkness."
"Four of us?" Nightmare exclaimed, unbelieving that her sister, foalish as she was at times, was considering what she was saying, "For Faust's sake, please tell me you aren't thinking of allying yourself with Discord."
"True, I was disgusted with the idea when I first thought of it," Celestia admitted, trying to smile and failing, "but we cannot wait for Cadence and her Crystal Guard to arrive in time to fight along side us and the remaining Elements of Harmony are still scattered across the continent. There's no telling when they'll arrive to help fight Sombra or when he'll arrive to declare war on all four of us. At the moment we are sitting ducks, waiting for somepony who is fully armed and ready for war to arrive. Chrissy and I are going to chat with Discord later on and I was hoping..."
"Yes?" Nightmare asked, raising an eyebrow at her sister when she hesitated.
"...I was hoping that you would join us." Celestia finished, in time for Chrysalis to roll off the couch and hit the floor hard, "The Solar Empire has devoted every minute after it's arrival to figuring out how to deal with Discord, just as I'm sure the New Lunar Republic has spent it's time researching how to defeat all your enemies."
Nightmare had to admit, she couldn't fault her sister on this one. Her researchers had spent the last two weeks going over everything each of her enemies could do, from their fighting abilities to their natural habits. They had compiled files on Princess Celestia, Discord, Queen Chrysalis, Princess Cadence, King Sombra, and the Elements of Harmony. She hadn't looked at any of them yet, but seeing how she had one for the tyrant king then she may have something that would help the foalish mares out in the long run. But she could not help but feel like there was something that she was missing at the moment.
"Fine..." Nightmare finally said, sighing as her magical weapon broke apart and her magic died down, "You know that he's going to turn on us the moment Sombra is no longer a threat. We'll be in danger of falling to him. I do hope you realize that Celestia."
"Course she realizes that," a tired sounding Chrysalis said, yawning as she looked up at the two mares, "Morning Tia. I didn't know we were expecting your sister to drop in on us."
"She only just arrived," Celestia replied, her roommate walking around to the counter and looking into the fridge, "I told her we plan on talking with Discord later and she's agreed to come along with us. Which is great seeing how we need all the help we can get at this point in time."
"We have three times the army that Sombra has," Chrysalis yawned again, "not to mention that we'll soon have the Spirit of Chaos on our side. We may be missing the majority of the Elements of Harmony, but our fight with Sombra may give them time to get to us. Would you like some coffee Nightmare? Tia?"
"No thanks," Nightmare growled, staring at her sister while the changeling made coffee for one, "Seriously though, you let the bug call you by my pet name?"
"Yes Luna, I let my roommate call me by the nickname you gave me years ago," Celestia sighed, "Look, you haven't been yourself since we all arrived in this world, which I say is all Discord's fault. I want my fun having sister, the same sister who nearly shut down Nightmare Night the first time she attended it, back on my side. I want to go home, back to Equestria and to my little ponies. I want this entire ordeal to be over."
"Hey Ember," Chrysalis called out to the room, making Nightmare wonder if she was losing her mind, "can you wake up our friends and bring them in here?"
Before Nightmare's eyes appeared a smaller changeling, one of the ones that had likely bombed her caravan a while back, and it went over to the apartment's eastern wall. The changeling simply tapped her hoof on the wall and stepped back, causing Nightmare to lift an eyebrow as the outline of a door appeared on the wall. Before any of them spoke the door opened and another changeling, this one dressed up in a suit of armor, came right out with two mares behind him. Nightmare recognized the two mares almost immediately, seeing how they were wearing the Elements of Loyalty and Kindness.
"Wow wow wow, what's she doing here?" Rainbow Dash said, pointing a hoof at Nightmare, "She imprisoned us in cages and would have left us there to rot."
"I was merely making sure the Elements didn't gather," Nightmare replied, much calmer than what Rainbow was, "but now that I've been told the other four are who knows where I can see I could have done things differently. Sombra is coming and at the moment we need to band together and face him with everything we have...Faust almighty, that sounded like a terrible lie coming out of my mouth."
"We know..." Fluttershy weakly said, though Nightmare heard her just fine, "Princess Celestia informed us as soon as we arrived."
"Ember, Shift," Chrysalis said, noticing something was amiss, "You guys missed one of our guests."
The two changeling looked at each other, seeming to exchange some sort of conversation on their own personal mind set, before they approached the door again. Nightmare assumed that there was another bedroom in that direction, which would have explained why she hadn't seen any people come out of door 2523 or 2527. Her sister had been busy, expanding her room so she could have over any number of roommates without raising any suspicion from the locals. She wondered what else her sister had been hiding from her this entire time in that extra room.
"Ugh, come on guys," said a voice from the room, one that sounded familiar and different at the same time, "I've got a headache, so can we please do this some other time?"
From the tones the changelings were using it sounded like they were also annoyed with whoever was still in the room, almost like he had been drunk the previous night and was only just recovering. After what seemed like a couple minutes of the changelings talking, mostly to themselves as if they were deciding what to do with their guest. Eventually the two changelings emerged from the room, but neither of them really looked happy as another figure appeared in the doorway.
Nightmare was surprised, she honestly wasn't expecting to find Christan Miller in the same room as her sister, but there was something strange about him. For one thing, he hadn't been dressed in the armor of her sister, modified to fit his still human body, the last time she saw him. But Nightmare understood why he was complaining about headaches, there was a long white unicorn's horn growing out of his forehead. The other strange thing was that he had a pair of white angelic like wings, ones that looked almost identical to her sister's wings.
"Luna, allow me to introduce Christan Miller," Celestia said, "or, as he is called by many of the citizens of this world, Prince Shimmering Glory."
"What the hell?" Nightmare exclaimed, "There's another mother bucking alicorn?!"
"Now let me tell you something," a man said to Discord, sitting across from him while sipping on some red liquid, "I'm all for the dilly dally hosposh of the war, but you could be a sport and at least try some of the cheese."
"Look Sheogorath," Discord said, waving a hand in front of the Mad God he had brought out of a different reality to chat with, "I know you have had your differences with your fellow, oh what was that word again?"
"Its daedra," Sheogorath snapped, his eyes widening slightly, "you filthy fox. This reminds me of the time I told that foolish adventurer about the marvelous time I had with the mad emperor Pelagius the Third. Ah the blood, a fox, a severed head, and the cheese! You could just die for the best of cheese!"
"Right," Discord sighed, wondering why he bothered bringing the man out for a visit, "As I was saying, I know you had differences with your fellow daedra, but you seriously need some time off to relax before you deal with them again. I mean look at me, I'm away from all the meddling ponies, mortal and immortal alike, and I'm having the time of my life at the moment. Tia hasn't arrived yet, Chrissy is bent on blowing everything up that doesn't please her, Sombra just wants to hang with his slaves, and Lulu's gone back over to the dark side. Plus all the meddlesome Elements of Harmony are nowhere to be seen, which means I'll be winning this war as soon as the other's dare to challenge me."
To most people they were just two men sitting down, sharing a couple of drinks while they talked like they were the Spirit of Disharmony and the Mad Daedra themselves. They would have thought the two of them were crazy, speaking like two of the craziest beings in existence like it didn't matter who overheard them at all. Discord was still dressed up in his urban uniform, the hood over his head and hiding the truth from everyone around him, while his friend was dressed in a suit that was split in two colors, the right being purple and the left being orange.
The two immortals figured they would have been left alone, until the tip of a spear erupted out of Sheogorath's chest with the handle intact.
"Oh look here," the mad god said, fingering the spear tip without a care or any blood on it, ""I've been impaled. Who would be so rude as to impale someone while he's trying to enjoy a simple conversation? I say WHO?"
Discord looked behind his friend, staring into the area that the weapon could have come from and was pleasantly surprised by what he saw approaching them. A group of seven came walking their way. Leading the group was the same woman he had seen earlier, the same one who had been following him around for the past week and never seemed to leave him alone. To her right walked Nightmare Moon and her ill tempered guard, the one named Tempest. On the woman's left walked Queen Chrysalis, flanked by two changelings that stared down whoever gave their queen a look that they didn't approve of. The seventh figure was Christan Miller, but this time he bore the white wings of a pegasus, the horn of a unicorn, and the golden armor of Celestia's guard.
"You know lad," Sheogorath said, looking back at the approaching group, "I think I may have overstayed my welcome. You seem to have some company, so I think I'll take my cheese and go back to New Sheoth. Feel free to pop in some time and we'll share a treat."
The mad god vanished from thin air, returning to his realm of madness and taking all the cheese from the table with him. Discord almost regretted making the crazy man leave his own reality, talk to him for what seemed like hours, and then make him return home without so much of a warning. But then again, he was very annoyed with the man he had summoned and wished he had brought something else to him, but now he had his rivals to deal with this time.
"Discord, I should have known that you were tearing innocent people out of their realities," the woman said, taking a seat across from him as the rest of the group surrounded the table, "You couldn't leave us alone in Equestria, to sort out our differences without interfering with the citizens of this world. Instead you unleashed the vile darkness of Sombra upon the unsuspecting people, allowing him to run amok and rip the very fabric of the world apart."
"Look, I don't care about what Sombra's doing," Discord snapped, not even caring whoever the woman was trying to be at the moment, "He can corrupt the entire city of Seattle for all I care, he's no threat to me at the moment. He's miles away, digging into the ground with his slaves while he searches for the riches he believes in located below the city. He won't be involved in a war until it is far too late for him to do anything."
"Are you that dull?" Chrysalis shouted, shacking him with her hoof and causing the hood to fall off at long last, "What in the name of the Swarm is wrong with you?"
She didn't mean the fact that he was willing to risk thousands of lives by allowing the Mad King Sombra to run around with his army of slaves, but the fact that his face wasn't exactly human. Sticking out of his mouth was the fang that had always hung there, while on the top of his head rested two different pointed horns and his ears were pointed. His eyes were bright red surrounded by yellow, but sticking out of the top of his jacket were what appeared to be the tips of his bat and pegasus wings. The hood must have been enchanted so he could hide the inhuman features of his draconequus body that the jacket wasn't covering, which was why he was constantly wearing it.
"He hasn't fully adapted to this world it seems," Nightmare remarked, the guards clearing the area so they could be as alone as possible, "So, Discord, let us inform you of the consequences of your inability to stop Sombra before any of this happened. He's found the Crystal Heart, taken over the area of his arrival in a shroud of darkness, corrupted the very heart of an artifact that's supposed to bring ponies together, and he's got an army heading this way. I don't care if you have a shred of compassion for the citizens you have put in harms way, but I hope you care that he's coming here to blow every single one of us into dust.
He's coming for you Discord. He knows that your the one responsible for bringing him and his enemies here, so he'll be looking to either enslave all of us or destroy us. We need to ban together and stand against the darkness that he is bringing with him, otherwise we'll all swallowed by the storm that's coming our way. A storm you could have left sealed away in Equestria, where the Crystal Empire would have left him buried until we could break the corruption holding him."
"He's getting closer," Chrysalis said, staring off to the north, "We don't have too much time before this city becomes a war zone and we clash with Sombra. Our army needs to gather before he arrives, but we have one thing to ask Discord. Will you join us?"
"Two things I want answered before I even consider joining forces with you all," Discord grinned, not believing his luck, "First off, whose the chick that's been following me for the last week? You, young miss, should count yourself lucky that I didn't turn you into a toad or something worse."
Celestia chuckled and, instead of answering Discord with words, she removed the illusion that kept her true form hidden and allowed her wings to stretch just a bit. Her jewelry appeared as her flowing mane returned, though she gave Discord a smile. The Spirit gave her a disapproving glare, telling her that he didn't approve of her stalling before revealing herself, but she was secretly glad to upset him. He would have attacked her before she was able to do anything, but at the moment they were on equal footing and were fully powered up in case one decided to attack the other.
"Ah Celestia my dear," he said, sipping from his wine as he stared at the royal mare, "I should have known you would have gone into hiding instead of revealing yourself like everypony else. Now the second thing, what's up with the new alicorn?"
"As far as we can tell Christan Miller has become his ponyself," Celestia answered, "and that pony happens to be an alicorn that fights in the Solar Guard. His name is Shimmering Glory, a master of defensive spells to aid his allies in escaping harm and an adept in war spells to inflict harm on those that threaten me. Do not be deceived Discord, he knows some spells that will, if necessary, put you in your place if you decide to turn on us."
"Fine, fine," Discord said, waving a hand around, "I will join your merry band of ponies and fight against Sombra, whenever he decides to get here. But after all that I expect there to be a small get together before we're at each others throats after he's dealt with."
What he didn't tell them was that they had fallen right into his trap, as he had been planning on joining an 'alliance' to deal with the 'threat' that Sombra posed. He had allowed the fallen king to do as he wanted, knowing full well that he would eventually turn his attention away from his empire and crush those that had defeated him once before. All the pawns, excluding the troublesome Elements, were all in place and laid out before him. All he had to do was let them weaken each other and then he would crush them, and their pitiful armies as well, into the ground they all walked on.
And once they were all taken care of he would reign as Supreme Overlord of two worlds, letting chaos rain for all eternity.
It was nighttime now and Nightmare Moon stood on the top of the apartment building that her sister, the Human-turned-Alicorn Christen, and the rest of her allies shared as a joint base of operations. It held a central point in the city, giving them the best vantage point that allowed them to accurately plan how they would deal with Sombra and his mindless horde of ponies. His dark magic was already corrupting the weather around him, turning the white clouds into vile black clouds that filled the skies around his army. It was the only way they could tell how close Sombra was to Las Vegas, giving them plenty of time to plan their various tactics and make as many idle threats to each other before they were at each others throats.
She had left the others alone to plan their assault on Sombra's forces when he appeared, preferring to look out over the city as her night graced the human world. She had no doubt that Celestia was telling the others that she wanted to lead the assault herself, letting Chrysalis take Sombra's flank while she and Discord squeezed them from both sides. Celestia was just a glory hog and the moment that Sombra was taken down Discord would turn on them and turn the peaceful city into a war zone. Nightmare couldn't tell why her sister was ignoring that dangerous fact and was willing to extend some trust to the Draconquues. Celestia had surrounded herself with the majority of her enemies, leaving herself open to defeat the moment they erased Sombra and his darkness.
Nightmare just thanked Faust that she was mostly being ignored at the moment and that some of the more dangerous enemies had stayed locked up in Equestria.
"Nightmare?" a voice called out, causing her to turn around and see Celestia walking her way, "What are you doing up here? We're trying to coordinate our forces and we need your input on what the Lunar Republic will be doing."
"You can drop the act Celestia," Nightmare remarked, returning her gaze to the stars above them, "Stop acting like you care about me and focus on crushing every single one of your enemies. Your the Sun Goddess for Faust's sake. Stop pestering me for information on what my army will be doing and focus on eliminating Sombra before your pet bug and her pests get scared off with all the hate in the air. Or focus on the fact that Discord is just playing around with us and is waiting until we're all weakened to the point where he can simply sweep us under the rug and claim this world for himself.
And the reason I'm up here is because I cannot stand being in the same bloody room as Discord for longer than what is absolutely necessary."
"You need to lighten up a bit Nightmare," Celestia sighed, stopping next to her sister, "Right now Discord is helping us repair the damage he caused by allowing Sombra to get as powerful as he is. After we take Sombra down we can focus on cleaning up the rest of the chaos that Discord has caused and seal him back in stone if we have the Elements. And yes, that will mean that you'll be forced back into my sweet non-war-loving sister."
"Get any closer to me my 'dear sweet sister'," Nightmare growled, baring her teeth as she faced Celestia, "and I'll eat your bucking kidneys for breakfast. You just want your precious student, her annoying friends, and your precious Elements of Harmony so you can imprison those that dare oppose your rule over this pitiful world. I know that Twilight Sparkle and her friends will do whatever you say, no matter what you say, and never question a single word of any of it.
You indirectly asked them to find the Elements of Harmony and blast me in the chest, to return me to my weaker form, and they blindly followed you into the abyss. You sat on your rump when Discord broke out of his statue the first time, sent your precious underlings to find your weapons, and blasted him back to the stone age. You let a bug crush your fighting spirit while all your precious ponies fought for their lives and even allowed the royal couple to do your work for you. And even when Sombra returned you let your underlings harass the citizens of the Crystal Empire and nearly let it fall into darkness, making a BUCKING baby dragon save the entire kingdom for you.
All of this has happened, because you have gotten so lazy that you allow all of your enemies to trot all over you and that you force your student, a single mare, and her friends to cover up for you. You should count yourself lucky that Cerberus hasn't left his post in Tartarus and let Tirek escape into this world. I shudder to think what would happen if Tirek managed to absorb the magic of Sombra's entire empire and the wandering ponies around the world."
"Of all the things you choose to worry about your worried that Tirek will escape?" Celestia asked, raising an eyebrow at her angry sister, "Please, he's so bound up it would take so much more than Cerberus leaving his post for him to escape his chains and break out of Tartarus. Even if he escaped we would feel him the moment he started feeding on someponies magic and we'd all stop what we were doing to seal him up again.
Right now we need to stop Sombra and that means we need your help in making sure that all of our tactics work in sync so we can get onto your warmongering quicker."
Nightmare growled, but instead of running her sister through at that moment in time she followed her sister back into the building, choosing to bide her time until the opportunity came where she could silence all her enemies at once. It wouldn't be easy, but she was sure that she would be the last one standing when everything was said and done. But before she entered the building again she cast a look in the direction of Sombra's darkness, seeing lightning flash as if it was storming. Sombra must have been mad at something.
~Sombra's Camp~
Despite being corrupted by dark magic Sombra knew that his army still required food to keep them moving and sleep to re-energize their bodies, which were the only reasons he bothered calling for them to make camp. So while his army slept the night away he sat in his tent, alone on his couch as his sipped one of the sodas that Thomas had brought along. Sombra wasn't the type to waste time worrying about his body's health or sleep during the night, not with as many monsters that came out during Equestria's night.
If the humans came near his camp his shadow alarms would sound and he could capture whoever dared to get closer to his personal space. He would cast their souls into the pits of Tartarus and corrupt their minds, forcing them to serve him and his army until the bitter end of this conquest. If he was doomed to fail in his venture to overtake the world then he would take his entire army and as many enemies as possible down with him. The lightning he heard was his alarms telling him of some intruder, something that his forces would be able to ignore all night long.
His only question was; who was foalish enough to come trespassing in his camp and expected to get away with it?
"Guards," Sombra growled, taking a swing of his soda before continuing, "We have a trespasser lurking in our camp. I want you to find this pony, or person if its one of these pathetic humans, capture them, and then bring them before me as swiftly as possible."
A minute or two passed without the guards answering, which was quite unusual considering that his spell was designed to force them to answer him. That meant that no matter what Sombra said his guards would answer them, unless he purposely changed the spell to force them to shut up and keep their Faust damned opinions to themselves. But if the guards weren't answering him then that meant he was going to have to tighten the spell some more so they would answer at all times.
"This is supposed to be an army?" a voice nearly shouted, causing Sombra to drop his drink and rise from his couch, "Where is the pathetic excuse of a leader that's supposed to be leading these ponies hiding?"
"You want the leader of this army?" Sombra challenged, summoning his dark magic as he emerged from his tent, "Who dares to pass through the army of King Sombra without being...noticed?"
Standing in front of him was what appeared to be a centaur whose lower body was almost as black as Sombra's magic was, with his upper chest area being as black as night and his arms sticking out like a sore hoof with their red coloring. Sombra noticed two large black horns sticking out of the sides of his head while a silver ring wrapped around his neck. Sombra, one of the most terrifying ponies in Equestria, could feel his blood running cold as he stared at one of the most dangerous beings in all of Equestrian history.
"Tirek," Sombra gulped, being crushed against the ground the moment he realized the peril he was in, "how?"
"Did you think I'd stay locked up in Tartarus without Cerberus guarding the gates?" Tirek asked, the dark magic splitting off of Sombra and gathering around him, "With all of my enemies gathering in this place I can easily gather the magical energy to conquer the entire world and Equestria. You and your army are just the appetizers."
And before Sombra could stop the centaur he collapsed on the ground, withering in pain as he felt all of his magical energizes get sucked out of his body.
While the assembled immortals talked tactics on how to best utilize their resources to defeat the threat King Sombra posed to the world Nightmare shivered slightly. She was sitting at the far end of the table, near the windows so she could stare out at the night whenever she wanted, and there were no fans blowing over her head. Nor were there any air vents hanging over her head, which meant that she had the pleasure of not having some damp air blowing down on her head and ruining her mood even further. She was slightly surprised that Discord wasn't messing with her, but she suspected that Celestia had a say in keeping him away from her. As the others talked amongst themselves she cast a look at her sister, who returned her gaze and nodded slightly so no pony else would notice.
They had both felt it; Tirek had arrived on Earth and had already taken out the army they had been planning on taking out for the last three hours.
"Nightmare," Chrysalis said, drawing the mare's attention away from the window, "What do you have to add to our plan? We need all the help we can get if we're to defeat the threat Sombra's causing."
Nightmare sighed and looked into the window again, casting a second, and infinitely more meaningful, glace back at her sister, who was staring at the glass as well. A few moments passed before Celestia gave her a nod, giving her the okay to reveal what they had both felt.
"We're in deeper trouble than before," Nightmare replied, staring out at the stars for guidance, "Sombra's forces have been drained of all of their magical energies and are now wasting away in their military camp. I'm afraid that Tirek has escaped from his prison and he's bent on gathering all of our magic."
"Just perfect," Chrysalis spat, apparently enraged by the fact that they had just wasted three hours on a worthless plan, "Cerberus has left his post and now we face the greatest threat that Equestria has ever known. So what do we do with out plan now?"
"Is it not obvious?" Nightmare asked, almost as if the answer was clearly in front of them, "We fought and defeated Tirek the first time, so now we must draw on our powers and fight him again. We'll have to pour a large amount of energy into sealing him back in Tartarus, but there's no telling when he'll arrive to try and take our magic from us. We must draw our forces together and attack him directly, hopefully giving us enough time to blast him into next week."
While all of this was going on Christen stared out the window and gazed upon the city that was laid out before him, trying to figure out where Sombra's camp had been so they could pinpoint where Tirek was. He had never heard of such a creature, but from what he could gather from what the others had said Tirek seemed like a ruthless monster that existed to drain the magic from others before trying to conquer everything. If that was true then he was somewhere out there, absorbing the magic of anypony that foolishly got in his way, before he made his move to attack all of them. He began to turn his head away from the window, but then spotted a small red, yellow, and black centered ball centered between the main street and two rows of buildings.
"Um, guys?" Christen said, unsure if the small spot was really worth the attention of four immortals, "That spot right there isn't a bad sign, is it?"
Celestia looked up from the blueprints they had been working on for the last couple of hours and stared hard at the spot that Shimmering Glory had mentioned, barely noticing the orb to begin with. When she saw the orb she immediately recognized it and knew exactly what was coming their way if they didn't leave the building as past as they could.
"Everypony get out of the building," Celestia shouted at the top of her lungs, enough to awaken anyone else in the area as she drew her armor onto her body, "We've got a few moments before Tirek starts his attack!"
The moment the words left her mouth did everyone in that room feel the pressure of Tirek's magic as the orb was released, causing the suspended energy to come screeching towards their hotel building. Everybody who was in every room on the two sides of the street heard the noise and opened their blinds to see the magic racing across the night sky as it drew closer to them. Christen knew several of the abilities he had gifted to his ponysona, the prince of defensive battle magic, and shifted through what he knew to find something that could protect the room before they were hit. He knew one spell off the top of his head that could protect them and a large amount of people in the surrounding rooms, but it would require a swift incantation for him to perform it.
"Gate of the eight setting stars," Christen shouted, his horn lighting up as eight white balls of energy gathered in front of them and two other levels of the building, "protector of the innocent souls, gather together and shelter the powerless from harm!"
The eight orbs formed a large barrier in front of their level, the one directly below them, and the one directly above them. White lines darted out from each orb, connecting the balls together as it formed the outer shape of an octagon, while red lines darted out and connected them together in the center of the barrier. Christen knew that it would hold the full force of Tirek's attack, but it would have been an wasted effort if the demon had gathered more strength before coming after them.
"Barrier of Protection Number Three," Christen continued, feeling the spell lock into place as he braced for the coming impact, "Innocent's Shield."
Precious seconds ticked away as they waited for the impact that would be the result of Tirek's spell hitting Shimmering's barrier head on. Celestia knew that he was certain that the one barrier could protect them from the blast, but she wasn't sure that it could withstand anymore than the blunt of the attack. Before she could consider moving away from the room they were in the beam struck the barrier head on, branching outwards until it cut threw the levels that were two floors above and below them. They could feel the entire building shake as the unprotected floors below them were erased from existence, causing the upper half of the building to buckle before beginning to fall. Before they were consumed by the raging fires everypony leapt from the room, crashing through the window and coming to a floating position as Tirek's spell and Shimering's barrier broke apart.
"Soldiers of the Changeling Hive!"
"Soldiers of the New Lunar Republic!"
"Soldiers of the Solar Empire!"
The moment those three forces were named ponies and changelings began to pour out of the various buildings that were scattered all across Las Vegas, those that could fly were taking to the skies while those that couldn't filled the streets. Discord had to admit, once he saw how many ponies his enemies had assembled in the one city he was glad he didn't have to fight all of them and Sombra's Black Crystal Empire. They needed to pool all their powers together if they wanted to have any hope of beating Tirek, something that even Discord wasn't sure that they could do.
"You have dared to test our wrath Tirek," Nightmare shouted, her voice ringing out across the city as she spoke to the foul demon, "Now we shall put you down before you can cause any more harm to these innocent people."
"Ah, the Nightmare herself has returned." came a taunting reply, followed by a laugh as the demon appeared from the night sky, "Such potent magic that the ponies of Equestria wield, magic that should belong to me. I suppose that you find this humorous? Keeping my magic from me will result in the destruction of everything that all of you care for. I will erase this puny planet and the ants that call it home, but first I will take what is mine back."
Discord was the first to react, taking the instant Tirek started talking to get behind him and unleash the unrestrained power of chaos right on his backside, hoping that he could at least stall the demon while somepony came up with a plan to defeat him. Before he could move to a much safer distance so he could form another attack Tirek reached behind him, grabbed Discord out of thin air, and tossed him straight into a nearby building, crushing the glass and scaring whoever was near the windows. He was surprised that the demon had focused on him so fast, while he had been busy taunting the others into starting a fight with him. Before Tirek could deliver another crushing blow to him three beams of energy crashed into his side, knocking the demon backwards just a tiny bit and focusing his attention of the alicorn sisters and the changeling queen.
While Tirek focused on the enemies that flew around in front of him the ponies gathered around him, darting around and loosing all manners of spells and new world technology against their sworn enemy. The earth ponies would jump onto his gigantic legs and pound on them with as much strength as they could muster before they were thrown off by him moving around. The unicorns and changelings poured their magic together and cast dozens upon dozens of spells at any moving part of Tirek, intending to weaken him while their leaders figured out how to seal him away. They had to move quickly, otherwise they would share the same painful fast as Discord had suffered not moments ago, and it was quite hard to cast high level spells when they were constantly moving around.
Tirek didn't seem to care about the fact that they couldn't cast their greatest spells and were constantly moving around, as all he had to go was allow his energy to gather between his horns before he released it in every direction in front of him. The bases of several buildings were blown wide open, causing them to tumble over and crush anyone that was unfortunate enough to be standing in their way as well as hurting everyone in the buildings. The ponies that were caught in the blasts were simply teleported into a giant holding orb that floated somewhere behind Tirek, which allowed him to absorb their magic without having to pause during the fight. The orb rested in Sombra's fallen camp, which meant that if they wanted to weaken Tirek they had to somehow slip behind him and get there without the demon noticing their movements.
One foolish changeling decided to try flying under the cover of a shadow spell and flew right past Tirek's chest, only to be on the receiving end of his giant fist and crash right into the side of a building. Somehow he had known where the poor changeling had been and had simply adjusted himself so he could take down whoever was coming his way. Ponies fell left and right as Tirek ignored the three buzzing beings that would soon be drained of all their magical energies like the reast of the ponies he was collecting. Eventually Celestia couldn't bare to see more of her beloved ponies and the citizens of earth fall to their ancient enemy, so she immediately sounded the horn of retreat so their forces could withdraw as fast as possible.
"Enough of this foolishness Princess Celestia," Tirek called out, already knowing who had the courage to make the ponies retreat before he captured them, "come and face me so I can drain you magic. Once I have all the magic from Equestria I will conquer the world and return my empire to what it once was. Not even you nor your precious sister can escape the fate I have in store for the two of you."
The moment the words left his mouth a barrier, exactly identical to the one Shimmering had used earlier, appeared just a few feet in front of Tirek's location, causing the demon to raise an eyebrow. Directly to his right a second barrier phased into existence, this one almost looking like it was a giant turtle shell that was void of its owner, while a third one, shaped like an iron shield, appeared on his left. He twisted his head to look behind him and noticed a stormy type of barrier come into existence, while a flaming circle appeared directly above the tips of his horns. Before he had a chance to discover what each of the barriers did a black box appeared around him, each barrier placed on one of the five walls that surrounded him and the ground. Once the huge sealing barrier was in place Tirek finally noticed the small figure of Shimmering Glory standing on the top of one of the buildings that hadn't fallen over yet, holding his hands together.
"So you think you can seal me with this?" Tirek shouted, pressing his hand against the front barrier, "Please, once I have enough power these barriers will be like twigs in the wind."
"Barrier of Protection Number Seven," Shimmering said, his voice carrying as he looked over his work, "Gods Bulwark. I never said that this barrier was meant to seal you away Tirek, as it does something much more than you could ever realize."
That was when Tirek noticed the glowing yellow orbs that sat in the direct center of each of the barrier walls, though he could feel the power of the sun coursing through the five orbs. He barely had any time before the magic was released on him, filling the entire box with a blinding light that seemed to contain the intensity of the sun itself. By the time the magic died down all they could see was a large wall of smoke from each direction in the barrier, though Shimmering could see several large cracks at the seems between the walls.
"I am amazed that it could withstand the power of the sun," Celestia commented, landing beside her knight as she surveyed the damage, "but leave it to you to come up with a combination barrier that could withstand the sun's brutal power."
"Not quite," Shimmering replied, "I misjudged the pure power of the sun and it seems that the walls are cracked, but it doesn't matter as the barrier served its purpose..."
That was before the barrier shattered in a fury of magic and Tirek emerged from the ruins, half of his body covered in burns and telling that he had suffered some damage after all. Before Shimmering could erect another barrier a blast rocked the building they were standing on, forcing them to take to the air to prevent themselves from falling to their deaths. It was painfully clear that Tirek was going to destroy everything in his path just to take all of their magic, even going so far as to fill the sky above them with a huge red and yellow orb like the ones he used. Shimmering knew what he was going to do; Tirek was going to obliterate Las Vegas just to conquer his enemies.
"I guess its no use," Shimmering said, closing his eyes as he considered what he needed to do, "I'll need to resort to the Eleventh Barrier, the Equalizer."
"You don't mean what I think you mean?" Celestia asked, fearing the worst for her knight.
"I do," Shimmering replied, "I must absorb the dark power of Tirek and equal his power, monster to monster. The power of the clash could potentially reverse everything that has happened to everypony and take all of us back home, to Equestria."
Before Celestia could talk him out of taking the suicidal path to saving both worlds he was gone, flying towards the energy ball as Tirek concentrated on gathering as much power as he could. Instead of placing a barrier around the orb Shimmering just flew right into it, allowing the magic to overtake him and course throughout his entire being. The moment he had a firm grasp on the magic he severed the connection between the orb and Tirek, causing the demon some concern as he stared up at him. Shimmering took a brief moment to draw in the remainder of the orb, preparing to release it on the demon the moment he began charging up his own attack.
The moment Tirek drew out his own magic Shimmering did the same, pressing his hand against the air as an identical colored orb appeared before him. When they both released their magic the beams rocked towards each other, cutting open the sky itself and causing the darkness to rain down on everyone in the city. Before either of them could put any pressure on the other they were both overtaken by the darkness, falling down until neither of them remembered nothing more.
Allen Keller moaned as the sunlight hit him square in the face and rolled off his couch, hitting the ground hard and knocking himself awake. He reached up to rub his head and noticed something strange, his arm was pale colored and his hand was back. He got up and, expecting to all over on his rear end, he was pleasantly surprised, not to mention disturbed, to find his old legs and worn out shoes back. He looked down at himself and found that his human body had returned in all of its glory, which was void of the azure armor he had been wearing as Nightmare Moon. Not only that he noticed that the police brace he had been wearing, and destroyed with Nightmare's powers, was back where he had last seen it on his leg. As far as he could tell he was human again, without so much of a drop of Nightmare's powers coursing through his veins.
He looked up at the television and watched as Twilight Sparkle, powered up by containing the powers of four alicorns, gave Tirek the beat down that caused shock waves throughout the entire fandom. It was almost as if everything that had happened in the last few days had simply been a dream, one that had started out sweet and had swiftly turned into a terrifying nightmare. As he thought about Tirek he wondered where his housemate Christen ended up, as he had assumed the form of his ponysona Prince Shimmering Glory just a few days after Allen had become Nightmare Moon.
Allen moved to where Christen's room was and opened the door, finding a well kept bed, a neatly stacked bookshelf, and a desk that was clean, but there was no sign of anybody else. It was quite possible that Christen was already at work and wouldn't be home for some amount of time, but that idea was quickly dashed when he noticed that Christen's phone was sitting on the center of his desk. The man never went anywhere without his phone, so he knew that something wrong was going on and needed to figure out what that was. Or, that would have been his plan if he hadn't heard a pounding on the front door of the house and someone shouting his name, followed by the sound of the door being busted down. In a matter of seconds he was surrounded by heavily armed police officers, a swat team that just happened to be led by a women who looked at least twenty-two years old.
"Allen Keller, you have committed crimes against the United States and her people," the swat leader said, moving behind him and wrapping his wrists with handcuffs, "crimes that include kidnapping, intent to cause mass genocide, and terrorism by leveling several buildings in Las Vegas. What say you in your defense?"
Allen just stood there, dumbfounded by the fact that everything from his dream had somehow been real, but instead of the police looking for characters from a television show they came for him. Now he was being arrested, which meant that whoever had been King Sombra, Queen Chrysalis, the ponies that followed them, and even the demon Tirek, were likely being rounded up as well. As he failed to answer the swat leader she simply waved her hand and the police gathered him up, pulling him into the police van that he had been trying to avoid for the last few months. All his hard work, he now realized, had been shattered the moment that he had taken on the mantle of Nightmare Moon and as the doors closed behind him he silently wished that none of it had ever happened in the first place.
Christen stirred the moment that a gentle wind blew across his face, causing him to pull his head up and open his eyes to find a shocking sight laid out in front of him, the beautiful land of Equestria. He pulled up his hands to rub his eyes and made sure that all of this was real, when he realized that his hands had been replaced by long white furred legs that ended with silver armor that resembled the ones Princess Celestia wore all the time. His body was the same large body that he had seen on Celestia, while he had a pair of large white pegasus wings growing out off his back. He cast a look towards his forehead, finding a long white colored unicorn horn and a short platinum colored mane hanging in front of his eyes. Resting on the ground near him was a set of silver battle armor, like the ones that Shining Armor and the royal guards wore, but on the side he noticed a grey shield that was surrounded by three shimmering stars.
He had, in essence, become the spitting image of his ponysona Shimmering Glory.
"Its good to see that your awake," a voice to his right said, causing him to turn and find Princess Celestia standing there in all her glory, "I was afraid that the pressure of taking on Tirek's magic could have potentially destroyed you, but you have proven me wrong yet again my friend."
"Is this really Equestria?" Christen asked, wondering if this was all a dream.
"It is my friend," Princess Celestia replied, draping a wing over him as she somehow helped him onto a standing position, "You did it! You somehow overcame Tirek magic and reversed the magic that had brought us to that world, returning us to our home. Welcome home Shimmering Glory."
It was at the moment that Shimmering and Christen were one and the same, neither one giving any ground as they settled in perfect harmony with each other. As Equestria was Shimmering's world Christen was more than happy to let the stallion have control, knowing that the two of them would experience the world of friendship together until the day they died.
"Its good to be home," Shimmering said, pulling his helmet over to him as he gazed upon the world of Equestria with his bright open eyes and envisioned all the adventures he would have in the future.