"Celestia gritted her teeth as she faced The Nightmare, its hundreds of blood-red, glowing eyes fixed on her, never blinking, its white, blood-stained teeth, all of them at least three feet long, gnashing in anticipation of its next meal, its horrible, sharp claws ready to tear her to ribbons if she allowed them to. The monster stared her down, and she felt compelled to simply give herself to the thing, but she shook the feeling away. She had to be strong, if not for her, then for her subjects. She wouldn't allow this unholy creation of Vodahmin's to take another innocent life. The Nightmare, sensing the princess' resistance, let loose the most terrifying, ear-splitting, utterly evil roar Celestia had ever heard come from any creature, and slowly crawled toward her. It's eyes set upon its next victim, and she would soon be one with it, just like so many of her subjects. Then, Celestia strengthened her resolve, and she stared The Nightmare down as bravely and defiantly as possible, refusing to become a new addition to its ever-increasing mass, to let her hopes, dreams, and nightmares further evolve this abomination. With a mighty battle cry, she leaped into The Nightmare's chest, and disappeared within it. The Nightmare, however, had not won. Instead, a soft light began to emanate from its core, then the light intensified and grew brighter, and brighter, until large rays pierced the monster's black, oozing membrane. The Nightmare, sensing its demise, roared in anguish and dismay as the Goddess of the sun destroyed much of it, tearing the monster to pieces. However, The Nightmare was not dead. So long as fear and darkness remained, it could never die. Instead, the black beast lay there, torn to shreds by Celestia, fully conscious, and at her mercy. Celestia knew she could never fully kill The Nightmare, so she took it to a nearby cave, one placed on the planet in such a way that the sun would always shine on its mouth, no matter what time of day or night it was. There she left the broken, beaten creature, and in that cave it stayed, and will always stay so long as the sun burns bright in the sky. The end!" Said Twilight Sparkle as she closed the book she was reading to Applebloom and her friends. The three fillies cheered as their foalsitter closed the storybook titled: "The Legend of The Nightmare".

"Twilight, does The Nightmare ever escape?" Asked Sweetie Belle nervously.

"Nah, it's scared of the sun, remember?" replied Applebloom.

"Humph, anything that hides in the dark all the time doesn't sound too scary to me!" Said Scootaloo.

"Well, enough of that. Time for bed, you three." Said twilight as she put the story book away.

"Twilight, is The Nightmare real?" Asked Applebloom. Twilight laughed.

"Only if you stay awake, Applebloom. Good night!" Twilight then blew out the candle and closed the door.

"I bet I could take it if it did exist..." Said Scootaloo.

"Ah, give it a rest, scoots. The darn thing ain't real, and I doubt you could even look at it without cryin' fer Rainbow Dash to save ya." Retorted Applebloom. Sweety Belle stifled a laugh as Scootaloo shot Applebloom a glare. Then, the three finally went to bed, totally unaware of a masked specter hovering outside the window.

"So..." Said the specter, its voice dry, raspy, and harsh. "... They think it all a story, a child's tale, those arrogant equines. Well, I think it's time I brought my favorite toy out of its box, just to remind them..." Lightening flashed in the distance, illuminating Vodahmin's front briefly, then he vanished when it stopped.

+++++++++++++++ At the Cave's Mouth ++++++++++++++

The sun beat harshly on the Island, yet much vegetation grew there, including giant palm trees, who's leaves sheltered all below them from the ever-present sun. This, however, did not let The Nightmare escape its cave. It had waited in that cave for countless millennium, and was guaranteed to wait there countless more. It had been so long since he last fed, and would do anything for a morsel, even swear fealty to Celestia herself. That is, if she ever came back. That last thought made The Nightmare angry, and it tried to roar, but could not, for it was too weak. Then, a familiar shape silhouetted against the cave mouth: Vodahmin. The nightmare looked up pitifully at his creator and master, despite the fact it was much larger than him.

"Yes, my faithful creation, I have returned to you." Vodahmin spoke soothingly to the monster, which purred at the sound of his voice. "Now, I need you to go back to Equestria, for they need to remember why they feared the dark in the first place. You should have no trouble with this, now should you?" He cooed. The Nightmare grinned widely, revealing long, white, VERY sharp teeth, all courtesy of years sharpening them on rocks.

"I knew I could trust you..." said Vodahmin. "Now, let's get you out of this cave." As Vodahmin said this, He raised his hand, and Clouds blotted the sky, making the ground almost as dark as night.

With that, The Nightmare slithered out of the cave, and sank into the ground. He was finally free after untold years, and was going to spend his freedom on one thing: food.

++++++++++++++ Ponyville, That night +++++++++++++++++++

Doctor Whooves was out late walking around, like normal. It was truly a beautiful night, but something seemed... off.
He couldn't place it, but something evil was afoot, and it was close.

In fact, It was right behind him.

The Nightmare reared itself, looking like a giant snake, with six red, unblinking eyes. The Doctor, noticing the shadow, turned around slowly and looked up, seeing all 18 feet of the abomination that was now in front of him.

"Well, Shi-" was the only thing that left his mouth before The Nightmare Snapped him up in one bite, then gulped him down.
Its first meal in ages, and it wanted more. It was in a town, but everyone else was inside, asleep. However, this did not hinder The Nightmare. Smelling the air with a long, white tongue, it caught trace of three little fillies, resting peacefully in a library. Easy prey, as far as it was concerned. Children's dreams were always its favorites, after all.

The Nightmare slid in the shadows, surfacing every now and again, like a snake in water. A few guards were positioned here and there, but it paid them no mind. Until, that is, one of those poor fools spotted it.
"Halt! Show yourself!" The guard was slightly unnerved, thanks in part to The Nightmare's aura, which induced fear on a subtle level.

As the guard approached The Nightmare, it tingled with the pleasure of sensing the guard's fear, drinking in every moment like fine wine. Yes, this one would die EXTRA painfully.

The guard's steps became more and more hesitant as he approached the alley The Nightmare hid in, and He stopped right in front of where it hid, trying to see beyond the darkness. Suddenly, two little red eyes pierced the darkness, and caused the guard to stumble, then chuckle.

"Heh, just a couple of rats. What was I thinkin'?"

Then, his heart skipped a beat as a demonic growl emanated from the alley, and the two red dots became six, and began to raise into the air, towering over the quivering guard.

The Nightmare bared its long, sharp teeth, which seemed to glow in the darkness, and surrounded the poor guardspony with its body, keeping its face in the same place while it fed on his fear, vastly feeding its power.

The poor guard, however, was anything but amused. In fact, he was close to wetting himself. As The Nightmare's demonic whispers turned into terrifying growls, The guardspony prayed to Celestia to save him, but was rewarded with a sharp, shadowy, spear-like appendage to the abdomen from below.

As the guard stared at the appendage, still computing what just happened, more spikes jutted out of it, rooting themselves inside him. The pain was unbearable, and The Nightmare's growls turned back into soothing whispers as the spikes branched more spikes, and the shadowy abomination then tore out the guard's innards, dropping them gingerly into it's own mouth, relishing as the dying guard dropped to his knees, then finally bled out, his blood smearing the sidewalk as The Nightmare dragged his corpse into the alley.

After The Nightmare finished it's meal, it crawled out of the alley like a centipede, then proceeded toward its intended target: The fillies in the library. The Nightmare crawled along the sidewalk, avoiding light sources and any more guards, lest they be more courageous than the last one. Finally, he reached the target; a giant tree, it's insides hollowed out to make living room. Though he could not enter a home unless its doors or windows were open, he could still affect those inside it, and he had other means of feeding.

The three fillies shifted uncomfortably as The Nightmare's aura put all manners of fear into their little heads, and The Nightmare feasted on their dreams, already feeling its strength returning to it. Soon, claws began to form at the ends of four long, spindly arms, and two long, powerful legs. It would have continued it's feast, but it detected one of the fillies awakening, and it fled, seeking other, less excitable sources of nourishment.

Author's Note

Oh, yes...
There will be blood...
And lots of it!

Let me know what you think in the comments section...
If you dare!

Happy Halloween, you miserable sacks of meat! Keh heh heh heh heh!!!!
~ The Nightmare