Nightmare Free Equestria

Princess Luna wished that she could turn into a cloud. As such, it was likely she would not be noticed. She could just float around, hidden by the night sky and look around without fear of being captured. Unfortunately, that had been an ability had only been able to use while Nightmare Moon. For whatever reason, it was lost when she had been returned to normal.

Instead she found herself having to sneak around. She kept to the shadows, letting her natural dark colors help her blend in. Luna moved as quickly and quietly as she could, staying close to anything she could use for cover: walls, abandoned carriages, and chunks of rubble.

From what she had seen, nearly the entire city of Canterlot was in bad a shape as the castle. Litter collected in gutters along the street. Windows were shattered, some boarded up, other just left gaping wide open. Awnings and overhangs were torn from the buildings. Doors had been smashed apart or torn from their hinges. Even chunks of wall and roof were missing.

Another thing that seemed to be missing was other ponies. She had walked blocks through the remains of the city, and had yet to see any ponies. Closest thing she had seen had been changelings from time to time. Otherwise the streets were empty.

Maybe not, Luna thought as she caught some movement from the corner of her eye. She had not seen the source, but it was something to investigate. Plus it was better than simply to wander the streets without a real target or location in mind. With that decided, she started toward the direction she thought she had seen movement in.

Princess Luna found herself standing outside of what had been Canterlot's most popular donut shop. The building was dark, with windows boarded up, one of the doors broken off the hinges, and the other smash and twisted to be barely recognizable. Certain there were no changelings watching, she ran into the remains of the shop.

A noise from the other side of the counter caught her attention. Walking to the counter, she looked over it. Two things caught her attention. One was a familiar looking form, a child-sized pony that had a white coat with brown spots. As hard as it was for her to believe, Princess Luna recognized the little colt. The other was a changeling that was making its way toward the young pony who was currently distracted as he tried to pull a bag out from a storage pantry.

Princess Luna did not recall deciding on a course of action, or of collecting magical energy. All she remembered was feeling of protective of the colt, and angry that a changeling dared to threaten him. The next thing she knew, a blast of pure magic was flying through the air from her horn to strike the stalking changeling.

"NONE SHALL DARE TO HARM YOUNG SIR PIPSQUEAK!" she shouted in the Royal Canterlot voice. Her dark wings were spread wide as she stood there, and her eyes glowed white with energy.

"Princess Luna?" a familiar voice asked, bringing her back to her senses. "Is... Is that really you?"

The princess lowered her wings, her eyes returning to their normal color as she moved to look at the young colt.

"Not in the way you would mean," she responded, "but for the most part, certainly."

A wide grin spread across the foal's face. Before Luna knew it, he had darted to her and now had his front legs wrapped around one of hers.

"We are glad to see you as well," Luna said with a smile, "but tell us, why are you wandering through Canterlot alone?"

"I'm not," he responded as he let her go. "I was with-"

Before he could finish, a grey figure shot past them and struck the changeling that had been coming for them. The figure turned out to be a light grey earth pony with a dark gray mane and tail. The mare had a purple treble clef as a cutie mark, and wore a bow-tie around her neck. She stood on her hind legs, the front ones held up in a defensive position.

The changeling bared its fangs and charged at the grey earth pony. In one movement, the mare slid to one side, dodging the charge, and struck out with one hoof to punch the creature in the jaw. Before the impact could send it to far, the mare grabbed one of the legs. After spinning it, she threw the changeling as hard as she could.

The changeling let out a squeal of pain as it struck the counter with a crack as its carapace fractured. The creature bounced up from the impact before landing into the congealing oil of the deep fryer.

"Oh dear," the mare said as the changeling started to climb out, now coated in oil. Keeping a defensive position and facing the creature, she quickly glanced around, trying to find something to aid her in the battle.

Once again, the changeling charged, oil dripping from it as flew through the air. Once again the grey mare dodged, this time she delivered a pair of strikes to the side of its abdomen as it passed. Grappling the creature was not an option as it would currently be slippery from the coating of oil.

Luna glanced around, looking for a way to help. Her eyes landed on one of the stools that would be used to sit on at the counter. Grabbing it with her magic, the princess threw it as hard as she could. It seemed like a miracle when the stool struck the changeling, knocking it from the air.

Taking advantage of the opening, the grey mare lunged forward. Grabbing the stool, she raised it up as high as she could before swinging down hard. The changeling shrieked as it was struck, the impact cracking the shell around its head.

The mare raised the stool and brought it down on the creature again. And again, and again, and again. Each time, there was a massive thud from the impact. At first, each strike was marked with the sound of the thick carapace cracking and splintering with the hit. As it continued, the sound became softer and softer. Soon the sound of cracking was replaced by a wet smacking noise as the mare struck the remnants of what had once been the changeling's head and brain.

Breathing heavily, the gray mare tossed the stool aside. Taking a deep breath, she ran a hoof through her long dark grey hair to make sure it was not too badly mussed.

"We must evacuate immediately," the mare said as she turned to face Pipsqueak and Princess Luna. "One in the area indicates that there will be more nearby, and they will most likely be on their way after hearing the shouting." With that she started heading for the door. Pipsqueak gave a nod and started to follow after her.

Luna stood, staring at the remnants of the changeling. Her tongue stuck to the roof of her mouth as her teeth clenched tight. She could feel the roiling sensation in her stomach, the urge to empty its contents at the sight of such a grotesque moment. Yet she could not compel herself to look away.

She felt bad for the creature. A part of it was understandable to the princess. After all this creature was a predator and it did try to attack the young colt. She had even attacked it herself to protect him. Still, she felt bad. As much as she understood what had happened, she had not truly wanted the creature to die.

"Princess," the grey mare said, "I'm afraid I must insist on us leaving immediately. As disrespectful as it may be, if you do not come with us this second, we will have no choice but to leave without you."

"Very well," the princess stated as she finally looked away. "I am coming."

With that, the three of them ran from the donut shop. With the grey mare in the lead, they made their ways through the streets, working their way toward the mountainside. The part of town they were entering was one Luna barely ever came to. From what she understood, most ponies that lived in it were more militaristic, selecting it more for defensibility than the view. Judging from the way things currently were, it was not sufficient to protect against whatever had happened.

The three ponies continued moving, walking down a set of steps and stopping in front of what look like a carved entrance to some sort of underground area. A faint pink aura of energy covered the entrance. The sight made Luna stop, looking at it for a moment.

The grey mare and Pipsqueak continued forward, passing through the magical field. The energy rippled around the pair as they moved across the barrier and into the underground.

"What is this?" Luna asked.

"It's a modified shield spell," the mare explained. "It has been designed specifically to let ponies through but to keep changelings out."

Just like what my world's Shining Armor used, Luna thought. I will be happy to see the familiar face of the former guard captain again. Perhaps he will be able to explain to me what has occurred in the castle. Luna smiled to herself at the thought of another familiar face, and stepped to pass through the barrier.

Her vision filled with white as her entire body suddenly felt electrified. Her brain felt like it was on fire, the sensation shooting down along her spine and through her limbs. She did not even hear herself as she shrieked in agony. The pain was suddenly replaced by nothingness as the white suddenly turned black.