Bliss in Darkness

Foreword: Before you read this I need to answer a few potential questions. The events of this chapter are taking place while Charlie is trapped in his memories. To him, it seems like three years have passed, but in reality it has only been just over three hours. Enjoy!

To Shatter the Sky

"Well that's new!" Twilight exclaimed as the Mane six entered the forest. They were all decked out in their element jewelry and stood out from the forest backdrop quite well. Stealth was not their greatest ally.

"Dash, don't they look like them 'Shadow Bolts' from when we defeated Nightmare Moon? The ones that tried ta steal ya away from us?" Said Applejack warily. The strange shadow animals that Charlie had encountered at the castle had overrun the forest, giving the whole place an eerie feel. There was also a lack of real animals that seemed especially odd for the Everfree.

"Hey yeah, they kinda do! You won’t take me away from MY friends!" She exclaimed as she bucked right through one of them and fell flat on her flank. Pinkie Pie laughed and Dash got up with a giggle, and the tension of the whole area lifted slightly. Fluttershy even brought her face out from behind her mane.

Every few moments, Twilight would send out a magical pulse to detect magical presence in the surrounding area. It functioned similar to echolocation only instead of high pitched frequencies, it uses magical energy to pulse off other magical energy signatures. She learned that in the book she had stayed up all night reading, and made sure it was well known to her friends how important books were. There were hushed remarks about Twilight's 'Egghead' status, and several spells were used to zip several mouths shut.

Several giggles later, they arrived at the Everfree Castle. They found it in much better condition than Charlie had. It was still run down and broken in places, but the main castle building looked almost good as new. They could see shadowy creatures lifting the old stone and magically repairing it. It would have been a marvelous sight, if not for how horrifying it was. Twilight instantly knew who was behind it due to her prior research on the mare in the moon several years ago.

"Ooo! This place is neat! I wonder if there is anypony new living there! We can throw them a why-are-you-building-a-creepy-castle-in-the-woods-and-not-just-living-in-Ponyville party!!" Pinkie exclaimed in her usual spastic manner.

"Because that's not just anypony living there, Pinkie. When we defeated Nightmare Moon all those years ago, do you remember what happened?" Twilight said trying to explain the dire situation at hoof.

"Well.. um.. we set Princess Luna free from her grasp and then banished her..." Said Fluttershy barely working enough courage to speak.

"Yes. And this is the Everfree castle, where the Princesses lived thousands of years ago when Nightmare Moon first took hold of Luna. Nightmare Moon must have returned here to gather her strength!"

"Yeah, but Twi?" Interjected the orange farm pony, "Princess Celestia said that it wasn't Nightmare Moon when she first got here. I don't think she woulda lied to us..."

"Well that's the only thing that makes sense! All the signs point to her. We should inform Princess Celestia immediately of our-oomph!" Twilight started to say as she was grabbed by an unknown entity.

"TWILIGHT!" the five mares yelled in unison as they ran after the blurry dark force that kidnapped their friend. They weaved in between bushes and trees as fast as they could, but pony bodies were made for speed on flat ground, or in open air. They just couldn't keep up with the creature.

"That's it, I'm going around!" Roared Rainbow Dash as she cut a zigzag through the treeline until she emerged through the canopy, covered in small scratches and bruises. She looked around for the castle, and was startled to find that it had disappeared.

"What the hay? How could I miss it?" She sighed in defeat as she carefully descended below the treeline. She ran for a few minutes that seemed like hours as she searched frantically for her friends. Tired, broken, but not hopeless, she made one more ascent above the treeline to search for her missing companions. She then remembered the time Applejack tried to buck all of Sweet Apple Acres by herself, and the lesson her friend had learned. She needed help.

***

"Yes... good. We have the Purple one. Without her, the elements can not possibly gather to defeat us!" Nightmare Moon said with Charlie's possessed tongue. She locked Twilight's unconscious form in the dungeons of the castle, far out of reach of her friends. She laughed, giddy with her plan. She would gather the elements, drain their power with Charlie's body, and then use it to kill Celestia and her old host Luna. She gazed into the mirror in her room, her eyes sparkling with delight.

"At some point we should gather another body... This form is powerful, but we have no desire to remain as such a hideous creature." She sighed. It was partially true. In human standards Charlie was fairly well looking, however he hadn't had a good bath in several weeks and there were scars all over his chest and stomach in odd patterns. His shirtless body was truly a sight to behold, there was hardly an area on him unscathed. Carved into his back was a large cross.

Nightmare looked out of the window, grateful that the sun was setting. The eyes this body possessed made night even more beautiful. The colors were more vibrant and bright and the blacks were more crisp and sharp. The moon provided all the light his eyes needed to function perfectly, and it made all the difference in the world. She felt his muscles pulse with the power that the night time provided him. She had no idea what this creature was, but she would enjoy using every last drop of his power to conquer Equestria, and make the wonderful darkness last forever.

'Perhaps we will keep this body after all...' She thought with glee as she walked down into the courtyard and reveled in the glorious darkness. Her shadow creatures welcomed her arrival and bowed at her entrance. It was then she heard voices.

"Now where the hay did Rainbow Dash go?" queried a southern pony.

"I don't know, but walking around in this forest makes my hooves hurt..." claimed a very proper voice.

Finally, the other elements had shown up looking for their friend.

"Just as we planned." Charlie’s voice said with a grin.

***

All of Ponyville looked to the eastern sky to marvel at the spectacle. There was a loud 'boom' followed by a glorious flash of the rainbow. Rainbow Dash was flying as fast as her wings could take her back to Twilight's library. She landed with a thud and took a moment to catch her breath before bursting in through the door.

"Spike!!" She screamed with worry in her voice.

"Hey Dash, whats the big deal?" Spike said as he rolled out of bed, recent sleep evident in his eyes.

"We need to send Celestia a message NOW!" She quickly replied gathering a quill and paper with her mouth and spitting them into spikes lap.

***

"Dear Princess Celestia,

This is Rainbow Dash. We need help in the Everfree forest as soon as possible. We found a castle that looked like it was being reconstructed. Twilight was kidnapped while after she mentioned something about Nightmare Moon 1,000 years ago, and I lost the others. Meet me here at Twilight's library when you have time.

R.D."

Princess Celestia gasped as she read the letter. Over the past few hours there have been strange shadowy beings sighted all over Canterlot attacking ponies on sight. There were only three deaths but there were over one hundred critically injured and hospitalized. Celestia was at wits end when the letter showed up, but now she was having a mild panic attack. She had been running around Canterlot all day fending off attacks on her precious subjects and trying desperately to keep the peace while her city was besieged by an unknown foe.

"Luna!" Celestia cried as her sister crashed through the window of the throne room. Her body was covered in cuts and bruises and she was having trouble standing up. Hot on her trail were several clouds of purple shadow that took form in the throne room as a large fanged beast. It was similar to a timber wolf, but it was much larger and more frightening. Its eyes glowed bright green and it bellowed a sickening growl.

Luna was out of the fight, so it looked like it was up to Celestia to contain the beast. Celestia loved and cared about all ponies and animals, but this was not natural. It gave off an energy that seemed to feed off the light itself, and Celestia was having trouble seeing through the dark fog it was producing. She charged up her horn and fired a large bolt of energy from the tip at the creature. It dodged the blow, but the beam cut right through the fog and brought momentary comfort to Celestia.

She charged up her horn and fired again. This time the beam was wider, almost taking up the whole area of the throne room. Again, the beast narrowly dodged Celestia's assault but the beam had sliced a large hole through the dark presence it was emanating. Celestia moved closer and closer to the beast, firing smaller shots of brilliant gold magic. She was mere feet away from it when the guards flew in through the shattered window and momentarily distracted the foul creature. This gave Celestia just enough time to power up her horn one more time as she physically pierced the creature’s chest from underneath. It let out a loud yelp as the energy from inside Celestia's horn burst throughout its body. Its eyes glowed bright gold as the creature was cleansed with brilliant light. Suddenly the light stopped, the creature was gone and there were three speechless royal guards standing behind Celestia.

Mere moments passed before the awestruck guards snapped to attention and Celestia ordered them to take Luna to the hospital wing. She had important things to attend to, that hopefully included ending this unexpected attack.

***

Nightmare Moon was pleased with her work. The unusual strength that came with the night made it possible for her to carry all four ponies from the jungle. One by one their friends disappeared, as Nightmare divided and distracted them. five of the six Elements of Harmony were subdued and ready for annihilation. As soon as the Rainbow one entered her domain, her dark conquest would begin. She was caught up in her delusions of grandeur, but was quickly snapped out of it by a bright flash of light originating in the great hall of the castle.

"Thank you so much for coming Celes.... Where the hay are we?" Rainbow was confused. After she sent the letter she informed spike of all that had transpired. After she was done Celestia teleported right in front of her. She began a sentence in Ponyville, and ended it in the middle of the Everfree forest. That had to count for a record, she thought with glee, temporarily forgetting their purpose there.

"I always help those in need. Now tell me, is this the castle you saw?" Princess Celestia responded, her usual loving tone replaced by one of grave urgency.

"I... I think so. We saw it from the outside, so I don't know for sure."

The question answered itself as a strange creature suddenly appeared in front of them. It stood on two legs instead of four, and had five claw-like appendages extending from its front hooves. It was surrounded by the same dark energy as the beast Celestia just defeated. It had a long mane on top of its head, but was hairless everywhere else. It had scars covering its upper body, its lower body covered by a tapestry that depicted Nightmare Moon's defeat one thousand years ago. Its eyes glowed green, and its pupils were wide vertical slits, open wide to let in the low levels of light.

"How good to see you again Celestia." It said. When it spoke, its voice was of two creatures. Its physical voice sounded male, but the secondary voice was that of a female.

"What scheme have you this time, Nightmare Moon?" Celestia said, her heart full of anger for the first time in a millennia.

"Why don't you join us and find out?" With the final word, the strange creature lunged at Celestia, overpowering her with ease. It gripped the solar mare's neck. Celestia's veins turned black and she screamed out in horror as she felt her very life drain before her. Rainbow could only watch in wide eyed horror as her Princess was devoured in front of her. Rainbow did the only thing she could do, she ran to find the rest of the Elements before it was too late for her beloved Princess.

It was then Princess Luna flew in through a nearby open window. Her wings extended, but stationary as her intense magic levitated her to the ground. She gave off the same dark energy as the creature, but it was kind and gentle darkness as opposed to the creature’s crushing and deafening aura. Her eyes glowed a brilliant silver as she charged her horn and fired a silver lunar beam. A scream was heard as the bolt hit her target, knocking it off Celestia.

It was then apparent that Luna's display of valiant affection took its toll. She collapsed in the great hall, unable to sustain her attack on the creature any longer. The creature smiled as the two unconscious forms had served themselves to it. It licked its lips in preparation.

***

Shortly before Luna made her appearance, Rainbow Dash tore through the halls as fast as her legs could carry her. She bucked down every door on her way. She desperately wanted to find her friends, and tears streamed from her eyes as she thought of Celestia's broken form with that horrible creature on top of her. She screamed her friends names as she ran, stopping occasionally to listen for any whisper of a sound.

This wasn't working. Celestia was dying, and she needed to find her friends. With the last of her energy, she bucked one last door down. She let out a surprised and horror filled gasp as she found her friends. Pinkie Pie was in chains on the ground in the corner of the room. Rarity, Applejack and Fluttershy were hanging by their hooves from the ceiling, also in chains. Twilight Sparkle's head was encased in a metal box, no doubt to prevent her from using magic to escape. The five of them were cut and bruised lightly and were breathing shallowly as if in pain. They were all gagged.

"Ohmygoshohmygoshohmygosh" Rainbow couldn't keep herself from hyperventilating. After taking a split second to snap out of it and recover, she opened the vice that contained Twilight's head. She undid the tie holding the gag in her mouth as well.

"Thank Celestia its you! I thought you'd never-" Her thought interrupted by an explosion of words from Rainbow Dash.

"No time! We need to get the buck out of here and save Celestia, NOW!"

With a quick flash of magic, Twilight released all her friends from their bindings. They did not have time to celebrate, as Rainbow Dash opened a crate with their Elements inside it. She attached everypony’s necklace, and Twilight's tiara and shouted something before running out the door with renewed vigor, her friends bursting through behind her.

***

"Looks like we have you now... Princess..." The dual voices said as it neared Celestia once more. Before it could reach out to feed once more, Twilight Sparkle herself exploded through the door with all the elements behind her. The creature outstretched its front legs to drain them as well, but they had caught it off guard.

The Elements rose from the floor, Twilight's eyes glowing bright white. The whole forest pulsed with a blinding light, as everything Nightmare had changed was returned to normal. The possessed beats of the Everfree were released. The guards in Canterlot were on their last line of defense as every defeated one of their ranks turned against them. One loud crack and a bright light later, all the guards were back to normal, lying unconscious in the streets.

Back in the castle's great hall, Twilight ran to her beloved teacher. She cried tears of hopelessness as she realized that Celestia was in deep trauma. She was still alive, but only barely. It would take a miracle for her to recover. Luna, her body broken and still covered in tiny shards of glass was in much the same state. The six elements rushed about trying to find something that would help them recover, when they heard a faint voice.

***

"I can't fucking believe it! A vampire? Are you serious? This has to be a joke..." I exclaimed inside my mental prison. After taking the potion from my old memories, I woke up back in the same door filled passage. I got up and wiped away the sweat on my forehead, trying to calm my many nerves and emotions.

"No wonder I made the decision to forget... I am a fucking nightmare!" I screamed as I kicked the first door I came to. Deciding that all my memories of 'Wonderbread' did not deserve such punishment, I turned the pain inwards. I sat there in the corner, no expression on my face besides that of complete and utter despair. In my darkest moment, I had a choice to make. I took a long time to analyze myself and my feelings. Something changed inside me that day. I remembered the phrase I spoke to my brother. Redemptio per adversitatem invenitur. Through adversity, there is redemption. I discovered the true meaning of that statement as I laid on the marble floor of my mind. I had been through plenty of adversity. I made my choice.

I stood up, a new found courage in my heart. When I drank the memory elixir, I had made the choice to run from my past. No more. That day forward, I would accept what I had done and do my best to atone for my errors. For the first time in years, I felt the loving presence of my family again, smiling down upon me. I did not know if I believed in an afterlife, but I knew the loving feeling had to have come from somewhere.

Then, as though it was on queue, my mind prison started collapsing. The doors went first, shattering into oblivion. At first I was scared, not knowing what was happening but with my new found resolve I stood up, and walked to the top of the stairs leading to the memory door. I sighed with relief as I knew that whatever happened, I would do my best. And that's all I could do. I could have sworn I heard Connor’s voice call out my name as my purgatory collapsed on itself, thrusting me back into the world of the waking.