Nightmare Idiot

Blueblood, Nightmare P.

By Psychedelica

Prince Blueblood was not a happy pony. His personal budget had just been cut (by his aunt, of all ponies!) to eight million bits, the nobles were starting to lose their respect for him, and to top it off he had managed to misplace his mane protector. Growling with frustration, the Prince slammed his window open, breaking the glass and scaring an unfortunate owl in the trees below. Above, the night sky sparkled with the light of ten thousand stars, twinkling and blinking at random. To Blueblood, they were mocking him, and they would pay, just like the nobles and the commoners who were undermining him and the Princesses for taking away his well-earned bits and-

Blueblood shook his head violently; had he just seriously considered attacking the rulers of Equestria for the sake of a measly few million bits? Even if he actually wanted to, the alicorns' magic outclassed his by several orders of magnitude. He had trouble levitating a table, for Celestia's sake. Just for fun, he idly wondered, how would I go about a coup? I'd need an army behind me - some of the more loyal nobles would do nicely - and a massive power increase of my own, which is unlikely to occur unless I can somehow get my hooves on the Alicorn Amulet or an object of similar purpose. Struck by sudden inspiration and an almost fanatical desire to see a finished, if technically impossible, plan, he shoved everything off of his ornate desk except a roll of parchment and a quill. As he schemed late into the night, he took no notice of the dark mist that swirled in through the window and curled around his hooves like a snake around a rat.

When Prince Blueblood awoke the next morning, he immediately felt something was off. Perhaps it was that the gentle tug he had given his blanket had torn it in half, or maybe it was the massive wings that fanned out behind him in surprise, but whatever the reason, the proud and noble stallion chose that moment to squeal like a filly and run into the nearest wall. Said wall promptly collapsed under Blueblood's assault, and the Prince fell into his gold-plated bathroom with a chunk of drywall stuck halfway down his horn. He flailed around wildly for a few moments, finally righting himself with the aid of his longer legs. Breathing heavily, Blueblood shakily stepped to the mirror and looked in. A dark gray alicorn stared back, its mane a disturbingly familiar purple haze studded with stars. Powerful wings flared on its back, each several feet wide and perfectly groomed, despite their recent abuse, and its horn was the size of a longsword and razor-sharp at the point. Blueblood shifted his gaze, folding his new wings with some difficulty (but not much - had he been destined to evolve like this?). His cutie mark, formerly a compass rose, was now a globe wrapped in shadow. Experimentally, the Prince reached for his magic, only to find a void.

"Not yet, host of mine. Not until thou sweareth to carry out thy plans of the night past."

Even as Blueblood bit his newly indestructible lip to prevent a second squeal, his brain was rapidly putting together the pieces. Smoky mane and tail, voices in my head, plans that would essentially result in world domination... NIGHTMARE! For a brief moment, his body tried to panic with his mind, but an invisible force wrestled his control away and kept the pony still as a statue. To his credit, the Prince fought for a full three seconds before his natural cunning took over and he relaxed, albiet cautiously. "Nightmare Moon, I presume?" He had to play this carefully, one wrong word and...

"Nay, 'tis merely Nightmare; our title of Moon came from the depths of Luna's mind. We wilt search thy psyche for the title that wouldst befit us most." It was a statement, not an offer, and a moment later Blueblood felt a sharp pain behind his eye as Nightmare open and closed his personality, bit by bit, missing nothing. A full minute passed as the Prince stood silently sweating and anticipating. Abruptly, the sensation ceased, and the whispering, silky voice of the Dark Spirit slithered through his head again. "While thou art a fool and a coward, thou doth contain some redeeming qualities within thyself, namely thy treachery and thy pride. Thou art also gifted with an innate knowledge of the world's features. Our title shall be ATLAS!" With the final word, a great gust blew seemingly from nowhere, whipping Blueblood's ghostly mane and tail like smoke in a tornado, except much thicker and almost malevolent in its swirling patterns.

Suddenly, Nightmare Atlas's body came under the Prince's control again, just as a frantic knocking sounded from the other side of the heavy door. A maid's voice called, frantic and insistent. With barely a thought, Nightmare Atlas ripped the door from its hinge and sent it spiraling down to the gardens below. The poor old maid gasped and cowered low, sending ripples of sick glee though the Nightmare and Blueblood alike, joined as they were. "KNEEL, PEASANT." Oh yes, this power felt good. As he towered over the mare, sudden inspiration struck him, and he sent a fraction of his essence into the maid's head, where it lodged behind her brain and began entwining itself into her magical core. After a moment, the maid mechanically rose and walked away, her mind under full control of the Nightmare. With a sadistic cackle, Nightmare Atlas set off to find more slaves.

Some time later, the Nightmare had full control of every servant, maid, and guest in the castle. He knew better than to try possessing the Princesses; they would detect him instantly and trace him back to Blueblood's body. No, he would have to execute his plan, starting with the items his slaves were fetching. Impatiently, he considered ordering the ponies to hurry up, but he could lose his finer control of the others while he focused on one too hard, and they might shout out a warning. The only option was to wait. As if on cue, a firm knock sounded on the magically constructed barrier, and Nightmare Atlas dissipated it to allow the initial slave to walk through, carrying a small wooden box with a sun and moon seal on the top. He tore the lid off and looked inside; there sat an enormous spherical ruby,  without the slightest imperfection. He twisted the gem, and it separated smoothly into two exact halves. Nightmare Atlas placed one over each of his eyes, took a deep breath, and pushed. It hurt, but only for an instant, and when he blinked a few times he realized that he could see every living thing in a large radius, though walls, the ground, and all other obstructions. The Nightmare grinned wickedly, searching for the distinctive forms of the Royal Sisters. His attention, however, snapped back to his room as another slave entered with a slightly larger box. His smoky many billowing in excitement, he tore into it as well, followed by another and another, until a small mountain of ripped and torn boxes lay discarded in a corner. Glancing at his jewel-encrusted self in a magical mirror, Nightmare Atlas stretched his limbs in anticipation of the coming confrontation. But first...

He turned to the final container. This one was smaller and made of cardboard, with a stylized design on the top. Carefully opening it, Nightmare Atlas began to feast on a dozen of Eqestria's finest desserts. Outside, some tiny bit of a pair of possessed Royal Guards broke through just long enough to wonder why it sounded like an elephant was feasting in Blueblood's room. Then their eyes snapped forward and they assumed their posts once again.