Nightmare Idiot

Hydras. Timberwolves. Their rocky cousins, Stonewolves. Massive cockatrices. A horror that defied description. A large swarm of fruit bats. All were rampaging through Ponyville, leaving massive tracks in the streets and bowling over carts as they converged on the Princesses. Nightmare Atlas caught Luna's eye, grinning with insane pleasure. "So, Princesses, will you fight or will you bow down to my army?" A thundering roar punctuated his statement, accompanied by a massive gout of flame shooting skyward for nearly thirty feet. The first screams of terror rang in Atlas's ears, music to his twisted mind. The hydra, the first monster to appear (not counting the toad), let loose a deafening screech as its heads reached for Celestia. The Solar Princess's sword flashed; the beast retreated, nursing an empty neck, the cauterized wound preventing any new heads from spawning. She turned to face Atlas, but he was gone.

A harsh shriek of magic on metal coincided with a sudden blow from behind. Righting herself, Celestia spun to face her attacker, armor smoking from the blast. For the first time in many years, she grit her teeth in anticipation of actual combat on a level playing field. "So be it. You have struck the first blow; pray that I do not strike the last." The Nightmare, wreathed in sickly purple tendrils of its own essence, responded with a bolt of black lightning, only for it to be knocked aside by Luna's hammer. The Lunar Princess pressed the attack, swinging in devastating arcs that even the Nightmare found difficult to block. The dueling pair traded attacks, neither gaining or losing ground. Seeing the main threat under control, Celestia turned to stem the tide of possessed creatures. Leading the charge was the original hydra, frothing at the mouths in rage, while a pack of Timberwolves sprinted around its gigantic feet, baying for blood. Celestia burnt a wave of them away with a brief flash of magic. A few made it through. They were quickly dispatched by the Princess's sword. Undeterred, however, was the hulking hydra. Its necks darted in from all sides like serpents, one finding its mark on the back of Celestia's neck. Sharp teeth scraped against enchanted gold, finding purchase and tearing loose a plate before Celestia incinerated it like its brethren. Completely decapitated, the monster's lime green body fell with a thunderous crash that shattered any windows left intact. The Solar Princess snorted fire, ignoring the small trickle of blood on her neck, the wound closing within seconds. Collecting herself, she braced herself for the next attack. She didn't have to wait long.

Clang. Metal struck rock yet again, crumbling the boulder but leaving Nightmare Atlas unscathed. Another bolt of lightning snaked out from his aura, wrapping around the handle of the Ban Hammer and yanking hard. Luna winced, but didn't loosen her magical grip on the weapon, instead sending a pulse of magical energy through it, blasting the Nightmare's electrical tendrils away. Dodging an earthen claw rising from the ground, Luna threw her chosen weapon, missing Atlas and leaving the tool embedded in a nearby house. Sneering, Atlas's horn glowed, and a column of lava engulfed the Lunar Princess. Her magical shield held, but only just. Atlas increased the flow, but lost control when the Ban Hammer flew from the wall and struck him in the back of the head. Little griffons flew around his head making rude gestures as the Nightmare shook his head. Too late, he tried to cast a shield. Luna's strike caught the evil spirit square on the jaw, sending him horn over hooves. She didn't give him a chance to recover, following up with vicious swings that sent him tumbling again and again. Before long, she hovered triumphantly over Atlas, the Ban Hammer raised in preparation for one final blow. "Doth thou concede?"

Atlas spat. "Put the hammer down and we'll discuss your surrender."

Luna's lip curled in a snarl. "DOTH THOU DESIRE US TO PUT THE HAMMER DOWN? WE SHALL PUT THE HAMMER DOWN!"

The Ban Hammer descended, the wrath of the Princess of the Night behind it. Time seemed to slow to a crawl. Atlas reached out to the possessed creatures, reabsorbing his essence. In the millisecond left before contact, he charged up a teleport spell and released it.

The warhammer's impact shook the earth and left a crater nearly three feet deep and twice as wide. Luna lifted the tool, blowing away the dust with a powerful flap of her wings. Atlas had disappeared. Luna swiveled her head, but even she couldn't move fast enough to block the devastating bolt of dark energy. The Nightmare took up her place, floating menacingly with a vile grin on his muzzle. "Really, lulu, you ought to have seen that coming." Lifting the Ban Hammer, Atlas waved it almost lazily at Luna like a demented golfer preparing for a difficult swing, but before he could send the Princess to the Moon again, a manticore, released from his control, tackled him to the ground. Luna tried to get up, but a swarm of fruit bats accosted her with gentle slaps from their wings. In spite of the situation, Luna d'aawed. Hopper croaked from his hiding spot inside her mane.

Celestia was quite confused. One moment she was being attacked by dozens of foul beasts, the next they were going their separate ways. As she scratched her head with the tip of her flaming sword (a gift from her old friend Godric Gryffindor before he left to teach magic in another dimension), a giant spider stalked past with a barrel full of apples clutched tightly in its mandibles. Overhead, thousands of fruit bats seemed to be converging on a single point close by, and a giant cockatrice had decided to lay an egg on top of somepony's house, causing the roof to sag alarmingly.

A distant roar reminded Celestia that many of the monsters were naturally hostile to ponies even without the Nightmare's curse. Flying high above Ponyville, she spotted another hydra knocking over houses and generally terrorizing the populace. She shot off like a cannonball to deal with it.

Atlas was not having a good time. Manticores come in several varieties, and this particular subspecies seemed to have an unusual resistance to magic, not to mention being nearly twice the size of a normal manticore. Hitting it with a boulder had merely annoyed it further, and his lightning couldn't penetrate its thick, insulating fur, especially since he had expended most of his energy fighting Luna. Add teeth, claws, and a highly venomous stinger, and the Nightmare's day had taken a very sudden turn for the worse.

Luna watched from her flying chariot of fruit bats, smirking as Atlas desperately attempted to beat away the angry lion/scorpion hybrid. A recently-appointed bat servant brought her a martini from a nearby bar, depositing it gently into her outstretched hoof. Her other hoof was busy stuffing popcorn into her mouth as the display of idiocy unfolded below her. By now, she had a pretty good idea of who the nightmare had possessed. "Blueblood," she called to the battling duo, both of whom paused to look at her, "Thou art a fool, thou hath been a fool, and thou shalt forever be a fool. Be glad that thy plan hath not yet injured our subjects, else we wouldst impose severe consequences upon thee. As for thee, beast-" The manticore's ears perked up. "May the best cat win." With that, she leaned back, ready to enjoy the show once again.

This hydra is different, thought Celestia as her sword cut a fiery rent in the air. It has showed great resilience in spite of all that I can safely do to it. Perhaps the Nightmare gifted it with such abilities? The Solar Princess ducked under a striking head and let loose a bombardment of fireballs, each of which dissipated on the monster's scales. It roared and smashed a cottage to twigs. The ponies who lived in the area had wisely evacuated, so Celestia was willing to unleash a little more of her power than usual. Calling upon the sun, she drew a small portion of its substance into herself and launched it directly at the hydra's nearest head. The head vaporized instantly, but it served primarily to anger the creature further. Now truly berserk, the hydra lunged at the Princess of the Sun, mouths gaping wide and filled with razor-sharp teeth the size of boards. Celestia's sword swung twice, thrice, four times. Each swing sent another head toppling to the ground, until finally the gargantuan beast had been slain. Slowly, almost defying gravity, the body began to fall. As it did so, Celestia caught a glimpse of a pony standing directly in its shadow, digging a small object from the debris of a wrecked house. She looked up just as the titan began to fall in earnest. She screamed. Celestia began to charge a teleport, but in her heart she knew there wasn't enough time for her depleted magic reserves to supply the spell with the necessary power.

Far away, Nightmare Atlas's magically enhanced hearing picked up the faint ghost of a terrified scream. I know that voice... THAT FOOL! She should have left, not stayed behind to protect her precious possessions! This isn't what I wanted! In the time it takes for a bee to flap its wings, Atlas decided on a plan. The Nightmare resisted, panicking, but Blueblood broke through, just for an instant, and burned the Nightmare away, converting the spirit to raw magical energy. In a blinding flash, he was gone. Blueblood appeared at the mare's side just long enough to grab both her and the object she had risked her life to retrieve before teleporting again as the hydra's body hit the earth with a resounding boom. The last thing he saw before he fell unconscious was the startled yet somehow understanding look on Auntie Celestia's face.