The Castle of Nightmares stood proudly, moonlight radiating off the glimmering walls while shrouding the sight of any creatures inside. A single earth pony strode in through the front gates, treading carefully as he passed one guard checkpoint after another. Eventually, he came into a large hall adorned with stained-glass windows, each of them displaying the tales passed down throughout the land.
Slowly, the pony made it to the end, where he found six thrones all standing by one another. He gave a short bow, trying to keep his heartbeat to a steady, and undetectable pace.
“You may speak” spoke a sophisticated, feminine voice, albeit a little bored.
“My apologies for interrupting you, your majesties, but I come bearing word of a mysterious vigilante releasing the slaves from the mines” the stallion stated, a bead of worry-induced sweat beginning to drip down the side of his muzzle.
“WHAT!?” another voice spoke, this one being much more rash than the others.
“Calm down now, I’m sure there must be a reason” a gentle, soothing whisper said as she raised a hoof before the previous individual.
“Who in the right mind would try ta release the slaves anyway, can’t be anypony smart” mused another voice, this one clearly possessing a southern drawl.
“I don’t know, but this vigilante clearly can’t be all that wise if he’s trying to oppose us” spoke another voice, this one being calculated, calm, and easily the most composed of all six of them.
“I say we find him and break his legs” spoke a rather sadistic voice, a few short giggles occurring around the six thrones.
“Excellent idea, darling, but how are we supposed to break his legs if we don’t know who he is, or where he is?”
The sadistic one put a hoof to her chin and began thinking about it. Of course, all that thought quickly digressed into another fit of the giggles. “I dunno” she said in an overly-cutesy manner, much to the annoyance of the others.
“Send out a search party around the mines, tell them to look for any unusual signs of magical presences” spoke the voice in the center to a nearby guard, the latter nodding and heading out.
“Oh, he’s gonna wish he was never born” spoke one voice.
“Most definitely” added another. A cloud has passed by the nearby window, revealing the six figures to be nightmare-esque mares, each of them possessing a severely dark coat and a menacing pair of eyes, each of them simply irradiating darkness within the insidious grins they passed each other.
Going from right to left, there was an earth with a dark magenta-colored coat and a very long, straightened pink mane. She possessed a trio of demonic balloons adorning her flanks, and crystalline eyes that seemed to shimmer in the moonlight.
Next was a dark brown earth pony with an equally long mane, this one having a few waves and being blonde in coloration. She had serpent-green eyes and three rotten apples across her flank, and a black, leather stetson proudly worn over her head.
After her was a midnight-blue pegasus with a colossal pair of wings on either side of her body. Her mane was primarily rainbow-colored, though the normally cyan section of it was missing, instead replaced by a dark purple area. She smirked with a mild glow in her rose-colored eyes and possessed a storm cloud with a red, yellow, and dark purple-colored bolt of lightning as a cutie mark.
The next pony in order was another pegasus, this one possessing a primarily brown coat with faint traces of canary-yellow around her outline. Her mane was probably the longest of the group, reaching down to the floor with minimal effort, being dark pink in coloration. For a cutie mark, she possessed 3 butterflies, each one having a dark magenta body and vibrant, blue wings. She sat with a sadistic grin and an unnatural glow in her turquoise eyes.
After her, there were two thrones settled in the center, both being being heavily decorated with gems. To the left, sat a dark purple unicorn unicorn with an equally purple, wavy mane and several diamonds adorning her flanks. She pointed her crystal-blue eyes towards the final member of their little band of misfits, a unamused-looking alicorn, a slightly lighter shade of purple than the last one, but possessing much straighter hair than the former, all it being an ethereal mesh of night-sky colors. Blue, pink, white, and magenta colors all swirled about on what felt like it was a living version of space itself.
Long ago, there existed a being that sought out eternal night, and would’ve succeeded if not for these ponies standing here today. Unfortunately, they hadn’t defeated the being like they had hoped. It had managed to find a way to plant small essences of its power within each of them, slowly transforming them from the inside-out into what they are now. Creatures of nightmare, Hell-bent on completing the goal that their previous mutual form had failed to complete. They were no longer the same element bearers they were, those six were nothing more than a shadow of a fable long since forgotten. Only the six of them knew of their past endeavors, but none would ever speak of it, fearing they may inspire a form of rebellion. Not that they could actually pose a threat, more along the lines of wanting to keep them alive to use as slaves, or as warriors.
The six nightmare ponies turned to face one another, each one smiling as they thought out whatever torture they would use against the one being so bold as to actually try and oppose them. As they opened their mouths to began a chorus of sinister cackles, a pegasus being sent flying through the windows suddenly caught their attention.
“What in tartarus!?” shouted Nightmare Rainbow, Nightmare Fluttershy approaching the beaten pegasus.
“Who did this to you?” she questioned as she lifted the soldier’s head, only to be met with a series of pain-filled groans as the he struggled to speak.
“It...w-was….” the soldier tried to say before losing consciousness.
“That was just the first one to fall. If you continue making any other ponies suffer, then you’ll lose a lot more than your army” spoke a mysterious, masculine voice from what seemed like all around them. The ponies all gathered in the throne chamber all looked around, trying to find the source, but only seeing nothing out of the ordinary.
So many different thoughts went around the lot of them, some of them showing signs of unease from how the voice seemed to be everywhere and nowhere. Their moment was soon calmed by the flaring of Nightmare Twilight’s wings.
“Who do you think you are, attacking our army like this?” she demanded to find an explanation for this, to find an individual to punish for his misdeeds. A shimmer of light in the corner revealed a tall, lean figure standing behind one of the tapestries, but what most surprised them was the creature that they had spotted.
This...thing was clearly not a pony, but it had no other recognizable traits either. It appeared to be a form of biped, draped in a black, body-length coat with silver chains adorning the fronts and a large hood that completely shrouded its face. It had its arms crossed in front of its chest, wearing gloves over what could only be referred to as its claws. It stood with its back to the wall, not even paying attention to the nightmares as they spoke.
“I think I’m the individual stopping your tyrannical exploits before they escalate any further” it said, the voice once again coming from all over rather than one specific spot.
“If you’re the vigilante who’s been running amok in our mines, you had better to be prepared to face your punishment” Nightmare Rarity growled. The figure merely turned his head, the only visible thing being his scarlet-red irises upon a black backdrop.
“I assume you have the power to back up your threats” he asked, deliberately mocking the group. Many of them had now risen from their thrones, glaring at the vigilante, only for him to vanish in a trail of shadows.
“Where’d he-” Nightmare Rainbow tried to question before a blunt force wallopped the back of her head, knocking her right onto the ground with a thud. The vigilante suddenly appeared above her, lightning coating his right palm as a huge bolt was suddenly sent crashing down, only to be blocked by a large, magenta and blue-colored shield.
“You’re quite fast to be able to catch Rainbow off-guard” mused Nightmare Twilight. The vigilante didn’t respond, but merely flashed out of sight once more. Nightmare Pinkie’s tail began twitching and she instinctively moved out of the way as the vigilante dropped down from the ceiling, wielding a dark black lance with an arrow-shaped edge and red lines adorning the handle.
“I see you haven’t completely lost touch with your host bodies, but that won’t stop me from purging you” the vigilante mused with a momentary flash of red light coming from his eyes. Nightmare Rarity had launched a concussive bolt of magic towards him, only to be deflected with a twirl of his lance, seemingly absorbed into the blade on it. “But you’re going to need to do a lot more than that to defeat me” he continued mocking them.
The Nightmares of Pinkie and Applejack both glared at the vigilante, standing prepared to handle his next assault. They tried to remain as calm as they could, but found it difficult when they suddenly felt it become harder to breath, their bodies seemingly becoming heavier every passing second. The roped rogue suddenly made a move, but instead of flashing out of sight, he was instead caught in a blue aura of magic.
Nightmare Rarity smirked as she bent the form of assailant into a cross shape, then levitated him closer to her. “You can talk, but when it comes to acting you’re just a big-” she stopped when the figure shone his glowing eyes in her face, seemingly paralyzing her as her magical hold faded, and the vigilante flashed out of sight once again.
Nightmare Fluttershy trotted over to Rarity, the latter of whom kneeling down in pain. The pressure surrounding the earth pony nightmares suddenly let up, and they were free to move about. They spotted the rogue standing just behind Twilight, who ducked down as he horizontally swung the blade of his lance towards her head, then teleported back towards the others. Nightmare Rainbow had suddenly gotten up, her mind slightly dazed from the surprise attack.
The vigilante said nothing, merely stood still as Pinkie lunged towards him, but then took a step back and summoned a fully-body mirror before him, which Pinkie was soon absorbed into. Rarity carelessly shot another bolt of magic towards him, Twilight redirecting her shot so that it missed by what felt like a mile. As the unicorn turned to question her friend, she pointed over with her eyes to the mirror, revealing Pinkie trapped in it.
“You can’t shoot me and keep your friend safe at the same time” the figure mocked as he warped the mirror away, then rushed forward with the lance in hand. Applejack jumped forward and attempted to buck the assailant away, but instead kicked nothing but air. Before she could get her bearings, thunder boom all around her as lightning suddenly struck her entire body. The earth mare screamed out in agony as she felt her heart completely stop, her limbs and joints locked together as her last breath escaped her mouth.
Fluttershy let out a gasp, completely terrified by the recent development. The vigilante reappeared behind her with his arms crossed, the lance being tucked underneath one arm. Fluttershy merely scowled as her brow furrowed. She quickly turned and flared her wings out towards the murderer.
“How dare you...HOW DARE YOU!” she shouted as she flew towards him. The figure said nothing as he gripped the lance in both hands, bringing it up to block the pegasus onslaught. As parts of her aura became visible, it also started moving towards the lance, being absorbed into it. The vigilante quickly booted the pegasus in the chest, sending her flying back into the wall.
With a quick twirl, the lance suddenly became enveloped in shadow, changing shape. The weapon now became a large sword with a broad body, several upward spikes lining the sides of the blade and ending with two large needles standing at the top, giving it the impression of a guillotine. Just as before, the figure’s eyes flashed a brighter shade of red, before eventually vanishing from sight.
Rainbow could only watch as almost in slow-motion, Fluttershy was pinned to the wall by her neck, dark magic forming around the vigilante’s fingertips. Fast as she was, she wasn’t able to move in time, and saw first-hand as Fluttershy’s entire head was engulfed in a colossal burst of dark magic. When the flash faded, the Fluttershy’s head as well a the entire wall behind her, was vaporized, completely burned out of existence by the attack. The vigilante retrieved his blade, propped it against his shoulder as he turned to face the others.
“This doesn’t have to end the same with the rest of you. You can simply surrender now and I promise you won’t meet the same fate as your friends”
“Never” Rarity responded as she charged her dark magic, only to have the vigilante strike her horn at its tip. The unicorns body was completely overcome with pain, her magic fading away as she fell upon her knees. She glanced at the ground through one eye, meeting the gaze of scarlet eyes staring back at her. She looked up and found Rainbow’s throat being gripped in his hands as his blade spun about, deflecting one blast of magic after another from Twilight. Rainbow struggled as best as she could, flailing her hooves in all directions. Eventually, her windpipe was gripped tighter, and her body was thrown towards Twilight, whom of which caught her and gently deposited her onto the ground as she charged forward.
Twilight summoned forth a blade made entirely of her own magic, flying towards the perpetrator with nothing but vengeance on her mind. Rather than fade away or anything, the alicorn was surprised to find him not move at all. She readied her blade and gave a good swing, but didn’t believe her eyes when she saw her blade actually pass right through his head, the enigmatic creature being completely unfazed by it all. He suddenly vanished altogether as Twilight’s hooves touched the ground. She looked about, trying to find the individual while simultaneously trying to figure out how it could possibly be so intangible that solid objects could go through it.
She felt ill intent heading right towards from behind, so she thrust the edge of the blade backwards, satisfied by the sound of blood gushing out and pelting the back of her coat. That satisfied grin was soon replaced by a look of bereft as the voice was nothing like she thought it was. She withdrew her blade and turned around, her sanity practically being lost immediately upon sight of her victim. Rather than the vigilante, she had instead murdered Rainbow. The pegasus’ lifeless body flopped down without so much as a single groan or anything.
Twilight started to hyperventilate. Her pupils shrank to the size of pins as the life of her friend left her body without so much as a single sign of hope. Rarity tried to head towards her, the pain having subsided to the point where she could move. Suddenly, something grabbed hold of her hind legs and seemed to drag her into the floor itself. Her forehooves were bound by dark magic, and her head was forced to look straight ahead, to watch as the vigilante impaled Twilight’s head and chest with his fingers, his blade crashing down onto the alicorn’s back as a wave of blood splashed all around them.
The vigilante stood upright and looked down at his most recent victim, sighing as he shook his head. “I told you, this didn’t have to end like this” he turned and faced Rarity, his normally black pupils now having slitted themselves and turned green. Slowly, he walked over towards Rarity, the unicorn struggling to break free. Unfortunately for her, she couldn’t escape her bindings, her magic still too painful her to use. The vigilante now stood just in front of the nightmare unicorn, the color fading from her face as she looked up to meet his paralyzing gaze. He grabbed hold of his blade, readying to strike at any second. Tears welled up in Rarity’s eyes as she tried as best she could to use her magic, but to no avail. With one swing, she could feel the blade rushing at her, things moving in what felt like slow motion. Once the cold steel had made contact with her coat, everything went black.
Rarity was startled awake, screaming bloody murder as she sat upright in her bed. She looked around, her heartbeat hammering in her chest. She looked down at her hooves, finding the precious, soft white colored fur untainted. Her neck still attached to her skull. She looked around, finding herself in her room at Carousel Boutique, no castle or anything. Her breathing had started returning to its normal pace,
Before any other thought could come to her, a familiar wing had draped around her frame and pulled her closer. “Mmm...what’s wrong?” asked a sleepy Twilight. Rarity let out a sigh and embraced her lover tenderly.
“It was just a bad dream, darling, nothing for you to worry your pretty little head about” Rarity responded, Twilight nuzzling her neck.
“Good, now let’s get back to sleep” Twilight yawned, getting herself comfortable as Rarity soon joined her. It had all just been one really bad dream, that’s what she kept on telling herself. She settled next to her lover as close as she could, continuously trying to push the negative thoughts away.
Little did she know, a pair of scarlet eyes had been watching her from the edge of the room, completely enveloped in shadow. A small smile formed underneath the shadows, the eyes flashing a brighter shade as it suddenly vanished in a small vortex of dark magic.
