The night was as dark as it ever was in her dreams. The sky was starless and an aurora of red in the blackness combined with the blood red moon lit the sky. Cascading through the black clouds the colors melded turning a shade that cast beams of blood red harp strings to the ground as far as she could see. A landscape of dead ponies of all colors and tribes littered the ground covering the hills in the distance to the grass at her hooves.
Looking down she trembled and tried to run, to scream, but she couldn't move from the skeletal remains of her once beautiful legs: the flesh, muscle, and sinew laid around her body, preventing her from moving. As she looked, the harpstrings from the wicked moon washed over her body and begun melting her in slices.
Splattering and clunking to the ground, she gasped until her underside ripped open with a sickening noise and all her innards fell to the ground below her.
"Light, fight this evil."
Light recognized Luna's voice again, but couldn't see; her eyes melted turning the world black. A moment later she was outside her body, ghostly watching herself stand in place melting, her skeleton standing tall, as every other part of her began to melt into the ground below her. She watched in terror as her body became one with the ground and began to turn into a tree, its trunk flowing through her skeleton, melding with it until it formed a disgusting figure of her as large as the largest tree she'd seen.
Her wooden facade held her real face, twisted in pain and agony as her wooden body sprouted green berries that contrasted the rest of the land. Suddenly they began bursting with stars that flew into the sky.
"Light, I will help as I can," Luna's voice echoed from location unknown. The stars began to fight the blood red moon to turn it white. As Light looked at the battle in the sky, her emotions swirled between hate, fear, hope, and a longing to be home; away from all this.
Light sat up in bed. Her bed. In her home. A decent sized apartment in Manehattan. She looked around as she felt the cool air from the open window wash over her sweat drenched coat. She shivered and sobbed into her hooves as the vivid dream stayed in her mind like all the others.
The only dreams she remembered for the past months were the terrifying dreams of death and pain. Half an hour later, she had composed herself to the point she could get out of bed and go the the bathroom. Electricity she thought as she turned on the lights flooding the room with it beautiful artificial light. 'Magic crystals or not, I am so glad I pay for this and not some ancient lanterns like they do in the 'burbs', she thought.
She went to the mirror with her eyes closed and took a shaky breath: the image of her melting body flashed through her mind as her stomach lurched. She turned to the toilet, emptying her last meal over the next minute into it.
Shaking her head quickly as she finished, she sobbed again and looked into the bowl, heaving dryly as she remembered her guts splayed across the ground below her skeletal hooves. She closed the lid and pulled the handle down. She looked at her hoof and sighed, still there she thought to reassure herself. Her eyes trailed her light green coat along her foreleg to her shoulder and she felt a smile creep onto her muzzle as she exhaled a larger breath.
She stepped into the shower and reached for the handle, yet she hesitated. The remembrance of her dream weeks ago of the clouds raining acidic blood still terrorized her every time she got near water.
She swallowed hard and pressed the knob in and turned it slightly feeling it click inside the wall. She gasped as the water began to fall on her, washing away the remnants of her vomiting a moment before and the fears that life was going insane around her. She opened her mouth and filled it with water, swishing it and spitting it to the floor she watched her snotty mucus with small chunks of hay fries washing down the drain and sighed.
She slipped her hoof into the strap of a brush and pressed it to a dispenser on the shower wall and trembled. The cleaning solution was the same consistency as blood, in her mind. Hesitantly, she washed her whole body as fast as she could. While she bathed she was thankful she wasn't a Pegasus and slightly lamented the fact she wasn't a unicorn. Maybe she could fight the demons in her dreams with more magic, but she knew she'd be in worse place flying through that realm. Watching the last of the foam wash away she turned off the water and shook lightly.
Smiling as the water fell to the floor and splashed on the walls of the shower in a rhythm she'd experienced since she was a filly, it was comforting to know some things were the same.
Finishing in the bathroom as quickly as she could, she left to the kitchen to get some juice. Feeling more confident than before, she felt reality around her again and the fears that had traumatized her began to fade. Getting her juice, she sat at the table and sighed. "Maybe I need to get help. Luna tries her best but can't stop them, my friends and family just try to hug them away, maybe a doctor or unicorn? Maybe they can do something."
Looking at the clock on the wall she drank her drink quickly and trotted back to bed; leaving the cup on the table. "Three in the morning, I've got a big day tomorrow, I can't stay awake all night, and these dreams don't repeat the same night, I'll be safe, I'll be safe, I'll be safe," she began to chant as she slowly walked back to her bed and climbed in, laying on the other side this time to avoid falling asleep in the sweat soaked portion of her bed.
"I'll be safe, I'll be-" she yawned loudly as her chant quieted to a whisper, "be safe..."
She was asleep before she knew it.
The sound of her cup breaking woke her violently as she thrashed in her sheets until she realized she was in bed. Gasping, she was prepared for another nightmare until she heard a voice quietly curse the cup.
'A robber? Now? Tonight? No, please...' She felt her eyes watering as another voice whispered in the darkness. Her room door was open and a straight sight to the front door, all they had to do was look and they'd see her trembling, sitting in her bed, holding a sheet to her chest. She quietly got out of bed and slowly went to the wall by the door in the hope they wouldn't come in her room. The soft clopping of their covered hooves traced across the next room as items were gathered and placed into what was probably a chest.
Easier to get around town with a chest than a bag of loot, smart.
She smirked as she thought of them carrying a chest with all her belongings through the city. Then she screamed as one of them began walking into her room. She reared up as he stared at her in shock before she landed on his face with a large crack.
He fell to the floor and shouted as she reared again and landed on the side of his cranium. She felt it crack under her hooves as her hooves sank quickly into his head; he bucked and twitched his legs, letting out a deep gurgling sound as the life left him. Quickly, she hopped back, spun quickly and placed her weight on her front legs while she balanced and waited as the other set of hooves came closer.
"Honey?! Oh, Celestia, what-" the muffled voice shouted before the owner was struck.
Light bucked her hardest and felt her left rear hoof suddenly immersed under a lot of pressure. She fell to the floor with the weight and looked behind her... then laughed at the sight of her leg, up to her pastern, impaled through the robbers head, her hoof sticking from the other side. She placed her right hoof against the attackers head and heaved, pulling her leg free and stumbling forward, landing on the carpeted floor. All of a sudden, the world got bright. So bright her eyes stung and she saw her sleeping blindfold on the floor in front of her.
She looked at it in puzzlement before she remembered putting it on as she was getting in bed. It was purple and white with red speckled on it. "Blood from the robbers," she said mirthfully as she stood up. "I beat the nightmare this time. I'm ready to wake up now," she said waiting. She heard the front door creak open again and turned her ears to the open door holding two dead robbers.
"More of these punks?" she said with a chuckle to herself. Her eyes still blinking away the light of day; she went and grabbed the most recent body and dragged it into her room, out of the sight of the new pony and did the same to the other quicker than she thought she could.
Her focus began to clear and she reared leaning on the wall with her right hoof and coughed loudly. A muffled voice came from the other room, almost at a whisper. She felt the floor vibrate as the pony came closer. She timed it perfectly and fell onto the pony and felt a crack under her hooves as the pony shouted as he was tackled to the floor.
"Light!?" he shouted as she reared again. She recognized the voice and changed the angle of her fall, landing her hooves inches from his twitching muzzle. She looked down at him and blinked hard as his face came into focus.
"Random Corns?!" She took a step back and looked at the pain and fear on his face, he coughed but it was almost silent. Why was it so quiet? He's bleeding, he's coughing blood. She shook her head and her right ear rang from sound flooding it. Her eyes widened and she turned her head knocking the other ear plug out to hear him coughing loudly spraying blood across her floor and her hooves.
She looked up and smirked. The smiled a welcoming smile.
"Mom, daddy? What're you doing here? Is it Monday already?" she asked the corpses of her parents, "I'll make some coffee so we can catch up. Random Corns, where are your manners? Cover your mouth when you cough," she said as she trotted to the kitchen to make coffee and tea, slipping often as her hooves lost traction on the smooth tiled floor.
"I'm so happy you're here, I had another nightmare and really could use your advice," she said as she returned with a pot of hot water, a carafe of coffee, and four cups on a tray on her back. Setting them down by her dead parents and her broken, fearful, brother she began talking about her past week and giggling at the jokes she believed she heard them say."Mom you're so funny. I've gotta get to work soon, you can let yourselves out, right?" She asked as she left the room and slipped on a scarf and hat. "I love you all and will see you soon," she said flatly as her face fell neutral and she left her apartment.
"Random Corns? Ya home? Oh, hey! Mommy and daddy, you're having coffee? How sweet," Light said as she entered her apartment. The scent of flowers and incense wafted in from the hallway, as she closed her door and took off her hat and scarf. "It is so snowy out there tonight I thought I might get hit with a snowball from the clouds! It was really cold too," she said as she shook her mane heavily, small beads of water landing around her.
"Mom, dad? You look thirsty, can I get you a refill?" She walked to the table and leaned in to nuzzle her mother and coughed reflexively as she turned to her father and nuzzled him slightly, retching as she leaned back. "You two look well, I'm so glad you decided to live with me these past few weeks. My nightmares have really slowed down and now I'm even dating a really cute stallion. His name is-" She coughed as she leaned too close to her mother, for a moment she was brought back to reality, and gasped at the sight of her parents rotting and decaying in her living room. The couch staining and rotting right alongside the withered corpses of her parents.
She heard her brother in the bedroom, groaning, but as her eyes shifted to his legs tied together, her mind slipped back into madness.
"Oh, where was I? Oh well, it wasn't that important. I'm gonna take a shower, don't tell dad, but he could really use one himself. 'Kay, see ya silly guys later.
She walked to her room and saw her brother's legs protruding from the bathroom. "Oh, Ran. You're such a silly colt. You don't sleep in here, you go potty in here. I thought mommy and daddy taught you that years ago," she cooed at her brother as she walked into the bathroom, stepping over his rear legs. His forelegs were tied tightly to the base of the toilet, glancing at his body, broken ribs were visible, healing beneath his skin unevenly. His breathing was raspy and he trembled when she walked in. Every step she took his ears flattened tighter to his head until the muscles were cramping, forcing his ears to fall flat onto the sides of his head.
She opened the lid of the toilet and turned, backing up until she sat firmly upon it as he groaned in pain, trying to move away as she went. "Random Corns, you shouldn't peek at a girl going potty. Bad brother!" She scowled at him as he averted his gaze, smacking his muzzle on the floor. He curled into a fetal position and wept slightly. She finished and flushed as she closed the lid and leaned in to nuzzle him. "You've been really good this week, wanna go for a walk around the house?"
His ears perked up as he turned to her. "Mmm-hmm," he replied softly, opening his eyes and turning to her. He sniffed at her and retched slightly as the stench of his parents flowed from her.
"Oh, he's a widdle sicky wicky. That's not good, c'mon little bro. You need a walkies."
She leant forward and pulled the rope several times; loosening it to the point he could move and stand, however he could only crawl since his muscles were weak, he wasn't eating healthy, and his only source of water was from the bowl. He lifted his chin as she looped the rope over him and tied it like a leash, he began walking forward, looking dreamily ahead, until she pulled him to the left out of the room. Slowly he made his way through the apartment, following her like a dog until she stopped and he felt the rope slacken. A few tugs and he knew he was tied to the coffee table. He blinked his eyes and looked at the decomposing remains of his parents with two cold cups of coffee in front of them on the end table.
"H-hi mommy. Hi daddy. Light said you were hungry, wanna try some carrots? She bought carrots yesterday and they were really good," he said as he looked at them, slowly listing his head side to side. His eyes were glazed and were unevenly dilated as he spoke. He chuckled, then laid his head down, staring at his parents hooves and some brown goo around the base of the couch.
Light returned to the bathroom to wash up in a warm shower after a long day of work before reading the next chapter in her Daring Do novel.
She laid on her bed and yawned as she opened the book to the chapter and read. Her mind wandered through the chapter to thoughts of darkness covering the city, ponies melting under the light of a magical cloud of evil. Her laughter echoed across the city and she gazed upon the skeletons falling to the ground into puddles of their former owners bodies. She giggled slightly and stared at the image A.K. Yearling had drawn on the left page as she turned it.
It was her. She was in the page, behind Daring Do. She was moving and crying; mouthing the words 'wake up'. She saw a tear drop onto the page as she shut the book and stretched her hind quarters and climbed off the bed. "Good night mommy and daddy. Night little bro. I'm glad you're feeling better," she called to the living room.
"If that smell gets to you, let me know. I convinced the floor to start using herbal incense to ward off evil spirits, ooo~," she said in a wavy voice before laughing. She yawned as she turned off her lights, returned to her bed, tucked in, and fell asleep quickly.
A light mist hovered over her in the clouds, calling her name as she trudged through a field of corpses. What used to terrify her now was as simple as walking through mud with rocks in it. She began to hop along the corpses, grumbling as she stepped on the occasional abdomen and her hooves sank into the pony. She tried her best to walk along the ribs that weren't broken, but she kept falling until she stopped and looked to the cloudy skies.
"What the hell? Ya keep making me walk through bodies and making me melt, can't you do anything interesting anymore?"
The mist changed colors lightly before turning red and beginning to rain blood on her. She smiled and stuck out her tongue, she began to dance in place counting the drops she could catch on her tongue, until Luna showed up.
For the first time she appeared in a bright flash of white light and looked in horror at the pony enjoying the carnage. Being showered with fresh warm blood coating her body, turning her a sickly red.
"Pony, who are you? Why do you dream of such horror? How can I help you return to the realm of good, sane ponies?"
Light looked at Luna with the most evil expression Luna had ever received from a pony, she reflexively took a step back. The mist turned a green color, similar to Light, and moved over Luna. Luna's eyes moved up and she cast a dispel on the dream to wake the pony looking at her. The spell did nothing: she looked on paralyzed in fear as the mare began to slide along the corpses like she was riding a wave until she was inches from Luna's muzzle.
"I hold no fear of you, Moon Goddess. You will die like the rest of the world, and I will lavish in the feeling for all time," Light said in a guttural tone dripping with hatred.
Luna took several steps back flaring her wings, casting another spell, and another, to no avail.
The mist fell onto Luna as Light charged her, knocking her to the ground. Luna screamed in pain and fear, and began to fade away, before being pulled back into her full form again. Her eyes widened as she tried to fade from the dream again, only to stay in place and scream in pain as Light bit into her flesh, tearing her skin from the muscle from her side to her belly.
Light giggled as the restrained goddess spasmed under the weight of the mist that cancelled all her magic. She chewed on Luna's flesh while looking into the terrified alicorn's eyes before spitting the hide out of her mouth and lunging back to pull more.
The ripping of her flesh made Luna panic, fear gripping her at a level she never knew possible. Luna began focusing all her magic into a spell just as Light ripped a hole in Luna's belly, shoving her head inside to chew and chomp at anything she could reach, Luna vanished mid scream leaving Light with a mouth full of entrails and the mist hovering in front of her.
Spitting the entrails from her mouth Light coughed and trembled as she looked at the dreamscape around her and threw up. "Wha-what? Oh Celestia what have I-? Oh please let me go, I can't... I can't live without this. I need more. I need more..."
She woke from her dream salivating and licking her lips, she sat up with a deadpan expression, looking at her doorway leading to the hall. Climbing from bed she made a quick trot to the door, opening it and closing it behind her.
Random Corns sat up as the door slammed shut and smiled darkly. Standing to his tallest he loosened the rope around his neck and walked to his parents. "Mom, dad. We have to go. She loves you and we'll always remember you."
He began gnawing at the flesh that remained on the skulls and their necks violently ripping them free of their fleshy confines.
Looping his tongue through the eye sockets, pushing out whatever remained inside, he quickly walked to the dining table carrying the rotting skulls of his parents. After carefully placing his parents down on it he slowly cantered, wincing every couple steps due to his poorly healing injuries, to the door. Emptying Light’s saddlebags onto the floor he gathered the skulls, opened the apartment door, and trotted to the staircase as a door opened at the end of the hall.
He hurried his pace and began his descent down several flights of stairs. A loud shrill scream resonated through the building as he entered the lobby and made for the door.
As soon as he opened the door and stepped outside his sister impacted the ground, her head and body cracking into the ground and sending blood splatter onto everything near her as she landed.
He looked at her now pulverized corpse and smiled as he saw one eye turn to look at him before the light in it faded away. He cocked his head slightly, trotting to her fleshy remains and sniffed her. "You smell pretty, sister."
He leaned closer and bit lightly on her ear, pulling it free and placing it into his bags with his parents’ skulls. "Time for misty and me to have some fun; you weren't fun. You were only a pony it needed to gather strength. I'm the strong one.
"The name is Nightmare. In the old tongue Luna means moon, for when I took her simple mind I also took her name. Now my name is Nightmare... Rancor; King of the darkness that dwells within all ponies, ruler of nightmares, malevolence ponified, and I spell the end of the false goddesses. With this form 3,000 years of trial and error will come to fruition... The end is neigh."
He stood tall as a bright orange mist emanated from his body, cloaking it. A flash of light filled the area, and as he looked at his broken and fading sister, he smiled. He wore blood orange armor that now covered his body, turning him into a war horse. His tail and mane shown slightly, waving crimson like Luna and Celestia's, his eyes becoming green and cat like. With a sneer he vanished into mist, with a guttural laugh filling the night sky his plans were in effect.
