Hell's Gates

Celestia couldn't do it. Not again, she just can't. Even as her sister walked forward, dark magic clouding her body as She began the transformation. The guards rushed back in, holding their weapons at level with Luna. She hissed and flew out of the Throne room. Nightshade began to panic as they closed in on him. That bitch left me! Nightshade thought to himself, his back hitting a wall. He focused his magic and faded into shadow. He looked down at his hooves, noticing they were near transparent. He smiled and walked past the guards, who were looking around furiously for him. As he walked out of the Keep, He felt a shift in the balance of things. If it wasn't clear to Celestia what was happening, this shift should've provided her with some clarity. As nightshade walked out into the streets, he materialized and join the swarm of ponies on the street. Now, there was only one clear feeling to him. Bloodlust, he needed to quell the need for killing. So he looked for a dark alley, and there was where five ponies were brutally murdered, each with their own blood message, over the span of five days. By now, of course, the Mane Six was alerted to Nightshade's ever haunting presence. They sought help from everypony they could think of, yet nopony had the answer for this particular problem. They were at their wit's end, when they decided to contact somepony they thought they would never have to ask for help from. Celestia sighed as she summoned up the dark magic, a small window opened up into another dimension. A long figure slithered its way into sight and they heard a cackle.

"Oh, well if it isn't Celestia, to what do I owe the pleasure of your company?" Discord asked, a throne appearing under him as he spoke. Celestia looked at him and sighed.

"Discord, we have an evil on the loose that I believe you're quite familiar with." She said, staring him down. He looked up in thought, then shook his head.

"Sorry, I don't know what you're talking about. Tea?" Discord asked, two tea cups appearing in front of him. One of them floated through the window and Celestia took it.

"Thank you Discord, but I think you do know who I'm talking about." Celestia said, sipping on the tea. Discord sighed and rubbed his chin.

"Well, Abyss is the only real evil I know of, but it can't be him. You've killed him, what, three hundred times now?" Discord asked, strongly exaggerating the amount of conflicts Abyss has brought up.

"Discord, I think he is using a certain stallion, known as Nightshade, to attack and kill ponies. This alone is disturbing enough, but Luna met this young stallion... and He awoke the dormant evil in her."

"Oh Celestia, we all have dormant evil inside of us. I've watched several scenarios of "What If" when it came to the evil that resides deep in the mind of your ponies. My favorites so far have been Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie. Yet I have never heard of a "Nightshade." Abyss gave me the excess of his power, which is why He's using this stallion as a proxy. If you release me, I may be able to fight him. Whatever you do Celestia, do it quick, I can feel the shadows in your world thickening. Darkness is coming, you'd better have a light." Discord said, stretching and laying out across the throne. She nodded and the window grew bigger.

"Alright then Discord. Come back to our world... we need your help." Celestia said, standing aside to let him through. The Mane Six watched as he floated through the window, now the size of a door, and he summoned a small quill and paper.

"Could you please describe Nightshade's appearance and his usual hunting grounds?" Discord asked, a small pair of reading glasses appeared over his eyes as He looked up at Celestia.

"Well... He has black fur, with blood red streaks throughout his mane. His eyes burn like a flame, and he has a grotesque wound across his right eye. He has been stalking the streets of Canterlot, but lately, all his activity has been focused on Bridle Avenue." Celestia finished his description and Discord wrote furiously, before rolling up the paper and tossing it in his mouth.

"I can find him. I don't know if I can defeat him though; his strength grows with every victim he slays." Discord said, as he began floating out of the room. The Mane Six scrambled to find him, but he was already hot on Nightshade's trail.

Nightshade withdrew the axe from the squishy pulp that used to be a pony. He smiled, then furrowed his eyebrows as he lifted a bit of the mess up. He sampled the pony's flesh, rolling it around in his mouth, he fought to get past the metallic taste of blood. He swallowed it and awaited his body's response. Ponies never eat meat, so he didn't know how he would respond to the flesh. He found it surprisingly filling, as he was sitting aside, waiting for another victim, he felt a powerful presence approach.

"Nightmare Moon? Do you have the orders from master?" Nightshade called out. He saw the long shadow approach and smiled viciously as he drew the axe from it's sheathe.

"Afraid not. It's your friendly Neighborhood Discord, here to save the day! Or night, whichever you prefer." Discord said. Nightshade shrugged as he and Discord circled each other. Discord looked over at the squishy, half eaten pony. Discord's eyes widened.

"Goodness, at least Pinkamena cooks them first!" Discord said, tutting and shaking his head. Nightshade raised his eyebrows.

"Who's Pinkamen-"

"None of that matters right now. What does matter, is why you're doing what your doing." Discord said, standing parallel with Nightshade. Nightshade shook his head and began laughing maniacally.

"Why I'm doing this? You should know, this was your previous mission. Until you betrayed our master and became greedy." Nightshade growled. His teeth were sharpened into fangs, and his eyes were screaming with rage.

"It's not really you speaking, is it? It's Abyss." Discord said, watching the young stallion's movements. As Nightshade began to close the distance between Discord and himself, a sword appeared in Discord's hand. Nightshade chuckled and shook his head as Discord summoned his sword. Shadows danced around them, and Nightshade saw Discord's eyes flash Dark Red.

"That's it, Discord. Give in to the darkness, use your dark privileges to fight me." Nightshade said as two creatures jumped out from the shadows. Nightshade spoke in an ancient language, and the shadows growled as the charged Discord. He sent two large blasts of light at the Beasts. The fight was on, and the Arena was Canterlot.