ESF: Galaxy & Nightmare

Quillton, Sunset, and Valerium were all anxious for Mocha and Crystal to get back. When they saw them emerge from the forest, Mocha ran to her coltfriend. Quillton looked at Crystal, then Mocha. "What the hell happened?" He asked. "Please tell me you found Galaxy." He pleaded. Crystal nodded, teary-eyed.

"He wasn't himself, though. That pony that killed Mel, Nightmare, was there instead." Mocha said violently. "He wants to....resurrect Nightmare Moon and plunge Equestria into eternal darkness." She added. "Guys, let's face it. Galaxy's probably gone with that Nightmare inside of him." She said, not wanting to believe it. Crystal spoke up.

"No! I know my Galaxy is still in there somewhere. Mocha, Galaxy told me the adventure he went on to save you. You can't just abandon him like this!" Crystal pleaded. Quillton nodded.

"She's right, Mocha. Galaxy could still be in there somewhere." He agreed. Sunset didn't know what to believe right now. Valerium took Mocha's side.

"Guys, seriously! Wake up! Galaxy is gone, and he's probably not coming back so long as that Nightmare is inside him!" He almost shouted. Mocha turned her head away in sadness.

"I'm sorry, Crystal." She apologized. Crystal looked at the other three ponies, then Quillton.

"Well I refuse to believe it!" She yelled, and took off.

"Crystal, wait!" Quillton called. "God damn it!" He cursed. He then looked at Mocha and Valerium, then his marefriend. Sunset sighed.

"Quill, I'm sorry, but Mocha and Val are right. We don't know if Galaxy is still inside that monster in the form of our friend." She said. Quillton sighed.

"Then I guess it's up to me and Crystal to find him. Tell everypony else to get the citizens inside in case Nightmare decides to kill somepony again. Sunset, you get to Twilight's and then head to Canterlot to request an audience with the princesses." He explained. Sunset nodded. "Mocha, Val, you get the others and see what you guys can do about slowing Nightmare down should he come. That's the least you guys can do for now." He told Mocha and Valerium, who both nodded and headed to Mocha's cafe.

"What will you do?" Sunset asked her coltfriend. Quillton hugged her.

"I'm gonna go after Crystal, then find Galaxy. If I know him, which I do better than anypony, I know exactly where he will go to find how to resurrect Nightmare Moon." He said. Quillton raced off after Crystal to find her crying in her bedroom at our house. He knocked on the door. "Crys? Hey, you OK?" He asked her. She shook her head.

"I refuse to believe my husband is gone. He's inside Nightmare, somewhere." She told him. Quillton sat down next to Crystal.

"If I know Galaxy, he's going to find a way to contact us and let us know where he is without Nightmare knowing. It's what he does. Remember when he was following Chrysalis that one time without her even knowing?" He chuckled a bit. Crystal nodded. "Galaxy's good at getting himself out of trouble, eventually." He added. Quill was right. I was in fact trying to find a way to contact my friends without Nightmare knowing. Constantly we argued inside my head. All I could see was an endless void of darkness, then an echoing laugh. My face twisted into a serious expression.

"Nightmare. Show yourself, you bastard!" I shouted at the void. Nightmare's physical form took shape, standing right in front of me. He chuckled. "What's so funny?" I asked him.

"Oh, nothing. Just pretty soon I'll be the one running this meat-sack, and you will be nothing but a memory." Nightmare giggled. "It's funny, you know. All the memories you have stored in here, all of your mistakes and victories. Let's glance at some of Galaxy's greatest hits, shall we?" He asked, a dark blue door taking shape. Nightmare opened it slowly, and it lead to a room with purple hearts on the walls, a bed in the center of the room, and two ponies heading to it, giggling and kissing fiercely. Nightmare shut the door instantly, his cheeks a light red. "Let's not view that one." He shuddered. "The last thing I need to see in here is you and your wife going at it." He said, annoyed. "Now, let's see, where is that one door?" He asked. I gasped as a brown door appeared. "Ooh, what could possibly be behind door number 2?" He asked.

"I don't know." I smirked. "Find out for yourself." I told him. Nightmare rolled his red eyes, clearly not amused, and opened the door, revealing yet another make-out session between me and Crystal. I laughed as his face twisted into an expression of annoyance.

"Balls!" He cursed under his breath, slamming the door shut. "God damn it, how many doors are there?!" He demanded. I was laughing. He turned to me, angered. "You think this is funny? Trying to embarrass me with all of the times you and Crystal have made out or gone at it?" He asked defensively. I nodded, trying not to laugh.

"It's funny, seeing your reaction." I laughed. Nightmare rolled his eyes.

"Please tell me something good is behind door number 3." He said as the third door took shape. Upon opening it, he gasped. There, smack dab in front of his eyes, was the day Nightmare Moon came back almost 6 years ago. I gasped as he smirked.

"Ah, perfect." He laughed. "Nightmare Moon's amulet." He said, looking at the amulet Nightmare Moon was wearing. "It's like a Horcrux. Should your body be destroyed, part of you lives on." Nightmare explained. "And the rest of Nightmare Moon is inside the amulet. Calculating it's trajectory, it looks like it's headed for..." His eyes widened. "Well, would you look at that? It's in Ponyville." Nightmare chuckled. He then turned to me. "And you are going to help me get it." He said seriously.

"Why should I? You'll just kill me as soon as you get it." I told him. Nightmare sighed.

"You know, I'm in control of your soul. I can, how do you say, extinguish it if you don't co-operate with me, Galaxy." He told me. I gulped. What was worse? Getting a Horcrux? Or walking around town soulless? "What's it going to be, Nebula?" Nightmare asked me. I sighed.

"I'll do it. On one condition. My friends are not to be harmed." I told him. He nodded and extended his hoof.

"Then we have a deal." He said. I looked at his hoof skeptically, my wings extended with my eyebrow raised.

"Since you are technically a demon, don't you guys seal your deals with a kiss or something?" I asked him. Nightmare stared at me, then laughed. "What? What'd I say?" I asked. "I saw it on 'Supernatural'." I told him.

"Nebula, you crack me up." He chuckled a bit. "But, no. No. We don't do that anymore. Do you even bloody know where our dealers' mouths have been?" He made a sound of disgust. "No. Now we just do a hoof shake and the deal is sealed. So, are you in the deal, or not?" He asked me. I thought about it for a minute.

"Alright. As long as you promise not to harm my friends." I told him. "No, you swear to Celestia you won't." I revised. Nightmare rolled his eyes and sighed.

"Fine." He sounded annoyed. "I swear to Celestia I will not harm your pals. Deal?" He asked me, his hoof still extended.

"Deal." I said, shaking his hoof. A ghostly red fire surrounded the hoof shake, leaving a small pentagram on the bottom of our hooves.

"The deal has been sealed." Nightmare said. "Try to break our deal, you die. Try to escape our deal, you and your friends die. Try anything funny, and your wife dies." He told me. I looked at him seriously and nodded. "Good. Now, then. Let's get started on our journey." He smirked. I gulped.