Cutie Mark Chronicles

We resume in Ponyville shortly after Twilight and her friends had returned from Appleloosa. Currently they were all headed towards Winter’s hut, unaware of just what awaited them there…

“I can’t wait to tell Winter all about Appleloosa, he’ll be so jealous he missed out on all the fun” cried out Rainbow excitedly, zipping around the sky as if she was on a sugar high.

“I wouldn’t call almost getting involved in a war fun” groused Twilight, a tad grumpy from having to put up with the hyperactive Pegasus’ antics since they departed on the train from Appleloosa.

“Easy now Twi, while Ah agree that almost getting involved in a war wasn’t fun, Rainbow’s just a bit excited and pent up from bein’ on the train all mornin’, aren’t ya?” Applejack intervened, her final words carrying a bit of a warning tone towards Rainbow.

“Eh, you guys are being REALLY boring right now. I’m gonna go ahead to Winter’s” Rainbow said, sticking her tongue out at Applejack before turning and shooting off with a sonic boom. Unfortunately, the wind generated by her actions blew all of the other mares off their feet and into a bush, much to the chagrin of one mare in particular.

“MY HAIR!” Rarity cried in dismay as the formerly impeccable do was now a mass of tangled locks and twigs, a furious look decorated her face “Oh, when I get my hooves on that Pegasus, she will rue the day she made a fool of me!”

“Oh Rarity, surely you don’t mean… not fisticuffs” asked Fluttershy in alarm.

“Of course not, it’ll be much worse than that! I’m planning a full mane, tail, coat and hoof job. By the time I’m through with her, she’ll look like a supermodel” Rarity replied, rubbing her hooves together with a maniacal grin and cackling evilly. Needless to say, the other four mares gave her a wide berth as they continued on towards Winter’s hut.

Meanwhile, with Rainbow Dash…

Unaware of the diabolical plans taking shape in Rarity’s mind, Rainbow had reached Winter’s front door and knocked loudly on it.

“C’mon Winter, have I got a story for you, so get your lazy butt up and…” she was cut off by something most unexpected: The door opened and Princess Celestia’s head popped out.

“Shush!” she snapped and slammed it closed again, a clicking sound telling Rainbow it had been locked afterwards.

“Prin… cess?” Rainbow sounded out in shock, gaping at the door, not sure what exactly to do or how to handle the situation she found herself in. This was how her friends found her a couple of minutes later.

“I thought you were going to go ahead; did Winter throw you out or something?” Twilight asked as they arrived at the hut to see Rainbow on the doorstep, gaping at the door.

“Not exactly” Rainbow answered, snapping out of her shock “But either Winter’s changed a LOT since I last saw him, or Princess Celestia is currently in his house.”

“Princess Celestia? That’s ridiculous, she’ll be taking the morning court right now” said Twilight doubtfully before knocking smartly on the door “There is absolutely no way she would be here without somepony knowing.”

“Okay, I’ve told you a thousand times that I don’t want any of your…” the angry Alicorn stopped herself with a sheepish look when she realised just who she was having a go at “Oh, sorry Twilight, I thought you were another Diamond Dog salesman. Please come in, I’m just making breakfast.”

“Ah Princess, I don’t mean to be rude but why are you here and not in Canterlot?” asked a confused Rarity as they all followed the Alicorn towards the kitchen.

“My throne room was flooded and is currently being sorted out, so until then, no court” she answered with a smile, dishing up some eggs and hay bacon for the mares.

“And where’s Winter anyway? Normally he’s up and about at this time” Rainbow inquired, the smile fell from Celestia’s face, being replaced with a concerned look as she jerked her head towards the lounge, where Winter could be seen on his sofa, twitching and turning in his sleep.

“Please try not to make too much noise, that’s the most restful he’s been all night” Celestia sighed, upon seeing the confused and concerned looks on the faces of the Element Bearers she explained further “He’s been experiencing quite bad nightmares lately, though he won’t tell me more than that. He also didn’t appear to experience them when we fell asleep together on the roof, which leads me to believe that they aren’t normal nightmares; I plan to ask Luna to take a look at him when I get back to Canterlot this evening.”

After hearing the Princess’ words, Rainbow grabbed the plate that Celestia had dished up for Winter along with her own and shot as quietly as she could over to Winter’s side, setting the plates down and sitting, watching him and waiting for him to wake up.
Celestia watched the scene for another second or two before sighing again and turning to Twilight.

“So, how did you all enjoy Appleloosa?” she asked, shooting her student a small smile.

“I sent you a friendship report, did you not receive it? Or…” Twilight was cut off by Celestia gently placing her hoof against her mouth.

“Yes, I did receive it, but it only told me of how you resolved the conflict between the Buffalo and the Ponies there. I want to know what YOU thought of the place” she said as she removed her hoof.

“Oh… well… it was fascinating to see how towns can be established further out and I enjoyed learning about the Buffalo’s culture while I was there” Twilight continued regaling Celestia with what she had learned and experienced until Celestia briefly looked up. Knowing what that meant, Twilight finished saying what she wanted to say and Celestia headed into lounge. Winter still hadn’t awakened, but he stilled and his face took on a more peaceful look as she approached; looking at Rainbow, she gently spoke.

“Rainbow, please could you get some water for when Winter wakes up? He may be a tad thirsty” she watched the cyan Pegasus leave before she lowered her horn down to his temples where it briefly shone with a gold aura, she then moved her head down towards Winter’s, her mouth hovering gently just above his ear.

“I do not yet know who or what you are, but be warned that if you keep tormenting him, I will hunt you down and there will be nothing left of you after your very painful demise, not even ash” the Princess whispered gently in Winter’s ear, the gesture looking tender from an onlooker’s perspective but had they heard the words, they would’ve been quaking on the spot. Rainbow quietly re-entered the room with a glass of water to see the Princess seemingly whispering in Winter’s ear, though she thought she saw… but no, it must have been a trick of the light because it looked like Celestia’s eyes had turned gold and that she nipped Winter on the ear with a set of sharp teeth, however when Celestia turned around, her eyes were their usual violet and her teeth were perfectly flat. She smiled and thanked Rainbow for the water, just as Winter began to stir and his eyes opened.

“Dash? Princess?” he asked and they both nodded to him before Rainbow handed him the water, he took it with a nod of thanks and took a sip “Not that I don’t like seeing you or anything, but why are you in my house?”

“Your nightmares were quite bad last night, I stayed to make sure you were okay” Celestia said, placing a hoof on his shoulder “I’m also going to speak to Luna about trying to help you with them, as they’re obviously worse than I thought they were.”

“You don’t need to do that, I can handle it” replied Winter, taking another sip but not looking Celestia in the eye as he spoke.

“I’ll let Luna be the judge of that.”

“I don’t want to be a burden…”

“You’re not.”

“… and I’m sure she has more important things to do.”

“She doesn’t, she’s actually rather bored at the moment.”

“I…”

“Winter!” Celestia cut him off with a sharp bark of his name, fixing him with a glare. Normally this wouldn’t phase him but he saw a flash of… something in Celestia’s eyes, something that unnerved him so he decided not to push it.

“Alright, as long as she agrees to it” he relented, making Celestia smile.

“Good. Now, I’ve got to get back to Canterlot, so I’ll be taking my leave. Thank you for your kindness while hosting me, it…” she paused and averted her eyes briefly “means a lot.”

“No problem, come back any time, just not through my roof this time” Winter grumbled, though his small smile gave it away that he was joking. Celestia gave a small laugh before giving Winter a brief hug, Twilight an affectionate nuzzle and leaving through Winter’s door. The occupants of the house watched her go in silence before said silence was broken by an outburst from our favourite speedster.

“What just happened?” she asked, fixing Winter with an inquiring glare. Winter sighed.

“She came by yesterday after court was called off. Originally she was going to spend the day with Twilight, but as you were all in Appleloosa, she decided to drop in on me instead” he rolled his eyes at the memory of Celestia’s entrance “After that, we wandered around town a bit and did a bit of stargazing.”

“Huh? Princess Celestia was here and didn’t cause a massive scene? How did you manage that?”

“Use your imagination” Winter answered with a mischievous smirk, prompting Dash to try and annoy him into revealing how they did it, but he would not relent. The day continued to pass with the seven equines just enjoying each other’s company until the sun set and it was time for everyone to head on home. Winter – though he did not show it – had been dreading this time as it meant he had to succumb to the siren call of sleep and be dragged into Luna’s realm again.
As usual, he found himself in some form of dark abyss on a blue cloud containing stars with his least favourite Alicorn waiting for him on a throne made of iron.

“Don’t you know it’s rude to keep a lady waiting, Dark? Have you no manners?” asked Nightmare Moon mockingly, making Winter clench his teeth and scowl.

“I have manners but you’re no lady!” he snapped, making the mare laugh before her horn lit up and Winter screamed in pain.

“Don’t forget who you speak to” she said firmly before lighting her horn up again “And I refuse to speak to this… thing you have created.”

The spell caused Dark’s Winter Shield illusion to strip itself away piece by piece, until all that was left was Dark standing there in his true form, panting from his (failed) attempt to resist.

“Why are you doing this?” he demanded, glaring at the corrupted form of his sister figure.

“I’ve got to find some entertainment somewhere. It’s really rather boring being locked away in the deepest recesses of Luna’s mind” she answered in a bored manner, examining her hoof “Plus I have plans that require your participation, willing or coerced.”

“And what makes you think I’ll ever bend a knee to you?” Dark shot back, his glare intensifying though Nightmare ignored him.

“Because when everypony you love and care for abandons you when your lies come to light, I’ll be the only one willing to tolerate you” Nightmare retorted, her mane moving slightly more violently in response to the mare’s agitation as scenes of Dark’s friends and loved ones denouncing him for pretending to be Winter Shield, insulting him for his failures and abandoning him began to manifest around them “In your loneliness and solitude, you will come to crave my company and then you WILL bend your knee to me with a smile on your face.”

“They would never do that!” Dark bit back, his words making the madmare laugh.

“They wouldn’t? Oh dear Dark, you forget that I have seen the darkest depths of their hearts and I can assure you, they are definitely that shallow” Nightmare finished her statement with a fiendish grin, revelling in the effect her words had on the Alicorn in front of her.

“YOU LIE!” Dark cried, Nightmare’s accusations hitting a little too close to his insecurities for his liking, a fact that she took note of and pressed her advantage.

“I’ll watch it happen. If needs be, I’ll make it happen” the statement was delivered with such confidence that Dark didn’t doubt for a second that Nightmare would back up her words if she felt the need to.

“And what of the Princesses? Do you plan to keep Luna hostage forever? Do you really think Celestia would allow you to get away with it?” Dark asked, his voice quiet and sombre.

“Oh, Celestia will come to accept her place in time and if she doesn’t… well, a thousand years or so in the sun should give her time to think” Nightmare finished her sentence with a maniacal laugh before giving a savage grin and continuing “As for Luna, when I am back in control, what will it matter what she wants? I’ll be the one fulfilling all of our desires, she won’t even want to come back out!”

“I can’t let you do this” Dark said, though Nightmare only stood and placed a hoof on his shoulder, forcing him down to his knees.

“And just what can you do to stop me? You can’t even…” Nightmare suddenly stopped speaking with a questioning noise and started looking around, muttering to herself in confusion “What is this… it can’t be… she shouldn’t be able to…”

As Nightmare continued muttering, Dark noticed that the heat of their surroundings was somehow increasing. The cloud he was stood on began to smoke and Nightmare’s throne began to glow red hot.

“Hm, looks like our time together is over for tonight, though don’t forget that I’ll always be here, waiting” Nightmare ended her statement by stepping back into the shadows, slowly vanishing until only her eyes could be seen. The heat continued to rise and Nightmare’s throne now glowed white hot before it started to melt, sagging down into a rather sorry looking puddle of molten metal.
Dark looked around noting that even Nightmare’s eyes had vanished now, wondering what had spooked her like that. Suddenly, he caught sight of a glint in the corner of his eye, he turned to see what had made the glint but was distracted when a cascade of golden flames filled the area he was in. The flames spiralled around him, filling every space they could find and turning all they touched to ash, yet Dark felt no heat from them nor did they seem to be consuming him. He wanted to get a closer look at them but all of a sudden, everything went black and Dark knew no more.

The Next Morning

Winter awoke after a surprisingly restful night of sleep, so he decided to head down to Ponyville to get himself something to eat from Sugarcube Corner (and to restock his cupboards after Celestia had emptied them over the weekend), but his journey was about to be rudely interrupted by a certain trio of fillies.

“Wait, what on Equestria is that noise?!” he wondered aloud as he heard a strange zipping noise, followed by a snap and three screaming fillies falling from the sky “ARGH!”

“See anything?” Apple Bloom asked her Pegasus friend Scootaloo.

“Lots of tree sap and pine needles, but no Cutie Mark” the purple maned Pegasus answered miserably.

“Plan B?” asked a white Unicorn with a two toned mane – This was Rarity’s sister Sweetie Belle, her question perking the orange Pegasus up.

“Yeah, know where we can get a cannon at this hour?” she asked, the question inspiring fear in her two companions, if the looks on their faces were anything to go by.

“I do, but I’m not going to tell you because it’ll likely end up with you either hurting yourselves or destroying something… again” the three fillies looked around to find where the grouchy comment came from. It took them a few moments to realise that the ground they had landed on was a different colour to its surroundings and softer than they expected it to be.

“Ah, sorry Winter!” shrieked Sweetie Belle, jumping off the unamused stallion.

“Yeah, we’re sorry. We didn’t mean to land on you” continued Apple Bloom, also hopping off him.

“Let me help you up” Scootaloo finished, grabbing one of Winter’s hooves and pulling on it, trying to help him up. Unfortunately, she forgot that she was stood on the pony she was trying to assist and thus her attempts were fruitless “Wow, you’re heavier than you look.”

“I’m not surprised with you standing on top of me” Winter retorted, his comment making the Pegasus hop off him with a sheepish look on her face “Now just why were you falling from the sky in the first place?”

“It’s no use, everything we try ends up in failure… and more often than not, with us covered in tree sap” exclaimed Scootaloo after the three explained their latest attempt to gain their Cutie Marks to Winter.

“Girls, these sorts of things can’t be forced. Some ponies can go through their lives, never finding theirs and still being perfectly happy, you just need to be patient and not focus so much on finding it” Winter sighed, the annoyed look on his face fading to a more sympathetic one. Meanwhile Apple Bloom had wandered off and grabbed some buckets of water to wash the tree sap off with.

“I’ve had an idea: Loads of ponies have their Cutie Marks, so let’s ask one of the folks around town how they got theirs” she said, sliding a bucket to the other two.

“Yeah! That’s a great and perfectly safe plan” Sweetie Belle agreed.

“Okay, and we’ll start asking the coolest pony in Ponyville” Scootaloo added on, launching the three into a debate on who to ask as Winter watched in amusement. They eventually decided to ask Rainbow Dash first and gave each other a high five, but they ended up getting stuck together as Scootaloo had forgotten to wash the tree sap off her hooves. Winter rolled his eyes before conjuring a rain cloud above them, which washed the sap off but earned him the ire of the fillies.

“Hey! What was that for?” Apple Bloom asked, shaking herself dry.

“Consider it payback for landing on me earlier. Now, I’m going to walk you three back to town to make sure you don’t get any wacky ideas that end up with you demolishing a house or something” he replied, the response earing him a scowl from Scootaloo.

“We’re not that bad!” she grumbled.

“The talent contest” was Winter’s response, making the Pegasus scratch the back of her head as even she had to admit that he had a point there.
The group headed off towards town, the Crusaders being driven by Scootaloo and Winter sliding along on a board made of ice, when Scootaloo abruptly hit the brakes to avoid running over some rabbits that had jumped out of a bush clutching some apples. However, Winter did not stop, so they collided with him resulting in him being at the bottom of another dogpile.

“COME BACK HERE YOU THEIVIN’ VARMITS!” came Applejack’s distinctive voice from behind the bush. The rabbits quickly leaped off the dazed Unicorn and ran away, he got up as the mare in question sprang out of the same bush as the rabbits, though it seemed like she misjudged her jump as she ended up crash-landing on Winter, much to the Unicorn’s chagrin.

“Why do things keep landing on me?” he grumbled as the dazed mare realised who she had landed on.

“Ah, sorry Winter, didn’t realise ya were there” she apologised before seeing the rabbits fleeing “HEY!”

“Hey sis, how did you earn your Cutie Mark?” Apple Bloom asked after they got over the shock of seeing Winter being accidentally ambushed by various creatures.

“What? Ah never told ya that story?” Applejack wondered as the Crusaders started arguing about asking Applejack for her Cutie Mark story.

“That’s very nice and all, but GET OFF!” Winger growled as he got up, throwing Applejack off him, the action displacing her Stetson which resulted in it landing on his head “Huh, nice hat. I’m keeping it.”

“Now that’s goin’ too far buster!” Applejack playfully growled before diving on Winter, starting a fight over the hat while the Crusaders looked on in bewilderment.

“Ahem” Scootaloo cleared her throat, making the two stop and look at them sheepishly.

“Okay, my story:” Applejack began, nabbing her hat back off Winter and replacing it on her head “Ah was just a little filly, even littler than y’all…”

The Crusaders gathered round with fascinated (albeit reluctantly so on Scootaloo’s behalf) looks on their faces as Applejack regaled them with a tale about how as a young filly she craved the sophisticated life of the city, deciding to seek her fortune with her relatives in the bustling metropolis of Manehatten.

“Heh, how long did the infatuation with the city and so-called ‘upper class’ last when you actually got to experience it?” was Winter’s question when Applejack mentioned living as one of the upper echelons of society there, a smirk on his face knowing that a down to earth Pony like Applejack would’ve hated the multitude of rules governing one’s life and attitudes there.

“About an hour after Uncle Orange styled mah hair and Aunt Orange drilled me on talkin’ all snooty-like. Anyway…” The tale continued on with how homesick the filly became due to the mix of culture shock and drastic change of scenery only to be inspired to return home to the family farm by a rainbow seemingly pointing right at Ponyville. After making the journey home and realising that it was where she needed to be to make the most of her life, her Cutie Mark manifested on her flank.
Anything more the older mare had to say was cut off by the sound of a loud raspberry as the three rabbits she’d been chasing reappeared with their stolen spoils before running off again, with the angry mare taking off in hot pursuit.

“What a sweet story” came the cooing from Sweetie Belle, Apple Bloom nodding along as the more tomboyish Scootaloo scoffed.

“You mean sappy” she groused with a retch before gesturing at the other two fillies to mount up on her scooter’s trailer “Let’s go find Rainbow Dash to hear the cool way to earn a Cutie Mark. Later Winter.”

“Hey, wait…” The Unicorn was ignored as the fillies waved at him before zipping off, though had they looked back, they’d have felt a little daft as the cyan Pegasus they were looking for lightly soared down to stand next to the white Unicorn.

“What was all that about?” she asked, staring at the dust cloud left by the speeding youngsters with a raised brow.

“Wanting to know your Cutie Mark story. I guess they’ve finally realised that asking other ponies how they got theirs is a better idea than trying to bumble their way into it” Winter shrugged, turning to face the Pegasus herself.

“Well, they ain’t gonna find me in that direction” came the amused response, a mischievous glint shining in the magenta eyes of the mare as she looked at the Unicorn “So… wanna head to a place they might find me? Say… Sugarcube Corner?”

“Sure…” Winter’s eyes narrowed as he caught the look in Rainbow’s eyes “What’s that look for?”

“RACE YA!” With that declaration, the Pegasus flared her wings and took off, leaving behind an incredible gust of wind that nearly blew the Unicorn off his feet. Shaking the messed up forelock out of his eyes, he scowled at the rainbow streak making its way towards Ponyville.

“So it’s going to be like that is it?” With an ice blue flare of his horn, Winter disappeared from the area. Though he could’ve just teleported straight to the Corner, that would defeat the fun of the race, so he took a roundabout route to make it a little fairer.

First he manifested at his house, next at Sweet Apple Acres (earning a Red Delicious apple to the head from a surprised Big Mackintosh), followed by the Ponyville Library (surprising Spike, resulting in a cascade of books landing on him from the F and U shelves), then at the Carousel Boutique just after the Crusaders left it (leaving behind a book titled “First Stitch? Tips and Tricks for the Enterprising Tailor” much to Rarity’s chagrin) before finally reappearing at the bakery just as Rainbow arrived.

“HEY! I thought we agreed on not teleporting!”

“You flew off before we could establish some ground rules, so I had some fun with it” Winter’s smirk was mischievous as he took a bite out of the apple that had been lobbed at his head before tilting his head at the door, inviting the Pegasus in with him.
The two headed in and started ordering some milkshakes, where they were soon joined by the other mares of the Elements and – a few moments after – the Crusaders crashing through the door.

“Hey squirt, so I heard you were looking for me to hear how I earned my Cutie Mark?” The Pegasus mare headed over to where her pseudo-sister lay sprawled on the floor, awaiting the affirmation before launching into her tale – the telling of which contained surprisingly minimal embellishing by the normally boastful mare – until she finished it with the finale of her performing the first Sonic Rainboom in centuries.

“Heh, Spectrum wouldn’t shut up about it for the next week… even if it did leave you bedridden for the duration of said week” Winter looked a bit misty eyed at the memory, a small smile on his face as he remembered the events.
As he reminisced, the mares in the room came to the realisation that Rainbow’s Rainboom had played a key role in the earning of each of their Cutie Marks, resulting in a group hug for the Elements as well as a group hug for the Crusaders (much to the horror of Scootaloo) before Apple Bloom realised there was one pony they hadn’t asked.

“Gee Winter, how’d you get your Cutie Mark?” the filly asked, getting curious looks from the others – and an eyeroll from Rainbow, having asked him before and gotten a rather unsatisfying answer.

“Huh… me?” Winter’s eyes faded out of focus as despite the incident happening over a thousand years ago, it was one memory he could recall with absolute clarity:

FLASHBACK START

Over a thousand years ago, long before the Royal Sisters had carved Equestria into the little slice of harmony it is today, chaos reigned supreme. Not Discord’s particular brand of chaos – though that was certainly a major problem as well – but wild chaos caused by the incredible saturation of magic in the land, everywhere was much like the Everfree Forest: dangerous and unpredictable.

The Sisters and Dark had been out exploring the kingdom and were on their way back, Luna and Celestia bickering as sisters often do.

“One is telling thou Tia that t’was a blue and black garment. Thine eyes must need testing” came the growl from the midnight blue mare whose turquoise mane glittered with starlight but had not yet started to darken and flow like a cloud in the night sky.

“And I’m telling you it was white and gold. You spend so much time staring at Mother’s stars that all you can see is blues and blacks!” was the retort from the taller and bulkier white mare, whose white mane seemed to glow with light even in the darkness of night, yet had not acquired its multitude of colours or the flow that caused it to resemble an aurora.

“Art thou suggesting that this one is colourblind?!”

“I’m certainly not saying that you can see anything other than colours a only goth would love!”

“This coming from the walking marriage gown advertisement!”

“Are you saying I’m fat?!”

The black Alicorn accompanying them sighed, tuning them out as he scanned the treeline with his gaze, knowing that the bickering might attract something less than pleasant as it had before, though soon the arguing became too much to ignore.

“…Don’t you agree Dark?”

“I’m sorry, what?” The stallion responded, attention being drawn back to the two mares as both look at him expectantly “I honestly wasn’t paying attention”

Judging by the glares, this admission earned him the ire of both Alicorns. The temperatures in the area seemed to fluctuate as heat poured from the white mare and cold emanated from the blue and both started simultaneously having a go at him.

“UNBELIEVABLE…”/“OUTRAGEOUS!”

The angry words seemed to go on for quite some time before Dark’s ears picked up some movement in the undergrowth. Eyes darting around, he tried to pinpoint it until he caught sight of a pair of glowing eyes directly behind Celestia and a shadow starting to lunge at her.
Eyes widening, he launched himself forwards, knocking the two sisters apart – much to their annoyance until they looked behind them and saw the leaping shadow – and met the assailant in the air, right forehoof coming up in an uppercut and knocking it off course, sending it careening into the light, revealing the assailant to be a very angry Manticore.

True to the myths of the animals it resembles, the Manticore landed on all four paws, claws leaving gouges in the earth as Dark landed softly opposite it, positioning himself between the irate feline and the Royal Sisters.
The two locked eyes for a few seconds, each daring the other to back off before the Manticore broke the stare, charging at the Alicorns and flaring its wings as if about to take flight. Dark stood his ground, waiting for the Manticore to close the gap before double-barrelling the creature, sending it off course but consequently causing it to land nearer to Celestia – a fact both combatants noticed as the scorpion tail lashed out towards the white Alicorn. Before either could react though, Dark threw himself at Celestia, pushing her out of the way but sustaining a gouge along his side from the venomous stinger.

“DARK!!!” came the horrified cry of both of the mares as Luna leaped over him, wings flared and circled around the two in a defensive posture while Celestia bared her teeth in anger.
The heat in the area began to skyrocket, leaves on the trees began to dry out and shrivel as the grass around her feet began to singe and turn to ash.
Her horn glowed and a blast of light engulfed the Manticore (and a good chunk of the forest behind it). With the smell of ash and charred wood, the light fades, leaving only a seething Alicorn standing before a cone of destruction, not even a burned corpse of the Manticore left behind – only a shadow of where it once stood – she turns back to Dark and Luna, eyes now fraught with worry as she leaps back over to them, examining Dark’s wound.

Venom had indeed been injected into the wound, something that neither Alicorn could handle at that point in time so all they could do was try to ease the bleeding until help arrived.
Fortunately for Dark, help did arrive that day in the form of the father of the two sisters: King Chronos – Alicorn of Time and Lord of the Lands of Equestria. The stallion was almost a clone of his eldest daughter with a coat of pure white, though his mane and tail were gold and flowing, with shapes resembling numerals flowing from the crest of his neck that would disintegrate to sand by the time they reach the tips, and his eyes were heterochromic: One was a dark royal blue that matched his younger daughter’s whereas the other was gold and the iris seemed to be comprised of… gears? Yes, gears that would turn against each other with each second that passed. The regal stallion landed before his daughters, taking them both into a hug with his wings before turning his attention to the wounded stallion.

“You risked your life to protect that which I value above all in this world? This will not go unrewarded” He dipped his horn to the wound and sand seemed to pour from it as it rapidly closes, the venom being drawn out as a green gas before the skin melds back together, leaving no indication it had ever been there before.

“With all due respect, I did not do it for you sir” came the retort from the black Alicorn, breathing coming hard and fast as if he had just run a marathon, drawing an amused smirk from the king.

“Clearly” he retorted with amusement, gesturing at Dark’s flank where his Cutie Mark was forming: a black shield with a dark purple outline and silver sun within it accompanied by a blood red sword next to it, signifying Dark’s willingness to both sacrifice himself and attack for those he cares about “It seems your bond with my daughters has gone beyond what I anticipated. Now, all of you come home. Its getting late and Galaxia hates it when we’re late for dinner”

FLASHBACK END

“Oh nothing remarkable really. I was developing a new rocket when it went out of control and flew off. I stopped it by creating a shield around it and POOF! My Cutie Mark appeared: for ensuring as safe an environment as possible when I’m working” Winter scratched his head sheepishly to groans from the three fillies – the loudest from Scootaloo – making the white stallion chuckle “Truth is it’s uncommon for ponies to discover their Cutie Marks in as dramatic a fashion as these six, normally they just… come in as you discover what you have a passion in… and you three are not paying attention, are you?”

Sure enough, the three fillies were debating their next misadventure and completely tuning out any advice on how to earn their marks, much to the exasperation of the other occupants of the room.

SCENE CHANGE: CANTERLOT, AFTER NIGHTFALL

A blue mare paced in her chambers for a few minutes, watching the sun descend over the horizon and the moon begin its ascension into the sky.
She turned and laid down on her bed, dark blue eyes closing as the room faded away to leave her standing before a galaxy.

The mare’s appearance had changed to more resemble the Princess Luna depicted in the portraits: a dark royal blue Alicorn mare with a mane and tail that resembled the night sky as though they were contained in a flowing cloud.
She sighed and placed her hooves on either side of the galaxy before throwing them out to the side, expanding the galaxy around her. It swivelled and rotated around her before one star finally settled before her.
Reaching out, she touched the star and was pulled into what looked like a replica of her throne room as Nightmare Moon. Sighing again, she rubbed her temples.

“Typical. One forays into Dreamwalking for the first time in millennia and thou just HAS to be ruining the first dream I enter” Luna growls before turning her head to the throne behind her where sure enough, the manifestation of her bitterness, rage and jealousy sat with a maniacal grin on her face “What’s thy scheme this time? Abandonment or hast thou finally gone beyond that?”

“At least I don’t speak with language that was old when we were fillies” came the mocking response, the midnight black mare grinning from ear to ear as she stood from her throne “Now why do you just stand still like a good girl and let me smite you so I can go about my business?”

Luna was about to retort, but a squeaking sound from next to her caught her attention as the suit of armour seemed to move, the axe it was holding dropping towards her head in a cleaving motion. The Alicorn took a step back with an unimpressed look, the axe imbedding itself harmlessly into the stone in front of her. “How long hast thou been planning that one? More than six months?”

“I don’t want to say” Was the impudent response, making Luna sigh in exasperation with her darker half.

“One cannot believe that One has been lured into a nightmare by someone One doesn’t like and it almost got this one killed. Who is this one? YOU?!” The Alicorn rolled her eyes before taking on a more threatening stance “Now remove thyself from this pony’s dreams and return to this one’s subconscious or face the consequences”

“No need for violence, I’m going” Nightmare scoffed, turning into her cloud form and attempting to fly off out of the window, though she was stopped by Luna inhaling, the force of the act causing the cloud to be sucked into the Alicorn’s lungs with minimal resistance.

“We said back to our subconscious, not another dream” muttered Luna as she licked traces of the cloud off her lips before looking around “Now… if we were Nightmare, where would we store a dreaming conscious?”

As if to answer her question, a nearby closet door started to shake as something pounded on it from the inside. Rolling her eyes, the Alicorn approached it and opened the door, freeing the occupant – a white Unicorn stallion with an ice blue man clad in a cloak.

“Winter Shield, We presume?”

Winter took a few deep breaths before shaking himself off, stretching from being locked in the closet for so long “Thank goodness, do you know how unpleasant that was?”

“We have an idea. Abandonment and confinement are two of Nightmare’s favourite methods of tormenting her victims and she uses them to great effect. Art thou alright?” Luna’s tone was low and comforting as her eyes glowed, the throne room fading away to a hilltop under a night sky - a setting that Luna found often helped calm dreamers down after a nightmare.

“I’m… fine thanks, she just hit a little too close to home with her accusations” he answered, not meeting the mare’s eyes, though the Alicorn merely nodded understandingly.

“We know how talented she is at that” Luna rested a hoof on Winter’s shoulder, giving him a small smile “Thou may rest assured tonight that she will not bother you again this eve. As long as we walk the dreams of our subjects again, we shall endeavour to protect all of thee from her influence.”

Winter nodded as Luna removed her hoof, apparently satisfied for now that he had been calmed and could be left to dream in peace, the mare took a few steps away before looking back at him.

“If thou should need our help again, ask us or Sister and we will endeavour to assist. PORTAL AWAAAAY!” At Luna’s final words, her mane seemed to spread and envelop her, leaving behind an empty space once it had cleared as the mare left to dreamwalk through other ponies’ dreams.
Too tired to comment, Winter merely laid down and closed his eyes, experiencing the first night of easy rest in days.

Author's Note

Certainly has been a minute since I last updated this and for that I would like to apologise for the wait. IRL - mostly work - has kept this chapter half finished on the backburner for the past three years, so I sincerely hope it was worth the wait.

As always, feedback is always welcome, though please phrase it as politely and clearly as possible so I can make best use of it

I hope everyone reading this has been well, and Until Next Time,
Darth Annihilator - out