Nightmare: Volume 1

The unicorn stallion wandered the streets of The Crystal Empire idly, his curved horn splattered with the inky, black blood of the changeling queen. He knew he had no reason to be worried about the discovery of a body. She had quickly exploded into green flame upon her death, disappearing completely.

The few changelings that had remained loyal to her had fled weeks before, leaving the poor excuse for a queen to seek out his help. Then she had been foolish enough to awaken him from his prison within an amulet, demanding that he give her his powerful magic.

He had been enraged at first, but had spied his opportunity, and the two had become partners. She had raised changelings and sent them to gather information and drain love, and now, because of the foolish queen’s gullibility, his plan was already being set in motion.

Just moments ago, now no longer having a use for her, he’d wasted no time in running her through with his own horn. The curve had made for good upward leverage as he jammed between a joint in her carapace.

A sudden stabbing pain in his head interrupted his memories. He was, he quickly realized, incredibly weak in his current state. He gave an irritated snort, shaking his head. Hopefully, his full power would soon return. Then the real fun can begin.

It wasn’t The Crystal Empire he was after...at least, not yet. No, he had a larger game he wished to play. Queen Chrysalis had only been a pawn, a tool for his use. Her drying blood on his horn meant nothing more than a minor annoyance as he wiped some from his eye.

He heard hooves approaching him. “Excuse me Sir,” came a feminine voice. “But you aren’t supposed to be out past the empire’s curfew.”

He turned to see a unicorn mare walking up to him, wearing what appeared to be a police uniform. It seemed the empire had increased its security since his last visit.

He watched as she tensed cautiously upon seeing him. A feeling somewhat like pride surged in his chest. He still struck fear into the hearts of these ponies, even if he had no power whatsoever.

Firelight Shield raised a thin eyebrow curiously at the stallion before her. He was tall, with a pale grey coat and sharp features. His hair was black as a raven’s feathers, long and unkempt, his beard and mustache making him seem even more gruff, like he had gone for months without proper care.

Her attention was drawn to his eyes, red as blood and eerily glowing in the light emitted by her horn. Suddenly he grinned at her, then spoke, his voice deep and gravelly. “A beautiful night, isn’t it Police Mare?”

She stepped back warily, narrowing her eyes. “I-I suppose so, yes.”

The stranger’s horn began to glow a dark green, and he took a single step closer. “It’s a shame you won’t be remembering it.”

**** **** **** ****

One would imagine that, since the Royal Throne of Equestria had originally been built specifically for Celestia, The Night Princess would look foolish sitting upon it in her sister's place. However, as the crowd of ponies entered they were speechless with awe.

Luna sat in the throne with perfect posture, her eyes steely and focused on the approaching visitors. Whereas there had once been upwards of twenty guards surrounding the princess, there now only stood two ponies. A large alicorn mare to her left, and a tall, slim unicorn stallion on her right.

Luna’s eyes swept over the large crowd of guests. She had called an emergency meeting with not only The Knights of Canterlot, but several other dignitaries from across Equestria. Many were whispering to each other, demanding to know why they had been summoned with such urgency.

“Princess Luna?”

She turned to face the mare who had addressed her. She was a cream-colored unicorn, her bright red mane and tail long enough to touch the floor, her violet eyes blinking up at her shyly. She spoke in a soft, subdued voice. “I-I’m Constella Star...from the Crystal Empire? You asked for m-me specifically.”

Luna nodded, the memory coming back to her. Despite her meek nature, Constella Star was the Crystal Empire’s leading history expert, as well as head of the observatory. “Of course I remember you. It’s very fortunate that you were able to come so far on such short notice.”

An irritatingly cheerful male voice suddenly came from the doorway. “You weren’t going to start without me, were you?”

Luna sighed loudly as the familiar draconequus entered. Of course. Turning to Greystone, she questioned. “How did he get in here? We have this room heavily guarded, don’t we?”

Discord’s eyes widened, “Oh...those were yours?” He turned to the door to the right of the throne as a guard stepped through, his armor replaced with a clown suit and makeup and his spear with a balloon sword. "Oh...um...oops?"

Luna pressed her hoof to her forehead in exasperation. “Just...what do you want?”

The draconequus placed his paw on his heart, bowing his head. “I’m here to offer my assistance, of course.”

“Assistance?”

“With your little problem,” he continued. “Or...am I mistaken that this is an emergency meeting?”

Luna clenched her jaw, her steely eyes narrowing in anger. “Yes,” she snarled, “But any kind of ‘assistance’ you can offer isn’t wanted. If I recall, the last time you tried to help, you sided with Tirek and nearly doomed all of Equestria.”

He frowned, rolling his eyes. “Seriously, you’re still all hung up about that?” he grumbled. “But I learned my lesson...and Tia and I made peace!”

Luna snorted. “Nevertheless, I cannot risk you doing a similar thing again. Thanks to you, Equestria was nearly destroyed once. I won’t let it come anywhere close to that again.” She raised her chin, “So forgive me for my bluntness, but for the moment I refuse to trust you in fighting with us.”

Discord only smirked. “You seem a tad tense, Lulu...allow me.” With a click of his claws, a lit cigar appeared between the princess’s teeth. “There, that’s much better.”

She spat it out immediately, turning it into a puff of smoke, and stamped her hoof, unamused by his antics. “DISCORD!”

His grin faded and he huffed, “Oh fine.” With a click of his claws a large lounge chair appeared beneath him, “But I’m still staying.”

With one last hateful glare in his direction Luna turned away, directing her attention to her other guests. There was no point in wasting any more time with him. “Pardon the interruption everypony, but I think we can finally begin.”

“Why in Tartarus are we even here?” shouted a stallion from the back of the crowd.

Luna took in a deep, calming breath, speaking in a clear, even tone. “It appears that the changeling attacks may be more of a concern than we initially assumed.” With a dull magic glow from her horn, she levitated a small black crystal into the air. “This was found in the possession of a changeling recently.”

There were collective gasps, followed by several shrieks of terror. This was only broken by the periodical crunching of popcorn by the Spirit of Chaos currently lounging in a chair, entertained by the scene around him.

Luna raised her hoof, “Everypony, calm down! This is why I called this meeting! Obviously we all recognize this crystal, and something needs to be done to protect Equestria should the worst occur!”

There was a short amount of silence, before a single voice yelled out in accusation. “I thought he was destroyed by The Elements! You mean to tell us they didn’t actually do what you said they would?”

A tense silence fell over the room. The temperature seemed to drop.

A growl like rumbling thunder broke the shocked silence. Nightmare was glaring down at a pegasus mare with a blood red coat and dark purple mane. The tall alicorn’s lip was curled back, baring her sharp teeth.

However, a single movement of Luna's hoof stopped her from saying a word. The Night Princess slowly descended her throne. "Miss...Van Winter, was it?"

The pegasus nodded, her legs beginning to shake. "Y-Yes, Princess."

Luna stopped a hoof’s length from the offending mare's face, their noses almost touching. She spoke in a low, chilling tone, barely above a whisper. "Well, Miss Van Winter, let me make one thing perfectly clear. The Elements of Harmony were discovered by my sister Celestia, and all her life she had full faith in them. Now, you wouldn't dare say anything...uncomplimentary about Celestia, would you?"

"O-Of course not."

Luna glared at the pegasus, watching as her face reflected her terror. The princess remained silent. She wasn’t proud of having been the one who caused the expression, but at the same time, she couldn’t allow somepony to disrespect her sister.

Suddenly, a stallion noble cleared his throat. "Princess...where is Miss Star?"

Luna whirled around in confusion. Indeed, the unicorn from earlier - Constella Star- had disappeared. Instantly, the princess cast an angry look to Nightmare. Oh sweet Faust...don't tell me she ate her!

Seeing her Mistress's accusing glare, Nightmare blinked. "Do you truly think I would eat a guest, especially in your presence?"

Luna sighed, returning to her throne, "I suppose not." She remained silent. Something about the sudden disappearance didn't sit well with her. She was unable to truly feel it...but she just knew she felt...off.

She turned again to Nightmare, only to see that she was staring off into the distance, eyes glazed over and unfocused. The princess smirked. Given her nature, Nightmare Moon was able to see anywhere she wished in the castle. Any location, at any time.

She was already searching for the unicorn.

Suddenly, Nightmare's eyes returned to their normal state. A grin slowly spread across her mouth, her eyes gleaming with a sadistic glee. "She's coming...with company. She has an army of strange ponies, ones I have not seen before. If I'd hazard a guess, she's coming to kill you, Mistress...and possibly the rest of us.”

The remaining nobles began whispering to each other, shivering in fear. Luna, however, remained unnaturally tranquil, practically indifferent. "Nightmare, you will stay here and protect me and the rest of our visitors..."

A panicked earth pony stallion interrupted. "Is she our only defense? They need to be stopped before they get here, or she won’t be able to protect us all!"

Luna gave a sly grin in response. "Actually, she is not our only defence." She cast a sideways glance at the unicorn to her right, who until this point had remained quiet and still. “Greystone, it seems our meeting is being interrupted by a some rowdy foals throwing a tantrum.”

Slowly, a chilling smirk crept onto the butler’s mouth. “With your permission, Princess Luna...I think it’s about time I teach these foals a proper lesson in violence.”

**** **** **** ****

Constella Star smirked as she walked down the long corridors of the Royal Castle, a small army of bat-winged ponies behind her. The sharp fangs protruding from their mouths were not decorations, but were in fact genuine.

She still found it amusing how the real bat-ponies had managed to outdo Luna's guards.

Suddenly, a blinding silver light erupted in front of them for mere milliseconds. Rubbing her eyes, Constella frowned in confusion. Standing in their path, was Luna's butler, a grey glow surrounding his horn.

Something blue flashed before her eyes.

Her entire first row of ponies literally fell apart into pieces, pools of blood staining the floor and her hooves. Her eyes widened and she tried to speak, yet no words came out.

Greystone approached slowly and calmly, and she could now identify what the strange flash of blue had been. Ten thin wisps of blue magic, almost invisible, swirled around him, coming from his horn. They seemed endless in their length.

Greystone grinned, although there was a darkness to it that made her shudder. "Hello again, Miss Star. Lost your way?"

The mare growled, then glanced over her shoulder at her remaining army. "What are you idiots doing? Kill him!"

They rushed forward, weapons drawn. Greystone stayed in place, utterly unafraid. Suddenly, when he had deemed the intruders were getting too close, he attacked. Greystone moved forward in a blur, thin magic wrapping around the limbs of three guards at once. With a simple tug they were torn apart, explosions of blood spraying around them. But the butler didn't slow. With another small tug, another enemy came apart.

He raced through the creatures, each falling in pieces as he passed them. He halted as more approached, one of them managing to knock him back. He slid on the ground, his breathing deep, and locked eyes with the bat-pony, silently daring him to do it again.

His magic moved like a whip, wrapping around the pony's legs before breaking them off completely. He grinned sadistically as the creature fell to the ground and started crawling towards him, seemingly determined to kill. Greystone merely placed his hoof on the pony's head and pushed down.

The skull cracked, then broke completely.

With one last glance down at the motionless, headless body, he turned his attention back to the few remaining attackers. What a shame...only four to go. Oh well, I best get this over with. Enemy after enemy fell, until all that remained was a floor coated in blood and several dismembered body parts strewn through the corridor.

Greystone turned, to see Constella galloping to the door in a frenzied panic. His magic caught up to her, winding itself around her hind legs before dragging her back. "Come now, the least you can do is stay for a chat. You don’t want to look like a coward now, do you?," he chastised.

She squirmed in the tight grasp of his magic, "Buck you!"

"A young mare like you shouldn't use such...colourful language." He frowned, the magic around her legs only growing more and more constricting. "If you don't stop moving," he growled. "I will cut these right off, just like I did to your little friends." Smiling in satisfaction when the mare ceased her struggling, he headed back to the throne room, carrying the captured unicorn in his magic.