Nightmare: Volume 1

The flickering candles were the only light to aid her as she read, her eyes scanning the thin pages of the old diary. It was small, no larger than than her hoof, the contents inside written in her sister’s unmistakeable cursive style.
Luna had spent hours searching through the Canterlot archives, desperate to find answers about the bat-pony attacks or changelings. Finally, after realizing there were no recorded accounts in the libraries, she had recalled her older sister’s diary.

She knew the secrets hidden inside the leather-bound book, how it contained the darker secrets Celestia never wanted anyone outside of Luna to know. But it was one set of diary entries in particular that she was searching for.

The second her eyes caught the word ‘monster’ she stopped to read the paragraphs around it.

“Luna was released today. My sister is back, but all is not well. The Elements put all her evil into a physical form. I’ve chained that monster in the dungeon beneath the castle. I’m yet to find out exactly what it is. I will attempt to get answers as soon as I can.”

She skipped ahead a few entries, finding her next point of interest. At the top, was the underlined heading ‘Discovery.’ Thinking this could be important, she read on.

“It finally gave in. Apparently it really is just Luna’s previous evil taken a real form, split from her by The Elements. Yet she still acts like a normal pony. She seems to have her own emotions, her own free will, her own habits. She is another separate entity entirely. Yet still, she tried to kill me today. And she has expressed wanting to kill Twilight and her friends in...very graphic and sickening detail. She takes some kind of sick pleasure in those gory fantasies of hers. This thing disturbs me, but it could be a useful weapon someday.”

Skimming through the other diary passages, Luna was about to close the book, when another word caught her eye. It was another heading, simply titled ‘Regret.’ Beneath it was a small paragraph, shorter than the rest, and the penmanship was noticeably messier.

“It escaped. It escaped and it bit Twilight. Now she isn’t acting like herself. I fear what that creature has done to her. This is all my fault. I should have killed that thing long ago.”

Luna flipped through the diary, passing several more entries, these detailing Twilight’s rapidly decreasing health - both physical and mental. The rest of the pages were completely blank.

Closing the diary with a faint glow of magic, Luna rested her head on the table. She had thought that perhaps her sister had encountered the bat-ponies once, and that perhaps there would have been something in the diary to help.

But there was nothing. Not a single mention of bat-ponies anywhere to be found. The closest thing that was mentioned was vampire fruit bats, and a curious case of an unnamed pegasus who had taken on the bats’ qualities for a short amount of time.

She had read that particular entry several times over, desperate to find something that could be useful, but to no avail. The pegasus detailed in the entry had only taken on the qualities of a bat as a result of a misused spell. It wasn’t anything like the bat-ponies that had attacked the castle.

“Perhaps it has something to do with the changelings,” she muttered, voice echoing in the large, empty dining room.

“Oh, I wouldn’t worry about those bugs,” said a familiar voice. “Something tells me they aren’t the real problem.”

Luna sighed, straightening her posture and closing her eyes. “What are you doing here, Discord?”

The draconequus quickly materialized before her, lying across the dining table like it were a bed. “Well excuse me for trying to help. You just looked so sad, sitting there all on your lonesome with no answers in sight.”

She glared up at him, “How are you even here? Do you just randomly appear in places no matter what?”

He chuckled, glancing down at his claws and picking out specks of non-existent dirt. “Yes, as a matter of fact, I do. The funny thing about me is…” he levitated himself into the air, grinning down at her. “I can be both everywhere and nowhere.”

“Just answer my question. Do you know anything else about the bat-ponies or not?”

Floating down to the floor, Discord raised an eyebrow. “I know that they’re just like the changelings. As in, they aren’t your biggest problem.”

Luna gritted her teeth so hard she feared they would crack. The chaotic spirit wasn’t giving her any straight answers...and she hated it. It only caused the dread and anger in her chest to grow. “Stop with your riddles!” she hissed, slamming her hoof down on the table. “If you cannot be useful, then leave!”

Discord rolled his eyes, “Fine,” he grumbled. “But I can’t see into the future, you know. I’m the Spirit of Chaos, not a seer.” He paused for a moment, stroking his white goatee. “However, I do know that right now, Rainbow Dash is visiting Sweet Apple Acres to...dispose of a few vampire fruit bats that have been sighted there.” He smirked at the princess, “Would you like me to give her a message or something?”

Luna nodded, relieved to finally by getting somewhere productive with him. “Yes. Deliver it to her immediately.”

The draconequus feigned a yawn, “Oh, I’ll deliver it when I remember,” he answered dismissively. “Come on then, what’s your message?”

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

Rainbow Dash’s pained screams echoed through the hallways, filling her ears as she galloped. She gritted her teeth in rage upon reaching the end of the corridor. Twilight had blood covering her hoof, a twisted grin on her mouth.
Rainbow was slumped against the wall, covering her eye and wailing in agony. She looked back at Twilight, and turned, aiming her hindlegs at the transformed pony. Fueled by anger, she bucked Twilight’s head with all the force she could muster.

She heard the body collapse to the floor. She turned around to face the bat-pony...only to see that she wasn’t getting back up.

Applejack woke with a start, goosebumps rising at the smallest sound. Her breathing was erratic as her gaze frantically scanned her surroundings. She was outside, in the middle of her apple orchard, lying underneath one of the trees. From the sun’s position, she could see that it was still early morning.

“AJ?”

The farm pony looked up as the pegasus approached. Slowly, she stood, a smile flickering across her mouth. “Mornin’ RD, glad ta see ya.”

The cyan mare pressed her lips together in a tight line, obviously hesitant to speak. “Ya know, as much as I like helping you, getting rid of vampire fruit bats isn’t exactly why The Chariot was made.”

“I know, but the little varmints are turnin’ all our apples ta mush, and I don’t wanna risk using another spell or somethin’ ta get rid of ‘em.”

Rainbow nodded, taking her enchanted bayonet from its sheath around her body. Voice muffled from holding the handle between her teeth, she answered. “Well at the very least, this will give me practice.” Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a small dark figure perched on a branch, its red eyes staring at her.

With a toss of her head the bayonet whistled through the air, going directly through the creature’s heart. The vampire fruit bat fell from its branch, the blade still firmly in its chest. Rainbow walked forward, calmly removing her weapon and holding it in her mouth once again. She had gotten used to the metallic smell of blood, and by now it didn’t have any effect on her.

She proceeded to dispose of the few other fruit bats with ease, and in no time she was walking back to Applejack, tiny bodies littering the ground.

“You’re not mad, are ya?” asked the earth pony. “I know that must’ve been real borin’.”

Rainbow smirked, “Mad? No way. I could never be mad at you for something like this. Plus, it wasn’t really that boring.”

Placing her bayonet back in its sheath, she continued. “It was actually a nice change from vamponies and changelings. At least those little bats don’t try and kill you back.”

Applejack nodded, “Well thanks for gettin’ rid of ‘em. I really didn’t wanna have to use another spell again.”

“Yeah,” agreed the pegasus, “That didn’t work so well last time.” A sudden sadness coming onto her face, she added softly. “Plus, it’s not like we’d be able to do that since...you know, Twilight...isn’t here.”

Applejack cast her gaze down at the ground, refusing to meet her friend’s eyes. Her voice was quiet, barely above a shameful whisper. “I...I didn’t mean to...to kill ‘er, I really didn’t. It was an accident.”

Rainbow’s ears drooped, and she used her hoof to raise Applejack’s chin, forcing her to look up. “AJ,” she said quietly, “I know. You just wanted to protect me. Nopony is going to blame you for trying to protect your friend.”

Tears welled in the earth pony’s eyes. She knew that others would forgive her, but doubted that she would ever be able to forgive herself. The memories of that night still lingered, the guilt replaying in her mind over and over in her dreams.

Rainbow pulled her into a tight hug. “It’s okay,” she whispered. “It’s okay, AJ.”

Applejack drew in a deep breath, pulling away and wiping the tears from her eyes. “Thanks again for takin’ care of those little monsters, RD. I’d hate to think of what would’ve happened if...ya know...we got the same results as last time.”

The pegasus nodded, “Speaking of...that…” she absentmindedly kicked a rock with her hoof, “Have you...heard anything about Fluttershy? I’ve been trying to track her down, but…”

“Rainbow,” the earth pony interjected gently, “If she wanted ta be found, somepony would’ve found her weeks ago.”

The cyan mare stamped her hoof, “It’s been three motherbucking weeks, AJ! I’m getting worried!”

A chuckle came from behind her, “Now now Rainbow, I won’t have to wash your mouth out with soap, will I?”

The pegasus whirled around, narrowing her eyes at the draconequus now sitting atop one of the apple trees. “What do you want?”

Discord rolled his eyes with an exasperated sigh, floating down from the tree. “Why does everypony always assume I want something? It’s quite insulting, really.”

Applejack raised an eyebrow in suspicion, “Okay...so what are ya doin’ here then?”

“I’m here to deliver a message.” He cleared his throat, and with a click of his claws, summoned an unrolled parchment. He smirked, suddenly changing his voice to mimic that of Princess Luna. “Dear Rainbow Dash, I know this is very last-minute, but tomorrow, I need you to go north to The Crystal Empire. I have reason to believe that the bat-ponies are coming from there. You are to go with Nightmare and investigate. Best of luck, Luna.”

Making the parchment disappear in a flash of light, Discord smirked. “So, you and Nightmare alone on an assignment together? Oh how I’d just love to be a fly on a the wall tomorrow!”

Rainbow and Applejack glanced at each other, then back at the draconequus. Rainbow pressed her lips together, “Did the Princess say anything else?”

Discord waved his paw dismissively, “Oh, she’s just her usual uptight self, nothing out of the ordinary.”

Rainbow took a deep breath, closing her eyes. She had no choice. She despised Nightmare and would rather cut off her own arm than work with the monster...but it was Luna’s orders. Surely she had paired the two of them together on this investigation for a reason.

Turning to Applejack, she managed to smirk. “Well...I’ll see you at the train station tomorrow, AJ.” She wanted nothing more than to storm into the Royal Castle and demand answers, but another part of her told her not to be so selfish. After all, they were trying to avoid a war. I trust you, Luna...Í just hope you know what you’re doing.