He wandered through the forest calmly. Not caring about anything that lay before him. His steps, heavy and slow. The small critters watched curiously as he walked through their homes. They looked at him and wondered why he was here. He was red all over, a few black areas of hair on his head and tale, but that was it. His wings hugged close to his side, making sure not to hit anything by accident. What really stood out to them were his glowing green eyes. They didn't look enchanted, but they actually seem natural. Almost like a warm glow of a soft fire, if that was was green however. His pupils slitted, staring into the maze of trees without any interest.
He looked at the small animals that stared at him. He wasn't too foreign to the action of others staring, even small little creatures of the dark. Technically it was daylight, but ever since that moon covered the sun, the animals of the night came out of hiding. He was a bit surprised at first, but quickly became used to it. He knew what it meant. It was the reason he was even in this country. He could be back in his little cave, drinking ale and munching on all the gems he wanted. But, like most things in the world, he was torn away from those pleasures due to his duties. He always hated having to leave his home to do chores, but this was just ridiculous.
As he made his way through the forest, he kept a eye out for any signs of old stone or a piece if architecture. He took a wager that SHE would be there of all places. He couldn't blame her. She did always have a thing for old spooky places. Plus it was almost too tempting to go where it all started. Another thing he hated about her. Even after a thousand years, she was still making him drag his ass around for her. After looking around for a minute, he saw a small piece of rubble. It looked like a came from a wall that was built from long ago. The carving of a sun suggested the origin. He knew he was heading in the right direction. With a direction set, he increased his pace to see her.
He stared at the large castle that was surrounded by large, ancient trees. It clearly looked like it had seen better days. It seemed their fight did more damage than he thought. It would take forever for him to find her in all this. He remembered any place she would most likely be. She never liked most places in the castle. Like most of her kind, she preferred to be in solitude. Only a couple places like that came to mind, but even those would take a while for him to get to. He had to take a guess that she would be where she wanted to rule. The main throne room. He knew the place all too well. Quickly opening his wings he jumped up and took flight, heading towards the area where she would most likely be.
The flight was not too long. He had to circle a few times to find it through most of the destroyed walls. The way he knew was to walk in through the front gates, but he didn't have time for the scenic route. He landed in the center of the room softly, making sure not to disturb the peaceful quiet that plagued the room. He looked around, taking note of all the different walls and tapestries that covered the room. He remembered all the boring meetings he had in here. They were at least good memories, unlike the times after that day.
As he looked around the room, his gaze soon landed on the large throne that sat at the far end. It was worn and slightly broken, but it still had that feeling of power. It even felt like a small breeze came through the room as he stared at it. He frowned. He may be a bit rash, but he knew all to well what it meant to be watched. The feeling of eyes staring at him in every direction. This wasn't like the animals in the forest. This was the feeling of darkness and hate.
"Show yourself Nightmare. I am in no mood to play these games." he said in annoyance. As soon as he said those words, a dark laughter filled the silence. He looked around to see where the laughter was coming from, but it seemed to be coming from every direction. He growled.
"This is your final warning! Come out, or things are gonna get less pleasant for you!" he yelled. The laughter grew to the point of where it sounded like a maniac was laughing at one of their sick jokes. He rose to stand on his back legs. He brought forth his power to his claws and released it, revealing his true might.
"HEAT WAVE!" he yelled. A giant wave of heat blew from his claws, spreading throughout the room like a bright light in the darkness. The laughter was quickly replaced with a howl of pain and agony. He increased the power, trying with all he can to bring her forward into the light. He looked around frantically, trying to see any sign of her wavering. He hated hearing her cry in agony like this, but he had no choice.
He then saw it, a small shadow in the corner of the room. He quickly canceled his magic and focused it into a ball of fire in his claw. The spell charged quickly and turned a light blue. He aimed at the shadow and threw it.
"Spirit Flame!" he yelled. The blue ball of fire hit the shadow. The shadow convulsed in pain. It covered the whole shadow until its entire form was surrounded in blue fire. The fire grew brighter until in the shadow finally relented and came into the light. She looked the same. After a thousand years on the moon, she never thought to change her look. She was black all over, her armor blue like night. Her main waved around her body like a loose cape made of shadow and stars. She was very beautiful, but he knew better than to praise her.
She was on the ground panting as the flame flickered away. She knew he was strong, but she was never on the receiving end of one of his many attacks. She looked up at him, burning, hateful eyes staring into calm, gentle green ones. She quickly stood up, not wanting him to look down at her any longer. They both stared at each other, both not wanting to say anything since they knew it would just be insults. He decided to be the grown up and speak.
"Hey, Nightmare. Its been awhile." he said calmly. She growled at his tone. She hated him beyond anything in the world. Not as much as her sister, but it was a close second. It took all her will not to pull out her Cursed Weapon and kill him where he stood.
"You dare speak to me that way! After a thousand years, that's all you have to say!" she screamed. He didn't falter to her increased volume. He simply shrugged.
"What is there to say? A thousand years can do wonders for the mind." he replied. She sneered, at his reply. The only thing she has thought about all this time was what she would do once she returned. She had it all planned out. Capture Celestia, bring upon the the night and rule over Equestria. If the elements appeared again, she would easily steal them and hide them forever. However, she did not plan for his return. If anything, she thought he would just hide away. She shouldn't have assumed that of him. He wasn't the lazy one out of the group.
"You're one to talk. Last I checked, you were too busy being a coward when I first took over." she said, hoping to get a reaction from him. He just shook his head and sighed.
"I'm not a person who feels shame when backing down from a fight. If you wanted that battle, then you should have went looking for Tarzin. He would have fought you as soon as you challenged him." he replied. She rolled her eyes, not caring in the slightest of his reasoning.
"Fighting him would be more fun than you in the bed." she joked. He couldn't help but chuckle, memories filling his mind.
"Your moans would say otherwise." he laughed. She glared at him. She summoned magic into her hands in the form of dark balls of energy. She threw them at him, not caring if the throne room was destroyed. As long as he died, she would be happy.
"Dark Matter!" She yelled. He quickly reacted and twisted around, hitting the dark balls of energy with his tail into the roof, causing more of the room to be destroyed. He counted her attack with a blast from his fire breath. She brought up her hand to form a shield made of dark energy.She was able to successfully block the attack, but then again, it wasn't much of a attack but another warning. A warning to show he was done playing games and ready to fight if she attacked again.
"Your attacks are getting slow Nightmare. You sure you're the same Nightmare Moon from a thousand years ago." he said, trying to get her off balance with her anger.
"I am more powerful than I ever will be! Your magic is nowhere compared to mine!" she yelled. This was true, while her magic was stronger than his at full power, she lacked in physical and fighting skill. To win all she had to do was keep him at a distance, but that is easier said than done since his whole fighting style is to rush and bombard with attacks.
"Face it Nightmare! You are done! Stop fighting now and I promise I will spare you." he pleaded. She smiled evilly. That was one of his many weaknesses. He always had a soft spot for older friends and allies. That's what made him weak. But she long left those feelings for him. Now all she cared about was his death. What better way to prove it than to show him than by making him relive his Nightmare.
She summoned her magical ability and caste it upon him. To him the whole room changed into a dark forest. He looked where Nightmare was and didn't see her. He knew what she was trying to do, but he had no choice so he decided to play along. He walked through the trees, keeping an eye out for Nightmare in case she would surprise attack him. He walked through the trees for a while, stopping occasionally to see if he was walking in circles. To his relief, he wasn't.
After half an hour of complete silence, he noticed a bright light coming from the end of the maze of trees. He increased his pace to a print as he came closer to the light. After getting closer, he could see the light was actually a fire. He got closer, and as he got closer, the fire grew in size. It grew, and grew, and grew. what he saw almost brought him to tears. It was a small village. He could see the building on fire, small vendors burning away. He could even see a few charred bodies in the streets. But that wasn't what made him feel so much pain. It was that he knew this village. He knew very well.
It is what made him what he is now. It is what gave him the cursed title. As he watched the burning village, he could hear a laughter over the sound of the roaring fire. It came from inside his mind. He didn't even realize he was panting. Not in fear or sweat, but in pure, untamed rage. He's only been this angry once, and it is the reason why that village was burnt to ash in the first place. He summoned all the magic he could and brought it to his fire pouch. In order to escape this dream, he needed more than a tiny flame. He needed the full power of his fire. Taking in a deep breath, he released his magic in a torrent of blue flame, burning away everything in this world. SPIRIT FLAME
He woke from the nightmare, panting heavily. The amount of magic he used drained him slightly. However, his anger pushed away the feeling and made him stand quickly. He looked around for Nightmare only to see her kneeling in pain. He quickly made his way to her. She barely had any time to speak before being lifted off the ground by her neck. She choked and gagged as he crushed her neck with all his strength. He could kill her right here and now without even breaking a sweat. Before he was able to finally end it, he remembered why he was here. He sucked in a deep breath and dropped her.
She fell to the ground, coughing profusely as her windpipe was almost crushed to dust. He walked way from her and stared at a wall, trying his best to calm down. He hated himself even more now. He swore he would never get angry like that again. Another broken promise. He added it to his list of sins. He didn't bother to look and see if she was okay, he was still mad at her for making him relive that moment in his life. Not even his teammate would do such a thing. He heard her stand up, still coughing slightly.
"Guess, *cough, that's why they call you Wrath the Furious." she said. He turned around quickly and glared at her, growling slightly.
"That is not my name!" he sneered. She chuckled. Dusting herself off a bit.
"Oh, yes. I remember. You like to be called, what was it, Cretan?" she asked, already knowing the answer. He didn't reply, only turning around to stare at the wall. Nightmare was trying to be cautious with her taunts. She did almost die a few minutes ago. While he was trying to control himself, she didn't think he would make another outburst like that again. She summoned her Cursed Weapon, Midnight Aurora, a scythe made from the mix of her dark magic and the secret metals of the moon.
"Alright, I think fun time is over. It's about time I planted that head of yours above my throne for when I take over this land." she said, smiling broadly.
He sighed and turned around. She didn't give any time to attack and went for the kill. She aimed for his head as she swung her scythe at him. He ducked down and dodged her attack easily. He knew she would try to finish things quickly since she couldn't fight for long periods of time, even if she was a alicorn. She flipped in the air and landed on er feet. Not letting him recover she lunged at him again, this time swinging in a ark to cut him in half. He saw this coming as well and stepped to the side. Again, she flew past him without causing a scratch.
Before she could land, he reached out and grabbed her foot. Using his strength, he pulled hard and flung her into the nearby wall. With the wall being so old a and brittle, she flew through it easily, leaving a large hole where she went through. She ended up flying into an old statue, her back colliding with the old piece of art. She looked at the statue and saw it was a statue of Starswirld the Bearded. She spat at it and stood up. She quickly recovered her stance and waited for Cretan to come out.
She wasn't surprised to see him fly out of the throne room and look down at her. She stayed low, waiting for him to charge so she could counter with her magic. She saw him shoot a ball of fire at her. She quickly reacted and, using her body like a spring, she used her force to knock the blast away. She smiled as she easily countered the attack. However, this was not his goal. That fire was just a distraction. She was too late to react when she saw him fly at her full force. She cried out as he grabbed her by the face and shoved her into the ground. He didn't stop there. He kept flying while pushing her face into the dirt. She tried to punch his arm off, but he had a firm grip. Using the momentum of her head being forced down, she raised her leg and kicked him hard in the chest, sending him flying over her into a tree.
He collided with the tree, with so much force that he broke it in two. She rolled threw the dirt a bit before coming to a stop. She slowly stood up, rubber her jaw in pain. She didn't want to admit it, but she was rustier than she thought. She barely had time to recuperate before she heard him charge at her again. She summoned her scythe which she apparently let go of during the attack. Using her magic, she forced it into her scythe, making the blade glow a dark purple. She swung it at him a few times, releasing three waves of dark energy.
"Crescent Moons!" she yelled. He saw the three projectiles coming at him at full speed. That didn't stop him. Using his arms as shields, he ran straight though the attack, ignoring the burning pain that flared in them. After running through the attack he tackled her to the ground. She tried to swipe at him, but he ducked down and tackled her low. She let out a breath of air as his weight fell atop her. He used all his strength and limbs to hold her down. He was now staring at her face to face. Opening his mouth, he prepared to release his flame breath. Reacting quickly, she used her magic and transformed into her shadow form.
He watched her slip from his grasp and hover into the open. Not allowing her to escape, he used his fire breath with added magic, casting Spirit Fire. The burst of flame managed to hit her and she screamed in pain. She exited her shadow form to stop the pain. She should have just suffered, because as soon as she left her shadow form, he had grabbed her again. Grabbing her by the arm, he spread his wings and flew into the air, pulling her with him. He punched and kicked at him, but his scales were too thick for there to be any effect.
When he reached high enough to overlook the castle, he let go of her. She hovered in front of him for only a second. That was all he needed to pull back his fist and punch it into her stomach, sending her flying into the castle. She closed her eyes in pain as she flew through many of the old castles walls. She eventually stopped and landed on stoned tiles with a loud thud. She tried to stand, but the pain in her back and head were extreme, almost to the point of blacking out. She fought the pain and stood up on shaky legs. Not a moment later, Cretan crashed through the ceiling and landed in front of her. She was too weak and too slow to stop him from his attack. He punched her directly into the temple, knocking her into the floor.
She tried to stand, but was only met with another punch into the side of her head. She stayed down, fearing another blow from him if she tried to stand. He walked away from her. Allowing her some rest. She breathed hard, her muscles and bones flaring in pain all over her body. She knew she had at least 5 broken bones. Something like that can only be done by someone like him. Knowing how weak she is now, if any of the other Seven had fought her, the end result would either be the same... or worse. What perplexed her was why she wasn't dead? If he could do this much damage with his hands, why not just finish her? Why was he not using his Cursed Weapon. One swing from that axe and she would be cut in two.
She took another shaky breath and tried to stand. She closed her eyes, waiting for another blow, but it never came. She opened them and saw him staring outside the window that pointed in the direction of the forest. She couldn't stand, but she could at least kneel over. She used her magic quietly, trying to heal her wound the best she could. She tried to stall him so she could recover.
"You sure haven't changed much. I almost pity those who had fought you. Their death must have been a great relief for them." she joked. He continued staring out the window.
"You can stall if you want, I can still beat you down to the point of tears." he said cooly. She recoiled in shock. How could he have known?! She was sure she was making her magic low enough to avoid detection. He must have some power to sense magic, she guessed.
"I don't have any power like that Nightmare. I'm just not a fool when it comes to strategy." he said, finally looking back at her. She growled in anger. "Besides, they are almost here and I rather not be here when they activate the Elements." he said. Her eyes grew wide. What did he mean, she thought.
"The elements are gone! I have yet to see any sign of them. If you are referring to those girls in the forest, then your hope is lost!" she yelled. He rolled his eyes. He walked over to her and stood in front of her. He looked down at her, his eyes devoid of any emotion.
"I will be honest since this will be the last time we see each other. I'm going to miss you. Even though we had our differences, we still need Luna to come back." he said calmly. She scowled up at him. She hated that name. She knew she was a part of her, but she still hated that little weak foal. She didn't have the capacity to rule or be her equal. She gave her a choice to rule by her side, but she chose help her sister. She took over Luna's body to make sure she could not resist. After a thousand years, that name is the last thing she wants to hear. In nothing but blind rage, she summoned Midnight Aurora and took a swipe at Cretans neck. He easily caught the scythe by the handle. He pulled it from her grasp. She tried to hold on, but her strength was already burnt out.
He examined the scythe, taking note of the shiny metal and the black wood of the staff. Taking the scythe with two hands, he brought it in front of him. She watched in horror as he snapped the weapon in half like a toothpick. She then felt it, one of the worst pains in her life. It ran through body like lava in her veins. In order to make that weapon, she had infused part of her soul into it. This allowed it to be with her at all times and for it to be harnessed by her power. The draw back was that if it broke, she'd lose all the power she fused into it, and a piece of her soul. That was what made it a Cursed Weapon.
That was it. The last string holding her to this body. Nightmare has never been afraid in her whole life. Of all the emotions in her body, she refused to feel fear. But now, in her final moments of life, that was all she could feel. She couldn't stop the flow of tears as she cried softly. He looked down at her, pain clearly evident in his eyes. She looked up at him. Not in anger, but in plea. She didn't want to die like this. All she wanted was to be noticed. Now she was going to die as a disgrace.
"Please, I-I can't die like this" she sobbed. He looked into her eyes, trying with all his will power to not hold her and tell her it was okay. This had to be done. Either by his hand, or by the girls that will bring peace to her soul.
"Don't worry. It wont hurt. It will just feel like a warm bath." he said softly. She looked away and cried harder. He stood there. Waiting for her cries to stop. eventually they did. She wiped her eyes and stood up, not looking him in the eye anymore. She turned around and walked away. She heard him open his wings.
"Goodbye Nightmare. Go in peace." he said. After he spoke he jumped up and flew out of the room. She didn't know why, but when he said those words, the fire inside her reignited. Her breath increased quickly to the point of her panting. Then she screamed in rage.
Cretan watched the giant rainbow come up and and back down where he knew it collided with Nightmare Moon. He was sad to see her go, but he was also happy that Luna was back. Now all that was left was introducing himself to the girls and the sisters. He'd done more awkward things in his life. Standing up from his perch on a rock, he spread out his wings and took flight to the castle of the Two Sisters.
Author's Note
I think you know where I got this idea from. I saw it on Netflix and I was like, "Oh, yes. I must do it!" and here I am.
The other stories are in progress. I know its weird to work on other things when I have that to work on, but when I have a idea, I get it out before its gone. I then release it to see if its a good idea from you guys. If it is, then I keep it. If you want info, like stats on the characters, just say so and how. I am not sure If you want a whole, chapter for it or just in authors notes.
Heat Wave: An A.O.E. ability that drains the stamina of nearby enemies and damages them the longer they are under the effect of the attack. Can be used on spirit like creatures.
Spirit fire: An attack specifically meant for attacking spirit enemies. Has no effect on that of the living or those who are in their mortal form. Can be used to break illusions, but only If user can withstand the illusion.
