Nightmare: Rise of the Demons

Shield Bearer barely opened his eyes, a strong headache permeating his mind. He blinked, trying to focus on his surroundings, and the headache soon faded to an annoying pattern of painful thumps in the back of his mind, the focus of the pain around the base of his horn. After a few moments of haze, he remembered what happened to him before he became unconscious, and his eyes finally focused. He was in a relatively small room with cracked paint and dusty floors. However, someone put him on a simple bed, so his body wasn't sore from lying on cold stone. He looked to his sides and noticed a pair of Night Guards standing there, adding to the confusion he had already felt. He noted all his belongings were taken away, and a magic suppression ring was locked around his horn. Judging by the amount of light shining through the lone window in front of him, it was around evening. In front of the window, an alicorn stood.

"What..." Shield Bearer cleared his throat and opened his somewhat dry lips, "What is going on? Princess... Luna?"

"Not quite," the alicorn replied, turning to face him, and her viper-eyes certainly were not those of Luna, "Welcome to the Palace of the Night. I am Nightmare Moon."

Shield Bearer's eyes went wide at her introduction and he tried to stand up, yet he couldn't move his legs. A paralysis spell, he noted in the back of his mind.

"Do not be alarmed, my subject," Nightmare Moon continued, her voice gentle with a hint of steel edge to it, "I wish thee no harm. However, I do require some answers," she slowly walked up to him, a cup of water in her magical grasp. She put it to the lips of the stallion, allowing him to take loud and thirsty gulps. After he finished, she teleported the cup away, "It is most interesting a Royal Guard made his way here, all by himself, yet clearly prepared for the journey. What is thine objective?"

"I'm... not here officially, your majesty" he replied carefully, trying not to look into the eyes of the dark alicorn. From what he knew of Nightmare Moon, she was quick to anger and didn't hesitate to use force. She was also extremely powerful, and he remembered a report of how easily she dealt with the guards assigned to the Summer Sun Celebration not all that long ago. And now he was there in front of her, without armor or weapons, and without magic. He knew his very life depended on what he said, and it was clear he wouldn't be simply let go after he answered the questions. However, he intended to be honest and respectable - he had nothing to hide. Besides, he reasoned he didn't have a choice - the alicorn was powerful enough to get answers out of him one way or another, and it was a blessing she decided to be nice to him.

"Oh?" Nightmare Moon raised a brow and then inspected him with her eyes. She didn't fail to notice the scar on his side, "Ah, I see... 'Tis a personal obligation that led thee here."

"Yes, your majesty," he nodded, "I'm looking for Andromalius. He saved my life, and I want to repay him."

"Most honorable of thee," the dark alicorn replied a respectable nod. She could appreciate someone with strong moral principles among the Royal Guards. Perhaps it could serve her, "Very well, what dost thou think of him?"

"I think he's innocent of what he was accused, your majesty," he replied slowly, "I just don't believe someone who so readily saved a stranger's life could just... try to take over Equestria or something. He should've been given a fair trial instead of being chased away to what would be his death, and I know he's alive."

"And what dost thou think of Celestia?" Nightmare Moon continued, "She is the one who ordered his execution."

Her emphasis on the last word made the stallion shiver. He knew it was execution, yet he always reasoned that it was something else. However, he couldn't deny what it truly was.

"It... wasn't right of her to do it, your majesty," Shield Bearer paused for a moment, frowning, "We guards aren't supposed to go against her word, but... I just don't see why she would do something like this so readily."

"And thou dost suspect what led her to it, dost thou not?" the dark alicorn finally found his eyes and locked her gaze with his, and he couldn't turn away, "Thou knowest more than thou shouldst, dost thou not?"

"Y-yes, your majesty," he admitted somewhat shakily, "There's... something going on in Canterlot."

"An understatement of a century," Nightmare Moon snorted, somewhat breaking her calm outer demeanor, "Thine apprehension is understandable, but I can see thou knowest a band of conspirators is working in the shadows. This was what Luna was investigating before, well... before me."

"Where is Princess Luna?" his ears perked up at the mention of her name. If Luna was still there, then maybe the situation wasn't as disastrous as he thought.

"She is safe and sound, yet unreachable, for now," the dark alicorn replied, evading a straight answer, "Thou hast to deal with me, young stallion. Now tell me... what dost thou think of my goals?"

"From what I've learned," he carefully began, gathering what he remembered about her. He decided to omit some of the stories he heard about her stealing foals at night. Such rumors were as ridiculous as claiming Zecora wanted to turn everyone into frogs by poisoning the water supply with Poison Joke, and he had heard that rumor countless times, "You want Eternal Night, your majesty," he paused for a moment, and she nodded in confirmation, "I... don't agree with that, your majesty."

"And this is the only goal of mine that thou knowest," Nightmare Moon nodded once more, "Very well. I can understand thy perspective, guardian of the day. However, my goal is not simply the establishment of Eternal Night, no, my goals go further and deeper than that."

She slowly circled around him, letting him digest the statement. He knew she wasn't as simple as a monster who sought to eat the sun and leave the world in a perpetual darkness, but he had no idea what other goals she had in her mind. He didn't show it, but he feared what she would say next.

"The pony society is sick," the dark alicorn continued, slowly unveiling her thoughts to the young and certainly impressionable stallion.

The notions of honor were often espoused by the naive, and the naive were easy to convince to do anything with the right words. He managed to get into the Royal Guard, so Nightmare Moon knew he could resist magical control... to a certain degree. However, what she was doing was not magic, but merely a conversation with which many young ponies would agree no matter who presented these words to them. As long as she was thoughtful in her approach, she would have recruited an ally in no time.

"A disease of incompetence, malice, and plotting hath taken deep root in it, and it hath been growing for a thousand years. The power of the nobility became stronger than ever before, and the power of the Crown diminished. Princess Celestia was blinded by this disease, manipulated by its spreaders. The inequality hath been growing more and more for centuries and, no doubt, would erupt in a conflict only few would survive," she looked deep into the eyes of the unicorn, "Of course, it wouldn't be thee who surviveth."

Judging by his expression, he had taken the bait. Not that Nightmare Moon was dishonest with her words - everything she had said was true. She only needed to present it correctly. She had painted a clear picture where an unseen but certain enemy threatened what the stallion swore to protect, and she only needed to add a little touch of personal threat to him, veiled behind vague words. It would be enough to get most to listen, and ponies were most pliable to such influence.

Shield Bearer was ignorant to her manipulations as the expected fear crept deep into his mind, just like Nightmare Moon wanted. He reasoned the words of the dark alicorn had meaning and truth behind them, for he could poke no holes in her speech. Nobility was certainly allowed more than they should've been, he could readily agree with that. Many times, the young sons and daughters of the nobles along with the nobles themselves could get away with more than the common pony. A word there, a bribe - one nobody could prove - over there, and the small 'mistakes' were ignored like nothing ever happened. Everyone in the Royal Guard was aware of this issue in one way or another, and most did well by ignoring it. After all, it didn't affect them, and idealism had to give way to earning money.

Shield Bearer himself came from a reasonably well-off family in Canterlot, and had spent all his life among similar ponies, never knowing the struggle to survive or to get justice. The nobility usually avoided the ire of the guards, and the guards avoided looking too closely into what was happening among the high society. Likewise, the guard had the most presence among the assets of the most powerful, leaving many smaller villages and cities alone as long as they kept supplying the powerful with what they needed. Shield Bearer was ashamed to admit that he too ignored the many problems right up until they literally stabbed him in the side. Maybe if the Royal Guard worked better and for the interests of ponies at large, they would've noticed the rise of such a violent cult that almost killed him. And, if he was right, the said cult served darker interests within the high society.

"Ah, thou art beginning to see," Nightmare Moon commented, sending another chill down his spine, "Not just the princess, but the Royal Guard, too, was blinded and corrupted. Luna saw it, yet she did not have the strength to act. I do."

She stopped in front of him again and looked him in the eyes once more, gazing into his very soul, leaving no room to hide.

"This corruption must be stopped," she said, her words firmly etching themselves in his mind, "I shall restore the power to the Crown, and I shall purge those who seek to destroy Equestria from within. They have been successful at making themselves more powerful, they have taken the power away from those who know how to wield it, and now they use it for their pathetic selfish needs.

"So, I shall ask thee... a question," she leaned closer, "Dost thou stand against it?"

"I do, your majesty," he readily replied, eager to redeem himself.

"Dost thou seek to make Equestria great and prosperous?"

"I do, your majesty," he nodded again.

"And dost thou seek to defend the ponies from evil?"

"I do, your majesty," he said, both unable and unwilling to say he stood against the ponies. He remembered his oath to serve and defend the ponies from those who would seek to harm them, and now he was more motivated than ever to do his duty.

"Then thou shouldst stand with me, Shield Bearer," she finished, a determined expression on her face, "With thy help, we shall be a step closer to cleansing Equestria of evil that hath taken such a deep root in it. Thou mayst disagree with me, but at least thou understandst what I want to accomplish, and there is middle ground between the two of us."

He didn't know what to say. On one hoof, his allegiance lay strictly with the rulers of Equestria, of which Nightmare Moon was not. He was supposed to obey without question because the princesses knew better than him. On the other hoof, his values aligned more with what Nightmare Moon hoped to achieve than with what he had been supporting with his actions so far.

"Thou must be thinking about Celestia and where it leaveth her," Nightmare Moon continued, holding his attention, "She hath proven to be an incapable leader, allowing such corruption to take over her. She must be replaced by someone more competent, someone who knoweth the path to prosperity and true harmony.

"I know thou art torn between allying thyself with me and thy duty to the ruling princesses. Let me ask thee this - dost thou want to simply follow the rules laid out in front of thee by those who care not for thy being? Or wouldst thou want to fight for what thou believest is right by thy allies' side?"

"Your majesty, I... I'm not sure," Shield Bearer said, "What you're saying is right, but... removing Princess Celestia from the throne? It doesn't seem right... and, in the past, wasn't it what led to your defeat?"

Nightmare Moon's eyes became sharper for a moment as she looked at him. An uncertain pause ensued.

"Thou art... observant," she had to admit, pushing her anger down, "However, a thousand years ago, I was young, I was full of anger and disdain and many other confusing emotions. My... imprisonment... hath taught me well, I had much time to think over my actions."

Another pause ensued as she thought, a deep frown on her face. It wasn't a surprise he brought this up, but it did reveal a hole in her plan - she needed to be always in control if she hoped to achieve victory, and meeting Celestia once more would likely throw her into a blind rage. She needed to restrain herself from unthoughtful actions lest she fell in defeat once more.

"I shall not rush this time," she declared, "And I shall do my best to ensure ponies do not suffer because of my actions. If it worrieth thee so, let it be known that I have made an oath to kill no one. Celestia will remain, only without her title and powers that come along with it."

"I really shouldn't have come here..." Shield Bearer muttered to himself, wondering how he would get out of this mess.

"And why is that?" Nightmare Moon replied sharply, almost making him jolt in his place, "Wouldst thou instead be satisfied if thou remained ignorant? This is not the way of the Royal Guard, thou shouldst know."

"That's not what I meant, your majesty," he replied quickly, "I'm just... confused. I wish I had more time to think everything over."

"Ah, that is acceptable," the dark alicorn nodded, calming down again, "No decision should be made in a rush indeed. I shall allow thee to remain here and think over my proposal, but thou art forbidden from departing this forest. Doth anyone wait for thee on the other side?"

"Not really..." he frowned, "But if I disappear for longer than a month, someone might come looking for me."

"Very well, then," Nightmare Moon nodded again, "Thou certainly shalt have time to think about everything. Now, I know thou hast come here for a different purpose, and I shall allow thee to fulfill it," she used her magic to release the paralysis spell and to remove the ring from his horn, eliciting a sigh of relief from the stallion, "Andromalius is currently in the courtyard practicing magic. Thou canst go and talk to him, my guards shall lead thee."

Once more, Andromalius was standing next to a small stream while doing his best to keep some water in a straight line above his head. His breath was even, his body was relaxed, and his mind was at rest. The line above his head was almost completely straight, wavering just a little bit. As he heard hoofsteps approaching, it trembled a little bit, but he managed to keep it steady with his focus. Judging by what he could hear, more than one pony was approaching him at the time, so it likely meant Nightmare Moon needed him for something, and the practice was thus over. He released the water back into the stream and turned to face the entrance to the palace. To his surprise, a regular-looking stallion came out, escorted by two Night Guards. The guards left the two by themselves, and the stallion looked at Andromalius with both amazement and gratitude.

"You really are alive," he said, relief on his face, "You might not remember me, but you saved my life when we were attacked by cultists. And... I want to thank you."

"I, well, just did what was right," the hell stallion replied slowly as the memory resurfaced in his mind, "But... weren't you with the Royal Guard? Why are you here alone?"

"Because I thought it would be better to go by myself instead of roping others into this," he replied, "And... now I know something bad is going on. You should've been given a fair trial instead of driven out of Canterlot and nearly killed. I also learned there's some sort of conspiracy working against ponies... is it true?"

"Yes, it is," Andromalius nodded, internally relieved to be speaking to someone other than Nightmare Moon or Inanna. Both were special in their own right, and this new pony seemed to be, in a certain way, normal, regular. Maybe he could get some new perspective on things from him, "Before I escaped, Princess Luna was on their trail, and I was helping her. Now... it's all a lot more complicated."

"I noticed," Shield Bearer let out a chuckle. Despite various rumors circulating in Canterlot since the escape of the hell stallion, he sounded just like another person, not some evil being that sought to destroy Equestria through strange rituals and black magic. However, there was one important question he needed to ask, and so his expression became serious, "Do you stand with Nightmare Moon?"

"Yes... so far," he replied carefully, "I can't really go anywhere else. At least Nightmare Moon treats me well, which is more than I can say for Princess Celestia."

"Fair point," the stallion nodded, "Can you tell me more about what's going on?"

Andromalius proceeded to explain what happened to him at the fateful day of his escape, leading to Shield Bearer shaking his head at disapproval of Celestia's rushed actions. Even he could see this situation as problematic, as something that would take time to resolve right, but the princess of the day, for whatever reason, wasn't interested in it. As the hell stallion continued to talk about the conspiracy at the highest levels of Equestrian society, the unicorn's frown deepened. If anything, this showed just how wrong the Royal Guard was - they protected the princesses from possible outside threats, never once considering a band of traitors could scheme so well behind their backs. At the end of the conversation, the guard was properly shaken - just what would it take to unravel the conspiracy and save Equestria?

The two spent some time talking about how they came to be in the situation they were in. As the conversation progressed, Shield Bearer even managed to relax as his thoughts were confirmed - Andromalius was merely a victim of a conspiracy, not a criminal himself. Perhaps now more guards could be convinced to look deeper into the shady politics at Canterlot, to see what and who hid there, plotting in the dark. Shield Bearer was thoroughly convinced to support this part of Nightmare Moon's plan, yet her goal of taking the throne for herself rubbed both him and Andromalius the wrong way. How could it be assured corruption wouldn't happen again? Nightmare Moon was strong and driven, but so was Celestia.

In the end, the two agreed to help each other however they could and keep an eye out for trouble. Despite how different the two looked from each other, one thing united them - they were thrust into this world of lies and deception against their will, and they had to figure out what was true and what was not, as well as find a way out of it and restore peace and harmony in Equestria. Andromalius knew he wouldn't be able to live his life without solving this issue - he would have to hide forever otherwise. As for Shield Bearer, it was simply his duty as both a citizen of Equestria and as a member of the Royal Guard. The two bumped hooves on it, swearing to stand by each other's side against the unknown.

Unbeknownst to them, Nightmare Moon was listening in, watching from one of the upper windows of the palace. A smile of satisfaction was on her face - Andromalius had indeed taken the initiative, and Shield Bearer would certainly prove to be a useful ally as well despite being just a regular guard. His gratitude towards the hell stallion would bind the two together for a long time, even if it was out of sense of obligation and nothing more. What Nightmare Moon expected to be very useful was Shield Bearer's promise to convince more guards to look into the politics of Canterlot, and it would undoubtedly sway at least some of them to Nightmare Moon's side, and it would be very good for publicity, at the very least.

Eternal Night will come, she was certain of it.