Cantervania: Symphony of the Nightmare

“Okay so,” Tempest Shadow took a deep breath and raised a hoof to scratch her chin. “I have a vague idea of where to start.”

Twilight nodded, listening eagerly, while Luna remained sceptical, her eyebrows raised.

“The old Shadowguard Order Headquarters,” Tempest murmured quietly. Twilight Sparkle and Princess Luna looked on blankly. “It’s a great library hidden in the mountains,” Tempest explained, “or so I was told. I’ve never actually seen it or know exactly where it is, but-”

“Excellent suggestion, Shadow,” Luna sneered. “Perhaps you can come up with something a touch more helpful next time?”

Tempest growled at her. Twilight shushed the Princess and gestured to the Shadow. “Go on, Tempest.” She smiled bravely, realising she had just shushed a demi-god.

Tempest rolled her eyes and continued. “It’s a collective hoard of generations of Shadows and their dealings, bestiaries on monsters, ancient rituals, materials needed for summoning circles, etcetera.” She lowered her head and looked at the ground. “If there is something to be learned about how to fight Nightmare Moon, then that’s where it will be.”

The Princess raised an eyebrow. “Perhaps I spoke too quickly. Sounds interesting.” She narrowed her eyes. “If it survives. You are also guessing that information will be there.”

“I am guessing,” Tempest grumbled, “I’ve never been, I’ve never seen it but my mentor told me stories about it, an ancient monastery hidden from sight, high up in the mountains. I can’t read ancient spells or cast magic good enough with this.” She tapped her broken horn and glanced at Twilight, who watched with bated breath. “There are also centuries old spellbooks down there, even some regarding Celestia herself. I just can’t do anything with it. But you two can.”

Luna smirked. “Fortunate then that I did not flay your mind for insisting on provoking me, Shadow.”

Tempest growled as she rounded on Luna. “And maybe it’s good I didn’t insist on melting you down into glue.”

Twilight sighed and held her head in her hooves as the arguing resumed. “Hey Twilight, why didn’t you save Equestria from a dark and terrible night again? Oh that’s right your supposed heroes wouldn’t stop arguing with each other...” she muttered as she stood and swished her tail in annoyance.

The pair of them stopped arguing and looked at her.

“I need some fresh air. And to wrap my head around this.” She turned back to look at them. “Please don’t kill each other while I’m gone.”

Luna waved a hoof. “Please. We aren’t children.”

Twilight sighed again and closed the door behind her. Almost immediately the two began to bicker.

“Eat shit and die,” Tempest growled.

“Yes, fuck you,” Luna responded.

They glared at on another before breaking into quiet laughter as Tempest lay down on the floor and read the book on her fellow Shadows’ exploits, while Luna gazed up at the Moon sadly.

“Do you ever miss your home, Tempest Shadow?” she asked quietly.

“No.”

“I find that hard to believe, even for a pony like you.”

“I don’t care what you believe.”

“I believe Nightmare Moon’s psyche is as fragile as an old pony with three legs and arthritis.”

Tempest paused, a smile twitched at the corners of her mouth. “It’s possible I agree with you.” She sighed and closed the book, remembering something her mentor had taught her. “Come on, let’s find something to drink.”

Luna frowned. “Should we not wait for Twilight Sparkle to return?”

“It’s not like we’re going far, just to find something to drink in a very empty town, where the inhabitants are three ponies...”

The alicorn tapped her chin thoughtfully. “You raise a good point, Shadow. Very well.” She rose up from her seat and gestured to the door. “Lead on.”

Tempest cracked her neck and strutted towards the door. “Let’s see how well a god-princess can hold her liquor then,” she taunted with a cheeky smile.

“You’re on.”

Luna flashed a grin back as they disappeared into the night in search of drinks.

***

The Captain of the Canterlot Guard strode through his once great city, now reduced to rubble and cinders. A mare in a hooded cloak walked by his side. The ponies that remained and hadn’t fled or died silently watched him, and judged him. They all knew him: Shining Armour, the Craven Betrayer. He cleared his throat as he reached the town square, the sight of the Queen’s return. He grimaced as he spotted a large creature sitting atop one of the buildings, watching him far below.

“Ponies of Canterlot!” he exclaimed.

Slowly, ponies started to gather around him, weeping and shivering in fear as great bats watched from high above.

“I come to you today not as a captain, but as a citizen of Equestria.” He lowered his head and removed his helmet. His white coat almost shone in the moonlight, his two-toned hair combed neatly and presentable.

“I know of your struggle, friends,” he continued, watching the crowd.

“We’re not your friends!” Came a cry from them.

Shining cleared is throat and continued. “I understand your aggression, ponies of Canterlot. I truly do and I humbly apologise. I am here at the Queen’s behest, however-”

Great boos rose up from the crowd as they chanted obscenities at him. “String him up! Traitor! Coward!”

He looked on with stern eyes. “I am aware of the accusations you have all placed on me, and I ask you. What would any of you do?”

The crowd murmured amongst themselves, the mare at his side smiled softly, her eyes glinted in the moonlight.

Shining continued to glare at the crowd as they shuffled uncomfortably. “Ponies... My friends... Nightmare Moon is our Queen now, Celestia is gone, there is nopony ese who can save us... Besides ourselves.”

A few of the crowd murmured Celestia’s name.

One quiet voice spoke up.

“Where is she?”

The crowd parted to reveal a small white filly with wide brown eyes and large glasses. Shining smiled and waved for her to approach. “It’s alright, filly, I won’t hurt you. What did you say?”

She gingerly stepped forwards, the crowds eyes watching her as whispers spread.

“W-where is Celestia?” her voice was soft, and her doe-like eyes gazed up at him sadly.

His ears pinned back against his head as he struggled to find the right words. He remembered what the Queen had said and realised that may not go so well with an already unruly crowd. He swallowed and sputtered over his own words. “She--that is--well...”

The mare at his side held a hoof up. “She is gone, child.” Her voice was calm, steady, hinted with malice but something more, a wanting, a need of sorts.

She threw her hood back and revealed herself. A mare as black as night greeted the ponies of Canterlot. Nightmare moon rose to her full height, her mane wavy and mystifying as usual.

The crowd gasped, several ponies shrieked in fear. A few stallions lowered their heads and made to charge before Shining stepped forwards.

“The Queen has come here today to listen to you, good ponies of Canterlot. To prove she is worthy of your love.” he gestured to her. “Your Grace?”

She nodded and thanked him. “Good ponies of Canterlot, as my Captain says I am here to listen. Please, tell me your concerns.”

The crowd erupted in voices, some accusing her of nothing short of the foulest devilry, some shouted obscenities, but a few quieter voices asked how she would feed them all in the winter. Night eternal had damaged crops, and supplies were running out for some, while others hoarded their stocks and offered them at exorbitant prices.

To these, the Queen was more than generous. She offered them hefty portions of coin to trade for food, and offered them magical spellbooks that would enhance their crops, and told them of sacred moon gardening techniques so that their plants and harvests would flourish at night. Soon some of the crowd walked away satisfied, and chanting her praises.

Slowly her words reminded them all of Celestia herself.

“All I ask of you is your loyalty, Canterlot. Not your approval, not your love, but your fealty to your Queen.” She gestured upwards, to the creatures watching them. “If you disagree, my other subjects will feast, and they are truly thankful for what I provide them.”

Shining glanced at the crowd as several murmurings rose up once again.

The small filly from earlier quietly sobbed in front of them.

“My child?” the Queen asked softly as she lowered her head and raised the child’s head wit her chin. “Why do you weep so openly?”

The filly’s lip quivered as the Queen touched her chin. “My papa...” she mumbled. “I don’t know where he is, I haven’t found him...”

Nightmare Moon looked at her sadly. “You father has abandoned you child, as Celestia abandoned you all.”

Shining cringed as the filly’s sobbing growing louder, the beasts above licking their lips and watching with dark intent. She quickly tore away from the Queen and disappeared into the crowd, as some of them shouted up at the Queen, their good faith quickly replaced by jeers and curses.

The Queen’s kindness and good graces were quickly wiped. “You ponies are never satisfied are you?” Her words were sharp and cold as ice, quickly silencing the crowd.

“Very well, Canterlot,” she spat, her former kindness and good grace replaced by her unending cruelty, “you shall have nothing. I have tried to be generous, I have tried to be kind. I offer you great gifts in exchange for only your unwavering loyalty, and you spit in my face and reject me completely. Why? For I offer the truth above all else.”

Her voice lowered to a terrible growl making the crowd scream cries of repentance and begs of forgiveness. “Your Celestia abandoned you, my little ponies. She abandoned you as she abandoned me one thousand years ago. Listen to my words, I am your only sovereign now, and I will be fair, should you only swear your undying loyalty to me and my crown.”

Shining watched as the crowd rushed forwards, kissing her hooves and begging for forgiveness. He saw the true capriciousness of ponies that night. He saw how they quickly turned on the Queen and then recanted almost in the same breath. He tutted and looked at her, who grinned in response.

“You see Captain? I was right.” Her words dripped with a sadistic glee.

He nodded glumly. “Yes, Your Grace.” He felt disgusted as one pony made to kiss his own hooves, and swiped him away.

A cry rose up as the sound of hooves approaching reached his ears. He saw several banners flying, ponies wearing great obsidian masks and several black armoured insectoids carrying a mighty carriage. The crowd parted as the strange visitors moved closer.

Nightmare Moon noticed as well and waved a hoof. “Ponies of Canterlot, welcome our honoured guests.” With a flash of magic, several dark ponies appeared by her side, their green eyes watching carefully, armour almost sparkling in the moonlight. “Bring them to my court, Captain,” she commanded as she faded into a wisp of smoke.

Shining nodded and raised his helmet with his magic, placing it on his head and fastening the strap once more. He signalled to his lieutenant and with a nod of acknowledgement, guided the Queen’s guests to the castle.

***

Shining Armour stood silently at the Queen’s side, watching the guests carefully.

Queen Chrysalis of the southern Badlands and the Changeling Hive, her insectoid children buzzing and hissing around her. Her membranous wings fluttered and buzzed lightly. Her hair cascaded over her eyes, slightly obscuring her face, and her jagged, cruel looking horn pointed up at the ceiling from her brow. Her eyes held a hidden envy of everything around her, for her race was known for feeding off of love itself. Shining scowled at the shapeshifters as one grinned at him with his own face. He shuddered and looked to the next guest.

The Mad Sorcerer Grogar: a large blue goat with larger horns that curved behind his head. His scruffy beard and yellowed teeth stuck out as Shining remembered the stories about him. Allegedly as old as Equestria itself; the father of monsters, giving life to the foulest of creatures and allowing them to run wild. Also the self-proclaimed first Emperor of Equestria, deposed by the legendary folk hero Gusty the Great, said to be the first wielder of the Elements of Harmony. The old goat strode forth, his legendary magical bell clinking slightly as he walked. If the stories were anything to be believed, then his advanced age clearly didn’t even slow him down.

And finally, King Sombra, the Vampire Lord of the Crystal Kingdom. His red cloak billowed out behind him and his mane and tail swirled as dark shadows. His horn was stained red at the top, either from magic, or from blood. His retinue wore obsidian armour with heavy looking helmets that made their eyes glow green, and his elegant and divinely beautiful daughter strode beside him. He kneeled, as did his fellow guests.

The Captain stared at the alicorn beside the King. He’d heard stories and rumours of Princess Mi Amore Cadenza’s beauty, and recognised her from somewhere... But where? She noticed him staring and offered a smile, before kneeling beside her father. Shining quickly recovered his stance, and straightened himself up. He still caught his eye wandering to the Princess, however, as he tried to cast his memory back to where he might recognise her from.

The room grew cold as the Queen of Darkness approached them. Her eyes surveyed all of them with a sneer, from the insect, to the goat, to the unicorn, and then those beyond.

“My dear friends,” she began. “We prosecute a good war on the forces of good.” She gazed at the three of them before her and smiled at their obedience. “The time has come again, I must call upon your services in my name.”

Chrysalis hissed as she knelt. “Yes, your malevolence, the Hive stands ready at your disposal.”

“Yes, my Queen,” Grogar spoke, his voice gruff and deep. He bowed his great horns in respect. “My magic is at your service.”

Sombra rose his head and flashed a grin, his fangs making Shining uneasy. “The Crystal Kingdom awaits your word, my Queen.” The vampire lord’s voice slithered into the Captain’s mind, who gave his ear a flick in response.

Nightmare Moon nodded as her lip formed a sneer. “And you are all aware of the... Defeat at Ponyville? The three who defied me?” She watched them carefully. Sombra’s eyes flicked up to look at her, while Chrysalis grinned mischievously. Grogar stood as a rock, his face showing he had prior knowledge of something.

The old goat bowed to the Queen again and spoke. “Your Grace, I have observed these three using my magic, may I?” he gestured to the others, offering an explanation.

The Queen nodded in silent approval and took a seat on her lavish throne. “Grogar,” she thought to herself. “A forgotten has-been, but a useful tool perhaps.”

Grogar bowed again as his horns lit up with magic and his bell tolled quietly. He stepped forwards and turned to face the other delegates. Magical images appeared before them in a glowing green swirl, showing three mares, a unicorn, an alicorn and another unicorn with a broken off horn.

“Three ponies stood against our Queen’s forces at Ponyville. A unicorn, by the name of Twilight Sparkle, a student of Celestia and powerful with magic. The former Princess Luna has returned as well, I see,” he explained, “But it is my belief... That one of them... Was a Shadow.”

He grinned as the other lords glanced at one another. He chanced a look at the Queen herself, who stood silently and watched him with eyes of steel.

They’d all heard of the legendary Shadows, changelings knew them to be devils while the vampires of the Crystal Empire knew them to be murderers. Grogar himself had heard tales from after his time, and was thankful any of his monsters and hoard of ancient forbidden knowledge hadn’t been plundered by the mythical order.

Sombra grunted in annoyance. His guards shifted, their armour clinked and clanked as they watched their king nervously.

“A Shadow? I thought they were extinct,” he growled. His voice deep and powerful, hinted with arrogance.

Chrysalis hissed at him, the drones at her heels watching with cold, insect eyes. “The last of the Shadows were driven out of Equestria by the very ponies they once claimed to serve.”

Grogar laughed at them coldly. “Clearly, Queen Chrysalis, they have returned.” His eyes traced over her features and he smiled, his teeth yellow and rotten.

The changeling grumbled and pondered her next words carefully. “If there is a Shadow left alive then should we not observe their ancient fortress monastery?” Her horn lit up with a green magic as her drones rose into the air. “I can send a swarm of them this instant, just give me the word my Queen and I-”

“Why?” sulked Sombra, waving a dismissive hoof. “Why waste the energy on a simple pony, merely pretending to be a Shadow, and a pegasus with a false horn claiming to be a weakened princess?” He bowed as Nightmare Moon’s eyes fell on him with a cold stare.

“Why?” Chrysalis hissed, “perhaps because of the general notion that the Shadows hunted the likes of us for fucking centuries!” Her pupils dilatated as her anger grew. She strode up to the king and bared her teeth at him.

“And if there’s one left alive, then it might have access to the ancient trove of gathered knowledge and magical weaponry talked of for centuries but never found, not even by my own infiltrators, which they used to hunt us, through fucking centuries, and kill us all while we stand here and bicker.” She straightened up and swung her hair out of her face. Her cold green eyes stared into the reds of Sombra’s and she sneered.

“Perhaps the reason is clear now, My Lord?”

Sombra glared back at her. His lip curled in a snarl and he turned to Nightmare Moon. “This is how you let your guests talk to each other, my Queen?”

He started forward, fangs bared and horn aglow with magic. His daughter, Cadenza, rushed forwards and whispered something in his ear, calming him.

“Enough.”

Nightmare Moon rose from her throne and stepped down the stairs slowly, her mane swirling around her slender neck. Chrysalis, Grogar and Sombra all averted their eyes, feeling her power swelling around the room itself.

Shining stole another glance at the pink alicorn as she held her father and caught her watching him. Her cheeks flushed with a darker pink, and his own turned red as they looked into each other’s eyes. He felt his spine chill as the Queen placed a cold hoof on his shoulder.

“It would seem my Captain of the Guard is fascinated by your daughter, my Lord Sombra.” She smiled warmly at Shining as he averted his eyes and turned a deep red as the attentions of her guests were brought to them. “Perhaps you should let them get more... Acquainted with one another while we convene.”

Sombra glared at him, his red eyes glowing with hate, while Cadenza placed a hoof on her father’s shoulder. They shared a look in silence before he nodded, giving her his approval to leave. She strode up to Shining, her own eyes now swirling with resentment.

“Come,” she commanded. Her voice was harsh, a stark contrast to her gentle beauty.

Shining chanced a look at Nightmare Moon, who nodded in approval and waved a hoof. “Be kind to him, my dear, for I am very fond of my captain,” she chuckled, her tongue slithering out from her teeth as she licked her lips.

Mi Amore Cadenza bowed again. “Your Grace is most generous. I shall see he is returned to you unharmed.” She gestured to Shining and then at an open door. He swallowed and followed her, giving the Queen a bow and feeling the eyes of her guests watch them as they left. The heavy doors closed behind them, and Shining heard raised voices from within.

They walked together for a few minutes in silence, the tension palpable as he licked his lips.

“What does she want?” he thought to himself as he followed the pink mare. “And why does she look so familiar?”

Soon they found themselves in a quiet part of the castle. Shining stood rigid and stared ahead. A pair of guards, their armour almost glowing in the moonlight, walked past, giving their captain a small nod. He grimaced and gave them a nod of recognition back. “At least they recognise the chain of command. Faithless dogs,” he thought.

They continued to walk for several more minutes, stopping in front of a large window overlooking the gardens. Cadenza looked around, and upon realising they were alone, she sank to the floor and openly wept.

As her tears hit the floor, Shining stopped dead in his tracks. “Was this a trick?” He thought as the Princess sobbed. As they locked eyes he realised her tears were genuine. With an awkward smile he offered her a hoof and helped her up. “Princess?” he asked carefully.

The Princess wiped her eyes. “Thank you, Shining Armour,” she mumbled, “You have a good heart, I can tell.” She smiled and sniffed again. She turned to look out at the night sky. “I don’t... Suppose you would remember me, would you?” she asked quietly. “Cadance?”

Suddenly, he remembered and his jaw fell open.

“Cadance... Surely not Twilight’s foal-sitter from when she was a filly?” he asked with an incredulous look. His cheeks turned a crimson red as he remembered one summer in particular all those years ago, when they snuck away from his and Twilight’s parents, just the two of them. “Under the willow tree...”

She giggled and nodded, turning back to him and blushing. “The very same.” Her eyes welled with sadness in remembrance and her ears laid back. “I... Hope your family are okay... Your mother was always so kind to me...”

Shining’s eyes turned cold and distant. “My parents were away when Nightmare Moon returned. I have no idea if they’re alive or not. And Twilight...” he trailed off. “You heard back there. My sister was part of the defence of Ponyville against the Queen’s forces, which makes her a traitor.” He glared at Cadance, unable to hide the emotion in his eyes. “And traitors must be destroyed.”

Cadance gasped. “Surely you don’t mean that, Shining?” she asked, covering her mouth in horror.

He nodded solemnly. “All traitors to Her Grace must be destroyed. It is how Equestria will survive.” He recited those words again and again. They were the only thing keeping him sane these days.

She approached him and raised a hoof to his face. Her eyes twinkled with kindness and sorrow. “You must leave this place, Shining Armour, before you truly start to believe those words.”

He touched her hoof with his and smiled sadly. “My place is here, with the ponies I vowed to protect, Cadance.”

Her lip quivered. “You’re a very brave stallion, Shining Armour. But don’t be foolish.” She retracted her hoof and gazed out at the gardens of Canterlot, once pristine and beautiful, now overgrown and messy. “I can convince my father to take you with us...”

The Captain scowled. “Your father is in league with Nightmare Moon, and from what I hear he’s only slightly less vicious than she is.”

The Princess squirmed and pawed at the ground. “I am aware my father has done terrible things, Shining Armour.” She bit her lip in hesitance. “I’ve come to ask for your help...”

He stared at her. The wind blew a soft breeze around them.

“What with?”

Cadance looked at him as her expression darkened. “I want you to kill my father.”

Shining Armour stared at the mare in front of him. “Kill-” He quickly looked around as his voice fell to a whisper. Thankfully, there was nopony around them and they were still alone. “Kill Sombra? Why? How?”

Cadance laughed joylessly. “My father has been a tyrant to the Crystal Kingdom,” she explained.

“He and his vampires have gone too far. There are too many of us to support our way of life. Crystal ponies are vanishing without trace in the night and he doesnothing, yet we all know the cause. The system is breaking down, we need new leadership if we are to survive.” She turned to him and smiled. “I need a strong pony by my side if I am to rule in his stead, Shining Armour. I can think of nopony better than you yourself.”

He shook his head and stepped back. “I don’t want to rule, Cadance, I just want Equestria to be safe for ponies everywhere. Once Nightmare Moon is truly victorious, there will be no suffering in Equestria or beyond.”

Cadance took his hoof in hers. “But don’t you see, Shining? Once my father is dethroned the Crystal Kingdom will be free to rebuild, we can come back with an army of well fed soldiers, loyal to me--to us and rescue Equestria from Nightmare Moon and rule together in peace and harmony!”

Shining looked at her sadly. “Is this truly the same pony as under the willow tree all those summers ago?” he wondered. Her eyes were wide and passionate. “Maybe she has a point...”

He looked at her carefully. “Are you a vampire, Cadance?”

“Does it matter, Shining?” She asked sadly.

He nodded. “If we are to... Work together...” He swallowed, not believing he was even contemplating regicide. “Then yes. It does.”

Cadance sighed as her horn glowed with magic. A light passed over her, revealing her teeth to be sharpened fangs, her eyes changing from their usual purple to a deep red, and her wings from the usual feathery, pegasus type wings to membranous ones resembling a bat’s. She offered an apologetic smile to him as he recoiled in horror.

“This is the real me, Shining Armour. My father’s curse runs through my veins as strong as it does him. But you must understand.” With a wave of magic her illusion took place once again, her eyes returning to their usual colour and her wings turned back into feathers. “I never once asked to be a vampire, I was born with these powers, and the thirst-” She fell silent and gazed at him as she feared she had said too much.

Shining’s eyes widened and his mouth twisted into a snarl. “You were a vampire around Twilight?” he murmured quietly, feeling a fire inside his belly he hadn’t felt since before Nightmare Moon returned. “Did you ever-”

She quickly shook her head. “No, never, Shining, I never revealed myself to her, and I always kept my darker urges under check when around your family. I loved Twilight like she was my own sister.” She smiled bashfully. “I had hoped she would be one day.”

The unicorn’s eyes widened even further and he coughed and sputtered, turning a deep red and causing the Princess to laugh. The fire inside of him melted away into a warm glow as he heard her laugh. “How can I be sure you’re telling the truth, Cadance? About me? Twilight? Your father?”

She stepped forwards, her eyes sparkling in the moonlight. “Perhaps this will convince you...” she murmured as her lips crashed onto his.

At first he struggled, the surprise of it catching him off guard. He slowly relaxed as his lips wrapped around hers. Their tongues intertwined, and he felt his hooves tremble as she placed them on her soft body. She herself caressed his strong, toned muscles and let out a small moan as he gently squeezed her. Finally he broke away and gazed into her eyes. The eyes he’d known since he was a feisty teenager in Canterlot, with only dreams of joining the Equestrian Royal Guard.

“Tell me what to do.”

She gently caressed his face and beamed. “Okay... Here’s the plan...”

From outside in the garden, a serving mare listened to them with wide, green eyes. She grinned, and hurried off to inform her Queen of suspected treachery.

***

King Sombra’s hooves sounded loud against the wooden floors. He gazed around the corridor as he walked, noting the royal Canterlot family’s lineage as portrait after portrait seemed to judge him. He sneered as he eventually found the Queen’s study, it’s door ajar slightly and gave a polite cough and a knock.

The Queen stood in front of her fire, her back to the door.

“May I come in, my Queen?”

The flames of the fire flickered in her eyes. “Approach, Sombra.” She responded without turning around.

Sombra strode forth, watching the back of her head. “I have a question,” he hissed.

Nightmare Moon raised an eyebrow, still not turning to look at him. Her wings fluttered slightly in annoyance.

“About?”

Her voice was slow, deliberate. The fire crackled, breaking the tension in the small room.

With a deep breath the Vampire King sighed. “When your conquest of Equestria is finished, my Queen, what will you do next?” He bravely--and foolishly asked her. “My vampires need a continuous supply of fresh blood if we are to survive, if the ponies of Equestria starve and suffer, then what would we eat?”

Nightmare Moon sighed in annoyance.

“I assume you are not as foolish as you may seem, My Lord, for to not keep blood in cold storage where it can be siphoned at no extra cost would be foolish indeed, wouldn’t you agree?” She crossed the room to him, standing at her full height and towered above the vampire.

He looked away. “Yes, your grace,” he muttered. “But when those stocks run out? I will not ration myself like a common dog begging for scraps.”

“Careful.” The Queen’s voice was quiet, yet powerful as she warned him. Her hoof gently scraped along the floor, scuffing the carpet a little bit.

He brazenly continued. “Do you expect me and my vampires to feed off of our own peasants? Their blood is foul and undeserving of our gifts. My aristocracy will not feed off of lesser creatures such as deer or oxen.”

Nightmare Moon closed her eyes and took a deep breath. “You will be taken care of, Sombra.”

“Yes of course,” Sombra sneered, “except... What if we aren’t?”

The Queen’s eyes opened in a fury. “I will not be questioned by you, Sombra. You forget your place.” She advanced on him, making him step back in alarm. “I have told you how it will be, My Lord. I have told you.”

Her eyes pierced his very soul. Her figure stood tall and black as night, her wings unfurled and her mane flowing behind her.

“You will. Be taken. Care of,” she hissed. “Little Sombra... Lit-tle vampire... Lit-tle para-site. He who blusters and makes a lot of noise. He who pretends he is important and dangerous. He who comes into my court at my own invitation and dares. Dares to question his rightful ruler.” Her eyes blazed with the fury of the night and spittle dripped from her mouth with each word. Her wings unfurled as her words intensified, engulfing the room in shadow.

“Are you going to continue to question my rule? Are you going to fight me? My. Little. Pony?”

King Sombra swallowed as a bead of sweat crept down the side of his head. His eyes gazed into the Queen’s and he felt fear for the first time since he became a vampire and lord of the Crystal Kingdom. His gaze shifted away from hers and he mumbled. “No. Your Grace.”

She leant forwards and whispered in his ear. “Then why. Are you. Still. Here?” Her words echoed in his skull. He bowed low and opened his mouth to speak.

“Get. Out,” the Queen growled, “before I have your heart staked with your own spine and your corpse stripped of it’s meat as my creatures torment you for eternity in Tartarus and have your entire, miserable kingdom razed to naught but cinders.”

He bowed, sweat dotted his forehead as he quickly exited the room, and closed the door behind him.

Nightmare Moon breathed heavily as she heard his hoofsteps leave. She straightened up and furled her wings to her sides as she moved back to in front of the fire, where she watched the flames dance long into the night. She knew Sombra would cause more trouble than he was worth in the future, but she needed a reason for her distractions.

And violent ponies with a lack of morals were excellent distractions.

***

Twilight Sparkle returned to an empty library. She slid of the saddlebags she had around her rump onto the floor and dropped the few she had floated over with her magic and felt a sinking feeling in her heart. Books lay scattered about, and the fire had completely died down at this point.

“I hope they’re not in any trouble,” she thought as she started to tidy up the mess. After a few minutes she heard a noise, and spun around as the door burst open, revealing a very inebriated pony wearing dark armour and sporting a broken horn

“Sparkle there you--hic--are!” Tempest slurred at her as she stumbled over. She draped a hoof around the unicorn’s neck and smiled, blinking her eyes at random intervals. “Come! Luna found a--hic--cask of cider, it’s better than sex, honestly, you--hic--you gotta come have some.”

Twilight grimaced and slipped out of the Shadow’s grasp as her cheeks turned a deep shade of red. “No thanks, Tempest, I hardly think this is the time to-”

“Where is--hic--she?!” came another booming voice. Luna, the second princess of Equestria strode forth and eyed Tempest. “Why are there five of you?” She noticed Twilight Sparkle and broke into a large smile. “Toilet! There you are, come, let us--hic--let us drink together.”

Twilight raised her hooves in protest. “Please, Princess, Tempest, this is serious-”

“Psshhhhhh,” Tempest replied, “My mentor told me this is how Shadows do things after---hic---a good fight, come!” She once again draped her hoof around the young mare’s neck and guided her towards the door, where Luna wobbled and giggled.

“Watch out--there’s a two headed b--hic--beast approaching, I’ll hold them off!”

Tempest waved a hoof and stumbled, making Twilight cry out in surprise. “Where?! I’ll, oh it’s us,” she laughed. Luna laughed as well, a joyous hearty sound.

Twilight allowed a smile to cross her lips as the pair of them rambled.

Tempest noticed and jabbed a hoof at her. “Ohhhh she can smile!” She turned to Luna and grinned. “You owe me--hic--two bits!”

The Princess grumbled and fumbled around in one of the bags Twilight had dropped earlier. “All I got is these... Apples?” A glow of magic illuminated one of them and she caressed it with her hoof before devouring it. “Gud ahhles. Shwe ahhles.”

The young mare laughed out loud as they stumbled into the night, the Shadow loudly singing--some quite rude--songs of mares and stallions amongst daring deeds, while the Princess sort of howled at the moon in a comical way.