"Alright, should be just up this way."
A hand clasped up to the side of a cliff as a figure pulled itself upwards. Rolling over the side of the edge, he turned back, looking down into the ravine he climbed with a smaller figure trailing slowly behind, hovering up towards him with a pair of little wings buzzing as they flapped the speed of a hummingbird. Once she was close enough to the taller figure, he reached out and pulled her up the rest of the way. Once the two of them were in clear daylight, they could be identified from even a bird's eye perspective. One of them was the first of his kind in the land he tread now. He was a human, standing almost six feet tall with tanned skin that was slightly cooked from his exposure to the outdoors. He wore a black-colored blazer on his body, a white dress shirt underneath it. On his legs were a pair of dirtied jeans and black boots. Propping up his glasses as he stood, he brushed the sweat from his black hair as his hazel-blue eyes looked around.
The second figure was significantly shorter than him. She was a creature that, unlike the human, was common to this world. In fact, this WAS her world. She had been ripped from it for so long, tormented by others like the human that saved her, and yet, now she exists, reincarnated, and with fresh new memories to make. Her coat was as black as the human's blazer, and her mane and tail were merely blue wisps of smoke that flowed like an ethereal flame eternally. Her teal-blue eyes stared forward through the cobalt blue helmet on her head while her barrel was shielded by a circlet chestplate of some sort. Her hooves donned special horseshoes that went up to her knees on all four legs, and along her back jutted two pairs of bat-like wings with feathers. The most noticeable thing about this filly was her "Cutie Mark", which was a cyan moon blotched with an infectious-looking purple stain, as if to say this filly's moon was corrupted and nightmarish.
These two called themselves Nathan Schmidt, and Nightmare Moon, a pair banded together after the fall of a corrupted and manipulated organization that wanted control over the entirety of the former's home. Nate had found Nightmare Moon as a wisp all on her own, an orb of stars and blue. Freeing her gave her a form once again, a physical manifestation that came in the filly she was now, as the machine she was locked inside of drained and robbed her of her power, leaving only her lifeforce and the natural magic that keeps her alive. When she was removed, all of her power caused a rift in space to open up in the aftermath of an explosion, which ripped the two from the world Nate inhabited, and spat them out here, in Nightmare's world. Where they appeared was probably the most inconvenient, however, as they found themselves at the bottom of the Ghastly Gorge, and were forced to climb out of the massive ravine system.
Now, here they stood, staring out into the world neither of them knew. Looking down at Nightmare Moon, Nate turned forward and began walking, pulling his bag from around his back and checking what he had.
'A few water bottles, some MREs I stole from the Predonum's military camp, some materials for Combination-Weapons and Combination-Tools, but nothing to make Mixture-Elixirs...'
He hummed as he zipped the bag back up, slinging it around his shoulders and putting it back on. Nightmare Moon trotted after him, walking beside him as the two were coming up on a large, closed-off treeline, which led into some kind of swamp. Nightmare Moon gagged as the aroma of the swamp hit her.
"Agh! That is repulsive to our nostrils!"
Nate snickered as he jumped onto a log, standing over the murky waters.
"That's nature for you, Moony. C'mon, we should find the nearest town. Might be something there that can help us. We may be able to stock up on supplies as well."
Hearing no argument from her, Nate continued down the log as Nightmare Moon hopped up on the base, sliding down the angle after Nate. Together, they progressed through this thick and awful-smelling bog, seeing a few creatures here and there that they avoided. Heading further east, the two had come across some ruins, which seemed to be the breaking point of the swamp. Investigating, and getting into a few antics along the way, they redirected themselves to head north. As they did, Nate began to see more and more wildlife, and dangerous ones at that. Luckily, they were able to avoid a fight, but only for so long.
"Wrrrrooooooooo!!"
Both Nate and Nightmare Moon looked back the way they came, hearing that howling coming from somewhere close. Backing up to the human, Nate shifted himself to stare into the foliage. Kneeling down, he placed his ear on the ground, listening to the movement around them. When he felt several dozen signatures of quadrupedal footsteps coming towards them at high speeds, he snatched Nightmare Moon up and ran in the other direction.
"W-What is happening?! Why are you manhandling us?!"
Nate didn't respond, as with that question flared by Nightmare Moon, vicious barking and growling came from all directions. Jumping down into a lower section of the forest, the human channeled all of his might into escaping his pursuers. Making a few turns, he could see more and more of these... creatures jumping down into this small ravine with them. They looked to be a horde-sized pack of wooden wolves, and from the looks on their faces, they were HUNGRY.
"Shit, shit, shit...!"
Nate made another sharp turn, sliding down a slime-riddled slope and getting back on his feet as soon as he landed. Rushing his way through a small cavern, he could hear the predators growing in numbers and lessening the distance between them. Continuing further north seemed to be the ticket, however, as the more and more they fled, the wolves seemed to slow up. Still, though, he wasn't taking any chances in slowing down. Doing so would ensure these things catch up to them in record time. Climbing out of the ravine, Nate hopped over a large, downed tree and sprinted for the treeline. Bursting his way through it, he continued down a nearby path while a few of the wolves kept coming. Diving into another log, he crawled his way through as the wolves were on top of them, and at the entrance they came in. Nightmare Moon shut her eyes tightly, her horn fizzling as she shivered in fear at the gnashing jaws. Crawling forward, Nate made it to the other end of the log, getting out and kicking it with both feet. As a result, the large, hollow tree rolled over the wolves, crushing them under its weight and giving Nate and the little filly some time to escape into the town that was seen in the distance.
Making a run for it, Nate could also spot the inhabitant species. He sighed in relief as he found them to be ponies, just like the one in his arms. Staggering to a stop at the edge of the town, Nate leaned against the first building he came to, letting down Nightmare Moon as she stared up at him in worry.
"Art thou feeling ill?"
Nate looked down at the filly before shaking his head.
"No... No... Been fighting for such a long time that I'm starting to feel old."
He cracked his back.
"I'm goddamn twenty years-old and I feel like I'm three times that age."
Nightmare Moon giggled at his humor.
"You needn't worry about beating us in age, Sir Schmidt. We may be small, but we are over a thousand years old."
Nate rose an eyebrow before chuckling.
"Hah... That was probably the pony you were before you were reincarnated, brat. To me, you're still about twelve, so don't get a big head over it."
Nightmare Moon's ear flicked at that, her face scrunching up into a pout as Nate let out another laugh. Pushing off the building, he turned to the rest of the town, which seemed to be vacant now.
"C'mon, let's go see if we can find anything, or anyone, to help us."
The two went down the town block, looking around for anything of use. However, it seemed as if the populace Nate saw here earlier was no longer present. The town was completely empty and shut up.
"What the...?"
Nightmare Moon also saw this, and was curious of the behavior of the town. Walking over to one of the windows, she propped herself on her hind legs, looking in at the residence. She saw nothing but an empty living room. Discouraged, she tailed after Nate as he approached the intersection to two other town blocks. Upon reaching it-
*CRACK*
"AGH!!!"
He was hit with a club upside the head. Staggering to the side, he grunted as he was pounced on by another pony, forehooves locked around his neck. Survival skills kicking in, Nate grabbed the pony by her mane, throwing her to the ground and raising his foot up to curb stomp her head.
*BASH*
"NNGH!!!"
He turned to the pony that struck him again, yelling out as he swept his feet out from under him with the same club. Struggling with the two ponies, he got a better look at them as they tried to hold him down. They were both decked with armor similar to Nightmare Moon's, one a golden yellow and another a blackish-blue. The mare was dark grey, and hat bat-like features while the stallion was a white Earth Pony. With both his arms pinned, the stallion rose up his hoof to knock him out, only to be stopped when a small beam of magic zapped him off of Nate. Taking the chance, Nate punched the mare off of him while another guard charged Nightmare Moon, turning and bucking her in the head, which sent her flying into the side of a building.
"Nightmare!!"
Nate kicked off the mare as she tried to get on him again and attempted to stand, only to be tackled by a fourth guard and socked across the face himself. Struggling with the two, he grunted as he was beaten down into a weakened state by the second stallion guard that was blasted off of him, and was cut short of being brutally wounded when the fourth guard shouted.
"Hey, HEY!!! Don't break the creature, you fool. The Princesses want them alive!"
The stallion growled, stepping away from Nate as he was flipped onto his stomach violently. Still kicking at the ponies and shifting to and fro, he could feel two braces snap onto his wrists.
"Rrrrraaagh--!! You're gonna F***IN DIE!!!"
He continued struggling out against the mare and stallion on top of him as another set of irons were snapped to his ankles. Now unable to fight back as much, he wiggled and writhed in place, still held down by the mare while two of the other three went for Nightmare Moon.
"No! Don't you touch her! Don't you f***in da-"
His vulgar threats were muffled as a gag was forced into his mouth. Dragged up onto the backs of two of the guards, he was carried to a prison chariot with Nightmare Moon carried with him in another guard's mouth. She was tossed in first as he managed to roll off the two, flopping onto the ground and trying to literally caterpillar away from them. When one of the guards tried to pick him up again, they were met with Nate's forehead shattering their nose.
"AGH!!!"
He staggered back as he held his nose, looking down at the human with an ever-growing anger. Raising up both hooves, he roared out as he sent them down at his head.
"You monkey motherbu-!!"
*CRACK*
When Nate was initially knocked out, all he saw was black. He didn't dream, wasn't awake; but was stuck in between. It was only for a few minutes though before his mind threw him back out into the conscious world. When it did, he had the worst of headaches. Groaning, he felt around, the ground soft and pillowy. Blinking open his eyes, he stared up at a silver-white ceiling, one made of marble and finish. His eyes scanned the rest of the room without moving his head, then when he caught a figure at the corner of his vision, he turned his head. He almost panicked, seeing a tall white mare sitting there on a cushion next to the bed, but he quickly realized she wasn't one of the guards that ambushed him. In fact, she looked like Nightmare Moon, but as an adult with white fur, a colorful ethereal mane, and golden accessories.
"You've awoken... at long last."
Nate let out a small groan as he leaned up slightly, the pony watching him with diligent and curious eyes. After studying him, she hummed as she turned her attention back to the matter at hand.
"Welcome to Canterlot Castle, my friend. Are you feeling well?"
"Mmph... You mean, aside from the splitting headache I got from that motherf***er that bashed my head in?"
The pony narrowed her eyes at the vulgar language, but didn't chastise him for it, as he was well justified, given how her ponies brought him here.
"I had ordered my guards to escort you here, I assure you. I did not, however, give them the order to beat you down like that. I apologize for them."
Nate rubbed his head as he managed to sit up fully, seeing one of the guards across the room, glaring at him. He narrowed his eyes back at him before looking around.
"You brought...? Where's the kid?"
The pony tilted her head.
"Kid?"
"The little pony I was with. The one that asshole over there bucked into the side of a building."
The guard let out a small huff as the taller pony gave him a side glance.
"She's alright. She was out in an instant, so she was not given the same treatment as you. She was retrieved alongside you."
Nate gave a small sigh, relief coating over him as he slung his legs over the side of the bed. The pony tilted her head at him again.
"May I ask for your name, creature?"
"Agh... You first, lady."
The guard narrowed his eyes further at Nate as the pony nodded.
"My name is Princess Celestia. I am one of the two co-rulers of the Kingdom of Equestria. My responsibilities are to govern my nation during the day alongside raising and lowering the sun."
Nate rose an eyebrow.
"You RAISE the sun? And lower it, too?"
"You do not have such deities in your world?"
Nate shook his head.
"No. No, it... Wait..."
He gave her a quizzical look.
"How did you know I was from a different world?"
"Your magical essence is nearly nonexistent. All creatures in Equestria, and even the planet: Gaia, are made with magic. You, however, are not."
"And you assumed me to be out of this world purely on that alone?"
Celestia gave a shrug.
"It was an... educated guess, if you will."
Nate snorted as he situated himself.
"Well then... My name is Nate. Nate Schmidt. I guess you could call me a survivor, an inventor, and a family man."
He rubbed his shoulder as he looked around, spotting his things, and his blazer, at a desk in the corner of the room.
"I was just coming out of a... skirmish when I found that filly in some kind of basement. The people I was fighting; they were using that girl as some kind of power source. I freed her, and the blast sent the both of us here."
"Mm... I see... Do you have any knowledge on how they came across the filly?"
Nate shook his head as he stood up.
"I don't know, and neither will anyone else. After I beat their boss, the base was left to burn. I'm, most likely, presumed dead after my friends saw that blast."
He cracked his back as Celestia stood as well, looking up at him as he was just a few inches taller than her.
"Mm... Where is the kid, anyway? She safe?"
"..."
Nate glanced at Celestia as she closed her eyes.
"Creature-"
"I'm a human."
Celestia swallowed before correcting herself.
"Human... Let me tell you a tale. One that, I'm sure, will shed some light on the backstory of that filly."
Nate watched her as she walked to the window.
"Once upon a time, in the magical land of Equestria, there were two regal sisters who ruled together and created harmony for all the land. To do this, the elder sister used her power to raise the sun at dawn. The younger brought out the moon to begin the night. Thus, the two sisters maintained balance for their kingdom and their subjects, all who are different types of ponies; but as time went on, the younger sister became resentful. Ponies played and frolicked in the day the elder sister brought forth, but shunned and slept through the younger sister's beautiful night. One day, the younger sister refused to lower the moon to make way for the dawn. The elder sister tried to reason with her, but the bitterness in the young one's heart had transformed her into a wicked mare of darkness."
Nate narrowed his eyes again as he knew where this was going.
"Lemme guess. That wicked mare...?"
"Her name was Nightmare Moon..."
"..."
Nate sat back down on the bed as Celestia continued.
"She vowed to shroud the land in eternal night, and reluctantly, the elder sister harnessed the most powerful magic known to pony-kind: the Elements of Harmony. Using that magic, she defeated her younger sister, and banished her permanently in the moon."
"F***'s sake..."
The human's eyes cast to the side.
"So... That filly that Charl's been using... It was some demon that's kept the moon up in the sky for god-knows how long?"
He turned his head to the ceiling.
"Jesus Christ, Cole. What the hell were you REALLY getting yourself into...?"
Celestia looked back at the human, her expression painting her reminiscing as she mused over the next bit.
"Over the years, my connection to the Elements had faltered, which enabled Nightmare Moon to escape once more. She attempted the same thing, but was defeated when my student, and her friends, became the new links to the Elements. With the goodness of my little sister: Luna, sparking inside of Nightmare Moon, the Elements dispelled the essence of the wicked mare away."
She walked back over to Nate.
"But now, she has returned, and is reincarnated into another physical manifestation."
He looked back up at her, noticing the grim tone.
"... Take me to her."
"You do not have to worry about her anymore, Mr. Schmidt-"
"I worry, alright? If she's as bad as you say she is, I want to see it for myself; because when I pulled her from that tank, all I saw was an injured and scared filly. So, either you're bullshitting me, or the power drained from her has given her life a new purpose."
He stood up once more.
"I need to know for sure."
Celestia stared back at him before sighing.
"You can't... I have called for my student and her friends to retrieve the Elements of Harmony. Nightmare Moon, even in this state, proposes too much of a wild-card threat to Equestria. She must be dispelled. This time, permanently."
Nate could feel his blood run cold as she said this, his eyes widening.
"You're gonna KILL a kid?"
"She's not just simply a child, human-"
"And yet, you're still fine with this?!"
*SMACK*
Nate grunted as he hit the ground, the guard having bucked him in the back.
"Guard, back away, now."
"My Princess-"
"You are out of line."
As Celestia glared at the guard, Nate laid on the floor with his head facing the underside of the bed. Seeing a knife underneath, most likely a cutting knife of sorts that was accidentally dropped under there, he reached out, taking the utensil in his hand.
"Either get back to your post, or you will be remo-"
She didn't get the chance to speak before the human jumped the guard, wrapping his arm around his neck and violently twisting. A sickening crunch echoed through the room as he dropped the body, only to slam Celestia up against a wall, her horn gripped tightly in his left hand while his knee folded her forehooves to her chest. Nate beat the handle of the knife to Celestia's face twice before holding it up to her throat.
"Where is Nightmare Moon being held?"
Celestia grunts as she hisses from the pain. Not seeing an immediate reaction, Nate shakes his head.
"I'm not doing this."
He turned the knife around in his hand and stabbed it into the bicep of her forehoof, making her cry out in pain.
"Where...?"
No response again, which only made him take the knife out and drive it in again.
"WHERE is she?"
"S-She is in... the throne room... Far end of this... floor."
He nods lightly as takes the knife out, reeling back her head and smacking it up against the wall. The hit knocks the Princess of the Sun clean out of consciousness, giving Nate the opportunity to slip out without getting shit from her. Going to the desk, he gathers all of his things while putting on the blazer. Knowing going out the door is suicide, he climbed out of the window, traveling across the ledge and being sure to pass by windows only after the guards had done so first. Once he found an open window to sneak back in with, he climbed inside, peering down the halls to ensure that no one else was there. Running across the hall, he shoved his way through a door, finding a multitude of things inside a room that appeared to be a closet of some sorts.
Using the materials and junk he had in his pack, Nate turned a simple guardsman club into a spiked bat covered in shrapnel. One swing from this, especially upside the head, would guarantee a kill. Moving out of the room, he checked the hall again. Ducking behind a pillar, he spotted a guard patrolling down from the east side of the corridor. Once he passed Nate, it didn't take no more than a second to put him down. Blood and brains splattered across the floor as Nate swung up under his chin, ripping off his jaw in the process of the hit when the scraps hooked onto it. Flicking the piece of the pony off, he jogged down the hallway, following the instructions of "the far end". Luckily for him, his tracking skills wouldn't be put to the test today, as the sound of revving magic and a scream alerted him of where to go. Sprinting down the hallways, and dealing with every guards that stood in his way, Nate eventually came upon a large set of double-doors. Figuring this to be the throne room, he pushed on one of the doors, throwing it open.
Inside the throne room, he could see Nightmare Moon pinned to a table, her hooves clasped to the metal by cuffs. In front of her was a pony a lot like her and Celestia. Nate gambled her to be the younger sister that was once Nightmare Moon before she became her own resurrected entity. Alongside them, a fierce glow nearly blinded him, but as he shielded his eyes, he could see six other ponies hovering in the air, all of them wearing some sort of matching trinket of power, save for one of them.
With that light blinding him when he came in, it then ceased upon the loud bang of the throne room door hitting the wall. All seven faces turned to him as he walked in, standing before them as the six were levitated back onto the ground.
"You're the creature that was brought back with this thing."
The purple one gave him a smile.
"Ah, well, sorry we had to meet like this. I didn't expect you to wake up so soon. I assume that Princess Celestia filled you in?"
"..."
Nate Schmidt had finally been able to exit the castle after going through so many twists and turns. The place, with its many floors, was like a labyrinth, but eventually, he was able to get out and leave through a side exit. In his arms, he carried the unconscious filly of the dark mare, wholly convinced that this was not the same pony that once ruptured the harmony of this land. She was just a kid. What harm could she do to the world?
Bringing her out of the side gates while all the guards went inward, alerted of the bloodshed he'd caused, and the injuries sustained by the Princesses and the Elements of Harmony. He knew he wouldn't have long before they come after us.
"Shit..."
Moving through the patches of the meadow that separated the castle from the rest of Canterlot, he stopped when he saw a taxi chariot nearby. Walking towards it, he scammed the taxi driver with a useless opal rock to keep his mouth shut and get them out of Canterlot. As the taxi pony was smiling at his deluded goldmine of payment, Nate put Nightmare Moon in the back of the chariot, and when he was about to jump in, he heard a groan coming from the gates he left. Walking back, he found the younger sister, the one who rose and lowered the moon, recuperating from the fall she took when Nate snapped her wing and tossed her out the window.
Her teal blue eyes looked up at him as he stood over her, his spiked bat in hand.
"Y-You... have no idea... what you're doing..."
"... I have an idea."
"She is the personification of death itself, human. Don't you... Don't you understand? If you leave with her, you are only inviting your own demise."
Nate's frown hardened.
"That still isn't something for you to decide. She has a right to life, a right to grow. I'll be the judge on whether or not it was worth it."
The dark Alicorn seethed before giving him a deadlier stare.
"You will be hunted for the rest of your days, chased to the furthest reaches of the world. Unless you offer up that hellspawn, you will not be saved... You... will not be spared."
Nate didn't respond, save for tightening his grip on the bat.
"... Not if you're my messenger."
He wound back his boot and swung it to the Alicorn's muzzle, snapping her head to the side as she no longer moved. Looking down at her, and satisfied by the fact that she was still breathing, he turned and walked back to the chariot, climbing inside and ushering the taxi pony to get moving. He nodded and pocketed his false-payment, turning the chariot towards the city down below and beginning the ride out of the castle's perimeter grounds. As they descended down the hill, Nate looked up in the mirror, seeing the guards swarming through windows and doors like bees roaming around their hive. They weren't coming after them. That was good enough for him. The next step, once they got far enough away, was where they were going to live. Turning his eyes back down, they came upon a flyer that was sticking out a pocket near the front of the interior. Reaching for it, Nate pulled out a map of the entirety of Equestria.
With all the places around Canterlot, which was in the center of the Kingdom, they could go anywhere. Calculating the direction they were traveling now, Nate leaned up and knocked on the front of the chariot.
"Take us to Dodge City."
