An Equestrian Nightmare

Chaos. Chaos had run rampant through the streets of Canterlot as the Diamond Dog invasion continued. Luckily, Celestia and Fluttershy had saved any remaining ponies caught up in the attack, leaving the small group of fighters to not worry about collateral damage. Celestia then teleported herself, Fluttershy, and the remaining citizens away from Canterlot. Celestia transported the citizens to Ponyville, which took the mayor by surprise.

"Ms. Mare, we have a problem." said Celestia.

"Trouble in Canterlot?"

"You bet."

Mayor Mare sighed "I'll see what I can do."

Celestia smiled "Good."

She then turned toward Fluttershy "Stay here and help the wounded, okay?"

"Understood, ma'am." said Fluttershy as she ran over to help relieve the overworked Nurse Redheart.

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Nightmare was in a world all his own, slicing and dicing his way through the army of diamond dogs like nothing. Left and right, each body was slashed. A dog caught him by surprise and smacked Nightmare with a war hammer. He turned and glared at his attacker. Nightmare then punched the dog with his claw, sending him and a few other foes sprawling to the ground. The red aura returned and reinvigorated the Azure Knight.

Nightmare then thrusted Soul Edge into the ground and released a destructive wave of energy, engulfing any nearby dog and setting them on fire. Each individual soul of the dogs were then absorbed into Soul Edge, increasing it's power even more. A small group of dogs who survived the previous attack slowly backed away from Nightmare. Nightmare looked up at the remaining dogs.

"Drown in the cesspool...of darkness." said Nightmare. He then ran up to the group and killed them all in one quick slice.

Siegfried on the other hand (other hoof?) was battling the combating forces with Whirly at his side. The two timed their attacks to ensure maximum effectiveness and damage. Siegfried swung Soul Calibur in a wide arc, cutting down the surrounding dogs. Whirly used her ability of flight to flank any dog who was preoccupied with Siegfried's attacks. She was however, brought down by a large dog and slammed into the ground. The dog reared up and prepared to strike Whirly with his battle ax.

SLICE

Siegfried relieved the dog of his hands and then decapitated him in one quick motion. He then assisted Whirly back on her legs.

"I owe you one." thanked Whirly.

"You can thank me after we've won." said Siegfried. He then turned his attention back to the dogs surrounding the two fighters. Soul Calibur began to glow a bright blue, giving Siegfried an idea. He thrusted the sword into the ground, causing large ice spikes to erupt from the ground and clearing away most of the enemy combatants. Whirly looked at Siegfried, completely amazed.

"How did you do that?" asked Whirly.

"No idea." answered Siegfried.

A diamond dog then flew over Siegfried's head and into a nearby fruit stand. Siegfried and Whirly turned and saw Pinkie utterly decimating the dogs surrounding her.

"It's cutting time." said Pinkie as she sliced through multiple dogs with her katanas.

"la-la-la-la-la-la" sang Pinkie. She then pulled a small bomb from her curly hair and threw it at one of her attackers.

"PINEAPPLE SURPRISE!" the bomb exploded and took out a dozen dogs, but more came as quickly as they were defeated.

"Time to mix it up." said Pinkie. She then procured two pistols from her hair and aimed it at the advancing dogs before her. She then unleashed a hail of lead on them.

"BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG" The dogs didn't stand a chance. The gunshots snapped Whirly and Siegfried out of their amazed stupor and the two got back into the fight.

Twilight and Rarity weren't using weapons, instead, they opted to send out magical blasts at the dogs, which proved effective at first, until one dog got close enough and chopped off some of Rarity's hair. She watched as a small piece of her fabulous mane hit the ground. Something in her mind snapped, causing her to materialize a sword from her magic. Twilight watched as Rarity readied her sword, hit a button on the hilt, and caused it to become a chain. Rarity wrapped the chain around the dogs neck and brought him to her hooves.

"I'll teach you to behave." venomously said Rarity. She then broke the dogs neck and retracted her chain, turning her weapon back into a sword. Rarity then went on a vicious assault, causing most of the dogs to flee from sheer terror.

"YOU MONGRELS RUINED MY MANE!" yelled Rarity.

Rainbow Dash was having a grand time defeating the dogs attacking her. She waited a long time for something exciting to happen. Her choice of weapon was a sword she titled "Rebellion" when she "found" it in the Everfree Forest. She executed beautifully deadly attacks that eliminated many of the charging dogs. Another large diamond dog plowed through the mass of smaller dogs and rushed at Dash. Dash took note of this and readied her sword.

"You're finished." said Dash. She then quickly stabbed the beast three times and launched him up into the air.

"Here's the finale." Dash then thrusted the sword through the dog's chest and kicked him off the sword, sending the body flying back at speed. She smirked at how effective her attack was. Dash saw Twilight look at her in awe. Dash sheathed her sword.

"And that's how you do it." A diamond dog then appeared out of nowhere and was prepared to stab Dash with a dagger. He would've succeeded, if Applejack didn't buck his face into oblivion. The dog hit the ground, down for the count, permanently.

"Thanks, AJ" said Dash.

AJ tipped her hat "Anytime, sugarcube."

BOOM BOOM BOOM

Thunderous footsteps were heard off in the distance. Dash, AJ, and Twilight turned in the sound's general direction and saw a massive diamond dog walk through town. They then saw Pinkie casually stroll up to the beast. The dog roared and and brought down it's meaty fist onto Pinkie. Before it connected, Pinkie tossed a flash grenade (procured from her hair) up into the dog's face, blinding him. Pinkie then jumped up to the dog's head and latched onto something.

"HEALTH BAR IN YOUR FACE!" exclaimed Pinkie as she hit the dog's head with said health bar. The dog lowered his head to the ground, allowing Pinkie to attack.

"FEEL THE LOVE OF THE HYPER-COMBO!" Pinkie smacked the dog with another bar, sending him reeling back. Pinkie then reared up for the last attack. She swatted the dog into the night sky, sending him into the far depths of space.

"AND IT'S A HOME-RUN!" exclaimed Pinkie.

"This is a hyper-combo." sang Pinkie as her three friends looked at her. "What?"

Another large diamond dog appeared behind Pinkie, snarling and blood thirsty. Pinkie turned and came face to hideous face with the monster. The beast roared at her, causing Pinkie to fly into Twilight. The dog then ran at the four ponies, murderous intent running through his mind. The dog prepared to swipe at Pinkie. Pinkie held her hooves to her face and prayed her face to be spared.

SLICE

The beast's hand was cut off before it connected with Pinkie. The dog backed up and yelled in pain. He then looked around for his attacker.

"Over here, you worthless cur." said Nightmare. The dog looked at Nightmare. The dog's expression changed from one of fury to pure terror. Twilight even gasped at Nightmare's appearance. Nightmare was bathed in the blood of the diamond dogs he killed. He was also surrounded by a red aura that extended itself into Soul Edge. The dog slowly backed away.

"Aw, look. He's scared." said Nightmare. The Azure Knight charged at the dog and sliced through him multiple times. Nightmare casually walked away from the dog as the body split into multiple pieces.

"Ni...Nightmare?" said Twilight. Nightmare glared at her. Twilight saw Nightmare's eyes. She could feel them enter her soul, slowly stripping away her sanity. Worse, she couldn't look away, no matter how much she willed herself.

So this is what Fluttershy's "stare" feels like. thought Twilight.

Siegfried then walked up and smacked the back of Nightmare's head, returning him to normal.

"Was that necessary?" asked Nightmare.

"Unless you wanted Twilight remain sane, then yes." answered Siegfried. Nightmare turned and saw Twilight's horrified look on her face. Now he felt guilty, slightly. The Azure Knight walked up to Twilight. Pinkie scrambled away as fast as her hooves would let her and stopped by Siegfried's side. Twilight looked at Nightmare, but the menacing look was gone, she was no longer afraid of him.

Nightmare looked down at the ground "Twilight, I'm..."

"Nightmare?" asked Twilight.

He looked up at her "Yes?"

"Stop talking." Twilight then planted a kiss on Nightmare's lips, taking the Azure Knight by surprise. She then broke it off and lovingly looked into his eyes. Nightmare looked at Twilight and (genuinely) smiled at the purple unicorn.

"Awww." teased Dash "So cute."

"Shut it, Dash." said Twilight and Nightmare simultaneously.

"My, my." said Luna. The eight ponies turned and saw the princess of the moon before them.

"What brings you here, Luna?" asked AJ.

"Oh, just surveying the damage, and informing you that you have done a wonderful job taking back Canterlot."

"Thank you kindly." said Siegfried.

"I'll be seeing you tomorrow in Ponyville for a report on what happened here." said Luna. Luna then prepared to teleport away, but stopped herself.

"Oh, and Nightmare?"

"Yes?" he asked.

"You and Twilight make a cute couple." Nightmare chucked Soul Edge at Luna, but the moon princess had already teleported away. Nightmare also swore he heard some whispering that went Trolololololol but he let it go.

"Ponyville in the morning? I'll look like a wreck!" said Rarity, catching Whirly off guard. Her once carefully groomed mane was now frizzed and messed up. Her eyes were bloodshot from the amount of fighting and energy she expended. Rarity then passed out, but was caught by Siegfried.

"Mmm, strong arms." mumbled Rarity.

"Looks like she's into you." joked Nightmare.

Siegfried looked up at him and smiled "Sorry, not into drama queens." The two rivals shared a laugh. The eight ponies then began the long trek back to Ponyville.

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Abyss watched the eight ponies leave Canterlot.

"Those ponies have been a pain in my side for a long time." said Abyss. After absorbing Discord's power, the demon spawn now had a long tail and skeletal wings, making him look like the Grim Reaper's evil brother. Abyss then materialized Discord's crystal ball and looked at it with intent.

"Looks like I have to take her down myself." The ball contained the image of a sleeping Celestia, exhausted from today's events.

"Hey, boss!" said a voice.

"Astaroth." said Abyss "It appears you'll be making a trip to Ponyville."