Awakening Alicorns
Chapter 1. Life and Death- Return
In the beginning, there was more than Celestia and Luna. The alicorn sisters were but a few among many that disappeared long ago during what is now known as The Great War. After the war, the alicorns were believed to be dead. After millions of years however, they have begun to return.
Three ponies stood atop of a great tower that watched over all of Equestria. “I don’t get it,” said a light red and white pegasus mare.
“Have we gone this way?” asked another grey stallion.
“I think so....” said the third, her green coat standing out against the night sky. “Hey Whisper, are you sure Clay said we would find them here?”
“Yeah, he said that we would find Life and Death here,” Whisper responded, her eyes glowing with anticipation.
“I can’t believe that seven of them have already made it back. Clover, do you remember what room Celestia said they would be in?” asked the stallion.
“They should be in the main bedroom, if we can find it that is.”
The three began to back into the tower, their search for the gods of life and death growing evermore tiresome as morning grew closer. They had been tasked by Clay, the alicorn god of the land, to seek out the other alicorns that have returned to this world. “So Ash, what caused them to be, you know..” asked Whisper.
“It was back during the Great War, a time when 26 alicorns reigned over Equestria. Xavier, the alicorn of suffering, wanted the world for himself. He began a war to conquer all of Equestria, until an ancient hero gave his life to destroy Xavier and his followers. It was believed that Celestia and the others were killed during the fight, that is until Celestia and Luna were found 20 years later, and now nopony knows who won or what happened.”
“Hold on a minute, Ash,” Clover interrupted, “I think I hear somepony down there.”
“Think it’s them?” ask Whisper as the trio moved towards the sound of what appeared to be steady breathing. Sure enough, they soon found what they were looking for.Life’s glowing orange body and Death’s dark, bloody body were lying on the ground in the middle of a large bedroom. The shadows in the room followed behind the ponies as they neared the two sleeping alicorns.
"STOP WHERE YOU ARE!" A harsh, demented voice rang out from the shadows,"WHO ARE YOU?"
"We are the servant's of Prince Clay. We have been sent to retrieve Life and Death," Whisper said, her voice trembling in fear at the sight of the sleeping gods beginning to rise from their sleep. The three small ponies looked like ants compared to the towering alicorns.
"Please, we mean you no harm! We mean you no harm!" Clover had said. From where she stood she could see crossed scythes around a pony's neck on Death's flank. Life had gates atop the clouds for her cutie mark.
Death stared at Whisper for a minute before asking, “What are you?”
“Me? M m m my name is Whisper.”
“Not who, what. I've never seen a pony with just wings before.”
“Shit, I forgot to disguise your wings!” Ash said looking at her, knowing he made a mistake. They were under strict orders not to allow the two gods did not discover pegasi and unicorns until they made it back to Canterlot. “I’m sure you have a lot of questions, but we need to be going. Clay is expecting us back soon.”
Life had walked up behind Death and whispered something in his ear. After a moment, Death said, “She wants to know how far it is to, Canterlot was it?”
“Thats right. Its just a couple of hours north of here. We should...” He stopped as he realized Life was creating a ring of light around them. There was a flash, and when Ash could see again, he was in the castle courtyard. The royal guard noticed the presence of the new arrivals immediately. When Ash could see again, spears and swords were pointed at him from all sides. "Stand down. Its only us," he said.
"Ash, you know we have a front door, right?" asked Golden Strike, the golden captain of the earth guard. Her cutie mark was a two ruby swords clashing against a silver shield. Her mane looked like the sparks that you would see coming from metal striking stone. Her azure eyes showed that she was irritated at them for teleporting into the middle of the courtyard.
"I thought it would be fun to surprise you. You know, since you're supposed to be a badass whos never surprised," Ash came back.
"I thought we would have been more welcome than this. I am Death, lord of all things that have passed on from the world of the living. And this is my sister, Life," Death said," These three said that Clay is here waiting for us."
"So these are alicorns we heard so much about. Numbers 4 and 5 as I recall," Golden Strike said.
Life whispered in Death's ear again. "She prefers that you use our names. Those numbers are nothing more than curses."
"As you wish. Now if you would follow me, the others are waiting in the throne room."
"Lead the way," Death said as he and Life began to follow the massive earth pony. She was still small compared to the alicorns, but she was still much bigger than the others they had seen. They went through the pearly gates of the courtyard and down numerous halls. Life had noticed statues of ponies she had seen before. Celestia, princess of light, Luna, the ruler of darkness, and Clay, master of stone, stood along one side of the hall. On the other side stood the statues of the queen of lightning, Lightning ( who would've guessed?) and Sun, princess of fire. Life grew uneasy from the unmoving statues of her friends watching her. They had gone through a door at the end of the long hallway. The door lead into the throne room where the other five alicorns waited, all wearing armor as though they were preparing for a fight.
"Thank you, Golden Strike. If you don't mind we would like to speak alone," Celestia said.
"Of course princess. Let one of the guard know if you need anything," she said before turning around and leaving through the door they came in from.
"Its been along time since we last saw each other. What was it like where you were sent?" Luna asked
"To be honest, I don't remember much about it, I don’t even remember what happened during the war. All I remember was it was cold and we were following a silver light. After that, we woke up to a couple of ponies approaching us. They said you sent them, Clay?" Death asked the stone-clad alicorn. His mud colored coat was hardly visible with his armor on. On his flank was the image of a planet. His stone grey mane was cut short, barely passing his ears.
"That's right. They are my personal servants.When we sensed your return, I sent them to retrieve you. We were hoping that you would remember something. None of us remember anything either," he sighed.
"When you servants woke us up, something bothered me about two of them. One had the wings, and I could sense magic from another," Life spoke up, her voice soothing, yet at the same time it had the power to bring back lost souls that heard it.
"I have been doing studies of it since I made it back to this world," Lightning said, "So far all I've discovered is that they came into existence after the war. As for the cause, I know nothing.” Sparks shot out of her armor at the annoyance of not knowing something. She was suppose to be the group’s scientist, knowing everything about everything. Her electric mane began to whip back and forth across her maize face. Her cutie mark was a bolt of lightning shooting out of a test tube. “It seems that without us to keep the balance of nature, they had to evolve to survive. But something else had to have helped with it. It’s impossible for them to have evolved that fast.”
“It could have been Discord,” Luna said.
“Who?” Sun asked. There was a fire in her eye as she learned of a creature that could stand up to the forces of nature. The flames of compassion for what this creature could do made the fires she used for her mane and tail grew to extreme temperatures. Her mark was that of a flame arising from ancient weapons, as though they were being destroyed so they can never be used again. “You never told us about this creature.”
“That’s because he was defeated long ago by one of my faithful students and her friends. After Luna and I returned to this world, we discovered that an evil creature named discovered was torturing the inhabitants of Equestria. With him gone, we saw no reason to talk about it.” Celestia replied.
“Do you think he could have helped us bring the others back? Or restore our memories?” Clay asked, intrigued at the possibility of something that could help.
“I doubt it. He was a being of pure chaos, more concerned with ruining the lives of every living thing he saw. And besides, he was defeated long ago, just like Tia said,” Luna replied, a frown forming over her face at the thought of how he could have helped them if he wasn't so evil.
“Sounds like this Discord fellow was one of the few things that could have been a big help,” Sun said. “Any other ideas on how to get our memories or the others back? I’m sure if we got Time back, she would be able to see what happened.”
“That would work, but you forget about what happens to her when he goes back in time. He would suffer from what happened to him then, so she would be banished and lose her memory as well,” Lightning said.
“Well, we can't just sit here and do nothing. Why don’t we go visit the battlefield where it all happened?” Death asked.
“Does anyone remember where it was?” Sun asked. The question drew blank faces from the assembled alicorns. None of them could remember where the battle took place.For all they knew, they could have already been there and not have known. She started hearing a rumbleing sound coming from Life and Death. “Sounds like you two are hungry. No need for you two starve. I’ll have some servants make dinner and show you to your rooms. We can discuss this more in the morning.”
Life looked out the window. She was right, it was getting dark. As she was about to look away, she saw something in the window. There had been a face in the window. “Who's there? she asked looking towards where the face was.
The others looked where her hoof pointed.”No one's there, Life,” Celestia said. Life looked again, but it was gone.
“I know I saw a face, it must have been listening!”
“Don’t you think we would have sensed it sooner? You can see the flow of life in the air after all. Or Death could have seen its deathly aura,” Lightning said, “Maybe you’re more tired and hungry than we thought.”
“Maybe you're right,” she said, but deep down she knew there had been something there, something watching. She silently vowed to herself that she would find the spy and bring ease to her mind. grrrowl... Her stomach started growling again. Whoever, whatever, that thing was, she would find it. grrowl... After dinner that is.
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Nightmare of our Memories
Awakening Alicorns
Chapter 2. Lightning-Nightmare of our Memories
Blood spilled from the walls as Lightning ran down a hall. Pillars crashed to the ground, windows shattered, and the roars of an unseen monster followed her wherever she went. I have to escape, she thought, but where? As she ran, a door came into view at the end of the hall. When she reached the door, she noticed she couldn’t open it. The blood oozing from the wall had hardened around the edge, making it impossible to get through. The monster was growing closer, there was nowhere to run. She stood in fear, charging a lightning blast in her horn for when she could see the monster. It grew close, stepping into the light, but there was no monster. Instead, a small filly stood there. There was something familiar about his face, but before she could tell who it was, it let out a blood curdling shriek as blood spewed from its eyes.
Lightning began to scream as it lunged at her. She closed her eyes and released her stored blast of lightning. When she opened her eyes again to see if she had hit it, something had changed. Test tubes, books, and research papers lined the tables in the room she was in. She was back in her bed in the castle. “That filly” she said to herself, “Where have I seen him before? And why did I feel like I had been there before?”
There was a knocking at the door. “Lightning are you okay? Your screaming woke us up!” It was Sun. Lightning could tell she was concerned as the door creeped open. Sun and Luna were standing there, wrapped in magical cloaks representing their power. The flames coming from Sun’s cloak was the only thing that let her see the two mares at her door.
“Yes, I’m fine. I just had a bad dream is all,” Lightning said. “I was running through a castle being chased by a monster. But it wasn’t a monster at all...” She trailed off as she begun thinking about the filly she saw.
“What was it?” Luna asked.
“It was a filly. I don’t know why, but I think I’ve seen him before.”
“Maybe it was a clue to what happened to us,” Luna said, “Maybe if you have the dream again, you could find out?”
“I never want to have that dream again,” Lightning said, “It makes me sick to think about it.”
“It’s all over now. If it makes you feel better, I could sleep in here tonight,” Sun offered.
“No, that won’t be necessary. After that dream, I don’t think I’ll be able to sleep again.”
“Suit yourself then. I’ll be on watch if you need anything,” Luna said as she turned to resume her patrol. Sun asked a few more questions before she left to go back to bed.
“That filly....” She thought to herself as she began to remember details about it. His eyes were riddled with guilt, his mouth looked as though it were pleading to be released from his prison. If only I could remember more was the last thought she had before deciding to experiment for the rest of the night.
When morning came, it brought with it the heavenly singing of the birds that resided in the garden. Light creeped in through the open window. Outside, the streets were quiet. That’s odd, she thought, the shops should be open by now. She pushed the thought away and decided to set off to the dining hall. She had been hoping to see the others there, but noone was there. Come to think of it, she hadn’t seen any of the servants on her way to the dining hall. She looked around trying to find somepony, but all she could see was a plate on the table where she usually sat. When she walked up to it, she saw a note sitting there.
We’ve been waiting for you
Lightning looked at the note with a puzzled face. after reading it over a few times, she heard giggling coming from outside the door. She looked from the note to the door only to see that the note had vanished. The giggling was growing louder. She decided to go over to the door to investigate, but before she got there the door slammed open. Life’s severed head rolled on the ground towards Lightning’s feet, leaving a trail of blood behind it.
“Life!” she screamed, looking down at her friends head. “Who... Who did this to you?”
“We’ve been waiting for you,” a voice said from behind her. She turned around, and Life’s body stood there, facing her direction. The headless body began slowly walking forward. Lightning could feel her energy being sapped away the closer it got. She tried to back away only to hit something bigger than herself. Turning around, she saw the headless body of Death standing behind her. “Now, we can be together forever.”
“No, stay back!” Lightning was screaming.
“No one can save you now,” the voice belonged to Death.
This is it then, she thought, I’m going to die here.
“Wait,” the voice of Life said, “I think he is coming back.” Hoofsteps sounded throughout the castle. “You got lucky this time,” she said as she and Death left the room. The steps were getting closer. The kitchen door slowly began creeping open as the filly that attacked her last night walked out. He stood there staring at Lightning for a few moments before walking up to her.
“Who are you, and what do you want with me?” Lightning asked. The filly didn’t answer her. Instead, he walked through her and to the door she had come in through. “Do you want me to follow you?”
He nodded and left through the door with Lightning following him. She had expected to have just entered the hallway again, but instead she walked into room with paintings of war and murder along the wall. There was something strange about some of the paintings though, they had been of her and her friends. The other paintings felt somehow familiar to her, like she knew who was in them. The paintings flew off the wall, spinning around her faster and faster until falling to the ground. Lightning panicked, looking around to see she was now in a forest. The wind blew through the trees, calling her to come closer.
A voice hit her ears, “Are you sure we should be here?”
That voice. Where have I heard it before? She thought to herself.
“Of course I’m sure. I’ve been here lots of times!” a second voice said.
“Well, if you say so, Euphemia.”
Euphemia. Why do I know that name? Approaching the location of the voices, she suddenly realized where she was. The Forgotten Forest, where everything that has been lost or forgotten goes.
She will be waiting here. Waiting for you.
“What? Lightning was looking around, trying to find who had said it.
“Wake up!” Death was yelling in her ear, Life standing just behind her. “You’ve been screaming like a mad mare for hours now!”
“Death, be nice. Can’t you see she had a bad dream?”
“No, it’s fine. I’m glad he did it. What time is it?”
“Afternoon. Now come on, Lunch is almost ready,” Life had concern in her voice.
“Let’s go then. I need to talk to everypony,” Lightning said as she got up and walked over to the door to leave. It made her uncomfortable to walk with her friends after that dream. Images of the dream passed through her mind. The filly, the blood, her headless friends, she had to know what it meant.
Coming through the dining hall doors, they were greeted by the sounds of busy chefs and servants making dinner. Black Aroma, one of Sun’s personal servants, was directing them. “No, no, no! How many times do I have to tell you, phenix eggs are not to be used in salads!”
“But, but, Princess Luna asked for them,” said the smaller, pink pony she was yelling at.
“Next time check with me first.”
“Yes ma'am,” said the pink pony as she left to take the food to Luna. Black Aroma began scanning for other mistakes the chefs were making when she noticed the three alicorns looking at her with amusement in their eyes.
“I’m sorry you had to see that. Its just that sometimes the chefs can be complete idiots. Is there anything I could get you?” she asked, bowing down.
“Yes, actually. Do you know where the others are?” Lightning asked.
“Celestia and Sun have gone out to move the sun, Luna is resting in her room, and Clay is somewhere in the caves.”
“Thank you, Black Aroma. You are dismissed,” Lightning said, turning to face Life and Death, “Let’s go get Luna. I want to speak with you all.”
The day passed slowly by, every minute the suspense of what Lightning had to say was getting to the assembled alicorns, and she could tell it. The sun had gone down and the moon began to rise as Celestia and Sun came into the throne room. Golden Strike and Clover had been chosen to attend the meeting, along with Black Aroma and Death’s new servant, Thunder Mist. Grooves had been worn into the floor where Clay had been pacing, “They’re here now. Can you tell us what you want now?”
“As most of you know, I had nightmares last night. Horrifying nightmares that made me fear for my sanity. Nightmares that gave me clues. Clues to the next alicorn,” Lightning began, “We must go to the Forgotten Forest.”
Sun and Luna gasped at the name while Death asked “What’s the Forgotten Forest?”
“A forest devoted to making your fears come true. Demons, cults, bananas, you name it,” Celestia said.
“Bananas?” Death said looking towards her, “Do I even want to know?”
“Not the same type of bananas you’re thinking of,” Luna spoke up, a grin crossing her face.
“Well then, shall we continue the discussion of bananas or why we should go to the forest?” Clay was becoming irritated that he still had not heard all of what Lightning had to say, his muddy eyes staring at her.
“I think the bananas are more interesting, but I suppose you're right,” Celestia was speaking. “What is it we must do?”
“In my dreams, I heard a voice tell me somepony would be waiting for me. It felt as though she was calling me to come get her, and I need all of you to come with me.”
“What about us?” Clover asked.
“I need you to guide us to a lake in the far reaches of the forest.”
“Understood,” Thunder Mist said, “When do we depart?”
“As soon as everyone is ready. Until then, I shall be waiting at the gates.”
“Alright, we’ll be there in an hour,” Luna said, turning towards the armory so she could get her equipment.
“See you in an hour, you're majesty,” Black aroma said to Sun as the group dispersed to gather weapons and armour.
Time passed as the group waited for Life to show up. Each of the alicorns had been dressed in armour suited to their element. A weapon floated around each of them, moving with its wielder in perfect harmony. Lightning had an ax that shot sparks as it moved. Sun held handgun made of fire in her magic. Luna’s mace bent the shadows around it as Death’s scythe scraped against Clay’s hammer. Celestia was doing her best to keep her greatlance away from where the others were standing, hoping that she would no hit them by mistake.
“Sorry I’m late! I just couldn’t get my armour on for the life of me,” Life came up, her body encased in the very essence of life itself. Warding bells jingled behind her as she ran. “Shall we leave now?”
The group set off to the north, not knowing what they would encounter. The path towards the Forgotten Forest was littered with bandits and monsters this time of year. The clouds had grown dark, a gentle rain fell from the sky. Wind whistled through the trees as the team made their way down the road. The journey had been quiet, too quiet.
“Hold on. I hear something,” Golden Strike was scanning through the bushes for any signs of a possible threat. “Someponys crying... Over there.” She was pointing in the direction of some bushes.
“I believe you mean ‘Over der!’” Luna said in a childish joke.
Celestia smacked her with her tail, “Now’s not the time to be an idiot! Wait until you’re alone with a guard before you try to pull that shit!”
Luna huffed, “Well you’re being a no-fun bitch, aren't cha?”
“Can the bickering wait?” Clover asked in a hushed voice, “We don’t know who or what is over there.”
Black Aroma had gone around the clearing while Thunder Mist flew into a nearby tree, positioning themselves in a flanking position. Sun approached the source of the crying. She passed through the bushes and the crying stopped. It had gone quite far a few moments before a scream broke through the air. Gunshots fired through the air as a three-horned, flaming squirrel burst through the opening Sun had left. It ran around frantically, trying to crawl up onto one of the larger ponies.
“Get it off! Get it off!” Luna began screaming as it tried to crawl in her mane.
“Scared of a little squirrel are we?” Life asked with a sarcastic tone. The ‘normal’ ponies had gathered back into the trees where the gods were.
“Do they even care about what happened to Sun?” Golden Strike asked.
“Apparently not. It looks more like that squirrel is their main focus now,” Clover replied.
“We can’t just let my queen stay in there, can we? We have to go get her!” Black Aroma was shaking with fear at what could be happening to Sun.
Lightning, who had overheard them, walked over, “I agree. We can’t leave her in there while these idiots fight over a squirrel. Thunder Mist, I want you to fly over the trees and tell me what you see. Aroma begin charging a magic blast, just in case whatever is behind those bushes decides to attack.”
“Ok, I’m goin...” Thunder Mist was interrupted by a magical bolt shooting from the bush, disappearing in a cry of agony and blood. An old unicorn stood staring at them, bloodlust filling his eyes.
“The master does not want you to interfere!” He cried, blasting Clover and Golden Strike, leaving blood where they once stood.
“I still don’t see what the big deal is. It’s just a squirrel after all,” Death was looking at Luna. They didn’t seem to notice, or care, about what was going on. The six alicorns just stood there fighting over the squirrel.
“WILL YOU DUMBASSES STOP FIGHTING ABOUT THAT DAMN SQUIRREL! SUN IS MISSING AND THIS BASTARD JUST KILLED YOUR SERVANTS!” Lightning, visibly pissed beyond comprehension, was using the royal speaking voice. The old unicorn looked on in amusement, stepping closer for a better look.
“They died? I hadn’t noticed,” Clay looked over at where they once stood. “But Black Aroma looks just fine.” In the midst of the arguing, other ponies, twisted from the demons that lived in the forest, had gathered around, each wearing a suit of armour clinging swords and axes together.
“Hey, it looks like we found a party!” Luna sounded happy as she lifted her mace into the air.
“Go my brothers and sisters! We must not let our master’s plan be interrupted!” The old unicorn commanded as one of the attackers sprang forward slashing a blade through the air in an attempt to hit Celestia, only to be knocked away by Clay’s massive hammer. Pony after pony, they stormed into the clearing replacing the fallen faster than they were dieing.
Lightning swung her ax into the side of a pegasus that tried to dive into the group. She looked for any way to escape, but could only see more of the twisted ponies pouring into the clearing. Death had his scythe through the neck of a unicorn the same moment Life stabbed her horn into a earth pony’s heart. Celestia and Luna fought together in the center of it all, lance and mace swinging at any opportunity they found. Clay had made a wall of stone around one edge of the clearing in hopes of slowing the advances of the grounded earths and unicorns. Arrows shot from the trees at the alicorns and the occasional gunshot fired into the crowd. The battle was looking bad, there was no way they could win.
“But master! They are interfering with your plans!” The old unicorn (let’s call him Jim) said, turning to face nothing. “Brothers, the master has spoken.... we must let them go.” The swarm had begun to break up, the twisted ponies broke through the trees.
Dead bodies filled the clearing, Black Aroma among them. The alicorns had assembled around her body, magic trickling from their horns into Life. With a surge of her magic, Black Aroma came back from the dead. “What... What happened?”
“You died sweetheart. Only reason you're here now is because Life brought you back in time,” Clay said, “Now back to where we were before so rudely interrupted. Where is that damn squirrel!”
Black Aroma looked at Lightning, “Do they even care about what just happened? Clay has a knife sticking out of his wing for Sun’s sake!”
“You forget, we are gods. Not much phases us, but apparently squirrels are one of the few things that do,” Lightning said. The annoyance of how her friends were acting made her disappointed to call herself a goddess.
“Hey Lightning! Get over here and help us cast our spell! You don’t want her trapped in this form, do you?” Clay called over from where he had the squirrel cornered.
“What do you mean?”
“Jim turned Sun into a squirrel, we thought it was obvious,” Celestia said, charging a healing spell. “After that fight, I need some help!”
“An almighty alicorn turned into a squirrel.... Am I still in Equestria?” Black Aroma asked. She had begun stumbling from the shock of dieing. Lightning had seen the world of the dead long ago, back during the Great War. It wasn’t a pleasant place, no order, no joy, no pain. The fear of being hunted, of being followed, followed wherever you went. Only the bravest souls could leave with their sanity or limbs intact.
“It was worse when we were all here,” sorrow was in Life’s eyes.
I must not be the only one having memories of the past, Lightning thought to herself. Might as well help with spell. Magic tendris left her and filled Celestia. With a flash of blinding light, Sun, in all her glory, laid passed out by a tree. The grass around her caught on fire. Control over her power must have slipped away in that degrading state.
“Does this mean someone has to carry her?”
“No, Luna. I’m fine,” Sun was rising from her sleep. “One of you help me get my stuff out of the bush.”
“I will,” Aroma said, helping Sun to her feet before going into the shrubbery.
“Where do we go from here?”
“Forward. We’ve come too far to turn back now,” Lightning was moving down the road again, not caring if she was followed or not. Her mind was focused on one goal, the alicorn that waited in the forest. She wanted to know who Euphemia was. She had to remember. She just had to.
Continuing down the path, a lake came into view. This is the lake from my dream! I must be getting close! Lightning ran faster than the wind, hope welling inside her. She was close to the answers she was seeking. The trees grew thicker. Flowers and bushes grew wild along the path. Sunlight sparkled across the water, animals splashing around trying to cool off. It was beautiful, everything had its place here. Everything but a small island in the middle of the lake. It was barren. No life could be seen. Lightning looked the island over, seeing a small altar standing in the middle of some fallen pillars.
Lightning flapped her wings as she soared over the water. The moment she had been waiting for.
I’ve been waiting for you. Now you can join me in my imprisonment! The wind stirred, pulling Lightning into the air. She heard her friends calling her, but they were too late. She had gotten tired of waiting. The world grew dark and cold as she was pulled into the altar. She had failed her friends. No hope was left in her as she slowly began to rot and die.
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Awakening Alicorns
Chapter 3. A Lost Soul
The wind grew restless as sparks shot from the ground. The small island altar was rising from where it rested, revealing a dark figure looking over Lightning’s rotted body. Dark magic swelled inside the figure as Lightning’s body began to twist and pull. Ribs pulled through her chest as her mane turned black as night. Her eyes shot open, crazed with bloodlust. Clay had seen this happen before, back during the Great War. The figure had turned her into a Nightmare.
“NO! NO! NO! NO! NO!” Luna was ready to run, the fears and memories of her time as a Nightmare returning to her. There was only two ponies other than herself she had ever seen turned into nightmares.
Wings spread wide, the two Nightmares soared across the water, landing elegantly on the beachfront. “What should we do to them, Nightmare Gale?” the twisted form of Lightning asked the new enemy.
“Perhaps we should turn them into Nightmares as well, but much more painfully. Does that sound good to you, Nightmare Spark?” Nightmare Gale exchanged a wicked look with the newly turned Nightmare Spark. Clouds blotted out the sun, thunder struck in the distance. Waves in the water began slamming into the beach rocks violently.
“Do I actually have to pay attention to the fight this time?” Clay whispered into Luna’s ear.
“Now’s not the time for jokes! Our friend just got turned into a Nightmare!”
“Who the hell are you, and what have you done with Luna!?” Celestia asked.
“This is no joke! Nightmares are not to be trifled with!”
“As amusing as this is, can we get on with the Nightmareification? The master is expecting us soon,” Nightmare Gale rudely interrupted. “I’m sure he will be happy with a few extra slaves!”
“Listen to yourselves! You just admitted to being a slave!”
“Quiet fool! You have no right to talk to us like that,” Nightmare Gale began, “We are more powerful than you could ever hope to be!” A bow and some arrows took shape from the air around her. She shot one with deadly precision, striking Black Aroma dead in the eyes, killing her again. “The next one’s going right through your skull!” She eyed Life, sending another one flying. Just as she said, Life had an arrow sticking all the way through her head.
Nightmare Spark took advantage of her collapse, turning her into another Nightmare. “I was hoping for more of a challenge from the all mighty alicorns! You’re making this too easy!” Life arose, now in the same, twisted state as the other two Nightmares. Souls of fallen soldiers and servants pranced around her, protecting her from anything that got to close. Thunder Mist, Golden Strike, and Clover, being the most recently deceased, stood at the front of the undead guards.
“Where is Black Aroma?” Sun asked, seeing that her faithful servant was not among the demons before her.
“Her soul is mine! If anypony is going to take the dead, it’s me!” Death flared, his scythe slashing through a group of undead ponies. “I am lord of the dead! Not you!” He slashed again, but to no avail. More of the unholy demons spawned around the twisted form of Life.
“You no longer control them! From now on, I, Nightmare Soul, shall command the dead! Mwahahaha!”
“Nightmare Soul? Sounds a lot better than Nightmare Spark, that’s for sure!” Clay said as he smashed a demon’s head in with his hammer. The ground quaked from the impact, causing a cluster of the demons to fall to the ground. Stalagmites began shooting through the fallen bodies, making them evaporate into nothingness. The ghosts of Golden Strike and Thunder Mist flanked Clay, catching him off guard. His hammer was knocked away from him making it even more difficult to defend himself. His earth magic had no effect on the pegasi demons that attacked from above. Overwhelmed, he encased himself in a stone barrier that allowed him to charge a passage spell. If he could get away, then there was a chance he could round up the Royal Guard for reinforcements.
Cracking his shell just enough to see outside, he could see some of the other alicorns had the same idea. Sun and Celestia had a barrier of light surrounding them while Luna and Death were shielded by darkness. A flash of light and an eruption of darkness filled the air as the teleportation spells completed, leaving Clay alone with the demonic Nightmares. A hole in the ground opened beneath him, allowing him to escape into the ground. Caves and tunnels laid in every direction. He had seen them before, these were the tunnels he had been in when he returned to the world of ponies. The steady drip of water echoed through a tunnel that led to an underground lake.
He followed the tunnel until he reached the lake. It looked different from the first time he had been here. Moss and roots hung from the ceiling, boulders had fallen from their resting places in the walls, and the water had risen several feet. Approaching the water, Clay noticed something moving out of the corner of his eye.
“Somepony there?” he called out. He waited for a moment, listening for a response.
Nothing.
Clay turned back towards the lake, looking across at an opening in the wall.
That’s new he thought, moving around the lake. The cave grew colder the closer he got to the opening. Musty air tried pushing him away as thick roots hooked around his hooves and horn, making it difficult to progress.
“Ahhh! I’ll get nowhere at this rate!” Clay raised his hammer in his to swing at the vines, only to have it caught in the vine above him, “Damn it all!”
“You won’t get anywhere like that.”
*In the royal castle*
Sun sat alone in her room. “All is going according to plan. She lead us straight to the next Nightmare.”
“I made sure the dream would give her enough clues to find it. And what of the others?” A small, blue outline walked out from the darkest corner.
“”Life was turned and Clay escaped into the tunnels he returned from. All the rest are in the throne room discussing their next move.”
“Find Clay in the tunnels. He is not to return, not yet.”
“It will be done, this I swear.”
“They are not to know I have returned until we are ready,” the outline said before disappearing in the corner he came from.
“I will not fail you. Not again” She got and left her room, making way for the tunnels to get rid of Clay.
*Back to Clay!*
“Sun! What are you doing here?” She had startled him when she first appeared. “How did you find me?”
“I wish I could tell you, but if I am to save Equestria, you must die.” Sun pulled her gun from behind her, aiming it at Clay.
“What are you doing?!?”
“Good by, Clay.” Sun fired her gun, hitting Clay’s heart. The massive alicorn fell to his knees, as the mud colored outline of his soul left the body and floated towards Sun. “I wish there could have been another way.”
Using her new powers over stone and earth, she pulled his hammer from the ceiling. She looked at the fallen body of her former friend one last time before making her way into the tunnel he was trying to get to. “It’s done.”
“Excellent. Give me the soul!” The blue outline that had given her the orders to kill Clay walked out of from the shadows. Silver now outlined where his mane and tail would be, red eyes formed on his face, and the ground around him turned to ice. Clay’s soul left Sun and floated to the creature in the cave, vanishing as they touched. The figure became more visible as a cloak darker than the already present outline grew around it. Five tentacles consisting of wind, lightning, darkness, earth, and light protruded from its back, each holding a different weapon matching that of the alicorn that wielded them before. “Only fifteen alicorns left, and the Nightmares are causing unforeseen problems.”
“What would you have me do?” Sun asked staring at the creature with admiration. There had only been one alicorn to have ever been able to wield weapons beyond his own, and he had been dead since before the war. She pushed the memory aside as the horrors of what he had done to Equestria. It was his fault they had been numbered. His fault the ponies had been mutated. His fault she was the only one who could remember what happened. It was all his fault! “We can’t let them hurt anypony!”
“I know, but I have a much more important task for you. At the peak of the world, Time and Space have awoken. I need them dead and you're the only pony I can trust.”
“What about the Nightmares?”
“I will dispose of them. Now go, the others have begun looking for you.” The creature faded into the darkness.
“You will not be disappointed.” Sun turned down the tunnels, heading for her new targets.
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