Equestria is dead. The sun and moon have stopped, and the planet is in ruins. The xenos that built the civilization are gone, their works in ruins. Investigating the planet, Interrogator Kylara makes a surprising discovery, one that might hold the key to what happened to this once-fair land - and what might be done to stop it. A Warhammer 40k crossover.

Now featured on Canterlot's Finest and Equestria Daily

Also now featured on TV Tropes.

Diplomacy has failed. Six years have passed Equestria's crowning of the princess of friendship, ushering in a supposed unprecedented age of peace and harmony. The concept of warfare is, to most ponies, nothing more than an unfathomable legend. They have let their guard down.

An unknown enemy has seized the opportunity to attack Equestria with terrifying new weapons of war, bent on taking the fertile land and restoring an ancient order. The valiant efforts of the Royal Guard have given Princess Twilight and her arcane scientists time to research and develop a response to their attackers, and the time has come for that response to be implemented. Utilizing weapons and tactics borrowed from another world, five squads under the command of Princess Luna will infiltrate the forests of the Equestrian Northwest to destroy a revolutionary magical matrix that Twilight refers to as the "radio" - a tool that allows enemy ponies to communicate across vast distances instantly.

Nightmare Two is comprised of three foalhood friends who, rather than be separated from each other in the draft, volunteer to become one of the five Nightmare squads. With their bodies forever altered to suit the needs of their mission, the three young mares join legions of ponies armed with powerful weapons to partake in a horrifying new breed of warfare - Equestria's first in over one thousand years.

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Heads up, folks. If you wouldn't mind leaving a comment alongside the thumbs-down, I'd appreciate it. This is my first foray into fan fiction and although it's a hobby I nonetheless wish to get better. :)

Got some FAQ's for you guys as well!

- Alternate universe in which the events of "Crusaders of the Lost Mark" did not occur. (As much as I loved it! :D)

- Numerical age tends to vary with headcanon, but the CMC here were just getting started with their adult lives when the draft went into effect.

- The war is pony v. pony, utilizing firearms and the Equestrian equivalent of a tank. The underlying headcanon is that ponies used firearms similar to muskets and tracked armored vehicles akin to our tanks in times of old, and what the enemy currently employs is essentially the natural progression of these technologies.

- There are no real-world weapons or equipment i.e. "Panzer IV," or "M16 assault rifle." Particularly acute details such as the caliber of weapons are also absent.

- Technology is based on that of WWI with some WWII elements. Firearms are primarily bolt-action.

- The "radio" spell matrix functions as what we know to be a radio, but is not identical.

- All four of a Night Mare's legs are permanently replaced by the augments.

- Night Mares are female. Stallions proved unable to properly animate the limbs.

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Hold up, now - fanart? You guys rock. Like, for real. Thanks a lot!

1. A great YouTube video coming from The_Pegasus_Box. Thanks, bud!
Check it out!

2. Click here for the collection on DArt.

3. https://derpibooru.org/740375?scope=scpeac921b191f688d04521575f31608785cbc3bbaa1
[img]https://derpicdn.net/img/view/2014/10/10/740375__safe_anthro_apple+bloom_gun_artist-colon-pusspuss_night+mares.png[/img]

On a dark night filled with even darker magics, an insane cult attempts to give Nightmare Moon a body and life of her own, utterly separate from Princess Luna. But, when the spell is interrupted by Celestia, something unexpected is created.

Now, a little black alicorn filly named Nyx finds herself living under the care of Twilight Sparkle, only to be haunted by memories and emotions from her past. Is she Nightmare Moon reborn or is she simply a doppelganger with a soul and mind of her own? Can Twilight Sparkle protect Nyx from those who refuse to see past her dragon eyes and black coat?

Or, will Nyx be forced to inherit the sins that may not even be hers and become the greatest evil Equestria has ever known?

This story is a sequel to Rainbow Factory

Cloudsdale Weather Corporation has been running without incident for over twenty years. That is, until two foals manage to avoid being processed and find themselves in the haunted bowels of the massive facility. Can they make it out of the abandoned factory with their sanity intact? Will they uncover the secrets even a company as dark as the CWC is ashamed to keep? And what of the workers who help ensure that, in the end, not a single soul gets through...

Love the series? Buy the book!

—[TVTropes Article]—[Plagen Shiki's Reading]—[The Song Inspired by the Story]—

[Psychological Grimdark]

This story was directly based off 'Awoken': Wooden Toaster and H8 seed's spirited successor to the Rainbow Factory.

Food for thought, folks. I wrote this story on my own time and Obab later added extra material, three years later, when she converted the story into her audio production. She did not participate in the original production (if that was not clear already). If you read the story below you'll see the original, untampered text!

***

The decline into darkness had been easy enough... but when a high ranking Rainbow Factory employee begins to loose faith in the program and attempts to leave, things get out of hoof.

Having lived the majority of his life in the twisted building known as the Rainbow Factory-climbing up the brutal ladder and eventually becoming an Orchestrator-a lone colt finds the atrocity's he's committed in his past coming back to haunt him in his waking hours.

Driven by the need to return to normal society and the thought of redemption, he devises a risky plan that will ultimately decide the very fate of the Rainbow Factory as it's come to be known.

***
A long list of special thanks and mentions...

Thanks to Aurora Dawn for essentially creating the world I based this story in.

Thanks to Wooden Toaster and H8 Seed for the awesome song
Thanks to Fiasko0 on Deviant art for making the picture for the song (which I snatched)
Thanks to xzenocrimzie (Starlight Sparkle) for working with me to get the story out and into public
Thanks to wandered D for the tech support (he knows what I'm talking about)
Thanks to SrPeachFuzz on YouTube for accidentally bringing the story to everyone's attention
Thanks to my brony friend Josh for helping me get the story from my head, and into an outline
Thanks to both Truesoul116 and OhOhJackarias on YouTube for their excellent readings
Most importantly, every brony out there that has read, liked, faved or commented! Without you all, this would of never happened!

*Audio books are up!

Another really great dramatic reading!

If you're looking for a dramatic reading

If you're looking for a clear and professional reading

All three of these readers were totally awesome! Thanks guys.

Now translated into:
Polish by Dolar84
Spanish by Moonlight Fan

Octavia and Harmonia Philharmonica were on their way to Manehattan, ready to fulfill their duty as granddaughters and visit Nana. Vinyl Scratch and her brother Long Play were traveling back home from a concert in Canterlot, the first that Vinyl had ever attended. Pure serendipity facilitated these pairs' first meeting.

(Inspired by the pure adorableness that is the cover art)

The secret to getting through life is finding someone you can be yourself with.