It had been at least a few days since Ghost and Grimm arrived in Equestria and already things seemed to be turning. Grimm had secluded himself after he had met Fluttershy, not wanting to speak with anyone for some reason. Not even Ghost knew what the Nightmare King was up to and Twilight had no reason to assume bad intentions. None of the locals had a clue of the whereabouts of the troupe master.
Luna had visited Ghost a couple more times while he slept despite the warnings Grimm made Twilight right in her letters. Luna either hadn’t taken Grimm’s threats seriously or felt confident she could fend him off in the case he followed up. Ghost hadn’t been able to meet Rainbow Dash yet, but her statue seemed to hint at what she looked like. A statue of Luna and Celestia were visible now, but Ghost relented from challenging them. A little more time to get used to Equestria and he would challenge them even with Godseeker demanding that he challenge them at this moment.
Speaking of which, he found his new cloak to be quite comfortable and fitting. Rarity had done an incredible job with making almost an exact replica of Ghost’s original cloak. Of course the fashionista took her spin on it, making it quite long where it reached past Ghost’s knees. Instead of the dull dark grey, it was replaced with a brighter white color. She also added some swirls into the cloak and put in various pockets to hold Ghost’s items when he wasn’t using them. A very handy piece of wardrobe.
The past couple of nights had also been quite long for the vessel. While Grimm was on a sudden absence, Ghost had found himself assisting the residents of Ponyville to get acquainted with the populace. The ponies didn’t mind his help and some of them even requested his aid for additional days, but there were a few that preferred the vessel didn’t get himself involved. Celestia had even requested Ghost come to Canterlot to serve as a part-time guard during a diplomatic meeting. He refused kindly since he had too many other odd jobs to fulfill and his presence alone would make other kingdoms very suspicious. A void entity like him would probably cause outrage or a war since he was made of death itself.
But now Ghost looked around a Ponyville that had set up many activities for their Nightmare Night festival. He already saw ponies dressing up in various forms that Ghost had no idea what they were. He never saw things such as chickens, witches, or even goblins. He recognized a few ponies trying to look like bugs, but that’s all he could see. Stands of food, candy, and merchandise were all set up for this evening. So this was what creatures did for a festival.
A single tap on his leg broke Ghost’s concentration. He looked to his side to find Twilight dressed up as some sort of robed pony with a fake beard. The robe itself practically covered her entire body besides her front hooves and head paired with a large hat. Ghost rose a brow at Twilight’s choice of a costume and she looked at him expectantly. Ghost was silent as he studied the costume up and down, but never gave an answer.
“Do you not know who Starswirl the Bearded is?” Twilight finally asked him with disappointment in her voice
Ghost gave an annoyed sigh in response, “Twilight, I’ve only been here a few days and you expect me to know Equestrian history front to back?”
“Have you not been listening when I give you those lessons at night?” Twilight questioned further
Ghost sweatdropped, “I...kinda fell asleep all those times.”
Ghost was laying on his temporary bed with his face into the pillows. Next to him was Twilight spouting off something from a textbook she had in her house. Ghost wasn’t paying attention due to today’s activities involving hauling a lot of apples due to Big Mac feeling under the weather. Then it was acting as a literal scarecrow which was a killer on Ghost’s knees and finally, assisting Rarity with a new line of clothing she gained inspiration for.
“And that is Equestria’s history in a nutshell. Any questions?” Twilight suddenly said, making Ghost only give her a thumbs up before falling asleep
Twilight’s face made a pout but she let it go once she remembered how much Ghost was trying to fit into Equestria considering where he had come from. Her eyes looked around the festival to see the locals enjoying themselves. Ever since Twilight helped Luna get more in touch with modern Ponyville, Nightmare Night has been great. Speaking of Luna....
“Twilight Sparkle, Ghost, is it not a good night for the festivities?” the Lunar Princess said as she landed next to them
She looked around for a few moments as if expecting someone to appear, “Where is the Nightmare King? I would expect him to be joyful tonight.”
Ghost and Twilight shrugged in response as the former responded, “He disappeared a couple days ago. I haven’t seen nor talked to him since he met Fluttershy.”
“A shame. I was hoping to speak with him,”
A good amount of the locals gathered around something planted in the center of town. When Ghost looked over to see what they were looking at, his eyes widened to find a Nightmare Lanturn. He swore there was a tree there and not a lantern that could summon the Grimm Troupe. It’s black claws reaching upwards as if attempting to grab whatever was above it. There was a bit of red essence slowly pouring out of it as well.
“Twilight, where did that lantern come from?” Ghost questioned, grabbing the unicorn by the shoulders with a serious look on his face, which was just his normal expression
Twilight recalled her time with Grimm and the tree he had turned into said lanturn. He had used his magic to create it and now it was in Ponyville, “Grimm made it.”
As if on cue, the sound of an accordion could was being played in a tuneful song. One that was recognizable to Ghost but to the average creature, it sounded like a circus melody. The lantern seemed to glow brightly but was still unlit until a brief red smokescreen appeared. Forming from it was Grimm, arm drawn back as if ready to strike the lanturn. With one swift movement, he struck the bottom of the lanturn.
Sparks flew off from Grimm’s attack and latched themselves onto a small pile of coal. The sparks seemed hot enough to start a scarlet flame, igniting the whole lanturn. It was encased in flames so bright that one could feel its warmth from a great distance. The crowd of ponies let out a collective gasp as the lantern illuminated Grimm. His features appearing more threatening and scary than ever.
The Nightmare King stared into the flames for several moments until he turned towards the crowd of ponies with the accordion still playing in the foreground. His scarlet eyes were so bright that it rivaled the lantern behind him.
“Good evening, my little ponies. Tonight I have prepared a special performance for you. Feast during this beautiful evening, decadence, no madness - all this should be familiar to you, the inhabitants of the lasting kingdom of Equestria.” Grimm began with a bow as the lantern behind him seemed to roar with fiery light, “But what if you add a little flame to this romantic landscape? The flame, which will start to grow from one small scarlet spark, and engulf the minds of all living things? Let's not waste any more time. I introduce myself as Master Grimm and my troupe!”
Upon this declaration, the fiery light exploded as the night was filled with scarlet fire. The ponies around Grimm began to cower and run away. The moon became blood red as cloaked figures rushed out of the fires being spread by the lantern. Their masks bore little resemblance to Grimm but they did have a dark aura about them. Small, medium, and large versions of these cloaked figures spread about Ponyville. Their cackling only terrifying the local residents while the troupe master watched without a word.
Luna was staring at the whole scene playing in front of her before a scowl formed and her horn lit a dark blue, “Nightmare King, your facade ends here!”
Grimm was preoccupied with looking after the Grimmkin, who were searching the whole area for any flames, to pay attention to a rapidly approaching Lunar Princess bent on taking him out. It was only when he felt a blast of energy impact him from behind that he turned towards Luna, “Ah, Princess of Dreams, I was hoping you would show up. Isn’t it beautiful? My Grimmkin collecting the flames of your kingdom to f-”
Her answer was another blast of energy that Grimm swiftly blocked with his cloak. He narrowed his eyes at her, slowly circling the Princess with one arm in front of him and one arm behind him, “Rude. I would think a princess like yourself would find my scenery appealing.”
“By letting out more Nightmares and terrorizing my subjects?” Luna spat back, her wings were unfurled and she didn’t look like she would accept Grimm’s explanation
Ghost finally snapped out of his stupor before turning to Twilight, “Twilight, get the rest of the Elements of Harmony, this is going to get ugly very fast.”
Twilight gave a nod before she ran off to gather her friends. Ghost, meanwhile, drew his nail and slowly approached the brewing fight. He stood beside Luna before narrowing his eyes at the Nightmare King, “Grimm, what are you planning?”
The corrupted moth only smiled his crooked smile but still had his guard up, “Why, my ritual of course. This land is teeming with essence that the Nightmare Heart needs to prolong itself. In fact, I felt so much essence here that I believe the Heart could feast for eternity. Of course, that requires that Nightmare Night stays for eternity too, which means…”
“Putting Equestria in a perpetual loop,” Luna finished, a threatening tone hidden under her calmness
“Bingo! I knew you were as smart as you looked Princess, but I have no time to idly chat. The Heart has come, and the feast shall begin! Behold the night that shall never end, the longest show in all of history.”
The more fiery red mist spouted out of the lantern as a series of tents materialized behind Grimm. The troupe master retreated inside them as his Grimmkin floated around Ponyville. Two large bugs stood outside the tents harmlessly, looking around them with neutral expressions. A bipedal bug that was quite muscular was playing the accordion at the entrance of said tents.
Luna was ready to go after the Nightmare before a hand stopped her, “Princess Luna, I don’t think you are capable of taking on Grimm on your own. Let me at least help.”
The Lunar Princess looked at Ghost before giving a nod, “Yes, you are right. We should wait for the Elements to properly banish Grimm from Equestria. I trust that you know his weaknesses and how to best him in combat.”
Her statement got a concerned look from Ghost which confused the Princess, “What is the matter? Do you care for the Nightmare’s safety after what he is trying to accomplish?”
“Yes,” Ghost admitted, “I don’t think Grimm is exactly at fault here. Call me crazy, Princess, but Grimm wouldn’t want this land to be stuck in a loop. It’s the Nightmare Heart that wants him to do this. He’s just a vessel, following the orders of the being he holds within him.”
Luna had a look of disbelief as Ghost explained himself, “Being a Nightmare is a choice. He made his and he must pay for it. I too once was a Nightmare because I had let my emotions control me. I paid my penance but now it is the Nightmare King’s turn.”
“Maybe on your world, but in mine, some of us didn’t have a choice. Some of us were made out of forces you consider evil without our permission. Events we had no control over that forged us to what we are. I will help you defeat him but I will not let you banish him,” Ghost stoically held his ground by planting his nail stubbornly into the ground
It was then that the two were joined by the Elements of Harmony. Ghost recognized five of them while the last one was still an enigma to him. A bright blue pegasus with a unique rainbow mane. They all were staring at the large red tents that had appeared out of the ether instead of speaking. The bright red tents that were daring the outsiders to enter.
“The Elements of Harmony are here, good. We will take down the Nightmare King and banish him back to where he belongs,” Luna stated, much to Ghost’s protest against her intentions, “It does not look like we will have to fight the smaller Nightmares thankfully.”
“What in tarnation are they?” Applejack questioned as she saw one of the smaller Grimmkin moving about the town and searching every square inch with a wooden staff with a single spark of scarlett flame on top
“Grimmkin, servants of Grimm. They collect the fires of kingdoms mainly the dead spirits or lingering Nightmares. They won’t harm us unless we try to take their flames from them,” Ghost explained, grabbing his nail and placing it on his back again
Luna was confused by this explanation, her eyes following the Grimmkin Novice that was searching through trash bins, “They collect nightmares as well? What for? Wouldn’t it be more productive to leave the nightmares alone?”
Ghost turned towards the tents before walking towards them, “Let’s just say that the Nightmare Heart hates competition.”
As the party went towards the tents, Grimmchild poked out of Fluttershy’s mane out of curiosity. The little bug began sucking in a lot of air which seemed to be filled with red essence and gulped it down. The little bug let out a small burp before burrowing back into its caretaker’s mane. Speaking of Fluttershy, she was shaking and sticking right next to Applejack for security.
“Whoever we are going to fight, he’s got an awesome circus! It would be twenty percent cooler if he went all black,” the rainbow maned pegasus stated in her tomboyish voice
“Dash, I highly disagree. Grimm has better tastes than a pure dark look. Too bad he didn’t get to see the cloak I made for him. He would have looked fabulous in it,” Rarity replied
The party stopped in front of the muscular bug that held a makeshift accordion that looked a lot like a bug. He said nothing as they looked at him. He only played his bug-like accordion while moving side to side. He wore a mask similar to the Grimmkin but he stood out quite a bit from the others.
“Fancy instrument you got there, can I play it?” Pinkie Pie asked with an outrageously large smile
The figure continued his playing and movement as if not hearing Pinkie directly, “Mmm...Speak to Master.”
“But I was asking you.” the pink mare emphasized by poking the bug’s chest
“Mmm...Speak to Master.” the bug reaffirmed without missing a beat
Ghost grabbed Pinkie by the scruff of her neck before she got into a back and forth, “Don’t try with Brumm, he’ll say that phrase until you get annoyed.”
The party continued inside the tent where the lights now dimmed. It was still quite bright thanks to the multiple scarlet torches arranged inside the tent. Now they were walking down a long hallway towards the main chamber. Said chamber was completely void of light unlike the rest of the structure. But as they approached, a drumroll began to play and spotlights were moving about the chamber.
When they entered the chamber, the spotlights focused several feet in front of them were a flash of red essence occured. Grimm formed once more, giving his signature bow to the party that was only here to do one thing.
“Ah, the whole entourage is here. I’m quite enamored more and more, Princess. Are all eight of you going to stop the ritual you so happen to be partaking in?” the Troupe Master chuckled while having his back turned towards them
“Ritual? When were we par-You gave Fluttershy your child on purpose,” Twilight was confused before she realized Grimm’s previous actions, “This has to do with whatever you couldn’t explain to me earlier.”
“Yes! Celestia’s student is quite astute. Now is the time I give you the nature of the Heart of Grimm and my troupe. Ghost is quite aware of it since he was the last participant,” the Nightmare King stated while slightly turning his head towards them
Luna looked to Ghost with an accusing stare, “You participated in a Nightmare ritual? Did you not think of the costs?”
Ghost held his hands up in defense as he found himself being in the crosshairs of Luna more than Grimm, “I didn’t have a mind back then. I just accepted the task without question. That and my home was literally dead so there wasn’t anyone I cared for at the time.”
“Yes, he is correct. Ghost played his part perfectly but now all of you will play yours. But first, a little poem or would you rather prefer song?” Grimm now turned to face the eight intruders
“Oooh, a song! Let’s go with that!” Pinkie Pie nodded vigorously
“Pinkie!” her other five Elements criticized but it was no use, the pink mare had given Grimm an answer
All light was extinguished besides the spotlights that shone over Grimm. A snap of his fingers made the whole chamber turn into a different scenery. Instead of red, the whole arena was now golden in color. Grimm was replaced with a simple looking young moth that stared up at the Radiance. Grimms voice could be heard as the party looked at the scenery before them.
When flame burns bright inside one’s mind
Bright kin heed the call across lands and time
A spark of red lights is the darkest dream
Visions dance and flames do speak
The moth suddenly turned towards a red flame that beckoned for it to follow. The moth did so despite the other moths trying to have him focus back on their sun goddess. The moth ventured outside of his home towards a darker side of the area. The moth so enraptured by the flame leading him that he didn’t bother to question where he was. The flame entered the moth before the scenery disappeared.
Grimm now approached the group as the music continued. In between his fingers was a small spark of flame. Grimmchild poked out of Fluttershy’s mane despite the mare quivering at the approaching Nightmare King. The rest of her friends were ready for a fight but Grimm was not yet ready for one.
Scarlet nightmares are so bright and wild
Burn the father, feed the child
The little flame Grimm held was sucked up by Grimmchild where the small bug doubled in size and now was flying above Fluttershy. Grimm led out a crooked smile before his song resumed.
Your realm’s a part of perpetual loop
So prepare the stage and meet the Grimm Troupe!
A snap of Grimm’s fingers lit up the arena once more but with the group being surrounded by Grimmkin of various sizes. Instead of attacking them, the Grimmkin seemed to be situated like an audience about to watch an act. They floated there staring at the eight fighters that would go against their master. Hanging lamps were filled with scarlet fire as the whole chamber now felt like a stage. Grimm held one of his arms in front of him while backing up slowly from the group.
“Dance with me, my friends. The crowd awaits. Prove that you are worthy of a starring role,” Grimm uttered as the audience now were murmuring
“Are we stars in a performance? A dance no less?!” Rarity’s eyes glittered at the thought of being the star in front of these Nightmares, despite the fact that Grimm was not looking like he was dancing at all
Ghost drew his nail and readied himself for Grimm to make the first move. Luna, Twilight and Rarity had their horns glowing with their magic. Applejack crouched low with her forehooves in case a sneak attack was coming. Rainbow Dash was flying above the group with her hooves tapping together, ready for a brawl. Pinkie Pie disappeared offscreen, like, no seriously, she somehow got into the black borders of the scene. Fluttershy shook off her fear for the moment and gave Grimm...the Stare!
The Nightmare King blinked a couple of times as he was feeling like someone was trying to scare him, but failing to do so. He drew his front arm back before slashing towards the group. Ghost went in front of the attack to block it with his nail and parried the second strike. But it was when Grim went into the air and rained down scarlett fire below him.
A magical barrier protected the group as Grimm reappeared on the other side of the arena. Ghost expected him to open his cape to fire off scarlet bats or cause the floor to erupt in spikes. He was not expecting Grimm to slash the ground, causing the ground to shockwave towards the group with pillars of fire erupting afterward. This forced the group to seperate or they would all be either hit by the shockwave or the fiery pillars.
Multiple magical blasts were fired back at the Nightmare King, bouncing off of his cape pitifully. Grimm’s cape struck into the ground as spikes appeared in half of the room. Within a split second, Ghost sprang forth and slashed at Grimm before the spikes sprang upward. While the ponies seemed to have no effect on him. Thankfully his strike caused the other vessel to break apart into many smaller bats before reforming.
“Ready yourselves,” Luna warned the Elements of Harmony while preparing to defend herself
Ghost put his nail in a defensive position while he awaited Grimm to strike once more. It was clear that Grimm had learned a few moves compared to their previous fight. He squinted his eyes as a bright light shone behind him to the point of blinding him. Grimm raised a brow as the Elements of Harmony began to float in the air before an energy fired from them.
An rainbow energy impacted Grimm and sent the Nightmare King back several feet. By the time the blast ended, he was shaking in weakness. However, all the ponies were surprised that the vessel had not been encased in stone nor banished to the Nightmare Realm.
“What is this sorcery? The Elements failed?” Luna questioned, a bewildered expression visible on her face
A laugh began in the tent as the Grimmkin audience clapped in approval. Grimm disappeared in a puff of red smoke before appearing in front of the ponies with his eyes glowing brighter, “Ah! So you did not disappoint me as I hoped. Good, but this was merely a dance, the true fight will begin.”
A snap of his fingers and Ghost’s Dreamnail was yanked from his cloak to Grimm’s claw. The vessel inspected the ancient weapon closely, feeling the warmth of dream essence filling it. He began to leak Nightmare essence into the weapon. A red beam was produced that flickered like fire so violent that it almost burned the face of the wielder.
“A beautiful weapon, but it holds a grand purpose for tonight,” Grimm uttered as he stabbed the floor with the Dreamnail
The whole arena shook like an earthquake before bright lights blinded all the inhabitants. When their sight returned, they were in front of Godseeker who looked quite confused by their sudden appearance.
“We see thee have brought many crin-...Oh, Goddesses of Harmony,” the Godseeker murmured before bowing before the ponies
“What is she talking about? We aren’t gods,” Rainbow Dash questioned to everyone, expecting an answer
No one answered as Luna shook a bit, feeling an overwhelming power in the area. A red flash of energy sparked in the sky before a large cocoon-like structure appeared with features that looked like multiple faces. A split opened up as the figure of Grimm was noticeable, burning scarlet fire seeping out of the cocoon.
“This is it, The Nightmare King himself,” Luna said in a whisper as fire engulfed the area and scarlet eyes opened