"In the core of the moon is what?!" Twilight yelled alarmingly at Caliber as Pinkie poked the sample he showed them as soon as they arrived, as aggressive as ever.
"The real culprit that made Nightmare Moon into, well… the Nightmare Moon that we know from the stories. This is sentient, concentrated, envy, resentment, and anger, your highness." Caliber repeated before passing the chart to her. "At some point during her banishment, Nightmare Moon must have sealed some of her emotions into the moon itself for some reason and left it there when she came back. I still have several questions that remain unanswered, the most pressing of which would be why she did that. However, from what I can gather from my findings, all those negative emotions have just woken up. They are now feeding off the prince's fears and have caused this mess. To make matters worse, it appears to be growing."
"And you let my god-nephew toy with that kind of power?!" Tempo screeched at Platinum and Puddinghead, who, after hearing the news, took on the role of temporary rulers and assessed the situation the best they could to prevent mass panic amongst the citizens, making it clear that they were just doing this to aid Twilight and her friends and let her focus on the more significant issue at hoof. "He was just re-learning magic! How could you let him toy with something like that?"
"Blueblood's situation was special, and he was making substantial progress in his training." Platinum replied calmly. "Not once did he ever manifest any side effects during his testing other than the unusual growth of his mane." She then looked down in shame. "There was no way any of us could predict that this would happen."
"Yeah, he was in complete control all the other times before, during, and after the transformation. Plus, I trained him to expect the unexpected in any way, shape, or form. For those emotions to act like this right now, it doesn't seem logical," Pudding added, "Should I have used bigger pies?"
"Are you serious?!" Tempo startled both mares with her scream, "A shadow mare is draining my god-nephew as we speak. Your daughters are trapped in some hellscape inside his mind, and all you can say is that you didn't think this would happen?! HE transforms into a pony of shadows, for pony's sake! What is wrong with you?! Listen well, you two, founders or not, whatever happens next will be on YOUR heads," She proclaimed, raising an accusing hoof at both mares.
"Okay, everyone, chill." Rainbow flew by and got between the horses, trying to calm everyone down. "Let's not play the blame game here. Yeah, things are bad, but come on, Tempo. Even the most calculated of moves can still fail." She tried to reason with her. "As the founders said, mare, that is still weird to say," Dash mumbled before continuing. "They practiced, trained, did all they could, and then this happened." She shrugged with a smile. "It can happen to the best of us. It's just part of life."
"How could you be so calm in a moment like this!?" Tempo asked, astonished at how chill Dash was, only for the element of loyalty to blow a raspberry into the air and wave her hoof dismissively. "It is not such a big deal; the first time we defeated Nightmare Moon, we barely knew the elements. We are stronger than ever; our friends have defeated tougher villains than her. This isn't even the real deal; it's just some residual magical emotional thing that Princess Luna left on the moon some time ago. Erasing this thing will be a piece of cake," She boasted confidently.
"Did you forget the part where this one is smarter? Or that it has Blueblood's unique spells at her disposal? And it was clever enough to trick the princesses and two of our friends into a trap?!" AJ glared at Rainbow Dash and her attitude. "She not only managed to take Princess Celestia and Luna out of the picture, but without Rarity and Fluttershy, we can't use the elements."
"Which is why the first thing we need to do is to go into that subconscious land thingie and rescue them so we can kick Nightmare Moon's flank again," Rainbow countered back at her friend.
"I don't think it can be that easy, Rainbow Dash." Caliber shook his head before explaining, "I have studied the subject of the subconscious land before, and from what I have learned, that place is ruled by a bizarre and constantly changing set of laws. Where things can go from friendly to violent in an instant. I'm unsure if the elements could work there or if they can reach you once you are inside."
"Even so, Rainbow is right; we need to stop Nightmare Moon, and to do so, the first thing we need to do is find a way to rescue our friends," Twilight responded.
"Excuse me, darling," Rarity and Fluttershy walked into the throne room, much to everyone's surprise, "but I think the princesses have that covered already."
"Hi, girls," Fluttershy weakly replies, hiding her face behind her mane before they are brought into a group hug, which Pinkie quickly initiates and interrogates.
"How do you escape? Did you just escape? Did the princesses escape, too? Did Blueblood help you? He helped you escape you, didn't he? Where is he? Is he fighting Nightmare Moon now?" She kept asking questions a mile a minute until AJ put one of her hooves on Pinkie's mouth to stop her rambling.
"Well, darling, it's a curious story, to say the least." Rarity then recapped what happened after they encountered Princess Luna.
"You mean to tell us that we can't get out?!" Rarity confirmed with the princesses in alarm.
"In the most dangerous and scariest place in the dreamland?" Fluttershy added, shaking like a leaf as she started to look around, fearing something that might pop out and attack them at any moment.
"Calm down, you two," Celestia instructed them both, "I know that things may seem bleak right now, but I assure you, we can solve this problem. I took the liberty of placing a small contingency plan in case something like this happened."
That last sentence caught the mares' attention as they all turned to look at Celestia.
"Before we departed, I had grown suspicious of Luna when she suggested I bring you along after she warned me of this place, and I couldn't risk endangering your lives so recklessly, so when I encapsulated all of us, instead of bringing you with me, I teleported you to Canterlot castle as a safety precaution. You have a physical body here right now, thanks to a projection spell I cast in conjunction that targets all of your senses." She calmly explained to the two.
"Well done, sister. Thanks to your quick thinking, hope still exists to turn things around." Luna praised her with a nod before turning to Rarity and Fluttershy ."Listen well, you two. While it is true that my sister and I are trapped inside this mindscape, we can traverse it and find our way out with relative ease. So don't worry about our well-being, and focus your attention on stopping the Tantabus," Luna instructed the two.
"I hate to admit it, but when I first encountered her, I felt sorry for the creature and, as a result, lowered my guard, thinking that her eradication would be easy." She looked around the infirmary. "Do not make the same mistake I made when confronting the Tantabus. Be on your guard and shoot on sight. She might not be Nightmare Moon, but with her smarts and my body in her possession, the stars only know what that creature could do."
"And what about Blueblood? What is going to happen to him?" Fluttershy approached the two worriedly, "Is he trapped in here as well?"
"There is a good chance of that being the case, unfortunately." Luna nodded a couple of times. "The Tantabus most likely brought him here to keep feeding off his fear. This place enhances one's fears and mutates them into horrors born out of the imagination."
Both mares gasped at this revelation.
"Which is why you must leave this place at once and leave his rescue to us while you confront the Tantabus in the real world." Luna urged them as Celestia ended the spell, making their bodies slowly fade away.
"Listen, Blueblood has a tracking spell in place; I'm almost certain that the Tantabus took him with her if only to keep her influence on him and prevent Luna and myself from escaping, so finding their location should be easy. Just ask any guard in the palace; they know the spell." Celestia instructed the two friends.
"Time of the essence, go and save Equestria before my past sins come back for a second time around." Luna mentioned as the vision of the mares turned blurry.
"After that, we woke up and rushed here as fast as we could when two guards told us that you were all here." Rarity finished their story.
"And the royal guard has already been informed, and we stand ready to assist your highness." Garra added as she and her sister walked into the room, showing some wear as she had a bandage wrapped around her head. In contrast, her sister had some minor bruises, and her rear hind leg was bandaged as well. Despite all this, they didn't show any discomfort as they marched towards the group and bowed respectfully to Twilight.
"Privates Garra and Daga, reporting to duty, your highness." Garra introduced them both before rising to salute.
"Ah… just Twilight is okay." Twilight replied, not entirely sure of how to respond to the arrival of the two bat ponies.
"Understood, Miss Twilight," Garra nodded immediately after the two relaxed their posture.
"Allow us to introduce ourselves properly; my sister and I briefly served on the prince's security team." Daga informed the rest of the group before looking down in shame. "The events that transpired today happened under our watch. Which makes this disaster our fault."
"Don't kick yourself that hard there, sugarcube. You weren't the only guards there and were facing off against a Tantabus with Princess Luna's magic, not to mention that you were caught off guard, no pun intended. A mare with that power will be tough to beat, so there is no shame in losing against her." AJ consoled the two.
"Be that as it may, our guard honor is tainted, and we seek a way for redemption." Daga quickly replied, "That is why we are requesting the opportunity to assist on your mission."
"You want to come with us?" Dash asked with a raised eyebrow, "No offense or anything, but, as AJ said, this Tantabus is not something you can beat without the elements, not to mention you are still injured, so maybe you should sit this one…"
"…We're not looking for a rematch, Rainbow Dash," Garra quickly interrupted her. "What we are suggesting is a rescue and extraction mission." She clarified.
"The prince is still under our care, so we must protect him." Daga elaborated before pointing to her ears. "With our advanced hearing, we can track the prince faster and get him out of harm's way."
The comment got everyone's attention.
"A simple exploit of the diversion you would cause while keeping the creature busy. My sister and I could sneak in, rescue the prince, and cut off her food supply."
"And why just the two of you?" Tempo inquired with a raised eyebrow, "Wouldn't it be better if a squad of six or seven ponies went to his aid?"
The twins only shook their heads. "When it comes to infiltration and rescue missions, blending in is key. Many guards will stand out too much, so it will be better if only we go. So please, Miss Twilight, let us come too. Let us have a chance to redeem our past mistakes." Garra pleaded to Twilight once more.
"They make a good argument, Twilight." AJ looked at her friend, "I say we let them come too."
"We really shouldn't let Blueblood face that scary mare alone." Fluttershy added.
"Yeah, plus I know what it's like to let your team down; I say we let them tag along." Dash replied with a smile while everyone waited for Twilight's reply.
"It's your call, princess," Platinum called out from the throne. "We will respect your decision regardless but just know that those two are the newest recruits to the royal guard, and they don't have the years of experience. Celestia and Luna's security had." She referred to the same guards on duty at either side of the base of the throne, also injured but stoic and ready to listen for new orders. "They have shown potential, but they are still impulsive, inexperienced in the field, and seem to have little in common sense with how they wish to return to the line of fire when they clearly should be resting." Platinum listed off while glaring at the two recruits, disappointed in their actions. "Will you still give them a chance in the face of all that? Do you trust they will be able to follow orders?"
"Of course we…!" Daga was about to protest when her sister jabbed her in the ribs before glaring at her urgently so as not to spoil their image even more. Platinum looks at her with a raised eyebrow and a neutral expression. Daga just remained quiet and waited for Twilight's decision.
"I…" Twilight was about to reply when suddenly, Puddinghead interrupted her.
"Sorry for interrupting, but maybe we should hurry things up slightly." She pointed at the window, and everyone gasped when they saw a spheric shadow creeping from the side of the Moon at a decent pace.
"Is that… an eclipse?" Caliber questioned with worry as his sample started to trash around more violently. "The Tantabus is starting her plan. We don't have time to waste!"
"He's right, Daga, Garra, you can come with us; just be careful and stay out of sight."
"Understood!" Both guards saluted in unison.
"Caliber, that sample is getting stronger. I need you to go to Ponyville and give it to Starlight so she can destroy it before it hurts somepony. Tell her to take Spike with her for extra help so she can message me if anything happens."
"At once, your highness." Caliber bowed and then left the room.
"Princess Platinum, Chancellor Puddinghead, could you keep things here under control while we are gone, and if anything happens, could you organize an evacuation?"
"Consider it done, although as Celestia's apprentice, I trust in your capabilities, young Twilight."
"Yeah, don't sweat the small stuff. We can look after Equestria for a bit, no problem! Go and save the day like you always do!" Pudding confirmed with a big smile before her expression turned urgent. "Just hurry up in doing it!"
"You don't have to tell me twice." Soon after, everyone sprung into action or flew off from the throne room following her lead. "Garra, Daga, you said you know where the Tantabus is; how long will it take us to reach her lair?"
"Not much, ma'am; she went straight to where Nightmare Moon fell for the first time," Garra responded.
The ruins of the castle of the two sisters
Admired the moon as a glowing horn eclipsed it. The figure of Princess Luna with milky eyes laid back on a repaired silver throne with a smile on her face as her plans unfolded.
"Ah, eternal night, such a naive, simplistic, and boring concept, don't you agree, Blueblood?" Closing an eye and looking to her left, she saw the prince standing still with a thousand-yard stare and a look of concern on his face.
"What's the matter, Blueblood?" Nightmare mocked concern before using her hoof to nuzzle his chin. "Too scared to speak? Ah, that's right; you are still under my influence." She chuckled lightly before grabbing his jaw forcefully and made him look at her. "Bet you would like to hear me now, wouldn't you, you ungrateful brat?!" She relaxed her hold and expression before bringing him into her chest and gently stroked his hair like a cat. "Oh, Blueblood, what will I do with you?" She started to cackle for a moment and then let him go. "Indeed, what am I going to do with you? True, you ignored me and tried to get rid of me!" She choked him for a second before dropping the prince on the ground as she brought one of her hoofs to her chin. "But also, you were the first pony that wasn't afraid of me, and you are the reason I was able to escape the moon in the first place."
Leaving him on the ground, she starts to pace back and forth. "Hm, decisions, decisions." Nightmare kept weighing her options until an idea dawned on her, and a sinister smile crept onto her.
"Maybe I was too harsh on you, honey." Nightmare petted his head once more as her eyes shined with white light. "Perhaps there is still a use for you in my new empire. You only need proper grooming and guidance." Her horn glows brighter as her teeth become fangs, and her body shifts into the form of Nightmare Moon as he whimpers in his sleep. "Don't be afraid, sweetie; I will take proper care of you, molding your mind, showering you with affection, give you the counsel that you so desperately need. In short, a far better aunt than either Luna or Celestia ever was. So close your eyes and listen to my voice as your ruler sings you a lullaby."
As she sang, the walls of the room were covered in darkness. From them, glowing eyes started to appear, followed by images of monsters and demons emerging from it and slowly approaching the prince like wounded prey about to be pounced on as he lay still on the ground, his eyes closed soundly asleep. A purple mist slowly rose from the floor and crept around the prince as a flock of bats swallowed the light with darkness. The fog made its way to his nostrils and mouth, making him choke and cough violently until his eyes snapped open wide awake, and his pupils shrank to pinpricks.
Soon after, his entire body convulsed and reshaped itself; the sound of bones snapping and muscles popping echoed through the hallway as his groans of pain gave way to animalistic growls of anger and hunger that made the creatures of the night take a step back.
The prince stared back at the shadows briefly until, with a lighting reflex, he struck at them with fangs and claws ready as Nightmare kept singing, a satisfied smile on her face as she admired her work on the creature of the night before her until nothing of the old Blueblood remained.
When the last shadow was gone, the new Blueblood looked at her and growled with menacing, piercing red eyes before turning around and fleeing the room. Nightmare's voice echoed in the hallways as the prince kept growling and barking like a beast until he finally reached the top of a tower and smashed through to the rooftop. Laying on the roof, Blueblood looked at the moon before rising and then let loose a mighty howl in front of a full moon.