//------------------------------// // The Scheming Envy (Edited by BS) // Story: The Humble Prince // by Lighting Ace //------------------------------// Crashing back into the grassy field, both Nightmare and Blood Moon left craters, where they landed as the prince's inner child flew over him, glaring at Nightmare with his horn ready. "It's over, Nightmare, you lost." "No!" Using her magic, Nightmare levitated some debris near her as she approached the child. "I'm so close, so close of claiming what is rightfully mine! Celestia had her turn. Luna is weak and unfit, and that annoying pet of theirs is nothing more than a brown noser! I'm a far better princess than all those mares combined! Tartarus will freeze before I let a spoilt brat, a freak of nature and his inner colt deny me my destiny!" She hurled all of her projectiles at him only to be deflected by a force field erected by Blood Moon, who also stood up and regarded her with a neutral expression before tossing the debris back at which all exploded once getting within range, forcing back the Nightmare. In shock, she glared at him. "Blueblood?! Not only do you pretend to mock me with a cheap imitation of myself, but you also dare to lift your hoof against your flesh and blood?! You dare?!" "The only cheap copy here is you!" Blood Moon glared at her as the air around him grew heavy to the point that Nightmare moon was forced even further back from the intensity, as pieces of grass and dirt flew everywhere. "You might look like her, but you are not her, Nightmare Moon was imposing!" Charging his horn, he shot a magical blast that she barely managed to block with a shield of her own "She was someone worth both fearing and respecting!" He repeats the action, making her arcane shield start to crack, "And above all, she was a mare of vision and passion!" As the attacks continued to rain down and more of her shield chipped away, her injuries ached and forced her to kneel. "Compared to that. You've been acting like a spoiled diva demanding attention without doing anything to earn it. Just a fraud using the face of a mare of legends to claim something that is not hers. Now stop soiling her image and show me your real face!" Charging a more powerful blast, Blood Moon obliterated her shield and engulfed her in an explosion, before stopping and holding his head in pain as a cloud of dust hid the Tantabus's body. "Are you ok, Blue?" The kid asked him with worry, but he smiled and nods. "I'm ok, just dizzy from casting to much too fast. More importantly," He looked in front of him "Did it work?" Both kept watching until a blast hit his inner child, disintegrating him in an instant. "Kid!" The prince looked on in shock at the pile of ashes in front of him before chains burst from the floor and wrapped around his hooves as he heard some hissing behind him. "You ungrateful, hypocritical brat! Is this the thanks I get after all I did for you?!" "Nightmare…" Blood Moon slowly turns to face her, murder written all over his face "…you are gonna pay for that". She was trembling in anger. The creature glared back at him. "Fine! I can always get another nephew. One much better than you. A worthy mare instead of a spoiled brat. Right after I mount your head on a wall as a trophy!" Nightmares voice turned a higher pitch as the dust finally cleared. The prince gasped when he saw the remains of Nightmares body hiding an emerald reptilian face which ripped through the remains of it, revealing a snake-like neck, green emerald scales instead of fur, bat wings, two long fangs protruding out of her mouth, a cascabel snake tail instead of her regular tail, a gaping wound on the left side of her torso, and two arms with claws instead of frontal hooves—giving her a bizarre and horrific appearance of a creature half snake, half alicorn with dragon arms speaking with a more reptilian voice. "So, that is your real face." Blood Moon looked at the creature with a severe expression. "Makes sense, only a vile snake could be this cold-blooded" "You are wrong, child. What you see is the face of your true heroine! No, maybe even better than, I'm the original Nightmare, her jealousy and anger come to life. The seed that birthed the mare you admired so much! But just like you, she tossed me aside once she started to get afraid of doing whatever it took to achieve her goals!" She launched at him at top speed and planted him into the ground with one of her claws firmly pressed on his neck. "Cowards! All in your family, without exception! I'm done lurking in the shadows of others! I will make Equestria remember my name, and once I take you out, they will be next." She promised and began to increase the pressure by using both claws, choking him until she saw a speck of light right on her face that exploded forcing her to back in surprise and pain. "Have you lost your mind!? That close? you would have received the full impact as well." "Funny thing about dreams," Blood Moon appeared behind her. "You make the rules as you please" Blood Moon grabbed her face and rammed it on the ground before running forward, dragging her face on the march before tossing her into the air, and lifting a wall for her to impact on. Nightmare recovered and jumped ahead, hitting him on the face before summoning a series of spiky chains circling his feet, forcing Blood Moon to teleport away and land right in the trajectory of another blast. Startling him and making his vision foggy, briefly leaving him open for the gnashing fangs of Nightmare to sink into his neck. Suppressing the pain, the prince grabs her and, using his elbow, and his own body slams her head against the ground, breaking off her fangs and make her scream in pain as he slowly backed away and removed the teeth from his flesh, venom at the tips starting to melt the ground around them. Holding his wound, the prince knelt in pain and focused his magic on neutralizing the poison and healing the injury as Nightmare does the same, who, unfortunately, finished faster than he. Taking advantage of the situation, Nightmare enveloped him in a series of chains that place him on the ground as two big walls manifested and closed in on him attempting to crush the prince. "Interesting fact about Nightmares, nothing you do can stop them once they start. Also, contrary to popular belief, you could die multiple times in a single dream. As you are about to experience in a very lucid one." "Hold on, partner!" The voice of AJ surprised Nightmare as a spectral lasso looped around her torso and dragged her away. "We're here." "What!?" Nightmare looks back in shock when looking at the mare in question as if she was some sort of ghost. The prince sensed a faint yet familiar aura coming from AJ. "What is happening?" "Your flank is about to be kicked, that's what is happening," Rainbow Dash answer as she swooped in and tackled Nightmare to the ground while Rarity and Twilight appeared nearby and released a surprised Blood Moon from the trap. "Twilight, Rarity. Is that… you?" He looked between then and then at AJ and Rainbow Dash as they kept fighting. "We are here, cousin," Twilight smiled. "Nightmare might prevent us from entering your dream, but we can help you defeat her." Back on the second sub-level, all the girls had their eyes closed. At the same time, Mage Twilight used her magic to create a link between them and his dream as their bodies reverted to normal, and the shadow of the humanoid Nightmare Moon appeared on the wall before diving inside the dream as well. "By interacting with the same magic, you took from the Moon. I figured out a way to use the dome in our favor, by reverse engineering your knight spell." Twilight mentioned. "You learned and mastered that spell in less than a night?!" Blood Moon regarded Twilight in shock, as she couldn't help but smile in pride. "I wasn't Celestia's prized pupil for nothing, you know?" "Told you, we do this sort of thing all the time, Bluey." Pinkie suddenly giggles before getting all serious and looking back at Nightmare Moon. "For now, let's show that meany mare who's dream she is messing with." She glared at the mare in question as the rest of them appeared and got into position while Dash and AJ managed to force the creature back. Blood Moon recovered and nodded before looking at Nightmare, ready to fight her with his friends. "Have to say, partner, that is one ugly varmint you have here," AJ commented as they surrounded the prince. "She must be the example granny used when she'd tell me that jealousy's ugly." The Nightmare only laughed and dusted herself off as she stalked towards the group. "So, you decided to cower in fear behind your masters, Blueblood? Ha, just a spineless brat in the end. Fine! Do you want to experience terror with your heroes so much? So be it, I have the perfect nightmares reserved for all of you anyway." Her eyes glowed white, and the terrain crumbled and cracked as purple mist burst from the ground like geysers. The area was soon covered by it, and silhouettes started to appear from the fog. "Let's see how you deal with your worse fears." Nightmares snarked before retreating into the mist and disappearing while copies of the mane six without color or pupils emerged from the fog before smirking at them. While that is going on, the royal siblings continued their battle with the fire nuckelavee, as he kept trying to impale them with his weapons or horn. The sheriff, DJ Pinkie, and Robo Dash were doing what they could to provide aid, but the monster was a juggernaut and kept rushing towards them, blocking their goal of retrieving Luna's body, as he raised a fire dome around Luna body. "You're holding back, Princesses." The monster kept speaking to them with a glare. "I captured your body. I'm a threat to Equestria. I even have this hideous appearance. So why are you still holding back?! Just do your job as a ruler and put me down." He kept demanding before pointing at the group with his horn and cast forth a giant pillar of fire that forced them to split into groups to avoid the conflagration. "You…want to be defeated?" Luna voiced her thoughts out loud before looking at DJ Pinkie. "What sort of monster did Nightmare create?" "We are not so sure, to be honest," Pinkie responded with a shrug. "When Nightmare created the Rider, he immediately turned on her and started to chase her everywhere she went, but then he starts attacking everything in sight and feeding off any bad dream it stumbles across." Sherriff AJ and Celestia gather around them as Dash gave them cover using her cannon to make a firewall. "That varmint is beyond reasoning too, not to mention unkillable." She bit out in frustration, "No matter what we do, he just keeps coming back from its ashes and melted armor like some sort of bizarre and horrific phoenix." The comment caught the attention of Celestia as she takes a glance at AJ in surprise before taking another look at the fire of the Rider, her horn glowing with a dim golden aura "That's why we didn't want to face it at all; once it charges, it simply doesn't stop. Our guess is that Nightmare tried to use some strange fire that never burns out when making it". "Does any of that matter right now?" Dash landed in front of the group. "With that pain in the flank losing her hold in this place. Maybe this could be our chance to get rid of this plague as well. We need to keep blasting it and make sure it doesn't stand up anymore." She smiles at them with confidence before being startled when the creature dissipated the wall effortlessly with one swing of his spear. "And once again, you are underestimating the situation," AJ scolded her as she takes out a lasso and stands next to her, while Pinkie kept the Rider away using her cannon. "What makes you so sure this time will be any different? That fire wasn't something Nightmare created, and I don't think it will just go out that easily". "You are right, Applejack" Celestia nodded after gasping in discovery, ending her scanning enchantment. "Eliminating the nightmare will not be enough to destroy this creature." "Why are you so sure?" Pinkie asks "Because the nature of his magic comes from my sun!" She explained in alarm. "What?" Everyone looked at her in shock. Allowing the creature to smash Pinkie with the haft of a lance, tossing her into AJ as Dash and Celestia moved out of the way. "Care to explain what you are talking about?" Dash demand urgently. "I would if I could, but honestly, I'm in the dark here too. I don't know why or how, but that magical imprint is identical to mine, that fire comes from me." After a quick scan, Luna gasped and landed next to Celestia with AJ and Pinkie. "By the stars, it's the truth! That is your magic sister, but how…" She stopped when she had a moment in realization, "...The banishment!" "Huh?" Pinkie looked back at the night Princess. "For a thousand years, she moved my moon while I was trapped inside. My magic would still be predominant, but it would be impossible not to leave traces of her own after moving the celestial body for that long. Unfortunately, it appears our nephew unintentionally acquired said traces by accident as well". "That explains why we couldn't keep it down and the sun symbol. We assumed that it was just some sort of mockery." Dash mentioned before been thrown into the air by the base of the spear of the Rider. "Enough, chattering! Just kill me already!" He demanded in desperation as he tried to charge at the princesses again only to be stopped by AJ, who lassos his torso and lashed him to a nearby pillar, buying the group some time. "That will not hold him for long, Princess Celestia. Quickly, you're the expert. How do we extinguish that fire?" "I'm not so sure, if it were a real creature, I would simply need to get close and cancel his magic by touching him with my horn, but this is a nightmare we are talking about, I don't understand how they work." "But I do," Luna replied, reinforcing the lasso with her magic. "And if what our friends are saying is true, then as long as he is here, he is real and vulnerable. I have a plan, but I will need all of your help, and sister, you and I will have to move in unison." "What do you have in mind, Luna?" Celestia said while nodding and falling into place next to her as Luna smiled impishly at her sister before conjuring two flaming swords from thin air. "How rusty is your swordsmareship Tia?" Before Celestia could reply, the ground started to shake again, and the purple mist began to billow up, making the visibility progressively worse, the effects of which were happening all over the castle as Garra and Daga finish off another derrain citizen until they had a hard time distinguishing what is in front of them. "What is going on?" Daga retreated moments before a pitchfork almost impale her. Rarity retaliated by smashing the offending creature to pieces. "Nightmare must be gathering her remaining of strength. She probably figured out that no one was on the third floor, so she dispelled it and is now utilizing that magic here." Fluttershy concluded once they noticed all of the monsters turning to mist as well, giving them a moment's respite. "So, is this it then?" Garra asked after decapitating Gaiscoigne's head off, making it dissipate as well. "We won? Nightmare will stop trying to do something here?" "I doubt that Darling, that brute is extremely paranoid, and Blueblood's body is more than valuable. She wouldn't just leave him exposed so easily. This was just the first wave." Soon they all started to hear moaning in the distance. When looking back, a hunchbacked mare slowly began to advance through the fog heading their way, followed by taller and rickety ponies with veils covering their bodies, showing only their glowing white eyes and carrying long sickles with them. "Is that…the olden pony?" Daga raised an eyebrow, "Nightmare thinks we are six years old now?" "Stay alert! That is not the pony of legend that you know." Fluttershy tells them in alarm, "It's the witch of hemwick!" After closer inspection, the twins' faces turn pale when they saw how that old mare seems to be carrying something in one of her hooves. She had a very unusual cane that resembled a beak. She was also covered from head to hooves in eyeballs, all of which occasionally blinked at different times and darted around furtively. Not only that, but after a grunt and lifting her cane, said witch and her minions dissipated into thin air, yet her moaning and steps could still be heard. "W…where did she go? What is happening?" Garra's fear started to creep in as she took a step back, looking everywhere for any sign of the witch. "Calm down. She just turned translucent. Stay focused, and don't lower your guard," Fluttershy instructed. "She might look fragile, but that witch is resilient. On my signal, everyone strike where I point." "Don't worry, Darlings, we can still do this" Rarity tried to calm down the fearful Garra as she chopped up and crushed one of her rubies before blowing it dust to her, to cover her in an extra layer of defense. Her sister tried her best to remain focused, although she too was starting to tremble internally at the enemy they were about to face. Just a bit longer, this is almost over. I just need to hold the line a little bit longer. She kept repeating to herself, taking occasional glances at the door behind them before gulping and then closing her eyes. As things escalated, the mist in the original dream kept getting worse as the once beautiful landscape became the inside of a purple cloud were visibility next to zero. The mane six copies keep appearing and disappearing into the mist without saying a word chipping away at the group's morale, who gradually lose their patience. "Alright! Enough with all the hiding! Show yourself so that I can kick your flank already, Nightmare!" Dash yelled out, starting to lose her patience only to be answered by her copy, appearing behind her and smirking while pinning her wings to the ground. "Cocky as ever, just rushing in and promising things left and right, always thinking you can do anything in 10 seconds flat." Her copy flew away before Twilight could blast it, as AJ and Blood Moon helped Dash stand up. "Calm down, Rainbow; this is exactly what Nightmare wants. She is using psychological warfare to divide us. We need to stick together," Twilight instructed as they gathered in a circle as eyes started to glow from inside the mist. "Isn't it exhausting Twilight?" This time, her copy appeared from the mist, but it only took a couple of casual steps forward this time. "All that effort, going this far, risking your life, is he worth the risk?" She raised an eyebrow in confusion "What?" Twilight look at her counterpart, confused before shaking her head. "I'm not gonna fall for that. You are just an illusion of Nightmare's". "Of course not, you're too smart for that, but the question lies in how far are you willing to go?" Her copy glares at Twilight. "Or is this just for the kicks? Some thrills from being the hero, is that it!?" She demanded as her body started to morph and transform until she became taller, a darker shade of purple, her wings turn almost black, both tail and mane begin to move like they were made of fire, a dark mist surrounded her cutie mark, horseshoes similar to Nightmare's appeared on her hooves, and a blue light took the shape of glasses surrounding her eyes and cover her now crocked horn as she flashes a toothy grin at her. "How much longer are you willing to be pushed before cracking?" "What in tarnation is that varmint doing now?" AJ raised an eyebrow in confusion at what was happening. "No…it… it's impossible. I never told Blueblood about you. How does Nightmare know about Midnight Sparkle?!" She asks in shock at the monster in front of her, catching the attention of Blood Moon. "Midnight Sparkle? Cousin, you also have a darker half?" "No! It was my clone…I mean, my other me…the Twilight of the other world." She explains in quick succession before shaking her head to calm herself down. "I don't have a dark half." "Is that true?" Midnight tilted her head with a smirk. "Or do you simply want it to be the truth? Take a look, Sparkle! This is where you are heading." "You don't scare me, Nightmare! Your mental tricks are not going to work on me." Twilight replied, full of bravado. "Then, why are you afraid?" Nightmare suddenly whispered in Twilight ear making her scream in alarm and jump into the air, leaving her open for a blast from her copy, sending her flying into the fog. "Twilight!" Dash gave chase while AJ and Blood Moon tried to grab Nightmare only for her to hold both with her claws and ram them into the ground, as the rest were confronted by their copies as well. "As I told you before, brave…yet pointless, did you think my worthless nephew was the only source of fear I could gather power from?" Nightmare smirked before tossing AJ to the side "Do you even have time to goof around?" Copy Dash demanded, "All your life you have been moving back and forth between Element and Wonderbolt, this isn't a game!" She suddenly appeared in her wonder bolt uniform. "THIS is your dream. This is what you wanted all along, are you going to stay there and let them steal it? Your loyalty lies with us, and no one else!" Her figure disappears, but the uniform remained and flew towards Rainbow, entangling itself and tried to force itself onto her. "What is the matter, Dashie, you can't fill the uniform?" Copy Pinkie asked rhetorically while pressing a mic on her face, "I heard of mares loving the uniform, but this is the first time I see the reverse happening." "Hey! That is not funny. You're just being mean and saying bad jokes," Pinkie retorted. "Plus, this isn't the time for jokes either." Her copy went stiff at that "No time for jokes? No time for JOKES?! And you call yourself Pinkie Pie? Every time is the time for jokes, laughter is always welcome, and everyone should laugh all the time!" She demanded that as she dons a purple suit, she paints clown makeup on her face and places a single carnation in her hair as laughter is heard all around them. "Just like all of them, see?" Copy Pinkie pointed to their left, and Pinkie gasped at what she saw. They were now on a stage, and all the ponies in the audience had rictus grins on their faces and tears on their eyes. "All of them happy, and laughing as they should, everyone should be laughing, especially you!" She kept demanding, approaching Pinkie with a deranged smile and pulling a mallet out of her mane. "No dress, no hoof care, barely any makeup, no poise or elegance?!" Copy Rarity listed to Rarity in a rage while launching giant needles at her forcing her to dodge them as she was wearing what could only be described as a mess of different fancy green dresses, making her look like a costly rag doll "Just a brute who revels in violence and mud, I can barely even recognize you, where is your dignity as a lady?! By Celestia, there is a stallion present here! But don't fret; I can make you pretty. I will make everypony pretty again!" She blocks Rarity's way with a series of needles as she rolled her eyes "Please tell me I wasn't like that, "She asked mostly to herself before jumping out of the way from another needle. "Hold on partners. I'm coming!" Applejack recovered and gallops to their rescue when suddenly roots sprung from the ground and latched onto one of her hind legs. "And where in tarnation do you think you are going?" Her copy demanded, turning around, Applejack faced a giant apple tree version of herself. "The farm is not gonna work itself, and you've been wasting more than enough time playing the hero, it time you take your duties seriously," She demanded. The roots start to pull AJ into the ground as if to plant her as she thrashes around, trying to get free from the vines and roots. "AJ, calm down! Remember it's a dream. It will only be real as long as you…" Blood Moon tried to warn her before being tossed in the opposite direction as Nightmare laughed and slowly approach him. "Ah, ha dear, why ruin the surprise when the fun is barely beginning? Especially after I left the best for last." she proclaims with gleeful malice as she slowly turned her attention towards Fluttershy, who was backing away from her copy, which keeps advancing while sporting a glare on her face and horns that started to sprout from her head. "Yes, the most cowardly of the group, with a list of fears so big it makes me wonder what her biggest one could be." "Fluttershy!" Blood Moon rushed towards her, but Nightmare tackled him and teleported the two of them into a deserted hallway with the red Moon shining outside of glass windows "Oh, don't worry, sweetie, I didn't forget about you. I have the perfect little Nightmare..." She tells cryptically before starting to turn into mist "Oh no you don't!" Blood Moon does the same and grabs hold of her before both clouds smash out of the window and into an empty street. "This time, I'll be the one showing you what a nightmare looks like." That comment made the mare laugh uncontrollably. "You think you can scare me? The mare of the Moon? The queen of nightmares? Aren't you just adorable?" Spinning around, she smashes him against a building and into an office were she press her claws against his head. "Too bad, I'm in a bad mood right now." She whispered into his ear with venom in her voice. "You shouldn't have made me so mad." "Right back at you!" With boiling blood, the prince charges his horn. He then engulfed himself in his magic before discharging it all at once in a fiery explosion that sent Nightmare flying before being met by his hoof as he batted her into the ceiling and the wall on the next floor-breaking both. He tries to make a follow-up attack, but Nightmare regained the initiative and grabs his hooves, and both turn into mist and fly at max speed everywhere, destroying everything in their wake on the ever-changing landscape. Blood Moon determined not to let Nightmare out of his sight for not even a second, irking her to no end. "Fine! Do you want to play so much, dear? Let's dance" She gave up on escaping and turns around to meet him as their horns clashed, causing eldrich sparks to fly everywhere, as well as making the entire castle shake and slowly crumble all over the groups. "What is happening?" Daga looks at how ponies' shadows appeared on the wall near them before turning into mist and dashing away before getting distracted by another monster that almost cut her. "The dome is getting unstable, that parasite is done playing safe; she is either furious or is getting desperate. Maybe both." Knight Fluttershy answered, blocking another attack and stab the witch in her stomach before Formal Rarity followed up, smashing the nightmare creature with her mallet laying it out flat, causing its assembled minions to disappear. "Is it over?" Garra commented, panting from the exhaustion before getting surprised when the pair of interpretations started to vanish. "Looks that way for us," Knight Shy sighed in disappointment. "Oh well, it was nice while it lasted." "What is happening to you?" Daga, ask in shock. "Isn't it obvious? We're being called back. The dome is what keeps the dream solid, including us. No dome, no us." "But what will we do if more monsters appear?" "If that happens, it's a good thing that there are still two guards we can count on." Knight shy smiled at them. "Be careful, you two. The Nightmare could still use the castle itself as a monster, so stay alert and hold the fort just a bit longer." "We leave Bluey's safety to you, darlings, ta-ta." Formal Rarity waved at them before the two disappear, leaving the twins alone. "Heh, transforming the castle itself into a monster, please, how would she even do that?" Garra rolled her eyes in disbelief only to soon hear the walls, floor, and roof behind her crack open and move backward before gathering together into a mishmash of stones, pieces of armor, and the head of the statue of Nightmare Moon acting as its head with a functional horn, glaring at the twins. "You had to ask, did you?" Daga looks back at her sister with a deadpan expression. While that happens in the garden, the place was slowly turning into a war zone as the creature keeps charging at the group, each strike resulting in another crater as he started bounding all over the place with remarkable speed making him an elusive target to lock down and rendering their air advantage useless as he used his fire as propulsion to give chase without a significant problem. Not only that, but to make matters worse, the dreams and Celestia's body were starting to fade away, something she noticed when her sword phased through her hooves, and she was unable to pick it up again. "What is happening?" she asks, looking at her hooves only to be knocked prone by the Rider for being distracted and almost impaled, if not for the help of DJ Pinkie, who jumped onto his shoulders and put a set of headphones on his human head before playing music at full volume, making him scream and thrash around trying to take them off to no avail. "Damn it! Not now", Robo Dash exclaimed in frustration, looking at her fading palm before clenching it into a fist and look at the Princess with a glare. "Listen up! The fart's grip on this place is fading, which means that at any moment, the dome in Canterlot will pop with you and the other two waking up". "What? But that would mean..." Celestia eyes wide in realization and looks at Luna "...not only will that leave you alone with the rider, but 2 of the elements will also come back with me!" "Not to mention that the rider be free to go on a rampage," Cowgirl AJ added and tossed away her empty revolvers. "So we better make the next shot count" She reached to her back and pulled out a double-barreled shotgun. "We will open a path, you simply focus on taking him out for good," DJ Pinkie explained, putting her cannon on the max setting. "Do it quickly, that thing regenerates fast," Robo Dash mentions as she nodded to all of her friends. "And you don't have to worry about the elements or me, Sister. Once I reclaim my body, Nightmare's advantage will be gone, and she will return to being nothing more than a bad dream. Just focus on purging your magic from that creature." Luna looks at Celestia as she also prepared to attack. Celestia nods and braces herself for what she needed to do. "Finally, finish me already!" The Rider yelled at them in a rage before rampaging at full gallop. "You got it, partner," Cowgirl AJ says before she and Luna rushed to him. As the Princess locked horns with the horse, it left the human half open for the sheriff close the gap and empty both barrels point-blank, leaving a gaping hole on his chest, revealing an empty husk where there was nothing but the fire inside as she jumped back and began to reload, breaking open the shotgun's action. The Rider screamed before pointing his weapon at her, but she snapped the gun closed and immediately fired from the hip. Striking his shoulder, leaving his arm numb and limp as she smirks before turning into a poof of smoke and vanishing. The Rider jumped back, trying to gain some distance, but it was left exposed to DJ's final strike as she used her sonic cannon on the legs, shattering them with sonic waves before her weapon also started to break. Noticing that, DJ looked at Celestia and gave her a peace sign, "It was fun. Let's meet up again in the future. Bye!" She then rushed to the Rider and hugged his head before exploding, leaving the Rider headless and grounded. "Time for the grand finale, your highnesses…take care" Robo Dash gave them a thumbs up before charging at full speed at the Rider who does the same and managed to run her through with his remaining lance. Instead of showing pain, though, Robo Dash grabbed hold of his weapon. "ok…that was good. My turn!" Robo Dash smirked before opening her chest, revealing a secret canon inside. "Eat this!" She charged all of her body's magic and shot a giant laser that claims half of his torso and his left arms before she expires and vanishes, leaving the Rider in a daze. Not wasting time, Celestia rushed in and checked the Rider, landing right into the hole of his chest where she started to absorb all the fire inside his body before using her horn to split him in half, her body almost gone by that point as the beast became a hollow suit armor and slowly turned to dust being claimed by the wind. "Thank you," He whispered before dissipating completely. Breathing a sigh of relief, the sisters looked to one another before smiling and nodding. "Luna, I leave the rest to you" Celestia stood and gave her sister one final hug her before waking up with Fluttershy and Rarity, who gasp and sit up with a startle. Not a moment later, the three were surrounded by guards and a medical team who start performing eye checks on them with a flashlight, while Luna was left alone in the garden with her body six feet away, ready to be reclaimed. Let end this Nightmare. "Wait," Luna heard the voice of Nightmare right after taking one single step toward her body. She didn't have to turn back to know that behind her was her counterpart, Bluebloods interpretation of her…as Nightmare Moon. A fact that did not anger her, but she wasn't thrilled to view it either. "How can you even be here? If you could have done so from the beginning, then why did you wait until now to appear?" "I was always here, those interpretations were extensions of me, and now that Fluttershy and Rarity are awake, I can use the magic I gave them to be here, but only briefly, so I need to be quick about this." Luna sigh and decided to humor counterpart, turning around to look her in the eyes. "Fine, I will bite. What do you want?" "I couldn't tell you before because I needed all my attention protecting our nephew's mind, but now that there is an opening, I need your help if we want to erase Nightmare for good. And to do that there is a story you and Blueblood need to hear" Nightmare smiled and put her shoulder in Luna's right shoulder. "The untold story of what exactly happened to you in between a thousand years ago." At that revelation, Luna could only utter one single syllable in response to such monumental disclosure. "Huh?" Back in the dreamscape The fights between of Blood Moon and Nightmare kept them flying everywhere as colorful clouds of mist slashing at each other repeatedly, before landing in the metropolitan city were Blood Moon kicked into the side of a building shattering all the glass on it, which then took on a red glow before spinning and targeting Nightmare who does the same with the street below and uses the shattered asphalt to protect herself and destroy the projectiles, which turned into dust. The prince used said dust as cover and used his magic to grab her leg. Once she turns back to sever his magic, he struck. Grinding the glass dust into her eyes, blinding the Nightmare. Nightmare shrieked in pain and held her face leaving her vulnerable to Blood Moon's attack and was not going to let any advantage slip by. Closing in on her and pounding her into the ground, breaking through to the sewers beneath, where she turned into the foam to escape his onslaught before turning into a crocodile. Biting one of the princes' back legs and swimming deeper and deeper into the rancid water, letting the pressure start to crush Blood Moon. He then turned into ice. He froze them both, forcing the two into becoming mist and launch themselves into the night sky, which in turn, became an inverted ocean that reflected the night itself. Once there, Nightmare becomes a great white shark baring her teeth at the prince, who barely dodged her lunge and only to be slapped by her powerful tail, which hit him in the chest like a truck and launched him to the surface where a small boat in the middle of the ocean was as a massive lightning storm was brewed. Slowly recovering his breath, Blood Moon tried to find Nightmare, but the sea was too dark to distinguish anything until she almost bites off his head as she jumps inside the boat and starts to thrash and break it, inching closer to him. Before that happens, Blood Moon jumps into the water and turns into giant swordfish before making a quick turn, and rushes at Nightmare, impaling her chest and swim faster and faster until the water turns into light. They both turn into a comet, shifting back, he made a clone and tried to blow her up. Still, she turns into mist and absorbs the blast before rushing to him and reforming as an anaconda and begins to strangle him while they fall to a grey planet making a crater as they land in the middle of a desert at night. Nightmare kept up the pressure, looming over the prince as she prepares to swallow him whole, if not for him inhaling deeply before he was blowing liquid nitrogen out of his mouth point-blank into her face freezing her entire body and making it brittle enough for him to crack and limp away from the remains, the fatigue and pain starting to show as he knelt trying to recover his breath while holding his right side. All of a sudden, the world started to tremble, and looking back, he saw the remains of Nightmare turn into water and then absorb into the earth before the ground split open, revealing her as a titanic golem rampaging and reshaping the land in her wake as the prince ran away from her and her attempts to stomp him flat. Lifting a mountain in front of him, she cuts off his escape and is ready to smash him when all of a sudden, he also turns into mist, but rather than rushing to her, it spread around the ground, confusing the mare of shadows. "Go ahead, run, and hide. Let me see how far you go." She taunted while looking around the mist. "Who is hiding?" Before appearing as billions of copies of himself, the prince reply, "I'm right here," launching his copies at her heels. He targeted her tendons and quickly brought her down before covering her entire body. "Hey nightmare, have you ever wonder what would it feel if a bomb went off right in your eye?" Blood Moon asked, standing right on her eyes before his body illuminated and exploded right next to it, making her screech in pain as the other copies soon follow suit, slowly chipping away her body and even going so far as to diving inside her wounds to explode from there, until she abandons her armour body and tries to escape by flying away, the clones follow suit. "You annoying pest! The sky belongs to those with wings!" She turns into a mass of birds, who eat all the copies in seconds before going for the real one. "And turbines are the slayer of birds" He invokes a giant wind turbine that makes quick work of the birds as they become nothing but a cloud of feathers before it too explodes with Nightmare roaring and grabbing the prince by the neck and flying at max speed before they reach a castle in the middle of the woods, landing on a familiar rooftop with a hole in it and a looming eclipse on the horizon. "Ah, yes, perfect. Tell me, Blueblood, did you recognize this place?" Rather than answer, he turns into fire, so she lets go of him before jumping backward and then blasts her away from him with magic, followed by a full-speed charge ramming his horn into her chest where he heard her gasp and what it sounds like spit of blood before shooting off multiple arcane bolts into her. Then for good measure, he summon another series of clones to explode on her repeatedly. Conjuring his set of hands, Blood Moon grabs her by the hind legs and destroys the roof with her body diving in and punch her again and again until they find themselves on the ground floor. Still, the prince didn't seem to mind as he keeps on his assault, beating her into a pulp. Seeking to end the fight, and spending every drop of magic he had left to do it. "Blueblood, stop!" Luna's voice froze him and halted his attacks instantly as in front of him was his aunt, badly beaten, and on the verge of tears. "Please…stop, I'm begging you. Didn't you say you wanted to be like me? Why are you attacking me? This was always me, what made Nightmare Moon in the first place, you said you accept me for who I am, was that a lie?" "It…it's a trick…Nightmare damn you!" With a trembling hoof, he tries to resume his assault, but the face of Luna was eroding his resolve and making it impossible to do anything. "I can't do it," He confessed, lowering his hoof and canceling his spell. "That is ok, sweetie, I can," Nightmare confirms with a smirk before turning back into her true form and grabs his face as she flies forward, ramming his head against a stone wall before repeating the process and destroying the said wall. The prince tried to defend himself, but she flies up at maddening speeds and rams him into the ceiling before twirling around and throwing him to the ground. cracking his ribs and leaving him without any air as he holds his chest. "Don't feel bad, honey, you simply didn't have the slightest of chance, your puny punches would never be able even to tickle an alicorn." Using her magic, he was slowly levitated up so that Nightmare could see his face. "It was fun, but now it's time to end it, now hug me!" Groaning in pain, Nightmare start to press him into a firm hug worsening his injuries before lifting into the air at high speed, making the prince light-headed from the lack of oxygen. "Isn't this what you always wanted, nephew?! To fly into the sky like a bird? Aren't you happy about how your merciful aunt will grant you one last wish? Come on, why don't you say anything…? Oh, right, you can't breathe! Let fix that" Once she was way up into the air, Nightmare dove downwards before spinning and ramming the prince against the ground with enough force to make a crater, leaving his body screaming in agony while coughing blood. Turning into his side, and trying to get as much air as possible in between fits of coughs, the prince manages to crawl a couple of inches before his body gave up on him as everything around him turned into a haze, from the corner of his eyes he could make out a blue blur descending from the sky, most likely Nightmare gloating once more at the sorry state his body was in at the moment. Yet all he could hear at the moment was the ringing in his ears. The sensation of being plucked out of the ground and just tossed into darkness as he lost his orientation and center of gravity. At the same time, he kept falling, until the pain and fatigue made it impossible for him to know if he had his eyes open or not, or even if he was still falling or if he already hit the floor and was merely too numb to feel anything anymore "Blue" All of the sudden the voice if his inner child caught his attention as a white light appeared in front of him "Come on Blue, get up, this fight is far from over!" "Kid? But…how? I saw you…" He started only to be stopped by the childs giggling. "It will take more than that to get rid of me, I am as strong as am adorable, and more importantly, if I could brush off her attack, it should be child's play for you to do the same, so why are you letting her get to you that easy?! Come on, snap out it! Like Platinum taught you, you must always keep your chin up no matter what," He instructed, appearing in a semi-translucent form, smiling at the prince. "But…I can barely move, and even if I could, she is…too powerful, I hit her with everything I got, and she brushes it off like was just dust". "Did she now?" The voice of Luna caught his attention, and looking up. He saw a giant humanoid version of Nightmare Moon dressed as a goddess looking down on him while gently holding his battered frame with both hands. Her touch was warm and soothing, letting the prince know that she was his real aunt as a sensation of security started to wash over him and slowly making his pain go away. "Or did she merely trick you into believing that ?" "Auntie," Blueblood looks at her in astonishment. "The night I gave you my powers, I saw a fearless child who would stop at nothing to reclaim his crown, no matter how many times he was brought low. A brave self-made stallion who I would be proud to call my heir. Where did that stallion go?" "But how can I confront her? The second she starts crying with your face, I simply froze. No matter how much I try to convince myself into believing she isn't, that snake is a part of you". "No, even that things origins are nothing more than a lie, she told herself," Nightmare was quick to answer with a slightly angry tone, confusing the prince. "The story only told how it took my sister a thousand years to bring me back, it never said what happened in all that time, and I can assure you, rather than being a masterful, if a rather long, plan, Twilight, and her friends were ultimately just the one who succeeded" "What?" Both the prince and his inner child looked at Nightmare in surprise as she merely nods "All of those ideas, all the different plans my sister concocted, she truly never lost hope in bringing me back, but unlike you, she never understood how I felt, and our combined stubbornness was the cause in how each attempt failed and birthed that parasite." She clenched her teeth in anger and closed her eyes "A mass of grudges and residual magic squirming around MY moon, using MY face and desecrating MY goals as she pleases thinking she is superior to anyone else and…!" She was getting angrier and angrier until she felt something on her cheek and opening in surprise. He sees Blueblood's inner child patting her face while looking at her in concern. softening her expression and using her other hand to pet his head, making him giggle. "And the worst sin of all, hurting the ones that I love." She looks back at Blueblood with a smile, "My sweet little star, my heir of the night. Do you think of me like a worm?" "Never!" "Then there is nothing for you to fear, my boy, all of her supposed powers always belonged to you and you alone. Now stand up and defend your title. Let everyone know the real Blood Moon. After all, this is your dream, isn't it?" She booped him on the nose, making his body tingle before she and his inner child started to disappear slowly, leaving him back to were Nightmare left him at the bottom of a very long and dark hole. "What better place is there to show what you want to be?" "Aunt Moon…thank you", Blood Moon whispered before wiping a tear from his eye and then chuckling, lowering his head, not entirely sure if she was still there. "Even if it isn't real, even if I will be just playing pretend, that is still my dream and my ultimate goal." Suddenly, wings sprung from his back, and his body turns into an anthropomorphic version of himself as his armor extended to accommodate his new form. Manifesting pauldrons and armored leather pants, as well as a red cape. His eyes glow as his aura alone starts to crumble the walls of the hole from the pressure, "Is to be an alicorn!" The waves got stronger until the hole collapsed, while Blood Moon punched his way out and flew into the night sky, turning into a red comet. Near him, Nightmare watched the display and wiped a tear from her eye in pride. "Go my star, go and show her why you are the night prince," She whispered before turning around and igniting her hand, "While I make sure this doesn't repeat." After a short while, the prince finally caught up to her, reaching the rest of his friends and starting to turn into mist. "NIGHTMARE!" Turning around in shock, she barely had time to comprehend what was happening before Blood Moon punched her square in the face making her crash into a field away from them as Blood Moon used his magic to dispel the mist everywhere both in the dream the real world. "Ok, no more mist…that is good, right?" Garra questioned, unsure, until she spots the giant grin on her twin, looking at a glow behind them. "It's better than good. It's him!" She exclaims. Looking back, her sister notices what was happening when the still sleeping figure of Blueblood stood up. At the same time, Witch Twilight turns into pure light and engulfs his body turning him into his alter ego, while his aura seems to be dispelling all the mist in a radius around him. "The Night Prince is here!" "What?!" Nightmare looks at him in a mix of anger and shock. "No, no, no! That's impossible!" She rushes at him full speed making their fist collide, generating another shockwave and make the ground tremble. "You were at death door! This isn't happening. It illogical!" "News flash parasite! Since when does a dream need logic?" Blood Moon replied with a smirk before punching her chest so hard that she is sent flying and into a portal he conjured behind her, making her fall into a loop of two outlets place too close together, giving the prince chance to connect with everyone by telepathy. "Everyone listen to me. I'm linking you all to my mind, whatever you think now goes, just imagine yourself winning, and the nightmares will falter. You can do it, show them the might of the elements of harmony and the royal guard" He instructed while erecting a shield in time to protect himself from Nightmare's blast, who was utterly livid as she kept firing while slowly walking towards him. "I will not be upstaged by a cheap copy! I'm Nightmare Moon now. This is MY time to shine, MINE! "Like I told you" In a flash, he appeared next to her and grabbed her neck. "The only cheap copy here is you!" He lifts off with her and rams her into the moon, as everyone gets inspired by his words and fight back. "I'm both a wonder bolt and an element of harmony!" Dash proclaims as her friends, all wearing the uniform, appear and help her tear the monster to pieces. "Even if you can be me, I know more than one friend that would always bring me back." Twilight said with confidence as she with another Twilight with glasses and an orange unicorn with a red and yellow mane and tail as well as glowing white wings joined forces and destroyed Midnight Twilight with a single blast. "Work without play will drive anyone insane, of course, I have hobbies, and there is nothing wrong with lazing around from time to time." AJ proclaimed, pulling a hammer and chisel and turn her copy into a sculpture in record time. "You are just a superstitious, cowardly clown," Pinkie says in a gravely voice before putting on a blue mask, purple suit, purple hat, and blue cape, which she used to tie her insane counterpart. "And I'm the laugh!" "The boss is watching sis, we better bring our A-game," Garra mentions with a smirk. "Just try to keep up, old-timer," Daga repled with the same face, before both lifted off into the beast, dodging its blasts of magic, before trying to strike with its arms only for it end up stuck into a wall by ice before been cut to ribbons by the twins. It tried using the other arm once, but their combined kick made it punch itself in the face cracking the horn before being frozen over too. They keep cutting until a red glowing stone ejects from him and forms four little legs made of debris trying to escape, making some progress until a dagger lodged in it, receiving enough voltage to make it shatter. The second it happened, the entire building revert to the ruins it was before, leaving just a semi-transparent dome behind, and the roots of the elements on top of it. "Looks like Nightmare is on her last legs" Garra looks at the sky, noticing the eclipse starting to end too. "Welp, I don't think I will ever forget this night." "Indeed," Luna mentioned descending from the sky after putting the Moon in its place again. "You two did a magnificent job serving the crown. My nephew was wise in picking you up personally." "You honor us, your highness" Garra gives her a courteous bow until she notices her sister was missing. Looking back, Garra got scared that Daga was ignoring Luna and instead was walking inside the throne room, where she stood next to Blood Moon with a giant grin. "He is even cooler up close!" "DAGA!" She was about to reprimand her when Luna stopped her. "Let her have her moment. I say you both more than earned it," She mentioned with a grin. Invoking and fusing Fluttershy and Rarity fears, Nightmare created a giant rag doll pony with two heads made of fabrics, giant needles, and horns everywhere to assist her and force Blood Moon to fight them both as she got more and more desperate. "You can't defeat me. I'm more than just a mere dream. I'm the downfall of rulers! I'm the Nightmare itself! I made sure of that, as long as ponies have fears in their dreams, I will never be truly gone!" Their combined attacks start to land on Blood Moon as needles find their target and begin to chip away his defenses. "If you truly are the nightmare itself…" He charges his fist as his eyes glowing with more intensity "…then I will become what nightmares fear!" He proclaimed before hitting the Nightmare monster so hard that a giant hole, its legs, and half of one face disappeared, leaving behind a truly startled Nightmare as she was forced back from the recoil alone. Exploiting the momentum, Blood Moon went on the offensive and grabs her arm before jumps and spins in place just to ram her against the floor, making a crater. Nightmare blocks his follow up stop, and they both turn into mist as they race inside the Moon through its cave systems. Nightmare trying to run away in fear, not knowing how Blood Moon was guiding her straight to where he wanted, as he reappears in the only exit she has left. "For my family, for my friends, and for my dreams…let the night be peaceful and beautiful once more!" The second Nightmare appeared. She was startled with his appearance as he forced her to turn solid. with a spell at the ready in the palm of his hand where a pure black orb, which he floats right into her injured side in her chest. "Feel the pain you caused my aunt, parasite! Quince Mill Pesadillas!" With one final yell, he extends his arm. Receiving the blast at point-blank, Nightmare was suddenly engulfed in pure darkness until not only her but absolutely everything in the path of the spell was reduced to nothing as it left a perfectly clean circle shape mark in its wake before everything started to fade away, including the prince. Foretelling the end of the dream, making him sigh in relief. The pride of aunt Luna, the paranoia of aunt Celestia, and their combined stubbornness, what a terrifying combo. Blood moon closed his eyes for a second and took a deep breath before he started to hear voices in the distance. When opening again, he saw that everything was blurry and slowly gained focus until he saw his soldiers attending the elements in a similar situation. "Are you ok, sir?" Daga asks him to noticing and approaching him as well. "I am, thanks, just a bit tired" He then notices something peculiar when he felt something on his chest and looking at his right hoof "and confused, the dome is gone, and I didn't see the moon; how come I'm still Blood Moon?" "Because this time, I granted you my magic directly." Luna replied calmly. "And from now on to make sure this will never happen again, my night will be all that you will ever need to change back and forth. At least as long as the night lasts", She proclaims before slowly approaching him with some uncertainty, "That is, of course, if you are willing to let me teach you." The prince smiled and went to hug her, relief to be with his real aunt. "Nothing would make me happier, Auntie." After the initial surprise, Luna smiled and returns the gesture, "Thank you." "What happened to the Nightmare, Princess Luna?" Twilight asked, confused, "Is she gone?" "Yeah, that Quanci Mall thingy Blue did was awesome and all, but do you think it finished the job?" Dash asked, hovering next to him "Wait, you all saw it?" Blood Moon asked, surprised as they all nod. "Twilight boosted our connection," Pinkie poked his and her head simultaneously before pressing their cheeks together. "We saw what you saw, and in exchange, we gave you a bit of our power. Why did you, though, manage to blow up that Nightmare so easily and still have enough juice for that blast later?" She explained with a giggle before separating. "To answer your question, don't worry about her. She is not coming back", Luna stated with an unusually cold smile, confusing the group before turning around. "Now let go everypony, my sister is most likely waiting for our return in Ponyville with the rest of the elements" She starts to march away, and after sharing some glances, everyone decided to shrug and just follow her along. "Say Twilight. I also managed to glean a little about what happened to you. Tell me, how did you manage to avoid the side effects of becoming a pony of shadows?" He looks at her with a raised eyebrow catching her off guard "Side effects? What side effects?" "Well, I mean, you don't have fangs, and your fur isn't…" At that moment, the entire group becomes giant fluffy balls in front of him, yet none seem to have fangs, minus the twins who already had them "…never mind", Blood Moon says, trying his hardest to contain his laughter. "Yeah! We are the mane fluffs now!" Pinkie jumps up and down in excitement. - - - - - - - - Somewhere in the darkest and deepest parts of the subconscious Nightmare lands on her face into a steel floor where a spotlight is the only thing in the room as she looks around. "I…I'm still alive?" She slowly starts to laugh in victory. "I…I survived! That pathetic nephew couldn't finish me off. I'm invincible!" "No" Suddenly, a childish voice alerted her, and looking back, she saw Blueblood's inner child; next to the Nightmare interpretation, both regarded her with neutral expressions. "It will simply be a slow burn." "Do you think I'm scared, kid? Do your worst." "Oh, don't worry, we will…eventually" Suddenly, she hears something growling, and from the shadows, the silhouette of a pack of giant wolves starts to appear and slowly approach her. Their teeth were red hot, their saliva was corrosive acid, and their eyes were hollow except for their leader who stood twice their size and looked like Blueblood, but his fur was greyer, his eyes were bloodshot, and his horn was cracked. "But, my friends here have the first turn." Slowly backing away, Nightmare jumped to the side when she felt something bite her claw. Looking behind, she saw a little filly with a yellow raincoat that she couldn't distinguish her face next to a humanoid knight clad in armor holding another filly in his arms as more and more fillies start to appear behind and around him holding their stomach and keeping their eyes on her. "Do you recognize them, Nightmare? They were your first victims" Gulping, she tries to fly away, but her wings weren't responding as the creatures keep advancing at her, and the light bulb was starting to flicker. Before the lights die, she spots a vent and rushes toward it, making her escape, not seeing how Moon and the kid were smirking at her action. "Welcome to the first one."