//------------------------------//
// The Prince Gets Two Bad Choices 
// Story: The Prince of Ponyville 
// by Kavonde 
//------------------------------//

	Blueblood woke to the all-too-familiar sight of a subterranean chamber lit by green fire.  For once, he wasn't lying in the center of a ritual circle--small miracles, he supposed--but seemed, instead, to have been locked inside a barred prison cell, barely two lengths across on either side.  Aside from the lump of straw he lay on and a small bucket for less princely leavings, it was starkly empty.

He put his hooves underneath him and started to stand, but noticed his legs seemed heavier than usual.  Inspecting them, he found that they had each been clamped with thick, iron bands carved with some sort of runic script that, no doubt, read "ha-ha, sucker," in the ancient tongue.  He tried to will power into his horn, but found nothing but a dull ache where his magic should have been.

"Horseapples," he observed succinctly.  He tried pushing the manacles off his hooves, but they didn't budge.  Oddly, they didn't seem to be fully tight; they just hovered around his legs, barely brushing the fur.  Well, wonderful.  At least I won't chafe.

"Ah, your highness.  I see you've awoken."

He looked up.  A dull green unicorn, his hide more of a snot yellow in the emerald light of the torches, was walking calmly towards him.  He was clad in a black ritual robe, as he had in the memory Blueblood had last seen him in, though he wore the hood down and a dark business suit beneath.  "Ah, Bank Ledger, the Accountant of Doom.  Kind of you to stop by."

"Droll," Ledger said blandly, stopping in front of the cell.  "Are you well, your highness?"

Blueblood quirked his head.  Odd question.  "Aside from being stolen from my friends and locked in a dungeon, I suppose I've been worse."

"Your friends?  My lord, I do believe they were trying to kill you."

"Not... all of them.  Just Cadance.  And I'm sure she would have listened to reason eventually."

"Oh, yes.  Quite reasonable, that one."  Ledger's expression remained absolutely level.  "And which of your friends, do you suppose, would have intervened to stop her?"

"Well... "  Blueblood trailed off.  Shining certainly wouldn't have.  Rainbow Dash and the others might have, eventually, but not until it was almost too late.  Zecora would have tried to help, he thought, but what could she have done against an enraged alicorn?  "That's beside the point," he finished lamely.

"As you say, my lord."

"Okay, stop.  Why do you keep calling me that?"

Ledger stared at him blankly.  "Why, you are to be our king, my lord.  You shall rule Equestria, side-by-side with the Queen of Nightmares."

"I think you might have missed a memo.  I'm not working with you."

"That is, of course, your royal perogative," Ledger allowed.  "Though I think you shall find ruling Equestria much easier with our help."

"I don't want to rule Equestria!"

"Oh."  A small frown appeared on the unicorn's heretofore expressionless face.  "That is disappointing."

"My sincerest apologies."

Ledger arched an eyebrow at him.  A moment later, his horn began to glow.  Blueblood instinctively recoiled back, expecting some sort of trap or punishment, but instead the accountant merely produced a key and used it to open the cell door.

He regarded the surprised prince mildly as he replaced the key in his jacket pocket.  "I would otherwise have happily unlocked your manacles, my lord, but until you've been convinced to join us, I fear a certain level of security is in order."

Blueblood just stared at him.

"My lord, we want you to join us willingly.  Coercing you with threats or violence would only lead to resentment.  Our plans for Equestria are too important to be disrupted by petty squabbles."

The accountant turned and began walking away, not even looking back over his shoulder.  "You have, of course, free run of our headquarters, my lord.  I'd be happy to give you a tour, though, should you wish."

Blueblood stared after him, considering his options.  One the one hoof, he knew, vaguely, where he was: somewhere beneath Canterlot, likely even beneath the crystal caves that rested beneath the palace's floors.  If he could just find a way out and up, he might be able to escape and warn Aunt Celestia what was going on.  On the other hoof... with these manacles, he was once again helpless, weak old Blueblood, hardly able to lift a rock without hurting himself.  And if he acted like a good little colt, Ledger might even show him the way out.

"So what is this place, exactly?" he asked as he caught up with the accountant a few strides later.

"Well, my lord, we call it the Temple of the Eclipse, though that's a more recent title.  Originally, this complex was built in secret by Princess Luna as a hidden refuge.  When she revealed herself as Nightmare Moon, she claimed it as a base of operations and expanded it to house many of those loyal to her.  Its subterranean nature and the warding spells she placed upon it successfully frustrated her sister's attempts to find her for many years."

Blueblood nodded.  Indeed, the walls were etched with simple illustrations of Luna, or rather Nightmare Moon, crushing her sister and leading her armies to victory over the defenders of Equestria.  In her followers' eyes, she looked regal, brave, and heroic.  Celestia, meanwhile, seemed almost mad with power and bloodlust.  One etching even showed her cackling over a huddled mass of terrified foals.

"Creepy," he noted aloud.

Ledger followed his gaze and nodded.  "There is much the public does not know of Celestia's... proclivities."

"I'm sure," he deadpanned.  "And, what, did Luna just forget about it?"

"Our lady assures us that its memory has been stripped from her mind."

"Convenient.  So... how did you all find this place?  And how did an accountant for the Bureau of Infrastructure end up joining a cult?"

"We are not a cult, my lord," Ledger corrected him mildly.  "We are merely dedicated to the ascension of the Queen of Nightmares."

"Sorry."

"No apologies necessary, highness."  Blueblood doubted that, but Ledger's stoic face showed no hint of offense.  "References to this place were found in an ancient journal kept by one of our lady's loyal subjects.  I painstakingly translated the work and was among the first to set hoof here in nearly a millenia.  Here, we found more writings, these penned by Nightmare Moon herself.  Once we discovered the true history of the War of the Sisters, we swore to see the rightful ruler of Equestria placed upon the throne, her wicked sister banished forevermore.  Ah, here we are."

The carved tunnel they were walking through suddenly opened up into a vast, underground lake, as pitch black as the midnight sky.  A stone walkway curved along the walls of the cavern, jutting inward at intervals to a stalagmite that rose from the center of the lake, sheared in half and converted into a small, opulent lounge.  Delicate candelabras and plush, velvet sofas filled the patio nearly to bursting, some turned to face eachother and others looking out over the inky blackness.  Three creatures were currently seated there: a huge, gray minotaur, his hide etched with jagged tattoos; a griffon with dark red plumage and sharp, intelligent eyes; and an enormously fat creature Blueblood recognized as being some sort of camel.  All three wore black robes, loose and open for comfort, and seemed to be chatting fairly amicably among themselves.  They looked up as he and Ledger approached; the fat camel raised a chalice in salute.

"Friends of yours?" he asked the accountant.

"Yes," he agreed, heading towards the center platform.  "And worthwhile allies.  This great chamber was once where Princess Luna came to reflect and gather her thoughts.  Now, it is where we gather to discuss our plans.  Prince Blueblood, allow me to introduce Chieftan Xorrat of the Stormhoof Clan, Bloodwing of the Skysunder griffons, and Vizier Addawser of Camelon."

Each nodded to Blueblood as he or she was named, and he nodded back.  He had seen each of them already, in the memory Nightmare Moon had shown him of the ritual that cursed him, though two decades had done much to age the griffon and the camel, if not the towering minotaur.  "I'm surprised that your species' have involved themselves in this."

"We all stand to benefit," Bloodwing explained, taking a sip from her wine glass.

"How so?"

She gestured languidly to her companions.  "Xorrat and his tribe have lived on the edge of the civilized world for centuries.  Their life is one of constant struggle, to find food, to find shelter, to survive the depredations of their rival clans.  The few who choose to leave are considered freaks and monsters.  In return for their support, they will be given some of the verdant lands of southern Equestria, and given the chance to earn positions of prestige and power in a new, metropolitan society."

Addawser cleared his throat with a series of short, phlegmy coughs.  "My homeland relies largely on trade, for ours is a harsh and unforgiving land as well.  However, since an unfortunate conflict of interests nearly a century ago, ponies have restricted trade with us, claiming 'moral outrage' at some of our entirely necessary practices.  Nightmare Moon will not only open the trade routes once again, she will grant us legal protection in Equestria's coastal cities, ensuring that our traditions are not interfered with."

"As for us," Bloodwing continued, pointing at herself, "we will reclaim the ore-rich mountains of northwestern Equestria.  They were ours, long ago, and many of our most treasured artifacts were forged from iron we pulled out of those very slopes.  We will have them returned to us, and we will have an oath that ponies will never intrude on our borders again."

Blueblood frowned.  "So the minotaurs want the chance to abandon centuries of tribal heritage, the camels want to bring their slaves here, and the griffons are just being pissy about an old grudge.  True crusaders for justice, you three."

Their eyes narrowed.  The minotaur snorted and began to stand, but Ledger calmly placed a restraining hoof on his chest.  "Please, forgive his highness.  He is still being somewhat uncooperative."

"Oh, I'm being more than 'somewhat.'  I'm honestly rather sick of every two-bit villain in Equestria thinking I'm an idiot.  You're obviously all motivated by your own selfish interests, aside from Ledger the Accountant of Doom, here, who may just be flat-out crazy.  If you actually wanted to make positive changes in the way Equestria works, or wanted to address some old injustice, why wouldn't you just talk to Celestia?!  She maintains diplomatic channels with nearly every sentient species in the world, and she'd certainly be willing to listen, at least!

"Honestly, why did you think for even a second that I would side with you, you brainless twits?!  Sure, my own sister tried to kill me, but that hardly means I'm ready to grow out a handlebar moustache and-"

Something like an electric jolt struck him at the base of the skull and spread through his entire body.  He screamed and  fell to the floor, convulsing uncontrollably as he tried to huddle into a ball.  Waves of pain washed over him, each one stronger and more prolonged, until suddenly the agony vanished and Blueblood was left lying there, his eyes red with tears and his breath coming in ragged gasps.

"I apologize for that, your majesty," Ledger said in that same, mild monotone as always.  "However, if you can't be civil, I'm afraid you're going to have to go back in your cell."

"H-how?" Blueblood stammered, trying and failing to stand.

"My lord, perhaps you do not fully appreciate the situation.  We would very much like your cooperation.  We do not, however, require it.  After all, you are our creation.  You will join us willingly, or we will break your mind and make you our slave.  Please consider this as you recuperate."





Prison cells.  Blueblood had managed to forget how much he hated them.  Granted, he'd never been stuck in a dank, wretched pit like the characters in Twilight's Equestrinox books.  In fact, both of the ones he'd inhabited had been rather pleasant.  True, the dungeons of Arctis Castle were rather cold and damp, but he'd been provided with a brazier of hot coals that he'd kept simmering with his fire spell.  And the Temple of the Eclipse, while a lightless, subterranean pit lit by unnatural green torches, was at least clean.  No, the main problem with prison cells was that they were so damnably boring.

And this time, he didn't even have any icicles to watch.

He sighed.  So much for being a "good little colt." He'd lost his temper, and the illusion that he was more a guest than a captive had disappeared.  Ledger, the boring old bastard, had means of disabling him rather painfully.  Now that he thought about it, the manacles probably would have kept him from leaving anyway.  And so here he sat, an unknown depth beneath what was, if Chrysalis had been telling the truth, Canterlot.  He couldn't run.  He couldn't fight.  He couldn't even mouth off.  All he could do was sit and wait to be broken and turned into a monster.

Well, he could hold out.  Cadance and the rest would need a week or so to return to Canterlot and warn Celestia of what had happened.  At that point, she would take whatever steps were necessary to protect Equestria from... well, him.  Surely, she had some sort of contingency in mind to deal with him, should his curse ever overwhelm his sanity.  All he had to do until then was not let them win.  Easy enough.

"I'm afraid my servants grow pressed for time, my love," a smooth, low voice called from the shadows.  "They will take rather extreme measures, if need be."

"Nightmare Moon," Blueblood said with a sigh.  "Or, what?  Nightmare Twilight?"

"Nightmare Dusk."  Suddenly, she was standing in the cell with him, regarding him with coolly amused eyes.  She wore a metal cap, stained a purple almost as dark as her mane, and had adopted a matching breastplate marked with a pair of circles, the dark one almost completely covering the light.  "Do you approve, my love?  One of my servants suggested it.  I thought it a rather clever bit of wordplay."

"I suppose it's more menacing than 'Nightmare Sparkle.'"

"Indeed."  She turned away from him, apparently examining the hallway outside, and used the opportunity to stretch languidly.  She rolled her neck, her shoulders, her hips, turning sidelong to watch Blueblood with half-lidded eyes.  He... had to admit.  It was quite a show.  "You like this new form, I think."

"Yes, well, so did the previous owner.  And I'm surprised she hasn't kicked you out yet."

She smiled.  "Oh, she would very much like to.  Honestly, I wish I'd had more time to corrupt her as I did Luna, rather than simply brute-forcing my way into her mind.  She still struggles with me every day... though she also grows weaker and more terrified with each failure.  Eventually, she will surrender completely."

"You're underestimating the most powerful unicorn sorceress alive."

"Hardly!" Nightmare scoffed.  "I underestimated her once, and she thwarted millenia of carefully laid plans.  No, I've learned from my mistakes, my love."

He grunted a vague acknowledgement, not eager to dwell on the subject of his... friend's imprisonment within her own mind.  He changed the topic.  "Why are you here?"

"I simply thought you'd appreciate a visit from your betrothed."

"I'll grant that you're a more pleasant sight than Bank Ledger, but if it's all the same, I'd rather go back to staring at the wall."

She laughed.  "Are you sure there aren't... other things you'd be interested in?"  She shifted her stance just a bit, jutting out the curve of her flank.

Blueblood sighed and covered his eyes.  "Go away, please."

"Such a disappointment.  But there are... other things we could do, you and I."  She smirked knowingly at his confused look.  "Are you hungry, my love?"

"Are you taking lunch orders?  Because could really go for a hibiscus on rye. "

"Not physical hunger.  Magical hunger.  The hunger for power."  Her grin widened as she pressed a hoof to Blueblood's forehead, just below his horn.  "You've tasted it, my love.  True power.  I know you want more."

"I don't know, that hibiscus on rye sounds pretty good, too... "

Nightmare's hoof connected with the side of his head, and Blueblood tumbled across the cell to slam heavily into the stone wall.  She hit him again, a low kick to the ribs that launched him into the air and back down several feet away.  Her horn glowed purple, and suddenly he was thrown again, slamming face-first into the iron bars of the door and tipping over the contents of his waste bucket.

"You are weak!" she bellowed, her voice taking on a thunderous echo that sent his head spinning even faster.  "You are helpless!  You are pathetic!  Without your power, you are less than a foal, you are a waste of space, a hindrance to others!  With it, you can fight back!  You can confront your enemies!  You can change the world!  You have spent your entire life as a worthless fool, held in check by the meddling of your adopted aunt, but now you know the taste of true strength!  You hunger for it!  You thirst for it!  Do not deny this!"

Blueblood whimpered and covered his ears, trying and failing to hide from Nightmare's furious cacophony.  Fury rose in his heart.  He didn't have to take this anymore!  He didn't have to sit here and be beaten while somepony else lorded their power over him!  He was better than this, he was a god!

He blinked in surprise at the sudden tide of volatile emotion, and abruptly, it vanished.  Where the hay did that come from?

"Do you see, my love?" Nightmare whispered at his ear.  "You know you don't need to suffer these indignations any further.  If only you had your power... your strength.  If only we would remove these pesky little manacles... "

"You're right.  If I could, I'd strangle you right here and now, you crazed harpy."

She giggled, the sound taking on a rather inviting tone.  "Oh, yes.  You could do anything you wanted to me, I think."

"I... damn it!" he snarled, rising to his hooves and wheeling on her.  "What the hay are you trying to do?!  Make me so pissed off and horny that I forget that you're evil?!  Once again, for the umpteenth time, I am not that stupid!"

Nightmare smiled wickedly.  "I know you're not.  But I think we both know something else: that there are only two ways for you to leave this place.  Either you will be tortured into joining us, physically and magically, in the most creative means we can devise, or you can try to trick us into releasing your bonds, letting you reclaim your strength, and then escape.  And as brave as you might think you've become, my love, a few hours under Tiktak's loving attention will strip away every last semblance of courage."

He gulped.  He remembered the vision of the psychotic little creature he had seen, its mad eyes blazing in the darkness.

"So why suffer, my love?  Why let that beautiful face be scarred and cut away?  Take my offer, and I can guarantee that your captivity will be much more... enjoyable."

"And what is your offer?"

"Let me feed you."

"What?"

She grinned, apparently enjoying his surprise.  "Let me feed you, my love.  Let me sate your hunger with suffering, quench your thirst with despair.  You have tasted only a fraction of the delights that await you once you embrace your power.  Let me show you more."

Blueblood closed his eyes.  Celestia, yes, the sensation of feeding off his friends' arguments was... was incredible.  He'd never felt so good in all his life.  The idea that there could be more, could be better, it made every nerve in his body sing in longing.  He wanted it.  He wanted it more than anything he'd ever known before.

"I'll take my chances with the monkey," he whispered.  There was no bravado in his voice.  He couldn't manage it.

"Was hoping pony would say that," giggled a mad little voice from the darkness.  High up, at the corner of his cell, twin eyes that blazed like fire opened and stared at him with malevolent glee.

"Very well," Nightmare sighed.  "When you change your mind, my love, let Tiktak know.  Lord Tiktakthonga, please try not to scar his face or his chest too badly.  I'm rather fond of those."

"I promise only to try," the lemur cackled.  He leapt from his perch and landed beside the horrified prince.  He'd aged considerably since Blueblood's vision; patches of fur were missing from his face and his body, and his eyes had sunken somewhat into his wrinkly face, making him look even more insane and terrifying.  His tail ducked into the satchel he wore on his back and returned a moment later holding a long, gleaming scalpel.  He advanced on the cowering prince, giggling quietly in anticipation.

Blueblood turned his desperate, pleading eyes to Nightmare Dusk's.  She stared back at him impassively.  And then, she was gone.

"We be good friends, pony," Tiktak cackled, his blade dancing back and forth behind him.  "Good, good friends... "