//------------------------------// // The Nightmare's Revenge // Story: Legion's LoL one-shots // by Legion222 //------------------------------// The Nightmare's Revenge Dreamscape Among the bright, multicolored bubbles of light, sound, and feeling that represented the dreams of the ponies of Equestria, a dark blue Alicorn drifted around. Her star-filled, ethereal mane flowed about her as she peered into the dreams surrounding her. Princess Luna was performing her nightly duty of policing the dreams of her subjects. It was her duty to ensure that all was peaceful and calm, banishing nightmares whenever they occurred to allow her little ponies a good night's rest. Despite her hoof in things being completely unknown to the common pony, Princess Luna found it all worthwhile just to be able to see her subjects happy during her night. This night was a night just like any other. The few scary monsters and dark forests that popped up here and there were easily transformed into cute puppies and sunny fields with but a flicker of thought and magic. As she was wont to do, she had saved the dreamers of Ponyville for last, ensuring that she had all the time she could need to visit with Twilight Sparkle and the other ponies she called friends. As she finally approached her last stop for the night, the dream of Twilight herself, she perceived that something was wrong. Instead of the usual bright, rainbow colors, Twilight's dream bubble was a mixture of dark grey and blood red. Emanating from the bubble were the screams of a pony frightened out of her mind, and a feeling of pure terror. Never before had Luna seen such a nightmare. She abandoned her casual drifting through the dreamscape in favor of speedy flight, arriving at the dream bubble in mere moments. Peering through the cloudy bubble's surface, she took a moment to observe the nightmare, needing to know exactly what she was dealing with. A lavender Unicorn mare galloped through the dark mists as fast as she could, glancing back over her shoulder repeatedly, as though checking for signs of a pursuer. Eventually, she slowed to a stop, panting and looking around with fear in her lavender eyes. She brushed a few strands of her pink-streaked, purple mane out of her face as her racing heart continued to pound, despite the fact that she was no longer sprinting. She appeared quite winded, and seemed to have only stopped to catch her breath. Princess Luna frowned in confusion. Clearly, Twilight was frightened, but of what? Surely she had to be running from something; perhaps Discord, or a Changeling, or even a failed exam! Ponies simply did not run in blind fear, without a definite target to run from! Seeking some kind of explanation, Luna slipped into the bubble, entering the dream. Twilight turned every which way, ears twitching as she searched for some kind of movement in the dark. She was unaware of the Night Princess beside her, for Luna's magic hid her from dreamers until she chose to reveal herself. Suddenly, Twilight whipped around, staring fearfully at a specific patch of darkness. Luna was quite confused for a moment, until she, too, noticed the difference. A large patch of darkness, about as tall and wide as Luna herself, was creeping forward. Once it had approached close enough to be distinguished, Twilight began curling up into a fetal position, whimpering. Luna studied the object of her friend's terror: it stood upright, with its chest and shoulders covered with armor as black as fear itself. It also sported red, curved blades attached to the outer edge of its arms, which ended in hands that each had five wicked claws. Its lower body consisted of a tail of shadow that hung from the bottom of the armor, hovering below and behind the main body of the creature. Its head was a small cloud of shadow that stuck up out of the top of its armored breastplate, with a face that was little more than a black void with two almost triangular holes that leaked an eerie, pale light. Its physical appearance alone was quite unsettling, even to the hardened Night Princess herself, but that paled in comparison to the fear-inducing aura that seemed to flow from the shadow creature; as if it were composed of the combined essence of every single thing that had ever scared a living creature Well, Luna thought, That's quite enough of that. Her horn lit up with a dark blue glow and her eyes closed in concentration as her magic altered the dream, changing the nightmare as she had all the others before. Her horn ceased its glowing at the completion of the spell, and she opened her eyes to see- Everything exactly the same as before, except for the fact that the shadow creature's ghostly gaze was no longer centered on Twilight, but on Luna. Her mind took a moment to confirm that it was, in fact, seeing what it thought it was seeing. It then began whirling through a thousand questions at once, before settling on the two that were most important at the moment. Why didn't the spell change the dream? And how is it looking right at me!? While she had, on extremely rare occasions, failed to change dreams in the past, the fact remained that no part of any dream should have been able to detect her presence unless she allowed it to. Before she could even attempt to come up with a reasonable explanation for what should be entirely impossible, she heard a voice. A deep, echoing voice that sent shivers down her spine. "Dreamwalker..." Next to her, Luna noticed Twilight attempting the impossible task of curling up into an even smaller ball, trying to hide herself. Shaking off the momentary loss of composure that had come from her failed spell and the creature’s voice, Luna stepped forward boldly, standing between the nightmarish creature and the frightened Twilight. "I know not what thou art, creature," Luna declared, lowering her head to point her horn directly at the shadow, "but I will not allow you to continue frightening my friend." At this, the creature halted its creeping advance. A tense silence ensued as the two stared at each other, only to be broken at the shadow's response. Adopting a more threatening stance, it spoke: "I don't care if you allow it, Dreamwalker. Her kind imprisoned me for years, and they will all die." "Imprisoned you? Nothing like you has ever been seen in Equestria! How could Twilight have done you any harm, creature?" Luna was surprised at its claim, and even more so at the ease with which it had proclaimed its death sentence on those that had 'imprisoned' it. "Magicians are all the same," the shadow retorted, "and will all share the same fate." The creature lowered itself into a fighting position, blades at the ready. "If you wish to harm any of my little ponies, then you will have to go through me, first," she declared, horn lighting up as she pawed at the ground. "Gladly," came the dark reply, underlaid with a grim chuckle. Several tense moments passed as they studied one another, looking for weaknesses. Luna's cold, calculating glare was distracted, however, by a whimper coming from the lavender Unicorn still curled up behind her, eyes shut tight as she willed the nightmare away. This was the distraction that the shadow creature needed, and Luna turned back around in time to wince before a clawed hand of pure shadow struck her, passing through her and dissipating. When she opened her eyes again, the creature was considerably closer to her, moving rapidly across a trail of darkness left by the ghost hand. It was upon her in seconds, and she leaped to the side to avoid its downward strike. Turning back, Luna fired off a volley of weak magic bolts, trying to put the creature on the defensive. Instead of blocking or dodging the bolts, it spun quickly in a circle, blades held out for a horizontal slash that struck the bolts and caused them to dissipate harmlessly. Luna continued her rapid-fire assault, but the shadow dodged and weaved through the hail of bolts, slicing through those that it could not dodge until it was practically right on top of her. Instead of attacking her with its blades, however, the creature extended both of its arms towards her, red tendrils of energy shooting out towards Luna's head. They connected, and she felt her strength draining. Then, Luna saw the dream begin to fade away... She stood in a large, stone room with a vaulted cieling. The full moon was visible through the stained-glass window off to her left, which depicted her and her sister's victory over the draconequus Discord. Behind her were two large and intricately carved doors, standing opposite two magestic thrones, one a bright white marble, the other a black obsidian. And there, lying on her side right in front of her, struggling to breathe with her broken ribs and wincing as every movement wracked her broken body with pain, was her sister, Celestia. Her normally pristine white coat was covered in dirt and speckled with blood. No, Luna thought, looking upon her beaten sister. Celestia's usual calm and even expression was gone, replaced with a clear sense of betrayal, her pleading eyes pointed straight at Luna herself, begging for mercy that would not come from the dark Alicorn. No, it cannot be. This is not right! Then, Luna heard a voice, one issuing forth from her own mouth. But, it was not her voice. At least, not anymore. "Dost thou see it now, Celestia?" spoke Nightmare Moon. "Thou art weak, and undeserving of the love and praise of our subjects." Celestia, clearly on her last vestiges of strength, raised her head ever so slightly from the ground. At first, the only sounds she made were pants and soft groans, but then, with clear difficulty, she spoke: "Luna... Sister, please... Cease this madness..." Scoffing at Celestia's plea, Nightmare Moon lowered her head, horn glowing as she prepared to finish the Princess of the Sun. "There is no more Luna," she said softly, drawing closer as she spoke. "There is only Nightmare Moon. And from this moment on, Dear Sister, the night... Will last..." She was right by Celestia's face, now. She leaned in, and whispered one last word in the defeated Princess's ear: "Forever." Drawing back, her horn flared up as she charged one final blast, one which would end her sister and secure for herself all the love and adoration of her subjects, provided a bit of time for them to get used to the dark, of course. NO! Luna's mind screamed. This is not right! This is not what happened! NOOOO!!! A flash of dark magic, which seemed to suck all light out of the room, was ignored by the internally weeping Luna, who was too distraught at what she had witnessed to pay any attention to her surroundings. Luna felt the sting of a blade slicing into her side, and she jerked away from it, wheeling around to face the shadow creature, whose blades now carried a dark red sheen along the edges. Looking around in confusion, she found herself back in the dark world of Twilight's nightmare. Wha- What? But I was just- and Nightmare Moon! And Celestia! It- it was all an illusion! A nightmare within a nightmare! This was that creature's doing! She focused her glare on the shadow, but was forced to quickly dodge to the side once more as it brought its right blade towards her in an uppercut. As she leapt, she bacame painfully aware of the wounds that had been inflicted upon her during her hallucination. Several large gashes adorned her body, making movement a strenuous activity at best. She nearly collapsed as a wave of pain washed over her, but she blocked it out and fired a light spell at the shadow, hoping to find some way to harm it. The creature raised its arms, crossing them in front of its chest in a defensive pose, before it became shrouded in darkness so thick, it seemed tangible. The light struck the shadow cloak, which dissipated to reveal the creature, completely unharmed by the spell. Immediately, it charged her once again, lashing out with greater speed than ever before. Though Luna dodged many of its quick slashes, she also took a few more blows: cuts of various sizes now covered her body in many different places. Narrowly dodging a diagonal strike intended for her neck, Luna quickly charged up her magic and teleported a short distance away, hoping for a moment to catch her breath and come up with a plan. Unfortunately, the now opposition-free creature had other plans. "Do you see now, Dreamwalker? You are no match for me. Nothing can stop the revenge of the Eternal Nightmare." Dismissing Luna as defeated, the shadow turned back to the reason it was in this dream to begin with: the little lavender ball of fur, flesh, and magic that cowered in the darkness, a fair distance from where the fight had ended up. At the words of the self-proclamed Eternal Nightmare, something stirred deep within Princess Luna. "Nightmare," she whispered. And she remembered. Jealousy. Anger. The fear in the gazes of the few little ponies brave enough to make eye contact with the black Alicorn. And, worst of all, the perverse pleasure she felt as she saw her own sister in pain. Celestia, gazing up at her, utterly defeated, with nothing left but a silent plea for mercy. No more, Luna's closed eyes snapped open, the fire of determination rekindled within her. No more pain. No more suffering. No more Nightmares. Luna teleported to stand once more between Twilight and the Nightmare. "Match or no match," she proclaimed forcefully, "you still have to go through me, first!" "You fleshbags never learn..." Luna could almost see the cruel, twisted smile that would have adorned the Nightmare's face, had it had a mouth. "Just the way I like it..." "Darkness..." The word, though clearly in the shadow creature's voice, had no discernible source: it was as though it had come from both everywhere and nowhere at once. At the same time, Luna found that she could no longer see further than maybe six feet in any direction through the impenetrable darkness that suddenly consumed the dream. Wary of an ambush in the sudden dark, Luna began pulling up a shield around herself and Twilight, but was unable to complete it before the creature slammed into her, sending her flying back and leaving her sprawled out on the ground. Light returned to the dream world, and Luna saw the Nightmare turn back towards Twilight, blades raised as it moved in for the kill. The lavender Unicorn had not budged an inch since the fight had started, but now slowly uncurled from her fetal position, staring up at the face of her doom with tears in her helpless eyes. There was nothing that could stop this monster from utterly destroying her consciousness, leaving nothing but a madmare for the waking world to see. Nothing, that is, except for the dark blue horn that suddenly spouted from the Nightmare's chest. Behind the shadow's back, Luna stood on shaky legs as she impaled the creature. "We..." Luna was panting with the difficulty of moving. "We are not finished... You and I... Have a score... To settle..." The creature's body dissipated into whisps of smoky shadow, which rushed away to reform it a short distance behind Luna. "As much as I enjoy it when the fleshbags try to fight back, this is becoming rather irritating. Let's end this quickly so I can move on to the next worthless magician, already." It was clearly quite annoyed at the constant distractions from its goal, so much so that it failed to notice Luna's horn glowing as she charged a spell. It lunged forward and swung at the motionless Alicorn with both blades, only to have its target dissipate into pure moonlight just before it struck. Wheeling about, it spotted Luna, standing behind it a fair distance with her horn pointing right at him. A ghostly shadow hand erupted from the creature and flew towards Luna, who once again dissipated just before impact. Then, it saw two Lunas, both standing to his left in identical positions, heads lowered, glowing horns pointed and death-glares at full blast. It leapt at them, spinning around with blades outstretched to strike both Lunas, who both dissipated once more. Frustrated, the shadow lashed out at nothing, blades whizzing through the air. Whipping around, it scanned the darkness for its prey. "Come out, come out wherever you are, Dreamwalker... We haven't got all night, you know..." Just then, a powerful blast of magic struck the creature from behind, sending it flying forward before landing hard on the ground. "As you wish, Nightmare." Luna said cooly, standing over the creature with her head held high, looking down on it with pure antipathy. She had managed to throw in a healing spell during her little illusion trick, and was once again standing tall and regal. The creature was quick to rise, and dashed at Luna, swinging both blades at her head in a downward strike. Luna dodge-rolled to her left, taking advantage of the shadow's dropped guard to hit it in the face with a quick magic blast. It retaliated by again forming the red tendrils of pure nightmare in its palms, but they were deflected by a quick spell shield from Luna. Backing away after its failed attack, the Nightmare tried to flank the Night Princess, only to catch a hoof to the face for its troubles. The blow knocked it back, perhaps a bit farther than it should have. It was an indicator of just how much punishment it had taken that it was struggling to rise again. Luna approached the downed Nightmare, not even the tiniest bit of pity showing in her eyes as she studied her friend's former tormentor. Wordlessly, she began charging the nightmare-dispelling spell that had failed her earlier. She knew that even the "Eternal Nightmare" was in no condition to resit it. The shadow's face lifted, its pale, ghostly eyes making contact with her merciless gaze. It seemed to accept its fate, but had one last thing to say. Dropping its gaze, it spoke weakly: "You may have won this time, Dreamwalker, but this is not the last you will see of Nocturne," locking eyes with her once more, it gave its parting words into a bright flash of light, the rushing sound of the spell drowning them out to all but itself and Luna. Princess Luna stood by Twilight Sparkle's bedside, silently watching over her as she slept. The Nightmare, which had called itself Nocturne, had been driven out of her dream and had not returned. Princess Luna confirmed this fact one last time as the Sun began to peek through the window behind her, before turning around, unfurling her wings, and taking off through said window, heading back to Canterlot to sleep the day away. "Pleasant dreams... Princess..."