//------------------------------//
// Prison 
// Story: The Nightmare in the Moon 
// by Omega Dracomancer 
//------------------------------//

When I opened my eyes, the first thing I noticed was that I had been moved. "Lightning?" I asked quietly. I looked around. He wasn't here. I was in a cell, with a cold chain wrapped around my leg. I sat up, a moderate pain coming from my chest.

My hoodie had been removed and placed neatly on the floor, my headphones on top. There was a bandage on my chest, my head, and my arm. The arm had a cast on it. I must've broken that, too. Guess I just didn't notice it. There were numerous bandages around my body, and there was a tube running into my arm from a bag that hung above my head. Must be painkiller. Alright.

'Nightmare? Are you there? Hello? C'mon, answer me. Where the hell are you?'

I couldn't sense anything from her, but she was there. It was like she was asleep. Maybe the medicine was keeping her out.

"He's in here." I heard from outside. The door opened.

I looked at who walked in. It was none other than the ruler of the changelings, Queen Chrysalis.

"Are you alright?" she asked me with a cold indifference.

"I... I guess I am. Who patched me up?"

"One of the doctors. Along with your friend."

"Was he alright?"

"He'll be fine. Your name is Phil, isn't it?"

"Y-yeah. I know who you are, too. I'm honored to be in your presence, Queen Chrysalis. I would bow if I were able."

"At least your mannerisms are favorable. Your friend acted very hostile towards me."

"I apologize for his behavior, your majesty. I trust that you understand why it would be difficult for a pony to remain calm in your presence."

"But you're not a pony, are you? You're human."

I nodded.

"You're allied with the ponies, though. You're a personal friend to Princess Celestia. Why aren't you hostile towards me, as well?"

"Well... the incident with the royal wedding hasn't affected me personally. I'm not going to make enemies where friends could be made in their stead."

"Friends?"

"That's right, Your Highness. I'd like to become your friend."

"Why?"

"I'd never want somepony like you as an enemy."

"But somepony like Nightmare Moon is perfectly fine? You seem fine with her as an enemy."

"Well, your motives are different from hers. She wants to create an endless night all across Equestria. But you... You're completely different. You wanted love. Nightmare Moon is more of a threat to Equestria."

"We're threatening as well."

"You're too cute to be threatening."

"Uh... thanks?"

I looked at my chest. "So... what happened to me?"

"Two broken ribs, and a broken arm."

"And my friend?"

"Nothing major. What were you doing in that cave?"

"We were treasure hunting, looking for something called the Ancient Gemstone."

"I've searched for it myself. It's a myth."

"Oh... oh well, I guess. One good thing came from this, though. I got to meet you. You're not evil at all, are you? You're a sweetie."

"I... am?"

"Well... you don't seem to be mean at all. If anything, you seem kind."

"It was never my intention to be kind."

"Can we go home, or are we staying here?"

"Both you and your friend are remaining here. Besides, you're too injured to move."

"Yeah, I guess. Could you let Lightning come here? He's probably freaking out right now. It'd be better if we were together."

"I don't think that's a good idea."

"Well it's not like anything's gonna happen. He's just one pony, and I'm not fit for action."

"Alright, I'll bring him here."

She left, returning with him after a few minutes.

"Phil!" He rushed to my cell. "Are you alright, dude?" He had a few bandages on him.

"Yeah, I think I am. Or, I will be."

She opened the cell door. "In, pony."

"C'mon, Lightning. Get in here."

"What?"

"You thought you were taking off? That's stupid."

He stepped into the cell, and it was closed behind him.

"So what's going on?" he asked.

"I... can't go home yet. I'm too injured."

"What happened to you?"

"I'm broken all over." I said, "Hey Queen Chrysalis... can you let him go home?"

"What? I'm not going without you."

"I won't let him go, either."

"C'mon... Keeping him here is useless. It's not like he knows where this place is. Just cover his eyes and drop him off outside of a city. You gotta get home, buddy. Fluttershy's gonna be worried about you."

"I... I can't leave without you."

"Too bad. Your Highness, you need to let him go. If somepony doesn't come back soon, they'll start looking for us. We were being followed all the way to the cave we came from by two guards. They already know where we are. He's gotta tell them that I'm safe."

"But you're not safe. You're beat up pretty bad and you'll still be trapped here." he said.

"I still don't want to allow him to leave."

"Chrysalis, can... can I call you Chrysalis?"

"You may not."

"Sorry. You need to let him go. Lightning won't say anything. Will you?"

"What? Not say anything? I can't just let them keep you here without anypony knowing where you are!"

"Trust me on this, buddy. Everything'll work out. Just keep your mouth shut about this place."

"A... a-alrght. You always seem to know what you're doing. I won't say anything."

"Promise?"

"Yeah."

"If all I have is your word, then you're not leaving."

"You won't just have his word, you'll have a hostage. A broken hostage that can't escape for at least a few weeks."

"You have a point." She kept silent for a few moments. "Very well, the prisoner may leave." She gestured to a guard.

I held my hoof out towards him, and he bumped his against it.

"Good luck, man."

I smiled at him. "See ya later, Lightning."

"Yeah... see ya."

The guard opened the door led him away.

"Now it's just you."

"Yeah. Don't worry. I won't give you any trouble. On the contrary, actually... I'd like to help you."

"Help? With what?"

"The ponies. Like I said before, your motives were different from Nightmare Moon's motives. If I can... I'd like to try to persuade you to befriend the ponies instead of attacking them again."

"Befriending the ponies?" she asked in disbelief.

"Yeah. You don't need to attack them for their love. At the most, all you would need to do is ask. Even if you wanted their land or cities, you could just take them peacefully. If there aren't any hostilities, then you'll be free to come and go as you please."

"You're crazy."

"Says you, and several psychological experts."

"What makes you think that I would want to befriend the ponies?"

"No offense intended, but you're sure as hell not gonna take them over by force. The Princesses, Shining Armor, the Elements of Harmony, and Discord. They made him an ally, so why can't they make you one, too? You have nothing to lose at the moment."

I could see it in her eyes that she was considering it. "We'll discuss this another time. As for now, you'll remain here until you are able to move again."

I nodded. "I couldn't ask for anything more."

"In the meantime..." She gestured to a guard. "Fetch me Angelus." It's Latin for angel, if you didn't already catch it. I can't name things.

"At once, your majesty!" He quickly left the room.

"Have fun." she said with a dark tone to her voice as she disappeared out the door.

After a few minutes had passed, the door slammed open, and made me jump. I let out a groan as I agitated my wounds.

I looked up to see a changeling enter the room. She had a set of armor equipped.

She stared directly at me through the bars.

"Hello, ma'am."

"Hello... ape."

I paused for a few moments. "I'll give you that."

"I'm your guard, now. Keep quiet and sit still, and we won't have any problems. Get me?"

I gave her a quick nod. She grabbed a chair and sat on it, facing me. She watched me closely.

I returned her gaze. She was important, she took her job seriously, Chrysalis specifically asked for her, and her eyes...

I made a guess that she was the captain, but didn't ask. She said to keep quiet. Didn't matter.

We stared at each other for a long while. I started getting bored.

I glanced at my sweater. If I tried to grab it I would hurt myself. I couldn't use magic at all.

"C-can I ask a favor of you?" I said.

"What do you want?"

I gestured towards my hoodie. "The headphones on top of that. And the device in the right pocket. Could you put them on me?"

"Absolutely not."

"Please? I'll... I'll do something for you."

"Oh yeah? Like what?"

"I... I don't know. Just... something... sometime... I'll owe you a favor."

"A favor? I could ask you for anything I desire?"

"Y-yeah, I guess so. It's gonna have to wait until later though, because... Broken body and all. Just give me the... the things."

She opened the cell door and grabbed the headphones. She placed them on my head, and they slipped right off.

She tried again. I raised my hoof to adjust them and accidentally brushed against her. She violently pulled away.

"Thanks. Now... the other thing. In the pocket."

I grabbed the cord as she rummaged through it.

She gave it to me, and I hooked it up.

"Sweet, thanks."

I closed my eyes and listened to the music. B-e-a-utiful.

Two songs later, I felt something soft touch my chest. It was very light, and didn't hurt. I opened my eyes to see my guard touching my chest, fixated on it.

'What... the hell is she doing? She better not be trying to hurt me.'

She turned her head, and placed it against my chest. I saw her mouth move, but couldn't hear anything because of the headphones.

I was too lazy to move them. It felt kinda nice, actually. Her head was warm pressed against me like this.

She pulled back, and finally noticed me watching her. A blush covered her face, then she got angry. She pushed against my neck with a hoof and barked something at me. I just gave her a nervous nod, unable to hear anything she said.

She walked back out of the cell, locking it up, and she sat back in her chair, a light blush still showing on her face.

If she had pushed just a few inches lower, I'd be in severe pain right now.

'That... was weird. Whoa... realization. Really lucky I'm on painkillers right now. That could've been both inappropriate and embarrassing. Nightmare Moon, get your lazy plot out of bed!'

Speaking of bed, I realized that I had gotten tired. Just sitting here is really exhausting for some reason.

I put my good hoof on my bed and slowly lowered myself to my side. I turned off the music. I didn't bring the charger with me, and it didn't last long enough. I had to stretch it. I'm gonna go crazy here.

I glanced at her one more time before going to sleep.

I was staring at Angelus again. She didn't move much. Sometimes Chrysalis stopped by, but rarely said anything. A nurse came by every once in a while, too. I had no idea how long I was in here.

Suddenly, everything went silent. I looked around confused, before finally realizing what happened.

"No." I looked at my music player. Dead. "Mother fuck..." I said to myself. I almost tossed it away, but couldn't risk it breaking. I had healed enough so that it didn't hurt when I put it onto my sweater. Now what?

I stared at her again. I met her eyes. She glanced away. She seemed different somehow.

"Angelus, I'm bored..."

"So what?"

"Find me something to do."

"I'm not your servant."

"Come on..."

"Quit whining."

"Please?"

"No."

"Alright."

I laid down again. I wasn't just bored, I was trapped.

Time went by slowly. It seemed like days before anything happened. The only thing I could hear was the sound of Angelus breathing.

The door opened, completely surprising me.

"Your Majesty!" I said happily, getting up.

"You seem quite happy to see me."

I nodded.

"I'm only here to check on you."

"I'm fine, but we need to talk about something."

"Is that so? Angelus, you may leave."

"Thank you, Your Highness." She left the room.

"I can leave now." I said to her, "I'm healthy enough, aren't I?"

"Of course you are. We just aren't going to let you."

"Yeah... That's not the only thing I wanted to talk about."

"You wanted me to try to befriend the ponies. I've given it a lot of thought. I'm not going to promise you anything."

"That's... it's a start. But... they aren't just going to let you walk into their cities, are they?"

"You trust me, but they don't."

"Yeah."

"I don't think I trust you, though."

"Fair enough. If that's the case, then... can I give you a suggestion?"

"If you wish."

"You can disguise yourself as a pony, and come with me. You could get a firsthand look at them. Even before you decide for sure what you want to do, you could observe them. And even if you don't want to be friends, then you could use this opportunity to spy on them."

"I suppose that you have a point."

"You can even bring Angelus or something. I mean, if you get found out, then it'd be really easy to escape. The ponies aren't very dangerous to you, except maybe Celestia, but you can just avoid her."

"Not Princess Luna?"

I shrugged. "If I ask, I'm sure Luna will listen to me. She trusts me more than Celestia does. I don't have anything against you. I'm not going to say anything. You're already good enough to fool Celestia on your own. If you come with me, then you could do whatever you wanted. You know you can't just keep me here."

"Oh? Why is that?"

"'Cause Twilight or Celestia or somepony else is gonna come find me eventually. There's just no avoiding that. Ponies don't leave their friends like this, and considering your track record, they're gonna find me."

"If you're trying to threaten me, you'll have to try better."

"It wasn't a threat. It was a warning. I don't care who ya are, the ponies can't just be ignored. They got all that friendship stuff. It's like magic or something." Toplel. "Yeah, all that power of friendship will get me out of here."

"It sounds like you don't believe in the power of friendship all that much."

"I don't, really. I mean, it's great having friends and all, but back home, there was no power of friendship, no magical forces protecting you at the last second just because you believe in your friends. That's... That's why I wanted to be friends with you. I wanted to make as many of you as happy as I could so I wouldn't have to be lonely if I didn't want to. I could always read with Twilight, or work with Applejack, or play with Pinkie... Chrysalis, I miss them."

"I told you not to call me that."

I gritted my teeth. "Yes... ma'am..."

I stood up and walked to the bars. "At least let me go. Let me go back to my friends. I just want to go back to them."

"Are your friends that important to you?"

"Yeah. More than anything."

"Show me how important."

I stared at the ground, and slowly got onto my knees. I stared to her hooves, and uttered a simple, "Please."

"So, you really do care for them. In that case... the answer is no."

I tapped my hoof against the ground.

"Are you angry? Do you hate me?"

I tried to lunge at her through the bars. She took a step back as I shouted at her. A small smile was on her face, mocking me.

I felt the tube pull out of my arm, and heard a loud metallic snap, then everything went black.

I woke up in a strange position. I was standing up, but something was off. I felt coldness against my arms and legs. I looked down them, and saw that I was strapped to the wall with thick, metal bands, with one around my stomach. I was aching all over again, and my chest was in pain.

'Phil.'

'Nightmare? Welcome back.'

'I should be saying that to you.'

'What... what happened?'

'You... snapped, for lack of a better explanation. I felt my power being drained by something, and woke up to find you outside of a cell. You broke out, literally. There was a band of metal around your leg, a broken chain coming from it, and two bars were bent far enough away from each other that you could've easily slipped through.'

'I ruined our chances of getting them to be our ally. Sorry.'

'We can discuss this when we get home.'

She casted a spell, and the bands were unlocked. I got up, and grabbed my things from the corner.

'What led to that?'

I told her what had happened.

'That's... cruel.' I could feel her emotions change a little. Compassion? Pity?

She unlocked the door to the cell.

I felt her reflexively cast a spell as one was fired right at me. Angelus began to attack us from down the hallway.

I felt nothing but hated towards her now. I slowly walked straight at her.

I could see her take a step backwards as she realized that her spells were useless.

A look of fierce determination spread across her face, and she let out a battle cry as she charged at me.

She was lifted into the air with a spell, and tossed into a cell, which Nightmare locked as we walked passed her.

She was shouting, but I wasn't listening.

Guards started to flood the hall, but Nightmare easily removed them.

I left the dungeon into the castle.

'Do you know how to get out of here?'

'No. But do you know who does?'

'Queen Chrysalis. Lets pay her a visit.'

She directed me down hallway after hallway, staircase after staircase, through guard after guard, until we finally made it to her bedchamber, where she was now.

We slammed the doors open, and saw her jump.

"How... how did you escape?!"

'Nightmare... wait. I want to do something.'

'As you wish.'

"Queen Chrysalis, I've escaped from your prison, defeated your guards, and have broken into your private bedchambers. Alone, and with one arm, no less. I'll give you one last chance to redeem yourself before I beat you senseless."

"Beat me? Ha!"

She tried a spell against me, but it failed.

"What the..."

"I'm willing to be a forgiving person, Chrysalis."

She fired another spell at me, but it simply glanced off Nightmare's barrier.

"You're not more powerful than I am!"

She was charging one more spell.

I walked towards her.

'I may not be able to block this. She's quite powerful.'

A few seconds later, she fired at me with an evil giggle escaping her lips.

I cast my own spell, teleporting me behind her attack, and right in front of her.

She looked down at me, almost in fear.

I stared up at her. "Forget it, Chrysalis. If you're going to act this way, then you don't deserve to befriend the ponies. Even before I got here, I wanted you to be my friend. And you know what? Even after how you treated me, and how you're acting now, my offer still stands."

"Wh-what?"

"You're going to come with me, whether you like it or not. I will drag you from this castle myself if I have to."

"B-but... how? How can you..."

"No matter how evil you are, how cruel you are, how heartless you are... it's nothing to me. Nothing. I am by far the most evil thing that you will ever meet. There's nothing that you, or anypony else, can say or do that will change that. We're going. Now."

She hesitated. Under any other circumstances, I would just be a bother to her at most. Just a pest. She had a glint of real fear in her eyes. She gave me a small nod, and finally, at long last, I was able to go back home.