//------------------------------//
// Finale 
// Story: Music of the Night 
// by Aegis Shield 
//------------------------------//

Music of the Night Part 11: Finale

Rainbow Dash awoke with somepony weeping over her. She moaned, and her caretaker gave a start. It was Fluttershy. Turning her head weakly, she looked up at the bleary-eyed mare. “Oh Rainbow Dash!” she flung her arms around her and squeezed tight. Dashie became aware that her stilts and costume were gone, but how had she ended up on the floor? “I was afraid— I was afraid she might have—” Fluttershy squeezed even harder, bawling.

“Whoa-whoa-whoa, easy on the waterworks, Fluttershy. What happened?” Rainbow Dash sat up, shaking her head quickly. She peered around. There was a big hole in the middle of the stage, and the theatre seats were all empty. The place looked mostly intact, aside from the massive hole in the ground.

“It’s Nightmare Moon! She snatched up Cleff, blew a hole in the floor and then vanished into thin air! Everyone is running around looking for them, even Princess Celestia.” Fluttershy gestured to the patrolling solar stallions in the upper boxes of the auditorium, peering about like even a flake of dust might be important. The buttery mare whimpered, steadying Rainbow Dash when she tried to stand. “Easy now, you were hit with such strong magic, you might be--!” on cue the cyan mare flopped over again, disoriented. “Yes, like that.” Fluttershy said gently.

“I thought you guys were gonna grab her or something!” Rainbow complained while the world in her eyes spun. “That was the plan, right? Lure her out and then stop her from taking Cleff? But, she got him anyway?”

“We jumped onto the stage to challenge her.” Fluttershy said, lowering her head shamefully. “But the Elements of Harmony only work if you’ve got all six…” she trailed off, absentmindedly stroking Rainbow’s mane while she tried to stand again.

“—And I was on the floor backstage, got it.” Rainbow harrumphed a little, embarrassed and angry at the same time. Her hooves made bicycle motions for a bit, wings flapping a few times until she was upright again. The world spun slower, and she blinked rapidly. “What about Princess Celestia?”

“Nightmare Moon grabbed Cleff and vanished before she could do anything. I’ve never seen her move that fast.” Fluttershy said meekly, leaning back into the strands of her mane a little. There was a touch of color on her cheeks. “Are you sure you’re okay, Rainbow Dash?” she tried to be supportive as the proud mare struggled to her quaking hooves.

“Yeah yeah, I’m fine!” she said, walking shakily forward. She didn’t have the coordination to fly yet, but the fuzziness around her mind was wearing off slowly. “I’ll have this dizziness beat in ten seconds fl—” she crashed face-first into the floor in front of herself after that, front hooves having stutter-stepped a little. “Ow. My face.” She mumbled into the wooden floor. Fluttershy sighed sympathetically. “Where’d you say the others were again?”

“They split up to look for Nightmare Moon and Cleff.” said Fluttershy gently. Using a mound of rope from the stage area she propped Rainbow Dash up so at least her vision would be right-side up. The blue mare smiled thankfully, still quivering a little as the magicks slowly wore off. “I can only imagine where Nightmare Moon dragged that poor stallion, or how Rarity must be feeling now!” the butter-colored Pegasus whimpered sadly, wilting.

Elsewhere…

Cleff was struggling hard against his captor, whimpering as his hooves dragged the cold stone stairs. They’d been going downward for ages, and he could no longer keep up with Nightmare Moon’s rushing. Panting and tired from the opera, he distressed and yelped when she turned a sharp corner and kept pulling him ever downward into a blackness he dared not fathom.

Nightmare Moon held him sharply with her wing, angry and spitting as her fangs grew just a bit longer in her transformation. Almost completely monster now, she roared just below the tone of the Royal Canterlot Voice:

Down once more to the dungeons of my black despair!
Down we plunge to the prison of my dark!
Down that path into darkness deeper than NIGHT!

Cleff could hear her lighting torches on sconces as they went, for each gave a growling woosh of magic and a blast of heat. If he could have seen them, he would’ve known the flames were an unnatural greenish color. He struggled against her, hooves flailing about as the dark goddess kept pulling him mercilessly along. She suddenly jolted to a stop, rounding on him with an angry snarl. Seizing his shoulder she slammed him forcefully against the wall. He cried out on impact, but she went on despite it:

Why do you ask was I bound and chained on that cold and dismal place?
Not for any mortal sin but the wickedness of my selfish aberrant face!

Cleff yelped when she continued to drag him along and down some ramps, then more stairs, then another spiraling ramp. She spoke of course of her exile to the moon. What a horrible scar that must’ve left on her mind and heart, he knew. Now it was all being brought to the forefront, with he as the recipient of her angry cries. All the audience had to do was get a good look at her, and they’d panicked like frightened school fillies. It was a small wonder, Cleff suddenly realized, that she’d fallen in love with him. He could not see her and make such fearful judgements.

I was hunted down by Celestia,
Then met with hatred everywhere,
There were no kind words from anypony,
No compassion anywhere, oh Cleff!

Cleff’s hooves found familiar plush carpet, and he knew they’d come to the secret underground place once more. The smell of parchment and the drip of water told him so. But, for now all he could gleam was the panting mare of the night and her upset ramblings. She seized him, almost knocking a desk over in the process. “Why?” she panted to him. “Why, Cleff?! Why expose us to the audience like that? You’ve ruined everything!” he yelped when she shoved him powerfully over onto a smaller platform. “I grow tired of playing all these games and competing with a mere mortal like the unicorn Rarity!” she reared up and slammed her hooves down, shaking the cavern. Cleff staggered, and then there was silence. The whir of powerful magics in the air snatched at him, pulling off his beautiful opera garb until he was naked. “I am the goddess of the night! It is not too much to ask to merely have a stallion all to myself and I choose YOU, Cleff!” one of her words sent his mane violently flapping as the Royal Canterlot Voice echoed about the cave. “You will be mine! My consort of the night, no matter what anypony else does!”

Cleff was pulled into the air, and about him formed a new oddity. Small, slender plates of ceremonial armor clanked into place on his body. They form-fitted, making him look sleek… dark… handsome. The crescent moon of royalty concealed his cutie mark, marking her as his own (not very different from her twin stallion guards). His black glasses gleamed, turning to a more slender version of themselves. A flowing, sparkling cape exploded from his collar, draping over him. “C—consort of the night?” he whispered, his voice quivering. Cleff knew that there would be nopony to save him this time. Not Princess Celestia. Not anypony from the opera house. Not Rarity. He was all alone in the deep, cavernous dark. Screwing up his courage, the opera pony squared his shoulders and finally stood up for himself!

Have you gorged yourself at last in your lust for fear?!
Am I now to be prey to your lust for flank?!

Nightmare Moon hesitated for a moment as she set him back on his hooves. She towered over him, but her fang-filled smile was wide. Bits of her saliva dripped down to the floor, hissing like potent acid and sending the scent of sulfur into the air. Her wings flapped open, a powerful display of royal authority and winged strength. Leaning down to his eye-level, though he could not see her, she hissed her response:

That fate which condemns me to wallow in fear,
Has also denied me the joys of the flank.
This face of horrors has poisoned our love!
This face which earned Equestria’s fear and loathing,
This dark, my own, its only scrap of clothing…

She turned tender for a moment, reaching out with a massive hoof to tenderly stroke his handsome face. Surely her stallion could understand why she hid in the dark? Anypony who looked upon her would seize up in fear and never give her the time of night. None of them ever gave her the chance, until dear Cleff looked upon her with eyes unseeing. Could he not understand how very important he was, the object of a goddess’ love?! Angrily, she turned about, finding a slender silver circlet on a table. Rushing back to him she thrust it onto his head around his ears. It chafed hard.

Pity comes too late!
Turn around and face your fate!
And eternity of THIS! Before your eyes…

The darkness was consuming Nightmare Moon and her beautiful black coat was turning hard and almost scaly. Her fangs were turning longer, hooking, and dripping with bright green acid. Her temper growing worse and worse, she could think only of having Cleff to herself and destroying that wretched unicorn Rarity. Nopony could stand in the way of a goddess and her prize, Nopony! Whinnying with anger and bottled lust, she reared up and slammed the ground again to scare him. Acid dripped to the floor, hissing clouds of white smoke as it did so. Cleff flinched, but stood his ground. His back knees quivered, but he tried to get through to her regardless. Rearing up slowly, he put his arms about her to plead and have her see reason.

This haunted face holds no horrors for me now,
It’s in your soul that the true distortions lie—

There was a sound of hooves coming down the tunnel. Nightmare Moon was about to touch her muzzle slowly to Cleff’s, but it tore her attention away. The white stallion winced, for he already knew who was coming. As though on cue, none other than Rarity emerged into the cavern! All of the dark goddess’ fangs were suddenly on display, a grand and wicked smile of amusement. “My my, Cleff, I think we have a guest!” she slowly pushed him back to all fours, walking past him and flaring her wings aggressively. “It takes more than mere courage to descend into such darkness, dear mare!” she spat, glaring at Rarity with all the chill of a thousand full moons.

“Rarity!” Cleff said, rushing forward a few steps and tripping right over a wayward stool. He spilled over himself, his awkward armor clanking loudly. Being consort of the night made it hard to move as well as he usually did, even compared to the stiff ball garb Rarity had made! Grunting to his feet he perked his ears, straining to hear anything from his beloved.

“Let. Cleff. Go!” Rarity said, teeth clenched. “Everyone is looking for you, Nightmare Moon! Do you really think you can just snatch him and get away with it?!” She splish-splashed through the cave waters until she came upon a little island to make her stand. She threw her chest out, rearing a bit. Nightmare Moon jeered. “Let him go!” she demanded again.

“I hoped to see you again before I took Cleff away into the night with me.” Nightmare Moon started walking sideways, a strafing motion meant to show off one’s peak physical form and warn away the opponent. The pale unicorn would not budge, only stood there and panted from all the ramps and stairs she’d taken to get down there. “And now here you are. Wonderful.” She lowered her horn a little, lighting it with black magics.

“Have you no pity? Let him go! Can’t you see what you’ve done to him?!” Rarity demanded, gesturing. Nightmare Moon looked over her shoulder. Cleff looked distressed, but otherwise regal and handsome in the new regalia she’d given to him. Everything she’d ever wanted in a prize stallion. Turning back to Rarity, she smiled another acid-dripping smile.

“You say that like I’ve harmed him. Why would I make him pay, when the sins are all yours?!” She made a gesture with one powerful hoof and suddenly both of Nightmare Moon’s bat-winged guards dropped from the ceiling! They’d been hanging upside down like bats, silent as the grave. They tackled Rarity to the hard floor, who squealed like she was being molested. Cleff cried her name, cocking his head back and forth while she struggled. The sheer weight of both stallions held her down, and all attempts at magic got her a hoof in the face. She yelped several times until, quivering, she panted into surrender. They held her, powerful, snorting hot air upon her face. “Did you think I did not see you take advantage of my Cleff that winter’s morning?! You sullied him with your touch, Rarity! Soiled the bed that was rightfully mine to enjoy!” Nightmare Moon came close, almost nose to nose with her and shaking with teeth-clenching rage. “Now look where you are! Face down with two stallions upon you! FITTING!” Rarity coughed when the Royal Canterlot Voice blasted her from point blank range. It made her ears ring. She wiggled, and the stallions beat her again. And again.

Her cries were heart-wrenching to Cleff, who stood helplessly on the main island of the cave’s waterways. “Stop! Stop it!” He begged. “You’re hurting her! Stop it!” twin streams of tears rushed from behind his black glasses, dripping to the floor. “Please--!” his voice, Cleff’s beautiful voice, it cracked with misery and his head hung low until the beating sounds stopped. "Please..."

“None can save you now, except perhaps my Cleff!” Nightmare Moon pointed at the mare dangerously. She rounded on the white stallion, splashing across the water until she was in front of him again with her massive height. “Come with me, into my dark. Be mine till the end of your days! Buy Rarity’s freedom with your love for ME!” she turned, gesturing to her stallions upon her. They pressed powerful hooves into the back of Rarity’s neck, and she gagged loudly. Tears of pain sprouted in her eyes, and she gave a belting cry when she was struck again. “Refuse me and I’ll send your lover to the moon!” she gestured to a tapestry on the wall, stars and constellations with the iconic picture of the mare in moon. Nightmare Moon threatened to make Rarity the new mare in the moon! Could she actually do that? Well, she was a goddess so— “This is the choice! This is your point of no return!” The black goddess demanded, her voice having gone ragged. Her mane hung about her head in a wild, savage look that bore no resemblance of the regal princess she once was. This darkness, this monster, it was all fangs and wild hair and scales. Even Cleff’s acute senses could no longer recognize her. The transformation was complete. She no longer smelled of feminine want, of rain-pregnant wind and night time. Now, the monster smelled of sweat and desire and violence. She had become something else entirely.

“Why make him lie to you to save me, monster?!” Rarity called out haughtily, trying to draw the monster’s attention from her love. She cried out when one of the stallions blasted her temple with pain once more, a deadly hoof the size of a dinner plate. She moaned, barely conscious anymore. Blood seeped from her temple and her eyes fluttered.
Cleff perked his ears to listen for Rarity’s breathing. She sounded terrible. Both stallions panted from the effort of holding her and beating her into a pulp. The monster of the night stood across from him, gasping raggedly with eager desire. He reached up slowly, removing his black glasses and dropping them to the ground. They shattered with a meek tinkle of glass, and he turned his head to try and look up into her eyes. His milky gaze tried to find hers, and his voice was a shuddering sound of sadness.

Pitiful creature of night time…
What kind of life have you known?
Faust give me courage to show you,
You are not alone—!

He brought his muzzle up into Nightmare Moon’s as her fangs and acid saliva vanished just in time to receive him. Hot, flushed happiness washed over the mare of the night. Cleff’s head slowly cocked to the side to deepen the kiss, the first he’d ever shared with her. Her huge hooves suddenly pulled him into her with a moan of undeniable, fantastic release. Tension flooded out of Nightmare Moon’s body, and her wings rose to their full black span. She moaned into him, breathing hotly out of her nose as her tongue came forth to— his tears touched the tip of her nose. She pulled away with a heady pant, looking at him. His brow was tilted up, and new waves of wet saltiness slowly worked their way down his face. Nightmare Moon opened her mouth to speak. She glanced over at Rarity, who was wearing a purely dumbfounded look. Both bat-winged stallions were staring as well, for this was their mistress’ prized moment of victory. The monster looked back at Cleff, who kept himself still despite his silent weeping.

Shame flooded over Nightmare Moon.

She backed away a few steps, staring at the stallion she’d just molested. Turning, the princess gave a harsh gesture that Rarity be let go. Her guards hesitated for only half a moment before vanishing into shadow once more. A horrible, wrenching tightness seized Nightmare Moon. She clenched her fangs in distress, bowing her head and then shaking her mane with a wild whinny of frustration and shame. Rearing up, she turned about and began quickly striding away. “Take him! Take him away from here!” she commanded Rarity, who rose on shaking hooves to stagger towards Cleff. “Leave me alone! Forget all that’s happened!” it was a painful wail to hear from such a powerful creature. “Go now, get out of here!” she made a harsh gesture and a phantom wind pushed Rarity and Cleff towards the exit tunnel. They stood close together, shaking, both just trying to make sure the other was okay. Their loving whimpers lingered a little too long for the princess' garroted heart. “GO NOW! GO NOW AND LEAVE ME!” she roared in the Royal Canterlot Voice. They staggered away, towards the exit tunnel as she fled into the darkest corner of her cavern.

Rarity coughed heavily when they came to the bottom stair. “I can’t make it, I need to rest a moment.” She panted, holding her throat where she’d been kicked so many times.

“Stay here. Rest.” Cleff bade her, and he slipped away after the princess. He wandered in the aimless darkness of the cave, but then he found her scent. It was mellowing out slowly into the same milky, feminine scent it had been before. A growling sound came from the blackness, and then the sound of a turning record table. The white stallion was surprised to hear his own voice singing softly in the distance. He followed it.

Nightmare Moon sat on her haunches, leaning over a beat up looking record player while Cleff’s voice serenaded her with the volume turned most of the way down. She tried to sing along, but it came out as a defeated little mewl, “Masquerade… paper faces on parade. Masquerade.” Her head dipped lower as diamond-like tears dripped from her face. “Hide your face so the world will n-never— f-find you.” Her wild mane hung in unruly strands over her muzzle and face. She looked like a monster, according to the puddle of water next to her. Fangs and sweat and darkness. She wept quietly, until she heard the sound of approaching hooves. When she looked up, she saw her stallion Cleff standing before her. Eyes lidding, she tried not to sob as he slowly took off the silver circlet she’d given him. He pressed it into her hooves, but she let it fall to the floor and crack. “Oh Cleff, I love— you.” She tried to tell him, but her voice failed her entirely, and her head lowered in defeat. He turned and slowly walked away, back to Rarity. Nightmare Moon sniffled quietly, watching them go.

Cleff let Rarity lean against him in her bruised and beaten state. They mounted the stairs using his strong body and her strong eyes. Together, they would be able to make it up and out of the darkness of Nightmare Moon’s lair. Together. Rarity winced with each step of her front-left hoof, limping. Eager to soothe her, the stallion hummed to her intimately:

Say you’ll share with me one love, one lifetime?
Say the word and I shall follow you…
Say you’ll be with me each night, each morning?

Nightmare Moon rose without realizing it, watching the two white ponies rounding the corner as they struggled their way up the stairs. She sniffled, wiping her face of the tears and snot. Pushing her mane out of her eyes she strained to get one last look at her beloved stallion, her Cleff. “You alone can make all songs— take flight.” She struggled to keep her voice intact, but the Royal Canterlot Voice suddenly boiled up inside her with a vengeance like no other. She had but one more line of singing to give before she never sang again:

“IT’S OVER NOW, CLEFF'S MUSIC! OF--! MY--! NIGHT--!”

Nightmare Moon sat hard upon her haunches, thrusting her hoof into the air and suddenly her regalia exploded into shards of hot metal! Her helm blasted shrapnel in all directions, exposing the true baldness of a head with an ethereal mane. Her wings were no longer weighted with metal, and flung black feathers in all directions. Her cutie mark was exposed to open air as bits of metal and magic imploded off of her like she were an alicorn made of black powder. She coughed violently as her fangs turned to useless bits of nothing, spattering the floor while normal teeth took their place. Falling weakly upon her knees with a moan, she sputtered and weaved in and out of clarity.

Instantly, her twin stallion guards fell from the ceiling to be at her side. They guided her slowly to her belly, crooning that she rest and breathe. No longer was she Nightmare Moon, but an exhausted and mewling Princess Luna. “Aegis Shield… Stalwart Hooves…” she whispered their names for the first time in years, addressing them directly. They smiled at her gently, and as her great head lolled to one side, they brought her gently to the ground. When they were sure she was unconscious, they moved her with gentle hooves to the bed. There, they waited.

End of Part 11