//------------------------------// // Muscle Memory // Story: Nightmare's Weapon // by Requiem17 //------------------------------//         Adam looked between the bound purple mare and the black queen, a slight sense of unease coursing through him. The mare had a set of metal cuffs locked around her legs, a lengthy chain connecting them to allow her slight mobility. A large black ring sat on her horn, a blue ethereal glow pulsing from deep within. The mare’s sharp eyes looked at Adam in surprise before they too narrowed in anger. “So, if it isn’t the notorious Twilight Sparkle. I’ve heard many… whimsical tales about you.” Nightmare sat back in her throne, a very smug grin splitting her muzzle. Twilight’s attention swung back to Nightmare, “I could say the same about you.” “Indeed.” Nightmare looked at the bottom of her silver horseshoe. “Tell me, how does it feel for such an explementary character as yourself to fail not only your teacher, but the Princess of an entire nation?” The purple pony’s eyes hardened. “It’s hard to swallow, but I don’t think it’s as bad as spending 1,000 years in a cold, dark vacuum.” “SILENCE!” The banners hanging in the room fluttered violently from the Queen’s shout. “I will not be made a mockery by somepony the likes of you!” Nightmare folded her raised wings before calming down. She watched Twilight, brooding in her own thoughts. Her gaze flickered to one of the escorts. “Where was she apprehended?” The guard nodded, “We found her near the outskirts of Trottingham. She was evacuating a group of civilians from the town before scout units from the Enforcers intercepted her. She fought hard but they triumphed, your majesty.” “Have any of her collaborators been found as well?” “No your majesty.” “Very well,” she looked back to Twilight. “I’m going to be very brief with you, Twilight Sparkle. This little rebellion of yours won’t last for long. My armies will crush any resistance your petty little friends put together.” She raised her head. “Why don’t you just save me the trouble and tell me where they are?” Twilight attempted to get to her hooves, only for one of the guards to kick her back down. She exhaled before she regained her breath and stared defiantly back. “I’ll never betray my friends! Especially not to you!” Nightmare closed her eyes and breathed deeply. After a moment she opened her eyes, “Since I’m not entirely lacking of heart, I’ll give you one more chance. You tell me where your friends are and I can promise that you will be imprisoned for life, but treated fairly.” Nightmare’s eyes narrowed before she leaned closer. “If you do not comply I will ensure that there will be strict punishments.” Twilight snorted before she pawed at the ground. Her horn lit up before the ring suddenly sparked, electricity arcing up and down her horn. She collapsed and writhed on the ground, silently screaming as her lungs struggled to draw air. Adam looked away, the perverse sight making him cringe. ‘This is wrong.’ He deliberated on intervening before his mind caught up to his emotions. He couldn’t intervene, he wasn’t in charge, and judging by the dangerous glint in Nightmare’s eye, it would be unwise to step in between. He watched as the electricity died out, leaving the pony to spasm on the floor. He frowned before looking away again, focusing solely on the ground at his feet. Nightmare waited while Twilight coughed before giving a single nod in finality. “Very well then. Counselor,” a brown unicorn standing far off to the side took a step forward. “Execute the dragon.” The unicorn hesitated before a sharp glare from Moon cowed him. “Yes, your majesty,” the unicorn bowed before moving to leave. Twilight struggled to lift her head, “Spike?” She struggled to breathe before a new sense of urgency caused her to begin struggling violently. “Spike! No! You can’t do this!” “You brought this upon yourself Sparkle.” Twilight pushed herself up to her hooves. “No! He’s just a baby dragon! He’s innocent, I swear!” Adam glanced at Nightmare and felt a large weight settle in his gut. Her eyes were cold, hard, and contained naught an ounce of sympathy. “You have the blood of the innocent on your hooves! You will find that you are the one to blame! Guards! Take her to the dungeon!” The guards grabbed the struggling pony and began dragging her away. “Spike!” She lit up her horn only to be violently shocked one more, her scream threatening to pop Adam’s ear drums. She broke down into hysterical tears as she stopped her futile struggling, allowing herself to be carried away. “Spike, no! I’m so sorry Spike!” Adam watched as she disappeared around the corner, a final call for the dragon echoing from the hall before it fell silent. A brief glance at Nightmare gave Adam pause. It stunned him to see her reclining back into her throne as if nothing had happened. “Shame that she didn’t tell us the location of her friends,” Nightmare declared. Adam found himself glumly agreeing, his reasoning for it much further off from what the dark queen was thinking. His thoughts were interrupted when General Steel walked into the courtroom, his hooves carrying him swiftly towards the throne. “Ah, General Steel. What can I do for you?” He bowed before he spoke. “My Queen, there has been a… development.” “Oh?” A single eyebrow rose. The General cleared his throat, “It is better discussed privately my Queen.” His gaze flickered to Adam before he looked back to Nightmare. Seeing the cue, she stood up. “I’ll be right back Adam. There are matters I must discuss privately with the General.” The two walked away from the throne and entered one of the small servant hallways. The General shifted uncomfortably as Nightmare’s pelt made contact with him, the large alicorn barely squeezing into the hallway. He turned around and almost shivered when he felt her breath on his muzzle. “Well?” He cleared his throat again. “My Queen, there has been news from the crash site.” He waited patiently before he heard an irritated sigh from the mare. “On with it, do not keep me waiting.” “Of course.” He tweaked his uniform. “We think that there may have been other survivors from the crash.” He closed his eyes and waited for the rage of his queen to befall him, his ears pinned behind his head and his tail tucked. “... Interesting.” He paused in disbelief before slowly opening his eyes and perking one ear carefully. “That is quite the development.” “Your Majesty?” She leaned closer to him, causing him to flinch again. “We cannot allow this. Order the troops that unless they carry the seal of the crown, they are to be killed on site. Adam must not encounter any survivors.” She leaned away from him. “That is all.” He bowed quickly. “Yes, your majesty.” “Counselor, I trust that you carried out my orders without fail?” “Yes, your Majesty.” Adam flexed his leg muscles in an effort to relieve them of his discomfort. He had been standing in one place for well over four hours, his thoughts ranging over a multitude of things in an effort to distract him from the now boring workings of the courtroom. ‘If what Nightmare said was true, then I can see why I wouldn’t be cut out for this.’ His gaze focused and he found himself to be staring at a particularly unspectacular part of the stone floor. Shifting to get his blood flowing, he looked around. Nightmare was still sitting in her throne, having attentively talked with the nobles in the court and other ponies who arrived to voice their concerns. “Excellent. I think we’ll find our prisoner to be far more cooperative after she’s had some time to think over her situation.” Adam felt a mental shudder run through him after hearing her cold logic. Nightmare closed her eyes and sighed. “Is there anything else left on today’s schedule?” “There is the meeting with the R&D Department, your Highness.” Adam perked up slightly at the promise of a change of scenery. Nightmare snorted before opening her eyes. “Very well. Court is adjourned for today.” She stepped off her throne and stretched, the sharp clicks causing the few leaving ponies to wince. “Ah, much better.” She looked towards Adam, watching as he cracked his neck. An amused grin split her muzzle. “Hmm, looks like we do have something in common. I can tell that the atmosphere in here isn’t quite to your taste.” Adam clasped his hands together. “I wouldn’t say that. It’s rather interesting to see the daily work of a government with my own eyes.” Nightmare smirked slightly. “Oh really? I thought the glazed look you had in your eyes earlier signified that you were a million miles away.” “Well, ah, you see-,” Nightmare shook her head, “It is of no concern. It’s not for everypony. Come,” she started walking down the red carpet towards the exit. “We have a meeting to attend.” Adam tagged along and walked right alongside her. They stayed silent as they moved through a few short corridors, exiting into one of the many courtyards. However, there was a very large concrete building with a wide glass roof sitting in the middle of the green grass. A few guards made their rounds while a strangely dressed unicorn guard stood by the entrance. The mare was wearing a hooded black cloak, her eyes hidden from view. “What’s this building?” Adam asked, watching the cloaked figure as they approached the building.         The guard stepped aside as the queen passed, only bowing her head slightly before resuming her post after they had passed.         “This is the Royal Laboratory. Only the best and the brightest are allowed in here, working on securing the interests of Equestria.”         Adam looked around as they stepped into a wide room filled with tables, books, and ponies wearing white coats and safety glasses. There was a ton of strange equipment piled around the room and complex glass creations littered the tables. Liquid bubbled in their vials and small puffs of smoke emanated from several areas. The ponies ignored the two newcomers as they went about perfecting their alchemy.         Nightmare walked past the bustling scientists and headed towards a dead end between two bookshelves. Adam was about to question her motives before her horn lit up and the floor in front of her shifted downwards, revealing a long, black staircase.         Seeing the look on Adam’s face, Nightmare explained, “The top floor, while they do actually work, is a mere ruse. The real magic happens down below in the Vault.”         Adam gave a silent “oh” before they stepped into the darkness, a dull blue glow from the queen leading them down into it’s depths.         They didn’t have to travel far before they reached the bottom of the stairs. A large steel door blocked their path with no discernable device to open said door. Nightmare approached the door and knocked on it. A few seconds later, a golden circle appeared on the door, the room on the other side coming into view through what Adam deduced was a magical hole in the door. A pony peered through from the other side, looked at Nightmare and Adam, and then stepped away, the magical portal falling away. A series of loud clicks echoed before the door slowly swung outwards towards them. The pony stood next to the door and allowed them in. As Adam passed through the door, a small wave of nausea struck him. “This room is the most secured room in the world. It doesn’t even exist in this realm. What you just felt was caused by the portal we stepped through.” Adam heard the door clamp shut behind them. “Doesn’t exist?” Nightmare smiled. “We are in a pocket dimension created by none other than Star Swirl the Bearded.” Adam’s eyes popped open in shock. “H-how?” Nightmare quirked an eyebrow. “... Right, magic.” The room seemed to stretch on forever in all directions, dozens, maybe even hundreds, of ponies were working on machines and other strange things large and small. Adam even saw a machine that looked like a primitive car. Adam continued to follow behind Nightmare. “So, what are we here for then?” Nightmare frowned briefly. “We are here for a meeting with my top scientist, Dr. Spud.” “...” Nightmare smirked. “I thought so too.” The two continued along an invisible path before they, surprisingly, encountered another door. However, calling it a door would be an understatement. It was more like a very, very large hangar door. Adam noticed that there was a smaller entrance located on the door itself. Nightmare magicked the smaller door open and they stepped inside. A very long table was set to their left while more strange computers and other scanning equipment sat to their right. Only a dozen or so ponies occupied the area, Nightmare heading towards whom Adam assumed was Dr. Spud. The pony was facing away from them and leaning over a machine, the top half of his body buried into its components. His fellow assistants took a few steps back as the queen approached. “Dr.” The stallion jumped, his head crashing against something inside of the machine. Several loud yet muffled curses echoed from within before the brown pony pulled his head out, a hoof rubbing against the top of his head. “Who the buck interu-,” he paused when he turned around, his eyes widening. Adam stared at the unicorn. Dr. Spud was quite an interesting sight. The brown unicorn was small and lanky. His eyes were bloodshot from long work hours and a lack of caffeine. His lab coat was ripped and torn with a few occasional burn marks and, interestingly enough, he wore a red bow tie. His most striking feature was his horn, if you could even call it that anymore. It was broken off and only a small bit of slightly jagged bone was left behind near the top of his skull. Nightmare merely tightened her lips. Dr. Spud began spluttering, struggling to get a word out. Nightmare sighed, “Dr. You were saying?” He took in a deep breath. “It was nothing, your majesty. I didn’t expect you to arrive so soon.” Adam began following the doctor and Nightmare, tuning out the mad ramblings of the scientist. He turned his gaze to the tables they were passing, eyeing the strange lumps of metal and other bits of machinery. Most of it looked like it was destroyed or scraps of something bigger, well, what used to be bigger. The small party stopped at one of the tables. To Adam’s surprise, the Dr. picked up a small, machined cylinder with magic, small sparks flying from the broken end of his horn. Adam turned his attention towards the metal container, filing a question about his horn into his brain to ask Nightmare later.The metal container had a rubber coating around most of its length, leaving the two ends to shine dully in the bright light. It looked like it had some sort of button on one end. “This is something I like to call, The Harlot.” Both Nightmare and Adam raised an eyebrow at the doctor. “Excuse me?” Dr. Spud blinked and adopted a confused look. Nightmare sighed. “What does it do to warrant such a name?” “Hmmm? Oh! Yes, of course!” He adjusted his red bow tie. “It’s really quite simple. In the event that somepony needs to subdue a fellow pony, this little bugger will literally suck the magic out of them, resulting in unconsciousness.” Adam smothered a chuckle. “Makes sense.” “Yes,” Nightmare looked at Adam irritably. “The name is fitting.” She shook her head. “Stallions.” Dr. Spud hadn’t heard them as he was already moving on to another object on the table. As he continued to show his queen the different doo-hickies he and his team had made, Adam gazed again at the different things on the table. Feeling curiosity wash over him, he reached out and fiddled with a few of the devices. A sharp sting on the back of Adam’s hand caused him to drop it and reel back from the table. “Ah, ah! No touching!” Adam grumbled inaudibly at the doctor before rocking slightly on his heels to help pass the time. It wasn’t much longer until Nightmare herself finally had enough. “Dr. as much as I’d love to see more of your… hard work, I need to know if there has been any more progress on any of the more top priority projects.” Dr. Spud’s smile turned upside down. “Yes, well, we are having some problems, but I can show you what we’ve been able to work out so far.” They moved down towards a wall on the far side, a large glass pane meant for viewing into the room beyond and a door nestled into the white expanse. Dr. Spud opened the door and led them through a small decontamination chamber, Adam holding his breath and squinting his eyes as the gaseous vapor hissed around them. With a green light winking and a loud buzzing noise, the door on the far side opened. Adam stepped through and found himself in another, yet smaller room. Several crates were piled to the ceiling and a sandbag wall sat near them, a set of targets sitting on the other side of the room. ‘A gun range.’ The Doctor opened up one of the crates, using his magic to pull out a sleek metal creation. “We’re having some trouble with the new weapons. Earth ponies can’t hold them, pegasi can’t aim, and most unicorns can’t handle the recoil while maintaining accuracy. Bottom line, if you don’t have magic, you can’t even fire it, the trigger is too small.” Nightmare looked to be deep in thought before looking at the rifle and then to Adam. “Well, we have someone who may be able to demonstrate how to properly use it right here.” Adam gave a questioning look to Nightmare, receiving only an encouraging nod. Adam tightened his lips before looking at the Doctor expectantly. The Doctor seemed to hesitate before giving in, floating the weapon over to Adam. The Marine plucked it out of the air and held it in front of him for a few seconds, looking it over. “It’s an M4.” Adam held it up to his shoulder and aimed down it briefly. “M4?” Dr. Spud asked. Adam held the weapon sideways and released the magazine, checking it. “It’s a carbine. This model has a selective firing type of semi-automatic or three round burst.” He eyed the shiny brass rounds in the magazine before placing it back within the rifle. After taking a few moments to relax, he placed his finger on the trigger and, after having let out a breath, pulled smoothly back in one continuous motion. The rifle bucked into his shoulder, causing him to blink and draw in a breath. His finger let off the trigger and he lifted his head up away from the rifle to look down the range. The Dr. simply placed the binoculars down and shook his head in disbelief. “I’ve got to make the triggers larger!” Nightmare smiled briefly before stepping between them. “Before you run off, if I may, we have a few more things to discuss.” She looked at Adam. “We’ll be right back.” She turned back to the Dr. and nodded for him to move away and accompany her. Adam watched them go and frowned, not appreciating being left out and alone, again. He sighed and looked around before his eyes locked onto the pair of binoculars sitting on the table by the discarded weapon. He shrugged before picking them up and facing the target, lifting the tool up to his eyes. He smirked when he saw a nice grouping sitting just a bit left to the bullseye. Putting them back down, he picked up the rifle and began fiddling with it as if it was the most natural thing in the world, waiting for Nightmare’s instruction.