//------------------------------// // Some Help is Needed // Story: The Bloodmoon Chronicles // by Dropbear //------------------------------// Boom Twilight Sparkle shot up in her bed, wincing at the bright light that was coming in from her castle window. After blinking the spots away she checked her bedside clock, the time only ten-past-one in the morning. With a grimace, she turned back to the window as the glow faded and the town below started to panic. It had happened in one of the far off fields, but it still was a concern thanks to prior incidents. “Great,” Twilight grumbled, swinging her legs out from her comfortable bed. “Either the crusaders went on another camping trip, or some kind of monster is on the loose.” Hooves hitting the floor, she took a second to prepare herself for the pandemonium that her fellow towns-ponies would bring. “Either way, I get the feeling that this is going to turn out terribly.” “Ow, owey-ow-ow. Ow.” Nigel tried to ignore Nightblade’s complaints, the smoking crater left behind while he continued to walk down the trail with his fists clenched. It didn’t help that the annoyance in question was flying right beside his head, holding her foreleg out in front of his helmet to show him the small cut. “Ow.” Nightblade uttered again. “Ow. Ow. Ow. Ow-“ “I get it!” he growled, throwing his arms up in the air. “It hurts, but it’s not my problem!” She fixed him with a pleading stare. “Don’t you have a bandage, or a band-aid?” she whimpered, wincing when another drop of blood leaked out of the already-healing wound. “It’s still hurting, so badly as well. I can’t even walk, it hurts so much.” “For something I can’t kill, you sure bitch a lot over a small cut,” he muttered under his breath, before glancing down to the compartment in his armour that held his medical supplies. “I don’t have any bandages or band-aids,” he lied to her with a shrug. “I guess you’ll have to just tough it out.” “But it hurts!” Rolling his eyes, he returned to his tactic of ignoring her and just walking down the path without comment. She still followed, although at least she was keeping her foreleg to herself. Nigel’s pace increased when he spotted possible salvation, a town visible in the distance despite the late hour of night. It was much larger than the one they had left during the day, a few lights on here and there but otherwise it seemed like most of the inhabitants were asleep. He didn’t care if it was just another village of ponies, there was a chance that he could lose Nightblade within it and make good his escape. Nightblade was too caught up in her injury to notice where they were headed, Nigel getting the perfect plan on how to ditch the irritating equine-abomination. “Look… Nightblade,” he struggled out while pointing to the town with a finger. “A town.” She looked up at his words. “How about we take you to the doctor and they can look at that cut for you?” “Really?” she asked with a tinge of excitement. “You’ll take me to the doctor? Will you hold my hoof when we get ther-“ “Don’t push your luck,” he grumbled, crossing his arms in front of him. “Okay, maybe after then.” ‘Oh, there will be no ‘after’ once I ditch you,’ thought Nigel with a smile. “Maybe,” he lied. It worked, Nightblade’s whining replaced by a hummed tune that was only slightly less annoying. She still continued to fly next to him, but they’d made fast progress and were already at the edge of the town. Nigel ignored the lines of thatch-roofed houses, a big red cross near the centre of the town catching his eye. Making a bee-line towards the symbol of a place of healing, the navigation of the town was easy given the wide roads. Nightblade continued to follow him all the way towards the building that hosted the cross, Nigel stopping in front of it with his hopes rising. It actually looked fairly modern, with twin sliding glass doors and artificial lights. He could just make out a reception desk inside, but there was no-one to be seen around. It wasn’t just the chance to ditch Nightblade that improved his mood, however. ‘Maybe that last town was just the boonies,’ he hoped while walking towards the entrance of the hospital. ‘These guys might know a little more.’ The doors opened for them with a gentle hiss, Nigel heading straight for the reception desk. He went to ring the small silver bell that was placed upon the counter, but paused when he noticed the pony. What he assumed was a mare was sleeping softly in her chair, her white coat and pink mane curiously fitting for her profession. A small white cap with the same red cross sat upon her head, and what seemed like a home decoration magazine was nearly falling out of her limp forehooves. “Wow…” Nigel turned his head to see Nightblade peering up at a light. “So weird…” Gritting his teeth, he took a chance and reached out to grab her around the torso. “Hey!” Not bothering to explain, he first attempted to use his armour-enhanced strength to crush Nightblade’s ribcage. ‘That’s what I expected,’ he lamented silently, upon finding his hands unwilling to follow his orders. Going for plan b, he forced Nightblade to sit on the top of the reception desk. The impact of the ample rump caused the small bell to topple over and jingle, Nightblade actually going quiet at the surprise action. “Huz-uh?” The white mare awoke with a start, blinking her pink eyes open and looking around. Deciding that his presence wasn’t needed and eager to make his escape, Nigel pointed towards Nightblade. “Help her.” With that, he let go of Nightblade and ran for the doors, his unwanted complain too shocked to move. Unfortunately he was going too fast for the doors, the glass barriers only managing to open a crack before he outright collided with them. Glass shattered as he rammed through, both mares behind him wincing and folding back their ears. His armoured boots cracked the cobblestone and made a loud racket, the sound echoing through the early-morning air along with his victorious laughter. He had done it. He had escaped the abomination. ‘Now all I have to do is find a good spot to hide and wait it out.’ Nightblade tilted her head, trying to puzzle out why Nigel had left in such a rush. The two magic doors were currently making squeaking sounds while they tried to close, however that wasn’t going to happen when most of the glass and the frame was lying shattered on the floor. The cool night air blew in, ruffling her mane slightly. ‘Maybe he’s getting me breakfast?’ she wondered. A hopeful smile grew, and she nodded to herself. ‘Yep, that’s it! Wow, I’ve got such a wonderful coltfriend!’ Her tail swished while she imagined all of the tasty food that Nigel would return with. “Wh- what just happened?” Turning back to the front, Nightblade smiled down at the new pony. “Oh, my coltfriend just dropped me off to get some treatment, and he’s just left to get me breakfast.” “Coltfriend? Breakfast?” A stare was given towards the mess that had been made. “Are you sure about that?” “Yep!” she replied, before waving a hoof in dismissal. “He’s always doing stuff like that, he loves me that much.” The disbelieving stare was directed towards her, the pony hesitating before speaking again. “Uh, okay then. I’m Nurse Redheart, and you are…?” “Many things,” Nightblade began to list. “Cool, beautiful, awesome, amazing-“ “I meant your name.” “Oh, it’s Nightblade. Nightblade Bloodmoon.” Nurse Redheart winced and flinched, but then made an attempt to smile. “What a… lovely name.” She gave her a look over, a visible shudder going through Redheart. ‘Must be the cold.’ “You said that you needed treatment?” Nodding her head, Nightblade held out her foreleg. She’d actually forgotten about the main reason for coming the hospital, and admittedly her pain may have been a little exaggerated for attention. The cut itself was already crusted over with the beginnings of a scab, but still the nurse sighed and left her chair. “Please follow me into the doctor’s office. He isn’t in but I can dress that wound for you.” Smiling in thanks and flapping her wings to fly down from the desk, Nightblade failed to notice the nurse first flinch at her fangs and then at her bat-wings. Taking care to keep her weight off of her injured leg, she followed Redheart towards a small wooden door to the left. Trotting in once the door was opened for her, she looked around the large office. There was a bed with white sheets in one corner, a cluttered desk opposite that, and the wall was covered with many different posters of pony anatomy. Making her way to the low bed, she eagerly searched all of the surrounding pictures. There was earth ponies, pegasi, unicorns, and even a diagram of a bat-pony, but none that remotely matched her. Wondering why they had missed such a wonderful example of the equine race, Nightblade sat down on the edge of the bed and waited for the nurse. “Here we go,” Redheart spoke, turning around from an open cabinet on the wall and trotting over with a small first-aid box. She placed it on the one free spot on the doctor’s desk and opened the clasps before withdrawing a small brown bottle. Nightblade watched her flip up the top cap warily, the nurse’s apologetic smile setting her on edge. “Now, this is going to sting a bit but will get rid of any germs.” “O-okay,” Nightblade hesitated, before holding out her foreleg. She wished that Nigel didn’t have to leave to get her breakfast. “Keep still.” “Ah!” She had to fight the urge to snatch her foreleg back, snapping her eyes shut when the liquid hit the cut. Only to open them again when she realised that there was no pain at all. “There,” the nurse continued, putting the bottle back on the bench before fetching a roll of white bandage. Nightblade frowned at the bright and neither-red-nor-black material, but figured that requesting a darker and grittier dressing would be more trouble than it was worth. “That wasn’t so bad, was it?” “No,” she agreed, flexing her leg. It was still smarting a bit, but she was sure that it would be better soon. At the current time, she had other matters to attend to. Bloodmoon left her seat and regained her hoofing, her eyes glancing towards her saddlebag. “How much?” The nurse seemed taken aback. “How much? Healthcare is free in Equestria, you don’t need to pay a single bit.” Redheart tilted her head. “Everyone should know this, and even the yaks have the same model.” “Well I didn’t know,” she huffed. Heading towards the door, Nightblade paused a looked back. “Thank you, anyway.” “It’s my job,” Nurse Redheart returned with a nod. “Just don’t come back too soon. We don’t really like having repeat customers.” Nightblade furrowed her brows and tried to figure out if she had just been insulted, but quickly dismissed the thought and gave the nurse a smile. “Oh, okay. Thank you again!” With that, she trotted out of the room and left Redheart to pack away the bandage roll. Her hooves made funny crunching noises when they stepped on the glass that had been the main doors, and she continued out into the early morning night air. “Ah,” she sighed with content, revelling in the wonderful darkness. ‘Wait, I can’t leave just yet. Nigel won’t be able to find me if I walk off, he’s not really very smart, after all. I better wait for him.’ She looked around and spied a plain wooden bench just ahead, and with no other alternatives she made her way over towards it. Her rump was soon plopped down into it, and her forelegs placed between her outstretched hind ones to support her sitting up. With a smile on her face and a hummed tune on her lips, Bloodmoon settled down to await the return of her amazing and loyal coltfriend. ‘What could have possibly caused such… such…’ Twilight stood and stared at the massive crater that had been rent in the field. Around her were a few scattered groups of townsponies, consisting of the more curious and brave. There were hushed whispers and fearful muttering, the sudden and violent appearance of the crater made that much more terrifying by the absence of all knowledge of what could have caused it. Twilight was quickly running scenarios over in her head, but even with her vast wealth of experience and intellect she was unable to come up with a useful explanation. Her horn glowed and the crater was bathed in a soft purple light, her eyes scrunching in concentration while the crowd went quiet. ‘There was a huge amount of force… in a single area no bigger than a rug… and there’s also…’ Her eyes shot open wide and the glow died out, her jaw dropping at what she had found. Or rather, what she hadn’t found. “No magic?” she squeaked, the crowd remaining silent while they listened in. “How is that even possible? There has to be something!” Her horn began to glow again, but she was interrupted. “Princess?” Twilight whirled around, Ponyville’s dentist standing behind her. Minuette glanced back at the rest of the gathered ponies, before refacing her with a gulp. “What’s happened, are we in danger?” Twilight tried hard to form a reassuring smile, but she had never been one for subtly. “Ah… everything is fine, everypony. Still, can you please all return to town and stay there until I sort this out.” “Is it another… monster?” a mare she recognised as Roseluck questioned with a gulp. ‘I’m not sure, but given this town’s history…’ “At the moment, no.” Her answer prompted the ponies to relax somewhat, and so Twilight continued. “I suspect it may have been some kind of meteorite that broke up when it landed, or some kind of magical accident. Don’t worry, I promise you all that I’ll find out for sure what happened. Trust me, everypony.” Evidently it was enough to waylay most of the crowd’s fears, and Twilight sighed with relief once they all turned and trotted back off towards town with murmurs still circling wildly. With the area relatively peaceful, she refocused on the crater and once again prepared to examine it magically. Her horn lit up and she scanned it, eyes once again narrowing in frustration. “Nothing.” Another scan. “Nothing!” Once more. “There has to be something here!” She finally stopped, a glare on her face while she glowered at the problematic crater. ‘Maybe I just need a quick break, and try again in a few minutes.’ Twilight was not going to allow the puzzle to best her, and so she sat down on the grass to wait with her thoughts. ‘Why in this field? There’s nothing around except Ponyville and the Everfree. ‘ “Woah…” She looked up, a hovering Rainbow Dash very visible despite the darkness of the morning. Rainbow was fully focused on the crater, before the eyes turned to her. “Twi, did-“ “It wasn’t me, I’m trying to figure out what caused it.” “I hope it’s not another monster,” Rainbow yawned while she landed down next to her. “It’s bad enough that the bang woke me up, but if we have to fight something this early…” “I haven’t seen anything, let alone a monster,” Twilight reassured, but glanced around anyway. “In fact I can’t even tell what made this crater. I’m actually considering that it might really have been some sort of meteorite.” “A meat-e-what?” Twilight resisted the urge to sigh and roll her eyes. “A met-e-or-ite, it’s when a rock from space falls to the ground.” Glancing back at the crater, she shrugged to herself. “It’s starting to seem like the most logical idea, given there’s no trace of a monster and no magic at all. What else could have possibly caused this?” Rainbow shrugged with a yawn. “Dunno. Anyway, if there’s going to be no monster or nothing and it was just a space-rock, then I’m sure a nerd like you are okay to look after it.” She flapped her wings and took flight, hoof rising to her mouth for another yawn. “I’m going to go back to sleep. Later Twi.” Twilight waved a hoof in response, knowing that Rainbow was pretty much right with her assessment. “Bye, see you later today.” With her friend departed, she glanced back at the crater and bit her lip in thought. ‘I have some books back in the castle about space,’ she recalled. A slight feeling of pride welled up when she recalled that many had been written by the Royal Astrologer, her father. ‘This isn’t the first meteorite to fall in Equestria, if it’s a meteorite, so reading up on it can never hurt.’ With that thought and a nod, she flapped her own wings and soon lifted off to soar back towards town. It was an easy trip, and in no time she was angling for her bedroom window. Still not quite as confident (some would say reckless) as Rainbow Dash, Twilight took great care to slow her pace before entering her royal abode. After all, it wouldn’t look good as the newest Princess to miss the window and end up sliding down the outer wall with a few less teeth. Hooves landing on the soft rug that covered the stone floor, her horn lit up and set alight to the many candles that dotted the walls and desks. The warm glow of candlelight chased away the darkness, Twilight immediately making her way over to the massive bookshelf that rested against the wall opposite her bed. “Let’s see, Astrology…” She briefly considered waking Spike to lend her some help, but dismissed the thought. Lucky enough to now have his own room, the young drake would be irritable enough when awoken in the morning. Besides, Twilight soon caught sight of the blue cover that she had been searching for, her magical grip pulling it out from its brethren. ‘Amazing Astrology: Asteroids, Meteoroids, and Meteorites. Second Edition.’ Smiling at the golden title, she flipped it open and turned around to trot to her desk by the window. “Here we are. Meteorites are usually found in the northern craters during the- ah!” The book flew from her grip and thumped down upon the bed as she tripped. With the grace of a lumbering diamond dog, Twilight came crashing down to have a very intimate conversation with the rug. “Blak!” she spat out a hair, and shook her head to clear her mind. Without getting up, she looked behind her to figure out what had caused the latest embarrassment. He heart froze at the sight of the two black things that were sticking out from under her bed, evidently covered in hard metal if her throbbing hind leg was anything to go off. They both ended with a vertical bit sticking up, the shiny surface eerily reminding her of black changeling carapace. She definitely didn’t recall them being there when she had gone to investigate the crater, Spike was in Canterlot visiting Celestia, and considering the circumstances… “H-hey…” she scrambled to her hooves and retreated to the bookshelf. “Whatever you are, come out now.” There was no response save for a muffled grunting, Twilight standing her ground and charging her horn with a spell. “I’m warning you! Come out from the bed with your hooves or tentacles in the air, I have a grapefruit-transfiguration spell and I’m not afraid to use it!” She stared at the two metal limbs, her bed shaking slightly as whatever was concealed beneath it shifted. “Bugger off!” a harsh male voice hissed at her. “Stop making so much noise, or she’ll find me!” It was admittedly a reply that stumped her. “Who will find you?” Twilight found herself asking before she reconsidered her priorities. “Actually, never mind that, please remove yourself from under my bed.” There was no response, her eyes narrowing. “Now.” “Alright, alright.” She took another step back and continued to charge her horn while the creature moved out from his hiding place. Twilight repressed a shudder when it stood up, the rather huge and armoured biped quite intimidating while towering above her. Still, it wasn’t the first horror she had faced, and so she stood her ground and refused to show how nervous she was. “No sudden moves,” she warned with a pointed glance towards her horn. “Like what you can do can possibly be any worse than what this accursed place has already thrown at me,” the monster replied with a cross of his arms. The grating voice was accompanied by the glare of pupil-less glowing-blue eyes. “What do you want?” “I want you to get out of my castle.” “No, it’s the safest place here.” Twilight gave him a pointed look-over. “What could something like you possibly be scared of in Ponyville?” Her horn’s glow died out, the monster evidently not looking for a confrontation. “In fact, most of the ponies would be terrified of you.” She went back over her sentence. “No offence, of course.” “You don’t get it. Even the very insinuation that I’d ever be afraid of small horses is absurd.” He must of noticed her frown. “No offence, of course.” He raised a very minotaur-like hand in the air and waved it around. “No, you just don’t get the utter abomination that awaits me outside. Something like that shouldn’t exist, it just shouldn’t. I doubt you can even comprehend the horror that lurks, a foul beast that your tiny horse-mind couldn’t even process without shutting down in fear.” Resisting the urge to point out that he was the one who had been hiding under a bed, she pushed the irritation at the insults to the back of her mind and instead focused on getting the facts. Despite the unusual situation she had found herself involved in, all of this talk of a monstrous abomination from such a harsh creature was certainly a matter of concern. “Okay, hold on for just a second,” she replied with a hoof raised up. “As a Princess of Equestria I will help you with your… problem, just a few conditions.” Her gaze was focused to get her point plainly across. “First, stop with the insults. In Ponyville we try to be nice to each other. If you want help then you have to behave like anypony else. Secondly, we are not ‘horses’, we are ‘ponies’. The way you say ‘horses’ sounds very much like a… bad word.” “I-“ “Thirdly,” she cut him off. “You will listen to what me and my friends say so you don’t go and cause a panic in the town, do you understand? The last thing that we need is for a big, rude biped to be running around harassing everyone.” Her glare narrowed. “And no more breaking into ponies’ houses, either. Got that?” It was admittedly a tad more harsh then she’d like to think she normally was, but Twilight had learnt during the last year that sometimes you have to be firm with some ponies. However, unfortunately it seemed to have backfired. “Who said I needed help?” he scoffed, unblinking eyes never leaving her. Twilight continued to stare him down. “The fact that you hid under my bed says so.” He didn’t say anything, so she pressed on. “If what you say is true about there being a dangerous creature after you, then that means that Ponyville is in danger as well. I might even have to ask the others for help in case we need the Elements of Harmony.” There was a snort. “Elements of what-now?” “Harmony,” Twilight repeated, failing to pick up on the mocking tone. “Surely you have heard of them? They’re only the most powerful magical artefacts in Equestria, possibly in the whole world. If anything can defeat an evil monster, it will be them.” She waited for him to say something else, the monster still staring at her. “Magical artefacts,” he muttered, his arms uncrossing. “You threatened me with a spell before as well, didn’t you?” Twilight relaxed her glare. “I did, but only because I wasn’t sure of your intentions and-“ “I don’t care about that,” he cut her off. “You have magic, yes?” “I do, I am an alicorn after all,” she nodded, although silently she wondered just what manner of creature didn’t know what an alicorn or the Elements were. She kept the thought to herself however, watching while the creature appeared to think to himself as well. The biped glanced down to the numerous objects at his side before sighing and visibly slumping. “Fine, I’ll accept your help and I’ll try not to scare your entire town to death. But, I expect that you’ll be able to actually do something to that… thing. I’m not being nice for no reason, you know.” “That works for me.” Realising that she had forgotten something, Twilight relaxed and smiled up at him for the first time. “I’m sorry, but I got a little caught up before. I’m Twilight Sparkle, Princess Celestia’s personal student. Also, I am one of the four Equestrian Princesses, but I’d prefer it if you just called me Twilight.” “Nigel,” he returned with notably less enthusiasm. “Nigel M Chalmers. Unfortunately, not a Princess of anything.” Twilight smiled at the joke, while going over the rather… unthreatening name in her mind. After all, she expected something along the lines of ‘Bloodthirst Kill-all the Destroyer’ going off his appearance. ‘Silly,’ she shook her head. ‘Of course no pony would have a name as bad as that one.’ Glancing to the clock and noting the still-early hour, she shrugged and tilted her head. “It would probably be best that we at least wait until sunrise before waking the others. Do you want some tea or coffee? My assistant Spike is away visiting Canterlot, but I am capable of boiling water without him.” Twilight smiled hopefully. “We should save the details about this monster until we meet with the others, but you can still tell me about yourself.” She couldn’t tell how the idea had gone over thanks to the unreadable blank face, Twilight then wondering whether ‘Nigel’ could even consume tea given his apparent lack of a visible mouth. “Tea?” was the reply, with far less venom than before. “Talk about… myself?” His voice actually seemed to brighten at the end. “Fine, I will accept your offer of hospitality. But don’t forget that eliminating that monster should be your first priority.” “Of course,” Twilight reassured, gesturing towards the door as she mulled over his words in her head. ‘Eliminating? That doesn’t sound too good…’ “And lastly, this here is Rainbow Dash.” Nigel stared out through his optics at the fifth new horse that he was faced with, a half-drunken cup of tea in front of him. The admittedly half-decent beverage was possibly the reason why he didn’t immediately question the eye-rapingly garish colour scheme she had, possibly combined with the hope that the equines would be able to defeat Bloodmoon for him. He glanced down at the wooden stool he was sitting on, the soft purple glow around it apparently a ‘reinforcement’ spell that was keeping the furniture from snapping under his bulk. Chalmers looked back up just in time to be met with a pair of magenta eyes trying to stare right into his optics, the inquisitive owner barely a hair’s breadth away. “Hey Twi,” ‘Rainbow’ asked while neglecting to back up. “Are you sure we should be helping this ‘Chalmers’ guy?” She squinted at him. “He’s kind of weird. Like… ‘something that we’d fight’ weird.” “Now Rainbow Dash, let’s not insult Twilight’s guest.” Turning his head away from the flying cyan horse, Nigel saw that the speaker was the white unicorn at the opposite end of the table. He recalled her name as ‘Rarity’, and she uneasily reminded him of the posh wives of planetary governors and the like. “While he does seem quite… impressive of stature, if Twilight is confident that he is a friend, then that is enough reassurance for me.” She flicked her curled mane with a hoof. “And besides, Commander Nigel M Chalmers sounds very refined.” “Sheesh Rares, at this rate you’ll be trying to make him free clothes and all,” orange horse ‘Applejack’ drawled with a roll of her eyes. “I was just attempting to show some hospitality, Applejack. Really, am I to be the only one with any manners here?” Nigel had had enough of the bickering. The only other horses left was the one sitting quietly sipping her own tea, Fluttershy, and the very suspicious ‘Pinkie Pie’ who was sitting in her seat impatiently with a wide grin. “Can we just stop this talking?” he interjected. “I hardly think that this little session is really going to get us anywhere.” Nigel thought for a second, before turning his head to face Rarity. “Although I do appreciate the recognition about my refinement, thank you.” “My, how polite,” she murmured in response. “Once we solve this little matter of a monster, you should visit my boutique. No offense to Twilight, but I have the finest tea leaves imported specially from the zebra isles. Surely one such as you would appreciate some of the finer things that life has to offer.” Unseen by them, he raised an eyebrow under his helmet at her words. ‘Where is this going?’ “I must admit,” he leaned forwards slightly. “I do have some rather… exotic tastes.” Unfortunately for him, she didn’t get it. “Exotic? Oh no,” she dismissed after some confusion. “I get my Zebrican tea from a supplier in Canterlot, it is the latest trend after all. Really, it’s quite common place.” “That wasn’t what I was…” he sighed, being met with six clueless looks. “Forget it.” ‘Guess I can’t even distract myself with some flirting, wonderful. Curse them and their naiveté.’ “Uh, okay?” Twilight glanced to the others before refocusing on him. “Anyway, aren’t you the one who wants to stop the talking?” “Well yeah, but I hardly see you lot doing anything of use.” “Um, excuse me…” Everyone turned to look at the pony that had spoken, Fluttershy tapping her forehooves together. “But do we actually know what sort of monster is threatening the town? I mean, is it a changeling?” “A dragon?” Applejack asked. “Two dragons?” Rainbow said with a tilt of her head, earning a sideways glance from Applejack. “Oh! Oh! Or, maybe it’s a changeling riding a dragon!” Silence reigned briefly while everyone stared at Pinkie, Nigel leaning back at her wide grin and manic glint in the eyes. “Uh, no…” he answered. Sighing, he placed his hands on the table and exhaled. “What I’m about to tell you may chill you right to the bone. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.” He took another deep breath, the ponies all leaning in with wide eyes. Twilight even had a notepad and quill out to take notes. “I first met the monster in this small farming town. I was having some… difficulty with the locals and as such was negotiating an agreement. Then, this thing takes me by surprise and tackles me to the ground!” “Tackles you?” It was Rainbow that spoke, the pegasus flying up and hovering around him. “You? What, is this thing the size of a house or something?” “Ah… not quite.” He decided for the sake of his ego to skip the rest of the details of that little encounter, and instead moved on. “Anyway, this thing is as black as night, with stripes the colour of fresh blood.” “Sounds like a real meanie,” Pinkie breathed with a frown. “It is,” Nigel nodded. “No matter what you throw at it, this thing just won’t die!” His fists clenched at the memories while the ponies gave each other concerned looks. “You shoot it and it doesn’t die! You stab it and it doesn’t die! You try and kick it to death and it doesn’t even flinch because your legs don’t even move!” “Um,” Fluttershy began. “Are you sure that we should be trying… to kill it?” Nigel didn’t even hear her. “It just doesn’t die! I even blew it up when it wasn’t expecting anything and it still… didn’t… die!” “Blew it up?” He turned towards Twilight, ready to educate the unicorn on the sheer inability to be killed that their quarry possessed, but he paused at her pale face. “You said that you tried to blow this monster up. Was it you that left that massive crater in the fields outside of town?” The others, save for Rainbow, looked around at each other with confusion. “Uh, what’s this about a crater?” Applejack asked. Nigel tossed up between lying and telling Sparkle the truth. From the looks of it the equines had already discovered his handiwork, and given what he had learnt about them they probably wouldn’t be too pleased about him running around blowing holes in their planet. On the other hand, what were they going to do about it? He needed to see if Twilight’s magic would work at destroying or at least weakening Bloodmoon, but apart from that they were of little concern. “Yep,” he confirmed with a nod. “Surrounded it with enough high-explosives to level a city block, but nada.” Nigel ignored the concerned looks that they were all sharing, and he didn’t know if it was in regards to the news of the Abomination’s toughness or if the explanation of his own actions was sitting ill with the six. “That’s why I need you lot to have a go at it, maybe with your pony magic will stop her reign of terror.” “I’m sure that we’re all as concerned as you are about this creature,” Rarity reassured, before leaning in. “But, did I mishear you or did you refer to it as a ‘she’?” Placing his armoured hands on the table, Nigel stood up. “Come on, I better go and show you it so you can better understand. ‘Maybe he’s lost in the town. He’s not that… well, bright after all. At least not when compared to me.’ Bloodmoon bit her bottom lip and continued to swing her hindlegs out in front of her while she sat on the bench. Hours had passed since she had last seen her wonder lover, and townsponies were emerging from their houses and going about their early morning business. She failed to pick up on the worried stares they all gave her when they passed, her mind solely focused on her current troubles. ‘No, I’m sure he can’t be too lost. It’s a pretty small town after all.’ Nightblade glanced down when her stomach growled, a frown crossing her face while she rubbed it with her forehooves. “Don’t worry tummy, I’m sure Nigel-wigel will be back real soon with some yummy food.” She glanced up and around the busy square. “He must be close, I can feel it.” “There it is. Be careful to be quiet, who knows what god-forsaken senses it possesses.” Twilight stared at what Chalmers was pointing at, the human’s voice a whisper while they all crouched behind a pile of barrels. She couldn’t believe it. “Uh, you know that’s just a pony, right?” Rainbow summed up their thoughts pretty well, Twilight narrowing her eyes and scrutinising the seemingly-harmless mare sitting on a lone bench. “I’m telling the truth!” Nigel hissed. “She’s a blight upon existence, you haven’t met her!” “This is so stupid.” Twilight looked up as Rainbow took flight with the grumble. “I was woken up early for this?” She lazily started to fly towards the mare in question, Nigel freezing in his place. “Wait, come back!” It was no use, Rainbow easily reaching the object of his woes and landing down upon the street to talk to her. Twilight watched with baited breath in case Nigel was right and there was some hidden horror, but she relaxed after a few moments when it was evident that Rainbow and the unknown pony were just conversing. “You know, I don’t really see the problem here,” Twilight said to him, neglecting to whisper. “She does seem to just be an ordinary pony.” “She’s not ordinary at all,” Nigel growled back. “It’s impossible to harm her, I even tried to shoot her right in the head and the bloody gun jammed.” “About that, I’ve been meaning to talk to you.” It was about time to bring it up. “Could you maybe not, well… try to blow anypony up anymore? It’s not really something we do around here, you know.” His response was pretty much what she expected. “You don’t want me to blow up ponies?” He leaned in over her. “Then you’d better stop doubting me, and get to magicing that thing-“ “Hey, check her out Twi!” From around the barrels came Rainbow, a look of wild amazement in her eyes. Twilight followed the gesturing hoof towards a fang-filled smile. ‘Oh sweet Celestia…’ Fangs. Bat-wings. Mis-matched eye colours. A long and jagged horn that would put Queen Chrysalis to shame. ‘Is Nigel right?’ Twilight wondered with her previous relaxation upon the discovery that the monster was a pony well and truly faded. ‘Something like this has to be evil, just look at it!’ Rainbow Dash however was far from concerned. “This is Nightblade Bloodmoon, can you believe that? I mean, a name like that-“ ‘Is like something out of a nightmare.’ “-is so amazingly awesome!” Circling Bloodmoon, Rainbow pointed features as she talked. “I bet she’s real good at flying as well, with wings this big. Hey Bloodmoon, want to race and see how you do against the fastest flyer in Equestria?” “At least Rainbow seems to have made a friend,” Twilight muttered with a glance back to the others. Judging from the hesitant looks the rest of her friends, even Pinkie, were giving each other they too had doubts about Bloodmoon. ‘Gah, I feel dirty just thinking that name,’ she winced. Glancing towards Nigel, she made to ask for his input before she noticed the way that he had gone stock still. Turning back to Bloodmoon, she took a step back at the monstrous smile that was directed at the human. “Nigey-Wigey!” In a feat that Twilight knew was physically impossible for a pony, Bloodmoon seemed to spring from her spot and fly without using her wings. With a solid thump, she landed right up against Nigel with her forehooves over his shoulders and her hind legs around his waist. “Cursed thing!” Chalmers yelled, however he seemed unable to move or push her off. “Oh, I missed you too Sweetie.” ‘Huh,’ Twilight realised while they all watched Bloodmoon lovingly nuzzle the livid human. ‘Suddenly things make a whole lot more sense…’