Nightmare

by Blackdrag-rose

Five-Nightmare

Christan woke to the bumpiness of the road yet again, something that he was getting used to now that he was traveling with two police officers and an ancient alicorn. He took a look at his watch and noticed that it was barely ten minutes past five in the morning, which made him was to sigh and go back to bed. The bumping prevented him from really getting back to sleep, which meant that he didn't have to deal with Nightmare and her personal problems. At the very least he didn't have to worry about Thunder and Silent, as the officers wished to be called, throwing him in some foreign place to fend for himself.

At least that was the case until Nightmare tired of his presence and demanded that they got rid of him.

Speaking of the mare Christan noticed that she was already up again and was already browsing the internet like she was hunting for leads on the other ponies. Across the van from where she was sitting was a map of what appeared to be the United States with several icons that resembled cutie marks. She appeared to be cross referencing where each individual pony was in relation to their own location. And by the looks of it Nightmare had constructed three symbols that represented Discord, Chrysalis, and Sombra, but only one was on the map currently.

"Ah, I see your up," Thunder remarked, turning back to look at him and Nightmare while Silent was driving, "We're planning at stopping at a Denny's later on, so feel free to pick up a laptop and pass the time if you can't fall asleep again."

The guy was friendly, Christan gave him that as he picked up on of the dozen laptops and powered it on, but he still didn't know about the woman. He really didn't know if he should trust them, but if they were letting him tag along and let him help out however he could then he should be grateful. But he lost whatever thought he was on as he searched for something, anything, that could help Nightmare create her positioning map. Then he noticed a news article, one from some newspaper up in Washington, that mentioned some sort of gemstone they had found earlier.

A gemstone that resembled the legendary Crystal Heart of the Crystal Empire in Equestria.

The way Christan thought about it was simple, if the stone existed in their world then that meant that the first thing that Princess Cadence and King Sombra would be going after would be the same stone. Whenever they arrived they would make like a bee and travel across the entire country to be the first to claim the powerful stone. King Sombra would corrupt it, turning the magic against whoever was near it and he would reconstruct the foul Crystal Empire he had controlled until his defeat. Princess Cadence would use the stone to wipe out Sombra's darkness and then turn it against Discord so the would would be left alone.

Christan spent the next three hours reading articles about the gemstone they had found in Washington and the broken tools the workers had used to haul it out of the water. According to what he read there were dozens of broken tools scattered around the work area of where the stone was found, tools the workers hadn't bothered to pick up after the work was finished. Another thing he noticed was that the finder and the current owner of the stone, one Rayger Fell, was willing to sell the stone for a king's ransom of thirty-three and a half million dollars.

Christan knew that if someone found the Elements of Harmony, the six jewels used to defeat some of Equestria's most dangerous villains, the prices would be off the charts. He knew that a single one of the elements, regardless of which of the five necklaces, would be so expensive that many wouldn't consider buying it. The Element of Magic, the most powerful of them all, would be the most expensive gemstone in all of existence and the most fought over. The Bronies must already be gathering in force to claim the real Crystal Heart from the man who had found in in Washington.

"Here we are," Thunder exclaimed, the van coming to a full stop as Christan looked out the back window, "Denny's, exactly as I promised."

True enough Christan saw the familiar Denny's building, which begged the question as to why they had chosen here of all places to eat. Not that he was complaining, he was rather hungry and the food was a good idea at the moment so they could have something while they discussed their next move. He had some things he needed to mention to the rest of his group, but first he was going to eat something before he dared to open his mouth.

So the four of them got out of the van and, after locking the doors, they made their way to the front door of the restaurant. Thunder and Silent ran up to the doors and opened them wide for their master, bowing as a sign of respect as Nightmare walked right into the waiting area. The hostess and the rest of the staff who had been watching the door stared at them all, wondering if it was their imagination playing tricks on them.

"Quit staring at me you foals," Nightmare commanded, her voice being projected towards the staff, "Serve the Mistress of the Night or become ruined in her wake!"

The staff that had been staring at her got a move on, counting four members to their group and beckoning them to one of the round tables in the center of their restaurant. Christan was surprised that they weren't asking questions as to why Nightmare Moon herself had come to their place seeking food and such. Then again he was being surprised more and more every single day, so this really wasn't all that surprising when he thought about it. Though some of the looks the staff gave Nightmare were starting to disturb Christan, afraid that they might randomly attack the group while they were sitting down.

"So...um...what would you like to order?" the waitress shyly asked, reminding Christan of Fluttershy.

"Ah, the shy one," Nightmare remarked, not bothering to look up from her menu, "I will have the stake and eggs with the eggs scrambled, fours sides of bacon, and a stack of some of these buttermilk pancakes. And a mug of the finest coffee you have in stock."

"Bacon and eggs with some pancakes and a coffee," Thunder spoke up, Silent indicating she would have the same as well.

"And for...for you sir?" the waitress continued.

"I'll have the same as them," Christan said, folding the menu and looking up to find that the waitress was none other than Fluttershy in the flesh.

Standing at the edge of their table was a yellow coated pegasus mare with a long pink mane that covered one of her eyes and a long pink tail. On her flank was her signature cutie mark, the three butterflies that signified her connection to the animals and wildlife in the world. Christan was through being surprised while he traveled around with Nightmare and her guards, but when he looked at her neck he had an even bigger surprise. Around Fluttershy's neck was a golden necklace with a big butterfly shaped gem that represented the Element of Kindness.

Christan looked over to Nightmare to see if she noticed that their waitress was actually the Element of Kindness, but she seemed to be staring at Thunder instead. So Christan kept his mouth shut while Fluttershy walked away with their menus, allowing his mind to relax just a bit while he he waited for someone, or pony, to speak.

"Here is what we know," Nightmare explained, a miniature map of the United States appearing on the table, "Queen Chrysalis was last reported to be seen somewhere in Florida, but the reports could have been faked by people hoping to let others know their Queen has arrived. Also according to the reports and news articles there was a supposed sighting of both Princess Cadence and her husband Shining Armor somewhere in the central part of the United States. Discord has remained at the poker table since his arrival, so we know he's still in Las Vegas.

King Sombra and my sister, Princess Celestia, are still missing in action, so we know that the Solar Empire is currently missing in action. Right now the rest of the New Lunar Republic is gathering somewhere around Las Vegas, waiting for my arrival before we storm the place. We are currently amassing as many ponies, or people as the case is, as we can gather and word of my arrival has been spreading like wildfire. Besides my sister and Discord there is only one other force that I must overcome to ensure my rule over this world; the Elements of Harmony."

"Their talking abo...about me," Fluttershy weakly said, peeping out from behind the corner as she watched Nightmare Moon speaking to her group.

"Come on Fluttershy, quit staring at them," the other waitress said, pulling the mare back so she didn't have to stare at the dark mare at the table, "Nightmare is likely just talking strategy so she can deal with Discord when she and her pals reach Las Vegas. She doesn't need to know that you and the real Element of Kindness are right here under her nose."

"She...she'll find me," Fluttershy whimpered, cowering under an open sink while her coworker spoke, "I'm...I'm the waitress for...for her table. She knows I'm...I'm here."

While Fluttershy hid under the sink her coworkers went to work making sure they made the order that Nightmare Moon and her group had put in to perfection. They didn't want the wrath of Nightmare to come down on their heads, which was mostly due to the fact that they didn't know how much magic Nightmare currently knew. If she had a long range of spells then they were doomed if they screwed up the order, but they had no way of knowing how many spells she had already mastered.

So for the next twenty minutes Fluttershy hid in the kitchen, only daring to look out at the table she would have to eventually serve twice the entire time. Both times she noticed the four talking amongst themselves, on whatever subject Nightmare Moon happened to bring up to keep the conversation going. Both times she also noticed that one of the men keep an eye on her, a kind eye of someone who would never be in the company of Nightmare unless he had something up his sleeve. She liked the one who seemed to care less about what evil Nightmare Moon had planned and more on what good could be accomplished at some point.

When the food was finally ready Fluttershy gathered herself and pulled herself out from under the sink that she spent the majority of the last twenty minutes under. She quietly made her way to the table, hoping that Nightmare Moon was too occupied by talking to notice her appearance in the slightest. As she drew closer she noticed that two of her three companions were members of the New Lunar Republic, mostly due to the patches inscribed with the letters NLR on their uniforms. The third man, the stranger with the strange kindness in his eyes, smiled at her as she neared, giving her the confidence to approach the table.

Nightmare dug right into her stake as soon as Fluttershy had delivered it to the table, much to the surprise of those who were her companions. Thunder and Silent shrugged as they silently ate their food, keeping an eye on both Fluttershy and the man they had brought with them. Christan, on the other hoof, was just silently picking away at the food he had ordered, wondering if he should run and take Fluttershy with him.

"So whats the next move?" Thunder asked, looking at the front of the restaurant as some more customers walked in.

"We head to Las Vegas of course," Nightmare answered, her eyes hovering on Fluttershy for a second before moving on, "We'll need all the help we can get, so we'll need to keep an eye out for any other members of the New Lunar Republic. But there is one thing we'll be needing before we leave this place."

Fluttershy didn't like the tone of her voice, mostly because Nightmare was staring at her when she had finished her sentence. There was a strange feeling that her fate was now entwined with that of Nightmare Moon and her new guards, but she couldn't be sure.

"Um, wha...what do you mean?" Fluttershy asked, afraid of what her answer was going to be.

"You," Nightmare Moon answered, flashing her fangs at the mare, "You, Fluttershy, are coming along with us when we leave this place. And don't even try to run, otherwise something rather unfortunate could happen to you."