Nightmare Moon vs. OC

by TundraStanza

Ch. 3: Starlight, Star Bright

---{Third-Person Perspective}
Somewhere in the depths of a cave system near the edge of Equestria...

"Curse that Princess and her nonsensical ways! My nameless town was thriving just fine before those ponies had to come and ruin everything."

"I know what you mean."

"What? Who's there? Show yourself!"

"I too have been stripped of control that I deserved due to Sparkle and her disgusting friendships. I even know where they live."

"Oh really? Tell me where this place is and I'll go destroy her kingdom at its source!"

"No, no, no. Have you never made a business transaction before? It requires an equal exchange."

"Er... well... I kind of left all of my bits at the house that I've been evicted from."

"My dear little pony, I am not asking for something as fleeting as money. What I'm asking for... is merely a safe residence in your mind, body, and soul."

"Hold on a second! How is that an equal exchange? It sounds like I'm signing up for a cult for a mere location I could figure out by finding a railroad and following it to the next town for a map."

"Is the taking of one's identity to grant them a slice of true harmony not a part of a cult?"

...

"I will not dignify that with a response."

"We are not so different after all, little pony. You seek to stand at a level in which all of your peers stand one level beneath your hooves. I seek subjects that recognize my power on a similar level as, if not higher than, their own. So, what's it going to be?"

...

"You'll let me enact the actual revenge once we get there. That is my condition. Take it or leave it."

"Sounds like a deal to me."

*Whoosh*

"Oh my harmony, this power... it's more than I ever thought I could have."

*Gleam!*

"Hm hm hm... heh heh heh... ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!"

...

---{Dilan Shier}
Inside Princess Twilight Sparkle's castle...

After getting my internal fluids scared out of me by Princess Twilight yet again, I was about ready to head back to the spare room in Canterlot. There were only so many heart attacks one could ever take. I had probably gotten enough to last for both of my lifetimes. But my focus on today's scares and hypothetical cardiac arrest was interrupted by Princess Twilight gasping and looking at her flank.

Her cutie mark was glowing and letting off a shimmering noise. Did she have a cell phone that I didn't know about? But instead of reaching into a pocket that probably didn't exist, she galloped the rest of the length of the hall.

"Hey, wait! I wasn't done yet!" hollered wingless Twilight as she galloped after her.

Following suit, the boys and I gave chase and galloped (or ran in Spike's case). Princess Twilight slammed her front hooves down on a round table in the throne room. Before I could make a medieval comparison, a light in the form of her cutie mark floated up above the table and eventually hovered right next to a standing holographic picture of this castle. More specifically, this "map" depicted her mark floating above the houses in Ponyville.

Spike gasped and ran up next to her. "It's here? Right in our own backyard?"

"No doubt about it," she said affirmatively.

"Slow down one second," said wingless Twilight as she put a hoof against her head before pointing at the map in front of her. "What's here?"

"A problem in which the magic of friendship is required in one form or another," explained Princess Twilight. "This is one of my responsibilities as the Princess of Friendship. The Tree of Harmony granted us the strength necessary to defeat Tirek and get everypony's cutie marks back. The least my friends and I can do is follow its guidelines in return."

"Any idea what the problem is?" asked Fifty-one.

A split-second headache forced my hoof to pad my forehead at that moment. "I think I've got a slight idea. I sense a fragment of the Nightmare close by."

"Why would it only call Twilight and none of the others?" wondered Spike. "I've seen it call only a select few before, but any pony infected by the Nightmare needs at least two or more to deal with."

Princess Twilight gave me her look. "Maybe it figures I have everypony I need with me right this moment."

I stood my ground despite my trepidation. "N-N-No need to tell me twice. I'm going with you."

"I shall accompany you for observation," said Fifty-one. "I'm rather curious to see things play out differently in this universe."

Princess Twilight nodded her approval before turning to look at Spike. "Would you and the other Twilight stay here and hold the fort please?"

"Ye-..." his response got caught in his throat. He lifted his claw, frowned, lowered his claw to scratch his chin, and finally shook his head. "I can't do that to you, Twilight, not this time."

"What?"

"What?" The Twilights blurted out in stereo.

"The way you described events that took place in that strange town of equal marks, I could have helped out if I had just gone with you instead of staying behind." He crossed his arms. "Now that the problem is right in my hometown, I'd never forgive myself if I didn't at least go with you for moral support."

The wingless Twilight looked moved to tears and stepped forth. "I may not understand exactly what's going on, but Ponyville is my home too. I can't just sit behind in a princess's castle while a look-alike town with innocent lives is in danger."

There was an awkward pause. For a while, Princess Twilight just stood there not saying anything. It was as if her mouth had stopped working. At least, that was the case until she smiled sincerely.

"All right," she said with a nod. "But keep your guard up. We have no idea what this new Nightmare pony is capable of."

"Got it!"

"Got it!" said Spike and wingless Twilight together.

"Understood," agreed Fifty-one.

"Dill Anne!" demanded Princess Twilight. "Lead us to that threat!"

"Y-You got it, Your Majesty." I galloped through that castle with everyone following me.

---
One of the streets of Ponyville...

Houses rushed by as I galloped. There were some ponies running to the left and right as well. More than a few of them were screaming. Though, judging by the way they were looking, something other than my Nightmare Moon visage was doing the terrifying. That was when I saw the burst of magic.

It rushed by like a laser and caught one of the screaming ponies in her tracks. Her voice went silent for a bit before sounding like a wild animal getting their leg torn off by a bear trap. The next thing I knew, her cherry-shaped cutie mark was flying clean off and being sucked back in by the same magic laser that hit her. I watched it fly all the way back to a much shadier pony.

There was no mistaking that eerie and ethereal hairstyle. This was the Nightmare-possessed pony. Several small pictures floated around her, including the cherry mark. Were all of them also cutie marks that she had stolen? I'd already seen enough of this madness when Tirek barged around the world. I needed to extract her fragment of the Nightmare as soon as possible.

But, there was something else going on, too. When I looked back at the pony that had just become an adult blank-flank, a gray equals sign grew in her cutie mark's place. She tried to get up and gallop away, but the equals sign briefly grew darker. She ended up trotting at a leisurely place, though the expression on her face was anything but that of leisure. What kind of sick joke was this?

"All shall become equal under my reign!" The Nightmare pony cackled.

"Not if we can help it!" declared Princess Twilight, flying up next to me.

"Well, well, well," hummed the Nightmare, "here I was just thinking of how I'd have to draw you out, yet you came right to me, Princess Twilight Sparkle. This time I will take your cutie mark away for good!"

Well, Princess Twilight didn't take too kindly to that. She immediately launched a bolt of magenta magic at the enemy's position. Less than a second later, the Nightmare returned fire with a beam of light turquoise. She was quickly pushing the princess's magic back.

"No... way," grunted Princess Twilight. "She's... even stronger than before... urgh..."

My tail decided to whip the ground in front of me with enough force to make cracks in the dirt. A large pillar of dark crystal grew up. I turned and gave the pillar a buck and it toppled over. But just as it looked ready to crush the Nightmare pony, a giant blue barrier suddenly sprang forth from her and redirected the pillar around her. I tried flying in quickly to follow up with a lightning punch. But, my right hoof collided with that same blue barrier and sent me sliding on my back.

As I grunted and painfully stood back up, I saw a second magenta beam shoot forth. It started pushing to the point where the length of the colliding beams of each color were about the same. The beltless Twilight had joined this power skirmish. Another beam came to their aid, this time green in color. Within seconds, the two Twilights and Fifty-one were gaining the upper hand in this duel. Eventually, all of their magic blasts made it to the Nightmare pony and something exploded in green and purple.

"My turn!" I rushed in, ready to let Tail Demon feed on the excess of hatred.

But there was a slight problem. The smoke cleared to reveal an empty spot on the street. Where could she have gone? My eyes raced around. I tried to sense the Nightmare fragment, but it seemed to be everywhere and nowhere all at once. I couldn't identify the actual source.

"Watch the shadows!" exclaimed Fifty-one.

As soon as I turned my head to look and ask what he meant, a searing pain went through my lower body. I grunted and tried to yell out against the painful tugging, but all I could manage were uncomfortable grunts. I heard a Twilight stereo having the same problem while the changeling grit his fangs. I caught one glimpse of three blue beams pulling marks toward a shadow in between us before I fell to the side, worn out from the pain.

"Starlight..." croaked Princess Twilight. "Why are you... doing this?"

"Oh, Starlight?" mocked the voice of the Nightmare pony. "There's no Starlight where we stand. I... am Star Bright, the true equalizer of Equestria!" She rose out of the shadows, laughing maniacally, and eyes glowing red all the way.

---{Tundra Stanza}
Canterlot Castle Infirmary...

Half of Rainbow Dash's face was covered in bandaging. A large section of my shoulder met the same fate and I was told not to move that side's wing too much. But at this point, it was almost laughable. I had completely lost track of how many times I've needed to be in a hospital bed for whatever reason.

"How many more injuries do you think it'll take before I can officially join the Wonderbolts?" asked Dash.

"I don't know," I admitted. "But if you get hurt too often, they might consider it a pre-existing condition and not want to risk it."

She stared at me. I stared at her. Her lips smirked. I let out a snort. By that point, we were both repeatedly slapping our hooves against the beds at how ridiculous we were being.

"I hope I'm not interrupting anything."

We halted our thumping simultaneously. I turned my head and saw Celestia trotting into the room with Twilight stepping in soon after. I had a pretty good idea of what she wanted to talk about.

"I was told that somepony that went by Tundra would be able to explain why Twilight Sparkle so urgently requested one of my city-wide defensive spells," said Celestia. "After that, I have other questions that need addressing."

Professional and to the point, just like our Celestia, admired Sode no Shirayuki.

"Yeah, um..." My wing on the unbandaged shoulder idly scratched against me. "Would you like a seat somewhere? This could take a while to explain."

"That's quite alright," she insisted. "I'm used to listening while standing."

I sighed. "Well, it basically starts with the world that we came from."

---
Several minutes later...

"... and that's why I figured a little protection against our Bankai would be better than nothing."

Celestia hummed. "So from what you gather, whatever force that pulled Rainbow Dash into our world created a sinister rage that exaggerated her desire to fight?"

"Uh, yeah..." I scratched my neck with a hoof. "I guess it does sound kind of ridiculous when I say it out loud."

"Oh, no. Don't misunderstand me." She shook her head and smiled gently. "I don't doubt everything that you said. It will just, as you said, take a while to gather it all and understand the entire picture of what is happening." She closed her eyes. "Worlds converging... I'm afraid I have just as little experience in this particular phenomenon as you do." She opened her eyes and looked around at the room's other three occupants. "Still, if there's anything I can do to help you during your stay, please feel free to ask."

"You got it, Princess!" Rainbow saluted, a little too hard against her face bandage. "Ow!"

"For now, I'll be over at the Canterlot Archives to oversee repairs," Celestia declared. "Excuse me." With that, she trotted out.

---{#51}
The streets of Ponyville...

I panted before I shook myself down. Whatever that "Star Bright" had hit me with had not been comfortable in the slightest. Quite frankly, that level of hatred and vengeance was suffocating to my sense of smell. I hissed with anger. This enemy wanted equality? Well, how would she like a pain of equal magnitude to what she had inflicted upon us all?

She was distracted in a fit of her own hysterical laughter. My wings buzzed, gaining me several feet of altitude. I carefully aimed myself down at her before surrounding my frontward strike in green flames. The impact I had with her face was almost satisfying. So was her recoiling expression as she slid back a foot or two. She looked at me with those red eyes.

"How are you still using your talent?" she asked with a scent of frustration. "That spell should have stripped you of your cutie mark just like it did with the princess!"

I chuckled humorlessly. "I guess you've never combatted a changeling before. We don't have any cutie marks in the first place." I spat to the side. "But if it's any consolation... that hurt like Tartarus." I turned my head back. "Spike, would you care to back me up?" I offered a hoof.

"Do you even have to ask?" The dragon smirked and grabbed on with his claw.

His determination whetted my appetite. With a short spin, I gave him a toss toward Star Bright. She put up a light blue force field, but the dragon's blazing orange fire breath soon put it out. To add injury to insult, he made a quick pass against her face with his right claw. I soon followed with a burning blast from my horn. She yelped in what sounded like pain.

However, I was a little troubled at her lack of worry. That's when I felt myself get lifted off my hooves and flipped over and around. Spike yelped as a blue aura held him in a similar state as I. He screamed as we were levitated and tossed against a house across the street. We were dropped to the ground, but we managed to shake off the small amount of bruising pain from that quick flight.

I tried firing another green blast, but Star Bright was quick to counter with her beam spell. It was a repeat of the beam struggle earlier. But alone, I wasn't strong enough to push her back. Just as it looked like I was about to get knocked against the wall again, her spell abruptly cut off and she repeatedly yelped out. Spike had somehow used my attack as a diversion to get in close and... amusingly... bite her on the rear. No matter which way she turned and how hard she bucked, she couldn't get him off.

There was sufficient energy for me to deliver one more full-force strike. I took off the ground with wings buzzing. I surrounded my front with green fire and rushed downward. Star Bright finally managed to shake Spike enough that he tumbled away. But at that point, I was already slamming into her face.

The impact sent her toppling onto her back. I backflipped away and landed on the ground on all fours. I was half-expecting her to get back up, seeing as how the scent of her wrath hadn't faded. What I had not expected was to see Dill Anne Shear casually trotting up to her. I also was not prepared for the foreign emotion being emitted. Something wasn't right with this picture.

"Who are you?" I hissed.

'Shear' glanced in my direction with red irises against her white eyes. She grunted in a tone very different from her own. Her red tail whipped around and grabbed Star Bright by the neck. I was about to ask what she was doing until I noticed a strange scent in the air. It almost smelled like Star Bright's hatred was... being devoured. This emotional scent didn't make any sense to me.

But that wasn't the only change in the atmosphere. Physically, it looked like Star Bright's body was shrinking by the second. Her black hide was giving way to a puce color. I think I even saw the slits in her eyes shrinking to little dots. She soon collapsed unconscious against the ground.

Once that happened, the cutie marks that had been circling around seemed to crack out of their shells and fly around like tiny missiles. Some of the ponies that hadn't quite gotten away yet were struck by these marks. What happened next was almost a reverse-explosion as their colors returned to full brightness. Two identical star marks floated over to the Twilights. They also recovered their colors and their emotions smelled like happiness and relief.

"An ally," muttered a deep voice from Shear's throat just as her crescent moon mark collided with her flank.
---