Holy. Frigging. Shit.

Question: why didn't Nightmare Moon have a fail-safe system with regards to the little sisters of the elements. I mean, I'd have it that if an alarm was triggered in the castle, an automatic message would be sent to guards in Ponyville that would then capture the CMC and move them to a safe house until they receive word from the empress. She then has leverage over the elements as the default answer should be that after a certain amount of time (relatively short), the guards kill the hostages and disappear.

Maybe I'm just ridiculously vicious but a person like her should suspect they'd try and escape and think about the possibility of defeat.

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Or a dead man's switch connected to their heart. The elements break out, their sisters die. Or maybe even just cast it on their fellow bearers.

6534197 Nightmare Moon has no guards in Ponyville; the ones that were mentioned were the Royal Guard sent by Celestia, who elected to remain in Ponyville to help out after they received word of the princesses' defeat.

Also, Nightmare Moon is all too aware that her guard isn't very... good, at least not without someone like her or her Praetorian Guard to direct them. Being so far away from Canterlot, messages would take long to get there - even her teleportation has a range and she doesn't know the spell Celestia uses to send messages through Spike - and her guard would obviously not be welcome in Ponyville. Truthfully, she doesn't expect any of them to be able to capture the CMC and fight off the predictably irked townsfolk.

She could send more guards to counteract the latter issue, but she was at a high point in her life and self-confidence can lead to a dramatic decrease in foresight.

This story is pretty badass.

~Have a good one.

I'll admit I was hanging onto the edge of my seat while reading this chapter. Honestly, I haven't read a story this suspenseful or exhilarating in a very long time. Keep it up!

Nightmare Moon emitted a wet gargle and oriented her head towards the noise; what remained of her eyes was steadily dripping down her cheekbones. She seemed to be trying to stand, but she was literally more bone than muscle at this point, and what flesh she did have was sticking fast to the street, bubbling and sizzling like red and pink egg yolks on a frying pan.

This had a shiver running down my spine even after reading it a half dozen times.

P.S. Did you get any ideas for this chapter from the Stephen king move ( It )? The monster in that move is remarkably similar to the Nightmares true form.

6535951 I haven't seen IT in a long time and have forgotten a pretty good majority of how it went, but it might have played a part in how I subconsciously find formless beings with little discerning features so unsettling.

Incidentally, I also have a fear of immolation.

Well this chapter was hard to read, mainly because of their so called 'plan' for an powerful empress that knew they were a danger, I thought she knew they'd try to escape somehow. . . But all for plot advancement . . .

6536935 I like your profile pic.

Really curious now as to what Nightmare Moon was trying to achieve with Twilight, that this is the 'failure state'.

Plaster and wood blew across the guest room’s interior as Celestia physically bypassed the wall without slowing down. She shook her head to scatter some debris from her mane and promptly gave the next wall the same treatment.

Typical Celestia, always trying to go with her head through the wall.

Celestia blinked hard, unable to tear her gaze away from her melted opponent. “I just… reacted. I heard you screaming and I saw you being hurt… so I…”

“I know, ‘Tia.”

“I would have killed these ponies if she hadn’t…”

“You did nothing wrong,” The bottom of her naked hooves protested when she stepped closer, but Luna ignored it to gently place one forehoof on her sister’s shoulder. “They made the decision to follow her and she made the decision to attack us. The blame lies with them and them alone.”

This might lead to an incoming tragedy if they really don't care what happens to Nightmare's five most loyal followers. I sure hope things will turn out for the guard.

I kind of want to stop reading at this point, i realise that having the "heroes" escape can build tension and create a new obstacle for nightmare moon to work towards overcoming but i feel like there was already a thread with the humans going that way.
I don't know, i just feel like there was no need for the mane 6 + sisters to escape to further the story with everything else that is going on.

Man, i'm just plain old butthurt about the entire situation.
Having the character you're rooting for have the rug swept from under them by two schmucks barely out of imprisonment, at literally their weakest moment in FOREVER while Nightmare is at her strongest feels like a bullshit copout.

But whatever man, you've done an excellent job so far and i think that'll be a continuing trend. I'm just salty about the underdog victory in this chapter when Nightmare was clearly at full power.

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Hey, I'm just happy to have people reading. Every comment is more insight into how my story is being viewed