Nightmare
Her stomach has been growling for some fifteen minutes by the time she finally sets her eyes on her destination: The Castle of the Two Sisters, and the current resting place of the Elements of Harmony. Princess Celestia had used them to great effect so long ago- but is it possible she could do the same? Her Princess is an Alicorn- and she’s only a unicorn. Does she possess the power to control the Elements of Harmony- or even to activate them? Regardless, she gallops forwards.
And screeches to a halt. Her nagivation spell had thrown a danger warning at her, dead ahead. Something she’d added to it hardly an hour ago, so she wouldn’t miss anything dangerous, even if she gets distracted. Like now, apparently. She casts her eyes about, searching for the danger; the warning had gone away as soon as she stopped. Funny, it’s not supposed to until she’s out of… Oh.
Crossing a fallen bridge could be dangerous, she considers.
She walks up to it again, looking down the crevasse. Fog… Lots of it. Lucky to be her, she can’t see the bottom- nor, when she looks to the sides, the ends. Navigating around it is not going to be an option, it would seem. So, she starts to consider how she might cross the gap… Wait. The dangling ropes are far longer than it would seem they need to be- like the bridge was simply untied at the other end… Pfft! It’d be harder if her end had been undone; the dangling end of the bridge would then have been lost in fog. Admittedly, though, it would have been easier to ensure a tight knot that way.
But that’s not the way things are, and it takes only a couple light spells to accomplish her goal. The first clears the fog to the other side, granting her a clear view of the posts. The second ‘hardens’ panes in the fog, converting the mist into a transparent mirror, giving her a clear view of the far side of the posts. The third spell lifts the bridge up and ties it in place.
She gives a snort and begins trotting across the bridge. Her spell’s new danger-detector holds its peace until she’s about halfway across. At this point, the ropes suddenly come undone… On both sides of the bridge at once. The bridge falls out from under her- and, with no solid ground to anchor herself on, her attempt to operate immediate repairs fails.
No, wait. Not because she had no solid ground; even with no solid anchor for levitating against gravity, she caught the ropes fast enough and should have been able to push them out and down relative to herself enough to keep the bridge up long enough for repairs. Only, even as she’d started doing that, the entire bridge had simply melted away.
Unfortunately, self-levitation is one thing she hasn’t managed yet. Not over distances over a meter or so- and she’s at least six from the nearer cliffside.
Not that this seems to be posing a problem. She’s floating in the air, drifting slowly downwards- though she’s fairly certain it’s not her doing. Maybe the mist? Is it some hallucinogen…? A momentary spell confirms the negative- and that it’s not what’s holding her up, either. So, her next spell is a far heavier version of her dispersion spell, blasting the fog away from her in a shockwave of clarity.
She can see the valley floor. It’s not far, in absolute terms- though it’s still a deadly drop. She also catches a glimpse of what’s holding her up.
Right at the base of her neck, on her spine, a glow is visible. A magic aura… A light blue magic aura. Unfamiliar.
Oh, but alarm bells on her navigation spell go absolutely nuts when she feels an antimagic curse settle on her. At least that kind of curse requires a positional anchor; get far enough from the anchor point and it breaks. Lingering spells- like her nav spell- are not effected; she simply can’t activate, change, or deactivate it until she breaks the curse. Even as she stares down at the now-visible black alicorn waiting for her at the bottom of the valley, she prays internally that she doesn’t cast any weakness curses on her. Those curses don’t need positional anchors, are generally very difficult to impossible to break, and can last for years before they wear off.
Her sense of defeat grows worse as the Nightmare casts a second curse on her… And a third. Yep, that one was a weakness curse. Funny, though- that one felt more benevolent than not, but she has no clue as to its purpose.
Finally, the curses are done- and she allows herself to collapse limply to the ground when the Nightmare’s levitation finally puts her down.
Nightmare Moon scoffs as she drops her prisoner on the ground. She’d expected the mare to put up a fight; however, she seems to have simply given up. She’d showed far too much resourcefulness to just quit like this, even after falling victim to her particularly devious bridge trap. The unicorn’s solution to her landslide had given her the idea.
“Stand and fight!” she demands. She’d already layered on enough curses to ensure her own victory- and to ensure the following punishment for trying to hunt down the Elements is quite severe.
Her response is a whimper.
She lets out a severe but inaudible sigh, and draws in another breath. “Thou camest to FIGHT us, didst thou not?”
Another whimper. “I’ve already lost.” It’s barely audible.
Nightmare Moon lets out another sigh, this one quite deep but still inaudible, and resigns herself to victory. She’d been looking forward to playing with this one. Whatever- punishment starts early, she supposes. She levitates the unicorn into the cave she’d scouted earlier, barring the entrance with a long-lasting barrier spell.
Finally, as she flies away, she shakes her head and lets out the first audible sigh. If nothing else, at least Ponyville is cooperating with her. Those ‘nobles’ in Canterlot, though- they need a good stamping. Thus, her grin developing once again, she sets a course.
She rises slowly to her hooves. The moon hasn’t moved all night, but by her best estimation, it has to have been around three days’ time since she was trapped here. The hunger pains are eating at her now- but, even without water, she finds she’s still able to wobble back and forth across the entrance, behind the thaumic barrier. She hasn’t been able to sleep, either; rather, she’s merely spent extended periods lying sleeplessly on the hard rock floor.
During one of her more active periods, she’d realized she can get her horn to glow faintly, even through the restrictive spell. She can’t seem to actually cast any spells or use any real magic, though- only the dim glow. The dim glow which, she’s decided, should be enough to allow exploration deeper into this cave. Hopefully, Nightmare Moon had missed an exit.
Several hours and a hornache later, she rolls onto her back. The dirt here is softer than the rock in the entrance. The cave had turned out to be short, with no forks… And no alternate entrances. She’d tried digging out through the dirt, but had come up against something hard. Headbutting it hadn’t done anything except remind her exactly how painful it is to strike her horn against solid metal.
Exactly what the metal is doing in this cave, she has no idea. She’d been unable to uncover enough of it for any kind of examination or identification; the dirt patch was fairly thin and encased in stone. Her excavation efforts had produced one thing of value, though- she acquired enough loose dirt to make a half-comfortable bed.
Stats
Page generated in 0.026 seconds
Total duration
613 users online
1,080,676 hits today, 2,139,894 yesterday
FIMFiction
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Fanfiction
Designed and coded by knighty & Xaquseg - © 2011-2024
Follow & Support Us
Support us
SubStar
Chat!
Discord
Follow us
Twitter
MLP: Friendship is Magic® - © 2024 Hasbro Inc.®
Fimfiction is in no way affiliated with or endorsed by Hasbro Inc.®
Uh oh... Metal... in a cave...
This is ALSO going to be a Bolo story, won't it...
If so, don't do so TOO soon. There needs to be some noble-bashing first. :P
8829894
Yes, this is another Bolo crossover. Yes, it's going to be quite a while before the Bolo is fully capable.
8830037
Lol. You caught me by surprise with that one, I must say. I thought it was going to be simply an interesting AU.
8830538
(It's had the crossover tag on it since before it was published...?)
8831198
DARN IT! HOW DID I MISS THAT?!
8831917
Yep, that's about what I was wondering, too.
A Commander that isn't Fluttershy?! I enjoy the dichotomy of such a concept, but it's pleasant to see something new!
8840091
You'll notice An Alloyed Hope has an RD commander as well. Not that 'commander' means much there... Or here.
8840101
I did notice; I was poking some harmless fun at a majority pattern. I still enjoy all these stories, and I appreciate that you're switching up some story elements; I can't help but be eager for the next chapter of any of these Bolover fics!
8840108
Ahh, makes sense- and yes, Flutters has been the pattern... Ever since Crashland: Equestria, not one story has had a Flutter Commander... meaning Alloy Hope, Nightmare, and Fire & Thunder's rewrite.
8840118
F&T(R)? I'll have to check back in on that one.
8840118
Ah, the Spider of Steel. The One with the Rock Wolves? I could have sworn that Flutters was made the Commander, but if you say s-
Right, I forgot; the mystery pony. I suppose I'll see soon enough.