Chapter One: Nightmare's Realm
Scootaloo quivered and glanced around while her eyes shifted left to right. Why does it always have to be this dark... After a moment of silence, she shook her head and sighed.
“Just take it one step at a time, Scootaloo. You’ve done this before… just one step at a time.”
Scootaloo shrugged her shoulders and kept going. She spotted a darkened wall and groaned. Too dark, always dark. I hate this... No sunlight, never sunlight. Scootaloo blinked, her posture sagged as she trudged along.
It's never warm. Never safe.
It didn’t surprise Scootaloo with how dark the long and foreboding hallway was.
She glanced around, as instructed by her superiors, and reached into her saddlebags and rummaged around while rolling her shoulders.
“C’mon, where’s that stu- stupid thing.”
Her voice cracked a bit. Off in the distance, she heard chittering. She stopped rummaging and stared down the dark hallway in front of her and gulped. She shook her head and continued her search.
After a moment she brought out a small and very portable lantern and tapped the side of it. A warm, inviting glow surrounded her body and dimly lit the surrounding hallway. An emblem of a phoenix on the front of the lantern glowed a dim orange. She smiled and sighed, then hooked the tiny lantern to the back of her bags before cantering onward.
Illegal, but so useful and no unicorn magic required!
Every step caused her lantern to jingle. The clapping of her hooves on stone steps was loud enough to echo down the foreboding hallways. She shuddered.
“One step at a time… slow as you can go.”
She rounded a corner entered an even darker hallway. She stopped for a moment and double-checked her map.
“One- one s- step at a time…”
The moon's light filtered through cracks in the ceiling, providing some illumination, but as she trotted further down the hallway it petered out until only the light from her flickering lantern remained. It was near impossible to make out any details beyond the occasional stone column and odd pony statue which had long ago crumbled to ruins. With every passing step, it became much more difficult to justify moving onward.
This mission is important.
She checked her map again and made one more turn. "A- am I even going the right way?"
Her lantern flickered with a faint light that pointed ahead. She squinted her eyes, but couldn't make out any details from her surroundings. She took a seat on the cold, unwelcoming stone and waited and took a deep breath, and exhaled. Everything smelled musty and stale. She breathed again, and again.
How do I even know this will work…? Does it matter? What other choice do you have?
She closed her eyes and breathed in and out and repeated this a dozen times. When she cracked her eyes, she felt a calming sensation flow through her mind.
It's so hard to hide now. Almost impossible. The night is eternal.
Her right hoof brought the lantern to greet her eyes and she rubbed it a few times. As if from her own warmth, the light brightened and she sighed.
Even animals don't seem happy anymore...
She slumped her head against the cold stone and felt compelled to sleep, but she managed to stave off exhaustion by rapidly shaking her head a few times.
When did I dream last? Dreams are so hard to deal with now.
She reached into her bag and rummaged around until she found yet another illegal item- a dreamcatcher. It'd been enchanted by some of the most powerful unicorns that Scootaloo had ever met.
And they can still think for themselves. That's kind of a plus.
She shook her head and scowled toward the dark hallways. "If it hadn't been for this, I'd be dead, or worse."
I'd be one of them. Scootaloo spat on the ground and carefully tucked the artifact back into her bag.
Scootaloo brought her knees up to her chest and fought back her tears. "I won't become like them. I won't."
She sniffled and then gasped and glanced around. Is that... magic?! Several shadows danced off in the distance.
Scootaloo bit her lip as hard as she could and studied the now dimly lit path ahead. It began to bleed and she stopped as a strange sense of elation shot to her mind. The magic ebbed away, her body suddenly itching all over.
It’s getting worse.
Scootaloo rummaged around in her bag once more and found a black felt box. She cracked it open and found several wooden capsules. On either side, she could see the faint etching of a little bird, a phoenix. She yawned and grabbed one of the cylinders and placed the end of it toward her muzzle. Scootaloo pushed the wooden object in and breathed in deep.
A warm feeling mist washed over her tongue before shooting down her throat. Scootaloo took a few deep breaths while the strange magical substance began pouring into her lungs and, finally, into her bloodstream. Her heart began to beat faster and faster, but she ignored her body’s cries for help and finished the substance until the entire thing was drained. When it was done, Scootaloo sighed and blinked in astonishment. She could feel newfound energy coursing through her body and mind; her wings buzzed in excitement.
Not as good as sleep, but it'll do!
She then set the capsule aside which collected alongside several other spent ones and shut the box. She shook her head and lit the lantern again before moving on. The first few steps she was forced to pause while her ears began to ring and she could feel the world began to tilt to the side with a wave of nausea hit her.
“S- stupid capsules,” she stuttered while clenching her teeth in pain.
Panting for air she took a long swig of water from her canteen while she waited out the pain. She was wide awake, sure, but that meant her other senses were just as overcharged, too. As if her whole body was traveling through a fire. It took a solid five minutes before her body let up so she could continue. It was still somewhat painful and she was slowly growing used to the magical drug.
After checking and rechecking the map for the fiftieth time, she finally ended up somewhere that wasn’t just an endless series of hallways. And she wasn't alone.
“Halt young one, show me your face, prove to me that you lack the dark queen’s… grace,” the stranger said, muttering the last word with a grunt of contempt.
Scootaloo stopped in her tracks and quirked a brow, trying to squint through the darkness. Her mini lantern failed to give her many details. “Uh, do you always rhyme like that?”
“...Rhyming is how I learned to speak just like you, but I can see by your tone that your values are not askew.” The stranger stepped forward. The mare that Scootaloo pictured in her head wasn’t at all how she imagined.
“You’re a zebra? But… I- I thought you’d be a unicorn!” Scootaloo scoffed and shook her head.
For a few moments, she didn’t speak and simply circled Scootaloo, examining her from head to hoof. The zebra wore a dark-looking that shielded most of her body.
“Ah, it is most fortunate that a unicorn I am not.
Too many fall to the dark queen’s magical rot.
Bane and boon, can a unicorn’s horn be,
It has the magic to set fallen ones free.
And to protect the mind, it shields,
From the thought control she wields.
But a horn’s magic shines too bright,
It can be seen, as a fire in the black of night.
Because of this, very few who possess a horn are trusted,
Leaving many with horns which are… adjusted…”
“Um, are you saying she can find other ponies by using a unicorn’s horn? Th- that she can find ones in hiding by using that?” Scootaloo asked, already feeling the answer in her gut.
She nodded. “Now I must inquire,
Why travel here, is your news dire?”
Scootaloo was about to reach into her saddlebag when she stopped dead in her tracks. “First, sh- show me your lantern.”
“Ah, forgive me it must have slipped my mind.” She waved her hoof over a near-identical lantern to Scootaloo’s. It slowly illuminated her face, revealing the finer details. It was then that Scootaloo promptly screamed. “Calm yourself, surely this proves we are aligned.”
It took all of ten seconds for Scootaloo to quiet down as she blushed. “I- I’m s- so- sorry,” she stuttered. “It’s just, um, you look kind of scary…”
The zebra sighed, pouted, and looked away.
“The queen’s scouts saw through my trickery
and gave me this scar upon their victory.”
Scootaloo blanched and nodded. "Oh, I'm sorry about that."
She blinked and shook her head and felt her ears turn red. "I'm sorry! I forgot- My name is Scootaloo!"
“It’s a pleasure to meet you, young Scootaloo,
Call me Zecora. But I believe we have business to do?”
Scootaloo nodded and reached into her bag and brought out a tightly sealed scroll, pulling it from an ornate metal box. It was decorated with various runes and emblems, but none were as important or prominent as the one in the center- a shining phoenix.
For just like the Phoenix could die and resurrect, so too could the sun.
Scootaloo took the end of her lantern and guided it to the front of the scroll's casing. Illegible runes came to life, shining brighter and brighter until they blinded her, each on par with Celestia's holy sun. The seal broke and the case fell open. Zecora smiled and retrieved the scroll while Scootaloo placed the seal back into her bag.
As Zecora read, Scootaloo tried not to look around, but it was impossible not to. The hallway stretched out into the forbidden darkness.
It's okay to be afraid.
She paced back and forth, over and over.
And it is! It is. But...
The silence between them stretched and stretched, almost to the point of breaking, and the thought of what would happen when it did consume her. Scootaloo tried to look at Zecora as if her presence could anchor her, but it only served to enhance what she was already feeling.
Zecora turned a page, the scrape of the paper echoed loud.
Scootaloo hadn’t done many deliveries before; she felt entirely out of her element. As time moved sluggishly on, the heavy sensation of the frightening atmosphere grew. She looked back to Zecora who seemed oblivious to the change in the air.
Easy, Scootaloo. Things are fine, she’s just translating the runes or something. Easy.
She bit her lips and clutched her right hoof onto a cold surface in her bag. The first object was a simple first-aid kit.
Why do I even have this? She grumbled and moved her hoof to the second object.
The second was a magically enchanted flare.
Wonderful. I can alert the Phoenix to not come here. So helpful to me if I'm on the brink of death!
The third and final item that her hoof brushed across made her pause and blanch. She brought out a glass case that held a spiraling horn, completely detached from any unicorn body.
Still haven't needed to use this. Thank Celestia... The very idea made her feel queasy.
She swiveled the case around and sighed. No skin... just bone and some magic rune stones. Gross.
Zecora jumped to her hooves and grinned toward Scootaloo.
“This map is indeed what I’ve been after,
a way to escape from this disaster.
Though without magic to enchant the way,
I fear we’ll all be stuck here at bay.”
Scootaloo tilted her head. “Um, do you mean we need unicorn magic?”
She nodded.
“But finding somepony we can trust
will surely lead to a bust.”
Scootaloo looked inside her bag and motioned for Zecora to examine the creepy horn. Zecora merely shook her head.
“While that is an effective way to defend,
its lack of powerful magic will surely lead to our end.”
Scootaloo groaned. “Drat. Where’s the map lead anyway?”
Zecora giggled.
“The map is a very useful guide,
for if we can activate this mirror,” Zecora said while gesturing to something that Scootaloo hadn’t even noticed before, “we can use it to find a place to hide.”
Scootaloo blinked and looked over to the large, towering object.
That's a mirror? Looks more like a weird slab.
Scootaloo shone her lantern onto it. Ornate runes and curved, cast iron metal bars bent around the sides for decoration. Five colored gems were studded on either side with a larger gem stuck in the middle of the very top. The mirror was so massive that it towered above Zecora tenfold. Though when her lantern got closer, she could sense that it wasn't giving off nearly enough magic to active it. She sighed.
Scootaloo spat on the ground. “So this could be a way out? A way to escape that- that bitch of a queen.”
Zecora nodded. “Yes but--”
“A bitch is she?!” A voice said from behind, interrupting Zecora. Both ponies whipped around with their eyes widening in horror.
Before either could even comprehend who stood before them, a torrent of lavender-colored magic was shot in their direction, smacking both recipients into a nearby wall. Scootaloo felt dazed, her vision blurring as the dark world around her tried to refocus itself.
Zecora acted much sooner and forced herself into a defensive stance, standing between their assailants and Scootaloo’s dizzy stature.
“- I’m afraid the queen’s servants are after its power,
if we fall here then it’s not just our world that will sour!”
The apparent leader of the ponies stepped forward into the dim light, a sickening smile plastered on her face. The pony in question was none other than Twilight Sparkle, Queen Nightmare Moon’s second in command. Her horn had been severely altered, sticking straight up in a threatening manner, it no longer looked like a soft spirling unicorn horn but more like a tool or a weapon meant for war. Just like all of the Queen’s slaves and army, her once proud cutie mark had been altered to show who she now was. A six-pointed star cast in the moon’s shadow. “Now then, I’m feeling a tad generous today. Apologize and I’ll spare you both your lives, so long as you come quietly.”
Zecora raised a strange artifact high in the air, a staff with a glowing blue gem placed on its end. Scootaloo watched the two while she clenched her teeth in pain. Scootaloo quickly reached for her bag only to sucker-punched in the gut by one of Twilight’s guards. She couldn’t see just who did it, but that was how they choose to fight, in the shadows. Clenching in pain and unable to breathe, Scootaloo shakily stood up to her hooves.
Twilight snorted. “A smart pony would have stayed down, little one…”
Scootaloo gulped, eyeing her bag with a sense of defeat.
I’m going to die, aren’t I? she thought and with very little thought for her own well-being, she leapt back to her bag and dug in as quickly as her little hooves would allow.
Time seemed to slow once she reached for the case of her desire and she smashed it and reached for the dismembered unicorn horn. Then she felt horrid pain creeping up her spine, a knife puncturing her if she wasn’t mistaken. She screamed while the shadow guard punched and kicked at the base of her wings; it was a particularly sensitive spot.
Good for causing pain.
In her haste, she dropped the horn and what happened next felt like a dream or a nightmare. She was kicked to the side while Zecora seemed to be holding her own, dodging spells and even going on the offensive occasionally taking out a guard by knocking them unconscious. Scootaloo still felt dizzy, but she recognized a few of them as the Queen’s personal guard. A crazy pink mare with a long straight mane and the one who had caught more innocent ponies than any of her guard combined: Rainbow Dash. It was no secret the level of depravity the guard went in order to serve the queen so loyally.
Not knowing what to do and feeling like she could barely put up a fight, Scootaloo carefully crawled over to her bag and held onto it, clutching the thing for dear life.
“Commendable at how much punishment you zebras can take. Just join us already, I’m sure the Queen will have a good use for you. And look, your little partner’s already given up anyway,” Twilight said nonchalantly.
Zecora chuckled quite darkly at this, though Twilight merely looked on in amusement.
“You are toying with me, stop playing pretend,
show me your full strength or face your end.”
And with that, Zecora raised her staff and twirled the thing several times as if to say, bring it on.
Scootaloo looked on in shock. I- is she crazy?! she thought. Antagonizing Twilight Sparkle, the mistress of fire, the dark queen’s right hoof was quite possibly the stupidest thing you could do.
Rainbow Dash and the pink menace went to step forward, but Twilight merely shook them down which they obeyed. “There’s no winning this, Zebra. You can either die here with your friend, or surrender. Your choice,” she said rather calmly, all things considered.
Scootaloo didn’t wish to die, and she certainly didn’t want to join up with the Dark Queen. What the hay do I do?!
Zecora didn’t have anything left to say and merely held her stance, waiting, practically beginning for the mare to assault her.
Twilight sighed and shook her head. “Such a waste. Very well, you’ve made your decision. What of you, young one? Will you join up with our queen? Will you let eternal darkness into your heart? The promise of infinite power?” Twilight’s eyes had twitched a few times while speaking as if she were crazy.
Scootaloo gulped but did nothing.
“Of course,” Twilight said with a smirk and begin to charge up her horn. A sickening laugh from both the pink mare and Rainbow echoed around the halls while the leader’s horn, eyes, and body began to glow from dark violet to a crimson red.
She felt time slow down once again as a giant ball of fire flew at her face.
She thought back to the first time she shared a kiss with a colt in secret, hiding from the soldiers of the nightmare as she transported something valuable to other members of the resistance, and a pleasant day at the park with her parents. Memory after memory filtered through her thoughts, but it surprised her how few there were. Time sped back up and Zecora's staff filled Scootaloo's vision as it caught the magical fire. As it hit the ancient, gnarled wood, the staff began to glow.
“I’m quite fond of this staff you know,
and it will help me deliver the killing blow.”
Twilight’s smirk vanished as she began to shriek. “INSOLENT FOAL! YOU DARE DEFY THE DARK QUEEN IN SUCH A WAY?! YOU DARE STEAL HER MAGIC?! YOU WILL DIE IN THE MOST PAINFUL WAYS I CAN POSSIBLY IMAGINE!”
Scootaloo couldn't think of anything to do, except sneak away to she could grab her saddlebag. She secured it around her back and went to pick her unicorn weapon and felt shocked when she was able to do so without outside resistance.
Zecora sighed and shook her head.
“Perhaps one day I shall meet my end,
but this binding spell I’ve used on you is a godsend.”
Scootaloo gasped, noticing just now the sickening glare Twilight had been giving them, struggling to do anything aside from grunt and breathe. Zecora had trapped Twilight and her allies in place.
“Oh, I get it! You--”
Zecora scoffed, interrupting her.
“Scootaloo, hurry and strike them,
before they cause more mayhem!”
Scootaloo’s eyes widened in shock and she nodded, fumbling with the unicorn horn before suddenly holding it out in a tight grip. Next, she quickly donned the thing over her head while tightening a strap around the back. The horn rested just above her eyes, not unlike a real unicorn would. It felt almost sickening to her, a warm feeling seeping into her mind, a slow buzz, and then a painful feeling, letting her know that the weapon was ready. She grunted and seethed in pain, pointing it directly at Twilight. Seeing this, Zecora directed her staff toward Scootaloo in an effort to aid her with her magic. Both of their spells seemed to go off at the same time.
This is for my parents you bitch.
An equally sickening spell to the one Twilight had cast just moment’s before let loose with the fury of a thousand suns. All sound vanished as it exploded, the light blinding Scootaloo and forcing her to squeeze her eyes shut as she screamed in pain. She kept her eyes tightly shut and her teeth clenched even after it ended, unaware that it was safe to open them.
“The mirror has been awoken,
hurry before the link is broken!”
Zecora ran up to the mirror and held up her map while muttering to herself, She then began using her staff to enchant the various runes on the side, changing and twisting them until she was satisfied that they matched what she read.
Scootaloo blinked and looked around and gasped at the disgusting sight of three very bloodied and burned corpses. The stench wafting from them was bad enough that Scootaloo could feel herself gag. There was no mistaking that all three had not survived the final blow.
“Hurry through the portal, now!”
Scootaloo blinked and grabbed her bag before stepping forward.
When a magical rhyming zebra told you to do something without rhyming, that’s when you listen!
Before stepping in, she glanced over to Zecora with a frown. “Wh- what about you? And the rest of the Shining Phoenix?”
“I will jump in once you’re safely hidden,
for jumping in together is surely forbidden.
If my calculations are correct,
where it sends us should be perfect.
As for the Phoenix from what I’ve learned,
I’m sorry but they have already adjourned.
Sending you for something this crucial surely
means their numbers are no longer fruitful.
Rest assured, given enough time they will fall,
now please hurry and enter, get on the ball!”
No longer hesitating, Scootaloo sighed and slowly entered the shimmering blue portal. She still didn’t fully understand what was going to happen, but she figured anywhere was better than the nightmare that used to be her home. She took one last look at Zecora before the world faded into nothing.
Comments are always welcome. 
...Please? 
Stats
Page generated in 0.019 seconds
Total duration
995 users online
1,592,567 hits today, 2,571,732 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.®
My face when Scott's entered the Portal
scontent-vie1-1.cdninstagram.com/vp/070d8c109f284ca121f14e491679008d/5CC8E575/t51.2885-15/e35/41502678_321522571949105_3405056682223468544_n.jpg?_nc_ht=scontent-vie1-1.cdninstagram.com&ig_cache_key=MTg3NTA1NDczODAxODYyNDY2NQ%3D%3D.2
All in all, interesting story
9388806
Thank you! I've got quite the buffer for new chapters so I should be posting the second one soon-ish.
9388819
A'ight, i'll jus' wait here
I find it unusual that there isn't an Apple Bloom tag. I mean, there's a Sweetie Belle and a Scootaloo tag... Why not complete the set?
9389061
I might add one as the story progresses, but as it stands (and what I have unpublished) Apple Bloom isn't a major character yet.
Not bad. I'll see where this goes.
9389952
Thank you! I'm super worried to post the next chapter, even if it's been done for probably two months.
Woo-hoo! It's so great to see you back and writing, my friend! And this... well... IS AWESOME!
Great visuals, intriguing plot, and lots of depth that goes beyond anything I could have ever imagined if Nightmare Moon had won at the onset of FiM.
Poor Twilight, Pinkie, And dash. However it was for the best as she sounded already long gone. She was but a puppet that now will be a marker to draw Nightmare Moon's attention when she fails to return.
Very awesome how you amped up Zecora. She was definitely hard core here. :)
9393126
Thank you, it was a ton of work to get that chapter to the state that it's now in. ^_^