I Wanna Be The Mare!: The Movie: The Game: The Fanfic

by Grandosco

Chapter 3: Lunacy

Scootaloo managed to scoot back to the ruined schoolhouse without incident; unsurprisingly, it was still in shambles. Since Scootaloo had no leads as to where to go next, she figured this was her best bet. Maybe she should have asked Cherrylee for directions... Oh well! She took a look around the wreckage and found it strangely easy to navigate; there was where her classroom would have been, there was the restroom, and the cafeteria! She looked under some fallen planks, hoping to uncover some sort of clue, but came up with nothing. After searching every destroyed room she could, she sat down and thought about it.

"Where could I possibly go next?" she pondered. "I mean, I don't see anything but green everywhere. It can't be that big of a place, could it? C'mon Scootaloo, think! Where could a clue be? Where haven't I checked yet? Wait... Aha! The basement!" Scootaloo managed to find the window near the back of the school that connected to the basement. She opened it and jumped inside. She noticed a little too late that the floor had been laden with spikes. Oops!

GAME OVER
PRESS 'R' TO TRY AGAIN

When she returned, she decided to look before she leapt this time. What she saw did not exactly fill her with confidence: She saw that the entire floor from wall to wall had been covered in spikes, with only a very small area in the direct middle free from them, where what looked like a trapdoor was placed. It was too far to jump, and she doubted her tiny wings were going to be able to get her across...

"What the hay do I do now?" She wondered. "This is probably important, but there's no way for me to get across that! Oh well, I guess I have to try!" The window was very low to the ground, so she had to crouch to even fit inside. "No running start for me, I guess." She went as far inside as she could, being forced to leave her scooter behind; it would have been too bulky. Holding onto the sill, she managed to balance herself on the wall. Her target was in sight: the only safe place she could land in this torturous room. She tensed her hind leg muscles and jumped with all her might, flapping her wings too, in case they helped at all. She didn't travel very far to realize they didn't help in the slightest...

GAME OVER
PRESS 'R' TO-

Scootaloo pressed the button before she even read the entire message this time. She reappeared just outside the basement window. Now she was glad she didn't try to risk taking her scooter. She was also curious.

"What happens to my...?" she peered in through the window and down to where she thought she had hit the spikes. Other than a rather thick coating of red gleaming across the spikes below, there was no sign of her previous carcass. "Woah, that's creepy." The blood was gross and disconcerting, but she didn't like the idea of watching her deceased selves pile up, especially if she had to try this room several times. Instead, she decided that maybe this room's purpose was just to frustrate her. After all, there was no way across that she could see. Nothing above to grab onto, and nothing below that was close enough to land on. She picked up her scooter and was about to leave, when her neck began to tingle where she had tied her CMC cape around it. She grabbed for her cape, and the same red glow from the unit she got for defeating Cherrylee enveloped it. A strange, overly enthusiastic voice rang out:

"Equip Up! Double-Jump Get!" Scootaloo's cape began to flow behind her as though there was wind blowing through it, even though there was none to speak of.

"Double-jump?" she repeated the voice. "That sounds nifty... but y'know, you could have given me that before I died twice on the same spikes!"

The voice did not apologize. Scootaloo sighed.

"So, I wonder how this works... Double-jump, double-jump... does that mean I can just jump twice? Lemme try it." She jumped into the air, flapped her wings, and then promptly fell to the ground again. "Aww, I was hoping it would let me fly... just a little bit? Bah, whatever." She tried jumping again, but this time, figuring it was the only other thing she could try, she tensed her leg muscles in mid-air, as if to jump again, and then released quickly. She felt a surge of wind as she was able to propel herself higher, successfully performing a double-jump.

"Sweet! That's awesome! I can cross that stupid gap now!" Scootaloo said proudly as she descended once again. "I bet I could use my wings to go even further... but let's save that for later. Right now, let's get over to that trapdoor."

She returned to her previous position in the basement. This time, however, she risked bringing her scooter. With her saddlebag on her side, one hoof on the sill, and the other holding onto her scooter, she breathed once to concentrate, and jumped with all her might. When she was nearing what she believed to be the apex of her jump, she jumped in the air again, and like before, her double-jump was successful.

"Yes! I'm doing it! Haha! Trapdoor, here comes Scoota-!" she was interrupted by a spike slinging itself from the floor, just before she had completed the trip to the door below.

GAME OVER
PRESS-

Scootaloo picked herself up again.

"You've gotta be kidding me! I can't fly with wings, but spikes can just come careening out of the floor?! This is so messed up!" She stomped around a little in frustration, then realized she didn't have her scooter or bag with her. She desperately looked through the window to the basement. "Phew," she sighed a sigh of relief as she saw that her stuff had landed on the trapdoor she had been aiming for. "That was lucky. Better be more careful from now on. But seriously, how could I avoid that? Argh, let's try again without the load; maybe it slowed me down." She hugged the sill, adjusted her position, and tried again. As she passed over the area where the spike had come from, she briefly noted that apparently, even though it had fired once, that did not keep it from firing yet again.

GAME OVER
PRE-

"Seriously!?" Scootaloo shouted as she got up from the ground. "Now that was just unfair! It already hit me once! Uggggghhhh! Alright, alright... maybe if I..." she had to think about it for a bit, but she eventually got an idea she thought just might work. She went back to her position and kicked off the wall. As she approached the thing that had accounted for half the deaths she had suffered so far, she double-jumped, but this time, she revved her wings so that she slowed down a bit just before she entered the spike's area of influence. Much to her delight, the spike fell for her trick, and launched itself harmlessly through the ceiling. Not having any time to ponder such strange laws of physics, being over a pit of spikes after all, Scootaloo used her wings and momentum to safely, and finally, land on the trapdoor, reuniting with her equipment. Suspecting further shenanigans, and wanting to get a change of scenery, she immediately grabbed her scooter and bag and flung the trapdoor open, leaping inside. She fell into darkness.

- - -

After a long fall, she landed on soft ground. She was surprised at not being hurt, but she counted her blessings and moved on. She took a look at her new surroundings. This wasn't quite the change of scenery she would have liked, but it would do. It was now nighttime, and the moon above was in its full splendor. Stars were glittering happily, and their beauty was only contrasted by the countless gravestones that she saw in front of her, dotting the landscape.

"Great. A graveyard." she pouted. Despite herself, she felt it was somehow fitting considering her situation. She could only hope that the graves did not mark those who tried and failed to become The Mare before her... At this, she wondered if her resurrections were limited. A chilling thought, to be sure.

"Scooooooootsssss..." Scootaloo heard something nearby.

"Who's there?" she asked, turning her head on a swivel, quickly looking all around.

"Scooooootalooooooo..."

"No... bucking... way..." Scootaloo said, sweat drops forming on her forehead. "Z...z...zombie ponies?!" She suddenly saw them coming. From every which way she could see, zombie ponies everywhere. They all looked like normal ponies, but all grey or blue, with no eyes, their manes and tails battered and frayed. How many were there? All of them. All coming to probably eat her brains or something. Even their cutie marks were either brains, skulls, or skulls eating brains. Whatever they were shambling towards her for, she wanted nothing to do with it. She mounted her scooter and sped off, dodging grave and zombie alike. It was far more difficult than the plains, what with the placing of the gravestones and all. The zombies didn't help matters either. To save time, she tried a kickflip on her scooter in order to jump a grave. It worked, and she managed to slam a zombie in the face with her scooter. She continued until she came to a clearing with no zombies. They were still bearing down on her though. Slowly. She had to think of something to get rid of all of them, but she couldn't come up with anything for the life of her. Probably literally.

She was being surrounded, and it looked as though she'd have to die and try again, but all of a sudden, all of the zombie ponies stopped their advance and bowed.

"Are you guys... bowing to me? Well, I'm flattered. See, The Mare? Even your minions think I'd do a better job than you!" Scootaloo shouted to the sky, hoping that The Mare would hear.

"They art not bowing to thee, young Scootaloo," a voice from above her said. Scootaloo looked up to see the majestic deep-blue form of Princess Luna descending from the sky.

"Princess Luna! Man, am I glad to see you! I could use some hel... er, I mean, do you know how to get rid of these zombies? Also, if you could direct me to where The Mare is, that'd be great." The princess took a moment to look a Scootaloo, and then the zombies.

"Thou meanest to say that thou art attempting to rid The Mare of her throne?" she asked.

"You betcha! Er... yes, Your Majesty." Scootaloo responded, bowing to the Princess. "But I don't know what to do about these zombie ponies. There are just too many of them. I mean, I could just run, but I can't focus on where to go with them chasing me..." Princess Luna was quiet for a time.

"We see the problematic nature of thine situation. We would help thee, but if thou truly wishest to become The Mare, then thou must taketh up this mantle alone."

"...You mean you can't help?" asked Scootaloo flatly.

"Ohohoho," Luna laughed a bit, "We never said that we would not help..."

"Oh! Cool! Thanks Princess!"

"We also never said we'd help you, though." Luna's horn glowed a dark blue, smoke appearing and covering her body within moments.

".......Oh." Scootaloo's eyes widened at the realization that she may have to be pressing a certain button a few times... "You're not Princess Luna, are you?"
Even through the smoke, Scootaloo could see Luna's form become much larger, her horn and wings extending beyond that of her normal proportions, and her body turning a pitch black, like that of a night with no stars or moon. The smoke that covered her body formed a light-blue armor and helmet, covering her chest and head. Instead of a mane and tail of a shimmering night sky, there was only dark blue plasma rising from her head and hindquarters.

"We go from Miss Cheerilee..." began Scootaloo incredulously, "to Nightmare Moon? Isn't that a bit of a leap!?"
As Nightmare Moon finished her transformation, her eyes opened, revealing two serpent-like pupils. She spoke cooly, but with venom in her voice.

"Were you expecting somepony... lesser?" she asked.

"Well..." Scootaloo stammered, "yes?"

"Heheh, well, regardless of your pitiful and misguided expectations, here I am in all my glory. Now would be a good time to give up this pathetic excuse for a quest and go back home. Let somepony more mature and capable handle this, hm?"

"I'd be lying if I said I wasn't tempted by that offer..." Scootaloo said, lowering her head and looking at the ground. Nightmare Moon flew over a gravestone and perched herself on top, crossing her forelegs while her hind-legs dangled off the back.

"I can transport you home, you know. With just a simple spell, you can be back in your own bed, not needing to worry
about a single thing. I'm sure there are plenty of other ponies that are capable of defeating The Mare. She's not really that bad... Me, on the other hand... I'm quite the hooffull. Muh-huh-huh-huh..." she laughed in a way that made Scootaloo uncomfortable. The hairs on her neck were standing on end just hearing "the Mare in the Moon" talk. Then she thought of something.

"Wait." Scootaloo looked up at Nightmare Moon.

"What is it?" the dark mare looked down at Scootaloo curiously.

"Twilight and her friends harmony-beamed the darkness out of Princess Luna! So what does that make you?"

"Though it certainly does you no good to know," Nightmare Moon said, twirling one hoof dismissively, "The Mare is capable of great things, the least of which is conjuring opponents that are suitable for any sort of would-be 'hero.' Though I dislike the thought of merely being a pawn of her designs, I have to admit my existence is enough to warrant some tolerance. Besides, she did a pretty good job, don't you think?" with that she suddenly flew up from her perch. "She lets me do fun things... like this!" Nightmare Moon reared up in mid-air and dive-bombed towards Scootaloo with impressive speed. Caught by surprise, Scootaloo couldn't react fast enough, and simply put her hooves in front of her and closed her eyes instinctively. She braced for the impact, but it strangely didn't come. She did, however, feel a rush of wind blow past her. When she opened her eyes, the dark visage of Nightmare Moon was towering in front of her, her face almost touching Scootaloo's.

"Ah!" Scootaloo jumped and staggered backwards. Nightmare Moon trotted forward with almost lazy speed.

"I can stop on a dime, even flying at full speed, so you won't be getting me with that same trick you got Cherrylee with, no no! I won't be fooled by simple amateur traps like that. I'm much too clever," she hissed. Scootaloo tried to retreat, but bumped into a headstone that blocked her way. She backed up against it until she was standing on two legs. "I can use the darkest of magic spells, make it eternally night..." with every word, she crept closer to the orange pegasus, "can fly faster than any Wonderbolt, and even control hordes of zombie ponies. But you know what I think is my favorite ability, little Scootaloo?" Scootaloo simply shook her head, eyes wide. "Here... let me show you." Nightmare Moon took in a deep breath and reared up on two legs. When she came down, she shouted in a voice that shook Scootaloo to her very bones, "ASHES TO ASHES, DUST TO DUST!" The sheer volume and force behind the sound made Scootaloo tumble backwards. Apparently, her voice had also shattered the gravestone behind her, which was the last thing Scootaloo had time to figure out before following suit.

GAME OVER
PRESS 'R' TO TRY AGAIN

"Oh man," Scootaloo thought. "This is gonna suck."

She pressed the mental "R" button and returned to the graveyard, where she began. She was greeted by zombie ponies, eagerly waiting to chomp her brains.

"Scoooootsssss" they moaned.

"Forget you creeps, I'm outta here!" Scootaloo took off on hoof, seeing as her scooter had not come back with her. Her saddlebag and cape seemed to follow her, though. She didn't have time to contemplate why between being chased by brain-eating monsters and hopping over gravestones. She eventually made her way back to the clearing, and found her scooter, which she immediately mounted and started scooting. She didn't bother looking around for Nightmare Moon – that pony would probably make herself known at some point. Scootaloo just focused on running away for now. But now that she had her scooter, she was traveling faster, and thus it gave her some time to think.

"Alright, how in Equestria am I supposed to defeat Nightmare Moon? It took the Elements of Harmony both times she was defeated before. I don't have the Elements of Harmony. So... I can't defeat her? That seems kind of lame. Surely there's a way to do this. What do I have with me right now... cape, goggles, zap apple jam, blanket..." Scootaloo stopped her thought process to double-jump over a few zombies. "Well, I can feed her and hope she falls asleep," Scootaloo said, rolling her eyes.

In the pale moonlight, Scootaloo thought she saw a shadow pass overhead. She stopped her scooter and took a look around. Gravestones as far as her eyes could see.

"There's not much variability here, is there?" she noticed.

"No, but it serves the purpose," said a voice from behind her, which made Scootaloo jump, and saw a familiar figure on a headstone.

"Woah! You've gotta not sneak up on ponies like that! It's creepy." Nightmare Moon shrugged off the comment.

"In this land of eternal night, I am the ruler. I may do whatever I please without restraint."

"Wow, you can do anything you want?" Scootaloo asked, noticing that once again, the zombie ponies surrounding them stopped and were bowing in a circle surrounding the mare of the night before her.

"Indeed," Nightmare Moon replied, "I have done what your Nightmare Moon could not: I have dominion over a land of endless darkness. It's sublime, really."
Scootaloo looked around, and after a moment she asked "What's the big deal? I don't get it." she shrugged.

"What do you mean?" the armored alicorn narrowed her eyes and shifted her position on the stone.

"Well, there's not much here," Scootaloo answered, scratching her head. "So you've got eternal dominion over gravestones and zombie ponies. Whoop dee doo. Dontcha think it's a little... I dunno, small?"

There was a noticeable pause before Nightmare Moon spoke again. "I suppose it is not the greatest place to have a stake in ruling..." she seemed to contemplate this revelation.

"Yeah," Scootaloo continued, "I don't know how much you know about Ponyville, but it's way better than some endless graveyard stuck in some other weird place that nopony even visits for fun. It's full of color and happy ponies who get along. Then there's Cloudsdale, where the best pony ever, Rainbow Dash, lives! It's gorgeous and cloudy, and rainbows are made there, too! I'm considering living there someday. Then there's Manehatten..."

"Enough, I've heard my fill of your silly world," Nightmare Moon interrupted.

"But I'm not done yet!" Scootaloo retorted. "Manehatten is HUGE! I've heard there's so much to do there, and one of my friends and fellow Cutie Mark Crusaders lives there. Her name is Babs Seed, she's Apple Bloom's cousin..."

"Stop!" Nightmare Moon cried.

"But there's so much to tell! You've really been missing out!" Scootaloo said, smiling. "Come on, ditch this stupid place and come back to Ponyville. I'm sure you'll like it better than this boring graveyard any day-"

"INSOLENT FOAL!" screamed Nightmare Moon. "BEGONE!"

"But I'm just trying to help-" Scootaloo began, just before her vision blurred.

GAME OVER
PRESS 'R' TO TRY AGAIN

"Well that was uncalled for..." Scootaloo thought. "She seems kinda sensitive. I probably shouldn't push it like that. I can't defeat her if she just outright yells me to death. Still though, I was just being honest... hmmm. Maybe I can use that. If the Elements of Harmony represent what Nightmare Moon is not, and she doesn't like honesty... then I need to be... Applejack? Okay, this isn't going anywhere. Redo!" She pressed the button and appeared back at the graveyard, this time with scooter in tow. Unlike before, she was actively looking for Nightmare Moon. Her eyes scanned the horizon. It didn't help much, because the horizon was just as bland as the rest of the landscape. By this point, however, she had memorized where the clearing was, so she scooted to it. Dodging the zombies had become trivial at this point, even in light of their previous inefficacy. Scootaloo waited in the center for some sign of her adversary. As if on cue, the shadow descended once more.

"Welcome back, Scootaloo," Nightmare Moon regarded her coldly.

"Welcome back yourself, Nightmare Moon. Where do you go, anyway? It's not like you have anything better to do, do you?"

"You've got some nerve," the shadow pony scoffed. "Faced with ultimate defeat again and again, yet you still have the gall to speak to me so. Oh well, so be it. I will end you as many times as you see fit."

"Sure, sure," Scootaloo replied, "but before that, can I just say how loyal I am to my friends?"

Nightmare Moon silently blinked.

"Because I'm so loyal it hurts. I would never give up on them. Ever. And they would never abandon me either! Doesn't that just melt your heartstrings?"

"You mean 'melt your heart,' or 'pull at your heartstrings,'" Nightmare Moon corrected her. "But nice try. Actually, that gives me an idea. Hold still." Her black horn radiated an aura of blue. Scootaloo suddenly felt a burning sensation in her chest.

"Oh now that is not even fu-" she squeaked.

GAME OVER
PRESS 'R' TO TRY AGAIN

"Alright, so Loyalty doesn't work either," Scootaloo thought as she felt herself back in a place she was getting a little too familiar with for her liking. "Do I seriously have to blast her with all of them at once? That's not going to be easy... Oh well, better than nothing!" Once she returned to the clearing once more, Nightmare Moon was waiting for her.

"Welcome back," she said.

"Yeah sure," Scootaloo responded, "Anyway..." she took a deep breath, leaned back, and blurted out "In all honesty, I am going to generously give you a chance to be kind, despite my loyalty to my friends and Princesses Celestia and Luna, so that maybe we can share a few laughs and become close with the magic of friendship!" She smiled and puffed out her chest proudly at the end of the line, satisfied with a job well done.

"Uh-huh." Nightmare Moon sat there, taking it all in. "I must wonder which is more humorous: your feeble attempts at victory, or your thinking that they might actually work out." Scootaloo's smile disappear and her face sank.

"Well..." she said, "I guess I didn't really think it would work..." she poked at the ground with a hoof. Nightmare Moon flew over to her and before Scootaloo realized it, she was being enveloped by the huge alicorn's wings, blocking out her vision of everything except Nightmare Moon's face.

"Don't worry, everypony fails at something," Nightmare Moon cooed softly. Scootaloo almost found it comforting. Almost.

"Uh... thanks." Scootaloo said in her most convincingly gratuitous voice.

"Don't mention it." Nightmare Moon released Scootaloo from her feathery appendages, only for the orange filly to realize that there were about five dozen zombie ponies surrounding her, moaning for her delicious braaaaiiins.

"Somehow, I should have expected this," Scootaloo said, narrowing her eyebrows as they advanced.

GAME OVER
PRESS 'R' TO TRY AGAIN

Scootaloo just sighed and hit the button. She returned to the clearing, once again sighing as she saw Nightmare Moon in her now (apparently) trademark position.

"Welcome back," Nightmare Moon said in the same tone as the other times.

"Thanks." Scootaloo muttered dryly.

"Are you here to give up? Your mood seems to say so."

"Not really..." Scootaloo said. "I'm just here to, er, take a break. How about a truce for now? I won't try to beat you, you don't use all of your zany tricks to kill me, okay? Just for like, five minutes or something?"

Nightmare Moon put a hoof to her chin and thought about it for a moment before nodding. "Fine," she said. "I have all night, after all."

"Good. Ugh." Scootaloo flopped down on the ground and closed her eyes. It had been a rough day. She had seen her celestial ruler blown up by produce, decided she wanted the power of The Mare, was crushed, eaten, made a very large and overly-enthusiastic version of her school teacher explode, ended up in the blandest graveyard known to pony-kind, and was now being killed repeatedly by one of the most powerful foes to have ever threatened Equestria (or at least a convincing facsimile of her). She just needed a little breather.

"So," Nightmare Moon spoke up suddenly, "now that we're in a temporary truce, tell me more about this 'Princess Luna' from your world. She seems fascinating. For somepony to be so corrupted by darkness, it's utterly captivating. Too bad it didn't stick."

Scootaloo begrudgingly opened her eyes. All she wanted was a little nap at this point, was that so much to ask? The ground beneath her was comfy and soft, despite the horrible place she was lying. Still, the fact that her adversary actually wanted to talk to her was interesting.

"Well, let's see," Scootaloo said, bringing herself to a more upright position, "the real Princess Luna once had a ton of issues. I heard that over a thousand years ago, she refused to lower the moon one night because she didn't think the ponies of Equestria enjoyed it as much as her sister's sun. She got über jealous and got covered in an armor of hatred. It... looked like the armor you have on right now." Nightmare Moon was silent. "Uh, anyway, she got banished to the moon by her sister, Princess Celestia, using the Elements of Harmony. Fast-forward to about two years ago, and she came back. This time, though, after the Elements of Harmony worked their magic, she turned back into the nice Princess Luna, and was reinstated as the pony who raised the moon at night. I didn't see it for myself, but I heard she was really apologetic about the whole event. Cried and everything. I heard Celestia cried, too, but then I stopped listening - it was getting WAY too mushy."

"Hmm... you said she raised the moon at night?" Nightmare Moon asked.

"Uh... yeah. Kind of comes with the territory with being the 'Princess of the Niiiiight!'" Scootaloo said, doing her best impression of the Royal Canterlot Voice, waving her hooves in the air. Surprisingly, Nightmare Moon chuckled a bit at this. She glanced up at the moon that hung in this world's sky.

"In this place, the moon never leaves its position," she said.

"Really?" asked Scootaloo.

"Well, unless it decides to crush somepony, that is," Nightmare Moon responded.

"Oh. That doesn't sound fun."

"It is for The Mare."

"Yeah well, that pony seems to get enjoyment out of watching other ponies suffer," Scootaloo said.

"You're absolutely right. She loves nothing more than vanquishing those who stand in the way of her having fun. And some others that aren't in her way... for fun, of course," the dark pony finished somberly.

"Is... is she stronger than you?" Scootaloo asked hesitantly.

"Infinitely so," Nightmare Moon replied. "She is the one who keeps this world existing. Without her, or somepony to take over her throne, this world ceases to be. Without her will, I too..." Nightmare Moon looked at her pitch-black hoof, "would simply disappear."

"That's a scary thought..." Scootaloo said.

"It is, indeed. Having your life constantly in the hooves of a crazed lunatic bent on causing as much destruction as possible. Some might call that romantic in other circumstances."

"It sounds just plain cruel to me," Scootaloo frowned.

Nightmare Moon did not respond. She simply kept staring at her hoof like she was trying to find something on it. Scootaloo remained silent as well, wondering what could be going on in the moon pony's mind. Then she thought of something that she hadn't considered until just now.

"Say," she began, and nearly stopped herself from asking about this at all. But she was way too curious. Even though it might get her killed again, she decided to follow through. "You haven't crushed me with the moon yet."

Nightmare Moon jerked violently at the statement.

"I... well, no, I-I guess not."

"I know it sounds weird coming from me," Scootaloo said, "but why not?"

"I...I... I haven't done it because... well," Nightmare Moon stammered.

"No... don't tell me," Scootaloo said, eyes widening at the possibility.

"D-Don't you dare say it!" Nightmare Moon demanded.

"You... you..."

"I'm warning you!"

"You can't control the moon, can you?!" Scootaloo yelled out, pointing at Nightmare Moon, who jumped off of her gravestone perch, furiously spreading her wings and speeding towards the little pegasus. She slammed down hard on Scootaloo, pinning her to the ground.

"I told you not to say it! Do you think I need another reminder?! Do you think I like watching it sit there, taunting me twenty-four hours a night?! I've tried! I really have! But no matter how much of my magic I pour into that... thing, it refuses to budge an inch! I have total control over everything here, absolutely everything! Except. That. Accursed. MOON!" she stood up again after yelling those last words. "And your story didn't help me feel much better about it... hearing about how your Luna can move it with ease fills me with contempt! Even after all the horrible things she must have done, she still gets her namesake! I just get to sit here looking at it pathetically like some fish trapped in a giant, undead bowl, waiting for you to come back so I can kill you again and again! And for what!? So The Mare gets another cheap laugh?! Well, I'm sick of it! I want to leave! I want to go away to somewhere I don't have to see another stupid grave for as long as I live! To Tartarus with your stupid moon, your stupid game and your stupid world! I'VE HAD IT!" Scootaloo was thankful that Nightmare Moon had turned away before she yelled that last part when she saw a few dozen meters' worth of graves disintegrate before her eyes.

"Woah..." Scootaloo sat up and stared at the crazed mare.

"Huff... puff... phew... I haven't done anything that cathartic in... ever," Nightmare Moon panted.

"That was... so totally awesome!" Scootaloo jumped up and down, grinning from ear to ear.

"What? It was?" Nightmare Moon turned around the face the filly.

"Yeah! That was so cool! Did you hear yourself talking down to The Mare like that? Now that's what I'm talkin' about! Forget about her! She's old news! Washed up! It's time she gets off her high-horse and stops treating ponies like dirt! Including you!" Scootaloo excitedly jumped over to where Nightmare Moon was standing.

"Hmm, for once, you and I agree," Nightmare Moon said. "Y'know..."

"Yes?" Scootaloo said, still bouncing happily.

"I don't feel like killing you anymore."

Scootaloo stopped bouncing. "...Really?"

"Quite. In fact..." she looked around a bit and leaned in to whisper into Scootaloo's ear, "I'm going to help you. That is, if you promise to help me in return." Scootaloo could not contain the enthusiasm for which she nodded. "Good. Now follow me, I'm going to lead you to the exit. We must be swift."

"You got it!" Scootaloo hopped on her scooter while Nightmare Moon took off flying. For once, there were no zombies around, and Scootaloo found it unusually easy to navigate the gravestones. As they traveled, she occasionally saw Nightmare Moon blast her magic ahead of them. When Scootaloo scooted past where the bolts had hit, she saw giant metal spike traps and gigantic dead birds with razor-sharp talons, as well as a couple trees of deadly cherries. It seems that the dark mare was being serious about her offer.

Finally they reached a cave in the side of a cliff.

"In here is the entrance to the next area," said Nightmare Moon, gesturing inside. "I do not know what awaits us there, but I think that together, we can overcome it."

"But I thought that you said earlier I had to do it by myself?" Scootaloo noted.

"Maybe according to The Mare's rules, but we're going to break those, aren't we? As well as her, if I ever get my hooves on her petty little throat..."

"Right!" Scootaloo agreed. "Alright, let's go in! The sooner we get this done, the better!"

"Correct. I can't wait... muh-huh-huh-huh..." Nightmare Moon chuckled.

The two began their trek towards the cavern. As soon as they were about the enter the cave's mouth, however, the entrance into the side of the cliff began moving away!

"What sorcery is this?" Nightmare Moon exclaimed. She motioned for Scootaloo to follow her and the two began speeding towards the retreating exit.

"That would be MY sorcery, you filthy traitor!" boomed a voice from overhead.

"Horse-apples!" yelled Nightmare Moon, "She's found us!"

"What does that mean!?" asked Scootaloo as the two continued to run.

"It means we're probably totally screwed! Just keep scooting!" Nightmare Moon responded with a noticeable lack of verbal etiquette.

"I should tie you up by that fog you call hair and leave you in The Furnace to rot!" yelled The Mare. "Nopony betrays me and gets away with it! Hear that!? NOPONY! But I guess you are 'Nightmare Moon,' so I guess betrayal is kind of hardwired into you, isn't it? Haha! I guess that's pretty ironic that I picked you to be an opponent for that little filly there, then. But hey! Know what else is IRONIC? Heads up, dead meat!"

Scootaloo and Nightmare Moon nervously glanced upwards while they were running to see none other than the moon hurtling towards them.

"You have GOT to be kidding me!" Scootaloo cried.

"Although all she does is joke, this one isn't a jest..." Nightmare Moon said. "One touch from that, and it's sayonara for you! Quick, we can still make it to the cave! I think we're gaining on it!" Scootaloo looked up and saw that they were indeed making progress on the fleeing cavern. But at this rate... it didn't look good. The moon was heading their way fast.

"I don't think my wings can take much more!" Scootaloo said, feeling the muscles on her sides giving way.

"Argh! Fine! Quick, jump!" Nightmare Moon flew closer to the ground and lowered her wings to allow Scootaloo to get on. Scootaloo didn't argue, she just jumped.

"Thank you so much!" she said. Nightmare Moon didn't respond, and just picked up her flying speed. They were very nearly at the cave entrance now. Just a little more...

"Oh no you don't! I'll just crush that cave to bits!" shouted The Mare from wherever she was. "You'll never escape! Mwahahahahaha!"

"Curse it all!" Nightmare Moon said. Then she continued, "Scootaloo. I have to tell you something very important, and I'll only say it once, understand?"

"Got it!"

Using one of her front hooves to hand a red orb to Scootaloo, she said "I need you to take this unit, make it into The Mare's fortress, and do whatever it takes to emerge victorious. Anything, got it? No matter what tricks she pulls, no matter what she says or does, you. Must. Win! Now go!" As soon as Scootaloo took the orb and Nightmare Moon finished what she had to say, she came to a screeching halt, causing Scootaloo to be bucked off her back and careen towards the cave entrance. Even despite the cave's motion, Scootaloo managed to use the momentum to double-jump into the hole in the cliff. She made it! But what of Nightmare Moon?

Scootaloo turned around to see the moon behind them had grown to an enormous size. It was still moving towards the cave at an incredible speed. But she also saw that Nightmare Moon had stopped moving, and was now facing the giant hunk of rock.

"W...What are you doing?! Get in here, now!" Scootaloo shouted to Nightmare Moon. The black mare simple looked back and shook her head at Scootaloo. She then turned again to face the oncoming sphere of death. "No..." Scootaloo could feel her eyes begin to water. "No! You're too cool for this sappy stuff!" she wiped at her tears, but it was no use.

"I may not be the true Princess of the Night!" Nightmare Moon shouted at the giant celestial body, "And I may not have the power to stop you!" she shouted at the sky. "But I know somepony who can! And I'm going to do everything I can to make sure she gets to you! And when she does, she'll make you BEG FOR MERCY! Watch out you fool of a pony! This orange filly is going to take you down!" With that, the moon reached the dark mare, who put her hooves up, horn exploding with a blue aura. They collided, and with all her might and magic, Nightmare Moon was pushing the moon away from the cave. It wasn't working much, but she could feel that it was the only thing she could do.

From the mouth of the cave, Scootaloo could see the moon still coming towards her. At this rate, it would destroy the whole cliff, and crushing her, as well. She had no choice - with one final look at her new, very unlikely comrade, she ran to the back of the cave, hoping that it would take her to the next area before the moon came too much closer.

Nightmare Moon was pushing with everything she had. Her absurdly tough body and her powerful magic in combination, she thought she could feel something changing... could it be? Yes! The moon was slowing down! She looked behind her, and she smiled.

"Heh... it won't be enough," she said to herself, realizing that the cliffside was far too close. No matter how hard she tried, she would soon be crushed between a rock and hard place. She wasn't sure what would happen after that. After all, she had never died before. Would she come back like Scootaloo? She felt it was unlikely. But at least, she thought, for one fleeting moment, I had the moon under my power, however small that may have been. Thank you Scootaloo. Thank you... and goodbye...

The moon slammed into the cliff, bringing Nightmare Moon with it.

Meanwhile, Scootaloo managed to find the entrance to the next area, or what she figured was the next area. She flung open the trapdoor on the ground and jumped in, not even caring if it was a trap.

And as the dust cleared from the collision, there was nothing left. Not of the moon, not of the cliff.

Nothing at all.

Comments

[Kumishy]

This is such an interesting and unexpected fanfic! Keep up the writing, for Scootaloo's sake.

[Sausagefanclub]

YUS! I'm currently playing I Wanna Be The Guy, so this fanfic popped up at just the right moment.

[Grandosco]

2359304
Huzzah! Talk about great timing! I hope you enjoy both the game and the fic

[Sausagefanclub]

2374636
One of my favorite things about this is that you are one of the smaller fraction of players that know that the 'apples' are actually giant cherries.

If I was any good at programming I could try making a game out of this, but sadly I still kinda suck and would get nowhere close.

[Grandosco]

2376705
Ha Yeah, I wonder how many people actually read the FAQ that Kayin put up.

And hey, if this fic gets unreasonably popular, I'm sure somepony will make a game out of it, or at least try Unlikely, but stranger things have happened! Actually, I'm surprised IWBTG hasn't been crossed over with pony yet! That was one of the things I checked before submitting this fic. It's covering new ground! Whoo!