> Through the Fire and Flames
>  by Rhodesm96
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Chapter 0 - Prologue
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Equestria

Celestia listened to the guard before her with increasing worry. He was currently informing her about a situation that was developing far to the north of Equestria, in the Crystal Empire. All contact with them had ceased abruptly a few days ago. A team of guards sent to investigate the lapse in communication had not been heard from since, and Celestia feared the worst.

She was about to respond when the sound of screaming from outside caught her attention. She galloped to a window and looked to the sky, seeing a huge fireball descending toward Canterlot. She gasped, and flew out of the window to try and stop it, but was too slow, and could only watch as it crashed into the centre of the city.

She looked on in horror as several buildings were set alight by the blaze, and ponies, burnt beyond recognition, moaned in pain in the streets. As the Canterlot firefighting department arrived on the scene, she herself swooped down, desperate to save all who she could.





Earth, Ten Minutes Ago

Jason struggled to smooth out his unruly red hair as he walked down the path through the park, the wind whipping his jacket around. Approaching his usual spot, he sat on the bench and took out a brown paper bag from his coat pocket. He opened it and grabbed a handful of breadcrumbs, throwing them out before him. Quickly, the area in front of him was besotted by pigeons, the birds desperate to try and get some food before their brethren. Jason grinned at them as he took out a box of cigarettes and a lighter. He inserted one into his mouth and held the lighter up to it, curling his hand around it to protect it from the gentle breeze. He clicked the lighter a few times before a flame appeared, igniting the tip of his cigarette. Jason took a long draw before taking the stick in his hand and exhaling.

"Damn," He said to himself, "That's some good shit."

"You know you'll just kill yourself, Jay." The voice came from behind him. Turning his head, Jason saw his brother Luke leaning on the back of the bench, his guitar case strapped to his back. He walked around the front of the bench and sat down next to him, resting the instrument on his lap. Whereas Jason's hair was short and red, Luke's was shoulder-length and black. He wore a black leather jacket that contrasted sharply with his brother's dark red one. He snatched a handful of breadcrumbs from the bag and threw them at the pigeons.

"Dude, you know I hate that nickname." Jason replied, ignoring the comment. "How did practice go?"

Luke snorted. "Terrible. No-one else can keep up with me." Jason raised an eyebrow at this.

"Maybe you shouldn't play like your hands are on fire then."

"Hey, it's not my fault I'm the greatest guitarist to ever live." Luke stated matter-of-factly as he leaned back and stretched his arms out. 

"Yeah, sure you are." Jason laughed. He patted the case in his brother's lap. "Are you finished with it yet, anyway?"

Luke sat upright. "Nah, got a few more things to add." Unzipping the case, he took out his stratocaster and a small wooden box. The instrument itself was dark grey, but it was adorned with all manner of trimmings, including a large plastic axe blade that had been glued to the side. Black spikes sprouted around the top edge, and a white decal of a grinning skull was stuck to the underside.

"Damn dude, that thing is starting to look less like an instrument and more like a murder weapon." Jason said, taking another draw from his cigarette.

"I know." Luke said, grinning. "It's awesome, isn't it?"

Just then, a homeless man wheeling a beat-up shopping trolley full of junk walked into the middle of the flock of pigeons, scaring them away. He bent down and began to pick up the breadcrumbs from the floor, shovelling them into a bag he took from his pocket, mumbling to himself. 

"Aw, what the fuck dude? You scared the birds away!" Luke said to him. The homeless man mumbled somewhat louder and glared at Luke, but otherwise ignored him. Luke stood up and walked over the the trolley of junk, and began looking through it.

"This your stuff, huh?" Luke asked, before tipping it over violently. "Now fuck off." He said, scowling. Jason went over to Luke and punched him in the shoulder.

"Luke, that wasn't cool." He took the bag of breadcrumbs out of his pocket and offered them to the man. "Here, you can have them. It's not like I was going to eat them." He said.

The homeless man snatched the bag away greedily. He took a weathered necklace from his junk and pressed it into his hand. 

"Thanks, dude." Jason said, laughing. The homeless man righted his trolley and scuttled off without a word. Jason held the necklace up to the light and examined it more closely. It was a simple piece of metal, painted white in the shape of a flame, and it felt slightly warm to the touch. Jason grinned at it, replacing the cigarette in his mouth. Looking over at Luke who had sat back down, he saw that he was rifling through a bag.

"Luke, where did you get that?" He asked around the stick in his mouth.

"Snatched it from the old coot's cart when he wasn't looking." Luke replied, grinning. Jason sighed. Luke was going to get the both of them into trouble one day, he just knew it. He was jerked out of his thoughts when Luke whistled, holding something from the bag. Looking over, Jason saw that it was a jagged piece of metal a few inches long, roughly shaped like the blade of a dagger. It had silvery white jagged patterns along it's length. Jason raised an eyebrow, pulling the string of the amulet over his head.

"I know where this is going, Jay." Luke said. He placed it on his lap and took some super-glue out of his box.

"Seriously man? That looks pretty sharp, you could hurt someone with it."

Luke snorted derisively. "When am I going to stab someone with my guitar? Besides, you just said it looked like a murder weapon." He carefully attached the shard to the end of his guitar, taking care to align it just right, and holding it in place for a few seconds. while the glue dried. Jason became dimly aware of the amulet around his neck beginning to feel hotter, and looked at it in confusion.

"You have to admit Jay, this looks badass as fuck." Luke said after taking his hand away. He picked up the guitar and idly strummed a chord.

And that's when everything exploded.
> Chapter 1 - Crimson Day
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Equestria


Jason was dimly aware of his surroundings as he slipped in and out of consciousness. He was warm, he knew that much. That's good. He thought to himself. Warm is good. Slowly, it registered to him that wind was whipping past his face. He opened his eyes to see what was going on, and screamed in terror.

Far, far below him, he saw fields and mountains laid out as far as he could see. Directly below him, an especially large mountain jutted out of the earth. He began to panic, and spread his arms and legs out as far as they would go in a futile attempt to slow himself down by way of air resistance. This failing, Jason descended into full-blown panic mode. He flailed his limbs around madly and began hyperventilating, failing to notice the increase in the temperature around him. He finally stopped panicking when he caught a glimpse of red and orange on his arm. Turning himself to look upwards, he finally noticed the roaring inferno raging around him. Of course, this only caused him to scream even louder.

When he stopped for breath, he faintly heard the sound of screaming emanating from below him as well. Looking down again, he saw a city built into the side of the mountain, which he was rapidly descending towards. He slammed into the street at terminal velocity, but he didn't notice that he had landed in the middle of a group of technicolour equines, or that his landing had caused a huge explosion of fire, as he lost consciousness just before he impacted the ground.





Celestia descended on the scene of the calamity with mounting dread. Many pegasi were already bringing in rain clouds to try and quell the blaze, and were making slow but steady progress. Celestia herself assisted the firefighting effort by dousing whatever was on fire with streams of water she had conjured from her horn. Seeing the Princess herself assist the effort, the ponies already helping redoubled their efforts, motivated by her presence.

Celestia moved through the burned streets, coming across severely burned ponies in the process. Thankfully, she found no corpses, but the survivors had done so at a terrible cost. As she came across more and more of the injured, she called over several unicorns and instructed them to send up a flare when they came across somepony injured, and to pass the word along for others to do the same. 

Soon, a worryingly large amount of flares was to be seen above the flames. Celestia observed them, frightened at the frequency of the flares, before they gradually slowed down, though one or two still were to be seen as the last of the injured were rounded up. Celestia headed for the centre of the devastated area, hoping to find what exactly the fireball had been. She heard a scream, and galloped toward where it had emanated from. Arriving, she saw a pegasus mare stricken down by the flames, staring ahead of her. Sending up a flare, Celestia looked to what the mare was staring at.

In the middle of the street was a large sphere of flame, slightly bigger than her. It did not appear to have a source of fuel, as it floated about a foot from the ground. As ponies arrived to retrieve the injured mare, Celestia began to approach the sphere. A few ponies made to follow her, but she waved them back.

"Do not come any closer, my little ponies. This could be dangerous." She warned them. Celestia continued to slowly approach, using a wing to shield her face from the intense heat. When she was less than two metres away, the sphere suddenly began to cool. Peeking out from behind her wing, she watched as it slowly decreased in intensity until she could look at it without shielding her eyes, and it lowered itself slowly to the ground. As it made contact, the flames dispersed suddenly in a wash of heat that forced her to throw up a shield spell to protect herself and once again hide behind her wings.. When she thought it safe, she looked at what the mysterious orb had deposited. On one knee before her, head looking down at the floor, appeared a bipedal creature. Slowly, it raised it's head to look at her, and she saw its eyes. Its sclera were a normal white, but its iris and pupil glowed an unearthly crimson. They remained like that, locked into each other's gazes for a mere few seconds, but to Celestia it felt like an eternity. Eventually, it's eyes rolled back into its head and it collapsed, unconscious.





Canterlot, Dungeons

Celestia looked into the cell where they had kept the being found at the scene of the incident, as it had not awoken since they had found it. Celestia could not make heads or tails of it. It appeared to be male, and it wore clothing, which indicated that it was civilised, and it had no fur except for a short mane on the top of its head, coloured ashen grey. An examination of its eyes showed that the hellish redness was gone, replaced by a more normal blue iris with a regular black pupil.

Most curious was that he had only appeared after the fireball had impacted Canterlot, suggesting he had either been inside it or summoned by it. She briefly entertained the notion that they were an extraterrestrial, as she had seen no such creature in Equestria before, and the blaze came from their craft. She quickly dismissed the idea as ludicrous however. His lack of injuries, be it burns or otherwise, also puzzled her. He had been at the centre of a great catastrophe but appeared to bear no ill effects from it.

He groaned, returning to consciousness, and she took a wary step back. 

"Agh, my head..." He complained weakly. He sat upright and rubbed his eyes, looking around blearily. "Where am I?" 

"You're in the Canterlot castle dungeons." Celestia replied. The being in the cell shot up at the mention of dungeons.

"Dungeons? Castle?... Canterlot?" He asked in confusion. Then his gaze fell upon her, eyes widening in shock. "Oh, my... Well, I guess we're not in Kansas anymore." He said sullenly.

"I don't know where this 'Kansas' is, but no, you're in Equestria. I am Princess Celestia, the ruler of this land along with my sister, Princess Luna." She said. "You appeared in my city amidst a great ball of flame that came from the sky."

"I... I did?" He said. "I don't remember much, only... I was falling. Falling from a great height. I..." He got up sharply and dashed to the bars of his cell. "Wait, you said flame? Was I on fire?" He seemed panicked.

"It would seem so. When you landed from the sky, a great ball of fire was around you. It caused much damage to my city, and many of my little ponies were injured."

He sat back down. "I guess it wasn't a dream or something then. Ah, fuck..." He leaned back and sighed.

"I know you are distressed right now, but I would like you to answer some questions for me: What are you, and how did you come to be in Equestria?"

"I'm a human, from earth. As for how I got here... I don't quite know myself. I can't remember much, but I know I was with my brother." He said. "Christ, I wonder if he's here too..." he added quietly.

Celestia observed him quietly. "I... do not believe that the flames were of your doing. I will allow your release, but I will be keeping you under surveillance." She stated, unlocking the cell door with her magic.

He rose to his feet and bowed. "Thank you, Princess." He exited the cell and stood beside her.

"Do you have a name, human?" She asked.

He nodded. "My name is Jason, Princess." Outside his cell, his possessions were laid out on a small table. He pocketed his cigarettes, lighter, and his keys automatically. Picking up his phone, he saw that it still had half a battery left of charge, but that there was no signal. He turned it off to save power. 

Jason followed Celestia out of the dungeons. The path to the exit twisted and turned, with many side passages branching off of it. He realised that he could never have found his way out unassisted. The dungeons were probably designed like this to hinder anyone making an escape attempt, he realised. Eventually, they emerged into the interior of what he assumed to be Canterlot Castle. Upon his exiting the dungeons, a guard approached Celestia.

"Your highness, the creature! It is-" He began, but Celestia cut him off.

"I know, guardsman. I have allowed his release. I have judged that the conditions of his arrival were not of his doing." Jason waved sheepishly behind her. "Please have somepony send the necessary paperwork to my study." She said. "I will deal with it accordingly."

The guard nodded. "Of course, your highness." He said, before leaving.

"That was... incredibly easy." Jason said.

Celestia smiled at him. "Of course. They are but guards, and they follow my orders." Jason accepted this with a nod.

"Princess..." He began. "If it's okay, I'd like to see the ponies that were hurt from my arrival." She nodded at his request.

"Of course." She said, smiling.
> Chapter 2 - A Voice In The Dark
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Hollow Shades, Night

Ebony kept her head down against the fierce wind blowing through the trees. She'd been on patrol for almost two hours now, and she was looking forward to being able to switch out at the end of her shift. Nothing ever happened around here, so patrol was one of the most boring tasks a guard could be made to do.

Slowly, she noticed the wind begin to pick up. Looking to the sky, she saw the small clouds overhead begin to coalesce into a swirling stormcloud. Odd, She thought, I don't remember there being a storm scheduled for around this time. It was at this point that she realised there were no pegasi to be seen in the sky at all. The storm continued to grow, swirling itself into a spiral. A few pegasi flew up to it to try and disperse it, but it was unaffected by their attempts. Ebony continued to watch in shock as lightning crackled within it, and still it spun faster. Suddenly, a rift opened in the underside of the storm, and from it fell a black shape. The rift resealed itself, and the storm slowly began to disperse, finally yielding to the efforts of the pegasi. As nobody else seemed to have seen the object, Ebony dashed toward where it had fallen, curious as to what could have come from such an event.





Luke crashed out of the sky and fell into the branches of a tree. He groaned and rubbed his head, looking around but seeing nothing save more trees. Suddenly, he saw his guitar fall past him. 

"...Fuck." He said.

Retrieve it

He tried to climb down the tree that he had landed in slowly, but he lost his footing, still dizzy from the fall. He hit branch after branch on his descent, which served to slow his fall but also caused him a great deal of pain. Eventually, he tumbled onto the ground, battered and bruised.

Luke lay there for a few seconds, staring into the sky and cursing his bad luck. He sat up with a groan, and checked himself to make sure he wasn't injured. Satisfied that nothing was broken, somehow, he stood up and observed his surroundings. Trees surrounded him on all sides, and a foreboding atmosphere pervaded the place. He saw his guitar a few metres away.

Approaching it, he saw that it was sticking up from the ground, which he realised was unusual. Examining it further, he saw that it had landed on a tree stump. The axe blade on the end of it had sunk into the wood. Yanking it out, he examined it for damage, and discovered that the cheap plastic of the blade had now turned to metal, and it appeared to be part of the guitar rather than just glued on.

Make sure it still works

"I should see if it still works..." He muttered quietly to himself. Hefting the strap over his shoulder, he was about to try a chord when there was a gasp from behind him. He span around as he plucked the strings.

Lightning shot from his instrument and impacted a tree. 

He gaped at the blackened spot on the tree before him. Holy shit! He thought. That was fucking lightning! From my guitar! Immediately he strummed a few more chords. Lightning once again slammed into the tree. He began to strum a short riff, and a continuous stream of energy channelled from the guitar to the trunk. Within the sound, he heard not only his own instrument, but he could also make out at least two guitars and what sounded like drums. He laughed madly. 

He stopped after a few seconds when he saw a dark shape bolt from behind the tree. He shot off another chord, aiming for it, but missed. The shape let off a high-pitched scream. Luke swore quietly, realising that it was a person he'd just aimed for.

"It's okay, I didn't mean to do that. I didn't realise you were a person." He said to them. Slowly, they began to walk forward, and realised that he wasn't quite correct. It was a small equine, about half his height, with a black coat and dark blue armour.

"Okaaaaay." He said. "That's kinda weird." He slung his guitar over his shoulder and crouched down to their height. "What in the fuck are you?"

"I-I'm a pony." They said, cowering. Luke stared at them.

"...Okay, you're a talking pony." He said. "What the f-"

"Over there!" Came a voice from over the trees. "This is where it came from!" Luke tensed as a group of ponies in golden armour galloped from the tree line. They saw him almost immediately.

"Halt!" The one in the front cried.

Get away

The pony with him squealed in fright. "Oh no, they're here! They must have heard you." She said, panicking. 

"Who are they?" Luke asked. A bolt of magic impacted the ground in front of him. 

Protect her!

"Never mind!" He said, picking up the pony and running towards the cover of the trees. She was surprisingly light, he noticed. He set her down behind a tree before dashing into cover himself. Bolts continued to pepper the ground around them. 

"Please, you have to help me fend them off." He looked down to see the pony he had saved staring up at him.

Fight them

"What?" He said. "How am I supposed to fight them off?"

She nudged his guitar. "Use your magic. I won't be able to get away unless you help me."

Fight them!

Luke nodded slowly, still somewhat unsure. "I...I'll try to buy you some time." He didn't know why he felt compelled to save the pony, nor why he felt he could fight off the armoured ones, but he knew he was going to try.

He stood up behind the tree and thought about what he was doing. He knew that he could shoot lightning with his music, and as badass as that was, he didn't really know how to use it.

I will help you. Now fight!

He steeled his nerves and stepped out from behind the tree, already bending the strings. He released a chord which sent a searing shot at the ground near the lead ponies hooves. He tried again, and again he missed. The lead pony yelled something that Luke didn't catch.

Just a chord won't do any good. You need more.

Luke panicked, and began to play the first song that came to mind.

As he began to play with a steady rhythm, lightning crackled around him, rather than simply shooting from his guitar. The ponies stepped back, fearful of what was about to happen. Luke, seeing this, grinned, finally being able to bring the energy under control.

Good, keep going.

Soon, the song built up to a small crescendo. The distinct sound of drums joined Luke's playing, the two melodies blending around each other. One of the horned ponies - a unicorn, Luke realised - shot another bolt of magic at him. Luke flinched, but the shot was deflected harmlessly by a strand of lightning. Other ponies tried the same, but he remained unharmed by their efforts. The song changed slightly, and occasionally a shot would branch from him and strike at the group.

The leader of the group called for reinforcements, and a winged pony - pegasus, he guessed - flew into the air. A shot from him smote the pony between their wings, and they fell to the ground with a scream.

Excellent!

He cackled madly, letting a flurry of shots impact the remaining ground bound ponies, and they scattered. Several powerful bolts of lightning struck at the fleeing figures, and one of them collapsed, smoking slightly. One of the pegasi charged at him from above, some kind of bladed weapon attached to his wings. Luke stepped back, and the lightning swirled in front of him, parrying the pegasus' attack. He continued to attack furiously, and Luke continued to hold him off. A unicorn charged him, a bolt of magic springing from their horn and slicing across his face, leaving a shallow cut.

Be more careful, you can't defend everywhere at once. You need to go on the offensive.

Luke snarled, blood dripping from the fresh cut on his face. He lashed out with his foot, which became wreathed in lightning. His assailant, not expecting such an attack, was caught in the stomach by it. An explosion of energy burst outward from him, and he was flung backward over the heads of the remaining ponies. Luke turned his attention to the unicorn who had cut him and smashed the blade of his guitar into her face. She reeled back, a huge gash across her muzzle, and he let loose another energy blast into her. 

She flew toward the remaining ponies and exploded into a gory mess. At this, the few who remained standing fled. Luke breathed a sigh of relief and stopped playing.

Excellent work

He grinned to himself, pleased at his victory. Slinging his guitar back over his back, he began to walk in the opposite direction. As he passed the trees, the pony he had saved walked up to him.

"What are you still doing here?" He said. "I thought I told you to get away."

"I was going to leave, but I felt compelled to stay and watch. The way you fought, it was just..." She said. She looked back up at him. "Where are you going, anyway?"

"Uh, I don't really know." Luke said. "I just got here, so..."

"Then you should come with me." She said. "We'll be able to provide you with shelter and food, and we can protect you from them." She motioned in the direction that the other ponies had fled. "They're certainly not going to help you, after that."

Go with her

Luke considered her offer. "...Fuck it, I don't have any other plans." He said. "Lead the way."
> Chapter 3 - A Dark Passage
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Canterlot


It was beginning to get dark when Jason returned to the castle. Celestia had been kind enough to allow him to stay there, and he had been allocated a room on the first floor. As he trudged up the stairs to his room, he made a mental note to remember the layout of the palace so that he could find his way around by himself. At the moment, he had to be lead around by a guard. Granted, he probably would have been accompanied by a guard anyway, as he was still an alien entity at the moment, but it was still embarrassing  to have to ask for directions to his own room.

He waved off the guard as he arrived, walking into his living space and onto the balcony that lay at its edge. Sighing, he took out his packet of cigarettes and popped one in his mouth, lighting it. He was about to reach into his pocket for his lighter when he stopped, confused. He looked down at the already lit cigarette in his mouth, then at the pocket where his lighter was stashed, and finally to his hand.

A small flame burned at the end of his finger.

He focused more on his finger, and the flame grew in size. He poured yet more energy into his fire, and it became a veritable fireball in his palm. Laughing, he tossed the burning orb from hand to hand. As he examined it, he became aware of a strong heat coming from his neck. Pulling his T-shirt down and dispelling the fireball, he saw a black mark at the base of his neck in the shape of the amulet he'd gotten from the old homeless man. It felt hot to his touch. He conjured up another ball of flame, and it began to glow white hot. So, I can control fire now I guess. He thought to himself. Sweet. Taking a puff from his cigarette, he walked over to his bathroom.

As he entered he looked in his mirror, seeing that his normally red hair had turned ashen grey. He stared at his reflection for a few seconds, before eventually laughing it off as more weirdness to add to today's tally. Is it bad I'm thinking of this as normal now? He thought to himself as he looked over his reflection. He shrugged, and started playing with fire again. Looking back up, he saw his hair had returned to its normal red colour. He dispelled the fireball, and it turned grey again. He stayed like that for about a minute, flicking his fire on and off and watching his hair alternate between red and grey. Eventually, though, he got bored of this and turned to his bed.

He lay down on his back, feeling the plushness of the bed beneath him begin to lull him to sleep. He didn't even bother to take off his clothes as he let sleep consume him.






Hollow Shades


Luke warily followed the pony he had saved. They walked through a dark forest, the smell of pine trees hanging unpleasantly in the air. Ebony, as he had learned the pony was called, cantered at a quick pace through the dense wood, navigating her way through the trees with practised ease. Luke, however, tripped over what he assumed to be every root that stuck up from the ground. It was hard enough to see in the dark of the night, but the thick blanket of fog that hung over the ground didn't help matters. I hate this forest. Luke thought to himself.

Be patient, you are nearly there

And then there's this asshole. Luke thought to himself. He hadn't noticed the voice at first, echoing in the back of his mind. When he first heard it, he had mistaken it for his own thoughts. But when it began to respond to him, he'd realised it was something else entirely. It still hadn't introduced itself, saying only that it was lost, and looking for a way home. It had been helpful, at least, as without it he would have never discovered his powers.

At the moment, though, its whispering was becoming somewhat annoying. His mood was only fouled further after having to walk through the dark, foggy forest for what must have been at least an hour by his reckoning. 

It has only been fifteen minutes.

Luke groaned and facepalmed. Ebony looked back at him curiously, unaware of the conversation taking place inside his head. He glared at her, and she turned away. Look, mate, He thought. or whatever I'm supposed to call you, anyway. You know you still haven't told me what your name is yet, by the way?

You will learn my name when I deem it necessary.

Luke groaned internally. Fine, whatever. Anyway, how do you know how far it is? Have you been here before? He replied. 

I have.

...You going to elaborate on that? Luke thought.

No.

Luke sighed in annoyance. Whatever, then. Can you just be quite for a bit, yeah? If you're not going to say anything helpful, don't say anything at all. He paused, waiting for a response. Thank you. He thought, when none came.

"We're here." Ebony said from in front of him. Luke looked up to see an imposing cliff face before him. There was a ravine running along the bottom of it, and directly across the ravine from where he stood a large gate was embedded into the cliff face. It was sunken into the cliff itself, so that it would be invisible from above. He had to admire the design of it.

"Hey guys! It's me, Ebony! Open up!" Ebony called to the gate.

"What's the password?" Came a voice from the other side of the gate.

"Uuuh... I forgot." Ebony said.

"We can't let you in without the password. You could be a spy for all we know."

"Oh, come on!" Ebony said, frustrated. "Just let me in!"

"Okay, sure." Said the voice again. Ebony beamed. "Just as soon as you tell us the password." Her face fell.

The password is "Nightfall."

And how the hell would you know? Luke thought.

That is not important

Luke sighed irritably, turning to face the gate.

"Nightfall!" He said.

"Alright, that's it! Lower the gate, guys."

"Oh yeah, that's it... Wait, how did you know that?" Ebony asked.

Luke shrugged evasively. "Just a guess." He said. Slowly, the gate began to lower towards them, accompanied by the sound of grinding chains. It fell onto the ground before them with a loud thump, its edge resting on the near side of the ravine. Out onto the gate came a lightly armoured pegasus pony, holding a spear under one wing. Upon seeing Luke, it stopped, and aimed the spear at him.

"What in Tartarus are you?" He said. Ebony stepped between them.

"Easy, Nightshade." She said. "I ran into some of Celestia's guards and he saved me, so try not to disembowel him, okay?"

"Uh... Hi." Luke said, waving.

"I think you'd best come with us, then." Said Nightshade. "Saving the life of a member of our group deserves a reward, I'd say." Luke perked up at the word reward. 

"Alright then." He said, grinning. "Take me to your leader." I've always wanted to say that! He added in his head.

...Quite

Past the gate, a cave opened up into the cliffside. After following the cave for some time, they emerged into a large chamber which was filled with ponies, all wearing the same dark coloured light armour. As Luke walked through their ranks, they all stopped what they were doing to look at him. Whispers followed his path through the crowd, wondering what he was and where he came from. 

Eventually, they arrived at a large stone platform that was slightly raised up from the ground. Upon it stood a huge statue made of black stone, of a rearing pony. Unlike the ones he had seen so far, Luke noticed that it had both wings and a horn. Standing before it was a wizened old pony. Slowly, he turned to face Luke and regarded him with a cold stare.

"Welcome, creature" He said, solemnly, "To the Cult of The Nightmare."
> Chapter 4 - Shepherd Of Fire
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Canterlot, Morning


Celestia finished raising the sun and stood back for a moment, admiring her handiwork. Turning around, she exited the tower and found one of her aides waiting for her.

"Ah, Lemon Hearts. How can I help you?" She said.

"Your highness." She said, bowing. "I have a report from the Captain of the royal guard. Apparently, a squad of guards who were investigating a Nightmare-worshipping cult were attacked last night by a monster. They said it was like nothing they'd ever seen before." Lemon Hearts took a folder out of her saddlebags and handed it to Celestia, who took it with her magic.

"In that folder are reports from several of the guards involved in the attack. There is a sketch of how the creature looked according to the guards' report, and one of some kind of magical weapon that it wielded, too." She continued.

Celestia skimmed through the papers, before pulling out the sketch. On it was a detailed drawing of what looked like a cross between an instrument and a battleaxe. Several notes accompanied the drawing, stating approximate dimensions of it and such. The notes stated that energy sprang from it, and that the creature appeared to be able to control it with sound.

She turned the paper over, and her eyes widened in shock. The sketch that showed the monster that had attacked her guards revealed a creature similar to the human she had met yesterday, Jason. This one appeared to be thinner, however, and had longer hair. Celestia turned to Lemon Hearts sharply. 

"Thank you for bringing this to my attention. Excuse me, but there's somebody I need to speak to." Celestia said.





Jason sat up in bed, yawning. He walked over to his balcony, seeing that the sun had just risen. Grinning to himself, he lit up his hand. He stood there for a moment, just enjoying the feeling of the flames on his skin. After a moment, he reached into his pocket and pulled out his packet of cigarettes, frowning as he saw he was down to his last two. I'll have to buy some more, somehow. He thought to himself. Do these ponies even have cigarettes? Damn it, they'd better. He lit one of the cigarettes with his hand, and inhaled deeply. As he exhaled there was a knock at his door. He walked over to it and opened it, seeing one of the royal guards.

"Oh, uh, can I help you?" He asked.

"Jason the human." Said the guard. "The Princess requests your presence." 

Jason waved a hand at him dismissively. "Yeah, okay, just give me a second." He said. He turned back to his room, before realising that he had slept in his clothes and he was already dressed. 

"Uh, nevermind I guess." He said. "Lead the way."

Jason followed the guard as he lead him to Celestia's throne room. Upon arriving, he greeted her with a bow.

"Your highness." He said.

"Jason." She responded, inclining her head. "Guards, please leave us." She said, addressing the other ponies in the room. "I wish to speak with Jason in private." As they filed out, she got up from her throne and walked over to him.

"Jason," She said, once they were alone. "There is something very serious I need to speak with you about."

"Well, that doesn't sound good." He said. "What is it?"

"Last night," She began, "A group of my guards who were out in an area of Equestria known as Hollow Shades investigating rumours of cultist activity were attacked by a monster who defended the cultists. This monster, they reported, was bipedal, wore clothing, and was almost furless, save for a patch atop its head." She narrowed her eyes at him. "Does this sound familiar, by any chance?"

Jason was taken aback. "Wait, do they mean another human?" He said.

"This creature does fit your description." She said. "It is likely to be a human, yes."

"Well... that's good, right?" He said, uneasily. "I mean, I thought I'd never see another human."

"While I understand that you are excited to hear of the existence of another member of your species, this human has attacked my guards with no provocation. You must understand, it is likely hostile and certainly dangerous." Celestia warned him. "It's weapon devastated an entire platoon of my finest with almost no effort."

Oh, shit. Jason thought to himself. "Weapon?" He asked nervously. Knowing his race, he was expecting something along the lines of a machine gun or grenades.

"Yes, and it appeared to be magical. It produced bolts of lightning when struck."

Or not. Jason thought. That doesn't sound like any weapon that I know of.

"I must request your assistance on the matter, Jason." Celestia continued. "None of my little ponies have experience dealing with humans or their weapons. You, however, do. You could help us understand what we are dealing with here. I want you to examine what we know of this creature and see what you can tell us about them." She floated to him the same file that Lemon Hearts had given her earlier that day.

"In this file is everything that we know about this human, including a rough sketch of them and their weapon. Look through it, please. Your knowledge could be instrumental in helping us apprehend this creature."

Jason leafed through the folder warily. He knew that he had never heard of a weapon that could shoot lightning outside of fiction, and therefore would be of little help in identifying it. He also knew, however, that the ponies had been kind to him so far, and he would not stand idly by while this person attacked them. He stopped his reading on a page showing a sketch of the human. 

The person in question had dark, shoulder length hair. They wore a jacket which appeared to be made from leather, and dark jeans. To Jason, they looked all too familiar. No. He thought It can't be him. I know he could be an asshole, but he wouldn't do something like this.

He turned over the page, and fell to his knees, the file falling from his grasp. Celestia saw him collapse and rushed over to him.

"Jason? What's wrong?" She asked. Jason could only stare at the paper, too shocked to respond. There, on a paper, in a folder about a dangerous monster, on another world, possibly another dimension, was a drawing of his brother's guitar. It was unmistakable.

Jason said nothing, as he began to weep.

"I..." He began, but found he could not finish his sentence. Celestia knelt next to him, draping a wing over his shoulder.

"Jason?" She asked. "Are you alright?"

He swallowed and looked at her, tears in his eyes. "This human..." He said, shakily. "He's my brother. He was with me when I got sent here, he must have been pulled along as well. He... I just don't understand why he'd do something like this. I mean, sure, he was an asshole at times, but he never hurt anyone."

"...It is possible," Celestia said, "That he does not realise he is on the wrong side of this conflict. Perhaps, if we can talk to him, we can get him to cooperate with us."

"That wouldn't work. He's a right stubborn idiot, he wouldn't listen to any of your ponies." Jason rose to his feet again. "But I know someone he may listen to."

Celestia nodded. "If you truly think you can reach him, then you are welcome to try. You know him better than anyone else in this world. Besides, I think that this cult has become enough of a thorn in my side lately. I will dispatch some troops to try and disband this cult, and I would like you to go along with them to try and talk to your brother. Do not worry about your safety, however. I shall send you with many guards."

"Don't." Jason said. "If I'm with a lot of your ponies, he probably won't trust me as much. It'd be better if once the attack began, I spoke to him alone. Besides which," Celestia shielded her eyes, as Jason's arms became wreathed in fire, his hair glowed red, and his eyes turned crimson. He appeared just as he had looked when she first met him, when he had destroyed part of Canterlot.

"I think I'll be able to handle myself."
> Chapter 5 - Fury Of The Storm
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Canterlot, evening


Jason approached the barracks with mounting anxiety. Although he had readily volunteered himself, his palms were sweaty, knees weak, and his arms were heavy. He paused before the entrance to the barracks, before steeling himself and pushing the doors open. Before him, the guard were preparing themselves for the upcoming attack. Almost one hundred ponies milled about, gathering armour and weapons to use in the fight against the cult.

Jason spotted Celestia near the back of the room and walked over to her. As he approached, he saw that she was talking to a dark blue pony. This one was slightly shorter, but also had both wings and a horn. Since the only other pony he'd met with both was Princess Celestia, he assumed that this other pony was also royalty. Approaching the pair, he bowed to them both.

"Hi Princess," He said to Celestia. "And I don't think we've met, have we? Hi, I'm Jason." He added, turning to the other alicorn.

"Princess Luna." She said. "I will be assisting the guard in this endeavour to tackle the cultist problem."

"No, she won't." Celestia said. "I have told you, Luna, I will not allow you to take part in this. It would be folly for you to put yourself in harm's way like this."

"Sister, I am not a foal." She replied. "I can handle myself."

"She has a point, Celestia." Jason said. "After all, aren't you guys basically demigods? What's the worst that could happen?"

Celestia sighed in resignation. "I suppose you are right. Luna, you have my blessing to join the attack, provided you keep Jason with you at all times." She said, before turning to leave. "I will trust you to look after her, Jason." She added quietly to him.

"I will." He replied, just as softly. He turned back to Luna as Celestia left, clapping his hands and rubbing them together in anticipation.

"So, what's the plan?" He asked her.

"A few of our scouts have already located their base of operations." Luna said, moving over to a small table. On it was a map of an area named 'Hollow Shades'. It appeared to be mostly forest, but there was a ravine cut through the middle of it. Luna indicated a point on the ravine. "We have deduced that their base is centred around here. Once we find the exact location, the main force of the guards will engage in a full frontal assault on the main entrance. However, we have already found a side exit here." She pointed to a patch of forest a short distance from the first point.

"Utilising the main assault as a distraction, you and I shall take an elite squad and enter at this point. Then we shall move through their base, incapacitating any guards we come across. We will be tasked with finding and taking care of the cult's leader, and... your brother." She said. "Is this agreeable to you?"

Jason nodded once.

"Let's do it."






Hollow Shades, evening


Luke paced restlessly. It had been a day since he'd wound up with these cultists, and most of the time he'd been bored out of his mind. The only thing keeping him entertained was messing with his guitar. He'd managed to use it properly last time against those guards out of sheer luck, but now he'd had time to practice with it. He was sure that next time he had to use it, he'd be ready. Of course, the voice had helped him along as well. He still wasn't sure how it knew so much, but it had been helpful to him so far so he hadn't given it much thought.

He ran a finger over the edge of the axe blade. He'd noticed yesterday that it appeared to be made of real metal now, but he'd only discovered today how sharp it was. Swinging it, he could easily slice through about a foot of wood. As he wandered aimlessly, he happened upon the cult's ritual chamber. He'd been given the grand tour yesterday, and told all about their weird religious stuff. They apparently worshipped someone called Nightmare Moon, a dark goddess imprisoned for a thousand years by the 'Sun Tyrant' Celestia. He didn't really buy into it that much at first, but once again the voice in his head had assured him otherwise. So far, it'd only been helpful, so he took its word for it.

Suddenly, an alarm blared, snapping him out of his thoughts. As several guards rushed past, he collared one of them.

"What's all this about?" He asked.

"We're under attack!" He said. "Celestia's forces have somehow found where we are!"

Defend them

"Shit. Alright, where are the bastards?"

"We're trying to repel them from the front gate now." The guard answered, before running off again.

Protect the entrance

"...Well, I didn't have anything else planned." Luke muttered to himself, as he sprinted along the tunnels toward the front gate. He tuned his guitar as he went, racking his brain for a song. He decided on one just as he reached the entrance.

All over the immediate area outside the gate, ponies in golden armour clashed with the cult's members. Luke strode purposefully out onto the drawbridge, and raised his guitar

As he strummed the first few chords, all of the golden ponies looked upon him and shivered in fear. As one, the cultists fell back toward the entrance, taking cover from what they knew came next. Energy crackled around him, and he grinned sadistically at the assembled ponies.

He screamed the first few lyrics, and the force of his voice blew back several guard ponies. He continued his singing with a crazed grin, planting his feet firmly on the drawbridge as the earth began to shake around him, humming with power. Several small rocks began to rise from the ground and formed into a barrier in front of him, defying any to try and cross the bridge.

One earth pony ventured forward, holding his sword aloft. Luke turned his attention to him, and they wilted under his voice. He shot a flurry of rocks at him, and he withdrew from the barrage. Several others decided to try and rush him at once, a combination of pegasus air attacks and unicorn magic bolts harrying him backward a step. Steeling himself, he pushed forward once more and shook the ground, knocking the unicorns' hooves out from under them. Them being dealt with for now, he whipped some stones into a small twister and hurled it through the ranks of pegasi.

The ground trembled, and spires of rock burst forth from underground, almost impaling several ponies. Two earth ponies darted forward through the assault, flanked by a unicorn. As the first drew near, he launched them into the air by causing a pillar of stone to spring from under their hooves. The other dodged this and almost got near enough to engage him directly, but was intercepted by one of the pegasus cultists. The pony he had launched earlier fell back toward him, but Luke flung a large rock at him, and he ploughed into the unicorn.

Luke used the earth to fling them back toward their allies, and drew the pillars back into the ground. He stomped one foot, and a huge boulder sprang from the ground and floated before them. Kicking it, it was sent hurtling through the amassed ranks. Most of the ponies dodged it, but some were crushed under its weight. Luke leapt into the fray after them, whirling several sharp stones into the faces of a few guards. The small projectiles punctured throats and eyes, and several guards leapt back, screaming, blinded, or bleeding. Those who did not fell never to rise again.

A pegasus flew at Luke from behind, and sliced at him with a set of wingblades. Luke only just managed to evade him, but was left with a deep gouge on his arm. He attempted to use his magic to spear the pony, but the gash had hit muscle. His playing faltered, and the pegasus took his chance. He flew at Luke's throat, and was only just parried by holding his guitar up in front of him. Too late, Luke realised what he had done. There was a sharp twanging sound as one of his guitar strings snapped. 

You fool!

Luke began to back off toward the bridge, attempting to continue playing. The song became distorted, however, and it had little effect. A pegasus dashed toward him and he tried to fire off a chord, but the pegasus dodged it and leapt toward him. A cultist dropped onto him from above, stopping his attack before he could reach his target. 

"Go!" They yelled, as more and more ponies tried to attack him. The cult managed to defend him, however, and Luke fled toward the entrance to the hideout. He sprinted along the corridors, guitar slung over his shoulder, not quite knowing where he was headed. Eventually, he stumbled upon a large circular chamber. Four cultist unicorn ponies dressed in hooded robes were surrounded by a dark dome of magic, and chanting in hushed tones, their words inaudible. Across the room, he saw the leader of the cult lying unconscious on the ground. 

Stood over him were five ponies, four of whom were wearing armour similar to that of the ponies he had just been fighting, but coloured dark purple, and their wings were like those of bats. The fifth was noticeably taller, and had both wings and a horn, marking her as one of the four Alicorn Princesses. But they were not what held his attention.

Behind them stood a sixth figure. This one towered over even the Princess. His hair glowed with an unearthly light that pervaded the gloom of the room, as did his crimson eyes. Fire flickered in his palms.

"...Jay?"
> Chapter 6 - Nightfall (Part 1)
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Hollow Shades, night


"Over here!"

Jason hurried over to the whisper, wary of any cultists nearby. He, Luna, and the five guards she had chosen to accompany them huddled around a small bush. The guard who had signalled them moved part of the plant aside, revealing a small hatch, about pony sized, in the ground.

"Excellent work." Luna said. She gestured to three of the guards. "You three, go first. Jason and I will follow, and you two shall bring up the rear. Move out." One of the guards pried the top off of the hatch with their magic, and slipped down it into the darkness below. Two more followed, and then Jason jumped down. Luna and the remainder of the guards entered, and the hatch was sealed behind them.

They made their way carefully along the dark halls, mindful of any roaming cultists. Thankfully, it seemed the guards at the gate were engaging the majority of them, as the place was mostly empty. Suddenly, they heard hoofsteps ahead of them. Luna signalled the foremost guard, and they moved forward. The cultist came around the corner and was snatched from above by the guard, who then brought them back to the group and threw him at Luna's hooves.

"What are you planning?" She asked. Straight to the point. Thought Jason. I like this one.

The cultist spat at her hooves. "Like I'd tell you anything." He said defiantly. Jason walked up behind him.

"Look, you can either answer to her..." He said, grabbing them by their shoulder. He wrenched them to the ground, lighting up his face and staring into their eyes. He held his burning visage close to their own and watched them whimper in fear.

"Or you can answer to me."





"I think its this way." Said Jason. The cultist they'd interrogated had told them about some kind of ritual taking place in one of the larger chambers deep in the cave. He didn't know what it was about, but he told them that it was definitely taking place that night. The guards had knocked him out and hidden him in a nearby room, hopefully he wouldn't be discovered for a while.

The small group continued down the halls until they found themselves emerging into a large chamber. Four unicorns stood in a circle in the centre of it, surrounded by a dark aura. Jason walked up to it, only to be blasted back against the wall by some unseen force.

"Magnificent, isn't it?" The group whirled around at the voice, to see an old stallion gazing at the dome before them. "I've waited so long for this day. My followers have come so far since I came to lead them" One of the guards that Luna had brought with her flew up to the stallion and held their wingblades to his throat. 

"What are you planning, cultist?" She snarled. The old stallion merely chuckled.

"Planning? Why, that would imply we've yet to take action. I dare say that what you see before you is the exact opposite. In fact, our plans come to fruition this very night."

Luna stepped forward. "Thy speak of evil most foul as if discussing the weather. What art thy plans, heretic?!" She thundered, slipping into the Royal Canterlot Voice in her rage.

"Ah, dear princess. I don't think you'll be needing any information from me. Why, you'll see for yourselves soon enough. You'll all see." He smiled then, a sick smile that chilled Jason to his core. Jason lit up his hand and held the fireball close to the heretic's face. "Ah yes, the pyromaniac. You do look so much like your brother."

"Tell us what you're doing here, and what you want with Luke." He snarled. "Or I swear to God, I will burn every hair on your body from you one at a time."

At his threat, the old stallion merely chuckled. "My my, such ferocity."

"Jason, I do not believe that we will be able to get any information out of him. He is simply too far gone." Luna said. "Nocturne, if you would?" She said, nodding at one of her guards.

"My pleasure, your highness." They replied, and slammed their hoof into the back of the stallion's head. He collapsed to the floor, still grinning. Jason shivered.

"Well, that guy was fucking creepy." He stated. Suddenly, they heard rapid footsteps from the other side of the cavern. A bipedal figure ran in, clutching a guitar. He was bleeding slightly from a cut on his right arm, and his dark hair hung down in front of his eyes.

Slowly, he seemed to take in his surroundings. He looked first to the dark dome surrounding the unicorns, then to the unconscious cult leader. Finally he saw the ponies standing on the other side of the room, and the flame-cloaked figure standing behind them.

"...Jay?" He said.

"Luke!" Jason cried. He made to run toward him, but as he did the cultists' chant reached a peak, and in unison they slammed their forehooves onto the ground.

The ground in the chamber began to crack, and from the cracks a thick black mist began to seep upward. Jason made to jump over one of them to reach Luke but recoiled from the mist as soon as he touched it, holding his hand as if it were burned. The mist began to coalesce above the four cultist unicorns, swirling and crackling.

The four unicorns suddenly went rigid, and their eyes turned white. Their mouths opened and from them poured a dark, tar-like substance that dripped to the floor and pooled around them. Slowly, their bodies seemed to vanish into the puddles, which rose from the floor and into the dark vortex above them. Jason whipped around, and found that the same thing had happened to each of the Lunar guards. As their bodies dissolved and became part of the vortex, a dark chuckle reverberated through the chamber.

"No," Luna whispered, terror in her eyes. "It cannot be!" The darkness above them stopped swirling.

"Oh, but it can, dear Luna." Said a voice that seemed to come from everywhere and nowhere. It sounded as though there were many ponies speaking at once, all with varying tones.

"No!" She cried. "You were destroyed! Cast out of my mind by the Elements of Harmony!"

"Cast out, yes. Destroyed, no. I still linger."

"Excuse me," Said Jason. "But who the fuck are you?"

"I'm glad you asked, boy. For I am the Nightmare, AND I AM REBORN!"

Suddenly, the darkness shot down onto Luke. He screamed, a hoarse scream that made Luna cringe in fear.

"LUUUKE!" Cried Jason. Luke's body convulsed as the darkness washed over him. It rushed down his open mouth, muffling his scream, and seeped in through his eyes and ears. Slowly, he became surrounded by a cocoon of darkness. Lightning cracked within it, but Luke's muffled screams could still be heard above the noise.

The screaming suddenly stopped, and there was a sharp twanging. Quickly, however, the screams were replaced by a more terrible sound.
> Chapter 7 - Fields of Despair
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Canterlot, Night


Celestia shot upright in her bed and screamed. At once, several guards rushed in to see to her, though they saw nothing amiss. After about a second, Celestia's shrill shriek petered out, and she was left sobbing.

One of the guards tentatively approached her. "Princess?" He said. "What... what's wrong?"

Celestia didn't respond, instead choosing to roll onto her side and continue crying. The guards looked at each other in confusion, unsure of what they should do.

One of them approached the princess again, still unsure of what was going on.

"Princess... please. Tell us what's wrong." They said. Celestia lifted her head slightly, and softly said a single word.

"Luna..."






Hollow Shades, Night


Jason watched, mouth agape in horror as Luna's body slowly bled onto the ground. He fell to his knees. Her head lay in front of him, its lifeless eyes seeming to stare into his soul. He reached to pick it up, but was stopped by a loud thud from before him.

Luke stood there, guitar over one shoulder. He extended a hand and wisps of shadow extended from it, gently coiling around Luna's body and head. Jason stood up.

"No." He said. "Luke, you can't be doing this. You just... murdered her for no reason."

"No, I didn't." He said, his voice mixed with that of the Nightmare. "She had power, and I wanted it. There's your reason." The shadows suddenly tightened, and dragged the corpse over to the Nightmare. They wrapped around it like a cocoon, and suddenly melted, leaving only a tar-like substance behind, though it retained a silvery sheen. Luke raised his hand, and the liquid flowed into him.

Suddenly, he grunted in pain. He doubled over as his back began to bulge and his clothes ripped, and shadows seemed to dance at his feet. With a sickening sound like the tearing of flesh, two huge bat-like wings erupted from his back, flicking off any blood that remained on them. He groaned again, and slowly a spiral horn emerged from his forehead, glistening in the moonlight with gore. The shadows leapt up to his body, writhing over him. Softly, a sound like the clinking of metal could be heard. When the shadows retracted, Luke was left with a pale blue armour covering his body. He raised a gauntleted hand and clenched it.

"So, this is the power of an alicorn." He said. "Not bad. Not bad at all."

Jason watched the proceedings, frozen in fear. He finally managed to find his voice, only for nothing but a choked sob to escape his lips.

"Luke..." He said. "Is this really what you've become?"

Luke chuckled. "What else would I be, Jason?" He said. "And this is only the beginning. Soon, all of Equestria shall kneel before me."

"No..." Jason said, shaking his head. "No! You can't go and do this, Luke! You have to see reason!"

"Hmm... Nah." Said Luke. "I think I'm still going to go ahead and conquer the world."

"...I can't let you do that." Jason said.

Jason leapt at Luke, hands blazing. He threw a fireball into his face, before grasping his arms and pouring as much energy as he could into his fire, intending to burn Luke down.

Luke merely laughed, shrugging off Jason's attacks and head-butting him in the face. Jason crumpled to the ground.

"You can't fight me, Jason." Luke said, chuckling. "Not like this. You're far too weak. Why, you're not even worth the trouble of killing. I'll see you around, but for now, I'm going to absorb the rest of those ponies."

Luke spun on his heel, before leaping into the air in the direction of the battlefield between the cult and the guards. He landed amidst the melee with a crash, and slowly all of the combatants turned to face him. A cold smile parted his lips.

"Kneel." He said, his voice oozing authority. As one, the cultists sank to their knees. The guards, however, charged at him. He grinned, and struck a chord. The wave of energy that washed over them sent them all to the ground, tumbling end over end in the dirt. Luke laughed at them.

"How a species as weak as you ever became the dominant one of this planet, I will never understand." He said. "But no matter. I need not understand to destroy."

Luke raised a hand toward the ponies, and hundreds of shadow tendrils shot toward them, ensnaring their legs and constricting their bodies. Luke laughed as they began to melt into a tar-like substance and flow toward him.






Canterlot, Morning


Jason woke with a start. Looking around, he saw that he was in the Canterlot hospital. He groaned, feeling his head where Luke had struck him. He was just thankful that he hadn't been hit with his horn. A nurse approached him.

"Good morning, Jason." She said softly. "How are you feeling?"

"Like shit." He said, shaking his head in an attempt to clear it. "How did I get here?"

"You were recovered by some guards sent to investigate the aftermath of the battle... We're so sorry about what happened." She said, looking down.

"What... happened...?" He said, before gasping. "Luna! Oh sweet Jesus, I need to tell Celestia!" He all but leapt from the bed before the nurse stopped him by putting a hoof on his chest.

"She... she knows, Jason. When Luna... died, Celestia sensed it. She's been inconsolable since." Jason slumped back down at her words.

"I... I failed her." He said. "I failed them all."

"No, Jason, I'm sure you did everything you could." She said. "In any case, Princess Celestia would probably like to see you. You were with Luna at the end, and, to be honest, you're probably the only one left alive who knows what happened there."

Jason drew in a shuddering breath, before steeling himself and sitting upright. "Alright." He said. "I'll go talk to her. If I can help her to cope with her sister's passing, then its the least I can do."
> Chapter 8 - Prepare for War
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Canterlot, Noon


Jason slowly walked the halls of Canterlot Castle toward Celestia's chambers. His palms were slick with sweat at the thought of the conversation he knew he would have to have with her. All too soon, he found himself in front of her doors. He turned to one of the guards stationed there.

"I, uh... I'm here to see the Princess. I need to talk to her about Princess Luna." He managed to say. The guard nodded, and knocked on the door before sticking his head in and softly speaking to Celestia. He returned his head and motioned Jason to go inside. As Jason walked past him, however, he found that the guard had hold of his arm.

"Good luck." He said. Jason nodded his thanks and went inside.






???


I think that went well. The Nightmare said, it's voice echoing in Luke's mind as they flew over the landscape, propelled by their stolen wings.

"Hell yeah it went well!" Luke said. "I mean, look at us. We absorbed the power of a demigod! We're practically unstoppable, now."

Don't become overconfident, boy. The Nightmare said. I absorbed her once before, remember, and I was still beaten.

"Yeah, but that was because you literally stood there and let them hit you with the element thingamajiggers. We'll be smarter than that this time."

True, overconfidence is a weakness of mine. The Nightmare said. We will have to be careful not to underestimate our enemies.

"Although, from what we've heard, they don't have the elements anymore anyway." Luke said.

True, but remember, they did not need them to defeat Tirek, and his mission was similar to ours.

"Fair point. By the way, what exactly are we doing?" Luke asked. "I'm flying by the seat of my pants at the moment."

Our immediate objective is to amass power. The Nightmare said. I have sensed a large concentration of it nearby. We're headed there to assimilate whatever it is.

"Cool. So, where is it?" Luke said.

It is in an area that I believe the ponies call 'The Badlands'.






Canterlot


Jason sat in his room, staring at the ceiling. Sighing, he got up and headed to the door. Upon exiting, he saw Flashpoint, a pegasus guard he had become friends with, walking past his room.

"Hey Flash." He said. "You on duty?" Flashpoint shook his head in reply. 

"Nah, I just finished my shift. You wanna hang out?" He said. Jason nodded in reply. As they walked out of the castle toward the gardens, Flashpoint looked at Jason quizzically. 

"Is something wrong, Jason? You seem kind of down." He said. Jason sighed.

"Have you heard about Princess Luna?" He asked. Flashpoint nodded grimly. "Yeah, well, I was kinda there for that. Apparently, no-one else survived. I guess I just feel kinda responsible for it."

"Dude, that's stupid." Flashpoint said. "It's not like you could've done anything. If that thing killed a Princess, no offence, but there's no way you could've stood up to it. Don't beat yourself up over it."

"Thanks, man." Jason said. He fished his cigarettes out of his pocket, having bought another packet earlier that day. He lit one and inhaled from it deeply.

"So, I heard you talked with Princess Celestia today. How'd that go?" Jason sighed heavily.

"Not well. Not well at all." He said. "It was pretty one-sided. She wouldn't say anything, she just kept crying. She must feel terrible. I'm surprised she's still finding the strength to raise the sun." Flashpoint shuddered.

"Don't even joke about that. If the sun stopped coming up every morning, we'd all freeze to death in a few days." He said. "Still, if she's so despondent, is she still up to the task of running the country?"

"I mean nothing bad about her, but absolutely not." Jason said. "Apparently, she's left it up to her inner council to run the country until she feels okay again. How long that'll take, though, I have no idea."

Just then, a guard came around a corner in front of them.

"Jason the human." He said. "The Council requests your presence immediately. Follow me." It was phrased as a request, but Jason knew there was no denying the council.

"'Kay." He said. Turning to Flashpoint, he added "Sorry, we'll have to hang out later."

Flashpoint shrugged. "Don't worry about it. Go do your thing." He said, and walked away

Jason nodded. "Lead the way." He said to the guard. 





Jason entered a dimly lit room. Looking around, he saw that it was occupied by eight ponies around a large, circular table.

"Ah, Jason." Said one of them. "You're here, good. Allow me to fill you in on what we know."

Jason nodded, taking a seat at one of the low chairs around the table. The same pony from before, who Jason assumed was the head councillor, spoke again.

"We have several scouts following The Nightmare. They began tailing it after Luna's death. As of now, we have little information on its goals, or targets. The last time it was free, as Nightmare Moon, it tried to bring about eternal night. However, this was because of Luna being it's main host, and her pent-up feelings of resentment toward Celestia and the general populace. With Luke as it's host, we have very little idea of what it will do."

Jason inhaled deeply from his cigarette. "And I'm guessing you want me to try and predict his actions, right?" He said. When the rest of the council nodded, he grimaced. "Well, where is he?" He asked.

One of the other members spoke up. "The Nightmare is currently on a course toward the Badlands." She said, indicating a map that she splayed out on the table.

"And what's in the badlands?" He asked. The same council member responded.

"Not much. The only thing of note is that, somewhere in that area, is the main hive of the changelings."

Jason considered this for a moment, taking another puff of his cigarette. "These changelings." He said. "Tell me about them."

A different council member spoke this time. "The changelings are like half-insect, half-pony beings. The Queen controls the lesser changelings like a hive mind. They feed on love, and can change their appearance to any form they desire. Not too long ago, their Queen, Chrysalis, replaced Princess Cadence. She then used her fiancée's love to become so powerful that she was able to overpower Celestia, and nearly took over Equestria."

Jason snapped his fingers. "That's it!" He said. "Luke is heading to the Changeling hive." 

"Whatever for?" The head councillor said. "What could he stand to gain from the changelings? Is he going to form an alliance with them?" Jason shook his head.

"Worse." He said. "When The Nightmare killed Luna, it didn't merely kill her; It absorbed her. Gained her power. Before it absorbed her it didn't have wings, or a horn. It stole them form Luna. And after it did that, it absorbed everypony else that was present. My best guess is that It's trying to collect as much power as possible. For what, I don't know, but if this Queen is strong enough to overcome Celestia, then he's going to want a piece of that. This isn't something we can allow to happen. We need to warn this Chrysalis of what is coming."

"Preposterous." Said another member of the council. "The Changeling nation doesn't exactly have the best of relations with Equestria, you know."

"Yeah, you just told me they tried to invade not too long ago." He said. "But The Nightmare is everyone's enemy, not just ours. Back on Earth, we have a saying: 'The enemy of my enemy is my friend'. If this Chrysalis cares at all about the survival of her and her nation, then she'll join us."

The head councillor nodded. "Very well. We shall send an envoy to Chrysalis. It would probably be for the best if you accompanied them, Jason. It would help to have some non-ponies present."

Jason nodded. "We should get going as soon as possible. From this map, Canterlot is closer to the the Badlands then Hollow Shades, so if we hurry we should be able to reach them before The Nightmare does."

"Very well. I'll select a team of our fastest pegasi and have them ready to ship out within two hours." The head councillor said. "This meeting is adjourned."
> Chapter 9 - Soldiers of the Wastelands
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Badlands, evening


"So, this is The Badlands?" Luke said. The thumping of his wings was the only sound piercing the chilled night air around them.

Indeed. 

"Looks kinda... barren." He said. As far as he could see, all that existed before them was a desolate wasteland, sparsely populated save for the occasional cactus or small reptile. 

I sense that the power source is northward of our current location. We should head onward.

"Right." Luke flew onward for a few more minutes, skimming close to the ground. He looked all around him, trying to find a clue as to what this power source was. Eventually, they happened across a large hole in the ground. It was well hidden, they had almost missed it on their flyover. 

Down there. The Nightmare said. The power I'm sensing is down there.

Luke made to enter, when suddenly he heard a low buzzing noise from behind him.

"Halt!" Cried a voice. Luke turned around to find a creature behind him. It was roughly pony shaped, but instead of fur it had a black chitinous shell. It's horn and the bottom of its legs were dotted with small holes, making it look somewhat like Swiss cheese. Its wings also had holes in them, and were insect-like, rather than feathered, as pegasus' wings were. It held a spear in its telekinesis.

"Halt?" Luke said, allowing The Nightmare's power to seep into his voice, giving it the same tone that the Nightmare used when speaking. "On whose orders?"

"On the order of Chrysalis, Queen of the Changelings, I command you to halt!" The creature said.

Ah, Chrysalis. She must be the power I'm sensing. Well, it seems we should pay her a visit. Said The Nightmare. Luke grinned.

"Sorry, but I don't think I'm going to be doing that." Luke said. "Now, stand still and let me kill you." He whipped out his guitar and fired off a chord, which manifested as a fireball. The changeling yelled wordlessly in surprise, leaping to the side and only just managing to dodge the explosion emanating from where it impacted.

It sent a bright sphere of green energy into the sky, which burst in a flash of light. 

That was a distress flare. The Nightmare said. It will not be long before we are beset by the rest of the hive.

"Well fuck you, then." Luke said, obliterating the offending changeling with another chord. He turned as a loud buzzing came from behind him, to witness about twenty changelings rising from the hole. He immediately leapt into action, selecting a song and beginning to blast it out of his guitar.

Shards of light began to whip around him in a frenzy, their shapes shifting wildly. The changelings drew back ever so slightly, wary of this new threat. Luke grinned, and intensified his playing as the shards span faster. Suddenly, they hardened into blades and flew at the changelings. The changelings scattered, some of them screaming occasionally as the shards sliced through chitin and wings.

As if acting on some unseen command, they regrouped and charged his position. Luke frantically called up a shield, only just blocking the attacks. He retaliated by forming a lance of the shards and hurling it through their ranks. The changelings scattered to either side, mostly avoiding the attack, although one of them was impaled. The lance split into the individual shards again, and flew back through the changelings toward Luke, felling a few more of them.

One of the changelings flew directly at Luke. He threw up a shield and sliced at it, only to be hit from behind by an energy blast from another changeling. Growling, he severed the offending changeling's head. 

Suddenly, the changelings began to move back toward their hole as one. Luke gave chase, jumping into the hole after them and never ceasing his playing. As soon as he entered he was beset by a large swarm of them, numbering easily over one hundred, causing him to yelp in surprise.

Damn it, if you jump into their hive you should expect there to be more of them! The Nightmare chided him.

Luke grit his teeth and summoned up yet more shards, creating a whirlwind of blades around himself, and allowing a brief respite from their attacks as one or two of them were shredded and the rest failed to get through the storm, even as more of them arrived to back up the others.

There's just too many of them! He thought. Surely they have some kind of weakness we can exploit?

The changelings are a hive mind, which should be controlled primarily by one individual. The Nightmare said. In all likelihood, this will be Chrysalis. We get her, we should win.

Regicide it is then!

Luke shifted his storm of blades to actively attack the changelings, and began to try and move through their ranks. The changelings ducked and dodged around his whirlwind of death, desperate to avoid being shredded. He sliced through the bodies of a couple more of them as he moved forward, breaking out into a run. He dashed through several tunnels following the directions of The Nightmare, his blades making short work of any changelings who attacked him, before bursting into some kind of throne room. Upon the throne sat the largest changeling he had yet seen, surrounded by about ten guards.

That's Chrysalis, I assume. The Nightmare said.

Luke charged at her, shards whirling in front of him. Chrysalis leapt over them and fired a flurry of energy blasts at him. He deflected most of them, but one of them struck him in the shoulder. Luke managed to keep playing, and sent a flurry of shards after her. She dodged all but one of them, which struck her wings, causing her to fall to the ground.

Luke saw this, and capitalised on it by slamming more shards into her, only for her body to erupt in green fire, revealing a normal changeling.

A decoy! Shit. Luke thought. Can you sense where the real one is?

Give me a moment... The Nightmare said. ..Got her. Head that way.

Luke dashed through tunnel after tunnel fending off the changelings that pursued him, following the directions of The Nightmare. After a short time, they emerged into a smaller chamber, in which were six Chrysalis look-alikes.

Second from the left. The Nightmare said. Luke directed a volley of shards her way, only for her to block them with a shield. The other five leapt at him, causing him to hastily erect a barrier of shards, slicing one of them in half. He ducked under the swipe of another and sliced her front legs off, dispatching her with a shard through her head.

He span around as one of them tried to bite at him, dodging her lunge and kicking her in the throat, then beheading her with the shards as she recovered. One of them grabbed him from behind, only for him to flare his wings, knocking her back against the wall, and sending a shard into her head. The next one tried to attack him from above, only for him to gore her with his horn.

Finally only the real Chrysalis was left. She aimed her horn at him and let loose a vibrant green beam of energy. Luke brought his shards together in front of him, forming a shield, and began to push back against it. Chrysalis snarled, and applied more force to her beam. Luke pushed harder still, and took a step forward, forcing her back. He continued to walk forward slowly, until he suddenly dashed forward and out of the path of the beam, and slashed the axe blade of his guitar into her head. He ceased his playing as he watched her bleeding profusely from the gaping wound.

Extending his hand, a tendril of shadow extended and wrapped around her neck. Slowly, she melted into a puddle and flowed into him. He let out a choked cry as he bent double, feeling his body shift and change. His horn bent into a crooked shape, as a second pair of insectile wings sprouted behind his first. Panting heavily, he rose to his feet.

Interesting. It seems that we have taken control of the hive mind. The Nightmare said. These are our changelings now.

"Interesting." Luke said. "What else did we gain from her?"

Aside from the aesthetic changes, we've gotten a significant power boost, and we should be able to shapeshift.

"Shapeshifting? Now that's awesome." Luke said. He concentrated, and in a burst of black fire his form changed to that of Chrysalis. Another burst, and he was replaced by Luna. Another, and Jason stood in his place. He chuckled, reverting to his own form.

"Oh yeah. This will come in handy." He said.
> Chapter 10 - Operation Ground and Pound
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Changeling Hive, night


"Not much longer, now."

Jason looked up at the voice to see the councillors that had been sharing his chariot for the last few hours. He nodded his acknowledgement, and turned to look over the side. Far below, all he could see was an almost featureless expanse of desert. The Changeling Hive lay hidden down there somewhere, they could only hope to find it before The Nightmare did.

The party that had been sent to negotiate with the changelings consisted of himself and two of the council members, along with the two pegasus guards puling the chariot, one of whom was Jason's friend, Flashpoint. He had talked with them a bit for some of the journey, learning that the other was named Cirrus, and was one of the only mares in the guard. The councillors had kept mostly to themselves for the trip.

After a short time, they spoke up again.

"According to the map, this is the approximate location of the hive." One of them said. "Drop down to a lower altitude so we can keep an eye out for it."

"Yes, sir." The guards chorused. They descended until they were barely skimming the ground, all on board looking around in an attempt to find something that looked as though it may be the Hive. Eventually, Jason spotted something.

"Guys, there's some black spots in the distance." He said. "Could be nothing, but I reckon it's worth checking out."

They redirected their route toward what Jason had seen. After a short time, they drew close and exited the chariot to examine the black spots.

"...Shit." Said Jason. "I'm guessing this is a changeling?"

"Yep." Flashpoint said.

"And I'm guessing they don't normally have gaping holes in their chests, right?"

"...No."

"You realise what this means, don't you?" He said solemnly. The others nodded. "Then I think it's best we get the fuck out of here, right now." He turned around, only to see hear a deep cackle from the pit. Slowly, he returned his attention to it, only to see The Nightmare rising from its depths, a smug smirk plastered onto its face.

"What, leaving without saying goodbye?" It said. "I'd love to catch up, Jason, but I really must be off. Things to do, places to be... people to kill."

"Luke, stop this." Jason said. "Just stop! This isn't you!" The Nightmare laughed.

"Sorry Jason, but tell it to someone who cares." It said. "But really, I must go, so I'll just let my new friends take care of you. Goodbye, Jason."

Jason made to throw a fireball at The Nightmare, only for it to be obscured by a swarm of changelings suddenly rising from the pit. When they cleared, The Nightmare was nowhere to be seen.

"Fuck!" Jason said. "I let him get away again!"

"I think we have a more immediate problem right now, mate." Flashpoint said, gesturing to the buzzing mass of changelings gathered around them.

"...Ah, fucknuggets."

One of the changelings let out a shrill screech, which Jason took as their cue to act. He ignited himself in a flash, covering his body with fire. Flashpoint and Cirrus readied their weapons, while the councillors lit their horns with spells, all of them prepared to fight for their lives.

As one, the changelings rushed them. Jason conjured a fireball in his hand and threw it into their masses, hitting one of them square in the chest and downing them. As the rest closed in on him, however, he realised that simply throwing fireballs wasn't going to cut it here.

Focusing, he swept his arm upward and a wall of flames erupted from the ground before the approaching changelings, forcing them to a halt, though some braved it and pushed on through. He pushed outward, and the flames shot forward and incinerated more of them. Grinning, Jason decided to further test what he could do.

The changelings were wary of him for now, only attacking one at a time, trying to get a feel for how strong he was. One of them rushed him from behind which Jason dodged, launching a fireball at it as it passed. He whipped his arm at another that came at him, flames sprouting from his hand and burning through their chitin.

Close by, Flashpoint was also fending off attacks. He dodged and ducked around the attacks of the changelings, only just managing to not get hit. He drove his spear through the face of one, before whipping it out and slicing through the neck of another. Soon, he found himself fighting almost back to back with Cirrus, who was a bit worse for wear. In addition to numerous smaller wounds, she had a large gash on her left foreleg. It needed attending to badly, but with the current situation they weren't going to get the respite she needed.

The councillors were also being pushed to their limit. The two unicorns were unused to fighting, but they had managed to fend off the changelings thus far with a few powerful defensive spells. They had constructed a large shield together around the pair of them that had managed to hold firm, though it began to show signs of cracking under the continued living bombardment, even with the both of them pooling their magical reserves.

Suddenly, a roar emanated from the Hive's entrance. Jason and the ponies turned their attention to it only to see an extremely large changeling floating upward from the pit.

"A changeling Carnifex." One of the councillors said, his voice barely more than a whisper. "We're doomed."
> Chapter 11 - Revolution Deathsquad
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Changeling Hive, Night


The four of them looked fearfully upon the Carnifex as it towered over them. It was easily five times the height of a normal changeling, and had a pair of appendages that ended in scythe-like blades extending forward from it's torso. Its horn had a serrated edge to it, as did its fangs, each of them the size of a pony. A third eye sprouted from its forehead.

"Carnifexes are the elite of the changelings." The councillor said. "They're highly resistant to damage, very intelligent, and incredibly strong, both magically and physically."

"Well, fuck." Jason said. The carnifex gave another earth-shaking roar as it landed, the ground trembling under its weight. "Okay, he's big, but that means he'll be slow, right?"  The carnifex snorted, before running toward Jason. Jason yelped in surprise and took off to his left, the carnifex changing direction with surprising agility and following him. "OHFUCKHE'SNOTSLOW!"

Suddenly, a large magical bolt struck it in the side of the head, causing it to stumble. It whipped its head around to the councillor who had shot at it, a fierce green aura enveloping its horn. A sphere of verdant energy took shape above it. It whipped its head down, letting loose the ball of death, only for it to be knocked off course by Flashpoint slamming into its face. The sphere exploded on the ground a few feet away.

"Keep it off balance!" Jason said, before firing a gout of flames into its eyes. "Don't let it recover!"

One of the carnifex's appendages crashed into the ground before Jason, the bladed tip sinking several inches into the dirt. Jason grabbed onto the limb and poured fire through his hands into the flesh. The giant changeling reeled back, screeching, clutching its wounded limb to its chest. It whipped its other blade out at Jason, who dodged to the side and shot another fireball into its head. 

This was quickly followed up by a magical bolt from the councillor, and then a hit-and-run from Cirrus when it turned to them. She was too slow to retreat, however. One of the carnifex's wings shot out and caught her in the head, causing her to tumble to the ground. Cirrus landed hard on her face, dazed, as the carnifex turned its full attention on her.

"Cirrus, run!" Shouted Jason, blasting the carnifex in the face. Cirrus struggled to her hooves, and was about to run when one of the carnifex's bladed limbs descended upon her. 

She screamed in pain as the razor edge penetrated her body, pinning her to the ground beneath it. Blood began to stain the earth beneath her as it spilled from the wound. The carnifex roared in triumph as the others looked on, shocked. Slowly, Cirrus was lifted up as the carnifex brought her to its gaping maw, still impaled upon its limb.

"No!" Jason said, his body exploding in fire as he ran directly at the carnifex. He leapt into the air, propelled by a burst of flame beneath him. As he reached the peak of his leap, he drew back his fist, the fire enveloping his arm surging in intensity and changing to a blue colour.

"You bastard!" He screamed as he fell toward the carnifex. It looked up at him just as he collided with its face. An explosion engulfed the carnifex's head. As the smoke cleared, all that remained of its face was a smouldering crater, with Jason embedded in the centre of it.

The giant corpse toppled to its knees as Jason jumped from his perch, changeling blood and brain matter adorning him. With a flash of fire, he rid himself of the grisly remains and ran to where Cirrus laid on the ground, still bleeding from the gaping hole in her chest. He knelt next to her limp form, cradling her head in his arms.

"Cirrus!" He said. "Hang in there!" Cirrus smiled weakly.

"Sorry Jason..." She said. "I don't think I'm going to make it." She coughed, blood spraying from her mouth.

"No." He said. "No, you are not dying on me! You're gonna be okay, Cirrus! We'll get you to a doctor!"

"I don't think that'll help, Jason." She said, weakly. "I have a giant hole in my chest..."

She let out a deep sigh as the light left her eyes. Jason held on to her still body for a few seconds longer until Flashpoint roused him.

"I'm sorry, Jason." He said. "There's nothing we can do for her now except see to her remains. We need to move on as son as possible." Jason nodded, rising to his feet.

"You're right. We don't have the time or the tools to bury her, so..." He said, raising his hand toward her corpse. A stream of flames poured outward from it, incinerating Cirrus' body until all that was left was a small pile of ash which was blown away in the wind.

"We need to move on." He said. "Flash, can you pull the chariot by yourself?"

"Yes, but it'll be slower." Flashpoint said.

"We could reinforce the weight enchantments on it." Said one of the councillors. "It'll be lighter, so you can pull it faster."

"That'll help." Said Jason. "We've no time to lose. The Nightmare looks to have gotten even stronger now, so we need to head back to Canterlot and regroup ASAP."






???, Night


"So, where to?" Luke said, as his wings propelled him through the crisp night air under the guise of a regular pegasus.

I sense another concentration of power northward. The Nightmare said. It's very faint, which means it's very far away. It will take us a few days of travelling to reach it.

"Days?." Luke said. "Fuuuck. This'd better be worth it."

It will be. I sense that this one is even stronger than Chrysalis.

"If you say so."

Also, Jason has defeated the carnifex we set upon them.

"Knew it. He's getting stronger by the hour." Luke said. "I could sense his power when we were talking to him, and he's significantly stronger than when we first fought."

Indeed. He may yet become a challenge, though when we reach this next power source we will surely outclass him once more.

"Well then, let's get to it." Luke said, propelling himself further into the night.
> Chapter 12 - Blood Tears
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


???, Dawn


Above the clouds, under the guise of a regular pegasus, Luke flew along, observing the ground below.

"So, I've been thinking." Luke said. "After we get this next power-up, what do we do?"

What do you mean? The Nightmare said.

"I mean, we're getting more and more powerful, so what do we do with the power once we have it?"

I was planning on world domination. Said The Nightmare. Once we reach this next power source, we will be strong enough to assault Canterlot.

"World domination? Awesome." Luke said. "Why don't we attack it now? I mean, we're pretty strong as it is. What's so bad about Canterlot?"

Canterlot is the seat of power of the Alicorn Princesses. Or rather, Princess. The Nightmare said. Powerful as we are, Celestia alone would prove more than a match for us, never mind the fact that Canterlot has the greatest Guard concentration of any city.

"Really? I've looked into what's left of Chrysalis' mind, seen her memories. She's fought her before and won, and now that we've absorbed her we should be stronger still."

Back then, Chrysalis had been feeding on the love of Shining Armour for a long time, growing stronger. Without it, she would be at a fraction of her then power. No, boy, we need to get stronger first.

"Fair enough. And you think that this next power source will be enough to make us stronger?"

Definitely.

"Then let's get to it." Luke said. "But in the meantime, I'm starving. Could we stop somewhere and, I dunno, get some food?"

We don't need to eat. The Nightmare responded. We subsist entirely on the life essence we drain.

"So we feed off the people we kill?" Luke said. "That's pretty fucking metal."

Indeed. There is a city close by which would require little deviation from our current route a few hours away. Shall we? Luke grinned.

"Oh, yes."






Canterlot, Noon


Jason stumbled out of the chariot as it touched down on the grounds of Canterlot Castle, followed by the two council members. Flashpoint unbuckled himself from the front of it, collapsing with exhaustion. A small group of guards rushed out of the castle toward them.

"Are you guys alright?" They said. Jason got to his feet and looked down at them.

"Get Flash here to a place he can rest, then summon the council to the meeting chamber. Shit is going down." He said, his voice was leaden with such seriousness that they didn't consider questioning him, even though he technically had no authority over them. One of them maneuvered Flashpoint onto his back, and then they both galloped into the castle. Jason turned to the two council members who accompanied him.

"We'd better get to the meeting chamber, too." One of them said. "Jason, I assume you'll be accompanying us?" Jason gave a terse nod in reply, before the trio followed the guards' path into the castle. As they passed, Flashpoint called out to them.

"Jason... Jason, listen. You can't blame yourself..." He said, between panting for breath. "You did... everything you could..."

"Easy, Flash." Jason said, crouching to his level. "I know. We were too late, we wouldn't have been able to get Chrysalis' help by then."

"Wasn't talking... about Chrysalis..." Flashpoint said, before his eyes rolled back into his head and he passed out, missing the darkening of Jason's expression. One of the councillors tapped him on the arm.

"Come on, we need to get going." They said. Jason nodded and followed them as they made their way through the castle to the meeting chamber, where they found some of the councillors already gathered. After waiting for the others to arrive, the head councillor stood up.

"From the fact that we've had to call this meeting together at such short notice, I gather the mission we sent you on didn't go as planned." He said, looking at Jason.

"Yeah. Luke got there ahead of us, and attacked the hive." Jason said. "He appeared to be able to control the changelings, and his appearance had changed significantly. I think it's safe to assume he managed to absorb Chrysalis."

"So, now it's even stronger." Said one of the councillors. "It was already powerful enough to destroy the changelings singlehandedly, and now it has their power added to its? Our soldiers don't sound a chance."

"If it's absorbed Chrysalis, this means it has control over the hive mind." Another councillor said, turning to Jason. "Correct?" Jason nodded.

"It certainly seems that way." He said. "He chose to send the changelings at us, rather than fight us himself. I'm guessing he didn't want us to be able to follow him, so he used the changelings as a distraction."

"It certainly worked." The head councillor said. "We no longer have any idea where it is."

"There's something else, too." Said one of the councillors that had accompanied Jason. "When we were fighting the changelings, a carnifex was sent after us. We barely won against it, though at the cost of the life of a brave guardsmare. However, even though before we began fighting it we were surrounded by multitudes of changelings, afterward there wasn't a single one to be seen. While we were distracted by the carnifex, the changelings fled. The Nightmare now has an army at its disposal."

Silence greeted her words as the councillors looked at each other worriedly. The Nightmare had been a grave threat by itself, but now it was much worse. The might of the changeling nation's army was second only to Equestria's, but with such a being as The Nightmare at its head, they now rivalled them in strength.

Jason broke the silence. "Well, its no good standing around here with our dicks in our hands. Do we have any indication of where he is?"

"No." Said the Head Councillor. "After we lost track of him at the changeling hive, we haven't been able to pick up a trail." At that moment, the doors to the council chamber were opened and a royal guard stepped through.

"Councillors," He said, "There is a messenger outside from Trottingham with urgent news. You should all hear this." With that, a pegasus colt trotted into the room, looking around nervously.

"Speak up, lad." Said one of the councillors. "What's this message?" The colt swallowed nervously.

"Trottingham is being attacked by changelings." He said, as an audible gasp went around the room. "We-" He was cut off from speaking further by the head councillor.

"Mobilise the guard!" He said. "Dispatch a legion to Trottingham at once! There is no time to lose." Jason leapt from his seat at the table.

"I'm going." He said. It was not a request, but a statement of fact. The determination in his voice allowed no argument.

"Before you do, Jason," The Head Councillor said, "Allow me to give you something." Walking around the table, he produced a badge from somewhere in the room.

"I hereby make you an honorary member of the council." He said. "You now have limited authority over the guards you are accompanying. Good luck, Jason."

He nodded, and turned to leave for Trottingham.