Episode 2

4 Rapture
The Nightmare Chronicles
Chapter IV
Their dead, aren't they?

Sapphire walked into the metal beast. The interior was pitch black except for twin rays of crimson fire blazing from her ruby horns. The smell of rust and decay hit Sapphire as a thick wall of nearly physical revulsion. But the strange dark energy within had perked her interest and there would be no turning back until her curiosity was satisfied.
Winding down intricate passageways, through myriad's of engineering stations and dormitories, Sapphire finally arrived at the lurking source of malicious energy.
The trip down to the bilge levels had been harrowing. Many of the floors had been rusted through and most of the labyrinthian raised walkways that ran through the vessel had collapsed, blocking off easy access to any of the lower decks.
Sapphire was still weak and traumatized from her ordeal with the crow and subsequent inner reawakening. Between blood loss and the massive drain on her life force that released Nightmare Moon upon Equestria, Sapphire should have been dead. But there was something driving her, some new energy giving strength to her hooves. She didnt know exactly where this new source of strength came from except that it was not part of the devil within her soul. Unlike the inner maliace this new force was undoubtably friendly. It was part of who she was and not something carried within her. The new feeling flowed throughout her body, spreading new life to her dying limbs.
It was this new strength that kept Sapphire from falling headlong into the raving depths of insanity in face of the horrors she had committed in order to stay alive. As it was Sapphire was at the breaking point, she was past caring, wanting nothing but to curl up and die. But the warring factions within her kept her from that gentle peace.
She forged on, wondering ever deeper into bowels of the metal beast.
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"Greetings traveler." a cheery voice called from above Dashes head.
The dapple brown and gray unicorn hovering overhead continued.
"My name is skylark, whats yours?"
"Rainbow Dash, what IS this crazy place?"
The friendly Pegasus landed next to her. Dash took a step back still very wary of her companion. Despite her friendly front, Dash had no way of knowing friend from foe.
"Im a browncoat, who do you fight for?"
"fight?" Dash said warily. "I don't fight anypony. I'm not even supposed to be here."
"Oh, don't be sad. There are plenty of fun things to do around here." The energetic skylark continued.
"Look, i'll take you back to HQ and we can have a roll in the mud. What do you say to that?"
Skylark was almost imitating Pinkie Pie she was so excited. Pinkie pie, she had to save her friends.
"NO!" Dash nearly shouted. "I need to save my friends. Either help me or leave me alone!"
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Sapphire was bored, despite wondering around for over an hour, she had yet to spy the evil energy within the vessel.
Besides that, after teleporting into this place she had lost her ability to feel with her mind. She could faintly sense the presence of a few ponies that teleported with her. But even their traces were too garbled to track. It was as if some power in the area was absorbing all sources of magic and draining the world of life.
Somehow somepony was cutting the strings that bound the world together. The implications of this realization sent Sapphire reeling, but before she could as much as blink the lurking darkness struck.
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There wasn't a queasy bone in Dashies body, (at least none she'd admit to) but if she did she would have been retching at what she was planning to do. HQ was situated at a dizzying hight above the overgrown urban sprawl.
"Welcome to serenity headquarters maretropolis sector." The smiling Pegasus announced as she swung the rusted door open.
"We Pegasus have to stay together, out there is a dangerous place to go alone." Without missing a beat Skylark continued.
"Pick a weapon, any death dealer. Your choice."
Although Dashies dreamt of becoming a Wonderbolt from the day she was born, Dash was a realist.
After getting her cutie mark but before moving to ponyville, dash spent one summer training as a royal guard. She had been rejected, something about being 'too colorful a personality.'
During this time, like every other recruit, she trained with the numerous martial weapons the guards could carry. Her natural affinity for speed and lack of discipline precluded skill with pole-arms or battle axes. So she practiced with swords.
Most of the weapons stowed away at HQ was either completely foreign, made for centaurs or carried from a hoof grip. The only usable weapon Dash knew how to fight with was a gleaming katana sporting a tri-grip mouth piece. The deadly weapon was mounted high upon the back wall of the decrepit shack Skylark called home.
Noticing Dash eyeing the show piece Skylark began reciting the history of the weapon.
"That sword was my fathers, and his father, and even his father before him. No pony knows where it came from. Looks kinda weird doesn't it?"
Before Dash could respond the radio came to life.
*bzzzzt*
A fuzzy distorted voice calked out over the air waves.
"Canterville Command calling maretropolis HQ, urgent respond. Over."
Shocked, Dash realized the colt on the other line couldn't be more than ten summers old. What kind of world had foals fighting wars?
"SK here, whats hangin'?"
After a pause.
"Oh, yeah. Over!"
There was a audible tremor in the colts voice as he continued.
"it-its about the buckston branch. Reaper hit, an-and..."
The colts voice trailed off into static.
Somberly, Skylark click the mic and saying.
"they're dead arn't they?"
Sniffling the colt continued.
"All of them, it was horrible... I heard every scream over the radio. I can't bear it anymore. Every time I close my eyes..."
Bang, Crack... Static.
A solitary tear rolled down Skylark's cheek before she returned to her customary state.
"come on, we've got prisoners to free."
After outfitting Dash with a scabbard and a simple protective leather jerkin, the duo set out.
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The battle was fierce but brief. Whatever the force that attacked her was, it was no match for Sapphire and the combined strength of the polar forces raging within her. As had become custom with vanquished forest critters the darkness within absorbed the darkness without. Unlike the prior kills Sapphire felt little remorse. Instead the absorbed energy made her actually feel meaner, but also happier. Now she was begining to feel as if her own inner darkness was slowly taking over mind with each successive spirit it absorbed.
Sapphire was scared, without the darkness she would die, but with it she would loose herself.
But before she could wallow in more self pity, wondrous, mystical music exploded throughout her mind. Sapphire fell to the floor and shut her one functional eye. the cacophony of melodies stunned Sapphire as bursts of energy awakened her dormant sixth sense. Sapphire could feel the world again. A world desecrated and torn with suffering and decay.
But Sapphire could also sense a glimmer of purity and innocence dimly shining through the ruins of a dying world. Virtue wasn't dead yet.

Rapture
The Nightmare Chronicles
Chapter V
Derping with Portals

Electricity snapped and popped along the axial magnetic walls surounding Octavia and Derpy. Vaporous sheets of winding energy spiraled around them, forming strange twisted shapes. The webs of plasma slowly faded into absolute darkness. A single point of white light appeared between the two ponies.
Octavia locked eyes with Derpy, for a long moment before nodding. With a look of intense concentration Derpy slowly un crossed her crooked eyes. A helix of light expanded out from the tiny shining orb.
In a blast of intense light and sound Octavia and Derpy phased into existence floating several feet above the jungle floor. As the two ponies gained mass and definition they drifted down to the soft mossy river bank.
Around them on all sides, luscious plant life burst from the soggy by fertile ground. But the serene beauty of their landing site was brutally destroyed by the monstrous skeletons of long dead skyscrapers looming above them, dead spines of crumbling concrete and rusting metal. Ahead of them the raging river flowed strait into a towering wall before curving sharply. Behind, a thick mist obscured several waterfalls. Shooting out from rooftops, blowout windows and even leaking from numerous cracks in the masonry, the outpouring of water revealed an extensive body of water just out of view.Between the two choices, the wall seemed by far safest and easiest direction to wander. It would be a wise choice to gain some altitude but for now only having to worry about dangers from one side was more important.
Because of the interruption in the concert Vinyl and Octavia weren't able to finish the decompression spell. Her outfit could manage the process without the spell but it would take hours instead of minutes. Most functions of they suit were mildly affected, but the information cortex was completely offline for the tome being. She still had a heads up and rudimentary EFS, but no tracking, analysis, directional, ranged viewing, friend or foe sorting or interfacing abilities, to just name a few. Compared with full functionality it was like flying blind.
Some of these capabilities had auxiliary systems slaved to other functionality of the arcane energy matrix, but running them interfered with the suits primary purpose, life support.
As Octavia surveyed her surroundings she slowly lowered the protective energy wards shielding her and Derpy. The wards were extremely powerful but not efficient by any means. The spent cartridge ejected itself from her girdle, she replaced it with one of her three remaining ward crystals. After Octavia was sure the coast was clear she dropped down out of her combat stance. While great for battle it was both uncomfortable and tiring over long periods of time. Now was very much the time to conserve energy, for whatpony knew what was ahead of them, especially in a landscape such as this?
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The blast of music was beautiful and pure, cleansing the desecration her inner demons had wrought. The forces within her were expelled, leaving behind only her own true nature. She was no longer a vessel of Nightmare Moon's malice, but, as with all her kind, she still had the desire and need to kill. Also as with all her species there must be an outlet for those cruel urges. Sapphire was not that outlet.
A keen and sadistic, but also gentile and wise force awoke within Sapphire. In a voice that resembled Sapphires own, the force spoke locking her mind a unwavering grip.
"Hello Little One, It has been many life times since we last knew each other. We grew tired of the age old cycle of hate, greed, destruction that feed what we used to be. Nothing but empty and lifeless darkness, with a ruthless desire for obliterating the glorious creativity of this amazing universe. You are very special, for you are able to let joy, love and friendship into your inner most heart. All I have is you, now go and find these things. You won't always feel me, but I shall be with always."
Before Sapphire had regained composure of her thaughts the presence was gone. Sapphire felt calm, a peaceful serinity passed through her being, Sapphire had her first glimpse of happyness as all her guilt and sorrow melted away.
During the brief connection Sapphire had been presented with the sights and feelings of all the companions who had journeyed with her through the portal. Two of them were in dire trouble. She also experiance the two whose portal and its resultant musical cacophony had saved her from the remaining vestiges of Nightmare Moon's twisted evil emptiness.
With new found confidence Sapphire swiftly found the exit to dripping rainforest above. Stretching out with her newly recovered inner sense Sapphire quickly located the two companions who were in need of her help. They were only a few miles away, much further than she had ever flown. Since she had never flown by her self without Nightmare Moon's assistance, her first real flight would be quite the harrowing adventure.

Rapture
The Nightmare Chronicles
Chapter VI
Spread Your Wings

Rainbow Dash's escape put the Centaurs into a maniacal frenzy. It was supposed Entirely impossible to escape the decrepit store they were trapped in. Which was confirmed, when the centaurs forced every pony to attempt to walk past the entrance or fly out the not roof. The confusion and paranoia the escape caused delayed the transportation of anypony an entire day.
The next morning some kind of supervisor centaur arrived. Beginning early by questioning everypony and then summarily flailing about wildly with a crackling whip. Even guards had numerous welts by the time he ran out of steam. The outburst of rage caused two ponies to find deaths door, only causing the supervisor to completely snap.
Pinkie pulled herself out of the mind numbing trance she had been in, her pinkie sense was tingling: twitchy tail. Looking up, Pinkie saw a furious Rainbow Dash dive bombing onto their position, another pegisus hovering high above, almost lost in the billowing rain clouds. Pinkie closed her eyes and turned away, moments before the multi-hued shockwaves blasted out from Dashies landing spot.
Dash slashed one centaur and outright stabbed another. But then she locked eyes with the youngest looking centaur moments before delivering the death blow. The centaur had collapsed on the ground after being hit by her shockwave. The jarring landing had injured him, and Dash could see the pain in his eyes. For a moment dash wavered, loosing her nerve for the spilt seconded needed for the troupe of centaurs to get into position around her.
After that she had no chance. Dash was actually quite skilled with her weapon, the professional training she had received gave her an edge over the barbarians. But 11 to one arn't odds, their a countdown. At ten dash was bleeding in several places, at nine one wing was broken, at eight Dash hit the floor, and was taken prisoner. To be summarily tortured and executed.
She had outright killed two, mortally wounded the kid and put three more out of commission. With many more sporting minor injuries. The pain and mental trauma Dash went through in the past ten minutes put her into a withdrawn state Where she couldn't even feel half the things they tried to do to her.
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Sapphire landed near the forest edge, forty Yards from the break in the enclosure perimeter, she decided it wouldn't be the best approach to enter by the front door. The flight over had drained her to the point where she could barely stand, she was in no condition to fight, at least not by herself. From her position Sapphire watched with growing interest as Dash landed and began her short battle with the Centaurs. Her death lust began to rise as the brutal torture was initiated. When the the Centaur began savagely raping Rainbow Dash's rag doll corpse, Sapphire felt the immense power and desire wash over her. Sapphire was furious, tears of rage running down her cheeks. She couldn't save Rainbow Dash, and that was the fault of her alternate self. That bitch didn't have enough interest to get involved before her very nature forced her too.
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Pinkie watched in joy turned to horror at Dash's arrival. Pinkie lost the nonexistent contents of her stomach twice as uncontrollable madness began to take its unwavering grip upon her. She was going to kill the supervisor centaur if it took her life to do it.
Pinkie took a firmer grip on the shard of glass clutched between her teeth, preparing to pounce. Moments before she did so a strange looking pony walked in from broken gap in the outer wall. Fiery eyes glowing with a raging red energy, this pony looked directly at the centaur currently on top of Rainbow Dash. Instantly blood exploded from it nose, within moments blood was gushing from every orifice on its ugly head. The tar and feathers covering its upper body burst into flame, is screams of terror piercing through the blood pounding in Pinkie's ears. Soon its coat began to shed, revealing ugly wrinkly skin that began to crack and peel away.
As the centaur slowly died Sapphire felt its pain, she screamed, tears still flooding from her eyes, her broken eye began to bleed as well. If not for the unbearable rage pent up within, Sapphire would have collapsed from the unbearable suffering stripping her mind bare.
But that wasn't the only thing Sapphire felt, she could feel the thoughts, emotions and feelings of everyone within the enclosure. She felt Pinkie Pies need for blood, the faint pulse of the dying Rainbow Dash, Rarities completely walled off numb existence, even the droves of crows diving to attack.
Sapphire diverted the Death she had reserved for the Supervisor and diverted it to the oncoming waves of crows, sending pinkie a subliminal message initiating her lethal attack. Sapphire was quickly realizing how far she had over reached. Many of the centaurs had powerful wards protecting them from attack. The sword Dash had used was heavily enchanted, it could slice through anything easily. In the spilt of a split second Sapphire shot a powerful blast of thought at Pinkie, diverting her to the mystical sword.
The world began to fade away, the pain she was suffering combined with her entire life force drained away was slowly killing her. Sapphire was panicking, she was going to die and she was going to fail Dash and herself. She was going to fail Pinkie and Rarity too.
Rarity, that gave Sapphire a last ditch idea. Sapphire would never be able to live with herself if she did this, but at least she could save her friends. Sapphire opened the minds of every one of the captured ponies, in a flash of though took over all their minds. Some instantly agreed to help, others Sapphire lulled to a comfortable death. A few had good reasons to live, and Sapphire couldn't bring herself to kill them. A second later two thirds of the prisoners slumped to the ground, never to move again.
By now Sapphire was bleeding almost as much as the Centaurs, her main and tail had become fire and her coat was shimmering in sickly waves. She was screaming in pain even as she battled against the remaining wards protecting the last few centaurs. But now, armed with the blood of the innocent, Sapphire was unstoppable.
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skylark watch the battle unfold below her, in amazement then horror followed by shock and lastly awe. The battle ended so swiftly that from start to complete end it lasted less than ten minutes. Warily she approached the invisible barrier, landing by the broken double front doors. Waiting to see if the barrier was broken. An exodus of four or five traumatized ponies confirmed it was indeed inoperable. Skylark entered and began looting the bodies of the dead Centaurs. As always, she was careful to grab any horn tips she could. She was almost finished when she reached the corpse of halfgore, she knew this one. It was rare to see him with a group like he was now. Being a bounty hunter and everything.
The corpse moved, skylark jumped into the sky in shock. She couldn't believe anything could have lived through whatever had happened here. But then again, this was halfgore. Either way she called over to one of the prisoners a dusty brown earth colt with a stunning baby blue mane. With his assistance Skylark hog tied and otherwise restrained the groggy halfgore.
"Tha name's juniper sky, y'all can call me June.Yeah its kind a funny name forn' ah earth pony, but I'hm ah bit odd." The Colt said when they finished. "Ah didn expect tah see any ah tah browncoats round these parts." the colt continued. Skylark explained what she could about what had happened while they trotted over to The four remaining ponies still alive within the confines of the enclosure. June helped Rarity try to nurse some movement out of Sapphire as Sky and Pinkie untied Rainbow Dash. Sapphire awoke completely disoriented, with no memory of the past hour. Last thing she remembered was taking off the track down her friends. Upon surveying the wreckage around her, the memory loss was probably a good thing. She saw the limp body of Rainbow Dash and felt a flash of the pain of the moments before. Her heart fluttered as she thought of Rainbows Dash, the only pony she really knew. She was too weak to help Dash any, but her concern for her friend was heartfelt. Yes, Dash she hoped, could be called a friend. Besides, wasn't the directive of her other self to make friends, find love and be happy? It was around this point that Sapphire realized her broken eye was healed...