Sanguis jumped down from his skeletal steed into the black, rocky soil as they approached a massive, hole-filled mountain. He looked up at the gloomy, smog-filled sky as hundreds of insect-like creatures buzzed in and out of the hive. He walked confidently towards one of the caverns as a group of the creatures landed heavily in front of him, hissing menacingly.
“What brings you here, creature?” one of the changelings asked in a low, threatening voice.

Sanguis stood his ground, holding his sword over his shoulder casually. “I am here to speak with your queen,” he growled in an equally threatening tone.
Four of the creatures laughed, but their leader hissed sternly, silencing its companions. “What business do you have with Queen Chrysalis?” it asked suspiciously.

Sanguis’s gaze didn’t waver. “I only need to speak with her,” he said reassuringly, “nothing too complicated. I have a proposition that may interest her.”
More of the changelings started landing around Sanguis, and started closing in on him.
“And what is this ‘proposition’ you speak of, stranger?” it asked, eyeing the warlord curiously.

Sanguis chuckled darkly. “I am on a mission of conquest. When I have reached my goal, I shall have control of all of Equestria, and will be willing to give up a certain piece of it if she were willing to help me. A piece, I am certain, she will be very interested in taking.”

The changelings took a few steps back, surprised. “Canterlot,” several of them whispered, and the lead creature nodded to Sanguis. “Follow me. Chrysalis will want to hear what you have to say immediately,” it said, motioning for the human to follow it.

Sanguis nodded respectfully as the crowd parted, allowing him to enter the hive.

~-~-~-~-~

I found myself lying in the middle of a barren field, my sword stabbed into the ground just a few feet away from me. I stood up slowly, investigating my surroundings as I did to find I was completely alone under an orange sky. I shivered as an ice-cold wind blew past, slightly rustling the yellow-brown grass at my feet.
“Hello?” I called out, concerned. Where were my friends? Where was… anyone?

I was about to give up hope, when I glanced over my shoulder and saw several ponies lying on the ground behind me: Twilight, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Rarity, and Pinkie! I let out a relieved sigh and rushed over to them.
“Hey! Are you guys okay?” I asked gently, slightly nudging Twilight’s shoulder. There was no reaction from her, or the others as I nudged them. My blood turned to ice when I noticed something that had escaped my attention when I was approaching.

They weren’t breathing.

I took a shocked step back, unsure of what to do or say. My emotions had completely shut down, and my mind was buzzing like an enraged hornets’ nest. I bent over, dropping to one knee and planting my hoof on the ground, and closed my eyes as tight as I could.

Who did this? I silently demanded, WHO IS RESPONSIBLE?!

I heard a scraping sound behind me, and quickly stood to find that zombie that attacked me, Sanguis, walking up to me, dragging his massive sword behind him. His restored human side wore a smug, predatory grin as he drew near. I stood up as another freezing breeze blew past, but I was too angry to feel it as I pulled my sword from the dirt and faced my enemy.

~-~-~-~-~

Twilight stood outside Allen’s room with her friends as they listened to the strange sounds coming from behind the door. They exchanged confused looks as they listened to their human friend’s terrified sounds.

“What’s he doing in there?” Applejack asked her friends, her voice filled with concern.
“Why don’t we find out?” Rainbow Dash declared as she burst through the door, and the six ponies gasped at what they saw.

The room was a complete mess. The blankets, sheets, and pillows from the bed were thrown to opposite ends of the room, and the bed itself had been thrown against the wall. There was a smashed lamp in the corner, and the hands on the wall clock were spinning incredibly fast… in the wrong direction.

The six ponies looked left and right, seeing no sign of their friend until they looked up. He was floating in the center of the room, curled up in a fetal position with his back to the door. He was mumbling and whimpering incoherently as he hovered in the air, trembling violently.

“He’s having a nightmare!” Twilight exclaimed, and they all started shouting for Allen to wake up.
“Allen, please wake up!” Twilight begged as her horn glowed, struggling to see if magic could wake him.
“Come on, buddy! Wake up!” Rainbow Dash pleaded as she and Fluttershy flew around him.
“You gotta snap outta it, sugarcube!” Applejack called.

Pinkie pulled out her party cannon and fired it off rapidly, bouncing around the room with every fun-filled blast.
Rarity looked around, noticing that the miscellaneous items that were strewn about the room had suddenly started floating in the air. “Um, girls?” she said nervously, “I think we should get out of here…”

Allen’s eyelids snapped open, and Twilight got a good view of his blank, white eyes just as he room exploded.

~-~-~-~-~

I slashed at Sanguis madly, screaming as he deftly dodged each and every strike, that smug smile still on his face. I threw my sword aside and jumped backwards, making some distance between myself and the warlord.

“Let’s try this,” I growled, and focused all of my might on my foe as I became surrounded with a white-blue aura.
“You really think a little glow will stop me, boy?” Sanguis shouted as he ran at me, sword held out at his side, but I was ready; just as it reach me, I bent backwards, the blade passing inches above my face, and I quickly stood up and shot him in the back with a blast from my horn.

I hovered over to where he lay sprawled on the ravaged ground, and began to rapidly fire bolts of blue magic at him, each one exploding as it made contact and driving him deeper and deeper into the ground.
I landed at the lip of the crater, which was now so deep that the bottom was completely shrouded in darkness. I narrowed my eyes and started to walk away, but the sight waiting behind me stopped me dead.

Sanguis stood there, still grinning wickedly, as two figures stepped from behind him.
“I really don’t understand the ponies’ need for friendship,” he said as he gestured to his companions.

“After all, the only one you can truly count on is yourself,” a second and third Sanguis chided in mockingly.

~-~-~-~-~

Twilight stood up slowly after being thrown out into the hallway with her friends, and rushed back for the room. Everything was flying through the air wildly as she looked up at her friend.
“Allen! You have to wake up!” she cried.

Allen stood upright now as he floated in the center of the room, staring straight ahead with glowing white eyes. Twilight ducked as a small table barely hit her in the head, and looked back at Allen worriedly.
“Twilight!” a voice called from the doorway. Twilight turned to see Princess Luna standing there, her eyes wide with concern, “get out of there!”

Twilight ran back into the hallway just as the bed slammed into the doorway, preventing re-entry.
“Princess Luna, what do we do?” Twilight asked worriedly.

Luna looked to the sealed room with determination. “He is having a nightmare, and it’s causing his magic to run wild! If we don’t wake him, he could destroy the castle!”
Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes. “And how are we going to do that? In case you haven’t noticed, he’s sealed the room!” she pointed out, annoyed.

Luna sat down in front of the doorway. “I will have to go in myself,” she murmured as she closed her eyes. The six ponies sat and waited for the princess of the night to end their friend’s torment.

~-~-~-~-~

The three Sanguises surrounded me as I rapidly shot them with magic blasts, but they either had no effect, or were deflected by the massive swords they each wielded. I put my hands together above my head, concentrating my power into a ball the size of a semi truck, and threw it at my feet, causing a massive explosion that threw my enemies back.

I was surrounded in a veil of dust and dirt, but a gust of wind blew past as I stood there panting, and saw one single Sanguis lying before me. He stood up slowly, and as he did he began to split into several copies, until I was staring at an army composed of hundred of exact duplicated of the warlord.

I screamed as I focused all of my power at once, causing me to glow blindingly. The Sanguis Clones averted their eyes at the sight of my aura, and I swept the crowd with my gaze.

“I’m going to destroy you,” I said, my voice low and shaking. I raised my hand into the air, about to unleash my attack, when I felt a strange sensation. I turned around to see Luna standing behind me, smiling gently.

“Allen,” she said softly, “It’s okay. None of this is real. You have to wake up, because your powers are affecting the physical world as well as this one.”

I stared at her disbelievingly. “But… I saw them… on the ground,” I said, my voice breaking as my aura brightened.
Luna stepped over to me and wrapped her forelegs around me comfortingly. “None of it was real, Allen,” she whispered in my ear as she hugged me tightly.

I stared straight ahead as the realization slowly dawned on me, and the glow surrounding me faded away as I tightly hugged Luna, tears of relief streaming down my face.

“Oh, Luna, I’m so sorry,” I sobbed as the imaginary world around me started to fade.

“I understand, Allen,” she whispered gently, “nightmares are a terrible enemy, for they know all of our weaknesses and deepest fears. After everything you have gained during your time here, it is no surprise that you have so much to fear as well.”

~-~-~-~-~

I woke up on the floor of my room, gasping and looking around wildly. The furniture had been thrown around the room, and my bed was blocking the doorway.

“Jeez,” I said aloud as I observed the damage my passive use of magic had done.

Good thing Luna woke me up; who knows how bad this could have gotten, I thought as the door burst open and my friends rushed in, tackling me to the floor.

“Don’t ever scare us like that again!” Fluttershy scolded as my friends hugged me tightly.

I laughed lightheartedly, and looked to the doorway to see Luna, smiling gently at me.

I’m going to marry that mare, I thought happily as my friends continued squeezing me.

~-~-~-~-~

“So, you want me to join you and use my army to help you conquer all of Equestria?” Chrysalis asked the strange creature that had demanded an audience from her as she sat on a chitinous throne, “what makes you think I will be so willing to trust you?”

Sanguis got to one knee and bowed his head. “Because I am giving you my word,” he said confidently. The changeling queen snorted at this, so he added “also, when my campaign is finished, I will give you control of Canterlot and its citizens.”
Chrysalis thought about this for a moment. “Hmm. It would be nice to get my revenge on those ponies for driving me out to this wasteland…” she pondered the warlord’s deal for a moment before standing up and looking slyly at the human, “Sanguis Cruciatus, you said your name was? You have a deal. I shall join you in your attack on the Crystal Empire, and then all of Equestria. With your army of the undead, and my army of changelings, we shall be a force that cannot be stopped. Not even by Celestia herself!” she declared, and began to laugh evilly.

Sanguis grinned at the queen’s happiness. “I have a base of operations in the north where my army is waiting. I’ll meet you there in a few days, but first I have one more possible ally I must recruit,” he said darkly, and exited the throne room without another word.