Nightmare Moon stood before the dark castle, staring up at it. She had not seen it since the night she had come here with Luna, the night whatever it was had managed to escape.

Staring at it now, she felt oddly conflicted. A part of her was filled with dread at the memories of what had happened to her here: the pain, the torture... the fear. At the same time, she was also curious as to what had brought her here now, and what had changed about the place since her last visit. There was also the fact that there was something that looked like her locked up in a bubble of magic. She wanted to see that again, but also worried about it.

With a sigh, she started across the bridge.

As she went, she noticed that it was oddly quiet. Normally The Smooze would have gurgled its name at least once by now. Moving closer to the side, Nightmare peeked over.

Water. Instead of The Smooze, there was just water. Well, not just water. It was dark and murky, with thick layer of algae on top. Nightmare also swore that she saw some ripples, meaning that there was something that was moving beneath the surface of it.

"So what happened to The Smooze?" Nightmare wondered as she continued walking.

Inside, everything looked the same as it had before. There were still chunks of broken statues on the floor. The hole from where the creature had broken free still remained. On the elevated platform where the thrones would have been stood a figure of Alicorn Nightmare Moon encased in a bubble of energy.

But... something looked different about it.

A quick gliding hop, and Nightmare Moon was in front of the bubbled figure. Leaning in close, she noticed cracks. Barely visible hair line fractures were starting to form where the face of the figure was. There was also something moving inside. It looked like some sort of energy was shifting around the edges of the figure.

"How odd," Nightmare said softly to herself. Reaching up, she placed one of her hooves against the cracked shield. As soon as she did, a tendril of energy snaked out from the figure and toward the hoof. A small amount leaked through one of the tiny fractures, wrapping around Nightmare's leg before seeming to seep into her.

It felt comforting. Like she was getting back something that she did not even know she was missing. It also felt a little odd, like it was both warm and cool at the same time. She could feel it sinking into her all the way to the bones.

Everything turned fuzzy before fading from sight.

Pain coursed through Nightmare Moon's body. The base of her wings throbbed Her head hurt and she tasted blood. It felt like every muscle in her body was burning, especially when she breathed.

A groan escaped her as she opened her eyes. Everything was blurry and had a shimmering rose colored tinge to it.

"Nightmare, wait," a voice said. "You've suffered a lot of injuries and are in the hospital. I need you to stay calm and not move too much. Okay?"

It took Nightmare a while to recognize the voice as that of Twilight Sparkle. The shimmering rose energy faded, letting her move as well as see the plain white ceiling above her.

A red blur came into view. It took a moment of rapid blinking to have it come into focus at the face of Chocolate Cherry.

"You're awake," Cherry said with a smile. "I'd give you a big hug, but I'm afraid it would be really painful right now."

Several thoughts and questions when through Nightmare's mind, so she just asked "how long was I unconscious?" Her throat hurt as she spoke, and her voice sound rough.

"Hours?" Twilight answered. "Somepony found you unconscious by your statue after Nightmare Night was over. No one knows how long you were there like that. Do you remember what happened?"

Nightmare leaned back and looked up at the ceiling again. Her mind started to work backwards, trying to recall what had happened so that she had ended up in the hospital.

"It started back at the statue..."

This was it. Nightmare Night was coming to an end. The stalls that sold food and played game were closed up for the night. All that remained was for the foals to give their candy as tribute to Nightmare Moon to keep themselves from being eaten.

Nightmare Moon stood in the shadows of the nearby trees, watching the young ponies pay tribute to her before the statue of Alicorn Nightmare Moon. Diamond Tiara gave a massive amount of candy. Not surprising considering that she was the one that would have been eaten first. Nightmare also noticed that Diamond was staying extremely close to the young colt Pipsqueak. Perhaps Diamond Tiara thought that the little guard would be able to keep her safe. A small part of Nightmare wondered if there may have been a spark of childhood romance developing between the two. After all, who better for a princess to fall in love with than a brave knight?

The largest tributes were actually given to her from The Cutie Mark Crusaders, with the largest of it all being Scootaloo. Either the crusaders decided to give more because they knew Nightmare or -- more likely as far as she was concerned -- they were giving her more in appreciation of her frightening the pony that had been bullying them for however long it has been. The crusaders would think that it was all the act of course, that Diamond Tiara would never actually be in physical danger. That way, they would be allowed to enjoy her being frightened without actually feeling bad that she could have been hurt.

A tingling sensation formed between Nightmare's shoulders, giving her the feeling of being watched. Turning around, she flared her wings out to look as large and threatening as possible. Baring her fangs, she narrowed her eyes and looked for who or what had been watching her.

There was nothing there that she could see.

Hopefully, it was just some curious young pony watching her.

Pushing the feeling and curiosity aside, Nightmare turned back toward the statue and the crowd there. She took off, flying almost straight up and weaving past the trees above. Getting above the crowd, she then turned and started to glide down toward them. A grin spread across her face, baring her fangs.

The collected ponies gasped out as she landed, staring up at her with their eyes wide. Straightening up, she looked at them as she took a step forward. She let her gaze pass over all of the little ponies watching her before turning her attention to the pile of candy. Reaching out with a wing, she took a hold of a piece and held it up in front of her.

"Such a lovely tribute you have for me," she purred out. "I suppose it will be sufficient to keep you from being eaten tonight. Such a shame too." She licked at her lips. "You all look so... delicious.

"Now, be gone before I change my mind!"

With that, the ponies took off. Most of the foals and some of the adults began running as quickly as they could. The others still moved pretty fast, although not with the same sense of urgency. Soon the clearing was empty of all the other ponies, leaving Nightmare Moon alone with a statue of her former self, and a big pile of candy.

Was she though? Was she actually alone? Nightmare still could not shake the feeling that there was something watching her.

Trying to hide her suspicions, Nightmare turned her attention to the candy she had already picked up. Quickly, she unwrapped it and stuck it in her mouth.

She rarely ate candy. The sheer sweetness of it always tended to be a shock to her, causing her to shudder. She liked candy, but could not eat very much of it. It was unlikely she would eat all she got tonight. Perhaps she would give most of it to Cherry to do whatever with it.

There was a rustle of leaves, getting Nightmare's attention. Whatever had been watching her was finally making its move. It was probably expecting to try and catch Nightmare unaware. Turning around, she again spread her wings and bared her fangs, ready to face whatever it was head-on.

What she was not expecting to see was a net flying directly at her. Nightmare tried to take off, but was too slow. The net struck her straight on, throwing her off balance before knocking her to the ground. A glow of magical pale blue magical energy engulfed the netting.

She started to feel weak, tired, like she needed to...

No! You need to stay awake. You're in danger.

Giving a hard shake of her head, she bit the inside of her cheek. The flare of pain helped push the drowsiness aside. Pushing to get back up, she turned to face the direction the net had come from. Several ponies were approaching her, including two unicorns -- the horn of one glowing with the same aura as the net -- a pegasus in armor with a strange looking pole weapon in its grip, three earth ponies, and at least two more that were hiding back in the shadows.

"Get her," one of the shadowed figured called out. The voice masculine, but high pitched and scratchy. "Hold her down. Don't let her get away."

The earth ponies started to charge toward her. Nightmare was unable to fly away, but she could still fight. For a moment, there was a feeling of disappointment that she had no magic she could cast. Her horn was not even real, but an illusion the armor created. It was not even made to be actual armor. It was made of a light, malleable metal with a few enchantments for her to look like an alicorn.

The metal horn from the helmet was real enough however. There were also some additional points that could be used. Plus, it would also provide at least some protection.

Lowering her head, Nightmare took a step back before lunging forward.

There was an ear-splitting scream from the stallion as the metal spike on Nightmare's helmet penetrated his eye. Although it was not enough to be fatal, it was sufficient to cause the sensitive organ to burst. Warm fluid spurted from the socket, spraying Nightmare Moon in the face.

Nightmare Moon felt a thrill of excitement pump through her body. It felt like she was full of new energy. Her heart pounded her chest, making her blood sing in her ears. The muscles in her body tensed as adrenaline coursed through her. She felt alive in a whole new way that she never had before.

With a roar, she twisted her head and yanked the spike from the stallion's eye socket. Eyes wide and snorting, she turned to face one of the other earth ponies.

There was a flash of pain as a pair of hind hooves struck Nightmare in the side. The impact knocked her over, the net wrapping around her more. Blinded by the sudden burning pain exploding from her ribs, she opened her wings to try and get some space between her and her attacker. The wings slipped between the gaps, getting stuck in them more with each flap. Confused and thrown off balance, Nightmare Moon fell to the ground.

"Careful," the voice called out. "We need to keep her alive."

Before she could get back up, something snapped around Nightmare Moon's neck. A something thick and heavy pressed against her throat, and she could feel it bending the criniere, making them dig into her skin. It made it difficult to move her neck with any sort of speed. Whatever was around her neck was attached to a pole, the other end of it being held by the pegasus she had seen earlier. Whenever Nightmare tried to move, the pegasus would shift and push, forcing her back down. One of the two uninjured earth ponies joined in, making it even more difficult.

"Hold her," the voice said. "Don't let her get loose."

Nightmare went limp, letting her body relax as much as she could. If she was lucky, one of them would be stupid enough to make a mistake, allowing her get free again.

One of the figures in the shadows moved forward, revealing itself to be a unicorn mare. Her horn glowed a gentle green color as she carried a black bag with her.

"Remember," the remaining shadowy figure called out, "we need as much as we can get while keeping her alive."

An idea started to form in Nightmare Moon's mind. It was crazy, and was going to be painful, but it might give her a chance. Shifting, she rubbed her hoof back and forth against the ground.

"Don't worry," the mare said as she opened the bag. "I have plenty of practice with this." From the bag, she pulled out a glass bottle, two tubes, and a needle.

"This would be easier," the unicorn mare said as she turned to the unicorn stallion, "if she was unconscious."

"Oh," the stallion said. "Right." He turned to Nightmare Moon, his horn starting to glow again. "One sleep spell coming up. Extra strong since it di-"

The rest of his statement was lost in a scream of pain.

Having worked one of the greaves from her leg, Nightmare had managed to stab the unicorn stallion in the cannon. There was a hard thunk as the improvised blade managed to sink in to the bone. After a twist, she yanked it out hard. Dark blood spurted from the wound.

Nightmare Moon then turned to the pegasus and threw the greave at her head. The pegasus darted to one side, yanking the pole in her grip in the process. Rolling with it, Nightmare grabbed the pole and slammed it down hard. Pain flared through her body as one of her wings twisted in an angle it was never intended to go. There was a grunt from the pegasus as she hit the ground. The device released it's grip on Nightmare's neck as the pegasus let go.

Nightmare Moon lunged at the unicorn mare as best she could with the net on her. Slipping one of the gaps over the mare's ear, Nightmare bit down on it with all the strength of her jaw. The taste of blood filled her mouth as she began yanking.

"Fuck!" the mare shouted. "My ear! She's got my fucking ear! Get her off! GET HER OFF!"

Something struck the side of her helmet, creating an echo of thunder in her skull. Her jaw clenched down as she was struck, the impact shoving her sideways. There was a shriek as the taste of blood grew stronger in her mouth.

Her body hit the ground with a dull thump. The world went sideways, then turned upside down. The ground and sky blurred and mixed before going black.

The last thing Nightmare heard was "Fuck! She bit it off!"

As Nightmare Moon finished her story, Twilight Sparkle and Chocolate Cherry stood there, staring with wide eyes and open mouths.

"Wow," Cherry finally said. "Sorry you went through all that, but it sounds like you really kicked ass."

"Not well enough," Nightmare growled as she laid back in bed. "They managed to get away, and probably with whatever it was they wanted."

"I think I might know that," Twilight said, getting the attention of the other two. "Nightmare, you said that unicorn pulled out a needle, some tubes and a bottle?"

Nightmare nodded.

"Did the bottle look like that?" Twilight asked as she pointed.

Turning to look where Twilight pointed, Nightmare Moon found a metal stand beside the bed. Hanging upside down from the top of the stand was a glass bottle. A tube was attached to what would normally be called the top, with a thick, red substance going down from the bottle to a needle that was in Nightmare's foreleg.

"Blood?" Nightmare asked. "Why would they want that?"

"I don't know," Twilight answered. "But if they wanted you alive, it's possible that they are going to want more."

"Wonderful," Nightmare groaned, looking back up at the ceiling. "Anything else I should know?"

"If there is," Cherry said, "it can wait." Moving closer, she placed her hoof gently on Nightmare's side. "You've been through a lot and need to rest so you can get better." She gave her a kiss on the cheek.

"I suppose I don't really have much choice in the matter," Nightmare sighed. "But I am not staying here a minute longer than necessary. As soon as I am able, I am leaving."

"Considering what you did to those other ponies," Cherry said with a chuckle, "I don't think anypony could stop you."

At that, Nightmare grinned.