Author's Notes:

Hello! Sorry for the delay on this one.

I wrote a really bad chapter and had to redo it. So this is the final version of it. I hope it is as enjoyable as the others. Let me know what you think of it!

Thank you for your time!!

(While the drama of the real world plagued Arden)

As usual, Nightmare Moon entered the host's mind and found herself tied up with chains. As much as she hated to admit it, she began to not be bothered by it now. It wasn't entirely unpleasant. It actually became part of her routine, therefore she just waited to be freed by the weird fog creature. It took a few minutes, but he came around. He was usually very careful when he was untying her. This time, however, he was very crude.

'He didn't even bother to remove the blindfold. The nerve!' Nightmare thought as she removed it and got up on her hooves. Looking around she noticed Wolf was opening the door and walking through it. 'No smart talk either. What is going on here?' she thought as she picked up the pace.

Arden didn't wait for her, he just kept walking forward. No remarks, none of his usual behavior was present. Wolf wasn't focused either, or at least didn't seem to be. He did seem to be ignoring her on purpose though. 'Now that is unacceptable.'

"What happened?" Nightmare asked, "you're not being yourself tonight. Do not dare to ignore your ruler, peasant."

"Long day, I just want to finish this and get to sleep. Nothing personal, I just need some time to think." He didn't face her to give his reply, he kept staring down the path.

'What? Lost his nerve? This isn't the same creature.'

"Problems in the real world?" Nightmare asked without a care. She heard Wolf take a deep breath. He seemed like he was about to give her a retort, but he hesitated and finally kept walking.

"A subject should answer the inquiries of his queen."

"Sorry, don't feel like it," Wolf said opening the last clear door.

"This is different from when we left," Nightmare heard him mutter as she stepped in. The room was indeed different, this time there were three doors instead of one. Two doors with some sort of paper attached to it, and one with two pedestals by its side. The one with the two was made out of stone, on its surface, it had some carvings. Nightmare walked up to it, she recognized the symbols.

'Now this isn't something you see very often. This is the ancient writing of our kind. It's been very long since we read these. Let us see if we can read it.'

"Hello? Hello there! I'm back to explain a bit about this room. This one is a special room where you'll need to clear two other rooms to gather special items in order to progress."

Nightmare read while raising an eyebrow. 'What is this being doing?'

"I hope you're having fun with that marefriend...of yours..." Nightmare Moon started to grit her teeth. "So, I set up a Gauntlet for you two to fight in, the original rules are not applied. So, just worry about not dying. You also seemed to need a place to let it get out of your system. Therefore, win-win."

'I am going to kill the author of this letter. There is no force in this or any other realm that will keep me from killing the blabbering idiot who dared to write this!' Nightmare thought while firing a blast of magic into the door damaging the door and leaving scorch marks all over it.

"What did it say?" She heard from behind her, Nightmare did mutter all that in a low voice as to prevent any embarrassment if she wasn't able to read. A good choice, given the contents of the door.

"N-nothing of importance. What about those papers?"

"You're sure?"

"Just some gibberish about an arena."

"Huh...this makes sense then. Phil cup, this their line up... I'm just glad I don't have to run through some random mansion collecting stuff while avoiding monsters."

"Why is that?"

"the other one is..." Nightmare heard from behind her. Looking back on Wolf, she noticed he had ignored her. Nightmare saw him walk up to the next door. "This one...Cerberus cup. Ok...facing the Underdome? Or the Coliseum?" Wolf said as he ran his finger through the piece of paper.

'Cerberus? A gauntlet involving the guardian of the guardian of Tartarus? This ought to be interesting.'

"I wish to face the one named 'Cerberus Cup'," Nightmare said walking up to the door where Wolf was already twisting the doorknob. He opened it and a cold and eerie air entered the place. Nightmare Moon made her dress shift into her battle garments, she couldn't risk having her clothes torn to shreds during a fight.

Stepping into the room she saw a circular arena that seemed to made out of stone and bones.

'Such a dreadful sight. But way darker than one would expect. This place was more, fiery? It was certainly warmer last time Luna was here.' Nightmare thought as she walked through the place. There were no bridges connecting to the arena, but up above she could see a big column that seemed to have a seat at its top. Looking at the center of the arena, Nightmare saw two objects that seemed to have their tips buried in the ground. Wolf was standing by them looking down at them.

The two objects were shaped like keys, one with different shades of blue and stars covering it. It had a chain attached to it and had a small golden crescent moon. 'That is certainly a beautiful ornament.' The other one seemed to have a more intricate design, completely white with pale yellow details. Two hearts appeared to be presented in it, there were around its base it appeared to have wings that reminded Nightmare of Luna's sister. Attached to it, a small star-shaped ornament that seemed to be made out of seashells.

Wolf reached for the blue one. Nightmare heard a small 'zap' and saw Wolf wince while he backed away from it. Then he reached for the white one. Nothing happened, he let out a sigh followed by an irritated laugh. "Somepony has a wicked sense of humor. Oathkeeper? Seriously? I'm the last being that should ever get this particular blade."

"That key shaped thing is a blade?" Nightmare asked in disbelief Wolf nodded positively. "That is a stupidly impractical weapon. How do you even plan to use that?"

"Just like a regular sword. Swing it," Wolf replied swinging it around for a bit. "Take the other one, you'll need it to kill our opponents. Just be careful with it, don't ever point it at your own heart. This thing can do much more than cutting down foes." Nightmare smirked and summoned her silver blade. "That thing won't do shit. Just take the damned thing. Given your liking for the night theme, Starseeker is a perfect fit for you."

"Very well, I'll take your word for it," Nightmare said grabbing the weapon and pulled it out. It wasn't very heavy, it was odd to wield that was a fact. Suddenly a strange sound got her attention, the source was a small black creature donning some sort of black coat with a big red crest shaped like a heart in its chest. It had a black round hat and two glowing yellow orbs underneath said hat.

It was held a big book on the tip of what looked to be its arms, which did not have hands or claws, the book was being held over its head. The creature walked towards them almost tripping, once it was very near them, the creature opened the book and held it up to Nightmare.

'I want to hug this little thing.' Nightmare thought, taking a look at the book. It was filled with blank pages, touching them caused a bright flash to happen. Nightmare's opened again to see the pages before her filled with numbers and data on her. The little creature suddenly closed the book and walked away, this time it walked up to Wolf.

Wolf looked back at Nightmare and dropped his hand on the book, the same thing happened. The little one closed the book again and started to clap and hop around like it was celebrating. 'That little thing is going to be my pet.'

From the top of its head, something shot skyward before popping like a bunch of fireworks. Nightmare saw it waving at them before disappearing completely into a dark orb.

Shortly after, two ghost-like creatures holding candles appeared. They were accompanied by two more creatures that seemed to be dressed as pirates but were hovering in the air. 'What are these? Monsters? Beings from where Wolf came from? They are very colorful, how could these even pose a threat?'

Just as she finished that thought, one of the ghosts shot a purple fireball at them. Nightmare flew up evading the attack. Figuring that once she was out of the attack's path she would be safe, Nightmare stopped. Suddenly she felt her back burning from a small explosion behind her.

'A homing spell?! The nerve of such small feeble creatures!' Nightmare thought as she regained her balance.

Looking down, Nightmare saw an unusual sight. Wolf was actually running straight at the enemy and swing the oddly-shaped weapon at the creatures. Basically telegraphing every move, he missed every slash he threw at them. The more he attacked, the more damage he took through the openings he left.

'He is...terrible at this. His stance, his movements, even how he is positioning himself on the arena is extremely poor. How did we even get this far if he is but an amateur? Sheer luck? I was defeated by a mere novice.' Nightmare thought as she charged a spell, multiple magic circles manifested around her. 'This ought to show the difference between the two of us!'

Using her free hand, Nightmare pointed toward the group on the ground. White spears surrounded by a faint pale blue light manifested from the circles. They rained from the skies piercing the creatures and pinning them to the ground, none of them came even close to hitting Wolf. The creatures kept struggling as they tried to get rid of the spears, Wolf finally landed a strike on the creature. It soared through the air before disappearing into a puff of smoke, where it disappeared some sort of little box fell to the ground. Another thing that fell was a bunch of white orbs with a little blue light at the center.

'Wolf told the truth...Time to see how well I handle this,' Nightmare swooped very close to the ground she swung the blade in a huge circle around her, Nightmare felt the impact on each of the blows she landed on the creatures. Surprisingly enough the weapon slashed through them easily, orbs flew around as well as some small boxes.

"Small fry," Nightmare said raising her blade and placing on her shoulder. "Not much of a challenge, with me on the job you couldn't expect any less. But I got to say that this weapon, as unusual as it is, is very sharp. The only problem I see here is you. Have you ever held a weapon to save your life before?"

"None of your business!" Wolf replied as he walked around and collected some of the things for himself. Nightmare started to do the same. "You could have killed me with all those spears! you need to be more careful!"

"The nerve! You presumptuous little peasant! I have all of Luna's training in magic casting! Pin-point accuracy is our specialty! You should be grateful! If it wasn't for MY casting, YOU wouldn't even have scratched those monsters!" Nightmare shot back, that wasn't his usual self. Even the tone he used was off.

"Well, I don't remember asking you to back me up on this place! If you don't remember, I need you to go through the doors. Not to help me in every scenario! If you're just going to stand there and boast. Get on the freaking sidelines and get out of my way!" He yelled while staring at her.

Nightmare pouted at him. 'He is really off today! I'm the ruler of the night! Not a mere peasant! I know! I'm going to make him be in so much awe he is going to apologize!'

Suddenly a small creature shot out of the ground, followed by two more of the same type. Nightmare cartwheeled to the side dodging them, suddenly three hammer-shaped monsters fell from the sky. Nightmare did a backflip and took to the skies. Looking at Wolf she saw him running at the hammers like a madman. This time, however, first, he hit them with his fists staggering them. Then he used the opening generated to slash his opponent and end him.

'Not bad, he seemed to be a bit faster without the weapon. Well, I'm not about to be outclassed.' Nightmare prepared another spell. This time she made ice spikes manifest from the ground piercing the creatures and making them disappear into puffs of smoke. 'Elemental magic seems to be effective against them...good to know!'

Since she had finished the remaining creatures, Nightmare went to the ground.

"So, still think YOU don't require MY help?" Nightmare asked looking down.

"Show off! You could still have hit me with that area attack!" Wolf replied gathering the orbs. "You dish out a lot of magic. Hooray for you. Just let me be and try to keep the spells away from me."

'AGAIN?! What is his problem?!' Nightmare was about to come with a retort, but the sound of clapping made her look away from Wolf. Looking at the source Nightmare saw a tall creature with grayish-blue skin. It had a mane that looked like it was made out of a blue flame, it had yellow eyes, and wore some sort of black robes. 'Now, what is this? Should I be worried that its head is on fire? And what are these blue and pink things hiding behind him?'

"Bravo! Fight, fight, fight! Splendid performance there Mrs...?"

'Finally some recognition! But who is this?'

"Nightmare Moon. Ruler of the night. And y-?!" Nightmare was interrupted when the creature passed its arm over her shoulder and pulled her away from Wolf who simply ignored them. 'Even now he's still ignoring me.'

"Okay. Good. Hades, god of the underworld. Now listen, I bet you want out your prison, right?"

'God of the underworld? Can't say I pity the one who has to watch over such a prison. Nor should I let my guard down around such a being. This deity is far too relaxed when talking to another one of its kind. Do all gods act in such a manner when around their kin?'

"I can get you out," Hades said.

"Can you now?"

"Of course! I am the most reasonable of the gods after all. But..."

"There is a catch. Isn't there?"

"Catch? No, pfff. My dear, I am not that kind of deity. After all, just between us gods. Mortals are the treacherous ones, not us. We keep out pacts and our promises down to a 'T'. Them, however, whenever an inconvenience appears they start to act all high and mighty."

"Yet, there is still a 'but' in your offer."

"Well, of course, my dear. You can't expect me to work for charity now, can you?"

"Your price?"

"Just a little help to get rid of that foggy friend of yours. Not wanting to alarm you, but you should be a bit more careful around your friend."

'What is he talking about? Never mind, I wish to make that being my servant. So, I can't be rid of him, yet.'

"I politely decline your offer."

"Really? You're sure?" Nightmare stared at him in silence. "I will keep the offer up, don't forget to tell me if you change your mind."

With a snap of a finger, he disappeared into a cloud of black smoke and fire. Then more creatures appeared, two more waves of monsters were slaughtered by Nightmare while Wolf just managed to hurt them. Nightmare grew more frustrated with each round as Wolf just kept complaining about her stunts and her magic. Each round she would pull out an even more astonishing display of magic as she attempted to prove that she was superior to that pathetic excuse of a warrior. Trying to show him just how powerful she actually was, something she didn't quite understand why.

The changes she pulled throughout the previous visits since the first time she met him were attempts to make him lower his guard. As much as she hated to admit it, she took his advice to take a different approach when intimidation didn't work. Acting worked up when he complimented her, saying she wasn't dressing up for him while looking away like she didn't want him to see her. Nightmare Moon had thought up all that based on the experiences Luna had while visiting dreams, ponies trying to think up ways to impress their partners while they slept. Yet, this time she actually wanted him to notice her powers, something she always held her head high about.

'Why can't he acknowledge my prowess? Am I lacking that much?'

After the fifth wave, Hades showed up again. Nightmare was catching her breath from the fight with ten elemental creatures of fire and ice that were less troublesome than the monkey with a staff wrapped around its tail. He once again pulled her away from Wolf, leaving him to gather the orbs.

"So, have you thought about my little offer?" Nightmare looked back at Wolf for a moment, he didn't even bother to look at the fact Hades took her away again. She was getting tired of using her magic in such a manner.

"Maybe, at the rate things are progressing here I doubt we can make it much further. I'm still not sure I can trust the ruler of the underworld."

"No problem dear. But I got to say: if you are struggling to beat this measly gauntlet. You'll never be able to face the grand tower and claim the title of true hero of the Olympians."

"What?"

"The Grand Tower is my brother's way of selecting the champions of Olympus. Warriors of the highest esteem. Heroes whose tales and feats shall be recorded eternally in song and memory. Loved by all their peers. Only the mightiest may reach its top and claim such honor."

'A hero remembered forever in songs and loved by all?' Nightmare thought as she recalled all the tales about her that were told to her subjects. She was just a monster to all of them, even if she actually did it to save Luna.

'If I was to be loved by all, Luna could probably be free again. Having the love of her subjects was all she ever wanted. There is one thing bothering me about all of this though.'

"Tell me why shouldn't I trust the foggy one."

"Well, I don't want to sound like a liar. But he is not a normal creature. In fact, I believe he isn't the kind of being a creature who ventures the dream realm should feel comfortable around."

"What do you mean?"

Hades started to move but was suddenly pulled away by an invisible force, and then he disappeared into a cloud of smoke and fire once again. Nightmare looked back on Wolf, only to see him staring straight at her, however, the moment he noticed her looking at him, Wolf looked away and went to back to gathering.

'Did he...' Nightmare didn't have time to finish the thought as more monsters appeared. Using earth magic, Nightmare conjured small stalagmites all around her. Swinging the sword, Nightmare cut them off the ground and used her magic to keep them afloat. Then she shot the projectiles at the monsters, the only problem with that was the fact her eyesight got slightly blurry due to the constant high-energy-consuming magic. Which led to her misfiring multiple shots.

When she realized what she did, it was too late. One of the spears flew straight at Wolf, however, what she saw surprised her beyond belief. One of the monsters that looked like a dancer pushed Wolf out of the spear's path, being impaled by it as a result. The sound of flapping wings came from behind her, Nightmare turned around and was surprised by a blow straight to her face which made her stumble and almost fall to the ground. Then another sound caught her attention, turning her head after dodging the other strikes from the bird-like creature, Nightmare saw the other dancer making some sort of orb float in front of her hand as an ice arrow was formed.

Summoning a shield, Nightmare blocked the icicle as she trusted the sword into the bird's head. Another shot was fired from the dancer, swiftly moving her body Nightmare got out of the path with only a small cold bruise to her right arm. That's when she saw that the remaining creatures were standing in front of Wolf, who was on the ground panting, almost as if guarding him.

'Is he...one of them?' Nightmare changed her grip on the blade, holding in backhanded she dashed towards the monsters. Just as she was at within the weapon's range, Wolf got up and threw an attack that was easily dodged by the bird wearing some sort of round red gloves. Nightmare, on the other hand, was not so lucky, a diagonal downward side hit her left shoulder. Unlike Nightmare's attack, his felt blunt, almost as she was being hit by a metal pipe. Which was weird considering Wolf's looked more like a blade than hers.

"OUT OF MY WAY!" Wolf screamed as he spun the blade in a wide circle, hitting the dancer square in the abdomen. Which resulted in her being launched into the sky. Wolf changed his grip on the blade, almost as if holding a spear and tossed at the monster. Piercing it on the stomach, the creature disappeared into a cloud of smoke as the blade started its descent back to the ground.

Nightmare was laying on the ground due to Wolf's attack, she saw the bird coming her way. One of its gloves was shining brightly, sensing the danger, Nightmare raised a solid wall made out of blue magic in front of her. The moment the bird attacked the wall, a spike emerged from it going straight through the monster's head.

"You kept complaining about me hitting you," Nightmare said getting up, she used the sword as a clutch since her left arm felt really sore. "Yet, YOU'RE the one who ended up hitting me with an attack! Have you lost your mind?!"

There was no response, Wolf just fell on his knees and let his hands fall by his side as he stared blankly into the floor. Nightmare walked up to him, his eyes were partially closed.

"Oh, no! You don't get to act like that now!" Nightmare said letting go of the sword and grabbing hold of his head, forcing him to look at her. "YOU...you..." Nightmare tried to continue, but what she saw prevented her from continuing. His eyes had changed, the bright red from his sclera looked like dried blood now, his bright blue sclera turned to a grayish-blue. The other eye was flickering, something was wrong. It did not look like he was conscious anymore, Nightmare watched the world around them start to shift.

'He must be waking up, I guess it took too long to get through this place in its entirety.' Nightmare thought as she turned her back to Wolf. Just as she did it though, the sound of the creature's spawning made her turn around. She was greeted by something hitting her stomach, exploding on impact, and tossing her backward. As she flew, Nightmare saw a weirdly shaped creature dancing around Wolf as if it was celebrating. Then she passed out.

Nightmare woke up back in the moon, the prison she was assigned to by the elements of harmony. Her body felt like lead, and her head felt like it was hit by a hammer repeatedly for hours, she used too much energy during that visit. It would take at least a day and a half back on Equis for her to get back to top shape.

"Tomorrow we can switch. I'll go with him to fight."

"Are you sure?" Nightmare asked as she went to her bed made out of lunar stones. After a good time stuck in there, she actually built herself a small castle, compared to where she used to live that is. Luna helped her come up with decorations and such, she didn't talk much whenever Nightmare was in the presence of other creatures. But when they were alone, she was very talkative. Not only did she talk more, but she never used the royal 'we' or any mannerisms she had to use on the court. "Think you can use that weapon?"

"It's just like a regular sword like any other. Did you forget that I was the one who made the silver sword you always wield? I'm just as skilled as you are. I have no interest in fighting to help that creature, but you seem keen on making him your puppet. Therefore I can lend you a hand."

"And you're not interested at all in fighting in a tournament, are you?" Nightmare replied as she sat down in front of a mirror she also made herself. The mirror reflected the image of Luna, that was looking away pouting.

"Being stuck here for this long. Who wouldn't be interested in some action? Those visits are the most interesting thing to ever happen in these past 996 years!" Another little curiosity was the fact that her mind and Luna's were completely separate, so Nightmare's claim was actually a result of their relationship, not Nightmare reading Luna's thoughts. After her creation, Nightmare grew closer and closer to Luna. Always caring for her safety, offering advice, comfort, accompanying her during her duties in the dream world, and so forth.

"Sure," Nightmare said as she massaged her temples, another fact proof of their separate minds was the fact that Nightmare's mental fatigue did not affect Luna's condition. The same applied to Luna's mental fatigue. The only reason they knew the same spells and fighting technics was that Luna taught Nightmare how to do all of those things. Luna wasn't on the same level of her sister when it came to raw power, however, she was way beyond Celestia when it came to skill and special combat spells. "We have the same level of magic. So don't go shooting spells like I did today."

"You were really careless there. Why? You never acted like that before."

"Just part of the act!" Nightmare replied as fast as she could. "Anyway, I'm going to rest. See you in a bit."

"Very well, I'll see you there. Before you go,"

"What is it?"

"Did something change?"

"What do you mean?"

"...never mind."

"Ok, then see you soon Luna."

(The following session)

'How do you put up with these every night?' Luna struggled to free herself from the chains. 'These things are such hindrances. Whoever put these wards here sure wanted to keep others out of his mind.'

"You get used to them after a few times," Luna did not believe what she had just heard, Nightmare wouldn't stop complaining about these a few weeks ago. "If the wards are this strong, they must be really afraid of having Wolf turn on them. Which is why I believe he might be an asset to us."

Luna felt the chains being yanked and felt her body hit the ground. Luna got rid of the gag and the blindfold, looking up she saw Wolf looking down at her. He looked a bit different from the last time she saw him, his shoulders were dropped and the right eye was gone. Not to mention what looked like a small puncture wound on the left side of his chest.

"Luna..." Wolf said before turning and walking away.

"He can really see through us, can't he?"

"I guess, maybe there is something we overlooked during the change," Luna had been very careful about changing her dream form to Nightmare's form. "But never mind that, he looks to be in a worse shape than yesterday. Be careful around him Luna. I think he might be more dangerous than I originally gave him credit for."

"I don't think he is that dangerous. Not to mention that his skill with a sword is extremely lacking," Luna replied.

Luna followed Wolf as he proceeded through the doors. Very soon she saw the two doors from the previous session, however, Wolf went to the opposite door this time. Luna quickly followed as he opened it, her sight was robbed from her for a few seconds as a brilliant light appeared. That wasn't the same arena Nightmare fought in, it was made of sand and a square area at its center that had one pillar at each of the square's corners.

"This looks more like an arena than that pit from yesterday," Luna said looking around, by her side she saw another blade. This one was pitch black, it looked more like a key than the others. A purple jewel was attached to the weapon, right above the grip. A black crown was at the end of this one's chain. "Interesting one, a black crown..." She said picking it up.

"Oblivion," Luna heard from behind her. It was Wolf's voice, he was standing right behind her. In his hands, there was the same blade she saw him hit Nightmare with. Luna raised the sword to him, fearing he was about to attack her. Using his free hand, Wolf pointed at the weapon Luna was wielding. "Oblivion." Then he turned around and went to the center of the arena.

"I think he is telling you the weapon's name." Nightmare said.

"Oblivion...why would a weapon like this be called that?" Luna said inspecting the sword.

"Hello there, your highness," Luna jumped to the side and pointed the sword at the voice. It was the same 'god' from the previous day. "Sorry for disappearing the other day. I did not intend on doing that. But something must have pushed me off."

"You believe it was him, correct?" Luna replied pointing at Wolf.

"Well, I don't see anybody else here." Luna scratched her chin for a few moments.

"I have another deal for you." The 'god' looked somewhat intrigued the moment she said 'deal'.

"I'm listening."

"I intend on turning that creature into one of my servants. Therefore, I cannot get rid of him. But..." The gray one had a smirk on his face as he listened to her proposal. "If he was to be under my complete control, I could keep him out of your way."

"Uh..." He said scratching his chin and running his hand over his fiery mane. "You get your servant and I get free reign over this place."

"Limited time offer, I walk away and it's over," Luna said looking at her nails.

"FINE! Fine, I get him to work for you. You get him out of my way."

"Deal!" Luna said offering her hand. Hades, smiled showing his sharp teeth and shook her hand in agreement.

"Pain! Panic!" Hades shouted the pink and blue creatures came running from behind Luna. Smoke came out of his hand and a small black key formed on his palm. "Take this key and go to the storage at the throne room. Find a small ornament with a half crescent moon. Then bring it back here." He handed it to the two creatures that ran away as soon as they got their hands on it. Luna didn't understand them since they were talking over each other. "Now, you get over there and entertain yourself until they return. And try to stay out of his way."

"Very well," Luna said walking away. The moment she stepped into the arena, a barrier was formed. Then four monkey-shaped creatures spawned, followed by three others that were wearing dark blue suits and silver helmets. "I believe that is my cue."

Saying that Luna leaped and took to the sky. Once she was up there, she noticed Wolf had taken a fighting stance. 'Very crude, but it's at least some level of improvement from last time.' He walked towards the creatures instead of the previous night's insane dash. Or so it seemed, three steps and he bolted towards the creatures. Using his momentum he tried to hit the monkeys, who jumped to the sides dodging the slice.

'He has the accuracy of a blind man with a bow. Not to mention he is announcing each attack he makes. Partially correcting a stance does not correct swordsmanship.' Luna rolled her eyes before launching the blade at the monsters, the monkey that had just dodged Wolf's attack. The monster turned into a cloud of smoke as what looked like a heart-shaped gem floated out of the monster.

Luna then swooped down and landed a rainbow kick on one of the blue ones before reaching for the blade, she took it and swung it with one hand while summoning a shield on the other hand. Luna hit another one of the able ones with that maneuver, quickly looking around she saw with the corner of her eye Wolf trying to hit the creatures once again. And she was also forced to dodge his attack since his reach was great enough to nearly hitting her.

'No notion of space. He doesn't even have that. How did he survive this long?' Luna took this opportunity to pierce another monster Wolf missed, the creature was suspended for a few seconds before turning into a puff of black smoke. 'How can he miss such slow creatures?'

One of the blue monsters came at her while spinning in the air, Luna used her shield to parry the blow. The monster went flying over her hand, slashing immediately over her head Luna cut the creature down to size. That's when she saw Wolf picking the creatures up and tossing them against one another, the pile of monsters was then impaled by Wolf's blade. 'A rather crude method to fight. Effective nonetheless. But now we are tied. I can't have him outclassing me now, can I?'

Luna dismissed the shield and focused a small amount of energy on the tip of her index finger, pointing it at the last creature she fired a thin blast that punctured the monster's crest. Just like the previous ones it turned to dust, a brief moment of silence made itself present. Suddenly cheering and clapping echoed through the place, the stands were empty but they clamored 'NIGHTMARE! LUNA! NIGHTMARE! LUNA!'

'This...this is rather nice...' Luna thought as she heard the cheers from an absent crowd. 'How long has it been since I last heard somepony cheer my name? Let alone know my name...they remember Nighty, me? I don't think anypony other than Tia may remember me. If she still alive that is...Nighty said that none of her takeovers ever worked and the most info she ever got was nonsense.'

Luna relished those cheers for a few more moments, the rounds continued as Luna continued to fight the monsters while trying to avoid the attacks from both the creatures and Wolf. The small puncture wound on his chest was slowly expanding in his chest. Luna started to move away from Wolf during the fights, he was a bit more efficient with the kills. But he was acting weirder the more he fought.

Right after she finished a group of small elemental creatures, there was some sort of trumpets and another voice echoed over the crowd's cheers.

"THE TOURNAMENT WILL RESUME IN A FEW MOMENTS!"

"I believe you bought yourself a break. Or Hades' minions are back with the brooch." The second possibility was confirmed by the appearance of the 'god' at the edge of the arena. Luna went towards him, from behind Hades, the two little devil looking things came out. The fat pink one gave her the brooch, a silver crescent moon perfectly split in the middle.

"Now, all you need to do is place it on his lapel and in a few rounds he will be yours to control."

"Then I can't waste any time," Luna said turning her back on the 'god'. Luna walked up to Wolf, who was walking around gathering the items and orbs, his hooves were dragging on the ground and his shoulders were hanging. His reaction to Luna's approach was him simply stopping his task and looking straight at her. To be more precise, he appeared to be looking through her.

Wolf extended his arm towards Luna while leaning forward, his arm passed by her side. 'He must be reaching something behind me,' Luna thought as she reached for his lapel and placed the brooch there. The ornament gave out a faint glow and then...nothing. It simply stayed there and Wolf kept doing his little routine.

A very loud thud came from behind Luna, Looking back at it, Luna saw a humongous round creature with thick arms. There were shackles with broken chains around its wrists, however, it seemed that the creature was asleep, given the snoring coming from it. Luna was slowly backing away from it when she tripped over something, a banana peel fell over her face once she landed.

Jumping at her, three monkeys attacked her. Luna conjured a bubble shield around her, their attacks almost reached her.

"RAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRGHHH!!!!" Luna heard right before the monsters were turned into clouds of smoke. The attack was swift and crude, Luna saw Wolf use the bubble shield as a stepping stone and launch himself over the big creature. Yelling like he had lost his mind, Wolf held the weapon with both hands and swung it with everything he had at the creature's head. "DIIIIIIIE! JUST ROT AWAY!"

Luna dismissed the shield and scrambled away while the creature started to let a weird purple glow come out from its body and waved its arms around. It grabbed Wolf and tossed him against one of the pillars, the pillar didn't move. Luna ran out of its line of sight, based on the distance it threw Wolf she did not want to be somewhere he could reach. Once behind it, Luna managed to attack it three times, when the final attack landed, the big creature turned into a cloud of smoke.

There were still two monkeys left and Wolf was still trying to get up again. The monkeys were circling around her by hopping around and running, Luna used a faint to lure them into trying to attack from her left. When they took the bait, Luna halted her movements and waited for them to be right where she wanted. A minor lighting spell stroke the two turning them to puffs of smoke, Luna managed to stop for a moment and take a moment to breathe.

Looking back at Wolf, she saw him use the blade as a clutch. The crowd, as usual, cried out her name and Nightmare's as claps and cheers echoed. Wolf had just got back on his hooves when the sounds of metal made the cheers grow silent, Looking at the source Luna saw a metal gate rising and a pair of disembodied gauntlets floated towards her. Beneath it, Luna saw four small creatures emerge from shadows on the ground. By the gauntlets sides, three small blue elemental monsters appeared.

Trying to get rid of the casters, Luna shot three small fireballs. Thanks to her training and accuracy, Luna hit the three monster while she flew up in an attempt to get away from the gauntlets.

"Useless scrap!" Wolf's voice roared, Luna watched in awe as the fog creature climbed the arm and wrapped his legs around it. The arm tried to shake him off, but Wolf sank his right claw at the metal's surface. Grabbing the weapon by the blade he started to stab the gauntlet repeatedly while he roared. Smoke started to pour from the gaps he created.

'What has possessed him?! A very dangerous approach, but at least he has some sort of potential. How thick is that armor that he actually pierces it with sheer force?' Luna thought as she watched the relentless assault. Then she saw the other arm getting ready to attack, casting another spell, Luna caused blue chains to sprout from the ground and restrain the arm. 'Okay! Now just get as many strikes as you can before the chain turns white.'

Flying as fast as she could, she landed a barrage of slices at the gauntlet. Unlike Wolf's attacks, Luna's just scratched the paint on its surface. But the sheer number of blows was much greater than her 'companion', from her count she managed to land a total of thirty-two strikes. When she landed the last blow, amounting to thirty-three blows, the chains turned white and disappeared. Immediately after, multiple blue beams of energy pierced the hand, the gauntlet cracked and rattled before shattering into various pieces that were reduced to smoke.

"Wasn't that a bit of an overkill? Sixty-six slashes in a span of thirty seconds, small initial damage followed by continuous light-based damage for each successful blow. Seems a bit of an exaggeration to me."

"I've been wanting to use that spell in a while, so no," Luna said before dodging the other piece of armor that was waving around like there was no tomorrow. Just as Wolf passed over her head Luna caught a glimpse of something unusual, the puncture wound on his chest now had something that resembled white roots growing out of the wound's edges.

A stinging sensation made Luna wince and look at her leg, the small black creature caught her leg and was trying to climb her. With a swift strike, she reduced the monster to just smoke. Deciding it would be best to get rid of the others before letting herself think about other things, Luna landed and tried to attack one of the monsters. But the shadow thing merged with the ground and wasn't affected by the blow.

Luna followed the creature's movements and waited until it was out of the ground. The creature raised from the floor and was immediately struck down by Luna's weapon. She then repeated the process with the remaining two, while dodging the gauntlet's constant rampage. Once they were all taken care off, Luna heard a loud thud and the sound of metal cracking. Turning around she saw Wolf on the ground and the gauntlet turning into a bunch of metal scraps.

The round was over, but there was no cheering. No clapping, silence reigned across the arena. The golden sun above Luna disappeared, being replaced by a starry sky, the pyres at the stands suddenly lit up. The floor tiles and the stone columns started to shift and bend themselves, the columns turned into withered threes. The floor made out of square stone blocks turned into a single flat white surface. The air got cold enough that Luna could see her own breathing, then she heard a gurgling sound.

Slowly looking back on herself, Luna saw Wolf convulsing on the ground. Cautiously moving towards him until something made her stop, Luna watched something crawl out of his chest. A white creature that looked like it was made out of tree roots, it had Wolf's shape. Its eyes were completely red, once it was on its hooves, both of its hands turned into bright blue blades. It twisted its head almost as if looking for something, stopping the moment Luna was in its line of sight.

Then it just stood there, Luna averted her gaze to Wolf's body. Only to find his huge black wolf form, Luna tried to move as slowly as she could, an attempt to not trigger them into attacking.

"YOU IDIOTS!" Luna heard from her side. "I said CRESCENT moon! Not WANING moon!" Luna looked to her side and saw Hades, he was red and flames were sprouting from his back and his mane created a tower of flames. In his hands, he had both of his minions that were squirming trying to free themselves from his grip. "Go back her up! NOW!" Hades yelled tossing the two of them to the arena's edge. "You have to force them to be one again!"

"Luna! Watch out!" Luna heeded the warning and rolled to the side, a white blade landed at the spot she was on a less than a second ago. "It's not over! Jump" Before she could react, Luna felt her consciousness fade for a split second, and then she was up in the air. She had barely dodged the canine's lunge.

"Did you just use what I think you did?" Luna asked while flying away beyond the creatures' attack range. "Are you sure we can be doing that?"

"Are you fast enough on your own? Do you have enough fortitude?"

"Fair enough," Luna said while keeping her eyes on the two beneath her. Their gazes were focused on her, Luna tried to come up with a strategy. And figure out a way to fuse them together.

"If you manage to get them both into the air and then slam them together with enough force, they will merge!" Luna heard one of the little ones shout from the ground.

"We will throw some stuff to get them stuck! But they won't work unless you damage them a little first! Then you can try to merge them!" The blue one yelled pointing to some black orb in his hand.

"We got our goal now. Let's deal with that novice?"

"You have to ask?" Luna said, just as she started her assault, a melody started to play in the arena.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ROoalSB2DOM

Almost as if following the rhythm of the song, Luna went for the wolf. The creature dodged the blow gracefully, fading for another moment, Luna lunged at the same target while also avoiding the slice from the white one. The black one didn't have time to react, Luna used the blunt side of the weapon to bash him to the ground causing it to crack.

Immediately after, Luna used her wings to propel herself over the white one that tried to skewer her from behind. Quickly using her sword to parry his followup attack, that was a skyward slash, Luna landed on her hooves and struck it on the abdomen while using a spell to cause a concussive blast and toss it away.

'It actually has tactics...but is something Wolf came up with? Or is this just this things behavior?'

"How's that for damage?" Luna asked while dodging the monsters slashes and bites. To anyone who entered that place and saw such a scene accompanied by the music, they would certainly say that the fight had been rehearsed. The fighters movements matched the rhythm, Luna's movements were akin to some sort of dance.

A truly wonderful sight that was halted by her stepping on something with her left hoove. A squishing sound and she found herself unable to lift her leg.

"Sorry!" the pink one screamed from the sidelines. "It will dissolve in a few moments!"

Luna used all of her skill to keep blocking the slashes from the white one, all the while casting barriers to knock the wolf around and prevent his bites. The white one's slashes were precise and had a decent amount of technique to it, very unlike the attacks from the wolf. However, the white one's attempts to dodge her attacks were stupid and completely useless.

Luna felt herself being pushed back after blocking one of the white one's attacks. Her leg had been freed. Changing the direction of the slice and moving her head out of the way, Luna used his forward momentum to kick him on the stomach, pushing him back.

"Get out of the way!" Luna heard the blue one's voice. Jumping as high as she could, Luna evaded another black orb. When it hit the white figure, it splattered and from it, multiple ropes shot out attaching themselves to the floor. The white one was out of the picture for a few moments, Luna turned to the wolf and tried to strike him upwards.

The wolf hopped and sidestepped away from each of her attacks. This one was practically dancing circles around her. His offense, however, lacked any sign of training. Completely unpolished and wild, the exact opposite of the white one.

"Two halves, huh? What do you make of this?"

"NOT NOW!" Luna yelled as she cartwheeled away from the white one that had just gotten free. The same squishing sound came forth and now her right leg was stuck, using a spell to keep the wolf stuck inside a small bubble she began to try to parry the attacks from the white one.

"HIT HER AGAIN AND I'LL TURN YOU TWO TO ASH!"

Luna kept swinging her bade for dear life, she noticed that the creature's attacks were familiar. It was mimicking Luna's moves, a very poor imitation, but given Luna's predicament, it was being effective. 'When did it learn? Was it paying attention during the matches? Or is it simply mirroring what it saw?'

Suddenly finding herself free, Luna made her left leg seem vulnerable. The creature took the bait, Luna used the attack to get one of its hands out of the way. The creature tried attacking with the remaining blade and they found themselves in a blade-lock, Luna looked into the creature's eyes. The bright red was back, they were calm, a very unexpected sight given how the color is usually seen as a sign of passion or rage.

Luna saw the blue one appear at the edge of the arena, right behind the white one. It threw the black orb straight at the white one, making it become stuck. Luna used her wings to propel herself backward, then she dashed forward while she spun around and struck the white one with a rising attack. The black ropes were destroyed and the white monster was tossed upwards, Luna then tossed the black wolf, that was still within the restraints she created, towards the white monster. She blacked out for a moment and found herself flying towards them and used the key wards to carry the white one almost as if it was a hook, Luna spun it around and struck the wolf using the white one and then tossed them both to the ground.

The two creatures fused as they impacted against the ground. The wolf deformed back into the original form of the fog creature she knew, only that it had a big gaping hole in its chest. The hole began to swirl like a tornado, the white one began to be sucked back where it came. Once the white creature had completely disappeared, the hole in Wolf's chest closed and he laid there. His eyes were back to the way they were before, dead.

The world began to dissipate, but before Luna was sent back to the moon, Luna heard a whistle from beneath her. Looking down she saw Hades tossing her something. She caught the object and inspected it, a blue helmet. It was beautifully crafted and based on the shape it was made just for her, the material actually looked like it was made out a mixture of sapphire and metal.

"Sorry for my servant's mishaps! I'll see that they receive a suitable punishment. Consider that an apology for their mistake!" That was the last thing she heard before Luna found herself back at the moon.

"Have a look at yourself in the mirror."

"Why?" Luna asked while walking back to the room where they would sleep. Once there, Luna looked at herself in the mirror that Nightmare usually groomed herself with. Luna looked at her reflection, she was a mess. Her mane was all over the place, she was sweating, and only now she had noticed: her breathing was slightly accelerated.

"Remember who was the only one who actually managed to make you get worked up?"

"It was my sister. However, I have been away from fights for far too long. It wouldn't be surprising that I would tire a bit more easily."

"Sorry, but your body has been strained by the attempted takeovers. Not to mention that I couldn't afford to get rusty, so I kept some level of routine. Therefore, the body is in perfect shape." Luna sat by the mirror that reflected the inner one and stared at Nightmare.

"I was still in a tournament. Consecutive fights may I remind you? I was bound to get slightly tired."

"You barely raised your heart rate during the enemy waves. Your vitals spiked during the fight with them. And I know you saw that they were mimicking us."

"So what? Like simply mimicking us would make them praise-worthy. He is nothing spe..." Luna halted her speech when she felt something warm running down her head all the way down to her neck. She went back to the regular mirror and saw it, blood, she was bleeding. Back when she was on Equis, Luna didn't have to put her body on the line when entering other being's dreams. Her magic could reach without having to get her physical form into the dreams, while it made her stronger in the dream world, the danger of being killed was something she would rather avoid. Not to mention how much power it took to sustain that for prolonged periods.

Luna saw the blood running from down her head, she didn't remember getting wounded by any creatures on the head. Luna followed the blood's path and saw a small cut on the right side of her forehead. That's when it struck her, the moment she changed the direction of the slash to strike the white one in the stomach. She remembered the blade passing near her, the trajectory of the attack matched with the wound. Luna realized that she must have misjudged the attack, so the white one actually connected.

"He cut me. He actually cut me. The focus on the fight combined with the adrenaline must have dulled the pain."

"Two polar opposites, one lacking in evasion but with potential when using proper techniques. Other lacking in decent attacks, but exceptional evasion. Imagine what would happen if he managed to actually use those two sides of him."

"I doubt he would be much more than what we saw. But I admit he might have some uses for you, as a pawn. If he doesn't lose his mind before you get out that is."

"What else did you expect? And regarding his mental state...I believe we might get back before he loses it. Or so I hope. Changing topic for a moment, what shall we do with that helmet?" Luna held the piece of armor up and looked at it for a few moments.

"I believe it suits you. Therefore, why not use it? It is a very well crafted piece of armor."

"Very well then. Another question, did you enjoy yourself in this session?"

"I cannot deny it. A decent amount of fighting after many of years of teaching you and sparring with you. Having new opponents isn't exactly a bad thing."

"Then, I guess that we can switch now, can't we? I need to clean up this mess you made."

Luna smirked before shifting back to her little world. Closing her eyes she felt her body become weightless and float away into silence, once she opened her eyes again she saw her little home. A beautiful field bathed in moonlight at the gardens of her palace, a palace that she wasn't aware that it was nothing more than a pile of rubble.

'He has some potential to grow, but if he continues as he is...he won't last long. That heart affliction needs to be solved.'