Fear was not something that Goku felt often, even in situations where it was appropriate to feel. Even when she was just a little filly, there hardly any times where Goku felt such emotions in her life . This would come off as pretty unusual for most ponies that knew her, unless they were Kirins like her that is. All her life, there was close to nothing that could scare the tan Pegasus in any way. Even the scariest and most scarring of all horror stories would get nothing more than a shiver from Goku. Other times, she would be left more fascinated than terrified by the things she would be told by ponies. The only times where Goku felt even the slightest trace of fear was when any members of her family, or anypony else, was in danger, her little brother included.

This happened to be one of those times.

Nightmare Moon’s malicious laugh could still be heard echoing throughout the Town Square as it continued to roar with fire and smoke. It took out large chunks of earth as ponies all around tried to get away from the infamous Dark Queen. The flickering flames on the ground below danced all around them, threatening to burn anypony idiotic enough to get too close. Smoke seeped into the mouths of ponies that got lost on its thick grey mist, causing them to go into a huge coughing fit as they tried to soak up fresh air. It only made their lungs fill up with even more smoke as if floated out of the building and out into the atmosphere.

The sounds of foals near the front stage screaming and crying could barely be heard over the thunderous strikes of lightning, but Goku could hear them clearly in their ears. She wanted to run over and get them all away from the mare in front of them, but she couldn't muster up the will do do so. The swirling tornado of Nightmare Moon’s mane and tail looming over them and cast them in its ethereal shadow. All the while, the thestral sisters and their friends all watched in transfixed horror and fear. They would’ve been the next victims, had it not been for reinforcements suddenly arriving, coming in the form loud roaring suddenly bursting through the air, and the sound of a Royal Guards voice yelling.

“GUARDS! PUT THAT FIRE OUT! DON’T LET IT CONTINUE TO SPREAD THROUGH THE BUILIDNG!” Zephyr ordered to the Solar Royal Guards behind him. “THE REST OF YOU, COME WITH ME SO WE CAN SUBDUE NIGHTMARE MOON!”

Goku, who was the first to snap out of her terrified state, swung her head this way and that at the familiar voice. “Zephyr?!”

“What is it Goku?!” Snowflake asked. “Who do you see?!”

“I-it’s Zephyr! I heard his voice form somewhere in the crowd!” Goku replied. “He’s inside the Town Square!”

“He’s what?!” Midnight shouted; her cat-like eyes widened. “What is he doing here?!”

“He must’ve been sent here with the other guards that were here in the Town Square by the Queen.” Twilight guessed, staring up at the stallion as he flew through the air. She suddenly let out a gasped as she watched him stop just feet away from Nightmare Moon. “Oh no…I…I think he’s gonna try and fight Nightmare Moon!”

“He’s WHAT?!” Rarity yelled, her eyes bulging. “Is he insane?! Does he really believe that he stands a chance against the Red Moon Goddess?!”

“I have no idea, but whatever he’s planning, I’m not going to let that fucking bitch get away with stabbing the Queen!” Rainbow Dash shouted, snorting hard through her nostrils as her eyes flashed angrily. She tried to fly at her enemy again, but Applejack was able to keep her from doing so. “Goddammit, let me fucking go already Applejack! I wanna give this mare the fucking what for after what she did to Queen Celestia!”

“That ain’t gonna happen Rainbow Dash!” Applejack growled. “Ah understand yer anger, but loosin’ yer noggin’ an’ jus’ rushin’ in ain’t gonna help right now! So take a breather an’ calm down b’fore a drive mah hooves int’ yer skull an’ knock ya out!”

Rainbow Dash was about to retort, but the sound of chirping lightning cut of whatever comment she was going to make. They all looked up to see four Solar Guard Pegasi hovering in the air, all of them just feet away from Nightmare Moon. Multiple colorful auras surrounded their bodies as their eyes glowed the same color, lighting, wind and fire surrounding each of them. Zephyr hovered in between them, his own eyes glowing as he raised his right foreleg, waiting to give his soldiers the signal.

“Oh, how cute. My dear sister’s precious lovers of the Sun are going to try and stop me.” Nightmare Moon smirked as she hovered in the air. “Well, you’re welcome to try, but I doubt that you’ll get very far.”

“FIRE!” Zephyr shouted, swinging his foreleg down as the other guards unleashed their attacks on Nightmare Moon. A swirl of fire, lightning, and wind burst out from their wings, coming together in a unified attack that seemed to make the attack all the stronger. It dove down towards Nightmare Moon, who continued to smirk even as the attack hit her head on. A loud explosion rocked the Town Square as those closest to the five guards looked up at the scene in front of them, wondering what had happened. Zephyr and his fellow stallions stayed in the sir, waiting for any sign of Nightmare Moon to attack them from the smoke.

“Is that it?” One of guards asked after a moment of silence. “She didn’t even try to stop the attack. Did she seriously think that she’d be able to withstand an attack of that caliber?”

“Of course not, you little foals!”

All five Pegasi jumped at the silky and icy voice that made itself known through the smoke, before it was suddenly blown away. Zephyr and the rest of his guards’ eyes widened upon seeing Nightmare Moon still hovering in her spot, not looking to have any injuries on her whatsoever.

“What in the hell?!” Another Solar Guard gasped. “She doesn’t even have a single scratch on her!”

“That’s impossible!” A third one exclaimed, hovering back a bit. “How was she able to withstand an attack of that caliber?!”

“How you ask? Simple, because it is not the first time that I’ve been hit with an attack like that you meddlesome foals!” Nightmare Moon replied. “I’ve been hit with moves like that so many times, they no longer even phase me! However, I was almost expecting you all to make a unified attack like that! Now that I’ve been hit with it, I think I can say that was probably the least painful attacks that I was hit with!”

“Dammit…!” A fourth guard hissed. “I thought for sure that would take her down!”

The fifth and final guard turned to Zephyr. “What do we do know, Captain?”

Zephyr opened his mouth to speak, but was cut off when turquoise blue aura suddenly exploded around Nightmare Moon, swirling around her in thick wisps of magic. The swords hovering behind her began to glow brightly, all of them giving off frightening amounts of magical power. The cross-dragon wearing stallion and the rest of his soldiers all froze upon feeling the overwhelming magical power emitting from the sin black Alicorn and her weapons.

“Here’s one thing that you all can do…” Nightmare Moon replied, softly. “Stay right up there and DIE!”

Faster than anypony could blink, the azure swords nightmare Moon had created all shot off towards the five Solar Guards. Zephyr’s keen senses allowed him to dodge the attack before the swords connected, though he was cut in his armor a few times. The other stallions with him, weren’t so lucky, and the royal blue stallion suddenly found his ears being filled with the agonized screams of his troop. He watched in horror as they all got stabbed in random places, and while none were hit in the necks or heads, Zephyr could tell some of the injuries they sustained would be fatal.

“Oh no!” Midnight gasped, a horrified look in her eyes. “She just every last one of those soldiers down!”

“And with just one strike…” Snowflake added, her voice lower and calmer but by no means any less terrified. “…just how strong is she?”

“I…I can feel her power level. It…it’s absolutely crazy!” Goku replied, her golden eyes peering right up at Nightmare Moon. She took in the sight of the turquoise aura surrounding her, and could not stop the shiver that went down her spine. “It’s even higher the Queen Celestia’s own!”

“Whoa, seriously?!” Pinkie Pie gasped, snapping her head over to the tan Thestral. “Queen Moonie is really that strong?! How can you even tell?!”

“We can all detect one another’s magical power levels Pinkie.” Twilight replied, keeping close to the party pony. “We don’t even need to use things like our horns to do it. We just have to use our own inner magical power to do it…and I can feel Nightmare Moon’s too. Its’ so high that I can’t even describe it in the most accurate of words. I don’t know what’s going to happen next, but I do know one thing…Zephyr is in big trouble right now!”

‘No way…she took out all of those soldiers, just like that! With just one attack!’ Zephyr thought to himself, staring at the down at the fallen guards. He shivered upon seeing the growing pools of blood surrounding them, even as they tried to rise to their hooves. ‘I’m gonna have a harder time with this than I thought…!’

“Well, now that I’ve gotten them out of the way,” Nightmare Moon said, locking her eyes right onto Zephyr. “There’s just you to deal with little hatchling!”

“Wrong Nightmare Moon.” Zephyr growled, the draconic armor on his body gleaming. “It is me who will be dealing with you!”

With a burst of blue lightning, Zephyr shot blast of it at Nightmare Moon, to which she used a powerful shield to block it. When it vanished, she suddenly saw Zephyr in front of her, and a set of claws suddenly burst out the holes in his armored hooves. He used these, along with the blades on his wing armor to claw and slash at Nightmare Moon. His adversary hissed and let out a bat-like screech, using her wings to counter Zephyr’s attacks, while lunging for his neck. Zephyr saw the curved fangs heading towards his neck, and reeled back as he sent another slash at Nightmare Moon’s face.

The attack got her across her face, leaving a slash across her left cheek, eye, and even her armored forehead. Nightmare Moon yelled out in pain as one of her hooves came to press against the bleeding wound. One of her eyes opened, and saw Zephyr flying at her again, his armored claws extended to try and slice her up more. This time, Nightmare Moon was ready for him, and they engaged in a midair battle of blades, claws and hooves. All while his friends, the spectators and the foals watched from down below. At some point, Zephyr landed a lucky blow by slamming his back hooves into Nightmare Moon’s face, making her spiral through the air. When she got control of her flying again, she looked up to see Zephyr descending down towards her, mouth again with lighting forming in it.

“Oh no, not this time!” Nightmare Moon shouted, spreading her wings ascending higher, just as Zephyr was about collide with her. Zephyr flapped his wings hard, the training he did with them making him stop just as abruptly as he wanted. He spun around, only to gag and gasp loudly as felt a hoof collide with his lower stomach. Ribs cracked from inside of his body as Zephyr’s head snapped to the side, courtesy of Nightmare Moon’s right hoof colliding with his face.

He spat out some blood and teeth, and was about to look at her again, only to feel a searing pain in his neck. Zephyr wasn’t even given the chance to scream before he felt his blood, along with something else, being drained. Looking off to the side, he saw that Nightmare Moon had her fangs pierced into his neck, with blood flowing from his neck and down his shoulder.

‘Oh Faust…sweet Faust above, she’s sucking my blood!’ Zephyr thought in between gasps. He tried to struggle out of her grip, but Nightmare Moon’s magical and supernatural physical grip rendered him all but immobile. ‘Is she a fucking vampire or something?!’

The feeling of Nightmare Moon’s fangs ripping out from his neck ceased all other thought in Zephyr’s mind, and he cried out as his blood spurted from his neck. She then stabbed him in his stomach with one of her wing claws before throwing him into the air. With a graceful spin, she kicked him in his armored chest, sending him spinning through the air and crashing to the ground.

“Zephyr!” Twilight and Goku shouted as they rushed over to the fallen guard. Twilight shied away upon seeing the blood on the stallion, but Goku ignored it completely as she cradled Zephyr in her arms. “Zephyr, are you alright baby?! Come on, say something!”

Zephyr coughed up more red fluid, one of his hooves coming to the piercings on his neck, just below his Adam’s apple. “Faustdammit…I can’t believe she just went and sucked my blood like that. I was so not expecting her to pull that kind of trick.”

Goku grabbed Zephyr’s hoof and pulled it away from his neck to get a good look at the piercings on them. Her eyes narrowed when she saw them, and couldn’t help but notice that there was something off about it. The puncture wounds were pretty jagged, with the two holes barely visible with more meet showing than blood. It gave her the sneaking suspicion that Zephyr’s blood wasn’t quite what Nightmare Moon was aiming for.

“Um, Zephyr…” She said softly. “I don’t think it was your blood that Nightmare Moon was aiming for when she bit you.”

“W-why do you ask that?” Zephyr asked perplexedly. “S-she had gotten me in my neck, so what reason would she have not to drink my blood?”

“Who cares why the fuck she wanted to drink from you like you were whiskey?!” Rainbow Dash asked, flying above the two flyers. “We need to get Firestreak and the other foals the hell out of here before Nightmare Moon decides to bury us alive!”

“R-rainbow is right!” Rarity nodded as she fought to compose herself. “We need to get the foals away from here! It’s no longer safe; the sooner we get them somewhere that is, the better!”

Snowflake nodded. “Right, let’s go-”

A high-pitched scream suddenly stabbed its way into the girls’ ears, and they looked to the source to see Fluttershy still on the balcony. She was currently looking over it, a look of terror and fear that only a parent or older sibling could have looked down below her. Following where her gaze was, they all found themselves screaming as well when they saw where Nightmare Moon was now. She was currently hovering in front of the stage, right in front of miniature herd of foals that looked to be trying to get behind the curtains. That, however, was not the only that had Goku, her sisters, Twilight, Rarity, Applejack, and Pinkie looking like they were gonna have heart attacks.

It was the fact that Sheton, Spike and the fillies were at the very front of the group.

Zephyr’s inside’s twisted. “Oh no…oh hell to the no!”

All eight foals could be currently seen hugging each other, fear plastered on their little faces, with some of them openly crying. Only a couple of them, those being Spike and Firestreak, showed some bit of defiance, but even their fear could not be unmasked. The only one who looked to be composed was Sheton, who stood at the very front of the group. His large feathered bat wings were spread out in front of them, acting like a shield to keep them from the mare in front of them. His eyes stared straight into Nightmare Moon’s, doing his very best not to waver of falter into her piercing gaze, although he was absolutely petrified.

Nightmare Moon’s gaze bore right back down at thestral colt with a look that could only be described as curiosity. She didn’t know why, but there was something about Sheton that irked something within her. Something that made her feel as if there was something familiar about him, even though she was literally seeing him for the first time. Unbeknownst to her, Sheton was thinking the same thing, but was unable to think on it for too long before the alicorn finally spoke.

“Well, look at this…I wasn’t expecting a little thestral to be here tonight.” Nightmare Moon crooned, looking over each and every tear-eyed foal. “I had assumed that there were all still resigning in their beloved forest. It looks like I was wrong…then again, I did see another thestral here…not that I’m upset by that.”

“WHAT TH’ HELL DO YA THINK YER DOIN’?!” Applejack shouted, rage filling her as her nostrils flared. “YA GIT AWAY FROM THEM RIGHT NOW!”

“Applejack, stop!” Midnight yelled, but was too late in stopping the farmer as she charged at Nightmare Moon from behind. Without even turning to look back at her, Nightmare Moon’s tail skirt lashed out and struck her across her chest, leaving a vicious slash. Applejack cried out as she was sent flying and colliding right into Midnight, who immediately caught her and set her back down. Looking back up at Nightmare Moon, her eyes widened with fear when she saw Nightmare Moon encase herself and the foals in a large forcefield of magic.

“NO!” Fluttershy screamed out desperately, flying down and pounding her hooves against the shield. “Scootaloo!”

“P-p-please, d-don’t hurt us!” Sheton squeaked, finally finding the strength to speak. “W-we won’t do anything to y-you, j-just p-please, please don’t kill us!”

“Kill you? Now what would give you such an idea like that, young one?” Nightmare Moon asked, her tone both playful and incredulous. None of the other foals answered, but they didn’t need to, for they were too scared to say anything else at the moment. “Oh wait, I know…it’s because you saw what I did with that stallion back there. That’s what this is about isn’t it?” She chuckled, the sound doing nothing to match with her dark appearance. “Don’t worry my precious little children, I’m not going to lay a hoof on any of you~.” She reached out and gently stroked Sheton’s cheek, and his shivered from the cold feeling of her horseshoes. “You’re all far too innocent for me to do something like that, and besides…I’m not one to cross a line like that.”

“Not one to cross the fucking line? Are you fucking shitting me right now you bitch?!” Firestreak demanded lowly, growling heatedly. “We just saw you go up to Queen Celestia and stab her right through the fucking stomach! How can you look us in the eyes and saw you didn’t cross the line?! Huh?!”

“You misunderstand me, my feisty little dear.” Nightmare Moon corrected calmly, pulling her hoof away from Sheton. “What I meant, is that even if I was going on a murderous rampage, I’d never bring myself to harm a helpless foal. I may be a monster, but even I have my limits when it comes to eradicating certain unwelcome individuals.”

“Tch, not from where I’m standing I don’t.” Firestreak hissed. “And speaking of which, why don’t I give you another line like that guard gave you!”

“Firestreak, NO!” Apple Bloom cried, leaping through the air and grabbing the enraged crimson filly by the tail. Firestreak cried out as she collided into her friend, feeling her forelegs wrap around her barrel tightly. “Are you insane?! Git yer hide back down here and clam down!”

“No! Let me fucking go Apple Bloom, before I burn you to ashes!” Firestreak yelled, glaring down at the farm filly. She pulled herself away from Apple Bloom harder, but the filly had an iron grip on her. “Dammit, is said let me go you ass!”

“She said no, Firestreak!” Spike protested hotly. “We’re not going to let you get yourself killed! The only way we can even attempt to get out of this is if we don’t make her angry!”

“I’d listen to your little scaly friend if I were you.” Nightmare Moon suggested, making the foals look back at her immediately. “You wouldn’t want to make your dear Lunar Queen angry and have her drink from you, or give you her famous glare, would you?”

Sheton paused, looking at the alicorn with a bit of confusion and shock. ‘What…did she just say?’

“Nope, nope! Absolutely not, nope! We really, really, really don’t!” Melon Cake squealed, shaking so violently it looked like she was having a seizure. “Because we know that you’ll blast us into oblivion if we tried that! O-or even freeze us to death!”

“…Well, maybe if you were actual threats I may, but, like I said, you are only mere foals, so I could never do that.” Nightmare Moon said dryly, smirking in amusement as she looked back down at Sheton. “I must say, I am quite surprised to see a little fledgling here in a town as sun-adoring as this one. I would’ve expected your family to have stayed within the darkness from which you originated. It would seem that changed over the past thousand years.”

By his own bravery, or naivety, Sheton gulped and said. “W-well…m-me and my family w-weren’t really b-born in any d-dark places. At least…n-not my sisters and my f-father…m-my mother w-was born s-somewhere kind of dark though. H-hollow Shades, I-I think it was called…”

“Hollow Shades…now that is a place that is quite familiar to me indeed.” Nightmare Moon murmured, memories of that population filling her mind. “And I take it that you’ve never been to that place before? Or rather…the place where it originated long before my banishment.”

“Y-you mean where Hollow Shades is?” Sheton asked, his confusion slowly beginning override most of his fear. “I-I know where it can be found, b-but I’ve never been to where it was found, along with any of the other bat ponies. I haven’t even really heard of it until recently w-when my Mom told me about it.”

“Is that so…?” Nightmare Moon said quietly, hanging her head and mulling over the colt’s words for a second or two. “In that case…why don’t you like to accompany me on a little…trip?”

Crescent Shield shivered, a horrible thought entering her mind. “A…t-t-trip?”

“Yes, a little adventure to a place that I am soon planning to claim as my own. Where many of this little fledgling’s kind can be found.” Nightmare Moon nodded, calmly landing in front of the foals, still looking pointedly at Sheton. “If you agree to come with me, I won’t dare harm a single hair on any of your little heads, that I can promise you.” She leaned in close so they could see the glinting power in her slitted eyes. “Should you resist…well, I still won’t physically harm them, but they will face quite dire consequences, and I can see that you don’t want that.”

“What makes you think we’ll let him go anywhere with you?!” Firestreak shouted, hovering up to press her muzzle against Nightmare Moon’s. “After what you did, you think we’re going let you take our friend away from us?! I have the mind to take that helmet and shove it up your fucking-”

That was all Firestreak was able to say before Sweetie Belle encased her with her magic and slammed Firestreak into the ground. “Firestreak, stop it now! You are this close to getting us all drained of our blood, our horns broken, and our wings torn off! So, unless you want all of us to become shriveling husks, please don’t say anything else!”

“Very good little filly…you know exactly when to hold your tongue, even in the face of divine royalty. Whoever is your guardian or relative raised you quite well…” The sin black alicorn chuckled, looking to be impressed. Her eyes once again locked onto Sheton’s, who had not looked away from her the entire time. “So, I take it that you’ve agreed to my terms, little fledgling?”

Sheton sucked in a breath, feeling his fangs pierce his lower lip to the point where it nearly made them bleed. On one hoof, he did not want to go anywhere with the legendary mare he believed to be real the second he had heard about her, and her origins. He wanted nothing more than to go to his sister, encase himself in her arms, and let her take him away from this nightmare. On the other hoof, he was deeply concerned for the safety of his friends, even if some of them had only met just hour prior to all this. Although he was fearful of his fate, the fate of his friends was even greater than that, and the last thing he wanted was for Nightmare Moon to harm them in any way.

‘If I go with her, she’ll get to have me, but she’ll leave Crescent Shield, Spike, and the others alone here with their sisters. If I don’t, she may leave me alone, but the same won’t be said for the rest of them.’ He thought, glancing at the angry, scared, and sobbing fillies behind him. ‘Either way, I don’t really know if I’ll be okay, but if it means keeping them safe, then…’

Just as Sheton was coming to his decision, Spike suddenly stepped in front of him and growled at Nightmare Moon. “Oh no, like hell we’re gonna let you take Sheton anywhere! You even think of trying to take him from us, and I’m going to-”

“Alright…I’ll come.” Sheton’s soft voice stopped Spike in his tracks. As if it completely rendered him from speaking anymore. “If…i-if you promise not to harm my friends, t-then, you can take me.”

“Sheton…n-no!” Scootaloo cried in protest. “You can’t go! If you do, then you might never be brought back her again!”

“And if I don’t, she might do something to the rest of you guys too!” Sheton countered back, looking back at the purple maned filly. “L-look just…trust me on this okay, I’ll be okay! A-and besides…” He looked over at the sphere, where his sisters were looking at him with fear and concern. “…I-I know that I’ll be saved eventually, by the best sisters in the world.”

“B-but Sheton…w-what if…” Sweetie sniffled. “What if you…”

“I won’t.” Sheton stated, holding a hoof out, but not looking at the alabaster filly. “I’ll be okay…I know I will. What matters to me is that you all are okay, and that you’re not put through what I may be put through, okay?”

Melon Cake whimpered, her lip quivering as her soft green fur gained a bluer shade. ‘He’s so brave…!’

Spike and the rest of the fillies looked like they were going to protest themselves, but were kept from doing so they heard Nightmare Moon laugh. “My, isn’t this just a touching sight? You willing to go with me to keep the rest of your dear friends safe? I must say, that is quite…noble of you to do…wise even, for a colt so young.” She flared her wings as she towered over the foals, her wingspan almost completely obscuring them from view. “Such an act like that cannot go unrewarded in my eyes, not at all. And for putting such an act of bravery, I will allow your sweet little filly friends to accompany you on your quest with me!”

“WHAT?!” The six fillies, minus Spike, screamed.

“W-wait a minute, hold on!” Sheton shouted, holding his hooves out. “Y-you said that if I came with you, y-you wouldn’t do anything to my friends! D-don’t tell me you’re going back on your promise!”

“You’re misunderstanding me my dear, don’t jump to conclusions so quickly. I specifically stated that if you did as I ordered, then I wouldn’t do anything harmful to them. You agreed, so I am keeping merely my promise is all.” The Dark Queen stated calmly and patiently. “All I was merely stating was that I would allow your friends to join you and I on my journey to my old home. Since you’ve shown quite the admirable act of bravery and nobleness that no other foal would’ve been able to do, I feel it is only right that I show you some how much I commend you on that.”

‘No…no no no no no no! This is not how I wanted it to go!’ Sheton thought fearfully, feeling his legs about to give out from under him. ‘T-they were supposed to stay here, w-while I went with her! I-if she takes them with me too, then…oh Faust what do I do now?!’

“Well, it looks like we’ve about wrapped up this little arrangement.” Nightmare Moon said, giving a satisfied nod. “I say we should go on and leave this accursed place now. Just a little warning, you may want to hold on tight, for this right may get a little bit…bumpy.”

“You’re the one who’s going to feel bumpy when I’m through with you!” Spike said as he leapt in front of the others, flaring his massive wings. “Take this!”

Opening his fanged mouth wide, he shot a blast of green flames the same color as his eyes right at her, aiming for her face. Nightmare Moon smirked and simply ignited her horn, letting her magic clash with Spike’s flames and swallow them up. The mulberry dragon cried out in pain as he was sent flying, going abruptly silent as Nightmare Moon kicked him into her shield.

“Spike!” Sweetie Belle cried, her stomach churning as Spike fell to the floor with a wet thud.

“There, that takes care of the involuntary interruption.” Nightmare Moon murmured, blowing at her horn. “Now then…shall we get going?”

With an echoing hiss, Nightmare Moon morphed into a stream of twinkling mist that wrapped around the screaming foals. This action caused the shield to dissolve, and Nightmare Moon wasted no time in making her escape from the Town Square. The girls, who were banging themselves against the shield the entire time, found themselves blown back when the shield was no longer activated. They quickly recovered, and turned to see their crying siblings reaching out to them as they flew out into the sky.

“GIRLS!” The five other mares screamed, scrambling to their hooves.

“SHETON!” Goku bellowed, feeling her heart stop and shatter at the same time. She felt herself nearly reduced to tears upon seeing her brother, crying and reaching out to her desperately. It was so overpowering that she found herself spreading her wings and flying after them. “YOU GIVE THEM BACK NOW!”

Her hoof reached out to grasp at Sheton’s, and the colt eagerly held his own out, praying silently that she’d be able to reach him in time. Goku was mere inches form him, when an ethereal bolt of magic suddenly slammed into her, making her go bug-eyed and gasp in pain. Then, she felt herself zooming through the air and crashing into Zephyr, who screamed when he felt his wounds react to the impact.

“No, big sister!” Sheton wailed as he and the fillies all vanished into the twinkling black sky. “Help us!”

Goku coughed and wheezed violently, one of her hooves reaching out to her brother’s fading figure. “No…S-Sheton…!”

Just behind the tan thestral mare, her five friends were going through their own phases of shock, still trying to take in what they had just occurred. They stood there, trapped in their stupor for what seemed like hours, before they finally let their swirling emotions be known.

“Dammit…Faust-motherfucking-dammit!” Rainbow all but screamed as lightning burst out from her body. “That bitch…she took Firestreak, she fucking took Firestreak!”

“Melon…Melon…Melon, Melon, MELON!” Pinkie wailed loudly, running around the group on her hindlegs, while her forelegs held her head. “MELON CAKE IS GONE! MY SWEET LITTLE MELON CAKE IS GONE! WHAT DO WE DO, WHAT DO WE DO, WHAT DO WE DO?!”

Applejack growled, repeatedly slamming her forehooves into the ground. “Apple Bloom…Apple Bloom…” She said through clenched teeth as her eyes slammed shut. “Sweet Faust, APPLE BLOOM!”

“Sweetie Belle…my little Sweetie Belle…she has been foalnapped! Stolen from me!” Rarity whimpered softly, her lower lip quivering as her tears stained her face with mascara. She began to hyperventilate, and her hooves came to her chest as her breathing quickly escalated. “This isn’t happening, this isn’t happening, this isn’t happening, this isn’t happening! This. Is. Not. Happening. To. Me!”

“No…no…no no no no no, please no!” Twilight whispered as she looked up into the sky, Spike cradled in her forelegs. “C-C-Crescent Shield…is…g-g-gone! S-s-she’s…she’s gone!”

Spike sniffled quietly, a pained and anguished cry leaving him as he gripped one of Twilight’s forelegs. He said nothing, but the look on his face spoke volumes, more so than any other words that he could’ve said.

As the other mares verbally expressed their rage and sadness at what had transpired, Fluttershy fell to her haunches, her wings falling to her sides. Her long pink mane covered the tears falling from her horror-filled eyes as they dropped onto the floor in a puddle. The mare’s entire body shook as if she was in the middle of a blizzard, trying to comprehend what had just happened to her…to her friends. Their sisters…they sweet beloved little sisters were all foalnapped, even Goku’s little brother, who she had just met. It happened right before her very eyes, and she couldn’t do anything to stop it. She could only watch as her sister and her friends cried and cowered under the Dark Queen’s presence, before she whisked them all away.

‘Scootaloo…my sweet baby sister…I’m so sorry!’ She thought, her breath hitching in her throat as her eyes slammed close. She tried desperately to keep the sob in her throat form escaping, but it got out anyway. ‘I-I…I couldn’t save you! I couldn’t protect you from Queen Luna-no…from Nightmare Moon! I just watched as she took you away from me!’ She beat the floor with a pink hoof as she buried her face in her hooves, her tears running down her eyes faster. ‘What kind of a big sister am I?! I…I’m such a disgrace; an absolute disgrace!’

All of the girls suddenly heard the sound of a hoof meeting the floor, followed by the chirping of lighting, making them look up. They all gasped up seeing Zephyr up on his feet, with Goku using one of her wings to support him.

“Girls…get ahold of yourselves, please.” He all but begged, ignoring the blood dripping from his neck. “I know you’re all upset right now, but we can’t waste time in-”

“Upset, upset?!” Rainbow Dash yelled furiously, her magenta eyes blazing. “We’re more than fucking upset, Zephyr! We just saw our fucking sisters get kidnapped in front of us! After seeing some shit like that, we are more than fucking upset, dammit! We are fucking scared out of our minds, you fucking dumbass!”

“I just say my darling little sister get taken right before my very eyes!” Rarity hissed, a snarl morphing on her muzzle. “You really expect me not to freak out?! I think not!”

“I know that, and that’s why you need to calm down! All of you!” Zephyr shouted, his tone becoming firmer and more powerful as his brows furrowed. Goku paused when she felt the authoritive tone make its way into her friends’ voice, one that can only be gained by a leader of an army. “Are you really going to get anywhere by beating yourselves up over not protecting your sisters?! If you do that, then you’ll only waste more time in our efforts to try and save them! I’m not saying you shouldn’t be concerned, but I am saying to not let that overwhelm you! If you do, you’ll only increase the chances of your sisters and Sheton getting hurt, or worse!”

This made the six mares pause as Zephyr’s words of wisdom implanted themselves in their minds, making them stop in their emotional tirade. Before they could say anything, Fluttershy suddenly appeared in front of them, having managed to regain her senses again.

“Z-Zephyr’s right girls, we cannot afford to freak out right now!” She said firmly, flaring her wings as if to keep them from harming the stallion. Her face still streamed with tears, but her eyes burned with a determination that made the other mares reel back a bit. “W-we need to calm down and think this through, and not do anything reckless! We’ll only make this harder for us than it already is, so please…” She bit her lip as she whimpered. “…please, calm yourselves.”

Those words, combined with the authoritive tone and heartbreaking expression on Fluttershy’s face was all that was needed to make the others clam down. Although they now had more control over themselves, their faces were still contorted into rage and sadness. Fluttershy could hardly blame them, and she’d be lying if she said she wasn’t scared out of her mind right now.

“Good, that’s much better…I’m glad you got yourselves back under control.” Goku sighed, not breaking away from Zephyr. “Now, first things first…we need to get to Celestia. Odds are she’s still up on that balcony laying in a pool of her own blood, so we need to get her some medical attention, quickly.”

Twilight gasped in realization, her tears flying from her eyes as she whipped her head to face Goku. “Oh no, I completely forgot about that! Do you think she’s okay?!”

“W-we don’t know…” Applejack replied lowly before Goku could respond. “She did get hit pretty hard by that varmint, not t’ mention she was electrocuted. Ah don’t anypony could git up from somethin’ like that.”

“Well, I ain’t gonna sit around and wait!” Rainbow Dash said, turning to the balcony where Celestia lay. “I’m going up!”

None of the other girls tried to stop her as they and zephyr made their way to Celestia, temporality ignoring the commotion down below. When they came upon her form, they all gasped upon seeing her body on top of a pool of her own blood. She looked completely unresponsive, and were it not for her rising and falling barrel, she would’ve surely looked dead.

“H-how…” Pinkie gulped. “…how bad is it?”

Fluttershy slowly hovered down in front of Celestia, paying no mind to the blood that covered her mane, tail, and hooves. Leaning down, she gasped when she saw the state of the wound, along with where it really was.

“I…I can see the injury.” She said, her soft voice carrying a hint of surprise. “It’s…not in the spot where we had all presumably thought it was. It’s actually in the upper part of her stomach, and not her chest where we had assumed.”

“W-wait, really?” Twilight asked with a pause, hope filling her. “S-so she didn’t get stabbed through the heart?”

“If she was then her chest regalia would’ve been shattered to pieces.” Zephyr replied, gesturing to Celestia’s golden regalia. “Nightmare Moon must’ve known she’d never be able to get Celestia in her head, so she resorted to another tactic that was within her reach. Along with adding a devastating electrical shock in the process.”

“That…makes sense Ah guess.” Applejack murmured, looking at Zephyr, and back down at the swan white alicorn. “So…whose gonna try t’ wake her up?”

A wet cough made all of them flinch, and they looked down to see Celestia slowly shifting in the blood she currently lay in. Their shock and disbelief kept them from keeping her down as Celestia slowly shifted herself onto her side, her eyes struggling to open.

“Oh…by the creator herself…that’s going to leave quite the mark.” She said to herself as her vision finally came into focus. When she looked up, she found herself looking into the misty violet eyes of her protégé. “T-Twilight…is that…?”

“Queen Celestia!” Twilight wailed, racing over and wrapping her forelegs around Celestia’s neck and hugging tight. “You’re alive…thank goodness your alive!”

“Twilight, please, don’t just jump on her like that!” Fluttershy cried, gently pushing the unicorn off of her mentor. “You could aggravate the hole in her stomach by making her move around so much…”

Twilight’s ears went back, realizing her mistake, but Celestia spoke before she could try to apologize. “No, it’s fine girls, I was not hurt too much, but I thank you for being so concerned about me.”

“Your Majesty, we need to get that wound looked at right away!” Rarity urged frantically. “You’re losing so much blood by the minute, and you could die if you lose more!”

“I am aware of that Rarity; you do not have to worry.” Celestia said, raising a hoof. “I…I-I have a healing spell that will help me recover from the strike Nightmare Moon inflicted on me. Despite the graveness of it, my magic will be more than enough to heal it.”

Without another word, her horn lit up in its golden yellow glow, and enveloped her body in its beautiful aura. The alicorn jumped at the feeling, but soon relaxed, finding the sensation to be very soothing and comforting, as if she was being held in the loving embrace of her mother. She closed her eyes as the magic did its work, feeling the pain where Nightmare Moon had struck her slowly begin to recede. The tightness in her chest and stomach slowly began to disappear, allowing her to breath more easily. A minute later, the magical aura disappeared with a sharp ‘poof’, allowing the girls to look at her stomach. Their eyes widened in amazement when she saw the hole in her stomach were gone, with nothing, not even a scar remaining.

“There we are…that should cover it.” Celestia said mainly to herself, not looking the least bit winded. She looked over at the girls, and frowned a bit upon seeing the looks of fear and the tears staining their faces. “What is the matter my little ponies? You all look like you had seen spirits.”

“Queen Celestia…if all we saw was a fucking ghost, then we’d be nowhere near as scared as we are now.” Goku said softly as dark tone lacing her voice. “No…what we just saw happen in front of us is worse than anyghost that could scare us!”

Celestia tilted her head, confusion lacing her regal face. “I’m afraid that I don’t understand Goku.”

“Q-Queen Celly…i-it was our sisters…!” Pinkie whimpered, her whole body turning a deep blue, her similarly colored eyes gaining a darker shade. Her mane and tail dropped as well, to the point where they had become gentler waves. “Nightmare Moon…s-she…she foalnapped our sisters!”

“N-not just them either.” Twilight gasped, taking quick breaths as her eyes shook. “Sheton was also taken with them too!”

“She what?!” Celestia gasped, shock and terror filling her lavender eyes as she looked each of the mares in their faces. “Is…is this true?!”

“Ya better believe it’s true…we saw it happen with our own two eyes.” Applejack muttered, the bang of her golden mane shadowing her eyes. “That…bitch took Apple Bloom, Sheton an’ th’ rest o’ them lil’ fillies right in front o’ us! We heard them all screamin’ an’ cryin’ an’ beggin’ us t’ help them, a-and…we couldn’t do nothin’.” Her hindlegs lifted into the air and slammed into the armrest of balcony, destroying it. “We couldn’t do a damn thing about it!”

“It’s not that you couldn’t, it’s that Nightmare Moon didn’t let you do anything.” Zephyr stated softly, putting a claw on Applejack’s shoulder. He turned to his Solar Queen as his muzzle morphed into a serious glare. “What they’re saying is true your Majesty, Nightmare Moon had taken all seven of the foals and took off into the night. I don’t know where she took them, but I know that where she’s taking them, cannot be safe…at least not for them.”

“Wait…seven?” Celestia asked, looking over at Zephyr. “Don’t you mean eight?”

“N-no, he means seven.” Fluttershy replied before Zephyr could. “Spike was with them as well, but he tried to defend them against Nightmare Moon, but she overwhelmed him. A-after that, she…s-she took S-S-Scootaloo a-and the rest of her f-friends w-with her.” One of her wings wrapped around the aforementioned dragon as he cried into her chest. “H-he’s…not taking it very well.”

“I-I tried…I tried so hard to d-defend them.” He said angrily through clenched his teeth. “B-but…s-she was just too strong. S-she threw me off…l-like I was a damn ragdoll!”

Twilight frowned sympathetically at him, feeling herself about to cry again. ‘Oh Spike…’

“I never imagined things would escalate to that level.” Celestia said, staring at the ground, the reflection in her pool of blood looking back at her. “I expected Nightmare Moon to have me as her first target, but for her to take innocent young ones as well…” She snorted lightly and shook her head, spreading her wings as she looked at the girls again. “I’m afraid that this situation as gotten more dire than I thought it had become.”

“Understatement of the fucking century.” Rainbow snorted, glaring up into the direction where Nightmare Moon had gone. ‘Just you wait Nightmare Moon…when we reach you, I’m going to sonic rainboom you to kingdom come!’

“Your Majesty, what ever shall we do?!” Rarity cried, looking ready to break down again. “That dastardly mare took our darling little sisters, and Goku’s sweetheart of a brother! How ever are we going to get them back?!”

“…I believe I may know how, but I will need to confirm something first.” Celestia replied, locking her eyes with Goku. “Goku, do you know which direction that Nightmare Moon went when she escaped from the Town Square?”

Goku raised an eyebrow. “Um…well, from what I’m sure off, since Ponyville is south of Canterlot, and the Town Square is north of here, Nightmare Moon went off in the eastern direction.” A deep feeling of dread suddenly wrapped itself in her gut. “W-why do you ask?”

‘Nightmare Moon went east? That’s the direction where-’ A look of horrified realization washed over Celestia’s face as her pupils contracted. ‘Oh…oh no. She’s going there, isn’t she?’

“Q-Queen Celestia…?” Fluttershy asked sensitively, noticing the pale look on Celestia’s white face, and not looking it one bit. “Is…everything alright?”

Celestia shut her eyes, breathing slowly as she resisted the urged to stomp a hoof onto the bloodied balcony. “No…everything is not alright my dear Fluttershy. In fact, now that I have some inkling as to where Nightmare Moon has gone, the direness of this situation as worsened tenfold.” She finally replied, her eyes gaining a steel edge to it as she looked over an injured Zephyr. “Zephyr, what is the state of your fellow guards?”

“From what I could see before I engaged Nightmare Moon, it looked as though she may have gravely injured many of them.” Zephyr replied, fighting back a wince. “However, due to the lack of bodies I found where they were taken down, they were still able to get themselves out of harms away before Nightmare Moon got to them. Odds are they’re down their trying to reclaim piece in the Town Square.”

“In that case, go down and try to help them in any way that you can.” Celestia said, gesturing to the crowed down below. “I have some important matters I need to discuss with my faithful student and her comrades. Once I have that cleared up, I’ll come back and get you for a matter more important.”

“At once your Highness.” Zephyr nodded, giving a salute with his wing before diving down to the floor. As the Solar Royal Guard began to aid his fellow guards in the chaos below, Celestia stepped up to her student.

“Twilight, would you be so kind as to show take me and your friends to your treehouse?” She asked calmly, yet urgently. “I have some urgent manners that I’d like to discuss with you, about both Nightmare Moon, and where she’s headed.”

“Um, s-sure, I can take you there.” Twilight replied weakly, hoisting a crying Spike onto her back before wiping away her own tears. “B-but why? W-why do you want us to t-talk there?”

“For one, I feel as I owe you and your friends a bit of an explanation regarding the Dark Queen Nightmare Moon.” Celestia replied, her expression both urgent and grave. “Two…if what Goku told me about Nightmare Moon heading east is true, then I fear that you are all in for the longest, most dangerous night of your entire lives.”

Well...what did I tell you guys huh? What the hell did I tell you all? This chapter was going to be pretty dramatic, at least from my point of view, given what I just made happen. Now, this chapter is one that was more changed than the others, and the induction of Sheton and the fillies was what made me change it. One big reason for this, is because I don't believe I gave Nightmare Moon as many scenes as I did in the last version...or two versions, and that was one of the biggest flaws that I had. So, with the foals being her new guests to her castle however involuntarily, as well as some of her other army that I'm planning to re-include, I'm hoping that I'll be able to fix that part of this new rewrite with this new plan. The second reason is because I felt that combining both this and the explanation about Nightmare Moon was really botch up on my part, and I was also hoping to fix that with this too. I hope you all don't mind that, because that's one of the many brand new changes I'll be making to this, along with their being as much darkness and drama as there is adventure. Next few chapters will be the second part of the last version of this chapter, along with reinforcement being called and preparations will be made.

Next time: The Main Seven learn of Celestia and Nightmare's history...along with how truly close they are.