It took a considerable amount of effort, but Sheton finally manage to regain consciousness after being out for who knew how long. The first thing he saw when he woke up was a glittering ceiling that made him think he was looking into the night sky. He groaned as one of his hooves came to rub at his eyes, before rubbing at his aching temples. As he did so, a sharp pulse of pain coursed through his head, causing him to cry out and clench his teeth. Sheton took a few deep breaths to try to regain his composure, before he sat up in what he felt to be a large bed. It was, admittedly, a comfortable bed, even more so than his own back in Canterlot, along with the blanket that was currently over him. Sheton squealed in surprise and threw the covers off of him, as if they were trying to wrap him around their coils, before backing up to the bed’s head. He looked around and felt his fear slowly diminish when he found himself to be a bedroom of some sorts.

“H…h-h-hello?” Sheton squeaked out, his soft voice increasing in volume as it echoed about the newly fixed walls. “Is…i-i-is anypony here? Girls…a-are any of you all here?”

He received no answer to his question, except for the silence that allowed him to hear his own breathing and heartbeat due to how strong it was. With a shiver, Sheton slowly curled up from his ball and crawled over to the edge of the bed. He looked around at the room and found himself somewhat captivated by its fanciness and beauty. Sheton reached up to push his mane from his eyes, only to freeze when he felt something very important missing.

“M-my hat! W-where’s my hat?!” Sheton cried frantically, panic flowing into him as he felt around for his hat. “My hat’s, it’s gone! The hat that my Mom gave me is-!”

As he looked to the left of him, Sheton paused when he saw his fedora sitting on a bedroom lamp stand, next to an icy glittering lamp. Relief flooded Sheton like a gust of wind as he rushed over to it and took it off of his nightstand, hugging it close to him. When he pulled it away to look at it, he noticed that it looked to be much cleaner than it usually was. He also noticed that seemed to have a symbol attached to it, said symbol being that of a red crescent moon.

‘That’s funny…there’s no dirt or patches on it from earlier. Every single part of my hat has been cleaned spotless. It even has a red symbol of the moon in the center of it.’ Sheton thought as he examined his hat, running a hoof along the blue crescent moon on it. ‘Who could’ve done this to my hat? Could it have been…?’

Sheton froze, stopping himself from finishing that thought, for it seemed much too absurd for him to believe. Taking a deep breath to calm himself, he set his fedora back on his head, feeling himself becoming much more relaxed. After making sure it was well adjusted, and his ears were through the holes, he turned back to the door and slowly trudged towards it. With a gulp, he slowly opened the door to the bedroom and walked out into the giant hall. The very same hall that Nightmare Moon had walked with them across up to her new throne room. He stayed just outside the door, not yet confident enough to venture out on his own yet.

“It doesn’t look like Nightmare Moon is here yet, and I can’t sense her magic either.” Sheton said to himself as he looked around. “Still, I shouldn’t cause too much noise, I don’t want to make her aware that I’m awake now.” His sharp mind went back to Nightmare Moon’s first appearance, remembering a particular appendage she had. “If I remember correctly, she has bat ears just like me, which means her hearing is sharper than most. If I’m too loud or make the wrong move, I might make myself loud enough to tell her where I am.”

Once he found enough courage to walk out of his room, he closed it behind her, more out of a force of habit than anything. His ears went back against the top of his head as he slowly walked down the hall, being sure to be as cautious as possible. The emerald blue orbs that made up for his slitted eyes looked left and right, taking time to really take in the wonderous sight that made up for Nightmare Moon’s new castle. He was still reeling from how she was able to something like this with just her magic alone, like he never saw before. Even if she was an alicorn, this seemed to be pretty far-fetched, since he’s never seen Queen Celestia do it herself. Still, that didn’t take away the amazement he felt, and was still feeling, upon seeing it again. More so now that he had more time to really take it in and absorb it all.

“This…castle is so big. I’ve never seen one anything like this before, not even in the Canterlot Castle where my parents live.” Sheton said to himself as he continued to look around him. “It’s so blue and white and black and…dark…but I don’t feel scared when I’m in it. I can feel Nightmare Moon’s magic all over it and around me and it’s so…powerful. Yet, I don’t feel scared feeling it…I wonder if the others feel that way too.”

Sheton suddenly gasped loudly as something crucially important came to his mind, and it took all he had not to slap the fangs off of his mouth. “Oh shit, that’s right; the girls! They got teleported away from Nightmare Moon along with me! I almost forgot about that!” He spun around to look at each of the doors, which were being lit by magically formed torches. “They must be in one of the rooms here! Nightmare Moon must’ve put them in one of each just like I was. It would explain why I was in that bed. I’d better go wake them up and see if they’re okay!”

Wasting no time, Sheton went to the first door that he set his eyes upon and began knocking loudly on it. He pressed his ear to the door to listen out for any sound that somepony was inside of the room, but got silence instead. Pursing his lips, he began knocking again, only much more softly this time. “Hello? Is anypony in there? Girls? If one of you are in there, can you let me know that you are? It’s me, Sheton!”

This time, Sheton did get a response, but it came from a far different section of the hall than the one he was currently at. He whipped his head around and saw one of the doors on the other side of the hall slowly opening. Sheton watched with bated breath as it fully opened, and a figure very slowly came out into the open. When he saw who it was, Sheton gasped as his expression filled with relief and surprise.

“Scootaloo!” Sheton cried happily as he flew over to her, throwing caution to the wind. Scootaloo jumped and squeaked just as the stormy grey colt collided with her, sending them both tumbling towards the ground. It took a moment for the ocean blue filly to regain her bearings, but when she saw it was Sheton, she calmed down.

“S-S-Sheton! I-it’s you!” Scootaloo cried in surprise, wrapping her own forelegs around Sheton as he pulled her in tight. “W-what’re you d-doing here?”

“I was in one of these rooms and I just woke up less than a few minutes ago.” He replied as he got off of Scootaloo. “Are you okay?”

“Y-yeah, I-I’m alright. I h-have a really b-bad h-headache and I-I’m a bit d-dizzy, b-but I’ll be okay.” Crescent replied as she rubbed at her forehead. Once she managed to get her head soothed, she looked around at the nocturnal halls. “W-where…are we?”

“I think we’re still in the Castle of the Two Sisters.” Sheton replied quietly, his voice echoing about the halls. “Or in this case, Nightmare Moon’s new castle. Do you remember what happened before we got here?”

Scootaloo nodded softly. “Y-y-yeah…I-I do…I-I remember b-being teleported away w-with the rest of you.” She looked back at the room behind her. “I-I w-w-woke up in that r-room a-after that…I-I wasn’t really e-expecting to be there though.”

“Me neither. I guess this whole castle wasn’t the only thing that Nightmare Moon used her magic to create.” Sheton replied, looking back at his own room for a second. “Where do you think the others are?”

“T-they may b-be in the o-other rooms a-around us.” Scootaloo replied as she took looked at the multiple blue doors. “T-they p-p-probably haven’t w-woken up y-yet. S-so they m-must be still u-unconscious.”

“Maybe.” Sheton nodded, walking in front of Scootaloo and looking into her single eye. “Alright Scootaloo, here’s what we’re gonna do. We’re gonna split up go to each of the doors one by one and wake the girls. After that, we’ll group together and find some way to escape here before Nightmare Moon finds out were gone, okay?”

“O-okay.” Scootaloo nodded obediently. “H-how will we know which doors to go to?”

“I don’t know, but I guess we’ll just have to start from the first two after the ones we came out of.” Sheton replied, flicking one of his ears. “We were both put on the same floor in rooms just on the opposite sides of each other. So, I’m sure that we’ll find them here too.”

“R-right.” Scootaloo said, smiling a bit. “S-so…you’ll take the second one, a-and I’ll t-take the third?”

“Mhm, and we’ll go from there.” Sheton replied as he smiled back. “We’ll find them and even if we have to go every single door, I know they’ll be here.”

Before Scootaloo could agree or anything, Sheton flew his way to the door next to his one the left side of the hall. Pressing an ear to the door, he gently knocked on it and waited for one of the other girl’s voices, just like before. Upon getting no answer, he lifted a hoof to the doorknob and slowly began to open it. He barely even got it several inches open before it swung all the way, and Sheton was blindsided by an orb of flames. Sheton screamed as they collided with him, sending him towards Scootaloo, who was already opening a door of her own. A scream of her own emitted from her mouth as she dived out of the way, watching as Sheton and the ball of flames flew right through the open door.

“Alright bucko, I’ve got you! Now you’d better tell me where Nightmare Moon is right now, or I’m gonna-!” Firestreak snarled heatedly, stopping when she saw just who it was that she collided into. “Sheton?!”

Sheton, who was busying himself in trying to get Firestreak’s yellow hoof off his throat, gasped out, “F-Firestreak?!”

The crimson filly gasped, flying off of the thestral colt as he coughed and gagged. “Oh fuck, I am so, so sorry! I did not know that it was you! I-I really thought that it was Nightmare Moon and-!”

“How could you not have known that it was me?” Sheton asked, glaring at Firestreak. “Even with my magical power reserves, it is nowhere near as high as Nightmare Moon! Plus, you’re around the same age as me, so you should’ve been able to sense my magical essence! There was no way that you could not have known that it was me!”

“I…y-yeah, you’re right, I’m sorry.” Firestreak lowered her head. “I wasn’t thinking, I’m sorry that I attacked you like that.”

“…No, it’s fine, don’t worry about it.” Sheton replied, his anger vanishing as quickly as it had come. “Let’s just go find the other girls so we can-”

There was a sudden burst of golden yellow magic, which appeared in the center of the room, between the door and the bed. Firestreak, Scootaloo, and Sheton all cried out when it appeared, but quickly calmed down when they saw that it was Crescent Shield. The ocean blue filly whipped her head around, looking around desperately with her horn still ignited.

“Sheton, Firestreak!” Crescent cried, the magic around her horn vanishing as she looked at the two foals that were on the bed. “You’re all alive!”

“Well of course we’re alive Crescent!” Firestreak said, turning to face her winged unicorn friend. “What did you think happen to us? That we were all turned into dust by Nightmare Moon?”

“N-no! Well…kind of.” Crescent replied, admitting her fears a second later as she looked away from the duo. “I’m glad that you guys are okay, it looks like you, me and Scootaloo aren’t the only ones still in one piece.”

Sheton’s ears perked. “Wait, do you mean that Melon Cake, Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle are awake too?!”

A green blur shot down from the room before Crescent could answer, shooting all around the room like a tennis ball being it by multiple tennis rackets. It soon settled right in top of Crescent, revealing it to the first of the two aforementioned fillies. Melon violently shook her body as if she was trying to shake water off of it, before smiling up at Sheton and Firestreak.

“I sure am Tony~! Right where I knew you would find me!” She chirped happily as her tail whipped back and forth. “Tiger D. Melon Cake Ryūko Konton is here and at your service!”

“U-um, y-you didn’t n-need to say your w-whole n-name M-M-Melon.” Scootaloo said softy as she walked into the room. “Y-you could’ve j-just said your f-f-first.”

“I know that, but I want to make sure that you guys know that it’s really me!” Melon replied merrily, glancing back at the timid filly. “What if, at some point, you run into somepony trying to impersonate as me and tries to trick you? What if they make it seem like it’s me but isn’t if they don’t say my full name?! What if that pony manages to mimic me so well that they’ll jump you guys and try to drain each and every single one of you of all of your blood?!”

Firestreak’s look became deadpan. “Melon Cake, do you have any fucking idea out utterly fucking ridiculous that sounded? The last time I checked, none of the ponies we met were vampires, and even if they were, they definitely wouldn’t have tried to get us during the day, or in a town as populated as ours! The only pony who I can think of who’s capable of that is that nightmare bitch, who, in case you forgot, foalnapped us before bringing us into this forest!”

“I know! I haven’t forgotten that Firestreak!” Melon snorted, frowning childishly. “I’m just saying you could never know when somepony else may try to do what I said they could do. Which is why I took it upon myself to say my full name in case anypony trying to impersonate me doesn’t do the same.”

“…You’re an idiot.” Firestreak stated bluntly, much to honestly. “Seriously, you are such an idiot…almost as much of one as Pinkie.”

“Firestreak!”

“What?! She is Scoots!” Firestreak defended, frowning as Scootaloo glared disapprovingly at her. “Do you even hear what she’s saying right now?! It is just a load of bullshit! I don’t think I’ve ever heard anything dumber in my life!”

“Firestreak! You take that back right now!” Apple Bloom snapped sternly as she and a tired-looking Sweetie Belle entered into the room. “What Melon Cake said ain’t dumb in th’ least! In fact, Ah dare say that she does have a point in what she’s sayin’!”

“Oh really?” Firestreak asked snidely, frowning hard at Apple Bloom. “And how, may I ask, is that possible?”

“You mean you already forgot what happened after…whoever knows how long?” Sweetie asked incredulously, sounding somewhat unsure of how much time had passed. “Before Nightmare Moon put us in those rooms, she mentioned something about waking up an army of some sorts after she rebuilt this whole castle! She even said it right to our faces before she teleported us all here!”

“Oh yeah, I certainly remember that, along with the damn headache that I was given, thanks.” Firestreak replied, rubbing at her temples as she hissed in discomfort. “Even so I still don’t see what you’re getting at.”

Sheton frowned, shaking his head at his new friend’s denseness. ‘She is hopeless.’

“Here, let me break it down for you Firestreak.” Crescent said as patiently as she could. “Now, you know how Melon just said that ponies, unicorns especially, can try to impersonate others to get the jump on them? If Nightmare Moon is powerful enough to create a brand-new castle with her just magic, then what if she’s powerful enough to create an army big enough to do that, and be on par with whatever one that Queen Celestia has potentially coming here?” Her eyes widened a bit as her lower lip began to quiver. “What if each of them is strong enough to turn into a completely different pony that lets them get close enough to their victims and execute an efficient strike on them? Even if they’re not all unicorns, what’s to say whatever dark magic that Nightmare Moon used or will use on them can let them do it just like their fellow unicorns?!”

Throughout this explanation, the other foals, minus Sheton, felt their fear slowly rise as Crescent explained the potential hazards that Nightmare Moon’s next plan could create. As crazy as it was to believe, there was undeniable amount of truth, and logic, to Crescent’s words. They had all seen, with their own eyes Nightmare Moon create what had to be the biggest castle they had seen, all done by just her magic alone. The foals, mainly Firestreak, had sincerely doubted that she could, despite feeling the insane amount of power flowing through her. Unfortunately for them, all of that doubt was washed away the second Nightmare Moon’s castle reconstructed itself under her power alone. Crescent was right; if Nightmare Moon was powerful enough to do that, singlehoofedly, then…

“No…oh goddess please no! N-not that, anything but that!” Sweetie cried, her rump hitting the floor as her pupils shrank in her eyes. “Please, I don’t want that to happen! No, not that!”

“Whoa…shit.” Firestreak said as the implications of what Melon and Crescent said sunk into her mind. “When you put it like that…it does sound pretty bad.”

“Not just bad, but insurmountably petrifying!” Crescent cried, her filling her own eyes as she looked at each of her friends. “And that’s just one of the things that Nightmare Moon could be producing or conjuring with whatever army she may have about to rise! She could have earth ponies strong enough to take on entire groups all by themselves! Pegasi being able to control weather in ways that not even Rainbow Dash could do! Unicorns with powerful spells that would make my own elder twin sisters look like they’re still in training!” She took in a sharp intake of breath, and slowly looked up at her foalhood friend. “S-she…she could even have her whole army be that of bat ponies alone and have just them demolish all of Queen Celestia’s army, and even all of our sisters along with them!”

Sheton paled, his small body freezing as he thought of over Crescent’s horrifying thoughts of what kind of army Nightmare Moon could produce. “Y-you…you don’t think those are the kind of forces that Nightmare Moon is lookin for, d-do you? D-does she even know how powerful the bat ponies are? H-how powerful foals as young as me are?”

“W-well…s-she does sort of look like a b-bat pony.” Scootaloo whimpered. “I-I mean, even though she was an alicorn, she did have f-fangs, b-bat ears, a-and huge b-bat wings. P-plus, f-from what my b-big sister told me, t-Thestrals are the m-most p-p-powerful pony tribe in a-all of E-Equis. I remember her t-telling me t-that their so p-powerful t-that they’re c-considered supernatural. I-if Nightmare Moon has an a-army l-like that, t-then they could…”

‘Demolish them without breaking a sweat.’ Sheton finished mentally, sweat rolling down his face as he began to shake. Shutting his eyes, he fought back a whimpered as he bit his lip, to the point where it nearly began to bleed. ‘Queen Celestia…I really hope that whatever army that your bringing consists of bat ponies like my mom and sisters. And I really hope you’re able to make it to my sisters before they get here. Faust, if you can hear me, please let me be right!’

“No…no, no! That can’t happen, t-that just can’t happen!” Crescent cried, holding her hooves as she began to breath heavily. Tears formed in the bridges of her eyes, but she shut them in an attempt to keep from crying. “Our sisters a-and Queen Celestia facing off against an army of ponies that could pass off as nightmarish versions of bat ponies?! Oh, sweet Faust please…!” A gasp left her as she looked at her friends, before turning to the door. “W-we need to get out of here now! W-we’ve got to find some way out of this castle and figure out a way to get to our sisters!”

Crescent made a break for the open door but found herself toppling to the ground by something soft and fast. She then found herself rolled onto her back and looking into the wide and pleading blue eyes of Sheton. The thestral colt stared back down at her fearfully, using his hindlegs to kick the open door shut with a resounding slam.

“NO! You can’t go leave the castle now! None of us can!” He cried desperately. “Besides, we don’t even know where the exit is from here anyway! And even if we did, it would still be a really bad idea!”

“What?! What’re you talking about Sheton?!” Sweetie cried incredulously. “You heard what Nightmare Moon said she was planning to do didn’t you?! We need to get out of this castle right now before it happens!”

“That is not what I mean!” Sheton shouted as he got off of Crescent. “Do you all remember what happened after Nightmare Moon created this castle?! That little trick she did to the moon right before she remade it?!”

“Y-yes, w-w-we do.” Scootaloo replied softly. “J-just after Nightmare Moon f-finished her r-reconstructing spell, t-the moon t-turned a deep b-blood red. J-just like that of the B-Blood Moon…w-why do you ask?”

“You all do know what happens during the Night of the Blood Moon, don’t you?!” Sheton asked, backing away so he could look at each of the fillies. “It’s the time where each and every single mythological and supernatural creature from the dark tales comes out to wreak havoc in any city town, or village they’re close to! Haven’t you guys ever heard of the stories about how they were known to stalk the countryside, villages and regions back in the old days?! All of it done under the nights of the Full Moon, and even more so under the nights of the Blood Moon?!”

Some of the fillies looked at each other, not really catching onto what he was saying, those being Firestreak, Apple Bloom, and Sweetie. Melon, Scootaloo and Crescent on the other hoof, went pale, all of them picking up on Sheton’s explanation immediately.

“W-w-wait a minute, y-y-you’re talking about t-those creatures, a-aren’t you?” Melon asked as she began shaking a bit. “T-the ones that Pinkie Pie always likes to tell me?!”

“Yes, Scootaloo I do…” Sheton said, staring sympathetically at the shy filly. “I’m talking about the dark angels, vampires, werewolves, lycans, waheelas, zombies, ghouls, thralls and even witches that could make up Nightmare Moon’s own folkloric army!” He paused, watching as the rest of the fillies’ eyes went as wide as his own. “Now that the moon is a full blood red, every single monster of darkness is going to be rising out from the shadows and go on a bloodbath wherever they’re sent! By none other than the Dark Queen herself, and if they’re all in this forest, the first place that they’ll strike is the one that Nightmare Moon did! Ponyville!”

Each of the fillies let out loud gasp as this realization hit each of them as if they were bucked in the face. Even more so when the last word was spoken. The longer they stayed in their shocked states, the more they began to see just how much danger they were all in. Not only them, but the ones that were out to rescue them and stop the very pony that had taken them. Each and every word that Sheton had spoken was true, making them even more petrified by the second. They had indeed heard of the monsters he had just listed off, each one filling them with more fear. Images of their sisters, their friends, their family, and all of Ponyville being under attack by beings and entities that can only be found in legend. Vampiric versions of bat ponies sucking the blood from their bodies, bloodthirsty beasts crossed between that of ponies and wolves ripping them apart and devouring them. Unnaturally strong cannibalistic equines feasting on their flesh, and black magic mages using them for whatever spell or experiment, or even turning them on their side. All of these countless horrors befalling upon their home, their land, their nation…with their sisters being the first victims.

An ear-piercing scream from Sweetie drew the other foals’ attention to her, and they watched as her emerald eyes began to glaze over. A soft whimper let her quivering mouth as her breathing began to escalate and get out of control. She then let out a loud wail as she wrapped her forelegs around herself, no longer able to keep her tears from flowing.

“No, no, I don’t want that! I don’t want any of that to happen!” She cried pitifully, rocking back and forth as if she was in an insane asylum. “I don’t want my sister to get eaten by any zombies or werewolves! I don’t want her to die! Please Faust, please don’t let her die!”

“Ah…A-Ah…I can’t believe it! All o’ those critters will attack P-Ponyville?!” Apple Bloom cried, looking down at the floor as her face paled. “No, no…t-they can’t! They can’t do that! Nightmare Moon can’t do that, th’ rest o’ mah families down there!” Her face contorted into a grimace as she stomped both her forehooves. “They can’t get killed! Ah can’t lose ‘em ‘r Applejack like Ah did Ma an’ Pa! Ah can’t lose ‘em; Ah can’t!”

“Oh no…oh no oh no oh no oh no, OH NOOOOOOO!” Melon cried frantically, her multi-colored eyes looking like they were going to fall out of their sockets. “Pinkie’s going to get eaten by a bunch of lycans and werewolves and become their dog chow?! That can’t happen, that can’t happen, that can’t happen! She has the ability to transform into one herself! She literally has the name Lycan D. in her name!”

“T-Twilight…Spike…they’re both going t-to be killed by the…” Crescent muttered as she began to hyperventilate. “They can’t, they just can’t! They have to stay alive; they have to! They said they’d come and save us, they promised they’d come and bring us back!” Her head snapped up to Sheton, tears beginning to fall from her eyes. “T-they can’t die! Not here, not now!”

Firestreak growled lowly, flames surrounding her as she furiously marched up to Sheton. She grabbed him by his chest fluff, bringing him to her muzzle as her purple eyes glared into his. “Now you listen up here Sheton! I don’t know what you may have seen before you came to Ponyville, but there is no way in hell that my sister is going to lose against a single one of those things you said might kill her! You really think she’ll let a bunch of things like bat winged ponies, mangy mutts, super strong tireless ponies, and scary magic users will be enough to stop them?! Get real! My sisters a lot better than that, and if you know her for at least half as long as I did, you would too!”

“Firestreak, stop it!” Scootaloo cried, rushing over and firmly pushing her fellow flyer off of the bat pony colt. “That’s not what Sheton is saying! All he was implying was that our sisters will have more challenges to face, and it’ll be harder for them to come and rescue us! He never said that they were going to get killed!”

“Well it sure did make it sound like they would!” Firestreak growled as her eyes flashed, the angry purple orbs never leaving Sheton’s. “You’d better watch what you say there, bucko! Or else I swear, I will make those membranes of yours burn with my flames! No matter how cool-looking they are!”

Sheton frowned guiltily at the crimson filly, ignoring the reprimanding glare that Scootaloo was shooting at her. Before he could apologize, he felt an indescribable wave of power wash over him and the rest of the room. It froze him and the other fillies in place, shutting down whatever emotional tirades they were or were about to go on. It lasted for only a moment, but that moment was all that was needed for them to simmer down and snap back to their senses. The power soon faded, but the dark and ominous feeling it left behind still remained.

“D…did you all f-feel t-that?” Scootaloo asked, the silence making her soft voice sound like a door slamming shut. “T-that rush of p-power that…c-came?”

“Yes, I know you all did, and so did I.” Sheton replied quietly, looking and sounding strangely calm for some reason. “It was definitely Nightmare Moon, she’s outside in the hall! I know she is; I can feel her!”

“Oh no! D-do you think she heard us?!” Sweetie squeaked as she scurried back from the door. “Tell me she didn’t! I don’t wanna get turned into one of those drapes we saw when we first came here!”

“No, I won’t let her hurt any of you, I swear.” Sheton replied, walking over and wrapping his wings around the unicorn filly. “You guys are afraid, I know, and that’s okay, but that doesn’t mean I’ll let any of you get hurt. None of you will be any of Nightmare Moon’s victims. No matter what, I still with you girls, I won’t ever leave you unprotected.”

Sweetie sniffled, her teary green eyes shyly peeking up at the colt. “Y-you won’t?”

“No, I won’t; I won’t let her hurt any of you.” Sheton replied, bringing Sweetie closer to him. He heard her squeak as she was pressed against his warm fur, though he didn’t notice the pink tint coming to her cheeks. “I tried to keep all of you safe at the Town Square, but it didn’t go as I thought it would. Not only that, but Spike got hurt trying to keep us safe, and Nightmare Moon easily thwarted him. I’m not going to let that happen again, and I have to use every single Requip Magic Armor I have in my disposal to do that, then I will.”

It was now Sheton’s turn to feel something soft and warm envelop him, this coming in the form of Scootaloo, who proceeded to hug him from behind. The colt joined Sweetie in blushing as the bright orange filly, nuzzled his cheek.

“Thank you Sheton, that means so much to me that you’d do that, and I know the other girls feel the same way.” She cooed sweetly, her chin resting against his shoulder. “And we’ll do the same to keep you safe for however long we’re here. At least until our sisters come and rescue us from Nightmare Moon’s clutches.”

“Scoots is right, there ain’t no way we’re gonna let ya do this by yerself.” Apple Bloom declared firmly. “Anypony that tries t’ mess with us, Ah’ll give ‘em a nice good buck t’ th’ face. That is after Ah git them nice an’ wrapped up some o’ mah vines!”

“Yeah!” Melon chirped. “Besides, there’s a reason why there’s the word tiger in my name! after all! Because anypony who tries to act like a meanie pants to any of my party goers are gonna get the claws!” She grinned widely, allowing the other foals to see her wolf teeth elongating into canines in her mouth. “See?!”

“S…M-Melon is right.” Crescent nodded as she regained her composure. “We may be confined in this castle, but that doesn’t mean we’ll be her hostages forever! Whether we try to escape from here or not, one thing I know we can agree on! Our sisters won’t let Nightmare Moon get away with this, and they will come and save us! I know that they’re somewhere in the Everfree looking for us right now, and nothing, not even the power of the Harbinger of Nightmares is going to stop them!”

“Hell yeah, now that’s the spirit Crescent!” Firestreak boasted as she grinned widely. “See?! What did I tell you! Rainbow Dash and the girls aren’t gonna let a bunch of stupid monsters stop them from getting to us! Heck, I bet they’re already wiping the floor with one of the animals here even as we speak!”

Sheton paused, feeling a knot form in his gut at the last sentence. ‘Why do I get the feeling that is exaclty what is happening?’

“I-I’m sure t-that they are.” Scootaloo said softly, pulling away from Sheton as she went back into her more timid self. “B-but I d-don’t r-really w-want to face all of t-the c-creatures that N-Nightmare Moon m-might b-be b-bringing o-out. A-and I r-really d-don’t want them to c-come i-inside the c-castle. I-I don’t think I c-can take even l-looking at them.”

“I can’t imagine any of you want to.” Sheton said softly. “Which is why…we should try to get out of here before that does come to fruition.”

Sweetie blinked. “Wait, I thought that you said we couldn’t go out of the castle.”

“I did. What I meant, other than what we could face if we do, is that we should try to find some other way to leave.” Sheton replied. “As if right now, the only power that I can sense coming from this castle is Nightmare Moon’s. She’s the only pony in here, besides us, so that means she hasn’t tried to bring her army out yet. So, I say we try to make our escape before that does happen and she sends any of her troops after us.”

“Do you really think we’ll be able to get out of where before Nightmare Moon notices that we’re gone?” Melon asked. “This castle is pretty big based on what we’ve seen, and it may take a while for us to get out.”

“I don’t know…but it’s the only chance that we’ve got to go and getting somewhere safe nearby until our sisters come and get us.” Sheton replied, not sounding so sure himself. “If we don’t, who knows what’ll happen to us.”

“Okay, so let’s say that we do manage to escape here…” Firestreak said skeptically. “Where are we going to go? As far as I’m concerned, there’s nothing but forest in all four corners of the Everfree Forest! There isn’t any civilization anywhere around here.”

“Um, that’s not entirely true Firestreak.” Crescent said quietly, ruffling her wings. “There actually is civilization in here.”

“What?!” Sweetie cried. “How can there be any cities or villages in the Everfree Forest?! I haven’t heard of any of populations being built up here!”

“W-well, m-maybe not you S-Sweetie.” Scootaloo silently as she held up her hoof. “B-but I-I have.”

All eyes turned to the bright orange filly.

“What do you mean Loo-Loo?” Melon asked curiously, looking like a student who was learning about a new history lesson. “Do you know something we don’t?”

“Wait a minute, Scootaloo…” Sheton said slowly. “Are you saying that you know about the Five Freedom Alliances of the Everfree?!”

Scootaloo nodded. “I do.”

“Wait a second, the Everfree Freedom Alliances?!” Firestreak asked, looking in between Scootaloo and Sheton. “What the hell are you two going on about?!”

The appearance and rush of turquoise magic appearing left Firestreak’s question unanswered as the foals all scattered away from it. They watched as if condensed and began to take shape and form into that of a pony. When it finally revealed the user of the magic, the foals all froze as they saw the last pony that they wanted to see.

“Oh wonderful! You’re all awake now…good.” Nightmare Moon crooned pleasantly. “That was sooner than I expected. I was sure that your precious little heads were going to be out for a little while longer.”

“I-it’s you!” Sweetie cried fearfully as she hid behind Firestreak. “W-what are you doing here?!”

“You’re finally away from your half-hour long slumber and that’s the first thing you say? I expected a more cordial greeting than that.” Nightmare Moon chuckled, shaking her head. “Oh well, I guess I shouldn’t have expected anything less. You all must still in quite a bit of a shock after witnessing one of my greatest achievements~.”

“That’s an understatement Queen Moonie!” Melon cried, her eyes as wide as could be. “You just made an entire castle suit for the night in a span of maybe a minute and a half! Why wouldn’t we still be reeling over that?!”

“Yes, you make a fair point there.” Nightmare Moon nodded, giving a toss of her ethereal blue mane. “As good of a point that is, you’ll all be reeling more by the time you see just what I have planned next?”

“A p-p-p-plan?” Scootaloo asked, struggling to look into Nightmare Moon’s eyes as she huddled close to Sheton. “W-what are you g-g-going t-to do n-now?”

Nightmare Moon smirked. “You’ll soon find out my little ones~.”

For the second time that night since the first time, Nightmare Moon encased the foals within her magic, and they all vanished from the room. In a fraction of a second, they were back in Nightmare Moon’s throne room, as if they had never left in the first place. The foals stumbled about and groaned in discomfort, trying to keep themselves from passing out again.

“Oh dear, I’m sorry about that my dear hearts~.” Nightmare Moon cooed; her tone genuinely apologetic despite the amusement it held. “I suppose I should’ve warned you that I was going to do that before hoof~.”

“Ugh, did ya really have t’ do that again?” Apple Bloom asked, gagging a bit. “Ya could’ve just walked us back up the stairs like ya did last time! Ah feel like Ah got kicked by one o’ th’ deer on mah family’s farm!”

“I could’ve done that, but I suppose I was a bit too excited back there; my apologies my dear little apple.” Nightmare Moon said softly, looking surprisingly sympathetic despite her vampiric features. “It was rather naïve of me to think that you could handle another teleportation trick after waking up rather quickly.”

“Well, not all of us are winged unicorns.” Crescent murmured as she rubbed at her forehead. She looked at her wings and ruffled them. “Or…at least, not all of have horns or as endurable as bat ponies are…no offense to you Sheton.”

"True…the fact that nearly all of you look like you’re going to empty the contents of your stomach tell me that much.” Nightmare Moon murmured, taking in most of the foals’ green faces, even Melon’s. “I’ll give you some time to collect yourselves. You’ll need to after all, since you’re about to meet my wonderful army~.”

Sheton’s ears perked. “Your army? W-wait, you’re calling them here? R-right now?”

“Bringing them here? Yes. Calling them here? No.” Nightmare Moon replied as she causally walked down the stairs leading to her throne. “I have another method to bring my army forth. One that will ensure they are all here at once.”

“Okay so…how’re you going to do that?” Firestreak asked suspiciously. “Are you gonna summon them up from the ground and pull them all up here or something?”

The fanged smirk on Nightmare Moon’s face gave Firestreak and her friends the sneaking suspicion that she was more or less spot on. The mare suddenly turned away before Firestreak could speak again, and they watched as she reached the floor, her horseshoes making loud clanks in the process. Closing her eyes, Nightmare Moon ignited her horn an in aura of solid magic, but instead of it being in the color of her eyes, it was the color of her fur; something that took Crescent aback. She lowered her head and let the tip of it touch her floor, letting the magic spread all throughout it.

The eyes of the foals behind her grew, not just at the magic’s color but at how fast it seemed to spread through the castle. It covered every single section of the newly formed castle from the floor, to the walls, all the way to the ceiling, and even the chandelier. The only parts that were left untouched were the windows, but even they seemed to give dark sinister vibes thanks to the black magic Nightmare Moon was producing. None of them were given too much time to take it in before they saw faint glints of light floating above the floor.

As they tried to get a closer look at them, they saw the floor beginning to morph and distort before giving way to figures that nearly made them scream. Figures that were in the form of skeletons, the skeletons of ponies that looked to be dead for a good amount of time. The ghostly whiteness of their bones seemed to glow within the blackened throne room, making them look like actual ghosts despite being solid in form. Their eyeless holed skulls seemed to bore into the seven youngsters, making them feel as if they were gazing into endless voids of blackness. It lasted for several agonizing moments before they were freed by what followed afterward.

Thick wisps and blotches of solid black magic began to rise from the floor, as if they were corpses rising from the grave. Each of them wrapped around the pony skeletons currently standing within the room, leaving no trace of white exposed on their forms. Slowly, the black magic began to take forms on the skeletons, distorted at first, but soon ones that belonged to that of an equine. Thick furry hides, luscious thick manes and tails and eyes of many different colors began to form on them, only theirs were far darker. One other thing drastically different about this army was that most of them had appearances like that of at thestral, except far more sinister looking.

Some of their wings were bigger, lined with larger curved claws, their fangs not too far off from that of a vampire’s, with their ears actually like that of a bat’s. Others that had horns rivaled Nightmare Moon’s in length, curved in the same sinister fashion as Emperor Sombra’s. Those that had neither had burgeoning muscles, looking like they could crush a pony’s skull with a single stomp or kick; even with the mares, despite their more slender and elegant frames. Their leonine tails lashed behind them like whips as they let out hisses that could freeze even the most warm blooded of creatures. Their armor gleamed as bright as their glowing slitted eyes stared back at their Queen, who returned their gazes with one of fondness and love. When she looked back at the foals, she grinned as she took in their awed and fearful faces.

“It would seem that you were right about my method of gathering my army, my dear little Firestreak.” The sin black alicorn said softly. “Well, what you all think? Impressive is it not?”

“Oh…my.” Scootaloo whispered, those words being the only ones she could say at the moment.

“I’ll take that as a yes.” Nightmare Moon giggled. “Quite the appropriate response given what you little ones just witnessed.”

“T-this…this is inconceivable!” Crescent cried, her young, yet smart mind unable to take in the sight she was seeing. “I’ve…I-I’ve never seen magic of this scale before! T-this isn’t like any kind of spell I’ve ever seen from any unicorn! Not even my older brother and sisters!”

“Well, that’s because your dear siblings aren’t alicorns, like me. Nor do they have the level of magic that I have.” Nightmare Moon retorted smugly as she turned to face her army. “Of course, you little ones already knew that~.”

“Oh boy…it looks like you were right in what you had speculated earlier Crescent.” Sweetie whispered. “Nightmare Moon really did create an army with just a flick of her magic! J-just like you said they would!”

“Y-yeah.” Apple Bloom gulped. “They’re a lot scarier than Ah thought they’d be too…just look at those fangs. T-they look like they could suck me dry in seconds!”

The ocean blue filly gritted her teeth, her tail tucking between her hindlegs. “I hate being right sometimes.”

“My dear Nightmare Army children, it is so wonderful to see you all again, even if it has been a rather short time.” Nightmare Moon cooed, as if she were speaking to a group of young foals. “I honestly never thought that the day would come where you’d all be able to shine along with me. It would seem that fate has other plans for all of us, as it did with my freedom from by beautiful moon.”

The army of bat winged Nightmare Ponies all let out a chorus of hisses as they all stared back at their Queen in utter adoration. Their fangs stuck out like twin pickaxes as they all smiled at her, their bat ears twitching every so often. Sheton and his filly friends felt their spines go cold upon seeing their joyous reactions, their dark appearances making it look more scary than anything.

“Now my children, before we get down to business, there is something that I’d like to ask you all.” Nightmare Moon said, making the army go silent. “Do any of you know what I have called you here for?”

A stretch of silence washed across the nocturnal throne room, with all of the shadow ponies looking at one another in confusion. Nightmare Moon watched on in amusement as they tried to contemplate just what their Queen, had created them for.

“Of course, you wouldn’t. Only a select few of you know of the mission that I plan to give you all by this day’s end. For those of you who don’t know, you may have forgotten about it. No worries about that; allow me to tell you so you can make more sense of what is going on.” Nightmare Moon said, lowering her hoof as she cleared her throat. “Over a millennium ago, I had tried to take back my place as the ruler of this land, after somepony that I had once considered by family betrayed me. We ruled aside one another for countless of centuries, vanquishing foe after foe and keeping peace in the land that you know find yourselves in now. It was a peaceful time, until our dear subjects started to turn against me, and this pony that I use to rule with did nothing to help me. She let me wallow in my pit of despair and did nothing to protect me from the wrath and the prejudice of my subjects, never noticing what was happening to me until it was too late. This pony, is Queen Celestia Daybringer, my dear, and soon to be dead, sister.”

The moment those last words left her mouth, the army went dead silent, their gleaming draconic eyes staring back widely at their Queen. The sin black Alicorn watched them all intently, seeing the recognition that was slowly coming to their faces. As quickly as the shock came, it was replaced with looks of fury and anger, which was reflected off of the sinister black aura radiating form off of their bodies. From behind them, the foals were looking at one another, realizing exactly what Nightmare Moon was talking about.

“Wait…she can’t be talking about the story between her and Queen Celestia can she?” Melon asked softly, keeping his voice as quiet as possible. “You know, the one that was over one thousand years ago?”

“What else could she be talking about?” Crescent all but hissed, her wings open to cover each of them from view. “She clearly mentioned Queen Celestia and is talking about the time they ruled before Queen Luna turned into…well, her.” She pointed a hoof towards the Dark Queen. “What else could she be talking about?”

“I’m amazed that she’s even managing remember that.” Firestreak muttered. “I thought that after a thousand years, you’d forget about something like that.”

Sheton side-eyed the crimson filly. “Do you really think you can forget one of the bloodiest wars in Equestrian history? Especially if you were the one to potentially instigate it?”

Before Firestreak could reply, they heard Nightmare Moon’s silky voice speak up again. as they listened, they could sense her tone becoming more and more angered.

“Yes, my dear children, it was my very own sister that betrayed me. Leaving me to rot at the hooves of our, or rather, her, adoring subjects.” Nightmare Moon explained as she closed her eyes, memories from over one thousand years ago swimming across her mind. “Worst of all, she saw it happen right in front of her eyes, yet she did nothing to help me. She only offering measly words of encouragement that did nothing to help me in the predicament that I was in. By the time she realized just how far gone I was, it was far too late for her, for I wanted nothing to do with her anyhow.” Letting out a ground-rumbling growl, she opened her eyes and looked back up at her army. “I did not think it could get any worse than what it was all those centuries ago. All the constant backlash, accusations, the attempts to attack me and being looked at as if I was a demon from Tartarus. All of it was so horrible, making it some of the worst years of my life during my rule, and it only continued to get worse with each passing day.”

Scootaloo’s ears flattened against her head, her tiny heart flooding with empathy for Nightmare Moon despite being utterly terrified. She couldn’t imagine what she had suffered while she was still the infamous Queen of the Night, but based on what she was hearing, it had to be horrible. In all the time she had known her own sister, Fluttershy had never treated her in such a horrid and repulsive way. Never abusing her, laying a hoof on her, or even raising her voice to her when she got angry with her. Fluttershy had always been so kind, nurturing and gentle with Scootaloo, even when she had to be firm with her. Never doing anything to her that would surely paint the veterinarian in a very dark light. To hear Nightmare Moon talk about the neglect she went through under her own sister made the filly want to hug the Red Moon Goddess.

Nightmare Moon’s lips curled back, her pure white vampiric fangs gleaming in the darkness of the new Throne Room, as she began to shake. Her eyes squeezed shut for a moment as she snorted so hard that blue fire flew from her nostrils. “Pushed to the brink of insanity, and on the very edge of madness, I had finally managed to find some semblance of happiness that I had tried to grasp for so long.” Nightmare Moon said, her voice softening as she looked down at the ground. “It was so wonderful and so blissful that I had completely forgot about everything around me. Focused only one that one thing that made me so happy. The one thing that brought a smile on my face and brought my heart more joy than anything. I was so consumed with joy that I did not see my sister plotting my behind me back to take it away.”

Her head rose up, allowing her army to see the furious, and absolutely anguished look on their Queen’s face. Had the foals been in front of, they would’ve surely fainted from seeing the rage on Nightmare Moon’s eyes. “I happened so unexpectedly that I was unable to stop it, and I have no idea of when it happened either. By the time I realized that had happened and who had done it, there was nothing that I could do about it. And that happiness that I felt, the one that I finally had after so long, was gone. It was whisked away like a mere speck in the wind just like that. Which is why, Celestia must pay, and she must fall!”

“Do any of you guys know what she’s talking about?” Firestreak whispered. “What did Queen Celestia take from her?”

“I don’t know Streaky.” Melon replied softly, feeling her heart ache from some unexplained reason. “But it’s making my Melon Sense go off in my heart, making it all twisty. And that means something really really bad happened to Queen Moonie…Or Queen Lulu.”

Scootaloo looked over at the soft green filly. “Q-Queen Lulu? D-do you mean Q-Queen L-L-Luna?”

“Who did you think I meant?” Melon asked. “You, Loo-Loo~?”

Nightmare Moon suddenly flared her wings, standing tall and proud in front of her army. “For too long, Celestia done me wrong, and evaded punishment that should’ve been inflicted when she began to turn against me. She has taken away all the love and respect that I should’ve gotten as well and kept it all to herself. She has ignored my cries for help, left me at the mercy of those who hated me, put her own subjects before me, and taken away what I cherished the most. Now on this night, Celestia will finally face retribution for her crimes, and pay for all the suffering she has let be inflicted upon me. Tonight, this battle will mark the dawn of a new Era my children! The Era of the Darkness, the awakening of the Full Moon, and the rise of Eternal Night!”

A multitude of screeches and draconic roars broke out form within the dark army as the ponies within it went wild. The sinister aura surrounding their bodies grew and vibrated with intensity as their power went about uncontrollably. Each of the foals standing beside Nightmare Moon’s throne trembled violently from head to hoof, feeling themselves being crushed by the weight of such dark power. Nightmare Moon once again raised a silencing hoof, and just like that, all was quiet, and the nightmare army went silent once more.

“I am glad that you wish to aid me in my plot for revenge and rise as the new Queen my children; this certainly pleases me a great deal~.” Nightmare Moon praised. “I must honestly admit, I was never expecting you all to get this riled up, but I most definitely understand where you’re all coming from. You are all my precious creations after all, so that means you share everything with me; my powers, my memories, my feelings. Even my hatred towards Celestia and her wretched day and light.”

At the last few words, the bat winged, saber fanged magic manifested ponies all let out more hisses and growls. Their eyes gleamed brightly as their tails lashed out, some stomping on the ground while others horn’s gleamed, looking ready to fire off powerful spells. Thankfully, any unnecessary damage to Nightmare Moon’s new Throne Room was prevented by the sin black Alicorn herself, who stomped on the ground a couple of times. They all stood to attention again, waiting for any orders that their Queen was going to give them.

“Whoa, they’re hoppin’ mad now.” Apple Bloom whispered to her friends. “They look like they’re gonna destroy this castle from here an’ down forward!”

“Uh-huh…and this is the army that she plans to unleash on Queen Celestia’s own.” Sheton whispered back as images of his parents flashed into his mind. ‘Mom…Dad…’

“Now then, I believe that you should all go and prepare yourselves for the battle that is soon to come my dear children.” Nightmare Moon said sweetly, honey dripping from her words. “I have a feeling that it’s going to leave quite a scar on this forest…in more ways than one.”

Bearing wide sinister smiles, nightmare army ponies gave nods of obligement before they all began to give of sickly black auras. One by one they each sunk into the ground, leaving large holes of blackness in their wake, before they disappeared as well. The blackness that was enveloping the entire room vanished along with them, letting Nightmare Moon and the foals see the beautiful structure of the throne room again. Soon, there was no trace of their existence anywhere in the throne room, and they were left alone once more.

“My that was quite the exit. They’re quite excited to finally release all of that pent-up energy! I can’t wait to see them in action!” Nightmare Moon chirped, clapping her hooves together as she turned to the foals. “That was quite the sight to see, wasn’t it my little ones?”

“Sight to see? Sight to fucking see?!” Firestreak shouted, her purple eyes wider than the hooves of a Saddle Arabian Horse. “You literally pulled up skeletons from underneath the floor! Not the ground, but the fucking floor! We weren’t anywhere near the ground and it is a long way up from where we are!”

“Y-you also used black magic give them the forms of p-ponies. Ponies that l-look like bat ponies, l-like me.” Sheton added, rubbing his wings with his hooves. “H-how did you even manage to do that?!”

“Centuries my little pup~.” Nightmare Moon said as she walked up the stairs. “Centuries and countless centuries of practice, training and growing stronger. Add all of that to the fact that I am the Goddess of the moon, stars, and the very universe itself? Well, even an alicorn can find herself having unimaginable amounts of power at her disposal.” She chuckled as she reached out and patted the colt on his head. "Though, if you want a more thorough explanation, I sent a pulse of power from my throne room down to the ground. Then I waited until I felt it was strong enough for me to summon by army with a single pulse of my horn, before I began to go down to the entrance. That is, until I sense you all awake from within your chambers and did a little...change of plans~."

Sheton, who was blushing under the rare affectionate pat, paused as his mind went back to what happened in one of the rooms he and he fillies were in. 'That explains the rush of power I felt before. I suppose Nightmare Moon wasn't really nearby where we were yet. That was just the power she was emitting all over the castle.' He glanced over at the fillies, their expressions telling him that they were thinking the same thing. 'I guess it does make sense, since it explains how she was able to summon her army from all the way up here instead of outside.'

"I can see that you've figured it out my dear colt. Now you have a better understanding how how my magic works." She chuckled lowly as she gave a little flex of her bat wings. “And it is that very same magic that will be unleashed on my sister and whatever pitiful army she has. All used by the very same army I set upon her a thousand years ago before my defeat under her sun-wielding hooves.”

“S-same a-army?” Scootaloo asked curiously, her head tilting rather cutely. “W-w-what do you m-mean by s-same a-army?”

Nightmare Moon paused, staring at the timid filly before looking back at where her army just was. “Well, let’s just say that army this army isn’t any typical dark army. One that I’m quite sure that my dear sister will recognize, especially with who I will have leading the fight with her.”

“R-really?” Sweetie asked, her tail skirt fluttering back and forth. “I-is it t-the same army that you use against Celestia b-before you were b-banished?”

“Something like that, but you are getting on the nose there my little marshmallow.” Nightmare Moon replied, smiling in impressiveness at the filly’s sharp mind. “I can tell you more about that later though. I’ve exerted myself quite a bit and I’d take to take some time to relax before the inevitable clash between day and night. Which reminds me, I did say that I was going to give you a tour of the castle. Now that I’ve gotten most of everything set up, I believe I have more than enough time to do that. Do accompany me, would you? I believe you will very much enjoy what I’ve brought to fruition on this fine night.”

The foals silently obliged, knowing that despite how it sounded, Nightmare Moon was not suggesting it, but ordering. As they made their way to the throne room’s doors, they looked up at the ceiling, all of them unknowingly sharing one single thought.

‘Please save us...big sister.’

*Siiiiiigh* Okay, let me just say right now, that this is probably the hardest chapter that I have ever had to right here, mainly trying to get back to the foals' point of view. I was trying t to make it as dark and dramatic as possible, but I honestly don't think that I managed to get it to the scale that I was trying to reach. At the very least, I had manage to succeed in one again making it a bit of a mixture of the very last chapter, just like with the last chapter in this new version. As for what I said about not making this chapter too long, I think I may or may not have succeeded in this route, but I think it sort of managed to get out okay. Well, as okay as it can get then you have a major amount of writer's block!!! Jeez, I can only imagine how much it's going to fuck with me in my brand new One Dragon Ball series. Let me know what you guys thought and if I managed to do that, cause I don't think I sure did....

Well, that's all for now everypony; tune in next time for when we look into Celestia, GIne, and Bardock's trip towards the Everfree Forest! After that, we'll be visit one of the other populations of the Everfree! As well as its infamous guardian and great and powerful right hoof pony!