Demons & Nightmares, M3.5


                                            >Be Sepia, unicorn

                                            >It has been a long time, but you are finally home

                                            >The Phantom you are riding in is filled with ponies and Spartans dressed in casual clothes

                                            >Notches, his horn in a thin cast, is standing beside you

                                            >White Cap is on your other side, her wings fidgeting against her back

                                            >You can understand her nervousness since this will be her first face-to-face meeting with Princess Celestia


                                            >You feel the floor underneath you jerk as the Phantom touches down on the airship landing pad

                                            >The side ramp lowers and lets in the midday light

                                            >You all squint your eyes to see

                                            >There are over a dozen landing pads of various sizes around Canterlot and you weren't told which one you were landing on, so you look for landmarks

                                            >Beyond the small crowd, which is headed by the Princess, the buildings are all businesses

                                            >You look for the castle to see if you are in the southwest or south end of the business district, but you don't see it


                                            >Oh, right, Canterlot Castle is gone


                                            >The cheering and stomping crowd brings you back

                                            >Sean and Aden, both dressed in black casuals, look down at the three of you and step aside

                                            >You all take the hint and walk out of the Phantom down to the smooth stone of the landing pad

                                            >Sean picks up a backpack and follows you with Aden behind


                                            >Princess Celestia, just as beautiful as you last saw her, steps forward

                                            >The crowd silences itself

                                            >All three of you stop in front of her and bow

                                            >"Rise, my little ponies."

                                            >You all stand back up to see her give you the warmest smile you've ever seen


                                            >"Welcome back."


                                            >The crowd behind her erupts with cheers

                                            >Celestia walks over to White Cap and leans down to tell her something you can't hear over the renewed stamping of hooves

                                            >Bashful, White Cap responds, to which Celestia says something that makes the pegasus step back and nod with a smile

                                            >She bows, then turns and flies right back into the Phantom

                                            >The ramp closes up immediately and the dropship lifts off, turning and bolting in the direction of Manehatten


                                            >You turn back to see Celestia smiling down at you

                                            >"Sepia. I'm glad you're safe."

                                            >You return the smile,

                                            "I'm glad to be back, Princess."

                                            >"There are many things we must discuss, but they can wait until after you say hello to your family."


                                            >The Princess steps aside, and you see several Canterlot Guard part the crowd

                                            >You see your parents and younger siblings being led to the front of the crowd

                                            >They don't make it before you slam into them, trying to hug them all


                                            ()()()


                                            >You are Sean B094

                                            >You watch from the side, arms crossed, as Sepia gets enveloped by her family

                                            >The crowd gathers around them, aw'ing and crying

                                            >You look around and find a familiar mare nearby

                                            >With no one greeting you and with Celestia busy talking to Notches, you take the time to walk over to the indigo-coated earth mare who's staring at the middle-aged stallion

                                            "Hello, Grape Vine."

                                            >She jumps, startled, and clutches her chest with a hoof as she glares up at you

                                            >"Can you stop sneaking up on ponies?"

                                            >You smile,

                                            "Not when you make it so easy, with how hard you're staring at Notches."

                                            >She looks back at him, concerned

                                            >"What happened to his horn?"

                                            "He can tell you himself. He's been taking it well so far, but you certainly can help."

                                            >"How?"

                                            "Simple: be there for him. He's fine now, but it'll catch up to him and he'll need you then."

                                            >Celestia gestures with a wing over to you

                                            >Notches spots Miss Vine

                                            >Both of them blush

                                            "Well, see you later, Miss Vine."


                                            >You speed walk back over to Aden

                                            >His right arm is across his stomach as if in a cast as he takes in the fantastical scene around him

                                            "Right, time to meet Her Majesty."

                                            >He only nods, still unsure

                                            >As Notches walks over to his good lady friend, the crowd starts to dissipate, most of them following Sepia and her family

                                            >You bring Aden to Celestia and gesture to him

                                            "Princess, this is Aden Beta one-oh-three. He was part of my fireteam during training and Torpedo."

                                            >Celestia keeps the smiling mask on for him,

                                            >"Another Spartan of fireteam Yankee?"

                                            "Yes, ma'am."

                                            >You mirror your stance

                                            "Aden, this is Princess Celestia, currently the monarch of Equestria. She has ran this nation for over a thousand years and effectively controls the sun."

                                            >His face doesn't change much, but you know he's even more confused than when you briefly explained Equestria to him

                                            >As you turn back to face Celestia, you spot another familiar face among the few ponies loitering around

                                            >You ignore him for now and focus on Celestia

                                            "Any developments while we were gone?"

                                            >"Quite a few. Twilight will want you to at the university soon. For now, Spartan, you have a sister to visit."

                                            "Thank you, ma'am, but we have to tell you something before we deploy again, in private."

                                            >The mask doesn't slip, but you know she'll have a pit in her stomach since you've never made a request like that to her

                                            >And she knows exactly what you mean by 'we'


                                            >The two of you square up and bow to each other, more for the citizens' benefit than for the two of you

                                            >You turn back to Aden, who looks at you curiously

                                            >He heard your conversation, but keeps quiet as you lead him off of the landing pad

                                            "Let's go. You've got quite a few in-laws to meet."

                                            >"In-laws?"

                                            "Jane's husband is the youngest of six."

                                            >You scratch your head as you remember what Jane told you before this last trip

                                            "The family home is the family business and it's gotten crowded so she and Sour's looking for a place of their own. The invasion's obviously halted things, but I think they'll just build their own place somewhere outside Canterlot. Maybe Ponyville."

                                            >Aden looks at you deadpan,

                                            >"Ponyville?"

                                            >You give him a cheeky smile,

                                            "If the names alone get to you, Aden, then you're gonna have a hell of a time here."


                                            >You stop in front of the familiar unicorn and smile down at him

                                            "Ho, Shortbread."

                                            >He doesn't return the smile

                                            >You note the bags under his faint yellow eyes

                                            >"Ho, Sean."

                                            >He looks over at B103,

                                            >"You're Aden?"

                                            >He nods

                                            >Shortbread gains a look of impending doom

                                            >"Please tell me you're not staying over."

                                            "Neither of us are, so don't worry about that. We're just stopping by to say hi."

                                            >He sighs, muttering something thankful, then turns and starts heading towards the bakery with you and Aden in tow


                                            >You get a good look at the rebuilding efforts along the way

                                            >No more rubble

                                            >Most of the scaffolding has already been taken down from brand new building fronts

                                            >The purple and gold paint still looks fresh, though

                                            >Aden whispers to you

                                            >"They rebuilt all of this in two months?"

                                            >You talk just loud enough to let Shortbread hear,

                                            "Having magic helps, and not all of the city saw fighting."

                                            >You all turn the last corner and go down the east-most street towards the bakery

                                            >Curling smoke from the three chimneys indicates that they're busy

                                            >You continue onto the details

                                            "The Prophet wanted to deal a decapitation strike and try to kill the one demon that was here. He didn't want to glass the city and risk missing Jane, so he targeted

                                            just Canterlot Castle with plasma mortars and dropped a strike team around the ruins. Then it was a running gunfight between about twenty brutes and the Canterlot Guard as they looked for Jane."

                                            >"Twenty brutes did this much damage?"

                                            "All twenty of them had fuel rod cannons and they only brought ammo and grenades down with them."

                                            >"Damn."

                                            "Yeah."


                                            >You glance down an east-west street and feel glad to see it once again flowing with ponies

                                            >"Why didn't the Prophet send any follow up attack here?"

                                            >An emotionally charged memory pops up in your head

                                            >Chieftain Juno with his arms crossed as he gloats on top of that Scarab

                                            >Discord's petrified form framed right between its four massive legs

                                            >Your rifle aimed and your depolarized visor showing a manic smile for the Chieftain to see

                                            >You put it aside

                                            "He did, but it was much later. Long enough for everypony to evacuate to Ponyville and the surrounding countryside. The Prophet got busy running from Shipmaster Vaalim and his fleet."


                                            >The afternoon crowd is still flowing in and out of the Dough Bakery's doors

                                            >Shortbread leads you around to the rear of the multistory building

                                            >The community garden, sandwiched between the buildings and the mountainside, has been harvested for the last time this year

                                            >Among the cushioned furniture of the long back porch, underneath the second floor balcony, sit two mares and a woman

                                            >Nearby, in a large soft-fenced play pen, several pony newborns and a single human toddler play together, supervised by a seven-year-old filly


                                            >With this image, you take a moment to realize that you're experiencing something soldiers have fought for since the first wars

                                            >Coming home to a safe family after a long time away

                                            >You never thought that one day you'd get to have this


                                            >When Jane hears the three of you approaching and turns, she sees a genuine smile on your face

                                            >She quickly tells the mares, "They're here," and sets her steaming mug down on a nearby table

                                            >She and Shortbread's wife, Frostbite, get up and meet you at the edge of the porch

                                            >Your oldest sister-in-law, Rye, sits back and watches

                                            >Shortbread and Frost nuzzle each other

                                            >You and Jane hug, with her turning so that her pregnant belly barely presses against yours

                                            >"Welcome back," she whispers

                                            "It's good to be back," you tell her, "If only for a little while."

                                            >You step away to let her get to Aden, who's too busy processing what he's seeing

                                            >After eight years of separation, his first few words to her stumble out

                                            >"I always knew you were a motherly sort, Jane, but-"

                                            >He glances over her shoulder at the toddler playing with the foals

                                            >She surprises him by hugging him, minding his injured right side

                                            >She sheds no tears, but you barely hear her shaky whisper,

                                            >"I thought I would never see you again, Aden."

                                            >He hugs back and lets out a breath

                                            >"Am I dreaming?"

                                            >Jane immediately digs her fingers into his back, eliciting an involuntary gasp

                                            >She pulls away and gives him a Cheshire grin

                                            >"Evidently not."

                                            >She then takes him by the hand and starts pulling him towards the back door

                                            >"Now let's go relieve Honeydew and Rough so they can say hi to Sean."

                                            >She pulls her brother-in-all-but-blood inside the bakery


                                            >You enjoy the moment of relative peace in the backyard

                                            >Shortbread and Frost walk over to the play pen

                                            >They listen to Rye's eldest daughter as she explains who's trying to do what and how everyone is getting along

                                            >The moment passes and you take off your backpack

                                            >You steal Jane's spot to sit next to your sister-in-law, carefully setting the pack aside

                                            "Ho, Rye."

                                            >"Ho, Sean."

                                            "Anything happen while I was away?"

                                            >She smiles,

                                            >"Nope. We're still busy in there, the kids are still growing up, us ladies are still taking it easy."

                                            >You look down at her swollen barrel

                                            "You're really gonna have to kick some people out, you know."

                                            >"Jane and Sour are meeting up in Ponyville tomorrow to go look for a place."

                                            >You furrow your brow,

                                            "I knew they were looking, but Jane didn't tell me that."

                                            >"They just arranged it today. Apparently, Sour's is being assigned to the corvette now. Since the ship's landing spot is next to the town, the two of them figured it was good enough of an excuse to get back together."

                                            "Really? Must've been a last minute thing 'cause we weren't informed of any transfers before getting coming over here."

                                            >Rye shrugs,

                                            >"Everything's been improvised since the invasion. I wouldn't be surprised if the idea popped into the right pony's head seconds before they made the decision."

                                            >You nod,

                                            "That's how it can go. It'll be nice to have Sour aboard. Now I just gotta keep him from putting up too many death flags."


                                            >The backdoor opens and an orange-yellow earth mare wearing a hairnet and white apron trots out

                                            >While looking straight ahead, chin up, the matriarch of the Dough family takes off her work clothes and puts them on the hook just beside the door

                                            >She walks forward to let her husband do the same, albeit more relaxed

                                            >The moment the door shuts behind them, blocking any view from the front, Honeydew turns to you, leaps, and throws her forelegs around you

                                            >You hug her back as she lets out her familiar, mantra-esque set of statements that most relieved mothers give to their children when they come back from going missing

                                            >You stroke her back gently, smelling fresh honey in her hair beneath a layer of baked bread

                                            >Again, you marvel at how every pony's hair has its own distinct sent

                                            >Your father-in-law, Rough Dough, approaches

                                            >You smile and nod to each other, waiting patiently for Honeydew to make up for the month that you were gone


                                            >At last Honeydew pulls away from you and lowers herself back onto the stone porch

                                            >"I know that you can't stay, dear."

                                            >You nod, detecting the 'but' that's incoming and cut it off,

                                            "And I don't know how long it will be until I can. Once the nobles finally get out of their fugue, we can get something official going and maybe enough people will volunteer. It'll be a while, though."


                                            >You grab your backpack and set it in your lap

                                            >You test the taut zipper and, with great care, ease the backpack open

                                            "But before I go, I got some gifts for you guys."

                                            >With one hand you hold the front so it doesn't spill over

                                            >Once fully open, you reach in and pick out a random album

                                            >Everypony studies it, fascinated

                                            >Out of the corner of your eye, you see that you had pulled out Fleetwood Mac

                                            "I'm pretty sure I got the correct record size."

                                            >You hand it over to Rough, who's the music connoisseur of the family

                                            "But we'll find time to look for other places that sell records in case you can't play them."

                                            >You fish out two more and hand them to Honeydew and Rye

                                            >Rush

                                            >Steely Dan

                                            >You pull out a stack of others, most of them local jazz instrumentals

                                            >There is one of Chopin's Nocturnes that you picked up on a whim

                                            "I tried to get a variety here."

                                            >Rough cautiously dismantles the stack next to you, looking at the art

                                            >"These covers alone are wonderful, Sean. Have you listened to them yet?"

                                            >Fond memories of sneaking around concerts and clubs flood your head, delaying your answer by a long moment

                                            "Most of them I've heard already. The records themselves should be good quality."


                                            >A raised voice within the bakery makes you all set the albums down

                                            >You follow Rough and Honeydew inside

                                            >The bakery has seen renovations since you last saw it

                                            >New dark wood all around instead of aging wood and stone

                                            >New stools and tables

                                            >New front counter with pastries sorted differently from when you worked

                                            >You see Aden and Jane standing in the kitchen archway closest to the front door, with more of your in-law brothers and sisters poking their heads out


                                            >The second-youngest of the Doughs, Honeymead, is manning the front counter

                                            >Even from this angle and distance, you can tell the nineteen-year-old is doing all that she can to keep a calm exterior

                                            >The unicorn mare on the other side, however

                                            >"She's the reason those brutes rampaged through this city in the first place!"

                                            >She's pointing at Jane, but then snaps to Aden,

                                            >"And now you've found more of them?! Are you all crazy?!"

                                            >It takes that amount of time for Honeydew to cross the room

                                            >The customers crowding the space sense her barely contained wrath and part for her

                                            >You cannot see her face, but you remember the few times where you made your mother-in-law mad

                                            >It's a worse sight than the bug-eyed, frothing-at-the-mouth explosions of profanity that your drill instructors used on all of you in the first months of Camp Currahee

                                            >You're glad it's not you she's mad at


                                            >The loud mare pauses when Honeydew appears in front of her

                                            >"Leave."

                                            >The unicorn regains her footing, glancing up at you with a sneer

                                            >"Or what? You're gonna have your alien freak of a son throw me off the city edge?"

                                            >"I will declare you as trespassing and you will be detained by the Guard."

                                            >"They have nowhere to detain me! The castle's all rubble, remember?"

                                            >"Sean."

                                            >She's not angry at you, calm down

                                            "Yes?"

                                            >"Get the Guard on the corner."

                                            "Yes ma'am."

                                            >You ignore the insults from the unicorn as you pass her

                                            >She has enough sense to not touch you


                                            >Outside, those immediately around the doors have stopped to watch

                                            >You look over the crowd and spot the blue plumage of two Canterlot Guard on the corner, where the street turns west

                                            >You lock eyes with them from across the street and recognize one of them

                                            >The crowd parts for you

                                            >The guards come forward and meet you halfway in the street

                                            >You nod to the familiar one

                                            "Hey Bof."

                                            >"Hey Sean."

                                            "How're things going?"

                                            >He shrugs, which moves his rifle rig up and down

                                            >"Artificers almost blew themselves up with the fuel rod cannons a few days ago. Threw everypony in the city into a panic for a solid hour."

                                            "Really? Well, that might explain the lady inside."

                                            >"So we're hearing. Need an arrest?"

                                            >You wave a hand away,

                                            "No, just escort her out. Gossip and shaming should keep her away."

                                            >"Alright-"


                                            >A muffled "pop" blasts out from inside the bakery

                                            >Everypony in the street freezes

                                            >It wasn't an explosion, but if anyone thinks it is then a stampede would be inevitable

                                            >You and the two guard run across the street to the bakery's doors

                                            >You throw open the doors and spot the troublesome mare, Honeydew, and everyone else staring at a purple unicorn who has just teleported in here

                                            >She landed on a table wrong and spilled onto the wooden floor, knocking several other ponies over

                                            >They are just now helping her up, though she is obviously struggling to stay on her feet

                                            >To ensure that the crowd outside doesn’t panic, you employ some theatrics

                                            >You prop yourself in the doorway with both arms and exhale loudly

                                            "It's just Twilight Sparkle."

                                            >The crowd, to a pony, relaxes

                                            >They all move on or start wondering why Equestria's head-mage came here instead of thinking the Covenant's back


                                            >You walk through the crowd, forgetting about the mare

                                            >Honeydew gets to Twilight first and welcomes her back, though also asks why she teleported here

                                            >You get close enough to hear her answer,

                                            >"The corvette landed and I met Captain Mizzen, but when she said Sean was in Canterlot I may have just, uh, acted."

                                            >You approach her, a scolding ready to go, but you see all of the patrons crowding around you and decide on another direction

                                            "Well, I appreciate you coming all this way to find me. What do you need?"

                                            >She too notices everyone around her and takes a moment to form up something,

                                            >"Can we talk somewhere else? It's about-well it involves-"

                                            >You save her,

                                            "It involves state security."

                                            >"Yes."

                                            >You take a deep breath,

                                            "Follow me."


                                            >The two of you walk out the back porch

                                            >Twilight briefly says hello to everyone out there, including the children

                                            >You note her looking a second longer at the newborns before following you into the garden

                                            >Past the tree, past the stream, past the garden, and close to the edge, you stop

                                            >There is a moment's pause before an opaque purple bubble forms around you both

                                            >You turn to look down at her,

                                            "I was going to go to your university today, Twilight. You didn't have to teleport dozens of kilometers again."

                                            >She matches your gaze up at you,

                                            >"Well, Speaker isn't going to wait long before he starts more trouble."

                                            >You remember the changeling and wince at that meeting in the hive

                                            "Right, so he came to us now?"

                                            >"Yesterday, as I was meeting with Princess Cadence."

                                            >A changeling and Cadence

                                            >Oh shit

                                            "Is everything alright?"

                                            >Twilight doesn't look concerned as she answers,

                                            >"None of the building was set on fire."

                                            "Oh, well that's good."

                                            >She smiles, embarrassed

                                            >"I had to get some new furniture for the lounge, though."

                                            >You hesitate, then shrug,

                                            "Okay, still not as bad as I thought it would be. So did they talk?"

                                            >Twilight heaves a heavy sigh

                                            >She always had bags under her eyes these days, but they look worse right now

                                            >"I had to be the arbiter, but after three hours we all came to an agreement."

                                            >That must have been an intense three hours

                                            "An agreement on what?"

                                            >"The battlecruiser, Sean."


                                            >You stare at her for a moment

                                            >Dear God, the hive didn't fix it, did they?

                                            >Did they get their swiz-cheese hooves on a Huragok that somehow survived the crash and hid it during your visit there?

                                            >The questions pile up at the door

                                            "What,

                                            >You swallow to give yourself a moment,

                                            "What did they do with it?"

                                            >Twilight takes a breath,

                                            >"They excavated it out of their hive. They cannot fix it on their own, but they know that we've gone out and rescued lost ponies."

                                            >A changeling embedded in or adjacent to the corvette's crew, most likely

                                            >You wait for her to give you the proposal,

                                            >"If we fix the ship and help rescue Queen Chrysalis, then they'll give us the battlecruiser."

                                            >You see an immediate problem

                                            >Which means Twilight knows it too, but you voice it anyway

                                            "It would ultimately be up to the Queen whether or not we get the ship."

                                            >"I know, but we can't just pass up a chance like this."

                                            >You lean back on one foot, rubbing your chin with an index finger and thumb

                                            "You're right, we can't, but an offer like that is too generous. If I were in Speaker's position I would—at most—offer a joint operation of the thing. And if they indeed have a mole embedded with us, then they would know we don't have the expertise or even manpower to crew a see-see-ess class."

                                            >Twilight takes up her lecturing tone,

                                            >"This hive is too attached to their Queen. The fact that they still hold a connection between universes even after her, well, 'death' is evidence of her power over her hive. They are desperate to reunite with her."

                                            "Reunite."

                                            >That word stays with you

                                            "Not return."

                                            >Twilight thinks for just a moment,

                                            >"Do you think Queen Chrysalis will abscond with the battlecruiser after she gets rescued?"

                                            >You shrug

                                            "That kind of betrayal suits her. If the whole hive can stuff itself inside, then there: you have a mobile hive that can travel between firmaments-"

                                            >"Universes."

                                            "Whatever."

                                            >You cross your arms in thought

                                            "I can't imagine them giving an asset like that away, even for the Queen."

                                            >"Well, you're not a changeling."

                                            "Yeah? Well, at any rate, Nightmare and I can talk to him if he wants to."


                                            >Twilight smiles,

                                            >"Along with Princess Cadence. She wants to speak with the two of you."

                                            "She's still here?"

                                            >Twilight nods, then frowns,

                                            >"Speaking of 'you two,' where is Nightmare Moon?"

                                            >You wave a hand dismissively,

                                            "She's banishing a Brute we found and brought back. She should be finished soon."

                                            >Twilight doesn't say anything

                                            >You decide to take her mind off that dark thought by telling her,

                                            "While we're waiting on her, I can give you the books I got from the Japan we went to-"


                                            >The bubble pops with a clap of rushing air

                                            >A magical vice clamps around your neck and shoulders

                                            >Twilight pulls you down to her level, where she brings your nose to hers

                                            >Her already massive eyes are now wide open and boring into yours

                                            >"Where?"

                                            >You strain to answer with a calm voice,

                                            "Porch bench."

                                            >White flash and a punch of vertigo

                                            >The vice disappears and you shoot out an arm to keep from falling face-first onto the stone

                                            >You hear Rye's scolding tone next to you,

                                            >"Twilight!"

                                            >She's too busy shoving her head into your overturned backpack like a dog

                                            >Despite the disorientation of teleportation, you smile at the sight

                                            >You almost forget what Nightmare’s up to


                                            ()()()


                                            >You are Nightmare Moon

                                            >You are once again surrounded by the dense energies of Equestria

                                            >Orderly, yet on such a grand scale and complexity that it looks chaotic to any novice mage

                                            >It is as much a home to you as is a farmer's house built by his ancestors

                                            >By tapping into just a little vein of this invisible energy, this magic, you can carry your baggage in a black cloud effortlessly across the sky

                                            >Your destination is north, well past the Crystal Empire and the curtain mountain ranges

                                            >Close to the northern pole of the planet, it is a white wasteland plagued by supernatural storms

                                            >Here, where nopony would dare tread, is the most accessible entrance


                                            >You find it easily, with several dark ley lines shooting out from deep inside the planet to a single point on the surface

                                            >At the abrupt end of a deep icy crevice, shielded from the storms and snow

                                            >Between the cloud cover and the depth of the crevice, it is near complete darkness here

                                            >You condense back into your true form, dropping the Brute onto the unnaturally smooth ice in at a specific spot in front of the gate

                                            >Now in his original alien form, he barks in pain upon landing on his back

                                            >The injuries he sustained from Sean's handling haven't healed, so he does not attempt to get up

                                            >When you light up your horn and cast everything in a cyan glow, he glares at you upside-down


                                            >"So this is banishment, bitch? Leaving me to freeze?"

                                            >Your look of contempt doesn't change as you answer,

                                            "Your sentence is much worse than execution by exposure."

                                            >You look past him, and he picks his head up to look down the length of his broken body at the gate


                                            >It stands three stories tall as a double-hinged door

                                            >Dark red wood reinforced by black and bronze bands

                                            >A polished bronze cap studs the center of the gate

                                            >No sighs on it or anywhere near, for no written language existed when this entrance was sealed


                                            "I understand that the former Chieftain of the Brutes was named Tartarus. Do you know that he shares that name with a place in our world?"

                                            >You reach out to the gate with your magic and, for show, materialize a great cyan fist

                                            >You knock three times

                                            >The booms echoes down and back up the crevice

                                            "To the pony you tortured and murdered, Tartarus is a place of eternal imprisonment and punishment. It was no Dante's Hell, certainly, but for the villains of this world it was enough."

                                            >The doors crack open and are noiselessly pushed outward

                                            >A wave of air just as cold as out here blasts past you

                                            >Inside is a shifting mist of toxic black and purple smoke

                                            >A small tendril of the stuff slinks out of the center and snakes towards the Brute

                                            "With assistance, I made improvements that I am sure you will appreciate."

                                            >You fight to contain a smile as he rolls over and tries to crawl towards you

                                            >He wails in pain as he works his dislocated limbs, the crudely clipped claws on his broken fingers hardly digging into the ice as he drags himself

                                            >You remain in place, still wearing a mask of contempt

                                            >Over a dozen other Brutes had tried to take you with them into Tartarus

                                            >This one fails too as the tendril wraps around his ankle

                                            >His outreached hand almost brushes your hoof, but it is then yanked away

                                            >His screams rise in pitch as he is dragged all the way back to the gate

                                            >He tries everything he can think of: attacking the smoke, getting onto his free foot and both hands to tug, digging his teeth into the ice

                                            >He only brings himself more agony before he is pulled into the wall of smoke and disappears

                                            >Without ceremony the massive doors swing close and cut off his screams with an earth-shaking clang


                                            >You douse your horn and stand there in the cold darkness for a long time

                                            >You listen to the wailing wind far above you

                                            >Windegos might find you down here eventually, but you don't worry


                                            >Instead you stay and experience the first time in your "life" that you are truly alone

                                            >No pony, human, or other soul for klicks around

                                            >You are not sure how to think about it

                                            >Was there another time you, Nightmare Moon, were alone like this?

                                            >You and Luna were somewhat one mare during your millennia exile on your moon, but you don’t believe it counts

                                            >You weren't exactly conscious after Twilight Sparkle and her then-newfound friends used the Elements of Harmony

                                            >You were technically alone for an instant when Luna remade you and shunted you through the space between firmaments to where Sean was being dissected by that death god mad scientist

                                            >It has been a year since then as he shared his body and mind with you

                                            >It's been two months since you tried and failed to merge back with Luna

                                            >Since then you have stayed by Sean or his companions

                                            >And now?

                                            >Now it is just you and your own thoughts for as long as you can stand

                                            >A rather novel thing for you


                                            >You could spend much more time here, but you have further obligations

                                            >And you miss your little Spartan

                                            >Especially now that you know exactly why his mind was impossible to dominate, even in his own nightmares

                                            >That damned computer

                                            >You look back up at the inert gate to Tartarus

                                            >At least that place has a necessary purpose

                                            >Nocturne City, from what Sean was able to drag out from buried memories, had no purpose or direction

                                            >It fell into madness, accelerated by technology that was corrupted by design


                                            >You suddenly feel an acute need to be close to him

                                            >If only to be sure that he hasn’t been stolen away again

                                            >Luna made you once more just for that purpose

                                            >You intend to fulfill that purpose and much more

                                            >With a beat of your wings, you dissolve into a dark cloud and race back south to Equestria