Disclaimer: The following listed series do not belong to me: MLP: FiM, One Piece, Naruto, Rosario + Vampire, Doctor Who, Hellsing and Bram Stoker's Dracula. They are owned by various companies and people. Please support their official releases.
Author's note: Now is the hour of the nightmare! Beware, the following material may be too frightening for younger readers (yeah, right XD).
Read, Review, & Enjoy!
"Listen close, my little dears, I'll tell you where you got your fears of Nightmare Night, so dark and scary. Of Nightmare Moon, who makes you wary. Every year, we put on a disguise, to save ourselves from her searching eyes. But Nightmare Moon wants just one thing: to gobble up ponies in one quick swing! Hungrily, she soars the sky. If she sees nopony, she passes by. So if she comes and all is clear, Equestria is safe another year! For Nightmare Moon you must not offend. Fill up her belly with a treat or two, so she won't return to come eat you!"
Long has Equestria celebrated the night known as Nightmare Night. It was a particular night much like our own Halloween when everyone would dress up, receive and it candy, and scare each other until laughing. The origin of Equestria's "Halloween" dates back a thousand years ago. When Princess Luna, having been turned to Nightmare Moon, was banished by her sister Celestia to the moon. It was said that she had created the night to pacify the kingdom at the time, and secretly to ease them populace for when Princess Luna would one day return and be cured. From then on, Nightmare Night became an annual tradition making fact become legend and then legend into myth.
Yet, I find something odd.
The story of Nightmare Moon states that she must be appeased with candy or else she would swoop down and gobble everypony up. Though, we know the story of Nightmare Moon. She had been immediately banished just after trying to cast her eternal night. When did she begin craving for pony flesh? Why would she?
…
What if I told you that "Nightmare Night" is far more ancient than recorded? And far darker than you realize. That the day that this holiday occupies has far more meaning than what we know. More than what most ponies remember, yet they can still feel it in their blood. The terror that had once tortured the lives of their ancestors. A monster far more powerful than Tirek, crueler than Sombra, more terrifying than Chrysalis, and even more dangerous than Discord; a true nightmare. A nightmare that has yet to end, and never will.
This is the story…
It was a dark night, far darker than it should be. There were no stars out tonight. The moon shined a bright red like blood and despite the moon shining, the world below was still dark. It was also silent. As silent as the grave. Nothing made a sound, not even the wildlife that roamed the land. Nothing moved either. It was as if the world had frozen in the light of the blood red moon. Though soon, the wind began blowing disturbing this frozen world just slightly. It swayed the grass, blew the loose leaves off trees, and made a small yet soothing noise across the land of Equestria. Despite this considerably peaceful scene, there hid a danger that made this land silent. For the land wasn't silent because it was at peace, but silent with fear. Fear of the danger approaching, and the battle ensuing.
In a graveyard, a lone, old Earth pony walked pass the graves of the long since passed with a shovel over his shoulder and a lantern hanging off the shovel's handle. He was the grave keeper, ironically named Grave Keeper, and it was his job to dig the grave, bury the dead, and make sure no one disrespected the peace. It wasn't the most exciting of jobs, but for this pony he enjoyed the solitude and relative peace. Though this night, the peace would be disturbed.
As Grave Keeper slowly walked across the cemetery, he heard a thump from behind. Quickly, the old pony turned around shining his lantern into the darkness. "Who goes there?" He shouted loudly gruffly.
There came no answer or response.
"Come on now," Grave Keeper shouted again not taking the silence for granted, "show yourself!"
To the grave keeper's surprise, a fog began rolling in. It felt unnatural to him and it set him on edge. Grave Keeper turned around shining his lantern to shine through the fog trying to spot who or whatever had entered. Unfortunately, the fog was too thick for the light to shine any more than a foot in front of him. He then began shouting again.
"If it is one of you little shits from the village here to play a joke, I will tan your hides! I…"
Without warning, Grave Keeper was attacked. The poor pony could do nothing as razor sharp teeth dug into his body. The creature than began sucking the blood out of his body. Within a few seconds, the Earth pony was dead sucked dry of his blood. His limp and shriveled body was then dropped to the ground.
Standing over the body was the creature that had killed him. Surprisingly, the creature looked like a pony of all creatures. As the fog began clearing, the red moon shined revealed the monster's true form. Indeed, this monster was a pony, an Earth pony. His coat was of a deep maroon color with a mane as black as darkness itself. He looked down at the dead body with crimson eyes and grinned evilly revealing his sharp teeth. The creature licked his lips as to wipe the remaining blood off his lips. He looked to have relished the flavor.
For he was a vampire, and a powerful one as well.
The monster began walking, completely ignoring the dead body, as a crimson aura began to surround his body and clothes. He was looking ahead towards the dimly lighted village. It was a huge village with many ponies living in it; practically a feast to him.
Before taking one step further, a beam of silvery magic shot towards. The creature frowned and summoned forth a black and crimson cloak from his very shadow. The magic collided with the shadow and ripped through it like paper. The vampire hissed in pain and stepped back.
A magic light came on and several ponies stepped forward. The first had his horn glowing a blue aura feeding the magic light. He was a unicorn with a light gray-blue sapphire coat and a brown mane and neck-length beard. On his flanks, his cutie mark was a swirl with four five-pointed stars. This is Starswirl (the almost bearded).
"You will go no further, Vampire." Starswirl stated serious.
The vampire turned around attempting to escape, but was blocked by another pony. It was an Earth pony with a white coat with a brown mane. He wore a red cloak over a brown satchel bag. On his left front leg, there was a long scar that looked ghastly and uncomfortable. On his flank was a scholarly scroll wrapped with a red ribbon. The Earth pony glared at the monster full of hate and anger. This was Hellsing, brother of Starswirl.
"You're reign of terror ends now!" shouted Hellsing.
The monster tried to run off in another direction. Before going too far, two more ponies appeared; another Earth pony and a unicorn. Both of them wore or held a cross before the creature. The creature hissed and turned around, but was stopped immediately. Floating right in front of him was a Pegasus pony wearing a necklace of garlic. The vampire stepped back, but found that he was completely surrounded. It looked like he was trapped but then, he began to laugh.
"Do you believe you mortals can defeat me?" The creature asked with a twisted grin. "Not even the Alicorn Siblings, the Sages, or even those pathetic excuses for monsters could defeat me."
Hellsing frowned and stepped forward. "They are strong, yes. But even they fall in the same trap that you are in."
Now, it was the Monster's turn to frown. He was confused by the pony's statement. "And is that, Mortal?"
"That which defeats a monster is always a mortal," stated Hellsing assuredly.
"Attack!" shouted Starswirl as he leaped forward.
All the ponies joined in the charge. The Monster hardly seemed worried. With his shadow, he grabbed his sword on his side. He quickly drew and slashed outwards in a long swipe. The unicorns quickly place up their shields, actually looking like shields, and were protected. The rest avoided the slash except the Pegasus. The brave fool was too slow and received a deep-cut. The Pegasus then fell to the ground.
This Pegasus was Rough Fellow; he was from the Old Country, where the Earth ponies, Pegasi, and unicorns of Equestria once lived a while back. He had a light blue coat and a yellow, wild-styled mane. His cutie mark was of a knife. Coincidently, he had a knife on him as well though it did little to protect him.
"Rough Fellow!" Quickly, the other Earth pony took off from the battle to look over the downed Pegasus.
This Earth pony whose coat was a light gray-purple called the Doctor. He had a white mane styles back and down his neck. His tail was just as slicked. His tired eyes held a brown color to his irises. This pony wore a black frock coat and a fawn waistcoat over a wing-collared shirt as well as black, string necktie. On his flank was an hourglass with its sands mostly in the upper part of the glass but streaming into the lower half.
Though now two ponies short, the group did not let up on their attack of the vampire pony. They could not afford to give the monster a second's breathe. Hellsing and Starswirl were the ones attacked the creature while the other unicorn aided in defending them and himself. Starswirl's magic did well against the shadowy power that the vampire used while Hellsing's strength dealt with the creature up close. And though the monster was having a hard time dealing with the three ponies, he was hardly winded whereas his opponents would soon be exhausted. For him, it was only a matter of time before his victory.
Then suddenly, Hellsing tossed up a jar high above the vampire. "Now!" He shouted quickly.
Both unicorns shot forth a beam of magic at the jar. Both it and broke it releasing water down onto the monster. As the water landed on the creature, he began screaming in pain as the water burned him. It was holy water, a major vampire weakness. As the creature became distracted with the immense pain, Hellsing went in. Quickly, he pulled up wooden stakes and proceeded to drive them into the body of the vampire sticking them in his legs and body to completely immobilize him. The vampire then fell to the ground.
"You did it!" cheered the unicorn for Hellsing.
This was the current lord over a newly resurrected castle and town on a mountain. His name is Canterlot. He had a white coat with a long blue mane. He wore a pair of glasses and his suit was ruffled and torn from the chase. The unicorn also wore a belt with several wooden stakes on it. His cutie mark was a gold crown with a blue jewel on each side.
"It's not over yet, Lord Canterlot," stated Starswirl keeping his horn glowing.
Hellsing stepped forward holding one last wooden stake. He approached the down vampire glaring angrily at him. "Vampire King, Dracula."
The vampire frowned. He only released a groan as he was unable to speak clearly.
"You now lay upon the ground of our fledgling country which you sought to turn into a mirror imagine of your old home. Our country rich in peace and harmony with unity of the three tribes never before seen. And you, a blight on the good-souled ponies and creatures of this land. For what do you have to show for it? You're castles plundered. Dominions ruined. Servants destroyed. All to end your hellfire with which you sought to cover the world. A bloody conquest having consumed hundreds and thousands. Countless villages razed to the ground. And over twenty thousand impaled and prostrated by you and you alone to strike horror into the hearts of mortals. What say you, monster, demon, devil conceived in the bleakest womb? What say you now?!"
No one spoke after Hellsing's impressive speech. The mortal ponies listening on felt the same as their friend did; anger and rage towards the vampire. They waited now for the vampire to reply if he could. What could this monster possibly say in response?
The vampire chuckled. He chuckled until it evolved into full-blown laughter. The vampire was now laughing; twisted and evilly.
The ponies were shocked. Did this monster not even care for his own life?
Hellsing growled displeased with the monster's mockery. Without a moment's hesitation, he stabbed the vampire directly into his heart.
The vampire coughed out blood as the stake went into his body. His laughing stopped as the life in his crimson eyes faded away and his eyelids began to fall. His breathing slowed until it finally stopped. The body stopped moving as all the energy was lost to it. Finally, the vampire was dead.
"Finally…" said Lord Canterlot as he sat down breathing out in relief, "it is done. Thank the Spirits."
"Doctor," said Starswirl as he walked over to where the Earth pony tended to their Pegasus ally, "how is Rough Fellow?"
The Doctor looked over at Starswirl. He wore a sad frown. "I'm sorry, but the wound is too deep. He's dying…"
The Pegasus coughed before releasing a chuckle. "At least we killed that monster…" He said smiling weakly.
"Save your strength," advised the Doctor.
Lord Canterlot walked over to the Pegasus and the others. He was frowning sadly as he looked down at the dying pony. "My friend…"
"Don't be sad, Canter. I'm going up to see Westenra. I'll send her your regards."
Lord Canterlot smiled and quickly wiped away any potential tears. "You know for a coward, you really are brave Pegasus."
"Just make sure you exaggerate my part when you retell this tale." Rough Fellow stated jokingly before chuckling softly.
Despite knowing this, Lord Canterlot smiled and nodded. It was the least he could do for his friend.
Rough Fellow then began fading. "The brave Pegasus from the old country, Rough Fellow the Brave...yeah, that sounds good…" The Pegasus then took his last breath and died.
Everyone stayed silent. Starswirl removed his star-patterned hat and bowed his head in respect. Nearly everyone did similarly mourning the passing of their friend.
Suddenly, the wind picked up. The group stood strong against the gale and looked to where the wind was coming from. Another group of ponies landed in front of the group consisting of two Alicorns and five ponies seemingly Earth ponies. None of ponies from the first group looked surprised seeing this group appear.
The Alicorns were the two siblings, Gold Roger and Equestria. Roger was a male Alicorn with a strong build with a dark red coat and a black, short, wild-styled mane. He didn't have his signature mustache at this point, but he interestingly wore a familiar straw hat. He was also smaller than his current height that stood taller than even Celestia. His cutie mark was a jeweled crown. His sister, Equestria, was a shorter and slender Alicorn with a light goldish gray coat and a long, moderate amaranth mane that had a ruffled style to it. Her cutie mark was an ink bottle and a feather quill.
The other three ponies, if you could call them that, stood next to the two Alicorns. One pony, a female, had a long pink mane and a white coat though of her body was covered in armor. As she stood astonished, she revealed her elongated canines. Her name was Bloodriver, and she too was a vampire as well.
To her right, another Earth pony, male, stood by her side taller than either her or their third companion. He was cloaked in priest robes and adorned with rosaries and other holy objects. He was hooded, but in the shadow of his hood one could see two glowing lights that acted as his eyes. His coat color black and there was no mane to be seen being covered by the priest robe and cloak. This was Mikogami.
And to Bloodriver's left there was Touhou Fuhai. He had a yellow coat and a long black mane. He wore a white, bell-sleeved robe that covered him all the way to his rear with a decorated black robe covering over his front area. With the small opening at the chest, one could see a sun tattoo.
Finally, there was last two ponies a part of the group, Hagoromo and Hamura. They both were fraternal twin brothers; they both had a pair of short, curved horns and pale, white-gray coats. Though, they did have their differences. Hagoromo had a pale-red mane as well as a goatee, and his eyes were unique as they were purple and had several rings. He also had a third eye that was red and had the same look as his other eyes. Hamura on the other had a white mane with his eyes completely pupil-less. Both of them had on a necklace of six black magatama and both carried with black staffs called shakujo.
This group of powerful figures looked around. They spotted the vampire downed and staked in several places. They were all shocked at the sight.
"Holy shit!" shouted Roger stunned.
Amazed, Equestria stepped forward. "You did it…" She said speaking to the group as a whole.
"Yes, Lady Equestria," Starswirl said as he bowed to the female Alicorn respectfully. "I know we went against your commands, but my brother was determined."
Starswirl's brother, Hellsing, kept his eyes one the body. He did reply having heard his brother speak. "Lady Equestria, I am not one to let others do my job."
"Yes," Equestria said smiling awkwardly, "I recall…"
"Impressive," commented Hamura. "So, even with all our power, he was felled by simpler means."
"It is often that there are simply solutions to complicated matters, my brother." Hagoromo stated before he stepped away from the group. He began walking over towards the Doctor and Canterlot. As he reached him, he spotted the dead Pegasus lying between them. Hagoromo frowned. "I'm sorry," he stated sadly.
"Do not feel sad, Sage Hagoromo. He died knowing we were victorious." Canterlot stated proudly.
Bloodriver frowned. "But it's not over yet," she stated grimly, "Dracula is far from dead."
Canterlot gasped. "My lady, what do you mean?"
"The demon may be down, but he is far from done." Hellsing stated as he still stared at the body of his fallen foe. As he watched, he could see the blood spilt from the stakes slowly began retreating back towards the vampire's body.
"Then, what shall we do with him?" asked Canterlot panicking slightly. "Destroy him."
Hellsing shook his head. "No, my brother and I have a different idea."
"What?!" shouted Canterlot. "You cannot possibly think of keeping this monster alive?!"
"Alive," stated Starswirl approaching the group, "but not free."
"What are you suggesting, Master Starswirl?" asked Bloodriver concerned.
"I have had visions of the future, and I have seen that there will be many more dangers our fledgling kingdom will face. Many from ponies, but also many from a darkness it cannot see. My friends, while our Alicorn friends may live longer, this kingdom needs more than them to protect it. What I suggest, is we seal the creature into servitude for our kingdom."
Mikogami smiled which made him look creepy. "I see, this is why you invited us as well."
"If you Monsters will aid us," Hellsing said as he finally looked away from the body, "this will only cement our future together. That maybe, ponies and Monsters can live together in peace."
"Give the ponies a weapon that no Monster can ever defeat…" Touhou Fuhai said amusedly.
Hagoromo and Hamura gave each other a look in concerned. Hagoromo then spoke, "So, what you are suggesting is a balance of power."
"What I'm suggesting is that the Monsters keep in line." Hellsing stated serious. He then glared at the three monsters making his point fiercer.
Equestria looked appalled. "Mr. Hellsing," she said mad, "though they are Monsters, they are our friends and allies!"
"My Lady," Starswirl replied as he walked up to the Alicorn, "your concern for your friends is noble but as the future ruler of this kingdom, you will have to place the concern of your people over yourself and those close to you. You will do well to remember that."
Equestria remained silent. She couldn't respond back knowing the unicorn was right. She didn't like that she had to place her friends in this difficult situation.
Seeing her friend looking conflicted, Bloodriver smiled and stepped forward. "I shall condone this."
Equestria turned to her friend surprised. "Akasha…"
"It's okay." Bloodriver said quickly before the Alicorn could say something. "Let this be a sign of our cooperation."
Mikogami chuckled amused. "Very well."
"Let's get started." Touhou Fuhai said stepping forward with his friend.
Hamura stepped forward as well. "If we are dealing with seals, I and my brother are well versed in the art."
"Yes," said Hellsing before looking at his brother, "we will need as much help as possible."
TO BE CONTINUED…
