Bound by the Night, Part 4

"Nightmare, I'm home!"
>With a mighty wizard kick, you open the front door to your tower and enter, a felled cockatrice slung over one shoulder.
>Having the front entrance directly connect to the main foyer wasn't as interesting and entertaining as the infinite labyrinth, but it was certainly more convenient.
>A groggy Nightmare Moon lumbers out of the bedroom to greet you with her standard enthusiasm.
>"Uhrg... what time is it?"
>You pull out your ruby necklace, peering deep into it's many facets.
"About half past five. That's close enough to the night, right?"
>"Maybe during the winter solstice." She soon spots the lizard-bird hanging limply about your person. "What's that?"
You hold the once-living creature aloft. "Dinner."
>Her half lidded expression does not waver.
>"Do you expect that little thing to feed even one of us?"
"No, which is why I took some of the minions with me."
>Three of said skeletal minions proceed to drag the remains of a manticore in by the segmented tail, pausing only for a moment to forcibly shove it through the inadequate doorframe.
>"Where you want this thing, boss?" inquires one near the back.
"In the kitchen," you respond.
>"You mean the wizard kitchen?" a different minion asks.
"Aaah, this undead right here."
>The two of you point at one another and smile.
>Well, you guess he smiles.
>Bit hard to tell with the lack of a face and all.
>They go about dragging the carrion into the kitchen, and you turn back to your nocturnal housemate.
"Well, I don't know how long you're supposed to cook manticore by the pound, but I'd say you better get started."
>"Pssh," Nightmare scoffs, turning back to the bedroom. "I don't recall being your personal chef. Cook it yourself."
"As you wish."
>With a clap and rub together of your hands, you turn towards the kitchen, striding in confidently.
"Minions! Prepare the cauldron! I will require one pound of frog's eyes, seventeen rockodile teeth, a jackalope antler, and–"
>You hear a sudden scampering of gilded hooves behind you.
>"Wait no I changed my mind!"

>You, Nightmare, and the six formerly living ponies all sit at the dining room table, recently resized to accommodate by application of a 'longening' spell.
>Quite a few uses, that one.
>A knife and fork work unassisted at your food, while you watch your stellar-maned companion as she tears into a hunk of manticore flesh with complete disregard for utensils.
>Soon enough she notices your gaze, looking back with little emotion.
>"What?"
"You know, after residing in this world for a time, I've come to learn that the rest of your kind is primarily herbivorous."
>She slows her chewing. "So?"
"Well knowing that now, I find it strange that you are apparently not. Why is that?"
>The mask of utter indifference she wears does not falter as she finishes her current mouthful, mulling over the conundrum.
>Before long she simply shrugs with a "iuhuh", and proceeds to rip another chunk of flesh off with a fanged bite.
"Curious indeed," you mutter, turning away to the rest of the table's population as a forkful of food floats it's way into your own mouth.
>The skeletal half of your company are all poking and prodding at their own meals.
>One eventually bites into a piece, chews it a bit, and swallows.
>The piece limply falls to the floor.
"You know you guys don't have organs anymore, right?"
>"Oh, yeah," responds the minion in question. "Thought I was having trouble getting anything down."
>The other five mutter in agreement.
>"So, if we don't need to eat," wonders another, "why do I have this insatiable hunger for the flesh of the living?"
"Just a side effect of the raising spell, should wear off in a couple days. Or get worse, I'm not entirely sure."
>"What about sleep, do we do that?" asks a third, testing the tensile strength of his portion.
"No. None of you require rest or sustenance of any sort. You're an amazingly low maintenance class of undead servant."
>"So, what keeps us going, then?" queries one more, busily building a volcano with his mashed potatoes.
"Ah, yes. Each of you simply pull from my immense pool of latent magical energy. Part of the summoning pact."
>"Really?" asks the first, "But what if you need that energy for something else? Would we die again?"
You lean back in your chair confidently, having finished your meal. "Perhaps, but you needn't worry. I've been in the wizarding business for quite a long time, and I have more than enough magic to keep the six of you going alongside myself for centuries to come."
>"Well that's cool." replies Iron Forge, trying to chip an errant speck of matter off his soot-encrusted bones.
>The sight of him brings an important matter to the forefront of your mind.
"So, given that kind of longevity, I suppose we should come up with names for lot of you. I can't very well refer to each of you as 'that one', or 'you there', can I? ...Well, I suppose I could, but it lends too much to confusion."
>You interweave your fingers and lean forward, as the unneeded dishes float their way into the kitchen, one or two glowing dark blue.
"Now then, it's entirely possible that Iron was a fluke, but... do any of you remember anything of your former lives? Names, talents, hobbies, that sort of thing?"
>The five equine skeletons stare more blankly than usual, some looking back and forth at one another.
>The leftmost minion speaks up first.
>"Well... I can recall a few things but... it's really fuzzy."
"The fact that you remember anything at all without a brain in your head is a feat in and of itself. What do you remember?"
>A bony hoof taps against its jawbone. "Hmm... I was standing somewhere... on a stage, I think? ...Yeah, there were others up there with me, but I don't recognize them anymore."
>"Maybe you were in a band?" interjects another skeletal abomination.
>"That... yeah. I remember music. I was playing... I was playing a trumpet. Guess that was what I was good at."
"And your name was..."
>"...Tin Trumpet. Yeah, that's it."
"Alright, very good. Even got a little bit of a 'metals' theme going with you and Iron. Okay, who's next?"
>You glance over the group, settling on the minion seated across from Tin, leaned back with forelegs crossed.
"How about you, you look like you've done some thinking."
>"Yeah."
"Come up with anything?"
>"Dusty Bones."
"...Your name was Dusty Bones."
>"Yeah."
"When you were alive."
>"Mmhm."
"And not because you are currently a skeleton."
>"I was an archaeologist."
"...Huh. Okay. So-"
>"Though... I always wanted to build an amusement park."
>You pause for another moment, expecting some form of elaboration.
>None comes.
"...Right. Moving on. You three, anything?"
>The three yet unnamed minions shuffle about idly, none making any motions to speak up.
"...Anything at all?"
>"Nope," one finally responds.
>"Nah," another follows.
>"I got nothin'," finishes the third.
>You put a hand to your chin and stroke your sagely beard for a moment.
"Well, that's no good. Hmm... Being the blank slates you are, I suppose I'll have to name you myself. ...Ah, yes!"
>You stand up from your chair dramatically, to which Nighmare pays no attention.
"You three will be.... the Scream Team! Crafters of terror and woe! Harbingers of sorrow and malice! Your names shall strike fear into the hearts of our enemies!"
"You!" you point at the first, who perks up instantly, "You shall be known as Blood Drinker! Untold gallons of sanguine liquid will flow across your jagged maw, no amount ever able to truly sate your unquenchable thirst!"
>Blood Drinker starts rattling in excitement.
>"Whoa, cool! Do I really get to drink blood?"
"No! It'll just– fall on the floor and we'll have to clean it up. I'm speaking in metaphors here. It's metaphorical blood."
>The rattling subsides "Oh. Okay."
"We can definitely paint some blood rivulets on your jaw though. Make you more menacing."
>The rattling resumes, at a slightly lessened intensity.
"You!" you continue to the second minion, "You shall be called Soul Render! Not even the avatar of death himself can challenge your control of inexorable forces! Screams will echo from your collected phylacteries at all times, spirits of the damned crying to be released so they may find respite!"
>Soul Render also gets excited, but seems more curious than Blood.
>"...So are the souls– "
"Yes the souls are metaphorical, like the blood. I'll get you a necklace of phials, put a couple fireflies in them."
>"But what about the screaming?"
"Just... just kinda go 'oooOOOOooo' every now and then, when no one's looking. You know, be spooky."
>Soul Render goes about practicing his ooo's as you move to the final minion.
"And you! You shall be... Mitch!"
>Nightmare looks up from shining her horseshoe, still primarily disinterested but now a little incredulous.
>"...Mitch? How does that strike fear into the hearts of our enemies?"
"Come on, you remember Mitch, right? Mitch the Malevolent? Caused us all sorts of trouble all the time?"
>Boredom slowly gives way to thought, as the avatar of night sifts through her memories of your time together.
>"...Wait, do you mean that other sorcerer that kept beating us to the punch on treasures and bounties, and then gloating about it?"
"That's the one. Kind of a bastard, really."
>"Oh, I hated that guy," Nightmare remarks, eyes fully alight with reminiscence.
>Mitch looks back and forth between the two of you, as you both fade back into the past.
>"So, uh. What kinda thing should I do?"
"Oh! Uh, hm. Just, you know... be a kind of subtle jerk about things. Don't go overboard or anything, but try to make sure everyone around you knows how much better than them you are, without outright stating it."
>Mitch's expression remains stoic, what little of it there was left to change.
>"Alright."
"So then!" you state, clapping your hands together, "With that done, we can move on to more exciting matters for the night to come. Nigtmare!"
>"What?" she replies, without an ounce of enthusiasm.
"What kind of exciting matters does the night to come offer us?"
>Her emotionless stare persists, eventually punctuated by a short burst of air pushed through closed lips.
>"Phhffppf, I dunno."
>You swear this creature was like an enthusiasm black hole sometimes.
"Okay... well, what did you usually do during the night before we met?"
>"Try to make it last forever."
"I mean besides that."
>Nightmare breaks eye contact to return to deep thought.
>"...Nothing really comes to mind, actually."
>The vacuous visage she wore earlier had found it's way to your own face, much as you fought it.
"I see. Well, I think that's something that needs to be rectified posthaste."
>With all the grace heavy wizard robes allow, you slide over to directly behind the seated Nightmare, who begins to show slight concern.
"Minions! Hold the fort!"
>"Wait, what are you– waah!"
>The concern turns to full blown panic as you swiftly wrap both arms around her barrel and yank her free from the floor.
>A cloud of smoke conceals your instantaneous exit, leaving only the echoes of exuberant laughter and terrified shouting.

>A grand miasma of light and color signify your arrival, laughter and coughing resonating from within.
>Your jubilation subsides with the veil, whereupon you release your unwilling passenger, who promptly falls to the ground with a pronounced "huouf".
>She is a sturdy sort, however, and recovers quickly, turning an irate glare on you.
>"I thought I told you... to stop teleporting in the tower!" she shouts between bouts of coughing, lungs clearly not properly accustomed to such advanced means of travel.
"Ah, the minions'll clean it up. Probably."
>The irritation subsides, giving way to her more dominant indifference.
>"Fine, whatever. Where are we, anyway?"
"Horsetown, my dear! Or whatever that little hamlet nearby is called. It's been some time since last I had a taste of a proper nightlife, so let's see what this place has to offer!"
>You spread your arms wide, gesturing towards the undoubtedly spectacular nightlife laid out before you.
>All that returns is the echo of your voice off the empty streets and alleways.
>Your arms fall, along with some of your enthusiasm.
"Hm. Did not quite expect so much of a deadzone this soon after sunset."
>"See, this is exactly why I tried to make the night eternal, no one around here appreciates it."
"Yes, I'm starting to see where you're coming from."
>"Glad we're off to a stellar start, at least," your gloomy companion ruminates.
"Oh, come on, Night. You've been complaining that we never go out anymore, right?"
>She starts idly drawing in the dirt again. "I suppose..."
"Well, we're out! We just have to find some place more lively. Now, who around here would know a place to have a good time?"
>"Hmm... the annoying pink one, probably. Parties and such seemed to be her thing, if I recall."
"Excellent!"
>In another mighty blast, you immediately appear at the front door of the pink one's reported residence; the local bakery.
>Nightmare chooses to walk the 17 feet to your location like some kind of non-magical plebeian.
>Reaching a fist forward, you knock thrice, before several ethereal hands appear and repeat the action at varied intervals and patterns.
>"Was that entirely necessary?" queries Nightmare.
"It's a wizard knock."
>"Of course."
>The top half of the door swings wide, and an astonishingly enthusiastic pink face pops up.
>"Did I hear a wizard knock?"
"See?"
>Nightmare simply sighs.
>"Whoa, hey Anonymous! And Nightmare Moon! What brings you two around here?"
"Greetings, pink horse."
>"Pinkie Pie!"
"Pinkest Pine."
>"Close enough!"
"My nocturnal companion and I were wondering if you knew of someplace that had an active nightlife; one more befitting of our respective schedules, as it were."
>"Ooh! You guys should check out Las Pegasus! I hear that place is like one big party that never ends!"
"Splendid! And where might one find this town of eternal festivity?"
>"I dunno!"
>Her joyous expression remains unbroken throughout, which you raise an eyebrow to.
"...Yes, well. Might you perhaps know of someone that would?"
>"I'll bet Twilight knows; she knows everything!"
>You can't help but let a truncated chucklescoff escape at the assertion, which the pink one raises an eyebrow to herself.
>It is brief, however, and she returns to her standard level of being entirely too happy about everything.
"We shall see if it is as you say, then. Thank you for your assistance."
>"No problemo, mister big scary wizard guy!" she responds, giving a salute and closing the door.
"...Scary? Am I scary?" you inquire to the alicorn of darkness.
>"It's the company you keep," she responds, a smirk breaking through her usual demeanor.
"Ah, yes. Now then, onwards to... where does Sparkles live?"
>"The library."
"Onwards to the libr– The library?"
>"Yes, the library. It's also a giant tree."
"...Hm. Your world is strange."
>"Tell me about it."
"...Onwards!"
>"Yes, but this time can we just–"
>You gently place your index finger against the tip of her horn.
>"–maybe wait hold on–"
>You both disappear in another voluminous blast, reappearing before the library in question.
>Nightmare hacks and wheezes a bit before regaining her ability to speak.
>"Gah! I |can| fly, you know?"
"Flying is for lesser wizards."
>As she finishes clearing the thaumaturgical vapor from her airways, you wizard knock on the library door.
>It is soon answered by a familiar purple face.
>"Helloooowhat do you want?!"
>The familiar purple face turns from polite and complacent to angry and irritated in quite possibly record time upon recognizing the two of you.
"Hello, Horse of Purple. The Night and I have been informed you are something of an expert on cartography."
>She raises an eyebrow, only letting a measured amount of curiosity creep into her expression.
>"I guess so, why?"
"We were wondering if you could direct us to the town known as Las Pegasus."
>More curiosity than she had probably intended makes itself known, as well as a little suspicion.
>"Why do you want to know where Las Pegasus is?"
>"We're looking for some place that isn't completely boring," Nightmare responds for you.
>The scrupulous skeptic starts to say something biting in return, but stops herself.
>"Alright, if it gets you two out of my mane for a while, sure. Let me get you a map. Wait here."
>The door shuts itself by way of a purple aura.
>The brim of your hat lifts itself up, and a pink head pops out from under it.
>"See, I told you she knew everything!" she shouts, startling Nightmare.
"Yes, it seems you were correct."
>With a smile and a giggle, the pink enigma recedes back inside, disappearing from sight.
>Nightmare stares at your hat, raises a hoof as if to say something, before letting it go with a "feh".
>The door reopens, and your unwilling navigator returns, scroll of parchment in her magical grasp.
>"Okay, here you are. This map shows you the shortest route to Las Pegasus, by way of train and carriage. I've also taken the liberty of marking down a few other places of interest that are also very, very far away from here."
>You pluck the map out of the air and look it over carefully.
>With a smile, you roll the parchment back up and hold it aloft, whereupon a pink hoof promptly takes hold and pulls it into your hat.
"Most excellent. Thank you for your assistance, Purple Sparkles."
>Purple Sparkles had already turned back around and was starting to close the door.
>"Uhuh, yeah, whatever. I hope the two of you have a nice, safe, |long| trip. Celestia knows I need a vacation from–"
"Fieri non alicubi odiosis!"
>The world becomes smoke.

>The world stops being smoke.
>A chorus of coughing once again signifies your arrival, though more intensely than usual.
>The mystic mist clears, leaving you standing at the forefront with arms stretched wide.
"Behold! Las Pegasus!"
>Much to your relief, the scene stretching out before you is one actually worth beholding this time.
>Light and sounds of every description interlace into a spectacular symphony of alacrity.
>Shops and establishments offering any vice and fancy imaginable litter each side of the street you now found yourself on, surrounded by patrons of all shapes, sizes and species engaging in multitudes of merriment.
>Nightmare walks up beside you, a certain wonder in her eyes you haven't seen since she felled her first cragbeast.
>"Ooh, now this is more like it. If there had been a place like this a thousand years ago I might not have gone all evil."
"Really?"
>"Nah, I like evil."
>The two of you have a hearty chuckle, though some coughing persists.
"Night I know the teleport takes some getting used to but come on."
>"S'not me."
>You both look back to find a final wisp of smoke fading away, as well as a particular purple unicorn, wafting fresh air to her face.
>"What in Equestria was all that– is this Las Pegasus?!" she shouts, quickly unsettled upon noticing her surroundings.
>Nightmare looks back to you, energy all but totally lost.
>"Why'd you bring her along?"
"Whoops."
>Your inadvertent stowaway continues to boggle at her surroundings a moment longer, before rediscovering your presence.
>"Did |you| do this?" she asks, still quick to anger.
"Inadvertently, yes. I forgot the more powerful teleports tend to have something of an area of effect."
>A constant battle between awe and fury were at play beneath her exterior, the victor yet undecided.
>"But... Las Pegasus is over five hundred miles away. And you just teleported the three of us instantaneously?"
"I did, yes. Is that unusual for your kind?" you ask, a slight smirk beginning to form.
>"No! I mean... I can't do it... But Celestia probably could!"
>Her increasingly flustered nature only proved to widen your smile.
>Even Nightmare was getting into it.
>"I'd like to see her try. Celly couldn't teleport her way out of a wet paper bag."
>"She can so!"
>You snicker.
>"I mean... of course she's good at magic! She controls the sun for pony's sake!"
>"And that's all she was ever good at. I can recall a thousand times where she came crying to her little sister to help her with magic of any other caliber."
>"Oh yeah? Name some."
>"Gladly! For instance, there was the time that... um....  This one time she... uhh.... Once she had... hmmm..."
>A glance back at her adversary reveals the smug smile of total playground superiority.
>You decide to interject before things get any further out of hand.
"My fine young mares, please. We've come to this wondrous city to make merry, not bicker."
>"I didn't come here for anything," the sparkled one snarls, "You two just tele-napped me without any warning, dragging me into whatever sinister shenanigans you're up to."
"I told you already it was an accident. Sometimes I underestimate the reach of my arcane prowess, is all."
>"Pssh," she scoffs, "yeah right."
"Look, we can have magical measuring contests later. Right now I'm in the mood for some fun and fancy. What about you, Nightmare?"
>You turn back to your midnight associate, to find her still muttering to herself.
>"A traveling dignitary came to... no.... There was a royal decree to... to what? I just had it, it was something important.... Did... did any of this really happen?"
>You bend over, putting your face on level with her lowered head.
"Nightmare?"
>"Huh?"
>She looks up at you finally; the glossy, distant look in her eyes beginning to subside.
>You extend one arm out behind you, gesturing towards the strip.
"Fun and fancy?"
>"Oh, yes, of course."
>You stand back up, arms akimbo.
"Splendid. Now, where to begin?"
>"You can begin by taking me home." Twilight interjects, reminding you of her presence.
>You turn back to her, a look of sarcastic incredulity on display.
"Home? But we've merely just arrived, my diminutive purple comrade. Surely you'd like to partake in at lease |some| of the spectacles this town has to offer?"
>"No!" she shouts in adamant contrariety. "I'd like to go home and go to bed. This little facade has already thrown my schedule completely out of whack."
"Well, aren't you a party pooper."
>Your hat lifts up abruptly, the pink impromptu resident again making an appearance.
>"The party poopinest!" she exclaims, before promptly disappearing again.
>"Was... was that Pinkie?" Twilight queries, suddenly confused.
>"Just go along with it," Nightmare responds.
>"Whatever," she shakes off, "just take me home."
"Are you sure?"
>"Yes, I am."
"Are you absolutely certain? Completely, one hundred percent sure?" you press, laying on as much derision as possible.
>"Yes!" she shouts. "Would you |please| just take us back to Ponyville already?"
>You chuckle heartily once more.
"As you wish."
>Clapping your hands together, you pull your staff from the space between them, and lift it on high.
"Fieri non alicubi odiosis potens!"

>In a blinding flash, you all reappear back in your regular town of residence with a glorious explosion.
>Twilight sighs and turns towards her tree, ignoring the spectacle.
>"Thank you. Goodnight."
>It takes a moment longer, but she soon stops in her tracks, hoof frozen in midair.
>Like a neurotic whirlwind, she spins back around and gapes ad the surrounding scene.
>Quite a large number of the buildings and inhabitants of Las Pegasus had tagged along this time, carefully slotted in amongst the existing small town cottages and abodes, as if they had always been there.
>Said inhabitants briefly glance at their new surroundings, before returning to whatever it was they were doing without a care.
>"What... is this?"
"Oh no," you exclaim facetiously, "it appears I 'accidentally' used a much stronger version of the spell. How unfortunate."
>Your tone and exaggerated gesturing at the use of the word 'accidentally' drive Twilight all the way to the center of angry town.
>"You're gonna fix this, right now!"
"Fix what? If anything, I'd say this is an improvement over the droll little municipality this place was when we left it."
>"But everything's totally out of order!" Twilight shouts, almost turning to a whine. "There's chaos in the streets!"
"I see no chaos, my dear, only fun and frolic."
>You cast your arm across the scene, inadvertently stopping on two ponies in the middle of a hard, drunken makeout session in the middle of the street.
"...And perhaps a smidgen of debauchery here and there."
>"I've made a terrible mistake," Twilight mumbles, turning her gaze to the ground before her.
"I'll say. Tree dwellings are for druids."
>She looks back up at you quizzically, before shaking her head and turning back to her druid home.
>"Whatever. You two have fun wrecking everything. Or don't, I really don't care. I'm going to go... well, I don't know what I'm going to do."
>"Write a letter to your sun princess about it!" Nightmare calls mockingly.
>"Oh I'll write a letter, alright!" Twilight calls back from the front door of her weird tree library. "In fact, I'll write all kinds of letters! I'm gonna write so many letters, you don't even know. Just gonna, just write letters all night, till the sun comes up. Then, I'm gonna write some more. My letters will block out the sun... no, wait, the moon. Yeah, that's it... Block out the moon..."
>The nearly forgotten door eventually closes quietly, the soft muttering of the purple unicorn behind it fading into the background ambiance.
"You know, I think she's starting to crack."
>"Oh, I hope so," your partner in crime responds. "Now come on, I'd like to see what kind of shows are playing at the Wynny."
>The harbinger of eternal night turns and canters off, a spring in her step and sparkle in her eyes.
>You let out a few more chuckles at the sight, before turning back to the darkened treehouse.
"Hm. I wonder if I'm going too hard on her?"
>You stroke your beard in contemplation a moment, before coming to a decision.
"Ah, she'll come around eventually."
>"Anonymous, are you coming?" calls Nightmare.
"Indeed I am!"
>With that, you turn and stroll casually towards a night of good times.