Prince of Equestria - Blood Moon Summer, Part 7

>It’s cold.
>Very cold.
>You hug your knees close as your joints pop and crack.
>The last thing you remember before blacking out was minotaurs.
>The one putting his hands on Rarity…
>You begged them to stop, and they laughed at you.
>You would do anything, agree to anything, for the power to make it end then and there.
>”And that, dear boy, is what you got.”
>Nightmare…
>You look up at the single light hanging from the ceiling.
>Four nondescript gray walls make up the entirety of your perception, the concrete floor below you cold and unforgiving.
>You stand and walk over to the only door you see.
>Locked…
“Where am I?”
>”Oh…somewhere safe…somewhere I can keep you out of the way.”
“Out of the way? What do you mean? Where’s Rarity? What happened to the…”
>Nightmare’s voice seems to emanate from all directions, echoing in the chill confines of this space.
>”Don’t worry, whelp. You gave me exactly what I needed, so I upheld my part of the bargain. After all…Nightmare’s word is her bond.”
>You try the door again.
>”Now now, Anon, no need to waste your energy. You are in the recesses of my very essence. You don’t get out unless I let you out.”
“What do you mean, unless I let you out? This wasn’t part of the deal!”
>You grit your teeth as her throaty laugh fills your ears.
>”But, dear boy, you asked for power. The power to save your little slut, and you did. However, what good is power without the will to use it?”
>Smoke gathers along a far wall, displaying images for you to see.
>”Look, Anon…look at the wonders your power has wrought…”
>You gape in horror as the royal guardp0ny on the screen, no older than you are, mouths words you cannot hear, his eyes wide with fright.
>Eyes that go slack as human hands cut out his throat.
“What madness is this…NIGHTMARE! WHAT IS GOING ON?!”
>She laughs again. “What, you think you had the will to do what had to be done? Of course not, you’re Celestia’s brat! So, I gave you…a most wonderous gift.”
>A wonderous gift…
“Eight years ago…in the temple, with the sword.”
>”Well well, the crown prince has a brain cell under all that teenage angst and hormones. That’s right, I gave you two gifts that night…and one of them is now in charge, doing what you couldn’t.”
“And you think slaughtering p0nies is what I wanted?”
>”Well…no, probably not. But he is such a good boy. I guess you could say he’s a prince all of my own. After all, why should my sister have all the fun with that bastard’s progeny?”
“Look, lady, you’re crazy, alright? Now let me out before I break out.”
>You grit your teeth and hold your hands against the door. If you can gather enough energy to produce a large enough flashback…
>”You’ll find that won’t work here. You couldn’t focus well enough for that without a trinket when you were in your body, what makes you think you stand a chance locked away here?”
>You grit your teeth and strain yourself, trying to well up the power to break free…
>It doesn’t come.
>”There there, Anon…she struggled too, at first…but eventually she accepted her fate. Now sit back and enjoy the show…”
>You turn and look back at the horrors flashed on the screen.
>”While my Nightmare Prince makes all my dreams come true…”

--------------

>You are Shining Armor
>Man, can your marefriend fly like the wind…
>You grunt as you barrel through underbrush and foliage in hot pursuit, trying to ignore the unsettling scent in the air.
“CADENCE! SLOW DOWN, DAMNIT!”
>She glances down at you.
>You swear she gives you a smirk in the pale moonlight as she speeds up.
“CADENCE, THIS IS NOT A GAME! THIS IS THE CONTAINMENT AREA, WE SHOULDN’T BE HERE!”
>”Armor, I think I see smoke up ahead. It could be Anon!”
“YEAH, AND IT COULD BE DANGERO…”
>It’s no use. She’s off again.
>Note to self: Never accept missions involving friends or family.
>You put all of your physical training to work as you gallop through the underbrush, paying attention only to the path in front of you.
>And that foul stench that seems to be getting stronger.
>After a few minutes, you break through the foliage to see that magenta-maned alicorn standing still on the ground, her gaze locked ahead as you come up behind her.
>You come to a stop next to her, catching your breath.
“Cadence…this isn’t a game, I need to get you back to…”
>”Armor…look…”
>You turn to see what Cadence sees.
>…and you offer the only response you can muster.
>You vomit.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G-TWWiXnUrw
>In training, you heard stories of the horrors of war.
>Tales of blood and bodies stacked high like sacks of grain, as the ragged survivors looted the remains or comforted comrades who would not be survivors long.
>You had thought those were just stories of the past. Equestria was a land of peace, you would never have to see such things…
>You were wrong.
>The stories paled in comparison as you walked amongst the dead bodies.
“It’s squad one…whatever it is out here…killed them…”
>Brutalized is more like it.
>It’s like they’ve been arranged in this spot…
>”Shining Armor, over here…”
>You grit your teeth, pushing down the urge to vomit again as you turn to the princess.
“What…minotaurs? What are they doing here?”
>”I don’t know…we saw some out on the lake the other day…are these them?”
>Cadence turns to you, her eyes bright with worry.
>”Do you think this has something to do with what happened to Anon? Oh no, what if whatever did this got him too? What if…”
>You place your hoof on her shoulder to calm her.
“Don’t worry, Cadence. We’ll find him, I promise.”
>She offers you a slight smile before her attention turns to something behind you.
>”Oh no…RARITY!”
>You snap around, moving with Cadence to the bound unicorn on the floor.
>The two of you crouch down.
>”Is she…”
>You furrow your brow as you cut her bonds with the tip of your spear.
“No, she’s just unconscious…”
>The mare groans and stirs as you levitate her onto your back, Cadence raising a hoof to adjust her.
“Now we need to get you out of here. I’ll take you two to the airship and order them to lift off, while me and my squad take up the search for Anon…”
>”But, Armor…”
“No buts. Now let’s go.”
>Cadence nods solemnly as you turn and go back the way you came.
>It’s slow going with this unicorn mare on your back, but Cadence keeps pace with you.
>She hasn’t kept her gaze off you the entire time.
>You glance back. Is she worried?
>”Armor…what’s going on? You’re just a cadet. Why are you here? What happened to those p0nies?”
>You sigh and lower your head a little.
>Keeping secrets from her really was a fool’s errand.
“To be honest, Cadence, I don’t have many details…me and my squad were ordered to evacuate you, Anon and the rest of the camp while the other squad located and contained some kind of anomaly.”
>”You mean…those p0nies back there…” Cadence gasps.
“Yeah…that was the other squad. They were battle-hardened drill sergeants. My squad is made up of privates, trainees with little combat training…”
>”But…what could possibly do such a thing?”
>You shake your head as the brush starts to thin out, signaling your approach to the camp.
“I don’t know…but whatever it is, it’s dangerous enough for Princess Celestia to bring an entire battalion of the Equestrian Royal Guard here, as well as the Elements of Harmony…”
>That got her attention.
>As the two of you approach the camp, Rarity begins to stir as she comes to.
>RARITY: “mmm….stop….no….Anon….”
>CADENCE: “Armor, she may know something about Anon.”
>You stop at the edge of the campgrounds as Cadence helps Rarity off your back and onto the ground, the white unicorn gathering her bearings.
“Alright, you ask her about him. Let me find my squa…”
http://youtu.be/mJZfsXyemhs
>Your jaw drops as you survey the scene before you.
“No…no no no no NO!”
>You run up towards the center, the grounds flickering in the burning light of the fires.
>They cast black shadows over the six bodies laying strewn about the grounds.
“Sorcerer….Violin…No….DAMNIT!”
>You slam your hoof into the earth as Cadence turns to face you, slack jawed.
>Even Rarity’s eyes flutter wider as she comes to.
“DAMNIT TO HELL! THESE WERE MY STALLIONS! MY FRIENDS…WHAT THE HELL DID THIS?”
>ANON: “Hey, Shining Armor.”
>Three pairs of eyes turn to the source of the voice, to the human standing atop the roof of the main hall, arms folded.
>The light of the full moon behind him shrouds his features, but you can still see.
>The bloodstains on his clothes. The wild hair. The demonic grin.
>Most of all, the crescent moon sigil shining brightly on his forehead.
>Just like back then.
>ANON: “Long time no see, buddy. Did ya miss me?