Chapter 8: Fire

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Canterlot Castle

Ten Minutes After the Revelation

Nightmare Moon

"GET OUT OF MY WAY!!"

Nightmare thundered through the castle, galloping frantically through the hallways as she made her way to her sister's former chambers.

Twilight was in danger.

Nothing else mattered.

Smoke was quickly filling the castle, it crawled across the ceiling and ash drifted on a heated wind as if from a dragon's breath.

She rounded a corner quickly, her iron-shod hooves skidding as she turned, causing sparks to fly across the black stone. Servants fled past her in the hallways, Nightmare assumed they were protected from the initial magical blast by the protective enchantments woven in the walls of the castle. They were spared the magical shockwave unlike her soldiers, who received the full brunt outside and had fallen unconscious immediately.


Twilight, please be alright. I can't lose you again.

She was getting closer, which was obvious as the heat's intensity increased with every step she made. She picked up speed and rounded another corner as she threw herself into finding her daughter.

To her surprise, somepony else was also coming around the corner.

Before she could stop herself, or otherwise react, she collided with the unknown ponies and they became a mass of white, pink, and black fur struggling to disentangle themselves from the floor.

Nightmare grunted in frustration as she extricated herself quickly. She reached out and grabbed the offenders with her magic with the intention of throwing them aside, but she recognized the clumsy fools.

It was Cadenza and Armor.

"YOU TWO!!" She screamed. "WHERE IS SHE!!? WHAT HAPPENED!!?"

Nightmare was absolutely furious, her teeth gnashed in rage as she levitated the trembling pair so she could see them at eye level. The two should have been with Twilight, not running like a pair of faint-hearted ninnies.

Sudden dread crawled up her spine, for if these two had abandoned Twilight, then something absolutely terrible had to have happened.

Neither pony had time to answer, Nightmare saw them attempt to say something, but she quickly flung them behind her and galloped as fast as she could down the trail of smoke. She heard their muffled cries of pain and surprise as she resumed her rapid approach to Celestia's chambers.

Renewing her frenzied gallop, Nightmare became aware of the magical pressure from the unearthly storm dramatically increasing. Sweat matted her fur as the stress it radiated sapped her strength. It was unlike anything she had ever felt, this magical firestorm, it teemed with pure magical energy both destructive and uncontrolled. The closer she came to Celestia's chambers, the more strain the uncontrolled magic put on her. The feeling of moving through it was akin to swimming through a mud pit.

Casting her magic about herself, Nightmare conjured a protective layer of enchantments around her body to stop the effects of the rampant magic. To her surprise, her spell did not halt the effects, but only mitigated it.

Not having the patience to correct or strengthen her spell, she rounded the last corner to Celestia's chambers, and—

BAM!!!

A lance of purple lightning flew out and struck Nightmare in the chest, flinging her backwards as if she were a small sparrow struck by a hurricane. She screamed in pain as the lightning burned through her chest plate and scorched her chest. She then collided with a back wall, causing the stone to crack and dust to fall from the ceiling.

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