Thank you. We’re not sure We’ll use them, but it is always good to have a plan B.

We’ve already worked out a little something with Arcel. He swore an oath to Us that says he can do anything he likes with Twilight, so long as We get to do it to, at the same time he does it with Twilight.

Since Twilight will never agree to do that, We think Our problems are solved.

Yes, We worked that deal out Ourselves. Anything Twilight wants to do with Arcel, We also get to do, at the same time as Twilight does it. Too bad for Arcel that Twilight’s so stuffy and repressed…

(Note: This ended up a much larger mass of text than I had intended. Feel free to ignore it if you want.)

As part of Arcel’s ‘Dark Descent’ story, I introduced a character known as Grandmother. She, as well as Nightmare Moon’s abyss beast transformation, are elements I previously developed as part of the setting for a GURPS urban fantasy campaign I ran. Since it seems Grandmother and the things she brings are going to become a part of the next story Arcel and I do, I figured I’d share a little about her, at least as it applies to her actions in Equestria.

The creature known as 'Grandmother’ is the comprehensible form of an ancient being commonly refered to as 'the Abyss’. She appears to whoever views her as whatever best fit’s their species concept of 'grandmother’ (in the human-centric world my campaign took place in, she looked like Julia Child), which is where she gets her name. In reality, the Abyss is an entirely incomprehensible entity who attempts at every turn to unmake intelligent life and eventually reality itself (it’s motivations can best be described as finding anything other than itself to be 'disgusting’ and 'wrong’). It cannot, however, operate freely in most universes. In order to enter a world, it needs a foothold. Towards that end, in its Grandmother disguise it tricks suitable creatures it comes across to accept 'seeds’.

The seeds are actually small fragments of the Abyss itself. In order to grow, their host needs to be sapient, possess magical potential, and be subject to strong emotions (note that it’s the strength that matters, not the kind of emotion. The seeds can feed just as well on love and joy as they can on hate and fear). Once implanted inside a host, they quietly grow (assuming the host is suitable) until the host speaks a rather complex command phrase. The seed proceeds to blossom into what is termed an Abyss beast, it’s initial power depending on how far the seed’s development had gone.

A newly born Abyss beast varies greatly in power, but is always an extremely dangerous threat. Just touching one is damaging, causing localised necrosis as well as disrupting the victim’s magical abilities (if any). They shrug off ordinary injuries, and normal magic is worse than useless (they simply consume the energy used). However, they do have a number of weaknesses.

1. While still relatively young, an Abyss beast is vulnerable to fire, very bright light (especially UV light), and things combining the two (like phosphor or magnesium weapons).
2. A newly born Abyss beast is very slow moving, and can easily be outrun by even the least athletic of ponies.
3. Abyss beasts are nearly mindless. They simply go towards the nearest concentration of life and try to eat it.
4. Their final, and most critical, weakness is their reliance on their host. Even after their blossoming, the host must be kept alive and conscious for the Abyss beast to function. Though the beast protects it’s host deep within it’s core, if the host can be rendered unconscious, even for a moment, the beast dies.

A final note, even a dead Abyss beast is still dangerous. Unless the entire corpse is destroyed with fire, it melts into the fabric of the world, permanently granting the Abyss the ability to operate much more freely in it.

She turned Arcel into a filly, supercharged his libido, changed herself into a stallion, then chased him all over Equestria.

…You carried what you did way too far. If you had done it to Us, We could forgive you. But Arcel? We don’t know if We can…

Maybe you could start by asking him to forgive you.

*Groan* Hello, Loluna.

Excellent work! Extra rations all around!

*She sighs.*

When Loluna first showed up, she played a prank on Arcel that went way too far. We haven’t forgiven her for that.

When you first showed up, you gave Us an excellent show, with your demonic cupcake ponies battling a deranged extra-dimensional Pinkie Pie. It was great fun to watch.

*Nightmare Moon laughs along with Fusion.*

It’s gonna getcha! It’s gonna getcha!

*She finally starts laughing so hard she can’t control the branch, and it drops.*