The Legend of Nightmares

by xXSheltieXx

Rating: teen
Tags: Adventure, Anthro, Dark
Length: 2208

When Twilight Sparkle and her friends find a new threat to Equestria, how will they stop them?

When Twilight Sparkle manages to get a hold of The Legend of Nightmares, and learns exactly what and who they are. With many questions already, Twilight and her friends must figure out just what these beings want if they want to stop them from overthrowing Celestia and Luna, and waging a new war on Equestria. Three books are left to Twilight when their leaders must remain silent; The Legend of Nightmares, a diary, and a warning.

Published 1970-01-01 00:00:00 UTC
Last updated 2013-09-11 17:10:03 UTC

1: The Book

Princess Twilight Sparkle sat on her sofa, reading a book she found in the Canterlot Royal Library. It had been hidden in the unlit portion of the old sanctum for books, squeezed behind the other books. The book looked like a diary, bound in leather. She caressed the skin, it feeling soft and worn. Twilight gently pulled the string, but a sudden feeling of fear quickly stopped her. She looked around, as if someone was watching her. Her violet eyes scanned over everything in the room; the lamps, the ceiling lights, the plants, the table, the sofas, the television, the remote, the cords, the shadows... Everything seemed in place. The doors, the kitchen, the bathroom, the windows, and nothing.

"H-Hello?" Twilight called out. The shadows seemed to move in the corner of her eye; she turned to see nothing there, dismissing it as nerves.

No reply. Twilight ignored the sensation as the thirst for knowledge became too much to bear. She pulled the lace string and opened the ancient book. The paper was very thin and would crack as she touched it; the words were still readable however. Twilight then levitated a bottle of hairspray that Rarity had conveniently left over and sprayed the book, the ash-like paper bonding together as she helped sew it up with magic.

"Now it should be as good as new." Twilight smiled and let out a little laugh.

She looked around, the feeling of being watched getting stronger and stronger. She squinted in the light of the last few rays of sun glinting through her window. Spike was out running errands, and she was left home alone. She felt like she'd be safer with someone else with her, like having a buddy would ward the feeling off. Like being with someone else would save her. She arose from the spot on the sofa, carefully binding the book's lace back in a nice little bow; too neat for such an old book.

"Hello?" Rarity's voice rang through the phone and into Twilight's ears.

"Hey Rarity, I was wondering if you'd like to come over and read a book I got with me. It seems very... I dunno. Just strange." Twilight glanced back at the book as if it had moved.

"Sorry dear, but I'm quite busy with Applejack. You know how our schedules are and we can spend only so much time together, is that okay? I'm helping her with the apples so we can't both come over, and this is my only break..." Rarity trailed off.

"No, that's okay. I'll call Pinkie or Rainbow."

"Ta ta, then, Twilight." Rarity smiled as she hung up. The white woman then went back to her girlfriend, helping with her magic to clean the apples she bucked. Applejack pecked her on the cheek before kicking the tree once more.

Twilight sighed. That meant she only had three more friends she could call. Not including Spike, but he probably wouldn't want to read it with her anyways; that's how teenage dragon humanoids are. Twilight dialed Pinkie Pie's number and waited. And waited. And waited some more.

"H-E-L-L-O?" Pinkie Pie called into the phone, music blasting out with her voice.

"Hi Pinkie! What are you doing?" Twilight had to shout for Pinkie to even hear.

"Oh, I'm at a party! I was helping Octavia and Vinyl Scratch celebrate their anniversary! Huh?" Pinkie called out to another person. "Sorry Twi, gotta go!"

"Well then," Twilight said as she scratched her head before dialing another number.

"Hey Fluttershy, I was wondering if you'd like to come over and read this book I got with me?" Twilight sighed.

"What kind of book is it?" Her delicate voice asked back.

"It looks kinda like a diary from a very long time ago. I got this feeling like I'm... being watched, and-Hello? Hello?" Twilight asked to nobody.

On the other end, Flutters slammed the phone down and ran to her room, soon to be comforted by her animals. Twilight sighed and dialed the last number she knew by heart.

"Hello?"

"Hey Rainbow Dash! I got this ancient book and it looks like a diary and I'm scared to read it alone!" Twilight blurted into the phone, immediately becoming red in the face.

"So, you want me to come over there and read an old diary with you?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"Uh... pretty much, yeah."

"I'll be there in like, two minutes." Rainbow Dash said briefly, then hung up.

"Wow, I didn't think she'd say yes." Twilight wondered aloud.

She walked back over to the book and sat down, staring at the cover. She could faintly make out a few words, but they seemed illogical. Something Something Diary Do Something Something EVER!!! "Ever" was underlined lightly and was fading a bit, but was still readable. Twilight heard a knock on her door and allowed the cyan avivan in. They sat down and studied the book's cover together.

"I'm not sure we should open it. It seems like it's Someone's something Diary, Do not open ever? Does that sound right?" Rainbow pointed out.

"Yeah, but we're missing who it belongs to and another word. Someone's Secret Diary, maybe. But why have it in a library if it wasn't supposed to be opened?" Twilight had a point there.

The two looked at one another, confusion and worry clear on their faces. They looked at the book, and decided to open it. To jump in. To become a pony stuck in a war. To read what was supposed to be gone long, long ago.

2: The Diary

"It looks like the hand writing of... Princess Luna! Sh-Should we read it?" Twilight asked Rainbow, unsure of whether or not to go on reading.

"L-Let's read it, but we can't tell anyone. What if... what if there's something important in it that we need to know? I think we should call the girls." Rainbow insisted.

After the six ladies gathered together in the basement of the library, they started to read the text.

"Day 1:

The days have grown long and tiring. Father and mother, as well as sister are weakened by these assaults on man kind. These beings seem to come from no where. We don't know how or why they possess us, but they do. Our extended family all over Equestria have reports of these beings taking over some people. One has even taken over my dear cousin Necronome, Prince of Darkness. Cousin Pastel sent him to Tartarus... this frightens me. My research has lead me to conclude that these creatures take over a person's body when they feel extreme emotions. Like their heart breaks in half, literally. I must go, Tia is coming back to my room."

The six looked at each other, scared. What were these creatures?

"Twilight, have you ever heard of such a thing?"

"Yes, once. In Rainblitz the Princess had a student. She was overcome by one, but somehow, it died or left. I don't know all the details. Let's just keep reading."

"Day 2:

The deaths of Aunt and Uncle Rainartica have pained us all, but mother mostly. She grieves over the loss of her dear brother; her only brother. We try to comfort her, but she has fits of rage. She will lock herself in the basement and do something that we can't understand or hear. She just sits and locks herself away. Celestia caught me writing yesterday. Even now she watches over me as I write, dear sister, it is truly unnerving. But alas, she will tell mother and father if she cannot read what I write here. Tia is a great sister, and I understand her concern. I have been intrigued by these creatures, and I told father I would like to help study them. He chuckled and said "We'll see," like he always does. Tia says he'll say yes, but the way he said it made it sound like a no. Dinner time. Tia and I must go; the midday sun she has made is burning my fur a little as I sit in the light. I haven't eaten since breakfast; Tia is urging me to come along, as well as the servants."

"Oh my Celestia." Twilight gaped, nearly dropping the book.

"What?" Applejack asked worriedly.

"What's wrong, Twilight?" Pinkie Pie asked as well.

"She's talking about the Nightmares. They're creatures that live in your heart... but... that's all I know of them. Celestia took the book on them out of the library and said it was just old mares tales. Now... now we know of them as truth. There must've been a war... something, something catastrophic. And... by the looks of it, I'd say it's going to happen again. Many ponies have been... behaving strangely these past few months. The creepier thing is... when it started, it was the exact same day as described in Luna's diary!"

"But they just say Day 1, Day 2..." Rarity pointed out.

"No... no, I've seen this method before. I-I think it might've been about 3 thousand years ago, this paper seems to be around that age, and... it seems like... y'know, BNMM." Rainbow commented.

"What?" Applejack asked.

"Before Nightmare Moon?" Fluttershy asked.

"Precisely." Rainbow responded grimly.

"Continue, Twilight." Rarity said, confidence on her face.

"Day 3:

Cousin Pastel is very upset; but thankfully she will not yield to the dark forces of these creatures. Tia was right; Father has allowed me to examine the creatures. I have concluded a lot of information in just one day; how much could I gather in a year? A decade? A century? The thought of the knowledge is making me shudder. I've found that when a pony suffers an extreme amount of an emotion at once, their hearts crumble away. Literally, parts of their heart become ash. I examined the corpse of a woman who died. It seems the creature died with her. Half of her heart was black and red, like it had a plague or something. When the monster takes control, their eyes loose their sheen and are completely dark. I fear that mother may-Tia slapped me. But I will record MY feelings in MY diary and I don't care. I fear mother has been suffering from her sadness, and a Nightmare- that's what I'm calling them- has taken residence in her heart. Tia keeps hitting me, gently sobbing. For once I must be the big sister and comfort her. Somehow I do not cry. I hug Celestia; we're both scared."

"It skips a whole other day... something bad must've happened." Twilight commented.

"Day 5:

Mother has... expired. I know I was not supposed to, but I did. I watched her in the basement. She argued with herself, angry and upset. I ran down the staircase to comfort her when she fell, but she hissed at me. It wasn't mother. It was a demon. It told me things. Things I wish it hadn't. "We're coming for you." That is all it said. Mother then charged a spell, as far as I know, and killed the monster, but her along with it. I will ask father to look at her heart; it may hold the secret of her death.

I asked father. He looked angry, as if I had crossed a line. But he nodded, then went into another fit of sadness. I looked for her heart, but all I found was a valve. A single valve and nothing left except ash. Ash. She was possessed by one of them. I was right, but I wish I were wrong."

3: The Findings

"Sister, tell me again where you put my diary?" Luna looked to her elder sister, clear annoyance on her face.

"That dusty old thing? Why do you need it?" Celestia replied.

"Because, it holds information that needs to be published. We need our ponies to remember and to remember that we were stronger than them, Celestia." Luna grunted.

"I had it stored in the Library. In the unlit portion, where no one would usually tread." Celestia said.

"Ugh." Luna responded, then ran to the Library, only to have to run back to her sister.

"It's not there."

"Oh, yes, I gave it to Twilight Sparkle." Celestia smiled playfully.

"Sister! That held important research notes! And it holds what happened during the Nightmare Times. I'm going to get it and burn it." Luna responded, her anger clear on her face.

--Later--

"Twilight and friends." Luna said from the doorway into Twilight's basement.

"Oh! Princess Luna, how nice of you to visit! Anything we-"

"Cut the crap, my friends. Twilight, the book?"

Twilight did, but reluctantly, handed the book over.

"May we ask some questions?"

Luna sighed as she folded her wings back up after they flared out.

"There was a war that no one wants to talk about. People died. Nightmares were killed. Nightmares were also born, like people. They are there, and we have an agreement, which may not hold for long. The Forces of Equestria are trying to keep this nation together. We have Chrysalis on our side and Sombra is dead. Nightmare Moon is dead, nothing more than ash. It'll be fine, but only if you keep your noses out of this."