One Moment, One Nightmare
“How about a trade, Princess Twilight?” Tirek asked. “Their release for all the alicorn magic in equestria.”
Twilight let out a soft gasp as she realized that she had been backed into a corner. No matter that her friends where talking over each other, telling her not to do it. She had to do something to help them.
“What’s it going to be, Princess?” Tirek asked, sounding amused.
Despair filled Twilight as she surveyed the situation. The choice was nearly impossible to make. Princess Celestia, Princess Luna and Princess Cadence were all counting on her, they had entrusted her with their magic for safekeeping. How could she give it all away, and in the process making Tirek unstoppable.
But on the other hoof, if she didn’t give the magic up, what would prevent Tirek from killing her friends and then simply leaving and absorbing more magic elsewhere? She could keep fighting him all the way there of course, but once they reached a town or settlement… then what? Pony casualties were unacceptable.
Silence stretched as Twilight struggled with indecision. Her mind raced over the possibilities. Emotions roiled within her, fear, despair, anger, but most of all… hate. Yes, she hated this, and she hated Tirek for putting her in this situation.
Then suddenly, there was a moment when the world changed. Everything seemed to grow unnaturally quiet. The wind that had been blowing a moment before, stilled. Tirek was frozen mid motion, his face locked in an expression of self satisfaction. Twilight blinked in confusion, what was happening.
“Look at him, Look at that smug expression,” a voice said, from behind her.
Twilight spun around, but all she could see was the ravaged empty landscape. “What’s happening? Who are you?” Twilight could swear that she had heard that voice before… somewhere.
The reply came as a whisper in her ear, “We are within your mind, the backdrop, a construction of your last memory. See the edges blur as your recollection falters.”
Twilight jerked away from the invisible speaker, her heart hammering. “What? Why?”
“Our perception of time has slowed to a thousandth of normal, allowing us ample time to discuss the situation,” the voice replied, this time, from right above her head.
Twilight fought her instinct to look up, trying to calm down somewhat. “That doesn't tell me why, nor does it tell me who you are.”
“The latter will answer the former. And I know that you recognize my voice.”
The voice was right, Twilight did recognize it, it was her own voice, the one she had heard from herself back when she had time traveled. Had she not been under such stress, with her emotions in turmoil, she would have recognized it immediately. “But you don’t talk like me...”
“True,” the voice replied. “You can think of us like a representation of your subconscious.”
“So what… The stress cracked me and now I'm talking to myself?” Twilight asked, annoyed.
“We always talk to each other Twilight. Whenever you feel something, I feel the same amplified a hundredfold. Whenever you say something, I'm all the things that you truly wanted to say.” the voice whispered, this time in her other ear.
“GAH!” Twilight jerked away again, “So what do you want?”
“What I want?” the voice asked, its cool composure giving way to rage. “WHAT I WANT?!” it screamed, now in complete rage. “I WANT YOU TO KILL HIM! I WANT YOU TO RIP HIM APART! I WANT YOU TO BREAK HIS HORNS AND RELEASE ALL THE MAGIC HE HAS STOLEN. ! WANT YOU TO SAVE OUR FRIENDS! THEN I WANT YOU TO BANISH WHAT REMAINS TO THE SUN!”
Twilight took several steps away from the voice, her heart hammering hard. “You heard him, we are at an impasse. I couldn't do any of that, even if I wanted.”
“You could,” the voice whispered eagerly in her ear, just like before. This time, it was different however, because the voice had a body.
Glancing to the side, Twilight’s gaze met the eyes of her alter ego. Seeing them, Twilight couldn’t think of anything other than blood, to describe the irises. The pupils were elongated, like that of a snake’s or a cat’s… or like that of Nightmare Moon’s. Twilight jumped away from the mare, before spinning around and taking a defensive stance facing her.
The mare unfurled two majestic wings, like her coat, they were of a pristine cream white color that seemed to glow. Her body was about the same size as Twilight, though her horn and wings appeared to be slightly longer. Beautiful as it all was, what truly caught Twilights attention was her mane, it roared up in the wind her like a firestorm in slowmotion. Shades of orange and white shifting around one single streak of red.
Twilight tried to swallow, her mouth felt dry, “Are… Are you like Nightmare Moon?”
The mare rolled her neck, causing ripples to slowly move up the length of her mane. “Yes and no. Nightmare Moon, though also born from emotion, was born from loneliness and petty jealousy. I like to believe myself, a far more mature creation.” She licked the inside of her mouth, “I suppose I should have a name, just make it simpler for you.” She paused for a moment to think, before continuing. “You may call me Daybreak.”
Twilight felt goosebumps travel over her at Daybreak’s final words. This couldn't be happening! It just couldn't! Had Princess Luna gone through this exact same thing… Trapped in a moment of time, forced to face off against a being shaped by her own subconscious. Twilight felt her legs tremble, she just couldn't do this, not on top of everything else. Wasn’t Tirek enough for one day, without her having to fight her inner demons too.
Daybreak seemed to read Twilight mind as she interrupted her thoughts “You don’t have to fight me. I'm not like Nightmare Moon, remember? Friendship has tempered us both, and have made of us... something better.”
Twilight frowned at Daybreak, doubtfully. “What about your eyes and your...OH SWEET CELESTIA your teeth!”
Daybreak grinned wide, displaying her sharp teeth. “Oh Twilight, you of all ponies should know not to judge a book by its cover.”
“But...” Twilight began.
“Just because I look like Nightmare Moon doesn't mean I'm like her,” Daybreak interrupted angerly. “You should know that, Twilight Sparkle. Because I know it, and we are one!”
“I...” Twilight tried again.
Suddenly Daybreak was right next to her, one of her forelegs wrapped around Twilights neck, forcing her to look in the direction of the frozen Tirek. “Look at him! He's threatening everything we love, our friends, our subjects, our country, OUR WORLD!”
Twilight stood frozen, she had almost forgotten, the despair that awaited her when this moment ended.
“Let us fuse with each other, and become one.” Daybreak said in a breathy whisper. “Together we could rip our friends out of his grasp. And then crush him. Just imagine his face when he realizes that the tables have turned. His eyes, widening in shock, then in dismay and finally in terror.”
Twilight shoved herself free from the mares grasp, “No”.
“What do you mean no?” Daybreak asked, her voice full anger. “There is no other way!”
“There is always another way... There has to be!” Twilight said.
Daybreak stared at her in disbelief, then bared her sharp teeth in a vicious snarl. “I won't let your stupidity hurt my friends. We will save them, together. Even if I have to force you!” With those words, Daybreak’s mane became an inferno that rippled up into the sky, bathing everything in an orange light.
Twilight unfurled her wings and called upon her own magic. Despite this all taking place in her head, she could still feel the power of the other princesses within her. It had to be enough it just had too, she didn’t want to think of what losing would mean. She grasped the magic and spun it, before hurling a humongous beam of pure energy at her nightmare.
The roiling inferno of Daybreak’s magic formed like the edge of a crude sword, and upon meeting Twilight beam, cleaved it on two. The memory based landscape was ripped apart as the deflected beams crashed through it, leaving scars into darkness. “YOUR MAGIC IS TOO BRUTISH!” Daybreak shouted. Before releasing a hundred windigos of fire, from her horn. They rushed through the sky, letting out shrill screams as they went.
As the creatures closed in on Twilight from all sides, she teleported. She appeared twenty paces above Daybreak, like she had done with Tirek. But before she could blast her into the ground like she had done with him, Daybreak slammed right into her belly. Twilight screamed in pain as the fiery mane burned her.
Twilight teleported into the sky again, but this time Daybreak followed, appearing right above her and delivered a four hoofed kick to Twilight’s back, sending her into the ground with a crash. The flame windigos rushed forth and dove after her with shrieks of pleasure.
“YOU NEVER THOUGHT OF A WAY TO UTILIZE MAGIC FOR WAR. BUT YOUR SUBCONSCIOUS DID!” Daybreak thundered, her voice ringing out over the landscape as the windigos exploded, shockwaves of fire rending the ground, leaving nothing but darkness behind.
Twilight appeared in the sky some distance away, her coat signed in places. She let out a tired groan. For some reason, her alicorn magic didn’t seem to shield her from the abuse, like it had during the fight with Tirek. She gazed over the distance, meeting Daybreak’s eyes. The nightmare looked back at her with sadness.
“Please, Twilight. Just stop, you can’t win.” Daybreak said, her voice filled with sorrow.
For some reason, her words seemed far heavier than they had when she had shouted. Twilight sent another beam of energy at the nightmare. Daybreak’s magic zipped out to meet Twilight’s halfway. But instead of slamming into the beam, Daybreak’s magic expanded and enveloped it. Twilight’s beam turned red and curved away from its target. Twilight looked on in horror as the mass of energy she had released reformed into the form of a giant serpent. It settled to swim in a lazy spiral around Daybreak.
Thier gazes met once more, the nightmare’s sad eyes seemed to say, “See?”
Twilight looked away, there had to be something she could do, she frantically scanned the broken dreamscape, there had to be SOMETHING. Her eyes snagged on the patches of blackness that they had caused during their battle. THAT’S IT!
Twilight called on her magic once again as Daybreak looked on unimpressed. But, when Twilight hurled the beam off to the side rather than at Daybreak, she frowned in puzzlement. “What are you doing?”
Twilight didn’t respond, but rather shot yet another beam off in another direction, obliterating a mountain.
Daybreak’s frown deepened, “WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!”
Twilight's horn hurt, but she ignored it, summoning yet another beam. Daybreak’s eyes went wide in sudden realization.
“FOOL” Daybreak screamed.
The world crackled, fractures spreading out from the dark holes that Twilight were creating. Daybreak sent the massive red serpent lunging towards Twilight, who was just releasing yet another another beam.
“STOP!” Daybreak shouted, her voice desperate now.
Twilight teleported away from the lunging serpent and released one final earth shattering attack.
The dream world shattered, and Twilight felt herself go fuzzy. In the distance Daybreak called out one final time. “I will be back Twilight, I'm still you. I hope we don’t come to regret this later.”
Then the moment ended, and Twilight was back in reality. And she WOULD find a way to save everyone.
“You better,” a tiny voice replied within her mind.
