Nightmare

Chapters

Power
At What Cost?
Responsibility

Power

"Don't worry!" Pinkie Pie chirped. "I'm sure the princess is just in one of her grumpy-pants moods!" Pinkie patted Twilight on the head. "Now you just walk over there, and I'm sure she'll cheer right up!"

Twilight smiled at the gesture. It was just Pinkie being Pinkie after all. And to be honest, she was glad to have an optimistic friend around.

"Sugar cube," Applejack spoke. "What are the chances that anythin' could go wrong? Yer gonna be alright, y'hear?"

"Yeah!" Rainbow dash threw in. "And if anything does go wrong, I can pull you out of there faster than you can say 'sonic rainboom!!'"

"Twilight darling, it seems pretty clear to me that you also have ponies to back you up in Canterlot!" Rarity snobbishly turned her snout upwards, impersonating the high class. "I have friends in high places that will help out a friend of mine at the drop of a hat."

Fluttershy timidly looked down at the floor, unsure of what to say. Then she smiled and pulled her violet coated friend in for a hug. Twilight returned the hug, not needing any words to be exchanged. Reluctantly, she let go, heading outside of the library, where her carriage, and spike, were waiting

"Ready to go, Twilight?" spike asked

"I think so, Rarity promised to keep the place clean"

Spike went dreamy eyed. "She's so generous, isn't she?"

Twilight giggled, jostling the baby dragon back to reality. "Eyes forward, lovebird, we're taking off."

The carriage angled up, increasing altitude for the trip. Twilight observed the golden sky, taking in the view above Ponyville. It was a warm day today, and her mane blew in the wind. The hills took on a dark brown like color in view of the sky, with the trees standing proudly on top. The Everfree lay like a great green blanket, folding gently over the terrain, perhaps taller than it ever was before, greedily taking in the sunlight that shown bright and brilliant on the planet. She would have been worried about the change of color in the sky, but the night still shown just as beautifully as ever, and it happened slowly over time. Some things have to change, don't they?

The carriage landed with a hard thump and rolled to a stop. Twilight snapped out of her trance, hopping out to feel the hard stone on her hooves once more. She never got used to not having her hooves planted on firm ground.

A certain newly wed couple was there to greet her, arms open wide as Twilight leaped to wrap her favorite foal-sitter and her BBBFF in a group hug.

"Hey Twiley, how goes life in Ponyville?" Shining Armor asked.

Twilight let go, smiling warmly. "It's been great! I've made lots of friends, probably more than I can count on one hand!" She blushed. "Sorry, my friend Lyra just can't stop talking about humans, and I think her lingo's rubbing off on me... "

Shining smiled, but the atmosphere grew tense, so he cut to the chase. "Twilight, do you know why you were brought here?"

"Well, I received a letter regarding Princess Celestia's apparent problem of not speaking with anypony in weeks, requesting immediate audience with 'Princess Mi Amore Cadenza', and the captain of the guard. I'm really quite confused, how will I manage to get her out of her rut?"

"Twilight, I left something out. She wants nopony except you to see her." Twilight was unsure of whether to be flattered or nervous. Whenever she asked for her presence, it also included the presence of her friends. What did it mean when she wanted to see her personally? She supposed that in the long run, it didn't matter, because the princess always worked in the best interests of her subjects. Beside the point, she was her student. What could go wrong?

Twilight's hooves clacked against the tile floor in the unusually quiet hallway. Surely, it was just a slow day. after all, with a princess that refuses to see anypony, you're sure to have time on your hands. The staff must be in the cafeteria, right? Twilight continued to walk, finding no guards to block the way, like there should have been. Something was wrong.

Luna Stood at the door to Celestia's chambers, looking very uneasy. Of course, anypony would be if their sister locked themselves in their bedroom for weeks on end. Her face told Twilight everything. With confidence, she knocked on the door. a lock clicked, and the door opened just enough to let her through. So she let her in. Everything was going to be fine, since she still cared for her favorite student. Her ears perked up when she heard the Princess' friendly voice:

"Twilight Sparkle, my most faithful student! Thank you for coming. I wanted you to be the first to see me since the beginning of my ambitious... quest, if you will." Twilight walked out to the balcony intent on seeing her teacher's smiling face. Then she stopped, frozen in her tracks.

"Y-you're not Princess Celestia..." Twilight breathed. Before her was the pony who was once her mentor, transformed into a nightmare, fire eternally flowing from her mane, eyes which once held purity and kindness were but glowing yellow orbs, hollow and blank. her beautiful white wings and coat were but a deep black, like ash after a forest fire or from a volcano. No longer did she wear the beautiful crown that her student always admired, but a hard metal helmet, readying her for war. Twilight's mind was flooded with confusion and fear. How could she have given in to the very thing that ravaged Equestria over a thousand years ago???

Then it dared to use her voice.

"Twilight," it plead. "This isn't what you think, the creature is docile now."

"No, g-give her back..." Twilight whimpered. "I want Princess Celestia back..." She never knew that this was the reason behind the hasty union of the nations! The creature was on another quest for power!

A frown creased the creature's face. "Twilight please, listen to me!" The creature stepped closer to Twilight. "Don't you understand? The nightmare always wanted power, and now it has it! I even united the planet through peaceful negotiation! isn't that enough?"

"No! It's n-never enough! You'll always want more!" Twilight backed away, tears streaming down her cheeks. "You may have united this world p-peacefully-" She choked a sob. "But you'll still want war! Don't think I haven't read the stories, Nightmare, because I have!" She stared at the creature, in a mix of fear and anger.

The creature looked heartbroken, but it was most likely faking it. It slowly stepped towards her, and she could feel its hot breath. "Oh, Twilight, Please don't cry. I did this for you! I did this for everypony. I did this so it would never hurt anypony again..." The creature reached out with a hoof to wipe her tears. Twilight violently slapped it aside.

"GO AWAY!" She screamed. "I HATE YOU!!" She ran as fast as her hooves could carry her, ignoring the creature's desperate pleas. It sounded very convincing, but you can't believe anything the nightmare says. That sobbing was only crocodile tears, after all.

At What Cost?

"GO AWAY!" She screamed. "I HATE YOU!!" She ran off as fast as her hooves could carry her. Celestia could only stare in disbelief. What was that? Did her faithful student just reject her? No, she's just upset by her...sudden transition. Yes, that was it, right?

"Twilight?!" She called. "Twilight!!!" She could hear the clack of hooves on the tile growing quieter "Twilight, come back!!! Twilight...? Twilight!!!" She could have stopped her. She could have closed the door so she couldn't escape. Her eyes became blurry. Why did she leave like that? She thought she learned better than that. What ever happened to not judging a book by it's cover, the lesson she learned when she befriended Zecora? She called again, but couldn't hear her student's footsteps any longer.

I told you it would not go over well with her.

"Sh-shut up... You did something to her..."

I did no such thing. She needed to see what we are, so she saw.

Celestia sobbed. "What she saw... was a p-parasite, not a mutual symbiosis... you did something to her, blast it!"

you said your gentle gaze would be enough.

"SHUT UP!!!" She said no more, falling to the floor in a wailing wreck.

The creature within remained silent for a moment. When it spoke, it's words were less accusing this time. Celestia, you know I have always wanted power. Have you ever thought of why?

Celestia said nothing.

I've never had any true power of my own, and even in connection with others, I still wasn't very strong. Haven't you ever felt weak? Nightmare was about to continue, when the door to Celestia's chambers burst open.

"Sister!" Luna shouted. "Thou hast hidden thy face from us for long enough! Prey tell, why wouldst thou make our best friend weep so?!" She stepped out to the balcony, rightfully upset. Celestia refused to look at her, continuing to sob weakly. So now Luna saw her as a monster, didn't she? She was a fool to think that her new look would be well received. She gave in to defeat.

"Go ahead and kill me," she whimpered. "Just make it quick, would you?"

Are you mad? What kind of good will that do you? Celestia stood up, facing her sister to receive whatever punishment she had in store for her.

Instead of the furious gaze she expected, her eyes met with gentle ones. "We thought you would know better than to associate with things that only seek power." Celestia stared in confusion, to which Luna chucked. "Dearest sister, it seems you have wandered into territory that only we are familiar with." She beckoned her closer. "Tell us, how does it feel to have a second voice within your mind? We would care to know from...a different perspective."

...

Twilight slowly stepped down the hallway, preferably away from the creature that stole her mentor's body. She hated that creature which forced itself into her body. She hated herself for not seeing the signs sooner. She hated Celestia for not being the perfect teacher she always wanted. She hated her friends-Wait, what's wrong with me? how could I hate Princess Celestia? She turned to look at a mirror she was about to pass by.

To her horror she saw not her purple colors gleaming back into her eyes, but a grey coat and grey mane. Her legs quivered under her own weight. And it happened so quickly, too. How could I have let myself give into this? Twilight, Nightmare moon was right. You are a little foal. A stupid selfish little FOAL! She threw her hoof at the mirror, shattering the glass. The shards cut her skin, but she didn't care. it was only proper punishment for stupid little foals.

Twilight climbed up a flight of stairs, wincing at the cuts stretching on her back. At least her blood was red, wasn't it? She wanted to leave. She wasn't sure where, just out of Equestria. But the nightmare had control over the other nations, and even the entire world, didn't it? It gambled for power, and it won. Now it wants power over her as well. She wasn't going to let that happen, she would die before that happened. In fact, dying seemed like a good idea. reaching the top of the tower, she looked upon Equestria. The day refused to give way for the night, didn't it? There was not a time when the sun didn't shine upon the union, because the union was the world. The only way to leave the union was to die, so die she would.

She closed her eyes and leaped off the tower, content that nothing would be able to control her. Nopony would miss her anyway.

Her vision was surrounded by the glow of fire, and her decent stopped.

Responsibility

"It's... confusing, but I'm hardly ever lonely." Celestia said. Luna draped a wing around her big sister.

"That would explain why you hid yourself for so long. Had a long talk?"

"Yes, that was part of it, but I also wanted-"

"To wait till the right moment to show yourself? Everypony who has had Nightmare within them has went through the same mindset."

"...We aren't the only ones?"

Of course not, Celestia, you were only the latest in a long line. Regrettably, I made your sister rather violent in my fight for power. I can't thank you enough for giving that power to me, peacefully even.

"Luna," Celestia asked. "Why does Nightmare want power?"

Luna dropped her head in thought. "I'm not sure..." Celestia was shocked. Luna didn't know why the Nightmare wanted power, and it was about to tell her? It's gratitude for her was far greater than she initially thought. She thought it was only making a deal, stopping its senseless violence. But now it was venting its secrets to her...Suddenly, a loud crash of glass sounded in a distant hallway. Luna and Celestia stood up, running to the source.

Glass shards lay thrown about the floor, mixed with blood. The trail lead further down the hallway, and the two alicorn sisters pursued it. Celestia noticed a hair on the floor which happened to come from Twilight's mane. She looked back at the trail. It was heading straight up the tower stairs. In Twilight's perspective, it must have been horrible to learn that her teacher was infested with the very nightmare she thought she had defeated that fateful night in Ponyville. Knowing her faithful student and her tendency to panic, she would have assumed this evil creature had taken over the entire planet, and the only reasonable thing to do so to not fall into enemy power would be-

"Oh no..." She thought. The sisters ran as fast as their legs could carry them, up the tower to the top. What amount of ground that would take most ponies a measure of minutes was covered in a matter of seconds. Celestia left the doorway of the stairwell...

...Just to see Twilight Sparkle jump off the guard rail, plummeting towards the ground. Celestia's form flash dissolved into ethereal mist, racing after her

Don't you dare, Twilight Sparkle, don't you dare die, Celestia has seen enough death!

Luna stood watching in helpless terror as her sister desperately tried to save her friend. Panic set in, knowing that Twilight would not be able to survive the fall.

...

Twilight's limp grey body was tightly wrapped up in a cocoon of orange energy. Her stop was sudden, but she did not die. The mist took all the shock of the fall."No, please," She begged. "Not you..." The mist reformed into Celest- that creature once more, and it reached a wing around her. She fought the creature's wing, kicking, biting, shoving, beating on the creature's chest, anything to stay away! Unfortunately, the creature held out longer than her, and she resigned to her fate, smothered by the wing of her former teacher. She waited. She was not squeezed. Her bones did not break. She felt the creature's fur against her's, a strange warmth flooding over her. She closed her eyes. She remembered. She remembered first being accepted as a personal student to Princess Celestia. She remembered her warm smile of approval when she showed her a spell she learned. She remembered how she shared her bed when the storms kept her awake. She remembered how she comforted her when she was sad, pulling her into a gentle embrace, wrapping her soft wings around her. Her eyes snapped open. When she looked up at the face of the creature, her teacher's eyes looked back, with that same beautiful purple she saw not a few weeks ago. Luna stood next to her, equal concern on her face. Twilight stared in disbelief "Princess...?"

"Twilight," Celestia's voice returned, breaking. "Don't ever scare me like that again." So that was the princess all along. She had been a stupid little foal again and judged the book by its cover, breaking the heart of her mentor in the process. No, more like ripping her heart into little pieces and stamping it in the dirt. She clung to the soft fur of her princess, bawling like the little foal she had been.

"I'm so sorry, Princess C-Celestia!" She sobbed. Celestia said nothing, pulling her closer, letting her coat dry the tears of the weeping unicorn. She cradled her, gently stroking her mane. She and her sister too let tears fall down their cheeks, filled with overwhelming relief that Twilight had made it alive, and accepted her teacher once more. For a time this continued, Celestia occasionally nuzzling her, then Twilight had finally spent every last one of her tears. She pulled away, wiping her eyes and smiling warmly. The sun was setting, and Luna stood up.

"I must bring out the night again, Tia. I'll see you in the morning." She soundlessly took off into the air.

Celestia looked at her student. "You have had a hard day, Would you like to stay with me over night?" Twilight nodded, and she brought them both back to her chambers with a quick teleportation spell. Twilight blushed, realizing how odd it would be to see two female adults in the same bed. Celestia simply nudged her forward, which told her not to worry about such little things. The mattress sank under her hooves as she picked a comfortable spot, sinking into the warm blanket. She never got used to how comfortable her teacher's bed was. Celestia removed her royal attire, placing it on top of a dresser. The moon shown down into the room with a pleasant gleam.

"Princess," Twilight asked as her mentor lie down beside her. "Why does the nightmare want power?"Celestia pulled her student close, unsure of the answer. It may have been self preservation, for all she knew. Her eyes grew heavy, but before she finally fell asleep, soothed by the steady breathing of her dreaming student, one word entered her head:

life

Author's Note

I'm a total sucker for happy endings :D