Equestriabound- Return of the Nightmare
Chapter 1
In the darkness, Ponyville slept peacefully, not a single soul in town awake to the moonlight. The town was bordered by several small hills, and on one of these hills, a small, unattractive house sat on the edge of a cliff. Ponies who passed by would look over it in favor of the larger, more impressive mansion that shadowed over it, the home of eccentric millionaire Filthy Rich and his family. In the smaller house, resting through Luna's work, slept the Hooves family- Derpy Hooves; Her daughters, Dinky and Amethyst; and their family dog, Rover. It was a peaceful night, as quiet and monotonous as every night before it, or so it seemed. For a Legend cannot be interesting without a conflict- a ages-old battle between good and evil, light and dark, sun and moon. And so, as the town patiently awaits the morning sun, a small object appears in the sky, hurtling towards Earth.
Dinky awoke to a loud crash. Kicking off her covers, she crawled to the window and craned her neck around, barely glimpsing a bright light behind the Rich Mansion. Hearing other Lights kick on downstairs, she left her room and headed downstairs.
As she passed her mothers room, Derpy leaned out, anxiously watching her daughter with her head slightly bent to favor her left eye.
"Did the Meteor wake you up?"
"Yeah, I'm fine. That was a meteor?"
"I'm guessing. Promise you'll stay inside, alright, Muffin?"
"Of course, Mom. Love you."
Dinky went downstairs, finding Amethyst looking out the window while Rover slept next to her. Upon hearing her sister come downstairs, she turned around and trotted up to her, seemingly very excited.
"The rumors were right! A meteor crashed down, on the highest peak, adjacent to the mansion!"
"Rumors?"
"Everypony in town talked about it! All the newspapers, all the gossip, either about the meteor or Trixie's return! C'mon, we gotta go see it!"
"I don't know.. Mom said I Shouldn't.."
"How about this- I'll cover for you. If we get caught, I'll say I pressured you into it, I get all the blame. Please, I just need a picture to show everypony in town. By tomorrow, The Royal Guard will have closed all the roads anyway. Please?!"
"Oh, fine. I have a small camera in my saddlebag, But it's your fault, remember."
After sneaking back to her room, grabbing her saddlebags and a muffin, Dinky slipped out the front door And dashed towards the meteor, running up the hill as fast as her little legs could carry her. Passing several fainted flower girls and A.K. yearlings house, she noticed a royal balloon, flanked by two Pegasi out of the corner of her eye. She continued to run faster, saddlebags bouncing, before turning the final Stretch to find she was too late- two unicorns in armor were setting up barriers on the hill.
Dinky was about to turn back, but as she trotted away, she heard a familiar nagging voice. Turning back, Dinky noticed Diamond Tiara complaining to one of the guards, despite his obvious irritation. Dinky sighed, all too familiar with Diamond's attitude, and trudged over. Spotting her, the guards face lit up and he trotted over to her.
"Dinky! Just the filly I wanted to see, how's school treating you? Listen, you're one of Tiaras friends right?"
"Um, not exactly.."
"But a classmate, right? C'mon, help me out here."
"I could try talking to her.."
"Great! Just try to get her out of here, we can't be bothered right now."
The tired pony shuffled over to her overbearing classmate, beginning to speak up. Before she could get a word out, DT noticed her and snidely commented.
"Oh, Dinky, the most adorable blank flank in school. Come to bask in my glory, just like your mother?"
"Tiara, Your dad must be worried sick-"
"Don't tell me how to have a father when you don't. Fly back home, and hope you're better at it then the rest of your family."
Sighing, Dinky gave up and walked back home, leaving her to nag the older Unicorns.
Back home, Amethyst warmly greeted her-
"You're back! Did you get a shot?"
"Sorry, sis, but I was too late. They already set up a roadblock."
"That's alright, I shouldn't have made you do that anyway. Get to bed, we can talk at breakfast."
She was happy to oblige, and left for her room.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Dinky awoke to a loud Knocking. Kicking off her covers, she ran downstairs, passing a confused Amethyst and looking through the peephole to see her least favorite pony for the second time that night. D.T. seemed anxious, and impatiently tapped her hoof, glancing back at the mansion. When the door opened, her smug grin reappeared and she immediately started talking-
"Listen here, blank flank- Silver Spoon's gone. The guards had to head back to Canterlot and dragged me back home, but Spoon wasn't where I told her to stay, and now she's gone, and because You're just a useless blank flank, you have to help out the important ponies. Come ON."
Dinky sighed, and was about to refuse when she realized her mother was behind her.
"It's the right thing to do, Muffin."
"Fine.. let me get my saddlebags."
"You should take Rover with you too. It's dangerous out there."
After a few preparations, Dinky rounded up Rover and began hiking to the meteor crash site. Diamond Tiara walked behind her, loudly commenting on everything, and Rover took up the rear, still half-asleep.
True to Tiaras' word, the guards had left, leaving the path open. Running the rest of the way up the hill, Dinky skidded to a stop in front of a massive crater covering most of the hilltop. In the center, a large molten-hot rock sat, illuminating the surround area. Silver Spoon was sleeping behind a half-burnt bush, and she groggily awoke upon hearing Dinkys' hooves.
"Wha- Diamond Tiara? Your dad sent me, he was practically tearing his fur out-"
"Yeah, yeah, can it. Let's ditch the Blank Flank and head back-"
All sound seemed to cut out as a loud humming sound came from the meteor, as if a spell was being charged up. Suddenly, the sky was split open with light as a beam, bright as the sun, shot out of the space rock. For a minute nothing happened as the beacon lit up the entire hill- then, it vanished, as if nothing happened, and in its place flew the smallest Breezie Dinky had ever seen. Clearing its' throat, the insect let loose a royal voice that echoed through the lands-
"BEHOLD: THE PRINCESS OF THE NIGHT!!!
Dinky stood, flabbergasted, as the Breezie flew closer. Eventually, it spoke again-
"I come from the future, with a grave prophecy: In ten years time on this day, All is devastation. The Nightmare which once held me in its' grasp has returned. I was no longer weak to its' power, but it seized another- The Element of Magic, Twilight Sparkle. With her corruption, The elements power was severed- my sister and I were defeated, and I used the last of my power to assume the form of a creature literally noone cared about so I would go unnoticed, and return here. You are Dinky Hooves, daughter of Derpy Hooves, are you not?"
"Y-yes..?"
"Very well then. You must take me to Twilight. From there we can assemble The Elements and attempt to wipe out The Nightmare. Help me, and you will be a hero to the ponies of this land."
Dinky stood still, absorbing information. Looking closer at the Breezie, She could tell it was indeed Princess Luna. It was a deep shade of blue and had a white crescent moon mark, but she still could not believe the rest of the story- The Nightmare, which had plagued a mentally weak Luna for 1000 years before being defeated by the elements which she claimed had been severed with Twilights' corruption, was a being of pure evil- if there was the slightest chance her story was true, chances must not be taken. Dinky took a deep breath, then held her head high and lifted a hoof.
"We will take you to Twilight."
"Very well then, we haven't a moment to lose. Thank you, from all of Equestria."
"Wait wait wait, don't I get a say in this?"
The nearly-forgotten Diamond Tiara stepped forward, glaring at her classmate.
"I am Diamond Tiara. I should be the one to help the Princess!"
"Young filly, we must-"
"Don't even try, Luna. It's best if we just try to ignore her."
And so, the five began trekking back down the hill, away from the now-cooled meteor. Thousands of thoughts went through Dinky's head as they walked, most prominently "how did I get roped into this?" She was a mailmare's daughter, not some epic hero. Regardless, if what Luna said was true, the future depended on her escorting The Princess of the Night. At the very least she had a relatively easy job.
However, Fate is a cruel mistress and just as they reached the bottom of the hill, the sky split open once more, and from the blinding lightshow emerged a single Crystal Unicorn. The purple maned pony tried to run from the group, but had barely taken a step before being dragged forward by some unseen magical force. Choking back sobs, the slave looked up at Luna, unwillingly preparing a magic attack.
"I-I'm sorry... please forgive me... Sombra-"
A blue shield spread around them just in time to catch a fiery beam shooting out at them. Dinky, Diamond Tiara, and Silver Spoon were knocked backwards by the force of the attack, but the shield held as Luna fired a counterattack, stunning the controlled pony. Her paralyzed body struggled furiously as Luna's aura enveloped her, shrunk to fit the object, and then forcefully teleported her away- all this happened in the time it took Dinky to get back up and brace herself for a fight. The group took a minute to recover from the shock, and eventually Luna spoke up.
"That Pony was a slave of King Sombra. When The Nightmare took over Twilight, it used its power to call to all creatures with a vendetta against Equestria. We must make haste- I do not wish to see you get hurt."
They ran the rest of the way to the Rich Manor, bursting in through the doors to see Filthy and Spoiled awaiting their arrival. Tiara's father rushed up and hugged his daughter, talking furiously while his wife simply sneered at their arrival.
"I, I didn't know where you had gone, and they were closing roads, and what with Trixie returning I thought- um, Diamond Tiara, you know better than to run off like that. Go to your room."
Tiara lowered her head and left the room, not making eye contact with anyone. Her mother followed her, and as Filthy Rich talked, Dinky could hear sharp slapping noises coming from behind the closed door.
"Thank you so much, you two. Silver Spoon, you should run home. How's your mother doing, Dinky? Still fluttering along?"
"I guess so."
"That's good, she really works hard. See you tomorrow."
As the Colt and Filly parted ways, Luna flew up from behind Dinky, believing the coast to be clear. It wasn't. They heard a scream, and whipped around to see Spoiled had returned, and was galloping across the room towards them.
"There's a Breezie! Vile, unloved creature!"
"Wait, Mrs Rich-!"
The mare slapped Luna out of the air with one hoof, and Dinky could see her fragile body twisting at an angle before collapsing. Muttering to herself, Spoiled once again left as Dinky crouched next to the frail body, on the verge of a nervous breakdown. Sparks flew from the fallen princess's antennae as she weakly tried to cast a spell.
"Nonononono, Luna! What do I do?"
"There's nothing left for me to do but accept my fate. Don't fret- we can change this! Dinky... You must be the one to assemble The Elements!"
"M-me?"
"Listen closely, I don't have much time- talk to Twilight- see if she can round up everyone, they hid the elements throughout Equestria so they wouldn't all be in one place. Get my sister, too. And take this..."
Luna once again tried to cast a spell, using all of her strength on a microscopic object nestled between her wings. It grew in size, and Dinky grabbed it just before it crushed Luna. It was a purple, star shaped gem- The Element of Magic.
"When the Nightmare consumed Twilight, her connection to the element was severed. If you can connect this to the other five, you may be able to restrengthen it with someone skilled in this element. It's your only..."
"I- Luna, I'm not... A Hero."
Dinky's parting words were heard by none, as the once powerful Princess of the Night succumbed to the might of one pony. Dinky sat there for a moment, the only sound a faint sobbing from outside the room. Finally regaining her strength, the small filly, who had never had an adventure, or even witnessed a monster attack, drew herself up and marched out the door, deciding to try and get some sleep.
It was the last good rest she had for a long time.
Equestriabound- Return of the Nightmare
Chapter 2- The Great and Powerful Trixie
Chapter 2
Dinky sat up in bed, turning over the star-shaped gem with her magic, thinking over the events of the night. She had rushed home and gone straight to bed after Luna died, refusing to talk to anyone. She still couldn't believe what had happened- the powerful, godlike Alicorn, a symbol of hope to all who gazed upon her, swatted out of the air like a common fly. She had given Dinky the dormant element, truly believing she could reassemble them. Imagine that! Dinky, a nopony from a small town only known for the Mane 6's presence, helping save the world. Still, The Princess of the Night had trusted her with it, and gave her a mission. And after a few hours of thinking, Dinky decided she was going to follow through with it.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
"I'm going to the library, mom. I promise I'll only be gone an hour or so."
"Okay! I love you, muffin."
"Love y... Love you too, mom."
Dinky couldn't bring herself to make eye contact. As grabbed her saddlebags and walked out, she tried to reassure herself that she truly would be back in an hour. She just had to run over to Twilight, give her the element, and run back. Simple as that.
Trotting down the hill and through the woods, Dinky only met minor resistance in the form of stray dogs and Parasprites, which she ran from and swatted away, respectively. Eventually, she came to The Golden Oaks Library, lying between Ponyville and the small wood.
Dinky shoved the door open and marveled at the golden accent to the perfectly organized interior of the hollowed-out tree. Twilight beamed at her as she walked in, putting up her book and dashing to the front shelf to meet her.
"Sorry, I don't get many visitors this early... oh, hey Dinky! How are you? Come to check out a book?"
"Not today... I've got something to show you..."
Dinky reached into her saddlebags, pulling out the element and dropping it on the front shelf. Twilight immediately dropped the smile and began to panic at the sight of the purple gem.
"Wha-how did you-my element- ohhhhh. I see. It's a replica. It really looks great! How'd you make it?"
"Wha-what do you mean?!"
"If it were the true element, It would glow when I lifted it with magic. Still looks very real!"
"But- wait, hold on.."
Dinky realized she had never picked it up with her magic before. Since her mother was a Pegasus and her father was an Earth Pony, she felt bad using an ability that made everything easier for her while her parents had to slave away with their hooves, so she had taught herself how to pick up things with her mouth. Now that the prospect was brought up, a sudden fear struck her. Shuddering a bit, she focused on the mental image of the element. Her horn lit up, and-
"How... how is that possible...?"
The Element of Magic shone with a brilliant purple light, illuminating the entire room in a wave of color. Twilight and Dinky both watched flabbergasted, as it slowly rotated around before dropping onto the table again. They took a minute to breathe, and Dinky began to explain the events of the previous night. When she finished, Twilight steadied herself and slowly responded.
"If what you're saying is true.. if this element is from the future, and it's connection with me was broken, then... It won't work with me. Instead, it will have to choose a new bearer, somepony skilled in magic, and... and I believe it has chosen you."
"Me?! But.. I barely use magic! Why wouldn't it choose someone else?"
"I cannot fully grasp the element's thinking here, but.. if it says you are the new element, than you must have some hidden ability you do not understand. However, we cannot change this, and I think you know what this means."
"No.."
"Yes. You must be the one to assemble the elements. It is loyal only to you."
"But... how..."
"The element chose you for a reason, Dinky. You must have incredible magical prowess- you just have to unlock it."
"Where... where would I even find the elements..."
"After Queen Chrysalis's attack on Canterlot, we decided to separate the elements, so they could not be easily found. Pinkie and Rarity hid their's here, in Ponyville. The closest one can be found in the cave just west of here, but it was sealed off by Mayor Mare after Trixie tried to break in."
"Trixie?"
"Yes. I don't know if you heard, but Trixie came back to town two days ago with a group of young, gullible followers. She has claimed the arcade as her own and is supposedly building something in the lot behind it."
"If I were to, say.. defeat Trixie... drive her out of town..."
"No! You can't do that! As much of a fraud as she is, she is still a fully grown Mare. I will not let you fight her."
"Alright, fine, I swear not to go over there."
"I should hope not. Here, let me give you a map. The rest of the element's locations are written on the back. Stay! Out! Of! Trouble! If something happens, get an adult to handle it! You got that?"
"Of course. Stay out of trouble. Thank you for everything!"
"Of course. Let's hope we can change the future."
Dinky left the library with more questions than answers. Still, she had a plan of attack, and knew what she had to do. She started to walk back home, but decided to head into town instead. She would stick to her promise, but a quick jog through Ponyville wouldn't hurt.
It did hurt. Almost as soon as she started walking down the street to the arcade, she was ambushed by a pair of fillies around her age.
"Hey! You're on Trixie's territory!"
"I'm nowhere near-"
"Let's get her! Show her that this is Trixie's town now!"
The two advanced on Dinky, backing her into a wall. She tried to move away, but was hit in the face with a swift buck, sending her to the ground in one hit. As she started to get up, she received another kick. She cowered on the ground as surges of pain swept through her with each kick. Another hoof gave her a black eye, and she heard a snicker as she started to black out. It began to dawn on her- they were enjoying this. They were causing her pain and enjoying every second of it, And it was this realization that turned her fear into anger. Her eye began to swell shut and her head started to swim, but her anger strengthened her, and as she began to get up, the thought of Luna lying on the ground popped into her head, and a single subconcious thought shot into her horn, and
SMAAAAAAAASH
A wave of energy fired out, shattering all nearby windows and throwing the two fillies across the street, hitting their heads on the bakery and instantly blacking out. Head throbbing, Dinky took a moment to get her breath back as she tried to process what had just happened. That blast had been unlike anything she had ever done before, and was seemingly triggered by her anger. Dinky remembered hearing about Twilight's first exam, where The Rainboom had shocked her enough to emit a powerful wave of magic. She had been taught in school that magic was heavily connected to a pony's emotions, and the element had to have chosen her for a reason...
Dinky had never tried to learn magic, but if she could channel that blast... she could take out Trixie in one hit! Her excitement consumed her, And without thinking of her promise to Derpy or Twilight, she began running back to the library.
~~~~~~~~~~~
Twelve minutes later, Dinky sat on a table outside the bakery, reading a book on magic. Twilight had initially been confused on her sudden interest (and random sunglasses), but chalked it up to wanting to fufill the elements beliefs, and after promising not to confront Trixie again, she had taken the book into town and ordered a burger. She decided to start with a spell listed as 'Lifeup' to heal her black eye, and after a few minutes of practice, she felt as good as new. The magic came easy to her, like learning how to snap, and she was surprised she had never discovered this talent before. The book mentioned powerful blasts of magic triggered by emotions, but Dinky was clueless how to trigger it again. After teaching herself a few beam attacks, Dinky finally considered Trixie.
On one hand, her reign had lasted two days without being stopped, according to the cashier, and all ponies who were sent to stop her were sent to the hospital, muttering about some kind of dangerous machine she had. On the other hand, Dinky had quickly learned some powerful spells, and knew she could tap into something much stronger if the situation got dire. In the end, Dinky felt confident in her abilities, perhaps a bit too confident, but it was her promise that held her back. Maybe she should have let the adults handle it, but... the element had chosen her on purpose, not some other pony. She was somehow more powerful than every other pony in Equestria, sans Twilight. Come to think of it, why hasn't Twilight dealt with Trixie? She was certainly powerful enough.
The more she thought about it, the more she realized- she could take Trixie. Twilight made her promise because she was afraid Dinky couldn't handle her, but she hadn't witnessed Dinky's magic earlier. The element believed she could do it, and Twilight was simply being overprotective. Yes, that was it. It was time for Trixie's reign over Ponyville to end, regardless of whatever she had in store for the young filly. Her mind made up, Dinky finished her burger, left some bits on the table and began galloping to the arcade.
~~~~~~~~~~
The arcade had been thoroughly terrorized, with graffiti covering every inch of it, and several young ponies guarding the outside. Dinky cleared a path through the crowd, using her newly discovered magical prowess to throw Trixie's followers out of her way, stunning the few that came dangerously close with a few blasts of power. She shoved open the door and picked up an arcade cabinet, using it simultaneously as a shield and battering ram against the hooligans inside. Finally, she fired a beam at the pony guarding the door to the back lot, knocking him against the door hard enough to knock him out and push the door open. She barely recognized him as Snails, from her school, before marching out back.
The lot was empty, save for the trash littering the ground, the large shape obscured underneath a blanket, and a blue unicorn standing in front of it. Upon hearing Dinky, she turned around and smirked at her.
"Greetings, young one! Feast your eyes upon The Great and Powerful TRIXIE!!!!! have you come to join my ranks?"
"No, Trixie. I have come to fight you. Your reign of terror over this town is over."
"Is that so? Mayor Mare has seen her warriors fallen in combat with me and retaliated by sending a filly after me? Well then, I do not believe I will even need my weapon. Show me your power, filly, I dare you!!"
Dinky acted a lot braver than she was, but at Trixie's final taunt, she took a deep breath and channeled everything she had into a burst of energy at the showpony. Trixie raised a magical shield before it hit, but her cockiness caught up to her as the weak defense shattered and she was thrown against a fence. Now shaking slightly, Trixie put on her best smirk and retaliated with a blast of ice, which was caught midair by another energy beam. They stood like that for a second, horns locked, before Dinky began pushing herself forward, straining to match her opponents power. The point where their magic met grew closer and closer to Trixie, who began to panic and lose her footing, finally giving way and flying into the veiled machine. She shakily smiled again and reached for the end of the cover-
"You are.. more powerful than I expected... but they all fall eventually, to the might of my ROBO-URSA!"
She pulled the cover away to reveal a robotic replica of the blue bear that had efought Twilight during Trixie's first attack. With a flick of a switch, the yellow eyes lit up and the beast pulled itself to it's feet, glaring at Dinky. The filly's confidence faltered and she leapt away just in time to dodge a swipe from her metallic claws. Dinky ran behind a tree, which was sliced down like butter, and caught a heavy blow to the face that drew blood. Lying against the fence, Dinky juggled two spells at once, pulling up a shield to block the robot's onslaught of attacks, and sting lifeup on her wounds. The shield faultered, and the Robo-Ursa lifted another paw, and
Froze. A burst of steam came out from her ears and the paw came down, but the pause was just long enough for Dinky to move. She cast a stunning spell at the machine, but it barely left a dent, and the robot charged her down again. Quickly bringing up another shield, Dinky remembered the first spell she had cast- a wave of energy strong enough to shatter windows. She focused as hard as she could, thinking of Luna's death, the fillies laughing at her pain, Trixie holding the town in fear, anything to trigger the spell. As the robot tore away at her shield, Dinky remembered her mother- the promise she had made, the many hours she had spent working with her father away most of Dinky's life- yet she had kept fluttering on, her love of her two daughters was enough to do it, and now all her hard work would be for nothing- the daughter she had spent years raising would die, and it would all be because of-
Trixie.
Her sneer flashed before Dinky's eyes, and as the shield finally gave, Dinky faced the machine, and her horn lit up, and the machine stopped to generate steam, and suddenly, a wave of energy flashed out. The Robo-Ursa stopped, eyes flickering out and failing as all the systems crashed, and finally it toppled to the ground, dead.
Without stopping to catch her breath, Dinky ran to Trixie, horn lit, preparing another spell.
"W-wait! Stop! Don't kill me! I can change! Take me to the mayor!"
"You coward, you were just hiding behind your machine!"
"Well, yeah, have you seen my magic skills? Ugh, defeated by a filly. What's your name?"
"Dinky. My name is Dinky."
"Hmm.... The great and powerful Dinky..."
"Quiet. I'm taking you to the mayor, and you are not to talk during the process."
"Fine by me."
Dinky picked up Trixie, and began trotting back inside. She felt incredible- she had defeated Trixie! She felt like she could do anything! Her confidence fell as she remembered the two promises she had broken in the process. Twilight would forgive her in time, but she had to talk to her mother before continuing on her quest. As she made up her mind and started walking to city hall, Trixie seemed to get a lot heavier.
Author's Note
Woof! Woof! (Hello, I'm being possessed by the spirit of the author. In case you haven't figured it out, this is a written adaptation of a famous fangame which I had no part in making. All credit to the creators. I did take some creagive liberties. If you're wondering why the ending feels a bit off, its because I lost a lot of my work and had to rewrite it all.)