To Sleep, Perchance to... Nightmare?by Draconis187ChaptersThis is all a dream... right?Ponies on a PlaneEvil AngelWings of Mis/FortuneDisturbed NightmaresCareless WhisperRoad to NowhereThunderstruckNot InvincibleOne More NightLand of ConfusionTruth HurtsOne Last LetterWhen We Stand TogetherThe InfectionNight of the HunterThis is all a dream... right?To Sleep, Perchance To… Nightmare?! This is all a dream… right? Author: Draconis187 The name is Chris Mann. Yeah, I know strange last name but that comes from my family’s British roots. I live in the Republic of South Africa, Gauteng to be precise (we call it a province, the States call it a… state). Internet is expensive; our taxis are death traps on wheels; there is always some workers’ union on strike, leaving a mess on the streets (the funniest were the garbage strikers, they messed up the very streets they had to clean in the first place) but that is not really of much interest to me. What was interesting was the news on Equestria Daily and – two days later – the local news. Thank Celestia for DSTV giving us several international news shows that are actually current. Apparently for the past few days, bronies have been turning into ponies. It started with Lauren Faust and Tara Strong turning into Princess Celestia and Princess Luna respectively, no bucking joke (yes, I tend to use ponyisms)! Pinkie Pie had an incident at IHOP (I have no clue what that is), knowing Pinkie Pie’s usual antics I decided to not listen further on that matter. Queen Chrysalis was spotted refusing Discord’s alliance, kudos to her. Fluttershy got shot but she was stable and was going to live. If making her cry was a serious federal offence, killing her would start World War III. I shook my head to clear my thoughts, I still had people to kill in Bulletstorm. I had a bad day at work and I needed some well needed stress relief (I worked as a waiter at a local restaurant, it never pays well). You’d be surprised how comforting it was to kick someone in their gut, only to blow their head clean off as their body flew towards a man-devouring plant. I looked to my clock after some time and noticed it was 00:21. ‘Played past midnight again’, I thought. I killed my current mission and put my PC’s media player on. I always liked to listen to music when I sleep. I get too paranoid with every little sound I hear and that makes it difficult to sleep. 07:30 AM Wagnesday The alarm on my phone went off from under my pillow (this song). Nothing like a loud noise from behind to jolt you out of Dreamland. My folks had gone with my sister to work, leaving me at home. Luckily for me I didn’t work today otherwise the late night gaming would’ve hit me for a six. I tried to move my blankets out of the way so I could go get myself breakfast but my arms felt strange. Hell, my whole body felt strange. I looked down my bed and noticed the shape I made under the covers was different. I decided to use both my hands and my legs to kick off the blankets. This plan worked to great effect, throwing the blanket to the floor below. I saw the reason for both the unusual shape in my bed as well as for the feeling in my hands… I didn’t have any hands. I had hooves, fully fledged keratin hooves attached to my black furred legs, which were attached to my black body which had a pair of wings attached to it. "Well, hol- is that my voice?!" I near shouted. My voice sounded female, hell it sounded familiar as well. Why do I have the feeling that this day is about to get worse? Shrugging, I tried to get up so I could try and make sense of this situation, after all it couldn’t be THAT hard to walk on all fours, right? I crashed to the ground, landing face first on the floor, but I felt two collisions: one was my muzzle colliding with the floor while the other was a little higher up and felt connected to my head. After getting my head off the carpet I placed my hoof on my head and noticed it made contact with something sticking out of it: a horn. How on this Earth did I not notice this sticking out of my skull when I woke up? I tried to keep calm as I deciphered who I was. Black coat, horn and wings, that left very few choices but leaving it to the ‘seeing is believing’ credo I tried to get a grip on walking, or at the very least, standing. It took about ten minutes to learn how to keep my balance as I lifted a hoof, I was able to walk – albeit slowly – to my door. I didn’t have to use my teeth as all the doors had handles instead of knobs, ‘me: 2; world: 2’ I thought (me: regaining the ability to walk somewhat, handles on all our doors; world: turning me into an Alicorn, losing ability to walk). I swear to the Nine Divines of Skyrim that if I should ever find the man/ woman/ whatever that said walking on hooves was easy, I would buck them onto the express train to Tartarus in a matchbox. After I got out my room I made for my parents’ room since they had a full length mirror standing in it. I opened the door with my hoof and was immediately greeted by the mirror’s reflection (the mirror stands facing the door at all times, don’t ask why I have no clue). Looking straight at me was a pony I never thought would actually possess someone since she shouldn’t even exist anymore. Staring at me with cyan coloured eyes and cat-like irises was Nightmare Moon herself. She was there in everyway as she was in the first two episodes of the first season: the purple colouring on the eyelids with a lighter shade of purple eye-liner on my eyelashes and the purple cloud with a crescent moon Cutie Mark; the gaseous tail and mane with the shining stars in them but one thing seemed to be off: the armour. I looked as I noticed her ceremonial azure armour was missing, nothing was present on my chest, head or hooves. Considering it to be unimportant, my stomach decided to announce its desire for sustenance. Getting a bit better at walking I was able to get to the kitchen a little faster, walking at a medium paced trot. The next thing that seemed to be mocking my current state was the refrigerator. I knew we had a few veggies stored in the bottom of the fridge and that was my goal. As I tried to use my teeth to open the door a thought hit me, I'm an Alicorn! Not only that but Nightmare Moon herself for buck’s sake! I was about to try to use magic but I decided against it, there was not telling how the fridge would react if I used magic incorrectly, which was very possible, and so I went back to using my teeth. After a number of failed attempts to get a grip on the door (I lost count after 21), I managed to open the door wide enough to get my horn behind the door and using that, I fully opened the door. Luckily the drawer in the fridge had a small gap at the top and so – using my horn again – I got the drawer open and looked at my prize. A packet of carrots, some Granny Smith apples and some lettuce. Being fond of carrots I grabbed the packet, then used my hoof to close the drawer of the now beeping fridge (if left open for a short time it beeps so you know it is still open) and after letting the door close itself, I walked into the conservatory. I spent a good hour chomping on the carrots and turned my attention to the weather. Overcast and an estimated temperature of 16°C but I liked this weather. I'm a strange person and I would be the first to admit it, we only recently moved after 3 years so I didn’t have any friends, not even at work. Thanks to Discord’s mess around with our calendar we had a week for the whole year which remained in terms of the number of days, yup a 365 day week. Wagnesday 11:00 Finishing my carrots and after disposing the empty packet in the dustbin (it was one of those with a pedal that opened it up, convenient, eh?) I decided to head to my desktop PC and check my FimFiction account again. Before this mess I was busy on an OC story involving the Changeling Queen herself. Well, that wasn't going to be finished anytime soon. I went to my desktop computer and placed my hoof on my monitor’s touchscreen power button, it lit up with my media player being the front most application shown. I found one of my pens on my desk and logged on to the site by using the pen in my mouth. The usual, people don’t seem to like my brand of violent fics. Oh, well I never expected them to do well, I never seem to do anything right in any aspect of my life. I decide to try out something new only to have it blow up in face. I logged out and just sat on my bed, weighing out my options. I could go to New York and help out, probably get turned back to normal then return to my boring, uneventful life. Or I could stay at home and never leave, hoping that this was all a bad dream. Final option was running away (or galloping away, either way) from home since I have no clue as to how my parents would react to my current state. I started to feel some form of hatred towards myself as I thought of those last two, as if it went against my being to do something like that and yet I've never experienced that before. Sure my self-esteem has gotten low enough for me to consider suicide, but I could never actually go through with it and it was not the same feeling. I went back to the full length mirror and stared at myself. Of all ponies I would get changed into, why Nightmare Moon? Isn't she supposed to be dead? The Elements of Harmony destroyed her, and left Luna behind. Even before that she was an incomplete being, a parasite in a sense that hijacked Luna’s body when her hate and rage broke a threshold. Looking at myself for a few seconds caused me to blush as I realised I was stark naked! I went back into my room and opened my built-in cupboard. As I opened it a sight caught my eyes, laid above my shirts was Nightmare’s signature azure armour. Helmet: check; chestplate with cutie mark: check; shoes: check, all four were there. Using my horn, I knocked the armour down to the ground, one at a time. There was a clip for the chestplate and – after several attempts that involved my mouth and hooves – I eventually got it on, for the helmet I just knocked it over and placed my horn through it and it slid down into place with a few encouraging shakes of my head. The shoes on the other hoof were easy, but as I put them on they felt like they would not be as easy to remove but hey, my hooves were protected now. Going back to the mirror yet again I was greeted by the True Princess of the Night (or so she would like to think). I now looked like her exactly, even down to the snide smile. The brony as well as the fan of Nightmare Moon in me couldn’t stop from bellowing. “The night shall last forever!!” I even tried to add the laugh for effect but it wasn’t quite the same. I wasn’t an evil person by nature so it didn’t do the laugh much justice. It was a few more hours until my family got home so I thought I’d either try flying or magic. I settled on doing both, starting with flying. I got outside easily since my folks never close the doors properly. I did that, especially at night. It is an incredibly strange feeling to move appendages that you never used to have. My wings felt alien and yet they felt as if I always had them. I just gave them a few short, slow flaps so I could get the hang of the general motion involved in flight. After a good number of minutes I felt a breeze go through them, and it felt amazing! My wings made a very faint rustling noise as the wind picked up a bit of speed. I decided to use this to my advantage and – as I turned in the direction the wind was blowing towards – I gave a short run and took off. The feeling was beyond any form of standard description. Imagine a cripple being able to walk again and you get the general idea. I felt like I was on top of the world… for the two minutes of flying, after that I crashed into the grass with a dull thud. So getting the movement to fly was not quite the same as actually doing it but I kept trying, undeterred to let a foalish thing as my inability to fly due to a new body stop me. 'Wait… foalish? Where did that come from?' I thought. I was getting better, after two painful hours – and I mean that very literally – I was flying properly. I could hover, fly off and land on a cloud as if it were the ground itself. I gave a very out of character squeal of joy at this accomplishment (I never did such a thing and I don’t picture Nightmare as the squealing type) only to shake my head at myself. In that moment I knew what the plan was going to be: learn magic (duh); wait for my folks (let's hope they don't freak out too badly) and get packed for an intercontinental trip to the Americas. New York and Discord were not waiting for anypony and time was of the essence. In my haste to learn to fly, I left out one small detail: landing on the ground. I didn't actually crash but my knees still buckled under me as I closed my wings too early and I was still a short distance in the air (not enough to kill me but enough to cause pain). As for magic practise, I was fine with just getting basic telekinesis and the rest I would figure out later should the need arise. We had a number of lawn ornaments that the previous owners left behind so they became my test dummies. The first one exploded into shrapnel (I had to put my wing in front of my face to deflect the incoming shrapnel) when I tried to picture what I wanted to happen; the next one shot up high into the air and I couldn’t see where it landed ('maybe it will reach space' I thought. I chuckled at the thought of the ornament whizz by an astronaut, ‘Houston, we have a lawn ornament’) and that was when I tried to picture the aura around it. The third flew off and smashed into the wall as I tried to focus energy into my horn. The forth attempt gave me nothing. I was ready to give up until I felt a little light-headed. The ornament was moving! I was able to move it about as if I was holding it in… my... hands. 'Thank Celestia! I finally got the hang of this telekinesis, I thought. Suddenly I felt my stomach go into knots, as if mentioning her name was… ugh, even thinking her name made it worse. I decided to get my mind off that and so I went inside to watch TV. Apparently Luna (I felt a sense of disdain when I heard her name) and Celestia (there goes my stomach again) have gone missing and Twilight was in a coma. Well, this can't be good, I thought to myself. I changed from the news and watched the recordings I made of Doctor Who (thank you PVR decoder). The Tenth Doctor interested me because he seemed completely insane and yet there was always a method to his madness, which he proved over and over again. 17:12 PM I heard the sound of my step-father’s Toyota bakkie (a.k.a. a pickup truck) come to a stop by the garage door. My sister and mother all carpooled with my step dad. They didn’t know I watched MLP since we don’t get the Hub here or any other channel that broadcasts the show here in the RSA, I never planned on telling them either. Until today had changed the circumstances. I decided to do what I did best: hide in my room. My sister was the first to burst through the front door since I heard her shouting back to my mother all the way to her room. My mother called for me to come and help take the groceries out of the bakkie, then put them away as usual. I didn’t answer. “Chris, come out of that confounded room and help with the groceries!” she began to shout. She scared me when she was angry. I tried my best to disguise my voice but it made very little difference, I sounded like I was being strangled. “I can't.” “Are you ok? You're not sick or anything?” I could hear she was right by my door. If she opened it, I shuddered to what her reaction would be. The handle creaked as she opened the door. “Chr-” She started but that stopped as she saw the evil, armoured equine standing in front of her. “Who are you?” “Uh, h-hi mom. It’s me, Chris. I seem to have turned into a pony.” She seemed sceptical, that’s my mom: she always needed proof before she believed something. She even thought the whole pony thing was a huge scam or prank that would die out in a few days. I took a deep breath. “My full name is Christopher James Harold Mann. I have a fondness for dragons; broke my left leg when I was three and the doctor put a metal plate to repair the leg. The doctor didn’t stitch the wound up correctly which left one large scar on my left leg. Which isn't here anymore.” I noted as I looked at my left leg. “Any more proof? I can keep this up until we reach every point in my life.” Suddenly my mother grabbed me, sobbing. I put my hooves around her to try and consol her but it wasn’t very effective. She looked at me and I wiped a tear from her eye with an armoured hoof. I tried to give her an innocent smile but all I succeeded in doing was a more sinister smile. “Well, I guess I’ll have to phone in for you for work. Heaven knows how people would react.” I laughed, she was quite correct. “I’m not the only one in South Africa that changed and I doubt I’ll be the last. Which reminds me, I need to get to New York and help out Celestia with Discord.” Why oh why is my stomach trying to do the tango whenever I mention that name?! “Why you? Didn’t that Celestia character want these harmony people? Who exactly is this Discord the news was going on about?” I shook my head. “There are many more ponies than the six Bearers of the Elements of Harmony. I got turned into the very first villain from the show. I doubt I would get much support since this pony wanted to plunge the world into eternal night but I still want to help anyway. As for Discord, he is a form of chimera that loves to cause chaos and suffering wherever and whenever he can.” my mother nodded. “Ok, pack as many necessities as possible. We’ll get you a direct flight to America, so you can land in New York without having to worry about a long journey. Uncle Norris is currently in New York on business, I’ll call him on Skype so he will be waiting for you when you land. He’ll give you room and board until this all blows over, ok?” I nodded my head and went with my mom to get the groceries. As I was about to grab a packet when my mom stopped me. “There isn't a need for you to grab the groceries. You don’t have any hands.” I chuckled at her and my horn glowed. The packet I was about to get then levitated into the air, shocking my mother. “It’s called magic or more specifically this is telekinesis. You’d be surprised what I've learnt to do since I got up this morning.” I chuckled. My father was sat on the couch in the living room, oblivious to the world around him as he watched Real Steel (my step-father loves his boxing movies). We eventually sat down for dinner. My mother made me a salad while everyone had sushi (the biggest thing I miss right now). My step-father just looked at me with that poker face of his while my sister was playing with my wings. She eventually pulled out a feather – whether on purpose or by accident – and made me jump. “Why did you have to pull out my feather for, you foal?!” I accidentally used the Royal Canterlot Voice as I shouted (made sense, she did use to be Luna so she was basically royalty). I was so loud her hair looked like she had put head in a blender and put it to maximum. I muttered a small sorry as I levitated a piece of lettuce into my mouth. “So I guess you can't date girls anymore.” My step-father said with a smile. He always was - as the term goes - a shit-stirrer. “Oh well more for me, right babes?” he said as he gave my mom a kiss. I knew he was joking, his sense of humour was always a strangely twisted one. I never minded my step-father, he was an interesting person. Worked as a salesman in a steel company. He was no stranger to travelling, he was out the country quite often, at least once a month for a week or so. He had a personal travel agent who booked all his flights. Never met him/ her though. “Well I’ll see about getting you a flight tonight, so after you finish you had best get packed.” He said. That’s my step-father for you, acts on impulse and worries about the consequences later. My sister didn’t bother me again after the feather incident but we did apologise to each other for our respective actions before she went off to bath. After I ate I had a shower, the telekinesis was a great help with the taps. I pity those who just have hooves, they deserve a lot of credit for being able to use them, it’s an incredible achievement. After the shower I got my stuff packed, some clothes - that could fit - for in case the weather turned nasty. I found a very large cape with a hood that my parents used for a party two years back, covering me almost completely (my gaseous tail stuck out a bit and my horn made a hole in it). I set about getting my blanket packed, along with my mp3 player and headphones. My mother knocked on the door and came in with her laptop’s carry bag. “Here, I know you can't take your computer so use this. Oh, and your father is giving you his phone since it has international roaming. It’s in the bag.” She said, patting the bag for emphasis. I transferred all my music from my desktop to the laptop and my mp3 player. I also took some of my wallpapers and transferred them to the laptop as well. The flight my parents got me was for 01:30 which was in three hours. I put my bags in the back and hopped in afterwards while the rest of my family sat in front and we went to the airport. The ride wasn’t particularly uncomfortable but as we went along the highway I switched the laptop on. I changed the password and some settings along with the wallpapers and theme. I looked out of the window and saw a strangely nice view, even if it was the Central Business District. Why do I have the worst feeling the trip to New York is going to be longer than it should? Ponies on a PlaneTo Sleep, Perchance to… Nightmare? Ponies on a Plane Wagnesday 22:45 We reached the Airport without incident. As we got out I made sure my armour was in a bag. Since I would be going through a metal detector, the armour would light it up like a Christmas tree. I planned on putting it back on after I landed in New York but I had to try be inconspicuous (like a large pony wearing a cape with a hood over her head was the definition of incognito). My family insisted on carrying my bags until we got to the gate. I wanted to levitate it since everypony could see my horn anyway and it made no sense to not help them. I will admit though, I felt a bit proud that I didn’t have to carry anything but I couldn’t understand why. I saw a few other ponies as I walked through the main terminal. There was a dark green one, a pale blue filly amongst others. My folks had all my stuff on a trolley that my sister pushed around for me. I was feeling highly uncomfortable being in a very public place, being a normal pony I could handle but being Nightmare Moon was another issue. “You ok?” I turned to see my mother with that worried expression on her face. I lifted the hood high enough to show her my meek smile. “I’ll live.” My typical response. I saw a little child pointing at me a distance away but I read on her lips the word ‘pony’. Well as long as she didn’t scream who I was, I would be ok. We put my heavier luggage onto a conveyor belt that sent it to the plane while I kept the laptop and armour bags. Going into customs was going to be an interesting experience. As I hugged my family goodbye, a tear ran down my face. My folks just smiled and waved as I headed for gate 8C. Lucky for me customs was quite understanding of the current situation and let me through despite I got a number of laughs when they saw I used to be male. I got on the plane and found my seat. I had gotten a nice window seat near the bathrooms, at least if nature called I didn’t need to go far. I placed my stuff in the overhead compartment and waited for the plane to fill up with passengers so we could take off. 01:45 As the usual take off procedures were being done (telling us where the restrooms were, what to do in an emergency, that sort of thing) I decided to take a good look at the other passengers. There were… a lot more ponies in RSA than I originally thought. Mares, stallions, all three varieties, and they were almost every colour you could think of. There were some very young ones as well, the humans with them were more than likely their parents/ guardians. They looked the most concerned. The plane’s engines roared to life. I looked through the window to watch the turbines power this hunk of metal across the runway. As the plane hurtled across the runway, I saw some strange men near the tarmac. What they wore wouldn’t have worried me, the word ‘PAPA’ that adorned their clothing did. The plane shot by them but I noticed a few of them were smiling. A part of me wondered what could make pony-haters smile so sinisterly. Most of the ponies took up two seats while the fillies took up one. The parents were talking with their transformed children, who were having an absolute blast. “Aw, but I like being a pony mum!” said one little filly. “No Thomas, we are getting you changed back and that’s final. Now sit down!” I heard her mother say. I couldn’t stop a small chuckle from escaping. This was an instant bad move as the father heard me and decided to give me a piece of his mind. Now he was a giant of a man, even if I was still human he would have been bigger than me. Must have been 6 feet tall and built like a pro bodybuilder, Atlas would be proud of this guy. He looked at me as if he was ready to throttle me. I felt incredibly scared, I needed help but everypony else just watched as this man was about to abuse a cape-wearing pony. “What’s so funny?!” He shouted. We should shout back. Huh? Where did that thought come from? “Sorry sir. I just thought of that despite how somepony looks on the outside, they are still the same on the inside.” Now he was getting insanely angry. “No sh-, he’s not! He has been telling us of a voice he has been hearing in his head, saying they are merging! Just four days ago we found him with a pillow in his mouth!” Wait, what did he say? You heard him correctly. My ears are not broken. Then the thought hit me. Yes. Shitshitshitshit “You still there pony?!” the man snapped me back to reality, he was still angry but he started to show signs of worry. Glad this cape covered my front as well, the filly looked like one of those I scared back at Ponyville Town Hall. Wait, I wasn’t anywhere near Ponyville Town Hall or Equestria for that matter. You weren’t… I was. “Sorry sir, just got lost in my own head there. I apologise for my inconsideration towards your situation. I do sincerely apologise.” I said, lowering my head. We should’ve made an example of him. Now I know why everypony fears you… Nightmare. The man’s anger dissipated rather fast. He accepted my apology and went back to his seat. I think the momentary lapses of a lack of attention helped my case. I turned my attention back to the window. You there? I thought. No response. I really must be losing my mind. “Attention passengers this is your captain speaking. We are about to head into a high turbulence area. Please put your seatbelts on and refrain from using the restrooms at this time. Thank you.” How do these pilots stay so damn calm? We could be heading straight into a tornado and he probably would still be calm. I used my telekinesis to put mine on while I saw a number of others struggling with theirs. I then took mine off and walked around, helping them with my magic whilst keeping my head down low enough for them not to see my face. I got a number of thanks from them and that made me feel good about myself. As I went back to my seat I found a woman come up behind me. Thinking it was a hostess I paid her no mind as I continued and climbed up onto my seat. I was right in assuming it was a hostess, she came up to me and thanked me for helping them with the ponies’ seatbelts. “It’s no trouble ma’am.” At this the hostess’ eyes bulged. Oh no… she pulled my hood back before I could stop her, revealing my face to the passengers. “I knew it! You're Nightmare Moon!” she squealed. I threw my hood back over my face but the hostess caught it and ripped it off with incredible force. Are the hostesses trained for clothing war? I got a number of gasps and I’m sure I saw a pony faint. I got off my seat and pushed past the hostess, aiming for the bathroom. A number of ponies and people tried to grab me but I jumped on them in my escape attempt. I got into the first open stall and locked the door. You are pathetic And now the voice in my head has returned. What do you want now? I lamented in my mind. I heard the voice laugh as it faded away, as if it was leaving again. I heard some knocking on the door but I refused to respond. “Nightmare? It’s me the hostess, my name is Sally. I’m sorry for scaring you like that. I didn’t know you had that hood over head for a reason. It’s just that… well, Nightmare is my favourite character from My Little Pony. Please come out.” I knew the psychology she was trying on me and I was not about to cave in. “Nice try! I know you're lying! Nopony likes me! They don’t even like my nights!” Wait, those last two parts weren’t me… is that… a tear falling down my face? “That’s not true. Many people here actually prefer the night over the day.” My body moved on its own volition and unlocked the door. I peered my head out and looked up at a smiling Sally. “Really?” Those words were not my own. She nodded her head and continued to beam. I came out of the stall and saw a number of humans and ponies were looking at me with concerned faces. I got control of my body back and walked to my seat. I looked at the torn piece of the hood I took off the rest of the cape that was still attached. I folded it up and took out the armour bag. Since everypony now knew who I was, I may as well put the armour back on. Taking a deep breath I proceeded to attach the armour piece by piece. I laid on the seat, looking out into the night sky. We were currently over the ocean without any sign of land anywhere. How pathetic. There’s that voice again. I expected more comments from this voice but I got nothing. I laid my head down on the seat and tried to sleep. Sally brought me a blanket as an apology for tearing my hood off. I thanked her and fell asleep. ***** ******** ******** ***** Holy hell. I awoke on the launch deck of a Sova Carrier from Sins of a Solar Empire. I loved this ship but it did not explain how I came to be on it, let alone being able to breathe in the middle of space. “Must be a dream.” I said, looking down at myself. I was still Nightmare despite being in a dream. “Would’ve thought I would be human again but oh well.” I walked down the deck of the Carrier and saw something on the edge on the far end. I squinted my eyes and noticed it was… me? I walked up to this other Nightmare and she turned around to look at me. “Pathetic. I actually cried. I blame you for that.” She said with a stern look on her face. “I am the true Nightmare Moon. You are just in my body. I hope you understand the privilege you have been given to have my face.” She said with a snide smile. “I get that I am in your body. Why the attitude?” I responded. “I do not have an attitude.” “Ok, no attitude. What about that little outburst then? I know for a fact that was not me.” I had sat down next to Nightmare with my front hooves hanging over the edge. She looked embarrassed. “That was a moment of weakness, nothing more.” I rolled my eyes. “Right, another question: who’s dream is this?” “Yours, Christopher.” “Ah, that explains the Sova Carrier and us being in space. Always wondered what space was like.” I said, patting the side of the ship with a hoof. “Are we going through the same thing as that filly, Thomas?” “That would be a correct assumption. Our minds are merging, becoming one. I was trapped in a void between worlds when I was hit by the Elements. I was neither alive or dead. Awake but asleep, I was in limbo.” She said, looking at a star we were passing by. “The fear you experienced broke a mental lock that prevented our communication. Many more will break as we merge, but it will be a slow process. If there are more situations like the one we had with that human, the faster the process will be. If we are more compliant with each other it will happen faster as well.” “Ok. I have to ask this: do you still want to bring eternal night?” “Yes.” “Why?” “Do you have any idea what it feels like to see every night pass by on your own? Every pony was asleep or performing heinous acts while under the cover of my nights.” I nodded. The Carrier jolted, as if we collided with something. The distant stars were vanishing one by one… the dream was ending. “Nightmare, many people enjoy the night and many are scared of it. The same could be said of the day as well. Consider this Nightmare: if every single being hates the night, why am I dreaming of space? It is an eternal night here with a few stars to light our way. Working together, night and day create a sight people or ponies rarely appreciate but if you look hard enough you will find them.” As Nightmare contemplated this, the darkness had spread to the Carrier and engulfed us, thus ending the dream. ***** ******** ******** ***** Do you know what it’s like to wake up with a pillow shoved halfway down your oesophagus? Trust me, worst experience ever. It took me five minutes to haul it out and after that I needed a huge drink since the pillow absorbed all the moisture from my throat. Sally gave me a glass of water, she was really helpful. “Why did you have a pillow in your mouth?” she looked concerned. “It happens when one manages to contact the personality of the pony they're inhabiting. It’s signifies the true start of the merging process.” That wasn’t me. Nightmare? Are you taking control of my body? It is my body foal. I can take control whenever I wish. “Merging process?” she rubbed her head in confusion. “Nightmare and I are becoming one complete being. The holes in her personality are being filled by my personality and so forth.” I said. “Attention everyone. This is your captain speaking. All passengers are requested to sit down and put on their safety belts… stewards, you may begin.” That did not sound like the first captain Nightmare. I concur. That statement has an ominous feel about it. I looked around and saw all the stewards put on gas masks. Sally looked at me with a smile that made me nervous as she put one on as well. My ears perked up as I heard a light hissing sound coming from the ventilation. Nightmare… how long can you hold your breath? Not long enough. The hissing continued but I couldn’t smell anything. After a few minutes I started to feel sleepy and collapsed on the seat. The last thing I saw before losing consciousness was the image of Sally’s hands coming towards me. Time: unknown Location: unknown My vision was slowly returning but something was off. I felt cold hard steel pressing against my body. My ears perked up as I heard faint screaming in the distance. Whatever was going on, I doubted I ended up in Disneyland. “Oh look, the little pony’s awake.” Wait… that sounded like Sally’s voice. My vision cleared up as I noticed Sally on her haunches, staring at me. I got scared as two other things called for my attention. One: steel bars, I was in a cage. Two: Sally was pointing a 9mm pistol at me and it looked very real. “What, what’s going on here?” “Welcome to the last day of your life. You are in a makeshift concentration camp set up in a vet’s office in Omaha, Nebraska.” Concentration camp? These guys aren't playing are they? I admire the lengths these humans are going to. Nightmare, can we please worry about PAPA’s methods after we get away from here? I wasn’t the only one there though. I could see a number of ponies including Thomas and… his/ her parents? There were humans here as well? Uh, Nightmare… I have a very bad feeling about this. Author's Note A FAR shorter chapter with more dialogue yay! Enjoy! Evil AngelTo Sleep, Perchance to… Nightmare? Evil Angel Author: Draconis187 Time: Unknown Location: PAPA makeshift Concentration Camp in Omaha, Nebraska. Sally kept her 9mm gun pointed directly at my head. That look on her face was cold, remorseless. I questioned if this person was even human. “Why are you doing this?” I asked “Because you ponies are an abomination to society. You are nothing more than animals. A disease that needs to be cured.” Why are we bothering with her? That gas is no longer affecting us. We can Escape at any time. False sense of victory Nightmare. Let your enemy think you’ve lost but that gives you the perfect opportunity to strike. That and the fact that she is pointing a gun at us. That is a devious idea. I approve. “What happened to our luggage? And my ceremonial armour? I kinda liked that armour.” Sally just laughed at me/ us. “Oh we have it but I'm not going to tell you where. We have an armed guard watching every unicorn, the moment your horn so much as turns a lighter shade of colour…” *BANG* She turned around and shot Thomas in his flank. He was writhing in pain, his parents trying to stop the blood coming from the wound. “We do that, but there.” She said, pointing the smoking gun barrel at my head. My ears were flat against my head, I was angry at how heartless this woman was being. That was cold Are you growing a heart Nightmare? A conscience maybe? It has nothing to do with having a heart or a conscience, injuring my subjects is a step too far. I'm not that evil. Well, I’m with you on that regard. This woman is ruthless. How is Thomas doing over there? He is losing a lot of blood, he needs immediate medical care. The best one should remove the bullet before trying to bandage the wound up. A filly’s bones are incredibly fragile, he can count his lucky stars he wasn’t a Pegasus. Their bones are hollow and would have offered less resistance to that weapon, which would have caused far greater damage. That’s a Barreta M9. Holds a 15 round magazine. It has a muzzle velocity 381m/s and has an effective range of 50m. It is quite dangerous. I tend to know a bit about firearms. I added sheepishly but a thought hit me. I may have an idea but we are going to have work together here Nightmare. What did you have in mind? You know far more about magic and your body than I do. I'm more of an ideas person. “Hey! Don’t even think about escaping, there is nowhere for you to go. Be a good pony and await your execution. Or you can resist and I can kill you now, either way is fine by me.” Nightmare can you see around us? Yes, why? Take over for a sec, I want to check our surroundings so I can come up with a good escape plan. I felt like I was being pushed out the driver’s seat but I could see everything around us, as clear as day. The room we were in was sterile but typical of a vet’s holding area for animals. There were a multitude of cages, mostly filled with various ponies while the larger cages held a few humans. I recognised that they were the passengers on the plane, two of them were... the pilots? At least I now knew they weren't in on it, small consolation though. As I scanned the area I felt Nightmare was smiling at Sally. Go ahead Nightmare, unnerve her. I can feel you want to. Like I needed your permission. She snapped. “You think you’ve won don’t you?” I felt Nightmare’s calm yet sinister demeanour as she spoke. I looked at Sally to see that my change of personality had, indeed unnerved her somewhat. “I look forward to crushing you under my hooves.” I continued my surveillance of the room. How you can look without your body doing the actual seeing is beyond me but ‘if it ain't broke, don’t fix it’ right? I could make out two doors, and a ventilation system nearby. If I wasn’t too wrong our escape was through one of these routes. Before I could finish my train of thought one of the doors opened and some more PAPA people came inside. They all carried a variety of small arms. One carried a Winchester Model 42 shotgun. Can you still do that mist thing? Of course I can. Time for a jail break. We need to get out of here, then… well you are in my head, you should know what I'm thinking. I felt Nightmare rummaging through my mind, stumbling on my plan. “Haha, that works for me.” She said aloud. The interesting thing about the sparkling stars in our mane is that they are actual stars, albeit minute ones. Which meant they were quite hot especially when the living stars were thrown out our mane (the inside of our mane is quite chilly, like the vacuum of space and that is what stops our mane from spontaneous combustion). Sally was distracted by one of the guards talking to her and that was the only opportunity Nightmare needed. She used her magic to throw a star out of our mane which landed on a bunch of empty cages. In no time the star melted one side of one of the bottom cages, causing the rest above it to fall like dominoes. The resounding smashing of steel caught everypony’s attention. Seizing the opportunity, Nightmare turned us into that mist form of hers and flew out through the bars with extreme ease. Well, being in another pony's body is one thing, flying around as a cloud of purple mist has got to be the strangest yet most exciting feeling in existence. It feels like your hanging onto the outside of a roller coaster as it speeds across the tracks, spining around and around. We flew up into the ventilation system, every bullet that hit us phased through our gaseous body, even the Winchester was useless despite taking a full blast of buckshot. I could hear Sally screaming at them to find us. We went through the vents and wound up outside. Landing on the roof, we reformed. There, Nightmare called on her weather altering capabilities. Dark clouds started to congregate above the building, lightning shooting between the clouds and getting stronger. The building had a number of vans with PAPA written on them. Nightmare used her telekinesis to open the vans and inspect them for any ponies. The vans were mostly empty but there were some bags inside. The guards had finally gotten out of the building to see the True Princess of the Night fire lightning from the clouds and blow up the vans in a fireball of destruction. “Foals!!” Nightmare’s voice bellowed from using the Royal Canterlot Voice. It echoed through the streets, and making the PAPA affiliates visibly shake from fear. “You honestly believed that you could kill the True Princess of the Night?! You shall pay for your transgressions against me!” With an almighty flash from our horn, Nightmare sent a bolt of lightning at them. The moment the flash the lightning gave off vanished, they were all still standing there but they had very vacant expressions on their faces. What did you do to them? I thought as Nightmare relinquished control back to me. Oh just sent their minds somewhere... special. Impressive light show, wouldn’t you agree? Nightmare used a powerful illusion spell to make it seem like she blew up the vans and pulled those dark clouds around. The RCV though? Very real. I knew she was capable of some terrifying illusions so I had the cruel idea to trick them but what Nightmare did to them was unexpected. ***** ******** ******** ***** “Ugh, where are we?” Sally said as she came to. As they checked their surroundings they were faced with the worst thing a pony hater could see. They were strapped to chairs in a warehouse with an oversized plasma TV that was… showing My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, from episode 1 of season one all the way to the finale of season 2… and repeating… and repeating. Around them were characters from the show, from the protagonists to the background ponies, all wanting to be their friends. There were two Nightmare Moons sat in the corner watching this ‘horror’ being inflicted on the ponynappers. Nightmare, you are a genius. ***** ******** ******** ***** I sniggered at the fact that Nightmare trapped them in a nightmare of their own design. They were all experiencing a collective dream spell that Nightmare used and it was funny to see. They were all screaming from the life lessons they were being forcibly taught by Twilight and her friends in their adventures across Equestria. “Oh Nightmare, you truly live up to your name.” I said aloud as we walked through the now vacant vet office as we went to free the other ponies. Nightmare bowed in my head with a snide grin, standing atop a Marza Dreadnought’s main cannon. We found our way back to the cages and bucked the door open with force. Turned out it wasn’t locked but it made me feel good, smashing a door in. I was met with scared faces at first but then once they saw it was me, they cheered. See Nightmare? Give being good a chance and your subjects will always greet you with this much love and admiration. She didn’t respond but the unicorns, humans and myself set about opening the cages for the others. Thomas was still injured so I carried him on my back without caring about his parents’ protests. We all got out and got our luggage from the various vans. Thomas’ parents hopped into one of the vans while I got in the back and slowly laid him down on his good side. Can’t you heal him Nightmare? I’ll do what I can for him. Again I felt pushed into the back seat as Nightmare used her magic to search through the wound for the bullet. The van driving through the street, trying to find a nearby hospital for Thomas. After a few minutes of fruitless searching, a small, bloody metal object came out of the filly’s wound, surrounded by Nightmare’s magic aura. Well, that’s one part done Nightmare. “The bullet is out but I'm no nurse. We need to disinfect and dress the wound as soon as possible to avoid the wound from turning septic. That’s not all I’m afraid, the bullet shattered his leg bone so he’ll need a splint for it.” Nightmare said, informing his parents of the situation. We got to a local hospital and rushed him in. The smell of medicine was overwhelming, most of the smells nearly made me want to hurl so I stayed outside after I handed the bullet to the attending doctor. I took out my luggage and found my armour in the bag I had originally put it in. Donning the armour, I took out my laptop and went into my emails. Hi Mom This is your son/ daughter/ pony/ whatever. I am in Nebraska, the plane’s stewards and some PAPA nutjobs ponynapped us and took us to Omaha. Woke up in a makeshift concentration camp set up in a vet’s office. Please tell Uncle Norris I will be in New York as soon as possible, I’ll fly the rest of the way. Oh and I'm going to go onto Facebook for the first time ever. Look out for NightmareMoon whenever you go on. Regards Chris, Nightmare Moon. I sent the email and logged onto Facebook. I went and created the profile NightmareMoon and used the laptop’s built in camera to take a picture of myself sticking out my tongue. I heard someone clearing their throat and looked down. Thomas’ father was looking up at me. I shut down the laptop and jumped off the roof, landing about two feet in front of him. “Thanks, for saving my son… and us. They said they will be able to discharge him in a few days. I… guess I had you wrong.” He said, rubbing the back of his neck. “Are you going to head for New York now?” I nodded, “There isn't a point in staying much longer. Besides I’m glad the little filly is going to be ok.” I gathered my things and put the laptop away. I turned to the breeze and readied my wings. “Wait, before you go.” He gave me a wallet. I opened it to find 600 dollars inside! “This is a spare wallet I use whenever I indulge in my gambling hobby, I take it wherever I go even another country, it’s a force of habit. We were visiting some family in South Africa at the time. Once Thomas changed we talked it over and decided to head for New York. I’m… glad we met you on that plane. Good luck on your journey.” Thanking him, I took off to the skies. I landed on a cloud above the vet’s office and peered down at the PAPA agents on the ground. “No more…”; “Please… make it stop.”; “faithful and strong...” Were among the comments I heard. Both myself and Nightmare were laughing our flanks clean off. Should we let them out of their nightmare? I asked her. Nah! We both thought simultaneously, continuing to laugh hysterically. We collected ourselves and I got our body up. Taking out my step-father’s phone, I fired up Google maps. I was just over 2000 km to New York which was over 18 hours of driving. Good thing I didn’t drive. I looked at the position of the sun and checked the time: 16:32 PM. Ok the sun is setting and that’s in the west while NYC is in the east. Well, up for a real journey Nightmare? Oh, please. There is nothing this world can dish out that I can't handle. As I opened my wings once more I felt a rumbling in my stomach, hunger decided to finally wake up. Damn, I guess our journey will have to wait. I flew around Omaha, searching for an open store and found a Wal-mart that was still open. I landed and went… shopping!! I searched through the fruit and vegetable section with a levitating basket, finding some Granny Smith apples; carrots; lettuce and tomatoes as well as some oranges. I cantered to the bakery section and got some bread as well as some butter by the diary section. With my basket of goodies I went to the till to pay up. The cashier looked at me suspiciously as I levitated my food for her to scan. “I'm not here to cause trouble ma’am. I simply wish to get some food.” I said calmly. Should have shouted at her and scare her senseless. Ugh, and this is exactly the reason I’m the ideas guy. I retorted. The cashier scanned my things and raised an eyebrow as I paid her with crisp notes. Thanking her regardless, I walked out and flew up into the clouds. I took out a few apples and snacked on them. Nightmare all of a sudden pulled me out of control and began to voraciously assault the apples, finishing the entire bag before calming down and blushing at herself for her actions. Let me guess, you never ate after getting back from the moon? Nightmare didn’t respond but gave me back control. Feeling full from Nightmare’s apple assault, I laid on my side and went to sleep on the cloud. The next day was sure to have its own surprises as well as twists, of that I was definitely sure. Author's Note Well this chapter came pretty quickly. *Looks up* Damn! Note to self: sleep deprevation is an author's best friend. Wings of Mis/FortuneTo Sleep, Perchance to… Nightmare? Wings of Mis/Fortune Author: Draconis187 23:00 Fried-Zucchini-Day Location: on a cloud in Omaha, Nebraska. Well, this isn't the first time I've woken up at a strange time. I pressed a button on my phone to get the time. So I’ve only slept for two hours? I just sighed and put my head back down on the cloud. The cloud’s altitude gave me a beautiful view of Nebraska at night. There were so many lights of varying colours lining the buildings and the streets below. Above the Omaha skyline was a semi-clear sky, I could see so many stars in a variety of formations. I was tired but as I looked around at the stars and the people going about their lives at night, it brought a tear to my eye. Nightmare, are you making us cry? No, of course not! I gave a small chuckle and looked on at the night. I had barely slept and yet I didn’t feel any of the usual signs of exhaustion: drooping eyes; lack of focus; lack of energy to keep moving. I showed the complete opposite, I was energetic to say the least. Deciding to get a start on my journey to the Big Apple, I collected my things and took off. As I flew I noticed the ponynappers were still in the throes of their everlasting nightmare. I chuckled again at the sight of the grown men and women writhing in agony. Pony-haters forced to watch every episode of MLP: FiM with the various characters from the show until Nightmare said otherwise. Actually it will fade in a couple of hours after we leave. My influence will fade as the distance between us grows and thus the nightmare will end. The real question will be whether they learned their lesson or not. I guess we may never truly know. Right next stop: New York. Hold on, there is something I wish to discuss with you before we go any further. Oookay. What is it? Is something wrong? No. I want to make a detour. Where to? Las Vegas. I had been poking trough your memories and saw pictures of a city that was as bright as day during the night. You just want to meet people who don’t hate the night, don’t you? I got no response from that. I just sighed. I knew that was going to be her answer, if only she was more open to her feelings. Fine, a detour to Las Vegas, Nevada. “Right, let’s pull out this laptop.” I took out the laptop and at first, thought about looking for a Wi-Fi hotspot but then I had an idea: I could hook up my cellphone to my laptop and use it as a modem. Good thing my step-father has a large data cap as part of his contract. I hooked the two up and went online without any issues. Thank Faust for technology. “Right, if we follow this route we will be going through two states: Colorado and Utah. The best route would be to take the I-80 but I suggest we make a few stops along the way. I am not sure how we will survive a 2068km flight since I don’t have a lot of flight experience and if you do it I just worry we’ll go off course. The first stop I think should be… Lincoln. We’ll see where to stop next after we land there.” Fine. That was my only response for the next hour as I flew across the night sky. I made sure to fly from cloud to cloud so I wouldn’t draw too much attention to myself. Although, in hindsight if anyone looked up they would probably notice a black Alicorn cloud-jumping. The thought made me chuckle a little. I found myself near above a small river that ran under the I-80 right next to Lincoln and landed on a cloud again. Deciding that it was probably best to get some sleep since fatigue actually decided to play catch up, I placed my bag next to me and laid myself down. 05:24 Smatterday Location: on a cloud above the I-80 and Little Salt Creek near Lincoln, Nebraska. As I got up I was a bit hungry so I went for… my bag. I couldn’t see my bag! I pulled the cloud apart – literally – trying to find it. I flew down under the – now destroyed – cloud and searched the surrounding ground for any traces of it. Why are you so worried about a bag? Nightmare said, standing on top of a Sova’s bridge. Because it had money, my phone, laptop as well as all our food! Oh please, I believe I know where it is. Really where? At that moment I found myself thrown into the passenger’s seat as Nightmare took over. She was far more forceful than I thought. Could it be that she doesn’t take over me completely out of choice? What reason could she have to not block me out entirely and go on a campaign to bring eternal night? I snapped out of it as we landed outside the Hampton Inn. The building was four storeys tall (including the ground floor). Pardon my completely idiotic question but, why are we here? For our things you foal! I saw a white stallion Pegasus with a silver mane entering this place last night. Your body doesn’t completely shut down when you sleep since I can take over whenever I please. I noticed the mane and coat when I felt the cloud being disturbed on the one side. I opened our eyes and saw the stallion flying in this direction. That was… pretty disturbing. She could have taken control whenever she wanted?! Now I know I won't be able to sleep soundly. I walked into the Hampton and went to the reception desk. A tan brunette was standing with her back to me, lost in whatever activity she was doing. I cleared my throat and got her attention. Her nametag bore the name: ‘Chloe’. She was about to smile until she saw she was looking at a black Alicorn. “Hi, I'm looking for a white Pegasus with a silver mane and tail. Has anypony checked in that matches the description?” I asked politely, smiling sincerely but I’m sure Nightmare was trying to make it look sinister. “Ok, let me just take a look here.” She said, pressing some buttons on the keyboard in front of her, evidently searching for my mystery thief. “I believe I found the pony you are looking for. His name is Great Scott, his room is 23. It’s up the stairs and to the right. Are you a friend of his?” She indicated with her hands and smiled back at me as she spoke. I guess she wasn’t as bad as her first impression indicated. Either that or the fact that I smiled first made her at ease. I was in the body of the harbinger of the eternal night after all. “I guess you could say that.” I deadpanned. I walked up the steps and to the indicated room: 23. The décor was ok but I wasn’t in the mood to pay attention to them. Whoever this ‘Great Scott’ was, he was about to have the worst day ever. I knocked on the door with my armoured hoof, making a small noise when the metal made contact with the wood. As the door opened I saw him: Great Scott. He wasn’t entirely remarkable other than his colouration but he did bear a tornado for a Cutie Mark. We looked at each other for a few seconds in silence. Is this the stallion that stole our things? I though to Nightmare. Yes, most definitely. He is the one. “So Great Scott is it? Interesting name. May I come in?” I didn’t even wait for him to respond, I just pushed my way past him and into his room. It was a quaint little room with all the amenities: towels, little bars of soap in the bathroom and the like. I looked around the room but I didn’t find much in terms of his luggage. As I opened the cupboards I saw it: my Ace Combat Zero: the Belkan War bag. It was a plain black sports bag with a picture of an ADFX-01 Morgan on the one side and an ADF-01 FALKEN on the other. This was my absolute favourite bag of all time. As I turned to where Scott was standing I noticed he had vacated the room. Well, this morning has become a lot more interesting. Nightmare thought with a snigger. Well, do you want the honours? I couldn’t be bothered trying to exact revenge since we got our stuff back without incident. Just please for the love of Tartarus do not kill or injure him or an innocent bystander. I replied. I was sure I heard Nightmare squee in my mind but I didn’t have time to mull it over since I got tossed into the back of my mind again like a garbage bag. I decided to just waltz through my mind whilst Nightmare had fun. I heard the occasional shout and scream but I was sure it wasn’t something too horrible, I trusted Nightmare enough to not make too big of a scene since she would be in just as much trouble as me. I decided to stage a space battle with some Kol Battleships, Sova Carriers, Two Marza Dreadnoughts and an assorted number of frigates. They were evenly matched in terms of size and number so it came down to whoever had best strategy. One of my Marza Dreadnoughts got destroyed but I managed to take one of their Sova Carriers in retaliation. Both sides had finally lost all of their frigates and now it was time for a Capital battle to rock the ages… or at least in my head. Whoever was controlling the opposing side was good but then again it was in my mind so I gathered they had to be since I used to play a lot of strategy games and I wanted a challenge. In the end though, none of us won since we both blew up each other’s last Capital ship at the same time. Nightmare then appeared below me on a Ragnarov Titan. She seemed to be smiling. Just as soon as we looked at each other for a second, I was thrust back into the driver’s seat and into reality once more. Looking around I could see I was just outside the Hampton, carrying my bag. For a moment I thought Nightmare didn’t do anything… that was until I noticed my hoof was on top Great Scott’s throat. He was crying, tears running down his face… he looked really pathetic and that was nowhere near an understatement. Listen to this little foal cry. Nightmare half laughed. “Now why did you take my things?” I asked calmly but I managed to sound threatening with a bit of help from Nightmare. “I'm sorry! I just needed the money! I saw you back in the Wal-Mart in Omaha and followed you to that cloud and saw the things you were carrying. I got turned into a pony a day ago and was making my way to New York so I could get changed back.” He began to sob whilst talking at a furious pace. “I-I just… I just needed some money so I could stay here since I used the last bit of cash I had on me. I didn’t bring anything else other than my purse!” “Woah! Slow down and for the love of Celestia start at the beginning.” I asked… and got that small pain again, although it seemed less painful this time around. I shook my head and sat down next to Scott as he got up. “Okay. Well my real name is Jacqueline Lawson. I lived in Topeka, Kansas. It’s over 150 miles to the south of here. I wasn’t even really interested in the show since my friends never liked it, so I one day when my friends caught me watching I made the excuse that my sister wanted me to watch it with her. The episode was the one with the tornado they wanted to make and they needed Fluttershy’s help.” “Hurricane Fluttershy.” I said, remembering the name since Nightmare carved it into a planet with a couple of Ragnarov Titans. “Yes, I-I think that was the one. Well when I was watching I saw a particular Pegasus… this one to be exact.” He said, pointing to himself. “So w-when I found myself looking like this… I ran. I grabbed my old purse and ran as fast as I could. I didn’t have a lot of money with me so… I stole. My wings made for a good distraction and when people weren’t looking, I would take from their parcels whenever I was at a grocery store. I didn’t think twice about it, I only saw my goal: getting rid of this body.” “Okay, that’s a touching story. There is one point that bothers me slightly: you were a girl?!” I near shouted. “I mean – no offense – it has been mostly bronies that had been gender-swapping. I haven’t heard or seen many cases of the opposite. Although in retrospect I guess I should have expected a few cases of this occurring.” “Yes I used to be a girl and now I'm a stallion. What about you, who are you?” She asked with a nervous yet curious smile. “I used to be a guy and now I'm a mare. On top of that I'm in the body of the harbinger of eternal darkness: Nightmare Moon, who is actually on the way to Las Vegas.” I thought for a few moments and saw Nightmare waving her hooves in protest to said thoughts. Although she could have just taken over and book it. She may have been partly agreeing with me. “Okay then! Would you like to come with?” “Come with you to Las Vegas? Why would you want to have a pony that you know had stolen your things with you on a journey?” She asked as I pulled out my laptop and hooked up my cellphone. I looked on various websites for casinos in Vegas and noticed something interesting. “Well I hate travelling alone, despite having Nightmare in my head. Besides you don’t have any money and if you kept stealing I know for a fact that somepony will notice. You can't get changed back while you're stuck in jail can you? Not only that but I haven’t heard that Celestia or Luna have reappeared so I suggest we waste some time and make some money in the process. Take a look here.” I said, levitating the laptop to Scott’s face. “There is a live My Little Pony show that they are having in Vegas in the next few days. I think a special guest appearance by the True Princess of the Night and a real Pegasus would make quite the commotion, don’t you think?” Scott looked around, kind of looking lost until he shook his head and raised his hoof at me. “You have a deal…?” “Oh, call me Chris or Nightmare. I don’t care which you use.” I said, hoofbumping him to seal our deal. I then went onto my new Facebook profile and found I had at least five separate friend requests… and about over fifty people going on about how I'm evil and should never be trusted. “Haters gonna hate.” I said with a smirk. I saw my mother sent me an email back. Hi Sweetie I hope you are ok. Being hijacked can't have been too good of an experience. What happened? I‘ve told your uncle and he says he will wait for you on the outskirts of New York. Just give him a call just to give him a warning that you're coming and he’ll tell you where to wait (phone number here). We are all hoping to hear from you again soon and your grandmother says you must keep an eye on your diet while you're there. Regards, Your Mother She really cares, doesn’t she? Nightmare thought. Yeah, yeah she does. That was my only response. I had shed a small tear as I thought about how they just jumped up and went out of their way to help me. I sent a back response. Hi Mom Don’t worry too much about it. I got away safely and freed a bunch of other ponies and humans. A filly got shot in the leg and was rushed to the hospital. I just got my things back from a Pegasus who had stolen them but he actually seems like a nice pony so I’m having him tag along. Oh and since there hasn’t been any word about Celestia or Luna I’m detouring to Las Vegas. I don’t know what exactly I'm going to do there but I did always want to see Vegas. Kind Regards Chris/ Nightmare Moon P.S. Nightmare says hi. “So, which state are you from?” Scott asked. I just chuckled. I had only just realised that he sounded a bit like Nicholas Cage. I was glad he didn’t seem to notice my tear, or he was trying to change the object of my focus. “I'm from the Republic of South Africa a.k.a. SA. Yeah, I'm from quite a distance away from the US. I woke up like this on… Wagnesday if my memory serves me correctly. So are we ready to head out?” “Let me just go check out of the hotel. Be back now.” With that, Scott was gone. Nightmare? Hmm? What did you do to him while I was ‘out’? I just had a little fun with him. He tried to fly off but I kept showing up in front of him wherever he turned. He eventually landed back on the ground. I made my eyes glow pure white which scared him and he tripped over his own hooves as he stepped backwards. As I put my hoof on his throat he was crying, begging me to let him explain his actions and that was when I got you. Ah, okay then. So no over the top theatrics? Who, me? Don’t make me laugh… foal. She stressed the ‘foal’ part, as if she was trying to make a point. At that moment Scott had returned, carrying a small purple purse around his neck. I was sure the Great Scott inside was slowly dying from embarrassment. I don’t think you're that far off. Nightmare commented. “Right, so where is our first stop?” He said cheerfully. He seemed to have washed his face as he didn’t have any more tear marks running down his muzzle. “Well, let’s see.” I will always say that the Internet is a powerful thing that should never be underestimated. “I’m currently following the I-80 to Las Vegas. The next logical stop seems to be Kearney which is two hours away.” “Well then I guess we should get started.” Scott said, spreading his wings. I responded by putting the laptop away and spreading my own. Well at least it will be an interesting trip. Nightmare thought. Author's Note For those who want to see him. Disturbed NightmaresTo Sleep, Perchance to… Nightmare? Disturbed Nightmares Author: Draconis187 Time: 15:47 Date: Smatterday Location: inside a 24/7 shop situated one mile north of the I-80, twenty minutes from Kearney. We should leave. But we can't leave him/her behind Nightmare. Four times now, four times this past hour. I know but it’s not their fault he has a small bladder. I was standing by the fridges, looking at some of the softdrinks – as the Americans call them, I've always known them as colddrinks – wondering if whether or not I should get one of the two litre bottles. I was getting more confident with the dark Alicorn’s magic but if it came to more complex magic, I would rather let her do it. Thanks to Great Scott’s delays Nightmare has been getting antsy in my head, I swear if he/she didn’t get back soon we might end up with her going on a rampage. Luckily he/she got out from the bathroom looking sheepish. I don’t want to know what happened other than to know that they took care of business. This mix up with pronouns is actually starting to get annoying I’ll have to ask sooner or later. “I have to ask: how am I supposed to address you?” I asked as I picked out a crème soda bottle and shut the door with my flank. “As I am I guess, I don’t really care since I'm no longer a girl to start off with.” He responded. Ok then, he pronouns and the name Great Scott. I checked the cash ‘we’ still had on hoof: from the $600 I started out with, I had spent roughly $50 on food before I left Omaha. Great Scott’s hotel room left me with… $225?! He spent $325 on a hotel room?! Was it the bloody Ritz or something? Even Nightmare was fuming. “What in the name of Tartarus did you spend $325 on?!” I shouted. In my head it was a constant struggle to try and stop Nightmare from tearing Scott apart. “I-I'm sorry!” He said, tears visibly pouring from his face. This made me do a double-take, he just broke down instantly and it made me drop the bottle (luckily it didn’t open up). The real Great Scott must either be a real pansy or he is currently banging his head against a wall in embarrassment. I knew both Nightmare and I would. “Seriously, what the hay did you spend all that money on?” I asked at a slightly lower volume. “I-I have a small spending problem.” He said as he cried. “The things I brought with me I bought with the money. Like I said, I left my home in a hurry so I didn’t have anything on me other than my purse.” “Where did you hide these things? I never saw them when I searched through your room for my things back in Lincoln.” I pointed out. He looked to the side as I said this, clearly hiding something. “That’s because they were consumables, alcohol and some recreational drugs mostly.” He said. That both shocked and angered me even further. “Drugs?! You spent over $300 on drugs?!” I bellowed, the glass doors that covered the fridges visibly reverberated, the Royal Canterlot Voice in full swing. He seemingly shrank as I let him have it. “If it was food I wouldn’t have had a problem. Ointment for your coat or mane would have been acceptable. I wouldn’t have been upset even if you had gotten clothing for Celestia’s sake! Needless things like drugs and booze though… I will draw the line there.” We should end him, or at the very least make his life miserable. Nightmare thought. In my mind I could see her walking into an aircraft hangar with a smile on her face. I physically shook my head, realising that maybe I was overreacting a little. No, people tend to turn to such things due to weakness, peer pressure or experimentation. As much as I will never agree with using drugs in any form other than medicinal, I gather I could sympathise with him. After all he had to keep being a pegasister under wraps and after she became Great Scott he fled so, yeah. I think we are just overreacting a bit, I'm not sure if it’s your personality or mine that is causing it, it could be both. Let’s just cool down. I refocused on the outside world now that my internal conversation was dealt with to see Scott sat on his rump, still sobbing. I went to the counter and got myself some straws, paid for the drink and left. He had to deal with his issues on his own and if he needed help he should ask. It’s the first step to recovery. I flew up to the cloud Nightmare enchanted for us to store our gear. Usually when a Pegasus or an Alicorn step onto a cloud, they exert a natural passive magic that makes the cloud more solid so it can be easily manipulated. Whether this was to move them around, use them by jumping or bucking them or to destroy them, this was a very useful trait to have. All Nightmare did was extend the period of time the effect remained since it lasted for a short period of time, usually a few minutes at best. Although the strength of the magic is dependant on the Pegasus in question, the better flier they are, the stronger the magic. I opened my Ace Combat bag and took out my phone and earphones. Whenever I would get stressed and needed an outlet to get rid of it, I usually used a violent game like a First Person Shooter like Bulletstorm or a Role-Playing game like Dragon Age. These games usually helped me out by letting out my frustrations out on the poor AI controlled enemies. Sadly this wasn’t too great an option since I wanted to conserve as much battery life as possible so I did the next best thing: listen to music. ”Fading, falling, lost in forever will I find a way to keep it together…” I softly sang. I tended to sing along with a song I found particularly enjoyable and I enjoyed Disturbed’s Pain Redefined. Now try and picture Nightmare Moon standing on a cloud with bullet earphones in her ears, softly singing to a Disturbed song with her eyes closed and doing a small dance. I probably made PSY’s Gangam Style Dance look respectable. I hoped that there wasn’t anyone with a video camera to put this on YouTube, otherwise I'm sure Nightmare would try to kill me. How I wouldn’t know but I guessed it was probably a bad idea to find out. As I was about to stop though, I noticed Nightmare was doing something unexpected in my mind: she was headbanging and singing along as well! Huh, I never pictured you as a Disturbed fan Nightmare. I thought as Pain Redefined was ending. I will admit this song has a certain aspect I find enjoyable, what other music you got? She thought back with that evil looking smile across her face. Flipping through my playlist I found another she might have liked: Ten Thousand Fists and played that. I was right though, she enjoyed that song as well. She was standing on a cliff surrounded by a huge thunderstorm and an army of featureless ponies of varying type and colour behind her. She only made a few alterations to the song as she sang it though. “Ponies can no longer cover their eyes. If this disturbs you then walk away! You will remember the night you were struck by the sight of, ten thousand hooves in the air!!” She bellowed from the edge of the cliff as the waves below broke against the rocks while the lighting flashed and the thunder rolled. As she said the ‘in the air!’ part, the ponies behind her all raised their hooves into the air as she did the same. “Excuse me Nightmare, are you ok?” A voice said, I snapped out my little excursion into my mind to notice Scott standing in front of me with those – now becoming trademark – tear marks on his muzzle. He looked concerned. “Nah, I'm fine. All I need is a little music to get me back in a cheerful mood.” I responded as I removed the earphones from my ears and stopped the music player. “But I am still a little shocked over the fact that you spent that much money in such a short span of time. I mean I must have arrived at that hotel a few hours after you checked in.” “Well you have heard the saying: ‘where there’s a will, there’s a way?’” He asked. I slowly nodded. “Well you’d be surprised how easy it is to find things like that if you know who and what to look out for.” I shook my head in slight disgust. “But don’t get me wrong!” He said, raising his hooves. “I am glad you let me come along. I will never do such a thing again.” “Do you promise?” I asked as I narrowed my eyes to scare him into answering honestly. He was visibly shivering as I did so. “Y-yes I do.” He said. “I Pinkie Promise!” He said with a salute. “Cross my heart and hop to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye!” I rolled my eyes at how enthusiastic he was being. I wonder how he knew that if he had only seen Hurricane Fluttershy, maybe Great Scott knew it. “Right, well if it’s all the same I think I will be handling our financial issues from here on out.” I responded as I grabbed the two litre bottle and two Styrofoam cups that I grabbed earlier on from a water cooler that stood just inside the 24/7. “Here.” I said giving him the one cup as I poured some of the soda in. “As much as it would probably be a bad idea for me to give you a drink since you seem to have the smallest bladder in the known universe, I still think you should have something to drink. It will help get some moisture back into your system as you seem to be losing a lot from all of your toilet breaks.” “Thanks.” He replied with a meek smile as he drank. You are too nice, you realise that don’t you? Nightmare thought to me. Somepony has to bring the balance to this world of self-centred people Nightmare. That and I still want to improve your image. I replied. Why? Why are you so hell bent on me being good? She thought with her forelegs crossed, pouting. Well, I have always seen you as more misunderstood and underappreciated. I think that if Celestia-would you stop doing that! I snapped at her. I know for a fact that it’s you causing this! I know you don’t like her but I would like to go through a day where my stomach is not trying to audition for the Cirque du Soleil! Oh but it is so fun to see that look of anguish on your face. It’s your face Nightmare, I lost mine when I turned into you on Wagnesday, remember? So in other words you are actually seeing your own face. Is that what you are trying to do? Cause yourself this much pain and anguish, for what? I can tell you now - and you can search through my mind if need be - you will find out that I am talking the truth: I know that there is more to you than all this hate and rage. I know that there is a part of you that wants to be loved, a part that wants to be cared about and if the both of us work together I'm sure we can do that. Nightmare was visibly taken aback at this, I guess she didn’t really expect this kind of response from anypony, let alone from the one she was sharing a body with. “Are you ok Nightmare?” Scott asked again. He had finished his drink and was looking at me with concern written all over his face. I gave him a smile. “Yeah I'm perfectly alright, just… just talking with Nightmare.” Think about it a little, it will make sense to you in the end. I thought back to her before keeping my attention in reality. “Well that’s nice, Scott does nothing but complain.” He replied looking slightly agitated. “Well, what does he complain about?” I asked, tilting my head to the side in curiosity. “He complains about my purse and no matter how many times I tell him I didn’t have anything else to take with he still complains about it.” He said with a hint of anger or frustration in his voice. It’s both. Nightmare chipped in. “Look, I would have to admit that I am inclined to agree with Great Scott on this one. That purse is killing his pride and I would gather his masculinity. I doubt that even Nightmare would carry that, I know that I sure as hell I wouldn’t no matter how much somepony would pay me to do so.” I said, pointing to the offending bag. You’re right, I wouldn’t. It clashes too badly with my coat colour. Nightmare thought. “OK, I guess you're right then, but what can I do? We can't really go and get myself a bag can we?” He said with a sad smile. “Hm, I guess we could try and get some cash in Kearney but we’ll need to get there first. Do you think your pea-sized bladder can hold out for the next twenty minutes?” I ask while I put away my phone and hauled my bag round my neck. “I think so.” Scott replies nervously as he opened his wings. I smiled and opened my own. Time: 16:34 Date: Smatterday Location: Kearney, Nebraska. Flying above 2nd Avenue. I could see Scott needed another potty break so I gestured to him to land as I did so myself. We found a simple American diner which was interesting to me since I was from South Africa. He walked – actually he nearly shot through the door with almost as much speed as Rainbow Dash herself – into the bathroom while I got out my laptop and ordered a salad. The waitress that was serving me just gave me one hell of a glare but I could’ve cared less. I had no reason to in any case. I logged into Facebook and found some more ‘We hope you die spawn of Tartarus!’ messages, I chuckled at a few. ’I hope you get the worst conceivable disease ponies can get and die a slow, agonising death!’ Is this how these people perceive me? Nightmare thought. I shook my head. Remember Nightmare: you were the bringer of doom and darkness, of course people won't like you. I saw Nightmare hang her head slightly and I could’ve sworn I saw a small tear running down her muzzle. I am not one of them Nightmare and neither are these people, look. I looked at some other comments. I received twenty more friend requests. There were several comments from them saying: ‘you’re Nightmare?! I'm so jealous dude! Or lady, whichever you prefer.’ There were also some: ‘Nightmare is best pony!’ or ‘Nightmare for ruler of Equestria!’ See? Not everyone hates you as much as you may think or wish to think. But if you ever need somepony to talk to… I will always be there to listen. You realise you don’t really have a choice on that? The decision lies with you on whether you want to talk or not. I'm just saying that if you want to talk about anything, you don’t have too far to look. I thought back. Th-th… That’s as far as she was prepared to go before Scott got back, holding my salad? He placed on the table with a grin. “I found the salad you ordered. Weird that they put the bathrooms near the kitchen. Don't they have hygiene issues with that sort of thing?” He said as he sat on the opposite side of the table. “Mind if I ordered myself one as well?” “Like you need to ask me but go ahead.” I replied as I took a bite of some lettuce. I know I was dealing with our finances but that didn’t mean I was going to be a dictator about it. Our waitress arrived with a small scowl on her face that was directed at Scott. “What did he do?” I asked. She turned to me. “He took the plate I was carrying when I told him I was bringing it here.” She replied. I just shook my head. “Ma’am, I used to waiter back in South Africa before this started and I can tell you that if something like that happens, you should never arrive at a table looking angry. It gives a bad impression of what kind of person you are. Now can you get Scott here the same salad I'm having if you would be so kind?” I said with a neutral expression on my face. She nodded her head and left. Scott gave a low whistle. “Wow that was amazing how you just stopped her from venting at me.” “I meant every word I said Scott. I did use to be a waiter and I was pretty decent at my job. My usual complaints were about the food rather than the quality of my service. No matter how bad a day you have, never and I mean never show it to your customers. It makes them uneasy and reduces the chances of them returning and the amount of your tip.” I said casually. Scott stared at the table for a few minutes until his salad arrived. The salad in question was identical to mine as requested. Tomatoes, onions, lettuce and some cucumber made up the rather cheap salad. Rather bland but when you have salt or salad dressing it makes it taste several times better. Scott was having some small issue with his knife and fork so I had the waitress take it back to be cut up into very small pieces. When it came back, Scott ate it the same way one’s dog does: his face wedged in the wide bowl it came in. “That was a delicious meal.” I said to the waitress as she took my empty bowl. I used a serviette – or napkin to the Americans – to wipe my muzzle of any offending marks. I may be in the body of an evil Alicorn but I did have an image to maintain. Scott meanwhile had a piece of cucumber lodged in his mane along with a few pieces of lettuce. I couldn’t help myself and burst with laughter. The diner’s occupants looked over and once they saw what I was laughing at, joined in. Scott was bewildered at why we were all laughing at him until I levitated the objects out of his mane. He laughed as well. Time: 18:45 Date: Smatterday Location: sidewalk of Central Avenue. Kearney, Nebraska. Scott wanted to walk down the sidewalk to work off the late lunch we had. I wanted to head to a store to get some more food so we had something to munch on during the trip to our next location: North Platte, which was going to be a one and a half hour flight at least. That was if Scott’s bladder could hold it for that long. We now had $190 on hoof because I decided to leave the waitress a decent tip since I know the job doesn’t always pay well. We received quite a few looks from bystanders as we walked down the sidewalk. There were a few children that went: ‘Ponies!!’ We did stand out quite a bit though, even more so due to our contrasting colours. I was a black Alicorn after all and he was white, it tends to stand out. Well, that and the fact that we seemed to be the only ponies in Kearney. As we stopped by the traffic lights, a group of young ‘hooligans’ – would be the appropriate term – walked up next to us. There were three in total: one looked like a piercing artist’s experiment, he had three rings on his nose; two pins on his left ear and four rings with a chain that ran up his left forearm. He also had a red snake tattoo across the right hand side of his face. He looked fairly normal in terms of build. The next guy looked like he lived in a gym with more muscles in his one arm than I had in my whole body when I was human! He was bald and looked like he was in a mood to start a fight with anyone who looked at him funny. The last one was a girl. She wore a short skirt and her hair was a bubblegum pink colour arranged in a Mohawk. She was quite thin, hell she looked anorexic at best actually. Her shirt showed off her abdomen and I almost wanted to throw up. Is this what American teenagers do with their lives? Damn, I'm glad I live in a second world country. You may want to pay attention to what their apparel is saying and less at what they look like. Nightmare pointed out. PAPA, why did it have to be PAPA?! “Scott, we had best get going.” I said softly. He shook his head. “These are the friends I was talking about, they were attending a PAPA seminar earlier today. I remembered earlier on while we were eating that they told me about it before all of this happened and thought they could help out.” He said slightly cheerfully. “Well now, if it isn't our dear old Jackie!” The tattooed one said with a smile that made Nightmare cringe. This was a terrible idea. Nightmare thought. How are your teleporting skills? It’ll be ready when you need it. Just give me a signal. “So then Jackie, you're one of these ponies now are you?” He said as he clenched his hand over the aluminium baseball bat he was carrying. I didn’t notice it since he seemed to have been carrying it behind his back like the swords of old. The bigger guy popped his knuckles with a smile. “Yes I am Arnold. I need some help with money for my trip with Nightmare here.” He said confidently. I looked at him and saw that despite the tone of his voice, he was shaking visibly. The three friends got closer, uncomfortably so. “I warn you, if you intend to do us harm I will return the favour.” I said, stepping forward. ‘Arnold’ just smiled at me. “Oh ho, looks like we have a hero. Chuckles, teach her a lesson.” ‘Chuckles’ came at me and swung his left fist in a haymaker. I dodged it and saw Arnold’s bat come at me in an underhand swing. Nightmare! I screamed in my head. On it! She shouted back. We switched places as she teleported Scott and us to the other side of the busy street. Arnold called us cowards as we flew off into the skies. Once we were outside the city limits I turned to Scott in anger. “What in Equestria were you thinking?! You could’ve gotten us killed!” I shouted with the RCV. I just about blew him off the cloud we were sat on. “I was thinking we needed money and I got us some.” He said, pulling out three wallets from his purse. “Doing these things properly doesn’t mean they are one pony shows you know.” I started to laugh. “So while they focused on the larger Alicorn, you picked their pockets?” Scott nodded his head. “As much as I don’t agree with this, I don’t care since they were affiliated with PAPA. How much we got?” We turned out the wallets and gathered up the notes and coins. Altogether it amounted to $467.45 which gave us a grand total of $662.45 to spend with. I threw the wallets into the wind since we didn’t need their IDs or anything else. “Now I suggest we get some more distance between us and Kearney.” I said, Scott nodded his head in agreement. Putting away the cash and making sure my bag was secured around my neck, we flew off into the emerging night. Careless WhisperTo Sleep, Perchance to… Nightmare? Careless Whisper Author: Draconis187 Time: 20:54 Date: Smatterday Location: On a cloud above Centennial Park in North Platte, Nebraska. “Nightmare what are you up to?” Scott asked with a tad amount of annoyance in his voice. “Well, excuse me for taking a look at our route, Scott!” I spat back before I sighed deeply. “Sorry, it’s just… I thought this trip was going to take me the minimum of a day to complete but it’s taking too damned long. Not to mention you frequent toilet breaks aren't helping speed things up.” He blushed a little. “Sorry, Scott’s been nagging at me to let him take control.” “And you haven’t let him because…?” I inquired. “Oh, I have reasons. I have very good reasons.” He responded cryptically. Feeling this conversation was going to get us nowhere I left it at that and looked out over Centennial Park. It had a few baseball fields, or ‘diamonds’ as they call them. I am not much of a sport fan but to me baseball is pointless, cricket is better. I placed my earphones in my ears, put Nickelback’s Side of a Bullet on and flew down to the grass as I felt like taking a walk. So, what do you think of this place Nightmare? It is interesting but what is that? She replied, lifting our hoof to the fairly sized gazebo in front of us. Oh, that. I have no clue what Americans call it since they seem to have a different word for everything. We call it a ‘gazebo’. It’s like a building but with no walls. They have a variety of uses though: parties, acting as bandstands, weddings, and so on. I replied matter-of-factly. Your species is a very strange one Chris. I rolled my eyes as I reponded. Tell me about it. The Park was mostly deserted since it was getting dark but I was an Alicorn and I'm sure Scott would come down to warn me if he spotted trouble. Then again he is trouble. Nightmare responded. Her response made me chuckle. “Ooh mommy look! It’s a pony! Can I have it please?” A little girl – no older than six – asked her mother. The mother was dressed in a light blue, floral dress while the girl had a t-shirt with the words ‘20% cooler’ along with a picture of Rainbow Dash wearing her black shades on it. It made me double-take, if she watched the show she would know to be afraid of me, or rather Nightmare Moon at any rate. She either watched a later episode or she can't see who I am clearly or even maybe her mother got her that shirt on a whim. “No, sweetie. That’s a wild animal and I don’t want you getting near it.” She replied to the little girl. “Now hold up there madam.” I responded, evidently confusing the pair as I spoke. “I am not some mere animal so would you please refrain from talking as if I'm one?” Well, I never saw a woman run so fast in my entire life. While she ran holding onto her child for dear life, I heard two remarks: ‘Talking pony!’ I surmised that was the little girl and ‘Aah!’ which I gathered was the mother. Nightmare was standing near the edge of the white cliffs of Dover as she began to laugh hysterically. I will admit I also couldn’t suppress a few giggles. You didn’t even try to scare them! Hahaha! Nightmare laughed. I somehow knew I was going to that kind of reaction somewhere. I replied, still giggling. “What just happened?!” Scott asked as he came down next to us with a scared look on his face. I wrapped my forehoof around his neck with a grin on my face that seemed to make him uncomfortable as I answered. “Nothing serious, I just talked to that woman and she ran off screaming at the top of her lungs. Her daughter wasn’t fazed though so I doubt she will need counselling, the mother on the other hoof… well hope she knows a good therapist. After all it isn't everyday that you meet a talking pony.” “Oh is that all? I was worried she was some PAPA woman.” Scott replied. “Doubtful Scott, her daughter was wearing MLP merchandise so I don’t think she would be a part of that bunch of idiots. I just worry if she calls the police or the park rangers.” I replied. “You do realise park rangers are for nature preserves like Yellowstone and Yosemite right?” Scott said. “No I don’t. I'm from another country, remember? I don’t know how things work here in the US. On that note why in the hell does everypony from here go on about how this is the greatest country in the world?” I retort. “That’s because it is. The world revolves around it.” He said. I’m sure I felt a little arrogance coming from him. “No, this country is no different than my own. Idiot politicians with false promises, crime wherever you go and you get those morons you can never stand to be near.” I respond with slight anger. “Well I can't fault you there Nightmare.” Scott replied. “Let’s just change the subject. You seem to be getting tense.” I sighed. “Sorry, I don’t know why I'm so quick to anger. Maybe I've always been this way or maybe it’s because I'm sharing a body with a pony with issues.” Nightmare glared in my general direction. You can’t deny it Nightmare. You have a number of unresolved issues. Like what, exactly? Pick your answer very, very carefully foal. Can we not do this now? We might end up hurting others if we just leave our body unattended and somepony has to keep an eye out. I responded, deflecting her question as best I could. Fine, but tonight you and I are going to have a nice long discussion. Nightmare seethed. “I'm looking forward to it.” I mused. “What was that?” Scott replied as we took off to our clouds. “Let me put it this way… know any ponyisms for ‘being in the doghouse’?” I asked. Scott shook his head. “Afraid I don’t. But would gather with Nightmare being involved it would be akin to meeting Pinkamena from Cupcakes.” I physically shuddered, remembering that story and the YouTube video. Nightmare seemed to get a little curious at my reaction to that word. What made you have such a reaction? That pink mare isn't dangerous, not really. That’s the same response I had when I first heard of ‘Cupcakes’. I thought ‘Dash and Pinkie are making cupcakes, nothing wrong with that other than it being a little out of character for Dash to be baking.’ I’ll show you once I get on the internet again. I responded. We landed on the two clouds we were using to rest on and I went online again. I had a few more friend requests on Facebook, as well as some pictures of me with Scott in Lincoln. There was one that said ‘Nightmare’s new BF?’ I looked at Scott – who was busy preening his wings – and chuckled. Who in their right mind would think that Nightmare would find that white stallion attractive? He clashes with my coat colour. Wait, what? You are still a mare. Nightmare said with a malicious grin. Hell no! I may be in the body of a mare but I have the mind of a guy and I plan to keep it that way! I retort. We’ll see. She chuckles. Brilliant, bloody bucking brilliant. Here, this is the Cupcakes video that was made for the fanfic of the same name. Call me when you’re done watching. I thought to Nightmare as we switched control. I laid down on a Sova Carrier’s launch pad, looking at a red star as it passed by. It was a calming scene to look at. I've heard about how powerful the mind is but thanks to all the distractions of modern life, we never really take the time to just kick back and think of something to calm us down or take our minds off our day-to-day lives. The best thing is that I could look at the star and not get blinded. My mind seemed to have created its look from all the pictures and documentaries I used to watch of stars and the universe. All of a sudden I was wrenched off the Carrier and thrown back into control of our body. It almost made my head spin from the force. I opened my eyes to see that the video hadn’t even finished. It had only gone through 20 seconds and Nightmare didn’t seem to want to see any more. I instantly killed YouTube and sighed deeply. In my mind, Nightmare was breathing heavily and looked like she was going to be ill. You didn’t even finish watching it. I didn’t need to, that was disgusting from the start. She replied shakily. I know that my desire for eternal night seemed evil but that… that was far beyond what I would ever do. I know but you had to see what we were talking about. Cupcakes is one of the most disgusting, controversial fanfics since Friendship is Magic began. I responded as I checked my email. Hello Chris and Nightmare I’m glad you are safe and sound. I hope that filly is alright, you did the right thing for helping her out. I know how trusting you can be but I think you should be careful around that pony; a leopard doesn’t change its spots after all. I hope you all the best for your trip to Las Vegas have fun but please stay safe. Las Vegas can be very dangerous. Good luck though, I hope to hear from you soon. Lots of love Your Mother “She doesn’t seem to like me too much, does she?” Scott asked. “Do you mind?! Don’t you know it’s rude to read over somepony’s shoulder when they are reading?” I asked, slightly annoyed with Scott’s lack of understanding with the term: ‘personal space’. “Sorry about that. I actually wanted to wish you good night that’s all.” He said, a little crestfallen at my reaction. What was he expecting? A hug? “You could have said it from your cloud, it isn't that far away from me. It’s like three metres at the most.” I replied callously. “Well, sorry Your Highness!” He spat back. As much as I hate going to bed in a bad mood I didn’t have that much of a choice. I wanted to get to the Colorado/Nebraska border by midday; I couldn’t take the delays anymore. I just wanted to get to Las Vegas because the anxiety was getting to Nightmare as well as me. I put the laptop away, planning on replying when I got up the next morning. ***** ******** ******** ***** I woke up and found myself inside a strange stone building. I looked down and saw I was still Nightmare but it was no major train smash. The building seemed to have been built with the whitest marble in existence. If it shone even a small degree brighter, you would need Rainbow’s shades to avoid the glare. There were a number of pillars made from the same marble lining the sides of the room I was in. Near the top of them were gold banners with a deep blue trim, pinned up on the pillars by either a golden sun or a white crescent moon. As I looked around the ceiling I noticed something far more important that lay in the centre of the room: a golden pedestal with six multicoloured orbs on it. Five of the orbs surrounded the sixth one which was higher up than the others and was purple in colour. “Wait a second, I know that pedestal…” Then it hit me. “The Elements of Harmony of course! Wait, what?” How on Earth or Equestria can the Elements be here and in their original state? I began to walk through the building, which I surmised to be the Castle of the Royal Pony Sisters. The exact same castle where the Mane 6 found the Elements in the first season and ended up becoming known as the Bearers before defeating Nightmare. I was utterly bewildered to the situation. “Wait, oh I get it. I must be dreaming… but I never knew the castle looked like this, what’s going on? Nightmare? Nightmare?!” I called out but to no avail. Sighing, I continued to walk through the castle until I spotted a situation unfolding at what I could only gather to be the throne room. Sat on a gold throne with a gold sun adorning the top of the seat was a white Alicorn with a pink mane. At first I wondered who it was but then I realised it was a younger version of Celestia. “This isn't a dream is it?” I asked myself as I saw a blue mare with a light blue mane talking to Celestia: a younger Luna. She looked almost as tall as she was in Luna Eclipsed and had her old manestyle of the first season when she was freed. As I walked closer, I realised I couldn’t hear them speaking but I did hear something else entirely, seemingly emanating from all around me: Seether’s cover of Careless Whisper. ”I feel so unsure. As I take your hand and lead you to the dance floor.” “Wait, why would this song be playing in a memory?” I wondered. The two mares seemed to be getting into a one-sided argument. Luna seemed to pleading to Celestia about something, she seemed to be on the verge of tears. She stomped the ground a few times with her hooves, like a child having a temper tantrum but Celestia was not giving in to her. In truth it seemed like Celestia was completely ignoring her, taking more interest the piece of parchment she had in front of her than her own sister. “And waste the chance that I'd been given.” The music continued. The sad tone and rhythm seemed to fit the events that were unfolding before me. Celestia didn’t seem to so much as even care what her sister was trying to say to her. I could only guess what they said to each other as Luna stormed out, visibly screaming. “The careless whispers of a good friend.” The song continued. As I was about to chase after Luna to see what was going on, the room began to dissolve around me. I closed my eyes an hoped for the best. When I opened them again I was on the moon, looking around I saw Nightmare looking up at the planet above us as she shed a small tear. “Uh, Nightmare?” I asked softly, unsure if whether she was my Nightmare or just a dream. “I’m over here.” Nightmare’s voice came from behind me. As I looked at her she appeared to be mildly surprised I was here. “The way I dance with you. Oh oh.” The song began to end, leaving the scene around me in complete silence. “What-?” I began. “An old memory. 1000 years ago Luna asked her sister if she could please let the night last just a little bit longer so ponies could look at it. She only wanted a few minutes. She felt unappreciated and believed that everypony hated her nights since not one of them would be awake long enough to fully witness it. Although there were a few ponies that burned the midnight oil as you humans come to call it, even they didn’t appreciate the night, often complaining about the lack of light and never taking time to properly look at the night Luna worked hard to make.” She said solemnly. “Nightmare-” I said before she put her hoof up in a gesture calling for silence. “Save it. I'm not asking for your pity. Soon after that day you witnessed Luna gave in to her darker side and I came to be. I tried to extend the night through force and in the end the both of us were banished to the moon until that day of the Summer Sun Celebration, 1000 years later. I'm not asking for your pity, I'm not asking for you to understand. It is mere coincidence that you are seeing a memory.” She said callously. “Nightmare, how come you have that memory though? You didn’t come into existence until after that day, you just said so yourself.” “Luna and I were once a single being and as a result we share each other’s memories. Any other questions?” “Yes… why Careless Whisper? I heard it playing throughout the entire memory.” “I'm… not sure. I was unaware I still had this memory to be honest.” She spoke back but she seemed to be drifting off in thought. She shook her head and turned her attention back to me. “I would recommend that you never speak of this memory again, either to me or anypony. Do I make myself absolutely clear?” “Sure Nightmare. No further discussions on this ever again.” I replied, giving her a mock salute. Nightmare began to lead me away from the crying Nightmare Moon and headed off in an indeterminable direction across the moon’s surface. “Chris.” Nightmare spoke after a few moments of silence. “Thanks.” I bumped her with my flank. “Thanking ponies now are we? Keep this up and I’ll start thinking you actually care.” I gave a small chuckle as I said that. What shocked me just after I said that was her smiling back at me. “Maybe… foal.” “Now there’s the Nightmare I know! The insulter! The put-downer!” I said with a huge grin as we neared a crater. “Uh, Nightmare I hate to be a pain but… where exactly are you leading me?” “Here.” She said, pointing to a wooden door, complete with a wooden frame. The door itself was pure white while the frame and markings were silver. What struck me as odd was the handle: a tornado. The door was just standing there, in the middle of nowhere. I felt like I was in an episode of The Twilight Zone. “What the hay?” I said, completely at a loss at what was going on. “This door leads into Great Scott’s dreams. There are actually thousands of doors like this.” Nightmare responded as she opened it and entered. I sighed and went in afterwards. The both of us couldn’t get out of there fast enough after just a minute of being in there. I actually woke up and threw up over the edge of my cloud. Nightmare, let’s never go into Scott’s dreams again. Agreed. She replied as she threw up in a crater. I never knew a human's spine could bend that way. We can't. I never knew you could bend that way either. I can't you foal. Ugh, that has to be the most disgusting dream in all of Equestrian history. I won't argue there Nightmare. I flew down to find a fountain to clean my muzzle with. After a few minutes I found one and cleaned myself up. Once I got back up onto my cloud and noticed Scott making rather lewd twitching motions which only served to make me feel ill again. I tried to block out the thoughts and images of that dream we found ourselves in. I fell asleep again after a while and found myself sat on top of the Arc de Triomphe. Nightmare looked around it in confusion. “What is this thing?” She asked. “The Arc de Triomphe. It’s a famous monument and landmark in France. That’s a very long way from here so we’ll never see it for ourselves. But you have to admit, it is a lovely piece of architecture.” I replied. “I'm sure it is.” She deadpanned. “Sarcasm now? My, we are moving up in the world aren't we?” I joked. “Do you think I’m doomed to be alone?” She asked solemnly. “Wait, where did this come from?” I replied, kind of shocked that she just changed subjects and tones instantly. “I'm just wondering… if I was never an antagonist would I still be hated or loved?” “The answer to that is simple: no. Whether you were originally good or evil there will always be fans that are divided by differing opinions. Some even actually hate Celestia and Luna despite they are good. There are even those who hate Twilight if you can believe it.” I responded with a smile. “Besides, if you don’t think you can genuinely change, then I have only two words for you: fake it.” In that moment I pulled out a guitar and played Seether’s Fake It. How I can play a guitar with hooves and sing in a male voice is an easily answered question: I'm still in a dream and I don’t give a damn. “I can fake it with the best of anyone, I can fake it with the best of ‘em all!” I sang, banging my head and making my mane fly over my head in the process. I saw Nightmare give me what was probably the most sincere little smile I've ever seen her have on her face. In a few minutes I changed songs to something else. “I'm just a step away, I’m just a breath away.” I sang as I recited Skillet’s Hero. “I need a hero to save my life!” Nightmare sang, having picked up another guitar from somewhere and played next to me, smiling. I could only smile back as we sang Hero until the world around us blacked out. Nightmare really had some really strong mood swings if she’s playing with me and smiling after just being sad. Time: 06:34 Date: Moonday Location: On a cloud above Centennial Park in North Platte, Nebraska. I got up and grabbed myself a snack from my bag, a carrot and opened up my laptop. Scott was still fast asleep but he wasn’t twitching which made me feel better. Hi Mom Don’t worry, the filly was fine. He - he’s in a filly’s body but his parents wouldn’t talk to him like a girl. Very hard headed - is going to make a full recovery, or so I had heard from his father. This gender changing business is a very confusing thing. Great Scott (the pony that took my things) is actually not that bad a pony. We got our hooves on some more money that I hope will last us until we got to Las Vegas. Hope being the operative term since I have to look after two now which includes myself. Oh, get this… Scott used to be a girl! I wonder what the odds are of a pegasister being ponyfied? Probably more astronomical of a brony staying male, haha! Well, I am hoping to cross the Nebraska Colorado border before lunchtime today, provided my sidekick wakes up soon. If not I’ll wake him up somehow, I'm sure Nightmare knows of a few methods. Hope to speak to you soon. Regards Chris/Nightmare Moon He’s waking up. Nightmare noted. Brilliant, we might just make it today. “Come on Scott, wakey-wakey!” I said in a teasing tone. “Uh, just five more minutes.” He said, clearly still half asleep. “It’s PAPA!!” I shouted. “Ah!” He screamed, blasting off the cloud like a bullet. He looked around to see me laughing my flank off. That was genius Nightmare. I amuse even myself sometimes. She replied with a snide grin. “Don’t… do that!” He yawned. “Would you have preferred me to use one of those storm clouds?” I replied, indicating to the grey clouds behind us. “You wouldn’t…” He said. “No I wouldn’t but Nightmare might.” I replied with a malicious grin. “Fine, what’s your expectation for today?” He sighed, defeated by my capacity to ruin his day. “Well, I would like to get to Julesburg before 12:00. Julesburg is just past the border into Colorado. After we get a good rest and some food, maybe get something else we might need I don’t know, we are heading to Denver via the I-76.” I replied matter-of-factly. “Ok.” He yawned again. “Shall we-” “Hey you up there!” A voice came from below. I peered over my cloud to see a police officer carrying a bullhorn, looking straight at us. This was a strange turn of events. Maybe it’s that lady from last night. I surmised to Nightmare. “Come down here this instant!” He called with his bullhorn amplified voice. Not wanting to cause trouble for ourselves by refusing, I gathered our things and landed on the ground with Scott who then took his things off me. The police officer looked rather stern. He was Caucasian, medium build with light brown hair. He had no facial hair to speak of but he did possess sideburns and a lack of sunglasses but given the fact that the sky was overcast, it was understandable. He lowered his bullhorn and looked at us with his judging eyes, as if he was ready to throttle us. His nametag gave his name as Rory Harris. “Can I help you officer?” I asked innocently. “Yes, you can.” He replied in a relatively neutral, gruff voice. He pulled out a small book and took out a pen from his pocket. Wait, is he going to write us a ticket for sleeping above a park? There couldn't be a law against that, could there? “I need you.” He started. “To give me your autograph. I am actually a fan of the show and I particularly find you the most fascinating character Nightmare Moon. I heard from a woman last night that she saw a black talking pony with blue armour on.” I was standing in front of a brony police officer and there I was, almost ready to keel over from fear of being carted off, great way to meet your favourite character. I felt all the fear leave me though once he said that second part. “Sure, I’d be happy to.” I shakily replied. Go on Nightmare, he’s your fan after all. I got no response other than losing control as she took the pen out of the officer’s hand to sign a page in his brown, leather bound book. He had signatures from Sean Connery, Amy Lee amongst other – most likely famous – names I didn’t recognise. “Where you two headed?” Rory asked as he put his autograph book away. “We’re headed to Las Vegas and making a few small stops along the way to eat and rest.” I replied more confidently since my fears had been negated. “Really? I thought all of you were heading to New York.” He asked with a slightly confused expression. “I know but since we haven’t heard anything from New York regarding the current status of Celestia or Luna, I decided to head off somewhere to pass the time.” I replied. “Ok then, well good luck and stay clear of any PAPA affiliates. They are not a good bunch of folks.” He said, his stern expression having returned. “Oh, I've met them already and trust me: I have no plans on meeting them again.” I replied, slightly annoyed as I remembered Omaha. “Ok then, see you Nightmare and…?” He said, finally noticing Scott who decided to preen his feathers again. “Shcott.” He replied with his head buried in his right wing. I rolled my eyes and gave a small chuckle. “His name is Great Scott or just ‘Scott’.” I replied on his behalf as he pulled his head out. “Pleasure to meet you Scott.” Rory said, shaking Scott’s hoof. “Likewise.” Scott replied. “Well, see you two and have a pleasant flight.” He said. “Thanks.” I replied as Scott took off. I followed soon after. Next stop: Julesburg, Colorado. I thought as the cool air swept past my face as we flew along the I-80. Road to NowhereTo Sleep, Perchance to… Nightmare? Road to Nowhere Author: Draconis187 Time: 10:43 Date: Moonday Location: Wal-Mart in Julesburg, Colorado I was walking through the produce section on my own while Scott was looking around for a bag to carry his things so the real Scott could stop feeling embarrassed. I received a number of stares as I walked past some bananas, looking at them reminded me of a certain Tumblr blog. Giving a small chuckle I continued to search the aisles for food. “Mommy, Mommy look!” I heard a young girl shout out from across the aisle. “It’s Nightmare Moon!” I was prepared to see her scream and run but instead she ran up to me before her mother could even try to stop her. In seconds she was hugging my leg, a huge grin on her face. Inside my mind Nightmare gave me a curious look. Did I miss something? She inquired. Other than the fact of being known by most of America’s youth? No. I responded. “Are you here to bring eternal night?” The girl asked, looking up at me. “Uh, no. No I don’t plan on doing that little one.” I replied. ’Little one?’ Where did that come from? I asked Nightmare. She looked at me with an innocent face, which is quite the feat given her personality. I have no idea. At this point her mother caught up and pulled the girl off me. She looked a tad afraid though, then again she was hugging the harbinger of darkness. I gave a small chuckle and spoke. “No need to worry madam. No harm, no foul right? Pardon me but I do have some shopping to do presently.” I said with an air of dignity I never thought I could pull off. Like any princess. Still think you can keep your masculinity? Nightmare teased. Still hiding behind an ill attitude that you don’t truly have? I retorted. Touché. She replied before becoming silent. The mother didn’t respond to me but minded out of my way as I carried on through the aisle. After gathering a few items I went off in search of Scott. Remind me: why do we bother with him? Nightmare asked with disdain. He did help us out with our money troubles… despite being the cause of them in the first place. I replied as I walked out of the Wal-Mart. That second part is my point, how do we know he will not break his promise? She inquired, not buying my faith in him. Nopony breaks a Pinkie Promise… ever. I responded flatly. Whatever. She responded before walking off into a room in my mind. I didn’t think it was a good idea to ask just what she was doing as long as it didn’t hurt me. I found the shop Scott went off to in search of a new bag. Inside I found the white Pegasus pacing up and down with two bags in his wings. Strange to see a Pegasus use their wings like arms, I would never have suspected the pinions would be strong enough to carry the weight. In hindsight though, the bags were empty and would be considerably lighter in mass. The one bag was made of black leather with a skull magnetic latch to seal it. Its strap was more than long enough for him to sling over his head. The other one was… lime green? It had a pink floral pattern adorning every inch of it. The strap was also long enough for Scott but the choice was a different question. I can guess who picked what. Nightmare chipped in, suppressing an evil sounding giggle. Me too. I responded. Unfortunately for Scott, while Nightmare’s laughter would be heard by nopony, my uproarious laughter was. I wasn’t entirely sure why but I found the scene of Scott going up and down, picking up the offensive bag and putting it back, only to pick it up again hilarious. I laughed so loud, everypony in the shop turned in my direction before looking at what I was laughing at. Scott stopped his yo-yo movement to look at me with embarrassment written all over his face. “I see your bag hunting has become a fruitful venture.” I giggled. “Let me guess, you picked that one while Scott picked this one?” I pointed to the lime green bag first before pointing to the other. His expression changed to an annoyed one. “Yes I did, Jacqueline won't let me take it.” He raised the black leather bag to indicate which one he was referring to. I looked a tad surprised at him though, this had to be the first time I've met the real Great Scott. “So I’m talking to the real Great Scott then?” I ask with a curious look. “Of course sweetheart. There ain't another pony like me.” He replied with a wink. “I suggest you keep your ‘sweetheart’ comments to yourself. Otherwise I’ll make you.” I threatened. He shrugged his shoulders. “Whatever you say babe. Sorry, I said there was a reason I didn’t like letting him take control.” Scott looked sadly at me as he said that last part. “Ok then, I suggest we take this bag so we can shut him up.” I suggest. At that Scott and I went up to the counter to pay up. The cashier had a t-shirt on it with my favourite four letter word on it: PAPA. I groaned as I saw the man look at us with disdain. “Ponies in my shop, just what has this world come to?” He sighs. “Apparently, it’s the apocalypse.” I muse, which only serves to make the man’s scowl deepen. “Wow, not much of a person for a joke are you?” “I used to enjoy a good joke… if people were involved. Now get out of my store!” He says, pointing his finger to the door as he shouted. “I'm afraid I must decline your request, my friend needs a new bag to carry his personal items in and we can't leave until we have it.” I say calmly. “Are your big ears broken?!” He shouts, coming around the counter and putting his face close to mine. “Get… the… fuck… out… of… my… store!” Instead of fleeing, I stood my ground and took a deep breath. “No! We came to buy something to help us get to our destination and I'm not letting some xenophobic moron stop me!” Well, I must say the RCV is a brilliant thing to use when you want to end an argument quickly. Not only did he literally brown his trousers, he also let us pay for the bag and leave without incident… after he picked himself up off the floor as he had flown halfway across the store. Nightmare keeled herself over, laughing hysterically. That was beautiful! She said between her giggle fits. I didn’t have to say anything, that was all you! Everypony has a breaking point Nightmare and mine is when others give innocent people a hard time. I responded. “Hey! Nightmare!” A voice called out. I looked around and saw a scrawny man, must have been in his early thirties, late twenties. He was wearing a Fluttershy shirt with the word: ‘Yay!’ on it. I knew what he was in an instant… a brony. “I saw and caught everything! Have any words to say before I post this on YouTube?” I sighed and took a deep breath which made the man take a step back. “I only have this to say: PAPA are a bunch of foals and if you support their views then you are just as narrow minded as them. If any PAPA affiliates or agents are seeing this, I have a special message for you: stay out of my way or you will suffer dire consequences. The other thing is that I'm not going to New York until I hear what happened to Celestia and Luna. In the meantime I'm going to Las Vegas with Great Scott over here. Nightmare, out. Let’s get going Scott.” He complied without any fuss and I placed my earphones in my ears and took off after him. I heard the skinny man say something but I was too busy listening to Avenged Sevenfold’s Blinded in Chains to hear exactly what he said properly. After a few minutes of flight out of the city, I noticed a light blue sedan seemed to be following us. I signalled Scott to land on a cloud ahead of us. As we landed I looked down to see it idling nearby. “That can not be a coincidence.” I muttered. “What?” Scott asked. “That sedan down there. I'm sure it has been following us for the past couple of minutes after we left that shop.” I replied. “The driver hasn’t left it and it’s just idling there. That can't bode well for us.” “Well… what do you suggest then?” Scott inquired with a slight hint of fear in his voice. “Splitting up may make it worse if the driver turns out to be a PAPA agent so I suggest we just keep an eye on it for now until we can gauge its intentions.” I replied. “Besides I want to see the weather for Denver since it’s starting to get rather overcast here.” Scott only nodded in response as I pulled out my laptop. Looking on a local weather channel I saw that Denver was in for a thunderstorm. I sighed deeply as I closed the laptop. “Looks like Denver is in for a thunderstorm. I think we should rather take a bus or something to that regard since we aren't wearing lightning-proof suits.” I say matter-of-factly to Scott. “Got it lady.” Scott replied with a malicious smirk on his face. “Scott, put Jacqueline back. If I talk to you for too long, I might end up beating the both of you senseless.” I said with an exasperated sigh. Scott rolled his eyes. “What’s wrong with me?” “Everything.” Nightmare and I replied in unison. He sighed and his attitude changed as Jacqueline took back control. There were subtle differences between them, the way they carried themselves and their attitude which was the most obvious. But the most striking thing was his eyes, I noticed that his eyes had a shine, a sparkle to them when Jacqueline took over while Scott’s were less so. The truth was that they looked like the eyes of a complete douchebag. “Sorry, I warn you that there were reasons I didn’t want him in control.” Scott said with a tear in his eye. “We noticed.” I deadpanned. “So, I guess we are heading for Denver then?” Scott asked. “Unless you didn’t hear me when Scott was in control, yes we are but we need to take a bus since we aren't properly protected.” I replied with a sigh. He shrugged his shoulders. “I'm afraid we don’t share a lot of views on some subjects so he tends to keep me locked out when he’s in control.” “I gathered that from the moment we walked into that shop.” I mused. She looked at me with a look of embarrassment on his face. After a moment we ended up laughing about it. We composed ourselves after a good five minutes and flew off to the bus station. I kept looking back to see the sedan still following us. I hoped it wasn’t a PAPA agent. You would surmise they would have learned their lesson if they have heard what happened in Omaha. Nightmare noted. Humans are quite stubborn creatures, trust me. I replied with slight disgust at the persistent sedan. We got to the bus station and found we weren’t the only ones wanting to board the bus. I grabbed the attention of a man in front of me. “Sir, excuse my interruption but may I ask if this bus is heading to Denver?” I ask politely. “No, go to the bus station and get a ticket there.” He replied bluntly. “Where is it?” I ask, accidentally dropping the formal attitude. “Just down the street, turn right at the third traffic light and carry on, you should see it after a short while.” He replied. Thanking him, we flew off and followed his directions to the letter. We soon arrived at the bus station and walked in the front door. Inside there were a multitude of people from all different walks of life: Hispanics, Americans, I was sure I heard a Welsh person in the crowd amongst others. I went up to the lady that dealt with the tickets and found she was ignoring me. “Ahem.” I cleared my thought and saw her look at me as if there was something wrong. “Excuse me madam but I would like to purchase two tickets to Denver please.” “Why? So you can spread your disease there as well?” She replied curtly. “What? No madam you are mistaken, I am not ill and there is no possible way that my turning into a pony is contagious.” I reply. “Be that as it may but I’m not taking the risk.” She defiantly responds. “May I speak with your manager then?” I ask nicely. “No.” she responds with a malicious smirk. I gave out a sigh and looked at Nightmare who was looking at me inquisitively. Got any ideas Nightmare? I ask. Oh, I have a few. She replies with a chuckle. Do it, just don’t harm her physically. I say, crestfallen. No need, look. She said, snapping me back into the world. Standing in front of me, arguing with the lady… was that same strange man who recorded me earlier. His earlier happy face was gone and in its place was a face of pure rage… fandom anger. “What is wrong with you lady?!” He shouted, getting the attention of everypony in the room. “They are no more contagious than I am!” “That’s my point, not everyone here shares your opinion and would prefer to not be turned into a pony.” She replied flatly. “Enough of this foalishness!” I shout, banging my hoof on the counter. “All I need is a ticket to Denver for my friend and me as we don’t want to get caught in the thunderstorm!” “I have the safety of other passengers to consider. There a re rumours that this ‘condition’ of yours is capable of spreading.” She retorts. “You know what? Buck you!” I say, turning around and finding Scott waiting outside for me. “Sorry Scott, looks like we are not taking a bus.” “Damn, well then what now?” Scott asks with a disappointed look on his face. “You come with me.” A voice from behind us calls out. I turn around and - to my very little surprise – see the brony that tried to help me out. He had a big grin on his face as if he had just won the lottery. “Now I know that hopping into a car with somepony you don’t know is a little curious but hear me out: I wanted to make a documentary of what you ponies are going through on your journeys and what better candidate than Nightmare Moon?” He said with a smile. “Well, we aren't going to New York until we know Celestia and Luna are back. I did tell you earlier.” I respond. “That’s fine by me, the longer the journey, the more footage I get.” He responds with a happy cheer. “Oh, before I forget, I’m Charles.” I shake his hand with my hoof. “Pleasure, you already know who we are so I don’t think we should reintroduce ourselves. It would be redundant.” “Ok, cool. Hey, can I ask you something?” He said with a smile. “What?” I reply, not knowing where this conversation is going to end up. “Can I brohoof you? Please?” He asked. I rolled my eyes and extended my hoof again, this time colliding it with his fist. “Ow! You could have removed that shoe.” “You didn’t ask.” I reply with a smile. “Oh ha ha. Well, hello everypony!” He said, pulling out his camera from his pocket. “It’s CharlesMaster231 here with an important message! I'm going to be on a road trip with the Nightmare Moon and a Pegasus by the name of Great Scott.” I look at him with a disapproving look. “It looks like yours truly is getting one hell of a stare from the first antagonist of the series, well let’s see if I’ll live or suffer Eternal Night!” I hate him. Nightmare muttered. This is going to be a really long drive. I respond, trying not to facehoof myself. “So what’s my punishment Princess?” He says to me with an eager grin. “Just shut the buck up.” I respond at which he turns to his camera with a huge gasp. “You heard it here first folks! Nightmare Moon curses!” He cries out. “Hey! Give it back!” Nightmare took over and levitated the camera out of his hands and brought it to us. “I know I’ve done some bad things but I doubt they were bad enough for me to get this as punishment.” Nightmare says, pointing the camera at Charles. At that we swapped again and I switched off his camera and tossed it to him. He fumbled it but managed to stop it from hitting the floor and breaking. As we walked from the station, the rain began to pour down on us. Nightmare though was kind enough to create a bubble around all of us so we could stay dry but the moment Charles decided to open his mouth, Nightmare dropped it around him to shut him up. We walked up to Charles’ car… which turned out to be the same blue sedan from earlier! I turn to him in anger and confusion. “Where you following us?” I ask accusingly. He gives me an innocent look as he responds. “No, of course not!” I just rolled my eyes and got into the back of the car. The ‘gents’ look at me confused as I tossed my bag onto the other side of the seat. “I would rather sit on my own thanks.” I respond, turning my flank to them. “Nice ass.” I turn around quickly in anger to see them look around innocently. I know I’m a guy but that is just pathetic and embarrassing. I think. Be glad it isn’t one of the stallions that had tried to court Luna centuries ago. Nightmare responded. But I thou- I try to think. I agree they are uncouth barbarians but we have no other options right now. Nightmare retorts, cutting my train of thought. I saw Scott jump up onto the passenger seat in front as Charles started the car up. It took us longer to get out of the city than if we flew but our coats were going to be dry once we reached Denver so I couldn’t really complain. All I really wanted right now was some peace and quiet while I listened to some songs. I pulled out my headphones and started to listen to Nickelback’s Lullaby and decided to rest. ***** ******** ******** ***** I got up on a bed in a room I couldn’t recognise, looking around I saw Nightmare by the open door. The room had some model planes, a poster of Dante from DMC holding Rebellion outwards and a computer to the side. It took me a bit of time to realise I was actually in my room back home in South Africa. “Why?” I ask Nightmare. “I wanted to think of home, of Canterlot but I could only picture this building.” Nightmare responded with slight disdain. “There is nothing wrong with my home Nightmare.” I retort, slightly hurt that Nightmare would slander my home. “It has only been like that for what, three years?” She says, looking at me with one of those smirks. “It’s true that I've moved houses more times than I care to talk about but this one was a good one.” I respond. I concentrated and changed the location we were in. in moments we were on a sports field in a school yard. Looking around I saw myself and my friends laughing while watching one of them on his skateboard. “I had some good memories here, as well as some bad ones.” I say absent-mindedly. “I remember when Harold there fell on his flank trying to do an Ollie.” And sure enough as I said it, he fell on his backside as the skateboard just slide from under his feet. The area changed again as we found ourselves in the old hall where they held the talent show every year. The hall had visible brickwork up to an average person’s shoulder before becoming normal, plastered wall. The light beige colour continued up to the ceiling where eight fans with three blades hung above the students. Nightmare and I walked up to the higher ‘box’ that the matrics would sit. “You know, I always wanted to try and sing on that stage there.” I said to Nightmare, pointing to the wooden stage at the other end of the hall. It had two sets of stairs, three to be exact, and above it was the school emblem. It had been a few years since I saw it so its image was a fuzzy one but it resembled a shield. I facehoofed myself for talking to Nightmare about all of this. “Why didn’t you?” Nightmare inquired. “Stagefright, I'm not so brilliant with crowds. All those eyes watching me, judging me. I think that if I would never see their faces again I might have tried it out but I saw those people every day of my school life.” I replied with an embarrassed look on my face. “And now?” Nightmare said. I looked down at myself, considering her question before turning to her with a smile. “Now? I'm in the body of an Alicorn with powers I never thought were possible and… I would probably do it but I no longer go to this school and we are several thousand miles away.” “You can still do it, even if it is a dream.” Nightmare says encouragingly, pushing me in the direction of the stage. I looked at her dumbfounded until I gave her on of her own malicious grins. “On one condition…” “What?” She asks with slight impatience in her voice. I jumped up onto the stage and grabbed her with my hooves before pulling her up with me. “You join me!” Nightmare looked angry at me for a few seconds before picking up a guitar. “Well?” I chuckled and got a guitar for myself as well. The rest of the music came from some faceless forms. As I looked into the crowd I noticed it was a mixture of ponies and humans. “I guess you barely knew them?” Nightmare commented. I just look at her and nod. “Let’s get this over with.” I nodded once more and opened up with one of my favourite saddening songs I’ve heard: Nickelback’s Savin Me. “Prison gates won’t open up for me.” I begin. “On these hands and knees I’m crawling.” Nightmare picks up. After a few moments of realising she probably knew it from my memories we continued singing. “Show me what it’s like.” I sang “To be the last one standing.” Nightmare continued. “And teach me wrong from right.” “And I’ll show you what I can be.” “And say for me, say it to me and I’ll leave this life behind me.” “Say it if it’s worth savin me!” We sang in unison. We eventually finished to a cheering crowd which was to be expected since this was a dream. I looked at Nightmare who just gave a smile that seemed to make me smile back at her. We then changed tracks to a Disturbed song: Indestructible. “My declaration embedded deep under my skin” I sang. “A permanent reminder of how it began” Nightmare carried on as we alternated lines. “No hesitation when I am commanded to strike” “You need to know that you’re in for the fight of your life” “You will be shown” “How I’ve become” “Indestructible” We both sang together. “Determination that is incorruptible” “From the other side, a terror to behold” “Annihilation will be unavoidable” As we finished off that song I felt the world end. I looked to Nightmare as we both knew that this was the end of the dream. We both just smirked at each other as the darkness enveloped us. ***** ******** ******** ***** Time: 18: 47 Date: Moonday Location: Denver, Colorado “Well it looks like Sleeping Beauty is awake.” Charles’ voice called out as I opened my eyes. I got up to find we had stopped by a hotel. I looked at the time and gathered Charles stopped so we could sleep and grab some food despite the fact I had gotten us food earlier in the day. They must have had no regard for money. I hope they don’t plan on making me pay. Entering the hotel we found that there were a two other ponies that were sleeping here but as soon as they saw me, they fled to their rooms. I rolled my eyes at the display of ‘courage’ before me and went to the rooms Charles rented for us. I found out that Scott and Charles were sharing a room while I was on my own. As I lay on the bed I found it felt weird since I had been sleeping on clouds the past few days. As I considered sleeping outside on a cloud, a thunderbolt decided to decide for me. There was a knock at the door. “Come in.” The one who entered was Scott, he seemed aloof. He walked up to me as I looked at him with a look that could bore into his very soul. “Would you please not do that?” He asked, I realised it wasn’t the pervert in control and eased my gaze. “Thanks.” “Sure I just wasn’t sure of Scott though, was it him that made that comment about my flank?” I asked. Technically it’s my flank. It’s not your body. Nightmare corrected. I used to have one before your body became mine, remember? I re-corrected. Touché She replied. “I’m not too sure but I think it was Charles.” He replied. “Oh well. I can't exactly do anything about his comment but I think it would be best if we all turned in early. I would like to get to Clifton tomorrow.” I said to Scott who bowed his head. “Okay, at least we have transport now. My wings were starting to hurt.” He complained. I just rolled my eyes and gave a small chuckle. Scott took that as a sign to leave and did so. I levitated the blankets and went to sleep. This little adventure just keeps on getting more interesting. I mused. ThunderstruckTo Sleep, Perchance to… Nightmare? Thunderstruck Author: Draconis187 Time: Doesn’t matter Date: Don’t care Location: My mind, on the surface of the moon I was standing next to Nightmare, looking at Earth through the atmosphere – or lack thereof – of the moon as we played a slightly saddening song by Aviators called One Last Letter. Funny thing is that songs like these tend to lift my spirits rather than crush them. We sang in complete unison, both alternating our lines as the song carried on. One last, thing that I got to say, One more report, before it’s too late. I’m begging you to stop this Chaos today, One last thing that I gotta prove, One final goodbye before we meet our doom, Something happened to the peace that we all knew, This is my one last letter to you. “Why do you want to play songs that would be better suited for funerals?” Nightmare asked as we finished the song. I placed the guitar I had around my neck on the ground, sending a small cloud of dust flying into the endless cosmos before Newton’s Law declared otherwise. “Don’t know why now, but it’s good to play something other than metal or rock. I just find it funny that two Nightmare Moons can play guitar.” I replied with a smile. “This is a dream, anything is possible you foal.” Nightmare quipped. We looked at each other for a few seconds before I gave her my most serious looking face. “Oh, I’m the foal? Who was the one crying in the plane’s bathroom, the one who was crying when we went on that history lesson?” I asked with a roll of my eyes. We shared a good laugh at each other as I reflected back on the trip so far. We had gone from one country to another by crossing an ocean via an aeroplane, got ponynapped but escaped and exacted revenge, met the most perverted Pegasus in the known universe but I’m sure I will be proved wrong sometime when Murphy’s Law dictates so, met a human that seems to be the most obsessed fan you could ever meet and was also a borderline stalker. There was still no news on Celestia and Luna’s conditions but I didn’t actually care that much since the travelling was actually quite nice. “Let’s do another song, before this dream ends. You up for it?” I inquired Nightmare who gave me a menacing smile. “I’ll humour you one more time.” She replied, that smile growing nervously wider. I shook off the smile and picked up the guitar once more. Soon the opening strumming of Temper Temper by Bullet for my Valentine filled the moon’s lack of an atmosphere. This time you’d better bite your tongue Think twice before you open that mouth Take a breath, hold it in your lungs Being from rage, will it overcome? I feel the tension rising high A feel a hump, down in my chest Nothing is strange, I see in red Can’t hold it back Here comes my… Temper temper, time to explode Feels good when I lose control Temper temper, time to explode Chamber’s empty, time to reload Nightmare joined in the vocals at this point, guitar firmly in her hooves as she played. Too late cause now you can’t disarm Too slow, you know you should’ve backed down Did you think before you crossed that line? This intervention’s gonna be divine I feel the time is crawling near I feel the sweat dripping down my face Nothing is strange, I see in red Can’t hold it back Here comes my… We both carried on singing until the end, taking in turns to shout parts of the lyrics. As we finished I looked out and just looked at the Earth. Why Earth? Mainly because I didn’t know what Equestria looked like from space, sue me. Nightmare gave me a look, grabbing my attention until she pointed back up at the planet in front of us. Then I saw it: Equestria. I could see where Canterlot would be, Ponyville, Cloudsdale was pretty easy to see since it was made up of clouds. The contours of the mountain ranges, the oceans of blue, it was a mesmerising sight. “So that’s Equestria?” I muttered under my breath. “This is the view I had for a thousand years. As much as it looks beautiful, I was never able to appreciate it due to my hate and despair. I hated having to look at the place I was banished from.” Nightmare didn’t seem to be talking to me, she was just looking at Equestria with a blank expression n her face. “And now? I think I just might like the view for once in a thousand years.” As if on cue, Equestria began to fade away as it became enveloped in darkness, I gave a deep sigh as the darkness was about to envelop us and end the dream. Nightmare looked angry at me for some reason and her words did not help me figure out why. “Kill Charles, will you?” she said with a hint of hate in her voice. ***** ******** ******** ***** Time: Too Celestia-damned early Date: Will check now, let me get up first! Location: Some stupid hotel room As I awoke there were a few things I realised right away. Number one: my armour was on a dressing table on the other side of the room. I must have subconsciously taken it off and never realised it. Number two: I had a pillow shoved halfway down my throat, again. Number three: Charles was standing right next to my bed, with his camera in his hands. All of a sudden, Nightmare’s attitude made complete sense. “Morning You Majesty. How are you today?” His asked with a dorky smile. “You have five seconds to leave this room before I blast you out.” Nightmare said, spontaneously taking over my vocal cords as I noticed the time, 08:12. “Okay, just wanted you to know that breakfast is being served down below.” Charles shrugged as he placed his camera back into his pocket. “Oh and Scott is talking to those two ponies from yesterday. You know, the ones you scared away?” “It is kind of hard to talk to anypony when they run off into their rooms the moment they see you. I didn’t even see who or what they were.” I retorted as I got up and stretched. I felt my bones audibly pop as I arched my back while extending my wings. “Are those ponies males at least?” “No, they’re both female. Why, do you want a coltfriend?” Charles responded, oblivious to the real Scott’s perverted tendencies. My eyes shot open at his oblivious disregard for Scott’s behaviour. My armour shot across the room as I placed it on my body with my magic. I accidentally – I'm sure Nightmare took over my magic to do this – hit Charles on the head with my helmet as it soared through the air. “Because if Scott is in control, he’ll destroy any hope of them staying around long enough for me to apologise for frightening them last night! Haven’t you noticed his perverted behaviour or is your head that firmly shoved up your rear end?!” I shouted as I ran out my door, conveniently left open, otherwise either Nightmare or I would’ve broken it down in the attempt to get out. I flew down the stairs and found the dining hall. In a corner I saw Scott sitting down next to two mares, talking normally as if they were long-lost friends. My mood instantly changed from the earlier hysterical panic to a more calm state despite I was still physically shaking. I finally managed to see just what their types were, an Earth pony and a Unicorn. The Earth Pony had mint green coloured mane and tail while her coat was powder blue while her eyes were pink. What struck me was the fact that she had a white nurse’s hat on, along with a large red cross with a pink heart in each corner for a Cutie Mark. The Unicorn had a white coat and a pink mane and tail, with a paler shade of pink stripe running down her mane and tail, respectively. Her eyes were blue and her Cutie Mark consisted of three small diamonds. As soon as they saw me they… waved? I looked around myself and saw there was nopony else to wave to so I had assume they were waving at me. I walked over to the table which had red leather seats with little golden buttons in it. The table had a traditional white table cloth with an intricate design of flowers and vines along the edges. The table itself was in the middle of a half moon couch with a single chair with the same leather upholstery on its oaken frame. “So, Scott here has been telling us about you and we must apologise for our behaviour for last night.” The Unicorn said, extending her hoof in apology. I shook it with a smile. “I am Janet Smith, although I’m in the body of a pony called Sugarberry. This here is Nurse Tenderheart.” Sugarberry pointed to the Earth Pony who smiled at me. “My name was Mary Jenkins. We were roommates back in Phoenix, Arizona. What brings the two of you here?” Tenderheart asked us. “We’re on our way to Las Vegas since there hasn’t been any word on the Princesses. I brought Great Scott here along so I could get a few nasty habits out of him.” I looked at Scott with a near menacing glare but he just shrugged and smiled. “I thought it was because you liked my flank.” He said with that smirk of his. I whacked him over the head with my armoured hoof. “Ow! That hurts!” Scott whined as he rubbed the back of his head. Nightmare, the other ponies and I just smiled. “I guess I had that coming.” “Thanks, Jacqueline is a nice girl to talk to but that Scott is quite the pervert.” Sugarberry complained. “He tried to hit on Tenderheart here, using a very corny pickup line.” “I hope you know CPR, cuz you take my breath away!’” Tenderheart recited, making exaggerated hoof movements, as if she was dying from a terminal illness. We all facehoofed, including Great Scott, my armour clanged as the metal connected with metal. “I share the same body as him, so imagine what I have to put up with every day.” Scott whined as we all laughed. My ears perked up as I noticed that Charles was filming us. “Say YouTube!” This would have been the point where I would’ve shot enough lightning into his body to cause it to explode in a shower of blood and assorted body parts but we all looked at each other before embracing in a group hug with big grins on our faces, shouting: “YouTube!” That was embarrassing. Nightmare complained. No point fighting it Nightmare, we’re in a place none of us are familiar with and we’ve been too serious throughout this trip. We need to unwind every once in a while. As much as playing music with you is fun, we need friends to talk to without wanting to tear them apart. I responded. “Good morning folks. What can I get for you?” A waiter came in after our rambunctious laughter and shenanigans had subsided. He was rather unconcerned with serving a table consisting of pastel coloured equines. Oh well, money is money, no matter what the source looks like. “Since this is breakfast, some flapjacks! And hot chocolate!” I declare, my voice nearing RCV proportions as I stuck my hoof into the air. “I would like scrambled eggs, white toast please and an iced tea please.” Scott ordered, looking at the waiter with a smile. “I’ll take the farmhouse breakfast and decaf coffee.” Charles asked, his camera sat neatly on the table. Its focus wasn’t me so I was pleased about that but then I noticed it wasn’t even on so I stopped worrying about it. “That comes with pork, ew!” Tenderheart complained. “I’ll have some muesli and strawberry yoghurt please with some water.” “I’ll have the same but I’d rather have vanilla yoghurt instead please. I’ll have some lemonade.” Sugarberry said with a small smile. After the waiter feverishly wrote down our orders and repeated them so he got them right, he left to order them up. Charles picked up his camera and turned his focus to the two new mares. “Alright Miss Tenderheart, what did you and Sugarberry do before becoming ponies?” He asked as if he was conducting an interview for a news station. “Well, I was studying geology while Tenderheart was going to be a veterinarian.” Sugarberry responded. Charles wheeled the camera around as quickly as possible to get Sugarberry into focus. “We were sharing a flat together which helped out a lot when the time to pay rent came. We both worked as cashiers back there at our local Wal-Mart. We didn’t earn much but we made ends meet as we chipped in equally.” “Nice, what about you Nightmare Moon?” Charles asked. I gave him a malicious smirk as I leaned closer. “Ask me again and I will send a lightning bolt through that camera and you. I thought I made it clear to not use that thing?” I rebuked, earning a genuine look of fear from Charles. “Ok, I get it: you're not a morning pony.” He said as he placed the camera away. “Damn straight.” I replied as I sat back in my seat before my face lit up with the delivery of our drinks. I lifter the hot chocolate to my muzzle and blew on it to cool it down before taking a sip. “That’s some good hot chocolate.” I want to taste it. Nightmare asked as she noticed my expression. Go for it. I replied as I placed the mug back on the saucer it came on. Nightmare took over and picked up the drink with her magic before taking a sip. I couldn’t really se her reaction but judging by the reactions I saw the others give her, I knew it was a pretty embarrassing one. The next moment we switched places as she placed the drink back down. “Are you feeling ok?” Tenderheart asked with concern. “I’m alright, Nightmare and I did a switch. Did she do something wrong?” I addressed the group who were still giving me strange looks. “You just looked… happy. Really, really happy for some reason.” Sugarberry responded as she took a sip of her lemonade. “I guess it had been a while since Nightmare had hot chocolate.” I responded. That’s the first time I ever had such a beverage. Nightmare said with an embarrassed look on her face as she strolled across one of the bridges in Ponyville in my mind. “OK, the first time she had hot chocolate. She doesn’t like showing how she feels, other than hate, jealousy and anger. Those she is fine with expressing.” As I finish my sentence, our food arrived. Want to taste some of it? I ask Nightmare. Ok, as long as I don’t get those looks again. Nightmare responded as we switched places. I’m sure that won’t happen if you don’t give one of your own. I thoughtfully chuckle. “You know Nightmare…” Tenderheart says as she puts her spoon in her muesli. “I’ve just noticed how that whenever you switch, your posture changes.” “That’s because I have Luna’s memories of her etiquette training. A princess doesn’t slouch, which he does, often.” Nightmare said before taking a bite out of one of the flapjacks she had just cut. “So how does it please the royal tastebuds?” Charles asks… with that infernal camera in his hands. “I will make good on my threat about that camera if you don’t put it down this instant.” Nightmare threatened. “Oh, come on!” Charles exasperatedly shouts, throwing his arms into the air in frustration. “I wanted to get some footage of this journey. Is that too much to ask?” “Apparently, yes.” Scott quipped. “You got me beat over the head with that helmet she’s wearing!” Charles shouted as he almost stabs himself through the back of his throat as he took a bite of his breakfast. “If you weren’t such an utter douchebag, maybe she wouldn’t worry about whenever you hang around women, human or equine!” Charles was visibly shaking as he shouted so I took his utensils out of his protesting hands. “Look if you carry on like this, you will end up impaling yourself or somepony. Calm down.” “That’s rich coming from the one threatening to shoot a bolt of lightning at me!” Charles snaps at me. “Why?! Why can't you just let me have my fun?!” “Damn, what happened to ‘love and tolerate’?” Sugarberry asked as Charles continued to fume. “How about I love and tolerate the shit out of you?!” Charles shouts at Sugarberry, who starts to cry. “Now look what you’ve done!” I shout, not at RCV levels but normal shouting. Tenderheart was patting Sugarberry on the shoulder while hugging her, trying to calm her down. “Oh, you know what?! Fuck this!” Charles shouts as he gets up and storms out of the room. “So is that how you see me? As a douchebag?” Scott asked, the real Scott seemingly in control. “It’s the constant hitting on me and other ladies that makes me angry Scott, nothing else since I don’t exactly know your entire story.” I said to Scott as we all just looked through the doorway that Charles went through. “I had better go see what’s up.” The next few moments were strange, I heard him in his room upstairs, thrashing about as if he was having a fight with somepony. As I walked up the staircase, I saw him come out of his room with his suitcase in his hands. “Well, it has not been fun Nightmare. I think I can see now why PAPA hates you all so much: you’re all self absorbed pieces of shit. I can’t believe I enjoyed the show.” He pushed past me with his bag as he went down the staircase. “Don’t worry about paying for the rooms and that, I took care of it last night.” “Charles look, I know you're upset and I’m sorry.” I reply as we both reach the bottom of the staircase. “Look, I didn’t mean to hurt you in that sense. I just have a twisted sense of humour, the both of us do. Not you, Nightmare and I.” “That still doesn’t change the fact that you beat me over the head with a fucking steel helmet!” Charles vexed. “It’s actually platinum, that’s why it has that azure hue to it.” Nightmare piped up, taking over this part of the conversation. “Don’t care! I’m gone!” He shouts, leaving out the front door. “All of this is just pure bullshit!” “Do you think we don’t know that?!” Nightmare and I shout in unison, the both of us fuming with anger. “We almost got killed before we even landed in this blasted country! We got shot at, gassed and saw some PAPA agents shoot a little filly in the leg as a warning!” “What?” That stopped Charles in his tracks, dropping his bag and turning around. “I-I didn’t know…” “Of course not, I don’t like talking about it that much. Each moment of being stuck in that cage, waiting for our turn to die, we knew we had to act quickly.” We looked at him, a small tear falling down our left cheek, we wiped it away. “In the end, through some cunning, we escaped and freed the others they captured. Those people were placed into their most horrible nightmare they could possibly imagine.” I stopped looking at him and looked up to the sky. “You know? I always dreamed of being able to fly. Now I’m an Alicorn, capable of both flight and magic. The only disadvantage I could possibly think of is the gender swapping but I got over that rather quickly.” I said before I realised something. Nightmare and I had been speaking together as if we had the same train of thought, the same amount of control. Looks like the merging is happening faster than either of us had anticipated. Nightmare thought as she realised the same thing. We can worry about it later. I retorted. “Ok, look.” Charles let out a sigh as he sat down on the ground, on top of his bag. “I’m sorry for lashing out at you all.” “Water under the bridge, I’m just glad you stopped long enough to hear my story. I’ll let you do your videos on the condition you ask first. Waking up to seeing a camera in my face is not how I intend on starting my mornings.” I respond, taking the shoe off my one hoof and then extending it. “Fine.” Charles brohoofed me and got up off the floor. “Let’s not keep the others waiting.” I nod and put my shoe back on before following him. In the lobby, Tenderheart, Scott and Sugarberry are standing near the door, watching our conversation. As we both walked back, Scott gave me a nod and a smile as the other two mares gave a sigh of relief. After finishing breakfast, we all packed up our gear and got ready to make for our next destination: Richfield, Utah before making the final trip to Las Vegas, Nevada. As we gathered up our things I saw the two mares standing by the entrance with their own bags, paying up at the reception desk. At first I thought there was nothing wrong with it until I saw their faces light up when they saw us coming down. Tenderheart came up to me with a grin. “We were wondering if you wouldn’t mind taking us with you?” Tenderheart asked as Sugarberry tried to look away, blushing furiously. “May I ask why? We aren't going to New York, you know that.” I respond, taken aback at how we seem to be picking up somepony whenever we stop somewhere. “Well, there are reports of PAPA supporters in the next town we were going to and so we were hoping to go with you since you’ve handled them before. We don’t really mind being in these bodies, Tenderheart is a real pleasure to talk to and her expertise in animal care is amazing.” Tenderheart explained. “You heard me?” I asked. “The whole hotel heard you actually.” Sugarberry piped up. “You were shouting rather loudly.” I just realised that Nightmare and I were using the Royal Canterlot Voice as we shouted at Charles earlier on. I facehoofed myself once the realisation had fully sunk in. This earned a few chuckles from my travelling companions. “She’s right, you must have an impressive pair of lungs to pull off that volume of shouting.” Charles quipped. I gave Charles a glare as he told me this. “I know that, but I don’t use it that often. I didn’t even realise I was using it.” I sheepishly said as they all just looked at me. “Sorry.” “’Sorry’? That was amazing!” Tenderheart said with a big smile on her face. I just looked at her. “Come on, you blew up a small dust storm behind Charles, didn’t you notice it?” “No afraid I did not.” I responded as the conversation had steered far beyond its original course. “Can we get to the reason you want to come with me despite the fact you both ran off the moment you saw me last night?” “We said we were sorry and that Scott explained everything to us, or at least he put our fears to rest at any rate.” Sugarberry said as she picked her bag up with her magic while Tenderheart used her teeth. “Fine, the more the merrier I guess. Will we all fit in the sedan, Charles?” I asked, suddenly worrying about the space we all take up in the car as well as our bags. “Should do. Come on, it’s going to be a long drive for me.” Charles said as we all secured our bags and went to Charles’ blue sedan. We folded the back seats and placed the bags as far back in the boot as possible as the two mares sat next to me, our rears sticking into the boot area but we were at least comfortable. I looked at the time and at the route we were going to be taking on the laptop. It was 13:43… on Shlorgiborgday. Wait, what? I swear I’m going to get a headache from this messed up calendar. I watched us leave the parking area of the hotel and go from Denver and onto the I-70 which would get us to Richfield in the next… 7 hours. I guess I haven’t got anything else to do but lay my head down and wait. Author's Note Another chapter and some more travelling companions. Viva Las Vegas!! Here is the pictures of Tenderheart and Sugarberry for the curious! Not InvincibleTo Sleep, Perchance to… Nightmare? Not Invincible Author: Draconis187 Time: 18:01 Date: Shlorgiborgday Location: one mile northwest from Grand Junction, Colorado, along the I-70 Interstate The trip along the Interstate – or highway as I know it – was long and boring for the most part but I did do something productive while Charles drove us in his sedan. I went online and looked for an inn/hotel in Richfield so we didn’t have any hassles looking for one once we got there. While searching, I found a few of them advertising the fact that they don’t allow ponies or any form of animal sleeping there. The one had a sign saying, ‘100% PAPA approved.’ “They are a real annoyance, aren't they?” Sugarberry said, looking over my shoulder as I saw yet another PAPA affiliated inn. “Why do people listen to those idiots?” “Humans are gullible, always have been. We fear that which is different to our usual way of thinking or life. Then there are those who plague on that insecurity and gather other like minded individuals in order to further their goals which are usually not for the benefit the whole populace but rather for a singular person.” I explain rather monotonously as she gave me a strange look. “That’s… a rather bleak outlook.” Tenderheart commented. “Sad, but true. Look at history if you need an example. Many of the now great scientists had their theories shot down and now those same theories have revolutionised the way we do things or perceive the world. If we were any more stuck up in our ways we would still be thinking that the world was flat and there were monsters over the edge.” I respond. “How did the conversation get like this?” Sugarberry asked as she just looked at me with a blank expression on her face. “You asked me why people listen to PAPA and I gave you a reason.” I responded as the sedan was pulling to a stop at a petrol station for fuel. “Right then ponies, hop out and stretch your hooves while I get some gas for the car.” Charles near shouted as he pulled up to a pump. We all got out and I stretched my various appendages while the others did the same. Sitting down for several hours hurts your joints. I watched Charles talk to a station attendant while I put in my earphones and started listening to Playing with Fire by Bullet for my Valentine. As I sat down and hummed a few bars, I felt a hoof poke me on my side. I turned around to see Tenderheart looking at me with a worried expression. “What’s wrong?” I asked as I removed one of the earphones. “What were you humming?” The look on her face as she listened to a few bars said it all, she looked up at me with utter shock in her eyes, I couldn’t help but laugh. “That’s hilarious! What’s wrong with listening to metal music?” I asked as I managed to recover from my laughing fit. “I just never thought of you as a metal fan.” Tenderheart defended. I just laughed again at her response, slightly less hard this time. “If I had a rand for every time I heard that.” I giggle but then I noticed the dumfounded expression on her face. “The Rand is the currency of the country where I’m from.” “You are from another country?” Sugarberry asked, deciding to join the conversation. “Which one?” “It’s called South Africa and as the name suggests, it is at the south of Africa. Specifically it is at the very bottom. Otherwise it might have been called ‘Nearly South Africa’.” I respond as Sugarberry was about to ask a question. “Now if you ladies will excuse me, I have some music that no one believes I listen to calling my name.” At that I walked off to the sedan with the earphones back in and hopped into the back again as Charles had finished filling up the tank. We where now wet to get to Richfield, Utah. I laid down after finally confirming our inn/hotel, whatever we were staying in. It was a simple one since simple worked best for our combined pockets. Scott and Charles were talking while the two mares to my left were also engrossed in their own conversation, most likely gossip. I placed my head down on a pillow and just drifted off to the sound of Turn to Despair by Bullet for my Valentine. **** **** **** **** Nightmare and I were sat next to each other on top of the Arc de Triomphe again but this time we just had our forehooves hanging over the edge instead of rocking out like the last time. Looking at an imaginary Paris at night was calming for me. “So they are just ignoring us.” Nightmare piped up as we just looked on. “They all have their friends and just leave the Alicorn out of the fun.” I knew this discussion would escalate to something worse if I kept quiet and so I voiced my opinion. “Everypony as their won set of friends, Sugarberry and Tenderheart were friends before this debacle happened while Scott and Charles are sat in front so they would obviously choose to speak to one another before craning their necks to talk to any of us in the back. I just wonder why it is so easy for me to go to sleep though.” “An Alicorn has rather unusual sleeping habits. We can be awake for days on end and not feel the effects of sleep depravation. It’s how Celestia coped with raising the sun and moon in Luna’s absence.” Nightmare explained. “But it also means that a state of sleep is easy to fall into. The good news is that it is easier to wake up as well.” “Well that gives a whole new meaning to the term ‘power nap’.” I mused. “We seem to be getting on better though, don’t you think?” “Just because of what happened earlier?” Nightmare said, looking at me as I did the same. “Not just that, you have been opening up more and becoming easier to talk to since the start of this entire trip. I mean, you hardly ever call me ‘foal’ anymore unless I do something rather stupid.” I say as the area around us changed to the deck of a Ragnarov Titan, orbiting a planet that resembled Mars. “What about me? I have always been an introvert by nature despite working in a restaurant which deals with the outdoors and people on a daily basis. Now look at me: I'm in a group of five complete strangers on a road tip through a country I've only read about or seen on the news.” “Not to mention that your temperament has become slightly more volatile.” Nightmare quipped. “I blame you for that.” I retorted with a smile. We looked at each other for a few silent seconds before sharing a laugh as the familiar darkness swept over the world once more to end our conversation. **** **** **** **** “Nightmare, you alright?” Scott’s voice reached my ears before my eyes decided to cooperate and open. “I'm perfectly fine. I had a nice little conversation with the pony in my head that I'm sharing the body of.” I responded with a small smile. “And what does she think of us?” Tenderheart cautiously asked, her voice had a slight hint of fear to it. It was understandable due to the fact that she hasn't mentioned her opinion about them to anypony, not even me. “Actually I never asked her opinion but I doubt she hates you, otherwise she would have taken over and flown off ages ago.” I reply in a calm manner to try and ease their thoughts. “He is right.” Nightmare took over at that moment, either to help alleviate their fears or to make them fear us more. It still didn’t alleviate the feeling of being forced out of control. “I find you company most comforting, since all I had was Scott over there and his perverted mind.” “Hey, I call them as I see them. You are some lovely mares, too bad this isn't Equestria. You’d have suitors lining up for miles.” Scott said, shrugging his shoulders, smiling as he returned to his conversation with Charles. “So why are you hanging around him?” Sugarberry asked, gesturing at Scott with her head while giving me a small smirk. “Well, he made up for his mistakes after we met and then there was the fact that nopony should be left on their own when this world has inconsiderate foals like PAPA roaming around. Did I say something amusing?” Nightmare asked as Tenderheart giggled. “You said ‘foal’, just like the show.” She sniggered. “That’s because I am the self same mare.” Nightmare responded but she got what Tenderheart meant. “I am that very same Nightmare Moon that wanted to engulf Equestria in eternal darkness.” “So what about now? You know, now that you have returned to the world of the living, do you still plan on bringing the eternal night?” Sugarberry asked, her face getting rather close to our muzzle. Nightmare just chuckled as she responded. “This isn't Equestria, and what would a world of hairless monkeys give me? They already have their own gods and beliefs that they already fight over without any assistance from me. That and Chris wants to ‘improve my image’ as he puts it.” “Chris?” The both of them look slightly confused before the dots got connected in their minds as they began to grin madly. “You were a guy? You were a guy and now you're a girl?” They were giggling furiously as Nightmare retorted, not amused in any form. “Yes he was, is there some kind of problem with that?” “No, it’s just funny that’s all. Talk about seeing things from another perspective.” Tenderheart giggled. Nightmare rolled her eyes at the spectacle they were making of themselves. “Well that does not make it any less rude to laugh at our position.” Nightmare defended. “Sorry.” They still gave a small giggle but they stopped it after a few minutes but I drowned them out with music. Time: 20:23 Date: Shlorgiborgday Location: Near a hotel in Richfield, Utah We finally arrived at Richfield, Utah where we were going to stay for the night before the last leg into Nevada and Las Vegas. The kids’ show that was going to play in Las Vegas had finished its first performance for the day, according to the schedule I found on the internet. The performance was still going on four three more days so we still had enough time to get there and crash the party with a ‘special appearance’. The car was brought to a stop outside the hotel I found that was pony friendly. I looked around the area and saw the very odd looks that the locals were giving us. Many had PAPA written on their shirts, pants, cars and even some street signs. This was starting to give me a terrible feeling about Richfield. “Uh, I think this was a very bad idea. We should go to another town.” I tried to say until I noticed the hotel we were going to stay in. It was a two-storey building with red paint on the brickwork. The windows were of average size but that was not what drew my attention, no what did get my attention were the thick metal burglar bars covering them. They were a gun metal grey colour which made the hotel seem more like a prison. I felt like I was about to walk into a house owned by Addams Family. This furthered to strengthen my desire to rather leave the area and go on to the next town. The good thing was that we never took out our bags from the back of the sedan. “Guys, I really think coming here was a terrible idea now. Let’s either go back or carry on to the next town, even if it is not along our route.” I said, looking at the large crowd that was gathering around us, each with various forms of PAPA paraphernalia… and items usually used in throwing at people. “I’m with Nightmare on this one folks.” Tenderheart agreed. She was nervously backing up as the group was advancing on us. “Yeah, the car… now.” Charles finally agreed as we calmly walked to the car. As we got close to the car, we scrambled in. This seemed to spur the crowd on as Charles’ window got smashed in and a PAPA supporter grabbed him by his throat. “How dare you go around with these mongrels!” The man was around 5’3” but built like a bodybuilder, his gym must love him but as he brought Charles to his face, he began to shout. “These creatures are taking our wives, husbands and children away from us to make room for themselves! And yet you are helping these abominations?!” “Let go of him!” I blast the man with the RCV which made him let go of Charles and sent him flying backwards and onto the floor. I turned to Charles. “Get going!” I place a hoof to my mouth as I nearly deafened Charles and the others twice now but Charles slammed his foot onto the accelerator. “You don’t have to tell me twice!” Time: 20: 43 Date: Shlorgiborgday Location: Five miles outside Richfield, Utah “Is everypony alright?” Tenderheart asked as we fled the PAPA infested town. “I'm alright.” Charles confirmed. “My throat is just a little sore and my ears feel like I just attended a heavy metal concert.” “I'm good.” Scott replied, turning his head to us as he gave us a reassuring smile. “Right I guess we ride on through the night then.” Charles commented as we rode along the I-70, a little shaken up from the PAPA supporters. “Not exactly.” I responded as I had my laptop opened on our current route. “There is a city called Monroe ten miles south of here but I suggest we carry on the I-70 and then get on the I-15. The further away we are from Richfield, the more likely we won't find as many PAPA supporters. I hope anyway.” “Ok then. What is the name of the city we are heading to for the night?” Charles asked. “It’s called… Beaver. Seriously? They named a city Beaver?” I facehoofed myself as I looked at the map. “I swear, Americans have the worst imagination of any human being.” “Hey!” All four of my travelling companions complained as I insulted the collective intelligence of America, including them. “I don’t mince words or use euphemisms. I find Americans gullible, stupid and a waste of air but then again I could say the same about humanity in general.” I quipped. “But you were human. We all were.” Scott pointed out. I laughed at the shocked looks I was getting. “I know and please don’t remind me. I never liked being human in the first place to be brutally honest with you. I hated having to be a part of a race that cheats, lies and belittles others just to get ahead in life which doesn’t always last long because somepony will come along and end it.” I callously retort at them. “You… really are as mean as Nightmare Moon.” Sugarberry says with a look of utter shock. “Look, I just… I just didn’t like seeing all of the hate around me. I was brought up on a far friendlier set of principles. I was always the person who wanted to help out because the smile I got made me smile.” I replied, looking out of the window as we drove off to Beaver. “Yet in the end, all it ended up doing was making people treat me like a doormat. They used me to cover up their mistakes on so many occasions.” “At points I got overly frustrated with it but continued to take it. I was a good person but not oblivious to the machinations of others. But the moment I stood up for myself, I suffered the consequences as it just blew up in my face.” The wind was soothing as I felt my ethereal mane billow in the wind. Funny how a mane comprised of gas and miniature celestial objects could have a sense of feeling. “So I'm glad I'm not human and those PAPA morons can go and buck themselves if they hate me for being a pony.” “Well, that aside: how far is Beaver?” Sugarberry asked with a yawn as she tried to change subjects. I checked Google Maps again, more than happy to oblige before answering. “It’s about an hour’s drive along the I-15.” “Ok. Let’s hope it isn't a long hour.” Charles complained as he raised his hand to his mouth as he yawned. “I need to sleep.” “I have a solution that will keep us all awake.” I maliciously grin. “I know that smile Nightmare, what are you planning?” Scott asked nervously. “Just some travel music.” I quip as I turn up the laptop’s volume to max and press play on the media player. I ended up playing various songs including Bullet For My Valentine’s ‘Tears Don’t Fall Part 2’, Linkin Park’s ‘Lost in the Echo’ and some Disturbed, one of which was ‘Serpentine’. I locked the laptop so they couldn’t get onto it and stop the music and kept it on my side so they couldn’t reach it. It pays to be larger than the average pony at times. As I looked at them while the music blared, only Sugarberry seemed to enjoy my taste in music. The journey to Beaver was filled with major headbanging from Sugarberry and I. Time: 21:50 Date: Shlorgiborgday Location: Wandering the streets in Beaver, Utah We arrived in Beaver and found it had far far less PAPA banners around it, if at all. If this city hated ponies, it was discreetly. The sedan stopped outside a simple hotel and Charles went inside while we waited. He wanted to see if we would be accepted in the hotel. Given the expression he had on his face as he left, I doubted the answer was in our favour. “Sorry everypony.” Charles said as he walked around to my window. “They said yes.” “You are such a troll.” I smirked as I opened the door and got out. “You had it coming after you tried to deafen us.” Charles retorted as he popped the boot for us to grab our bags. “I suppose you have a point but what can you do? I did get that guy off you.” I pulled a duck face at him as I levitated our bags out of the back. “Leave you behind and just go to New York like everypony else seems to be doing?” Charles retorted with a smile, grabbing his bag and going into the hotel. “And lose your subject for your YouTube videos? I doubt you actually have the guts.” I laughed as the others followed Charles and I as we walked through the doors and found the reception area. The hotel seemed far ‘homier’ feel to it. The combination of the contrast of beige and other light colours made the place feel like you want to sleep here. They had some old styled chandeliers made from a silver metal. Given the look of the rest of the place, I doubted it was a high quality silver, probably some low caret. The place was simple, yet it had a sort of style to it. “Right then Mister Charles, we have your reservation under ‘bronies’.” The receptionist said, handing him three sets of keys. “Your rooms are 3, 4, 5. They are up the stairs and to the right.” “Thank you, is the kitchen still open?” Charles asked as Tenderheart’s stomach decided to start a very vocal protest at the prospect of no dinner. “The kitchen is still open for now, Frank is not going to be very happy about staying a little later than usual but he has no choice. Follow me.” The lady was of average build while her blonde hair was tied up in a bun. We were eventually led down two passageways before reaching the dining room. The dining room was just as well designed as the reception. The table they gave us was rectangular in shape with Tenderheart and Sugarberry sitting together on a bench while Charles sat at the head or the foot of the table. I could never understand the difference between the two. I was sat next to Scott on the opposite side of the two mares. As our waiter came to get our orders (Anthony if his nametag was anything to go by), we heard a shouting match between the receptionist and somepony else, who could only be the chef in question. His language was so colourful that it would make Rainbow Dash’s mane look monotone. There were a few glances between us, I giggled a little, Scott’s ears were flat against his head, Charles seamed to try and vanish in his seat while the two mares were giving running commentary as if it were a sport. “Sorry about that. He has rather reserved views.” The receptionist apologised. “In other words he’s not a pony fan?” I surmise. “Actually no, he apparently watches the show with his daughter every Saturday morning. He is actually a nice guy. He just hates going home late to his family.” She said, shooting down my theory. “Ok, I gather you are the owner as well as the receptionist?” I asked. “I have never seen any employee give another that much stick unless they are family or their superior. You aren't related to him by the seems of it if your statement about his family is any indication. So the only logical conclusion I can draw is that you are the owner.” “Well, you are correct about that. I am the owner of this establishment. I will leave you as I have to tend to the reception.” With that the lady left the room with our waiter still waiting for our orders. “I’ll have the Caesar salad with some coke.” I asked Anthony who nodded and wrote the order down. “A T-bone, medium with chips and some still water for me.” Charles ordered with a grin on his face. “I’ll have the same as Nightmare but with some tea for me.” Tenderheart asked. “Same here and some still water as well please.” Scott asked, his ears having perked up again. “Same for me too but with some red wine and some sugar water.” Sugarberry requested with a sheepish smile on her face. Anthony walked off to the kitchen with our orders. He was met with a brick wall of curses and other forms of foul temper. In the room around us, I heard some chatter from some of the guests who were looking at us with some very strange looks. As I turned around to get a better look at them I saw that their expressions were more of bewilderment rather than those of hate and prejudice. A few people actually took pictures of us as we waited for our orders. Charles saw this as an opportunity to humiliate us all by pulling out that confounded camera. “Welcome back to Pony Watch! The time here is now… 22:01 and we have arrived in Beaver Utah.” He then turned the camera to the group watching us. “Hey everypony! Say hello to YouTube!” He got quite a few cheers and various comments that were too indistinguishable to properly understand. “Now then we were planning on stopping in Richfield further back along the interstate but we had to leave since they don’t know the meaning of ‘love and tolerate’. That’s right viewers, we found ourselves in a PAPA-centric city. Needless to say we all left but now we are in a place where our pastel coloured friends are loved. Those of you watching that live in Las Vegas, we are coming soon! CharlesMaster231 signing out!” “You called it ‘Pony Watch’?” I raised my eyebrow asked, clearly not impressed. “Well, I was going to call it ‘Nightmare Watch’ until we met Sugarberry and Tenderheart.” Charles shrugged his shoulders as he defended himself. “Fair enough. Ah good, our drinks.” I saw our waiter come back with our drinks but before he could place them, I levitated them off his tray and laid them about for everypony. We ended speaking about our interests and hobbies. I told them about how I preferred to stay indoors rather than meet people. Scott talked about how he hated being near those PAPA ‘friends’ of his but he couldn’t leave them since they constantly threatened to burn his house down. Charles did odd jobs his whole life, could never hold a job for more than three months because he got bored in the end. Sugarberry tried to tell us the major differences between sedimentary rocks and igneous rocks. Tenderheart explained how her pet dog broke its back after getting hit by a car before dying from a disease and how that made her want to be a veterinarian. Eventually our meals arrived, well our four salads and Charles’ T-bone. Tenderheart made rather uncomfortable movements as Charles cut into the meat with his knife. “Something wron- oh, the meat?” Charles said, taking a look at Tenderheart’s expression on her face. “Sorry, old habits die hard.” “I just wish I didn’t have to see it, that’s all. I guess it’s because ponies are herbivores.” Tenderheart said, trying to give a smile. After we finished our meals we went up to bed, Sugarberry and Tenderheart were sharing a room as Charles and Scott did the same. My room had this colossal four poster bed that seemed to come from the renaissance era. The bed felt like I was on a cloud, soft enough to get comfortable and yet hard enough to hold my weight without me fearing I would fall through it. I took off my armour and got under the covers. I doubted I wanted to know how this affected our pockets but we were so close to Las Vegas now, Nightmare and I could taste it. One More NightTo Sleep, Perchance to… Nightmare? One More Night Author: Draconis187 Time: 08:23 Date: Threepday Location: A hotel in Beaver, Utah I was awake from the moment the sun decided to gleam in my eyes by refracting off my armour. Even before becoming the embodiment of Darkness I was not a fan of the sun. You get too hot and your options of cooling off were usually limited beyond swimming or wearing shorts and a t-shirt. As I lazily got up from the bed, I went into the bathroom to try and freshen up. Deciding that the bathtub was not the most efficient way to clean my coat, I opted for the shower instead. As I was using a brush and some – more like a lot to be perfectly frank – shampoo for my coat, I felt that my wings were rather sensitive to the brush so I avoided brushing them. My mane and tail on the other hoof only needed to get brushed. The reason for that was to get rid of the dead stars that floated inside and the fact that the shampoo just fell through my mane. It pays to have an ethereal mane. It was half past nine by the time I was fully washed, dried and clothed - I just donned the armour, same thing really - myself, I went out the room to find my travelling circus of strange individuals. Sure I could be considered strange, especially my outburst about liking not being human but we had a perverted Pegasus, a geologist Unicorn and a veterinarian Earth Pony. The last of our little group was the chronicler, more like the ‘takes videos at the most importune and embarrassing moments’ guy. The dining hall looked just as lovely during the day as it did when we were here the previous night but there were some things I noticed that drew my attention. A few spots on the walls and light fixtures had some small, rather discernable cracks. I gathered I didn’t notice them last night due to it being so late and the fact that it was slightly darker, as the lights don’t reach everywhere in the room equally. “Nightmare!” I turned and saw the rest of my group sat at the table we used the previous night. Tenderheart was waving at me, indirectly turning the entire room’s attention in my general direction. The entire room just stared with mixed expressions at me as I joined them at the table. A different waiter – by the name of Joanne – served us this time. She seemed rather… curvaceous to put it rather blunt. Scott ogled her as she walked away after she had taken their orders. I made sure to swat the back of his head with an unarmoured hoof in an attempt to turn his focus away from those thoughts. Couldn’t wait for us, could they? Nightmare scoffed as we sat down next to Sugarberry who gave us a smile. They were hungry, we can’t fault them for that. Besides, we would have gotten out earlier if you didn’t insist on preening. I replied, smiling back at the mare as the waitress returned. Keeping your feathers clean and properly arranged is a normal part of life if you're a Pegasus. Or an Alicorn. Nightmare retorted. I get that but we didn’t need to take half an hour to do it. I snapped back. In my mind, Nightmare was giving me one hell of an evil look. If looks could kill, she could lay waste to the Spanish Armada five times over with that look and still be able to freeze Tartarus over for an encore. It didn’t last as she began to chuckle. This seemed to become somewhat of a recurring theme with us. We’d get into an argument, only to laugh it off and act as if we have been friends for an eternity. Although in hindsight, I guess I was the first true friend she had. “Nightmare are you ok?” Sugarberry’s voice pulled me back to reality and the table of ponies and the one human. “Don’t worry about me. I was talking to Nightmare again. She was rather ticked off by the fact that you didn’t wait for us but she’s fine now. We had a good laugh about it.” I replied as I saw the waitress returning. “Sorry, we didn’t know how lon-” I stopped Tenderheart from apologising by raising my hoof to silence her. “You don’t have to apologise, really.” I said as the waitress reached the table to take my order. “I’ll have the farmhouse breakfast but hold the pork sausages and some orange juice.” Joanne wrote down my order and went off to add it to the rest. I quickly realised Joanne had brought the others their drinks. Oddly enough everypony was having fruit juice with the exception to Scott who had lemonade. Sugarberry had apple juice, Tenderheart had mango and Charles had strawberry. While we waited for our meals and my drink, the topic of discussion was rather obvious: Las Vegas. We were roughly three hours away if the traffic was lenient and merciful, I had my reservations to that but a little tardiness never hurt. My drink arrived as we were about to figure out our plans once arriving there. “As we know, I’m going to crash a pony show with a ‘special guest appearance’.” I reminded everypony. “What are your plans?” “Well, there is Caesar’s Palace that I’ve been itching to go to.” Sugarberry said with a gleeful expression. “Tenderheart?” “Oh, um… I actually don’t know really. I guess I’ll follow you into Caesar’s Palace to keep an eye on you.” Tenderheart replied as she turned to Scott. “My turn?” Scott looked at us for a second before answering. “I’ve been with Nightmare almost from the start of this trip so I’ll follow her to the show.” He turned to me with a slight smirk. “Knowing you, you will cause a panic.” Nightmare and I laughed. “That’s kind of the entire plan to be honest!” Scott facehoofed as Charles spoke up. “Nightmare has been the focus of my videos and so I’ll follow the two of you to record it for the internet.” “Sounds fair, I guess. In truth it is the least I can do since I got you to ride out all this way. Not to mention after the assault from Richfield.” I said rather nervously as we remembered the events of the previous night. “How about we never mention that place again?” We all could agree on that. Our meals soon arrived as we began to pool our cash together and split it up equally so that if one of us decided to go on a spending spree, we would not end up poor and beg for money. Our collective cash totalled $1250, which was rather surprising since Charles had already paid for the hotel, again. I was starting to feel rather bad about having him cover our expenses so many times. I hope he doesn’t end up on the street because of us. I wouldn’t be able to live with myself. We resolved to split the money once we arrived at Las Vegas, $250 each to be precise. It was reasonable since we couldn’t really spend it on the way there. It would defeat the purpose of splitting it in the first place. After our meals, we grabbed our things and went to Charles’ car. While Charles checked us out of the hotel, I opened up his car with some rather decent telekinesis – I actually used the keys but the group never saw them and assumed I was using magic, I was not going to tell them otherwise – and placed the bags into the back. As he got to the car, he found the four ponies already sitting down, waiting for him patiently. Our three hour trip was definitely going to be rather mediocre but I had music and company if I felt like a conversation. I felt like nothing could go wrong now. Time: ??:?? Date: ?? Location: ?? “Ugh, what happened?” I got up and looked around. I saw the Greek Parthenon in front of me and – for reasons that will forever escape me – felt compelled to enter. The sound of metal on stone echoed through the empty, ruined hall… I felt uneasy. It was the sort of unease that could only be described as the ‘I am being watched’ feeling. I looked around at my surroundings but all I saw were ruined pillars, faded décor and rubble. Lots of rubble. “It happened.” I wheeled around and crouched, ready to defend myself despite Nightmare handled all of our altercations better than I ever could. “Oh, get up off the floor.” Nightmare gave me a small devilish smirk as she walked past me. I followed her further into the ancient Parthenon, coming to a halt at the base of the weathered statue of the Goddess Athena. Sadly time and neglect reduced the statue to nothing short of rubble and dust. What actually got my attention was the black form that laid on it. How and why I didn’t notice it earlier was beyond me but as I got closer, it looked familiar somehow… until the billowing ethereal mane gave it away. I was rather shocked and dumbfounded. Nightmare looked solemn and resentful as she turned to me. “Again, I blame you for this.” She said callously, pointing to the third Nightmare Moon. “Don’t you remember what I said the first time we talked?” I just shook my head. I had no idea what was going on at all. Nightmare slugged me over the head with a Thunder Hammer from Warhammer 40K. Involuntary flight was the result of the strike as I collided with a – surprisingly still standing – pillar. “You foal!” She shouted at me with the Royal Canterlot Voice, completely deafening me. Now I knew how Charles and the others felt when I did it around them. “That thing there is us!” As she shouted that, the gravity of the situation finally hit its mark. Nightmare fell onto her flank as she looked at the third Nightmare. “I used some rather forbidden magic to keep our current states but… she is us. We will no longer have control of our body.” “So we have been demoted to nothing more than her conscience now?” I surmised as I got to my hooves. Nightmare didn’t respond, she only stared at the sleeping form that was our combined personalities. “Nightmare, what exactly happened? I mean I would’ve noticed if the merge completed, wouldn’t I?” I asked as we walked up to Nightmare Number Three. “It was always going to happen but… there was an incident. Try to think back, just before you came into our mind and it should come to you.” She replied as she ran a hoof through the sleeping mare’s mane. The stars were bumped out of the way as her hoof made contact. She even gave a content sigh as she began to stir. “Time to see the world with a new perspective little one.” Nightmare said as I saw the world end around us. I shrugged my shoulders, I was not afraid of this. I forever saw my death in several situations, I was either shot, stabbed or died of a disease. Even suicide was one of them. “Oh, damn.” I said, finally having remembered what happened before blacking out. “She is going to hate me.” **** **** **** **** Time: Don’t care, this headache is pounding. Date: My ears are ringing, can’t concentrate properly. Location: I don’t give a buck, I can’t see! My head felt like it was placed in a vice and squeezed until it cracked open like an egg. My vision was black as the night sky. This was absolutely perfect: I was blind and my ears felt like I had my ear plastered to the largest speaker possible while attending a heavy metal concert. I just wanted to get my bearings and find a light so I could see but the headache stopped my attempts at any form of illuminating magic. “ Hello? Miss? ” I could hear a faint voice, it was distorted yet somewhat discernable as a lady’s voice. I tried to rely on my other senses, touch and smell since sight and hearing were out of commission and taste was not an option. I was going to taste everything I came across. I could smell the fragrance of some forms of antiseptics and medicines. Dear sweet Celestia, I was in a hospital or worse: a mortuary, being embalmed. I truly didn’t know which could be worse. I tried to get up but I fell back down as a sharp pain in my ribcage decided to voice its presence. Not only that but my legs hurt and my right hind leg felt like it had a stiff piece of… something attached to it like a splint. Okay. Let’s try and do a count of our situation. I tried to rationalise as I noticed the hard bed I was laid on. “Okay, my legs feel shattered; my head feels like I took on a freight train and lost; I can not see for the life of me; I have this incessant ringing in my ears and it hurts. Oh, I and I feel like I’m being watched.” I summarised vocally, hearing myself speak ensured that I was probably still amongst the living. “Can you hear me?” Okay, so my hearing was definitely returning, that’s progress and it put me slightly at ease. I must be in a hospital since morgues are for the dead and as far as I could tell, I was still kicking, albeit barely by the feel of it. “Yes.” I replied nonchalantly as my hearing began to normalise. What was normal anymore anyway? A question for another day as the other voice spoke again. “That’s good. I’m going to remove the blindfold but keep your eyes closed and open them slowly so they can adjust to the light.” The female voice said calmingly. I still tensed up as I felt a pair of hands press up against the sides of my head but I did what I was told and opened my eyes slowly. My vision was rather blurry but I could make out the horrid green curtains that hospitals had for a patient’s privacy. The sun was reflecting off something metal in the distance, causing me to try and avert my eyes. Luckily the attending nurse saw my discomfort and stepped in the offending solar rays’ path. “Give it to me straight Doc.” I said, with a small smirk on my face. Or at least I was sure it was a smirk, my headache was not making it any easier on me. “You have five fractured ribs, the rest are badly bruised. Your right wing is missing several pinions and the coverts are slightly singed while your left wing has several scorched secondaries.” A man next to me said. If I wasn’t in so much pain, I would have jumped out of my coat or attacked him with a blast of lightning. Either one would have resulted in more pain so I was glad I did neither. “You were also comatose for a while and the concussion will most likely persist for some time.” “Great… wait! What about the others?!” I shouted, as I suddenly panicked. I was with some other ponies before winding up here, wasn’t I? “I’m afraid I am not at liberty to say as I am not their attending doctor.” The doctor replied. I felt my face turn into a scowl, I wanted to tear him a new hole in his chest and stuff a grenade in it. Where did that thought come from? I’m not that violent, am I? I thought as I fought with my body to get up. “Stay down.” Doctor said, trying to ease me back into the hospital bed. “You should not be walking around just yet. You may open up the stitching we had to do when we operated on you.” “You operated on me?!” I bellowed, knocking the doctor and nurse onto their backs. The force literally rattled the windows and I’m sure somewhere, somepony just suffered a heart attack that came from the bowels of Tartarus itself. “Please don’t shout!” The doctor cried out as he scrambled to his feet, clasping his hand over my muzzle. It kind of stung a little and I was tempted to let him have another blast but some part of me thought it was a bad idea so I relented. “There are patients that could react horribly to a massive shock and your voice qualifies.” I rolled my eyes and nodded my head to show him I understood. “Perfect. Now, I will try to see if I can find out about your friends for you and when you are better, I will take you to see them.” With that, he left me in the nurse’s care. My day was long, boring and as dreary as being on the moon. The white walls made me feel like I was in a psychiatric ward rather than a hospital. Nurses, doctors and patients walked past my room, ignoring me completely. My headache was getting better as the hours rolled by at least. Although, the one thing I couldn’t shake was the feeling that the situation was far worse than what they told me. Hospital staff love to keep patients in the dark, I think they get some sick kick from it. The good thing about my receding headache was my reacquired magical reach. My telekinesis only resulted in minor increases in the migraine as I finally discovered the offending metal object that was refracting the sun into my eyes. It turned out to be an azure coloured helmet, chestpiece and four shoes that would fit perfectly on my hooves. A part of me just felt familiar with them but I decided to place them at the other side of the room, under the window so that the sun didn’t bounce off them again. Time: 18:43 Date: Threepday Location: Sunrise Hospital and Medical Centre, Las Vegas The nurse was kind enough to tell me the time, date and location of my current whereabouts. Eleanor – as she eventually introduced herself – had a daughter who loved the show and wanted to see me with a burning passion. Lucky for me, visiting hours had long since finished which spared me the hug I probably would have been forced to receive. I didn’t mind it but I think it might have broken a few stitches. Once the nurse had finally left, I managed a rather painful walk out of my room. I had to find my… friends? They were my friends weren’t they? I walked over to the reception after getting down there via the elevator. There was no way in Tartarus I was going to use the stairs, three flights? I’d rather face another 1000 years of isolation on the moon. “Pardon me…” I asked as the man at the reception had finished handing a nurse some paperwork. He turned to me with those fake smiles that you know people wear in these types of jobs. “Yes, can I be of assistance?” He said, Mark was printed on his nametag. “I was admitted earlier today and I have to ask if there were any other ponies with me?” Mark nodded at me. “Can you please tell me where I can locate them?” Mark directed me to a room located near the I.C.U. ward. It was on a floor higher than my room so I walked over to the elevator once more. The nurses and doctors gave me rather strange looks as I hobbled across the floor. Being on my hooves for only twenty minutes had already resulted in several muscle pains as the bruising and the stitches in my chest became aggravated. I searched down the hallway, mumbling the room numbers and plaques on doctors’ offices in my search for the four companions I was travelling with. I looked into one of the rooms to see three ponies. A powder blue Earth pony, a white Pegasus and a white Unicorn were laid near each other on the beds. In an instant something in me recalled their names in the same order I looked at them: Tenderheart; Scott and Sugarberry. That same part of me felt like it needed to help them. I opened the door slowly to not draw their attention but the door creaked rather audibly. As they looked at me, they smiled happily. It turned out to be contagious as I returned their happy expressions. “How are you holding up Nightmare?” Sugarberry asked cheerfully. She had a drip in her left foreleg while her hind legs were in casts and suspended in the air by wires. I looked at her but I somewhat stopped, my mouth hanging open. I closed it and looked down. Nightmare? Nightmare Moon I’d gather but that didn’t sound right. There was another name… Chris but even that had a somewhat sour taste in my mouth. I looked at Tenderheart and saw she was in a full body cast, unable to move at all while she had a tube in her neck, just above the cast. Scott looked like he had the better part of the deal as his wings were spread out, supported by splints. His head was wrapped up like he was wearing a turban, only showing one of his eyes. “I’ll be fine but what about you?” I replied, finally recollecting my composure. A princess is not meant to show weakness. Wait, I’m a princess? “We’ll be fine. We were lucky.” Tenderheart said. “Well, those two were luckier than me since I can't move. I have the worst itch on my rump that I just can not get rid off.” The other two laughed at her expense but stopped as they coughed, hard. As they settled down, I found a bench that would serve well for me to alleviate my own pain. I was mercifully correct in my assumption and learned rather quickly that the bench was more comfortable than the bed I laid in earlier. As much as I thought it would be a bad idea, I had to ask. “What happened exactly?” The three ponies’ happy expressions ended instantaneously. They looked as if they were just told that their loved ones had died and for all I knew, they might have. “It happened rather quickly but I can tell you what I can remember.” Tenderheart said, her voice was slow and rather hoarse as she recounted the events. “We were all just half an hour away from Las Vegas, going along the I-15. We were having a good time, you and Sugarberry were singing a weird metal song.” “It was Nightmare Night by the Wooden Toaster and Mic the Microphone.” Sugarberry said with a meagre smile that did very little to change her mood. “Oh, ok. Well, we were coming off the intersection near the North Las Vegas Highway when a truck collided with the car. The truck smashed the side of the car and basically put us in hospital. Charles… h-he…” Tenderheart began to choke as tears started to form in her eyes. I could tell what she was planning to say. “He didn’t survive.” Scott said, a small tear falling down his muzzle. “The driver’s side took most of the damage. H-he was taken to the morgue… i-in pieces.” I gasped, throwing my hoof to my mouth in shock. Our driver, friend and YouTube chronicler had died trying to get us to a destination he never chose with ponies he never even knew. I could feel my own tears start to form before they silently fell to the ground below. I seemed to tune out the world as I slowly cried. I could somewhat hear them calling ‘Chris’ or ‘Nightmare Moon’ but those names didn’t hold much meaning to me. I knew that they were referring to me but the words did not feel like any of them were my name. It was as if I wasn’t who they were seeing. Like a stranger that everypony knows and yet the stranger doesn’t know any of them. I slowly got up, planning on heading for my room so I could cry my heart out there. As I turned around, I heard them gasp. “Your Cutie Mark!” Tenderheart cried out, pointing to my left flank as I was nearing the door. As I looked I saw the white silhouette of some thing that a part of me said was called a FALKEN or whatever. In the centre of the silhouette was a purple crescent moon, like the one… on my right flank? I looked and yet, there it was. The same purple blotch that meant to represent the night sky and a white crescent moon. It was baffling, how could anypony have two marks?! “Nightmare, what does it mean?” Sugarberry asked as she was visibly trying to figure it out as well. “That name still doesn’t hold any meaning to me and neither does Chris.” I respond as I opened the door. “Ok then, what are we supposed to call you when we need to get your attention? Mary Sue?” Scott asked as I used my mane to grab on the doorknob. I looked down for a moment and considered the question. Nightmare sounds like something I wouldn’t like or want to be associated with. Maybe if I chose the opposite? But what was the opposite of a Nightmare? Wasn’t it a dream? It was short yet sweet and without negative connotations. “Dream, call me Dream.” I said as I shut the door. Author's Note For those of you that noticed, yes I did basically use the same sort idea as SkyblazeTheBard but with my own twist to it. Hate me for it or whatever. The idea to use Dream as the name for the third, merged personality came from a comic I remember seeing from some time ago. Land of ConfusionTo Sleep, Perchance to… Nightmare? Land of Confusion Author: Draconis187 Time: ??:?? Date: ?? Location: ?? Okay, this is rather strange. I was laid in my hospital bed just a few minutes ago, I know I am not that heavy a sleeper to not notice being sent to the bucking moon! And yet, despite all possibility here I am, on the Celestia damned moon! I looked around me and saw nothing but a desolate landscape before me, mocking me as I continued to fail in my attempt to figure out what exactly happened. “I must be going mad.” I said out loud to myself. Hold on, why can I talk in space or better yet since we are on the subject… how can I breathe in space? Space in this universe is a vacuum and as far as I know, this wasn’t Equestria’s moon. This one is too dull and there are no moon pies to speak of. I could go for one right about now to settle my nerves. “Nope, not mad. You're just dreaming my little filly. What are moon pies anyway?” A voice said. I almost jumped out of my coat in fright as white suit wearing human appeared next to me with a grin on his face. “Like it? I found myself like this once the merge was finished. I guess you were the very thing stopping me from appearing human in here. The name’s Chris.” “Oh shut up.” This voice sounded familiar, it sounded like me. As I looked around, an angrier looking version of myself was standing before me, looking at me with judging eyes. “Straighten up. You're a princess and an Alicorn so I suggest you get over this newborn fears you foal.” “W-who are you?” I asked tentatively. The human smiled and raised his arms. “I am the ghost of Christmas past! And she is the Ghost of I don’t care!” This earned him a slap from the other me’s mane but he just smiled as he rubbed his face. “Totally worth it.” “We are you, or you could say that you are us.” This ‘Chris’ said, pulling up a chair out of nowhere. “You may want to sit down and let us do some explaining. I think I’ll need you for this as well Nightmare Moon.” “Why should I listen to you?” I protest. “Because… we are you or you are us and therefore you must listen to yourself when that you is talking. You know? This is rather confusing for me as well.” Chris shrugged. “I'm trying to figure out the dual Cutie Mark issue. Why some funny plane and a moon, it hardly makes sense doesn’t it?” Nightmare Moon asked. “This would be the part where I make a joke about not making sense but I’ll pass this time since it is quite a serious matter.” Chris said. “The plane. It appears to be a silhouette of the ADF-01 FALKEN, my favourite plane from the Ace Combat series but that can’t be the reason it appeared as part of a Cutie Mark. What can a plane represent? Flight? That would be indicative of freedom but freedom of what?” “I’m not sure.” I mumble as I look at the Mark on my left flank. “A plane is a weapon, used for either good or evil depending on the user.” He continued. “A human apparently has an endless capacity for good or evil depending on their choices in life. But this doesn’t explain it. Maybe it has to do with something else? The ADF has a variety of weapons so let’s look at them maybe that will explain it. The long range Tactical Laser System or TLS is an extremely deadly weapon but we’re looking at its principle, not destructive power.” “You are not making much sense.” I said but Nightmare Moon raised her hoof at me to silence me. “The weapon has no firing delay between its activation to reaching its maximum range. This can be akin to acting on impulse, an action with little or no predetermined plan. But its range allows one to think long enough to formulate said plan.” He continues. “The next is the XLAA missiles. I won’t bore you with much of the details but it could refer to dealing with multiple opponents or multiple situations at once. In other words: multitasking. Lastly is the Fuel-Air Explosion Bomb or FAEB for short. This is a wide range bomb and could be akin to the fact that bottled up emotions make for a bigger impact than those who do not.” “It doesn’t make much sense like Dream says but we have yet to analyse the moon, correct?” Nightmare mused as Chris took a deep breath. He nodded. “Of course. For Nightmare Moon, the moon referred to her connection with it since she and Luna were one and the same. This is not the case with me for obvious reasons but the moon has other meanings if you look deeply enough and connect the dots.” He took another deep breath before continuing. “What would the moon represent? Romance for one as many poems have been made about it but I am not romantically inclined in any way so that is ruled out so maybe it’s more about emotion itself. Serenity maybe as many people or ponies would look up at the moon with a smile when they relaxed after a busy day and feel their worries being carried away on the breeze? Or maybe because it is beyond our reach or at least for most people/ponies it is. But that could also be attributed to one’s desire to reach out beyond their location and for some, beyond their limits.” “So what does it have to do with the plane?” Nightmare asked. “Now we connect the dots. The TLS allows one to think and if the moon is factored into this equation, it could mean to think beyond our current standing or beyond standard thinking. Thinking out of the box, remember the day in Omaha?” Nightmare merely nodded. “That was a little out of the box thinking that got us out. It wasn’t a conventional action that anypony or person could take or think of at the time. If the plane is factored in once more it could also add to the fact that I thought of it rather quickly as the FALKEN is no slouch in the air.” “So your talent is thinking? How… inspiring.” Nightmare mocked as Chris shook his head. “I doubt it’s that simple. Let’s look once more. Freedom, again freedom from what, to do what? The plane would simply mean freedom from the ground but if you factor in the moon once more, this becomes freedom of the world itself and its strife. As you’ve noticed Nightmare, I’m rather disconnected from everypony but it gives one perspective as I look at the entire picture from both ends of the spectrum.” “You're taking this rather easy.” Nightmare noted, looking at me. “I just want to know as well.” I responded as the strange human spoke once more. “Throughout this trip, most of my decisions were on impulse like I said with the TLS. The decision to drop everything and go to New York was basically on impulse as I had no plan on what to do once I got there, bringing Scott along was also on impulse. He stole from us and yet I wanted him to come along. A Cutie Mark doesn’t just show one’s special talent, it can also give a short description to one’s personality as well.” “You may have to explain this one.” I asked, he was losing me in this talk. “Let’s look at Rainbow Dash shall we? Her Cutie Mark is a cloud with a rainbow coloured lightning bolt coming from it, correct?” Nightmare and I both nodded our heads. “Now, lightning is quick and is also indicative of an impulsive personality. The colours are incredibly bold and brash, like her as she tends to forgo most formalities.” “Okay, I think we get it. How about Applejack?” Nightmare asked with a malicious smirk. “Three apples. Her family are the Apples, as we all know and all three could represent Granny Smith, Big Mac and herself. Applebloom could have been a fourth apple or not if she had been around when Applejack got hers. Applejack values her family and the farm which is reflected in the Applebuck Season and Super Speedy Cider Squeezy 6000 episodes as the apples are quite close to one another. This family bond stretches to encompass her friends as well but is not represented on her Mark.” “Okay now what about you then? Got a definitive answer?” Nightmare asked with a smirk. “Yeah, I believe I do. The Moon and plane are like two sides of the same coin. The dark side of the moon is both thought to be mysterious and dangerous which a plane such as the FALKEN is as well. Maybe not mysterious but it is dangerous like the dark side of the moon if the plane is used for the wrong reasons. But like the light side of the moon, it has its good side as being a feat of engineering and dedication and it is one of the most reliable aircraft known, even if it is a fictional one.” “That is not what I asked you foal.” Nightmare said, sounding like she was getting bored. “Sorry, I would venture a guess to say that my talent would be to think on my hooves or feet like I have now but my ideas can be either good or bad depending on the situation. Strike hard and fast like a plane but as mysterious as the dark side of the moon.” “You’re just thinking of that ‘Be a Man’ song aren’t you?” Nightmare sighed. Chris just chuckled. “Yup, sorry I just lost my concentration. What were we talking about again?” “Ugh, I feel I must apologise to you for being a part of him.” Nightmare said to me as she facehoofed herself. The ground began to shake as the area around me began to go dark. Chris and Nightmare just sighed. “Well, it looks like this is the end of our conversation. I guess I should consider what my talent is while you’re awake. Give Scott and the others my regards. Oh and I apologise for the pillow, word of advice: drink some water, it really helps.” **** **** **** **** Time: 07:34 Date: Hamsterday Location: Sunrise Hospital and Medical Centre, Las Vegas Why is there a pillow shoved down my throat? I swear if it is because of those two, I will hurt them. Hold on… if I hurt them would I be hurting myself as a result? If they died, would I die as well? Ugh, I best not dwell on it and first remove this intruder that has invaded my oesophagus. I pulled it out with my telekinesis as the doctor entered my room. “If you’re hungry we can organise you some food.” He said with a raised eyebrow. “You don’t have to eat our upholstery to prove a point.” “Not exactly my fault doctor.” I responded as I tossed the now sodden pillow to the floor. “I blame the voices in my head.” “Developing schizophrenia? That is interesting but not unheard of in cases like yours.” The doctor noted. “I heard you went against my orders last night and went to find your friends.” “Of course, you can’t stop an Alicorn on a mission.” I softly chuckled before dropping the smirk. “Sorry, I just had to see if they were all right and I was in no mood to wait patiently. A thousand year sentence on the moon would do that to you.” “But you weren’t on the moon for a millennium… were you?” The doctor asked, looking rather curiously at me. “I'm afraid the answer is both yes and no. I don’t know much about it myself and I doubt I will. All I know is I know the pain and solitude from that time and yet I feel the experiences of a life no older than two decades.” I said absent-mindedly. “I… see. I will get you in for a brain scan to make sure you didn’t suffer anything in the crash, just to be safe.” The doctor said, wiring down on a clipboard before hanging it at the end of my bed. “Sadly doctor I doubt it would be necessary. I am perfectly fine… all things considered but I know my mind is 100% fine.” I protested. “Besides, there is no telling what would happen if you subjected an Alicorn to an MRI scan. I don’t want to sit with a gigantic bill should it blow up or something.” “It’s a risk I will have to take to ensure your well being.” The doctor countered. “Now, Eleanor will help you see your friends should you choose to visit them again. But you may only see them if Eleanor or I take you, no-one else. Is that understood?” I sighed. “Fine. It’s better than nothing I guess.” “Good. I have a couple of other patients but I will return later on to take you to the MRI scanner. Good day to you Miss Nightmare, Eleanor.” The doctor said as he turned to leave the room. “Dream, my name is Dream. Not Nightmare Moon.” I said as I finally got up. “I will have to add this to your chart later on.” The doctor said softly but my ears heard him. Good thing my hearing was not as bad as I thought. Even my headache was nothing more than a tolerable nuisance. “So then Eleanor, any PAPA sightings around here?” I asked, the bane of anypony’s existence was that horridly annoying extremist group. “Well, they have held a seminar or two in the city but not many people turned up for them so they resorted to preaching from stands in the street.” She replied as she sat next to me. “Do you mind if I?” I gave a smile. “If you want, but I warn you: it is rather cold.” Eleanor ran her hand through my ethereal mane and pulled back, her hand shaking as if Pinkie Pie shook it. “That’s not cold, it’s like subzero. Why is it so cold?” “Space. My mane contains actual stars and to stop them from making me spontaneously combust, my mane has to be as cold as space itself.” I responded. “That reminds me, do you have a brush? I need to get some dead stars out.” “Be back now.” She smiled as she got up and left the room. I gave a sigh and got out of bed to walk over to my window. Cars and taxi’s were driving past, oblivious to the world around them. They say ignorance is bliss but this was a state above ignorance. I noticed people walking past each other, barely even noticing one another as they bumped into or past each other. They just carried on as if nothing happened, as if nearly getting bumped into the ground was a typical thing to them. It was a rather weird scene to look at. “I got you a brush, would you mind staying in bed? The doctor would have my head if he found you standing.” Eleanor said as she stood next to me, looking outside. “Feeling homesick?” “Hard to feel homesick when you are supposed to be nonexistent. The Elements were supposed to destroy me and yet, here I am. I walk among the living once more.” I said, not taking my eyes of a man listening to music through his rather large headphones. “But what about the human you?” She asked as she ran the brush through my mane. I barely felt it as it moved through my mane, picking up the dead stars and removing them. “I don’t have a human me. Not entirely as you might think. This body used to be human but the human personality is no longer in control but neither is Nightmare Moon. I seem to be a combined personality of both. Their hopes, their desires, dreams and tastes I possess all of these and more.” I said as Eleanor stopped. “So you are somepony else entirely then?” She surmised. “That would be a half correct assumption since I am both of them. Ever since the start of this journey they have been slowly merging, becoming me. Something happened in the crash and I was created. Somehow they have retained their personalities and I was still brought into existence.” I placed my head in my hooves. “This is very confusing and it’s making my headache worse.” “I’m sure you’ll figure it out.” She said. “Something wrong?” I had moved my head away from the brush and took a few steps to the side, away from here. “The last human that was this interested in me had me sedated and I ended up in a makeshift concentration camp, awaiting my execution.” “Oh, sorry. I guess that would make this kind of conversation awkward.” She said with a smirk. I returned it. “You have no clue how right you really are.” “But just waiting to die must have been problematic, what did you do?” She asked as I found myself attacked by her brushing. “Not really me, Chris and Nightmare set to work together to get out. He thought of a plan while Nightmare carried it out. She was the magical muscle while he was the brains behind it.” I then began to spin the tale of the escape of Omaha. “-trapping them in a nightmare. They should already be free of it and hopefully they learned their lesson.” “Don’t mess with Nightmare Moon?” Eleanor said with a smile. “It was time to kick flank and chew bubblegum, and I ran out of gum.” I smiled. “Okay, it looks like I got all the dead stars. What do you want to do?” She asked me. “Well, I want to go and talk to the others. It looks like I’ll be out before them since they were in the I.C.U.” I said, turning around. “Oh, wait. I want to get my armour.” I turned to where I had placed the armour the day before and saw something rather strange. The armour had changed from azure to white and purple. The white ran along the edges of the helmet while the purple made up the rest. The helmet had changed in design as well: instead of being a single piece of metal, the head section was still one piece but the section that covered my neck was made up of tightly packed plates. The part that went over my face had my left Cutie mark while my chestpiece had the one on the right. The chestpiece was mainly white with a purple outline, a precise opposite of my helmet. My shoes had changed as well. Two of them were purple on the left while the other side was white and the other two were reversed. I guess there was no way of mixing up left or right anymore. The pattern that came up from the shoes had that FALKEN pointing its nose upwards while the wing were replaced by half crescent moons, the same went for the canards near where the cockpit should be but they pointed upwards. Why they changed was obvious but the question was how they changed. “Wow, where did you get that?” Eleanor asked as I placed the armour on. “I wish I knew.” I said as I began to walk towards the door, Eleanor stepped in my way. “Don’t try to say you have to carry me there, I’m not crippled.” “I know but the doctor said I have to use the wheelchair.” She said, pointing to the chair in the corner. “You do realise I can’t sit in that like a normal patient. Lyra would but I wouldn’t.” I deadpanned but I broke into a small fit of giggles as I imagined the mint coloured mare in that peculiar position while being wheeled around by her life’s dream. “Then you are not going to see your friends, I'm sorry but that’s final.” She said, crossing her arms and standing by the door. I could only smirk at her foalishness. “You forget who I am a part of and what she can do my little human.” “Wha- ah!” She gave a small shout as I lost all feeling in my body, turning into a cloud of purple mist and going past her and through the door. “Get back here!” If I could have talked back I would have but I had friends to see and precious little time to get there. I'm sure there were at least a couple of other ways to get past her but I just wanted to try this one out for fun. But as I reached the door where my friends were, I saw a number of guards barring my entry. Sure I could have gone through the door but I would barely utter a few words before being dragged off. I needed a plan and a rather sneaky one came into my head as I remembered the second episode of Nightmare’s appearance. The Shadowbolts, I decided to use the same concept but with different ponies. I reformed and walked into the guards’ field of vision. They were rather surprised by how easily I gave up but they didn’t see the cloud of purple smoke hanging in the air nearby as they escorted me back to my room. I reformed and then casually walked into the room, to the shock of the three ponies inside. “Ni- Dream?” Sugarberry said, utterly dumbfounded as she saw the other me walking away. “But they’re taking you away aren't they?” “Yes and no. Do you remember the second episode of season one?” I asked, much to the nod of the two mares. I was about to question Scott but then I remembered that he had only seen Hurricane Fluttershy. “Do you also remember the Shadowbolts scene?” Tenderheart was the first to understand. “I see, that’s amazing! Even better seeing it in person, or pony. Whatever it was still cool.” I gave a small bow. “Thank you, you have been a wonderful audience. But to the reason I’m here: how are you all feeling today?” “Well, Tenderheart said that the damage to our body was rather extensive so we’ll be the last ones out.” Tenderheart said as the others just looked at her. “What? She knows more about ponies than the entire staff here.” “That goes without saying.” I said as I sat down on the bench I used last night and settled down. Why I didn’t use mist travel last night was beyond me but I guess I never considered it before now. The four of us shared a laugh. Scott spoke up next, his cheerful smile still plastered on his face. “We are getting better Dream so there is no reason to worry. What about you though? What’s it like being a combination of two personalities? I guess you decided to change your armour to match right?” I shook my head. “It’s rather strange. You're lucky if you think about it. I have one personality that is over a thousand years old and one that is not even a decent fraction of it. I just found the armour like this, how it changed is beyond me. Maybe there is a link beyond the physical between it and myself?” “In any regard it looks awesome.” He said with a grin. “You aren’t supposed to be here, visiting hours are over!” I turned around to see a fuming doctor looking at me. He was beet red and looked ready to pop a blood vessel. He was short, about a pony’s height and slightly round. He had a patch of light brown hair on his head and wore spectacles that looked like Elton John’s. As I was about to answer, a bout of royalty decided to voice itself and I just decided to roll with it. “Pardon the intrusion sir. I am merely checking up on the friends I was journeying with as we were all involved in the accident that landed them in their current states. I was unaware of the visiting hours and I shall return once they commence again.” The doctor looked like he was unsure of how to answer but regained his composure and pushed his glasses further up his small nose. “Fine, I won't call security this time since you were unaware. You were in the accident and yet I hardly see a scratch on you. Are you sure you were with them?” I was rather shocked. “Yes I was. My doctor decided to operate on me because of it.” “Interesting, may you show me the scar?” He asked inquisitively. “Sure.” I pulled off the chestpiece to show the stitches from the operation. “I don’t see anything.” He said. I looked down at the scar and sure enough, it was not there. No stitches, nothing. “Maybe it’s on the other me.” I murmured. “Other you?” The doctor said. “Yes, I created an image of myself that distracted the guards away from here while I tried to visit. The nurse and my doctor didn’t want me to see them on my own despite I could walk alright.” “Hm, doesn’t sound like any of the doctors I know. We don’t mind it too much as long as the patient doesn’t have a contagious disease. Do you know his name?” He asked. I tried to think and realised he never had an ID badge on him. “He didn’t have a badge on him like you do, Doctor Stevens.” “Odd, it is mandatory to wear them at all times. The only exceptions are using the MRI scanner and during operations.” Stevens said, scratching his chin. I felt a deep pit in my stomach as I ran through what it could mean. “Uh, sorry to be a nuisance but mind if I stay here? If he is who I think he is, we all might be in danger and I will not allow my friends to be hurt again.” Stevens looked at me for a few seconds before responding. “Ok, here’s what we’ll do: do you have any control over that mirror image of yourself?” I nodded. “Full control, I can also see what she sees.” He showed a small smile. “That’s good. Now when this doctor comes back come and inform me. My office is down the hall and to the left. If I’m out, ask a nurse to page me and I’ll come as soon as I'm able. Other than that, do not leave here. There are facilities just over there in case nature calls.” “Thank you Dr. Stevens.” I said with a smile. Stevens shook his head. “My daughters love the show, it’s why I took the case. Tenderheart has been invaluable in helping me learn about treating ponies without consulting a vet every five minutes.” Tenderheart blushed as he finished saying that. Stevens smiled at her for a second before heading for the door. “Use one of the empty beds when you feel tired. I’ll get one of the nurses to bring you a pillow and some blankets ASAP.” “Thanks again Dr. Stevens.” I said with a smile. He smiled wider this time as he was about to shut the door. “Call me Rick.” Author's Note Another chapter done and dusted. Dream being paranoid? Maybe or maybe not. Truth HurtsTo Sleep, Perchance To… Nightmare? Truth Hurts Author: Draconis187 Time: 23:12 Date: Hamsterday Location: Sunrise Hospital and Medical Centre, Las Vegas I’ve been awake since 07:34 and I just can’t fall asleep. Not with that doctor that didn’t seem to be a doctor at the forefront of my thoughts. Humans, why are so two-faced and shady? At least ponies didn’t harbour hurtful secrets from one another unless it was necessary. Misanthropic or not, anypony would have to admit that this little ‘revelation’ could mean more problems for all of us or worse. The others fell asleep hours ago, mostly due to their medication. I only took a few painkillers as my injuries were far less severe but they still made me rather drowsy. I needed to… stay awake. Curse the one who made this hard bed feel so comfortable when you’re on the verge of collapse! I looked at the door and wondered if it was possible to create a form of alarm system with magic. I decided I could give my best shot and concentrated on what I needed to do. A few minutes passed as my magic aura held onto the door, creating a magical circuit between the door and the frame. If I was right, the moment the door opened, the circuit would break and I would be alerted by the disruption. Whether or not it worked when I had let go of the door was another matter but a part of me seemed to think I did correctly – somehow – and that was enough for me to finally sleep. **** **** **** **** I woke up to find myself on a strange, long metal monster in the middle of space. I was going to question this but I decided against it since all I would get is a headache. I looked around and found Chris on a red and white picnic blanket with Nightmare Moon sat opposite him. They looked at me and Chris gave a wave. “Come join us Dream!” He shouted with a happy smile on his face. I rolled my eyes at him as I walked across the metal surface of this beast we were on. “So, what do you think about the Sova Carrier?” Chris asked with a smirk. “It’s impressive isn’t it? And to think: Nightmare and I can do this sort of thing all the time.” Nightmare groaned and hit her head on the picnic blanket, causing a muffled thud to be heard. I shook my head at Chris as he just looked on into the darkness of space. “So, have you figured out your talent?” I asked as Nightmare took a swig of something from a hip flask. Chris gave me a rather smug look, “Yes I have… space exploration. Space has long since fascinated me and it shows in you since we are back in space once more. Nightmare and I were usually in space when we talked but I no longer have control in any form which means that you are the one thinking about space. But I digress, Planes are used in travel no matter what one thinks and the moon represents space. Maybe I was meant to be an astronaut like Mark Shuttleworth.” I just looked at Nightmare who shrugged at me, “It would be best you didn’t pursue the issue. I doubt I could take his ranting anymore.” I looked around the empty void of space as Chris began to look serious, “I have a very strange notion that might work.” I gave him an inquisitive look at the sudden change in topic, “What are you talking about?” He smiled at me, “Simple. You know how you can do that shadow image thing?” I nodded, “Well, I have a feeling that if you were to split into three, we might be able to take control. In a sense we would be gaining new bodies but still remain connected.” Nightmare and I just looked at him in disbelief, “What? It makes sense in a way don’t you agree?” I was the first one to snap out of it, “It’s not that but if it worked we would still be at a disadvantage since we don’t know where we are precisely.” “Then we come up with some form of strategy,” Chris replied with a grin, “And I have one but this is not an appropriate ‘planning room’.” I gave a soft chuckle. Even when he’s being serious, he finds something to joke about, although he did seem correct. The scene was too tranquil for such a serious matter. I searched through our combined memories and we soon found ourselves in a large circular room with a large television in front of us, taking up half of the room and starting from shoulder height to the start of the ceiling. The screen had a green skull on it with no lower jaw and a bone sticking through it on either side of the skull. Pulling a remote from out of nowhere and laying back on a couch large enough to hold two Alicorns and one human in comfort, Chris pressed the power button and the screen lit up with some seemingly random pictures. Why did we need to look at a movie of somepony stopping bullets from hitting him by simply raising his hand? And what did it have to do with an apparent floor plan to the hospital? Then finally there was a picture of us, laid on the bed Stevens said we could use. “Welcome to the Waaagh! Room. Don’t ask,” Chris said, taking a deep breath, “We need to plan out a defensive strategy but we need to figure out one thing: magic. If we can use something similar to Shining Armor’s shield that he used at the wedding, it would be an ideal start. But what we need is something that can stop a bullet. That just stopped Changelings that are both larger and slower than a bullet.” “Well that’s all nice but how is that even possible?” I asked. He rolled his eyes, “Magic is a form of energy as I’ve been led to believe. A bullet travels due to kinetic energy. If we could figure out a shield that drains kinetic energy in milliseconds, then no bullet could even touch us. We can’t have it rebound since it could kill somepony in the resulting crossfire. The question though is: what do we do with the energy? Do we store it or convert it into something else?” “I suggested storing it for retaliating against our would-be attackers,” Nightmare piped up as the screen showed an animation of us firing a bolt of lightning but the bolt used was twice the size it should be. “And I suggested converting it. Maybe into light to blind them,” Chris said as the screen showed us creating a shield that brightened quickly and intensely, causing several faceless human shapes to place their arms in front of their faces. “So you have the deciding vote. Or, perhaps you can think of an alternative method of using the energy?” I shook my head, “Why not use it to increase the strength of the shield itself?” “Because we could overload it and cause it to collapse on itself. While it would only result in a migraine for us, it will also leave us vulnerable until we can set up another which would take a few seconds,” Nightmare replied in a tone of voice that sounded like I should have known that. “Which we may not get, so you see why we can’t do it that way,” Chris said. “So I’m afraid it’s my idea or Nightmare’s.” I closed my eyes for a few seconds as I tried to think. If I went with Nightmare’s idea, we could hurt somepony quite badly and I doubt Chris or I would like it. But Chris’ idea could blind our attackers and everypony else. Unless… “Your idea Chris, can the light be focused into a beam?” I asked. If I’m right we may just have a plan. As Chris was about to speak, Nightmare interrupted, “Yes, it would be easy enough to focus the light since we are still dealing with energy. So I guess you’re going with Chris’ idea?” I nodded my head, making Chris smile broadly, “Great stuff! Now we can come up with a plan of action. If I’m right and we can essentially be three ponies, we can both protect our friends and keep up the illusion that we are in our room while the third walks through the hospital, gathering intelligence.” “I may need to inform you all that this kind of division limits our proximity to the hospital, no further,” Nightmare warned, looking at us. “That’s fine, we don’t need to go beyond here anyway. I vote for Dream to be the walking target,” Chris said, raising his hand like a child in class. Nightmare raised an eyebrow, “Why should she be the one to walk around?” “She knows more magic than I do and you aren’t the most sociable pony to walk the earth or Equestria,” Chris said as he placed his hand behind his head with a grin on his face. I nodded my head, “I agree, but I’m pretty sure I’ll get lost though.” Chris chook his head, “Doubtful, the hospital has signs in the hallways and there is the reception if you have any questions.” Nightmare rolled her eyes, “Fine, I’ll go along with this little idea. What happens if we find out that doctor is a less than upstanding person?” Chris’ expression darkened slightly, “We stop him… and the nurse too if she is involved. Ah, looks like the dream is coming to an end. Sorry again about the pillow, I know it’s a pain but I have no idea on how to stop it. Although, this has got to be the strangest conversation we’ve had so far, hasn’t it?” As I was about to respond, the familiar darkness surrounded us and abruptly ended the dream. **** **** **** **** Time: 06:23 Date: Spartaday Location: Sunrise Hospital and Medical Centre, Las Vegas Again with this pillow! Now I need to get a new one, it’s going to be an interesting conversation with one of the orderlies/nurses/whatever. I looked around and saw that the others were still asleep… wait, Scott was awake. I felt a slight but sharp pain in the back of my head and wheeled around to see the door opening. Not to self/selves: figure out a less painful way of alerting myself. It was Dr. Stevens being followed by a nurse who was pushing a trolley with a number of small bottles and bandages. I tried to read what they said but it was all in medical gibberish. I know planes, firearms and a number of things when it came to magic thanks to Nightmare and Chris but sadly none of them bothered to learn basic medicine. Oh well, as long as it’s not dangerous they can give us whatever they want. Dr. Stevens walked up to Scott with a small smile, “Right then Mister Scott. It is time for us to check your progress and change your bandages.” I didn’t want to look so I tried to turn my attention to the decoy in my room. It looked around and found neither the doctor or Eleanor were in the room with it. Okay, let’s try Chris’ plan. One question: how does one get their split personalities to take control of an illusion? Maybe if I tried to let go of my control over it. It didn’t appear to be very effective as I felt it begin to fade away. I needed it to remain there so I stopped. I wasn’t about to give up though. I created another copy of myself but one that was Nightmare’s exact duplicate. Azure armour, the makeup and the two identical Cutie Marks, not my split ones. Looking at it I tried to let go of the controls and felt it begin to fade away. Scott, Dr. Stevens and the nurse looked at me, wondering what in Tartarus I was up to. I couldn’t give them an explanation since I needed to concentrate. I felt the illusion before me nearly fade from existence and vanish but all of a sudden, it felt like it was trying to grab hold of the world. I was amazed and a little scared that the illusion before me fought for its existence. It wasn’t moving a hoof but I could feel its presence in this plane becoming stronger. I tried to get more control over it just in case I just did something catastrophic but it then seemed to reject my attempts, I felt my control over it slipping away faster than ever. I was getting scared as the Nightmare look-alike began to smile evilly at me. I moved back slightly, almost falling off the bed as a result. Then, all of a sudden it rolls its eyes at me. I felt like a frog had jumped down my throat and my heart tried to leap up and meet it, “N-Nightmare?” Again, she rolled her eyes, “Expecting that idiot? I’m a little hurt.” I was flabbergasted by the scene before me as Nightmare looked over her body, “H-how?” She didn’t look up at me as she responded flatly, “As you let your control slip, I was able to get a hoof in the door –as it were – and take over. Simple really, but I am glad you got me down right. All we need now is Chris.” “Nightmare is that you?” We both looked over and saw Scott looking at us incredulously. Not knowing how best to respond, we nodded our heads instead, “That’s awesome!” “I’m glad you are so easy to impress Scott,” Nightmare replied, her expression was neither warm nor cold. “Now it’s just that buffoon.” Just then there was a knock at the door, the others woke up and saw what we already were seeing: me but with completely white armour and that plane and moon Cutie Mark on both sides. She stuck her tongue out at us and grinned. “Somepony call? So what do you think?” She said, sticking her chest out with pride, “You were rather distracted by Nightmare and were losing control of the illusion in our room so I helped myself. I also decided to do a small change to the armour and the Cutie Marks. I doubt many would notice or care really since you already changed both once. Hey everypony.” Everypony looked at us with dumbfound expressions as all three of my personalities were standing before them. Well, Nightmare and I were sat on the bed and Chris was stood by the door. Before the barrage of questions, I spoke up, “Chris, if you could change your appearance… why not have changed into a stallion instead?” Chris just laughed, “Mainly because we are supposed to be keeping up an illusion if somepony were to see me in the window. Come on Nightmare, you should be in our room. I saw that doctor coming up the stairs on my way here. Don’t worry, he went to the bathroom so we still have a few minutes.” Nightmare shook her head, “Fine, you better get a move on Dream. I hate not knowing what’s going on around me.” As she jumped off the bed, I did so as well. I looked at us and saw that neither of us had any stitching in our chest. Could it have dissolved? Or did it vanish as I reformed my body after turning into mist? But this wasn’t the question I needed answering. “How do we keep in contact?” As I asked the both of them looked at me as if I just asked the world’s dumbest question. “We are still connected to each other,” Nightmare explained. “We can keep in contact through our thoughts.” “Yup, what the dark pony said,” Chris said with a smirk. “I need to practise some magic since I only truly know basic telekinesis. I guess this soggy thing will work.” With that he took my sodden pillow and carried it in his magic grip while Nightmare went down the hallway, heading for our room. I minded out of the way as Chris jumped up onto my bed and this caused me to look in Scott’s direction. I saw a large portion Scott’s head was bruised badly, showing a rather sickly colour of yellow and purple. It clashed with his coat and his mane colours. The eye he usually had covered was swollen and bloodshot. “That was quite interesting,” Sugarberry stated. I looked around the room and saw the others nodding their agreement. Tenderheart did her best to nod but only achieved what looked like an epileptic seizure. “Trust me, you don’t know the half of it,” I replied, “Now if you’ll excuse this mare, I’m off on a walkabout.” “Wait, what?” I got a funny look from Tenderheart, “Where are you going?” I rolled my eyes, “Basically I’m walking around but I'm going to be our eyes and ears for this place since we have a potential issue with the doctor. Not Stevens there, a different one in my room. I should be able to stay in contact with Chris and Nightmare via a form of link akin to what is known colloquially as telepathy. I don’t know if it will work or how it could be possible but as long as it does, I won't argue.” “Well, good luck Dream, try getting to the reception and see if they don’t have a map of Las Vegas for us. Please?” Chris asked, tilting his head to the side and giving me puppy dog eyes. I was rather taken aback from either shock or embarrassment at the sight of somepony who looked exactly like me giving me that look. I don’t know which is worse. I gave a deep sigh and nodded my head as I walked out the door. I've reached our room. I almost leapt out of my coat as I looked around frantically. “It’s Nightmare,” Chris said. I turned around and saw him standing by the doorway, looking at me with a deadpan expression. “I guess that answers your question huh?” I nodded my head as Chris went back inside, with Dr. Stevens just coming out as well. I moved out of his way but he didn’t move. He looked at me with a completely neutral expression. He had poker face that would leave the professionals guessing for eons. “So, you’re going to walk around the hospital like it’s some common public park?” He asked, his voice as neutral as his face. “Well?” “That’s kind of the plan. Nightmare is keeping an eye out for that doctor while Chris is looking after our friends while I get an idea of the situation around us,” I replied, holding my head up high like the princess I am. Somewhat anyway but you get the idea. “Well, I doubt I can change your mind but I must ask you to be careful. Not many doctors or nurses here share our sympathy with your group. They hide it quite well though so just keep on your toes… sorry hooves.” He warned. “Thank you for the warning, I should be able to deal with whatever this world can dish out,” I responded confidently as I walked down the hall. Nightmare’s POV This room… it makes me feel uneasy. The overall layout is alright but the colours are not to my liking. If I wanted to see this much white, I would have stayed in Dream’s mind and stared at a blue-white star or Celestia’s castle. And those horrific curtains, ugh. Did the store they got them from only stock vomit-inducing colours? I decided to block them out by thinking about my current situation: sitting on a bed, waiting for the possibly fake doctor to come in. Then there was that Eleanor woman. She seemed sincere from what I’ve seen through Dream’s eyes but I wouldn’t put it past her to rat us out if given the chance. I may be paranoid but that’s my more evil demeanour talking. It’s what I would do to be honest. Then again, she seemed rather afraid of the doctor for some reason. Could he be violent? My subjects exhibited the same fear when I returned from my imprisonment. Could it be the same kind of fear? Hey Nighty, this thought talk is awesome! My head pounded as Chris’ annoying voice decided to interrupt my thoughts. Call me that again and I will put you in an eternal nightmare. I threatened. Ok, fine. See any of our ‘friends’ yet? I could hear his emphasis on the ‘friends’ part so it was easy to assume who he was referring to. Surprisingly no, it’s making me uneasy. I replied. It was true, that doctor should have been here by now. As I considered what could be happening, the door opened and I turned my head around to see who came through. It was Eleanor, smiling again as she walked into the room. “Hello Dream, ho- what happened to your armour? Wasn’t it a different colour?” She asked. Well, at least she wasn’t completely stupid. “I found a way to change it back. I’m more comfortable with it being this way,” I replied. “Ok, well how are you feeling today?” She asked sincerely. “A few joints still ache but I’m fine,” I replied. “Good. Now would you tell me why you acted like a child and tried to run off? I know you wanted to see your friends but I was under the doctor’s orders. Lucky for me you came back before the doctor found out. I would have gotten my head bitten off,” She said, I could sense that small hint of fear in her voice, despite her attempts to disguise it. As much as I would have enjoyed thinking over the image of the doctor physically biting her head off, I had some questions, “Eleanor, what is his name? He has never told me of it and it’s weird. All the doctors I've seen have nametags. Call me crazy but I just find it rather peculiar.” Her eyes widened slightly but I managed to catch the subconscious movement, “Well… he tends to be rather forgetful of some things and his nametag is one of them.” I shook my head, “Nice try. I've seen enough of him to notice he is rather meticulous, forgetting his nametag seems as likely your moon being comprised of cheese. I want answers and now: who are the two of you? Where are my things and what is it you’re planning?” She looked like her mind had a major malfunction, oh how I miss messing with ponies. Sure she’s human but I’ll take what I get. She looked lost for words, opening her mouth and closing it like a fish out of water. I had to fight off my desire to laugh… sadly I failed and cackled madly. I hadn’t laughed like this since I declared the night would be eternal back in Ponyville. All of a sudden her face went dead serious, shutting me up instantly, “Well, well. It seems you aren’t so stupid after all…” Dream’s POV I walked down to the ground floor since my limbs weren’t so sore anymore. The reception was filled with patients filling in forms, reading magazines and the odd one being rushed in. The door leading outside looked like a window, comprised mainly of glass and the frame. The ‘wall’ if it could be called that was also glass, reaching the ceiling. I felt like I may as well be in a fish tank. I got a number of stares from the patients and visitors. “Pony!” Oh for the love of all that is good in this world not this. My appearance also attracted the attention of some young minds. I was soon almost tackled to the ground by four girls, the eldest of which seemed no older than seven. The youngest appeared to be at least four if I'm right and she had the biggest eyes of them all as she stared at me as if I was the only thing that mattered in her world. They grabbed and pulled on my coat and hooves, trying to convince me to play with them despite my protests. If the others could see me know, Chris would laugh and Nightmare would facehoof. Sugarberry and Tenderheart would probably join in but I doubt that Scott would allow his masculinity to drop that low. If it wasn’t for the mother that looked like she had fought in two World Wars stopping them, I would probably end up being forcibly adopted by them. She looked like those military mothers, in full formal uniform but she had a bag with her that screamed ‘mother’. I didn’t take much notice of the bars and chevrons on her shoulders but I thanked her for saving me from a fate worse than death or another thousand year sentence on the moon. “No problem, I can see you aren’t used to it. What brings you here? Are you here to do some charity work by performing or something?” She asked. I shook my head, “No, I was involved in a car crash. Somehow I managed to get the best of it with only a few injuries while my friends… weren’t so lucky.” Charles, he will be missed, “I'm staying around for a short time before looking around the city.” “Oh, you’re from out of town?” She asked. I giggled slightly, “More like out of this country if I’m to be more accurate.” “Oh, that’s nice, what do you think of the States?” She asked, seemingly interested in what I had to say. “I’ve been gassed, almost killed, got run out of town and was involved in an accident that killed somepony I knew to name a few things that happened to me and my friends since I got here. Not exactly what I would call a prime example of somepony’s country,” I replied sarcastically. “Oh dear, so-” She got cut off as a few shouts rang through the ground floor. “There’s one of those abominations!” Oh dear sweet Celestia why now? And for the love of Luna’s rear end, why me? We have a situation. I heard Nightmare’s voice calling out in my head. That makes two of us! I thought back frantically. There wasn’t just one guy, there were at least twenty of them. Now this wouldn’t be bad if they weren’t carrying an assortment of improvised weapons as well as actual weapons. I spotted baseball bats, firearms, one guy had a slingshot for reasons I wasn’t in any mood to find out as well as things you would find being carried by an angry mob. One lady had a frying pan if you can believe it and dressed in her pyjamas, complete with fuzzy cat slippers. What’s wrong? Chris called out, sounding worried. Eleanor isn’t who we think she is. Nightmare responded. To Tartarus with that, we have a PAPA mob here in the reception area! I cried out. Reacting on fear and instinct, I ran as fast as I could across the room and up the stairs. There was no way on Equestria or Earth that I am letting them get me. I heard the sound of gunshots and screaming echoing through the ground floor as the hospital security ran down to stop the mob. I felt something fly past my ear but I ignored it and continued running. Chris’ POV Buck, buck, buck! This isn’t good, we need to get out of here now! But our friends are still injured and the only exit is blocked by the mob. This is bad since we can’t rely on police for assistance. It may be too late for us by the time they arrived. The others could see my panic but then again when you are pacing up and down like a little filly, it tends to alert others to your dilemma. I could hear them calling to me and yet I couldn’t hear them. It’s when you hear something but are so zoned out that you don’t pay attention and not realise what is being said. The only thing in my mind right now was trying to figure out an escape plan. “You alright?” I finally paid enough attention to realise I heard Rick’s voice. The doctor looked worried. “No, we have a situation. PAPA is here and in force. They are most likely after us and any ponies here,” I respond quickly. Taking a deep breath I continue, “Now we need a way to get out of here safely but I only know of the one exit and they have secured that position. And now Nightmare might be in danger as well. I don’t know how exactly but it involves that Eleanor woman.” “Ok, look, I’ll get your friends out. There is another exit through the back of the building. I’ll take them there and get them into an ambulance. You get yourselves out and we move. Got it?” He responded. I nodded my head and charged out the door with Nightmare’s situation at the forefront of my mind. Nightmare’s POV “Who are you really?” I hiss, this woman is the cause of all this? No wonder Chris hates being human, nothing but backstabbers, the lot of them. “Oh, I’m just somepony you know. Now you are going to come with me,” She replies with a devilish smile as she reached out to grab me. Sadly for her, I am not Dream who holds herself back or Chris who is a hopeless idiot. I am Nightmare Moon, the terror of the night and an antagonist. Meaning, I don’t have moral obligations to hold myself back. I concentrated and fired off a blast of lightning at her, not enough to kill but enough to overload her nervous system and paralyze her from the neck down. After scanning her body to make sure her vocals still worked, I pressed my hoof against her throat as she laid down on the cold floor, “Now, you will tell me where my things are. If you don’t, your breathing will become permanently weaker.” “I-in the janitor’s closet around the corner,” She replied. I walked out the room and around the corner. Sure enough there was a closet for the janitors before me. The knob tried to mock me as I looked at it, as if I was going to try and turn it with my hooves. I reached out with my magic and turned the knob, the door was locked. Now as a sensible pony would go back and get the key from Eleanor, I was not a sensible pony. With one small blast of raw magic the door flew open with force, slamming loudly as it hit the wall, barely hanging on its hinges. Inside there were several bottles of cleaning supplies as well as mops and brooms of varying sizes and colourations. There was even a trolley of sorts that the janitor would use to carry his/her implements. In the corner of the room were several bags… one of them had that strange plane that appeared on Dream’s flank. I grabbed the bags and ran out, back to the room to find Chris standing there. He looked shocked at ‘Eleanor’ as he turned his head towards me. I just rolled my eyes. “She’s only paralyzed. She’ll be able to move in an hour or two, now let’s go!” He wasted no time as we began running down the hallway to find our third wheel. Dream, where are you?! I shouted in our minds. I’m nearing the room where the others are, why? She replied. Good, we’ll meet you there and get out of here. Chris called out as the two of us skidded across the tiled floor, trying to go around a corner at high speed. Metal horseshoes and tiles don’t mix. As we neared the room, we saw the familiar sight of Dream’s purple and white armour. We all looked into the room and found it was deserted, just like Dr. Stevens said. We followed Chris as we ran past many confused people, some were shouting for us to slow down. One even said ‘this isn’t Kentucky!’ Whatever that is supposed to mean. Running through the near endless hallway ended as we found an exit that lead out to the parking lot from the back end of the hospital. It must have been used for deliveries of medical supplies and the like. We looked around in a panic until Dream found the ambulance that the doctor talked about. As we ran to it, we saw Dr. Stevens waving to us. The doors were open and we saw none of them were on stretchers. Sugarberry and Scott were stood next to Tenderheart who was out of her cast. We clambered in and – after placing the bags down – shut the doors behind us. We heard the door to the ambulance open and close. In seconds we heard the siren and the jolt of the vehicle moving as speed. “Well, that was fun,” I commented sarcastically. This earned a few laughs from the others, since when did I make others laugh? Whatever. I sat down and got ready for the long haul to wherever we were headed. After a few minutes the ambulance stopped and switched its sirens off. The doors opened quickly as we found ourselves in a room that was as dark as a starless night, minus the moon as well. I could here Dr. Stevens’ voice, guiding us through the darkness. I heard Scott curse as he fell over something. I couldn’t help but feel paranoid. This did not make me feel comfortable in any way. We came up to some steps but that wasn’t bad, Sugarberry had apparently banged her fetlock on one but we were too occupied to worry about that. We then had to navigate a hallway as dark as the room, I guessed it was a hallway since we went left and right several times and I could feel our hoofsteps echo slightly. My eyesight is supposed to be perfect at night but right now I’m as helpless as a filly. I hated it. “Right, we’re here!” I heard the doctor’s voice say. Well, if you have ever been in a situation where you want to brutally murder everypony in front of you, this would be how I felt. The room we were in was dark for a few seconds until the lights came on. We were on a wooden platform in the centre of the room with a studio audience in front of us. While I don’t suffer stagefright, these people were wearing apparel with the word ‘PAPA’ on it in various colours. I looked to the others who were shocked and scared. Chris looked like he was going to be sick and Dream looked like she was going to burst into tears. I looked around and saw Dr. Stevens standing in front of us, behind a podium with the words ‘DEAL OR NO DEAL’ in huge capital letters. “So my little ponies, welcome to my show,” Dr. Stevens said. “What is the meaning of this?!” I seethed. I could feel my body wanted to tear him apart like tissue paper but I knew I had to hold it back. Chris’ POV Ever have one of those days were nothing seems to go your way? Well, that’s today for us. We seemed to be contestants on a gameshow but it’s watched by an audience filled with the scum of the earth to put it mildly. Nightmare looked like she was ready to start a war as she shouted. I didn’t know what was scarier, her or the horde of PAPA supporters? I’m swinging towards Nightmare, I live with her… kind of. “Simple, we are going to play a game my dear Nightmare Moons,” Dr. Stevens replied with a grin. Something seemed off though, his voice. I’m sure I heard that voice somewhere, “I am going to offer you a deal: you join me and your friends will be fully healed and released. If not, these fine folks will kill you all where you stand. So: deal or no deal?” At that moment it clicked, the near same thing happened with Chrysalis. I took a step forward – I can’t say without fear since I was still shaking in my shoes – and spoke up. “Why not show us who you are Discord? Scared of something?” I asked, trying to mask my fear as much as possible. Dr. Stevens laughed, “I see now why you’re the smart one.” He snapped his fingers and in an instant the doctor was gone. In his place was the infamous Draconequus, “I had hoped to bring you on your own but your shenanigans forced my hand.” “So Eleanor and that doctor?” Dream asked, fearing the answer we all knew. “All moi. I would have gotten you along your trip to New York but you decided to go in the opposite direction. No matter, I can teleport us there in an instant. But we’re getting sidetracked here. Do we have an agreement or not?” He asked with a smirk. Oh, buck. Author's Note Sorry for the delay. Enjoy the longest chapter I've done so far for this story as an apology. One Last LetterTo Sleep, Perchance to… Nightmare? One Last Letter Author: Draconis187 Time: ??:?? Date: ?? Location: Unknown I was walking around in absolute darkness. I tried to create some form of illumination but it didn’t help as whatever light I made was instantly swallowed in the darkness. I couldn’t see the light I knew I had made and it was making me nervous and worried. “Is this a lucid dream?” I asked rhetorically to the darkness in a slightly softer than usual voice, “Why is it so dark?” I received no reply but it was hardly surprising. I could feel a slight breeze flowing over my body from the right. Thinking it could be a clue to what was going on I turned towards it and began walking. My hoofsteps echoed through the darkness, only serving to increase my worried state. The wind was felt as if it came from the arctic regions as I neared whatever the source w- **** **** **** **** Time: 06:23 Date: Siderday Location: Inside the cosplayers’ tour bus the parking lot outside the convention centre “Waah!” I heard the sound of someone screaming as I awoke with a jolt. The scream was soon followed by a crashing sound. I opened my eyes and found the source to be Mrs. Carter sprawled on the other side of the bus, looking as if she just got manhandled by a pro-wrestler. Her hair was a huge mess and yet the curls were still intact. “Ugh, note to self: don’t use an airhorn to wake you up again,” I heard her mutter slightly, the aforementioned can of portable Royal Canterlot Voice was still clasped in her hand, “Good fucking morning.” “Yeah, she’s not a morning mare,” I heard Sugarberry’s tired and half laughing voice say. I looked around to see the others were also rousing from their respective slumbers as well. I must have shouted or something when she forcibly woke me from that dream. Hold on, dream… pillow. I wrenched the offending piece of foam from my mouth. Why this one was foam was not really a relevant question but I tossed it to the side, hitting Scott across the muzzle. “Eww! Dream slobber!” Scott’s disgusted reaction and his face looked as if he were deep in thought for a moment before he began to laugh hard. I rolled my eyes and looked to Tenderheart and Sugarberry. The pair of them had slept in the same bed for the night. And no they did not sleep together in the other sense, they’re only friends… as far as I could tell anyway. “Get up you pathetic creatures!” Janice Carter shouted, having gotten back to her feet and recomposed herself, “The others are already awake.” ‘Pathetic creatures?’ What is she, a poster girl for PAPA? Then again given her attitude, I guess she just might be one. Her daughter likes MLP and yet her mother is a borderline PAPA supporter. There’s something comical about that here somewhere. Or ironic… or both. I got to my hooves and picked up my armour from across the room. There was no way I was going to be able to sleep with metal over my body. I guess sleeping on a cloud would negate that but it was rather clear last night so that option was out. “We need to change the dressings on our wounds,” Tenderheart said, “We can’t risk any infections this close to recovery.” Tenderheart had a point. Janice rolled her eyes and went through the cupboards before tossing a rather large first aid kit at her. I caught it with my magic and looked at her. She returned my gaze with one of pure malice. News flash Janice: one part of me is a villain, you already lost this contest. I gave her my best ‘evil look’ that said: ‘I dare you to try that again.’ Janice left in a huff and went down the stairs. I relaxed and tuned to Tenderheart, who was waiting for me to let go of the kit as her hooves were firmly wrapped around it. I grinned sheepishly and released my magical grip. I think Tenderheart was in control at this point as she expertly took off Scott’s bandages and replaced them with hooves. It was an achievement that should be forever known across the universe. Scott’s face was looking slightly better than it used to. At least now he looked like he was on the losing side of a bar fight instead of looking like roadkill. A harsh statement but true in my opinion. “How do your wings feel?” She asked Scott as she removed the splints. He flapped them very tentatively but smiled, “They are feeling a whole lot better now thanks.” I looked out the window, watching the sunrise. What did that dream mean? Where were Chris and Nightmare while I was dreaming? Is it alright to stay here? My stomach decided to stop me from thinking further and eliciting a laugh from my friends. We came down the stairs to find everypony was waiting outside the bus. We all clamoured out as well with Scott taking a harder, experimental flap of his wings as he jumped. He cringed slightly as he did so and landed on the ground a little harder than what he intended. I guess his wings had not completely recovered yet. Janice looked at us with disgust. Is she going to keep this up for much longer? I swear she’s the most unfriendly human being to ever exist. This includes PAPA. “Well, you took your damn sweet time,” She said as she turned around and walked off. “She’s a real ray of sunshine,” Scott whispered to me. “That’s my mother you’re talking about,” Annette said with an annoyed tone, “She’s just… different.” “Annette, we’re all ponies that were once humans. We all have the personality of the original pony in our heads as well, talking to us. I assure you, we are about as different as grass and space. Your mother is not different, she’s malice personified,” I replied. “That is one way of putting it I guess but please keep those opinions to yourselves,” She said looking at her mother who made no indication that she heard our conversation. We walked along The Strip, seeing casino after casino after hotel as we walked by. These things were open 24/7 and it showed as I spied someone by the slots who looked ready to keel over. Whether it was intoxication or sleep deprivation didn’t matter, he wasn’t going to last much longer anyway. We stopped outside a rather interesting looking building named Jamm’s Restaurant. We got in and found the place pretty brown all around. The décor wasn’t too bad really, kinda rustic in a sense. We all sat on soft benches which made the place ‘Alicorn friendly’ since I take up more space than any of the other three. “‘Enter as strangers, leave as friends’?” I read the motto on the menu out loud, “This motto would suit Equestria.” “Well, I’m partial to ‘I’m gonna love and tolerate the shit out of you’,” Scott said with a grin. “Well, minus the cursing, that is the basic motto for us isn’t it?” I curtly replied. Soon our waitron arrived. There was nothing truly spectacular about him as he wore a red shirt with Jamm’s Restaurant on it and a pair of black pants. He smiled at us with that smile that was most likely fake, only Pinkie Pie can smile like that and be sincere. Although, he did fool my friends so his talent wasn’t entirely wasted. “Hello and welcome to Jamm’s,” He said, his smile unwavering, “What may I get you to drink?” “Um… some coffee for me thanks,” I replied. “Lemon iced tea for me please,” Sugarberry said. “I’d like a Red Bull,” Scott said. “An energy drink… at 07:45 in the morning?” I asked incredulously. “Well of course, Dreamy,” Scott replied with a grin. “Just Dream, Scott. You forget who the other half of my personality is,” I warned. “Yeah, yeah I know. I was just messing with your head,” Scott said as he stuck out his tongue at me. We all shared a good laugh as the waiter looked at us. Oh yeah, Tenderheart still had to order. “A lime milkshake for me thanks,” Tenderheart said. The waiter handed us four menus before he walked off to place our orders through. I looked over to the cosplayers’ table and… well they were something else. I swear I was looking at the humanized version of Pinkie Pie as Anthony was grinning and talking at a pace only she was known for. I had to do a double take before looking at the rest. Viola looked at Anthony with slight disgust as she tried to coax him down from his sugar high like a scolding mother. Well she really kept her appearance close to her heart as her red hair was kept almost straight as an arrow as it reached her shoulders and shined as if it were metal in the sun. Annabelle was trying to get Cassandra to tell their waitress what she wanted to drink. Damn, I think that butter coloured Pegasus has some competition in the shy department. Next was Elise and Annette talking to Janice as they decided on what to have. Elise’s pink hair was quite odd. It was like ‘Pinkie Pie Pink’ if you get the idea. On top of that she seemed to be busy with a book about caring for tropical fish. Annette on the other hoof was more upbeat than her uptight mother. I swear that woman looked as if a ten foot pole was shoved up her rear end and was now permanently wedged there for all eternity. I wonder… “Dream, are you still with us?” I was brought out of my thoughts as I noticed Sugarberry’s hoof in front of my face, waving around energetically. “Hm? Sorry, I was just thinking,” I apologised to the rest of the group. “Really? What about?” Scott said, giving me one of those knowing looks. “Get you head out the gutter Scott. I doubt your human would appreciate those thoughts,” I curtly replied. “Pfft! She never lets me have any fun… and neither do you,” He lamented. “We have a reason for that Scott. I don’t know if such behaviour is encouraged in Equestria and quite frankly, I don’t care. You are on Earth and here things run a tad differently,” I replied. “Like cars, computers, phones, oh and let’s go with mankind’s greatest achievement: PAPA,” He retorted. “That’s your argument Scott?” I replied, “You’re kidding right? Humans may have a lot of faults but I wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for my human. Even if he resents his own kind.” “She’s right Scott,” Tenderheart said, backing me up, “It was our humans that got us this far. We all share similarities with one another and it is through the bond of the friendship we share with each other that gets us through the toughest times.” I rolled my eyes but decided to let her have her ‘friendship’ moment. Our drinks arrived as Tenderheart finished. I took them off with my magic and set them in front of everypony. We gave the waiter our breakfast orders and he walked off to tell the kitchen. “Isn’t it a little odd that they didn’t raise a fuss over us being ponies?” I asked the group, “I mean, sure there are still PAPA supporters here and they aren’t so pro-active here in Vegas but it is surprising that they didn’t kick us out for being animals since we are equines.” “That would be because the owner became a pony five days ago,” A voice said. I turned around to look at the source and found it was our waiter again. I was rather taken aback but it did make quite a bit of sense. “So you are forced to serve us?” I asked. “Not really,” He replied, “He just waltzed in one day: a bright blue and very small female Pegasus. As we were trying to chase him out before the owner came in, he yelled: ‘I am the owner you useless shit!’ After a quick trivia about our owner, we realised it was him. We’ve been serving whatever ponies came in ever since.” I laughed, “Oh dear that is hilarious! A little filly with the mouth of a sailor! I can just picture it now.” “You don’t have to picture it, I’m down here,” A rather meek but authoritative voice said. Looking down I saw him, or rather her. Maybe around Scootaloo’s size but a lot more peeved off. She had a relatively short, curled lime green mane with magenta eyes. She looked at me as if she were trying to stare down Death himself. “Well? Any more smart remarks?” She asked, crossing her hooves expectantly. “No, I just found it rather funny that a little filly would curse,” I replied. “Humph! Listen, while you are entitled to your opinion I would warn you that I do not tolerate stabs at my condition,” She said, her face was as stoic as one of the Royal Guards. “Pardon my plain speaking but it is not exactly a ‘condition’ as you call it,” I replied, “It’s all some strange and random plan devised by the living patchwork quilt: Discord. Why some people turn into certain ponies is beyond me but that is basically the long and the short of it.” “Uh-huh. I know that stupid, I watch the news,” She replied. I felt a little bit more peeved at being called ‘stupid’ than I think I should have been. I narrowed my eyes and got off the bench. I lowered myself to her level and glared at her. I think at that point the filly in her took over as she turned tail and ran like I was about to kill her. Granted I could do a number of terrifying things to her such as trap her in her worst nightmare but I just wanted her to back off on the attitude. I can’t stand arrogance. I got back on the bench and looked to my pony companions. We all burst into a fit of laughs and giggles as our food finally arrived. The cosplayers looked at us as if we had lost our minds but we paid them no heed as we stuffed our faces. **** **** **** **** Time: 10:34 Date: Siderday Location: In the changing rooms backstage in the convention centre Apparently there was only going to be a single show today since yesterday was meant to have been the final performance for their trip here but my unexpected appearance had caused a large enough stir to extend it for a single day. The performance we were going to be putting on was to be at midday. Luckily for us the schedule for the centre only had a magician with a weird and insanely long name that would have given The Great and Powerful Trixie a run for her bits starting tomorrow as he also needed time to prepare his acts before unveiling them to his potential audiences. If it were a unicorn I doubt there would be any preparation. “These will be your duties for the show: Scott and Tenderheart are going to be helping out backstage while Sugarberry helps out with special effects using her magic,” Janice said matter-of-factly as if we should already know this, “You are obviously going to be the antagonist. We are basically going to start where we left off yesterday with your little impromptu appearance.” I rolled my eyes, “So that means what exactly?” “We are basically going to have to add on and redo the script from that moment. We have enough time to write it up and do a pre-run of the performance before actually doing it,” She replied with a small scowl. I nodded my head, “So then, we are all going to be pitching ideas on what we should do?” ‘Pinkie’ threw her arm around me, “Yupperooni! And if you can’t remember your lines, just adlib like you did when you arrived yesterday!” I now fully understood how I managed to mistake Anthony for a girl, he sounded almost like a carbon copy of Pinkie Pie. It was… weird to be brutally honest. I looked at the other cosplayers and despite the fact that their costumes were as offensive as spitting at the Pope – I blame Chris for knowing about a useless human – they seemed to be capable actors. I nervously pulled off Anthony’s arm with my magic which was a small feat in itself, he had a vice-like grip, “Ok then. I think I get it now.” We spent the better part of the hour pitching ideas. Tenderheart pitched more ideas than the rest of us ponies put together. I wondered if the medical field was not her only pursuit, she was pretty good at scripting. Janice showed a happier side as she smiled at various ideas but returned to the pain in the flank whenever she heard one she did not like or felt was inappropriate. Needless to say, Scott was shot daggers from all females concerned and Anthony. Our discussion felt like it would never end but it got us all to understand each other on a more personal level as we all laughed, cheered and supported the various ideas even if Janice refused to add them in. I felt like all the problems we had faced before we arrived here were no longer applicable. It was as if we all left Earth and were in a verbal world of Equestria as they all described the various sets as if they were truly real. I felt like I was seeing it through the eyes of the real ponies, not some cosplayers in poorly made costumes. It felt… nice. In the end we were all happy with how the performance was going to go and we all got ready to start the practice performance. I used a little magic to alter the colouration of my armour and cover my other Cutie Mark with Nightmare’s so at least I looked ‘normal’. “You sure you’re alright with being the antagonist?” Sugarberry asked with a look of concern on her face. “I will be fine. I am not entirely Nightmare Moon, am I?” I asked rhetorically. Sugarberry laughed a little and went off to her position above the stage and out of the audience’s sight. Scott and Tenderheart were helping each other wherever possible despite Scott could only see out of his one eye since the other was still wrapped in fresh bandages. Without his splints Scott had been trying to fly more and more whenever the opportunity presented itself. He was still noticeably in pain when he took off but he just grinned and bared it as the expression goes. As everypony left the change rooms, I stayed behind until the cast took their places. I took a deep breath and created an illusion of myself and got ready to see if Chris or Nightmare would take over it. As I released my focus on the illusion, I felt nothing coming from it like before in the hospital. The illusion soon just faded from existence without any resistance on its part. Janice came around the backstage to me with that scowl on her face but it seemed to vanish just like the illusion did as it became nothing more than black vapour. “Sorry, I’m coming,” I said as I got up and walked onstage, ignoring her. I took one last deep breath before the lights came onto me… Time: 11:45 Date Siderday Location: Backstage at the Convention Centre. We were all backstage, feeling confident about our skills since we finished the practise performance not once but twice since time was feeling generous. The cosplayers were making sure that their costumes were fine. I doubted anypony would notice a few breaks in the costume since it did make them seem like large walking plush toys. “Ok then everypony, we all set?” Annette asked as if she were second in command for this thing. In a sense I guess she was since she was Janice’s daughter. I looked to my friends who all gave an infectious snide smirk. I turned to the cosplayers with one of my own and nodded my head. I could hear Janice talking on the stage but even with it I couldn’t make out everything she said but it seemed to be an apology about it being only one performance before they were moving on to the next city. Then there was a whole lot more that I couldn’t make out but I was sure that if it was important for us, she would have told us. The cosplayers all took their places as they stood in place where I had left them yesterday, all feigning being afraid except for ‘Fluttershy’ who pulled it off far better, trying to hide behind the others. Scott was above us, working the lights with Sugarberry who had the best vantage point for her part. She didn’t know a lot of magic as most Unicorns know basic telekinesis and another spell or two depending on their talent. Apparently Sugarberry knew how to find hidden gemstones and other precious ores in the ground which was – sadly – completely useless right now. The curtains were still drawn as I took my spot on the other side of the stage, facing them. I was kind of nervous to actually be performing but I knew if I was uncertain of anything, the others would help out. As the curtains opened up as they were pulled sideways in alternate directions… the place was packed. I swear the entire place was jam-packed. If they were ponies there would be Pegasi up on the rafters. I looked up and actually did see Pegasi – two actually – perched like birds, watching us with smiles on their faces. I felt a little better knowing that it was not only people that were here in Vegas. “What do you want?” ‘Twilight’ asked with a tone of fear in her voice. Again I reiterate: good actors, buck poor costumes. “You know what I want Miss Sparkle,” I said through clenched teeth as I walked slowly towards the group, “Revenge for what you did to me.” As I was edging towards them, they stepped back. I could hear the fans and girls whispering in fear more than yesterday. I think Janice told then I was the real deal and not a cosplayer. “No Elements, no friends and no hope,” I said with an air of malice. “What are you talking about? My friends are right here where they will always stand,” ‘Twilight’ defiantly. I smirked, “Not for long!” I proceeded to lift and throw the cosplayers one by one to the backstage area where Tenderheart and Janice were waiting to catch them. It was actually Annette’s idea to have me ‘get rid of ’ her friends by tossing them offstage to help build up dramatic tension as the two of us ‘faced off’. “Just like I said Sparkle, no friends. Now how ever do you expect to defeat me now?” I laughed as ‘Twilight’ looked around nervously. I then went on to do the whole ‘evil villain monologue’ for about a minute or so. This was Tenderheart’s idea as it gave the others time to collect the ‘Elements’ that were placed close by. In truth they were actually very detailed pieces of jewellery that could almost pass off as the real deal. ‘Almost’ being the operative term as I couldn’t feel any magic coming from them and artefacts of that calibre tended to radiate it in waves. “We got ya, Twi!” ‘Applejack’ said as the others came back onstage, eliciting shouts and screams of joy from the younger audience. The five came back wearing their fake Elements and tossed the tiara to ‘Twilight’ which – with some unseen help from Sugarberry unless you looked hard enough to see her pale pink aura around it – landed on her head without problems. “You were saying?” ‘Twilight’ said happily as the group got ready. “No! Nononono!” I shouted, flailing my hooves in front of me as I helped them pull off the biggest illusion that was the rainbow laser weapon of friendship thing. Somepony save me. The band formed above them and flew towards me. The younger ones of the audience were looking at it with utter bewilderment and I was certain I had heard someone whistle at the ‘amazing what they can do with computers these days’ illusion. The band circled me as I pretended to be deathly afraid of what was about to happen. I used a simple intense light spell to hide the vanishing rainbow and me repositioning my body on the ground. As the light faded, I was laid on the floor as if I had been knocked unconscious. This was also Tenderheart’s idea as well as me removing the last illusion surrounding my armour and Cutie Mark to sell the whole ‘reformed’ idea. “Wh-why am I still here?” I asked, looking up at them with a confused look. “You feeling alright?” ‘Twilight’ asked, giving me her hoof. “I feel… happy. I have you to thank for getting rid of my bitterness,” I said warmly but on the inside I was gagging and mentally facehoofing from the amount of sheer corniness of my lines. Janice is a terrible dialogue for reformed villains writer. ‘Twilight’ hugged me, “We all deserve a second chance. You especially.” I heard a number of “D’awws” coming from the audience as I returned the hug. As much as the costumes suck from a realistic point of view, they are quite soft and warm. Too bad the cosplayers were more than likely hot in there since the air-conditioning was out of order. Sweat and that costume tends to lead to some horrendous and pungent body odours. “Thank you,” I said as we let go of our embrace. “Aw yeah! Looks like we have a new reformed Nightmare Moon!” ‘Dash’ said ecstatically. I genuinely chuckled, “Call me Dream.” The curtains came in and closed in front of us at that point, signalling the end of our performance. I could hear a large amount of clapping and my friends came around as we all got ready to bow to the audience. Janice came around and stood next to Annette as the cosplayers removed their ‘heads’ and stood up. Annabelle stretched, complaining about walking on all fours hurts her back. The ponies and myself laughed a little, as did the other cosplayers. Cassandra offered to massage her back once we returned to the bus, which Annabelle accepted. The curtains opened up once more and we all took a bow. Janice thanked the audience for their patronage and apologised once more for the unexpected extension to the performance. She gazed at me for a second as she said that, but sorry for her I can out glare anypony, even her if I needed to. I looked up again and saw the two Pegasi that were up there cheering as well. I couldn’t help but wonder how they were dealing with their changes and the fusing of two minds. Time: 13: 12 Date: Siderday Location: Backstage changing room The cosplayers were all happy and smiling as the costumes flew across the room with reckless abandon. My friends were having a go at me, laughing and joking at my performance and my illusions. “Well not quite what I would have wanted but it was satisfactory considering we had little planning time,” Janice said from her seat in the middle of the room, “You pulled off a half decent job on those illusions.” “Was that a compliment I heard?” I asked sarcastically, making everypony laugh. “Oh shut up you stupid pony,” She retorted with a small smirk. “There’s the cold-hearted woman we all know and love!” I said with an even bigger grin. As we all shared a good laugh and began talking amongst ourselves again, there was a knock at the door. As Janice answered it, a man entered and looked around before his gaze settled on me. He was of a medium height and had a relatively light complexion as if he never stepped into the sunlight his whole life. He wore a deep blue short sleeved shirt with the York City Knights logo on it. He had a pair of black pants that ended just past his knees. The man also had very – and also receding – short brown hair and green/blue eyes. In my mind, a spark went off and I looked at the man who just grinned at me, “Uncle Norris?” Author's Note For those who are about to go: "Chuck Norris!" don't. My uncle is the nicest man I have ever met and is rather peculiar at the same time but he is no Chuck Norris. Other than that... ooh what happened to Nightmare and Chris? We shall find out... eventually. Errors, feedback and opinions are welcomed as always. For Pony!! When We Stand TogetherTo Sleep, Perchance to… Nightmare? When We Stand Together Author: Draconis187 I just stood there, looking at Uncle Norris with probably the most stupefied look in existence. “Ayup. Ye alreight, lad?” He said, waving his hand past my face. I shake my head and try to quickly gather my thoughts before I hug him tightly, “Uncle Norris…” I felt him trying to pet my mane but it was ethereal after all so his hand ended up going straight through it, making me giggle a little. He just laughed as well. This was the sort of man he was: very funny – in the strange sense - and always tried his best to cheer you up and no matter how bad your day was, he’ll have you forgetting it before too long. Not too mention his accent was thick enough to cut with a chainsaw. “Theear theear, lad. Ah cem 'eear ta see 'a ye wor doin,” He looked at me with that grin of his that should be trademarked, “Ya mam wor gettin’ worried, ye kna.” (There there, lad. I came here to see how you were doing. Your mom was getting worried, you know.) I hang my head a little, “Sorry, I should have maintained a better line of communication.” He chuckled, “It’s alreight, lad. 'a theur bin?” (It’s alright, lad. How you been?) I smiled as I looked back at him, “Well, all things considered I guess it could have been far worse. I met a number of ponies in my travels, a few of them right here in Las Vegas and these ones… are the best friends I could have ever asked for.” I pointed to Scott, Sugarberry and Tenderheart in turn as they smiled, waved and greeted Uncle Norris, “Gran' ta meet theur. Sa then, wha' theur doin 'eear i' Vegas asteead o' theear i' Yorkers?” (Nice to meet you. So then, what you doing here in Vegas instead of there in Yorkers?) I chuckled, “Well… it’s kind of a long story.” Uncle Norris petted my head again, not bothered by my mane anymore, “Well, ah getten orl t' tahhm ta 'ear it.” (Well, I’ve got all the time to hear it.) Janice looked at us, “Sorry to interrupt this little reunion but this is not the place to have a long conversation. We still need to pack up. We did overstay our welcome after all.” I nod my head, “Uncle Norris I’ll talk to you just now. I need to help with getting everything back into the bus. It’s outside in the parking lot, the huge as hell black one with the My Little Pony decals.” “Alreight then, lad. I’ll 'od on fa theur theear,” He said as he left the room. (Alright then, lad. I’ll wait for you there.) We set about doing exactly what Janice said. She could be quite the slave driver as she had us magically inclined ponies levitate the heavier things while Tenderheart and Scott carried far lighter things ranging from the sewing kit used for repairing the costumes to small props that were on the set. It took us almost two hours to get it all in the bus’ lower compartments but we were done in the end. Uncle Norris did help me out a little as I tried to put in a collapsible counter that was for the Sugarcube Corner section of the set inside the bus. After we had finished, Janice looked at me with that piercing glare. I returned it with a more villainous glare. She stopped in almost five seconds. ‘Round one: Dream wins!’ I chuckled to myself as she walked off. ‘Sorry Janice, you were fighting a former villain… or a half one at any rate. You lost this long before it started.’ “Sa ye ready ta nip on na' then, lad?” I looked at Uncle Norris before I realised something. (So you ready to go then, lad?) “Uncle Norris… there is a lot I need to tell you so you had best sit down for this,” I said sadly. He raised an eyebrow but nodded his head, “Ah see dis is eytin’ ye, lad.” (I see this is eating you, lad.) I nod and look at the others, “I need a little time alone with my uncle. I’ll be back soon.” Janice placed her hands by her mouth, making a makeshift megaphone, “Don’t take too long! We need to get going before the traffic piles up!” I nod my head at her as she and the rest of the cosplayers walked off in the opposite direction. Scott, Sugarberry and Tenderheart walked up to me and gave me the synonymous ‘we are coming where you like it or not’ look… in triplicate. Eat your heart out Dolby. “You can’t leave us out of this I’m afraid, Dream. We’ve been through quite a lot together,” Scott said with a small smile. I chuckle, “And this is why you are my friends. Thanks…” “‘Dream?’ Dis is chuffin' goan be an interestin’ lahl conversation,” Uncle Norris commented. (This is going to be an interesting little conversation.) I nodded, feigning understanding as his last statement left me a little baffled. His accent is thicker than gravy, “Tell me about it.” Time: 16:23 Date: Siderday Location: A hotel room at Caesar’s Palace We all sat in Uncle Norris’ room in Caesar’s Palace. The place was quite nice but then again I haven’t set hoof in this place and all I knew about it was the fact it was a four star hotel. It as all primed and proper to suit its status but we weren’t there for the décor. Uncle Norris sat on his bed, looking at us with curiosity, “Who’s fust then?” (Who’s first then?) I look at the others and clear my throat a little, “Well I had best explain this from the very start but I’ll summarise as much as I can. It’s a very long story nonetheless.” Uncle Norris nodded his head, “Just tell uz fra t' moa theur stopped contact.” (Just tell me from the moment you stopped contact.) I chuckle nervously, “Alright. Well since my last message I had been chased out of a town, lost a friend as we all got involved in an accident and we also met the source of the world’s current problems, Frankenstein’s reject: Discord.” Uncle Norris nodded his head as I explained my journey from the moment I woke up in the makeshift concentration camp to meeting Scott, who told us of his life leading up to being transformed. I know he said from the moment I stopped contact but he needed to know everything from to start to finish. I couldn’t paraphrase but I kept those parts as short as I possibly could. We all took turns explaining our side of things until we reached the accident we were involved in before we got to Vegas. I looked away as we all recounted our thoughts when we regained conscious. ‘Charles…’ I couldn’t understand it. How the one who wore a seatbelt at the time was not able to survive when the ones the belts were not designed for did. The universe was just unfair. I sighed as I remembered the dream I had earlier before I woke up today. What did it mean? Were Chris and Nightmare Moon gone? Did they just not want to talk to me? I just couldn’t feel their presence at all. No poking around my mind, no random thoughts of any kind that related to their personalities. Nothing… just emptiness. “Dream? You aright?” I turned to look at Sugarberry as she and the others gave me a worried look. Even Uncle Norris looked slightly confused. “Ye reet, lad?” I shook my head, “Uncle Norris… I am not entirely Chris nor am I entirely Nightmare either.” “Wha' doa ye mean?” Uncle Norris asked, looking even more confused. “Well… how can I put this eloquently?” I placed a hoof on my chin, “How much do you know of this situation?” “Ah kna mooar than most realise. Ah kna 'a' thy minds are mergin intoa 'un, cre-” He stops dead for a second but continues, “- that’s wha' you’re gerrin a' aren’t theur?” (I know more than most realise. I know your minds are merging into one, cre- - that’s what you’re getting at aren’t you?) I nod my head, “There was a reason everypony called me ‘Dream’ instead of ‘Chris’, Uncle Norris.” He just looked at me. I took a deep breath before continuing, “My name really is Dream. I’m the combined personality of Chris and Nightmare Moon. To an effect, I’m my own mare in body and most definitely in mind. “It happened a few days ago in the hospital. It was the first time I woke up and it was… not the best place to gain consciousness. It was after a small riot from some PAPA supporters did we have to discharge ourselves and come face to face with Discord himself. He… made me an offer to join him.” I looked at the others. They shifted uncomfortably as we all stared at each other. I hated this feeling of hopelessness I was getting from them. It was not their fault that Charles died nor was it their fault that Discord tried to use their health as leverage against me. “Sa ah gatha ye sez, ‘no’ reet?” He asked, looking at me with a smile. (So I gather you said, ‘no’ right?) I nod my head and smirk, “That I did and we all managed to get away from him.” I wanted to keep the part about me meeting Discord again on the top of the convention centre under wraps for now unless it became necessary to reveal that titbit of information. They didn’t need anything else to worry about, me meeting Discord again being one of them. “That’s gran' ta 'ear… lass,” He said. He seemed a little uncomfortable calling me ‘lass’ instead of ‘lad’ but it was to be expected in my opinion. I just hoped he wasn’t too angry at the fact I’m here and Chris is not. (That's good to hear, lass.) I hung my head, “I… I can’t hear either of them anymore. Last night I had another lucid dream and there was… nothing. Just a dark, empty void. I felt so alone and I can not for the life of me explain why I dreamt of that of all things. I-I don’t think they’re around anymore.” I braced myself and closed my eyes in preparation to getting berated by Uncle Norris but I got a far larger shock… my friends hugged me. I opened my eyes slowly and saw their sad faces looking at me as if I was a trauma victim that had opened up for the first time. I was unsure of whether to be happy or confused so I settled for both. Uncle Norris looked at me with the same confused expression I had on my face, “I… see. Excuse uz, ah need ta call thy mam.” (I... see. Excuse me, I need to call your mom.) Just like that he walked out of the room with his hand in his pocket, presumably the one his phone was stashed in. He closed the door behind him and walked down the passage if I heard his footfalls correctly as they faded away. I looked at my friends and smiled, “Thank you…” Scott scoffed, “Don’t sweat it, beautiful.” I glared at him, “Scott…” They all laughed at him and I, “Sorry, Dream. I just could not resist that little stab. Don’t think you’re beautiful? I’m sure there are a number of bronies that would testify otherwise.” I rolled my eyes, “Scott, give us Jacqueline please… before I set your coat on fire.” Scott gave a small giggle which sounded rather… odd coming from a stallion, “Sorry about him. He really wanted to do that.” “Well… I guess as long as he keeps those comments to himself it’s alright,” I couldn’t believe I had just said that but there’s no taking it back now. Scott was most definitely never going to stop that train of thought so I guess I shouldn’t fight that anymore. It’s all in good fun… right? I just know in the pit of my stomach my statement will come back to bite me in the flank sometime later though. “How are you feeling though with your wings?” I inquired. Scott gave them a few short flaps, “Well, they’re still aching every now and again but I may be able to fly properly soon. Can’t wait, I get anxiety attacks on the ground. I blame Scott.” We all gave him a mixture of shock and confusion, “I never noticed, Scott. Girls?” Sugarberry shook her head, “Not really, I don’t look at that in people… or ponies. Our lives have been a little hectic as of late.” Tenderheart on the other hoof nodded her head, “I remember he seemed fidgety when we woke up in the hospital. I thought it was claustrophobia. Well, you learn something new everyday.” “I guess that’s true,” I quipped. “Dream… sorry to ask this but what are you going to do now that your uncle is here?” Sugarberry asked, “Are you going to stay with us or are you going to try get to New York?” I stared at her for a second and smiled, “If I was going to try get to NYC, I’d insist on all of you coming with me. I couldn’t leave you all behind. Not after what we’ve been through together. I’d rather finish as a group or not at all.” They all smiled at me. I felt an odd sense of pride inside as I said that but I meant every single word. We’ve travelled hundreds of miles together and have had too much fun together to just split up now, even if it meant fixing this mess with my mind and body. Although the latter is a moot point, I’m physically fine. I returned their hug, wrapping my wings around us as best I could. It must have been a funny sight because Uncle Norris laughed at us as he got back. We all shared another good laugh as he sat down. “Sa, ah just getten off fra ya mam,” He said, raising his phone for emphasis, “Shi dunt kna 'a exactly ta respon' ta wha' theur just sez sa ah guess I’ll gi' ‘a eur rin lata. Ta uz, it dunt matta whoa ya are, lass. Thas still family 'n we orl stick togetha, neya matta wha'.” So, I just got off from your mom. She doesn’t know how to exactly respond to what you just said so I guess I’ll give her a ring later. To me, it doesn’t matter who you are, lass. You’re still family and we all stick together, no matter what. I smiled broadly at him, “Thank you, Uncle Norris.” He chuckled that infectious chuckle again, “Sa wha' are ye plannin’ on naw, lass? Wanneur try gerr ta New York?” (SO what are you planning, lass? Want to try to get to New York?) “I’m not sure. What was the situation like when you left?” I could only truly make an informed decision if I had every possible bit of information. “Well, 'em PAPA boys are blockin t' roads 'n av shut daahn t' airpoarts someha. Anyone can gerr art bur gerrin in… that’ll be t' problem, lass. Theear wor rights activists art by 'em blockades, tryin ta gi'o'a PAPA fra sealin t' city off but…” I didn’t like the look he was giving us. ( Well, them PAPA boys are blocking the roads and have shut dowh the airport somehow. Anyone can get out but getting in… that’ll be the problem, lass. There were rights activists out by the blockades, trying to keep PAPA from sealing the city off but…) “They didn’t…” Scott said. “Shot ‘em. Thee getten shot by PAPA. Figured ‘em ta be as bad as orl theur,” He said with a hint of anger, “They’re gerrin art o' 'an' naw 'n no one is stoppin it by t' luks o' it.” (Shot them. They got shot by PAPA. Figured them to be as bad as all of you. They’re getting out of hand now and no one is stopping it by the looks of it.) “So not only have they sealed the city from outside entry, they also shot protestors figuring them to be as bad as us? What about local law enforcement?” I asked, afraid of the answer. “They’re int' blockade, 'elpin t' gits. Pathetic if ye ax uz, lass,” He said, his temper visibly rising. (They’re in the blockade, helping the gits. Pathetic if you ask me, lass.) I was unsure now. The PAPA blockade was more than likely lethally armed so getting in by road was out of the question. Flying in was out as only Scott and I could fly not to mention they would be watching the skies. PAPA wasn’t that stupid. We couldn’t take a plane as that would be just as stupid since it would make us a massive target. We may as well paint a giant dartboard on our heads with a sign saying: ‘Dead Meat here.’ There was one way but it was quite the gamble, “What if we toured across the rest of the country? Pick up ponies along the way and gather support so we can essentially invade New York?” Tenderheart looked at me, “You think that will work?” I just shrugged, “It’s probably our only shot to be honest. I don’t know any other ways to pushing past a blockade. They’ll be guarding it like it was the Crown Jewels of England. Tartarus, they had a concentration camp for the moon’s sake when Chris and Nightmare fisrt got here. “If we get unicorns we can negate PAPA’s weapons by taking them straight out of their hands before they can open fire. Pegasi can keep an eye above and serve as an early warning system to the rest of us while the Earth Ponies make up the bulk and charge at them in an attempt to scare them. Although, we may want to think that last part over a little. “I’ll come up with a more elaborate plan if we manage to do this right. It’s the only shot we got in my opinion and other than that… I got nothing.” “Sounds like a plan to me,” Scott said with a grin. Uncle Norris nodded his head, “Ah can tell theur are set on doin dis 'n ah ain't stoppin theur.” (I can tell you are set on doing this and I ain’t stopping you.) “So how are we going to do this though? We’ll need one hell of a lot of transport like busses and vans for all the ponies if we’re to try and ‘storm’ New York,” Tenderheart asked, using her hooves to emphasize the ‘storm’ part. It’s kind of funny to see really. I guess I didn’t think that part through. We’d need a lot of food, transport and lodgings if we are going to be going cross country again. In moments I had the proverbial ‘lightbulb moment.’ I grinned at them all, “We use the power of the internet.” “What do you mean?” Sugarberry asked. “Simple, we use social sites like Twitter, Facebook and even YouTube to get the message about our anti-PAPA plan. We organise meeting points where we stop on our way to the West Coast of this country and work our way back east to New York.” I received an ‘oh’ from my pony friends while Uncle Norris chuckled, “You sure about the whole ‘Chris might not even exist anymore’ thing?” He just shook his head, “Doubtful we’d be able ta change it reet naw ta be 'onest. Best move on 'n figure art 'a' problem a' eur lata stage.” (Doubtful we’d be to change it right now to be honest. Best move on and figure out the problem at a later stage.) I couldn’t fault his thinking there. Neither of us have any way of truly knowing what is happening, only speculation and besides, for all my magical abilities as an Alicorn I had no knowledge in this situation to even try to fix it, let alone understand it. I shake my head and clear my thoughts, “Let’s tell Janice the plan and see where she’s off to next. We can organise the first meet-up there and see if we can’t gather momentum to continue towards the West Coast.” The group nodded their heads. Scott looked at me with a small grin, “Since when did you become some commander?” Before I could respond, Uncle Norris interjected and hijacked the conversation, “That’ll be fra Chris’ gamin. If it ain’t fleight simulators, it’s war games. Usually space themed ones.” I blinked, “‘Flight simulators and space themed games?’” I looked at my left flank. The differing Cutie Mark seemed to make more sense with the FALKEN and the moon now. I should have known Chris was making up what he said that night. He just couldn’t say he didn’t have a clue in Tartarus what it meant or the fact he was a gamer, could he? So one part of me is the bringer of the Eternal Night and a villain in the eyes of most while the other… is a gamer? Just peachy… I soon noticed the group were looking at me with odd expressions. I must have spaced out again as the explanation I was given just got turned on its head. “Sorry about that. Uncle Norris, is there anything Chris is good at?” I asked. Something had to connect better than him being some gamer. He rubbed his chin in thought and shrugged, “Soz. You’d need ta ax ya mam. Shi nos wee Chris betta than uz. ah'm just t' uncle.” (Sorry. You’d need to ask your mom. She knows Chris better than me. I’m just the uncle.) I sighed. Great, now I had to call Chris’ mother to find out. How can I even speak to her since she knows I’m the reason Chris might not even exist anymore? “Question,” Sugarberry said, gaining our full attention, “How are we going to go cross-country? I’m sure Janet is not going to be very pleased with the idea of even more ponies. She seemed less than pleased with us so I can only guess how she is going to react when we tell her we want to find more.” “Janet… I’m not sure. Maybe Annette can convince her again?” Scott offered. I shake my head, “As far as I understood it, she barely managed to convince her and Janice was fuming. Doubtful she’d allow it. But… no harm in trying, she may just surprise us.” Time: 17:58 Date: Siderday Location: My Little Pony tour bus Janice was quiet as she looked at us as we explained my plan to get to New York. She was so quiet my ears didn’t even hear her so much as even breathe and it was a tad unsettling. I swear this woman is not human and please for the love of Faust let it not be Discord again. I doubt my heart could take another encounter with him. Once was enough and twice was overkill. “You want to use my bus as some form of stupid command centre for you ponies to ‘rally the troops’ and get past PAPA in New York?” She said finally. “Well… that’s one way of putting it I guess,” I replied with a small giggle but I stopped as nopony else was laughing with me. “I thought you ponies were all ‘love and tolerance.’ What happened to that?” She inquired in a matter-of-factly tone. “You have a point there I’m afraid but you forget the ponies have taken the bodies of humans. They may want to stop at nothing to return to normal or stay that way for whatever reasons they may have,” I replied. “But as far as the rallying is concerned we may want to be as subtle as possible otherwise PAPA will catch on,” I warned, “If they figure out what we are trying to do… they may resort to extreme measures. Well, more extreme than what they have already been doing. “I was mulling it over on the way back here and I think maybe we should try a different approach to what I just said. We split up. No, we ponies are staying together,” I said as I saw the expressions of my friends, “What I mean is that Janice and the cosplayers help garner support for ponies as they travel. I don’t really want to drag them along with us and dictate their work. If they can’t do their shows, they lose their bread and butter so to speak. Then there’s the fact they would become a target if we travelled with them. “We on the other hoof go off and find as many ponies as possible. We set up meeting points as we go. I know this is the opposite of subtly but we have little option here. For all PAPA knows, we are trying to meet up with others and as long as we do not mention our plan, we should be safe,” I said. Annette piped up for the first time in the conversation while the others spoke amongst themselves, “We’ll help as much as we can.” “Of course we are!” Annabelle cried out. Her fist was high in the air as she gave us a grin that was a typical Rainbow Dash-like move, “You helped make our show so much better so we owe you one as I see it.” The rest of the cosplayers nodded and voiced their support, one by one. Janice sighed heavily and facepalmed, “Looks like I don’t actually have a say in this. Fine… I’ll talk a little about it before and after each of our shows. A little.” I laughed, “Oh, Janice you’re too kind.” Janice shook her head, “Whatever. Get some sleep. We’ll get going tomorrow morning. The traffic is murder at this hour and I’m too tired to drive right now.” I nodded my head and turned to Uncle Norris who just listened to us explain, “Sa you’re orl set then?” (So you all set then?) “Honestly? I’m shaking like a filly in Winter without so much as a stitch of clothing. I just pray to the Divines above to help us out on this one. If it fails… all the humans and ponies will never see the end of this madness and that is something I do not plan on letting happen,” I said with determination. I couldn’t fail… I won’t fail. I may be the combined personalities of a strange human that just might end up being some ordinary gamer and an Alicorn that got banished to the moon for a millennium all because she wanted to keep the sun from rising a few more minutes. Uncle Norris nodded his head, “Reet. I’ll 'elp theur fowa art 'n ferry theur lot ta whereva theur need ta nip on.” (Right. I’ll help you for out and ferry you lot to wherever you need to get to.) “But what about your job?” I asked. “T' whole papeur thin made wee cancel t' meetin i' new york sin thee closed t' bloody airports 'n aren’t lettin anyone i',” He said with a hint of anger, “Eur numba o' jobs are ridin on dis sa while we manage ta av it, we’re orl on temporary leev. May an' orl 'elp art.” (The whole PAPA thing made us cancel the meeting in New York since they closed the bloody airports and aren’t letting anyone in. A number of jobs are riding on this so until we manage to have it, we’re all on temporary leave. May as well help out.) I smiled and hugged him, “Thanks Uncle Norris.” I felt him stroke his hand through my mane as he chuckled, “Gi'o'a, you’re makin uz blush, lass.” (Stop it, you're making me blush, lass.) Author's Note Here's the next chapter. This is the first time I've tried doing a Yorkshire accent so if I'm incorrect anywhere, please call it out so I can fix it. On a side note: I'm trying to see if the quote boxes work for the time and location parts. Are they any good or should I remove them? The InfectionTo Sleep, Perchance to… Nightmare? The Infection Author: Draconis187 Time: 06:37 Date: Flimflambrothersday Location: Parking area near Caesar’s Palace I had my earphones in my ears, listening to a Disturbed song as we waited for Uncle Norris to check out and meet us by a van he rented. It was a red Ford Transit with quite some miles on the odometer and it showed. The van’s windscreen had a crack in the top right corner the size of a penny and the seats were slightly torn and frayed, allowing us to see the yellow-ish sponge inside. Nonetheless we had to make do with a terrible rental van and if it made us less conspicuous, it would be a boon. We were going to be in the back anyway so as long as none of us popped our heads out, we’d be alright and if PAPA looked, we could easily hide behind the seat or among Uncle Norris’ other things as well as our own. I was wearing a light grey, sleeveless jacket while my chestpiece and helmet were in my bag. I did this because I was not going to be levitating the phone the whole time, waiting for Uncle Norris and so the phone was one of the jacket’s pockets. The only thing to indicate it was there was the cable for the earphones that ran up to my ears. I sat on my haunches next to Sugarberry and Tenderheart while Scott dug in his bag for something. We said goodbye to Janice and the others twenty minutes ago as they left for a place called Flagstaff, taking the Route 93 to Kingman then the I-40. There were no tears shed with Janice but we were all expressed our sorrow for departing in our own way. Janice’s came in the form of insulting my two cutie marks. We were stopping at Bakersfield first for fuel and some rest before heading to San Francisco. I figured the Golden Gate Bridge would be a big enough landmark to hopefully meet up with ponies. I considered asking the Pegasi I saw from the performance we all did with Janice but I never saw them again and I decided that trying to chase after them could send the wrong message and wind up as waste of time. But first I still had to send out a message and thanks to the phone having sufficient charge, I activated its internet connection and went to Facebook for the first time in my life. Chris did it and it ended up becoming worthless with everything that happened. Now I needed to use it if I was to gather support as we made our way to New York. “How much longer is he going to be?” Sugarberry asked, looking up at me with some concern and slight impatience. “Dunno. As long as it takes I guess,” I deadpanned. “Not much of an answer, Dream,” Tenderheart commented. “No, but it is the most appropriate,” I replied. Scott’s rummaging finally piqued my curiosity enough to finally pay attention to him and ask, “Scott… just what in the wide world of Equestria are you looking for?” “I’m not looking for anything really,” He replied as he pulled his muzzle out of his bag, “I’m just making sure I have all my stuff.” “Even if you didn’t, would you fly after the bus just to get it?” I asked, arching an eyebrow. “Don’t know. Depends on the item,” He replied with a smirk. I rolled my eyes at him, chuckling very softly. The parking area had a number of cars parked here and there. Fords, Nissans, the odd Subaru which was nice to see and a few more… exotic makes of which one was a pale blue Ferrari 458. I only knew the model of the last one by reading it, I don’t know cars. Give me a gun and I’ll start rattling off about every little detail about it as if it was the only thing that mattered in life. Curse Chris for being a gamer and gun nut. The sky was slightly overcast and I considered grabbing a cloud and waiting there for Uncle Norris. Seriously, what was taking him so damned long? He was only booking out of a hotel, not being cavity-searched for explosives and drugs at an airport. How any sane human being would shove things like that up there… actually let’s not go there and say we did. I had to say Disturbed was quite a catchy band, “Are you going to remain a slave for, the rest of your life? Give into the niiight.” “What are you listening to?” Tenderheart asked, tilting her head to the side subconsciously. She realised what she did and corrected herself. “Oh. It’s ‘The Night’ by Disturbed,” I replied with a small smile. Scott chuckled, “I see why you like it then. You are the eternal night after all. You’d want us all to give into it.” I rolled my eyes, “Really, Scott… and you’re still with us, why again?” “‘Cause you like my flank?” He replied, smiling deviously. I facehoofed, “By the Sun and Moon…” His demeanour changed as his ears fell back, “Sorry about him.” I shook my head, “I doubt we could change him even if we tried. I guess every travelling party has a perverted moron constantly threatened with death by the opposite sex.” Tenderheart smirked at Scott, “Dream’s the only one who threatens you with third or second degree burns or lightning.” I nodded, “Or a terrible, blood-curdling nightmare. I would try it but I don’t want Jacqueline paying for her pony’s shortcomings.” We all shared a good laugh as Uncle Norris slowly walked up to us, hauling three large bags. They were very typical travel bags you find people hauling around in airports with those trolleys and those extendable handles. “Orl set,” He said as he opened the Transit’s back doors for us to get in. In retrospect I probably could have picked the lock or have gotten Scott to do it but there wasn’t a need for such methods. The inside was at least carpeted to the extent we wouldn’t be touching the metal bed below it. The inside was actually a horrible green colour, nauseating enough for me to want to hurl. But I didn’t, we had to use this Transit and beggars can not be choosers. We sat down – Scott laid down as he placed his bag on the floor – and I sighed a little. Finally things were going just right. No Discord, no PAPA, just me, my three friends and Chris’ Uncle Norris. Nothing could possibly go wrong now. I am keeping a positive outlook and the universe can go buck itself if it wants to try and change it. The Transit battled to start as if telling us it just wanted to die and we had to leave it behind. Fat chance, it got going after Uncle Norris nearly broke the key trying to turn the ignition on. The Transit van coughed up some unhealthy-looking smoke from the tail pipe as I looked out. The thing needed more than a service, it needed the god of automobiles to save it. I am no mechanic but I knew that a van was not supposed to sound like it was going to fall apart at a moment’s notice. Where did he get this thing? Rent a Wreck? We hit the I-15 a few minutes later and began the first leg off the renewed journey. We had a destination and some semblance of a plan. I had a thought as we saw Las Vegas slowly shrink in size as we headed for our first stop. I know Chris and Nightmare thought up a kinetic shield to stop moving objects but could I teach it to other unicorns? The part of me that had Nightmare’s magical knowledge was unsure but I was certain that a unicorn could learn almost any spell, given enough time and understanding about the nature of the spell. I had a prime test subject to my theory sitting right in front of me, looking back with that friendly smile. The thought of being able to stick it to PAPA by making their firearms useless brought a disturbingly sadistic smile to my face, Sugarberry a little… and myself when I realised it. “Uh, Dream… why are you looking at me like that?” Sugarberry asked, her eyes darting to Tenderheart and Great Scott in an attempt to get their support. “I have a small idea that may help us deal with PAPA, especially against their firearms,” I answered, my smile unwavering. “Y-yeah?” Sugarberry responded, shaking a little as if I was about to propose using them as meat shields. I giggled a little, “Sugarberry, I am not proposing some suicide mission. Just a little magic… okay could be some to a lot of magic that may take a little time to master or just might not work.” “What did you have in mind?” Sugarberry asked, her eyes wide open with an inquisitive, almost hungry look as her fear just died. I believed I had the attention of the pony herself. “Well I want to get some things to help test my theory out but if it works… PAPA is in for a massive shock,” I answered, smiling devilishly. “Wait, you tell us you have a plan but leave us hanging as to what it is until you get something to test out with first?” Tenderheart said incredulously. I tilted my head to the side, sticking my tongue out a little, “Oh, real mature for a pony over a thousand years old.” “Technically I’m only a few days old. Nightmare was the one who was over one thousand,” I pointed out. Tenderheart facehoofed, “Dream… you know what I mean…” “Yes I do and I’m sorry but the only way to truly explain this is to actually demonstrate it and I’d rather do it with an appropriate object,” I explained. Sugarberry nodded her head, “I know that magic is best demonstrated, then explained although some prefer it in reverse. Especially to non-magic users as it can get confusing sometimes, depending on the spell’s own complexity.” The group all murmured their agreement while Uncle Norris was softly chuckling to himself, “Theur are quite a strange bunch, theur know that, lass?” We all looked at each other for a few seconds before we erupted with laughter. I actually had to lie on my side, Scott looked like he was crying while the other two mares hung onto each other for support. Uncle Norris looked confused as hell, “Summat Ah said?” “Both yes and no,” I answered, getting back up, sitting on my rear. “I think we just needed a good laugh. Being called strange was funnier than it should have been but it is appropriate given who and what we are. And especially with how this little adventure has panned out so far, I mean, if Chris hadn’t headed for Las Vegas, I would have never met you three.” “I don’t know where I’d be…” Scott looked depressed as he looked at us, “Most likely cold, hungry and stealing from people. I would’ve ended up being one of the arguments for PAPA’s actions…” “I don’t know what would have happened if we hadn’t met you back in Denver,” Tenderheart said thoughtfully, placing her forehoof against her chin. “Either in New York or dead from an encounter with PAPA,” Sugarberry deadpanned. “Given how extreme some of their actions are, I would not be overly surprised. But if you were in New York it could have been worse with the information Uncle Norris gave us,” I commented. This got everypony to nod in agreement. What would have happened if Chris ignored Nightmare’s request and flew to New York? Would I be here? Would Nightmare still desire to shroud the world in darkness? Sadly life doesn’t revolve around the ‘what ifs.’ It revolved around the decisions we made, not the ones we didn’t. Dwelling on them was getting me nowhere. As we continued to motor along the I-15, I took out my phone from my pocket and connected it to the internet. Sure using a computer was easier by miles since not all websites were smartphone-friendly but I had very little choice since none of us had a laptop. Uncle Norris didn’t use one since he felt it was a waste of money. I didn’t understand his logic honestly. I logged into Facebook and got a small shock as I had several comments about me. I also saw a picture of Sugarberry, Tenderheart, Scott and myself. I couldn’t make out where it was exactly thanks to the angle and the slight blur but judging by the time stamp, it could only have come from our time in Vegas. It could have been when we walked to the hotel yesterday but other than that, I had no clue. “That us?” Scott asked, looking over my shoulder and making me glare daggers at him. “Scott… you need to learn about personal space,” I said slowly, continuing to glare at him with a frown. Scott’s ears went back in shame, “Sorry, but I am right though?” “Yes, it’s us. Unless you know four other ponies with a black coat, two with white coats and a blue coat walking through Las Vegas if the background and time stamp are anything to go by,” I replied. “So… we’re famous?” Tenderheart asked, looking at us as Sugarberry did the same. I laughed, “I doubt that. We’re no more ‘famous’ than any other character from the show, Tenderheart. Someone just took a picture of us – a rather poor one, they shouldn’t quit their day job if they have one – and posted it here on Facebook.” “Hey, look at that picture there,” Scott said, looking at the picture of someone’s profile. It was a light purple Pegasus mare with a magenta mane and tail with pink highlights. Her eyes were a light pink and she was winking at the camera, sticking her tongue out a little with a smile. I just chuckled softly, somepony was happy with who they were. “Says her name’s Starsong,” I commented, looking at the name. “‘Starsong?’ Never heard of her,” Sugarberry said. I looked at Tenderheart who shook her head while Scott was racking his – I’m sure rather small or at the very least one-track – mind for anypony matching her description. In the end he sighed and shook his head. I sure as hell didn’t know for some very obvious reasons. I checked the mare’s profile I found she was from a place called Barstow. I checked the map and found it was on our route to San Francisco, before Bakersfield. May as well pick her up too, we were building a task force of some form to get PAPA out of New York after all. But first things first, I needed to change the username and status. It took only a few minutes, magic helps oh so much with touchscreens. I changed it simply to Dream. My status was changed to: I am Dream, the combined personality of Nightmare Moon and Chris Mann. I am heading to New York to help as many ponies and humans as I can. We are currently picking up ponies to help take to New York. I shall post our next port of call when we leave for it. I went over it twice to make sure I was making sense and that my grammar had as few flaws as possible. I then typed out Barstow underneath my status message since I planned on picking up this ‘Starsong’ mare. After that I decided to see how much hate Nightmare Moon’s presence had garnered. Strangely enough, there were more friend requests than hate messages but all I cared for were the pony ones. Time: 09:54 Date: Flimflambrothersday Location: Barstow, California Barstow was a very big change to Las Vegas. While it was still surrounded by the boundless desert of Nevada, it was majorly smaller and filled with only the most basic stores, hotels and other businesses that could contribute to keeping the town afloat. We all climbed out at the petrol station and I immediately felt the heat. Having black fur and a jacket was a bad combination so I took the jacket off without hesitation and donned the missing parts of my armour instead. “Where are we going to find this mare?” Scott asked as he looked at me. “Well, I suggest you and I search from the sky. She is a Pegasus and so she may be on a cloud, looking for us,” I answered. “Well, it is not like we don’t stand out,” Sugarberry commented, “I mean, how many ponies are there around here?” “Not many but it seems PAPA doesn’t have a strong presence here either so that’s a good sign,” Tenderheart pointed out. I facehoofed, my armoured hoof clanging against my helmet, “I must ask you to not tempt the universe. It will find excuses to kick our flanks.” Scott laughed, “I’ll head eastwards and see if I can’t spot her. We do know what we are looking for right?” We all nodded our heads and I took out my phone again, logging on and looking at the picture, “Light purple fur, magenta mane with a large pink highlight. Same with the tail by the way and her eyes are pink too.” “Cutie mark?” Tenderheart asked, trying to look at the picture. I shook my head, “Afraid not, the angle doesn’t let me see what the mark is but I hope it doesn’t matter. What are the odds of there being two identical ponies?” “Even Flitter and Cloudchaser look differently and I’m pretty sure they’re twins,” Scott pointed out. “And on the extreme end of being twins and looking differently, you don’t need to look further than the Cake twins,” Tenderheart said. This got a raised eyebrow from Scott, “They’re two different tribes, Pegasus and Unicorn.” “Can we focus?” I asked, getting everyone’s attention. “How did this conversation go from finding this ‘Starsong’ – who is probably all alone from this whole ‘becoming a pony deal’ – to talking about twins and foals?” “Dunno, feel like having one?” Scott asked, smirking and raising his eyebrows. That did it, I snapped. Sadly it was a blur of anger so I only caught brief images and before I blacked out. When I came to, Scott’s coat had several hoofmarks dotted along it and his legs were literally caught in the dirt. It looked like he had sunk into quicksand and I noticed some of his fur was near black in some areas. The smell of burnt fur hung in the air, making me turn up my nose and some of his feathers were missing. He was crying, I felt tears down my own face but that was my guilt for losing control. Sugarberry, Tenderheart and Uncle Norris were nowhere to be seen, even the Transit was gone but that was because we were in a completely different section of Barstow. I fell onto my haunches, feeling disgusted with myself for what I had done. I was being pushed and then… I broke like a two-year old’s toy. “I-I’m sorry…” I said, trying to figure out a way to fix this and make it have never happened but I could see that look in his eyes: fear. It made my stomach turn and tie into knots. He was trying to get away from me, I could see it as he was tugging at the ground but it wouldn’t give. I looked and figured it was me since there was no other logical conclusion for four hoof-sized holes to appear in the ground and trap him. The next half hour was spent with me constantly apologising, crying softly into the dirt. I was sweating from the heat and finally I heard someone clearing their throat. “There there, lass. It’ll be alreight,” I looked up to see Uncle Norris holding two bottles of water in his hands. “No it won’t be… I did something terrible and -” I looked at Scott “- I doubt you will forgive me.” “No, I was out of line. I should’ve known better,” Scott replied, shaking his head, his voice hoarse. “Jacqueline warned me and I went overboard anyway. I just… well, I didn’t think you’d go to town on me though.” “What did I do?” I asked, dreading the answer. “Well, you burnt those patches of fur with lightning, trapped him in the dirt and then kicked him until you came to your senses,” Sugarberry replied as she and Tenderheart arrived with a scowling pony. I used a bit of magic to force the holes wider and allow Scott to get out, he nearly collapsed from the pain but Tenderheart was there with a first aid kit and bandages. It only made my feel worse, making me feel like the tips of my ears were trying to fuse to my skull. “This is Starsong,” Sugarberry introduced, smiling at the mare that still looked like she wanted to pierce my skull with her eyes. “Look, get one thing straight here, I am only going by that bu-fucking name because the stupid pony keeps taking control whenever I’m asked,” She said curtly. “O…kay, why are you so hostile?” I asked as Tenderheart and Scott walked off to the Transit, wherever that was. “Because this is not natural! I had a decent life, decent job and I was finally going to ask Mandy down the street out!” She shouted, hunched down as if ready to attack me, even her wings were open in a threatening manner. “So… you are a PAPA supporter?” I asked. “I was until two days ago when this shit happened! I haven’t been home since then as my friends wanted to kill me and see if that would free me,” She replied angrily. Okay, we had a nut-job here. She was a guy if I can understand that part right as it is highly common but he was a PAPA supporter too? Talk about irony and poetic justice. It actually made me smile a little. “What in Ta-Hell are you smiling about?!” She shouted, seemingly trying to avoid using ponyisms, “I would like to get to New York and get changed back then leave this shit as far behind me as possible.” “I’m smiling because the universe hates you,” I replied with a grin, “You blame ponies for this but it is not their fault and then the universe decided to punish you, tell me that is not funny.” Sugarberry giggled, “I think it is.” We continued to laugh as Starsong argued to no end, growing angrier. Okay it was very mean to pick on him/her but I kind of needed my spirits lifted a little for hurting Scott like I did. Starsong and Sugarberry walked back to the Transit while Uncle Norris told me where he had parked. I made sure I had a little cash was still wedged under my chestpiece since what I did could have dislodged it and I was in no mood to lose money. I returned to the Transit with two of those tennis ball packs. It was time to test out my theory and pray to the Moon it would work. Otherwise I’d need to rethink the strategy of getting into New York and getting PAPA out. I sat next to Sugarberry while Tenderheart was tending to Scott’s burns. My lapse of control probably set us back a few dollars and we literally couldn’t afford more incidents like that. It made me feel a little sick to my stomach so I decided to test my theory later. Starsong sat as far away from us as she could, her back was pressing against the corner by the rear doors. I was able to see her cutie mark though: a large white and pink star surrounded by other smaller stars. It almost reminded me of Twilight Sparkle with the overall design but the two marks were different. “Ah got theur some drinks,” Uncle Norris said as he drove onto Route 58, heading for Bakersfield. Turned out the drinks were simple bottle of water, pre-opened for our non-magic using ponies. We all grabbed a bottle and drank, we even managed to convince Starsong to have one. The heat could not have been good on her coat and she did seem like she needed it. The water tasted oddly but I didn’t think too much about it. I raised my head and looked out the windscreen as Uncle Norris drove us out of Barstow. Despite being so early in the morning, I felt sleepy. “Anypony else feeling tired?” Tenderheart asked, getting nod from all of us, including Starsong. “I guess this trip has really been taxing on us and as far as Starsong goes, I gather you’ve had a hard two days and it’s catching up with you,” I reasoned as I lay down. “Go ahead and rest. Ah’ll wake theur when we get to Bakersfield,” Uncle Norris said, smiling a little at us as he tried to look at us without crashing into the truck ahead of us. “Yeah, I guess you’re right,” I agreed. I pulled out my phone and placed in one of the earphones in my ear. Uncle Norris was responsible for my musical taste, having gotten me all of Disturbed’s albums. I laid my head down on the carpet and allowed myself a nap, making a mental note to try teaching Sugarberry when I woke up. Author's Note One more added to the group. Sorry for the long as hell delay. I do hope the uncle's accent is easier to read and understand. If it is completely possible to read and understand, I'll go back to the previous chapter and edit it to this. Night of the HunterTo Sleep, Perchance to… Nightmare? Night of the Hunter Author: Draconis187 Time: 17: 23 Date: Spartaday Location: A mock set of Deal or No Deal Dream’s POV Typical, this just had to happen to us didn’t it? Here we are on a game show set and who is our gracious host? None other than the menagerie of Frankenstein’s rejected parts, Discord. And he decides to bargain my friends’ safety and health just so he can recruit me into his ranks? Is this his idea of a joke? Scratch that. Anypony have any ideas? I inquired of my two other personality controlled illusions. Any plan of attack or defence would get rewritten, Discord knows how to bend, break or make entirely new rules. Came Chris’ reply. I noticed he was shaking slightly in his white armour. So our options are greatly limited. We need some course of action that will catch him off guard. Nightmare commented. Discord was staring at us, waiting for his answer. Each second only seemed to annoy him further as we just stood there, conversing with each other in thought while the others were in total silence. “Come now, did my deal make your brain overload?” Discord sniggered, “You join me and your friends can go home and I’ll never bother them again. Heck I’ll turn them back to their normal human selves if it’ll make you feel better. Don’t, and I won't be held responsible for the mob behind me.” Almost forgot about the group of PAPA supporters that were eying us like a leopard would stalk its prey, just waiting for the opportunity to strike. I can not follow the orders of a maniacal spirit of chaos but I couldn’t allow my friends to get hurt because of my pride. Wait… catch him off guard? I have an idea, can you two use any magic besides telekinesis? I asked my two ‘parents’. I'm afraid not. I overestimated the amount of magic you used to create the illusions we are using. We can modify them slightly but any spells beyond telekinesis would cause these illusions to essentially ‘die’. Without all three of us in unison, even your magic is diminished as it lacks my knowledge and control. Nightmare responded, sounding rather disheartened. Well, my plan should still work then. I reply, a small grin appearing on my face. Are you going to tell us or are we going to have to guess? Nightmare turned to me as she thought this, giving me an ‘I’m waiting’ look. Lose the illusions, I’m going to catch him off guard and I’ll need to be at my best. I need you to trust me. I responded confidently. I felt a hoof on my shoulder, turning around I saw the perpetrator was Chris, with a grin on his face. He didn’t say or think anything but the nod he gave me spoke greater volumes than any spoken word. His ‘body’ faded from existence as I felt his presence return to my body. He seemed to waste no time in finding out my plan and I received a nagging feeling coming from him that told me that it could work. I heard Nightmare sigh deeply as she walked over to me, fading away. In no time I felt more confident in my physical and magical prowess. I knew she was back and I was truly whole again. Discord shook his head as he pulled out a pocket watch the size of a dinner plate out of his fur. He looked at me and tapped the side of the watch impatiently. “I need an answer like today Dream. I have places to go and chaos to create,” Picasso’s nightmare said with an air of annoyance. “Sorry to keep you waiting Discord, I have an answer for you,” I replied, taking two steps closer to him. “Finally! Now then my little Dream what will it be?” He said, gleefully rubbing his claws together. “I’ll take… PAPA. Even they are a better option than dealing with you,” I respond, spreading my legs out slightly and lowering my head as I got ready to defend myself against the audience. “Really? Pfft, you think these are your friends? Your friends died in that accident. You are all alone,” Discord retorted, “I saved you so that I could offer you a chance for a clean record, free of your transgressions in Equestria.” “I already have a clean record Discord,” I replied, turning to my friends as they smiled at me, “I may not have existed for very long but I have all the memories of our journey together. Meeting Scott was under rather questionable circumstances and Charles did get on my nerves but he meant well. Sugarberry and Tenderheart were great for conversation and support. Every day I spent with them was filled with joy. They didn’t care about who Nightmare once was, they cared about who she is. And that is what friendship is about.” “Oh gag. They’ll turn on you the first chance they get, they're still human on the inside,” Discord argued. I chuckled… Tartarus, I laughed almost maniacally, “what’s so funny?” “You forgot, I was also human. I am actually the combined personality of both a human and a pony. Your argument is invalid. Get it through your thick skull Discord,” Spying the little transparent box with a red button that formed part of the Deal or No Deal set, I used my magic to slam the thing closed, “No. Deal.” Discord laughed at me, “Trying to call my bluff?” I raised an eyebrow as the group still didn’t move forward, “Yes, I am. I’ve seen a lot of PAPA supporters and yet not one of them has insulted any of us yet. I would’ve expected some insults or maybe somepony there to get out of hoof. It’s rather strange but given it seems to make sense since humans are as unpredictable as yourself, you didn’t want to risk any one of them overstepping their boundaries and attacking without your consent. Not only that but I doubt that they would take orders from the likes of you in the first place.” Discord stopped laughing and walked up to me casually with a grin on his face, “So you noticed. Hmph, I will have you as my assistant whether you like it or not.” Oh, buck. He reached out to me with a claw and the first thing that came to my mind was that he was going to ‘discord’ me like he did the Mane 6 in the first episode of the second season. I didn’t want to know what it felt like and my desire to remain where I currently stood diminished rapidly. I lashed out at him with a blast of raw magic like a whip. He gave a short whelp but I ignored it as I turned to my friends. “We’re out of here, now!” I shouted. The others needed no further encouragement as they bolted for the way we came in. I turned to the group and fired off a light from my horn, trying to make it as bright as a blue-white star before chasing after my friends. As our hooves drummed through the hallways, I remembered the darkness that enveloped the hallways and wondering why in Tartarus I never thought of it sooner, I shouted to Sugarberry while I hoisted Tenderheart up and onto my back, “Use your horn to illuminate the hallway!” Sugarberry responded by lighting up her horn in a burst of pale pink while my horn gave the area behind us a dark blue glow as I brought up the rear. All I managed to hear as we continued to run down the hallway was Discord cursing. I doubted we would lose him but we needed to be on a field where we would be on equal terms and without my friends in the balance. Teleporting might have been easier than running but I didn’t know my surroundings and trying to teleport might have less than satisfactory results. We eventually stumbled our way out and into a loading dock area where the ambulance was still parked, blocking our way. Looking around I found the door that was used as an entrance to the loading dock and used a burst of white hot lightning to melt the door and the locking mechanism in one go. I gave the door a swift kick and it opened up, revealing Las Vegas as the sun was setting in the horizon. I turned around, finally remembering about our bags but Sugarberry had beaten me to the punch as our things were placed by our hooves. I opened up the zip on the bag and checked through it. The laptop had cracked almost entirely in half. The motherboard had suffered the same fate, rendering the entire thing useless. Luckily the hard drive was intact but without another laptop to connect its SATA cable to, I can’t use it for anything short of a paperweight. I did have a stroke of luck as my phone was intact. Best thing about smartphones? Internet access. I connected to the internet, walking with the group as Sugarberry sifted through our things for money so we could get some sleep at a hotel. I chose to keep the busted laptop only to keep the hard drive safe. One thing was for sure: my parents weren’t going to be happy. Or Chris’ parents which I guess are now mine as well? This whole thing is confusing, best not dwell on it for now. “What now?” I heard Tenderheart say from her spot on my back. “I honestly don’t know,” I responded. I didn’t have a better answer or plan for that matter to help ease our worries. “Look!” Sugarberry exclaimed as she pointed her hoof to a sign outside of what I gathered was a convention centre of some form. Looking at the sign brought hope. It said: ‘My Little Pony Bonanza! Meet your favourite pony!’ The sign itself had a picture of the MLP: FiM logo with the Mane 6 just under it, striking various poses. I looked around and found a pamphlet under the sign. It had the schedule for the entire show and we were halfway through the last show! “Everypony, I think I have a plan,” I grinned. I walked through the doors and all four of us came face-to-face with a burly security guard. He eyed us, looking up and down as he made his silent judgments in his head. “You're a little late aren't you? The show’s half finished,” He complained. “We apolo-” I started but the guard cut me off as he raised his hand. “Don’t care, just get going. Pfft, cosplayers,” He mumbled as he let us through, “Pretty decent costumes though.” “That was lucky wasn’t it?” Scott half laughed. “As long as it doesn’t turn into another Discord trap, I'm happy,” I replied as I looked back at Tenderheart, “Are you alright back there?” “Yeah, thanks. Your wings are quite soft, you know?” She responded softly as if she was struggling to stay conscious, “Tenderheart says we all just need rest and we should be fine.” “It’s a good thing we have a nurse in our group,” I giggled as we navigated the convention centre. A number of people wandering around looked at us with a mixture of shock, amusement and bewilderment. This kind of popularity was a little strange. It was nice that I saw a few people wave at us with smiles on their faces but I wondered how much of that was actually genuine. We finally found the stage that the show was on. Looking at the stage, it had the background of the inside of Sugarcube Corner. What was not part of the painted background was the counter, the four layer cake that I was sure was probably a plastic prop and the six oversized ponies. Each one was an over-fuzzed, plush costumed person that stood a tad taller than I did. We got a few gasps from the crowd as we made our way down. Looking at Twilight, I felt disgusted that they couldn’t get her manestyle anywhere near right. It was a mess, if Pinkie had pulled off some form of prank I could forgive it but Pinkie had – apparently – only just arrived and wasted no time in pulling the ‘Mane 6’ into a group hug. The actors inside the costumes looked at us as we walked on stage. “N-Nightmare Moon!” The Fluttershy knock-off squealed. If I could applaud one thing about them, it would be their capability to act somewhat like the originals. The Rainbow Dash wannabe tried to run at me but was held back by the Applejack fake who had a surprising grip on her ‘friend’s’ tail. The Twilight turned to her friends and hopped onto their train of thought and placed her head down, tapping her ‘hoof’ on the ground: the iconic meet Twilight versus Nightmare Moon bit. I rolled my eyes and decided to play along. “You're kidding. You're kidding right?” This elicited a few squeals from the younger part of the audience. Curse my desire to go along with this nonsense. The Twilight cosplayer charged at me for all she was worth, a stage hand seemed to use a form of smoke machine that was rather fast in its action to cover the area between us with smoke as I just walked towards her. I nearly coughed up a lung as I grabbed the Fake Element of Magic and hoisted her up into the air as if she was nothing. She was but that’s besides the point here. “Let me at her!” The ‘Wonderbolt hopeful’ cried out, I sighed and proceeded to lift them all into the air, “let me down!” “No. I have plans for you six and there is nothing that you can do to stop me,” I was starting to have a blast now as Scott tried his best to stifle a laugh while Sugarberry had already fallen hard onto her back, laughing her pink mane off. Even Tenderheart was sniggering at the little impromptu performance from her position on my back. I slowly eased her off and onto the ground. She managed to get onto her hooves as the six fakes above us flailed about in vain. It was funny watching them try wiggle out of my grasp but it wasn’t happening. A few of the children watching this were getting frightened, asking their mothers and/or fathers if ‘Twilight’ and company would be alright. I sighed a little and placed the six costumed pillocks back onto the floor. They ‘stared’ at me, wondering what I was going to next. Lucky for us all, a lady came up on stage and clapped her hands together once. She got the entire room’s attention in an instant. “Okay then everypony, that’s all for today!” She said as the room went into a single loud expression of utter disappointment, “come back tomorrow for the conclusion!” The parents filed out with their children, grumbling about the lady being a crook with this cliff-hanger performance. I looked at her and saw she had a salmon coloured dress with frills that would only look good on the dead. She was a brunette with her hair almost as curly and ridiculous as Pinkie Pie’s mane. If this entire ensemble was her conscious choice, then I had just met the craziest human on earth. She turned to me with a scowl, “Just what do you think you are doing? You ruined my show!” Eeyup, she’s a nutter. As I was about to defend myself, she noticed the state of my friends and got even angrier. “What did you do to them!?” She cried out, giving the best impression of the Royal Canterlot Voice I've ever heard… even though it’s the first and only impression I've heard. “Now wait just one minute,” I retorted, placing my hoof up, “I did not come here to intentionally ruin this event.” But it was the plan in the first place. I noted. “My friends and I had recently been involved in an accident and we’ve also had to escape the God of Chaos himself so we are not in the best condition right now,” I continued, “we are currently seeking somewhere to stay and a form of income for the time being.” The lady was still fuming, “and wha-. What in hell do you want?!” The fake Twilight took her head off and revealed a red haired woman. She must have been in her mid-20s maybe? She was whispering to the woman who looked like she would scare off the Huns and make Hitler himself curl into a foetal position with a single glare. The woman’s scowl began to slowly fade as she gave a sigh that one heard when somepony gave up an argument. She turned to us with that angry expression returning in full force. “Okay, how much of the show do you actually know?” She asked, eying us intently. “Well, I’ve seen all the way up to the end of season 2,” I responded, “Sugarberry?” “Not much really, a few of season 1 and maybe four of season 2,” She responded. Tenderheart spoke up, “I’ve seen a few more than she has but not all and even the ones I have seen I don’t entirely recall.” “I've only seen the Hurricane Fluttershy episode,” Scott said as we turned to him. We knew this already but she didn’t. The woman sighed once more, facepalming, “it seems like I've got some work ahead of me. I’ll let you stay with us on the bus if you A: behave yourselves, B: you will be earning your keep so you will take part in our shows without argument and C: You help keep the bus neat and tidy. Do we understand each other?” I nodded as I looked around, the others nodded their agreement as well, “Thank you. We shall accept your terms, miss…?” “Carter, Janice Carter. This is my daughter Annette,” She said, pointing to the Twilight cosplayer with slight disdain, “She’s the one you should thank, not me. I would have let you fend for yourselves.” Annette walked up to us as she removed the costume, “Hi! My mother already told you my name so would you mind telling us yours?” “Call me Dream,” I replied as I began to point to my friends, “This is Sugarberry, that is Great Scott over there and finally Nurse Tenderheart.” My friends gave a few greetings as I called out their names. After we acquainted ourselves with Annette, she introduced us to her co-stars. Applejack was another young girl from Montana called Elise Jenkins. Her hair was a hot pink, tied up in a ponytail and her skin was tan. If only Pinkie Pie could see the grin she wore right now, she’d probably end up wanting her as her sister. As if the theories behind Surprise being a Pegasus version of that hyperactive pony weren’t enough. Fluttershy turned out to be as shy as the real deal. She was eventually coaxed out of her costume by the Rainbow Dash cosplayer: Annabelle Smith. She ended up being revealed as Annabelle’s younger sister: Cassandra. I wondered if their parents had an affinity for nine lettered names. That was probably due to Chris’ over thinking mind. Why in Tartarus would I want to know something so useless? I almost didn’t notice the Rarity cosplayer telling us her name was Viola Levkov, a Russian who somehow had an impeccable English accent. Finally in the role of the Pink Menace was… a guy? Anthony Fitzgerald was a relatively young guy with an unnaturally girl sounding voice. I was at a loss as to how this was possible but I guess that right now nothing should faze me anymore. Once introductions were done we were led backstage where they got out of the costumes. I noticed Tenderheart was still limping. She gave me a brave smile that only made me worry more. Scott kept his one eye closed as it seemed to still be agitating him. Sugarberry was the only one who looked anywhere near normal. Then again things haven’t been ‘normal’ since the start of this trip. “I’m going out,” I told the group. “I’ll catch up with you all later.” Before the barrage of questions could ensue, I teleported outside the front door which led into the building. The sun had almost completely set, bathing the sprawling city in a deep orange colour. I opened my wings and flew to the top of the convention centre. It wasn’t anywhere near as tall as the buildings that surrounded it but it still gave me a beautiful view of the city as the lights came on. “Beautiful,” It was the only word that could properly describe what I was seeing and yet it didn’t do it justice. It looked like somepony took the night sky and emulated it on the ground. Various lights in just as varied patterns in a myriad of colours that made the city look even more enrapturing. The breeze was cool on my coat as my mane ignored it and moved on its own. I took a deep breath as it finally sunk in: I have arrived. “And yet all it took was to lose a friend and my humanity,” I mumbled to myself, a tear trailing down my cheek. “Charles, you may have been a pain in my flank but you shall be missed.” “Oh, gag! Almost makes me want to cry… almost,” I turned around to find Discord had yet to give up on getting me as he stood just metres away. “What are you doing here?!” I shouted, mentally preparing myself for whatever tricks he has up his proverbial sleeves. “One way or the other, you will join me. It’s only a matter of time,” He said with a snide grin. “I will not bow. Especially to you,” I almost seethed at Discord. “Oh, please,” Discord retorted. “I would ask you to reconsider but I’m guessing I’m not going to get through to you?” “Only if Tartarus froze over and the God of Christianity walked the earth,” I remarked. That was the longest odds in any universe and bordered on impossible. Discord didn’t respond but he did decide to vanish from sight with a snap of his fingers. I turned my attention to my friends who were being led outside to a large black bus that stood all on its own in the parking lot. The cosplayers were carrying their costumes in their hands while Scott had Tenderheart leaning on him. What do I do? Do I stay with my friends and hope for the best or do I run off? What if Discord was right about them betraying me? No, no they wouldn’t. They have stood by me and one another throughout everything that occurred along this trip and now I’m not destroying what I have just because Discord tries to convince me otherwise. I strode over to the edge of the roof and jumped off, extending my wings to glide down to my friends. I will guard them like I would my family, Discord will never break us. I will endeavour to ensure that outcome, no matter what. The bus resembled those big tour buses you can have specially ordered and modified to suit your needs. The thing was a double-decker for the love of the Moon! It had the My Little Pony logo on the sides as if to advertise what they occupants do for a living. Other than that, it looked like any tour bus you see bands travel around in. Inside the bus the various people and my three pony friends were making themselves comfortable in the upper deck area. They only had six beds in the entire bus, one for ever one of the cast members which left us with little choice but to sleep on the floor. The bus had a large plasma TV, a bathroom on the lower deck while a shower was situated in the upper deck. The kitchen facilities were on the lower deck, including a mini-fridge and freezer. The beds in the upper deck were fold out ones, almost army styled. I think the floor was more comfortable. Janice whistled loudly, making those of us with better hearing than humans to clasp our hooves over our ears in pain, “Alright all of you, get some rest. We are going over tomorrow’s act in the morning, is that understood?” “She scares me,” I heard Sugarberry whisper as we all nodded our heads. I turned to her with a pained smile, “It was either this or Discord.” “I think I would have rather taken my chances with Discord,” Scott mumbled, eliciting a few giggles from the cast. Author's Note Well another chapter, apologies for the wait. I have been busy with life and my other stories. This is what happens when there are so many of them.
This is all a dream... right?To Sleep, Perchance To… Nightmare?! This is all a dream… right? Author: Draconis187 The name is Chris Mann. Yeah, I know strange last name but that comes from my family’s British roots. I live in the Republic of South Africa, Gauteng to be precise (we call it a province, the States call it a… state). Internet is expensive; our taxis are death traps on wheels; there is always some workers’ union on strike, leaving a mess on the streets (the funniest were the garbage strikers, they messed up the very streets they had to clean in the first place) but that is not really of much interest to me. What was interesting was the news on Equestria Daily and – two days later – the local news. Thank Celestia for DSTV giving us several international news shows that are actually current. Apparently for the past few days, bronies have been turning into ponies. It started with Lauren Faust and Tara Strong turning into Princess Celestia and Princess Luna respectively, no bucking joke (yes, I tend to use ponyisms)! Pinkie Pie had an incident at IHOP (I have no clue what that is), knowing Pinkie Pie’s usual antics I decided to not listen further on that matter. Queen Chrysalis was spotted refusing Discord’s alliance, kudos to her. Fluttershy got shot but she was stable and was going to live. If making her cry was a serious federal offence, killing her would start World War III. I shook my head to clear my thoughts, I still had people to kill in Bulletstorm. I had a bad day at work and I needed some well needed stress relief (I worked as a waiter at a local restaurant, it never pays well). You’d be surprised how comforting it was to kick someone in their gut, only to blow their head clean off as their body flew towards a man-devouring plant. I looked to my clock after some time and noticed it was 00:21. ‘Played past midnight again’, I thought. I killed my current mission and put my PC’s media player on. I always liked to listen to music when I sleep. I get too paranoid with every little sound I hear and that makes it difficult to sleep. 07:30 AM Wagnesday The alarm on my phone went off from under my pillow (this song). Nothing like a loud noise from behind to jolt you out of Dreamland. My folks had gone with my sister to work, leaving me at home. Luckily for me I didn’t work today otherwise the late night gaming would’ve hit me for a six. I tried to move my blankets out of the way so I could go get myself breakfast but my arms felt strange. Hell, my whole body felt strange. I looked down my bed and noticed the shape I made under the covers was different. I decided to use both my hands and my legs to kick off the blankets. This plan worked to great effect, throwing the blanket to the floor below. I saw the reason for both the unusual shape in my bed as well as for the feeling in my hands… I didn’t have any hands. I had hooves, fully fledged keratin hooves attached to my black furred legs, which were attached to my black body which had a pair of wings attached to it. "Well, hol- is that my voice?!" I near shouted. My voice sounded female, hell it sounded familiar as well. Why do I have the feeling that this day is about to get worse? Shrugging, I tried to get up so I could try and make sense of this situation, after all it couldn’t be THAT hard to walk on all fours, right? I crashed to the ground, landing face first on the floor, but I felt two collisions: one was my muzzle colliding with the floor while the other was a little higher up and felt connected to my head. After getting my head off the carpet I placed my hoof on my head and noticed it made contact with something sticking out of it: a horn. How on this Earth did I not notice this sticking out of my skull when I woke up? I tried to keep calm as I deciphered who I was. Black coat, horn and wings, that left very few choices but leaving it to the ‘seeing is believing’ credo I tried to get a grip on walking, or at the very least, standing. It took about ten minutes to learn how to keep my balance as I lifted a hoof, I was able to walk – albeit slowly – to my door. I didn’t have to use my teeth as all the doors had handles instead of knobs, ‘me: 2; world: 2’ I thought (me: regaining the ability to walk somewhat, handles on all our doors; world: turning me into an Alicorn, losing ability to walk). I swear to the Nine Divines of Skyrim that if I should ever find the man/ woman/ whatever that said walking on hooves was easy, I would buck them onto the express train to Tartarus in a matchbox. After I got out my room I made for my parents’ room since they had a full length mirror standing in it. I opened the door with my hoof and was immediately greeted by the mirror’s reflection (the mirror stands facing the door at all times, don’t ask why I have no clue). Looking straight at me was a pony I never thought would actually possess someone since she shouldn’t even exist anymore. Staring at me with cyan coloured eyes and cat-like irises was Nightmare Moon herself. She was there in everyway as she was in the first two episodes of the first season: the purple colouring on the eyelids with a lighter shade of purple eye-liner on my eyelashes and the purple cloud with a crescent moon Cutie Mark; the gaseous tail and mane with the shining stars in them but one thing seemed to be off: the armour. I looked as I noticed her ceremonial azure armour was missing, nothing was present on my chest, head or hooves. Considering it to be unimportant, my stomach decided to announce its desire for sustenance. Getting a bit better at walking I was able to get to the kitchen a little faster, walking at a medium paced trot. The next thing that seemed to be mocking my current state was the refrigerator. I knew we had a few veggies stored in the bottom of the fridge and that was my goal. As I tried to use my teeth to open the door a thought hit me, I'm an Alicorn! Not only that but Nightmare Moon herself for buck’s sake! I was about to try to use magic but I decided against it, there was not telling how the fridge would react if I used magic incorrectly, which was very possible, and so I went back to using my teeth. After a number of failed attempts to get a grip on the door (I lost count after 21), I managed to open the door wide enough to get my horn behind the door and using that, I fully opened the door. Luckily the drawer in the fridge had a small gap at the top and so – using my horn again – I got the drawer open and looked at my prize. A packet of carrots, some Granny Smith apples and some lettuce. Being fond of carrots I grabbed the packet, then used my hoof to close the drawer of the now beeping fridge (if left open for a short time it beeps so you know it is still open) and after letting the door close itself, I walked into the conservatory. I spent a good hour chomping on the carrots and turned my attention to the weather. Overcast and an estimated temperature of 16°C but I liked this weather. I'm a strange person and I would be the first to admit it, we only recently moved after 3 years so I didn’t have any friends, not even at work. Thanks to Discord’s mess around with our calendar we had a week for the whole year which remained in terms of the number of days, yup a 365 day week. Wagnesday 11:00 Finishing my carrots and after disposing the empty packet in the dustbin (it was one of those with a pedal that opened it up, convenient, eh?) I decided to head to my desktop PC and check my FimFiction account again. Before this mess I was busy on an OC story involving the Changeling Queen herself. Well, that wasn't going to be finished anytime soon. I went to my desktop computer and placed my hoof on my monitor’s touchscreen power button, it lit up with my media player being the front most application shown. I found one of my pens on my desk and logged on to the site by using the pen in my mouth. The usual, people don’t seem to like my brand of violent fics. Oh, well I never expected them to do well, I never seem to do anything right in any aspect of my life. I decide to try out something new only to have it blow up in face. I logged out and just sat on my bed, weighing out my options. I could go to New York and help out, probably get turned back to normal then return to my boring, uneventful life. Or I could stay at home and never leave, hoping that this was all a bad dream. Final option was running away (or galloping away, either way) from home since I have no clue as to how my parents would react to my current state. I started to feel some form of hatred towards myself as I thought of those last two, as if it went against my being to do something like that and yet I've never experienced that before. Sure my self-esteem has gotten low enough for me to consider suicide, but I could never actually go through with it and it was not the same feeling. I went back to the full length mirror and stared at myself. Of all ponies I would get changed into, why Nightmare Moon? Isn't she supposed to be dead? The Elements of Harmony destroyed her, and left Luna behind. Even before that she was an incomplete being, a parasite in a sense that hijacked Luna’s body when her hate and rage broke a threshold. Looking at myself for a few seconds caused me to blush as I realised I was stark naked! I went back into my room and opened my built-in cupboard. As I opened it a sight caught my eyes, laid above my shirts was Nightmare’s signature azure armour. Helmet: check; chestplate with cutie mark: check; shoes: check, all four were there. Using my horn, I knocked the armour down to the ground, one at a time. There was a clip for the chestplate and – after several attempts that involved my mouth and hooves – I eventually got it on, for the helmet I just knocked it over and placed my horn through it and it slid down into place with a few encouraging shakes of my head. The shoes on the other hoof were easy, but as I put them on they felt like they would not be as easy to remove but hey, my hooves were protected now. Going back to the mirror yet again I was greeted by the True Princess of the Night (or so she would like to think). I now looked like her exactly, even down to the snide smile. The brony as well as the fan of Nightmare Moon in me couldn’t stop from bellowing. “The night shall last forever!!” I even tried to add the laugh for effect but it wasn’t quite the same. I wasn’t an evil person by nature so it didn’t do the laugh much justice. It was a few more hours until my family got home so I thought I’d either try flying or magic. I settled on doing both, starting with flying. I got outside easily since my folks never close the doors properly. I did that, especially at night. It is an incredibly strange feeling to move appendages that you never used to have. My wings felt alien and yet they felt as if I always had them. I just gave them a few short, slow flaps so I could get the hang of the general motion involved in flight. After a good number of minutes I felt a breeze go through them, and it felt amazing! My wings made a very faint rustling noise as the wind picked up a bit of speed. I decided to use this to my advantage and – as I turned in the direction the wind was blowing towards – I gave a short run and took off. The feeling was beyond any form of standard description. Imagine a cripple being able to walk again and you get the general idea. I felt like I was on top of the world… for the two minutes of flying, after that I crashed into the grass with a dull thud. So getting the movement to fly was not quite the same as actually doing it but I kept trying, undeterred to let a foalish thing as my inability to fly due to a new body stop me. 'Wait… foalish? Where did that come from?' I thought. I was getting better, after two painful hours – and I mean that very literally – I was flying properly. I could hover, fly off and land on a cloud as if it were the ground itself. I gave a very out of character squeal of joy at this accomplishment (I never did such a thing and I don’t picture Nightmare as the squealing type) only to shake my head at myself. In that moment I knew what the plan was going to be: learn magic (duh); wait for my folks (let's hope they don't freak out too badly) and get packed for an intercontinental trip to the Americas. New York and Discord were not waiting for anypony and time was of the essence. In my haste to learn to fly, I left out one small detail: landing on the ground. I didn't actually crash but my knees still buckled under me as I closed my wings too early and I was still a short distance in the air (not enough to kill me but enough to cause pain). As for magic practise, I was fine with just getting basic telekinesis and the rest I would figure out later should the need arise. We had a number of lawn ornaments that the previous owners left behind so they became my test dummies. The first one exploded into shrapnel (I had to put my wing in front of my face to deflect the incoming shrapnel) when I tried to picture what I wanted to happen; the next one shot up high into the air and I couldn’t see where it landed ('maybe it will reach space' I thought. I chuckled at the thought of the ornament whizz by an astronaut, ‘Houston, we have a lawn ornament’) and that was when I tried to picture the aura around it. The third flew off and smashed into the wall as I tried to focus energy into my horn. The forth attempt gave me nothing. I was ready to give up until I felt a little light-headed. The ornament was moving! I was able to move it about as if I was holding it in… my... hands. 'Thank Celestia! I finally got the hang of this telekinesis, I thought. Suddenly I felt my stomach go into knots, as if mentioning her name was… ugh, even thinking her name made it worse. I decided to get my mind off that and so I went inside to watch TV. Apparently Luna (I felt a sense of disdain when I heard her name) and Celestia (there goes my stomach again) have gone missing and Twilight was in a coma. Well, this can't be good, I thought to myself. I changed from the news and watched the recordings I made of Doctor Who (thank you PVR decoder). The Tenth Doctor interested me because he seemed completely insane and yet there was always a method to his madness, which he proved over and over again. 17:12 PM I heard the sound of my step-father’s Toyota bakkie (a.k.a. a pickup truck) come to a stop by the garage door. My sister and mother all carpooled with my step dad. They didn’t know I watched MLP since we don’t get the Hub here or any other channel that broadcasts the show here in the RSA, I never planned on telling them either. Until today had changed the circumstances. I decided to do what I did best: hide in my room. My sister was the first to burst through the front door since I heard her shouting back to my mother all the way to her room. My mother called for me to come and help take the groceries out of the bakkie, then put them away as usual. I didn’t answer. “Chris, come out of that confounded room and help with the groceries!” she began to shout. She scared me when she was angry. I tried my best to disguise my voice but it made very little difference, I sounded like I was being strangled. “I can't.” “Are you ok? You're not sick or anything?” I could hear she was right by my door. If she opened it, I shuddered to what her reaction would be. The handle creaked as she opened the door. “Chr-” She started but that stopped as she saw the evil, armoured equine standing in front of her. “Who are you?” “Uh, h-hi mom. It’s me, Chris. I seem to have turned into a pony.” She seemed sceptical, that’s my mom: she always needed proof before she believed something. She even thought the whole pony thing was a huge scam or prank that would die out in a few days. I took a deep breath. “My full name is Christopher James Harold Mann. I have a fondness for dragons; broke my left leg when I was three and the doctor put a metal plate to repair the leg. The doctor didn’t stitch the wound up correctly which left one large scar on my left leg. Which isn't here anymore.” I noted as I looked at my left leg. “Any more proof? I can keep this up until we reach every point in my life.” Suddenly my mother grabbed me, sobbing. I put my hooves around her to try and consol her but it wasn’t very effective. She looked at me and I wiped a tear from her eye with an armoured hoof. I tried to give her an innocent smile but all I succeeded in doing was a more sinister smile. “Well, I guess I’ll have to phone in for you for work. Heaven knows how people would react.” I laughed, she was quite correct. “I’m not the only one in South Africa that changed and I doubt I’ll be the last. Which reminds me, I need to get to New York and help out Celestia with Discord.” Why oh why is my stomach trying to do the tango whenever I mention that name?! “Why you? Didn’t that Celestia character want these harmony people? Who exactly is this Discord the news was going on about?” I shook my head. “There are many more ponies than the six Bearers of the Elements of Harmony. I got turned into the very first villain from the show. I doubt I would get much support since this pony wanted to plunge the world into eternal night but I still want to help anyway. As for Discord, he is a form of chimera that loves to cause chaos and suffering wherever and whenever he can.” my mother nodded. “Ok, pack as many necessities as possible. We’ll get you a direct flight to America, so you can land in New York without having to worry about a long journey. Uncle Norris is currently in New York on business, I’ll call him on Skype so he will be waiting for you when you land. He’ll give you room and board until this all blows over, ok?” I nodded my head and went with my mom to get the groceries. As I was about to grab a packet when my mom stopped me. “There isn't a need for you to grab the groceries. You don’t have any hands.” I chuckled at her and my horn glowed. The packet I was about to get then levitated into the air, shocking my mother. “It’s called magic or more specifically this is telekinesis. You’d be surprised what I've learnt to do since I got up this morning.” I chuckled. My father was sat on the couch in the living room, oblivious to the world around him as he watched Real Steel (my step-father loves his boxing movies). We eventually sat down for dinner. My mother made me a salad while everyone had sushi (the biggest thing I miss right now). My step-father just looked at me with that poker face of his while my sister was playing with my wings. She eventually pulled out a feather – whether on purpose or by accident – and made me jump. “Why did you have to pull out my feather for, you foal?!” I accidentally used the Royal Canterlot Voice as I shouted (made sense, she did use to be Luna so she was basically royalty). I was so loud her hair looked like she had put head in a blender and put it to maximum. I muttered a small sorry as I levitated a piece of lettuce into my mouth. “So I guess you can't date girls anymore.” My step-father said with a smile. He always was - as the term goes - a shit-stirrer. “Oh well more for me, right babes?” he said as he gave my mom a kiss. I knew he was joking, his sense of humour was always a strangely twisted one. I never minded my step-father, he was an interesting person. Worked as a salesman in a steel company. He was no stranger to travelling, he was out the country quite often, at least once a month for a week or so. He had a personal travel agent who booked all his flights. Never met him/ her though. “Well I’ll see about getting you a flight tonight, so after you finish you had best get packed.” He said. That’s my step-father for you, acts on impulse and worries about the consequences later. My sister didn’t bother me again after the feather incident but we did apologise to each other for our respective actions before she went off to bath. After I ate I had a shower, the telekinesis was a great help with the taps. I pity those who just have hooves, they deserve a lot of credit for being able to use them, it’s an incredible achievement. After the shower I got my stuff packed, some clothes - that could fit - for in case the weather turned nasty. I found a very large cape with a hood that my parents used for a party two years back, covering me almost completely (my gaseous tail stuck out a bit and my horn made a hole in it). I set about getting my blanket packed, along with my mp3 player and headphones. My mother knocked on the door and came in with her laptop’s carry bag. “Here, I know you can't take your computer so use this. Oh, and your father is giving you his phone since it has international roaming. It’s in the bag.” She said, patting the bag for emphasis. I transferred all my music from my desktop to the laptop and my mp3 player. I also took some of my wallpapers and transferred them to the laptop as well. The flight my parents got me was for 01:30 which was in three hours. I put my bags in the back and hopped in afterwards while the rest of my family sat in front and we went to the airport. The ride wasn’t particularly uncomfortable but as we went along the highway I switched the laptop on. I changed the password and some settings along with the wallpapers and theme. I looked out of the window and saw a strangely nice view, even if it was the Central Business District. Why do I have the worst feeling the trip to New York is going to be longer than it should?
Ponies on a PlaneTo Sleep, Perchance to… Nightmare? Ponies on a Plane Wagnesday 22:45 We reached the Airport without incident. As we got out I made sure my armour was in a bag. Since I would be going through a metal detector, the armour would light it up like a Christmas tree. I planned on putting it back on after I landed in New York but I had to try be inconspicuous (like a large pony wearing a cape with a hood over her head was the definition of incognito). My family insisted on carrying my bags until we got to the gate. I wanted to levitate it since everypony could see my horn anyway and it made no sense to not help them. I will admit though, I felt a bit proud that I didn’t have to carry anything but I couldn’t understand why. I saw a few other ponies as I walked through the main terminal. There was a dark green one, a pale blue filly amongst others. My folks had all my stuff on a trolley that my sister pushed around for me. I was feeling highly uncomfortable being in a very public place, being a normal pony I could handle but being Nightmare Moon was another issue. “You ok?” I turned to see my mother with that worried expression on her face. I lifted the hood high enough to show her my meek smile. “I’ll live.” My typical response. I saw a little child pointing at me a distance away but I read on her lips the word ‘pony’. Well as long as she didn’t scream who I was, I would be ok. We put my heavier luggage onto a conveyor belt that sent it to the plane while I kept the laptop and armour bags. Going into customs was going to be an interesting experience. As I hugged my family goodbye, a tear ran down my face. My folks just smiled and waved as I headed for gate 8C. Lucky for me customs was quite understanding of the current situation and let me through despite I got a number of laughs when they saw I used to be male. I got on the plane and found my seat. I had gotten a nice window seat near the bathrooms, at least if nature called I didn’t need to go far. I placed my stuff in the overhead compartment and waited for the plane to fill up with passengers so we could take off. 01:45 As the usual take off procedures were being done (telling us where the restrooms were, what to do in an emergency, that sort of thing) I decided to take a good look at the other passengers. There were… a lot more ponies in RSA than I originally thought. Mares, stallions, all three varieties, and they were almost every colour you could think of. There were some very young ones as well, the humans with them were more than likely their parents/ guardians. They looked the most concerned. The plane’s engines roared to life. I looked through the window to watch the turbines power this hunk of metal across the runway. As the plane hurtled across the runway, I saw some strange men near the tarmac. What they wore wouldn’t have worried me, the word ‘PAPA’ that adorned their clothing did. The plane shot by them but I noticed a few of them were smiling. A part of me wondered what could make pony-haters smile so sinisterly. Most of the ponies took up two seats while the fillies took up one. The parents were talking with their transformed children, who were having an absolute blast. “Aw, but I like being a pony mum!” said one little filly. “No Thomas, we are getting you changed back and that’s final. Now sit down!” I heard her mother say. I couldn’t stop a small chuckle from escaping. This was an instant bad move as the father heard me and decided to give me a piece of his mind. Now he was a giant of a man, even if I was still human he would have been bigger than me. Must have been 6 feet tall and built like a pro bodybuilder, Atlas would be proud of this guy. He looked at me as if he was ready to throttle me. I felt incredibly scared, I needed help but everypony else just watched as this man was about to abuse a cape-wearing pony. “What’s so funny?!” He shouted. We should shout back. Huh? Where did that thought come from? “Sorry sir. I just thought of that despite how somepony looks on the outside, they are still the same on the inside.” Now he was getting insanely angry. “No sh-, he’s not! He has been telling us of a voice he has been hearing in his head, saying they are merging! Just four days ago we found him with a pillow in his mouth!” Wait, what did he say? You heard him correctly. My ears are not broken. Then the thought hit me. Yes. Shitshitshitshit “You still there pony?!” the man snapped me back to reality, he was still angry but he started to show signs of worry. Glad this cape covered my front as well, the filly looked like one of those I scared back at Ponyville Town Hall. Wait, I wasn’t anywhere near Ponyville Town Hall or Equestria for that matter. You weren’t… I was. “Sorry sir, just got lost in my own head there. I apologise for my inconsideration towards your situation. I do sincerely apologise.” I said, lowering my head. We should’ve made an example of him. Now I know why everypony fears you… Nightmare. The man’s anger dissipated rather fast. He accepted my apology and went back to his seat. I think the momentary lapses of a lack of attention helped my case. I turned my attention back to the window. You there? I thought. No response. I really must be losing my mind. “Attention passengers this is your captain speaking. We are about to head into a high turbulence area. Please put your seatbelts on and refrain from using the restrooms at this time. Thank you.” How do these pilots stay so damn calm? We could be heading straight into a tornado and he probably would still be calm. I used my telekinesis to put mine on while I saw a number of others struggling with theirs. I then took mine off and walked around, helping them with my magic whilst keeping my head down low enough for them not to see my face. I got a number of thanks from them and that made me feel good about myself. As I went back to my seat I found a woman come up behind me. Thinking it was a hostess I paid her no mind as I continued and climbed up onto my seat. I was right in assuming it was a hostess, she came up to me and thanked me for helping them with the ponies’ seatbelts. “It’s no trouble ma’am.” At this the hostess’ eyes bulged. Oh no… she pulled my hood back before I could stop her, revealing my face to the passengers. “I knew it! You're Nightmare Moon!” she squealed. I threw my hood back over my face but the hostess caught it and ripped it off with incredible force. Are the hostesses trained for clothing war? I got a number of gasps and I’m sure I saw a pony faint. I got off my seat and pushed past the hostess, aiming for the bathroom. A number of ponies and people tried to grab me but I jumped on them in my escape attempt. I got into the first open stall and locked the door. You are pathetic And now the voice in my head has returned. What do you want now? I lamented in my mind. I heard the voice laugh as it faded away, as if it was leaving again. I heard some knocking on the door but I refused to respond. “Nightmare? It’s me the hostess, my name is Sally. I’m sorry for scaring you like that. I didn’t know you had that hood over head for a reason. It’s just that… well, Nightmare is my favourite character from My Little Pony. Please come out.” I knew the psychology she was trying on me and I was not about to cave in. “Nice try! I know you're lying! Nopony likes me! They don’t even like my nights!” Wait, those last two parts weren’t me… is that… a tear falling down my face? “That’s not true. Many people here actually prefer the night over the day.” My body moved on its own volition and unlocked the door. I peered my head out and looked up at a smiling Sally. “Really?” Those words were not my own. She nodded her head and continued to beam. I came out of the stall and saw a number of humans and ponies were looking at me with concerned faces. I got control of my body back and walked to my seat. I looked at the torn piece of the hood I took off the rest of the cape that was still attached. I folded it up and took out the armour bag. Since everypony now knew who I was, I may as well put the armour back on. Taking a deep breath I proceeded to attach the armour piece by piece. I laid on the seat, looking out into the night sky. We were currently over the ocean without any sign of land anywhere. How pathetic. There’s that voice again. I expected more comments from this voice but I got nothing. I laid my head down on the seat and tried to sleep. Sally brought me a blanket as an apology for tearing my hood off. I thanked her and fell asleep. ***** ******** ******** ***** Holy hell. I awoke on the launch deck of a Sova Carrier from Sins of a Solar Empire. I loved this ship but it did not explain how I came to be on it, let alone being able to breathe in the middle of space. “Must be a dream.” I said, looking down at myself. I was still Nightmare despite being in a dream. “Would’ve thought I would be human again but oh well.” I walked down the deck of the Carrier and saw something on the edge on the far end. I squinted my eyes and noticed it was… me? I walked up to this other Nightmare and she turned around to look at me. “Pathetic. I actually cried. I blame you for that.” She said with a stern look on her face. “I am the true Nightmare Moon. You are just in my body. I hope you understand the privilege you have been given to have my face.” She said with a snide smile. “I get that I am in your body. Why the attitude?” I responded. “I do not have an attitude.” “Ok, no attitude. What about that little outburst then? I know for a fact that was not me.” I had sat down next to Nightmare with my front hooves hanging over the edge. She looked embarrassed. “That was a moment of weakness, nothing more.” I rolled my eyes. “Right, another question: who’s dream is this?” “Yours, Christopher.” “Ah, that explains the Sova Carrier and us being in space. Always wondered what space was like.” I said, patting the side of the ship with a hoof. “Are we going through the same thing as that filly, Thomas?” “That would be a correct assumption. Our minds are merging, becoming one. I was trapped in a void between worlds when I was hit by the Elements. I was neither alive or dead. Awake but asleep, I was in limbo.” She said, looking at a star we were passing by. “The fear you experienced broke a mental lock that prevented our communication. Many more will break as we merge, but it will be a slow process. If there are more situations like the one we had with that human, the faster the process will be. If we are more compliant with each other it will happen faster as well.” “Ok. I have to ask this: do you still want to bring eternal night?” “Yes.” “Why?” “Do you have any idea what it feels like to see every night pass by on your own? Every pony was asleep or performing heinous acts while under the cover of my nights.” I nodded. The Carrier jolted, as if we collided with something. The distant stars were vanishing one by one… the dream was ending. “Nightmare, many people enjoy the night and many are scared of it. The same could be said of the day as well. Consider this Nightmare: if every single being hates the night, why am I dreaming of space? It is an eternal night here with a few stars to light our way. Working together, night and day create a sight people or ponies rarely appreciate but if you look hard enough you will find them.” As Nightmare contemplated this, the darkness had spread to the Carrier and engulfed us, thus ending the dream. ***** ******** ******** ***** Do you know what it’s like to wake up with a pillow shoved halfway down your oesophagus? Trust me, worst experience ever. It took me five minutes to haul it out and after that I needed a huge drink since the pillow absorbed all the moisture from my throat. Sally gave me a glass of water, she was really helpful. “Why did you have a pillow in your mouth?” she looked concerned. “It happens when one manages to contact the personality of the pony they're inhabiting. It’s signifies the true start of the merging process.” That wasn’t me. Nightmare? Are you taking control of my body? It is my body foal. I can take control whenever I wish. “Merging process?” she rubbed her head in confusion. “Nightmare and I are becoming one complete being. The holes in her personality are being filled by my personality and so forth.” I said. “Attention everyone. This is your captain speaking. All passengers are requested to sit down and put on their safety belts… stewards, you may begin.” That did not sound like the first captain Nightmare. I concur. That statement has an ominous feel about it. I looked around and saw all the stewards put on gas masks. Sally looked at me with a smile that made me nervous as she put one on as well. My ears perked up as I heard a light hissing sound coming from the ventilation. Nightmare… how long can you hold your breath? Not long enough. The hissing continued but I couldn’t smell anything. After a few minutes I started to feel sleepy and collapsed on the seat. The last thing I saw before losing consciousness was the image of Sally’s hands coming towards me. Time: unknown Location: unknown My vision was slowly returning but something was off. I felt cold hard steel pressing against my body. My ears perked up as I heard faint screaming in the distance. Whatever was going on, I doubted I ended up in Disneyland. “Oh look, the little pony’s awake.” Wait… that sounded like Sally’s voice. My vision cleared up as I noticed Sally on her haunches, staring at me. I got scared as two other things called for my attention. One: steel bars, I was in a cage. Two: Sally was pointing a 9mm pistol at me and it looked very real. “What, what’s going on here?” “Welcome to the last day of your life. You are in a makeshift concentration camp set up in a vet’s office in Omaha, Nebraska.” Concentration camp? These guys aren't playing are they? I admire the lengths these humans are going to. Nightmare, can we please worry about PAPA’s methods after we get away from here? I wasn’t the only one there though. I could see a number of ponies including Thomas and… his/ her parents? There were humans here as well? Uh, Nightmare… I have a very bad feeling about this. Author's Note A FAR shorter chapter with more dialogue yay! Enjoy!
Evil AngelTo Sleep, Perchance to… Nightmare? Evil Angel Author: Draconis187 Time: Unknown Location: PAPA makeshift Concentration Camp in Omaha, Nebraska. Sally kept her 9mm gun pointed directly at my head. That look on her face was cold, remorseless. I questioned if this person was even human. “Why are you doing this?” I asked “Because you ponies are an abomination to society. You are nothing more than animals. A disease that needs to be cured.” Why are we bothering with her? That gas is no longer affecting us. We can Escape at any time. False sense of victory Nightmare. Let your enemy think you’ve lost but that gives you the perfect opportunity to strike. That and the fact that she is pointing a gun at us. That is a devious idea. I approve. “What happened to our luggage? And my ceremonial armour? I kinda liked that armour.” Sally just laughed at me/ us. “Oh we have it but I'm not going to tell you where. We have an armed guard watching every unicorn, the moment your horn so much as turns a lighter shade of colour…” *BANG* She turned around and shot Thomas in his flank. He was writhing in pain, his parents trying to stop the blood coming from the wound. “We do that, but there.” She said, pointing the smoking gun barrel at my head. My ears were flat against my head, I was angry at how heartless this woman was being. That was cold Are you growing a heart Nightmare? A conscience maybe? It has nothing to do with having a heart or a conscience, injuring my subjects is a step too far. I'm not that evil. Well, I’m with you on that regard. This woman is ruthless. How is Thomas doing over there? He is losing a lot of blood, he needs immediate medical care. The best one should remove the bullet before trying to bandage the wound up. A filly’s bones are incredibly fragile, he can count his lucky stars he wasn’t a Pegasus. Their bones are hollow and would have offered less resistance to that weapon, which would have caused far greater damage. That’s a Barreta M9. Holds a 15 round magazine. It has a muzzle velocity 381m/s and has an effective range of 50m. It is quite dangerous. I tend to know a bit about firearms. I added sheepishly but a thought hit me. I may have an idea but we are going to have work together here Nightmare. What did you have in mind? You know far more about magic and your body than I do. I'm more of an ideas person. “Hey! Don’t even think about escaping, there is nowhere for you to go. Be a good pony and await your execution. Or you can resist and I can kill you now, either way is fine by me.” Nightmare can you see around us? Yes, why? Take over for a sec, I want to check our surroundings so I can come up with a good escape plan. I felt like I was being pushed out the driver’s seat but I could see everything around us, as clear as day. The room we were in was sterile but typical of a vet’s holding area for animals. There were a multitude of cages, mostly filled with various ponies while the larger cages held a few humans. I recognised that they were the passengers on the plane, two of them were... the pilots? At least I now knew they weren't in on it, small consolation though. As I scanned the area I felt Nightmare was smiling at Sally. Go ahead Nightmare, unnerve her. I can feel you want to. Like I needed your permission. She snapped. “You think you’ve won don’t you?” I felt Nightmare’s calm yet sinister demeanour as she spoke. I looked at Sally to see that my change of personality had, indeed unnerved her somewhat. “I look forward to crushing you under my hooves.” I continued my surveillance of the room. How you can look without your body doing the actual seeing is beyond me but ‘if it ain't broke, don’t fix it’ right? I could make out two doors, and a ventilation system nearby. If I wasn’t too wrong our escape was through one of these routes. Before I could finish my train of thought one of the doors opened and some more PAPA people came inside. They all carried a variety of small arms. One carried a Winchester Model 42 shotgun. Can you still do that mist thing? Of course I can. Time for a jail break. We need to get out of here, then… well you are in my head, you should know what I'm thinking. I felt Nightmare rummaging through my mind, stumbling on my plan. “Haha, that works for me.” She said aloud. The interesting thing about the sparkling stars in our mane is that they are actual stars, albeit minute ones. Which meant they were quite hot especially when the living stars were thrown out our mane (the inside of our mane is quite chilly, like the vacuum of space and that is what stops our mane from spontaneous combustion). Sally was distracted by one of the guards talking to her and that was the only opportunity Nightmare needed. She used her magic to throw a star out of our mane which landed on a bunch of empty cages. In no time the star melted one side of one of the bottom cages, causing the rest above it to fall like dominoes. The resounding smashing of steel caught everypony’s attention. Seizing the opportunity, Nightmare turned us into that mist form of hers and flew out through the bars with extreme ease. Well, being in another pony's body is one thing, flying around as a cloud of purple mist has got to be the strangest yet most exciting feeling in existence. It feels like your hanging onto the outside of a roller coaster as it speeds across the tracks, spining around and around. We flew up into the ventilation system, every bullet that hit us phased through our gaseous body, even the Winchester was useless despite taking a full blast of buckshot. I could hear Sally screaming at them to find us. We went through the vents and wound up outside. Landing on the roof, we reformed. There, Nightmare called on her weather altering capabilities. Dark clouds started to congregate above the building, lightning shooting between the clouds and getting stronger. The building had a number of vans with PAPA written on them. Nightmare used her telekinesis to open the vans and inspect them for any ponies. The vans were mostly empty but there were some bags inside. The guards had finally gotten out of the building to see the True Princess of the Night fire lightning from the clouds and blow up the vans in a fireball of destruction. “Foals!!” Nightmare’s voice bellowed from using the Royal Canterlot Voice. It echoed through the streets, and making the PAPA affiliates visibly shake from fear. “You honestly believed that you could kill the True Princess of the Night?! You shall pay for your transgressions against me!” With an almighty flash from our horn, Nightmare sent a bolt of lightning at them. The moment the flash the lightning gave off vanished, they were all still standing there but they had very vacant expressions on their faces. What did you do to them? I thought as Nightmare relinquished control back to me. Oh just sent their minds somewhere... special. Impressive light show, wouldn’t you agree? Nightmare used a powerful illusion spell to make it seem like she blew up the vans and pulled those dark clouds around. The RCV though? Very real. I knew she was capable of some terrifying illusions so I had the cruel idea to trick them but what Nightmare did to them was unexpected. ***** ******** ******** ***** “Ugh, where are we?” Sally said as she came to. As they checked their surroundings they were faced with the worst thing a pony hater could see. They were strapped to chairs in a warehouse with an oversized plasma TV that was… showing My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, from episode 1 of season one all the way to the finale of season 2… and repeating… and repeating. Around them were characters from the show, from the protagonists to the background ponies, all wanting to be their friends. There were two Nightmare Moons sat in the corner watching this ‘horror’ being inflicted on the ponynappers. Nightmare, you are a genius. ***** ******** ******** ***** I sniggered at the fact that Nightmare trapped them in a nightmare of their own design. They were all experiencing a collective dream spell that Nightmare used and it was funny to see. They were all screaming from the life lessons they were being forcibly taught by Twilight and her friends in their adventures across Equestria. “Oh Nightmare, you truly live up to your name.” I said aloud as we walked through the now vacant vet office as we went to free the other ponies. Nightmare bowed in my head with a snide grin, standing atop a Marza Dreadnought’s main cannon. We found our way back to the cages and bucked the door open with force. Turned out it wasn’t locked but it made me feel good, smashing a door in. I was met with scared faces at first but then once they saw it was me, they cheered. See Nightmare? Give being good a chance and your subjects will always greet you with this much love and admiration. She didn’t respond but the unicorns, humans and myself set about opening the cages for the others. Thomas was still injured so I carried him on my back without caring about his parents’ protests. We all got out and got our luggage from the various vans. Thomas’ parents hopped into one of the vans while I got in the back and slowly laid him down on his good side. Can’t you heal him Nightmare? I’ll do what I can for him. Again I felt pushed into the back seat as Nightmare used her magic to search through the wound for the bullet. The van driving through the street, trying to find a nearby hospital for Thomas. After a few minutes of fruitless searching, a small, bloody metal object came out of the filly’s wound, surrounded by Nightmare’s magic aura. Well, that’s one part done Nightmare. “The bullet is out but I'm no nurse. We need to disinfect and dress the wound as soon as possible to avoid the wound from turning septic. That’s not all I’m afraid, the bullet shattered his leg bone so he’ll need a splint for it.” Nightmare said, informing his parents of the situation. We got to a local hospital and rushed him in. The smell of medicine was overwhelming, most of the smells nearly made me want to hurl so I stayed outside after I handed the bullet to the attending doctor. I took out my luggage and found my armour in the bag I had originally put it in. Donning the armour, I took out my laptop and went into my emails. Hi Mom This is your son/ daughter/ pony/ whatever. I am in Nebraska, the plane’s stewards and some PAPA nutjobs ponynapped us and took us to Omaha. Woke up in a makeshift concentration camp set up in a vet’s office. Please tell Uncle Norris I will be in New York as soon as possible, I’ll fly the rest of the way. Oh and I'm going to go onto Facebook for the first time ever. Look out for NightmareMoon whenever you go on. Regards Chris, Nightmare Moon. I sent the email and logged onto Facebook. I went and created the profile NightmareMoon and used the laptop’s built in camera to take a picture of myself sticking out my tongue. I heard someone clearing their throat and looked down. Thomas’ father was looking up at me. I shut down the laptop and jumped off the roof, landing about two feet in front of him. “Thanks, for saving my son… and us. They said they will be able to discharge him in a few days. I… guess I had you wrong.” He said, rubbing the back of his neck. “Are you going to head for New York now?” I nodded, “There isn't a point in staying much longer. Besides I’m glad the little filly is going to be ok.” I gathered my things and put the laptop away. I turned to the breeze and readied my wings. “Wait, before you go.” He gave me a wallet. I opened it to find 600 dollars inside! “This is a spare wallet I use whenever I indulge in my gambling hobby, I take it wherever I go even another country, it’s a force of habit. We were visiting some family in South Africa at the time. Once Thomas changed we talked it over and decided to head for New York. I’m… glad we met you on that plane. Good luck on your journey.” Thanking him, I took off to the skies. I landed on a cloud above the vet’s office and peered down at the PAPA agents on the ground. “No more…”; “Please… make it stop.”; “faithful and strong...” Were among the comments I heard. Both myself and Nightmare were laughing our flanks clean off. Should we let them out of their nightmare? I asked her. Nah! We both thought simultaneously, continuing to laugh hysterically. We collected ourselves and I got our body up. Taking out my step-father’s phone, I fired up Google maps. I was just over 2000 km to New York which was over 18 hours of driving. Good thing I didn’t drive. I looked at the position of the sun and checked the time: 16:32 PM. Ok the sun is setting and that’s in the west while NYC is in the east. Well, up for a real journey Nightmare? Oh, please. There is nothing this world can dish out that I can't handle. As I opened my wings once more I felt a rumbling in my stomach, hunger decided to finally wake up. Damn, I guess our journey will have to wait. I flew around Omaha, searching for an open store and found a Wal-mart that was still open. I landed and went… shopping!! I searched through the fruit and vegetable section with a levitating basket, finding some Granny Smith apples; carrots; lettuce and tomatoes as well as some oranges. I cantered to the bakery section and got some bread as well as some butter by the diary section. With my basket of goodies I went to the till to pay up. The cashier looked at me suspiciously as I levitated my food for her to scan. “I'm not here to cause trouble ma’am. I simply wish to get some food.” I said calmly. Should have shouted at her and scare her senseless. Ugh, and this is exactly the reason I’m the ideas guy. I retorted. The cashier scanned my things and raised an eyebrow as I paid her with crisp notes. Thanking her regardless, I walked out and flew up into the clouds. I took out a few apples and snacked on them. Nightmare all of a sudden pulled me out of control and began to voraciously assault the apples, finishing the entire bag before calming down and blushing at herself for her actions. Let me guess, you never ate after getting back from the moon? Nightmare didn’t respond but gave me back control. Feeling full from Nightmare’s apple assault, I laid on my side and went to sleep on the cloud. The next day was sure to have its own surprises as well as twists, of that I was definitely sure. Author's Note Well this chapter came pretty quickly. *Looks up* Damn! Note to self: sleep deprevation is an author's best friend.
Wings of Mis/FortuneTo Sleep, Perchance to… Nightmare? Wings of Mis/Fortune Author: Draconis187 23:00 Fried-Zucchini-Day Location: on a cloud in Omaha, Nebraska. Well, this isn't the first time I've woken up at a strange time. I pressed a button on my phone to get the time. So I’ve only slept for two hours? I just sighed and put my head back down on the cloud. The cloud’s altitude gave me a beautiful view of Nebraska at night. There were so many lights of varying colours lining the buildings and the streets below. Above the Omaha skyline was a semi-clear sky, I could see so many stars in a variety of formations. I was tired but as I looked around at the stars and the people going about their lives at night, it brought a tear to my eye. Nightmare, are you making us cry? No, of course not! I gave a small chuckle and looked on at the night. I had barely slept and yet I didn’t feel any of the usual signs of exhaustion: drooping eyes; lack of focus; lack of energy to keep moving. I showed the complete opposite, I was energetic to say the least. Deciding to get a start on my journey to the Big Apple, I collected my things and took off. As I flew I noticed the ponynappers were still in the throes of their everlasting nightmare. I chuckled again at the sight of the grown men and women writhing in agony. Pony-haters forced to watch every episode of MLP: FiM with the various characters from the show until Nightmare said otherwise. Actually it will fade in a couple of hours after we leave. My influence will fade as the distance between us grows and thus the nightmare will end. The real question will be whether they learned their lesson or not. I guess we may never truly know. Right next stop: New York. Hold on, there is something I wish to discuss with you before we go any further. Oookay. What is it? Is something wrong? No. I want to make a detour. Where to? Las Vegas. I had been poking trough your memories and saw pictures of a city that was as bright as day during the night. You just want to meet people who don’t hate the night, don’t you? I got no response from that. I just sighed. I knew that was going to be her answer, if only she was more open to her feelings. Fine, a detour to Las Vegas, Nevada. “Right, let’s pull out this laptop.” I took out the laptop and at first, thought about looking for a Wi-Fi hotspot but then I had an idea: I could hook up my cellphone to my laptop and use it as a modem. Good thing my step-father has a large data cap as part of his contract. I hooked the two up and went online without any issues. Thank Faust for technology. “Right, if we follow this route we will be going through two states: Colorado and Utah. The best route would be to take the I-80 but I suggest we make a few stops along the way. I am not sure how we will survive a 2068km flight since I don’t have a lot of flight experience and if you do it I just worry we’ll go off course. The first stop I think should be… Lincoln. We’ll see where to stop next after we land there.” Fine. That was my only response for the next hour as I flew across the night sky. I made sure to fly from cloud to cloud so I wouldn’t draw too much attention to myself. Although, in hindsight if anyone looked up they would probably notice a black Alicorn cloud-jumping. The thought made me chuckle a little. I found myself near above a small river that ran under the I-80 right next to Lincoln and landed on a cloud again. Deciding that it was probably best to get some sleep since fatigue actually decided to play catch up, I placed my bag next to me and laid myself down. 05:24 Smatterday Location: on a cloud above the I-80 and Little Salt Creek near Lincoln, Nebraska. As I got up I was a bit hungry so I went for… my bag. I couldn’t see my bag! I pulled the cloud apart – literally – trying to find it. I flew down under the – now destroyed – cloud and searched the surrounding ground for any traces of it. Why are you so worried about a bag? Nightmare said, standing on top of a Sova’s bridge. Because it had money, my phone, laptop as well as all our food! Oh please, I believe I know where it is. Really where? At that moment I found myself thrown into the passenger’s seat as Nightmare took over. She was far more forceful than I thought. Could it be that she doesn’t take over me completely out of choice? What reason could she have to not block me out entirely and go on a campaign to bring eternal night? I snapped out of it as we landed outside the Hampton Inn. The building was four storeys tall (including the ground floor). Pardon my completely idiotic question but, why are we here? For our things you foal! I saw a white stallion Pegasus with a silver mane entering this place last night. Your body doesn’t completely shut down when you sleep since I can take over whenever I please. I noticed the mane and coat when I felt the cloud being disturbed on the one side. I opened our eyes and saw the stallion flying in this direction. That was… pretty disturbing. She could have taken control whenever she wanted?! Now I know I won't be able to sleep soundly. I walked into the Hampton and went to the reception desk. A tan brunette was standing with her back to me, lost in whatever activity she was doing. I cleared my throat and got her attention. Her nametag bore the name: ‘Chloe’. She was about to smile until she saw she was looking at a black Alicorn. “Hi, I'm looking for a white Pegasus with a silver mane and tail. Has anypony checked in that matches the description?” I asked politely, smiling sincerely but I’m sure Nightmare was trying to make it look sinister. “Ok, let me just take a look here.” She said, pressing some buttons on the keyboard in front of her, evidently searching for my mystery thief. “I believe I found the pony you are looking for. His name is Great Scott, his room is 23. It’s up the stairs and to the right. Are you a friend of his?” She indicated with her hands and smiled back at me as she spoke. I guess she wasn’t as bad as her first impression indicated. Either that or the fact that I smiled first made her at ease. I was in the body of the harbinger of the eternal night after all. “I guess you could say that.” I deadpanned. I walked up the steps and to the indicated room: 23. The décor was ok but I wasn’t in the mood to pay attention to them. Whoever this ‘Great Scott’ was, he was about to have the worst day ever. I knocked on the door with my armoured hoof, making a small noise when the metal made contact with the wood. As the door opened I saw him: Great Scott. He wasn’t entirely remarkable other than his colouration but he did bear a tornado for a Cutie Mark. We looked at each other for a few seconds in silence. Is this the stallion that stole our things? I though to Nightmare. Yes, most definitely. He is the one. “So Great Scott is it? Interesting name. May I come in?” I didn’t even wait for him to respond, I just pushed my way past him and into his room. It was a quaint little room with all the amenities: towels, little bars of soap in the bathroom and the like. I looked around the room but I didn’t find much in terms of his luggage. As I opened the cupboards I saw it: my Ace Combat Zero: the Belkan War bag. It was a plain black sports bag with a picture of an ADFX-01 Morgan on the one side and an ADF-01 FALKEN on the other. This was my absolute favourite bag of all time. As I turned to where Scott was standing I noticed he had vacated the room. Well, this morning has become a lot more interesting. Nightmare thought with a snigger. Well, do you want the honours? I couldn’t be bothered trying to exact revenge since we got our stuff back without incident. Just please for the love of Tartarus do not kill or injure him or an innocent bystander. I replied. I was sure I heard Nightmare squee in my mind but I didn’t have time to mull it over since I got tossed into the back of my mind again like a garbage bag. I decided to just waltz through my mind whilst Nightmare had fun. I heard the occasional shout and scream but I was sure it wasn’t something too horrible, I trusted Nightmare enough to not make too big of a scene since she would be in just as much trouble as me. I decided to stage a space battle with some Kol Battleships, Sova Carriers, Two Marza Dreadnoughts and an assorted number of frigates. They were evenly matched in terms of size and number so it came down to whoever had best strategy. One of my Marza Dreadnoughts got destroyed but I managed to take one of their Sova Carriers in retaliation. Both sides had finally lost all of their frigates and now it was time for a Capital battle to rock the ages… or at least in my head. Whoever was controlling the opposing side was good but then again it was in my mind so I gathered they had to be since I used to play a lot of strategy games and I wanted a challenge. In the end though, none of us won since we both blew up each other’s last Capital ship at the same time. Nightmare then appeared below me on a Ragnarov Titan. She seemed to be smiling. Just as soon as we looked at each other for a second, I was thrust back into the driver’s seat and into reality once more. Looking around I could see I was just outside the Hampton, carrying my bag. For a moment I thought Nightmare didn’t do anything… that was until I noticed my hoof was on top Great Scott’s throat. He was crying, tears running down his face… he looked really pathetic and that was nowhere near an understatement. Listen to this little foal cry. Nightmare half laughed. “Now why did you take my things?” I asked calmly but I managed to sound threatening with a bit of help from Nightmare. “I'm sorry! I just needed the money! I saw you back in the Wal-Mart in Omaha and followed you to that cloud and saw the things you were carrying. I got turned into a pony a day ago and was making my way to New York so I could get changed back.” He began to sob whilst talking at a furious pace. “I-I just… I just needed some money so I could stay here since I used the last bit of cash I had on me. I didn’t bring anything else other than my purse!” “Woah! Slow down and for the love of Celestia start at the beginning.” I asked… and got that small pain again, although it seemed less painful this time around. I shook my head and sat down next to Scott as he got up. “Okay. Well my real name is Jacqueline Lawson. I lived in Topeka, Kansas. It’s over 150 miles to the south of here. I wasn’t even really interested in the show since my friends never liked it, so I one day when my friends caught me watching I made the excuse that my sister wanted me to watch it with her. The episode was the one with the tornado they wanted to make and they needed Fluttershy’s help.” “Hurricane Fluttershy.” I said, remembering the name since Nightmare carved it into a planet with a couple of Ragnarov Titans. “Yes, I-I think that was the one. Well when I was watching I saw a particular Pegasus… this one to be exact.” He said, pointing to himself. “So w-when I found myself looking like this… I ran. I grabbed my old purse and ran as fast as I could. I didn’t have a lot of money with me so… I stole. My wings made for a good distraction and when people weren’t looking, I would take from their parcels whenever I was at a grocery store. I didn’t think twice about it, I only saw my goal: getting rid of this body.” “Okay, that’s a touching story. There is one point that bothers me slightly: you were a girl?!” I near shouted. “I mean – no offense – it has been mostly bronies that had been gender-swapping. I haven’t heard or seen many cases of the opposite. Although in retrospect I guess I should have expected a few cases of this occurring.” “Yes I used to be a girl and now I'm a stallion. What about you, who are you?” She asked with a nervous yet curious smile. “I used to be a guy and now I'm a mare. On top of that I'm in the body of the harbinger of eternal darkness: Nightmare Moon, who is actually on the way to Las Vegas.” I thought for a few moments and saw Nightmare waving her hooves in protest to said thoughts. Although she could have just taken over and book it. She may have been partly agreeing with me. “Okay then! Would you like to come with?” “Come with you to Las Vegas? Why would you want to have a pony that you know had stolen your things with you on a journey?” She asked as I pulled out my laptop and hooked up my cellphone. I looked on various websites for casinos in Vegas and noticed something interesting. “Well I hate travelling alone, despite having Nightmare in my head. Besides you don’t have any money and if you kept stealing I know for a fact that somepony will notice. You can't get changed back while you're stuck in jail can you? Not only that but I haven’t heard that Celestia or Luna have reappeared so I suggest we waste some time and make some money in the process. Take a look here.” I said, levitating the laptop to Scott’s face. “There is a live My Little Pony show that they are having in Vegas in the next few days. I think a special guest appearance by the True Princess of the Night and a real Pegasus would make quite the commotion, don’t you think?” Scott looked around, kind of looking lost until he shook his head and raised his hoof at me. “You have a deal…?” “Oh, call me Chris or Nightmare. I don’t care which you use.” I said, hoofbumping him to seal our deal. I then went onto my new Facebook profile and found I had at least five separate friend requests… and about over fifty people going on about how I'm evil and should never be trusted. “Haters gonna hate.” I said with a smirk. I saw my mother sent me an email back. Hi Sweetie I hope you are ok. Being hijacked can't have been too good of an experience. What happened? I‘ve told your uncle and he says he will wait for you on the outskirts of New York. Just give him a call just to give him a warning that you're coming and he’ll tell you where to wait (phone number here). We are all hoping to hear from you again soon and your grandmother says you must keep an eye on your diet while you're there. Regards, Your Mother She really cares, doesn’t she? Nightmare thought. Yeah, yeah she does. That was my only response. I had shed a small tear as I thought about how they just jumped up and went out of their way to help me. I sent a back response. Hi Mom Don’t worry too much about it. I got away safely and freed a bunch of other ponies and humans. A filly got shot in the leg and was rushed to the hospital. I just got my things back from a Pegasus who had stolen them but he actually seems like a nice pony so I’m having him tag along. Oh and since there hasn’t been any word about Celestia or Luna I’m detouring to Las Vegas. I don’t know what exactly I'm going to do there but I did always want to see Vegas. Kind Regards Chris/ Nightmare Moon P.S. Nightmare says hi. “So, which state are you from?” Scott asked. I just chuckled. I had only just realised that he sounded a bit like Nicholas Cage. I was glad he didn’t seem to notice my tear, or he was trying to change the object of my focus. “I'm from the Republic of South Africa a.k.a. SA. Yeah, I'm from quite a distance away from the US. I woke up like this on… Wagnesday if my memory serves me correctly. So are we ready to head out?” “Let me just go check out of the hotel. Be back now.” With that, Scott was gone. Nightmare? Hmm? What did you do to him while I was ‘out’? I just had a little fun with him. He tried to fly off but I kept showing up in front of him wherever he turned. He eventually landed back on the ground. I made my eyes glow pure white which scared him and he tripped over his own hooves as he stepped backwards. As I put my hoof on his throat he was crying, begging me to let him explain his actions and that was when I got you. Ah, okay then. So no over the top theatrics? Who, me? Don’t make me laugh… foal. She stressed the ‘foal’ part, as if she was trying to make a point. At that moment Scott had returned, carrying a small purple purse around his neck. I was sure the Great Scott inside was slowly dying from embarrassment. I don’t think you're that far off. Nightmare commented. “Right, so where is our first stop?” He said cheerfully. He seemed to have washed his face as he didn’t have any more tear marks running down his muzzle. “Well, let’s see.” I will always say that the Internet is a powerful thing that should never be underestimated. “I’m currently following the I-80 to Las Vegas. The next logical stop seems to be Kearney which is two hours away.” “Well then I guess we should get started.” Scott said, spreading his wings. I responded by putting the laptop away and spreading my own. Well at least it will be an interesting trip. Nightmare thought. Author's Note For those who want to see him.
Disturbed NightmaresTo Sleep, Perchance to… Nightmare? Disturbed Nightmares Author: Draconis187 Time: 15:47 Date: Smatterday Location: inside a 24/7 shop situated one mile north of the I-80, twenty minutes from Kearney. We should leave. But we can't leave him/her behind Nightmare. Four times now, four times this past hour. I know but it’s not their fault he has a small bladder. I was standing by the fridges, looking at some of the softdrinks – as the Americans call them, I've always known them as colddrinks – wondering if whether or not I should get one of the two litre bottles. I was getting more confident with the dark Alicorn’s magic but if it came to more complex magic, I would rather let her do it. Thanks to Great Scott’s delays Nightmare has been getting antsy in my head, I swear if he/she didn’t get back soon we might end up with her going on a rampage. Luckily he/she got out from the bathroom looking sheepish. I don’t want to know what happened other than to know that they took care of business. This mix up with pronouns is actually starting to get annoying I’ll have to ask sooner or later. “I have to ask: how am I supposed to address you?” I asked as I picked out a crème soda bottle and shut the door with my flank. “As I am I guess, I don’t really care since I'm no longer a girl to start off with.” He responded. Ok then, he pronouns and the name Great Scott. I checked the cash ‘we’ still had on hoof: from the $600 I started out with, I had spent roughly $50 on food before I left Omaha. Great Scott’s hotel room left me with… $225?! He spent $325 on a hotel room?! Was it the bloody Ritz or something? Even Nightmare was fuming. “What in the name of Tartarus did you spend $325 on?!” I shouted. In my head it was a constant struggle to try and stop Nightmare from tearing Scott apart. “I-I'm sorry!” He said, tears visibly pouring from his face. This made me do a double-take, he just broke down instantly and it made me drop the bottle (luckily it didn’t open up). The real Great Scott must either be a real pansy or he is currently banging his head against a wall in embarrassment. I knew both Nightmare and I would. “Seriously, what the hay did you spend all that money on?” I asked at a slightly lower volume. “I-I have a small spending problem.” He said as he cried. “The things I brought with me I bought with the money. Like I said, I left my home in a hurry so I didn’t have anything on me other than my purse.” “Where did you hide these things? I never saw them when I searched through your room for my things back in Lincoln.” I pointed out. He looked to the side as I said this, clearly hiding something. “That’s because they were consumables, alcohol and some recreational drugs mostly.” He said. That both shocked and angered me even further. “Drugs?! You spent over $300 on drugs?!” I bellowed, the glass doors that covered the fridges visibly reverberated, the Royal Canterlot Voice in full swing. He seemingly shrank as I let him have it. “If it was food I wouldn’t have had a problem. Ointment for your coat or mane would have been acceptable. I wouldn’t have been upset even if you had gotten clothing for Celestia’s sake! Needless things like drugs and booze though… I will draw the line there.” We should end him, or at the very least make his life miserable. Nightmare thought. In my mind I could see her walking into an aircraft hangar with a smile on her face. I physically shook my head, realising that maybe I was overreacting a little. No, people tend to turn to such things due to weakness, peer pressure or experimentation. As much as I will never agree with using drugs in any form other than medicinal, I gather I could sympathise with him. After all he had to keep being a pegasister under wraps and after she became Great Scott he fled so, yeah. I think we are just overreacting a bit, I'm not sure if it’s your personality or mine that is causing it, it could be both. Let’s just cool down. I refocused on the outside world now that my internal conversation was dealt with to see Scott sat on his rump, still sobbing. I went to the counter and got myself some straws, paid for the drink and left. He had to deal with his issues on his own and if he needed help he should ask. It’s the first step to recovery. I flew up to the cloud Nightmare enchanted for us to store our gear. Usually when a Pegasus or an Alicorn step onto a cloud, they exert a natural passive magic that makes the cloud more solid so it can be easily manipulated. Whether this was to move them around, use them by jumping or bucking them or to destroy them, this was a very useful trait to have. All Nightmare did was extend the period of time the effect remained since it lasted for a short period of time, usually a few minutes at best. Although the strength of the magic is dependant on the Pegasus in question, the better flier they are, the stronger the magic. I opened my Ace Combat bag and took out my phone and earphones. Whenever I would get stressed and needed an outlet to get rid of it, I usually used a violent game like a First Person Shooter like Bulletstorm or a Role-Playing game like Dragon Age. These games usually helped me out by letting out my frustrations out on the poor AI controlled enemies. Sadly this wasn’t too great an option since I wanted to conserve as much battery life as possible so I did the next best thing: listen to music. ”Fading, falling, lost in forever will I find a way to keep it together…” I softly sang. I tended to sing along with a song I found particularly enjoyable and I enjoyed Disturbed’s Pain Redefined. Now try and picture Nightmare Moon standing on a cloud with bullet earphones in her ears, softly singing to a Disturbed song with her eyes closed and doing a small dance. I probably made PSY’s Gangam Style Dance look respectable. I hoped that there wasn’t anyone with a video camera to put this on YouTube, otherwise I'm sure Nightmare would try to kill me. How I wouldn’t know but I guessed it was probably a bad idea to find out. As I was about to stop though, I noticed Nightmare was doing something unexpected in my mind: she was headbanging and singing along as well! Huh, I never pictured you as a Disturbed fan Nightmare. I thought as Pain Redefined was ending. I will admit this song has a certain aspect I find enjoyable, what other music you got? She thought back with that evil looking smile across her face. Flipping through my playlist I found another she might have liked: Ten Thousand Fists and played that. I was right though, she enjoyed that song as well. She was standing on a cliff surrounded by a huge thunderstorm and an army of featureless ponies of varying type and colour behind her. She only made a few alterations to the song as she sang it though. “Ponies can no longer cover their eyes. If this disturbs you then walk away! You will remember the night you were struck by the sight of, ten thousand hooves in the air!!” She bellowed from the edge of the cliff as the waves below broke against the rocks while the lighting flashed and the thunder rolled. As she said the ‘in the air!’ part, the ponies behind her all raised their hooves into the air as she did the same. “Excuse me Nightmare, are you ok?” A voice said, I snapped out my little excursion into my mind to notice Scott standing in front of me with those – now becoming trademark – tear marks on his muzzle. He looked concerned. “Nah, I'm fine. All I need is a little music to get me back in a cheerful mood.” I responded as I removed the earphones from my ears and stopped the music player. “But I am still a little shocked over the fact that you spent that much money in such a short span of time. I mean I must have arrived at that hotel a few hours after you checked in.” “Well you have heard the saying: ‘where there’s a will, there’s a way?’” He asked. I slowly nodded. “Well you’d be surprised how easy it is to find things like that if you know who and what to look out for.” I shook my head in slight disgust. “But don’t get me wrong!” He said, raising his hooves. “I am glad you let me come along. I will never do such a thing again.” “Do you promise?” I asked as I narrowed my eyes to scare him into answering honestly. He was visibly shivering as I did so. “Y-yes I do.” He said. “I Pinkie Promise!” He said with a salute. “Cross my heart and hop to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye!” I rolled my eyes at how enthusiastic he was being. I wonder how he knew that if he had only seen Hurricane Fluttershy, maybe Great Scott knew it. “Right, well if it’s all the same I think I will be handling our financial issues from here on out.” I responded as I grabbed the two litre bottle and two Styrofoam cups that I grabbed earlier on from a water cooler that stood just inside the 24/7. “Here.” I said giving him the one cup as I poured some of the soda in. “As much as it would probably be a bad idea for me to give you a drink since you seem to have the smallest bladder in the known universe, I still think you should have something to drink. It will help get some moisture back into your system as you seem to be losing a lot from all of your toilet breaks.” “Thanks.” He replied with a meek smile as he drank. You are too nice, you realise that don’t you? Nightmare thought to me. Somepony has to bring the balance to this world of self-centred people Nightmare. That and I still want to improve your image. I replied. Why? Why are you so hell bent on me being good? She thought with her forelegs crossed, pouting. Well, I have always seen you as more misunderstood and underappreciated. I think that if Celestia-would you stop doing that! I snapped at her. I know for a fact that it’s you causing this! I know you don’t like her but I would like to go through a day where my stomach is not trying to audition for the Cirque du Soleil! Oh but it is so fun to see that look of anguish on your face. It’s your face Nightmare, I lost mine when I turned into you on Wagnesday, remember? So in other words you are actually seeing your own face. Is that what you are trying to do? Cause yourself this much pain and anguish, for what? I can tell you now - and you can search through my mind if need be - you will find out that I am talking the truth: I know that there is more to you than all this hate and rage. I know that there is a part of you that wants to be loved, a part that wants to be cared about and if the both of us work together I'm sure we can do that. Nightmare was visibly taken aback at this, I guess she didn’t really expect this kind of response from anypony, let alone from the one she was sharing a body with. “Are you ok Nightmare?” Scott asked again. He had finished his drink and was looking at me with concern written all over his face. I gave him a smile. “Yeah I'm perfectly alright, just… just talking with Nightmare.” Think about it a little, it will make sense to you in the end. I thought back to her before keeping my attention in reality. “Well that’s nice, Scott does nothing but complain.” He replied looking slightly agitated. “Well, what does he complain about?” I asked, tilting my head to the side in curiosity. “He complains about my purse and no matter how many times I tell him I didn’t have anything else to take with he still complains about it.” He said with a hint of anger or frustration in his voice. It’s both. Nightmare chipped in. “Look, I would have to admit that I am inclined to agree with Great Scott on this one. That purse is killing his pride and I would gather his masculinity. I doubt that even Nightmare would carry that, I know that I sure as hell I wouldn’t no matter how much somepony would pay me to do so.” I said, pointing to the offending bag. You’re right, I wouldn’t. It clashes too badly with my coat colour. Nightmare thought. “OK, I guess you're right then, but what can I do? We can't really go and get myself a bag can we?” He said with a sad smile. “Hm, I guess we could try and get some cash in Kearney but we’ll need to get there first. Do you think your pea-sized bladder can hold out for the next twenty minutes?” I ask while I put away my phone and hauled my bag round my neck. “I think so.” Scott replies nervously as he opened his wings. I smiled and opened my own. Time: 16:34 Date: Smatterday Location: Kearney, Nebraska. Flying above 2nd Avenue. I could see Scott needed another potty break so I gestured to him to land as I did so myself. We found a simple American diner which was interesting to me since I was from South Africa. He walked – actually he nearly shot through the door with almost as much speed as Rainbow Dash herself – into the bathroom while I got out my laptop and ordered a salad. The waitress that was serving me just gave me one hell of a glare but I could’ve cared less. I had no reason to in any case. I logged into Facebook and found some more ‘We hope you die spawn of Tartarus!’ messages, I chuckled at a few. ’I hope you get the worst conceivable disease ponies can get and die a slow, agonising death!’ Is this how these people perceive me? Nightmare thought. I shook my head. Remember Nightmare: you were the bringer of doom and darkness, of course people won't like you. I saw Nightmare hang her head slightly and I could’ve sworn I saw a small tear running down her muzzle. I am not one of them Nightmare and neither are these people, look. I looked at some other comments. I received twenty more friend requests. There were several comments from them saying: ‘you’re Nightmare?! I'm so jealous dude! Or lady, whichever you prefer.’ There were also some: ‘Nightmare is best pony!’ or ‘Nightmare for ruler of Equestria!’ See? Not everyone hates you as much as you may think or wish to think. But if you ever need somepony to talk to… I will always be there to listen. You realise you don’t really have a choice on that? The decision lies with you on whether you want to talk or not. I'm just saying that if you want to talk about anything, you don’t have too far to look. I thought back. Th-th… That’s as far as she was prepared to go before Scott got back, holding my salad? He placed on the table with a grin. “I found the salad you ordered. Weird that they put the bathrooms near the kitchen. Don't they have hygiene issues with that sort of thing?” He said as he sat on the opposite side of the table. “Mind if I ordered myself one as well?” “Like you need to ask me but go ahead.” I replied as I took a bite of some lettuce. I know I was dealing with our finances but that didn’t mean I was going to be a dictator about it. Our waitress arrived with a small scowl on her face that was directed at Scott. “What did he do?” I asked. She turned to me. “He took the plate I was carrying when I told him I was bringing it here.” She replied. I just shook my head. “Ma’am, I used to waiter back in South Africa before this started and I can tell you that if something like that happens, you should never arrive at a table looking angry. It gives a bad impression of what kind of person you are. Now can you get Scott here the same salad I'm having if you would be so kind?” I said with a neutral expression on my face. She nodded her head and left. Scott gave a low whistle. “Wow that was amazing how you just stopped her from venting at me.” “I meant every word I said Scott. I did use to be a waiter and I was pretty decent at my job. My usual complaints were about the food rather than the quality of my service. No matter how bad a day you have, never and I mean never show it to your customers. It makes them uneasy and reduces the chances of them returning and the amount of your tip.” I said casually. Scott stared at the table for a few minutes until his salad arrived. The salad in question was identical to mine as requested. Tomatoes, onions, lettuce and some cucumber made up the rather cheap salad. Rather bland but when you have salt or salad dressing it makes it taste several times better. Scott was having some small issue with his knife and fork so I had the waitress take it back to be cut up into very small pieces. When it came back, Scott ate it the same way one’s dog does: his face wedged in the wide bowl it came in. “That was a delicious meal.” I said to the waitress as she took my empty bowl. I used a serviette – or napkin to the Americans – to wipe my muzzle of any offending marks. I may be in the body of an evil Alicorn but I did have an image to maintain. Scott meanwhile had a piece of cucumber lodged in his mane along with a few pieces of lettuce. I couldn’t help myself and burst with laughter. The diner’s occupants looked over and once they saw what I was laughing at, joined in. Scott was bewildered at why we were all laughing at him until I levitated the objects out of his mane. He laughed as well. Time: 18:45 Date: Smatterday Location: sidewalk of Central Avenue. Kearney, Nebraska. Scott wanted to walk down the sidewalk to work off the late lunch we had. I wanted to head to a store to get some more food so we had something to munch on during the trip to our next location: North Platte, which was going to be a one and a half hour flight at least. That was if Scott’s bladder could hold it for that long. We now had $190 on hoof because I decided to leave the waitress a decent tip since I know the job doesn’t always pay well. We received quite a few looks from bystanders as we walked down the sidewalk. There were a few children that went: ‘Ponies!!’ We did stand out quite a bit though, even more so due to our contrasting colours. I was a black Alicorn after all and he was white, it tends to stand out. Well, that and the fact that we seemed to be the only ponies in Kearney. As we stopped by the traffic lights, a group of young ‘hooligans’ – would be the appropriate term – walked up next to us. There were three in total: one looked like a piercing artist’s experiment, he had three rings on his nose; two pins on his left ear and four rings with a chain that ran up his left forearm. He also had a red snake tattoo across the right hand side of his face. He looked fairly normal in terms of build. The next guy looked like he lived in a gym with more muscles in his one arm than I had in my whole body when I was human! He was bald and looked like he was in a mood to start a fight with anyone who looked at him funny. The last one was a girl. She wore a short skirt and her hair was a bubblegum pink colour arranged in a Mohawk. She was quite thin, hell she looked anorexic at best actually. Her shirt showed off her abdomen and I almost wanted to throw up. Is this what American teenagers do with their lives? Damn, I'm glad I live in a second world country. You may want to pay attention to what their apparel is saying and less at what they look like. Nightmare pointed out. PAPA, why did it have to be PAPA?! “Scott, we had best get going.” I said softly. He shook his head. “These are the friends I was talking about, they were attending a PAPA seminar earlier today. I remembered earlier on while we were eating that they told me about it before all of this happened and thought they could help out.” He said slightly cheerfully. “Well now, if it isn't our dear old Jackie!” The tattooed one said with a smile that made Nightmare cringe. This was a terrible idea. Nightmare thought. How are your teleporting skills? It’ll be ready when you need it. Just give me a signal. “So then Jackie, you're one of these ponies now are you?” He said as he clenched his hand over the aluminium baseball bat he was carrying. I didn’t notice it since he seemed to have been carrying it behind his back like the swords of old. The bigger guy popped his knuckles with a smile. “Yes I am Arnold. I need some help with money for my trip with Nightmare here.” He said confidently. I looked at him and saw that despite the tone of his voice, he was shaking visibly. The three friends got closer, uncomfortably so. “I warn you, if you intend to do us harm I will return the favour.” I said, stepping forward. ‘Arnold’ just smiled at me. “Oh ho, looks like we have a hero. Chuckles, teach her a lesson.” ‘Chuckles’ came at me and swung his left fist in a haymaker. I dodged it and saw Arnold’s bat come at me in an underhand swing. Nightmare! I screamed in my head. On it! She shouted back. We switched places as she teleported Scott and us to the other side of the busy street. Arnold called us cowards as we flew off into the skies. Once we were outside the city limits I turned to Scott in anger. “What in Equestria were you thinking?! You could’ve gotten us killed!” I shouted with the RCV. I just about blew him off the cloud we were sat on. “I was thinking we needed money and I got us some.” He said, pulling out three wallets from his purse. “Doing these things properly doesn’t mean they are one pony shows you know.” I started to laugh. “So while they focused on the larger Alicorn, you picked their pockets?” Scott nodded his head. “As much as I don’t agree with this, I don’t care since they were affiliated with PAPA. How much we got?” We turned out the wallets and gathered up the notes and coins. Altogether it amounted to $467.45 which gave us a grand total of $662.45 to spend with. I threw the wallets into the wind since we didn’t need their IDs or anything else. “Now I suggest we get some more distance between us and Kearney.” I said, Scott nodded his head in agreement. Putting away the cash and making sure my bag was secured around my neck, we flew off into the emerging night.
Careless WhisperTo Sleep, Perchance to… Nightmare? Careless Whisper Author: Draconis187 Time: 20:54 Date: Smatterday Location: On a cloud above Centennial Park in North Platte, Nebraska. “Nightmare what are you up to?” Scott asked with a tad amount of annoyance in his voice. “Well, excuse me for taking a look at our route, Scott!” I spat back before I sighed deeply. “Sorry, it’s just… I thought this trip was going to take me the minimum of a day to complete but it’s taking too damned long. Not to mention you frequent toilet breaks aren't helping speed things up.” He blushed a little. “Sorry, Scott’s been nagging at me to let him take control.” “And you haven’t let him because…?” I inquired. “Oh, I have reasons. I have very good reasons.” He responded cryptically. Feeling this conversation was going to get us nowhere I left it at that and looked out over Centennial Park. It had a few baseball fields, or ‘diamonds’ as they call them. I am not much of a sport fan but to me baseball is pointless, cricket is better. I placed my earphones in my ears, put Nickelback’s Side of a Bullet on and flew down to the grass as I felt like taking a walk. So, what do you think of this place Nightmare? It is interesting but what is that? She replied, lifting our hoof to the fairly sized gazebo in front of us. Oh, that. I have no clue what Americans call it since they seem to have a different word for everything. We call it a ‘gazebo’. It’s like a building but with no walls. They have a variety of uses though: parties, acting as bandstands, weddings, and so on. I replied matter-of-factly. Your species is a very strange one Chris. I rolled my eyes as I reponded. Tell me about it. The Park was mostly deserted since it was getting dark but I was an Alicorn and I'm sure Scott would come down to warn me if he spotted trouble. Then again he is trouble. Nightmare responded. Her response made me chuckle. “Ooh mommy look! It’s a pony! Can I have it please?” A little girl – no older than six – asked her mother. The mother was dressed in a light blue, floral dress while the girl had a t-shirt with the words ‘20% cooler’ along with a picture of Rainbow Dash wearing her black shades on it. It made me double-take, if she watched the show she would know to be afraid of me, or rather Nightmare Moon at any rate. She either watched a later episode or she can't see who I am clearly or even maybe her mother got her that shirt on a whim. “No, sweetie. That’s a wild animal and I don’t want you getting near it.” She replied to the little girl. “Now hold up there madam.” I responded, evidently confusing the pair as I spoke. “I am not some mere animal so would you please refrain from talking as if I'm one?” Well, I never saw a woman run so fast in my entire life. While she ran holding onto her child for dear life, I heard two remarks: ‘Talking pony!’ I surmised that was the little girl and ‘Aah!’ which I gathered was the mother. Nightmare was standing near the edge of the white cliffs of Dover as she began to laugh hysterically. I will admit I also couldn’t suppress a few giggles. You didn’t even try to scare them! Hahaha! Nightmare laughed. I somehow knew I was going to that kind of reaction somewhere. I replied, still giggling. “What just happened?!” Scott asked as he came down next to us with a scared look on his face. I wrapped my forehoof around his neck with a grin on my face that seemed to make him uncomfortable as I answered. “Nothing serious, I just talked to that woman and she ran off screaming at the top of her lungs. Her daughter wasn’t fazed though so I doubt she will need counselling, the mother on the other hoof… well hope she knows a good therapist. After all it isn't everyday that you meet a talking pony.” “Oh is that all? I was worried she was some PAPA woman.” Scott replied. “Doubtful Scott, her daughter was wearing MLP merchandise so I don’t think she would be a part of that bunch of idiots. I just worry if she calls the police or the park rangers.” I replied. “You do realise park rangers are for nature preserves like Yellowstone and Yosemite right?” Scott said. “No I don’t. I'm from another country, remember? I don’t know how things work here in the US. On that note why in the hell does everypony from here go on about how this is the greatest country in the world?” I retort. “That’s because it is. The world revolves around it.” He said. I’m sure I felt a little arrogance coming from him. “No, this country is no different than my own. Idiot politicians with false promises, crime wherever you go and you get those morons you can never stand to be near.” I respond with slight anger. “Well I can't fault you there Nightmare.” Scott replied. “Let’s just change the subject. You seem to be getting tense.” I sighed. “Sorry, I don’t know why I'm so quick to anger. Maybe I've always been this way or maybe it’s because I'm sharing a body with a pony with issues.” Nightmare glared in my general direction. You can’t deny it Nightmare. You have a number of unresolved issues. Like what, exactly? Pick your answer very, very carefully foal. Can we not do this now? We might end up hurting others if we just leave our body unattended and somepony has to keep an eye out. I responded, deflecting her question as best I could. Fine, but tonight you and I are going to have a nice long discussion. Nightmare seethed. “I'm looking forward to it.” I mused. “What was that?” Scott replied as we took off to our clouds. “Let me put it this way… know any ponyisms for ‘being in the doghouse’?” I asked. Scott shook his head. “Afraid I don’t. But would gather with Nightmare being involved it would be akin to meeting Pinkamena from Cupcakes.” I physically shuddered, remembering that story and the YouTube video. Nightmare seemed to get a little curious at my reaction to that word. What made you have such a reaction? That pink mare isn't dangerous, not really. That’s the same response I had when I first heard of ‘Cupcakes’. I thought ‘Dash and Pinkie are making cupcakes, nothing wrong with that other than it being a little out of character for Dash to be baking.’ I’ll show you once I get on the internet again. I responded. We landed on the two clouds we were using to rest on and I went online again. I had a few more friend requests on Facebook, as well as some pictures of me with Scott in Lincoln. There was one that said ‘Nightmare’s new BF?’ I looked at Scott – who was busy preening his wings – and chuckled. Who in their right mind would think that Nightmare would find that white stallion attractive? He clashes with my coat colour. Wait, what? You are still a mare. Nightmare said with a malicious grin. Hell no! I may be in the body of a mare but I have the mind of a guy and I plan to keep it that way! I retort. We’ll see. She chuckles. Brilliant, bloody bucking brilliant. Here, this is the Cupcakes video that was made for the fanfic of the same name. Call me when you’re done watching. I thought to Nightmare as we switched control. I laid down on a Sova Carrier’s launch pad, looking at a red star as it passed by. It was a calming scene to look at. I've heard about how powerful the mind is but thanks to all the distractions of modern life, we never really take the time to just kick back and think of something to calm us down or take our minds off our day-to-day lives. The best thing is that I could look at the star and not get blinded. My mind seemed to have created its look from all the pictures and documentaries I used to watch of stars and the universe. All of a sudden I was wrenched off the Carrier and thrown back into control of our body. It almost made my head spin from the force. I opened my eyes to see that the video hadn’t even finished. It had only gone through 20 seconds and Nightmare didn’t seem to want to see any more. I instantly killed YouTube and sighed deeply. In my mind, Nightmare was breathing heavily and looked like she was going to be ill. You didn’t even finish watching it. I didn’t need to, that was disgusting from the start. She replied shakily. I know that my desire for eternal night seemed evil but that… that was far beyond what I would ever do. I know but you had to see what we were talking about. Cupcakes is one of the most disgusting, controversial fanfics since Friendship is Magic began. I responded as I checked my email. Hello Chris and Nightmare I’m glad you are safe and sound. I hope that filly is alright, you did the right thing for helping her out. I know how trusting you can be but I think you should be careful around that pony; a leopard doesn’t change its spots after all. I hope you all the best for your trip to Las Vegas have fun but please stay safe. Las Vegas can be very dangerous. Good luck though, I hope to hear from you soon. Lots of love Your Mother “She doesn’t seem to like me too much, does she?” Scott asked. “Do you mind?! Don’t you know it’s rude to read over somepony’s shoulder when they are reading?” I asked, slightly annoyed with Scott’s lack of understanding with the term: ‘personal space’. “Sorry about that. I actually wanted to wish you good night that’s all.” He said, a little crestfallen at my reaction. What was he expecting? A hug? “You could have said it from your cloud, it isn't that far away from me. It’s like three metres at the most.” I replied callously. “Well, sorry Your Highness!” He spat back. As much as I hate going to bed in a bad mood I didn’t have that much of a choice. I wanted to get to the Colorado/Nebraska border by midday; I couldn’t take the delays anymore. I just wanted to get to Las Vegas because the anxiety was getting to Nightmare as well as me. I put the laptop away, planning on replying when I got up the next morning. ***** ******** ******** ***** I woke up and found myself inside a strange stone building. I looked down and saw I was still Nightmare but it was no major train smash. The building seemed to have been built with the whitest marble in existence. If it shone even a small degree brighter, you would need Rainbow’s shades to avoid the glare. There were a number of pillars made from the same marble lining the sides of the room I was in. Near the top of them were gold banners with a deep blue trim, pinned up on the pillars by either a golden sun or a white crescent moon. As I looked around the ceiling I noticed something far more important that lay in the centre of the room: a golden pedestal with six multicoloured orbs on it. Five of the orbs surrounded the sixth one which was higher up than the others and was purple in colour. “Wait a second, I know that pedestal…” Then it hit me. “The Elements of Harmony of course! Wait, what?” How on Earth or Equestria can the Elements be here and in their original state? I began to walk through the building, which I surmised to be the Castle of the Royal Pony Sisters. The exact same castle where the Mane 6 found the Elements in the first season and ended up becoming known as the Bearers before defeating Nightmare. I was utterly bewildered to the situation. “Wait, oh I get it. I must be dreaming… but I never knew the castle looked like this, what’s going on? Nightmare? Nightmare?!” I called out but to no avail. Sighing, I continued to walk through the castle until I spotted a situation unfolding at what I could only gather to be the throne room. Sat on a gold throne with a gold sun adorning the top of the seat was a white Alicorn with a pink mane. At first I wondered who it was but then I realised it was a younger version of Celestia. “This isn't a dream is it?” I asked myself as I saw a blue mare with a light blue mane talking to Celestia: a younger Luna. She looked almost as tall as she was in Luna Eclipsed and had her old manestyle of the first season when she was freed. As I walked closer, I realised I couldn’t hear them speaking but I did hear something else entirely, seemingly emanating from all around me: Seether’s cover of Careless Whisper. ”I feel so unsure. As I take your hand and lead you to the dance floor.” “Wait, why would this song be playing in a memory?” I wondered. The two mares seemed to be getting into a one-sided argument. Luna seemed to pleading to Celestia about something, she seemed to be on the verge of tears. She stomped the ground a few times with her hooves, like a child having a temper tantrum but Celestia was not giving in to her. In truth it seemed like Celestia was completely ignoring her, taking more interest the piece of parchment she had in front of her than her own sister. “And waste the chance that I'd been given.” The music continued. The sad tone and rhythm seemed to fit the events that were unfolding before me. Celestia didn’t seem to so much as even care what her sister was trying to say to her. I could only guess what they said to each other as Luna stormed out, visibly screaming. “The careless whispers of a good friend.” The song continued. As I was about to chase after Luna to see what was going on, the room began to dissolve around me. I closed my eyes an hoped for the best. When I opened them again I was on the moon, looking around I saw Nightmare looking up at the planet above us as she shed a small tear. “Uh, Nightmare?” I asked softly, unsure if whether she was my Nightmare or just a dream. “I’m over here.” Nightmare’s voice came from behind me. As I looked at her she appeared to be mildly surprised I was here. “The way I dance with you. Oh oh.” The song began to end, leaving the scene around me in complete silence. “What-?” I began. “An old memory. 1000 years ago Luna asked her sister if she could please let the night last just a little bit longer so ponies could look at it. She only wanted a few minutes. She felt unappreciated and believed that everypony hated her nights since not one of them would be awake long enough to fully witness it. Although there were a few ponies that burned the midnight oil as you humans come to call it, even they didn’t appreciate the night, often complaining about the lack of light and never taking time to properly look at the night Luna worked hard to make.” She said solemnly. “Nightmare-” I said before she put her hoof up in a gesture calling for silence. “Save it. I'm not asking for your pity. Soon after that day you witnessed Luna gave in to her darker side and I came to be. I tried to extend the night through force and in the end the both of us were banished to the moon until that day of the Summer Sun Celebration, 1000 years later. I'm not asking for your pity, I'm not asking for you to understand. It is mere coincidence that you are seeing a memory.” She said callously. “Nightmare, how come you have that memory though? You didn’t come into existence until after that day, you just said so yourself.” “Luna and I were once a single being and as a result we share each other’s memories. Any other questions?” “Yes… why Careless Whisper? I heard it playing throughout the entire memory.” “I'm… not sure. I was unaware I still had this memory to be honest.” She spoke back but she seemed to be drifting off in thought. She shook her head and turned her attention back to me. “I would recommend that you never speak of this memory again, either to me or anypony. Do I make myself absolutely clear?” “Sure Nightmare. No further discussions on this ever again.” I replied, giving her a mock salute. Nightmare began to lead me away from the crying Nightmare Moon and headed off in an indeterminable direction across the moon’s surface. “Chris.” Nightmare spoke after a few moments of silence. “Thanks.” I bumped her with my flank. “Thanking ponies now are we? Keep this up and I’ll start thinking you actually care.” I gave a small chuckle as I said that. What shocked me just after I said that was her smiling back at me. “Maybe… foal.” “Now there’s the Nightmare I know! The insulter! The put-downer!” I said with a huge grin as we neared a crater. “Uh, Nightmare I hate to be a pain but… where exactly are you leading me?” “Here.” She said, pointing to a wooden door, complete with a wooden frame. The door itself was pure white while the frame and markings were silver. What struck me as odd was the handle: a tornado. The door was just standing there, in the middle of nowhere. I felt like I was in an episode of The Twilight Zone. “What the hay?” I said, completely at a loss at what was going on. “This door leads into Great Scott’s dreams. There are actually thousands of doors like this.” Nightmare responded as she opened it and entered. I sighed and went in afterwards. The both of us couldn’t get out of there fast enough after just a minute of being in there. I actually woke up and threw up over the edge of my cloud. Nightmare, let’s never go into Scott’s dreams again. Agreed. She replied as she threw up in a crater. I never knew a human's spine could bend that way. We can't. I never knew you could bend that way either. I can't you foal. Ugh, that has to be the most disgusting dream in all of Equestrian history. I won't argue there Nightmare. I flew down to find a fountain to clean my muzzle with. After a few minutes I found one and cleaned myself up. Once I got back up onto my cloud and noticed Scott making rather lewd twitching motions which only served to make me feel ill again. I tried to block out the thoughts and images of that dream we found ourselves in. I fell asleep again after a while and found myself sat on top of the Arc de Triomphe. Nightmare looked around it in confusion. “What is this thing?” She asked. “The Arc de Triomphe. It’s a famous monument and landmark in France. That’s a very long way from here so we’ll never see it for ourselves. But you have to admit, it is a lovely piece of architecture.” I replied. “I'm sure it is.” She deadpanned. “Sarcasm now? My, we are moving up in the world aren't we?” I joked. “Do you think I’m doomed to be alone?” She asked solemnly. “Wait, where did this come from?” I replied, kind of shocked that she just changed subjects and tones instantly. “I'm just wondering… if I was never an antagonist would I still be hated or loved?” “The answer to that is simple: no. Whether you were originally good or evil there will always be fans that are divided by differing opinions. Some even actually hate Celestia and Luna despite they are good. There are even those who hate Twilight if you can believe it.” I responded with a smile. “Besides, if you don’t think you can genuinely change, then I have only two words for you: fake it.” In that moment I pulled out a guitar and played Seether’s Fake It. How I can play a guitar with hooves and sing in a male voice is an easily answered question: I'm still in a dream and I don’t give a damn. “I can fake it with the best of anyone, I can fake it with the best of ‘em all!” I sang, banging my head and making my mane fly over my head in the process. I saw Nightmare give me what was probably the most sincere little smile I've ever seen her have on her face. In a few minutes I changed songs to something else. “I'm just a step away, I’m just a breath away.” I sang as I recited Skillet’s Hero. “I need a hero to save my life!” Nightmare sang, having picked up another guitar from somewhere and played next to me, smiling. I could only smile back as we sang Hero until the world around us blacked out. Nightmare really had some really strong mood swings if she’s playing with me and smiling after just being sad. Time: 06:34 Date: Moonday Location: On a cloud above Centennial Park in North Platte, Nebraska. I got up and grabbed myself a snack from my bag, a carrot and opened up my laptop. Scott was still fast asleep but he wasn’t twitching which made me feel better. Hi Mom Don’t worry, the filly was fine. He - he’s in a filly’s body but his parents wouldn’t talk to him like a girl. Very hard headed - is going to make a full recovery, or so I had heard from his father. This gender changing business is a very confusing thing. Great Scott (the pony that took my things) is actually not that bad a pony. We got our hooves on some more money that I hope will last us until we got to Las Vegas. Hope being the operative term since I have to look after two now which includes myself. Oh, get this… Scott used to be a girl! I wonder what the odds are of a pegasister being ponyfied? Probably more astronomical of a brony staying male, haha! Well, I am hoping to cross the Nebraska Colorado border before lunchtime today, provided my sidekick wakes up soon. If not I’ll wake him up somehow, I'm sure Nightmare knows of a few methods. Hope to speak to you soon. Regards Chris/Nightmare Moon He’s waking up. Nightmare noted. Brilliant, we might just make it today. “Come on Scott, wakey-wakey!” I said in a teasing tone. “Uh, just five more minutes.” He said, clearly still half asleep. “It’s PAPA!!” I shouted. “Ah!” He screamed, blasting off the cloud like a bullet. He looked around to see me laughing my flank off. That was genius Nightmare. I amuse even myself sometimes. She replied with a snide grin. “Don’t… do that!” He yawned. “Would you have preferred me to use one of those storm clouds?” I replied, indicating to the grey clouds behind us. “You wouldn’t…” He said. “No I wouldn’t but Nightmare might.” I replied with a malicious grin. “Fine, what’s your expectation for today?” He sighed, defeated by my capacity to ruin his day. “Well, I would like to get to Julesburg before 12:00. Julesburg is just past the border into Colorado. After we get a good rest and some food, maybe get something else we might need I don’t know, we are heading to Denver via the I-76.” I replied matter-of-factly. “Ok.” He yawned again. “Shall we-” “Hey you up there!” A voice came from below. I peered over my cloud to see a police officer carrying a bullhorn, looking straight at us. This was a strange turn of events. Maybe it’s that lady from last night. I surmised to Nightmare. “Come down here this instant!” He called with his bullhorn amplified voice. Not wanting to cause trouble for ourselves by refusing, I gathered our things and landed on the ground with Scott who then took his things off me. The police officer looked rather stern. He was Caucasian, medium build with light brown hair. He had no facial hair to speak of but he did possess sideburns and a lack of sunglasses but given the fact that the sky was overcast, it was understandable. He lowered his bullhorn and looked at us with his judging eyes, as if he was ready to throttle us. His nametag gave his name as Rory Harris. “Can I help you officer?” I asked innocently. “Yes, you can.” He replied in a relatively neutral, gruff voice. He pulled out a small book and took out a pen from his pocket. Wait, is he going to write us a ticket for sleeping above a park? There couldn't be a law against that, could there? “I need you.” He started. “To give me your autograph. I am actually a fan of the show and I particularly find you the most fascinating character Nightmare Moon. I heard from a woman last night that she saw a black talking pony with blue armour on.” I was standing in front of a brony police officer and there I was, almost ready to keel over from fear of being carted off, great way to meet your favourite character. I felt all the fear leave me though once he said that second part. “Sure, I’d be happy to.” I shakily replied. Go on Nightmare, he’s your fan after all. I got no response other than losing control as she took the pen out of the officer’s hand to sign a page in his brown, leather bound book. He had signatures from Sean Connery, Amy Lee amongst other – most likely famous – names I didn’t recognise. “Where you two headed?” Rory asked as he put his autograph book away. “We’re headed to Las Vegas and making a few small stops along the way to eat and rest.” I replied more confidently since my fears had been negated. “Really? I thought all of you were heading to New York.” He asked with a slightly confused expression. “I know but since we haven’t heard anything from New York regarding the current status of Celestia or Luna, I decided to head off somewhere to pass the time.” I replied. “Ok then, well good luck and stay clear of any PAPA affiliates. They are not a good bunch of folks.” He said, his stern expression having returned. “Oh, I've met them already and trust me: I have no plans on meeting them again.” I replied, slightly annoyed as I remembered Omaha. “Ok then, see you Nightmare and…?” He said, finally noticing Scott who decided to preen his feathers again. “Shcott.” He replied with his head buried in his right wing. I rolled my eyes and gave a small chuckle. “His name is Great Scott or just ‘Scott’.” I replied on his behalf as he pulled his head out. “Pleasure to meet you Scott.” Rory said, shaking Scott’s hoof. “Likewise.” Scott replied. “Well, see you two and have a pleasant flight.” He said. “Thanks.” I replied as Scott took off. I followed soon after. Next stop: Julesburg, Colorado. I thought as the cool air swept past my face as we flew along the I-80.
Road to NowhereTo Sleep, Perchance to… Nightmare? Road to Nowhere Author: Draconis187 Time: 10:43 Date: Moonday Location: Wal-Mart in Julesburg, Colorado I was walking through the produce section on my own while Scott was looking around for a bag to carry his things so the real Scott could stop feeling embarrassed. I received a number of stares as I walked past some bananas, looking at them reminded me of a certain Tumblr blog. Giving a small chuckle I continued to search the aisles for food. “Mommy, Mommy look!” I heard a young girl shout out from across the aisle. “It’s Nightmare Moon!” I was prepared to see her scream and run but instead she ran up to me before her mother could even try to stop her. In seconds she was hugging my leg, a huge grin on her face. Inside my mind Nightmare gave me a curious look. Did I miss something? She inquired. Other than the fact of being known by most of America’s youth? No. I responded. “Are you here to bring eternal night?” The girl asked, looking up at me. “Uh, no. No I don’t plan on doing that little one.” I replied. ’Little one?’ Where did that come from? I asked Nightmare. She looked at me with an innocent face, which is quite the feat given her personality. I have no idea. At this point her mother caught up and pulled the girl off me. She looked a tad afraid though, then again she was hugging the harbinger of darkness. I gave a small chuckle and spoke. “No need to worry madam. No harm, no foul right? Pardon me but I do have some shopping to do presently.” I said with an air of dignity I never thought I could pull off. Like any princess. Still think you can keep your masculinity? Nightmare teased. Still hiding behind an ill attitude that you don’t truly have? I retorted. Touché. She replied before becoming silent. The mother didn’t respond to me but minded out of my way as I carried on through the aisle. After gathering a few items I went off in search of Scott. Remind me: why do we bother with him? Nightmare asked with disdain. He did help us out with our money troubles… despite being the cause of them in the first place. I replied as I walked out of the Wal-Mart. That second part is my point, how do we know he will not break his promise? She inquired, not buying my faith in him. Nopony breaks a Pinkie Promise… ever. I responded flatly. Whatever. She responded before walking off into a room in my mind. I didn’t think it was a good idea to ask just what she was doing as long as it didn’t hurt me. I found the shop Scott went off to in search of a new bag. Inside I found the white Pegasus pacing up and down with two bags in his wings. Strange to see a Pegasus use their wings like arms, I would never have suspected the pinions would be strong enough to carry the weight. In hindsight though, the bags were empty and would be considerably lighter in mass. The one bag was made of black leather with a skull magnetic latch to seal it. Its strap was more than long enough for him to sling over his head. The other one was… lime green? It had a pink floral pattern adorning every inch of it. The strap was also long enough for Scott but the choice was a different question. I can guess who picked what. Nightmare chipped in, suppressing an evil sounding giggle. Me too. I responded. Unfortunately for Scott, while Nightmare’s laughter would be heard by nopony, my uproarious laughter was. I wasn’t entirely sure why but I found the scene of Scott going up and down, picking up the offensive bag and putting it back, only to pick it up again hilarious. I laughed so loud, everypony in the shop turned in my direction before looking at what I was laughing at. Scott stopped his yo-yo movement to look at me with embarrassment written all over his face. “I see your bag hunting has become a fruitful venture.” I giggled. “Let me guess, you picked that one while Scott picked this one?” I pointed to the lime green bag first before pointing to the other. His expression changed to an annoyed one. “Yes I did, Jacqueline won't let me take it.” He raised the black leather bag to indicate which one he was referring to. I looked a tad surprised at him though, this had to be the first time I've met the real Great Scott. “So I’m talking to the real Great Scott then?” I ask with a curious look. “Of course sweetheart. There ain't another pony like me.” He replied with a wink. “I suggest you keep your ‘sweetheart’ comments to yourself. Otherwise I’ll make you.” I threatened. He shrugged his shoulders. “Whatever you say babe. Sorry, I said there was a reason I didn’t like letting him take control.” Scott looked sadly at me as he said that last part. “Ok then, I suggest we take this bag so we can shut him up.” I suggest. At that Scott and I went up to the counter to pay up. The cashier had a t-shirt on it with my favourite four letter word on it: PAPA. I groaned as I saw the man look at us with disdain. “Ponies in my shop, just what has this world come to?” He sighs. “Apparently, it’s the apocalypse.” I muse, which only serves to make the man’s scowl deepen. “Wow, not much of a person for a joke are you?” “I used to enjoy a good joke… if people were involved. Now get out of my store!” He says, pointing his finger to the door as he shouted. “I'm afraid I must decline your request, my friend needs a new bag to carry his personal items in and we can't leave until we have it.” I say calmly. “Are your big ears broken?!” He shouts, coming around the counter and putting his face close to mine. “Get… the… fuck… out… of… my… store!” Instead of fleeing, I stood my ground and took a deep breath. “No! We came to buy something to help us get to our destination and I'm not letting some xenophobic moron stop me!” Well, I must say the RCV is a brilliant thing to use when you want to end an argument quickly. Not only did he literally brown his trousers, he also let us pay for the bag and leave without incident… after he picked himself up off the floor as he had flown halfway across the store. Nightmare keeled herself over, laughing hysterically. That was beautiful! She said between her giggle fits. I didn’t have to say anything, that was all you! Everypony has a breaking point Nightmare and mine is when others give innocent people a hard time. I responded. “Hey! Nightmare!” A voice called out. I looked around and saw a scrawny man, must have been in his early thirties, late twenties. He was wearing a Fluttershy shirt with the word: ‘Yay!’ on it. I knew what he was in an instant… a brony. “I saw and caught everything! Have any words to say before I post this on YouTube?” I sighed and took a deep breath which made the man take a step back. “I only have this to say: PAPA are a bunch of foals and if you support their views then you are just as narrow minded as them. If any PAPA affiliates or agents are seeing this, I have a special message for you: stay out of my way or you will suffer dire consequences. The other thing is that I'm not going to New York until I hear what happened to Celestia and Luna. In the meantime I'm going to Las Vegas with Great Scott over here. Nightmare, out. Let’s get going Scott.” He complied without any fuss and I placed my earphones in my ears and took off after him. I heard the skinny man say something but I was too busy listening to Avenged Sevenfold’s Blinded in Chains to hear exactly what he said properly. After a few minutes of flight out of the city, I noticed a light blue sedan seemed to be following us. I signalled Scott to land on a cloud ahead of us. As we landed I looked down to see it idling nearby. “That can not be a coincidence.” I muttered. “What?” Scott asked. “That sedan down there. I'm sure it has been following us for the past couple of minutes after we left that shop.” I replied. “The driver hasn’t left it and it’s just idling there. That can't bode well for us.” “Well… what do you suggest then?” Scott inquired with a slight hint of fear in his voice. “Splitting up may make it worse if the driver turns out to be a PAPA agent so I suggest we just keep an eye on it for now until we can gauge its intentions.” I replied. “Besides I want to see the weather for Denver since it’s starting to get rather overcast here.” Scott only nodded in response as I pulled out my laptop. Looking on a local weather channel I saw that Denver was in for a thunderstorm. I sighed deeply as I closed the laptop. “Looks like Denver is in for a thunderstorm. I think we should rather take a bus or something to that regard since we aren't wearing lightning-proof suits.” I say matter-of-factly to Scott. “Got it lady.” Scott replied with a malicious smirk on his face. “Scott, put Jacqueline back. If I talk to you for too long, I might end up beating the both of you senseless.” I said with an exasperated sigh. Scott rolled his eyes. “What’s wrong with me?” “Everything.” Nightmare and I replied in unison. He sighed and his attitude changed as Jacqueline took back control. There were subtle differences between them, the way they carried themselves and their attitude which was the most obvious. But the most striking thing was his eyes, I noticed that his eyes had a shine, a sparkle to them when Jacqueline took over while Scott’s were less so. The truth was that they looked like the eyes of a complete douchebag. “Sorry, I warn you that there were reasons I didn’t want him in control.” Scott said with a tear in his eye. “We noticed.” I deadpanned. “So, I guess we are heading for Denver then?” Scott asked. “Unless you didn’t hear me when Scott was in control, yes we are but we need to take a bus since we aren't properly protected.” I replied with a sigh. He shrugged his shoulders. “I'm afraid we don’t share a lot of views on some subjects so he tends to keep me locked out when he’s in control.” “I gathered that from the moment we walked into that shop.” I mused. She looked at me with a look of embarrassment on his face. After a moment we ended up laughing about it. We composed ourselves after a good five minutes and flew off to the bus station. I kept looking back to see the sedan still following us. I hoped it wasn’t a PAPA agent. You would surmise they would have learned their lesson if they have heard what happened in Omaha. Nightmare noted. Humans are quite stubborn creatures, trust me. I replied with slight disgust at the persistent sedan. We got to the bus station and found we weren’t the only ones wanting to board the bus. I grabbed the attention of a man in front of me. “Sir, excuse my interruption but may I ask if this bus is heading to Denver?” I ask politely. “No, go to the bus station and get a ticket there.” He replied bluntly. “Where is it?” I ask, accidentally dropping the formal attitude. “Just down the street, turn right at the third traffic light and carry on, you should see it after a short while.” He replied. Thanking him, we flew off and followed his directions to the letter. We soon arrived at the bus station and walked in the front door. Inside there were a multitude of people from all different walks of life: Hispanics, Americans, I was sure I heard a Welsh person in the crowd amongst others. I went up to the lady that dealt with the tickets and found she was ignoring me. “Ahem.” I cleared my thought and saw her look at me as if there was something wrong. “Excuse me madam but I would like to purchase two tickets to Denver please.” “Why? So you can spread your disease there as well?” She replied curtly. “What? No madam you are mistaken, I am not ill and there is no possible way that my turning into a pony is contagious.” I reply. “Be that as it may but I’m not taking the risk.” She defiantly responds. “May I speak with your manager then?” I ask nicely. “No.” she responds with a malicious smirk. I gave out a sigh and looked at Nightmare who was looking at me inquisitively. Got any ideas Nightmare? I ask. Oh, I have a few. She replies with a chuckle. Do it, just don’t harm her physically. I say, crestfallen. No need, look. She said, snapping me back into the world. Standing in front of me, arguing with the lady… was that same strange man who recorded me earlier. His earlier happy face was gone and in its place was a face of pure rage… fandom anger. “What is wrong with you lady?!” He shouted, getting the attention of everypony in the room. “They are no more contagious than I am!” “That’s my point, not everyone here shares your opinion and would prefer to not be turned into a pony.” She replied flatly. “Enough of this foalishness!” I shout, banging my hoof on the counter. “All I need is a ticket to Denver for my friend and me as we don’t want to get caught in the thunderstorm!” “I have the safety of other passengers to consider. There a re rumours that this ‘condition’ of yours is capable of spreading.” She retorts. “You know what? Buck you!” I say, turning around and finding Scott waiting outside for me. “Sorry Scott, looks like we are not taking a bus.” “Damn, well then what now?” Scott asks with a disappointed look on his face. “You come with me.” A voice from behind us calls out. I turn around and - to my very little surprise – see the brony that tried to help me out. He had a big grin on his face as if he had just won the lottery. “Now I know that hopping into a car with somepony you don’t know is a little curious but hear me out: I wanted to make a documentary of what you ponies are going through on your journeys and what better candidate than Nightmare Moon?” He said with a smile. “Well, we aren't going to New York until we know Celestia and Luna are back. I did tell you earlier.” I respond. “That’s fine by me, the longer the journey, the more footage I get.” He responds with a happy cheer. “Oh, before I forget, I’m Charles.” I shake his hand with my hoof. “Pleasure, you already know who we are so I don’t think we should reintroduce ourselves. It would be redundant.” “Ok, cool. Hey, can I ask you something?” He said with a smile. “What?” I reply, not knowing where this conversation is going to end up. “Can I brohoof you? Please?” He asked. I rolled my eyes and extended my hoof again, this time colliding it with his fist. “Ow! You could have removed that shoe.” “You didn’t ask.” I reply with a smile. “Oh ha ha. Well, hello everypony!” He said, pulling out his camera from his pocket. “It’s CharlesMaster231 here with an important message! I'm going to be on a road trip with the Nightmare Moon and a Pegasus by the name of Great Scott.” I look at him with a disapproving look. “It looks like yours truly is getting one hell of a stare from the first antagonist of the series, well let’s see if I’ll live or suffer Eternal Night!” I hate him. Nightmare muttered. This is going to be a really long drive. I respond, trying not to facehoof myself. “So what’s my punishment Princess?” He says to me with an eager grin. “Just shut the buck up.” I respond at which he turns to his camera with a huge gasp. “You heard it here first folks! Nightmare Moon curses!” He cries out. “Hey! Give it back!” Nightmare took over and levitated the camera out of his hands and brought it to us. “I know I’ve done some bad things but I doubt they were bad enough for me to get this as punishment.” Nightmare says, pointing the camera at Charles. At that we swapped again and I switched off his camera and tossed it to him. He fumbled it but managed to stop it from hitting the floor and breaking. As we walked from the station, the rain began to pour down on us. Nightmare though was kind enough to create a bubble around all of us so we could stay dry but the moment Charles decided to open his mouth, Nightmare dropped it around him to shut him up. We walked up to Charles’ car… which turned out to be the same blue sedan from earlier! I turn to him in anger and confusion. “Where you following us?” I ask accusingly. He gives me an innocent look as he responds. “No, of course not!” I just rolled my eyes and got into the back of the car. The ‘gents’ look at me confused as I tossed my bag onto the other side of the seat. “I would rather sit on my own thanks.” I respond, turning my flank to them. “Nice ass.” I turn around quickly in anger to see them look around innocently. I know I’m a guy but that is just pathetic and embarrassing. I think. Be glad it isn’t one of the stallions that had tried to court Luna centuries ago. Nightmare responded. But I thou- I try to think. I agree they are uncouth barbarians but we have no other options right now. Nightmare retorts, cutting my train of thought. I saw Scott jump up onto the passenger seat in front as Charles started the car up. It took us longer to get out of the city than if we flew but our coats were going to be dry once we reached Denver so I couldn’t really complain. All I really wanted right now was some peace and quiet while I listened to some songs. I pulled out my headphones and started to listen to Nickelback’s Lullaby and decided to rest. ***** ******** ******** ***** I got up on a bed in a room I couldn’t recognise, looking around I saw Nightmare by the open door. The room had some model planes, a poster of Dante from DMC holding Rebellion outwards and a computer to the side. It took me a bit of time to realise I was actually in my room back home in South Africa. “Why?” I ask Nightmare. “I wanted to think of home, of Canterlot but I could only picture this building.” Nightmare responded with slight disdain. “There is nothing wrong with my home Nightmare.” I retort, slightly hurt that Nightmare would slander my home. “It has only been like that for what, three years?” She says, looking at me with one of those smirks. “It’s true that I've moved houses more times than I care to talk about but this one was a good one.” I respond. I concentrated and changed the location we were in. in moments we were on a sports field in a school yard. Looking around I saw myself and my friends laughing while watching one of them on his skateboard. “I had some good memories here, as well as some bad ones.” I say absent-mindedly. “I remember when Harold there fell on his flank trying to do an Ollie.” And sure enough as I said it, he fell on his backside as the skateboard just slide from under his feet. The area changed again as we found ourselves in the old hall where they held the talent show every year. The hall had visible brickwork up to an average person’s shoulder before becoming normal, plastered wall. The light beige colour continued up to the ceiling where eight fans with three blades hung above the students. Nightmare and I walked up to the higher ‘box’ that the matrics would sit. “You know, I always wanted to try and sing on that stage there.” I said to Nightmare, pointing to the wooden stage at the other end of the hall. It had two sets of stairs, three to be exact, and above it was the school emblem. It had been a few years since I saw it so its image was a fuzzy one but it resembled a shield. I facehoofed myself for talking to Nightmare about all of this. “Why didn’t you?” Nightmare inquired. “Stagefright, I'm not so brilliant with crowds. All those eyes watching me, judging me. I think that if I would never see their faces again I might have tried it out but I saw those people every day of my school life.” I replied with an embarrassed look on my face. “And now?” Nightmare said. I looked down at myself, considering her question before turning to her with a smile. “Now? I'm in the body of an Alicorn with powers I never thought were possible and… I would probably do it but I no longer go to this school and we are several thousand miles away.” “You can still do it, even if it is a dream.” Nightmare says encouragingly, pushing me in the direction of the stage. I looked at her dumbfounded until I gave her on of her own malicious grins. “On one condition…” “What?” She asks with slight impatience in her voice. I jumped up onto the stage and grabbed her with my hooves before pulling her up with me. “You join me!” Nightmare looked angry at me for a few seconds before picking up a guitar. “Well?” I chuckled and got a guitar for myself as well. The rest of the music came from some faceless forms. As I looked into the crowd I noticed it was a mixture of ponies and humans. “I guess you barely knew them?” Nightmare commented. I just look at her and nod. “Let’s get this over with.” I nodded once more and opened up with one of my favourite saddening songs I’ve heard: Nickelback’s Savin Me. “Prison gates won’t open up for me.” I begin. “On these hands and knees I’m crawling.” Nightmare picks up. After a few moments of realising she probably knew it from my memories we continued singing. “Show me what it’s like.” I sang “To be the last one standing.” Nightmare continued. “And teach me wrong from right.” “And I’ll show you what I can be.” “And say for me, say it to me and I’ll leave this life behind me.” “Say it if it’s worth savin me!” We sang in unison. We eventually finished to a cheering crowd which was to be expected since this was a dream. I looked at Nightmare who just gave a smile that seemed to make me smile back at her. We then changed tracks to a Disturbed song: Indestructible. “My declaration embedded deep under my skin” I sang. “A permanent reminder of how it began” Nightmare carried on as we alternated lines. “No hesitation when I am commanded to strike” “You need to know that you’re in for the fight of your life” “You will be shown” “How I’ve become” “Indestructible” We both sang together. “Determination that is incorruptible” “From the other side, a terror to behold” “Annihilation will be unavoidable” As we finished off that song I felt the world end. I looked to Nightmare as we both knew that this was the end of the dream. We both just smirked at each other as the darkness enveloped us. ***** ******** ******** ***** Time: 18: 47 Date: Moonday Location: Denver, Colorado “Well it looks like Sleeping Beauty is awake.” Charles’ voice called out as I opened my eyes. I got up to find we had stopped by a hotel. I looked at the time and gathered Charles stopped so we could sleep and grab some food despite the fact I had gotten us food earlier in the day. They must have had no regard for money. I hope they don’t plan on making me pay. Entering the hotel we found that there were a two other ponies that were sleeping here but as soon as they saw me, they fled to their rooms. I rolled my eyes at the display of ‘courage’ before me and went to the rooms Charles rented for us. I found out that Scott and Charles were sharing a room while I was on my own. As I lay on the bed I found it felt weird since I had been sleeping on clouds the past few days. As I considered sleeping outside on a cloud, a thunderbolt decided to decide for me. There was a knock at the door. “Come in.” The one who entered was Scott, he seemed aloof. He walked up to me as I looked at him with a look that could bore into his very soul. “Would you please not do that?” He asked, I realised it wasn’t the pervert in control and eased my gaze. “Thanks.” “Sure I just wasn’t sure of Scott though, was it him that made that comment about my flank?” I asked. Technically it’s my flank. It’s not your body. Nightmare corrected. I used to have one before your body became mine, remember? I re-corrected. Touché She replied. “I’m not too sure but I think it was Charles.” He replied. “Oh well. I can't exactly do anything about his comment but I think it would be best if we all turned in early. I would like to get to Clifton tomorrow.” I said to Scott who bowed his head. “Okay, at least we have transport now. My wings were starting to hurt.” He complained. I just rolled my eyes and gave a small chuckle. Scott took that as a sign to leave and did so. I levitated the blankets and went to sleep. This little adventure just keeps on getting more interesting. I mused.
ThunderstruckTo Sleep, Perchance to… Nightmare? Thunderstruck Author: Draconis187 Time: Doesn’t matter Date: Don’t care Location: My mind, on the surface of the moon I was standing next to Nightmare, looking at Earth through the atmosphere – or lack thereof – of the moon as we played a slightly saddening song by Aviators called One Last Letter. Funny thing is that songs like these tend to lift my spirits rather than crush them. We sang in complete unison, both alternating our lines as the song carried on. One last, thing that I got to say, One more report, before it’s too late. I’m begging you to stop this Chaos today, One last thing that I gotta prove, One final goodbye before we meet our doom, Something happened to the peace that we all knew, This is my one last letter to you. “Why do you want to play songs that would be better suited for funerals?” Nightmare asked as we finished the song. I placed the guitar I had around my neck on the ground, sending a small cloud of dust flying into the endless cosmos before Newton’s Law declared otherwise. “Don’t know why now, but it’s good to play something other than metal or rock. I just find it funny that two Nightmare Moons can play guitar.” I replied with a smile. “This is a dream, anything is possible you foal.” Nightmare quipped. We looked at each other for a few seconds before I gave her my most serious looking face. “Oh, I’m the foal? Who was the one crying in the plane’s bathroom, the one who was crying when we went on that history lesson?” I asked with a roll of my eyes. We shared a good laugh at each other as I reflected back on the trip so far. We had gone from one country to another by crossing an ocean via an aeroplane, got ponynapped but escaped and exacted revenge, met the most perverted Pegasus in the known universe but I’m sure I will be proved wrong sometime when Murphy’s Law dictates so, met a human that seems to be the most obsessed fan you could ever meet and was also a borderline stalker. There was still no news on Celestia and Luna’s conditions but I didn’t actually care that much since the travelling was actually quite nice. “Let’s do another song, before this dream ends. You up for it?” I inquired Nightmare who gave me a menacing smile. “I’ll humour you one more time.” She replied, that smile growing nervously wider. I shook off the smile and picked up the guitar once more. Soon the opening strumming of Temper Temper by Bullet for my Valentine filled the moon’s lack of an atmosphere. This time you’d better bite your tongue Think twice before you open that mouth Take a breath, hold it in your lungs Being from rage, will it overcome? I feel the tension rising high A feel a hump, down in my chest Nothing is strange, I see in red Can’t hold it back Here comes my… Temper temper, time to explode Feels good when I lose control Temper temper, time to explode Chamber’s empty, time to reload Nightmare joined in the vocals at this point, guitar firmly in her hooves as she played. Too late cause now you can’t disarm Too slow, you know you should’ve backed down Did you think before you crossed that line? This intervention’s gonna be divine I feel the time is crawling near I feel the sweat dripping down my face Nothing is strange, I see in red Can’t hold it back Here comes my… We both carried on singing until the end, taking in turns to shout parts of the lyrics. As we finished I looked out and just looked at the Earth. Why Earth? Mainly because I didn’t know what Equestria looked like from space, sue me. Nightmare gave me a look, grabbing my attention until she pointed back up at the planet in front of us. Then I saw it: Equestria. I could see where Canterlot would be, Ponyville, Cloudsdale was pretty easy to see since it was made up of clouds. The contours of the mountain ranges, the oceans of blue, it was a mesmerising sight. “So that’s Equestria?” I muttered under my breath. “This is the view I had for a thousand years. As much as it looks beautiful, I was never able to appreciate it due to my hate and despair. I hated having to look at the place I was banished from.” Nightmare didn’t seem to be talking to me, she was just looking at Equestria with a blank expression n her face. “And now? I think I just might like the view for once in a thousand years.” As if on cue, Equestria began to fade away as it became enveloped in darkness, I gave a deep sigh as the darkness was about to envelop us and end the dream. Nightmare looked angry at me for some reason and her words did not help me figure out why. “Kill Charles, will you?” she said with a hint of hate in her voice. ***** ******** ******** ***** Time: Too Celestia-damned early Date: Will check now, let me get up first! Location: Some stupid hotel room As I awoke there were a few things I realised right away. Number one: my armour was on a dressing table on the other side of the room. I must have subconsciously taken it off and never realised it. Number two: I had a pillow shoved halfway down my throat, again. Number three: Charles was standing right next to my bed, with his camera in his hands. All of a sudden, Nightmare’s attitude made complete sense. “Morning You Majesty. How are you today?” His asked with a dorky smile. “You have five seconds to leave this room before I blast you out.” Nightmare said, spontaneously taking over my vocal cords as I noticed the time, 08:12. “Okay, just wanted you to know that breakfast is being served down below.” Charles shrugged as he placed his camera back into his pocket. “Oh and Scott is talking to those two ponies from yesterday. You know, the ones you scared away?” “It is kind of hard to talk to anypony when they run off into their rooms the moment they see you. I didn’t even see who or what they were.” I retorted as I got up and stretched. I felt my bones audibly pop as I arched my back while extending my wings. “Are those ponies males at least?” “No, they’re both female. Why, do you want a coltfriend?” Charles responded, oblivious to the real Scott’s perverted tendencies. My eyes shot open at his oblivious disregard for Scott’s behaviour. My armour shot across the room as I placed it on my body with my magic. I accidentally – I'm sure Nightmare took over my magic to do this – hit Charles on the head with my helmet as it soared through the air. “Because if Scott is in control, he’ll destroy any hope of them staying around long enough for me to apologise for frightening them last night! Haven’t you noticed his perverted behaviour or is your head that firmly shoved up your rear end?!” I shouted as I ran out my door, conveniently left open, otherwise either Nightmare or I would’ve broken it down in the attempt to get out. I flew down the stairs and found the dining hall. In a corner I saw Scott sitting down next to two mares, talking normally as if they were long-lost friends. My mood instantly changed from the earlier hysterical panic to a more calm state despite I was still physically shaking. I finally managed to see just what their types were, an Earth pony and a Unicorn. The Earth Pony had mint green coloured mane and tail while her coat was powder blue while her eyes were pink. What struck me was the fact that she had a white nurse’s hat on, along with a large red cross with a pink heart in each corner for a Cutie Mark. The Unicorn had a white coat and a pink mane and tail, with a paler shade of pink stripe running down her mane and tail, respectively. Her eyes were blue and her Cutie Mark consisted of three small diamonds. As soon as they saw me they… waved? I looked around myself and saw there was nopony else to wave to so I had assume they were waving at me. I walked over to the table which had red leather seats with little golden buttons in it. The table had a traditional white table cloth with an intricate design of flowers and vines along the edges. The table itself was in the middle of a half moon couch with a single chair with the same leather upholstery on its oaken frame. “So, Scott here has been telling us about you and we must apologise for our behaviour for last night.” The Unicorn said, extending her hoof in apology. I shook it with a smile. “I am Janet Smith, although I’m in the body of a pony called Sugarberry. This here is Nurse Tenderheart.” Sugarberry pointed to the Earth Pony who smiled at me. “My name was Mary Jenkins. We were roommates back in Phoenix, Arizona. What brings the two of you here?” Tenderheart asked us. “We’re on our way to Las Vegas since there hasn’t been any word on the Princesses. I brought Great Scott here along so I could get a few nasty habits out of him.” I looked at Scott with a near menacing glare but he just shrugged and smiled. “I thought it was because you liked my flank.” He said with that smirk of his. I whacked him over the head with my armoured hoof. “Ow! That hurts!” Scott whined as he rubbed the back of his head. Nightmare, the other ponies and I just smiled. “I guess I had that coming.” “Thanks, Jacqueline is a nice girl to talk to but that Scott is quite the pervert.” Sugarberry complained. “He tried to hit on Tenderheart here, using a very corny pickup line.” “I hope you know CPR, cuz you take my breath away!’” Tenderheart recited, making exaggerated hoof movements, as if she was dying from a terminal illness. We all facehoofed, including Great Scott, my armour clanged as the metal connected with metal. “I share the same body as him, so imagine what I have to put up with every day.” Scott whined as we all laughed. My ears perked up as I noticed that Charles was filming us. “Say YouTube!” This would have been the point where I would’ve shot enough lightning into his body to cause it to explode in a shower of blood and assorted body parts but we all looked at each other before embracing in a group hug with big grins on our faces, shouting: “YouTube!” That was embarrassing. Nightmare complained. No point fighting it Nightmare, we’re in a place none of us are familiar with and we’ve been too serious throughout this trip. We need to unwind every once in a while. As much as playing music with you is fun, we need friends to talk to without wanting to tear them apart. I responded. “Good morning folks. What can I get for you?” A waiter came in after our rambunctious laughter and shenanigans had subsided. He was rather unconcerned with serving a table consisting of pastel coloured equines. Oh well, money is money, no matter what the source looks like. “Since this is breakfast, some flapjacks! And hot chocolate!” I declare, my voice nearing RCV proportions as I stuck my hoof into the air. “I would like scrambled eggs, white toast please and an iced tea please.” Scott ordered, looking at the waiter with a smile. “I’ll take the farmhouse breakfast and decaf coffee.” Charles asked, his camera sat neatly on the table. Its focus wasn’t me so I was pleased about that but then I noticed it wasn’t even on so I stopped worrying about it. “That comes with pork, ew!” Tenderheart complained. “I’ll have some muesli and strawberry yoghurt please with some water.” “I’ll have the same but I’d rather have vanilla yoghurt instead please. I’ll have some lemonade.” Sugarberry said with a small smile. After the waiter feverishly wrote down our orders and repeated them so he got them right, he left to order them up. Charles picked up his camera and turned his focus to the two new mares. “Alright Miss Tenderheart, what did you and Sugarberry do before becoming ponies?” He asked as if he was conducting an interview for a news station. “Well, I was studying geology while Tenderheart was going to be a veterinarian.” Sugarberry responded. Charles wheeled the camera around as quickly as possible to get Sugarberry into focus. “We were sharing a flat together which helped out a lot when the time to pay rent came. We both worked as cashiers back there at our local Wal-Mart. We didn’t earn much but we made ends meet as we chipped in equally.” “Nice, what about you Nightmare Moon?” Charles asked. I gave him a malicious smirk as I leaned closer. “Ask me again and I will send a lightning bolt through that camera and you. I thought I made it clear to not use that thing?” I rebuked, earning a genuine look of fear from Charles. “Ok, I get it: you're not a morning pony.” He said as he placed the camera away. “Damn straight.” I replied as I sat back in my seat before my face lit up with the delivery of our drinks. I lifter the hot chocolate to my muzzle and blew on it to cool it down before taking a sip. “That’s some good hot chocolate.” I want to taste it. Nightmare asked as she noticed my expression. Go for it. I replied as I placed the mug back on the saucer it came on. Nightmare took over and picked up the drink with her magic before taking a sip. I couldn’t really se her reaction but judging by the reactions I saw the others give her, I knew it was a pretty embarrassing one. The next moment we switched places as she placed the drink back down. “Are you feeling ok?” Tenderheart asked with concern. “I’m alright, Nightmare and I did a switch. Did she do something wrong?” I addressed the group who were still giving me strange looks. “You just looked… happy. Really, really happy for some reason.” Sugarberry responded as she took a sip of her lemonade. “I guess it had been a while since Nightmare had hot chocolate.” I responded. That’s the first time I ever had such a beverage. Nightmare said with an embarrassed look on her face as she strolled across one of the bridges in Ponyville in my mind. “OK, the first time she had hot chocolate. She doesn’t like showing how she feels, other than hate, jealousy and anger. Those she is fine with expressing.” As I finish my sentence, our food arrived. Want to taste some of it? I ask Nightmare. Ok, as long as I don’t get those looks again. Nightmare responded as we switched places. I’m sure that won’t happen if you don’t give one of your own. I thoughtfully chuckle. “You know Nightmare…” Tenderheart says as she puts her spoon in her muesli. “I’ve just noticed how that whenever you switch, your posture changes.” “That’s because I have Luna’s memories of her etiquette training. A princess doesn’t slouch, which he does, often.” Nightmare said before taking a bite out of one of the flapjacks she had just cut. “So how does it please the royal tastebuds?” Charles asks… with that infernal camera in his hands. “I will make good on my threat about that camera if you don’t put it down this instant.” Nightmare threatened. “Oh, come on!” Charles exasperatedly shouts, throwing his arms into the air in frustration. “I wanted to get some footage of this journey. Is that too much to ask?” “Apparently, yes.” Scott quipped. “You got me beat over the head with that helmet she’s wearing!” Charles shouted as he almost stabs himself through the back of his throat as he took a bite of his breakfast. “If you weren’t such an utter douchebag, maybe she wouldn’t worry about whenever you hang around women, human or equine!” Charles was visibly shaking as he shouted so I took his utensils out of his protesting hands. “Look if you carry on like this, you will end up impaling yourself or somepony. Calm down.” “That’s rich coming from the one threatening to shoot a bolt of lightning at me!” Charles snaps at me. “Why?! Why can't you just let me have my fun?!” “Damn, what happened to ‘love and tolerate’?” Sugarberry asked as Charles continued to fume. “How about I love and tolerate the shit out of you?!” Charles shouts at Sugarberry, who starts to cry. “Now look what you’ve done!” I shout, not at RCV levels but normal shouting. Tenderheart was patting Sugarberry on the shoulder while hugging her, trying to calm her down. “Oh, you know what?! Fuck this!” Charles shouts as he gets up and storms out of the room. “So is that how you see me? As a douchebag?” Scott asked, the real Scott seemingly in control. “It’s the constant hitting on me and other ladies that makes me angry Scott, nothing else since I don’t exactly know your entire story.” I said to Scott as we all just looked through the doorway that Charles went through. “I had better go see what’s up.” The next few moments were strange, I heard him in his room upstairs, thrashing about as if he was having a fight with somepony. As I walked up the staircase, I saw him come out of his room with his suitcase in his hands. “Well, it has not been fun Nightmare. I think I can see now why PAPA hates you all so much: you’re all self absorbed pieces of shit. I can’t believe I enjoyed the show.” He pushed past me with his bag as he went down the staircase. “Don’t worry about paying for the rooms and that, I took care of it last night.” “Charles look, I know you're upset and I’m sorry.” I reply as we both reach the bottom of the staircase. “Look, I didn’t mean to hurt you in that sense. I just have a twisted sense of humour, the both of us do. Not you, Nightmare and I.” “That still doesn’t change the fact that you beat me over the head with a fucking steel helmet!” Charles vexed. “It’s actually platinum, that’s why it has that azure hue to it.” Nightmare piped up, taking over this part of the conversation. “Don’t care! I’m gone!” He shouts, leaving out the front door. “All of this is just pure bullshit!” “Do you think we don’t know that?!” Nightmare and I shout in unison, the both of us fuming with anger. “We almost got killed before we even landed in this blasted country! We got shot at, gassed and saw some PAPA agents shoot a little filly in the leg as a warning!” “What?” That stopped Charles in his tracks, dropping his bag and turning around. “I-I didn’t know…” “Of course not, I don’t like talking about it that much. Each moment of being stuck in that cage, waiting for our turn to die, we knew we had to act quickly.” We looked at him, a small tear falling down our left cheek, we wiped it away. “In the end, through some cunning, we escaped and freed the others they captured. Those people were placed into their most horrible nightmare they could possibly imagine.” I stopped looking at him and looked up to the sky. “You know? I always dreamed of being able to fly. Now I’m an Alicorn, capable of both flight and magic. The only disadvantage I could possibly think of is the gender swapping but I got over that rather quickly.” I said before I realised something. Nightmare and I had been speaking together as if we had the same train of thought, the same amount of control. Looks like the merging is happening faster than either of us had anticipated. Nightmare thought as she realised the same thing. We can worry about it later. I retorted. “Ok, look.” Charles let out a sigh as he sat down on the ground, on top of his bag. “I’m sorry for lashing out at you all.” “Water under the bridge, I’m just glad you stopped long enough to hear my story. I’ll let you do your videos on the condition you ask first. Waking up to seeing a camera in my face is not how I intend on starting my mornings.” I respond, taking the shoe off my one hoof and then extending it. “Fine.” Charles brohoofed me and got up off the floor. “Let’s not keep the others waiting.” I nod and put my shoe back on before following him. In the lobby, Tenderheart, Scott and Sugarberry are standing near the door, watching our conversation. As we both walked back, Scott gave me a nod and a smile as the other two mares gave a sigh of relief. After finishing breakfast, we all packed up our gear and got ready to make for our next destination: Richfield, Utah before making the final trip to Las Vegas, Nevada. As we gathered up our things I saw the two mares standing by the entrance with their own bags, paying up at the reception desk. At first I thought there was nothing wrong with it until I saw their faces light up when they saw us coming down. Tenderheart came up to me with a grin. “We were wondering if you wouldn’t mind taking us with you?” Tenderheart asked as Sugarberry tried to look away, blushing furiously. “May I ask why? We aren't going to New York, you know that.” I respond, taken aback at how we seem to be picking up somepony whenever we stop somewhere. “Well, there are reports of PAPA supporters in the next town we were going to and so we were hoping to go with you since you’ve handled them before. We don’t really mind being in these bodies, Tenderheart is a real pleasure to talk to and her expertise in animal care is amazing.” Tenderheart explained. “You heard me?” I asked. “The whole hotel heard you actually.” Sugarberry piped up. “You were shouting rather loudly.” I just realised that Nightmare and I were using the Royal Canterlot Voice as we shouted at Charles earlier on. I facehoofed myself once the realisation had fully sunk in. This earned a few chuckles from my travelling companions. “She’s right, you must have an impressive pair of lungs to pull off that volume of shouting.” Charles quipped. I gave Charles a glare as he told me this. “I know that, but I don’t use it that often. I didn’t even realise I was using it.” I sheepishly said as they all just looked at me. “Sorry.” “’Sorry’? That was amazing!” Tenderheart said with a big smile on her face. I just looked at her. “Come on, you blew up a small dust storm behind Charles, didn’t you notice it?” “No afraid I did not.” I responded as the conversation had steered far beyond its original course. “Can we get to the reason you want to come with me despite the fact you both ran off the moment you saw me last night?” “We said we were sorry and that Scott explained everything to us, or at least he put our fears to rest at any rate.” Sugarberry said as she picked her bag up with her magic while Tenderheart used her teeth. “Fine, the more the merrier I guess. Will we all fit in the sedan, Charles?” I asked, suddenly worrying about the space we all take up in the car as well as our bags. “Should do. Come on, it’s going to be a long drive for me.” Charles said as we all secured our bags and went to Charles’ blue sedan. We folded the back seats and placed the bags as far back in the boot as possible as the two mares sat next to me, our rears sticking into the boot area but we were at least comfortable. I looked at the time and at the route we were going to be taking on the laptop. It was 13:43… on Shlorgiborgday. Wait, what? I swear I’m going to get a headache from this messed up calendar. I watched us leave the parking area of the hotel and go from Denver and onto the I-70 which would get us to Richfield in the next… 7 hours. I guess I haven’t got anything else to do but lay my head down and wait. Author's Note Another chapter and some more travelling companions. Viva Las Vegas!! Here is the pictures of Tenderheart and Sugarberry for the curious!
Not InvincibleTo Sleep, Perchance to… Nightmare? Not Invincible Author: Draconis187 Time: 18:01 Date: Shlorgiborgday Location: one mile northwest from Grand Junction, Colorado, along the I-70 Interstate The trip along the Interstate – or highway as I know it – was long and boring for the most part but I did do something productive while Charles drove us in his sedan. I went online and looked for an inn/hotel in Richfield so we didn’t have any hassles looking for one once we got there. While searching, I found a few of them advertising the fact that they don’t allow ponies or any form of animal sleeping there. The one had a sign saying, ‘100% PAPA approved.’ “They are a real annoyance, aren't they?” Sugarberry said, looking over my shoulder as I saw yet another PAPA affiliated inn. “Why do people listen to those idiots?” “Humans are gullible, always have been. We fear that which is different to our usual way of thinking or life. Then there are those who plague on that insecurity and gather other like minded individuals in order to further their goals which are usually not for the benefit the whole populace but rather for a singular person.” I explain rather monotonously as she gave me a strange look. “That’s… a rather bleak outlook.” Tenderheart commented. “Sad, but true. Look at history if you need an example. Many of the now great scientists had their theories shot down and now those same theories have revolutionised the way we do things or perceive the world. If we were any more stuck up in our ways we would still be thinking that the world was flat and there were monsters over the edge.” I respond. “How did the conversation get like this?” Sugarberry asked as she just looked at me with a blank expression on her face. “You asked me why people listen to PAPA and I gave you a reason.” I responded as the sedan was pulling to a stop at a petrol station for fuel. “Right then ponies, hop out and stretch your hooves while I get some gas for the car.” Charles near shouted as he pulled up to a pump. We all got out and I stretched my various appendages while the others did the same. Sitting down for several hours hurts your joints. I watched Charles talk to a station attendant while I put in my earphones and started listening to Playing with Fire by Bullet for my Valentine. As I sat down and hummed a few bars, I felt a hoof poke me on my side. I turned around to see Tenderheart looking at me with a worried expression. “What’s wrong?” I asked as I removed one of the earphones. “What were you humming?” The look on her face as she listened to a few bars said it all, she looked up at me with utter shock in her eyes, I couldn’t help but laugh. “That’s hilarious! What’s wrong with listening to metal music?” I asked as I managed to recover from my laughing fit. “I just never thought of you as a metal fan.” Tenderheart defended. I just laughed again at her response, slightly less hard this time. “If I had a rand for every time I heard that.” I giggle but then I noticed the dumfounded expression on her face. “The Rand is the currency of the country where I’m from.” “You are from another country?” Sugarberry asked, deciding to join the conversation. “Which one?” “It’s called South Africa and as the name suggests, it is at the south of Africa. Specifically it is at the very bottom. Otherwise it might have been called ‘Nearly South Africa’.” I respond as Sugarberry was about to ask a question. “Now if you ladies will excuse me, I have some music that no one believes I listen to calling my name.” At that I walked off to the sedan with the earphones back in and hopped into the back again as Charles had finished filling up the tank. We where now wet to get to Richfield, Utah. I laid down after finally confirming our inn/hotel, whatever we were staying in. It was a simple one since simple worked best for our combined pockets. Scott and Charles were talking while the two mares to my left were also engrossed in their own conversation, most likely gossip. I placed my head down on a pillow and just drifted off to the sound of Turn to Despair by Bullet for my Valentine. **** **** **** **** Nightmare and I were sat next to each other on top of the Arc de Triomphe again but this time we just had our forehooves hanging over the edge instead of rocking out like the last time. Looking at an imaginary Paris at night was calming for me. “So they are just ignoring us.” Nightmare piped up as we just looked on. “They all have their friends and just leave the Alicorn out of the fun.” I knew this discussion would escalate to something worse if I kept quiet and so I voiced my opinion. “Everypony as their won set of friends, Sugarberry and Tenderheart were friends before this debacle happened while Scott and Charles are sat in front so they would obviously choose to speak to one another before craning their necks to talk to any of us in the back. I just wonder why it is so easy for me to go to sleep though.” “An Alicorn has rather unusual sleeping habits. We can be awake for days on end and not feel the effects of sleep depravation. It’s how Celestia coped with raising the sun and moon in Luna’s absence.” Nightmare explained. “But it also means that a state of sleep is easy to fall into. The good news is that it is easier to wake up as well.” “Well that gives a whole new meaning to the term ‘power nap’.” I mused. “We seem to be getting on better though, don’t you think?” “Just because of what happened earlier?” Nightmare said, looking at me as I did the same. “Not just that, you have been opening up more and becoming easier to talk to since the start of this entire trip. I mean, you hardly ever call me ‘foal’ anymore unless I do something rather stupid.” I say as the area around us changed to the deck of a Ragnarov Titan, orbiting a planet that resembled Mars. “What about me? I have always been an introvert by nature despite working in a restaurant which deals with the outdoors and people on a daily basis. Now look at me: I'm in a group of five complete strangers on a road tip through a country I've only read about or seen on the news.” “Not to mention that your temperament has become slightly more volatile.” Nightmare quipped. “I blame you for that.” I retorted with a smile. We looked at each other for a few silent seconds before sharing a laugh as the familiar darkness swept over the world once more to end our conversation. **** **** **** **** “Nightmare, you alright?” Scott’s voice reached my ears before my eyes decided to cooperate and open. “I'm perfectly fine. I had a nice little conversation with the pony in my head that I'm sharing the body of.” I responded with a small smile. “And what does she think of us?” Tenderheart cautiously asked, her voice had a slight hint of fear to it. It was understandable due to the fact that she hasn't mentioned her opinion about them to anypony, not even me. “Actually I never asked her opinion but I doubt she hates you, otherwise she would have taken over and flown off ages ago.” I reply in a calm manner to try and ease their thoughts. “He is right.” Nightmare took over at that moment, either to help alleviate their fears or to make them fear us more. It still didn’t alleviate the feeling of being forced out of control. “I find you company most comforting, since all I had was Scott over there and his perverted mind.” “Hey, I call them as I see them. You are some lovely mares, too bad this isn't Equestria. You’d have suitors lining up for miles.” Scott said, shrugging his shoulders, smiling as he returned to his conversation with Charles. “So why are you hanging around him?” Sugarberry asked, gesturing at Scott with her head while giving me a small smirk. “Well, he made up for his mistakes after we met and then there was the fact that nopony should be left on their own when this world has inconsiderate foals like PAPA roaming around. Did I say something amusing?” Nightmare asked as Tenderheart giggled. “You said ‘foal’, just like the show.” She sniggered. “That’s because I am the self same mare.” Nightmare responded but she got what Tenderheart meant. “I am that very same Nightmare Moon that wanted to engulf Equestria in eternal darkness.” “So what about now? You know, now that you have returned to the world of the living, do you still plan on bringing the eternal night?” Sugarberry asked, her face getting rather close to our muzzle. Nightmare just chuckled as she responded. “This isn't Equestria, and what would a world of hairless monkeys give me? They already have their own gods and beliefs that they already fight over without any assistance from me. That and Chris wants to ‘improve my image’ as he puts it.” “Chris?” The both of them look slightly confused before the dots got connected in their minds as they began to grin madly. “You were a guy? You were a guy and now you're a girl?” They were giggling furiously as Nightmare retorted, not amused in any form. “Yes he was, is there some kind of problem with that?” “No, it’s just funny that’s all. Talk about seeing things from another perspective.” Tenderheart giggled. Nightmare rolled her eyes at the spectacle they were making of themselves. “Well that does not make it any less rude to laugh at our position.” Nightmare defended. “Sorry.” They still gave a small giggle but they stopped it after a few minutes but I drowned them out with music. Time: 20:23 Date: Shlorgiborgday Location: Near a hotel in Richfield, Utah We finally arrived at Richfield, Utah where we were going to stay for the night before the last leg into Nevada and Las Vegas. The kids’ show that was going to play in Las Vegas had finished its first performance for the day, according to the schedule I found on the internet. The performance was still going on four three more days so we still had enough time to get there and crash the party with a ‘special appearance’. The car was brought to a stop outside the hotel I found that was pony friendly. I looked around the area and saw the very odd looks that the locals were giving us. Many had PAPA written on their shirts, pants, cars and even some street signs. This was starting to give me a terrible feeling about Richfield. “Uh, I think this was a very bad idea. We should go to another town.” I tried to say until I noticed the hotel we were going to stay in. It was a two-storey building with red paint on the brickwork. The windows were of average size but that was not what drew my attention, no what did get my attention were the thick metal burglar bars covering them. They were a gun metal grey colour which made the hotel seem more like a prison. I felt like I was about to walk into a house owned by Addams Family. This furthered to strengthen my desire to rather leave the area and go on to the next town. The good thing was that we never took out our bags from the back of the sedan. “Guys, I really think coming here was a terrible idea now. Let’s either go back or carry on to the next town, even if it is not along our route.” I said, looking at the large crowd that was gathering around us, each with various forms of PAPA paraphernalia… and items usually used in throwing at people. “I’m with Nightmare on this one folks.” Tenderheart agreed. She was nervously backing up as the group was advancing on us. “Yeah, the car… now.” Charles finally agreed as we calmly walked to the car. As we got close to the car, we scrambled in. This seemed to spur the crowd on as Charles’ window got smashed in and a PAPA supporter grabbed him by his throat. “How dare you go around with these mongrels!” The man was around 5’3” but built like a bodybuilder, his gym must love him but as he brought Charles to his face, he began to shout. “These creatures are taking our wives, husbands and children away from us to make room for themselves! And yet you are helping these abominations?!” “Let go of him!” I blast the man with the RCV which made him let go of Charles and sent him flying backwards and onto the floor. I turned to Charles. “Get going!” I place a hoof to my mouth as I nearly deafened Charles and the others twice now but Charles slammed his foot onto the accelerator. “You don’t have to tell me twice!” Time: 20: 43 Date: Shlorgiborgday Location: Five miles outside Richfield, Utah “Is everypony alright?” Tenderheart asked as we fled the PAPA infested town. “I'm alright.” Charles confirmed. “My throat is just a little sore and my ears feel like I just attended a heavy metal concert.” “I'm good.” Scott replied, turning his head to us as he gave us a reassuring smile. “Right I guess we ride on through the night then.” Charles commented as we rode along the I-70, a little shaken up from the PAPA supporters. “Not exactly.” I responded as I had my laptop opened on our current route. “There is a city called Monroe ten miles south of here but I suggest we carry on the I-70 and then get on the I-15. The further away we are from Richfield, the more likely we won't find as many PAPA supporters. I hope anyway.” “Ok then. What is the name of the city we are heading to for the night?” Charles asked. “It’s called… Beaver. Seriously? They named a city Beaver?” I facehoofed myself as I looked at the map. “I swear, Americans have the worst imagination of any human being.” “Hey!” All four of my travelling companions complained as I insulted the collective intelligence of America, including them. “I don’t mince words or use euphemisms. I find Americans gullible, stupid and a waste of air but then again I could say the same about humanity in general.” I quipped. “But you were human. We all were.” Scott pointed out. I laughed at the shocked looks I was getting. “I know and please don’t remind me. I never liked being human in the first place to be brutally honest with you. I hated having to be a part of a race that cheats, lies and belittles others just to get ahead in life which doesn’t always last long because somepony will come along and end it.” I callously retort at them. “You… really are as mean as Nightmare Moon.” Sugarberry says with a look of utter shock. “Look, I just… I just didn’t like seeing all of the hate around me. I was brought up on a far friendlier set of principles. I was always the person who wanted to help out because the smile I got made me smile.” I replied, looking out of the window as we drove off to Beaver. “Yet in the end, all it ended up doing was making people treat me like a doormat. They used me to cover up their mistakes on so many occasions.” “At points I got overly frustrated with it but continued to take it. I was a good person but not oblivious to the machinations of others. But the moment I stood up for myself, I suffered the consequences as it just blew up in my face.” The wind was soothing as I felt my ethereal mane billow in the wind. Funny how a mane comprised of gas and miniature celestial objects could have a sense of feeling. “So I'm glad I'm not human and those PAPA morons can go and buck themselves if they hate me for being a pony.” “Well, that aside: how far is Beaver?” Sugarberry asked with a yawn as she tried to change subjects. I checked Google Maps again, more than happy to oblige before answering. “It’s about an hour’s drive along the I-15.” “Ok. Let’s hope it isn't a long hour.” Charles complained as he raised his hand to his mouth as he yawned. “I need to sleep.” “I have a solution that will keep us all awake.” I maliciously grin. “I know that smile Nightmare, what are you planning?” Scott asked nervously. “Just some travel music.” I quip as I turn up the laptop’s volume to max and press play on the media player. I ended up playing various songs including Bullet For My Valentine’s ‘Tears Don’t Fall Part 2’, Linkin Park’s ‘Lost in the Echo’ and some Disturbed, one of which was ‘Serpentine’. I locked the laptop so they couldn’t get onto it and stop the music and kept it on my side so they couldn’t reach it. It pays to be larger than the average pony at times. As I looked at them while the music blared, only Sugarberry seemed to enjoy my taste in music. The journey to Beaver was filled with major headbanging from Sugarberry and I. Time: 21:50 Date: Shlorgiborgday Location: Wandering the streets in Beaver, Utah We arrived in Beaver and found it had far far less PAPA banners around it, if at all. If this city hated ponies, it was discreetly. The sedan stopped outside a simple hotel and Charles went inside while we waited. He wanted to see if we would be accepted in the hotel. Given the expression he had on his face as he left, I doubted the answer was in our favour. “Sorry everypony.” Charles said as he walked around to my window. “They said yes.” “You are such a troll.” I smirked as I opened the door and got out. “You had it coming after you tried to deafen us.” Charles retorted as he popped the boot for us to grab our bags. “I suppose you have a point but what can you do? I did get that guy off you.” I pulled a duck face at him as I levitated our bags out of the back. “Leave you behind and just go to New York like everypony else seems to be doing?” Charles retorted with a smile, grabbing his bag and going into the hotel. “And lose your subject for your YouTube videos? I doubt you actually have the guts.” I laughed as the others followed Charles and I as we walked through the doors and found the reception area. The hotel seemed far ‘homier’ feel to it. The combination of the contrast of beige and other light colours made the place feel like you want to sleep here. They had some old styled chandeliers made from a silver metal. Given the look of the rest of the place, I doubted it was a high quality silver, probably some low caret. The place was simple, yet it had a sort of style to it. “Right then Mister Charles, we have your reservation under ‘bronies’.” The receptionist said, handing him three sets of keys. “Your rooms are 3, 4, 5. They are up the stairs and to the right.” “Thank you, is the kitchen still open?” Charles asked as Tenderheart’s stomach decided to start a very vocal protest at the prospect of no dinner. “The kitchen is still open for now, Frank is not going to be very happy about staying a little later than usual but he has no choice. Follow me.” The lady was of average build while her blonde hair was tied up in a bun. We were eventually led down two passageways before reaching the dining room. The dining room was just as well designed as the reception. The table they gave us was rectangular in shape with Tenderheart and Sugarberry sitting together on a bench while Charles sat at the head or the foot of the table. I could never understand the difference between the two. I was sat next to Scott on the opposite side of the two mares. As our waiter came to get our orders (Anthony if his nametag was anything to go by), we heard a shouting match between the receptionist and somepony else, who could only be the chef in question. His language was so colourful that it would make Rainbow Dash’s mane look monotone. There were a few glances between us, I giggled a little, Scott’s ears were flat against his head, Charles seamed to try and vanish in his seat while the two mares were giving running commentary as if it were a sport. “Sorry about that. He has rather reserved views.” The receptionist apologised. “In other words he’s not a pony fan?” I surmise. “Actually no, he apparently watches the show with his daughter every Saturday morning. He is actually a nice guy. He just hates going home late to his family.” She said, shooting down my theory. “Ok, I gather you are the owner as well as the receptionist?” I asked. “I have never seen any employee give another that much stick unless they are family or their superior. You aren't related to him by the seems of it if your statement about his family is any indication. So the only logical conclusion I can draw is that you are the owner.” “Well, you are correct about that. I am the owner of this establishment. I will leave you as I have to tend to the reception.” With that the lady left the room with our waiter still waiting for our orders. “I’ll have the Caesar salad with some coke.” I asked Anthony who nodded and wrote the order down. “A T-bone, medium with chips and some still water for me.” Charles ordered with a grin on his face. “I’ll have the same as Nightmare but with some tea for me.” Tenderheart asked. “Same here and some still water as well please.” Scott asked, his ears having perked up again. “Same for me too but with some red wine and some sugar water.” Sugarberry requested with a sheepish smile on her face. Anthony walked off to the kitchen with our orders. He was met with a brick wall of curses and other forms of foul temper. In the room around us, I heard some chatter from some of the guests who were looking at us with some very strange looks. As I turned around to get a better look at them I saw that their expressions were more of bewilderment rather than those of hate and prejudice. A few people actually took pictures of us as we waited for our orders. Charles saw this as an opportunity to humiliate us all by pulling out that confounded camera. “Welcome back to Pony Watch! The time here is now… 22:01 and we have arrived in Beaver Utah.” He then turned the camera to the group watching us. “Hey everypony! Say hello to YouTube!” He got quite a few cheers and various comments that were too indistinguishable to properly understand. “Now then we were planning on stopping in Richfield further back along the interstate but we had to leave since they don’t know the meaning of ‘love and tolerate’. That’s right viewers, we found ourselves in a PAPA-centric city. Needless to say we all left but now we are in a place where our pastel coloured friends are loved. Those of you watching that live in Las Vegas, we are coming soon! CharlesMaster231 signing out!” “You called it ‘Pony Watch’?” I raised my eyebrow asked, clearly not impressed. “Well, I was going to call it ‘Nightmare Watch’ until we met Sugarberry and Tenderheart.” Charles shrugged his shoulders as he defended himself. “Fair enough. Ah good, our drinks.” I saw our waiter come back with our drinks but before he could place them, I levitated them off his tray and laid them about for everypony. We ended speaking about our interests and hobbies. I told them about how I preferred to stay indoors rather than meet people. Scott talked about how he hated being near those PAPA ‘friends’ of his but he couldn’t leave them since they constantly threatened to burn his house down. Charles did odd jobs his whole life, could never hold a job for more than three months because he got bored in the end. Sugarberry tried to tell us the major differences between sedimentary rocks and igneous rocks. Tenderheart explained how her pet dog broke its back after getting hit by a car before dying from a disease and how that made her want to be a veterinarian. Eventually our meals arrived, well our four salads and Charles’ T-bone. Tenderheart made rather uncomfortable movements as Charles cut into the meat with his knife. “Something wron- oh, the meat?” Charles said, taking a look at Tenderheart’s expression on her face. “Sorry, old habits die hard.” “I just wish I didn’t have to see it, that’s all. I guess it’s because ponies are herbivores.” Tenderheart said, trying to give a smile. After we finished our meals we went up to bed, Sugarberry and Tenderheart were sharing a room as Charles and Scott did the same. My room had this colossal four poster bed that seemed to come from the renaissance era. The bed felt like I was on a cloud, soft enough to get comfortable and yet hard enough to hold my weight without me fearing I would fall through it. I took off my armour and got under the covers. I doubted I wanted to know how this affected our pockets but we were so close to Las Vegas now, Nightmare and I could taste it.
One More NightTo Sleep, Perchance to… Nightmare? One More Night Author: Draconis187 Time: 08:23 Date: Threepday Location: A hotel in Beaver, Utah I was awake from the moment the sun decided to gleam in my eyes by refracting off my armour. Even before becoming the embodiment of Darkness I was not a fan of the sun. You get too hot and your options of cooling off were usually limited beyond swimming or wearing shorts and a t-shirt. As I lazily got up from the bed, I went into the bathroom to try and freshen up. Deciding that the bathtub was not the most efficient way to clean my coat, I opted for the shower instead. As I was using a brush and some – more like a lot to be perfectly frank – shampoo for my coat, I felt that my wings were rather sensitive to the brush so I avoided brushing them. My mane and tail on the other hoof only needed to get brushed. The reason for that was to get rid of the dead stars that floated inside and the fact that the shampoo just fell through my mane. It pays to have an ethereal mane. It was half past nine by the time I was fully washed, dried and clothed - I just donned the armour, same thing really - myself, I went out the room to find my travelling circus of strange individuals. Sure I could be considered strange, especially my outburst about liking not being human but we had a perverted Pegasus, a geologist Unicorn and a veterinarian Earth Pony. The last of our little group was the chronicler, more like the ‘takes videos at the most importune and embarrassing moments’ guy. The dining hall looked just as lovely during the day as it did when we were here the previous night but there were some things I noticed that drew my attention. A few spots on the walls and light fixtures had some small, rather discernable cracks. I gathered I didn’t notice them last night due to it being so late and the fact that it was slightly darker, as the lights don’t reach everywhere in the room equally. “Nightmare!” I turned and saw the rest of my group sat at the table we used the previous night. Tenderheart was waving at me, indirectly turning the entire room’s attention in my general direction. The entire room just stared with mixed expressions at me as I joined them at the table. A different waiter – by the name of Joanne – served us this time. She seemed rather… curvaceous to put it rather blunt. Scott ogled her as she walked away after she had taken their orders. I made sure to swat the back of his head with an unarmoured hoof in an attempt to turn his focus away from those thoughts. Couldn’t wait for us, could they? Nightmare scoffed as we sat down next to Sugarberry who gave us a smile. They were hungry, we can’t fault them for that. Besides, we would have gotten out earlier if you didn’t insist on preening. I replied, smiling back at the mare as the waitress returned. Keeping your feathers clean and properly arranged is a normal part of life if you're a Pegasus. Or an Alicorn. Nightmare retorted. I get that but we didn’t need to take half an hour to do it. I snapped back. In my mind, Nightmare was giving me one hell of an evil look. If looks could kill, she could lay waste to the Spanish Armada five times over with that look and still be able to freeze Tartarus over for an encore. It didn’t last as she began to chuckle. This seemed to become somewhat of a recurring theme with us. We’d get into an argument, only to laugh it off and act as if we have been friends for an eternity. Although in hindsight, I guess I was the first true friend she had. “Nightmare are you ok?” Sugarberry’s voice pulled me back to reality and the table of ponies and the one human. “Don’t worry about me. I was talking to Nightmare again. She was rather ticked off by the fact that you didn’t wait for us but she’s fine now. We had a good laugh about it.” I replied as I saw the waitress returning. “Sorry, we didn’t know how lon-” I stopped Tenderheart from apologising by raising my hoof to silence her. “You don’t have to apologise, really.” I said as the waitress reached the table to take my order. “I’ll have the farmhouse breakfast but hold the pork sausages and some orange juice.” Joanne wrote down my order and went off to add it to the rest. I quickly realised Joanne had brought the others their drinks. Oddly enough everypony was having fruit juice with the exception to Scott who had lemonade. Sugarberry had apple juice, Tenderheart had mango and Charles had strawberry. While we waited for our meals and my drink, the topic of discussion was rather obvious: Las Vegas. We were roughly three hours away if the traffic was lenient and merciful, I had my reservations to that but a little tardiness never hurt. My drink arrived as we were about to figure out our plans once arriving there. “As we know, I’m going to crash a pony show with a ‘special guest appearance’.” I reminded everypony. “What are your plans?” “Well, there is Caesar’s Palace that I’ve been itching to go to.” Sugarberry said with a gleeful expression. “Tenderheart?” “Oh, um… I actually don’t know really. I guess I’ll follow you into Caesar’s Palace to keep an eye on you.” Tenderheart replied as she turned to Scott. “My turn?” Scott looked at us for a second before answering. “I’ve been with Nightmare almost from the start of this trip so I’ll follow her to the show.” He turned to me with a slight smirk. “Knowing you, you will cause a panic.” Nightmare and I laughed. “That’s kind of the entire plan to be honest!” Scott facehoofed as Charles spoke up. “Nightmare has been the focus of my videos and so I’ll follow the two of you to record it for the internet.” “Sounds fair, I guess. In truth it is the least I can do since I got you to ride out all this way. Not to mention after the assault from Richfield.” I said rather nervously as we remembered the events of the previous night. “How about we never mention that place again?” We all could agree on that. Our meals soon arrived as we began to pool our cash together and split it up equally so that if one of us decided to go on a spending spree, we would not end up poor and beg for money. Our collective cash totalled $1250, which was rather surprising since Charles had already paid for the hotel, again. I was starting to feel rather bad about having him cover our expenses so many times. I hope he doesn’t end up on the street because of us. I wouldn’t be able to live with myself. We resolved to split the money once we arrived at Las Vegas, $250 each to be precise. It was reasonable since we couldn’t really spend it on the way there. It would defeat the purpose of splitting it in the first place. After our meals, we grabbed our things and went to Charles’ car. While Charles checked us out of the hotel, I opened up his car with some rather decent telekinesis – I actually used the keys but the group never saw them and assumed I was using magic, I was not going to tell them otherwise – and placed the bags into the back. As he got to the car, he found the four ponies already sitting down, waiting for him patiently. Our three hour trip was definitely going to be rather mediocre but I had music and company if I felt like a conversation. I felt like nothing could go wrong now. Time: ??:?? Date: ?? Location: ?? “Ugh, what happened?” I got up and looked around. I saw the Greek Parthenon in front of me and – for reasons that will forever escape me – felt compelled to enter. The sound of metal on stone echoed through the empty, ruined hall… I felt uneasy. It was the sort of unease that could only be described as the ‘I am being watched’ feeling. I looked around at my surroundings but all I saw were ruined pillars, faded décor and rubble. Lots of rubble. “It happened.” I wheeled around and crouched, ready to defend myself despite Nightmare handled all of our altercations better than I ever could. “Oh, get up off the floor.” Nightmare gave me a small devilish smirk as she walked past me. I followed her further into the ancient Parthenon, coming to a halt at the base of the weathered statue of the Goddess Athena. Sadly time and neglect reduced the statue to nothing short of rubble and dust. What actually got my attention was the black form that laid on it. How and why I didn’t notice it earlier was beyond me but as I got closer, it looked familiar somehow… until the billowing ethereal mane gave it away. I was rather shocked and dumbfounded. Nightmare looked solemn and resentful as she turned to me. “Again, I blame you for this.” She said callously, pointing to the third Nightmare Moon. “Don’t you remember what I said the first time we talked?” I just shook my head. I had no idea what was going on at all. Nightmare slugged me over the head with a Thunder Hammer from Warhammer 40K. Involuntary flight was the result of the strike as I collided with a – surprisingly still standing – pillar. “You foal!” She shouted at me with the Royal Canterlot Voice, completely deafening me. Now I knew how Charles and the others felt when I did it around them. “That thing there is us!” As she shouted that, the gravity of the situation finally hit its mark. Nightmare fell onto her flank as she looked at the third Nightmare. “I used some rather forbidden magic to keep our current states but… she is us. We will no longer have control of our body.” “So we have been demoted to nothing more than her conscience now?” I surmised as I got to my hooves. Nightmare didn’t respond, she only stared at the sleeping form that was our combined personalities. “Nightmare, what exactly happened? I mean I would’ve noticed if the merge completed, wouldn’t I?” I asked as we walked up to Nightmare Number Three. “It was always going to happen but… there was an incident. Try to think back, just before you came into our mind and it should come to you.” She replied as she ran a hoof through the sleeping mare’s mane. The stars were bumped out of the way as her hoof made contact. She even gave a content sigh as she began to stir. “Time to see the world with a new perspective little one.” Nightmare said as I saw the world end around us. I shrugged my shoulders, I was not afraid of this. I forever saw my death in several situations, I was either shot, stabbed or died of a disease. Even suicide was one of them. “Oh, damn.” I said, finally having remembered what happened before blacking out. “She is going to hate me.” **** **** **** **** Time: Don’t care, this headache is pounding. Date: My ears are ringing, can’t concentrate properly. Location: I don’t give a buck, I can’t see! My head felt like it was placed in a vice and squeezed until it cracked open like an egg. My vision was black as the night sky. This was absolutely perfect: I was blind and my ears felt like I had my ear plastered to the largest speaker possible while attending a heavy metal concert. I just wanted to get my bearings and find a light so I could see but the headache stopped my attempts at any form of illuminating magic. “ Hello? Miss? ” I could hear a faint voice, it was distorted yet somewhat discernable as a lady’s voice. I tried to rely on my other senses, touch and smell since sight and hearing were out of commission and taste was not an option. I was going to taste everything I came across. I could smell the fragrance of some forms of antiseptics and medicines. Dear sweet Celestia, I was in a hospital or worse: a mortuary, being embalmed. I truly didn’t know which could be worse. I tried to get up but I fell back down as a sharp pain in my ribcage decided to voice its presence. Not only that but my legs hurt and my right hind leg felt like it had a stiff piece of… something attached to it like a splint. Okay. Let’s try and do a count of our situation. I tried to rationalise as I noticed the hard bed I was laid on. “Okay, my legs feel shattered; my head feels like I took on a freight train and lost; I can not see for the life of me; I have this incessant ringing in my ears and it hurts. Oh, I and I feel like I’m being watched.” I summarised vocally, hearing myself speak ensured that I was probably still amongst the living. “Can you hear me?” Okay, so my hearing was definitely returning, that’s progress and it put me slightly at ease. I must be in a hospital since morgues are for the dead and as far as I could tell, I was still kicking, albeit barely by the feel of it. “Yes.” I replied nonchalantly as my hearing began to normalise. What was normal anymore anyway? A question for another day as the other voice spoke again. “That’s good. I’m going to remove the blindfold but keep your eyes closed and open them slowly so they can adjust to the light.” The female voice said calmingly. I still tensed up as I felt a pair of hands press up against the sides of my head but I did what I was told and opened my eyes slowly. My vision was rather blurry but I could make out the horrid green curtains that hospitals had for a patient’s privacy. The sun was reflecting off something metal in the distance, causing me to try and avert my eyes. Luckily the attending nurse saw my discomfort and stepped in the offending solar rays’ path. “Give it to me straight Doc.” I said, with a small smirk on my face. Or at least I was sure it was a smirk, my headache was not making it any easier on me. “You have five fractured ribs, the rest are badly bruised. Your right wing is missing several pinions and the coverts are slightly singed while your left wing has several scorched secondaries.” A man next to me said. If I wasn’t in so much pain, I would have jumped out of my coat or attacked him with a blast of lightning. Either one would have resulted in more pain so I was glad I did neither. “You were also comatose for a while and the concussion will most likely persist for some time.” “Great… wait! What about the others?!” I shouted, as I suddenly panicked. I was with some other ponies before winding up here, wasn’t I? “I’m afraid I am not at liberty to say as I am not their attending doctor.” The doctor replied. I felt my face turn into a scowl, I wanted to tear him a new hole in his chest and stuff a grenade in it. Where did that thought come from? I’m not that violent, am I? I thought as I fought with my body to get up. “Stay down.” Doctor said, trying to ease me back into the hospital bed. “You should not be walking around just yet. You may open up the stitching we had to do when we operated on you.” “You operated on me?!” I bellowed, knocking the doctor and nurse onto their backs. The force literally rattled the windows and I’m sure somewhere, somepony just suffered a heart attack that came from the bowels of Tartarus itself. “Please don’t shout!” The doctor cried out as he scrambled to his feet, clasping his hand over my muzzle. It kind of stung a little and I was tempted to let him have another blast but some part of me thought it was a bad idea so I relented. “There are patients that could react horribly to a massive shock and your voice qualifies.” I rolled my eyes and nodded my head to show him I understood. “Perfect. Now, I will try to see if I can find out about your friends for you and when you are better, I will take you to see them.” With that, he left me in the nurse’s care. My day was long, boring and as dreary as being on the moon. The white walls made me feel like I was in a psychiatric ward rather than a hospital. Nurses, doctors and patients walked past my room, ignoring me completely. My headache was getting better as the hours rolled by at least. Although, the one thing I couldn’t shake was the feeling that the situation was far worse than what they told me. Hospital staff love to keep patients in the dark, I think they get some sick kick from it. The good thing about my receding headache was my reacquired magical reach. My telekinesis only resulted in minor increases in the migraine as I finally discovered the offending metal object that was refracting the sun into my eyes. It turned out to be an azure coloured helmet, chestpiece and four shoes that would fit perfectly on my hooves. A part of me just felt familiar with them but I decided to place them at the other side of the room, under the window so that the sun didn’t bounce off them again. Time: 18:43 Date: Threepday Location: Sunrise Hospital and Medical Centre, Las Vegas The nurse was kind enough to tell me the time, date and location of my current whereabouts. Eleanor – as she eventually introduced herself – had a daughter who loved the show and wanted to see me with a burning passion. Lucky for me, visiting hours had long since finished which spared me the hug I probably would have been forced to receive. I didn’t mind it but I think it might have broken a few stitches. Once the nurse had finally left, I managed a rather painful walk out of my room. I had to find my… friends? They were my friends weren’t they? I walked over to the reception after getting down there via the elevator. There was no way in Tartarus I was going to use the stairs, three flights? I’d rather face another 1000 years of isolation on the moon. “Pardon me…” I asked as the man at the reception had finished handing a nurse some paperwork. He turned to me with those fake smiles that you know people wear in these types of jobs. “Yes, can I be of assistance?” He said, Mark was printed on his nametag. “I was admitted earlier today and I have to ask if there were any other ponies with me?” Mark nodded at me. “Can you please tell me where I can locate them?” Mark directed me to a room located near the I.C.U. ward. It was on a floor higher than my room so I walked over to the elevator once more. The nurses and doctors gave me rather strange looks as I hobbled across the floor. Being on my hooves for only twenty minutes had already resulted in several muscle pains as the bruising and the stitches in my chest became aggravated. I searched down the hallway, mumbling the room numbers and plaques on doctors’ offices in my search for the four companions I was travelling with. I looked into one of the rooms to see three ponies. A powder blue Earth pony, a white Pegasus and a white Unicorn were laid near each other on the beds. In an instant something in me recalled their names in the same order I looked at them: Tenderheart; Scott and Sugarberry. That same part of me felt like it needed to help them. I opened the door slowly to not draw their attention but the door creaked rather audibly. As they looked at me, they smiled happily. It turned out to be contagious as I returned their happy expressions. “How are you holding up Nightmare?” Sugarberry asked cheerfully. She had a drip in her left foreleg while her hind legs were in casts and suspended in the air by wires. I looked at her but I somewhat stopped, my mouth hanging open. I closed it and looked down. Nightmare? Nightmare Moon I’d gather but that didn’t sound right. There was another name… Chris but even that had a somewhat sour taste in my mouth. I looked at Tenderheart and saw she was in a full body cast, unable to move at all while she had a tube in her neck, just above the cast. Scott looked like he had the better part of the deal as his wings were spread out, supported by splints. His head was wrapped up like he was wearing a turban, only showing one of his eyes. “I’ll be fine but what about you?” I replied, finally recollecting my composure. A princess is not meant to show weakness. Wait, I’m a princess? “We’ll be fine. We were lucky.” Tenderheart said. “Well, those two were luckier than me since I can't move. I have the worst itch on my rump that I just can not get rid off.” The other two laughed at her expense but stopped as they coughed, hard. As they settled down, I found a bench that would serve well for me to alleviate my own pain. I was mercifully correct in my assumption and learned rather quickly that the bench was more comfortable than the bed I laid in earlier. As much as I thought it would be a bad idea, I had to ask. “What happened exactly?” The three ponies’ happy expressions ended instantaneously. They looked as if they were just told that their loved ones had died and for all I knew, they might have. “It happened rather quickly but I can tell you what I can remember.” Tenderheart said, her voice was slow and rather hoarse as she recounted the events. “We were all just half an hour away from Las Vegas, going along the I-15. We were having a good time, you and Sugarberry were singing a weird metal song.” “It was Nightmare Night by the Wooden Toaster and Mic the Microphone.” Sugarberry said with a meagre smile that did very little to change her mood. “Oh, ok. Well, we were coming off the intersection near the North Las Vegas Highway when a truck collided with the car. The truck smashed the side of the car and basically put us in hospital. Charles… h-he…” Tenderheart began to choke as tears started to form in her eyes. I could tell what she was planning to say. “He didn’t survive.” Scott said, a small tear falling down his muzzle. “The driver’s side took most of the damage. H-he was taken to the morgue… i-in pieces.” I gasped, throwing my hoof to my mouth in shock. Our driver, friend and YouTube chronicler had died trying to get us to a destination he never chose with ponies he never even knew. I could feel my own tears start to form before they silently fell to the ground below. I seemed to tune out the world as I slowly cried. I could somewhat hear them calling ‘Chris’ or ‘Nightmare Moon’ but those names didn’t hold much meaning to me. I knew that they were referring to me but the words did not feel like any of them were my name. It was as if I wasn’t who they were seeing. Like a stranger that everypony knows and yet the stranger doesn’t know any of them. I slowly got up, planning on heading for my room so I could cry my heart out there. As I turned around, I heard them gasp. “Your Cutie Mark!” Tenderheart cried out, pointing to my left flank as I was nearing the door. As I looked I saw the white silhouette of some thing that a part of me said was called a FALKEN or whatever. In the centre of the silhouette was a purple crescent moon, like the one… on my right flank? I looked and yet, there it was. The same purple blotch that meant to represent the night sky and a white crescent moon. It was baffling, how could anypony have two marks?! “Nightmare, what does it mean?” Sugarberry asked as she was visibly trying to figure it out as well. “That name still doesn’t hold any meaning to me and neither does Chris.” I respond as I opened the door. “Ok then, what are we supposed to call you when we need to get your attention? Mary Sue?” Scott asked as I used my mane to grab on the doorknob. I looked down for a moment and considered the question. Nightmare sounds like something I wouldn’t like or want to be associated with. Maybe if I chose the opposite? But what was the opposite of a Nightmare? Wasn’t it a dream? It was short yet sweet and without negative connotations. “Dream, call me Dream.” I said as I shut the door. Author's Note For those of you that noticed, yes I did basically use the same sort idea as SkyblazeTheBard but with my own twist to it. Hate me for it or whatever. The idea to use Dream as the name for the third, merged personality came from a comic I remember seeing from some time ago.
Land of ConfusionTo Sleep, Perchance to… Nightmare? Land of Confusion Author: Draconis187 Time: ??:?? Date: ?? Location: ?? Okay, this is rather strange. I was laid in my hospital bed just a few minutes ago, I know I am not that heavy a sleeper to not notice being sent to the bucking moon! And yet, despite all possibility here I am, on the Celestia damned moon! I looked around me and saw nothing but a desolate landscape before me, mocking me as I continued to fail in my attempt to figure out what exactly happened. “I must be going mad.” I said out loud to myself. Hold on, why can I talk in space or better yet since we are on the subject… how can I breathe in space? Space in this universe is a vacuum and as far as I know, this wasn’t Equestria’s moon. This one is too dull and there are no moon pies to speak of. I could go for one right about now to settle my nerves. “Nope, not mad. You're just dreaming my little filly. What are moon pies anyway?” A voice said. I almost jumped out of my coat in fright as white suit wearing human appeared next to me with a grin on his face. “Like it? I found myself like this once the merge was finished. I guess you were the very thing stopping me from appearing human in here. The name’s Chris.” “Oh shut up.” This voice sounded familiar, it sounded like me. As I looked around, an angrier looking version of myself was standing before me, looking at me with judging eyes. “Straighten up. You're a princess and an Alicorn so I suggest you get over this newborn fears you foal.” “W-who are you?” I asked tentatively. The human smiled and raised his arms. “I am the ghost of Christmas past! And she is the Ghost of I don’t care!” This earned him a slap from the other me’s mane but he just smiled as he rubbed his face. “Totally worth it.” “We are you, or you could say that you are us.” This ‘Chris’ said, pulling up a chair out of nowhere. “You may want to sit down and let us do some explaining. I think I’ll need you for this as well Nightmare Moon.” “Why should I listen to you?” I protest. “Because… we are you or you are us and therefore you must listen to yourself when that you is talking. You know? This is rather confusing for me as well.” Chris shrugged. “I'm trying to figure out the dual Cutie Mark issue. Why some funny plane and a moon, it hardly makes sense doesn’t it?” Nightmare Moon asked. “This would be the part where I make a joke about not making sense but I’ll pass this time since it is quite a serious matter.” Chris said. “The plane. It appears to be a silhouette of the ADF-01 FALKEN, my favourite plane from the Ace Combat series but that can’t be the reason it appeared as part of a Cutie Mark. What can a plane represent? Flight? That would be indicative of freedom but freedom of what?” “I’m not sure.” I mumble as I look at the Mark on my left flank. “A plane is a weapon, used for either good or evil depending on the user.” He continued. “A human apparently has an endless capacity for good or evil depending on their choices in life. But this doesn’t explain it. Maybe it has to do with something else? The ADF has a variety of weapons so let’s look at them maybe that will explain it. The long range Tactical Laser System or TLS is an extremely deadly weapon but we’re looking at its principle, not destructive power.” “You are not making much sense.” I said but Nightmare Moon raised her hoof at me to silence me. “The weapon has no firing delay between its activation to reaching its maximum range. This can be akin to acting on impulse, an action with little or no predetermined plan. But its range allows one to think long enough to formulate said plan.” He continues. “The next is the XLAA missiles. I won’t bore you with much of the details but it could refer to dealing with multiple opponents or multiple situations at once. In other words: multitasking. Lastly is the Fuel-Air Explosion Bomb or FAEB for short. This is a wide range bomb and could be akin to the fact that bottled up emotions make for a bigger impact than those who do not.” “It doesn’t make much sense like Dream says but we have yet to analyse the moon, correct?” Nightmare mused as Chris took a deep breath. He nodded. “Of course. For Nightmare Moon, the moon referred to her connection with it since she and Luna were one and the same. This is not the case with me for obvious reasons but the moon has other meanings if you look deeply enough and connect the dots.” He took another deep breath before continuing. “What would the moon represent? Romance for one as many poems have been made about it but I am not romantically inclined in any way so that is ruled out so maybe it’s more about emotion itself. Serenity maybe as many people or ponies would look up at the moon with a smile when they relaxed after a busy day and feel their worries being carried away on the breeze? Or maybe because it is beyond our reach or at least for most people/ponies it is. But that could also be attributed to one’s desire to reach out beyond their location and for some, beyond their limits.” “So what does it have to do with the plane?” Nightmare asked. “Now we connect the dots. The TLS allows one to think and if the moon is factored into this equation, it could mean to think beyond our current standing or beyond standard thinking. Thinking out of the box, remember the day in Omaha?” Nightmare merely nodded. “That was a little out of the box thinking that got us out. It wasn’t a conventional action that anypony or person could take or think of at the time. If the plane is factored in once more it could also add to the fact that I thought of it rather quickly as the FALKEN is no slouch in the air.” “So your talent is thinking? How… inspiring.” Nightmare mocked as Chris shook his head. “I doubt it’s that simple. Let’s look once more. Freedom, again freedom from what, to do what? The plane would simply mean freedom from the ground but if you factor in the moon once more, this becomes freedom of the world itself and its strife. As you’ve noticed Nightmare, I’m rather disconnected from everypony but it gives one perspective as I look at the entire picture from both ends of the spectrum.” “You're taking this rather easy.” Nightmare noted, looking at me. “I just want to know as well.” I responded as the strange human spoke once more. “Throughout this trip, most of my decisions were on impulse like I said with the TLS. The decision to drop everything and go to New York was basically on impulse as I had no plan on what to do once I got there, bringing Scott along was also on impulse. He stole from us and yet I wanted him to come along. A Cutie Mark doesn’t just show one’s special talent, it can also give a short description to one’s personality as well.” “You may have to explain this one.” I asked, he was losing me in this talk. “Let’s look at Rainbow Dash shall we? Her Cutie Mark is a cloud with a rainbow coloured lightning bolt coming from it, correct?” Nightmare and I both nodded our heads. “Now, lightning is quick and is also indicative of an impulsive personality. The colours are incredibly bold and brash, like her as she tends to forgo most formalities.” “Okay, I think we get it. How about Applejack?” Nightmare asked with a malicious smirk. “Three apples. Her family are the Apples, as we all know and all three could represent Granny Smith, Big Mac and herself. Applebloom could have been a fourth apple or not if she had been around when Applejack got hers. Applejack values her family and the farm which is reflected in the Applebuck Season and Super Speedy Cider Squeezy 6000 episodes as the apples are quite close to one another. This family bond stretches to encompass her friends as well but is not represented on her Mark.” “Okay now what about you then? Got a definitive answer?” Nightmare asked with a smirk. “Yeah, I believe I do. The Moon and plane are like two sides of the same coin. The dark side of the moon is both thought to be mysterious and dangerous which a plane such as the FALKEN is as well. Maybe not mysterious but it is dangerous like the dark side of the moon if the plane is used for the wrong reasons. But like the light side of the moon, it has its good side as being a feat of engineering and dedication and it is one of the most reliable aircraft known, even if it is a fictional one.” “That is not what I asked you foal.” Nightmare said, sounding like she was getting bored. “Sorry, I would venture a guess to say that my talent would be to think on my hooves or feet like I have now but my ideas can be either good or bad depending on the situation. Strike hard and fast like a plane but as mysterious as the dark side of the moon.” “You’re just thinking of that ‘Be a Man’ song aren’t you?” Nightmare sighed. Chris just chuckled. “Yup, sorry I just lost my concentration. What were we talking about again?” “Ugh, I feel I must apologise to you for being a part of him.” Nightmare said to me as she facehoofed herself. The ground began to shake as the area around me began to go dark. Chris and Nightmare just sighed. “Well, it looks like this is the end of our conversation. I guess I should consider what my talent is while you’re awake. Give Scott and the others my regards. Oh and I apologise for the pillow, word of advice: drink some water, it really helps.” **** **** **** **** Time: 07:34 Date: Hamsterday Location: Sunrise Hospital and Medical Centre, Las Vegas Why is there a pillow shoved down my throat? I swear if it is because of those two, I will hurt them. Hold on… if I hurt them would I be hurting myself as a result? If they died, would I die as well? Ugh, I best not dwell on it and first remove this intruder that has invaded my oesophagus. I pulled it out with my telekinesis as the doctor entered my room. “If you’re hungry we can organise you some food.” He said with a raised eyebrow. “You don’t have to eat our upholstery to prove a point.” “Not exactly my fault doctor.” I responded as I tossed the now sodden pillow to the floor. “I blame the voices in my head.” “Developing schizophrenia? That is interesting but not unheard of in cases like yours.” The doctor noted. “I heard you went against my orders last night and went to find your friends.” “Of course, you can’t stop an Alicorn on a mission.” I softly chuckled before dropping the smirk. “Sorry, I just had to see if they were all right and I was in no mood to wait patiently. A thousand year sentence on the moon would do that to you.” “But you weren’t on the moon for a millennium… were you?” The doctor asked, looking rather curiously at me. “I'm afraid the answer is both yes and no. I don’t know much about it myself and I doubt I will. All I know is I know the pain and solitude from that time and yet I feel the experiences of a life no older than two decades.” I said absent-mindedly. “I… see. I will get you in for a brain scan to make sure you didn’t suffer anything in the crash, just to be safe.” The doctor said, wiring down on a clipboard before hanging it at the end of my bed. “Sadly doctor I doubt it would be necessary. I am perfectly fine… all things considered but I know my mind is 100% fine.” I protested. “Besides, there is no telling what would happen if you subjected an Alicorn to an MRI scan. I don’t want to sit with a gigantic bill should it blow up or something.” “It’s a risk I will have to take to ensure your well being.” The doctor countered. “Now, Eleanor will help you see your friends should you choose to visit them again. But you may only see them if Eleanor or I take you, no-one else. Is that understood?” I sighed. “Fine. It’s better than nothing I guess.” “Good. I have a couple of other patients but I will return later on to take you to the MRI scanner. Good day to you Miss Nightmare, Eleanor.” The doctor said as he turned to leave the room. “Dream, my name is Dream. Not Nightmare Moon.” I said as I finally got up. “I will have to add this to your chart later on.” The doctor said softly but my ears heard him. Good thing my hearing was not as bad as I thought. Even my headache was nothing more than a tolerable nuisance. “So then Eleanor, any PAPA sightings around here?” I asked, the bane of anypony’s existence was that horridly annoying extremist group. “Well, they have held a seminar or two in the city but not many people turned up for them so they resorted to preaching from stands in the street.” She replied as she sat next to me. “Do you mind if I?” I gave a smile. “If you want, but I warn you: it is rather cold.” Eleanor ran her hand through my ethereal mane and pulled back, her hand shaking as if Pinkie Pie shook it. “That’s not cold, it’s like subzero. Why is it so cold?” “Space. My mane contains actual stars and to stop them from making me spontaneously combust, my mane has to be as cold as space itself.” I responded. “That reminds me, do you have a brush? I need to get some dead stars out.” “Be back now.” She smiled as she got up and left the room. I gave a sigh and got out of bed to walk over to my window. Cars and taxi’s were driving past, oblivious to the world around them. They say ignorance is bliss but this was a state above ignorance. I noticed people walking past each other, barely even noticing one another as they bumped into or past each other. They just carried on as if nothing happened, as if nearly getting bumped into the ground was a typical thing to them. It was a rather weird scene to look at. “I got you a brush, would you mind staying in bed? The doctor would have my head if he found you standing.” Eleanor said as she stood next to me, looking outside. “Feeling homesick?” “Hard to feel homesick when you are supposed to be nonexistent. The Elements were supposed to destroy me and yet, here I am. I walk among the living once more.” I said, not taking my eyes of a man listening to music through his rather large headphones. “But what about the human you?” She asked as she ran the brush through my mane. I barely felt it as it moved through my mane, picking up the dead stars and removing them. “I don’t have a human me. Not entirely as you might think. This body used to be human but the human personality is no longer in control but neither is Nightmare Moon. I seem to be a combined personality of both. Their hopes, their desires, dreams and tastes I possess all of these and more.” I said as Eleanor stopped. “So you are somepony else entirely then?” She surmised. “That would be a half correct assumption since I am both of them. Ever since the start of this journey they have been slowly merging, becoming me. Something happened in the crash and I was created. Somehow they have retained their personalities and I was still brought into existence.” I placed my head in my hooves. “This is very confusing and it’s making my headache worse.” “I’m sure you’ll figure it out.” She said. “Something wrong?” I had moved my head away from the brush and took a few steps to the side, away from here. “The last human that was this interested in me had me sedated and I ended up in a makeshift concentration camp, awaiting my execution.” “Oh, sorry. I guess that would make this kind of conversation awkward.” She said with a smirk. I returned it. “You have no clue how right you really are.” “But just waiting to die must have been problematic, what did you do?” She asked as I found myself attacked by her brushing. “Not really me, Chris and Nightmare set to work together to get out. He thought of a plan while Nightmare carried it out. She was the magical muscle while he was the brains behind it.” I then began to spin the tale of the escape of Omaha. “-trapping them in a nightmare. They should already be free of it and hopefully they learned their lesson.” “Don’t mess with Nightmare Moon?” Eleanor said with a smile. “It was time to kick flank and chew bubblegum, and I ran out of gum.” I smiled. “Okay, it looks like I got all the dead stars. What do you want to do?” She asked me. “Well, I want to go and talk to the others. It looks like I’ll be out before them since they were in the I.C.U.” I said, turning around. “Oh, wait. I want to get my armour.” I turned to where I had placed the armour the day before and saw something rather strange. The armour had changed from azure to white and purple. The white ran along the edges of the helmet while the purple made up the rest. The helmet had changed in design as well: instead of being a single piece of metal, the head section was still one piece but the section that covered my neck was made up of tightly packed plates. The part that went over my face had my left Cutie mark while my chestpiece had the one on the right. The chestpiece was mainly white with a purple outline, a precise opposite of my helmet. My shoes had changed as well. Two of them were purple on the left while the other side was white and the other two were reversed. I guess there was no way of mixing up left or right anymore. The pattern that came up from the shoes had that FALKEN pointing its nose upwards while the wing were replaced by half crescent moons, the same went for the canards near where the cockpit should be but they pointed upwards. Why they changed was obvious but the question was how they changed. “Wow, where did you get that?” Eleanor asked as I placed the armour on. “I wish I knew.” I said as I began to walk towards the door, Eleanor stepped in my way. “Don’t try to say you have to carry me there, I’m not crippled.” “I know but the doctor said I have to use the wheelchair.” She said, pointing to the chair in the corner. “You do realise I can’t sit in that like a normal patient. Lyra would but I wouldn’t.” I deadpanned but I broke into a small fit of giggles as I imagined the mint coloured mare in that peculiar position while being wheeled around by her life’s dream. “Then you are not going to see your friends, I'm sorry but that’s final.” She said, crossing her arms and standing by the door. I could only smirk at her foalishness. “You forget who I am a part of and what she can do my little human.” “Wha- ah!” She gave a small shout as I lost all feeling in my body, turning into a cloud of purple mist and going past her and through the door. “Get back here!” If I could have talked back I would have but I had friends to see and precious little time to get there. I'm sure there were at least a couple of other ways to get past her but I just wanted to try this one out for fun. But as I reached the door where my friends were, I saw a number of guards barring my entry. Sure I could have gone through the door but I would barely utter a few words before being dragged off. I needed a plan and a rather sneaky one came into my head as I remembered the second episode of Nightmare’s appearance. The Shadowbolts, I decided to use the same concept but with different ponies. I reformed and walked into the guards’ field of vision. They were rather surprised by how easily I gave up but they didn’t see the cloud of purple smoke hanging in the air nearby as they escorted me back to my room. I reformed and then casually walked into the room, to the shock of the three ponies inside. “Ni- Dream?” Sugarberry said, utterly dumbfounded as she saw the other me walking away. “But they’re taking you away aren't they?” “Yes and no. Do you remember the second episode of season one?” I asked, much to the nod of the two mares. I was about to question Scott but then I remembered that he had only seen Hurricane Fluttershy. “Do you also remember the Shadowbolts scene?” Tenderheart was the first to understand. “I see, that’s amazing! Even better seeing it in person, or pony. Whatever it was still cool.” I gave a small bow. “Thank you, you have been a wonderful audience. But to the reason I’m here: how are you all feeling today?” “Well, Tenderheart said that the damage to our body was rather extensive so we’ll be the last ones out.” Tenderheart said as the others just looked at her. “What? She knows more about ponies than the entire staff here.” “That goes without saying.” I said as I sat down on the bench I used last night and settled down. Why I didn’t use mist travel last night was beyond me but I guess I never considered it before now. The four of us shared a laugh. Scott spoke up next, his cheerful smile still plastered on his face. “We are getting better Dream so there is no reason to worry. What about you though? What’s it like being a combination of two personalities? I guess you decided to change your armour to match right?” I shook my head. “It’s rather strange. You're lucky if you think about it. I have one personality that is over a thousand years old and one that is not even a decent fraction of it. I just found the armour like this, how it changed is beyond me. Maybe there is a link beyond the physical between it and myself?” “In any regard it looks awesome.” He said with a grin. “You aren’t supposed to be here, visiting hours are over!” I turned around to see a fuming doctor looking at me. He was beet red and looked ready to pop a blood vessel. He was short, about a pony’s height and slightly round. He had a patch of light brown hair on his head and wore spectacles that looked like Elton John’s. As I was about to answer, a bout of royalty decided to voice itself and I just decided to roll with it. “Pardon the intrusion sir. I am merely checking up on the friends I was journeying with as we were all involved in the accident that landed them in their current states. I was unaware of the visiting hours and I shall return once they commence again.” The doctor looked like he was unsure of how to answer but regained his composure and pushed his glasses further up his small nose. “Fine, I won't call security this time since you were unaware. You were in the accident and yet I hardly see a scratch on you. Are you sure you were with them?” I was rather shocked. “Yes I was. My doctor decided to operate on me because of it.” “Interesting, may you show me the scar?” He asked inquisitively. “Sure.” I pulled off the chestpiece to show the stitches from the operation. “I don’t see anything.” He said. I looked down at the scar and sure enough, it was not there. No stitches, nothing. “Maybe it’s on the other me.” I murmured. “Other you?” The doctor said. “Yes, I created an image of myself that distracted the guards away from here while I tried to visit. The nurse and my doctor didn’t want me to see them on my own despite I could walk alright.” “Hm, doesn’t sound like any of the doctors I know. We don’t mind it too much as long as the patient doesn’t have a contagious disease. Do you know his name?” He asked. I tried to think and realised he never had an ID badge on him. “He didn’t have a badge on him like you do, Doctor Stevens.” “Odd, it is mandatory to wear them at all times. The only exceptions are using the MRI scanner and during operations.” Stevens said, scratching his chin. I felt a deep pit in my stomach as I ran through what it could mean. “Uh, sorry to be a nuisance but mind if I stay here? If he is who I think he is, we all might be in danger and I will not allow my friends to be hurt again.” Stevens looked at me for a few seconds before responding. “Ok, here’s what we’ll do: do you have any control over that mirror image of yourself?” I nodded. “Full control, I can also see what she sees.” He showed a small smile. “That’s good. Now when this doctor comes back come and inform me. My office is down the hall and to the left. If I’m out, ask a nurse to page me and I’ll come as soon as I'm able. Other than that, do not leave here. There are facilities just over there in case nature calls.” “Thank you Dr. Stevens.” I said with a smile. Stevens shook his head. “My daughters love the show, it’s why I took the case. Tenderheart has been invaluable in helping me learn about treating ponies without consulting a vet every five minutes.” Tenderheart blushed as he finished saying that. Stevens smiled at her for a second before heading for the door. “Use one of the empty beds when you feel tired. I’ll get one of the nurses to bring you a pillow and some blankets ASAP.” “Thanks again Dr. Stevens.” I said with a smile. He smiled wider this time as he was about to shut the door. “Call me Rick.” Author's Note Another chapter done and dusted. Dream being paranoid? Maybe or maybe not.
Truth HurtsTo Sleep, Perchance To… Nightmare? Truth Hurts Author: Draconis187 Time: 23:12 Date: Hamsterday Location: Sunrise Hospital and Medical Centre, Las Vegas I’ve been awake since 07:34 and I just can’t fall asleep. Not with that doctor that didn’t seem to be a doctor at the forefront of my thoughts. Humans, why are so two-faced and shady? At least ponies didn’t harbour hurtful secrets from one another unless it was necessary. Misanthropic or not, anypony would have to admit that this little ‘revelation’ could mean more problems for all of us or worse. The others fell asleep hours ago, mostly due to their medication. I only took a few painkillers as my injuries were far less severe but they still made me rather drowsy. I needed to… stay awake. Curse the one who made this hard bed feel so comfortable when you’re on the verge of collapse! I looked at the door and wondered if it was possible to create a form of alarm system with magic. I decided I could give my best shot and concentrated on what I needed to do. A few minutes passed as my magic aura held onto the door, creating a magical circuit between the door and the frame. If I was right, the moment the door opened, the circuit would break and I would be alerted by the disruption. Whether or not it worked when I had let go of the door was another matter but a part of me seemed to think I did correctly – somehow – and that was enough for me to finally sleep. **** **** **** **** I woke up to find myself on a strange, long metal monster in the middle of space. I was going to question this but I decided against it since all I would get is a headache. I looked around and found Chris on a red and white picnic blanket with Nightmare Moon sat opposite him. They looked at me and Chris gave a wave. “Come join us Dream!” He shouted with a happy smile on his face. I rolled my eyes at him as I walked across the metal surface of this beast we were on. “So, what do you think about the Sova Carrier?” Chris asked with a smirk. “It’s impressive isn’t it? And to think: Nightmare and I can do this sort of thing all the time.” Nightmare groaned and hit her head on the picnic blanket, causing a muffled thud to be heard. I shook my head at Chris as he just looked on into the darkness of space. “So, have you figured out your talent?” I asked as Nightmare took a swig of something from a hip flask. Chris gave me a rather smug look, “Yes I have… space exploration. Space has long since fascinated me and it shows in you since we are back in space once more. Nightmare and I were usually in space when we talked but I no longer have control in any form which means that you are the one thinking about space. But I digress, Planes are used in travel no matter what one thinks and the moon represents space. Maybe I was meant to be an astronaut like Mark Shuttleworth.” I just looked at Nightmare who shrugged at me, “It would be best you didn’t pursue the issue. I doubt I could take his ranting anymore.” I looked around the empty void of space as Chris began to look serious, “I have a very strange notion that might work.” I gave him an inquisitive look at the sudden change in topic, “What are you talking about?” He smiled at me, “Simple. You know how you can do that shadow image thing?” I nodded, “Well, I have a feeling that if you were to split into three, we might be able to take control. In a sense we would be gaining new bodies but still remain connected.” Nightmare and I just looked at him in disbelief, “What? It makes sense in a way don’t you agree?” I was the first one to snap out of it, “It’s not that but if it worked we would still be at a disadvantage since we don’t know where we are precisely.” “Then we come up with some form of strategy,” Chris replied with a grin, “And I have one but this is not an appropriate ‘planning room’.” I gave a soft chuckle. Even when he’s being serious, he finds something to joke about, although he did seem correct. The scene was too tranquil for such a serious matter. I searched through our combined memories and we soon found ourselves in a large circular room with a large television in front of us, taking up half of the room and starting from shoulder height to the start of the ceiling. The screen had a green skull on it with no lower jaw and a bone sticking through it on either side of the skull. Pulling a remote from out of nowhere and laying back on a couch large enough to hold two Alicorns and one human in comfort, Chris pressed the power button and the screen lit up with some seemingly random pictures. Why did we need to look at a movie of somepony stopping bullets from hitting him by simply raising his hand? And what did it have to do with an apparent floor plan to the hospital? Then finally there was a picture of us, laid on the bed Stevens said we could use. “Welcome to the Waaagh! Room. Don’t ask,” Chris said, taking a deep breath, “We need to plan out a defensive strategy but we need to figure out one thing: magic. If we can use something similar to Shining Armor’s shield that he used at the wedding, it would be an ideal start. But what we need is something that can stop a bullet. That just stopped Changelings that are both larger and slower than a bullet.” “Well that’s all nice but how is that even possible?” I asked. He rolled his eyes, “Magic is a form of energy as I’ve been led to believe. A bullet travels due to kinetic energy. If we could figure out a shield that drains kinetic energy in milliseconds, then no bullet could even touch us. We can’t have it rebound since it could kill somepony in the resulting crossfire. The question though is: what do we do with the energy? Do we store it or convert it into something else?” “I suggested storing it for retaliating against our would-be attackers,” Nightmare piped up as the screen showed an animation of us firing a bolt of lightning but the bolt used was twice the size it should be. “And I suggested converting it. Maybe into light to blind them,” Chris said as the screen showed us creating a shield that brightened quickly and intensely, causing several faceless human shapes to place their arms in front of their faces. “So you have the deciding vote. Or, perhaps you can think of an alternative method of using the energy?” I shook my head, “Why not use it to increase the strength of the shield itself?” “Because we could overload it and cause it to collapse on itself. While it would only result in a migraine for us, it will also leave us vulnerable until we can set up another which would take a few seconds,” Nightmare replied in a tone of voice that sounded like I should have known that. “Which we may not get, so you see why we can’t do it that way,” Chris said. “So I’m afraid it’s my idea or Nightmare’s.” I closed my eyes for a few seconds as I tried to think. If I went with Nightmare’s idea, we could hurt somepony quite badly and I doubt Chris or I would like it. But Chris’ idea could blind our attackers and everypony else. Unless… “Your idea Chris, can the light be focused into a beam?” I asked. If I’m right we may just have a plan. As Chris was about to speak, Nightmare interrupted, “Yes, it would be easy enough to focus the light since we are still dealing with energy. So I guess you’re going with Chris’ idea?” I nodded my head, making Chris smile broadly, “Great stuff! Now we can come up with a plan of action. If I’m right and we can essentially be three ponies, we can both protect our friends and keep up the illusion that we are in our room while the third walks through the hospital, gathering intelligence.” “I may need to inform you all that this kind of division limits our proximity to the hospital, no further,” Nightmare warned, looking at us. “That’s fine, we don’t need to go beyond here anyway. I vote for Dream to be the walking target,” Chris said, raising his hand like a child in class. Nightmare raised an eyebrow, “Why should she be the one to walk around?” “She knows more magic than I do and you aren’t the most sociable pony to walk the earth or Equestria,” Chris said as he placed his hand behind his head with a grin on his face. I nodded my head, “I agree, but I’m pretty sure I’ll get lost though.” Chris chook his head, “Doubtful, the hospital has signs in the hallways and there is the reception if you have any questions.” Nightmare rolled her eyes, “Fine, I’ll go along with this little idea. What happens if we find out that doctor is a less than upstanding person?” Chris’ expression darkened slightly, “We stop him… and the nurse too if she is involved. Ah, looks like the dream is coming to an end. Sorry again about the pillow, I know it’s a pain but I have no idea on how to stop it. Although, this has got to be the strangest conversation we’ve had so far, hasn’t it?” As I was about to respond, the familiar darkness surrounded us and abruptly ended the dream. **** **** **** **** Time: 06:23 Date: Spartaday Location: Sunrise Hospital and Medical Centre, Las Vegas Again with this pillow! Now I need to get a new one, it’s going to be an interesting conversation with one of the orderlies/nurses/whatever. I looked around and saw that the others were still asleep… wait, Scott was awake. I felt a slight but sharp pain in the back of my head and wheeled around to see the door opening. Not to self/selves: figure out a less painful way of alerting myself. It was Dr. Stevens being followed by a nurse who was pushing a trolley with a number of small bottles and bandages. I tried to read what they said but it was all in medical gibberish. I know planes, firearms and a number of things when it came to magic thanks to Nightmare and Chris but sadly none of them bothered to learn basic medicine. Oh well, as long as it’s not dangerous they can give us whatever they want. Dr. Stevens walked up to Scott with a small smile, “Right then Mister Scott. It is time for us to check your progress and change your bandages.” I didn’t want to look so I tried to turn my attention to the decoy in my room. It looked around and found neither the doctor or Eleanor were in the room with it. Okay, let’s try Chris’ plan. One question: how does one get their split personalities to take control of an illusion? Maybe if I tried to let go of my control over it. It didn’t appear to be very effective as I felt it begin to fade away. I needed it to remain there so I stopped. I wasn’t about to give up though. I created another copy of myself but one that was Nightmare’s exact duplicate. Azure armour, the makeup and the two identical Cutie Marks, not my split ones. Looking at it I tried to let go of the controls and felt it begin to fade away. Scott, Dr. Stevens and the nurse looked at me, wondering what in Tartarus I was up to. I couldn’t give them an explanation since I needed to concentrate. I felt the illusion before me nearly fade from existence and vanish but all of a sudden, it felt like it was trying to grab hold of the world. I was amazed and a little scared that the illusion before me fought for its existence. It wasn’t moving a hoof but I could feel its presence in this plane becoming stronger. I tried to get more control over it just in case I just did something catastrophic but it then seemed to reject my attempts, I felt my control over it slipping away faster than ever. I was getting scared as the Nightmare look-alike began to smile evilly at me. I moved back slightly, almost falling off the bed as a result. Then, all of a sudden it rolls its eyes at me. I felt like a frog had jumped down my throat and my heart tried to leap up and meet it, “N-Nightmare?” Again, she rolled her eyes, “Expecting that idiot? I’m a little hurt.” I was flabbergasted by the scene before me as Nightmare looked over her body, “H-how?” She didn’t look up at me as she responded flatly, “As you let your control slip, I was able to get a hoof in the door –as it were – and take over. Simple really, but I am glad you got me down right. All we need now is Chris.” “Nightmare is that you?” We both looked over and saw Scott looking at us incredulously. Not knowing how best to respond, we nodded our heads instead, “That’s awesome!” “I’m glad you are so easy to impress Scott,” Nightmare replied, her expression was neither warm nor cold. “Now it’s just that buffoon.” Just then there was a knock at the door, the others woke up and saw what we already were seeing: me but with completely white armour and that plane and moon Cutie Mark on both sides. She stuck her tongue out at us and grinned. “Somepony call? So what do you think?” She said, sticking her chest out with pride, “You were rather distracted by Nightmare and were losing control of the illusion in our room so I helped myself. I also decided to do a small change to the armour and the Cutie Marks. I doubt many would notice or care really since you already changed both once. Hey everypony.” Everypony looked at us with dumbfound expressions as all three of my personalities were standing before them. Well, Nightmare and I were sat on the bed and Chris was stood by the door. Before the barrage of questions, I spoke up, “Chris, if you could change your appearance… why not have changed into a stallion instead?” Chris just laughed, “Mainly because we are supposed to be keeping up an illusion if somepony were to see me in the window. Come on Nightmare, you should be in our room. I saw that doctor coming up the stairs on my way here. Don’t worry, he went to the bathroom so we still have a few minutes.” Nightmare shook her head, “Fine, you better get a move on Dream. I hate not knowing what’s going on around me.” As she jumped off the bed, I did so as well. I looked at us and saw that neither of us had any stitching in our chest. Could it have dissolved? Or did it vanish as I reformed my body after turning into mist? But this wasn’t the question I needed answering. “How do we keep in contact?” As I asked the both of them looked at me as if I just asked the world’s dumbest question. “We are still connected to each other,” Nightmare explained. “We can keep in contact through our thoughts.” “Yup, what the dark pony said,” Chris said with a smirk. “I need to practise some magic since I only truly know basic telekinesis. I guess this soggy thing will work.” With that he took my sodden pillow and carried it in his magic grip while Nightmare went down the hallway, heading for our room. I minded out of the way as Chris jumped up onto my bed and this caused me to look in Scott’s direction. I saw a large portion Scott’s head was bruised badly, showing a rather sickly colour of yellow and purple. It clashed with his coat and his mane colours. The eye he usually had covered was swollen and bloodshot. “That was quite interesting,” Sugarberry stated. I looked around the room and saw the others nodding their agreement. Tenderheart did her best to nod but only achieved what looked like an epileptic seizure. “Trust me, you don’t know the half of it,” I replied, “Now if you’ll excuse this mare, I’m off on a walkabout.” “Wait, what?” I got a funny look from Tenderheart, “Where are you going?” I rolled my eyes, “Basically I’m walking around but I'm going to be our eyes and ears for this place since we have a potential issue with the doctor. Not Stevens there, a different one in my room. I should be able to stay in contact with Chris and Nightmare via a form of link akin to what is known colloquially as telepathy. I don’t know if it will work or how it could be possible but as long as it does, I won't argue.” “Well, good luck Dream, try getting to the reception and see if they don’t have a map of Las Vegas for us. Please?” Chris asked, tilting his head to the side and giving me puppy dog eyes. I was rather taken aback from either shock or embarrassment at the sight of somepony who looked exactly like me giving me that look. I don’t know which is worse. I gave a deep sigh and nodded my head as I walked out the door. I've reached our room. I almost leapt out of my coat as I looked around frantically. “It’s Nightmare,” Chris said. I turned around and saw him standing by the doorway, looking at me with a deadpan expression. “I guess that answers your question huh?” I nodded my head as Chris went back inside, with Dr. Stevens just coming out as well. I moved out of his way but he didn’t move. He looked at me with a completely neutral expression. He had poker face that would leave the professionals guessing for eons. “So, you’re going to walk around the hospital like it’s some common public park?” He asked, his voice as neutral as his face. “Well?” “That’s kind of the plan. Nightmare is keeping an eye out for that doctor while Chris is looking after our friends while I get an idea of the situation around us,” I replied, holding my head up high like the princess I am. Somewhat anyway but you get the idea. “Well, I doubt I can change your mind but I must ask you to be careful. Not many doctors or nurses here share our sympathy with your group. They hide it quite well though so just keep on your toes… sorry hooves.” He warned. “Thank you for the warning, I should be able to deal with whatever this world can dish out,” I responded confidently as I walked down the hall. Nightmare’s POV This room… it makes me feel uneasy. The overall layout is alright but the colours are not to my liking. If I wanted to see this much white, I would have stayed in Dream’s mind and stared at a blue-white star or Celestia’s castle. And those horrific curtains, ugh. Did the store they got them from only stock vomit-inducing colours? I decided to block them out by thinking about my current situation: sitting on a bed, waiting for the possibly fake doctor to come in. Then there was that Eleanor woman. She seemed sincere from what I’ve seen through Dream’s eyes but I wouldn’t put it past her to rat us out if given the chance. I may be paranoid but that’s my more evil demeanour talking. It’s what I would do to be honest. Then again, she seemed rather afraid of the doctor for some reason. Could he be violent? My subjects exhibited the same fear when I returned from my imprisonment. Could it be the same kind of fear? Hey Nighty, this thought talk is awesome! My head pounded as Chris’ annoying voice decided to interrupt my thoughts. Call me that again and I will put you in an eternal nightmare. I threatened. Ok, fine. See any of our ‘friends’ yet? I could hear his emphasis on the ‘friends’ part so it was easy to assume who he was referring to. Surprisingly no, it’s making me uneasy. I replied. It was true, that doctor should have been here by now. As I considered what could be happening, the door opened and I turned my head around to see who came through. It was Eleanor, smiling again as she walked into the room. “Hello Dream, ho- what happened to your armour? Wasn’t it a different colour?” She asked. Well, at least she wasn’t completely stupid. “I found a way to change it back. I’m more comfortable with it being this way,” I replied. “Ok, well how are you feeling today?” She asked sincerely. “A few joints still ache but I’m fine,” I replied. “Good. Now would you tell me why you acted like a child and tried to run off? I know you wanted to see your friends but I was under the doctor’s orders. Lucky for me you came back before the doctor found out. I would have gotten my head bitten off,” She said, I could sense that small hint of fear in her voice, despite her attempts to disguise it. As much as I would have enjoyed thinking over the image of the doctor physically biting her head off, I had some questions, “Eleanor, what is his name? He has never told me of it and it’s weird. All the doctors I've seen have nametags. Call me crazy but I just find it rather peculiar.” Her eyes widened slightly but I managed to catch the subconscious movement, “Well… he tends to be rather forgetful of some things and his nametag is one of them.” I shook my head, “Nice try. I've seen enough of him to notice he is rather meticulous, forgetting his nametag seems as likely your moon being comprised of cheese. I want answers and now: who are the two of you? Where are my things and what is it you’re planning?” She looked like her mind had a major malfunction, oh how I miss messing with ponies. Sure she’s human but I’ll take what I get. She looked lost for words, opening her mouth and closing it like a fish out of water. I had to fight off my desire to laugh… sadly I failed and cackled madly. I hadn’t laughed like this since I declared the night would be eternal back in Ponyville. All of a sudden her face went dead serious, shutting me up instantly, “Well, well. It seems you aren’t so stupid after all…” Dream’s POV I walked down to the ground floor since my limbs weren’t so sore anymore. The reception was filled with patients filling in forms, reading magazines and the odd one being rushed in. The door leading outside looked like a window, comprised mainly of glass and the frame. The ‘wall’ if it could be called that was also glass, reaching the ceiling. I felt like I may as well be in a fish tank. I got a number of stares from the patients and visitors. “Pony!” Oh for the love of all that is good in this world not this. My appearance also attracted the attention of some young minds. I was soon almost tackled to the ground by four girls, the eldest of which seemed no older than seven. The youngest appeared to be at least four if I'm right and she had the biggest eyes of them all as she stared at me as if I was the only thing that mattered in her world. They grabbed and pulled on my coat and hooves, trying to convince me to play with them despite my protests. If the others could see me know, Chris would laugh and Nightmare would facehoof. Sugarberry and Tenderheart would probably join in but I doubt that Scott would allow his masculinity to drop that low. If it wasn’t for the mother that looked like she had fought in two World Wars stopping them, I would probably end up being forcibly adopted by them. She looked like those military mothers, in full formal uniform but she had a bag with her that screamed ‘mother’. I didn’t take much notice of the bars and chevrons on her shoulders but I thanked her for saving me from a fate worse than death or another thousand year sentence on the moon. “No problem, I can see you aren’t used to it. What brings you here? Are you here to do some charity work by performing or something?” She asked. I shook my head, “No, I was involved in a car crash. Somehow I managed to get the best of it with only a few injuries while my friends… weren’t so lucky.” Charles, he will be missed, “I'm staying around for a short time before looking around the city.” “Oh, you’re from out of town?” She asked. I giggled slightly, “More like out of this country if I’m to be more accurate.” “Oh, that’s nice, what do you think of the States?” She asked, seemingly interested in what I had to say. “I’ve been gassed, almost killed, got run out of town and was involved in an accident that killed somepony I knew to name a few things that happened to me and my friends since I got here. Not exactly what I would call a prime example of somepony’s country,” I replied sarcastically. “Oh dear, so-” She got cut off as a few shouts rang through the ground floor. “There’s one of those abominations!” Oh dear sweet Celestia why now? And for the love of Luna’s rear end, why me? We have a situation. I heard Nightmare’s voice calling out in my head. That makes two of us! I thought back frantically. There wasn’t just one guy, there were at least twenty of them. Now this wouldn’t be bad if they weren’t carrying an assortment of improvised weapons as well as actual weapons. I spotted baseball bats, firearms, one guy had a slingshot for reasons I wasn’t in any mood to find out as well as things you would find being carried by an angry mob. One lady had a frying pan if you can believe it and dressed in her pyjamas, complete with fuzzy cat slippers. What’s wrong? Chris called out, sounding worried. Eleanor isn’t who we think she is. Nightmare responded. To Tartarus with that, we have a PAPA mob here in the reception area! I cried out. Reacting on fear and instinct, I ran as fast as I could across the room and up the stairs. There was no way on Equestria or Earth that I am letting them get me. I heard the sound of gunshots and screaming echoing through the ground floor as the hospital security ran down to stop the mob. I felt something fly past my ear but I ignored it and continued running. Chris’ POV Buck, buck, buck! This isn’t good, we need to get out of here now! But our friends are still injured and the only exit is blocked by the mob. This is bad since we can’t rely on police for assistance. It may be too late for us by the time they arrived. The others could see my panic but then again when you are pacing up and down like a little filly, it tends to alert others to your dilemma. I could hear them calling to me and yet I couldn’t hear them. It’s when you hear something but are so zoned out that you don’t pay attention and not realise what is being said. The only thing in my mind right now was trying to figure out an escape plan. “You alright?” I finally paid enough attention to realise I heard Rick’s voice. The doctor looked worried. “No, we have a situation. PAPA is here and in force. They are most likely after us and any ponies here,” I respond quickly. Taking a deep breath I continue, “Now we need a way to get out of here safely but I only know of the one exit and they have secured that position. And now Nightmare might be in danger as well. I don’t know how exactly but it involves that Eleanor woman.” “Ok, look, I’ll get your friends out. There is another exit through the back of the building. I’ll take them there and get them into an ambulance. You get yourselves out and we move. Got it?” He responded. I nodded my head and charged out the door with Nightmare’s situation at the forefront of my mind. Nightmare’s POV “Who are you really?” I hiss, this woman is the cause of all this? No wonder Chris hates being human, nothing but backstabbers, the lot of them. “Oh, I’m just somepony you know. Now you are going to come with me,” She replies with a devilish smile as she reached out to grab me. Sadly for her, I am not Dream who holds herself back or Chris who is a hopeless idiot. I am Nightmare Moon, the terror of the night and an antagonist. Meaning, I don’t have moral obligations to hold myself back. I concentrated and fired off a blast of lightning at her, not enough to kill but enough to overload her nervous system and paralyze her from the neck down. After scanning her body to make sure her vocals still worked, I pressed my hoof against her throat as she laid down on the cold floor, “Now, you will tell me where my things are. If you don’t, your breathing will become permanently weaker.” “I-in the janitor’s closet around the corner,” She replied. I walked out the room and around the corner. Sure enough there was a closet for the janitors before me. The knob tried to mock me as I looked at it, as if I was going to try and turn it with my hooves. I reached out with my magic and turned the knob, the door was locked. Now as a sensible pony would go back and get the key from Eleanor, I was not a sensible pony. With one small blast of raw magic the door flew open with force, slamming loudly as it hit the wall, barely hanging on its hinges. Inside there were several bottles of cleaning supplies as well as mops and brooms of varying sizes and colourations. There was even a trolley of sorts that the janitor would use to carry his/her implements. In the corner of the room were several bags… one of them had that strange plane that appeared on Dream’s flank. I grabbed the bags and ran out, back to the room to find Chris standing there. He looked shocked at ‘Eleanor’ as he turned his head towards me. I just rolled my eyes. “She’s only paralyzed. She’ll be able to move in an hour or two, now let’s go!” He wasted no time as we began running down the hallway to find our third wheel. Dream, where are you?! I shouted in our minds. I’m nearing the room where the others are, why? She replied. Good, we’ll meet you there and get out of here. Chris called out as the two of us skidded across the tiled floor, trying to go around a corner at high speed. Metal horseshoes and tiles don’t mix. As we neared the room, we saw the familiar sight of Dream’s purple and white armour. We all looked into the room and found it was deserted, just like Dr. Stevens said. We followed Chris as we ran past many confused people, some were shouting for us to slow down. One even said ‘this isn’t Kentucky!’ Whatever that is supposed to mean. Running through the near endless hallway ended as we found an exit that lead out to the parking lot from the back end of the hospital. It must have been used for deliveries of medical supplies and the like. We looked around in a panic until Dream found the ambulance that the doctor talked about. As we ran to it, we saw Dr. Stevens waving to us. The doors were open and we saw none of them were on stretchers. Sugarberry and Scott were stood next to Tenderheart who was out of her cast. We clambered in and – after placing the bags down – shut the doors behind us. We heard the door to the ambulance open and close. In seconds we heard the siren and the jolt of the vehicle moving as speed. “Well, that was fun,” I commented sarcastically. This earned a few laughs from the others, since when did I make others laugh? Whatever. I sat down and got ready for the long haul to wherever we were headed. After a few minutes the ambulance stopped and switched its sirens off. The doors opened quickly as we found ourselves in a room that was as dark as a starless night, minus the moon as well. I could here Dr. Stevens’ voice, guiding us through the darkness. I heard Scott curse as he fell over something. I couldn’t help but feel paranoid. This did not make me feel comfortable in any way. We came up to some steps but that wasn’t bad, Sugarberry had apparently banged her fetlock on one but we were too occupied to worry about that. We then had to navigate a hallway as dark as the room, I guessed it was a hallway since we went left and right several times and I could feel our hoofsteps echo slightly. My eyesight is supposed to be perfect at night but right now I’m as helpless as a filly. I hated it. “Right, we’re here!” I heard the doctor’s voice say. Well, if you have ever been in a situation where you want to brutally murder everypony in front of you, this would be how I felt. The room we were in was dark for a few seconds until the lights came on. We were on a wooden platform in the centre of the room with a studio audience in front of us. While I don’t suffer stagefright, these people were wearing apparel with the word ‘PAPA’ on it in various colours. I looked to the others who were shocked and scared. Chris looked like he was going to be sick and Dream looked like she was going to burst into tears. I looked around and saw Dr. Stevens standing in front of us, behind a podium with the words ‘DEAL OR NO DEAL’ in huge capital letters. “So my little ponies, welcome to my show,” Dr. Stevens said. “What is the meaning of this?!” I seethed. I could feel my body wanted to tear him apart like tissue paper but I knew I had to hold it back. Chris’ POV Ever have one of those days were nothing seems to go your way? Well, that’s today for us. We seemed to be contestants on a gameshow but it’s watched by an audience filled with the scum of the earth to put it mildly. Nightmare looked like she was ready to start a war as she shouted. I didn’t know what was scarier, her or the horde of PAPA supporters? I’m swinging towards Nightmare, I live with her… kind of. “Simple, we are going to play a game my dear Nightmare Moons,” Dr. Stevens replied with a grin. Something seemed off though, his voice. I’m sure I heard that voice somewhere, “I am going to offer you a deal: you join me and your friends will be fully healed and released. If not, these fine folks will kill you all where you stand. So: deal or no deal?” At that moment it clicked, the near same thing happened with Chrysalis. I took a step forward – I can’t say without fear since I was still shaking in my shoes – and spoke up. “Why not show us who you are Discord? Scared of something?” I asked, trying to mask my fear as much as possible. Dr. Stevens laughed, “I see now why you’re the smart one.” He snapped his fingers and in an instant the doctor was gone. In his place was the infamous Draconequus, “I had hoped to bring you on your own but your shenanigans forced my hand.” “So Eleanor and that doctor?” Dream asked, fearing the answer we all knew. “All moi. I would have gotten you along your trip to New York but you decided to go in the opposite direction. No matter, I can teleport us there in an instant. But we’re getting sidetracked here. Do we have an agreement or not?” He asked with a smirk. Oh, buck. Author's Note Sorry for the delay. Enjoy the longest chapter I've done so far for this story as an apology.
One Last LetterTo Sleep, Perchance to… Nightmare? One Last Letter Author: Draconis187 Time: ??:?? Date: ?? Location: Unknown I was walking around in absolute darkness. I tried to create some form of illumination but it didn’t help as whatever light I made was instantly swallowed in the darkness. I couldn’t see the light I knew I had made and it was making me nervous and worried. “Is this a lucid dream?” I asked rhetorically to the darkness in a slightly softer than usual voice, “Why is it so dark?” I received no reply but it was hardly surprising. I could feel a slight breeze flowing over my body from the right. Thinking it could be a clue to what was going on I turned towards it and began walking. My hoofsteps echoed through the darkness, only serving to increase my worried state. The wind was felt as if it came from the arctic regions as I neared whatever the source w- **** **** **** **** Time: 06:23 Date: Siderday Location: Inside the cosplayers’ tour bus the parking lot outside the convention centre “Waah!” I heard the sound of someone screaming as I awoke with a jolt. The scream was soon followed by a crashing sound. I opened my eyes and found the source to be Mrs. Carter sprawled on the other side of the bus, looking as if she just got manhandled by a pro-wrestler. Her hair was a huge mess and yet the curls were still intact. “Ugh, note to self: don’t use an airhorn to wake you up again,” I heard her mutter slightly, the aforementioned can of portable Royal Canterlot Voice was still clasped in her hand, “Good fucking morning.” “Yeah, she’s not a morning mare,” I heard Sugarberry’s tired and half laughing voice say. I looked around to see the others were also rousing from their respective slumbers as well. I must have shouted or something when she forcibly woke me from that dream. Hold on, dream… pillow. I wrenched the offending piece of foam from my mouth. Why this one was foam was not really a relevant question but I tossed it to the side, hitting Scott across the muzzle. “Eww! Dream slobber!” Scott’s disgusted reaction and his face looked as if he were deep in thought for a moment before he began to laugh hard. I rolled my eyes and looked to Tenderheart and Sugarberry. The pair of them had slept in the same bed for the night. And no they did not sleep together in the other sense, they’re only friends… as far as I could tell anyway. “Get up you pathetic creatures!” Janice Carter shouted, having gotten back to her feet and recomposed herself, “The others are already awake.” ‘Pathetic creatures?’ What is she, a poster girl for PAPA? Then again given her attitude, I guess she just might be one. Her daughter likes MLP and yet her mother is a borderline PAPA supporter. There’s something comical about that here somewhere. Or ironic… or both. I got to my hooves and picked up my armour from across the room. There was no way I was going to be able to sleep with metal over my body. I guess sleeping on a cloud would negate that but it was rather clear last night so that option was out. “We need to change the dressings on our wounds,” Tenderheart said, “We can’t risk any infections this close to recovery.” Tenderheart had a point. Janice rolled her eyes and went through the cupboards before tossing a rather large first aid kit at her. I caught it with my magic and looked at her. She returned my gaze with one of pure malice. News flash Janice: one part of me is a villain, you already lost this contest. I gave her my best ‘evil look’ that said: ‘I dare you to try that again.’ Janice left in a huff and went down the stairs. I relaxed and tuned to Tenderheart, who was waiting for me to let go of the kit as her hooves were firmly wrapped around it. I grinned sheepishly and released my magical grip. I think Tenderheart was in control at this point as she expertly took off Scott’s bandages and replaced them with hooves. It was an achievement that should be forever known across the universe. Scott’s face was looking slightly better than it used to. At least now he looked like he was on the losing side of a bar fight instead of looking like roadkill. A harsh statement but true in my opinion. “How do your wings feel?” She asked Scott as she removed the splints. He flapped them very tentatively but smiled, “They are feeling a whole lot better now thanks.” I looked out the window, watching the sunrise. What did that dream mean? Where were Chris and Nightmare while I was dreaming? Is it alright to stay here? My stomach decided to stop me from thinking further and eliciting a laugh from my friends. We came down the stairs to find everypony was waiting outside the bus. We all clamoured out as well with Scott taking a harder, experimental flap of his wings as he jumped. He cringed slightly as he did so and landed on the ground a little harder than what he intended. I guess his wings had not completely recovered yet. Janice looked at us with disgust. Is she going to keep this up for much longer? I swear she’s the most unfriendly human being to ever exist. This includes PAPA. “Well, you took your damn sweet time,” She said as she turned around and walked off. “She’s a real ray of sunshine,” Scott whispered to me. “That’s my mother you’re talking about,” Annette said with an annoyed tone, “She’s just… different.” “Annette, we’re all ponies that were once humans. We all have the personality of the original pony in our heads as well, talking to us. I assure you, we are about as different as grass and space. Your mother is not different, she’s malice personified,” I replied. “That is one way of putting it I guess but please keep those opinions to yourselves,” She said looking at her mother who made no indication that she heard our conversation. We walked along The Strip, seeing casino after casino after hotel as we walked by. These things were open 24/7 and it showed as I spied someone by the slots who looked ready to keel over. Whether it was intoxication or sleep deprivation didn’t matter, he wasn’t going to last much longer anyway. We stopped outside a rather interesting looking building named Jamm’s Restaurant. We got in and found the place pretty brown all around. The décor wasn’t too bad really, kinda rustic in a sense. We all sat on soft benches which made the place ‘Alicorn friendly’ since I take up more space than any of the other three. “‘Enter as strangers, leave as friends’?” I read the motto on the menu out loud, “This motto would suit Equestria.” “Well, I’m partial to ‘I’m gonna love and tolerate the shit out of you’,” Scott said with a grin. “Well, minus the cursing, that is the basic motto for us isn’t it?” I curtly replied. Soon our waitron arrived. There was nothing truly spectacular about him as he wore a red shirt with Jamm’s Restaurant on it and a pair of black pants. He smiled at us with that smile that was most likely fake, only Pinkie Pie can smile like that and be sincere. Although, he did fool my friends so his talent wasn’t entirely wasted. “Hello and welcome to Jamm’s,” He said, his smile unwavering, “What may I get you to drink?” “Um… some coffee for me thanks,” I replied. “Lemon iced tea for me please,” Sugarberry said. “I’d like a Red Bull,” Scott said. “An energy drink… at 07:45 in the morning?” I asked incredulously. “Well of course, Dreamy,” Scott replied with a grin. “Just Dream, Scott. You forget who the other half of my personality is,” I warned. “Yeah, yeah I know. I was just messing with your head,” Scott said as he stuck out his tongue at me. We all shared a good laugh as the waiter looked at us. Oh yeah, Tenderheart still had to order. “A lime milkshake for me thanks,” Tenderheart said. The waiter handed us four menus before he walked off to place our orders through. I looked over to the cosplayers’ table and… well they were something else. I swear I was looking at the humanized version of Pinkie Pie as Anthony was grinning and talking at a pace only she was known for. I had to do a double take before looking at the rest. Viola looked at Anthony with slight disgust as she tried to coax him down from his sugar high like a scolding mother. Well she really kept her appearance close to her heart as her red hair was kept almost straight as an arrow as it reached her shoulders and shined as if it were metal in the sun. Annabelle was trying to get Cassandra to tell their waitress what she wanted to drink. Damn, I think that butter coloured Pegasus has some competition in the shy department. Next was Elise and Annette talking to Janice as they decided on what to have. Elise’s pink hair was quite odd. It was like ‘Pinkie Pie Pink’ if you get the idea. On top of that she seemed to be busy with a book about caring for tropical fish. Annette on the other hoof was more upbeat than her uptight mother. I swear that woman looked as if a ten foot pole was shoved up her rear end and was now permanently wedged there for all eternity. I wonder… “Dream, are you still with us?” I was brought out of my thoughts as I noticed Sugarberry’s hoof in front of my face, waving around energetically. “Hm? Sorry, I was just thinking,” I apologised to the rest of the group. “Really? What about?” Scott said, giving me one of those knowing looks. “Get you head out the gutter Scott. I doubt your human would appreciate those thoughts,” I curtly replied. “Pfft! She never lets me have any fun… and neither do you,” He lamented. “We have a reason for that Scott. I don’t know if such behaviour is encouraged in Equestria and quite frankly, I don’t care. You are on Earth and here things run a tad differently,” I replied. “Like cars, computers, phones, oh and let’s go with mankind’s greatest achievement: PAPA,” He retorted. “That’s your argument Scott?” I replied, “You’re kidding right? Humans may have a lot of faults but I wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for my human. Even if he resents his own kind.” “She’s right Scott,” Tenderheart said, backing me up, “It was our humans that got us this far. We all share similarities with one another and it is through the bond of the friendship we share with each other that gets us through the toughest times.” I rolled my eyes but decided to let her have her ‘friendship’ moment. Our drinks arrived as Tenderheart finished. I took them off with my magic and set them in front of everypony. We gave the waiter our breakfast orders and he walked off to tell the kitchen. “Isn’t it a little odd that they didn’t raise a fuss over us being ponies?” I asked the group, “I mean, sure there are still PAPA supporters here and they aren’t so pro-active here in Vegas but it is surprising that they didn’t kick us out for being animals since we are equines.” “That would be because the owner became a pony five days ago,” A voice said. I turned around to look at the source and found it was our waiter again. I was rather taken aback but it did make quite a bit of sense. “So you are forced to serve us?” I asked. “Not really,” He replied, “He just waltzed in one day: a bright blue and very small female Pegasus. As we were trying to chase him out before the owner came in, he yelled: ‘I am the owner you useless shit!’ After a quick trivia about our owner, we realised it was him. We’ve been serving whatever ponies came in ever since.” I laughed, “Oh dear that is hilarious! A little filly with the mouth of a sailor! I can just picture it now.” “You don’t have to picture it, I’m down here,” A rather meek but authoritative voice said. Looking down I saw him, or rather her. Maybe around Scootaloo’s size but a lot more peeved off. She had a relatively short, curled lime green mane with magenta eyes. She looked at me as if she were trying to stare down Death himself. “Well? Any more smart remarks?” She asked, crossing her hooves expectantly. “No, I just found it rather funny that a little filly would curse,” I replied. “Humph! Listen, while you are entitled to your opinion I would warn you that I do not tolerate stabs at my condition,” She said, her face was as stoic as one of the Royal Guards. “Pardon my plain speaking but it is not exactly a ‘condition’ as you call it,” I replied, “It’s all some strange and random plan devised by the living patchwork quilt: Discord. Why some people turn into certain ponies is beyond me but that is basically the long and the short of it.” “Uh-huh. I know that stupid, I watch the news,” She replied. I felt a little bit more peeved at being called ‘stupid’ than I think I should have been. I narrowed my eyes and got off the bench. I lowered myself to her level and glared at her. I think at that point the filly in her took over as she turned tail and ran like I was about to kill her. Granted I could do a number of terrifying things to her such as trap her in her worst nightmare but I just wanted her to back off on the attitude. I can’t stand arrogance. I got back on the bench and looked to my pony companions. We all burst into a fit of laughs and giggles as our food finally arrived. The cosplayers looked at us as if we had lost our minds but we paid them no heed as we stuffed our faces. **** **** **** **** Time: 10:34 Date: Siderday Location: In the changing rooms backstage in the convention centre Apparently there was only going to be a single show today since yesterday was meant to have been the final performance for their trip here but my unexpected appearance had caused a large enough stir to extend it for a single day. The performance we were going to be putting on was to be at midday. Luckily for us the schedule for the centre only had a magician with a weird and insanely long name that would have given The Great and Powerful Trixie a run for her bits starting tomorrow as he also needed time to prepare his acts before unveiling them to his potential audiences. If it were a unicorn I doubt there would be any preparation. “These will be your duties for the show: Scott and Tenderheart are going to be helping out backstage while Sugarberry helps out with special effects using her magic,” Janice said matter-of-factly as if we should already know this, “You are obviously going to be the antagonist. We are basically going to start where we left off yesterday with your little impromptu appearance.” I rolled my eyes, “So that means what exactly?” “We are basically going to have to add on and redo the script from that moment. We have enough time to write it up and do a pre-run of the performance before actually doing it,” She replied with a small scowl. I nodded my head, “So then, we are all going to be pitching ideas on what we should do?” ‘Pinkie’ threw her arm around me, “Yupperooni! And if you can’t remember your lines, just adlib like you did when you arrived yesterday!” I now fully understood how I managed to mistake Anthony for a girl, he sounded almost like a carbon copy of Pinkie Pie. It was… weird to be brutally honest. I looked at the other cosplayers and despite the fact that their costumes were as offensive as spitting at the Pope – I blame Chris for knowing about a useless human – they seemed to be capable actors. I nervously pulled off Anthony’s arm with my magic which was a small feat in itself, he had a vice-like grip, “Ok then. I think I get it now.” We spent the better part of the hour pitching ideas. Tenderheart pitched more ideas than the rest of us ponies put together. I wondered if the medical field was not her only pursuit, she was pretty good at scripting. Janice showed a happier side as she smiled at various ideas but returned to the pain in the flank whenever she heard one she did not like or felt was inappropriate. Needless to say, Scott was shot daggers from all females concerned and Anthony. Our discussion felt like it would never end but it got us all to understand each other on a more personal level as we all laughed, cheered and supported the various ideas even if Janice refused to add them in. I felt like all the problems we had faced before we arrived here were no longer applicable. It was as if we all left Earth and were in a verbal world of Equestria as they all described the various sets as if they were truly real. I felt like I was seeing it through the eyes of the real ponies, not some cosplayers in poorly made costumes. It felt… nice. In the end we were all happy with how the performance was going to go and we all got ready to start the practice performance. I used a little magic to alter the colouration of my armour and cover my other Cutie Mark with Nightmare’s so at least I looked ‘normal’. “You sure you’re alright with being the antagonist?” Sugarberry asked with a look of concern on her face. “I will be fine. I am not entirely Nightmare Moon, am I?” I asked rhetorically. Sugarberry laughed a little and went off to her position above the stage and out of the audience’s sight. Scott and Tenderheart were helping each other wherever possible despite Scott could only see out of his one eye since the other was still wrapped in fresh bandages. Without his splints Scott had been trying to fly more and more whenever the opportunity presented itself. He was still noticeably in pain when he took off but he just grinned and bared it as the expression goes. As everypony left the change rooms, I stayed behind until the cast took their places. I took a deep breath and created an illusion of myself and got ready to see if Chris or Nightmare would take over it. As I released my focus on the illusion, I felt nothing coming from it like before in the hospital. The illusion soon just faded from existence without any resistance on its part. Janice came around the backstage to me with that scowl on her face but it seemed to vanish just like the illusion did as it became nothing more than black vapour. “Sorry, I’m coming,” I said as I got up and walked onstage, ignoring her. I took one last deep breath before the lights came onto me… Time: 11:45 Date Siderday Location: Backstage at the Convention Centre. We were all backstage, feeling confident about our skills since we finished the practise performance not once but twice since time was feeling generous. The cosplayers were making sure that their costumes were fine. I doubted anypony would notice a few breaks in the costume since it did make them seem like large walking plush toys. “Ok then everypony, we all set?” Annette asked as if she were second in command for this thing. In a sense I guess she was since she was Janice’s daughter. I looked to my friends who all gave an infectious snide smirk. I turned to the cosplayers with one of my own and nodded my head. I could hear Janice talking on the stage but even with it I couldn’t make out everything she said but it seemed to be an apology about it being only one performance before they were moving on to the next city. Then there was a whole lot more that I couldn’t make out but I was sure that if it was important for us, she would have told us. The cosplayers all took their places as they stood in place where I had left them yesterday, all feigning being afraid except for ‘Fluttershy’ who pulled it off far better, trying to hide behind the others. Scott was above us, working the lights with Sugarberry who had the best vantage point for her part. She didn’t know a lot of magic as most Unicorns know basic telekinesis and another spell or two depending on their talent. Apparently Sugarberry knew how to find hidden gemstones and other precious ores in the ground which was – sadly – completely useless right now. The curtains were still drawn as I took my spot on the other side of the stage, facing them. I was kind of nervous to actually be performing but I knew if I was uncertain of anything, the others would help out. As the curtains opened up as they were pulled sideways in alternate directions… the place was packed. I swear the entire place was jam-packed. If they were ponies there would be Pegasi up on the rafters. I looked up and actually did see Pegasi – two actually – perched like birds, watching us with smiles on their faces. I felt a little better knowing that it was not only people that were here in Vegas. “What do you want?” ‘Twilight’ asked with a tone of fear in her voice. Again I reiterate: good actors, buck poor costumes. “You know what I want Miss Sparkle,” I said through clenched teeth as I walked slowly towards the group, “Revenge for what you did to me.” As I was edging towards them, they stepped back. I could hear the fans and girls whispering in fear more than yesterday. I think Janice told then I was the real deal and not a cosplayer. “No Elements, no friends and no hope,” I said with an air of malice. “What are you talking about? My friends are right here where they will always stand,” ‘Twilight’ defiantly. I smirked, “Not for long!” I proceeded to lift and throw the cosplayers one by one to the backstage area where Tenderheart and Janice were waiting to catch them. It was actually Annette’s idea to have me ‘get rid of ’ her friends by tossing them offstage to help build up dramatic tension as the two of us ‘faced off’. “Just like I said Sparkle, no friends. Now how ever do you expect to defeat me now?” I laughed as ‘Twilight’ looked around nervously. I then went on to do the whole ‘evil villain monologue’ for about a minute or so. This was Tenderheart’s idea as it gave the others time to collect the ‘Elements’ that were placed close by. In truth they were actually very detailed pieces of jewellery that could almost pass off as the real deal. ‘Almost’ being the operative term as I couldn’t feel any magic coming from them and artefacts of that calibre tended to radiate it in waves. “We got ya, Twi!” ‘Applejack’ said as the others came back onstage, eliciting shouts and screams of joy from the younger audience. The five came back wearing their fake Elements and tossed the tiara to ‘Twilight’ which – with some unseen help from Sugarberry unless you looked hard enough to see her pale pink aura around it – landed on her head without problems. “You were saying?” ‘Twilight’ said happily as the group got ready. “No! Nononono!” I shouted, flailing my hooves in front of me as I helped them pull off the biggest illusion that was the rainbow laser weapon of friendship thing. Somepony save me. The band formed above them and flew towards me. The younger ones of the audience were looking at it with utter bewilderment and I was certain I had heard someone whistle at the ‘amazing what they can do with computers these days’ illusion. The band circled me as I pretended to be deathly afraid of what was about to happen. I used a simple intense light spell to hide the vanishing rainbow and me repositioning my body on the ground. As the light faded, I was laid on the floor as if I had been knocked unconscious. This was also Tenderheart’s idea as well as me removing the last illusion surrounding my armour and Cutie Mark to sell the whole ‘reformed’ idea. “Wh-why am I still here?” I asked, looking up at them with a confused look. “You feeling alright?” ‘Twilight’ asked, giving me her hoof. “I feel… happy. I have you to thank for getting rid of my bitterness,” I said warmly but on the inside I was gagging and mentally facehoofing from the amount of sheer corniness of my lines. Janice is a terrible dialogue for reformed villains writer. ‘Twilight’ hugged me, “We all deserve a second chance. You especially.” I heard a number of “D’awws” coming from the audience as I returned the hug. As much as the costumes suck from a realistic point of view, they are quite soft and warm. Too bad the cosplayers were more than likely hot in there since the air-conditioning was out of order. Sweat and that costume tends to lead to some horrendous and pungent body odours. “Thank you,” I said as we let go of our embrace. “Aw yeah! Looks like we have a new reformed Nightmare Moon!” ‘Dash’ said ecstatically. I genuinely chuckled, “Call me Dream.” The curtains came in and closed in front of us at that point, signalling the end of our performance. I could hear a large amount of clapping and my friends came around as we all got ready to bow to the audience. Janice came around and stood next to Annette as the cosplayers removed their ‘heads’ and stood up. Annabelle stretched, complaining about walking on all fours hurts her back. The ponies and myself laughed a little, as did the other cosplayers. Cassandra offered to massage her back once we returned to the bus, which Annabelle accepted. The curtains opened up once more and we all took a bow. Janice thanked the audience for their patronage and apologised once more for the unexpected extension to the performance. She gazed at me for a second as she said that, but sorry for her I can out glare anypony, even her if I needed to. I looked up again and saw the two Pegasi that were up there cheering as well. I couldn’t help but wonder how they were dealing with their changes and the fusing of two minds. Time: 13: 12 Date: Siderday Location: Backstage changing room The cosplayers were all happy and smiling as the costumes flew across the room with reckless abandon. My friends were having a go at me, laughing and joking at my performance and my illusions. “Well not quite what I would have wanted but it was satisfactory considering we had little planning time,” Janice said from her seat in the middle of the room, “You pulled off a half decent job on those illusions.” “Was that a compliment I heard?” I asked sarcastically, making everypony laugh. “Oh shut up you stupid pony,” She retorted with a small smirk. “There’s the cold-hearted woman we all know and love!” I said with an even bigger grin. As we all shared a good laugh and began talking amongst ourselves again, there was a knock at the door. As Janice answered it, a man entered and looked around before his gaze settled on me. He was of a medium height and had a relatively light complexion as if he never stepped into the sunlight his whole life. He wore a deep blue short sleeved shirt with the York City Knights logo on it. He had a pair of black pants that ended just past his knees. The man also had very – and also receding – short brown hair and green/blue eyes. In my mind, a spark went off and I looked at the man who just grinned at me, “Uncle Norris?” Author's Note For those who are about to go: "Chuck Norris!" don't. My uncle is the nicest man I have ever met and is rather peculiar at the same time but he is no Chuck Norris. Other than that... ooh what happened to Nightmare and Chris? We shall find out... eventually. Errors, feedback and opinions are welcomed as always. For Pony!!
When We Stand TogetherTo Sleep, Perchance to… Nightmare? When We Stand Together Author: Draconis187 I just stood there, looking at Uncle Norris with probably the most stupefied look in existence. “Ayup. Ye alreight, lad?” He said, waving his hand past my face. I shake my head and try to quickly gather my thoughts before I hug him tightly, “Uncle Norris…” I felt him trying to pet my mane but it was ethereal after all so his hand ended up going straight through it, making me giggle a little. He just laughed as well. This was the sort of man he was: very funny – in the strange sense - and always tried his best to cheer you up and no matter how bad your day was, he’ll have you forgetting it before too long. Not too mention his accent was thick enough to cut with a chainsaw. “Theear theear, lad. Ah cem 'eear ta see 'a ye wor doin,” He looked at me with that grin of his that should be trademarked, “Ya mam wor gettin’ worried, ye kna.” (There there, lad. I came here to see how you were doing. Your mom was getting worried, you know.) I hang my head a little, “Sorry, I should have maintained a better line of communication.” He chuckled, “It’s alreight, lad. 'a theur bin?” (It’s alright, lad. How you been?) I smiled as I looked back at him, “Well, all things considered I guess it could have been far worse. I met a number of ponies in my travels, a few of them right here in Las Vegas and these ones… are the best friends I could have ever asked for.” I pointed to Scott, Sugarberry and Tenderheart in turn as they smiled, waved and greeted Uncle Norris, “Gran' ta meet theur. Sa then, wha' theur doin 'eear i' Vegas asteead o' theear i' Yorkers?” (Nice to meet you. So then, what you doing here in Vegas instead of there in Yorkers?) I chuckled, “Well… it’s kind of a long story.” Uncle Norris petted my head again, not bothered by my mane anymore, “Well, ah getten orl t' tahhm ta 'ear it.” (Well, I’ve got all the time to hear it.) Janice looked at us, “Sorry to interrupt this little reunion but this is not the place to have a long conversation. We still need to pack up. We did overstay our welcome after all.” I nod my head, “Uncle Norris I’ll talk to you just now. I need to help with getting everything back into the bus. It’s outside in the parking lot, the huge as hell black one with the My Little Pony decals.” “Alreight then, lad. I’ll 'od on fa theur theear,” He said as he left the room. (Alright then, lad. I’ll wait for you there.) We set about doing exactly what Janice said. She could be quite the slave driver as she had us magically inclined ponies levitate the heavier things while Tenderheart and Scott carried far lighter things ranging from the sewing kit used for repairing the costumes to small props that were on the set. It took us almost two hours to get it all in the bus’ lower compartments but we were done in the end. Uncle Norris did help me out a little as I tried to put in a collapsible counter that was for the Sugarcube Corner section of the set inside the bus. After we had finished, Janice looked at me with that piercing glare. I returned it with a more villainous glare. She stopped in almost five seconds. ‘Round one: Dream wins!’ I chuckled to myself as she walked off. ‘Sorry Janice, you were fighting a former villain… or a half one at any rate. You lost this long before it started.’ “Sa ye ready ta nip on na' then, lad?” I looked at Uncle Norris before I realised something. (So you ready to go then, lad?) “Uncle Norris… there is a lot I need to tell you so you had best sit down for this,” I said sadly. He raised an eyebrow but nodded his head, “Ah see dis is eytin’ ye, lad.” (I see this is eating you, lad.) I nod and look at the others, “I need a little time alone with my uncle. I’ll be back soon.” Janice placed her hands by her mouth, making a makeshift megaphone, “Don’t take too long! We need to get going before the traffic piles up!” I nod my head at her as she and the rest of the cosplayers walked off in the opposite direction. Scott, Sugarberry and Tenderheart walked up to me and gave me the synonymous ‘we are coming where you like it or not’ look… in triplicate. Eat your heart out Dolby. “You can’t leave us out of this I’m afraid, Dream. We’ve been through quite a lot together,” Scott said with a small smile. I chuckle, “And this is why you are my friends. Thanks…” “‘Dream?’ Dis is chuffin' goan be an interestin’ lahl conversation,” Uncle Norris commented. (This is going to be an interesting little conversation.) I nodded, feigning understanding as his last statement left me a little baffled. His accent is thicker than gravy, “Tell me about it.” Time: 16:23 Date: Siderday Location: A hotel room at Caesar’s Palace We all sat in Uncle Norris’ room in Caesar’s Palace. The place was quite nice but then again I haven’t set hoof in this place and all I knew about it was the fact it was a four star hotel. It as all primed and proper to suit its status but we weren’t there for the décor. Uncle Norris sat on his bed, looking at us with curiosity, “Who’s fust then?” (Who’s first then?) I look at the others and clear my throat a little, “Well I had best explain this from the very start but I’ll summarise as much as I can. It’s a very long story nonetheless.” Uncle Norris nodded his head, “Just tell uz fra t' moa theur stopped contact.” (Just tell me from the moment you stopped contact.) I chuckle nervously, “Alright. Well since my last message I had been chased out of a town, lost a friend as we all got involved in an accident and we also met the source of the world’s current problems, Frankenstein’s reject: Discord.” Uncle Norris nodded his head as I explained my journey from the moment I woke up in the makeshift concentration camp to meeting Scott, who told us of his life leading up to being transformed. I know he said from the moment I stopped contact but he needed to know everything from to start to finish. I couldn’t paraphrase but I kept those parts as short as I possibly could. We all took turns explaining our side of things until we reached the accident we were involved in before we got to Vegas. I looked away as we all recounted our thoughts when we regained conscious. ‘Charles…’ I couldn’t understand it. How the one who wore a seatbelt at the time was not able to survive when the ones the belts were not designed for did. The universe was just unfair. I sighed as I remembered the dream I had earlier before I woke up today. What did it mean? Were Chris and Nightmare Moon gone? Did they just not want to talk to me? I just couldn’t feel their presence at all. No poking around my mind, no random thoughts of any kind that related to their personalities. Nothing… just emptiness. “Dream? You aright?” I turned to look at Sugarberry as she and the others gave me a worried look. Even Uncle Norris looked slightly confused. “Ye reet, lad?” I shook my head, “Uncle Norris… I am not entirely Chris nor am I entirely Nightmare either.” “Wha' doa ye mean?” Uncle Norris asked, looking even more confused. “Well… how can I put this eloquently?” I placed a hoof on my chin, “How much do you know of this situation?” “Ah kna mooar than most realise. Ah kna 'a' thy minds are mergin intoa 'un, cre-” He stops dead for a second but continues, “- that’s wha' you’re gerrin a' aren’t theur?” (I know more than most realise. I know your minds are merging into one, cre- - that’s what you’re getting at aren’t you?) I nod my head, “There was a reason everypony called me ‘Dream’ instead of ‘Chris’, Uncle Norris.” He just looked at me. I took a deep breath before continuing, “My name really is Dream. I’m the combined personality of Chris and Nightmare Moon. To an effect, I’m my own mare in body and most definitely in mind. “It happened a few days ago in the hospital. It was the first time I woke up and it was… not the best place to gain consciousness. It was after a small riot from some PAPA supporters did we have to discharge ourselves and come face to face with Discord himself. He… made me an offer to join him.” I looked at the others. They shifted uncomfortably as we all stared at each other. I hated this feeling of hopelessness I was getting from them. It was not their fault that Charles died nor was it their fault that Discord tried to use their health as leverage against me. “Sa ah gatha ye sez, ‘no’ reet?” He asked, looking at me with a smile. (So I gather you said, ‘no’ right?) I nod my head and smirk, “That I did and we all managed to get away from him.” I wanted to keep the part about me meeting Discord again on the top of the convention centre under wraps for now unless it became necessary to reveal that titbit of information. They didn’t need anything else to worry about, me meeting Discord again being one of them. “That’s gran' ta 'ear… lass,” He said. He seemed a little uncomfortable calling me ‘lass’ instead of ‘lad’ but it was to be expected in my opinion. I just hoped he wasn’t too angry at the fact I’m here and Chris is not. (That's good to hear, lass.) I hung my head, “I… I can’t hear either of them anymore. Last night I had another lucid dream and there was… nothing. Just a dark, empty void. I felt so alone and I can not for the life of me explain why I dreamt of that of all things. I-I don’t think they’re around anymore.” I braced myself and closed my eyes in preparation to getting berated by Uncle Norris but I got a far larger shock… my friends hugged me. I opened my eyes slowly and saw their sad faces looking at me as if I was a trauma victim that had opened up for the first time. I was unsure of whether to be happy or confused so I settled for both. Uncle Norris looked at me with the same confused expression I had on my face, “I… see. Excuse uz, ah need ta call thy mam.” (I... see. Excuse me, I need to call your mom.) Just like that he walked out of the room with his hand in his pocket, presumably the one his phone was stashed in. He closed the door behind him and walked down the passage if I heard his footfalls correctly as they faded away. I looked at my friends and smiled, “Thank you…” Scott scoffed, “Don’t sweat it, beautiful.” I glared at him, “Scott…” They all laughed at him and I, “Sorry, Dream. I just could not resist that little stab. Don’t think you’re beautiful? I’m sure there are a number of bronies that would testify otherwise.” I rolled my eyes, “Scott, give us Jacqueline please… before I set your coat on fire.” Scott gave a small giggle which sounded rather… odd coming from a stallion, “Sorry about him. He really wanted to do that.” “Well… I guess as long as he keeps those comments to himself it’s alright,” I couldn’t believe I had just said that but there’s no taking it back now. Scott was most definitely never going to stop that train of thought so I guess I shouldn’t fight that anymore. It’s all in good fun… right? I just know in the pit of my stomach my statement will come back to bite me in the flank sometime later though. “How are you feeling though with your wings?” I inquired. Scott gave them a few short flaps, “Well, they’re still aching every now and again but I may be able to fly properly soon. Can’t wait, I get anxiety attacks on the ground. I blame Scott.” We all gave him a mixture of shock and confusion, “I never noticed, Scott. Girls?” Sugarberry shook her head, “Not really, I don’t look at that in people… or ponies. Our lives have been a little hectic as of late.” Tenderheart on the other hoof nodded her head, “I remember he seemed fidgety when we woke up in the hospital. I thought it was claustrophobia. Well, you learn something new everyday.” “I guess that’s true,” I quipped. “Dream… sorry to ask this but what are you going to do now that your uncle is here?” Sugarberry asked, “Are you going to stay with us or are you going to try get to New York?” I stared at her for a second and smiled, “If I was going to try get to NYC, I’d insist on all of you coming with me. I couldn’t leave you all behind. Not after what we’ve been through together. I’d rather finish as a group or not at all.” They all smiled at me. I felt an odd sense of pride inside as I said that but I meant every single word. We’ve travelled hundreds of miles together and have had too much fun together to just split up now, even if it meant fixing this mess with my mind and body. Although the latter is a moot point, I’m physically fine. I returned their hug, wrapping my wings around us as best I could. It must have been a funny sight because Uncle Norris laughed at us as he got back. We all shared another good laugh as he sat down. “Sa, ah just getten off fra ya mam,” He said, raising his phone for emphasis, “Shi dunt kna 'a exactly ta respon' ta wha' theur just sez sa ah guess I’ll gi' ‘a eur rin lata. Ta uz, it dunt matta whoa ya are, lass. Thas still family 'n we orl stick togetha, neya matta wha'.” So, I just got off from your mom. She doesn’t know how to exactly respond to what you just said so I guess I’ll give her a ring later. To me, it doesn’t matter who you are, lass. You’re still family and we all stick together, no matter what. I smiled broadly at him, “Thank you, Uncle Norris.” He chuckled that infectious chuckle again, “Sa wha' are ye plannin’ on naw, lass? Wanneur try gerr ta New York?” (SO what are you planning, lass? Want to try to get to New York?) “I’m not sure. What was the situation like when you left?” I could only truly make an informed decision if I had every possible bit of information. “Well, 'em PAPA boys are blockin t' roads 'n av shut daahn t' airpoarts someha. Anyone can gerr art bur gerrin in… that’ll be t' problem, lass. Theear wor rights activists art by 'em blockades, tryin ta gi'o'a PAPA fra sealin t' city off but…” I didn’t like the look he was giving us. ( Well, them PAPA boys are blocking the roads and have shut dowh the airport somehow. Anyone can get out but getting in… that’ll be the problem, lass. There were rights activists out by the blockades, trying to keep PAPA from sealing the city off but…) “They didn’t…” Scott said. “Shot ‘em. Thee getten shot by PAPA. Figured ‘em ta be as bad as orl theur,” He said with a hint of anger, “They’re gerrin art o' 'an' naw 'n no one is stoppin it by t' luks o' it.” (Shot them. They got shot by PAPA. Figured them to be as bad as all of you. They’re getting out of hand now and no one is stopping it by the looks of it.) “So not only have they sealed the city from outside entry, they also shot protestors figuring them to be as bad as us? What about local law enforcement?” I asked, afraid of the answer. “They’re int' blockade, 'elpin t' gits. Pathetic if ye ax uz, lass,” He said, his temper visibly rising. (They’re in the blockade, helping the gits. Pathetic if you ask me, lass.) I was unsure now. The PAPA blockade was more than likely lethally armed so getting in by road was out of the question. Flying in was out as only Scott and I could fly not to mention they would be watching the skies. PAPA wasn’t that stupid. We couldn’t take a plane as that would be just as stupid since it would make us a massive target. We may as well paint a giant dartboard on our heads with a sign saying: ‘Dead Meat here.’ There was one way but it was quite the gamble, “What if we toured across the rest of the country? Pick up ponies along the way and gather support so we can essentially invade New York?” Tenderheart looked at me, “You think that will work?” I just shrugged, “It’s probably our only shot to be honest. I don’t know any other ways to pushing past a blockade. They’ll be guarding it like it was the Crown Jewels of England. Tartarus, they had a concentration camp for the moon’s sake when Chris and Nightmare fisrt got here. “If we get unicorns we can negate PAPA’s weapons by taking them straight out of their hands before they can open fire. Pegasi can keep an eye above and serve as an early warning system to the rest of us while the Earth Ponies make up the bulk and charge at them in an attempt to scare them. Although, we may want to think that last part over a little. “I’ll come up with a more elaborate plan if we manage to do this right. It’s the only shot we got in my opinion and other than that… I got nothing.” “Sounds like a plan to me,” Scott said with a grin. Uncle Norris nodded his head, “Ah can tell theur are set on doin dis 'n ah ain't stoppin theur.” (I can tell you are set on doing this and I ain’t stopping you.) “So how are we going to do this though? We’ll need one hell of a lot of transport like busses and vans for all the ponies if we’re to try and ‘storm’ New York,” Tenderheart asked, using her hooves to emphasize the ‘storm’ part. It’s kind of funny to see really. I guess I didn’t think that part through. We’d need a lot of food, transport and lodgings if we are going to be going cross country again. In moments I had the proverbial ‘lightbulb moment.’ I grinned at them all, “We use the power of the internet.” “What do you mean?” Sugarberry asked. “Simple, we use social sites like Twitter, Facebook and even YouTube to get the message about our anti-PAPA plan. We organise meeting points where we stop on our way to the West Coast of this country and work our way back east to New York.” I received an ‘oh’ from my pony friends while Uncle Norris chuckled, “You sure about the whole ‘Chris might not even exist anymore’ thing?” He just shook his head, “Doubtful we’d be able ta change it reet naw ta be 'onest. Best move on 'n figure art 'a' problem a' eur lata stage.” (Doubtful we’d be to change it right now to be honest. Best move on and figure out the problem at a later stage.) I couldn’t fault his thinking there. Neither of us have any way of truly knowing what is happening, only speculation and besides, for all my magical abilities as an Alicorn I had no knowledge in this situation to even try to fix it, let alone understand it. I shake my head and clear my thoughts, “Let’s tell Janice the plan and see where she’s off to next. We can organise the first meet-up there and see if we can’t gather momentum to continue towards the West Coast.” The group nodded their heads. Scott looked at me with a small grin, “Since when did you become some commander?” Before I could respond, Uncle Norris interjected and hijacked the conversation, “That’ll be fra Chris’ gamin. If it ain’t fleight simulators, it’s war games. Usually space themed ones.” I blinked, “‘Flight simulators and space themed games?’” I looked at my left flank. The differing Cutie Mark seemed to make more sense with the FALKEN and the moon now. I should have known Chris was making up what he said that night. He just couldn’t say he didn’t have a clue in Tartarus what it meant or the fact he was a gamer, could he? So one part of me is the bringer of the Eternal Night and a villain in the eyes of most while the other… is a gamer? Just peachy… I soon noticed the group were looking at me with odd expressions. I must have spaced out again as the explanation I was given just got turned on its head. “Sorry about that. Uncle Norris, is there anything Chris is good at?” I asked. Something had to connect better than him being some gamer. He rubbed his chin in thought and shrugged, “Soz. You’d need ta ax ya mam. Shi nos wee Chris betta than uz. ah'm just t' uncle.” (Sorry. You’d need to ask your mom. She knows Chris better than me. I’m just the uncle.) I sighed. Great, now I had to call Chris’ mother to find out. How can I even speak to her since she knows I’m the reason Chris might not even exist anymore? “Question,” Sugarberry said, gaining our full attention, “How are we going to go cross-country? I’m sure Janet is not going to be very pleased with the idea of even more ponies. She seemed less than pleased with us so I can only guess how she is going to react when we tell her we want to find more.” “Janet… I’m not sure. Maybe Annette can convince her again?” Scott offered. I shake my head, “As far as I understood it, she barely managed to convince her and Janice was fuming. Doubtful she’d allow it. But… no harm in trying, she may just surprise us.” Time: 17:58 Date: Siderday Location: My Little Pony tour bus Janice was quiet as she looked at us as we explained my plan to get to New York. She was so quiet my ears didn’t even hear her so much as even breathe and it was a tad unsettling. I swear this woman is not human and please for the love of Faust let it not be Discord again. I doubt my heart could take another encounter with him. Once was enough and twice was overkill. “You want to use my bus as some form of stupid command centre for you ponies to ‘rally the troops’ and get past PAPA in New York?” She said finally. “Well… that’s one way of putting it I guess,” I replied with a small giggle but I stopped as nopony else was laughing with me. “I thought you ponies were all ‘love and tolerance.’ What happened to that?” She inquired in a matter-of-factly tone. “You have a point there I’m afraid but you forget the ponies have taken the bodies of humans. They may want to stop at nothing to return to normal or stay that way for whatever reasons they may have,” I replied. “But as far as the rallying is concerned we may want to be as subtle as possible otherwise PAPA will catch on,” I warned, “If they figure out what we are trying to do… they may resort to extreme measures. Well, more extreme than what they have already been doing. “I was mulling it over on the way back here and I think maybe we should try a different approach to what I just said. We split up. No, we ponies are staying together,” I said as I saw the expressions of my friends, “What I mean is that Janice and the cosplayers help garner support for ponies as they travel. I don’t really want to drag them along with us and dictate their work. If they can’t do their shows, they lose their bread and butter so to speak. Then there’s the fact they would become a target if we travelled with them. “We on the other hoof go off and find as many ponies as possible. We set up meeting points as we go. I know this is the opposite of subtly but we have little option here. For all PAPA knows, we are trying to meet up with others and as long as we do not mention our plan, we should be safe,” I said. Annette piped up for the first time in the conversation while the others spoke amongst themselves, “We’ll help as much as we can.” “Of course we are!” Annabelle cried out. Her fist was high in the air as she gave us a grin that was a typical Rainbow Dash-like move, “You helped make our show so much better so we owe you one as I see it.” The rest of the cosplayers nodded and voiced their support, one by one. Janice sighed heavily and facepalmed, “Looks like I don’t actually have a say in this. Fine… I’ll talk a little about it before and after each of our shows. A little.” I laughed, “Oh, Janice you’re too kind.” Janice shook her head, “Whatever. Get some sleep. We’ll get going tomorrow morning. The traffic is murder at this hour and I’m too tired to drive right now.” I nodded my head and turned to Uncle Norris who just listened to us explain, “Sa you’re orl set then?” (So you all set then?) “Honestly? I’m shaking like a filly in Winter without so much as a stitch of clothing. I just pray to the Divines above to help us out on this one. If it fails… all the humans and ponies will never see the end of this madness and that is something I do not plan on letting happen,” I said with determination. I couldn’t fail… I won’t fail. I may be the combined personalities of a strange human that just might end up being some ordinary gamer and an Alicorn that got banished to the moon for a millennium all because she wanted to keep the sun from rising a few more minutes. Uncle Norris nodded his head, “Reet. I’ll 'elp theur fowa art 'n ferry theur lot ta whereva theur need ta nip on.” (Right. I’ll help you for out and ferry you lot to wherever you need to get to.) “But what about your job?” I asked. “T' whole papeur thin made wee cancel t' meetin i' new york sin thee closed t' bloody airports 'n aren’t lettin anyone i',” He said with a hint of anger, “Eur numba o' jobs are ridin on dis sa while we manage ta av it, we’re orl on temporary leev. May an' orl 'elp art.” (The whole PAPA thing made us cancel the meeting in New York since they closed the bloody airports and aren’t letting anyone in. A number of jobs are riding on this so until we manage to have it, we’re all on temporary leave. May as well help out.) I smiled and hugged him, “Thanks Uncle Norris.” I felt him stroke his hand through my mane as he chuckled, “Gi'o'a, you’re makin uz blush, lass.” (Stop it, you're making me blush, lass.) Author's Note Here's the next chapter. This is the first time I've tried doing a Yorkshire accent so if I'm incorrect anywhere, please call it out so I can fix it. On a side note: I'm trying to see if the quote boxes work for the time and location parts. Are they any good or should I remove them?
The InfectionTo Sleep, Perchance to… Nightmare? The Infection Author: Draconis187 Time: 06:37 Date: Flimflambrothersday Location: Parking area near Caesar’s Palace I had my earphones in my ears, listening to a Disturbed song as we waited for Uncle Norris to check out and meet us by a van he rented. It was a red Ford Transit with quite some miles on the odometer and it showed. The van’s windscreen had a crack in the top right corner the size of a penny and the seats were slightly torn and frayed, allowing us to see the yellow-ish sponge inside. Nonetheless we had to make do with a terrible rental van and if it made us less conspicuous, it would be a boon. We were going to be in the back anyway so as long as none of us popped our heads out, we’d be alright and if PAPA looked, we could easily hide behind the seat or among Uncle Norris’ other things as well as our own. I was wearing a light grey, sleeveless jacket while my chestpiece and helmet were in my bag. I did this because I was not going to be levitating the phone the whole time, waiting for Uncle Norris and so the phone was one of the jacket’s pockets. The only thing to indicate it was there was the cable for the earphones that ran up to my ears. I sat on my haunches next to Sugarberry and Tenderheart while Scott dug in his bag for something. We said goodbye to Janice and the others twenty minutes ago as they left for a place called Flagstaff, taking the Route 93 to Kingman then the I-40. There were no tears shed with Janice but we were all expressed our sorrow for departing in our own way. Janice’s came in the form of insulting my two cutie marks. We were stopping at Bakersfield first for fuel and some rest before heading to San Francisco. I figured the Golden Gate Bridge would be a big enough landmark to hopefully meet up with ponies. I considered asking the Pegasi I saw from the performance we all did with Janice but I never saw them again and I decided that trying to chase after them could send the wrong message and wind up as waste of time. But first I still had to send out a message and thanks to the phone having sufficient charge, I activated its internet connection and went to Facebook for the first time in my life. Chris did it and it ended up becoming worthless with everything that happened. Now I needed to use it if I was to gather support as we made our way to New York. “How much longer is he going to be?” Sugarberry asked, looking up at me with some concern and slight impatience. “Dunno. As long as it takes I guess,” I deadpanned. “Not much of an answer, Dream,” Tenderheart commented. “No, but it is the most appropriate,” I replied. Scott’s rummaging finally piqued my curiosity enough to finally pay attention to him and ask, “Scott… just what in the wide world of Equestria are you looking for?” “I’m not looking for anything really,” He replied as he pulled his muzzle out of his bag, “I’m just making sure I have all my stuff.” “Even if you didn’t, would you fly after the bus just to get it?” I asked, arching an eyebrow. “Don’t know. Depends on the item,” He replied with a smirk. I rolled my eyes at him, chuckling very softly. The parking area had a number of cars parked here and there. Fords, Nissans, the odd Subaru which was nice to see and a few more… exotic makes of which one was a pale blue Ferrari 458. I only knew the model of the last one by reading it, I don’t know cars. Give me a gun and I’ll start rattling off about every little detail about it as if it was the only thing that mattered in life. Curse Chris for being a gamer and gun nut. The sky was slightly overcast and I considered grabbing a cloud and waiting there for Uncle Norris. Seriously, what was taking him so damned long? He was only booking out of a hotel, not being cavity-searched for explosives and drugs at an airport. How any sane human being would shove things like that up there… actually let’s not go there and say we did. I had to say Disturbed was quite a catchy band, “Are you going to remain a slave for, the rest of your life? Give into the niiight.” “What are you listening to?” Tenderheart asked, tilting her head to the side subconsciously. She realised what she did and corrected herself. “Oh. It’s ‘The Night’ by Disturbed,” I replied with a small smile. Scott chuckled, “I see why you like it then. You are the eternal night after all. You’d want us all to give into it.” I rolled my eyes, “Really, Scott… and you’re still with us, why again?” “‘Cause you like my flank?” He replied, smiling deviously. I facehoofed, “By the Sun and Moon…” His demeanour changed as his ears fell back, “Sorry about him.” I shook my head, “I doubt we could change him even if we tried. I guess every travelling party has a perverted moron constantly threatened with death by the opposite sex.” Tenderheart smirked at Scott, “Dream’s the only one who threatens you with third or second degree burns or lightning.” I nodded, “Or a terrible, blood-curdling nightmare. I would try it but I don’t want Jacqueline paying for her pony’s shortcomings.” We all shared a good laugh as Uncle Norris slowly walked up to us, hauling three large bags. They were very typical travel bags you find people hauling around in airports with those trolleys and those extendable handles. “Orl set,” He said as he opened the Transit’s back doors for us to get in. In retrospect I probably could have picked the lock or have gotten Scott to do it but there wasn’t a need for such methods. The inside was at least carpeted to the extent we wouldn’t be touching the metal bed below it. The inside was actually a horrible green colour, nauseating enough for me to want to hurl. But I didn’t, we had to use this Transit and beggars can not be choosers. We sat down – Scott laid down as he placed his bag on the floor – and I sighed a little. Finally things were going just right. No Discord, no PAPA, just me, my three friends and Chris’ Uncle Norris. Nothing could possibly go wrong now. I am keeping a positive outlook and the universe can go buck itself if it wants to try and change it. The Transit battled to start as if telling us it just wanted to die and we had to leave it behind. Fat chance, it got going after Uncle Norris nearly broke the key trying to turn the ignition on. The Transit van coughed up some unhealthy-looking smoke from the tail pipe as I looked out. The thing needed more than a service, it needed the god of automobiles to save it. I am no mechanic but I knew that a van was not supposed to sound like it was going to fall apart at a moment’s notice. Where did he get this thing? Rent a Wreck? We hit the I-15 a few minutes later and began the first leg off the renewed journey. We had a destination and some semblance of a plan. I had a thought as we saw Las Vegas slowly shrink in size as we headed for our first stop. I know Chris and Nightmare thought up a kinetic shield to stop moving objects but could I teach it to other unicorns? The part of me that had Nightmare’s magical knowledge was unsure but I was certain that a unicorn could learn almost any spell, given enough time and understanding about the nature of the spell. I had a prime test subject to my theory sitting right in front of me, looking back with that friendly smile. The thought of being able to stick it to PAPA by making their firearms useless brought a disturbingly sadistic smile to my face, Sugarberry a little… and myself when I realised it. “Uh, Dream… why are you looking at me like that?” Sugarberry asked, her eyes darting to Tenderheart and Great Scott in an attempt to get their support. “I have a small idea that may help us deal with PAPA, especially against their firearms,” I answered, my smile unwavering. “Y-yeah?” Sugarberry responded, shaking a little as if I was about to propose using them as meat shields. I giggled a little, “Sugarberry, I am not proposing some suicide mission. Just a little magic… okay could be some to a lot of magic that may take a little time to master or just might not work.” “What did you have in mind?” Sugarberry asked, her eyes wide open with an inquisitive, almost hungry look as her fear just died. I believed I had the attention of the pony herself. “Well I want to get some things to help test my theory out but if it works… PAPA is in for a massive shock,” I answered, smiling devilishly. “Wait, you tell us you have a plan but leave us hanging as to what it is until you get something to test out with first?” Tenderheart said incredulously. I tilted my head to the side, sticking my tongue out a little, “Oh, real mature for a pony over a thousand years old.” “Technically I’m only a few days old. Nightmare was the one who was over one thousand,” I pointed out. Tenderheart facehoofed, “Dream… you know what I mean…” “Yes I do and I’m sorry but the only way to truly explain this is to actually demonstrate it and I’d rather do it with an appropriate object,” I explained. Sugarberry nodded her head, “I know that magic is best demonstrated, then explained although some prefer it in reverse. Especially to non-magic users as it can get confusing sometimes, depending on the spell’s own complexity.” The group all murmured their agreement while Uncle Norris was softly chuckling to himself, “Theur are quite a strange bunch, theur know that, lass?” We all looked at each other for a few seconds before we erupted with laughter. I actually had to lie on my side, Scott looked like he was crying while the other two mares hung onto each other for support. Uncle Norris looked confused as hell, “Summat Ah said?” “Both yes and no,” I answered, getting back up, sitting on my rear. “I think we just needed a good laugh. Being called strange was funnier than it should have been but it is appropriate given who and what we are. And especially with how this little adventure has panned out so far, I mean, if Chris hadn’t headed for Las Vegas, I would have never met you three.” “I don’t know where I’d be…” Scott looked depressed as he looked at us, “Most likely cold, hungry and stealing from people. I would’ve ended up being one of the arguments for PAPA’s actions…” “I don’t know what would have happened if we hadn’t met you back in Denver,” Tenderheart said thoughtfully, placing her forehoof against her chin. “Either in New York or dead from an encounter with PAPA,” Sugarberry deadpanned. “Given how extreme some of their actions are, I would not be overly surprised. But if you were in New York it could have been worse with the information Uncle Norris gave us,” I commented. This got everypony to nod in agreement. What would have happened if Chris ignored Nightmare’s request and flew to New York? Would I be here? Would Nightmare still desire to shroud the world in darkness? Sadly life doesn’t revolve around the ‘what ifs.’ It revolved around the decisions we made, not the ones we didn’t. Dwelling on them was getting me nowhere. As we continued to motor along the I-15, I took out my phone from my pocket and connected it to the internet. Sure using a computer was easier by miles since not all websites were smartphone-friendly but I had very little choice since none of us had a laptop. Uncle Norris didn’t use one since he felt it was a waste of money. I didn’t understand his logic honestly. I logged into Facebook and got a small shock as I had several comments about me. I also saw a picture of Sugarberry, Tenderheart, Scott and myself. I couldn’t make out where it was exactly thanks to the angle and the slight blur but judging by the time stamp, it could only have come from our time in Vegas. It could have been when we walked to the hotel yesterday but other than that, I had no clue. “That us?” Scott asked, looking over my shoulder and making me glare daggers at him. “Scott… you need to learn about personal space,” I said slowly, continuing to glare at him with a frown. Scott’s ears went back in shame, “Sorry, but I am right though?” “Yes, it’s us. Unless you know four other ponies with a black coat, two with white coats and a blue coat walking through Las Vegas if the background and time stamp are anything to go by,” I replied. “So… we’re famous?” Tenderheart asked, looking at us as Sugarberry did the same. I laughed, “I doubt that. We’re no more ‘famous’ than any other character from the show, Tenderheart. Someone just took a picture of us – a rather poor one, they shouldn’t quit their day job if they have one – and posted it here on Facebook.” “Hey, look at that picture there,” Scott said, looking at the picture of someone’s profile. It was a light purple Pegasus mare with a magenta mane and tail with pink highlights. Her eyes were a light pink and she was winking at the camera, sticking her tongue out a little with a smile. I just chuckled softly, somepony was happy with who they were. “Says her name’s Starsong,” I commented, looking at the name. “‘Starsong?’ Never heard of her,” Sugarberry said. I looked at Tenderheart who shook her head while Scott was racking his – I’m sure rather small or at the very least one-track – mind for anypony matching her description. In the end he sighed and shook his head. I sure as hell didn’t know for some very obvious reasons. I checked the mare’s profile I found she was from a place called Barstow. I checked the map and found it was on our route to San Francisco, before Bakersfield. May as well pick her up too, we were building a task force of some form to get PAPA out of New York after all. But first things first, I needed to change the username and status. It took only a few minutes, magic helps oh so much with touchscreens. I changed it simply to Dream. My status was changed to: I am Dream, the combined personality of Nightmare Moon and Chris Mann. I am heading to New York to help as many ponies and humans as I can. We are currently picking up ponies to help take to New York. I shall post our next port of call when we leave for it. I went over it twice to make sure I was making sense and that my grammar had as few flaws as possible. I then typed out Barstow underneath my status message since I planned on picking up this ‘Starsong’ mare. After that I decided to see how much hate Nightmare Moon’s presence had garnered. Strangely enough, there were more friend requests than hate messages but all I cared for were the pony ones. Time: 09:54 Date: Flimflambrothersday Location: Barstow, California Barstow was a very big change to Las Vegas. While it was still surrounded by the boundless desert of Nevada, it was majorly smaller and filled with only the most basic stores, hotels and other businesses that could contribute to keeping the town afloat. We all climbed out at the petrol station and I immediately felt the heat. Having black fur and a jacket was a bad combination so I took the jacket off without hesitation and donned the missing parts of my armour instead. “Where are we going to find this mare?” Scott asked as he looked at me. “Well, I suggest you and I search from the sky. She is a Pegasus and so she may be on a cloud, looking for us,” I answered. “Well, it is not like we don’t stand out,” Sugarberry commented, “I mean, how many ponies are there around here?” “Not many but it seems PAPA doesn’t have a strong presence here either so that’s a good sign,” Tenderheart pointed out. I facehoofed, my armoured hoof clanging against my helmet, “I must ask you to not tempt the universe. It will find excuses to kick our flanks.” Scott laughed, “I’ll head eastwards and see if I can’t spot her. We do know what we are looking for right?” We all nodded our heads and I took out my phone again, logging on and looking at the picture, “Light purple fur, magenta mane with a large pink highlight. Same with the tail by the way and her eyes are pink too.” “Cutie mark?” Tenderheart asked, trying to look at the picture. I shook my head, “Afraid not, the angle doesn’t let me see what the mark is but I hope it doesn’t matter. What are the odds of there being two identical ponies?” “Even Flitter and Cloudchaser look differently and I’m pretty sure they’re twins,” Scott pointed out. “And on the extreme end of being twins and looking differently, you don’t need to look further than the Cake twins,” Tenderheart said. This got a raised eyebrow from Scott, “They’re two different tribes, Pegasus and Unicorn.” “Can we focus?” I asked, getting everyone’s attention. “How did this conversation go from finding this ‘Starsong’ – who is probably all alone from this whole ‘becoming a pony deal’ – to talking about twins and foals?” “Dunno, feel like having one?” Scott asked, smirking and raising his eyebrows. That did it, I snapped. Sadly it was a blur of anger so I only caught brief images and before I blacked out. When I came to, Scott’s coat had several hoofmarks dotted along it and his legs were literally caught in the dirt. It looked like he had sunk into quicksand and I noticed some of his fur was near black in some areas. The smell of burnt fur hung in the air, making me turn up my nose and some of his feathers were missing. He was crying, I felt tears down my own face but that was my guilt for losing control. Sugarberry, Tenderheart and Uncle Norris were nowhere to be seen, even the Transit was gone but that was because we were in a completely different section of Barstow. I fell onto my haunches, feeling disgusted with myself for what I had done. I was being pushed and then… I broke like a two-year old’s toy. “I-I’m sorry…” I said, trying to figure out a way to fix this and make it have never happened but I could see that look in his eyes: fear. It made my stomach turn and tie into knots. He was trying to get away from me, I could see it as he was tugging at the ground but it wouldn’t give. I looked and figured it was me since there was no other logical conclusion for four hoof-sized holes to appear in the ground and trap him. The next half hour was spent with me constantly apologising, crying softly into the dirt. I was sweating from the heat and finally I heard someone clearing their throat. “There there, lass. It’ll be alreight,” I looked up to see Uncle Norris holding two bottles of water in his hands. “No it won’t be… I did something terrible and -” I looked at Scott “- I doubt you will forgive me.” “No, I was out of line. I should’ve known better,” Scott replied, shaking his head, his voice hoarse. “Jacqueline warned me and I went overboard anyway. I just… well, I didn’t think you’d go to town on me though.” “What did I do?” I asked, dreading the answer. “Well, you burnt those patches of fur with lightning, trapped him in the dirt and then kicked him until you came to your senses,” Sugarberry replied as she and Tenderheart arrived with a scowling pony. I used a bit of magic to force the holes wider and allow Scott to get out, he nearly collapsed from the pain but Tenderheart was there with a first aid kit and bandages. It only made my feel worse, making me feel like the tips of my ears were trying to fuse to my skull. “This is Starsong,” Sugarberry introduced, smiling at the mare that still looked like she wanted to pierce my skull with her eyes. “Look, get one thing straight here, I am only going by that bu-fucking name because the stupid pony keeps taking control whenever I’m asked,” She said curtly. “O…kay, why are you so hostile?” I asked as Tenderheart and Scott walked off to the Transit, wherever that was. “Because this is not natural! I had a decent life, decent job and I was finally going to ask Mandy down the street out!” She shouted, hunched down as if ready to attack me, even her wings were open in a threatening manner. “So… you are a PAPA supporter?” I asked. “I was until two days ago when this shit happened! I haven’t been home since then as my friends wanted to kill me and see if that would free me,” She replied angrily. Okay, we had a nut-job here. She was a guy if I can understand that part right as it is highly common but he was a PAPA supporter too? Talk about irony and poetic justice. It actually made me smile a little. “What in Ta-Hell are you smiling about?!” She shouted, seemingly trying to avoid using ponyisms, “I would like to get to New York and get changed back then leave this shit as far behind me as possible.” “I’m smiling because the universe hates you,” I replied with a grin, “You blame ponies for this but it is not their fault and then the universe decided to punish you, tell me that is not funny.” Sugarberry giggled, “I think it is.” We continued to laugh as Starsong argued to no end, growing angrier. Okay it was very mean to pick on him/her but I kind of needed my spirits lifted a little for hurting Scott like I did. Starsong and Sugarberry walked back to the Transit while Uncle Norris told me where he had parked. I made sure I had a little cash was still wedged under my chestpiece since what I did could have dislodged it and I was in no mood to lose money. I returned to the Transit with two of those tennis ball packs. It was time to test out my theory and pray to the Moon it would work. Otherwise I’d need to rethink the strategy of getting into New York and getting PAPA out. I sat next to Sugarberry while Tenderheart was tending to Scott’s burns. My lapse of control probably set us back a few dollars and we literally couldn’t afford more incidents like that. It made me feel a little sick to my stomach so I decided to test my theory later. Starsong sat as far away from us as she could, her back was pressing against the corner by the rear doors. I was able to see her cutie mark though: a large white and pink star surrounded by other smaller stars. It almost reminded me of Twilight Sparkle with the overall design but the two marks were different. “Ah got theur some drinks,” Uncle Norris said as he drove onto Route 58, heading for Bakersfield. Turned out the drinks were simple bottle of water, pre-opened for our non-magic using ponies. We all grabbed a bottle and drank, we even managed to convince Starsong to have one. The heat could not have been good on her coat and she did seem like she needed it. The water tasted oddly but I didn’t think too much about it. I raised my head and looked out the windscreen as Uncle Norris drove us out of Barstow. Despite being so early in the morning, I felt sleepy. “Anypony else feeling tired?” Tenderheart asked, getting nod from all of us, including Starsong. “I guess this trip has really been taxing on us and as far as Starsong goes, I gather you’ve had a hard two days and it’s catching up with you,” I reasoned as I lay down. “Go ahead and rest. Ah’ll wake theur when we get to Bakersfield,” Uncle Norris said, smiling a little at us as he tried to look at us without crashing into the truck ahead of us. “Yeah, I guess you’re right,” I agreed. I pulled out my phone and placed in one of the earphones in my ear. Uncle Norris was responsible for my musical taste, having gotten me all of Disturbed’s albums. I laid my head down on the carpet and allowed myself a nap, making a mental note to try teaching Sugarberry when I woke up. Author's Note One more added to the group. Sorry for the long as hell delay. I do hope the uncle's accent is easier to read and understand. If it is completely possible to read and understand, I'll go back to the previous chapter and edit it to this.
Night of the HunterTo Sleep, Perchance to… Nightmare? Night of the Hunter Author: Draconis187 Time: 17: 23 Date: Spartaday Location: A mock set of Deal or No Deal Dream’s POV Typical, this just had to happen to us didn’t it? Here we are on a game show set and who is our gracious host? None other than the menagerie of Frankenstein’s rejected parts, Discord. And he decides to bargain my friends’ safety and health just so he can recruit me into his ranks? Is this his idea of a joke? Scratch that. Anypony have any ideas? I inquired of my two other personality controlled illusions. Any plan of attack or defence would get rewritten, Discord knows how to bend, break or make entirely new rules. Came Chris’ reply. I noticed he was shaking slightly in his white armour. So our options are greatly limited. We need some course of action that will catch him off guard. Nightmare commented. Discord was staring at us, waiting for his answer. Each second only seemed to annoy him further as we just stood there, conversing with each other in thought while the others were in total silence. “Come now, did my deal make your brain overload?” Discord sniggered, “You join me and your friends can go home and I’ll never bother them again. Heck I’ll turn them back to their normal human selves if it’ll make you feel better. Don’t, and I won't be held responsible for the mob behind me.” Almost forgot about the group of PAPA supporters that were eying us like a leopard would stalk its prey, just waiting for the opportunity to strike. I can not follow the orders of a maniacal spirit of chaos but I couldn’t allow my friends to get hurt because of my pride. Wait… catch him off guard? I have an idea, can you two use any magic besides telekinesis? I asked my two ‘parents’. I'm afraid not. I overestimated the amount of magic you used to create the illusions we are using. We can modify them slightly but any spells beyond telekinesis would cause these illusions to essentially ‘die’. Without all three of us in unison, even your magic is diminished as it lacks my knowledge and control. Nightmare responded, sounding rather disheartened. Well, my plan should still work then. I reply, a small grin appearing on my face. Are you going to tell us or are we going to have to guess? Nightmare turned to me as she thought this, giving me an ‘I’m waiting’ look. Lose the illusions, I’m going to catch him off guard and I’ll need to be at my best. I need you to trust me. I responded confidently. I felt a hoof on my shoulder, turning around I saw the perpetrator was Chris, with a grin on his face. He didn’t say or think anything but the nod he gave me spoke greater volumes than any spoken word. His ‘body’ faded from existence as I felt his presence return to my body. He seemed to waste no time in finding out my plan and I received a nagging feeling coming from him that told me that it could work. I heard Nightmare sigh deeply as she walked over to me, fading away. In no time I felt more confident in my physical and magical prowess. I knew she was back and I was truly whole again. Discord shook his head as he pulled out a pocket watch the size of a dinner plate out of his fur. He looked at me and tapped the side of the watch impatiently. “I need an answer like today Dream. I have places to go and chaos to create,” Picasso’s nightmare said with an air of annoyance. “Sorry to keep you waiting Discord, I have an answer for you,” I replied, taking two steps closer to him. “Finally! Now then my little Dream what will it be?” He said, gleefully rubbing his claws together. “I’ll take… PAPA. Even they are a better option than dealing with you,” I respond, spreading my legs out slightly and lowering my head as I got ready to defend myself against the audience. “Really? Pfft, you think these are your friends? Your friends died in that accident. You are all alone,” Discord retorted, “I saved you so that I could offer you a chance for a clean record, free of your transgressions in Equestria.” “I already have a clean record Discord,” I replied, turning to my friends as they smiled at me, “I may not have existed for very long but I have all the memories of our journey together. Meeting Scott was under rather questionable circumstances and Charles did get on my nerves but he meant well. Sugarberry and Tenderheart were great for conversation and support. Every day I spent with them was filled with joy. They didn’t care about who Nightmare once was, they cared about who she is. And that is what friendship is about.” “Oh gag. They’ll turn on you the first chance they get, they're still human on the inside,” Discord argued. I chuckled… Tartarus, I laughed almost maniacally, “what’s so funny?” “You forgot, I was also human. I am actually the combined personality of both a human and a pony. Your argument is invalid. Get it through your thick skull Discord,” Spying the little transparent box with a red button that formed part of the Deal or No Deal set, I used my magic to slam the thing closed, “No. Deal.” Discord laughed at me, “Trying to call my bluff?” I raised an eyebrow as the group still didn’t move forward, “Yes, I am. I’ve seen a lot of PAPA supporters and yet not one of them has insulted any of us yet. I would’ve expected some insults or maybe somepony there to get out of hoof. It’s rather strange but given it seems to make sense since humans are as unpredictable as yourself, you didn’t want to risk any one of them overstepping their boundaries and attacking without your consent. Not only that but I doubt that they would take orders from the likes of you in the first place.” Discord stopped laughing and walked up to me casually with a grin on his face, “So you noticed. Hmph, I will have you as my assistant whether you like it or not.” Oh, buck. He reached out to me with a claw and the first thing that came to my mind was that he was going to ‘discord’ me like he did the Mane 6 in the first episode of the second season. I didn’t want to know what it felt like and my desire to remain where I currently stood diminished rapidly. I lashed out at him with a blast of raw magic like a whip. He gave a short whelp but I ignored it as I turned to my friends. “We’re out of here, now!” I shouted. The others needed no further encouragement as they bolted for the way we came in. I turned to the group and fired off a light from my horn, trying to make it as bright as a blue-white star before chasing after my friends. As our hooves drummed through the hallways, I remembered the darkness that enveloped the hallways and wondering why in Tartarus I never thought of it sooner, I shouted to Sugarberry while I hoisted Tenderheart up and onto my back, “Use your horn to illuminate the hallway!” Sugarberry responded by lighting up her horn in a burst of pale pink while my horn gave the area behind us a dark blue glow as I brought up the rear. All I managed to hear as we continued to run down the hallway was Discord cursing. I doubted we would lose him but we needed to be on a field where we would be on equal terms and without my friends in the balance. Teleporting might have been easier than running but I didn’t know my surroundings and trying to teleport might have less than satisfactory results. We eventually stumbled our way out and into a loading dock area where the ambulance was still parked, blocking our way. Looking around I found the door that was used as an entrance to the loading dock and used a burst of white hot lightning to melt the door and the locking mechanism in one go. I gave the door a swift kick and it opened up, revealing Las Vegas as the sun was setting in the horizon. I turned around, finally remembering about our bags but Sugarberry had beaten me to the punch as our things were placed by our hooves. I opened up the zip on the bag and checked through it. The laptop had cracked almost entirely in half. The motherboard had suffered the same fate, rendering the entire thing useless. Luckily the hard drive was intact but without another laptop to connect its SATA cable to, I can’t use it for anything short of a paperweight. I did have a stroke of luck as my phone was intact. Best thing about smartphones? Internet access. I connected to the internet, walking with the group as Sugarberry sifted through our things for money so we could get some sleep at a hotel. I chose to keep the busted laptop only to keep the hard drive safe. One thing was for sure: my parents weren’t going to be happy. Or Chris’ parents which I guess are now mine as well? This whole thing is confusing, best not dwell on it for now. “What now?” I heard Tenderheart say from her spot on my back. “I honestly don’t know,” I responded. I didn’t have a better answer or plan for that matter to help ease our worries. “Look!” Sugarberry exclaimed as she pointed her hoof to a sign outside of what I gathered was a convention centre of some form. Looking at the sign brought hope. It said: ‘My Little Pony Bonanza! Meet your favourite pony!’ The sign itself had a picture of the MLP: FiM logo with the Mane 6 just under it, striking various poses. I looked around and found a pamphlet under the sign. It had the schedule for the entire show and we were halfway through the last show! “Everypony, I think I have a plan,” I grinned. I walked through the doors and all four of us came face-to-face with a burly security guard. He eyed us, looking up and down as he made his silent judgments in his head. “You're a little late aren't you? The show’s half finished,” He complained. “We apolo-” I started but the guard cut me off as he raised his hand. “Don’t care, just get going. Pfft, cosplayers,” He mumbled as he let us through, “Pretty decent costumes though.” “That was lucky wasn’t it?” Scott half laughed. “As long as it doesn’t turn into another Discord trap, I'm happy,” I replied as I looked back at Tenderheart, “Are you alright back there?” “Yeah, thanks. Your wings are quite soft, you know?” She responded softly as if she was struggling to stay conscious, “Tenderheart says we all just need rest and we should be fine.” “It’s a good thing we have a nurse in our group,” I giggled as we navigated the convention centre. A number of people wandering around looked at us with a mixture of shock, amusement and bewilderment. This kind of popularity was a little strange. It was nice that I saw a few people wave at us with smiles on their faces but I wondered how much of that was actually genuine. We finally found the stage that the show was on. Looking at the stage, it had the background of the inside of Sugarcube Corner. What was not part of the painted background was the counter, the four layer cake that I was sure was probably a plastic prop and the six oversized ponies. Each one was an over-fuzzed, plush costumed person that stood a tad taller than I did. We got a few gasps from the crowd as we made our way down. Looking at Twilight, I felt disgusted that they couldn’t get her manestyle anywhere near right. It was a mess, if Pinkie had pulled off some form of prank I could forgive it but Pinkie had – apparently – only just arrived and wasted no time in pulling the ‘Mane 6’ into a group hug. The actors inside the costumes looked at us as we walked on stage. “N-Nightmare Moon!” The Fluttershy knock-off squealed. If I could applaud one thing about them, it would be their capability to act somewhat like the originals. The Rainbow Dash wannabe tried to run at me but was held back by the Applejack fake who had a surprising grip on her ‘friend’s’ tail. The Twilight turned to her friends and hopped onto their train of thought and placed her head down, tapping her ‘hoof’ on the ground: the iconic meet Twilight versus Nightmare Moon bit. I rolled my eyes and decided to play along. “You're kidding. You're kidding right?” This elicited a few squeals from the younger part of the audience. Curse my desire to go along with this nonsense. The Twilight cosplayer charged at me for all she was worth, a stage hand seemed to use a form of smoke machine that was rather fast in its action to cover the area between us with smoke as I just walked towards her. I nearly coughed up a lung as I grabbed the Fake Element of Magic and hoisted her up into the air as if she was nothing. She was but that’s besides the point here. “Let me at her!” The ‘Wonderbolt hopeful’ cried out, I sighed and proceeded to lift them all into the air, “let me down!” “No. I have plans for you six and there is nothing that you can do to stop me,” I was starting to have a blast now as Scott tried his best to stifle a laugh while Sugarberry had already fallen hard onto her back, laughing her pink mane off. Even Tenderheart was sniggering at the little impromptu performance from her position on my back. I slowly eased her off and onto the ground. She managed to get onto her hooves as the six fakes above us flailed about in vain. It was funny watching them try wiggle out of my grasp but it wasn’t happening. A few of the children watching this were getting frightened, asking their mothers and/or fathers if ‘Twilight’ and company would be alright. I sighed a little and placed the six costumed pillocks back onto the floor. They ‘stared’ at me, wondering what I was going to next. Lucky for us all, a lady came up on stage and clapped her hands together once. She got the entire room’s attention in an instant. “Okay then everypony, that’s all for today!” She said as the room went into a single loud expression of utter disappointment, “come back tomorrow for the conclusion!” The parents filed out with their children, grumbling about the lady being a crook with this cliff-hanger performance. I looked at her and saw she had a salmon coloured dress with frills that would only look good on the dead. She was a brunette with her hair almost as curly and ridiculous as Pinkie Pie’s mane. If this entire ensemble was her conscious choice, then I had just met the craziest human on earth. She turned to me with a scowl, “Just what do you think you are doing? You ruined my show!” Eeyup, she’s a nutter. As I was about to defend myself, she noticed the state of my friends and got even angrier. “What did you do to them!?” She cried out, giving the best impression of the Royal Canterlot Voice I've ever heard… even though it’s the first and only impression I've heard. “Now wait just one minute,” I retorted, placing my hoof up, “I did not come here to intentionally ruin this event.” But it was the plan in the first place. I noted. “My friends and I had recently been involved in an accident and we’ve also had to escape the God of Chaos himself so we are not in the best condition right now,” I continued, “we are currently seeking somewhere to stay and a form of income for the time being.” The lady was still fuming, “and wha-. What in hell do you want?!” The fake Twilight took her head off and revealed a red haired woman. She must have been in her mid-20s maybe? She was whispering to the woman who looked like she would scare off the Huns and make Hitler himself curl into a foetal position with a single glare. The woman’s scowl began to slowly fade as she gave a sigh that one heard when somepony gave up an argument. She turned to us with that angry expression returning in full force. “Okay, how much of the show do you actually know?” She asked, eying us intently. “Well, I’ve seen all the way up to the end of season 2,” I responded, “Sugarberry?” “Not much really, a few of season 1 and maybe four of season 2,” She responded. Tenderheart spoke up, “I’ve seen a few more than she has but not all and even the ones I have seen I don’t entirely recall.” “I've only seen the Hurricane Fluttershy episode,” Scott said as we turned to him. We knew this already but she didn’t. The woman sighed once more, facepalming, “it seems like I've got some work ahead of me. I’ll let you stay with us on the bus if you A: behave yourselves, B: you will be earning your keep so you will take part in our shows without argument and C: You help keep the bus neat and tidy. Do we understand each other?” I nodded as I looked around, the others nodded their agreement as well, “Thank you. We shall accept your terms, miss…?” “Carter, Janice Carter. This is my daughter Annette,” She said, pointing to the Twilight cosplayer with slight disdain, “She’s the one you should thank, not me. I would have let you fend for yourselves.” Annette walked up to us as she removed the costume, “Hi! My mother already told you my name so would you mind telling us yours?” “Call me Dream,” I replied as I began to point to my friends, “This is Sugarberry, that is Great Scott over there and finally Nurse Tenderheart.” My friends gave a few greetings as I called out their names. After we acquainted ourselves with Annette, she introduced us to her co-stars. Applejack was another young girl from Montana called Elise Jenkins. Her hair was a hot pink, tied up in a ponytail and her skin was tan. If only Pinkie Pie could see the grin she wore right now, she’d probably end up wanting her as her sister. As if the theories behind Surprise being a Pegasus version of that hyperactive pony weren’t enough. Fluttershy turned out to be as shy as the real deal. She was eventually coaxed out of her costume by the Rainbow Dash cosplayer: Annabelle Smith. She ended up being revealed as Annabelle’s younger sister: Cassandra. I wondered if their parents had an affinity for nine lettered names. That was probably due to Chris’ over thinking mind. Why in Tartarus would I want to know something so useless? I almost didn’t notice the Rarity cosplayer telling us her name was Viola Levkov, a Russian who somehow had an impeccable English accent. Finally in the role of the Pink Menace was… a guy? Anthony Fitzgerald was a relatively young guy with an unnaturally girl sounding voice. I was at a loss as to how this was possible but I guess that right now nothing should faze me anymore. Once introductions were done we were led backstage where they got out of the costumes. I noticed Tenderheart was still limping. She gave me a brave smile that only made me worry more. Scott kept his one eye closed as it seemed to still be agitating him. Sugarberry was the only one who looked anywhere near normal. Then again things haven’t been ‘normal’ since the start of this trip. “I’m going out,” I told the group. “I’ll catch up with you all later.” Before the barrage of questions could ensue, I teleported outside the front door which led into the building. The sun had almost completely set, bathing the sprawling city in a deep orange colour. I opened my wings and flew to the top of the convention centre. It wasn’t anywhere near as tall as the buildings that surrounded it but it still gave me a beautiful view of the city as the lights came on. “Beautiful,” It was the only word that could properly describe what I was seeing and yet it didn’t do it justice. It looked like somepony took the night sky and emulated it on the ground. Various lights in just as varied patterns in a myriad of colours that made the city look even more enrapturing. The breeze was cool on my coat as my mane ignored it and moved on its own. I took a deep breath as it finally sunk in: I have arrived. “And yet all it took was to lose a friend and my humanity,” I mumbled to myself, a tear trailing down my cheek. “Charles, you may have been a pain in my flank but you shall be missed.” “Oh, gag! Almost makes me want to cry… almost,” I turned around to find Discord had yet to give up on getting me as he stood just metres away. “What are you doing here?!” I shouted, mentally preparing myself for whatever tricks he has up his proverbial sleeves. “One way or the other, you will join me. It’s only a matter of time,” He said with a snide grin. “I will not bow. Especially to you,” I almost seethed at Discord. “Oh, please,” Discord retorted. “I would ask you to reconsider but I’m guessing I’m not going to get through to you?” “Only if Tartarus froze over and the God of Christianity walked the earth,” I remarked. That was the longest odds in any universe and bordered on impossible. Discord didn’t respond but he did decide to vanish from sight with a snap of his fingers. I turned my attention to my friends who were being led outside to a large black bus that stood all on its own in the parking lot. The cosplayers were carrying their costumes in their hands while Scott had Tenderheart leaning on him. What do I do? Do I stay with my friends and hope for the best or do I run off? What if Discord was right about them betraying me? No, no they wouldn’t. They have stood by me and one another throughout everything that occurred along this trip and now I’m not destroying what I have just because Discord tries to convince me otherwise. I strode over to the edge of the roof and jumped off, extending my wings to glide down to my friends. I will guard them like I would my family, Discord will never break us. I will endeavour to ensure that outcome, no matter what. The bus resembled those big tour buses you can have specially ordered and modified to suit your needs. The thing was a double-decker for the love of the Moon! It had the My Little Pony logo on the sides as if to advertise what they occupants do for a living. Other than that, it looked like any tour bus you see bands travel around in. Inside the bus the various people and my three pony friends were making themselves comfortable in the upper deck area. They only had six beds in the entire bus, one for ever one of the cast members which left us with little choice but to sleep on the floor. The bus had a large plasma TV, a bathroom on the lower deck while a shower was situated in the upper deck. The kitchen facilities were on the lower deck, including a mini-fridge and freezer. The beds in the upper deck were fold out ones, almost army styled. I think the floor was more comfortable. Janice whistled loudly, making those of us with better hearing than humans to clasp our hooves over our ears in pain, “Alright all of you, get some rest. We are going over tomorrow’s act in the morning, is that understood?” “She scares me,” I heard Sugarberry whisper as we all nodded our heads. I turned to her with a pained smile, “It was either this or Discord.” “I think I would have rather taken my chances with Discord,” Scott mumbled, eliciting a few giggles from the cast. Author's Note Well another chapter, apologies for the wait. I have been busy with life and my other stories. This is what happens when there are so many of them.
