I'm a Nightmare!

“Please come out Shadow.” begged Cadence as she stood outside my bathroom door. I simply sat in the tub and stared into the puddle at my hooves, occupying myself in trying to figure out whether it consisted mostly of my tears or bath water. “Shadow, at least come out and eat something. You don’t even have to leave the room, or speak to me. Just, come out of the bathroom and eat.” I sighed, and knowing she was right got out of the bath tub. The water had dried off of me long ago so there was no need for a towel. I walked up to the door, got ready to open it, then stopped. I realized then that I had no idea how to use magic, or hooves, so I couldn’t open the door.

“Um, Cadence.” I said, a little hesitantly.

“Yes?” she replied, not trying to hide the note of happiness in her voice.

“I can’t open the door.” I told her, a little embarrassed.

“Why?” she asked me. My ears fell back as I got ready to tell her.

“I, um, don’t know how to do magic.” I winced a little at that statement, then lost most of my hearing was lost when another voice joined in.

“WHAT!” the door was wrenched open by a purple aura of magic and the youngest of the princesses stood in front of me, stunned. “Y-you don’t know how to use magic!” she said, almost shaking.

“No. Is that a bad thing?” I asked Twilight.

“Of course it’s a bad thing!” she said. “You’re an alicorn, if you don’t know how to use magic, it could... tear apart the universe!” She had begun shaking Cadence in her terror.

“Twilight, calm down. An alicorn not knowing magic will not tear apart the universe.” Cadence said, while grabbing hold of Twilight and holding her down. As she was calming Twilight down I edged around them to my bedside table, where Cadence had left my salad from earlier. I sat in front of the table and got ready to eat with just my mouth, bending over to bury my muzzle into the leaves. A purple shield popped into existence between me and my current source of happiness.

“Okay, time for your first magic lesson.” said Twilight, whose eyes had returned to something resembling normal. She was carrying a fork in her magic.

“Excuse me, what?” I asked, as I wearily watched her walk up to me. She simply smiled up at me and placed the fork on the table next to us.

“I told her she could teach you magic to calm her down.” said Cadence, covering a grin with her hoof.

“Should I be scared?” I asked, edging away from the small purple pony with questionable sanity.

“No, I’ve been to a psychiatrist on request of my friends and family. He deemed my stable enough to live amongst others.” Twilight said with a small smile on her face, and a small twitch in her eye. Cadence gave me a pleading look, as though begging me to go along with it. Seeing as I didn’t feel like dying that day I heeded her unspoken advice.

“Right then.” I said, grinning down at Twilight. “Let’s get started.” my fake enthusiasm seemed to calm her down, or I think it did because the twitch in her eye disappeared.

“Remember, reach out with your will, and control the amount.” said Twilight, as I stared at my fortieth fork of the night. The mangled remains of the other thirty-nine were scattered about the room. The new one was being held in my quivering telekinesis. I slowly lowered it too my woefully wilted salad, and pushed it into a leaf. Lifting it I directed it toward my mouth, I bit down. Twilight and Cadene seemed to think that I was about to split my head in two because I was smiling so much. I had done it, after forty tries I had succeeded in levitation. I didn’t care about how pathetic that might have been, all I knew was that forty was my new favorite number.

“Well, you seem happy.” said Cadence, as she smiled the same motherly smile as Celestia.

“Well, didn't you feel awesome the first time you levitated something?” I asked her, almost hopping in place as I did.

“You look like an overgrown filly.” said Twilight, as she gathered up the other forks from the floor teleporting them somewhere, probably the trash. “You weren't nearly this excited when we started.”

“If I’m gonna be stuck like this for the rest of my life I might as well find something to be happy about.” I said, giving a small shrug and then yawning. “Wow, learning magic is tiring.”  I looked at the others as they yawned as well.

“It is pretty late. I should really get going, Shining might get worried.” said Cadence. She stood and bid Twilight and I farewell, flying out my balcony and into the night.

“Cadence is right. Spike will start writing letters to the Princess if I’m late. Bye Shadow, I’ll see you in the morning.” Twilight waved to me as she walked out of my room and closed the door behind her. I stared from the window to the door and back again.

“Well, that was sudden.” I commented to the empty air. I sighed and looked around my room, and spied the bed which seemed to be beckoning to me from it’s warm blankets and soft fluffiness. Who was I to say no to such an offer. I put out the candles and crawled under the blankets, pulling them all the way up to my eyes. It wasn't long before I was fast asleep.

A sound from my balcony woke me up that night. I sat up in my bed and glanced around, a huge yawn erupting from my mouth. I spotted a small piece of paper on my balcony, which was odd. I reluctantly got out of the bed and made my way over to the paper. There was some writing on it, so I picked it up with my rather weak magic to read it. It said this.

Do not worry your Highness. We will free you from the

Tyrants so you may reclaim your rightful place as Queen!

Your Humble Servant, Night Wing.

“This isn't good.” I said in despair.