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// Chapter Twenty-Two - Confusion 
// Story: A New Nightmare 
// by LittleAngelStocking 
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Queen Nightmare Dusk sat upon her throne, she’d sent out a squadron of guards to find Spike, but she wasn’t entirely sure she wanted to find him. She didn’t want to hurt him again, but she couldn’t just leave him out there. It took all of her willpower not to burst into tears right there; but no, she had to be strong.

So many arguments and conflicting thoughts swirled in her mind; Raise the sun? No, the sun doesn’t deserve it even if these ponies do.

Cancel winters snowy weather? No, the seasons shouldn’t be meddled with even if ponies freeze to death.

And then of course there was Discord. She should have realized sooner; Equestria had gone to chaos ever since she’d risen, of course Discord would break free eventually.

If you do this everypony will die, they’ll freeze, starve. And soon there will be nopony left, in less than a hundred years everything will be dead. You’ll be all alone just like you were… She bit her lip. Shut up, she mentally scolded herself for thinking like that, even though it was true.

“But... is it even me thinking like that?” she asked herself, in a voice barely more than a whisper.

“I can’t keep Discord imprisoned forever on my own, and… like this he won’t stay imprisoned.” She looked down at the stolen, horse shoe-clad hoof. Thief, liar, cheater, manipulator, murderer… “No,” she said out loud, tears clouding her vision. She wished her guards would say something, anything, but they spoke only when spoken to. Emotionless drones. They have families, don’t they? I’ve kept them from their families. That was a depressing thought. She stood up; she couldn’t sit still any more. She paced back and forth in a circle, her head starting to hurt.

Her chest ached, her heart fluttered, stomach doing flip-flops, and… her back was still sore. A piano… Why a piano of all things? Why at all? Honestly though, she felt she couldn’t complain. If Discord hadn’t stopped her, she would have… she swallowed hard, had the thought of killing somepony really become such a bad thing to her?

“Spike, We’re sorry,” she whispered to herself. “We… I’m sorry.” She needed comfort, somepony to tell her it was okay.

But there was no one there. Did she even deserve comfort? She looked up when a small herd of guards opened the great double-doors and stepped in.

“Did you find anything?” she asked, already knowing the answer.

“No, your Majesty.” they all replied in unison. Dusk sighed, should she make them search again? Should she go out herself?

…Let him alone, he needs time. He’ll come back, “…Alright. You may return to your original posts,” she told them. They nodded, turned, and walked out the door, the clip-clop of their hooves all matching perfectly. She hated that. All of them, mindless zombies! Her horn glowed faintly, she contemplated. She stood there, unmoving for the longest time, before her horn winked out.

She wanted to, but not yet. She felt an itch in the back of her mind, a dull throb. Magic, Harmony, Friendship… a rift.


~~


Spike knew the Canterlot Gardens like his own backyard, mostly because once upon a time it actually was. Back before Twilight had moved to Ponyville. And that’s why he knew that the secret hole hidden under the rock hidden under the marigolds was the best hiding place there. He used to hide here all the time; it was the perfect hide-and-seek spot. Nopony ever found him, not even Twilight.

Although the marigolds were all wilted now, most of them devoid of their lovely orange petals. But the hole was still slightly hidden by a rock. Spike was curled up, it was a tight squeeze and he was having trouble finding a comfortable position. He’d remembered it being bigger. He gently rubbed his sore throat. If that piano hadn’t fallen on her I’d be dead. The thought was frightening, somehow even more frightening than the experience of being suffocated.

Discord did it; Discord saved me, but why? He didn’t understand what he had ever done to make Discord want to help him. I… I owe him the favor now, don’t I? He thought; he saved my life.