She Can Say "No"
Twilight was a big fan of teleportation. It always sent a tingle through her entire body that left her feeling exhilarated, vibrant, ready for a new day. Performing several in a row was ill advised, of course, except after hours of practice and magically exercising your hornpower. Nowadays, though, magic exhaustion seemed a thing of the past for the Princess of Friendship.
Getting carried along by somepony else’s teleport was… something else.
When Twilight teleported, she knew she was in control. She knew where she was going, how to get there, and how much energy it would take. She wasn’t in control during Braeburn’s teleport, not one little bit. She twisted and rolled, stretched and sprung, flipped and flopped. She screamed as she tumbled through the little wrinkle in time, buffeted by magic and who knew what else.
She exited hyperspace through an explosion of color and fire. Her face lay where it had been planted on the ground. Her muscles protested as she raised her head, sore as they were from the amateurish spell. The untrained teleport hurt even worse than her interrupted teleport from earlier. More energy had been transformed into wasted heat, too, as evidenced by the smoke trailing from the edge of her mane. With her entire body complaining to her about this and that, she decided to be clinical about it.
“Burnt hair, that’s going to be a trip to the stylist. Aching muscles, maybe Spike remembers some kinda remedy. Or maybe Zecora. Dry eyes, gonna need some artificial droplets. I hurt Flash; do girlfriends send candy or flowers? Blueblood’s going to Tartarus—”
Her teeth ground together. She swallowed the darned lump in her throat and continued.
“Lyra’s infected, or possessed, or whatever by a Nightmare. No Elements of Harmony. Gotta think of another solution. Where could I find holy water? Maybe a silver arrow. Maybe a cannonball.”
She vaguely became aware of voices mumbling nearby. She ignored them, partially due to the fact that she couldn’t make out a single word.
“Was that Braeburn? Is he Nightmared, too? Can we even call a boy a Night-Mare? What about Pink—”
She choked. She supposed her eyes weren’t as dried out as she thought.
“Oh, Pinkie. This isn’t fair, not to you.”
She wiped her eyes, but found her foreleg was already wet. The rest of her body, too. She set the leg on the ground, which turned out to be as soaked as anything else. She finally became aware of light taps on her face, wings, and back. Water. Rain. Wind.
A storm.
As the voices became more distinct as she recognized a ringing in her ears. The teleport had been rougher than she thought. She examined her injuries closer.
“Ringing in ears. Blurry vision, everything looks dark. Soreness isn’t going away, but nothing’s broken.”
She felt her chest, where a soft beat thumped.
“Almost.”
“She’s in rough shape.”
An unfamiliar voice pressed past the ringing. Twilight felt the urge to scuttle back, but her legs just left her flopping in the puddle she was lying in. She could make out a purple mane, a gray face, glowing eyes… Another Nightmare?
“Chastity! Get back here!” a gravelly voice snapped. “Give our new friend some room.”
Beneath the shallow puddle of water, Twilight could feel stone. Cracked, dented, chipped, old. Ancient. Her eyes cleared enough that she could see shapes swirling around her.
“Who’s there?” she asked. “Who are you? Where am I? Why have you taken me here?”
“Isn’t there anything else you’d like to share, Princess? I mean, really, don’t stop on my account.” A green shape walked close, coming into focus as it neared. Lyra Heartstrings smiled down at Twilight, her eyes still as draconic as they had been a few minutes prior. “I told yah, Your Highness. We’ve got a serious proposition for you.”
As Lyra spoke, Twilight became aware of the headache pounding behind her eyes. “That teleport was awful.”
“Focus, Twilight.” Lyra shook her head. “Honestly, I don’t think you’re in a position to be making rational decisions right now.” Her grin widened to show every fang in her mouth.
Twilight sneered. “Go chew the cud.”
“Ah, there’s the venom I was looking for!” Lyra’s golden glow settled around Twilight and lifted her to her feet. Twilight found herself forced to lean against the green pony in order to avoid landing back in the puddle. “Keep it up and you’re sure to fit in.”
Clarity came to Twilight in the form of restored sight. An Everfree storm raged about her with neither rhyme nor reason. Lightning flashed, illuminating a ruin that she had far too much familiarity with: the Palace of the Royal Pony Sisters. Its craggy towers and its ragged doorways glared out of the gloom, echoing emptiness that had to be at least a thousand years old. Her and her friends’ time spent within had done little to restore it to its former glory, much less any feeling of warmth.
The next flash of lightning brightened the courtyard and sent prickles running up Twilight’s spine. Lyra stood beside her, propping her up. Braeburn glared into the middle distance, his eyes devoid of light or thought. Not too far away stood the gray Nightmare, in actuality a female bat pony. Her mane drooped over her slit eyes, stuck fast to her face with dampness.
Twilight’s wings dared to unfurl for a moment, only to clamp down in pain and tightness. She recognized the final figure in the courtyard. He was a foe, a villain, a pain in the flank. He was everything wrong with magic. He was everything twisted about friendship. He was a pretty nasty kinda dude.
The miasma of deception and manipulation roiled around in the rain, its purplish-reddish eyes focusing on her. A beak of smoke curled below the eyes, smiling a thin smirk of sinister smugness. The edges of the cloud feathered outward as if they were folded wings waiting to take flight.
“Shadowfright,” Twilight gulped. She attempted to hide the fact that her rear knees were knocking together. “I thought Ponyville kicked your immaterial butt.”
His voice sounded like gravel trickling down a stone slide. “I thought Luna was the perfect queen. We don’t always get what we want.”
Twilight tried to snort and leave it at that, but Shadowfright had more to say. “You have quite a bit of experience not getting what you want, don’t you, Princess Sparkle?”
“N-none of that is any of your business.” Twilight let out a shriek as a tendril of Shadowfright’s smoky substance curled around her neck and touched her cheek. “D-don’t you t—”
“Touch me?” Shadowfright chuckled. “Don’t wear that phrase out, Twilight.”
Twilight tried to pull away from him, and Lyra decided to take the hint. The green Nightmare stepped away and allowed Twilight to fall back into the puddle. Lyra chuckled, but was silenced by a glare from Shadowfright.
“I’m terribly sorry about all this. One thing just leads to another, doesn’t it?” He flowed around Twilight’s prone form, examining her from head to hooves. “Your dear friend, lost forever to Tartarus. Your noble lover, standing against your crusade for fairness. Your dear friends, each telling you what cannot be done. What must not be done. It hardly seems right.”
Tears sprang unbidden to Twilight’s eyes. “Shut up.”
“My, what disbelief must follow”—Shadowfright tilted his head back in a shock that he didn’t truly experience—“to know that it is by Princess Celestia’s command that he must see to Tartarus’ prisoners?”
“That—that’s not true!” Twilight roared. “Princess Celestia would find a way to fix it if she could! I know it!”
“Oh, I’m certain you are right.” Shadowfright came to rest before Twilight, his head leaning on a tendril of smog. “And it is more certain she would not have used Princess Luna to deliver the message because she didn’t want to bear the bad news herself. Hmm.”
Twilight rose to her feet despite the agony. “Celestia… Celestia would never do such a thing.”
“Oh, my. Is Cadence in on the act as well?” Shadowfright asked. “Is she the one who told Flash not to follow you? Has she kept him from you because she’s afraid you might convince him that you’re right?”
“Shut up with your ridiculous, bald-faced lies!” Twilight tottered, but remained standing. “I’m not gonna even bother to answer them because of how ludicrous they are.”
“So, is it possible Blueblood wants to go to Tartarus?”
Twilight blinked. She shook her head and blinked again, water splashing around her. “What?”
“He’s barely spoken to anypony about it,” Shadowfright said. His face grew large, bushy eyebrows that tilted upwards. “He’s hidden certain facts and obfuscated others. He openly, publicly resisted an offer of help. He didn’t even let you try.”
“He—it wouldn’t even work.” Twilight’s mouth moved silently for a second. “It wouldn’t work.”
“According to him, of course.” Shadowfright smiled. Pleasantly. Cheerfully. “He would be the expert, wouldn’t he? It’s not as though he wants an escape from this life of responsibility and accountability he’s built around himself.”
“That’s stupid.” Twilight’s breathing grew a hair quicker. Her nostrils twitched a bit wider. “That’s stupid! He loves having friends and—and a purpose. He wouldn’t just give it all up if he could help it.” Twilight nodded, as much to herself as to the Nightmare before her. “He loves… he loves us.”
Shadowfright tilted his head and squinted, as if mulling over her words. “So it is merely his Noblesse Oblige, his sense that because he is blessed he must give back, that carries him on to Tartarus? An admirable sort of fellow, that.” The narrow eyes met hers. “But that still leaves him in that disgusting prison, and you minus one good friend.”
Lightning flashed and thunder rolled. Twilight flinched away, but Shadowfright paid no heed. “It always comes back to Tartarus, doesn’t it?” he asked. “Its very existence causes nothing but pain.”
Twilight sniffed as she wiped her eyes. “It keeps feedbags like you away from good people.”
“Good—!” Shadowfright’s eyes widened. What would have been the shoulders on a corporeal creature hunched up, and his drafty wings spread. “Let me tell you a story, Twilight Sparkle.”
He rose above, no, grew above her. His billowing mass stretched to the size of a minotaur and beyond. “A thousand years ago, give or take a decade, a people known as Living Dreams searched the cosmos for a home.
“After generations of searching, they finally found themselves in a land of plenty, a land of joy and happiness known as Equestria. They appealed to the rulers of the land, asking for shelter, or food, or anything the princesses could spare. They were given such, but it was temporary. It simply couldn’t last. They would soon need to find a new place to stay, or they risked disaster.”
Shadowfright lowered his head to Twilight’s level. “One night, one of the princesses came to the leader of the Living Dreams with a proposition. She offered him a kingdom, if he would help her convince her people to appreciate her night sky. The Sister of the Night and the Living Dreams came to the Sister of the Day, asking that the night be enjoyed more fully.”
Shadowfright sighed. “She refused, of course. The story must always end the same way, no matter how many times it is told. The Sister of the Night rebelled against the indignancy, and the Living Dreams stood beside her. They were defeated and cast aside by the Elements of Harmony.”
Twilight shook her head. Her ears drooped as her eyes shut tight. “You’re messing up the story. You’ve got it wrong.”
“I was there!” Shadowfright roared. “I received the full brunt of the rage of Harmony!” He exhaled, reducing his body to more a pony-esque size. “Years later, while we were still imprisoned on the moon, a pony prince named Scorpan led what Living Dreams remained to Canterlot, where they once again petitioned for a land of their own. It ended with a country-wide battle. It ended in the creation of Tartarus.”
“This is twisted.” Twilight sat as her legs finally gave out. “You’re twisting it. You’re—”
“The Living Dreams just wanted to go home, Twilight,” Shadowfright said. “So Celestia made us one.”
“Enough!” Twilight shuffled backwards, her soaked wings flopping uselessly at her sides. “I don’t have to listen to your stupid—”
“It’s Tartarus, Twilight.” Shadowfright floated ahead, closing the distance between them. “It’s the source of so much pain. So much anguish. Its sheer existence is an evil against life itself. It has stolen friendships. Destroyed lives. Separated families…” He glanced ever-so-briefly at the bat pony at the edge of the courtyard. “And now it wants to do the same to you and yours.”
A ghostly image of Blueblood shimmered before the dark castle ruins. It turned slowly, vanishing into the night. Twilight coughed a deep sob as she watched it disappeared. “Stop—stop it.”
“And who is next Twilight?” Shadowfright rolled around until his mouth hovered beside her ear and his eyes pointed in the direction she was looking. “What evil shall be visited on those you love? Who shall you say goodbye to?” Her friends, Spike, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, Applejack, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, Shining Armor, Cadence, Flash Sentry, Celestia… they and so many others, flashed into a facsimile of existence and then faded one by one. “What price will you pay for Equestria, Twilight?”
Her headache intensified, leading her to place a hoof over her eyes. When she opened them again, she was standing alone on a mountaintop, looking out over the kingdom of Equestria. She could see Ponyville in the distance, smoke curling slowly from the many smokestacks. A turn of her head brought the shining gem of Equestria, Canterlot, into view. As her attention shifted between the two, the bright lights of Canterlot dimmed, and the smokestacks of Ponyville faded into disuse. Silence and stillness filled the world below Twilight, a blankness that crept into her heart.
Shadowfright was beside her, his crackling voice whispering. “You can save them all, Twilight.”
Thunder rumbled. A darkness spread over the world, swallowing the small town and the sprawling city. Fire replaced buildings, crags of crystals grew in the absence of trees, and shadows presided over all as the sky took on a deep red hue.
“You can save them all if only you make the choice.” Shadowfright faced her, and the dark world transformed back into the realm of reality. “You can save them if you do what you know is right.”
Twilight shut her eyes. Her head shook from side to side violently. “No! No, no, no! You’re evil! Evil!”
Images assailed her from behind her eyelids. Her friends watched as if from a great distance as she plodded along towards a black, soul-sucking abyss.
“Stop, Twilight! This ain’t right!”
“You can’t do this to yourself! Think about what you’re giving up!”
“Twi! This is nuts!”
“Oh, please, please stop…”
“This isn’t good! Nope, nope, nope!”
“Twilight,” Spike sobbed, “you can’t just leave!”
Blueblood stood before her, facing away. He spun as rage strained his features. “I’m telling you there can’t be a solution!”
She reeled backwards and found herself caught in the forelegs of Flash Sentry. “I’m sorry, Twilight. This is the way it has to be.”
She pushed away from him and tumbled at the feet of Celestia, who was flanked on either side by Luna and Cadence. “He must do his duty,” the eldest said, “as you must do yours.”
“I am sick and tired of duty getting in the way!” Twilight shrieked. “I hate this! I hate not being able to do anything about it!” She turned to Shadowfright, who sat smirking just a few meters away. “I hate you!”
She crumbled before him, her cries echoing throughout the courtyard. Lightning illuminated her soaked, rumpled form, as well as the bat pony that approached from behind. The gray-coated mare knelt beside the princess and ran a comforting hoof through her mane. “I know a way you could do something about it.”
Twilight gritted her teeth and lifted her head.
“We’re after the same thing, after all,” the mare said. “Tartarus has just gotta go.”
Shadowfright turned to Lyra with a chuckle. “She can say ‘no’ a million times over…”
The batpony whispered in Twilight’s ear, “Do you want to save Blueblood?”
“But,” Shadowfright said, “she only needs to say ‘yes’ once.”
“Of course I do,” Twilight gasped. “But I can’t…”
“No, but I could.” The bat pony extended a leathery wing and placed it atop Twilight’s head. “All you have to do is let me help. Trust in ol’ Chastity.”
Blueblood shimmered in the distance, his form obscured by the rain. Chastity’s eyes lowered to the ground. “Or you could say goodbye.”
Shadowfright’s eyes widened. He shook his head and sharply drew a tendril of magic across what might have been his neck. Chastity ignored him.
“You’ll live for thousands of years because of your alicorn lifespan. Most ponies won’t,” she sighed. “You’re gonna have to learn how to say goodbye.”
Twilight exhaled. She drew her head up, and her reddened eyes bored holes through Chastity. “No, I won’t.”
She stood on shaking legs. She cast her iron glare on each person present. “No, I won’t! I’m gonna save him! I’m gonna save them all! I’ll destroy Tartarus and everything inside it if I have to!”
Chastity drew back, the hairs on her neck standing up, but Shadowfright smirked. “We can give you the power to do so,” he said.
Flame ignited in a circle around Twilight, completely disregarding the pouring rain. She flinched away from the brightness and shielded her eyes with a hoof. The flame separated into six individual spurts, gradually intensifying from red, to yellow, to white, to blue. The water beneath them hissed and boiled, and steam rose up to meet the downpour.
Chastity also stood within the circle. Her eyes darted as her wings extended, though she resisted the temptation to take flight. “Sh-Shadowfright… Will I still be… me?”
His attention was not on her, but on the alicorn princess beside her. “All we need is your permission, Twilight Sparkle. Let us in. Let us help you. One word is all it takes.”
Twilight’s eyes stung as fresh tears poured forth. “If this doesn’t save Blueblood, there’s nothing that can protect you.”
“So I take it your answer is…?”
Twilight choked out a small, painful “Yes.”
Stars burst in Twilight’s vision as the jets of fire twisted towards her. It wasn’t heat behind them, it was pain. Fear. Anger. Strength. Twilight let out a scream as she lost the ability to think clearly. Only images of her friends could be made out. Only the fires from her dream of Ponyville held her attention. Only sorrows not prevented could be felt.
Chastity looked upon her as she fell to the ground, screaming unintelligibly. The bat pony thought she could make out a few names, such as Spike’s, but there was no way to be certain. The fire reflected in her damp eyes as she turned to Shadowfright. “Larry, I—”
“It’s time, Chastity,” he interrupted. “It’s time for the birth of our new queen.”
Chastity shrunk back and turned to Twilight. She cupped the alicorn’s head in her hooves and whispered, “Sorry. Just… sorry.”
She kissed Twilight on the forehead and vanished in a puff of glitter.
The fire joined together in a great pillar of light that erupted high into the air. Shrieks filled the courtyard, coming from everywhere and nowhere all at once. The wingspan of an alicorn extended past the flowing light, soon followed by a horn and the tip of a purple-striped tail.
The blast faded, revealing Twilight Sparkle. She stood taller, and featured a longer horn and wings. Her coat was dark purple, nearly black. Her mane was a dusky purple, deep as the night sky and scattered with sparkling stars. Her once pink stripe glowed bright as the morning sunrise. Her lavender eyes sported the split pupil endemic to Nightmares, and fangs poked out of a somber mouth. She stood over Shadowfright, her wings spread and her foreleg lifted regally.
“Well, what are you waiting for?” she asked. “Bow before your Twilit Queen!”
Princess Celestia scribbled lightly on a scroll of parchment, a list of alicorns that had ascended recently. The number of new arrivals dwindled monthly, but there was still no sign of shortage.
“Davenport, Soarin, Cup Cake, Trixie Lulamoon, Flim Flimflam…”
She groaned as she entered a certain name into the list. “Lightning Dust… I should really apologize to her one of these days.” She made a note of it and moved on.
“Hoity Toity, Peachbottom—Dear heavens, those two—Sombra…”
She pursed her lips. “No headway on the ponyhunt, I suppose. Let’s see… Oh, yes! Derpy Hooves. Such a sweetie.”
A door clicked open, alerting her to the presence of somepony in the hallway. She leaned her head out of the entrance to her study to get a look. Her nephew, Blueblood, was marching double-time through the halls, his face carved from stone. Her eyebrows tilted up. “Back from the party so soon? Did you enjoy—?”
A door slammed behind him, ending the conversation.
Celestia straightened up, a frown alighting her features. “No, I suppose not.”
She stood and trotted over to the guards standing at the ready. “We’re going to the ball room. Now.”
She didn’t much like the news she received upon arrival. No, she didn’t like the news in the slightest.
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Argh, and this was the chapter that triggered me into deciding to catch up. I have such a love/hate relationship with "Twilight goes Nightmare" stories. At least I know you do happy endings, Mr H.
Arrrrrgh. Now I'm really hoping that Flash gets that "I told you so" moment.
Shadowfright really needs to have something terrible happen to him.
3902755
They have a surprising amount of chemistry, i've noticed. I need more reasons to put them in the same room together.
Well, she's the princess of melodies, so I guess the melody will last Forever! The Orchestration will last... Or the music...
Yeah, let's go for the strings lasting forever.
Well, just about anything's better than "I control a pony's mind and release endorphins to manipulate their emotional state."
Or whatever she does in the show.
If I can fit it in so that he can do so to a superior officer and sovereign leader without getting court-martialed...
Darned cliffhangers, coming up so suddenly and painfully. Leaving us hanging without a clear idea where the story might go from here...
It really must be frustrating.
And yes, happy endings are my favorite. If I ever set out to write an unhappy/bittersweet ending, I think i'd have to add a little warning to the first chapter or something. Hmm.
All the best villains do. I think i'll go make him do a few more nasty things.
3912495 Mid-Europe? Now that was an odd autocorrect.
So, Comedy, right? There's a Comedy tag on this story, right?
3916750
Yes, and I swear I didn't forget about it. It's just that there's this [Adventure] tag, too, which demands attention.
We've just dipped into one of the least funny parts of the story is all.
at the feet of Celestia
(I don't usually care, but I know some readers really like the strict use of hooves)
I like how nightmare affliction automatically imparts +10 skill to dramatic declarations
Sombra ascending must've made for a pretty awkward (and hilarious) moment with Celestia.
Alicorn? pffh. At least the wings will help me find crystals! And slaves...!
3917010
Thank you on both accounts. Lyra's a little loose with grammar, but she shouldn't have nearly that amount of trouble with syntax.
Semicolon, my old foe, we meet at last for the third time!
I'm getting visions of Blueblood being featured in Equestria Girls 2.
Now you've got me wondering what sort of time-loop Flash would get himself in.
I can't say I care overly much about him, either, but he does present opportunities for character development in himself and those around him.
I'm a little surprised that Sunset Shimmer isn't usually brought up in Flashlight stories, it seems like a good dynamic. Though maybe I don't read Flashlight stories enough...
Much of My Little Pony is nebulous, and what is not nebulous is downright contradictory.
And what's not downright contradictory is awesome, but that goes without saying.
If they complain about it, i'll point out that a hoof is just one part of a horse's foot.
One of the many benefits, along with a rocking mane-styling and mesmerizing eyes.
It was! And it was detailed here in a very silly short story.
"silence with" -> "silenced by" (unless Larry took his glare and physically suppressed Lyra with it, in which case it'd be "silenced with"
)
I'm guessing you wanted to say something along the lines of "flashed into existence" or "flashed out of nonexistence" (though that sounds a bit awkward) here.
iambrony.dget.cc/mlp/gif/tumblr_lt6p7dlbpW1r1b6b6o1_400.gif
Dohohohoho, you just pissed off Sol Invicta.
fc06.deviantart.net/fs71/i/2014/191/4/2/solar_flare_by_pshyzo-d7q1qc5.jpg
Oh dear. I really like how Shadowfright is a very real threat here, manipulative, cunning, and like Discord, only needs a single seed of doubt to get into your mind and toy with it.
Whoah, cool. And you mean Twilight Queen, Twilit isn't a word.
Oh please tell me somepony's going to launch into a rendition of In The Dark Of the Night, because that'd be awesome!
Well, she could easily make an earsplitting melody that could probably physically hurt somepony were this a darker fic.