Equestria's Mirage: Dream Warriors

by Alchemystudent

Nightmare of death

Then you have the nightmare of death

Rarity stepped out slowly onto the windy plain just outside of Canterlot, rubbing her hoof through her mane to clean out some of the dust, “I have to say, these dream worlds are not exactly the most welcoming of places.” Turning her head back and forth, the young mare began to look for her companion, “Carrot Top, are you still with me?”

Wearily, the earth pony stumbled behind Rarity, “Y-yes, I am still here, just a little woozy from the entry. I didn’t think that falling into a dreamworld would be this harsh. Or hurt my eyesight.”

“It’s probably the night affecting your eyesight, my dear,” Rarity said, looking up at the sky and then back to the shadowy city of Canterlot. “Though to be honest, it does seem to be a smidge darker than usual for this time of night.”

Carrot Top looked up to the sky, her green eyes scanning over the line before returning to look at Rarity, “How so?”

“There are no stars,” replied the white unicorn, before turning to face the gates of the now shadowy city. “Come, maybe if we find some ponies then we can discover what on earth it is that Twilight is dreaming about and how to get her out.”

Nodding, Carrot Top followed Rarity into the city proper, only to gasp in horror as she took in the sight of what became of their city. Her breathing came in short gasps as she looked at the destroyed city. The ruins of the larger buildings falling in on itself while ponies everywhere were trying their best to fix the buildings that they could, “What happened to Canterlot?”

“My word,” Rarity said as she put a hoof to her mouth in shock. Taking a few steps ahead of Carrot Top, she began to make her way to newspaper stand.

“Was this a war? Is Twilight having a nightmare about a war she can’t stop?” asked Carrot Top.

“No, it wouldn’t be something that simple,” Rarity said, looking down at a paper. “I have been through Mirage’s nightmares before, she attacks your heart and your mind. She wouldn’t use war, too impersonal. She would ra-No! The insufferable witch! I swear she is going to pay for this!”

Shocked by Rarity’s outburst, Carrot Top turned and looked at the departing Rarity, “Rarity, wait, what’s going on? What did she do?” she asked, running after her partner. “Where are you even going?”

Running as fast as she could through the streets of the city, Rarity looked over her shoulder, “To the Canterlot graveyard, there is something that I need to see.”

“What is it?” Carrot asked, sighing as Rarity picked up speed without answering her. After a few short minutes, the two ponies soon entered the lifeless graveyard. The cold and unfeeling area giving off an unwelcoming presence as they walked slowly in.

It did not take long for the two mares to discover what Rarity wanted to find. With a growl, Rarity turned her head away from the sight of the graves, “Mirage, you miserable wench! I swear I am going to make you pay for what you are putting my friend through.”

Carrot Top, her curiosity piqued, looked over at the names on the graves. Upon the stone faces was the name of an element bearer, all except three

Here Lies

Celestia and Luna Von Solaris

May their bodies forever shine

Here Lies

Mi amore Cadenza Armor

The once and future princess.

“She’s afraid of somepony killing all of you?” Carrot Top asked, confused.

With a sigh, Rarity shook her head and turned to look at the castle, “More to it than that, I’m afraid. Tell me, darling, what do you think of Twilight Sparkle?”

Carrot Top sighed and looked down, “Well, she is a good mare, very nice, always willing to help others even though she could always have had just stayed behind, and is very well read.”

“Of course, all of that is true. Both you and I know that, but you’d be surprised what the word is at Canterlot,” the fashionista said, looking down and sighing. “While I am not as into the gossip scene as I used to be, you cannot possibly keep up with the latest fashions without keeping an ear out for the latest trends.”

“What have they been saying?” asked Carrot Top.

“‘Her personality is not right for princesshood.’ ‘Her paranoia will kill us all’, ‘she will become power-mad’, ‘her mind is the right type to lead to a tyrant’, and more. I have heard it all, and so has Twilight, sadly. But fortunately, she just laughs it off.’ After all’, she told me once,’ even if I do go mad, it will be eventual that I will fall. You guys will find a way or millennia later some brave band of ponies will rediscover the tree of harmony, remove the gems, and defeat me. It’s all eventual.’” the white unicorn sighed and ran a hoof through her mane to keep the wind from blowing it into her eyes. “No, she once confided in me that she is afraid of something much worse.”

“What is that?” asked Carrot Top.

“Do you remember when I was turned into Nightmare Rarity? And how I was saved,” asked Rarity.

Carrot Top nodded, “Yes, the five of your friends used the power of your inner magic to reach into your inner soul and pull you out.”

“Now what would happen if there was only one of them?” Rarity asked.

“Why would there be-” the earth pony stopped as the realization hit her hard. She let out a gasp while raising a hoof to her mouth, “Celestia, no.”

“You see what she is truly scared of?” Rarity asked, turning to face Carrot Top. “ She is afraid of one day, facing down somepony she loves: Me, the others, Shining Armor, Cadence, Luna, Trixie, or even Princess Celestia, and seeing no other way to save them but to...” her voice trailed off.

“Kill them?” squeaked Carrot Top.

With a solemn frown, Rarity nodded and continued on, “It was just a thought she had once, and it has been haunting the poor dear for a while. I was able to hold myself back when I was a Nightmare, but what if I didn’t and decided to kill all of them but one. As long as the one is alive, and she hasn’t been deemed unworthy of the element she bears, then it is up to her to befriend a new set of ponies to become bearers. So, the plan would be for the corrupted pony to leave Twilight alive and to stop her attempts at making any new friends, by whatever means necessary. Keep her alive and free, but kill everypony else. Quite the stroke of genius, no?”

“But wouldn't she just be able to find a way to turn the corrupted pony?” Carrot Top asked.

“It was only by the friendship of my five friends that I was able to pull through, but if Twilight stood alone,” Rarity shuddered. “ The poor girl can barely conceive of killing a monster like Discord, how can she be expected to do the same to somepony she loves dearly.” with a growl, she slammed her hoof into the ground, “And that miserable contentable she-devil just forced her to endure that nightmare again and again. Forced her into a situation where she can’t find a third option and would be forced to take the life of her friend!”

Trixie, who had been listening, shook her head, “That witch!! How are we supposed to pull her out of this one? She took away-”

Rarity interrupted Trixie, blinking away a few tears of rage, “Everything that she could possibly rely on to help save the day. Friends? Dead. The idea that her friend is somewhere is in there? If that were true then she wouldn’t have killed the others! Being able to believe in herself? The poor dear is very modest, and I think this would break her resolve,” with a shudder, the unicorn look straight into Carrot Top’s green eyes, “When she told me about this nightmare, I didn’t have any words of comfort for her. How am I supposed to save her now? What can I tell her to believe in that would show her that it will be all right?”

Carrot Top stood there for a few moments, listening to the wind and the tiny sobs of Rarity’s voice. With a look to the graves and then back to the weeping mare, the earth pony narrowed her eyes in sheer determination and walked up to her, placing her hoof on to Rarity’s chest, “In this.”

` Rarity raised an eyebrow at this, “What?”

“You should know more that I do, that your friendship with her is far deeper than flesh and blood,” Carrot said, smiling a little. “You should remember that what you guys have, is something eternal and will stay with you for a very long time. And I think Twilight should know that, in the end, she will not be standing alone, but all five of you will be at her back.”

“Well, I know that, but what does have to-”

“Which means,” interrupted Carrot Top, “that she will find a way to reach the heart of the other pony. It’s who she is, isn’t she? Even if the third option isn’t that obvious, she will find a way to make one!.”

As the realization dawned upon her, a small smile came across Rarity’s lips, “You’re right. she can. After all, she wouldn’t be Twilight Sparkle if she couldn’t,” and with that, the white unicorn walked away towards the castle, “Now, the question becomes, how can we remind her of that fact.”

“Nice job, even Trixie wouldn’t have thought of it,” Trixie said.

Carrot Top watched as Rarity left, smiling softly to herself, “Of course. Call it naive or foalish, but I am never one to give up completely. As long as I know I am alive, there is always a bit of hope in us, we just have to make it ours.”

Trixie smiled at this bit, as she began to fade away into the ether to check on the other members of the team. Rarity,on the other hand, continued to walk down the path to the castle, deep in thought, “Now, I can’t interact with her directly, so talking to her is out.”

“If only we could project something to her,” Carrot Top said.

Tapping her hoof to her chin, a thought began to come to her mind. After a few moments, her eyes shot up in a sudden realization, “IDEA!!”

“What?” Carrot Top asked as she was grabbed by the shoulder by Rarity’s magic.

“Just watch...”

---

Twilight sat at the balcony, letting out a deep sigh as she watched the moon overhead. Sure, she had the power to lower the moon now, but she chose not to at the moment. There was no point to it anymore, she knew what was going to happen soon. She would have another blackout and the timeline would reset. She would end up fighting either the princesses once more in mortal combat, or her friends turned nightmare, or even a combination. A tear rolled down the purple alicorn’s cheek as she looked beyond the horizon, “Why? Why doesn’t it just restart and get it over with? I know I can’t win, no matter what I do. I can’t even think of a way to-”

“Now, where did all of this come from,” Rainbow Dash’s voice echoed from behind her.

“Yeah, that don’t sound like the Twilight Ah know!” Applejack’s voice echoed.

“You don’t understand, I have nothing to use when I the nightmare starts again,” Twilight argued. “No friends to rely on, no backup plans, and nopony to help me. It happens everytime, I walk into that castle, face down one of you, and kill you. I haven’t figured out a way to beat it and I can’t win! There isn’t any way for me to win that doesn’t end with somepony I love dying!”

“Maybe you just haven’t thought about it, yet.” Fluttershy’s voice also piped in.

“But how?”

“You are the element of magic dear,” Rarity said. “And even though you can’t see us, you know we will be right there to help you. If not in body, then in spirit. We would never leave you behind, even if we’re dead.”

Twilight sighed, “But how, I have nopony to...” as she trailed off, she began to think about a plan. “But, if it wasn’t me. If I made myself unworthy of the element, then I could take six ponies and make them new bearers. Could I really do that though? Send them out alone against something that should be-no! They won’t be alone, I’ll follow them if I have to!”

“That’s the Twilight we know!” Smiled Rarity as the dream-world shattered and Rarity’s illusion disappeared with it.

Turning around, Twilight smiled at Rarity, “Thanks, for reminding me of something important. There is always a way, even if I have to make it. Its what you guys always taught me after all.” and with that,her body faded away into a small shard and flew into Rarity’s hoof.

Author's Note:

Thanks to Zoltan for the edits. Also, thanks to Talon and Thorn, Emeral Bookwise of the Lunaverse for saving Twilight!

This chapter was based of an idea I had about a year ago. What would happen if you forced Twilight to chose, life or death. What would happen if you took away her stiff and left with with only two choices, how do you defend against that?

Get ready though, next chapter is gonna hit all of you hard!

Comments

[DracoDarastrix]

Get ready though, next chapter is gonna hit all of you hard!

*Puts on my medieval armor.*

Bring it! I'm ready.