• Published 2nd Jun 2012
  • 13,298 Views, 252 Comments

Creeping Darkness - Pen Stroke



Alan Wake must write a story where Twilight faces the Darkness of his world to save Equestria

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That's How You Reshape Destiny

“And together... we are the Elements of Harmony.”

Nyx could only watch, eyes wide in awe as Twilight as lights appeared around Twilight and her friends. The foal, upon seeing Nightmare Moon approaching, had run away from Fluttershy and hidden behind a rock. She had been content to just hide there, but upon hearing all of Twilight’s friends standing up to the nasty monster of a mare, Nyx couldn’t keep herself from peaking out from her hiding place.

Twilight and her friends were now floating as Nightmare Moon retreated back towards the center of the island, the light that was encompassing the mares driving her back. Nyx could feel herself smiling, watching anxiously as the mares were surrounded by a swirling rainbow. It was the first time Nyx had ever seen such beautiful colors, their light and beauty reflecting in her eyes.

The rainbow then lunged out, diving at Nightmare Moon, and Nyx was about to cheer. This had to be what got rid of the darkness, made that monster of a mare go away. It was so beautiful, bright, and the power it radiated sent a shiver down the foal’s spine. There was no way it could fail.

But then the shadows began to gather, swirling before leaping out to meet the rainbow. The sound made by the darkness and rainbow crashing together made Nyx duck back behind her rock, but it wasn’t long before the alicorn foal was once again watching the events transpire. The anxious tension in her chest was overwhelming; she couldn’t take her eyes off the rainbow as it fought to push back the darkness.

But then the darkness began to win, it began to overwhelm the rainbow. There were a few times the rainbow was able to regain ground, but in the end the darkness continued to push back the mystical spectrum of colors. The darkness enveloped the rainbow as well as the light that was producing it. There were a few moments of lingering, where the darkness just held the rainbow and light in its grip... and then a resounding cracking noise began to fill the air. The cracking grew louder and louder until there was a final crack, the darkness crushing the light.

Nyx watched in horror as the shadows withdrew and six ponies began to fall. She saw Twilight, unable to look away as the mare hit the ground, bounced, and then landed. Twilight and all her friends were still, perfectly still. Nyx was terrified, wanting to know why they weren’t getting up. Still, some small relief came when she saw all the ponies trying to shift. They were still moving, but they were badly hurt and unable to stand.

And Nightmare Moon was moving towards them. The monstrous mare had a victorious grin on her face as she stepped among the ponies, eventually finding her way to Twilight. She began to say something, leaning in close to Twilight as she spoke. Nyx couldn’t hear what was being said, but whatever it was Twilight didn’t seem to like hearing it. The unicorn’s eyes narrowed, as if she had just had a terrible realization.

Nightmare Moon lifted her head, offering a few final words... and then she began to rear up. Her hooves waved in the air, her wings spread, and Nyx knew what was about to come. The foal burst out from her hiding spot, galloping as fast as her hooves would carry her. She was too young to really fly yet, and so Nyx could only run.

Once... Nightmare Moon brought her hooves down on Twilight once, putting her full weight into the blow. She then began to rise up again, preparing for another strike. Nyx’s eyes began to stream with tears, the foal alicorn begging her hooves to run faster. She was still so far away.

Twice... this time there was a sound, the sound of something snapping. The tears in Nyx’s eyes began to blur the alicorn’s vision, but she didn’t stop to clear them. She just kept running, galloping to try and save twilight.

Thrice... Another cracking sound. While Nyx’s mouth and lungs were too busy breathing to utter anything, the foal’s mind was screaming. She was mentally begging Nightmare Moon to leave Twilight alone. She was willing to give herself up. The foal had heard what Nightmare Moon asked. She was willing to let Twilight go for her, and Nyx was willing to give herself up.

And Again... Nightmare Moon’s hooves fell on Twilight, the unicorn lying limply. Her friends were all struggling, trying to get to their hooves, trying to stop the brutality the corrupted Nightmare Moon was engaging in. They were trying to save her, but were unable to do anything. Nyx was the only one able to move, able to help.

She had to make the monster go away, had to save the one pony that had been nice to her. Twilight had carried her out of the darkness. She had made the dark, the cold, and loneliness go away. Twilight had even given the foal a name, a beautiful name... a name she loved.

Without even realizing it Nyx began to gather magic in her horn, her eyebrows furrowing as tears streamed openly down her face. She’d make the monster go away, she’d use the special light spell Twilight taught her. She’s put all of her magic into it and it would make the monster go away, just like Twilight said. It was a special spell, it was a spell that would save Twilight.

The corrupted Nightmare Moon was lifting her hooves, ready to bring them down a fifth time on Twilight, only to be stopped as a young voice screamed at her.

“GO AWAY!!!!!!!!!!”

Nyx was mere feet away from Nightmare Moon when she jumped into the air and screamed. Her horn was just starting to come to life, the first beams of light shining out into the darkness. The corrupted mare tried to jump back, trying to avoid the little foal like she was a plague, but it was too late. Nyx was on a collision course.

And the second they made contact Nyx disappeared, her body fading away like it was a puff of smoke. At the same moment, Nightmare Moon began to wail in pain, stumbling back. Beams of light began to shoot from her mouth and eyes, as if her once dark interior was now completely filled with light. There was a final cry of pain, then an explosion of light that blinded and knocked out all the ponies. It burnt away much of the darkness that clung to the island, including the black ooze that encased the cabin.

~~~

“Alan... Alan. koooh....kssssh Wake up.”

“Zane?” The author groaned, his head swimming.

“Yes Alan, it’s me. koooh....kssssh

In short order Alan realized a number of things as he got to his feet. First off, he had feet again... he was human again, though he didn’t remember how he had been changed back. He was back in the cabin, but not in the study with the typewriter. No, he was in the living room, the front door standing open in front of him.

“What happened?”

“You were Taken by the darkness, but Twilight and her friends were able to beat the Dark Presence. It’s over. koooh....kssssh

“But how did I become human again?”

“The Dark Presence wanted you to write for it, but knew you couldn’t work a typewriter with hooves. koooh....kssssh It gave you back your humanity hoping it could drive you to insanity and use your writing to spread to other worlds.”

“Well, I guess I can’t complain too much.” Alan said, twiddling his fingers before looking ahead. The writers gaze fell on the cabin’s open front door, beyond which he could see the twisted landscape that had once been Diver’s Isle as well as the horizon of the Dark Place. The writer then felt his heart skip a beat as he saw a number of brightly colored bodies lying around on the ground.

“Oh no,” was all Alan could say before breaking into a run. He jumped down the steps of the cabin, sprinting as hard as he could. He ran for the nearest pony, which happened to be Rainbow Dash. He dropped to his knees by the pegasus, carefully picking up and cradling her in his arms.

“Come on, come on, wake up. Rainbow Dash, come on... don’t be dead. Please don’t be dead.”

“Uhhh”

“Oh thank god,” Alan said, smiling as the pegasus in his arms began to move.

“Man, feels like I crashed into a tree... make that a dozen trees.” Dash grumbled, opening her eyes and realizing she was being held by a strange creature.

“Who the hay are you?”

“Easy Dash, it’s me.”

“Alan? Yeesh; and I thought you were ugly as a pony.”

Alan held back a laugh. Yeah, humans probably weren’t that visually appealing to ponies. “What happened?”

“We were fighting Nightmare Moon, or whatever that thing was that looked like Nightmare Moon. We were using the Elements of Harmony, but something went wrong. It stopped the elements, and then we all fell. Then Nightmare Moon...”

At that Dash’s eyes narrowed, the pegasus flailing as she tried to get out of Alan’s arms. A hoof to the face made the writer drop the pegasus. It didn’t draw blood, but it was close, and while Alan held his nose, Dash raced over to where Twilight was lying.

“Yikes, warn a guy.” Alan groaned, rubbing his sore nose as he followed Dash. Still, before he was even halfway to Twilight, the pegasus was up in the air, flying in front of his face.

“Alan, she’s not breathing!”

It took the writer a moment to process what the pegasus had said, the processes slowed by the fact Dash’s nose and his were barely an inch away. Still, the moment the seriousness of the statement clicked into place, Alan pushed past Dash and dropped to his knees by Twilight. He held his hands over her, mind panicking as he tried to think of what to do. CPR... no, you couldn’t give a pony CPR... could you?

With nothing better to do, Alan first put his ear next to Twilight’s mouth and nose, listening. He couldn’t hear the sound of air moving, confirming what Dash had noticed. The unicorn was not breathing. Next Alan moved his head, putting it to Twilight’s chest. He listened, straining his ears... but the chest was silent. No heart beat.

The writer went to scoop Twilight up in his arms, but upon touching the unicorn the coldness in her body made him draw back. She was cold... dead cold... like she hadn’t had a heart beat in several minutes...

Twilight was dead.

“Alan?” Dash asked as she saw the writer stand up. He looked back at the pegasus, and didn’t have to say a word. The truth was written across his face. Dash almost dropped out of the air, shocked to the point she forgotten to keep her wings flapping. Alan did his best to try and catch Dash, when he saw the pegasus start to drop out of the air. The writer managed to catch Dash, but only enough to slow her fall and ensure he crashed down onto the ground with her.

After seeing Dash hadn’t hurt herself dropping out of the air, Alan pushed himself back off the ground, offering the pegasus an apologetic look before turning away as the pegasus moved forward slowly, until she was sitting right beside Twilight’s body.

“I’m... I’m going to go check on the others.”

The writer began doing as he said, moving to each pony to make sure the others were still alive. Applejack, Rarity, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, and Fluttershy all woke up with just a little shake from Alan... all of them doing much the same thing Dash did. Freaking out a bit at seeing what the writer really looked like, and then running over to check on Twilight while Alan continued his work.

After waking Fluttershy, Alan was drawn to a large black mare who was lying in the very center of the island. He didn’t recognize her, though the mare was the size of Celestia. All black, with a moon cutie mark and a purple, constantly flowing mane that was dotted with stars. Of all the ponies, the black mare was the only one that didn’t look injured.

She awoke quickly at Alan’s touch, her dragon shaped turquoise eyes locking on him for a moment. Something in those eyes made Alan back up, giving the mare room as she got to her hooves herself. She didn’t say a word, hardly even looked at Alan. Her gaze instead shifted to Twilight, and then five colorful ponies that now surrounded her. The mare then turned, walking off to a corner of the island where she choose to stand, staring into the darkness that surrounded the island.

Unsure what to do about the black mare, Alan went to wake up Luna and Celestia. They had taken the worst beating of the ponies. Luna was able to get up on her own but Celestia was just a bit too weak, Alan needing to help the alicorn to her hooves. Something that wasn’t exactly easy considering the princess was just as tall as Alan.

With the princesses up now everyone gathered around the still, cold body of Twilight. Alan chose to stand a few feet, knowing it wasn’t his place to be right at Twilight’s side considering he had hardly known the unicorn... that and it was his fault all this happened. No, that area was to be reserved for her closest friends and the princesses, the seven ponies gathered around with solemn faces and eyes brimming with tears.

Alan, however, was not alone as the black mare move up beside him. He took a glance at her, her turquoise eyes hard and cold as they had been when she had first awaken. But... now they seemed a little redder, and Alan could just barely make out the trails of fallen tears across the black mare’s cheeks.

The moment lingered for a time until Zane came floating over from the cabin, the poet diver still hanging in the air like the entire Dark Place was underwater, even as everyone else stood on dry land.

“Alan, the Dark Presence has been defeated but you know just as well as I do that it will return soon. koooh....kssssh You only have so long to finish the story, to undo the damage done.”

“I... I know Zane.” Alan said, “Just... just a little longer.”

“Undo the damage?” Rarity asked, perking up her ears to the conversation.

“Yes, with the Dark Presence defeated, the story Alan began can now be finished, and by defeating the darkness credit has been earned. Credit Alan can use that to pay the price for writing Equestria out of the darkness, to set everything right.”

“Everything? So, does that mean-”

“No,” Zane replied flatly. “Twilight gave her life fighting the darkness; she died in the Dark Place. Everything done in the Dark Place has cost, and to write her back to life would cost too much.”

“How much?”

Alan and Zane turned, this question coming from the black mare that stood beside them.

“What do you mean? koooh....kssssh

“How much would it take to write Twilight back to life? How much would have to be given?”

“Why do you care?” Dash snapped, turning a cold, tear marred glare at the black alicorn. “You were the one that killed her. It was your hooves that... that did this.”

“No.”

“NO?!” Dash yelled, jumping up into the air. “What do you mean ‘no’?!? You were the one that did it! We watched you! Nightmare Moon, you killed Twilight.”

“I AM NOT NIGHTMARE MOON!” The black mare snapped, spreading her wings. Dash jumped back in fear, ducking behind her friends. Still, the black mare’s rage quickly died, her eyes once again becoming cold as she looked upon the lifeless purple unicorn.

“I’m not Nightmare Moon anymore,” She said, her voice much softer. “I’m... I’m just Nyx... just Nyx, and that’s why I ask, how much would it take?”

“More than you’re willing to give, koooh....kssssh” Zane replied.

“Don’t assume what I am and am not willing to give!” Nightmare Moon snapped. “My wings, my horn, my royal blood, my immortality, even if my life if it must be given... I will relinquish it without pause... just write her back to life.”

“I still don’t think-”

“Zane,” Alan interrupted, “You and I both know how the Dark Place works. There’s light and there’s darkness, cause and effect, guilt and atonement. But the scales must always balance. Everything has a price... and usually that’s something that works against us.

“But, this time, it’s a truth that has a silver lining. When everything has a cost, everything has a price. It is possible to write Twilight back to life, there is some price that can be paid.

“I don’t know what the price would be to bring Twilight back.” Alan admitted, turning to meet Nyx’s gaze, “... but, considering an immortal princess is willing to give herself up I say it’s at least worth a try.”

koooh....kssssh koooh....kssssh koooh....kssssh Very well.” Zane finally offered, turning as he began to float back to the cabin. “But if you are going to attempt this, I am going to help. We will write the ending to this together, and ensure that the scales come out balanced.”

~~~

Twilight opened her eyes, cringing at the bright light. She lifted a hoof, shielding her eyes as they adjusted. When the light was no longer painful, the unicorn began to look around, taking in her surroundings.

She was lying in a bed, and the bright light that had awoken her was coming from the window. It was the sun, the great golden orb hanging just below the edge of the window as it ascended up into the sky.

Twilight grumbled, trying to pull the covers over her head and go back to sleep. The lingering desire for sleep, however, was abruptly blown away. A voice shouted out, filling the room and making Twilight bolt up from bed in a panic.

“TWILIGHT’S AWAKE!!”

Pinkie Pie, who Twilight now noticed was standing next to her bed, had been the one to shout out loud. That shout quickly brought all of her friends running, galloping into the room with huge smiles on her face. Twilight was soon surrounded, everypony asking about a million questions, most of them simply different variations of “Are you all right?”

“My little ponies!” Celestia chuckled as she and Luna strode into the room. “Please give Twilight room to breath.”

The others managed to corral their excitement as the princesses approached the bed, both smiling widely.

“It is good to see you, Twilight.”

“It’s good to see you too. I guess this means we won.”

“Yes; thanks to you and your friends, the darkness was beaten back.”

“And Alan?”

“He is still trapped in the Dark Place, but at the moment that is where he needs to be. It is only from that place that Alan has a hope of returning to his own world.”

“What happened anyway? The last thing I remember was us trying to use the Elements of Harmony.”

There was a tense moment, the ponies looking about the room. Still, Applejack continued the story, the farm pony telling the full and honest truth, including the explanation they had been given by Zane for what exactly happened when Nyx touched the corrupted Nightmare Moon. It was a long story, but Twilight hung on every word... how could she not when she had literally been dead for most of what had happened?

In the end, Nyx had been the light that was able to defeat the Dark Presence. She was a piece of Nightmare Moon, so, when the foal touched her corrupted other self, the two pieces were reconnected. Nyx became part of Nightmare Moon once again... and that little foal became the light inside Nightmare Moon’s heart. A light strong enough, burning bright enough, that it filled her dark heart with light and defeated the Dark Presence.

“So, if I died... how am I sitting here?” Twilight asked.

“It was Nightmare Moon, the real Nightmare Moon... or rather, Nyx.” Celestia answer. “In an act I would have never of expected from my sister’s dark other form, Nightmare Moon offered herself up as payment so that Alan could write you back to life with the end of his story.”

“She... she did that?”

“Yes, she did, Twilight.”

“But why?”

“That I don’t know. None of us dared to ask Nightmare Moon why she was doing it, partially in fear that she’d change her mind.”

“What about everything else? Did Alan fix everything?”

“He did; Equestria has been perfectly restored. We didn’t even miss a day. After we were freed from the Dark Place we all surfaced in Shadow Moon Lake only an hour after I had set the sun. No days have been missed and no pony is missing. It as if Equestria was never touched by the darkness. The only part that remains is our memories of it.”

“Which I reckon is goin’ to give the lot of us plenty of nightmares. Still, it’s awful good to have you back Twi.”

“Yes, don’t know what I would have done without you, Darling. Being the only unicorn in this rag tag group isn’t something I’d look forward to.”

“And your awesome spells have helped us out more than once.”

“And parties just wouldn’t be as fun without you, right Fluttershy?”

“Yes.”

Twilight smiled, looking across all her friends. It was over... it was really over... the darkness had been beaten back... and still, as Twilight shared a group hug with the ponies near and dear to her... something gently nipped at the back of her mind.

~~~

Pinkie Pie turned the palace into an all day party central to celebrate Twilight waking up. All of Emblem was invited, even though most ponies didn’t understand why there was a celebration being held. Still, they didn’t ask and nopony told. The darkness was to be just a bad nightmare to those six ponies and two princesses that had to endure it. It would be nothing to anypony else.

Still, when the party began to die down, Twilight excused herself from the castle, stepping out the front gates and following the path down to the lake shore. She was exhausted from all the partying, and the late afternoon breeze felt good in her mane.

As Twilight strolled the shore, she looked over the dark lake, its water’s tinted black by the hot springs in its depths. The lake had been the gateway for the darkness, but now it was once again just a body of water. There was no foreboding feeling, not a thing wrong with it... Equestria was as it should have been.

Twilight dropped to her haunches, looking out across the gently rippling surface of the lake. She should have been happy, relieved, and grinning ear to ear like Pinkie Pie. Still, while Twilight was all those things, she was also just a little sad. Through out the day, from one time to another, Twilight couldn’t help but think of Nyx. The little foal... the innocence of Nightmare Moon.

That and Twilight was also trying to understand why the real Nightmare Moon would have literally given up her life to save the unicorn. It baffled Princess Celestia and Luna, and they were the ones that knew the Mare in the Moon the best. Celestia by dealing with her, Luna by once being Nightmare Moon.

Twilight was so lost in thought she didn’t notice something wash up on the shore beside her until it brushed against her flank. Looking down, Twilight saw it was a small basket, soaking wet like it had just been underwater. The bottom of the basket had a number of balloons tied to it, undoubtedly what kept it afloat on the water.

Tilting her head, Twilight craned her neck and looked inside the basket. There were two things, a blanket and a scroll. Both had a shimmer to them, a shimmer Twilight recognized as a water proofing spell. Despite the fact the basket itself looked half drowned, the magic of the spell kept the scroll and the blanket presciently dry.

Glancing around, Twilight wondered where the basket came from... but there was no other pony to be seen. Curiosity getting the better of her, the unicorn’s horn lit up as she picked up and undid the seal of the scroll. It unfurled in front of her, the unicorn’s eyes moving to the top of the page.

Dear Twilight Sparkle

Thank you for being a warm light in a life filled with only seething hatred, vengeful desires, and cold loneliness. I can’t atone for all the wicked I’ve done, but at the very least I hope that what I’m about to sacrifice will be enough to ensure you a long happy life. To at least release me of the guilt and pain caused by knowing that you died at my hooves.

Until you found me in that bedroom I had only known darkness, only known the cold of night... had only known the pain of loneliness. From the moment I was born of Luna’s jealousy to the moment you found me in the darkness... that is all I’ve known. An entire existence in the dark. You were the one that drove that all away. Brought light to the dark, brought warmth to the cold... the one that drove away the loneliness.

And in doing all that you saved me from myself, from the dark, vengeful thoughts that caused me to trust and accept the power of the darkness.

So, again, thank you... and I just pray that you will live... that I can at least atone for my greatest sin... the sin of hurting the one pony that cared about me... and who I cared about in return.

Sincerely,
Nyx

Twilight’s eyes lingered on the last word of the page, the carefully drawn cursive letters that formed Nyx’s name. Pain welled in the unicorn’s heart, but at the same time she was happy. It was a strange mixture. She was sad that Nightmare Moon... no... that Nyx gave her own life to save Twilight... but Twilight was happy for her still. Nyx had found peace in the end... she had found herself. She had become a mare far greater and better than Nightmare Moon could have ever hoped to be.

Twilight lowered the scroll, was about to set it down when she noticed something written on the back. The unicorn turned the scroll over, eyes moving across the words written on the opposite side. The hand writing was different, and just barely legible. Still, Twilight was able to make out what was said.

Dear Twilight,

Sometimes, it doesn’t cost as much as you would think to atone for a sin. Nyx was willing to give up everything, including her life, to bring you back, but Zane and I found that was more than was needed.

We took only what was necessary to balance the scales. Roughly one thousand years of experience, one thousand years of power gain through study and practice. One thousand years of wisdom. One thousand years of painful memories, and one thousand years of maturity.

Taking back everything she gained over a thousand years spent plotting revenge on the moon. We took it all back, a life lived but not the spark of life itself.

Now, we leave the rest to you. Take good care of her Twilight.

Sincerely,
Alan Wake

P.S. Open the blanket

Twilight felt the air catch in her lungs, eyes moving over to the basket. Was it really possible? She swallowed once, setting the scroll down as her magic shifted to the blanket. The unicorn lifted the folds, and a huge smile spread to her face at what was lying in the basket.

Nestled, sleeping soundly in the basket, was a foal Alicorn... solid black with regal purple mane. It was Nyx, looking exactly the way Twilight first found her. Though, not exactly he same. Nyx had been terrified in the dark place, but now she was sleeping soundly... a smile on her little face.

Being exposed to the late afternoon sun made Nyx stir, the foal grumbling before yawning and opening her eyes. She sat up in the basket, mane a mess from her bed head. She stifled another yawn, still half asleep as she looked around at her new surroundings. She looked to her right first and then swiveling her head around to the left, at which point the the foal met Twilight’s eyes.

Nyx then laid back down in the basket, obviously intending to go back to sleep. There was a few moments when the foal’s eyes slid and remained shut, only for them to snap open. Her dragon shaped eyes locked on the purple unicorn smiling down on her, a grin exploding onto her face.

“TWILIGHT!!!!”

The alicorn leapt from the basket and tackled Twilight, hugging the unicorn’s neck. The pair began to roll in the sand, laughing at the top of their lungs. They rolled a good several feet away from the basket before Twilight managed to stop the action, both of them completely covered in sand but never happier.

Twilight bent her neck around Nyx, embracing the foal as she held tightly to the unicorn’s neck. It was then Twilight opened her eyes, looking out across the lake. She smiled, a gentle knowing smile. She knew Alan couldn’t hear what she was saying, but still Twilight whispered, casting her words out to the lake.

“Thank You Alan... thank you for the happy ending. I hope someday you'll be able to write one for yourself.”