Control Part 2
Twilight winced and countered Nightmare’s spell with a bolt of her own magic. The two spells collided and detonated with a sharp crack! and flash.
Nightmare cast again, and again, still rushing at Twilight.
Twilight cringed as she matched her spell for spell, hastily scrambling to the left to avoid Nightmare’s charge.
Nightmare teleported to Twilight’s side. Twilight held in a yelp of surprise and jumped back, narrowly avoiding a bolt of magic that struck the ground. Capitalizing on her supposed speed advantage, she teleported to Nightmare’s side and unleashed a torrent of spells. Nightmare threw herself to the ground, but two of Twilight’s spells struck her shoulder and neck.
A shield snapped around Nightmare, blocking Twilight’s follow-up, then immediately blinked out of existence as Nightmare lunged at Twilight.
Twilight breathed in deep and jumped back, grabbing Nightmare’s head with her magic and quickly deflecting the lunge away from her. Nightmare grunted but caught herself, then lunged again. Twilight teleported behind Nightmare and tugged Nightmare hind hooves out from under her. The alicorn grunted as she dropped to the ground.
Twilight felt Nightmare’s magic envelop her; she tried to fight it off but before she could succeed, the world sped past her as she was sent flying. Acting as quick as she could, she teleported so that she smacked into Nightmare’s considerably-softer body, rather than the hard ground. She wheezed from the impact and Nightmare was forced to brace herself to avoid falling over.
‘Center of mass...’ Twilight teleported away again before Nightmare could cast. ‘Could I disorientate you with teleporting enough? Probably not... Wait.’ Quickly licking her lips, she readied a series of spells while she jumped to the right to avoid a blast of Nightmare’s magic.
Casting the spells, the ground beneath Nightmare’s hooves softened and gravity increased, pulling her down. As Twilight expected, Nightmare’s focus momentarily lapsed as she looked down at the ground and focused on dispelling it. It gave her an opening: she teleported Nightmare in front of her and rammed her horn hard into Nightmare’s neck.
Twilight wheezed as she hit the ground, having been pummeled by a swift blow from Nightmare’s foreleg. “Ow...” She groaned and rolled onto her back.
“Clever. And bold,” Nightmare stated with a nod of her head.
Twilight forced a strained smile at the compliment but was forced to focus once more as Nightmare tilted her head disapprovingly before aiming at her. She teleported and forced herself back onto her hooves. Staring down her mentor, she watched the alicorn lick her lips. ‘Come on... how am I supposed to beat you if that didn’t work? You can dispel everything I can do.’
Twilight grunted as a torrent of magic lit the forest. She jumped to the side, leaving the beam of magic to tear through and fell a tree. She winced as she looked back at the tree to see it cracking and splintering as it crashed through the treetops to land on the ground with a heavy thud. “If I didn’t know better...” Twilight grumbled, looking back at Nightmare with a glare.
Nightmare smiled.
Twilight huffed and swiped her tongue across her dry lips, taking a few seconds to observe Nightmare. The alicorn’s wings twitched at her sides. From the movement, there was a chance that Nightmare’s left wing was injured from her earlier fall. ‘Can I capitalize on that? Should I capitalize on that?’ She still didn’t want to hurt Nightmare, even with what she said, but she wasn’t sure what else she could do at this point.
‘It... it will be fine. You will be okay...’ She held back a wince at the thought and breathed in, then exhaled. “So... you want me to win, don’t you?”
Nightmare bowed her head. “Of course. But I will not make it easy... to do so would be a disservice to you.”
“Right,” Twilight muttered. ‘Okay, can I win without physically hurting you?’ She had no chance to answer the question as Nightmare teleported in front of her and enveloped her in magic. With a grunt, Twilight broke through Nightmare’s grip, teleported, and knocked Nightmare off balance. By the time she recovered, Nightmare had focused on her once more.
“You take too long to decide what to do. You take too many breaks. You are not quick enough,” Nightmare chastised.
“I’m not a soldier,” Twilight retorted.
Nightmare’s eyes looked away from her for a moment and her jaw tensed and relaxed repeatedly. “I know,” Nightmare finally responded evenly. Crack! as Nightmare teleported to Twilight’s side. “But you need to improve.”
Twilight grunted as Nightmare’s forehoof landed hard on her back. Her knees buckled and gave out, sending her to the ground. She managed to grab Nightmare in her magic and force her off-balance. Nightmare’s forehoof lurched from her back as the alicorn tried to catch herself. Twilight snapped a gravity spell into place and Nightmare winced at the sudden, jarring impact, unable to react in time to the change. Twilight followed up, softening the ground, causing Nightmare to sink into the mud about halfway, and then hardening the ground around her. Knowing that Nightmare would be strong enough to break free, she quickly reinforced the ground with her magic. The alicorn struggled, momentarily confused before realizing what happened and breaking the spell.
Twilight groaned as Nightmare readily broke free of the trap and matched her stance once more.
“Quaint,” Nightmare muttered sarcastically. She shook her left wing and bits of dried mud fell out of her feathers, but Twilight could tell it would take dedicated effort to clean up the mess. “Yet I am still standing. If this was an actual battle—”
“In an actual battle you could just crush me to death,” Twilight snapped.
“I do not recall crushing any changelings to death,” Nightmare pointed out.
“Let me guess, easier ways to kill?”
“There are,” Nightmare answered. She reared up and then lunged at Twilight.
Twilight jumped back, only to feel her hind hooves held in place by Nightmare’s magic long enough for her to topple over onto her back. She rolled to the side and a moment later the ground cracked as a spell washed over it.
“You’re not normally this aggressive...” Twilight mumbled, warily watching the alicorn.
“Neither of us are,” Nightmare countered. “Now stand up.”
Twilight glared at her from the ground, then gradually stood back up on her hooves, wincing from the movement. “You are trying to teach me, right? Not humiliate me?”
Nightmare frowned. “I would not... I would not purposefully try to humiliate you.” A moment passed and her expression softened. “I... am I?” she asked.
Twilight breathed out sharply and looked away from her, grumbling, “It seems like it.”
“That is not my intent,” Nightmare said.
Twilight sighed and shook her head before facing Nightmare again.
“Am I pushing you too hard?” Nightmare asked calmly. “You bear the Element of Magic... you are destined to protect Equestria; you follow in Luna’s hoofsteps, yet perhaps you should not.”
Twilight’s frown returned. That uncertainty and disappointment in Nightmare’s voice reminded her of what Discord said—’You know, if you wanted, you could play her like a fiddle’
“You know how to protect yourself and others... you have proven that much. You will protect Equestria as you have, and as I have...” Nightmare’s voice trailed off as she looked to the sky. She suddenly shook her head and looked back at Twilight. “Please win this battle.”
Twilight jumped back as Nightmare rushed towards her, head lowered, horn aimed at her. She fired off a spell and Nightmare’s own spell met it, lighting the forest as the spells detonated. Nightmare’s visage rushed through the wake of the spell.
Twilight teleported to Nightmare’s left side. ‘Sorry about this.’ She grabbed Nightmare’s wing and tugged on it hard. Nightmare grunted and fell, but managed to stop herself from hitting the ground. Twilight felt ill as Nightmare pulled her wing to her side protectively. She wanted to apologize immediately for hurting her. The look in Nightmare’s eyes told her to keep going.
It was what Nightmare wanted, wasn’t it? For her to win. It just didn’t feel right. Holding back her nerves, she summoned her magic and forced Nightmare away from her. Knowing full-well that the alicorn would catch herself again, she preempted that by grabbing Nightmare’s hooves in her magic and pulling them towards her. She caught Nightmare off-guard; her wings flared out in surprised as she flipped over onto her back. Doubling down, she softened the ground, intensified gravity, and kicked Nightmare in the head. The kick had the desired effect, making Nightmare’s magic wink out for a moment, but just a moment.
She added her own magic to the gravity spell, pulling her into the mud as Nightmare struggled to find purchase in the soft ground. Crack! Twilight winced at the sound of Nightmare teleported, then grunted as a paid of hooves connected with her haunches. She yelped as she went face-first into the soft mud, then grunted as Nightmare grabbed her by the tail and tugged her back, dragging her in front of her. She spat mud out of her mouth and, as soon as she fought off Nightmare’s grip, threw herself into Nightmare’s chest.
In hindsight, she should have realized it wouldn’t accomplish anything beyond slightly rocking the more-massive alicorn.
“Not quite there,” Nightmare summarized.
Twilight huffed and quickly wiped her muzzle off in Nightmare’s chest and neck, then teleported away. A small, pointless victory.
Immediately countered by a blast of magic throwing her to the ground. Twilight clenched her eyes shut and grimaced, holding back a groan of pain as she splayed out on the ground. She pulled her hooves back to herself as she listened to Nightmare’s hoofsteps approach her. She pressed her head into the ground when she felt Nightmare’s muddy forehoof rest on her withers.
Giving up sounded so, so wonderful. Trying to win was pointless.
“Twilight. I believe that you have what it takes to defeat me if you apply yourself to it,” Nightmare stressed.
“This isn’t even a serious fight! You’re holding back!” Twilight argued.
Nightmare breathed in and then sighed. “Yes, I am. Because I am your mentor. If I did not hold back, I would be failing you by not giving you an opportunity to adjust and learn.”
Twilight groaned and opened her eyes to look at Nightmare.
“You need to be able to defeat me, even if I am holding myself back,” Nightmare implored with a bow of her head.
A small grimace crossed Twilight’s lips. “And I suppose you have no suggestions on how to do that?” she muttered.
Nightmare bobbed her head. “Be creative. Use brute force. You are intelligent. I am magically and physically stronger than you and more experienced. You have taken me by surprise more than once tonight, but you fail to capitalize on it enough.”
Twilight sighed and rolled onto her back. She didn’t exactly care about her stomach being exposed to Nightmare since it wasn’t a serious fight.
“You still hold yourself back.”
“Yes,” Twilight acknowledged. She sucked in a deep breath, then forced herself to sit up. After a few seconds, she stood up and looked at Nightmare. Maybe the fact that Nightmare was nearly coated in drying mud was a sign of her improving, but it made her grimace instead. She turned to face Nightmare, and Nightmare took a few paces back before bowing her head respectfully.
‘The sooner I win the sooner we can be done with this.’ Twilight held in a sigh and summoned her magic. From her own experience, overpowering Nightmare in a fair fight was out of the question, so she needed Nightmare to be in a position where she couldn’t match her. Considering her experience with how jarring being hit in the head was, it gave her some idea, and combined with knowing how easy it was to disrupt a unicorn’s—or alicorn’s—magic, she formulated a plan. She just wasn’t convinced it would work.
Twilight steading herself and spread her hooves wider apart to make sure she had a better stance. She felt Nightmare’s magic on her but, with some effort, resisted the alicorn’s magic. Nightmare licked her lips. She tried to grab Nightmare in her magic, but with far more ease Nightmare disrupted her own grip. Holding in a groan, Twilight teleported to Nightmare’s side and started charging a stun spell.
Before she had gathered enough magic to try to knock Nightmare out in a single blow, Nightmare had ducked and spun around, sweeping her forehooves out from under her and sending Twilight sprawled out on the ground. ‘Why did I try that again..?’
Heaving in distress, Twilight teleported and forced herself back to her hooves. Nightmare slowly turned to face her once more, head held low so her horn was at the ready. ‘There has to be something I can use.’ Quickly surveying her surroundings, she took note of the now-fallen tree. She immediately ruled out throwing the tree at Nightmare for obvious reasons, but some of the limbs might work, if she could get them undetected.
Twilight teleported opposite of the tree and cast a spell at Nightmare. As she expected, Nightmare dropped under the spell and turned to face her, firing a spell in retaliation. She winced and stepped out of the way, then stripped a smaller, straight branch from the tree and clipped the leaves from it. She licked her lips and focused her attention on Nightmare’s eyes as she slowly circled to the right. Nightmare mirrored her.
The swiveling of Nightmare’s ears warned Twilight that her plan was about to be discovered. Prempting NIghtmare from looking at the approaching limb, she jumped towards Nightmare and fired a barrage of spells. Nightmare’s attention remained on her. Several of Nightmare’s own spells rang out, and as their spells hit and detonated, Twilight swung the branch at Nightmare’s head.
It hit and Nightmare’s aura winked out. The alicorn let out a grunt as she fell. Acting quickly to capitalize, Twilight teleported to Nightmare’s side and clipped her horn with the branch. Nightmare grunted as she hit the ground. Twiligth attempted to hold her still with her magic, but Nightmare readily fought off the attempt. Seeing Nightmare’s aura spark around her horn, Twilight winced and quickly kicked her horn with her forehoof, then pressed her horn to the ground, hoping it would keep Nightmare from reacting.
Nightmare’s confusion gave her enough time to dump as much magic as she could into a stun spell. By the Time Nightmare rolled onto her stomach, Twilight was ready to cast the spell. She lowered her head and fired, just before Nightmare’s forehoof met her horn.
Sputtering from pain, Twilight stumbled back. She barely managed to catch a squeak of distress from Nightmare, and blinking to recover from the disorientating blow, she saw Nightmare spasming as she rolled onto her side. “Wh... what? How... how are you still...” She heaved in distress from exhaustion.
Nightmare grunted, twitching as she pulled her hooves back to herself. Nightmare breathed in deep and lifted her head to meet Twilight’s gaze. She smiled as she started to stand up. “Follow. Through.”
Twilight watched as Nightmare slowly picked herself off the ground, stumbling a few times from weakness. And then Nightmare stood up all the way, but weighed to the side before catching herself and nearly falling in the attempt. Delirium.
‘Do not hesitate. Do not apologize. You can win.’ Nightmare had told her so many things.
‘I want you to win.’
Twilight shook herself from her stupor. She stepped back and aimed at Nightmare, then fired another stun spell at her.
Nightmare staggered, her legs and wings trembling as she struggled to stand upright.
Another spell. Nightmare’s magic grabbed her and almost immediately failed as her horn winked out.
Nightmare fell onto her side and tried to push herself back up.
Another spell, and another spell.
Nightmare quietly groaned before going still, blinking eratically, horn dim and eyes glossy, having lost the determination and fire from before. Replaced with a certain calmness. ”Good...” Nightmare whispered as her eyelids gradually fluttered shut.
‘Did I actually...’ She didn’t want to believe it, so she stood still in the silence following their battle. Watched the rise and fall of Nightmare Moon’s chest, gentle, neither labored nor forced. Somehow peaceful. “Nightmare?” she asked, but it went unanswered. She tentatively walked back to her mentor’s side. Stunned unconscious. She leaned down closer, then gradually touched Nightmare’s shoulder with her right forehoof.
No reaction, nor any change in the way Nightmare breathed.
For several seconds, she kept her forehoof still, then she pulled her forehoof away and swept her gaze along Nightmare’s mud-covered side, looking over her wing and then at her flank. She could see only a few spotches of white through the dried mud. If Nightmare Moon was unconscious, it had no affect on the magic affecting her mane and tail.
Twilight fell to her haunches and closed her eyes, then used her magic, as best she could, to determine that yes, Nightmare Moon was unconscious. Her eyes shot open. “Oh...”
There was no way to know how long it would last. ‘It probably won’t be that long.’
‘I hope.’
‘Any second now...’
‘Any second.’
Nightmare Moon was still unconscious.
Twilight shifted her weight and looked at the trees and brush, then looked back at her mentor. Her friend. Looked at the alicorn’s face and saw the slightest touch of a smile on her lips, softening her features so much. She tilted her head and frowned slightly at the sight. ‘You’re glad that I won.’
‘I won?’
She looked at one of the trees opposite of where she sat. ‘I won. I knocked Nightmare Moon unconscious.’
‘I... beat an alicorn in a sparring match?’ No, that should have been impossible, yet the proof was right there, laying before her eyes.
Twilight hoped Nightmare Moon would be okay and would wake up soon. Did that make her the only pony, or creature, alive to have defeated her without the Elements of Harmony? What did that really mean? Nightmare Moon trusted her entirely, didn’t she? No, she didn’t even need to think about that to know the answer: Nightmare Moon trusted her with her life.
It went unsaid, but she knew it was true.
The silence felt all-enveloping. She looked around and stood up, then walked around and laid down on her stomach at Nightmare’s back.
Breathed in deep, and closed her eyes.
For how callous and ruthless the alicorn could be to others, laying there beside her and feeling the warmth of Nightmare Moon’s coat, she almost couldn’t believe that. Almost, but she had seen with her own eyes all of Nightmare’s flaws and struggles.
She laid her head on Nightmare’s neck; the alicorn wouldn’t mind if she fell asleep beside her, and after all that magic she used, and with the adrenaline wearing off, sleep sounded perfect. It called to her; her eyelids grew heavy, even being closed. Her eyes felt more tired with every passing second as she slipped closer and closer to dreaming.
‘Will we see each other in my dreams?’ she wondered. She imagined what that might be like as she laid there, picturing seeing Nightmare Moon, or maybe Luna, standing before her. Sitting side by side watching the stars. Just talking, just being silent. Enjoying each other’s company. Her senses dulled, though she lingered on the edge of wakefulness, half asleep, half awake. Dreaming or daydreaming.
Creak.
Yes, she could picture how the two of them could sit on a cloud together and watch the night sky, sharing a peaceful moment together in their dreams, if Nightmare Moon could visit her when unconscious. She wasn’t sure if Nightmare Moon could, though, but eventually she knew Nightmare Moon would show up, although maybe after they had both recovered and since gone to bed again.
Crack.
Her ear flicked, but it hardly mattered. She shifted her weight, pressing her body closer to Nightmare’s warm back in an attempt to stave off the cold ground and air. Yes, it was far, far too cold outside, being late winter. She blearily blinked open her eyes. Not a lot of light from the moon came down into their clearing, a combination of the angle and the tree canopy, barely enough to make out anything other than the shapes of the trees and brush.
Crack.
She blinked her eyes and lifted her head up, the fog of sleep still present but subsiding while the exhaustion of winning against an alicorn refused to give way. She thought she heard something, but put it aside; it was probably nothing. But it was cold. Nightmare Moon was probably cold, too. She turned her head and looked over Nightmare’s barely-visible body, then lit her horn with her magic.
“Grrr...” came a low growl that set her hair on end.
Her ears swiveled around and she turned her head back, looking into the darkness from where the growl originated. She didn’t see anything, but she was certain she had heard it. She glanced down at Nightmare’s unconscious body, then slowly stood up and turned to stand over her friend, setting her left and right hooves on opposite sides of Nightmare Moon.
The rustling of twigs, off to her left. She turned and looked but saw nothing. Another low growl; her heart beat harder and faster while her muscles tensed. She prepared a stun spell and bit her lip.
Quieter breaking of sticks, off to the right. She looked but saw nothing. No growl. She turned back to face the left. Rustling from in front of her. No growl. She glanced at the brush but didn’t see anything. She breathed in deep, then lifted her horn up and lit up the clearing with a magelight. More rustling, this time from every direction, followed by utter silence.
She licked her lips and gradually bowed her head so that her horn was leveled and ready to use, then slowly swept her head left and right, looking every which way. The magelight wasn’t bright enough to go much farther than the leafless bushes and branches marking the edge of the clearing, but she thought she saw something move. Fur? Fur. The glint of eyes catching the light.
Crack. from behind her.
She turned back—a wolf lunged at her. She yelped and jumped away from it. Brought her horn to bare. Cast. Her spell missed; the wolf was skinny and fast. She grabbed it in her magic and lifted it into the air—
—something grabbed her left hind hoof, and no sooner had she screamed than she was on top of Nightmare’s body. She kicked, fighting against the painful grip. Refused to look back when she freed her hoof by kicking another wolf’s muzzle with her free hind hoof, since the first wolf was lunging at her neck.
She blasted it with her magic. It convulsed and crashed into Nightmare’s body, making it rock. She jumped back to her hooves and swiveled around. When her hoof touched the ground, she nearly collapsed. To make matters worse, the wolf with her blood in its muzzle lunged for her neck and ended up with her shoulder in its mouth. She fought off a second scream and hit the wolf’s head with her head. It only growled and bit down harder.
A third and fourth wolf circled around her, jumping as if to bite her hooves, only to feign and pull back. The wolf clamped down on her shoulder and tugged. Her hooves gave out and she fell again—bringing her horn into a better position. She cast a spell; the wolf let go to try to jump back, but it wasn’t quick enough. It convulsed when her spell struck it. She grabbed it with her magic and threw it at a tree.
Three more wolves. The two circling her lunged at her hooves; one of them got her injured hind hoof. She kicked but that only made it worse. She closed her eyes, whimpering from pain. ‘No... no no no!’
And there was nopony there to save her. Them.
She cast a teleportation spell and immediately hit the ground. ‘Stand up. Fight,’ she told herself. The wolves wouldn’t be as merciful as the changelings. The wolves wouldn’t be as forgiving as Nightmare Moon. They were animals. Hungry animals. And to them, she and Nightmare Moon were food.
She wanted nothing more than to curl up in a ball and nurse her wounds. She wished she knew proper healing magic. But neither were options. Where she lay gave her a great view of two wolves nipping at Nightmare’s hind hooves and dragging her towards the forest.
She braced herself for the pain and forced herself to stand up, then aimed and brought her magic to bear. Both wolves let go of her mentor and darted back into the forest. The other three wolves dashed at her, looking at her with predatory intent. She faced the first one. Aimed. Cast. It jumped out of the way. Cast again. It dove the opposite direction; the three of them split up to come at her from different angles. She tracked the first one and fired another stun spell. It yelped when it ran into the spell.
The second one slammed into her, snarling, and threw her to the ground. She ended up on her back. Teeth flashed before her eyes. She remembered the changelings’ fangs, she remembered Nightmare Moon standing over her victorious. It lunged at her neck; she threw her head into it and managed to jab it with her horn. It yelped and jumped back. She cast. It yelped again and hit the ground, shuddering and pawing at the ground.
The third wolf bit her injured leg, sinking its teeth deep into her. Her head arched and she held in another scream from pain. She kicked and kicked until she hit one of its paws, making it yelp and let her go. The second wolf growled and lunged at her sluggishly. She grabbed it in her magic and threw it into a tree. When it hit the tree, it yelped in pain, and a moment later, it hit the ground, whining and limping off.
It seemed, despite their hunger, it started to get through to them that they were outmatched as they started to back off.
Crack! Branches breaking.
She turned and looked to see two wolves trying to drag Nightmare Moon beyond the reach of the light. She forced herself onto her hooves, barely avoiding screaming. Hastily lifted her injured right foreleg to brush the tears from her eyes so she could see, then wrapped her magic around Nightmare Moon and teleported her away from the wolves. Both wolves skittishly jumped back from the bright flash, then looked at her. Stared at her. Seconds passed.
Both wolves turned and dashed back into the forest.
Were they gone? She didn’t think so. She listened for growls and the cracking of sticks. She kept turning her head about, watching the brush at the edge of the clearing. Used her injured forehoof to keep the tears out of her eyes.
They didn’t come back. She didn’t trust it. She grabbed the stunned wolves and teleported them as far away as she dared; it was almost nauseating, and as it was, she fell to her stomach. ‘Not good. Not good.’ She shifted her weight and laid so that her injuries were off the ground.
Made a second, then third magelight, closer to her injured shoulder and hind leg, so that she could examine how bad they were. After looking at her shoulder and hind hoof one time, she closed her eyes. ‘Don’t think about it. Don’t think about. Focus on something else. Nightmare Moon!’
Was her friend okay!? A cursory look over, specifically where the wolves had held her legs to drag her off, revealed no injuries. It was a relief, but not enough to do anything for the pain she felt.
‘Focus! Focus... I need... we need...’
She closed her eyes, cringing. ‘A shield would be a great place to start. Good job, Twilight. Good job.’ She wanted to hit her head on the ground but thought better of it. A moment later, she enveloped the clearing in a shield. It was one of, if not the largest shield she had made. It was taxing, but manageable: if it failed Nightmare Moon was at risk since she couldn’t defend herself.
‘Think... think... I should... I should try to...’
Teleporting was out of the option; she was more likely to end up getting both of them hurt if she tried that.
‘Healing spells are inefficient. Regeneration spells are more efficient but much slower.’ Of course, she didn’t know any healing or regeneration spells. ‘Learn healing magic as soon as this is over,’ she quickly decided.
‘Is there anything I can use to stop the bleeding?’ She looked around, but it was the middle of winter. There were dead leaves, which she wasn’t inclined to use for practicality reasons, and some sparse, low grass. Clumps of moss, too. Nothing to use hold it in place, and there was the issue of potential infections from using something like that.
Of course, considering they were wolf bites, infections from moss was probably the least of her concerns.
She picked up several clumps of moss with her magic and shook off as much dirt as she could without damaging the moss pads, then pressed the moss to her wounds with her magic. She didn’t exactly like the idea, but it was probably better than nothing. Maybe.
She used her magic to hold it in place, then set about gathering rocks and as much dead wood as she could. She cleared out a space and set the rocks she found around in a circle. It wasn’t much, but it was better than nothing. She put some of the wood in a pile in the middle, then used her magic to light a fire. Though it was small at first, she carefully tended to it with her magic, placing the sticks so to maximize how quickly it would grow.
Satisfied with the fire, she set about creating the most basic shelter she could behind them so that they had some form of protection, even if it likely wouldn’t help at all if her shield failed. Plus, it might help keep them warmer. She set the sticks lengthwise so that they were at an angle, propped up by sticks held up by supports. She covered the outside with dead leaves, then grass and moss, to serve as some form of insulation.
She pressed herself as close to Nightmare Moon as she could. The adrenaline faded as the minutes passed, but she resolved not to let herself be lulled into a false sense of security. Not again. Instead, she would stay awake and alert.
Nightmare Moon jerked awake to the hissing of unseasoned wood burning on a fire and the oppressive scent of wood smoke. Opening her eyes, everything was blurry and hazy before her, and the air burned her eyes, almost making them water. The forest was tinted with raspberry light, blurred by the haze of smoke catching the soft, subtle light of a white magelight. The ground was cast in an orangish glow from the small, smoldering fire; above her was some amalgamation of sticks. At her right side, she felt the warmth of another body. Twilight.
The filly lethargically turned to face her, revealing bags under her eyes, matted cheeks, watering eyes, and grime and mud-stained fur. Twilight blinked a couple of times before seeming to realize she was awake. She watched as Twilight sluggishly turned back to face the fire, studying the warmly-glowing coals and sizzling branches. “Sorry... the wood wasn’t as dry as... as I thought it was.”
She turned back to look at the fire, then ignored it in favor of the shield surrounding them and keeping the smoke in. Indeed, the air was thick with the smoke. Heavy, oppressive, overbearing. The smell clung to their coats, and worse still, was kept inside by Twilight’s shield. “What are you doing?”
“What do you mean?”
“Your shield is... is not letting the smoke out,” she stated.
Twilight stared at her blankly for a few seconds, seemingly stifling a yawn. She saw the filly’s eyes droop to her shoulder, then after another moment, Twilight met her gaze. “Oh...” Twilight closed her eyes and her aura flickered, accompanied by a shudder in the filly’s body and her head drifting forward.
The shield dispersed, and a gentle breeze came to carry away the smoke-laden air, bringing with it an uncomfortable chill that made her squirm where she laid. The sizzling sticks burst into flames, but the sizzling continued, only now accompanied by cracking. Twilight opened her eyes and lifted her head up a little higher before, blinking and glancing around at the ground, at the edge of the forest, as if afraid of something.
She turned her head to look, but saw nothing. Reached out with her magic, and found nothing.
But why had Twilight been shielding them? And why the fire? She peered up into the sky and beheld the moonless night sky, dotted with stars. Felt that the moon had since fallen below the horizon, which could only mean—
“I um... I had to... move the moon,” Twilight whispered.
She turned her head to face Twilight; her friend laid at her side, but looked wrong for some reason. Smaller than normal? Yes, she could feel the tension in Twilight’s body, see the poorly-hidden anxiety and worry written on her friend’s face. The sheer exhaustion in Twilight’s features, both physical and magical: Twilight was drained. Spent. Barely awake, yet forcing herself to stay awake for some unknown reason.
How had she missed it before? She shifted her weight; her body was sore and sluggish, yet waking up and far better conditioned than Twilight’s body. She rolled to the left and lifted her wing up to lay it over the filly’s back. Twilight timidly looked at her, and her student’s eyes caught the flickering flame of the fire and magelight perfectly, yet it was ruined for the worry they held.
“You defeated me.” She broke eye contact and looked at a tree. ‘Follow. Through,’ she remembered saying. And Twilight had actually followed through! Twilight had won! She felt ecstatic, and yet she did not feel ecstatic. No, something stopped her from relishing in her student's victory. She did not feel proud of Twilight. No, she felt disappointed.
Why?
Twilight had bested her. It was what she wanted!
And yet it was not what she wanted, not what she imagined.
And now Twilight lay at her side, so quietly, just barely hanging on to consciousness. Was that the reason why she was disappointed? That Twilight’s success over her was not unquestionable?
She looked back down at Twilight. “What is wrong?” she asked as she stroked her wing down Twilight’s back. The filly immediately looked at her shoulder, avoiding eye contact. She felt the swelling of bruises on Twilight’s back where she had struck Twilight, and heard the filly inhale and tense up, then breathe out once her wing passed over the sore spots. She stopped her wing just before Twilight’s flank, then lifted it and set it back on Twilight’s withers, intending to pull her close, only to stop as she felt something sticky on her feathers, accompanied by a wince from Twilight as her muscles tensed again. And that only made Twilight let out a soft, pained groan. “Twilight?” She lifted her wing to look at it; the tips of her feathers were covered in blood.
Twilight’s blood? Yes, it had to be Twilight’s blood. That was the only thing that made sense.
Had she hurt Twilight that badly? No, surely she hadn’t drawn Twilight’s blood. Not like that. Why was her student, her friend, bleeding?
Twilight stayed silent, gradually turning her head straight to face the fire, then to the right to face away from her.
“Will you not answer me?” she asked quietly. And still, her friend did not answer, aside from shifting as if to try to pull herself into a ball, but afraid to. Fear of pain? Fear of being chastised? Fear of something else? ‘Comfort her.’ She breathed in deep and scooted closer to Twilight. She wrapped her wing back around Twilight’s body and looked over what she could see. The filly laid on her stomach, seeming to favor her left foreleg and right hind leg.
And a moment later, it was clear why: her friend’s right leg was torn up and bloodied, enough that her body tensed. And for far, far too long, she did not act. ‘I did not do this,’ finally spurred her into action. No, none of her spells would have done that, and it didn’t look like Twilight’s leg had been scratched up from falling. No, it was worse than that. She lit her horn and wrapped her magic around Twilight’s body—Twilight’s right shoulder was also torn up, so she knew it wasn’t her doing—and set about healing her. Twilight shifted and squirmed, but stayed mostly still and silent.
It took more effort than she wanted to admit, but then it was a healing spell. Speeding up her friend’s healing, regrowing and healing her body with magic wasn’t an easy task. It was magically intensive, but for Twilight, there was no question of if it was worth it. Of course, there were still things she could not fix with her magic. The fresh air seemed to help Twilight’s sluggishness, but it could not be the sole cause. How much had Twilight bled? Enough to slow her down.
“Twilight? What happened?” she asked again, still staring at Twilight’s bloodied leg. ‘You need to rest. You also need a bath. Perhaps if you are too tired, I will give you a bath.’ The filly’s head twitched, making her look away from her student’s leg to watch as Twilight breathed in, yawned, and turned back to face her. A little more life in Twilight’s eyes, but only just.
“I...” Twilight trailed off and looked at her shoulder.
‘You are... hurt. Of course you are hurt. You are hurting. You are afraid.’ She wrapped Twilight with her wing and pulled the filly close to her side and held her there, then bowed her head and set her nose against the base of Twilight’s horn. She watched Twilight close her eyes. “You are safe,” she murmured.
Twilight opened her eyes and turned her head back to face the fire.
She leaned down and brushed her nose up and down against Twilight’s cheek. Slowly, reassuringly. Twilight tentatively leaned into it, and after a few encouraging strokes from her, Twilight closed her eyes and returned it. She closed her eyes, and for a while, they simply shared a gentle nuzzle. Eventually, both of them slowed and stopped in unison. She shifted her body closer to Twilight and had to stop herself from rolling onto her side to pull Twilight against her chest and hold her there.
The filly yawned again, then shook her head to try to fight it off. The yawn eventually passed, and Twilight’s head drifted lower while her muscles finally relaxed. Her friend finally shifted to lean against her body, accepting it. “There were...” Twilight’s mouth lingered open for a few seconds, then closed. She watched Twilight’s eyes jump left and right across the ground, watched the filly try to work out what to say. “After you... after I stunned you.”
Twilight lifted her head up and turned to face her. Met her gaze, but only for a moment before looking at her neck. “Wolves.”
‘Wolves?’ Wolves did this? Wolves attacked them? There had been wolves, but they had been so far away! Surely they had not—
“Wolves... attacked us. I... was... I wanted to sleep because...” Twilight trailed off and squirmed. “I was tired from sparring with you. Those spells took a lot out of me. I let my guard down.”
“And... wolves attacked us.” ‘And this is my fault, isn’t it? I knew that there were wolves around and... and I did not consider that they would...’ And now Twilight suffered because of her mistake. And she had not been able to protect Twilight, and knowing that hurt. She did not feel like celebrating Twilight’s victory, rather, she mourned in Twilight’s pain and vulnerability.
Twilight nodded. A moment passed. Her friend blinked and breathed in deeply. Twilight tried to put on some sort of confident expression, some sort of analytical mask using her intelligence, but she saw through it. “I had to fight them off since you were stunned. I should have shielded us but I didn’t think about it until afterward.”
“And I should have realized that smoke from the fire would be a problem...” the filly begrudgingly admitted.
She stroked her wing down Twilight’s side.
Twilight swallowed and shook her head. “I managed to fight them off. Obviously.”
“Of course,” she agreed.
Twilight shivered and squirmed closer to her.
‘Are you okay?’ she wanted to ask, but it was a question she already knew the answer to: no, Twilight was not okay. What could she do? “I am sorry.”
Twilight jerked back to face her, looked at her with squinted eyes as if she had done something wrong.
And, of course, Twilight was right. “It is my fault.” She turned away from Twilight. “I... knew that there were wolves here, but I did not think they would be a problem. I did not... and you are hurt because of me.”
“It’s not your fault,” came soft and firmly.
Nightmare turned back to face Twilight. “Is it not? I knew that there were wolves—”
“You didn’t know they would attack us. If you did, you would have done something differently, wouldn’t you?”
Why was Twilight so forgiving of her? Why did it seem that Twilight was so quick to be so kind to her? She looked at the ground. “It is still my fault.”
Twilight nuzzled her shoulder. She looked back at Twilight, found the filly with her eyes closed. And how she wanted nothing more than to lean down and return that nuzzle, to embrace Twilight and cross horns with her! Eventually, Twilight stopped nuzzling and opened her eyes, but the filly’s head rested against her shoulder. Yes, Twilight’s eyes were bleary; her friend was spent. Had Twilight not yet recovered from how much magic she had used? No, that was a foolish question. The smoke, the blood loss, the fear from being alone, surely that all combined to put Twilight on edge.
And for it, Twilight was vulnerable.
How could Nightmare not take mercy on Twilight, her best friend? She sighed softly and blanketed the filly with her wing. Twilight’s eyes fluttered closed after a few seconds, only for her friend to fight it off, breathing in deep and blinking her eyes open.
‘You want to sleep. You need to sleep’ And another look at the sky—accompanied with a check from her magic—reaffirmed that the moonless night had set in. Had Twilight truly done that all on her own? She reached out to the moon with her magic. Felt the feeling of Twilight’s magic where it hadn’t been, felt the countless minor errors in the spell and the moon’s position, felt how long had passed. And yet, Twilight had still done it. Alone. Without her help.
How could she not feel awed into calmness by Twilight’s work? And yet she still felt remorseful.
It took her a long while before she found words to say, and Twilight was still awake, still fighting against her need to sleep. “You are tired... sleep.”
“No,” Twilight said, leaning away from her.
She brushed her wing up to Twilight’s shoulder, felt the filly tense, then relax when Twilight realized it didn’t hurt. She gently pulled on Twilight’s head, and after a few seconds, Twilight gave in and laid her head back against her shoulder. “You need to sleep,” she murmured.
“Not yet,” Twilight said. “Are you okay?”
She bowed her head at length, trying to put meaning into that bow so Twilight would accept it. “I am fine.”
It put Twilight at ease, but not enough to lull her to sleep. “They tried to take you. The wolves. I had to teleport away and two of them tried to pull you off into the forest.” The filly looked away from her, her student’s ears pinned back as if ashamed. She felt her ears pull back alongside Twilight’s. “I should have teleported both of us. I should have...”
“But you did not think of it,” she knew. “And where would you have teleported to other than deeper into the forest, where we would be at more risk and you would be more drained?”
It took a while for Twilight to timidly nod as if expecting her to chastise her for failing.
‘I’m not a soldier.’
“Sleep now, Twilight. You are safe. I promise... I will protect you,” Nightmare coaxed in a soft murmur.
Twilight lethargically looked back up at her, met her gaze for a moment, then looked at the fire. Though she felt Twilight was at ease, her friend still fought against her body’s need for sleep. “What are you going to do now?”
“I will take us back to Canterlot,” she said. “And... once you are rested, we will...” Should she make the offer? Was it taking advantage of Twilight’s vulnerability? Fie the thought! She did not want to take advantage of Twilight; she had no intent to do so in her heart. She steeled herself against the concern. “Once you are rested, we will bathe together, if you are not opposed.”
Twilight nodded, nuzzling her shoulder. “I think I’d like that...”
She smiled at Twilight. Her friend managed a small smile back, though it wilted far too quickly. “You should rest. You need it.”
“Can you tell me a story?” Twilight whispered.
“A story?”
Twilight nodded. “So that... I don’t think about... what happened.”
‘You will be fine,’ she knew, ‘but for now, you are vulnerable.’ She felt reassured knowing Twilight would be okay. Her friend had just been through a lot. At one time, she knew she would have snapped at Twilight for being so foalish, but she had been naught more than a cruel fool when she would have done that. She was reminded of the pain the filly carried and showed when Discord had escaped. Her fault. It was always her fault.
‘You risked your life to protect me. You could have teleported away and left me to the wolves, but you did not.’ Twilight had bled for her; she owed Twilight nothing less than the same. But it was something to ponder another time.
‘A story?’ But what story? Not something made up, no. Some foolish parable to prove a point would not do. It needed to be something she had experienced. But then what could she remember to tell Twilight, something that would ease Twilight to sleep, rather than trouble her dreams?
Perhaps a story from her foalhood?
Perhaps. Twilight was the only pony she could tell such stories to.
Which one? Something memorable, something happy. Yes, nothing less than that to comfort Twilight.
But how to begin? “I... do not know that I will be...satisfactory, but... I shall try.”
“That’s okay,” came Twilight's soft, forgiving voice.
She could picture in her mind her memories. Foolish, foalhood memories, of course. The sort of memories that stayed with her, even though she had not thought back on her foalhood, and the memories specifically, in so, so long. Back when she was young, younger than Twilight, back when Celestia was just as young and naive as Twilight was. Back when Luna was so much better off.
Back when both of them, both Celestia and Luna, were innocent.
‘Perhaps I do miss my youth,’ she considered in passing. But she would never have her youth back, nor the time that Sister had stolen from her.
“After... after Celestia and I ascended. I was a lot younger than you are when I ascended. Celestia is about eight years older than me, so she was about your age.” She looked at Twilight to find her paying close attention, seemingly more awake than tired. ‘Perhaps this story will not help you.’ At the very least, perhaps how much a fool she had acted would bring a smile to Twilight’s lips. “You remember that we were unicorns?”
Twilight nodded.
She breathed in deep and looked back at the forest. “I was... well, let us face it: I was a young unicorn who had just got her wings. I was not born with them, and rest assured that I was not a pegasus at heart.”
Not at all.
“Learning to fly was... not easy. My village did not have many pegasi, either. Let alone any who knew us and were willing to teach us. Starswirl wasn’t much help there either, being a unicorn mostly surrounded by other unicorns. He had not yet met his... companions, but that is a story for another time.” She paused to think, paused to remember. “I, in my infinite wisdom, decided it was a good idea to try to fly into our foalhood home through the open kitchen window.” She turned back to Twilight. “Of course, that did not exactly go as I had expected.”
“Did you make it inside?” Twilight asked, then frowned. “Rainbow’s managed to crash into my windows on more than one occasion...”
She pictured Twilight’s friend flying into a window. The pain, she did not wish on the pegasus, but it was still an amusing thought. “I did,” she answered with a nod. Twilight’s eyes flicked back to her head. “However... I managed to fly into a sack of flour. I was unharmed, but, ah... I made... quite the mess.”
She shifted uncomfortably and looked back at the forest, then set her gaze on the flickering flame of the fire. “The floor was covered in flour, to say nothing of how I looked... much more like Celestia than I normally looked. I... may have panicked and ended up making it worse by trying to clean it up using water.” She shook her head. “I would not recommend letting a foal clean up such a mess. Celestia was home at the time and finally realized something was wrong. Of course, by this time the flour on my face was dough... She... helped me clean up, which... I suppose in truth, is saying that she took care of it all and gave me a bath afterwards. I, perhaps obviously, was... rather unhappy with what had happened. I... must confess I do not remember what, but we did something together after that, which I enjoyed.” She tried to remember more, but it had happened so long ago, and she hadn’t thought about it in such a long time. Did her memories betray her now, too? “She used to tell me stories when I was still a foal, too. I remember when we were young and we would stay up late some nights to watch the stars together... She always told me to wish on falling stars. She called them lucky stars...” Not that they truly helped her.
She held in a sigh and shook her head. ‘Yet another example of how you are so much better than me, isn’t it?’ “That is far from the only time something like that happened...” she mumbled. And more memories came. Feelings of innocent joy and happiness, smiling and laughing and playing with her pink-maned sister, sorrow and comfort as she sheltered under her big sister’s wing. And the abandonment and resentment that later drove Luna to her death.
And the conflicting feelings stung.
“I... perhaps should not have spoke on this,” she mused.
Twilight nuzzled her shoulder. “If you don’t want to, you don’t have to share something that personal. But... thank you for sharing that.”
She turned back to face Twilight, opened her mouth to speak, only to catch herself. ‘I would want to spend the rest of my life with you; it is only fair you know more about me.’
Not yet.
And perhaps, never.
Perhaps she truly was insane. She could not carelessly say something like that, not when there was still the risk it was untrue. Perhaps she simply pinned after Twilight and the feeling would pass in time. And then, both of them would regret her saying that. And it would be nothing but bitter for both of them.
She closed her mouth and turned back to face the fire. ‘Perhaps... perhaps I should not be so open with you. Or perhaps I should be more open with you.’ Twilight was certainly worth it. But maybe another time. She turned back to Twilight. “Would you prefer I teleport us back to Canterlot now? We can bathe and... talk while we bathe if you would like.”
“I would... prefer that,” Twilight answered. “It’s... better than sleeping here.”
Nightmare glanced around at their surroundings, grimacing. Yes, Twilight deserved better accommodations than dirt and twigs for a bed. “I suppose it is... Very well.” She stood up and made her way out from under what passed for their shelter, then looked back at Twilight. “Do you want me to carry you? I do not mind if you do.”
Twilight hesitated for a few seconds, then grimaced and turned away from her. “You probably think I’m... pathetic, don’t you...”
She turned to face Twilight. “I do not,” she said, then let out a sigh. Twilight reluctantly faced her. “You... As you... As you point out, you are not a soldier. And regardless... you won, Twilight. I may have held myself back... but you did it. You beat me. You are not pathetic, and you have more than earned such a respite.”
“You don’t want me to act like a foal—”
“I don’t,” Nightmare stated, wrapping her magic around Twilight. The filly didn’t try to fight it off, so she levitated Twilight out from under the shelter and set Twilight on her back lengthwise. Once Twilight’s hooves gently held onto her, she released her from her magic. Twilight’s warm weight on her back did not feel like a burden, rather, she welcomed it. “But you are... not... you are not doing well right now. You are tired, you were injured, you were terrified of the wolves, and caught off-guard. You are exhausted, physically and magically. You fought and bled to protect me.” She paused and bowed her head intently. “Let me carry you.”
Twilight gradually laid her head next to her neck. She took that as Twilight relenting, so she teleported the two of them back to her chambers in Canterlot. She briefly looked around and repowered the room’s magelights, then carried Twilight into the bathroom and shut the door behind them. She stopped at the bathtub, then carefully sat down and started the water.
Nightmare felt Twilight’s hooves loosen and turned her head back to watch Twilight climb off of her back. Her ears pinned back when she watched Twilight limp around to sit at her right side and lean against her. Twilight closed her eyes. She wrapped her wing around Twilight’s side and held her close.
They sat together in mutual silence until the bath was ready, then she turned off the water. Twilight breathed in and leaned away from her while she lifted her wing from Twilight’s back and folded it back to her side. She watched Twilight stand up and move to climb into the bath, but preempted her by wrapping her friend in her magic to levitate her into the bath. Twilight looked at her for a moment before relenting, then Twilight sighed softly when she sat her down in the warm water.
She climbed into the bath and sat down facing Twilight, studying her face, taking in her friend’s matted and scratched cheeks now that she had a better view of it. She looked down at Twilight’s shoulder, which was about halfway covered with water. Twilight’s blood was still clinging to her fur, along with the mud, but both were starting to wash away in the hot water. The filly rocked slightly as she leaned forward; Nightmare thought she would need to catch Twilight, but her student blinked open her eyes and caught herself.
Twilight gradually looked left, then right, seemingly looking for something. She presumed it was soap, and teleported the soap to the side of the bathtub. Twilight jerked slightly and turned to look at the soap. It seemed to take her a few seconds to realize it was the soap.
“If you...” she trailed off, unsure the best way to word her question. Twilight turned back to face her. “If you would be comfortable with it and would prefer it, I will wash you.”
Twilight looked at her neck for a few seconds before answering, “You don’t have to.”
“I do not mind and you are tired,” Nightmare said.
A few more seconds passed. Twilight gradually nodded. “Okay, I guess...”
She bowed her head and levitated the soap over to start with Twilight. “If I make you uncomfortable, just say so and I will stop.” She poured soup out on Twilight’s mane and worked it in with her magic, then set about washing Twilight’s back, sides, shoulders, and legs. Throughout the process, Twilight cooperated and voiced no distress, aside from when she was washing any of her bruises. Once she finished cleaning off Twilight, she dunked her head under the water and set about washing the mud from her own coat.
“Thank you,” Twilight murmured.
She paused to bow her head, then returned to the task of cleaning herself off.
“Do you...” Twilight hesitated to continue and avoided meeting her gaze. A few seconds passed in silence before Twilight breathed in and looked up at her. “You said that Princess Celestia took care of the flour.”
She nodded.
“What about your parents?” Twilight asked.
“They died before our ascension.”
Twilight didn’t react for a few seconds, then she saw Twilight’s eyes flick to her chest and Twilight’s ears pinned back. “Oh...”
“I’m sorry.”
“Do not be,” Nightmare countered.
Twilight looked up at her with a frown.
“’Twas hardly unusual,” she said. “And it does not bother me. I am old, Twilight. I may have been young when they died, and it may have been hard on me at the time, but that was very long ago.”
Twilight looked back at her chest. “I don’t know what I’d do if my parents died.”
What was she to say to that? Twilight would outlive her parents; they would pass on and Twilight would not, unless it was her fault. What comfort could she give Twilight that would appease her newfound worry?
“We... Celestia and I were close when we were young, in part because of that,” she said. Twilight looked up at her again, more hesitant and reserved than before.
“She loved you,” Twilight said simply.
“She did,” Nightmare agreed.
“What if she still loves you?” Twilight asked.
Her mood soured. “She does not. She made that clear a very long time ago, Twilight.”
“And now you hate her for that,” Twilight said innocently, almost as if thinking aloud.
She stayed silent; nothing needed to be said.
“Do you hate that you loved her when you were both foals?” Twilight asked.
“No...” she admitted. “It... as I said, it was a long time ago. As I said, Luna loved her.”
“You still think of yourself as Luna,” Twilight said. She opened her mouth, but before she could say anything, Twilight continued, “You said that Princess Celestia took care of your mess. Not Luna’s.”
Nightmare closed her mouth and breathed out through her nose. “So I did.” She looked down at the water’s surface, looked at the reflection of their faces. “But I am not Luna.”
“You don’t sound convinced of that,” Twilight murmured.
She breathed in deep and lifted her head back up. “I am hardly sure of myself as I once was, Twilight. I doubt myself and my actions a great deal.” She set about finishing cleaning her coat. “I blame you for that,” she joked.
Twilight just barely smiled.
Whatever joy that smile might have given her was stifled. “As you have made quite obvious, I am a deeply flawed pony,” Nightmare admitted. She stood up and climbed out of the bath, then used her magic to dry her coat. She stood facing the wall for a few seconds, then turned her head back to look at Twilight and levitate her out of the bath. She dried Twilight’s coat while she was in the air, and then she laid Twilight on her back again. She felt Twilight fidget about to get comfortable, then felt Twilight’s hooves weakly hold onto her.
She teleported both of them to Twilight’s tower, then carried her exhausted friend up the stairs and into her bedroom. She pulled back the covers and looked back at Twilight, then watched Twilight while she levitated her over and laid her down in bed. She pulled the blankets back over Twilight while she watched her friend squirm to get comfortable. Nightmare felt jealous of the pillow as she saw Twilight nuzzling into it as she yawned. She let her aura disperse, casting the room into darkness, and watched Twilight’s eyes flutter shut, then blink open again to look at her.
She looked off to the left, then looked back at Twilight and bowed her head. “I am proud of you Twilight,” she admitted. “Very proud of you.”
Twilight smiled a little but looked away from her as if shying back from her praise.
“I suppose... I suppose I shall let you return to Ponyville come morning if you so choose. But for now, just sleep. Rest. I will watch over your dreams to make sure you will not have any nightmares.” She bowed her head again. “Goodnight, Twilight.” She turned to leave.
“Can you stay?” Twilight called softly.
She hesitated for a moment, then turned back to face Twilight.
“I-I know it’s silly, but... can you stay?” Twilight asked, avoiding looking at her. “Please?”
Nightmare walked back over to Twilight’s bed and lifted a forehoof, only to stop herself and set it back on the floor. ‘No, I should not lay with her.’ “Very well. I shall stay until you fall asleep.”
“Thank you,” Twilight said with genuine warmth and innocence as she finally closed her eyes to sleep.
Nightmare watched over her for a few minutes in silence. Twilight’s breathing slowed, calming as she drifted into sleep, that, with a little but of effort, she ensured would be peaceful. She studied Twilight’s expression and found herself grateful that it was untroubled. The hardships of the night would become little more than memories; Twilight wouldn’t have to suffer through that again, she hoped.
She parted her lips for a moment, then closed them and held in a sigh. She reached out her wing and gently brushed a lock of Twilight’s mane to the side before tenderly brushing the filly’s cheek.
Wings buzzed from behind her. She quickly folded her wing back to her side, summoned her magic, and swiveled around. Thorax jerked back slightly.
“Sorry.”
Nightmare watched him for a moment before releasing her magic and relaxing. “Thorax,” she acknowledged with a nod.
Thorax slowly relaxed, then timidly walked into the room. His eyes jumped from Twilight’s sleeping form to her. “What... happened? She was gone a long time.”
“We sparred,” Nightmare said as she turned back to Twilight. “She... beat me, but... while I was unconscious, we were attacked by wolves. She defended me but was... injured. She needs to rest.”
“Oh... are you okay?”
Nightmare tentatively nodded. “I will be fine.”
“You’re worried about her,” Thorax droned.
Nightmare nodded again. “I do worry about her. She... she is my student, she is my best friend. It is my duty to protect her; I promised her that I would and I have failed her.”
“You love her,” Thorax murmured.
Nightmare tightened her jaw and looked over at him. Thorax didn’t look at her; he was watching Twilight.
What surprised her the most was that his expression actually seemed concerned for Twilight.
But how? He was a changeling. Why would he care for Twilight at all?
Nightmare exhaled and turned her attention back to Twilight, her thoughts and feelings divided and conflicted.
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I love a good fight scene, but that was waaay too long, too detailed. It's okay if it's a major boss fight, like against Chrysalis, but I think that it's just too much of the chapter dedicated to a spar.
Love it otherwise.
Great chapter. A pleasure to read as always.
This was a great chapter. The fights were clear and easy to imagine and the growth between these two is always a highlight. Thanks for this wonderful experience.
Thanks for the chapter, I was looking forward to it.
Editing as I go, so that I don't forget to comment by the end
(Delirium)
That was a good chapter.
The switch to Nightmare's perspective after Twilight defeated the wolves is one of the best mid-chapter cliffhangers I think I've ever experienced... The whole time Nightmare was figuring out what happened after she was beaten I found myself wishing I knew what Twilight was thinking and going through. The adolescent age of this Twilight could not have survived a near-death experience like that, especially one she probably viewed as somewhat her fault, without at least a little bit of trauma. Like the whole time she was probably thinking how if she hadn't defeated her mentor in their sparring match she would never had to have experienced what happened afterwards. Though, Nightmare was perfect throughout the whole experience, working off the information given to her, and the clear signs in front of her, to form an accurate reaction to Twilight's experience.
Long story short, I feel like I say it everytime I comment on this story, but the portrayal of these two characters put together like this in the experiences they've give through is probably my favorite on fimfic. They just feel so real compared to how I imagine them.
I have just found this... but I am sad the cake princess is gone... well... I hope to see her again someday...
For now I will just enjoy coffee princess and book prin... unicorn?... hmmm...
Worth the wait for sure! I wouldn't complain about waiting less though...
Прекрасная глава, автор продолжай и желаю удачи.
Yes, finally more of this!
Only read it now because i am in the fucking process of moving and nothing is right anymore -.-
and Twilight learns why Nightmare is training her. You may not be a soldier but as an element bearer you have to defend your home thus learn to fight.
Finally got around to reading this last night. Let me tell you, having to deal with a highly pregnant wife recuperating from the cold that our toddler's jsut starting to get while slowly also getting sick is exhausting.
Oh, SC_Orion, I do not understand your vexation with this. Maybe it's something further down the line in the drafts because what I can see here is just wonderful. I especially don't understand your problem with the sparring scenes, as I think of them as bloody perfect. Nothing overly dramatic or the like, just well-described fights that are easy to visualize. I've read much, much worse than that. I especially like the rather imaginative use of magic in them. Often, people tend to just put the "usual" spells into those kind of scenes, stuff we'd readily categorize as "combat magic". Your Twilight certainly has a way of getting use out of all kinds of different spells, which makes it much more interesting.
Edit: Wish only that Nightmare would finally get the idea to explain it in very clear terms that, as an Element bearer, danger and fights are a constant possibility in her life. Being prepared for that should be very high on Twilight's To-Do list for the simple reason of self-preservation. Sparring against "lesser" threats like guards might be more useful, though, given the threat of politically inspired action against her.
As always, I really enjoyed this one. Twilight finally got a win against Nightmare Moon, which I think is important. As always, thank you for writing. I'm sorry writing this story seems to cause you so much grief, but I genuinely enjoy keeping up with it. I look forward to see where it goes from here.
Twilight has gone through the ringer there... But she finally proved to Luna that she has what it takes.
What will happen next.. the Conspirators will want Twilight to defeat NMM. But Twilight isn't going to want to do so...
Glorious conflict awaits us.
Top 10 fic of all time, this chapter only reaffirms that
Still one of my favourite stories still going on this site. As always I love the complexity of Twilight's and Nightmare's relationship. It feels believable and real.
Thank you for sharing this story with us.
All the best.
Always a good read. Looking forward to reading more.
Update when?
11511521
I just finished rereading the next chapter and doing some very minor edits to it, was wondering what was with my notification count, so I almost missed your comment.
Probably March 2nd.
I’m unsure about the following chapters as I need to rewrite or at least heavily rework them, which means I need to reorganize and recollect my thoughts and varying notes, in addition to rereading the chapters and so on.