Chapter Twenty-Eight - Me, Myself and Her
“WHAT ARE YOU DOING TO US?!” The Queen shrieked, trying to ward the hex off with her own magic. And despite her being an alicorn, neither she nor Twilight has practiced such magic – healing and such. She shook with fury, and great wings rising she dove off of the platform and stopping inches from the pink bubble. “LIFT YOUR CURSE, WHELP!”
“What?! Trixie is no whelp!” the unicorn harrumphed. “…And curses don’t exist.”
“STOP!” Dusk screeched, and dove at Trixie. The body slam knocked the wind out of the blue unicorn, and for a moment the glow in her horn seemed to fade, but with a snarl of rage Trixie re-lit her horn, and a blast of telekinesis shot back at Dusk, knocking in her back. The alicorn stumbled a few meters, and was promptly dive-bombed by Rainbow Dash, only increasing her pain.
“NO!” With a glow of Shining Armor’s horn, a pink bubble expanded around him and the others, deflecting the soldiers away. “Get up!” he tugged Trixie to her hooves. With a glare, her lit horn intensified – and so did Dusk’s pain.
Conflicting thoughts of both rage and understanding danced in her mind; all at the same time until it all seemed like an endless stream of unintelligible voices until she couldn’t stand it! She watched Shining Armor hold up the small bubble effortlessly, while the mindless guards continuously bounced off of it, trying to get in. Shining Armor had been able to hold a shield around the entirety of Canterlot and repel an army of Changelings for a little while; he could handle a few soldiers.
“R-release your spell!” she hissed at Trixie. “A-at once!” she wanted to make threats, to splatter this unicorn all over the wall, but she just couldn’t bring herself to do it. “Stand down!” She told the brainwashed morons, who did exactly as she bid. She swallowed hard, near tears from the sting – it didn’t really hurt so much as it stung and burned.
Trixie looked about to answer, but Rarity plugged her mouth with a hoof. “She’ll stop once you promise to calm down and let us speak reasonably!”
A reasonable request. “Alright! We wanted nothing more than to speak with you!” Dusk almost sounding like she was begging, and this gave all eight ponies pause. Everyone looked expectantly at Trixie, who groaned in frustration.
“…Fine.” The light of her horn winked out, and with it the burn. Dusk sighed in relief, making a mental note to find out where Trixie learned such a foul trick.
“Let us converse,” Dusk said, standing up straight with a wince. “Lower your shield?”
“No.” Shining Armor said. “We’re fine how we are.”
“Very well then,” with an annoyed flick of her ear Dusk stared straight into Shining Armor’s eyes, alternating between the others. She couldn’t find Fluttershy; the poor mare was probably cowering behind somepony. “Why have you come?”
Nopony answered for a long time. Trixie broke the silence, “To destroy you and bring the sun back!” And if the Princesses don’t return make me the Princess of all of Equestria, Trixie thought hopefully to herself. She’d told herself not to get her hopes up, but she could dream, right?
“Yeah!” Rainbow Dash cried. “Let us out of here, Shining! I want to kick her flank!”
“Hey! Both of you!” Cadance kicked Dash’s leg, and then quickly turned to Dusk. “What they meant was we just want to…”
Cadance took a moment, studying Dusk’s feelings. The look on her face, her posture – Cadance’s special talent was love, but she could sense other emotions as well.
“…Possibly reason with you. Princess Dusk,” she added with a small bow. “I mean no disrespect, but… Ponies are freezing out there. Starvation will follow. Perhaps we could come to an agreement?” Come on, Twilight! I know you’re in there somewhere! Think logically!
Dusk looked slightly taken back, Princess? She called us Princess? It sounded… somehow more satisfying than Queen. Less foreboding. She considered Cadance’s proposal. She recalled her conversation with Celestia. And Spike…
“You want us to bring the sun back,” she said more so to herself than the Princess. Everyone except Trixie nodded rapidly – Trixie was getting more and more flustered. This wasn’t how she wanted this!
Trixie stomped her hoof. “There shall be no agreement! I want to face this fiend alone!”
“Give it a rest!” Rainbow Dash muttered, placing a hoof on the shield and causing a small shock wave to ripple across the surface.
Dusk lowered her head, eyes studying the floor, her mind working on overdrive. She didn’t quite know what to do any more, the request was so simple: raise the sun. That was it. That was all she was asked. And yet why couldn’t she bring herself to do so? It would everything better; she told herself – ponies would start to like her, appreciate her. She was starting to feel sick to her stomach.
Monster. That’s all that we are now, and all we will be. Can we really do the right thing? Her mind roiled in confusion and hurt, who was she? A jealousy-driven tyrant, or a benevolent ruler? A cruel and insecure monster, or a simple scholar with many friends and her whole life ahead of her? Was there two of them? Or just one?
“Dusk… I think you can do the right thing.” Cadance said gently. Dusk looked up, chewing the inside of her cheek. She stood there for a long time, processing what had been said.
No you can’t, you’re a fool. A selfish, arrogant fool, she told herself. Everyone makes mistakes though, she thought suddenly. We can be better. You can do better.
“Sunshine, sunshine…” she took a staggering step forward.
“…Ladybugs awake,” Cadance said, stepping up to Shining Armor’s barrier.
“Clap your hooves and do a little shake,” they said in unison; their hooves meeting through the shield.
“T…Twily? Is that you?” Shining Armor murmured quietly, and Dusk gave him a weak, almost tentative side-ways glance and smile.
“I’m… unsure.” She replied regretfully. When she was One with Luna, she really was one with her in every sense of the word. Not simply two different personalities occupying the same body, but a single mind made of two. And it was this realization that hurt the most: the Night Mare was nothing but that – A nightmare. A mindless, bodiless mass of wrathful emotions that merged with another to make a whole. All alone, there was no whole. At least not for it.
It. Yes, there was no she when separated from another. There was no he; it was it. Dusk felt alien, some part of her deeply wanted to go to Celestia and cry her heart out into the white alicorn’s warm fur. And the other half of her wanted to do just the same with Luna.
Dusk was taken by surprise when Trixie violently kicked the shield where Dusk’s hoof still lingered. “Enough chit-chat!” The unicorn hissed. “Face me!”
“Trixie!” Everypony shouted.
“No! I came here to fight for Equestria! Bring down this shield, and let me at her!”
“No.” Shining Armor told her. “It doesn’t need to come to violence, Trixie.”
“The Elements are useless as you said,” she growled. “Violence is the only way to solve this!”
“Perhaps we should sit down and parley?” Dusk suggested hopefully, not eager to fight. She was tired, and she couldn’t decide whether these ponies were friend or foe any more. Despite everything, she still had no idea whether she even cared about them – she almost did, but at the same time she didn’t. It was confusing, and she didn’t want to do anything she’d regret but at the same time she wanted to squash them!
Trixie glared daggers at her, trying to think of something to say that would make Shining Armor lower the shield.
“I think that sounds like a wonderful idea,” Rarity replied.
Applejack nodded in agreement, “Yes, it does.”
“…And wouldn’t it be so much easier if the shield was lifted?” Trixie added. Shining Armor hesitated a moment, before looking Dusk in the eye.
“You won’t attack?”
“You have our word,” Dusk promised. Shining Armor nodded, and took a deep breath before the magical barrier winked out. Trixie shuffled nervously on her hooves, waiting for just the right moment…
“Guards! Have our chefs prepare a good big meal! Come, my guests… shall we go to the dining quarters?”
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Sees update.
Has this reaction:
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I will now proceed to read!
There will be time enough for another battle later. This is good.
Just a piece of advice -- NEVER say a chapter isn't up to quality // was bad // whatever.
You could be right in which case you are just bringing it to everyone's attention and you tend to get more mark downs // bad comments.
or
You could be WRONG in which case you are just coloring people's opinions of it and they would have been fine without the notice.
In either case pointing it out only serves to make things worse.
Things seem to be procedung nicely. At least Dusk doesn't seem evil anymore.
WOOOOOT it was updated! It was also a great read! I'm feeling sorry for Dusk but also Happy for Twilight! O.o
This is very similar to a story I wrote myself, Darkness Falls. But mine just had Nightmare sitting in Twilight, but dormant until Lesson Zero.
Tres bien, thus far. Onward to next chapter!
2169939 Thanks for the advice, I'll try to watch out from now on. Thank you,
Oh hell no, Trixie. You better not. You're showing promise right now. Don't screw it up!
2170109 I love making references when I don't even realize that I did,
Where is it?
...Well, it seems the antagonist is changing from Dusk to Trixie. I am going to get a feeling her selfishness is going to do something she is going to regret, and it isn't going to be just Dusk gunning her down.
C&C:
It would everything better;
> Add ‘make’ after ‘would’.
2169880 WHAT THE FUCK
2173981 Once again, I manage to claim the first post, and it's only now that someone realizes it?
2174593 YOU SHUT UP AND STOP USING YOUR BLACK MAGIC
2174690 Oh, now I remember you. HEY, SOLID SNAKE! TAKE THIS GUY OUT FOR ME, WILL YOU?
2174707 FUCK YOU I HAVE X-RAY VISION BITCH
Dusk changed, man.
Goodness, did I really miss this update!?
*Scrambles notes* Ahem! I felt that a slightly longer struggle could've been better for this scene and while it's true that the "Talk" was overdue, Dusk's attitude change from 'MY EYES!' to 'LET'S EAT' seemed rushed... I'm afraid that's all I have to share on this one; I just don't feel the same quality in writing in this chapter as most of the others.
It's old Out of date maybe. but as a King once said "I wonder whats for dinner?"
2181949 Yep, as I said in the authors notes this one isn't as good as it could've been. I've just been so busy with other stuff, I guess I didn't really realize until it was too late
2185546 Don't worry about it. The rest is still good so I'll stick with the story until it ends.
I have missed reading this and I'm loving this series more and more
2170109 WHAT!?! WHERE!?! How did I MISS THIS!?!?
I agree you should never downgrade you're own work, but I also agree this isn't your best work. It was good, but this whole chapter just seemed rushed. Try to slow down the pacing, and it should be fine. Can't wait for more.
2221496 Thanks, and to be honest I don't think I was really 'downgrading' it, just acknowledging that I could have done better; but thank you.
It looks like the end is near.
That didn't take me as long as I thought it would.
2246774 It's about time you returned! You're one of my favorite commenters! (I know it's not a word, but I didn't feel like re-wording it)
Now that I have a viable way to access the internet (my new smart phone) I'll be on daily.
It's still annoying to type on a touch screen but I'll get over it.
Not so evil villain FTW.
2456869 I see where you're coming from, and I understand. But at this point I'm not sure how to fix it; I came up with the whole thing a few years ago without a second thought, and I suppose I blindly followed it without really thinking about it. I'm actually thinking of re-writing the whole thing as many flaws have be pointed out and questioned, and I feel kind of stupid for it. I'll probably just continue it though and consider it 'a good mistake to learn from', because despite the flaws I really love this story and don't want to re-write the whole thing. Either way, thank you.
2457949 Actually I do have an
excuseexplanation for that, when 'influencing' Twilight before, Nightmare Moon was just plain Nightmare Moon, which was all of Luna's residual hatred and rage, but when she possessed Twilight, their personalities merged into one personality, being a sort of mix between Twilight and Nightmare rather than a simple 'lol I have your body but my mind is still me' type thing.2457680
It's good as is, but the question of "why" still remains. This whole writing biz is a learning experience and as long as you take something away from it, that is all good.
2458538
When did the personality merge happen? When they were in the Castle of the Royal Pony Sisters or when Twilight looked at the box in the closet? Cause it seemed like two personalities before the castle, Twilight was actively trying to not harm her friends by staying away from them.
Really wanted Trixie to be less effective. She did better than Luna and Celestia. Earlier it was shone that a little shoving around would disrupt a casting unicorn. Dusk didn't have to paint the walls with Trixie, just rough her up a little.
2459944 The merging happened after she became Nightmare Dusk, although it wasn't as bad then, they're sort of slowly 'fusing' as time passes.
And yeah, the whole Trixie part was rather flawed, and I want to change it, but I'm the type of person who if I change one part of something, I'd rather go ahead and change the whole thing as well, so for now I'll leave it be. I'll go ahead and finish the story for now, but maybe in a few years time after I've gained more writing experience I'll come back and revise it
2461910
The fusing seems slightly one sided though. The trend has been shifting towards being Twilight then having hard attributes of NMM. Though if you look back to Luna's friendship blasting experience, the Elements treated this "Nightmare" entity as something separate from Luna. Are you having a different case with Twilight?
I am also pretty bias against Trixie, never much liked boasters (cause I never do that) nor ponies picking on Rainbow Dash (didn't I just say... oh never mind). If you can look back at this and have the motivation to rewrite it, props to you.
Question:
If you are planning to rewrite this, will you be re-releasing it chapter by chapter, or will you be rewriting all the current chapters, then posting the updated version?
2893337 Mostly I'll just be cleaning things up a bit, not necessarily 're-writing' every chapter. I'll just post updated versions, and I haven't really gotten started yet so I'll make a blog post to let you guys know when I start
2895860 Cool!
I can't wait.
2979251 Which one?
I am liking this story and look forward to the next chapter
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Great, great story, looking forward to moar chapters!
Well, I'm enjoying this... Just wish the chapters were longer.
I will be frank, this was great. Not the best but a damn sight higher on the ladder than some of the things I've read(to be honest I don't think anything will top Luna Rising by AstonMartinLover or The Ash by Raging Mouse, but hey that's just my opinion speaking), anyway I want more of this story at your soonest convenience. Keep writing the friendly skies *shot for butchering a saying for my own purposes*
3887687 Thank you so much for your kind words! I feel so guilty about not updating for so long, but a lack of inspiration to write and real life keep getting in the way. I really hate to be one of those authors who starts a story and never finishes, I WILL come back to it at some point.
3921439 Uh... Which one? I don't even remember placing any, it's been such a long time.
Im enjoying this like how I enjoy movies
Someone should make this a movie
A song that fits really well with this fic is Mirrors by Aviator. The struggle between The new Twilight (Or Dusk as she calls herself now) And her violent alter ego. But at the end of these chapters it seems like they start to float into each other. I personally love Twilight as the Nightmare. Not to mention that the Nightmare is the strongest alicorn of them all but at the price of being difficult to control. Imagine what places you could bring this universe. What different outcomes for say the changeling invasion, Discord and Tirek and all that. There are just sooo many ways to go. I hope you pick this up again author, it has so much promise and it would be a shame if it ended here.
4990500 Aw, thanks, I appreciate it!
I have no plans of dropping the story, I just kind of got stuck and need a break, and I've got a lot of other projects going on right now, I've bitten off way more than I can chew
I really appreciate your comment, though! 
(I should probably change the status to 'on hiatus,' by this point...)
This story is incomplete... it is going great so far!
good story update when possible
5930015 Oh my Gosh,
Very interesting story. I am pleased to read
It would be desirable the continuation of Chapter