//------------------------------// // Chapter 13: The Pony In the Abyss Mask // Story: Nightmare Ponyville // by Super Ponyman //------------------------------// (Twilight's Castle, Throne Room) Tantabus floated above the pair of Alicorns, it knew that bad stuff was about to go down. Even Tantabus had limits, even if it could take on Twilight Sparkle and transform her, both of them would die to Black Abyss. So, it sat motionless, waiting to step in and transform Twilight. But, something in it said that maybe stopping Black Abyss took priority, it may even have to shield Twilight if it had to... sacrificing itself for Twilight to survive. Twilight Sparkle stared in horror at the Demonic Alicorn, he looked like he wanted to kill her. She thought that he actually would kill her, but she pushed that thought deep into the back of her mind. What little she did learn about him at first glance is that he looked a combination of furious and miserable at the same time... she felt both pity and fear for him. He had a mask on that concealed his face, only showing his eyes. Black Abyss stared at the Lavender Alicorn, he had a look of hunger in his eyes. He was much taller than Twilight, easily three heads above her. He must have frightened her so badly, she was in a state of petrifying fear. Black Abyss smiled under the mask and said, "So, you're the famous Princess Twilight Sparkle, huh? You look just as weak and pathetic as I suspected from a mare so young..." Twilight Sparkle corrected the Demonic Alicorn, "I am a Queen, not a princess! Why are you back anyways, Eclipsio?" Black Abyss said in a sarcastic tone, "Oh I'm sorry, Queen Twilight, I wasn't aware that Celestia would allow you to rise any higher than being her personal lapdog..." Twilight Sparkle took a defensive stance, saying "I've already heard this before, Eclipsio." He then growled out, "Do not speak that Name! I am Black Abyss, Alicorn of Destruction. Prince Eclipsio is long dead now..." Twilight, suddenly feeling brave, put a hoof on one of Black Abyss's dragon wings, the skin was rough, like shark skin. She asked him, "Why do you have dragon wings instead of normal feathery wings like mine?" She pointed to her wings, and flared them out. Black Abyss said, in a now angry tone. "I was born with these wings, Twilight Sparkle. My sisters hated me for these, they hated everything about me!" Twilight Sparkle started putting two and two together, "Your sisters? You mean Celestia and Luna?" Black Abyss suddenly roared, "Do not speak their names as well! I hate my sisters, I hate them for what they did to me..." he backed away from her, almost hesitant to speak to her again. Twilight Sparkle looked at Black Abyss and said, "Why did you try to destroy Equestria so long ago? What set you off?" Black Abyss stared into Twilight's eyes, then said "I grew jealous of my two sisters powers over the sun and moon, so I wanted to take it for my own. All I ever did was cause eclipses and nothing more. I wanted more... I wanted to control EVERYTHING!" He was flying in midair, speaking with pride, then dropped to the floor, and said in a somber tone. "But all I got for my efforts was resentment from Celestia and Luna. They said that "Some things couldn't be controlled..." and I hated them for it! I hated their world. They ruled it, even though I had just as much power as them. Why wasn't I worshiped like them?" He approached Twilight and said in a now frustrated tone, "So if I couldn't have the world, nopony would!" Twilight Sparkle began to feel the ground shake, as Black Abyss began to ignite his horn, which burned with Dark Magic. She said to him, "What did you do that got you banished?!" Black Abyss created a circle of runes on the floor, before saying. "I prepared a spell that would ignite a singularity in the worlds core, I wanted to destroy the world that Celestia and Luna worked so hard to build... but they stopped me before I could finish, and banished me to the icy reaches of space." Twilight Sparkle looked surprised as she saw tear tracks down Black Abyss's mask... something within him was fighting back all the rage and hate he had for Celestia and Luna. Twilight Sparkle knew that she had to help the tiny good part of him out, so she walked up to him and put a hoof on his chest, saying "Do you really want to destroy this world, Black Abyss? Because something tells me somepony inside you is saying that you can't do that..." she smiled a warm smile, "and I think that part of you is the reason why you can't kill me, huh?" Black Abyss slowly nodded, he felt really worried about killing Twilight, somehow, somepony else inside him was saying to him "You can't do it to her." "She is so innocent..." "you can be good, you know..." Black Abyss suddenly thrashed about in agony and gripped his head with his hooves, trying to tear off the mask around his face. He screamed, "No! No I can't do it! No more killing! Please!" Twilight Sparkle used her magic to try and rip the mask from his face, she pulled as hard as she could, it didn't budge. Black Abyss suddenly stopped, his eyes glowing bright red, as he charged Twilight down. He roared, "You must Die in order for me to be Free!" And he fired a blast of plasma, Twilight closed her eyes, unable to react fast enough from the bright flash. Twilight Sparkle was about to be disintegrated when somepony blocked it, Twilight opened her eyes and saw Tantabus, the nightmare entity, standing in front of her. It was blocking Black Abyss's blast with its own body! Tantabus screamed out to Twilight, "Twilight! Use my power to remove the mask! Quickly! I can't hold him anymore!" Twilight Sparkle fired a beam of magic that knocked Black Abyss skyward, sending his mask flying off his face and shattering on the floor. He lay in a heap, breathing slowly. Twilight Sparkle ran over to the nightmare entity and said, "Tantabus! Why did you save me..." Tantabus collapsed and said, "Twilight... please... take my power... The Nightmare Tribe... will die without me..." Twilight Sparkle went wide eyed, "What do you mean? Is that why my friends have disappeared? You were transforming them into your slaves!" Tantabus shook its head, "No, not slaves... Queens." Tantabus used its last bit of magic to transform Twilight into her Nightmare Pony Form. Twilight was now larger than Celestia, her mane shone like the night sky and flowed like water. Her fur was pitch black and her eyes were glowing purple, her wings were larger, yet felt weightless. Her cutie mark had turned into a shining purple Star with a small blue star in the middle. Nightmare Twilight Sparkle said, "I will not let your race die. I see now with more enlightened eyes that every race has a purpose in the grand scheme of things... even the nightmare tribe." Nightmare Twilight Sparkle walked over to Black Abyss and picked up his body with her magic, he came to and said "No... No I won't listen... no mother... no." Black Abyss opened his eyes, they were sunset gold instead of red. He looked at Twilight and said, "You became a Nightmare Pony... you look beautiful..." Nightmare Twilight Sparkle blushed and saw his body began to change, his mane and tail went from blood red to bright silver, his fur lightened up to a basalt color, and his horn became normal again. However it was long, red and curved, like somepony familiar... His cutie mark turned from a black hole to a black sun. Nightmare Twilight Sparkle said, "Who are you Black Abyss? Because you do not look like Prince Eclipsio..." The Demonic Alicorn Stallion stood up and said, "I... remember now... my real name..." Nightmare Twilight looked on with curiosity, "Well, what is it?" He said, with determination in his voice, "My Name is Black Sun, the Alicorn from Tartarus..." Twilight Sparkle's jaw hit the floor as he said the next sentence... mainly because of the sheer impossibility of it... "And offspring of Sunset Shimmer and King Sombra..."