//------------------------------//
// Nightmare, I've Come To Bargain 
// Story: Hello From The Other Side 2 
// by FoxMcCloud7921 
//------------------------------//



Canterlot Mall



“...So that pretty much sums up the predicament your friends are in,” the Nightmare concluded. “Honestly, we don't need to fight. I only care right now about Celestia and Luna, and as far as the actual Elements are concerned they're not much without their leader anyway…” The Nightmare then frowned. “But knowing you, as Celestia's former pet you're not planning to turn around and run are you?”
“Did you really think otherwise?” Sunset asked.
Nightmare sighed. “Foolish and stupid I see. Well, I suppose a little bit of entertainment is in order.” She then came down and hit the ground hard. “Perhaps I could-” She then froze for a moment as her body stiffened slightly. “Could it be…?”
Suddenly, the automatic doors to one of the nearby stores opened and a woman wearing a leather jacket and blue jeans came out, a woman the three girls recognized.
“Sorry for the delay girls,” Princess Luna said.
“Princess?” Starlight asked. “How did you get here? Er, the mall I mean.”
“Well, after traveling through the portal I had to find a mode of transportation and since there was only one place I knew to go I decided to visit my human self,” Luna explain. “After explaining the current situation, Luna was kind enough to lend me her... Maserati I believe it's called?” She then looked at Nightmare. “You and I need to talk.”
“Oh this is getting better and better,” Nightmare said. “Honestly Luna, what more is there to say? You've already voiced your feelings about me.”
“I was wrong,” Luna said. “I'll be honest, I detest Nightmare Moon more than anything, mostly because I was her. For the longest time, I treated it as if she was some foreign entity, but it was my anger and sadness warped together by darkness.
“After Nightmare Moon came to pass, we were separated and you were left alone. I didn't realize this at the time but you were struggling to survive. If there's anyone to hate, it's me. Don't drag Twilight and the others into this.”
“Do you really think having a heart to heart talk is going to change my mind?” Nightmare sneered. “You're pathetic Luna. I've grown quite bored of all this so I think I'll just destroy you all now.”
She then rose into the air as magical energy coursed through her palms. “But don’t worry Luna, I'm still saving you for last!”
“Uh...any ideas?” Sunset asked. “Now would be a great time!” She then noticed Twilight had her eyes closed. “Twilight!”
Twilight opened her eyes quickly. “Don't worry, I have an idea-!” Her words were suddenly cut off as three orbs of energy hit the girls simultaneously, obliterating them completely.
Before Luna could react, before Nightmare could cherish another victory, time stopped completely...and slowly reversed. The girls suddenly returned unscathed and time resumed once again.
“Do you really think having a heart to heart talk is going to change my mind?” Nightmare sneered. “You're-!” She suddenly stopped. “Wait... what's going on?” Sunset, Starlight, and Luna looked around in confusion. “Is this...an illusion?”
“No, this is quite real,” Twilight said.
“Oh, well, enough talk, time to die!” Nightmare summoned three black crystals that ended up impaling the three girls.




“Do you really-what is happening?” Nightmare asked.
“That would be time magic,” Twilight said with a smile on her face. “I took something from your world and made it my own. I had spent some time in Twilight's library, specifically the restricted section and found out about this spell.”
“Wait... seriously?” Starlight went slightly pale. “I don't know how I feel about this…”
“So please Nightmare, go ahead and kill us if you're so willing!” Twilight said tauntingly.
“You...dare!?” Nightmare suddenly shot bolts of dark lightning towards the girl.
“Oh boy…”






???



The girls could finally relax for a little once the last of the demons were killed. Things had gotten rather hectic quite quickly as a few Baron's of Hell decided to show up, but with the girl's combined firepower, it was nothing they couldn't handle.
“So is it over?” Applejack asked.
“I think so…” Twilight replied.
“Ha, suck on that dimension of death!” Rainbow shouted tauntingly.
Applejack couldn't help but Gibbs slap the rainbow-haired girl. “Are you stupid or something!? Taunting whatever's trying to kill us is going to make things worse!”
“Please Applejack, if it was so intent on killing us, why'd it stop?” Rainbow then put a finger to her chin as a thought came to her. “Now that I think about it... everything about this screams death gauntlet.”
“Wha…?” Rarity began.
“She means in a game where you fight off multiple hordes of enemies until…” Applejack and Rainbow suddenly looked at one another as realization kicked in.
“Oh shit,” they both said.
“What is it?” Twilight asked with a worried expression.
Applejack tipped her hat down slowly. “Girls...Ah don't know how far this all goes, but we're not out of the woods yet.”
“In other words, get ready for a fight,” Rainbow added.
The ground started to shake and a large portal appeared before them. It wasn't long before a large and horrifying face appeared. Whatever it was, it was tall.
“W-What is that thing!?” Rarity shrieked.
“That's a Cyberdemon,” Rainbow said quietly. “It's got a rocket launcher on its back and it's capable of shooting lasers too. Let's just hope it doesn't have an Apex attached to itself.”
“Apex?” Twilight asked.
“It regenerates health,” Rainbow said. “If it does, we're gonna have a hell of a time killing this thing.”
Pinkie couldn't help but snort. “G-Get it!? Cause they're from Hell!”
“Sunset, whatever's going on on the other side I hope you can get us out of this,” Twilight prayed as the behemoth stepped through the portal.






Canterlot Mall



After about the fiftieth time (Twilight actually had been counting), she decided that everyone had had enough. “Nightmare, I'm ready to bargain now…”
“Stop this already!” Nightmare screamed.
“This is the way things are now,” Twilight said. “You, me, and everyone else, stuck in an infinite time loop. I can stop the spell anytime I want to… So again I'll ask: bring back our friends.”
“Even if I do...how do I know this isn't a trick?” Nightmare asked.
“Please Nightmare,” Luna said. “I implore you to reason. I finally realized you've become your own person. I can give you the things you need, but only if you stop all this. Let the girl go…”
Nightmare suddenly hesitated, which was a first for her. “You...you promise I won't be blasted away into oblivion?”
“You have my word that no harm will come to you,” Luna smiled.
Nightmare looked to her and then to the three girls. “For the longest time I always thought I was just a part of Nightmare Moon that was stripped away from her body, but at some point I began to think differently. Maybe I could finally make a choice for myself.” She sighed. “Alright...I'll bring them back...but you three make sure they don't attempt to kill me.”
“With Twilight, I can't really make that promise,” Starlight shrugged.
Nightmare closed her eyes as she raised her hands. A tear formed and it took a bit to get it to open. What they saw was unimaginable. It looked like a warzone inside, with the girls, with the exception of Twilight, carrying weapons that Sunset normally only saw in video games.
“Twilight!” Sunset yelled. “Come on, the portal is open!”
Needless to say, the girls were quite stunned as they quickly turned around. “It's about damn time!” Rainbow said, dropping whatever weapon she had been carrying. “Let's get out of here!”
Sunset caught a glance of...whatever else was in there and wanted this portal closed right away. “Alright, close it!” she yelled once everyone was out.
The demon inside gave a loud roar as the portal closed. Once it was calm, Sunset, Starlight, and Twilight went over to the others. Starlight went to her former teacher and helped her up. “Should I even ask what happened over there?”
Princess Twilight stared at her for a moment before recognition set in. “Starlight? What are you doing here?”
“Well...I kind of asked Sunset if I could come along and considering the circumstances…” Starlight had a sheepish grin on her face.
Princess Twilight sighed. “Well I can't really fault you there.” She then noticed Luna. “Luna…?”
“Princess Luna, to avoid any confusion,” Luna smiled. “I'm glad to see you're safe Twilight.”
“So where is-?” Twilight saw Nightmare, who's back was turned to them, and her eyes narrowed.
“Twilight,” Sunset said warningly. “It's alright, we've worked things out and she was the one who brought you all back.”
Her words seemed to fall on deaf ears as Twilight marched forward towards the girl. Nightmare didn't look in her direction as Twilight stood mere feet from her. “You know...there's so many things I want to say and do to you right now…” She then took a deep breath. “But instead I'll say thank you. I don't know what was said but...if you want maybe we can talk and...work things out for ourselves.”
Nightmare turned towards her, a look of guilt on her face. “I admit I was angry...but perhaps it was directed towards the wrong people. I was part of Nightmare Moon and such I had her thoughts, her feelings...but Luna made me remember that while I may be a part of her, I have the choice to be who I want to be.”
Meanwhile, Twilight was trying to make sense of what her friends were telling her. “So...there was a voice and suddenly demons started showing up?”
“Pretty much,” Applejack replied.
“But we had all these cool weapons that came from our imagination!” Pinkie said.
“Wait...what?” Twilight asked.
“Honestly dear, it's hard to explain,” Rarity said.
“So um...does this mean it's all over?” Fluttershy asked.
“It would appear that way,” Luna said. She noticed that Rainbow seemed to avoid eye contact when she glanced at her but ignored it for now. “Now that we've managed to… 'work things out’, I believe it's time for us to go home.” She nodded at Princess Twilight and Starlight specifically. “But before that... Nightmare?”
“Yes, yes…” Nightmare rolled her eyes. However, before she could depart with her current host, she suddenly stiffened. “Wait...I'm sensing a disturbance...a very large one at that.”
“I'm sensing it as well,” Luna said. “It's coming from...oh no…!”
Suddenly, as if cut by a large blade, a tear appeared in front of them and immediately it started to pull the group of girls toward itself. Rarity did her best to put a shield between them and the portal but the force was almost too much. “This can't be happening!” Nightmare exclaimed. “What did you do!?”
“Hey, you're the one that sent us to that God forsaken place in the first place!” Applejack snapped.
Luna had managed to grab a hold of one of the tables that was anchored to the ground. “Twilight!” she yelled, addressing the princess. “Take my hand!”
Twilight knew exactly what to do. “Girls, make a chain!” They all took each other's hands, making a human chain. The shield around them was beginning to crack more and more.
“Can't anyone get rid of that portal!?” Rainbow yelled.
“I can't!” Nightmare yelled back. “Whatever's causing it to open is much stronger than the magic I wield!”
Twilight, meanwhile, was trying to reach out to Luna. “Almost…!” The pull of the portal, as well as the weight of pulling her friends made it only more difficult as she slowly inched her way forward.
She was mere centimeters away when the shield finally shattered and the ten girls, including Nightmare, were suddenly swallowed by the portal before it finally closed.
Luna could only stare in horror at where the portal was mere seconds ago. “Again...my past actions have come back to haunt me...and now they have condemned my closest friends… Twilight...Starlight...forgive me…”