//------------------------------// // 26: The Heart's Turnabout, Part 10 - Nightmare's End // Story: The Lawyer and The Unicorn (T-Rated Version) // by Firesight //------------------------------// Music: “Last Ride Of The Day (Instrumental Ver.)” by Nightwish There was a quickly silenced shriek as the thestral named Weiss Wolke tore another demon’s throat out with her fangs. It was, she reflected, a study in just how different being part of the Dream Guard could be when there wasn’t an army of them to deal with… as well as allowing her to indulge the predatory impulses she normally inhibited in the waking world. The albino bat pony found herself even more at home in the dreamscape than most of her kindred, as her sensitivity to bright light was compounded by both her lineage and her albinism, making even moonlight painful to her. Forced to keep in deep darkness and seeing as there was little else for somepony like her, she’d applied to the Dream Guard upon Princess Luna’s return and had been accepted readily by her regent, passing her brutal mental training regimen with flying colors and quickly rising in rank through the Dream Guard for it. Finally possessing purpose, she spent most of her days now inside the dreamscape, only leaving to tend to her body’s needs. She, in fact, had been the one to alert the other Guards of the demon army; she reflected that, were it not for her habit of staying within the land of dreams and becoming so intimate with it, the demons could have caused far more damage than they did. After the Harmony spell had rocked the dreamscape and scattered the demons to the four winds, Weiss, along with a few other members of the Guard, had been tasked with hunting down any demons that tried testing their luck further. She had just found and defeated a demon that had been terrorizing a poor piebald colt’s dream. Using some of the dream magic she’d been taught, she gave the Trottingham foal a much more pleasant dream to work with before she moved on. That has to be most of them, she thought, winging her way through more and more dreams in search of any stragglers. Let’s see… have I gone through here yet? Stupid shifting dreamscape making directions unreliable… The sound of a filly’s cry of terror got her attention, and she homed in on the source. As she approached, however, she had to revise her thought; it wasn’t a filly, but a human girl. She was clad in a bright pink robe, with her light brown hair done up in a strange pretzel-shape on top of her head. The demon marauding her had taken the form of an older human girl, with long flowing black hair and purple robes. Weiss was certain, however, that the horns and red eyes weren’t part of the girl’s usual looks. “P-please, Mystic Maya! W-what did I do?!” the young girl sobbed, as she backed away from the demon in disguise. “You broke Mystic Ami’s jar, Pearly,” ‘Mystic Maya’ said in response, baring her sharp teeth and speaking in a low growl. “You let the soul of our founder escape, all because you wanted to play with a ball indoors! You should know better, Pearly, and now you must be punished!” A clawed hand was raised as she spoke. “NOOOOOOOOO!!” ‘Pearly’ cried, falling backward onto her rear as the claw came down, closing her eyes tight. Weiss took advantage of this. The girl didn’t deserve to see her friend beheaded, even if it wasn’t truly her friend. She swooped in, wingblades appearing on her, and cut through the demon’s neck in one stroke. The demon vanished into the ether before the head hit the ground. ‘Pearly’ cracked her eyes open when the blow failed to land, then opened them wider on seeing her rescuer. “P-pony…?” Weiss flinched. She knew that, when it came to human dreamers, they were supposed to leave before being discovered. If the dreamer found them, they were to alter their appearance to human horses and act like them as well. Acting never was my strong suit, though, she thought mildly, wondering how she was going to get out of this one now that she’d already been seen in uniform. Before she could think on it more, the girl zipped up and latched onto her leg, sniffling. “Thank you for saving me, Miss Equestrian Pony!” Weiss blinked. “You are welcome. But… how do you know of Equestria, little one?” The girl smiled. “I’ve been there before! Mystic Twilight accidentally brought me there, along with Mister Edgeyworth, Mystic Maya, and Mister Nick!” The thestral latched onto one particular name. “Mystic Twilight? As in Twilight Sparkle?” She nodded eagerly. “Uh-huh! She’s so nice and so are all her friends! Do you know her, Miss Pony?” she brought her hands together and bowed. Weiss couldn’t help but smile at the girl’s enthusiasm and eagerness, already finding her endearing as she bowed her head back. “My name is Weiss, little one. And I’m sorry to disappoint you, but I only know her by reputation.” The girl paused, then bowed again. “I’m Pearl Fey! So, you don’t know if she’s doing alright?” Weiss bit her lip. She knew, of course, that Twilight was in danger; all of the Guard had received the message from their Captain about the ‘trial’. She also remembered that some other members of the Guard were fetching friends for her… and it would seem this young human girl was another. “I’m afraid Mystic Twilight is in trouble, Miss Fey. Would you like to help her?” Pearl’s eyes widened briefly, before she nodded vigorously. “I’ll do whatever I can to help her!” Weiss smiled and knelt down. “Then climb aboard, Pearl Fey, and I’ll take you to her…” Maya was feeling increasingly out of her depth. It had seemed so simple when she’d been brought into this ‘trial’: tell everyone what Sparkle did to her, and make it clear that the unicorn deserved whatever she got for a guilty verdict. And so she had spoken up, making sure the course of events was as clear as could be. So why was it that no one present seemed to be on her side? Even Vinyl, her supposed bestie, was siding with Sparkle over her! She was even defending Sparkle from Maya’s testimony! Some friend she was, especially with the way she kept deliberately pushing Maya’s buttons, throwing what happened in her face! Then Nightmare, or whatever she was called, had revealed what Sparkle’s magic had done to Nick earlier that evening. Maya was, quite frankly, disgusted. How could Nick possibly side with Sparkle after that? A small, rebellious part of Maya wondered idly how that massive organ would feel in her hands or inside her, but it was quickly silenced by her rational mind. It was a gross perversion of nature, and she was ready to send Sparkle to the wolves for hurting Nick like that! But of course it wasn’t that easy. Her own sister had interfered with the soon-to-be ‘guilty’ verdict by bringing in an ‘expert’ witness; some old-fashioned unicorn that looked like he was straight out of Harry Potter, a stallion who in looks and attitude she could only describe as the bastard love child of Trixie and Severus Snape. He’d come in, forced her off the stand in the middle of her own testimony, and proceeded to blather about how Sparkle’s magic affecting Nick like it did wasn’t unnatural at all! The nerve! And yet… for all her demonizing of Sparkle, Maya couldn’t quite bring herself to completely ignore what everyone was saying. A small but insistent part of her was saying that she shouldn’t be so self-absorbed. After all, wasn’t Nick himself saying that he’d been selfish in regards to Sparkle? And if he was admitting it, what did that say about her…? Her thoughts were interrupted as a pure white mare appeared from the shadows next to her, a very familiar girl on her back. “P-Pearly?” Maya gasped, bewildered as the pale bat-pony saluted her thestral captain, then turned to Luna and bowed. “Pearly!” Twilight’s friends exclaimed, making Mia and Celestia look over briefly in surprise, the pair looking uncertain whether they wanted her there or not. Pearl had been looking around in brief wonder. She quickly returned their greeting with a wave and a delighted expression, not knowing why her Equestrian friends looked so grave until she turned to face Maya. “Oh, hi, Mystic Ma- MYSTIC MAYA!!!!” she yelped, seeing Maya’s condition. “What happened to you?!” Maya groaned. “I’m getting tired of answering that question… Sparkle happened to me, Pearly.” Pearl’s eyes widened. “Mystic Twilight…?” She looked around, noticing for the first time the fact that this was a courtroom… and Twilight was at the defendant’s chair. “Wh-what’s going on? Why is Mystic Twilight on trial?” “Because she hurt me and Nick, Pearly! Because she needs to be punished!” Maya growled almost as low as the demonic version Pearl had seen in her nightmare. The thestral mare snorted, figuring what was happening quickly. “And is an accident worth dooming both of our worlds over, Miss Fey?” she snapped. “The Nightmare is not your friend, and seeks to possess Twilight Sparkle. Should she succeed, both your world and our own may fall!” “What does Weiss mean, Mystic Maya?” Pearl asked, confused, her additional excitement over spotting Mystic Trixie sitting in the Judge’s seat tempered by Maya’s state. “I mean that The Nightmare over there,” Weiss indicated with a pointed hoof, “has laid claim to Twilight Sparkle’s body and soul, using her anguish and guilt over accidentally harming Phoenix Wright to break her will and make her agree to possession. For any mare in Equestria, hurting a stallion, especially one they love, is a grave act that most would never contemplate. She is using Twilight’s belief that she has done so.” There was a moment of silence. “Wait… Mystic Twilight… likes Mister Nick…?” Pearl said, bewildered. “But she’s a pony!” Maya groaned, but nodded. “Yes, Pearly, she’s a pony, but they’ve still been making googly-eyes at each other whenever you’re not looking. I mean, come on, they haven’t even been that subtle around you! I’m surprised you didn’t notice on your own.” Pearl blinked several times, looking back between Maya and Phoenix, though the latter hadn’t yet noticed her presence, looking lost in thought below, stating something about destiny. “But… you and Mister Nick…” she put a finger in her mouth in confusion. “We’ve never been more than friends, Pearly,” Maya sighed in exasperation, shaking her head and rubbing her bruised eye. “Honestly, why can’t anyone here see that? You, Vinyl, that snooty old pony down there…” “Perhaps if you didn’t protest quite so much, we’d be more likely to believe you, darling!” Rarity fired in from the row in front of Maya. “And perhaps your cousin figured out long ago what you can’t seem to accept!” she stuck her nose up in the air beneath her hat and harrumphed. “You said it!” Rainbow growled, instantly reminded of all the reasons she didn’t like Maya. “You ain’t being honest with yourself, Maya! And now you’re gonna make Twilight and all us pay for it!” Applejack added with a note of anger, while all a flat-haired Pinkie Pie would do was look over at Maya and shake her head sadly. Maya growled, while Pearl had a contemplative look on her face, her finger still in her mouth. “So… Mister Nick and Mystic Twilight like each other… but Mystic Twilight accidentally did something that hurt Mister Nick… and now Mystic Twilight’s in trouble because of it?” “That about sums it up, darling,” Rarity said with a nod, along with the rest of Twilight’s friends. Pearl frowned, then looked at Maya. “And she accidentally hurt you, too, Mystic Maya?” “That it was accidental is up for debate,” muttered the battered-looking teen. Pearl’s frown deepened. “If it was an accident, and she said she was sorry, then that makes it okay, right?” “There are some things ‘sorry’ can’t fix, Pearly!” snapped Maya. “Only because you’re so unwilling to accept it, dearie,” Rarity mused unsympathetically. “What Twilight did was completely involuntary… and it wouldn’t have affected you in the first place if your feelings for Phoenix Wright were strictly platonic. Or haven’t you been listening to the proceedings?” Maya growled again. “That’s not…!” “Mystic Maya… are you jealous of Mystic Twilight?” Pearl asked. “Wha—! NO! I’m not jealous of her, I’m angry at her! Angry that she did this to Nick, that she did this to ME! Angry because… because she can make Nick smile in a way I’ve never seen before… because he seems happier since she came into his life…” Maya trailed off as she realized what she was saying. This didn’t go unnoticed. “Mystic Maya… if Mister Nick is happy, shouldn’t you be happy, too? If you do like him, isn’t his happiness important to you…?” Pearl asked simply. It was strange, hearing the same question Franziska had asked her several days ago repeated by her cousin. And yet, Maya couldn’t quite bring herself to answer. I want Nick to be happy, she thought, but is it really happiness, what he feels with Twilight…? She asked herself again. But how can it be? And how can I feel anything for him…? She remained silent during The Nightmare’s revelation that she’d manufactured Twilight’s feelings for Phoenix, lost in her own thoughts, that grew more and more confusing. Can Nick really be happy with Sparkle? And… can I let him go if he is…? Music: “Song of Myself (Instrumental Ver.)” by Nightwish “…One chance is all I need, Your Honor,” Phoenix said with a nod, thinking Trixie had never more seemed like The Judge as that moment as he had flashbacks to the end of the Matt Engarde trial, cornering his own client into a guilty plea. It’s all coming to an end… and for what The Nightmare’s put both Twilight and me through, I swear I’ll strike the final blow MYSELF! “As amusing as this has been, Phoenix Wright, my earlier point stands—you cannot prove matters of the heart. So let us be clear one final time on the stakes at this moment,” The Nightmare’s teeth gleamed. “Should you be bluffing now, you are only allowing me to take Twilight immediately, as opposed to some indefinite point in the future. For when her logical mind rejects whatever your unlikely evidence is, I will tell her the only way to make her fake love for you real is to surrender herself to me here and now. And I promise you, Phoenix Wright… as desperately as she wants it, she will!” “And I promise you, Nightmare, that your reign of terror ends tonight,” he rejoined, lowering his head and giving her a predatory stare, never feeling more calm or in control as he had at that moment. I’ve finally been able to accept what I feel for Twilight as real. And now, all that’s left is to show her the one piece of evidence that proves it IS real… Trixie’s gavel came down. “This is it, Wrong! This court directs you to reveal your evidence right now and back it up, or this trial is over!” “Do it, Phoenix!” Vinyl told him. “Don’t really know what you’re planning here, but I can tell you’ve got it all figured out…” “Indeed he does,” Mia agreed, stepping back to allow Phoenix the finishing blow and signaling Vinyl to the same. “Make me proud, Phoenix.” “Will do, chief. Couldn’t have gotten here without you,” he bowed his head to her. “Your Honor, I hereby present my final piece of evidence…” he willed an object into existence in his hand, then held it high for all to see. “This!” Everyone stared dubiously as the object resolved… into a small paperback book. “Wait. But that’s…” Rarity recognized it first, materializing her glasses and squinting. “That’s one of the novels I gave Twilight! Dragonfire!” The Nightmare looked surprised, then annoyed. “That’s it?” she asked with a sneer. “That’s your case-breaking evidence, Phoenix Wright?” “Not quite, Nightmare,” he willed multiple copies into existence, then simply tossed one to her, one to Trixie, and one onto the rail in front of Twilight, where her bowed head could see it, though they were all showing the back cover instead of the front. “Are you out of your mind, Wrong?” Trixie asked as she scanned through the book description on the back, which was little more than standard romance-novel fare. “Your evidence is a bucking two-bit romance rag?” Far from being chagrined, Phoenix’s grin only got wider as he crossed his arms and stared triumphantly at The Nightmare. “I suggest Your Honor and the prosecution simply turn the book over,” he instructed them both. “You’ll see something very interesting if you do…” Both she and The Nightmare gave him an odd look, but obeyed. “Oh please, Phoenix Wright. I can’t imagine what good you think this will…” the latter fell silent, stunned along with Trixie when she saw the book was indeed titled Dragonfire and on the front cover… Was the picture of a unicorn mare cuddling with a blue-furred pegasus with a spiky black mane, his coat the color of Phoenix’s courtroom attire. “But… that’s…” Trixie’s eyes went from the book cover to Phoenix and back repeatedly. “That’s you, Wrong!” “Indeed it is, Your Honor!” he waited a beat, watching The Nightmare’s expression suddenly turn nervous and Twilight now staring directly at the front cover, her lip quivering. “And perhaps the lovely Miss Rarity can confirm that this book was one of Twilight’s favorites, read long before I ever came to Equestria or she even heard my name?” he put his hands on his hips in triumph. “Yes! Yes! YES I CAN!” Rarity all but shouted in her excitement. “I gave her that book and several others back before Winter Wrap-Up! Months before Phoenix Wright arrived in Equestria! She told me it was one of her favorites! Along with…?” she trailed off as she looked to Phoenix again, suddenly understanding what he was doing. “Along with these, Your Honor!” he materialized two more romance novels that Twilight had shown him that months-ago day in the library where she confessed the source of her feelings to him. “This book is part of an interspecies romance series…” he remembered Twilight telling him as he held up a novel titled Talonhoof, “and here’s a story about a mare falling for a defense attorney…” he next held up Mare in Manehattan, noting idly that the pony prosecutor opposite the defense attorney character looked suspiciously like a pegasus version of Edgeworth. “And don’t forget these!” Rarity offered up two more books of their own. “Cloverfields… a mare heals a deeply wounded stallion with love and devotion. Nor should we neglect Silverwing—a romantic adventure story of redemption and triumph over great odds! Twilight told me she liked both of them, when she sought my advice regarding Phoenix Wright the morning before the second day of Rainbow’s trial!” she recalled, causing Twilight’s eyes to go wide as she remembered, beginning to shake and tremble in The Nightmare’s grasp, causing the latter to shoot her a look of alarm. “You don’t say!” Vinyl grinned. “So let’s see… her favorites were one about a ponified Phoenix lookalike, another about an interspecies relationship, a third about a mare falling for a defense attorney, a fourth about helping a wounded male, and the last where the protagonist achieves a turnabout like you couldn’t believe…” the unicorn mare summarized helpfully. “Well, now… what could define The Phoenix more than that?” she asked rhetorically, raising her glasses and flipping through the books herself with a grin. “All these books, Your Honor… they’re about him!” Music: Pursuit ~ Cornered (Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney OST) “EXACTLY!!!!!” Phoenix’s shout was as loud as one of Vinyl’s amps and caused the same reaction as The Nightmare was rocked backwards by the force of his logical blast, his volume high enough that Luna thought it could rival her Royal Canterlot Voice. “As I think Your Honor and Twilight herself are realizing, these books have one common thread… ME!” He pointed a finger across the courtroom pit, where for the first time, The Nightmare was starting to look outright fearful as Twilight’s breathing was starting to quicken, her power and will beginning to boil up from far beneath the surface, reasserting themselves in response to the truth seeping in despite The Nightmare’s best efforts. “In Twilight’s own words… ‘you’re all my favorite romance novel themes and characters rolled up into one tidy package…’” he quoted her. “You’re right…” Twilight whispered, then recited the next words of her original statement herself. “So if these books are any indication…” she blushed hard as she’d done then, “you’re my ideal mate.” For the first time, she raised her head and turned her eyes to meet Phoenix, finally seeing him. “And you’re here…” Sensing she was almost free, Phoenix hammered the point home, each statement recorded like a physical blow against The Nightmare, who now looked like she was struggling mightily to keep control, grimacing, her power weakening, her tendrils into Twilight fraying. “A mate you’d never even met or heard of at the point in time you read these. A mate who only presented himself when he arrived months later in Equestria. A mate and a man who embodied all of these books and characters… all your favorite themes and traits…” he recited, realizing he was now trembling himself as well. “I mean, how could you not fall in love with me?” “How could I not…” she echoed his words to him, tears welling in her eyes as she remembered. The Nightmare finally managed to find her voice, even though it was just a hoarse croak, all her remaining power now dedicated to trying to keep her tenuous connection to Twilight intact. “But how could you fall in love with her without magical help, Phoenix Wright? She’s a pony, not a woman! What could possibly be in this relationship for you?” she demanded to know. “For me, Nightmare…?” he closed his eyes and bowed his head, the words now coming quickly and easily. “Love. A real love, from a mate who isn’t just using me and won’t discard me when my usefulness is at an end. A mare who gathered up the pieces of my broken heart and made them whole again. A mare who loves me for who I am, and puts my needs ahead of hers! A mare whom, pony or woman, is the most beautiful, wonderful lady I’ve ever met. As I thought about it even back then, I realized she was just my type—smart and savvy, a mare who lives for her friends… just as she now lives for me,” he finished quietly. “We are a matched pair. A man and mare, The Lawyer and The Unicorn…” he shook his head in amazement and gratitude as he raised his eyes to meet Twilight’s, which were now glimmering. “I don’t know what the future holds for us, I don’t even know what this means for our two worlds. All I do know that is somehow, we work, and she’s the one for me,” he told her fervently. “All I know is that now and forever… I’m yours, Twilight Sparkle. And neither heaven nor earth will keep us apart!” He finished to the cheers of the gallery. “Neither heaven nor earth would wish to,” Mia added, flaring a wing to drape across Phoenix’s shoulders. “Well done, Phoenix. Game, set and match! You lose, Nightmare!” she pointed across the courtroom at the now-reeling alicorn apparition. “What she said! And I think Twi’s about to free herself, Nightie,” Vinyl warned gleefully, pointing across the pit with her own hoof. “Be real afraid marefriend! ‘Cause once she does, you’re dead!” “I actually thank you, Nightmare,” Phoenix grinned, showing his teeth as he pointed his own finger across the pit. “Because it took you to force me to face my own fears and finally see the truth! A truth I was then able to share with Twilight. She sees it as well as me now, and all that’s left then…” he looked to Trixie, turning his arm towards her. “Deliver the verdict, and you deliver not just Twilight, but all of us from The Nightmare’s evil, Your Honor!” “For once, Wrong… that’ll be my pleasure!” Trixie raised her gavel. “In the case of the people versus Twilight Sparkle, this court finds the defendant…” her voice trailed off as something started to happen to The Nightmare and impossibly, she began to laugh. “You think you’ve won…? “The Nightmare said in a pained voice, wispy dark smoke beginning to gather around her, her very body beginning to vaporize. “Twilight Sparkle is mine… and I won’t… let… you… WIN!” she dissolved completely into smoke except for her slitted eyes and teeth, and then shot towards Twilight, enveloping her in a blue miasma, causing her to cry out in pain and anger. “NO!” Twilight shouted as she fell to the ground and began to roll back and forth on the courtroom floor, her horn sparking but unable to produce a coherent spell. “Get out of my head! Get out of my head!” she ordered as she clutched her head in her hooves, The Nightmare’s presence trying to overpower her. “Twilight!” Phoenix and her friends shouted, the former trying immediately to go to her side only to be blocked by Mia’s arm. “No Phoenix,” she told him softly. “This is now Twilight’s fight. She has to expel The Nightmare on her own.” “She can do it now,” Vinyl was certain, though she was in just as much agony not being able to help. “She’s fighting for you and her friends now. And take it from me—when those she cares about are at stake, there ain’t nopony with more will than her!” Phoenix knew she was right, but it was still agony for him to watch but not be able to interfere, worse still to not be able to see the progress of the battle that was taking place in the plane of her mind. “You’re lying!” Twilight said at some length, fighting hard to focus her will and power through whatever The Nightmare was doing to her. “Everything about you is a lie!” she hissed out through gritted teeth. “Come on, Twilight, fight her!” Rainbow Dash flew down from the gallery and landed beside her, but obeying Mia’s instruction to keep a short distance. “Show her who’s boss mare!” “Don’t let her win, Twilight!” Fluttershy was close behind. “We don’t want to lose you!” We’re here, Twilight!” Applejack shouted as she leaped down from the gallery and stood to Rainbow’s left, the three forming a semicircle around Twilight. “Don’t listen to her! You’re our friend, and we ain’t ever gonna leave ya, no matter what!” “Show her, Twilight!” Pinkie Pie shouted as she arrived. “Show that meanie-weenie no-fun Nightmare that you won’t let her be a party-pooper!” “Return to us, Twilight!” Rarity arrived next, discarding her femme fatale outfit and standing directly in front of her friend. “We love you just as you love Phoenix Wright!” “Love… me…” Twilight repeated through tears and growing anger. “No! I do hear them!” Twilight proclaimed in response to something else The Nightmare said. “I hear all of them! But you tried to keep me from hearing them this whole time! From seeing that Phoenix and all my friends were here! That they support me! That they love me!” she accused, though nobody could hear the response, only one side of the conversation audible from the outside. “Come on, Twilight!” Spike implored. “We want you back! I want you back!” “We are here, my student,” Celestia added, adding herself to the rapidly forming circle around Twilight. “May our voices be heard, and may The Nightmare fall!” “Thou art lucky to have such friends and know friendship, Twilight Sparkle,” Luna agreed, standing beside her sister and readying a capture spell when The Nightmare was expelled. “We hope thee might yet teach us its ways…” “A fine student you wouldst have made, Twilight Sparkle. Admittedly, the magic of friendship ‘twas something even I was not well-versed in…” Starswirl admitted from the witness stand, watching the proceedings with more curiosity than worry. “Perchance you might even complete an old spell of mine using it, someday… but that cannot happen unless you defeat The Nightmare here and now!” he slammed his hoof down on the rail hard. “A student of Starswirl… me?” Twilight actually looked almost giddy for a bare moment. “Still have… so much… to learn…” “A finer mare I have rarely seen, Twilight Sparkle!” Firefly added her own voice to the chorus. “Know that the blessings of the Summerlands itself fall upon you and Phoenix Wright.” “And of the Gryphon Valhalla as well,” Layan Kaval added. “Bare your teeth and show your warrior spirit, young mage! Defeat this abomination and crush her dreams of conquest!” “Twilight…” Phoenix called to her when all her friends had had their turn, breaking the circle and offering her his hand. “I’m here. Come back to me. Come back to all of us,” he asked her softly. “I… I…” Twilight’s eyes locked on all her friends and teacher briefly as she struggled to draw strength from their presence. There was another short pause as The Nightmare spoke inside her head and Twilight’s expression abruptly contorted into a snarl. Whatever was said, her eyes glowed red and she suddenly exploded into flame, taking the same fire form she had when she fought Trixie, in direct reflection of her deepest power and sheer force of will. The sight caused Trixie to flinch, but she silently urged her rival on. “You… will… not… TOUCH him!” Twilight then said in response to what Phoenix could only assume was a direct threat against him. “Or any of my friends, ever! Because once I’m free of you, I promise that I will learn whatever dream magic I have to to keep them all safe!” she proclaimed, leaving Phoenix no doubt she meant it as she suddenly climbed to her hooves and gathered her strength and magic for a final assault on the invading entity. “Do you hear me, Nightmare? This is it! I’m your last victim! You will not have me! And you will not… harm… HIM… EVER!!!!!” A massive surge of flame and wave of magical energy erupted outwards from her, knocking them all backwards but otherwise washing over them harmlessly as The Nightmare was expelled with an agonized scream and burst of blue smoke that was quickly captured by Luna, resolving itself back into her Nightmare Moon form. Her energy spent in a herculean effort to expel her demonic possessor, Twilight dropped out of her elemental fire form and collapsed to the floor, breathing raggedly, her friends and teacher quickly surrounding her and hugging her, saying how proud they were of her. She accepted them gladly, but quickly raised her head and searched for… “Ph-Phoenix…?” Twilight called to him, reaching out with a hoof. “Forgive me, please. I’m sorry I was so weak…” she sniffled as she spoke. “Ssshhh…” he called, taking her hoof in his hands and kissing it, letting her collapse against him. “I’m here, Twilight. You did it. She’s gone.” “Th-thanks to you…” she told him, tears in her eyes as he pulled her into an embrace. “You showed me the truth, Phoenix. And that’s what freed me.” “You freed yourself, Twilight,” Mia told her, keeping a respectful distance to that point but then stepping forward to put a hand on her shoulder. “As I knew you would once you both saw the truth. But truth or no, you are far from weak. If you were, The Nightmare would never have been forced to resort to the measures she did,” she noted, looking up with a glare. “A desperate ploy indeed, demon!” Luna mocked as she pulled the evil entity back, reeling the alicorn apparition in like a fish on a hook, her eyes and horn glowing. “That thou wouldst try and take over an unwilling spirit hath cost thee all thy remaining strength and power! Her rejection means thou hath nothing left, and now thou shalt face the judgement of the spirits themselves!” she informed the struggling apparition. To the surprise and disgust of all, The Nightmare managed to work up some laughter. “You know me well, but not well enough, former host!” she bared her teeth. “For if you didst, you wouldst know that we always have a backup plan! And that plan is…” With that she turned her gaze, to Mia’s dread and horror, on… “MAYA!” Mia and Phoenix shouted in shock and fear as a forgotten tendril leading to Maya illuminated and thickened, The Nightmare turning intangible again and pouring the remaining dregs of her magic into the connection. “Huh?” Maya wasn’t immediately aware what was happening, having been watching the proceedings from the sideline, speaking with Pearls the whole time. “What’s happening…?” were the only other words she got out before the miasma that was The Nightmare slipped Luna’s net and collected around the young human mystic, trying to take her in place of Twilight Sparkle. “That will not avail thee, demon!” Luna shouted, but the sudden alarm in her eyes belied her own statement as Maya was suddenly raised up into the air like a marionette. “Oh, I think it will, my former host!” The Nightmare cackled gleefully. “Her will is weak and her anger real! I will take her instead of Twilight, and there is nothing you can do to stop me!” “Maybe they can’t…” Twilight pulled herself up and glanced at her friends, who grinned back knowingly, Luna taking on a pleased expression as well as she realized their intention—one she had brought them here to realize. “But we can!” She closed her eyes and a tiara suddenly materialized on her head followed by a series of pendants around the friends bearing jewels that matched their coat colors and cutie marks. The Nightmare’s expression instantly dropped as she recognized the danger. “No! NO!!!!” she shrieked, going to immediate work on a dazed-looking Maya, whose eyes went glazed and expression distant just as Twilight’s had been when her perceptions were altered. “Maya, fight it!” She heard Phoenix shout. “Don’t let… her… win…” but the rest of the words were lost as reality itself seemed to slow down and she was enveloped in a dark blue haze, and suddenly her world was reduced to an empty courtroom, only shadows of the occupants present, their voices impossibly distant and inaudible. “Greetings, young mystic…” Slitted eyes and pointed teeth greeted her as she floated in a room she thought was empty, huddled in fetal position against the sudden cold she felt. “I offer you the greatest of all boons, and the chance for vengeance on Twilight Sparkle.” “Vengeance…” Maya repeated, tears in her eyes as she recalled all that had happened to her over the previous day. “She hurt me…” “Indeed she did. And I will punish her for it… if you let me,” the voice promised in cloying tones. “In fact, I can give you everything you’ve ever wanted… simply name it, Maya Fey, and it is yours!” “You mean can punish Sparkle… even give me… Nick…?” she visibly wavered, shocked by her own admission but only vaguely aware of something fanning the desires she felt. “Everything…” The Nightmare’s voice all but cooed, then as example, magically matured and enhanced her body before her eyes, aging her up to her mid-twenties. She watched stunned as she grew two more inches and her body fleshed out, giving her a set of curves the equal or better of her big sister. “For example, you may have your sister’s body, which you have always envied… one fit to attract Phoenix Wright himself!” . “But… I…” Maya’s expression changed repeatedly from hope to disbelief to revulsion to desire as The Nightmare pushed all her internal buttons at once. “I do want him…?” “Indeed you DO! And I can give him to you!” the voice promised. “I can grant you power beyond measure, your mystic abilities enhanced a thousandfold… a siren’s body combined with an alicorn mating aura…” The Nightmare recited. “Between them, you could have not just everything, but everyONE you want!” “I could have Nick… a-and Vinyl…?” her eyes suddenly sought out the unicorn mare, recognizing a shadow she thought was her… or was it? “If you wish,” the voice answered placatingly, though with what might have been a note of annoyance and exasperation, illuminating the pony DJ just long enough for Maya to see her shouting. “And all you need to do is join with me. Accept me…” the invader all but purred, though there was a increasingly harried note in her voice as well as shadows moved in the background, equine figures seemingly stepping into a formation around her. “You have been wronged, Maya Fey. But I ALONE can make it right! Twilight Sparkle is about to be found innocent when you KNOW she is guilty!” “Guilty…” Maya repeated dully, no longer certain of it herself as Nick’s final arguments and Vinyl’s earlier cross-examination still rang clear in her head, to say nothing of her earlier talk with Pearl. “But is she…?” “Of COURSE she is!” The Nightmare said with increasing urgency as several of the shadows suddenly formed a semicircle around her and there was what she could only describe as a magical effect around them, just visible through the cloying mist. “Accept me NOW, Maya Fey, or all is lost for both of us! Nick! Vinyl Scratch! A new body! All the power and lovers you could ever want! Just let me IN!” she said, her presence starting to pound on the door of her very psyche… A door that was beginning to break down. And then a new voice made itself known, a smaller shadow stepping in front of the six. “Please, mystic Maya…” an impossibly distant voice called to her which she was just able to recognize as Pearl. “I know you’re hurt. But don’t let her win! Please come back to us!” the more words she heard, the clearer and nearer her voice became until finally the shadowy form resolved into Pearly herself, stepping through a crack of light in the dark background. “Pearly…” she called out weakly, reaching for her even as she felt herself being tugged back. “I… can’t…” “Yes you can, Mystic Maya!” she said with tears in her eyes, trying to push through the boundary The Nightmare had erected and reach her cousin’s hand. “Mister Nick is here! I’m here! So are all our pony friends! She’s lying to you! Just like she lied to Mystic Twilight!” “Don’t listen to her!” the voice was now one of outright panic as the glow intensified around the six circling ponies. “You must let me in NOW or there is no escape for either of us, Maya Fey! No punishment for Sparkle, and no hope for you! Reject me, and you will be nothing more than what you always were—a pale shadow of your older sister, in body AND soul!” “That is not true, abomination…” A bright light suddenly shone, illuminating a pair of angel wings flared before it with Mia Fey between them. “Maya has always been her own girl, beautiful and special in her own way. Smart and sassy, and a good friend with a good heart when it’s not being manipulated. But make no mistake, The Nightmare has been manipulating you this whole time, Maya. Pressing your buttons, enhancing your anger to use it against Twilight. But she could not do that unless you were unwilling to accept what you feel… for both Phoenix, and Vinyl Scratch.” “Unwilling?” Maya tried to reflexively deny the word, only to have her own thoughts at The Nightmare’s own offers of Phoenix Wright expose the lie yet again. “You mean…” “SILENCE, MIA FEY!” the voice shouted in desperation, now trying to force her way in and take Maya against her weakened will. “If I cannot have Twilight Sparkle, I will take your sister instead, then make my escape and discard her like the useless refuse she IS!” Music: Pursuit ~ Cornered (Limitless Remix) “Useless… refuse…?” Maya felt a white-hot anger suddenly rising within her as the lights surrounding the six still-unseen ponies began arcing, connecting them even as an internal light suddenly illuminated what was happening from deep within her. “You bitch! Sis is right! All this time you’ve been using me!” she accused. “NO! I Didn’t mean…” for the first time, The Nightmare stammered hard, realizing she’d just overstepped badly. “It’s what I was telling you all along, Maya…” Vinyl now entered her field of view through the crack of light behind Pearl and stepping to her left, breaking through the miasma that surrounded her. “The Nightmare ain’t your friend. You were going to condemn yourself and both worlds on the basis of a lie. Worst of all, a lie to yourself. I’m sorry I had to throw all this in your face during cross, but you had to see that your feelings for me, for Nick… they’re real, fillyfriend.” “Real…” she repeated to herself, the truth starting to shine bright from within her. “Then I do want Nick…” she finally realized, the virtual wounds on her dream realm body suddenly beginning to heal themselves. “I know, Maya…” Phoenix spoke up for the first time, appearing between Pearl and Mia. “I don’t know what this means for us, but I promise that whatever my feelings for Twilight, I will never abandon you. What I share with Twilight is special, but with you is no less. You’re my friend as much as she, and always will be.” He held out his hand for her. “Friends…” she replied, tears in her eyes as she reached back for him. “I love you, Nick…” she finally made the fateful admission, and with that, her wounds healed, and The Nightmare’s miasma completely dissolved away to reveal… Twilight and her friends now wearing a jeweled tiara and pendants in the rough form of their cutie marks, a spectrum of arcane energy flowing between them. “Get clear, Nix!” Rainbow was shouting as a spectrum of light enveloped them and jewelry they were wearing. “You too, Pearly! Let’s do this, girls! Time to make The Nightmare Taste the Rainbow™!” “Do it!” Maya shouted, clutching her head as Mia pulled Phoenix and Pearls back, now trying to keep The Nightmare contained within her. She didn’t fully understand what was about to happen, except that they were going to free her fully from The Nightmare’s influence. “DO IT! BLOW HER TO HELL!” “NOOOOOOOOOOOO!” The Nightmare screamed as a massive wave of energy rocked them, expelling the entity and filling Maya with warmth and love in her place, enhancing this time not her hate or doubt, but her feelings of love and friendship. For Mia. For her mother. For Phoenix. For Pearly. For Pinkie Pie. For Vinyl. For all of her friends, both human and Equestrian. For life itself. And for the first time, she saw that friendship truly was magic, and what it had brought her. I love them all… and I nearly threw them all away… she realized, tears of sorrow and joy in her eyes as she finally beheld all she had… and all she nearly lost. “Oh gods, I’ve been such a fool… I’m so sorry sis...” she said as the light faded, her head suddenly completely clear, the truth in her shining with clarity she’d never before known. “Don’t be…” Mia told her, hugging her tightly and wrapping her wings around her. “You saw the truth and held her off in the end, giving Twilight and her friends the time to power up their elements. In the end, your will was strong and she couldn’t possess you any more than she could Twilight.” “Hey, you okay there, Maya?” Vinyl called from behind in deep concern. “Vinyl!” she reached for her DJ friend immediately. “I’m here,” she said quickly, going to her and offering her a foreleg. “I’m here.” “I’m so sorry, V-Jay…” she fell in Vinyl’s arms. “Nick… Vinyl… sis… I’m sorry for everything. It was all too much. And I just… wasn’t… ready…” she told them all through tears. “I know, fillyfriend. I know…” Vinyl hugged her tightly. “And whatever it takes, I swear I’ll help you through it…” “Mystic Maya!” Pearl shouted and leaped into her arms. “You’re okay!” “I’m better than okay, Pearly…” Maya answered, her face lighting up with a genuine smile. “All thanks to you. You got me thinking, and then you broke through to me when I was on the edge of surrendering to that… thing.” She held back the word she wanted to use for Pearl’s presence. “Are you all right, Maya?” Twilight asked in some wariness. “I’m very sorry my magic affected you like that. If I’d known…” she went downcast. “It was an accident. I see that now…” Maya answered, then brought her palms together and bowed. “Nick is yours, Sparkle. You two were meant for each other. But please take good care of him…” she sniffled. Twilight regarded her, then smiled. “You know, I can’t be here for him all the time, Maya…” she replied, reaching out to hug the human mystic, each realizing that only the other could truly understand what they’d just been through… the near possession and the sense of violation it brought. “And that means you’ll need to do so in my stead!” she reminded her, making Maya hug her tightly, the two sharing sniffles over an ordeal only the other could understand. With that, their attention turned back on Luna, who was once again holding the drained remains of The Nightmare, now reduced a shadow of her former self. “This is the end, vile creature!” the Moon Princess proclaimed as the spirits gathered close, The Nightmare struggling within her magical grasp, Weiss using her power to block Pearl’s sight and hearing of what was to come. “Thy final gambit has failed. So methinks the only question now would be… shall we end thee ourselves, or leave thee to them?” she asked with a look around the gallery, and received shouts in English, Latin, and other ancient languages in return, the Bolt Knights and Red Talons materializing their weapons while the Romans in the audience stood and passed sentence with thumbs raised but pointed at and motioning towards their necks, shouting “Iugula!” (“Throats!” Phoenix recognized from a long-ago Latin class) as though witnessing a gladiatorial event at the Colosseum. Luna noted their actions, then glanced at Celestia, who nodded at their shared thought, a satisfied if rather chilling smile on her face. “So be it! We wished to end thee ourselves, but we now feel we owe it… to them!” the moon princess passed sentence, holding The Nightmare up and preparing to toss her into a gallery of spirits calling for her blood. “This court concurs!” Trixie brought her gavel down, not wanting to miss her own chance to be a part of the final action. “Nightmare, you are found guilty of demonic possession, illegal magical manipulation, perjury, threats against officers of the court, and if our audience is any indication... at least a thousand counts of murder! For which the penalty… is death!” Her eyes glowed blue as she sat back in great satisfaction to watch the show, like Nero in his private box. “Does the condemned have any last words?” she added as an afterthought, almost gleefully. “You are a foal, Lulu…” The Nightmare worked up some final defiance and a last toothy smile. “You are all foals! No matter what happens tonight, you will have accomplished nothing! For there must always be a Nightmare! Slay me, and another will rise in my place!” Luna gave her a sly but mocking grin. “Then may she be less craven than thee, and face us directly in open combat instead of slinking in the shadows like a coward!” And with that, she threw The Nightmare’s spirit to the proverbial wolves, her screams silenced by her former victims as her ethereal body was quickly torn to shreds.