There I was now staring at the Nightmare face to face in a black void once again. I let myself slump back as suddenly there was a chair under him as I let out an exasperated sigh. She moved in and bent down to look me once again in my eyes. It was in the moment I noticed that she had taken an appearance that was an amalgamation of Nightmare Moon and my own, her hands resting on her thighs as I was pretty sure she was purposely pushing her arms together to enhance her cleavage.
“What are you trying to do? Just let me recover or die in peace.” I did my best to keep my eyes locked with hers rather than let myself get distracted.
“Just trying to lighten the mood you sourpuss.” She sat down next to me as the chair I was sitting on suddenly became a loveseat. I took my eyes away from her looking at the darkness around us as it slowly twisted into a porch under a starry night sky as I felt shifting around beside me. “Oooo very nice. You’re getting much better at control.” I heard the sound of metal lightly touching against metal as I noticed her form had shackles around her ankles and wrists. She made a giggle and playfully kicked her hooves as the shackles jangled. “A little present from you it would seem.” I felt my power coming from them as I looked up and closed my hand in front of her like a force choke into a clenched fist as a matching metal collar formed around her neck. “Oh, feeling kinky?”
“Nope, just reminding both of us who’s dreamscape this is. So I’m still alive? Was Jadscales supposed to kill me and then you were going to possess her?” I blushed and waved a hand as black dress appeared over her form.
“Aww, party pooper. You’re so puritanical about the weirdest stuff. I guess it's being an alien to this world.” She held the pause for what felt like minutes but dreams were always flexible on subjective time. “Yes you’re alive and not dying. At least as far as I can tell. I’m not sure I could even tell. Well, I don’t think I’d die with you.”
“Guess it would depend on how hard of a grip I’m keeping on you as I go. Wouldn't be too bad if it were the last good thing I did for the world as I die.” I gave a soft grunt as I felt her press herself against me as she tried to climb into my lap.
“Oh come on now. Isn’t that just a bit too mean-spirited even for you?” I don’t know why I let her keep touching me, maybe I was just attention starved. Pretty sure that was the point of her taking the form she did. “I mean it’s not like you’ve never done anything like this in your dreams before.” At that, I pushed her away from me and put her back at arm’s length.
“I highly doubt you have needs like the people you possess. Pretty sure you’re just trying to get any upperhand. Forgive me if I don’t trust a manifestation of negative emotions.”
“Oh come now. Am I merely the product of my creation? How did being from the other world let you even know the nature of my creation? Stupid stories from your world.”
“I have a hard time believing that you’re trying to overcome your desire to impose your will on all life or at least to inspire those tendencies in the victims you’ve possessed. Do you plan to answer my question about the dragon?”
She huffs and shifts to lay back away from me as I mirrored the position. “Well, I figured either way I win out. You dying and maybe your hold’s too weak to drag me down with you, or the much more likely you prevail and I have one less contender. Since I’m being a little honest with you. What is your real goal in staying here?”
“A sense of belonging is a hell of a drug. I’d think you’d know that from preying on the lonely.”
She fixed me with a hard gaze. “That’s just not losing. An easier prospect for sure but in the end it’s always something you’ll eventually fail at or have to pass on the burden to someone else. Power like your’s and mine are wasted on simply maintaining the status quo. You’ve already changed the world to your image just by being here. Why not take a greater risk and see just how big of an impact can be made?”
“Did I impress you that much?” I scoffed with a snide tone, but I’d be lying to myself if it wasn’t tempting as an offer everyone wants to feel like that they made some impact otherwise the fear of dying alone and forgotten wouldn’t be a thing.
“Oh very, it’s why I managed to sneak just enough of my magic through you to call that help you heard as you passed out. It was very difficult on this side but when you were looking to make peace and accept death. You left just enough of a crack for me to slip a little help out. I’m not going down with you, and you’re certainly an interesting host.”
“Well I guess even prisoners help the guards every once in a while, but that’s just what you stay, my prisoner.”
Soon she was back on me as I drew in a sharp breath as she pressed with me. “Oh we might be a little bit closer than prisoner and guard after my little diabolus ex machina. Unfortunately for both of us.”
Why did she have to feel like that? Why did she feel like a warm body? Why wasn’t I better than this? It was in a moment of weakness that I wrapped my arms around her and I swear I heard a soft nicker like Luna would make when we cuddled as I felt arms slip up from my chest to wrap behind my neck. “See? This isn’t so bad.”
Suddenly, I felt a jolt move through my body. “Why are you trying to keep me asleep?”
“Because we need rest, but someone is very insistent that you get up now. It’s rather rude.”
I closed my hand as the collar around her neck tightened as she began to make a choking sound in an attempt to try and elicit sympathy from me. “Let me wake up and it should stop. On three. One… Two…Three.”
My eyes snapped open as I looked around at the apparent bedroom that I was being kept in as I felt my hooves hanging off the bed as was normal in most pony houses. I saw Starswirl and two more ponies. First, a pink pegasus filly with blue mane kept back with a streak of sky blue running through it pulled back in a ponytail. A confident smile on her face as light purple eyes looked at me before giving me a playful wink. Second was an earth pony colt with a wild mane that reminded me of wheatgrass and peach fur that turned white around his hooves. His pale blue eyes gave me an appraising look from behind his locks.
“Oh good you’re awake!” Starswirl said as I lifted my hand and noticed that my fingers were now black as my nails. I then lifted my right and winced as it had been wrapped but I saw from my exposed finger tips that it looked like they match. “I was worried as to what had you unresponsive, but you seem to have overcome it. I have however had time to speak with our new allies you managed to summon during the room collapse.” He gestured first to the pegasus. “This is Firefly, former commander of the Canterlot Airguard and ace flier.”
She made a crisp but obviously informal salute to me with a coy smirk on her muzzle. “Thanks for bringing me back in the middle of a cave in, really in my element right there, though I guess fast is still fast wherever you need it.” I felt a bit groggy still and looked at her before moving to look at the dour earth pony.
“I’m Dutch Apple of clan Pie, it’s an honor to heed the call from Hades and return to Equestria. The wizard tells of you wishing to be a hero for ponykind.” He nodded his head in what seemed like a gesture of approval. “We have much to discuss then.”