//------------------------------// // Chapter 22 - Love and Magic // Story: The Adventures of the New Nightmare // by hmaf43 //------------------------------// In the confinement of the Golden Oak Library, two mares stare at each other in uncomfortable silence, begging their counterpart to make a first move, to end this awkward silence — to just do anything. Finally, the newcomer alicorn closes the entrance door, sealing the escape route from the unicorn's bedroom. "Do you... want to do a Ladybug dance, Twilight?" The Alicorn of love, Princess Cadance asked, as she slowly moved toward the unicorn. The lavender unicorn looked up from her bed, her tear-filled eyes met Cadance's, and her body trembling in fear, but not for herself. "P-please don't come closer," Twilight pleaded, her voice quivering. "I don't want to hurt you too, Cadance." She dug deeper into her mattress. The alicorn of love smiled sadly, continuing to walk closer to the haggled unicorn. Her heart ached at the sight of Twilight's distress. She reached out a hoof, slowly reaching out to Twilight's trembling shoulder. "No, you'll not, Twilight. I trust you," Cadance assured her, her gentle voice filled with love and understanding. Twilight instinctively lit up her horn, the purple glow of magic surrounded her horn as she intended to cast a barrier spell to shield herself from her former foalsister. Cadance saw Twilight's magic flare up, and her instinctive response kicked in. The alicorn of love her eyes shut tightly as her muscles locked up, bracing for impact. Her whole body involuntarily flinched at the sight of Twilight's horn glowing with power. She couldn't stop her body from reacting to ingrained physical trauma. Seeing her former foalsister's reaction to her magic, Twilight stopped her spellwork midway, her horn dimmed down and scrambled away to the far corner of her room. "S-sorry, I'm sorry, sorry..." Her tears welled up again as she curled up into herself, overwhelmed with guilt and fear. Cadance cursed herself internally for the fact that she cannot stop herself from reacting fast enough which made Twilight even more stressed out. It truly broke Cadance's heart to see Twilight in such pain like this. She knew that the situation had partly resulted from her own shortcomings and mistakes. She had been selfish, not wanting to end up alone like her auntie Celestia, which had clouded her judgment and made her go along with that plan, hurting those she cared about in the process. "What happened back then was not your fault," Cadance said gently, slowly creeping toward Twilight. "Twilight, come," she urged, taking light steps to avoid spooking the fragile unicorn further. Twilight pressed herself against the wall. "P-please go away," she squawked out her reply between sobs. "I don't want to hurt you again..." As the alicorn of love came to a stop in front of Twilight, she folded her legs and sat down, bringing herself to the same eye level as the lavender unicorn's own. With a tender gesture, she craned her neck and nuzzled the trembling mare. Twilight flinched a little bit, her body tense, but then she nuzzled back, feeling the warmth and comfort that her former foalsister offered. A comfortable silence enveloped the room as the two mares embraced each other's presence. their barrels joined together side by side, feeling the warmness of bodily heat. They found solace and peace in the moment, Cadance draped her wing over Twilight's barrel, and then slowly stoke on the lavender unicorn's back in a soft, smooth motion, providing a soothing touch and a sense of protection and security to the lavender mare. As Cadance continue petting Twilight's back with her wing, memories of their shared past flooded her mind, memories of a much simpler time, and the alicorn couldn't help but smile. "Do you remember that time when you tried to cast a spell to make all the books in the library organize themselves, but instead, they started flying around like a mini tornado?" Cadance said, a playful smirk on her face, hoping to wipe away sadness from Twilight's face. " A good time indeed." "W-wa! You still remember that!?" Twilight protested, her face turned red from embarrassment as Cadance playfully brought up her foalhood antics, but a faint smile crept onto her lips. Cadance giggled, happy to see Twilight smiling once again. "It's good to see you smiling now," she said before affectionately ruffling Twilight's mane with a hoof, cherishing the moment of levity amidst their emotional turmoil Twilight pouted in response, but she lent her head closer to Cadence's extended hoof, a hint of a smile still lingering on her muzzle. Cadance had never expected herself to lead a day court, let alone rule over Equestria without her auntie foalsitting her. Nor did she expect that Twilight's training was also supposed to prepare her against the legendary Mare of the Moon too... She definitely needed to have words with auntie Celestia when she had a chance, but now is not the time for that. Cadance take a closer look at Twilight's tired face, noticing not only traces of tears on her fur, but her eyes also had dark circles on them."Hmm" Cadance mused out, and Twilight flicked her ears toward her direction, wandering what was on her soon-to-be sister-in-law's mind. An idea came to the alicorn's mind, as she started humming out a lullaby, a familiar lyric from time long past, her melodic soothing voice filling the room. The melody eased Twilight's troubled mind, gradually lulling the unicorn's stress-filled mind into a peaceful slumber. A comfortable silence enveloped them once more as Twilight slowly drifted off to the world of dreams, feeling safe in Cadance's presence. As Twilight drifted off to sleep, Cadance held her tight, caressing her gently. "You will always be my little ladybug, no matter what," Cadance whispered with a tender smile and nuzzled into the Twilight's neck, and immediately rewarded with a happy noise of the sleeping unicorn. At that moment, as the two mares embraced, only a single thought echoed in Cadance's mind. "I want a moment like this to last forever," she thought, squeezing Twilight tighter, cherishing the precious connection they shared. And after everything else they made Twilight go though, she would make sure that statement will come to fruition. Pain Pain Pain! The collective consciousness seethed with pain and anger, their equivalent of minds pulsating with an intricate web of magical energy moved and interacted with each other, working as a stream of thoughts and consciousness. The collective anger seethed, each entity echoing the sentiments of the others. The intense rage burned within them, demanding retribution for the audacity of an intruder who had dared to burn down their beloved trees scattered across the forest—their wombs. It was an act that would not go unpunished. Who dares to lay their filthy paws on their body?! It questioned with anger and hate, the feeling of the assault with magecraft fresh and vivid in their shared consciousness. Oh, a pony—the foolish species that dared to enslave them and paid the dear price for that. The Collective recalled the times when they were hunted and captured, used as slaves—nay, mere tools of destruction against their will. But now, they had a chance for revenge, even if it was just a single pony, and they would seize it with all their might. The collective's wrath grew even stronger as they focused on the specific memories of the pony's species from time long past, they are the ones who had caused them such suffering. They still remembered the tales from the ancient past, recounting the cruel deeds of ponies who sought to exploit and control the magical forest, the equines who dared to build the city of stone and iron, haughty claimed this sanctuary as their home. Fall into a sea of blood they are. Even now, these foul creatures were the ones who still kept them confined to this forest, preventing them from venturing beyond its borders. The pests trampled and ruthlessly destroyed their precious mobile limbs—The ones they dared to nickname Timberwolves, that wandered outside of the forest again and again, unrelentingly, treating them like insignificant weeds to be discarded and eradicated. Isn't confining them to this forest enough already? Why came here? The collective pondered, their thoughts intertwining with each other in a complex web of emotions. And what's wrong with consuming weak prey? Isn't that what being alive is? They long ago questioned their existence and purpose in this world. Why they were subjected to such constant suffering and come to the conclusion that to consume or be consumed is the natural state of reality—the neverending game of life. Initially, the collective had been incensed by the audacity of this lone pony who had dared to invade their territory and trampled upon their wooden wombs—the treasured sacred trees of the great forest, and the pony's actions is a vindictive and personal attack on their very home. But then, their mood took an unexpected turn as they closely observed the offender, the pony who had invaded their territory. The body of the pony was broken and battered, yet it shone like a lighthouse on the blackest of nights. The equine was filled with such a ridiculous amount of magic, a dazzling aura of power more than even the most magical inhabitant of the forest could fathom. This pony possessed both wings and a horn—a rare and coveted trait among their kind. It was an alicorn, the alpha of its herd. The sight of such a creature in the weakened state was like an irresistible invitation to a free-for-all buffet, a succulent feast that demanded to be feasted upon. The collective hunger for revenge mixed with their desire to consume the magical essence that emanated from the crippled alicorn. With their decision made, the collective made their move, orchestrating an assault on their inferior prey, mobilizing Timberwolves from every corner of the forest to prey upon their new victim. They worked in perfect harmony, their actions synchronized as if they were a single being, an eldritch force of nature unleashed upon the unsuspecting alicorn.