The Nightmare Before Nightmare Night

by Silent Bob

Spirits in the Sky

"Ugggh.... never again," Soulshard groaned, rubbing her temples. "Never... ever again."

In the kitchen of the child of light's treehouse, now he temporary lodging, the Lich Queen sat at its table in clean morning robes. Her eyelids were heavy and purple as she let loose a groan, sipping on a cup of coffee.

"Never what again?" Spike asked, walking into the room and raising a suspicious eyebrow. "Don't tell me you were out drinking all night."

"Best... night... ever," she said, smiling, before quickly sighing. "But worst morning ever.” However, her smile quickly returned. “Still, I don't think I've ever felt so alive..."

"Heh, well I just wished I could have come and joined you, but somebody had to push legislature for a higher drinking age," he said, giving Twilight a look.

"Who, me?" she said, her innocent tone completely lacking sarcasm.

"Yeah, you!" Spike groaned. "Now I have to wait til I'm sixteen. Uggggh...."

"Well, it's for your own good," Twilight sighed, wincing slightly as another ping of pain shot through her forehead. "I meant it... never again."

However, after that something wonderful happened. The pain in her head was starting to lighten, giving way to a wonderful feeling of bliss.

"Woah..." she said, glancing down on her coffee. "Pinkie was right. This stuff is amazing!"

Spike raised an eyebrow. "What, the coffee? You drink it all the time!" He gave a chuckle. "Jeez, Twilight, it's starting to seem like you were just born yesterday lately."

"Born again yesterday, you mean," she muttered to herself.

Spike narrowed an eyebrow. "What was that?"

"Ooooh, nothing," she said. "However, I'm definitely doing that again, now! Coffee is the most horri-," she winced slightly, grinning sheepishly. "I mean... glorious drink to ever grace this world's presence. And so is Tequila."

"Whatever," Spike said, rolling his eyes. "But I'm not giving you mouth to mouth if you pass out from alcohol poisoning. That'd be weird." He then put on a grin. "Anyway, what do you wanna do tonight, Twilight?"

Twilight gave a smirk. "Why, the same thing I’m going to do every night, Spike. Try to take over the night club!” She then lifted her head and gave a well-refined: “BUAHAHAHAHAHA!”

Spike took a step back from her at that, glancing at her nervously as he sang:

"Spikey and the Brain.
Spikey and the Brain.
One is a dragon,
The other's insane..."

"Oh narf! I mean, uh, hehehehe," she giggled lightly, sweat-dropping.

"Still... kind of creepy there, Twilight," Spike gulped, before whispering: "Man, that spider's venom must really have done a number.”

"I heard that," Twilight grumbled, finishing up her coffee. "Seriously though, I was thinking about heading to the park with everypony and having a picnic. Wanna come with?"

The tiny dragon gave a shrug with a slight smile. "Sounds good to me, nothing else on my schedule but sleeping... and following Rarity around... and then more sleeping.... while following Rarity in my dreams..."

"Uh, Spike," Twilight said, lifting a hoof. "It kind of sounds like you're... stalking her."

"I'm not stalking her!" he snapped. "I'm just... putting myself in positions to admire her beauty... two to four hours a day." He then shook his head. "Anyway, I'm going to head down to Sugarcube Corner for one of their gem cupcakes. What do you want for the picnic?"

"Ehhh, just get what we usually get."

At that, Spike gave a tiny salute. "You got it! I'll see ya in a bit."

He then began waddling out of the room.

Upon his leaving, Twilight gave a long sigh, glancing at the clock on the wall. "Ten hours left," she sighed. "Ten hours until it's back to eternity's grind... I want more time..."

But before she could finish up with her breakfast to make the most of her time, however, a tiny voice filled the air, it emanating from the mouth of her coffee mug. "Maaaan... that other Spike. I kind of like him! He's like me only he's still developing his snark. That and he still hasn't given up his obsession with his Rarity yet."

Twilight's eyes flew open wide as she glanced down towards its origin, quickly spying a fly sized bone dragon sitting on her mug.

"S-Spike?! What are you doing here?!" she hissed, squinting a single eye to get a closer look at him.

"I uh..." he said. "I just wanted to keep an eye on you is all. If they found out what you really were, they might try to dissect you or something."

"Very funny, Spike," she grunted, quickly blowing him off the mug.

"Hey!" he shouted in annoyance, growing to the size of a small lizard. "Easy, there.” He then rolled his eyes. “Jeez, I said it'd be dangerous flying around at that size, but nooo... I just had to do it..."

"I'm still waiting for an answer to my question," Twilight said in annoyance, tapping a hoof.

Spike took a deep breath, scratching the back of his bony skull. "Alright, to be honest, I just... miss you is all. Even if it only has been one day."

At that, Soulshard gave him a slight smile. "I miss you too, Spike, and I'm sorry that the few days I had to do this just happened to be during the week we usually spend time together..."

"Eh, it's alright," he smirked. "We'll have all of eternity, right?"

"Yeah," Twilight said, sighing heavily. "All of eternity..."

Spike quirked an eyebrow. "You still sound... uncontent."

"It's just..." she said, glancing away from him. "Before I left, Darksong said that I wouldn't forget this… and I think he was right. Imagine biting into the best rotten apple you've ever had... only to find out the orchard that grew them burned down a day later."

"Well... hey, there could be other ways for you to visit here," Spike said. "We just haven't found them." He then gave a slight chuckle. "Ways that don't involve you going around looking like a blind hobo covered in TAG."

Twilight rolled her eyes before giving a slight chuckle as well. "Yeah, maybe..."

"Look... Twilight," Spike finally said. "I did come here because I missed you, but that isn't the only reason. Crazy crap's going down in the Nightmare Realm."

At that, Twilight squinted an eyebrow. "The other Twilight!" she suddenly gasped, her eyes widening. "Please tell me she's alright! I've been so busy I've forgotten all about her!"

Spike gave a gulp. "Well... you're not going to like this."

He then began to relay the tale Rotten had told him, how she and her two friends had dragged Twilight all the way to Necropolis, only for her to be kidnapped she was to be sent back.

“… and yeah, apparently Prince Blackblood was behind it, working with the Wicked Witch of the West.”

"Blackblood?" Twilight said, narrowing an eyebrow. "The douche?"

"Even douchier than Horsey Douchebag Link, and he has douchebag in his name!" Spike said. "Seriously, the three of us couldn't even think of any reason why Blackblood would want the other Twilight."

“And you said Trixie helped him?” she sighed, narrowing her eyebrows. “Why is she involved in this?”

Spike gave a shrug. “I dunno, she does have that grudge against you.”

"Ugh! This is all my fault!" Soulshard suddenly cried. "If I hadn't been so selfish... hadn't had her ponynapped…"

"Easy, there," Spike said. "You couldn't have seen anything like this happening. Things just happened to click together in the right, crappy way."

"B-But you said Rainbow is going to free her, right?" Twilight said, sighing in relief. "That's good... if anyghoul can save her it's her."

"She seemed pretty confident in herself," Spike nodded. "Then again, she always has that cocky attitude about her." He then took another deep breath, pausing for a second. "There's nothing you can do to help her though," he finally said. "They took her to the Frozen North..."

"There has to be something, though!" Twilight cried. "I can't just sit here going on picnics when-"

"Twilight!" Spike interrupted. "There isn't anything. They're miles upon miles away, and doing your teleport thing to get there would take days, if I'm not mistaken."

"You're right," she grumbled. "Night damn you, Blackblood! I was having the greatest time of my life, and you had to mess it all up!"

Spike shook his head. "Twilight, you can stay here if you want," he said softly. "But... I thought I should also let you know the town isn't fairing too well without you leading them, too. They need their Lich Queen."

"Ugggggh!" she groaned. "When it rains, it pours, doesn't it?"

The bone dragon lifted a claw. "Well, hold on... I'm sure they can make do without you... but it's not going to be the awesome Nightmare Night revamp that you've always wanted."

Twilight shivered in anger. "Great... this is just... UGH!" she cried, lightly cracking a hoof against the table.

"We'll have next year, and the year after that," Spike quickly said. "You can always make up for it. I'm really sorry, I didn't mean to force you into-"

"No," Twilight said, silencing him. "You were right coming here to tell me this. It's what any good friend would have done." She then squinted her eyebrows. "You're sure there's nothing I can do to help Rainbow, right?"

The bone dragon gave a nod. "I'm positive." He then sighed. "Twilight, the choice you need to make is whether or not you want there to be a fantastic Nightmare Night or whether you want to keep having the time of your life."

A moment of silence passed as Twilight squinted in thought. "I might as well go back," she whispered. "I only have ten hours left, anyway... I might as well just get used to the tedium."

"You were having a good time, though!" Spike said. "For real. The town can handle themselves. It won't be spectacular but it will still be cool. And wouldn't it be fun seeing Nightmare Night from a... different perspective?"

"I suppose..." she sighed, before smirking slightly. "You know, if you were sent to bring me back you're doing an awfully poor job at it."

"I just... w-well," he stuttered. "Before I spoke up, I don't think I've ever seen you so happy... even if you were hung over."

At that, Twilight gave a large smile, quickly wrapping her hooves around the tiny dragon in a hug. "You really are a jerk with a heart of gold, you know that?"

"Yeah... well," he grunted. "Tell anyghoul and I'll eat you.” He then gave a smirk. "And don't think I'm going to go easy on you tonight just because you're my friend. You better be ready to be scared silly!" His smirk became wicked. "Mortal."

"Hah! Well you can try your best!" she grinned, before glancing away from him slightly. "I just hope we don't go too far with this whole Nightmare Night thing... the ponies on the other side... they're truly good people. Kind... caring... compassionate, like us in so many ways. However, I think we misjudged how scared they like being. There's a limit on that."

Spike quirked an eyebrow. "You mean we shouldn't be putting anypony in a false sense of mortal danger? But that's so awesome!"

Twilight shook her head. "Like you said before, they aren’t built like us. They have a different nature. They like being scared, sure, but..." She then gave a sigh. "Applemoon was right. If we go too far there could be some real mental scarring that we wouldn't get. I really, really hope that whoever takes over for Nightmare Night knows what she's doing."

"Um, pardon," Applemoon coughed. "But you want me to do WHAT?!"

"You heard me," Trixie grinned, pacing in front of the four remaining Elements of Fear. "I have reason to believe that what I've said to do will show your counterpart the meaning of fear."

Applemoon gave a sarcastic laugh. "Meaning of fear?! What you're talking about sounds like psychological torture! This isn't that... that Discord's holiday!" she growled.

"What doesn't kill somepony makes them stronger," she said.

Flutterfright lifted a hoof. "Um, Witch of the West," she squeaked. "We all really appreciate you lending your expertise to us-"

"As I thought you would," she said smugly, Applemoon rolling her eyes.

"-But, if you don't mind me saying... if the alternate Fluttershy is as sensitive as me..." she said. "This could be... really, really bad for her."

"Oh come on you guys!" Pinkie Slice beamed. "We could take what we're about to dish out!"

"But they're not us!" Applemoon argued. "I mean sure, what we had planned to do before was pretty darn scary, but it seems like we're doing too much precision targeting!”

"That's what Dr. Whoovenstein was going to do," Pinkie retorted. "And nobody yelled at him!"

"Well, Dr. Whooves could take it if the rumors are true about the guy," Applemoon grunted. "And besides, Dr. Whoovenstein is friggin' crazy, always ranting about those drums of his!"

"She does raise a good point, darling," Scarity said, turning towards Pinkie. "Sure, me going about and rattling furniture would surely have spooked the residents of Ponyville, but... I have my doubts that this plan is going to be fun for both sides. If fun for anyghoul at all."

"Ugh!" Trixie groaned. "Do you guys want this to be a good Nightmare Night or not?! The ponies on the other side like being scared just as much as we do! It would be a pity to deny them of our skills the one day of the cycle they can receive it, unlike us! Do you really wish to be so selfish?"

"Well," Flutterfright squeaked, dragging a hoof across the ground as she fluttered her bat-wings. "No, I suppose not..."

Trixie gave a wicked smirk at that. "You're getting the picture, now! Instilling fear in them will help them build character. We will make the other side be able to hold stedfast the currents of true horrors such as war, famine, and unrest; just like we've always done!”

"B-But there's a horizon people can pass that they won't come back from!" Applemoon cried. "I know that for a fact... I almost reached it... when my folks..." She then heeded to silence.

At that, Flutterfright quickly moved to her side and placed a sympathetic wing over her, Pinkie giving her a tiny nuzzle in the meantime.

"The Great and Powerful Wicked Witch... is sorry to hear that," Trixie said in a genuine tone, glancing away from her. "B-But this is different than facing death, and it will help them when they do have to see it!"

"Y-You really think it'll help my counterpart in the end?" Applemoon said sorrowfully.

"I'm confident it will," Trixie smiled. "Now come on! You four are the Elements, fear incarnate! Help me think up good ideas for the rest of the town to scare their counterparts with!"

At that, the Wicked Witch gave a confident smirk before taking off into the town, all four Elements save for Pinkie giving reluctant sighs before following her.

Panted breath.

A whirring sound.

A bright light that filled a dusty room.

Gasping, Twilight glanced around her surroundings, her horn set aglow.

Snap-Snap!

Her restraints were quickly wrapped with purple magic before they were snapped off, her wincing in concentration as she performed the spell. She then glanced towards the door to the underground interrogation room, her eyes widening when she noticed it was completely covered in rocks.

"This... is not good," she sighed. "Hello?!" she then called. "Is anyghoul there? Trixie?!"

No response.

"Oh no... there must have been some sort of accident," she said, before closing her eyes. "And she... left without me too. Not a shade of gray, it seems."

"T-Twilight?" a voice then called, it coming from the other side of the entrance. "I-Is that you?"

The purple unicorn's eyes widened at that. "R-Rainbow Dash?"

"Ummm... sort of," it said, sheepishly.

"Rainbow Death," Twilight then said, a look of horror quickly coming to her face. "W-Wait, if you're here does that mean-"

"No!" she cried. "No, you're not dead. Believe me; if you were I could get in there with you." There was then a second of silence. "Can you use magic at all?"

Twilight gave a nod before saying, "yeah! I'll try teleporting over to you. How many hooves do you think there are between this room and you?"

"Ummm..." she said. "Hard to tell, the door is completely covered. Probably about thirty or so, I suppose."

"Right," Twilight said. "Hang on, I'm coming over!"

Her horn began to glow brightly again, and soon there was a flash of light. Her vision then became blurred as it usually did after teleports, but it soon faded, revealing a smiling figure... one with pitch-black eyes.

"Eeep!" Twilight cried, quickly taking a step back from her.

"Oh, relax," Death said, rolling them. "Hahaha! I love when people freak out at these peepers, though."

At that, the mortal mare took a deep breath, composing herself. "So... you're Rainbow Dash's counterpart I've heard of."

Death quickly raised her eyebrows. "Wait, you've heard of me?!" She then coughed, quickly lowering them and smiling confidently. "I mean, uhhh... of course you have! I am the fastest reaper there ever was, after all!"

Twilight rolled her eyes. "And I can already see why you're Rainbow Dash's counterpart."

"Heh, guess I'll take that as a compliment," she smirked. "You know, I actually had to pay her a visit one time after she nearly got herself killed in flight training camp. Crashed right into a mountain!" She then gave a smile. "She wasn't ready to pass, though. Guess she never remember'd me, huh?"

"I suppose death is something we can only remember... when it happens," Twilight said, gulping.

“Ugh, you mortals. Always fretting about it...” she said, rolling her eyes. “It honestly isn’t as bad as you think… not with me around! I always make sure to reap em’ quickly if it’s… painful.”

“Death is painful?” Twilight said.

“Errrr,” Rainbow said sheepishly. “Actually, it depends on how you die… most of the time it isn’t. Like I said, it isn’t too bad.”

“Oh,” Twilight said, sighing slightly in relief. “Well, that’s good to know for down the line, I suppose.”

"Yeah, just don't ask any more questions about it, alright?" Rainbow said, before smirking slightly. "I'm not really supposed to reveal that there's paradise waiting for you when the time comes." She then gave a fake look of shame. "Oops, did I say that out loud?"

"Y-You mean..." Twilight gasped. "Heaven is..."

Rainbow merely smiled before whipping her blues guitar from nowhere. She then began a casual, four chord strum.

Twilight raised her eyebrows, the disbelief of what she was just told still swimming through her. “Y-You really have some skill on that thing."

“Heh, thanks. Just something I do on my free time,” she smiled. “However, if you think that’s cool, listen to this:

When you die and they lay you to rest,
You're gonna go to the place that's the best.
When they lay you down to die,
You're gonna meet up with the spirits in the sky!

Goin' up to the spirits in the sky,
Make sure to say it before they cry,
Cus when the toll strikes and they lay you to rest,
You're gonna go to the place that's the best!"

"Feeling better?" she said, smiling.

"I... still... you're not screwing with me, right?"

'Dashie' smirked. "Na, I joke about a lot of things, but not this."

"Prepare yourself, you know it's a must,
But your heart you've already shown us.
So you should know that when you die,
Gonna recommend you to the spirits in the sky!"

Death then gave a wink. "Don't pity the dead is all I can say. Pity the living. A very wise wizard once said that."

Twilight shook her head incredulously. "Why did you just..."

"Tell you?" she said, cocking her head. "Well, because for one thing I'm pretty sure this mountain is about to fully collapse on us. And for two... I think you deserve it for all you've been put through."

"Same heart of gold," she smiled. "But I'm not ready for you just yet, Rainbow." She then glanced upwards. "I've never teleported through so much solid matter before, but it's possible. I'll just take us straight up, and you'll need to catch me, alright?"

Rainbow Death gave a nod. "Right, I've got this." She then wiggled her long, black wing.

"However," Twilight said, raising a hoof. "I wasn't taken here alone. We need to find Scootaweb, Apple Doom, and Rotten if she's here."

Death shook her head. "Rotten wasn't captured. She's the one who told me you'd been ponynapped." She then gave a long sigh. "However, it was all a trap. Blackblood lured me here so he could get his slimy hooves on..." At that, she smirked slightly. "Well, that's a conversation for another time." She then gestured forward. "Anyway, lead the way. We've got a lot of ground to cover..."

The mountain gave another rumble.

Twilight gulped. "Hopefully enough before this mountain has had it. I'm not really keen on digging my way out.”