Nightmares
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Chapter 4: On the Hunt
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The dew still clung to the leaves and the sun had just crested over the horizon as Twilight Sparkle stepped gingerly through a shadowy path in the Everfree Forest. The nocturnal creatures of the forest were probably beginning to drift off to sleep about now, and the diurnal ones were probably beginning to wake up. But hopefully they would all be too groggy to get in her way—because she had important work to do.
Twilight picked her way down a slope and made for a relatively open space under the foliage, making a point to step on twigs and make as much noise as possible. "Where are you, Nightmare Storm...?"
Of course, they would have to bring Nightmare Storm down first, and that meant a repeat of the other day's furious battle in the forest. This time Twilight was prepared and she'd spent the chariot ride back to Ponyville practicing a variety of defensive spells—but half the battle would depend on her own ability to keep the sinister shade occupied long enough for her friends to make their own contributions.
She stopped in the clearing and looked around—and then a movement caught her attention from the corner of her eye and she threw herself to the ground, just in time for a rock to streak through the air over her head and slam into a tree on the other side. Twilight leapt back up, tensed and ready for action.
"Well, well, well," purred Nightmare Storm, as she stepped out of the shadows, smoky mane whirling around her. "Come to tempt death a second time, have you, Twilight Sparkle?"
"I'm not afraid of you," Twilight shot back.
Nightmare Storm flashed a dangerous grin. "You should be," she said—and then her horn crackled to life with sparking blue magic, and a swarm of rocks and branches from the forest floor rose up into the air. "And by the time I'm done with you, you will be!"
The black unicorn flung a wall of forest debris at Twilight; the purple unicorn threw up a barrier to block the barrage and backed away, back towards the slope. Nightmare Storm advanced and fired off a pulsing beam of light; Twilight leapt to the side with a yelp and cringed at the sight as it burned away a tree and left nothing but ashes in its wake.
"That wasn't very nice!" she sputtered.
"What part of 'trying to kill you' do you not understand?!"
The black unicorn charged forward, head bent down and horn held out; Twilight leapt back up to her feet and charged in the opposite direction. Nightmare Storm launched another blast; Twilight lunged to the right to let it sear by, and then put her head down and plunged ahead.
"Running away?!" snarled Nightmare Storm.
Twilight jumped over another blast, and as soon as she hit the ground she whirled around and fired back a shot of her own. Nightmare Storm flung herself down and then darted forward with a furious growl. Twilight whipped around and galloped away, with Nightmare Storm in hot pursuit.
Up ahead, Twilight caught sight of the first part of the plan, and cracked a confident smile. Stage one was in place; time to make some noise. She dove under a branch, ducked under another shimmering blue bolt of magic, and then leapt forward and whirled around to face her attacker. Nightmare Storm lunged after her with a feral scream—
...and then she disappeared beneath a gigantic cloud of confetti, balloons, and streamers. The sinister shade reappeared under it all with a baffled look, just in time for a huge glob of cake mix to slam into her from the side; and then, as the dazed unicorn staggered out of a pile of batter, Pinkie Pie dropped out of the trees and squashed a whipped cream pie straight into her face, then jumped back and screamed, "SURPRISE!"
And then the whole forest seemed to go silent in anticipation. Pinkie stayed up on her hind legs with a grin that outshone the sun; Nightmare Storm stood there in complete confusion, covered in confetti, cake batter, and whipped cream; and Twilight sat back and just watched as the whole thing began to come to a boil.
A moment later, Nightmare Storm's eyes flashed bright white, and with a thunderous gust of wind that sent Pinkie flying onto her back, the black unicorn vanished a plume of smoke and then reappeared, batter and frosting-free—and very, very angry.
"You dare make a mockery out of me?!" she screamed.
"Oh no, we just made her mad!" groaned Pinkie.
"That was the point," Twilight hissed back.
"Oh right—"
"YOU DARE MAKE A MOCKERY OUT OF ME?!" Nightmare Storm howled, sparks flashing dangerously around her horn.
"Well duh," Pinkie laughed, "it was a surprise, after all, I mean, you can't just tell somepony that you're gonna prank them 'cuz that would ruin the surprise! You really need to lighten up."
Nightmare Storm shook the earth with a bloodcurdling roar and the forest shuddered as blue claws of magic tore the trees around them out of the ground by the roots. Pinkie and Twilight cringed at the sight of several large trees hovering menacingly above them.
"Is this the part where we run?" Pinkie asked quietly.
"This is the part where we run," said Twilight—and together they took off like a shot, with a howling Nightmare Storm in furious pursuit.
"So," huffed Pinkie as she and Twilight ran for their lives, "why did we make her mad again?"
"So she'd get sloppy with her fighting and fall for our tricks," Twilight whispered back.
The ground around them rattled as the Nightmare brought her uprooted trees down around the two fleeing ponies with a crash. Twilight lit up a magical barrier to deflect their fall, long enough for herself and Pinkie to slip through—but Nightmare Storm vaulted over the fallen trees with a wild scream and sent them both scrambling away under a hail of magical blasts.
"So, uh—" started Pinkie.
"Yes, I'm still sure this was a good idea," Twilight hissed.
Pinkie shot a disbelieving glance over her shoulder at their enraged pursuer. "Um, why?"
"Just go on ahead to get Rarity," Twilight shot back, "and I'll keep her busy." And with that, she whirled around, planted her hooves, and fired back a pulsing energy burst of her own. Nightmare Storm ducked under the blow and kept coming; Twilight jumped into her path and the two locked horns.
"Insolent little fool!" roared Nightmare Storm, and with her superior strength she began to push Twilight back in the dirt. "I will tear you limb from limb for this!"
"That's not very nice!"
Nightmare Storm snorted and shoved Twilight back; the purple unicorn stumbled away and struggled to stay on her feet. She turned back towards her foe, horn crackling with light—and then another sound went ripping through the forest air. A bone-rattling primal roar sliced through the forest, a tree off to the right split in two—and through the carnage stepped a huge, muscular, growling manticore, with eyes glowing bright blue.
Twilight blinked. "That's cheating!" she cried, and pointed at the snarling beast.
Nightmare Storm grinned. "There is only one rule in the Everfree Forest, Twilight Sparkle: kill or be killed!"
With that the manticore lunged forward with a bone-crushing swipe from its claws. Twilight skittered back and took off running again—but this was a much bigger and much angrier manticore, and one that immediately took to the air with a vicious howl. Twilight glanced back up towards it—and then jumped to the side to dodge another blast from Nightmare Storm.
"Okay, fine, two on one, whatever," Twilight grumbled, and paused in her muttering long enough to duck another swipe from the manticore. "There's more than one way to deal with that!"
She rolled under yet another blast from Nightmare Storm, then sent a bolt of magic skyward, to wrap around a heavy branch and yank it back. The manticore swept down towards her—only for Twilight to let the branch go to smack it hard in the face and send it crashing back to the ground, dazed.
Twilight smiled and looked back triumphantly towards Nightmare Storm—but the black unicorn closed the distance between them with a snarl and sent Twilight sprawling into the dirt. Nightmare Storm stepped forward with a wicked smile and then moved aside as the manticore got back to its feet, teeth bared. Twilight cringed as it stalked towards her, claws out—
...and then something drifted by, shimmering with light blue magic. The manticore perked up and followed as a long, wavy vine drifted by—and it followed, batting at it with its paws and chasing as it floated away into the forest.
"What are you doing?!" Nightmare Storm snarled. "Kill her! Get back here and—no! Where are you—no, you stupid cat!" Twilight took the opportunity to slam the black unicorn head on with a blast of magic and then duck into the forest herself. Nightmare Storm shook her head and whipped around—only to find her purple prey nowhere to be seen. And then Twilight appeared in a flash, running between a tree; Nightmare Storm launched a magic blast at her—but nothing was there when the smoke cleared. "Oh no you don't..."
Behind a heavy rock, Twilight caught her breath and smiled gratefully at Rarity. "Thanks for the help there."
"Oh, Opalescence loves the string toy," she whispered back, horn glittering with light, "and he is just a great big kitty after all."
Twilight peered carefully over the rock, where she watched illusions of herself darting between the rocks and trees, and Nightmare Storm firing volleys of magic after them. "How long can you keep this up?"
"All day, darling. Although I do hope she tires of this soon, I'm going to get a cramp sitting out here."
Twilight slumped back down wearily and put a hoof over her still-wildly-beating heart. "Good. Where'd Pinkie go?"
"I sent her to go get Applejack and Rainbow Dash."
"Good, then after we wear out Nightmare Storm—"
"ENOUGH!"
The world shuddered and the sky came alive with crackling blue magic—and all at once, trees splintered, rocks shattered, and Nightmare Storm rent the forest with a stunning shockwave. Rarity and Twilight leapt to their feet in disbelief as the arcane power circled the seething black unicorn like lightning.
"Your little game has been very clever, Twilight Sparkle," she growled, and began to stalk towards the two unicorns with fury dripping from her voice. "But if you thought you could defeat me by insulting my intelligence and distracting me with petty charlatanry, you made a terrible mistake."
Rarity turned up her nose. "You're one to talk about charlatanry, Trixie."
Nightmare Storm let loose a furious howl and launched a beam of magic that Rarity barely ducked. She came back up and grimaced at the singed end of one of her curls.
"Or...maybe not...?"
"My patience," hissed Nightmare Storm, "is at an end. Twilight Sparkle will die, no matter how many of the rest of you I have to kill too." Her horn sparked to life. "So let this end now!"
"Not likely, sister!"
A blue blur came streaking out of the carnage and slammed hard into Nightmare Storm's side, sending the black unicorn tumbling away. It landed with a clack of hooves, the wreckage split apart, and Applejack and Rainbow Dash dug in their hooves and steeled themselves for a fight.
"Don't you even think about hurting our friends!" Rainbow shouted, wings snapped open.
Nightmare Storm leapt back to her field and charged with a primordial shriek, and she, Rainbow Dash, and Applejack descended into a flurry of flying hooves and kicks. Twilight started forward, but glanced back at Rarity.
"What about Fluttershy and Pinkie...?"
"Don't forget about us!" squealed an on-cue Pinkie Pie, who bounced into the clearing from who knew where—followed immediately by a low-flying Fluttershy, flinching at every blow and near miss traded in the melee between Nightmare Storm and her two furious opponents.
"Fluttershy!" Twilight cried. "What about that Stare thing of yours?"
"I-I can't really control it," stammered Fluttershy, "and, I mean, she's so violent, and—"
They both fell silent as Rainbow Dash went spiraling into a tree and collapsed to the ground in a painful heap.
"Rainbow Dash!" Fluttershy cried, and rushed over. "Are you okay—"
"You'd better be more worried about Smokey over there," Rainbow growled, getting back to her feet, "because I am about to rip her apart!"
"That wasn't the plan—" started Twilight.
They shut up again as Applejack came tumbling in next and rolled to a stop at Rainbow Dash's feet. They all looked up towards the middle of the clearing, where Nightmare Storm glowered at them all, a glowing sphere of energy at the tip of her horn.
"There!" she snarled. "You are done! Defeated! All of you! And now—"
And once again, Nightmare Storm and everyone else went silent—this time at the sound of thundering footsteps. The forest shook. The trees rattled. Twilight felt her heart sink as every rumbling step shook its way through the ground. And with a snapping of branches, the tree line overhead broke apart and the terrifying form of an Ursa Minor lifted its head towards the heavens and let loose an earthshaking roar.
"Um," said Rainbow Dash, "is that a good thing or a bad thing?"
The Ursa slammed its front paws down on the ground and its blood-chilling shadow fell over the clearing—over the six ponies huddled together in fear, and over a stunned Nightmare Storm.
"Where'd that thing even come from?!" Applejack sputtered. "Did we wake it up or somethin'?"
Nightmare Storm whirled around, eyes burning with fury and a bright blue bolt of magic building at the tip of her horn. "No! It was bad enough when her friends showed up! Not you too! No more!"
Twilight's eyes went wide and she reached forward. "Wait, Trixie, no—!"
Nightmare Storm launched her spell forward, into the Ursa's chest. The giant creature roared in pain—and then backhanded the blast straight back at its source. Nightmare Storm backed away, but too late; the full brunt of the blast came pounding down onto her. She skidded to a halt, smoke rising off her body—and then the Ursa smacked her again with its giant paw and sent her flying, and she slammed hard into a tree and collapsed in a motionless heap. The Ursa plucked her off the ground and held her up high, teeth bared—
"Excuse me, mister, but just what do you think you're doing?!"
Everything went silent and the Ursa blinked in complete befuddlement at the sight of a yellow pegasus with a long pink mane, arms crossed, looking incredibly disappointed as it floated up into the Ursa's line of sight.
"Wait a minute, Fluttershy?!" Twilight sputtered. "But that's—"
"No no, remember, she's Fluttershy!" Rainbow exclaimed. "This is gonna be so cool!"
"Just who do you think you are trying to eat other ponies?!" Fluttershy demanded.
The Ursa looked down at Fluttershy's battered and bruised friends, and then at Nightmare Storm, and then back at Fluttershy, ever more confused with each step.
"Just because she's being mean and nasty to us is no excuse for you to come hurt her!" Fluttershy flew up into the Ursa's face, eyes wide, and down below her friends cringed at the sight of the infamous Stare in action. "You should know better! I know for a fact that your mother raised you with better manners than that, young man! You should be ashamed of yourself!"
Down below, Applejack blinked. "'kay, ah'm lost."
"Me too!" Pinkie squeaked.
"Now you put this pony back down on the ground right this instant, young man," Fluttershy continued, inching closer to the nervous Ursa with every word, "and you go right back to your cave and you think about what you've done." She landed on the Ursa's nose and inflicted the full power of the Stare directly into its eyes. "Do I make myself clear?"
The Ursa sheepishly nodded, set the unconscious Nightmare Storm down, and then slinked back into the forest with a whimper—and that was that.
Fluttershy landed and immediately rushed over to the black unicorn's side, while her friends sat in a daze. Twilight was the first to break out of it with a hard shake of her head.
"So now you've told off a dragon, a cockatrice, and an Ursa," she said.
"Wow!" Pinkie exclaimed, and the spell was instantly broken. "You're the best animal tamer pony whatever ever, Fluttershy!"
"Y-Yeah," coughed Applejack, "ah hope ya only ever use those freaky powers fer good."
Fluttershy kept her attention focused on Nightmare Storm. "She's hurt very badly," she said. "We'll have to get over to Nurse Redheart to see what all has happened to her."
"But before we do that," Twilight said, "I've got something else to do first." And with that she bent her head down over the black unicorn and enveloped them both in a warm glow of magic. Twilight frowned at the feeling of something pushing against her as she manipulated the currents of magic between herself and the unconscious pony. The Nightmare was weakened—or at least, made powerless by its weakened body. It clawed and fought and recoiled at her every effort, but by now it was too taxed and too weakened from the battle and the beating the Ursa had delivered. Twilight screwed her eyes shut and pushed the currents down. The Nightmare seemed to scream—Twilight's mind echoed with a shriek of powerless rage—but slowly the wriggling shade descended into blackness and Twilight felt a sense of completeness rush through her. The Nightmare was secure, at least for the time being.
And so she stepped back and opened her eyes, and her friends gathered around her in silence, as they all gazed down at the battered, bruised, bloodied, but still breathing body of the ignominious magician, Trixie.
Rainbow frowned. "Can I stomp on her a little?"
"No!" Twilight yelled.
"Just a little!"
"I said no!" She turned towards Applejack. "We're gonna need someone to carry her back to Ponyville."
Applejack looked down dejectedly at the unconscious pony and heaved a sigh. "Yeah, yeah. String 'er up, let's get goin'."
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