Chapter 4: What Could Go Wrong?
Celestia watched her most faithful student sleep as she experienced another nightmare. Twilight was mumbling something about 'escape' while she tossed and turned in her small bed. Celestia couldn't stand seeing her this way. She wanted to do something, anything to help Twilight. Alas, even with all the power Celestia possessed, she didn't know a thing about the dream world. The only pony who could help Twilight right now was Princess Luna, but with Luna still recovering from whatever it was she experienced inside Twilights mind, there was little that could be done.
Celestia thought back to what Luna had said before passing out. 'Sombra'. What could that have meant? Was the memory Twilight had forgotten, a memory of the dark king? Yet how could such a thing be? Sombra was destroyed. Vaporized at the power of the Crystal heart. If there was one thing Celestia was one hundred percent sure of, It was that Sombra was indeed dead.
No pony who was that dark and twisted could have survived the sheer power that the heart held. Even the elements of harmony were dwarfed when matched against the crystal heart. The heart was after all, even older than Celestia herself. It had been created long ago by the very first Alicorn to walk among ponies.Princess Cristallo. Celestia missed her elder sister. She missed her more than anything else in the world. Few today even remember the princess. Save for the crystal ponies. And even they had limited knowledge of her.
Celestia was too young. Though she had lived for thousands of years, Celestia still felt small when she compared herself to Cristallo. Cristallo's might was that of the experience of living for well over ten thousand years. Celestia herself had only existed for a few hundred years when her sister passed away. If only she were still here, none of this would have ever happened. Celestia and Luna would rule happily under Cristallo as she crafted a perfect world for all Equestrians to live in. No war. No famine. Even with all of her power, these things still existed under Celestia's rule. Though war has not occurred for hundreds of years, it was always possibility. All it would take, is one griffin getting killed by a pony. One lie to the buffalo herds. One sister- Celestia hung her head low. One sister, to not realize how unloved her younger sibling felt.
"Oh Cristallo. If only you were still here. None of the horrible things that I'm responsible for would have ever happened."
-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-
Twilight awoke from another nightmare. She breathed heavily as she took in the surroundings of her bedroom. Sweat was once again soaked throughout her fur and bed sheets. Twilight sat quietly. Rubbing her sleep filled eyes with a hoof as she tried to get a baring on yesterdays events before falling asleep. It was only after several seconds that she realized she had no recollection of going to bed on her own. She remembered Princess Luna helping er remember something and then... nothing.
Twilight jumped out of her bed. She didn't remember anything. It was not remembering what scarred her. The last time she awoke 'not remembering' something, she had shot a hole through the roof of somepony's business. Twilight rushed down the steps from her room. What had she done this time? Was somepony hurt? Was there a front door missing from her home? Or was there somepony hurt? Twilight's fears were all realized as she hit the last step.
The library was a mess. books were scattered about on the floor. a table was broken into thirds against a far wall. There was even a chair wedged, hanging out of a broken window. A window that was nearly seven feet up the wall. But books and chairs were replaceable. What drew Twilights attention was not the state of library, but of her friends sleeping on the floor away from the the debris.
All of five of the sleeping mares were covered in bandages. From Rarity's head to Applejack's hind hooves. Every single one had injuries. Small ones yes, but none the less injuries. Twilight stood motionless. With every bandage she saw on her friends, Twilight saw herself creating the wound that the bandage now concealed.
"How?"
It was the only thing Twilight could think to say.
"How did this happen?", she said a little louder.
Twilight's voice had carried its way to the ear of a sleeping Rainbow Dash. The blue pegasus slowly awoke to locate the sound that hit her ear when she saw the unicorn standing at the bottom of the library stairs.
"Twilight!", Rainbow yelled in surprise, waking the other four sleeping near her.
Rainbow Dash zoomed overhead to the lavender unicorn that stood just feet away. She was prepared to grab her friend into a giant hug, but stopped when she saw the sorrowful look in Twilights eyes. The other four did the same. Expecting to embrace Twilight into a big group hug, but something about Twilight told them it was best to stay away. Instead they simply stood around her in an arch formation.
Fluttershy was the first to speak up. " Um... Twilight... are....are you okay?", she timidly said. The yellow pegasus seemed almost frightened by her own voice in the silence around them.
Twilight only stayed silent as she looked over her friends injuries. Fluttershy had several bandages wrapped around her left fore hoof. Pinkie Pie was covered similarly on her right. Rainbow Dash, having not wanting a bandage in order to look tougher, had several cuts across her back. Her wings were also missing several feathers from what Twilight could tell. Applejack had several bandages wrapped around hind hooves the very same hooves which were used to stop Twilight from hurting her friends even more. Rarity was by far the worst of the lot. A large bandage was wrapped tightly around her head. Underneath was a small ice pack, most likely being used to numb a large bump on her forehead. Where Rarity once had two gorgeous blue eyes, was now only one. The other was swollen and black around its edges.
"What happened?" Twilight said coldly after several moments passed.
The five friends said nothing.
"What happened?!"she asked again.
The five shot nervous glances to each other. After some time Rarity answered. "We...uh.. just had a little accident dear. You know how it is when Pinkie here gets all excited..uh..right Pinkie?"
Pinkie quickly nodded her head as fast as she could, " y-yeah.... you know.... with my party cannon and the balloons and uh...the...um..."
Twilight stomped her hoof against the wood floor. "Balloons and confetti didn't cut Rainbow's back or blacken Rarity's eye! Stop lying to me and tell me what happened!" she was angry now. She was angry that her friends were trying to keep the obvious truth from her. She knew that something like this would happen. She Knew! She needed to know what had happened. Even if was only to confirm her fears.
With a reluctant sigh, Applejack did the one thing she knew was a bad idea for the first time in her life. She told the truth. "You did this Twilight. When Princess Luna finished her spell, you flew into a rampage."
And with those words Twilight's hypothesis was proven right. She did it. Twilight Sparkle, bearer of the Element of magic, attacked her friends in a blind furry.
Rainbow dash was quick to comment on what Applejack said,"Yeah But we're fine. A little cut up, but totally fine."
"Yes. Nothing but scratches and bruises. Nothing the five of us cant walk away from.", Rarity added.
'Five of us' It was those words which struck deep into Twilights mind. Five of her friends were fine, but there were seven in the room when Twilight had rampaged. Twilights eyes widened to the sizes of grapefruit. There were still two ponies unaccounted for.
"Where are Princess Celestia and Princess Luna?!", she asked with panic.
-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-
Rarity had insisted that Celestia and Luna stay at her home in the Carousel Boutique while she and the others took care of Twilight. After breaking her link to Twilights mind, Luna had fallen into a deep comatose state. Luna's mind had nearly been shattered to pieces by whatever it was she had witnessed inside of Twilight. If she hadn't succeeded in breaking her connection, Celestia didn't know what could have happened to Luna. Celestia didn't know much about mind magic, but she knew very well that her sister could have died right in-front of her. Her body a lifeless shell that was empty of any form of Luna's consciousness. But Luna had survived. And even though her mental stably was cracked, it was not broken. Luna would be back to full health soon. It was simply a matter of waiting.
Celestia watched as her sister slept. She admired how peaceful she looked. Luna's chest would rise slightly when she inhaled. Lifting the sheets on Rarity's bed before exhaling as the sheets would drop down once more. Celestia giggled to herself as she watched Luna. Luna was unusually quiet today. As beautiful as the night princess was, there was always one detail that made her a little less viewed as a lady. Luna snored, loudly. But not today. It was a rather humorous thought that her sister wouldn't snore if she were forcefully knocked. She really must remember that for the next time Luna woke her in the middle of the night with that loud snoring. "Hmm... Perhaps a blow to the head?", Celestia thought, " Not a large one. just enough to keep her out for a few hours."
Celestia cleared the thought from her mind. She knew full well she couldn't just beat her sister to sleep every night. That would be barbaric. Let alone the fact that Luna might not be too happy about awakening each day to a pain induced hangover.
It was nearly six in the afternoon when Celestia Heard the faint sound of a knock on the front door of the carousel boutique. She assumed it was one of Rarity's many costomers.
"I suppose i should let them know that Rarity will be out for a while."
Celestia griped the front door with her magic as she approached. She slowly opened the door revealing not a costumer. Upon open opening the door, Celestia saw not a customer, but Rarity with Twilight and the others..
"Um... Miss Rarity? You do know this is your home. You don't have to knock before entering.", Celestia said with a smile in her calming tone.
"While two princesses are residing here? Oh heavens no. The niceties must be observed. I assure you your majesty." Rarity replied as she dipped her bandaged head slightly in an attempt to bow through the throbbing pain she felt.
"If you insist." Celestia looked over to Twilight who stood next to Rarity. Twilight's eyes wore small bags underneath them. Even for having slept for over a good twenty hours, Twilight still looked exhausted. Mentally and physically. Celestia contributed it to the nightmares she was having. "I am happy to see that you are alright Twilight."
Twilight looked up at the Princess. Her tired eyes staring over every inch of the princess. There wasn't a single injury upon the Princesses mighty form. A small wave of relief washed over her. But Twilight still had to confirm the well being of the other who was taking refuge in Rarity's home.
"I'll be doing much better if I could see Princess Luna." Twilight said plainly.
Celestia's face darkened. She knew Twilight was probably blaming herself for what had happened to her friends. Seeing Luna would only make her feel worse.
"Twilight. I do not think that would be a good idea right no-", Celestia was cut off as her student Raised her voice to her mentor for the first time in her life.
"I need to see Luna now!" Twilight shouted. Celestia could see Twilights eyes starting to water as she yelled at her. Celestia just stood there. Her mouth hung open trying to catch flies. She couldn't believe somepony was actually shouting at her.And not just any pony. Twilight Sparkle. She of all ponies was the last Celestia expected to be yelled at by. Slowly, Celestia turned and headed back inside.
"Follow me Twilight."
Celestia Led Twilight and the others up the a flight of stairs that led to the buildings living area. The group slowly walked through the upstairs hallway until they reached the doorway into Rarity's bedroom. Reluctantly, Celestia entered the room with her Student close behind. Celestia turned to face her student as they stood before an unconscious Luna.
"Luna has suffered from great strain to her psyche, but she should be fine within a few days."
Twilight said nothing. She looked at the form of the sleeping alicorn. Luna's mane, which once waved so gently around her, was still and it drooped around face on the bed. She looked so frail. The once great and immortal Luna, reduced to a state of vulnerability and weakness. For the longest time, no one said anything. Even Pinkie, who was normally so talkative stood silently as if she thought her voice would further weaken the princesses current state.
Fluttershy moved closer to Twilight's she tried to place her hoof on her friends shoulder in an attempt to comfort her. Twilight simply shrugged off the Pegasuses sympathetic gesture as she moved closer to the sleeping Luna. Even though what happened to the princess was an accident, Twilight couldn't help but feel responsible. Twilights legs buckled underneath her as she collapsed beside the bed in tears.
"Its... all my fault! None of this... would... have happened if it wasn't for these... stupid dreams of mine!" Twilight took in labored gasping breaths as she cried her heart out for the princess.
"Now Twilight, you know perfectly well that this wasn't your fault. These things just happen." Applejack tried her best to calm her friend down. Applejack tried to embrace her into a warm hug to help comfort her, only for Twilight to push her away as she turned to face the group of ponies before her.
Twilights face was covered in tears. Her large eyes looked as if they would burst with anger.
"Dont you get it!? It IS my fault! If i hadn't insisted she enter my mind! If I had simply listened to Applejack! Luna would be here with us now instead of lying in a bed hurt!"
Twilight was angry. If her nightmares hadn't frightened her. If she had been less of a coward, Twilights friends wouldn't be injured, and the Princess would be wide awake. Unscathed and preforming her duties in Canterlot instead of barely clinging to her life in a bed in Ponyville.
"If I wasn't such.....such a coward... none of you would have gotten hurt! If I just....if I...just..." Twilight could no longer find any words to express her sorrow. There was nothing more she could do except lie down i and cry.
Celestia decided that the time for silence was at an end. She stomped the floor using one of her mighty hooves, causing pictures hung on the walls to shake.
"Who are you?!", she yelled using the royal Canterlot voice.
The six smaller ponies in the room nearly screamed at the sound of the frightening voice before their ears. Celestia had not used her full voice in hundreds of years, yet the power in each syllable she uttered remained just as intimidating as they used to be. Each one, shacking the entire house as she addressed her Student.
Twilight had stopped crying. Her heart not filled with regret, but fear. She had never heard Celestia speak in such away. It was truly terrifying. Celestia s body had seemed to darken. The form that now stood before Twilight was black as night, yet still glowing with the strength of the sun's light. The princesses eyes which once contained beautiful irises revealed only a blinding light. Celestia's eyes shined brightly with raw power.
"I will ask you again pony! Who are you?!" Celestia let her voice boom once more. She needed to knock some sense into her student. And this seemed like the best way to do it.
Twilight weakly responded to the question." Twi-Twilight S-Sparkle.." The Princess tilted her head slightly at the response she received.
"Are you?! I do not remember you! The Twilight Sparkle I knew, Would never be so foolish as to take all the blame onto herself! The Twilight I knew was strong! Courageous! And Happy! You are not Twilight! You who blame yourself for the faults of others are not my student! You who attack your friends with hateful tones! You who only focus on the bad,and not the good! The Twilight I knew would let her friends help her! Not push them away! If you are indeed Twilight Sparkle!, Prove it! If there is a problem, fix it! Do not wallow in the pits of despair! Strive for a better tomorrow instead of holding to an unfortunate past! Remember what it means to love and be loved! Remember who you were! Remember....!", Celestia released the power she stored as she dropped the Canterlot voice and finished her sentence using her soft and loving voice once more." ...who you 'still' are."
Celestia had drawn her student into a deep hug. She had to lean over awkwardly in order to match the terrified unicorns height. As she did so, she spoke once more as the two ponies embraced one-another, "You have done nothing wrong Twilight. You are not a bad pony. You are a good pony, who bad things have happened to. Please do not dread on the past. Luna knew very well this could happen to her. She knew. And she took the risk because she believed you were worth it. You mean far more to her than you know. And me." Celestia slowly released Twilight from the hug as she returned to standing proud above her.
Twilight wiped the tears from her face before looking up at the Princess with a smile. "Thanks for the lecture Princess. I needed that." Twilight turned to face her friends once more, " I know that what happened to all of you was something I couldn't have avoided, but i can now. I'll do what ever it takes to make sure that it doesn't happen again." Twilight changed her face to a darkening frown as she continued, "but, if something does happen,-"
"Twilight." Applejack scolded her, fearing she was going to take another fall down the depression roller coaster.
Twilight raised her hoof towards the orange pony so she could finish, "If something does happen, I wont take the burden by myself." her smile returned, "After all, you're my friends. Im honored to have your help."
And with that all of Twilights friends tackled the lavender unicorn into a group hug. Pinkie and Fluttershy were crying just as hysterically as Twilight had been just moments ago. But the tears that flowed this time were that of joy.Not sorrow. The group was so warmed by each others love that they didn't even notice the body stirring in the bed next to them until they heard the weak sound of a familiar voice.
"Although we hate to break up such a beautiful event, we have much work to accomplish."
-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-
Luna's awakening had brought much relief to the already stressed group of ponies who resided inside the Carousel Boutique. With Twilight nearly back to her old self and Luna awake, everypony could finally get back to the original problem at hand. Twilights memory of what happened to her at the Ponyville spa.
The group once more sat around a round table, the same round table. Only this time in Rarity's home. When Celestia brought in the table no one knew, but they supposed being an alicorn had its advantages of magic table spawning. On one side of the table sat Twilight. Directly across from her were the two Princesses. Celestia sat strait up, looking as refined and royal as usual. Next to Celestia was Luna. Although Luna looked much better than she did only an hour ago, her mane still fell limp against the sides of her face. Its once sparkling night pattern, reduced to a plain light blue color.
"Now then", Celestia began, "Back to the matters at hoof. Twilight?", she looked directly at the small unicorn opposite to her at the table. "If you are ready, please tell us about what happened that day at the spa. I'm sure you remember now, yes?"
Twilight nodded her head as she swallowed hard. It was true, she remembered everything. Every horrifying detail. Twilight now understood why her mind blocked the hallucination from her memory. Unlike her dreams, what happened to Twilight at the spa seemed so real. As if the tendrils she thought surrounded her were going to kill her at any second.
Slowly, Twilight explained what she saw that day. The tendrils around her body, chocking her breath from her lungs. The terrifying darkness. The eyes. Especially the eyes. The very same eyes that belonged to King Sombra. As she spoke of what she saw, Twilights friends looked on in horror at the tale Twilight spoke. Even the brave Rainbow Dash seemed to cower a little at the story she was hearing.
As Twilight finished telling her side of the story, everyone in the room looked toward Luna. It was her turn. Now that she was awake, it was Luna's turn to tell of what happened inside Twilight's mind. Much to everyone's surprise the same details of Twilights story were also present in Luna's. Eyes, darkness, tendrils, all of it.
"But, you got away. So why were you affected so harshly that your mind almost broke?" Twilight asked.
Luna Looked back at the questioning pony, "The mind is a frail thing dear Twilight. Anything that happens in that realm can have drastic effects on ones mind and body left behind in the real world. I barely escaped with my life in that realm. So in turn,I barely escaped with my mind in this world."
"I guess that makes sense" Twilight responded unsure as she took a moment to ponder such a thing. She would have to do some research on the topic, but that could wait until later.
"Now now. wait just a second." Rarity, hearing this story as well had her own questions to ask, "You said that you were going to unlock Twilights memory. But from what I can tell, you found a very real King Sombra inside Twilights head!
"Rarity's right." Fluttershy added, "From what you told us Princess, shouldn't we be worried about the possibility of Sombra living inside Twilights mind."
Luna continued to explain, "What was inside Twilight's mind was not Sombra, but manifestation of him."
"So. Hes like a fake?" Applejack asked.
"Yes. A fake. But not just any fake. This Sombra was created through fear. A fear so great inside Twilight's thoughts, that it took root and was able to give itself the form of the very thing Twilight feared most." Luna looked back to Twilight.
Pinkie Pie who had been unusually quite draped a hoof over Twilight's back gently. "Is that true Twilight? Were you afraid of that big meanie Sombra?"
"Of course Twilight wasn't scarred!", Rainbow forcefully added, "Twilights not scared of anything! Especially some wannabe King Som-" Rainbow was unable to finish as Twilight answered Pinkies question.
"Yes. Im afraid of him" Twilight admitted with her ears folded back in shame. "Ive been afraid ever since I first saw him while we were running across the tundra plains."
Pinkie drew Twilight into a strangling hug as she spoke with her usual high pitched, cheery voice, "Why didn't you say so silly filly?! Auntie Pinkie knows just the thing to fix that! ♩Oh! When I was a little filly and the sun was going dow-mph..♩"
Twilight pried herself away from the singing pony before sticking a hoof into Pinkie's mouth. "It's not that simple Pinkie!" Twilight shuddered as she recalled the still fresh memories of her latest nightmares. "Sombra isn't something I can just laugh away. Every time I sleep. Every time I close my eyes, I see nothing but his eyes and darkness surrounding me. It's not like hes some shadow that cant hurt me. Sombra is real. A real pony who can and WILL hurt me if I don't get out of his way!"
"But Twilight," Applejack said, "Sombra's gone, he was destroyed when the crystal heart was returned to the crystal ponies remember? He ain't never commin back. you got nothin to be afraid of."
"I know that Applejack. I've told myself that a hundred times, and then a hundred more for good measure. But it doesn't stop the nightmares. It doesn't stop how I feel when I think about him."
Celestia, now sure of the situation, was ready to give her diagnosis on curing Twilight's nightmares. "Then the answer is simple my faithful student. You must face your fears, and defeat this dream Sombra and cast him out from your mind."
Everypony in the room looked towards the sun goddess after she spoke those words.
"We agree sister. The only way for Twilight to be rid of these nightmares is for her to face them head on." Luna added.
Twilight rose a hoof in a panicked objection, "wait wait wait! I cant just go off on some dream mission to defeat something that could snap my neck! Isn't there some other way to do this?"
Luna silently shook her head, "No. This is the only way. You must face him Twilight. If not for your own sake, for your friends." Luna's horn glowed slightly as the various wounds on Twilights friends began to glow a bright blue.
"But how am I supposed to face this dream Sombra anyway?!"
Luna gave a small smile,"By going to sleep of course."
Twilight sunk low in her seat. As much as she wanted it to not be true, she knew in her heart this was the only way. Twilight sat tall once more as she gave her answer, "Alright." she said. "I'll do it. If it means protecting my friends, I'll do anything"
All eight ponies in the room gave out small cheers of joy at Twilights resolve. Twilight was going to face her fears at last, and she was going to beat them.
"I can do this.", she thought to herself.
-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-
"I CANT DO THIS!" Twilight yelled out loud inside the library.
It had been nearly five hours since the sun had set over Ponyville. Most ponies in town had been asleep for a while, except for one. Twilight Sparkle remained awake. She had requested to be left alone while she attempted to combat the fears in her dreams. It was just her in the library now. Spike was staying at Fluttershy's cottage for the night. Princess Celestia and Luna had decided to stay at Rarity's home until Luna was back to full health. So it was just Twilight inside the old library. Twilight was supposed to be sleeping, but going to sleep was the last thing she wanted to do.
Despite her bold words just hours ago, Twilight was no where near ready to face her fears in her dreams. As much as it shamed her, Twilight couldn't bear to sleep unless it was the only option left open to her. So with out any further hesitation, Twilight did the one thing she was best at. She started studying.
Twilight had pulled nearly every book she could find that had to do with dreams, or advanced spells off of the book cases of her home. Piles upon piles of books were scattered all around her as she read them one by one at her desk. One of the few pieces of furniture that wasn't destroyed during her earlier rampage a day ago. Twilight had been researching a way out of facing her fears for nearly five hours strait, and not a single book so far had held even the slightest clue to solving her problem.
"Figures," Twilight said to herself as she closed book number fifty-two, "I guess the only pony who knows anything about dreams is Luna. What, are dreams are some kind of top secret genre of magic?"
Twilight took a sip from a cup hot cocoa she had made for herself before levitating another book in front of her. This book was titled "Sleep for the sleepless". The book contained nothing but spells on how to make a pony fall asleep. One chapter even suggested hitting the sleep less pony with a baseball bat on the head. Not really a spell. And once again, not useful. Twilight tossed the book into the pile for reshelving before getting a new one.
With each book Twilight read, the more she felt utterly helpless against the dreams she sought to escape. Twilight was getting sleepy. If there wasn't a book that could help her soon, Twilight would fall asleep before even getting a chance to even read them all.
It wasn't until nearly three in the morning that Twilight came across a book with a very interesting, and promising title.
"Fantasy Removal Charms by Umbrous Shadowstride", Twilight read aloud, "Well I guess a dream is like a fantasy. And I do need it removed. Maybe this is my last shot."
Twilight opened the book. Slowly, she skimmed through the pages. There weren't very many. Only twenty at the most. Twilight had long ago decided to stop reading entire books, and focus mainly on the Chapter Titles. The book was filled with many strange spells. Twilight wanted to take time some time to read them, but every passing second only made her more and more sleepy.
After about the fifteenth spell, Twilight came to a spell title that was too alluring to skip.
"Dream Purging- For extracting dreams from the mind."
"THIS IS IT!" Twilight nearly fell out of the chair she sat in as she screamed out in pure joy. "Yes! Yes! Yes! Finally! I can end this nightmare I'm in" she said with great relief.
Twilight quickly began reading over instructions for the spell. She had to skip over several paragraphs before she found the spell instructions. As she read over the spell instructions, Twilight was surprised at how basic the spell really was. It appeared as if the only thing she had to do was think about what she wanted purged and then cast the magic required to do so. Twilight was so sure she found it. A solution that neither Celestia or Luna had thought of. For that, Twilight couldn't help but feel a bit of pride as she thought about finding a solution that even Equestria's princess'es didn't know about.
All the joy Twilight was feeling, however, poured out of her like water when she dropped her jaw at the next sentence she read. Although the spell itself was simple, the amount of magic required to preform such a spell was the largest Twilight had ever seen. Located next to the sentence was a side note that said, "For Alicorn use only."
Twilights heart dropped in her chest. She was so close just seconds ago, and now she felt like she was sent back to start, because of one detail. Sure, Twilight could ask one of the princesses to preform it for her, but Twilight was sure that they would refuse. Celestia wanted her student to face her fears. Not cheat around them. Twilight could just see the disappointment on her mentors face as she imagined asking her to preform the purging spell.
As much as Twilight wanted to ask the Princess to preform the spell, she knew doing so would be folly. However, Twilight didn't want to face her fears head on either. She had to preform the spell. She needed to!
"But how?!" Twilight said as she stomped her fore hooves on the book, "I'm just a regular unicorn! How am I supposed to match the power of an alicorn!?" Twilight slammed her head hard on her desk as she let out a long groan of frustration.
But then suddenly, like a freight train, an idea hit her square across the face, knocking her face back upright as a metaphoric light bulb turned on in her head. Slowly, Twilight stood from her seat at the desk and approached a nearby bookcase. There was only one way Twilight could match an alicorns power, and that way was right behind the bookcase she stood before.
Looking around first to make sure no one was watching her, Twilight began moving the books on the shelf off to the sides to reveal the familiar horseshoe shaped button on the bookcase wall.
"I must be nuts", Twilight thought to herself. "But its the only thing left i can count on."
Twilight gently pushed one of her fore hooves against the button until she heard a faint 'click'. The button then proceeded to recede into the wall before it revealed the object hidden within. Twilight gingerly wrapped the large glass dome within a small telekinetic before moving it through the air and onto her desk. As Twilight removed the glass dome from what it covered, she couldn't help but think this was the worst good idea she ever had. After the dome was gone, all that was left was none other than the Alicorn Amulet.
Twilight knew that she could never hope to match an alicorns power on her own. But if she wore the Alicorn Amulet, Twilight could do almost anything. There was only one problem. If Twilight were to put on the amulet, she would become susceptible to the corruption that the amulet bestowed upon all who basked in its glory.
Of course, Twilight knew that the amulet could only corrupt the user if it remained on them for long periods of time. Twilight only needed it for one spell. She could put it on, do the spell, take it off, then go back to her normal life, and a normal sleep. Every fiber of Twilights being screamed at her not to do this, but Twilight was too scared and too tired to care.
"After all," she said, "What could go wrong?"
-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-
Everything was ready. The book, the spell, and now, the Amulet. Twilight stood next to her desk eyeing the dark amulet she knew would be her salvation. Twilight was ready to finally be through with these nightmares, But she was still afraid of the possibility of becoming dark and corrupted from the effects of the amulet. As scared as she was, however, Twilight was even more afraid of the darkness that awaited her in her dreams.
With one final deep breath to regain her composure, Twilight adorned the grey and black amulet around her neck. As the amulet snapped in place around her Twilight instantly felt a surge of power rush through her entire body. It felt as though Pinkie had rubbed her entire body with balloons until her fur was filled with static electricity. Twilight felt like she could do anything.
Almost getting lost in the feeling of immense power coursing through her small form, Twilight shook her head roughly in order to recollect her thoughts. "I have to work fast", she thought.
Twilight quickly looked back to the spell book in case she had over looked any of the instructions on preforming the spell. It didn't take long considering that there were only three steps. Slowly, Twilight began focusing magic into her horn as she recited the instructions to herself.
"Step one. Gather the required magic."
Twilight took a deep breath as she tapped into the amulet. Her horn slowly began to glow a dark purple hue as she collected the fuel needed for the alicorn level spell. Twilight wanted to desperately try some other spells while she wore the amulet, but stuck to her plan of ending this quickly so as not to be corrupted.
"Step two. Think about the dream you wish to purge from your mind."
Reluctantly, Twilight did as the book said. She thought about the dreams she had, the tendrils the darkness, and especially the green eyes of evil that plagued her with sleepless nights. Every fearful detail was brought to her mind as she did her best to preform the spell as thoroughly as possible. Twilight didn't want to leave even the smallest trace of Sombra inside her head, so she thought of everything.
Finally, Twilight reached the last step.
"Step three. Release the magic and activate it."
Twilight did just that. With a small labored grunt, she unleashed the spell. The magic erupted forth from her horn like a tsunami wave. The purple aura quickly drifted across her body like a sheet of magical armor. It filled every inch of Twilights body with that of warm loving sensations. The spell its self felt amazing. Twilight could only hope that the results would be equally pleasing.
As the magic weaved its way through Twilight's fur coat, it stuck to her underlying skin. Then, when the purple magic field had covered every inch of Twilight, It began sinking into her flesh. As it sunk in Twilight could swear she could actually feel the magic ripping her fears from her mind as it prepared to destroy it once and for all.
As all the magic had finished entering her form, Twilight had expected something else to happen. Several moments passed, but nothing seemed to change. The warmth of her magic was gone, but Twilight didn't feel any different than how she felt before using the spell.
"Was that it?" she wondered,"Did it work?"
Once more, Twilight approached the open spell book to be sure she did every instruction correctly. She was only halfway to her desk though when she began to feel sick. Very sick. Twilight's stomach felt like it was on fire. Something was happening inside her and she didn't like it. Twilight soon was forced to bend over in pain as she involuntarily start to gag and lurch her head forward in violent motions. Twilight was always a pretty healthy pony and rarely ever got sick, but Twilight knew from only a few experiences of the matter that she was about to throw up.
Twilight gagged one final time as she began to vomit. A substance that looked similar to black tar shot from her stomach and onto the library floor. Twilight could do nothing but watch as her body forced her to vomit upon the floor below her. Again and again she gagged and threw up more of the black tar. Some of it even shot from her nostrils as her body violently pushed the substance out from her body.
Twilights throat and stomach were burning. Each time she vomited, Twilight could taste the awful tar flying from her mouth. It stuck to her tongue and squeezed between the small gaps between her teeth before it was pushed aside by the next load of tar leaving her oral cavity. Twilights eyes soon began to water as her body was wracked with pain each time her stomach convulsed. By this time, Twilight had fallen unto her stomach, no longer able to stand as tar was expelled from her body. Then, like a wish come true, the vomiting stopped.
Twilight looked on at the black mess covering the floor in front of her. Unable to move due to immense pain she still felt from the whole ordeal. Then, as Twilight was about to give in to sleep, she was shocked back into alertness.The tar was moving. Slowly but surly, the oily mess began to group itself together on the floor in front of Twilight. After about five seconds it had formed into a large cube shaped object. Then as it begin to settle, the tar cube began to mold itself into a new form. The bottom, which was once flat, was now arched with four legs while the top began to mold into the shape of a pony's head and neck.
As the molding became more detailed, it began to shape itself into long thin hairs for a mane and tail. One the head of the pony shaped tar, a small portion of it had turned red as it slowly grew upward to protrude from the head forming a red horn. Soon facial features were beginning to form. A distinct black muzzle was slowly coming into focus. The mouth opened as if to speak only to close again as the tar inside held the jaw firmly in place with long stringy strands of goop that clung on the mouths interior.
As the form was almost complete, Twilight could do nothing but watch one thing the entire time the tar formed itself. The eyes, which were only bulges at first, had carved themselves out of the black tar into detailed eyelids. As the eyes finished forming, they opened. Green pupiless eyes stared back at Twilight. The oily body was almost near completion when the red horn atop its head began to glow with a blinding red light. Twilight was forced to shut her own eyes and look away, but when she looked back to the shape before her, she saw the very complete, very real, and very alive form of the one she feared most in all of Equestria.And it smiled back at her with a grin of victory upon its face.
King Sombra lived once more.