The Monster in the Twilight
Rage
“There’s Monster’s house!” shouted Sweetie Belle as the wagon slowed to a halt at the top of the hill with a panting Scootaloo sucking down the last juice box in their supplies. “I bet she’s inside getting a bunch of Zecora’s potions to use against that scary pony Celestia was fighting.”
“I don’t think tho,” said Twist, pointing down a grassy path to where a much newer-looking rope bridge dangled into the chasm separating them from the spooky moonlit ruins. Obvious signs of a pony’s passage littered the path as grass for several yards to either side of the path had been flattened or ripped out of the ground. “It thure lookth like Monththerth been here. But thee did thomething to the bridge.”
Apple Bloom gasped. “Somepony cut the bridge after she put it up for us. Look, you can see the cuts on the ropes over there. How are we going to get across?”
Featherweight fluttered to the edge of the bridge abutment and looked down into the mist that filled the chasm between them and the ruins. “I could try to fly down there and carry the end of the bridge end to the other side, but I’m so pooped I can barely flap.”
“We can jump it!” declared Scootaloo, before four of her friends jumped her and dragged the little pegasus back into the wagon. “No! Wait! We can do it if we just get up enough speed! I’m hydrated now so it won’t even be a problem! Not the rope!”
“There you are, you little menaces!” The raspy snarl of an adult voice interrupted the final knot-tying process of a restrained Scootaloo, and all five little ponies looked up the flattened grassy path and screamed.
“Changeling!”
“I’m not a changeling,” responded Tallgrass with an irritated sigh. “I’m a Royal Guard — oh, horsefeathers. I forgot to put my disguise back on, didn’t I?” He eyed the terrified little ponies who had packed themselves into the wagon and were trembling together in a mutual hug. “I know it’s a little difficult to understand, but I’ve been in town for over a year, and you already know me from over at the spa. Here, let me show you.” With a flare of green magic, Tallgrass turned back into his earth pony disguise.
“Tallgrass!” screamed the fillies, clutching themselves into a tighter mutual hug.
“We thought that valve was just loose and needed tightened!”
“Hotter mud is supposed to be good for you, right?”
“Anypony could have mistaken the bags of concrete for bags of mud!”
“You didn’t theem too mad at uth onth you were chiseled out of the mud, mithter.”
“Yeah! Apple Bloom stepped forward with a fierce, determined look. “That’s right! You said you weren’t gonna hold that against us. Besides, we cleaned up the mess and apologized to Miss Aloe and Miss Lotus. So why did you chase us all the way out here just to beat up a bunch of harmless little fillies?”
“Hey!”
“And Featherweight,” added Apple Bloom.
“I’m not following you to hurt you, or beat you up, or any of that. Trixie—” his voice growled at the name “—told me to watch you. She was supposed to help me bring you all to the Castle of the Royal Pony Sisters…” He trailed off, looking to one side at the massive ruins across the chasm. “…which is probably that? Oh, my.”
The little fillies promptly filled the resulting silence with a mutual description of the pursuit of their friend and how she was ‘skeered’ and in pain and needed them and probably had run out of stress licorice sticks by now and would appreciate a juice box if Scootaloo hadn’t finished off the last one. It was a familiar form of chaotic speech, much akin to any typical conversation inside the hive, and Tallgrass nodded along as they chattered until a brilliant flash of violet light interrupted their conversation.
For just the briefest moment, night became day in the ruins with a searing blast of light from the largest of the buildings inside the fallen stones. Whatever Tallgrass said in response was muted by a deep rumble of thunder, which most probably kept five little ponies from adding new changeling swear words to their already-expansive vocabulary. The ground shuddered with power in a deep thrumming noise, and the noise repeated, only this time heavily muted.
“Monster!” blurted out Apple Bloom, running to the edge of the bridge abutment and looking across the distance as if sheer concentration could bring the other side of the chasm closer. Dashing back to the changeling, she put on the most pathetic expression of big-eyed begging and whimpered. “Mister, you just gotta help put the bridge back up! She needs us!”
“Yeah,” said Sweetie Belle, contributing her own sad eyes to the conversation. “Monster stuck up for us, now we need to stick up for her.”
“We’re missing the fight,” groaned Featherweight, trying to look as plaintive as possible. “She’s just kick-flank awesome in a fight, and if we don’t get there, it’ll be over!”
“I can give you a lollipop,” said Twist, digging around in her bags. “It’th only got a little lint on it from the bag. Oh, and thome gum, barely chewed.”
“Mummmph!” said Scootaloo from behind her gag, trying to wriggle around to add her big-eyed begging expression. “Mummpm, mm munmph mrnbow mash!”
With a sigh of resigned acceptance of the inevitable, Tallgrass popped the offered lollipop into his mouth and transformed into his Royal Guard disguise. As tired as his wings were, it took only moments to dive into the chasm, retrieve the end of the rope bridge, and begin tying it on the other side. The first rope was easy, but once he had cinched the other rope tight, the bridge suddenly became much heavier.
“Cutie Mark Crusaders Rescue Squad!”
Hanging onto the suddenly-heavy rope by his teeth, Tallgrass dug in his hooves until the pegasus-propelled contraption blasted by, headed at top Scootaloo speed into the ruins where the deafening blasts of power were blasting into the night. Once the children were clear of the bridge, Tallgrass spat out the rope and dashed in pursuit of them again, trying not to feel as if he was flying into something he was never going to fly away from alive.
* * *
Smoke curled in the hoofprints of the purple unicorn walking slowly through the ruins, trailing acrid coils of burning stone and vegetation that brought a bitter scent to the motionless air with every step. Indigo shimmers of dark magics surrounded the building, a massive construction of heavy stones that had resisted the destruction that had swept over the castle centuries ago as well as the passage of time. In her churning mind, Monster plotted just how many ways there were to tear that structure to pieces and beat the dark pony inside to death with the stones. But in the background, two quiet voices echoed through her head.
Bring back my sister, Twilight Sparkle. I know you can.
There was no sister left for Twilight… for Monster to rescue. She had given herself to the beast who now controlled her body, leaving only the dark pony behind. The only option Monster had was mutual destruction by the same method. If she could control enough power to destroy the dark pony, Monster would be too dangerous to live. Monster had been born here, of pain and horrible burning fire, thrown here by the light pony when she had first touched Magic. It was only appropriate that she die here whatever the result of the fight.
no! thou must not fight her! she will consume you as she did me!
The frightened voice was only an echo from inside the dark pony, a deception the beast used to preserve its life. There was nopony to rescue, no salvation of the innocent, only the punishment of the guilty. Monster had killed when she was born, and she had killed ever since. Somewhere beneath her hooves she could feel the distant tread of mom, growing nearer when Monster had hesitated. If she were to remain safe from the fight with the dark pony, there must be no more hesitation. Even Monster’s slow tread now gave notice of the close proximity of the strange changeling from the uneasy feeling coming up from her hooves. For a moment, she considered delaying just long enough to destroy the threat he represented to mom and her friends before confronting the dark pony, but…
Twilight Sparkle. Thank the stars. And you have friends.
Her hoofsteps faltered. They were so close. It would feel so good to hold them, to feel their loving presence around her, to hear their happy voices. The darkness in Monster’s heart lightened in their company, but she firmed her jaw and brought the Magic around herself as a shield. The dark pony awaited inside, the door open and inviting, an obvious trap. It would have felt so good to blast the door inwards in blazing chunks of molten rock, to destroy what ponies centuries ago had put such care into building. Without a door, she settled for striding forward, her horn and eyes flaring white with power when a shadowed figure rose up on the other side of the room.
“Welc—” An explosion of pure malevolence lashed out at the dark pony, sweeping her up into a burst of indigo smoke that smashed into the back wall of the room and rebounded, recoiling on Monster like a tidal wave. Only an instinctual lance of purple thrown out at the last instant made her merely skid backwards a few feet instead of being vaporized like her target. The coil of smoke twisted in mid-air, sweeping back together before Monster lashed out again, this time with a whip of solid darkness that split the cloud in half with a horrible crash, and then again as she lashed the whip of magic so hard it exploded on impact. Grabbing a nearby stone pillar in her magic, Monster wrenched it upwards, but instead of ripping a hole in the building roof and giving her a giant stone club, her magic merely skidded across the surface of the stone.
“You’ll never break those spells,” chuckled a grim voice as the cloud of smoke reformed and the doors to the room slammed shut. “I spent my time wisely while awaiting your arrival. The throne room always had many enchantments on it, but I added a little something extra tonight. It is completely reflective to all of your spells. Nothing gets out.”
The Nightmare chuckled while Monster continued to mindlessly tear at the pillar, grunting in concentration with her eyes black with magic. “You don’t care, do you? Just a beast with power, so much delicious power.” Focusing her magic to a thin line, Nightmare lashed at the enraged unicorn, watching as she reflexively deflected the attack and struck back, being blasted into her immaterial form again. With a shudder of pure joy, the Nightmare flowed across the room and reformed, exalting in the limitless hatred and anger her prey continued to pour into her magic as Monster struck again and again at her elusive foe.
Yes. More! Oh, yes. Soon.
---+-*-+---
“The Great and Powerful Trixie would like to ap—” A sudden coughing spasm swept over Trixie while she trotted next to Fluttershy. They trotted up the path for a while before she tried again. “I’m sorry.”
“It’s all right,” said Fluttershy softly.
“No, I mean… You’ve been nothing but kind to me, and I yelled at you.”
“You yell at everypony,” said Fluttershy. “But you didn’t yell at me very loudly, if that makes you feel better.”
“It was the tick. I’ve always hated ticks. And mosquitoes.” A ripple traveled down Trixie’s back as a shudder traveled from her nose to her tail.
“They’re just misunderstood. They only want a little bitty bit of blood so they can have babies.” A second larger ripple traveled down Trixie’s cloak as she looked away. Fluttershy winced and tried to help. “I mean when I first found out about changelings tonight, I was so afraid.”
“I’m not afraid! I’m just… I don’t like them.” Trixie pulled her hat lower and glanced back and forth, just in case there was a tick lurking in wait.
“After working with them in the hospital, I found out changelings are a lot like ponies. They get scared, and hurt, and—” Fluttershy lowered her voice and looked out into the woods “—nervous just like us. They need love so they can have little ones just like ticks and mosquitoes.”
“Ick!” Trixie waved a hoof like she was chasing away a mosquito. “No more bug talk! If you want to talk about something, talk about Nightmare Moon. At least she’s not some icky bug trying to suck all of the…” She hesitated a moment, her eyes whirling with ideas, then broke into a gallop until she caught up with Pinkie Pie who was scouting ahead for dropped candy from the children. “Pinkie! Did you see exactly how Nightmare Moon reacted when the changelings attacked her at the town hall? I was busy and missed it.”
“Yepperaroni. She made this awful face like when somepony finds spinach in their cake frosting, just like this!”
Trixie almost tripped as she winced away from the pink party pony’s ‘disgusted face,’ before breaking into a gallop up the hill. “Come on! If I’m right, I know why Celestia didn’t fight Nightmare Moon and why we need to stop Twilight Sparkle before she makes matters worse!”
The world flared with purple light when a ball of perfect violet illuminated the woods, blinding the group and bringing them to a halt.
After the sound of blinded pegasus hitting tree had quit, Rainbow Dash quite calmly spoke from somewhere above their heads. “How much worse?” The peal of rumbling thunder that followed gave an ominous air to the pegasus prying herself loose from the tree and landing, as the moonlit trees around them rustled and thrashed in the darkness.
“Explain yourself, and make haste please. We should not rest long beneath these trees.”
“Talk while we’re moving, Zecora,” said Trixie, shaking her head and trotting up the path again while blinking furiously. “We need to get the kids to Twilight Sparkle right now! It’s in that book I stole… borrowed from Celestia’s library. There’s a line, ‘the bitterness in the young one's heart had transformed her into a wicked mare of darkness.’ When Fluttershy told me about ticks, I thought: What if Nightmare Moon was a kind of changeling tick, only instead of devouring positive emotions like love, she devours dark negative emotions like hate and resentment.” Another peal of thunder rolled through the still air as Trixie shuddered at the thought of how much power had just been released by Twilight Sparkle. “Celestia wouldn’t fight her because that would only make the ‘tick’ stronger. Nightmare Moon wanted Celestia to strike her, just like she wanted me to attack her in the town hall. Every blow she takes, every attack, every hateful emotion that she absorbs makes her more powerful.”
“Wait up a sec,” said Applejack, scowling as she trotted closer. “So why’re you wantin’ our little ones to fight Nightmare Moon with some weapon that’s missin’ a part?”
“Not fight. Don’t you see? The changelings are stuffed full of love, a positive emotion. When Nightmare Moon fought them, their positive emotions acted like a poison to the ‘tick’ Celestia’s sister has embedded in her mind.”
“That’s why the icky face!” chirped Pinkie Pie as she bounced along. “So if we throw her a party with balloons and cake and—”
“Not us. The prophecy said ‘When the five are present, a spark will cause the sixth Element to be revealed.’ Celestia saw those five darling little disaster areas as the five: Kindness, Generosity, Loyalty, Laughter, and something else. The Elements of Harmony use positive emotions, which is the only thing that will be able to defeat Nightmare Moon! Ha! I figured it out!” Trixie managed to dance a little jig while trotting with a huge grin.
“Oh no!” Coming from Fluttershy, the quite audible exclamation was as noticeable as a scream of terror from a normal pony. “You said Nightmare Moon was like a tick, but when a tick is all nice and full—” The shy pegasus swallowed nervously “—she lays eggs.”
The group of ponies halted their trot at the top of the hill in order to stare at the chain of brilliant purple and indigo flashes of light flaring out of the distant ominous building. Dark clouds began to gather together above the ruins, swirling together while the stars began to vanish behind them.
Rainbow Dash bolted ahead of the group, calling back, “Come on, AJ. I see a bridge up here. Let me get the ropes tied off, and you all can cross.”
“Well, hurry up! It don’t look like nothing good’s happenin’ over there. Trixie, Zecora, are you two comin’ along or what?”
The disguised zebra had stopped cold in the middle of the well-trod path, setting her hooves one after another against the firmly packed dirt she had walked across for the last decade. Trixie watched suspiciously before calling back. “You girls go ahead, we’ll catch up. The freaky zebra is doing something, and I want to keep an eye on her.”
Lowering her voice, Trixie whispered over the sound of the growing storm, “Come on, you cranky old striped nag. This had better be important. If we don’t get your crazy daughter and those five nutty kids to the Elements of Harmony, this whole place is going to be crawling with little bitty Nightmare Moons.”
I am the Power - by Gardelius on Deviant Art.