//------------------------------// // Chapter 13: Return of the Nightmare // Story: Lost // by Cyanjames2819 //------------------------------// Nebula landed down beside the Sugar Cube Corner and saw the broken doors and heard giggling and laughing. He walked in and saw Playtime playing with the pink party pony. He fixed up the doors, "Oh, I didn't see you there" he looked and saw Fluttershy going up to him. "Are the others okay?" she asked. "Yes, they are all fine" he answered. "I wonder how Spike's doing with Rarity?" Twilight said in wonder. "Oh! Oh! Is he big with pointy spikes!?" Pinky said with Playtime on top of her head. "What?" Twilight said, confused of her ability to figure things out. "Mmm, you're mane smells like candy" Playtime said, hugged Pinkie's mane and the pink pony giggled. Sweetie Belle was on Spikes head looking in his eyes, "Um, Spike" she said, still nothing. She then looked at her sitting sister nearby, "Sis, you sure he's okay?" she asked her. "Yes, he's just a little shocked, darling" she looked for her friends. She then saw the little group, Playtime on Pinkie's head bouncing up and down. She smiled and galloped towards them, "Thank goodness you're all okay!" she went to them and hugged each one. "Um, why is Spike just standing there?" Twilight asked and went up to her assistant frozen form. "Oh, he's just in a little shock, darling" Rarity answered and went beside Twilight and sat in front of Spike. Nebula then turned and spread his wings, "Um, Nebula, where are you going?" Flutershy asked. He looked back at her, "Checking on the apple family. I'll be back" he answered and started flying. Playtime got off the pink mare's head and looked at the frozen dragon with wide eyes. "Hmm, never seen you around here before. You new?" Sweetie Belle slid down Spike and went up to Playtime. "Uh-huh, I live with Fluttershy and Nebula" she answered with a smile. "Is he that dragon that flew away?" Sweetie said. Playtime nodded happily, "Yup, dad helped the princess's from a rampaging dragon in Canterlot and made Spike grow" she pointed to the still frozen dragon. "Dad? Nebula's your dad? But how?" Sweetie examined Playtime's body and walked around her, "But you're a pony" she then spotted her cutie mark and forgot all about getting logical. "Oh wow! You have a Cutie mark! It looks so cool!" Sweetie Belle looked closer at her flank, "How did you get?" she asked. "Um, I was burn with it" Playtime answered and saw the white unicorn didn't have one, "Why don't you have one like Applebloom?" she asked. Sweetie Belle looked at her in surprise, "You met Applebloom! Wow! I'm friends with her! How did you meet her!?" she sat down and looked at Playtime with a smile. "I helped her push a bucket of apples" Playtime answered and sat down as well. "Wow, must have been hard, those things are heavy" Sweetie said to her. "Well, not really heavy. Um, what's heavy?" she asked. Sweetie Belle looked a little confused at her, "How strong are you?" she asked. She looked at the frozen dragon, "Can you pull Spike?" she pointed. Playtime smiled and nodded. She galloped up to Spike's tail and grabbed the tip with her mouth, and then slowly, she started pulling him, making drag marks on the ground. "Wooow" Sweetie Belle said in awe. Spike then blink and wondered why he was being dragged. He looked back and saw Playtime pulling, "Um, what are you doing?" he asked, wondering. "Spike!" the little group shouted. Nebula landed down near the barn and looked in to see the apple family ready to fight, keeping a close eye on the struggling, growling bucket. Applebloom had mud stains on her face like facial war paints. Applejack spotted him behind her, "Hey there, sugarcube" she went up to him, "The critter's been struggin' mad inside the bucket" she then followed him to the shaking bucket. Nebula then used his magic to lift the bricks and the bucket in the air. The creature jumped out with gapping jaws. Applejack jumped away, but then the creature was slammed to the ground by chains. Nebula put the bucket and the bricks back to where they came from and looked at the squirming creature. He got up to it and pressed his hand on the creature's head. The family waited, "Anythin'?" Applejack asked. Nebula took back his hand and looked at her, "Its mind is too corrupted. No information about its master but its order is still there" he then wrapped up the creature with the same chains and crushed it. Everypony in the barn winced at the brutal act, "Just corruption, no mind, no soul, no heart" he said to her and started going out, Applejack followed him. "So, aah, what's the order then?" she asked. He looked at her, "Eliminate the bearers of the Elements of Harmony" he answered. "Your friends are at Rarity's boutique, do you want to see them?" he said to her and waited for her answer. "Yeah, sure" she answered. Nebula put a hand on her and teleported away and reappeared in the street. Applejack shook her head, disoriented a little, "Never get use to that" she said. "Applejack!" she heard the pink pony know as Pinkie. She looked towards the boutique and saw the rest of her friends, and one large baby dragon. She smiled and galloped up to them, "My, ah was mighty worried about ye', gals!" she hugged each one. "Us too" Twilight hugged her cowgirl friend. Nebula then went beside Fluttershy in his childish form. She looked at him and smiled, "Thank you" she said to him, scooped him up and hugged him tightly. "Ah, Fluttershy" she heard. Fluttershy looked behind her and saw Rainbow Dash behind her, looking a little guilty. "Yes?" she said and put the little plushy dragon down. "Um, I just want to say… s-sorry" she said to her and rubbed her fore hooves together. "For what?" Fluttershy looked a little confused by her friend's apology. "Sorry for not trusting you with Nebula, I should have known better, remembering what you did with Discord" she sat on the ground, somewhat hiding behind her rainbow mane. Fluttershy smiled, "It's okay, Rainbow. You don't need to apologize" she said and hugged her daredevil friend. "Aah, Nebula" Spike went up to him, Sweetie Belle and Playtime playing on him like a jungle gym. Nebula looked up at him, sitting on the ground, "Um, am I turning back to normal later?" he rubbed the back on his neck. "Only if you want. You can do it on your own" he said to him. "What? How?" he asked, curios about his answer. "Just concentrate on yourself and wish to go back. If you want to get big again, do the same thing but wish to get bigger" he answered. Sweetie Belle got on top of his head with a bit of a struggle, "What was that about turning back?" she said, standing on his head. Spike closed his eyes and imagined himself being small again. His body then started glowing and shrank instantly. He turned back to normal, but then Sweetie Belle fell on top of him. "Oh, sorry, Spike" she got off of him and helped him up, then started brushing the dirt off him, blushing while doing it. Spike looked at himself, "Wow, I really can do it" he said with a smile. "Spike? How did you?" Twilight went to him. "Twilight! Look what I can do!" he closed his eyes in concentration and then his body glowed and instantly grew up. He looked at himself, then flexed his arms, "Ooh yeah, I can get use to this" he said to himself. Sweetie Belle looked at him dreamily. Twilight looked at the other little dragon, "Um, how long is he going to have that ability?" she asked nervously. "As long as I live" he simply answered. Fluttershy noticed Twilight's eye twitch in response, "Um, at least you have a dragon bodyguard now" she tried to lighten her librarian friend up. Twilight blinked a few time, looking thoughtful, "Well… that is good to hear. He can reach the top shelf without the ladder and move heavy things for me now" she smiled. "Well then, I guess I can live with that now" she said happily. "That was Awesome, Rainbow Dash!" Scootaloo drove up to her idol in her scooter. The little filly Pegasus's coat was orange with a purple tail and mane. "Hey there, Squirt. Thought you come sooner or later" Rainbow went up to her. Scootaloo got off her scooter and her head was rubbed by Rainbow. "So, what did you think of the Sonicrainnuke?" she asked with a smirk. "It was so awesome! I saw the whole thing in my room. You were like 'Swoosh!', that thing was like 'Eeep! Help me!' and then you made big mushroom cloud with a 'Bang!' and I was like 'Gaaasp! It… was… so… Awesome!" she threw her hooves in the air. Rainbow took it all in with a satisfied smile, "I know right?" she said to her greatest fan slash honorary sister. "One thing though. What was that thing that fixed up part of Ponyville and talked to you?" she asked her idol, looking up at her for an answer. "Oh. His name's Nebula, a friend" she answered. "Where's he now?" she started looking around for the mystery visitor. "He's right over there. Beside Fluttershy" she pointed with her hoof. Scootaloo looked at the small dragon sitting beside the timid mare. Scootaloo looked up at her; "I remember him being…" she looked back at him, "Bigger." "Yeah, don't ask me why or how can grow or shrink" Rainbow said to her. She then spotted a white filly beside Fluttershy as well, mostly covered by the mare, "Who's that then?" she pointed to the mystery filly. "That's Playtime. She lives with Fluttershy and Nebula" she looked down at Scootaloo, "You should go meet her, she's fun to be with. And you be surprised of what she can do" she lightly nudged her little surrogate sister. Playtime felt a light tap on her back and looked over to see an orange filly behind her. "Hi there!" the filly greeted with a smile. Playtime stood up and faced her, "Hi" she replied with a smile. "My name's, Scootaloo" she brought out hoof for a shake. "Playtime" she shook the hoof. "Scootaloo?" they both heard Sweetie Belle. They looked and saw the little unicorn go up to them, "What are you doing here?" she asked. "Oh, I looked for Rainbow to tell her about her Awesome Sonicrainnuke!" she answered, then used one of her hoof to indicate as Rainbow Dash, dive bombing, and then sprawled her hooves in the air like an explosion, complete with sound effects. She then spotted the cutie mark on Playtimes flank and her eyes went wide, "How'd you get your cutie mark!?" she bolted up to her. "I was born with it" she answered and saw that she didn't have one either. "Don't you have one?" she asked. "I don't know my special talent yet" she answered. "Seriously though. How did you get yours?" she asked again, "And why is it a heart with a smiley face on it?" she tilted her head to the side. "Yeah" Sweetie said next and tilted her head as well. "I don't know" she looked at her own flank in thought. The little group then started thinking of what it might be. "Maybe it's something about love?" Sweetie said and tilted her head on the other side. Scootaloo then perked up and looked at Sweetie Belle, "Hey! Maybe we can help her find out what it is! Be part of our club!" Scootaloo said in an upbeat tone. "Yeah!" Sweetie looked at Playtime, '"Do you want to be part of our club!?" they both looked at her with wide smiled. "Club? What's a club?" she asked, a little confused. The two looked at each other for a moment, "Well, a club is like… aaah. A group that do stuff, like talking about their hero or crusade for cutie marks, like we do" Scootaloo answered. "Okay!" Playtime answered happily with a smile. "Let's go tell Applebloom! Come on Crusaders!" Scootaloo galloped to her Scooter and puts on her helmet. She looks back at them, "I'll meet you two at the tree house" she then darted through the streets in her scooter. Playtime tapped Nebula and he looked at her, "Can I go with Sweetie Belle to a tree house?" she asked with a hopeful smile. He nodded and she hopped with joy. After the two left, they all saw a chariot going through the sky with at least thirty armored Pegasi following behind it. The chariot landed down on the street and Ponies started to come out as they saw the princess of the night come into town. The Pegasus started spreading out and landed at the edges of the town. "Princess Luna" Twilight said and they all went up to her. "Thank goodness, you all are okay" Luna said, relieved. "Yes, we were being attacked by these… things from the Everfree forest and then saw this dark pony turn to smoke and disappeared in the forest" Twilight said to her. Luna sighed and looked at the ground, "More guards will be here within half an hour. Stay out of the Everfree forest and look out for the mystery pony" Luna said to them. She was about to go back on her chariot, but was stopped by Twilight saying her name. "Luna! What's happening!?" she asked. Luna paused for a moment and then looked back at the group, "Nightmare is back."