Applebloom enters into a new world filled with sand and rocks. A barren waste land that has sand blowing in the wind with roughly nothing living here, plant or creature. She walks besides Nights and finds that the location she's in is out-of-place, even for a dream.
"This place can't represent me!" Bloom said to the flying Nightopian.
"What makes you say that?" it acknowledged her.
"I live on an apple farm, full of greens and trees. This place has nothing of the sort."
Nights chuckles "Representation isn't always associated on where one lives."
"Then how does it relate?"
"Well..." it looks away at the desert "think of this place as an art painting. Looking at it, what do you feel about the place?"
"Well, this place seems really sad. Nothing is here 'cept sand and rocks. Its so... lonely."
"This place is a creation of who you are. If you think this place is lonely, then you feel lonely."
Applebloom's eyes widened at that remark "That can't be true, it must be a lie! I have friends, lots of them. Scootaloo, Sweetie Belle, Babs Seed, and I didn't even mention my family!"
Nights puts a hoof on her shoulder "The doors I showed you don't show lies, they show what is inside one's heart. Materials and positions in one's relationships don't take form in here. The doors tell about one's dreams, one's interests, one's desires. It also portraits how one thinks of one's self, even if their are things or beings that prove them wrong."
Applebloom starts thinking about her past if it was true. She remembers times when she was having fun with her sister, she thinks about how great it was hanging out with Babs, and of course she recalls on all of the adventures she has had with the Cutie Mark Crusaders. "Nights doesn't know what s/he's talking about. I never felt lonely, me and the Cutie Mark Crusaders have always had a fun time with each other at getting our cu... CUTIE MARKS!" The info finally hit her. She did have great times with her friends, but without a cutie mark, she felt like an outcast. She did felt comfort that their were others like her, but she felt like she wouldn't be accepted by society because of her empty flank.
"I'm lonely."
Sweetie Belle finds herself with Nights in a new land that could once be considered as a cave. Many of the rocks that made up the walls and ceilings have long been broken off, showing the sunlight into the once darken chambers. Surrounded everywhere were crystals and shards of various colors and sizes, shinning sparkles from the sun.
"So, does this place look like somewhere your sister would like?" Nights asked.
"Maybe," Belle replied, looking at the ground "she would like the crystals, but she would have a tough time with the dirt."
"She hates getting dirty, huh?"
"Yeah, but for some reason, she loves to take mud-baths all the time when she's at the spa."
They both share a laugh together.
Sweetie Belle started a new topic "I wonder if the Crystal Empire looks anything like this?"
"I don't think it would be inside a cave" Nights noted the surroundings.
"What happened to it anyway?"
"You opened up to others" it said, catching Sweetie off guard. "The cave was once hollow, leaving only small connection with others, like your sister. When you started making friends with other ponies, the cave started to crumble; allowing you to be more open to them."
Sweetie Belle started to rub the back of her head in embarrassment. Glancing over a shine glimmered within her view "What about the crystals?"
"Those crystal are what symbolizes you. Who you are, what your like. The ones that are in the open are the ones that you are willing to share."
Belle looks around at the shards, their were quite a few of them. She spots a mulberry rose color crystal and trots on over to it "Its so beautiful" she puts a hoof on it and the crystal suddenly cracks "yeesh, it sure is fragile." She looks at the crack the crystal formed, her eyes refocus, seeing a reflection. Her reflection. She stares at herself and a sudden thought crosses her mind. The more she fumbled around with the idea, the more true it actually was.
"I'm fragile."
Scootaloo has trotted around for awhile now within this slanted world. She was in a world where everything was laying on something or another. Buildings looking like they would fall at any moment, trees bent as if they were raised in a windy plain, everything seemed to be slouching in one way or bending the other way. Scootaloo was walking with Nights floating beside along the dirt road, the only thing that wasn't bending.
"Alright, at first this place looked kinda cool, but now I'm starting to have second thoughts about it" the filly said looking at the crooked buildings.
"And they are?" Nights asked.
"Well, everything is bent so much it makes the 'Leaning Tower of Haysa' look straight. I get the weird feeling that these things will fall on me any second."
Nights smiles, getting an idea to question Scootaloo's character, "If they do, do you think you could keep them up?"
"These buildings? No way, they need a support beam or somepony that's strong."
"Like Rainbow Dash?"
"Yeah" she said in admiration "she's the strongest pony I know. She can push them straight no sweat."
Nights glanced over to a building "You know, I've always been told that buildings are like ponies. They're both made of various parts to create one single entity. Bricks and fur, roof and mane, windows and eyes, they both form something great.
"That's a strange comparison" "Who told you that?"
Nights wasn't expecting this question. It quickly thought of a reasonable answer Scootaloo might except. "M-my mother told me. A-anyway these buildings, I see them as ponies that need support to get them standing tall once more."
She seemed confused "Ponies? So why..." she stopped realizing that Nights was trying to get her to see something. "S/he's trying to say that these buildings represent me, isn't s/he? Well to bad, I don't need support" she boastfully thought.
Scootaloo continues through the town, staring up at the buildings overshadowing her. "Why would Nights think I need support, really? It's obvious that these buildings mean... mean... um... okay they show that... ah... is that?" she glimpses at a rainbow out to the distance. The vibrant colors start to remind her about her idle "Rainbow Dash is always at the forefront of my mind. I always try to impress her, wanting to get her appreciation" Scootaloo's back legs give way while looking at the rainbow. "It really is true, isn't it?"
"I look up to others for support."
"Say Nights" Scootaloo called out "how are rainbows made?"
Nights prepares itself for a lecture "You know how water gets up to the sky right?"
She nods "When pegasi form a tornado to shoot water into the sky."
"Yes and then they turn into clouds. From there the clouds range from being heavy with water to being a white puffy cloud. Sometimes the big heavy ones have trouble releasing the water it holds, so it goes through a special process. It's placed close to the sun and after awhile of taking in the sunlight, it breaks down. It returns to it's liquid state, but with the light it gained from the sun, it is given a rainbow effect to it."
Scootaloo give a small smile at the outcome "It takes a little bit of support for clouds to make something so pretty. Maybe it's time for me..."
The rainbow in the distance soon faded, as well as everything around Scootaloo and Nights. The world turned dark and barren with a dirty road and red sky. Nights reacted "Come on Scootaloo" and quickly dualized with her.
Scootaloo broke out of her thoughts and focused on whats happening "Another Nightmaren?" Nights nodded.
*clop clop clop clop*
*clop clop clop clop*
*clop clop clop clop*
The two braced themselves.
*clop clop clop clop*
*clop clop clop clop*
*clop clop clop clop*
Their was nopony in sight.
*CLOP CLOP CLOP CLOP*
*CLOP CLOP CLOP CLOP*
*CLOP CLOP CLOP CLOP*
Only the sound of hoof steps echoing around them.
*CLOP CLOP CLOP CLOP*
*CLOP CLOP CLOP CLOP*
*CLOP CLOP CLOP CLOP*
Finally, a figure was spotted making its way over a hill. It was on four legs for a moment before it got on its hind legs and kicking its front leg in the air. It didn't make a cry, though its expression was truly to be feared. This beast was a horse, a headless horse.
It lands its front legs back to the ground and drags its right hoof in a revving up style before it charges at the two. The speed of the headless horse seemed to have increased since the last time Scootaloo dealt with it. The dualized ponies avoided the Nightmaren by a thread of their mane.
"WHOA!" Scootaloo said to the shock "Its just as fast as Rainbow Dash."
"Watch out! Its coming back!" Nights warned. It took to the air, narrowly avoiding the decapitated horse. "Now lets think of a way to~ STOP IT?!?!" Even though the horse was wingless, it had powerful legs; legs that could kick itself into the air and straight at them. Nights kept on avoiding each and every attempt "It won't give us a chance to retaliate."
To Scootaloo's extent, she was letting Nights control their movements since the Dualization. Each dodge, each close encounter made her want to take action, to strike back. "Nights, let me take control for awhile."
"Are you sure - wah - you can deal with - whoa - this, Scootaloo?" Nights hesitantly asked, still avoiding each strikes.
Scootaloo was having second thoughts about this. If see was in control, she would be shaking her feathers off. "Wi-wi-will this work? Can I st-st-st-stand a chance against th-that thing?" She watched the Headless Horse make strike after strike, and she was ready to decline.
*pant pant*
Scootaloo started hearing a sound coming from right below her. It was Nights, it was exhausted from avoiding each attack. "Rainbow Dash would be ashamed of me, she would never let another pony fight alone" Scootaloo started to feel more confident "I can't Nights go through this alone!"
"I CAN DO IT NIGHTS!" She insisted. She was soon able to move the hooves and wings of her body. Just as soon as Scootaloo took control, she started to fall to the ground and avoided another charge of the Nightmaren.
Scootaloo landed on her hooves and bucked them, preparing another attack coming right at her. The Headless Horse was in front of her and was galloping this way. Scootaloo had to think quick, one wrong move and she could be considered a 'Headless Chicken'. It was about to collide with her with an instinct took over her. She leaped forward and used the charging horse as a leap frog player. When doing this, she wind up her back legs and kicked the horse down, having it spin and slid uncontrollably on the ground until it faded away.
With the Nightmaren now gone, the world started to return back into the way it once was. "That was amazing Scootaloo!" Nights said, ending their Dualizing "You were able to stop that thing all on your own."
Scootaloo started to smile but quickly hide it in a cool expression "Oh pff, it was a pushover." She starts trotting away from Nights with a grin on her face "I could've taken that thing with one leg tide up."
Nights follows after her, leaving a few buildings that started to straighten up.