//------------------------------// // Nightmares // Story: Twilight's Corruption // by vx2254 //------------------------------// Twilight found herself here in this strange place once more; wandering the crystalline caverns of the Far North; a cold, desolate, and dreary place far from the warmth and comfort of her home in Ponyville. It seemed she came here more and more frequently, especially after her coronation. "H-hello…?" Twilight said out loud, her mane standing up on end as she felt an all-too familiar presence creeping over her. She turned and found herself enveloped in shadow; a screaming torrent of loud sounds and brief, terrifying images assaulting her before she lost her footing, falling down into the endless darkness screaming… The Lavender Alicorn screamed as she shot straight up in bed, breathing heavily and rapidly, her heart racing with fear, sweating and shaking uncomfortably. This was the Third night in a row she'd gone without a good night's sleep, and one could easily tell something was bothering the Princess. "Nightmare's again, Twilight?" Spike asked, having been woken up by his friend and caretaker. Twilight calmed down some, nodding and checking outside. Princess Luna's moon was at its peak in the sky; it wouldn't be long now before Princess Celestia would raise the sun. Intent on getting at least a small amount of sleep, Twilight laid back down and shut her eyes, disturbed once again by Spike. "Have you told any pony about this?" Spike asked, worried. "No…" Twilight answered, exhausted. "No, Spike… I… I don't think they'd be able to help with this." "You never know, Twilight. At the very least, it'll probably make you feel better talking with somepony about it. The others are worried about you, you know." Spike said, pushing for Twilight to seek the help of others. For a while there was no response from the Alicorn Princess, though eventually she spoke. "Okay… Tomorrow… I'll tell them tomorrow." She said, drifting back to sleep, resting fairly well the rest of the night, save for the worried thoughts that ate away at the back of her mind. Getting a late start on her day the next morning, Twilight found herself interrupted from her rest by a knock at the door. She reluctantly rolled out of bed, looking like a mess. Judging based on the voices she heard from downstairs, Spike had invited at least one of her friends in. Giving her mane a quick brush, Twilight made herself look at least half-decent before descending the stairs to see Spike and Applejack talking. "… And that's when Pinkie mysteriously lost the entire batch of Muffins." Applejack said, finishing a story she'd been telling Spike. The dragon couldn't help but laugh at that. "I'm pretty sure any pony could guess who was responsible." Spike said, noticing Twilight had finally gotten out of bed. "Oh, Twilight; I was just about to come tell you Applejack's here." "Hey there, Twi." Applejack said, a friendly smile on her face, which soon changed to a more worried expression. "You still ain't lookin' too good, Twilight… Is something wrong?" Twilight began to look uncomfortable. She wanted to tell Applejack everything, but… She couldn't. She had no idea why; she just couldn't bring herself to admit something was wrong. It was strange, she knew there was something terribly wrong, but no matter how badly she wanted to, she couldn't and wouldn't tell any pony. "N-no… No, I just… Didn't get a whole lot of sleep last night, that's all." Twilight said, receiving a glare from Spike who otherwise stayed silent. "Well… If yer sure, Twi." The Earth Pony said, not wanting to push too quickly into the matter, confident that Twilight would come around on her own if something was wrong. "Me an' the others were plannin' a party for mah sister and her friends after their Graduation next week. Ah was wonderin' if you'd be free to help." "Of course; I'd be happy to." Twilight replied, thankful for the change of subject. "Alrighty, then; I'll see ya later." Applejack said, waving goodbye as she left the Library. "'Gonna tell them tomorrow', huh?" Spike asked as Applejack left, annoyed with Twilight. "I'm sorry, Spike; I… I just don't want to talk about it, okay!?" She said in an overly aggressive tone, catching Spike by surprise. Immediately regretting her sudden aggression, Twilight's ears went flat and she turned away from Spike. "I-I'm sorry… I'm not feeling too good… Would you mind running a few errands for me?" She said, trying to pick up the pieces and make this day as normal as any other. "Sure…" Spike said, feeling guilty for pushing Twilight over the edge like that. He grabbed a list of usual errands to run during the day and left, leaving Twilight all alone in the library… The day was very uneventful; Twilight stayed in her library, pouring over old books and maps, mostly relating to the Crystal Empire, trying to find answers, or at least clues; some indication that the place she kept dreaming about was real. Hours passed and still no luck, giving up for the day she left to meet with her friends and plan the party at Sugarcube Corner. Her inability to resolve this problem was starting to get to her; and the lack of sleep was no help either. All the frustration and anxiety caused by these damn nightmares was starting to get to Twilight, who wasn't quite sure how much more she could take before finally snapping. That wasn't even the worst of it; it was not knowing, at least not for certain. Not knowing where these crystalline caverns were, not knowing what entity kept attacking her, even though it looked and felt vaguely familiar; to say nothing of the strange feelings she'd get in the waking realm; like somepony was there beside her, watching her every move, somepony she couldn't see or hear clearly; the answers always just barely out of reach... "Ah, Twilight; you're just in time. We were about to discuss where we should host the event." Rarity said, beckoning for Twilight to sit next to her. Twilight shook her head, hardly realizing she'd reached her destination, or that her friends were all present, her lack of awareness rather obvious to everypony. Still; She did so, looking around to the others, noticing concerned looks out of the corner of her eye, though nopony spoke up. "We've already ruled out Rainbow Dash's house, and Fluttershy's too." The Fashionista continued. "The Cakes are going to be reeeeeealy busy that weekend, so we can't party here." Pinkie Pie said, ruling out another potential place. "I'm going to be getting the Boutique redecorated that weekend as well, so I suppose that only leaves Applejack's house and your Library, Twilight." Rarity concluded. The Princess had only been half-listening, feeling exhausted from her lack of sleep, shaking off disorientation and focusing on the task at hand. "Uh… I guess Applejack's place would be best; if you don't mind, that is." Twilight said, making the decision quickly. "Nah, ah don't mind. There're some projects Big Mac and ah'll have to get done before then, but there ain't many and they ain't really all that big." Applejack said, noticing Twilight's trouble staying awake. The six talked about the party for a while after that; what decorations to put up, music to play, ponies to invite, and other little things like that. Twilight didn't catch the entire conversation and was admittedly relieved when it was all over, saying goodbye and good night to her friends before leaving for the Library. On her way back, she felt… Unsettled; almost as if something were watching her every move, whispers heard in the back of her head, making her even more nervous. Soon, however, Twilight was back in the safety and comfort of her sanctuary; noticing a map laid out across the table that she hadn't pulled out. Perhaps Spike had done it? The snoring from upstairs, however, suggested he'd been asleep for a while, and she didn't blame him; he'd probably be just as exhausted as she was, as most every night she woke up had disrupted his sleeping patterns too. Whatever the case, whoever pulled the map out didn't matter. She glanced over it, noticing a bunch of old marks and barely-visible text scrawled onto it, one mark in particular pointing out the location of a series of old Crystal Mines near the edge of the Crystal Empire. This was progress, for sure, but Twilight was simply too tired to make anything of it. She rested and quickly fell into a deep sleep, resolving to look into it tomorrow. She was there once more; the caverns she'd visited many nights before, save this time instead of wandering through the tunnels prior to being consumed by darkness, she found herself standing in a chamber filled with dark crystals; a pitch-black cloud forming in front of her, a figure standing within. "Wh-who are you!?" Twilight asked, an all-too familiar feeling of dread creeping over her. Still, the Princess stood her ground; confronting this entity which had finally chosen to reveal itself to her. The cloud parted to reveal somepony she'd never expected to see in a thousand years, one she'd assumed defeated long ago; King Sombra, staring at her with a triumphant grin on his face. Black crystals began to form from the floor, locking Twilight's hooves in place, creeping up her body slowly, keeping her held firmly in place no matter how hard she struggled. She tried magic, but not even that would work; the formation began to speed up, enveloping her legs, her body, creeping up her neck and covering her head just before she had the ability to scream… Twilight awoke just as her vision faded to pitch-black, sweating and breathing heavily, eyes wide open. Her heart was racing at a mile a minute, it seemed, her hooves shaking as she tried to comprehend what she'd just seen… Fortunately, Spike had not been disturbed this time, her rolled over in his bed, sleeping soundly. Calming herself, new energy poured into Twilight. She knew Sombra must have been responsible for these nightmares. Perhaps he hadn't been defeated after all, and had merely retreated to those old caves? It seemed unlikely, but there was no other logical explanation for it. Sick of the dreams and the effects they were having over her life, the Princess knew what she had to do. Silently slipping out of bed, she scrawled a quick note on a piece of blank parchment, looking over the map on the table once more before leaving for the Train Station, intent on catching the next train for the Crystal Empire. These nightmares would stop, one way or another. A nagging voice at the back of her mind insisted she consult her friends for help, but then a more powerful voice told her not to, that she'd only be putting them in unnecessary danger. This same voice guided her along and kept her resolve strong, growing more and more powerful with every step towards her destination. The thought never crossed her mind that maybe she was a mere puppet on strings; being manipulated by some greater mastermind, but then again; it was impossible. She was an Alicorn Princess; these decisions were her own… Right? Snapping back to reality, Twilight found herself already buying a ticket at the station, boarding the midnight train. She sat down in a passenger car, looking outside at the countryside illuminated by Princess Luna's beautiful moon… A thousand possibilities ran through her mind as to how this scenario would play out, few of them ending well. Uncertainty ate away at Twilight, conflicting with that voice reassuring her that everything would work out fine, that it would all be over soon.