//------------------------------//
// Of Dreams and Spirits 
// Story: The Doctor Whooves Chronicles Episode 6: Twilight Falls 
// by Doctor Perseus 
//------------------------------//


Chapter 1: Of Dreams and Spirits


Ruleo, 1678 C.E.

Derpy shot awake in a cold sweat, her heart pounding like she had just nearly avoided getting eaten by a dragon. Her legs and wings were shaking and her breathing was quick. She pulled herself out of bed and trudged her way to the front of the house. The sound of Marcus snoring reverberated about as Derpy walked down the hallway, through the kitchen, and out the glass door. A simple patio waited for her beyond the door, furnished with nothing more than a table and a few chairs. A single lamp stood at the edge of the patio and illuminated the surrounding area in a warm, relaxing light. The night sky had become a light, neon blue and Derpy could see the beginnings of the sunrise starting to form on the horizon.
She sat down in one of the chairs and rested her head back a bit. The sound of her thumping heart could still be heard. "Not another one," she sighed while rubbing her forehead. The images of the nightmare were still fresh in her mind. They were always clear because it was always the same nightmare. It would start with her being back in the Tomb of the Twilight King. The Twilight King himself, Dusk, would be standing before her. Twilight would be held in one of his massive hands and the decapitated head of President Tyrion Targaryen would be lying on the ground a few feet from Derpy. Then, a ghostly, sickly Colonel Ash would appear and begin to walk towards her. She would back up but find herself bumping into a wall constructed of long arms covered in green hair. Ash would then be upon her and she would stare deeply into his glassy eyes. From the depths, the angry eyes of the Jabberwocky would appear and lunge at her. This was when she'd wake up.
"Nightmare?" asked a voice from behind. Derpy looked to see the Doctor approaching her. "You like to mumble loudly in your sleep." She blushed a bit as he pulled a chair next to hers and sat down. "They must be pretty bad because I remember hearing you cry one night."
"I think I'm just stressed," Derpy replied.
"I'd be surprised if you weren't. It's been a very troublesome month."
"Do...do you have nightmares, Doctor?"
The Doctor faced Derpy. "Everypony has nightmares, Derpy. It's a part of life."
"What do you have nightmares about?"
An almost fatherly smile appeared on the Doctor's face. "Come on. You don't want to hear about what this old stallion sees when he sleeps."
"I'd be interested in hearing about-"
"No. You wouldn't." The Doctor's face had now become cold and serious. "You really don't want to hear about the stuff I see in my dreams, Derpy Hooves."
She lowered her head slightly. "You must have a lot of bad memories."
"Enough to span many lifetimes, which they do as a matter of fact."
Derpy was quiet momentarily. "My nightmares always involve what happened when Dusk returned. And...they also always end with the Jabberwocky's eyes coming at me."
The Doctor gave a teasing smile. "Still on that old lizard are you?" Derpy remained silent and the Doctor became serious again. "I don't know if this will help but I wouldn't worry about him, the Jabberwocky."
"Why not?"
"Because there's a good team going up against him: you and I." Derpy blushed and smiled at the Doctor. The Doctor turned away from Derpy and looked up at the disappearing night sky. "I usually dream about where I'm going." He turned back to face her. "That's the basis of my dreams and nightmares."
"Just where you're going?"
"Well, that and also where I've been but the future is what I mostly dream about. Out of the three terms of time, the future is truly the most terrifying one. The past is a cloudy blur of mysteries, the present is common knowledge, but the future is utterly uncertain. And it doesn't even have to be the 'big picture' future of the world but rather just our own personal futures. What we're going to have for breakfast tomorrow. Who we're going to meet next Tuesday during tea. What accident is going to occur on your way home. Whether you're going to get the sudden urge to grab a nearby fez and place it on your head. Terrifying wonder. That's the future."
"I never knew somepony like you would wonder about the future like that."
"Well, now you do...and now I could use a nice, hot biscuit!" The Doctor abruptly stood up and headed back inside the house. Derpy turned back towards the horizon just in time to see Nymphadora's sun making its first appearance of the day.

Nymphadora, 1678 C.E.

Twilight couldn't remember the last time she'd slept. There seemed to be a strange aura in this new land of twilight that kept everything within its grasp awake. It had now become a habit of hers to spend several hours just walking about the City Centre. Dusk never seemed to have a need to keep a constant eye on her to make sure she didn't escape. This was because both he and Twilight knew this was the safest place in the twilight half of Nymphadora right now. Everything beyond was a wasteland of trapped souls and vicious beasts. 
One particular place in the City Centre where Twilight managed to find some amount of peace was the library. When she wasn't wandering about, she would venture into the library to read up on Nymphadorian history and politics. The only times when she felt uncomfortable in the library would be when she would see Dusk spying on her out of the corner of her eye. It was true that Dusk didn't frighten Twilight as much as he had upon his revival but that didn't stop her from being intimidated. He was still a powerful being and her magical lock on his expanding twilight curtain was weakening. It wouldn't be long now before Twilight's grasp on the twilight vanished and Dusk spread his dominion out further across Nymphadora and eventually to Auran and Ruleo.
After one long walk, Twilight returned to the library once more to read up on any further information about Nymphadora and its moons. She found a comfortable spot in the back corner behind a collection of large bookcases and started looking into a book called First Contact: Nymphadora's Initial Reach into the Stars by Irving Indigo. She had only made it two pages in when she heard the sound of footsteps moving about the library. Twilight instantly took notice of this as the City Centre was only occupied by herself and Dusk and these footsteps sounded too light and quick to belong to the armor-clad Twilight King.
"Hello?" Twilight asked as she stood up and made her way towards the center of the library. The footsteps continued to circle around her for a minute or so before falling silent. She reached the center of the library, which was marked by a circular desk containing various paper stacks and dead monitors, and looked around for any sign of life. "Hello?"
"Are you safe?" asked a small voice from within the opening in the central, circular desk. "Are you a monster?"
It sounds like a child, Twilight thought. "Don't worry. I'm no monster. Just your everyday unicorn from Equestria," she replied.
"Are you with the monsters? I've seen you hang around that one covered in armor a lot."
"Trust me, it's not by choice. I'm sort of stuck with him until help arrives."
"Promise that you won't hurt me!"
"I promise. Cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye."
Suddenly, a Nymphadorian girl around the age of ten stood up from within the circular desk with a confused look on her face. She was wearing an indigo dress and her hair, which hung down to just past her shoulders, was decorated with a single red ribbon. Her body also emanated a bright but tolerable blue light in a similar fashion to the many other Nymphadorians Twilight had seen moving about Lupae in the twilight. "That's a weird thing to say when making a promise," she stated.
Twilight smiled and giggled. "Well, I learned it from a friend of mine who, in all honesty, is pretty weird herself so that's a fair thing to say," Twilight replied.
The girl laughed before climbing over the desk and standing in front of Twilight. "I guess you're not that scary."
"Pardon me but I don't think I'm scary at all."
"Are you kidding? Have you seen that horn of yours? You could poke somebody's eye out!"
"I'll have you know that I've never once poked anypony in the eye with my horn!"
"Really? Not one single eye?"
Twilight darted her eyes around and blushed. "Okay, fine! There was that one time with my brother but that was the only time!"
The girl giggled and began to slowly walk around Twilight. "I like you. You're funny. I've always wanted to meet a pony." She extended one of her claws. "I'm Thea."
Twilight extended one of her hooves and shook Thea's outstretched claw. "Twilight Sparkle." Thea abruptly began skipping away. "Where are you going?"
"Follow me, Twilight Sparkle!"
Twilight shrugged her shoulders before running after Thea.

Ruleo, 1678 C.E.

The Doctor sat at the table while Mr. Hazel, the Ruleonite who owned the house and was caring for the ponies and Marcus during their stay, began making his signature breakfast of honey biscuits. He was a somewhat elderly Ruleonite with a thin, twirly, silver mustache; aged bags under his eyes; drooping ears, and a frizzled tail sticking out of the line between his gray slacks and striped pajama shirt. It wasn't long before the house was filled with the addictive aroma of honey. Sunlight was pouring in through the glass doorway and the kitchen was filled with a charming, warm glow that made everything sparkle slightly.
Derpy came in from outside and found a spot at the table across from the Doctor. She looked tired in the morning light and her mane was still strewn. "You look like you had a rough night's sleep," Mr. Hazel commented as he placed a tray of honey biscuits on the table. Derpy took one of the biscuits and began munching on it slowly.
The Doctor grabbed a biscuit and took a bite out of it. The wonderful combination of biscuit and honey made the Doctor's tongue dance with joy and a surge of energy spread throughout his body. The Doctor chuckled a bit as he saw the sleepy Marcus make his appearance. He sat down at one head of the table, grabbed one of the biscuits, and started munching on it in a similar way to Derpy. "Nice to see that you're awake," the Doctor teased.
"Shut up. It's too early for me to deal with you," Marcus replied with a weak smirk.
Mr. Hazel sat down at the opposite end of the table to Marcus and placed a large jug of Ruleonite milk, which was orange, on the table. He took hold of a biscuit and clutched it tightly in one of his hands. "So you three are leaving today?" he asked.
"If Marcus's contact keeps true to their word," the Doctor replied.
"She will," Marcus replied with a strong sense of faith. "There's nothing that's going to stop her from getting to us."
"You seem to have a lot of confidence in this contact of yours. Who is she?"
Marcus balanced his partially finished biscuit in his hands. "Her name's Sylvia. She's someone I've been wanting to see again for a long time."
"She's your girlfriend, isn't she?" Derpy stated suddenly. "The one you've talked about a few times."
Marcus eyed her with somewhat widened eyes. "Yeah. She is," Marcus replied with a smile. "It's been a while since we last saw each other."
"When was that?"
"Right around when the war started."
"Wasn't that ten years ago?"
Marcus let out a deep sigh. "Yeah."
The Doctor and Derpy exchanged a glance. Suddenly, the sound of the engine of a spaceship could be heard from outside. The house shook slightly in response. Marcus instantly stood up and ran outside. The Doctor and Derpy followed while Mr. Hazel waited behind to finish his biscuit.
Outside, a silver spaceship around the size of a cottage and resembling that of a fighter jet touched down in the plain of indigo grass. A ramp opened up underneath the ship and extended down to the ground. The Doctor, Derpy, and Marcus watched as the inhabitants of the ship began to come forth. The Doctor was both surprised and happy to see that the militia approaching them was a mix of Nymphadorians, Ruleonites, and Auranians. They're beginning to being brought back together, he thought.
"There she is," Marcus said as a huge smile appeared on his face.
The Doctor realized that he was referring to the Auranian at the head of the group. She had a slim yet muscular figure and was wearing a slick, red, futuristic spandex suit that appeared as smooth as silk yet as tough as iron. Her eyes were deep green and cut through the bluish landscape of Ruleo like a knife in melted butter. A smile appeared on her face as a long, red, serpentine tongue stuck out slightly. "Well," the Doctor whispered to Derpy. "Things have just gotten slightly more interesting."

Nymphadora, 1678 C.E.

Twilight followed Thea down several flights of stairs before they entered the central heart of the City Centre. This segment of the building was mostly home to small restaurants for the previous employees and various sources of relaxation and entertainment. Thea led Twilight under a yellow arch with the words City Centre School embedded on top. Beyond the arch was a long hallway which branched off into several rooms. At the end of the hallway was a cafeteria which contained a large window that presented the vast expanse of Lupae. "This is where I went to school," Thea stated as she began to dance around the empty tables.
Twilight looked around the abandoned, dark cafeteria before quickly glancing back down the hallway. "It must have been nice when it was in use," she commented.
"It was. Lots of kids went here. Well...only the kids who had moms and dads who worked here." Thea began looking around the tables as if to be searching for something. "I wonder where they went."
"Who?"
"My friends."
"There are others here?"
"Yeah. There's ten of us." Thea began counting her fingers as she went through a list of names. "There's me, Nash, Louise, Steven, Lauren, Ivan, Penelope, Petyr, Clementine, and Jane."
"And you've all been hiding out in here for a whole month?!" Twilight gave an impressed look. "It must have taken a miracle for you to hide from Dusk."
"Nah. It wasn't that hard. We have a talent for disappearing when we need to." Thea continued to look around the tables for her friends.
Twilight looked over the cafeteria until her eyes fell across a particular object nailed to one of the walls: a plaque. She didn't know why but she found herself drawn towards the plaque. She approached it and began examining it. The plaque was gray and shimmered slightly in the light of the twilight. Her attention was drawn to two words at the top of the plaque. "In memoriam," she read aloud.
"They should be around here somewhere," echoed Thea's voice from another part of the cafeteria.
Twilight began to read further along the text of the plaque. Under the first two words was a date that altered itself before Twilight's eyes into a date in relation to Equestrian time. "November 22, 1663 C.E." She continued to read further. "This is a moment that will forever be remembered. A signal for change. A symbol of tragedy. Many young souls have been tarnished and some have been lost. We will never forget their smiling faces. We will never forget what was taken from them. We will continue to strive for a better future so that this may never happen again. Their sorrow will never be forgotten and shall always be respected."
"I see you're already reading that."
Twilight jumped as she turned to see Thea standing right next to her. "I thought you were looking for your friends."
"They're around here somewhere. I'll find them later. I see you've found the plaque."
Twilight turned back to the plaque. "Yeah. What's it about? Reading it, I get the feeling that something terrible happened here."
Thea sighed. "You've got the right feeling. A bomb was set off right in this very room about fifteen years ago."
"A bomb?!"
"Yeah. It wasn't enough to take down the City Centre but it took the bomber and ten others with him."
"That...that's horrible!"
"Yeah. Now this place has become a stupid tourist attraction along with being a school because now everybody wants to see the site of the Mad Bomber's attack."
Twilight gulped slightly. "Were...were the victims...children?"
"Yeah."
"I just...why would anypony do something like that...and to children, no less?!"
"Some people are just crazy." Thea's voice had become strangely bored and slightly annoyed. "When people come by, they always talk about how sorry they feel for the kids and they think about how horrible it must have been. Honestly...it didn't hurt."
"Well, Thea, you can't blame them for thinking about...what did you just say?"
"It didn't hurt, when the bomb went off." Twilight suddenly felt a cold chill running up her spine. "There was just a jolt and that was it. Nothing more to it."
Twilight could feel her body beginning to shake. She found herself listening carefully to Thea. Her voice was becoming raspier and her breathing had become heavier. "Thea...what were the names of the victims?"
Thea gave a childish, giddy, creepy laugh in response. "You must have a bad memory, Twilight Sparkle! I already told you their names. There was Nash, Louise, Steven, Lauren, Ivan, Penelope, Petyr, Clementine, Jane, and me."
Twilight jumped as she turned back to face Thea. Her eyes went wide and her jaw dropped. "Oh. My. Celestia," she gasped.
Thea's appearance had changed drastically. Her dress was now torn and burnt, many areas of her skin were peeled off, half of her face appeared to have burned off, and her eyes were giving off a faintly red light. Thea giggled and smiled wider than normal skin would allow. "What's with that funny look? Is there something on my face?" Thea asked. Twilight began to back away from Thea and slowly made her way towards the hallway. Thea gave a confused look and started to follow her. "Twilight Sparkle? What's wrong?"
"Just...just stay there."
Thea gave a sad face and her dead eyes started to tear up. "What's wrong? Why are you acting so strange?"
"Just stay there, Thea!"
"What's wrong?! Did I say something?!"
"Please don't come any closer." Thea froze. Twilight could feel her whole body shaking with equal amounts of fear and guilt. "Just...stay away."
Suddenly, Thea rushed at her and grabbed her forelegs. A bright red light started pouring from her eyes. "WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS?! I THOUGHT YOU WERE GOING TO BE MY FRIEND!" Twilight broke free, jumped back, and started running down the hallway. Thea continued to chase after her. "DON'T LEAVE! PLEASE DON'T LEAVE! WE DON'T WANT TO BE ALONE AGAIN!"
Twilight gasped as she saw nine other Nymphadorian children, showing the same ghastly traits as Thea, running towards her. "DON'T GO! DON'T GO!" they cried.
Twilight jumped past them and raced down the hallway. Their cries continued to reverberate through the air and pound against her eardrums as she ran back under the arch. Just as the ghosts were about to pass through the arch after her, an armored hand appeared and cast a purple shield in front of them. Thea and her ghostly friends suddenly found themselves trapped within the section beyond the arch. Twilight looked to see that Dusk had appeared and was the one who had cast the shield. Her attention was drawn to Thea and her friends, who were now constantly transitioning between their normal and ghostly appearances. "I see you've made some new friends, lovely Twilight," Dusk chuckled.
Several different emotions pumped through Twilight: rage, sadness, guilt, fear, confusion, etc. "How?!" Twilight asked. "How can they be here if they're-"
"Dead? Simple. The twilight has always acted as a point between the sunset and dusk and vice versa. It can also act as a transition point for the departed. Those lost to tragedy. Those with unfinished business. These are the spirits who are trapped in the twilight of life and death. When my twilight realm comes into play, the lost dead return to the new world of the living and the living find themselves trapped in a point between light and dark." A usual, sadistic chuckle echoed through Dusk's helmet. "You better get used to this, Twilight Sparkle. My minions and the lost living aren't the only ones wandering through the curtains of twilight. The dead of Nymphadora are returning as well."
Twilight couldn't help but shake as Dusk laughed and walked off. Her eyes fell back to Thea and her friends. The longer she looked at their sad and confused living-dead faces, one particular feeling began to overshadow all the other emotions she was experiencing. It wasn't fear. It wasn't anger. It was simply sadness. Pure, guilt-ridden sadness.
When Twilight later returned to her room and stared out upon the lost spirits wandering about through Dusk's twilight realm, she placed her head in her hooves and wept.