Chapter 3
“Laughter and Honesty”
We flew back to Canterlot on the sky chariot as the sun began to make it’s dip towards the west. Tenebros flew beside us, his face determined as his leathery wings flapped occasionally. He wore goggles over his eyes, probably to protect them from the sun. I’ve seen Bat Ponies use them before, mostly due to their sensitive night vision.
Twilight looked at me anxiously as we flew towards Canterlot Castle. “Let’s just hope Tenebros can pull Luna from her slumber. Two Alicorns working on this problem is better than none.”
“I still wonder though,” I said, “The elements I get, take them out and Equestria is vulnerable. But Luna?”
“Didn’t Celestia say it was hard for Alicorns to have their dreams invaded?” Twilight pointed out.
“So either she was in the dream realm already and was caught…” I trailed off, not wanting to think about the alternative.
As we came to touch down on the landing platform, Celestia and Voidera were there to greet us. Celestia smiled as Tenebros touched down. “My, Tenebros it has been a long time hasn’t it?” She said.
“Several centuries Princess Celestia.” Tenebros said with a smile, “I...tried to keep a fairly low profile following...you know…”
“I see, but I am happy you managed to come so soon.” She replied.
“Luna was in trouble, I wasn’t about to turn away.” Tenebros replied.
Yeah you were, at least until we offered a date with her.
“We haven’t met,” Voidera said, coming over. “But I have heard that the last child of the House of Night had survived.”
“Voidera? I cannot believe you are still alive.” Tenebros said with a smile. “However did you surv-”
“A story for another time.” Celestia said, speaking urgently. “We need your talents to free Luna from her sleep.”
Tenebros nodded, “While I am not nearly as talented as Luna, I will do what I can.”
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Tenebros entered Luna’s room like it was holy. He walked up to the sleeping midnight blue alicorn and gazed down at her in wonder and amazement. He saw her sleeping and said, “She’s still as beautiful as I remember her…”
“Can you help her?” Twilight asked, coming in alongside me. “We really need her help.”
He nodded, and his horn glowed as he ran it over Luna. He blinked, and shook his head, his horn sparking a little. “Something is, blocking my entrance…”
“You can’t get in?” I asked. “What’s wrong with her?”
Tenebros looked to us, “If I had to hazard a guess, I’d say whatever has caused her slumber has taken root in her mind, and refuses to leave.”
“Like a virus or something?” Twilight suggested.
“More like a weed,” Tenebros said. “This creature, has taken hold of her mind, forced it’s way into it, and rooted itself inside. I have encountered things like this before, whilst Luna and I were...together. Anyways, this being, like any plant, has spread it’s roots, possibly to the other victims.”
“So can’t we pull it out?” I asked. “Won’t that make the other roots come out?”
“It’s not that simple.” Tenebros explained. “If I were to attempt to forcefully remove the presence, I’d be taking bits and pieces of the victim’s subconscious with them. At best, the victims will become mentally insane, maddened by the sudden pull. At worst...it could lobotomize them….”
“But,” Twilight said, looking anxious. “There must be something we can do.”
“Fortunately, there is,” Tenebros replied, “Using my talents, I can bring your subconscious, into another pony’s dream realm. You will project into their mind, and you can manually sever the root. But the only way to do so, is to battle the victim’s personal demons, reach them, and convince them that the nightmare isn’t real. Once that is done, you can find the root and destroy it.”
“And that will safely free them?” I asked.
“Yes, they will be unconscious for a time as the severed root dies but, they will be unharmed by it’s effects.” He answered with a smile.
“Send me then,” Celestia said, coming in. “I will not let my ponies suffer when there is something I can do about it.”
“With all due respect your highness,” Tenebros replied, “If I were to send you in, the creature would naturally know who you are. It would know to block you, your sheer power is a detriment, it will alert the mind to your presence like moths to a flame.”
“Then send me,” Twilight said.
“Twilight…” Celestia said.
“I’m not nearly as powerful as you are,” My wife replied, “I can get in, stop this nightmare and free my friends.”
“It’s true, as a friend, the victim would not think twice about their inclusion.” Tenebros said.
“What about me?” I asked. “I’m not an alicorn at all, and they are my friends too.”
“Do you hear what you two are saying?” Celestia implored. “Once again you two fly into danger with no regard for whether ot not you will come back.”
Voidera suddenly appeared beside her, and put a foreleg on her shoulder, he smirked and said, “Hello pot, I’m kettle, I’m black.”
Celestia fumed before finally recomposing herself. “Very well, but do be careful you two.”
“We moved the other elements while you two were gone.” Voidera explained. “They are all resting in a spare bedroom.”
“Then we don’t have any time to lose.” Twilight said firmly.
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Guards helped all of the girls get comfortable on the spare beds made available. Twilight and I laid sprawled on small cots, Tenebros between us. He looked over at us, “When you both get inside, do not do anything until you see me. I can project myself as a figment, but you’re on your own when facing the demons inside.”
“Alright,” Twilight said, and looked at me, reaching over a hoof. “Be careful Private…”
I took her hoof and said, “Don’t worry, we’ll be with each other again. We always seem to come back to one another.”
Twilight smiled, and then laid a kiss on my nose, smiled and said, “For Luck…”
Okay...she just got twenty times more sexy by quoting Galaxy Wars…
Tenebros’ horn began glowing and he said, “Alright, now relax, and fall into sleep, you will feel a slight...pull at first. But just relax, and let it take you.”
We did as he asked. I closed my eyes and laid back on the bed...at first I felt nothing and then...I felt...a BIG pull, like something just grabbed me and yanked me out of my body. Suddenly, I was floating in mid air, I saw my body below me, sound asleep. I then looked over as a light came from Pinkie’s body, and a tether wrapped itself around me, pulling me into Pinkie’s mind. I saw Twilight suffer a similar fate, being pulled into Aj’s mind.
Hold on Pinkie...I’ll get you out of there…
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Chaos…
That was the only way to describe this mad dream. I stood on a platform with nowhere to go. I fell onto what looked like an old ball pit. I swam up and looked around.
All around me, the place was filled with cruel smiles all over the walls. Smiling, smirking, laughing…
This was Pinkie’s nightmare? Was all I thought...
I took a step forward, and saw a path form ahead of me...didn’t have any time to waste. I kept going, and the path kept pushing, but I felt that cold feeling of being watched.
But I was comforted by a good sight, an old friend, floating before me. Blackbird, in all her original glory was there, ready to fight once again. I picked her up, and heard giggling…
Demons came out, all bearing cruel smiles...in fact, that was all they bore...they were simply walking smiles, horrible cruel smiles that laughed at every misery. Every pain, every death, every cruel torture...it was all a joke to them.
But not to me.
I took Blackbird and fired at them, blasted them right in that smug mouth. I kept blasting them, bucking, punching, occasionally headbutting. They all came, and they all perished by my hoof.
I cut them all down without mercy, these nightmares..they plagued Pinkie’s soul...they forced her into pain…
Nopony hurts Pinkie...nopony…
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Perspective: Twilight Sparkle
Endless fields, was what I saw when I came down. A familiar sight to anypony who lives near Ponyville. I’ve walked these trees at least a dozen times, I’ve always marveled at the time and effort Aj put into them. The final product was always nothing short of glorious.
But I came to a landing, and saw that the trees were not beautiful anymore. They were dead, barren, their fruit long since rotted or simply never grown. The farm was dead, that could not be ignored.
I looked up, and saw something ahead, a light, a light towards an object. I moved closer, and saw a strange thing. I was never one for weapons, magic was always my greatest defense against any adversity. But, this weapon…
It was a sword, it’s blade and hilt adorned in gold, like the Elements of Harmony. The blade itself gleamed in the light, but along it, were six slots. Each of them, bore our marks…
I took the blade in my magic, it felt...natural, like I was meant to have it...but I’ve never seen this weapon before...how could I…?
I then started hearing the voices….
“You failed Applejack…”
I turned..and saw to my horror, creatures that resembled Aj’s family. They however, were not the lively group of ponies I know them as. They were coming towards me...looking starved..and racked with sorrow…
“You failed us…”
“You couldn’t stop it…”
“You should never have come home…”
“It would have been better if you had stayed with the Oranges…”
“Where you were out of the way…”
“Where you couldn’t hurt anypony…”
“Where you could die….”
I watched as one of them suddenly leaped at me. I held the blade at it’s flat end and blocked it. The creature snarled and tried to bite me, like a zombie pony out of one of Spike’s movies. I knew what this is now...these creatures were Aj’s nightmares.
If there was one pony more scared of letting anypony down then I was, it was Aj. These had to be all her worst fears come to past…
She wasn’t being honest with herself…
I had to remedy that…
Starting by making sure this nightmare couldn’t bite anymore…
*SHINK!*
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Perspective: Private
I cut through them, slaughtered and ended their dark laughter. They were silenced by Blackbird or by my magic. I kept moving through the labyrinth of Pinkie’s dreams. The paths twisted and turned, gravity moved at it’s own will.
I kept moving, ever quickly, ever eager to find Pinkie. I moved forward, and came upon a door. A door with more smiles on it. A giant lock was placed on it. I looked back, and saw the path had fallen.
I looked up, and saw a massive nightmare, it’s cruel smile looking down on me. I held Blackbird, and kept firing at it. The bullets, like usual, just seemed to bounce off. It reached for me, with it’s ugly looking hands, trying to grab me. I dodged and weaved, firing what magic I could at it…
I had to finish this quickly, but how…?
Whenever I was faced with a dark challenge...I would…
Call on...hope…
Chanting…
The chanting began as I focused on trying to call hope. I saw two portals opening on either side of me. Through them, stepped two grey coated stallions. One of them was clad in futuristic armor, his head bare, showcasing messy black hair and blueish eyes. He held up some kind of laser rifle, and blasted at the creature.
The other, a tall, bearded stallion with a staff on his back, drew said staff and concentrated on his horn. His horn turned almost blood red and his hooves ventured into two portals, coming out as demonic hands on another two portals appearing before the creature. The demon hands held the nightmare as the soldier fired into him.
He looked at me and yelled, “Don’t stand there, fight back!”
“Who are you?” I asked.
“I’m Commander Comet Tail, and this is my least favorite spot to be in right now.” He said firmly. He looked to his partner, “Disarm that thing Falcon.”
“Aye!” The man yelled, spreading his forelegs. The demon hands ripped the creature’s arms off, blood pouring from the wounds. “Someday, I’d like to go one day without running into some crazy abomination, is that too much to ask?”
“Not in our line of work,” I said, reloading Blackbird.
I leaped, flying up to the creature, aiming my gun into it’s now screaming open mouth. Two shots, three, four, all to take this creature down for good…
It fell, and I landed safely, watching just in time to see my ancestors..or were they my descendents, vanish before my eyes…
Hope was still on my side, as the lock vanished, and I stepped into the door…
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Perspective: Twilight
I fought my way through all of the nightmares. There was no way I was going to let them hurt Aj like this! They kept lurching toward me, moaning about Applejack’s failures. Applejack DIDN’T fail! She always came through, when it counted, and even went above and beyond when ponies asked it of her.
“Applejack isn’t a failure!” I yelled, as I kept turning horrific zombified ponies into giblets. “She is the loyalest of friends, and the most dependable of ponies! And calling her a failure so often that even she begins to believe it will NOT change MY mind!” Okay. I’m beginning to see why Private plays those zombie hoard games. There’s something empowering about hewwing your way through a mass of undead creatures to get to your goal. I finally found myself standing in front of a locked door.
“Applejack is one of my best friends,” I said bringing the sword up to slice the lock off. “She has never failed me. Sure we’ve had our disagreements and disappointments, but nopony is perfect. To expect her to be perfect is to dishonor her.”
The door slowly began to open…
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Perspective: Private
I entered to find, Pinkie. She sat there, in the middle of a ruined party, looking down at her hooves. I walked cautiously towards her, ever aware of the fact her mane was flat.
Nothing good ever happens when Pinkie’s mane is deflated...ever.
“Pinkie?” I said.
Her blue eyes looked up at me, and she said sadly, “Parties over now...show’s over...I’m over…”
“Pinkie…” I said, “Come on, this is a dream, a nightmare, you have to fight it…”
“What’re you going on about?” She asked me. “I’m a failure, my parties aren’t fun anymore. Nopony wants to be my friend anymore...they all just laugh at me...they laugh...and laugh…”
Suddenly those same mouths appeared on the walls, laughing more and more at Pinkie’s misery.
“Loser!”
“Bout time you stopped being annoying!”
“What’re ya gonna do, cry?”
“STOP IT! NO MORE LAUGHING! NO MORE!!!” Pinkie screamed...and then it all calmed…
I had to get through to her…
“When I was a little colt and, the sun was going doooown.” I sang suddenly.
“Private?” Pinkie said to me, looking on me.
“The darkness and the shadow’s, they would always make me froooown…”
“Your…”
I had to get through to her, and I knew how...I started...bouncing…
Oh my gosh I channelled my inner Pinkie…
“I’d hide under my pillow, from what I thought I saw, but Grandma Eye said that isn’t the way, to deal with fears at alll!!!” I sang, “And what is you may ask?”
“Private…” Pinkie said, blinking.
“She said, Pinkie, you always gotta stand up tall! Learn to face your fears. You’ll see that they can’t hurt you, just laugh and make them disappear….”
I turned to the mouths and said, “Ha. Ha. Ha.”
Suddenly, they yelled in pain, their laughter was turned on them. Their weapon was turned against them.
I smiled and danced around, “SOOO, giggle at the ghostie, guffaw at the grossly. Crack up at the creepy. Whoop it up with the the weepy. Chortle at the kooky. Snortle at the spookie…”
Pinkie...smiled, and suddenly, her smile grew...and grew...until she suddenly joined in with, “And tell that big dumb scary face to take a hike and leave you alone and if he thinks he can scare you then he's got another thing coming and the very idea of such a thing just makes you wanna... hahahaha... heh…”
Both of us smiled and sang, “LAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAUUUUGH!!!”
Pinkie’s mane poofed back to it’s normal curliness, and she kept laughing as the walls started crumbling down...I looked up...and saw a blue root was in front of me...I imagined Silver wolf….
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Perspective: Twilight Sparkle
Applejack sat in the middle of the room, before what looked like a shrine. A pair of ponies in the pictures looked down on her with what looked like disgust and disappointment.
“You failed us,” the stallion said.
“You should have never become the head of the family,” the mare said.
“Ah know, Papa. I know, Mama,” Applejack said, her hat at the base of the shrine, her head hung low. “Ah’m so sorry.”
“Look at the devastation around you. Do you think ‘sorry’ will ever be enough?” the stallion demanded.
“Applejack!” I cried, galloping up to her.
“Did… did Ah disappoint you, too, Twilight?” Applejack asked, looking up.
“What?” I asked taken aback.
“She is a disappointment to everypony,” the mare on the shrine said, disapprovingly. “She can’t keep the farm alive, can’t keep her family together, can’t…”
“You’re wrong!” I declared, glaring at the false image. “Applejack has been the most loyal, and trustworthy friend I’ve ever had.”
They hissed.
“It’s no wonder Applejack is such a failure. Just look at the types of ponies she hangs out with! Disrespectful to their elders,” the mare uttered with a frown.
“NO! It’s you that’s disrespecting HER! She’s a true friend, helps those who need it, and has not failed! All the while, she’s had integrity. She’s always been true to herself,” Twilight said glaring at the images, then turned to Applejack. “Fight it, AJ. I know you can. True you’ve had set-backs, and troubles, but you’ve always been true to yourself and the ponies who care about you.”
Applejack blinked, then shook her head. She picked up her hat, put it on her head, and stood up glaring at the false icons.
“One thing Ah’ve always hated,” Applejack said, angrily, “is a liar. An’ you two are tha biggest liars in this here place! Y’all ain’t my parents! My real parents were prouda me! They’d never say the pile a road apples y’all’ve been spewin’!”
Suddenly with a sound like breaking glass, the shrine shattered, revealing a dark blue root. I raised the Sword of Harmony, ready to cleave it in in twain! What? C’mon, leave it in!
Sure we’ll leave it in Twili! Wow it feels great to be able to break the laws of physics again! WEEEE!
Physics or narrative? Wait… Oh nevermind…