//------------------------------// // Chapter 7 // Story: The Return of Nightmare Belle // by LostUmbrella //------------------------------// Sweetie Belle felt a pair of hooves wrap around her body, she turned and saw it was her sister. Beyond her, stood the imposing figure of princess Celestia, her brow furrowed and her mane burning like flames instead of its usual gentle wave. "Oh, Sweetie, I was so worried!" said Rarity as grateful tears streamed down her muzzle. "Sis? What are you doing here?" "But saving you, of course!" "You," stated the princess locking her unmerciful gaze on the dark filly. "Celestia," said Nightmare, her voice dripping poison. "Take your sister home Rarity, I'll deal with this monster," sentenced the alicorn addressing the other mare but without averting her gaze. "Wait, she's not a monster!" protested Sweetie flailing her legs while trying to get free from Rarity's hug "And I don't need to be saved!" "Step aside Sweetie," said the dark filly shooing her with a forehoof "That's how it was bound to go from the beginning." "I commend your not using an entranced foal as shield," said Celestia, her tone still cold "Now, are you ready to face your end?" "It depends," stated the other with a smug grin "Are you ready to face yours?" Celestia didn't answer; instead, she lowered her head, flapped her wings and leaped forward, trying to impale her opponent with her sharp horn. Despite the short distance, Nightmare avoided the attack by rolling to her right, which brought her between the edge of the cliff and the princess' body. "It seems that after a thousand years you've lost your talent for battle," stated Celestia, her horn glowing gold. Before Nightmare could throw her a smug reply, a pillar of golden flames rained on her location. The alicorn didn't waste a minute looking as her spell engulfed the hedge, turning to look where a burst of black smoke announced the dark filly's arrival. "Maybe I'm a bit rusty, but such a trick wouldn't work even on a foal," spat Nightmare in an annoyed tone as the smoke condensed into her body "You're underestimating me, Celestia." Again, the princess attacked instead of answering, firing five golden beams of magical energy. Again, the dark filly rolled out of harm's way; yet, this time she teleported right after regaining stability, reappearing in mid air above the alicorn, three onyx-colored arrows that looked like made of black mist floating next to her. Nightmare's horn flared to life once again and the darts were sent crashing on the princess. Despite the direct hit, Celestia did not show any sign of having felt the blow. "My tricks may be easy to avoid, but at least they can do some damage," stated the alicorn as the filly landed in front of her. She then reared up and smashed her front hooves down, but missed her target; the filly in turn tried once again to harm the princess with a blast of emerald magic in the belly. Taking the hit without as much as a whimper, Celestia kicked the small unicorn in the barrel with a foreleg, sending her careening some meters away. When Nightmare reopened her eyes, she saw white fur through her half closed eyelids, plus a waving pink tail. Celestia is already on me, it will end soon, she thought with resignation closing her eyes and waiting for the final blow. A blow that never came. She opened her eyes, almost annoyed by her opponent's lack of punctuality, and noticed she had got it all wrong: it wasn't the alicorn the one standing in front of her, but Sweetie Belle, trembling like a leaf in a storm, acting as a living shield for her. Celestia didn't look pleased with the interruption, but she certainly wasn't angry with the filly either. She looked more sad than anything else. "Sweetie Belle, what are you doing?" whispered Rarity, worry clear in her voice "Come back here." "No sis, that where I need to be now." "As if you know what is right or wrong," stated harshly Nightmare pushing her aside and stepping towards the princess "I need nopony's help, let alone yours." Even if her words and behavior had certainly surprised the other three (and hurt Sweetie), it was another think to catch the alicorn's attention. "Are you cr-" tried to ask Celestia, only to be stopped by an emerald blast that hit her square in the face. "What are you conversing for?" snarled Nightmare, tears more than evident in her emerald eyes "I'm fighting for my life here, not taking a tea!" The alicorn's reply came in the form of a golden aura that wrapped around the dark filly's body to slam her down violently. Nightmare felt pain flow through her body like a torrent in spring as every bone in it let out creepy sounds, menacing of snapping. Her mouth filled with the metallic taste of blood: she had bitten herself in the impact. She spat and tried to pick herself up twice, but failed both times: the first try because her still shaking leg buckled under her weight, the second due to a hoof placed on her back that kept her pinned on the ground. She could hear her ribcage creak in an eerie way under the pressure. "I believe there's a bit more than what meets the eye in this story, uh?" questioned Celestia leaning closer to the dark filly's left ear "Care to fill me up?" "Let me go and you'll see how I fill you up with pain!" was Nightmare's witty retort. The pressure on her back grew a little, causing her to wince in pain as one of her ribs threatened to snap. Meanwhile, since Rarity's efforts to bring her away had failed, Sweetie watched the scene wide-eyed, unable to make out the two opponents' whispered words but sure of the direness of the situation. While her counterpart's words still stung deep inside her heart, she knew for a fact that she hadn't really meant any of those things, only saying them to get her out of troubles, and so she wanted to help her. Yet, between wanting to do and actually doing... pondered the white filly If Nightmare is powerless against Celestia, what can I possibly do? She let her gaze wander around, searching a brilliant idea to save the dark filly, but the rocky landscape proved itself devoid of any suggestion. Oh, come on! she internally protested There must be something that a filly like me can do! That thought lit the metaphorical light bulb in her head. Wearing a determined expression, she sprinted towards the duo. "Sweetie, stop!" cried Rarity seeing her sister getting closer to the other two. The white filly ignored her sister's plead and, when she deemed to be close enough, she lounged at the princess.