“It’s dark.”
“Yea.. Give me just a moment… andd…” Luna’s voice trailed off as the surroundings exploded into light. “There we go.”
Trixie raised a hoof, shielding her eyes as she attempted to blink away the bright spots in her vision. She shook her head, lowering her hoof as she studied her surroundings. The darkness had given way to a richly decorated hallway, with gleaming quartz flooring and golden trim along the wall. Large pillars sat along the hallway, with circular golden patterns twisting up their sides. Doors in various states of disrepair, ranging from mint condition, to barely holding together, sat along one side of the hallway. The opposite side of the hallway was completely empty, with nary a single decoration marking its length.
Trixie cocked an eyebrow at the hallway, before turning her attention to her smugly grinning mentor.
“So… your dream world is a hallway?”
Luna frowned defensively at the skeptical tone in the mares voice. “Of course not. This entire realm is mine, and as such, I can twist it and make it appear however I wish it to. I just figured this would be the easiest way to present it to you..” She trailed off as Trixie rolled her eyes at her.
“Right..” Trixie said, only half paying attention to Luna as she glanced down the seemingly endless hallway in each direction. She stood slowly, trotting aimlessly down the hallway as Luna fell into place beside her. As they walked, Trixie found herself almost missing the now familiar jingle of Luna’s jewelry in its absence. “So the doors are..?”
“Dreams. Behind each door is a pony dreaming at this moment, about one thing or another.” Luna pointed to a nearby door, its surface cracked with paint peeling and a dull rumbling was coming from just behind it. “Doors like this one, represent the state of the dream going on inside the ponies mind. The worse the door-”
“The worse the Nightmare?” Trixie guessed, finishing the princesses sentence for her. Luna nodded, missing Trixies smile as she studied the doorway before them.
“Would you like to take a closer look?”
The cerulean mare glanced at Luna, mouth agape slightly as her ears perked up. She opened her mouth to respond, but grew silent at the sight of a strange pitch black door against the opposite wall.
Even as she watched, it faded away, leaving the wall unmarred and featureless once more. She trotted forward, hesitating as she reached out and touched the now empty stretch of wall. Her hoof slid over the flat surface, circling where a handle had sat just moments before.
“Trixie?” Luna asked, glancing between the mare and wall slowly. “Are you alright?”
“Yea.. I just… Nevermind.” She turned away from the wall with a shake of her head, ears laid back as her eyes darted about confusedly.
“Anyways…” Luna said, glancing at the black doorway Trixie had just turned away from with furrowed brows. “Would you like to take a closer look at a door?” She asked, extending her wing to fan out at the hallway.
“I get to choose who we help?”
Luna nodded. “You are the new comer today. It’s only polite after all.” Luna ruffled her feathers, smiling at the mares contagious enthusiasm.
“Hmmm…” Trixie trailed off, tapping a hoof against her chest slowly as she let her eyes roam over the doors. She studied each door closely, as if she was able to judge each pony just by the warped wood’s appearance. Trixie trotted further down the hallway, stopping to trail a hoof across a particular door with its paint peeling. The wood was badly twisted, and the handle hardly seemed functionable.
She cocked her head at the door, feeling strangely drawn to its battered surface. Trixie glanced back at Luna, a question on the tip of her tongue as her eyes went wide again. The mysterious door had appeared once more, its surface as deep and dark as the dimmest of nights. Patches of dark blue and light purple could be seen melded into the door. Before she could comment on its appearance, her hoof pressed against the door knob, and her world went black.
Snow shine ran, her hooves pounding against the pavement beneath her as her chest heaved, a sharp pain throbbing against her side. The buildings of Manehatten rushed past her in a blur, illuminated only by the moon shining brightly overhead. The moon threw sharp shadows between the towering skyscrapers on either side of the tiny alleyway she found herself in.
The mare ducked down yet another small alleyway, hoof pressed against her side as she struggled to suck in a deep breath. She glanced behind her, slowing to a trot as she finally allowed herself to hope that she had escaped the creature chasing her. Slowly, Snow fell onto her stomach, sucking in desperate gulps of air. She pressed at the stitch painfully digging into her side, massaging it as best as she could. No matter what she tried, Snow just couldn’t get her body to stop shaking, or her vision to get any less blurry from tears.
“Oh.. Oh… I really.. need… to run… more..” She panted out, groaning as she stretched out her back leg. Snow’s body froze, her shoulders going tense as a low growl echoed through the alleyway. Slowly getting to her hooves, she stared at the two large cerulean eyes peering out of the dark shadows between the buildings before her. The pain in Snow’s side came back as bad as ever as her body began to shake harder. Tucking her tail close to her body, Snow shuffled backwards, her breathing getting harder as her mind screamed at her to break eye contact with the creature staring at her. A trigger went off in her head, and Snow bolted, hooves clattering across the cobblestone as the fast moving shadow sped down the alleyway, mere seconds behind her.
The shadow twisted upon itself as it ran, eventually settling into the shade of a timberwolf barely feet behind the mare. It lunged suddenly, pawing at Snow Shine’s shadow, and knocking her to the ground as it hit. Snow rolled onto her back, scooting backward as the shade snapped at her hooves. The beast gave a low growl and stalked forward, strands of drool dripping from between its dark, black teeth.
The spectre lunged once more, snapping at Snow’s heels, only to be met with a powerful kick from the earth pony. The creature hit a wall and collapsed in a pile, its form losing shape as it seemed to roll and twist in on itself. Snow leapt to her hooves, sprinting down a small opening in the alleyway before the creature could pull itself back together.
The mare twisted and turned down the various alleyways, her breath catching in her throat as she collapsed beside a small dumpster. She crawled beside it, taking shelter against its metallic side while she struggled to catch her breath. Snow froze as the sound of flesh against stone reached her ears, coming from the alleyway she had just left. Snow pressed herself against the dumpster, crouching down into as small a ball as she could. The creature approached, stopping on the other side of the dumpster, its long nose sniffing at the air.
Snow flinched as her hoof hit a rock, before snatching the rock up and throwing it further down the alleyway, away from her current hiding spot. The moment the rock clattered against the cobblestone, the creature took off after the sound, chasing its non-existant prey. She peaked around the corner of the dumpster, eyes wide at the sight of the liquid black stallion moving away from her. It’s form periodically dropped large black drops onto the road, leaving dark sickly splotches where they landed.
The mare smiled grimly, running a shaking hoof over her rumpled coat. Her white coat appeared silvery in the metallic moonlight from above, not that she noticed how much brighter the moon appeared to be glowing. She pushed herself to her hooves slowly, stumbling over a metal bar laying beneath her. Reaching down, she intended to bat the bar aside, but screamed as the bar wrapped itself around her limb.
The bar traveled up her forelimb, holding her in place as several more black tendrils shot out from below the dumpster, wrapping themselves around her body painfully. The tentacles slithered up her body, coiling around her throat and pulling at her mouth, as if trying to force her lips apart. She grabbed at the limb, attempting to pull it away from her throat, but couldn’t force the appendage to budge. Her grip loosened as her vision blurred.
Her eyes had just drifted shut when the limb around her neck vanished suddenly, a hum of magic filling the air. Snow glanced up, chest heaving as she sucked in deep breaths, and massaging at her throbbing throat. The creature hung in the air, snarling and hissing at a large horned mare standing before it, a disdainful look upon her muzzle. Snow gasped as the electric tingle of the mares magic washed over her, the light humming growing louder in Snow’s ears. A shimmering bubble appeared around the creature, sealing it inside a soundproof shield with an ear popping rush of wind.
“What now?” A snide, yet obviously frightened voice called out.
Snow jumped at the second voice, peering into the darkness between herself and the large mare.
“Calm yourself.” The mare responded, stretching her wings as she glanced in her direction. “Are you okay, Snow?”
Snow froze, her eyes wide at the realization that THE princess of the night, was speaking to her. She stammered out a response, that she hoped was in the affirmative. Princess Luna nodded, her horn shimmering dimly as Snow felt her eyelids grow heavy. She resisted the urge to sleep, but within seconds, her head rested against the dumpster behind her, and she knew no more.
Luna glanced at the shadow figment twisting at her side, its mouth barred to reveal a pair of long thin fangs, blazing cerulean eyes staring her down. Trixie cautiously fed magic into her horn, lighting the alleyway up in a brilliant white light. The creature hissed, throwing its wide arm in front of its eyes as it twisted away from the light.
“What is it?” Trixie asked, shivering as the creature’s form shifted and rippled upon itself. It held a vaguely bipedal look, with large arching shoulders and arms that would easily drag the ground as it walked. Even as she watched the creatures legs shifted, growing thicker and more muscular as they pounded against its magical prison.
It let out a guttural clicking as it snarled at the pair, its form flickering as if lit by an unseen fire. A long scorpion like tail grew from its back side, slashing and stabbing at the magical shield around it.
“It is the manifestation of the Nightmare that slumbers between your world and mine.” Luna answered, avoiding Trixie’s eye as she spoke. “It is what I fight against each time I visit this dream world.”
“They are always in our dreams? Why have I never heard of these?” Trixie asked, prodding the shield with a hoof as she cocked her head.
“You have. They rarely take this form so you would be hard-pressed to find evidence of them. You, yourself have actually seen one recently.” Trixie shrugged her shoulders at Luna, unable to recall ever seeing such a strange creature.
“Ah… Think back to the nightmare I… intervened in.” Luna prodded.
“I don’t recall seeing anything like this?”
“Well. As I said, it would rarely take this form..” Luna trailed off as her horn blazed, expanding the shield as she forced her will upon the creature. It twisted and turned, legs lengthening and neck growing until it assumed the form of your average pony.
It’s features softened, with a small nub upon its forehead growing out into a unicorn horn. It’s black coat gave way to light purple, a patch of silvery fur growing across the flank. Silvery hair sprouted from the back of its head, cascading across the mares shoulders until it closely resembled Trixie’s own.
Luna felt, as well as heard Trixie gasp as the creature opened its now pale violet eyes.
“What now?” Trixie asked, avoiding the creatures eyes.
“We destroy it.” Luna said, voice low as her horn flared ominously. Before Trixie could speak, a bright light filled the air and Trixie’s vision blurred.
When Trixie’s vision cleared moments later, she found herself in a tiny room. It could hardly be called a bedroom, but judging by the stallion and decrepit bed before them, it was used for that very purpose.
A raggedy stallion laid upon a tattered mat of blankets, tucked in on each other to form a makeshift mattress. He was shivering slightly, head propped upon the crook of his foreleg. Trixie swallowed uncomfortably, reluctantly reminded of her time on the streets. Even though it was a mere month ago, it felt so much longer.
“Are we back in Canterlot?” Trixie asked, attempting to peer out the pitch black window beside her. She could only see her own reflection in the glass, with nary a star visible in the sky above.
“We are still in the dream world. We are simply in this stallions dream.” Trixie cocked an eyebrow, mouth open to snap out a snarky remark.
“Yes, when you do not dream, your dream world is merely you, in your bed.” Luna answered, smiling smugly as Trixie’s jaw shut.
“So… What happens next?” Trixie asked, studying her hooves as she avoided the stallions form.
Luna glanced at the shadow creature, still hanging in the air beside her, eyeing the creature with obvious distaste. “I already told you. We destroy it now.“
“How do we do that?”
Luna hesitated, avoiding Trixie’s eye for a moment as she sighed. Trixie narrowed her eyes, the hairs on the nape of her neck standing on end as Trixie glanced between the bed and the creature floating beside her.
“Luna..” Trixie said, shoulders stiff as she stared the alicorn down. “What..?”
Luna stepped forward slowly, her echoing hoof steps being the only sound as she crossed the room to the stallions side.
“Tell me you aren’t..” Trixie closed her eyes as Luna simply looked at her, confirming her suspicions without a word. “Don’t!” Trixie said, shaking her head ruefully. “Nightmares should never be forced upon anyone!”
“It has to happen. These… These Nightmare, can only be banished in the moments after using their powers… the moments immediately following them forcing themselves upon its victim. I am simply transferring the nightmare from an innocent mare, to this… this guilty stallion.”
“Guilty of what!?” Trixie demanded, slamming a hoof down as she forced herself between Luna and the stallion. “What did he do!?”
“He mugged that mare we saved moments ago. Do you not wonder why she was having a nightmare of being chased through alleyways? He is the very reason she was targeted.” Luna snorted, horn flaring as the shimmering bubble drifted over Trixie to hover above the stallion.
“I have to do this Trixie. If this creature isn’t vanquished now, it will only get stronger… and harder to kill.” Her horn flared as she released the creature, forcing it toward the sleeping stallion. The creature lashed out with sharp claws, digging its fangs into the stallions fur as it crawled further up his body, its draconic eyes only leaving the stallion to glare at Luna and Trixie for a moment. It pulled the stallion tighter to it, fading into his fur soundlessly as the pair watched.
For a moment, Trixie allowed herself to hope that the nightmare had vanished. Hopes that were smashes as the stallion sat bolt upright, his eyes wide but unseeing as he stared at the opposite wall.
“It’ll be over soon.” Luna murmured, although even to herself, her words sounded false.
“Stop…” Trixie whispered through gritted teeth. Her chest tightened as a raspy voice spoke from the other end of the room.
“You’re wortless… Jus’ like yah fathar, you are…” An elderly mare said, her hooves clopping across the floor as she slowly cantered out of the shadows. The stallion stared at her in horror, his mouth moving soundlessly as he struggled for words.
“Leavin’ a poor mare all by herself jus’ ta head to tha big city and strike it rich… Bah!” The mare spat, a glob of shadow splattering against the floorboards, withering and spreading from the moment it landed.
“No mah.. I went to find him.. He didn’ leave us.. he.. he just.. he couldn’t come back yet..” The stallion defended, tears welling in his eyes as he frantically backpedaled away from the approaching mare.
“Stop.” Trixie said, louder as her voice cracked with anger.
“Don’ you lie to yah momma now!” She thundered, stomping a hoof angrily. “He was nothin’ but a no good dead beat, and yah followed in his hoofsteps.. You abandoned me.. righ’ when Ah needed yah most..”
“I… Said… STOP!” Trixie screamed, her horn shooting sparks as she slammed her hooves against the floorboards. A loud hum filled the room as the very air shimmered, twisting and shaping itself to her want. The stallion froze in place, staring unseeingly at the twisted form of the Nightmare before him. Trixie gasped for air as magic spiraled up the tip of her horn, gathering at the tip before dispersing into the air with an electric crackle.
A magenta wave of magic exploded outwards, throwing open the broken door of the room, revealing the empty and warped streets of Canterlot just outside. She shot a fearful glance at Luna, before shaking her head and sprinting from the room, tail vanishing down the street before Luna could bring herself to move.
It took several minutes for Luna to overcome the shock of having her world ripped from her control by the angry show mare. After all, it had never happened to her before.
Trixie’s eyes darted from side to side as she ran blindly, ducking down side alleys and darting between shadows. She peered over her shoulder, eyes strained for any flash of blue fur or celestial mane in the brief moments she could see the night sky overhead.
“Trixie, slow down! Wait!” Luna commanded, having just rounded a corner. Trixie briefly watched Luna spread her wings and flare her horn with magic, before looking forward again.
Trixie closed her eyes as she ran, anger and betrayal welling up inside her. Thoughts of her own past kept popping into her mind, and she attempted to use the darkness to drown the images out. She distantly heard the sounds of things crashing around her, and she felt rocks underhoof, but she was far too gone to care. Being in a dream meant little to Trixie when her mind could still conjure up nightmares.
“Trixie! Stop!” She cried, watching her student about to run head first into the side of a building. Her eyes went wide as she realized she wasn’t going to be able to stop Trixie’s imminent collision. Magic flared at the tip of her horn when-
Crash! Crash! Crash! Crash!
Luna's magic abruptly fizzled out as her mind went blank, stunned by what her apprentice was doing. Trixie had smashed through the wall, without injury, or even slowing . Then, she went through the next, and the next, until before she realized it, Luna was looking at a half dozen Trixie-shaped holes.
‘That shouldn't be possible for her-’
Mid thought, Luna heard a cry from Trixie, who looked to be trying to stop her forward momentum. A second later, there was a sickening crash of pony meeting wall, and she crumbled to the floor, groaning. Hesitantly, Luna started squeezing through the holes in the wall, and approached the fallen mare.
Trixie wobbled to her hooves, uneasily stepping forward as she shook her head. A large wall appeared before her suddenly, crushing Trixie’s hope that she would still manage to run off once again.
Her chest heaved as she stared at the mortar between the bricks, refusing to turn her head to face the slow clip-clopping of hooves approaching from behind her. Luna cocked her head, studying Trixie for a moment before speaking.
“Trixie.. You need to cal-”
“You are a monster! You are no different than you were as Nightmare Moon..” Trixie’s voice lost steam, just sounding disappointed as she looked down to the ground. “You are still as evil as you were when you were Nightmare Moon..”
Luna recoiled, eyes wide as she stared at the back of Trixie’s head, mouth slowly open as she struggled to respond. “No! I’m.. I’m not evil! I do what I have to do, and I protect the innocent, and make sure that ponies in Equestria who deserve them get the nightmares instead of the good ones... “
“I could easily have been that pony!” Trixie snarled, flipping around to stare at Luna. She ignored Luna’s protest, horn flaring as she produced a magical picture floating in the air before her. The picture depicted her laying restlessly in the worn down wagon in a darkened Canterlot alleyway.
“I more than likely would have been that stallion! If you hadn’t taken me in, I would have run out of money and started to use my magic to rob others just to make it by.. So a single difference, and it would be me sitting in that room, having their worst nightmares forced upon them..” Trixie said, her voice low and steely.
“What would you have me do?” Luna demanded, mane whipping around behind her as she angrily questioned the mare.
“Find another way to destroy the nightmares! There has to be someway to beat them without forcing them upon others.”
“There is not.. I’ve searched Trixie. You cannot understand how long I searched.. I even tried not battling them.. but... “ She sucked in a deep breath, staring at Trixie for a moment before speaking. “I allowed the nightmare to grow more powerful than you could imagine.. and it became so powerful that it crossed over into our world..”
Trixie’s eyes went wide at the sudden revelation. “So.. not fighting them caused…”
“Yes.. Caused me to become Nightmare Moon. I grew.. tired.. for lack of a better word, of having to unleash Nightmares onto the ponies I swore to protect. During the day, I struggled to make the ponies love me like they loved my sister, and yet, at night.. I had to take the ponies, and.. unleash nightmares on them.”
“Do not tell me how unfair it is… or how evil it is.. I understand my job better than you ever will, but it is my job, and my duty alone.. I have no other choice.” Luna steeled herself, jaw set as she spoke. “If you cannot deal with it, I will not expect you to return next time with me.”
Trixie looked down, regretting the unkind words she had spoken to her mentor mere moments before. “Luna.. I’m-”
“Let us go for now.” Luna said quietly, cutting off the mare before she could apologize.
“Okay.” Trixie said, trotting awkwardly to Luna’s side as the alicorn’s horn flared a brilliant blue.
Trixie opened her eyes, peering listlessly around the room as her vision slowly swirled before clearing. The bed creaked beside her, drawing her attention to the Alicorn that was extracting herself from its surface.
“Luna, I-”
“Not right now, Trixie. I need to see my sister.” She said tensely, avoiding the mare’s hurt look as she strode toward the door.
“I’m sorry!” She yelled out, frustration coloring her voice and making her cheeks color red.
“As you should be Trixie. You are my student, but every time I try to teach you, or help you, you attack me.” Luna said, lip curling into a frown as she slowly shook her head.
Trixie made a small noise, something akin to a cross between a whimper and a sigh of resignation. Luna groaned inwardly at this as the image of Trixie with her head down on the bed, wearing a dejected look flashed through her head. Curse it all! I have every right to be mad at her, so why is it so hard?
Luna slowed at the doorway, glancing back for a moment. “Apology accepted. But I still must speak to my sister.” She turned, the doors opening soundlessly before her as she passed through her doorway.
Trixie slumped against the bed, groaning at the ceiling as her eyes drifted closed.
“Trouble in paradise?” A feminine voice asked from her left, startling the mare.
“Are you sure?” Celestia asked, eyebrow cocked at her younger sister as the dark alicorn paced back and forth.
“Of course I’m sure, Celestia. She screamed ‘stop!’, and the dream froze. She controlled MY dream world!” Luna said, slamming her hooves against the carpeted floor. A loud crack echoed through the room, followed by Celestia stifling a groan.
“Again.. Really?” Celestia said, glaring at Luna as her sister sheepishly stepped off of the carpet, horn alight as she lifted it up. Below the carpet, the concrete sported a fine series of cracks, nearly matching the previously mortared cracks in the concrete that had been ever so carefully covered up with the stylized throw rug.
“Well ignoring the damage to my floor… again… What does this mean?” Celestia asked, setting down her quill as she pushed the pile of paperwork away from her.
“I…” Luna paused, the anxiety in her voice fading as she pondered over it. “I don’t know.. I’ve never met anyone who could control the… my dream world…”
“Well.. She cannot make it to the dream world without your help, correct?”
“Correct.” Luna said, although her answer sounded less than sure.
“Than do nothing.” Celestia said, quill floating back into the air surrounded by her golden glow.
“Nothing!?” Luna said exasperatedly, head cocked as if she wasn’t sure she had heard Celestia correctly.
“Nothing. It will not matter if she cannot enter the dream world without your direct assistance. You can test her at your leisure once she is recovered from her sickness.”
“Interesting… I might take you up on that ‘Tia.. Thank you for your advice.” Luna said, smiling as she turned and began the walk back to her own bedroom.
“Wait! Come, sit and talk to me for a bit. We have not had much chance to see each other lately. I miss our talks, Luna.” Celestia said, smiling as she trotted across the room to stretch out upon her bed, patting the covers beside her.
Luna glanced at the doorway for a moment before nodding, a reluctant smile on her face as she turned to sit beside her sister.
“What did you wish to talk about?”
“Oh.. I don’t know.. How about we talk of… Trixie?” Celestia said, a sly smile gracing her muzzle.
“Didn’t we just do that, Sister?”
Chuckling a little, Celestia’s smile turned to a smug smirk. “ Well, yes. But, I meant of something else relating to her, something that might not end with me purchasing a new rug. There have been certain… rumors spreading through the castle as of late.”
“Oh really?” Luna asked cautiously, cocking an eyebrow. “What rumors?”
“I must say,” Celestia added, earning a frown from Luna as she ignored her question. “That I love what you are doing with your mane.”
“My.. mane?” Luna said, twisting her head to attempt to look back at her locks. She growled, swiveling her head back and forth to try to see what her sister was talking about. Briefly, Luna was able to catch a flash of bright pink, and then another of baby blue. Rising to her hooves, Luna strode over to Celestia’s mirror, enabling her to see all the little bows a particular showmare had placed in her hair. “I am going to kill that girl..” Her horn sparkled as she began picking the ribbons and braids from her mane. Her eye twitched as she caught the sight of even more foal-like ribbons in her tail.
Just visible in the mirror, Luna could see Celestia mischievously smiling at her from the bed.