Wanderer
by Knight of Lycaeus
Darkness, thick and deep with an almost oppressive force bore down on the small light attempting to drive it back with little success. Despite this the owner of the small light pushed onward relying on what little light there was to guide her way. In the end her perseverance was rewarded by the treasure she sought.
“Hello Nightmare,” Twilight greeted as walked close by the dark Alicorn who was nearly invisible in the darkness of the chamber.
“You followed me again,” Nightmare commented her eyes never moving away from the wall she was studying. “I thought you would be like most others and that surely you would have left the matter behind and abandoned me by now.”
“I’m not them Nightmare, I’m myself and I choose to follow and find you,“ Twilight said as she gently nudged the other Alicorn. “Although I must admit this time it took me longer than usual to determine where you’ve gone off to.”
Nightmare sighed softly and closed her eyes, “I choose to leave Twilight Sparkle. There is no reason for you to find me.”
Twilight shook her head even while realizing how pointless the gesture was in the darkness, “Yet each time you leave you return again and when I think you will stay the cycle begins again. There is more to why you choose to leave; you’ve lived in Ponyville for nearly a year before vanishing.”
“I remained in Ponyville to regain myself, nothing more, nothing less,” Nightmare said.
“If that was the case then you would have found a quiet place; a place where nopony would recognize you for who you are and yet you chose to stay in the same town that you first made your appearance.”
Nightmare ran her hoof over the wall in front of her and with a small click a few alcoves around the room opened allowing small amount of moonlight to enter the chamber. “Very well, if it is answers you seek then it is answers you shall find.”
Nightmare turned to face Twilight, “Allow me first to ask a question of my own. Every time that you find me is there something about that place that always holds true?”
Twilight tapped her chin with a hoof thinking back to each instance, “Wherever you go it seems like there’s no pattern, all the places you’ve visited are far from each other. Yet no matter where that place is I always find you in dark chambers and every place I’ve been to, are marked by signs and sigil that represent the night.”
Nightmare nodded, “Indeed.”
Nightmare began to pace around the perimeter of the room, “My journeys are not aimless as they may seem though they are indeed far reaching.” Nightmare sighed, “I travel to these far off places not to sate my desire to see this world for I have done that many times over. The truth is I travel to find myself.”
“Find yourself?” Twilight asked. “Find yourself in what way?”
“It is not my identity that I seek for I am sure of myself and who I am. You know that I have lived a long life and these places I visit are places that were built by Ponies and other beings from long gone to worship me. You know a little of my nature do you not?”
Twilight nodded, “You’ve mentioned it a few times. You’ve discussed a little about how you’re something else, and that you’re not the same as the Alicorns that govern Equestria and the Crystal Empire. You mentioned being something more.”
Nightmare stopped her pacing and moved over to another wall and with another click a hole opened in the ceiling further illuminating the room. “Take a glance around this chamber. This was one of the greatest dedications that Ponies have made to worship me. I am in nature much like the Chaos Serpent, Discord. We are both beings that are closely tied to the forces that govern this universe even more so than your fellow Princesses.”
Twilight walked over to one of the reliefs and she could see the immense detail that went into each piece. “I assume what you are has something to do with why you travel so much.”
Nightmare sighed again, “I am not whole; in times long ago I lost myself to my powers and descended into madness. It is one of the greatest limits on our power, Discord and myself could be more closely defined as the physical forms of the forces of this world. In essence we could be considered the avatars of what people long ago once thought were divine. For them the forces of this world were governed by divine beings alike in form, but far greater in power. Returning to my earlier point, in my madness I split myself granting power to those who served me well and to those who I tempted to follow my guidance.”
“In doing so you left your magic behind and your magic was more than just power, but a part of yourself,” Twilight concluded as she left the wall to walk over to where Nightmare was standing. “It makes sense now, your nature means your being and your magic are closely tied.”
Nightmare wrapped a wing around Twilight, “Finally one who understands. It has been a long time since one has understood what I am. But that is the truth to my wanderings; it is not for pleasure, but to regain all that I was. The Realm of Dreams and Nightmares is not Luna’s alone, she is gifted yet I hold far stronger power over that domain. It is in the Realm of Dreams and Nightmares that I sometimes see fleeting glimpses of what had happened long before and I journey there in search of what I left behind. That is what drives me each time to leave and find what I had once lost. My reason for remaining in Ponyville is simple; Ponyville holds a stronger concentration of my own splintered magic for Luna possessed my powers for quite a time before she revealed herself in her new guise.”
Twilight leaned into the larger Alicorn, “How many more places are there?”
“That I am uncertain, I lost myself in madness for centuries and I am certain that in my madness I splintered my magic many times over granting slivers of power to living beings and artifacts alike. It could be a long time before I regain all that was once mine.”
“Then let me help you,” Twilight said. “You said most of these places were likely old temples, so we could try and find those lost places. Your magic must have a unique signature I could isolate and use to help find more of them. This way you don’t have to rely on seeing small glimpse every now and again.”
“Isolating my magic’s signature is not easy Twilight for I and others have tried, yet if you believe it can be done than perhaps it can be done. Nevertheless I am grateful for the offer of assistance and I would welcome the aid in finding what once had been lost.”