Chapter 6

“Nightmare Part 1”

“Monsters? Musical Numbers? Crazy Antagonists? No big”

Over the next couple of weeks, the students of Canterlot High witnessed a strange phenomenon. Applejack, Pinkie, Rainbow, Rarity, and Fluttershy were no longer fighting or avoiding each other. In fact, they often walked the halls in each others company alongside Twilight. They spent the last few weeks dealing with school by day, blasting Witching Hours by night, and grew closer every day. Their friendship showed the school that even the most different of people could have some common ground if they searched hard enough. You just needed determination, and a willingness to see the other person’s point of view as well as your own. Twilight, however, kept an eye out for anybody who was less-than-pleased with this development, even as new friendships were starting to form where none thought they could.

“Somebody hacked all of your email and text accounts. Somebody used all of your accounts to send each of you misleading information to make you miss important events, then hurtful things to make you all hate each other. For some reason, somebody did not like you all being friends, and sabotaged it. It’s beyond happenstance or coincidence. Somebody considers you all to be their enemies,” Twilight said as they sat down in the cafeteria for lunch.

“You’re still thinking about that Twi?” Rainbow said, leaning back in her chair as other students went about their business.

Canterlot High’s cafeteria was located in its own wing, brightly lit with both fluorescent lights, and the natural light pouring in from the windows that covered two of the large room’s walls. Massive columns supported the floors above, and kind of adding areas of demarcation to the middle of the room. Along the unwindowed wall was the lunch line, where students got their delicious meals courtesy of Granny Smith and the other lunch ladies, the stainless steel displays keeping the food hot or cool as needed. Evenly spaced around the cafeteria were the white laminated tables, large enough to seat eight comfortably along their length. Unlike a lot of modern schools, however, Canterlot High did not opt for the foldable tables with attached stools but blue plastic chairs with backs each one painted with a gold eight-pointed star.

“Of course I am,” Twilight replied. “If that person thinks you’re their enemies, then they could try to sabotage you all again, or even decide to be less subtle. They could be dangerous.”

“Eh don’t worry Twi, we take down monsters like nobody’s business on a regular basis,” Rainbow said dismissively.

“Ah dun think ya should dismiss it sugarcube.” Aj said, and then casually looked over to see Lyra hanging up a poster on one of the pillars. “Geez, gettin’ close already?”

Fall Formal
Coming Soon!
Get your tickets now and your votes in
Help your chosen Princess win the crown!

“Ah the Fall Formal, truly a marvelous event!” Rarity said with a happy sigh.

“You mentioned it before,” Twilight observed. “One of the biggest dances of the year, right?”

“Yepperuni!” Pinkie cheered. “Music! Dancing! Balloons! Punch! Love! Romantic dancing! and CAKE! It’s one of the best parties ever!”

“Not like we don’t have more important things to worry about,” Twilight observed. “Sure it’s a big dance, but it’s still just a stupid dance.”

“Just a stupid dance?!” Pinkie said, appearing in Twilight’s face suddenly.

“Twili, I love and I greatly treasure our friendship! But please don’t say such horrific things!” Pinkie said, with a horrified expression.

“Well excuse me for thinking monster fighting, and finding out who would want you all to hate each other is more important than some school event,” Twilight said. “It’s not like I’m going to it or anything.”

“Yeah, but most of us have to go anyways. You got to feed everybody, Pinkie’s on the organization committee, and I gotta show off my sweet dance moves.” Rainbow said, fiddling with a spoon.

“Come on, darling,” Rarity said. “It’ll give me the chance to make you something truly fabulous!”

“Just having you there will make the one dark spot of the whole event more bearable,” Rarity asserted.

All the girls except Twilight sighed in unison and said as one, “Sunset Shimmer.”

“Every single darn year since Freshman year, Sunset has practically hijacked the competition for Fall Formal Princess.” Aj explained.

“You mean that glorified popularity contest, where the students vote for the prettiest girl, in their opinion, to go stand up on a stage, wear a cheap plastic crown, and get to lord it over the rest of the school for the rest of the year?” Twilight snarked.

“Well, Celestia ultimately has final say in the nominations, so she tends to make sure that not everybody who’s full of themselves gets nominated,” Rarity explained.

“Except Shimmer, her mom practically owns the school board so she gets in every year.” Rainbow said. “Remember those scary pictures of her with the crown you see in the hallway? All her past wins.”

“Oh. Not only is she an entitled brat, she’s got a rich mommy to back her up. No wonder she thinks she rules the school,” Twilight said with a roll of her eyes.

“I mean, if she won every year it would be fine, it would be old news after a while.” Fluttershy said, quietly picking at her salad. “But, Sunset doesn’t exactly...give anybody a choice.”

“By that she means that Sunset is a giant bully who intimidates everybody into votin fer her.” Aj said, and pointed over to the entrance of the cafeteria. Twilight looked and saw Sunset standing there, flyers in hand and practically shoving them into any student who passed by. And any who tried to get rid of the flyers got a glare from her, and swiftly held on to them.

“I just wish we didn’t have to put up with it again, darling.” Rarity added.

“...Second greatest idea,” Rainbow said, and then went on. “We take her down this year!”

“Did the last monster bop ya in the head too hard?” Aj asked. “Nobody would vote for any of us, not with Shimmer practically rigging it.”

“Yeah, I didn’t say any of us five would run, everybody at the school knows us. We, however, have somebody who’s pretty much unknown, and we can present her as an alternative to Sunset. Somebody who gets votes not by being a bully but by being totally awesome and can bring people together!” Rainbow said excitedly.

“Oh no. No no no no no! There is NO way I’d ever win! I am the biggest nerd, ever. Nobody would ever vote for me!” Twilight protested.

“So we don’t have you give a speech about quantum somethin’ or other.” Rainbow said. “We just show you bringing people together. Like you did with us!”

“But… you guys… I had… Ugh! This is the most ridiculous idea I ever heard,” Twilight said, getting up, and quickly walking off, before any of her friends could get up and stop her. She stepped out into the hallway and began pacing. “This is ridiculous! I’m a nerd! I didn’t have friends until school started, not many anyway. There is no way I can win I can-” Her thoughts and pacing were interrupted when she ran into...Private again.

“Oof! Sorry…” Twilight apologised. “I was kind of lost in thought, there.”

The two teenagers looked at each other for a minute, before breaking eye contact and blushing. “I’d, uh, say ‘we should stop meeting like this’ but I don’t want to sound like a complete tool by saying a horribly cliche line. Not to mention, it’d kinda be a lie.”

Twilight giggled, twirling a strand of hair around her finger. “Uh.. Heh...yeah that would be kind of silly… So… How have you been?” Why did this guy make her feel so giddy? It’s as ridiculous as the idea of her winning the Fall Formal Princess vote.

“Oh, I’ve been okay,” He said, rubbing the back of his head nervously. “Just been trying to find a lead on all the weird stuff going on in the city. Found some stuff here and there, weird fur, some feathers, one random party balloon which I’m pretty sure Pinkie is responsible for.”

“Yeah, with Pinkie there’s always a chance for random party balloons,” Twilight said with a laugh, while internally wondering where he found the fur.

“So, enough about my whacked out conspiracy theories.” Private said with a laugh. “How’ve you been?”

“Pretty good. Though my friends think I should run for the Fall Formal Princess. Yeah, like that’d go over well. Who’d vote for one of the biggest nerds in school?” Twilight asked with chuckle.

Private, smiled in kind of a dorky way that endeared him more in her eyes. “Truth is...I’d vote...nerds gotta stick together…”

“Uh… Really? W-wow… Okay… So six votes. I’d win by a landslide,” Twilight said jokingly.

“I dunno,” He said, and reached into his trench coat, pulling out a notebook, and drawing a crude rendition of a crown. He held it so that from a certain perspective it was on Twilight’s head. “I think you could rock a crown.”

Twilight blushed furiously. “Oh, now you’re just being silly. A nerd princess? Really? That’d never sell,” Twilight scuffing a foot, and looking away bashfully.

Private blushed in turn, having never seen something so adorable in his life. He cleared his throat and tossed the crown away. “Yeah, well, maybe not a nerd but somebody who’s actually I dunno, nice, sweet, and has a habit of drawing people to her. I’d want those kind of qualities in any ruler.” He said, trying not to enter dork territory himself. “Would be a nice alternative to Sunset Shimmer, at least.”

“I’ll… I’ll think about it… I still think it’s just a stupid popularity contest, but…” Twilight said quietly, rocking from heel to toe.

“Course it’s a stupid popularity contest,” Private said with a shrug. “But a lot of people have been waiting for somebody to knock Sunset off her high horse. Myself included.”

“We’ll see… Anyway, I think lunch is about over… I should go and get my books for the next classes,” Twilight said with a quiet sigh.

“This...this is going to sound crazy…” He said with a sigh, looking away as if hotly debating what he was going to say. “But...did we..meet before you came to Canterlot High…?”

“I… don’t think so… You’re kind of distinctive, with your whole noir detective shtick…” Twilight said. “Why do you ask?”

“Oh… Okay. I’ll… see you around, then,” Twilight said, giving him a little wave, not wanting to tell him she’d been having the same weird feelings.

“I’ll... see you around too Twilight, I’ll tell you when I finally figure everything out. You seem to be tied to a lot of the weird going on.” He said, returning the wave.

“Oh, nothing weird about me, just your basic average nerdy girl.” Twilight said with a little laugh.

Private, smiled, “You’re anything but every day Twilight…” And with that, he walked off.

Twilight sighed, leaning against the lockers, a goofy smile on her face. She then quickly aborted Twilightswoon.exe, and started toward her locker, a blush on her face. What was it about that boy? She tried to cut through a more deserted, and dimly lit part of the school to get to her locker as a shortcut. She stopped when she heard footsteps behind her. She turned..and saw Sunset Shimmer standing there, her arms crossed.

Sunset glared at her with eyes that seemed to want to shoot lasers and blast holes in her head. “Just who do you think you are Twilight Sparkle?” She snipped.

“Nobody but myself. Twilight Sparkle, uber nerd. No delusions that I’m Link, or Commander Shepard, or even Mario. Kind of identify with Nikki… Uh… you didn’t hear that…” Twilight quickly added.

Sunset ignored her. “You come trouncing into my school. You disrupt the perfect system that took me years to set up. Now you have the gall, the audacity to even think about trying to take what’s mine.”

“Wait… You. You are the hacker! You broke up my friends with those hateful emails and texts!” Twilight declared, pointing an accusing finger at Sunset.

Sunset smirked. “Sorry, Trite, but you don’t have proof to accuse me. Those emails could have originated from anywhere. Your little friends could really have sent them to each other. And don’t even think about tattling to Celestia, she’s not nearly as powerful as she thinks.”

“What is it with you and stealing the quotes of badassed video game characters? First Aria T’loak, and now Godot. Wait… You don’t seem like the type to play Phoenix Wright…” Twilight said eyeing Sunset.

Sunset rolled her eyes. “Like I have any time to waste on useless games. How you managed to get those freaks together to be your lapdogs I’ll never know.”

“It’s called ‘Friendship’. You should try it sometime. It might make you less of a bitch,” Twilight uttered.

“Friends…” Sunset said, then laughed cruelly. “What a stupid concept. Friendship, what are we? Five year olds painting each others nails and talking about all the cute boys?” She then pushed Twilight into the locker, glaring at her. “I don’t know what your game is Sparkle, spouting out this nonsense. But let me give you a little lesson for once. Friendship is a waste of time, this world only has one real rule ‘dog eat dog’ you may have heard of it. I adhere by that, and I rule this school because of it. Whatever I want, I take, whoever I need, I make them my servant, and if any stand in my way, I end them…”

“You know, I used to think that the idea of friendship was a stupid idea, too. I had people use me, when I was younger, because I was so smart,” Twilight said freeing herself from Sunset’s grip. “But then, I actually started making friends. Real ones. Ones that don’t steal my work, but instead ask me to help them understand theirs. You, though, are just some entitled little brat, with a rich mommy, who thinks power should just be given to her because she is oh-so-much-better than everybody else. You’re not. And I’m going to prove it.”

Sunset’s eyes suddenly grew wide, and in a brief moment, summoned her sword and stabbed it into the wall just inches from Twilight’s ear. Both girls stand still for a while. Before Sunset said, “You know nothing, Sparkle, if you were smart you’d give me Magic right now and save me the trouble. Then, give all the elements to me, somebody who is worthy of the power they wield. Somebody who fought tooth and nail to get to the top.”

“So that’s your plan, to take all the Elements for yourself?” Twilight asked, trying to ignore the sword so close to her. “Well that’s an idiotic plan, the power they hold will overwhelm you, they are meant to be used by multiple people.”

“Is that what that useless liar, Celestia, told you? You know nothing, Sparkle..and you never will.” Sunset said, removing the sword and dismissing it. “Don’t get cute about the Fall Formal, the crown, like everything, is mine for the taking.”

"Don't count on it, Shimmer. I'm going to take that crown from you, and show the school that you're not all powerful as everybody thinks. I will win their hearts, without making them fear me, and I'm sure they'll find the change... refreshing. You'll be left all alone, with no lackeys to support you, and nobody fearing you. Then you'll see how empty your version of the truth really is,” Twilight retorted, determination showing in her very stance.

“We’ll see….” Sunset said, walking off and smirking, confident in her supposed victory.

But she didn’t win..if anything...she gave Twilight the courage to stand up and fight.
________________________________________________________________________

The other Elements were sitting on the Wondercolt statue outside the school, about to head home when Twilight came storming out.

“All right. I’ll do it! We are taking Sunset Shimmer down, and showing this school that she’s nothing more than an entitled little rich brat with a Napoleon complex!” Twilight declared determinedly.

“Not that kind of Napoleon Complex!” Twilight yelled. “She thinks she’s bigger than she is, and we need to show her that she’s no better than any of us!”

“Awww yeah! Great to have our resident brainiac on board!” Rainbow said, giving Twilight a one armed hug.

“Oh but where to start darling.” Rarity said. “Grand speeches? Pep rallies? Possibly a fitting for campaign posters…?”

“Nah, that stuff can come later,” Aj said, “We need somethin’ to really grab everybody’s attention.”

Everybody sat and thought for a minute, before Pinkie suddenly shouted. “I GOT IT!” She then zoomed inside the school at light speed, before coming back with a large duffel bag.

“I can’t believe I forgot about these until now!” Pinkie said, opening up the duffel bag, reaching inside and pulling out a blue and yellow… pony tail, and yellow plastic pony ears on a blue headband.

“Oh! Of course! I made those during Freshman Year as a show of school spirit!” Rarity uttered. “I even made sweaters with the Wondercolts logo. Wait… I get it! They’re a way to show solidarity! That no matter how different we are, we’re all Canterlot Wondercolts!”

“I always keep things around in case of emergency.” Pinkie said with a giggle. “I was thinking we’d wear these and do something really really spectacular. That’s bound to land Twilight in the hearts of everybody!”

“You’d be surprised how good the acoustics are in the cafeteria for them. Always a fun time.”
_______________________________________________________________

The next day, at lunch, the five friends all entered the cafeteria, seemingly as normal, though they each sported a light blue sweater with the Canterlot High C as a horseshoe decorating them. They each sat at the tables of the cliques they would usually be associated with, then quietly put on their pony ears.

Then Pinkie started banging her tray in a catchy rhythm. Rarity joined in, stomping her feet to the rhythm, and adding a hand-clap to it. Soon Fluttershy and Rainbow added their own beats to the rhythm line. As soon as it seemed to reach a crescendo, Spike smiled, and hit the button on the boombox Rarity had put him in charge of, saying it was important.

Hey, hey, everybody. We’ve got something to say! We may seem as different, as night is from the day! But look a little deeper and you will see that I’m just like you, and you’re just like me. Yeah!

The five girls came together, clapping to the beat, then posing briefly during the guitar interlude. Then they started singing again, going around the cafeteria holding hands, and generally getting the attention of everybody.

Hey, hey, everybody, we’re here to shout that the Magic of Friendship is what it’s all about! Yeah, we thought we were as different as the night is from the day, until Twilight Sparkle helped us see another way!

They formed up into a line where everybody could see them, then started to do an amazingly choreographed dance routine to what appeared to be the chorus.

So get up, get down, if you’re gonna come around. We can work together, helping Twilight win the crown.
So get up, get down, cause it’s gonna make a sound. If we work together, helping Twilight win the crown!

Pinkie then ran around trying to get everybody into the song, singing all the while.

”Hey hey, hands up now! We’re sending a message to the crowd!” Pinkie sang through a megaphone, blowing one girl’s hair. She then ran to one of the athletes, pulling his arms around. ”Hands wave up, then come down! Then Pinkie slid into place in front of the lunch counter, as a very bemused Granny Smith looked on, going into a spin. ”We party together all around!”

”Generous, honesty,” Rarity sang, gesturing to Applejack when she sang “honesty”.

”Laughter, kindness, loyalty,” Applejack sang in turn, pointing to Pinkie, Fluttershy, and Rainbow Dash in turn.

”Twilight helped us each to see,” Fluttershy sang, as she stood between Pinkie and Applejack smiling, looking happier than she had in months.

At the second chorus, the whole lunchroom was getting into the catchy beat, as Rarity, Applejack, Rainbow, Pinkie, and Fluttershy continued to sing.

On the last line of the chorus, Rarity and Pinkie went to the cafeteria doors, and pulled them open, revealing Twilight Sparkle standing there, decked out in Wondercolt gear, beaming at the lunchroom. She came in and sang in a beautiful voice that surprised even her friends.

”I’m going to be myself, no matter what I do. And if we’re different, yeah, I want you to be true to you. If you follow me, we’ll put those differences aside. We’ll stick together, and start working on that school pride!”

The six friends began to distribute the Wondercolts ears and tails to the cafeteria, as they sang a different version of the chorus that the whole room sang with them.

Jump up, make a sound (Hey!) Stomp your hooves, turn around. Start now, make a change. Gonna come around.
Jump up, make a sound (Hey!) Stomp your hooves, turn around. Canterlot Wondercolts, help her win the crown!”

At the end of the song, Twilight found herself, standing on a table, mic in hand, smiling at the lunchroom, and the whole cafeteria seemed to be smiling back.

“Hello, Canterlot Wondercolts!” she declared, waving, garnering a cheer from the crowd. “As you’ve probably figured out by now, I’m Twilight Sparkle. A lot of you, until now, have probably never heard of me, and for good reason. I’m not exactly popular. Honestly, I’m a gamer, and a nerd, and I’m running for the crown of a dance, and I can barely dance. I don’t see a reason to change that, though. Well maybe the barely able to dance part, but that’s beside the point. I look out at all of you, and I see a bunch of wonderful people with their own interests, and hobbies, and who may be different, but I don’t see that as a reason why we can’t get along. I have five of the best friends, ever, who are so different from me, it’s amazing, and yet we get along so well. We found common ground, and interests. And here, in this room, we all have some common ground. We’re all Canterlot Wondercolts,” Twilight said

Many were shocked, so used to Sunset’s speeches which sounded more like threats than anything else. Here was a girl who wanted to unite the school, not under anyone, but as one.

Private was watching among the crowd that had gathered around Twilight, looking up at her with a look of awe and...he dismissed the thought, but still let a little grin come to his face.

For a brief moment, Twilight felt the love of every student in the room. Her eyes scanned the crowd as she made her speech, and they briefly fell on Private. That look of utter awe and love made her feel all giddy inside, but she chalked it up to the music and the thrill of speaking to a crowd.

“I know one other piece of common ground we have. We’re all tired of being bullied. So, here I am. I’m here to give you an alternative. I hope I can count on your support, but I won’t force you to vote for me, unlike some people I could name. You are all individuals, with minds of your own. It’s my job to win your hearts and your votes, and I hope, as the Formal draws closer, I can do just that.”

The students broke into a thunderous applause, happy to finally have somebody who they could support that wasn’t Sunset. Soon however, the applause and crowd broke up as the school day had to go on. The girls took a break outside, getting out of their Wondercolt gear.

“Gotta hand it to ya Pinks, that’s probably one of the best musical numbers you randomly put together since Cheese Sandwich came to town,” Rainbow said with a laugh.

“Who’s Cheese Sandwich?” Twilight asked, still amazed at herself for speaking publically.

“That did turn out amazing,” Fluttershy said happily, putting her pony ears in the bag. “And your speech was really nice too Twilight”

“Indeed darling,” Rarity said, and then smirked. “And it seems it was nice enough to catch some...particular attention.”

“Uh… particular attention?” Twilight asked, blushing a little. “W-what do you mean?”

“Detective boy?” Rainbow asked, then laughed. “That’s who you’re crushing on?”

“Oh yeah, Miss Tsundere, when are you gonna show your sweet side to Raiden?” Twilight retorted.

“Hey!” Rainbow yelled. “Raiden is different, he’s a huge jerk and there’s no way I’d go out with hi-”

“Say, isn’t that Raiden takin’ his shirt off over yonder?” Aj said, pointing suddenly.

“WHERE?!” Rainbow yelped, she then saw all her friends laughing and grumbled. “You all are jerks…”

“But we’re your jerks, aren’t we?” Pinkie asked, wrapping an arm around Rainbow’s shoulders.

“Yeah yeah…” Rainbow said, rolling her eyes. “Let’s just go before I find Ray and punch his clock off…”
____________________________________________________________

The group had to split up to go to their separate classes, because as much as they would have liked it, they still had some classes that weren’t together. Rarity and Fluttershy, however, did share an English class, so they were walking together toward the classroom, when they rounded a corner and saw Big Mac further down the hallway.

It was kind of hard to miss him. He was taller than the other students with a slightly messy shock of strawberry blonde hair, wearing a red western style shirt with a brown placard decorated with a pair of green apple halves over a white t-shirt. The jeans, worn hems at the ankles and all, completed Mac’s country boy look.

Fluttershy suddenly stopped, and hid behind Rarity. She peeked over Rarity’s shoulder at Big Mac, and then hid again. “Um, Rarity could we um...use a different way please..?” She said, a little shyer than usual.

“Oh but… Oooooh… Have a certain… fondness for Macintosh, do we?” Rarity asked with a smile.

“Oh, Fluttershy, you can tell me, you know,” Rarity said kindly. “I’m never one to make fun of romance.”

Fluttershy sighed, “Yes...but, I don’t want to bother him. I mean, what if Aj found out...or I say something silly or...oh dear…” She somehow made herself smaller behind Rarity’s back in an attempt to hide her blushing face.

“Darling, I am sure Applejack would not mind at all,” Rarity said with a smile. “And I doubt he’d notice if you said something silly. You are quite lovely you know. He’d probably be stumbling over his words, trying to talk to you, as well.”

“Oh, indeed. Really, Fluttershy, you need to stop putting yourself down. Hm… You need something to break the ice, though. Oh! I know. He lives on a farm. So there would be animals, there…” Rarity said a flash of inspiration coming to her. “That’s something you could talk about, and never sound silly, darling.”

“Well you could go up and ask him how Winona is doing,” Rarity suggested. “After all you helped Applejack adopt her, so naturally you’d be wondering how she is. And yes, I know you could just ask Applejack, but… You’re wanting another perspective. To see how well she’s getting along with the whole family.”

Rarity simply took Fluttershy’s arm, and pulled her along. “Mac, darling, Fluttershy would like to talk to you about something.”

Mac turned his calm green eyes to the incredibly shy girl, then looked away blushing. “Uh…”

“See, I told you,” Rarity whispered to Shy, smiling. “Now just ask about Winona.”

“Oh uh…” Fluttershy was left by Rarity with Big Mac. The two of them looked at one another, well, Big Mac obviously looked down on Fluttershy. She, didn’t feel intimidated or scared...rather for a moment she imagined him draping those big arms around her in com…

“Oh!” Fluttershy said, and got out of her stupor. “I’m so sorry Big Mac I uh..I’ll leave you alone…” She almost turned away, her shyness crippling her.

“Wait!” Big Mac said suddenly, and when Fluttershy turned around, shyness overcame him too. “You were um...gonna ask ‘bout Winona…?”

“I..um..yes...if that’s okay…” Fluttershy said, shifting her feet nervously.

“Well um, why don’t we..talk…’bout that and...other stuff.” Big Mac said, looking just as nervous.

“You’d, really want to..?” Fluttershy asked, her aqua eyes getting impossibly huge at the possibility.

Fluttershy smiled, and went off with Big Mac. Rarity smiled in turn, happy that her mission was a success. She then turned around, and saw Private pacing a little.

“Um, Twilight I know we haven’t known each other for very long but...no that’s dumb...Hey babe wanna ride with me-no I sound like Raiden.” He said as he paced, clearly trying to work up the courage to ask Twilight.

“Darling,” Rarity said coming up to him, and straightening his trench coat, and tie. “Just be yourself.”

“Uh, thanks Rarity, sorry I’m just very nervous.” Private said with a sigh.

Rarity smiled at him. “Quite fond of our future Fall Formal Princess are we?”

Private blushed. “Yeah, it’s weird, when I see her and, we talk it’s like I’ve known her for years. I just..feel whole...if that doesn’t sound totally crazy,” He said, with a nervous laugh.

“Not at all, darling,” Rarity said sincerely. “In fact, I know exactly what you’re talking about. You’ve found your soulmate.”

“Isn’t that a little cheesy?” Private asked. “Who says soulmate anymore?”

“Romantics do, Darling, don’t question it,” Rarity tutted. “And I said I know that feeling of wholeness, when you’re with that… special someone. Anyways, Darling, I simply cannot let you go into battle empty handed so to speak.” She reached into her purse and pulled out a beautiful red rose.

“Pinkie keeps things for party and musical emergencies, I keep things for romance emergencies,” Rarity said, smiling proudly. “I do de-thorn them of course, for safety reasons.” She then started pushing Private. “Now go on and ask her!”

“Alright alright!” Private said, taking off with rose in hand. “And… thanks..”

Rarity smiled, “Always happy to help, Darling…”
_________________________________________________________________

Twilight was at her locker, getting her books, when a student came up to her, much to her surprise.

“Thank you!” Twilight said sincerely. The student gave her a thumbs up, and walked off. Twilight beamed, doing a little bouncy dance of happiness. She was about to head off when suddenly she heard footsteps coming towards her, she turned and saw Private coming up, a hand behind his back.

“Hey Twilight, great show,” He said with a nervous smile. “I think you might be a shoo in to win this thing.”

“Oh… Uh… t-thank you,” Twilight said, blushing. Why oh why did Celestia tell her she had to stay away from him? It feels so right when they’re together.

“Well, see, I was hoping actually hoping um...well let me give this to you first of all…” He nervously brought the hand behind his back forward, revealing the red rose.

“I… Oh… wow… T-thank you,” Twilight said, blushing furiously. ”What… brought this on? I… I can’t be thinking about him like this… Professor Celestia told me to stay away from him… But… Why does every part of me want to disobey that?”

“Well, see I was wondering if you’d...let me be your escort...when you take the crown…” Private asked, very nervously, those silver eyes looking for some hint as to an answer.

“I… I… I don’t know… I want to… but… I….” Twilight said, obviously torn by some internal conflict. “I’ll… I’llgetbacktoyou! Gottago!” With that, Twilight ran off, clutching the rose, her hand over her mouth.

“Twilight…” Private said, watching her run off. “I...well it wasn’t a no but...why was she so...almost scared?” He said to himself.

Twilight ran to an empty classroom, sobbing. Why must this hurt so? Why did Celestia tell her to stay away from him? She felt so… whole so complete when she was near him. What was it about him? Why did he, and those beautiful silver eyes seem so… familiar? Twilight pulled herself together, slowly, then went on to her class, tucking the rose into her bag. She would ask Celestia, when she could, about this. Maybe there was some sort of mistake.
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“Thanks for coming to help everybody!” Pinkie said as she laid some streamers up on the Gym’s stage. “These decorations won’t hang up themselves.”

If there is one building that is pretty universal to any high school, it’s the gymnasium. The floor was lacquered light wood, with a basketball court laid out upon it, a scoreboard one one wall, a stage, purple curtain hiding the backdrops flanked by doors going back to the backstage area along another. Around the perimeter were the requisite folding bleachers, pushed into their folded position to leave more room on the floor. Even here, though, the architect of the school wanted to add some small beauty, and so the beams close to the ceiling were a fancy wrought iron scrollwork. Perfect for hanging streamers.

“Hey it’s no problem Pinkie.” Rainbow said, strumming her guitar here and there throughout the gym. “Now I just need to find a good spot for Vinyl.”

Aj shoved a table into place. “Hey, has anybody seen Twi? She was supposed to help us tonight.”

The Elements had all volunteered to get a head start on the preparations for the Fall Formal by staying in late that night. Celestia was off in her office finishing up paperwork while the girls were working on the decorations. All except Twilight who had yet to arrive despite receiving a text from all of them.

“I do hope she’s alright, and hasn’t gotten herself into a you know what.” Rarity said, referring to the witching hours.

“Ah think she would’ve called if somethin’ like that happened.” Aj replied.

Their questions were answered when Twilight opened the door to the gym, looking quite down about something. She quietly set her books on one of the tables and sighed, looking up at her friends. “Sorry I’m late everybody…”

“Twilight dear!” Rarity said, coming over. “Are you alright? We were all worried about you.”

“I… I… I’m sorry. I... was asked to the Formal…” Twilight said. “And… I don’t know what to do… I was trying to get to see Professor Celestia, but she had already left… And now I don’t know…”

“Private. Private asked me… But… Private’s the one that’s been looking into all the weird happenings. That’s why I’ve been having us clean up, trying to throw him off… Also… Professor Celestia… she said not to go near him, but…” Twilight said, looking torn. “Whenever I’m near him, it’s like I’ve found a part of myself I never knew I was missing! But… But… Professor Celestia thinks he’s dangerous… I just don’t know what to do!”

“Maybe Celestia thinks if you guys start dating Private will find out about guardians, and stuff,” Rainbow suggested.

“Why would she say that Private’s dangerous?” Aj asked. “Most he’s ever done is solve a few small mysteries at the school, like ‘who tried to flush Gummy down the toilet’.”

“Now girls, Twilight here needs our comfort in this dilemma.” Rarity said, giving Twilight a one armed hug.

Aj sighed, “Yeah, look sugarcube,” Aj said, coming over and putting a hand on Twilight’s shoulder. “Ah’m sure we’ll figure things out, we always do.”

“Yeah. You’re right. I… didn’t say ‘no’... exactly. I’m hoping to get answers, soon, though. Anyway, we do have a gym to decorate, so let’s do that, before we have a witching hour or something,” Twilight said with a warm smile to all her friends.
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Celestia moved quietly through the hallways, her heels clicking eerily as she moved around. She sighed, remembering how she saw Twilight utterly torn, and Private utterly confused. She breathed in, and told herself that it was all for the best.
“I’m keeping Twilight safe, as well as Private. If they aren’t together than she…” Celestia then sighed, and reached into her blouse, pulling out a small pendent with a sun and a moon adorning it. She closed her eyes, a small tear falling from her eyes. “I’m so sorry, it’s for the best, to keep us all safe...it was to keep us safe...safe…”

Celestia stood erect, and turned, her eyes growing wide...as bells started ringing….

Standing in the hallway was a woman, as tall as Celestia, with long black hair, dressed in light blue hoplite armor. Her slitted teal eyes glared at Celestia, as a fanged mouth grinned maliciously at her. She held a large scythe in her hand, the blade dragging on the ground throwing up sparks, and creating an eerie sound that would make a lesser person’s blood run cold.

“Nightmare…” Celestia said. “No...not now...you weren’t supposed to…”

“Be free from your flimsy prison? Honestly Celestia, don’t you know ghosts always come back to haunt?” Nightmare replied, grinning maliciously.

“Leave Nightmare….” Celestia warned. “You won’t find what you’re looking for here...your conflict is with me…”

“I don’t think so Tia, while I would love to get my revenge on you...it’s the brat I want…” Nightmare said, her mad eyes getting serious.

“No excuse...I will put things right...bring about my eternal night...and take my precious Nocturne back where he belongs...with me…”

Equestria Guardians

by Jacoboby1

Chapter 6 "Nightmare Part 1"