//------------------------------// // Chapter 2 // Story: The Comeback of the Nightmare // by Star Blazer //------------------------------// Later That Evening "Hey Twilight!" Spike called. He was inside the Caterlot Martyr Gravesite, and he was really hoping he could find Twilight soon; the sun was going down, and the place got really creepy at night. Usually, Golden Shield or Cadence would come get Twilight if she stayed here for too long (which was pretty much every single time), but both were busy with preparations for the Summer Sun Celebration in Canterlot, so Golden Shield asked him to do it after the aviator came into the tower to check up on the mage. Also, he couldn't remember where the Sparkle Family graves were, since he only visited them three times, and the place was stinking huge. He was about to give up and head back to the castle when he suddenly spotted Twilight sitting a few feet feet away from three graves decorated with fresh roses. As he got closer, he recognized the writing on the gravestones. One was for two graves, with the couple's names and dates: Twilight Velvet Night Light March 15th 957- August 8th 950- July 13th 993 Beloved mother and father The other one laid to the left of it and was smaller by comparison, but carried even more emotional weight: Shining Armor September 12th 976- July 13th 993 Beloved brother, son, and friend As Spike approached, he saw that Twilight was hugging her knees and gripping the necklace she wore around her neck. She didn't notice her friend approaching because her mind was replaying the funeral over and over again. In most stories, whenever funerals have happened, it was during the middle of a rainstorm. But not today. It was completely sunny, the right temperature to play in the park and have a picnic with your family. It was a complete insult to the wheelchair-bound and sleep-deprived Twilight. A comforting hand laid on her shoulder, but she didn't look up. "Come on, Twilight," Princess Cadence whispered. "It's time to say your last goodbyes." Twilight just nodded and let Cadence roll her up to the coffins. Her energy and her mood had been run through the mill in the past week. She had been unconscious for three days, had awoken achey and discombobulated, then when the doctors had told her that her entire family had died..... Well, she had completely lost it. All the nightmares of screaming and blood didn't help. The worst part was that she didn't even remember what had happened. The doctors had told her that she suffered amnesia induced by trauma from the attack, so the only thing that she remembered before waking up attached to a life support machine was Shining Armor reading her a fairy tale. The body of her brother was the first one that she saw. He was dressed up in a black tuxedo, looking as if he was only sleeping in his mahogany casket, not dead. His hands were folded and across his chest, his blue-striped hair was combed out smoothly, and his face was covered in makeup matching his white skin tone, trying it's hardest to keep the cuts and burns in his face hidden. Her parents had similar setups in their own coffins, but her mother wore a blue ball gown and her father wore a decorative sergeant's uniform. Twilight burst into tears of agony and grief. Up until now, she could barely believe what the doctors had told her; The Kilin Clan King Halon had ordered his henchmen attacked the Equestrian Diplomats and Officers to steal any and all valuables and to kill everyone out of spite. An Aviator Squad flying overhead saw what was going on and managed to subdue the murderers, but it was too late. The only person they managed to save was Twilight, who through sheer luck survived whatever the heck they did to her. The surviving goons were to be put on trial for what they did and were closely watched so that they wouldn't kill themselves during the questioning process. Halon, meanwhile, had the rest of his followers commit mass suicide and slid away into the darkness. The search was still on for him, but it was heavily implied that he, too, had killed himself. Twilight had kept thinking that her parents weren't really gone for good, just hiding, or somewhere recovering in another part of the hospital. But seeing her family’s remains…. This confirms it, Twilight thought glumly. My parents are gone, my BBBFF's gone, I'm all alone... I'm an orphan now, An orphan.... That word repeated itself as if it was a broken record playing in her head. Orphan. That word was only supposed to exist in books and plays and movies, not here in real life. Her bandaged hands clasped the necklace charm, trying to feel the brotherly touch that wasn't there anymore. It wasn't stolen because the murderers didn't see it as costing much, but now it was priceless. Orphan. Everybody said it was a miracle that she had survived, but she did not feel lucky at all. She should have died along with them. Everyone kept trying to say they were sorry for her loss... but they never would understand... Finally, Twilight couldn't take it anymore. She forced herself out of the wheelchair and crawled towards the caskets. "Twilight, no!" Captain Golden Shield yelled. The mage tried to climb into the casket of her BBBFF, but two rough arms wrapped around her waist and picked her up. "No! Let me go!" Twilight screamed, beginning to kick. The Aviator Captain winced, not from the hits, which didn't deal any damage thanks to his ceremonial armor, but from knowing that the broken leg was going to get more injured if she kept thrashing. The rest of the spectators, for both the Sparkle Family's funeral and for the burials of the other Halon Massacre victims, just stood there and watched in shock and sadness. "Kid, calm down--" "Let me go! My brother needs me!" "Twilight, he's dea--" "DON'T SAY THAT!!" Twilight's mage symbol on her head lit up, and her magic threw Golden Shield about twenty feet back onto his rump. Twilight was almost inside her brother's casket when she was lifted up by a golden telekinesis bubble. Celestia levitated the kicking young mage over to her, then rested a white hand onto the purple forehead. Suddenly, Twilight felt her mood change. She wasn't angry, she wasn't screaming, she wasn't even saying a word. Instead, Twilight just felt totally exhausted, as if she hadn't slept in weeks (which was semi-true). The only thing she could do was bawl her eyes out. Princess Celestia silently gave Twilight a hug, then handed her over to Cadence, who cradled her while the Crown Princess began with the funeral service. "Twilight?" She opened her eyes. "Spike! Oh, I was--" she suddenly noticed the darkening sky, then looked at her watch. "Is it really that late already?" He just climbed into her lap and settled down there. "You know, Twilight, I wish I could have known your family. Too bad I hatched a month after... you know?" Twilight nodded, wrapping her arms around the only creature in Equestria that she considered to be her friend. "And at least you got to know them and that they loved you," the drake added bitterly. The fourteen-year-old swallowed back a lump of guilt. That was true; Spike was aware of the circumstances that led him to be living among humans, something that he wasn't too happy about. Twilight had no idea what to say. Neither of them talked about their birth families much, due to the heartache it gave both of them. When they did, it was hopelessly awkward, because either Twilight cried or Spike would get sulky. She finally came up with something. "You know what, Spike? We know each other, and we care about each other. I'll bet a million bits my family would have loved you. I don't know why you would've been abandoned, but then I wouldn't have gotten to know you." "Yeah, and I wouldn't have gotten to know you, either." Spike reached up and returned the embrace. Twilight thought of a great idea. "So you want to stop at Pony Joe's Donut Shop and get something to eat?" In an instant, Spike had climbed up onto the mage's shoulders. "Lead the way, my noble steed!" Despite everything going on, Twilight couldn't help but laugh. It was days like these when she needed that pick-me-up. "Yes!" Twilight exclaimed. After about three hours of filling out the paperwork, then double and triple-checking it over and over again to make sure nothing was missing, she was finally finished. "Hey Spike, can you send these to Princess Celestia?" No response. "Spike?" Nothing. "SPIKE!" As usual, he was sound asleep and snoring next to the desk chair. "Spike, come on, wake up! I don't want to walk to Princess Celestia's study in my pajamas!" He simply turned over in his sleep. That's when Twilight noticed the time. Nine-thirty. Of course. He was impossible to wake up at this hour. Twilight groaned in frustration and used her magic to grab a hoodie and her shoes and to put Spike in his basket. Looks like she was going to deliver them herself after all. That's weird, Twilight thought. Where are all the guards? The private part of the Royal Castle didn't have as many guards as the private part, but there were at least three guard posts between the astronomy tower and the study, and they were supposed to be filled at all times unless there was an emergency in another part of the castle or something. Granted, there were detection runes and security cameras loitered around, but it felt so unnatural to be alone in the corridor. Twilight saw that the study door was closed and was about to knock on it when she suddenly heard Cadence’s worried voice waif through it. "... and you're sure we shouldn't let Twilight know about this? I mean, if she really is connected to the Elements of Harmony, she could help us with what's going to happen." Twilight froze. She wasn't usually an eavesdropper, but she doubted that anyone else would have resisted listening into a conversation about themselves. "I'm not going to get her involved in this, Cadence. She's fourteen years old, and has been through enough already. Besides, Nightmare Moon's a dangerous opponent. If she did anything to hurt Twilight, I never would forgive myself." By now, Twilight was laying on the floor, listening in through the bottom crack on the floor. Nightmare moon? she thought. As in that old fairy tale? Celestia continued. "Also, she became extremely close to figuring it all out. If she had continued her research any longer, I fear she would have been horrified." "Still, nothing good can come from keeping her in the dark like this." "You know how she can be, my niece. She has a tendency to focus on something that worries or interests her when it captures her attention, becomes one-track minded once she does so, and often neglects her health and social needs in the process." "You're right about that socializing part." Celestia sighed. "I did my best to help Twilight during her school years, but I couldn't do enough. Hopefully, Twilight going to a new setting will help with all that. If nothing else comes out of this, at least Twilight will be around those of her age and enjoys their company." Twilight felt her mind groan. No way any other teenager would want to spend some time with her. "And the public will be kept from this, too?" "I'm letting the ceremony continue as planned. That'll keep the citizens from getting suspicious, and I have taken several precautions. We have twenty troops deployed in Ponyville right now, and that includes most of the guards from this part of the castle. I put the Ponyville Hospital on standby, and we have all the purification spells set up for where she'll appear. I had also notified the Mayor of Ponyville about this. With any luck, we can deal with this quickly and we'll be able to save her, especially since she'll reenter this world five miles north of the city boundaries." "What about her soul reaper jar?" "The original was destroyed after her banishment a thousand years ago, and I'm betting that she probably created a weaker version during her imprisonment. We have a few counter weapons against it, ones that I have personally crafted. It will be easy to defeat her once we take care of that." "What if we fail?" That quiet question hung in the air, like a cold draft in winter. "This has a 99% chance of success, Cadence. However, it case it doesn't work, I've rigged the back-up plan to send itself to Twilight..." Twilight let out a sharp gasp. The study suddenly went silent, then she heard steps going towards the door. She got up, ran as quickly and quietly as possible down the hall around the corner. Light poured into the now-empty hall as she heard somebody step out of the room. Twilight didn't dare to breathe for the next thirty seconds of silence as the corridor lit up with Celestia's golden magic. Then there was another ten seconds of silence that seemed to last for ten years. "I scanned the hallway. Nothing sinister is or was out here in the past five minutes." Princess Celestia said. " It was probably just the wind, but I'm going to soundproof this room just in case." After the door finally closed, Twilight exhaled and decided that the paperwork, still tucked underneath her arm, could wait. She had more important stuff to do. Twilight read through the fairy tale in Predictions and Prophecies again and again while she laid in bed. The first part didn't really tell her much except for what she and everybody else in Equestria knew; there were two immortal demigoddess sisters who ruled, the older sister raised the sun, the younger raised the moon. As time went on, the younger sister got jealous of her older sister getting all the attention for her day and everyone shunning the night. Eventually, the younger sister decided to refuse to let the night pass and she became consumed by her wickedness and became an entity known as Nightmare Moon. She decided to steal 1000 souls from innocent people and sacrifice them in order to make her spell permanent. The older sister tried to reason with her, but ultimately she had no choice but to reluctantly summon the Elements of Harmony and seal Nightmare Moon into the moon. All of the souls were retrieved and returned to their rightful owners. The last passage was what really stuck out to her: It is said on the longest day of the thousandth year, four stars will aid in her escape, and she will once again attempt to shroud the land in eternal night. Of course! Those mysterious stars were what Nightmare Moon was using to free herself from her prison! Why didn't she see it before? Princess Celestia said that these Elements of Harmony were the only things that were able to stop Nightmare Moon. Twilight thought. What could they be? What are they able to do, and where are they right now? I wish the local library had nighttime hours, I could look up what the Elements of Harmony are. I could break into there again, but after what happened last time, I was lucky not to get banned from there forever. But Spike and I are leaving early tomorrow morning, so there's no time to look them up before then. Maybe I could-- Her train of thought was broken be a soft knock on her door. "Twilight?" Cadence whispered. "Can I come in?" "Sure." The pink-skinned demigoddess opened the door. "I'm surprised you're still up." "What are you talking about?" The last time Twilight checked, it was ten o'clock. "Uh, it's half past eleven right now." Twilight looked back at the clock hanging on the wall and saw that Cadence was right. The 14-year-old grinned sheepishly. "Well, you know me, always getting lost into books." It was ironic; Twilight was usually obsessed with schedules and being punctual, but an entire night could pass by her in a good book and she wouldn't have even noticed she skipped out on sleep until Spike or someone else took it away. It's happened more than a few times. "So what brings you here?" "Princess Celestia sent me to get the paperwork, and I have the list of your duties for tomorrow." Twilight suddenly remembered. "Oh, right! It's right here, all filled out. I triple-checked it to make sure." Cadence sat down onto the bed and peered at the book Twilight had in her lap. "You're reading up on Nightmare Moon?" She asked, kind of surprised. Twilight tried to keep a straight face. "Just wanted to read up on the myth, since it's the basis of the Summer Sun Celebration. Besides, it's only a fairy tale, right?" If her old babysitter/surrogate sister suspected anything, she didn't let it show, but she did take it away, bookmarked it, and put it on the bedside table. "Actually, I'm glad you're still awake; I've been meaning to talk to you about tomorrow." Twilight tensed up. "Okay, about what?" "I want you to try to make a few friends while you're in Ponyville." Twilight couldn't help but groan. "Seriously? You too?” “Hey, I know it’s always been tough for you to socialize with others—“ Twilight scoffed. “Who’d want to hang out with an egghead who graduated Celestia’s School for Gifted Magi when she was thirteen?” “You realize you graduated five years earlier than most people and that you were and still are Celestia’s Apprentice, right?” “Yep, and I got a history of being shoved into lockers, getting beat up, and ostracized to prove it!" “I know your school years were tough for you—" “A lot of students treated me like I was a bomb about to blow because what happened at my physical exam! They were jealous that I was able to hatch Spike, or did you forget the death threats that many of them sent to both of us?!" “Twilight, I know the problems you experienced in school! I think another one of them is that you don’t give the people who don’t bully you a chance! Most of the death threats came from the nobility!" “So? I tried to give them one, and they either joined the bullies or treated me like dirt! Forgive me if I gave up trying after a while!” “Twilight, there are a lot of people who aren’t like that!" “You don’t get it, Cady! I like books because they don’t judge me and are actually interesting! I don’t have your or Celestia's grace or talent in public! Heck, I don’t even know if I want to live among people!” “You don’t mean that!" “There’s been several hermits throughout history! What’s one more added to the list?” The young Princess sighed out of frustration and sadness. Cadence inwardly admitted that Twilight had a point; she was bullied a lot during her school years. However, after a while she refused to reach out to others, possibly because she was scared of how others perceived her or because of the tragedy of losing her family. Then again, being in classes with people who were at least three years older than her didn't really make many opportunities for her to know people who were part of her age group, so it's not like she knew what she was missing out on. Cadence couldn't even recall the last time Twilight had an actual conversation with anybody her age. She decided to try a different approach. “Look, Auntie’s been really worried about you, being buried in those books for hours on end, and it’s been happening even more lately. I’m not saying education isn’t important, but having a social life is just as meaningful as knowing how to read or add up numbers!" Twilight cocked her head. “How so? It's not like the fate of Equestria depends on it.” “Just do the assignment! At least try to make some friends tomorrow! If it's not for you, at least do it for Celestia!" Twilight tore off the seal, and studied the scroll. As she read through the list, realization began to dawn on her. Celestia probably needed more help if she as going against Nightmare Moon, and there wasn't much stuff to complete supervising the preparations. Maybe she could play along with this friend thing, then sneak away and try to help out indiscreetly somehow! “Alright.” Cadence looked surprised for a few seconds, then smiled and gave Twilight a hug, something that Twilight had returned. “I’m proud of you, Twilight. You should get some sleep now. You have to leave home early.” “Okay, works with me.” Cadence began tucking her younger accomplice in. "Cadence, I'm not a baby!" The Princess of Love kissed her smack dab in the middle of the forehead. "I know. I just can't believe how much you're growing up. Good night." Cadence started heading outside the door when Twilight suddenly remembered something. “Uh, Cadence?” She looked back. Twilight was holding out the brown envelope. “The paperwork?” "Oh, right! Thanks!" Cadence summoned it with her magic turned out the light. As soon as Princess Cadence closed the door, Twilight curled herself into a ball and began to shudder, out of fear about what was going to (possibly) happen the next day.