//------------------------------// // Nightmare Scenario // Story: The Enemy Within // by KATCompositions //------------------------------// With Twilight doing a front crawl and Trixie implementing some form of doggy paddle, the two mares eventually made their way to the midsection. Doctor Whooves came cartwheeling up from the stairs. "Woooo," he yelled, waving his hooves around joyfully, "this is fantastic. I've never had this much fun since I went to that party in zero gravity," "Doctor," said Twilight, "I was in bed for three days recovering from the dizziness; what a night. Anyway, what did you want?" "What is happening?" "You want to know what's happening. This might take some time. Now where do I begin?" The Doctor cleared his throat, still spinning through the air. "We are a group of equines from the land of Equestria who, through a set of freak circumstances, have come to be marooned in the distant future, and..." "Yes, yes, we know all of that already," said Trixie, "tell us what's happening now. Where did all these fish come from, and everything?" "Oh, I see, well you should be more specific in future. As it happens I do have an inkling as to what, or rather who is responsible". He gestured for the others to follow him to the bulkhead which divided the cockpit from the midsection of the pod. Once there, he peered in and nodded with satisfaction. "Ah, as I suspected". The others looked into the cockpit. Everything appeared in order, more or less. Spare cables were strewn across the floor, a half eaten tin of biscuits lay open on the front console, and curled up in the first officer's seat, snoring gently, was Derpy. Her horn was glowing. "You mean Derpy's doing this? But she's asleep," said Trixie, "Exactly," "I don't understand," "I've worked it out. You see Derpy's alicorn powers are controlled by her subconscious," "Of course," Twilight exclaimed, "that explains why she couldn't control her magic earlier," "And sleeping is a subconscious action; you don't choose to fall asleep, it just, happens," "I still don't understand," said Trixie, "What we are experiencing are Derpy's dreams," explained the Doctor. Trixie tossed her head from side to side as a lump of seaweed became stuck to her face. The seaweed didn't look very pleased about it and neither was Trixie, from the noises she was making. "So we're safe then, right?" said Twilight. Finally Trixie managed to shake the seaweed off and it drifted away pulling faces at her and laughing. "Well, in theory," the Doctor replied, "as long as Derpy doesn't have any nightmares, we're fine". There was a thud. The whole pod shook sending Twilight, Trixie and the Doctor crashing to the floor. The lights flickered. For a moment nothing could be seen or heard except the low hum of the pod's heating system. Then a silhouette emerged from the darkness, of a hideous, deformed creature. It's skin was cracked, and something was oozing from the cracks. As it lunged forwards, Twilight got a closer inspection, using her horn as a light. To her surprise the gooey stuff looked like, blueberry. She sniffed the air suspiciously. "Smells like, baking?" A raspberry muffin talon swung in her direction forcing her to duck. The lights had returned, and Twilight had a clear view of the beast. It stood three times her height, with a crude banana chip crown. "Derpy," she cried, "wake up," Derpy came running in and skidded to a stop. "The M-M-Muffin King," she said, legs shaking. "But if Derpy's awake then how come it's still here?" "So you ran off to the end of the universe," boomed the Muffin King, "you thought you had escaped, but we are omnipresent. We see everything". "Lea..." Twilight started to say, then she felt something grab hold of her. She looked back. Trixie was cowering behind her, clutching her back leg. She rolled her eyes. "Leave her alone". The Muffin King turned to her, and it was then that Twilight caught a glimpse into the eyes of the creature. They were impossibly deep, and dark as the night sky, with a blazing tinge of purple around the edges. She gasped, and aimed her horn at the monster, firing a beam of magic energy. It had no effect. The beast roared and vomited a tidal wave of cream cheese, sweeping them both across the floor. "Quick, down here," called the Doctor from the top of the stairs. Twilight and Trixie scrambled to follow his instruction. Derpy stayed frozen on the spot, her eyes glued to the Muffin King. "Muffins, come on". Still Derpy could not move. The Doctor, Twilight and Trixie regrouped downstairs in the safety, or relative safety, of the Doctor's laboratory. "You know there was something familiar about that creature, don't you think?" said the Doctor, "Oh yes," said Trixie, "we were attacked by a giant muffin monster, it happens all the time," "Well it's happened to me once or twice," the Doctor replied, dead serious, "but it's not just that. There was something about those eyes, didn't you see it? It's like, you know when you have flashbacks from a dream, but you can't remember any details". Twilight, who had been strangely silent up until now, spoke. "That was the Tantabus". "The what?" said Trixie, "Ages ago, back in Ponyville, we encountered a creature, a parasite, that could infect the psyche, turning dreams into nightmares. We thought Luna had defeated it, but part of it must have survived in Derpy's subconscious, and now it has entered the real world". "Then we need to get it back into the dream world, right?" "It's not as simple as that. Something has changed. Last time it was feeding off Luna's guilt, but something has made it grow stronger; it must be to do with Derpy becoming an alicorn". There were roaring and crashing sounds from above. The ceiling was shaking. Twilight noticed that the Doctor wasn't looking up like the others. He was staring into the distance, not smiling or showing any expression. "Doctor, are you okay?" He didn't respond. "It's not your fault. None of us knew this would happen, and anyway, Derpy can look after herself. She'll be okay". After a few seconds the Doctor's face lit up. "Derpy, yes, that's it; she just might be the key to fixing all this". He sprang into action, pulling a whiteboard out of nowhere with a rather crude side illustration of a pegasus on it. "You know how pegasi extend their wings when they get passionate about something? Well Derpy's magic works more or less the same. You see she is not just any alicorn, she has the power of the subconscious, which makes her potentially more powerful than even you, Twilight. Imagine if she could actually harness that power, just for a moment. I wonder what would happen. All she needs is a little help from the greatest force in the universe; anger". "No way; that's friendship," "Yeah, friendship is magic, blah blah blah, carry on Doctor" said Trixie, "Trixie, this is serious," Twilight snapped, The Doctor cut in. "You see Derpy is not magical by nature; by nature she's a pegasus, which means she's wired up differently. The only trouble is how do you make such a cheery pony angry?" "That's easy, just take away her muffins," answered Trixie, "Stop," said Twilight, "listen," "I can't hear anything," said Trixie, "Exactly," "Oh no no no," the Doctor cried, "that can't be good". He charged to the door, the others in pursuit. As they came to the top of the stairs, the Doctor stopped. "Fascinating," he said. "What is it?" said Twilight. She looked around. As far as she could see the midsection was empty. Empty except for a crack. A giant, shining crack, running from the floor plates to the ceiling. There was something wrong with it. "Ow, what is that?" cried Trixie, "it doesn't look, right. It's hurting my eyes". The Doctor glanced at Trixie, then at Twilight. "Come on. Neither of you? It's a trans-dimensional interface, isn't it? I never thought I'd get to see one in real life". The two mares stared blankly. "You know, from the Comprehensive Illustrated Guide to Celestial Anomalies and Oddities, Second Edition," "Oooh," said Twilight, "I'm still on the first edition," "I can lend you a copy if you like". "Excuse me," said Trixie, "but what exactly is this transcendental interface thing?" "Trans-dimensional," the Doctor corrected, "well, first of all, it doesn't look like that. It's actually five dimensions nested together, but your brain can't process that, which is why it looks, wrong. What it does is it links two separate points in time and space together," "Of course," Twilight exclaimed, "the Tantabus must need other ponies to infect. There's not enough food for it here". "Then I suggest we follow it," "Through there?" "Yes, I'm reasonably sure it's safe. No, wait, why didn't I think of it before? The molecular modifier is what awakened the Tantabus from its dormant state to begin with, so perhaps it can reverse it. You girls go on ahead, I'll be right behind you". "But, I thought you said it would take weeks to fix..." The Doctor had already disappeared down the stairs before Twilight had a chance to finish. The crack stood, jagged and shimmering before them. Trixie stepped to one side. "After you," she said. With a sigh, Twilight closed her eyes and stepped into the light. She heard a gentle chatter of voices. The ground felt soft under her hooves and there was a warmth on her back. She opened her eyes and realised she was standing on grass, surrounded by trees and houses. The voices came from other ponies, who strolled past going about their daily routines. The warmth came from the sun. It was a clear sunny day. Twilight turned to Trixie who had appeared beside her. "This is Ponyville. We're home". Doctor Whooves reversed up the steps into the midsection, dragging the molecular modifier and folded up tripod along behind him. "Doctor?" He dropped the items and looked up. "Derpy," he cried running over to hug his assistant. "I hid in the cockpit. I'm sorry Doc, I didn't know what to do," "You're safe; that's what matters, no, stop. No time for sentimentality. There's a creature of nightmares loose somewhere in the universe and it's my responsibility," "The Muffin King?" "Precisely. Now could you lend me a hoof with this tripod?" "You're going through there?" said Derpy, indicating the crack, "wait. Then I'm coming with you". "You don't have to you know," the Doctor frowned, "you've been in enough danger already". "I want to," Derpy assured him. The Doctor grinned, passing her the tripod. "Then let's go". Moments later they materialised alongside Twilight and Trixie. The Doctor produced a hoofheld device, with a small dish on top. "What are you doing?" said Twilight. "Oh this? It's just a little gadget I brought along to help us locate the Muffin King. It scans for disturbances in a localised area, except it doesn't seem to be working..." The ground shook beneath them. "Doctor?" said Twilight, The Doctor was still fixated on his gadget. "Perhaps it needs recalibrating". All around ponies scattered, panicking and screaming. A shadow loomed over them. "Doctor," Trixie shouted. "Just a moment". He gave the device a whack and the dish started spinning round. "There, no, that can't be right. Now it says it's right in front of us. I'll have to recheck the calibration again". "I, I think you should look up Doc," said Derpy. This time he did. "Oh". The Muffin King had grown. It now stood taller than all the trees and buildings, casting a shadow over the whole street. It's endlessly deep, dark eyes locked onto the four of them. It lurched forward, raspberry juice dripping off the end of its talons. "Derpy," said Trixie, "I have a confession to make. I ate all of your muffins," "That's okay," she replied, "What? Are you not angry?" "Well, we can always get some more," The Muffin King growled as it continued to advance. "No," stammered Trixie, "I, I ate all of them too. There are no muffins anywhere". "Oh". Derpy was grinding her teeth together now. Her horn started to glow. "You should have tasted them. They were the most delicious muffins I've ever had. Strawberry muffins, blueberry muffins..." Derpy took in a long, deep breath. "I forgive you," she said, "it's not worth falling out over some muffins". "It's not working," Trixie whispered to Twilight next to her, "Then it's time for plan B," she replied, "What's plan B?" "Run". They ran. Except for the Doctor, who stood still. "Come on," said Twilight. He began to assemble the molecular modifier, fiddling with the internal workings of the device. "Ah, the pony who calls himself the Doctor," the Muffin King bellowed, "Yes? Did you want something? If so, make it quick because I'm trying to perform a complex scientific task here," "Face it. Even if you could get that thing fixed, it is already far too late". The ground split apart, swallowing the molecular modifier. The Doctor gasped, staggering back. "Your science has failed you, Doctor, and now all of Equestria will be consumed into a living nightmare, thanks to you". The sky turned an unnatural, angry purple colour, as the beast roared again. Thick, heavy clouds blocked out the sun. "No clever quips or comebacks this time? What's the matter?" Mist had descended, but through the darkness, the Doctor could hear terrified cries. He cowered down into the ground, shaking. "That's right. Underneath all your rambling, your technobabble, your science and mathematics, you are still the same weak, pathetic foal, from all those years ago..." "Leave him alone". A beam of light hit the creature from above. It reeled back, blinded and in shock. The Doctor looked up. A gap in the clouds had opened. There, her wings flapping wildly, was Derpy. Her eyes burned with fury. "You take Equestria, you do what you want with me, but you leave, him, alone". She circled round, then descended, her horn glowing more and more intensely. Faster and faster she flew, her horn aimed at the monster. Seeing what was about to happen, the Doctor jumped out of the way. In an instant every particle in the air exploded with light. He covered his eyes, and waited for the ground to stop shaking. It took a while for Twilight Sparkle's vision to clear. "What just happened?" she muttered. Doctor Whooves came running over. "Are you okay?" "Yes, I think so. Trixie?" Trixie stood motionless, her mouth hanging open. "I think you'd better give her a minute. Where's Derpy? What happened to the Tantabus?" "Well, what's left of it is over there". He indicated to where Derpy was sat in the sun, cheerfully munching on the remains of the Muffin King. "This is actually really nice," she said. "About that," said Twilight, "how are we going to convince the other princesses to accept a new alicorn?" "She's not an alicorn any more, look," Trixie pointed out. She was right. Derpy's horn had disappeared. "But, what, how? I don't understand". "It's obvious isn't it?" said the Doctor, "Derpy defeated the Tantabus the only way she could; by using her power as an alicorn to stop herself from ever becoming an alicorn in the first place, thereby creating a temporal paradox and trapping the Tantabus in a redundant time stream". "I think I understand," replied Trixie, "but could you just repeat one part?" "Which part?" "All of it," "Wait," said Twilight, "but doesn't that mean, none of this ever really happened?" "Exactly," replied the Doctor, "this is merely an echo of the redundant timeline". The sun had vanished, and the sky was turning grey, and flat. "And if none of this ever happened, then..." "Time will revert back to the point of divergence, in this case Derpy becoming an alicorn". The grass had now also gone grey, only it wasn't grass. It was a hard, metallic floor. "And what does that mean?" asked Trixie. The trees and houses disappeared, to be replaced with familiar grey walls, and piles of the Doctor's bric-a-brac. Twilight grimaced. They were standing once more in the midsection of the pod. "It means we're still stuck at the end of the universe". She turned and trudged towards the bunk room. "Well I don't know about you, but I'm going back to bed. Perhaps I'll wake up and find that all of this is really just a bad dream".