//------------------------------// // The Nightmare // Story: Shattered Harmony: True Terror comes In Packs // by NightmareTRXY32 //------------------------------// In time all foul things come forth. There it was. The one thing that she and Starswirl had labored so hard over for these past few decades. It had been less then 100 years since the Unicorn wizard had passed into myth and legend. And yet towering in front the princess of the sun was the one device that had been the fruits of his labor and her penitence. She had used this device against the council of her friend and entered the world that had been nearly identical to her own. Save for the fact that King Sombra was good in this universe, and evil in hers. The more Celestia thought about it, the more she realized she was woefully ignorant of what exactly had caused the Sombra of her reality to wander down such a dark path. It was something she decided to dwell on later. She stepped through the mirror, and into her lover's embrace. She and the Sombra of this world were in love, and this would have to be her last visit anyway. Starswirl had feared that any more crossings into that reality might bind the two universes together and create a dangerous situation. Among all the other realities that Celestia had visited, this one was both the closest to her own, and yet it felt so barren at the same time. She briefly came into contact with a grey unicorn in what looked like Stable Barding. The mare froze when Celestia stood before her. "By the Goddesses, are you really?" her voice trailed off as the Princess approached her. She reassured the small unicorn that she wasn't in any danger around her. "I'm Celestia my LIttle pony," the princess was calm despite what she was witnessing,"what happened here?"Her voice was enough to calm this mare and let her know that she was safe in her presence. "The world ended," the young mare said dryly," over 200 years ago to be precise. From what I've learned so far, a mare named Twilight enacted an Endgame scenario and the world was burned away in the process." She could only stare at the ground as she said this. All Celestia could focus on was the name she mentioned. Twilight. It bothered Celestia that her own former student and a fast friend could become so cold that she'd seek a path of mutual destruction in a war that hasn't happened yet in her world. She took this as a premonition of what could happen in her own reality if Twilight isn't kept in line. "Come here," Celestia said, she knelt down and placed a replica of her crown into the mare's saddlebag and programmed a location into the mare's wrist device. "In that location, you'll find several months' worth of supplies and provisions if not longer." Celestia paused for a moment before putting her hoof to the mare's chin and lifting it up. "Do not lose hope, little one. I can see a lot of myself in you, take heart that harmony has not left Equestria. The magic of Friendship resides in us all." As she said this the mirror portal appeared, like a welcoming sign that she was ready to return home to her world. As the portal closed the unicorn mare realized that she had just met one of her idols and the most important figure in her world's history. She now had restored resolve to bring Harmony back to Equestria and her new mission to make some more friends. Once more Celestia stood before the mirror and reflected on everything that had been invested into a device like this. This mirror was no ordinary mirror though, it was a magic mirror that connected to a half dozen alternate worlds, some of which she and her magic council Starswirl had visited centuries ago when he was still alive and had still been her friend. It was painful for her to think about 3 worlds in particular several decades later. One world had another incarnation of King Sombra, one that was a benevolent ruler to his ponies, and one that she was in love with. Another world that was connected to the mirror was a world still populated and run by humans, a species of which only few in Equestria had knowledge of because they had existed here, but were exterminated when Discord realized that they were so chaotic it benefited him. They were so technologically advanced that the entire civilization of mankind wiped itself out in a worldwide historically recorded Nuclear War. It took decades for the earth to return to a state where it could sustain any kind of intelligent species. Celestia, her sister, Starswirl, and two or three others, including Discord were aware of the advancements left behind by humans that the most benevolent sources of culture were retained by Ponydom and put to good use. Things such as agriculture, industry, and commerce were put to use. most of the highly advanced technology like fighting vehicles, aircraft, and anything that could be used to make war, or even space exploration, was stored away deep below the Mountains of Canterlot as not to spark interest or specualtion of humanity's prior existence in their world. The mirror was made of a substance called Naqada. It was one of the few minerals in the universe that could be used to construct certain types of gateways. Some lead to other realities, and a few lead to other planets entirely. She had used one such "Stargate" as it had been dubbed to settle some farmers on another world entirely. Pretty soon communication with the settlement became fragmented in the years to come, with the last recorded message stating that they had found better farmland further inland but that they were decided it best to bury the gate least a sinister threat find its way back to Equestria. Celestia sent provisions they needed before closing the gateway for good. Even Twilight Sparkle was unaware of this. Out there among the stars, if they were still alive, was one of Equestria's first and few offworld settlements. The other world that she had been to alone was a world born of a nightmare. Celestia had visited that planet over a hundred years ago and had encountered a small group of humans there. She had never told anypony of her stay there. She had learned from one of them that this group had been pulled there by some type of distress call, One of them later told her that it had been proven to be some kind of warning, but their onboard AI had been programmed to seek this signal out and determine the origin of it, and that all other priorities had been rescinded. There was one person though that Celestia found she could confide in. The human that she had the most contact with was named Ellen Ripley. Celestia told her new friend that where she was from they had a non-interference policy in place that forbade her from any direct help, she was told to be an observer, but after the death of one of the crew, and the presence of an unknown alien life form, she broke that rule. Both her and Ellen realized that this creature, this Xenomorph was a direct threat to both their worlds. Ripley told Celestia that she needed to go back to her world and sever the connection with this reality, lest one of these monsters escape into Equestria.They could both feel a bond stronger than friendship between one another. Something that words alone couldn't convey. The Princess put a hoof on Ellen's shoulder and wished her the best, and that she would keep her in her thoughts. As soon as Celestia opened a portal back to Equestria and stepped through, Ripley rigged the self-destruct for the Nostromo and escaped in a shuttlecraft. Celestia made it back to her world safely and sealed the portal to that world. She thought she had sealed it permanently, but she'd realize at a later time that she was wrong. The Xenomorph had snuck onto the Shuttle before the ship blew up and Ripley trapped it in the airlock before jettisoning it into space. Celestia would come to regret the creation of this 'thing' for most of her life. Even her council Starswirl had warned her about too many uses of it. She couldn't even see the inherent danger of it. She found herself still blinded by her love for the alternate King Sombra all of these years later. Even the portal to that world was gone. She still thought about him, even after falling for a lowly guard in her own Royal Palace. She still missed their long walks they took in the Canterlot Gardens of his world. Several years ago The Magic Mirror was a phenomenal feat for Starswirl the Bearded, a white unicorn with a wizard hat. He was the top of his game in that century, he was even the pony that Twilight Sparkle most admired next to Celestia. This Mirror though had the potential for both great adventures and dire circumstances. It was the same Mirror that Sunset Shimmer used to escape to the Human World when she was banished from Equestria by the Princess. It laid unused for almost a half century before Sunset used it. And now something was using it to abduct ponies and whisk them to the world that only one princess had visited on a journey nearly a decade ago. Somewhere scrawled in a letter, long forgotten by time and by the Princess of the sun, laid a very verbose warning. Why didn't you listen to me Celestia, I warned you of the dangers of this thing, and yet you still used it to see him. And put your entire kingdom in jeopardy because of it. Your friend and Council, Starswirl the Bearded Present day Equestria Of all the things she survived, a high school had been the hardest. Twilight Sparkle got to experience what being in school was like outside of Equestria. She spent most of the time in the library of course. When she wasn't taking part in class projects of course. But this time was going to be a lot different than when she faced down the Sirens. This time they were going to completely alien world as described to them by the Princess and the Canterlot Investigative team. This time though would completely change if not shatter her perspective on the world she lived in. Twilight Sparkle wasn't sure what to expect this time with the Magic Mirror, as this time she and her friends were going to step through it instead of just her and Spike. There had been reports of ponies going missing through out Ponyville, and it was determined where they had been taken by a certain Canterlot investigative team. A team that apparently had cleared up their name of having a bad habit of going after innocent ponies for crimes they didn't commit. They tried to bring Derpy up on charges of Grand Theft Muffin of all things!?! The team had reported that some shadowy figures had been seen abducting ponies and taking them to the castle's basement. As Twilight and her friends prepared to enter the Magic Mirror she couldnt help but feel a cold chill run down her spine. She would of brought Starlight with her, but she needed somepony to keep an eye on the Castle while she was away this time. Celestia discovered that the Mirror not only connected to the Human World but to many others if calibrated correctly to detect them. The Princess herself traveled to such a world once and never spoke of it again. Twilight hoped that this wasnt the same world the ponies had been abducted to. As they stepped through there was a slight buzzing sound and then bam, there they were already on the other side. It took them a bit to get their bearings and feeling around their new surroundings. It was dark where they had exited, like the cavern of a cave. As they exited the cave, Twilight and Applejack looked at one another and realized they had been taken to a completely different world than that of Earth or Equestria. It was rocky and Barren, with a few metal Structures littered here and there. It was like some powerful force had obliterated half the settlement that once belonged there. As they walked towards one of the buildings, Twilight spotted a sign half buried in the dirt. It read Hadley's Hope, but there was more, there was a warning sprayed across the bottom, GET OUT WHILE YOU CAN. What happened here, Twilight thought to herself. The warning was in all capitol letters as if to convey a strong sense of fear and urgency. There was no getting around this the purple alicorn thought, They'd have to leave as soon trouble reared its ugly head. She couldn't have foreseen the horror that would befall her or her friends if they made one small misstep here. She could feel the anxiety and fear set in. " I don't know if we should go any further.", She lamented to AJ. "Why?", Applejack asked her. " I'm getting a bad feeling about this. Like I did when Celestia asked us to reform Discord, only ten times worse than that.", Twilight said, nearly cringing about what might be hiding in darkened Building looming in front of them now. There had been times where she'd been strong for her friends. Where they could depend on her. There were also times where she had gone nearly insane and brought more harm than good. She had become so worried once about missing the deadline for sending Celestia a friendship report that she went nuts and nearly brainwashed the whole town by enchanting her Smarty Pants doll with the Want it Needs It spell. I can't lose control again, she thought. " Don't let yer nerves get ya in a tangle Twi, I'm sure everything will be fine.", Applejack said trying to calm her best pony friends nerves. Then they heard a shout. They ran to find Fluttershy staring at a body. It was human, with a giant hole where the chest had been, almost like something had burst out of it. That was odd Twilight thought since her and her friends were in their pony bodies and not transformed into humans after crossing through the mirror. Maybe Ponies and humans existed in their seperate forms together in this world. They all gathered together and started exploring the dark structure, her and Rarity using their horns as flashlights for the others to follow. Then they saw it. There in one of the larger rooms, were a pile of both human and pony bodies. They bore the same horrific mark as the other one, a giant hole in the chest area. Twilight realized they might of uncovered more than they bargained for. Wait she thought, what's that scratching noise. Something moved in the shadows, something not human nor pony. Something that apparently was causing Fluttershy to quiver with fear as well. They had to get back to the mirror soon, Celestia needed to hear about what they found. Then she saw a metallic small box on the ground and thought whats this? She used her magic to levitate it and bring it closer. It had a small display with numbers on it and a screen with a grid display. What Twilight found was a motion tracker. she used her magic to turn it on and see what its purpose was. That's when she realized she could use it to track the movement of anything, or anyone, anywhere she pointed it. She started to get signals, from all Around THEM. Something else Twilight found that she neglected to tell her mentor or friends was some kind of weapon that had been left on the floor. It still had she came to read as a magazine clip slapped into it. It still had 60 rounds left in it. She used a concealing spell to hide it from her friends. A weapon like this fascinated the scientist in her. For humans to create a projectile based weapon intrigued her to no end. She also had found a weapons case not to far from it that read " USMC MK41 Pulse Rifle". Soon after her 'find', the motion tracker began going off. Signals were starting to come from all around her. " We need to go back to the Mirror," She said in a panic. " What is it now," Rarity spoke up. " There's something coming this way, I'm detecting a dozen or so signals with this tracking device I found, we..." Twilight's panic over took her when she saw one of the things coming towards them. " WE NEED TO RUN NOW." She shouted in a Panic stricken tone. They all started running back to the Magic Mirror's portal location. As soon as they got there, they all jumped through. Twilight looked back before entering to see a Swarm of Serpentine like creatures chasing them. It was a Xenomorph Hive. The Planet they had gone to was none other than LV-426. Apparently, something had lured curious ponies into that universe. As soon as they were back in their own reality Twilight found a spell that would permanently cut their 2 worlds off for good. Twilight then noticed a pony she'd never seen before coming towards them. It was a gray pony with an odd cutie mark. The cutie mark was a WY. When she approached this mystery pony he asked her one thing. "Why is the portal closed?" he asked her. " Why do you ask?" Twilight shot back. " I was sent here to ..." Oh crap, the pony thought to himself. He said more than he should of. It was dawning on him that they might have realized what was going on and that they had been to LV-426, hence why the portal was closed now. " I'll ask you one more time, what is your business here, and why do you want to know about the portal." Twilight was getting a little past off at this pony's unwillingness to talk. " I was sent here to collect hosts for some specimens we found on another planet. That's all I'm going to say," he said. With a bit of arrogance in his voice. " What happens now?" He asked Twilight. " You get to spend the rest of your life here is what." She snarled back at him. With that, she and Celestia sent for the Royal Guard and had him taken to a cell. " By the way Ms. Sparkle, my name is Peter. Peter Wayland." his voice trailing off as they took him to a prison cell in the catacombs of Canterlot. Twilight told Celestia what they had found while on that planet. IT was truly sad that all those ponies died in such a horrible fashion. As Twilight returned to her castle in Ponyville she went to her lab and put the Motion Tracker on a shelf. She finally had the time to smile. despite everything that she and her friends had seen there, she realized that someone in that other reality had the brains and intelligence to come up with a device like this. And with that note, she told herself, she could now go to sleep. What she didn't know was that something had come through the Mirror before her and her friends.... " Twilight." Someone was in her room with her. She turned her bed lamp on to see Applejack sitting in the corner. "How did you get in here, I thought I locked my bedroom door." Twilight looked at her friend curiously. "How I got in makes no difference. It's Pinkie Pie. She's missing.." AJ sounded sad when she said it. Something else about it didn't feel right to Twilight. She got out of her bed and went with AJ to check on Pinkie Pie. When they got to her castle bedroom what they found was shocking. Pinkie wasn't missing, Pinkie was found to be hiding in her closet. FROM A XENOMORPH. The Creature turned around, hissed at Twilight and AJ and ducked out of the castle window. When Twilight ran to the window she watched the damn thing CLIMB down the Castle wall and into the Everfree forest. She couldn't help but feel paralyzed. Not only did something from another reality follow them back. It was something out of your worst nightmares. Now when she got ready for bed, she had to check the halls of her castle to make sure something wasn't lurking in the shadows waiting to kill one of them, or worse Eat one of them as a midnight snack. That thought made her cringe even more than it did when she thought of it initially. As she prepared to check one more time, she got that feeling of dread shoot down her spine again. She turned around in time to come face to face with the Alien. The Creature hissed at her and then for reasons unknown, slinked back into the shadows and out a nearby window. Twilight realized what true fear was, and it was never leaving her until she found a way to rid herself and her friends of this Night Terror now stalking her castle. As Daybreak hit, it dawned on her that this thing mostly comes out at night. Apparently Xenomorphs cant stands prolonged exposure to daylight. She still felt that fear even now during the daylight hours. She became used to it, like old Leather wrapped around her heart. " What's wrong Twilight?" Starlight Glimmer asked. " Oh, nothing," Twilight said with a nervous laugh. "Ok, well just so you know, I went out shopping yesterday after you all got back from Canterlot, I bought Rarity some Vanilla Oats ice cream." Glimmer said with a smile. " She'll love you for that," Twilight said with a small squee.