//------------------------------// // Chapter 9 - Frightmare // Story: Fear Within // by VirtualCipher //------------------------------// Dizzy, light-headed and weak, Twilight rose from the ground she had collapsed upon, opening her eyes to find out that she was in a completely new and different world. The sky was grey and showed these odd looking swirls within the wind, she was on an island and it appears that she was isolated, there was no sign of life around her. She could only see a shrivelled and dead looking tree and despite the fact that it was just a tree, it looked like it went through some pain. Along the branches were a few nooses which disturbed the frightened alicorn. Already, Twilight was creeped out just by analysing her surroundings, she steadily began to proceed to find any signs of life. "Hello? Anypony?" She called out. There was nothing. Never before had Twilight had felt so lonely, it was like she was walking into a void of nothingness. However, this quickly changed when she noticed something towards her left and it appeared to look like a cyan pony and it looked injured. Without any hesitation, Twilight trotted up to the injured pony. "My goodness!" Twilight approached the pony. "Are you alri-" She let out a gasp in horror as she gazed at the injured pony, recognised to be Rainbow Dash. She was hurt pretty bad. Twilight knelt down beside her injured friend and began to feel the creeping hand of fear closing in on her. "Why..." Rainbow Dash said in pain, looking at Twilight as if she was afraid of her, she gave the impression that Twilight was the one that caused her pain. Again, she spoke. "Why..." Her eyes closing as her final breath escaped her body. Twilight stared at her friend in dread, beginning to tear up. She had just witnessed the death of Rainbow Dash. She shattered into tears, and upon looking back at her surroundings her eyes had shrunk in ruin as she could see the injured bodies of Rarity, Applejack, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie and Starlight Glimmer all hurt physically. "No. No! NO!" Twilight screamed to herself. "THIS CAN'T BE HAPPENING!" Every time she blinked, more and more ponies could be seen on the ground, lying in the dirt as they suffered, groaning in agony and some were muttering. "Why..." This brought more panic and strain towards the frightened alicorn, constantly shaking her head in dismay, denying what was seen in front of her. She looked up again but this time recognising the bodies of Celestia, Luna, Cadence and her brother, Shining Armor and even her parents. This only brought more tears to the troubled mare. Everywhere she looked, all Twilight could see was dread. It was that bad being blind would act as a gift. Startlingly, Twilight heard her voice being called, sounding very ghastly. She turned back around to see the shrivelled, broken down tree except she noticed something else that made her stomach twist to the very core. She gazed upon her assistant, her dragon friend Spike. He was wrapped in chains, hanging from the tree. His eyes turned red and let out a growl in pain. "Why?" He moaned. "Sp-Spike?" Twilight spoke in a shocked manner, were her eyes deceiving her? Suddenly, Spike scales were set on fire and he was screaming in agony, but slowly the screams of pain turned into a demonic laugh resembling that of someone insane. His face slowly melted and became Fright's, continuing to laugh at her. Spike's body was consumed by flames, transforming him into Fright as he grew gigantic. He towered over Twilight, looking down at her as if she was a putrid insect. He lifted his hand without warning and spoke. "I've won." Without warning, his hand collapsed over Twilight, crushing her. "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" Twilight screamed, waking up in a hospital bed, shooting up like a cannonball being fired. She was in Ponyville's hospital. The scream echoed through the halls of the hospital, it was that loud it sent chills down other patients within their spaced rooms. The doctor hurried through the hall into Twilight's room, checking if she was in any pain or harm. The moment he entered through the door, the screaming stopped and Twilight was breathing immensely. "Your highness, what's wrong? Is everything alright?" The doctor asked in an alarmed tone in his voice. Twilight didn't answer, she just kept breathing heavily as if she almost drowned. Technically she did, she was drowning in her own nightmare. Finally, she spoke. "I'm... I'm fine." She said, cautiously moving her hooves upwards and removing the sleep from her eyes. "I'm fine." The doctor moved in and checked her vital signs, her pulse was returning to its normal state. While doing this, Twilight looked around at questioned where she was. "Where... am I?" "Well, you're in Ponyville hospital. You were out for two days, miss Sparkle." "TWO DAYS?!" Twilight bellowed in disbelief. "Indeed." The doctor confirmed. "Your friends have been worried sick, allow me to notify them this instant." Ten minutes passed and the doctor notified Twilight's friends and boy were they relieved to hear the good news. Anticipated and elevated, Pinkie Pie's squeaky bounces were heard throughout the halls as she zoomed into the room where Twilight was being held, she almost broke down the door. Despite the fact that Twilight had been damaged, a smile was brought to her face the moment she saw the pink pony's face, smiling from the heart as she screamed her name in happiness. "TWILIGHT!" She hugged Twilight as tightly as she could, relieved to see that she was okay. Behind Pinkie followed Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Rarity and Fluttershy who were all glad that Twilight was awake and doing fine. In the end, they couldn't resist, Twilight's sacrifice scared them all so they joined in with Pinkie Pie giving her a group hug. "Girls..." Twilight struggled. "Need to breathe..." As Twilight forced out her words, the girls retreated from their group hug. Applejack was proud to see that Twilight pulled through, Rainbow Dash was astonished to see how she was left unharmed physically, Pinkie Pie was bouncing around in happiness, Rarity finally calmed herself from the worriment and Fluttershy was shedding tears of joy to see that her friend was alright. Rarity apologised. "Apologies darling, we were just so worried." Applejack followed. "We'd never think that you'd somethin' this crazy, sacrificing your life to save a city and puttin' us out of harm's way. You saved us and Manehatten!" She congratulated. "You mean... Manehatten's safe? Fright's spell didn't destroy the city? I saved the city?!" Twilight felt relieved, feeling a wave of calmness vibrate through her. "Of course you did!" Rainbow Dash assured. "What you did was AWESOME!" She shouted. "When you disabled Flim and Flam's cheap contraption, we managed to find your body along with remains of the bomb, you were unconscious, but you still scared the mighty heck out of us!" Applejack exclaimed. Twilight felt a little guilty, sinking her head down in shame for giving her friends a fright, making them go through pain. "I'm sorry, girls. I didn't mean to scare you all like that." "It's alright, Twilight!" Pinkie Pie cheered. "You're okay and that's all that matters in the end." Before Twilight could go on, a familiar voice entered the room while sounding glad and stunned at the same time. "Twily?" Twilight turned her head to the room's door to see her big brother/BBBFF standing there in alleviation. He was happy, leaping into the room and giving his sister a death-gripping hug, doing his best not to let go of his baby sister. He was now spilling tears of joy or as he would like to call it: Liquid pride. The embrace lasted for a minute until Shining pulled her apart. His face of joy and relief turned to anger and annoyance. "Don't you ever, EVER do something brave like that again!" He told his sister, wiping the tears from his eyes. "Growing jealous?" Twilight teased, giving a weak smile. Shining grunted at the comment but gave a weak laugh after. "I'm not jealous, Twi." His laugh diminished. "I was scared. I thought I lost you." "I'm sorry for making you go through something like that, Shiny. All of you. I'm sorry." Twilight apologised. "It's okay, Twilight." Shining Armour spoke. Finally, Fluttershy spoke up. "How are you feeling anyway?" Twilight answered while holding a hoof on her head. "I can't complain, although, I do have a bit of a headache." "Really?" Pinkie Pie said in disbelief. "Just a headache?" The confusion in her voice transformed into laughter. "I guess Fright's voodoo didn't affect you at all, right? Right? Twilight?" All eyes were on Twilight and they could now see that she was frightened. Her body quivered as she remembered the horrific experience. Her eyes showed pain and her lips began to tremble. Her face converted into the look of horror, remembering the voices and what she had seen which could have made her very eyes explode. She began to shiver. The others were concerned about her sudden change, especially Shining Armor. Finally, Twilight spoke. "Once I inhaled just a whiff of that toxic madness, my world turned red. The concrete ground I was standing on was beginning to crumble underneath me and the rest of the city was breaking away. The voices of doubt started to crawl into my mind, infecting me with such hate. The deceased ponies began to rise from the ground, walking closer to me, waiting for me to fail. I was scared." Shining Armour approached her sister, gently holding her shoulder. "It's over now, you don't have to go through that madness again." Twilight sniffled. "It doesn't end there. While I was unconscious I had a dream, a nightmare which was likely caused by Fright's spell. I was isolated on an island, you were all around me, the princesses, my family, everypony... you were all... dead..." The room was filled with silence. Everypony was shocked on what they had just heard. Pinkie Pie's cheer died down, Rainbow Dash listened to every word, Rarity was horrified, Applejack felt sick and Fluttershy was almost crying. "Then... Spike... he was wrapped in chains... he was screaming in agony and he transformed into Fright, crushing me with his hand." Twilight finished. Shining Armor hugged her little sister in need. From what they all heard, Twilight must have been going through a lot. Losing Spike, her mind corrupting to Fright's fear spell and this horrific nightmare. "You're lucky. Passing out stopped you from experiencing the horror that traumatised the ponies in the theatre room in Manehatten. Speaking of which, they have made a total recovery, but they are still frightened." Shining informed. Suddenly, something twitched in Twilight's mind. "SPIKE! PLEASE! PLEASE TELL ME YOU FOUND HIM?!" Twilight hoped to see if her friends had any information on his whereabouts. The others just held their head down in shame, looking guilty for not being able to find him. "Sorry Twilight," Rainbow Dash spoke up. "But theses past two days, Fright along with the changelings and the rest of his cronies haven't been seen. They're good at hiding like the cowards they are." She growled. "How in Equestria did Fright get Spike in the first place?" Rarity probed. Twilight spoke. "That I still don't know. He just said his name and he succeeded in creating fear in me. He now has my best friend and I have no idea where he is. Poor Spike, what have I done?" "Twilight, you can't blame yourself for this." Shining calmed her. "No one saw this coming, but we will get him back and we will make Fright pay! We'll find him and set things right." Twilight smiled at her brother's words of wisdom. The others cheered in agreement. Despite the fact that she had seen so much horror, almost going insane and losing Spike to a maniac, she felt happy knowing that she had such good friends by her side. However, she wished she would have been at Spike's side when he was needed. She couldn't let doubt get to her, not now, a friend needed saving. "IDIOT!" All heads turned towards Chrysalis who was filled with rage and anger, why did she allow Fright to take command of this organisation. Why didn't she just stop those ponies that prevented Manehatten's destruction? She menacingly marched up towards Fright. Garble, the Diamond Dogs, Lightning Dust, Flim, and Flam backed away from her. "THANKS TO YOUR FAILURE OF A PLAN, MANEHATTEN IS STILL STANDING!" Chrysalis roared at Fright's face. Fright simply walked towards the aggravated Queen. "The plan is still at hand." He informed calmly. "What do you mean?" Lightning Dust questioned. "Didn't you see Twilight's face?" Fright said. "She was afraid, all because we have her little dragon friend. She has always seen her friends as her strength, but what happens when we turn that strength into her weakness? I'm going to be showing her how they broke Spike and how I simply fixed him, I have forged him a purpose and he is our key to winning us this victory. Twilight Sparkle will be witnessing her greatest failure." One Day Later... Ponyville Time progressed and it was now mid-day. What seemed like an eternity, Twilight was finally released from the infirmary/ Ponyville's hospital. She came out clean with no injuries as if she was a whole new pony. No distractions got in her way, she quickly headed to the castle where she would prepare a meeting with her friends but little did she know, Twilight would be receiving an unexpected guest. As Twilight approached the castle's double doors, they made her feel insignificant in size, however, it was no problem opening them. Upon entering her own home, she gazed at her mentor, the Princess of Sun: Celestia. She was standing before her, her eyes seemed judging. Immediately, Twilight quivered and felt anxious as she forced her words out. "Princess Celestia..." "Twilight Sparkle." Twilight forcefully broke her words down, not giving Celestia a chance to speak. "I'm sorry." She apologised, saddened by her failure. "Manehatten is safe, but Fright escaped. He escaped because I was scared, I was afraid. I was frightened! It's because of me Fright escaped and he will continue to terrorise Equestria all because I was paralysed with fear! I've let you down, Princess. I've let the whole of Eques-" Twilight's back was pushed by Celestia's wing as she embraced her tightly, not wanting to let go of the pony she saw as her daughter. As Twilight felt herself being pushed into Celestia's embrace, she could also hear her sniffling. She was smiling down at her. Twilight had never seen this side of Celestia before and despite the fact that she appeared to be tearing up a little, her hug made Twilight feel calm, her body filling up with tranquillity. Celestia spoke. "Twilight, what you did was brave, you saved a whole city while putting your own life at risk. You could never let me down, I'm glad that you're alright and I couldn't be more proud of your noble act." Twilight raised a smile, feeling serene, however, this feeling was short and it was cut off when her brother came running through the front entrance of her castle, this disrupted the peace that Celestia produced. "Princess Celestia! Twilight!" Shining Armour called out. The connection between Twilight and Celestia broke as Shining took a bow to their presence. "Shining? What is it?" Twilight asked her brother. "We have news from our scouts!" He enlightened. "Please, Shining Armour, apprise us," Celestia commanded. "Our flight unit spotted a camp on the outskirts of Ponyville." "Any sign of life?" "They saw a group of Diamond Dogs guarding the perimeter and three teenage dragons were seen entering the camp." "Dragons?" Celestia staggered. "That's impossible!" Twilight bellowed in a sceptical attitude. "The Dragon Lord: Ember made a truce with us, she would prevent any type of conflict with pony kind." "Twilight, dragons are vicious creatures and they go against rules. It's likely these dragons are mere bandits. If Ember was against us, the dragons would have invaded Manehatten along with the changelings and Diamond Dogs." Shining Armour continued. "The camp is only small, the scouts gave an estimated count of the threat limit. There are three teenage dragons and eighteen Diamond Dogs. We believe that they are holding information on the whereabouts of both Chrysalis and Fright." "And if we know where they are, then we can find Spike!" Twilight exclaimed in happiness. Celestia turned to Twilight, her staring directly into hers and showing nothing but seriousness. "Twilight, I hate to ask this of you, knowing that you were just released from the infirmary, but we are desperate to know what they are planning. I need you and your friends to find out any information these vandals are holding. They could be our ticket to finding Spike." Shining interrupted. "Excuse me, Celestia. I would never dream of questioning your orders, but are you sure Twilight should go? She did just come out of the infirmary and I don't think-" "I'll be fine, Shining," Twilight reassured her brother. Shining Armour gave a glance at her sister, a little worried for her. His mind was running with words to object Celestia's command, he almost lost his sister in Manehatten and he didn't want to lose her again. "Why can't I go instead?" Shining persuaded. "Shining, I need you back in Canterlot with me, we need your strength to improve Canterlot's shield." Without any thoughts, Shining Armour obeyed her command. "Of course, princess." Celestia turned back to Twilight. "Good luck, Twilight Sparkle." Celestia turned herself away and exited the castle, filling Twilight up with hope. Shining Armour looked at her sister, frightened. He then turned back around and followed Celestia back to Canterlot. The castle was now empty and only Twilight remained. Without Spike and Starlight Glimmer, her home didn't seem the same. It was sad, never before did she expect to be in her castle alone. However, this feeling of loneliness was overcome when she heard a knock at the door. "Twilight? You home?" Rainbow Dash called out. Immediately, Twilight Sparkle opened up the two doors and saw her five friends standing before her. "Girls, I need you in the throne room. We may just have our ticket to finding Spike."