//------------------------------// // Night Terrors // Story: The Legend of the Everfree // by Shadowmane PX-41 //------------------------------// As Twilight Sparkle slept in her sleeping back in the tent, she was tossing and turning erratically, throwing the covers everywhere as she did so. The experiences that she had had with magic back at the Friendship Games had been plaguing her with nightmares, and she constantly had horrific visions of her hurting her friends as Midnight. With a yelp, Twilight woke up and sat in her bed, breathing heavily as she realized she was back with her friends. "Twilight? What's wrong?" Lemon Zest had been shaken from her slumber by Twilight's awakening. She briefly looked up at her and gently picked up one of the corners of her bedsheets, slightly exposing her pink pajamas underneath. "Did one of our spooky stories tonight give you nightmares?" Pinkie Pie climbed out of her sleeping bag and walked over to Twilight. "Which one was it? The Grabby Gremlins? The Barrashoeda? The Unholy Tale of Sally the Sasquatch?" "No, Pinkie. It's not one of the spooky stories." Twilight reached out for her glasses which she had laid on the bedside table next to her. As she put them on, she said, "I'm just having nightmares of what happened in the past, that's all." "You mean the Friendship Games?" Sour Sweet was awake now too. "Yeah, I know how you feel. That was a tough time for us all." "This isn't about us all threatening her that's causing her that grief." Sugarcoat got out of her bed and walked over to Twilight, gently patting her on the shoulders. "If I had to hazard a guess, Twilight Sparkle is suffering from delusions of becoming that monster that appeared back at the Friendship Games. You know? The one with those raven-feather wings, glowing mask, and sharp horn?" She looked Twilight in the eyes. "I can't apologize enough for happened back there, Twilight. We were still just pawns in Cinch's little game, and we never intended to make you into that thing, let alone have you nearly destroy us all." "It's alright, Sugarcoat." Twilight gently returned the favour by holding Sugarcoat's free hand. "I think everyone at Crystal Prep were blinded to the truth back at the Games. And if it hadn't been for me and Sunset, You would never have seen the light of the situation." "Thank you, Twilight. And I understand how scary nightmares can be." Sugarcoat gave her a warm smile. "When I was in kindergarten, I often had nightmares about the snake collection my father used to own. I couldn't sleep well for a few months until they finally died of old age." "Didn't your mommy hold your hand each night, Sugarcoat?" Indigo lightly jabbed Sugarcoat in the back with her elbow. "And didn't you say you never went near kids' shows anymore?" Sugarcoat raised a brow at Indigo. "I can't help it! Some of those new kids' shows are just weird beyond belief. Almost where it's kinda scary, y'know?" Indigo shot back. Sugarcoat rolled her eyes and looked back at Twilight. "Just try going back to sleep and dreaming about something other than magic. Like maybe science, or Spike, or even the Rainbooms?" "And if it gets too bad, you just let us know, and we'll be right here for you, okay?" Pinkie Pie gave Twilight a brief hug before going back over to her sleeping bag. "Y-Yeah... Thanks, everyone..." Twilight struggled to find confidence as she watched everyone go back to sleep before she did. Taking off her glasses, she pulled the covers over herself and curled up on her side, wandering off into the realm of dreams once again. In Twilight's dream, she found herself in a spectral plane of existence with many different colours of the rainbow making up the background. There was no ground or sky, and nothing else that she could make out with how widespread the world was. The only thing that did exist were the echoes of wind and water droplets reverbating across the cosmos. "Hello?" Twilight called out before she took a few steps forward, hoping to find something. Then, all of a sudden, the Rainbooms materialized in the dimension along with the Shadowbolts. All of them had smiles on their faces and held their hands as they looked out towards something to Twilight's right. "What is that?" Twilight looked out and saw a star, shining its' bright light radiantly on the girls. For that brief instance, Twilight felt happy, and she was compelled to walk towards the star to find out just what it was. She got close to the star, and she gently tapped on it with her finger. The star immediately went black on Twilight's touch, and she was immediately pulled into it, letting out a sudden yelp that faded away into nothingness as she now found herself falling through a vortex of dark energy, with nightmarish images of what she feared when she was a kid, to her traumatic experiences at the Friendship Games. Each and every picture made Twilight look away and cover her eyes. She didn't want to see any of it. "Such a powerful force, wouldn't you agree?" Midnight's voice echoed in the darkness as Twilight was blitzed with more images. "Doesn't it make you want to stand up and fight?" "No! I'm not the same as I was before!" Twilight cried out, still shielding her eyes from the imagery that she was being plauged with. "The world is fractured anyway, so what's the point in even fighting for it?" Midnight's laugh rang in Twilight's ears, but she couldn't see her anywhere. "Besides, this whole Power of the Everfree nonsense is nothing more than a myth; a silly little ghost story that Gloriosa told you in the hopes that she could invigorate you." "Sh-Shut up! You're nothing more than a nightmare!" Twilight finally took her hands away from her eyes and balled them up into fists as she looked around for Midnight. "And we all know what happens to nightmares. They get beaten! We forget about them!" "And yet you can't take back the actions you've done in the past," said Midnight. "It wasn't Abacus Cinch who wanted to destroy all of humanity as we know it. It was all your fault, and it'll always be your fault!" Finally, with a burst of light, she appeared and shattered all of the images with a single wave of her claws. "But don't take my word for it. Instead, let it be the words of your friends..." Twilight watched Midnight stand aside to reveal the Shadowbolts and Rainbooms. Despite them having the same smiles as they did before, Twilight knew that this wasn't a happy sight. She reached out to try and talk to them, but as she did, her palms fired out a torrent of energy that vaporized the eleven teens entirely. Her eyes went wide as she watched what had happened, and as she stumbled backwards, she fell onto her butt and crawled back as Midnight walked towards her. "Don't let what you did be a horror, though." Midnight coyly flexed her fingers as she approached Twilight like a carnivore closing in on its' prey. "Instead, let this be the start of a new you. A Twilight Sparkle built to destroy; a Twilight Sparkle built to conquer! Let me take over, and I'll make all of your fears go away." "No... No!" Twilight desperately tried to get back, but Midnight unfurled her wings and charged in on the poor and defenceless girl. She watched the demon raise her claw high and slash down on her face with breakneck speed. "NOOOOOOO!" Twilight was woken up so hard that she tumbled out of bed, the covers falling all around her. Twilight's scream was so loud that all of the Rainbooms and Shadowbolts had been woken up and were looking out to see what all the noise was about. "I'm so sorry, girls." Twilight scrambled out of the covers and got up to her feet. "Those nightmares about that monster are even more extreme than I thought..." "I know, Twilight." Sunset Shimmer came over to Twilight's bed and helped her up, wrapping her arm around Twilight's shoulder as she did so. "When I became that demon and put on that crown, I had nightmares of my actions too. I was too caught up in the moment, and I could've really hurt some of the students back then. I must've been the same way you are now. "And I also know that these things do take time to beat." Sunset gently pulled Twilight into a hug and patted her on the back. "To face your fears, and that monster back at the Games, you just have to face them head-on, stand up tall, and stare them down. Prove that you won't be fazed by what they may be able to do to you, and prove to them that you're much stronger than you were before, and you will be able to overcome them." "Yeah! And think about this. Midnight's not in the real-world anymore, so there's nothing to be scared about when you're awake." Pinkie Pie gave Twilight an innocent smile. "Nazareth larenyk, donquadraxok!" Gaia Everfree's voice was muffled, but everyone in the tent could hear it crystal clear. "Die, you filthy Treekillers!" She let out a roar that was much louder, followed by a series of gunshots, and the near inaudible voices of men screaming for their lives. The noise was so loud that all of the Rainbooms and Shadowbolts huddled up together and shook at the knees. They had never heard anything like it in their lives, and the language that Gaia spoke in was of nothing they'd ever heard before. "What the hell was that?!" Sour Sweet demanded as the noise began to subside. "Gloriosa mentioned something about another defender of the forest that would be coming out tonight." Sugarcoat pushed up her glasses and stepped towards the tent's exit. "I think that is the defender she meant." "We can't go out this late at night!" Fluttershy whispered loudly. "It's too dangerous!" "Fluttershy. We were all held at gunpoint by Miasma yesterday," said Rarity. "There's nothing else in the forest that's possibly more dangerous than that heathen. Is there?" "Only one way to find out." Rainbow Dash reached into her backpack and pulled out a flashlight before she and Indigo Zap joined Sugarcoat at the exit. "C'mon. We're getting to the bottom of this little mystery." "Girls, wait! We don't know what we could be getting ourselves into." Sunny Flare raised her hand as Rainbow, Indigo, and Sugarcoat turned towards the outside world. "This could be some sort of elaborate ploy by Miasma to hunt you down. She already pointed a gun in your face, who knows what diabolical schemes she could be planning to get you?" "Well, we're not gonna get any answers from just standing around here, are we?" Sugarcoat crossed her arms as she glared at Sunny Flare. "I don't know about you, but I'm just sick and tired of getting all of these riddles and questions from Gloriosa without getting some answers or clues. Regardless of what you think, I'm going." She stomped out of the tent, with Rainbow and Indigo close behind her. "We'd better follow them, just in case they get into trouble." Twilight took her glasses and went after the three girls. "Twilight, wait! You don't know what's out there!" Sunset ran out after Twilight. "Yeah! Remember that Sally the Sasquatch comes out at night to prey on innocent campers!" Pinkie Pie now left the tent as well. "Please! We have to stay... here..." Sunny Flare's words didn't stop the rest of the girls from going out to follow the rest of the girls. "Fine! Whatever! Let's go out and potentially die!" She threw the sheets away, put on a coat, and went out with the rest of the Rainbooms and Shadowbolts. The forest was much darker than the Rainbooms and Shadowbolts were expecting, and without Rainbow and Indigo's flashlights, they would have been well and truly lost. The moon's light had been completely cut off due to the thick tree tops, but the noise of gunfire and screams still echoed throughout. "Enrelka, zimretpra!" Gaia roared, causing more screams to follow. They were extremely loud. "Did you hear that?" Rainbow Dash noticed how loud the noise was and pointed her flashlight in the direction of the sound. She bent her knees and sneaked over towards a hollow where some faint light was leaking out. "Follow me. But stay quiet, 'kay?" "This is a trap. This is a trap. This is a trap. This is a trap..." Sunny Flare whispered under her breath and crossed her fingers as the group all followed Rainbow Dash towards the noise. Eventually, the noise was the loudest it could be, and the girls peaked through a pair of trees towards a nearby clearing. On one side of the forest were a small army of Miasma's men, and on the other side was Gaia Everfree The men were holding AK-47 assault rifles and were firing shot after shot at the creature, who threw out her arms to magically generate a wall of trees that shielded her from the metal bullets. "Lrizel!" Gaia pushed forward against her shield, sending the trees out of their roots and right towards a large fraction of the army. She managed to flatten a good portion of the soldiers with her attack, with the others just barely getting out of the way in time. "How many more of you must die before this forest knows peace again?!" Gaia Everfree reached both of her arms into the air and dug them into the ground, sending out green veins of magic across the grass and dirt towards the rest of the men. Her eyes went red, and with one more roar, she clapped her hands together, creating a massive trench that engulfed all of the men from Miasma De-forestation Co. She smashed her arms together, and the trench then closed up immediately, crushing the men like pancakes and leaving no trace of them left. There weren't even any corpses or blood. It was like they had vanished off of the face of the earth. "What the fuck..." Sugarcoat's jaw dropped as she and the rest of the group watched the whole display. "Who, or what is that thing?!" She whispered so as not to be given away. "Okay... Now that we've seen the big, scary monster. Let's just all get back to the camp." Sunny Flare stood up and slowly started to walk backwards. "We've all had our fair share of night terrors, so let's just climb back into our beds and forget that any of this ever happe—"She stepped on a twig, creating a loud snapping noise. Gaia heard the noise and snapped her head round towards where the Rainbooms and Shadowbolts were. She slowly hovered towards the gap and draped her hands across the trees, poking her head through. However, she saw nothing. Sunny Flare and the rest of the girls had gone into hiding behind the trees. "You think you can hide from me?" Gaia's eyes glowed green, and suddenly, her vision changed to show the heat signatures of the Rainbooms and Shadowbolts. Coyly smiling and cracking her knuckles, she said, "Peekaboo, little worms..." "Run." Was all that Sunset could say before the girls ran off into the darkness of the night, with Gaia chasing after them.