Dimension Jumper

by redtau

Darkness Unbound

"We cannot live like this!" Reggie said, keeping a wary eye on the ceiling. "Even with round the clock guards and watchers we are still getting attacks every other day. So far the stones they drop have landed on empty towers and sections of wall, but we can't be lucky forever."

"They are going to hurt someone, maybe even kill them if this keeps up," Leo said, speaking for the other changelings.

"The workers can only build so fast, even with the Fauna added to the mix," D added. "We will eventually finish, but it's going to take months if not years at this rate, and that's only if they don't step things up."

"What, exactly, do you want me to do about it?" I asked, leaning forward in my throne. I felt like a worthless ruler if ever there was one, but then I'd never intended to BE a ruler in the first place.

"Surrender!" One of the gryphons said. "Put up a green flag."

"A green flag?"

"Green means peace," Reggie clarified, "a wish for the crops and fields to be spared bloodshed." Giving me quick and relevant information had become second nature to him.

We are to become a slave, bound in chains and contracts by that oafish fool of a noble just to spare their lives? If this is the kind of choice that good creatures make I wonder why evil doesn't win more often.

"Do you think you could do anything about it?" I asked under my breath as my impromptu cabinet began to argue with the court over exactly how to surrender.

Please, I shared power and knowledge with a creature capable of moving the moon and resisting the sun. Give me enough energy and freedom and I could rebuild this castle ten times over.

"This is pointless," a gryphon spoke up. "Even if you could stop all the attacks and even IF everyone helped out with construction, you still couldn't finish your goal at this point. I don't know when last you checked but you are woefully short on supplies."

"Timber can be cut from the surrounding forest," I said, "bricks cast and stones-"

"What about axe heads? What about hammers and saws? In the name of the princesses what about nails? Did you know your workers used the last one yesterday?"

"We can buy more from the Ruby Rovers."

"With what money? The only 'export' from your 'kingdom' are those gems you charge. It takes a day to do one and you wasted a dozen on Lord Harold." The snooty gryphon sniffed at me. "For the last week you've been getting by on gifts of tribute, but even those are due to run out soon."

"So my options are surrender or starve."

"I'm sure my lord Harold-"

My head snapped up. "MY lord?"

"The! THE lord Harold-"

"I wondered how he knew how long the wait for a challenge was. I bet there's a dozen more like you in the work crews, wasting nails and dulling blades."

He pulled himself up with a fair amount of bravado, especially given the way everyone else was eying him. "That isn't even necessary at this rate."

"Can't you do something?" Reggie asked. "Can't Nightmare?"

"HA!" D scoffed. "If you charged all the gems in the castle and used them all at once you might fix a third of the castle."

There is an alternate power source I could use, if you would agree to let me out.

"I let you out almost every night," I muttered.

You let my power leak almost every night. You free my mind and constrict my abilities. Let me run truly free.

"WELL?!" The gryphon demanded, regaining my attention. "Are you going to surrender? Or are you going to let everyone here keep playing dodge rock?"

"Why don't I let Nightmare put her two cents in. After all, she's trapped like the rest of us." I stood up. "Nightmare, I release thee."

---

In the past I had always sort of slept while Nightmare took control. This time I just sort of became disconnected. I could feel my body and see through my eyes, but I couldn't move. It was like an amusement park ride, like the movie theater roller coaster combinations.

I could tell from the reactions of the gathered creatures that Nightmare had made her presence known somehow, though without a mirror I couldn't really tell how. Everyone save D fell back a step or two.

"Nightmare?" D asked.

"Yes, I'm here," she said. Hearing her voice outside of my head was so strange. "I have heard your concerns and worries, and I feel I have three potential answers. The first and most obvious one if for everyone to leave the castle."

"What?" Reggie asked in surprise. "How does that help."

"D and I can complete construction without having to worry about court and injuries to civilians." Nightmare responded. "Though that does kick a number of you to the curb, so it is not ideal." She shifted on the throne, and I caught a glimpse of dark tendrils snaking out from around the throne and encircling the room. "The second option is, as the advocate for Lord Harold has pointed out, surrender."

A number of creatures nodded at this, seeing Nightmare be a reasonable if somewhat unnerving creature. The insufferable gryphon actually smiled.

"This also poses problems. As a bodyguard both Sarah and I represent a substantial power and threat. It is possible that the Lord might never truly finish the castle, that we may never be freed."

The grimace that crossed the faces of the gathered made it clear that almost none of them had considered that option. Only D seemed unsurprised by the idea.

"You said there was a third option," Reggie pointed out.

"Yes, Sarah was incorrect when she said we were all bound here. As the first plan pointed out, all of you are free to leave, even D if he so wished."

"Abandoning you to this castle doesn't seem like a better idea," D pointed out.

"You misunderstand. Sarah and her body are bound to this castle. My power," The doors to the court slammed open, dark tendrils sliding through them and down the hallway, "my power has no such limit."

Screams filled the courtroom as creatures turned and fled. Few, like Reggie, Red and D stood their ground, shouting my name, begging me to retake control. A couple, like the poor gryphon, were too terrified to even move.

Nightmare seemed to glide forward in my body, floating on her power. Everywhere her tendrils passed the castle stone was reshaped. Grey aged stone became black perfect brick, iridescent mortar holding it together. Cracked and worn tile shone like volcanic glass. As we passed out of the court and into the halls I could see the effect spreading through the castle.

And I could hear the screams. Zebras, changelings, anything that could move was fleeing for the front gate as fast as possible. Even the pompous gryphon had regained enough sense to run for the hills.

Stop this! Nightmare stop, please! I begged inside my own head, and Nightmare only laughed. The castle around us shifted and changed as we went, hallways redecorating in dark hues of red, green, purple and blue. Windows stretched and shifted, doorways became ominous. As we passed into the courtyard I could see gargoyles literally growing out of the stonework.

Gryphons were air lifting the wounded and land bound creatures over the outer wall as Nightmare approached, others ran for the main gate. I could see in my minds eye this horror stretching out through the land. I could imagine Nightmare twisted monsters flowing from the Everfree just in front of the wave of dark magic.

As we reached the gate, Nightmare turned to look upon the castle. It was dark and terrible and beautiful. I was going to be locked in here forever, nothing more than a host to the Nightmare while her shadow enveloped the world.

And just like that I was back.

I lay on the edge of the castle, gasping for breath and willing my heart to stop beating so fast.

"Sarah?"

I looked up at D approaching.

"You, You're back?" he asked confused. "Why did she let you go?"

"I don't know."

Really Sarah? After all this time have you so little faith in me? I told you what happened for Morphi, you know what happened for Luna. All the nightmares I have ever made were only there to make things better.

"Better? BETTER!? How the fuck does this make things better?! All you've done is scare everyone in the castle!"

I needed to. I need fear, Sarah, the same way changelings need love. It is what powers me, what gives me strength. With the fear of weakness I can move mountains. With the fear of abandonment I can guide you to friends and love. With your fear of imprisonment...

I noticed something on my arm and held it up. Before my eyes Celestia's spell flaked off and faded away.

I can set you free.

Author's Note:

Another chapter down. You can expect the next two soon(ish), but the ones after that are still in the re-re-re-re-rewriting phase. At an estimate, the entire story should be between 45 and 47 chapters in total, including the epilogue.

As always the chapter is still technically rough and there may be grammar and spelling changes. Any major re-writes will be noted as such.

Comments

[redtau]

4111432 I just released a second chapter. Alas, my beta reader is swamped at the moment so it's slow going.

[DJSkywalker]

Me want more! This story is amazing!!

[The Snide Sniper]

Excellent chapter and development. The "captive in the castle" bit was getting a wee bit stale.

Of course, Nightmare didn't mention the fourth option, which is for D to grab the noble and stick him in a dungeon until the work is done.

[redtau]

4111529 I... actual did not think of that.

huh.

Then again, D is still looking for Sarah's "secret ARCO pod" to prove her "Secret connection to ARCO" so he isn't likely to do her too many favors.

[redtau]

4111907
???????

[Skalula7]

the plot thickens!

[Dragonfox]

It look like Sarah has her freedom now But not quite the way she has plan it. Now, what is going to be her next move? Nightmare Moon freed Sarah from the castle and freed her from her control. It look like Nightmare Moon is not the mennas we have know. That she feeds off of fear for her power is fantastic. I look foreword to the next chapter to this story.

If I remember it rite, Nightmare moon had that stash of old gold coins that they sold only one of them and now that the castle is in good shape, Sarah can go to Ponyville if she need to. I think the Princess Celestia and Luna don't know what has been happening at the castle. She mite won't to informed them. She can give Twilight a later to inform them what has been happening. It will be fun to see the reactions of the ponys in Ponyville as will as the mane 6 when she shows up.

Keep up the good work you are doing. I hope to see the next chapter soon.

Dragonfox

[Kenshinryuu]

I'm totally down with a good Nightmare. I can just imagine the look on ponies faces if Sarah, D, and Nightmare stroll into Ponyville and make for the Spa to get a nice long soak.

[Dragonfox]

I wood like to know why this snotty Lord Harold needs the castle? It has been open for a 1000 yr, why now? He has tried to kill her. run her out by steeling the gold that was to be use to rebuild the castle. Planted spy's and workers to stop her from rebuilding the castle. He had the powers to have her guards remove. Now he has been trying to dammich the castle. be for Sarah showed up it was open for sum one to take for a 1000 yr. It being in the Everfree Forest stop most of the ponys from going there. Is the Everfree Forest part of Equestria? I know that It was at sum point in time in the past.

Dragonfox

[redtau]

4165264

Yeah I didn't start that till the later chapters. I'm intending to go back and reverse the speech of the earlier ones once the story is finished (the early chapters are just gibberish right now).

I only reversed the words and not the order, but if I have to do another language in the future I might just put <translated text in brackets> and ask the audience to understand that those words are indecipherable to anyone speaking without them.

[EvilEnchantress]

Impressive