The Quiet Place

by Aynine

Chapter 58: Trial by Drowning

The Quiet Place

By: Aynine

[Disclaimer: I own nothing of the MLP franchise and all rights are reserved by Hasbro and the respective parties involved.]

Chapter 58: Trial by Drowning

Twilight blinked several times, her vision blurring to darkness each time. Breathing had become strange, and she struggled to see properly. It seemed every other flick of her eyelids she could perceive less and less of her surroundings. The doppelganger’s maddening whispers lined her thoughts with spoken word, and her concentration waned. Abruptly, she coughed up a thick fluid, clamping her eyes shut as she wretched a metallic taste into the darkness before her. As it cleared her throat, she opened her eyes slowly, regaining her vision.

Where am I? she wondered, peering around. Dead dragons scattered the massive chamber she found herself in, with an ethereal light from above bathing them in an eerie blue hue. Her stomach twisted and she was reminded of the liquid in her mouth. Her bottom lip curled inward and she bit down when she realized what it was. Blood. She lurched backwards, her eyes fixated upon the freshly slain whelpling in front of her, a pool of blood beneath it, and a welling in a large wound in the neck. “Ha-have I… been drinking… its blood?” She trembled and wiped her mouth instinctively.

The doppelganger explained, pride hanging in its voice. You need to replenish your strength. Dragon blood is useful for that.

Twilight stared at the corpse, her wide eyes absorbing every detail of its death. When her gaze rested on its face, she saw Spike in it, and her eyes watered as she turned away. Her stomach churned, and she heaved in the stale air of the chamber and the stench of blood it mixed with. She stood up and took wobbly steps away, careful not to trip over any corpses. In a blink, the sickness from the act was gone, and her mind refocused. The whispers fed her reassurance, and she could feel herself bettering in spite of the depravity. She pressed forward as the screeches of more whelps came from ahead. Moonlight appeared in her hooves and pushed back the darkness. A grin pulled the corners of her mouth up as she took flight; the whispers fed her joy.

***

Nightmare appeared at the end of the corridor, out of view from the party she abandoned. The isolation was welcome, though she already lamented her choice. Twilight was just ahead, and the eagerness nearly stole her caution. With alert mind and eyes, she ascended massive steps and exited the corridor into a massive room. The smell of blood hit her in full force, and she breathed in deeply. Bodies of dragon whelps were everywhere, with blood splattered across the floor, on columns, and against the walls. She moved onward, hastening as she realized they were all dead. This place is guarded by armored dragons, and one that can use magic. These look like ordinary dragon whelps, though… When she reached the other side something blasted overhead, and she whirled around as dark figures crashed onto the floor near the entrance.

Nightmare observed a glowing green sword piercing a whelp’s neck, and a shadowy figure drawing it out ever so slowly. The anguished death wails the whelp let out ended as soon as the blade was removed entirely, spurts of blood blanketing the metal. She prepared to call out, but the figure turned, and Twilight’s face was revealed. The violet eyes she expected were not there, but instead stolen away by two orbs of blue that shined back at her. Nightmare met, unblinking, the maddened and distant gaze. Shadows gathered around the oracle, swirling gently as she stood up. Twilight’s muzzle emerged from the cowl; her blackened fur scarcely different from the darkness she commanded around her being.

“Twilight!” Nightmare finally called. She began to smile, and closed her eyes while relief washed over her. “I’m here now. And I—”

Suddenly, monstrous amounts of magic saturated the air, and her eyes shot open. A dark violet beam encompassed the entirety of her vision, a wall of sickly light and death. Her heart raced as instinct kicked in, and she brandished her scythe, driving the shining blue blade into the stone floor, a stream of blue light chasing the arc. With a battle cry, she channeled magic into the weapon as the beam collided. The waves of energy screamed by as they split at the scythe, burning while they grazed her body. The few centimeters of space on either side of her were not enough to spare her from the heat of the raw magic. After several seconds, the attack ended and the air glowed in a purple light as the residual energy lingered. Sizzling could be heard emanating from the scythe and the floor to her sides, and a wave of heat washed over her before rapidly dissipating.

Nightmare’s legs threatened to buckle, beads of sweat racing down her face. With heavy pants, she dislodged the scythe from the floor and pulled it up to her face, inspecting the impact. Though she split the attack with less magic than a barrier, the top of her blade distorted, with the black being replaced by multihued damage that bled across the blade. The once flawless edge now held a scar, and distorted on the top. “Wh-why?”

Twilight slumped over to the floor, panting momentarily, before standing back up and taking a deep breath through her nostrils. Her eyes had returned to their normal violet. “Damn. I was really hoping to take you out on the first shot when your guard was down, but… I’m not surprised you survived. Stay out of my way, Nightmare. I don’t have time to deal with you.”

The Id blinked. “Why would you attack me, Twilight?”

The oracle swayed back and forth, the cowl billowing over her eyes several times. “I know what you’re going to say… that you’re going to try to stop me. I’m here to kill Aurelius.”

Nightmare allowed her mane to devour her scythe. “I’m not here to fight you, Twilight. Please join us, and we can figure this out together. We’ve… we’ve been apart for so long.” She took a deep breath. “Too long. I know you. When did you become… this? How?”

A chill in the air manifested, and Twilight’s breath fogged out from beneath the cowl. “You knew me,” she replied, tilting her head down and obscuring her eyes. “What we were… doesn’t exist anymore.”

“I know that’s not true. No matter what you’ve been through, I know your feelings haven’t changed.”

Twilight peeled back her cowl, a wide grin across her face. “Just shut up and stand aside already. If you won’t get out of my way, I will make you.”

Nightmare’s scythe was already in her grasp again. “I guess you won’t listen to reason right now. I’ll just have to beat this senselessness out of you.”

The grin the oracle wore took on a sinister sharpness. “I’d like to see you try…”

Abruptly, the blood of the dead whelps coalesced between the two alicorns. Blue light glossed over it quickly, and then it erupted in a spray around the room. Everything it hit left patches of ice, but they continued to expand outward. Nightmare formed a barrier as she could hear Twilight speaking an incantation. The blood-ice patches exploded in red frost, and a blizzard began. The chill magnified as the corpses froze solid.

I’m glad to see your spell weaving hasn’t faded a bit, the Id thought as she surged forward with her scythe. Frozen corpses were telekinetically grabbed and launched at her, whizzing by and shattering against the walls and columns upon impact. The spray of red crystals plumed into the air. Twilight fired more and more, but grabbed several in front of her and crushed them into dust. The bloody ice dust completely obscured Nightmare’s vision, and she stopped and cleaved in front of her. The blade struck something and sliced through, but she could hear a column falling in the distance before her, pushing the dust back into her face.

Sensing Twilight’s magic, Nightmare unleashed flames around her. The dust melted, but a red haze took its place, muddling what she could see. Damn, you’re clever. Several blasts of energy rained down onto her barrier, and she leaped into the air to breach the haze. Wind gusted everything upward, and the haze combined with dust to obscure her vision even further. All around her she could sense magic, but she could not pinpoint Twilight’s location. The haze absorbed sound and seemed to carry magic in undulating sheets, sweeping her senses over and over. She spiraled downwards while a flurry of magic came her way, narrowly dodging and deflecting bolts and beams. With magic coursing through her, she landed with a crash, and the haze billowed away briefly. The clearing was enough to sense Twilight charging, and she slashed out to meet her.

*crack*

Nightmare released a pained groan as a hoof drilled into her side. She pivoted and cleaved where the attack had come from, but the blade slid freely through the air. Another strike hit her in the back and she fell forward, tumbling and then righting herself. The blows left her sore, but the surprise bothered her more. Another beam pierced the haze, and the Id raised her scythe to bat it away. Once more, she was struck from the side, and the beam burned across her helmet. Grunting, she ripped the stinging metal from her head and cast it aside. I’ve had enough of this. Another beam was fired her way and she teleported elsewhere in the haze; she wasn’t sure where she ended up, but the beam struck a wall in the distance.

A sliver of magic hit her senses just beside her, and she formed a shell as Twilight struck. Abruptly, it exploded and cleared the haze. With a roar, magic violently roiled in Nightmare’s horn, and the haze was burned away, but she continued until there was no more mist remaining in the air. The repulsive odor combined with the stale air, and Nightmare couldn’t help but grimace as it hit her nostrils. Twilight dusted herself off, her horn already alight with magic. Water welled up between the details of the floor, rapidly filling the chamber.

She’s pulling moisture from within the earth!? Nightmare attempted to fly, but suddenly the water overtook her, and she formed a barrier and sank to the floor. Heat ran through her fur and dug into her skin while the water filled the chamber to the top. It continued to grow hotter and hotter until the water churned and bubbled. Boiling me alive, huh? Nightmare generated heat of her own, but the water did not relent. She growled and tensed, pushing more magic into heating her surroundings. Her efforts failed as more water displaced what she burned away, but the heat was not subsiding. In a full boil, her barrier was fading, and she panted in the superheated oxygen. “It looks like I can’t crush this one outright. Well done, Twilight,” she muttered to herself. Magic gathered in her horn as she sucked down the hot air. It made her woozy, but her focus held.

Suddenly, Twilight appeared before her within the barrier. Nightmare flinched and lurched backwards, but there was little space. Moonlight came down towards her head, slicing through her misty mane. Twilight’s eyes went wide as there was a loud clank and the blade stopped somewhere within. The magic gathered in the Id’s horn remained, and she clamped her eyes shut. There was no time for the oracle to teleport, and a mighty shield formed. Nightmare’s barrier faded and the boiling water pulled in towards her before being blown away. You let me… become something more!

A blue-white beam exploded from Nightmare’s horn, and pushed Twilight away and into the wall, exploding as she impacted. The water immediately cooled and fell away, no longer supported by the spell, and washed itself out of the chamber in a sweeping tide. Nightmare coughed and gagged, spitting up liquid as steam rose around her. She panted and took in the cooler air, running a hoof over her mane. She watched as Twilight climbed out of a crevice in the wall and collected herself.

“I… didn’t think you could use that. You’ve never—”

Nightmare snorted. “I’ve got to admit, Twilight. I’ve wanted a rematch with you for years. Ever since our duel back in the forest after I hunted you down. It’s an itch I never thought I’d get to scratch, a desire I share with Luna, apparently.” She shook her head and smirked, her sharp eyes cutting through the darkness. “I knew I was going to have to fight you from the moment I saw you in the throne room of Canterlot again. You’d better not hold back because I won’t. If you think you can kill me… then hit me with everything you’ve got. I won’t let you get away again.”

Nightmare sprang into the air, and Twilight channeled a beam towards her. It missed, carving across the ceiling. The oracle raised a hoof, encompassing all pieces of the shattered earth, slamming them vertically into the ceiling, and then down to the floor. Nightmare barreled and shielded herself as the rocks criss-crossed into her and hit the ground, shattering into dust. Larger chunks of stone were grasped once more, and the oracle jutted them into the ceiling again. Nightmare whirled and attached herself to the ceiling as the stones came. An explosion rippled across the air, blowing everything away in a dusty burst. Twilight shielded her eyes, and the Id appeared on the ground, her mane moving in plumes, rolling over one eye at a time.

“You’re fast. We’ll give you that,” Twilight said as she gathered magic.

Nightmare twirled around, dancing with the scythe in her hooves. Round and round she moved in syntax to an unknown rhythm. Time felt as if it slowed while Twilight studied her movements. Every inch of her body seemed to stand out against the environment, drawing her gaze into the details of the motion. The Id pivoted to swing, an arcing motion with all of her reach, spinning and swinging the scythe outward.

“What do—”

Twilight blinked and the weapon was the size of the arena’s lower terrace, sweeping and carving through the pillars, the floor, and deep into the wall; a wave of rubble formed, roaring as it came upon her in an avalanche. Terrifying amounts of magic were behind the attack, and she crossed her forelegs and wings before her, channeling the strongest shield she could form in the time. The scythe crashed against her, and she rooted herself in place, gnashing teeth while channeling into her barrier. The boom snuffed out the tide of rubble, and when she felt the attack cease, she blasted it all away.

Panting, her stance crumbled while she slumped over. Her successful defense taxed her more than she’d like, but she was unharmed. She looked up and Nightmare was still twirling and dancing with her scythe.

“What… the…” she muttered as her eyes scanned the room. There was no damage to anything that the massive scythe had just carved through. It was as though the Id had never moved. “Am I… hallucinating? That couldn’t have been an illusion…”

Nightmare launched herself to the ceiling and anchored to it, observing the oracle from the distance. A storm of prismatic bolts rained into her position, and she rapidly darted between the blasts. Weaved among them was a different spell, a yellow sparking orb that moved faster. She failed to notice the difference quickly enough and it struck her, blowing her into the ceiling. The spell itself caused no pain, but the Id already knew what was to come.

Suddenly, Nightmare’s body was snapped out of the air and driven to the ground. She braced for the impact, slamming into the floor and barreling away. As she stood up, Twilight attacked, drilling a hoof into her side. The Id gnashed her teeth and her body distorted, stretching into an inky black. She slashed at Twilight, with the blade finding its mark in her abdomen as she attempted to retreat backwards. Continuing to swing, the weapon carried and then launched her away and into a wall. Nightmare exhaled as her body returned to normal, and she watched as Twilight emerged from the attack unscathed, a violent sheen enveloping her.

“So, Luna taught you a few of her tricks, too, huh?” called the oracle, sneering.

I’m sorry, Twilight, but you haven’t even begun to see what I’m capable of now. With a hoof, Nightmare cast an inferno all around them, burning away the last vestiges of moisture and debris. In its place, a thick scent of old blood filled the chamber. Magic lingered in the air, and she could feel it permeating around her. She took a mental note of that, but kept her focus on Twilight.

“Hmph. Sometimes I forget you can even use proper magic.” Twilight’s hoof channeled a yellow glow, and she fired a beam at Nightmare. “But you’re just a brute like Luna. You’re out of your league against a real mage.” It surged towards the Id, and she raised her scythe to deflect, but it flowed through her and dissipated instantly.

Nightmare’s eyes widened, and she pivoted and struck the blade of her weapon into the floor behind her. Magnetism had already started drawing her towards the oracle. At first, she resisted it with her own strength and magic, and then Luna’s augment, maintaining her position. Still, the magnetism placed on her was too powerful to resist any longer. The pull overwhelmed her, and the scythe carved through the floor inch by inch as it dragged her towards her foe.

“Come closer, Nightmare Moon. Your death awaits,” cooed the oracle, readying a spell.

Damn, I can’t even hold my ground. Well, then. She pivoted again. I hope you’re ready, Twilight!

The scythe broke free from the floor and Nightmare rocketed towards the oracle. With her augment on, the oracle lunged for the Id, magic blazing behind her strike. Nightmare whirled around and swung with all of her might, a wave of blue light flowing behind her blade as she passed by her.

The Id drove the blade down into the floor again, carving through to slow down. As she stopped, a shrill scream filled the chamber, reverberating. “I honestly didn’t want to hurt you, but you’ve left me no choice.”

Turning back, she saw Twilight clutch herself, bleeding out from beneath her cloak. “M-My leg!” she wailed. She fell forward, blood oozing out from beneath the dark fabric, and crawled towards her severed limb, smearing blood behind her cloak as she shuffled towards the limb. Nightmare merely watched while she crawled across the floor, whimpering and muttering things to herself. After a moment, she enveloped it in her cloak and darkness enshrouded her completely. When it cleared, she shakily stood up, wiping her eyes of tears. Her body trembled violently for a few seconds, and she steadied herself. The limb was reattached, but the severing had somehow taken far more of a toll than expected.

“N-Nightmare M-M-Moon?”

The voice was meek, and the Id cocked her head, her heart fluttering. “Twilight?” She refused to drop her guard again, eyeing the oracle cautiously.

Twilight took a deep breath, her eyes opening wide. “K-Kill me! You have to kill me! It’s somehow taken over my body now, and I—”

“What has?”

The oracle stared at the floor between them. “Something in my mind. It’s been here a long time. Please, cut my head off—something! I can’t… stop it from killing you. I couldn’t stop it from attacking my own brother. I could barely stop it from… Oh, Celestia…”

“There has to be another way. I’m sure—”

“I’m SCARED!” screeched Twilight. There were no tears in her eyes, but she did not need any; Nightmare could feel the fear in her voice, see it in her gaze. Fear was rarely something she admitted to when it came to magic.

The Id hung her eyes. “I promise. If there is no other way… and that is what must be done…” She clenched the scythe in her grasp and looked up to her, intense pain restrained in the features of her face. “It will be done by me and no one else. No one shall take your life but me.”

The oracle nodded before shuddering and slumping over, and a few seconds later she straightened up. “Sorry, about that moment of… weakness. It won’t happen again. I must admit, you’re a greater adversary than I thought, Nightmare Moon. You really show how ungrateful Twilight is for all of my help.”

The Id’s features distorted away, her body stretching into an inky black, with her mane the only other distinctive detail. Her eyes and mouth whited out, and the scythe rapidly whirled around in the grasp of her new form. She surged towards the oracle in her warped state, arriving in a whirlwind of vengeful steel. Clanging against a myriad of shields, her strikes rained down in fury, but the oracle stood with a grin, her horn alight with magic.

“You’re just a monster, the shadow of the smaller sister, Luna.”

Abruptly, the shields were sliced away, a blue wave of energy chasing the strikes of the scythe in a flurry of lights. The grin was ended, and a final barrier formed, but it was cracked as soon as it was struck. “Y-You’re augmenting in that form? Th-that shouldn’t be possible! Your body should be crushing itself!” She hopped backwards, avoiding a crossing slash, but the wave arced forward and struck the barrier, adding another crack.

Nightmare’s mouth opened, and a shrill laugh escaped. “What’s wrong? Afraid of a shadow? You should know that shadows are real.” With a wave of the oracle’s hoof, a colorless sphere formed above her own head, and the Id halted. “Oh, you think you’re being clever now…”

Drawing Moonlight, the grin returned. “I thought that’d keep you back. This mare has so much power. I haven’t even begun seeing how far she can go.”

“Then you’d better move quick!” The Id bolted forward, gathering light behind her scythe again. A wave of flames burst from her horn, and she moved through and ahead of them, striking out.

The oracle teleported behind her, emitting force. The Id’s legs left the ground as she flipped over, and the iris fired a beam at her, leaving her between both spells. Distorting further, new limbs stretched to the ground in an inky stream, and she pulled out of the way of the beam, a new appendage redirecting the flames towards the oracle, and another redirecting the beam to follow. Forced to dodge, Twilight flailed Moonlight blindly to the wall of flames.

Nightmare reformed and lurched backwards with incredible speeds, blasting away the obscuring flames before she could reach striking range. There’s something wrong with that weapon. Dread filled her as she stared at the sword, and the feeling grew stronger as it was swung her way. Something tells me not to guard that with magic… But… why?

She failed to notice more irises in the air, and beams fired at her in various arrays. She cartwheeled and distorted, moving between the blasts, but she was cut off from reaching the oracle directly. Springing into the air, she continued to dart between the magic, barreling and bending her thin, inky body out of the way. At the bottom, surrounded by an array of irises, Twilight fired an ether laser, but it was small. The beam missed, but it hit an iris and fractured, splitting across multiple at once. Another ether laser followed, and it was evaded, but it bent and turned back around.

She can redirect that it that much? Nightmare thought as she became trapped in the net of beams. With no more options left, she disappeared in a flash, and the beams rained down on the floor in a cascade of explosions. Reappearing beside the oracle, she swung with all of her might, but Twilight was prepared. The scythe struck a barrier, and the sword aimed at her neck. Once more, there was a dull clank as the sword struck into the mane. Too close. Twilight lunged and wrapped a wrist around the scythe, spinning backwards and delivering a kick. Nightmare’s body was knocked back, and she hit the ground and rolled, returning to her normal form. She stood up, scarcely affected by the blow, but the oracle now had her scythe, sheathing the eerie sword into her own mane.

“I’d say this is an odd choice of a weapon, but you were designed to amplify all of the worst impulses and darkest desires of Princess Luna. She likes to present a certain… image, but you…” Twilight chuckled and regarded the weapon in her hooves, examining every inch of it. “Your anger and hatred drive this persona you’ve made. An unwieldy weapon, yet… so fitting. Only an abomination like you would dare utilize something so menacing.”

Twilight teleported behind the Id, and she whirled around to counter, but another teleport overhead left her open to an attack. Instinctively, a shield manifested to block the attack, but there was one final flash. The Id’s mane plumed as the dark sword plunged into it, her body blurring as it moved.

The air was thickened with a clank, and Twilight shrieked as the scythe was parried away with gusting force, the Id gyrating faster and blurring into a mess of starry blue and magic. A hammerhead drilled into the oracle’s body with a bellowing thunderclap, the entire chamber trembling as energy discharged through her body. Twilight howled briefly before all remaining air departed her lungs, and crashed backwards to slide across the floor. The scythe fell away in a clatter of metal as she writhed on the ground. After several seconds, she grunted heavily and stood up, slouching forward and loosing several pained coughs. Wheezing in more breaths, she turned her head and spit blood to the side.

“What the hell was that…?”

Nightmare grinned and stretched, twisting and shrugging away any stiffness she might’ve had. “You’ve didn’t see…”

“What?” Twilight snarled back.

“That I am her evil. You… whatever parasite you are… you took her… Somewhere along the way you didn’t realize that she belongs to me, and I belong to her. There is nothing you can do to stop me from getting her back.”

Nightmare teleported to the oracle, raising the hammer, but Twilight teleported. Flashes chained in sequence as they appeared all around the chamber, across the ceiling and in the air. However, Nightmare closed the gap until the oracle was struck, but the attack held no charge. The mighty weapon still knocked Twilight across the room, but she shrugged it off and stood up.

“Oh, so you can’t carry magic in that thing while you’re teleporting?” She grinned and gathered energy in her horn. “Well, aren’t you just precious…”

Damn, she’s right. I can’t draw magic into it while I teleport… It feels like… Her eyes trailed down to her hooves. The silvery bangles had grown dull in the combat, but they were still there. …Like I’m being unfocused. She slid one off and tossed it aside, listening to the dull tinks as it bounced and settled. “You’re quite a pain, but I do enjoy a good fight.” She took a deep breath and settled into a combat stance, effortlessly holding the hammer out behind her while she prepared to dash.

The oracle lunged and teleported into the Id’s dead zone, sweeping her sword wide as a magic erupted from her horn. Nightmare spun away, a shield deflecting the magic as the black and green blade narrowly missed her stomach. Twilight continued the pursuit, aiming for vulnerable points. Magic crackled in the hammer, yet what once flowed like water from her being now felt like sludge being seeped into the weapon. She took a deep breath and gnashed her teeth. Eat this, you bastard!

Energy rippled outward from the hammer head striking the floor, quaking the chamber and loosening debris. It missed the oracle, but she was left stunned beside it with a barrier up, yelping out agony that permeated her body. Pain-blinded eyes tried to focus on the Id, but she ultimately staggered back, barely hanging onto the sword. Nightmare took a wobbly step back, sucking in air. That feels different. Almost like it’s draining me, but it’s not taking any more magic than before. She shook her head and loosed a moan as she poised herself again. Twilight recovered, but her glance to the weapon told the Id all she needed to know; she was afraid of it, or at the very least the powers it could unleash.

“I admit, you caught us off guard, but we’ve already solved that power.” She erected a new barrier, shining a brilliant red.

“I, huh? Your facade is slipping.” Nightmare smirked, earning a glower from her.

Charging the hammer again, Nightmare rushed towards the oracle. Flurries of magic hurled her way, erupting the floor in lights and smoke. Several rained across her body, but they did not slow her advance. As she reached Twilight, the hammer came down upon her in a fury, blasting onto the barrier. The oracle sailed backwards, and she wrapped around a pillar as the defense faded. Groaning, she stood up, her eyes dancing between the weapon and its wielder.

“That’s impossible. It’s the same power!”

Nightmare pulled the hammer back, and the experience felt easier this time. Looks like I’m getting used to this power already. She smiled to herself and snorted. “You’re a fool to think Luna’s power could be like anything else. You’ve underestimated that I could be anything less than her.”

Twilight growled. “We were hoping to overpower you, but you’ve proven that’s a bit difficult. We have to admit we were wrong.”

Flashes all around the Id bloomed, and the oracle teleported from place to place. Nightmare squinted through the lights, cleaving wide around her, but she appeared one last time behind the hammer’s arc. As the Id spun and tried to counter, a brighter flash took her vision away. The hammer whooshed where Twilight had been standing, and there was nothing. A few seconds later pain pierced her gut, and she unleashed the hammer’s wrath into the origin point. Twilight was struck, but she could not see how much damage the attack did, falling to the ground just after and clutching the wound.

Clever… she thought to herself, her vision slowly returning. Scraps of cloth rested on the floor in the trajectory the oracle flew, and Nightmare could see her approaching. The attack left little impact on her health, but her blistering gaze and tattered cloak said otherwise. The Id slowly stood up, casting a look to the leaky wound. It’s not bad, but it’s going to slow me down if I hold back. She took a deep breath and tensed, her horn quickly burning red. Energy hit the hammer’s head, shifting the metal to a glowing orange. With a roar, she pressed a corner to the wound, screeching through clenched teeth. The flesh sizzled and the wound closed, but she fell back to the ground, dropping the hammer and panting. Her eyes held shut, uneven breaths filling her lungs; she focused deep, pushing the pain into a void. When she opened her eyes, magic was swiftly gathering in Twilight’s horn.

A dark beam fired towards Nightmare, and she swept up the weapon once more. Whirling, she gathered magic into the hammer and struck back, unleashing it into the oncoming attack. The spell disrupted, and the feedback exploded at the collision, dispersing the energy in violent streaks around the chamber. Twilight teleported close and thrust her sword before Nightmare could reel the hammer back. Once more the blade found the Id’s flesh, but the wound was a graze this time. Frosty gales rippled out of her horn as she staggered back. Abruptly, Nightmare vanished in a flash, beginning a series all around the room. Twilight pursued her with her own teleports, and they appeared all around the chamber. The flashes quickly overlapped, keeping the chamber alight more than not, and the frequencies soon synchronized until they were swinging at one another.

As the oracle caught up to her, one last teleport from each found Twilight at the newest location first, and she augmented herself, lunging in for a deathblow. Got you… A blue wave crashed into the oracle’s stomach, and she yelped as she was hurled around by Nightmare’s scythe. What the… Why isn’t it working!? Further driving her magic into the weapon availed nothing, and she slung the other alicorn into a pillar. She panted as the scythe’s glow receded back to the heat-scarred metal.

Twilight rose up and dusted her cloak off, grinning ear to ear while a trail of blood ran down her jowl. “Oh? Trying to remove me from her? It won’t work… We’re one and the same now. You’re quite quick. I didn’t even notice you retrieve the scythe.”

Sweat dripped from Nightmare’s face, and she took a heaving breath. If I can’t rend their souls apart… I don’t know if I can save her… She took a deep breath, calming herself and recalling the earlier lapse in control. She feels their pain, even when she’s not in control. Her head hung to the solemn realization that hurting the thing in control would hurt the oracle as well. Forgive me, Twilight. You would do the same for me, and I wouldn’t ask for anything less. She raised the last bangle and stared at it. No matter the cost… You will be free… The silvery metal was discarded, bouncing away while she switched back Luna’s weapon. Magic moved through her and into the hammer, but the sensation was a battle of its own. Every bit she tried to push into the weapon seemed to hit a wall, and it would not charge at all. She tried harder, but it felt as if it was now pushing back against her, rejecting the magic. Damn it. I know she uses this like an iris. She showed me how it works, but why won’t it respond to me?

Twilight fired a beam at her, and she tried to evade, but it bent to reach her. As a shield was formed, a second beam hit her in the back, burning into her flesh before both collided and exploded. The Id was cast across the chamber, sliding away to the side. She coughed and stood up, examining the myriad of wounds across her body before determining the origin of the second attack. The conjured iris drifted back to the oracle as she grinned and started to charge her magic. Ugh, I’m too distracted. I forgot about that… Heaving in another breath, she tried once more to push magic into the hammer. It denied her again, and she hung her head. The oracle mocked her as it approached, forming more satellites for the beams. Her thoughts tuned it out as she tried to scour her memories for an answer, frantically tearing through every word, every idea imparted to her. Right… It’s not an iris. She chuckled to herself as magic burned the air, and she threw up a shield against a flurry of spells, a gentle smile on her face. Raising the weapon once more, she roared as she struck the ground, blasting her shield forward and crushing the attacks.

Twilight took a step back, casting a hoof to throw the oncoming attack away, but the Id was charging behind it. A storm had gathered around the hammer, and the oracle moved her hooves, laying multiple barriers as the satellites prepared to fire. Nightmare leaped the last of the distance as the beams fired on her, and she swept the ground around her in a low pivot, dragging the hammerhead across the stone floor. A stream of energy arced upwards around her body, drawing the beams into the ceiling. She continued gyrating and returned to standing, delivering her strike to the side of the barriers. Twilight’s eyes went wide as the energy shot inside, roiling the space with its power. Her defenses fell and she shrieked as she was blasted across the room once more.

Nightmare heaved as the air left her lungs, and she collapsed, barely hanging onto the hammer’s shaft to keep herself standing. She hyperventilated as she scarcely found the strength to keep her eyes on Twilight picking herself up. The oracle was rattled, trembling as she regained her bearings. This… power is incredible. How does Luna stand to even bear it? I feel like I’m going to lose consciousness, and I haven’t even begun to use it like her. Taking in a few more deep breaths, she stood up and prepared her stance.

“I don’t know how you did that…” The oracle shook herself of the last of her trembles. “But I’m going to make sure you regret it.”

“Hah.” Nightmare slowly exhaled and smiled. “Regret is not something you can make me feel.” She surged at the oracle, swinging wildly at her.

Twilight spun and lurched, dodging between the swings while blasts of fire and ice shot back around her. The hammer rolled and exchanged hooves multiple times as the Id twirled and maneuvered seamlessly between attacks, weaving in her own in a deadly dance. Every few swings were met with Moonlight, clanging and halting the dance, only for it resume in a new set of steps. Slowly, the hammer started to glow, and Nightmare charged it, splitting her focus between the preparation and the assault she was conducting.

So… draining, she thought. Her eyelids felt heavy, and she took a deep breath, missing a step. Twilight slashed her vertically from shoulder to leg as she spun, but she ignored the pain and clenched her teeth. I can’t… keep… going… For a second, her vision went to black, but pain once again returned her to reality, and she yelped as Moonlight was thrust into her stomach. The energy in the hammer faded, and the oracle pulled away as a reprisal came her way.

“Oh, my. Don’t fall asleep on us now…” The vicious grin painted her face with delight as her eyes fixated on the dripping wound.

Damn… I have to loosen its grip, but pain is the only thing keeping this draining fatigue back. She sighed and bared her teeth, raising the weapon over her head. “I’m not even awake!” She pressed the bottom of the shaft to her wound, her eyes going wide, but staring through her foe. With a snap, the wound tore open more and she grunted through clamped teeth. Her horn lit the hammer head with heat, and she cauterized the wound, screaming as the head was dragged over the cut, the pain overwhelming her threshold. However, she straightened as the flesh sizzled and took a deep breath, letting sweat drip from her head. The energy storm reformed around the hammer head and she dashed to Twilight. The oracle teleported across the room, grinning all the while.

“You can’t hold your charge while you teleport. All I have to do is keep aw—”

Nightmare appeared behind her and the hammer’s head was driven into her body. The oracle’s hooves left the ground as magic burst, the swing bringing her trajectory into the air. She howled with pain as she hit the ceiling and fell towards the ground. She flailed as her wings struggled to save her, but she hit the floor and rolled away. The Id trudged to her, gathering energy again. Blood leaked from her wounds, and her teeth were on full display as she held onto the excruciating pain.

“What the hell… Just a moment ago you couldn’t even control that. How are you doing this!?”

Darkness bubbled above the Id, and she swapped back to her scythe as she slowly made her way to the oracle. “There’s nowhere to run, now,” she called in a shrill voice, the black blade glowing blue in the emptiness she exuded. A chuckle escaped her lips as she took her advancing steps, the scythe glowing once more.

Twilight began weaving monstrous magic, hurling it at the Id. Hungry infernos, blistering frosts, and cataclysmic lightning cascaded her way. Nightmare weaved and fired back, maintaining the scythe’s spell. Explosions of fire, ice, and lightning ripped across the chamber as they cast at one another. However, the Id continued her advance, using the scythe to deflect some of the spells and direct her own. As she arrived, a barrier encapsulated them together, and Twilight was unable to teleport away.

“H-How have you sealed our teleport!?”

“It’s time you disappeared!” The scythe crashed into the oracle, and threw her to the other side of the barrier. “Wh-what!?”

Twilight coughed and rose up, dusting herself off. “Haha. Fool! There’s nothing to separate! We’re one and the same!” Abruptly, a dark beam tore through the Id’s body and sent her back, dispelling the barrier.

Nightmare caught herself and cut through the beam, but her wounds were beginning to tax her as much as the hammer’s power. I know she’s still in there. She teleported and tried to strike the oracle, but Twilight lurched and grabbed onto her, charging magic. Your mistake…

“Nowhere to run, homunculus.”

Kill me, Nightmare! I’ll give you the chance!

The explosion cascaded over the Id’s body, but any pain or damage sustained was lost to her thoughts. Twilight? She smiled to herself as she glanced up to find the oracle’s haughty grin.

“Looking so smug? We doubt you have much magic left, or if you can take any more hits. You’ve given us so much trouble, yet it looks like you’ll bleed to death any minute. You were made to be a shadow, and now you’ll die in one.”

The Id smirked as darkness gathered around her body, folding over her being until only her sharp eyes remained. When she spoke, her voice was shrill and distorted from its usual tone. “It’s over.” Raising the hammer, energy started seeping into it from all around the room, and she started to walk towards the oracle. Her body grew numb, not from her wounds or her shroud, but from pushing energy into the weapon she held. Sensations of magic and her sensory of it slipped away with each step, yet the weapon continued to carry more. Her mane bubbled with a deep void, and an inky black spilled out before her, quickly taking hold of the floor. The storm above her shifted the ceiling into a cosmos as she treaded over nothingness.

Twilight fired beam after beam from her horn, striking barriers on the Id. “How do you still have this much magic? No weapon or iris could spare you that much!” The attacks grew more powerful until she unleashed an ether laser as powerful as the first.

I can’t afford to sacrifice the magic to protect myself… The beam surged through her, ripping away her shroud and revealing her mangled body, but the magic gathering continued as lights split into the cosmos above. “Hah… Is that all you’ve got?”

“N-No! She still has so much more magic left. I’ll disintegrate you! Burn you to ashes!” Beams fired successively, burning the Id with each hit, but she was drawing closer and the attacks were cause less damage. The final beam came her way, and she bat it away with a hoof. “Looks like you’ve got nothing left.”

“No! There’s so much more! I can feel it! Why can’t I use it!?”

“Because it’s my magic!” The oracle froze in place, writhing within herself. She dropped to the ground and looked up as Nightmare approached. “Do it, Nightmare! Kill me!” she roared, gnashing her teeth. “I can’t hold it back for long.” The Id reached her, a gentle smile on her lips while tears welled in her eyes. “I wish… I could’ve given you the life you deserved.” Twilight clamped her eyes shut. “Goodbye, Nightmare Moon. I love you…”

The lights coalesced in the weapon, and she brought it down. Twilight lost control and the doppelganger raised a barrier, but the weapon distorted into the scythe. “An illusion…? No…”

Energy split the oracle’s despairing expression with a thunderous crack, and Twilight screamed as the doppelganger was ripped from her body. She collapsed into a heap while a grey apparition of her floated just over her, echoing her pain.

“How! How are you so strong? You were not meant to be this powerful. Aurelius made you to be a weapon against…” Its eyes went wide upon the Id’s murderous gaze. “No… That fool. How did he create you from—”

A blue-white beam erased it from reality, and Nightmare stared until the light cleared. The Id huffed and dropped the scythe once the darkness settled, crouching down to Twilight. She picked her up and examined the myriad of wounds. Shuddering the oracle opened her eyes to a tear-stricken smile. “It’s over, Twilight.”

The oracle gave her a weary look, a faint smile reaching her gaze. “I don’t… hear it anymore… I’m me again… I’m finally… free…” Her eyes shut as she went quiet and relaxed.

Nightmare clutched her to her chest. “I love you, Twilight. I will never leave you again. I will protect you, and I won’t fail this time. I am… sorry. I am so sorry…” She rested her head to the oracle’s, listening to her faint breaths in the silence of the chamber. “Maybe I deserve more, but I have you, and that’s… all I want. That’s all I ever needed…”

Author's Note:

1.5 years later, but... ya know... Yay. Between lost notes, having to rewrite separate parts three times, and now it's finally done.

Edit: There's a formatting issue I can't fix by her evil. I tried, but I can't find any trigger for it. It's not even there in the original, or this chapter post.

Comments

[Luna Lightblade]

This was wholely unexpected and a delightful climax to these two. I've been waiting for this for a long time and it did not disappoint!

[Johnsilver777]

is this story a stand alone or will there be a sequel someday ?

[Aynine]

10686882 Standalone/Self contained. It was originally going to be separate following chapter 31/32 with a different storyline, but... I decided not to go with that for lack of ideas fleshing it out. The sequel idea would've made Nightmare Moon the main protagonist, rather than an equal(ish) split with Twilight as it is now.

[xXFireTailsXx]

I couldn't even get one paragraph in. A red, male alicorn being the first thing we see in the story? Yeah, no way can I even think about putting any effort into reading through this.

[-Dreamer-]

continue the interesting story, I'm waiting for the continuation.

[Knight N Gale]

10687304
So is the story dead?

[Max Stroberger]

Will this ever update again or are you done for good?

[Twi-Fi Brony]

10687304
update when you can ... i will happily and eagerly wait