The Return of Nightmare Belle

by LostUmbrella

Chapter 3

Is being with me that bad?

Sweetie mumbled over her own words as she laid sleepless in bed.
She had felt rejected and had spoken on impulse, so were those her real feelings for the nightmare? Was she taking to her?
She looked at the darkened room through the mirror on the nightstand. Her reflection peered at her with her normal-looking emerald eyes.
Behind that illusion though, laid sleepless Nightmare Belle, mumbling over the very same phrase.
Was that little filly only self centered, feeling offended by her words, or did she really care for her, the parasite that had caused her, her family and Equestria more in general so much troubles?
They both laid there, looking at each other, until Sweetie finally fell asleep, exhausted after an afternoon of crusading.

---

It took Sweetie Belle two days to finally muster the will to confront her notes, much to her counterpart's dismay.
She sat on her bed and let her sight dance between the complex words that made up the incantation for hours, stopping only to ask the dark filly whatever she didn't understand.
Meanwhile, Nightmare Belle herself studied the other spell they had took from the library: the one to implant herself in the clone.
By the time they had finally learned the spells and were ready to cast them, Rarity and her friends had returned from their trip in the Crystal Empire, so they had to postpone their plans.
Finally, another two days later they found themselves alone at Carousel Boutique, for Rarity had gone to the spa with Fluttershy, so they jumped at the occasion.

"Is everything set already?" asked Nightmare visibly impatient "Your sister won't be gone for long."

"Yes, we're ready," beamed Sweetie contemplating the magic circle drawn on her room floor.

Her horn, enchased in an emerald aura, started glowing as she built up her magic more than she ever had in her whole life and as beads of sweat started flowing down her forehead. She chanted the spell and then she fired a brilliant green beam towards the circle, which started glowing on its turn, first white, then green, pink and ultimately deep purple. The light then turned into a smoke cloud and started spinning furiously around the room, collecting itself in the center of the circle, where it took an equine shape.
Immediately, Sweetie's horn flared to life again; she stared dumbfolded at it for a couple of instants before turning towards her mirror, where Nightmare was focusing on some mute incantation, her eyes wide open and glowing green, the same as her horn.

"Uhm, I think something is wrong..." tentatively said the white filly looking at the cloud as it fitted together.

The dark one ignored her, totally absorbed by her own spell.

"You should really stop," suggested Sweetie whimpering as her horn's glow shifted to an ominous purple "Nightmare!"

She then felt her own head recline till her horn was pointed towards her now completely formed clone. She looked desperately at her reflection, only to see that it was just that.
In that moment, a dark purple jet erupted from her horn and enveloped her clone, turning her coat dark gray and her mane coal black and deep purple.
Nightmare Belle opened her new eyes with a joyful expression. A smile that soon turned into a frown.

"Hey, why are you so big? No, wait, why is everything so big?" she asked stomping one of her small forehooves.

She was in fact no higher than Sweetie's shoulder, exactly the same size of the white filly's Celestia plush.

"That's what I was trying to say earlier, but you didn't listen," replied the other flatly.

"All right, let's calm down," said the dark filly falling back on her haunches "We can try again next week, ok?"

"I don't think it will work," said Sweetie shaking her head slowly "I'm drained, I cannot possibly use more power than that."

"Then what do we do? What do I do?"

"I don't know..." admitted Sweetie as tears started building up in her eyes "I'm sorry."

"Hey, let's look at the bright side: I'm on my own finally!"

The white filly didn't answer immediately, letting her head wrap around the other's words first.

"Yup, you're right!" she said after a moment with a wide grin, her tears gone.

"Ok, let's quit with this fake smiles and such," said Nightmare getting serious "I know what you're thinking and it's not your fault I'm this small, got it?"

"Yes, it's just..." mumbled the other before asking bluntly "Nightmare, what will you do when this is over?"

"We already talked about that, didn't we?" answered the dark filly after an initial instant of stupor "I promised not to hurt anypony except to defend my self."

"Yeah, right, just checking..." said Sweetie putting up a sheepish smile, she then got back on her hooves and paced towards the door.

"Wait, where are -"

"Restroom."

The door closed behind her, and she sat back against it.

I'm lucky she didn't get what I meant, she thought as tears started streaming down her cheeks What was I thinking?

"I don't know what you're thinking," said Nightmare from behind the closed door "But whatever it is, it will be okay."

"You promise?" asked the other between her sobs.

"I know where this is going, and I don't like it," said the dark filly in an evidently fake fit of rage "I say yes, you ask for a pinkie promise and I do that silly thing, well no thanks, my promise is all you're going to get."

Sweetie turned around and saw that the door was open and that Nightmare was grinning at her, the same grin that Scootaloo always gave her after a joke.

"It will do," she said with a smile.

---

Something wasn't right with Sweetie, Apple Bloom and Scootaloo had that suspicion for a while but the sudden feeling of sickness that got both of them at the same time as they were making their way to her house spoke volumes of it.
Thinking of it as a bad omen, the two fillies rushed to Carousel Boutique and started pounding at the door, which was opened a couple of minutes later by a tired-looking Sweetie Belle.

"Hi girls," saluted the unicorn offering a warm smile.

"Sweetie, are ya all right?" asked Apple Bloom eyeing her friend.

"Yeah, you look like you just finished the running of the leaves!" exclaimed Scootaloo.

"I'm just a bit tired from practicing my magic, don't worry," said Sweetie waving a dismissive hoof.

"Ah'd say mighty tired..."

"It's nothing a good night of sleep cannot heal," chuckled the unicorn "But if you were here to go crusading I'll have to decline."

"That was our original plan, yes, but we got this horrible feeling you were in danger..."

"Nah, nothing like that," said Sweetie waving another hoof to dismiss her friend's worries "But I think I'll be getting some sleep now..."

"Scootaloo, are ya thinkin' what Ah'm thinkin' ?" asked Apple Bloom looking mischievously at her pegasus friend.

"That Rainbow would be great as a sister?"

"That we should help Sweetie!"

"That, yeah, right, my next guess..."

"There's no need for -" tried saying Sweetie.

"CUTIE MARK CRUSADERS NURSES, YAY!" shouted the other too cutting her short.

---

At the familiar 'battle cry', Nightmare Belle's heart skipped a beat, hearing more than one set of hooves on the stairs could have killed her.
She frantically searched for a place to hide, until she spotted the open wardrobe, which she entered without a second thought.
Moments later, the door was opened and she could hear the crusaders' voices.

"Really, I'm fine!" protested weakly Sweetie.

"No, ya aren't," said Apple Bloom "And ya're goin' to bed this instant."

"But -"

"No buts Sweetie!" said Scootaloo pushing her friend in the bed.

"Can I have my notes at least?" asked the white filly putting up her best puppy dog eyes.

"I don't see why not..." said the pegasus shrugging.

"Did ya forget why she's like that?" asked her the yellow filly before addressing her other friend "Sorry Sweets, it's for yer best."

"Please, Bloom," pleaded the unicorn.

"A no is a no, Sweetie, and to be sure ya don't do anything stupid, Ah'm putting them in the wardrobe."

Comments

[Kenshinryuu]

I hope that somehow Nightmare comes to appreciate Sweetie as a sister and can get forgiveness for her actions. But I can totally see her being fussed over by numerous mares about how adorable she is.