A New Purpose

by Sparky Brony

Chapter 15.

I walk slowly through the infirmary. Twilight has been moved to her castle in Ponyville. She has round the clock care by several nurses and specialists. And all of them agree, she may never wake. Though, at times, I find myself confused, they aren’t using any equipment or magic to keep her body alive, so she’s in there. I know she is. Three months, three months of them giving her body the nutrients and moisture she needs to stay alive via a tube. Daily scans by her doctors say the same thing. I split my time between the foals, and spending time with her. I see Brygor, once in a while, he’s been healing from the fight. Three months is a long time to heal. Princess Celestia has been spending much time in seclusion as her sister heals. She’s been taking on Luna’s duties for the Moon while Luna has been resting.

Soft hoofsteps gain my attention. I flick my ears and raise my head from the bed. Pinkie Pie is there, with both of the foals. I frown, “Pinkie, why did you bring them here? It only confuses them to see their mommy unable to respond to them.”

“I asked her to bring them, young Nicholas.” Comes another voice.

I sigh, “Princess Celestia, with all due respect, but I am their father…”

“Please Nick.” Comes another voice, getting me to look over at the midnight blue alicorn standing there.

I squint at her, “Princess Luna, what brings you here?” I growl.

“Nick.” Princess Celestia says sharply, gaining a glare from me, her ears flick as she recoils from the heat of my glare. She looks at Luna, who looks quite unsure at the moment.

Luna steps forward slowly, “Nick, words cannot express adequately my sorrow. The magic that made us unreachable to the vermin that attacked has also made your world permanently out of reach. Not only can you never go home, even as a pony, but you will never know what has happened there in your absence.”

I snort, my wings flinging out in a threat display, “Do you honestly think that’s why I’m upset, Princess?” I scream, tears threatening to fall.

Luna flinches, seeing her like that tells me everything I need to know, “Of course you know that’s not it. I have left my home behind, because of this pony right here. And your actions as the Nightmare may have ended the war.” I look at Twilight, “But your inability to stop the Nightmare without her help is what caused her to overdo it. Because you couldn’t control yourself, she’s here. She’s not playing with her foals.”

I sniffle, the tears that were threatening are now falling, “If you had controlled yourself, then she would be here, laughing, smiling, and being close to me.” I sob. I whirl away from the two alicorns and crawl up onto the soft bed. I curl my body around her head, using my overlarge wings to pull her a little closer, “Now leave me alone.”

Pinkie Pie moves up uncharacteristically slowly, “Nick, Princess Luna says she thinks that she can help.”

I growl, “Three months, it’s been three months. Look at her Pinkie! She’s lost a lot of weight, no matter what the doctors do, she’s slowly slipping away.”

Celestia steps forward, “I told Princess Luna to delay coming to help. If you must place blame, do so on me. She was too weak after that ordeal.”

I perk my head up, “So, she is able to recover, as Twilight wastes away?” I snort, looking at Luna, “She ripped the Nightmare out of you, she saved you. At the expense of herself.”

Luna comes forward, her ears splayed back and her wings pulled tightly to her sides, “You have valid points young Nick, but I’ve been begging my sister for weeks now to let me come here.”

I look at Luna and Celestia, Luna continues, “I think I can help Princess Twilight.”

“Why the children?” I growl, flicking my ears towards Pinkie and her dual saddle bags holding the foals.

Princess Luna puts a hoof on the bed, “I need them, we are going to find Princess Twilight in the dream. I’ve found her before,” Princess Celestia shifts, “I didn’t tell you I was going into the world of dreams, my sister. I have to fix what I destroyed.” She looks at me, her eyes pleading, “I need to help bring her out of this. I need you to help.” She looks back at Pinkie Pie and the foals, “And I need them. We must work together to get to her.”

I nuzzle Twilight, “I’ll do anything for her.”

She sighs, “I know.”

Pinkie Pie hops onto another bed and takes a few moments to arrange the foals, Sunlight and Moonlight both curl up with the pink pony. Celestia moves off, she looks back at all of us then flicks her tail as she exits the infirmary. Princess Luna lights her horn and glowing black tendrils of magic extend gently, touching the foals, then Twilight, and finally, myself. My eyes close as I settle down around her and sleep folds over me.

***

“Nick.” Princess Luna says softly, I look around. We are in absolute darkness. Though stars are everywhere, I look on as a carrier for the foals appears around my barrel. Both foals float into it and I take a moment to nuzzle each of them before looking at Luna.

“So…” I look around, “What now?”

She points to a globe, though it looks far different from the rest, it flickers between light and dark, but when it’s not flickering, it stays a fairly dark gray, “This is Twilight Sparkle. She is trapped in a nightmare.”

I step forward and put a hoof on the dream, “How do I help her?” I growl.

“You cannot, not right now. We need to work together to help her. But first, we must gain access to her dreams, to her mind. I tried myself.” She looks bleak, “But the magic resists me. I hope that with your help, we can enter her mind fully, and help draw her out of this.”

“Let’s start.”

She steps forward and puts her hoof next to mine and closes her eyes. Her horn again lights, and I feel her magic touch me and extend into the dream, after a few moments she smiles, “Having you here did help. I thought so!” She says and then we are in darkness.

I stand up and whirl around, “What happened?”

“We are in her dream, Nick.”

I look around, “There’s nothing…” My words trail off as I notice a soft light. I trot over to it then stop in shock. We are in a tower in Canterlot. The bugs are everywhere. And at their center…

“Oh Twilight.” I whimper. Twilight is there, she’s fighting for her life. Bugs are attacking her, and she’s fighting and killing them as fast as she can.

I spread my wings and Luna shouts, “Nick, you need to stop!”

I look at her, “What?”

She points, “She doesn’t realize it’s a dream. She’s stuck in this.”

“I need to get her out of it!”

“This is a dream, Nick. She is stuck in this fight. It is what she was doing when she fell into this.”

I look at the purple alicorn fighting, “Can she die in here?”

She sighs, “While the dream is real to her, I don’t think she can die in this fight. Things will just reset in her mind.” She watches for a long time, her ears flicking, “She can feel her body weakening, she can feel that she’s losing slowly. It will manifest in the monsters getting the better of her.”

I flinch as a bug slices off one of her wings. I’m enveloped in magic as I try to go to her as another bug gets close enough and lands a blow to her neck. Blood flies as she screams in pain. Then after a few moments everything stops. Everything blinks, and she’s back the way she was, still fighting for her life.

I shudder, “Does she remember what just happened?”

Her tail lashes as she stalks closer to the window, “I don’t believe so. It feels real to her, but in the end, it’s still a dream. We are not in the world of dreams, but merely in her own dream. She can die here a million times and still wake up.”

I look around, “Can the bugs hurt us? Hurt the foals?”

She looks unsure, then finally she shakes her head, “I don’t think so, Nick. So long as you remain yourself in her dream, you remain separate.”

“Can she see me?”

She nods, “She is aware of the dream.”

I turn and flash through the window, my wings taking my weight, “Twilight!” I call. The figure looks up at me, her mouth dropping in shock. A bug takes the opportunity to behead her. In moments, everything stops, and I’m back in the tower, watching her fight desperately for her life.

I shake my head, “That was…” I look up at Luna, “Different.”

“Brute force does not work in the dream, young Nick.”

I snort and rub a hoof through my fiery mane, “Ya could have told me.”

She moves forward as though to nuzzle me, then it looks like she rethinks the gesture, she nervously preens a wing instead, “Would you have listened to me?”

I look at Twilight, “Probably not.”

She steps forward, “I have a feeling you are still needed. I was unable to simply enter her dream by myself. She is aware of you being here, even though her dream doesn’t indicate it, and she allowed you in. I think you need to be with me as I talk to her.”

I look at her, “I’m still angry at you, Princess.”

She flinches, I continue, “But I think you want Twilight back as much as I do. If for no other reason than the guilt you feel right now.” I sigh, “Because of that, I’ll trust you with her. Nothing else has worked, you say you can help. I want her back in the world of life. And I know you want her there as well. Perhaps we can help her.” I hold out a hoof, “Together.”

She looks at my hoof for a long time, then she looks into my eyes, “You really do love her, don’t you?”

I nod.

She smiles as she takes my hoof, “I knew I made the right choice in picking you, Young Nick.”

She cloaks us all in darkness, and I can feel the world shift, we are standing in a clearing in Canterlot, a shocked look on Twilight’s face as the bugs around her have disappeared, only to be replaced by us.

“Nick, get out of here!” She pants, her horn glowing, “I’ve been fighting these bugs. You can’t stop them, they are too strong.”

Luna steps forward, “Twilight Sparkle, look around you. You ended the war.”

She shakes her head, “What are you talking about? It’s worse than ever, I tried to push the Nightmare into them, but all I got was them attacking me.”

Luna smiles, “You pulled the Nightmare out of me. You have banished it permanently from this world. You used the energy, the toxic emotions, to infect the monsters.” She glances all around, her ability with the dream is keeping all the bugs motionless, “This is a construct within your mind.”

Twilight shakes her head, “That’s impossible.”

Luna cocks her head to the side, “Really, Twilight? You stripped me of the Nightmare, and yet I stand before you, healthy and hale, as you wither slowly. You fight for your life, yet I have asked your stallion to bring your foals to you here.”

I find myself teleported, in the way of dreams, first I’m next to Princess Luna, now I’m right in front of Twilight, both foals are brought out before Twilight, Luna steps closer, “Look at them.”

She sits down, looking at us, then at Luna, “This isn’t real?”

Luna smiles, “That is actually a complex question, but the easiest answer is no, it’s not.”

Twilight furrows her brow, “Are you controlling this?”

Luna nods.

Twilight looks around, “So, for me to get out of this, and not get caught up again, I have to control this myself.”

Luna smiles and nods.

Twilight looks at me and smirks, she smiles at Luna for a moment and says softly, “Keep your control for a few more moments, please, Princess.”

Luna frowns as she nods, Twilight moves closer to me, “I’ve felt you, as I fight here, as I use everything I have to just keep from dying, I feel your presence, love.”

I find my face heating, “I’ve been with you, either with you, or with our foals.”

She smiles and darts forward to kiss me thoroughly, after time immeasurable she steps back, she smirks at me, “Okay, Luna, I think I can do it.”

A tension I didn’t notice in Princess Luna fades and all the bugs leap at us. Once again they halt mid-flight, Twilight smiles grimly, “I may not have the proficiency in the dream that you do, Princess Luna.” She grins evilly, “But I think I have enough here.”
As she finishes speaking, the first bug is engulfed in flames, and those flames rapidly spread among all the bugs, their bodies burning to ash as I watch, Twilight once again trots up to me, “And let’s do this…” She once again kisses me, and finally pulls away, “In real life.”

I find myself tumbling out of the dream, only to awaken to her lips on mine, I open my eyes, looking at her closed eyes as she moans in pleasure as she puts her forehooves around me, bringing me closer, her wings come around me too. I fold my wings around her as well, bringing her as close to me as I can.

A throat clearing causes her eyes to open, she pulls away and looks at me, then at everypony around us. She smiles around at the ponies, “What? I’ve missed him.” She pulls me closer.

Princess Celestia comes forward, “I can see that. How do you feel, Princess?”

Twilight’s horn lights, flipping the cover off, then she gets a good look at herself, “Starving, apparently.” She floats the foal carrier off of Pinkie and onto my back, then she floats each foal to her, where she kisses them softly, and then puts one, and then the other, in the carrier, “Let’s get some food. I want to see all of my friends.”

Princess Celestia smiles as she leads us towards the dining room, “I think that can be arranged. Princess.”