Twilight in the Dreamlands

by RB_

Entry 11 (Part 4)

Day 13 (Continued)

Luna chuckled. “Must you be so dramatic?”

Unfortunately, I did not hear the rest of their conversation, as I was too busy freaking out.

How could she be here? My friends and I defeated her years ago, liberating Luna from her thousand year torment! Unless she hadn’t been defeated, and it was all a ruse! What if she had been pretending to be Luna, biding her time until she could take over again!?

But wait, that didn’t make sense, the elements wouldn’t have been fooled by that. No, what if Luna had become jealous again, and history was repeating itself! Yes that had to be it! I needed to stop this, now before things went too far!

Before I could do anything rash, however, the door swung open, Nightmare Moon striding out. “Well, are you going to stand there all night, or are you going to come in?”

Without any other alternative, I followed her back into the room.

Luna was gone

“What have you done with Princess Luna?!” I said, throwing as much confidence and anger into the words as I could muster.

The dark queen was unfazed. “I haven’t done anything; she woke up. Now, I’m sure you have lots of questions, but if you’d give me just a minute to explain-”

“How are you still alive?!”

“Like I said, if you’d just-“

Whatever your plan is, it won’t work! I’ll stop you here!”

“Twilight-”

“You won’t-”

“ENOUGH! THOU SHALL BE SILENT, AND THOU SHALL WAIT UNTIL WE ARE DONE SPEAKING! ARE WE UNDERSTOOD!?”

“Yes,” I whimpered, disarmed by the power of the Royal Canterlot Voice.

“Very good.

“Firstly, allow me to say that I am not the Nightmare Moon that you defeated when you first unlocked the powers of the elements of harmony. Nor am I the Nightmare Moon who attempted to plunge the world into eternal night.”

“But-” I began, but a glare from the Nightmare quickly silenced me.

“I am not saying that I did not have a hand in those events. In truth, I was just as caught up in those feelings of jealousy and resentment as Luna was. However, she was the one whom you defeated, and she was the one whom Celestia banished to the moon.

“Also, I am not evil. I have no plans to take over Equestria, nor would I want to. Now, you may ask your questions.”

“If you aren’t the one who we defeated with the elements, then who are you?”

“Long ago, years before our banishment, Luna was researching nightmares. This was when she first becoming resentful towards her treatment from her subjects. She thought that surely, if she could eliminate this plague upon the minds of her ponies, they would rejoice and celebrate her the way they did her sister!

“In her studies, she created a spell; the same spell which I suspect brought you here. A spell which would allow a pony to explore the dreams of others. And I, my dear Twilight, am the result of that spell.”

A thought struck me. “Wait, if that is the same spell that I used, why do I still look like me, but you look like Nightmare Moon, not Luna?”

“We had long been masters of shape-changing magic. As such, the two of us decided that it would be best if I took on a new form and name, to avoid confusion. Also, Luna didn’t like the idea of talking to herself. You must understand, equestrian was still a very dangerous and wild place back then, and most nightmares tended to involve violence or great beasts. Thus, I took the form of a fierce warrior, and the name ‘Nightmare’s Moon’, which eventually just became ‘Nightmare’.

“Unfortunately, the form I chose was often more frightening to the ponies that I tried to help than the original nightmares themselves. They feared me, and I grew to resent that. My feelings only added to those that Luna was harboring inside of her already.

“When Luna decided that she had to force ponies to appreciate her, she took on my form and name. So really, I don’t look like Nightmare Moon; she looked like me.”

“So, you fix the nightmares of ponies all over Equestria?” I asked.

“Only in special cases. Normally, nightmares are a good way for a sleeping pony to discover that something is wrong, or to learn a lesson, and in these circumstances, I do not intervene.”

Confused, I asked,”What do you mean by ‘special cases’?” Then, understanding. “Those creatures…”

“The mære.” She replied.

“The mare?”

“No, the mære.

“Long before the coming of the Royal Sisters, unicorns had developed a spell to dispose of heinous criminals. The origin of the spell has long since been lost to history, as has, thankfully, the spell itself. Anything the spell was cast upon would disappear, banished. Nopony knew to where, and nopony cared. For centuries, murderers, rapists, insurrectionists, all who were found guilty of the highest crimes were sent away.

“When I began exploring this plane, I discovered what had become of them. Centuries of exile had transformed them into disgusting mockeries of what they once were, sadistic creatures whose only joy came from the torment of ponies in their dreams.

“And that is why I have led you here.”

“What?”

“I saw you defeating the mære in the dreams of your assistant. You have proven yourself very capable. Also, as is evidenced by the suffering of dear Sweetie Belle, I cannot be everywhere at once. It would be a great help if I had another to help me combat these threats.

“And, secretly, I’ve always wanted a student…”

How could I say no?

Comments

[Exaxxion]

This is getting so good I can't wait for more

[ChangelingPhilosopher]

NOOO!!! I need more!

[FanOfMostEverything]

A fascinating exploratory adventure. I'm glad I finally read it.

[VShuffler42]

So the second Twilight, we'll call her Dream-Twi, is now assistant to the Nightmare? And the Nightmare is not evil? So Dream-Twi cannot communicate with the real Twilight while the Nightmare can and does communicate with Luna? Is it becuase she is the Princess of Dreams, or it is something they learn with experience?

Also I want more. Even though this doesn't fit with my headcanon of "Tantabus Mk. II" by Rambling Author, this is really good and I want more.
Signing out, VShuffler42

[Raven Flight]

So good! I'm so glad I found this story! Thank you for sharing...