Transparent Living

by PinoyPony

Chapter 26: In Nightmares, Part 2

“Nopony messes with my friend!” A voice called out.

Demon didn’t have time to turn before a metallic Timberwolf dove for her. It raked a claw across Demon’s body. Demon shrieked and reared back from the Timberwolf.

It lunged out of the way, in turn, dropping the six gems. She noticed one of the gemstones was that of a white spoon. This must’ve meant something.

“Silver Spoon?” Diamond asked the wolf.

The wolf nodded respectfully, almost like a curtsy or a bow.

“Princess Luna invited me to join the fight to save my friend. She also gave us a boost!” Silver Spoon pounded on her armor with a metal paw. “Besides, I owe you one for the time you saved me.”

Argentum raised a claw against Demon and raked her across the face.

A beam of silver and blue blasted across Diamond’s vision, nailing Demon in the stomach. Diamond looked around, finding no owner to the beam of light that surged in.

In defense, Demon sneered and sucker punched the Timberwolf with a hoof make of darkness and fire.

“NO!” Diamond screamed.

However, the Timberwolf didn’t flinch. It shook off the hit like it was shaking off water from its coat and pounded at the demon with silver claws again.

“Thou Nightmare, you are powerless against us! You cannot edit what is not native to the dream!” Luna bellowed as she glided in. Her body was covered with guardspony armor, only a little more ornate. Her horn shone silver like the moon’s reflection upon water.

“Luna? Silver Spoon?” Diamond traded her glance between them.

“And Wonderbolt Vertigo!” A filly zipped in with the yellow and blue uniform of the elites. She flew circles around Demon, causing a small dust devil made of crystal fragments to churn violently. The Demon was caught up in the small storm.

“Thank you, Vertigo Heart.” Luna’s horn lifted the six gemstones up. She blasted them with a ray of light, each of them floating up. Three of them, Red, Yellow, and Dark Blue orbited around her. One sailed through the air like an arrow to Argentum. Another one to Vertigo. The last one to her.

The light fed strands of light into tornado. As the light swirled, the tornado grew smaller. A low rumbling accompanied a gentle vibration from the ground. In an instant, the tornado imploded on itself. In the epicenter, was a statue made up of crystal. The Demon in a stance of recoiling like she was in pain.

“Quickly now.” Luna instructed, craning her head towards the tree atop the hill. Her horn glowed as three saddlebags materialized out of air. She levitated the saddlebags to each respective pony, including herself. She pocketed the three gemstones into her bag. The Gemstone of a spoon settled into a groove atop Argentum’s crown.

Vertigo took the gem of a blue swirl and inspected it. “Hmm, peculiar.” She said while the lenses of her goggles reflected it.

“To the tree! We don’t have much time!” Luna picked up the statue of Demon. Vertigo hoisted the statue of her father and onto the Silver Timberwolf’s back.

“Come with us, Diamond Dazzle Tiara, the fortress of thy mind is in grave danger.” Luna patted Diamond’s back, helping her to go on.

Vertigo and Silver already had a head start. As she got ready to run, whiskers grew on her muzzle and her mane wrapped around her head. She bolted, eyes fixed on the tree, which was cloven into two and suspended in the sky.

She ran. She ran until her lungs and muscles screamed for her to stop. Each pound of her hoof thundered against the ground, every heartbeat surged through her body. At long last, she felt another surge of power run through her like an electric shock.

Luna came up by her side. “Quickly! You are in tons more danger than your friend was!”

Diamond turned to Luna. “Wait. What danger?” She asked.

“If we don’t act quickly, Demon will be released. She will destroy what is dear and precious to you- your friendships made in Mane-hattan!” Luna shouted. “Worse even… the sanity of your mind is at stake!”

“My sanity?” Diamond asked.

“What you stopped your friend Silver Spoon from doing, it will pass onto you if you continue to leave these feelings of self-hatred unchecked.”

Diamond ground her hooves into the dirt to halt herself. “What was Silver going to do?!”

Luna halted alongside The Timberwolf and Vertigo.

The Timberwolf collapsed as Silver Spoon stepped out of its neck. Tears were coming to her friend’s eyes as she detached her armor made of Silver. Without another word, Silver rushed up Diamond and hugged her. “If you didn’t come in time, I would’ve been dead. But you saved me! I’m so grateful I have a friend like you!”

Diamond’s heart pounded. All the pieces came together. She caught a glance of Silver’s forelegs. The red lines from before had faded, no longer red, but watermarks from the past.

“That’s the danger I’m talking about.” Luna said. “Dreams have the uncanny ability to reflect reality. What is said, done, or thought here might become reality the next day.”

“I’ve come to return the favor.” Silver let go of the embrace and bowed. As she backed up, the Timberwolf armor wrapped around her. “For Diamond!”

Vertigo cheered. “For Dazzle!”

Luna smiled. “For Diamond Dazzle Tiara!”

---

Once they arrived at the top of the hill, Luna set the crystal statue down. On the opposite side of the massive hole, Vertigo flew the stone statue over.

“We got here just in time.” Luna inspected the crystal statue. “Demon Dazzle is slowly breaking free. We have mercy on our side though. The tree provides a beacon of magic that will slow her progress.” Diamond looked closer and noticed fissures gathering on the seams of the crystals.

“So… Princess.” Diamond started, trying to catch her breath. “Why just Silver and Vertigo?”

“I had to be frugal in how much I edit.” Luna said. “So, out of your seven friends, I chose the two that had the most potential. Silver Spoon, who overcame the same darkness you are facing, and Vertigo Heart, an unyielding optimist in face of trials.”

Diamond couldn’t help but smile as the Timberwolf and the Wonderbolt worked together on the other side, trading high-hooves when they set the statue down and anchored it.

“You chose great friends, Diamond Dazzle Tiara. Never forget that.” Luna nudged Diamond. She glanced up at the sky. “In order to seal her back and release your father, I must make a bold edit, but first, I need permission from the author of the dream.”

“Yes?” Diamond asked warily. She grew to trust Luna over the course of last dream― rescuing Silver Spoon. However, she couldn’t quite shake the feeling from last time Luna asked permission.

“I will have to edit you to Alicorn.” Luna said.

Diamond felt a little unease. She balked, but as she did so, the statue of her father came into view. This must’ve really meant something. “You have my permission, Princess.” Diamond bowed.

A beam of light flew into Diamond. She felt a horn spring out of her skull and wings from her back.

“Fly up, and Levitate the tree into position. This is a very simple task, I know. But once we get the tree replanted, the seal will be remade, and the Demon will be vanquished.”

Diamond nodded and flew up. She felt a bit dizzy trying out a pair of wings for the first time. Then, she felt a hoof take hers. She looked to her right. The Wonderbolt had joined her. “Need some help?” Vertigo smiled.

“Yes please.” Diamond nodded. Vertigo swooped under her barrel and held her in place and kept Diamond steady as they ascended towards the top of the tree.

Slowly, but with an eye on the tree, both of them climbed. Dazzle decided to pass the time with some catch-up.

“How did you react when you met Silver?” Diamond asked, trying hard not to wobble as she flew up with Vertigo. Thankfully, Vertigo was able to counter those sudden shifts.

“She is awesome! I can see why you chose her as a friend!” Vertigo answered. “I also asked her about what you were talking about, you know, that day at school when Napoleon was being a jerk-face.

“Jerk-face, that’s new…” Dazzle snickered.

“Anyways… Silver Spoon told me that she has problems sometimes, but you are the one who helped her through!” Vertigo said.

“What about her? How did she react to you?”

“Great! Once I mentioned I was a friend of yours― or technically Luna told her that I was a friend of Diamond Dazzle Tiara― she couldn’t stop yabbering.” Vertigo laughed. She hushed down to a whisper, “And that’s says a lot when the chatterbox calls you a chatterbox.” Diamond could feel her diaphragm jostle as she laughed. “She asked me about all kinds of things… from how Mane-hattan is, what kinds of things you and I do at recess, and something about Suri Polomare, but of course, I told her that I wasn’t there when it happened.”

Diamond’s heart floated a little in her chest. Whether it was the news that her friends were doing well and getting along, or the fact that she felt a little vertigo while going up- literally and literally.

As they hovered above the leaves, Vertigo motioned with a hoof. “Let’s fly there. We have an opening.”

Diamond carefully glided down, Vertigo often wrapping hooves around Diamond’s barrel, re-steadying and pulling up every so often so they didn’t crash.

“Careful trying to get a grip on the tree. Landing is even harder than flying.” Vertigo instructed, pointing towards the direction of the trunk. She guided Diamond’s hoof to a considerable sized branch and set it down on the bark. “Push it in that direction.” She pointed straight towards the ground. “I’ll push the other half. Don’t worry trying about going fast. I’ll help if you need it!”

Diamond gently set her hooves on the bark, most times she would be worried about getting a splinter. But now, since she knew this was her mother’s tree, she wanted to extra gentle.

Vertigo tilted her head. “Well, what are you waiting for! Go ahead and start pushing!”

Diamond nodded and shifted her weight onto the tree. She could feel it start to move.

“There you go! Nice and easy!” Vertigo cheered. Her wings fanned out. “I will go to the other half!”

Diamond pushed with all her might. Out of the twisty canopy of the tree, she could see Vertigo zip across the divide and into the thicket of the other half of the tree. She noticed how much faster Vertigo was going. She attempted to match it.

KRUNK!

An explosion like the pounding on wood rattled below. Crystal debris followed the splintering sound. The canopy of leaves and branched shielded her from whatever chunks went flying.

Diamond flew out of the tree’s canopy, and clutched a nearby branch as she looked down.

No. How did she get out?

Luna leveled another silver beam at Demon. Demon countered it with a beam of glowing incendiary and shadow. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Vertigo fly from her post and charge straight down at Demon. Diamond jumped after her.

Gravity took over and she fell. Fast. She fanned out her wings, trying to slow her fall, but the wind raked and pinned her wings back. She didn’t have the strength to push against the wind.

“Vertigo! HELP!” Diamond screamed.

Down and down she fell, the sinking feeling of doom as the ground came hurtling closer to her.

Suddenly, she felt hooves wrap around her barrel. “Gotcha!”

Diamond sighed in relief as Vertigo glided her down to the ground.

“Next time, just stay where you were at.” Vertigo chuckled. “I need you to h―AUGH!”

Diamond was knocked away from Vertigo.

Suddenly, the feeling of freefall resumed. Diamond didn’t have time before she hit the ground. She opened her wings, and strung out her fall. The impact wasn’t much as it could’ve been, but it knocked the wind out of her. Thankfully, grass cushioned their fall like a mattress.

As soon as Diamond got to her hooves, she ran towards her friend. Vertigo laid on the ground, muzzle first, carving a trench in the dirt. Diamond stared in horror as she looked at Vertigo’s wings.

Thick black chains looped around Vertigo’s wings― chains made up of shadow, held taut by a lock with a keyhole glowing like ember.

“C’mon! Getup Vertigo!” Dazzle shook her friend and helped her to her feet.

“You’re too late!” Demon called out as she approached. A disk of floating amber arcane runes twisted and orbited around her Magenta and Obsidian horn.

Luna approached quickly, lowering her head to take another shot at Demon.

“You make one more move, and I’ll chop Wonderbolt’s wings off!” Demon warned.

Luna grinded her hooves against the dirt to a stop. She glared at Demon. Her horn still glowing with silver light.

Demon clicked her tongue. “That means horn too!”

Luna growled as she rolled her eyes. Reluctantly, the light from her horn faded.

Diamond just recalled something. From the power she was lent, she had an opening. Demon’s gaze was fixed upon Luna. Now was her chance! Her back was turned! Quickly, her horn charged and fired a beam at Demon. Demon roared in pain. Suddenly, six jewels popped out.

“Diamond! What are you doing? We need Vertigo to be able to fly!” Luna called to her.

Demon shook off the sucker hit and spun to Diamond. “YOU! YOU DON’T KNOW WHAT POWERS YOU ARE MESSING WITH!”

Diamond took another opportunity to fire a blast. Demon rolled out of the way, picking up the six gemstones that fell from her body. Diamond shot another blast at her as she got to her feet. Suddenly, the gemstones spun around her and formed an invisible barrier. Diamond’s shot ricocheted off and whipped back in her direction.

Before she could dodge it, it nailed her in the forehead. A sharp pain ran through her temple, like somepony took a railroad spike to her head.

She tried hard to hold it back, but the pain was unbearable. Hers tongue twisted and she grit her teeth. Finally, she screamed.

She screamed so loud that the pain intensified.

---

Struggling for breath, Dazzle rolled and then hit the ground hard.

Hardwood greeted her as she took her first breaths in the free air. The golden hue of day’s first light flooded through the window over the jagged horizon of skyscrapers. She covered her ears as a piercing ringing drove spikes into her mind. It felt like her head was stuffed with cotton.

As she rolled around, she felt a hoof prod her barrel and a muffled squeak. Her hearing focused, and then the clarity of sound hit her. Somepony was calling her name.

“Dazzle! Dazzle!” She read on Coco’s lips as Coco shook her awake, rocking her hoof firmly against Dazzle’s Barrel. Dazzle could see Coco’s worried expression, like the time she had forgotten to make a dress for a line. The last bit of her fogginess washed away as Coco’s face came into view. She had tears in her eyes. Only a couple words she could make out, but through the haze, she only could try to read Coco’s lips.

“Huh?” Dazzle said, rubbing her eyes. She then cringed, as the pain of a headache strummed through her skull

“You were screaming in your sleep a couple minutes ago…” Coco said. “Are you okay? Do we need to go to the Doctors?”

“Screaming?” Dazzle said. She propped herself up and stretched. “Nothing to worry about… just a stupid nightmare.”

“No seriously… this wasn’t a whimper or any small scream.” Coco said. “It was deafening! I’d fear that you wake the neighbors if you continued.”

“Huh.” Dazzle said. “Nope. I’m fine. I just had an intense nightmare…”

“Yeah, I’d bet it was intense if you were screaming like that,” Coco said. “Forget my plans for the day. I’m taking you to the hospital.”

“It’s just a nightmare.” Dazzle waved her off.

“Dazzle w―!”

“Last I checked, a nightmare hasn’t killed anypony.” Dazzle said.

“It sure sounded like it though!”Coco pointed towards her wet and teary face. “I’m geniuninely scared, Dazzle.

After a brief pause and averted eyes, Coco stood stoutly and said, “If you are truly okay, Look me in the eyes and tell me.”

Dazzle stared directly into Coco’s blue eyes. Those shaking irises… The unnerving look of Coco in tears made her want to bawl too. That, and her splitting headache she had woken up with. With all the power she could muster, she nodded “I’m fine.” She lied to Coco.

“Okay…” Coco trailed off. “You know, if you are having a hard time right now, you can tell me.”

“Psh!” Dazzle looked at the alarm clock on her table. Five minutes before the alarm would go off. She flicked the knob to disable the alarm.

“I need to get ready now. I gotta meeting with Napoleon in an hour!” Dazzle squirmed out of her cocoon of blankets and stood up on her hooves. Today was the day that they present their project, after all.

As Dazzle exited the room, Coco shook her head. “I sure hope you’re okay.”