The Nightmare Rises

by Silver Inkwell

The Nightmare Rises

The Nightmare Rises

“Come on don’t you have any sense of adventure at all?”

“I do, it’s just not as great or as good as yours Scootaloo.”

“Yeah, what Apple Bloom said, except for like way less now.”

“Come on, it’s just a cave, what could possibly go wrong?”

These are the words of a group of small tiny little fillies, and words that I and other authors would hate to use since they are so cliché and overused now.

But nonetheless I think that they still must be used now.

And so with that said the crusaders entered the cave very nervously now.

And what they saw in there would haunt them forever.

They slowly wandered into the cave and heard the soft dripping of water.

And very soon enough they came into a dead end with a small pond.

“I think that this is far enough,” Sweetie Belle said once they reached a pond.

“Oh nonsense, this was just a dead end, we can still go the other way.”

“No, you cannot go the other way,” a voice suddenly said.

“Wait, who was that? Is some pony else in here?”

There was silence for a very long moment.

“No, not a pony, but instead your very worst nightmare.”

And then a shadowy figure started to approach them and before it could reach them they all started to run
away as they forcefully dragged Scootaloo along.

“Hey! Let me go! I’m not afraid! I can fight whatever that is!”

“Trust me, you can’t,” Apple Bloom said as they left.

“Indeed, you cannot,” the voice said in their minds, “For Krallis Mortimer has returned, so tell that to the princess, that and also that nightmares will return and be more powerful than ever before, trust me when I say this my little ponies, this is a war, and what you saw here today was just the start of it.”

And with that said they ran very far away to Twilight’s castle now.

“TWILIGHT!!!” They shouted very loudly, “WHERE ARE YOU RIGHT NOW?”

“I’m right here girls, but what’s the problem that you have now exactly?”

“Well we were out exploring,” Scootaloo started to say.

“And she wanted to go into this very scary looking cave,” Apple Bloom said.

“Yeah, and we did eventually agree to go in,” Sweetie Belle said.

“Yeah, and then we got to this dead end with a cool looking pond.”

“Bu that’s when this big shadowy thing started to talk and chase us.”

“Yah, and it told us to tell you that its name was Krallis Mortimer.”

“Wait, are you sure that’s what happened?” she said very nervously.

“Yes, I mean why would we ever lie about something like this?”

“You’re absolutely right girls, I should trust you, but if this is true then I need to tell princess Celestia at
once, she would know what to do in this, not me.”

“Wait, you don’t know what this thing is?” Scootaloo said.

“Well no, I have never heard of a Krallis Mortimer before.”

And with that said she sat down and quickly wrote her letter to the princess and then sent it off. And it
wasn’t very long before a reply came back.

“Huh, she’s coming over here, that’s a shock and surprise now I guess.”

“Wait, if she’s coming over here does that mean we found something really important?” Scootaloo said her
face lighting up at the possibilities.

“Important, yes, dangerous, yes,” a very familiar new voice said now.

“Princess Celestia? How did you get here so fast?” Twilight said now.

She sighed very heavily and deeply, “Magic of course, what else is there?”

“Ah yes, right, of course, but what do you want to talk about now?”

“Our new enemy, his name is Mortimer, and if these children really did see him then we are all in danger,
for no pony will ever rest very easily ever again.”

“What is he exactly?” Twilight said pacing around the room very nervously.

“He is a Krallis, a cursed being of immense power, and it is one that he can use to kill and also enter and
manipulate the dreams of ponies as well too.”

“How come I have never heard of him ever before?” she said.

“Because he was an ancient horror of the past imprisoned in Tartarus, but now it seems that he is free, and if he is then no pony will ever be safe again.

He is very vile, fast, cold, and cruel, he won’t care who gets hurt unless he gets his way, and the only thing that he wants right now is revenge against me, and he’ll probably do it by trying to hurt the ones that are
closest to me.”

“Yeah, but Luna is already dead, so who can he hurt now?”

“You, your friends, these children, he won’t care who just so long as he can hurt again, but leave this situation to me, I can handle him again.”

“Wait, you’ve actually met him before?” Twilight said.

“Yes, I did, but it was Star Swirl in the end who imprisoned him.”

“I see, but what exactly is a Krallis?” Twilight said.

“A being cursed to a new different form, for example Mortimer is not quite human or dragon or pony, he
has the body of a human, and the hands and legs of one too, but he has dragon breath and fire and wings
and eyes and also the head and face of one. And he can change into a pony if he wants to.”

“Wow, that sounds like an incredibly very dangerous animal.”

“Yes, they are, and so is he,” Celestia said.

“Wait, there is more than one of them?” Twilight said with shock and surprise.

“Yes, but he is the worst that I have ever met before,” she said.

“Wait, how many more of them are there exactly?” Twilight said now.

“Even I am not sure, but there were many in the past, and they terrorized Equestria with their magic and skills, but luckily enough I know how to defeat Mortimer, and if I saw it once then surely I can do it just as he did.”

“Or perhaps maybe I could do it myself,” a new voice said.

“Star Swirl? What are you doing here exactly?” Twilight said.

“The author decided to throw me in at the last minute so I came.”

“Uh okay, never mind, forget that I asked, but can you help us out?”

“Well of course, I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t know something about this.”

“Very good then, now can you tell me how you defeated him last time?”

“Details later, not right now because of plot reasons,” he said now.

“Uh okay, we can work with that,” Twilight said now.

“Wow, there’s so much exposition right now,” he said turning to the screen now, “If you want the author to
slow down then you should probably tell him.”

And then with that said he turned back to the group now.

“So then, where do we begin this mighty epic quest and journey?” he said with a smile over his face as he
pulled out his bag of random various stuff.

“Uh, anywhere that you want really,” Celestia said.

“Splendid, this will make the story move along faster then.”

And with that said he started to work very furiously at his job now.

“Do you need any help at all?” Twilight said now.

“Nope, not really, I have been doing this for years,” he said.

“Alright, fine then, but if you need anything just let us know.”

“Well I could go for a cup of tea with some very nice crackers right now.”

And with that said Twilight went to go get some.

“That was just a distraction for her, wasn’t it?” Celestia said now.

“Well yes it was actually, and I really am hungry,” he said smiling now as he went to lock the door, “But
come, on to more serious matters.”

“Do you really think that she’s ready for the next level yet?”

“I don’t know, I think so, after all, she is a princess now, but my opinion doesn’t matter now, it’s yours, do
you think that she’s ready yet?”

“I really honestly don’t know, I had hoped that you would have the answer for me, but now it seems that
my hopes were very misguided from the start now.”

“Oh come, it’s not that bad, I certainly don’t have all the answers even if I may seem that way, but in reality I just pretend to have all of them instead.”

“Isn’t that like lying?” she said as he continued to work now.

“Not if you make every pony never question your words,” he said.

“Fair point, alright, I will think about my answer for you though.”

“Excellent, because she can never progress unless you’re ready first.”

And with that said he unlocked the door just in time for Twilight to come back with his tea and crackers, “Thank you very much my darling,” he said taking the tea and sipping it and then quickly
devoured all the crackers as well too.

And with that Twilight smiled and said, “You’re welcome, I would do anything for my favorite mentor or teacher or just any pony in general.”

“There’s no need to impale yourself on your own words Twilight,” he said.

“I know, I’m so very sorry,” she said as she flew around very nervously.

“Don’t be, you’re just being yourself, there’s nothing wrong with that, but if you want something to do please ask Celestia for further advice now.”

And with that said he quickly went back to work as Twilight went over to princess Celestia to ask her. “What
should I do to help?” she said.

“Go to the Castle of the Two Sisters and bring me this book,” she said handing her a very small tiny little piece of paper, “And please hurry, we don’t have much time. He could attack at any minute and we need to be ready for him.”

And with that said Twilight quickly left to go to the very old castle now.

She went to the castle and quickly gazed at the books until she found it.

Ancient Horrors of the Past: The History of Equestria

“I guess that the princess wants this book for a very good reason,” she said to herself as she walked back to her own castle now. “You’re right,” a voice suddenly said in her mind, “And I now politely request that book
please.”

“Who are you? Where are you?” Twilight said looking around for the voice.

“Close, but much more so if you do not consider my very polite request.”

“Do you really honestly think that I would give the book to a monster?”

“I don’t think, I just guess and plan, and then I will think,” he said.

“Well then I guess it must be very annoying when it doesn’t go to plan then.”

“Yes, like what you are doing to me right now. Besides, I’m not as bad as you think I am,” he said as he stepped out of the shadows, “I’m much worse.”

Twilight screamed when she saw him because Celestia’s words fell short of him. Yes he did have a human body, legs, arms, and hands, and dragon wings too, but his face, it was one of all her very worst nightmares instead now.

“No, you can’t be him, that’s impossible!” she said very loudly now.

“Indeed, and I am not, I just mask my true real face with dreams and make you perceive the face of your very worst nightmare, now then, the book please.”

“NEVER!!!” Twilight said as she quickly tried to run away.

“I wouldn’t do that if I were you,” he said as black vines suddenly caught her.

“LET ME GO RIGHT NOW!!!” she said trying vainly to escape the vines now.

“Oh I will, right after I get this book,” he said as he slowly went over to her, smiled and then picked up the book from her hooves and then he turned the pages open and quickly tore up an entry and then burned
the paper piece.

“Ah, good luck ever remembering how to defeat me or who I am without this, anyhow we will soon see each other again in our dreams, Twilight Sparkle.”

And with that said he smiled as he slowly left and then the vines let her go.

Sighing with sadness she slowly walked back to her castle knowing that she failed because surely the page
he burned was the one that she really truly wanted and the book itself was irrelevant and useless. And so
she went back in and told them the news, “I failed,” she said, “Mortimer burned a page of the book, and now I don’t think that we’ll ever know what was in it either now.”

Celestia smiled, “Oh my most faithful student, why do you think that I sent you to get that book when I knew that there was a very high chance that you would fail? It wasn’t for the paper page of information, I already know that page and everything else that we will need to know. No, it was to teach you a lesson instead, one that would require you to fail so that you can understand the real cost and pain of both failure and victory, I never expected you to get back here with the book when my enemy was on the loose and can enter the thoughts and minds of any pony and also manipulate and see their dreams as well too.”

“But what if I was hurt? What would have happened then exactly?”

“My most faithful student, I never doubted that you could take care of yourself, and truth be told teaching you how to be a princess hasn’t been my most important priority recently, but very soon enough that will change now.”

“What do you mean by that exactly?” she said very curiously now.

“Oh, you will soon learn my most faithful student if you are patient enough.”

And with that said Twilight smiled and went off to work.

“Do you think that we should tell her who Mortimer really is?”

“No, she wouldn’t understand or believe us Star Swirl,”

“She might, and we can’t keep this a secret forever, she will have to know about him and why he is here, and that means telling her about, well, him.”

“No, I put the past of Q behind me, he is no more, he can’t be,” she said.

“He is, and he is a danger in any universe, he’s a god and trickster, he’s the most powerful being and
person that we have ever met before, and we don’t even know why, but whatever is happening now, I feel and sense that it is connected to him somehow, and I won’t know why, but it probably just is.”

“We don’t know that for sure, but until we do we remain silent.”

“And that’s all that you will ever do, just be silent and leave your job to other ponies, but when ponies start dying don’t blame me or your student either.”

“Trust me, I won’t, I know exactly who is responsible in each situation.”

“Not in this one,” he said as he went back to his job now.

Meanwhile Mortimer was communicating with the dead, literally.

“Go,” he said, “Feed and cause some chaos my most faithful loyal servant.”

The being of shadow and death did so and went out and found a pony to drain the life from, yet it did not
kill it, not because it couldn’t, but because its orders were to make itself known, and that meant draining
joy and youth instead.

And very soon enough that pony was noticed by the princess herself.

“No, this can’t be,” she said when she saw the pony, “It can’t be.”

“What is it exactly?” Twilight said very curiously as she looked at the very old stallion that was in the
bed. “He used to be just a young colt, now he’s not.”

“Wait, what?” she said very shocked and surprised now.

“He was attacked by a wraith, an immortal being of shadow and death, it can drain the very life and memories of joy from any living being leaving it cold, cruel and empty just as it is, wherever it goes it leaves
behind a trail of death and cold, plants and trees die in its wake, and nothing smiles around it.”

“How dangerous is this creature?” she said looking in disbelief at the stallion.

“Very, it’s one of the most dangerous things I have ever faced, and Mortimer wants us to know that he can
control one, even if only temporarily.”

“Wait, you can control these dangerous creatures?” Twilight said now.

“Yes, but only temporarily, they will feed until the master is satisfied and then give some of the energy they have collected to their master, but never all.”

“Why would he use such a dangerous creature at all, ever?” she said now.

“Because he is both crazy and insane, and he will not stop until he has his revenge, he is worse than any enemy you have met, because they have all kept promises at least, he does not however. He has no morals
or code at all.

He won’t care who gets hurt so long as he can have his way instead.

And the only way that we can stop him is if we attack him first instead.”

And with that said Celestia put on some armor, “Get ready for a war.”

And then with that said Twilight, Star Swirl and Celestia went out and used their magic to slowly track
Mortimer, and eventually they found the cave.

“Well hello there, it’s really nice to see you again Celestia, but I must say, you don’t ever seem to age, how very lucky for you indeed,” he said with contempt.

“Mortimer, surrender now or suffer,” Celestia said.

“Never, I have already suffered, and nothing you can do will stop me, and that is because I have a wraith to protect me, and if you want to stop me then you’re going to have to kill me first,” he said standing up to his
full height.

“You have already caused too much pain, sorrow and despair and I cannot allow you to continue, if I did then I would not be worthy to be called the ruler or princess of this land,” she said as she very slowly
approached him now.

“You already aren’t, but my advice for you would be to go and stay far away.”

“Never, so long as you keep on going with this course now.”

“It’s the only pathway I have, there is no escape for me now, I’m cursed, this land is cursed, it’s a different timeline, and you have lied even to your student, but nothing can change that now, but I know how I can fix this land, and it is very simple, do you know what happens when a wraith’s master dies?”

“No, you wouldn’t,” Celestia said with fear in her voice now.

“I would, I would rather be a cursed undead monster with no mind then be a monster with a mind, heart and soul, so the only question now is if you will stop me and be cold and cruel, or if you will finally show me mercy instead?”

“if you want to continue then I won’t stop you Mortimer, but why do this?”

“Because Nightmare Shadow failed, and I tried to help him, but I failed, and it seems all that I can do is fail, but being undead won’t matter, because I could never fail then, oh well then, goodbye my most dear princess,” he said as he suddenly raised a knife and then plunged it into his chest now. And then suddenly the wraith moved towards him as he died, sucked out his life and joy, and then suddenly he was turned into a wraith and they both vanished.

“So, I guess that the master becomes servant to the wraith then?” Twilight said.

“Yes, that is always the deal that is made with wraiths, and I am very sad that Mortimer thought this way and felt that there was no escape, but this recent situation has made me realize something, that I can no longer keep the truth from you Twilight, I think it is time that you start to learn about the multiverse and what many dangers and perils it holds, and also how to face and defeat them too, and don’t say that the multiverse theory is false or isn’t real, because it is, me and my sister and Star Swirl have seen it, and we need to tell you its secrets, because you see in each universe there are always constant point and events and ponies in time, and one of them is our most dangerous enemy yet that we have ever faced, one that in this universe goes by the name Discord.”

And with that said Celestia started to tell Twilight the secrets of the universe.

“Wow, that’s incredible and amazing,” she saw after she was finally done.

“Yes, and now that you know you will better be prepared, but I think that to fully realize what I mean you will need to see one of them for yourself instead.”

“Princess, if all of this is true then what does Mortimer’s appearance mean?”

“It means that the horrors, shadows, and echoes of the past are returning to come back and haunt us again, it means that the darkness and shadows will rise, it means that the nightmares have just begun to rise and return, it means that our whole entire world and universe will never be the same again now.

And there is nothing that we can ever do to change that either.”

And with that said their lesson was done and each very soon returned to their homes, places, and jobs, but within their hearts and minds lay the memories of the very recent events, and the darkness and shadows of it still remained deep down. And no matter what they tried to do, they all had nightmares too now.

For whatever you might try to do the past always remains to haunt us.

And in the end it is the past that can finally get the last laugh.

Author's Note:

I hope that you liked, loved, and enjoyed this story!

Please comment down below!