Previous Chapters Next
Close
Reawakening1,515 words
The Fall of Sunset Shimmer3,643 words
The Night of Nightmare Doll3,926 words
The New Protege of Magic2,102 words
Ponyville: New Home, New Faces2,977 words
Ponyville: The First Winter1,817 words

The Night of Nightmare Doll

~Dorothy Anya Volkova's POV~

It's been over a week since Sunset Shimmer disappeared into the Crystal Mirror, leaving Princess Celestia and I to clean up her mess and find a new pupil and study partner. Over a week since I displayed a portion of my own power and saved Princess Celestia from Shimmer's rage. I've managed to have some control over my power to perform simple telekinesis and minor deconstruction, such as building puzzles.

Princess Celestia has been looking over the fillies and colts of the School for Gifted Unicorns, and so far, not many have shown incredible magical potential that Princess Celestia wishes to teach and guide. Those that did qualify took one look at me and immediately declined Princess Celestia's offer, much to our confusion.

My best guess is that somepony has been spreading rumors and gossip about me being either incredibly dangerous and evil, or being someone who hogs the spotlight for herself, which neither is the case. Well... I'm not sure about being dangerous, but evil and having a huge ego are not in my forte.

These gossip and rumors have even broken my friendships with Lyra, Minuette, Lemon Hearts, Moondancer and Twinkleshine. They've grown so afraid of me that they've forgotten all about me and spaced me completely. I feel so alone and depressed.

And, as luck would have it, next week is Nightmare Night. The time of the night where fillies and colts, mares and stallions alike dress up in crazy and creative costumes and celebrate the legend of Nightmare Moon with candy and spooky stories.

Princess Celestia announced that on the day of Nightmare Night, she would take a small amount of foals camping in the edges of the Everfree Forest, which everypony was excited to sign up.

"This is amazing, Doll. Almost every foal in the school has applied for this trip." Princess Celestia smiled, as she entered the throne room, using her telekinetic magic to carry a few sheets of paper in front of her face, as she read them.

"Я знаю, что тоже собираюсь в эту поездку, но не вызовет ли это напряжения? (I know that I'm coming to this trip as well, but won't that cause tension?)" I asked cautiously.

Princess Celestia looked at me in concern. She has heard the rumors that have ruined my reputation. But she regained her smile and assured, "I'm sure they'll be just fine. And if anything goes wrong, I'll be able to help."

I gave her a small smile and nodded with small confidence. During the next few days, I attended lessons and, during the night, packed up what I needed for the trip and planned for my Nightmare Night costume. I was stuck between either a witch or a vampire. Both are cool and creative... Hmm... I'm gonna go with vampire.

Eventually, the day of the camping trip came and I had everything I needed packed and changed into my Nightmare Night costume. Princess Celestia and I met up with the other foals at the train station. The foals were dressed up in their Nightmare Night costumes, and packed for the trip too. We took the Friendship Express to a well-built and old-fashioned train station, that lead to a town called Ponyville, and made our way to an empty clearing just within the edge of the forest.

Using their magical skills, a light green colt and a pale blue filly gathered firewood and started a fire.

"Well done, Firestone and Cedar Twig." Princess Celestia smiled with a nod, then used her telekinetic magic to levitate a clipboard and pencil, "Now, it's time for roll-call. *Ahem* Firestone?"

"Here!" The light green colt, dressed as a scarecrow, raised his hoof.

"Cedar Twig?"

"Here!" The pale blue filly, dressed as a female pirate, raised her hoof.

"Cinnamon Sticks?"

"Here!" A brown colt, dressed as a knight, called raising his hoof.

"Gentle Breeze?"

"Here!" A white filly with feathers for a Cutie Mark, dressed as a banshee, raised her hoof.

"Cheshire Grin?"

"Here." A light purple filly with a smiling cat Cutie Mark, dressed as a monster hunter, called.

"Lyra Heartstrings?"

"Here!" Lyra raised her hoof, jumping into the air from the back of the group. She was dressed as a mermaid.

"Okay. I see you, Lyra." Princess Celestia giggled, then she returned to her checklist, "Twinkleshine?"

"Here!" Twinkleshine called, raising her hoof. She was dressed as a vampire too.

"And lastly... Doll?" Princess Celestia called, trying to look for me in the darkness of the forest.

"Doll?" "Who's Doll?" "Beats me." "Is she a classmate?" The foals whispered among themselves.

Lyra lit up her horn with her magical aura and created a small light at the tip, illuminating the darkness of the camp.

I raised my hand and answered, "Я здесь. (I'm here.)"

The foals looked at the back of the group and saw my glowing neon red eyes, which startled them with frightened gasps.

"Не веди себя так испуганно. Ты знал, что я здесь. (Don't act so scared. You knew I was here.)" I folded my arms with a sad sulk.

"Uh... Do you always have to speak in that ancient language? Can't you speak Ponish?" Cheshire Grin asked.

"I don't think she can." Firestone frowned with narrow eyes at me.

"Everypony be nice to Doll, please." Princess Celestia told everyone in attendance, "She's been having a rough week, let's go easy on her."

"Hey, Doll? Would you be a doll and grab some more firewood? Just in case?" Cedar Twig asked of me.

I raised a brow at her. It sounded like she just insulted me, but I can't let it bother me too much.

I turned and walked deeper into the forest to find a fallen tree. I could hear distant howling coming from deeper in the forest. The timberwolves are active tonight, I better make this quick and back to camp. I walked deeper into the forest and eventually found a fallen tree.

I felt my right eye glitch, as I activated my power and used a combine usage of deconstruction and telekinesis to grab some firewood. The howling was a little louder this time, causing me to jump and look around. All I could see was shadows and glowing yellow eyes circling around me.

I took a breath and grabbed as much firewood as I could and run back to the group and Princess Celestia. Once I got back to the campfire, I heard singing and laughter. The foals were having a great time, but the noise would attract the timberwolves to their location. As I tried to walk closer to the group, I noticed a pair of glowing yellow eyes behind them, stalking in the darkness.

One of the fillies' ears perked at the sound of my foot snapping on a twig. She turned to me and shouted, "Oh, there you are. Don't stalk in the shadows like that. Come on and join us."

Princess Celestia's ears perked and she turned to me. She noticed I had a concerned look on my face, so she asked me, "Doll? What's wrong?"

I pointed forward, past her and into the darkness outside the campfire. She turned to look where I was pointing, but couldn't see anything but darkness. The light must be obscuring her vision. She conjured a light from her horn and saw two timberwolves coming straight for her. Princess Celestia gasped and took a step back, but her hoof caught the log she was sitting on and she fell on to her back.

The timberwolves leaped over to attack their prey. Acting before I could think, I raised my hand and my right eye glitched, as the symbol appeared in my hand and on the timberwolves, catching them in mid-air and inches away from Princess Celestia. It took a lot of power to hold the timberwolves in place. My head throbbed and my body burned, as my vision showed a warning signal of reaching high temperature.

My powers reacted to the high temperature signal, as the glowing red symbol turned burning yellow and black ooze covered the timberwolves. I gasped, cancelling my powers and dropping the two blobs of black ooze onto the ground.

Princess Celestia moved away from the blobs, as they exploded to reveal two grotesque, eldritch-like creatures, moving back into the darkness of the forest. Princess Celestia gasped and looked at me with fear on her face. The foals did the same.

"She did that?" "She's a monster!" "Witch!" "She's a curse on Equestria!"

"Я... мне очень жаль. Я не должен был этого делать. (I... I'm so sorry. I shouldn't have done that.)" I admitted in a whispered sad tone, covering my right eye.

The foals gathered closely to Princess Celestia, calling me names, while Princess Celestia gave me a look. Princess Celestia extended her hoof to me, "Doll. Don't be afraid. We can-"

I shook my head and backed away more into the darkness. Using my power again, I teleported myself away from the group and deeper into the darkness of the Everfree Forest. Once I materialized and was out of sight, I ran deeper into the forest, looking for a place to hide. I found a dark and hollowed out tree with a door hidden in the darkness of the Everfree Forest. I opened the door and slammed it shut.

I noticed windows and used my telekinetic power to close them off too, leaving me in the candlelight of the hollowed tree. I felt another throb in my head and another burning sensation in my body, my systems were overheating again. I had to find away to cool my systems down. I removed my backpack from my back and quickly opened it. Inside there were cans of apple cider, a flashlight, various snacks, and a pair of pajamas. Nothing that can help. I threw my backpack across the room, making it crash and knock over an oil lamp, spilling a little bit of oil over the floor.

The oil caught my attention. I turned and looked at the oil lamp. There were five lamps hanging from a strong vine, close to the window. A voice at the back of my head wanted me to drink the oil from the lamp. My systems were overheating, I couldn't think straight, I couldn't breath. I walked over and reached for the oil lamp, until something was burning right through me. I found the source to be the candle's light, I had to snuff it out!

I tried using my power to snuff out the candlelight, but my systems were overheating, making it difficult to control. The symbol turned a burning yellow again and I couldn't remove my hand from the candle. The candle's flame turned black and dark, pulsing vines spread from the black flame and covered the ceiling of the hollowed tree. I tried to fight back the power, and the cancelation of the power knocked me to the ground. I needed the oil and I needed it badly...

~Princess Celestia's POV~

It's been over half an hour since Doll vanished into the darkness of the Everfree Forest alone, after what happened with the timberwolves. I've never seen a display of raw power and matter manipulation at that scale. The other foals cuddled close to the campfire and started whispering among each other about Doll and what she was capable of.

"See? I told you she wasn't safe." Firestone whispered to Cinnamon Sticks.

"Did you see what she did? Witchcraft!" Cedar Twig whispered to Lyra.

Lyra hugged herself in fear and uncertainty, "But she was so nice before Sunset Shimmer disappeared..."

Cheshire Grin scoffed, "Please. You know what I think? I think that monster hypnotized Sunset Shimmer to go away and never come back. Good riddance to the both of them."

"Cheshire Grin. Watch your tongue." I told the purple filly in a stern tone, "Doll had nothing to do with Sunset Shimmer's disappearance. I will not allow this backtalk about my students in such manner."

"But-" Cheshire Grin started, but I gave her a disappointed glare, which made her go quiet. Then I told the other foals, "Since you think so ill of Doll, I am assigning you to find her."

"But Princess Celestia-" "No buts! I want Doll found and safe." I cut Lyra off.

The foals groaned and separated to find Doll. A wave of concern washed over my psyche. First my sister, then Sunset Shimmer, now Doll. I hope the foals find Doll before the forest does.

~Lyra Heartstring's POV~

It was getting darker, the more Cinnamon Sticks and I walked in the Everfree Forest to find the Witch. Cinnamon Sticks conjured a small light from his horn for better sight and illumination within the forest. I'll be honest, it's pretty scary being in a forest where everything works without the aid of magic. I wish I never came to this camping trip and stayed home, where it was safe.

During the quiet walk, I kept getting a nagging feeling at the back of my neck that something was following us deep in the darkness, but every time I looked back, I couldn't see anything.

"Something wrong?" Cinnamon Sticks asked, as he noticed me looking back every ten seconds.

"I keep feeling like something is following us. But I don't see anything." I answered honestly, looking back into the darkness for the tenth time.

"Relax, Lyra. If anything comes to attack us, I'll protect you." Cinnamon Sticks bravely assured me, puffing his chest out and acting like a big brave stallion.

I giggled, "Oh, my knight in shining armor."

Cinnamon Sticks and I laughed, but Cinnamon Sticks then asked me a serious question, "But seriously, do you really believe the rumors and gossip about Doll? I mean, sure she's different from an average pony, but that doesn't make her dangerous and evil, right?"

I look at the brown colt, "You saw what she did to those timberwolves. That wasn't good magic she was using, so she must have been using dark magic."

"From what I saw, she was protecting Princess Celestia." He argued, "I don't think it was her fault that her magic went out of control for a moment."

"Why this sudden defense for a witch?" I asked, "Do you like her, or something?"

Cinnamon Sticks was taken back, "What? No! I just think we're overexaggerating and we need to understand her side. There's always more than one side to every story, Lyra. Not every villain is born evil."

I blinked in surprise, "Wow... That's very grown up of you, Cinnamon."

Cinnamon Sticks smiled at me, then asked, "Besides, you've known Doll longer than any of us. Did she seem evil to you and your friends?"

I paused for a moment. Now that I'm taking Cinnamon Sticks words into account, Doll was never mean to me, or my friends, she was nice and easy to get along with. A little on the quiet and shy side of the spectrum, but not evil. Now I feel guilty for trying to ghost her out for the past couple of weeks. I feel like such a jerk to her, maybe I should apologize and rebuild our friendship?

My train of thought came to a screeching halt when I realized that I was alone in the darkness of the Everfree Forest. The cold wind blew past me, making the fur on my back stand up and me to shiver. Where was Cinnamon Sticks? Did he venture farther than me?

"Cinnamon? Cinnamon! Where are you?" I called from around myself, my voice echoing through the trees, "Come on, Cinnamon, this isn't funny anymore!"

"Lyyyyrrraaa..." A deep voice sang from the darkness. My body froze in fear, as I recognized the voice. It was Doll's voice, but something was different about it. It haunted my mind.

"D-Doll? Is that you? Where are you?" I called into the forest, hoping I wasn't hearing things.

I gathered my courage and conjured a light at the tip of my horn, making it easier to see in the darkness of the forest. I still couldn't see any sign of Cinnamon or Doll, so I gave the spell more juice and the light got brighter, increasing the radius of the light.

Down a broken path, I saw Cinnamon waving me over. I sighed in relief, "Oh, Cinnamon. You scared me for a moment."

"Stay away..." Cinnamon choked, as if somepony has him grabbed by the throat.

A strange claw emerged from behind him and dug into his chest. Cinnamon's eyes widen, then he collapsed on the floor. Standing behind him was a bipedal monster. Long dark purple hair, an LED visor with a neon red symbol that Doll uses for her magic. A pair of tattered bat-like wings and a tail with a strange appendage on the tip. Its forearms hand hands were skeletal claws that were oozing a neon red substance. And it wore a vampire outfit.

(A/N: Picture this but with Doll instead of Uzi. ^_^)

Horrified, I stood frozen on the spot. I couldn't move. I couldn't breathe. I couldn't think. My mind was telling me to run and find a hiding place, but my legs wouldn't budge. The glowing red symbol appeared around me and levitated me into the air.

Doll giggled maniacally, as she scuttled toward me and used the trees to gain some altitude. She glided through the air to attack me, until a cornflower blue magical shield blocked her attack. Doll gasped as Cheshire Grin emerged from the darkness.

Cheshire Grin lowered the shield and struck Doll with a magical blast, knocking her into a nearby tree. Doll laid under the tree's lower branches and tried to catch her breath. The symbol disappeared from holding me, and I dropped into the mud.

"Go get Princess Celestia." Cheshire Grin told me, "She needs to see this."

I quickly picked myself back to my hooves and ran as fast as my hooves could carry me. I'm not getting Princess Celestia, I'm getting outa here!

~Cheshire Grin's POV~

With Lyra Heartstrings gone, I can focus on keeping the witch busy until Princess Celestia arrives to see what her 'precious student' has become.

"Чешир... Пожалуйста... (Cheshire... Please...)" The witch tried to beg, as she reached out her hand from the tree.

"What's the matter, witch? Trying to prove to us that you're completely innocent in all this?" I asked in a mocking tone, as I walked closer to her.

"Ты... не понимаю... Могу ли я... поговорить с принцессой Селестией? (You... Don't understand... Can I... Talk to Princess Celestia?)" She asked between breaths.

I scoffed, lighting up my horn with my magical aura again, "After what you've done tonight? I'll make sure you can't."

The witch scuttled back into the darkness again. I heard a giggle from beside me, as I narrowly dodged, the witch's tail. The appendage opened its mouth and grabbed me by the forearm, throwing me into across the ground. Using her dark magic, she snapped a branch with her boot and used her telekinesis to throw the sharp branch at me.

I quickly used my magic to deflect it, but the witch used her speed to approach me and pin me against the tree behind me with her wing. The witch readied her claws to stab me in the chest, but I was able to think quickly and conjure a shield. The witch growled and threw me from the tree, across the ground. On all-fours, the witch pinned me to the ground, giggling maniacally, and readied the appendage on her tail to bite me in the neck.

Suddenly, there was a bright flash of light coming from above us, and a powerful voice spoke, "Enough."

The witch winced from the light, as it burned her, and she quickly hid under a tree for shade from the light. I looked at the light and emerging from the light was Princess Celestia. She didn't look happy.

"Princess Celestia!" I smiled, as I got back to my hooves and trotted toward her, "Thank goodness you've arrived. You see my point now? The witch is evil! She tried to kill me, Lyra and Cinnamon Sticks."

"Lyra and Cinnamon Sticks are fine, Cheshire Grin." Princess Celestia explained, then frowned at me, "It's you I'm disappointed with."

"What? Me? Why? What did I do?" I asked with my eyes wide in shock.

"Obviously, you don't see when somepony is trying to ask for help." Princess Celestia answered, as she walked toward the tree the witch was hiding under. I heard whispered sobbing from the witch.

"Help?" I repeated, then noticed what Princess Celestia was doing, "Princess Celestia, don't! She's dangerous! She can kill you!"

Princess Celestia ignored my warnings and lowered herself to meet the witch.

"Doll? Are you hurt?" She asked the witch in a kind tone.

"Пожалуйста, держись от меня подальше. Я превратился во что-то ужасное. (Please stay away from me. I've changed into something horrible.)" The witch sobbed, as it scuttled back farther away from Princess Celestia.

"Doll, there is no true monster than a lack of compassion." Princess Celestia told the witch, "I blame myself for all that has happened tonight. I should've known you were struggling and I should've helped you sooner." She lowered her head sadly, "I'm so sorry, Doll."

The witch moved the trees from her face, so she could see Princess Celestia's face, her expression saddened, "Нет. Мне жаль. Вся эта ночь была моей ошибкой. Я не должен был пытаться решить эту проблему самостоятельно. Я должен был спросить раньше. Я должен был доверять тебе, Селестия. (No. I'm sorry. This whole night was my fault. I shouldn't have tried to tackle this on my own. I should've asked sooner. I should've trusted you, Celestia.)"

My eye widened at this interaction. Why is Princess Celestia acting so kind to the witch? The witch is probably trying to lower her guard so she can take her out! I don't trust the witch as far as I can throw her. The witch cannot be trust, period. She should be banished for what she's done tonight.

Princess Celestia extended her hoof to the witch, "We will solve this problem together. I promise."

The witch hesitated for a moment, but placed her hand over Celestia's hoof. Princess Celestia pulled the witch out of her hiding spot. I blinked in surprise, the wings, tail and claws were gone. The witch looked like her old self.

The witch twiddled her fingers nervously, until she asked, "Палочки из корицы. С ним все в порядке? (Cinnamon Sticks. Is he okay?)"

Princess Celestia smiled, "He's fine, Doll. His chainmail protected him from your poison."

The witch sighed in relief, "Слава Богу. Я тоже должен перед ним извиниться. (Thank goodness. I owe him an apology too.)"

Princess Celestia giggled, "I'm sure he'll be glad to hear it."

With that, Princess Celestia, the witch and I returned to the campsite and the witch apologized to Cinnamon Sticks and Lyra for trying to harm them. Hopefully it won't happen again. The next morning, we returned to Canterlot and the other foals were starting to become more friendlier to the witch. I refused to trust her and refused to be her friend, since she almost tried to kill me last night...

I received a few days of detention for attacking a student that was in a crisis, while Princess Celestia started teaching the witch to better control her magic.

I'm just glad nopony else was hurt and everything has returned to normal...

833 views