Twilight finds an ancient book in an abandoned catacomb at Hollow Shades. Upon discovering its secrets, she unleashes an ancient horror on Equestria.
Twilight finds an ancient book in an abandoned catacomb at Hollow Shades. Upon discovering its secrets, she unleashes an ancient horror on Equestria. But as bad as that is, the poor Alicorn has bigger problems to contend with. Just what dark plans does the dreaded Nyarlathotep have in store for her?
It was quiet within the Castle of Friendship's library, the only disturbance being the furious scribbling of quill on paper. The evening breeze from one of the open windows ruffled a tall pile of papers on her desk as she scanned through an open book as a much more ancient looking tome sat at the heart of the sea of paper and binding. Princess Twilight Sparkle shared the space of relative calm at the eye of the research hurricane, arms crossed, mane a mess, and nightgown rumpled. With her breathing a little labored and disheveled appearance, one would think she was doing some other late night activity.
I'm so close, she thought, hands trembling as she turned another page in the ancient book. Just a few more key symbols and I'll be able to get an exact translation! A borderline manic grin decorated her face as she levitated a reference book closer to herself. To think, such a rare piece of Equestrian history was just sitting there in the middle of Hollow Shades! Now if I could just translate this one last symbol."
As she skimmed through the aged pages, one caught her eye. Like all the other ones, it was written in red ink, but these symbols had a faint glow to them, but more importantly, Twilight could actually read them.
"Huh? How is that possible?" she muttered to herself as she looked over the page. "All of the Chronological spells I cast on this places it to be written over six hundred thousand years ago. How can a portion of it be written in modern Equestrian?"
Puzzled, Twilight gave the page a careful once over. Then, with a tone colored with curiosity, began to read the page aloud.
"O, sacred being that hides in the shadows; o Lord of Madness and Inspiration; hear my voice from the confines of your timeless cage. I release you on the grounds of the ancient rite, to be bound by blood, by soul, by time, and by flesh for the gifts of your glory. Hear me, Dark One, Howler in the Dark, Skinless One, Moon Presence, Floating Horror, The Crawling Chaos, I give you my hand with a chalice of my blood to mark my loyalty to your love. Take the kindness of my touch as we embrace in wake of the world's eternal screams. May we share laughter that smothers the terrified screams of those we damned to timeless madness. May we shatter the minds of the masses to make our words the only truths of the world. Devour my twisted heart, generously given and flavored by my madness for your pleasure as much my own as we sing songs not meant for the ears of the sane. I give myself to you, my beloved lord. Do with me as you see fit should you deem me worthy of your love. Take me to your forsaken kingdom beyond the void of infinite darkness so that we may bring forth an heir to the madness beyond the star's light can reach. May we stay eternal, till my flesh and meat rot from my bones and I must move on to the plane all souls must journey to at the end of our time. O great Father of all Bats, Haunter of the Dark, Dark Wing, God of the Bloody Tongue, Faceless God, hear my voice and take me as your own. Please take me as your Queen, as your lover, as your greatest desire."
What the heck? she thought as she gave the page a second look over. Who would write something so gruesome?! It sounds like some love letter from a serial killer or something.
She gave the book an uncomfortable look as she stepped away from it.
"Did I uncover some madpony's journal or something?"
As she was about to close the book, something on the page caught her attention. Three words that weren't there originally. Three words written in glowing red ink that sent a chill down the Alicorn's spine.
I aCcEpT yOu.
Suddenly, glowing red liquid started to leak out of the book, first as a series of small drips before becoming a steady stream, soaking the floor and desk with crimson stains. Panicking, Twilight ran towards the door only to see it covered with solid coils of shadow. Thick splashes dragged her attention back to the book, to which she was greeted by the sight of a variable waterfall of blood poring from it. Eyes wide, she channeled her magic in an attempt to teleport, only to find herself unable to do so. In desperation, she turned back towards the door and tried to blast it away with a beam of magic. When the resulting smoke cleared the door was completely intact.
No...NO! NO!!! she thought desperately, tears running down her face as she ran to the door, glowing blood risen to the ankles of her hooves by this point. She pounded on the door, her heart beating like a jackhammer as her terror drove her to try to breakdown the barrier.
She pounded and pounded, but not even her Alicorn strength could break the power holding the door together.
"Please," she whimpered, hands sore as she slid to her knees, the glowing blood coming up to her hips and staining her teal nightgown. "Somepony....help."
As she kneeled there, terrified and defeated, she noticed that she could no longer hear the torrent of blood coming from the book. Heart still pounding in her chest, she turned towards it. The book was no longer bleeding and was even closed, having apparently did the deed when Twilight was begging for help. She hadn't even taken a breath before fear took hold of her yet again as the blood began to move of its own volition. Like an army of red serpents, the blood slithered up from the floor to the walls and ceiling, all of them weaving themselves into intricate patterns and marks that covered every surface of the room. Even the floor wasn't spared as intricate markings covered it in its entirety. At the center of it all was a magic circle, swirling patterns of madness dominated its center while the ring that surrounded it was composed of symbols that Twilight failed to recognize or translate. She watched in silent horror as magic, long forgotten to those in the present went to work. Magic that defied the known laws of the world without reason, restraint, or fear or consequence. Magic that she had unknowingly unleashed upon the world. At the center of the circle, a small black mass formed, only to gradually begin to grow. As it did, a laugh from a deep voice began to fill the room, gently at first, but as the mass grew so to did the voice, both in volume and madness. Eventually, the black mass grew beyond what the circle could contain and flooded the room like a mix of shadow and water, the only patch spared the mass' presence was the speck of ground that Twilight sat upon. Her eyes widened and breathing was labored from fear as she watched the mass of living magic surge around her, its manic laughter the only other thing she could process. No, there was another thing she could perceive, the thing that had her surrounded was powerful. Immensely powerful. She could tell that if the being wanted to, it could destroy her in a matter of seconds and that there was nothing she could do to stop it.
W-What have I done?
"Wh-Who are you?" she asked, voice just barely above a terrified whisper.
The mass stopped its laughing, its attention focused on the cowering Alicorn before it.
"Do you not know?" it asked, its masculine voice bringing to mind someone tilting their head in intrigue. "You used many of my names when you summoned me. Though I suppose you mortals do have pretty poor memories for creatures that pride yourselves on your brains. The name I go by is Nyarlethotep, The Crawling Chaos. Tell me mortal, what do they call you?"
"T-Twilight Sparkle," she stammered, fear gripping her like a vice.
"Twilight Sparkle," the entity, Nyarlethotep parroted, as if he was testing the way the name felt on his tongue.
"P-Please," she cried. "D-Don't hurt me."
A portion of Nyarlethotep surged towards her, making her jump back in terror.
"Hurt you?" he said, voice now coming from the shadowy tendril presented to her. "Perish the thought."
Instantly, all of the creature's mass pulled in on itself where the tendril hovered until nothing but a large mass of shadow stood before her. Then, before her very eyes, the mass quivered and shifted its form until another equinoid stood before her. He was an Alicorn stallion, covered with thick muscles that his dark gray coat could barely contain. His mane and tail was long and a pure shade of silver that seemed to shine with light all on its own. He wore a black pair of dress pants and shirt with an elegant black hooded cloak draped over his broad shoulders. But what truly held Twilight's attention were his eyes. A deep pair of opal orbs that held power beyond what a mere mortal could ever hope to comprehend.
"After all," he continued, gently guiding her to her hooves by her hand. "Who could ever bring themselves to hurt such a lovely bride?"
Ch.2 CoNsEqUeNsEs (Behold the Mare Behind the Currtan)
Twilight awoke with a start, eyes wide with pure terror and her fur plastered to her body by a cold sweat. Heart pounding, she tried to get a feel for her surroundings. With a sigh of relief, she recognized the crystal ceiling of her bedroom.
A dream, she thought, a slight chuckle slipping past her lips as she rested the back of her left hand onto her forehead. Just a really bad dream. That's it, I'm taking a break from my research for the next couple of days.
A small smile crept onto her face as she pulled her hand away from her face. Her smile shifted into a confused frown as she spotted something on her hand. On the back of her left hand, a bright red circle surrounded her cutiemark along with a single red line that lead from it to her ring finger.
"What the hay?" she muttered to herself as she sat up.
As she examined it, the mark around her cutiemark didn't appear to be painted on. The fur in that area had turned red in much the same manner as the strands that made up the starburst pattern on the back of both her hands. But that was the only similarity the strange coloration seemed to share with her mark, as when she examined her right hand, there was no red ring. Aside from its sudden appearance, one other thing about the mark sent a chill down her spine; it seemed to give off a faint glow. Instantly, memories of a room flooded with blood jumped into her mind, memories she desperately tried to bury.
"I-I-I'll worry about that later," she mumbled, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes.
As she brought her hands down to rest on her lap, a bit of movement out the corner of her eye caught her attention. When she turned her head towards it, she immediately wished she hadn't. Sitting about ten feet away from her bed was a small gray blob no bigger then a baseball. Paralyzed by fear as well as fascination, she watched the strange creature go about its business. It was currently holding what looked like a wet rag with a tentacle that it was vigorously scrubbing into the wall with singleminded determination. Slowly, she rose from her bed and tried to creep towards the door. She didn't know what this creature was or what it was capable of and if it meant living to see another day, she would love to remain ignorant. It was as her hoof made contact with the floor that she found out something new about the creature; it was covered with eyes. She froze when three of its eyes locked onto her. It just stared at her, all the while continuing its task with little interruption. Cautiously, she raised one of her hands up and waved at the creature. To her surprise, it sprouted a new tentacle and mimicked the action, a small series of clicking sounds fallowing. Not sure if it was genuinely friendly or just imitating her, she stiffly walked towards the door only to bolt out the second she had the knob in her hand.
With a loud slam, she closed the door and rested her head against its cold wooden surface.
What the Tarterus was that thing? she thought as she tried to level her breathing. It looked like something Sweetie made when Spike and I tried to teach her how to cook!
Slowly, she started to get a grip of herself, especially after she used her sister-in-law's breathing technique a few dozen times. Now feeling a bit more grounded, she turned around to start the day. What she saw made any progress she made in restoring her composure completely moot. The entire hallway was filled with small gray blobs, all roughly the same size as the one in her room and each holding a washcloth. No space, save for the floor, was free of the creatures as en mass they scrubbed walls, ceilings, chandlers, and even windows. At the same time, they all had eyes locked onto the slowly panicking Alicorn Princess.
Yep! Way too much time cooped up in the library! she thought, pupils shrinking down to pinpricks. I think I need some coffee! A lot of coffee!
With that, she channeled some of her magic and teleported to the kitchen. To her immense relief, it was devoid of any little blob monsters. Though there was a fresh pot of coffee waiting for her. With shaky hands, she levitated her mug out of a cabinet and pored herself a cup. Her mind was racing as she brought the life-giving beverage to her lips, not even bothering to add cream or sugar like she usually did. Her castle was infested with an unknown swarm of lifeforms that may or may not be dangerous and she had no idea what to do about it. On one hand, none of them seemed hostile. On the contrary, now that she was a little less overwhelmed by their appearances, she found that they could be rather helpful if their inclination to cleaning was anything to go by.
"This will require further study," she mumbled as she set her cup down.
"What will?" asked a eerily familiar male voice.
Ice cold fear shot through Twilight to her core as she processed the voice, a large part of her choosing to deny the existence of the being it belonged to. But the rational part of her mind refused to lie to her, even if it was a lie that would give her the greatest of pleasures. Slowly, she turned her head in the direction she heard the voice come from. Sure enough, sitting at the dinning room table was a gray Alicorn dressed in black, his opal eyes and smile combining to form an expression of mild amusement.
"Y-You're real," she stuttered, voiced just above a whisper. "Last night actually happened."
He nodded, his expression shifting to something of a cross between confusion and concern.
"It did. Are you alright?"
"Y-Yes," she squeaked. "N-Never b-been b-b-better!"
"Don't lie to me," he frowned, tone soft but strong. "What's wrong?"
A million answers flew to the front of Twilight's mind, not all of them lies. And most of them centered around the being that was staring at her from across the room. Even in the form presented, she could sense the unimaginable power Nyarlethotep had at his disposal. Power to level the entirety of Equestria in a matter of seconds with little opposition. To say that Twilight was terrified of him was the understatement of twenty millenniums.
"I-I-"
Before she could find the words to answer, Nyarlethotep sighed then put a hand up to silence her.
"You fear me, don't you?"
With a nervous gulp, she nodded.
The Outer God looked genuinely saddened as he stared at the trembling Princess that stood before him.
"Please, my dear," he said gesturing towards the chair across from him. "Have a seat."
As he said that, the chair pulled itself out for her. For a moment, she was mesmerized by the magic she saw manipulate the object. It didn't have the colored glow that most Unicorn Magic had. It was like looking at an image through a pane of distorted glass, where the chair looked normal while the space around it seemed to ripple like water. Not willing to insult the cosmic being, she forced herself out of her trance and took the offered seat. For what felt like the longest minute of her life, Twilight stared at him, only now noticing something was different about her guest. He seemed thinner than she remembered. Not gangly by any stretch of the imagination, but not a mountain of muscle like Big Mac or Rock Hoof either.
"As I said last night," he started, snapping her out of her observations of his current build. "I wouldn't dare hurt you. You are my bride after all."
That made her blink in confusion. Though a small part of her remembered that he said something to the same effect last night, but her muddled mind had a hard time grabbing that memory with any clarity.
"When you say that, what do you mean?" she asked, a small amount of her courage coming to the surface.
Nyarlethotep tilted his head in confusion, then said, "Exactly what it means my sweet. Did you not know?"
"K-Know what?" she asked, already suspecting the answer but not willing to accept it.
"Last night, you read a Contract of Binding from my Necronomicon. And not just any type of Contract of Binding, but a contract of marriage which I so happily accepted. For better of worse my dear, we are now husband and wife."
Twilight's blood froze in her veins as her greatest fear took center stage.
"P-Please," she whispered, a tear sliding down her face. "Tell me you're kidding."
Nyarlethotep frowned as he took in his wife's appearance, the slight blow to his pride ignored in the face of her sadness and fear.
"No my dear," he said, tone somber. "I'm not."
***
Nyarlethotep sighed as he stared out one of the castle's southern windows. Through it he could see the picturesque landscape of the world he was released upon. While he was glad to be free from the book, he was less than thrilled with how things turned out with his bride. From the moment she set foot (or hoof as it were) in Hallow Shades, he had found her fascinating. A person with a much stronger heart and sharper mind than the last two people to hold his book in this world. But it wasn't until he gazed into her past that he truly began to fall for her. Along with a heart of gold, she held a madness that would make the most unhinged look like modal citizens in comparison. And the best part? The more lawful and orderly she became, the more her madness grew to compensate. An unfortunate quality of the Harmony magic that flooded this world. An energy that made him feel nauseous from time to time due to the nature of his own magic.
As soon as I figure out what to do about Twilight, I'm going to fix that, he thought bitterly as his form trembled as a wave of harmonious energy washed over him. Perhaps when she returns from the school we can work something out. Maybe I could get Telzelec to reorganize her library for her. She likes reorganizing her books at random points through out the year.
He was just about to summon the Shoggoth, or at least one of its offshoots that wasn't cleaning a portion of the castle, when he sensed a presence in the room. A presence he hadn't felt in over twenty million years. Curious, he turned around. standing in a darkened corner of the room was a pink equinoid, a plain white T-shirt and bluejeans her only articles of clothing. Her curly mane and tail was only a slightly darker shade of pink when compared to her coat. Her blue eyes and knowing, cock-shire grin gave the Outer God a sense of nostalgia that few beings were capable of.
"Hiya Nyarlethotep ," she said, casually stepping out of the shadows. "Been a while, hasn't it?"
"Indeed," he said, smiling himself. "Far to long for my tastes. Where have you been, Droom-avista, The Jester?"
The mare giggled heavily, then said, "Fantasterific! And please, call me Pinkie."
cH.3 BeYoNd ThE UnFaThOmAbLe VaLe (Bad Dogs Should Fade)
Twilight sighed as she sat in her office at the School of Friendship. In the past twenty-four hours her life had taken a turn for the absolute worst. As to be expected, the stress of the situation she found herself in greatly effected how she prepared for the day, leaving her primly pressed white dress-shirt wrinkled and her navy dress skirt and blazer haphazardly clinging to her frame with little care as she entered the school. She hadn't even bothered to brush her mane or wear a tie like she usually did. Not only did she release some ancient cosmic entity upon the world, but she was his wife to boot!
What am I going to do? she thought with a groan as she rested her head on her desk. If what he said is true, I'm stuck with him until one of us dies! And if my hunch is correct, that isn't going to be anytime soon for either of us! Of course, that only holds true if he's telling the truth.
Raising her head, she cast a quick glance around the finely decorated room before locking the door. With a sigh, she reached into a hidden compartment in her desk. When her hand came out it was with a silver hip flask gripped loosely in it. With a dejected sigh, she uncapped the flask and took a long gulp of the strong cider within. She didn't usually resort to drinking to deal with her problems, but given her circumstances, nopony could blame her for her choice to indulge.
I wonder how many swigs it would take for me to forget my problems, she thought idly as she stared at the drink in her hand. No sooner had the thought passed her mind did the world seem to change. Suddenly, she wasn't in her office anymore. Instead, she was in a room made of crystal, rays of unnamed colors cascading around her in an alien aurora. With a literal blink, she then found herself in a forest full of bone-white trees that looked like they were made of cloth with hand-shaped leaves made of butterflies. But before she could see anything else, she blinked and found herself back in the confines of her office. After a few cautious blinks in which nothing happened, she stared at the flask still held in her hand. with wide eyes, she capped it, placed it on her desk, and slowly pushed it away from herself.
I need new vices, she thought, unlocking the door and bracing herself for what was looking to be a very taxing day for her.
***
A tense silence filled the room, its two inhabitants locked in two different emotional states.
"Let me get this strait," Pinkie sighed as she looked over the contract in Nyarlethotep's Necronomicon. "You tricked Twilight into reading a marriage contract with you, and thought it would be a good idea to appear as a lake of blood then turned into a mass of liquid darkness to impress her?"
"I don't know about tricked," he said, brow raised. "She wouldn't've seen the contract if she wasn't in love with me in some form. And yes, I did all of that. I read somewhere that if you are going to impress the one you love, you need to make a good and lasting first impression. I highly doubt anyone could've made as much of an impact as I did last night."
Pinkie deadpanned, then pinched the bridge of her muzzle.
"Well, you got one thing right; you made a lasting impression. Good? Not so much."
"Huh?"
"For starters," she glowered. "Most mortals don't like the sight of blood. Like, at all. Second, anything that even looks like dark magic is a taboo here, so your shadow form was a huge step back with a rule freak like Twilight. Finally, YOU DON'T JUST DUMP A WEDDING CONTRACT ON A DEMIMORTAL YOU HAVN'T EVEN TALKED TO!!!"
The last point she made shook the castle, but merely earned an annoyed glare from the target of her ire.
"Noted. Noted. And as I said, Droom, if she didn't have feelings for me the contract wouldn't've been visible to her. Oblivion, the damn thing wasn't even written in her native language until she came across it!"
With a groan, Pinkie had to admit he had a point. Even with her eyes forced to view the world in the third dimension she could read the page with perfect clarity. With another sigh, she swiped her hand across the paper and the words changed. They were still in Equish, but instead of showing the incantation that freed and bounded the Outer God to her friend, it showed a list of changes set between the two of them. As she skimmed through the list, a relieved smile started to creep across her muzzle.
"Looks like you at least made the transition easy for her," she smirked, giving him half-lidded eyes.
"O-Of course," he stammered, a light blush coloring his muzzle. "I'm not a total idiot, you know. It takes a very powerful mind to handle the infinite void of the cosmos and its only natural that I would provide some training wheels for her."
"Uh-huh," Pinkie smirked. "Whatever you say lover boy."
He leveled an annoyed glare at her before he turned his head away in a pout.
"Anyway," he coughed. "Do you have any advice on how I can fix this? I don't fancy my wife fearing me for all time." "Not much to do at this point," she shrugged. "As far as I can tell, this ship's sunk. You could try doing some things with her that she likes, but even that's a gamble."
With a grimace, Nyarlethotep mulled over his options. He was no stranger to patients, being a timeless entity made that a prerequisite with most things. But just being in the same room with Twilight made him antsy. He wanted to hold her, to make her laugh and smile. Not tremble in fear at the very sight of him. Eager to make things right, he thought about what he knew about the mare to try and fix this.
It was at that moment that the two cosmic gods felt a faint ripple in space, the location of which filled one of them with dread.
"Dro- Pinkie, has Twilight done anything involving time travel recently?"
"Yep. About a year ago. Why?"
"FUCK!!!" he roared before disappearing in a shimmer of distortion.
After a moment Pinkie came to the same realization that he did and disappeared as well, a certain light purple Unicorn and Dragon in mind.
***
Twilight was not having a good day. Whatever it was that somepony put in her flask either hadn't worn off or recent events had finally destroyed what little sanity she had left after her many years of life or death struggles. Off and on, the world would appear to change at random points each time she blinked. Some of the things she saw weren't that bad. She especially enjoyed the land of endless bookshelves and the giant void of infinite colors was beautiful. But for each pleasant thing she saw, at least five terrifying worlds would flash before her eyes. Cities made of moving flesh, towers of fire, and black pits full of melted skeletons greeted her with such frequency that she was afraid to open her eyes.The land of candy she saw at one point wasn't too bad at first, but then a pack of candy ponies began eating each other while singing the Nightmare Night song and she decided that opening her eyes was a really bad idea. At one point, she considered gouging them out, but killed that train of thought just as fast as it took shape. Instead, she sat at her desk with her hands pressed hard over her eyes, refusing to open them unless it was absolutely necessary.
"It's okay Twilight," she muttered to herself, a slight tremble coloring her tone. "Their just hallucinations. Their not real!"
She repeated this for what felt like hours, until her nerves started to settle. Eventually, she was able to pull herself together and with more than a little courage, brought her hands away from her eyes. When she opened them, she was relieved to be greeted by her normal boring office. With a sigh of relief, she leaned back in her chair, more than willing to enjoy the normalcy around her for however long it lasted.
Then she noticed the smoke.
"What now?" she groaned as a small plume of smoke leaked out of the corners of her office.
Seconds later, drops of blue slime started to fallow the smoke, covering the floor with thick azure sludge. What came next made Twilight scream. Long, alligator-like jaws attached to round eyeless heads covered with dense moss green scales slithered out of the corners of the room with muscular serpentine bodies. Each creature had a pair of long bony arms that ended in a set of sharp three-fingered claws. All eight monsters faced the scared Alicorn, blue slime dripping from their blade-lined maws.
Just as one of the monsters lunged at her, Twilight put up a barrier to intercept it. Her heart sank as she watched it shatter under the creature's assault. Another set of jaws closed in on her only to catch thin air as she teleported away, only managing to get to the center of the room due to a lack of focus. They slithered around the only door out of the room, both challenging her to take the chance and make it easer for them to catch her. She tried to teleport again only for one of the monsters to spit a glob of blue slime at her horn. The second the slime made contact, she lost all access to her magic. Now truly cornered, Twilight watched as the eight monsters slowly closed in on her. As their dripping jaws moved closer to her, visions of those she cared about flashed before her eyes; her friends, her family, everypony. She was never going to see them again. This was the end. She was going to die.
Suddenly, a faint ripple passed through the room. It was subtle at first, like a faint breeze drifting through a cave. But then it turned into a wild hurricane of distortions, the walls and ceiling seeming to bend and twist as eldritch magic surged through them. Then, with a roar of pure power, Nyarlethotep shimmered into existence, his normally playful smile replaced by a glare of contemptuous rage.
"Worthless hounds," he snarled. "You dare bare your fangs at my wife?"
As he said that he slowly raised a hand, a ring of shimmering magic gathered around it like planets around a sun.
"Die."
With that, the magic pulsed though the room. The monsters let out a pained shriek before they all popped like grotesque leathery balloons. With a wave of his hand, the monster's bodies and the blue slime they left behind vanished, returning the room to its previous state of order.
"That takes care of that," he sighed, tuning to face Twilight. "Are you okay?"
"I-I-I think so," she stammered, still shaking. "What were those things?"
"Hounds of Tindalos," he spat. "Monsters that live in the angles of time and space. They normally stay hidden in the void between time, but if someone interferes with the natural flow of time, they come to kill them. It's because of them that time magic is so dangerous."
Twilight's face shifted from intrigue to terror as Nyarlethotep's words brought new fears to the front of her mind.
"Spike! Starlight! We need to-"
"Don't worry, someone is already taking steps to protect them," he said, placing a comforting hand on her shoulder. "In fact," he smirked. "I feel kind of sorry for the Hounds that cross her path."
She let out a sigh of relief before she turned and walked back to her desk.
"Why is this happening to me?" she whined, tears starting to creep down her face. "The whole day I've been seeing things. Horrible things," she whimpered as she fell back into her chair. "And then a pack of monsters come to kill me for something that happened a year ago. I want to go back to how things were. I want to go back!"
Nyarlethotep cringed as he watched her weep, not entirely sure what he was supposed to do. Desperate, he thought back to what Pinkie and he talked about earlier.
I need to do something to help her relax, but HOW?!
He ran through what he knew about the mare. More specifically, he ran through what he knew she liked. He knew books weren't going to do any good right now. It wasn't as if he could get her to calm down by shoving an encyclopedia into her face. Magic wasn't going to do any good either since she was scared of his. As he struggled to come up with something, his eyes were drawn to a framed picture of the night sky on the wall to his left.
That's it!
"Twilight," he smirked. "Have you ever seen the Andromeda Galaxy?"
"Huh?" she sniffled, turning to face him. "What's that?"
Still smiling, he channeled a small portion of his magic and said, "Let me show you."
With that, he waved his hand through the air. The room was instantly filled with magic and turned pitch black. The only exception was the ceiling. When Twilight looked up, her mouth went slack and eyes turned wide with wonder. Stars, millions of stars and clouds of cosmic dust filled the room with a variable explosion of color that not even the most extreme of firework displays could match.
"Do you like it?" he asked, a soft smile gracing his muzzle. "You could see more if you wanted."
That comment pulled her gaze away from the cosmic work of art to him, fear replaced with shock.
"You said you saw things today. That's not too surprising considering the nature of our contract. As my bride, you have gained a few new abilities. One of these are the power to see beyond the mortal vale. You now can see things that most mortals can't. Distant lands, other worlds, different realities, all of it are free for you to view."
"No way," she gaped, a small smile spreading across her muzzle. "I have that kind of power?"
"And many others," he chuckled. "Once you've learned to control them at least. For now though, let's focus on learning to turn your Sight on and off."
"Y-Yes," she cringed, a shiver running down her spine as less then pleasant memories from the past couple hours ran through her mind. "Let's focus on that."
Dim light filled the building with a modest level of mystique that gave its patrons a sense of ease. The smells of coffee and pipe smoke filled the air as servers navigated through the sea of seats to deliver their orders. One table in the corner of the room housed two Unicorn mares, both of great reputation in one form or another. One had a light purple coat with her mane and tail colored a darker shade with a light blue streak running through both. She was dressed in a white dress shirt and black business skirt. Her company was light blue with a sliver mane and tail, her purple suit hidden beneath a matching cape covered with yellow and blue stars and moons. Resting safely on her head just behind her horn was a purple wizard hat with matching stars and moons. The mare dressed in purple looked bored while her friend seemed stressed as she slowly turned a stirring stick in her cup.
"I'm worried about her," Starlight sighed over her cup of coffee.
"Trixie's telling you," Trixie grimaced over her iced coffee. "You're over thinking things. Sparkle's always been a little odd."
"Trixie," she deadpanned. "I caught her having a full on conversation with herself yesterday."
"So? Plenty of ponies talk to themselves from time to time."
"A. Full. Conversation," Starlight intoned, patients with her friend growing thin. "And it's not just "from time to time" either. She's been doing it for the past three weeks! I think the stress from her princess work and running the school is starting to get to her."
"Trixie sees," she sighed. "Perhaps an intervention is in order. When should Trixie get the blow darts and rope?"
"Okay, first, why do you have blow darts?" she asked, brows raised. "And second, why do you think you'll need them?"
"Trixie has lived an...interesting life before we became friends. And have you tried getting that work-a-holic to stop without some sort of drug?"
"I don't think I want to know," Starlight groaned shaking her head. "But an intervention would probably be a good idea. Think you can stop by tomorrow to help?"
"Certainly," she smiled. "That should be plenty of time for Trixie to work on her aim."
"No darts!"
***
As the two mares navigated the seemingly ever-changing confines of The Castle of Friendship, a tense silence surrounded them. It almost felt like the halls were watching them, holding their breaths at the prospect of something bad happening soon. In spite of Starlight's insistence, Trixie had a bamboo blowgun hidden under her cape with ten darts coated in enough tranquilizer to drop twelve bull elephants. It was meant as a last resort if the Alicorn really was at the end of her rope. While her trusty weapon filled her with some confidence something about her surroundings made her a little nervous, but she couldn't quite put her finger on what it was. It wasn't until they were half way to Twilight's study that she figured it out.
"Starlight," Trixie whispered. "Did Sparkle hire any servants or a cleaning crew recently?"
"No," she replied, equally quiet and raising a brow. "Why?"
"The whole castle's super clean," she said, sweeping her hand through the hallway to prove her point. "And it wasn't just this hall. Trixie has yet to see a single bit of dirt the whole time she's been here. Not even a spider web or dust bunny. Trixie knows that dragon of her's is a good cleaner, but even he is just one creature. There's no way he and Sparkle could do such a thorough job, even on their best days."
Starlight hadn't given it much thought before, but it was true. The whole castle's interior seemed to glisten like a freshly polished gem, a feat that would've taken an entire army of maids hours to pull off. Yet, it looked as if the crystal structure had only just been cleaned today with not a single soul in sight.
Chalk that up as another mystery of this place, she thought with a role of her eyes.
"Let's worry about that later. Right now we need to focus on Twilight."
"Right," Trixie nodded as she followed her friend through the castle.
The silence seemed to get even heavier as they closed in on Twilight's study. It really felt like something was watching them as they roamed the halls. Not helping was how they swore that they could see something moving out the corner of their eyes. It felt like they were back in the Changeling hive when Chrysalis was still in charge, where they felt like they were intruding on some kind of nest. The nest of what was what had them both on high alert. As a result, the two mares were a bundle of nerves when they reached Twilight's study. Sure enough, they could hear a one-sided conversation coming from the room.
"So how does that spell work?"
A five minute pause followed the question in which the scribbling of a quill on paper could be heard.
"Fascinating. I never would've thought to apply a spell matrix so simple for such an intricate process. But what happens if the mana link destabilizes?"
Another pause, only this time Twilight wasn't writing anything. It was at this point that Starlight was able to nudge the door open enough to let them look inside. They watched as Twilight sat at a table, quill and papers set in front of her as she stared at the empty space across the table from her. What was unnerving for the pair was how she would occasionally nod as if she was agreeing with someone before writing something down. There was something else that grabbed Trixie's attention about the situation that was out of place. Instead of her usual attire, The Princess of Friendship was dressed in a slim fitting open-back sleeveless navy blue dress. A simple outfit, but effective enough to showcase her curves and modest bust without being too provocative
"Say, Starlight," she whispered. "Does Sparkle always dress so formally when she's doing research?"
"No," she frowned. "That's another thing she started doing recently."
A light chuckle from Twilight halted any further questions Trixie had as she went back to observing her.
"Of course you'd say that," she smiled, still staring at the empty space in front of her. "But seriously, thank you. You've been a huge help these last couple of days. Think maybe I could...return the favor?"
A light blush decorated her muzzle as she asked , only for it to suddenly spread to the rest of her head a second later.
"Th-Th-That's not what I meant and you know it!" she snapped, tone a strange mix of anger and embarrassment. "I meant something like a date or something."
Another long pause, then Twilight looked away from the empty space she was talking to and pouted.
"Jerk."
"Okay," Trixie whispered, eyes still locked on the deranged Alicorn as she reached into her cape for her blowgun. "Trixie believes you. Now, you walk in there and distract her while Trixie lines up the perfect shot. You got that Starlight?"
No response.
"Starlight?"
She turned to face her friend only to be met with a look of pure terror.
"S-Starlight?"
With a shaky hand, she pointed at something behind the azure magician. With a gulp, she turned around. At first, all she saw was a gray wall of concrete that she was sure wasn't there a minute ago. Then she saw that the wall wasn't quite as solid as she thought it was. It quivered and writhed as multiple slits formed across its surface that opened into hundreds of red eyes with yellow pupils. Trixie looked up and saw that the massive gray blob towered above her all the way to the castle's hundred and fifty foot tall ceiling. Fighting past her fear, she reached for something in her cape. That was as far as she got before the gray monster pounced.
***
This isn't as bad as I thought it would be, Twilight thought as she took literal note of her houseguest's lecture. While she still had her reservations about accepting the Outer God as her lover, she was more than willing to accept his good will. For the past three weeks she had been letting him teach her how to control her newly acquired abilities, especially her Sight as he called it. Now she could tap into it at will and only see things that she truly wanted to see instead of looking into random dimensions at the drop of a hat. She also found that certain other spells came more easily to her, such as shapeshifting and illusions in addition to dimension hopping and force projection. Her magic reserves seemed to have also increased exponentially, as even casting some of her most complex spells didn't even wind her as much as they use to.
She also found that Nyarlethotep was starting to grow on her recently.
Now that she was actually giving him a chance, she found that the Outer God was a lot of fun to be around. His sharp wit and clever speech never failed to put a smile on her face when she was down or frustrated with something. In addition, he was a massive source of knowledge both traditionally and magically. For once, she didn't have to "dumb down" her speech to make it easier for somepony to understand her, a fact that she was ashamed to admit had always been a bit of a peeve for her since she moved to Ponyville from Canterlot. Though, if she had to complain about any part of her new relationship with Nyarlethotep, it was that he was a bit of a flirt. He didn't do it with other mares, but the Outer God would occasionally through in some good natured teasing at her expense. It was usually about how he apparently thought she was cute when she was neck-deep in her research or reading a new book just for kicks. He seemed to think she was especially adorable when he was teaching her how to use her new abilities, often making playful comments about how she was a "good student" and if she kept it up he'd "reward" her. She knew it was just to get a rise out of her, but that didn't stop her from blushing at the implications. It didn't help that he took the liberty of changing her entire wardrobe without her permission. While the dresses were beautiful, she didn't think she deserved them, but he was adamant that she should wear them.
"You are a Queen of the Cosmos," he stated when she demanded that he return her usual attire. "You deserve to dress the part just as much as the power you wield. Besides, you're too beautiful to hide behind such drab clothing."
Her face still burned red hot when she thought about that moment. It wasn't often that somepony told her that she was beautiful, but for somepony to tell her so so casually, as if it was an undeniable fact made her heart race.
As she sat in her study, listening to Nyarlethotep explain the intricacies of transdimensional magic and the shortcuts one could take to make the process less complicated, she found herself growing a bit excited by the prospect of going on a date with him.
How do you even date somepony like him? Go to a movie? An expensive restaurant? Maybe I should ask Rarity for advice later.
A blood curdling scream snapped her out of her musings and ripped her attention towards the door.
"What the hay?" she exclaimed as she jumped to her hooves.
Said doors burst open as a massive and very irritated Shoggoth slithered into the room, two terrified mare's struggling in his coils.
"Unhand Trixie, you, you, Neighsian fetish monster!" Trixie yelled, pounding on the nearest piece of Telzelec she could reach.
A flurry of annoyed clicks was the only response she got before he tossed her to the floor in front of Twilight. As she groaned on the floor, a cluster of eyes turned towards a paralyzed Starlight as she silently prayed that he wasn't hungry.
"Telzelec," Twilight frowned as she approached the glaring mass of gray slime. "Put her down."
Another cluster of eyes positioned themselves towards Twilight, followed by a barrage of clicking noises.
"Now I know you're joking," she said with a raised brow. "Do you really think she could hurt me with such a weak weapon? Besides, where would Trixie even get a blow gun?"
"Zebrafirca," Trixie groaned as she staggered to her hooves.
Twilight's jaw dropped in shock only for it to be replaced with a glare.
"Why do you have a blow gun?"
"Well," she huffed, brushing dust off of her top. "If you must know. Starlight came to Trixie worried about your mental health. So, Trixie decided to lend her a hand in her endeavor to get you the help you so desperately need."
"And the blow gun?" she asked, nonplused.
"Trixie has no excuses," she said face completely strait. "It was all Starlight's idea."
"WHAT!?" Starlight exclaimed, suddenly forgetting that she was in the grasp of a possibly dangerous alien creature. "The blow gun was your idea! I just wanted to host an intervention!"
"An intervention?" Twilight asked. "For what?"
With that, Starlight explained what had her so worried about her friend and mentor's sanity for the past few weeks. The long conversations in empty rooms being the vanguard of said army of concerns. it was around that point that Telzelec had set Starlight back on the ground. The fact that he did so much gentler than he had with her wasn't missed by Trixie. Twilight let out a weary groan as she took in what she was told. It probably did look rather odd to someone looking in from the outside in. It also showed that she wasn't quite as in control of her Sight as she thought she was.
"Nyarlethotep," she sighed as she turned to the currently fourth dimension walking Outer God. "Come out of there."
With a laugh, he "stepped" out of his hiding place, seeming to appear out of thin air in the space Twilight had been talking to.
"Ladies," he winked as he took his place at Twilight's side.
"Who's that?" Starlight asked, a faint blush coloring her cheeks.
"Starlight, Trixie, this is Nyarlethotep, my-"
"Pleasure slave," he interrupted, face completely straight.
All three mares froze as they tried to process that. While Twilight's mind seemed to freeze like an old dell computer, Starlight looked like she was on the verge of over heating. Trixie was the first to recover from the shock.
"DAMN IT! Now Trixie owes Maud fifty bits!"
That snapped the other two mares out of their own shock.
"What?" Starlight stammered, ignoring her friend's rant about how her bets on Twilight's love life was the safest one she heard of in years.
"Yes," he sighed, looking at the ground in shame. "The second she found me, she forced me into becoming an Alicorn so I could pleasure her for all of eternity. She constantly drags me to her bed as a means of dealing with her unending libido. The spirit is willing, but the flesh grows soar and tender yet she doesn't let up."
As he talked, lewd images rushed to the front of Starlight's mind, each more perverse than the last. By the time he finished talking, her whole head was red with a circus of dirty thoughts she never thought she would ever have about her mentor.
"He's lying!" Twilight barked, a terrible blush coloring her muzzle.
Nyarlethotep burst out laughing as he let his act fall apart in front of the three mares.
"Yeah, she's right," he allowed, an impish grin decorating his muzzle. "We're nothing like that."
"Ha! Trixie new it!" she said, lips pulled into a triumphant smile.
"O-Oh," Starlight managed, her composure gradually returning as she filed away her guilty thoughts.
"Exactly," Twilight sighed as her blush stared to fade.
"I'm actually her husband," he said casually.
A moment of awkward settled into the room as what he said ran through the mare's heads.
"And no," he continued, pulling the stunned Alicorn at his side into a one-armed embrace. "I'm not kidding."
Another moment of silence, than-
"DAMN EVERYTHING TO TARTARUS!!! NOW TRIXIE OWES MAUD TWO THOUSAND BITS!!!"
