Hi, all. In between updates of Teana's Travels, I felt like tossing out this little side project. Enjoy!
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic is the property of Hasbro and the creation of the Great and Powerful Lauren Faust
-STORY START-
Spike opened the door, letting Applejack in. The orange-furred farmgirl walked in and took her place in the living room of the library/house.
"Is this everyone?" Twilight asked. She looked around; Rainbow Dash lazed on a beanbag chair, Pinkie Pie was fidgeting while seated on the floor next to her, Rarity sat on a plush cushion, Fluttershy sat next to Twilight herself, and Applejack stood near the path that led to the front door.
"We're all here, darling" Rarity said in her usual affected accent. "Now what was so important that you had to call us all here at such an hour?" She glanced at the clock, which presently read 8:15 pm. Outside, Luna's Moon shone its light upon the clear, cloudless night.
Twilight steeled herself. "I received an urgent letter from Princess Celestia, concerning something she sensed in the Everfree Forest. Girls… She sensed what felt like Nightmare Moon's energy signature, even though Princess Luna is still safe & sound at the castle with Celestia."
The other five girls went pale.
"H-How is this even possible?" Fluttershy squeaked out.
"I don't know" the violet mare replied, "but we need to check it out." She levitated a large box into the center of the room. "The Princess sent us our Elements of Harmony for this, just in case. Get them on and ready. We're heading out as soon as we can."
The Mane Six, with Spike in tow, left Twilight's library and soon reached the entrance to the forest near Fluttershy's cottage. Twilight and Rarity channeled magic into their eyes, improving their night-vision and allowing them to act as guides for the other five; they dared not risk a light-spark spell, lest they give away their approach to whomever or whatever they had come to find.
"Do we… have any idea what to expect to find?" Dash asked in a low voice.
"No" Twilight replied. "Not even Celestia could make out the fine details of what she sensed. Be prepared for anything, girls."
"Ahem"
"And boy"
"What if Nightmare Moon somehow came back as a separate pony from Luna?" Pinkie said. "I bet that's what it is."
"Come on now, Pinkie" Applejack said. "That don't make no sense."
"Since when does all magic make sense?" Spike replied, "especially dark magic?"
After several more minutes of cautious walking, they came across the old, overgrown pathway that led to the ruins of the Forest Palace, where they'd fought Nightmare Moon months ago. After some hesitation, they slowly began to walk along the path.
Suddenly, a large, black figure leapt from the darkness, landing on the path directly in front of them, about 20 feet away. The seven jumped back in surprise at the unnaturally-tall pony's sudden appearance. They took in the sight of this entity.
At first, they'd briefly thought that Nightmare Moon had indeed returned. However, upon closer inspection, this was clearly a different individual. Cold, violet eyes with slit pupils gazed upon them underneath a bronze helmet, and from a hole in said helmet a long, sharp horn jutted up and out. Instead of wings, the figure wore a billowing, dark purple cape. Bronze boots with violet gems covered her hooves, and her fur was a dark blue. In both appearance and magical signature, this was most definitely the same type of entity as Nightmare Moon. The girls' eyes were drawn to the tall figure's flank… and there, twisted and warped by darkness as it was, was a hauntingly familiar Cutie Mark. The seven stared in horror… and recognition.
"T…" Twilight stammered. "T…Trixie?"
"…We are not Trixie" the dark pony spoke in a deep, foreboding voice that caused a chill of fear to sweep through the ponies and dragon before her. "Not anymore.She who is known as Trixie has been completely consumed by loneliness, despair, and hopelessness, surrendered her Heart to the Darkness, and thus she and it have become Us. Thanks to you Element-bearers, she has become a part of something greater. ...Why not do the same? It is only natural. Soon, by Our hooves, this world will return to the primordial Darkness. All worlds begin in Darkness, and all so end. The Heart is no different. Darkness sprouts within it, grows, consumes it. Such is its nature. In the end, every Heart returns to the Darkness from whence it came. Every light must fade; every Heart return to the Darkness."
"Wh… What are you?" Twilight whispered out.
"We are The Darkness and Trixie as one. We… are Nightmare Azure. …If you wish to challenge us, come to the Forest Temple."
With that, Nightmare Azure disappeared in a sphere of pitch-black that somehow hurt to look directly at, space-time visibly rippling as the black breach closed itself. For several moments, it was silent and still.
"…She… lost herself to her inner Darkness just like Luna did a thousand years ago…" Applejack muttered. "But… loneliness and despair? That don't sound like the kinda reaction I expected from that braggart…"
"Maybe she was actin' tough to hide how hurt she was…" Dash muttered. 'Like I've done a few times…' she thought to herself.
"When Princess Luna gave into her own darkness a millennium ago," Twilight said, "it was because of 'hot' emotions – anger, jealousy, envy, frustration. Nightmare Moon was short-tempered and arrogant, and she also wasted time screwing around with us because she didn't see us as a threat. …I don't know what kind of Nightmare 'cold' negative emotions like despair or hopelessness could make…"
"And loneliness…" Pinkie cut in, sounding uncharacteristically serious. "I get it now… Trixie was lonely and sad the whole time. Those big grins and taunts were to hide that… maybe even from herself. I've seen this kinda thing before. Ponies who don't even consciously know they're suffering until it's too late… Like it was too late for Trixie. She's let her sadness swallow her up and turn her into a monster."
"So we'll purify her with the Elements" Fluttershy said. "And when Nightmare Azure is gone and there's just Trixie left, we'll get rid of that sadness. …Oh, u-unless you don't think we should, Applejack, Dash, Rarity…"
"What are you talking about, Fluttershy?" Rainbow Dash almost shouted. "Sure, she was a loudmouth, but nopony deserves this! I'm not gonna wish a fate worse than death on someone just because they annoyed me!"
"I figured she had some good in her ever since she stood up to that Ursa when she coulda just cut n' run" Applejack added. "I figured that if she ever came back, I'd get to workin' on diggin' out that good and bringin' it up to the surface past the bad."
"While I admit to still being… a bit cross with her…" Rarity said, "Knowing the circumstances, I am more than willing to give her a chance. Especially if the poor thing really has been alone for a long time…"
"…Spike?"
"…Alright, I guess there could be some good in her…"
"Right!" Twilight said. "Let's go take out Nightmare Azure and save Trixie!"
The seven set out at best speed down the path, Spike riding on Applejack's back. They soon reach the location of the castle ruins…
…at least, they used to be ruins.
"Woah…" Applejack echoed everyone's sentiments.
(MUSIC: Kingdom Hearts 1 OST – "Hollow Bastion")
The castle had been at least partially rebuilt, and was now, though not quite to its original, centuries-past beauty, a tall, proud structure. Several large crystals, pulsing with black energy, were placed periodically. Their power flowed through the area, causing the entire castle to slowly, gradually repair itself, cracks mending themselves while blocks & columns floated back into place, and other such things.
"Azure's been busy…" Pinkie remarked.
"Well… let's get in there" Twilight said, leading the way. The others followed her up the steps and into the castle.
The advanced through the halls of the castle, eerily quiet other than their footsteps and the sounds of the auto-repair spells hard at work rebuilding the place.
"I wonder how long this has been going on," Spike said, "how long Trixie's been Nightmare Azure."
"Judging by the rate these auto-repair crystals are working, and what kind of shape the place is in now," Twilight replied, "I'd say it's been a month at the very least."
"But if she means to 'plunge the world into darkness', why has she been holed up here?" Fluttershy wondered.
"Maybe she's been biding her time, building up her strength" Dash replied. "Hell, maybe she still isn't ready to go world-crushing yet. Like, maybe finishing the restoration of this place is some important part of her plan or something."
"Well, according to ancient records this place was originally built 1,600 years ago atop a magical nexus" Twilight said. "Maybe Azure means to tap into that wellspring of power, but needs the castle to be in perfect shape to do so."
"Quiet" Applejack said suddenly. "Anyone else hear that?"
They all stopped walking, and (with the obvious exception of Spike) swiveled their ears forward. Ahead, closer to the huge doors at the far end of the long hallway they were currently walking down, there were strange noises coming from seemingly everywhere and nowhere. Furthermore, it looked as if the shadows were… writhing. As the seven cautiously moved closer, the shadows suddenly became completely pitch-black, absorbing all light that hit them. Then they became to change form, rising up and taking the shapes of ponies. Soon, the Element-Bearers (and Spike) were faced with a small horde of pitch-black creatures in the shape of ponies, their only features being glowing yellow eyes.
"What the Hell are these things?" Spike said.
"They're in our way is what they are!" Rarity shouted.
(MUSIC: Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep OST – "Black Garden")
The shadow-ponies began to move toward the seven, walking at first but soon breaking into charges. One charged ahead of the others, and got kicked in the face hard by Applejack. It flew backwards and disintegrated into black particles that then faded into nothingness. Three more came in, but Spike stepped up and then threw his head from right to left while breathing fire, unleashing a small "wave" of fire that engulfed and destroyed all three of them.
The seven spread out a little to meet the oncoming wave. Twilight formed several 'daggers' made of magical energy and fired them, cutting down a dozen of the shadows. Five charged Rarity head-on, only to be suddenly skewered as the ground beneath them became a set of large, impaling spikes of rock jutting up at high speed, glowing with Rarity's magical wavelength. Two charged at Fluttershy, but the prospect of a pony suffering if she did nothing overrode her fear, and she stood her ground. It was then that the shadows learned the hard way that, though she lacked in speed, Fluttershy was considerably above average amongst pegasi in terms of physical strength; her well-placed kicks sent them tumbling and dispelling. Spike darted about amongst the shadow-ponies, raking his claws along any weak points he saw while also shooting out occasionally streams or balls of fire. Pinkie and Applejack resorted to good old-fashioned Earth-Pony close combat, kicking and biting and slamming to take out any shadows within range. Rainbow Dash took to the air and began using sweeping dive-tackles to thin the herd of shadows, as well as using her speed & agility to disorient them.
The doors up ahead turned pitch black, as nearly two-dozen more shadow-ponies began phasing through it. Twilight saw this and turned to her assistant.
"Spike! Combat Combo 4!"
"Got it!"
Spike leapt to Twilight's side, and felt as her magic ran through his body, up to his head, and then mingled with the fireball building inside his mouth. He dug his clawed feet in as best he could, reared back, and then spat out a deceptively small, dense, and bright green fireball. It shot forward at great speed and impacted the black doors dead-center. Upon impact, there was a powerful green-and-white explosion that shook the ground and blew the huge metal doors to bits, along with the shadows trying to phase out from it. One shadow tried to leap onto Twilight from behind, only to be kicked away in midair, just before it could land on Twilight, by a rising double spring-kick by Pinkie, the party pony's forelegs planted on the ground directly behind Twilight, and her rear ones rocketing the shadow-pony into the ceiling, where it hit with a 'splat' and disintegrated into black particles.
"Don't even think 'bout messin' with the pink!" she shouted at the fading-from-existence black particles.
"C'mon!" Dash shouted as she and Rarity dealt with the last of the shadows in this hallway. She and AJ led the charge into the next room, which contained a spiral staircase leading up to the old throne room. The ponies and dragon began making their way up the staircase. As they moved, more shadow-ponies sprang to life ahead and behind them. Applejack and Rainbow Dash took out those ahead, while Fluttershy and Spike dealt with those who came from behind.
-MINDSCAPE-
She was cold. Cold and tired. Everything around her felt hazy. She couldn't truly feel her body at the moment. She felt crushing sorrow enveloping her. She strained to open even a single eye, but saw nothing but infinite blackness. No-one else anywhere near her. Alone. Still alone. Why did it hurt so bad being alone? …Oh dear, she'd forgotten her own name. What was it, now? T… Trista? No… Tarie? That wasn't it? Trixie? …Yes, that was it. That is… was her name. Trixie felt as the cold and loneliness enveloped her again. She hugged herself – at least, that's what she assumed she was doing, since she couldn't feel her body at the moment – and slipped into her own memories, some part of her trying to find at what point things went bad.
Her family… No, her family weren't to blame; she remembered that much. Her father… dead of that horrible disease when she was six. Big brother had been strong and young enough, and survived the disease. Poppa hadn't. Her older brother… kind, gentle, strong, so very smart, the only one of the family who seemed to ever pay attention to her without lumping her in with her two sisters. Her sisters… Her Celestia-damned sisters, Nixie a year older than her and Pixie a year younger, both bearing strong resemblance to her and to each other. They hurt Trixie out of ignorance, not deliberate malice; they hadn't meant to hurt her, and had they known they had done so they likely would've felt very guilty indeed. But they didn't know, and in their ignorance they'd hurt her. Her mother… always distracted by worries about everything, often too distracted to tell her physically-similar daughters apart. Trixie vaguely remembered her mother mentioned that once big brother got that job, the money he'd bring in would solve all their financial problems.
She remembered getting fed up with it all and running away at the age of 14, just two months before her big bro would've gotten an acceptance or rejection letter. She knew he would get the job. He was the smartest and most capable in the whole family, after all, and she'd heard the boss-guy who was looking for ponies to hire saying good things about her brother to his assistant. But he wouldn't miss her; neither would momma or her sisters. They wouldn't even notice she was gone…
Trixie was cold. Cold and tired…
-REALITY-
When the Mane Six and Spike reached the top and ran into the large, spacious throne room, it was suddenly quiet. No shadow-creatures waited for them here; only the single, tall figure of Nightmare Azure on the opposite side of the room, who slowly strode out onto the main floor area of the room.
"So, bearers of the Elements, you choose to oppose us directly."
"Yes" Twilight spoke, standing form. "We come to stop your plot to drown the world in Darkness… and to save Trixie from the darkness you're keeping her in."
"She is at our very core, curled up in a ball of pain, deaf and numb to the world. You cannot reach her."
"There is one way we can get to her."
"Ah, yes. The vaunted Elements of Harmony. Surely a direct hit from them would vanquish us and free that broken little filly within us. Of course…"
There was a blur of motion, and the seven heroes narrowly avoided the surprise attack by Nightmare Azure.
"…that assumes that we give you the time to even activate them in the first place. Nightmare Moon froze in place out of terror; we shall not make the same mistake!"
(MUSIC: KH BBS OST – "Black Powder" a.k.a. "Battle of Great Valor")
A burst of raw magic sent everyone flying away from Nightmare Azure. Dash, Pinkie, Spike, and Rarity managed to right themselves and land on their feet; Rarity was able to use her telekinesis to catch Twilight and Fluttershy and lower them safely to the ground. Applejack smashed into a wall, but being as absurdly tough as she was, she merely shook it off and got back on her feet. Rarity 'fired' a telekinetic shockwave at Nightmare Azure, who tanked it and then fired from the tip of her horn a black lightning-bolt at Rainbow Dash, who flash-stepped to the side with so little room to spare that the fur on her back stood on end. Twilight telekinetically lifted a large slab of stone, fragmented it, and then launched the various small fragments as a machinegun-esque barrage at Nightmare Azure. Azure countered with a unique shield spell – rather than a single solid half-dome, this was composed of multiple hexagons interlocking to form a half-dome. A few hits at the beginning got through and struck her, but by then the shield was up and protected her from the rest.
Within less than a second of Azure lowering the shield, a fireball from Spike struck her in the side. She hissed and growled, and the charred flesh on her side quickly regenerated as she diverted some of her considerable magical reserves to repairing the damage. She dodged to narrowly avoid a falling kick from Fluttershy, and returned the favor by striking the yellow Pegasus with a rising strike into her stomach, knocking the breath out of her, and then kicking her away hard enough to send her tumbling across the room, smashing into the stone-carved throne and shattering it. This turned out to be the wrong thing to do, as Pinkie's mane and tail went completely flat as a look of genuine rage came across her face. At the same time, Twilight and Rarity flared with angry magical auras, fury in their eyes; the rock floor at Rarity's feet began to crumble, sharp stones breaking free and circling her in an airborne orbit, while Twilight's body began to smolder and the air immediately around her became wavy with heat.
Distracted as she was by them, Azure failed to notice Applejack until the Earth Pony's kick impacted Azure's jaw; had she been a normal, mortal pony, her jawbone would have shattered. As it was, the strike sent her tumbling before she regained footing. She channeled magical energy through her body to increase her strength and speed further, but she still barely reacted in time to block a worryingly powerful foreleg thrust strike (known to us bipeds as a "punch") at her throat from Pinkamena, who let out a very un-pony-like growl.
-MINDSCAPE-
Still going through her own memories, Trixie remembered her defense mechanism – a sharp, abrasive persona to keep the world at bay and – more importantly – to grab attention. Becoming "The Great and Powerful", dressing in that flashy hat and cape, calling attention to herself as an individual, rather than as an impoverished nobody who couldn't even be told apart from her siblings. No more feeling like she didn't really exist as an independent entity. She'd make her daddy and big brother proud, even if neither of them would ever know. She remembered how, over the years, her 'act' was refined, and as she got more and more into it, she had gradually started to forget who she really was; she was becoming the mask. And all the while, feeling the ever-growing sensation that back then she couldn't place, but she now knew was that pain of friendless loneliness.
Trixie was tired. She felt almost like something wanted her to be 'awake', but she couldn't quite place it, and the pain she felt precluded any attempts to come out of this dark cold.
-REALITY-
Still slightly wobbly, Fluttershy nonetheless waved off Rainbow Dash, getting to her feet and circling around Nightmare Azure. Upon seeing her friend alright, Pinkie's mane & tail poofed up a bit, but not to their normal state; rather, it was an odd halfway point between 'normal' and flat. Twilight launched a Fireball spell at Azure, who again conjured a shield to block it.
"Girls, Spike!" she called out. "Keep her busy for me! Gonna try something!"
Twilight then retreated off to a corner, using her telekinesis to shape the ground into a barricade between her and the fight. She then closed her eyes and reached out with her heart. Telepathy was a very rare skill. Celestia had tried her hardest to teach Twilight how to do it, but so far Twilight could not telepathically communicate over distances more than about 100 feet, and even then she had only really figured out how to do it with Celestia, whose magical energy signature was too powerful to ignore; most ponies' life-force was "drowned out" by the planet's ambient magical energy. This circumstance was completely different, but no less difficult; in fact, perhaps it was harder. However, this could be their only hope…
-MINDSCAPE-
'…xie…'
Still curled up in hopelessness and loneliness, in that empty black realm, Trixie's ears twitched (if she had ears in here, for all she knew) as she heard another voice. But that was impossible, wasn't it? She was all alone in this darkness. All alone… as she always had been…
'Trixie…'
Why did that voice sound so familiar? The image of a flash of purple light filled Trixie's mind's eye for a brief moment.
'Trixie! Can you hear me?'
"W…Who?" she managed to rasp out.
'-light Spar-Twil-kle! From Po-le! -nyvi-! D-u reme-me?'
"T…Twi…light… Sp-"
And all at once, memories came rushing back to Trixie clear as day. The quaint little town Ponyville at the foot of Canterlot Mountain. The two little idiots who lured a cranky Ursa Minor into town, expecting Trixie to fight it off. Trixie's long-buried selflessness coming to the front as she futilely tried to defend this random town and its people for reasons she couldn't quite comprehend. The failure… and the following successful pacification of the bear by the bookish, obscenely powerful purple unicorn named
"Twilight Sparkle! I remember!"
More memories came rushing in: her retreat from the town and into the Everfree Forest, feeling completely humiliated, outcast, worthless, alone; still feeling the angry stares of the townsfolk that may or may not have been just her imagination (in hindsight, at least some of those glares must have been directed at those two little simpletons who woke the damn thing up and lured it into town); all her anger at that other unicorn changing course, being directed inward at herself; her years-old façade breaking, along with the dam holding back her long-suppressed fears of not standing out, not being good enough at anything, not being anyone; slowly starving, lost in the Everfree Forest without knowing what was or wasn't safe to eat, and not willing to take the chance; her self-esteem and self-image breaking down as she spent more and more time in that goddesses-damned forest.
She remembered the shadow with glowing-red eyes, how it tempted her with a way to save her from the pain; how she had lost the will to refuse, to fight back, to live, and then… and then… darkness.
"Twi…light… What's h-happen…"
'You've become a Nightmare! Just like what happened to Princess Luna 1,000 years ago! Nightmare Azure – your mutated body - is fighting us right now! Wake up, Trixie! Fight back! Are you gonna let the Great and Powerful You be controlled like this?-!'
"I'm… not great or powerful. I never was. Just some stupid little girl who… didn't realize her lot in life was to suffer in anonymity. No importance. No power. No ponies I can trust. No… No friends…"
'That doesn't have to be true anymore! Let us help you! Let me help you! Please! I'm sorry about what that night did to you! Ever since that night, I… I… I want to be your friend!-!'
Trixie felt complete shock overtake her maybe-or-maybe-not-there body, along with a tightness in her chest, one that, to her great surprise, wasn't painful.
"…What… did you…say?"
'I want to be your friend, Trixie! Hang out with you, read books together, tell each other stories and jokes, help each other with magic, sleepovers, spa trips, enjoying each other's company! I want you and me to be friends! But that can't happen if you don't fight back!-!-! Nightmare Azure will kill millions of ponies… any one of whom would probably enjoy being your real self's friend! Including me! So come on, Trixie!-! For the sake of your friends!-!FIGHT BACK!-!-!-!'
-REALITY-
"Enough of this!"
Binds of dark magical energy wrapped around Applejack, who had just kicked Nightmare Azure in the ribs hard enough to cave a mortal's chest in, holding her in place. Nightmare Azure began to charge a frighteningly large amount of magical power…
When suddenly her body froze up, her attack diminishing and the binds shattering.
"What's… happening to me?-!"
There was a gasp for air nearby as Twilight came out of her trance.
"She's done it!" Twilight shouted. "Trixie's fighting back! Azure can't do anything! Girls, get your Elements ready! Now's our chance!-!"
Each of the other five ponies gathered in a circle, their Element necklaces ready, all of them facing the paralyzed Nightmare Azure. Twilight leapt into the center of the circle, catching her Element crown as Spike threw it to her and donning it. As one, the six gems began to glow with a brilliant white light, brightening further with each passing second. As Nightmare Azure was left incapable of doing anything, she realized: Nightmare Moon hadn't frozen in terror; she'd been paralyzed by Luna fighting back from within… just as Trixie was doing now. And as she saw Twilight Sparkle's eyes open and stare at her, glowing with magical power, she knew she was about to meet the same fate as her predecessor.
There was a loud bang and a brilliant flash of light, as a six-colored beam of Holy magic shot forth, straight at Nightmare Azure. It enveloped her completely, and she screamed as her dark body was ravaged by the Light of the Elements. In an explosion of color and light, Nightmare Azure ceased to exist.
The girls came down from where they'd been floating in the air, their bodies returning to normal as their Elements returned to dormancy. They cautiously walked over to the prone body lying on the floor amidst the clearing smoke. Trixie lay on the floor, eyes closed. She was unhealthily thin, her ribs cleanly visible; before her transformation, she'd gone far too long in the forest without any food. But a quick check by Fluttershy confirmed she was still alive.
"Who woulda thought the darkness in a pony's heart could cause such trouble if all the stuff holdin' it back fails?" Applejack muttered to herself.
"Well, it's gone now" Rainbow Dash said. "She's free."
Trixie managed to slowly crack open an eye. Her vision was filled with a purple unicorn with a warm smile on her face.
"Rise and shine, my friend" Twilight said in a gentle tone.
'My friend'. Exhausted as she was, Trixie still managed to pull her mouth into a small smile, as a tear fell from her eye.
"Thank you…" she whispered.
As Applejack carefully maneuvered the half-dead mare onto her back, preparing to carry her back to Ponyville, no-one noticed the ethereal black mist sneaking its way out through the window and out into the darkness…
-CHAPTER END-