The Equestrian Tales

Chapter 3

Episode 1.6: The Nightmare Begins

A great noise awoke me from my slumber. I rubbed the sleep from eyes. I noticed I had hooves instead of hands. My confusion mounted as I didn't recognize my surroundings. It took a moment for my memories to catch up with me. I had fallen asleep reading the book that was in my suitcase. Being underground, it was kind of hard to tell what time it was.

The book had been very interesting. Unlike all of the rest of the books, I couldn't speed read it. I still wasn't sure how I understood the equestrian languages. Most books were in English, but even the ones that weren't I still understood them. This book also seemed to be getting longer. I knew I had read a lot, but it seemed like I had barely made a dent in it. I understood now why Celestia asked me not to show it to anyone else. As I read the book, I recognized it as the story that I knew would occur in this world. However the book didn't mention me. As I read the book, my memory began to return to me of the story, but I only got back what I read.

I needed a place to hide the book while I wasn't reading it. I used a search spell to look for a hiding spot. I found one behind the bookcase next to my bed. I used my magic to remove the books and looked behind them. I found no markings to indicate there was a hidden panel. Pointing my horn at the shelves, I said,

"Alohamora." A beam of green light came from my horn and struck the shelves. The whole shelf dropped down quick to reveal the hiding space. I jerked my head back in surprise. I made a mental note to be clear of the shelf when it opened and closed. I made another note that I didn't need to remove the books to open it. Within the large hiding spot, I found a stand for a book and a sword. I found it a little strange to have such a hiding space. An empty book stand was one thing, but an empty sword stand was even stranger. I removed the sword form my suitcase and placed both the book and the sword on their stands. They fit perfectly almost like they were made for them. I made another mental note to ask Celestia about this library. I thought for a moment on how to close it before saying, "close sesame." The shelf shot back up. I replaced the books and ran a hoof in my mane to hide my horn. I stuffed an apple in my mouth before heading upstairs.

As I reached the first floor, I found most of the town in the tree having a party. I arrived just in time to see a purple unicorn's face turn beet red. Her purple eyes watered as she nearly breathed fire. Her purple mane had two different streaks of pink near the center which whipped behind her as she ran upstairs to the loft.

"Hot sauce," a little purple dragon read holding a bottle as I approached. He had no wings and green round spines running down the length of his body. Pinkie Pie tipped the bottle over a cupcake drenching it in a red sauce. She gobbled the cupcake in one bite like it was nothing. I too poured a little on a cupcake and ate it. I recognized the burning sensations and the level it was. It was nothing to me, because I was used to extremely spicy food. However, this level would make most miserable. I whispered to the little dragon,

"Why don't you grab a glass of milk and a glass of ginger ale and follow me upstairs?"

"Why?" The little dragon questioned.

"Let me put it this way," I said in a calm voice. I then commanded in a stern voice, "Your friend needs a glass of milk and a glass of ginger ale, stat!" The little dragon rushed off almost in a panic. I began to ascend the steps as the little dragon caught up to me carrying the glasses. As we opened the door to the loft, we found the poor unicorn running around with tears in her eyes.

"Twilight," the little dragon cried in concern.

"Better leave this to me," I told him.

"But…," the baby dragon tried to protest. I managed to get him to set the glasses down and shooed him out with my head. For a dragon, he was more than a head shorter than me, so I easily butted him out the door. I shut the door behind him and then turned to the problem at hand. After a moment of thought, I charged my horn and sent a wave of green energy. The poor unicorn was frozen in place.

"Moving around like that is only going to make it worse," I told her walking up.

"I can't take it. It won't stop burning," she cried.

"Yeah, that doesn't surprise me," I commented releasing her.

"I think I'm going to be sick," she miserably said. Her face almost literally turned green. She tried to hold back the coming mess.

"Hold it," I commanded grabbing an enclosed trash can with my magic. I placed it in front of her and then instructed, "Okay, let her rip." Twilight plunged her head in to the bin and let loose the vile liquid. "That's it. Let it all out," I encouraged her while patting her back. She pulled her head from the bin still a little green. "All out?" She weakly nodded. I summoned a glass of water. Twilight scrambled to grab the glass. "Don't drink it."

"But I want the burning to stop," Twilight protested.

"Trust me. Water would only make it worse. Just use it to rinse your mouth out," I instructed. She reluctantly did as I said. After she spit in the bin, I used a spell to clean the bin with a momentary look of disgust. I then brought over the glass of milk with my magic. "Drink this instead."

"What is it?"

"It's milk. Now take a little in your mouth and hold it," I instructed. Twilight sipped a little of the milk. "Now swallow it slowly." She let the cool liquid slide down her throat. "Once more," I told her. She repeated the process. "Now finish it off." She gulped down the rest and plopped down with a sigh of relief. "Better?"

"The burn is gone, but my head really hurts," she whined covering her eyes with her hooves.

"Yeah that's normal," I commented placing my horn near her head. A small emerald light emitted from the tip of my horn for a second. Luckily I found a book of simple healing spells in my studying. As the light faded, Twilight's whole body seemed to relax. I picked her up with my magic and set her in the bed positioned above the bookcases next to the window. I proceeded up the stairs with the glass of ginger ale in tow. "Here, this will help settle your stomach," I said setting the glass on the stand next to the bed.

"Thanks, but how did you know that would work?"

"Chemistry, anatomy, and herbology 101," I answered.

"What do you mean?"

"What happens when you mix different acids together?"

"It increases the corrosive nature of the acids."

"You had your nose so far in the air you didn't notice you drank hot sauce."

"So what does mixing acids have to do with it?"

"Hot sauce is an edible acid, ergo why your mouth was burning. It then mixed with the acid your body naturally makes in your stomach. Running around was just mixing them together even more."

"Oh," she said realizing her mistake.

"Does water help when added to mixed acids?"

"No, it doesn't. Sometimes it makes it worse?"

"Correct," I complemented. "So how do you neutralize an acid?" I asked still leading her to think.

"You mix is with a base."

"Correct," I said. "Milk is an edible base."

"What about this?" She asked holding up the cup of ginger ale.

"That's ginger ale. It's made with ginger root which is known for aiding in settling stomachs."

"But how did you know about the headache?"

"I eat a lot of spicy food. I know the side effects pretty well. The hot sauce you drank would cause a nose drip when put on something. Oh, you may want this," I said bringing a tissue box and a trash can near her.

"Thanks," Twilight said blowing her nose using her magic.

"You drank that and ran around, so you were most likely to hit level three."

"How many levels are there?"

"Four," I answered. "Level four, you can't breathe."

"Why would anypony make or eat that?"

"Tolerance varies from pony to pony. What might be level four to one pony would be level one to another. I had some and it was nothing to me. In fact, I want some more," I added my mouth starting to water a little.

"Wow, you're a really smart unicorn."

"Actually, that's what I needed to talk to you about, Twilight Sparkle," I said locking the door with my magic. "I'm not a unicorn. I'm an alicorn," I said unfolding my wings.

"Your highness," she said scrambling to get in a kneeling position.

"Relax," I commanded using my magic to force her to lay back down. "First off, moving around will only make things worse in your stomach, you need to rest until it passes out of your stomach. Secondly, I'm not royalty. I'm just an alicorn. The name is Storm Rider by the way. Third, everypony thinks I'm just a pegasus. I'd like to keep it that way."

"But why tell me? Wait. How did you know my name?"

"I got a letter letting me know a Twilight Sparkle with a baby dragon named Spike was coming. Dragons with ponies are extremely rare, so I'm betting that was Spike. He also called you Twilight."

"Okay, but why tell me your secret?"

"The letter said you would be staying here. I'm staying here too."

"What?" She interjected popping up. "Is this your bed?"

"Relax," I said forcing her back down. "My bedroom is in the roots. You and Spike can use this room if you like."

"Okay thanks," she said relaxing.

"The letter didn't say how longing you would be staying, but this secret is kind of hard to hide from ponies when you live with them."

"That's nice, but I'm leaving here as soon as possible. Ponies around here are crazy."

"Maybe," I said as I unlocked the door. "Folks around here are really nice. You could make a lot of friends if you gave them a chance." I ran a hoof through my mane to hide my horn. I let my words sink in as I left. I found the little dragon on the other side of the door. I used my head to flip him onto my back when he tried to enter. I folded my wings around him to cage him on my back.

"What are you doing? I have to get to Twilight."

"Your friend will be fine," I said closing the door, "but she needs to rest right now." I continued down the stairs with the little dragon on my back despite his protest. As I reached the lower level, five ponies met me at the bottom steps.

"Everything okay?" Applejack asked with concern in voice.

"She'll be fine," I assured her. "She just wasn't used to food that spicy."

"I don't blame her," Rainbow Dash chimed in. "I hate spicy food. So is she coming back down?"

"Probably not," I said. "She doesn't strike me as a very social pony." I wondered if I was talking about her or myself.

"Well that's no good," a white mare pouted. It was the same mare I had snubbed who was better known as Rarity. "How can you have a welcome to Ponyville party without the guest of honor?" The party had all but died.

"What are you talking about? Tomorrow is the Summer Sun Celebration. We need to party all night long. Yo DJ, crank that beat." Pinkie Pie seemed to simply disappear from the base of the stairs and reappear behind the music station. As the music began to play, the party seemed to reignite. "Come on little guy. Get down with your bad self," I said as I bucked the dragon off. He landed on his feet on the table and skid to a stop. As the music filled his ears, the little guy started dancing.

I hopped off the stairs and wondered over to the snacks station. Licking my lips, I poured some hot sauce on more cupcakes. As I gobbled them down, I noticed the glass of hot sauce Twilight had poured. My eyes quickly scanned to see if anyone was looking before tossing the straw out of the cup. I made another quick scan before chugging down the whole thing. A burp welled up in me. I let it build up until it erupted from me. I couldn't help but chuckle at the large burp. Once again I was the only one laughing at it. I had always found it amazing how someone could feel so alone even in a crowd full of people. It was true when I was human, and it was still true when I was a pony. I always got lost in big groups. Even as a pony, I was still getting lost. I spent the rest of the party at the doorway leading to the roots. I might as well been a shadow on the wall. No one seemed to even see me until I bard their pass from proceeding to the roots. The look in my eyes kept them from protesting.

As the morning approached, the ponies began to file out and head to town hall. I watched as the little dragon proceeded up to the loft with a lamp shade on his head. He returned shortly following Twilight. I came along side of her as she exited the library.

"So did you have a good nap?" I asked her.

"How could anypony get any rest with all that racket, you were making, and what is up with your breath?"

"Sorry about that," I apologized. "I've been eating spicy food all night. So how are you feeling?"

"Other than the lack of sleep, I'm feeling better. Thanks for that, um…"

"It's Storm Rider. You look a little down. What's on your mind?"

"It's just something I read."

"Do tell."

"I read something that said Nightmare Moon might escape."

"You should have told Princess Celestia."

"I tried, but she told me I shouldn't worry about old mare's tales and then sent me here to check on preparations for the festival. I was hoping to do some research just in case I was right."

"So how did your research go?"

"The ponies around here are so crazy, I never got to it."

"Didn't Princess Celestia defeat Nightmare Moon and imprison her in the moon almost a thousand years ago?"

"Yes, she did. Legend says on the longest day of the thousandth year, the stars will aid in her escape."

"Well consider this. If that's true, Princess Celestia has had a thousand years to prepare. You really think she doesn't already have a plan in motion just in case?"

"Well maybe, but why did she tell me to stop worrying about old mare's tales?"

"What exactly did she tell you?"

"To stop worrying," Twilight answered. "She then sent me here to check on preparations."

"You already said that. Did she say anything else?"

"She said I should try and make some friends."

"So how many have you made?"

"I haven't. What would be the point?"

"Friendship can be a powerful thing. United we stand, divided we fall. Besides, you strike me as the good little pupil. I find it interesting that somepony like you would disobey your teacher, even more your princess." Twilight blushed a little as we made our way into town hall. "Look at it this way. What have you got to lose?"

"I guess."

"Well, at least you've made one friend."

"Who?"

"Me," I said with a chuckle. Twilight rolled her eyes with a groan in response. We took our place on the ground floor of a tall circular room. A few pegasi flapped their wings to keep themselves aloft. Banners hung from the ceiling. A few ponies gathered on a few balconies. Little Spike sat on Twilight's back for a better view. Pinkie Pie came up to us excited.

"Isn't this exciting? Are you excited? Cause I'm excited. I've never been so excited, well except for the time I saw you walking into town and I was like," Pinkie ranted pausing to gasp like she had done earlier that day before continuing, "but I mean really who could top that?" Twilight looked a little annoyed at Pinkie's joy. I struggled not to laugh. A choir of song birds singing drew everyone's attention. It was actual birds singing in harmony directed by the yellow pegasus I had seen leading the ducks. She was one of the five who were waiting at the bottom of the stairs. Even though we hadn't met, I knew her name was Fluttershy. I was going to have to be careful until I found an opportunity to properly introduce myself to her and Rarity. A spotlight shined on a brown mane. She had a grey mane with a white collar and half-moon glasses. She addressed the congregation.

"Fillies and gentle Colts, as mayor of Ponyville, it is my great pleasure to announce the beginning of the Summer Sun Celebration," the mayor announced. The crowd of ponies cheered. "In just a few moments our town will witness the magic of the sun rise and celebrate this, the longest day of the year. And now it is my great honor to introduce to you the ruler of our land, the very pony who gives us the sun and the moon each and every day, the good, the wise, the bringer of harmony to all of Equestria, Princess Celestia." The curtains opened to an empty balcony above the mayor.

"This can't be good," Twilight said with concern in her voice. I took a deep breath and steadied myself for what I knew would come next.

"Remain calm, everypony," the mayor assured the gathering despite the worry building in her own voice. "There must be a reasonable explanation."

"Ow, ow," Pinkie Pie began jumping up and down, "I love guessing games. Is she hiding?" After checking the back, Rarity came out and announced,

"She's gone." The crowd gasped in fear.

"Ow, she's good," Pinkie Pie commented before letting out a scream. A cloud of blue mist formed on the empty balcony. A black alicorn mare emerged from the mist. She bore light purple armor and her blue mane and tail flowed with little white dots like pieces of the night sky. Her green eyes had slit pupils. On her flank was a dark purple blotch with a crescent moon on top.

"Oh, no," Twilight whispered, "Nightmare Moon." Poor Spike fainted at the sight of the imposing figure.

"Oh my beloved subjects," Nightmare Moon addressed the congregation, "it's been so long since I've seen your precious little sun loving faces."

"What did you do with our Princess?" Rainbow Dash yelled. She would have attacked if Applejack hadn't held her back, the tip of Dash's tail in her mouth. Nightmare Moon simply laughed at her.

"Why am I not royal enough for you? Don't you know who I am?"

"Ow, ow," Pinkie Pie excitedly piped in, "more guessing games. Um Hokey Smoke? How about Queen Meanie? No Black Snuddy, Black Snuddy." She would have continues if Applejack hadn't shoved a cupcake in her mouth.

"Does my crown no longer count now that I have been imprisoned for a thousand years?" Nightmare Moon continued ignoring Pinkie's interruption. "Did you not recall the legend? Did you not see the signs?"

"I did," Twilight spoke up, "and I know who you are. You're the mare in the moon, Nightmare Moon." The crowd gasped at this revelation, except for me. I continued to stand my ground. Dash also continued to struggle while Applejack held her back.

"Well, well, well," Nightmare Moon almost complimented, "Some pony who remembers me. Then you also know why I'm here."

"You're here to…to," Twilight swallowed hard unable to bring herself to finish her sentence.

"Yes, oh," Nightmare Moon said as her attention was drawn to me, "and what's this?" She descended towards me. I held my ground while other ponies slinked back a little. "What a handsome stallion, such intense eyes, strong back, and regal demeanor. I could use a stallion like you at my side," she said stroking my chin with her mane. I suppressed my emotions to keep them from showing. I held my ground and continued to meet her stare. She got close to my face and whispered, "Join me." I breathed in deep and burped in her face aiming at her eyes. She rubbed her watery eyes as she flew back to the balcony still facing me. She looked at me enraged. "Impertinent peasant," she screamed. "Thou shall pay thin impudence."

"Please, put it on my tab," I said with a confident smile. I couldn't hold the serious face anymore after that burp. Nightmare Moon composed herself before addressing the audience.

"Remember this day, little ponies, for it was your last. From this moment forth, the night will last forever." She let out an evil laugh as mist swirled above her and lightning cracked around her.

"Seize her," the mayor screamed, "only she knows where the Princess is." Three white pegasi garbed in gold armor, royal guards, took flight to take down Nightmare Moon. As they got close, Nightmare Moon shouted at them,

"Stand back you, foals." Her eyes glowed and a lightning bolt struck each guard. I turned around and flapped my wings. Secretly I used my magic to cause a whirlwind to cushion their landing. Nightmare Moon laughed as she became a stream of mist and burst out the door. Applejack finally lost her grip on Rainbow Dash who took up chase after Nightmare Moon. Twilight Sparkle scooped up Spike onto her back and ran from the hall. I followed her as she made a beeline for the library. She proceeded up to the loft and came back down without Spike. She must have put him to bed.

"Elements, elements, elements," she groaned tearing through the books. She pulled book after book to her. I had to duck to avoid being hit by a couple. She didn't even register I was there. "How can I stop Nightmare Moon without the Elements of Harmony?"

"And just what are the Elements of Harmony?" Rainbow Dash interrogated getting in Twilight's face. I was too busy dodging to notice her and the others enter the library. "And how did you know about Nightmare Moon? Huh?" Twilight slowly retreated back from Dash's questioning. "Are you a spy?" Her last question was almost cut off as Applejack pulled Dash back by her tail.

"Simmer down, Sally," Applejack told Rainbow Dash. "She an't no spy, but sure knows what's goin' on, don't you, Twilight?"

"I read all about the prediction of Nightmare Moon," Twilight began telling the small group of ponies. It was the same group that had met me at the base of the stairs earlier. "Some mysterious objects called the Elements of Harmony are the only thing that can stop her. But I don't know what they are, where to find them. I don't even know what they do." Panic and stress was evident in her voice.

"The Elements of Harmony: A Reference Guide," Pinkie read aloud looking at one of the bookcases.

"How did you find that?" Twilight asked bumping Pinkie pie aside.

"It was under 'E'," Pinkie Pie almost sang bouncing about. I suppressed a chuckle.

"Oh," Twilight said a little annoyed she over looked something so small. She picked up the book with her magic and read aloud. "There are six Elements of Harmony, but only five are known: kindness, laughter, generosity, honesty, and loyalty. The sixth is a complete mystery. It is said the last known location of the five elements was in the ancient castle of the Royal Pony Sisters. It is located in what is now the EVERFREE FOREST."