Chapter 11: Nightmare's Truth
Pre-Author notes: Sorry this took a while, but hey another long chapter! Well I think it's long anyway considering it passed the eight thousand word mark, but anyway it's here for your enjoyment. So please read and review so I can get more motivated to get chapters done faster.
On a side note this story has passed One thousand views! Which makes me happy that people are interested in it. It will make me happier if you the readers tell me what you think of my story so far. Until then enjoy.
Fun Fact about Nightmare's Mansion: Like a certain castle in a game about whipping supernatural creatures. The Mansion where Fredrick lives in never takes the same shape twice…well at least on the inside anyway, but since nobody tries to destroy the mansion in the first place. The mansion itself will change its insides once a year which keeps in new looking, but at the same time it annoys its inhabitants to no end.
/
Location: Unknown
Time: Unknown
*Huff* *Huff*
An odd cricket-like fairy is seen running down a heavily decorated hallway. Scouts have reported to him that the lord of the nightmare realm has breached another world and kidnapped one of its inhabitants. "I got to get to the high council! They have to know about this!" he mentally said to himself while he did his best to avoid running into other people in the hall. Eventually, he reached a gate guarded by two guards one who resembles wolf, and another a rabbit.
"Halt, what is your business here Hopper?" asked the Wolf.
"Indeed…what is your business?" added the Rabbit which annoyed the Wolf slightly.
"Lucain and Kiki please let me through. I need to see the high council! It's important!" pleaded the cricket-like fairy now known as Hopper.
"How important are we talking about?" The wolf Lucain asked curiously.
"Yes…how important are we talking about?" repeated the rabbit Kiki much to the annoyance of Lucain.
Hopper took a deep breath before answering "It involves Lord Nightmare…" he said gravely causing the two guards eyes to widen. They didn't speak a word after that they instead allowed Hopper to pass on through.
"May Alpha help us…" Lucain said under his breath.
"Yes please… may Alpha help us…" Kiki again repeated in the same manner as Lucain.
However, Lucain himself had enough of Kiki's repeating his own sentences "Would you stop doing that!" he yelled, but Kiki just laughed at his expense "Stop doing what?" she said while feigning ignorance.
"Why you little…"
/
Location: Unknown (High Council Hall)
Time: Unknown
Hopper quickly made his way to the High Council Hall, but unfortunately a meeting was already in progress. As a result he had to barge in unannounced causing confusion among those in the hall. "What is the meaning of this?!" boomed one council member whose appearance is that of ant-like fairy. "Sorry High council for barging into a meeting in progress, but I come with disturbing news!" Hopper said distressed.
"Speak now or else you will be demoted for this intrusion" Spoke another council member whose appearance resembles a Fox.
Hopper gulped a bit before responding to the council member "My scouts in the nightmare realm has reported some disturbing news."
"So? What else is new?" interrupted a frog-like council member.
Hopper despite the interruption continued his report "That's not the important part. They reported seeing Lord Nightmare and his right hand man Paranoia were seen exiting a portal carrying a small Alicorn!"
The mention of Lord Nightmare and a small alicorn caught everyone's attention. "An Alicorn? I haven't seen one around here for 300 years!" Spoke the council member in the middle who seemed more decorated than the rest. "Tell me was this alicorn a white mare with a lightly colored mane?" he asked.
"No sir, it was a purple mare with a darker color mane" Hopper responded.
"Wait, what shade of purple was this mare?" asked the ant fairy council member.
"Please sir, that's not the point!"
"Then get to the point!" rudely said the frog council member.
"*Grah!* my scouts have verified that the portal that they came out of was no normal transportation portal. It was an interdimensional portal!" Hopper finished earning gasps around the hall.
"What!? Only the Alpha and his family can use that type of the magic! Lord Nightmare just broke a sacred rule!" the fox said in outrage.
"He must be punished! Send an army to apprehend him if needed!" added the ant fairy.
"Fool! He will declare war on us if we send an army to the nightmare realm!" countered the frog member.
"But we must do something! He knows forbidden magic he may have been traveling to different worlds to spread his seeds of darkness under our very noses!"
"Grand member Palpo what do you think we should do?" asked the fox member to the heavily decorated member now known as Palpo.
Palpo crossed his arm signifying that he is thinking hard about the subject "Hmm…true we cannot let this go unpunished, but we need solid evidence to prove to the creator god Alpha that Lord Nightmare has broke one of the sacred rules. As a result we should send one of our best dream warriors's to infiltrate Lord Nightmare's estate and find evidence of his crime."
The rest of the beings in the room agreed with his decision and cheered. However, unbeknownst to the crowd Palpo was contemplating about Lord Nightmare. "My boy what have you gotten yourself into? I mean opening a portal to another world!? Just what are you planning? And this young Alicorn…could it be? A throwback to the past? Fredrick…tread carefully, for I'm afraid you're digging your own grave…"
/
Location: Dreamscape?
Time: Unknown
Darkness…pure darkness was the only thing Twilight could see, and strangely it felt…comforting like it was holding her in a gentle embrace. She never felt like this before it's like she found true peace of mind. However, this peace wasn't meant to last a voice eerily sounding like her pierced through Twilight's mind
…Wake…up…
You…must…wake up…
…Please…
Suddenly, a small star appeared in front of Twilight and she felt herself being drawn towards the light of the star, but as she attempted to fly towards the light the darkness that kept her in a gentle embrace tighten its grip around her as if it's trying to stop her from reaching the light. That's when Twilight remembered how she ended up in this void. She remembered hearing one single phrase before blacking out.
"Would you kindly…go to sleep?"
Twilight now became aware of the situation she was in. Paranoia put her to sleep with that single phrase, and as she's sleeping the darkness that is currently keeping her away from the light is making sure she doesn't wake up from magically forced slumber. Twilight begun to fight back the darkness holding her, and slowly and surely the darkness was losing its grip on her. Eventually, she managed to break free from the darkness and started flying towards the light. However, as she flown closer to the light her body began to glow and it wasn't long before Twilight felt her body changing into a form familiar to her, but at the same time it felt unfamiliar. Unfortunately, she didn't have time think as the star she flown closer to completely covered her in its light, but before she blacked out once again she heard a voice.
…Light and Darkness…Dreams and Nightmares… either can't be trusted, for both wear a mask…
…But…one has a better mask than the other…
…I ask of you…to find the one…whose mask truly lies to all…
…and…expose it to all it has lied to…
…One more thing…
…The light is leading, yet blinding…and the darkness is comforting, yet deceiving…
…Remember this…for this…decides the fate…of the realm of sleep…and the world you call home…
/
Location: Unknown (Fredrick's Room)
Time: Unknown
Fredrick, for once in his eternal life felt elated, for everything he had plan is coming together quite nicely despite a few problems that happened along the way. Nevertheless as he waited for the guest of honor to be ready he decided to spend some of this extra time gazing at the stars in the night sky. As he stood there gazing, a song came to his mind
"Twinkle, Twinkle, little star,
How I wonder where you are.
Up above in the sky so high,
Or perhaps somewhere nearby.
When the light of hope is gone,
From the darkness I sit upon,
You continue to shine your tiny light,
And Twinkle, twinkle, all night.
But tell me why,
I cannot be part of your light.
Am I damned,
Doomed to a life of isolation,
In this realm of darkness,
Feared by all.
I question my existence,
For I walk in a place unfamiliar to me,
No memories of my birth,
No memories of my life,
Yet I exist in a place,
Where dreams fear to tread.
Oh little star,
Where are you?
The madness that creeping,
Is poisoning my mind,
If you can,
Grant a wish,
I beg of you to please,
Cure me of my blight,
So I can continue living,
And find my light,
So I can find,
My light…"
After singing the small song Fredrick took a moment of silence to let the song sink into his mind before commenting on it "Hmm…it's good, but I think I could improve it. I better make a mental note to work on it later"
"Make a mental note of what Milord?" asked a voice in mock curiosity. Fredrick sighed slightly upon hearing the voice "Alright, Paranoia how much did you hear?" he asked.
"All of it Milord, but I do think you could make your little song longer."
"I figured as much, but let's not dwell too much on my singing. I know what you're here for, so tell me how did it go?"
Paranoia snickered a bit before answering Fredrick's question "I see…if you must know the operation was a success. She is currently resting in her room…you can see her if you want Milord, but you and I both know how she'll react if she wakes up."
Upon hearing that he is able to check on his new guest Fredrick created a portal "I'm aware of that she'll need to get used to our presence and her temporary change to her entire physical form, but I'm sure we'll find a way to convince her to cooperate with us. Besides it's not like she has much choice anyway…" he said to Paranoia.
"Heh, indeed… Brother " responded Paranoia.
Fredrick laughed a bit upon being called Brother "It's been quite a while since you last call me that Paranoia. Maybe fifty years give or take…"
"Sixty actually Brother"
"Really? Huh…time sure flies by doesn't it, but now is not the time to look back on fond memories." Fredrick said as he walked towards the portal "For our guest of honor awaits my arrival, and you do know it's impolite to keep a lady waiting…" he said as he disappeared into the portal with portal dissipating afterwards leaving Paranoia by himself in the room.
"…Memories...isn't that the magical word of the day…"
/
Location: Unknown (Guest Room)
Time: Unknown (Moment's after the dream)
Twilight woke up with a start and immediately found herself breathing intensely. It didn't help when she looked down on herself and found that her appearance has changed. Her mind couldn't process what happen to her and as a result flew into a panic "Ahhh!" Twilight cried out as she attempted to get off the bed she was sleeping in a panic fueled rush, but immediately found herself landing face first into the floor which was conveniently covered in rug. The sudden pain in her face was enough to bring her to her senses "Ow…but I suppose I needed that" she said as she rubbed her temple. Twilight with mind calmed down got herself off the floor and leaned on the bed for support since she knew she wasn't a pony anymore and needed to get use to her new form that feel's familiar to her. While she was supporting herself she looked around the room she was in. The room itself looked like it was meant for royalty "This looks a place Princess Celestia and Luna wouldn't mind sleeping in" Twilight commented mentally. Twilight then proceeded to look down at her current form she found that she was wearing a simple long violet colored dress that seems to be barely reaching down to her feet which she had a hard time seeing. Twilight could only guess from its simple design that it was meant as sleep wear as the dress had no sleeves and seems to be only held up by two straps. The fabric the dress was made of; however, was hard to determine, but the fabric felt soft as she touched it so it could be made out of silk. After reacquainting herself with the motor functions of a human being Twilight began to explore the room she was in. Strangely, she found it a little bit easier to walk around despite her recent physical change "Okay… that wasn't as hard as I thought it would be…" she thought to herself.
As Twilight explored the room she found that the dressers in the room are filled with clothes. She pull out one of the drawer's and took out a plain shirt out of the dresser, and compared it to her body; it is just her size. She dug deeper into the drawer found similar shirts, but with designs unfamiliar to her. She pulled out another drawer found it full of jeans in three different colors navy blue, black, and pale grey "These clothes are definitely from the human world, but how they are my size?" Twilight asked herself inquisitively "Did they actually know what size would fit me?" However, before she could think about it any further she heard a knock at her door along with a familiar voice "Knock, Knock, are you still asleep in there? If you're not then answer me" asked the voice in a nice tone. Twilight only heard that voice once and she already knew who it belong to "Lord Nightmare!" she mentally exclaimed.
"I heard that…" Nightmare said in a playful tone as he simply phased through the door into the room, if it wasn't for the mask Twilight would have seen that he was smiling. "Good afternoon my dear Twilight, I trust you had a peaceful slumber? He asked in courteous tone.
Twilight in response to his presence immediately attempted to charge her magic, but to her shock nothing happened. "Heheheheh… Now my dear don't tell me you have forgotten already?" Nightmare asked in a mocking tone. Twilight first looked at him with a confused expression before remembering what happened back in the throne room, then her eyes widen in realization "Oh no! I forgot he shut off my magic!" she mentally yelled in panic. "Oh so you do remember…well sorta" he said with a hidden smile.
"What do you mean?" Twilight asked while keeping her guard up.
"What I mean Twilight is that the magic shut off I did on you is only temporary" Nightmare answered while pulling out a pocket watch and opening it. "I'll say you have about two hours left before your magic flow returns" he added as closed the watch and placed it back in his pocket.
"Why are you telling me that?" Twilight asked confused. "Wouldn't you just keep that information to yourself?"
Nightmare chuckled a bit before answering her "Well I could…but I believe you have the right to know" he said. "Besides it's not like you could actually beat me with your currently level of magic anyway…" he added nonchalantly while angering Twilight.
"Hey! What that's supposed to mean?!" she asked angrily.
Nightmare sighed before answering her "In due time my dear, but first I recommend you get dressed despite how stunning you look in that custom made nightgown" he said causing her blush a bit. "Oh and for future reference the dresser you were recently digging through is for urban or casual wear. If you are looking for dresses or anything to wear for an important event is that closet over there, and for well…the undergarments they are in the two small dressers near your bed. You also don't have to worry about your personal hygiene either, for there is a bathroom connected to your room through that door over there. It comes complete with a shower, a bathtub, and all the stuff you'll need to keep your body nice and clean" he explained while leaving Twilight with many questions. "Now, I expect you to meet me at my study in the next thirty minutes. As for your apparel, it doesn't matter right now, so feel free to dress in anything that feels comfortable. Now if you excuse me I got some business to conduct, but if you ever feel lost ring one of the three bells in your room. Each bell will gain the attention of one of Nightmare Brothers and they will help you with any problem you might have that doesn't involve escaping. Although I don't remember which one summons who, so…good luck with that." He finished. Twilight was left with too many questions, but unfortunately they have to go unanswered because before she could tell Nightmare to wait for a moment he was already gone.
Being left there with nothing else to do she decided to get ready like he asked her to do, and headed towards the bathroom. As she opened the door and turned on the lights she was greeted to a shocking surprise. The bathroom Nightmare described to her wasn't even close to what she saw. The bathroom in question was quite large and much closer to being a personal bathhouse then an actual bathroom. She looked around for a bit found a small note posted to the wall.
From Lord Nightmare,
One more thing I forgot to explain. You also have a small bathhouse connected to your bathroom for your own personal use. And I know what you are thinking 'where is the bathroom then?' That is an easy question to answer; its right pass that door to the right of where you found this note.
P.S
Don't be so surprised when you see your own beautiful face in the mirror okay?
Twilight became confused at the last part of the note "Don't be surprised? What does that mean?" she said to herself as she walked towards the door mentioned in the note. However, when she opened the door she was met with a startling sight.
/
Location: Canterlot Castle (Throne Room)
Time: 11:45 A.M
Meanwhile, back at the throne room in Canterlot Castle Princess Celestia, and Luna have recently summoned Twilight's remaining friends Pinkie Pie, Applejack, and Rarity in order to discuss about yesterday's incident. When they got there they also saw Princess Candance and Shining Armor waiting for them as well. For a few moments nopony said a word, but it wasn't long before Celestia herself spoke "I brought you all here to discuss about what happened yesterday and maybe help develop a plan on what to do next"
"Ah' know what you mean Princess. What happened back at the hospital was more nuts than a jar of peanuts." Applejack said.
"There were peanuts there? How come you didn't tell me?!" Pinkie exclaimed while straying of topic.
"No Pinkie Applejack means that while we were at the hospital, things got a tad…out of control' Rarity explained.
"Oh, so no peanuts?" Pinkie asked. Rarity in response shook her head earning a groan of disappointment from Pinkie.
"Anyway… getting back on topic. We already knew that Paranoia the eldest Brother was the foalnapper sent to foalnap your friend Fluttershy, but what we did not expect is how quick he was able to do so despite the number guards going in and out of the hospital. Another thing that was also unexpected is him taunting Shining Armor's squad" Celestia recapped.
"It was really strange. You would think a foalnapper would silently sneak out as he came in after he has already taken his target, but he didn't instead he appeared before my squad and revealed that he has what he came for." Shining added. "If I had a question it would be 'why did he do that?' But considering that my sister is gone the answer is obvious; he was baiting Twilight and she fell for it easily."
"Wait are you saying Twilight was the actual target?!" Applejack said in shock.
"Not just that Applejack, but adding to the fact that all previous foalnapped victims were returned brings up another interesting point" Added Celestia.
"That Lord Nightmare's original target was Twilight herself, but the question remains. Why? Why go through all the trouble of foalnapping others if you only wanted another pony entirely?" Luna said with curiosity in her voice.
"Well…considering that all the victims are connected to Twilight in some way. I believe they were used as some sort of leverage against her" Candance said while keeping her emotions in check.
"… the letters are starting to makes sense now" Applejack said gaining the attention of everypony except Pinkie and Rarity.
"Letters? What letters?" asked Celestia.
"Well a few days ago we received three scrolls. Two of them were addressed to Applejack and I, but the last one was address to Twilight herself. The ones Applejack and I received were letters from Applebloom and Spike telling us that they're okay, but the third scroll was from Lord Nightmare himself. To summarize the letter was telling Twilight to give herself up and they would bring Spike and Applebloom back to us unharmed" Rarity explained.
"This Nightmare fella was basically telling Twilight that despite the plan we had at the time we wouldn't stand a chance against Paranoia…well looks like that part wasn't a lie" Applejack added.
"Indeed, since he took out two guards and Rainbow Dash without alerting anybody else in the area" Luna said. "But the only thing I find strange is that I can't find these nightmares anywhere in the world of sleep. Normally nightmares are created from the fears and insecurities of an individual, but these nightmares weren't made by anypony. Instead these nightmares were created from another being entirely, but what type of being remain unknown to us" she explained while retaining a somber tone.
"Unfortunately, this brings up another issue; where the nightmares went after taking Twilight. As I recall Twilight was last seen in this very room pursuing Paranoia, but when we got here she was gone" added Candance.
"So what do you think happened?" Applejack asked.
"Well…we had some unicorns who are experts in magic searched the room and they found traces of magic being used. So far they were able to confirm that a clash happened in the room, but most of the magic they were able to trace belonged to Twilight. Except for one spot which after studying it they determined it was high level portal magic, but who casted such powerful translocation magic is still undetermined."
"Portal magic, what's that?" Pinkie asked with curiosity.
"Like Candance mentioned before it's a type of translocation magic. Magic that used to transport either the caster or the target to another location" Celestia explained.
"You mean like that teleporting magic Twilight uses?" Applejack added.
"Exactly, but Portal magic on the other hand works a bit differently. It usually takes longer to be casted, but once casted it creates a temporary shortcut from where the caster is and the caster's desired location. This magic isn't used very often due to teleporting magic achieving the same effect at an instant. At low levels, portal magic can only reach a mile worth of distance or to a specific pony, but higher level versions of this magic will allow the user to reach towns, countries, and other places world. It's even rumored to even travel to worlds different then our own."
"Wow…that is one heck of a difference"
"Indeed, but can't we just make a portal of our own and follow them?" asked Rarity.
"We can…but the only problem right now is determining where the portal took them." Celestia said.
"As of now we have no idea where they went. We cannot just make portal until we can figure out where they took Twilight." added Candance.
"So, how do we find them?" Applejack asked with a curious expression.
"Well, if we had anything that belonged to the Nightmare Brothers then we would be able to track where they are with our magic" Luna said while causing Celestia to go wide eyed. However, Luna noticed this "Sister…don't tell me you have something that belonged to one of those brothers this whole time?!"
"Err, I wouldn't say the whole time Luna." Celestia responded sheepishly.
Luna sighed "Just tell me what it is sister."
"Remember Luna our encounter with Fear?"
"Yes I do remember that monster quite vividly. What did you take from him?"
"Well from our fight from him I noticed some parts of his skin started cracking. Eventually, those parts started to crumble of his body. I found this quite interesting so I…well…took some of the skin that fell off of him." Celestia said while rubbing the back of her head.
Everybody after hearing this stared at Celestia with looks of confusion and surprise.
"YOU TOOK WHAT?!"
/
Location: Unknown
Time: Unknown
Fredrick shortly after meeting with Twilight headed towards his study which happens to be the massive library his room is sitting on. He decided to walk his way to the study in order to think on what to do next. "What to do…What to do…Well firstly, I have to get to my study and wait for Twilight there. Once she arrives I'll have to explain the situation to her, the WHOLE situation. I don't expect her to trust me, but I do need her help. For both our worlds sake…but if everything turns out all right then…well…whatever, I cross that bridge when I get to it." A moment later, Fredrick heard a started scream from hall behind him. Fredrick started laughing to himself after hearing the scream "Didn't I tell her not to be surprised when she sees her own face? I swear that mare makes me laugh when she is placed in an unfamiliar situation. Anyway…I just need to be careful from here on out. If there is anything I learned from Television is that plans won't always flow smoothly. I best be prepared for any snares in my plans as a wise man once said 'Expect the worst, and Hope for the best'"
/
Location: Unknown (Twilight's Room)
Time: Unknown (Where we last left her)
Twilight stood there in shock staring at the mirror in front of her while reaching for her face to touch it. When her fingers finally made contact with her face she knew that what she sees in the mirror is real. Her face still resembled a pony though slightly altered to fit her human-like form, and speaking of her human-like body she took a much closer look at it found that she still retained her wings, tail, horn, and her feet are still hoofs. The only thing human she can see on her body is her arms and torso. After recovering from the shock Twilight immediately grew angry, remembering the note Nightmare left for her "So that's what he meant…" she muttered with a mix of anger and frustration. "I definitely have questions to ask now…" she again muttered under breath as she made her way to the shower.
…
Time: Unknown (Eight minutes later)
After the quick shower Twilight came into her room with the towel wrapped around her body. Twilight went through the dressers and quickly lay out her clothes on the bed. She chose a white colored dress shirt along with black colored jeans. As for her undergarments she…
/
*Break*
"Hello readers, Panic here along with El gassy Muerte to interrupt this juicy tidbit that most male readers wanted to read. The underwear that Twilight Sparkle's going to wear, but sadly for you guys the author didn't want to go into 'that kind of detail'. So we are here to buy time until Twilight can get dressed" Panic said with smile.
"Fe…male…need…private time…"Fear said in a drained tone
"Exactly, brother so…what should we talk about to past the time?"
"Dun…no…"
"Oooh, Oooh! I know why don't we talk about that question from last chapter?" asked a hyperactive voice.
"No we're still waiting for responses on that one… Hey! How did you get in here?" Panic demanded as the owner of the voice revealed herself to be non-other than Pinkie Pie.
"You left the door open" the recently revealed Pinkie said simply.
"…Dammit!" Panic exclaimed as he face palmed.
"…Ha…ha…ha…" slowly laughed Fear.
"Ha, ha very funny laugh it up why don't cha?!"
"Hey calm down Panic we're here to add a segment of humor aren't we?" Pinkie said.
"Yeah, yeah…by the way what is your name seniorita?" Panic asked.
"Pinkie Pie Master of holding parties, and holder of the Element of Laughter"
"Pinkie Pie? How…original, pardon my sarcasm"
"Well I don't blame you for thinking that way Panic since people in your world aren't named the same way as ponies."
"I kinda figured Pinkie."
"Hey is that Twilight? Hi Twilight!"
"Hey would you look at that she's all dressed up and ready to go. Looks like this little segment is over"
"What, Already?!"
"Yes already, which means you aren't needed here anymore. So would you kindly leave and not tell your friends what you saw here today?"
"I don't know… what's in it for me?"
"We'll keep your seat warm for you and call you when a segment like this shows up again okay?"
"Is that it? C'mon can't you sweeten the deal a bit further?"
"Sweeten the deal? Lady, you drive a hard bargain. Hey Fear! Do we have anything we could use to sweeten the deal?"
Fear slowly nodded as he pulled out a bag filled with flavored hard candy. Seeing the bag caused Pinkie to bounce up and down hyperactively.
"Ah…I see you're excited for this bag of candy, well more excited than usual. So here's the deal you keep your mouth shut, and we'll keep a spot for you in this segment and give you bags of candy. Do we have a deal?" Panic said as he put his hand in a handshake ready position.
Pinkie thought deeply about the deal; checking in her mind to see if the deal was fair. "Hmmm…okay, you got a deal!" she said excitedly as she brought her hoof into Panic's hand and shook it vigorously. "That's what I like to hear" Panic said as he got out of the handshake and gave Pinkie her bag of hard candy. It didn't take long for Pinkie to open the bag and pop one of the hard candies' into her mouth. She gave out a muffled sound of satisfaction and left the room the same way she came in.
"Well that takes care of her. Now we can finally end this segment. This is Panic ending the first ever Sensitive Detail Interruption Block. Now let's get back with our schedule program shall we?"
*Break*
/
After getting dressed Twilight look at herself in the mirror wanting to see how she looked. "Hmm… I can work with this, though seeing myself as part pony and part human may take some getting used to, and now I have another question to ask Nightmare when I meet with him. But first I need to figure where his study is" She said to herself. Twilight looked around to see if she could find anything that could help her, but when she stopped when she saw the bells hanging near her bed. She remembered that Nightmare told her that these bells will bring one of the Nightmare Brothers to her to help give her directions. Although, she also remembers that Nightmare didn't know which one summoned who "Okay…I just need to ring one of these bells and hopefully I get a Nightmare Brother that can give me directions" she said to no one other than herself. She looked at the three bells and noticed that each bell has a symbol etched into them. The one on the left has the symbol of a crow, the middle has a symbol of a clown, and the last one has the symbol of a ball and chain. Twilight looked at these symbols with curiosity until she remembered each Nightmare Brother she encountered are associated with these symbols "I get now the bell with the clown symbol will summon Panic, while the bell with the ball and chain will summon Fear. Which means the one with the crow symbol will summon Paranoia!" she said as she took the bell and rung it. Shortly after ringing the bell Twilight felt the air around her grow cold. From her experience she already knew who was in the room with her.
"You called for me milady?" Paranoia said with a tone that seems to be devoid of emotion.
"It's not like I had much of choice. Compared to your brothers you're the only one I know that will give me a straight answer" Twilight said while crossing her arms and holding back her anger.
Paranoia laughed slightly before responding "I don't blame you, my brothers are a pack of imbeciles, but they're my imbeciles. So tell me, what is the reason for summoning me?"
"I need to know how to get to Lord Nightmare's study, and since I'm new here would you mind showing me how to get there?"
"Ah…milord's study, yes I would lead you there, but please stay close for it is easy to get lost in this mansion" he said as turned towards the door.
"Wait! This place is a mansion?!" Twilight exclaimed in shock.
"Yes, it is now will would you please follow me. I will only ask once" Paranoia said as he raised his index finger.
Twilight mentally sighed in frustration, but followed Paranoia anyway knowing that she can't get to the study without his help.
/
Location: Lord Nightmare's Mansion (Hallway)
Time: Unknown (13 minutes later)
To say the hallway was unnerving is an understatement. The moment Twilight set foot into the hallway she already had the feeling something is watching her. As she followed Paranoia she saw the hallways seemed to lead into nothing but pitch-black darkness save for the hallway they are currently walking through which is dimly lit by the lanterns hanging on the walls.
"I can see why told me to stay close" Twilight said trying hard to hide her nervousness. "I can barely see anything else in this hallway"
"I told you. You can easily get lost in this mansion" Paranoia said in a calm tone.
"But how do you even get around in this place?" Twilight asked.
"We mostly teleport ourselves to our desire location then bother walking around these halls"
"Then why are you walking me towards Nightmare's study instead of simply teleporting us there?"
"Because I enjoy the scenic route is there a problem with that?" Paranoia asked with a hidden threatening tone.
Twilight immediately recoiled a bit after feeling the cold air around her become colder "N-No not r-really."
"Good…now please hold any further questions for milord himself, for we have arrived at his study" he said as stopped in front of an intricate door.
Twilight felt the cold air around her subside as Paranoia pressed a button which caused a ringing sound after being pressed. A short moment later a voice is heard, a voice Twilight is all too familiar with now.
"Yes Paranoia? What is your business?" Nightmare said with a causal tone.
"Milord…Lady Twilight wishes to see you" Paranoia said in his usual emotionless tone.
"Really? You're a tad early my dear…but no matter please come in, for like two other before you there is much we must discuss with each other." Nightmare said with an unusual amount enthusiasm.
"Two others? He must mean Applebloom and Spike…" Twilight thought. Just as she got out of her thoughts the door in front of her slowly opened up revealing a large library similar to one she saw in her dreams. Twilight looked at the library in amazement and wonder almost finding it hard to believe that such a place actually existed. However, before she could admire the long line of bookshelves that surround a singular spiral staircase, Paranoia spoke up "This is milord's study and as you can plainly see it doubles as a library. It features a large quantity books found from different worlds, so you may find books familiar to you here. On a side note please stay in the main lobby of this library, for I cannot guarantee your safety beyond the lobby."
"What's beyond the lobby?" Twilight asked curiously.
"More books but also some rather unfriendly nightmares who don't like it when somebody interrupts their reading time." Paranoia said simply. "So if you wish to see beyond the lobby then let milord guide you since he knows this library better than any of us"
Twilight was about to ask Paranoia another question until she heard a voice "Welcome my dear to my study. Please meet me in the center, for I know your curiosity must be satiated."
Twilight looked in the direction of the voice to see Lord Nightmare walking down the steps of the spiral staircase in the center of the library. Knowing that meeting up with Nightmare himself is the only way she can get some answers for the question plaguing her mind, so she walked towards the center with determination written on her face.
When she finally arrived in the center of the library she found Nightmare sitting in the middle of a quarter circle couch. Nightmare himself was drinking an odd purple and black colored juice that Twilight could not identify though what perplexes her most is how the drink itself flew underneath the brims of his mask. Nightmare took notice of her presence and spoke "It looks you took your sweet time getting here my dear. I'm guessing the allure of books took most of your attention, not that I blame you" he said with a refine voice. Twilight didn't say anything and simply sat on the couch while putting distance between herself and Nightmare. "Why so silent my dear? Did you come here only to see me?" Nightmare asked in a mocking tone.
"…Why did you bring me here?" Twilight said coldly refusing to make eye contact with Nightmare.
"Ah…so cold…I hope we can change that later, but first things first your answer. To put it shortly I need your help" Nightmare said with a serious tone. Hearing this caught Twilight's attention as she turned around to face Nightmare "What kind of help exactly?"
"Don't worry it isn't anything bad. All I need you to do is help me find a certain star…" He said while earning an outburst of rage from Twilight herself who couldn't believe how far he went just to get her help to find a star "WHAT!? Are you saying that the foalnapping of my friends was all just so you get my help finding a star?! Not to mention the countless amounts of royal guards injured trying to stop the Nightmare Brothers!"
"I know my actions just to get your help are rather…extreme, but I have a good reason for doing all of this" Nightmare said as his tone turned somber.
However, Twilight still remained enraged "A good reason!? What reason could you possibly have that can be justified from what you did!"
"I'm dying my dear…" Nightmare said simply causing Twilight to cover her mouth and stare him with eyes full of shock and disbelief.
"Wh-What?..." she stuttered out.
"Not physically dying my dear, but to be more accurate I'm mentally dying as in I'm going insane"
Hearing this Twilight immediately became confused "You're going insane? Shouldn't you see a shrink for that?"
Nightmare sighed "I have already seen the best psychiatrist my world could offer, but even they couldn't help me. I asked my right hand man to see what was wrong with me; he's a doctor by the way" he said with a shifting tone which threw Twilight off. "Anyway…he took a look at me and discovered something terrible. The very thing that keeps me alive is slowly poisoning my mind, destroying it."
"What's keeping you alive then?" Twilight asked curiously.
"See this drink I hold here in my hand?" he said as he raised the hand holding the cup in question.
"Uh…yeah?"
"It's a liquid made out of the very thing I'm forced to thrive on to survive…living, breathing nightmares…"
"Wh-What!? You eat your own kind why?!" Twilight said shocked.
Nightmare pointed to the two letters carved into the forehead of his mask "These two letters are the reason why" he said calmly. "For you see, these are runes"
Twilight quickly snapped out of her shock when she heard the word Rune "Runes? I read a couple of books about runes, they are magical letters that when mixed with other runes can translate into a magical spell. So those markings on your mask are runes?" she asked curiously.
"Indeed they are, but it's plain to see the runes on my mask were made roughly since they don't look like traditional runes"
Twilight looked at the marks closely and saw what Nightmare said is true. The marks seem to be cut roughly, but not rough enough to be unreadable. "N, E? I don't think there's a spell that could be translated from those two letters." She said confused.
Nightmare chuckled slightly earning glare from Twilight "Actually, these two runes can translate into a spell. You just need to use your imagination, but for the sake of this conversation I'll just tell you what they translate into. They stand for the spell Nightmare Eater"
"Nightmare Eater? I never heard of a spell like that"
"It's written in a spell book somewhere you just haven't found the book in question. Anyway, as for the spell itself it's an affliction type spell." After hearing the spell type Twilight knew how serious this spell could be, so she continued to listen to Nightmare's explanation of the spell. "The spell causes the target to be unable to eat any normal food or drinks, but instead must feast on the nightmares of others in order to survive. Also eating nightmares is its own consequence, for eating a nightmare will not destroy them but rather they remain stuck in your body till the day you die. As they remain stuck in your body the nightmares will struggle in an attempt to leave your body, but they will later find out this is impossible. Once they figure this out they will attack the nightmare eater's mind in order to drive them insane or if weak minded possess them. When they accomplish this they will cause the eater to commit suicide, but not without killing a few people with powerful dreams."
"That's insane! Why would one pony do that to another?"
"You'll be surprise how cruel the world can be if you let it, but I digress. Anyway…this spell is usually casted by high ranked nightmares that have no moral kindness to their own brethren; as a result, this spell became forbidden after the first Nightmare Lord saw how inhumane it is to nightmares and humans alike"
The mention of a first Nightmare Lord poked at Twilight's curiosity "The first Nightmare Lord? I thought the only Nightmare Lord who rules this realm is you" she said confused.
"Actually, I'm the second nightmare who received the title Nightmare Lord. The first is Boogey Man who retired after the people of the human world begun fearing him less and less, for you see a nightmare's power is equal to the number of humans who fear him or her"
"That's makes sense strangely enough, but if Nightmare Lord is just a title then what's your real name?"
Nightmare tipped his hat a bit before answering "My name my dear, is Fredrick NightmareWalker. A gentleman to some, a hero to little, and a monster to all. However, for you my dear you can simply call me Fred"
"NightmareWalker? Sounds similar to DreamWalker could he possibly be related to Sir Desmond? I'll have to ask about that later…" Twilight thought to herself curiously.
"But anyway, we gone off on a slight tangent haven't we? Let's get back to the main topic shall we?"
"Uh… Yeah…we should…" Twilight said awkwardly.
However, Fredrick caught the awkwardness in her voice and decided to pry "Something on your mind my dear?" he asked with a questioning tone.
"Well, I do have one question, and it involves your…condition."
"The Nightmare Eater? Go ahead and ask, I don't mind."
"Well if the condition is cause from the mask you wear couldn't you just take the mask off?"
"If I could do that my dear, then I we wouldn't be in this situation now would we?" Fredrick said semi-mockingly.
"Er…yeah I suppose I should have thought of that first…wait why can't you take that mask off?" Twilight asked.
"Honestly, I don't know my dear. I tried on multiple occasions to remove the blasted thing off my face, but none of the attempts worked."
"But it looks like a simple wooden mask, you don't suppose that mask you're wearing is cursed now is it?"
"Possibly, but I checked through a record on every mask ever made. This mask didn't show up in any of the records. Which with logical deduction would mean this mask was never registered officially and was meant to hidden from the rest of the world" Fredrick said with a simple tone causing Twilight to give him a weird look. "F.Y.I. I kinda figured that already, so if you have another question please ask it now"
"Okay…just how long you were suffering from the Nightmare Eater spell?" she asked with some concern in her voice.
"Five hundred years last I checked my dear."
Twilight's eyes widen in shock when she heard this "Five hundred years!? How can you last that long?"
"My dear I'm the current Lord of Nightmares I can resist the influence of the nightmares I consumed for quite a long time, but sadly I'm at the end of my rope. For I am starting to hear voices in my head"
"Is that all?" Twilight said with a raised brow.
"Not really I also experience blackouts and waking up in places I don't remember being in. Sometimes even waking up restrained by the Nightmare Brothers."
"Wow…I don't know what to say…"
"There isn't much else to say my dear, for each night that passed the nightmares in my body grow stronger as my hold on reality grow weaker. It doesn't help that I know these nightmares plan on possessing my body for great evil"
"…Why?..."
"Because they wish to drown the world in everlasting darkness. So all the most sinister nightmares in this realm can prey on the weak-minded in the waking world. And unfortunately since I made a connection between my world and yours. They will also target your world as well." Fredrick explained while causing Twilight eyes to widen again from this new information.
"…What?!" She exclaimed
Fredrick however was quick to ease her fears "You don't have worry about the safety of your world though, for I have already developed a plan just in case we fail…" he said with a slight down-trodden tone.
Twilight hearing this became curious about his plan, but at the same felt a little worried at what his plan might be "…and just what is your plan?"
Fredrick closed his visible eye and sighed "I…cannot tell you that…sadly…" he said with his down-trodden tone more apparent.
"Why not?" Twilight asked.
"Because if I told you…you might try to stop me…"
"Wait, just what are you planning!?" Twilight said as panic starts to settle into her mind.
Fredrick for a moment did not answer her, but instead stood up from the couch and walked towards the spiral staircase before stopping and responding "I'm afraid… I said too much already… This conversation is over…Paranoia, take her back to her room…"
Paranoia suddenly appeared out of the shadows surprising Twilight for a brief moment "Yes milord" he said with his usual emotionless tone as he grabbed Twilight by her wrist and pulled her up from the couch.
"Hey! What are you, Ow!" Twilight yelled.
"Sorry…my dear…but I cannot divulge such information just yet..." Fredrick said with a somber tone as he snapped his fingers at Paranoia telling him to take her away.
Paranoia nodded in compliance as he created a portal out of shadows and proceeded to pull Twilight against her will into the portal. However, before she was completely pulled into the portal she yelled out the remaining question on her mind "What's your connection with Sir Desmond DreamWalker!"
Hearing this name Fredrick froze in his tracks, and turned around "Wait! Where did you hear name from?!" he asked in desperation, but it was too late she was already gone. "Lord Boogy Man…the name you have told me about in your stories has popped up again…except from a being from a different world. How could this be? From what you told me…that dream…is long dead…"
Fredrick continued his ascension up the staircase before stopping suddenly, and clutching his head and screaming in pain.
"Oh Fredrick…" said a rather feminine voice.
"That voice…why? Why do insist on torturing me the most!" Fredrick shouted in rage and pain.
"I want the night to last forever Fredrick…why are you resisting the inevitable?"
"NO! You only wish to bring our world into ruin!"
"Wrong…my beloved. I wish to make a world where nightmares run free…don't you want that?"
"I want nightmares to no longer to be persecuted, not to be free to wreck havoc upon the world!"
"And I wish to help you, but you keep pushing me away…"
"Shut up! Just shut up!"
"You're so cruel…my love…"
"I won't allow you or the other nightmares have their way…I will find the Violet Star and purge you, and the others from my very being!"
"You mean the newly crowned princess? HA! Don't be absurd my beloved…she will never trust you"
"I don't need her to trust me…All I need her to do his help me find the Violet Star!"
"So you plan on forcing her to help you?…heheheheh"
"No...Damn it!"
"Hahahaha…she will never help you my love, and you will soon see how futile your efforts truly are in time. But for now this is goodbye…" With this said the voice finally faded away along with the pain Fredrick felt.
Fredrick himself was panting heavily while holding onto the guardrail. It was much worst then he could possibly imagine. Out of all the nightmares that haunt him with their voice it had to be her.
"Alpha, oh great creator who made the realms please give me strength…Not just for my sake, but for Twilight's sake as well. However, should I fail in my task then I ask Omega to please strike me down before I cause great harm to two worlds…" Fredrick whispered under his breath as he struggled to climb the stairs. As he climbed his thoughts turned to Twilight "I wished we met under better circumstances…my dear Twilight" he said as a small trickle of blood came out of the only eyehole in his mask.
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