Post by Bardigan on Oct 29, 2014 2:03:53 GMT -5
Bardigan and Diamond Dancer are visited by an old enemy they had almost forgotten.
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Nightmare Night is coming. At Bardigan's house, it's already here. The decorations are gothic and lurid, with sneering gargoyles and gallivanting ghosts, jack-o-lanterns a-plenty and colorful flags distributed everywhere. Bardigan is not home right now, having gone off to find fresh cider, and the house is quiet save for the quiet flicker of candles. Yet, as the sun completely sets and darkness falls, another sound echoes through the house: a chime?
Diamond_Dancer is sitting at the front window of the home, peering outside at the fillies and colts who are happy bouncing about in their costumes in preperation for the coming holiday. Joy. Last year, Diamond was all jazzed up about dressing up like Princess Luna, and going out. Being in a mask and a costume meant she could be like the normal kids! She could fit in!! She'd be accepted, because know one would know who she was- until they all started eating candy. Then the illusion all came crashing down, and left her like this- glaring quietly at all the other kids having a good time. Humph. If she's not careful, she's going to end up a crotchty old mare....she would be so lucky. Still, her drowned spirits are cast aside for curiosity when she hears that...Chime? "Bardigan? Is dat you'se? Did you'se bring home a clock or somedin?" She calls out, perking an ear curiously...
It comes from the study, also unofficially known as "Bardigan's Knick-Knack Room." There is a glow from under the door, pale and white. The noise only grows louder the longer Diamond seems to focus on it, like it knows it has been heard and desires to be heard *more.* As it gets louder and clearer, it seems to coalesce into something... strangely familiar. A whisper of a whisper.
Diamond_Dancer gives a little sigh, and strolls her way towards Bardigan's study. "...Ok, Listen up you'se! I, Am Diamon, D. Dancah! Night's Errant, Miricale Mare from Manhatten, Da Fantastic Filly, and Da impossible Pony! I holy da woylds record for highest flying pegasus, and I'm invincible! Dat right! INVINCIBLE- Like Supah Mare, but not lame. Dis is fair warnin, to anyding creepy, crawly, or ghostly or lurkin in da shadows. Did I ALSO mention dat I'm da Leader of da Night Light Brigade? We fight da monstahs undah da bed, AND in da closet! "She announces. "Technically, I'm da only membah, but, dat, also makes me da most dangerous, and also da bestest! "She calls out, perking an ear... "...are you'se maybe a cat? I like cats. "She announces, slowly nudging the door to the room open slowly. ".....meow? If you'se is Scarlet, and Bardigan isn't here, You'd bettah not touch my Wondahbolts postah!!"
In the room hovers a small trinket. It is of all things a clay pendant, with some kind of carving of a stylized unicorn engraved upon it. Though it is no crystal or gem, light seems to emanate from it. And there at the door is a whisper at the edge of Diamond's senses. Is it her name? Is it Bardigan's name? Or some memory, far-off and forgotten, that bades Diamond to come closer and remember it? It calls, either way, wanting, needing her to approach.
Diamond_Dancer settles back on her haunches staring at this trinket curiously. This feels like a Daring Do book. "...Okay...DIS is obviously a trap. "She mumbles, holding out her hooves. "On da one hoof...Trap. on da oddah hoof, I'm invincible. HMmm. Again, on da one hoof, dis is a trap. Onnnnnn da oddah hoof, I'm kinda bored. Hmmm... I wandah would Bardigan would do. Not touch dis, prolly. Good ding I'm not him!" She squeaks. Ahhh youth. With that, she boldly strides up to the shimmering pendant and grabs it in booth hooves!
"HELLO, DIAMOND DANCER."
The voice is directly behind Diamond.
Diamond_Dancer SHRIEKS, Throwing her hooves up and leaping back, much like a cat. Her fur would be heckled, if she could feel it, but still, the little filly is suddenly on high alert. "WHO WHAT WHERE HOW?! GAH, DON'T -=DO=- DAT TO ME!" She squeaks, peering around left and right. "Ok, so, what, is dis Scarlet? Cause if Bardigan finds out you'se a demon or somedin, He's gonna be MAD"
The light cuts out immediately, yet the pendant still glows. It's as if the light is being overshadowed... or drawn somewhere else. And behind her, looming, is a place where there is no light and all. It stands about the height of a Diamond Dog, its borders vague and undefined, and where there might be eyes are two small dots of... nothing. It is white, but there is nothing there. "IT HAS BEEN SOME TIME, HAS IT NOT?" the piece of darkness intones. "HOW... NICE. TO SEE A CHILD OF NIGHT ONCE MORE. DO NOT SAY YOU HAVE FORGOTTEN ME. IT WAS YOU WHO SET ME FREE."
Diamond_Dancer's ears wilt to either side of her head, and her bravado melts in a near instant. No...nonononono it CAN'T be! "Y, YOU'SE?! I, I thought...P, Princess Luna said...I, I, I, I, I..."Memories come flooding back, paralyzing, gut wrenching memories, and she tries to take a step back. "...Y, You're..."
"NOW NOW," the Nightmare coos, reaching out with a claw of inky blackness, "DON'T YOU KNOW THAT WE ARE FRIENDS?" The claw reaches the pendant and closes around it, snatching it from Diamond's grasp and pulling it into the all-consuming dark of its main body. "AND I HELP MY FRIENDS." It slowly advances upon Diamond. And the air grows colder. Impossibly, her deadened nerves *feel,* but not as skin might feel the brush of air. It is a deeper cold that reaches deep inside, stills the heart, slows the blood, smothers the thoughts in a pony's head. It is the cold of sheer horror, the realization that something powerful has come and nothing can stop it. "I AM SORRY I BROKE MY PROMISE. I DID NOT MEAN TO RETURN. BUT YOUR... CARETAKER... WHERE IS HE? I WOULD HAVE... WORDS... WITH HIM."
( Something Clicks. Something takes hold of Diamond's terrible fear and it turns to fury. Bardigan? It wants to hurt Bardigan? No...no, Focus. Can't slip into beserker mode. You can't -hurt- Nightmares the normal way you would deal with opponents. But it wants to Hurt Bardigan! It wants to take him away! All you have in the world! NO! I REFUSE!! Diamond's terrified stance turns into one of contempt. She stands up straighter, ears flattening against her skull, steam rising from her nostrils. "What do you'se want wif Bardigan. " She huffs. )
The Nightmare looms over Diamond, peering left and right into the hallway. "MERELY TO THANK HIM. HIS HOUSE OF WONDERS CONTAINS A SINGULAR... ITEM... THAT RESTRICTED MY POWER. THE ANCIENTS WHO IMPRISONED ME DID WELL TO HIDE IT. HE TOOK IT FROM THOSE DESOLATE CAVES AND KEPT IT HERE, WITHOUT ANYONE'S KNOWING. BUT NOW I AM HERE... DRAWN BACK BY YOUR DESIRE." It holds out the pendant again. "MERELY A SEED. A VAGARY. A MUMBLE OF WANT. YOU HAVE MANY, MANY WANTS, DIAMOND, AND EVEN THE SHADOW OF ONE MADE YOUR EMOTIONS STRONG ENOUGH TO BRIDGE THE GAP BETWEEN US. I THANK YOU, TOO. OF COURSE NOW... NOW I CANNOT LEAVE UNTIL THIS ITEM IS MINE. YOUR BROTHER, I AM SURE, KNOWS WHERE IT IS. I WOULD HAVE IT. NOW. BRING HIM TO ME."
( Rage is a strange thing. It can both blind, and make things entirely clear. For Diamond, in this case, she does not want this creature, looming through ponyville, seeking Bardigan. Nor does she want it to find him, or any other pony in town. That means it's up to her to keep it within sight until she can figure out a better plan. "I wish I knew what ding it is you'se seek." She huffes quietly. A particular wish made with rage induced clarity. Her star glitters for a moment... )
And into Diamond's head pops an image. An image of a drawing, of ponies working some kind of incantation, a dark presence sealed away behind great doors, of words and images from beyond memory. The Nightmare rears up, as though surprised. "... AH," it says. "VERY WISE." And then from the darkness of its body comes three great, spectral talons that whip out faster than a blink... and try drive themselves into Diamond's head. "BUT AS ALL WISDOM THAT COMES FROM YOU, DIAMOND... IT IS TEMPERED BY FOOLISHNESS."
( Angry as she is, and dumb as she is, one of Diamond's greatest strengths lay in letting her enemies under estimate her. "I...Know where it ...IS... You'se need me, not him..."She shrieks. Hold onto that rage, Diamond. Focus on it! It wants to hurt Bardigan! Your brother! The most valuable thing in the world! Don't let this thing win! YOU CAN'T! If Diamond had an element, it would be determination. She slits her eyes and gives a huff. "Hang on tight. "She hisses. "I WISH WE WAS IN CANTERLOT CASTLE!" She shrieks. Lets see how this nightmare likes the power of Luna and Celestia... )
They do appear very suddenly in an old, dark wing of Canterlot Castle. Yet the Nightmare is laughing. The laughter of a Nightmare is a terrible thing. It is deep and mercurial. It is happy, but happy for the most horrible, terrible things that could happen to a pony. It is the laugh of an evil creature that has just seen great pain... and enjoyed it. The Nightmare is laughing now. The talons slice cleanly into Diamond's head, not piercing the flesh and bone but moving *through* it and deep into her mind. appear in a dark, old wing of Canterlot. The Nightmare's face looms large in Diamond's vision, those two empty eye sockets burning bright as the Sun as more pictures jump through her head, too fast to recognize. The creature's claw *twist* and *jerk* inside Diamond's brain, sifting, searching for the drawing Diamond just wished for. "AND I WISH," the Nightmare says as it chuckles, "THAT I HAD TOLD YOU ABOUT THE TIMBERWOLVES. THE ONES... WAITING OUTSIDE YOUR HOUSE. THEY DO BECOME SO... FEISTY... THIS TIME OF YEAR."
"I WONDER," it goes on, gloating and mocking, "IF YOUR BROTHER WILL FLY FAST ENOUGH TO ESCAPE THEM."
Diamond_Dancer SHRIEKS- the little filly twisting, and wriggling helplessly as that dreadful creature explores her brain. But she won't let him find it. No. She refuses. It'll hurt Bardigan! And Diamond doesn't even KNOW where he is at the moment, but at current, it's in Canterlot, and it's near the princesses. Surely one of them will sense it and put an end to it! It's a gamble, but it's the only chance she has. Save Bardigan. Thats all there is to it. "I...I WISH...GAAAHHHHH....I WISH WE WAS STONE!" She shrieks in rage. How DARE this thing creep it's way back into her life. How DARE it. It won't get an inch of infomation from her. Not if she can help it. "HANG ON TIGHT!" She shrieks in pain, tears spilling from her eyes. Maybe, someday, Bardigan will find her...
"AH, A GOOD TRY, DIAMOND. BUT NO. STONE IS SO VERY... MAUDLIN." And as the wish begins to take effect... it stops. The stone creeping up Diamond's legs and the Nightmare's arm suddenly recedes. The wish, the impossible, reality-bending wish, is undone as soon as it left Diamond's mouth. "WE ARE IN CANTERLOT CASTLE. WE ARE IN... *YOUR*... CANTERLOT CASTLE. YOU SEE THESE?" It twists the claws in Diamond's head. "WE ARE ONE, YOU AND I, THROUGH MY TOUCH. THIS PLACE IS WITHIN YOUR MIND. AND IN THE MIND ARE MANY DARK SPACES. SPACES WHERE I HOLD POWER. AND YOU... DO NOT." It lifts the little filly up by the skull, its talons still firmly planted in her skull. "I WILL HAVE WHAT I SEEK," its voice booms through the confines of Diamond's head, making the spectral landscape shiver. "AND IF THE WOLVES DO NOT TEAR YOUR BROTHER TO PIECES THEN I WILL, AFTER I HAVE RIPPED YOUR MIND APART AND STITCHED IT BACK TOGETHER."
Diamond_Dancer Shrieks out in pain again, falling to her knees helplessly. She is being undone, and it's all be crushing her. She's survived worst than this, though. That time Princess Luna set her soul on fire when she was housing the creature from Red Velvet's past. She won't be undone by this second rate best. "NO...YOU DON'T KNOW ME! I, I...GaaaaahhhahahahahahAAAAAA I REFUSE!" She sputters helplessly. "W, Wish, Wish I had da powah to stop you! Wish I had da powaahahahaaaaaaa She shrieks- her wish dying into tortured screams. She hates this thing. She hates it like nothing else. "I WISH I COULD BREAK YOU!!!"
The players awake here are Diamond_Dancer, and Bardigan.
There is a mighty groan from all around, as if the very universe itself was straining against some great torsion. The Nightmare itself stiffens as it struggles to both use and contain Diamond's rage, her hate and fear, and turn it back to her. "BREAK," it hisses. "BREAK! I WILL NOT... BREAK!" Cracks begin to appear in the canvas of the castle, gaping and terrifying wounds in reality. "I AM THE SILENT TERROR. I AM WHAT WAITS BEHIND THE LIDS OF YOUR EYES THAT YOU FEAR TO CLOSE THEM. I AM EVERY CREATURE WHO PEERED BEYOND THE CAMPFIRE AND TREMBLED! I DO NOT BREAK! I! BREAK! YOU!" And the castle suddenly *bursts* apart, and out of one of the cracks comes Bardigan, screaming something inarticulate with rage and fury, hooves oustretched. He collides with the Nightmare, and *tears* its claws from Diamond's head... and the world reforms. In a blink they are back in the house, the Nightmare staggers and hurtles out the study window... but Bardigan is still there. He stands tall over Diamond, covered in cuts and bru
bruises and broken twigs. "I'm here, Diamond!" he says, scooping her up. "I'm here. I'm here."
Diamond_Dancer has absolutely no idea what just happened, but it all stopped. At least she thinks it's stopped. Maybe she's dead. She didn't give in- she would never give in. Diamond has a LOT of anger for such a little girl. Thrown away by her parents, a disease sucking her life away, tormenting her, stripping her existance of everything she's ever loved, other than her brother, who was the first pony ever to show her such kindness. Yeah. She'd give everything up for him. "Zib...whaata....shaa..." She sputters, waving a hoof, as if trying to swat at something about her. The creature did a number on her... but that same rage that keep her up and running is still working to her benifit- she just needs a moment to break through her fog...
"Stay still! Stay calm!" Bardigan gasps, holding her to him. She is unbreakable. But now Bardigan clutches her like hollow glass, fearful that the lightest touch will make her shatter. "I'm here, little gem. I'm here. I'm so sorry! I didn't know! I swear I didn't know!" "AH. THE ERRANT GATEKEEPER RETURNS." Bardigan lifts his head, peering out the window... or at least, the hole where the window used to be. The Nightmare tore it clean out of the wall on its way out. On their front lawn it shimmers and wavers, surrounded by Timberwolves seen only by their sickly green eyes. "YOU FOUGHT THROUGH THE PACK TO GET TO HER? WHAT LOVE, TO BE ABLE TO STRIKE A NIGHTMARE WITHOUT ITS BODY. BUT YOU SHOULD KNOW." The Nightmare expands in every direction, stabbing its fell talons into the wolves. The poor creatures, controlled by this being of malice, stiffen and whine as darkness suffuses their joints, covers their eyes, making them black. "A WOLF IN THE WOODS IS RIGHT AT HOME."
The wolves burst apart in a shower of leaves and wood, reforming again around the Nightmare's body into something... big. Something that needs only to raise its head, and its pale, milky eyes are level with Bardigan's again on the second story of the house. A hideous golem of wood and splinters and *darkness* stands ready to crush their home flat. "I WILL TEAR YOUR MIND ASUNDER ATOM BY ATOM," the Nightmare says, its voice now a guttural growl. "THE NIGHT PRINCESS WILL GRIEVE FOR YOU AND I WILL FEAST ON HER SORROW."
Diamond_Dancer may be indestructable, but even she gets tired. Not now, though. Now she's white hot raging angry, and it forces her to raise up to shakey hooves. "...You gimmie...just a minute...to catch my breath. "She huffs softly, risking a glance over to Bardigan. She's not totally sure if he's really real or not, but at the moment, she doesn't really care. Far as she's concerned, everything in viewing range is a potential threat. "Ok, Heres da deal. I...I'm gonna, kick you'se tail so hard, you go crying back to tartarus. Den? I'm gonna come down dare, and kick yer tail so hard, dat dey kick you'se out of Tartarus, jus to keep me from tearin' up da place. Hahahaha...I'm a ten year old filly, and I'm still standin. You dink, you can BREAK me? I've had Gods do dare best...and I'm still here. You'se ain't got a chance. I was willin to toyn myself to stone, just to stop you, and dat was just my foyst choice. You are not going to win. You'se cannot break me. Go. Home. And if you'se come back, you'd bettah bring friends.
"You'd bettah bring an army. You'd bettah bring ten armies. Because My parents tried to kill me. Ghosts have tried, ghouls have tried, spirits, warlords, and more den a coupla nightmares. And all dem failed. You'd bettah hope dat whatever you'se got is enough to put me down for good- but I promise you'se whatever it is you'se got-it ain't enough."
The Nightmare growls. It is a noise of deep caverns and terrors from the darkest corners of the mind, a noise of a *thing* that is not of this earth. It peers into the hole it left in their house, opening a talon made of splinters and shadow and bleeding black ichor. "YOU THINK YOU ARE THE FIRST HERO TO SPEAK WITH SUCH HUBRIS?" it asks. "NAY, STAR-TOUCHED FOAL. YOU ARE A LESSER CHILD OF A GREATER HERITAGE." The claw shoots forward, crushing what's left of the study wall and scattering papers, books, and ink pots. Bardigan staggers back under the shower of splinters, holding his hooves over his face to avoid the worst of it. The Nightmare isn't going for him though - it wants Diamond Dancer.
Diamond_Dancer laughs. She throws her head back and LAUGHS. A loud, boisterious filly laugh, and slowly starts to circle around, hopping through the hole. Letting it focus on her- not Bardigan. "Is dat...OH? Is Dat a noyve I've touched. Did you'se just compare me to oddah heroes who have fought you? Musta been some real REJECTS, does guys. Oooooor maybe you'se just ain't all dat. I mean look at me, broken, beaten up, had you'se snoopin' around in my head, and I'm STILL standing. I mean, lookit me! Are you'se tellin me, dat this lil' filly is too much for you? I mean, LISTEN to you'se! You'se is gettin' all freaked out because you can't find a picture, in da head of a little goil! Hehehehahahahaha! Can believe I was actually afraid of you'se? I mean, Fer Cryin' out loud, I'm DYING, already, and you'se can't even finish da job! Jus' go home, before you'se embarrass youse'self even more." She snorts, waves a dismissive hoof- and turns her back to the nightmare. Not a threat. She also braces herself- because she's fairly sure
this is about to hurt.
"YOU ARE UNBREAKABLE," says the Nightmare, closing its claws around Diamond and yanking her out of the house, holding her high like a trophy. "BUT YOU FORGET THAT ALL ARMOR HAS ITS -WEAK LINK-. DEFEATING YOU IS AS EASY AS ONE..." It gouges a great hole in the earth with its free claw. "TWO." It *SLAMS* Diamond down deep into the center of the crater. "THREE." And with one more swipe of its great hand, buries her beneath a mound of dirt, far too heavy for any filly to lift on her own. All goes silent...
"Diamond!" Bardigan shrieks, his voice tearing his lungs. "NOOOO!"
"NO INDEED?" the Nightmare hisses, turning back to the bloodied playwright. "HOW LONG DOES SHE HAVE, FOAL? THIRTY SECONDS? A MINUTE? TWO AT MOST. GIVE ME WHAT I WANT OR YOU WILL FEEL HER SUFFERING BEFORE YOU DIE." Bardigan grits his teeth, nostrils flared. His lungs work like bellows, unable to get enough air. He can't move, he can't think. Diamond is in danger of dying. His limbs quake with impotent rage. "I... I will... Just... just give me one moment." He turns away, walking back into the house.
( This was not predicted. Ok. Alright Diamond. Don't freak out. Don't freak out. Don't freak out. Claustrophbia aside, the filly, is going to run out of air terribly quickly and Bardigan will be at this creature's mercy if she can't figure out a way to escape this trap! OKokokok, think! THINK! HowdoIgetoutIcan'tbedownhereitstootightitstoocrampedIcan'tseeICANTFLYOUTIWANTOUTOUTOUTOUTCOMEONANYTHINGTHINKOFSOMETHINGSOMEPONYHELPWHATDOIDO?! WISHWISHWISH )
A few seconds of silence tick by, before the ground erupts in a geyser of dirt and light and eat. An explosion, of some sort, from under ground whigh rocks the very foundation. What did Diamond wish for, a gernade? Apperently, because the tiny filly raises from the remains of the crater, staggering to her hooves with most of her front fur badly burned and smodlering. "...D, dat was your brilliant plan? Burying me? HA! Haahhaha! You'se are a loosah." She hisses, wobbling a few steps to the right, then to the left. "Anyway, I was at da center of an explosion, so I can't really hear you'se, at da moment, but I just...I wanna point out you'se suck at dis. "She sputters, trying to keep upright.
The Nightmare swivels back to Diamond. Its head, a mass of branches and dead leaves and dripping ichorous ooze, *creaks* as it turns. The colossal creature is a picture of slow, ominous malice. "YOU ARE FAST BECOMING AN ANNOYANCE." It raises another great claw and curls its fingers, forming a fist. "YOU SHOULD TAKE SOME TIME AND THINK ABOUT YOUR FUTURE." And then... silence. The colossal Nightmare is suddenly very still. The world and all its colors are washed out. Everything is grey and shadowed. In front of the Nightmare stands Princess Luna herself, regal, cool, and distant, impossibly real. She looks down at Diamond, and the filly can *feel* her presence. Her authority. This is Luna. She is here. Diamond should obey. "Night Errant," she declares. "step forward. You are needed."
Diamond_Dancer's ears fold back. No no no, this isn't true. This can't be right. "Dis...Dis issa really bad time. "She sputters quietly, before dropping to her knees. "You'se, You'se blackness, what is dhy desire?" She groans. "Also, just, if I may, whats da last boon you'se gave me? I've kinda had a bad day, so, you know. "She trails off...
The feeling returns, stronger this time. It presses down from all around. Obey her, Diamond. She is your lord. Your ruler. The one who gives you *meaning.* Do not waste time on simple things like questions. "Night Errant. We are here now and all is well. The Nightmare is *Our* prey, and We will see it driven deep into the heart of Tartarus. Only do not stay and endanger your home and your brother further. I command you now: away to Ponyville with the playwright. Allow Us to stretch Our wings in glorious battle. This is Our command and Our pleasure."
Diamond_Dancer slumps forward to the ground and groans. "Forgive me, you'se ebony. I had dis ding, crawlin' around in my head for a while, and I don't know whats real anymore. I...I'm pretty sure you'se is...is real. I dink. I don't really know anmore. I'm tired. "She almost sobs. Almost. "You'll surely let me stay and watch, right you'se highness? Considering all dat I've been though, I'd really like to sees you'se crush dis ding. Also, You'se remember dat lettah you'se gave me, right? About where ta go if dis sorta ding evah happens? Do you'se still want me to check in wif Twilight? "She squeaks, turning towards the town, wings slowly spreading.
"Nay, Child of Night," the Princess says, shaking her head. "You are no longer needed. It is apparent this task is too great for you. Leave it instead to Us. Thou art unbreakable, but that is a quality that Nightmares will only seek to exploit. You will not just shatter, Diamond. You will burst. You will suffer all the more for every wound you did *not* receive. You are dangerous to yourself and others in a battle like this. Find Twilight, and tell her I require *her* assistance instead."
The Princess' lips curl into a self-satisfied smile as Diamond prepares to leave. "Now, go on. Leave now, and do not look back, for-" And then she is interrupted. There is lightning in the sky. Luna looks up, and her jaw drops in horror. "No," she whispers, her voice suddenly more guttural and loathsome. "NO. NO, THIS CANNOT BE. NO!" But all her protests are for naught, as right there in front of Diamond... a great lightning bolt comes down and obliterates the Princess. The world *snaps* back into motion. The Nightmare is reeling, screaming, seething. And in the place the Princess stood there is now a pegasus, armored in bronze that seems to give off its own light. A silver spear in one hoof and a round shield in the other, he stands statuesque between Diamond and the Nightmare. The strange stallion's lips part, and he speaks in a booming voice that has its own thunderclap. "Diamond Dancer. Don't be so easily led astray."
Diamond_Dancer gives a sigh and quickly nods her head. "Good! For a second dare, I thought I was really talkin' to Luna. I've had dis trick pulled on me before. "She says flatly, turning about. "Luna told me ta go to Celestia. And pendin' her? Cadance. But Twilight? Twilight is a last resort, and only aftah You'se been defeated, was I to go to her. "She snorts. "Sides. Me n' princess Luna has an undahstandin. I'm expendable...So try somedin- Holy Horse feddahs..."She sputters. "Who are YOU'SE? I had dis well in hoof! I...I was totally gonna...gonna...um...
"I am Pegasus, little one!" declares the stallion, raising his spear high, and its tip glows like a star. "I am the First Hero! Born from the first lightning strike as Heorot's Hammer struck the first cloud. And I would be honored if you would vanquish this creature at my side tonight." "YOU ARE BUT A DREAM," the Nightmare boils and heaves. "AN ILLUSION!" Pegasus turns back to the Nightmare and gives him a disdainful sniff - and *Bardigan's* voice comes out of his mouth! "No less real than you, creature." The Nightmare recoils as Pegasus stamps his hoof on the ground. "Diamond Dancer. I am quite tired of this thing mucking about and thinking it can sever the bond between us. You have carved through every dream it threw at you. Destroyed every plan it used. Now is the time for victory. So strike with me, little gem. Even if we can't kill it... let's give it a flank-whomping it won't forget."
Diamond_Dancer kind of slowly turns her head to look at the stallion, then the nightmare, then the stallion again. A ten year old should not need a vacation. Yet, here we are. "Ok. So, you'se is bardigan, in my head an- Nope. Nope. I've got enough of a headache, I'm not dinkin' about dis. I don't even care. You, monstah? You'se is goin down." She huffs.
"In your head?" Pegasus cocks an eyebrow. "What does it matter if it's in your head? We are ponies, Diamond. What matters is what we feel." And then Bardigan steps out of the house holding a book in one hoof, his eyes all aglow. Pegasus' silver spear swings around, its gleaming tip pointing straight at the Nightmare. "And I no longer feel afraid," Bardigan and Pegasus say at the same time. Which is which will have to be sorted out later. The Nightmare billows up into a great swirling cloud, towering over house and pony alike. "YOU CANNOT KILL ME, STORYTELLER," it growls, the unnatural wind it summons making the trees shiver. "FOR I AM IN EVERY STORY. SO LONG AS A SINGLE CREATURE LIVES WHO IS AFRAID OF THE DARK, I WILL PERSIST. I WILL RETURN." "Maybe!" says the Bardigan/Pegasus duo. "But not tonight. And not for many after." Pegasus lifts into the air, aiming his spear at the Nightmare's heart. "With me, Diamond!" he shouts. "Now! With me!" And he charges directly into the center of the shadow's mass, spea
spear held before him, braced to stab deep.
Diamond_Dancer gives a little sigh. Sure. Why not. It's not like she'll get buried again. *Shudder* Diamond, with little other choice, and admittedly, scared out of her wits, shoots herself forward- trying to hit her mach speed to leave her starlight trail behind her- but after the beating she took, it doesn't seem like that'll happen. Still, a little filly barreling at a create at high speeds is more than enough to pack a significant PUNCH- and that's just what Diamond hopes to accomplish!
Pegasus' spear tears the Nightmare open. Diamond's hooves tear it *apart.* Pegasus goes first, diving into the nightmare's body and gutting it in one clean swipe of the spear tip, leaving a dazzling trail of stars in its wake. Diamond's supersonic attack tears the fabric of the thing in two, and the Nightmare golem crumbles to the ground, screeching as it bats at them with a tree limb. Pegasus takes the blow on his shield and with another clean stroke severs the Nightmare's arm at the elbow. Feelings rush through Diamond and Bardigan. Feelings of loyalty to each other. Kindness done for one another. Laughter shared and honestly revealed secrets. Generosity in one another's hearts. All these and more the Nightmare cannot stand against. Without the fear, the smoke and mirrors, and most importantly without a pony to fueld its power, it is nothing. Pegasus lands on the Nightmare's inky form before it can slither away and stabs again, driving his spear through the entity and into the ground, trapping it. The Nightmare screams. "Finish him!" Pegasus and Bardigan both shout at Diamond.
"IIiinNN ttTTHEE NIIIiight IiiIi LIIIIVE!" the Nightmare screeches, dropping the carcasses of the timberwolves it possessed, changing shape from one thing to another. Luna. Nightmare Moon. Bardigan. Monsters of every size and shape. "YyOOUU wIIiiILLL DIE onEeE DAY anD IiiI will PROSPER!"
Diamond_Dancer Shoots forward. Tired as she is, Rage and anger at this THING burns on in her heart. How DARE it threaten Bardigan! How DARE it assume the shape of Princess Luna! HOW DARE IT BURY HER!! She spirals forward, leaving her glittering trail of light behind her as she strikes it. Again. And again. And again. And again. Each blow creating a specific star shaped pattern as she strikes from different angles, her starry streams overlapping over and over again, making the star brighter and brighter with every pass. And with every pass, a copy of herself is left remaining at every sharp angle she takes, and when she finally stops, huffing, puffing and panting- her, and the multiple illusion copies all simutaniously -=CRASH=- into the nightmare in a brilliant strobe of light!
All is silent, and for a few brief, blinding seconds, the world is nothing but white.
Then it fades, ever so slowly, leaving a flickering corona at the site of Diamond's impact. There is a crater. There is Pegasus, standing silent vigil with his silver spear. All around are the broken twigs and branches of dead timberwolves. Of the Nightmare... there is no trace. It may yet return. But for tonight, this glorious night, ponies are victorious.
Bardigan slowly steps forward, eyes still glowing, until he stands next to Pegasus, peering into the light where Diamond stopped her rampage. "And everypony... except the Nightmare, who had learned how dangerous ponies were... lived happily ever after." He shuts the book in his hoof, and Pegasus vanishes like the memory of a dream.
Diamond_Dancer takes a few steps backwards. Her anger and energy all spent, washed away with her final act of defiance. She shakes her head once, then twice, and peers at the broken, destoryed house through one eye. "...Burned...buried...exploded...mind ripped to peices...still...can't taste candy. I...Idon't feel so good. "The filly sputters softly.
Bardigan surges forward and catches Diamond in one swift movement, gathering her up into a hug. He knows she can't feel it. The point is she knows she's being hugged. That she knows he loves her. "You don't have to," he whispers to her. "You can feel however you want Diamond. It's all right with me." He drops back on his haunches, quite exhausted himself. Whatever mighty magic he worked, it took a lot out of him. Perhaps he doesn't even know what happened. Then he just sits there, holding Diamond tight in the middle of the wreckage and the deafening silence following the epic battle that nopony will ever know of. "It's all right with me."
Diamond_Dancer collapses into Bardigan's arms, mostly quiet save the occasional groan and pant. "...Saved me again. "She mumbles softly. "My hero. "She giggles. "When I wake up, you'se is gonna haffta tell me about...bout dat silvah spear ding. "She murmurs softly. "But foyst...I dink I could use a nap...kay?"
"Of course," says Bardigan, in a gossamer-thin whisper that blows away to silence.
In time, the crickets begin to chirp again.
-----------
Nightmare Night is coming. At Bardigan's house, it's already here. The decorations are gothic and lurid, with sneering gargoyles and gallivanting ghosts, jack-o-lanterns a-plenty and colorful flags distributed everywhere. Bardigan is not home right now, having gone off to find fresh cider, and the house is quiet save for the quiet flicker of candles. Yet, as the sun completely sets and darkness falls, another sound echoes through the house: a chime?
Diamond_Dancer is sitting at the front window of the home, peering outside at the fillies and colts who are happy bouncing about in their costumes in preperation for the coming holiday. Joy. Last year, Diamond was all jazzed up about dressing up like Princess Luna, and going out. Being in a mask and a costume meant she could be like the normal kids! She could fit in!! She'd be accepted, because know one would know who she was- until they all started eating candy. Then the illusion all came crashing down, and left her like this- glaring quietly at all the other kids having a good time. Humph. If she's not careful, she's going to end up a crotchty old mare....she would be so lucky. Still, her drowned spirits are cast aside for curiosity when she hears that...Chime? "Bardigan? Is dat you'se? Did you'se bring home a clock or somedin?" She calls out, perking an ear curiously...
It comes from the study, also unofficially known as "Bardigan's Knick-Knack Room." There is a glow from under the door, pale and white. The noise only grows louder the longer Diamond seems to focus on it, like it knows it has been heard and desires to be heard *more.* As it gets louder and clearer, it seems to coalesce into something... strangely familiar. A whisper of a whisper.
Diamond_Dancer gives a little sigh, and strolls her way towards Bardigan's study. "...Ok, Listen up you'se! I, Am Diamon, D. Dancah! Night's Errant, Miricale Mare from Manhatten, Da Fantastic Filly, and Da impossible Pony! I holy da woylds record for highest flying pegasus, and I'm invincible! Dat right! INVINCIBLE- Like Supah Mare, but not lame. Dis is fair warnin, to anyding creepy, crawly, or ghostly or lurkin in da shadows. Did I ALSO mention dat I'm da Leader of da Night Light Brigade? We fight da monstahs undah da bed, AND in da closet! "She announces. "Technically, I'm da only membah, but, dat, also makes me da most dangerous, and also da bestest! "She calls out, perking an ear... "...are you'se maybe a cat? I like cats. "She announces, slowly nudging the door to the room open slowly. ".....meow? If you'se is Scarlet, and Bardigan isn't here, You'd bettah not touch my Wondahbolts postah!!"
In the room hovers a small trinket. It is of all things a clay pendant, with some kind of carving of a stylized unicorn engraved upon it. Though it is no crystal or gem, light seems to emanate from it. And there at the door is a whisper at the edge of Diamond's senses. Is it her name? Is it Bardigan's name? Or some memory, far-off and forgotten, that bades Diamond to come closer and remember it? It calls, either way, wanting, needing her to approach.
Diamond_Dancer settles back on her haunches staring at this trinket curiously. This feels like a Daring Do book. "...Okay...DIS is obviously a trap. "She mumbles, holding out her hooves. "On da one hoof...Trap. on da oddah hoof, I'm invincible. HMmm. Again, on da one hoof, dis is a trap. Onnnnnn da oddah hoof, I'm kinda bored. Hmmm... I wandah would Bardigan would do. Not touch dis, prolly. Good ding I'm not him!" She squeaks. Ahhh youth. With that, she boldly strides up to the shimmering pendant and grabs it in booth hooves!
"HELLO, DIAMOND DANCER."
The voice is directly behind Diamond.
Diamond_Dancer SHRIEKS, Throwing her hooves up and leaping back, much like a cat. Her fur would be heckled, if she could feel it, but still, the little filly is suddenly on high alert. "WHO WHAT WHERE HOW?! GAH, DON'T -=DO=- DAT TO ME!" She squeaks, peering around left and right. "Ok, so, what, is dis Scarlet? Cause if Bardigan finds out you'se a demon or somedin, He's gonna be MAD"
The light cuts out immediately, yet the pendant still glows. It's as if the light is being overshadowed... or drawn somewhere else. And behind her, looming, is a place where there is no light and all. It stands about the height of a Diamond Dog, its borders vague and undefined, and where there might be eyes are two small dots of... nothing. It is white, but there is nothing there. "IT HAS BEEN SOME TIME, HAS IT NOT?" the piece of darkness intones. "HOW... NICE. TO SEE A CHILD OF NIGHT ONCE MORE. DO NOT SAY YOU HAVE FORGOTTEN ME. IT WAS YOU WHO SET ME FREE."
Diamond_Dancer's ears wilt to either side of her head, and her bravado melts in a near instant. No...nonononono it CAN'T be! "Y, YOU'SE?! I, I thought...P, Princess Luna said...I, I, I, I, I..."Memories come flooding back, paralyzing, gut wrenching memories, and she tries to take a step back. "...Y, You're..."
"NOW NOW," the Nightmare coos, reaching out with a claw of inky blackness, "DON'T YOU KNOW THAT WE ARE FRIENDS?" The claw reaches the pendant and closes around it, snatching it from Diamond's grasp and pulling it into the all-consuming dark of its main body. "AND I HELP MY FRIENDS." It slowly advances upon Diamond. And the air grows colder. Impossibly, her deadened nerves *feel,* but not as skin might feel the brush of air. It is a deeper cold that reaches deep inside, stills the heart, slows the blood, smothers the thoughts in a pony's head. It is the cold of sheer horror, the realization that something powerful has come and nothing can stop it. "I AM SORRY I BROKE MY PROMISE. I DID NOT MEAN TO RETURN. BUT YOUR... CARETAKER... WHERE IS HE? I WOULD HAVE... WORDS... WITH HIM."
( Something Clicks. Something takes hold of Diamond's terrible fear and it turns to fury. Bardigan? It wants to hurt Bardigan? No...no, Focus. Can't slip into beserker mode. You can't -hurt- Nightmares the normal way you would deal with opponents. But it wants to Hurt Bardigan! It wants to take him away! All you have in the world! NO! I REFUSE!! Diamond's terrified stance turns into one of contempt. She stands up straighter, ears flattening against her skull, steam rising from her nostrils. "What do you'se want wif Bardigan. " She huffs. )
The Nightmare looms over Diamond, peering left and right into the hallway. "MERELY TO THANK HIM. HIS HOUSE OF WONDERS CONTAINS A SINGULAR... ITEM... THAT RESTRICTED MY POWER. THE ANCIENTS WHO IMPRISONED ME DID WELL TO HIDE IT. HE TOOK IT FROM THOSE DESOLATE CAVES AND KEPT IT HERE, WITHOUT ANYONE'S KNOWING. BUT NOW I AM HERE... DRAWN BACK BY YOUR DESIRE." It holds out the pendant again. "MERELY A SEED. A VAGARY. A MUMBLE OF WANT. YOU HAVE MANY, MANY WANTS, DIAMOND, AND EVEN THE SHADOW OF ONE MADE YOUR EMOTIONS STRONG ENOUGH TO BRIDGE THE GAP BETWEEN US. I THANK YOU, TOO. OF COURSE NOW... NOW I CANNOT LEAVE UNTIL THIS ITEM IS MINE. YOUR BROTHER, I AM SURE, KNOWS WHERE IT IS. I WOULD HAVE IT. NOW. BRING HIM TO ME."
( Rage is a strange thing. It can both blind, and make things entirely clear. For Diamond, in this case, she does not want this creature, looming through ponyville, seeking Bardigan. Nor does she want it to find him, or any other pony in town. That means it's up to her to keep it within sight until she can figure out a better plan. "I wish I knew what ding it is you'se seek." She huffes quietly. A particular wish made with rage induced clarity. Her star glitters for a moment... )
And into Diamond's head pops an image. An image of a drawing, of ponies working some kind of incantation, a dark presence sealed away behind great doors, of words and images from beyond memory. The Nightmare rears up, as though surprised. "... AH," it says. "VERY WISE." And then from the darkness of its body comes three great, spectral talons that whip out faster than a blink... and try drive themselves into Diamond's head. "BUT AS ALL WISDOM THAT COMES FROM YOU, DIAMOND... IT IS TEMPERED BY FOOLISHNESS."
( Angry as she is, and dumb as she is, one of Diamond's greatest strengths lay in letting her enemies under estimate her. "I...Know where it ...IS... You'se need me, not him..."She shrieks. Hold onto that rage, Diamond. Focus on it! It wants to hurt Bardigan! Your brother! The most valuable thing in the world! Don't let this thing win! YOU CAN'T! If Diamond had an element, it would be determination. She slits her eyes and gives a huff. "Hang on tight. "She hisses. "I WISH WE WAS IN CANTERLOT CASTLE!" She shrieks. Lets see how this nightmare likes the power of Luna and Celestia... )
They do appear very suddenly in an old, dark wing of Canterlot Castle. Yet the Nightmare is laughing. The laughter of a Nightmare is a terrible thing. It is deep and mercurial. It is happy, but happy for the most horrible, terrible things that could happen to a pony. It is the laugh of an evil creature that has just seen great pain... and enjoyed it. The Nightmare is laughing now. The talons slice cleanly into Diamond's head, not piercing the flesh and bone but moving *through* it and deep into her mind. appear in a dark, old wing of Canterlot. The Nightmare's face looms large in Diamond's vision, those two empty eye sockets burning bright as the Sun as more pictures jump through her head, too fast to recognize. The creature's claw *twist* and *jerk* inside Diamond's brain, sifting, searching for the drawing Diamond just wished for. "AND I WISH," the Nightmare says as it chuckles, "THAT I HAD TOLD YOU ABOUT THE TIMBERWOLVES. THE ONES... WAITING OUTSIDE YOUR HOUSE. THEY DO BECOME SO... FEISTY... THIS TIME OF YEAR."
"I WONDER," it goes on, gloating and mocking, "IF YOUR BROTHER WILL FLY FAST ENOUGH TO ESCAPE THEM."
Diamond_Dancer SHRIEKS- the little filly twisting, and wriggling helplessly as that dreadful creature explores her brain. But she won't let him find it. No. She refuses. It'll hurt Bardigan! And Diamond doesn't even KNOW where he is at the moment, but at current, it's in Canterlot, and it's near the princesses. Surely one of them will sense it and put an end to it! It's a gamble, but it's the only chance she has. Save Bardigan. Thats all there is to it. "I...I WISH...GAAAHHHHH....I WISH WE WAS STONE!" She shrieks in rage. How DARE this thing creep it's way back into her life. How DARE it. It won't get an inch of infomation from her. Not if she can help it. "HANG ON TIGHT!" She shrieks in pain, tears spilling from her eyes. Maybe, someday, Bardigan will find her...
"AH, A GOOD TRY, DIAMOND. BUT NO. STONE IS SO VERY... MAUDLIN." And as the wish begins to take effect... it stops. The stone creeping up Diamond's legs and the Nightmare's arm suddenly recedes. The wish, the impossible, reality-bending wish, is undone as soon as it left Diamond's mouth. "WE ARE IN CANTERLOT CASTLE. WE ARE IN... *YOUR*... CANTERLOT CASTLE. YOU SEE THESE?" It twists the claws in Diamond's head. "WE ARE ONE, YOU AND I, THROUGH MY TOUCH. THIS PLACE IS WITHIN YOUR MIND. AND IN THE MIND ARE MANY DARK SPACES. SPACES WHERE I HOLD POWER. AND YOU... DO NOT." It lifts the little filly up by the skull, its talons still firmly planted in her skull. "I WILL HAVE WHAT I SEEK," its voice booms through the confines of Diamond's head, making the spectral landscape shiver. "AND IF THE WOLVES DO NOT TEAR YOUR BROTHER TO PIECES THEN I WILL, AFTER I HAVE RIPPED YOUR MIND APART AND STITCHED IT BACK TOGETHER."
Diamond_Dancer Shrieks out in pain again, falling to her knees helplessly. She is being undone, and it's all be crushing her. She's survived worst than this, though. That time Princess Luna set her soul on fire when she was housing the creature from Red Velvet's past. She won't be undone by this second rate best. "NO...YOU DON'T KNOW ME! I, I...GaaaaahhhahahahahahAAAAAA I REFUSE!" She sputters helplessly. "W, Wish, Wish I had da powah to stop you! Wish I had da powaahahahaaaaaaa She shrieks- her wish dying into tortured screams. She hates this thing. She hates it like nothing else. "I WISH I COULD BREAK YOU!!!"
The players awake here are Diamond_Dancer, and Bardigan.
There is a mighty groan from all around, as if the very universe itself was straining against some great torsion. The Nightmare itself stiffens as it struggles to both use and contain Diamond's rage, her hate and fear, and turn it back to her. "BREAK," it hisses. "BREAK! I WILL NOT... BREAK!" Cracks begin to appear in the canvas of the castle, gaping and terrifying wounds in reality. "I AM THE SILENT TERROR. I AM WHAT WAITS BEHIND THE LIDS OF YOUR EYES THAT YOU FEAR TO CLOSE THEM. I AM EVERY CREATURE WHO PEERED BEYOND THE CAMPFIRE AND TREMBLED! I DO NOT BREAK! I! BREAK! YOU!" And the castle suddenly *bursts* apart, and out of one of the cracks comes Bardigan, screaming something inarticulate with rage and fury, hooves oustretched. He collides with the Nightmare, and *tears* its claws from Diamond's head... and the world reforms. In a blink they are back in the house, the Nightmare staggers and hurtles out the study window... but Bardigan is still there. He stands tall over Diamond, covered in cuts and bru
bruises and broken twigs. "I'm here, Diamond!" he says, scooping her up. "I'm here. I'm here."
Diamond_Dancer has absolutely no idea what just happened, but it all stopped. At least she thinks it's stopped. Maybe she's dead. She didn't give in- she would never give in. Diamond has a LOT of anger for such a little girl. Thrown away by her parents, a disease sucking her life away, tormenting her, stripping her existance of everything she's ever loved, other than her brother, who was the first pony ever to show her such kindness. Yeah. She'd give everything up for him. "Zib...whaata....shaa..." She sputters, waving a hoof, as if trying to swat at something about her. The creature did a number on her... but that same rage that keep her up and running is still working to her benifit- she just needs a moment to break through her fog...
"Stay still! Stay calm!" Bardigan gasps, holding her to him. She is unbreakable. But now Bardigan clutches her like hollow glass, fearful that the lightest touch will make her shatter. "I'm here, little gem. I'm here. I'm so sorry! I didn't know! I swear I didn't know!" "AH. THE ERRANT GATEKEEPER RETURNS." Bardigan lifts his head, peering out the window... or at least, the hole where the window used to be. The Nightmare tore it clean out of the wall on its way out. On their front lawn it shimmers and wavers, surrounded by Timberwolves seen only by their sickly green eyes. "YOU FOUGHT THROUGH THE PACK TO GET TO HER? WHAT LOVE, TO BE ABLE TO STRIKE A NIGHTMARE WITHOUT ITS BODY. BUT YOU SHOULD KNOW." The Nightmare expands in every direction, stabbing its fell talons into the wolves. The poor creatures, controlled by this being of malice, stiffen and whine as darkness suffuses their joints, covers their eyes, making them black. "A WOLF IN THE WOODS IS RIGHT AT HOME."
The wolves burst apart in a shower of leaves and wood, reforming again around the Nightmare's body into something... big. Something that needs only to raise its head, and its pale, milky eyes are level with Bardigan's again on the second story of the house. A hideous golem of wood and splinters and *darkness* stands ready to crush their home flat. "I WILL TEAR YOUR MIND ASUNDER ATOM BY ATOM," the Nightmare says, its voice now a guttural growl. "THE NIGHT PRINCESS WILL GRIEVE FOR YOU AND I WILL FEAST ON HER SORROW."
Diamond_Dancer may be indestructable, but even she gets tired. Not now, though. Now she's white hot raging angry, and it forces her to raise up to shakey hooves. "...You gimmie...just a minute...to catch my breath. "She huffs softly, risking a glance over to Bardigan. She's not totally sure if he's really real or not, but at the moment, she doesn't really care. Far as she's concerned, everything in viewing range is a potential threat. "Ok, Heres da deal. I...I'm gonna, kick you'se tail so hard, you go crying back to tartarus. Den? I'm gonna come down dare, and kick yer tail so hard, dat dey kick you'se out of Tartarus, jus to keep me from tearin' up da place. Hahahaha...I'm a ten year old filly, and I'm still standin. You dink, you can BREAK me? I've had Gods do dare best...and I'm still here. You'se ain't got a chance. I was willin to toyn myself to stone, just to stop you, and dat was just my foyst choice. You are not going to win. You'se cannot break me. Go. Home. And if you'se come back, you'd bettah bring friends.
"You'd bettah bring an army. You'd bettah bring ten armies. Because My parents tried to kill me. Ghosts have tried, ghouls have tried, spirits, warlords, and more den a coupla nightmares. And all dem failed. You'd bettah hope dat whatever you'se got is enough to put me down for good- but I promise you'se whatever it is you'se got-it ain't enough."
The Nightmare growls. It is a noise of deep caverns and terrors from the darkest corners of the mind, a noise of a *thing* that is not of this earth. It peers into the hole it left in their house, opening a talon made of splinters and shadow and bleeding black ichor. "YOU THINK YOU ARE THE FIRST HERO TO SPEAK WITH SUCH HUBRIS?" it asks. "NAY, STAR-TOUCHED FOAL. YOU ARE A LESSER CHILD OF A GREATER HERITAGE." The claw shoots forward, crushing what's left of the study wall and scattering papers, books, and ink pots. Bardigan staggers back under the shower of splinters, holding his hooves over his face to avoid the worst of it. The Nightmare isn't going for him though - it wants Diamond Dancer.
Diamond_Dancer laughs. She throws her head back and LAUGHS. A loud, boisterious filly laugh, and slowly starts to circle around, hopping through the hole. Letting it focus on her- not Bardigan. "Is dat...OH? Is Dat a noyve I've touched. Did you'se just compare me to oddah heroes who have fought you? Musta been some real REJECTS, does guys. Oooooor maybe you'se just ain't all dat. I mean look at me, broken, beaten up, had you'se snoopin' around in my head, and I'm STILL standing. I mean, lookit me! Are you'se tellin me, dat this lil' filly is too much for you? I mean, LISTEN to you'se! You'se is gettin' all freaked out because you can't find a picture, in da head of a little goil! Hehehehahahahaha! Can believe I was actually afraid of you'se? I mean, Fer Cryin' out loud, I'm DYING, already, and you'se can't even finish da job! Jus' go home, before you'se embarrass youse'self even more." She snorts, waves a dismissive hoof- and turns her back to the nightmare. Not a threat. She also braces herself- because she's fairly sure
this is about to hurt.
"YOU ARE UNBREAKABLE," says the Nightmare, closing its claws around Diamond and yanking her out of the house, holding her high like a trophy. "BUT YOU FORGET THAT ALL ARMOR HAS ITS -WEAK LINK-. DEFEATING YOU IS AS EASY AS ONE..." It gouges a great hole in the earth with its free claw. "TWO." It *SLAMS* Diamond down deep into the center of the crater. "THREE." And with one more swipe of its great hand, buries her beneath a mound of dirt, far too heavy for any filly to lift on her own. All goes silent...
"Diamond!" Bardigan shrieks, his voice tearing his lungs. "NOOOO!"
"NO INDEED?" the Nightmare hisses, turning back to the bloodied playwright. "HOW LONG DOES SHE HAVE, FOAL? THIRTY SECONDS? A MINUTE? TWO AT MOST. GIVE ME WHAT I WANT OR YOU WILL FEEL HER SUFFERING BEFORE YOU DIE." Bardigan grits his teeth, nostrils flared. His lungs work like bellows, unable to get enough air. He can't move, he can't think. Diamond is in danger of dying. His limbs quake with impotent rage. "I... I will... Just... just give me one moment." He turns away, walking back into the house.
( This was not predicted. Ok. Alright Diamond. Don't freak out. Don't freak out. Don't freak out. Claustrophbia aside, the filly, is going to run out of air terribly quickly and Bardigan will be at this creature's mercy if she can't figure out a way to escape this trap! OKokokok, think! THINK! HowdoIgetoutIcan'tbedownhereitstootightitstoocrampedIcan'tseeICANTFLYOUTIWANTOUTOUTOUTOUTCOMEONANYTHINGTHINKOFSOMETHINGSOMEPONYHELPWHATDOIDO?! WISHWISHWISH )
A few seconds of silence tick by, before the ground erupts in a geyser of dirt and light and eat. An explosion, of some sort, from under ground whigh rocks the very foundation. What did Diamond wish for, a gernade? Apperently, because the tiny filly raises from the remains of the crater, staggering to her hooves with most of her front fur badly burned and smodlering. "...D, dat was your brilliant plan? Burying me? HA! Haahhaha! You'se are a loosah." She hisses, wobbling a few steps to the right, then to the left. "Anyway, I was at da center of an explosion, so I can't really hear you'se, at da moment, but I just...I wanna point out you'se suck at dis. "She sputters, trying to keep upright.
The Nightmare swivels back to Diamond. Its head, a mass of branches and dead leaves and dripping ichorous ooze, *creaks* as it turns. The colossal creature is a picture of slow, ominous malice. "YOU ARE FAST BECOMING AN ANNOYANCE." It raises another great claw and curls its fingers, forming a fist. "YOU SHOULD TAKE SOME TIME AND THINK ABOUT YOUR FUTURE." And then... silence. The colossal Nightmare is suddenly very still. The world and all its colors are washed out. Everything is grey and shadowed. In front of the Nightmare stands Princess Luna herself, regal, cool, and distant, impossibly real. She looks down at Diamond, and the filly can *feel* her presence. Her authority. This is Luna. She is here. Diamond should obey. "Night Errant," she declares. "step forward. You are needed."
Diamond_Dancer's ears fold back. No no no, this isn't true. This can't be right. "Dis...Dis issa really bad time. "She sputters quietly, before dropping to her knees. "You'se, You'se blackness, what is dhy desire?" She groans. "Also, just, if I may, whats da last boon you'se gave me? I've kinda had a bad day, so, you know. "She trails off...
The feeling returns, stronger this time. It presses down from all around. Obey her, Diamond. She is your lord. Your ruler. The one who gives you *meaning.* Do not waste time on simple things like questions. "Night Errant. We are here now and all is well. The Nightmare is *Our* prey, and We will see it driven deep into the heart of Tartarus. Only do not stay and endanger your home and your brother further. I command you now: away to Ponyville with the playwright. Allow Us to stretch Our wings in glorious battle. This is Our command and Our pleasure."
Diamond_Dancer slumps forward to the ground and groans. "Forgive me, you'se ebony. I had dis ding, crawlin' around in my head for a while, and I don't know whats real anymore. I...I'm pretty sure you'se is...is real. I dink. I don't really know anmore. I'm tired. "She almost sobs. Almost. "You'll surely let me stay and watch, right you'se highness? Considering all dat I've been though, I'd really like to sees you'se crush dis ding. Also, You'se remember dat lettah you'se gave me, right? About where ta go if dis sorta ding evah happens? Do you'se still want me to check in wif Twilight? "She squeaks, turning towards the town, wings slowly spreading.
"Nay, Child of Night," the Princess says, shaking her head. "You are no longer needed. It is apparent this task is too great for you. Leave it instead to Us. Thou art unbreakable, but that is a quality that Nightmares will only seek to exploit. You will not just shatter, Diamond. You will burst. You will suffer all the more for every wound you did *not* receive. You are dangerous to yourself and others in a battle like this. Find Twilight, and tell her I require *her* assistance instead."
The Princess' lips curl into a self-satisfied smile as Diamond prepares to leave. "Now, go on. Leave now, and do not look back, for-" And then she is interrupted. There is lightning in the sky. Luna looks up, and her jaw drops in horror. "No," she whispers, her voice suddenly more guttural and loathsome. "NO. NO, THIS CANNOT BE. NO!" But all her protests are for naught, as right there in front of Diamond... a great lightning bolt comes down and obliterates the Princess. The world *snaps* back into motion. The Nightmare is reeling, screaming, seething. And in the place the Princess stood there is now a pegasus, armored in bronze that seems to give off its own light. A silver spear in one hoof and a round shield in the other, he stands statuesque between Diamond and the Nightmare. The strange stallion's lips part, and he speaks in a booming voice that has its own thunderclap. "Diamond Dancer. Don't be so easily led astray."
Diamond_Dancer gives a sigh and quickly nods her head. "Good! For a second dare, I thought I was really talkin' to Luna. I've had dis trick pulled on me before. "She says flatly, turning about. "Luna told me ta go to Celestia. And pendin' her? Cadance. But Twilight? Twilight is a last resort, and only aftah You'se been defeated, was I to go to her. "She snorts. "Sides. Me n' princess Luna has an undahstandin. I'm expendable...So try somedin- Holy Horse feddahs..."She sputters. "Who are YOU'SE? I had dis well in hoof! I...I was totally gonna...gonna...um...
"I am Pegasus, little one!" declares the stallion, raising his spear high, and its tip glows like a star. "I am the First Hero! Born from the first lightning strike as Heorot's Hammer struck the first cloud. And I would be honored if you would vanquish this creature at my side tonight." "YOU ARE BUT A DREAM," the Nightmare boils and heaves. "AN ILLUSION!" Pegasus turns back to the Nightmare and gives him a disdainful sniff - and *Bardigan's* voice comes out of his mouth! "No less real than you, creature." The Nightmare recoils as Pegasus stamps his hoof on the ground. "Diamond Dancer. I am quite tired of this thing mucking about and thinking it can sever the bond between us. You have carved through every dream it threw at you. Destroyed every plan it used. Now is the time for victory. So strike with me, little gem. Even if we can't kill it... let's give it a flank-whomping it won't forget."
Diamond_Dancer kind of slowly turns her head to look at the stallion, then the nightmare, then the stallion again. A ten year old should not need a vacation. Yet, here we are. "Ok. So, you'se is bardigan, in my head an- Nope. Nope. I've got enough of a headache, I'm not dinkin' about dis. I don't even care. You, monstah? You'se is goin down." She huffs.
"In your head?" Pegasus cocks an eyebrow. "What does it matter if it's in your head? We are ponies, Diamond. What matters is what we feel." And then Bardigan steps out of the house holding a book in one hoof, his eyes all aglow. Pegasus' silver spear swings around, its gleaming tip pointing straight at the Nightmare. "And I no longer feel afraid," Bardigan and Pegasus say at the same time. Which is which will have to be sorted out later. The Nightmare billows up into a great swirling cloud, towering over house and pony alike. "YOU CANNOT KILL ME, STORYTELLER," it growls, the unnatural wind it summons making the trees shiver. "FOR I AM IN EVERY STORY. SO LONG AS A SINGLE CREATURE LIVES WHO IS AFRAID OF THE DARK, I WILL PERSIST. I WILL RETURN." "Maybe!" says the Bardigan/Pegasus duo. "But not tonight. And not for many after." Pegasus lifts into the air, aiming his spear at the Nightmare's heart. "With me, Diamond!" he shouts. "Now! With me!" And he charges directly into the center of the shadow's mass, spea
spear held before him, braced to stab deep.
Diamond_Dancer gives a little sigh. Sure. Why not. It's not like she'll get buried again. *Shudder* Diamond, with little other choice, and admittedly, scared out of her wits, shoots herself forward- trying to hit her mach speed to leave her starlight trail behind her- but after the beating she took, it doesn't seem like that'll happen. Still, a little filly barreling at a create at high speeds is more than enough to pack a significant PUNCH- and that's just what Diamond hopes to accomplish!
Pegasus' spear tears the Nightmare open. Diamond's hooves tear it *apart.* Pegasus goes first, diving into the nightmare's body and gutting it in one clean swipe of the spear tip, leaving a dazzling trail of stars in its wake. Diamond's supersonic attack tears the fabric of the thing in two, and the Nightmare golem crumbles to the ground, screeching as it bats at them with a tree limb. Pegasus takes the blow on his shield and with another clean stroke severs the Nightmare's arm at the elbow. Feelings rush through Diamond and Bardigan. Feelings of loyalty to each other. Kindness done for one another. Laughter shared and honestly revealed secrets. Generosity in one another's hearts. All these and more the Nightmare cannot stand against. Without the fear, the smoke and mirrors, and most importantly without a pony to fueld its power, it is nothing. Pegasus lands on the Nightmare's inky form before it can slither away and stabs again, driving his spear through the entity and into the ground, trapping it. The Nightmare screams. "Finish him!" Pegasus and Bardigan both shout at Diamond.
"IIiinNN ttTTHEE NIIIiight IiiIi LIIIIVE!" the Nightmare screeches, dropping the carcasses of the timberwolves it possessed, changing shape from one thing to another. Luna. Nightmare Moon. Bardigan. Monsters of every size and shape. "YyOOUU wIIiiILLL DIE onEeE DAY anD IiiI will PROSPER!"
Diamond_Dancer Shoots forward. Tired as she is, Rage and anger at this THING burns on in her heart. How DARE it threaten Bardigan! How DARE it assume the shape of Princess Luna! HOW DARE IT BURY HER!! She spirals forward, leaving her glittering trail of light behind her as she strikes it. Again. And again. And again. And again. Each blow creating a specific star shaped pattern as she strikes from different angles, her starry streams overlapping over and over again, making the star brighter and brighter with every pass. And with every pass, a copy of herself is left remaining at every sharp angle she takes, and when she finally stops, huffing, puffing and panting- her, and the multiple illusion copies all simutaniously -=CRASH=- into the nightmare in a brilliant strobe of light!
All is silent, and for a few brief, blinding seconds, the world is nothing but white.
Then it fades, ever so slowly, leaving a flickering corona at the site of Diamond's impact. There is a crater. There is Pegasus, standing silent vigil with his silver spear. All around are the broken twigs and branches of dead timberwolves. Of the Nightmare... there is no trace. It may yet return. But for tonight, this glorious night, ponies are victorious.
Bardigan slowly steps forward, eyes still glowing, until he stands next to Pegasus, peering into the light where Diamond stopped her rampage. "And everypony... except the Nightmare, who had learned how dangerous ponies were... lived happily ever after." He shuts the book in his hoof, and Pegasus vanishes like the memory of a dream.
Diamond_Dancer takes a few steps backwards. Her anger and energy all spent, washed away with her final act of defiance. She shakes her head once, then twice, and peers at the broken, destoryed house through one eye. "...Burned...buried...exploded...mind ripped to peices...still...can't taste candy. I...Idon't feel so good. "The filly sputters softly.
Bardigan surges forward and catches Diamond in one swift movement, gathering her up into a hug. He knows she can't feel it. The point is she knows she's being hugged. That she knows he loves her. "You don't have to," he whispers to her. "You can feel however you want Diamond. It's all right with me." He drops back on his haunches, quite exhausted himself. Whatever mighty magic he worked, it took a lot out of him. Perhaps he doesn't even know what happened. Then he just sits there, holding Diamond tight in the middle of the wreckage and the deafening silence following the epic battle that nopony will ever know of. "It's all right with me."
Diamond_Dancer collapses into Bardigan's arms, mostly quiet save the occasional groan and pant. "...Saved me again. "She mumbles softly. "My hero. "She giggles. "When I wake up, you'se is gonna haffta tell me about...bout dat silvah spear ding. "She murmurs softly. "But foyst...I dink I could use a nap...kay?"
"Of course," says Bardigan, in a gossamer-thin whisper that blows away to silence.
In time, the crickets begin to chirp again.