Chapter 19: Chasing Love

Chapter 19: Chasing Love

— — —

A dark sense of foreboding hung over the musty cave as Celestia gathered up the Elements of Harmony. Twilight Sparkle tightened her hold on Trixie, her heart beating like a drum.

"By willingly calling up the Nightmare's power," Celestia explained, "you have weakened the power of the suppression spell and opened a door for the Nightmare's return. I understand your desire for power to help Twilight, but it has come with great cost." She gazed thoughtfully over the tiara of the Element of Magic. "But all is not lost. I originally asked you to come here so we could try one more spell to destroy the Nightmare— and that spell is still an option."

"And Trixie would be okay?" Applejack asked.

Celestia frowned. "Assuming all goes as planned." She turned towards Luna. "The only option we have left is the dream walker spell."

Luna blinked in disbelief. "The dream walker spell? Are you certain, sister?"

"Unfortunately so." She turned back towards the seven confused ponies— and an equally confused baby dragon. "Trixie will have to delve into the darkest depths of her mind, root out whatever feelings continue to nourish the Nightmare, and destroy them. Without its lifeblood, the Nightmare will wither and die. But do not think this will be easy. In journeying into yourself, you will have to confront your own deepest fears and darkest secrets— not just for yourself, but for someone else as well. Because someone else has to go with you, to anchor you and pull you out if you should get lost in a world you do not understand."

Trixie went white. "You mean I have to let someone else traipse around inside my own mind and learn all my little secrets?"

Celestia arched an eyebrow. "The other alternative is to use the Elements of Harmony."

Silence descended over them all as Trixie looked over at what was left of Nightmare Inferno. "P-Point taken."

"Don't take this lightly, Trixie," Celestia warned, her face stern. "You will have to face your darkest fears, your deepest anxieties. Your mind is uncertain, shifting ground. You will have to search yourself thoroughly and hunt down every trace of the feelings that fuel this Nightmare. If you don't, the Nightmare will return, stronger than ever, more immune than ever to our defenses, and the only way to destroy it will be to destroy you. Do you understand?"

Trixie nodded silently.

"But sister, who will go with her?" Luna spoke up.

Celestia looked towards Twilight, who squeaked in surprise. "M-Me?"

The princess looked back at Trixie, eyebrow raised. "Would you let anyone else 'traipse around inside your mind and learn all your little secrets,' Trixie?"

The blue unicorn looked uncertainly towards Twilight, and then back towards the pile of dust that was Inferno. "N-No..."

"Then it is decided." She nodded to the cavern entrance. "You must rest for now. We will begin the spell tonight."

— — —

As usual, Twilight Sparkle lost the battle to get some sleep. When this thing was all over, she told herself, she would have to take a thirty-hour nap. By now she was afraid she was going to hit a wall.

And so Twilight blearily found her way to a balcony off the hallway that overlooked the city. There was quite a bit of damage to clean up from Inferno's master plan, and the sea of unearthed skeletons littering the streets was only the beginning. Twilight tiredly watched the city sweep up the bones beneath her.

"Twilight?"

She turned at the sound of her name— and brightened up at the sight of a familiar pink hide and rosy mane. "Princess Cadence!" She threw her arms around her old foal-sitter. "I'm glad you're safe! Things were pretty crazy there this morning!"

"Oh, yes," laughed Cadence, "a lovely date with Shining Armor, beheading the hordes of the undead and all." She grinned. "But I hear you have been up to things too, little Twilight."

"T-Things?"

"A little birdie told me that somepony has a girlfriend now."

Twilight blushed. "Oh, y-yeah, that..."

Cadence arched an eyebrow. "That's not the sickeningly sweet gushing and giggling I was told to expect."

"I'm sorry..."

"Don't be." Cadence laid a comforting wing over Twilight's shoulders. "Because I also heard that your new beloved has a bit of an affliction, of the snarling hate-fueled demonic spirit sort." She smiled. "You sure know how to pick 'em, Twilight."

Twilight's ears went flat. "I know."

"But more importantly," Cadence went on, her smile fading, "I've also been told that you and your significant other are about to try the dream walker spell." She pulled Twilight close and gave her a reassuring smile. "And that's why I'm here, actually. The dream walker spell is always a pretty creepy experience."

"I-I know." Twilight sighed and leaned against the railing. "I kept wishing for a way to get into Trixie's mind and figure out how she really feels about me, and now I finally have my chance and I'm...I don't know, scared of what I might find out."

Cadence looked down thoughtfully at the purple unicorn for a moment. "Auntie Celestia told me about that," she said quietly. "Guess we shouldn't be surprised that you'd treat a romantic relationship as cause for panic and terror."

Twilight frowned. "Gee, thanks."

"Aw, don't feel bad, Twilight," giggled Cadence, and she pulled Twilight closer for a hug. "Everypony does silly things when they're in love. Even me."

"Even you?"

"Especially me. You should've seen how my first date with your brother went."

Twilight perked up. "You know, he has promised to relentlessly tease me about all this, so if you've got some ammunition I can stockpile for a counterattack— "

"You'll have to wheedle that story out of me some other time," Cadence interrupted, and her smile faded. "Right now we need to talk about you. The spell depends on it."

"Oh..."

Cadence straightened up. "The dream walker spell will let the two of you enter Trixie's mind, but that doesn't mean either of you will necessarily be able to make sense of what you see. Trixie's mind is the Nightmare's turf too, and it can do whatever it wants with the symbols and thoughts it finds in there."

"But the princess said we'd have to confront her issues..."

"And you will, but don't take everything you see in there at face value. There will be thoughts and symbols and meanings in there that only Trixie could understand, if anyone can, just as it is in every mind." She pulled Twilight close and smiled reassuringly. "And never, ever forget that you love her. Because you might see things in there that you may not like."

Twilight cringed. "Like what...?"

"I have no idea, Twilight. You and Trixie will have to find out for yourselves."

Silence reigned for a moment and Twilight pawed the floor nervously. "Now I'm even more scared about this."

Cadence frowned. "It's pretty much the most uncomfortable way to hash out your relationship problems, yes. But," she smiled, "as long as you both remember that you love each other, I know it will all work out for the best."

Twilight closed her eyes. "Even if she has no reason to stay?" She shook her head. "Even if she leaves and...leaves me alone?"

"Oh, Twilight," Cadence pulled her closer for a hug, "I can't tell you what she's going to do. But if she does leave, you have to remember your friends."

Twilight twitched. "I'm not in love with them."

"No, you're not— but they'll be there for you anyways." Cadence pulled Twilight up to look at her with a grin. "Besides, if Trixie doesn't leave, then you two are going to be inseparable. The dream walker spell has a way of bringing some ponies closer together than they've ever been before."

Twilight looked down sadly. "But not all?"

Cadence's grin fell. "No, not all."

Twilight sniffled back a tear. "Well, if this will bring Trixie's magic back, then she can be back to herself. And she can hit the road and perform again and be herself and be happy again. And that's what I want for her. For her to be happy." She smiled through the tears. "And that's the most important thing, right?"

Cadence's smile was so sad, Twilight almost lost heart right there, before the pink princess pulled her close for another hug. "That's one way to look at it."

— — —

Princess Luna was most unaccustomed to spending so long a time awake, but if it was for Equestria's good— and the good of her friends— then it was worth it. There would be plenty of time to sleep later.

Instead, while Cadence had Twilight out distracted elsewhere in the castle, Luna sat down next to an awkward Trixie inside their room. Hopefully this conversation would not be too difficult, but then again, the last time Luna had really interacted with Trixie, it had been to beat her Nightmare alter-ego into submission. So hopefully there would be no lingering ill will.

"You're not going to threaten me with death or dismemberment if I ever do anything to upset Twilight, are you?" Trixie asked skeptically.

Luna smirked back. "I trust Twilight's friends have already done so."

"S-Something like that..."

"No, I am here to make sure you know exactly what is entailed by the dream walker spell. It is a serious matter." She paused for a moment to choose her words. "I know better than anyone else what it means to bear a Nightmare within you. And when you enter into your own mind with Twilight Sparkle, you must remember this, and cling to it at all costs. Just as your body has not been your own under the Nightmare's influence, so too is it with your mind."

Trixie blinked. "W-What do you mean...?"

"You may believe that you fully understand the landscape of your thoughts," Luna said gravely, "but there are things that you hide from yourself. Lies that you tell yourself. Things you avoid thinking about. Thoughts that you push into the darkest recesses of your mind." She held up a hoof as Trixie began to sputter with outrage. "Everypony does this. And you must remember that while you may hide things in the shadows, the shadows are the Nightmare's power to command— and all that you hide within them is hers as well."

Trixie frowned. "So what does that mean?"

"It means, Trixie Lulamoon, that you and Twilight must be wary as you enter into your mind, because not even you will know with certainty what you see. The symbols and thoughts that appear before your eyes may seem to be your own, but the Nightmare is as cunning as it is malevolent. Be on your guard."

"A-Alright..."

"And one more thing," Luna said, as she rose back to her feet. "I do not pretend to know what feelings lie in your heart for Twilight Sparkle, and I do not pretend to know why you chose to walk the edge of oblivion to save her this morning. And if your heart leads you away from her, then you cannot be faulted for following it. But," she frowned, "I pray that you remember that she does love you, very much."

Trixie cast her gaze towards the floor. "I know," she said.

Luna studied the blue unicorn's unreadable face for a moment. "Then I will leave you to rest," she said, "and we will send for you when the spell is ready."

— — —

Under the fading light of the sky as Celestia brought down the sun and Luna raised the moon in its place, Twilight Sparkle and Trixie made their way down the marbled halls and through the double-doors into the sweeping throne room of Canterlot Castle. Twilight gulped at the sight of her friends, and Spike, Shining Armor, and Princess Cadence waiting expectantly around the throne— where Luna and Celestia said, horns glowing.

"Are you ready?" Celestia asked; the two unicorns reluctantly nodded. "No one here can help you once the spell begins. And we can only return you to the waking world when the Nightmare is purged." She motioned to the floor in front of them and conjured a couple of pillows. "Shall we begin?"

Twilight took a deep breath as she and Trixie laid down in front of the princesses and closed their eyes.

One last Nightmare and it'll all be over...

— — —