As everything was ironed out, we left the meeting room on the upper floor of the hospital. Directly after breakfast this morning, a final meeting had been scheduled to discuss the next steps with the humans here. We clarified on what we actually had in mind when we said that we wanted to help. I explained that the protective magic of Albion could be created here in a certain radius by me. Although the entire planet would also be possible with the help of all the Elements, it would not make sense since the Nightmare was still a threat. Before we could build a protective barrier, Nightmare would have to be defeated, for it knew the magic as well. If she could create the magic, she could more than well destroy it. That was another reason to send Luna and the Crusaders back to Equestria. In the event that we could not stop her, they would be needed there.

"And you're sure you can maintain the magic?" Julian asked Twilight for the third time that day. She was now visibly annoyed.

"Yes, all alone so that Dirk can stay with us. It's not like I would have to cast the spell again. I’ll take care of him with new energy. Even if he runs out again, I will not." Julian indeed had his problems with existing as a colourful horse, as he put it, but flying made up for a lot of it.

"Hey! Wait a second." Henry came out of the room and sprinted after us. "I wanted to ask Julian something quickly." Twilight and I nodded while the grey pegasus turned to him. "Are you sure you want to go with them?" He thought for a few seconds before answering.

"Timo… um, Light here is my friend and has a plan to save our asses, right? If I can help, I will do that. Better than going stale here and searching through the garbage for food every day." He grinned over at me, and I would give him a big thumbs up if I had one. "Besides, I'm a little tied to Ms. Dumbledore here if I want to continue to fly," he said, nudging Twilight in the side, who bewilderedly looked up from the laundry.

"A famous magician out of a movie," I whispered in her ear, and she beamed.

"Thank you," she finally said, nudging him back, which was probably a bit more than he would have liked. The wound AJ had given him had degenerated into a small bruise, but probably still a little hurt.

"Then I hope to hear from you and hopefully our friends in Dusseldorf, since we always have room for helping hands here." He saluted briefly and clicked his heels before he disappeared down the hallway.

At last, Trixie had gotten over this annoying period. At home, she would eat in her own home and shunned any contact with stallions, but due to lack of space in the Celestia, that was not possible until further notice. To have to eat while the others were there or to wait until nopony was around to sneakily use the washroom was just not her style. After all, she loved great performances and attention, just not of this kind. She had done a performance once while in that state, which had led to irritated mares and embarrassed stallions in the first rows.

After that pesky last week and a half, to get some fresh air again, and not just through the small porthole, simply felt wonderful. Even though the air on this planet was a bit strange, which probably had something to do with this pollution Light had told her about, it was refreshing in any case. She stood on the wide flat roof of the hospital, which had become a sort of base that housed some of the humans. She had no problem with that, because somepony had to stay here while they travelled. Slowly she made ​​her way to the door that led to the stairwell to get something from the cafeteria. The last time she was there, however, it had smelled as though one of the humans had prepared meat even though the deal was that they had to do so away from the building. She had been ill all day and had not gotten the smell out of her head.

She made ​​an abrupt stop when she saw a figure sitting on the edge of the roof, quietly muttering something under his breath. She had seen the pony only once and heard the rest about him from Fluttershy, because she was the one who had looked after him. She took her job a bit too seriously as a ship's doctor for Trixie’s taste. She weighed for a few seconds whether she should go to him or not. After all, he was kind of a part of the family. It was the brother of her brother. With a sigh, she decided to be a good soul and changed course to the end of the roof where the green stallion sat.

"Hello down there," she greeted him when she was in range, but got no response. "The Great and Powerful Trixie is talking to you..." she added, a bit annoyed. The young stallion in front of her now looked at her as he leaned until he was on his back.

"Mmm..." he just mumbled ​​and looked past her into the sky.

"You don’t seem to be a very talkative fellow." Again, no response. "I'm trying to talk to you." She gritted her teeth. "You could at least have the decency to give me your name."

"Dirk," came tonelessly out of his mouth, the former human not even twitching a muscle.

"Are not you cold out here? It’s winter here." Although they had their robes, they protected very little against the chill, as evidenced by his shivers.

"A little." He placed his head to the side, toward the fields off the hospital grounds. Slowly, she became more annoyed since it was unusual that someone did not want to listen to her. Still, she told herself that she had to be patient, and so she sat down beside him and followed his gaze.

"Do you know who I am?" she asked after a few seconds.

"The Big Something Trixie?" came out of the mouth next to her, and she hesitated for a few seconds on whether she should correct him or not.

"Right, I'm Trixie. I think we both have the same brother." She tried to broach the subject that had been on her mind. Dirk’s face wandered in her direction, which showed that she now had his attention. "I'm sure Light told you that he is the counterpart of Changer of my world." A nod confirmed her suspicions. "Changer... was my brother, and therefore so is Light... somehow." Since there was no question or reaction, she continued. "I know that we’re not directly related, but I’d like to think of you as family as well. I’d like to get to know my younger brother a bit better," Trixie reluctantly confessed. She would have loved to have grown up in a large family with parents, and here she had the chance to extend her family by one.

"Aaaarrrgh!" He heaved himself to his feet and walked away a stone's throw from the edge. "Can’t you leave me alone? I never asked for any of this! I never asked for him to rescue me or turn into this!" He tried to get on his hind legs to show his body, but that failed and he landed hard in the gravel. "Do you see! I am a man, not a stupid pony. Why can’t you all just leave me alone?" Trixie was a little shocked. She could understand that he did not get along with this foreign body, but she would be glad if someone would have gone so far for her.

"He's your brother. Is it not natural to worry about his family?" she asked the angry stallion who was on the ground and made lines in the gravel with his hooves.

"I am happy that he is doing well... but I can take care of myself. I don’t need a babysitter to look after me. I’ve fought for my life for the last year alongside soldiers, at least once I could hold a gun. Now I cannot even remember..." He held a bunch of pebbles in his hoof and threw them over the edge of the roof.

"I think Light wants to make sure that doesn’t happen—"

"This is exactly the point! I want to help, but all he does is lock me away. He has always acted as if I were small and stupid, even though I was bigger than him." Trixie had no idea what to say. She did not know the finer details of the relationship between the two, especially since she had also only known Light for a few months. "If you manage to clear out Düsseldorf, I’ll just about certainly stay here."

"Well, if you want, I can talk to him. I am sure he will understand that you want to help." She had only caught bits and pieces of the mission, but finding a radio signal and contacting the humans sounded harmless enough in her ears. In addition, he had confirmed that he had combat experience. At that moment, the door opened to the hallway.

"Radio, double-check." Twilight ticked the last object from her list as she opened the door to the roof without even an attempt to look, and we met the cold wind. "Should I check your bag?" she asked as she made her list disappear with a flash of light and turned around to me.

"No thanks, Twilight, I checked everything myself." I assured, lying in the freezing cold. The bag had only spent a day in the hospital, and I was sure that AJ had taken out nothing. A diamond, a radio, a bottle of water and a laptop should be within. I had charged the latter from the charger I had borrowed from the Media Markt on the generator here in order to copy the list of survivors. It had, in contrast to my previous models, a long battery life, an eco-CPU, and an integrated graphics card. I could appreciate the quality of the laptop, as it could remain idle for seven to eight hours. Sure, I could have done the same with pen and paper, but those things were so easily broken or lost, or so the justification had been to the bookworm in front of me.

"Okay," she said, clearly disappointed. As Julian didn’t have any bags, she moved on from the topic. We were about to move on when I saw Dirk and Trixie from the corner of my eyes.

"Trixie, I see you're better!" I shouted and waved at her until she came to us, and I gave her a brief hug. "Still in a bad mood, Dirk?” I didn't think the Crusaders would be able to lift his spirits, but to even lower it was an accomplishment. I had to think of something. "Dirk, I know you, and I know you want to stay here. We’ll try to be back here tomorrow evening at the latest, before the spell ceases in order to—”

"I'll come with you," he interrupted me.

"It's out of the question. We do not know what’s waiting for us in Dusseldorf and—"

"I also think he should come along." That was Trixie this time.

"I see you agree with him, but it's far too dangerous because Dirk has no way to defend himself against the shades." Brute force unfortunately had no effect in these things.

"And whose fault is that? I have never asked to be a pony. I'm worried that the spell can expire at any time!" he almost yelled.

"Then stay here and wait." I did not come here to save them, just to put them back into danger. Not Dirk, not Nils (if I found him), and neither my mother or my grandmother.

"I know what I want and I’m coming with you. I can manage without you since I’ve gotten basic training. I am actually familiar with the weapons, not only from playing." He had a point there.

"Still, you're only fourteen, and—" My sister’s hoof blocked my lips.

"So what if he’s fourteen?" Damn it. "He's a pony right now, and since ponies are adults when they turn fourteen, he can decide for himself." I bit my lip since I had dug this grave myself.

"But he will remain on the ship or at least in its immediate vicinity. That is my condition." He said nothing but turned his back on us and went up the ramp to the Celestia.

"What was that about, Trixie?" I hissed at her when he was out of earshot.

"We have to talk. After all, he is a part of the family, right? And he was unhappy about the way you treated him, and Trixie can understand that he feels undermined for an adult pony," she declared with absolute certainty in her voice.

"He's not a full-grown pony but a fourteen year old boy who is a little too big for his age!" Trixie wrinkled her nose and followed in the direction of my brother. "Twilight!"

"What? This is your family. I’m not going to interfere," she said, following Trixie. I looked at Julian, who only sported a large grin.

"Those two surprised you, huh?"

The flight back to my house lasted only a few minutes. During this time, Trixie, Twilight, and Luna had gone over the magic to open the portal and calculated the necessary magical energy. Rainbow and Scootaloo had been in a rather heated discussion about something, and the remaining Crusaders had watched them go at it with interest. I had watched the spectacle from the meeting room along with Armor and Rarity. We were now just landing, and for the first time in a week, everypony came at the same time on deck. Fluttershy, AJ, Cadance, and Pinkie emerged from below. Star, Hawk, and Julian landed next to them, as they had accompanied the ship when it had been in the air. The last was to come out was Luna, who bore a worried look.

"We wish we could continue to be useful to you, but as long as Nightmare is free..." Cadance approached her mother and gave her a smile before they embraced.

"Do not worry, Princess, we'll be fine. Right, everypony?" Twilight asked, which elicited a "Yeah!" from the Bearers and triggered a "Hoorah!" by the present soldiers, Trixie, and I. The ramp was extended again, and one by one we left the ship and walked the few meters to the entrance of the forest. The grass was still somewhat covered by the frost from overnight and crunched under our hooves. The hedge on our fence was overgrown and lost some branches as Julian ran past it with outstretched wings. No one really said anything, as we knew that it would be more difficult without Luna. On the other hand it would mean the foals would be safe. They were especially quiet since Big Mac and Caramel had certainly already noticed that they were missing, and a proper punishment was more than likely. Finally, the first branches revealed a little sunlight, the bit that still managed to peek through the clouds. Our ragtag group came to a halt.

"Ready?" Luna asked as Twilight and Trixie both stepped forward and began to concentrate. Nothing happened for a few seconds, but then their horns began to shine and energy gathered at one point between them. The point was exactly in the middle of the triangle that they formed, and a circle slowly appeared between the three. We had probably not seen this the last time, as the trees of the Everfree had obscured the view of the forest floor.

"And you really promise me, Rainbow Dash?" I heard Scootaloo say behind me while dragging her idol by her wing.

"Yeah, Squirt, I promise you. Once we get back, I’ll take care of it." She pressed the little pegasus gently back to the ground with a hoof, and to my right I saw Fluttershy and Holly embrace. The two had grown close in a short period of time, and I hardly regretted Toby’s guarantee that I had used. Dawn came a little further forward to get a better view while Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom stayed with their sisters. Armor and the rest of the group were further behind us and watched the surroundings closely, almost as if they were expecting an attack. Dirk, as he swore, did not stay close to the ship and was a few meters behind us and seemed to count blades of grass. A noise drew my attention back to the spell being cast in front of me, and I looked just in time to see the portal formed slowly and a view of the famous trees of the Everfree.

"Please hurry," Twilight moaned, visibly exhausted. "We can’t maintain the spell forever." I saw AJ give Apple Bloom a kiss on the forehead before she pushed her forward.

"I'll see you again soon," she added, and the filly went to the portal. She stopped briefly in front of it, gulped, and stepped through. A few seconds went by before she appeared on the other side and seemed to look around. She moved her lips, but we could not hear what was said. Suddenly, a large red stallion came into the picture and pulled his little sister in his hooves. Apparently he had thought ahead and already anticipated her return.

"You see, Sweetie Belle?" Now Rarity also nudged her sister towards the portal. “Big Macintosh is already waiting for you." She did the same as Apple Bloom. She stopped in front of the portal, stretched out a hoof, and then the rest of her followed. As before, it took a few seconds until she was seen on the other side, but the moment she came into sight made Rarity sigh in relief.

"Come on, Squirt, you're next," Rainbow urged the orange foal to her right and went with her ​​a few steps toward the portal.

"And you’ll keep your promise?" Annoyed, she rolled her eyes and nodded.

"I’m the Element of Loyalty and all that. Do you really think I'd disappoint my biggest fan?" Scootaloo was still a little unsure about the portal.

"What did you promise her, Rainbow?" I asked her now that she was standing next to me.

"We’ll go look for her father." My silence made ​​it clear that she would have to explain further. "Sunshine was never with him really. He was just a colt who went after mares in heat.” He sounded like the perfect parental material. "He owes her at least as much now since his daughter is eight." Still, I could not be one to talk.

"I do not want to go, Rainbow..." whined Scootaloo and stepped back a little.

"We don’t have all day," reminded Trixie, focused on maintaining the portal. The little one sighed and began to walk to the portal before it suddenly collapsed. In seconds it imploded, thereby cutting off a good portion of Scootaloo’s mane and flinging both her and the three others to the ground. Rainbow shielded herself with a wing from the wave of pressure, as I did with a foreleg. When it was all over, I saw Luna, Twilight, and Trixie slowly rise off the ground, questions and pain written on their faces. I rushed to Luna and saw Armor squeeze past the shocked Bearers and came to his sister. Rainbow and Pinkie rushed over to Scootaloo, and AJ went over to Trixie.

"What happened?" Twilight asked in confusion and looked at Luna and me. The lunar princess shook her head to get her mane out of her face.

"Something has cut magical connection or interrupted the open portal," she said and started to get back on her feet. I went to assist her, and she nodded in thanks.

"Not something... ME!" All heads shot up to the source of the voice out from behind one of the trees. Robin, no longer completely black but with red glowing eyes, had a big smile on his face.

"Nightmare!" yelled Armor as his spear appeared from nowhere and was directed at our approaching opponent.

"No... It's just a projection," Luna said, pointing with a hoof at something glittering in the foliage on the ground. I looked past Nightmare and saw that there was a little gem amongst the brown leaves, not much larger than a bottle cap. That meant that it was from Earth and not Equestria.

"Bravo, Luna. I did not think that you would figure that out so fast." It clapped sarcastically and then stayed about five feet in front of us.

"What do you want?" Twilight had a furious look on her face while her horn was ready and loaded.

"Always so curious, hmm Twilight Sparkle?" She did not respond to the comment, only her horn glowed a little more. "As to why I am here, you should have figured it out already."

"It wants to prevent Scootaloo’s return to Equestria? What is it?” Rarity asked no one in particular.

"Almost. It's about our lovely Luna here." It pointed to Luna and then to me. “And also this worm." It wasn’t a good sign that Nightmare was so calm, because that meant that it felt superior and confident in its position.

"It wants to prevent us from going back to Equestria and uniting with our sister," stated Luna and Nightmare nodded.

"I see we still think the same, Luna." She only spat on the floor in front of it.

"We are nothing like you. You are just a beast that follows its immoral instincts." The two looked at each other for a few seconds before it began to laugh maniacally.

"Yes, I was perhaps once like that! But now I am something better. You of all creatures should know better, because after all, I am you, Luna!" Luna's face was angry again, untamed rage blatant.

"We are not a being that senselessly kills without any moral consequences to fear!" she barked at Nightmare, and its face turned grim.

"No? What do you think I used as a model? I am you and you are me. What you know, so do I! Did you really think I would not be haunted by the consequences of my actions? Oh no, Luna. This gift I owe you and you alone!” it screamed, and I saw how Holly and Fluttershy seemed to roll into a ball.

"If you know what you're doing is wrong, why are you doing it?" asked Twilight, horn still at the ready.

"I cannot change what I am, even with a so-called conscience. Destruction is my existence and death my life, Twilight Sparkle." Its tone was something more relaxed. "I'm no different than your beloved princesses. You cannot help but to worry about each pony, no matter who they happen to be. Anger and hatred are what burns in my veins. You are my raison d'être, the reason why I, we were created."

"Do you not know what torment you’ve added to our ponies and the people of this world then?" Luna whispered to it.

"Torture, Princess? You don't even know what real torture is! How would you feel if every time you do what you meant to do, it caused you mental agony? But you can't help yourself... because that is what you are. I owe all that to you! I will make sure that you, and anyone who stands in my way, learn the same agony first-hand." It pointed a finger at us accusingly, and its image seemed to flicker with every word. "You are the culmination of all that, Luna. I will save you for the end because I want to enjoy this." It looked down to me with eyes that once belonged to my friend. "We will start with this creature that dared to use us as a tool..." It stretched out its hand behind its back and pulled out an old wooden chain, which I immediately recognized. "I see you know what that is." It grinned.

"My grandmother’s chain." I was about to immediately go for the jugular, even if it was only a projected image. Twilight beat me to it, but the projectile just flew through it and drilled a hole in one of the trees.

"No, Twilight Sparkle," Luna said without taking her eyes from Nightmare. "It's not really here. This projection could come from anywhere in the world. "

"I found this on a small Spanish campsite that served as a hiding place for some humans," it explained, examining the old memory of our vacation in Turkey. "No good if I may say so. My friends took a full ten minutes to find the last one." I sprang forward, ready to end the life of this being with my horn. However, I passed through it like the bullet had done. I bared his teeth and tasted the salt from my tears of anger, sadness, and pain. "I love despair..."

"Nightmare! I swear that I will find you, and when that happens, you'll wish that it will be a quick death. You’ll have to beg for it..." My breathing was uneven and I was close to a breakdown. No matter what, I would not let it escape.

"Twilight! Destroy the crystal!" Armor yelled. It took her a few seconds process what was said, but then she began to sprint.

"Before our conversation ends, let us continue from where we stopped the last time." Immediately I remembered the day when it had been released. I had lost my best friend and recalled the last thing it had wanted to do it before Luna had intervened.

"Dirk..." I muttered, my gaze swivelling around to look past the heads of the others to my brother. Behind him stood the dark figure, the real Nightmare. The trademark crazed red grin was on its face and its arm were outstretched to the sky, unnoticed by its victims.

"Dirk!" I yelled to get his attention, but it was too late. The dark hand shot down and pierced his body through his back and came to his chest out again. No blood, no screaming—Dirk’s mouth only opened a bit before he was slowly lifted into the air. His eyes became cloudy, and with a jolt the penetrating hand withdrew. With a thud on the grass, he went to the ground.

"NNNNNNNNNNNNNiiiiiiiiiiiightmaaaaaaaaaaaare!"

Without thinking, without ever doing anything consciously, I swung my wings and soared like a cannonball across the ground to the monster. Revenge, revenge, revenge, revenge! Again and again and again and again, I repeated this word in my head or screamed it. I could not tell the difference. It quickly came closer, and no magic came to me or took shape. I just wanted to destroy it, kill it in the cruellest way possible. Magic was needed no matter what. The main thing was that it would end the life of this thing. My wings vanished in favour for my horn, and two thin magic blades formed in the bright blue of my magic. It was raw, unformed magic pressed into shape without a spell or even any runes. Nightmare fought against this attack as much as it could, but I repeatedly pressed on. Still in the air, I did not drive the blade with my horn but as an extension of my front hooves and reached out to bring down this monster.

The next thing I saw was both blades being drilled into the ground, no trace of my ultimate goal. I whirled around and, with all four hooves, skidded across the frozen ground until I came to a stop. I immediately pushed off again and soared to the monster that was now to my left. It still had a grin on its face and went back to my attack. The fence, which had incurred my wrath, crumbled into small pieces as I immediately repeated the manoeuvre. This time I was caught by its black hand, and it closed around my neck. "Come on... Kill me!" I cried as it started to tighten its grip.

"Light!" I looked down at the others a distance away, which made ​​it clear how much had happened in the last ten seconds.

"You won’t escape so easily." It lifted its other hand and reached out to slam against my head. Then, darkness.

Author's Notes:

The chapter should have been up yesterday, but I was way to tired to help JBL finishing it. Anyway: You like it dark and dirty? Chekc out my other story: My Little Pony - Inquisition

Edited by JBL
Proofread by Dj7291993