Bound by the Night, Part 2

>One tablespoon Potassium Nitrate.
>Two pinches crushed manticore talon.
>Three ounces of dire chicken blood.
>One pixie wing.
>One tail of gecko.
>One tablespoon of phoenix ash.
> A stick of butter.
>Two eggs.
>Flour.
>Half a cup of sugar.
>Two tablespoons sulfur.
>And a dash of...
>Of...
"...Where the bloody hell's the stardust? Nightmare!"
>You hear the voice of the night distantly in another room of the tower.
>"What?"
"Have you seen the stardust?"
>"The what?"
"The |stardust| woman, have you seen it?!"
>Nightmare casually ambles into the kitchen/alchemy lab.
>"Oh, that. Sorry, I used the last of it this morning."
>You stare at her for a moment.
"Used it? Used it for what?"
>Nightmare uses a forehoof to primp at the starry wisps of night sky hanging off her head.
>"How else am I to keep the radiance of the night looking as dazzling as it always does?"
>You make a decidedly irritated 'bahrumph' as you teleport to her side in a puff of smoke and swipe a handful of sparkling lights out of her ethereal mane.
>"Hey!"
>Poofing back to toss it into the bowl, you finish mixing the oddly colored batter, and place it back on the counter as you go to check the temperature of your alchemical oven.
>Nightmare evens out the gap you left in her hair, and saunters over to the bowl on the counter.
>"So what are you making?"
>You don't look up to respond, pumping the bellows to stoke the fire.
"A cake."
>Nightmare dips a hoof into the batter, lifting it to her mouth to lick.
>Her face immediately goes green and she retches to the side.
>"Bleah! That tastes awful! What did you put in it?"
>You finish with the bellows and poof back to the mixing bowl.
"Dire chicken blood and gecko tails. What did you expect it to taste like?"
>Nightmare's questioning persists as you piff back to the oven, bowl in hand.
>"Why would you even |put| those in a cake?"
>Closing the door to the oven, you turn back to her with a mildly incredulous look.
"Because it's a |wizard| cake. I'm a |wizard|."
>"You're a loony."
"Well then that explains why I'm with you, since you're always going off about how you're the bleeding moon or whatever."
>Nightmare becomes moderately more irate at your assertion of her status as a celestial body, while you continue to paf to various places around the room, busying yourself with this or that while the cake bakes.
>"I'm not |the| moon, you pointy-hatted fool, I'm |Nightmare Moon|! Feared ruler of the night!"
>Her boisterous tone suddenly turns much more somber.
>"...At least, I was."
>You idly pour a vial of bog water into a decanter while responding.
"Right, until you got your lunar butt kicked by a rainbow."
>You smirk as you hear her talking slowly through her teeth behind you.
>"...Yes. That is |exactly| what happened."
>You chuckle and appear beside her, patting her on the withers.
"Ah, I'm just messing with you. I know how it really went down."
>You parf back to the decanter, mixing in some other wizardly ingredients.
"The Elements of Harmony resurfaced and bound themselves to six friends, who then used them to blast you with a bigass beam of friendship, because 'friendship' is |literally| magic in this world."
>"Yes, I'm not sure what that's all about either."
"Though, in a way, it makes sense."
>Nightmare raises an eyebrow.
>"And how's that?"
>You reappear next to her again, on the other side this time, nudging her side with an elbow.
"If they hadn't blasted you you'd have never run into me, and  then you'd have no friends at all."
>You evaporate again before the foreleg she swings at you is able to reach your jaw.
>You coalesce back at the oven, chuckling.
>Putting on your pair of dark blue wizard mitts, you open the oven door and pull out the completed cake.
>As expected, it is already frosted with a sludge green icing.
>Several eyeballs embedded in it's surface blink and look around frantically, while a mass of purple tentacles sticking out of it in all directions writhe angrily.
>You hold it up proudly, regarding it with admiration.
"Ah, now |that's| a wizard cake."
>Nighmare remains nonplussed.
>"Congratulations, it looks revolting. What are you even going to do with it?"
>Your prideful smile fades away.
"I have no idea. Honestly I don't know why I even made it."
>You listlessly toss the confectionery abomination over your shoulder and out the open window behind you.
>After a few seconds you both hear an explosion, followed by a panicked scream.
>You look at one another, her confusion meeting your mild smile.
"Nightmare, I do believe we have company."
>With a puff of night blue smoke, you reach the window and lean out, to find a familiar unicorn looking up at you from beside a smoldering scorch mark.
"Well, if it isn't my favorite bothersome purple horse."
>"Did you just throw an exploding cake at me?!" the bothersome purple horse inquires.
"...Maybe."
>"Who is it?" Nightmare calls to you from further inside.
"The purple one," you call back.
>You hear her groan, and given Twilight's increasingly irritated expression, so did she.
>"What's she want?"
"An excellent question," You return your attention to the ground below the window, "what |do| you want?"
>The look she gives you would probably stop a lesser creature in it's tracks.
>"I'd like to talk to you about a few things, concerning our agreement."
>You raise an eyebrow yourself.
"Is that so?"
>"It is. Can you come down here for a moment?"
"I'm busy."
>Her irritation grows slightly greater.
>"Busy with what?"
"Wizard things."
>"I said I need to talk to you."
You smile. "It appears we're already talking. So talk."
>The exasperation in her sigh is unmistakable.
>"Fine. Over the past few days I've been getting numerous complaints from the townsponies concerning your presence here."
>You give a small huff and put your hands on your hips.
"Nonsense. I've only been here three days, and for the most part haven't left the tower or it's immediate surroundings."
>"The tower itself is the problem."
>You pause, before looking off to the horizon.
"I have no idea what you're talking about."
>At that moment, the sound of steel and stone grinding together pierces the relative calm of the clearing, and an opening on the side of the tower near the base swings open, catapulting a screaming, caramel-coated stallion into the sky and over the treeline.
>"|That's| what I'm talking about!" Twilight shouts, pointing a forehoof in the general direction of the unfortunate pony. "I thought we agreed there would be |no| deathtraps!"
You huff once more. "There aren't. There are |traps|, yes, but all of them non-lethal."
>"You just launched a pony a hundred feet into the air! How can that be non-lethal?!"
"Because out of all the small colorful horse creatures that fall into it, quite a few have the capability of flight, and quite a few more control magic, with which I'm sure they can cushion their fall through some means."
>"And the Earth ponies?"
>You pause for a moment, again taking solace in the horizon.
"...They're a hardy folk."
>Twilight sighs again, clearly preparing to launch into another rant about safety or some such nonsense, before you cut her off.
"Alright, tell me this, then. How many deaths have been reported thus far, as a direct consequence of my tower's existence?"
>The irate unicorn is the one to break eye contact this time, looking at the ground before her during her response.
>"Well, none, but–"
>You clasp your hands together in finality.
"See? Non-lethal."
>She looks back up, anger unabated.
>"That's not the point! Somepony could still get seriously hurt from something like this!"
>You grab the windowsill and lean over, your own demeanor shifting slightly towards irritation.
"Then maybe you should tell them not to trespass in the tower of a powerful wizard? I've made the adjustments you requested and |severely| softened up the anti-intrusion devices, but I could hardly call it a wizard tower if the first floor wasn't a magically expanded labyrinth of trials and tribulations."
>The catapult activates again, launching another unfortunate soul across the horizon; this one appearing to be a gray-coated pegasus with a vision impairment.
"I don't even know why they keep coming in like that. I put up a sign the other day to ward them off."
>Twilight looks at the elaborate front door, spotting the sign in question, which she reads aloud.
>"'Warning: Do not enter. Tower is by no means filled with immense hoards of treasure ripe for the taking. No artifacts of immense power, either. And definitely no harems of beautiful women (or men, whichever you fancy) waiting to shower you in love and affection upon rescuing them. Really, don't come in here.'"
>Twilight looks back up, with a look somewhere between confusion, anger, and disgust.
>"...Are you being serious with this?"
"What? I'm just being specific."
>"This is ridiculous. You're ridiculous."
"No, I'm a wizard. Try to keep up, Sparkleshine."
>Her anger suddenly grows tenfold at the utterance of that statement.
>"You're a blight upon this community, is what you are! And if you don't come down here so we can speak about this |properly|, I'm coming up there!"
>You sigh, and tower your fingers on your forehead.
"Fine."
>You pliff out of sight, and plaff back into it directly in front of the enraged Equestrian, which does cause her to jump slightly.
"So what is it you want me to do about all this, exactly?"
>"To be perfectly honest, I'd like you to leave this world and take Nightmare Moon with you, but I doubt you're going to do that just because I ask."
"You doubt correctly, Purplesparkle."
>"In lieu of that, I'd like you to at least |act| like you're honoring our agreement, and stop with..."
>Another pony is launched into the sky behind you.
>Strangely, that one sounded like it went "whee".
>"...With all of |that|!"
"What do you propose I do, then? Just turn off all the traps?"
>"Yes!" Twilight shouts in exasperation.
"Hah! You'd like that, wouldn't you? Have me leave all my immense hoards of treasure completely unguarded so wandering adventurers can come take what they please."
>"But the sign said there |weren't| any immense hoards of treasure inside!"
"Of |course| the sign says that," you say incredulously, "I'm trying to protect it, not give it away! If I was, the sign would say 'Come on in, free treasure!'"
>Now you were starting to get a little angry yourself, but Twilight wasn't backing down.
>"Just what makes you think ponies will come in and steal all your treasure anyway?"
>You halfway notice something pink happily trot past the two of you, but neither are willing to halt your heated argument to pay it any mind.
"Oh, I don't know, how about the fact that today I've forcefully ejected no less than 25 intruders, three of which happened during this very conversation! If I turned off the traps now, my entire reserve would be gone in a day."
>"But what if they're |not| trying to steal your treasure?"
"Peh," you scoff, "if they're not treasure hunters, why do they keep coming in?"
>"Because they're curious? When a huge, elaborate tower just pops up in the forest overnight, ponies are going to want to investigate."
>The catapult goes off again, eliciting another "whee".
>...Was that the same one from before?
>Forget it, argument.
"So you're basically advocating home invasion, then?"
>"Of course not! I'm just saying that if nopony knows you're living here, some are going to wonder what's going on here. I'm not saying they're |right| for doing it, by any means."
"Then they must be rather unintelligent, to just go waltzing into any old tower they find because they're curious."
>The pink shows up again, only this time, Twilight extends a foreleg to stop it.
>"Pinkie, quit going in there!"
>"Aw, but it's fun! It's like a carnival ride!"
>You stroke your beard in contemplation, as you have a habit of doing when dealing with insistent interlopers.
"Very, very unintelligent. ...Hm. I suppose I could put up another sign. Maybe one pertaining to how entering will most certainly not culminate in the intruder coming out a triumphant hero who will be hailed as a mighty savior whose name will be committed to legend for generations to come."
>"That'll just make things |worse|!" Twilight stomps the ground with a forehoof in frustration.
>Finally, she sighs, losing some of her ire and suddenly taking on a pleading tone, much to your surprise.
>"Just... deactivate the traps. Please. I know your world is one of danger and violence, but it just isn't like that here. Ponies are peaceful and kind, for the most part. Nopony else will bother you, I promise. I'll see to it myself."
>You stand before the pleading pony, still stroking your beard.
>You were a skeptic by nature, but this creature seemed... genuine.
>More genuine than any you've encountered back home, that's for sure.
>Giving it a few seconds more of thought, you crouch down and gently lay a hand on her withers.
>She looks up in mild surprise, to find the warm smile you now wore on your wizened features.
"Alright. I'll deactivate the traps."
>You can see the waves of relief wash over her, as she too smiles.
>"Thank you."
>Standing up, you turn back to the tower, and prepare to deactivate it's many traps and pitfalls by way of a very sophisticated process.
>You cup your hands around your mouth.
"Nightmare!!"
>Twilight just about falls over from the sudden shout, her relaxed state vanishing as quickly as it had come.
>You hear the recipient of your call somewhere deep inside the tower.
>"What?!"
"Deactivate the traps!"
>"The what?!"
"The |traps|!"
>"What about the traps?!"
"|Deactivate them|!"
>"Can't ponies just come in and steal all out treasure if we do that?!"
"Just do it ya daft night horse!"
>"Alright, alright!"
>You sigh, crossing your arms.
>Twilight waits patiently nearby, her face a mask of confusion.
>"...How do I do that?!"
"There should be a lever next to the wardrobe!"
>"We have a wardrobe?!"
"Of course! Were else am I going to keep my clothes?!"
>"All I ever see you wear is that one cloak!"
"I have several! Just pull the dang lever already!"
>"Alright, hang on! I think I found it!"
>You hear a distant kerthunk.
>There's a short pause, before hundreds of small windows open on the outside of the tower, through which a multitude of various horrendously deadly weapons pop out, ranging from cannons to ballistae to giant alchemical golem arms grasping immense swords.
>Twilight is more than a little alarmed at the transformation.
"That's the defense system! The one next to it!"
>"Okay!"
>The defense system armaments recede, before the roof of the tower splits apart and opens like a flower, allowing the 78 megaton warhead you've cleverly dubbed 'Magic Missile MkII', to rise up, ready for launch.
>The words 'get rekt' have been crudely spraypainted on one side.
"No! That's the final contingency plan lever! The one on the |other| side!"
>"...Oh! Okay, got it!"
>The missile recedes, and you hear what you sincerely hope is the proper kerthunk.
>Much to your relief, you watch as all sides of the first floor of the tower rotate, gently pushing out the seven or so ponies that were still wandering the labyrinth, meaning the traps have finally been deactivated.
>The ponies all look around and at one another, somewhat confused at their current predicament.
"Ah, there we go. Things should be alright now."
>You look back to see Twilight giving you the most suspicious look you've ever gotten from a horse.
"...What?"
>"I'm keeping my eye on you."
>You give a halfhearted chuckle.
"I wouldn't have it any other way."
>With that, you parfiffle yourself back into the tower, next to the window.
>Before you resume your wizarding, you turn back and lean out the window again, where you see Twilight starting to head off.
"Oh, one more thing!"
>The unicorn stops and looks back up at you.
"Diluculum a mauris!"
>Twilight is shortly engulfed in a cloud of your signature smoke, which upon dissipating reveals her coat and mane have been recolored to varying shades of brown.
>You can hear her growl in anger as you walk away from the window laughing.
>Can't forget to have fun.
>Suddenly, a small purple bolt of energy flies into the window, ricocheting off the ceiling and several other surfaces, before finally striking you directly in the face.
>Coughing from the wisps of magical residue, you make a quick body check to see if everything is where it's supposed to be.
>Everything seems to check out, no strange new limbs, or lack of old ones.
>So what did that spell do?
>Nightmare comes into the room, snickering upon noticing you.
>You pull out a small hand mirror from the magical depths of your robe.
>Your hair and beard (heck, even the eyebrows) were now dyed every color of the rainbow.
>Kind of like that one friend of hers, now that you recall.
>You can't help but laugh.
"Well well, I think I've just made myself a rival."