Equestria's not so terrible Nightmare

Edited by Dragon Angel Knight

(Light F/F in this Chapter between Twilight and Celestia)

Chapter 3

Applebloom, Scootaloo, and Sweetie Belle each said their good-byes after leaving the party. They had tried to get their cutie marks in Leaf raking after their disaster at Carrot Top's garden, but as the earth pony looked at her flank, she shook her head sadly and said, “Still a Blank Flank...”

Hanging her head in disappointment, Applebloom headed towards Sweet Apple Acres for supper, avoiding the majority of ponies in town as she made her way home. She had asked herself why there was so much activity during the night cycle, but then she remembered Applejack coming home and telling Granny Smith what was happening in the forest. So, with that in mind, the red maned filly decided to make a detour to the construction site.

About thirty minuets later, Applebloom found herself staring at work ponies moving supplies, cranes lifting materials into the right place, and a nearly completed tower, easily dwarfing the town hall in height. As she watched the work, Applebloom suddenly got an idea.

“Maybe They'll let me get mah cutie mark in construction!” The filly said to herself excitedly. Before she could rush off to try and help, Applebloom heard derisive laughter come from behind her. She groaned and turned around to find Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon laughing at her.

“You, in construction?” Diamond asked haughtily, “I hope all these ponies know a shield spell, cause you'd probably make the whole thing explode in their faces! Face it, you'll be a Blank Flank forever!”

The two bullies continued laughing at Applebloom as she grit her teeth in anger. It was always like this. Diamond Tiara always picking on Applebloom and her friends while Silver Spoon and a few others laughed at the stuck up filly's bullying. Applebloom had had enough and was ready to buck the living daylights out of Diamond.

“Stop laughing at me!” Applebloom said furiously, “Stop calling me that!”

“And what are you gonna do about it?” Diamond Tiara asked.

“Call your Blank Flank friends?” Silver Spoon finished.

Applebloom could feel hot tears starting to well up in her eyes. Satisfied with the reaction that they got from the filly in front of them, Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon turned and started to walk away, shouting over their shoulders, “Crybaby! Blank Flank!”

Diamond Tiara turned her head to look in front of her before she hit something tall, dark, solid, and a bit furry. She fell to her haunches and said angrily, “What?! Don't you have eyes?! Look where you're goi- mmph!”

Silver Spoon had pushed her hoof over Diamond Tiara's mouth to silence her, then pointed up fearfully at the pony that she had run into. Nightmare Moon stared down at the fillies.

“You know, children knew to show respect to royalty before my banishment...” the Dark Alicorn said quietly, “I think you should run along home before I prove the Nightmare Night myths true.”

The two bullies nodded fearfully, then ran as fast as their legs could carry them. Nightmare Moon shook her head in disgust and said, “They should be ashamed of themselves. Picking on another pony like that...”

Nightmare turned her head curiously when she heard sniffles coming from behind her. She walked over to Applebloom and wiped her tears away. The filly looked up and gave a startled ruler of the night a hug.

“It's not fair!” Applebloom sobbed, “Mah friends and ah are the last ones in our school without our cutie marks! And those two bully us all the time! It's not fair!!”

Nightmare Moon comforted the filly as she poured her heart out. She looked down at Applebloom, stroked the red mane, and said, “Did you know it took my sister and I almost a hundred years to get our cutie marks?”

“Really?” Applebloom asked curiously, “Ah always thought that you and Celestia were born with 'em.”

“Nope,” Nightmare said comfortingly, “We had to earn ours just like everypony else. So I know how you feel right now...”

“How... How did you get your cutie mark?” Applebloom asked looking up at Nightmare Moon.

“Wow...” Nightmare chuckled, “You know, you are the first pony to ask me that? But it is a rather long story, and even I get cold at night. Maybe we should go to the hotel? I have a room there and it will be a while longer before I expect to have company.”

Applebloom looked like she was about to interrupt, but Nightmare Moon held up a hoof and said, “I will send a guard to your home and have him tell your family where you are and not to worry, alright?”

The filly nodded and wiped her eyes with a hoof. She followed the Dark Alicorn into town and towards the hotel, saying, “Oh, Ah guess. As long as Ah can hear your story.”

-Meanwhile...-

“Spike? Where are you going?”

The baby dragon turned around and saw Twilight standing at the top of the stairs looking down at him with a slight frown.

“I'm going over to Rarity's. Sweetie Belle asked her if I could stay the night and I figured it would be a perfect opportunity to get to know Rarity better,” Spike said, “And to show her how suave I am!”

Twilight rolled her eyes at the love-struck dragon, then said, “Alright, Casanova, but bring your toothbrush, got it? I'll be going to visit Queen Moon at her hotel sometime anyway, so I may not be at home for a while.”

Spike gave a crisp salute, then dashed out of the house after grabbing his toothbrush. Twilight rolled her eyes at the little dragons antics and walked up to the second floor of her home. She was surprised to see Celestia sleeping at the moment, seeing as it was still rather early in the night. Despite every warning going off in her mind Twilight couldn't help but think about how adorable the scene was. It wasn't until she caught her gaze being drawn further down the sleeping mares body that Twilight thought just how beautiful Celestia was. A sudden heat in her cheeks made Twilight realize what she was thinking.

Twilight steeled herself for what she was about to do and walked as quietly as she could over to Celestia's bed. She lay down next to Celestia and cuddled with her. She tentatively reached up a hoof to stroke the pink mane of her mentor, reveling in how soft and warm it felt. Before she continued any further, Twilight checked to make sure Celestia was sleeping. She then inched herself closer to Celestia before kissing her on the mouth. Twilight was almost immediately blown away by the sensations assailing her. The lips she was kissing tasted slightly sweet and a bit spicy. The tingle of their lips touching made Twilight shudder and she had to suppress a moan. It was her first kiss and Twilight Sparkle was certain that she would not want to share it with anypony else.

Just as she felt things could only get better from this point, a loud knock sounded from the front door, startling Twilight from her kiss.

“Celestia damn it...” Twilight muttered.

“And what am I damning exactly?” Came Celestia's tired voice. She had woken up with the knocking on the door to find her faithful student cuddling her and staring with wide fearful eyes.

“Twilight...” Celestia said, “Did... you just kiss me?”

Twilight stood up from the couch and bolted, shouting a hurried apology and heading down stairs as fast as she could. In her rush, Twilight ran into Applejack, who was just walking into the library with a worried expression.

“I'm sorry, Applejack!” Twilight said as she got to her hooves and helped her friend to hers, “Is there something wrong?”

“I just got word from a guard that Applebloom is a guest of the Queen,” Applejack said, “But I should be asking you that question, sugarcube. You look like you've been cryin'...”

Twilight wiped her eyes and said in a monotone, “I... I'll be fine, honest.”

Applejack looked like she was about to say something, but Celestia came down the stairs in that moment. She had heard what Applejack said about Applebloom and was coming to see if she could help.

“If her recent actions are anything to go by,” Celestia began, “I doubt you have anything to worry about, dear Applejack. But if you would like, we can go to the hotel where my sister is staying and pay her a visit.”

“Ah'd like that very much,” Applejack said gratefully, “Ah just hope Applebloom didn't do anything to git herself into trouble with anypony....”

Twilight, who had regained her composure by now, said, “I'm sure it's all just a misunderstanding or something like that.”

As the trio started walking out the door, Celestia pulled Twilight back and said, “We are going to have to speak about what happened when we return, Twilight. I'm not angry... I would just like an explanation. But later, alright?”

Twilight nodded and she and Celestia ran to catch up with Applejack, who stood waiting patiently for them. On the way to the hotel, Applejack filled in Celestia and Twilight on exactly what the guard had said.

“Apparently,” Applejack was saying, “Nightmare Moon found mah sister over by the construction site. Ah asked him what she was doing over there, but Ah never did get a straight answer...”

They reached the hotel as not long after Applejack had finished relating her story. They went into the building and a couple of guards were lounging in the lobby. Upon seeing the mares, they snapped to attention and said, “Halt! Who goes there!?”

Applejack spoke up first saying, “Ah'm Applejack and these're Twilight and Celestia. Ah was told mah sister was here with the queen.”

The two guardsponies glanced at each other, and one was about to speak when a voice familiar to Twilight spoke up and said, “At ease, Stallions, the Queen is expecting them.”

Twilight looked up and gasped as she saw who had spoken. “Shining Armor!” She cried and dashed to give her big brother a hug.

“Twily! It's good to see you,” Shining said, “But, like I said, Queen Moon is expecting you, so you might want to get a move on.”

“Agreed, Captain,” Celestia said, “Though I am surprised to see you are still wearing the Solar Armor...”

Celestia motioned with a hoof towards the armor she mentioned. Instead of the usual black and navy colored armor, Shining Armor was wearing a gold and purple suit. In place of the Lunar Guard's usual draconic eye on his chest, there was a purple shield outlined with gold trim and emblazoned with a dark pink starburst.

“Yeah, Queen Moon said something about liking how the colors contrasted against my coat when she met me,” Shining said, “She let me keep it on the condition that I added an emblem matching her cutie mark on the saddle.”

Indeed, Celestia and Twilight looked at the saddle itself and like her brother said, there in the dead center of it was a coat of arms bearing Nightmare Moon's cutie mark stamped into it.

“Ah, here we are!” Shining armor said, “The royal suite.”

Shining Armor opened the door with a slight pulse of his magic as he finished his statement. From inside, the group heard Nightmare Moon's voice telling a story to somepony. As the door opened further, this somepony was revealed to be Applebloom, who was listening to the tale being told to her with rapt attention.

“...and that is how I got my cutie mark,” Nightmare finished with a smile.

Applebloom burst out giggling as the Dark Alicorn finished her story and said, “The look on Princess Celestia's face must've been priceless! Ah wish ah could've seen it...”

Nightmare looked up as Celestia cleared her throat loudly and said with a large smile, “Ah! Speak of the devil and she shall appear! With Twilight Sparkle and your own sister as well! Come in, please.”

Applejack rushed into the room as soon as she could and went straight over to the red maned filly and gave her a bone-crushing hug. Applebloom sighed in an annoyed way as the rest of the group looked on.

“Ah. I see that the guard I sent to your home was not as tactful as I would have hoped,” Nightmare Moon said, “I apologize for making you worry, Applejack.”

The queen looked over to Shining Armor who gave a nod and crisp salute saying, “I'm already on it, Your Majesty.”

Nightmare nodded and dismissed the white unicorn with a wave of her hoof. She turned to the other ponies in the room and said, “There was never a reason to worry, you see. Your sister simply wanted to hear how I got my cutie mark and I was happy to oblige her. Though, I did forget how long winded the story was...”

“Wait...” Celestia said slowly, “You... Didn't tell her... THAT story, did you?”

“Of course!” Nightmare Moon said happily, “With every excruciating detail I could remember!”

Celestia's face went completely red as her mouth opened and closed itself without making a sound. Twilight blinked as she looked at her mentor curiously and heard a giggle.

“You should really see the look on your face, Celly,” Nightmare said with barely contained mirth, “You look as red as a beet!”

After the pleasantries, the Apple sisters took their leave, with Applebloom thanking the queen for her hospitality and the entertaining story. Nightmare, Celestia and Twilight waved goodbye to the two and looked at each other.

“You know,” Nightmare began with a slight chuckle, “I miss you, Celly. The castle seems rather empty and I would enjoy being able to see you more often. So, I thought to myself about how to solve that little problem and was wondering if you would be willing to come and work for me at the castle as the head of my serving staff...?”

Nightmare's horn flared and a Prench maid outfit came from the closet on the other side of the room. Celestia huffed indignantly and said, “You're kidding me, right? I am NOT going to be your head maid!!!”

Twilight on the other hand blushed profusely at the imagery suddenly forcing all thoughts from her mind.

“uh...” Twilight started meekly, “I think... the dress... looks nice...”

Celestia turned to Twilight with a look of utter shock and embarrassment, “Twilight! That's... I... NO!!”

Celestia turned again, this time towards the door of the room and stormed out, attempting to save what little bit of dignity she had left. After she had left the room, Nightmare Moon turned to Twilight and laughed heartily.

“Don't worry, Twilight,” she said, “Celly will be back after she calms down a little bit.”

Nightmare Moon's voice suddenly had a sultry tone when she asked, “By the way... Do you have a thing for mares in clothing, Twilight?”

Twilight blushed an even deeper crimson, if that was possible and sputtered out, “I.... Um... Yes... B-but it's not like that's a bad thing, right?”

Twilight sounded panicked as she finished speaking, however Nightmare Moon just chuckled and said, “There's nothing wrong with liking mares, Twilight, something like that is bound to happen with the majority of Equestrian ponies being female anyway.”

Nightmare Moon closed in on Twilight and whispered, “So... You're telling me that you would like seeing, oh... let's say an Alicorn in some sexy clothing?”

Twilight swallowed hard, still blushing crimson, and nodded ever so slowly. The grin on Nightmare's face grew until it was ear to ear and she whispered, “Oh, you naughty little mare you.... How do you feel about socks?”

-Near Sugarcube Corner-

Celestia huffed, still embarrassed and indignant that her sister would not only tell a filly the rather embarrassing story of their cutie marks, but also have the unmitigated gall to embarrass her like that in front of Twilight! And to make matters worse, if they could get any worse, said filly was likely to tell her friends the story and Twilight actually seemed to be enjoying the teasing Celestia was getting from her sister.

So preoccupied with her thoughts was Celestia that she didn't look up in time to avoid bumping into somepony and falling right on her flank. She looked up to apologize and was met with a wall eyed Pinkie Pie who was also on her flank and Rarity, who looked torn between giggling and asking whether or not her friends were alright. So, Rarity being Rarity, she settled on chuckling while helping Celestia and Pinkie to their hooves.

“Celestia!" Rarity said, “How wonderful to see you! I do hope you are alright?”

“I... Yes,” Celestia said, “I was just a little preoccupied.”

Pinkie suddenly came in so close to Celestia's face that she looked like she was about to kiss the pink maned alicorn. Pinkie looked into Celestia's eyes for a few moments, then said in a rare moment of seriousness and insight, “It's something about Twilight and Nightmare Moon, am I right?”

Celestia looked dumbfounded and looked over to Rarity, who said, “It's Pinkie Pie, darling, if she says something is troubling somepony, then she's usually right. Perhaps we should retire to my boutique and talk about this over a cup of peppermint tea? Or would you like something a little bit stronger?”

Celestia shook her head and said, “Tea will be fine...”

The three then made their way over to Rarity's boutique. Celestia and Pinkie sat at the table in the kitchen, the pink party pony being unusually serious and quiet as Rarity made tea. When the tea was ready, she brought the three cups to the table and sat down.

“So,” Rarity said, “What is troubling you, dear?”

Celestia took a deep breath and told her tale of woe. It did not take long to relay the events of the night, so, as she finished telling Pinkie and Rarity what had happened, she took a sip of her tea to help gather her thoughts.

“I'm not sure if what my sister was offering was just a prank or if she was being serious,” Celestia said, “Before Luna turned into Nightmare Moon, she was quite the prankster. Nightmare Night was originally her idea for April Foal's day, but it didn't catch on as she had hoped... The whole 'holiday' she had planned ended up turning into something most ponies feared. Those that did go out at night usually ended up being cultists. Worshiping some false deity or another...”

“I'm terribly sorry to hear that,” Rarity said. Just then she was interrupted by a knock at the door. “Huh... I wonder who that could be at this hour...”

Rarity got up and checked the door and sank into an immediate bow as she saw Princess Cadence standing in the doorway. While Rarity was prostrating before Cadence, Celestia and Pinkie came walking out of the kitchen, with Celestia in slightly better spirits due to a pep talk from Pinkie. Celestia did a double take when she saw Cadence and her honor guard standing in the doorway.

“Cadence?” Celestia asked bemusedly, “What are you doing here?”

“Auntie Celestia?” Cadence asked in surprise. She strode into Rarity's home and gave her aunt a hug and said, “It's good to see you again!!!”

“And you too, Cadence,” Celestia said with a smile, “But I must ask, what brings you to Ponyville?”

“Well, as you all know,” Cadence started, “The capitol is being moved to Everfree Castle. A sizable portion of the royal family is also moving into the castle. Unfortunately, my miserable excuse for a Cousin is coming as well, however, Auntie Moon said something about a restraining order against him? When I asked her about it, she said that Cousin Blueblood is an 'arrogant, spoiled, pompous, brat that deserves to wallow in a dungeon for conforming to the aristocratic stereotype of stuck up ponies'....”

“Ah, the blonde prince with the compass rose cutie mark?” Celestia asked, “I remember him, vaguely...”

Before Celestia could finish, the unusually quiet Pinkie Pie suddenly perked up and gasped loudly before bounding over to Cadence and saying, “Hi! I'm Pinkie Pie I don't know you and if I don't know you then that means you're new in town and if you're new in town then that means you haven't made any friends here and if you haven't made any friends here then there's only one thing that needs to be done! Do you know what that is?”

Cadence looked taken aback at the sudden appearance of the pink party pony. She was about to answer before Pinkie said in a voice almost as loud as the Royal Canterlot Voice,“ A PARTY!!!” Pinkie zipped out of the room as fast as she could, leaving a pink puff of smoke in her wake.

Rarity, Cadence, and Celestia marveled at how Pinkie did the things she did. No other pony in existence before Pinkie ever did the things that Pinkie Pie did. Celestia would know, considering both her longevity and the fact that after meeting the eccentric party pony she did extensive research into the laws of physics and perhaps a few laws written in the books at Hayvard as well. It was lucky for both Celestia and Pinkie Pie that all the pink party pony did was make people smile and throw parties, other wise.... Well, it's best not to dwell on the unpleasant things, yes?

After recovering from their momentary shock at Pinkie's sudden departure, Rarity found her voice and said, “Wait... so you're telling me that the Prince I've heard so much about is nothing more than an arrogant ruffian?”

“I am afraid so, Miss...?” Cadence said.

“Rarity, Princess, and please you don't have to call me Miss,” Rarity said with a smile, “Just 'Rarity' is fine.”

Cadence rolled her eyes at the sound of her title and said, “You can just call me 'Cadence'. I'm not a big fan of the royal trappings, to tell you the truth.”

Cadence looked around thoughtfully for a moment, then asked, “You wouldn't happen to know a dressmaker, would you, Rarity? I'd like to have one made and... Rarity, are you alright?”

At the first sign of a request from royalty, Rarity began swooning. She magically pulled up a lovely red couch from its position on the wall and promptly fainted on it.

“I didn't say anything, wrong, did I, Auntie?” Cadence asked, worry etched on her face.

Celestia chuckled and said, “No, no you haven't. Rarity is a bit... melodramatic at times. It's one of those things you get used to after a while. Like Pinkie Pie's antics. However, I should tell you, Rarity is the best dressmaker I've seen in a long time.”

During Celestia's comments, Rarity had recovered. She got to her hooves and said in a dainty voice, “Darling! If you are looking for a dressmaker, look no further! I shall have you a dress that will make you the belle of the ball! Or any other occasion you should wish to use it for!!”

Rarity grabbed Cadence in a field of twinkling blue magic and said, “This is the BEST. POSSIBLE. THING! I shall make a dress like none the world has ever seen!!"

-The streets of Ponyville-

Twilight trotted around through the town, her thoughts still a little frazzled by her impromptu meeting with Nightmare Moon.

“By Celestia's beard,” Twilight said to her self for the umpteenth time, “Did she just try and seduce me?”

The purple mare shook her head and tried to convince herself that she was wrong. Besides, Nightmare Moon had taken the day time away and that alone made her a monster... Right? Twilight was not sure about it anymore. She shivered as she remembered what the dark alicorn had whispered into her ear.

-An hour beforehand-

“So... You're turned on by the thought of another mare in... provocative clothing?” Nightmare had whispered slyly, “Oh, but you like Celly... Why would you want her... when you could have me?”

Twilight sat there in shock as Nightmare Moon swooped in for a kiss. She could feel the taller mare's tongue exploring her own. It wasn't like the chaste kiss Twilight had given Celestia mere hours ago... It was full of passion and the promise of a caring partner, if given the chance. But Twilight was too stunned to do anything, and when Nightmare Moon pulled away after a few more moments, a strand of saliva connecting the two mares, she sat there, her eyes the size of saucers.

Suddenly sheepish and breathless, Nightmare Moon asked, “W-was that your first kiss?”

Twilight's mouth worked silently, unable to voice the conflicting emotions running through her mind. On the one hoof, she was upset that Nightmare had practically stolen the kiss she had meant to give to Celestia, it it hadn't been for Applejack's untimely interruption. On the other, even though Twilight had been too stunned to move, it had been an incredible moment.

After a moment of silence, Nightmare Moon asked playfully, “Was it as good for you as it was for me?”

“You stole my first kiss...” Twilight protested weakly.

Nightmare Moon smiled and said, “Celly was always a bit of a party pooper. She never did enjoy the romantic things like somepony wanting to give her their first kiss... She and I have always been like opposite sides of the same coin...”

“I... You still took something I wanted to share with Celestia!” Twilight said angrily.

Nightmare Moon let her face fall into a somber expression and said, “I've known her since the two of us were fillies. In almost everything she did, her interactions with me included, it was always about instant gratification. While I took my time in my relationships, to let love blossom, she went straight for the throat, so to speak, and bedded a different stallion or mare each week....”

Nightmare trailed off, looking out the window, the somber expression still on her face. She turned back towards Twilight and moved closer to the still shell shocked mare. She gave the purple mare an affectionate lick on the muzzle and said, “I think you should at least give me a chance. It's all anypony can ask for, really. It might surprise you, really.”

Twilight flinched as if struck and pushed herself away from Nightmare Moon.

“I.... I don't know,” she said as she ran from the room.

Nightmare stared at the door Twilight had left from for a moment, then sighed to herself, “Twilight... I wish you would just accept me... I know we would be great together, if I just had the chance...”

-Present-

Still lost in her thoughts, Twilight passed Sugarcube corner, where one of Pinkie's parties was in full swing. Pinkie suddenly jumped in front of Twilight and said, “Hey, Twilight! Come on and join the party!'

Before Twilight could utter an excuse to skip out on the party, Pinkie had dragged her into the sweet shop. After the energetic pink party pony had dragged her into the party area, Twilight looked around curiously, wondering who the party was for. Then, she spotted a familiar pink, white, and purple mane among the ponies in the crowd. She was about to move closer, but the familiar pony got up onto a stage that Pinkie had set up in the middle of the bakery and started speaking.

Twilight couldn't quite make out what her old foalsitter, Cadence was saying due to the fact that she was sitting next to a speaker. However, before Twilight could ask what was going on, Cadence had stepped down and Pinkie took her place, yelling at the top of her lungs, “It's time for Pin the Tail on the Pony!!!”

Twilight walked away from the speaker and tried to get closer to Cadence. Once she got close enough, she saw Cadence put the tail of the pony on its nose.

“Oops!” Cadence said in good humor, “Looks like I put it too high!!”

Cadence looked into the crowd and gasped as she saw Twilight walking closer with a huge grin on her face. “Twilight!” she said.

Twilight finally got close enough to Cadence to give her a hug and said, “Cadence, I'm so happy to see you again!!”

Rainbow Dash fluttered over to the duo and said, “Wait... You know her, Twilight?”

“Yep!” Twilight said happily, “She's only the best foalsitter in the whole world!”

Before Dash could respond, Pinkie Pie popped up out of nowhere and said, “You know each other! That's super-duper awesome! That means that this welcome party just turned into a 'Happy Reunion Party'!”

Pinkie bounced off to the stage to make the announcement as Cadence, Twilight, and Rainbow started giggling. Before long, Twilight had forgotten why she was so conflicted, as she had lost herself in the party.

–
Several hours and a rather large amount of hard cider later found Twilight stumbling through the door with Spike held haphazardly on her back and Celestia in tow. Celestia had shown up for the party shortly after Twilight had and they had enjoyed the festivities while they had the chance, especially considering that Cadence had not seen Twilight since she was a foal before that night. Spike had left early, along with all of the other children in Ponyville after about nine o'clock, as Pinkie had started serving the more adult themed drinks and it was past the baby dragon's usual bed time.

Twilight gave a huge yawn and said with slightly slurred words, “That.. wash a good party.... I hope we get to she Cadensh again..”

Celestia, who had several thousand years of experience with alcohol of most strengths said, “Yes, it was a bit of fun. I'm glad Cadence could join in.”

So, with that, Twilight made for the washroom, as liqueur eventually makes it so a mare must relieve herself before doing anything else. By the time she left the washroom, Celestia was already laying on the spare bed, a book cracked open in her hooves. Twilight walked as steadily as her inebriated state would allow and sat quietly next to the white alicorn for a moment.

“Um... Why are you looking at me like that, Twilight?” Celestia asked curiously, having apparently forgotten what Twilight had done earlier that night.

Instead of answering, Twilight, in a rather bold move for the bookish unicorn, gave Celestia a kiss on the nose. This surprised Celestia greatly, but what came next frightened her. Twilight gave her mentor a look of longing so powerful that it left the former princess stunned.

“Shhh...” Twilight whispered drunkenly to Celestia, “Just relax....”

Too stunned to offer an argument, Celestia sat there, unable to move as her faithful student started kissing her up and down her pearly white body. Eventually, Twilight came back up to Celesta's face and kissed her deeply. Celestia's eyes shot open wide and she struggled away from the lavender mare. Twilight pressed her mouth harder into Celestia's, preventing her from getting away.

Twilight finally broke away for air after a few minuets of passionate kissing. It was then that Celestia made her move. With all the force that she could muster, Celestia pulled back her forehoof and smacked Twilight across her muzzle. The lavender unicorn was sent sprawling to the floor from the force of the impact.

Celestia looked down at her student fearfully as she lay on the floor. Twilight got unsteadily to her hooves and faced Celestia.

“B-but... I love you...” Twilight said in a weak voice as a bruise formed around the side of her face.

“But I don't love you...” Celestia said, tears forming in her eyes, “Not like that... I-I'm sorry it happened like this....”

Celestia turned and ran out of the library after she finished speaking. Twilight felt too numb to do anything but stare after the love of her life in disbelief. She slowly crawled herself into Celestia's bed and held the book she had been reading close to her chest, and cried herself to sleep.

-Streets of Ponyville-

Celestia ran without any sort of plan on where she was going. The fact that Twilight harbored such feelings for her scared Celestia. She loved Twilight like a daughter, but this changed everything. Eventually, Celestia stopped running, her adrenalin having finally been spent. Even though she was both angry and frightened of Twilight, she hadn't meant to physically hurt the mare.

“What have I done...?” Celestia whispered to the darkness. She cast a small spell for warmth and curled up on a bench. Her tears carried her off to sleep as the moon reached its zenith and a certain dark alicorn watched with a somber expression.

“The worst night ever...” Nightmare Moon said sadly.