Nightmare Night Fun

It was a clear Autumn day as Princess Luna made her way from Sweet Apple Acres towards Twilight’s Palace of Friendship. A cool wind blew threw her mane, making her glad that she was wearing a long sleeved, figure-hugging black shirt, and jeans that clung nicely to her shapely legs.

As she walked, she saw the residents of Ponyville setting up decorations for Nightmare Night. They saw Princess Luna and, rather than stop what they were doing and bow to her, waved to her while wishing her a good day. It was a good thing because Luna didn’t want her presence to stop them from their set up.

Streamers shaped like bats ran from house to house, the flags featuring Nightmare Moon fluttering in the breeze, and so many more decorations covered the homes even though the holiday was still two weeks away. She was also aware that this year there would be twice as many booths and events making this the greatest Nightmare Night the town had ever put on.

‘Perhaps,’ mused Luna, ‘they are putting more of an effort into the holiday since I’m living here now.’

Thinking about her new residence brought stirred mixture of emotions within her. She loved living here. Compared to Canterlot, Ponyville was more welcoming and friendlier. Not to mention that she could be closer to Big Mac, getting to see him every day and spending many passion-fueled nights in his arms. Just thinking about some of the things the two had done made her blush with lewd thoughts.

However, Luna’s move to Ponyville also reminded her of the problems she had with Celestia. Celestia’s announcement that all Equestria needed was Twilight and her friends to protect it added new pressures to the group. That lead the harmony between them to fray, hanging on by a thread because of the internal conflicts going on between the six of them.

This was one of the reasons that Luna was going to see Twilight. About two weeks ago, she was sitting with the Apple family ready to enjoy a delicious dinner when Applejack had brought up a fight Twilight had with Rainbow and Rarity. From what she heard, Twilight had been given a lot of extra work from Celestia which the two had commented on negatively. Twilight went to defend her mentor which resulted in a yelling match between the three before the Rainbow and Rarity left the palace, slamming the door on their way out.

Once Applejack finished her story, Luna had wanted to see the three of them and help them make up. Granny, however, said that they just needed a little time to cool off. Applejack agreed, saying that if they touched this pan before it had a chance to cool off, they would just get a nasty burn. So Luna agreed to wait. Yet with each passing night, she grew worried for her fellow princess. Ever since the fight, nopony had seen Twilight. She had shut herself in her castle, the only proof that she was still alive being the light coming from a few windows each night. For the past week, Luna had tried to check on her dreams only to find that she couldn’t connect to her; something that didn’t sit well with her.

A short while later, Luna found herself at the front (and unguarded) gates of the Palace of Friendship. Deciding it would be better to be polite, she knocked three times on the large doors and waited. And waited. And waited. As the minutes ticked by, Luna began to grow concerned, knocking on the door louder in the hopes that Twilight didn’t hear her the first time. Then, after fifteen minutes passed by, the princess of the night had had enough, opening the door and stepping inside the crystal tree castle.

After stepping through the threshold, Luna saw that things were a little off. The inside of Twilight’s castle, which was usually sparkling clean, looked slightly dusty and dark. Sniffing, Luna found the air a little stale as well as a slightly foul odor in the background. Beyond that, nothing else seemed off.

Luna began to move towards Twilight’s room all the while calling out her name. At one point, she almost call out for Spike but stopped herself. She that he left for Fillydelphia a few months ago. Mina the dragon was working to improve relations between dragons and ponies and had asked Spike to help. The reason behind this was simple: out of all the dragons in Equestria, none had the level of influence he did. He was a famed hero in the Crystal Empire and was close to all the princesses. If there was any dragon that could help with what she wanted to do, it would be him.

Of course, Spike was conflicted. He wanted to leave so that he could help improve the image of dragons as well as both learn more about dragon culture and get closer to Mina. However, if he left, then that would mean leaving his friends and Twilight. He talked to the Twilight about this and, in the end, she told him that this was important to him and he didn’t need to worry about her.

Soon, Luna found herself in front of Twilight’s room. The smell was strongest here, making her worry about what was going on with Twilight. Judging by the thin layer of dust on the crystal door handles, nopony had opened it in days. That, plus the smell caused Luna’s mind to think of the worst possible places as she opened the door with a hurry.

As soon as she did, Luna’s senses were assaulted by what she beheld. The smell grew ten times worse, actually causing Luna to cover her nose with both hands before she could concentrate enough to cast a fresh air bubble around her head. Once that was done, she looked around at the horrible state of the room. Littered around the floor were plates and bowls with half eaten and rotting foods. Candy wrappers and to-go boxes filled the trash can while threatening to overflow. Empty coffee mugs lay on the unused bed, staining the blankets with the remains of the dark liquid. Even with the bubble spell she cast, Luna felt like vomiting from what she saw.

At the other end of the room there was a large desk where there was no food or drink items. However, it was full of books and papers that touched the high ceiling of the bedroom. And sitting in a seat in front of it was the Princess of Friendship, snoring away. However, as Luna got closer (doing her best not to step in something unpleasant), she noticed the state Twilight was in. Her mane and fur looked sticky, almost clumped together in various patches. Her clothing, a white, short-sleeved blouse and a purple skirt, had several stains on it and gave the appearance that she hadn’t changed out of it in days. Even her wings were a mess and in need of a good preening if she wanted to fly in the near future. And when Luna got next to her, she saw that Twilight still had dark circles around her eyes as if she was just now getting some sleep.

Before Luna could do anything, there was a flash of golden colored magic, waking Twilight as she jumped up out of her seat. When the flash faded, Luna saw that more documents had appeared on her desk before toppling over onto the floor. Twilight looked down at the new mess with half closed eyes as she bent down to pick it up. But when she did so she almost fell face first to the floor in Luna hadn’t spotted it and used her magic to save her at the last moment.

“W-What?” murmured Twilight, who was only half awake. She turned her head and looked at Luna for the first time. “Am I dreaming?”

“No,” said Luna sadly as she moved Twilight back to her seat. She wanted to put Twilight to bed, but it also looked like a mess. “No pony has seen you for several days and I was starting to get worried. When I-”

Luna was then interrupted as Twilight jumped into the air while her face contorted into panic. “Several days?!” she all but yelled as she then began to pace around the room, not paying any attention to what she was stepping in. “This is bad, this is very very bad! I promised the mayor I would stop by her office to talk about Winter Wrap Up this year, on Tuesday! I also had a visit planned for Cloudsdale about the new weather patterns they had planned for this year. I-I can’t miss them or else I’ll be in so much trouble with the princess and-”

“No you won’t!” said Luna in a commanding voice, snapping Twilight out of her spiral.

“But Luna I-” began Twilight, but stopped when the night princess held up a hand to silence her.

“It is clear that you have been overworking yourself,” she said. “Now then, I want you to get changed into something clean and then you are coming with me. We can work out what you missed later. Understood?”

Twilight opened her mouth to protest, but a glare from Luna caused her to nod weakly before moving to a dresser for a change of clothes. As she began to discard her cloths, Luna turned her attention to some of the documents on the desk. As she picked up a few at random and began to read them, a scowl appeared on her face.

One of the documents was for a cake tasting party that Celestia wanted planned. Another was for the Canterlot Garden Party which also needed planning. Then there was a summit which, again, needed to be planned. The last one she looked at was actually something that didn’t require planning. It was a dispute between two companies both claiming ownership of a new product and saying that the other stole the idea. It was actually something that a pony in their position should be dealing with.

‘Aren’t there ponies that get paid to plan these kind of events?’ thought Luna. She recalled her brief time when she was in charge of the Day Court, particularly when she was meeting with the Crystal Ponies. They had planned a grand event and Luna was there to oversee what they had gotten done. Didn’t Celestia have any of those? And what did she do before she had Twilight as a student? From the looks of things, she was asking Twilight to plan everything from scratch all by herself.

Sighing, Luna magicked herself a parchment, ink, and a quill. She then quickly scribbled a note to Dreaded Appointment, asking him to come to the Palace of Friendship and help organize Twilight’s workload. Specifically, separate all of the ‘party planning’ from everything else. Once she was done, Luna teleported the letter away.

“I’m not sure this is a good idea,” Twilight said through a yawn. “I have a lot of work to do back at the castle and I’ve already lost a lot of time. Plus I have to talk the mayor to apologize for missing our appointment!”

Luna let out a sigh as the princess next to her continued to talk as they walked the streets of Ponyville. As its citizens saw them, they would wave at first. Then, they would stop when they saw the state Twilight was in before turning to one another and whisper something that neither mare could hear as they moved in the opposite direction. It seemed that the change of clothes was not enough to distract others from the state Twilight was in. It was like adding a fresh coat of paint to a flying chariot that had just been in a crash!

“Twilight, you need to relax,” said Luna. “I want you to get some rest and take some time out of your schedule before you burn out. In fact, one of the reasons I wanted to see you was to invite you to an adult party at Sweet Apple Acres this Nightmare Night. It’s going to be a very special night for Mac and I, and I want all of our friends to be there.”

“But I don’t have time for that!” cried Twilight. “I-I just have so much I need to get done and everypony is counting on me. Especially Princess Celestia! She’s entrusted me to help her while she’s trying to patch things up in the Crystal Empire. I don’t want her to think-” Twilight broke off as her legs gave out for a moment. Luckily for her, Luna’s reflexes were top notch and was able to grab her before she fell to the ground. Twilight blushed in embarrassment as she looked up at Luna’s stone cold expression. One that clearly read; ‘Do I really have to say anymore?’

“Well, I guess taking one night off won’t hurt,” said Twilight with an awkward laugh as she got back onto her hooves.

“Good,” said Luna as her expression softened. “Now let’s get you to Carousel Boutique so you can get fitted for your costume.” After she said this, Luna looked at Twilight, who visibly paled.

“W-why do we have to go there?” asked Twilight as she slowed in her steps.

“Because I’m helping a friend out,” said Luna calmly. “All of the guests are going to be getting ‘special’ costumes made specifically by Rarity. It’s a nice way to help her out without appearing like a charity, don’t you think?”

“But I can’t see her,” said Twilight. “Not after everything she said about Princess Celestia...” she trailed off with a mumble.

Luna paused as she turned to glance at Twilight who looked scared. For a moment, Luna thought to ask about what was exactly said during the argument. But judging by how Twilight looked, not to mention her current tired mental state, caused Luna to forgo asking her for the time being.

Forcing her to relive that experience might make her have a full-blown meltdown. Still, Luna had no intention of backing off from seeing Rarity. While Rarity was the one who was making all the costumes, Luna also wanted Twilight to go there so the two could hopefully patch things up with her acting as a mediator if it came to that.

‘Not that I think it will come to that,’ thought Luna sadly. ‘One look at Twilight and Rarity will be so worried that she’ll forget all about the fight.’

“Twilight, Rarity is your friend,” said Luna carefully. “Just… talk to her. It’s been awhile and I’m sure you have both cooled down.”

“But,” began Twilight, yet was cut off as Luna held up the scolding finger to silence the younger alicorn.

“No buts,” she said firmly, making it clear that she wouldn’t take any excuses.

A few minutes later the two found themselves in front of Carousel Boutique. Or, rather, what used to be Carousel Boutique. The building now looked darker due to the unlit windows and heavy curtains. In front of the building was a sign that listed three other business’ names as well as telling anypony who wanted to see them to ask the landlady: Rarity. Upon seeing this, Twilight couldn’t help but gulp. This was the first time she had been here since Celestia’s surprise meeting. It felt… wrong to see what had happened to her friend’s business.

Luna walked to the door and opened it before beckoning Twilight to follow. Once the two were inside, Twilight saw that the inside had changed as well despite how dark it was. On one side of the room were only a few mannequins wearing some of Rarity’s designs set up next to a large mirror. Next to the mirror were all of the materials that Rarity used to make her dresses as well as all of her design books meaning that she had lost her workroom upstairs. On the other side of the room was a bed and dresser, showing that Rarity now had to sleep down here.

It was then that the two became aware of a strange noise. Twilight opened her mouth to say call out, but Luna quickly placed a hand on her shoulder before motioning to her fellow princess not to make a sound. Adrenaline filled Twilight as she grew worried about her friend and what could be happening to her. Luna looked around and then pointed at the only open door, the one that led to the kitchen. Nodding, Twilight slowly walked towards it with Luna and then peaked through the opening to see if Rarity needed a hand.

What Twilight saw caused her face to turn red. Kneeling on the floor was Rarity, completely naked! In front of her was an equally naked Thunderlane who had his eyes closed tightly, for Rarity had wrapped her large, G-cup breasts around his member, pumping them up and down while she loudly sucked on the shaft and head. Both of their bodies seemed to shine from sweat, and Twilight could see that her friend had her nipples pierced. Thunderlane was letting out small groans while his hands ran through Rarity’s mane.

Twilight stood there in almost a dazed state as she watched Rarity. Her breathing became heavy as she felt a wetness grow between her legs. Then, for some reason, she imagined herself in Rarity’s place, sucking on that cock with a smile on her face. Confused and scared, Twilight shook her head as she took several steps back as Luna just continued to watch them.

“I think I’ll just come back later,” whispered Twilight before running out of the building.

Luna just shrugged as she pulled her head back from the door. Given how Twilight was reacting, she would most likely need some time before she would be able to talk to Rarity and look her in the eyes. Her horn began to glow as she leaned against the wall before a book appeared in her hand. She opened it, content to wait for the two to finish. She would just wait till they were done and then take Rarity to Twilight’s.

As soon as Twilight got back to her castle, she ran in and slammed the door before her with what little might she had left before leaning her back against it as she breathed hard. She was still in a state of shock of what she had seen. Rarity, the most sophisticated pony in Ponyville, was having sex! Not that she had anything against such an act, but she always thought that Rarity would be the kind of mare who would wait till marriage to do that sort of thing.

And then there was her imagination. As she had ran back home, the images plagued her thoughts. And it wasn’t just Thunderlane she imagined, but every stallion she saw as she made her way back to the castle. Filthy Rich. Carmel. Bulk Biceps. It was as if somepony had turned on a switch or something in her head and now she had no idea how to turn it off. All she could do was to gasp her head with both hands as she sank to the floor.

Unfortunately for Twilight, new thoughts entered her brain, mixed in with the lewd images. Before today, she hadn’t actually known if Rarity was seeing anypony. Given this, plus her current financial problems, could it be possible that Rarity was now prostituting herself just to make ends meet?

Had she really fallen that far and Twilight hadn’t noticed?

Now her mind seemed to go into overdrive, showing Twilight images of Rarity accepting bits from various stallions and mares before undressing herself so that her clients could do to her what they wished.

‘This isn’t good,’ thought Twilight as she stared wide eyed at the floor, still holding her head. ‘What’s wrong with me? Why is my mind acting like this? Maybe…Maybe there’s a book in the library that can help me! Or perhaps all I really need is some sleep. Just a couple of hours and I’ll be myself again. But I can’t. I still have so much work I need to do and the pile has probably gotten bigger.’ Twilight’s body now began to tremble. ‘I don’t know what to do! I’m losing my mind and my friends! How can I be the Princess of Friendship if my friends won’t even talk to me? And if Rarity found out that I saw her doing… that sort of thing, then she’ll never forgive me. We’ll lose the magic of friendship and our Rainbow Power. Then…Then I’ll let everypony down that’s counting on me to keep them safe. And what will Princess Celestia say? She’s believes that I can do all of this. I can’t let her down. But how can I-’

Twilight’s thoughts were cut off as she heard a distant buzzing in the background. One that she had heard several times in the past. Slowly she got to her hooves before stumbling towards the library. As soon as she entered, Twilight found herself surrounded by one of her greatest joys in all of Equestria: books. Many of them had come either from the old Castle of the Royal Sisters or had been donated by Princess Celestia herself to replace those that had been lost due to Tirek. It saddened her that she had been unable to open a single one in weeks due to the nature of her new responsibilities.

Yet there was one book she could open right now and it was the one buzzing next to the enchanted mirror that led to the world of humans. It was the book that connected her to Sunset Shimmer, the former student of Princess Celestia before her. And it seemed that she had a message for Twilight. Using her magic, Twilight tried to levitate the book towards her. However, due to her tired state, the book nearly fell to the floor five times before she could hold it in her hands and open it.

Twilight was shocked to see the phrase ‘Open the portal’ written over and over again. Acting quickly, Twilight produced a quill—one that she always kept on her just for emergencies—and quickly wrote that it would be opened in a moment. She then placed the book in its spot on the mirror to transfer its magic so the portal could be opened.

As soon it was opened, Sunset Shimmer raced through and took the book off the mirror. Now having her pony form back, Sunset now had her regular pony ears and tail back as well as her horn. Her boots had disappeared replaced with bare hooves. She was breathing hard, causing her D cup breasts to rise and fall with each breath, threatening to pop out of her top.

Sunset then let out a relieved sigh. “That was close,” she said as she took off her leather jacket, showing off her blue blouse and white skirt. “I thought for a moment they were…” Her eyes glanced up to Twilight to see her disheveled state. “Twilight, you look awful!”

“Oh I’m fine,” said Twilight dismissively as she tried to look like everything was fine, and failing. “Uh, how about I make us some tea and you can tell me what’s going on. Ok? Ok.”

Sunset stared at Twilight’s retreating figure as she wondered what was going on with her friend. They had been communicating through the book for several months now. For Sunset, she felt a connection with the alicorn that she never had with any of the humans back on Earth. They could tell each other anything that was bothering them and give the other advice. She looked forward to hearing about what was going on in Equestria from Twilight as well as her encouragements to make more friends.

But recently, Sunset had begun to worry. Twilight’s messages were becoming shorter and less frequent. She seemed to hesitate to talk about what was going on with her life making Sunset worry for her friend. She had talked to her friends at Canterlot High to ask their opinion and most suggested that maybe Twilight had gotten together with someone. It was a possibility, Sunset had to admit. One that did put Sunset’s mind at ease a little, but also creating another feeling inside of her that she was unfamiliar with. But now, seeing Twilight in the state she was in, made her wonder just what the hay was going on in Equestria.

A loud crash in the distance took Sunset out of her thoughts and back into reality. Worried about Twilight, Sunset raced out of the library and down the large hallways of the castle. Then, after looking in several large, but empty rooms, she finally found Twilight. She was standing in front of a broken tea cup, just staring at it as tears began to roll down her face while she bit her lower lip.

“I’m out of tea,” she said through a sob.

“Twilight,” said Sunset. However, as soon as she said this, Twilight turned to face Sunset and flung herself on the unicorn. She then proceed to cry right into Sunset’s blouse with all her might.

“I’m a failure!” sobbed Twilight as her emotion damal broke. “I-I can’t even make tea from my friends! I can’t even keep my friends! I want to be a good princess, I really do! But I can’t do everything! I can’t be everywhere! I can’t! I CAN’T!”

For the longest time, Twilight cried into Sunset’s shirt while rambling her troubles incoherently. At times, Twilight seemed to beg Sunset to understand that she was doing her best while other times she seemed to blame herself for everything. Slowly, as she cried, Twilight sank to her knees. Eventually she fell to the floor, passed out due to her tired state.

Once Sunset was sure Twilight was asleep, she used her magic to pick up the princess and take her back to the library where she had seen a couch. Gently, she laid Twilight on it before leaving to go and look for a blanket. Unfortunately she had no idea where it was, moving from room to room until she stumbled upon Twilight’s. It was a disturbing sight to say the least. But seeing it, as well as the piles of documents, did help Sunset to better understand how Twilight could end up in this state.

It was about fifteen minutes later when Sunset finally returned to the library. In her magical grasp was not only a blanket but also a hand towel, a regular sized towel, and a bucket containing water that had been magicked to stay lukewarm. Gently she placed the items on the ground before looking at Twilight and gulping. Sunset then steeled herself knowing what she had to do to help her friend.

Taking a deep breath, Sunset approached Twilight’s sleeping form and then bent down. Slowly, she began to remove each article of clothing. Sunset thought for sure when she was removing Twilight’s top that she would wake up but luckily that didn’t happen. Eventually she got Twilight down to her black bra and matching panties. Feeling her heart rate quicken, Sunset unhooked the bra freeing Twilight’s D-cup breasts. Finally she slid Twilight’s panties off revealing her shaven sex.

For a while, Sunset stared at the naked body before her as her cheeks burned slightly. Sure she had dated guys before, hell she had sex with Flash a few times. But something she had never revealed to anyone back at Canterlot High was that she was bi-sexual. The old Sunset would have taken advantage of the naked, unconscious mare before her without a second thought, thinking of all the wonderful blackmail she could get out of it. And while the temptation to… sample Twilight was very strong right now, Sunset refused to be like that again.

Not only because she was ashamed of how she used to be, but also because she knew that Twilight would never forgive her if she did. And that was something that Sunset knew she could never live with.

Moving away from Twilight for the moment, Sunset went to the bucket while also grabbing the hand towel. She then dunked it into the water before ringing it out and then returning to Twilight’s body to wash it. She started with the princess’s arm, lightly wetting it as she slowly moved down from the shoulder to the hand. Once again, Sunset was afraid that Twilight would awaken and be… put off by her actions. But it seemed that she was out like a light for a good long while.

Bit by bit, Sunset washed Twilight’s body. First dampening it with the hand towel and then using the larger one to dry her off. Sure it might not have been a proper bath or a shower, but it would do until Twilight could properly wash. However, the one area that Sunset had avoided was the chest, washing everything else first. But now that it was the only area of the body remaining, Sunset knew she had no choice.

Once more, Sunset wetted the hand towel before making her way to the fleshy orbs. Using one hand, she cupped the right breast to hold it in place. Her cheeks darkened further as she felt how warm and soft they felt, but shook her head in an attempt to focus. As soon as the hand towel touched her mound, Sunset noticed Twilight’s nipple harden a bit. Gulping as she pushed certain temptations aside, Sunset quickly dried it off before moving to the next breast.

As she finished drying the left breast, Sunset heard a knocking on the front door. She bit the bottom of her lip as she wondered what she should do. She knew she should answer it so that she could at least see who wanted to speak to Twilight and take a message. However, if it were one of her friends or one of the more pushy members of Canterlot that Sunset remembered from her youth, then there was a chance that they might force their way in to see Twilight. But the worst would be a reporter. At least with Twilight’s friends there would have been a good chance that they would let her explain what she was doing and keep quiet.

A reporter, on the other hand, might think that something was up if Sunset went to the door and said that Twilight was indisposed at the moment. Said reporter then might start snooping around, and if he or she saw Twilight as she was right now, then they might take a few pictures and before she knew it there would be some horrible story written about this just so more papers could be sold.

More forceful knocking was heard. Acting quickly, Sunset covered Twilight’s body with the blanket, leaving her head uncovered. Once she exited the room, she struggled to remember one of the more complex spells from her days as Celestia’s student before attempting to cast it. Once she did, the doors began to glow an opal color. If she had done this right, nopony should be able to enter the room until she undid the spell. Or she opened it from the inside. With that done, Sunset ran towards the door as another series of knocks could be heard.

When she opened the door, her eyes widened in surprise. Standing before her was an elderly, seven foot tall thestral stallion, built like a brick shit house. His coat was a deep, midnight blue while his thinning mane had become grey. He wore a suit that reminded her of one of those old fashioned butler outfits that she saw in black and white movies. But what really stood out were his eyebrows. Those two inch thick eyebrows that seemed to cover his eyes completely, making it impossible for her to see this giant’s eye color.

“Hello,” bellowed the thestral in a deep voice. “I am Dreaded Appointment. May I come in?”

“Seriously, of all the things I expected to do today, going to Twilight’s certainly wasn’t one of them,” Rarity huffed as she stormed down the streets of Ponyville. She was now fully dressed in a long sleeved blue shirt and a lilac skirt. In her right hand she held a bag containing all of the things she needed to get Twilight’s measurements.

“Nonetheless, thank you for doing this,” said Luna as she walked next to the unicorn. “I know you and Twilight aren’t on the best of terms right now.”

“That’s putting it mildly,” she almost growled letting out a snort. “Last time I saw her was to ask why she missed lunch. Turned out Princess Celestia wanted her to do something and thought that was more important than being with us.

“I know that she’s a princess with a lot of responsibilities,” continued Rarity, venting. “I know that, I really do. But she is so afraid that if she doesn’t do it right then and there, she’ll let down Princess Celestia, as if it were the most horrible thing to happen. And it is really, really starting to get on my nerves. Especially now, after everything that has been happening with her.”

Luna gave Rarity an apologetic look. “Have you talked to Twilight about these feelings?” she asked.

“Of course,” said Rarity was she threw up her arms. “We all have. But Twilight still defends her, saying that she never meant for this to happen. It… It’s like she doesn’t really care about us anymore. Like our pain doesn’t matter when compared to letting down Princess Celestia. And I may of said somethings to her the last time we met that I dare not say in public,”she added sheepishly.

“Well,” said Luna as she calmly placed a hand on Rarity’s shoulder, “perhaps you two can talk things out. I mean, you don’t want to lose your friendship now after everything you’ve been through?”

Rarity shook her head. “I don’t know, darling,” she said with a sigh. “I’m still mad at her. But I’ll take her measurement and make her costume as a favor to you, Princess. Anything beyond that, I make no promises.”

‘That’s all I can really hope for right now,’ thought Luna sadly as they neared the castle.

Once there, the two noticed that the doors to the castle were wide open. Also, scattered across the lawn were a dozen or so trash bags that gave off a disgusting odor. Rarity was about to say something when Sunset walking out of the castle with a full trash bag over her shoulder and a fresh air bubble on her head. When she saw the two she dropped the bag on the ground and stared at them.

“Rarity?” said Sunset in a slightly confused tone. “Oh, that’s right. You’re this world's Rarity.”

“You’re Sunset Shimmer, if memory serves me correctly,” said Rarity as she stared at the other unicorn. “But I thought that you were in that other world. Why are you here? And what is going on?”

“Lady Sunset Shimmer was assisting me,” came the voice of Dreaded Appointment from inside the castle. When he walked out the two saw that he was carrying a large stack of documents tied together with a string. He also had on the same fresh air bubble that Sunset had which was starting to make Rarity worry. “Good afternoon Princess Luna. Lady Rarity.”

“Dreaded,” said Luna with a nod. “How did she help you?”

“Well I came here to do as I was instructed,” said Dreaded calmly. “However the state of Princess Twilight’s room made it difficult to enter. Lady Sunset here provided me with the means of breathing while also working diligently to clear a path to Princess Twilight’s work space. Since then, she has continued to work at an admirable pace to see that when Princess Twilight regains consciousness her room will be livable again.”

“What?” shouted Rarity and Luna together as they looked at the two.

“Twilight sort of passed out shortly after I arrived,” said Sunset. “She’s sleeping right now in the library.”

“Oh, Twilight,” whispered Rarity before she raced into the castle while dropping her bag.

“I hope she’s alright,” said Luna before nodding at Dreaded. “You may take those documents to Canterlot and then send a message to Celestia about what is going on here.” She turned to Sunset. “Please, take me to see her.”

Sunset nodded before leading Luna into the castle. Soon they came upon the sealed doors to the library where Rarity was desperately trying to force open, pushing and pulling on the doors with all of her might.

“Let me,” said Sunset as her horn began to glow. The glow on the doors vanished allowing them entrance. Rarity was the first, charging into the room but stopping as soon as she saw Twilight on the couch. The white unicorn brought her hands to her mouth in shock of the state of her friend.

Luna moved past Rarity to check on the state of her fellow princess. As she did, Sunset began to tell the tale of what had happened since she arrived. About her breakdown, the state of her room, and how she had tried her best to take care of her friend until Dreaded showed up.

“Darling, thank goodness you showed up when you did,” said Rarity once Sunset finished her story. “I don’t want to think of what would have happened to Twilight if you hadn’t been here.”

“She most likely passed out from exhaustion,” said Luna as she headed towards the doors. “She’ll be asleep for the next couple of days at least. And even after she wakes she’ll need to take it easy. I’ll see if I can’t get her some help around here.”

“Actually I wouldn’t mind staying to help,” said Sunset.

“So shall I,” said Rarity. Luna smiled and nodded.

“Come on, Applejack,” Harvest whined like a little colt. Dressed in khakis and a short sleeved white shirt, he moved from side to side, trying to get past his marefriend so that he could sample the dish she was preparing in her family’s kitchen. However the farm mare refused to let him pass her, moving her body from side to side in an attempt to stop him from putting his fingers into the family dinner.

“Just wait a few more minutes Sugarcube,” said Applejack as she blocked another one of Harvest’s attempts. Despite the cool temperature outside, she was wearing jean shorts and a red, plaid shirt that was tied up just below her breasts so that her stomach was in plain view of everypony. “Once everypony gets here we can eat. Ah promise.”

“But I’m hungry now,” he playfully whined.

“No means no,” stated Applejack with a smug look on her face.

Harvest blinked at her for a moment before an evil smile crept onto his face. “Fine then,” he said as he wrapped his arms around her waist and pulling her close to him. The look of her face showed that he had caught her off guard. “I guess I’ll have to play dirty.” As Applejack tried to say something, Harvest moved his mouth to her neck where he proceeded to teasingly suck and nip at her flesh. This caused the farming mare to let out a moan as she began to press her body closer to Harvest’s out of instinct. Wanting to completely envelop her, Harvest took his left wing and wrapped it around her.

“Ch-cheater,” moaned Applejack, her eyes closed as her knees weakened.

Harvest grinned as he added his tongue to the mix, pressing the muscle against her neck and causing Applejack to nearly cry out in sheer delight. While he did this, his right hand moved towards the food. With its guardian occupied, it was his for the taking!

Sadly, not everything goes according to plan. Just as he was about to touch it a wooden spoon swatted his hand, causing him to release Applejack with a start. He looked over to see who had done this to find Granny Smith holding a wooden spoon with an expression that seemed to be a mixture of amusement and annoyance.

“None of that, young’n,” said Granny as she slowly walked towards her seat at the table and sat down. “This here family waits for everypony ta get home before we eat. No exceptions! And just be glad Apple Bloom wasn’t here ta see ya both actin’ like that or else ah wouldn’t of given ya that little love tap!”

“Some love tap,” muttered Harvest as he rubbed his hand.

Several minutes later the door opened, revealing Apple Bloom as she ran into the kitchen with a big smile on her face. Walking more calmly into the kitchen was Big Mac who had one of his strong arms wrapped around Luna’s waist. Once they were inside, Bloom began to bounce up and down as she moved behind one of the chairs and pulled it away from the table a bit.

“Luna, sit here!” she exclaimed. Smiling, Luna obliged. As she sat down, Apple Bloom quickly moved towards the seat to the right of her while Big Mac got to sit on Luna’s left.

“Well, hope ya’ll are good’n hungry,” said Applejack as she picked up the plate containing their dinner. “Because today ah decided ta try a new dish straight from Appleloosa: Apple Tacos.”

As soon as she set the dish on the table, hands reached out to grab one of the tacos for themselves. While this happened, AJ took her own seat next to Harvest and looked at Luna. “So, did ya get Twilight out of that castle?”

Luna paused in mid-bite as she looked at Applejack. Soon, she noticed that everypony at the table was looking at her with anticipation. For a brief moment she pondered whether or not to tell them. After all, what happened with Twilight today probably wasn’t something that she would want shared with others. On the other hand, these were some of Twilight’s closest friends. And after all they had been through with Twilight, they deserved to know.

As Luna set her taco onto her plate, she began to tell them about her day. The Apple family and Harvest listened intently as she described Twilight’s living conditions as well as physical state. Several times during the story, Applejack tried to get up but Harvest took hold of her shoulder to keep her from running off in a panic before she knew the whole story. Since Apple Bloom was at the table, Luna opted not to mention what Rarity was doing when the two arrived at her home and instead skipped over to when they returned to Twilight’s castle.

“Ah don’t believe it,” said Applejack once Luna had finished her story, her fists clenched as she stared at the table in pure rage. “How could Princess Celestia do that ta Twi?!”

“Is being a princess really that hard?” asked Apple Bloom was she looked at Luna.

Luna nodded. “It can be,” she said. “Each princess has a different skill set and thus a different amount of work. Since I rule the night, my workload is considerably lighter than Cadence or Celestia’s. Twilight, however, is in an odd position right now. She doesn’t have a kingdom to run, so she doesn’t have to worry about things like tax codes and the like.

“And unless ponies come to her seeking her guidance or the cutie map calls to her,” Luna continued, “then she is free to do whatever she pleases. I think, for those reasons, my sister decided to send her much of her own work while she is dealing with the uproar in the Empire. But I think, no I hope, that she forgot that Twilight still isn’t used to all of this and lacks a full staff that can assist her. So-”

“Ah don’t really care about that!” yelled Applejack as she slammed her fist onto the table. “After all she’s done ta help Equestria Twilight doesn’t deserve ta be treated like that. Ah’ve got half a mind ta head down to the Crystal Empire and give Celestia a piece of mah mind!”

It was then there was a knock on the door. Horn glowing, Luna opened it to reveal Dreaded, who bowed before them.

“Princess Luna,” he said calmly in his deep voice. “Honorable Apple family. Please forgive me disrupting your meal. However, I wished to inform you that all has been done as you requested. Also, Princess Celestia has a message for you.”

Everypony at the table tensed at this.

“I see,” said Luna slowly before taking a deep breath. “And what did she say?”

Now it was Dreaded who took a deep breath. “Princess Celestia wishes it to be known that she believes that you are…embellishing a bit on that state of Twilight’s wellbeing. She says that she was Twilight’s teacher for years and knows what she is capable of better than you. While she is happy to hear that you are concerned for her and willing to check up on her, it is unnecessary. Finally, she asks that you do not spread this… rumor around because it might make things more difficult for her right now.”

“Is that so?” said Applejack as she slowly stood up. “Well then Dreaded, ah gots a message for ya ta give ta Celestia. Tell her that if ah ever find out that she’s in that state again ah will head down to the Crystal Empire myself and tell Cadence and Shining Armor what’s goin’ on with her.”

“I shall do my best to articulate that to her majesty, Lady Applejack,” said Dreaded as he bowed to her and then walked out the door.

Slowly Twilight opened her eyes, wakening from a dreamless sleep. For a moment or two she just laid there in her bed, just staring up at the ceiling until she sat up and stretched. As she did this, she looked out of her window to see that the sun was high in the sky meaning that it was most likely early in the afternoon.

‘Wow I really slept in,’ thought Twilight lazily as she heard her stomach growl. This caused her to giggle. ‘Looks like I’d better get something to eat. I wonder if what I have left or do I have to go to the market?’

With that thought, Twilight got out of bed and stood up. As she did, she realized that the room felt cooler, breezier for some reason. Her first thought was that she left a window open, but that was dashed as she had just looked at it. She looked around the room and stopped when her gaze fell onto the full body length mirror in her room, her eyes widening as she did. She was naked! Quickly, Twilight jumped back into her bed making a loud thud as she did while wrapping the covers around her body. Just what was going on? She never slept naked so why did she do so last night?

“Twilight, are you awake?” called out a familiar voice. The door to her room opened revealing Sunset Shimmer… wearing a Prench maid outfit.

Seeing Sunset caused Twilight’s mind to awaken fully. The events of the past few days began to play in her mind. She remembered Luna’s visit, going to Rarity’s, and Sunset showing up just in time to see her break down. Shame began to wash over her body at the thought of somepony seeing her in that state. That she couldn’t keep herself under control.

“Are you feeling alright?” asked Sunset as she placed a hand on Twilight’s forehead.

“Y-Yeah, I’m fine,” stammered Twilight. “But, um, Sunset, why are you wearing that and why am I naked?”

“I thought you’d be more comfortable,” said Sunset as a blush appeared on her face. “I mean, that’s usually how I feel when I sleep in the nude. The only time I wear anything in bed is when I’m sleeping over at someone, er, somepony else’s house. As for why I’m wearing this, well…”

“Sunset, darling,” came another voice in almost a sing song like tone. “Where are you? Honestly, how can I make you an entire new wardrobe if you keeping running off every time you hear a sound? It’s like you’d-” But this point Rarity had entered Twilight’s room. Sunset lowered her head slightly as she pointed at the white unicorn as if to indicate that she was the reason for the outfit. Rarity didn’t seem to notice for when she saw that Twilight up her eyes to widen as her sentence was cut short. Calling out her name, Rarity rushed over to Twilight and began to hug her.

“Thank goodness you’re finally up!” exclaimed Rarity. “We were beginning to worry that something was wrong. Oh I hope you feel rested after everything you’ve been through darling.”

“Rarity,” whispered Twilight as tears began to fall down her face. She then began to hug Rarity back, her naked form forgotten. “I’m so sorry for everything! I should have done something! Maybe then you’d still have your home, business, and won’t be a prostitute!”

As soon as Twilight said this, a shocked Rarity pulled away from Twilight. For a moment, her eyes narrowed in rage at the mere notion that she of all ponies would lower herself to selling her body like that. But seeing Twilight as she was, crying and with a look on her face that was begging for Rarity’s forgiveness, tempered her rage a bit.

“Darling,” began Rarity, but was stopped when they all heard Twilight’s stomach growl loudly. “I think somepony is hungry. Sunset, would you be a dear and-”

“Already on it,” said Sunset as she quickly exited the room. As soon as she was out of the room, Rarity sat on the bed while Twilight covered herself with the covers.

“Twilight, please tell me where you got the idea that I was, er, selling my body like that?” asked Rarity.

“When I went to see you with Luna we kind of walked in while you were, ah, with Thunderlane,” explained Twilight as she looked away, a blush on her face as she wiped away the tears from her eyes. “For what I saw of the boutique and the fact that I knew you weren’t dating anypony I sort of jumped to that conclusion.”

“I see,” said Rarity, who was also sporting a blush. “I guess you have been working so hard you wouldn’t have noticed. Me and Thunderlane got together a couple of months ago. And since bits are tight on both ends well…”

“I’m sorry,” said Twilight again. “If you never became my friend then you wouldn’t be in this position. You’d still be making beautiful dresses and running a great shop. I know you must hate me, so-”

“Stop right there,” snapped Rarity, cutting off Twilight. She then gently reached out to cup the princess’s cheek. “Twilight, I don’t hate you. After all you have done for me, how could I? Me and the others, we all still love you from the bottom of our hearts. And I know I speak for all of us when I say that we are sorry if we ever made you think otherwise. It’s just…dear me how can I explain this.”

Rarity paused and took a breath. “We’re all hurting and angry right now. Everything that we have worked hard for, everything that we dreamed our lives would one day be like, it’s being taken away from us and we are unable to stop it or get it back. The resentment that we all feel you’ve been taking the brunt of it dearie. Overall, I am more upset with myself than anypony else right now that it took me seeing you in that state to be willing to set aside those feeling. I hope you can forgive me for being so hot-headed.”

“Only if you forgive me as well,” said Twilight as she hugged Rarity. “I’ve been so caught up in trying to prove that I deserve to be a princess to everypony else that I never noticed how bad things were getting for all of you.”

“Well,” said Sunset as she walked back into the room, carrying a tray of sandwiches and a large glass of water. “It looks like you two made up.”

“We have,” said Rarity with a smile as she watched Sunset handing the tray to Twilight. “And now that that’s out of the way I think we should bring Twilight up to date with everything that’s been going on since she passed out.”

“How long was I out for?” asked Twilight as she picked up a sandwich and took a bite out of it.

“Three days,” answered Sunset.

As soon as she said that, Twilight’s eyes bulged in surprise as she began to choke on her food. As her friends rushed to help her, all Twilight could do was panic. She had been out for that long?! What about all of her work? Her meetings?

“Twilight, calm down,” said Sunset in a reassuring tone. “Me, Rarity, and Princess Luna have been taking care of everything.”

Twilight looked at her, uncertainty clearly visible on her face. Seeing this, Sunset began to inform her of what had been going on over the last few days. Twilight learned that the two unicorns had visited everypony Twilight was supposed to meet and asked them to reschedule and those that didn’t instead met with Princess Luna in her place.

Speaking of the night princess, Luna had shown up the morning after Twilight passed out to take all of Twilight’s work back with her to make sure she didn’t get buried in it, and would continue to do so until Twilight was back at one hundred percent. While hearing that made her feel a bit more at ease, what truly made her day was hearing that all of her friends had stopped by several times to see her while she was asleep.

“Other than that, nothing much has been going on,” said Sunset as Twilight finished the last of her food before gulping down the water. “I’ve been busy cleaning this place while Rarity has been taking my measurements to make me some new clothes.”

“Which would be going by much faster if somepony wouldn’t fight it so much,” said Rarity as she rolled her eyes. “Seriously darling, you’re almost as bad as Rainbow Dash! If you’re going to stay in Equestria, you need to have more outfits than the one you had on your back.”

“Wait,” said Twilight as she looked over at Sunset. “You’re leaving Canterlot High?”

“I’ve got no choice,” said Sunset with a sigh. “We all graduated.”

“That’s great,” said Twilight. “But I don’t see why you have to leave? Couldn’t you get a job or continue your education?”

“I wanted to,” said Sunset as she leaned against the wall while folding her arms. “I applied for college and everything. The only problem was that the Sunset Shimmer of that world also applied for the same college. Next thing I know I’m being chased by the police for the crime of identity theft. And I don’t think they would believe that I am from another world.”

“I see,” said Twilight as she looked at Sunset sadly. “I’m so sorry. I know how much that world meant to you.”

“Its fine,” Sunset said dismissively as she turned to look at Twilight, doing her best to smile. “I’m actually surprised that I got away with it for as long as I did.”

“So what are you going to do now?” asked Twilight.

“Right now, help out my friend until she gets better,” said Sunset. “But after that… I have no idea.”

“Well,” said Rarity. “I did make you that wonderful maid’s outfit since it is the most stylish, not to mention fitting, thing to wear while taking care of royalty. It would be such a shame if it was never worn again. And Twilight does need a new assistant.”

“That’s a wonderful idea,” said Twilight excitedly. “What do you say, Sunset? You want the job?”

Sunset grinned. “You bet I do!” she exclaimed. “This is going to be so much fun. You can help me catch up on everything that I missed while I was in the human world and I can tell you about some of the things that have been going on there. Including a certain guy I know you like.”

As Sunset said this, Twilight’s face went red. She looked away while at the same time fiddling with her mane, twirling it around a single finger.

“Oh I think she likes that idea,” teased Rarity.

“Well, I guess it would be nice to hear about what’s been going on with Flash,” said Twilight. “Has he been seeing someone?”

Sunset shook her head. “Nope,” she answered. “Every time I see him he always, and I mean always, slips in a question asking about you. The guy is head over hooves for you.”

“Well perhaps you should try going after this world’s Flash Sentry,” said Rarity. “After all, they are the same pony, right?”

To her surprise, Twilight shook her head. “No, they’re not,” she said. “Sure they look similar and have similar personalities, but that’s it. They have different memories, different experiences that make them different individuals. The Flash I met in the human world is the Flash I fell for and I don’t want to replace him with a look alike. I want the Flash who made a fool of himself dancing like I did. I want the Flash who rushed into Vice Principal Luna’s office to clear my name.

“Besides, even if I were to even consider dating this world’s Flash, I have no idea where he is now. He was one of the Guard who left after Princess Celestia said that all really needed was our Friendship power.”

“Well, if that’s the way you feel then why don’t you invite him to that Nightmare Night party at Sweet Apple Acres?” asked Sunset with a grin

“What?” said a shocked Twilight. “B-But we can’t. The portal-”

“I left my book back at Canterlot High,” said Sunset. “And according to your notes on how the portal now works, that’s all we really need to open it back up! I also have a few theories I’d like to test out so that we can contact the girls there.”

“Well,” began Twilight, “if he’s not doing anything then I guess it would be alright.”

“Good,” said Rarity. “Now then Twilight, It’s time to get your measurements for your costume. I promise that when Flash sees you, he’ll be all yours.”