Nightmare on Stirrup Street

“Applebloom, wake up! We appreciate you trying to make up for yesterday, but now you’re holding us up by sleeping in the clubhouse.” Scootaloo said. She shook Applebloom again to try to wake the filly up.

Applebloom awoke with a shout, jerking upward and sending Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle sprawling. She patted herself all over, checking to make sure she was in one piece. When she was certain she was solid and not a mess, she sighed with relief and flopped backward on the clubhouse floor. “Oh mah stars, what a nightmare.” She said.

“Have another one of those dreams again?” Scootaloo asked.

“You have no idea. Two in one night. Every time ah go to sleep there’s this stupid mare acting crazy!” Applebloom said, pulling herself into a sitting position.

“Really? What does she look like?” Sweetie Belle asked.

Applebloom furrowed her brow as she tried her best to remember. “She was blue, and she was an Alicorn! She had a big starry mane that floated constantly! Like the princess!” Applebloom said. Then she gasped. “Girls! Ah think ah’m bein’ haunted by Nightmare Moon!”

The two other fillies gasped as well and leaned in close.

“But, didn’t Rarity and her friends defeat Nightmare Moon? How could she be back?” Sweetie Belle squeaked.

“It was Rainbow Dash and her friends, and yeah, the whole town heard about it.” Scootaloo said. “Are you sure they weren’t just- what’s that on your cheek Applebloom? Are you bleeding?”

Applebloom reached up to her cheek, poking around. She winced as she found a small spot near her nose that was sensitive. She wiped at it and sure enough, her hoof came away with blood on it. Her hoof shook a little as she looked at the blood, and was suddenly acutely aware of the pain on her cheek. That was when she noticed that she felt tiny pinpricks of pain all over her body.

“That’s what you get for sleeping on a wooden floor. Splinters everywhere.” Scootaloo said.

Applebloom looked herself over, and she found that she had tiny scrapes, abrasions, scratches, and yes, splinters, all over the right side of her body. “Girls…” Applebloom began. “ah was dreaming about being in a runaway carriage, with Nightmare Moon pulling it. She pulled it in front of a train, and right before you woke me up, the carriage got hit. Ah… ah think these are from that. Because – because the nightmare before that, she tried to drown me, and ah woke up soaking wet!”

“Are you sure you didn’t just… you know?” Scootaloo asked, pointing down between her legs.

Applebloom rolled her eyes. “Yes ah’m sure! It didn’t smell like that!”

“But how could a dream possibly hurt you? It’s just a dream.” Sweetie Belle said quizzically.

“Maybe Nightmare Moon can do that.” Applebloom said. “Ah think we need more information, girls. To the library!”

“But what about being road workers?” Sweetie Belle said.

Applebloom sighed. “Fine. Bring the shovel, then. We can go dig after ah find out what ah want to know.”

Applebloom and Scootaloo headed outside, walking down the ramp of the clubhouse. Sweetie Belle grabbed the shovel and stumbled after them, trying to wrangle the hefty tool with her hooves. They all piled into the wagon and Scootaloo took the reins, pulling them off toward town.

“Do you think the library has many books about Nightmare Moon? I heard Twilight had difficulty interpreting the pro- uh, prophet-see? about her coming back because it was all missing.” Sweetie Belle asked.

“Ah’m sure there’s something. Or maybe we can find out some more about dreams in general. There must be something.” Applebloom said.

“I just don’t see how a dream could hurt you. Or why Nightmare Moon would want to attack you, Applebloom.” Scootaloo said.

“Well, the story from Nightmare Night says she wants to gobble us up. Ah’m not sure how hitting me with a train would help with that.” Applebloom said.

The three eventually arrive in town, to a huge hubbub. Ponies were crowded around in front of one of the houses. The library was just ahead, but their curiosity got the better of them, and the three stopped and crowded into the back of the milling ponies, trying to see what they were all looking at. Unfortunately for them, Rarity caught sight of them and pushed them back.

“Sweetie Belle! What are you doing here? I thought you were going to the clubhouse?” Rarity said, shoving them further away.

“We wanted to go to the library and find out more about dreams!” Sweetie Belle said.

“Well I’m very sorry, but you’re just going to have to go another way. Something has happened, and it’s not safe for you to be here at the moment.” Rarity said.

“But-“ Applebloom began.

“No buts! Please go find another way to the library.” Rarity insisted.

“Fine!” Sweetie Belle said.

The three got back into the wagon, and Scootaloo buzzed off a different direction. Applebloom peeked back at the crowd, and she saw a police pony and Nurse Redheart coming out of a break in the crowd, carrying a black bag of some kind. They moved to a carriage that had been parked out in front of the building and then Scootaloo turned a corner and she lost sight of it.

“Ah think somepony got hurt real bad, girls. Ah saw Nurse Redheart.” Applebloom said.

“That would explain why Rarity didn’t want me to see.” Sweetie Belle said. “I can probably find out what happened later tonight when Rarity starts drinking. She talks to the dress horses about her day when she doesn’t know I’m listening. I’ll let you know if I find anything out.”

Scootaloo pulled them around the pony blockade, and they eventually came to a stop in front of Golden Oaks Library, where the new pony, Twilight Sparkle had recently taken up residence. They rapped on the door and waited. Soon enough, Twilight opened the door.

“Well hello my little ponies. Please, come in, the library is currently open, so you really didn’t need to knock.” Twilight said, stepping aside and motioning them in.

“Sorry. It’s a little weird having somepony live here now.” Applebloom said.

“I understand. Well are you looking for anything in particular?” Twilight asked.

“We wanted to look at some books about Nightmare Moon.” Applebloom said.

“Or dreams!” Sweetie Belle piped in.

“Oh certainly.” Twilight said. She used her magic to pull several books off the shelf and piled them up in front of the Crusaders. “These are all the books that detail the rise and fall of Nightmare Moon 1000 years ago. We don’t yet have any books on her recent return and defeat, but I’m sure they’ll come out soon.” She pulled a couple of other books off the shelves and put them in a separate pile. “These are all the books about dreams and the possible interpretation of them. Some of them are empirical, while a lot of them are entirely theoretical, so take those ones with a grain of salt.”

Scootaloo looked at the pile with dismay. “Uhhh, we were specifically wondering about whether or not it would be possible for somepony to hurt you in your dreams, and have the hurt be real. Like, could Nightmare Moon do that?”

Twilight put a hoof to her chin in thought. “That’s an interesting question. Nightmare Moon could easily influence a pony’s thoughts in their dreams, but actually injuring somepony? That I don’t know. That doesn’t really seem possible.”

While the Crusaders were reading and debating dreams with Twilight, Luna floated in the realm of dreams, seeking and searching. With the coming of the day, her realm was black and empty, save a very few points of light. One of these was particularly bright, and she sped toward it, a toothy grin reaching her face.

Rainbow Dash flew faster than ever. So fast you’d think she was teleporting like a unicorn, but no, she was just, that, fast. Why wouldn’t she be? She was the greatest Wonderbolt ever. Barely spent a week as a rookie before they recognized she was the best flyer Equestria had ever seen and promoted her to Captain of the squad. Spitfire was allowed to stay on, but she was demoted to Rainbow Dash’s old position as rookie. Unheard of, yes, but so was Rainbow’s skill at flying. The current show was a solo performance by Yours Truly; Rainbow fucking Dash. She did loops, cartwheels, barrel rolls, aileron rolls, and even this impossible new trick she’d come up with where… well… it was impossible so you’d have to be there to see it. She had everything and she was the most popular flyer ever. She left her latest performance and went to shower before she went out to meet the cheering crowd. She checked her mane, spread her wings, made sure her uniform was impeccable, and stepped out to a raucous cheering crowd.

She let them cheer for a bit before raising a hoof, her bodyguards held the crowd back as she cleared her throat to speak. “Thank you! Thank you! I know you all came to see me, and thank you for doing so. I’ll take a couple questions from the crowd. Hmmm… you! The tall blue unicorn!” She pointed at Luna.Luna was wearing a baseball cap with Rainbow’s cutie mark on the front. She feigned surprise at being picked and motioned to herself in bewilderment.

“Yes, you. Say the first thing that comes to your mind. How about: ‘Oh Rainbow, I’m your biggest fan!’ I always love hearing that.” Rainbow said. It was a dream, so it didn’t seem odd.

Luna smiled a wicked smile and spread her own wings. They grew impossibly big, dwarfing her body, until they were almost as wide as the entire crowd. “Oh! Rainbow Dash!” She said sarcastically. “I’m your biggest FAN!” When she spoke the last word, she flapped her giant wings down, creating a massive gust of wind that blew the entire crowd away. Ponies screamed as they all disappeared into the distance, the only pony who managed to stay grounded was Rainbow herself.

“Wha-*huuck*, what?” Rainbow said, the wind making it difficult to breathe or speak.

Luna walked over to where Rainbow was pressed against the ground. Her wings had shrunk down some, but were still oversized. “Oh, did you not hear me? I said I’m your biggest FAN!” Luna said again, flapping down at rainbow, the wind was directed straight at her, and it pressed her into the ground. “Your performance simply takes my breath away!” She said, as she kept flapping, the strong winds pushing Rainbow harder into the ground, crushing her ribs.

Rainbow tried to move away, turning away from Luna, she attempted to drag herself away, but the impossibly strong winds pressed her against the ground. She spread her wings, to catch some of the wind and maybe escape, but the sheer forced dragged her along the ground, rolling her with it until she came to a forceful stop at a wall of the stadium. She felt her left wing break as it was folded unnaturally between her and the wall. “Gaaaaaaah!”

“Oh no! Are you hurt? Here, let me help you. Anything for my favourite hero.” Luna said. She pulled Rainbow from the wall, and tossed her roughly back inside the locker room. Luna’s wings were their normal size again, and she followed after the tumbling blue Pegasus. “Surely there’s a first-aid kit here somewhere.” Luna said.

Rainbow pulled herself standing, finally able to catch her breath. She grimaced at her broken wing, and at the back of her mind she faintly wondered why it hurt so much. This was a dream, right? Nopony can make their wings grow that big in real life. She scrambled away, Luna mocking her as she stumbled away back into the locker room.

“Come back! Can I have your autograph?” Luna called.

Something stabbed into her right flank right before she slammed the door of the locker room. She looked and saw a quill stabbed deep into her thigh. She felt a thumping on the door as she tried to hold it shut against her rabid fan. Again Rainbow felt like she should know who this was, but couldn’t fully pull the memory to the fore. Dreams, blue alicorn. “Nightmare Moon?” She said.

The thumping on the door stopped, but Rainbow didn’t let go. She held on and waited to hear hoofsteps moving away. She heard a few tentative steps, the clopping going down the hall, and she held her breath, waiting to see if she was truly going to leave. She heard a suddenly rapid clopping, and panicked as she realized Luna was going to charge the door! She leaped to the side as Luna’s horn speared through the wood as though it were paper, and the whole door came off its hinges! Luna grinned down at her, a wild look in her slit pupils, her sharpened teeth gleaming in the light.

“Heeeeere’s Moony!” Luna crowed, and tossed the door off her horn. She advanced on Rainbow, her horn pointed down toward the frightened Pegasus.

Rainbow dashed down an aisle of lockers, and Luna walked calmly after her. In her panic, Rainbow was looking for a window, or a back door, or anything she could use as a weapon, but all that was in the room were harmless objects like soap, clothing, and towels. She picked some of these up and threw them anyway, hoping maybe one would cause her to stumble. Luna simply caught them with magic and tossed them to the side.

“Oh come now. You’re supposed to be the best Wonderbolt ever. Strong, powerful…” Luna gave an evil smile. “…FAST.”

Rainbow was acutely aware of her broken wing. She was fast on hoof, but not as fast as she could be in the air. Not even by a long shot. She led Luna in a large circle around the locker room, throwing anything and everything she could get her hooves on, all of which Luna just tossed to the side. Eventually, Rainbow was back at the entrance to the locker room, and leaped out into the hallway. She galloped down the empty hall, hoping she could outrun her pursuer. She sprinted for some distance, then turned around with a smile to see how far behind Luna was. To her dismay, Luna was walking casually behind her, keeping up with her full-bore run.

“Wh-what? How?!” Rainbow said.

Luna grabbed her hind legs with her magic, and yanked, knocking Rainbow to the floor. Her chin smacked into the hard ground, and she felt a tooth chip from the impact. Luna didn’t pull her anywhere, but Rainbow felt her right hind leg twist painfully.

“AHHHHH! Stop, stop, stop!” Rainbow cried.

“Rainbow Dash, you’ve let me down. I thought you were the FASTEST. WONDERBOLT. EVER!” With every word, Luna twisted harder, until Rainbow’s leg snapped with the final syllable. Rainbow laid on the ground, sobbing and trying to pull herself along the ground.

“We… we defeated you. Nightmare Moon was supposed to be gone.” Rainbow sniffled, slowly crawling away.

“Oh, my dear little Rainbow Dash. You did. Nightmare Moon is super gone, and very defeated. This isn’t Nightmare Moon doing any of this at all.” Luna stood over Rainbow Dash and leaned down, looking her in the eyes. “This is entirely Luna. Sweet widdle Woona. Forever forgotten, ignored, and feared. Even after one thousand years ponies still ignore me and fear me all because I rule and live in the darkness. Even in their dreams, my very realm! They dream of my sister. I came back for this? You took away all my power as Nightmare Moon, all for this?!” Luna said. She stamped on Rainbow’s back, making the Pegasus cry out in pain again.

“Being loved by ponies isn’t everything.” Rainbow gasped.

Luna’s face twisted into smirk, a grimace, a frown, then she barked out a hideous laugh. “Hah! The pony who was dreaming about being loved by ponies tells me that being loved isn’t everything?! Oh! Oh my! Hahaha! HAHAHAHA! The sheer, disgusting, audacity!”

Rainbow Dash slowly and painfully lifted herself to her hooves and hobbled slowly away, knowing she couldn’t possibly outrun Luna once she began chasing her. Rainbow dove into the nearest room she could find. It was a restroom, and she flipped out the lights, climbed into the first stall, and lifted her hooves off the ground. She curled up, her right leg and left wing throbbing. She didn’t hear anything, but soon felt a breath on her left ear. She whimpered, but didn’t move. It wouldn’t help.

“Welcome to my world, Rainbow Dash.” Luna said, and struck.