Nightmare on Stirrup Street

Rarity found herself in the decrepit castle they had run to when they stopped Nightmare Moon. She looked around in a daze, clucking her tongue at the broken décor. Fallen tapestries, crumbled walls, soiled carpets. What a dump. Why was she here? She started wandering about drunkenly, unable to go in a straight line. She really needed to stop drinking so much. Sweetie Belle always chided her for it every morning. But what was a mare to do when no stallions worth their while lived in Ponyville? Such a Podunk little town. Why did she even live there to begin with? Oh yeah, rent was yet too expensive for her in Canterlot. She was working her way up, like a strong, independent mare.

She stumbled and caught herself on one of the suits of armor lining the walls. She looked up at it and gave it a drunken smile. “Hello there, my good fellow. How would you like to keep a classy horse company tonight, hmm?” She slurred. “I promise, your lance will be well-polished tomorrow.” She laughed and patted the chestpiece of the suit with a hoof, shaking her head in mirth.

She didn’t see it turn its head to look at her, or see it raise the hoof holding the spear. All she noticed was the ringing in her ears when it clubbed her on the back of the head with the butt of the weapon.

“Ouch! Oh, what in Equestria?” She said. She touched the back of her head with a hoof. It came away clean, but it hurt quite a bit. She stumbled away and finally noticed the suit pull itself off the stand it had been mounted on. Parts of it tore as it yanked away from its fasteners with a screech of metal.

“So desperate for a good lay that you’ll proposition statues, Rarity? Well if it’s something long and hard you’re after, I definitely have that.” The statue said, lowering its spear to point at her.

With a gasp of alarm, Rarity scrambled to her hooves and started running. She didn’t really know where she was going, but there was a pony with a spear where she was, so she wanted to be anywhere else. Her vision swam as she cantered away, the alcohol in her system making things much more difficult than they otherwise would have been. She turned down corridor after corridor, seeing nothing but dark room after dark room. Finally, she decided she’d have to enter one of them eventually, and with much concentration, lit her horn up and stepped inside the next one she passed.

She found herself in her own boutique, but the walls were made of stone instead of her familiar wood. Her dress horses were here, covered varying amounts of cloth, some finished, some barely begun. Rolls of fabric lay everywhere, with pins, scissors, and ribbons strewn about the floor.

“What is going on here? This isn’t my boutique!” Rarity said.

“No, most definitely not. But I wanted you to feel at home.” One of the dress horses said. It turned to her, and Rarity watched as the head started warping and shifting. A blue bulge appeared on the back of its head which erupted into the starry blue mane of Princess Luna. The rest of the face eventually shaped itself into the muzzle of Celestia’s younger sister, which regarded Rarity with amusement.

“Princess… Luna?” Rarity mumbled. “What are you doing here?”

“Oh, I came to pay one of the other elements of harmony a visit in these trying times, following the death of poor Rainbow Dash.

“Rainbow…” Rarity’s face fell as her drunken brain remembered the death of her friend.

“So very sad, wouldn’t you say? But if you’re in mourning, shouldn’t you ‘dress’ for the occasion?” Luna said, her horn lighting up.

Rarity felt a prick on her leg and winced in pain. She looked down and saw a pin sticking out of her forelimb. She tugged it out with her own magic, staring in confusion. She felt another prick and saw another one sticking out of her leg, next to the bead of blood drawn by the other one. She pulled that one out as well, then felt several more. She finally left them in there and looked up to see where they were coming from, and saw every pincushion, pair of scissors, and seam ripper in the room floating in the air, pointed at her. She looked to Luna and saw the alicorn’s horn alight with magic.

Rarity squealed and turned tail, she leaped out the door and dove around the corner as quickly as she could. She felt a stinging on her flank but didn’t stop to investigate the damage. She knew she needed to get as far away from Luna as possible. She limped as quickly as she could down the halls, hunting for somewhere she could hide, somepony to help, or something she could use as a weapon. She eventually found more statues, their spears still held at the ready, and she quickly nabbed a weapon as she cantered past. Her breath was heavy in her ears as she entered what must have been the throne room once upon a time. It was wide open. Too wide for safety, but the hall she’d just left likely had Luna following behind her. Rarity quickly looked around, didn’t see anypony, and dove into the room, and hid behind the throne. She curled up behind the massive seat, held the spear in front of her, and tried to calm herself. She listened for any sound that might be out of place, and waited.

Rarity’s breathing eventually slowed. Her ears swiveled back and forth as she tried to hear any hint of Luna: The clopping of hooves, the beating of wings, or even just breathing. When nothing made itself evident for several minutes, Rarity risked a peek. As soon as looked around the throne, she came face to face with Luna, bumping noses with her.

“You can’t hide, Rarity.” Luna grinned, her sharp teeth filling her smile. Her cat-like eyes were filled with a humorless mirth. “We’re in your dream, and here, I’m the ruler.” Luna laughed, and she and the throne grew impossibly large, spinning in place so that Luna faced Rarity, blocking off her escape. Rarity would have to fly to get out, and that was impossible.

Luna slammed a massive hoof down on either side of Rarity, shattering stone and throwing the white mare to the ground. Rarity was pelted with shards of rock. She covered her head until the stone shower ended, then looked up at the huge blue mare towering over her. Luna opened her mouth wide, a long and pointed tongue falling out of her maw. Rarity watched as her teeth changed shape into massive pins and scissors, her tongue changing into a coiled length of thread. Luna leaned down, her now button-eyes looming large in Rarity’s vision. Rarity covered her head again and curled up, not wanting to see her death coming. She felt Luna’s hot breath on her body and waited.

She cried out as she felt an impact on her head “Noooooooo!” She felt it again, and knew she was going to get chewed up. It hit her again, then again, but she didn’t actually feel any more pain beyond that in her flank. Something hit her in the head again, something blunt. She shook her hoof at it, trying to drive Luna away. It hit her again, and she realized somepony was calling her name.

“Rarity! Wake up right now! Please!” Sweetie Belle shrieked in her ear. Her hooves kept smacking Rarity about the face and head.

Hesitantly, Rarity peeked out between her hooves. She was in her boutique. Sweetie Belle was here. Luna was not. She swiftly sat up and enveloped Sweetie Belle in a huge hug. “Oh thank Celestia! Sweetie Belle! I’m so glad it was just a nightmare. Oh! That was simply awful!” Rarity exclaimed. She rocked Sweetie Belle about, then winced as she rolled onto the right half of her flank. Something was hurting her. She put Sweetie Belle down and stood up, trying to get a good look at her rear end. She walked gingerly over to her standing mirror and turned to get a better look. There, embedded in the flesh around her cutie mark, were several pins, a seam ripper, and a pair of scissors.

“Oh Rarity I’m so glad you’re okay! She came after you!” Sweetie Belle cried. Tears were rolling down her cheeks, and she clung to her sister as tightly as she could while Rarity worked to pull the items out of her sensitive rear. Blood streamed down her pure white fur, staining her entire leg red. Scootaloo was sitting silently in a corner, watching the two, while Sweetie explained the situation. “Nightmare Moon is attacking ponies in their dreams, and it’s REAL! That’s what killed Rainbow Dash!”

“Sweetie Belle, I admit your argument is sound, seeing as how there are several items in my posterior that I remember being hurled at me in my dream, but it’s much more likely I just rolled onto them in the sleep.” Rarity chided.

“No! Nightmare Moon attacked you, and she’s going to attack other ponies if we don’t stop her! We need Twilight’s help! She can get a message to Celestia, and Celestia can stop her!” Sweetie squealed in frustration.

“Sweetie Belle, I’m very sad that Rainbow is gone, too, but we can’t just jump at ghosts. Nightmares aren’t real.” Rarity said.

“Rarity, how could you possibly have rolled onto the scissors like that? They were several inches deep!” Sweetie Belle insisted.

“And that will teach me a valuable lesson about drinking. But it’s not something to get so worked up over. I really think you need to go to bed. Where’s Applebloom?” Rarity asked.

“She went to go save her family from Nightmare Moon, and we need to help her!” Sweetie Belle shouted.

“Sweetie Belle, stop raising your voice, that’s not how you ask nicely.” Rarity scolded.

“URRRRRGH!” Sweetie Belle grunted, and marched to the front door. “Come on, Scootaloo, we’re going to go see Twilight, before she gets killed by NIGHTMARE MOON!” Sweetie Belle shouted. “AND DON’T GO BACK TO SLEEP WHILE WE’RE GONE!”

Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle climbed on the scooter and were off into the night as Rarity limped out the door, shouting after them. “Sweetie Belle come back here this instant! It’s the middle of the night!” She huffed as they disappeared, the tiny speck of light getting further and further away. Rarity growled to herself in frustration, but shuffled back inside, fussing with her bandages.

Twilight was reading quietly in her library. Books lined the many, many walls, extending far into the distance. Farther than her library could actually go. Golden Oaks was big, but this was impossibly huge in all directions except down. Row upon row of books, and she was planning on reading every single one. Even in her dreams, Twilight’s appetite for reading was insatiable. It was only unfortunate that she never remembered what she was reading when she woke up in the morning. This time, however, she was distinctly aware of the book in front of her. It was an old copy of Predictions and Prophecies, and it was open to the page about the myth of the mare in the moon. She remembered reading this the day Nightmare Moon came back. Why she was reading it again, she didn’t know. The mare in the moon was gone, and Nightmare Moon was defeated. She and her new friends had seen to that.

The mare in the moon grew green slitted eyes and opened a mouth full of sharp teeth. “But is she really gone, Twilight Sparkle?” It said.

Twilight jumped back and dropped the book with a gasp. “Nightmare Moon? We defeated you! We turned you back into Luna!”

The page ripped open and Luna slowly pulled herself out of the page. “Yes, and I’m very upset about that. All that power gone, and for what? So ponies can keep sleeping at night? It’s disgraceful. But if I can’t rule the real world, I’ll simply rule this one. Even Celestia can’t stop me here.”

Twilight’s eyes widened as she made the connection. “You killed Rainbow Dash! That’s why it didn’t look like she’d put up a fight!”

“Oh, you are the smart one! Very good. Smarter than you white friend.” Luna gloated, grinning that toothy smile.

“Oh no, not Rarity too!” Twilight gasped.

Luna simply smiled, and the books around the two started to decay, pages slipping out of rotting spines and fluttering down to the wooden floor. The bookshelves shrank in size, until the library was the size of the real life Golden Oaks library. The tree was rotted, the wood started to stink of mold and fungus. Leaves fell from its dying branches and Twilight could hear the creak of the wood slowly giving way under its own weight. There was a loud snap, followed by a crashing sound outside. Twilight figured her balcony had just fallen apart. She didn’t take her eyes off Luna, though, she was probably the next target, so she didn’t want to give Luna any openings. Her horn lit up, and she stared the alicorn down, waiting for her to make a move.

“You assume this works the same way the real world does, my dear Twilight.” Luna said from behind her.

Twilight spun around in shock, and looked at the two Luna’s that were flanking her. She scrambled up the nearby stairs, trying to put both of them on the same side of her. Another Luna appeared up the stairs, blocking her path. Twilight concentrated, lit up her horn, and teleported outside the library. She appeared in a flash outside the front door and looked around quickly, trying to spot Luna. Luna opened the front door and walked casually out, reading a book. Twilight didn’t waste any more time and fired a beam of purple light at the princess. It burned right through her, but Luna didn’t even flinch. She looked casually down at it, bemused.

“Well Twilight, at least we can say you have a lot of SPINE!” Luna said, and the book she was holding grew massive, and she swung it downward at Twilight.

Twilight flinched and teleported again, appearing behind Luna. She fired another beam, this one piercing Luna’s head. Luna went cross-eyed and looked at the hole in her forehead. She frowned, and her slit-eyes focused back on Twilight.

“Surely my sister taught you better than that. Shooting a princess. Honestly!” Luna chided. “That’s high treason. You know what the penalty is for that, right, ‘My faithful student’?” Luna said, her features twisting into Celestia, with a bleeding hole right through her skull.

Twilight hesitated at the face of her mentor, and she looked away, her mouth a tight line. She didn’t register the snapping sound fast enough, and when she looked up, a heavy piece of Golden Oaks crashed down on her, the rotten wood splintering on her back. She felt something snap, and her vision went white with pain.

Luna kept Celestia’s appearance as she stood imperiously in front of Twilight, looking down at the broken mare. “Oh, my faithful student. For the crimes of high treason, conspiring to take down one of the rightful rulers of Equestria; Nightmare Moon, and the crime of attacking a princess…” Luna said, looking down at Twilight. “…you are found guilty. Do you have anything to say for yourself?”

Twilight could barely breathe. Her ribs were broken, and she was fairly certain one had punctured a lung, as her breathing was difficult, and felt wet. She looked up dazedly, and blood bubbled out of her mouth.

Luna looked down at Twilight, and her eyes and teeth shifted back to being sharp, and deadly. “You’re well-read, I’m sure you know what happens next.” She said. “We throw the book at you!” Luna cackled and brought her book down on Twilight’s head. Twilight’s vision went dark.