It was such a beautiful night in Ponyville. The stars were like twinkling diamonds and the moon, a crown jewel casting its glow upon the indigo sky. On this night, one unicorn decided it would be a great night for a stroll, just for the spectacle. The unicron in question was Ponyville's resident fashionista and dress designer, Rarity. However, something was off about this night. More specifically, how everypony had stopped in their tracks and cast her nervous smiles.
"Lovely night for a stroll," Rarity spoke up, hoping to strike up some small talk. "Isn't it?"
"Y-yeah," stammered one stallion, his toothy smile quivering and his eyes pinpricks. "W-wouldn't miss it for the world."
What's up with him? Rarity thought. She then went over to Lyra who seemed to be hyperventilating.
"Lyra, darling," she asked out of concern. "Are you okay?"
"Oh," the turquoise unicorn breathed out, her eyes darting back and forth. "Who? Me? Yep! I'm fine. Fine as fine as fine can be! Don't need to worry about a thing! All, gumdrops and rainbows with this mare! Yep, yep, yep!"
With that, she dashed away with a yelp. Rarity just stood there in puzzlement. What had gotten into everypony? Just then, Sweetie Belle fell out into the street with a grunt. The moment her eyes locked with her sister's, she froze, the only things moving being her chest and her mouth as she breathed heavily. She then tried to back away from Rarity.
"Sweetie Belle, are you okay?" Rarity asked.
"I-I'm fine," Sweetie stammered. "Ju-just get away from me."
Rarity felt a stab in her heart. What was going on here?
"Sw-Sweetie," Rarity cried. "It's me. Your big sister. I'm not going to hurt you."
"Get away from me!" Sweetie screamed as she darted away, fearful tears in her eyes.
At this point, Rarity had enough as she stamped her hoof down.
"Okay," Rarity declared, having just about enough of everypony's nonsense. "I want to know, exactly, what is going on here. And I want to know. Right. NOW!"
At this point, she had reared up in frustration, her front legs waving in mid-air, only to hear a yelp beneath her. She looked down and noticed Spike in a fetal position, his wings tucked to his side and tail curled around his body. He looked up at her with his frightened green eyes.
"Spike," Rarity sighed with relief, "Oh, thank Celestia. Maybe you can tell me what's going on. Everypony's been acting quite peculiarly and I don't know the reason why. It is ever so frustrating."
"I-I dunno," Spike stammered. "Just don't hurt me! I'm sorry I couldn't save you in time, Rarity! Just please don't hurt me anymore!"
Anymore? Rarity thought.
"Spike," the fashionista inquired. "What are you talking abo-"
"Get away from him!"
Rarity looked up to see Twilight, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, Applejack, and Pinkie Pie standing before her; Applejack and Rainbow Dash glaring at her, Pinkie bearing a surprisingly murderous gaze and her usually fluffy mane and tail turned straight, Fluttershy looking to the ground in what looked like regret, and Twilight narrowing her eyes filled with a fiery rage whilst flaring out her wings like an angry mother hen.
"Girls," Rarity stammered. "Wh-why are you looking at me like that? Did I do something wrong?" She could feel her heart beating rapidly in her chest.
"Oh, ya'll know what ya did," Applejack growled. "Ya no-good, connivin' nightmare."
"Nightmare," Rarity could not believe her ears. "What in Celestia's name are you talking about?"
"Yeah," Pinkie piped up. "We're not gonna let you hurt anyone else, you big meanie!"
"I-I didn't do anything," Rarity's breath began to become hotter. She then turned to Fluttershy.
"Fluttershy," she begged, tears starting to develop in her eyes. "Come on, you know me. You can vouch for me, right?"
Fluttershy could only sniffle, "I thought I did."
"Girls, please," Rarity began to feel a lump growing in her throat. "It's me, Rarity. What's going on?"
"You're not Rarity," Rainbow Dash yelled. "Not anymore!"
Rarity felt like somepony had taken a knife and stabbed her repeatedly in the chest. She then turned to Twilight who was slowly approaching her, her eyes filled to the brim with murderous intent.
"Twilight, please, tell me," she begged. "What is going on? Why did Applejack call me a nightmare? What did I do? Please!"
"Hmph," she snorted, "Why don't you look into a mirror, Nightmare Rarity."
"What do you mean look... into... a... mirror?"
Rarity turned around to look at the windows of Sugar Cube Corner, and gasped upon the sight of a dark, almost black, purple unicorn with a cutie-mark made of sparkling stars, lanky, graceful legs, a lance-like horn, blue-within-blue eyes with cat-like slits, and a long, waving mane of white and purple staring right back at her.
"No," Rarity choked.
She then looked up to see the shining moon go dark with the silhouette of her reflection glaring down on her.
"No!" she sobbed, tears flowing down her eyes.
She then looked down to see that her body now matched her reflection. Unable to hold it in, she finally let out an anguished. tear soaked scream.
"NOOOOOOOOO!"
With a scream, Rarity jolted out of bed, sweat dampening her mane. She looked around and saw that she was in her room at Carousel Boutique. Each heavy breath felt like fire coming out of her throat while stinging tears fell from her eyes. Just then, she heard the sound of small hoofs running closer. The door swung open to reveal a very concerned looking Sweetie Belle, her horn lit up like a flashlight.
"Rarity," the filly cried out, "I heard you scream. Are you okay?"
Rarity turned her gaze toward her little sister, before leaping out of bed and wrapping her hooves around her in a hug.
"Oh, Sweetie Belle," she cried out. "I had the most awful dream. Simply just terrible!"
"Rarity," Sweetie muttered, her voice muffled by her sister's embrace. "I'd love to hear about it, really I would, but you're kinda crushing my ribs."
"Oh," Rarity chuckled sheepishly before setting her sister down. "Sorry."
Sweetie groaned.
"Well, I'm going back to bed," the younger unicorn explained. "Maybe you can tell me about your dream in the morning."
With that, Sweetie went back to her room, leaving Rarity alone with her thoughts.
"Maybe I should go check on the others," Rarity whispered. "Just to make sure."
With that, Rarity poofed out of her room and right in front of her first stop: Twilight's Castle. She then ran up to the doors and began pounding on them with her hooves relentlessly.
"Twilight," she shouted. "Twilight! Twilight, are you there!?"
The doors finally opened, revealing the former mayor of Our Town and Twilight's current student (excluding her extradimensional pen student Sunset Shimmer) Starlight Glimmer who was clearly not happy to see the ivory unicorn at this time of night. The heliotrope unicorn's purple and aquamarine mane was clearly frazzled, and she looked like she had just crawled out of bed, which she kind of was.
"Rarity," she drawled. "Do you have any idea how late it is?"
"Starlight, I need to talk to Twilight," Rarity told the Princess of Friendship's student.
Starlight just gave the ivory unicorn a deadpan look before yawning.
"Yeah, funny thing about that, Rares," she replied. "Ponies need sleep. Everything needs sleep. I Need. Sleep. So, chances are, Twilight needs sleep. If you have something to talk to Twilight about, you can talk to her about it in the morning when she and everypony else has gotten their winks in and she'll be more than happy to listen. So, forgive me if I sound rude here, but, I suggest you return to your home and go. Back. To. Bed."
"Starlight," Spike grumbled. "What's goin' o- oh, hey, Rarity. Shouldn't you be in bed?"
Rarity saw the dragon and dashed towards him, wrapping in her forelegs.
"Spike," Rarity happily sobbed whilst spinning him around. "Thank Celestia you're okay!"
"Y-y-y-ea-a-a-ah, Rar-i-i-i-t-y-y-y-y-y," Spike cried out. "I'm-m-m-m fi-i-i-i-i-ine! Co-o-o-ul-l-d yo-o-o-u ple-e-e-e-ease p-u-u-u-u-t me-e-e-e-e do-o-o-own be-e-e-e-efo-o-o-r-r-re I-I-I-I thro-o-o-w u-u-u-up!?"
Rarity put the young dragon down and gave him a sheepish grin.
"Right," she said. "Sorry, Spikey-Wikey."
"Well, I headed back to bed," Spike told her. "I'll see you in the morning."
Starlight nodded to the dragon and then proceeded to escort Rarity out of the castle, gave her a stern gaze before gently closing the door. Rarity sighed knowing Spike was okay. She then teleported to Fluttershy's cottage where she found the gentle pegasus fast asleep with her animals around her except for Angel who had curled up under his owner's left foreleg.
"Psst," Rarity whispered, poking her shy friend. "Fluttershy. It's me, Rarity."
She didn't get a response from Fluttershy. She then poked the pegasus again only a bit harder to the point it knocked her out of bed with a startled squeak. At that point, Fluttershy had bolted up right and began to look around until she noticed Rarity.
"Ummm, Rarity," the Element of Kindness asked her ivory friend. "What are you doing in my cottage in the middle of the night?"
"Just checking on my friends to see if they were okay," Rarity replied. "I mean, there's nothing wrong with that. Right?"
"N-no? At least, not to my knowledge really."
"Good. Good," Rarity replied.
There was a several second long pause afterwards.
"Well, I'd better get going, darling," Rarity told her friend. "Bye!"
Before Fluttershy could respond, Rarity teleported out of her cottage... and into Cloudsdale, specifically, Rainbow's home where she found her curled up with Daring Do novels scattered all over her room, including one on her head which she had fallen asleep while reading halfway while Tank lay within his shell. She was also snoring up quite a storm which made her wonder how in Equestria she hadn't awakened all of Cloudsdale. She then reached out to tap the sleeping pegasus, only this time, unlike Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash immediately woke up as she let out a yelp and flopped around in her bed. She only stopped when she noticed Rarity in her bedroom.
"RARITY!?" she screamed. "What are you doing in my bedroom!?"
"What," Rarity asked innocently. "Can't a lady check on her friends once in a while?"
Rainbow Dash took a deep breath.
"Yeah, I guess, except for one teensy little thing."
"What's that?"
Rainbow Dash then got up close to Rarity's face.
"IT'S 2:30 IN THE MORNING AND I NEED SOME SLEEP!!!!"
"Hey, Rainbow Dash!" shouted a pegasus. "Some of us have work tomorrow, turn down the volume!"
"Do you mind, I just put my foal to sleep and I don't want her up crying again!"
Rainbow then cast her friend a glare.
Rarity gave her a nervous smile before teleporting. With a grumble, Rainbow Dash wrapped herself back in her blankets and dozed off. Her next stop was Sweet Apple Acres; more specifically, Applejack's room.
"Applejack," Rarity whispered, her horn acting as a flashlight.
The cowpony muttered as she stirred from her sleep and noticed Rarity at the foot of her bed.
"Rarity," she groaned. "You're in mah room."
"So I am," Rarity replied.
"Celestia hasn't even raised the sun yet."
"Nope, she has not."
"It's two thirty in th' mornin'."
"Technically it's 2:40 am. So, you're ten minutes off."
"Rarity."
"Yes, darling?"
"Go home and go ta bed."
"You know, you are the third pony who's told me that."
"Ah wonder why."
"...Bye."
As soon as she teleported out of her room, Applejack instantly fell back asleep. Rarity then appeared in Pinkie Pie's room in Sugar Cube Corner. Unfortunately for her, she appeared right next to a wide-awake Gummy who went into guard-gator mode. Even without any actual teeth, the impact of the baby alligator's jaws clamping around her foreleg still hurt like Tartarus. This caused her to scream as she tried to wave the baby gator off her.
"Rarity?"
Rarity turned to see Pinkie Pie currently rubbing the sleep from her eyes. "What are you doing here?"
"I'd be more than happy to answer that, Pinkie, if you get your pet alligator off me first!"
Pinkie then walked up and casually pried Gummy off Rarity's leg.
"Bad Gummy, bad, BAD Gummy," she scolded her pet gator, the blank expression not once vanishing from the infant reptile. "We do not bite Auntie Rarity."
Gummy just gave the pink party-planner a blank stare. Pinkie then squee-ed and hugged her pet tightly. "Oh, I can never stay mad at you, Gummy-Wummy! No, I can't! No, I can't!"
Alas, my beloved, yet naive mistress. Gummy thought as he was held in his master's embrace. If I not be allowed to carry out my natural instinct, how else will I protect you or any future children you may have in the future? 'Tis the price to pay for being an alligator not blessed with the gift of fangs.
"So, Rarity," Pinkie asked. "Why are you here? Oh! Wait, you're here... for a sleep-over!" The pink pony jumped excitedly around the white unicorn. "Oh, we'll have so much fun together! We can paint our hooves, tell scary stories, eat lots and lots of candy and cake (it has to be cake from the night before because there is NO way Mr. and Mrs. Cake would let me make fresh baked goods this late at night), talk about our favorite stallion bands, and, in the morning, I'll make my special breakfast cupcakes and maybe- gmhph!"
Rarity had shoved her hoof into Pinkie's mouth.
"Actually, darling, I was just checking to see how you were doing," she told her hyperactive friend. "I can see you're just fine. I really should be heading home right now."
"Okie-dokie-lokie!" Pinkie smiled as she allowed Gummy to clamp his jaws on her tail. "C'mon, Gummy, let's go get some shut-eye."
With that, Rarity poofed herself back to Carousel Boutique, unaware she was being watched from the shadows by a pair of soulless blue eyes.
Author's Note
I know that the Tantabus episode more or less cut the Nightmare Arc out of canon, but it's kinda obvious the IDW comics (excluding Season 10) are technically set in their own continuity, I think I can get away with this, especially since Luna and Sombra's characterizations don't match up with what we have in the show.
