Luna Nightmare

MLP-Inception fanfic

Luna Nightmare

Prologue:

The dark-purple colored alicorn rested by the lake, watching one single strip of reflected moonlight shimmer and disappear into the horizon. The moon was above it all, a bright white sphere and the only light source in this remote location. Her chest piece glimmered along with the lake, and her long dark mane flowed in the breeze, reflecting the stars. Her blue eyes were lowered, looking down at the dirt and grass, trying to take her mind off her headache.

She heard a fluttering behind her, but didn't move. She heard her sister's footsteps come closer, walking slowly towards her. Still she didn't look up.

"Luna. Still have the headaches?" Princess Celestia nudged her with her cheek.

"They won't go away." Luna said, her head still lowered.

"She's getting stronger, isn't she?" Celestia asked softly, masking her worry.

Luna nodded. Nightmare Moon coming back wasn't the subject she wanted to talk about. She looked up finally, and checked the moon's position. Cursing her headache and noticing it was a few degrees off, she quickly adjusted it to the correct position.

Celestia laid a gentle hoof on Luna's back.

"Rest, sister. Build up strength." she said softly.

"I refuse." Luna said without hesitation, somewhat weakly. "As always, I shall guard the night."

"I have managed both before. I can do it again. This is a crisis, dear sister- you must rest. Plus you have your party tomorrow. You must, absolutely must make it." Celestia said.

Luna thought about it. She didn't particular fancy the party, but her headache was killing her- and not even Celestia's magic could recover her damaged brain cells. She knew she needed rest, but she didn't want her sister taking over the night as well. As much as she worried for Celestia, she also wanted to stand her ground and stay- but she saw no logic in her instinct, and reluctantly obeyed.

"We're not gods, you know." Luna said as she stood up from her crouched position. "We both need rest when it is appropriate."

"I can handle it." Celestia said, patting Luna on the back lovingly.

Luna's eyelids drooped as she walked away from the lake, another wave of pain sent through her head. She shook it off, stretched her wings, and took off.

*

The light blue sky stretched over the pure white clouds, one site the rainbow-color-maned pegasus saw everyday. She rested on a piece of cloud, and despite being a top-class athlete, laziness was apparent. She flipped over, burying her chin in the soft cloud. It had baked in the sun for hours, and was warm and cosy. Nothing better on a sunday morning. Well, Rarity would say silk pajamas were better, but Rainbow Dash herself preferred a nap, even after a good nights' sleep.

A village was laid out not too far below, only just close enough so Rainbow could see all four corners of Ponyville. The Everfree forest was dark in the distance, and not even the bright sunlight could change that. A narrow dirt road led it to Ponyville, one that most ponies never trudged upon.

Except for us. Rainbow Dash thought. Just two years ago they had entered the forest, searching for the mysterious Elements of Harmony to defeat Nightmare Moon.

She wasn't that bad. Princess Luna is actually pretty nice to us ponies. If only she could fully master her normal voice and not occasionally let out her supposedly 'royal Canterlot voice'- last time that happened, it didn't end well. Rainbow Dash just kept thinking, wondering where her train-of-thought would lead her.

The train derailed as she heard a shout from below.

"Rainbow! Rainbow Dash!"

Rainbow Dash peered over the cloud, her eyes half closed.

"What?" she called down, leaning slightly over the edge of the cloud.

"Pinkie's party! You forgot didn't you?" a purple colored unicorn trotted away towards Sugar Cube Corner.

"Not surprising considering she hosts all the parties in Ponyville." Rainbow Dash mumbled to herself, then yawned, her wings flapping and lifting her from the cloud.

She flew down near the ground, and drifted centimeters away from it, hovering next to the purple unicorn.

"What was the occasion again?" she asked.

"Luna's birthday, if I remember correctly." which I always do. Twilight Sparkle added in her mind.

"Oh, right." Rainbow said, and yawned again. "Where's Spike?" Spike was a baby dragon Twilight obtained during her first test in Canterlot, where she got her cutie mark.

"He's there already. Helping make cupcakes for Pinkie." Twilight said.

"What a keen worker. I wish Tank could be like him sometimes." Rainbow complained.

Sugar Cube Corner was a cake shop on the side of the street, seemingly made of various candies, cakes, frostings and chocolates. While being a big jumbled of everything, it wasn't a mess when you looked at it. In fact it was quite neat and orderly- 'Organized Chaos', as Rarity would call it.

The bell ringed inside as Twilight opened the door, her unicorn horn glowing light purple as she used magic to push it open.

The inside was ablaze with activity- Pinkie Pie, a pink earth pony; was firing her trademark party cannon randomly at tables, causing confetti to explode and the table she fired at to be instantly decorated into a party fashion. Fluttershy, a light yellow pegasus with flowing pink hair was sitting in the back with Princess Celestia, supreme ruler of the Equestria. Despite calling her 'supreme ruler', she really was much of a kind and caring pony for her subjects- but she still showed power and authority when she needed to.

J 'Artison' W and Bailey 'DJ' Nunes were in a corner, talking about fanfics of something called 'MLP'. They never told any pony else except for a small group what it stood for.

Applejack and Big Macintosh were rolling in large barrels of Sweet Apple Acre's signature apple cider.

Rainbow Dash was about to fly over before Pinkie could drink all the cider, but was stopped by a white unicorn with a curly purple mane.

"Rainbow Dash! What happened to your mane?" Rarity gasped.

Rainbow looked up. The nap must've disrupted her hair a little. She combed a hoof over it.

"Done." she said.

"Come on- we've got royalty here!" Rarity looked around, making sure neither Princess Celestia nor Luna saw her.

"But Princess Luna specifically asked for a casual party!" Rainbow complained.

"There's nothing casual about visiting royalty!" Twilight added in, like she did last time when Princess Celestia visited.

"I'm just following orders." Rainbow said quickly, and fluttered away. She was later on disappointed to find that Pinkie had finished the first two barrels- again. At least she didn't have space for the rest.

Twilight caught sight of a grayish shape near the ceiling. She looked up, and was surprised by what she saw.

"You're on the ceiling." she said, looking up.

"I know." Derpy Hooves said, her wings by her side and her hooves stuck to the ceiling through no apparent magic or source.

"You're on the ceiling." Twilight repeated. "Without the help of any magic or science."

"So?" Derpy said happily, and started trotting around in circles upside down.

"It's not possible." Twilight finished.

"It isn't? Derpy asked, her crossed eyes seemingly looking in every direction but at Twilight.

"No, it isn't." Twilight confirmed. Suddenly Derpy dropped from the ceiling, and lay splayed on the floor, a disappointed expression on her face. Twilight quickly walked away before she could feel guilty about ruining Derpy's fun.

Princess Luna was at the main table with several other ponies, talking and laughing and generally having fun. Her dark blue hair wavered in the air, despite it being indoors and there is no breeze to lift her hair. Twilight never figured that one out- just like she couldn't figure out how Pinkie could go into mirrors.

"Happy birthday princess." Twilight bowed politely when Luna caught sight of her.

"Quite the thanks, dear." Luna chuckled. "But you can ditch the formalities now."

Twilight was still a little nervous about that, and warily walked off to sit down at her spot on the table.

Rainbow was gulping down entire cups of cider when she felt a light tap on her shoulder.

"Er... Hi, princess." she said gingerly as she turned around.

"Greetings, Rainbow Dash." Princess Celestia said friendlily, and Rainbow wondered if she should've listened to Rarity's advice. "I was just wondering if you could lend me a hand? I thought a top athlete could handle the job just fine. Although you'll need other ponies too, you can pick teams later." the princess pulled Rainbow somewhere out of earshot of all the other ponies.

"What is this favor you were talking about?" Rainbow asked curiously once the princess made sure no one was listening.

"Luna. I'm a little worried for her. She's been getting headaches lately, and says she always dreams of Nightmare Moon." Celestia said seriousely.

"Wait- she's afraid of herself?"

"Rainbow, you have to understand- Nightmare Moon is a whole different story from Luna. An evil self, if you will. I think she might be coming back."

"What? But we defeated her!" Rainbow Dash gasped.

"On the outside, yes. But Nightmare Moon is Luna, and I'll need you to defeat her again, this time once and for all."

"Er... You want me to defeat Luna."

"No! I need you to get into Luna's head. Defeat Nightmare Moon by the root. If you remove her from Luna's head, then she'll be gone for good." Princess Celestia said, and Rainbow became instantly lost.

"Wha-?" she began.

"There's a spell that will allow you to enter somepony's dreams. I can teach Twilight that. You need your team fast. It'll be a lot harder to deal with Nightmare Moon if she comes into the real world."

"So," Rainbow tried to straighten things out. "You want me, and my team; to, um.... Infiltrate Luna's mind, and defeat Nightmare Moon there?"

Princess Celestia nodded her head in a graceful manner. Rainbow couldn't for the life of her figure out how the Princess behaved so graceful in everything. She then handed Rainbow a sheet of paper, with a list of things written on it.

"These are the kind of ponies you need for your team. It must be specific- you'll need different ponies for different situations." the princess handed her the sheet. "Well, can you handle it?"

Rainbow Dash seemed lost in her own thoughts for a moment or two, then her eyes focused and she looked directly at the princess for the first time since the conversation, new determination rooted and sparkled in her dark purple eyes. She pulled her hoof up to her forehead in a royal guard salute.

"Don't worry princess! We'll handle the problem!"

"I'm sure you will." Princess Celestia intentionally ruffled Rainbow's already messy hair, making it clear that formalities were unnecessary.

Rainbow's shoulders sagged a little once the princess left.

Who am I supposed to have in my team? She wondered as she stared down at the list the princess gave her.

"Architect- this pony must be creative." Rainbow read aloud, emphasizing the 'must' as it was underlined multiple times in red ink. "Hmmmm." she hummed aloud, casting a gaze across the party. Derpy was talking with Doctor Whooves, but Rainbow immediately abandoned that thought. Wild Derpy may be creative in her own way... Well...

She spotted Pinkie bouncing around, her eye lashes bent into an upward arch accompanied by a grin which she wore everywhere. Rainbow thought about it for a moment, then walked forward.

"Pinkie!" she called.

After a frustratingly long time of attempting to explain the situation to Pinkie Pie without her being interrupted, Rainbow Dash got Pinkie to understand what was going on.

"Nightmare Moon?" Pinkie said in her squeaky voice. "What can I do?"

"Er... You can be the architect. Says it'll all be revealed what means what when we enter Luna's dream. But it told me to find someone creative- so, er, Pinkie, you're up."

"Okie dokie." Pinkie said as if it were no big deal, then bounced away.

"I don't exactly have the best feeling about this..." Rainbow Dash muttered.

Somepony to keep the time... She read on, and started looking around again. Time, eh...

She approached Derpy and the Doctor and took in a deep breath. She didn't talk to the strange pair often, and for that exact reason- they were strange.

"Hey Derpy." Rainbow bowed her head slightly. "Doctor."

Now that she had their attention, she went on explaining the whole thing over again. Looking down at the list, she groaned in frustration as she realized she had to explain the same thing about six more times before she could have a decent team.

"Well, I need a timer for all that. Apparently the time must be kept precise, or else something bad will happen." Rainbow shrugged at that. "Think you two will be up to the job?"

But the Doctor wasn't listening, he was just bouncing around like Pinkie Pie and all excited.

"Going into a dream!? That is one of the coolest things I heard of! You know, I travel around in the TARDIS all the time and there are all these other cool things, but colt, going into a dream!? So excited so excited..."

Rainbow Dash reached her hoof to the side, and the Doctor's face bounced right into it as he came skipping round the table, effectively knocking himself over.

"Right... Right..." the Doctor said, standing up and rubbing his face. "Sure, we can do it."

"Um... 'We'?" Rainbow raised an eyebrow.

"Well, of course. Me and Derpy. You can't possibly be suggesting that you let one of us miss out on the adventure?" the Doctor said in a British accent.

British? Rainbow thought. Where the hay did that word come from? Sounds right for his accent though...

She stared into his expectant eyes, and those crossed pleasing ones of Derpy.

"Wha... I..." she stammered. "No. Of course not. You two, coming with me. Meeting after the party." she said, and trotted off, frustration creeping into her promise to Celestia.

"What do we have next..." she muttered to herself, unfolding the sheet she scrunched up in her hoof while talking to the Doctor and Derpy. Some reason she didn't even notice herself do that. "Spell conjurer- Twilight, no doubt. Mmm... Fighter? That'll be Applejack."

As much as Rainbow Dash didn't want to admit it, not even to herself; she knew Applejack was a worthy athlete and could potentially beat her- although she wouldn't allow that to happen any time soon.

So she went to explain everything.

"Al' righ', I ain't do'in anythin'. Next batch o' apples ain't ready yet..." Applejack said in her thick barn-yard accent. "This all safe? This stuff abou' enter'n a dream?"

"All you gotta do is sleep." Rainbow said matter-of-factly. "You might die in the dream, but then you'll just wake up."

"Wait, why would we die in the dream? Again?" Applejack raised an eyebrow.

Rainbow shrugged, and walked away. "Taming animals... Fluttershy." she said without further thought. "Somepony to watch over the sleepers on the outside and alert Princess Celestia if anything bad happens..."

Rainbow trotted over to Rarity, since she's the only pony who would probably resent what might be in a dream- she'll freak out if it has one speck of dust there.

"Well, I guess I could do that." Rarity said, careful not to reveal her gratitude after Rainbow Dash just explained what they're supposed to do.

"Just don't fall asleep." Rainbow said.

"I assure you, I have plenty of work to keep me awake during the day." Rarity said, some-what proudly.

Good luck with that. Rainbow Dash voiced in her head. She looked down at the list again, and found that she had checked all of them. The team is ready.

She walked briskly over to Princess Celestia.

"The team is ready. Just need Twilight and Fluttershy." she said.

"Don't worry, they already know." Celestia smiled. "You've done your job well, Rainbow."

Rainbow Dash blushed. "Thanks, princess."

"What's going on Derpy?" Twilight approached the pair, clearly glad that Derpy had already forgotten that she ruined her fantasy of walking on walls and ceilings.

Derpy held up a muffin with light orange frosting, her crossed eyes scanning the frosting carefully.

"New flavor from Pinkie Pie." Doctor Whooves explained.

Derpy took a careful bite.

"Citrus!" she said excitedly, then gobbled down the entire muffin with one huge bite.

"Hey Twilight! Wanna play muffin roulette with us?" Pinkie bounced into view.

"Er... What?" Twilight looked at the muffins, then back.

"Muffin roulette. We each have a muffin, and one of them has a teeny-weeny bit of poison joke in them." Pinkie grinned.

"Isn't that... Like... A little dangerous?" Twilight raised an eyebrow. Now that she knew what was going on, every single one of the muffins looked suspicious.

"Oh, course not! I've got a big bottle of Zecora's cure right here." Pinkie pulled out a whiskey bottle filled with murky green solution. It churned as Pinkie wobbled the bottle in her hoof.

"Well in that case..." Twilight slammed her hoof down on the edge of a plate, and the muffin on it was launched up into the air. She opened her mouth, and the muffin fell squarely between her teeth. She bit down on it.

"Umm... Tomato?" she frowned at the sour taste that exploded in her mouth.

"Tomato muffins?" Doctor Whooves chuckled, and grabbed one that looked identical to the one Twilight had.

"So, Rainbow Dash, was it?" Octavia asked, taking a break from playing the cello, as her hooves throbbed.

"Yep- that's me." Rainbow said proudly and took a sip of apple cider from a glass cup.

"I heard you're a really good flyer."

"Mmm-hmmm." Rainbow Dash nodded.

"Anyway, what do you do in your spare time? That is, other than flying?"

Defeating foes. Saving Equestria. "I often nap. But it's also good to hang out with my friends." Rainbow Dash decided, not saying what she first thought she should've.

"Any plans after the party?" Octavia seemed oddly interested in everypony else's life.

"No. Not really." Rainbow said. Then, deciding it would be rude to end the conversation so subtlety, added: "What do you do?"

"Play the cello." Octavia said proudly.

"What about in your spare time?"

"Play the cello." Octavia said again, this time a little depressed.

"Seriously? You don't exercise?" Rainbow raised an eyebrow.

"No." Octavia seemed quite instant on the reply- obviously something she was prepared for.

"Play outdoor games?"

"No."

"Drawing? Painting?"

"No."

"Play any other instrument?"

"No."

"Take naps?"

"No."

"Watch TV?"

"I'm gonna go sit over there." Octavia said, a depleted expression on her face and her mental battery suddenly empty.

"Did you think I might've been made her depressed?" Rainbow whispered to Applejack.

"Na. I think she's just fine." Applejack said, watching Octavia go back to her cello, her head lowered.

A squad of royal guards suddenly busted in the door. The entire room fell quiet, and watched as one of the guards approached Princess Celestia.

"Alright! Sorry everypony, but party's over." the princess announced after the royal guard whispered something in her ear. A series of disappointed groans echoed across the entire room, and the ponies started filing out of Sugar Cube Corner.

Twilight was about to exit, but was stopped by two royal guards standing by the exit.

"Sirs? May I leave?" she asked.

"Sorry miss Sparkle. Princess calls. The mane six, Ditzy Doo, and Doctor Whooves are to remain behind." the guard said.

"Mmm." Twilight hummed, and trotted over to the princess. "Royal duty calls, princess?"

"Indeed, Twilight." the princess said, and by this time all the ponies had already left except for the requested eight.

"So, I guess this is what your highness meant by after the party." Rainbow Dash said.

"Sorry, my dears. But I do not wish to be a party crasher. Shining Armor has set up the barrier in the Canterlot Castle, and we'll be performing our operation there. The barrier can only be up for seven hours, so you must accomplish your objective by then." the princess said urgently.

"We're going to Canterlot?" Twilight gasped.

"Indeed. I have my royal guards stationed there, should Nightmare Moon be accidentally released." Princess Celestia ruffled Luna's mane, and her face blushed light blue.

"Thank you all in advance." Luna nodded. "I'm sorry I caused all this trouble."

"Don't worry princess, it ain't you that's cause'n the trouble." Applejack bowed her head.

"Thank you Applejack." Luna bowed in return.

"Well, field trip to Canterlot!" Rainbow jumped up, punching the air with excitement.