Diamonds and Dreamsby ApplefaiChaptersA Morpheus ExperienceAwakening PowersDream Studies and Family TiesFamily ReunionDream WarriorFacing the NightmareDream ScienceUnbreakable TiesA Morpheus ExperienceRarity tucks into bed after staying up late to finish an order for a client, her eyes felt heavy, but she was proud of what she had accomplished and couldn’t wait to hoof deliver the finished product in the morning. As Rarity fell asleep her dreams began to fill with the usual ribbons and garments as she envisioned future designs and patterns. She grabs a pen in her magic only to immediately gasp and drop it. Looking at the pen, she picks it up again as her eyes grow wide. “How peculiar, I’m aware this time, last time I was aware I helped Luna defeat the Tantabus,” she says to herself as she jots down design ideas on a layout. As she enjoys what seems to be a lucid dream, she runs out of fabric and goes to the supply closet to get some more. Upon opening the door, she’s taken back to the endless expanse of hallway before her, she ventures inward hoping to find some more fabric to continue to try designs in her dream before she wakes up. As she walks down the endless hallway, she can’t help but to feel strange, she was never able to dream like this before, the only time was when she helped Luna and that was a few months ago. As the alabaster unicorn contemplates this ordeal, she finally reaches a door and opens it. She shields her eyes as she steps into a blinding light as if she had just stepped outside, she could smell a subtle sweetness in the air as she tried to open her eyes. Once her eyes adjusted to the light, Rarity opened her eyes and found her jaw dropping to the floor. She was not prepared for what she was looking at, she was in a magnificent garden, but instead of flowers, muffins adorned the various bushes and stems around her, even the trees sprouted the confectionery delight. Rarity was awestruck as she walked around the breathtaking landscape, the pond which she would think would be blue was instead a light brownish color; there were little light white disc floating in the pond acting as lily pads. Rarity couldn’t help herself, so she uses her magic to grab one of the floating discs and float it over to her. The white unicorn takes a sniff, getting a herbal scent as recognition flooded her brain. “It’s Earl Gray tea and this is an English muffin,” she says to herself as she takes a bite, her eyes lighting up at the taste of the tea soaked pastry. Rarity continues to walk around, unsure of where she might be heading. Her original goal had faded from her mind as she lost herself in this pastry paradise. As Rarity walks around, she gets a bit peckish seeing all these pastries adorning the landscape, she munches on the English muffin taken from the pond as she approaches a bush full of ripe muffins; Rarity gently picks one off it’s perch and takes a bite, the taste of blueberry flooding over her taste buds as a figure approaches her from behind. “Rarity, is that you?” the voice called out, making Rarity jump back a bit as she looked behind her. Rarity rubbed her eyes to make sure what she was seeing was real, standing before her was Derpy, clad in a red and white robe and a crown adorning her head. “Derpy, what are you doing here?” Rarity asked, shocked to see one of her friends her. “I should be asking you that question, this is my kingdom,” Derpy replied. “Your….kingdom?” Rarity asked as she looked around. “Yes, this is my kingdom where I am the muffin queen,” Derpy replied, smiling brightly as she came closer and picked herself a blueberry muffin. “Well in that case, I’m terribly sorry to trespass,” Rarity said as Derpy smiled. “No need to apologize, all are welcome to muffin land, please come to my castle, we’ll have some tea and muffins,” the gray pegasus said as she led Rarity to her castle. When the two arrived at the castle, Derpy clapped her hooves and a pair of guards that resembled Doctor Whooves came forth and brought out a pair of chairs and a table. As they took their seats, the guards poured a cup of tea and served them with a smile before trotting off. “I have to say it’s nice to get a visit from you, Rarity,” Derpy said as she took a sip of her tea, a guard coming out and placing a plate full of muffins on the table. “I’m pleased to hear that, darling; but I must say that I don’t know how I round up here, I was just looking for more fabric,”Rarity replied as she took a ship of tea. “Hmmmmm,” Derpy said as she put a hoof to her chin. “I don’t know either, Muffinvania is cut off from Equestria’s mainland, but we do share an alliance,” Derpy said as she finished her tea. “Really?” Rarity asked, causing Derpy to smile.. “I know it’s pretty great,” Derpy said as she clapped her hands and the guards came back with a gift basket for Rarity, filled with muffins and a bottle of wine, lavender decorated the outside of the basket giving it a calming smell. “Here, take this gift basket before you go, as a memento of your visit to Muffinvania” Derpy said as her guards gave Rarity the parting gift. “Thank you, darling, I appreciate this divine gift,” Rarity said as she got up from her chair and made her way down the hallway. Rarity came to the castle doors and gripped the handle in her magic, pushing out into the world, Rarity was blinded by the light. Opening her eyes, Rarity saw that she was in her bed, wearing her silk pajamas as she laid all cuddled up in her blankets. Yawning loudly, Rarity hops out of bed. “What a strange dream,” Rarity said to herself as she made her way into the bathroom and turned on the shower. “I never had a dream like that before on my own, it was probably just a one time thing though,” Rarity concludes as she steps into the shower to get ready for the day. Awakening PowersAfter taking a shower and eating breakfast, Rarity combs her mane and puts on her makeup for the busy day ahead. She packs up the client’s order and heads out of Carousel Boutique with a spring in her step as she boards the train to Canterlot. Once there, Rarity dropped off her client’s order, as expected, the client was over the moon that Rarity took the time to hoof deliver it herself, the client invited her in to chat for a bit, but Rarity politely declined the invitation, already having too much on her plate to get done today. As Rarity went about her day, she couldn’t help but to contemplate the dream she had. She thinks about how easy it was to think of designs and the strange sense of power and control she had felt. Her spine would tingle every time she thought about it. As the day passed, Rarity went about her business, hardly stopping for anything and anypony as she ran her errands and returned home. That night, Rarity tucked herself into bed, exhausted from the busy day she had. As she fell asleep, she felt as if she was diving into a pool of water as she found herself in another dream, this time, she found herself face to face with Kitty Waltz, one of Equestia’s top models. “Are there any more alterations you need to make before I go out there, Rarity? Kitty asked as Rarity looked at her slightly confused. Deciding to play along, Rarity breathes out and adjusts the dress that Kitty has on. “There, you are ready to go out there, break a leg, darling,” Rarity says as Kitty walks out to the cheers of ponies and the shuttering of cameras as Rarity watches who she believes to be a client of hers, she notices a door and her curiosity peaks instantly, she opens the door and steps through only to be greeted with strobing lights and loud music, accompanied by the whoops and hollers of ponies. “Alright party ponies, are you ready for a fun night!” A voice yelled out, immediately being answered by a wave of cheering. “I can’t hear you!.” The voice yelled out again followed by a louder wave of cheering that made Rarity’s heart reverberate. “Then let’s raise the roof!” The voice yelled as music began to play and ponies started dancing. Rarity, trying to avoid being bumped into, walked to where she thought the stage would be only to find Vinyl Scratch surrounded by her equipment. Her stage name DJ-PON3 was plastered on banners standing on each side of the stage. Rarity couldn’t help but bob her head to the beat, a smile spread across her face seeing one of her friends so happy, even though this wasn't the music she normally listened to, she could still find an appreciation for it. As Rarity bobbed her head to the music, she realizes that she is once again lucid dreaming overwhelmed with joy, she smiles to herself and concentrates; and thinks of a random pony, hoping to pop into their dreams. A door appears before her and she steps through, entering another fashion showcase with Suri Polomare showcasing her designs. Rarity smiles impishly to herself as the memory of what Suri did to her comes flooding in. Rarity ignites her horn and focuses on the models wearing Suri's designs. Using her magic, she causes one of the dresses to unravel, the high heels she designed to break, and one of the dresses to rip. The models all scream as Rarity's antics unfold on them, Suri screams in horror as her designs seem to malfunction as Hoity Toity watches. Rarity chuckles with delight as she punishes Suri in her dream, thinking it as harmless venting. Hoity Toity leaves with disappointment written on his face, Suri tries desperately to plead with the fashion judge, trying to salvage her showcase. Rarity smiles as she watches her fashion rival squirm. As Rarity enjoys her mischief, she catches a glance of herself in the mirror, her reflection shifts, changing her elegant white coat to a coat of deep purple, her eyes become all blue, and her mane grows longer and flows like air. Her chuckle changed from impish and mischievous to evil and malicious. Her reflection started to emerge from the mirror, making Rarity shirk in terror and jolt up from her slumber. Rarity breathed heavily as she looked around, she was in her bed at home, sweat pouring off of her. "What was that?" Rarity asked herself as she wiped her forehead. Her heart pounded in her chest, scared out of her mind, the moon shining brightly through her window. Rarity sits in her bed, too scared to close her eyes as she thinks to herself. "These dreams are too real to be mere dreams, perhaps I should talk with Twilight or Luna about them," she says to herself as she lays back down, her mind replaying her dream like a record, the thought of seeing that monster again keeps her from falling back asleep. Rarity sighs and groans as she kicks off the covers and exits her bed. "It's no use, I can't go back to sleep," she says to herself as she exits her room and heads downstairs. She enters her living room and turns on the tv, the warm glow of the device lights up the room as she lays on the couch and turns the channel. "Welcome to Equestira's Top Model, these lovely mares and stallions are showing off what many are saying will be the next big fad," The announcer says as he puts his hoof to his ear. Rarity wonders what's wrong before her eyes widen at what the announcer says. "I just got word that next week's guest designer, Miss Suri Polomare will not be coming until she makes sure her designs won't malfunction, citing that she had a dream where her one of her dresses unraveled, a heel broke, and a dress ripped," the announcer proclaims, causing Rarity to mute the tv in shock. "What, but it was my dream, how could she have experienced it?" Rarity asked herself as she started to breathe heavily. Dream Studies and Family TiesTry as she might, Rarity could not force herself to go back to sleep, the gentle glow of her television illuminated the room as she sat on her couch. Rarity laid on her back, hoping that she could fall back asleep on the couch but to no avail, she tossed and turned on the sofa, trying to get in a comfortable position, but all she could think about was what she saw in her dream. The monster that looked like her in the mirror made her blood run cold as she tried to forget about it. Hours later, the sun started to filter through the blinds, gently casting some light on Rarity's eyes and forcing her to open them. The unicorn groans as she gets off the couch and goes into the bathroom, what she sees in the mirror makes her gasp with terror. Staring back at her was her reflection, her once beautiful eyes now had slight bags under them and were bloodshot, and her once beautifully croft mane was now a tangled mass. "Oh, Celestia," Rarity said to herself as she leaned in closer. She then put on makeup to hide the bags under her eyes before brushing her mane. After rolling herself up, Rarity went to check on Sweetie Belle only to find a note on the door to her room telling her that she and the Crusaders had already left to try and get their cutie marks. Rarity smiled to herself as she returned downstairs and ate breakfast, ready to take on the day. After Rarity had woken up from her sleep-deprived state, she left and made a beeline to Twilight's castle. She knocked on the door and waited for an answer. Soon, Spike answered the door with a smile on his face. "Hey Rarity, what brings you here?" He asked, overjoyed that Rarity came to visit. Rarity giggled, seeing her dragon friend so happy in the morning. "Good Morning, Spike; is Twilight in by any chance?" Rarity replied. "Oh, yeah she's in, please come in," the green and purple drake said, inviting her into the castle. Once inside, Rarity quickly found Twilight tucked away in the castle's library nose-deep in a book. "Twilight?" Rarity called out startling the princess a bit. Twilight turned around and smiled. "Oh, hi Rarity," Twilight said as she closed the book she was reading. "What brings you here?" Twilight asked as Rarity adopted a more serious expression. "Well, I didn't sleep well last night and was wondering if you could help," Rarity replied. "I would if I could, but I don't know much about sleep aids, you might want to talk to Zecora, she knows more about that stuff than I do," Twilight said as Rarity shook her head. "It's not that kind of problem, darling. I've been having weird dreams, I feel like I'm fully in control, but it seems like I'm able to dreamwalk," the alabaster unicorn said as Twilight nodded. "I see," Twilight said as Rarity confided in her. "The first time this happened, I entered a land full of muffins and Derpy was there, she called herself the queen, and then I was at Vinyl's concert before finding myself at Suri's fashion show where I used my magic to sabotage her," Rarity unloaded as Twilight listened. "Well, the Derpy one may be you wanting to visit her or she may be opening a muffin shop, the Vinyl one may be telling you to be a little less upright," Twilight said before Rarity stared at her. "Uptight? And what does that mean?" Rarity asked. "I-I mean, maybe it's telling you to be a little less pompous," Twilight started to stutter a bit as Rarity giggled. "I know what you meant, darling. Just wanted to rattle your chain a bit, so what about the Suri one?" Rarity said as Twilight smiled. "Well the Suri one is self-explanatory, she did you wrong so you have some resentment, so it was you letting off steam," Twilight said as Rarity nodded. "That does make sense, but what about the monster in the mirror that looked like me?" Rarity asked, making Twilight's ears perk up. "A monster that looked like you? Could you give me more detail, please?" Twilight asked. "Well, my coat was darker, like pitch black, my mane and tail were a lighter purple and flowing like Celestia's and Luna's," Rarity said as Twilight's eyes dilated. "I may have an idea of what's going on, but I want to run a few tests. Are you ok with being hooked up?" Twilight asked as Rarity nodded. "Whatever you need to do, darling. I just know I'm afraid to sleep now," Rarity said as Twilight left and came back with machines to monitor her sleep. That night, Twilight monitored Rarity's sleep patterns, all seemed normal until she quickly wrote something down, she let Rarity sleep for as long as she could until Rarity started moving frantically. "Rarity, Rarity wake up," Twilight said as she shook Rarity's shoulder. Rarity woke up gasping from fright, her horn lit as if ready to defend herself. "Rarity, it's ok, you're in the castle," Twilight cooed, trying to comfort Rarity. After a few minutes, Rarity took a deep breath. "I saw it again, the monster that looked like me, only this time it spoke to me," Rarity said as Twilight rubbed her back. "It's ok, Rarity, you're safe now," Twilight said as she gently stepped away. Rarity took a deep breath in, she slowly exhaled, and got out of the bed Twilight had her sleep in for the study. "So, what do your tests say?" Rarity asked as Twilight looked at the results. "Well, it seems like you fell asleep within ten minutes, but soon after it appears you entered REM sleep," Twilight said. "Oh, so is that normal?" Rarity asked, concern following her voice. "The falling asleep in ten minutes, kinda, it depends on the pony, but it takes one to two hours to enter REM sleep and I only know one other pony that can enter REM sleep so quickly so we might ask her," Twilight replied as she answered her friend. "Really, who?" Rarity asked with a surprised tone. "It's Princess Luna, she could possibly help shed some light on this and she could possibly help decode your dreams more than I can," Twilight said as she had Spike take a letter, requesting an audience with the princess of the night. As Spike sent off the letter, Twilight turned to Rarity. "You said the monster spoke to you, what did it say?" Twilight asked with idle curiosity. Rarity's eyes widened as she remembered what it said, she shook with fear as she answered her friend. "Let me out," Family ReunionThe next morning Rarity and Twilight made their way to Canterlot for their audience with the princess of the night, with all that Rarity has experienced, Luna is the most likely pony to help. As Twilight and Rarity entered the castle, Luna stood in the foyer waiting for them. "Greetings, I've been awaiting your arrival," Luna said as she greeted the ponies at the door. "I've prepared some refreshments for us, follow me," Luna requested as she led her friends down the hall and into a private room. When they entered the room, two butlers came out, having set the table with tea and cookies. "Please, sit," Luna chimed as she sat down, pouring tea for her guest. "Thank you for seeing us, Princess Luna, I know how busy you can get," Twilight said as she and Rarity took their seats at the table. "It's no trouble at all, Twilight; so what brings you two here?" Luna asked as she took a sip of her tea. "Well, Rarity has been having strange dreams lately," Twilight answered. "I see, pray tell what these dreams are, Miss Rarity," Luna replied. "Well, I start off doing something I normally do, like making a fabulous new dress or helping a model get ready to walk down the runway, but then it seems like I hope into another pony's dream, I can even interact with the dream itself," Rarity confided. "Hmmm, you could just be lucid dreaming," Luna replied as she took a cookie from a plate of them that had been placed on the table. "That's what we thought, but after some testing, I realized that Rarity entered REM sleep extremely early in her sleep cycle, and she also mentioned seeing a monster that looks like her, only with a darker coat and a flowing mane," Twilight replied, causing Luna's eyes to widen. "Did you say a monster that looks like her?" Luna asked for clarification. "Yes, when I was dreaming, I saw Suri Polomare getting her models ready to walk down the runway, well I thought since I was dreaming that I'd have a little revenge; while I was toying with her, I saw my reflection in the mirror and seen it had what Twilight told you," Rarity said as Luna nodded. "I see, so it is true," Luna said, leaving Twilight and Rarity confused. "What is true, Princess Luna?" Twilight asked. Luna then got up from her chair and came up to Rarity and gave her a surprise hug. Rarity embraced the hug, not knowing how to respond as a tear ran down Luna's cheek. "Princess Luna, are you ok, darling?" Rarity asked as they broke the hug. "Yes, it's just good to see you've grown up to be a wonderful mare," Luna replied as Rarity and Twilight looked at her in confusion. "Thank you, Luna," Rarity said as Luna wiped the tear from her eye. "I'm sure you two are confused by my words and actions, so I should explain myself," Luna said. Taking a deep breath as she cleared her thoughts, Luna began to speak. "While you know I created the Tantabus to punish myself for the atrocities I committed as Nightmare Moon, there is more to the story," Luna said as she used a spell to bring Twilight and Rarity into her subconscious. Rarity and Twilight gasped in shock as they saw Nightmare Moon, bound in chains locked inside Luna's mind. Nightmare Moon grinned evilly as she saw Rarity standing before her. "Hello, daughter," she said, her words sending a chill down Rarity's spine. "W-what?" Rarity asked as her heart pounded in her chest. "Oh my, hasn't Luna told you?" Nightmare asked as she looked at Luna. "How could you be so cruel, are you ashamed?" Nightmare taunted as she grinned. "QUIET YOU!" Luna snapped at Nightmare, using her royal Canterlot voice as she pushed Nightmare Moon deeper into her subconscious. "She's still here?" Twilight asked in shock as Luna sighed. "Unfortunately yes, she is a part of me as I am her, everypony has an evil side such as this, we will never be separated, but I can control her," Luna explained as Rarity looked down. "So what did she mean by daughter?" She asked, her heart already knowing the answer. "Rarity, I am your mother," Luna said, causing Rarity's eyes to widen. "But how can this be? I'm about the same age as Twilight and the others, plans I'm not an alicorn," Rarity asked as Luna pulled up a memory. "I know it sounds impossible, but Nightmare Moon had just enough power to escape the moon for a short period of time, during this time she remained hidden in the shadows, she knew we couldn't take on our sister so we just stayed low, she found love in a stallion and together they created life, but with each passing day, Nightmare Moon was losing power, making the heart-wrenching decision, she embedded the last ten percent of her power into her daughter and left her on the doorstep of the couple she thought would raise her right, then when she returned to the moon, she blocked the memories of her time on earth," Luna spoke, Twilight and Rarity hung onto every word that she said as they listened to the story. "But why would Nightmare Moon want Rarity to be raised right, she wanted to plunge Equestria in eternal darkness," Twilight asked. "Because I had control at that point, my emotions were influencing her," Luna replied as she illuminated her horn and brought them out of her subconscious. "So, you're my mother?" Rarity asked, thoughts flooding her mind. "Yes, I am, and I am so sorry that I kept this from you for so long, by the time I was able to return for good, you had already grown up, you made such good friends and formed such strong bonds, that I couldn't bring myself to tell you right away; also, I felt unworthy to claim you as my daughter because of my past," Luna said. "This is a lot to take in, I-I don't know how to feel about this," Rarity replied as Luna nodded. "I know this is a lot to take in, and I don't expect you to accept me as your mother, but I am glad I can get this off my chest," Luna said. "So I'm guessing that monster in my dreams is…" Rarity began to ask. "Yes, it is Nightmare Moon's final reserve of power, it is now part of you and is and will be known as Nightmare Rarity if it were to get out," Luna answered, causing Rarity's heart to drop into her stomach. "How do I stop it?" Rarity asked. Looking back to Twilight, Luna asked if she would leave them for a bit to which Twilight obliged. As Rarity and Luna sat in the throne room, Luna looked at Rarity lovingly. "I'm so proud of you, Rarity," Luna said, causing Rarity to blush. "Thank you, Luna. That means a lot, but I don't think I can call you mom at this point," Rarity replied. Luna smiled and nodded. "That's understandable now to answer your question, there is a way to stop the evil from coming out, but it is both the hardest thing and the easiest thing to do," Luna said as Rarity listened. "What would that be?" Rarity asked. "You have to let go of your envy, your resentment, and thrust for revenge, these things are what caused me to turn into Nightmare Moon," Luna said as she looked into Rarity's eyes. Rarity looked down. "I see, but I don't know if I can," she replied. "I believe you can, and if you are willing to let me, I'll be happy to help you every step of the way, I'll also need to teach you how to properly control your dream walking abilities," Luna spoke, bringing a smile to Rarity's face. "I'll like that, I could use the help," Rarity said as she got up and prepared to return home to Ponyville. Dream WarriorA few days have passed since Twilight and Rarity visited Luna, Rarity goes about her business as usual, talking to Luna really helped her a lot. As she goes about her day, she ponders on how Luna is going to train her, other than her and Luna, Twilight is the only other pony to know that she is the spawn of Nightmare Moon, she shudders to think about if any of the others found out, especially Sweetie Belle. As night fell, Rarity tucked herself into bed and started to dream. She found herself in an astral plane. Stars shined all around her as she looked out into the openness. "Greetings, Rarity. Are you ready to begin your training?" A voice called out who later revealed themselves to be Luna. Rarity's eyes widened as she bowed, making Luna chuckle. "You do not have to bow, my little pony," Luna said as she used her magic to show the dreams of all the ponies in Equestria. "I know, but it just feels right and yes, I'm ready for my training," Rarity replied as she looked at the floating orbs containing the dreams of all she knew. "Then let's start with the basics, these are the dream spheres, they contain the dreams of all the ponies in Equestria," Luna said as she brought down a sphere. "Take a look, this dream is being dreamt by Twilight, if you listen, you can hear it," Luna said as Rarity leaned in closer. "Oh Flash, your muscles are so strong and your wings are magnificent," Twilight said in the dream as Rarity blushed. "Princess Luna, do I really need to listen in on every dream, this feels like an invasion of privacy?" Rarity asked as Luna bounced the dream back into the floating abyss. "I understand your concern, but yes, you are to keep your eyes and ears out in case a pony is having a nightmare, it is our job as dream walkers to protect and comfort them in their slumber," Luna answered as she brought down Celestia's dream. "Ok, lets see I have to give a speech at the new library opening in Trottingham, and then I have to visit Griffinstone to talk about an alliance between us, oh I hope they listen, past negotiations with griffins haven't always been smooth. Maybe if I take a gift basket," Celestia muttered to herself in the dream. "You see, I know it's an invasion of privacy, but my sister has been stressed about these events for two weeks now, these are duties she has to attend to next month," Luna said as she ignited her horn and placed a stallion in her dream. "Princess Celestia, I'm here for your four o'clock massage," the stallion said as Celestia breathed a sigh of relief. Rarity watched in awe as Celestia laid on a portable massage table and the stallion got to work. "That's amazing Luna, but does it not bug you that you're practically eavesdropping on ponies personal lives?" The alabaster unicorn asked as Luna put her sister's dream back into the air. "It does at times, but I deal with it by knowing I will never use this information as blackmail or gossip," Luna replied as she watched the dreams floating around her. Rarity takes a seat by her and watches the dreams float by. "So how did I get here? I only been in ponies' dreams, I have never been here," Rarity asked as she watched the orbs dance in the open space. "I had to bring you here, that will be next night's lesson, for now I want you to try and monitor dreams tonight," Luna replied. Rarity became slightly nervous as she looked at the vast amount of dreams she had to monitor, taking a deep breath she closed her eyes and listened for any signs of a bad dream. Rarity's ears perked up at the slight sound of a heavy breathing, as soon as she heard it she opened her eyes and located the orb where she heard the sound. Upon closer inspection, Rarity saw that it was Sweetie Bell having a nightmare where she was singing the Equestria national anthem at Manehattan stadium and was having stage fright. Luna looked over Rarity's shoulder to see the dream. "Ah, a stage fright nightmare, I get these often," Luna comments. "How do you tackle these?" Rarity asked, concern and empathy filling her voice as she saw her sister struggling on the field. "These are but a simple fix, sometimes a pony just needs someone close to them to comfort them," Luna replied as Rarity smiled and ignited her horn. In the dream sphere, Rarity appeared beside Sweetie Belle and sang with her, eliminating her fear as the crowd stood in silence as they sang the anthem. As they finished, the crowd cheered as Rarity let loose of the dream and let it float off. "Impressive, making yourself appear in a dream while remaining in the watchroom is quite a difficult task," Luna said as Rarity blushed. "Thank you, Luna. But it was really nothing, I just knew Sweetie would feel more confident with either me or a friend there," Rarity replied as Luna beamed. "You are indeed a fast learner, that's practically all there is to this aspect of your powers, just know the pony and give them something or help out when you can," Luna said as she brought down a dream of Discord's. "Is that Discord's dream?" Rarity asked as she looked into the sphere. "Yes, it is, I always check on it, just in case," Luna replied as she released it. "So you don't alter it?" Rarity asked. "There's no need, it is also unnecessary for Discord can control his dreams as well, he can also enter this realm as well, but him and I have an agreement that he refrains from messing with the dreams too much," Luna answered as the the realm began to shake and tremble. "W-what's happening?" Rarity asked, freaked out by the sudden trembling. "Do not fear, it is just you waking up, we will continue your training later, I must teach you how to retrain the evil in you, until then, fare thee well," Luna said as the dream dissipated and Rarity woke up in her bed. Facing the NightmareRarity looks around her room as she adjusts to her new reality, despite sleeping well, she feels an overwhelming sense of grogginess, looking at the calendar she sees that it is the weekend and decides to fall back to sleep. Curling up into her blankets, Rarity finds no trouble dozing off. She sleeps for about ten more minutes before waking up again fully rested. Dragging herself out of bed, she goes through her daily routine of sewing dresses and hanging out with her friends. The day flies by so quickly that before she knows it, it's time for bed. The alabaster unicorn prepares for the night ahead, deep in thought as she thinks to herself 'I might try to take on the Nightmare side of me tonight, I don't think she's that powerful yet,' Rarity says to herself. Rarity tucks herself in and drifts off to sleep, she finds herself in the astral plane again, spheres dancing around in open space as she monitors the dreams, once making sure the dreams are sound, Rarity dives deeper into her slumber, beginning to dream herself. As she dreams, she laughs and chuckles to herself as new ideas for dresses dance around her, and adoring customers come to her eager to place orders. Rarity delights in her dream, enjoying the limelight and admiration, until the colors start to fade, and the orders the customers had placed were now stamped with a big red canceled. Thunder claps as Rarity's home blows away and a sinister laugh fills the air as Nightmare Rarity approaches her. Fear creeps into Rarity's mind as she starts to breathe heavily Sinister laughter fills the air as her nightmare form appears in front of her, mane flowing freely as she grins evilly. Rarity's heart races as she looks upon her Nightmare form, a look of determination slowly creeping on her face as she finally shakes off her shock and slowly inches a few feet closer to her Nightmare self. Her evil counterpart stands there looking up at the sky, watching as the dreams dance happily in the air. "Well well well, look who I found, my other personality," Nightmare Rarity says as she returns her attention to Rarity, her voice cold and intimidating, causing Rarity to quiver a bit. "What are you talking about?" Rarity asks, trying to fake bravado. "Oh, you don't know? How precious you are," Nightmare Rarity cooed as she came closer to the terrified pony. "You are my second personality, since Nightmare Moon conceived you through her and embedded you with the last of her reserve power, I am you, the real you," Nightmare Rarity chimed as Rarity's eyes widened. "N-no, it's not true, you're lying," Rarity says while breathing heavily. "Search your feelings, Rarity; you know it to be true," Nightmare Rarity replied. "N-no, you're lying, I am the real Rarity," the alabaster unicorn said, tearing up at the new information swirling through her head. Nightmare Rarity chuckled, seeing this display of denial amuses her. "Rarity, my sweet other personality, it is true, I very much couldn't show myself so soon, so I hid, and created a front so no one would banish me, I'm sure you understand, " Nightmare Rarity said as she started to absorb Rarity into her body Before Rarity could react, she found herself plunged into her worst fears as while being absorbed, disappointed clients were surrounding her house. "The size isn't right," "The dress fell apart in the wash," "The color doesn't suit me," the mob called out as Rarity tried to think of damage control. But before she could address the issues, she found herself standing in the presence of Sapphire Shores. "Rarity, there's no easy way to say this, but you're fired from the position of my fashion designer," Sapphire said, leaving Rarity breathless. "B-but why?" Rarity asked. "New information has come to light that you plagiarise designs and fabrics from Suri Polomare, she came to me and told me how you came to her to ask to borrow some fabric for accents, and in good faith she gave you a whole roll of fabric and you used it for the whole design," Sapphire replied as Suri grinned. "No, that's not true," Rarity protested, only to have Sapphire look even more disappointed. "I can overlook some things, but this I can't, and your lying and denying makes it even worse, you should be ashamed of yourself," Sapphire says as Rarity hides her face. "No, no, It's not true, I didn't copy her, she copied me," Rarity says as Nightmare Rarity hovers above her. "Yes, give into fear and dread, let me take over and you will be more powerful than anypony, you'll be more powerful than the princesses," Nightmare Rarity says as she starts to fully envelop Rarity in her darkness. Before she could fully consume Rarity, a magic blast shot through her causing Nightmare Rarity to bellow in pain as she loses control and starts to lose her grip on Rarity. "Leave her alone," Luna says as she stands over Rarity, horn flaring as she protects her. "Oh, but of course, Your Highness, I should have known mommy would come to the rescue, but come on, let me consume her, let Nightmare Moon consume you, and together, we'll be unstoppable," Luna ignites her horn and stands over Rarity. "Back off," Luna barked as Nightmare Rarity smirked. "Of course, your Highness, but know this, Rarity, mommy won't always be here to rescue you, I will get free, mark my words," Nightmare Rarity said as she teleported away. Rarity shivers in fear as Luna sits down beside her and caresses her mane. "There there, Rarity, it's alright," Luna said as Rarity started to hyperventilate. Luna looks up at the dreams floating around as Rarity tries to calm down. As soon as Rarity calmed down she stood up, still shaken. "T-thank you for saving me, but is it true, am I really just a second personality for the nightmare form?" Rarity asks. Luna sighs as she strokes Rarity's mane. "The only one that can truly answer that is you, dear," Luna says as she tries to comfort Rarity. "Please, if you want to be my mother then tell me, am I just a second personality, don't give me the dime store answer, please just step up and be a mother," Rarity snapped back, anger and fear riding her voice as she tears up. "I am, and I'm sorry, I can't tell you, I believe you are the primary personality, but I am not the one that needs to believe it, you do," Luna replied, remaining calm even though Rarity's words stung. "I-I'm not sure I do," Rarity says as she starts to shake, her breathing speeding up as she enters the fetal position. Luna gently strokes her head as she tries to calm down Rarity. "Shhhhh, it's alright, just breathe," Luna coos as Rarity lays her head down in her lap. Luna and Rarity sit there in silence as Luna takes over dream surveillance, she watches as the dreams float around them. Luna looks at Rarity who has fallen asleep. Luna smiled at Rarity who had finally calmed down, but feared she would still be worried. Luna looked back up and smiled again. Among the dreams an orb came floating down, Luna peered inside and saw a memory of her, she was in the fetal position, crying and shaking as she rocked back and forth. 'Who am I, am I really a personality?' She called out as she winched in fear. She watched as Celestia came in and comforted her, wrapping her wing around her as she booped her nose to hers. A tear flows down Luna's face as she listens to her sister's kind words. The memory floats back up as Rarity wakes up. "Hmmm what was that, a nightmare that needs fixing?" Rarity asks. "No, it was a good memory," Luna replied as she wiped a tear from her eye. "What was it?" Rarity asks as Luna smiles. "I'll tell you about when you wake, you should get more sleep, I'll take care of the dream realm," Luna said as she ignited her horn and touched Rarity's forehead. As soon as Luna touched her forehead, Rarity found herself in a black void, she felt an overwhelming sense of calmness and safety as she fell asleep in her dream. Dream ScienceRarity wakes up the next morning with the gentle rays of the sun hitting her face. As she sits up in bed she lets out a waking yawn as she stretches her legs before hopping out of bed. Rarity quickly takes a shower, cleaning her luscious mane as she thinks to herself about the events of her dream. With a contented sigh, the alabaster pony turns off the water and steps out of the shower. She goes about her normal routine of making breakfast and sending Sweetie Belle off to school. After sending her sister on her way, Rarity heads out herself, but instead of getting to work, she heads to Twilight's castle, hoping Twilight could offer some insight. After arriving at the castle, Rarity lets herself in and finds Twilight nose-deep in a book. Rarity smiles to herself as she enters, careful not to startle her, "interesting literature, I presume?" Rarity asks. Twilight looks up, shaking her head a bit to snap out of her trance. "Oh, hi, Rarity. Yeah, I was just reading up on sleep studies, you know, sleep paralysis, lucid dreams, some metaphysical aspects of sleep, etcetera, etcetera," Twilight answers as she bookmarks her place to talk to Rarity. "Metaphysical aspects?" Rarity patted, tilting her head in confusion. "Yes, metaphysical aspects, why do you seem confused?" Twilight asked. "It's just, I never fathomed that you would look into that sort of thing, after all, you do prefer science and evidence over all else," Rarity said, making Twilight blush. "Well, ever since that incident with the poison joke and me trying to figure out Pinkie Sense, I decided to dabble in the metaphysical sciences a bit," Twilight said as she sat on the couch she keeps in the library, offering a seat to Rarity. "That's nice, and did you find anything interesting?" Rarity asks as she takes the seat next to Twilight. "Nothing too new, just how some ponies use dream catchers hoping to ward off nightmares and how some sleep with lavender close by," Twilight replied as Rarity listened. "I see, though we could ask Luna if any of that works," Rarity said. "Yeah, I did think about that, but with the situation going on I don't want to take up too much of her time," Twilight said. "I know what you mean, I actually came to ask you some questions about that," Rarity said, her ears drooping to the side. "You're thinking that we should ask Luna for help, right?" Twilight asked. "Well, that and I was wondering, what do you think I should do, should I call her mom, or should I continue to call her Luna?" Rarity asks, uncertainty and confusion filling her voice. Twilight sighed as she looked down before answering. "We should ask her for help, but only you can make the call on whether you call her mom or not," The purple alicorn answered with Rarity nodding. "I know, it's just, I always thought Cookie Crumbles was my mother, and now I find out Luna is my mother, not only that, I'm practically a vessel for Nightmare," Rarity said. Twilight places a hoof on Rarity. "I know, it's a hard pill to swallow and I can't possibly know the feeling, but I know you, you are much more than a vessel, in my eyes you're not a vessel, you're my friend, and your own pony," Hearing this brought a smile to Rarity's face, she used her hoof to wipe a tear from her eye. "Thanks, Twilight," Rarity said as she fell silent. After what felt like an hour, Rarity got up from the couch. "We should go see Luna, I still haven't decided on how to address her now, but I still have questions, I also need her help in defeating this nightmare version of me," Rarity said as Twilight nodded. "I couldn't agree more, we must put the safety of Equestria before our personal feelings," Twilight replied as she got off the couch and stood next to Rarity. Igniting her horn, Twilight closed her eyes and teleported them both to Canterlot Castle. With a flash of light Twilight and Rarity appeared in front of the throne of Princess Celestia and Princess Luna. "Thanks for the help getting here, Twilight," Rarity said as Twilight nodded. Princess Luna then came into the throne room. "Ah, Rarity, I was expecting you to show up," the princess said as she trotted to her chair. "I assume you came here to talk more about your situation?" Luna asked as she hovered a tray of tea and some guest chairs over to her. "I have, I need your help in understanding how you use your….. no, our powers," Rarity said as Luna nodded. "I see, I will help you, it is for the sake of Equestria," Luna said as she got up. Unbreakable Ties"Alright, let's get this training underway," Luna said as she brought Rarity into the dream realm. Rarity gasps at how easily Luna can drag her into the ether, looking around as dreams dance around her. "Wait, it's morning so how is the dream realm filled with dreams?" Rarity asks as Luna smiles. Sweet Rarity, the dream realm is always filled with dreams, daydreams, pipe dreams, night dreams, and many other types of dreams, but that is not why we're here," Luna replied as she used her ties to dark magic to summon a Nightmare Moon clone. "We are here to train you, your battle is both physical and mental, so you must train here," Luna says as she walks behind Rarity. "What do you want me to do?" Rarity asked as she looked at her Nightmare clone, fear entering her mind. "Use your magic to attack, but I can already tell that something is holding you back," Luna said as she sat down next to Rarity. "How?" Rarity asked, confused and a little angry that Luna would assume that. "Because you moved back slightly, also because it's my job to read ponies, dreams are windows to the desires and fears of ponies' hearts and I can tell you have a lot of unanswered questions, and I know somepony or in this case ponies that can help," Luna said as she brought them out of the dream realm. "Who?" Rarity asked. "You're parents, I feel you need closure between them before you face the nightmare in you," Luna replied as Rarity looked down. "W-would you come with me?" Rarity asked. "Of course, after all, I do need to confess to them and thank them," Luna said, causing Rarity to look puzzled at her. "Thank them, but why?" Rarity asked. Luna smiled and caressed Rarity's cheek with her hoof. "I'm sure you might already have an inkling," Luna said as she teleported them to the home of Hondo Flanks and Cookie Crumbles. Rarity looked at the house, and a wave of emotion washed over her as she took a heavy breath. "I'm nervous," Rarity said as she tried to take a step forward. Luna smiled. "It's normal you would feel that way, your whole world just came crashing down when you found out the truth so I don't blame you for feeling nervous, I am as well," Luna admitted as she wrapped a wing around Rarity. Rarity smiled as she and Luna approached the house and knocked on the door. A few seconds passed before the door swung open and standing there was Hondo Flanks. "Ah, what a surprise, how are you doing, Rarity?" Hondo asks as he notices Luna. "And might I say what a pleasure it is to be visited by you, Princess Luna," Hondo added as he kissed Luna's hoof. "Don't forget you're married dear," Cookie Crumbles says from behind, witnessing her husband's actions. Hondo turned around and blushed. "Right, dear," he said as he cleared his throat. The display made Rarity giggle as her parents invited them in. "So what brings you here, Rarity?" Cookie Crumbles asks as she sets out refreshments for their guests. Rarity fidgets in her chair, unsure on how to break the ice on such a sensitive subject. "Well, it has come to my attention that…." Rarity stops mid-sentence trying to think of the right word. Cookie Crumbles sits next to her husband and looks at Rarity. "I think I know what this is about," she says looking at Rarity, holding her hoof in hers. "You do?" Rarity asked. "Yes, a mother knows these things, I don't know how you found out, but you did so you deserve to know the truth," Cookie Crumbles said as Hondo wrapped his foreleg around her. "We always wanted to tell you when you were older, but with your businesses booming and how close you and Sweetie Belle had gotten, it got harder to find the right time," Hondo explained as he hugged his wife. Taking a deep breath, Cookie Crumbles steels herself to tell Rarity everything. "When we found you, we had been trying to conceive with little success, the night that you showed up on our doorstep, we had just found out that your father had a low sperm count, and the doctor had advised us to limit our activities in an effort to get it up, along with other sacrifices," Cookie said, Hondo embracing her all the way. "While we were discussing game plans and how we could spice things up, we heard a knock on our door. We weren't expecting company at the time so it really threw us off guard. When we went to check who it was, that's when we found you, you were wrapped in a black blanket and in a basket," Cookie continued as she took a sip of tea. Rarity listened wholeheartedly as her mom explained things. "So that's how you found me?" Rarity asked. "That's right, we had felt like our prayers had been answered, attached to you was a note that read 'Dear, strangers, this is my little one, I am unable to take care of her so I will be grateful if you would raise her right.' We didn't know what to make of the note, but we welcomed you into our house with open hooves," Hondo said as he helped Cookie tell the story. "I see, that does explain why I felt different, even though our coats and mane match," Rarity said as she took in the information. Cookie chuckles to herself causing Rarity to look at her. "What's so funny?" Rarity asks. "Just a memory dear, when you were younger you had incredible magic, you were levitating things before the age of two, you even had an imaginary friend, what was her name?" Cookie said as she tried to recall. "Her name was Nira, dear," Hondo said, causing Rarity's breath to hitch. "Yes, that's right, after a while you stopped talking about her, but that's life; the only thing that pretty much stayed constant was that you loved staring at the moon," Cookie said as she finished her story. A moment of silence passed before Cookie spoke up again. "When you were older we tried looking for your birth parents, but to no avail, we just hope whoever placed you on our doorstep gets to see what a lovely mare you turned out to be," Cookie said as she caressed Rarity's chin. Rarity and Luna tear up a bit as she says this, Rarity is unsure how to proceed but takes a deep breath. "Thanks, Mom, that's actually why I'm here, I found my birth mother, but I don't feel right calling her mom because it feels like I'll be replacing you," Rarity confessed with tears in her eyes. Cookie smiled and wiped the tears from Rarity's eyes. "Oh, darling, you don't have to worry about that, we're glad you found your birth mother, and you won't be replacing us, it just means you have more family," Cookie says as she brings Rarity's eye to meet her's. "The choice is yours, but if you do call your birth mother mom, it won't hurt me, I'll always be your mother and now you have two," Cookie assures Rarity. Rarity throws her forelegs around her mom, thanking her for talking with her. Cookie embraces the hug, bringing Rarity in close. After a moment, the two unicorns break the hug. "So when do we get to meet her?" Cookie Crumbles asks. "You just have," Luna chimes in. Cookie and Hondo stare in surprise. "You?" Cookie asks. Luna nods. "Yes, you two have done a wonderful job in raising our daughter, I can't thank you enough," Luna said smiling. "But wait, you were in the moon when Rarity was young, how can that be?" Hondo asks. "I know it sounds unbelievable, but Nightmare Moon was able to escape for a short time, she came to earth, but was unable to do anything while lying low she found love, when she gave birth her time here was almost at an end, so using the last bit of her magic, she embedded some of her power into Rarity, somehow I was able to seize control and made her give her up to a loving family," Luna explained. "I see, that explains the immense magic and the moon staring," Cookie said. "But the situation is dire, Rarity's nightmare side is now emerging, and I fear that it will be most difficult to contain her now, I just thought it emerged, but it seems she was at work to gain Rarity's trust, her imaginary friend Nira, is in fact her nightmare form," Luna said as Rarity's parents gasp. "Don't worry, Mom and Dad I'll stop her," Rarity said with confidence as she turned to Luna. "I'm ready, mom. I want you to teach me all that you know about defeating my nightmare self," Rarity said, a look of determination in her eyes.
A Morpheus ExperienceRarity tucks into bed after staying up late to finish an order for a client, her eyes felt heavy, but she was proud of what she had accomplished and couldn’t wait to hoof deliver the finished product in the morning. As Rarity fell asleep her dreams began to fill with the usual ribbons and garments as she envisioned future designs and patterns. She grabs a pen in her magic only to immediately gasp and drop it. Looking at the pen, she picks it up again as her eyes grow wide. “How peculiar, I’m aware this time, last time I was aware I helped Luna defeat the Tantabus,” she says to herself as she jots down design ideas on a layout. As she enjoys what seems to be a lucid dream, she runs out of fabric and goes to the supply closet to get some more. Upon opening the door, she’s taken back to the endless expanse of hallway before her, she ventures inward hoping to find some more fabric to continue to try designs in her dream before she wakes up. As she walks down the endless hallway, she can’t help but to feel strange, she was never able to dream like this before, the only time was when she helped Luna and that was a few months ago. As the alabaster unicorn contemplates this ordeal, she finally reaches a door and opens it. She shields her eyes as she steps into a blinding light as if she had just stepped outside, she could smell a subtle sweetness in the air as she tried to open her eyes. Once her eyes adjusted to the light, Rarity opened her eyes and found her jaw dropping to the floor. She was not prepared for what she was looking at, she was in a magnificent garden, but instead of flowers, muffins adorned the various bushes and stems around her, even the trees sprouted the confectionery delight. Rarity was awestruck as she walked around the breathtaking landscape, the pond which she would think would be blue was instead a light brownish color; there were little light white disc floating in the pond acting as lily pads. Rarity couldn’t help herself, so she uses her magic to grab one of the floating discs and float it over to her. The white unicorn takes a sniff, getting a herbal scent as recognition flooded her brain. “It’s Earl Gray tea and this is an English muffin,” she says to herself as she takes a bite, her eyes lighting up at the taste of the tea soaked pastry. Rarity continues to walk around, unsure of where she might be heading. Her original goal had faded from her mind as she lost herself in this pastry paradise. As Rarity walks around, she gets a bit peckish seeing all these pastries adorning the landscape, she munches on the English muffin taken from the pond as she approaches a bush full of ripe muffins; Rarity gently picks one off it’s perch and takes a bite, the taste of blueberry flooding over her taste buds as a figure approaches her from behind. “Rarity, is that you?” the voice called out, making Rarity jump back a bit as she looked behind her. Rarity rubbed her eyes to make sure what she was seeing was real, standing before her was Derpy, clad in a red and white robe and a crown adorning her head. “Derpy, what are you doing here?” Rarity asked, shocked to see one of her friends her. “I should be asking you that question, this is my kingdom,” Derpy replied. “Your….kingdom?” Rarity asked as she looked around. “Yes, this is my kingdom where I am the muffin queen,” Derpy replied, smiling brightly as she came closer and picked herself a blueberry muffin. “Well in that case, I’m terribly sorry to trespass,” Rarity said as Derpy smiled. “No need to apologize, all are welcome to muffin land, please come to my castle, we’ll have some tea and muffins,” the gray pegasus said as she led Rarity to her castle. When the two arrived at the castle, Derpy clapped her hooves and a pair of guards that resembled Doctor Whooves came forth and brought out a pair of chairs and a table. As they took their seats, the guards poured a cup of tea and served them with a smile before trotting off. “I have to say it’s nice to get a visit from you, Rarity,” Derpy said as she took a sip of her tea, a guard coming out and placing a plate full of muffins on the table. “I’m pleased to hear that, darling; but I must say that I don’t know how I round up here, I was just looking for more fabric,”Rarity replied as she took a ship of tea. “Hmmmmm,” Derpy said as she put a hoof to her chin. “I don’t know either, Muffinvania is cut off from Equestria’s mainland, but we do share an alliance,” Derpy said as she finished her tea. “Really?” Rarity asked, causing Derpy to smile.. “I know it’s pretty great,” Derpy said as she clapped her hands and the guards came back with a gift basket for Rarity, filled with muffins and a bottle of wine, lavender decorated the outside of the basket giving it a calming smell. “Here, take this gift basket before you go, as a memento of your visit to Muffinvania” Derpy said as her guards gave Rarity the parting gift. “Thank you, darling, I appreciate this divine gift,” Rarity said as she got up from her chair and made her way down the hallway. Rarity came to the castle doors and gripped the handle in her magic, pushing out into the world, Rarity was blinded by the light. Opening her eyes, Rarity saw that she was in her bed, wearing her silk pajamas as she laid all cuddled up in her blankets. Yawning loudly, Rarity hops out of bed. “What a strange dream,” Rarity said to herself as she made her way into the bathroom and turned on the shower. “I never had a dream like that before on my own, it was probably just a one time thing though,” Rarity concludes as she steps into the shower to get ready for the day.
Awakening PowersAfter taking a shower and eating breakfast, Rarity combs her mane and puts on her makeup for the busy day ahead. She packs up the client’s order and heads out of Carousel Boutique with a spring in her step as she boards the train to Canterlot. Once there, Rarity dropped off her client’s order, as expected, the client was over the moon that Rarity took the time to hoof deliver it herself, the client invited her in to chat for a bit, but Rarity politely declined the invitation, already having too much on her plate to get done today. As Rarity went about her day, she couldn’t help but to contemplate the dream she had. She thinks about how easy it was to think of designs and the strange sense of power and control she had felt. Her spine would tingle every time she thought about it. As the day passed, Rarity went about her business, hardly stopping for anything and anypony as she ran her errands and returned home. That night, Rarity tucked herself into bed, exhausted from the busy day she had. As she fell asleep, she felt as if she was diving into a pool of water as she found herself in another dream, this time, she found herself face to face with Kitty Waltz, one of Equestia’s top models. “Are there any more alterations you need to make before I go out there, Rarity? Kitty asked as Rarity looked at her slightly confused. Deciding to play along, Rarity breathes out and adjusts the dress that Kitty has on. “There, you are ready to go out there, break a leg, darling,” Rarity says as Kitty walks out to the cheers of ponies and the shuttering of cameras as Rarity watches who she believes to be a client of hers, she notices a door and her curiosity peaks instantly, she opens the door and steps through only to be greeted with strobing lights and loud music, accompanied by the whoops and hollers of ponies. “Alright party ponies, are you ready for a fun night!” A voice yelled out, immediately being answered by a wave of cheering. “I can’t hear you!.” The voice yelled out again followed by a louder wave of cheering that made Rarity’s heart reverberate. “Then let’s raise the roof!” The voice yelled as music began to play and ponies started dancing. Rarity, trying to avoid being bumped into, walked to where she thought the stage would be only to find Vinyl Scratch surrounded by her equipment. Her stage name DJ-PON3 was plastered on banners standing on each side of the stage. Rarity couldn’t help but bob her head to the beat, a smile spread across her face seeing one of her friends so happy, even though this wasn't the music she normally listened to, she could still find an appreciation for it. As Rarity bobbed her head to the music, she realizes that she is once again lucid dreaming overwhelmed with joy, she smiles to herself and concentrates; and thinks of a random pony, hoping to pop into their dreams. A door appears before her and she steps through, entering another fashion showcase with Suri Polomare showcasing her designs. Rarity smiles impishly to herself as the memory of what Suri did to her comes flooding in. Rarity ignites her horn and focuses on the models wearing Suri's designs. Using her magic, she causes one of the dresses to unravel, the high heels she designed to break, and one of the dresses to rip. The models all scream as Rarity's antics unfold on them, Suri screams in horror as her designs seem to malfunction as Hoity Toity watches. Rarity chuckles with delight as she punishes Suri in her dream, thinking it as harmless venting. Hoity Toity leaves with disappointment written on his face, Suri tries desperately to plead with the fashion judge, trying to salvage her showcase. Rarity smiles as she watches her fashion rival squirm. As Rarity enjoys her mischief, she catches a glance of herself in the mirror, her reflection shifts, changing her elegant white coat to a coat of deep purple, her eyes become all blue, and her mane grows longer and flows like air. Her chuckle changed from impish and mischievous to evil and malicious. Her reflection started to emerge from the mirror, making Rarity shirk in terror and jolt up from her slumber. Rarity breathed heavily as she looked around, she was in her bed at home, sweat pouring off of her. "What was that?" Rarity asked herself as she wiped her forehead. Her heart pounded in her chest, scared out of her mind, the moon shining brightly through her window. Rarity sits in her bed, too scared to close her eyes as she thinks to herself. "These dreams are too real to be mere dreams, perhaps I should talk with Twilight or Luna about them," she says to herself as she lays back down, her mind replaying her dream like a record, the thought of seeing that monster again keeps her from falling back asleep. Rarity sighs and groans as she kicks off the covers and exits her bed. "It's no use, I can't go back to sleep," she says to herself as she exits her room and heads downstairs. She enters her living room and turns on the tv, the warm glow of the device lights up the room as she lays on the couch and turns the channel. "Welcome to Equestira's Top Model, these lovely mares and stallions are showing off what many are saying will be the next big fad," The announcer says as he puts his hoof to his ear. Rarity wonders what's wrong before her eyes widen at what the announcer says. "I just got word that next week's guest designer, Miss Suri Polomare will not be coming until she makes sure her designs won't malfunction, citing that she had a dream where her one of her dresses unraveled, a heel broke, and a dress ripped," the announcer proclaims, causing Rarity to mute the tv in shock. "What, but it was my dream, how could she have experienced it?" Rarity asked herself as she started to breathe heavily.
Dream Studies and Family TiesTry as she might, Rarity could not force herself to go back to sleep, the gentle glow of her television illuminated the room as she sat on her couch. Rarity laid on her back, hoping that she could fall back asleep on the couch but to no avail, she tossed and turned on the sofa, trying to get in a comfortable position, but all she could think about was what she saw in her dream. The monster that looked like her in the mirror made her blood run cold as she tried to forget about it. Hours later, the sun started to filter through the blinds, gently casting some light on Rarity's eyes and forcing her to open them. The unicorn groans as she gets off the couch and goes into the bathroom, what she sees in the mirror makes her gasp with terror. Staring back at her was her reflection, her once beautiful eyes now had slight bags under them and were bloodshot, and her once beautifully croft mane was now a tangled mass. "Oh, Celestia," Rarity said to herself as she leaned in closer. She then put on makeup to hide the bags under her eyes before brushing her mane. After rolling herself up, Rarity went to check on Sweetie Belle only to find a note on the door to her room telling her that she and the Crusaders had already left to try and get their cutie marks. Rarity smiled to herself as she returned downstairs and ate breakfast, ready to take on the day. After Rarity had woken up from her sleep-deprived state, she left and made a beeline to Twilight's castle. She knocked on the door and waited for an answer. Soon, Spike answered the door with a smile on his face. "Hey Rarity, what brings you here?" He asked, overjoyed that Rarity came to visit. Rarity giggled, seeing her dragon friend so happy in the morning. "Good Morning, Spike; is Twilight in by any chance?" Rarity replied. "Oh, yeah she's in, please come in," the green and purple drake said, inviting her into the castle. Once inside, Rarity quickly found Twilight tucked away in the castle's library nose-deep in a book. "Twilight?" Rarity called out startling the princess a bit. Twilight turned around and smiled. "Oh, hi Rarity," Twilight said as she closed the book she was reading. "What brings you here?" Twilight asked as Rarity adopted a more serious expression. "Well, I didn't sleep well last night and was wondering if you could help," Rarity replied. "I would if I could, but I don't know much about sleep aids, you might want to talk to Zecora, she knows more about that stuff than I do," Twilight said as Rarity shook her head. "It's not that kind of problem, darling. I've been having weird dreams, I feel like I'm fully in control, but it seems like I'm able to dreamwalk," the alabaster unicorn said as Twilight nodded. "I see," Twilight said as Rarity confided in her. "The first time this happened, I entered a land full of muffins and Derpy was there, she called herself the queen, and then I was at Vinyl's concert before finding myself at Suri's fashion show where I used my magic to sabotage her," Rarity unloaded as Twilight listened. "Well, the Derpy one may be you wanting to visit her or she may be opening a muffin shop, the Vinyl one may be telling you to be a little less upright," Twilight said before Rarity stared at her. "Uptight? And what does that mean?" Rarity asked. "I-I mean, maybe it's telling you to be a little less pompous," Twilight started to stutter a bit as Rarity giggled. "I know what you meant, darling. Just wanted to rattle your chain a bit, so what about the Suri one?" Rarity said as Twilight smiled. "Well the Suri one is self-explanatory, she did you wrong so you have some resentment, so it was you letting off steam," Twilight said as Rarity nodded. "That does make sense, but what about the monster in the mirror that looked like me?" Rarity asked, making Twilight's ears perk up. "A monster that looked like you? Could you give me more detail, please?" Twilight asked. "Well, my coat was darker, like pitch black, my mane and tail were a lighter purple and flowing like Celestia's and Luna's," Rarity said as Twilight's eyes dilated. "I may have an idea of what's going on, but I want to run a few tests. Are you ok with being hooked up?" Twilight asked as Rarity nodded. "Whatever you need to do, darling. I just know I'm afraid to sleep now," Rarity said as Twilight left and came back with machines to monitor her sleep. That night, Twilight monitored Rarity's sleep patterns, all seemed normal until she quickly wrote something down, she let Rarity sleep for as long as she could until Rarity started moving frantically. "Rarity, Rarity wake up," Twilight said as she shook Rarity's shoulder. Rarity woke up gasping from fright, her horn lit as if ready to defend herself. "Rarity, it's ok, you're in the castle," Twilight cooed, trying to comfort Rarity. After a few minutes, Rarity took a deep breath. "I saw it again, the monster that looked like me, only this time it spoke to me," Rarity said as Twilight rubbed her back. "It's ok, Rarity, you're safe now," Twilight said as she gently stepped away. Rarity took a deep breath in, she slowly exhaled, and got out of the bed Twilight had her sleep in for the study. "So, what do your tests say?" Rarity asked as Twilight looked at the results. "Well, it seems like you fell asleep within ten minutes, but soon after it appears you entered REM sleep," Twilight said. "Oh, so is that normal?" Rarity asked, concern following her voice. "The falling asleep in ten minutes, kinda, it depends on the pony, but it takes one to two hours to enter REM sleep and I only know one other pony that can enter REM sleep so quickly so we might ask her," Twilight replied as she answered her friend. "Really, who?" Rarity asked with a surprised tone. "It's Princess Luna, she could possibly help shed some light on this and she could possibly help decode your dreams more than I can," Twilight said as she had Spike take a letter, requesting an audience with the princess of the night. As Spike sent off the letter, Twilight turned to Rarity. "You said the monster spoke to you, what did it say?" Twilight asked with idle curiosity. Rarity's eyes widened as she remembered what it said, she shook with fear as she answered her friend. "Let me out,"
Family ReunionThe next morning Rarity and Twilight made their way to Canterlot for their audience with the princess of the night, with all that Rarity has experienced, Luna is the most likely pony to help. As Twilight and Rarity entered the castle, Luna stood in the foyer waiting for them. "Greetings, I've been awaiting your arrival," Luna said as she greeted the ponies at the door. "I've prepared some refreshments for us, follow me," Luna requested as she led her friends down the hall and into a private room. When they entered the room, two butlers came out, having set the table with tea and cookies. "Please, sit," Luna chimed as she sat down, pouring tea for her guest. "Thank you for seeing us, Princess Luna, I know how busy you can get," Twilight said as she and Rarity took their seats at the table. "It's no trouble at all, Twilight; so what brings you two here?" Luna asked as she took a sip of her tea. "Well, Rarity has been having strange dreams lately," Twilight answered. "I see, pray tell what these dreams are, Miss Rarity," Luna replied. "Well, I start off doing something I normally do, like making a fabulous new dress or helping a model get ready to walk down the runway, but then it seems like I hope into another pony's dream, I can even interact with the dream itself," Rarity confided. "Hmmm, you could just be lucid dreaming," Luna replied as she took a cookie from a plate of them that had been placed on the table. "That's what we thought, but after some testing, I realized that Rarity entered REM sleep extremely early in her sleep cycle, and she also mentioned seeing a monster that looks like her, only with a darker coat and a flowing mane," Twilight replied, causing Luna's eyes to widen. "Did you say a monster that looks like her?" Luna asked for clarification. "Yes, when I was dreaming, I saw Suri Polomare getting her models ready to walk down the runway, well I thought since I was dreaming that I'd have a little revenge; while I was toying with her, I saw my reflection in the mirror and seen it had what Twilight told you," Rarity said as Luna nodded. "I see, so it is true," Luna said, leaving Twilight and Rarity confused. "What is true, Princess Luna?" Twilight asked. Luna then got up from her chair and came up to Rarity and gave her a surprise hug. Rarity embraced the hug, not knowing how to respond as a tear ran down Luna's cheek. "Princess Luna, are you ok, darling?" Rarity asked as they broke the hug. "Yes, it's just good to see you've grown up to be a wonderful mare," Luna replied as Rarity and Twilight looked at her in confusion. "Thank you, Luna," Rarity said as Luna wiped the tear from her eye. "I'm sure you two are confused by my words and actions, so I should explain myself," Luna said. Taking a deep breath as she cleared her thoughts, Luna began to speak. "While you know I created the Tantabus to punish myself for the atrocities I committed as Nightmare Moon, there is more to the story," Luna said as she used a spell to bring Twilight and Rarity into her subconscious. Rarity and Twilight gasped in shock as they saw Nightmare Moon, bound in chains locked inside Luna's mind. Nightmare Moon grinned evilly as she saw Rarity standing before her. "Hello, daughter," she said, her words sending a chill down Rarity's spine. "W-what?" Rarity asked as her heart pounded in her chest. "Oh my, hasn't Luna told you?" Nightmare asked as she looked at Luna. "How could you be so cruel, are you ashamed?" Nightmare taunted as she grinned. "QUIET YOU!" Luna snapped at Nightmare, using her royal Canterlot voice as she pushed Nightmare Moon deeper into her subconscious. "She's still here?" Twilight asked in shock as Luna sighed. "Unfortunately yes, she is a part of me as I am her, everypony has an evil side such as this, we will never be separated, but I can control her," Luna explained as Rarity looked down. "So what did she mean by daughter?" She asked, her heart already knowing the answer. "Rarity, I am your mother," Luna said, causing Rarity's eyes to widen. "But how can this be? I'm about the same age as Twilight and the others, plans I'm not an alicorn," Rarity asked as Luna pulled up a memory. "I know it sounds impossible, but Nightmare Moon had just enough power to escape the moon for a short period of time, during this time she remained hidden in the shadows, she knew we couldn't take on our sister so we just stayed low, she found love in a stallion and together they created life, but with each passing day, Nightmare Moon was losing power, making the heart-wrenching decision, she embedded the last ten percent of her power into her daughter and left her on the doorstep of the couple she thought would raise her right, then when she returned to the moon, she blocked the memories of her time on earth," Luna spoke, Twilight and Rarity hung onto every word that she said as they listened to the story. "But why would Nightmare Moon want Rarity to be raised right, she wanted to plunge Equestria in eternal darkness," Twilight asked. "Because I had control at that point, my emotions were influencing her," Luna replied as she illuminated her horn and brought them out of her subconscious. "So, you're my mother?" Rarity asked, thoughts flooding her mind. "Yes, I am, and I am so sorry that I kept this from you for so long, by the time I was able to return for good, you had already grown up, you made such good friends and formed such strong bonds, that I couldn't bring myself to tell you right away; also, I felt unworthy to claim you as my daughter because of my past," Luna said. "This is a lot to take in, I-I don't know how to feel about this," Rarity replied as Luna nodded. "I know this is a lot to take in, and I don't expect you to accept me as your mother, but I am glad I can get this off my chest," Luna said. "So I'm guessing that monster in my dreams is…" Rarity began to ask. "Yes, it is Nightmare Moon's final reserve of power, it is now part of you and is and will be known as Nightmare Rarity if it were to get out," Luna answered, causing Rarity's heart to drop into her stomach. "How do I stop it?" Rarity asked. Looking back to Twilight, Luna asked if she would leave them for a bit to which Twilight obliged. As Rarity and Luna sat in the throne room, Luna looked at Rarity lovingly. "I'm so proud of you, Rarity," Luna said, causing Rarity to blush. "Thank you, Luna. That means a lot, but I don't think I can call you mom at this point," Rarity replied. Luna smiled and nodded. "That's understandable now to answer your question, there is a way to stop the evil from coming out, but it is both the hardest thing and the easiest thing to do," Luna said as Rarity listened. "What would that be?" Rarity asked. "You have to let go of your envy, your resentment, and thrust for revenge, these things are what caused me to turn into Nightmare Moon," Luna said as she looked into Rarity's eyes. Rarity looked down. "I see, but I don't know if I can," she replied. "I believe you can, and if you are willing to let me, I'll be happy to help you every step of the way, I'll also need to teach you how to properly control your dream walking abilities," Luna spoke, bringing a smile to Rarity's face. "I'll like that, I could use the help," Rarity said as she got up and prepared to return home to Ponyville.
Dream WarriorA few days have passed since Twilight and Rarity visited Luna, Rarity goes about her business as usual, talking to Luna really helped her a lot. As she goes about her day, she ponders on how Luna is going to train her, other than her and Luna, Twilight is the only other pony to know that she is the spawn of Nightmare Moon, she shudders to think about if any of the others found out, especially Sweetie Belle. As night fell, Rarity tucked herself into bed and started to dream. She found herself in an astral plane. Stars shined all around her as she looked out into the openness. "Greetings, Rarity. Are you ready to begin your training?" A voice called out who later revealed themselves to be Luna. Rarity's eyes widened as she bowed, making Luna chuckle. "You do not have to bow, my little pony," Luna said as she used her magic to show the dreams of all the ponies in Equestria. "I know, but it just feels right and yes, I'm ready for my training," Rarity replied as she looked at the floating orbs containing the dreams of all she knew. "Then let's start with the basics, these are the dream spheres, they contain the dreams of all the ponies in Equestria," Luna said as she brought down a sphere. "Take a look, this dream is being dreamt by Twilight, if you listen, you can hear it," Luna said as Rarity leaned in closer. "Oh Flash, your muscles are so strong and your wings are magnificent," Twilight said in the dream as Rarity blushed. "Princess Luna, do I really need to listen in on every dream, this feels like an invasion of privacy?" Rarity asked as Luna bounced the dream back into the floating abyss. "I understand your concern, but yes, you are to keep your eyes and ears out in case a pony is having a nightmare, it is our job as dream walkers to protect and comfort them in their slumber," Luna answered as she brought down Celestia's dream. "Ok, lets see I have to give a speech at the new library opening in Trottingham, and then I have to visit Griffinstone to talk about an alliance between us, oh I hope they listen, past negotiations with griffins haven't always been smooth. Maybe if I take a gift basket," Celestia muttered to herself in the dream. "You see, I know it's an invasion of privacy, but my sister has been stressed about these events for two weeks now, these are duties she has to attend to next month," Luna said as she ignited her horn and placed a stallion in her dream. "Princess Celestia, I'm here for your four o'clock massage," the stallion said as Celestia breathed a sigh of relief. Rarity watched in awe as Celestia laid on a portable massage table and the stallion got to work. "That's amazing Luna, but does it not bug you that you're practically eavesdropping on ponies personal lives?" The alabaster unicorn asked as Luna put her sister's dream back into the air. "It does at times, but I deal with it by knowing I will never use this information as blackmail or gossip," Luna replied as she watched the dreams floating around her. Rarity takes a seat by her and watches the dreams float by. "So how did I get here? I only been in ponies' dreams, I have never been here," Rarity asked as she watched the orbs dance in the open space. "I had to bring you here, that will be next night's lesson, for now I want you to try and monitor dreams tonight," Luna replied. Rarity became slightly nervous as she looked at the vast amount of dreams she had to monitor, taking a deep breath she closed her eyes and listened for any signs of a bad dream. Rarity's ears perked up at the slight sound of a heavy breathing, as soon as she heard it she opened her eyes and located the orb where she heard the sound. Upon closer inspection, Rarity saw that it was Sweetie Bell having a nightmare where she was singing the Equestria national anthem at Manehattan stadium and was having stage fright. Luna looked over Rarity's shoulder to see the dream. "Ah, a stage fright nightmare, I get these often," Luna comments. "How do you tackle these?" Rarity asked, concern and empathy filling her voice as she saw her sister struggling on the field. "These are but a simple fix, sometimes a pony just needs someone close to them to comfort them," Luna replied as Rarity smiled and ignited her horn. In the dream sphere, Rarity appeared beside Sweetie Belle and sang with her, eliminating her fear as the crowd stood in silence as they sang the anthem. As they finished, the crowd cheered as Rarity let loose of the dream and let it float off. "Impressive, making yourself appear in a dream while remaining in the watchroom is quite a difficult task," Luna said as Rarity blushed. "Thank you, Luna. But it was really nothing, I just knew Sweetie would feel more confident with either me or a friend there," Rarity replied as Luna beamed. "You are indeed a fast learner, that's practically all there is to this aspect of your powers, just know the pony and give them something or help out when you can," Luna said as she brought down a dream of Discord's. "Is that Discord's dream?" Rarity asked as she looked into the sphere. "Yes, it is, I always check on it, just in case," Luna replied as she released it. "So you don't alter it?" Rarity asked. "There's no need, it is also unnecessary for Discord can control his dreams as well, he can also enter this realm as well, but him and I have an agreement that he refrains from messing with the dreams too much," Luna answered as the the realm began to shake and tremble. "W-what's happening?" Rarity asked, freaked out by the sudden trembling. "Do not fear, it is just you waking up, we will continue your training later, I must teach you how to retrain the evil in you, until then, fare thee well," Luna said as the dream dissipated and Rarity woke up in her bed.
Facing the NightmareRarity looks around her room as she adjusts to her new reality, despite sleeping well, she feels an overwhelming sense of grogginess, looking at the calendar she sees that it is the weekend and decides to fall back to sleep. Curling up into her blankets, Rarity finds no trouble dozing off. She sleeps for about ten more minutes before waking up again fully rested. Dragging herself out of bed, she goes through her daily routine of sewing dresses and hanging out with her friends. The day flies by so quickly that before she knows it, it's time for bed. The alabaster unicorn prepares for the night ahead, deep in thought as she thinks to herself 'I might try to take on the Nightmare side of me tonight, I don't think she's that powerful yet,' Rarity says to herself. Rarity tucks herself in and drifts off to sleep, she finds herself in the astral plane again, spheres dancing around in open space as she monitors the dreams, once making sure the dreams are sound, Rarity dives deeper into her slumber, beginning to dream herself. As she dreams, she laughs and chuckles to herself as new ideas for dresses dance around her, and adoring customers come to her eager to place orders. Rarity delights in her dream, enjoying the limelight and admiration, until the colors start to fade, and the orders the customers had placed were now stamped with a big red canceled. Thunder claps as Rarity's home blows away and a sinister laugh fills the air as Nightmare Rarity approaches her. Fear creeps into Rarity's mind as she starts to breathe heavily Sinister laughter fills the air as her nightmare form appears in front of her, mane flowing freely as she grins evilly. Rarity's heart races as she looks upon her Nightmare form, a look of determination slowly creeping on her face as she finally shakes off her shock and slowly inches a few feet closer to her Nightmare self. Her evil counterpart stands there looking up at the sky, watching as the dreams dance happily in the air. "Well well well, look who I found, my other personality," Nightmare Rarity says as she returns her attention to Rarity, her voice cold and intimidating, causing Rarity to quiver a bit. "What are you talking about?" Rarity asks, trying to fake bravado. "Oh, you don't know? How precious you are," Nightmare Rarity cooed as she came closer to the terrified pony. "You are my second personality, since Nightmare Moon conceived you through her and embedded you with the last of her reserve power, I am you, the real you," Nightmare Rarity chimed as Rarity's eyes widened. "N-no, it's not true, you're lying," Rarity says while breathing heavily. "Search your feelings, Rarity; you know it to be true," Nightmare Rarity replied. "N-no, you're lying, I am the real Rarity," the alabaster unicorn said, tearing up at the new information swirling through her head. Nightmare Rarity chuckled, seeing this display of denial amuses her. "Rarity, my sweet other personality, it is true, I very much couldn't show myself so soon, so I hid, and created a front so no one would banish me, I'm sure you understand, " Nightmare Rarity said as she started to absorb Rarity into her body Before Rarity could react, she found herself plunged into her worst fears as while being absorbed, disappointed clients were surrounding her house. "The size isn't right," "The dress fell apart in the wash," "The color doesn't suit me," the mob called out as Rarity tried to think of damage control. But before she could address the issues, she found herself standing in the presence of Sapphire Shores. "Rarity, there's no easy way to say this, but you're fired from the position of my fashion designer," Sapphire said, leaving Rarity breathless. "B-but why?" Rarity asked. "New information has come to light that you plagiarise designs and fabrics from Suri Polomare, she came to me and told me how you came to her to ask to borrow some fabric for accents, and in good faith she gave you a whole roll of fabric and you used it for the whole design," Sapphire replied as Suri grinned. "No, that's not true," Rarity protested, only to have Sapphire look even more disappointed. "I can overlook some things, but this I can't, and your lying and denying makes it even worse, you should be ashamed of yourself," Sapphire says as Rarity hides her face. "No, no, It's not true, I didn't copy her, she copied me," Rarity says as Nightmare Rarity hovers above her. "Yes, give into fear and dread, let me take over and you will be more powerful than anypony, you'll be more powerful than the princesses," Nightmare Rarity says as she starts to fully envelop Rarity in her darkness. Before she could fully consume Rarity, a magic blast shot through her causing Nightmare Rarity to bellow in pain as she loses control and starts to lose her grip on Rarity. "Leave her alone," Luna says as she stands over Rarity, horn flaring as she protects her. "Oh, but of course, Your Highness, I should have known mommy would come to the rescue, but come on, let me consume her, let Nightmare Moon consume you, and together, we'll be unstoppable," Luna ignites her horn and stands over Rarity. "Back off," Luna barked as Nightmare Rarity smirked. "Of course, your Highness, but know this, Rarity, mommy won't always be here to rescue you, I will get free, mark my words," Nightmare Rarity said as she teleported away. Rarity shivers in fear as Luna sits down beside her and caresses her mane. "There there, Rarity, it's alright," Luna said as Rarity started to hyperventilate. Luna looks up at the dreams floating around as Rarity tries to calm down. As soon as Rarity calmed down she stood up, still shaken. "T-thank you for saving me, but is it true, am I really just a second personality for the nightmare form?" Rarity asks. Luna sighs as she strokes Rarity's mane. "The only one that can truly answer that is you, dear," Luna says as she tries to comfort Rarity. "Please, if you want to be my mother then tell me, am I just a second personality, don't give me the dime store answer, please just step up and be a mother," Rarity snapped back, anger and fear riding her voice as she tears up. "I am, and I'm sorry, I can't tell you, I believe you are the primary personality, but I am not the one that needs to believe it, you do," Luna replied, remaining calm even though Rarity's words stung. "I-I'm not sure I do," Rarity says as she starts to shake, her breathing speeding up as she enters the fetal position. Luna gently strokes her head as she tries to calm down Rarity. "Shhhhh, it's alright, just breathe," Luna coos as Rarity lays her head down in her lap. Luna and Rarity sit there in silence as Luna takes over dream surveillance, she watches as the dreams float around them. Luna looks at Rarity who has fallen asleep. Luna smiled at Rarity who had finally calmed down, but feared she would still be worried. Luna looked back up and smiled again. Among the dreams an orb came floating down, Luna peered inside and saw a memory of her, she was in the fetal position, crying and shaking as she rocked back and forth. 'Who am I, am I really a personality?' She called out as she winched in fear. She watched as Celestia came in and comforted her, wrapping her wing around her as she booped her nose to hers. A tear flows down Luna's face as she listens to her sister's kind words. The memory floats back up as Rarity wakes up. "Hmmm what was that, a nightmare that needs fixing?" Rarity asks. "No, it was a good memory," Luna replied as she wiped a tear from her eye. "What was it?" Rarity asks as Luna smiles. "I'll tell you about when you wake, you should get more sleep, I'll take care of the dream realm," Luna said as she ignited her horn and touched Rarity's forehead. As soon as Luna touched her forehead, Rarity found herself in a black void, she felt an overwhelming sense of calmness and safety as she fell asleep in her dream.
Dream ScienceRarity wakes up the next morning with the gentle rays of the sun hitting her face. As she sits up in bed she lets out a waking yawn as she stretches her legs before hopping out of bed. Rarity quickly takes a shower, cleaning her luscious mane as she thinks to herself about the events of her dream. With a contented sigh, the alabaster pony turns off the water and steps out of the shower. She goes about her normal routine of making breakfast and sending Sweetie Belle off to school. After sending her sister on her way, Rarity heads out herself, but instead of getting to work, she heads to Twilight's castle, hoping Twilight could offer some insight. After arriving at the castle, Rarity lets herself in and finds Twilight nose-deep in a book. Rarity smiles to herself as she enters, careful not to startle her, "interesting literature, I presume?" Rarity asks. Twilight looks up, shaking her head a bit to snap out of her trance. "Oh, hi, Rarity. Yeah, I was just reading up on sleep studies, you know, sleep paralysis, lucid dreams, some metaphysical aspects of sleep, etcetera, etcetera," Twilight answers as she bookmarks her place to talk to Rarity. "Metaphysical aspects?" Rarity patted, tilting her head in confusion. "Yes, metaphysical aspects, why do you seem confused?" Twilight asked. "It's just, I never fathomed that you would look into that sort of thing, after all, you do prefer science and evidence over all else," Rarity said, making Twilight blush. "Well, ever since that incident with the poison joke and me trying to figure out Pinkie Sense, I decided to dabble in the metaphysical sciences a bit," Twilight said as she sat on the couch she keeps in the library, offering a seat to Rarity. "That's nice, and did you find anything interesting?" Rarity asks as she takes the seat next to Twilight. "Nothing too new, just how some ponies use dream catchers hoping to ward off nightmares and how some sleep with lavender close by," Twilight replied as Rarity listened. "I see, though we could ask Luna if any of that works," Rarity said. "Yeah, I did think about that, but with the situation going on I don't want to take up too much of her time," Twilight said. "I know what you mean, I actually came to ask you some questions about that," Rarity said, her ears drooping to the side. "You're thinking that we should ask Luna for help, right?" Twilight asked. "Well, that and I was wondering, what do you think I should do, should I call her mom, or should I continue to call her Luna?" Rarity asks, uncertainty and confusion filling her voice. Twilight sighed as she looked down before answering. "We should ask her for help, but only you can make the call on whether you call her mom or not," The purple alicorn answered with Rarity nodding. "I know, it's just, I always thought Cookie Crumbles was my mother, and now I find out Luna is my mother, not only that, I'm practically a vessel for Nightmare," Rarity said. Twilight places a hoof on Rarity. "I know, it's a hard pill to swallow and I can't possibly know the feeling, but I know you, you are much more than a vessel, in my eyes you're not a vessel, you're my friend, and your own pony," Hearing this brought a smile to Rarity's face, she used her hoof to wipe a tear from her eye. "Thanks, Twilight," Rarity said as she fell silent. After what felt like an hour, Rarity got up from the couch. "We should go see Luna, I still haven't decided on how to address her now, but I still have questions, I also need her help in defeating this nightmare version of me," Rarity said as Twilight nodded. "I couldn't agree more, we must put the safety of Equestria before our personal feelings," Twilight replied as she got off the couch and stood next to Rarity. Igniting her horn, Twilight closed her eyes and teleported them both to Canterlot Castle. With a flash of light Twilight and Rarity appeared in front of the throne of Princess Celestia and Princess Luna. "Thanks for the help getting here, Twilight," Rarity said as Twilight nodded. Princess Luna then came into the throne room. "Ah, Rarity, I was expecting you to show up," the princess said as she trotted to her chair. "I assume you came here to talk more about your situation?" Luna asked as she hovered a tray of tea and some guest chairs over to her. "I have, I need your help in understanding how you use your….. no, our powers," Rarity said as Luna nodded. "I see, I will help you, it is for the sake of Equestria," Luna said as she got up.
Unbreakable Ties"Alright, let's get this training underway," Luna said as she brought Rarity into the dream realm. Rarity gasps at how easily Luna can drag her into the ether, looking around as dreams dance around her. "Wait, it's morning so how is the dream realm filled with dreams?" Rarity asks as Luna smiles. Sweet Rarity, the dream realm is always filled with dreams, daydreams, pipe dreams, night dreams, and many other types of dreams, but that is not why we're here," Luna replied as she used her ties to dark magic to summon a Nightmare Moon clone. "We are here to train you, your battle is both physical and mental, so you must train here," Luna says as she walks behind Rarity. "What do you want me to do?" Rarity asked as she looked at her Nightmare clone, fear entering her mind. "Use your magic to attack, but I can already tell that something is holding you back," Luna said as she sat down next to Rarity. "How?" Rarity asked, confused and a little angry that Luna would assume that. "Because you moved back slightly, also because it's my job to read ponies, dreams are windows to the desires and fears of ponies' hearts and I can tell you have a lot of unanswered questions, and I know somepony or in this case ponies that can help," Luna said as she brought them out of the dream realm. "Who?" Rarity asked. "You're parents, I feel you need closure between them before you face the nightmare in you," Luna replied as Rarity looked down. "W-would you come with me?" Rarity asked. "Of course, after all, I do need to confess to them and thank them," Luna said, causing Rarity to look puzzled at her. "Thank them, but why?" Rarity asked. Luna smiled and caressed Rarity's cheek with her hoof. "I'm sure you might already have an inkling," Luna said as she teleported them to the home of Hondo Flanks and Cookie Crumbles. Rarity looked at the house, and a wave of emotion washed over her as she took a heavy breath. "I'm nervous," Rarity said as she tried to take a step forward. Luna smiled. "It's normal you would feel that way, your whole world just came crashing down when you found out the truth so I don't blame you for feeling nervous, I am as well," Luna admitted as she wrapped a wing around Rarity. Rarity smiled as she and Luna approached the house and knocked on the door. A few seconds passed before the door swung open and standing there was Hondo Flanks. "Ah, what a surprise, how are you doing, Rarity?" Hondo asks as he notices Luna. "And might I say what a pleasure it is to be visited by you, Princess Luna," Hondo added as he kissed Luna's hoof. "Don't forget you're married dear," Cookie Crumbles says from behind, witnessing her husband's actions. Hondo turned around and blushed. "Right, dear," he said as he cleared his throat. The display made Rarity giggle as her parents invited them in. "So what brings you here, Rarity?" Cookie Crumbles asks as she sets out refreshments for their guests. Rarity fidgets in her chair, unsure on how to break the ice on such a sensitive subject. "Well, it has come to my attention that…." Rarity stops mid-sentence trying to think of the right word. Cookie Crumbles sits next to her husband and looks at Rarity. "I think I know what this is about," she says looking at Rarity, holding her hoof in hers. "You do?" Rarity asked. "Yes, a mother knows these things, I don't know how you found out, but you did so you deserve to know the truth," Cookie Crumbles said as Hondo wrapped his foreleg around her. "We always wanted to tell you when you were older, but with your businesses booming and how close you and Sweetie Belle had gotten, it got harder to find the right time," Hondo explained as he hugged his wife. Taking a deep breath, Cookie Crumbles steels herself to tell Rarity everything. "When we found you, we had been trying to conceive with little success, the night that you showed up on our doorstep, we had just found out that your father had a low sperm count, and the doctor had advised us to limit our activities in an effort to get it up, along with other sacrifices," Cookie said, Hondo embracing her all the way. "While we were discussing game plans and how we could spice things up, we heard a knock on our door. We weren't expecting company at the time so it really threw us off guard. When we went to check who it was, that's when we found you, you were wrapped in a black blanket and in a basket," Cookie continued as she took a sip of tea. Rarity listened wholeheartedly as her mom explained things. "So that's how you found me?" Rarity asked. "That's right, we had felt like our prayers had been answered, attached to you was a note that read 'Dear, strangers, this is my little one, I am unable to take care of her so I will be grateful if you would raise her right.' We didn't know what to make of the note, but we welcomed you into our house with open hooves," Hondo said as he helped Cookie tell the story. "I see, that does explain why I felt different, even though our coats and mane match," Rarity said as she took in the information. Cookie chuckles to herself causing Rarity to look at her. "What's so funny?" Rarity asks. "Just a memory dear, when you were younger you had incredible magic, you were levitating things before the age of two, you even had an imaginary friend, what was her name?" Cookie said as she tried to recall. "Her name was Nira, dear," Hondo said, causing Rarity's breath to hitch. "Yes, that's right, after a while you stopped talking about her, but that's life; the only thing that pretty much stayed constant was that you loved staring at the moon," Cookie said as she finished her story. A moment of silence passed before Cookie spoke up again. "When you were older we tried looking for your birth parents, but to no avail, we just hope whoever placed you on our doorstep gets to see what a lovely mare you turned out to be," Cookie said as she caressed Rarity's chin. Rarity and Luna tear up a bit as she says this, Rarity is unsure how to proceed but takes a deep breath. "Thanks, Mom, that's actually why I'm here, I found my birth mother, but I don't feel right calling her mom because it feels like I'll be replacing you," Rarity confessed with tears in her eyes. Cookie smiled and wiped the tears from Rarity's eyes. "Oh, darling, you don't have to worry about that, we're glad you found your birth mother, and you won't be replacing us, it just means you have more family," Cookie says as she brings Rarity's eye to meet her's. "The choice is yours, but if you do call your birth mother mom, it won't hurt me, I'll always be your mother and now you have two," Cookie assures Rarity. Rarity throws her forelegs around her mom, thanking her for talking with her. Cookie embraces the hug, bringing Rarity in close. After a moment, the two unicorns break the hug. "So when do we get to meet her?" Cookie Crumbles asks. "You just have," Luna chimes in. Cookie and Hondo stare in surprise. "You?" Cookie asks. Luna nods. "Yes, you two have done a wonderful job in raising our daughter, I can't thank you enough," Luna said smiling. "But wait, you were in the moon when Rarity was young, how can that be?" Hondo asks. "I know it sounds unbelievable, but Nightmare Moon was able to escape for a short time, she came to earth, but was unable to do anything while lying low she found love, when she gave birth her time here was almost at an end, so using the last bit of her magic, she embedded some of her power into Rarity, somehow I was able to seize control and made her give her up to a loving family," Luna explained. "I see, that explains the immense magic and the moon staring," Cookie said. "But the situation is dire, Rarity's nightmare side is now emerging, and I fear that it will be most difficult to contain her now, I just thought it emerged, but it seems she was at work to gain Rarity's trust, her imaginary friend Nira, is in fact her nightmare form," Luna said as Rarity's parents gasp. "Don't worry, Mom and Dad I'll stop her," Rarity said with confidence as she turned to Luna. "I'm ready, mom. I want you to teach me all that you know about defeating my nightmare self," Rarity said, a look of determination in her eyes.
