Coming To Terms With The Monster Within

Chapters

The Nightmare
The Memory
The Ruined Painting
The Oral Apology
The Dreamy Nightmare
The Ritual
The Dénouement
The Bubble Bath

The Nightmare

“Another night spent alone in the royal library…” The depressive sigh following her absentminded comment echoed down the empty corridors of Canterlot castle, disturbing nopony. Everypony was asleep, leaving the nocturnal princess of the night virtually alone, the only exception would be the occasional bump in with one of her few night guards. They would always greet her with a polite bow or a curt nod and then continue on their lonely patrol shift. By now the princess had taken off the traditional royal regalia in an attempt to relax, ridding herself of the cumbersome metallic ornaments. They were more like objects of pointless, nullified vanity than anything else. The princess has no reason to doubt her abilities, but she needed to look powerful and regal for her country. At least that’s what she told herself.

Princess Luna breathed a deep, content sigh, filling her lungs with dusty, book-scented air as she arrived in the library. The door slammed loudly behind her with a magical push, stirring absolutely nopony in the castle. Of this Luna was certain. She used her magic to gather a large stack of books as she slowly walked past the many tome-laden shelves, making her way to the farthest end of the library where she sat down on a rather uncomfortable wooden chair. A cloud of dust shot forth from the ancient tome when she opened the cover, which hit the table with a resounding boom. Lune choked briefly before using her magic to disperse the bothersome dust and, as she had been doing for almost every night since she’d ‘returned’, proceeded to dig her nose into the century old volume’s brittle binding. After all, she did have one thousand years of reading to catch up on.

The azure aura of her magic gently pulled down at the top corner of the page, being careful not to rip the fragile paper. Her aqua rimmed eyes quickly scanned through the page and in a matter of seconds her horn lit up again. The page obeyed her influential glow, moving to the left side of the binding. The process repeated the process hundreds of times as she read through the volume with impressive speed that put her sister’s protégé, a rather bookish lavender-purple unicorn, to great shame. “One down... thirty-five thousand seven-hundred ninety-seven to go.” Luna recited upon closing the heavy cover of the ancient tome and moving it to the far side of the table.

Through the stained glass window above her depicting something the princess couldn’t quite discern, Luna could see her Moon high in the sky as it casted down a bright glow onto the cover of a book that hadn’t been opened in at least a couple centuries by the alicorn’s rough estimate. She smiled up at her pride and joy high in the sky, and then frowned as the pained memories returned once again. The princess of the night would’ve given anything and everything to change the past and her actions, but alas, even an alicorn of her magical abilities could not alter history. Luna knew that if she were to somehow be able to change the events of the past, she would have inadvertently created an alternate timeline – one that stringed off from the actual one she was born and lived in.

If she were to alter history, she would be destroying countless lives to her selfish benefit. If she hadn’t caved into Nightmare Moon, many ponies would’ve still been alive, and many ponies wouldn’t have been born nor died as a result. She would not be killing them, but rather un-creating, and she believed everything is entitled to the gift of life, no matter how miserable it is to struggle through sometimes. Had Luna not been changed into Nightmare Moon, her sister wouldn’t have learnt her lesson. Luna’s, or rather Nightmare Moon’s, stay on the Moon did not only affect her, but their sister greatly. Celestia was shoved to the brink of insanity without her sister, having attempted suicide three times and grown into a madly addicted alcoholic in a matter of a few short years.

Princess Celestia had largely ignored her sister, and taken virtually all of the duties of the diarchy on herself, not allowing her sister to be a princess nor asking her opinions on laws and the likes, causing Luna to grow bitter and depressive without a sister to, at the very least, speak with. This was not entirely Celestia’s fault, as her schedule was rather hectic, or so she had said many, many times when asked by her sister to do something together. Luna knew she had simply been busy, and, like a good sister, listened to Celestia’s advice and made some new friends – literally. Princess Luna stayed in the darkness of her room for all sixteen hours of her sister’s day, experimenting with various means of creating imaginary friends. The princess of the night eventually discovering an ancient process made and perfected by the Tibhaytan monks of the eastern lands. Such a process allowed her to create Nightmare Moon, who was simply known as ‘Moony’ at the time.

Luna soon began finding great pleasure in raising the Moon, watching her sister’s Sun set, and shrouding the land in her refreshing darkness, claiming it all for her own. It made her feel powerful, something she had been deprived of as a sisterless, powerless princess. Moony too felt this power, and she loved it. When Celestia’s Sun set, Moony would appear, and when it rose, she would disappear until the next time when nighttime reigned, leaving Luna alone, tormented, having been granted a taste of what it was like to actually have a sister, then it being stolen from her at the beginning of every day.

Celestia slowly slipped into insanity thereafter, having not noticing the signs of her sister’s own descent into madness, and she blamed herself for every second of the one thousand years her sister had to endure on the Moon. Eventually the alcoholism had passed, as had the suicidal thoughts, though the sadness was still there, powerful as ever, and it remained for the entirety of her sister’s departure.

The dream guardian looked down at her trembling hooves. Powerless. Weak. Disgusting. All words that came to her mind. Her skull slammed against the table. A loud, exasperated groan following.

“I know I was born and I know that I'll die. The in between is mine. I am mine.” Luna had always liked that quote, or rather song lyric, though she couldn’t quite recall the name of the stallion that had said it, nor was she certain that she would die, but she was fond of it regardless. The beginning of the ‘in between’, her life, was where the princess had problems. She always felt a stab of mental pain every time Celestia mentioned their parents or foalhood – and Celestia would apologize profusely after every incident.

The cobalt mare couldn’t remember her parents or much of her younger years as a side effect of the Elements of Harmony coursing through her mind and attempting to cleanse it of all evil, or at least what the Elements deemed to be so. That was precisely why, when she returned to Equestria, she had attempted to continue where she left off in shrouding the land in eternal darkness. Whilst on the Moon, Luna knew nopony other than Nightmare Moon, who she was largely unaware of, and Celestia, who she abhorred. Princess Luna was merely a consciousness inside of Nightmare Moon, unaware of the world around her and what led to her seemingly eternal damnation. Slowly, over time, she and Nightmare Moon eventually merged into one being again, empowering her with a body and sentience as she and Nightmare Moon bided their time, plotting their revenge, running through a myriad of scenarios. Failure was not an option, however Nightmare Moon and Luna did not expect the Elements of Harmony to be recovered nor bound to six ponies that wielded them with such finesse.

The gems couldn’t differentiate between good and evil very well, and thus had removed a large chunk of her memories. Upon hearing Celestia’s voice for the first time in a millennia, Luna’s mind raced and began rapidly piecing together the lost memories like a foal trying to get a just-barely-passing-grade on a school project at the very last minute by using lots of scotch tape and glue. The memories were there, but they were still in pieces, or just put back together wrong, as Luna had tried to explain to Celestia many times. Some were buried in the back of her mind where they were near impossible to reach, but every once in a blue Moon she was able to get her proverbial hooves on a piece of the mental treasure.

The one thing that Luna was in control of – that she had power over – her Moon, carried with it the crippling memory of her mistake, still fresh in her mind after one thousand years. Tears began flowing from Luna’s bright cerulean eyes, each one landing on the worn table with a quiet tap. A sob escaped her lips against her will, echoing in the large room as if to spite her. Her dark azure hooves slammed into the table under her, leaving a crack in the wood, a testament of her self-loathing. Why was I so stupid? The thought crippled her into a sobbing mass of pure emotion; a useless and forgotten princess left alone to cry on a table in the corner of a desolate library. This was the first time since her so-called return that Luna allowed herself to cry – to show weakness, or at least in her own mind’s eye it was weakness. It felt amazing. As if the weight of the world had been lifted off her shoulders. Luna cried until she had no more tears, and then she cried some more, emptying herself of the built up dam of emotion.

The sounds of the large wooden door behind her creaking open made Luna’s pupils shrink to tiny pinpricks in fear. Luna ran her hoof through her disheveled mane, trying her best to look somewhat presentable for the mystery guest. She was still a princess, after all. Might as well try to look like one, even while otherwise... preoccupied. When the guest was revealed to be one of her few guards Luna breathed a deep sigh of relief. The Dark Guards were all used to seeing Princess Luna at both times of joy, and sorrow. In fact, they were usually the only ones there to console her. The cerulean-eyed mare was always glad to have them as company, no matter her emotional state. To the untrained eye they all looked identical, though Luna was skilled at differentiating each and every single one of her eighty-eight loyal stallions. “Yes, Orion? H- how goes your night?”

The colt’s dark armor clicked through the darkness of the library with each step he took. “Orion, why have you come?” He said nary a word, just continued walking towards his princess. “Orion, do not make me repeat myself.”

clip, clink, clop, clank, clip, clink, clop…

With every step that he took, a piece of his armor fell to the ground with a resounding clang that echoed through the darkness. Luna watched in confused silence as the colt advanced towards her. By the time he was a mere few feet away from the princess of the night, he was completely bare of his cumbersome armor. His dark coat seemed to radiate heat and energy; Luna could practically feel his powerful warmth in the air. She looked deep into his chrome eyes, squinting in confusion, though they weren’t chrome as she remembered – they were an aqua-rimmed color similar to that of her own. He blinked and his iris shrank into familiar, belligerent, cat-like slits. Luna knew those eyes all too well – she had spent countless hours creating them in her mind; she didn’t think that she would ever see them again.

“How?” The smile underneath his muzzle brandished two large and sharp menacing fangs. In an explosion of indigo smoke the guard was no more and in his place stood the large, jet-black pony of Luna’s nightmares, albeit somewhat less intimidating without her legendary armor. “Why have you come? I do not ever want to see you ever again, you – you monster!” Luna spoke with powerful authority, shaking the walls of the room with her rarely used yet highly renowned magic imbued shouting. Such a honed scream would cripple lesser ponies, though the mare in front of Luna was far from the run-of-the-mill workhorse. The sound of bookshelves falling like dominoes shook the entire floor, adding impact to her powerful words.

“This is the kind of welcome I get? I would’ve thought that I’d have received a warmer greeting, Princess….” Nightmare Moon sang out in an intoxicating tone, her words laced with venom. “Hmm… one thousand years later, and they still hate you. You know, with my help –”

“I do not want your help, I care not what they think of me!” Luna retorted.

“Foalish as ever, Luna. Have you forgotten that I know when you’re lying? Just as you were me, I am you. Our minds are different detachments, yet we share the same body. You just don’t want to admit it to yourself. This body is rightfully mine, and it shall be mine again!” Nightmare said to Luna telepathically.

“No!” A magnificent ray of power shot forth from Luna’s horn, striking into the chest of the mare that once was little more than her imaginary friend. The beam struck with a blinding flash, causing Nightmare Moon to cringe at the steaming pink wound as she stumbled backwards to keep her balance. Luna fell to the cold floor with newfound pain pulsing inwards like many molten daggers stabbing into her flesh.

“Is that proof enough for you, Luna? You can not get rid of me so easily!”

“You are not real, not any more! Go away!” Another ray, this one more powerful than the last, grazed off of Nightmare’s forearm. The dark coat that had been there seconds prior was burned off to expose a pulsing expanse of pink skin and charred fur. “Nnngh…” Luna bit down hard her lip in excruciating pain, drawing the bitter metallic taste of blood to her tongue.

“You really should stop hurting yourself, Luna.” A maniacal cackle followed as Nightmare laughed at her own sick joke, poking at the princess’ long forgotten, millennia old habit of self-harming. The next beam of magic missed as it pierced through the blue sparkling cloud of magical energy. “Just as much as I know you love hurting yourself, I can not allow my body to be injured any further.”

“This is my body and I am in control of it now. You were created in a moment of weakness. You do not own me – you never did and you never shall!” The miasmatic cloud that was Nightmare Moon floated mere inches away from Luna, silently taunting her. Luna closed her eyes and began reciting, “You are not real.”

Nightmare’s hooves clicked against the tiled floor as the cloud of stars dispersed and her form solidified. “Oh, but I am just as real as that pain in your chest, my dear.” She pressed her hoof against the steaming wound on her chest to emphasize her statement, eliciting a screech of pain from the smaller mare. Nightmare ignored the stabbing sensation radiating from her own chest as best as she could while she used her dark indigo aura to enshroud Luna’s being, effectively paralyzing her.

“Keep your filthy hooves away from me, you fiend!” Luna spat out the word, emphasizing it with the powerful punch of magic.

“Fiend? That isn’t a very nice thing to call an old friend, Luna. I am just taking back what is rightfully mine.” Nightmare closed her eyes and arched her neck down, placing her horn against the tip of Luna’s own. The princess’ vision filled with a blinding white, and then the deafening silence of darkness embraced her.

...

Am… am I dead? Luna tried to open her eyes, but immediately shut them when she felt the sting of frigid air stab into her retinas. Her lungs burned for oxygen as they sent frantic electrical impulses to her brain. When she sucked in a desperate breath, relief flowed over her in the form of a shiver and sigh. I’m alive? The faded ink text on the brittle paper crinkled underneath her head as she used her magic to pull the book from her face. She rubbed her cheek with a hoof; her brow furrowed at the feeling of something sticky smearing across her face. When she looked down at it, there was a combination of drool, tears, and dark ink marked across the flat of her hoof.

A long exasperated groan followed as Luna confirmed that what she had experienced was little more than a nightmare. The nocturnal alicorn attempted to teleport back to her room to wash up the inky mess only to find that she couldn’t muster up enough energy. She reluctantly began shuffling back to her room, taking her time as a headache began to pound away at her temples and behind her eye. Luna cringed as the door slammed shut behind her, further infuriating the angry migraine behind her left eye. The thought of prying her eye out of its socket to rid her of the crippling pain passed just as quickly as it arrived.

The pony in the mirror looked like it once was the princess known as ‘Luna’, but no longer was. Dark bags underneath her large, bloodshot and veiny eyes taunted her as they contracted and shifted about in the bathroom’s blinding bright light. Her normally long, soft, and somewhat coiffed mane was disheveled – completely covered in split ends that stuck to her sweaty face. She had always envied Celestia’s gorgeous mane: the way it flowed as if it had a life of its own, it was only another thing to envy of her seemingly flawless sibling. Luna pushed that thought aside. There was no room in her heart for resentment. Not any more.

“You are a mess, Luna.” Cold water from the faucet aided in making Luna look more true to her title as princess of the night, yet the water did nothing for the horrible visions of her nightmare, which still played out and repeated over and over again in her mind. Her horn sparked and sputtered in strained effort as she tried to use her magic to grasp a brush resting on the side of the sink. “Reduced to using your hooves for menial tasks,“ she said to herself while brushing through her mane. “Celestia mustn’t know.”

A soft chortle came from the mirror as Luna said those words. The azure mare looked up at the blurry, mocking face of Nightmare Moon laughing at her with an enormous toothy smile, all the while glaring down with malevolent eyes. “No!” Without a thought, Luna’s hoof collided into the mirror, sending sharp pieces of bloodied glass into the ceramic sink. She screeched and clutched her hoof in pain, sinking into a ball on the cold tiled floor. Luna took a deep breath as she felt tears leak out the corner of her eye in response to the pain. “It’s all in your head. She isn’t real any more.” She said, repeating the words as the countless psychiatrists had instructed her to do.

After painstakingly patching up the few lacerations on her hoof with a large bandage and cleaning up the small mess of sanguine liquid as best she could without ample magic, Luna picked up the brush from the floor and placed it back on the side of the sink, giving up her endeavor to style her mane, leaving it looking disheveled as ever. The cobalt alicorn turned the light off and debated returning to the library but decided against it when she saw the Sun trying to peak over the horizon through the thick, black curtains of her balcony. Her hooves clopped against the balcony as her horn ignited to life, spitting out sparks of indigo magic and humming softly. Her aqua rimmed eyes closed shut in deep focus as her wings unfurled and she began flying upwards into the orange and purple morning sky.

Luna took a deep breath and gritted her teeth while exerting all her energy in focus onto her Moon, all the while grunting in strain. In a matter of seconds she fell from the sky to the balcony with a loud ‘”Oof”, collapsing into a mass of feathers, tears and pain. Her sister’s Sun was now low in the sky; Luna’s Moon was nowhere to be seen across the bright expanse.

The sound of a teleportation spell and then somepony galloping down the halls alerted Luna as her ears twitched in response to the cacophony of noise, reigniting the painful headache behind her eye, which had been ignored and was beginning to fade. She forced herself to stand and closed the balcony door and the curtains to rid her room of the bothersome light. Being used to the darkness, her eyes were extremely sensitive to any kind of brightness, especially her sister’s blinding Sun. The large door slammed open, revealing a very panicked looking Celestia. “Luna, are you okay? I sensed a huge fluctuation in your magic and I -”

“I am fine, a bit tired though. All of this noise isn’t helping with my headache either, so if you would, please try to be quieter. I would be very thankful.” Luna wore a fake grin, one she put on to hide the blatant lie she had just told her sister. “You know, I was just about to go to sleep, so could you, you know, leave? Please?” The bandage on her hoof unraveled as she motioned towards the door, exposing the two deep gouges and various surrounding cuts around the tender, fleshy bottom of her hoof.

“Luna, for pony’s sake, I just had to lower the Moon for you. What is the ma- your hoof! What did you do?” Celestia’s brow creased with concern as her golden magic shrouded her sister’s fetlock in a healing glow. In mere seconds the gashes had healed and there was no visible sign of any injury. Such is the luxury of having what is tantamount to a demi-goddess for a sister.

Luna looked down at her hoof in amazement. Since the two sisters were but little fillies, Celestia had always been naturally well trained in healing magic, and she was always there to heal every bruise, or boo-boo, and give a kiss to make it better. Luna, however, could still not recall that. Noctem, their father, and Diem, their mother, would remain forgotten. “There was a, uhm, spider – yes, a spider – on the mirror in the bathroom.” Her forced smile was beginning to show, yet Celestia simply nodded in feigned acknowledgement. The look in her eyes said it all: she was scared. The larger alicorn’s golden hoofshoes softly clicked against the rugged floor as she walked towards her little sister.

“And you didn’t use your magic to put a sphere around it and bring it outside? I thought you didn’t kill anything. ’Everything is entitled to life.’” Celestia recited from memory of having Luna scold her after killing an annoying fly or accidentally stepping on an ant. Luna was always careful not to kill anything, going out of her way to conserve any and all forms of life. “That’s your adage, correct? Luna, what is going on? You’re not acting like yourself. I want you to know that you can tell me anything. You’re my little sister, and I care about you more than anything in the world.” She finished the statement with a kiss on the forehead to prove her point.

Luna’s hooves covered her face as she mumbled, “Nightmare.”

“What?” Celestia’s eyes widened as her heart beat rapidly in her throat. Please, whoever is listening… She mentally said a prayer.

“Nightmare Moon. I – I think she is trying to return.” A moment of silent, excruciating tension followed as the princess of the Sun tried to get a grasp on what her sister had just said.

Celestia felt her eye twitch. “No. No! We did everything, we took every precaution, performed every remedy… this… THIS CAN NOT BE HAPPENING!” Tears soaked the alabaster coat underneath Celestia’s wise, amethyst eyes as she wrapped her hooves around her little sister for what very well could’ve been the last time.

In between her sister’s sobs, Luna said, “I’m so sorry, ‘Tia. I couldn’t do anything about it.”

The door slammed open, making Luna cringe underneath her sister. “Is everything alright, Princess? I heard some shouting and -” A shaken Dark Guard said, momentarily shocked at the sight of Celestia in her sister’s quarters.

“No. Nothing is alright any more.” Celestia said in a whimper while brushing through Luna’s bright silky mane. She didn’t care. Her royal façade fell as she ordered, “Step outside and shut the door. Now!” The Dark Guard looked to Luna, who slowly nodded beneath her sister’s crippling weight. The stallion did so, closing the door to leave the princesses alone.

…

“ ’Tia, please! Don’t you think that this is a bit extreme?”

“No!” Celestia snapped back. “We can not put Equestria at risk. I’m sorry, Luna.”

“I – I understand, sister,” Luna’s head sunk down, the sunlight piercing through the crack in between the black curtains glinted off of the red gem in the center of the metal clasp around her horn. “But, uhm, could you loosen it a bit? It’s really tight.”

“I suppose a little.” Celestia focused her magic on the microscopic parts of the device, skillfully weaving her golden magic through it until the anti-magic restraint around her sister’s horn loosened slightly. “Is that better?” Luna nodded.

“How long will I be like this, stuck in my room without magic?”

“A couple of days, just as a prophylactic measure. We don’t know if this is anything more than a nightmare, uh, not the mare. You know what I mean. Meanwhile, I will contract the doctors, and everypony else whom I personally trust to work on a cure, for lack of a better word.” She brought her hoof over to Luna’s cheek. “Is there anything you need before I leave?”

“Something to keep me busy… books! Lots of them. There is a stack of volumes in the library on one of the tables in the far corner near the east side. Please bring them to me. There is also a short list somewhere on my desk, if you could also get those while you’re there. Thank you, my sister.” Luna pointed to the wooden desk in the corner of her room. Next to it was a sizeable easel made with the finest wood in Equestria, and an impressive assortment of paintbrushes of varying sizes, complete with many tubes of different colored paints. Painting had always been one of Luna’s hobbies. Aside from crafting the largely ignored, breathtaking night sky, it was among the very short list of things she cared about. She had picked up the hobby as a suggestion from one of her many psychiatrists.

Celestia telekinetically lifted up the piece of paper, inspecting the so-called ‘short’ list. There were at least twenty books! “Uhm… got it. Anything else?” Luna took a second to think, and then shook her head. “I’m really sorry about this. I hope you understand, but we just can’t risk it. Nightmare Moon… she is not one to be crossed. You know that more than I do, Luna. If you need me, for whatever reason, do not hesitate to send a scroll through your fireplace. It will take no more than five seconds for me to receive it and teleport here.” Celestia silently prayed that it wouldn’t come to that.

“I love you, ‘Tia.”

“I love you too, Luna. I’ll see you in a few days.”

Celestia closed the door behind her and locked it, then breathed a few incantations to enchant it for durability, as well as a powerful anti-magic field around the entirety of Luna’s chambers. The alabaster princess would be able to use her magic in the vicinity, but anypony else would have extreme difficulties and probably pass out from overexertion if they tried to overpower it. Celestia heard the sound of Luna’s depressive sigh and fought against her urge to open the door and hug her. Even though Luna was only a few years younger than she was - in alicorn terms - Celestia still caught herself thinking of Luna as her baby sister occasionally.

Opting to get the books herself as opposed to handing the list to one of the many guards who would jump at the opportunity for a break from the tedious patrol duty, Celestia slowly trotted down the crowded halls of the castle and in mere minutes arrived in the library. Luna's room was rather close to the library, as were her demands when the new castle was constructed many millennia ago. It took her quite a while, almost an entire hour to the dismay of her tight schedule, but the solar princess had finally managed to find all but four of the books on Luna’s list. Celestia took a moment to envision her sister’s room and sent the books on their way with a teleportation spell.

It was a lonely walk back to the throne room, and an even lonelier day afterwards. With the thought of possibly losing her sister again, Celestia found it difficult to focus on her duties, though she managed to drudge through another boring day. Dealing with current affairs and listening to the snooty Canterlot ponies whine about everything and anything wasn’t exactly her idea of fun, but it was her job nonetheless and somepony had to do it.

By the time she retired to her chambers for the night, Celestia had nearly forgotten to raise the Moon. She had already gotten used to Luna doing it with having her back home for nearly an entire year. After raising the Moon, Celestia left the night sky barren and without stars, for she lacked the necessary ambition and patience to do anything to the empty canvas which had been laid out before her tired, immortal eyes. It had been a very long day. Luna was always naturally better at it, anyways. Best to let her sister keep her reputation rather than ruining it by botching her glorious sky.

The Memory

Luna fell asleep the instant Celestia had left her room; she was exhausted after the entire ordeal. The azure mare was laying on her comfortable bed, caught up in a pleasant lucid dream, a skill which she had mastered many millenia ago, when the subtle swoosh of a teleportation spell roused her awake. As expected, it was the books she had asked her sister to get for her. On top of the stack was a slice of cake, a small fork, and a folded note that read:

“Dearest sister, I know you and I are both on our so-called ‘Royal Diet’, however I believe a little bit of indulgence is necessary in our hectic lives – especially now.

~ Love, Celestia”

The cake was amazing! Truly one of a kind! I must get the recipe from the royal cooks, Luna thought while comically rubbing her belly with a hoof. Unable to fall back asleep, she decided to get some reading done. In all, Celestia had acquired thirteen books, all of which were from a wide range of subjects, varying from what was now considered ancient Equestrian history to simple fictional stories. By the time that the sugar rush had worn off, Luna managed to get a good ways through a lengthy book detailing unicorn physiology.

Luna kicked her comfortable padded chair back underneath the desk and trotted to the balcony. The princess found it difficult to open the frozen, obsidian handle of the door, but, with some strain, she forced it open with her jaw, hitting her head against the glass sliding door in the process. Resultantly, Luna pulled back her neck and bite down, drawing the subtle taste of blood to her tongue. Damn it, the princess thought with her tongue lolling about outside of her mouth. It’ll heal by the sun’s next setting.

The princess stared out at the darkness – her darkness – wondering if a similar darkness would soon come to consume her. I’m stronger now. I can take care of myself. I am not a child. I will not be reduced to that again. Canterlot was desolate. Not a single light could be seen across the vast distance between the castle and the town, even from the princess’ incredible height. She had long since conquered her fear of heights, having mastered the art of flight, however Luna still felt the tingling in her belly every time she stepped hoof outside onto her balcony. The coolness of the wind chilled the tips of her ears and covered her concealed skin in goose bumps.

Luna endured the crisp, refreshing cold through sheer force of will, ignoring her body’s signs to return inside and bask in the warmth of the fireplace. No. She would not leave until her mind was clear of all self-doubt and worry. Her body purged itself of all thought, focusing only on keeping upright in the bone-numbing cold. With each breath that the princess exhaled she felt slightly better. As her cerulean eyes teared up at the corners, the princess stared up at her Moon with blurry vision, pondering about… nothing. Her mind was a blank slate, free from the crippling thoughts.

Noticing her mind in its cleared state, Luna sighed and turned to walk back inside her chambers. A dark, cerulean blob blurred her vision. For a moment, Luna saw the starry mane of Nightmare Moon. Her vision focused a moment later. Luna could see the spectral figure of the mare staring out at the city before her. Her soft, benevolent eyes were scanning the distance at a slow pace, as if she was inspecting something. To her side sat a smaller mare with her eyes closed and horn aglow. It was Luna from one thousand years ago.

The apparitional princess was slightly smaller than Luna was, but aside from that the two looked very dissimilar. Luna was somewhat groomed, and the ghostly Luna was disheveled looking and crying, though her body was not heaving nor shivering. “Come now, Luna. This happens every night. I will always be there for you.”

“I know, Moony. I’m just so happy to see you again. I… got so worried that you wouldn’t show up, I…” Luna looked down at her own hooves as her younger self did. Hers, unlike the ghost’s, were a solid expanse of blue. The apparition’s hooves were darkened with dried, crimson blood. “Cut myself. Again.” At this, the figure laughed weakly. Nightmare Moon had a look of horror on her face, with her eyes widened in shock.

“Luna… why?” Nightmare’s lips trembled, quivering at seeing her creator’s self-harming.

“I dunno.” Luna said innocently, “I just thought that you wouldn’t come back, and I got nervous, and when I get nervous I…” She could not finish her sentence before Nightmare Moon lifted her up into a tight embrace.

“Luna, promise me you’ll stop this nonsense. It’s… not normal.”

“Who are you to say what is normal and what is not?” Luna replied, earning a concerned look from her imaginary friend. “You’re not even real.”

“Luna, you know as well as I am that I am real. I even had a guard tell me that my rump looks… rather shapely.”

“Oh yeah?”

“Yes.”

“Well, you go on and tell him that you’re my toy. And I don’t like sharing.”

“Oh, my…” Nightmare’s cheeks darkened in a light, crimson glow, barely visible on her dark cheeks.

The vision faded as Luna could see her younger self tackle Nightmare Moon to the ground, covering her dark fur in wet kisses, starting at her neck and moving slowly down to her navel. Luna shook her head as the memory continued playing in her mind – the memory of going down on her imaginary friend, right there on the exposed balcony. Luna could practically taste her sweetness on her tongue and feel the warmth of Moony's thighs wrapped around her cheeks. The princess blushed at that, remembering how much trouble she could’ve gotten in if anypony saw her performing such an lewd and intimate act in what was essentially the open, for everypony to see.

“Brr…” Luna shivered as she entered her lightless room. With her hind-hoof, she skillfully slid the door shut behind her. On frozen, wobbly legs, the princess shuffled over to the open fireplace and collapsed before it, allowing it to cleanse her body of the numbing cold. She crossed her hooves and rested her head down between the divot they made. The rug beneath her tickled her coat slightly, though not enough to be annoying. Contently comfortable, Luna sighed, loosening her muscles and allowing sleep to come to her.

The princess of the night feared that Nightmare Moon would plague her dreams, but she was far too tired to stay awake any longer. If she comes, so be it. I will deal with her. Luna, however, was incorrect – her dreams were pure and uncorrupted by the wicked mare’s presence, leaving her to dream about whatever she wished. She had decided on a simple walk through the royal gardens at night. The night blooming flowers obeyed her mind and displayed their petals as the moonlight further enhanced their natural beauty. When she focused her magic on the dark canvas of sky above her, it complied and spawned stars that sparkled through the artificial night.

…

After taking care of her daily duties, Celestia managed to gather a secret meeting en masse with every psychologist, doctor, and herbalist in Canterlot that she personally trusted. In all, there were six ponies, Celestia included, involved in the meeting. She told them of the issue and practically begged for each and every one of their assistance with promise of generous pay and sent them on their way. Celestia returned to her chambers a few hours earlier than normal on account of a slow day. She was incredibly thankful.

The thought of writing a letter to her most faithful of students, Twilight Sparkle, crossed her mind. The thought was quickly stored in the back of her mind as a last resort. Twilight had the habit of losing herself when she was put on the spot so abruptly. Regardless, Celestia knew that Twilight would do everything in her power to solve the problem, yet it would be best to not inform her as of yet. The matter was slowly being taken care of in secret with no need to tell the lavender mare. Celestia wrote a quick note to her sister and then raised the Moon. The goddess of the Sun tried her hoof at putting a bit of effort into creating stars in the dark canvas of night sky, patiently weaving her magic through the heavens above. Not nearly as well as Luna would have done it. Celestia thought, but she still felt proud that she was able to make a somewhat decent looking skyscape.

The Ruined Painting

The clock read 10:43PM as Luna’s aching stomach awoke her. Nightmare Moon was nowhere to be seen in the bedroom, much to Luna’s delight. The princess sorted through the memories of the night prior and unceremoniously roll out of bed with a groan. Sure enough, there was a plate of tepid food on her desk, as well as a note.

“Dearest sister, I had a chat with one of the royal psychologists and he believes that he knows how to expunge Nightmare Moon once, and forever. He and I will talk more tomorrow after he does some analyzations of what I told him.
~ Love, Celestia”

Breakfast was scarfed down in a very un-princessly manner. Upon finishing, Luna shouted, “Nightmare?” Silence. “Good.” The princess of the night turned to see a large stack of books that she had made a small dent in throughout the last two days. Her eyes burned at the thought of reading any more. Being forced to focus down at the ancient ink for hours at a time was rather painful. However, the easel in the corner of her room seemed to call to her, begging to be used after being neglected for so long as if it was silently beckoning for Luna’s attention.

Luna had always found that using her hooves rather than her mouth or magic to paint was easier and much more rewarding. Putting physical effort into something, as opposed to magical effort, always seemed to give a greater sense of gratification and fulfillment when Luna saw the finished product: a beautiful painting. Many ponies had offered her large sums of money, well into the hundreds of thousands of bits, yet Luna never let them convince her to sell any of her paintings. They were like a part of her, meant to always be together as one collection. The walls of her room were scattered with the various framed images, all of which had Luna held close to her heart. When the Elements of Harmony took away her memories, all of the paintings had miraculously managed to stay in her mind’s eye, perfect and unscathed.

Luna trotted about her room, searching for something to tie her mane up with. It always managed to get in the way whenever she felt adventurous enough to paint. She located a small black scrunchie and tied her mane into a short ponytail behind her head. After covering the palette in many small piles of various colored acrylic paints, Luna grasped the appropriate brush in her hoof and carefully dabbed it into the wooden palette, which she had firmly held with her wing. The brush glided across the blank canvas, the process repeating as colors were exchanged and skillfully mixed from one to another.

Lunch and dinner were eaten with haste while working; Luna didn’t even notice the lack of a slice of cake. As time passed, the image on the canvas became clear from the foggy, undeveloped picture Luna held in her mind. The cobalt princess brought the brush down to a bright red pile on the palette and she carefully dipped it onto the canvas, where the yellow and orange colors of her sister’s Sun came together.

“Luna! Are you done yet?” The temporarily retired regent of the moon let out a shriek and instinctively brought her hoof down. In doing so, a bright red dash was marked diagonally across the canvas. Nightmare Moon watched in stunned awe as Luna turned from the ruined painting and dropped both the brush and palette to the floor, leaving many large splattered paint smears. The jet-black mare defensively brought her hooves up to protect herself as Luna tackled the dark blur to the floor. The two ponies landed to the ground with an “Oof” from the larger mare as she attempted to free herself from the princess’ hold. Luna’s azure hooves were placed across all four of Nightmare Moon’s limbs, splaying her out across the floor.

“By the Gods, I swear I will end you! Right here and right –” The princess was cut short when Nightmare Moon arched her neck to place a quick kiss on her unprepared lips. Luna’s face turned bright crimson in a blush as the taste of cake and Nightmare Moon graced her. She pulled backwards, sitting upright on her haunches with her hooves covering her face.
Nightmare extended her hoof towards the cobalt blue mare. “Luna, I –“
“Shut up. You are not sorry.”

A crease formed between Nightmare’s brows as she pulled her hoof back. The look on her face appeared as if she had just been slapped. “But I just wanted –“

“I said, ‘shut up’!”

Luna felt rage and confusion battle inside her mind, each emotion fighting for dominance.
In the end, confusion was the victor. Her eye twitched as she looked to the large, formidable mare standing before her. She had her hooves crossed, covering her face. For the first time in her existence, she truly looked vulnerable. Why would she kiss me?

“Damn it, Luna, because I love you. I just wanted you to calm down. I didn’t mean to… I thought that you remembered.” Nightmare responded, her lips quivering as she hesitantly replied.

“I do – I know.” She sighed. “I remember.”

Luna stood up and walked away from the emotionally destroyed mare and closed the door to her room shut with a slam. She collapsed in her bed and closed her eyes while trying her best to sort through her thoughts, which proved to be next to impossible, nor did she care if Nightmare could hear them. The ruined painting sat in the corner of her room, a reminder of what Nightmare had just confessed, or rather reminded Luna of her millennia old confession. The princess turned the painting around to face the wall so that she could not see the destroyed image.

It wasn’t like she was anywhere near finished with the piece, but regardless, all of that hard work in vain made her head pulse and ache. The clock read 4:47AM, and Luna didn’t feel very inspired to start another painting, or even attempt to fix the effectively destroyed one. Solace was sought from a short novella, though barely any was received. It is rather difficult to focus when you’ve been reminded after a millennia that your imaginary would-be friend loves you. At least Nightmare was leaving her alone. She’s probably sulking around in the parlor, Luna thought.

Luna took a quick, uneventful shower before returning to her room, using the solitary time to do think about the very rapid turn of events. Deciding that she had been rather harsh, Luna decided she would do her best to somehow reconcile with Nightmare.

When she opened the ornate door to her quarters, the princess was greeted with the sight of Nightmare Moon lying on her back while quietly snoring, hooves slightly twitching. A tiny puddle of drool was pooling up next to her head, forming a dark spot on the soft blanket. Luna rolled her eyes while she felt her lips curl upwards in a smile. “C’mon, move over.” Nightmare let out a groan when Luna jabbed the corner of her hoof into her belly. At that, she finally rolled over, leaving just barely enough room for Luna to squeeze onto the large bed.

“Good morning,” Luna hesitated. “Moony.” Luna spoke her old nickname for Nightmare Moon, one she hadn’t said in well over a millennia, for she had long since refused to answer to it.
As she grasped the thick sheet at her hooves, Nightmare brought her forearm around Luna’s midsection and whispered,

“Good morning, Lulu.”

The Oral Apology

For the second day in a row, a loud knocking woke Celestia up. The sight of a guard with the red ribbon of a scroll gripped between his teeth greeted her. She smiled down at him before using her magic to gently pull the scroll from his jaw. The familiar sensation of magic emanated from the scroll as Celestia pulled the bow-tied ribbon undone and unfurled the scroll, levitating it mere inches in front of her face. It’s blank? Upon further inspection, Celestia noticed that the scroll had an enchantment on it, one that only she could break. Clever colt, Celestia thought. With a wave of her horn, she broke the enchantment and the text became visible.

“Your highness, Princess Celestia, from what I can gather, Nightmare Moon is a creation of Luna’s own mind; that is to say, she does not exist in our physical world. Regardless of that fact, it is still possible for her to interact with the world around her and be seen by ponies other than Luna. She does this by draining a small amount of Luna’s energy. She is nowhere near as powerful as she was a millennia ago, so seek comfort in that fact. If Luna can exhaust what energy Nightmare Moon has absorbed from her, through any means possible, such as physical activity, keeping her awake for long periods of time, or what have you, she and Nightmare will become one, so to speak. Luna will not become Nightmare Moon as a result of this. There is no potion or remedy that can act as a cure; Luna will need to do this by herself. For all of our sakes, I wish her the best of luck, because she certainly will need it.

~ Sincerely, Inky”

While reading through the letter, Celestia noted that the guard was eyeing her. “Is there something on my face?” she asked, genuinely confused.

“With all due respect, your majesty… it is your face that is worrying me.” Unbeknownst to her royal highness, she looked terrible. Dark bags underneath her eyes sharply clashed against her alabaster coat, making it look as if she hadn’t slept in weeks.

“I have had a very long night, please excuse my unkempt appearance.” She gave a small, weak smile.

“Think nothing of it, your majesty. I just saw it as appropriate to tell you before you’ve left your quarters.” He smiled back, exposing a few gaps where teeth should be.

“Thank you.” Celestia dismissed the guard and returned to her room. ”If Luna can exhaust what energy Nightmare Moon has absorbed from her, she and Nightmare will become one, so to speak.” Celestia repeated out loud. What a cryptic way to word it, she thought. “What does that even mean?”

Celestia started the day with a shower, as she did every day. The alabaster mare always used this free time to do critical thinking, and that morning was no exception. It would come as a shock to most ponies that the princess of the Sun, and by association the day, was, in fact, not a morning pony. She never liked waking up and facing the world around her; leading an entire nation is very hard work.

While lathering her body in expensive luxury soaps, she repeated the direction over in her mind, having long since memorized it. The soap in her coat seemed to melt off as she stepped back into the downpour of the shower, eliciting a sigh from the regent of the Sun. Exhaust her energy… physical activity… keeping her awake… Hooves absentmindedly ran through her soaked mane, covering it in thick soap. Celestia’s face reddened in a blush as her mind came to a conclusion.

“Oh, me… Luna will not be happy.” A sigh followed as Celestia stepped back into the water with a smirk. An incredible sense of relief flowed over her before bursting into laughter, coming to an abrupt halt when she choked on the cascade of water. Such a huge problem, yet with a solution so simple - something carnal, primal, something that ponies were created to do – it made her lose her regal self in a moment of glee. “Well, I suppose it would do Luna some good to get laid.”

…

When the audible ping of magic woke Luna up, she had to fight to escape from Nightmare’s bear hug of a grip. Upon widening her eyes to their zenith, she looked up, cross-eyed, and saw her horn half-covered in dried saliva; the other half was still in the mouth of the larger mare atop her. Her muzzle parted to let out a gasp of shock as she pressed her hooves against Nightmare’s chest, slowly pushing her body backwards, all the while trying her best to ignore the incredible, almost intoxicating, sensation emanating outwards from her horn, moving down her body like a hot, pulsing wave of pleasurable energy.

Nightmare seemed to feel Luna’s struggle, slowly inching her horn out from the warm and wet mouth, though never quite getting her appendage all the way out. As Nightmare sucked harder on the solid, nerve-filled bone, wrapping her tongue around the swirled groove and tracing it up and down, sending shivers throughout Luna’s body, causing the princess to writhe and twitch in pleasure, her dark lips curved upwards ever so slightly into a grin; completely unknown to Luna, Nightmare Moon was awake. She hadn’t gone to sleep – she had been awake all night, playing with the regent of the night’s horn, forcing her unconscious body into orgasm many times, as was her habit, and, not-so-secretly, her fetish. Surely this will be a suitable apology for screwing up her precious painting, Nightmare thought without fear of Luna hearing her over her own soft moaning the dark alicorn continued the powerful swirling of her tongue. This energy shall suffice for at least another month!

Of course, Luna had known of Nightmare Moon’s habit, though her still half-asleep brain couldn’t recall anything at that moment, nor did she remember prior to going to sleep in the early morning. In hindsight, she should’ve seen it coming. Not that a free, albeit spontaneous, hornjob was entirely unwelcome... all she knew in that moment was that she was getting sucked off by Nightmare Moon and was unable to resist, but why would she want to? Amidst her ancient thoughform’s flurry of slurps and licks and her own soft moaning, Luna felt a kind of pressure building up near her groin, realizing it as a sign that she was rapidly nearing climax. The princess’ soft moaning grew louder, encouraging Nightmare Moon to reach her hoof over Luna’s belly, down to her dampened nethers, sliding her hoof against the wet fur against her thighs, firmly grinding her moistened hoof against Luna’s outer lips. Cheeks ablaze in a crimson blush, Luna inched closer to Nightmare Moon, their bellies now touching as she moaned her name with a smile on her face, “Oh, Moony…”

The dark alicorn could feel the sparks of magic seeping out from the tip of her horn; the taste was extremely metallic, yet sweet in an odd way. It made Nightmare Moon’s tongue tingle as her deft muscle reached the metal clasp and circled around it, forcing the red gem in the center to light up, vibrating slightly against Luna’s horn. The princess was now panting, open-mouthed, gasping for air as her chest rose and fell. Nightmare knew she was close as the tangy taste in her mouth intensified greatly, a sign to redouble her tongue’s rapid swirling and lapping, moving the edge of her drenched hoof back and forth against the princess’ soft, pliable sex. Luna’s back arched, her head pulled backwards, and her cerulean eyes clasped shut as she came with a scream, alerting the guards outside her quarters.

…

The two Dark Guards looked to each other, smirked, nodded, and then adjusted themselves against the door, knowing only a part of what was transpiring within the princess’ quarters. Lucky for them that their helmets concealed their blush. As the unicorn fought for dominance with his partner to keep his head up against the peephole, a bridge of golden magic connected his horn to the door, and then sent him flying backwards into the air a moment later. His companion, a pegasi, flew to catch him before he went through the window, managing to save him from plummeting a few thousand feet to his doom just a few feet before colliding with the ornate glass. “Not a single word of this to the Captain.” The unicorn hissed. The pegasi nodded with a smirk, then moved back to his post beside the door.

…

Nightmare Moon’s eyes narrowed at the sound of a boom outside. Stupid guards… she thought, swallowing the sparks of pure, warm magic seeping out from Luna’s horn without falter, having had her mouth re-learned well from Luna’s previous myriad of horn ejaculations throughout the day whilst she slept.

The dark alicorn let go of her powerful grip on the hypnagogic princess as she felt her uncontrollably twitching and letting out pained groans, a result of her overly sensitive parts, the pleasure so great that it was beginning to grow unpleasant. Nightmare allowed Luna to fall to the soft bed beneath her, eyes still closed as she listened to the sound of her heart beating away rapidly in her own chest, lounging through the afterglow. Nightmare shifted onto her side, content with a job very well done. She brought her dark hoof up to her mouth, the wetness of it glistening in the darkness. Her tongue met her hoof as she licked it clean, enjoying the flavor of the princess still fresh on it. The dark alicorn shifted, resting her hooves over Luna’s body, gently hugging the princess as the two mares laid there, spooning.

Hours later, when the princess woke up alone, she found her sheets dampened in a mixture of sweat and cum. Not an entirely unpleasant smell, but one that needed to be cleaned up nonetheless. Later… much later, after a shower.

…

Luna groaned loudly as she walked out of the steam filled bathroom, shivering at the coolness of her room. After kicking a log into her ever-lit fireplace, she entered her room, cocked her neck to the side and found the scroll on her desk that had been waiting for her for a little over an hour now.

“Dearest Luna, I have some, dare I say, interesting news for you. The pony that I talked with (a kind colt who goes by the name of Inky) two days ago has indirectly told me what you must do. He says that Nightmare Moon has been using your own energy as sustenance, taking very small amounts from you without your knowledge nor consent. In doing so, she maintains a physical body that is selectively active. Inky has said that you must drain the energy from her, and she will be no more. As a result of this, her being will become part of you, thus empowering you somewhat. Fear not, you will not be controlled by her influence in doing so.

Now, as for the actual process of exhausting her… you may not like it, or perhaps you shall, I don’t know. Forget the formalities, you’re my sister, and nopony else will see this. You must have sex with Nightmare Moon. Anyways, when was the last time that you’ve gotten some flank? Loosen up some and try to enjoy it. Have fun, my dear sister, and best of luck!

~ Love, Celestia”

Did her eyes fail her? Had she really just read that? Were those actually words written by her sister on that scroll? Surely it had been a mistake, Celestia was just pulling one of her pranks again. When you’ve been around for as long as she has, you need to find ways to keep yourself amused. But this… this was going too far. Yet, the wording... it seemed so foalish, unlike Celestia’s normal self. Exactly how she acted when pranking. Luna knew her sister well, better than any other pony as a matter of fact, and she knew that her sister, of all ponies, would not use something like that to her own amusement; even if it was rather humorous.

Luna looked back to the scroll, and read it over again. She had missed something at the very bottom of the page, “P.S. Don’t forget to work that clit!“ Underneath the post-scriptural comment, there was a small, crudely drawn cluster of hearts.

“Damn it all.” The paper crackled as the fireplace incinerated it.

Luna walked from her bedroom to the small kitchen and quickly whipped up a steaming mug of coffee, adding an ample amount of milk and sugar to it before returning to her room, slowly taking one step at a time while holding the mug on a plate skillfully balanced on the flat her back. Her bed was empty, save for the warm, and still slightly dampened, divot where Nightmare had been laying.

Taking it as time to get some private thinking done, Luna sat down at her desk, where she got most of her important thinking done. How am I supposed to do this? I can’t rape her; that’s just not right. She clearly still loves me, as evident from sucking me off, and even though she is an evil mare, she means good in her own weird way. If I am lucky she will consent and we can get this over with. It’s not like we haven’t been intimate with one another before. Luna took a moment to sigh into the mug of steaming coffee before bringing it to her lips and gulping down a couple mouthfuls of the heavenly, energy-infused dark liquid.

I digress. I suppose it’s more like masturbation than sex, now that I think about it. It has been a long while since I have been intimate with anypony else, as ‘Tia had so bluntly pointed out. Another couple sips graced her lips to help the princess clear her head.

If anypony deserves sex, it is she. A thousand years alone with only your hoof to relieve yourself, surrounded by nothing but moon rocks must’ve been hell for her libido. I am glad I wasn’t aware of anything during those years. It’ll be like a farewell gift – the last thing she will feel is the most incredible climax of her life. And then she will be no more. Anyways, I’ve still got to return the favor… Luna shuddered in remembrance of Nightmare’s earlier display of oral finesse, nearly spilling the mug that she held firmly in her fetlock.

The goddess of the moon exhaled deeply. Then it is settled, I shall seduce Nightmare Moon! I just need to keep my motives a secret. Somehow. This is going to prove difficult.” The empty mug slammed against the desk as she swallowed the last drop of coffee, shaking her head at the disgusting mouthful of sugar that came with it. With her mind reinvigorated and body peaking with energy, Luna returned to her studies.

…

Nightmare Moon left Luna alone for the night, allowing the azure princess to focus on her books. Silence reigned the entire time from opening the cover to closing the binding shut. “It’s almost too quiet,” Luna said in a whisper before she turned around, the lack of a certain black pony striking her as peculiar. “Whatever.” She placed the book on top of the ‘To be returned’ pile on the corner of her desk and turned around to began trotting back towards her bed, then spun turned back around as she sensed the familiar, unmistakable residual magical energy of a teleportation spell behind her.

A fairly small book rested on her desk, still shining with her sister’s golden magic. Luna reached out for the scroll next to it.

“Dearest Luna, I would advise you to brush up on your, shall I say, technique before-hoof. Things have changed a lot in one thousand years. I’ll write to you again at dusk. I also realize that you probably think that I am kidding, but you must admit, this is a rather humorous predicament. What would you do if you were in my hoofshoes? I’m sorry, truly, but I couldn’t resist earlier. It was childish of me and I apologize.

~ Love, Celestia.”

“It couldn’t hurt.” Apprehensively, Luna returned to her bed and opened the cover, which depicted two androgynous ponies sharing a passionate kiss. It didn’t take long to brush through, as it was mostly pictures with brief sentences beneath; it was an interesting stack of paper regardless of the fact that it covered nothing that Luna hadn’t seen, experienced, or heard of before. In short, it was a huge waste of time.

As a princess, it was virtually impossible to maintain a relationship and extremely difficult to get out of the castle for enough time to find somepony to have some quick adult fun with. Even if either of the two princesses could secure some off time, they would have to disguise themselves, completely unbeknownst to the pony of their choosing. It was always exhilarating, to be a deity thought untouchable by mortal hooves, and yet the two mares had done it many, many times throughout their long lives.

It had hurt to know that she would probably never be able to find a soul mate to spend eternity with, but as time passed Luna accepted her immortality’s cruel curse and made due with it. An endless string of anonymous one-night stands wasn’t the worst thing in the world.

Luna tossed the flimsy paperback book onto the desk, skillfully landing it on top of the already impressive pile of finished volumes. She gave herself a mental pat on the back and moved the pile of pillows to accommodate the painful kink in her neck from arching her head up to read. Somewhat relaxed, she thought back to her last time with another pony aside from Nightmare.

Luna had always preferred mares to stallions; she tended to stick to what she knew best. The princess always had an affinity for younger ponies too – theoretically, of course. The only other ponies that even came close to Luna’s age were Celestia and Discord. One of which was impossible to hook up with (not to mention absolutely revolting) and the other was… her sister. Incest is generally frowned upon in Equestrian society. Not that anypony had to know what the regal sisters did in their private time, but Luna did not want to risk it. That is not to say that they hadn’t played with each other before, however. And damn, was Celestia good, Luna recalled. Eternity is plenty of time to make one into a prodigy in the bedroom.

She was a cute mare in her early twenties, full of youthful enthusiasm and life. Her name had long since faded from Luna’s memory, but she could still remember almost exactly what she looked like. What she felt like. What she tasted like.

Luna’s hoof unconsciously began sliding down to her inner thigh as she let out a sharp breath. The dream guardian soon found her hoof mere inches above her crotch, just under her navel.

She was a well-toned, cream-colored earth pony with a long, jet-black mane that felt like soft velvet. Clearly she wasn’t an athlete, but not a sloth either. Lacking in either sensitive appendages, she made up for it in an impressive amount of stamina and flexibility, as most earth ponies did.

“And that tongue, by the gods. That incredible tongue.” Luna bit her lower lip as she felt a pleasant, needing heat begin to build up in her nethers.

Luna had disguised herself as a pegasus, using magic to make her horn both invisible and intangible. Instead of her normal dark blue coat, it too was changed to a brighter shade of sky blue that matched her altered, bright blue eyes. Her mane was tied behind her neck in a short ponytail, hanging freely and bouncing about with every step that she took. The cutie mark she thought of was one of a telescope with a cluster of three stars around it. With the conjured glasses and somewhat adorkable appearance, she had become an astronomer.

The corner of her hoof brushed across the exposed nub of sensitive flesh at the topmost part of her moist sex, coaxing a high-pitched squeak out of the lunar princess.

Luna recalled every enticing squeak, every sensual lick, and every playful nibble of the encounter. The incognito princess did not let such generosity go unnoticed. From the all-mares club, affectionately known as ‘Melody's Midnight Mares’, Luna brought her slightly inebriated self and buzzed companion to a hotel, laughing and giggling the whole way down the paved streets. Upon opening the large doors, ‘Star Striker’ screamed to the sleeping receptionist, “Deluxe suite, just for the night. Fifty bits, correct?” ‘Star’ tossed over five platinum bits before the colt could respond and grabbed the key from his blue magical aura. With the key ring in her mouth, she began eagerly skipping down the long hallways with the earth mare following close behind. She was surprised to see that ‘Star’ carried around such a large amount of bits, but didn’t feel the need to question it.

When the door slammed shut, the mare wrapped her hooves around Luna’s shoulders, standing upright on her hind legs, bringing the two mares close together in a loving embrace. Their lips locked as their tongues danced about in each other’s mouths, sharing themselves with one another. Luna quickly made her way down the mare, kissing, licking, and nibbling flesh as she went, leaving behind a trail of damp and darkened fur.

Slowly, they began moving towards the large bed, where Luna was finally able to bring her anxious tongue up across the mare’s sensitive pink feminine lips; the earth mare wrapped her hind legs behind the princess’ neck, forcing her muzzle against her soaked mound. A smile crept its way across Luna’s visage as she went to work, skillfully trailing her tongue across the other mare’s wet slit, flicking her tongue against her pink, fleshy pearl. The mare underneath her moaned and giggled in approval, soaking Luna’s muzzle in her fluids.

The Moon goddess’ inner thighs were already soaked with her arousal as she brought her second hoof down to her velvety folds. Another squeak escaped her as she continued her rubbing with both fetlocks, effectively doubling her pleasure – and fun.

Her wings stood fully erect as she continued using her deft tongue on the awestruck mare underneath her, still writhing in ecstasy. The earth mare was just barely able to reach the long, sensitive primary feathers with her mouth. Star Striker, or so the earth pony thought her name was, let out a giggle-squeak as she momentarily stopped her gentle assault on the mare’s nether lips. The mare let go of her tight hold around the princess’ neck and repositioned herself to preen those large, bright feathers. “R- right there, ah!” ‘Star’ closed her eyes as she cried out in bliss, biting down hard on her hoof in a futile attempt to mute her screaming.

Breathing grew rapid and intense as Luna sucked in deep breaths of air through her mouth, nearing her orgasm. Her hooves pressed firmly against her drenched folds as a familiar pressure built up in her groin. The corner of her hoof dug in and upwards against her crevice to tease against her sensitive walls, eliciting a shriek of joy from the mare.

Their sexes met each other in a wet mass, lovingly grinding against one another in search of pure, carnal release. ‘Star’ held the other mare’s hind leg against her shoulder, using it as leverage to pump and thrust against her. As a princess, a figure of authority and power, Luna lost herself in the feeling of complete domination over the mare, further enhancing her enjoyment. The burning fire of lust slowly built up inside of the two mares, eager to be released at any moment. In one final thrust, the disguised princess unleashed the fire held deep within them as they screamed and twitched in explosive climax.

Luna’s mind turned to mush as she reached her peak, soaking her hooves in sticky fluids as pleasure radiated outwards from her groin and up her spine to every nerve in her being. Her screaming seemed as if it would go on forever until she ran out of breath, letting out tiny squeaks as she writhed and twitched in post-orgasmic bliss. Out of breath and exhausted, Luna took a deep inhale and leaned backwards into the plush mattress. Her body went numb as the wonderful sensation coming from her aching, sated sex slowly began to fade.

The satisfied and worn out goddess rolled over and collapsed in need of a rest, relaxing and soaking in the sensuous afterglow. Her mind wandered as she waned in and out of lucidity, having difficulties maintaining the focus needed to realize she was asleep. She eventually conceded to a black, dreamless, and rejuvenating sleep.

Author's Note

Welp. There you have it. Actual clop. :applejackunsure: :unsuresweetie:

The Dreamy Nightmare

Celestia heard the sound of a loud moan as she rested her head down to sleep after a very long day. She had heard that many times in the past, though recently they had came few and far apart and at spontaneous times. The solar princess knew her sister was a screamer, but let her be damned to the ninth circle of Tartarus if it wasn’t a little annoying. At least it was cute. Celestia’s cheeks turned a bright shade of rose as she turned over and used her magic to adjust the pillow. Sounds like she’s alone, The Sun goddess thought to herself while frowning. She had all hopes of Luna getting busy with Nightmare as soon as possible.

“Luna will need to do this by herself.” Inky’s words echoed in Celestia’s head.

The princess’ face contorted to fit the deviously large grin plastered across her visage. “Says who?” Celestia, mischievous as ever, had come up with an idea that was crazy, yet could yield promising results. With a sudden burst of energy and a wave of her horn, she levitated a thick book out of the shelf and flipped to the first page. Her horn ignited as she lit the small candle to her side, shrouding the dark room in an orange glow. After a few seconds of searching, Celestia found exactly what she was looking for: Aphrodisiacs – lucky for her that the book was in alphabetical order. Her face contorted even further as she read through the preparations.

Ambient ticking of the clock on her wall caught her attention. It displayed a time that spawned a feeling of distraught in the pit of her stomach. Reluctantly, she marked the page with a large crimson feather, placed the book underneath the large mattress and blew out the candle before salvaging what she could of a nap before actually starting her day.

…

After the very uneventful daily grind, Celestia calmly made her way back to her room and informed the guards that she wished to be alone. They complied and left their station outside of her door, repositioning themselves at each ends of the long hallway. The alicorn princess quickly brushed up on the information detailing the process of the spell and, once she felt ready, began preparing. Lacking the necessary means of brewing a potion, Celestia resorted to the magical alternative.

As her eyes searched through the book, analyzing each and every single word, Celestia couldn’t help but let out a chuckle, which grew into an almost maniacal cackling and ended up dying down with a choke. It’s the least I can do to help, she thought. Guilt slowly began to ebb into her mind, forming second thoughts about the so-called plan she had thought up. Doing something like this to her sister felt wrong. It was a prank, in essence, but it had a good cause, she told herself.

But what if this backfires? What if Lulu get’s hurt? Celestia sighed a deep sigh, sinking down into her bed. What is the worst that could happen? Seconds passed by as she thought and nothing incredibly dangerous came to mind. Maybe I could… watch them. An image of her sister and Nightmare Moon covered in sweat, performing various actions and motions for one another forced Celestia to bite down hard on her lip, nearly drawing blood, enticing enough pain to keep her head steady. Just to make sure everything goes well, of course, she lied to herself. Upon imagining the large, jet-black mare so defenseless, begging to be relieved by her own sister’s hooves, or perhaps tongue, Celestia cried out, “Oh, me.”

After a frigid shower, Celestia returned to her room and readied herself. Once she had acquired a slice of cake, which was rather easy with an invisibility spell and teleportation spell, the anxious princess placed the dessert down and looked to the book to make certain that she had every detail of the spell memorized. Silent seconds of deep concentration passed as her horn glowed in a golden aura, spitting sparks and softly humming. The tasty treat before her glowed as it levitated up off of the small plate and then softly landed back down.

It looked no different than before. Did it work? Celestia grazed the corner of her hoof across the top of the frosting, closing her eyes as her sense of taste was being overwhelmed by incredible sweetness. “Mmm… good.” Celestia’s inner glutton urged her to eat the cake, though her common sense kept that part of her at bay. That is until, after many minutes, the aphrodisiac began to work its way into her blood stream, quickly rendering her a soaking wet mare with but one thing on her mind: sex. Celestia began to grind her hips against her forehoof, further enticing the incredible heat between her legs. Her tongue lolled out of her mouth as strands of saliva fell to the rug beneath her suddenly weak and shaking legs. “I, heh, guess I outdid myself,” she mumbled in between stifled squeaks, leaning into the rug beneath her, her alabaster plot exposed high in the air and regal visage scrunched against the ornate rug and hooves playing at her drooling folds.

The regal mare rolled about on the floor, twitching and writing, letting out soft moans of pleasure as her hooves played at her moist sex. Her fluids slowly ebbed and flowed down her thigh to her hooves and then onto the rug, reminding her that she was still in the parlor. On shaky hooves, she approached her bed and fell backwards into it, continuing her thrusting and humping, further soaking her hoof in feminine juices.

Heated minutes flew by until her hooves were no longer enough to sate the growing desire inside her. Celestia took a moment to catch her breath before turning onto her side and using her magic to open the drawer on the nightstand next to her bed. A smile formed across her muzzle upon locating the phallic shaped object she was searching for.

Contrary to her sister, Celestia preferred stallions to mares. In her humble opinion, nothing quite compared to the feeling of being filled by a long, stiff cock. Her mouth watered at the remembrance of the salty taste of a stallion’s essence. She sighed. That was something the self-pleasuring object couldn’t give her. It couldn’t give her the hot feeling of another pony’s sweaty body pressed against hers as he thrust his length deep into her tight, moist walls as she screams into the pillow as the feeling of his ever-quickening pace inside her sends her careening off the top of ecstasy and into a mind shattering climax.

Her hoof continued its gentle assault on her swollen entrance as she coated the member with her saliva, taking it to the back of her throat, having overcame her gag reflex centuries ago. She gasped for air as she inspected the fake erection, glistening and ready.

Celestia sang out in a chorus of squeaks as the slick member spreaded her nether lips, sending a shock of pleasure out from her loins. The alicorn cooed, resting her head against one of the many large pillows on her generously sized bed. Her magic took control of the member as she brought her hoof down to her nethers, slowly rubbing in circles against her engorged clit.

The princess closed her already half-lidded amethyst eyes, focusing solely on guiding the member deep inside her with magic and breathing. Her back arched as she let out a hot breath. Celestia really had to enjoy herself more often.

Nearing her climax, she gradually began commanding her magic to work faster; it promptly began pumping away obediently. A shriek of joy echoed in her room as her sensitive inner walls tightened around the fake erection, milking it for a seed it could not give. Celestia’s ears flattened against her head as she purred in delight, taking many long, heated moments to enjoy the electrical waves of warmth flowing over her entire body before slowly pulling the member out. Celestia’s neck fell backwards, her entire form spent and happy. Being a princess, she barely even got enough time for something as intrinsic as masturbation. Resultantly, she tended to have a lot of built up stress.

Celestia looked to her side, glancing towards the seemingly harmless slice of confectionary resting innocently on her desk among many documents and quills. It was hard to believe that a baked sweet was about to save her sister. The exhausted princess reluctantly decided that she hadn’t the energy to perform the necessary string of spells to put her plan into fruition. Reluctantly, Celestia used her waning magic to fix the icing on top of the cake before teleporting it into her refrigerator, where it would remain until it was time. With hooves behind her head underneath a pillow and body still soaked in sweat, Celestia allowed herself to drift off into a pleasant nap.

…

Celestia slowly walked through the dark void of dreams, her mind hard at work creating various scenarios to enjoy later while her body renewed itself for the day ahead. A mental blockage stopped her as she brought her hoof to a floating square displaying a large green field. It fell to the ground, silently shattering like glass.

“Celestia… it has been a while, my beloved sister.” Nightmare Moon said in an odd, almost sultry tone upon rising from the shattered thoughts in a bout of smoke.

“Indeed, it has. How have you been?” Celestia approached the jet-black mare, knowing that she was entirely safe in her dreams.

“I am well… you know, for being on the moon for one thousand years. No hard feelings, of course.”

“Of course,” Celestia agreed, noting Nightmare’s attitude and questioning her intentions. “I hope you do not mind my prying, but how have you managed to get into my dreams?”

“Explaining how I have gotten here is not the point of why I have visited you.” Nightmare stated blankly.

“Oh? Do you have a proposition? A motive?” Celestia’s brow rose as she spoke.

The dark mare shivered before taking a deep breath and beginning her spiel. “You see, Celestia, I grow weary; my form is getting weaker by the night and there is nothing I can do about it. I cannot maintain a physical body for extended periods of time. The bearers of the Elements of Harmony are underneath your hoof and at your disposal, entirely able to erase me once and for all should you act upon it. I know full well that I am at your mercy, Celestia.

Hitherto I had all intentions of fulfilling my one purpose in the life that Luna has given me, but I am no longer able to. With a recent, shall I say, confession, I have discovered that she truly no longer wants me. With that knowledge, I admit defeat. I am tired of all the fighting. I am tired of all the pain and grief I have caused. Most importantly, I am sorry, Celestia... I never meant to hurt you. I never meant to hurt Luna either, nor anypony else. All I wanted was to do was give Luna what she deserved and I got carried away. I let the power get to my head. I do not care any more; I have failed her.

All I wish for now is to go peacefully, but I need some assistance for that to happen.” Nightmare Moon took a deep breath before continuing. “What I am trying to ask is… could we put this all behind us with the night’s most sacred of rituals?”

Celestia stood in shocked awe, her mouth slightly open agape. It took strength to acknowledge failure like that, Celestia knew. The princess raised her hoof to Nightmare’s shoulder, resting it on the divot of her withers as she nuzzled her neck against Nightmare’s. She felt a heavy tear fall to her back as she slowly pulled away from the embrace. “Ritual? What does this entail, my dear?”

“It has… been a while since I have shared a… moment of intimacy with somepony.” Nightmare admitted, embarrassment red on her dark cheeks.

“You and me both…” Celestia murmured. “I am deeply sorry. Truly. I know I am to blame for that…”

“Before I am absorbed by Luna’s psyche, I wish to be intimate with somepony. I wish for that pony to be you, Celestia.”

“I am honored, but we have already made amends, my friend. You and Luna should do some talking. I am certain that you could –”

“Oh, no, Celestia, I do not think you understand – that was not a proposition – it was a demand.”

“Excuse me?” Celestia’s face twisted into a look of disgusted confusion as the millennia old gears in her mind grinded away for a few long seconds, quickly realizing what the dark mare had said. On the inside, Celestia beamed, tacitly deciding to play along with Nightmare’s fantasy without a second thought.

“Prepare for the best nightmare of your life, Celestia.” Nightmare Moon exclaimed as she brandished her glowing horn. Celestia fell to the ground back first, feigning struggle as dark magical restraints entangled her limbs and belly, splaying her out for Nightmare to do as she wished. The ‘helpless’ alicorn watched as Nightmare approached her, continuing with her acted toil, yanking at the glowing metal links.

“N – no! Please, don’t –“ Celestia cried, shaking her head about, as if putting all of her energy into her struggle.

“You are mine now, Celestia, and you will do as I say. Understood?” A whimper escaped Celestia’s lips as Nightmare held out her forehoof to her white snout, “Clean my hoof. I want to be able to see my own reflection.” she commanded. The demeaned princess opened her mouth and began obediently licking the black hoof, softly moaning while soaking it in her saliva. Her nethers grew wet, begging to be touched as her tongue danced through the thick fur. Nightmare cooed happily before she said, “Good girl. You will learn your new place in due time.”

Celestia looked up behind the hoof in her mouth. Upon noticing the dripping erection between Nightmare’s legs, she let out a stifled shriek. “Silence, my slave.” The black hoof was removed from Celestia’s mouth. Upon uttering a sound, Nightmare commanded, “Quiet! I did not say you could speak.”

The restraints slowly began loosening around Celestia. As the last one disappeared into nothingness, the princess’ alabaster white hooves flew to her needing feminine lips, eliciting a groan of pleasure from the princess. “Rise. To me, my minion.”

Celestia mustered up control of her body and stopped her hooves before reluctantly standing upright and slowly making her way to Nightmare; her mouth watered in anticipation. The jet-black alicorn sat down on her haunches, grasping her sizeable erection in her hoof. “Suck my cock.” Celestia’s lips wrapped around the wide head, her tongue trailed around Nightmare thick member as she bobbed her head up and down the pulsing rod. Celestia fought against gagging as Nightmare pressed her hoof down onto her head, forcing her length further down her throat.

Nightmare let out a pleased groan as she bottomed out, her hilt grazing against Celestia’s teeth. Slowly, Nightmare allowed Celestia to pull upwards. A string of saliva connected the princess to her mistress’ twitching and soaked erection. The alicorn princess was allowed few seconds to take in precious oxygen before having her head forced back down around her owner’s erection. Chains wrapped around Celestia’s hooves as she attempted to rub against her needing sex. Nightmare looked down disapprovingly. “You must learn some patience.” She spoke calmly, yet stern and demanding, never once faltering over her words. Gradually, Celestia managed to keep a pattern with her frantic slurping and sucking, making certain to lap up any precum that seeped out of the thick head.

“Stand.” The chains around Celestia’s hooves disintegrated, allowing her to act obediently. Nightmare exhaled through her nose as Celestia’s skilled mouth left her member, leaving it coated in thick saliva. “You will call me Mistress. Do you understand, Slave?”

“Yes, Mistress.” Celestia shook with anticipation as Nightmare mounted her, teasing the head against the princess’ moist folds. “Mistress, please… do not tease me.”

“You have been a good slave. A little bit impatient, however. We will work to fix that. I think a reward for your obedience is in order.” Nightmare’s hips bucked forward, pushing her length into Celestia’s neglected slit. Inch by inch, Celestia’s tight walls slowly began to be filled; each passing moment sent wave upon wave of pleasure coursing through both mare’s bodies. Nightmare slowly pulled back as her pelvis touched against the royal flank, dampening the fur around her crotch in feminine fluids.

The princess of the Sun let out a badly stifled moan as Nightmare pulled out, only to slam back into her; the head of her member tickling against Celestia’s cervix made her squeak in joy with her mouth open wide, tongue lolling about in pure, unadulterated pleasure. Black hooves kneaded the taut flesh against the side of Celestia’s flank, tantalizingly massaging her two orange Suns. As she let out another satisfactory groan, Nightmare arched her neck forward and latched onto Celestia’s sensitive ear, biting down hard on the soft flesh. This elicited a shriek of approval from the mare underneath her.

The dark mare exhaled sharply, letting go of her grip on the ear as she tried to keep her climax at bay while Celestia’s walls clenched down in orgasm, milking her member. Nightmare pressed on, albeit slower, pounding her length into the alabaster princess beneath her. The princess writhed as her legs shook - muscles grew weak as Nightmare thrust into her with reckless regard. As her second climax neared, Celestia pushed backwards while Nightmare pulled out.

“Patience is a virtue, my slave. Good things come to those who wait.” Celestia nodded weakly as her forelegs gave out, displaying her rear to Nightmare Moon. The dark alicorn grinned as she bit at the polychromatic tail flowing in a non-extant wind, painfully yanking the white body backwards several inches as she exposed Celestia’s tight, pink anus.

“N – not there. Please, Mistress.”

“Silence.”

Normally Celestia would’ve called that the line, but this was a dream – her physical body wouldn’t be hurt, and she had the opportunity to send Nightmare away any moment, but she decided against it. When would she get another opportunity like this? Anyways, she was so close…

“Relax.” Nightmare prodded the head of her member into Celestia’s tight hole, slowly easing into her. The regal mare bit her hoof as a stab of pain came from her rump, though it quickly melted away into unbelievable pleasure when Nightmare began thrusting deep into her. Her tongue lolled out on the ground as her face contorted to portray the incredible feeling that pushed her over into a second orgasm. Her pink slit leaking with the fluids of her climax, dripping down from her to the ground, landing with an audible plop.

Nightmare roared at the new, tight sensation, quickly nearing her own climax. She watched in awe as the flesh of the princess’ ass jiggled and bounced about with each powerful thrust she made into the princess. The dark alicorn couldn’t help but press the two large cheeks together as she continued shoving her length deep into the princess’ ass. It was an incredible sensation, such incredible tightness around her erection. Nightmare Moon lost herself in the circular motion the princess’ cutie marks made with each thrust she made.

The visual stimulation proved to be too much for Nightmare Moon. The dark mare pulled out as she came, shooting thick threads of milky seed onto Celestia’s back, matting her alabaster fur. Nightmare Moon collapsed backwards, breathing deep. Her eyes closed as a sickening crunch reverberated outwards from her ribcage. Her muscular chest caved inwards on both sides of her torso; the sound only continued as her body broke. The last of her to remain was her head, adorned with a large grin across her visage. That too caved in with a grotesque noise. She disincorporated into a thick starry cloud that dissipated into the darkness.

An exhausted three-tone laugh echoed in the darkness before Nightmare announced, “Thank you, Celestia. That was… fun.“ Celestia rose to her hooves moments later, confused and tired.

She is still alive? She lied? I… shouldn’t have been so gullible. The darkness quickly consumed the not-so-regal-any-more princess, leaving her to a dreamless rest. She awoke several hours later with sheets soaked in her feminine liquids and a small smile on her face. “What a dream...”

The Ritual

Luna woke up without any intrusions from her sister. The breakfast was cold, but she didn’t mind. Without Nightmare’s presence, the princess of the night was able to get much of her delayed reading done. Her mind wandered to the jet-black mare – had she been too rude? Luna groaned as her head collided with the desk, trying her best to keep her emotions stable. “Damn it all.” A magical ping alerted her. “About time, ‘Tia.”

There was only a small slice of cake, and a fork beside it. The scroll appeared seconds later, floating into Luna’s hooves.

“Dearest Luna, I know it’s not the normal time that I would send you a sweet, but this is the last of the cake until who knows when. Remember what I said the other day, my sister. Don’t do it for Equestria – do it for you. You deserve some kind of apology for all of the pain Nightmare Moon has put you through. Do try to be gentle, though. She apologized to me last night in a rather, ahem, steamy dream, I will tell you more about it in-pony tomorrow, if you’d like. Just know that there is a compassionate mare underneath that intimidating exterior.

~ Love, Celestia.”

Luna’s left eye twitched as the thought of Celestia and her imaginary friend having sex ebbed into her mind. No, no, no. Just no. The scroll was crumpled up and tossed to the corner of her room. “To Tartarus with being kind! Nightmare will enjoy it no matter what transpires.”

Luna began absentmindedly eating the cake while her eyes scanned through the ink pages of a large volume. Unbeknownst to the princess, with every bite that she ate more and more of her sister’s potent aphrodisiac worked its way into her bloodstream. Unable to ignore the abnormal heat in her nethers, Luna slammed the book shut and trotted to her bed. She laid down on her back, allowing her hoof to travel down past her teats to her engorged nub of flesh.

With one hoof on her sensitive nipple and the other against her slightly swollen flower, Luna began her gentle assault. She quickly came to a short, pleasant orgasm, though she desired more from her dampened hooves. “Luna… would you like some help?”

A midnight black body rose up from the comforter on the rug. Luna let out a stifled scream as Nightmare rested her body down on the large mattress, which dipped down to accept her weight. The mare brought her dark hoof to Luna’s chest and smiled, showing her blunt fangs. “Y – yes.” Luna said, blushing.

“As you wish.”

…

Celestia silently appeared in Luna’s quarters, already in her ethereal form. Unable to pleasure herself and yet feeling the full effect of her arousal was torturous to the regal mare, but she had to make certain that Luna didn’t get hurt. She fazed through the door and accompanied herself with the floor, taking a seat in the far corner next to what looked to be a ruined painting. As Celestia’s rump touched the rugged floor, she saw Nightmare sliding her tongue up the length of Luna’s horn, coating the grooves of it with her saliva. The smaller blue mare let out a gasp in response as her horn shot out a spark of azure magic into Nightmare’s mouth. She moaned, sending deep vibrations around the horn, forcing Luna to cry out in ecstasy.

“N – No…” Luna called out as Nightmare’s mouth encompassed her horn all the way down to her skull, far past the vibrating metal clasp. “Stop, please – I can’t – mmn!” Another moan escaped her mouth as Nightmare pulled away with a vulgar pop. “Wait, I – ooh… wow.” A dark hoof traveled down to Luna’s belly, ticking her fur and further feeding the need growing inside of her. Nightmare’s warm touch graced the princess’ clit; Luna purred with delight. The dark hoof moved in tantalizingly slow circles as the princess squeaked and moaned, doing her best to stifle her screaming. Luna grabbed at her hair, ruffling and pulling at it violently as her body fell numb and she sang out, reaching her peak and enjoying the momentary euphoric sensation washing over her that came with it.

The princess of the Sun eagerly watched as Luna writhed and twitched in pleasure. Nightmare Moon wrapped her hoof around Luna’s back and another behind her head, pulling her into a kiss. The princess’ tongue twirled in circles around Nightmare’s own, tasting her own sweet magic on the mare’s mouth. The dark alicorn slowly laid down alongside Luna, their lips still touching. Nightmare Moon slowly pulled away, forming a bridge of saliva that connected the two mares together at the lips. She watched as princess laid there, gasping for air and smiling.

After noticing that Luna had caught her breath, the larger alicorn bent down and touched her lips to Luna’s again, then playfully bit at her lower lip, causing Luna to giggle weakly. Upon pulling away from the embrace, Nightmare said, “We are nowhere near done yet, my dear.”

“I wouldn’t think of such a thing.” Luna smiled, still panting lightly. Even in her airy form, Celestia felt a deep blush form on her cheeks. Nightmare laid down on her back, uncrossing her legs and exposing her moist sex to Luna. Her head fell lazily off the bed, directly across from where Celestia was sitting. Nightmare winked to the invisible princess, eliciting a silent shriek from the spectral mare.

How did she…? The regal mare watched as her sister laid down atop the dark body, head down in Nightmare’s nethers and rump directly in front of the dark alicorn’s muzzle. Nightmare smiled once more, exposing her fangs to Celestia and raising her brow before delving her tongue into Luna’s slit in the most vulgar of fashions.

Celestia watched as the two ponies bodies slid together as they pleasured each other with their skilled tongues. All is going… well, from the looks of it, the princess thought with a mental sigh.

With a grin, Nightmare pulled her tongue out of Luna and slowly arched her neck forward, towards Luna’s belly. She latched onto her small breast, biting down hard enough to entice a shriek out of Luna. A bolt of mixed painful pleasure struck her belly. “Not so hard,” Luna whined. “That hurts!” She looked down, locating Nightmare’s erect nipples amidst the sea of black fur. Her teeth promptly wrapped around one, as if to give her a taste of the pain the larger mare had caused as her cobalt hoof idly played with the second mound of tender flesh. Nightmare groaned and chuckled before letting out a deep moan.

The dark alicorn bucked her hips upwards as she loosened her jaw enough to swirl her tongue around Luna’s sensitive areola. The princess licked at Nightmare’s clitoris, teasingly circling and flicking her tongue against the pink flesh. Nightmare brought her hooves down to the bed and began drawing circles around the crescent moons on Luna’s firm plot. Luna moaned again, the mare’s actions further pushing her towards another climax. “If you keep this up, I’m gonna…”

Nightmare halted the movement of her hooves and said, “Well, we can’t have that just yet, now can we?” She slowly sat upwards, her jet-black wings springing into the air, fully erect. Celestia felt her will continue to diminish as Luna started to preen Nightmare’s large wings, biting and licking at the appendages, all the while grinding her crotch against Nightmare’s hind leg. Luna’s chin pressed against Nightmare’s collar as she reached her hooves behind her barrel to grab hold of her soft flanks, kneading the plump flesh. “You’ve – ah – much gotten better at this, Luna.”

Luna smiled and closed her eyes as she continued gently nibbling at the flight-granting limb. Nightmare cooed, singing out in uncharacteristically shy squeaks and sighs as Luna switched from wing to wing, gliding her tongue across Nightmare’s collar bones as she transitioned between the two. With Luna’s azure horn mere inches from her muzzle, Nightmare wrapped her tongue around the blunt tip and began slowly bobbing her head up and down, progressively swallowing down more and more of the boney protrusion. The princess of the night opened her eyes, taking a sharp intake of breath as she was graced with the sight of a small, barely noticeable, golden outline of a pony in the corner of her room. Let’s give our sister a show to remember, Luna. Nightmare said telepathically. Luna’s blush darkened further as she smirked up to Nightmare, tacitly agreeing. Who would’ve thought that our sister, of all ponies, was a voyeur?

The aforementioned princess wasn’t aware that her spell had begun to fade. By the time her concentration diminished enough for her form to become visible, her body had begun to physically reconstruct itself. In an instant, as she continued to grind her crotch against her hoof in vain, she felt the incredibly hot wave of relief wash over her for the first time; Celestia shivered and then stifled a scream as she realized what that meant.

Horseapples! Celestia thought. Her form disappeared in a flash, leaving both Luna and Nightmare giggling lightly in a temporary fit before they continued on with their passionate foreplay.

Luna crawled towards Nightmare, who was still chuckling lightly. Impatience and lust lined the princess’ eyes as she pounced the black mare onto her back. Their mouths locked once again, tongues passionately twirled and rolled about, fighting for dominance in a beautiful dance. Nightmare hugged into Luna and rolled over, pressing her hooves against Luna’s chest, displaying her superior strength. As the princess tried to playfully fight her way into dominance, midnight black hooves firmly shoved her back down to the bed, where she stayed with a confused look that quickly turned into a stupid grin. The larger mare sat atop Luna’s spread legs, pressing their sexes together, tantalizingly grinding back and forth at an excruciatingly slow pace.

Nightmare and Luna both let out a loud, throaty growl of satisfaction as the dark mare slowly began sliding her hips against Luna’s with ever-quickening speed. Normally it had been a tacit agreement between the pony of her choosing that she would be the dominant mare, however Luna generously submitted to Nightmare. It would be a new experience, something to learn from, and Luna loved learning. The two mares locked lips again as their fair sexes rubbed against each other in a sticky and wet, loving embrace.

Luna and Nightmare rocked their bodies back and forth, slowly and disorganized at first, though they quickly built a pattern of grinding and thrusting. As the alicorn princess opened her mouth and let out a moan, Nightmare bent down and hungrily bit at her lower lip, as if asking permission to continue their dance. The dark alicorn slid her tongue back into the moon guardian’s mouth, and Luna was all too happy to comply and join in the sweet tasting pas de duex. Nightmare pulled back, slowly, as her back arched while her hooves pressed against Luna’s chest, grasping at her soft fur, and then to her own mane, where her hooves played wildly at her ethereal hair. The princess found her hooves traveling up Nightmare’s body to her barrel, her firm muscle flexed and relaxed as she took in deep breaths, a sign of her nearing climax.

The alicorn princess bucked her body up and relocated her idly fondling hooves to Nightmare’s plot and began massaging her crescent moons, which adorned her shapely flanks. This pushed the dark alicorn ever closer to her orgasm. Her bright feline eyes shot open as she gazed lovingly down to the nocturnal princess, who returned the look with a blushing smile. “Luna, I – ah,” Nightmare fought against her tongue, trying to form a coherent sentence. “Want you to… know that I… love you with – mmn… all of my being.” She said in between frantic breaths of air. And then she came, her form shaking and quivering, pushing the princess into her own climax.

As the two mare’s screaming and moaning began dying down, Nightmare wrapped her hoof around Luna’s midsection and nuzzled against her chest. She felt her body begin shut down, having spent her limited source of energy in an extravagant love making session with the one mare that she loved. She bathed in the afterglow, riding out her orgasm as long as she could. The dark alicorn, mighty bringer of eternal night, Nightmare Moon looked to Luna with tears in her eyes and whispered, “Goodbye, Lulu.” And then she was no more. Her body disincorporated into a starry blue cloud that encompassed Luna. The princess glowed as her body was surrounded by the dark azure magic. A sudden drowsiness fell upon Luna as she shut her eyes and instantly fell asleep in the cloud of cerulean magic.

The Dénouement

Celestia appeared at Luna’s door at the crack of dawn with the dark crimson blush of embarrassment evident on her face. Her persistent knocking was ignored. The solar princess frowned, as she had no choice but to teleport into her sister’s room. “Luna,” She called out. “Where are you?” She didn’t get a response. Celestia slowly approached the large door and knocked. Silence. Her golden magic wrapped around the knob as she steeled herself for whatever it was that she expected to see. An ethereal mane not unlike her own flowed out from under the corner of the comforter as the pony in the bed shifted about. “Night – Muh – Mistress, where is our sister?”

The comforters shifted as they were pushed off in an azure glow. “ ’Tia, what are you –“ Celestia shrieked as she took a step backwards. Her flank accidentally bumped into one of Luna’s many bookshelves, sending a couple books down to the floor. The alabaster alicorn influenced the shelf back against the wall and caught the three books that had fallen with her magic as she looked to a very confused looking dark coated pony.

“Luna, is that you? Your mane, your coat, your… everything! You look – just… wow.” Celestia stifled a gasp as she approached her sister. “My, you’ve even grown a few inches!” She looked around the room before asking, “Where is Nightmare?”

Luna rolled out of bed and took a step towards her sister, looking past her to the large mirror against the wall. Noticing that the clasp around her horn was missing, she turned around to see it lying in two pieces next to her pillow. “I… believe my new appearance is due to the fact that we have finally come to terms with one another. She and I are now one in both body and mind.” She said while running her hoof through her mane, entranced in the various miniature constellations and stars, all the while her mane moved about as if it had a mind of its own in a manner not unlike her sister’s hair.

A gloomy depression began to shroud the room, though Luna could not sense it. Many silent minutes passed by as the younger princess continued gawking at the mirror, her muzzle practically against the glass, lost in her sudden, uncharacteristic bout of narcissism. Luna continued brushing through her mane, discovering a myriad of what looked to be entire galaxies, each housing their own unique solar systems. Celestia attempted to ward the bleakness away by saying:

“I really do like your mane, Lulu.”

“As do I, sister. Perhaps Moony is in here somewhere, amidst these glorious stars.”

Celestia cringed, “Indeed.” She looked to her sister. Luna took a deep breath and sighed. Her sigh quickly turned into a groan. Her brow furrowed as her head dipped down, staring blindly at the carpeted floor for a few seconds before closing her already half-lidded eyes. “Uhm, Luna, are you okay?”

“I do not know. I feel fine.” Another deep, throaty sigh followed.

“Sister, you’re crying.”

“I… I… am?”

Luna fell to her haunches, her eyes suddenly leaking at the sides down her face, collecting in a damp spot on the rug. Her body shivered, convulsing uncontrollably as she sobbed. Celestia pulled her sister to her bed, laid down next to her and wrapped a comforting hoof around her back, pulling her in close to her chest to provide what comfort she could to her sister.

“It’s okay. It’s all over now, Luna.” She nuzzled her sister lovingly.

“Ego sum desideraturus sua, ‘Tia. Quid ego sentire hoc modo?” Luna said, adopting the ancient tongue, a language that Celestia hadn’t heard another pony speak in many centuries.

“Nightmare Moon… est in melior locus nunc, meus soror. Ego sum certus, illic, Nightmare est laetus.” Celestia said, trying to comfort her sister.

”I feel so… empty… and yet… complete? Eh… Ego sum mea.” Luna laughed weakly, nuzzling into her sister. “Gratias tibi ago, ‘Tia. Quod laganum…” She said proudly with an exhausted laugh as she leaned her head into her sister’s chest. Celestia blushed slightly, realizing her sister had found out about her plan. She smiled and allowed her sister out of the warm embrace moments later, only to be pulled back into it. “Placet mane apud mea, ‘Tia.”

“Certe, meus soror.”

…

“Celestia,” Luna spoke. “Celestia, I – we,” she corrected, “Need to pee.”

“We...?” Celestia looked down at her sister with her brow creased in confusion.

“Yes, We, Celestia. Nightmare and I.”

“Luna… Nightmare Moon is… gone.”

“Nay, sister, she is not.” Luna stepped off of the bed as her form glowed white. Her body grew as Celestia watched in stunned awe.

“Oh, me.” Celestia spoke, gawking at Nightmare Moon’s naked, armor-less form.

“Hello, sister.” Nightmare spoke. “I am still very much alive. Luna and I are now in perfect equilibrium with one another.”

“… And you are pacified, are you not?”

“Indeed, I am, Celestia. Luna has shown me the error of my ways. Also," Nightmare Moon approached Celestia and brought her mouth to the princess' alabaster ear and whispered, "We have to do that again sometime..."

Celestia blushed, speechless. Before pulling away, Nightmare Moon nibbled at the tough cartilage of her alabaster-furred ears. The princess groaned in pain, then spoke. "I'd love to." The dark alicorn grinned, flashing her rounded fangs.

"Luna wishes to speak to you now. Au revoir, Celestia. See you soon.” Nightmare Moon shrank down as her form glowed in whiteness for a moment.

“I remember them now, Celestia. Mother and Father. Day and Night. Diem and Noctem.” Luna spoke again, looking to her sister. Celestia nearly fainted at hearing her parent’s names, having long since given up hopes of every hearing of them again. The corners of her eyes formed heavy tears, blurring her vision as she lunged towards her sister, wrapping her hooves around her chest.

“Tell me about them, Luna. Tell me about Mother and Father.” Celestia whispered into her sister’s ear.

“But you already know everything that We –“ She was cut off with a gentle hoof placed on her lips.

“Tell me about our parents, Luna.” Celestia repeated again. Luna nodded, and began speaking of Diem and Noctem. Her sister smiled all the while, resting her head on her sister’s dark chest, listening to the relaxing sound of her immortal heart beating away. Bliss. Celestia thought. That’s what this feeling is. It has been far too long… since I have been happy.

Author's Note

This is all new to me, and I don’t know how much more of this type of stuff – stuff being porn – I’ll write, so I appreciate any and all comments. This story was written to compress many of my Luna/Celestia/Nightmare Moon headcanons into one piece. When it dawned on me that many of them worked well alongside each other, I said, “Fuck it, I’m going to write a clopfic.” And so I did. This is the result. It was more of a learning experience, or perhaps a writing experiment, than it was outright writing bad horse erotica.

You don't necessarily need to translate it, as it makes sense without understanding the words that the two princesses speak, but my Latin is nonexistent, so I spent a few hours making certain that everything would translate correctly using Google’s broken translator, but still, if something is wrong please tell me via PM or comment.

Oh, and yes, the bar/club's name was… borrowed from StreakTheFox's Lunaughty.

~ Ben

P.S. For the record, I don’t clop, nor do I find ponies attractive... most of the time.

P.S.S. I reread this at least ten times over the course of a couple months, and I just barely had the balls to post it. It feels so mechanical and choppy… ugh, emotions suck… why do I have to give such a huge shit about what anonymous people think of what I wrote?

The Bubble Bath

Luna awoke with a smile, though it quickly faded as she tried to use her magic to levitate a book over from the shelf in the corner of her room. Both the clasp on her horn and the anti-magic veil punished her with an excruciating stab of pain that started at the tip of her horn and branched outwards to every part of her body, shocking her like electricity. She shrieked in pain momentarily, then groaned and rubbed her head in the place where her headache was particularly bad before glancing over to her desk and examining the clock that read 6:47 PM: just about an hour earlier than when she usually woke up.

The quiet jingle of a teleportation spell followed by the sound of a ceramic plate being dropped and the intoxicating smell of food roused Luna up from the rug and towards the source of deliciousness. Resting underneath the side of the plate was a note from her sister that read:

“Luna, I’d imagine that you’d need all of your strength for confronting Nightmare Moon, should she decide to actually show up. Eat up. I have contracted everypony who we can trust to get to work on a ‘cure’. Worry not; they will keep everything I tell them secret. I believe I have reinforced that in their minds enough. I will keep you updated.

~ Love, Celestia”

Hours passed by and not once did Nightmare make an appearance. Luna immensely was relieved, though she was still on guard. Maybe it was just a fluke – a misinterpretation of nothing more than primal fear – however, Luna did agreed with her sister: it was still a good thing to be cautious with matters that could put the entirety of Equestria at risk.

The night slowly passed by, giving the princess optimal time to read through her large collection of volumes. Luna ate her meals when they were teleported to her by the royal chefs, who were curious as to why Luna was locked in her room. They obediently obeyed Celestia and accepted whatever excuse it was that the princess had given them. Of course, Celestia managed to sneak in another slice of that heavenly cake alongside her sister’s dinner.

The Sun shone a ray on the cover of Luna’s book through the magic-reinforced window, a tacit sign from her sister that she should get some sleep soon. The cobalt blue mare trotted from her bedroom down the short hallway into her bathroom, which was tantamount to a luxury spa. The spoils of being royalty, Luna thought. Without her magic, the princess reluctantly reached over the large tub and turned the knob towards the left. Hot.

The thought of adding a hooful of bath salts to the steaming water crawled into the princess' head, a welcoming reminder of the luxury around her. Luna located the jar filled with purple beads and unceremoniously tossed in an ample amount. The smell of lavender and vanilla quickly filled the room, relaxing the stressed princess before she even stepped hoof into the tub. She took a moment to admire the steamy, flower-scented air before stepping into the tub. “Ah…” Luna sighed as she slowly slid down into the water. “Perfect.” The water was scalding, by normal standards, however to Luna it was just right. Naturally her body had developed a resistance to heat from spending a millennium on the frigid moon’s surface.

After many minutes of soaking in the heavenly, bubbling water, Luna located the clear bottle full of shampoo and attempted to squeeze out enough to clean her mane. This proved difficult without magic, but after many infuriating moments Luna had finally managed to fill her hoof with the thick liquid. Her hooves moved through her mane, covering it in bubbly suds. Another sigh escaped Luna’s lips as she sunk down and relaxed, closing her already half-lidded eyes, allowing the still-boiling water to reach all the way up to her neck.

“Quite a relaxing bath,” Luna’s muscles tightened as her eyes shot open. Blood rushed to her face, forming a bright crimson blush on her cheeks as her heart pumped away wildly in her chest. A large dark horn protruding from the water greeted her as Nightmare Moon slowly ascended from the mountain of bubbles. “You definitely deserve it after all I’ve put you through.” Luna held back a shriek as Nightmare slowly waded to the opposite side of the bath. A cobalt glow shrouded her black horn as she attempted to levitate the bottle of shampoo into her hoof, only to be zapped by the anti-magic ward. Unaffected by the current of magical energy, Luna snickered at Nightmare’s injury.

“Our sister is quite afraid of me, huh? She is wise to be.” She proudly closed her eyes and crossed her hooves behind her head.

“Indeed,” Luna raised her brow as she inspected Nightmare. “I see you are enjoying my bath, yes?”

“Oh, so sorry, Luna.” Nightmare sarcastically said as she raised her hoof to the brim of the tub.

“This is going to be a very long week.” Luna mumbled as she rubbed the temples of her head with the corner of her hoof, feeling the growing tension slowly form into a headache. Knowing Nightmare was as defenseless as she was without magic, Luna relaxed some, though she still kept her guard up.

“Would you pass me the soap, Luna?” Nightmare said while brushing a hoof through her starry mane.

“Why would I ever do anything for you?” Luna replied, glaring at Nightmare Moon.

“Why so bitter? I’ve only ever tried to help you, Luna. All those years ago? That was merely a… miscalculation. I never expected our sister to harness the power of the Elements of Harmony. Now I am only trying to do what you have grown too soft to. There are no hard feelings, and I wish we could perhaps one day even get along with one another.” Luna took a moment to process what the midnight-black mare had just said; she had the feeling that Nightmare wasn’t lying. “I know it’s not much, but I give you my word that I’m not lying; I reassure you I am telling the truth, like I had said before: I know when you lie, but you too know when I lie. Why waste time by lying? We only get so much of it. Even us immortals.”

The statement elicited a groan from Luna. Silent minutes passed by as Nightmare lounged in the now lukewarm water. Luna cleansed her mane of the soap while watching Nightmare hum a tune as she ran her hooves through her thick, starry mane. Had she not damned her to a life of isolation, Luna would’ve thought that it was cute.

Without a word, Luna hopped out of the tub, leaving Nightmare Moon alone in the luxury bath to do as she pleased. The dark blue alicorn grasped a towel from the rack in her jaw and tossed it in the air in hopes of it landing in her mane. It defiantly landed on the floor to her side. After many minutes of struggling, Luna had managed to get very little of her body dry. “Would you like some help, Luna?” The aforementioned mare turned around to see Nightmare Moon with a towel clenched between her teeth.

Luna motioned for Nightmare to follow her and trotted down the short hallway to her bedroom. She sat down on her bed, reluctantly beckoning the larger mare over to her side. Nightmare trotted over to the generously sized bed and gently brought the towel above Luna’s head. I am going insane. Here I am, laying on my bed while my supposedly dead imaginary enemy is helping me dry my mane. Ugh!

Nightmare lightly gritted her teeth as she ignored the thought that she heard. Once finished, she tossed the soaked towel to the side of the room with a twist of her neck. Nightmare rested her head against one of the many large pillows and breathed a deep sigh of contentment. “What do you think you’re doing? This is my bed.”

“But – I… fine.” Nightmare Moon pouted in hopes of convincing Luna to let her share the bed. It was unsuccessful. Nightmare rolled off of the bed and laid down on the rug: a hardly suitable place to sleep for a pony of her status. “Goodnight, Luna.” The sound of quiet, nearly silent, snoring filled her ancient ears. Nightmare Moon rolled her eyes as she crossed her hooves, trying to get somewhat comfortable enough to fall asleep on the cold floor.

…

Celestia awoke with a start when a frantic knock on the door roused her away from the comfort of her bed. She shuffled her hooves over to the door. Her golden magic glowed around the knob as it slowly opened. “Hello, Princess.” The pony before her bowed his head down. “I have a few questions for you. Do you mind if I come in?”

“Of course not.” Celestia recognized him as one of the ponies from the meeting. The princess motioned with her neck for the guard to leave and moved out of the way to allow the significantly smaller, beige unicorn into her chambers. The guard bowed and closed the door with his magic as he wordlessly trotted away. The princess and unicorn each sat on chairs on opposite sides of a small coffee table where a small kettle of warm tea and two cups had been placed.

“Allow me to re-introduce myself, as it has been quite a while since we have last chatted. I am Ink Blot, but please refrain from calling me that, as I am much more partial to the nickname Inky. Now then, Princess Celestia –”

“Simply Celestia, if you will, Inky. This is unofficial and we are within my personal quarters. My title shall remain unspoken.”

“Certainly. Now then…”

…

After many questions asked by both parties, and a few cups of tea, the beige unicorn walked out with his battered looking clipboard floating around him encompassed in his bright blue aura. He thanked Celestia for her time, and in turn she thanked him before assigning a guard to escort him out of the castle. Still half-asleep, the white alicorn wrote her sister a brief letter detailing what Inky had told her and placed it on her desk. Celestia trotted into bathroom to take a quick shower and then ate breakfast at the small table in the middle of the parlor before leaving her chambers for the throne room, where she would go about her tedious daily duties.

Time is nothing in the eyes of an immortal, but boredom is a very real thing. It was the bane of Celestia, but eventually it was time to return to her chambers and raise the moon. As Celestia walked down the empty halls the thought of checking on her sister crossed her mind. Luna’s chambers weren’t too far of a walk from her own. Celestia placed her ear against the large door, listening for any sounds. Not a single noise could be heard over the ever-present hum of the magical enchantment on the door.

Against her better judgment, Celestia closed her eyes and primed a spell she hadn’t used in many, many years. It was a rather advanced one for most ponies, and few of them even knew of its existence. Celestia was not ‘most ponies’.

In a matter of seconds she let out a deep breath and mumbled a few quiet incantations necessary for the spell. The soft hum of magic echoed down the corridors, though nopony was there to hear it. Princess Celestia opened her eyes and looked down at her own ethereal hooves, smiling at her success in performing the ancient spell. The solar princess looked back to her idle body, amethyst eyes closed and polychromatic mane still flowing in a non-extant wind, much unlike the halcyonic golden one she currently had.

Anxious as ever, the apparitional alicorn stepped through the dark door with ease, the absence of the sound of her ever-present hoofshoes being a nice change. The sight of Luna’s bedroom door open ajar struck Celestia as peculiar, so she quickly began making her way towards it, knowing full well that in her magical form she was incapable of making any sort of sound or being seen, so long as she maintained constant focus on the spell. Her ghostly hoof phased through the door as she attempted to push it open. She rolled her eyes at her mistake. A quick step through the door, and Celestia noticed the small dark blob poking its head up from the sheets, which were slowly rising and falling with each breath that the blur took.

A soft cough from the side of the bed made Celestia’s airy brow rise in stunned confusion. Clearly it wasn’t Luna who had made the noise, as she was on top of her bed, snoring lightly. Celestia lifted her golden hoof and began walking towards the source of the sound. What she saw made her heart pound in her throat – or it would have if she were capable of having a heart in that form. Instead, a feeling of lightheadedness dizzied her, nearly causing her to momentarily lose focus on the magical connection between her body and soul. On the floor next to Luna’s bed was a large jet-black mare, exactly the same size as Celestia. Her starry mane moved about as she rolled onto her back.

“Celestia,” She murmured in her sleep. “I… never meant to hurt you.” Nightmare Moon rolled back over onto her belly, completely unaware of what she had just admitted.

“Princess?” Celestia’s amethyst eyes shot open as her weakened concentration on the spell finally broke, sending what was essentially her soul back into her body. Her breathing was short and broken as if she had just done something strenuous, making the guard’s brow furrow in worry. “Are you well, princess?”

“I am fine, just… very tired.” Celestia excused herself and slowly began trotting down the dark halls towards her bedroom. The guard simply shrugged and turned to continue on his lonely way through the castle.

...

The cacophony of wood hitting metal made Celestia’s ears ring as she slammed the door of her room shut with a mighty kick, and then locked it using her golden magic. After uneventfully raising the moon for the third time in nearly an entire year, the princess of the Sun and day collapsed on her large mattress. “At least Luna’s safe.” she said to herself, trying desperately to believe it.

”Celestia… I never meant to hurt you.” The almost-apology echoed in her mind as she tried to make sense of it. Tears soaked her alabaster white coat as she rolled around in frustration, many minutes later finally coming to the realization that Nightmare Moon was completely honest. Her entire being had been devoted to bringing about eternal night – to break the unfair balance Celestia and Luna were supposed to be guarding, and to make up for the night’s debt. Nightmare Moon was a bringer of equilibrium, not anarchy.

Night and Day: each polar opposites meant never to intervene with one another and still expected to exist in harmony together. Nightmare Moon’s only wish was to help Luna, though she never expected Celestia to go to such lengths to keep her subjects ‘safe’. Luna wholeheartedly trusted Nightmare Moon because she had nopony else to turn to. With a few of Nightmare Moon’s persuasive words, the princess gave her body to the thoughtform of a mare, convincing Luna that she would give her what she deserved. Admiration. Love. Strength. Nightmare Moon failed. In doing so, she became a monster, allowing herself to take in power and become blinded by it. She ruined what slim chance Luna had for atonement in one fell swoop by finally putting her hoof down and refusing to lower the moon.

Nightmare Moon failed in her quest of redemption and, while she was weak, lost her physical body to Luna, who took over rightful control. Without being able to fulfill her only purpose, Nightmare Moon hid in the back of Luna’s mind and waited for an opportunity to strike. In her moment of emotional weakness, Nightmare saw it as the perfect moment, which allowed her to escape from Luna’s mind and come into reality.

For the first time in many centuries, Celestia truly felt empty: numb to all the sadness of her millennia old decision, which still haunted her. Enough time could heal anything, though seemingly not enough had passed. Celestia wanted nothing but to apologize to Nightmare Moon, but she knew that she wouldn’t accept it. That was to be expected. Her tears soaked deep into the soft velvet pillows as she used her magic to bring the thick comforter over her head, seeking from it what its name implied. She got nothing of the sort from the cotton filled piece of thick fabric.

Celestia’s emotions further toyed with her; everything from pure sorrow to unadulterated rage tormented her mind as she rolled around her sweat-clad sheets. They were tossed to the floor as she hopped to her hooves and walked outside to her balcony to get some much needed fresh air.

The night’s essence, crisp wind and patient, silent wisdom eased her nerves as it whispered soothing nothings into her ears to calm her anxiety. Her lungs felt frozen as she exhaled a breath that she held deep inside to keep from screaming, floating upwards into the sky as a large cloud of condensation, taking with it some of the bottled up emotions and unspoken words from the princess.

The dark city underneath her appeared to be void of life as her amethyst eyes scanned the distance. Every good little filly and colt was asleep, resting comfortably in their beds with pleasant dreams playing out in their minds. Celestia envied their innocence. She envied their ignorance. She envied their mortality. Immortality is a curse. Knowledge is paralyzing. Experience is a plight. Celestia was an all-knowing, wise, immortal demi-goddess. She defied all physical barriers, and yet she was alive and perfectly well. Well physically anyways. Mentally, she was a mess.

She took a final deep breath and let it out, watching it float up into the black sky before the princess returned to her chambers. The contrast from cool air to comforting warmth coaxed a sigh out of the princess of the Sun. After teleporting the letter that she had written the morning prior, Celestia returned to her bed, finally able to put aside her thoughts and attempt to get some sleep.

By now Luna probably would have woken up and done whatever it was she had been doing to keep herself entertained, Celestia thought. She found solace in the fact that, from the looks of it, her sister was safe. With that thought held tightly in her proverbial hooves, she drifted off into sleep.