Another Halloween Surprise! · 4:59am Oct 24th, 2015
I'm continuing the My Nightmarish Heroine Halloween release from last year with a sequel/companion story, My Celestial Villainess. I say it in those terms because we won't be continuing it from Coco's perspective, but Rarity's once she gets saved from the Nightmare Forces. It's got more romance in it, but also, it's a good chance for me to dream up some ideas on how the removal really affected the ponies possessed by it. I feel like it probably stunted/regressed Luna's growth for a while (hence S1-S2 differences), but the effects aren't that dramatic with Rarity since she hasn't been under its control for a thousand years. It is an absence that the body can feel, though, since the Nightmare can reformat the host to be dependent on its presence. Pretty dark for me compared to some of my other stuff. 
But anyway, here's a little sneak preview excerpt:
"The nightmare isn’t over. It’s far from done with me, and perhaps all of Equestria feels just the same. Perhaps there’s a part of everypony that still feels like they’re trapped fighting within it, and I couldn’t understand more. After all, it has only been a matter of weeks since the land of the moon creatures dissolved suddenly and without explanation, if even that. My mind’s been so absolutely blurred, time just seems to flow together lately and for the first time in what seems like forever, I am completely unable to control anything. Not even myself.
Not even the nightmares that had reigned inside me and imprisoned me within another to the point where I’m not even sure if my old self still exists out there. Those close to me have held out so much hope on this subject, but honestly…I just feel like I don’t know anymore.
I had become so used to playing that pony called Rarity for so long that when something else pushed her out, it was like it also pushed out every ability to shake myself back to before. Before, when being my past self was instinctual and radiant, no more effort needed to maintain it than a simple splash of polish on a sparkling diamond.
Nightmares really can rust your heart like nothing else. But I’m not quite sure dreams are any better."
And for all those people who might follow the certain sister 'verse to My Nightmarish Heroine as well...I'll try my best to release If You Give a Little Love Part Eleven around the same time. (And this is the first time I've had a Part Eleven in anything published of mine. The only other thing I know of mine that went that long was a little Neopets fic called The Vickles-Shaye Battles years ago that went sadly unpublished, which was also eleven parts. I still have the finished version to it on my computer, though.)
Sweet!
3492839
Thanks. I never thought I'd make anything longer than VSB and have it actually get published. VSB wasn't a total waste, though; some of the characters transferred back to Actress Square.
I'm putting an extra amount of effort into this to nail the Rarity voice more in this one. And if it doesn't nail it, perhaps it'd fit the mood to have her not quite be able to find her voice after what happened?
3492873 Advertising pieces of your story like this is a great way to advertise to it to the people. Get's people hyped for it. Good thinking.
3492879
Thanks. I should probably do this sort of thing more, huh?
3492883 I do it and it always works out great!