//------------------------------//
// Chapter 5: A Dream doesn't come with Free Realistate 
// Story: Time & a Half, What a Nightmare 
// by Carmine Craft 
//------------------------------//

The majority of the ponies left, having to get back home for work or various other reasons. The three remaining were royalty, and since Nightmare was still technically a national threat, they could get away from the office for a few more hours. At least that's what Nightmare thought, no one had really told her anything. Or maybe they had and she simply hadn’t understood, she wouldn't know, she was still reeling in her giggles at the time.

"Nightmare?" Twilight asked cautiously.

Nightmare lifted her head to look up at the newest addition to royalty. It was at that moment she realized how truly insane she must have looked. She was sitting on her rump, hunched over completely, with her wings wrapped around her rear hooves, something they must have done automatically. She was also rubbing a single lock of her mane between her forehooves, and was giggling at it like a child. 

Nightmare's wings shot back up to her sides, and she rolled forward onto her haunches into a much more normal sitting position for an equine. She coughed into the crook of her forelimb awkwardly. "S-sorry, yes? You have more questions?"

“No." Celestia cut in, and from the disappointed look on Twilight's face, that was a lie. "Would you please accept a glamour spell, so that you don’t cause ponies to panic every time you go get groceries?” Celestia asked. “It might also help you do other things as well, such as-” 


"Oh, yeah, sure. But are you sure that will work? I did a bit of reading on glamours, and the ones I tried weren't exactly, convincing."

"What you likely used were basic, low tier illusions,” Luna answered. “Twilight told me that it looked like you were using spells directly from the books, with no modifications at all. What we are going to employ is a spell that mine sister and I have worked on over the ages. It is the same spell we use for our own disguises when we want to walk amongst our ponies without our royal presence to colour their actions." Luna lit her horn, and in a flash she had been replaced by a baby-blue pegasus mare. She had a silver mane, green eyes, and a full moon for a cutie mark. "’Tis quite effective." She said in Luna's voice.

"Oh, okay, neat." Nightmare complemented the disguised alicorn, looking over the illusion for flaws. "So, what am I gonna look like?" 

"We don't actually know, this spell creates an entirely new disguise based off of the user, so we won't know until we cast it."

"Any side effects I should know about?"

"None worth noting, stand please."

Nightmare complied, not reassured in the slightest by Celestia's words. The elder alicorn bent down and touched her horn to Nightmare's. 'Wasn't Nightmare as tall as Celestia in the show? Now I feel short.' 
  
There was a shimmer, and the world twisted, but when Nightmare opened her eyes, the world looked… exactly the same. She looked down at her hooves, and failed to see anything changed. Same black coat, same pink hair that dragged on the ground. She looked over her shoulder and spread her wings, then tapped a hoof to the horn still on her forehead. She looked down at the purple and disguised Alicorns. "Uhh, I don't think it worked, I look the same."

Twilight pulled out a mirror from under her wing--

'How long was that there, and did she get that when she went to get the ring?' wondered Nightmare.

-- and held it a little above eye level for her. She dragged it down a little bit and looked into the reflective surface. A dark mare looked back at her, with big, round bluish green eyes. Not slitted, regular pony eyes. "Wait, what?" She grabbed the small mirror with both hooves. Nightmare stared down at her reflection, her mouth open in a halted gasp, which allowed her to see the flat teeth in the mouth of the mare in the reflection. She began to notice the smaller details, such as her much shorter horn and her lighter coat, now a dark grey-blue. 

A brief flash of light alerted her to the disappearance of Celestia and the arrival of a slightly taller-than-average pegasus mare. She had a coat of white and wore a long, but considerably more manageable than her own, pink mane. Her cutie mark was identical to Celestia's own, save for the sunglasses laid over it. The "new" mare had also brought with her a full body mirror, and was gesturing to with a wing.

What nightmare saw was an average-looking, dark-coloured unicorn mare. Her pink mane was long and unkempt, and her short summer coat was in need of a good brushing. Her cutie mark hadn't changed much; the aqua moon was still visible over a splash of dark purple, but now the moon was being dunked into a superimposed coffee mug. Her coat was actually lighter than the patch, providing a different contrast. Speaking of coats and colour patches, she was dappled, covered from hoof to tail in dark purple spots along her back and down her legs. 

"Well, that's interesting. I look like my own illegitimate child." Luna barely suppressed a laugh behind her forehooves at Nightmare's casual remark.

"This spell is a high grade illusion that we crafted ourselves. It also has perception and scale translation charms mixed in,” Celestia explained. Man, it was odd hearing her voice coming from such a small, by comparison, pony. "That means ponies will look you in the eye and not stare intently at your chest, and should you come into physical contact with one, for say, a hug, they won't be trying to strangle your legs." 

"Okay, but why doesn't it change how I see myself?" 

"Mostly so you know when to duck through doorways."

"Oh… that makes sense. So, what's my alias?" Nightmare asked casually, experimentally waving a hoof, and watching the mare in the mirror copy the action.

"You don't have any ideas?" Twilight asked.

"Uhh, no. How about you, what are the names of your disguises?" She asked, pointing to the incognito alicorns.

"When I take this appearance, I go by the name Sunny Days." The renamed pegasus said, holding a hoof over her chest.

"I go by Moonlight in this form."

"Okay, so normal names are Sunny Days, Moonlight, Twilight, Pinkie…" Nightmare muttered to herself, of course she knew what a normal pony name sounded like, but she had a story to keep up, and therefore, an act to put on. "I like the 'Night' part of my name, so how does 'Night Star,' 'Night Sky,' or 'Nightingale' sound?"

"The first is alright, the second would be more apt for a pegasus, and the third is the name of one of our lieutenants of the nightguard." Luna shot down all three.

"Alright… how about 'Nightfall?'"

"That one is… a little cliche for a dark coloured pony, and is a stallion's name."

"Nightlight?"

"That would be my father's name," Twilight objected.

"Really? Huh, okay, well, what about… Night…" She scanned her reflection for inspiration, her eyes settling on her altered cutie mark. "...Cup, Nightcap? No no, that one sounds wrong. What about Night… Shift? That one doesn't sound too bad, what do you think?"

"That will suffice." Luna nodded. 


▪=//=▪


Nightmare was being escorted through the forest, in the relatively silent company of one disguised Lunar Princess. Neither of them had said a word since they had left the castle. Nightmare shifted her hidden wings uncomfortably, the mare had done an excellent job of making the walk through the world's most interesting forest uncomfortable, this left her seeking a distraction.

She couldn't find one. Every time she found an interesting flower or tree to look at, it either snapped at her, was reduced to ash by luna, or flew away. It also didn't help that between these times, the forest was deathly quiet, leaving her attention to drift to the disproportionately heavy hoof-falls of the stoic pegasus in front of her.

Nightmare blew out a nervous breath and cast her eyes skyward as she tried to think of a topic to break the silence. Nothing was forthcoming, so she just watched as the forest canopy scrolled past her. She stared upward at her horn, and felt her mind wander to the ring on it, hidden from view with the rest of herself. "Huh."

"Hmm?"

"Oh, just I, uhm, how am I…"

"Speak your mind, 'Night Shift,' what is your concern." Nightmare's gaze fell back to the mare, she met her eyes, and sighed.

"Alright, so my disguise is a unicorn." 

"Aye."

Nightmare paused at the images of Luna dressed as a pirate that brought up, then shook her head and continued. "And I'm wearing a magic suppressor, preventing me from casting, well, anything."

"That is true." The pegasus 'Moonlight' nodded.

"And my disguise is a unicorn." Nightmare tried to lead the mare to her conclusion, to see if her concern was valid.

"You've already said this." She gave Nightmare a sceptical look.

"I'm going to be a unicorn who can't cast magic. At all, won't that be odd?" Nightmare waved a hoof in a circular motion as she talked.

"Ah, yes, we can see how that might be seen as strange." Luna nodded, she held a hoof to her chin in thought, without breaking stride. "Well, I am confident that you shall be able to create an acceptable story, should the need arise. Ponyville is a largely earth pony settlement, so nopony should particularly mind if you appear to be a more hooves-on mare." She finished in a casual and dismissive manner, that was absolutely no help whatsoever.


▪=//=▪


'Moonlight' and 'Night Shift' had to stop at the edge of town for the moon to be raised, and with it, came a feeling of safety that washed over the dark Alicorn. She watched the display with wonder, as the silvery lunar body ascended into the heavens, the stars exploding from the horizon to take up their nightly vigil. The speed at which day switched to night was amazing, and slightly terrifying, but once everything stopped shifting, it was beautiful.

The night sky on earth was pretty, when one could bear witness to it, light pollution and a nigh constant cloud bank constantly hid the stars, but even on a rare crystal clear night, the sky back home could not compare to Equestria's. Every facet, every twinkling star, even the placement of the moon had been made by hoof – or rather, horn – to dazzle any that would but cast their eyes skywards. The fact that the whole of ancient Equestria apparently couldn't be bothered to spare passing glances at the masterpiece she now beheld seemed so… unlikely, no impossible! 

“You enjoying this, Night Shift?” ‘Moonlight’ asked. 

“I’ve never seen anything like this,” Night replied. 

“I can imagine,” ‘Moonlight’ said, grinning. “You never did have my artistry with the sky, especially with the liminal times.” She shook her head, still grinning all the while. 

For her part, ‘Night Shift’ gave Moonlight a befuddled look. "Uhh, yeah." She felt like asking several questions, especially about what Equestria's past was like, but she didn't want to bring up potentially painful memories, she was already on thin ice.

She also didn't want to look like an idiot by asking what 'liminal' meant.

And so she remained quiet, and looked back up at the beautifully crafted night sky. Once the moon was overhead, Luna's missing horn stopped glowing and they began the march to Ponyville once more. Of all the houses they passed, not a single one had their lights on. Nopony had decided to stay up after sundown, apparently, not a single one of them thought to watch the moonrise. This irked the Nightmare. 'Not a single pony thought it might be nice to look up at the stars? Really? Oh, nevermind, there's one.' as they passed the library, Nightmare could see Twilight on the balcony, three telescopes at her disposal. Sure, she was failing to hide the nervous glances down at the nocturnally inclined Alicorns, but at least she was still awake to enjoy the night.

Soon after the library was out of sight, the pair stopped at a seemingly random house. It was a simple two - possibly three, given the standard height of a pony - story affair, plainly painted off-white walls, sectioned off by exposed wooden beams. The roof was thatch, and the door was stained a dull green. 

Nightmare gave the building an appraising look, before turning back to the 'pegasus,' who had also stopped to look at the building. "Is this the place?"

"Aye, this will be thi- your dwelling for the foreseeable future." Luna nodded. "Do you not approve?" The disguised princess inquired with a raised brow.

"No, I do, how can I not? It's not like I could have gone house hunting, considering my non-existent --" Nightmare paused, remembering that she technically did have money, a lot of it, infact, but had no way of accessing it with her magic sealed. "No, that's correct, I'm one-hundred percent broke." 'probably best I don't mention the small fortune I have, at least until I know how much it's actually worth. And can get to it.'
'…'
'I'm going to need to get a job, aren't I?'

Luna didn't look entirely convinced with Nightmare's claim, but made no further attempts to pursue the conversation. "Yes, well, this is your domicile, furnishings aside from a bed, table, and dining cushions shall be arriving some time tomorrow, I would recommend spending some time creating a cover while you wait. You are a clever mare, or you used to be. I have full confidence you can blend in here in Ponyville." With her piece said, she abruptly ended the conversation by taking off, before Nightmare could call out to her, she disappeared in a flash of silver light. 

Nightmare sighed as she looked back down at the building she had just been given. It was a nice house, probably the nicest house she had ever owned, and she did own it. The entire situation still seemed entirely surreal, especially now that she had a moment to herself. The fact that she was somehow actually in Equestria was baffling, and made her wonder, for example, what other shows were real. Nightmare pressed on the door as she pondered. 
thunk 

Nightmare blinked, she pushed again. The door shook slightly, but didn't swing. She jiggled the handle, and got the expected response. Nightmare sighed. "Locked out of my house, yep, that's far too realistic for this to be some coma fantasy… I wonder if Twilight would mind porting me in there?" Nightmare's head slumped as she let loose a moan of irritation. With the quiet tinkling of metal a small object swung into view; apparently, the Princess of the Moon thought it would be funny to hang the house key from Nightmare's horn. 

Nightmare sighed once more, this time in relief, as she channeled her magic- "oh, right. No biggie." She shrugged her wings, then moved one such feathery appendage in front of her. 'Pegasi use their wings like hands all the time on the show, how hard can it be?'


▪=//=▪


As it would turn out, it could be just the slightest bit difficult. Feathers. Specifically, the primaries, can be bent and manipulated, but not like good old fingers. but the real problem lay in the fact that they weren't her arms, they were a third set of limbs, and this made rerouting hand knowledge a right pain in the ass. When she finally got the jerky limbs to do what she wanted, she discovered another interesting tidbit about her body, specifically her horn. Now, a standard equine horn is not just some bone sticking out of their forehead like a magical party hat filled with calcium- it's actually covered in velvet, which helps explain why the horn of a pony can match their coat colour. Well, better than it just being a cartoon, since that notion was thrown to the timberwolves.

Velvet, for those who aren't aware, is the fuzzy skin that covers antlers as they grow. It's densely concentrated with blood vessels and nerves. It is very sensitive and nourishes antlers for about five months. On pony horns, it's apparently a permanent fixture, due to 'magic vessels' being in the mix. One doesn't technically need velvet to cast spells, as there is a central line within the horn itself, but it makes it way easier, and offers fine control for long duration spells, such as levitation, or aiming magical death rays. 

The key word in this is sensitive. When you run something against extremely sensitive tissue, you get one of two things; pain or pleasure. And seeing how the something was 'supremely soft feathers' it definitely wasn't the former. Add to this still being clumsy with their wings movements, and Nightmare quickly had to stop before she made a mess of her front yard, or worse, woke the neighbors.

Deciding perhaps that removing the key in this manner would be unfavorable, and so she took to trying to make it fall off. "This… probably looks weird." She realized, from her current position of a handstand with her hind legs against the door frame. "Aaand, the key is stuck behind the suppressor… joy." 

Nightmare lowered herself to the ground in a slightly less than graceful way. Nightmare dragged her curtain of pink out of the way and spat out a mouthful of grass. As it turns out, being a horse, does not make grass tasty, in fact, it was still quite unpalatable. Nightmare clicked her tongue in annoyance. "Maybe… there's an open window or something I can crawl in?" She guessed as she got to her hooves, going around the left side of the house.

There wasn't.

Back to square one with the key conundrum, Nightmare tried to get the implement as close to the lock as she could. This involved grinding her muzzle against the green stained surface. 

It didn't work. If she was actually the pony she appeared to be in her reflection, with the comparatively short muzzle and horn, this plan might have worked, sadly, she was Luna sized. Nightmare lamented the fact that she didn't have magic, it turns out that being able to manipulate objects with one's mind was indeed quite necessary in a unicorn's everyday life.

The dappled mare slumped against the barrier and groaned. "'One of Equestria's greatest villains,' defeated by a simple door… hah." She rubbed a hoof against the frame. "I could just… break it down… but then I have to get it fixed." Nightmare vainly tried to light her horn, and felt the metaphysical dam holding back the flood. Not even a spark got through. Nightmare halfheartedly banged the side of her head into the door. "...This sucks." 


▪=//=▪


"Luna!" Celestia cheered upon the younger sister's arrival. "Are you okay? They didn't hurt you, did they? Did they try something once you were alone? I swear, if that parasite tries to take you away from me again, I'll-!"

Luna pushed hard against the bulk of her elder sister to escape the crushing hug she was suffering from. "We art fine! thine- your worry is appreciated, sister, but I am capable of defending myself! In one on one combat, I could have easily bested her, had she not been… changed, as she is. In her current state, I believe even Twilight's nobility-obsessed friend could best her." 

"I know you know her name is Rarity, you were bragging nonstop about all your new friends after Nightmare Night. Regardless, I hardly expected you to be the first pony to jump to her defense, Fluttershy perhaps, after her success with Discord." 

"I am not…" Luna sighed, rubbing a hoof over her muzzle. "Look, nopony has more reason to hate the Nightmare than me, not even you. But, that pony, I'm not sure. She looks like them, she sounds like them, she even has an identical aura!" 

"But… She acts nothing like them." Celestia nodded.

"She does not act like me either, for that matter." 

"Lulu…"

"Do not 'Lulu' me, we both know that the Nightmare was nothing more than me at my worst." 

"No, we don't. In fact, we now have evidence to support that the Nightmare is - or at least, was - something entirely separate from you."

"Nay, I cannot pin the blame on unknowns, t’was our own doing that brought about Nightmare Moon, and I won't entertain this particular ghost of the past any longer."

Celestia let the discussion drop, albeit reluctantly. "... I still don't trust her."

"Neither do I. But I would be remiss if I were to deny the mare a chance to earn that trust." Luna briefly glanced out the window, before returning her gaze to her sister. "Now then, it is getting late, and you should get some sleep, I shall watch over the night, as is my duty and pleasure."

Celestia offered a wan smile. "You're right, goodnight, Lulu." 

"Goodnight Tia, I'll see you at dawn." Luna threw one wing over her sister's withers and gave her a squeeze, before turning and heading for the throne room.

Celestia watched her leave for a moment, before starting for her chambers. "She really has matured these past two years."


▪=//=▪