//------------------------------//
// Chapter 7 - Good Night Sparklebutt 
// Story: The Adventures of the New Nightmare 
// by hmaf43 
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Twilight is tired. Very tired. She has been exploring the ruins of the Castle of the Two Sisters for what feels like hours. The once-majestic halls and rooms now lay in ruins, covered in dust and cobwebs. 

But despite that, she can't help but feel a sense of excitement and wonder as she thinks about the secrets and mysteries from a past long gone hidden within the castle's walls.

And then there's the library, with its shelves lined with ancient tomes and dusty scrolls. Twilight can't wait to get her hooves on them and start uncovering the knowledge that has been lost to time.

As she walks through the dark and eerie halls, she can hear Nightmare Moon muttering to herself. It's clear that she is searching for something, but she hasn't told Twilight what she's looking for. 

Instead, she just asked Twilight to explore the ruins on her own while she searches for whatever it is she's looking for. Twilight tries to help, but Nightmare Moon insists that she has to do it on her own.

The conversation has been successful, and they plan to head back to Ponyville at sunrise. She and her new companion will have to spend some time in Ponyville before returning to Canterlot. Her task is to monitor the black alicorn, and teach her about modern life and common sense, which could take some time. She would have to explain everything from technology to political and social norms. 

Meanwhile, her sister Cadence and mentor's assistant Raven Inkwell had their task to deal with. They had to handle the political and noble affairs in Canterlot, making sure intregate Nightmare Moon to the crown will be as possible. They would have to navigate through the complicated web of relationships and interests to ensure the level of hostility toward the new alicorn is minimized. Her brother on the other hoof, would continue his duty as royal guard, protecting Princess Celestia.

She was beyond exhausted as she dragged her hooves along the dusty ruins of the castle. Her eyes felt heavy, and her mind was foggy. She had been exploring for hours and had come across various old artifacts and crumbled hidden passages. The thought of what more secrets were buried deep within the castle kept her going, but her body was begging her to rest.

The two mares continue to search in silence for a while, Twilight is lost in thought and Nightmare Moon is lost in her search. Twilight yawns suddenly, her exhaustion finally getting the better of her. Nightmare Moon's ear perks up, and she turns to face Twilight. 

The alicorn looked over her body and then with a serious look in her eyes.  "You should get some sleep," she says in a soft voice. "We have to travel back tomorrow."

Twilight blinks, surprised. "Rest? But I'm not--"

"You're exhausted" Nightmare Moon interrupts, her voice firm. "And you won't be able to go far if you're not at your best. Trust me, I know what I'm talking about."

She nods and follows the alicorn to one of the decent full rooms that were cleanup a while ago, on the corner are towers of books Twilight intended to bring back, Shining's armor laid neatly beside.

Twilight looked around the dimly lit ruins, her eyes settling on a flat patch of ground. She turned to Nightmare Moon, exhaustion weighing heavily on her voice. "Is that where we're going to sleep?" she asked, gesturing to the ground.

Nightmare Moon nodded. "Yes, on the ground. It's not as bad as it sounded," she replied, her tone flat and matter-of-fact. 

Twilight's heart sank at the thought of sleeping on the cold, hard ground. But in her tired mind, Nightmare Moon had spent a thousand years on the moon, sleeping on hard rocks, so it was a kind of normalcy to her. She could see why the black alicorn has so much malice for her mentor.

A soft springy bed is good, solid granite floor is bad, that's one of commonsense she will have to teach the alicorn.

In her exhausted mind, she mustered up the courage to ask something that she normally wouldn't have. "Your Highness, Can I cuddle with you?"

"....What?" The black alicorn was taken by surprise. Twilight gulped as she realized what she is asking.

The unicorn hesitated for a moment before blurting out again, "Can I cuddle with you?" She felt shamed for asking such a personal question, but she was just so tired and needed some comfort.

Nightmare Moon looked at her quizzically and with a hint of... embarrassment? She looked surprised by the request. But then she saw how truly exhausted Twilight was and softened her expression. "I suppose that would be okay," she said, trying not to sound too eager.

As they settled down on the hard ground, Twilight moved closer to Nightmare Moon, resting her head on the mare's shoulder. She felt a wave of relief wash over her as Nightmare Moon wrapped her wings around her. She nestled into the black alicorn's side, the warmth of Nightmare Moon's body and the softness of her fur made it surprisingly comforting.

Feeling safe and warm. Despite her exhaustion, she couldn't help but feel a sense of gratitude towards Nightmare Moon.

For a moment, there was only silence. The only sound was the soft breathing of the two mares as they lay together, finding solace in each other's presence. As she drifted off to sleep, Twilight couldn't help but feel grateful for her new companion's unexpected kindness. 

She knew that they still had a long way to go in their journey, but for now, she has to rest.



As she snuggled with Twilight, Nightmare Moon was surprised by how much she was enjoying her time with the supposedly neurotic unicorn. As she held the mare close, she found herself lost in her own though. "I don't know what Celestia was thinking, sending this adorable bookhorse to deal with me."

She couldn't help but find the whole situation amusing, and chuckled inwardly at the thought of her, the great and powerful Trixie Nightmare Moon, being reduced to a puddle of goo by a little unicorn. 

Is this was being a simp feel like?

She rolled her eyes at the thought, but a small part of her understood the appeal. "I guess I understand now why those things exist," She mused silently, thinking about one of many reasons why god has chosen to abandon humanity.

Nightmare Moon muttered to herself, "Looks like my plan backfired on me." After finding what she needed, she had intended to go back home, back to her family, leaving this world and subsequently, Equestria without a protector. 

With her gone, the Elements of Harmony would have never formed, the Mane 6 would have never become friends, and it would have served as an appropriate punishment for that white cake-eating leach. 

But now, she got played by her balls. She looked at that blasted purple armor, Twilight's big brother's armor. The one that made her reluctant to use a sleep spell on the unicorn.

The Armor of Shining Armor, the Captain of the Equestrian Royal guard. It looked very different from the TV show but she's sure there’s only one guy that own a purple armor with that symbol.

That thing was filled to the brim with spell matrix, the kind that looked familiar yet alien to her, refined over the last thousand years, retaliation promised to those who harmed its wearer. 

There are to distinguish layers. The first one is likely from a factory, with elegant and beautiful craftsmanship. The second one, however.... 

Dozens of clearly handmade spells from dozen of different design styles meshed together with the grace of ork's creations. No different than a code written by an unpaid intern with the help of his trusty hivemind, StackOverflow, to achieve miracles that even he himself doesn't even understand what's actually going on under the hood. 

Late stage siscon's special blend.

She shuddered at what kind of fate the potential attacker would suffer.

With one of the strongest unicorns in Equestria, Twilight Sparkle, powering that thing, and the possibility of an army led by the owner of that armor waiting around the corner, she knows not to take unnecessity risks.

She hoped that she could bide her time and gracefully walk away when an opportunity presented itself, after she provided a good argument that dissuaded any more pursuers from coming, no matter how small of a chance that may succeed.

And listen to Twilight she did. Now she has known that Equestria was left defenseless. As she snuggled the unicorn closer and enjoy the warmth from her new living pillow, she also realized that after she had met a real, living pony, they were no longer just cartoon characters made by a soulless corporation to sell toys, not anymore.

They were living sapient beings, and even though the reason she had taken their protection away was only to protect herself, she was still responsible for it.

Out-of-sight, out-of-mind policy can no longer be applied. She may not be the most generous person but it's a different story if it's the mess she made. 

...Maybe she is actually the most generous person, considering that she is the only one who uses that pronoun.

She has to draw her morale line somewhere, arbitrary it might be. She's a man with principles after all.

Or a mare with principles now.

But in all seriousness, she knew that if she were to stay in Equestria openly, her time with Twilight will be important. Luna's broken memory is very much useless after a thousand years of changes, and "My Little Pony:  Friendship is Magic" doesn't dive deep into world-building either. 

She had a lot to learn about this world, its culture, politics, and magic. Twilight was the perfect guide. 

There are many components and shittons of research into spells she needed to do to even have any chance at opening a portal back to Earth, having Twilight on her side would greatly help her plan.

Plus, there was something comforting about having someone to cuddle with. Just the fault of her pony brain.

She couldn't help but chuckle at the absurdity of it all, and even though she still had a sense of reluctance about living in Equestria this way, she knew that she couldn't just abandon the ponies now. "I guess I'll just have to figure things out as I go," she thought to herself.

Discord, Tirek, the changelings, the Storm army, Starlight Glimmer, Sunset Shimmer, and Cozy Glow - all of them were now up to her to deal with. Nightmare Moon let out a deep sigh. "Well, let's leave the thinking for future me," she thought to herself, her wings snuggling Twilight closer, she will protect them.

And by "them" she means the waifu material ones.