//------------------------------// // Ponies on a Plane // Story: To Sleep, Perchance to... Nightmare? // by Draconis187 //------------------------------// To Sleep, Perchance to… Nightmare? Ponies on a Plane Wagnesday 22:45 We reached the Airport without incident. As we got out I made sure my armour was in a bag. Since I would be going through a metal detector, the armour would light it up like a Christmas tree. I planned on putting it back on after I landed in New York but I had to try be inconspicuous (like a large pony wearing a cape with a hood over her head was the definition of incognito). My family insisted on carrying my bags until we got to the gate. I wanted to levitate it since everypony could see my horn anyway and it made no sense to not help them. I will admit though, I felt a bit proud that I didn’t have to carry anything but I couldn’t understand why. I saw a few other ponies as I walked through the main terminal. There was a dark green one, a pale blue filly amongst others. My folks had all my stuff on a trolley that my sister pushed around for me. I was feeling highly uncomfortable being in a very public place, being a normal pony I could handle but being Nightmare Moon was another issue. “You ok?” I turned to see my mother with that worried expression on her face. I lifted the hood high enough to show her my meek smile. “I’ll live.” My typical response. I saw a little child pointing at me a distance away but I read on her lips the word ‘pony’. Well as long as she didn’t scream who I was, I would be ok. We put my heavier luggage onto a conveyor belt that sent it to the plane while I kept the laptop and armour bags. Going into customs was going to be an interesting experience. As I hugged my family goodbye, a tear ran down my face. My folks just smiled and waved as I headed for gate 8C. Lucky for me customs was quite understanding of the current situation and let me through despite I got a number of laughs when they saw I used to be male. I got on the plane and found my seat. I had gotten a nice window seat near the bathrooms, at least if nature called I didn’t need to go far. I placed my stuff in the overhead compartment and waited for the plane to fill up with passengers so we could take off. 01:45 As the usual take off procedures were being done (telling us where the restrooms were, what to do in an emergency, that sort of thing) I decided to take a good look at the other passengers. There were… a lot more ponies in RSA than I originally thought. Mares, stallions, all three varieties, and they were almost every colour you could think of. There were some very young ones as well, the humans with them were more than likely their parents/ guardians. They looked the most concerned. The plane’s engines roared to life. I looked through the window to watch the turbines power this hunk of metal across the runway. As the plane hurtled across the runway, I saw some strange men near the tarmac. What they wore wouldn’t have worried me, the word ‘PAPA’ that adorned their clothing did. The plane shot by them but I noticed a few of them were smiling. A part of me wondered what could make pony-haters smile so sinisterly. Most of the ponies took up two seats while the fillies took up one. The parents were talking with their transformed children, who were having an absolute blast. “Aw, but I like being a pony mum!” said one little filly. “No Thomas, we are getting you changed back and that’s final. Now sit down!” I heard her mother say. I couldn’t stop a small chuckle from escaping. This was an instant bad move as the father heard me and decided to give me a piece of his mind. Now he was a giant of a man, even if I was still human he would have been bigger than me. Must have been 6 feet tall and built like a pro bodybuilder, Atlas would be proud of this guy. He looked at me as if he was ready to throttle me. I felt incredibly scared, I needed help but everypony else just watched as this man was about to abuse a cape-wearing pony. “What’s so funny?!” He shouted. We should shout back. Huh? Where did that thought come from? “Sorry sir. I just thought of that despite how somepony looks on the outside, they are still the same on the inside.” Now he was getting insanely angry. “No sh-, he’s not! He has been telling us of a voice he has been hearing in his head, saying they are merging! Just four days ago we found him with a pillow in his mouth!” Wait, what did he say? You heard him correctly. My ears are not broken. Then the thought hit me. Yes. Shitshitshitshit “You still there pony?!” the man snapped me back to reality, he was still angry but he started to show signs of worry. Glad this cape covered my front as well, the filly looked like one of those I scared back at Ponyville Town Hall. Wait, I wasn’t anywhere near Ponyville Town Hall or Equestria for that matter. You weren’t… I was. “Sorry sir, just got lost in my own head there. I apologise for my inconsideration towards your situation. I do sincerely apologise.” I said, lowering my head. We should’ve made an example of him. Now I know why everypony fears you… Nightmare. The man’s anger dissipated rather fast. He accepted my apology and went back to his seat. I think the momentary lapses of a lack of attention helped my case. I turned my attention back to the window. You there? I thought. No response. I really must be losing my mind. “Attention passengers this is your captain speaking. We are about to head into a high turbulence area. Please put your seatbelts on and refrain from using the restrooms at this time. Thank you.” How do these pilots stay so damn calm? We could be heading straight into a tornado and he probably would still be calm. I used my telekinesis to put mine on while I saw a number of others struggling with theirs. I then took mine off and walked around, helping them with my magic whilst keeping my head down low enough for them not to see my face. I got a number of thanks from them and that made me feel good about myself. As I went back to my seat I found a woman come up behind me. Thinking it was a hostess I paid her no mind as I continued and climbed up onto my seat. I was right in assuming it was a hostess, she came up to me and thanked me for helping them with the ponies’ seatbelts. “It’s no trouble ma’am.” At this the hostess’ eyes bulged. Oh no… she pulled my hood back before I could stop her, revealing my face to the passengers. “I knew it! You're Nightmare Moon!” she squealed. I threw my hood back over my face but the hostess caught it and ripped it off with incredible force. Are the hostesses trained for clothing war? I got a number of gasps and I’m sure I saw a pony faint. I got off my seat and pushed past the hostess, aiming for the bathroom. A number of ponies and people tried to grab me but I jumped on them in my escape attempt. I got into the first open stall and locked the door. You are pathetic And now the voice in my head has returned. What do you want now? I lamented in my mind. I heard the voice laugh as it faded away, as if it was leaving again. I heard some knocking on the door but I refused to respond. “Nightmare? It’s me the hostess, my name is Sally. I’m sorry for scaring you like that. I didn’t know you had that hood over head for a reason. It’s just that… well, Nightmare is my favourite character from My Little Pony. Please come out.” I knew the psychology she was trying on me and I was not about to cave in. “Nice try! I know you're lying! Nopony likes me! They don’t even like my nights!” Wait, those last two parts weren’t me… is that… a tear falling down my face? “That’s not true. Many people here actually prefer the night over the day.” My body moved on its own volition and unlocked the door. I peered my head out and looked up at a smiling Sally. “Really?” Those words were not my own. She nodded her head and continued to beam. I came out of the stall and saw a number of humans and ponies were looking at me with concerned faces. I got control of my body back and walked to my seat. I looked at the torn piece of the hood I took off the rest of the cape that was still attached. I folded it up and took out the armour bag. Since everypony now knew who I was, I may as well put the armour back on. Taking a deep breath I proceeded to attach the armour piece by piece. I laid on the seat, looking out into the night sky. We were currently over the ocean without any sign of land anywhere. How pathetic. There’s that voice again. I expected more comments from this voice but I got nothing. I laid my head down on the seat and tried to sleep. Sally brought me a blanket as an apology for tearing my hood off. I thanked her and fell asleep. ***** ******** ******** ***** Holy hell. I awoke on the launch deck of a Sova Carrier from Sins of a Solar Empire. I loved this ship but it did not explain how I came to be on it, let alone being able to breathe in the middle of space. “Must be a dream.” I said, looking down at myself. I was still Nightmare despite being in a dream. “Would’ve thought I would be human again but oh well.” I walked down the deck of the Carrier and saw something on the edge on the far end. I squinted my eyes and noticed it was… me? I walked up to this other Nightmare and she turned around to look at me. “Pathetic. I actually cried. I blame you for that.” She said with a stern look on her face. “I am the true Nightmare Moon. You are just in my body. I hope you understand the privilege you have been given to have my face.” She said with a snide smile. “I get that I am in your body. Why the attitude?” I responded. “I do not have an attitude.” “Ok, no attitude. What about that little outburst then? I know for a fact that was not me.” I had sat down next to Nightmare with my front hooves hanging over the edge. She looked embarrassed. “That was a moment of weakness, nothing more.” I rolled my eyes. “Right, another question: who’s dream is this?” “Yours, Christopher.” “Ah, that explains the Sova Carrier and us being in space. Always wondered what space was like.” I said, patting the side of the ship with a hoof. “Are we going through the same thing as that filly, Thomas?” “That would be a correct assumption. Our minds are merging, becoming one. I was trapped in a void between worlds when I was hit by the Elements. I was neither alive or dead. Awake but asleep, I was in limbo.” She said, looking at a star we were passing by. “The fear you experienced broke a mental lock that prevented our communication. Many more will break as we merge, but it will be a slow process. If there are more situations like the one we had with that human, the faster the process will be. If we are more compliant with each other it will happen faster as well.” “Ok. I have to ask this: do you still want to bring eternal night?” “Yes.” “Why?” “Do you have any idea what it feels like to see every night pass by on your own? Every pony was asleep or performing heinous acts while under the cover of my nights.” I nodded. The Carrier jolted, as if we collided with something. The distant stars were vanishing one by one… the dream was ending. “Nightmare, many people enjoy the night and many are scared of it. The same could be said of the day as well. Consider this Nightmare: if every single being hates the night, why am I dreaming of space? It is an eternal night here with a few stars to light our way. Working together, night and day create a sight people or ponies rarely appreciate but if you look hard enough you will find them.” As Nightmare contemplated this, the darkness had spread to the Carrier and engulfed us, thus ending the dream. ***** ******** ******** ***** Do you know what it’s like to wake up with a pillow shoved halfway down your oesophagus? Trust me, worst experience ever. It took me five minutes to haul it out and after that I needed a huge drink since the pillow absorbed all the moisture from my throat. Sally gave me a glass of water, she was really helpful. “Why did you have a pillow in your mouth?” she looked concerned. “It happens when one manages to contact the personality of the pony they're inhabiting. It’s signifies the true start of the merging process.” That wasn’t me. Nightmare? Are you taking control of my body? It is my body foal. I can take control whenever I wish. “Merging process?” she rubbed her head in confusion. “Nightmare and I are becoming one complete being. The holes in her personality are being filled by my personality and so forth.” I said. “Attention everyone. This is your captain speaking. All passengers are requested to sit down and put on their safety belts… stewards, you may begin.” That did not sound like the first captain Nightmare. I concur. That statement has an ominous feel about it. I looked around and saw all the stewards put on gas masks. Sally looked at me with a smile that made me nervous as she put one on as well. My ears perked up as I heard a light hissing sound coming from the ventilation. Nightmare… how long can you hold your breath? Not long enough. The hissing continued but I couldn’t smell anything. After a few minutes I started to feel sleepy and collapsed on the seat. The last thing I saw before losing consciousness was the image of Sally’s hands coming towards me. Time: unknown Location: unknown My vision was slowly returning but something was off. I felt cold hard steel pressing against my body. My ears perked up as I heard faint screaming in the distance. Whatever was going on, I doubted I ended up in Disneyland. “Oh look, the little pony’s awake.” Wait… that sounded like Sally’s voice. My vision cleared up as I noticed Sally on her haunches, staring at me. I got scared as two other things called for my attention. One: steel bars, I was in a cage. Two: Sally was pointing a 9mm pistol at me and it looked very real. “What, what’s going on here?” “Welcome to the last day of your life. You are in a makeshift concentration camp set up in a vet’s office in Omaha, Nebraska.” Concentration camp? These guys aren't playing are they? I admire the lengths these humans are going to. Nightmare, can we please worry about PAPA’s methods after we get away from here? I wasn’t the only one there though. I could see a number of ponies including Thomas and… his/ her parents? There were humans here as well? Uh, Nightmare… I have a very bad feeling about this.