“I simply cannot believe that Twilight failed to inform me, of all ponies, that she had such a beautiful cousin!” Rarity exclaimed for the twentieth or so time that day, dashing around her boutique in a creative frenzy while she held Nightmare captive on her model stand, “Imagine it! Twilight had access to a royal-like physique all this time, and she wouldn't share! Don't you find that unreasonable Diana?”
The captive goddess sighed but forced a smile. She had been standing there for hours, trying on dress after dress after accessory after accessory. Sure she definitely found Rarity fun in her own way and appreciated her enthusiasm, but this was just going a bit overboard. “Miss Rarity, as much as I do appreciate all of your hard work and the compliments, I can't feel my hooves.”
“Oh my goodness!” the white unicorn exclaimed as she instantly slipped her prisoner out of her bonds, “I apologize sincerely Diana! I just lost my head when I saw how gorgeous you were. I simply was compelled to dress you up.”
Nightmare laughed while stretching her cramped legs, finally freed from the constricting corsets and ensnaring ensembles. “Don't worry about it. It was still rather fun. It's nice to have somepony appreciate your looks every now and then after all.”
“Finally! Somepony who understands my sentiments!” Rarity declared, hugging her newest friend and potential store model closely, “We simply must get together again sometime darling.”
“Of course. Any friend of Twilight's is a friend of mine,” the disguised unicorn said kindly, genuinely smiling at the smaller unicorn. Absentmindedly, Nightmare suddenly wondered how her mistress was holding up. No doubt she was panicking, and the dream goddess giggled at the thought of Twilight running around the town trying to find her. She had surely been reminded of Luna's arrival by now, and the goddess knew that that, combined with her recent corporealization, would drive her poor mistress nuts. “Well I have to go now Miss Rarity. Twilight wouldn't want me to wander too much. I can expect you to be at the party this afternoon right?”
“Of course dear!” Rarity exclaimed as she accompanied her guest to the exit, “Do give my best regards to our dearest Twilight and make sure she takes care of herself. I'll make sure to attend this evening's party, seeing as it is in your honor and the princess'.”
The dream goddess nodded gratefully, stepping out into the Ponyville streets again, exhausted.
“Shesh...Twilight sure has some strange friends,” Nightmare muttered when she was a reasonable distance away from Rarity's shop. She didn't mean it in any way that was offensive of course; they were just different. “I guess that's what makes them fun huh?”
Overall, it had been a good day. Each of her mistress' friends had greeted her kindly in their own eccentric ways which did bring a smile to Nightmare's face.
Applejack had simply greeted her like she had known her for her entire life, introducing her to the rest of the Apple family and treating her to lunch, commenting on how “fancy” she looked in relation to Twilight. The dream goddess had enjoyed it immensely, and still, she wondered how apples could be used in so many ways.
Rainbow Dash had introduced herself, rather suddenly at that, while Nightmare had been idly trotting around the outskirts of Ponyville, and the meeting was more like a flying accident than a tradition greeting. Still, it had been amusing to watch the pegasus boast a little bit and back it up successfully.
Fluttershy, the ever shy mare, had hidden away in her house for some time until the disguised alicorn announced her relation to Twilight, and at that point, the timid pegasus had welcomed her in immediately, introducing Nightmare to all of the various creatures and critters she cared for on a daily basis.
The local fashionista, the one she had just escaped, had declared upon her arrival, rather emphatically, that the dream goddess was a gift granted to her from Celestia and Luna herself and insisted on making her a variety of dresses just because, and while it was tiring, Diana appreciated the sentiment.
Pinkie's, of course, had been that full-on party tackle she had received the moment she left the library. Even now, Nightmare laughed at that strange encounter, wondering what the brilliantly insane pink, earth pony was doing.
Altogether, they had been as she expected: kind, warm, interesting, friendly and fun. Ideal friends.
“Hmm...but they still pale in comparison to the mistress of course,” Nightmare said aloud with a sneaky, yet tired, grin as she headed home, “I hope she's doing alright. I suspect Spike's keeping it together.”
It was still a bit of a shock for the only recently freed goddess to actually be out walking with her own hooves of her own volition. She had nearly forgotten the crisp smell of the afternoon air and the feeling of cool dirt beneath her hooves.
Similarly, it amazed her just how delicious a simple apple could be, and the ordinary pleasure of being acknowledged as existing was something that only she could possibly understand fully. Of course, this was all thanks to Twilight, her darling mistress.
Nightmare knew she owed the purple unicorn a lot, and she resolved to do everything in her power to make her dream a reality, though that wouldn't get in the way of playing a bit with her. Still, Twilight came first.
Looking up to the afternoon sky, Nightmare grinned as she saw the tell-tale signs of a silver and blue chariot soaring across the sky.
“Party time.”
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Princess Luna was a regal, two-thousand year old alicorn. Her magic and power, ancient and unique, moved the very heavens themselves. Every star in the sky was her servant and follower, and every growing galaxy and rebellious black hole was her child. She had survived wars, lead some others, and was co-ruler to the throne of Equestria, a magnificent kingdom that ruled nearly all of the planet. To say she was a true goddess that had descended from the celestial realms above would have been about appropriate. Even the goddess herself could not fully comprehend the scope and influence of her power.
Yes. She was an all-powerful, pony goddess, and here she was, pacing back and forth in front of a country library, hesitating to knock upon the red wooden doors that marked the entrance to her friend's home.
“Oh! I am so very late! What if Twilight forgot I was staying over?” she asked to nopony in particular, “She's very busy too, and I wouldn't blame her if she completely forgot about our arrangement.”
She didn't know why she felt so flustered. Twilight was her friend, her best and first friend.
“Maybe I should just wait until tomorrow morning. It wouldn't be proper for me to disturb them in the evening like this,” Luna said to herself, turning slowly away from the door while also glancing back in indecisiveness, “Surely they wouldn't mind me though? She did say I was welcome any time....But I don't want to look like I'm abusing that.”
She continued this for a few more minutes, her night guards looking on, silently amused and finding the situation a bit comical. Princess Luna, of all ponies, was worrying over a mare.
However, they knew this mare wasn't any normal common mare, and in fact, to label her as “common” would have been an insult if anything. Twilight Sparkle was a distinguished and powerful unicorn mare that was under the private, prestigious tutelage of Princess Celestia herself.
Hailed as a hero and savior of the empire, she was a model of upstanding citizenship for all to look upon, and the very name “Twilight Sparkle” itself was synonymous with magic and strength. Her achievements went on without end from the revitalization of the study of magic through social interactions to defeating ancient foes whose names alone had inspired widespread fear and terror in the hearts of nearly everypony in the past.
They supposed Princess Luna did have her reasons for hesitating, but they had faith in their princess.
“Yes. Maybe I should just wait until tomorrow. It's a bit too late for...” Luna began again until she was suddenly interrupted by a new voice.
“My my. I did not expect one of the princesses to grace Twilight's home this afternoon. I guess she wasn't lying after all,” a silky voice said, and the guards immediately shifted their attention to the intruder, their bodies poised to strike, alert and wary. They stopped dead in their tracks as their eyes met the owner of the voice, however.
She was a stunningly beautiful unicorn whose stature almost made her look like a grounded goddess, and if the guards hadn't been vigorously trained to look solemn and controlled, they were pretty sure their mouths would have hung useless on the floor. They were stallions after all. They would never admit it out loud, but the mystery mare's beauty definitely rivaled their mistress'.
“Excuse me,” Princess Luna said curiously, her voice returning to its confident and regal tone, “Have we met before?” The lunar princess didn't know why, but there was something oddly familiar about this mare.
“Not at all your highness,” the mare responded flawlessly, bowing low, “This common mare has never laid her eyes on you before.”
“Please. There is no need to belittle yourself in front of me,” Luna responded with a small blush, waving the indirect compliment and her suspicions aside, “Did you mention something about Twilight?”
“Oh. Are you here to visit my dear cousin? I did hear her mention it the other day when I arrived, but I didn't really believe her,” Nightmare continued, a hidden smile on her face, “She was really excited and worried about it all day yesterday actually. She even neglected to properly treat me out.”
Luna hid it well, but the blue alicorn could hide nothing from Nightmare's eyes and ears. She had spent a thousand years or so with said pony after all and saw how Luna's form relaxed slightly. Her voice was also happier and lighter, and the dream goddess grinned internally for her first minor victory.
“Well, I'll make sure she makes it up to you then, but we best not keep her waiting Miss....?” the blue alicorn said, looking to Nightmare for her name.
“Diana Dreamscape your highness,” the disguised, dream goddess said pleasantly with a real smile; everything was going according to plan, and it was good to see Luna again, even if only one of them recognized the other. Fluidly, Nightmare moved to the door and placed her hooves on the knob. “Allow me.”
With one swift pull, the door swung upon, and they were met with a thunderous wave of cheers.
“SURPRISE!” a couple dozen ponies jammed into the library yelled at the same time, “WELCOME TO PONYVILLE PRINCESS LUNA AND DIANA!” An explosion of ponies suddenly emerged from the shadows, all cheering the arrival of a new pony and the princess. It seemed like everyone in Ponyville was there.
“Wha...what is this?” Luna asked breathlessly, a bit overwhelmed by the giant gesture.
“Well, it's your 'Welcome to your vacation' party silly! Mixed with Diana's 'Welcome to Ponyville' party of course!” Pinkie declared suddenly, popping out of the ginormous crowd, smiling a mile a minute as she greeted the princess and Diana. She was accompanied by the other elements and Spike, all of which happily welcomed them as well.
“Yeah...Last time you were here, we didn't exactly treat you right,” Rainbow conceded, rubbing her head nervously, “So we decided to greet you properly this time.” Rarity nodded, remembering that she hadn't even been informed of the princess' arrival last time and had stayed inside the entire night working on last minute Nightmare Night costumes for the local fillies and colts.
“And since Pinkie always throws a big party for new ponies, she just decided to put 'em together,” Applejack explained, “Diana here is going to stay a while with Twi, so it should be some mighty fun times.”
“Haha,” Twilight laughed, her face looking a little....strained? “Lots and lots of fun.”
“Oh, don't be such a sourpuss,” Nightmare said with a grin, “You should be thanking me for convincing Luna to actually come in. She was having some trouble trying to decide.” Twilight grumbled mentally, but did utter a small thank you, albeit, reluctantly.
“Oh wonderful!” Luna exclaimed, turning to the mare that had accompanied her in, “Well, I'll be living here a while with you and Twilight. I hope we get along Miss Dreamscape.”
“Same here,” Nightmare agreed, “And please just call me Diana. Such formalities bother me.” Luna laughed but nodded before finally stepping into the library, looking at Twilight who seemed to squirm a bit under her gaze.
“And thank you so much again for letting me stay here Twilight,” the night goddess said, bringing her friend into a quick hug, “I hope I don't burden you over the next month.”
Twilight giggled, returning the hug earnestly, “Not at all. It's our pleasure.”
“Well it could definitely be pleasurable,” the dream goddess interjected as she too hugged her mistress as a loving cousin, grinning madly. Twilight, unable to do anything else, just face hoofed mentally, groaning as she remembered Nightmare would be with them. The last few hours away from the perverted alicorn were both a blessing and a curse; it had been wonderfully quiet, but now that she had experienced that blessed silence, she yearned for it again.
“Could you please try to behave yourself?” the lavender mare asked sincerely, wanting to have a nice evening with her friend.
“Of course. I didn't plan on misbehaving at all anyway. This is mainly for Lulu after all,” Nightmare answered truthfully, and while Twilight was a bit suspicions, she accepted the promise.
“ANYWAYS! LET'S GET THIS PARTY STARTED!” Pinkie suddenly declared while pressing a button. Suddenly, a giant shadow overtook them all, and they looked up to find a large yellow, rubber duck floating in the air in the center of the library ceiling. “FIRE!” All of a sudden, the fake, aquatic creature exploded, sending thousands of pistachios raining down upon the gathered party-goer's heads.
And unable to do anything else, they all laughed at the ridiculousness that was Pinkie Pie.
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The party had been an overwhelming success, and now, as the late hours trickled on, ponies began to head home, thanking Pinkie, Twilight, Luna and Diana as they left the house in packs.
Finally, everypony was gone, save for the main six themselves, Spike, Luna and Nightmare. They had relocated to the dinner table, and they sat comfortably, simply enjoying eachother's company, sipping the last of the punch and nibbling on the leftovers while making small talk.
“Best. Party. Ever,” Rainbow slurred sleepily in her seat, “Didn't know you were such a party animal Luna.” The mentioned princess chuckled, taking a small sip of her punch, not tired in the slightest. She was used to long-night hours.
“Shoot. Sure was something special,” Applejack agreed as she picked up Spike and deposited him on the couch, “Poor Spike's plum tuckered.”
“That was one of the bestest, most awesomest parties ever,” Pinkie declared, “We have to have another one sometime! And Diana you were awesome too!”
“Thank you Pinkie,” Nightmare said quietly, feeling strangely...drained, not exactly exhausted. She wondered why that was; she hadn't done anything particularly strenuous in the last few hours that would induce such an intense wave of fatigue. Her vision was also a bit hazy, and she slumped in the chair, “If you will excuse me, I'll be taking a quick bathroom break.”
Rising out of her seat slowly, the disguised goddess trudged up the stairs, leaving the seven mares on the table to talk among themselves.
“Okay...now that Diana's out,” Rainbow said suddenly, re-energized for some reason, “Does anypony else agree with me that Twilight's cousin is pretty hot?”
“Rainbow!” Rarity chastised, “It's not proper to talk about somepony behind their back.”
“What? It's not like I'm saying anything mean or anything. I'm just saying she's attractive. It's pretty much a fact.”
“She does have a point,” Applejack conceded, “How come you never told us 'bout Diana, Twi?”
“Hehe...extenuating circumstances prevented that,” Twilight said evasively, “We only recently re-established contact with each other.”
“Well you should bring her around again sometime! She's fun!” Pinkie declared, “I don't know anypony else who can keep up with me in drinking sarsaparilla!”
“And she's nice too,” Fluttershy added with a small smile, “It's really easy to talk to her.”
“Yeah well, that aside,” the lavender mare diverted, uncomfortable with her friends talking so easily and openly about Diana a.k.a Nightmare, “Did you enjoy yourself princess?”
“Of course,” Luna said with a laugh, “Making new friends is always delightful, and spending time with old ones only makes it better.” Twilight smiled, glad that her friend had a good time.
“Well, I hope every day is fun here then Luna. You deserve it,” she said with a grin, “Oh I know! How about I take you around town tomorrow?”
Luna suddenly blushed, looking away and at the floor as she traced small patterns on the table adorably. “Well if it doesn't bother you....”
“Of course not! I'd be perfectly happy to take you out tomorrow,” Twilight continued, unaware of the effect of her words, all of which were only serving to increase Luna's blush.
“How daring,” Rarity whispered excitedly to Applejack who looked impressed. Fluttershy was also blushing while Rainbow wolf whistled subtly. Pinkie was pretty much just shaking in her seat with excitement, trying her best to not shout out in joy.
“Umm..okay then,” the lunar princess muttered weakly, feeling her face heat up a bit too much, “Uhh! If you would excuse me, I believe I have to use the bathroom as well!” The night alicorn suddenly stood up and dashed out of the room as quickly as she could, shielding her crimson face, and Twilight's friends could only look on in awe.
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Meanwhile
Nightmare didn't know what was wrong with her. She stood weakly in the bathroom, staring at the mirror. Her face looked perfectly normal, not a hair out-of-place or a bag upon her eye, but her mind was barely able to keep consciousness. The edges of her vision began to blacken dangerously, and the dream goddess could feel herself slipping away for some dangerous reason.
Whatever was happening, she knew it couldn't be good at all. Nightmare had to figure out what was going on quick, less her condition worsen to the point of no return. Nothing came to mind, however, and she slunk further down, her face suddenly hitting the countertop and something cold and metallic.
Sluggishly moving her head, she found herself staring at the onyx and gold necklace that Zecora had given Twilight earlier that day.
“It can't be...” Nightmare said pitifully as she grabbed the necklace and limped out of the bathroom, coming face to face with Luna.
“Diana? Are you alright?” Luna asked, eying the strange gold and onyx necklace in the unicorn's mouth.
Nightmare didn't and couldn't answer and pushed past the alicorn, struggling to keep herself steady as she went down the stairs, aware that a small misstep would send her tumbling down.
Once she reached the bottom, she nearly fell to her knees. She had to get to Twilight and fast!
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“Wow Twilight,” Rainbow said as soon as Luna left the room, “Didn't think you had it in you.”
“Huh?” Twilight asked obliviously, “Had what in what? What did I do?”
“Well uh...you kind of...sort of....asked Luna out on a date?” Fluttershy said nervously, blushing a bit as she said it.
“WHAT!?” Twilight screeched, jumping out of her seat. “Oh no! Oh no! Oh no!”
“What are you worrying about darling?” Rarity asked with a happy sigh, “She did say yes after all. Oh that poor stallion! He'll be heartbroken! Well, it can't be helped. It is the princess after all. How could anypony refuse her?”
Twilight sweatdropped. She had nearly forgotten that all of her friends thought she was in love with some stranger stallion. She figured this was as good a time as any to clear that blunder up.
“Guys. I'm not in love with a stallion okay?” Twilight said firmly, hoping her friends would take it well. For a moment, the sentence registered in their minds, but before they could respond to the latest revelation, Diana trotted, or more like dragged, herself back into the room, a necklace in her mouth and her eyes seemingly empty.
“Oh my goodness! Diana dear? Are you alright?” Rarity asked out of worry, jumping out of her seat, noticing the almost dead look in her eyes. Nightmare didn't answer, her vision focused solely on the purple unicorn whose face looked grave and concerned.
“Mistress...” the large unicorn croaked as she stumbled forward. Nightmare's vision was almost black now, and she knew she had one chance. She had to get the necklace around her mistress' neck!
“Diana!? What's wrong with you!?” Twilight asked as she rushed to Nightmare, noticing the jewelry in her mouth, “Tell me what's wro....” she said, suddenly cut off as the mare collapsed onto her, the necklace falling over her head and settling in place on her neck as they tumbled down to the ground.
That wasn't what had Twilight speechless though. However, there was nothing she could say, because at that moment, her brain didn't quite know how to respond. Nightmare had fainted straight onto Twilight, her warm, moist lips falling into place on her mistress'.
It took her a moment to realize what had really just happened, and when she thought about it, she just couldn't believe it.
Twilight Sparkle had just lost her first kiss to Nightmare Moon, dream goddess, immortal alicorn and apparently her cousin.