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// Nightmare Moon 
// Story: Bathtime for Ponies Part 2 
// by Starry Eyed 
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	Princess Luna was pacing about in her land of dreams when you approached her, “Hello, Luna. Are you ready to begin?” Luna actually jumped in surprise. To her credit she had walked in on countless dreams, but never had anypony (or human) walked in on hers. Even during her imprisonment inside the moon she had still watched over the realm of dreams, though she was only semi-conscious, not able to take form or to distort anypony’s dreams. You see that she is bewildered, “Did … I do something wrong Princess? I thought we agreed ….”

Luna comes to her senses, “Fear not sitter. You are of course welcome, and yes, this is where we agreed to meet. I am merely astounded!  Well technically, because I welcomed you; it is possible, but honestly I thought I would be the one to find you. How did you get here without me?”

You automatically answer out of habit, “Boss’s magic.” You regret being so brief, but it’s a habit. When you took the job your boss gave your phone and travel bag a few magic tricks, not to mention the time machine. More than a few ponies had inquired about how you seemed to ‘do magic’ since you don’t ‘have magic’. This was especially true the first few times you visited Cloudsdale and everypony asked how you could walk on clouds. You got tired of explaining the whole thing and just started telling ponies that you could do stuff with the “Boss’s magic.” You think Luna deserves the full explanation though, since you did technically break into her most sacred magic, but she gives a knowing nod that seems to dismiss the subject.

Luna sagely walks around you while wrapping her right wing around you and leading you on to the darker part of the dream. There you find the Castle in Everfree Forest but as it stood in Luna’s youth. Luna takes you in and grimaces as you finally stand outside the room she has led you to. She speaks half in a reassuring tone, half in a guilty one, “She’s on the other side of this door.” Luna pauses a moment, “Are you sure you want to do this?”

Some part of you is probably afraid to wash Nightmare Moon, but that part hasn’t said anything yet. You’ve bathed Discord, Chrysalis, and Sombra, and even though they weren’t ever evil, Spike and Gilda were nonetheless fierce creatures that could seriously have hurt you without even meaning to. “Everypony needs some kindness Luna, even her. Come to think of it, maybe her most of all.” Luna doesn’t realize it consciously, but she took that as a compliment.

You walk into the room where Nightmare Moon awaits. She may be in the form of a foal, but she sits with the dignity and seriousness of a sovereign. Her turquoise eyes gleam against the light – cold, calculating and commanding. Her astral mane is billowing without wind. She is sitting with the same posture with which Celestia sits on her throne. She opens her wings proudly as a display of her majesty as your eyes lock. As you come to grips with standing before Nightmare Moon, you can only utter one thing, “Daww! She. Is. Adorable.”

A little blush flushes over her face as she leans back on one front hoof, defensively. She defends herself with a cute little voice that just barely squeaks as she speaks, “I…I am not! I am the night! Feers me!” A smile forms on your face. That blushing, cute voice, mispronouncing ‘fear’, Nightmare Moon is simply adorable.

Nightmare Moon finds your lack of reverence disturbing, and sees fit to reduce you to ashes with a bolt of cosmic lightning. That was the plan anyway, but a little glowing spark on the tip of her horn was all she got. Luna glances up at you, “She can’t do magic here. I’ll watch her while you do whatever you need to do.” You thank Luna and go to find the tub. A minute or so later the bath is ready and you go back to get Nightmare.

You can’t help but sigh at the sight of Luna and Nightmare Moon with their backs to each other and their forelegs crossed, obviously having argued and stopped talking to each other. Oh well, it could be worse, a lot worse you think to yourself. You take Nightmare as Luna asks if you will need help. You point out it would be really awkward bathing… yourself, in a way. Luna agrees and you make your way to the tub.

You set the little Filly in the tub. She is squirming about fiercely until she touches the water. She realizes that the water is cool, even though you just drew the bath. She looks up at you demanding an explanation. You give her one even as you get the door, “Luna always liked the water at a temperature that was ‘just hotter than too cold’, as she described it. I figured you would like it that way too.”

Nightmare considers the thought you put into this and examines the bath. The bubbles are much smaller than the ones in any other bath you prepare, but more numerous, like stars. You make your way over and sit on the mat by the tub. “Are you comfy?” you ask, only receiving a nod.

You get out the shampoo and squirt a handful into your palm before massaging it into her mane, which is harder to do than it sounds since it’s still billowing in the non-existent breeze.  She cutely sniffs the air, and a humbled look comes over her. You realize what she’s smelling, “Yes, this is the same shampoo I used to wash Celestia and Luna. It’s not fancy, but I thought you’d remember it.” Nightmare starts to scold you for using some cheap shampoo on her, but for some reason she can’t bring herself to say anything bad about it. After you finally manage to get her mane sudsy, she giggles at the realization that her mane must look silly all white and soapy. You laugh with her, but she soon realizes she doesn’t look scary this way and resumes her stern act.

You decide not to pursue it and begin rinsing. This takes longer than normal because cold water doesn’t rinse the suds out nearly as well. You want to comb the wet mane out of her eyes, but it magically flows back on its own.

You sweetly ask her to lift her tail. Nightmare raises her tail and you begin lathering it. You have the same problems washing the tail that you had with the mane, so it takes a minute. Nightmare, like Luna, is one of the only ponies that actually really likes having her tail washed. You continue for longer than necessary but eventually stop to rinse the tail out.

Nightmare feels nostalgic being bathed with the familiar shampoo. Unlike almost all her other moments of reminiscing, these memories are good ones. You ask her to spread her wings so that you can wash them. Nightmare smiles proudly as she spreads her wings. After all the experience you have had, you are an expert on preening and washing wings, but not bat wings.

You start with what you know and begin using the wing shampoo to preen her feathers while washing them. While doing this, you note that the bat-like wings beneath the feathers are soft, but with a leathery texture. You tell her how magnificent you think are wings are, and she realizes nopony has ever said that before. Most ponies are scared of them. You start to scoop up some water, but neither of you are fond of the slow rinsing that comes with cold water, so she regally flaps her wings in the water until the suds come out.

You now give her the bath toys. She makes an attempt to look as though such things are beneath her, but she gently bites her lower lip and quivers at the thought of how much fun it will be. The tension bursts as she grabs up the toys and hugs them gratefully before playing with them gleefully. You both remain like this for a time before Luna comes to check in on you, “You’ve been at it a while, I wanted to make sure all was well.”

You show Luna that everything is fine and recommend to Nightmare that the bath should end now. Nightmare has no intentions of letting the bath end, “No. no, no, no. I like it. The baf will latht foreber!” You still think the way she mispronounces things so seriously is adorable.

You gesture for Luna not to say anything as you try to coax the young Nightmare, “But if the bath doesn’t end, I can’t tuck you in, and I can’t read you goodnight Luna.” Nightmare hadn’t thought of that. You continue, “And then for breakfast tomorrow, I’ll make you some pancakes.” Nightmare’s jaw drops in sync with her dropping the toys. That was a REALLY good reason to end the bath. Nightmare personally unplugs the tub and elegantly flies out onto the mat, ready to be dried.

As you dry her off, Luna whispers to you, reminding you that this world is still a dream; there will be no way you can cook edible food here. You recommend that you take her outside the dream and make her some pancakes then. Luna forgets to whisper, “You can’t. Outside the dream she still has power. She’ll cast Equestria into everlasting night.”

Nightmare hears this, grits her fangs for a moment and then begins quivering sadly, “I don’t wanna rule. I don’t want E-pur-nal night. I don’t even want magic. I wanna get petted, and tucked in, and eat pan-cakes.” If Nightmare Moon’s sad little sob wasn’t convincing enough, you give Luna a begging look of your own.

Luna starts to object, but sighs in defeat, “Fine.” Nightmare begins dancing around you as you move to open the door.

You ask Nightmare, “So, how do you like your pancakes?”

“To eated them.” She responds innocently.

You let that one go, “Fair enough. How many do you want?”

“All of them!” She cries out gleefully.

After you catch your breath from laughing too much, you let her go play. After all, it’s not quite bedtime. Luna walks alongside you, “It makes you wonder how things might have been, doesn’t it sitter? I wonder what would have been … if she had found someone who loved her too.”

You step into the time machine, “My contract doesn’t allow me to answer that.”

Luna thought you were staying, “Where are you going sitter?”

You start the time machine up, “Tell Nightmare I’ll be back in time for bedtime. I just have another job right now.” You set the machine for ‘parallel world’ and disappear. You will be back. You keep your promises.