//------------------------------// // A Maid's Life // Story: The Nightmare Reigns // by Gabrielangel13 //------------------------------// Twilight Sparkle walked through Canterlot's castle, doing her job. She hated being a maid, but you couldn't get much else for work without your cutie mark. Dusting statues wasn't that fun. "Twilight!" Dust Bunny called as she trotted down the hall. A guard glared, and Dust flinched. "Sorry." She mumbled as the earth pony made her way to Twilight. "Yes?" The Unicorn asked. "Can you clean the artifact room? Her royal majesty has requested that I clean the throne room today. I have permission to get aid with my other chores." Dusty said. "I would love to!" Twilight declared. "I've always wanted to see the ancient artifacts." "Just remember, dust them, but don't tarry or touch them." Dusty warned before trotting off. Twilight finished dusting the statues in the corridor. Normally she would return home at that time, but she had to finish the Artifact Room. She had a slight skip in her step as she pushed her cleaning cart to the room down the hall. She pushed the door open slightly at first, but then all the way. The dim lights ignited the room. Twilight went about her duties, sweeping the floor, dusting the artifacts. She came to the last one in the back corner, a green and purple egg. Twilight got a funny feeling as she got close to it. Her useless horn tingled slightly. Her mind whirled. She was moving to Ponyville that day anyway. Might as well slip the egg while nopony's looking. She lifted it carefully into her cart and hid it under a towel and a duster. She briskly walked down the hall to her closet where she put the egg in her saddle bag along with her uniform. She couldn't relax until after she had gotten home, where her parents had everything in boxes. "Ready to go, Hun?" Her dad asked. "Yeah. When does our carriage arrive?" She asked. "Soon." Her mother said as she entered the room, a box on her back. "Mom, do you think that unicorn horns are special at all?" Twilight asked. The bustle in the house ceased as her parents and brother stared at her. "What makes you ask that?" Her mother asked nervously. "Nothing." Twiilight said and ducked her head low. Deep down, she knew that unicorns couldn't be as worthless as everypony thought. Pegusi fly, Earth Ponies are strong and grow plants. Unicorns are usually smart, but that couldn't be all. There had to be something more. And that egg had to have the answers. The chariot gently set down on the dark town of Ponyville. Unlike Canterlot, Ponyville didn't have a large enough budget to keep the streets lit brightly all of the time. Only a few lights gleamed during the slow time of the town, when most ponies were asleep. Only the Mayor greeted the family as they exited the carriage. "Welcome to Ponyville!" She said with a smile. "We're so glad you're here, Twilight Velvet and Night Light. Ponyville is honored to finally have official star-gazers. And these must be your wonderful children, Shining Armor and Twilight Glitter?" "Sparkle." Twilight corrected. Shining Armor stood silently. His glare clearly put off the Mayor. "Anyway..." The pony said with a nervous chuckle. "We'll have you in the old library. You'll have a great view of the stars." She said as she picked up some luggage and lead them to an old oak tree. Inside, the layers of dust indicated that nopony had been there in years. The Mayor placed the suitcases before wishing us a good night and leaving. The unicorn family lit some lights with matches. Twilight Velvet and Night Light took the bedroom in the attic, claiming it had the best view without all the clutter of the books. Shining Armor took a room on the middle floor, and Twilight got stuck by the library. She didn't even have a door, she was just up a short staircase from all of the books. The Sleep Cycle passed peacefully for all but Twilight. All she could think of was that feeling in her horn earlier. When the Cycle was over, Twilight explored the library. She found a shelf with empty notebooks, they said "Scientific Studies" on them. She grabbed one and a quill with ink. She placed them in her saddle bag with her stolen egg. "MOM! DAD! I'M GONNA GO EXPLORE!" She shouted through the lantern in her mouth. "ALRIGHT! BE BACK FOR THE SLEEP CYCLE!" her mother's voice echoed back, but Twilight was already out the door. The lanterns in the street were fully lit, and ponies filled the streets going about their business. Twilight tried to slip out unnoticed, but a pink blur would not allow her to. "HELLO!" She shouted, even though she was right up in Twilight's face. "YOU MUST BE PART OF THE NEW FAMILY THAT LIVES IN THAT DUSTY OLD TREE! I'M SO EXCITED TO FINALLY MEET YOU!" Twilight stepped back and looked around for guards who normally would have scolded anypony who was that loud. "Pinky, ya scarin' the poor filly." An orange Earth Pony with a hat corrected. "Oh no! I just don't want her to get in trouble with the guards." Twilight said in a low voice. The two ponies laughed. "Ya'll really are from the big city, ain't ya? Us folk don't git in trouble, So Nightmare Moon don't waste 'er ponies here." The orange one said. "I'm AppleJack. This 'ere is Pinkie Pie." "I'm Twilight Sparkle." Twilight said, but she longed to run away. She had business with the egg. "It was lovely to meet you, but..." She began. "LOOK OUT!" A voice yelled, and Twilight looked up to see a rainbow-maned Pegasus crash into her. She groaned in pain and shook the pony off of her. "Sorry." the mare apologized. "It's alright." Twilight said. A look of panic spread over her as she opened her saddle bag just enough to make sure the egg was alright. "Whatcha got there?" The cyan mare asked. "Nothing. I got to go." Twilight said, and galloped off before anypony could say anything. Twilight Sparkle didn't stop until she reached the end of the lights, and even then she only hesitated enough to light her lantern before continuing on. After several minutes of not seeing anypony, she stopped and set down her lantern. Excitement filled her as she emptied the contents of her saddlebag in the small ring of light. She prepared her notebook and quill, and watched the egg. She sat there excitedly for nearly ten minutes before sighing. "Great. I risked my life for something completely worthless. What did I expect?" Twilight mumbled. In her mind she imagined the egg hatching. A crack slowly starting, first at the top, then spreading downwards. She closed her eyes as she picture it, and smiled at the thought of what could be inside. She felt a strange sensation in her horn, and a loud crack interrupted her thoughts. She opened her eyes, and saw the cracks spreading down the egg, just like she imagined! A small purple head emerged from the egg, followed by a body with green spikes. "Yikes!" Twilight yelped, but she imagined the rest of the egg falling apart, and it did. The inside was highly reflective, and showed a purple light around her horn. The light ceased, and Twilight felt exhausted. She wasn't sure, but she knew that only the King and Queen could do that! A gasp shattered her thinking. Twilight turned and saw a light speedily departing towards Ponyvillle. Twilight slapped her forehead, sure that Nightmare Moon would have her head. "Well little guy, I'm gonna call you Spike, cause yours are so cute! Come here." Twilight started to pick him up, but changed her mind. She slowly imagined him lifting up in the air, and her horn lit up again. The dragon squirmed slightly, but quietly allowed himself to be placed in Twilight's saddle bag. She gathered up her items and galloped home, praying that Nightmare Moon would not come for her. She blew out her lantern as she entered town, and knew that it was almost Sleep Cycle. More time had passed during her experiment than she had thought. As she passed a shop window, her eyes were drawn to her reflection. In the glass shown a six pointed star on her flank.