//------------------------------// // Chapter 9 // Story: Living Nightmare // by Autum Breeze //------------------------------// Chapter 9 ___________________________________________________________ “Rarity, I’m back,” Sweetie Belle called as she pushed open the door to the boutique, only to stop in her tracks, her eyes wide. “What?” Rarity was standing by the modelling station, her equipments for clothes making hovering around her head. However, it was the filly standing on the modelling station, looking extremely uncomfortable about the whole situation that caught her attention. It was Stellar Nova, but she was now wearing a dress. It was a purple dress with a vest-like design that trailed down to her back legs, stopping inches from the ground, with black mixed here and there to blend with Stellar’s coat colour. The front was adorned with a crescent moon the same as her Cutie Mark. She was also wearing slippers similar to Princess Luna’s royal attire shoes, but coloured purple with hints of turquoise around the edges. Sweetie Belle just stared, slack-jawed. Stellar looked beautiful, just like the Princesses dressed like that. It was at this moment, however, that Stellar noticed Sweetie Belle standing in the door way. She stared for several seconds, looked down at what she was wearing, then "eeped" and ran around the screen Rarity used to keep things private for her models, or to hide a design so to reveal it in a flashy way. “Stellar, come now,” Rarity said, sounding annoyed and her expression showing it. “I thought we agreed that you’d stop moving until I was finished. I almost tore the fabric at the end and poked your flanks. You wouldn’t want that now, would you?” “S-Sweetie Belle’s staring,” the Alicorn whispered from behind the screen. Rarity turned and blinked in surprise at the sight of her sister. “Oh, Sweetie Belle, when did you get back?” “Just... now?” Sweetie Belle said, her eyes still on the screen where Stellar had hidden behind. She wasn’t surprised her sister hadn’t noticed her come in; she’d been working on a dress. Whenever Rarity was focused on a design, she was like Twilight when reading a book, oblivious to the world around her until snapped out of it. Rarity was about to say something, when she noticed two ponies standing behind her little sister. “Oh, um, hello, Mr. Rich. What brings you and your... darling daughter here, today?” Filthy Rich stepped in, Diamond Tiara, who was wearing the darkest scowled a filly could wear, following behind. “Miss Rarity,” Rich said, both sounding like his usual business self, but also as a regular pony, “I’ve been told that you are looking after Night—” He stopped and cleared his throat. “My apologies. I’ve been told that you are looking after Stellar Nova, today, is that right?” Rarity nodded slowly, her expression showing she was waiting to see just where Rich was going from here. Rich cleared his throat again. “Well, my daughter has something she wants to say to young Stellar, after yesterday’s indecent at school.” “But, Daddy,” Tiara began angrily, “why should I apologize to Nightmare—” “Call her that one more time and you won’t get any allowance for a year, Diamond,” Rich cut her off, his voice becoming stern. “But, Daddy—” “No buts, Diamond,” he said, his voice becoming sterner. “As has been explained to you by Miss Cheerilee and several others, Stellar is scared by that name. You will call her as the princesses have named her, Stellar Nova. Understand?” Tiara glared up at her father for several moments, before looking down, a defeated, but angry look on her face. “Fine, Daddy.” Rich nodded, then returned his gaze to Rarity and it softened. “So, where is Miss Stellar?” “Right behind here,” Rarity said, walking over to the screen and peeking behind it. “Stellar, come out now. Mr. Rich has something very important for you.” After a few moments the small filly came out, keeping her head down and not meeting anypony’s eyes. Rich nodded to his daughter, who scowled and turned to Stellar. “I’m sorry about being mean to you yesterday.” “No, you’re not.” It had been a whisper, but it made everypony flinch. “What?” Tiara almost snarled. Stellar lifted her head, looking directly at Tiara, her face showing nervousness and sadness. “You’re... you’re not really sorry. Not sorry at all. You’re only saying it because your dad told you to.” “Now, that’s not—” Rich began. “Well of course I’m not really sorry,” Tiara shot, causing Stellar to cringe. “You’re a horrible being that shouldn’t even exist. You took Princess Luna away from her sister and then tried to put our world into an Eternal Night! You'd have killed all the plants and doomed us all, even yourself! You’re horrible! Why don’t you just disappear? Trust me, nopony would miss you!” “Diamond Tiara!” Tiara wilted at her father’s harsh tone, his eyes showing disappointment and anger. “How... How can you say that to a filly younger than you? Would you have ever said that to Dinky if you hadn’t found out about her mother and I dating?” “Um... well...” Tiara stuttered, clearly unprepared for this confrontation. Rich turned to Rarity, who was now holding a crying Stellar and trying to hush her. “I am so sorry about this, Miss Rarity. I promise I will straighten my daughter out and she will apologize,” he grabbed one of Tiara’s ear with a hoof, “and next time she’ll mean it.” Rarity nodded and went back to hushing the sobbing filly, whilst Rich led his daughter out the shop, all the while her saying, “Ow, ow, ow! Daddy, let go of my ear; that hurts! Ow, ow, ow!” The door closed and there was silence for a few moments, save the sound of Stellar’s quiet sobs. When Stellar seemed to have calmed down, Rarity let her go and wiped the stray tears from her eyes. “Feeling better?” “A little,” Stellar said, her voice muffled against Rarity’s fur. Rarity nodded, then moved away and indicated to the mirror. “Now, Stellar Nova, look at this wonderful design in fashion by one of the greatest designers in all Equestria!” she said dramatically. Sweetie Belle rolled her eyes at this as Stellar hesitantly moved towards the mirror and looked at herself, then blinked, shock entering her eyes. “Is... is that me?” she asked, her voice filled with the shock in her eyes. Rarity nodded. “Indeed, Stellar. I must say, I do believe I’ve outdone myself. You look wonderful, darling.” “Yeah,” Sweetie Belle agreed, coming over to stand next to Stellar. “You like really pretty, just like a princess.” Her eyes widened. “Wait. You’re an Alicorn, that means you are a princess, right?” “Um...?” Stellar glanced at Rarity, not sure how to respond. It took Rarity a moment before to spoke. “Well, I suppose you are technically a princess, yes,” she began slowly. “Celestia, Luna, Cadance and Twilight are Alicorns and they’re princesses and, since your form technically came from Princess Luna, I suppose that would make you one as well.” “... I’m a... princess?” Stellar looked very confused. “That’s amazing!” Sweetie shouted, pulling Stellar into a hug. “You’re a princess. Hey, I’ve been wondering, is Princess Luna your mom?” Stellar turned to her a very confused expression on her face, though there was also a slight bit of uncertainly in her eyes. “My mum? Why would Princess Luna be my mum?” Sweetie was about to answer, when Rarity shook her head, a sign that she should go no further. “Um, never mind,” she said instead, grinning sheepishly. “Your Cutie Mark is a lot like hers, I guess. Sorry.” Stellar nodded slowly, then glanced at Rarity. “Can I take this off now? It is pretty, I won’t lie, but I don’t like wearing dresses.” Rarity nodded. “Very well.” She then helped Stellar get out of the dress and levitated it over to a filly-sized ponikin and placed it over it. “How about you and Sweetie Belle go have some fun, hmm?” “Hey, yeah!” Sweetie cried, bouncing with excitement. “Let’s go to my room and play!” Before Stellar could answer, the unicorn grabbed her foreleg and pulled her upstairs and down to her room. “So, what do you wanna do?” Sweetie asked, turning to the Alicorn, who was looking around the room with interest. “Um,” Stellar looked down, scuffing her hoof on the carpet. “I... don’t know. This is the first day I’ve really gotten time to really do stuff since waking up a few days ago.” Sweetie Belle cocked her head. “Whatcha mean?” Stellar then told Sweetie Belle everything about who she used to be and how, three days ago, she’d woken up in the Castle of the Two Pony Sisters as the filly she was and what she could remember of those three days, which, since she’d slept through most of two of them, wasn’t much. Sweetie Belle couldn’t believe it. She’d heard Rarity mention something about a human world before with her friends, but hadn’t fully understood it and now she was talking with a real human. Yes, he was now in the body of a filly Nightmare Moon and thus now a she, but still, she was talking to a human. Lyra Heartstrings would be so jealous if she ever found out. “So, you’re not from the human world my sister’s mentioned, but a different one?” Sweetie asked, just to clarify. Stellar nodded. “I still don’t know what happened. I went to sleep in the operating room, then I woke up like this in that old castle.” Sweetie then frowned. “And you don’t know what your special talent is, even though you’ve already got your Cutie Mark?” Stellar nodded again, then looked down at her flank. “I woke up with it. Rarity said it’s like Princess Luna’s, so maybe it’s got something to do with what she can do, but I’m not sure.” Sweetie scratched her chin, thinking. “Well, Princess Luna raises the moon and brings the night... but she also watches over everypony’s dreams.” Stellar blinked. “Their dreams?” Sweetie nodded. “Yeah. You see, I did something bad once because I didn’t think Rarity thought of me as a sister, but Princess Luna showedme that I was wrong by visiting my dreams and showing me what really was going on and even helped me know to fix a problem I created before it destroyed my sister’s life.” Stellar’s eyes widened. “You almost destroyed your sister’s life? How?” Sweetie blushed, her ears going flat. “I’d... really rather not say.” Stellar smiled knowingly. “Okay.” “So, you’re staying here tonight?” Sweetie asked, moving the conversation onto something more pleasant. Stellar nodded. “Then, tomorrow night I’m staying at Fluttershy’s, then Rainbow Dash’s and then...” Stellar gulped, “Pinkie Pie’s.” Sweetie by raised an eyebrow. “What’s wrong with staying at Pinkie’s?” Stellar looked away, her wings pressing against her sides and her ears drooping. “She... kinda scares me.” Sweetie giggled and shook her head. “Don’t worry, you’ll get used to her; we all have.” Stellar looked down. “I hope so.” "Anyway, about your talent," Sweetie said, returning to the previous part of the conversation. "I bet we could help you; the Cutie Mark Crusaders, I mean." "But, isn't that for finding Cutie Marks?" Stellar asked, looking rather confused. Sweetie Belle shook her head. "That's part of it, but we're mainly about finding our special talents so we can get our Cutie Marks. That normally just means figuring out what you're good at and getting a Cutie Mark, but you've already got yours, but need to figure it out. That's where we can help you." "Um, okay," Stellar gave a small smile. “Girls,” Rarity called from downstairs, “dinner!” Both fillies looked at each other. Had they really been talking for that long? They both got up and hurried downstairs. ___________________________________________________________ When dinner was done Stellar and Sweetie Belle had showers, separately, followed by Rarity. It was as Rarity came out of the shower, however, that Stellar mentioned something important. “Um, Rarity?” “Yes, dear?” the unicorn replied, turning to see Stellar standing in the full-body pajamas she’d made for her that day, designed with a dark-blue fabric, the same as Princess Luna’s fur colour, with Sweetie Belle wearing her own pink pajamas standing next to her. “Um, where am I going to sleep? You haven’t changed the covers on my bed yet?” Rarity blinked, then her eyes went wide. What with designing Stellar’s evening wearing and then the dress, she’d completely forgotten about Stellar’s accident. “Hey, she can stay in my room for the night,” Sweetie offered, then her eyes went wide. “It could be like a sleepover!” “Well, I suppose that could work,” Rarity nodded, her brow furrowed in thought. “Stellar, would that be okay with you?” Stellar nodded. “I don’t mind.” While Sweetie Belle cheered, Rarity went to a storage closest and got out a fold-out mattress, quilt and pillow and levitated them as she led the two fillies to Sweetie’s room. Once the makeshift bed was set up, Rarity told them to get into bed. “Aw, but, Rarity...” Sweetie Belle began, but her big sister held up a hoof. “Sweetie Belle, you both still have school tomorrow. I will hear no arguments, understand?” “Yes, Rarity,” Sweetie mumbled and got into bed, while Rarity helped Stellar get into hers. Once Stellar was settled, she kissed both of them on the forehead, right above their horns. “Goodnight, girls. Have wonderful dreams.” “Night, sis,” Sweetie Belle yawned, the settled into her bed, almost falling asleep at once, proving she wouldn’t have lasted long even without Rarity saying so. “Goodnight, Rarity,” Stellar said, followed by her own yawn as she nestled into the covers. “Thank you for letting me stay the night.” Rarity hesitated, then smiled and brushed a hoof through Stellar’s mane, which moved across her hoof like she was a ghost. “No need, Stellar. You... you deserve kindness after...” she trailed off, both because she couldn’t bring herself to say it and also because Stellar had fallen asleep. Rarity sighed and walked quietly out the room so as not to wake them, then went to her own bed, her guilt at knowing Stellar would never be able to go home and that she had to keep that secret for as long as possible eating at her insides. ___________________________________________________________ I was running through a forest. I had no idea why I was running through a forest, or where this forest even came from, but I was and I could feel a deep fear that, if I stopped, I was doomed. A roar from behind, followed by a horrible smell that seemed uncomfortably familiar caused me to glance behind me. A huge plant-like thing was charging at me. I couldn’t make out more than the large mouth filled with green light, shadowed by thousands of sharp teeth. I run faster, trying to get away from the monster that was chasing me. I'm panting heavily, my mane lashing back whenever the thing gets too close, like a lion tamer in the circus, giving me more time to ran further. I turned a corner and screamed as a large shadow with blue eyes lunged out and covered everything. ___________________________________________________________ Rarity was jerked from her sleep by a scream. It was coming from Sweetie Belle’s room and it didn’t sound like Sweetie Belle’s scream. She bolted out of bed and hurried down the hall, bursting into Sweetie Belle’s room, seeing Sweetie Belle sitting up, deep worry on her face. Stellar was thrashing about under her covers, screaming as if she was being attacked. Rarity hurried over and starting shaking the screaming filly. “Stellar, wake up! Wake up, it’s just a dream!” Stellar’s eyes shot open and, for a second, she stared at Rarity with fear, before tears welled in her eyes and she clung onto the older pony, sobbing into her fur. Rarity just rubbed her back, murmuring soothing words. Luna had been right. Stellar had had a nightmare and she had no doubt Nightmare had played a part in it, along with vague parts of the memories they’d forced Stellar to forget. I hope she doesn't have nightmares at Fluttershy's.