The cursed resident.

by Sylif Daring Doo

Nightmare Moon's breakthrough.

_______*Ponyville, four days later, Rarity's house, 7:00 PM*______

Nightmare Moon sighed to herself as she stared out into the thunder storm, it had been interesting earlier today, as Sweetie Belle, with permission from her big sister of course, brought her friends over.

This normally wouldn't have been a problem, except that the three fillies were exceptional at causing headaches, and while Nightmare had been shocked to learn she could have headaches, she was also intrigued and wanted to look into it more.

Alecia had been insufferable however, as the entire time the fillies were in the house, the other ghost had been rearranging things randomly and had even spent a good twenty minutes holding two fingers behind the head of each filly.

And while Scootaloo and Apple Bloom couldn't hear or see them, Sweetie Belle had been fighting herself in trying to avoid laughing at anything that Alecia did.

Nightmare had also been observing Rarity's routine for a while now, and while the white unicorn was wary around her, and always kept her eyes open just in case, she had noted several things through out the time she was trapped in the house.

First, Rarity always went to the bathroom for at least ten minutes after waking up, and sometimes longer, she then cleaned herself up by brushing her mane and tail and styling it to her usual look, as well as applying her makeup for the day.

Second, on days where her shop was closed, Rarity would either spend most of the day cleaning up the boutique, relaxing at home and spending time with her sister, or spending the day out with friends.

Third, Rarity had slowly become used to seeing Nightmare Moon in her house, she was obviously still shaken by the warning she was given, but she didn't outright avoid Nightmare at all times.

Fourth, Rarity was fond of gossip, but unlike the Nobles who used it for personal gain, she used it as a means for conversation or as a temporary cure for boredom.

'Any one of her habits could be used to get my revenge, once I can interact with the physical world again that is.' Nightmare thought to herself as she stood in silence, looking out at the storm once again.

As she looked out, Nightmare began to ponder what she would do when she was free. 'When or if I get out of here, what exactly am I supposed to do? I can't exactly bring about eternal night like this.' She looked at her hoof and sighed.

'Then again, why should I bother with eternal night anyway? that was always Luna's ambition and now we're seperated, even if I did find her I don't know if I could merge with her again.' She then looked up at where the moon should be, and as she stared in the direction of her former prison, she felt.......sadness.

"Why am I feeling this?" She asked herself in a whisper as she walked away from the window.

Nightmare Moon shook her head as she walked out of the empty room and into the hallway, she looked and saw the door to Rarity's room open, the room was dark and unlit.

Walking to the room, Nightmare let her thoughts drift aimlessly, she looked around the dark room, there was nothing on the floor except for the furniture. 'If I did take over Equestria.......what would happen? riots and resistance? maybe even a revolution.' She shook her head slowly and walked to the bathroom, she looked into the mirror and saw only herself, her ghostly mane no longer billowed on its own, it simply hung limp and started to lose form, her cat like eyes, which once glowed brightly, were now dull. "What's happening to me?" She asked herself quietly.

Nightmare Moon stared into her reflection, something that should have been impossible but was made possible through magic, she chuckled sadly. 'So this is what became of the mighty Nightmare Moon? not even a shadow of her former self, a ghost clinging on for no reason?........no wonder Rarity and Sweetie Belle don't fear me.' She told herself as she stared.

Seeing her withered reflection however, Nightmare Moon felt something bubbling up within her, she was started at its sudden appearance, but she soon recognized it and allowed it to burst forth, it was anger.

Anger at her failure, anger at the Element Bearers for doing this to her, anger at Celestia for allowing it to come to this, but most of all, she felt anger at herself.

So instead of continuing to stare into the mirror, Nightmare Moon made a decision. "Stop mocking me!" She shouted, she threw her hoof at the mirror, expecting it to go straight through like normal.

But instead, her hoof smashed into the mirror and she widened her eyes, she stared at her un injured hoof as glass fell and broke on the floor, she then looked at the mirror, seeing herself in a shard of glass, she saw her eyes once again shining bright in all of their glory, she then realized what she has done. "I.....broke it." She blinked. "I broke it." She said again.

Nightmare Moon then decided to test her newfound abilities, she lit her horn and tried to cast a spell.

And to her absolute shock, the mirror was soon repaired, she was frozen in a stunned silence for several moments before she grinned. "YES!" She shouted.

Just then, the lights came on in the bathroom and Nightmare Moon looked over, she saw Rarity and Sweetie Belle, they were obviously curious about what had happened, and then Alecia appeared behind them.

"What happened?" Rarity asked immediately.

Nightmare Moon looked at her hoof one more time before reaching out and grabbing a comb that was on the sink counter, she looked at Rarity with an evil grin. "The villain learned a new trick." She stated before setting the comb down with her magic and grabbing Rarity in her magic.

"Ah!" Rarity cried out as she was lifted into the air.

"Stop! let her go Nightmare!" Sweetie Belle pleaded.

Nightmare Moon ignored the fillies cries as she walked into the center of the bedroom, as she walked her mane returned to its usual glory and she felt most of her power return. "Nightmare, I'm glad you figured it out and all......but is this really necessary?" Alecia asked curiously.

"Stay out of this Alecia, this is personal." Nightmare growled, she lowered Rarity down to her eye level and stared. "I'm not going to kill you Rarity, that would arouse too much suspicion and if I am going to be honest with myself? I would rather not kill you at all." She then gained a malicious grin. "However, seeing as both Luna AND Celestia probably know I am here, and the other five are out of reach." She then levitated Rarity over to the vanity mirror and sat her down on the stool, the mare struggled and tried to get away but the Alicorn's magic was too strong.

Sweetie Belle tried to intervene but Alecia stopped her by standing in the way. "You can't harm a ghost, just stay out of it, it's between them." She stated calmly.

"I think it's only fitting I make good on my previous threat, with an alteration of course." Nightmare Moon grinned mischievously and cast a spell on Rarity.

Rarity closed her eyes and braced for pain, but realized that it didn't hurt, she opened her eyes and looked at herself in the mirror and she nearly died of a heart attack.

With one spell, Nightmare Moon had simultaneously cut both Rarity's mane and tail to a very short length, and undid all of her work, as well as colored it black and a very dark green.

And for the second time since knowing the two ghosts, the scream could be heard from The Golden Oaks Library.

Sweetie Belle, while upset at the situation, did not know what to think.

Alecia thought that Nightmare Moon was a genius as far as revenge pranks go, and laughed for a good ten minutes.

______*The next day, 10:21 AM.*______

Nightmare Moon looked over at Rarity with a sly grin, the mare was obviously grouchy and refused to speak to either ghost, and after she had woken up this morning, she discovered that her mane and tail had become red and purple, she wasn't as angry about this color, but was still furious as was evident by the large scowl on her face.

Alecia still found it funny especially since Rarity had learned that hair dye remover was useless, and was stuck like this until Nightmare Moon decided to fix it, and with how amused the Alicorn was, it wasn't going to happen soon.

The house was quiet for a while, it got so quiet that Nightmare was falling asleep on the couch, which was strange considering she was a ghost and didn't get tired.

Around ten forty, there was a knock at the door, followed by the familiar voice of Twilight, so while Rarity answered the door, Nightmare Moon and Alecia stepped into the dining room to talk.

"So I have to know." Alecia started, she placed her hands on the table. "How did you do it? the prank I mean?" She asked.

Nightmare Moon smirked and gave a small chuckle. "It's simple yet brilliant really, a small series of charms and jinxes." She looked up and nodded at Alecia.

The two appeared in Rarity's room and Nightmare continued. "The first charm is attached to her bed, if somepony were on it for say......five hours? it will then send a signal to the others." She pointed at the bathroom. "The second charm is on the door to the bathroom, if it receives the signal from the first, it will prepare the jinxes." She continued.

"The first jinx is actually in both the shower and mirror, the mirror will fool the eyes to think nothing has changed at first, but when Rarity looks up at the mirror again after taking a shower, she will notice the color change." She explained.

"The second jinx however is a little more complex, it requires a signal from all of the others but it will slow down her hair regrowth." The Alicorn explained.

Alecia nodded in understanding. "So the shower is ultimately the color changer right?" She asked.

Nightmare Moon nodded. "Yes, why?" She asked.

Alecia grinned and looked at the Alicorn. "First off......that is amazing and I applaud your effort." After the Alicorn gave a fake bow, the other ghost continued. "Secondly......how long are you going to hold it up for?" Alecia asked curiously.

Nightmare Moon shrugged. "It should only last for about three days starting tomorrow, besides, this is far too amusing to end today." She said.

Alecia nodded, she then walked to Rarity's door and went to walk out, she then stopped and looked to her side for a few moments before looking back at Nightmare. "Wait......the curse holding us here feeds itself right?" She said.

Nightmare blinked, but didn't interrupt Alecia. "And I'm guessing it also maintained the magic of that old seal on the door to my room." She continued.

Nightmare nodded, but then she froze. "No.....you don't think that?......" She trailed off.

"What if the curse is feeding your prank?" Alecia asked.

The two ghosts were silent for a good three minutes, but Nightmare eventually spoke. "Let's not speak of this to anyone." She said.

"Agreed." Alecia said as the ghosts vanished.

Author's Note:

Nightmare's prank was inspired (Not taken) from the story If wishes were ponies.

I felt like making a chapter without much plot or story, just wanted to have some fun with this one.

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