The cursed resident.

by Sylif Daring Doo

Freedom and stress.

______*Ponyville*______

"Am I.....free?" Asked the voice of Alecia, her voice was filled with confusion and uncertainty as she looked at her friends.

Rarity smiled and nodded, but deep within she hurt for she knew that Alecia was unlikely to stick around for long, the ghost often talked about leaving the town and exploring the world to see what changed, and as much as Rarity wanted her to stay, she could not bring herself to even try.

Alecia looked to Canterlot with a longing gaze, she felt the desire to explore fill her once more, to see the world without any ties to hold her down, she smiled as she let her excitement build up, she looked to her friends and descendant.

Feral Wing found herself feeling a little disappointed, she had hoped to talk with her ancestor more, to learn about the past and her family, but she couldn't think of anything to say in this moment, so instead she decided to be silent, and hope that the ghost would return or seek her out to talk more.

Nightmare Moon however felt the worst, she felt like she was losing her friend, and while she understood what she was doing when she performed the counter curse, it didn't mean that she was ready just yet, so she simply stared at Alecia's now bright blue eyes which seemed to have a mischievous spark to them, as though she were alive once more.

Alecia grinned and put her hands behind her head, resting them on her bright red hair. "Well, it's been fun everyone, but I have six centuries to catch up on, I'll see you around." She stated with mischief in mind before vanishing from their sight, laughing evilly as she did so.

The three equines sighed and Rarity started to walk home. 'I need to break the news to Sweetie Belle In the morning, I know she'll be hurt but something tells me that Alecia will come back some day, once she's ready.' She took a shaky breath and kept walking.

Feral Wing looked to Nightmare Moon who had a strangely neutral expression on her face, she stared for a few seconds before taking flight and heading for the Golden Oaks, leaving the Alicorn alone in the fields.

Nightmare Moon stared at the mountain city for what felt like hours, she did not move from her spot for a long time and then she unfolded her wings, she flew towards Rarity's house with her mind practically blank, she felt no emotions as she flew, she didn't even know why this was, but it was going to drive her nuts if she either didn't figure it out or ignore It.

_______*That night, Rarity's house.*_______

Rarity sighed as she opened her front door, she walked inside and before heading upstairs she checked to see if Nightmare Moon was coming, sure enough she spotted the Alicorn standing outside looking up at the moon, she walked to the stairs and soon as she took her first step she heard a voice upstairs, she couldn't make it out but it made her wary as she quietly headed upstairs.

The voices spoke some more and then fell silent for a moment as Rarity reached the top of the stairs, thankfully the stairs didn't creak and she was unheard, she walked through the upstairs and soon she came to a realization, that the voices were coming from Sweetie Belle's room.

Rarity put stealth aside and hurried to her sisters room, she opened the door and watched as Sweetie Belle, who was under her covers gave a tired wave to Alecia as the ghost vanished from sight, Rarity felt her stress fade as she realized that her friend was just saying goodbye to her sister. "Rarity? are you alright?" Sweetie Belle asked with concern.

"I'm.....fine." Rarity said, unsure if she was lying or not. "What about you? I know Alecia was your friend and I want to see if you'll be ok." She added while walking up to her sisters bed and sitting down on it.

Sweetie Belle gave her sister a concerned look and then signed sadly. "It's not going to be the same without her around, she always had a way of cheering us up, even when it looked and felt like she did it to hurt us we always laughed in the end." She rested her head on her pillow and gave a quiet laugh. "Though, you have to admit, Nightmare Moon's prank on you was hilarious." She said.

Rarity smiled and stroked her sisters mane, she remembered her reaction to the first day she was under the hair alteration jinx, she let out a quiet giggle. "Those two are quite the pranksters aren't they? they could give Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash a run for their bits." She stated.

Sweetie Belle laughed and then the sisters began to talk to each other, they didn't even notice when Nightmare Moon watched from the doorway for a moment before walking away.

The Alicorn in question walked to the door that led to her room, she was about to grip the knob in her magic before she sighed, she turned around and walked up to the door leading into the study, she opened the door and stepped inside, she looked around at the bookshelves and took note of how many old books there were, some were weathered while others were dusty, many were missing parts of the books but out of them all, only one was in perfect condition.

Nightmare Moon raised an eyebrow at this and gripped the book in her magic, the book was sturdy and was two or three inches thick, the cover was blue in color and was blank, she opened the book to the first page and read the text.

'Alexandrite Belle.' The name made Nightmare raise an eyebrow, she heard a voice behind her. "That was my Grandmother's journal." Came Rarity's voice.

Nightmare Moon turned around and set the book on the desk, Rarity's expression was a soft one, without any trace of anger or disbelief. "I apologize, I shouldn't have-" The unicorn held a hoof up and Nightmare fell silent.

"It's alright, you were simply curious." Rarity walked up to the journal and closed it. "Grandfather never talked about her, and my mother and father never truly explained who she was to me." She added. "When Grandfather passed away and I inherited this house, I read this journal and I understood everything." Rarity looked at Nightmare Moon and levitated the book back to where it once was. "Alexandrite Belle died giving birth to my uncle in Manehatten, it's why I always enjoy visiting the city, while I do have a lot of business offers up there, I always find time to visit him." She explained.

Nightmare Moon looked at Rarity as the mare sighed and walked over to the chair and sat down in it. "What is his name?" She asked out of genuine curiosity.

"His name is Azurite Belle, he is an Earth Pony who works in the courts, my father might claim to care about his entire family, but he has always loathed uncle Az." She sighed and leaned back in the chair. "From what I can tell from reading her journal, Alexandrite and Grandfather had a massive fight when he learned she was pregnant, he claimed that she was out of line and that he wanted nothing more to do with her, so she moved out and they divorced a week later, from what I can tell from reading her journal, Grandmother moved in with her lover and lived happily until she was put into the hospital, she said that she wasn't going to survive the delivery, even though the doctors tried to cover it up." She explained before shaking her head.

Nightmare Moon sighed. "So your Grandfather felt betrayed, so he didn't let you know about your own grandmother because of that?" When Rarity nodded the Alicorn shook her head. "I'm sorry to hear that." She stated.

"My Grandfather was a strict stallion when I was growing up but wasn't a bad person, he taught me so much when I was growing up, he raised me to have a love of the arts, he put me through school and later college." She sighed sadly but with a small smile. "And while he never talked about Grandmother, I knew he cared for her." She added.

"What about your parents? what did they teach you while you grew up?" Nightmare asked, Rarity lost her smile.

"I learned quickly that they were far too busy exploring the world anod going on business trips to actually raise me, don't get me wrong however, I love my parents greatly, but there are only so many 'weekend long trips' you can handle before you get the hint that they can't raise a filly." Rarity stated, she then sighed sadly. "And while they did attend any big event like my birthday or my first fashion show, they were gone for so many many years in general that I had difficulty knowing who they were." She continued she pinched the bridge of her nose and gave a tired yawn.

"And now?" Nightmare Moon asked, curious about what her friend would say.

Rarity rested her hoof on the arm rest of the chair and looked at Nightmare Moon. "They do spend more time with me and Sweetie Belle, and I mean they show up a little more than they did while I grew up, but aside from the occasional weekend with us or the odd week that Sweetie spends with them it is basically the exact same thing." She stated. "They didn't learn from their previous mistake, if anything they simply changed who they let raise their daughter and that someone is me." She stated as she took a long breath to calm down.

Nightmare Moon looked into Rarity's eyes and she could easily see the stress on the young unicorns face, her eyes had gained a look that made her think that she was much older than she really was, there were dark bags under her eyes which were barely covered by dried up makeup, but the only thing that Nightmare was able to see was disappointment, exhaustion, love and pride, there was no sign of anger or resentment in Rarity's eyes. "Why don't you take a couple days off? use them to unwind and relax?" She asked.

Rarity huffed. "And who is going to take care of everything? because while I can easily handle the few orders I have right now with no trouble, I have to take care of my boutique, handle whatever comes up that needs the Elements of Harmony, I have to take care of Sweetie Belle, help her with a school project coming up, cook food, pay bills AND take care of the house." She stated. "It's a lot to handle Nightmare, and that isn't even counting everything else, i cannot ask any of my friends to help with that, it is not fair to them at all." She stated.

Nightmare Moon went into deep thought for a while before speaking. "What if I take care of Sweetie Belle for a few days?" She offered, Rarity raised an eyebrow at this. "I.....or rather Silver Wing, start work next week today, and with Alecia going off to see the world, I quite literally have nothing to do, if anything I can help take a little pressure off." She added.

Rarity sighed and leaned forward. "Can you reliably get up before eight AM?" She asked, with Nightmare's nod she continued. "If she asks, can you help her with the project?" Another nod, Rarity raised an eyebrow. "Can you cook?" She asked, actually kind of curious.

Nightmare smirked. "I watched the royal chefs cook food for a few months and I watched you and your sister cook, how hard could it possibly be?" She asked with confidence.

_______*The next day, 8:10 AM*_______

Nightmare Moon grumpily sat at the counter next to a highly amused Sweetie Belle as Rarity made waffles, the white unicorn mare occasionally glared at the Alicorn as she cooked on a new frying pan, the once pristine pan that Nightmare used was now charred and stained irreparably and in front of said Alicorn sat a plate of black disks and thin black bricks, they used to be pancakes and toast, but Rarity claimed that they could be used to build and that Nightmare was NOT allowed to cook until she learned how to do so.

"I swear, the heat wasn't THAT high." Nightmare claimed, making Sweetie Belle giggle.

Rarity huffed. "Oh of course, you had it just low enough to summon a fire elemental." She stated with annoyance.

Sweetie Belle laughed and held her chest as she did so, sliding off her stool and landing on the carpeted floor, all the while Nightmare Moon groaned and face planted the counter. "This is embarrassing." She mumbled.

Author's Note:

Welp, there you have it, Alecia is free and off to explore the world, and now Rarity, Nightmare Moon and Sweetie Belle have to get used to life without the spectral prankster in their lives, while Rarity also discovers a similarity between Nightmare Moon and her sister, one that she loathes incredibly.

Hope you enjoyed this chapter, cause it was fun to make, see you next time.

Comments

[THERDSTORYWHISPERER]

Nice chapter! I love the interactions with Rarity, Sweetie Belle, and Nightmare Moon!

[Dimmed Star]

https://images.app.goo.gl/FgTKuUXWMBUYUM1e9

What to burn first

;)