Taming Nightmare Moon

by Leafdoggy

Chapter 3

“Okay, Princess, I think we’ve just about gone through the whole thing.”

Vim was very carefully double and triple checking her checklists, making sure she hadn’t missed anything, and Nightmare Moon slumped into her throne with a deep sigh.

“Finally.” Nightmare Moon shook her head. “I’ve no idea why my sister would force herself to endure such exhausting ponies. I can manage the normal ponies, but when Celestia returns, do not schedule me to meet with any of these ‘nobles.’”

“Noted,” Vim said. She took out a little pad and scribbled something onto it. “Are there any other changes you’d like to make?”

“I’d just like to go do my actual job. It is getting rather late, after all.”

“You’re not going to sleep?”

Nightmare Moon scoffed. “I had a thousand years to get past such trivial things as sleep. At least, when I’m not wasting energy each day fighting against myself.”

“I see. Well, alright then, I suppose there’s nothing to keep you from it…” Vim hummed anxiously, unaware that she was doing so.

Nightmare Moon raised an eyebrow at her. “Speak your mind.”

“Oh!” She was startled and jumped a bit. “Um, well, it’s just… The sun is still up.”

Nightmare Moon stared down at her for a long moment before speaking. “And?”

“Well, I’m not sure if Celestia is going to lower it. If something has kept her away this long, it might distract her.”

“I don’t see why this is my problem.”

“I just think that, maybe… Um, just this once… Maybe you could…” Vim trailed off and stared down at the floor.

“Did I not make myself clear?” Nightmare Moon stood up and looked down her nose at the little pony. “I’ll not cover up for my sister’s incompetence.”

Vim took a step away. “I-I know you said that,” she said, “but I just thought…”

Nightmare Moon walked slowly towards Vim, and soon towered above her. “Are you contradicting me?”

“Ponies need the night!” Vim crouched down nervously and started talking in rapidfire unfinished sentences. “Without it they can’t sleep and they won’t dream and you have to protect them and they’ll be tired and their crops will die and—”

“Stop,” Nightmare Moon ordered, and she did. “You’ve made your point. You truly believe me to be incorrect?”

Vim gave a shaky nod.

“Very well.” Without another word, Nightmare Moon turned and walked away. When she went into her bedroom, Vim braced herself for the door to slam, but it never did. Instead, it quietly latched behind the Princess.

Vim stood there, blinking, not entirely sure what just happened. Around her, the room started to turn a deep orange as the sun set.

Nightmare Moon didn’t dally. She moved the celestial bodies mechanically, no grandeur or showmanship. Before long the sun was set, the moon was high in the sky, and she turned in for the night. She made herself comfortable on her bed, not lying under the covers but sitting neatly on top of them, and closed her eyes as she allowed herself to drift off into the world of dreams.

The dreamscape was a fickle place, even for her. While normally the space between ponies’ dreams was dull and empty, it would at times shift itself as it saw fit. This time, when Nightmare Moon opened her eyes, she found herself back on the moon.

She wasn’t actually on the moon. She couldn’t see Equestria, or the sun, or even any stars in the inky blackness above. No, this was the moon as she knew at, as it was when she had been banished there. An endless plane of pits and craters, stretching so far that in a thousand years she could find no end to it. There was no curve, no real horizon. She could see the nothingness above, but there was no true point where rock met void. Her eye could follow either forever, never running out of more space to see.

Here in the dream world, she was truly alone. No other living pony could come to this place on their own, or at least not one that she had ever met. It was a gift, and a responsibility, that was hers alone, and at this point she regarded it like an old friend.

Here, she faltered. There was no reason to put up a front, no need to stoke the flames of her emotions. In the waking world, she knew that she had to give the impression that Nightmare Moon was there to stay. Otherwise, they might decide that the best course of action was to simply wait it out rather than listen to her. She had quickly found, though, that it wasn’t as easy to keep up as she’d expected.

So, with a sigh of relief, Nightmare Moon fell back into the calmness that was Luna.

She sat on the cold stone and rested. Before anything else, before she could think through the day or relax, she simply had to rest. All of the anger, the frustration, the righteousness she had kept going all day flowed out of her, bit by bit, until she finally felt like her normal self.

Once she could finally think straight, Luna decided that she needed to relax. Luckily, it seemed like a calm night, and she could feel no dreams approaching the precipice of a nightmare. As she concentrated and the world shifted around her, she silently prayed for that to stay the case.

The moon resisted the changes happening around Luna, but the sky succumbed. The darkness grew lighter, and then gained color, and clouds, and life. The new dream pushed onward, and under the sky’s might, the wind and rain, the moon could do nothing as it was weathered away, leaving the rich soil of Equestria in its place.

Then the world itself grew around her. First grass and shrubs, and far off, some buildings. Then trees, row upon row of tightly packed, carefully grown apple trees that quickly surrounded Luna. Then a breeze, and birdsong, and the rustling of leaves, and finally, the pony she had come to see.

Applejack hardly had time to process Luna’s appearance before the Princess fell against her, wrapping her in a tight, desperate hug. Applejack squeezed her back, and gave her girlfriend a soft kiss on the cheek.

“Well, howdy, Moonlight,” Applejack whispered into her ear. “I wasn’t expectin to see you as, well, you for a couple weeks.”

Luna leaned back, and she had a bright smile on her face. “Oh, Applejack,” she said dreamily. Then, suddenly, she grabbed Applejack and rolled over onto her back, pulling Applejack on top of her chest, and kissed her. “Oh, how I missed you.”

Applejack chuckled and nuzzled into Luna’s chest. “Can’t go one day without me, huh?” She grinned. “How’d it go?”

Luna sighed. “Honestly? I have no idea. My sister never even gave me a chance, she was just gone all day!”

“Really? Even after Starlight told her no?”

Luna shook her head. “I have no idea where she could have disappeared to, but it has me worried. What if we overlooked something?”

“I guess we’ll just have to find out,” Applejack said. “Remember, though, you’re not alone. A lot of ponies are here for you if you need help.”

“Of course.”

Luna sighed again and reached up to stroke Applejack’s mane. Applejack closed her eyes and leaned into it, and so Luna decided to stroke her cheek, which made Applejack purr comfortably.

Luna smiled and used her magic to take off her crown and Applejack’s hat, setting them on the ground nearby. Then she lifted her other hoof up and looped them both around the back of Applejack’s neck before pulling her down into a deep, passionate kiss.

The kiss lasted for a long, blissful moment. Around them insects chirped and trees groaned in the wind, a wind which lifted their manes and tangled them together. It was chilly, just barely cold enough for it to start to bite into them, and when the breeze hit Applejack it sent a shiver down her spine.

Then the kiss ended, and Applejack gently laid her head on Luna’s chest and closed her eyes. If not for the fact that they were in a dream, she would have looked like she had gone to sleep.

“Mmm…” Applejack hummed contentedly. “I love you.”

“I love you too,” Luna said.

Neither of them talked for a long time after that. They relaxed in a blissful quiet, being lulled by the sounds of the orchard and of each other breathing. Applejack kept her ear pressed up against Luna’s chest so that she could hear her heartbeat. Leaves fell all around them, in their manes and even on top of them, but if they noticed they didn’t care. In that moment, the only thing in the world that mattered to either of them was the pony in front of them.

Time passed. Minutes, hours, neither of them cared enough to worry about it. They could have spent days like that, basking in the warmth of their lover.

At some point, though, Luna decided to stir.

With a sly smile, she floated Applejack’s hat over and put it on herself. When Applejack looked up and saw her, she couldn’t help but chuckle.

“Seriously, Luna, we can get you a hat,” she teased.

“Yes, but I don’t want to wear a hat,” Luna said, “I want to wear your hat.”

“Well, you’re lucky you look so good in it,” Applejack told her. “I just can’t bear to take it back.”

Luna laughed, and started gently petting Applejack. “You know,” she said, changing the subject, “I had to do all of my sister’s work today.”

“Oof,” Applejack replied. “As Nightmare Moon? They let you?”

“Well, they weren’t going to stop me,” Luna said. “Somepony had to do it.”

“So, what, you put on a smile and sucked up to rich jerks all day?”

“Oh, no, I made several of them fear for their lives.”

Applejack started to laugh, but quickly stifled it with a cough. “That can’t be good for your image.”

“Amongst nobles, maybe,” Luna said, “but I don’t have much interest in pleasing the elite. It may work for my sister, but I find the methods distasteful.”

“I can understand that. What about the rest? The non-noble parts of the day?”

“Actually, I quite enjoyed the rest. Watching over dreams is important, but it’s very specialized. I only ever help one pony at a time. Today it felt like the littlest thing could affect hundreds of lives. It felt like I was taking steps forward, rather than just doing what I’m expected to do.”

“Well, ain’t that a peach,” Applejack said. “Keep it up, then. I’m proud of ya.”

Luna grinned and nodded. “Thank you, Applejack. Oh!” Her face lit up. “I also stole a guard from Celestia! Now that was exciting.”

“Stole?”

“Well, I didn’t really ‘steal’ her,” Luna said. “Really, it’s just a new set of equipment, but it’s a good first step. Eventually, I’d like half of the guards to be under me, and half under Celestia.”

“Makes sense,” Applejack said. “Sounds like you’ve got this all figured out. All you gotta do is talk to Celestia.”

Luna sighed. “Yes, well, that’s still the hardest part of it all.”

Applejack hummed sympathetically. “Don’t worry, you can do it. You shouldn’t dwell on it, though. Tell ya what.” She grinned wide. “How about we find us a new dream?”

Luna smiled back. “Take me away, my dear dreamer.”

The world started to melt around them, shifting into something new, and as it did they both closed their eyes and kissed.

Hours later, it came time for the sun to rise, and Nightmare Moon awoke from her trance. She felt renewed, both physically and spiritually, and was ready to take on a new day.

Then her eyes adjusted to the light, and she realized she was surrounded by bars.

Comments

[MosAnted]

Then her eyes adjusted to the light, and she realized she was surrounded by bars.

Dammit! You can't leave me like this!

[Vaguely Demented]

So the question is did they quietly levitate her or bring in a ninja construction crew.

[Hobbestc]

Well that sucks. No arresting Luna!

[BierKeks]

It's treason, then.

No really, since Luna is a ruling princess, imprisoning her without reason is treason. I hope she presses charges.

[Eroraf86]

Huh. You know, I would have thought Luna of all ponies would still have some degree of external awareness while in the dream realm.

[Leafdoggy]

9983954
Honestly she probly could but girlfriends can be very distracting