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// Night 1 
// Story: The Enchanted Nights 
// by sammyberry 
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"Hello Twilight!" Fluttershy said in her soft voice. "How are you this evening?" Twilight Sparkle looked up from her books and said, "Oh, hello Fluttershy. You're early. You didn't have to show up until fifteen more minutes," Fluttershy smiled softly and said, "Well, I just wanted to make sure I wouldn't be late is all," Twilight smiled and said, "Well, that's fine. Make yourself at home. I'll go get the food and drinks," Twilight walked into the kitchen to prepare the food.

Fluttershy looked around the room, even though she had seen it many times before. She noticed the warm golden glow coming from the lamps, and the soft, plush carpet underneath her hooves. There was piano music playing softly, definitely giving off a sense of serenity. Fluttershy was well aware that when everypony else arrived, particularly Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash, the calmness would be snatched away and replaced with crazy techno music, disco balls, strobe lights, balloons, and other things of that sort, so while Fluttershy knew it couldn’t last, she reveled in the sweet tenderness of the night. 

The smell of food awakened Fluttershy out of her soft dream. “Here you go, Fluttershy! Pinkie Pie baked these cookies earlier this morning!” Twilight said happily. “Oh, thank you, Twilight,” the yellow pegasus replied thankfully. Fluttershy gently picked a cookie up in her mouth and placed it on top of her hoof so she could eat it. “Oh, it tastes wonderful! I must tell Pinkie Pie when she arrives,” Fluttershy said smiling. 

As she was finishing her second cookie, Rainbow Dash and Rarity came in. “Good evening, darlings!” Rarity called out in a singsong voice. Rainbow Dash flew in and stood down next to the tray of cookies. “Are these those cookies Pinkie Pie was bragging about?” Dash asked as she took one and started biting it. Fluttershy nodded and said, “Oh yes. They’re wonderful, aren’t they?” Rainbow Dash put on a forced smile and replied, “Oh, um, yeah, they’re fine, I guess… but I personally think they’re too sweet. There’s too much sugary icing on them,” Fluttershy shrugged and said, “To each her own, I suppose,”
Rainbow Dash listened to the music playing and scoffed. “Come on Twilight! Do you honestly expect us to have fun while listening to piano music?” she ran over to the CD player and inspected the open CD case lying on the counter beside the player. Twilight shrugged. “Not really. I just had it on while I was studying. I’ve heard that piano music can help a pony think better. So I tried it, and I must say that it really works,” Rainbow Dash just looked at her. “Um, ok, well, can I put in something more… fun?” Twilight laughed and said, “Sure, have at it, Rainbow Dash,”

With techno music now blaring from the speakers, the calm scene Fluttershy had had the sweet blissful opportunity to witness had been transformed into a fun, happy, energetic party. Pinkie Pie showed up next, became excited about the music and got to work on decorations. Applejack finally made her appearance, claiming she had to stay a little late and help Big Mac at the farm.
“Ok ponies, gather around. It’s time for the sleepover to officially begin!” Everypony cheered excitedly. “Ok, first order of business… makeovers!” Applejack groaned. “Twilight, do we have to?” Rainbow Dash sided with Applejack, while the others sided with Twilight. “Majority rules girls, sorry,” Twilight said with an apologetic look. “You two can pick the next thing we do, ok?” Applejack and Rainbow Dash sighed and said, “Fine,” in unison.

Twilight laughed with her friends as she put their manes and tails in rollers. Their mud masks and cucumber-covered eyes made them look alien, but they couldn’t care less. They were also dressed in comfy bathrobes, thanks to Rarity. “This is going so much better than my last sleepover,” Twilight said, turning her head in the direction of where she had seen Applejack and Rarity last. The two ponies rolled their eyes, or as best as they could without the cucumbers falling off.

“Ok, ok, makeovers are done!” Rainbow Dash said. Twilight giggled and said, “Fine,” the bathrobes, mud masks, cucumbers, and rollers vanished. “Aww!” Rarity frowned.

“Next?” Twilight asked, turning to Rainbow Dash and Applejack. “Truth or Dare!” they shouted together. Obviously they had discussed it while everypony else was doing makeovers. “Ok, Truth or Dare it is,” Twilight confirmed. Fluttershy’s eyes widened in terror. She didn’t like that game. “Applejack, you can go first,” Twilight said.

Applejack smirked. “Pinkie Pie. Truth or Dare?” Pinkie looked up from her fourth cookie and through a mouthful of food said, “Dare!” A few cookie crumbs flew out of Pinkie’s mouth. “Oh, darling, that’s disgusting!” Rarity shuddered. Applejack ignored the crumbs and said, “I dare you to go the rest of the night without eating anything sweet!” she said proudly. Pinkie Pie’s eyes widened. “Oh no! Anything but that! Please!” Applejack smirked. “Would you rather me dare you to go without talking?” Pinkie Pie contemplated that thought for a few seconds, then said, “No more sweets tonight,”

Rainbow Dash cried, “My turn! Fluttershy, truth or dare?” Fluttershy didn’t say anything and tried to hide behind her mane. Dash looked at her. “Fluttershy? Truth or Dare? I’ll pick it for you,” Fluttershy still didn’t say anything. She squeezed her eyes shut. Dash shrugged and said, “Ok, fine. Dare. Alright, I dare you to walk outside and stand there in the dark for a full minute,” Dash grinned evilly. Fluttershy’s eyes widened and she scrunched down as far as she could into the carpet. She wouldn’t budge. Not an inch.

Of course, that didn’t stop Rainbow Dash from pulling her outside by her tail. The other ponies were watching her from the window. Fluttershy picked up her head and glanced around. Suddenly a soft blue glow caught her eye. She turned to the left and saw Princess Luna walking slowly along the road in Ponyville.

Fluttershy gasped and flew over to her. “Princess Luna! We haven’t seen you in forever! Where have you been?” Princess Luna had a shocked look on her face-after all, this was the first time she had come across a pony out of bed this late at night. “What are you doing up so late, Fluttershy? You should be asleep,” Fluttershy had a look of admiration in her eyes. “You know my name, Princess Luna?” Luna smiled kindly and responded, “Yes, Fluttershy. You are the Element of Kindness, one of the six ponies that helped me escape my evil self. I will forever be in your debt,” Fluttershy blushed.
“Fluttershy!” Twilight called. Fluttershy looked behind her and saw her friends walking towards her and Princess Luna. “Princess Luna. It’s an honor to meet you again,” Twilight said, bowing. The other ponies followed suit. Princess Luna smiled in gratitude. “The honor is mine, Twilight, for if you six had not been there to help me, I would still be evil,” 
Pinkie Pie bounced up to her and asked, “Princess Luna, why do we never see you anymore?” Princess Luna lifted her head to the moon. “I am in charge of the moon, not the sun, so I show when the moon is in the sky. During the day the moon is not needed, and so I am not needed. It is such a terrible shame, but it is still my job, and so I work with happiness, even if I cannot see anypony,” The other ponies all looked at Princess Luna with sympathy. 

“It must be awfully lonely, Princess. Why don’t you organize get-togethers and things during the night, so everypony can still see you!” Applejack suggested. Princess Luna smiled sadly. “If I could, I would, Applejack. But you ponies need your sleep sometime. I can’t take your rest away from you. Besides, everything is more fun in the daytime anyway,” Luna adopted a sad look onto her face. 

Fluttershy shook her head. “Oh no. I believe that nighttime is just as fun as daytime. It’s full of wonderful exciting treasures that have never been discovered. I love the calm serenity of it. You do your job beautifully, Princess Luna,” Luna’s eyes moistened, and she started to laugh. It was a melancholy laugh, one that broke all the ponies’ hearts and made them sad. Then Luna teared a little. “Thank you, Fluttershy. You have given me hope. Now I know that there is at least one pony in Equestria that enjoys my nights. Thank you,” she bent down and hugged the little pegasus. Fluttershy wasn’t expecting that. She smiled and returned the hug. “You’re welcome, Princess Luna,”

Twilight had been thinking for a while, and now she spoke, “Princess Luna, would it be possible for you to teach us the ways of the night? Nighttime sounds so amazing, I would love to learn about the night. I don’t care about not getting sleep. I already know a lot about the sun and the day, so it won’t be a surprise. But I don’t know much about nighttime, or rather, I haven’t experienced anything,” all the other ponies nodded in agreement. 

Princess Luna smiled. “You ponies inspire me. Yes, I will teach you about the night. But for now, you ponies must go to sleep. We can start your lesson tomorrow night.” And then Princess Luna continued walking, and disappeared in a flash of moonlight.