My Little Pony: One as a Family. "Trials of Friendship"

by SaburoDaimando

Arc 7-2: The March of Nightmare Night

The March of Nightmare Night

“NIGHTMARE NIGHT! WHAT A FRIGHT! GIVE US SOMETHING SWEET TONIGHT!”

Those words came from the younglings dressed in their costumes as the door opened up. The owner of the house placed a piece of candy, all while complementing on their costumes.

“Oh what fun costumes you’re all wearing,” the mare said as she passed out candy to each of the younglings. She looked down at Twilight and said “And what are you? A Court Jester?”

Twilight looked down with a disgruntled tone while Sunburst looked up at the house owner.

“She’s Star Swirl the Bearded,” Sunburst said.

“Oh, my apologies,” the mare said as she put another piece of candy in Twilight’s bag. “I didn’t know. Anyway, Happy Nightmare Night.”

Twilight walked away from the house, looking a bit disgruntled while Sunburst, Moondancer and Danged Spell looked at her, completely concerned for her well-being.

“Hey Twilight,” Moondancer said. “You alright?”

“This is the sixth house that got my costume wrong,” Twilight said. “How could any pony not recognize the Legendary Star Swirl the Bearded?”

“No kidding,” Danged Spell said. “I mean, look at how well you did the hat, Twilight. You put a lot of effort into it.”

“Thanks,” Twilight said. “By the way, I’m surprised that you haven’t gone into your usual set of puns.”

“I know you want me to be punny,” Danged Spell said with a slight laugh. “But considering the tone you’re in, I think I’m more in the mood to want to cheer you up.”

“Like for example,” Sunburst said. “Did you know that Star Swirl was aided by six individuals who call themselves the Pillars of Old Equestria?”

“As a matter of fact,” Twilight said as her tone began to lift. “I do.”

“Hey guys,” Princess Cadance yelled. “Come on. We have more houses to go to before I take you down to a secret surprise.”

“Coming, Cadance,” Twilight shouted as she, Sunburst, Moondancer and Danged Spell ran towards the rest of the group.

“Wanna talk about this another time?” Sunburst asked.

“Yeah,” Twilight replied. “Another time.”

“NIGHTMARE NIGHT! WHAT A FRIGHT! GIVE US SOMETHING SWEET TONIGHT!”

As the younglings chanted, the door opened and out appeared a jollyful, yet slightly plump, mare, who held out a bowl full of candy.

“Oh what delightful costumes you all are wearing,” The mare said. “Here. One for each of you.”

With that, the plump mare passed out candy to each of the younglings, one-by-one. Cozy Glow stepped forward and held her back out, much to her warm, yet hesitant, delight.

“Oh you are such a cute ghost,” The mare said. “Here’s two for you.”

With that, Cozy Glow walked away with the bag and smiled a bit. Twilight approached the mare and held her bag out.

“Oh that is such a cute costume,” the mare said. “I take it you’re Hoofdini the great.”

With that, Twilight Sparkle fell to the ground in shock, causing Rainbow Dash to fly up to the mare.

“Uhh, she’s supposed to be Star Swirl the Bearded,” Rainbow Dash said.

“Oh dear,” The mare said. “I am terribly sorry for the confusion. Here, a little extra for your troubles.”

Twilight laid there in shock as the plump mare placed three pieces of candy in her bag. Rainbow Dash flew down and picked Twilight up and began to walk away from her.

“Young lady,” the mare said. “Aren’t you forgetting something?”

“Who? me?” Rainbow Dash asked.

“Your treat,” The mare replied.

“Oh, right,” Rainbow Dash said embarrassingly.

Immediately, Rainbow Dash flew up to the mare and held her bag out, accepting a piece of candy. She nodded to the mare before flying back down to Twilight.

“Sorry bout that, Twilight,” Rainbow Dash said.

“It’s okay,” Twilight said, dejected. “At least ponies like your costume.”

“What’s wrong with that?” Rainbow Dash said. “I know they won’t get it right the first time. So it’s not that hard to explain.”

“But Rainbow,” Twilight said. “Lots of Ponies are supposed to know about Star Swirl the Bearded. And yet, they act as if they don’t know who he is.”

“Well cheer up, Twilight,” Pinkie Pie said as she bounced towards Twilight and Rainbow. “At least you get more candy for your troubles.”

“But it’s not about the candy,” Twilight said. “I was hoping more and more ponies were more aware of the legend of Star Swirl. Turns out it’s been nothing more but trouble.”

“Don’t feel that discouraged,” Pinkie Pie said. “Maybe the next one, you can talk about how great Star Swirl was.”

“You’re right,” Twilight said. “Maybe I should.”

“NIGHTMARE NIGHT, WHAT A FRIGHT, GIVE US SOMETHING SWEET TONIGHT!”

The younglings were in front of another house owner. This time, it belonged to a stallion who was holding a bowl of candy. He passed out each of the candies into each of the individual’s bags.

“Those are some fine costumes, young ones,” The stallion said. “Especially with yours, little Wanda. A witch, correct?”

“That’s correct,” Wanda said. She looked at Twilight and said “And my friend here is Star Swirl the Bearded.”

Twilight struck a pose as she said “If you want, I can explain what made Star Swirl so great.”

“Err, who’s Star Swirl?” The stallion asked. “Was he one of those astronomers? By the way, nice hermit costume.”

Twilight froze completely with her jaw dropped down. She dejectedly picked up her bag and walked away from the house, completely disappointed. The stallion and the other younglings watched as Twilight walked away.

“Was it something I said?” The stallion asked.

“Twilight’s been having a hard time,” Sunset replied. “House after house, people keep getting her costume wrong, and it really hits her.”

The stallion looked at Twilight before turning to Sunset and said “My apologies. I barely keep up with Equestrian History.” He dug into his candy bowl and handed out a few bars.

“Are these for her?” Sunset asked.

“As an apology for getting her costume wrong and for besmirching Star Swirl,” The stallion said.

Sunset nodded as she took the candy out of his hoof with her magic. As the others accepted their share of the candy, Wanda and Sunset walked up to Twilight, who looked discouraged.

“Hey Twilight,” Sunset asked. “Want some chocolate bars?”

“No thanks,” Twilight said. “You can have ‘em.”

“Twilight,” Wanda said. “I know you’re upset about how ponies kept thinking of your costume as anything, but Star Swirl the Bearded. But you shouldn’t let that hold your enjoyment back.”

“I know,” Twilight said. “But at the same time, I feel like many ponies don’t know or are fully unaware of Star Swirl the Bearded, or even the Pillars of Old Equestria who aided the legend.”

“And not to mention that mother and Aunt Luna were his own pupils, long after Queen Eternia disappeared,” Sunset Shimmer said. “That being said, Wanda’s right. You really shouldn’t let that hold you back from having a good time.”

“So what am I going to do?” Twilight asked.

“Twilight? Are you alright?” Wanda, Twilight and Sunset turned their heads to see Princess Cadance walking up to them with Abigail and Spike right next to her.

“Not really,” Twilight said as she looked up to Cadance. “Every time, ponies mistook my costume for something else, not aware of the legacy of Star Swirl the Bearded.

“I don’t think every pony knows how great Star Swirl is,” Cadance said. “But that being said, don’t let it get you down.”

“Yeah,” Spike said.

“You really think so?” Twilight asked.

But before Princess Cadance could reply, someone said “Star Swirl the Bearded? Who has time for that dead coot?” Immediately, Wanda and Sunset hid behind Princess Cadance, who turned her head to the right to see Magistrate Creme Dream walk up to the group with Majesty, dressed in a business suti, right next to her. Nearly every youngling froze in place.

“I don’t like the look of her,” Danged Spell said as he shook in place.

“I’m with you on that,” Moondancer replied.

Princess Cadance kept her eyes focused on Magistrate Creme Dream and said in a cold tone “What do you want?”

“Oh I just saw a group of fillies, colts and a Man’s Cub walking down the street,” Creme Dream said. “Also, apologies for my daughter’s choice of words. She has no respect for the past.”

“Look.” Princess Cadance said. “We have no time for these shenanigans. We have houses to visit, candy to pick up, a special treat to take them and a filly who’s dreams about Star Swirl were broken.”

“Aww that’s too bad,” Majesty said, walking up to Twilight and touching the bell on her hat. “Maybe you should ditch the past and embrace the future of Equestria. And I’m only being truthful here.”

Twilight pulled her hat back and said “Never.”

“My my,” Majesty said. “Let’s not be rude.”

Majesty turned to the rest of the group, who stood there, completely afraid.

“And I see you brought your friends with you,” Majesty said as she walked up to the group of younglings. “Some friends they turn out to be.”

“Well,” Pinkie Pie said, shaking in fear. “I happen to be the reincarnation of Discord.”

“Discord?” Majesty replied. “Discord was nothing more than a fictional tale.”

“Well the last pony who said that,” Rainbow Dash replied. “Saw the error of her ways thanks to Queen Novo.”

“More like she fell off the beaten path,” Majesty replied. “But don’t worry. She’ll see the true error of her ways and return to being like me.”

As Majesty walked by, Rainbow Dash looked at Majesty before growling in anger.

“Rainbow,” Rarity said. “Tis not a good time to be upset.”

“I know,” Rainbow Dash said. “But something about her feels far worse than Golden Lace was.”

Majesty turned her attention towards Fluttershy, who immediately hid behind Sunburst.

“My,” Majesty said. “Aren’t you the scared little rabbit?”

“G…go away,” Fluttershy cried. “I don’t want to be near you.”

“Aww,” Majesty said. “The little rabbit is afraid of a snake like me?”

“The fact that you call yourself a snake out of glee says a whole lot,” Sunburst said, glaring down at Majesty while Fluttershy hid behind the unicorn colt.

“How rude,” Majesty said.

“I don’t care,” Fluttershy said. “You scare me.”

“Well,” Majesty said. “That’s your lost”

Majesty’s eyes shifted away from Fluttershy towards her right. But she came to a quick stop when she saw the ghost costume that covered Cozy Glow. Cozy’s eyes saw Majesty and began to back up.

“Wait a minute,” Majesty said as kept her eyes on Cozy Glow’s costume. “Something about you feels familiar.”

Majesty walked up to Cozy Glow in her ghost costume, shoving aside Applejack, Moondancer, Danged Spell and Ditzy Doo. All Cozy Glow could do was stand still as her older sister approached her.

“Okay you,” Majesty said. “Show yourself. Who are you under the shroud of a ghost?”

But before she could lay her hoof on Cozy Glow’s costume, she heard the sound of Creme Dream yell “That’s enough, Majesty. We have other things to do.”

Majesty rolled her eyes before she walked away and said “Yes mother.” Cozy Glow watched as Majesty walked away before breathing a sigh of relief.

“Man,” Applejack said. “How rude.”

Wanda and Sunset came out from behind Princess Cadance as Magistrate Creme Dream walked away with Majesty next to her. Princess Cadance placed her arms around her two sisters while Spike and Abigail also leaped onto the two younglings, shivering right behind them.

“It’s okay,” Wanda said. “They’re gone for now.”

Princess Cadance turned towards the younglings and waved her hoof at them. As the group of younglings began to walk off, Twilight came to a sudden stop. Behind him was the very stallion who occupied the house.

“Hey, I saw what just happened,” the stallion said. “And I feel real sorry for all of you for putting up with Magistrate Creme Dream.”

“No worries,” Twilight said. “Besides, I don’t think there’s anything you could have done to stop her without getting in trouble.”

“No kidding,” the stallion said. “Besides, as much as I can’t stand her, I’m also deeply afraid of what she will do if I did come to your defense. Equestrian Politics is nothing to laugh at.”

Twilight let out a sigh and said “I wonder how we will get out of this mess.”

Suddenly, Twilight felt something drop into her bag. She looked up as she saw the stallion lift his hoof out, completely empty.

“Here,” the stallion said. “Something as a form of sympathy. You’ll need all of it in today’s world.”

“Thank you,” Twilight said. “But I don’t think I deserve it.”

“Keep it,” the stallion said. “We need more good ponies like you in this world.”

Twilight nodded towards the stallion as she turned around and ran towards the others as the stallion watched with a smile on his face.

“You may not realize it,” the stallion said with a smile on his face. “But it’s children like you that bring hope who need it. I just wished my own daughter was alive to meet you.”

Sometime later, Princess Cadance led the group of younglings into the Canterlot Graveyard. The entire environment was surrounded in a thick fog, clouding their vision. Some of them began to freak out.

“Oh come on,” Danged Spell whined. “Why did you have to lead us into this place?”

“This place is scary,” Starlight said as she hid behind Trixie.

“I’m with Danged Spell on this,” Moondancer said. “A graveyard is no place for any of us to be.”

“Relax, everyone,” Princess Cadance said. “We’re here on a special occasion.”

“Is it when we see the many Cosmic Cores that will come during Nightmare Night?” Wanda asked.

“Exactly,” Princess Cadance replied.

“I believe I recall Granny Smith, Ma and Pa telling me about these stories,” Applejack said. “That Great Apple’s spirit still wanders these parts as one of dem Cosmic Cores.”

“But it does make us wonder if only our bodies are mortal and we are all immortal,” Twilight replied.

“Maybe that explains why Pinkie Pie keeps bragging about being Discord’s reincarnation,” Rarity said. “After all, Cosmic Cores contain memories of our previous incarnations.”

“That does make me wonder what my previous life used to be,” Sunset Shimmer said.

“Yeah,” Moondancer said. “I wonder if I was some kind of vicious monster in my previous life. Maybe one that would sneak up on an unsuspecting pony with the desire to eat him or her up.”

Suddenly, a bolt of lightning hits near Moondancer, causing her to scream into the air, throw off her helmet, and run behind a tree without any leaves on its branches. She looked out at Danged Spell, who was laughing at Moondancer’s misfortune.

“Spell,” Moondancer said, angrily but shaking nervously. “That wasn’t funny.”

“As much as I want to confess to that,” Danged Spell laughed. “I’m afraid someone else beat me to the stunt.”

Danged Spell pointed to the sky above, to which Moondancer looked up. There was Rainbow Dash sitting on a cloud and laughing loudly.

“YOU MISERABLE LITTLE RASCAL,” Moondancer yelled. “YOU THINK THAT’S FUNNY?”

“Oh you are so much fun to scare, Moondancer,” Rainbow Dash laughed as she flew her cloud down and picked up Moondancer’s helmet. “Just seeing you react to that was a hoot.”

Moondancer marched up to Rainbow Dash and snatched the helmet out of her hooves. She placed it back on and glared at the Rainbow-maned pegasus.

“You realize that you’ve just made it onto my list, Rainbow Dash,” Moondancer said as Rainbow Dash laid on her cloud with a smirk on her face.

Meanwhile, as the younglings all continued to explore the graveyard with Princess Cadance leading the pack, Eleanor Young hid behind the outside of a Mausoleum building, keeping her eyes glued to the presence of the group. But her focus wasn’t on her daughter Wanda Young, it was on Starlight Glimmer.

“I was told that little Starlight Glimmer will be meeting Meteor Flare tonight,” Eleanor Young said. “But one problem. Why would his Cosmic Core be here when his body was buried in the place known as Sire’s Hollow?”

Eleanor ducked her head behind and began to ponder to herself for a bit, until something popped up.

“I was told by my mother, the previous queen, that Cosmic Cores have a habit of popping up in graveyards,” she said to herself. “Even once their vessel had been given its funeral rites somewhere else. A connection between the living and the dead, allowing the dead to return to the world in their Cosmic form.”

It didn’t take long for a lone Cosmic Core to levitate near Eleanor Young. The subtle movements of this core was enough to attract Eleanor’s attention.

“Hello there,” Eleanor said. “What do we have here?”

Eleanor placed her right hand around the Cosmic Core and closed her eyes. The core lit up, as did her eyes when she opened them.

“I know who you are,” Eleanor Young said. “But before you can reunite with your niece, I believe it’s time to call on those who have departed this world.”

Eleanor Young reached her hands out as her body glowed with a bright green light. The land around her began to pulse with magic, all while the sky above her began to form clouds.

Back with the youngling group, everyone gathered closely around Princess Cadance. The clouds began to form and the wind picked up. Owls hooted in the night, scaring some like Starlight, Ditzy, Fluttershy, Cozy Glow and Wanda. Princess Cadance stood firm, with her smile not leaving her face.

“What’s going on?” Wanda said as she held onto Princess Cadance.

“I don’t like where this is going,” Rarity said as she shook nervously.

“I know you’re out there,” Trixie said. “The Great…and Powerful….Trixie….is not afraid.”

“I don’t know about you guys,” Danged Spell said as he started to shiver. “But this place really gives me the chills.”

“Someone wake me up,” Ditzy Doo cried. “This place gives me the creeps.”

“I wish I never left Sire’s Hollow,” Sunburst said as he covered his face with his cape.

The younglings freaked out as they looked up at the sky, watching the clouds swirl about and lightning shoot downward. Twilight looked up at Princess Cadance, who just watched the storm go through.

“Cadance?” Twilight said. “What’s going on with you?”

“It’s okay,” Princess Cadance said. “The spirits of the deceased have come to pay a visit.”

“The deceased?” Moondancer said. “Are they coming to eat our brains?”

“No no no,” Princess Cadance replied. “They just came to say hello.”

Suddenly, the very earth shook beneath everyone’s hooves or feet, causing the younglings to crowd around Princess Cadance. Abigail and Spike held onto each other, shaking nervously and helplessly. Immediately, the ground beneath everyone lit up, causing the younglings to watch in terror.

“I take it back,” Cozy Glow said, covering the eye sockets of her ghost costume. “Mother is not as scary as this.”

“Oh it’s not meant to be scary,” Princess Cadance said. “It’s meant to be fun.”

When the light disappeared, the younglings all looked up to see orbs, each with what appears to be a galaxy on the inside, floating above the entire graveyard, and around the group. Wanda, Sunset, Spike and Abigail looked up and were amazed by their sight.

“I know what those are,” Wanda said.

“They’re Cosmic Cores of the deceased,” Sunset replied.

“That is correct,” Princess Cadance said. “These Cosmic Cores consist of ponies who have long left this world. And it’s not their first incarnation. They have had previous lives before their most recent.”

“Wow,” Spike said as he and Abigail reached out towards the floating Cosmic Cores that floated about.

“To think,” Twilight Sparkle said as she was amazed by the cores that surrounded them. “They used to have lives before becoming this again.”

“Actually,” Sunset said. “The cores represent our true forms. They also contain the memories of our previous lives.”

“I wonder what my previous life was like before I became who I am,” Rainbow Dash asked herself.

“One can never realize what our own history was like before this day,” Applejack said.

“Or one could know who he or she was before this day,” Pinkie PIe said. “After all, I’m the reincarnation of Discord.”

The younglings all broke into laughter from Pinkie Pie’s speech. Even Princess Cadance couldn’t hold her chortles in. Their laughter also caused many of the cores to emit some form of amusement from their ethereal forms.

“Well that just made our day,” Moondancer said. “From a scary moment to a more amazing moment. I don’t think even the stars can be this beautiful.”

“I’ll say,” Danged Spell said. “We’re definitely having a Ghoul Time here.”

“DANGED SPELL!” The younglings yelled before laughing again, all while Danged Spell smirked to himself.

“At least it’s better than being scared half to death,” Danged Spell replied.

Suddenly, one of the Cosmic Cores flew down to Starlight Glimmer, alerting the Twin-tailed Pegasi. Starlight approached the lone core and touched it with her hoof.

“Something about this one feels familiar,” Starlight Glimmer said.

The moment Starlight touched the core, it took the ghostly form of a stallion and stood over the young filly. Starlight looked up at it and her jaw dropped.

“Hello, little Glim Glam,” the stallion ghost said. “It’s been awhile since we saw each other while I was alive.

“I don’t believe it,” Starlight Glimmer said in disbelief. “UNCLE METEOR FLARE?”

To Be Continued In…

A Nightmare Night to Remember

Author's Note:

Sorry for taking longer than usual. Had other stuff that needed to be taken care of.

If you could tell, there is a nod to Luna Eclipsed with Twilight's Star Swirl the Bearded costume. But I decided to take it a bit further with Twilight.

So how will Starlight Glimmer react to seeing her Uncle's Ghostly form? Stay tuned.