//------------------------------//
// Chapter 27- Nightmare Night 
// Story: Of Heaven and Earth 
// by Garuda IV 
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There was an awkward silence as everyone stared at Sunshine and her banana costume. None of them knew how to really react to this, and knowing that this was actually Celestia only made this all the more strange for them, especially for Twilight and Sol.

"Umm... Princess?"

"Please, call me Sunshine while I'm like this, Twilight," she sighed.

"Er, right." Twilight cleared her throat. "So, Sunshine, if you don't mind me asking... why are you wearing a banana costume?"

Sunshine let out another sigh. "Because it's my Nightmare Night costume."

Sol eyed the costume. "Why? Of all the things you could've been, why a banana? I mean, I know that you like them, but I didn't think that you'd grow to like them that much."

"Yes, sister," Luna grinned cheekily, "tell them why."

"No, Luna."

Maintaining her grin, Luna leaned close to Sunshine. "Hey, Tia."

"What?"

"I'm a banana."

Sunshine's eyes snapped wide. "Luna. No."

"I'm a banana~"

"Luna."

"I'm a banana~"

"I'm warning you."

"I'm a banana~"

"I'm not going to say it again!"

"Look at me- MMMMM!"

Much to everyone's surprise, before Luna could finish, Sunshine had lit her horn and replaced Luna's mouth with a sealed zipper.

I'll have to remember to thank Twilight for teaching me that spell, she thought. "Now, who's ready for Nightmare Night?"

Drawn away from Luna, who was shooting a glare at her sister, everyone cheered with excitement to start the night. That is, all but Sol, who still held his reservations towards this holiday and remained silent. Once the group had filed out of the castle, Sunshine, after getting Luna to agree to stop with the teasing, dispelled the spell she placed on her mouth.

"I cannot believe you actually did that, Tia," Luna pouted.

Sunshine gave a small smirk. "I did warn you."

"By the way, mother," Sol spoke up, having moved up alongside them, "what did possess you to pick such a costume?"

Sunshine looked around to see that all eyes were on her once again.

"... let's just say it's an embarrassing topic that I, nor anypony else," she added, glaring at Luna, who was sticking her tongue out at her, "should not share and leave it at that."

Not wanting to press her any further, everyone backed off of asking her about the reasoning behind her costume.

"On a different topic," Sunshine redirected, "I don't see Ember anywhere. Will she be joining us later tonight?"

"Sorry to say," Rarity began, "but Ember won't be joining us tonight."

Spike nodded and took over for Rarity. "When we explained to her what Nightmare Night was all about and what was involved, she didn't think that it would be a good idea for her to come."

"That's a shame," Luna frowned. "Her company would've been enjoyable and welcomed."

"I know. I would've liked for her to come too, but she didn't think that ponies would like it if she got spooked and accidentally set something on fire." 

Understanding Ember's reason for not wanting to come, they all agreed and continued on.

"By the way," Sunshine began, "I couldn't help but notice the lack of guards around your castle."

Twilight's ears perked up. "Oh, that's because I gave them the day off to spend with their families. They'll be back by tomorrow morning."

"All of them?" Luna questioned. "Even the night guards?"

"Sure. They may be my guards now and are supposed to guard us and the castle, but I didn't want to keep them from their families. But don't worry, Starlight and I have placed wards around the castle so nopony can break into it."

"And if somepony does try," Starlight grinned, "they'll get shocked by a lightning bolt."

As they traveled towards the center of the town, their ears were filled with laughter and the sounds of screams of frightful joy. Rainbow, who'd been hanging towards the end of the group, shot glances over to the other ponies, tempted to slip away from her group and start pulling pranks on the unsuspecting ponies again. But, as tempting as it was, with Luna there and remembering what happened the last time she pulled a prank with Luna nearby, Rainbow thought twice about it and stayed as she was.

Soon enough, they reached the center of town where most of the Nightmare Night games and other activities were being held. Making it to their destination, the group started to split up as everyone went their own ways. Luna, spotting a group of young foals, walked over and was immediately drawn in by them, being asked to tell them spooky stories, Rainbow and Applejack headed over to bob for apples, Pinkie and Starlight made their way over to one of the food stands for some pumpkin pie and caramel apples, and Spike and Rarity, the former now strong enough to do it on his own, went over to the pumpkin chucking catapults to launch some pumpkins. Of course, Rarity opted to stay back and watch Spike, smiling as she saw him having fun at doing something that he was once unable to do by himself last time.

With all of them split, that left Sunshine, Twilight, and Sol.

"Aren't you two going to go and have fun as well?" Sunshine wondered.

She was curious as to why Sol and Twilight didn't go and join in in the festivities like the rest of their friends, but she didn't mind their company either. However, when she saw the hurtful look in Sol's eyes, she knew right away that something wasn't right with him.

"Perhaps later, mother," Sol said solemnly.

Noting the subtle tone of unhappiness in his voice, Sunshine put a hoof on his shoulder and gently started rubbing it in a comforting motion.

"Sol, tell me what's wrong."

"... it's just..."

Sol's let out a dejected sigh as his eyes glanced around at his surroundings. Thankfully for him, he didn't have to answer as Twilight took over for him.

"Prin- I mean, Sunshine," Twilight hastily corrected herself.

"Yes, Twilight?"

Her eyes roamed over to Luna before returning to Sunshine and Sol.

"Do you remember my letter telling about how Princess Luna struggled when she first came to Ponyville for Nightmare Night?"

"I do. I remember you writing that she was struggling with how the ponies cowered in fear of her, still believing that she was Nightmare-"

Sunshine blinked as she realized what Twilight was getting at. She knew that Sol adored his pony aunt, and that he hated to see Luna saddened and would do anything he could to make her happy again. And now, here he was, standing in the middle of a festival that served as a grim reminder to Sol of the evil that his favorite aunt had become.

Understanding what had Sol in such a downed mood now, Sunshine frowned sadly and stopped rubbing Sol's shoulder to pull him into a hug.

"You know that they don't mean any offense by it, right, sweetie?"

Sol sighed and nuzzled into his mother's mane. "I know, but I still don't like it, or understand why they created it to start with... or why you and Aunt Luna even allow it."

Sunshine closed her eyes as she thought back to when she first heard about it.

"It actually started out as a bedtime story that parents told their foal to keep them in line and make them fall asleep at night. After a few hundred years passed, that story grew and was turned into the an experimental, and surprisingly successful, holiday. I'll admit that I was taken aback by this announcement, since the memory of what happened to Luna was refreshed upon hearing about it. I had actually considered putting an end to it right then and there."

"But you didn't."

Sunshine nodded with a sigh. "It wasn't easy for me to do, but before I made my final decision, I decided to be fair and see what it was all about. So, I disguised myself and attended the festival." A small smile formed. "Though I still didn't care for it much the first time, after I saw how much fun everypony was having, adults and foal alike, I found myself less inclined to put an end to it. So, I decided to let it be for the time being and wait for next year to come around when some of the kinks would be worked out... and I wasn't disappointed.

"By the time the next year came around, news of the first Nightmare Night, and of how much of a successful it was, had spread, and ponies all around Equestria had taken a shine to the new, terrifying, and unique holiday. It was then that the tale of Nightmare Moon and the candy offerings were implemented. Though I wasn't entirely too thrilled to hear the tail, or see the statue that was made to aid the story for the holiday, I couldn't deny how much fun everypony was having. So, I left it be, and as time passed, it started to grow on me until I finally supported it and made it an official holiday a few years later. And after Luna returned and she heard about Nightmare Night, thanks to Twilight's help, she was able to overcome her problems with it and came to understand and appreciate Nightmare Night, and has since been taking an active role in the night's festivities."

Sunshine pulled away from Sol and caressed his cheek as she looked him in the eyes.

"I know this is hard for you, Sol. We've all been there and understand what you're going through. But, if your aunt and I can come to appreciate Nightmare Night, then I'm sure that if you gave it a chance, then you could as well."

Having heard something similar the previous night, Sol glanced off to the side to Twilight, smiling though Sol had a feeling that on the inside, she had a satisfied smirk that, if he saw it, would scream "I told you so".

"I'll try, mother," Sol sighed.

"Thank you, Sol," Sunshine thanked, planting a kiss on his cheek. "Now then, as for you, Twilight," she redirected, "as much as I enjoy your company, I'm still curious as to why you're here and not over there with your friends."

"It's for Sol, actually," Twilight began explaining. "I figured that since I was able to help Princess Luna with Nightmare Night, I could also try and help Sol adjust to it as well."

Sunshine smiled at the kind thought, happy to know that Twilight was willing to be there and help Sol.

"Well, if that's the case, then you two better get going. You can't exactly enjoy Nightmare Night if you're just standing around here and not having fun."

Nodding, Twilight tugged at Sol's costume with her magic and guided him towards her.

"Well, come on, Sol," Twilight eagerly said, taking ahold of his claw with a hoof and leading him away.

Seeing how Twilight continued to hold Sol's claw as she guided him away, Sunshine smiled, content in knowing that Sol was in good hooves. Seeing Twilight introducing him to one of the many games set up, Sunshine went over to a food stall run by the Cakes, where they were serving pumpkin pound cakes being served by, funny enough, Pound and Pumpkin.





For her first attempt, Twilight brought Sol over to a game where he had to toss a fake spider as close to the center of a spider web as he could, without the use of any magic. To help show him, she went ahead first and tossed the spider, hitting it just below the center of the web. Looking back, she saw that she had Sol's attention and interest and stepped aside to let him have a try, watching as he grabbed the spider in his claw and gave it a toss. Unlike hers, his spider went far right and landed towards the outer layer of the webbing.

"Huh. It's lighter than I thought," he mused.

"You can give it another toss if you want," Twilight offered. "After all, we still have three more tries before we run out and our turn is over."

Taking her offer, Sol grabbed the next one and, now having a somewhat idea of what to expect, gave it a toss that hit closer towards the center, but was still off to the right and a bit high now. As he tossed the remaining two, he got progressively closer with his next one before his last toss put him just outside of the center.

"Nice job. You did pretty good for your first try," Twilight complimented.

"Thanks, Twilight," Sol thanked, his frown having faded away from the focus he was putting into the game. "And... sorry for taking all of them."

"Don't worry about it, Sol. I brought us here to help you have fun and feel more comfortable. Now come on. We're heading to the next one."

Being grabbed by the claw again, Sol went along with Twilight as she dragged him over to the next game, which was the pumpkin launching.

"This one is pretty straightforward too," Twilight began explaining. "All you have to do is load a pumpkin into one of these catapults and launch them at the target."

To demonstrate, Twilight took one of the pumpkins, loaded it onto the platform, aimed the catapult, pulled the spring-loaded arm down until she felt enough pressure was added, and released. Watching her pumpkin soar, Twilight smiled as it splattered on the center of the target.

"There. Now you try."

Stepping up to one of the free catapults, Sol looked it over for a moment, remembering when he was younger and saw one of these up close, but on a much larger scale. Recalling how to work one, and watching Twilight, Sol adjusted the catapult, loaded the pumpkin, and pulled the arm down to where he figured it was enough. Upon releasing, he watched as the pumpkin flew and smiled as his too landed in the center of the target.

"Nice shot."

Sol smiled at Twilight. "I used to fire catapults back before I was sealed away, so this wasn't too hard... and kinda fun."

Twilight's smile grew knowing that Sol was enjoying himself. "In that case, would you like to go a few more rounds? They added moving targets if you're up for it?"

"If you wouldn't mind."

"Not at all. Go ahead and have another go at it."

Allowed to have another go at it, Sol readied the next shot when he looked over to his right and saw Twilight readying the catapult right next to him, who simply smiled back at him.

"What? I wanted to play too."

Chuckling, Sol finished prepping his catapult and waited as he figured out the patterns of the moving targets. Several seconds later, he fired, but was slightly off as he hit the outer edge of the target. Having his turn, he watched Twilight as she launched her pumpkin, which, unlike Sol's, found its mark as it hit the center of the bull's-eye.

"There."

"Nice shot, Twilight," Sol complimented.

"Yes. Very nice."

Hearing the new voice, Sol looked back behind them to see who it was, while Twilight, having instantly recognized it, let out a sigh and looked back with twinge of annoyance.

"Hello, Trixie."

Just as always, Twilight instantly recognized the blue unicorn showmare, but what was odd to Twilight was the outfit that she was wearing.

"Is something the matter, Twilight?" Trixie asked with a flourish of her cape. "I know it's been a while since I've been here, but I didn't think that you'd be so much in awe of my return."

Twilight's brow flattened. "I'm not, Trixie, I'm just wondering why you're wearing your usual cape and hat instead of a Nightmare Night costume."

"Ah, but that's where you're wrong. For you see, I am wearing my costume."

"Then who are you supposed to be?" Sol wondered.

"Me! The Great and Powerful Trixie!"

In old Trixie fashion, as proclamation to her answer, Trixie stood up on her hind legs and posed as sparklers and small fireworks shot off behind her. While Twilight rolled her eyes, and Sol looked quizzically at her, Trixie paused and blinked when she finally registered the new stallion.

"Hello. Who do we have here?" she curiously asked, dropping back down to all fours and walking up to Sol, humming to herself as she looked him over. "Trixie has traveled all over Equestria, and never have I seen somepony like you before. What are you anyway? You look like some mix of a pony and dragon."

"We've actually met before briefly."

"Really? Strange. I don't seem to remember."

Seeing Trixie circling Sol and scanning him with her eyes, Twilight's eye gave an involuntary twitch. Having seen enough, Twilight walked up beside them and gently, but firmly, pushed Trixie back away from Sol, placing her between them.

"Sol," Twilight began speaking, her voice kind, but obviously strained, "is a kirin, and he's here to enjoy Nightmare Night, and I am showing him around."

"Well that's nice," Trixie said, dismissing Twilight's tone with a wave of her hoof. "Anyway, I was looking for Starlight. She said in her letter that she was going as a dragon. So, any idea where she could be?"

"Right behind you, Trix~"

Feeling the warm breath on her ear, Trixie gave a startled yelp and would've leaped up into the air, if not for an arm being draped around her shoulders and holding her down on her hooves. Her heart racing from the accidental scare, Trixie looked to the source of the voice to see a light-purple dragoness with purple spines, the ones on her head having a teal stripe running through them.

"Hey, Trix. Glad you could make it," Starlight smiled.

Seeing that it was in fact Starlight, albeit in dragon form, Trixie started to calm down.

"Starlight," she whined, "why'd you have to scare me like that?"

"Oh come on, Trix. You gotta admit that was kinda funny." 

Trixie pouted and folded her forelegs, muttering something under her breath as she did.

"What was that?"

"I guess it kinda was," Trixie grumbled.

"I thought so." Starlight then, much to Sol's surprise, planted a kiss on Trixie's cheek, causing a small smile to tug at her pouty lips. "I've missed you since you've been away, you know."

Trixie could no longer hold her smile back as she allowed it to take over.

"I know. It's hard for you to not be without the Sweet and Loving Trixie by your side, but you need to worry no longer, Starlight, for your fillyfriend has finally returned."

Starlight, being used to Trixie's attitude, playfully rolled her eyes and planted another kiss.

"So, how long will you be staying this time?" she wondered.

Trixie shrugged. "Well, with winter just around the corner, I can't exactly travel around Equestria and show everypony my greatness, so I guess I'll be sticking around until spring, maybe a little longer."

Happy to hear this, Starlight, with her new draconic strength, scooped up Trixie and wrapped her arms around her in a breathtaking hug.

"That's great news!"

While they were doing that, off to the side, Sol and Twilight watched the whole thing unfold.

"... well... this is a surprise," Sol commented.

"What is?"

"Those two. Starlight's never mentioned that she had a special somepony. At least, not to me."

Twilight looked out at Starlight and Trixie. "Yeah, I didn't see it coming either," she admitted. "To be honest, I thought that Starlight was going to get together with her old friend Sunburst after they were reunited in the Crystal Empire."

Sol nodded, having heard stories about him from Starlight. "Sounds like it would've made for a rather romantic story. Two long-lost childhood friends, reunited after years of being separated and finally becoming a couple."

"Yeah... it does sound nice."

With the thought of romance currently on her mind, Twilight's eyes glanced sidelong at Sol, who's attention was returned to Starlight and Trixie. But before those thought could fester any further, Twilight shook her head from them and looked over at the clock tower.

"We better get going," Twilight said suddenly. "It's almost time for the foals to go into the Everfree Forest and give our offerings before the statue, and we're supposed to be supervising them this year."

Sol turned to follow Twilight. "The Everfree Forest? Is that really such a good idea?"

"It's just within the borders, so we won't be going in too far."

"...and what about the timberwolves and other Everfree creatures?"

Twilight shrugged. "They've never had any problems with them before, so I doubt that they'll start now."

Uncertain about this plan, especially with a group of foals and the forest involved, Sol continued to follow after Twilight, hoping that their string of luck would continue for another year.