Barrier quietly trembled at the sight of his long dead enemies looking down at him from the roof with wicked grins on their faces.
This is impossible! I saw Grimhilde’s skull! She should be dead!
The phantoms’ wings burst open before the two leapt from the building’s roof. Barrier’s look turned into a harsh glare before he dashed away from the group.
“Sir, where are you going?” Swift’s call was ignored as Barrier charged around the building’s side.
When he reached the building’s corner, he spotted Grimhilde’s silhouette while Starscream stood out clear as day. Barrier’s horn quickly flared to life before he blasted the pegasus in the chest, knocking him into a nearby bush before laying a right hoof into the beak of the dark bird and pinning her against the wall.
Barrier pulled back a hoof to slam it back into the griffin’s face when he noticed her visage was much clearer in the moonlight and much different. What once looked like the hen of his nightmares was a white coated mare in a black griffin costume with a paper beak and a head of false feathers covering her green mane.
“What the—” Barrier started to cock his head when he was struck in the side by a powerful blast of green light, knocking him onto his stomach. Before he could get to his hooves, he felt something landing on his back, forelegs wrapping around his neck while magic pulled his forelegs up.
“What the hay is wrong with you?!” Starshine’s voice bellowed into his ear as her grip around his neck tightened.
“Lieutenant, release him!” A shout that Barrier was grateful wasn’t in the Royal Canterlot voice came from behind as Luna approached with Twilight and the others in toe. Once Starshine’s grip had been released, Barrier rose up and faced the glaring alicorn. “Barrier, We assume thou hast an explanation for this.”
“I… I thought…” Barrier’s eyes shifted to the two he had assaulted in his haste. The mare in the griffin costume had moved the beak to the side while the stallion in the bushes groaned and started to pull himself out. To Barrier’s shock, the stallion wasn’t sporting Starscream’s dark gray coloration, but was in fact a white pegasus in a cardboard robot costume that was now sporting a scorched hole in the chest.
“It’s okay,” the mare rubbing her nose said, her voice rather nasally. “You’re not the first pony to say my costume’s offensive, you were just the first to tell me with their hooves.”
“Ah, man!” the stallion began as he pulled himself onto his hooves. “I spent hours working on my costume! Now it’s ruined!”
“I… I’m sorry everypony,” Barrier sheepishly said as he backed away. I swore I saw Grimhilde and Starscream! They were right here! “I had a really bad case of mistaken identity.”
“Either way, looks like I’m gonna have to take you in,” Starshine gruffly said, her horn lighting up and pulling a pair of hoof cuffs from her shirt.
“Eh, don’t bother,” the mare with the now swollen nose interjected. “We all make dumb mistakes and I don’t wanna go through the hassle of pressing charges.”
“What she said,” the stallion started to brush himself off. “My costume’s just cardboard and paint and I’m getting kinda tired.”
“C’mon, Skyfire,” the mare somewhat glumly said as she trotted away. “Let’s just go home.”
“On it, Windshear.” Skyfire started following along, slowing and having a hard swallow as he passed by Barrier before picking up speed.
“I… I’m sorry…” Barrier looked down at his hooves in shame. Something’s really off. I know what I saw, dammit!
“Barrier, art thou alright?” Luna trotted closely up to his face, her tone surprisingly quiet for her. “Thou can tell me.”
“I’m… I’m not sure, Princess,” Barrier said with a sigh, pulling his flask from his saddlebags.
“Thou dost not need to be so formal with me,” Luna whispered as she gently brushed his cheek. “We have done so much together and known each other for so long, thou art free to call Us simply Luna.”
“Thanks, but I’m still unsure, Luna.” Barrier gave her a faint smile before pulling away. “I think I need some time to myself to calm down and get a grip on things.”
Luna straightened her stance and gave the unicorn a gentle nod, a hint of sadness visible in her expression. “Very well, Our friend. We wish thee well.” The alicorn then turned about, facing Twilight. “May we please continue to where thou was leading us?”
“R-right.” Twilight nodded before turning her attention to the charcoal stallion. “You sure you’ll be alright?”
“Yeah, I’ve handled much worse than this,” he reassuringly replied. “You go have fun and whatnot while I go on a walk.”
The group of ponies began to pull away one by one. Fleet gave Barrier a look of concern while Starshine gave him a glare that could bore through a boulder.
“Pray tell, what is… ‘fun’?” Luna’s words reached Barrier’s ears as she turned the corner. Once they were out of sight, he let out a sigh before slowly walking away.
***
Barrier walked quietly through Ponyville, only stopping to either wet his whistle with a sip from his flask or to reply to those that said hello.
Eventually he left the town behind and had reached a small creek by the edge of the Everfree Forest. Rolling his shoulders, the stallion slowly made his way to the lip of the river before laying down on his belly and gazing into the gentle flow.
Seeing his reflection obscured by the half mask, he quickly pulled it off with his magic, wincing slightly from the feeling of the tiny hooks that clung to his fur.
“Am I… did I really see them?” Barrier looked into his own unsure face. “I could have sworn I saw Grimhilde and Starscream… but then they weren’t… Am I… am I going mad?”
The unicorn gave a tired sigh as he laid his chin on the grassy edge, focusing on the water’s flow and the soothing calm it offered as the night dragged on.
After some time had passed, Barrier’s ears rose at the sounds of large, feathery wings flapping about and something landing on the ground. His legs tensed, ready to strike should the need arise as the sound of steps grew closer.
Barrier’s eyes stayed locked on to the river’s reflection, acting as if the one approaching him had caught him unaware. Fortunately, the reflection of the one that was approaching him was Fleetfeather, offering him a gentle smile.
“I thought I told you to have fun, Fleet,” Barrier said as he raised his head.
“Oh, I did.” Fleet sat down at Barrier’s side. “I played games, bobbed for apples, had some candy, and watched Princess Luna try to adjust to modern times only to see her declare that Nightmare Night is cancelled forever.”
“Wow, went that well, huh?” Barrier rose to his hooves, his gaze turning to the night sky and the position of the moon. “I was hoping that things would go better.”
“So was I, Barrier,” Fleet said as she gave her forelegs a stretch. “Twilight tried to help Princess Luna with things like games with Applejack, vocal lessons with Fluttershy and a makeover with a pink dress from Rarity.” She winced slightly at the memory. “Perhaps it’s just me, but I still find pink to be a rather masculine color. It just doesn’t look good on her... or any mare really.”
Barrier smirked as he looked at her. “So sayeth the mare with a pink mane.”
“My mane color is natural and is complemented by my coat,” Fleet said with a huff. “Besides, the shade didn’t look good on the princess, even with the pink make-up Rarity had applied to her.”
“Yeah, you’re one of the few mares I know that looks good in it.” Barrier chuckled.
“Indeed,” Fleet said before her eye fell upon the woods before them. “So, this is the forest that’s overrun what was once our Canterlot.”
“Yep.” Barrier sadly gazed out at the thicket. “What was once a beautiful city’s now just a bunch of trees, rocks and wild beasts.”
“The city certainly was a marvel…” Fleet trotted up to his side before draping a wing over his back. “I still remember the first time I flew into Canterlot from Hollow Shades. I nearly fell from the sky when I saw the palace.”
“Not a place I feel like revisiting any time soon.” Barrier leaned somewhat closer to the cerulean pegasus. “Want to head back into town? See how the kids are holding up?”
“That’d probably be for the best,” the cyclopian mare replied, pulling ahead of the unicorn before taking to the air. “Besides, I was hoping to try this thing I saw advertised called ‘caramel corn’.”
Barrier and Fleet turned away from the woods and trotted back into Ponyville. Not too far into their walk, the pair spotted Twilight speaking with the privates and Luna in an alleyway. Once she finished, Luna’s horn glowed with cobalt light before she and the privates vanished in a flash. When the light died down, Twilight spotted Barrier out of the corner of her eye.
In a quick magenta flash, Twilight disappeared only to reappear right in front of Barrier and Fleet. “There you two are! You’re just in time! Thanks to Pinkie, we’ve now got the perfect way to save this night for Princess Luna!”
“Well, that’s good, Twilight, but what is it?” Barrier’s brow rose as a large grin crept across the lavender mare’s face.
“Now that’s going to be a surprise, Barrier,” Twilight giddily said as her horn glowed once more. “Just stick close to Spike and Applejack. They’ll take you to the Nightmare Moon statue soon enough.” With another flash, the caped unicorn vanished once more.
“Hopefully it’s nothing too crazy,” Barrier muttered before gazing around the small plaza until his eyes landed on Applejack and Spike standing by a collection of foals, including Wind Whistler, seemingly telling a tale to the other children, Mayor Mare and Zecora. The charcoal stallion and Fleet quickly made their way to the group, catching the tail end of Wind Whistler’s tale.
“—sending him into Princess Luna’s mouth, so the whole thing was a silly accident!” she jubilantly said. The collection of foals groaned in uncertainty at her story.
“I dunno,” a white and brown colt with a distinct Trottingham accent said. “Seems pretty far fetched to me.”
“Believe what you want to believe, kiddo,” Barrier interjected, turning his attention to the pegasus dressed as the princess.
“Hi, Mom! Hi, Uncle Barrier!” Wind Whistler bolted away from the group and launched herself towards the charcoal stallion’s face, only to be caught by his magic in the air. “You’re just in time! We got so much candy tonight! It’s amazing!”
“Still,” the Trottingham pirate colt glumly spoke up, “I never thought my very first Nightmare Night would be my very last.”
“Come, little Pip. Now don't you fret. Nightmare Night's not over yet.” Zecora moved closer to the group of foals, once again speaking in a spooky tone. “We still have candy left to give, so Nightmare Moon might let us live.”
“Yes. Come on, little ponies. What's Nightmare Night without the annual candy offering?” the mayor interjected, trying her hardest to sound creepy for the foals. “You don't want Nightmare Moon to gobble you up, do you?”
“Gotta say, the rainbow wig just kills it for me,” Spike whispered as he walked over to Barrier while Applejack trotted up to the foals.
“Come on, kids! Doesn't that sound like fun?” the farm mare said with as much enthusiasm as she could inject, trying to break up the children’s glum mood.
***
After several minutes of walking, Barrier and the others arrived at the clearing that held the Nightmare Moon statue. At the statue’s base was a sizable pile of candy even taller than the foals that had created it.
“Mom, Uncle Barrier,” Wind Whistler whispered, drawing the adults' attention. “Do I really have to give up some of my candy?”
“Best to go along with it, Windy,” Barrier whispered back. “You don’t want to learn what Verdant did about what Princess Luna’s insides are like.”
With a wince, Wind Whistler burst forward, quickly dumping a quarter of her candy onto the pile.
“There, that wasn’t so bad, was it?” Fleet gave her daughter a quick nuzzle. “Besides, you still have plenty of candy left over for later.”
Barrier gave the little pegasus a pat on her back before turning his focus over to the statue, where he spotted the pirate colt dumping his candy onto the pile.
“Goodbye, Nightmare Night. Forever,” the colt sadly said. As he started to turn away from the pile, the wind violently started to whistle and lightning flashed.
“Citizens of Ponyville!” A booming voice bellowed throughout the field, making several of the foals tremble and the hairs on the back of Barrier’s neck start to rise. It was a voice he’d hoped to never hear again. “You were wise to bring this candy to me. I am pleased with your offering.”
“U-u-u-uncle…” Wind Whistler whispered through chattering teeth as her and the other foals bunched closer together. “I-i-is t-t-t-that…”
“So pleased that I may just eat it…” the dark voice silkily said as a flash of lightning danced across the sky and lit the clearing. “Instead of eating you!” When the light died, where once stood the statue of Nightmare Moon was now the real mare of darkness, her eyes glowing with power and her face bearing a fanged grin.
The foals all let out a scream of bloodcurdling terror. Some tried to run, only to bump into Pinkie Pie, who’d somehow slipped in unnoticed by Barrier.
“Hey guys, what’s…” The pink pony’s eyes started to dilate as the fanged face of Nightmare Moon drew closer. “Uh...oh…”
Before Nightmare Moon could take another step closer, five spandex clad ponies leapt from the bushes, putting themselves between the dark alicorn and foals with weapons drawn.
“My, some fools wish to challenge me.” Nightmare Moon chuckled while Barrier’s eyes were drawn to a slight bulge he’d spotted sticking out from under Hat Trick’s wing. “Still, if you truly wish to face my power, perhaps a demonstration is in order.
The alicorn’s horn started to flare blue just as Hatty quickly moved his wing, dropping a smoke bomb to the ground. The clearing erupted into a dark blue mist, blinding everypony. Before the smoke cleared, Barrier heard the sound of metal falling to the ground and a rustling in the bushes.
With the smoke now fully dissipated, the foals gasped at the sight before them. Where the pony rangers once stood were five candy bars in wrappers that matched their respective colors beside their dropped weapons.
Nightmare Moon let out a bellowing laugh as she lifted the five bars to her face with magic, carefully pulling back their colorful wrappings.
“Let this be a lesson, children.” Nightmare Moon licked her lips as she stacked the five bars atop each other. “Be sure to offer some of your candy to me, or else…” The dark alicorn opened her jaws wide before biting into the bars, causing a large spurt of red to gush out and strike some of the foals in the face.
The foals and Pinkie all screamed in terror at the sight, making them all run off. Some ducked behind a bush while Wind Whistler dove behind Fleet’s legs. To Barrier’s surprise, where Pinkie once stood was now a pile of bricks.
Turning his attention back to the dark alicorn, Barrier saw Nightmare Moon glow white before returning to the form of Princess Luna before spitting out a set of plastic fangs.
“I am not certain that did what you meant for it to do, Twilight Sparkle,” Luna nervously said as she looked over her shoulder to the lavender mare who emerged from the nearby bushes.
“Just wait,” Twilight said with a smile.
“For what? For... for them to scream some more?” Luna asked in confusion until she felt a tugging on her starry mane.
“Um... Princess Luna?” the pirate colt nervously asked after letting go of her mane. “I know there's not gonna be any more Nightmare Night, but do you suppose maybe you could come back next year and scare us again anyway?” The colt’s question made her eyes shift between him and the collection of foals peeking out from the nearby bush.
“Child. Art thou saying that thou…” Luna tilted her head in baffled confusion. “likest me to scare you?”
“It's really fun!” Pipsqueak happily declared. “Scary, but fun!”
“It… is?” The confusion in Luna’s tone slowly began to fade into happiness.
“Yeah! Nightmare Night is my favorite night of the year.” Pipsqueak nodded as he spoke.
“Well then. We shall have to bring,” Luna started with a normal tone, only to excitedly shift to the Royal Canterlot Voice. “NIGHTMARE NIGHT BACK!”
The young colt was bowled over by the princess’s proclamation before getting back to his hooves. “Whoa! You’re my favorite princess ever!” he happily said before turning towards the foals in the bush. “She said yes, guys!”
The foals gave a joyous cheer as Twilight came up to the alicorn’s side. “See? They really do like you, princess.”
“Can it be true?” Luna said in surprise before standing on her hind legs, lighting streaking across the skies as she spoke. “OH MOST WONDERFUL OF…” The Royal Canterlot Voice echoed, making Barrier ponder for the briefest of moments if it could be heard in Canterlot.
“I mean…” her voice quickly became much gentler with a slight hint of embarrassment. “Oh, most wonderful of nights.”
“Um, Princess Luna,” Wind Whistler spoke as she moved out from behind her mother’s hindlegs. “What happened to the ponies you turned into candy bars?”
Before the princess could utter a response, a voice seemed to emanate from her belly. “Say, why does this wall read, ‘Verdant was here’?”
The sound of a hard smack then came from the bushes before the five dressed as Pony Rangers emerged, Hat Trick using a wing to massage the back of his sore head.
“Oh, that was a pretty neat trick, Princess.” Wind Whistler wagged her tail like a small puppy staring at a brand new ball. “Especially with the blood effect.”
“W… I thank you, little one, but that was not something we had planned,” Luna replied before gently wiping the red substance from her lips. “Twas merely some strawberry jelly within the chocolate.”
“Well, now that we’ve gotten this all taken care of, who’d like to head back to town for some more Nightmare Night fun?”
Wind Whistler and the privates gave a cheer before everypony started to head back towards Ponyville. As they moved along, Barrier spotted Starshine from the corner of his eye. When he turned to face her, she gestured around her eyes before pointing towards him. Barrier smirked before giving her a flirtatious wink, making her growl.
***
A short while later, the festivities were back in full swing with foals going door to door while the older ponies danced or played some of the various games.
Barrier stood by one of the catapults, loading a pumpkin he had specially prepared.
“Barrier,” Luna called, drawing the charcoal unicorn away from the catapult, though his horn remained alight as he made some adjustments.
“Yes, Luna?” Barrier asked as he approached the princess of the night who looked happier than he had seen her since before her banishment.
“I would like to say thank you for being there for me tonight. You, Twilight, Spike and the rest helped me feel much more liked than I had expected.” Her horn lit up as she pulled a candy bar from the pile that had been loaded onto her chariot. “As a token of our appreciation, I’d like to offer you this particular candy.”
“Thanks, Luna.” Barrier grabbed the bar with a hoof and started to unwrap it. “I’m glad we were all able to have such a good time. Especially the kids. I was kinda iffy on how they’d react to seeing somepony dressed as an undead.”
“Yes. I recall hearing Swiftsword muttering to herself that ‘it’s only a costume’ when we passed by such a pony.” Luna leaned over before pulling Barrier into a quick hug. “Still, this night has been most delightful. I’ve learned a fair deal about modern customs, I’ve turned some who once feared me into those who like me, I’ve amassed quite the collection of sweets.” Her eyes swept across the town before falling on the form of Swiftsword loading a pumpkin into a catapult. “And I’ve gained an appreciation for these costumes. Particularly those of the skintight variety.”
“Glad to hear you’ve had a good time, Luna.” Barrier looked around the town, his eyes coming to a halt at the sight of a nearby clock. “Still, my housemates and I should probably get back on the train to Vanhoover sooner rather than later. It’s pretty late.”
“Indeed,” Luna said before giving Barrier one last pat on the shoulder. “Fare thee well, my friend.”
“And you, my princess,” Barrier said as the alicorn started to pull away. Once the princess took a few steps more, the light from his horn faded and the catapult was let loose. The large pumpkin was sent flying upwards towards the princess. As it flew, it started to spin, causing the pumpkin’s top to fall off and the bucket of water the unicorn had hidden within to spill and drench Luna, causing her to let out a blood curdling shriek.
“Heh heh,” Barrier chuckled as he raised the candy bar up to his lips. “Revenge is sweet.”
“Indeed, it is.” Luna smirked as Barrier took a bite of the bar. For a moment, he was confused by the odd taste of the chocolate and Luna’s statement. His confusion died quickly as he felt as if his tongue had been set ablaze. Looking at the candy wrapper, he read, “Hot Tamales’ Ruby Reaper Chocolate”.
“Faust… dammit…” Barrier wheezed as he tried to ignore the burning in his mouth, along with the laughter of the soaked princess.
In a series of quick flashes, Twilight had vanished and returned, offering Barrier a bottle of milk that he quickly chugged down. “Thanks for that.”
“No problem, Barrier.” Twilight nodded before her horn flared, teleporting the now empty bottle into a nearby blue bin. “So, how would you say your Nightmare Night went?”
“I’d say pretty good for the most part.” Barrier looked over his housemates, seeing them enjoying some of the treats they’d collected. Wind Whistler even split a bar in half to share with her mother. A small smile came to Barrier’s face, but only for a moment before turning into a more serious expression. “Still, I wish I knew why I saw Grimhilde and Starscream tonight. I swear, I know I saw them.”
“I know how you feel,” Twilight said softly, leaning closer to the charcoal stallion. “Don’t tell Spike, but sometimes, late at night, I swear I see Sombra out in town in the darkness, but when whenever I take a second glance, it’s either a pony I mistook for him in the dark or nothing was there to begin with.”
“Sounds like you should consider talking to a therapist about this sort of thing, Twilight,” Barrier whispered back.
“Maybe you should too if this keeps up,” the younger unicorn replied before pulling away.
Barrier cast his eyes down towards his hooves.
Maybe she has a point… after all, this isn’t the first time you thought you saw her…
“Sir?” Barrier was pulled from his thoughts as Verdant stepped up to him. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah, I’m fine,” Barrier lied with practiced ease as he cast his thoughts aside. “At any rate, we should probably head towards the train station.”
“Sure thing.” The shamrock stallion waved the rest of the group over as they started to trot off. “By the way, I managed to meet up with one of my nieces tonight. She gave me a bunch of these brownies that she said were ‘totally cosmic’, whatever that means. Want to try them?”
“Eh, why not?” Barrier gave a shrug as they drew closer to the train station.
The household, while enjoying their Nightmare Night, would come to regret things the next day due to belly aches and not a single scrap of food being left in the house.