The sun began to rise, the small flickering spots of light shine right on through the curtains in the window, they shine on an empty hospital bed, with the vital equipment being unhooked or disconnected. Standing up near a mirror was the stallion, who was wobbling, but still standing up as he looked at his reflection. He saw his brand new clothes, torn, slightly worn out, wrinkled, and absolutely stained in sweat, dirt, and that strange orange goo those messed up pony things spat at him. Everchange sighed as he turned around to the front door, seeing that the outside of his room seemed pitch black. Curiosity getting the better of him, he trotted slowly to the door and opened it up, seeing that a black void was present. Everchange wasn't bothered by this, but determined to figure out what this was. The stallion jumped into the void, floating through the inky void aimlessly, until a bright white light presented itself. The stallion basked upon what looked like the moon... and immediately noticed that the mare in the moon was missing. Everchange soon felt fear encroach and embrace him as the moon began to change from a peach hue, to an orange hue, to a fiery color, to a blood red color, shining a sinister blood red light upon the stallion as something juts out at him faster than he can react.. he tries to dodge it, but he can't... his body won't allow him to evade. He closed his eyes tight as be braced himself for a sudden impaling... until-
"HEY! WAKE UP!!" a shrill and excited voice exclaimed. Everchange snapped awake, looking up at Pinkie Pie, who was standing on top of him with a huge grin on her face. Everchange gritted his teeth as his eye twitched.
"Pinkie?" Everchange asked, obviously a bit miffed.
"Yes?" Pinkie asked, smiling from ear to ear as her eyes shimmered. Before she could even comprehend what had happened, Pinkie was launched right out of his door out of her own party cannon. Everchange sighed irritably as the doctor and nurse walked in as the earth stallion immediately started to tear the needles out of him as he started to get out of the bed, until the unicorn nurse magicked him back into bed.
"Hey, what gives?!" Everchange exclaimed, obviously not in the best mood as he's not known to be a morning pony. The doctor brought the stallion's attention to him, who was also feeling a bit snippy.
"Let me paint you a picture, your highness. Your body is extremely tough, just like everypony else's, with the exception of ponies like Bulk Biceps, who can take much more of a beating. You may not be built like a normal stallion, being a bit taller than most others, but by Princess Celestia's orders, you are to be escorted to the castle-"
"Oh like tartarus I'm gonna let that happen, let me go!" Everchange interjected, struggling against the magic that was holding him down. The unicorn nurse looked to the doctor, who was obviously regretting ever coming into work today.
"Your highness, can you calm down? I would assume it's a privilege to be a part of the royal family-"
"Let me go, this instant!!!" Everchange's voice boomed and echoed as the room suddenly shook. The nurse backed away, a bit taken back by the sudden earful from the canterlot voice. She wasted no time letting the stallion free from her magical hold as he stood on his legs. The doctor sighed as he stood in front of the aggressive stallion.
"Please stand down, your highness, we need you to do a few tests before we can give you a clean bill of health and the opportunity to leave the hospital." The doctor said. Everchange groaned as he laid back on the bed. The doctor trotted over and performed a couple standard check ups. Everchange's reflexes were fine, he wasn't feeling anything strange or unsettling within or on his body, he was the same as he was before his sudden abduction.
As the doctor continued to write down stuff, he turned to the nurse and nodded, which instructed the nurse to carry Everchange out of the bed and put him onto his hooves. The stallion groaned as he trotted down the stairs and checked himself out. He slowly made his way out of the hospital, only to see seven bright colored mares and a purple dragon standing out front, looking at him with smiles. Everchange frowned and sighed... this was going to be a long day before something could actually happen.
"Bout time you got outta there, we've been waitin'! I hope Pinkie wasn't too much for ya." Applejack said, smiling. Everchange rolled his eyes slightly as he looked over to the pink pony in question, seeing her pluck bits of drywall and confetti out of her mane with a smile on her face.
"I think the bowels of tartarus would've been a more pleasant wake-up call. Also, why wait on me? Surely you have better things to do, no?" Everchange inquired. The mares laughed as they started to trot away while Everchange begrudgingly follows after them, a slight smile spreading across his face as he does.
As Everchange follows the mares and the dragon, it's almost like pure coincidence that he felt a sense of joy, or pure enjoyment for simple fun. He ended up butting heads with one of the mares, this one being Rainbow Dash, who just shrugged it off and kept having fun, flying through the air. Everchange looked around him, seeing everypony he knows having fun, some are having senseless fun while others trot into town, probably to find Nightmare Night costumes. Everchange never did properly celebrate Nightmare Night due to him using his powers on said night as 'costumes' by technicality, but always wanted to try a real costume... it's just that nothing really suited him.
As the stallion thought on this, he glanced at the green gem on his wrist, seeing it glow a bright blue color this time, which only made him a bit worried. He vividly remembered his dream before his rude awakening. He remembered what was foretold to happen on this night... and he wasn't feeling confident on what might happen if things go bad. Everchange sighed and was about to walk back to his campsite in the Everfree, until he felt a sudden tug on his tail, causing him to turn around and face who or what tugged on him. And to his dismay, it was Applejack, who could see clear as day that he was bothered by something... she could always tell.
"And where in the hay do you think yer goin'?" Applejack asked sternly. She let the stallion's tail go as he sighed and turned around fully to face her.
"Home. I'm going back to my home in the Everfree." Everchange stated, slightly backing away from the farm pony. Applejack stepped closer, trying to close the distance that the stallion was trying to make.
"Like heck you are, you know what's going on tonight! Besides, now is a good time to celebrate with us for once, because we'll be altogether, and when Princess Luna comes back out of the moon, you can talk her down." Applejack stated, pulling the stallion towards the town. The stallion groaned and whined a bit, knowing that this was going to suck in the worst way bucking possible... shopping.
On the surface of the moon, was a huge towering black, silver, navy and Red colored castle. It had small statue ponies, which grunted as they seemed to trot on the lunar surface back and forth, guarding the castle's entrance. Inside the castle were tapestries of different moon phases, and one tapestry hangs above the throne, a red crescent moon, seemingly dripping with a red substance, as a robed alicorn sat in place, giggling and laughing sinisterly as she counted the seconds before her inevitable return.
Back in PonyVille, Applejack and Rarity have already found some really good costumes. Applejack seems to have dressed up as a scarecrow, while Rarity was dressed as nothing, as she was eyeing several other costumes on display to find inspiration to make her own. And as it would seem, Applejack is getting a bit impatient with somepony.
"C'mon out here, now! Ahm sure it ain't that bad!" Applejack stated, hitting her hoof on one of the dressing room doors. There was a few moments of silence present before the door opened up. Everchange stepped out, wearing a costume that he particularly despised. He wore the costume of some stereotype of a prince, adorned in magenta, gold, and violet stripes and a poofy collar that obstructed his view. Applejack could barely believe how dumb he looked, but the stallion knew from the start he looked like an eye attracting trainwreck. he groaned as he pulled the collar off and threw it back into the changing room in a huff.
"This is a hopeless venture, I hope you know that. This costume is just embarrassing, who in their right mind would wear something that makes them look like if a jester, a bard and a fruit bowl came together to conceive this costume?!" Everchange gritted, pulling it off of him and chucking it back into the room as he sighed. Applejack could clearly see this wasn't helping him, until Rarity decided to step in.
"Everchange Darling, if you need a costume tailored for you, you can just ask! It's what I do, after all." Rarity offered, smiling proudly as she glanced over and shuddered at that 'prince' costume. Everchange just looked at the unicorn with confusion and skepticism.
"What's the catch? Do I owe you a favor or is this one of those generous acts of kindness I can't read about in any book?" Everchange asked, obviously not used to being helped or offered help. The unicorn laughed as she magicked the atrocious costume back onto its hangar and hung it back up as the ponies paid for Applejack's costume and went on about their day, heading towards the Boutique.
At the royal castle in Canterlot, Celestia is being measured by a royal tailor for her costume. The tailor, being excited to make a costume for the princess, tries to ask questions.
"Out of all the past Nightmare Nights you've spent holed up in your room, your highness, what's the special occasion this year? I'm rather surprised you asked for a costume, but I didn't think you'd be venturing out tonight, if I can kindly say, Princess Celestia." The tailor asked. Celestia did not say a word, she was just looking at herself in the reflection, only moving when the tailor needed measurements. The tailor soon finished up the measurements and trotted off to her sewing chamber, ready to brainstorm a concept, make it an image, and get ready to weave a costume worthy of royalty.
Whereas Celestia simply walked back to her throne, tending to a few guards who had to update their credentials to say in service. All the while, the ponies in the throne room could not notice that the waking hour of chaos is ending faster than they think.
Everchange, Applejack and Rarity are in the boutique, and obviously there's conflicting ideas. And Everchange is a bit disappointed in both choices.
"I cannot believe you'd let him wear such drag, Applejack! No one should be bundled up like a swaddled filly, Darling!" Rarity stated, a bit offended as she turned her nose up. Applejack groans as she clears her throat.
"And ah can't believe you want to dress him up and put him in some frilly suit! He's gonna see his mother for the first time in a thousand years, and you want him to look like he's goin' to a ding-dang-darn funeral?!" Applejack fired back, her country accent getting more and more present as the two mares start to growl. Everchange looked at the sleek, suave black suit, and thought it was alright, but he would've preferred wearing something like that for a gala, or a wedding. He turned his head to a very stylized punk outfit that's been fitted with overalls and a frankenstein-styled mask.
Everchange face hoofed himself and looked through Rarity's catalogue, combing through the various options as a particular costume caught his eyes. The simple yet complex appearance, the simple use of colors and patterns, and it was something he was rather familiar with during his time in PonyVille. It spoke to him, when a pony wears this, they don't see an atrocity, or a nobody, or a royal. They see a noble stallion, fighting for a just cause... it was when Everchange finally came back to reality, he decided immediately that this would be his costume, bringing the catalogue over to the arguing mares, immediately catching their attention.
As Rarity began taking measurements, and accounting for how Everchange has a preference for Black, Gray, gold, White and/or Green, and on occasion Blue, considering the costume he chose for her to remake, the unicorn immediately got to work, and it's just as the sun begins to set, that Nightmare Night is officially on.
Applejack steps out of the boutique in her scarecrow costume, and Rarity steps out in a costume reminiscent of an angel, fake angel wings, a halo headband that floats above her horn, and a white robe. Behind them, was Everchange. His costume was more reminiscent of a warrior's gi. He had a black top with torn off sleeves, a white elastic belt holding up a pair of Green baggy pants with black sleeve rings on the ends of them. He had a gold headband across his head. At first, he was hesitant, but now he feels like he can take on anything... until suddenly, he looks up at the moon, to see the mare in the moon missing... and turning red.
Everchange shook his head, and tried to forget about the insanity as he followed the mares through town, ready to have fun. Applejack and Rarity were keeping a close eye on the fillies, making sure no one got into any trouble or a fight while Everchange sat back at the apple stand, and felt utterly bored, kinda wishing to do something with more action than just going crazy doing nothing.
"Well, this turned out to be a bust. I'm not gonna stay here all night and wither away till the inevitable frozen death of Equestria... *shudders* At least then, maybe things won't be so bad in death..." The stallion grumbled. While he was fine with being properly introduced into the holiday, he still felt like he needed to do something incredibly important... but didn't know how to go about it.
"Uh, hey sir? Are you the pony who can change shape?" A lighter voice called out. The stallion snapped out of his funk and looked down to a small colt, who was wearing a cyan shirt, and blue jeans, holding a pixelated model of what seemed to be a blue pickaxe. The colt had a pinwheel hat on his head with spiky, but well kept brown hair as he held a plastic bucket in his mouth.
"Oh. Uh... *sigh* yeah, that's me. You must be scared, right? A pony who isn't a changeling that can change form? Sounds almost as worse as Nightmare Moon.." Everchange said, letting a smile form for a second before feeling melancholic. The colt didn't seem to leave him alone though as he just looked up at the stallion, smiling.
"That's actually pretty cool! How many of those creatures can you turn into?" The colt asked quizzically. Everchange wasn't sure what was up with this kid, but decided to play along and entertain him.
"I-.." The Stallion thought about that question. He didn't really know what the limit was to his transformation capacity. For all he knew, he might have to replace one of his transformations for something new. And yet, he just came up with a basic estimate, unsure of if it was true or not.
"Uh... I-I'd say about 10 forms is all I have access to, but I'm quite skilled in a few of them." Everchange replied, smiling nervously. The colt just beamed with joy as they trotted in place, looking up to the stallion. Everchange felt a strange sense of pride within him, something he was used to feeling whenever Celestia was brought up in conversation, but this... this was also mixed with a feeling of joy. Something about how this colt admires his powers made him feel less... excluded.
Everchange smiled a bit more, holding his hoof out for a bro hoof, and as they bumped hooves, the two shared a laugh. "Say, kid. What's your name?" Everchange asked.
"Button Mash, sir." The colt said, smiling. Everchange chuckled as he shook the colt's hoof.
"I'm Everchange, a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Mash." Everchange introduced, smiling as he felt a bit happier that night.
Out on the streets of Canterlot, Celestia is slowly making her way through the crowd of ponies who've come to get candy or a good scare. Celestia's costume is reminiscent to the bride of Frankenstein, her colorful hair tucked away inside a wig with stick on bolts on the side of her neck and painted on stitches, wearing a ragged white wedding dress to tie the costume together. While Celestia would've loved to be in the castle, she did have a special plan for this Nightmare Night down in Ponyville... on account of the thousand year seal now being gone and the true nightmare is about to begin...
To Be Continued...