//------------------------------// // S2E4 "Luna Eclipsed" (What If?) // Story: My Little Pony Friendship is Magic What If? // by SuperPinkBrony12 //------------------------------// It was night time in Equestria. Ponyville was basked in the moonlight from the full moon. Inside the Ponyville Golden Oaks Library Spike paced nervously back and forth. He was wearing a purple dragon costume that Rarity had designed. "How long is Twilight going to take to design her costume?" he said impatiently "The first ponies will be here soon. She can't possibly expect me to pass out the candy." "I'll be down in a minute Spike." Twilight said "I'm just putting the finishing touches on my costume." Sure enough, a minute later Twilight came down the stairs. She was dressed in a dark blue wizard hat and cloak, and had a white beard attached to it. "Great costume Twilight." Spike said "But um, just who are you exactly?" "What? Who am I? Who AM I?!" Twilight asked, then she lit up her horn casting it's violet red aura (which she obtained from defeating Discord). She pulled a book from the shelves, turned it to a specific page and showed it to Spike. The picture showed a grey unicorn stallion, wearing the exact same costume. The only difference was that his horn was glowing golden yellow. "This is Star Swirl the Bearded. The founder of the amniomorphic spell and one of the greatest unicorns of all time. His studies were revolutionary for their time." Twilight explained. "Oh." Spike said "Well all the same that's a great costume. You've got qutie the talent for sewing. Of course you'll never be able to sew better then Rarity." "All right mister, if that's your attitude, then you can just great the ponies when they come here all by yourself." Twilight said. "But Twilight." Spike pleaded. "No buts Spike." Twilight said. Just then the doorbell (which Twilight had recently installed) rang. "Go get it Spike." Twilight said. Spike grunted but did as he was told. "Nightmare Night! What a fright! Give me something sweet to bite!" a group of young fillies and colts chanted. "Happy Nightmare Night to all of you." Spike said "And to you as well Granny Smith." Granny Smith wasn't wearing a costume. She appeared to be worn out "I should've been asleep five hours ago. Oh well at least I'm not alone this time." she said wearily. Then suddenly a small colt dressed in a pirate costume appeared. He waved his paper sword in the air and fell down a moment later. "Pipsqueak here, but you can call me Pip." he said in a thick accent "This is my first Nightmare Night since moving here from Trottingham." "Enough chit chat, time is candy." Pinkie Pie said, she was dressed in a chicken costume, and just a moment ago she had let out a cluck "And if you're wasting time, then you're wasting candy." she giggled to herself. "Um Pinkie, don't you think you're a little too old for this?" Twilight asked. "Too old for free candy?" Pinkie Pie said, clucking again "NEVER!" "She does kind of have a point there Twilight. There's no age limit on this kind of stuff." Spike said. "Well I remember that wasn't the case growing up in Canterlot." Twilight said "But I guess Ponyville's different." "Yeah, and besides, I think Granny Smith could use the extra help she's offering." Spike said. "Hey, I can hear ya you know!" Granny Smith snapped "My hearing may not quite be what it use to be, but I can still hear fairly well." "Oops, sorry about that." Spike apologized. "You had better be." Granny Smith said. "Oh by the way, great Star Swirl the Bearded Costume there Twilight." "That was Star Swirl the Bearded?" Pinkie Pie said "I thought it was sort of weirdo clown." "More like a grandpa." Spike muttered under his breath. The colts and fillies, as well as Pinkie Pie and Granny Smith, left the library. Twilight looked at her costume and seemed less then pleased. "Why is it that nopony remembers Star Swirl the Bearded?" she asked herself. (Title Sequence) "Seriously why is it that Granny Smith is the only one who knew?" Twilight asked "I thought someone as great as Star Swirl the Bearded was the kind of pony everpony should know." "Why do I get the strangest feeling that's something Rarity would say?" Spike thought to himself. Twilight and Spike's thoughts were interrupted when Pinkie Pie appeared. "Hey Twilight." she said showing off her bag which was filled to the brim with candy "I dropped off Granny Smith so she could rest, and I picked up the CMC. Look at all the candy we've gotten." She began to peck at it with her beak. It was obvious to everyone that Pinkie Pie was trying to be as in character for her costume as possible. No one noticed Rainbow Dash dressed in a Shadowbolt costume (Which is rather ironic considering she idolized The Wonderbolts, and had supposedly dismissed The Shadowbolts as a cheap knock off) sneak up on Pinkie Pie with a dark cloud. She positioned it so that nopony would be in harms way, and then pressed her hooves downs on the cloud. Releasing a lightning bolt that sent out a loud "BANG!". Pinkie Pie let out a scream and ran off, as did the fillies and colts. Rainbow Dash felt very pleased with herself. "Oh man! I swear I almost made them wet themselves!" Rainbow Dash said in between fits of laughter "I didn't know that bang would so loud!" "Rainbow Dash! That wasn't very funny, someone could've gotten hurt!" Twilight snapped. "Oh lighten up old timer." Rainbow Dash said "No one got hurt. I made sure of that. Besides this is one of the best nights of the year for pranks." "But look what you did to Spike." Twilight said. Rainbow Dash noticed that Spike appeared to be choking. "Oops." she said "Here, let me take care of that." She positioned herself behind Spike and quickly wrapped her hooves around him. She began to shake him and continued to do so until she finally managed to make him cough up a piece of candy. "Sorry about that Spike." Rainbow Dash said. "Thank you Rainbow Dash." Spike said "Looks like I owe you one." "Hey, what are friends for?" Rainbow Dash said "Ooh here comes another group of unsuspecting ponies! I'm gonna get em and get em good." And she flew off to scare more ponies. "Some things never change." Twilight muttered to herself "Come on Spike, let's go see what Applejack's up to." Twilight and Spike made their way into the center of town, and past a crowd of ponies which were dancing back and forth to music playing from a band on the stage. Applejack was dressed up as a scarecrow, and was busy watching the apple bobing tub when she Twilight and Spike approaching "Well howdy Twilight, nice to see ya. And you too Spike." she said smiling "Did ya'll come here to bob for apples?" As Applejack spoke these words Carrot Top (who was dressed as a creature known as a devil) was just about to reach in when Derpy surfaced, wearing a paper bag on her head and more paper bags on her hooves. She had a cord in her mouth and when she pulled it the tub drained itself. Derpy's smile turned into a frown as she realized she'd pulled out the plug. "Well you'll have to wait." Applejack said "Looks like I gotta fill the tub up again. By the way that's a nice costume, I assume that's not country based right?" "Yeah." Spike said "It's her own hoofstitched Star Swirl the Bearded costume. And for some reason she assumes everyone should know that." "Well I can understand how that feels." Applejack said "I once worked long and hard to design my very own costume for Nightmare Night but aside from a few comments no one really payed attention to it. Still, at least you actually made your's yourselves. Me, I had to get Rarity to design this." "Speaking of Rarity where is she exactly?" Twilight asked "I thought she said Nightmare Night was one of her favorite holidays alongside Hearts and Hooves Day?" "Oh, from what Sweetie Belle told me she's busy working on her own costume." Applejack said "I'm sure she'll come out eventually." "Bummer." Spike muttered "And here I was hoping to impress her with this cool dragon costume." "You do realize ya'll already are a dragon right Spike?" Applejack asked. "That's the joke." Spike explained. "Oh I get it." Applejack said "You think Rarity will appreciate a good laugh. Well just don't like Pinkie Pie catch you doing it. She thinks she's the ONLY Element of Laughter." "Guess she still hasn't quite recovered from what Discord did to her." Twilight said. "Well can you blame her?" Applejack said "That Discord fella was quite powerful. He really didn't mess around with us. Besides I'm sure Pinkie Pie will recover eventually. That's probably part of the reason why she wouldn't stop talking about this holiday over the past few weeks." "Ugh! Don't remind me." Twilight said. Thankfully Applejack didn't. "Hello citizens of Ponyville." The Mayor said. She was dressed in a clown costume and was wearing a rainbow wig, and big floppy shoes "Welcome one and all to another Nightmare Night. And now, I am pleased to announce that this year we have a very special story teller. Please give a warm welcome to, Zecora!" Zecora appeared onstage, surrounded by a green mist, she was wearing a wig with plastic spiders attached to it. "Everyone come with me, and very soon. You shall all hear the legend of Nightmare Moon." She flicked her cape and motioned for everyone gathered at the stage to follow her. Twilight and Spike decided to tag along and see what this was all about. After all this was their first Nightmare Night since moving to Ponyville (the one from last year had been cancelled as a result of the Nightmare Moon incident), and they were curious to find out what sort of traditions were conducted in Ponyville. Zecora led them out of Ponyville and into The Everfree Forest. Most ponies wouldn't even dare go into it even in the daytime, but they all felt safer with Zecora around, because they knew she knew The Everfree inside and out. And they knew she wouldn't lead them down a path that she knew was not safe. She led them to a statue of Nightmare Moon. Ponies use to come to this statue all the time, but ever since the Nightmare Moon incident most of them stayed away. An urban legend arose that the statue might be haunted, but Twilight didn't believe it. "Allow me to explain where it is that you got your fears of Nightmare Night, so dark and scary." Zecora said and she blew some of the dust she'd used to create the green mist into the air. "It's Nightmare Moon who makes us all wary." Everyone gasped. The dust turned into a pair of eyes, and a mouth with a creepy grin as Zecora continued her story "You see, every year each one of us puts on a disguise. In order to hide from Nightmare Moon's ever watchful eyes." The creepy grin turned into a vicious smile, as if though the creature it represented was up to something. "But all Nightmare Moon wants is one thing. And that's to gooble up ponies in one foul swing." Zecora continued. The ponies began to scream. "And so hungrily she soars the sky. If she does not see anyone she passes right by. So if she comes and all is clear. Then Ponyville is safe for another year." "Um Miss Zecora?" Pipsqueak asked "If we wear these costumes to hide from Nightmare Moon, and keep her from eating us, then why exactly do we still have to give her some of our candy?" "Ah, an excellent question my good friend." Zecora replied "For you see, Nightmare Moon is one that you do not offend." she blew some more of the dust into the air and it turned into a replica of Nightmare Moon "So fill up her belly with a treat or two. And then she won't want to return and come for you!" The replica Nightmare Moon dove into the crowd, frighting everyone. "I do wish I didn't have to do that." Zecora thought to herself "It makes Princess Luna seem like quite the evil rat." "Quick, everypony dump off some candy and let's get out of here!" Pinkie Pie said ,and she and the various colts and fillies poured at least half of the candy they had earned onto the ground in front of the statue. They had no sooner done this when a clap of thunder shook the sky and a few clouds appeared over the moon. Then, suddenly, an incredibly tacky carriage pulled by two ponies with bat wings appeared. The figure onboard paused as her chairiot hovered over the statue of Nightmare Moon. A flash of lightning showed a dark figure who's face was concelled by a hood. "What's going on Miss Pie?" Pipsqueak asked. "I don't know Pip." Pinkie Pie replied nervously "This has never happened before." "W-what should we do?" Pipsqueak asked. "We've got to get back into town and warn the mayor!" Pinkie Pie said "Everypony follow me!" And she wasted no time in rounding up the various colts and filles under her supervision. Then alongside Zecora they raced back into town. The mysterious figure followed them. "Who was that?" Spike asked. "I don't know Spike." Twilight asked "But we should head back into town. This forest is very dangerous at night. Trust me, I know what I'm talking about." Normally Spike would've cracked some sort of joke. But this time, although he certainly wouldn't admit it, he was as terrified as everyone else. Twilight and Spike made their way back into town, where they witnessed the mysterious figure descend from the chairiot. She pulled back the hood concealing her head and face. A lightning blot flashed across the sky. It was none other then Princess Luna, although she looked a little different from when Twilight and her friends had last seen her. Now her coat was a dark blue, and she had a flowing blue and purple mane and tail, that were similar to Celestia's. Twilight wanted to go speak to Princess Luna but Spike held her back. "She's about to say something." he said. And he was right. "Greetings to you all citizens of Ponyville! We have graced your tiny village with our prescence so that you may behold the real Princess of The Night! We are no longer a creature of nightmares, and instead seek only your love and affection! And together we can change this celebration from dreadful to bright and cheerful!" Princess Luna shouted in a dramatic booming voice. It was so powerful that you could actually see the wind blowing from her mouth. No one said anything. Most ponies had already backed away from Luna when she started talking. "Looks like she's got some problems." Spike whispered to Twilight. "I'll say." Twilight replied. Meanwhile, Princess Luna walked up to The Mayor and extended her hoof towards her. It was obvious she expected The Mayor to kiss it. The Mayor said nothing at first, she was still shocked by the unexpected visit. She quickly recovered however. "Oh a-a thousands pardons your majesty." The Mayor said nervously "I had no idea you were planning to visit our humble town." "At ease mayor!" Princess Luna said, still in her booming voice "To be fair we did not give you an advanced warning, but this was sort of a last minute decision!" "Well at least you're here now." the mayor said "P-please feel free to stay for as long as you want." Princess Luna wanted to respond, but she began to notice that no one would come near her, and that even The Mayor was still nervous around her. Sighing, she headed off to The Everfree Forest. Nopony said anything. "Was it something I said?" The Mayor aksed out loud. "Twilight, why are we going back into The Everfree Forest?" Spike asked a few moments later. "Because Princess Luna went in there, and it's obvious she could use some help adjusting to modern times." Twilight explained. "Not that I mean to sound rude but she isn't exactly helping her cause by coming here on Nightmare Night." Spike said. "You heard what she was trying to say Spike." Twilight said "She's trying to change the way ponies look at her. She just wants some friends." "And somehow you think you can help her?" Spike asked. "Well I'm sure as hay gonna try." Twilight said "Look, there she is." Princess Luna was looking up at the statue of Nightmare Moon. Her back was turned to Twilight and Spike. She seemed to be compairing herself to her dark form from only a year earlier. "Um, hello Princess Luna?" Twilight said "My name is-" "Ah, Star Swirl the Bearded. Quite the commendable costume! Why, thou even got the bells right..." Princess Luna said. "Thank you! Finally! Somepony other then Granny Smith who gets my costume!" Twilight said "Why don't more ponies remember his name? Oh, silly me, forgot to introduce myself. As I was saying my name is-" "Yes, we remember." Princess Luna said "Twilight Sparkle. It was thou who unleashed the power of The Elements of Harmony upon us, and purged us of our dark powers!" "And that was a good thing, right?" Twilight asked. Princess Luna's tone of voice had been booming again. "But of course. We could not be happier, or is that not clear?!" Princess Luna asked in a normal tone of voice. "Well to be honest you were kind of yelling at me." Twilight said. "Yelling?" Princess Luna asked "This is the traditional royal Canterlot voice! It is tradition to speak using the royal "we", and to use this much volume when addressing our faithful subjects!" "Well that explains why your introduction didn't go so well." Twilight said "Perhaps if you changed your approach a little bit you might recieve a warmer reception." "Change our approach?" Princess Luna asked in her royal Canterlot voice. "Lower the volume." Twilight explained. "Oh." Princess Luna said "Sorry. But we have been locked away on the moon for 1,000 years. We are... not sure we can." "Well it won't be easy, but I think I can help you your majesty." Twilight said. "Thou has no need for that." Princess Luna said "Thou may simply call us Princess or Luna. Whatever thou prefers." "Well Princess." Twilight said "Shall we get started? By the way you seem a bit different." "Fair Twilight Sparkle, thou of all ponies should now that this was the form we took just before Nightmare Moon corrupted us. The reason why we did not appear like this at first was because we were recovering, The Elements of Harmony take a lot out of you." "Well that explains a lot." Twilight said. Twilight (along with Spike) led Princess Luna out of the Everfree Forest. "Okay, first thing's first." Twilight said "We've got to work on your voice. Nopony will want to be near you if you keep shouting all the time. Luckily I know somepony who can help. My good friend Fluttershy. She knows all about being quiet, so I'm sure she can give you some great pointers." "If thou insists." Princess Luna said although she had to admit she had her doubts about this whole thing. Twilight led Princess Luna to Fluttershy's cottage, and knocked on the front door. "Go away! There's no candy here! Visitors are not welcome on Nightmare Night!" Fluttershy shouted. She didn't hate the holiday, but she didn't like how many ponies seemed to enjoy pranking her, and scarring her on this particular holiday. "Fluttershy please, it's me Twilight!" Twilight said "Come on! Open the door!" "Oh, it is you." Fluttershy said as she peaked out and slowly began to open the door "You, and Nightmare Moon. Wait! Nightmare Moon?" Fluttershy gasped and ran back into her house. "Heh heh, wait right here Princess." Twilight said "Fluttershy's always a little skittish around new faces." She went inside and tried to force Fluttershy out. The process produced a lot of noise. "What's going on in there?!" Princess Luna asked. "That's what I want to know." Spike said. A minute later Twilight emerged with Fluttershy right behind her, enveloped in Twilight's violet red aura. "Fluttershy, you remember Princess Luna right?" Twilight asked. "Ah Fluttershy, the new bearer of The Element of Kindness we are charmed to meet thee." Princess Luna said in the royal Canterlot voice. "Um likewise." Fluttershy said, she was still a little nervous and Princess Luna's royal Canterlot voice wasn't helping matters. "Twilight Sparkle, the new bearer of The Element of Magic, has spoken of the sweetness of thy voice." Princess Luna said in the royal Canterlot voice "So we ask if thou would please teach us to speak as thou speaks." "Um okay." Fluttershy said quietly. "Shall we begin our lessons now?" Princess Luna asked. "Yes." Fluttershy said quietly. "Shall we mimic thy voice?" Princess Luna asked. "Yes." Fluttershy said quietly. "So how is this?" Princess Luna asked. "That's great, the lesson's over!" Fluttershy said hurriedly and she ran to the front door of her house. Twilight was one step ahead of her however, and slammed the door shut in her face. Fluttershy hit the door with a thud. "A little quieter Princess." Twilight said "You're still shouting." "Well then, how is this?" Princess Luna asked Fluttershy. Princess Luna was still using the Royal Canterlot voice but now it was a tad bit more normal. "That's better. Right Fluttershy?" Twilight asked. "Huh? Oh yes, of course." Fluttershy said in a dazed and nervous laugh. "How... about... now? " Princess Luna asked, her voice becoming more normal. "Now that's more like it." Twilight said "You're starting to get the hang of it." "And... how about now?" Princess Luna asked, her voice completly normal. "Yes! Well done." Twilight said. "Ah thank you, dear Fluttershy!" Princess Luna said, she was so happy that her tone of voice slipped back into the royal Canterlot voice "Our normal speaking voice shall surely help us win over the hearts of thy fellow citizens!" At that moment however Pinkie Pie and the group of colts and fillies under her supervision showed up. "Fluttershy! Have you heard? Nightmare Moon is back and she ..." Pinkie Pie let out a chicken squawk as she observed what Princess Luna was doing. Princess Luna was unintentionally hugging Fluttershy so tight that it looked like she was crushing her. "She just stole Fluttershy's voice!" She screamed as did the colts and fillies. Luna tried to call out to them as they ran off. "Nay, children, wait!" she shouted in the royal Canterlot voice. Realizing her mistake she tried to call out to them in a normal tone instead. It didn't work. "Well so much for that plan." Spike said. "Oh, I'm sorry it didn't work out Princess." Fluttershy said. "It's not thy fault Fluttershy." Princess Luna said "We and we alone are to blame. But it seems like they do not like and they never will." "That's the kind of talk I don't want to hear!" Twilight said "Come on Princess, let's try something else." Twilight led Princess Luna to Carousel Boutique. "Don't worry Princess. You just need to change your appearance a little. You know, look less intimidating." Twilight said "My friend Rarity is a talented dress maker. I'm sure she can help you." "We hope thou are right about this Twilight." Princess Luna said "Thou are skating on thin ice, and our patience is starting to fade." "You've got nothing to worry about." Spike said "Rarity's the best dress maker in Equestria. There's no way she'll let you down." "Don't get any ideas Spike." Twilight said "We didn't come here so you could try to hit on Rarity again." "Ah you're no fun." Spike said. "Here we are now." Twilight said, as she approached the front door. She rang the door bell. "I'm not ready yet Sweetie Belle!" Rarity shouted "My costume is almost ready! Just give me a little more time!" She opened the door, dressed in a partially completed spider lady costume. She was met not with the site of Sweetie Belle, and her fellow cutie mark crusaders, Apple Bloom, and Scootaloo, but with the site of Twilight, Spike, and Princess Luna. "Oh, Twilight it's you .Forgive me. And Nightmare Moon." Rarity said "Oh no, not her!" Rarity shouted and she ran back inside. A moment later Twilight managed to coax her back out. "Um greetings Princess." Rarity said nervously "Pleased to m-meet you." "Ah yes, Rarity Belle, the new bearer of The Element of Generosity. At last we meet." Princess Luna said, remembering her voice lessons she tried to keep her voice as normal as possible. "Rarity, Princess Luna here needs your help to look a little less intimidating." Twilight said "Do you think you can make her something that can do that?" "Well I can try." Rarity said "But you are asking a lot of me." "Please Rarity, this could be just the thing to help Princess Luna make some friends." Twilight said. "Alright I guess." Rarity said "Please Princess do come in. I must say I do like your coat." "We shall glady do so." Princess Luna said "And thank you. A dress does sound nice." "Okay Rarity don't panic. Just stay focused." Rarity thought to herself. A few minutes later Rarity was finished. Princess Luna was dressed in an incredibly pinkish outfit. "Um tada?" Rarity said. "Rarity, what happened?" Twilight asked. "I panicked." Rarity said "By the way are you dressed as the oldest pony of all time? You do realize that Granny Smith holds that title right now don't you?" "It's Star Swirl the Bearded." Twilight said, a hint of anger in her voice. "While we do appreciate the generous gift thou has given us we simply cannot wear this in public. We shall have to take it off." Princess Luna said, and began to tear off the dress piece by piece. "Rarity please, you've gotta help us!" Pinkie Pie said as she rushed in with the colts and fillies "Nightmare Moon just stole Fluttershy's voice and" she let out another chicken squawk as she saw Luna with a piece of a pink dress in her mouth "Nightmare Moon has devoured a princess! Even royalty is not safe!" She headed for the door. This time however Twilight was ready for her, and used her magic to lock the door before anyone could escape. But Pinkie Pie wouldn't stop screaming until Twilight tackled her and put a hoof in her mouth. "That's enough out of you.! Twilight said angrily "Pinkie! You and I need to talk. Alone!" "Um sure thing I guess." Pinkie Pie said "Uh, hey kids. Why don't you all take a bathroom break for a little bit, okay?" The colts and fillies groaned. "I promise we'll go get more candy soon." Pinkie Pie said. That seemed to brighten the kids moods. "So what did you want to talk to about?" Pinkie Pie asked Twilight when the two of them were alone with Princess Luna. (Rarity, along with Spike, was keeping an eye on the kids.) "Can we please make this quick? I don't want these kids parents to start worrying about them." "Pinkie, you remember Princess Luna right?" Twilight asked. "Um yes." Pinkie Pie said "Though I admit she looks a bit different from the last time I saw her." "Exactly." Twilight said "And she's trying to make some friends. But your actions have made that difficult, if not impossible." "Ah gee I'm really sorry Twilight." Pinkie Pie said "I know sometimes it's really fun to be scared, but I didn't think I was actually hurting Princess Luna's feelings. Guess I owe her an apology." "Indeed you do." Twilight said "Now go over there and apologize to her right now." "Ah, Pinkamina Diane Pie, the new bearer of The Element of Laughter. Has thou come to make peace with us?" Princess Luna asked. "You betcha." Pinkie Pie said extending her hoof towards Princess Luna. Princess Luna did the same and the two of them shook hoofs (after Pinkie Pie demonstrated how of course). "Well I wish I could stay and help you out but I gotta make sure I keep an eye on those kids." Pinkie Pie said "Good luck trying to fit in though." And with that Pinkie Pie left. "Well that's one problem resolved." Twilight said. "Yes, but there's still the problem of getting our subjects to like us." Princess Luna said. "I think I know somepony who can help you with that." Twilight said "Follow me." Spike, needless to say was not thrilled to leave Carousel Boutique, but he didn't have much of a choice in the matter. Twilight led Princess Luna into the center of town, where various ponies were playing all sorts of different games and activities. "My friend Applejack happens to be one of the most likeable and down to Equestria ponies around." Twilight said "I'm sure she'll have some good ideas." "We hope so." Princess Luna said. Applejack, meanwhile had just grabbed Pipsqueak right before he fell into the tub of apples. "Be more careful there buckaroo. I certainly don't need you floating around in that tub." Applejack said. "Uh... Applejack, you remember Princess Luna right?" Twilight asked. "Well yes." Applejack said "What can I do for her?" "She's looking for some advice on how to fit in around here." Twilight said. "Fit in? Really?" Applejack asked. She was met with a glare from Twilight. "Oh, I mean, that's pretty easy. All you gotta do is have the right attitude. You know, loosen up a bit, be positive, play a few games. Just have some fun." "Fun?" Princess Luna asked "What is this fun thou speakest of fair Applejack, the new bearer of The Element of Honesty?" "Oh that's easy. I can tell you that." Pinkie Pie said popping up from seemingly nowhere. She was still in her chicken costume. "Thou knows what fun is?" Princess Luna asked. Pinkie Pie nodded "Please teach us." "Actually, how bout I spell it out for you?" Pinkie Pie said. "What?" Princess Luna said. She was confused. Of course that didn't stop Pinkie Pie from bursting into song. F is for friends who do stuff together. U is for you and me. N is for anywhere and anytime at all. Out here in our town of ponies. "Okay, now you try it." Pinkie Pie said. Princess Luna began to sing. F is for foals who all run for their lives! U is for unending, night! N is for no survivors! When thou - "Whoa, whoa, whoa! Luna!" Pinkie Pie said "Those things aren't what fun is suppose to be about! Now then, do it like this. Pay attention this time." She started to sing again. F is for friends who do stuff together. "Silence!" Twilight said, putting a hoof to Pinkie Pie's mouth. "Pinkie Pie, can't you see Princess Luna isn't in the mood for your antics?!" "No, wait." Princess Luna said using her magic to remove Twilight's hoof. "Could thou repeat that please?" Pinkie Pie nodded "Sure. Listen carefully." And once again she broke into song. F is for friends who do stuff together. U is for you and me. "Try it." Pinkie Pie said to Luna. Luna began to sing. Um. N is for anywhere and anytime at all. Out here in our town of ponies. "W-wait. We don't understand this. We feel all 'tingly' inside." Princess Luna said "Should we stop?" "No silly, that's how you're suppose to feel when you're having fun." Pinkie Pie said. "Well..... we like it! Let's do it again!" Princess Luna said. "That's the spirit!" Pinkie Pie said and she and Luna broke into song. All Twilight could say was "What?" F is for frolic through all the flowers. U is for ukelele. N is for nose picking, chewing gum, and hay licking. Here with my best buddy. Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha. Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha. Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha. Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha. Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha. Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha. Thanks in no small part to Pinkie's song Princess Luna had no trouble having fun. And she found that the more she enjoyed herself, and just started having fun the more ponies relaxed around her, and began to enjoy her presence. She even earned Pipsqueak's respec,t when she managed to snag him just before he fell into the tub of apples. She also started to get a grip on the more modern Equestrian language, mostly thanks to Rarity. Eventually even The Mayor and Zecora met with Princess Luna and the two of them got along quite well with her. Zecora especially as she knew what it was like to be misjudged and demonized. "Oh I'm having so much fun." Princess Luna said "I thank you all for giving me this second chance." "Aw shucks, it was nothing Princess." Applejack said. "I'm just glad we're all having fun." Pinkie Pie said "Sometimes it's really fun to be scared, and sometimes it's not." "This is one Nightmare Night even I've grown to like." Fluttershy said. After some convincing Fluttershy had agreed to put on a costume and participate in some of the activities. She had managed to hoof stitch her own costume (a tree) in only a matter of minutes. To her surprise she found that for once the holiday didn't seem to be all about scarring other ponies. There was one pony who wasn't happy with this turn of events however. And that pony was Rainbow Dash. For as long as she could remember Nightmare Night in both Ponyville and Cloudsdale had always been scary. "What ever happened to all the scary stuff? Nightmare Night's no fun if it's not scary. Well maybe there's a way I can fix that." she thought to herself. Nightmare Night was still in full swing, but all eyes seemed to be on Princess Luna, the unoffical guest of honor. With everyone seemingly focused on Princess Luna no one appeared to notice a meancing dark cloud appear. Nor did anyone seem to notice the cloud heading straight for the center of town. Princess Luna was playing a game in which the objective was to throw plastic spiders and try to make them hit a fake web. You got points based on how close to the center of the web the spiders landed. Princess Luna had already played a game in which you launched pumpkins from catapults and tried to hit targets. To her satisfaction (not to mention enjoyment) she found this game to be as enjoyable as the previous one. "Haha!" she shouted happily "The fun has been doubled!" As this was going on the dark cloud drew closer. Inside that cloud was none other then Rainbow Dash. "This bang oughta be enough to give those ponies a good fright!" she thought to herself. She either didn't know or didn't care that Princess Luna was among those ponies. Just as Rainbow Dash was about to press her hooves down, and unleash the lightning bolt Twilight spotted her. Before Rainbow Dash had a chance to retreat Twilight used her magic to bring Rainbow Dash, and the cloud to her, and away from the other ponies. "Just what did you think you were doing?" Twilight asked. "All I wanted to do was give a few ponies a good scare." Rainbow Dash said "What's so wrong about that?" "What's wrong is that you almost destroyed the reputation Princess Luna has been building for herself." Twilight said "Now I want you to promise that you won't cause anymore trouble tonight." "But Nightmare Night just isn't as fun without a good scare!" Rainbow Dash complained. "That's what you think, but unfortunately for you this is one Nightmare Night that's not going to be about scarring other ponies." Twilight said. "Then what's the point of having Nightmare Night?" Rainbow Dash asked "If you take away the scary part of it then the holiday just isn't fun anymore." "Well perhaps there's a way I can fix that." Princess Luna said. She had overheard everything. "You can't possibly tell me you're planing on scarring these ponies." Twilight said "You saw yourself how terrified of you they were. Do you really want to make them fear you again?" "Of course no,t but I cannot let my priorities get in the way of something like this." Princess Luna said "Now I have an idea on how can I scare these ponies without going too far. However, I'll need your help." "What do you have in mind?" Twilight asked. "Well you see." Princess Luna said, she proceeded to whisper her plan into Twilight's ear. "That's a good idea I guess." Twilight said "I'll just talk to The Mayor and Zecora, and see if I can arrange it." "Thank you Twilight Sparkle." Princess Luna said. "Oh, you can just call me Twilight." Twilight said "Everyone else does." "Well good luck to you Twilight." Princess Luna said. Then she turned to Rainbow Dash "You must be Rainbow Dash, the new bearer of The Element of Loyalty. I am pleased to meet you, and want to thank you for your input." "Hey ,anytime Princess!" Rainbow Dash said "Hey look! Here comes Twilight." "Well?" Princess Luna asked. "They said yes. Just make sure not to overdo it." Twilight said. "I'll try my best not to." Princess Luna said "Now I must be off. Wish me luck." And with that she slipped quickly but covertly into The Everfree Forest. "Oh please don't let this backfire on her." Twilight thought to herself. Sighing, she headed into town to make sure everything went according to plan. "Attention everypony." The Mayor said "Zecora has an announcement to make" "Yes." Zecora said "Please do not fret. For you see Nightmare Night is not over yet. After all we still have candy left to give. So that Nightmare Moon will let us live." "That's right everyone." The Mayor said "So please follow Zecora. Unless you want Nightmare Moon to gobble you up." Nopony wanted that, so they quickly rounded up the various colts and fillie,s and made sure they knew to follow Zecora into The Everfree Forest. Zecora led them to the statue of Nightmare Moo,n and instructed them to put some of their candy at the base of the statue. As soon as they did so the statue came to live. Before their eyes they saw Nightmare Moon with her eyes glowing white. "Citizens of Ponyville!" Nightmare Moon said in a booming voice "I see that you were wise and brought some of your candy here. I am most certainly pleased with this offering. In fact I am so pleased that I have decided that I might just eat it instead of you!" The ponies screamed. And then they saw Nightmare Moon transform in a flash of white light. In an instant, before their eyes stood Princess Luna, and not Nightmare Moon. It took a few seconds but the colts and fillies realized what they had just seen. And alongside Princess Luna they began to laugh. Any doubts anyone may have had about the future of Nightmare Night disappered at that very moment, and were never again brought to the surface. "Thank you Twilight." Princess Luna said "Without the help of you and your friends I doubt that my visit to Ponyville tonight would've gone so smoothly." "You're welcome Princess." Twilight said "And you know, I think you helped me learn something about friendship tonight." "Don't you usually write to my sister about these?" Princess Luna asked. "Indeed I do." Twilight said "But I think this time I want to ask you to deliver the message personally." "I will most certainly do so." Princess Luna said "Let's hear it." "With pleasure." Twilight said and she began to narrate her letter. "Dear Princess Celestia, A year ago you sent me to Ponyville and I didn't know anything friendship. Tonight I met somepony with the same problem. Your sister, Princess Luna. She helped me to realize that sometimes the best thing about friendship is that you can give it to others and help them find it themselves. Also, I am happy to report that tonight, the whole town of Ponyville learned a valueable lesson. Even if somepony may seem intimidating. Or even scary. When you offer them your friendship, and give them a chance. You might just discover a new pony underneath. And although my Starswirl the Bearded Costume didn't get as much attention as I would've liked this still turned out to the best Nightmare Night ever. Your faithful student, Twilight Sparkle "Think you can remember that?" Twilight asked. "I should have no problems doing so." Princess Luna said "But for now, let's enjoy Nightmare Night while it lasts." "That's the spirit Princess!" Rainbow Dash said.