I had never seen Ponyville as alive with activity as it was the following morning. The streets were packed with ponies setting up stands, hanging black and orange banners, setting up black flags. Last-minute sales on candy were afoot at Bon Bon’s, and a stage was being set up in the town square, the mayor overlooking the process. Nopony was in costume yet, probably saving it for that evening.
All throughout, there was a kind of excited energy, a pent-up jubilance, almost palpable. It made me wonder if it was some form of Equestrian magic I had never seen before. It seemed to be infecting me as well. Even if I didn’t know everything I wanted to about Nightmare Night, this was going to turn out to be one heck of a night. I expressed such to Moonlight when I saw her that day.
“It’s gonna be big, Moonlight,” I told her, “I can feel it. We’re gonna have a blast tonight!”
At this, Moonlight’s smile faded a little.
“What’s wrong?” I asked.
“I don’t know if I’ll be able to come,” she said, softly. “I don’t have a costume for Nightmare Night.”
“No?”
“It’s all right. I never really had a chance to prepare, since I never leave the house.”
“Oh, Moonlight.”
I felt terrible. Moonlight didn’t deserve to miss out on something that was going to be so monumental. There had to be something I could do.
Finally, after casting my mind about, I hit upon something that just might work.
“Moonlight, wait here,” I said, and without waiting for an answer, I dashed back toward Ponyville.
***
When I got to Carousel Boutique, I wondered if it had been closed early. Nopony seemed to be around, and all was quiet.
“Rarity?” I called.
No answer.
“Hello?”
Still no answer, except for a disgruntled meowing down below. Looking down, I spotted Opalescence, Rarity’s cat.
“Oh, hello,” I said, stiffly. “Is your mama in?”
Opal merely gave a flick of her tail and sauntered off.
“Sourpuss,” I muttered, and went in to look for the fashionista.
Thankfully, it didn’t take long for me to locate her. She was in her workroom, cheek resting on her forelegs, sound asleep. Her mane was in disarray, and her work glasses were still sitting on her nose. For somepony so refined and dignified, she looked cute asleep.
“Rarity?” I whispered, giving her shoulder a shake.
“Mmm...You dance divinely, really, you do.”
“Rarity?” I said, a little louder, and shaking her a little harder.
“Whuh? Huh?”
Rarity sat up with a start, turning around to spot me.
“Oh! Darling, it’s you. How are you?”
“Pretty good, you?”
“Fine, thank you. A little tired, perhaps, but I feel accomplished. Everypony’s costume has been made and sent on time, as was yours, I expect?”
“Yes, Derpy handed it to me yesterday. It was perfect.”
“Splendid! You’re going to look so dashing tonight!”
“Heh, you think so? Actually, there’s something I wanted to ask.”
“Yes?”
“I have a friend who wasn’t able to get a costume herself. Do you happen to have anything like a Daring Do outfit?”
“A Daring Do outfit? But of course! You’d have no idea how popular that costume gets. Rainbow Dash actually asked for one, but as soon as it was done, she said she wanted to be something else.” She tutted indignantly. “Can you imagine the nerve?”
“Some ponies,” I said, sympathetically.
She flared up her horn, and a wardrobe opened, showing several shirts, dresses, and hats lined up neatly. A small khaki shirt and a pith helmet were levitated down and set neatly into a circular box, over which the lid fitted snugly.
“And there we have it!” said Rarity, proudly. “Your friend should be very happy.”
“Great! How much? And please, Rarity, I want to,” I added, for I saw her open her mouth. “It just feels right when I know I got it with my own money.”
Rarity smiled gently.
“Of course, Dave, I understand. Shall we say, 12 bits?”
“For the whole ensemble? All right, then.”
I dug around in my pocket and laid out 12 gold bits. Rarity then placed the box in my hands.
“Thanks,” I said.
“You’re welcome, dear. If it doesn’t fit, just send your friend down to the boutique, and I’ll resize it accordingly.”
“Great! I will.”
“Now, I hate to be a pest, but I really must start getting ready myself.”
“Of course. Good day, milady.”
With a gracious bow, I left her presence.
***
Moonlight was still waiting where I’d left her when I returned, out of breath from having run all the way back.
“Here...you go...Moonlight,” I panted, handing her the box. She looked very much surprised.
“What is it?” she asked.
“A costume...for Nightmare Night...I think you’ll...like it,” I panted.
Setting the box down, she opened the lid, and gasped. She took up the pith helmet and held it up. She looked up at me with an excited expression. Setting it back down, she flew up and threw her forelegs around my neck.
“Oh, thank you, thank you, thank you!” she gushed. “It’s perfect, absolutely perfect!”
She released me almost as quickly as she had latched on and picked up the box again.
“This was so nice of you. You really didn’t have to-”
“I wanted to, Moonlight,” I said. “You’re too sweet a pony to be home alone on a holiday.”
Beaming from ear to ear, Moonlight flapped over to her door.
“I’ll see you tonight, then,” she said.
“As I will you,” I replied, and both of us went into our respective houses to get ready.
***
“Ok, let’s see...Coat: check. Hat: check. Trousers: check. Pipe: check. Candy bag: check. Candy bowl: check. Note for the foals who pass by: check. I am good to go!”
It was now night time, and I was fully clothed in my Sherlock Pones outfit. I had to exercise great restraint in not wasting the entire bottle of bubble soap, but it made me feel a little giddy to finally be able to use a real soap bubble pipe. I had put as much of the bulk candy I had bought as I could into the biggest bowl I had, and pinned a note to it saying,
“Help yourselves to a piece or two.
Happy Nightmare Night!
-Dave”
Suddenly, there came a knock at the door. With the bowl of candy in my hands, I opened the door to be greeted by a chorus of familiar voices in singsong.
“Nightmare Night! What a fright! Give us something sweet to bite!”
Sure enough, it was the Crusaders, all dolled up in their costumes and wearing little trick-or-treat bags around their necks. I even recognized what they were supposed to be. Those plumed hats, those capes, those little fake swords at their sides...they were the Musketeers! The question was, with no clear leader, who was Athos, who was Porthos, who was Aramis, and who was D’Artagnan?
“Hey, girls! Great costumes!”
“Thanks, Dave!” said Sweetie Belle. “Twilight said they would be perfect, because the Muskedeers were kinda like Crusaders too!”
(Muskedeers? Oh, come on.)
“We wanted to try and go as a human, like you,” said Apple Bloom.
“But we’d have to stand on each other’s shoulders to be tall enough,” said Scootaloo.
“And they kept puttin’ me on the bottom,” said Apple Bloom, pointedly.
“Cuz you’re the strongest!” argued Scootaloo. “We talked about this!”
“Ah ain’t strong enough to hold three fillies on mah shoulders,” said Apple Bloom.
“You might have if Dinky would have stopped squirming on top,” said Sweetie Belle.
“I couldn’t help it,” said Dinky, shrugging. “It was fun being up so high.”
“Ok, kids, ok,” said a voice from behind, “let’s not fight.”
I looked up and saw Sparkler standing over the four fillies. How had I missed her before? She was wearing a glittering, pale blue dress and a tiara with a centerpiece jewel that looked oddly like a muffin.
“Oh! Hi, Sparkler! Happy Nightmare Night!”
“Happy Nightmare Night, Dave,” said Sparkler, with a smile. “You look great!”
“Thanks! So do you. Er, what exactly are you supposed to be, if I might ask?”
Sparkler drew herself up with a dignified air and said, in a haughty voice.
“I am the Princess of Muffins, heir to the throne of Muffintopia.”
It must have been really rude of me, but I couldn’t hold back a snicker at that. Sparkler didn’t look abashed, however, just a little embarrassed.
“I know, it’s silly, but it was Mom’s idea. She’s going as the Queen of Muffins.”
“That’ll be a sight, I’m sure,” I said.
“But I think you and Mama look pretty,” said Dinky.
“Well, thank you, Dinky,” said Sparkler, sweetly.
“Well, then, kids,” I said to the Crusaders, “how about some candy?”
“Yeah!” they cheered.
I picked around and placed a piece of chocolate and a piece of taffy into each of their little bags.
“Thanks, Dave!” they said together.
“Why do you tarry, my subjects?” came a majestic voice. “There is more candy to be had!”
I looked up, and had to fight back the impulse to laugh. Derpy had floated over on her wings, wearing a dress much like Sparkler’s, but with a crown instead of a tiara, and a muffin brooch.
“Good evening, Sir Dave,” she said, spying me. “Admirable costume.”
“Why, thank you, Your Majesty,” I said, still trying to keep a straight face. “Same to you.”
“Come, Princess, children. Ponyville waits for no pony!”
And without waiting for them, she flew off toward Ponyville, looking more like a fairy godmother than a queen.
“Let’s away, fellow Muskedeers,” said Sweetie Belle. “There’s more candy to be gotten!”
With something like a battle cry, the four scampered off toward Ponyville.
“Don’t run in the dark!” called Sparkler. “You might trip!”
She sighed and shook her head.
“Foals,” she said. “What can you do? Are you coming to the festival?”
“Definitely. I just need to pick up a friend of mine and we’ll be there.”
“All right. I need to round up the girls anyway. See you there!”
Sparkler went after the Crusaders as I set up the bowl by the door, using a bit of log I’d borrowed from Applejack when I came up with the idea. Making sure the house was secure, I went to Moonlight’s and knocked on her door.
“You ready, Moonlight?”
“Just about! I’ll be right there!”
A few moments later, the door opened, and out came Moonlight, wearing her new khaki shirt and pith helmet. She smiled shyly.
“Moonlight, you look almost like the real deal,” I said, approvingly.
“Oh, stop, you flatterer,” she said, her cheeks reddening. “I’m nowhere near as brave as Daring.”
“Hey, neither am I,” I said, reasonably. “I’m nowhere near as smart as Sherlock.”
I blew a couple of bubbles to punctuate, and Moonlight giggled.
“So, you ready to head to the festival?”
“I am, but aren’t you handing out candy?”
“I set up a bowl for the foals, inviting them to take a piece or two. And that goes for you too, Pinkie!” I added, suddenly.
I turned around, for there indeed was my pink pony pal, only she wasn’t pink. She had somehow managed to color herself chalk-white, and her mane and tail were sun-yellow. She had also added a fake pair of pegasus wings to her back, held on by a rope belt around her stomach. She was frozen in the act of trying to take up the whole bowl, but put it down again when I rounded on her. I’d seen her just out of the corner of my eye.
“How’d you know it was me?” she asked, in a pouty voice.
I chuckled and, with the stem of the pipe at my lips, I said,
“My dear Miss Pie, there is only one pony with such a voracity towards candy that extends to ignoring a friendly written reminder, and you fit that description to a T.”
Pinkie burst into a bout of her snorting giggles.
“Oh my gosh, Davie, you sounded just like Sherlock Pones when you said that! Great job!”
“Thanks. So, what are you supposed to be?”
“Surprise!” Pinkie answered, rearing up and throwing her forelegs wide open.
Nopony said anything for several seconds.
“...Um, what’s the surprise?” I asked, finally.
“Me!” said Pinkie.
“You’re a surprise?”
“Not a surprise, silly-billy. Surprise!”
I glanced at Moonlight, who shrugged. This was probably just Pinkie being Pinkie, so who was I to question it?
“Works for me,” I said. “Shall we head to the festival?”
“Okie-dokie-lokie! Let’s motor!”
The three of us headed off for Ponyville, Pinkie bouncing along at one side of me, while Moonlight trotted at the other.
***
The town square was alive with ponies, all of them costumed. Some were generic things, like a Viking, a vampire, or a football player, but some were specific characters in pop culture, though obviously ponified to fit their culture. I could have sworn I saw a trio of Three Stooges, a Boris Badenov, and even a Jessica Rabbit.
On stage, a band was playing a dance number, its lead player a fiddle-playing Earth pony wearing a Western hat, a red bandana, and a green shirt with a frayed hem. She reminded me a little of Octavia. In front of the stage, ponies were dancing lively to the quick, jaunty tune.
As we walked about, Moonlight was looking this way and that, amazed at everything she was seeing. She had to have made at least some trips into Ponyville for food and provisions, but probably never saw much of the town.. As of yet, there was nopony in the crowd I really recognized, until...
“Dave! There you are!”
The three of us stopped dead in our tracks. Lyra was running towards us, a little unsteadily, on her hind legs. She was wearing glasses, a red T-shirt, a pair of blue jeans, and white socks over her hind hooves. Several ponies turned and stared as she sprinted past.
“Lyra?” I spluttered. “What the-?”
“Surprised?” she asked, out of breath. “I’m you!”
“Me?”
“Yeah! I’ve been wanting to go as a human for years, but now that you’ve come to Ponyville, I know how to do the costume right! Neat, huh?”
She beamed widely, looking as giddy as a schoolgirl. I was still quite agog. The idea that Lyra had wanted to go as me...Had I already become something of an icon?
“You do look just like him, Lyra!” said Pinkie. “Way to go!”
“Thanks, Pinkie! Only...”
She paused and turned around so that her back was facing us, placing her hooves on her hips.
“Do these pants make my rump look big?”
(Why do girls always have to ask guys that question?)
I was spared answering, however, when the music changed, and it was yet another tune I recognized: a lively Irish jig from a movie about leprechauns. It was one of the best earworms of a song I had ever listened to, because I never got tired of how far it could carry my imagination.
“Oooh, let’s dance!” said Lyra. “Come on, Moonlight!”
Surprised, Moonlight was whisked away by Lyra onto the dance floor. While Lyra got her ‘jig’ on, Moonlight did her best to emulate it, though she looked embarrassed about it. In all fairness, she wasn’t doing half bad. I turned to Pinkie.
“May I have this jig, Pinkie?” I asked, graciously.
“I was just about to ask you the same thing,” said Pinkie, in an imitation of a high-class woman.
She reared up, placed her hooves in my hands, and we started a goofy jig out into the dance floor as that fiddle pony played away. Just like the iteration of the song I knew, the music sped up not once, not twice, but three times. Each time, the dancing got quicker and wilder, and Pinkie, Lyra, and even Moonlight began to laugh and squeal from the speed and the adrenaline. It amazed me how that pony could keep up on that fiddle. I could see her hunching over, tongue sticking out of the side of her mouth, playing away with what looked like lightning speed, while the rest of her crew kept up with their own instruments.
At last, the song ended, and the band received wild applause as the fiddle player bowed. Moonlight and Lyra came back over.
“Phew! What a thrill!” said Lyra. “Now that’s what I call dancing!”
“That was really fun, I have to admit,” said Moonlight, her face aglow.
“And you, Pinkie, really know how to cut a rug,” I said.
Pinkie beamed, not noticing somepony sneaking through the crowd towards her. I had to rub my eyes to make sure I wasn’t seeing things, because it was a hilarious sight: Rainbow Dash dressed like Ahuizotl.
She was wearing a headpiece resembling his freaky face, and a costume much like the rest of him, including that third paw on the tail. I must have been the only one to notice, because Lyra and Moonlight were talking amongst themselves. Rainbow therefore snuck up behind Pinkie, raised her tail, and tapped her on the shoulder. Pinkie whipped her head around, but saw nopony, as Rainbow slunk like a cat to her other side and tapped that shoulder, then went back into her former position when Pinkie went to check that shoulder. Then, Rainbow sucked in her breath, and let loose what sounded like an authentic beast roar, so jarringly contrasting with her normal voice.
Pinkie let out a squeal of terror and dashed away, and quite a few ponies screamed as well. Rainbow started laughing, rolling onto her back and kicking her legs in hysterics.
“Very mature, Rainbow,” I said, dryly.
“Aw, lighten up, Sherlock,” said Rainbow. “Nightmare Night’s the best night of the year for pranks, and they never stay the same every year.”
“Nice costume, though. Wasn’t expecting to see such an authentic Ahuizotl.”
“Thanks! I was gonna go as Daring Do, but thought that’d be a little obvious. Hit them with what they least expect, that’s the winner’s way!”
She spotted Moonlight in her Daring Do garb, and a devious smile crossed her face. She flipped back onto all fours, and this time spoke in a voice that sounded like Dracula’s South American cousin.
“Daring Do! I see you have dared to take part in the Nightmare Night festivities while I am on the prowl! Tonight shall be the perfect time to vanquish you!”
At first, I was worried that Moonlight was gonna freak out. Instead, I saw a smile cross her face, and she crouched like an animal about to pounce.
“I tracked you all the way here, Ahuizotl, and this time I’m taking you in!”
“You’ll never take me alive, Miss Do!” Rainbow replied, and she sprinted off into the town, Moonlight in hot pursuit.
I’ll admit I laughed out loud at the sight, mostly because Moonlight was genuinely having fun. Lyra was in stitches as well.
“I think she’s gonna be just fine in Ponyville,” I told her, as she leaned on my shoulder for support.
“So do I. She’s a good kid. Now come on, you’ve gotta see Bonnie’s Nightmare Night special!”
“Oh yeah! I’ve been dying to see what she’s cooked up!”
“Oooh, you’re gonna love it, pally-o! Let’s go!”
And Lyra began excitedly dragging me off toward Bon Bon’s Bonbons, through the crowd of ponies, which had begun to dance to a new tune from the orchestra this time.
***
As we came to the shop, I heard Bon Bon’s voice carry through the air in song, in a remarkably beautiful voice.
“If you want to view paradise
Simply look around and view it
Anything you want to, do it
Want to change the world?
There’s nothing to it”
I had a feeling I knew what was coming once we went inside, and there, sure enough, was Bon Bon, wearing a brown top hat, a violet coat, and a purple waistcoat, standing behind the counter and singing to a group of foals. A tarp was covering the counter.
“There is no life I know
To compare with pure imagination
Living there, you’ll be free
If you truly wish to be”
The fillies applauded, as did the two of us.
“I didn’t know Bon Bon could sing,” I told Lyra.
“Oh yeah, she’s got a great set of pipes,” said Lyra. “She just doesn’t like showing off.”
“Welcome, little ones, welcome!” said Bon Bon, in a grand voice. “Tonight, we have a special treat for Nightmare Night! Behold, the Bon Bon’s Bonbons Specialty Choco-Cauldrons!”
She whisked back the tarp, revealing a display case full of little cauldrons, about the size of an orange, made of shiny brown chocolate and each filled with a different colored something. The foals ‘Oooh’-ed.
“Each Choco-Cauldron is filled with its own fantastical filling. What shall it be, little ones?”
She waved her hoof over each as she introduced them.
“Chilling Chocolate, Awful Orange, Lamenting Lemon, Ghoulish Green Apple, Roaring Raspberry, Creepy Caramel, or Monstrous Marshmallow? 3 bits apiece.”
The foals clamored around to buy one, so Lyra and I stood back and let them finish before chancing a talk with Bon Bon. The kids cleared out, chowing down on their Choco-Cauldrons with relish and gleeful reactions, and the two of us were able to approach.
“Filly Wonka, I presume?” I asked.
“How’d you guess?” asked Bon Bon, smiling. “Great Sherlock costume, by the way.”
“Thanks. So, this is what you’ve been working on? Pretty neat!”
“Oh, thank you! I’ve been wanting to try something like this, but the idea only came to me after the last Nightmare Night was already passed. It’s an awful feeling, having an idea but missing the time to use it.”
“Oh, I quite agree.”
“Lemme have one, Bonnie! Please?” asked Lyra, eyes twinkling.
“Yes, yes, Lyra,” said Bon Bon, patiently, “I did promise you could have one after they were revealed. I’m sure you know why I held off having you test these?”
“Less lecture, more candy,” said Lyra, in a business-like tone, though she accompanied this with a toothy grin.
Bon Bon rolled her eyes and placed a Chilling Chocolate in her hoof.
“That’ll be 3 bits,” she added, just as Lyra was gonna stuff her face with it.
“But I work here!” Lyra complained. “You let me eat for free!”
“Yes, when I want you to test something. 3 bits, please.”
“Bit-pincher,” Lyra grumbled, as she levitated 3 bits out of the pocket of her jeans and laid them on the counter. “I’m gonna go check out the games. Meet ya there, Dave?”
“Sure. I’ll keep an eye out.”
“Swell. See ya!”
And she stuffed the cauldron into her mouth whole, prancing out with an “Mmmm!” of delight.
“One Creepy Caramel, please, Bon Bon,” I said, laying my own 3 bits down.
“Excellent choice!”
She handed me a Choco-Cauldron full of caramel cream, and I bit into it.
“Oooh, wow,” I muttered, after swallowing. “That is some quality chocolate. It reminds me of a kind we have back at home, called Dove. Stands out from the other chocolate brands by a considerable amount.”
“You’re so sweet,” said Bon Bon.
“Not as sweet as your treats, Miss Wonka. Are you gonna come along to the rest of the festival?”
“Not until closing time. I’ll have plenty of time to enjoy the festivities, don’t worry.”
“All right. Well, congrats on a great holiday treat!”
“Thank you! Happy Nightmare Night!”
I took my leave of Bon Bon, cramming the rest of the Choco-Cauldron into my mouth as I set to looking for the games Lyra mentioned.
***
By passing by the music stage again, I found myself in a part of the town where a sort of carnival had been set up. Booths were had been put up, advertising different games, like those ones where you toss baseballs at stacked bottles, or a set of catapults launching pumpkins at bullseyes.
To my delight, I saw Twilight, Spike, Rarity, and Applejack all talking together. Twilight was wearing a gray sweater, a white undershirt, round glasses, and what looked like a red lightning bolt on her forehead, beside her horn. Spike was dressed in a snappy suit, a bowler hat, a cane, and had a postage stamp mustache on his upper lip. Rarity was wearing a black coat over a blue dress, a dainty flowered hat, and had an umbrella tucked under her foreleg. Applejack was wearing a blue and white gingham dress and ruby slippers on her back hooves, her mane done up in pigtails. In my mind, I read off the costumes as I recognized them: Harry Potter, Charlie Chaplin, Mary Poppins, and Dorothy Gale.
From the sound of their conversation, Applejack was self-conscious about her appearance.
“But, darling, you look fabulous!” said Rarity.
“Yeah, Applejack,” said Twilight. “I’ve never seen you like this before.”
“Ah just don’t feel right,” said Applejack. “Rainbow dared me to dress up as somethin’ ‘girly’ after she won our little rematch race from the Runnin’ of the Leaves. This was the best Ah could come up with.”
“It’s you, dear,” said Rarity, “trust me.”
“I like your costume, Applejack,” I said, approaching.
The mares looked up.
“Hi, Dave!” said Twilight. “Glad you could come!” Her eyes swiveled over my costume. “Ooh! Sherlock Pones! Classic!”
“Thanks. Harry Trotter, I take it?”
“Mm-hmm! Star Swirl the Bearded may have been an ambitious gamble, but I thought I’d go with good ol’ Harry this year.”
“I can certainly see a lot of parallels between the two of you,” I said, blowing a few soap bubbles. “Bold, brilliant, talented magic users.”
Twilight smiled appreciatively.
“Spike, Charlie Chaplin? And I thought I only appreciated the classics. Good on ya.”
True to form with his character, Spike merely doffed his bowler without speaking.
“Rarity, Mare-y Poppins? Smashing, milady, smashing.”
“Why, thank you, darling.”
“Applejack, you don’t need to feel so abashed. You make a good Dorothy.”
“Ah appreciate that, sugarcube. Just wish it didn’t have to feel like the losin’ end of a bet.”
“Now that I think about it,” I said, pondering, “didn’t Fluttershy decide to take part in the festival?”
“She did, which is why I can’t imagine why she’s not here yet,” said Rarity. “The costume I chose for her was perfect.”
“Um, mew?”
The voice was so quiet, but so sudden, that I jumped. Turning, I saw one of the most adorable things I’d seen yet, and in a world full of colorful, big-eyed ponies, that’s saying a lot.
At first, I wondered if Fluttershy had somehow put on weight, but then I realized her outfit was similarly colored to her coat. It was a full-body cat costume, complete with ears, paws, and tail. It was funny that she’d go for something so cutesy on Nightmare Night, but how could I blame her when she was so timid?
“Fluttershy, you gotta be more careful. I nearly had a heart attack from such a cuteness overload.”
Fluttershy’s cheeks went scarlet.
“D-Do you really like my costume?”
“Like it? It suits you, Fluttershy. Right, gals?”
“Absolutely!” said Twilight.
“You look downright adorable, Fluttershy!” said Applejack.
“Just like I said, sweetie,” said Rarity.
“Thank you,” mumbled Fluttershy. “Rarity offered to make me a lion costume, but I settled for a nice little kitty instead.”
“That you, Fluttershy?”
Rainbow Dash came swooping in, seeming to have shaken off Moonlight. She ran a scrutinizing eye over Fluttershy’s cat outfit.
“Not what I’d go for on Nightmare Night,” she said, “but then again, I know how you are. Not bad for a first try.” She then added, in her Ahuizotl voice, “Consider yourself a member of my all-powerful feline army!”
Fluttershy smiled weakly. Just then, I heard Lyra call my name.
“Hey, Dave! There you are! Come on over!”
I joined her in front of a giant black spider web. A bowl of stuffed toy spiders was sitting nearby.
“What’s this?” I asked.
“Spider Toss!” said Lyra. “Try to get the spiders to land on the web. Whoever gets the closest to the middle wins. A bullseye’s an automatic win.”
“Huh. Ok, sounds easy enough.”
I picked up a spider, weighing it in my hand for a moment before lobbing it. It landed short of the web.
“Aw, nuts.”
“Give it another go,” said Lyra. “You can do it.”
I picked up another spider, weighed it in my hand, and gave it an underhand toss. It landed with a ‘boing’ just below the middle.
“Hey, nice one!” said Lyra. “But I bet I can beat that.”
She picked up her own spider, concentrated with her tongue between her teeth, and hurled it. It sailed right past the web and smacked a passing pony right in the face.
“Augh! My eye!” he yelled.
To make matters worse, it was a rather burly stallion dressed like a caveman, a wooden club slung at his side. Lyra gulped.
“He did it!” she said, pointing at me quickly before zipping off.
“Thanks a lot,” I grumbled, as I too skedaddled.
***
When I found the girls again, they were standing amongst a crowd where another small stage had been erected. Moonlight and Pinkie were still nowhere to be seen. To my surprise, the mini-stage was housing Trixie, wearing her cloak and hat once again, and standing beneath a banner bearing her cutie mark. Her choice of garb was probably her ego at work; what else could Trixie be but Trixie?
“You have all been a lovely audience,” said Trixie, “so Trixie shall now perform her most amazing feats of prestidigitation!”
When I joined the girls, I heard Rainbow Dash growl,
“Come on, let me at her!”
“Ah ain’t budgin, Rainbow,” said Applejack, and I saw that she had a hoof on Rainbow’s tail.
“I forbid you to harass her, Rainbow Dash,” said Twilight, sternly. “We made amends and formed a truce. She’s proven she deserves a second chance.”
“She threw a pie at you!” Rainbow snapped.
“She could have done a lot worse,” said Twilight.
Rainbow huffed and sat her rump down, forelegs crossed.
“Keep your eyes on this egg, ponies,” Trixie was saying.
She levitated her hat off of her head and placed it over an egg she had placed on the stage.
“When Trixie removes her hat, this egg shall disappear, but a surprise shall take its place! One...two...three!”
She whisked her hat off, revealing a live baby chick. Some ponies ‘Ooh’-ed, some ‘Aww’-ed.
“See? That’s how you do that trick, Snails!” came the voice of the colt Snips.
Trixie laid her hat down again, lifting it to reveal a full-grown chicken. This earned her even more applause. She then laid her hat down again, but this time, the chicken had reverted to an egg again. Incredible!
“Now, for Trixie’s next trick, she shall need a volunteer!”
Several ponies raised their hooves. Fluttershy ducked down, though the tips of her ears were still showing.
“Hmm...” pondered Trixie. “How about...you, with the cat ears?”
Ponies parted to make Fluttershy visible. She eep-ed in surprise.
“M-Me?”
“Yes, you. Come forward. You need not be afraid.”
“Don’t do it, Fluttershy!” snarled Rainbow, straining to get her tail out from under Applejack’s hoof. “She’s just gonna humiliate you like she did with us!”
“Rainbow, hush!” said Applejack.
Fluttershy trooped forward hesitantly through the crowd.
“That’s right, don’t be shy. Trixie shall not bite.”
Fluttershy stepped onto the stage and turned to face the crowd, still looking scared.
“Now, what is your name? Speak so the audience can hear.”
“F-Fluttershy.”
“Well, Fluttershy, Trixie would like to ask you to keep your eye on this ball.”
She held up a small black rubber ball on her hoof. Fluttershy fixed her eyes on it, but Trixie waved her hoof over it, momentarily blocking the ball from view, but when she moved it away again, the ball was gone. Ponies gasped, and Fluttershy’s eyes widened.
“Did I not watch it closely enough?” she asked, worried.
“Fear not,” said Trixie, grandly, ‘for that ball has not gone far.” She then suddenly gave a great show of surprise. “Why, what is that in your ear?”
“Huh?”
Trixie lifted one of Fluttershy’s costume ears and blew sharply into it. The ball came shooting out through the other ear, landing on the stage. The crowd applauded and cheered, but Trixie wasn’t done. She levitated the ball in front of her, waved her hooves around it again, and with a burst, the ball turned into a flock of doves that soared away. The cheering intensified, and Fluttershy looked flabbergasted, though I imagined seeing the doves made her happy.
“Trixie thanks you for your cooperation,” said Trixie.
Fluttershy, taking this as her cue, stumbled off the stage to rejoin us.
“Nice going, Fluttershy!” said Twilight. “You played a wonderful magician’s assistant!”
“Um, thanks, Twilight, but I didn’t even know what I was supposed to be doing.”
“There’s nothing to it,” I said. “All you have to do is let them work their magic on you. It never hurts, and it never lasts long. I’ve seen that kind of thing before.”
“See, Rainbow? Trixie meant no harm,” said Applejack.
“Yeah, yeah, ok, she’s on the level, I get it,” grumbled Rainbow. “Now get off my tail with those ruby horseshoes! Sheesh!”
Applejack released her, and Trixie called out,
“There shall be another show within the hour for those who came late! You shan’t want to miss any of the excitement of the Grrreat and Powerful Trrrrixie!”
A pair of fireworks went off beside the stage, and the crowd applauded again before dispersing. As we left, I flashed Trixie a thumbs up, and she smiled and winked in response. She was already on the path to recovering her career.
“There you are, Ahuizotl!”
We came to a halt. Moonlight was standing with the Cutie Mark Crusaders, who had drawn their swords, holding the hilts in their teeth.
“I’ve joined forces with the famous Muskedeers! You can’t possibly outmatch us without your wildcats, though I see you do have one among your ranks. We still outrank you, however! I suggest you give up now before you embarrass yourself.”
“Curse you, Daring Do!” said Rainbow, in her Dracula voice again. “You win this time, but I shall return! Mark my words! Mark them on the calendar of your DOOM!”
This hammy display was met by laughter on all sides, including Rainbow.
“Why, Dave,” said Rarity, “is this the friend whom you bought the Daring Do costume for?”
“Oh! Right, you haven’t met her yet!”
I stepped up beside Moonlight and cleared my throat.
“Everypony, this is Moonlight, my next door neighbor. She hasn’t been around Ponyville much before. Moonlight, this is Twilight Sparkle, Spike, Applejack, Rarity, and Fluttershy.”
The girls and Spike gave her sundry greetings, to which she replied,
“Hello, everypony. Dave has told me what wonderful friends you are. I hope we might be friends as well.”
“Of course!” said Twilight. “You’re always welcome, Moonlight.”
“Any friend of Dave’s is a friend of ours,” said Rarity.
Moonlight’s face was aglow with glee.
“You kids have fun gatherin’ candy?” Applejack asked the Crusaders.
“Sure did!” said Apple Bloom. “Check out our haul!”
Their candy bags were bulging with sweets, so much so that it was a wonder that they could keep walking.
“Speaking of candy, have you kids seen Pinkie anywhere?” I asked.
“Yeah!” said Dinky. “She was stocking up on her own candy, and eating it at the same time!”
“Yep, that sounds like Pinkie Pie,” said Twilight, dryly.
“We’d better hurry,” said Sweetie Belle. “It’s almost time for the candy offering!”
“Candy offering?” I asked, but was not given an answer, for the mayor’s voice was carrying over the night air. Looking about, I saw her standing at the big music stage, dressed in black and wearing a witch’s hat.
“Fillies and gentlecolts, your attention, please! All foals who have been out gathering sweets, please follow Zecora to hear the tale of...Nightmare Moon!”
This was accompanied by what I assume was her attempt at a creepy cackle.
“At least she ditched the goofy clown wig this year,” Spike muttered to Twilight.
There was a puff of greenish smoke that filled the stage, and Zecora stepped out, wearing green robes and a mask that resembled a praying mantis’ head, through which her blue, almond-shaped eyes shone brightly in the night.
“Come with me, my little dears, to see the queen of your nightly fears,” she said.
The Crusaders and many other foals joined her as she started making her way in the direction of the Everfree Forest. As much as I didn’t want to have to go back into that place on such a creepy night as this, my curiosity to know what I was being denied knowledge of overcame that, and I followed after them.
***
Thankfully, it wasn’t too far into the forest that we went, but only up to a statue I had never noticed before. It was of an alicorn rearing up, a cold expression on its face. It was dressed in a kind of armor, with a spear-like horn, a trailing mane and tail, and cruel eyes with slit pupils. Zecora had gathered at the front of the statue, and the foals gathered around.
Zecora explained how, every year, on Nightmare Night, Nightmare Moon prowled the skies, seeking little lost ponies to devour. That was why everypony dressed up: to avoid being recognized as a pony prime for the picking. The candy was meant as an offering. If everypony gave her a sizeable pile of sweets, she might decide to feast on it instead of us. The entire thing was very chilling, as she accompanied her tale with spectral images created from a kind of green powder she had stashed in her cloak.
The foals had become unnerved by the tale as well, and they dumped out their candy in front of the statue as quick as they could. As soon as that was done, however, a clap of thunder shook the forest, and an unearthly voice filled the air.
“Well, well, well, my little foals. I told you I would return, and you have wisely chosen to offer me a new pile of delectable sweets. I may just feast on them, rather than you!”
No! It couldn’t be!
I must have blinked, because the statue itself was talking!
Only...it wasn’t a statue!
Nightmare Moon was alive!
The foals ran for the hills, screaming, though one little colt, dressed like a night guard, cheered first, then screamed. As for me, I flattened myself against a tree, Nightmare Moon gazing right at me with blazing white eyes.
“Please,” I gasped out. “Lord protect me! Drive away this evil!”
Then, all of a sudden, Nightmare Moon became surrounded by a white glow. She shrank down, and in the next instant, the glow faded, to reveal-
“P-Princess Luna?!”
She spat a pair of fake vampire fangs into her hoof, set them aside, then approached me.
“I hope you are all right, Sir Dave,” she said.
“All right?” I asked. “All right?! You scared the living daylights out of me!”
“Then ‘twas a success!” said Luna, proudly.
(Ok, can’t argue with that. It is Nightmare Night, after all.)
“How did you even do that? I thought you really were Nightmare Moon!”
“As my sister has been known to say...Gotcha!”
(Must run in the family or something.)
“Do you do this every year?”
“No, this is only the second year I have done this, but I hope to keep the tradition alive by doing so.”
“Wow. That’s so cool. You must make a lot of foals happy, even when you’re scaring the bejeezus out of them.:
Luna giggled softly.
“I have been told that it’s ‘scary, but fun’. It is an odd feeling, but it makes them happy, so it makes me happy.”
“How sweet. So, what do you do after that?”
“Join in the festivities, of course. I have become quite the expert at the spider toss.”
“Really? You, a princess, join the festivities?”
“Oh, come now, Sir Dave. I may be royalty, but that does not mean I do not know how to uncoil.”
“Er, you mean unwind?”
“Yes, that. Come, we shall return together.”
“I’d be honored, Your Highness.”
I clumsily bowed (my knees were still shaking), and we made our way back toward Ponyville together, chatting about this and that. After the huge scare of Nightmare Moon, it was a relief to have the real Luna to speak to.
***
“Yes, I do remember. You have a meeting with the delegates tomorrow.”
“Do you know about any of them?”
“They are senior representatives of their homes: highly respectable, wise, and just. I think you shall find them good company.”
“I hope so. Besides that, I’ll have a heck of a time getting up after tonight.”
“If you’d like, I can arrange quick transportation for you, so that you may not worry about catching the train.”
“What kind of quick transportation?”
“Oh, the usual.”
“What’s the us-”
“Princess Luna!”
We had come back into Ponyville, and Twilight was running toward us. Luna smiled warmly as she stopped in front of her.
“Twilight Sparkle, how good to see you again. Have the festivities begun?”
“They have! Come on, you haven’t missed a thing!”
“Wonderful!”
Luna turned to me.
“Sir Dave, I must be off, but we shall meet up again later tonight, yes?”
“I’d like that, Princess.”
“Splendid. Enjoy the night, as I know I shall.”
Twilight and Luna walked off, now chatting freely amongst themselves. It did my heart good to see Luna being humble and down-to-earth, as I imagined her sister was. It showed that the Equestrian monarchs really did know how to relate to their subjects.
I began wandering, trying to scope out any of my other friends, when an odd sight met our eyes. Derpy and Sparkler were standing in front of a house, looking up at Pinkie, who was standing on the roof.
“Pinkie, get down from there!” called Derpy. “You’ll hurt yourself!”
“This isn’t funny, Pinkie!” called Sparkler.
Pinkie didn’t seem to have heard, as she crouched low.
“Up, up, and a-WHEE!” she squealed, and leaped off the roof...actually managing to stay afloat!
“She can fly?” I asked, stunned.
However, halfway to the next house, she began slowing down, and eventually hung suspended above the ground. So that was it: she was on a zip-line. Pretty sneaky, considering I couldn’t even see it.
“Pinkie, are you ok?” I asked, running over to her.
“Yeah, Davie, I’m peachy. Could I have a little help, though?”
“I’ll help you, Pinkie,” said Derpy.
She fluttered up behind Pinkie and, grasping her around the middle, flapped her up to the opposite roof. It looked like she was having a hard time of it, too, from the strained look on her face. In the end, though, they made it, and Pinkie unhooked herself and clambered down.
“Thank goodness you didn’t get hurt, Pinkie,” I said.
“I’m A-OK, Davie,” said Pinkie, looking none the worse for wear, but a little disappointed. “I thought I could make it, but maybe I’m too heavy.”
That wasn’t hard to see. She was looking a little more bloated than usual, probably from gorging on so much candy, and her belly was testing the limit of the rope holding her wings on.
“Can’t imagine why,” I said, giving it a playful poke that sent her giggling. “Decided to stuff your face instead of saving a treat for Nightmare Moon? Aren’t you afraid she’s gonna gobble you up?”
“No way, silly,” said Pinkie. “I’m too big for her to gobble up now!”
“But you’d taste even sweeter to her with all that candy in your tummy,” I said.
“Ooh. You’re right,” said Pinkie, reflectively.
“Don’t worry about it, Pinks. I was at the offering, and she has been appeased.”
“Oh, good! Now come on, Davie, there’s a lot more Nightmare Night that needs celebrating!”
With that, she bounded away, as if nothing had happened. I turned to look at Derpy and Sparkler.
“Just Pinkie being Pinkie?” I asked.
“Just Pinkie being Pinkie,” said Derpy.
“Then that’s good enough for me,” I said, and went off in the direction she had taken. This was way better than any Halloween I’d ever had. All we usually did after I got older was sit around and wait for kids to come and trick-or-treat, but this? I officially loved Nightmare Night.