Grapes draped the sheet across herself in varying directions, trying to find just the right angle to make it all work. After accidently uttering some old words she, as a foal, had her mouth severely soaped up and rinsed out by her parents because of them, she finally found the best possible pattern to allow her to wear the sheet without a potential tripping hazard. Putting a clothespin in place to keep it there while she rooted about for a broach in her jewelry box she felt a presence in the living room. She turned and found Stormy looking at her with the most curious expression.
“What? Look, you convinced me to wear a costume, so... yeah. I’m trying to get it just right. How did those ancient ponies ever wear these things?”
“I think they usually had togas custom made... at least I hope you’re working with a toga. If those are meant to be burial wrappings then you’ve strayed from the basic shroud look.”
“Yes, it’s supposed to be a toga,” Grapes chuckled. “Just got to go stomping around in some pomace to get the ‘I’ve just finished stomping grapes and have put the juice in an amphora to ferment’ look.”
“So you’re gonna be Juicy Seizer this year?” he inquired as she found a rather stunning pin that bore the image of a bundle of grapes etched into it’s silver surface. “She was a rather important political figure in a toga... at least according to Spear Shaker’s plays.”
“Actually, I had somepony different in mind,” Grapes said pulling out a book, and flipping to the page she wanted.
He looked over the illustration of the tan-bodied mare displayed and looked between her and the mare before him.
“Gracious Spirit? ...accredited with the discovery of the techniques required to achieve fermentation on purpose. She was Equestria’s first winemaker! An appropriate selection on your part... and I note there is a resemblance you can monopolise on. She’s got hair like yours and a similar body color... can’t quite see... huh... What was her cutiemark?”
“Nopony knows. She always wore that toga, and that wreath of grape vines. See you can’t tell if she’s got a horn or not,” Grapes said grinning. “It’s almost as if she didn't want anypony to know her cutie mark, or what type of pony she was. She could even be hiding wings under the toga.”
“You're right! She’s a real mare of mystery there,” he chuckled and looked up at where Grapes was now selecting lengths of grapevine and bundles of various colored grapes from a large bowl. “You think she did it on purpose? You know... to keep any one tribe from laying claim to who she was and her contribution to pony culture?”
“That’s one possibility. Or she was an alicorn, and didn’t want everypony worshipping her,” Grapes said as she carefully wove her wreath. “Take Princess Celestia for example. Can’t go and visit her friends without the whole thing being made a big tadoo over.”
“Yeah, I can see that. I guess we’ll never know for certain, will we? And maybe it’s better that way... lets us all think, ‘She could have been one of us,’ eh?” he chuckled with a gentle nudge.
“So true,” Grapes chuckled, putting on the wreath. “Hide the horn well enough?”
“Mmmm... maybe if you just turn it to the... yeah there you go. Looking good there, granted they probably didn’t wear glasses back then but hey, maybe if she could’ve she would’ve. Right?”
“If she needed them, and they had them, then yeah, she would have,” Grapes chuckled. “Magical vision correction is a lot more expensive than glasses.”
***********************
Grapes wasn’t sure why she was taking the road that skirted the edge of the Everfree Forest. Maybe she didn’t want her good mood ruined by traffic, or maybe she just wanted to see “IT” in broad daylight before the shadows cast by moonlight made it all spooky. She remembered many a Nightmare Night where she stared up at that statue and swore it moved... just a little. Grapes shivered at the thought. The night can cause quite a lot of spooky imaginings.
The road didn't go all that close to the location but it was close enough to see the statue standing out against the darkness of the forest. She never knew why it never gathered moss or showed any sort of decay despite a total lack of maintenance over the last one thousand years. Maybe she would take Twilight out here sometime and ask her opinion. The explanation could be simply the type of stone. There were types of stone that were so dense that the tiny tendrils that moss used to take root just couldn't get started, but for now that was just speculation on Grapes’ part.
She crested the hill and looked over. There it was... as unchanging as ever. The Pale moon-white stone gleaming in the sun as if lit from within. It was hard to believe that something so elegant and well-crafted was a reminder of one of the greatest threats to Equestria. She was so focused on the statue that at first she didn’t notice him. Then when she did she wondered how he found this spot. Of course when you thought about it, with ears that could hear every rumor in town without leaving the farm, it was a wonder why he hadn’t have heard about this sooner. Earshot was sitting there in front of the statue, a few packages laying in the grass as he just... stared up at it. She brought the cart to a halt and after a moment of indecision, realised that whatever was going on in his head, he probably could use a familiar face right now.
“Hey, Earshot,” Grapes said, trotting over. “Looks like you found the statue I was talking about.”
“Yeah... I just... I just wanted to... I dunno... see it for myself.”
“Good idea coming here at this time of day. It kind of loses some of its menace by daylight,” Grapes observed. “It’s positively spooky at night, though.”
“I never understood why you daylighters... uh... well... ponies who live under the sun, why they think things look spooky when you add darkness. They seem kind of the same to me... mostly. Maybe it’s my sonar talking though.”
“That, and you’ve got much better night vision than those of us built for daytime,” Grapes observed. “We poor dark-blind daylighters can’t see as well as Night-Ponies.”
“Yeah.” He glanced back at her, golden eyes glimmering in the sun a moment before turning back to the tall figure of the Nightmare Moon. “I thought that she was a bad-guy when she looked like that.”
“She was,” Grapes said quietly. “When she looked like that, she wanted to shroud Equestria in Eternal Night.”
“I know... but it’s really silly and kinda short-sighted isn’t it? There’s a reason we have both day and night. We need sun to warm and make so many things grow, and the night to let the daytime things rest while the nighttime stuff gets to work.“
“Well... at the time, Princess Luna didn’t think that the daytime ponies appreciated her work on the night. The Night Ponies aren’t mentioned in our legends, so... it could be that they didn’t really appreciate the night either, because to them, it was their day-time, and they worked then. We don’t know,” Grapes observed. “Your ancestors were very thorough in their exodus. Never mind those ancient daylighters were very thorough in their excising of the concept night pony existence.”
He nodded slowly.
“They must have been very angry... but also maybe they felt sorry for wanting to hurt us, making sure nopony would remember we ever were so nopony would remember how mad they were. But the same could be suggested for us too... we hid so well we... forgot ourselves.” He took a deep breath and hung his head low. “We remember only that we hid for fear of being destroyed... we remember much of our slow thousand-year crawl to become a civilisation again, even if it’s a hidden one. We remember the history of Stygian Cove as far back as it’s birth as a hidden home... but the one thing... the most important thing... we forgot.” he looked back at her again, those golden eyes glittering with tears barely restrained. “Do we... do we actually DESERVE to be... forgotten?”
“Deserve to... what do you mean by that? Sure you’re born to thrive in the dark but you sure as hay aren’t evil.”
“There’s stories that get told about when Nightmare Moon kept her moon in the sky, that out of fear... or a desire for power... or just blind loyalty, our ancestors swore to help Nightmare Moon. That they promised her we would serve her ‘forever and a day’... and in return she twisted us up and turned us into what we are now. Children of the night. If that’s true, that we kinda... sold-out like that, basically BETRAYING all the other ponies by giving in, then maybe crawling into a deep dark hole was the least we could do.”
“You know, believe it or not, I used to be a foal, once. Back then I heard those sorts of stories too, you know. No matter how it was suggested they came to be, ‘The Nightmare Moon’s minions’ always sounded a little sad to me. Anyways, since I met you I began remembering them all over again, and I did some reading on magically created species,” Grapes said with a smile. “Did you know it takes about two-thousand years or so for a newly created species to become fully established?”
“Really? I didn’t know that.”
“I didn’t either, until I found that out. Approximately one-thousand five-hundred years to two-thousand years. So if you Night Ponies haven't been around for that long, you’d still have the occasional pegasus born in your village,” Grapes said with a smile. “Know of any?”
“Uh... “ he shuffled his hooves a little as he thought about it. “I can’t say that I do... and we’re a pretty tight bunch. Hard to keep anything like that a secret.”
“So, as far as you know, there have been no just regular feathered pegasus births in your society?” Grapes asked with a smile.
“Well yes.... which... would mean.... no night pony was made into a night pony inside of.... a thousand years?”
“That’s right,” Grapes said with a grin. “You’re a smart one, Earshot. So... what would that mean for your folks, hm?”
“That would mean... we have been night ponies a lot longer than The Nightmare Moon has been around?”
“Give the lad a prize!” Grapes said triumphantly, hoofing him a cookie which was eagerly accepted.
“Thank you miss Grapes... and thank you for the cookie too.”
“Figured you could use a treat for using the noggin,” Grapes said, mussing his mane. “Also means your people do NOT deserve to be forgotten, nor do they deserve second-hoof goods. Get me?”
“I understand now. Thank you very much.” He smiled and nodded before looking up at the statue once again and tilting his head to the side. “Do you know who made this? It’s strange that anypony would make such a good statue of somepony who was so... angry.”
“I don’t know for sure, but there are some theories,” Grapes said quietly.
“Like what?”
“If I went into it, we'd be here all day, Earshot,” Grapes laughed.
“Another time then?”
“Sounds good. Back to the party preparations. I think I was picking up Fluttershy, so she can be ensconced cosily in the kitchen.”
“That sounds like a good idea. I can hear her colt friends coaxing her to go.”
“I’d better get a move on, before she convinces herself to stay at home,” Grapes said, trotting on. “You’ve got your costume, right?”
“Right here. There wasn't much left to pick from in my size but they found something,” Earshot asserted.
“Fantastic. I’ll see you at the party, Earshot,” Grapes said fondly.
“Sure thing Miss Grapes.”
*****************************************************
Grapes reached Fluttershy’s home in due time, and was greeted by the myriad males that were helping the shy filly with her animals while she was indisposed. She clip-clopped up to the door, and knocked on the door.
The door seemed to open of it’s own accord, then Grapes remembered to look downwards where the passively benign expression of Short Round looked up at her. He gave her a silent nod and opened the door all the way and gestured for her to enter. With Short Round, his motions spoke volumes.
Sour Grapes sighed, unhitched herself from the wagon before following Short Round inside. “Is Fluttershy ready to go?” Grapes asked as she came in.
He nodded, leading her to the living room where a pile of laundry sat piled on the couch. It then shifted and Grapes recognised the basic shape of a pony covered by a white bedsheet.
“Um… Boo? That is if it’s allright with you.”
Grapes chuckled. “Hey, Fluttershy. Ready to go?”
“Yes. At least I think I am. This isn’t too scary a costume, is it? I wouldn’t want to give anyone the creeps.”
“It should be fine, Fluttershy,” Grape said kindly. “It’s not bad at all, honest. I’m here to pick you up. You know, because you’re probably still a little weak.”
“Oh I appreciate it. Doctor Crabapple came by earlier and said I should be ok in another day or so. So, I guess these nice ponies won’t have to worry about me then. They’ve been so sweet.”
“Good to know. I’ve got the cart outside. The lads will keep an eye on things, I’m sure… And maybe head back to their friends and families,” Grapes said with a slight smirk.
“Thank you for inviting me to the party… and offering to let me watch from a well-lit and safe distance.”
“Well you were a part of the whole calamity, Fluttershy,” Grapes said as they walked outside to the cart. “Didn’t want you to feel left out.”
Short Round placed a small stepladder at the base of the wagon and extended a hoof to assist Fluttershy climbing into the back. He then bowed politely and returned to the house, where the rest of the stallions all waved happily to her.
“Thank you, Sour Grapes.” she said waving to her temporary workers before settling in on the flat of the wagon. “I know I don’t really like Nightmare Night but it’s nice to be part of the group when they’re having fun.”
“Didn’t want Twilight to completely miss out on her first Ponyville Nightmare Night,” Grapes observed, as she pulled Fluttershy along. “You’re a light little thing, aren’t you?”
“Well, I am a Pegasus. We’re often lighter than we seem. But you do work very hard on your Vineyard so maybe I seem even lighter because you work with many heavy things,” Fluttershy observed thoughtfully.
“Hm. True,” Grapes said, as they trotted along. On the way, they met Stormfront who was hitched to the large farm cart, Rarity and Rainbow Dash riding in back, Scootaloo and Sweetiebelle riding in front. The one foal had done her best to look like her big sister Rarity, complete with the unique color and curls of her mane and tail, Scootaloo on the other hand was deep in the land of heroine worship by somehow succeeding in gaining the same colors as her Rainbow Dash. “Got our other guests, Stormy? Er… Rainbow Dash? Is that you?”
Rainbow Dash was dressed in the most un-Dashlike way. Upon her head was a large brimmed light-purple bonnet with a pink band. Around her neck was an orange cashmere scarf. She smiled in the most demure manner and fluttered her suddenly long eyelashes at Sour Grapes. “Why Sour Grapes, DAH-Link. Iz zat you? Oh how MAH-velous to see you again so soon. Why I just got back from ze country club where we were speaking of tonight’s little… soiree.” Grapes blinked, then began to absolutely HOWL with laughter.
“Yes,” Rarity said, in obvious pain. “Yes it is. Oh for the love of Celestia, if it wasn’t Nightmare Night, that would be SUCH an affront to couture…” Even Fluttershy was giggling at the scene. Quietly, of course, as per her nature. “Must… resist… urge… to correct crimes against fashion....”
“Oh My dearest Rarity.” Dash said gently teasing her hair. “You say such delightfully humorous things. You know zat although I don’t always dress to kill, Rainbow Dash ALWAYS dresses in STYLE!”
“... You just had to dress as Princess Luna, didn’t you Rarity?” Grapes uttered with a snerk. “Though I have to admit, you do look good. And, of course, you’d have access to coat dye that can wash out with a good shampooing.”
“Wait… there’s a SPECIAL dye for that?” Scootaloo said before looking at Sweetiebelle and the two saying “Uh Oh” in unison.
“Yes, there’s a special dye for that, Scootaloo. Why, what did you use to get that rather lovely cyan hue?” Grapes asked.
Scootaloo hung her head and mumbled softly. Sweetiebelle was a little clearer.
“Food dye.”
“Okay. That’s not so bad. Clothes dye would have been worse, honestly, but you’re not going to have a bad reaction from food coloring,” Grapes said nodding. “However, it’s going to to take more than a good shampooing to get it all out. More like several. Sooo… yeah.”
“Oh Sweetiebelle,” Rarity sighed, shaking her head.
“Well it DID say Non-Toxic,” Sweetiebelle said in her defense.
“Yes but well… we could have found some Mane dye together and skipped the next few baths,” Rarity said with a smile.
“I… uh… wanted to surprise you, Rarity,” Sweetiebelle said sheepishly.
“Well this shall be a surprise to mother and father, will it not?” Rarity observed
“I guess so. Maybe the spa ladies know a way to speed it up?” Sweetiebelle suggested.
“Good thinking. We shall speak with them on the matter at first opportunity,” Rarity said clopping her hooves with glee. Grapes just had to chuckle, and saw Applejack being carted over to the Vineyard by Big Mack, both in costume.
“Ah ain’t helpless, Mac!”
“Eeyup.”
“Ah coulda walked, easy peasy!”
“Enope.”
“Yer just gettin’ me back fer fillin’ alla silos with apples, ain’t ya?”
“Eeyup.”
“Well didja have to bring me over in Applebloom’s wagon? I feel like a durn fool.”
“Eeyup.”
“That better be about bringin’ me in the wagon and not me being a fool.”
“Hmmmmaybe?”
“It probably is, sis, ‘cause the lil wagon’s bout like tha big’un. They’s both in mighty rough shape after yer… episode,” Applebloom observed.
“Howdy, cousins. Ready for the party? I feel like we forgot somepony...” Grapes mused.
“Nope dopey!” Pinkie said popping out from under Fluttershy’s sheet, causing the demure yellow pegasus to squeak in surprize.
“... I’m not going to ask,” Grapes deadpanned, and turned into the vineyard with her cargo. Sirocco came out, and bowed elaborately to Fluttershy.
“We have the kitchen set up, nice and brightly lit, so you would be comfortable, Miss Fluttershy,” she said in her exotic accent.
“Oh, thank you very much. Nightmare Night has always been like porcupine… interesting and pleasant looking but in the end something I would rather give a respectable distance.”
“Still, it’s great having you here,” Grapes said as she unhitched herself, and looked at Pinkie, who’s hair sported at a jaunty angle on top of her noggin… a paper cone. “Hmm… Cotton candy, right?”
“Yepperooni! I didn’t have time to fix a really good costume, so I improvised,” Pinkie giggled turning herself upside down so everypony could see her costume at the right angle..
“It’s clever,” Grapes said with a nod. There was the sound of a throat clearing, and Grapes turned to find Zecora standing at her gate.
“I hope I do not find you in a bind, but I thought I’d be here, if you do not mind,” she said with a polite bow. “My being a friend to the town is somewhat new, and would rather be with a chosen few.”
“Don’t mind at all, Zecora,” Grapes said with a bow. “It’d be wonderful to have you here.”
“Aw shoot. Is that you there Zecora?” Applejack said craning her neck from her position in the little red wagon. “Sorry we plum forgot about you during our whole time getting ready for tonight. Took us long enough to say howdy to you in the first place, makes us look bad for not sendin’ out an invite now.”
“It is all right, I do not mind. It was through Crabapple I did find that Grapes is holding a small soiree. Hearing about it, I figured, ‘what the hay’?” Zecora said with a shrug, then blinked, and stared in the direction of the only male in the group. “Oh… my goodness. Please forgive my stare, but is that Big Mac under there?”
All eyes turned to where Big Macintosh stood. His normally scarlet and straw coloring covered in black and white theatrical mane dye to a startlingly vibrant series of Zebra Stripes. He suddenly looked uncomfortable and bowing his head spoke the only thing he could in the circumstance.
“Eeyup?”
“Do not be so shy, it can be true that stripes in fact look good on you. Or you in stripes, there’s nothing to mend. I assure you that you did not offend.” she moved closer and placed a curious hoof on his strong leg with a chuckle. “So many ways you could have gone, many right, so many wrong. But here’s the truth, as I hear tell… whether black or white… you wear it well.”
Big Mack scuffed a hoof, blushing. “Shucks…” he uttered.
Rarity giggled “Good heavens! You managed to get him to say a new word. You are astounding Miss Zecora.”
“Oh, Mac talks jus’ fine. Just don’t like ta show off,” Applejack said with a nod, as she carefully got off the wagon. “Not everypony needs twenty-bit words t’ get their point ‘cross.”
“I’m well aware of that, Applejack, darling,” Rarity said, turning then froze at the sight of Aye Jay in braids.
“Nice costume, Rares,” Applejack said with a smile. “Princess Luna, like we saw ‘er at the old castle, right?”
“Er… Yes…” Rarity uttered, then cleared her throat. “You… Your mane looks good like that…”
“Why thank you. Pain in tha tail to get it like this, truth be told. Fancy unicorn magic woulda been handy, when Ah was braidin’ it, but it makes mah Filly Nelson costume all the better knowin’ the work ah put into it.” Aye Jay said with a chuckle.
“Of of course. Er… Would you like some punch? I’m suddenly feeling quite parched,” Rarity asked, sidling away from her friend.
“That sounds right nice, thank you kindly, sugarcube,” Applejack replied. As soon as the elegant unicorn was out of earshot, Aye Jay slumped shaking her head. “Lordy mercy, Rares looked awful good, like that…”
“Eeyup,” Mac said casually.
“An’ don’t you say nothin’ to Sour, y’hear? She’ll tease me inta next week, ifin’ she found out ah said that!” Applejack grumbled, glaring at her brother. Mac, knowing better than to say anything, simply held up his forehooves in a mollifying gesture. They turned to see Twilight make her careful way out of the farmhouse, dressed in Reneighsance garb, with pouches of crystals hanging from her belt.
“Hey, everypony!” she said tottering over to give her friends a hug each in turn. “It’s so nice to see you all!” This lead to the five outside greeting Twilight, hugging her, and commiserating with her about being indisposed due to high test tea. A few moments later, Grapes came out, dressed in her Nightmare Night finery.
“Holy hay, she’s wearin’ a costume!” Applejack declared sounding surprised.
“Why is that so surprising?” Twilight asked.
“She hadn’t worn a costume since she was a foal,” Aye Jay replied. Twilight looked at her borrowed costume in surprise, amazed that it fit so well. “So, cuz, who are s’posed to be?”
“Gracious Spirit, the discoverer of fermentation,” Grapes replied.
“How… appropriate,” Rarity observed, chuckling.
******************************************************
Grapes nudged Applejack to the front of the crowd. She stood next to her as they watched the spectacle that could only have been Firestormer.
Up on stage was a glowing green Pony skeleton with horns that must have at one time belonged to a longhorn steer. It bore a beat-up stetson hat and rattled about in bright glowing orange shackles as it all but danced across the stage. Laughing maniacally it took deep draughts from unmarked glass bottles and belched gouts of blue, green and red fire into the air. It was only during those moments that one could see the skintight black cloth that made up most of the costume. The way the fabric matched the night sky behind him, the illusion was that only the bone-pattern of the phosphorescent paint could be seen making for a wonderful bit of stage-magic.
The crowd oohed and ahhed at the sight, becoming even more entranced when he pulled a lasso from somewhere and began to twirl it, the length bursting into a ring of green fire as he performed many of the same tricks with it that she had seen Applejack do in the past. She glanced over at her cousin and was surprised to see her ears flat against her head and her posture severely shrunken. It was as if she was scared of the sight, then she smiled and spoke quietly.
“Firestormer’s pretty good, isn’t he?”
“Uh… y-yeah. He is. Can Ah go now?”
“What’s wrong, Aye Jay? Granny’s old stories about the Ghost Galloper coming back to you?” Grapes asked.
“Y-yeah,” Applejack uttered with a heartfelt shiver.
“You know there’s a scary story contest, coming up, later,” Grapes said casually. “You could tell Granny’s stories.”
“So Ah can share tha scares with a new generation?” Applejack asked grinning. “Great idea, cuz.”
“Hey, nothing helps a case of the creeps like spreading it around,” Grapes quipped jovially.
*****************************************************
The Scary Stories contest had been a hit, of course. The classics had been trotted out, naturally, the Slendermare, the Olden Pony, the Headless Horse. Applejack shared the story of the Ghost Galloper, making the ponies there, gasp, then look at Firestormer who had played the part earlier and had yet to remove his costume. Earshot, though, scared everybody with the scary stories from his homeland. The Mad Baker’s Basement, The Color Collection Contraption, The Tale of the “Unmarked”… It almost looked like Earshot, who ironically was dressed as a literary vampony, had wrapped up the contest, when Scootaloo asked something that would change the whole event.
“Hey, Miss Grapes, do you have any scary stories?”
“Not really, Scootaloo,” Grapes said with a shrug. Earshot then grinned.
“You could tell us about the Nightmare Moon statue!” he declared. Grapes chuckled.
“Really? It’s not that scary,” she demurred.
“Well, yeah, Auntie Grapes, but at least ya tried!” Applebloom declared happily.
“Okay,” Grapes said then looked thoughtful. “Over a thousand years ago, as you all know, Princess Luna grew resentful of her sister, and how the little ponies froliced during the day, and slept through her beautiful night. When her resentment and jealousy became so much it made her forget her love for her sister, the power of those negative emotions overwhelmed her, and transformed her into Nightmare Moon.”
“Wait a minute,” Sweetiebelle said. “So… no spell was cast on her? No possession? Nothing but her being jealous of Princess Celestia is how she became Nightmare Moon?”
“That’s right, Sweetiebelle,” Grapes said nodding. “Now as any unicorn knows, magic is the tool we use to interact with the world, but it’s affected by emotions. Princess Luna was a powerful user of Dark Magic, which is powered by the night, and the moon and stars. It’s especially susceptible to negative emotions, and can cause a pony who loses control to do some horrible things, and give in to their most negative of desires. Something may have caused a rift between the sisters, causing them not to talk as sisters and friends are wont. If they had talked, I’m sure Princess Celestia and Princess Luna would have come up with something. Even then, the little ponies were discovering the night held wonders, after all.
As it turned out, Luna was transformed into Nightmare Moon, and the battle for dominance of the sky was longer than any legends ever tell. From ancient journals, and writings, the night lasted for over a month, both sides fighting hard, and losing many loyal followers. Yes, there were night ponies among Luna’s entourage, but they weren't Luna’s entire court, no matter what later ponies wrote. While this was going on, some of the more unscrupulous nobles decided to live out some of their darker fantasies with their servants… which caused a small exodus to… well.. here. A small mixed shanty-town of fleeing servants who chose to live away from their cruel noble masters, and as the night kept going, doubts crept into the hearts of ponies about who would win the battle.
“So a sculptor, in an effort to bribe the possible new tyrant of Equestria, made the statue of Nightmare Moon in her full frightening glory. It’s not known what Nightmare Moon thought of the sculpture, and it’s possible we’ll never know. What we do know is that the appeasement ritual, you carry on with your candies, is a holdover from those ancient ponies who came here. Princess Celestia eventually won, and the ponies who fled here went directly to her, bringing their grievances to her ears, and causing the abusive nobles to be arrested and jailed. New laws about the treatment of servants were enacted, and the servants who came to Princess Celestia became the palace servants, whose descendants are, to this day, fiercely loyal to our solar diarch.
“So, my little colts and fillies, it’s true you’ll experience negative emotions. Just don’t let them rule you. They can transform somepony, even without Dark Magic, into somepony else entirely, and you could end up doing things you’ll regret.” The Cutiemark Crusaders gazed up at Grapes with wide eyes, then at each other, as did Earshot.
“Ah think you’ve won it, Auntie Grapes,” Applebloom said. Grapes raised an eyebrow.
“But it wasn’t…” Grapes started.
“It’s scary, because what happened to Princess Luna could happen to ANYpony,” Scootaloo said shivering.
“Ask Miss Cheerilee, it has happened to a lot of ponies, in history,” Grapes said soberly. This caused the young fillies to look at each other again with wide eyes.
“So… yeah, you won, Miss Grapes,” Sweetiebelle said.
“Yeah. That even scared me,” Earshot uttered, who sounded amazed.
With the contest part over with, Summer Squall broke out some of his old tales from around the world. Grapes looked around, and the party seemed to have grown quite a bit. Grapes, privately, hoped that Mayor Mare wouldn’t be too… oh there she is listening to Squall. Guess she wouldn't be too cheesed off about the party moving here, if she was listening to Squall’s stories about big hairy giants that scare little fillies. What?
*****************************************************
“Can you believe mister Squall’s story?” Diamond Tiara snorted “Honestly... who believes in big hairy giants who live just to scare little ponies. It’s absurd!”
“Absolutely.” sneered Silver Spoon as she trotted along side of her cohort. “I’ve never heard anything so far fetched in my life.”
“Hey... you. Little fillies,” a deep voice spoke to them. “I’m a little lost. Can you tell me if this is the way to Grapevine Hills?”
“Mmm? Oh yeah. It’s behind us. Just follow the stink of bad storytelling. But don’t expect the party to still be going on. They were just getting ready to close down.”
“Oh that’s all right. I was just dropping by to say hello to an old friend.”
“Really?” she asked now peering at the shaggy shape in the shadows. It moved slightly and a light from above illuminated it as a very large, very hairy foot.
The two fillies stopped and looked up the hairy leg attached to the foot, and higher and higher until they realised that there, above the treetops was a massive skinny ape-like creature rolling a cigar the size of a log between it’s fingers, the lit end illuminating the area in a cherry-red light. It’s massive eyes rolled in their sockets to focus on them and a mouth as wide as a haycart smiled massive white teeth, each the size of a tombstone at them.
Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon clung to one another for a moment, shrieking in terror before galloping for town with all the speed they could muster. The Kapre laughed and taking a few puffs on it’s cigar renewed it’s stride to Grapevine Hills.
“That never gets old.”
*****************************************************
“All right. Guess it’s time for everypony to head back home,” Grapes said, looking up at the moon, being about at its midway point in the sky. “There’s morning chores, and school to go to, and all sorts of other things. Fluttershy, if you want, you can stay in my other guest room, until morning. Your entourage should be able to care for your critters, until you get home.”
“Oh, thank you, Grapes. I didn't think I could make it, you know, by myself,” Fluttershy said demurely. Twilight yawned, and stretched a bit.
“Yeah. Any kind of exhaustion is no joke,” she muttered.
“Tell me about it, darling,” Rarity uttered.
“Hey, you an’ Dash wanna stay over at our place? Got a couple of spare rooms y’all can use,” Applejack offered.
“Thank you, darling,” Rarity said smiling. “It’ll save good Mister Stormfront from carting us back into town.”
“Just bein’ a good friend is all,” Applejack said, scuffing a hoof. Grapes smirked at her cousin, who just eyerolled.
“It was well and truly grand, I must say. All in all,I had a wonderful stay,” Zecora said with a smile. “Now I must trot back to my home. Thankfully I did not have far to roam. Please don’t mind me, it won’t be a lark to find my way home, well after dark. I know the woods well, and my path is laid out, but if I need help, I know I need but shout.”
“It was great having you, Zecora. Feel free to stop by again,” Grapes said warmly. Zecora smiled, and trotted back toward the Everfree. With that everypony went their separate ways, heading into their guest quarters for the night. It had been an enjoyable evening, but now everypony just wished for everything to return to normal… Well what passed for normal in Ponyville.