The chariot swooped over our heads, making a long pass over the town. I’d always favoured Luna’s gothic style chariot over Celestia’s. I never really bought into all that gold and baubles. At the head of the contraption were two of the Lunar Guard’s famous Thestrals, or bat ponies as some preferred to call them. Even at their altitude, their golden eyes could be seen clearly as they searched for a suitable spot. Finally, in an excellent display of piloting skills, the chariot wheeled around and came to a hover just above the square. Its occupant then disembarked.
She floated down to the ground, using her large wings to glide and sideslip. It looked as if she was drifting down, like a leaf. She was just as tall as Celestia, though of course, her coat was black instead of Celestia’s white. Her head was encased in a blue helmet, clearly not an ornate piece of ceremony; but something intended for battle. Similar armour was around her chest and hooves, each baring the symbol of the moon. Her illusion spell had come a long way. She’d even got the eyes right this time.
“I am Nightmare Moon!” Luna bellowed, her false fangs glinting in the moonlight. “If you ponies wish to live to see the sun rise you shall appease my wrath with an offering!” The dark alicorn cackled manically then flared her horn and vanished in a teleport. Silence prevailed.
“Right, so, what was that now?” my father asked hesitantly,
“What, weren’t you listening?” I replied, a grin on my face. “That was Nightmare Moon, the alter ego of Princess Luna. Legend says that on this night she breaks free of her prison and looks for ponies to consume. So, we put on a disguise to protect ourselves and appease her with an offering.”
“So, should we be worried?” asked Mum half concerned, I couldn’t help but laugh a little.
“No, it’s all a bit of fun. It’s really Luna with a disguise spell; the foals give her candy that’s all. She’ll be back in a minute I expect, she enjoys talking with the ponies here.” My parents both remained slightly befuddled. “Just take the foals to that statue out by the forest. Luna will give them a little scare and then they can all come back here.”
Hesitantly, my parents headed off with a large group of foals. Even after being here for over a month, they were still not fully acclimated to the strange way Equestria worked. They understood that it was all just for fun, I think. But with only a limited knowledge of history to hand, and a strange and somewhat frightening alicorn turning up on their doorstep, I suppose tonight would be a little unsettling.
With most of the colts and fillies, as well as few of the adults now off taking offerings to Nightmare Moon, Ponyville was significantly quieter. That meant shorter lines for all the game stalls. Very quickly, Applejack and I decided we’d go and have a bat. I certainly wouldn’t mind trying my hoof at launching a massive pumpkin through the air.
The games were set up not too far from the library. Aside from the square, it was one of the few places in town that had a large amount of space around it. Set up on what could possibly be called the library’s front lawn, were the pumpkin catapults. About thirty feet down range were the targets, each one about the size of the pumpkin.
“Well, AJ, fancy a few flings?” I asked.
“Sure, Sugarcube,” she replied. “It’s been ages since ah’ve had a go at this.”
We each trotted up to one of the large catapults. The pony operating the devices would calibrate the launchers for us. On command, we could alter the direction, power and elevation of the launcher. In effect, it was a very simplistic artillery platform. At first, you might see this as somewhat wasteful too; all those pumpkins being smashed to bits. It actually was quite a money maker though, as it allowed the pumpkins to be broken up into more manageable pieces that helped to make the many foodstuffs.
Applejack was surprisingly skilled. I suppose all those games she plays with Apple Bloom when they’re doing their chores together had improved her aim. My ability though, left something to be desired. We each had five goes to land our pumpkins on the target. When we had finished, Applejack’s target was almost beaten flat, having taken five direct hits. Mine though was still standing; the whole area around the target was covered with pumpkin remains, but not a bit had reached the actual target.
“Dammit,” I muttered irritably at my inability.
“Well, well. And here was me thinking a pony who lived in a barn could at least hit the broadside of one,” said a voice. I didn’t need to turn around; I’d recognise the voice of that slippery serpent anywhere. And here was I hoping he would leave us alone for a while.
“Discord,” I said, irritation clear in my voice.
“Oh my, this is precious,” he continued, sidling about me. “I’d say that’s most of your ego down the drain, Blade Star.” He chuckled to himself.
“My ego is perfectly fine,” I replied, gritting my teeth. “And at least it isn’t overinflated, unlike some folks ah know.”
“Oh you wound me, dear boy,” he countered. “You haven’t even looked at my costume yet. Love your impersonation of crystal-for-brains by the way.”
Sighing to myself, I turn to face my chaotic tormentor. He was indeed in disguise, of sorts. For the most part, he appeared quite normal. At least as normal as the spirit of chaos can be. But strapped to his lion paw was a large light bulb and around his waist was, well a lampshade.
“You’re one of those stupid lamps?” I asked incredulously.
“They can’t be stupid if they sell well, Blade Star.” He stuck his serpentine tongue out at me. At this point, Applejack, having returned from paying the carny, intervened.
“Discord, what the hay are you doin’ here?” she demanded. Discord turned to look at her. His eyes immediately lidded and he smiled.
“My, my, Applejack, don’t you look enticing tonight. As for what I’m doing here, merely a night on the town,” he said, wiggling his eyebrows and sidling around her. That was enough for me. I grabbed the Draconequus by the shoulder and dragged him down to look me in the eye.
“That’s enough, Discord!” I snapped angrily. “Now go and bother somepony else and leave us in peace!” While I may find Discord’s more tame pranks amusing, I do have my limits. Discord though, once again, had a trollish smile on his face.
“Oh, I see how it is,” he said quietly, ensuring Applejack would not overhear us. “So it’s the country bumpkin rather than the little princess you’ve fallen for is it?” He chuckled to himself. I went to punch the smug twit and fetch that lone fang out for him. Unfortunately, still cackling, he teleported away before it had a chance to connect. In anger I fired off the last of my pumpkins. And wouldn’t you know it, it landed dead centre.
I was incredibly close to just snapping then and there. Reformed or not, I still wanted to rearrange Discord’s face. But then, I felt a hoof on my shoulder.
“Whoa, easy Blade Star, easy,” Applejack said, her voice was soothing and helped restore my temper somewhat. I took a couple of steady breaths before replying.
“Sorry, ‘Jack,” I said. “It’s just that dang Discord really knows how to get under my skin.” She smiled reassuringly.
“That no good sidewinder’s always doin’ that. You just gotta ignore him. What’s got you so mad anyway?”
I was about to reply before I stopped myself. I was mad at him for making comments about Applejack. What did that mean? Was I getting worse? In any case, I couldn’t tell AJ that; it would tip my hoof and knacker my whole plan.
“It’s nothin’, AJ,” I replied, hoping she wouldn’t inquire further. “Come on let’s get our prizes.”
In an attempt to take my mind off of Discord’s irritating antics, I got a prize for Applejack. Just to be nice, not that I was being romantic or anything. She’d done the same thing; her prize, a colouring book, was going to Apple Bloom. I’d seen her eying that stuffed Manticore, so I thought ‘why not?’.
“Here you go ‘Jack,” I said as I passed the creature to her. I wish I had been aware of the connotations of such an act. Still, AJ’s blush should have been a hint.
“Oh, thanks, Bones,” she replied, hugging me briefly.
Our brief ‘moment’ was cut off by a number of screaming fillies and colts. A small gaggle of them were bolting away from the forest as fast as their little legs could carry them. Following behind them, my parents were both revelling at the sight. I trotted over to talk to them; I needed something to distract me from Discord’s irritating jabs and my own confusion.
“So, has the evil Nightmare Moon been appeased, or have we lost a few this year?” I asked jokingly.
“I’d say she’s appeased,” my father replied. “Or at the very least weighed down with sweets.” We both laughed a little.
“For a princess, she’s certainly a very good actress,” My mother went on. “I still can’t believe that she was actually like that in the past.” I did my best to hide a grimace. Nightmare Night was all in good fun. But I never liked to contemplate what it actually represented. Still, at least now it was more of a revised version, rather than just enforcing one thousand years of fear and mistrust.
“So where’s Princess Luna got to now then?” Applejack asked.
“Right behind you,” Luna replied. For once I was not the one to get spooked. Instead AJ leapt a foot in the air and fell on her face, the stuffed manticore softening the impact. Luckily, either by restraint or pure luck, she avoided applebucking the Princess of the Night. That would have been awkward. Turning to the Night Princess, I removed my faux crown and bowed.
“Your Highness,” I said.
“Your Majesty,” she countered, mimicking my action. I looked up in surprise. “What? You are a king after all, Blade Star. Technically you outrank me.” She hid a giggle behind a hoof.
“Your elder sister is rubbing off on you, Luna,” I replied jovially. This earned me a pouting Luna, which was positively adorable.
“And I was going to ask if you two would like to join me in some Nightmare Night merriment too.” I know she’s a princess, but the look on her face was still adorable. So naturally, Luna joined me and AJ wandering around the fair.
Luna had clearly been looking forward to tonight all year long it seemed. She was like a filly on Hearth’s Warming, a side of her I hadn’t really seen before. Like all the princesses though, she was still just a pony, and consequently liked to let her mane down every now and again.
We quickly found our way to her most favourite of games; the spider toss. Instantly, my inner brony began spouting off ‘Luna Eclipsed’ references much to my annoyance. I swear, sometimes it is like there’s some sort of sub-personality in my psyche, only it’s like Pinkie Pie.
Both mares accompanying me were excellent shots, I think between them they got no less than a dozen spiders on target. My own aim improved a bit, but I was never much good at throwing things. As for magic though, well my accuracy with that had come on in leaps and bounds. With the little swinging target set Mac and I had made, I’d kept improving my aim whenever I had the chance. Maybe next year I’ll haul it out here and make a stall out of it. Maybe with some of the Apple family’s hard cider as prizes.
As the evening wore on, most of the colts and fillies headed back to their homes, much to Luna’s dismay. Pinkie bounced around anypony she could find, a slightly worrying smile on her face. All the while she chanted the phrase ‘don’t go to sleep’ over and over. Even more worryingly, when we came upon Sugarcube Corner, the entirety of the walls were plastered with, in varying fonts and styles the phrase ‘No friends and no parties make Pinkie a dull pony’ along with the word ‘sekacpuc’. I’ll be honest, that scared me.
“Well, it appears that the celebrations have come to an end,” Luna said, a hint of sadness in her voice. “I had better think about returning to Canterlot, it will not be long now before I must lower the moon.” Over the course of the night, I had watched Luna, as well as AJ enjoy themselves immensely, it seemed a shame to cut everything short simply because the youngsters had gone to bed.
“You know, ah’m sure you could hang around for a couple more hours, Luna. You can be back in Canterlot in half an hour with your two guards. Why don’t you come up to the farmhouse or something? Ah certainly wouldn’t mind a spot of stargazing.” Even with a full moon, the sky was still filled with hundreds of stars. Applejack quickly continued my offer.
“Yeah, Princess, we’d be happy to have you stop by. Bones here spends half the night sittin’ out stargazing out in the quieter parts of the farm. And we’ve still got a fair few of those caramel apples left too.” The promise of free food seemed to sway the Night Princess.
“Very well then, I shall join you. I never have seen your livelihood after all, Applejack.” And so, we headed back towards home.
I’ve said it before. Hay, I may have said it a thousand times, but the world looks truly beautiful in the light of the moon. As we walked through the orchards along the winding path towards home, the three of us were bathed in the lunar light. As ever, it emphasised the princess’ grace and gentleness, but as I looked over to Applejack, I noticed something.
I’m not quite sure how to properly articulate this, so I’ll just say it.
She was beautiful.
Her red dress seemed to flow even more in the moonlight as did her loose blond mane. She seemed to mimic the grace of the princess beside her. I may have once been a human, but I could still see beauty in other beings. I tried to avoid staring as we walked, but I found my eyes continuously being drawn to her. Was this….attraction?
No, no, it couldn’t be. I’d been alive for a little over twenty years. I’d been through High School and University. Not once had a girl turned my head. When I talked with the other guys out of lessons, I’d found a noticeable difference in the way we thought. Unlike them, my eye didn’t dance. I had not, and until that point, was not looking. Yet here, amidst the apple orchards and the moonlight and the gentle breezes, I found myself drawn to the mare. Nothing risqué of course, but I was, noticing her I suppose.
And there was no getting around it. She was beautiful. She was my friend, and according to at least two of my other close friends, she liked me. Was I feeling the beginnings of love? I still was not sure. Much more likely, the fun of the evening was catching up, flooding my brain with various chemicals resulting in this odd feeling. After all, chocolate has been said to mimic the effect. My internal debate was, luckily, cut off as we came upon the farmhouse.
The lights were still on when we got there. Big Mac was just returning from putting the large hauling cart away. That old thing was only ever used for fun or hauling pies and other apple produce unusually long distance. Still, loaded with cheering fillies and colts it was a heavy thing. The stallion looked up as we approached.
“Your servant, Princess,” He said to Luna, touching the fringe of his mane with a hoof. He then turned to his sister. “AJ, you seen Apple Bloom and her friends? They ain’t come back since they headed back to the clubhouse.” Applejack sighed in irritation.
“Ah’ll go look for ‘em,” she replied. “They’re probably still havin’ their little victory party.” The Crusaders had indeed triumphed in the costume contest, much to a certain filly’s chagrin.
“Do you want me to come with you, AJ?” I asked hopefully.
“No, Blade Star, ah can manage those three. You and Big Macintosh look after Princess Luna here ‘till ah get back. Ah’ll just go and get out of this thing and then ah’ll head out.” She then headed into the farmhouse and went upstairs to her room. A short while later she returned, minus her dress and with her Stetson back on her head. She then set off to retrieve the three AWOL fillies. Somewhere in the darker corners of my mind, something whimpered at the fact that she was no longer in that dress.
With Applejack gone, it was just me, Mac and Luna. For the first time in the history of Equestria, males outnumbered females at a social gathering. I cleared my throat, no sense in expecting Mac to get small talk going.
“Well, Luna. Why don’t we have some cider until Applejack returns? Ah’m sure we can spare a barrel, eh Mac?” I looked over to Mac.
“Eeyup,” He replied, and headed down through the cellar door.
And so, with a few glasses of good cider and few caramel apples, we passed the time until Applejack came back with the three wayward Crusaders. With Nightmare Night effectively over for them, they would again be seeking a new special talent to try out. In that sense, their methodology was sound. By a process of elimination, they were bound to find their talent eventually. However, their preference for cool and exciting special talents may have extended the time of their search. It was while thinking about this, that Mac spoke up.
“So, Princess, ah suppose we won’t be seein’ you for a while after tonight,” he said, a trace of sadness clear. “Still, ah’m glad you could stop by, not too often we get guests.” Luna nodded.
“I’m afraid so, I do enjoy stopping by here whenever I can. It makes for a pleasant escape from Canterlot. I must say, it is certainly much clearer out here and…”she paused. “Hold on.”
Rising from her seat, she scrutinised the sky overhead with a practiced eye. By the look on her face she had spotted something amiss.
“Problem, Luna?” I asked. She sighed and cast her horn aglow.
“That thrice damned Vega is drifting again,” she replied, irritation in her tone. “I couldn’t make it out back in Canterlot, but I’ve been receiving complaints from astronomers about its movement for some time.” Carefully she guided the wayward point of light back to its proper place and relaxed again. The two of us looked up in astonishment. I myself could feel the high level magic she had been weaving.
As Luna finished her remarkable display, we heard Applejack and three disgruntled fillies. Amongst the conversation, I picked out AJ berating her sister for staying out so late and the younger Apple responding with a variety of apologies and explanations. All of this stopped though when the group spotted the Night Princess nursing a mug of cider.
After the Crusaders had returned they had spent the intervening time talking with Luna. It wasn’t long though before Rarity and Dash arrived to collect two of the fillies, whilst AJ took Apple Bloom up to bed. It was by now beyond late at night and verging on early in the morning. As Luna’s royal chariot touched down outside the barn, the clock struck five.
“Five o’clock already?” she complained, pawing the dirt with a hoof. “I guess I’ll have to lower the moon from here then.” My inner brony went ballistic yet again. After all, the closest I’d seen Luna manoeuvring the celestial body she commanded had been from Celestia’s balcony when Season 4 began. The other time, I didn’t care to contemplate; she had not been herself.
With her horn alight, Luna raised herself up onto her hind legs, her hooves pounded through the air out of reflex. Very slowly at first, but with increasing speed, the moon began to sink from the sky. In the east a reddish orange glow appeared; the beginnings of the sunrise. Steadily lowing herself back to the ground, Luna sent the moon below the horizon, allowing the sun to rise in the dawn.
As I watched this display though, I felt decidedly uncomfortable. As I watched, the stars steadily vanishing by the light of their larger cousin, a feeling of unease developed in the pit of my stomach. It was almost like fear.
With her task complete, Luna climbed aboard her chariot, which looked decidedly out of place in the dawn sky. Preparing for the distance, she re-summoned her cloak, causing the small colony of bats to reform around her. Wishing us all well, she briefly nodded to the two stallion Thestrals and headed back to Canterlot.
Thus ended my first Nightmare Night in Equestria.