Chapter 26
Over the next couple of weeks, things had gone exceptionally well for me. Rose and I had many successful dates in both Ponyville and Canterlot. Rose always seemed to prefer the Canterlot dates, while I preferred the simplicity of Ponyville. I just liked the quiet and the calm more than the hustle and bustle.
Rose also seemed to have enjoyed spending time inside the palace. Something about having servants serving your every beck and call seemed to appeal to her. I couldn’t really fault her, it is pretty awesome. When she would visit, we would spend hours in the gardens and just talk.
We just seemed to keep growing closer. Rose even invaded my dreams at night, sometimes making breakfast with Luna very uncomfortable. I only wish we could share more days in each other’s company. Sadly, though the trip between Ponyville and Canterlot wasn’t extreme, it also wasn’t exactly a short jaunt. Still, we made do.
Once or twice, we even really made do. That first time had been… embarrassing. I’ll admit to not being any good or even having lasted all that long, but the next time, I was marginally better. The worst part was the five showers, two baths and one dip in the river afterward to make sure Celestia couldn’t smell what I had been up to.
But that was all unimportant, for today was Nightmare Night. Long ago, it nothing more than a simple harvest festival. One last hurrah before ponies started to batten down the hatches and prepare for the approaching winter. It also served as one last chance for single mares and stallions to mingle before the fall estrus. There was even some clubs in the bigger cities that helped those ponies by having ‘adults only’ costume parties, or so I’ve heard.
After the fall of Nightmare Moon, the harvest festival had become a way for all of Equestria to celebrate her defeat, similar to the Summer Sun Celebration. The difference being that the Summer Sun Celebration was to honor Celestia and her victory, Nightmare Night was to show Nightmare Moon respect. In truth, the whole thing had been started by Celestia in the hopes that, if her sister ever returned from the moon, ponies wouldn’t be so afraid. Over the years, it evolved into the costumes and candy tradition that we know today.
I have always loved this time of year. I loved it all the more because it reminded me of Earth. You see, we had a holiday called Halloween, and it was almost identical to Nightmare Night. I can still remember my mother cutting eyeholes in an old bed sheet so I could pretend to be a ghost. Then my mother and father walked me around the neighborhood to do what we called ‘trick-or-treating’ and gather candy. It is one of the few clear memories I have of my old world.
“Nephew! Art thou not prepared yet?” Luna asked as she bounced around my chambers. “This night comes but once a year and I long to see thy friends.”
“Aunt Luna,” I held her head in my hands and looked into her eyes, “I know you’re excited, but you need to calm down. You’re slipping into your old mannerisms again.” Luna smiled, blushed and nodded. “Alright, now let me grab my bag and we can head out.”
“For goodness sake, Luna, you’re acting like a two-hundred year old filly again,” Celestia teased. “Though she does have a point, Honey.”
“I know, Mom, and I’m ready now.”
“Excellent!” Luna cheered.
There was a blinding flash of light and Luna was gone. “Give her a second,” Celestia said as she rolled her eyes.
Another flash of light and she was back. “*Hehe* I apologize. I forgot how much power it takes to teleport you. Perhaps with your help, Sister,” Luna hinted.
Celestia giggled. “Of course, Luna.”
There was yet another flash and I was suddenly standing next to Luna’s Chariot. She didn’t use it very often since it came across as mildly terrifying, especially when it was being pulled by her night guard. I made sure to greet both the guards on duty and thanked them for volunteering to take us into Ponyville. It was true that every guard who ever pulled a royal chariot was paid extra, but it was also always a volunteer assignment.
Since we wouldn’t be arriving until after dark, I decided it would be best to change in the chariot. I had chosen a favorite from my world, a werewolf. A creature that changes from its original form into a half-wolf hybrid under certain circumstances, normally a full moon. I thought that, since Luna was going to go as Nightmare Moon, it would be fun to go as her minion, and what better minion than a murderous creature who only appears at night and is brought forth by the moon?
“Your costume choice is most disturbing, Nephew.”
“Thanks?”
“That was your goal was it not?”
“Oh~, that was a compliment.” Luna nodded. “Yeah, I decided, that since this was my first real Nightmare Night, that I should go all out. Besides, this costume compliments your Nightmare Moon getup perfectly. Speaking of which, aren’t you going to change?”
“Ah, one moment.” Luna’s eyes glowed and she increased in size ‘til she was on par with Celestia. At the same time, her fur turned to an almost black color and her cutie mark turned purple. Once the physical were complete, she pulled out a set of fake fangs and put them in her mouth. “What do you think?”
“I think it shows a lot of dedication to your subjects that you’re willing to change into a monster that caused you so much heartache simply for their entertainment.”
“You truly are your mother’s son.” Luna leaned in and nuzzled me. It was unusual to have somepony other than Celestia who was tall enough to reach my face without stretching, and even more strange to have it be one of the most feared entities in the last fifteen hundred years.
“Is that good or bad?”
Luna giggled. “It is great. Now, let’s get you to the planned hiding place.”
The plan had been laid out and I knew my part. The chariot swung low enough for me to safely jump out and land without injury. Once on the ground, I made my way over to the Nightmare Moon statue and hid in the bushes. Once again, the training I received from Gurfon came in handy, I’d have to thank him the next time he came by the palace.
Fortunately, I didn’t have to wait too long. Out came all the foals and their parents led by Zecora telling them all the legend about Nightmare Night and why they had to give up their candies. The moment they did, Luna sprung into action.
Clouds swirled and blocked out the light from the moon. Thunder and lightning filled the air as a strange breeze blew through the clearing.
“Citizens of Ponyville! You were wise to bring this candy to me. I am pleased with your offering. So pleased that I may just eat it... instead of eating you!” There were screams from the foals and even some laughter from the older ponies who had seen the performance before. “Unfortunately for you all, my pet,” that was my cue. I sprung out from behind my hiding place, extended my arms with my clawed hands palm up. I reared back and howled to the shrouded moon, “is not so easily appeased!”
I growled and snarled, letting slobber (courtesy of the fake fangs kicking my salivary glands into overtime) fling from my mouth. The foals all screamed and ran for their parents, who were all only doing marginally better. When I saw Twilight, I couldn’t help myself. I pounced and scooped her up in my arms and took off into the woods. All the while I could just hear Luna laughing over Twilight’s screams. She was all the more scared when she couldn’t use her magic on me.
“Relax, Twi, it’s your cousin.” She immediately stopped squirming and screaming and looked into my eyes. I winked and howled as loud as I could. “Your turn.” Twilight smiled and screamed at the top of her lungs. “A little warning next time, Twi.” I grimaced and set her down so I could rub my ears.
“Sorry. So, what’s the big idea?”
“What? A guy can’t have fun on his first Nightmare Night?”
Twilight giggled. “I suppose that’s fair. But seriously, whose idea was this?”
“Mine.”
“Well you could have let me in on it.”
“What, and ruin all the fun? Besides, you can’t act to save your life.”
She sulked while I laughed. Overhead, Luna’s chariot slowly lowered for us to board. Once seated, we were brought back into town.
Right after we landed, we were greeted by Luna, who was back to normal, and a couple of our friends, Pinkie and Rainbow Dash. They both seemed to have enjoyed to show.
“That was so awesome!” Rainbow Dash said. “I mean, you scared the hay out of m-… a lot of ponies.”
“Yeah! You should have seen everypony quaking in their horseshoes!” Pinkie added. “I mean, it took Dashie a full fifteen seconds to calm down enough to try find you guys!”
“Hey! I wasn’t scared!” Dash defended. “Well, at least it wasn’t a full fifteen seconds.”
Luna giggled at the antics of the two mares. “True, Rainbow Dash was very eager to try to save you, Twilight Sparkle. In fact, if I hadn’t stopped her, she may very well have tried to injure you, Nephew.”
“Heh, she could try,” I teased, “but we all know who that would end.”
“C’mon, don’t forget I got a hit in on you before.” Rainbow was clearly flustered. It was kind of cute.
“Yes you did, and a good one too.” I tussled her mane a bit.
“Wait, you hit Christopher?” Luna glared a warning to Rainbow, who let it fly right over her head.
“It’s okay, Aunt Luna. We were sparring and it was my idea. She managed to knock the wind out of me, that’s all.”
“He’s totally fine,” Rose called out as she approached. “I’ve checked.”
“Mm-hmm.” Luna got in close to Rose’s face. “You do realize that he is my nephew right?”
Rose dropped into a bow. “My apologies, Princess. I meant no disrespect.”
“You may rise, Roseluck. In the future, though, be more mindful of what you say and to whom. My sister does not like jokes about her son.”
“Thank you, Princess. I will keep that in mind.” Rose stood back up and casually stepped behind me. I could feel her trembling a little.
“Relax, Luna hasn’t hurt anypony in over a thousand years and I certainly won’t let her start with you. And, Aunt Luna, I know you’re used to different customs, but she wasn’t insulting me and she certainly wasn’t implying I was a stud or anything like that.” Rose smiled at me as I scratched behind her ear. “By the way, I love your costume.” It was a blood red dress that reach her hooves in the back with a window for the tail and a slit all the way up her right hip. Couple that with the tight bun her hair was in with a pin shaped like a rose and I was digging it, big time.
Luna sighed. “You are right, of course. Roseluck, I apologize for my behavior.”
“I-it’s okay, Princess.”
“Please, call me Luna.”
“Alright, L-Luna.”
“Good, now that we’re all friends, we can go and have some fun. Also, AJ, I am in desperate need of an apple fritter.”
In case you were wondering, the other mares were also wearing costumes, except for Luna. Twilight went as a witch. Applejack was an apple with her tail done up like a worm. Rainbow Dash had gone as Commander Hurricane. Pinkie Pie was a chicken, which I was told was the costume from the previous year. When I asked her about it, she told ‘you don’t mess with success’.
After the five apple fritters found their way down my gullet, courtesy of Auburn, Luna, Twilight, Rose and I went about enjoying the festival. We went through all the haunted houses, which didn’t scare anypony. Luna beat us all at all of the games except for the spider-toss, Being able to throw over my shoulders allowed me to be a lot more precise with my throws.
What really made my night was when we came across Sandy and little Jasmine. Sandy told me that she had gotten a job working for Carrot Top at her vegetable stall, and Jasmine had made a bunch of friends at school. The bonus was how cute Jasmine looked in her teddy bear costume.
Sadly, the hour was late and it was time to return home. Luna and I walked to her chariot, escorted by Twilight and Rose. When we arrived, I gave both the guards one of the apple fritters I had purchased for them and stowed the pumpkin cake I got for Celestia. While the guards enjoyed their snacks, Luna and I said our goodbyes.
“Twilight Sparkle, it was a pleasure seeing you, as always. I do hope you come to visit us in Canterlot soon.” Luna nuzzled Twilight affectionately.
“Of course, Luna. I’m glad you had such a good time. Give Celestia my regards and look after Chris for me.”
“You know I’m an adult right?” I informed with a deadpan expression.
“Yeah, but you still need supervision sometimes.” She stuck her tongue out at me before breaking into a fit of laughter.
“Whatever. At least Rose treats me like an adult. Isn’t that right?”
Rose reared up on her back legs and hugged me. “That’s right, Chris, you’re a big boy and don’t need a foalsitter anymore.” She laughed at my fake pout and gave me a chaste kiss.
After everyone was done laughing, we said our real goodbyes and Luna and I took off for home. The whole way back, we shared anecdotes of our favorite parts of the evening while I changed out of my costume.
“I am glad you came with me, Christopher, it made tonight so much more enjoyable.”
“I’m glad we got to go together too. I had so much fun and it isn’t often I get to see you enjoying yourself like this. Though I have one question, all night long, you were calling me ‘Nephew’. Why? I mean, there’s nothing wrong with it, it’s just that you normally call me by name.”
“Well… I must confess that I did that to protect you.”
“I see. You figured that by making sure everypony knew that, since I was your nephew, messing with me meant they’d be messing with the crown directly.”
“Yes, that is right. Please don’t be cross with me.”
“No, I'm not cross with you, Aunt Luna. You were only trying to do what you felt was best for my well-being and I can’t be mad about that. Though I don’t think I have anything to fear from the ponies of Ponyville. I’ve spent a lot of time there and they all know me. Plus, I’ve managed to make good friends and even got myself a girlfriend. Still,” I wrapped my arms around Luna and hugged her close, “thank you for trying to help. I love you.”
“I love you too, Christopher.”
And that was my first Nightmare Night festival.