When the play had finally finished, Goggles couldn’t help but sigh with relief, he has had a few challenges in his lifetime but this was cutting it close even for him. After shutting down his console for the night, Goggles waited for the Cutie Mark Crusaders to come out with their wolf costumes so that he could see them off when they go Trick-or-Treating.
“That was awesome!” Scootaloo yelled with joy as all five of them walked away from the stage.
“That has to be the best play we put on since… well ever!” Sweetie Belle added.
“Although ah think you kinda cut it close Goggles,” Apple Bloom pointed out, much to the Gizmonk’s chagrin. “If you had taken just a few minutes longer to fix that console then there probably wouldn’t have been an audience to perform to.”
Goggles sighed at that.
“Don’t remind me,” he said, rubbing his throbbing head. “I’ve had some trick situations and that had to have been one of my least favourites. I was just lucky that…”
Suddenly Goggles stopped in mid-sentence after seeing a certain pink filly dressed up in a Breezy costume, trying to sneak away from the stage. Upon seeing the nervous look upon her face, Goggles turned to the CMC with a stern look upon his face.
“You thinking what I’m thinking?” he asked.
As if reading his very thoughts, all four fillies faces turned to anger and they all nodded simultaneously, knowing full well what Goggles was planning. With the Gizmonk taking the lead, all five of them followed and eventually caught up with Diamond Tiara.
“Well, well, looks like the little heiress decided to show up to the show after all,” Goggles said, causing her to turn her head towards them with shock.
However she quickly caught herself before she could give away any faces that would make her look guilty of anything. Putting on a face that she considered too refined for lowly Blank-Flanks, Diamond Tiara scoffed.
“I don’t have anything to say to the likes of you,” she said turning away and trying to walk off.
However neither Goggles nor the Cutie Mark Crusaders were in the mood for her attitude now, suddenly at that moment Goggles noticed something sticking out of one of the pockets in Diamond Tiara’s costume, something designed to hoard extra candy, no doubt.
“Oh really?” Goggles growled before using his powerful legs to jump over Diamond Tiara, landing in front of her and blocking her path.
With another swift movement, Goggles leaned in towards the filly, stretched out his tail and used it to swipe the object out of Diamond Tiara’s pocket. After quickly recovering from the awe of Goggles’ movements, curiosity began to crawl up over the CMC as they wondered what Goggles had just taken.
“What exactly is that?” Silver Spoon asked, with a raised eyebrow.
Narrowing his own eyes with anger, Goggles answered.
“That my dear, is the missing piece of my console,” he said, circling back around Diamond Tiara to join them. “I think we just found our saboteur.”
Needless to say, no pony was surprised, in fact they had they own suspicions about who did it ever since they discovered the state the console was in, and of course, they all thought of the same culprit. As all five of them looked at her with fury in their eyes, Diamond Tiara on the other hand simply took a deep breath and gave them a sly grin.
“So what if I did do it?” she said sneeringly. “There’s no way you could prove it.”
“Hello! We just found the missing piece on you!” Scootaloo pointed out angrily.
“Something that could have been planted!” Diamond Tiara retorted, still keeping her disrespectful tone. “And besides you can’t prove it was me because I didn’t do it directly, I merely had one of my butlers give your little machine a good beating.”
“And then you stole one of the pieces just for good measure?” Goggles asked, his paw slightly bleeding from tightening his grip on his missing console piece in anger.
“I had to make sure that piece of junk wouldn’t work!” Diamond Tiara snapped. “If I couldn’t be in the play then you losers shouldn’t be able to either!”
And those words, almost everyone felt the need to roll their eyes and face-hoof, can this pony be any pettier.
“You are just unbelievable,” Silver Spoon stated, her words almost filled with venom as she looked upon her ex-friend.
“Oh and what are you gonna do about it, tell on me?” Diamond Tiara scoffed, unaware that someone else had been listening into the conversation. “Who do you think ponies will believe? Me, the fabulously cute heir to the richest pony in town or a bunch of… Cheerilee’s behind me again isn’t she?”
As Diamond Tiara began her rant, she took little notice of the smirks etching their way across Goggles and the CMC’s faces, as their teacher walked up behind her and listened to her words. However since Scootaloo couldn’t help but let out a small laugh, Diamond Tiara’s eyes widened with realisation. As Goggles and the CMC smiled and nodded in answer to her question, Diamond Tiara gulped and turned around, sure enough, there was Miss Cheerilee, dressed up as a Disco Dancer, and glaring down at her with fierce eyes.
“You know, it was stupid enough to confess,” Goggles said, wanting to have the final word. “But it was even more stupid to boast.”
“I… I can explain,” Diamond Tiara pleaded guiltily, but in vain as Cheerilee wasn’t interested in the slightest in what she had to say.
#
After the CMC left to go Trick-or-Treating, Goggles couldn’t help but smile with delight as he sat on the roof of the ice-cream shop and watched Diamond Tiara receive her much deserved punishment. From what he could overhear, the spiteful filly received at least one month’s hard detention from Cheerilee, and would also spend twice as long being grounded by her father, Filthy Rich, much to her mother’s distain, however she was just as spoilt rotten as her daughter was so it was mostly Filthy Rich who dealt out the punishment. With this knowledge in mind, Goggles felt that at least some justice had been served, however Goggles wasn’t going to let things slide just yet, it was one thing to damage his creations, but almost ruining something for his friends too? Goggles was going to have to think of something big to get back at her for that, however that was something to do for another time, for now, it was time to carry on with the rest of the night. After gorging himself on what was left at the snack-table and filling up on Banana Jelly, Goggles then looked under the cloth to see if a certain timid Pegasus was still there, sure enough there she was
“You okay under there Flutters?” he asked the shaking Pegasus.
“Oh fine,” Fluttershy quickly answered, darting her eyes in all directions in fear. “Just fine. The play was fantastic by the way, I must remember to congratulate the girls when I get the chance.”
Seeing Fluttershy all scared like this did not sit well with Goggles, he may have been the one to have convinced her to come outside tonight in the first place, but he wasn’t as heartless to just leave her like this, knowing full well that the main reason she did come out had now passed. Rolling his eyes, he spoke again.
“Do you want me to take you home?” he asked.
As if the words came from heaven itself, Fluttershy’s eyes widened with joy and she quickly grabbed onto Goggles, squeezing him tightly like a Teddy Bear.
“YES PLEASE!” she squealed, not realising that Goggles’ face was turning a darker shade of blue than his fur.
“Flutters!” he gasped. “Can’t… breathe!”
After leading the frightened Pegasus back towards her cottage, though with some effort since she hid behind almost every single bush, decoration and any other form of cover on the way over, Goggles smiled with contentment, if anything else happened after this then it would most likely be second-fiddle to what he had accomplished tonight.
“Well then Fluttershy,” he said, turning towards the Pegasus. “I suppose I’ll see you…”
However Fluttershy had already ran into her cottage, slammed the door shut, and started locking up and barricading whatever opening she could find.
“Sorry Goggles!” she said from the other side of the door. “I had a nice time tonight, see you for tea next week!”
After a few minutes of stunned silence, Goggles shrugged and began making his way back towards town. As he walked he couldn’t help but wonder why Fluttershy was so timid, granted he was getting better with her courage but sometimes she was harder to understand than Pinkie. After all, why would such a gentle pony, sometimes even terrified of her own shadow, live in a cottage that was right next to the Everfree forest? One the scariest and most dangerous places in Equestria! He understood why Zecora lived there, heck she might have been one of the bravest creatures he Goggles had ever known, but Fluttershy? Not so much. As the said forest came to his mind, Goggles couldn’t help but look back towards it, it had been at least 3 months now since he had come out of that forest and into the lives of the Apple Family, and apart from the occasional visit to Zecora’s place, he had never been back in there since.
“Who would have thought it?” he said to himself. “Me, having a new life as great as this. Perhaps fate has a better plan for me after all.”
Before he can walk away however, something else caught his eye, as he once again looked upon the Everfree Forest, he noticed something, or rather someone, going into it.
“Princess Luna?” he exclaimed.
Suddenly, before he could think of anything else, a certain pink pony once again jumped up from behind him, jumping him jump a couple of feet in the air with fright.
“Ooh, what is she going in there for?” she said as Goggles clutched his chest and breathe heavily after the shock she gave him. “Perhaps she’s brewing up some special Nightmare Night scare, maybe she’s gonna try that statue thing again. I always love that one!”
However judging from the look he saw upon Luna’s face as she went in, Goggles doubted that was the case.
“I don’t think that’s it, Pinkie,” he said, scratching his chin before making his mind up on what to do next. “I’m gonna follow her.”
He then proceeded to walk towards the forest, however before he could reach the edge, he noticed Pinkie Pie happily bouncing along behind him. Granted he may have enjoyed Pinkie Pie’s unpredictability and outgoing attitude, in fact it always brought a smile on his face after seeing her, however this was one case where he needed to rely on his animal instincts to avoid being caught by Luna or another creature in that forest and Pinkie wasn’t exactly the most subtle of ponies.
“Alone!” he stated, causing the pony to frown.
“Aww, but I want to be sneaky too.” Pinkie Pie moaned.
Suddenly Pinkie’s eyes widened and her wipe began to quiver, was she really trying the face on HIM? Granted Goggles may have used it as a last resort to get what he wants from Fluttershy, but there was no way that he was going to let Pinkie Pie use it now, there was no possible way that he would ever let someone out-cute him. Suddenly the orb on his tail lit up.
“Hey look,” he said, putting on a fake face of astonishment and putting behind her. “A runaway balloon!”
As expected Pinkie Pie gasped with shock and ran off towards where Goggles was pointing.
“WHERE!?!” she cried, trying to find to aforementioned balloon.
As soon as Pinkie Pie wasout of sight, Goggles chuckled and walked into the Everfree Forest.
“Should have tried that trick ages ago.” He said with a smirk.
#
As Goggles had come to the expect, the Everfree forest was dark and thick, granted he have been in here before, but during those times he had been either running for his life from Timberwolves or visiting Zecora with Apple Bloom, so he never really had the opportunity to observe the area, especially not during the dark, when it is most dangerous. Luckily Goggles din’t have to travel far, in fact it was mere minutes before he had managed to catch a glimpse of Princess Luna again. She was sitting beneath what appeared to by a statue of a monstrous Alicorn, Nightmare Moon if Goggles had remembered Zecroa’s story right, but why would Princess Luna come here? He remembered hearing something about a connection between Luna and Nightmare Moon, but he had been too occupied with a new invention to listen properly at the time. Edging his way closer, Goggles kept himself hidden amongst the foliage, hopefully Luna will thing that any rustling she hears would be a rabbit or something. As he gazed upon her beauty, Goggles couldn’t help but wonder why Princess Luna looked so… sad, every pony else was back in Ponyville having a good time, so why was she out here alone, she obviously didn’t look happy with the situation. Suddenly before Goggles could think of anything else, he heard Luna’s elegant voice echoing into the night as she began singing a soft melody to herself:
LUNA:
Forever alone with the moon,
Through the night, why should I try?
Who would care if I should fade?
I am just a wish no pony made,
Forever alone in the sky,
Through the night, why do I try?
As he listened to the heart-aching song that emanated from Luna’s lips, Goggles simply wanted to cry, something was definitely wrong, and what kind of Gizmonk would he be if he didn’t do something about it. As he quietly made his way out of the bushes and walked towards Princess Luna, Goggles gulped with anxiety, luckily, he knew how to act around royalty.
“Um… Princess Luna?” he said nervously, quickly grabbing the Alicorn’s attention.
Luna then quickly turned her head towards him with a look of surprise across her face, however she softened her gaze quickly as she took notice of the small animal standing behind her.
“Oh hello little creature,” she said softly. “You startled me.”
“My apologies your grandness,” Goggles replied, respectively giving a small bow.
Luna couldn’t help but smile at that.
“Please, there is no need for that,” she giggled. “Just call me Luna, you are Goggles correct? I have heard many things around town about you.”
She heard about him already? Gossip certainly travels fast around Ponyville, after all Luna had only been in town for an hour. Unless she has heard about him in Canterlot, it would make sense since Silver Lining had been trying to advertise a bigger market for his inventions lately.
“I am, your grand… I mean Luna,” Goggles replied with a smile. “And might I say you are looking elegant this evening.”
It may have sounded cheesy but that was the only way Goggles knew how to speak to royals, granted he may have talked to Twilight with less flattery, but she was more of the down-to-Equestria sort of Princess. Besides Luna seemed to like the flattery since he laughter grew slightly.
“Why thank you,” she said. “Your reputation precedes you I see. Creative and very polite.”
“Ah well…” Goggles responded, blushing slightly at the compliment.
“So what can I do for you?” Luna asked politely, grabbing Goggles’ swift attention.
That was when Goggles smile turned into a look of earnestness.
“Actually, Princess,” he said. “I believe it’s more like what I can do for you.”
Luna raised an eyebrow at that.
“For me?” she asked inquisitively.
Taking a deep breath, Goggles proceeded to start with the point of the conversation.
“If I may be so bold,” he said. “That song you were singing just now?”
Luna’s face dropped at that, she had no idea that Goggles had heard her.
“Oh that,” she responded with a saddened look upon her face. “That is a melody I sang long ago, sometimes I like to sing it once in a while when I’m feeling down, to help rekindle some memories of a happier time.”
“And I suppose this has something with Nightmare Moon?” Goggles asked.
Luna’s eyes widened at that, at first she looked shocked but then softened her expression slightly.
“Quite perceptive aren’t you?” she asked with a slight smile.
“It’s a gift,” Goggles answered with a shrug, taking a seat in the grass next to Luna. “So tell me, what’s wrong? Perhaps there is something I can do to help?”
Luna had no idea as to why this creature was so interested in what she had to say, after all they had only just met. But despite that, Goggles wanted to listen to her story, Luna couldn’t even remember that last time some pony asked her of her life before her banishment, most ponies tended to avoid the subject, even her sister, Celestia, said that it was probably best to move on. And despite the occasional happy memory that they would sometimes discuss, the two sister tried their best to stick to that idea. However now, Goggles, a small creature whom she had never met before was asking her to discuss her feelings on the matter like he was some sort of shrink, then again, if the stories she had heard about him were true then perhaps there was no harm in telling.
“You truly want to know?” she asked.
Goggles nodded at that, so with a sigh in defeat Luna began telling her story. Luna, of course, started from the beginning, how she and Celestia ruled Equestria as equals, how her jealousy had turned her into Nightmare Moon, all the while leading up to the details of both her defeats and the events of what happened the first time she arrived in Ponyville for her First Nightmare Night. Throughout the entire story, Luna would specify on how much she had felt alone while banished to the moon, not only that but the loneliness she had felt before and afterward were far greater because all she wanted was love and affection when most ponies gave none. During the entire time, Goggles had remained silent save for the occasional question, he had wanted to absorb every detail he could fathom before trying to say his piece to the Alicorn. Finally Luna began to near the end of her tale.
“… and as much as I like the newfound respect and love that I had craved for so long, I fear that this night still remains as a reminder of what I used to be, of what I have done and how alone I felt because of it.” She finished.
Goggles couldn’t help but sympathise with the Princess of the Night, he knew EXACTLY what she felt.
“Well… if it’s any help,” he said, catching Luna’s attention. “I know what it’s like to feel alone myself.”
Needless to say, this caught Luna’s attention instantly.
“You do?” she asked.
“Yeah,” he answered, standing up and putting his paws behind his back. “You may not know this but my species is now so rare that sometimes I feel like I’m the last one in existence.”
Luna’s eyes widened at that, at the same time, Goggles sighed and slumped his shoulders in depression.
“In fact, there probably isn’t a single doubt that I AM the last one,” he continued. “And it… well it breaks my heart every time I think about it.”
At those words, Goggles suddenly became on the verge of tears, this was not a subject that he liked to discuss, not even with himself. Looking upon the poor Gizmonk before her, Luna felt the need to bring Goggles into a tight hug.
“Oh Goggles,” she said, gently embracing him.
“At least you can consider yourself lucky,” Goggles said, wiping away a tear. “You now have other ponies to call friends, a sister who cares for you, an entire species to call your own. Me, I don’t have any of that.”
Goggles then pushed away from the hug, Luna remained lost for words, trying to find the best possible thing to say.
“Goggles I…” she began, only to be silenced by Goggles raising his paw.
“For what it’s worth, I certainly have no recollection of you being a monster,” he said. “Heck, I never even heard of this Nightmare Moon thing before tonight. All I see before me is a pony with a big heart and a caring personality to boot.”
At those words, Luna couldn’t help but smile, those had to have been the kindest words anyone could say to her at this point.
“Do you ALWAYS know what to say whenever a pony is feeling down, or am I just lucky?” she asked playfully.
Goggles chuckled at that.
“Hey believe it or not, you’re the third pony I had to give therapy to today,” he replied. “I guess I’m just that nice.”
“And SO modest,” Luna responded sarcastically with a laugh.
“Hey watch it!” Goggles replied, sharing in her laughter. “You may be royalty but I won’t hesitate to slap you.”
The two then shared a few moments of laughter, it may have only been mere minutes since they had met, but thanks to Goggles kind words, it was as the two were the best of friends. Finally managing to catch her breath, Luna spoke again.
“I must admit, it is nice to talk to someone who does not know what I used to be,” she said, placing a hoof on the Gizmonk’s shoulder. “It certainly makes a nice change.”
Once again Goggles smiled at her, placing his own paw on her hoof.
“Well if you ever need someone to talk to again, I do have a place at Sweet Apple Acres where we can have a nice cup of tea,” he said.
Needless to say, Luna was overjoyed to hear that, this wasn’t an invitation for business or royal duties like she had grown accustomed to, but an invitation from a friend.
“Thank you Goggles,” she said. “I appreciate it.”
Satisfied that his work was now done, Goggles stood up and gave the Princess of the Night a low bow.
“Would it offend a member of royalty if I asked the fair lady for a dance?” he asked playfully.
Trying desperately not to giggle, Luna smiled and played along, giving the Gizmonk a curtsey in return.
“I would be honoured good sir,” she responded. “Though I fear that size might be an issue.”
“Hey I may be small but there are a lot of things a Gizmonk can do once he gets his dancing shoes on.” Goggles laughed.
#
“Well Darn-tootin!” Applejack exclaimed as she and Apple Bloom witness the events unfolding before them.
Of course the two sisters weren’t the only ones who were interested in what was happening, after he and Luna had left the Everfree Forest 10 minutes ago, they had spent the entire time dancing to the upbeat music being played from the stage, now that the play was over it was free to use for whatever.
“Fillies and Gentlecolts!” Goggles announced as the band started up a new song. “This is something I like to call the Funky-Monkey!”
As every pony watched, they couldn’t help but notice that not only was Luna having a good time, but Goggles had to have been one of the weirdest dancers that they have ever seen, sometimes he would-break dance, only to start moon-walking seconds later, not only that but he would also use both his paws and his feet to do so, he even used his tail as a spring as certain points in order to bounce around the dance floor. However even though Goggles was clearly displaying the funniest dance ever, Luna was more focused on the fact that he was giving her a good time, it was something she truly needed. Suddenly, without realising it Luna soon found herself backing up into another pony while she tried her best to keep up with Goggles’ dance moves, a familiar pony, Goggles noticed, with a navy coat and sharp teeth.
“Oh I am so sorry Mr…” Luna apologised, asking the pony his name.
“Uh Frenzy your highness,” he replied nervously. “M… my name is Frenzy.”
As Goggles watched the two ponies converse with each other, he couldn’t help but notice that both of them had the exact same look upon their face, a look that he knew all too well. With a slight smile upon his face, Goggles quietly backed away, giving the two ponies some privacy. As he neared the side-lines of the dance floor, Goggles then joined up with Applejack and Apple Bloom, who both looked at him with smiles and tired eyes.
“Y’all ready to head back?” Applejack asked.
“I guess so,” Goggles replied with a shrug. “I think I’ve had enough excitement for one night.”
However before all three of them could take a single step, Goggles once again took notice of something, his assistant, Trixie, sitting next to the snack-table, looking rather depressed.
“Hey, what’s up with Trixie?” Goggles asked.
Apple Bloom shrugged in response.
“No idea,” she said, “Guess she’s not enjoying the night as much as she’d like to.”
Applejack merely responded with a shrug of her own, the two sisters may not have had an idea what was wrong with Trixie, but Goggles did have his own hunch.
“Did any pony ask her to dance?” he asked inquisitively.
“None that I can think of.” Applejack replied.
At those words, Goggles sighed.
“I was hoping in wouldn’t come to this, but…” he muttered under his breath. “I’ll be right back.”
Before either Applejack or Apple Bloom could respond, Goggles than ran off, disappearing into the crowd and leaving them with confused looks. After looking amongst the crowd of ponies for several minutes, Goggles found who he was looking for.
“Rarity?” he said, quickly gaining her attention. “Remember that favour I asked of you week?”
Rarity raised an eyebrow at that.
“You mean that odd dress attire you requested?” she asked, earning a nod from Goggles in response. “What about it?”
#
It had been almost an entire 20 minutes ever since Goggles had ran off from them and both Apple Bloom and Applejack couldn’t help but feel a little concerned.
“What do you think that Gizmonk is up to?” Applejack asked suspiciously.
All of a sudden her question was answered when a burst of laughter emanated from the crowd around her and Apple Bloom, at first neither knew what was going on, that is until they saw a certain little creature walking across the dance floor heading towards Trixie… and wearing a fluffy pink tutu. At the very sight of him Ponies couldn’t help but burst out laughing, even Princess Luna couldn’t help but giggle. However the one who was most surprised at this was Trixie herself.
“Goggles?” she said, completely dumbfounded at what she was seeing.
“Well, a promise is a promise,” Goggles responded with a shrug, not really caring in the slightest for his embarrassment.
Trixie couldn’t believe it, Goggles did say he would wear a tutu if no pony asked her to dance, but she thought he was just joking, and yet here he was, all frilled up and ready to dance. Finally she couldn’t hold it in any longer, streaming tears of joy down her face, Trixie burst out laughing like every pony else.
“Goggles, you… you didn’t have to,” she said, trying desperately to catch her breath between laughs
“Hey, I’m a Gizmonk of my word,” Goggles pointed out, rolling his eyes at Trixie’s laughter. “Now are you just gonna stand there laughing or do you want to dance?”
Goggles then outstretched his paw, which Trixie happily took.
“I would love to,” she said happily, trying desperately not to laugh again. “Oh this is so totally worth my salary.”
“Oh shut up!” Goggles snapped light-heartedly.
As Trixie and Goggles both joined the other ponies on the dance floor and began to move along to the new song being played. Apple Bloom and Applejack couldn’t help but smirk.
“He certainly knows how to bring a smile, don’t he?” Apple Bloom asked, placing her hoof over her mouth to hide and ide her giggles.
“Yeah, he does,” Applejack admitted. “Ah don’t really know what sort of life that Gizmonk had before Ponyville, but ah can definitely say that ah’m glad he came along into ours.”