The prompt: The Sacred Darkness
or
The prompt: Let There Be Light.
The sun set behind the western mountains, and Ponyville fell into a deep, dark shadow.
Moonless nights were hardly uncommon. The moon followed phases, after all, and new moons came around once a month. But this night was special.
All over Ponyville, ponies closed their doors, pulled their blinds, and latched their shutters. Oh, they all knew there wasn't anything to be afraid of, not really. But the darkness outside, the utter lack of stars or moonlight at all... it wasn't very pleasant for anypony, real danger or not. The pitch black outside was enough to make ponies appreciate Princess Luna's usual work all the more.
Some ponies, though, seemed to think differently.
An hour after nightfall, quiet sounds of doors re-opening filled the otherwise eerily silent streets. An cream-colored earth pony gently nuzzles her teal unicorn friend, and then steps out of their shared home. A baker kisses her twin foals goodnight before slipping out the back door, not quite as confident in the darkness as others. A pegasus quietly weaves her path between sleeping animals and nests, until she manages to silently slip out of her cozy little cottage. All over Ponyville, ponies from all walks of life leave their warm, lit homes.
But no ponies are in the blackened streets tonight.
The previously silent streets now echoed with the sound of hooves clopping against the earth, and the rustling of membranous wings. They gathered in the town square, though nopony could see anything from their windows. There was no public speech, no big commencement, no organized party. The muted voices, all buzzes and unfamiliar words, filled the square. It wasn't a secret, even if they did wait for the complete blackness of this so-far-unnamed holiday.
Oh, there were flashes of light from the windows of nearby houses, and sure, ponies stared out at the small gathering of black, chitinous changelings, but nopony could know who they were, now. They spoke to each other in natural voices, flexed their oft-hidden wings, and saw only familiar faceted eyes and shining chitin.
It hadn't been an easy road, and they still had far to go. There were many reasons that this was done tonight, and many of them hoped that nopony saw them slipping out of their homes, and that nopony would see them sneaking back home later.
The baker walked through the crowd, chatting happily and warmly with the others, hearing familiar congratulations for her foals made new by the honest, true faces of her friends. The normally shy, animal-loving female kept quiet even now, but wore a comfortable smile in the press of bodies, relishing in this chance to be herself for just a few hours.
Food, so to speak, was shared freely, as was news from a half-dozen different homes. Talk waxed and waned about politics, the old Queen and the new order, and which ponies knew just what about which changelings. But in with all that, they spoke of their lives and their passions, and just enjoyed the chance to see the true face of their friends again.
In the forbidding blackness of this one moonless, starless night, they could be themselves, and be around others like them.
The hours dragged on, and without formal announcement, they knew they had to return. Mares stepped into their homes, and cuddled up with their husbands. The baker sighed, knowing she didn't have time for sleep before she'd need to get started on the morning's work. One changeling took the chance to open her door with her horn, and hover deftly inside, before changing back to her earth pony shape, two-toned mane included, and going back to her best friend. A pegasus pony skillfully stepped around and over the nests of animals in her home, before settling into her warm, cozy bed.
The first rays of the sunrise seemed almost too bright after the long, dark night. Soon, ponies would pour out of their homes and into the streets of Ponyville, and the dark night would be forgotten.
But many of the ponies, waking slowly, with tired eyes and aching limbs, would only be waiting for next year.