Cruger grinned as he put the finishing touches on his costume, “Not everyday you get to have your birthday twice in one year, huh Eriba?”
“Certainly not.” The pink child replied with a smile as she pet him on the shoulder.
“Well,” Cruger said, “we’d better get to Sugarcube, don’t wanna be late.”
Eriba had to admit, Cruger’s costume was very impressive. It was a set of golden plate armor, intricately engraved, with a matching axe and shield. Her own costume consisted of a dark grey jumpsuit that had a white chestplate and matching white boots and gloves, a curved shape that looked a lot like a leaf was emblazoned on the upper-left portion of her chest. “Then let’s go, can you fly? Or do we need to walk?” She asked with a smile as she walked out of Ditsy’s home.
“I can teleport, but I’d rather walk,” Cruger replied, “might as well see what everypony else is doing.”
“Fine, besides… It’ll be nice to have a look at the town just before the real Nightmare Night starts.” Eribia chuckled as she brought her hands up behind her head and walked at a leisurely pace in the slightly-chilly night air.
The various ponies were dressed up in every kind of costume imaginable. Witches, firefighters, one filly was even dressed up as a ladybug. Although, their homes were just as extravagantly done up, there wasn’t a porch in town that didn’t have at least one Jack-O-Lantern sitting proudly.
“I don’t know why… but… I remember the human that I used to be stopped celebrating whatever holiday was like this one back where she was… I… I think it was right around High School.” Eribia sighed. “It’s… a little hard looking around like this actually…” Her pace slowed just a little more as she watched all of the ponies making their way towards Sugarcube corner. “Even among this sea of color… I don’t know, I just feel so… alien…”
“Well, I know something that might get in the spirit,” Cruger said as he picked up some pebbles from the ground, “I assume you know Bu’s signature technique?”
“...who?” Eribia asked.
“The guy you were Displaced as?”
“If you couldn’t tell… I’m not a guy.” Eribia replied. “Actually… now that I think about it, my current form is actually a mix of the original Eribia, a human… who’s name I haven’t been able to remember, and Discord.”
“Well anyway,” Cruger said, “you’re close enough that it should still apply, and if not you can use your Discord bit to compensate. Anyway, Majin Buu liked to turn his victims into candy. Think you could do the same to these?” Cruger held up the pebbles.
“Oh… that… well… yeah.” She replied with embarrassment as she pointed at the pebbles, a quick flash of pink later and there were several hard caramels in the palm of his hand. “That one… was actually one of the few powers I got to experiment with before everything went sideways…”
“Well, it’s the perfect power for today,” Cruger said as he popped one in his mouth, “tonight’s all about the candy, costumes, and one other thing.”
“Admittedly I’ve only gotten caramels to taste right… so I’m kinda limited in that aspect.” Eribia chuckled just a little. “So, what’s that third thing?”
“You’ll find out soon enough,” Cruger said, “let’s just say it’s related to why I asked you to talk to Luna.”
Eribia nodded just a little as she picked up a few more pebbles and turned them into chewy caramels. “So… uh… how often do you have to fight on your world?”
“Let’s see… back before my Discord sealed me I got in a major confrontation every month or so. It’s been quiet since I’ve gotten out, but evidence suggests that thing’s will be picking up,” Cruger said, “of course if you’re talking small fry, every week or so.”
Eribia nodded. “Oddly enough, outside of that attack on Manehattan… there hasn’t been anyone for me to fight…” She tossed another caramel into her mouth. “In a way, that whole training the town thing was… something to help.”
“It’s done more than help!” A muscular white pegasus with a buzz-cut blonde mane replied with a smile as he picked up the diminutive Majin. “Applejack’s made enough cider to get the entire town set for the night with Cider. Though you’re going to have to stay away from the adult party when Nightmare Night is done.” He chuckles.
Eribia frowned at the pegasus. “You do realize I’m a lot older than you… right Snowflake?”
“Then why are you still a child?” The pegasus smirked.
“Because she acts like one,” Cruger smirked.
“Of course she does, but she’s the best… second-best thing to happen to this town since the Apple family set up their farm here.” The white pegasus laughed. “So, where are you two off to?”
“My semi-birthday party,” Cruger said, “didn’t you get your invite? I’m reasonably sure Pinkie invited the whole town.”
“She did, but that’s not going to start for another hour.” Snowflake replied. “Anywhere in particular that Eribia was showing you to?”
“No Snowflake… and I distinctly remember you not showing up to our last sparring match…”
The pegasus got a little nervous. “I had a family matter I had to deal with… Cousin’s in town and I had to say hi.”
Cruger frowned slightly, “That all you were doing?”
“Of course not… had lunch, talked… found out how he was doing in that crazy monastic order thing of his he had joined… turned out he’s been doing pretty well, even found himself a girlfriend before he left.” Snowflake replied.
“Fair enough,” Cruger said, “just tell him to be careful about that order thing, wouldn’t be good if he joined a cult by accident.”
“Oh no, this order’s been around since Celestia… Princess Celestia, had that whole nightmare moon incident with her sister, they’re a bunch of ponies, griffons, minotaurs and… uh… well… anything else really, that go out and fight monsters to protect the innocent. He’s real good at that stuff.” Snowflake replied. “Princess Celestia herself is the one that established it.”
“Fair enough,” Cruger said, “just as long as he doesn’t get too overzealous. Just because something’s a monster doesn’t mean it’s evil, Eriba for example.”
“Well yeah, but he goes after stuff like dragons that raze towns, manticores that attack outlying settlements, monsters in general that attack for no reason than to cause suffering.” The pegasus said with a smile.
“That seems fair enough,” Cruger said, “but tell him to be careful all same?”
“I’ll be sure to.” The pegasus replied as he let Eribia down from his shoulders. “Take good care of her.” He laughs before flying off to Sugarcube corner.
“So, what will you be doing when you head back to your world?” Eribia asked.
“Get ready,” Cruger said, “as I said, things back home will probably be escalating soon, I’m already getting some bleed through.”
“What kind of bleed through?” Eribia asked curiously as she walked a little closer to her friend.
“Crybots, and an enemy giant robot,” Cruger replied, “at the current rate I’ll probably start running into monsters of the week soon after I go back.”
Eribia nodded as she made her way toward the bakery that was their destination. “You know… I wonder just how Luna’s going to look when she gets here… as far as I know she’s been training non-stop since the last time you were here.”
Cruger grinned, “Assuming we’re when I think we are, you’ll have the chance to ask her before the night is through.”
“Of course, after all… Twilight did notify the town that Princess Luna was going to be attending… although, apparently the day courts haven’t seen much of Celestia since that incredibly rude statement you made when you left… in fact, I really should give you a punch in the future children for that.” Eribia narrowed her eyes a little as she looked up at him. “Why would you even say something like that?”
“It was a joke,” Cruger chuckled, “besides, if she’s to have a chance against mr big bad, she’ll need to be able to handle that kind of thing at minimum. Here’s today’s lesson, not all attacks are physical.”
Eribia sighed. “Whatever…” She looked off in the distance. “I don’t think I’ve ever had a proper drink… I’m not even sure if they’ll affect this form… you think you’d like to join me at the adult party where they serve the Hard Cider?”
“Why wait,” Cruger said as he pulled a bottle and two glasses from a portal, “tell me, ever try mead?”
“No… but I’d rather wait until after the kids are done with their Nightmare Night festivities.” She says. “It keeps me from thinking of ways to project a negative impression.”
“Not a problem,” Cruger said as he put them back. Casting a glance towards Canterlot, he grinned slightly, “By the way, you might want to cover your ears, if you have ears anyway.”
“Why?” Eribia asked as her head shape changed to make her ears less obvious.
Cruger grinned as an airborne carriage came into sight, “Let’s just say that Luna doesn’t have an indoor voice.”
“She spoke indoors just fine with us when you came by…” Eribia replied as the carriage landed, letting a dark curtain pull away from the covered carriage in a swarm of pitch-black bats.
Standing in full light of a shimmering moon was the very bulky form of the princess of the night, towering like an amazon over the populace with teal eyes that were hardened with years of battle. ”CITIZENS OF PONYVILLE! WE HAVE COME TO GRACE YOUR TOWN WITH OUR PRESENCE, TURNING THIS INTO A MOST GLORIOUS HOLIDAY!”
Eribia blinked a little. “Wow… you weren’t kidding.”
“Royal Canterlot Voice,” Cruger said, “still makes me flinch.”
”WE SHALL TURN THIS HOLIDAY FROM ONE OF FEAR INTO A GLORIOUS FEAST!”
“Did you hear that!? Nightmare Moon is gonna feast on us all!” Pinkie squealed before she and a large group of foals began to bolt away from the clearing. Leaving a shocked populace and a princess who stood with her mouth agape in confusion.
Cruger sighed, “Pinkie, why do you have to do these things?”
“Because that’s who she is…” Eribia sighed in response as she watched the princess ineffectively attempt to get the populace to mingle with her, though the armor made of training weights didn’t exactly help her image… neither did the flowing dark cloak that helped make her look like a warlord.
“Well, can’t say I didn’t expect this,” Cruger said, “think you can calm Pinkie down? If you can get her to stop screaming, the kids should follow suit.”
“Eh… I’m sure it’ll sort itself out, Things that deal with her generally solve themselves in the end anyway…” Eribia said as she pet him on the arm. “Let’s go say ‘hi’ before she makes a fool of herself and gets mad at the town.”
“Might as well,” Cruger said as they walked towards her, “and it looks like somepony else has the same idea.”
“...Commendable costume, you even got the bells right…” Luna finished as the two displaced approached.
“Thank you! You’re the first one who realized who it was without making some sort of ridiculous assumption… I mean, it should have been easy, I did model my costume after the most famous unicorn in history after all.”
“That he was,” Cruger said, “although I have no idea why he was so obsessed with bells.”
“That’s because sound can help with meditation, when you have a gentle jingle or a gentle hum you can focus a lot easier.” Eribia replied.
“Exactly! How do you know about that Eribia?” Twilight asked with slight astonishment
“I am a Majin after all… a being created mostly of magic…” Eribia replied. “It kinda comes naturally…”
“I have to admit,” Cruger said, “I didn’t know that. Still doesn’t explain it though, when I said obsessed, I mean obsessed, his birthday cake was shaped like one for Zordon’s sake.”
“Hey… you can’t beat a good-sounding bell… that reminds me, Luna… you look like you’ve gotten much more toned.” Eribia stated with an impressed look as she looked at the mare of amazonian stature.
“Thank you for your compliment, we have been trying to get our Sister to do the same, but the words from this heathen last we met have kept her from even attending court.” Luna finished with a slight glare at Cruger.
“Like I told Eriba,” Cruger said, “it was a joke. Sheesh, you’d think being over 1000 years old would give her at least a partial tolerance to that kind of thing.”
Luna’s eyes narrowed dangerously as her hand quickly shot out to strike the Syrian across the face. “My sister doesn’t take such insults lightly, and the fact you lasted this long without imprisonment is a testament to her leniency. Be sure not to try my patience.” The Night Princess almost hissed.
“I suppose I deserved that,” Cruger said, “tell Tia I’m sorry when you get back?”
“It will likely take more than a ‘Sorry’.” Luna replied. “Unlike in her youth my sister is a much more sensitive mare now, so many a noble has grated on her frayed nerves the past millennium that your words were the… ‘camel that broke the straw’s back’ as it were.” She huffed.
“Okay… well… I’ll admit I really wasn’t expecting the Princess to be confined to her chambers over what Cruger said either…” Eribia started as she tried to keep the two of them apart. “But… shouldn’t we be getting to the party? I mean… Pinkie would be awfully upset if we missed such a great one… Right Pinkie!?” the Majin ended with a slightly elevated tone.
As if on cue a pink and white blur dashed between Luna and Cruger, with only a moment’s notice to realize that Eribia wasn’t between them anymore.
Cruger sighed, “Well, I guess that’s that. Come on Luna, looks like Pinkie’s not interested in being at my party.”
“HOLD IT!” Came the high-pitched shout that paused the Syrian in his tracks, well… more like everyone in the area paused in their tracks. “I’m the one who planned the party, of course I’m gonna be there you silly puppy.” Pinkie giggled before looking over at Luna, her face turning from mirth to shock and horror. “NIGHTMARE MOON! RUN!” She screamed before bolting away.
“And that’s why you’re on the verge of being uninvited,” Cruger said, “Luna’s just trying to have a good time and put it behind her, but you’re just assuming that she’s still Nightmare Moon because she’s had a little growth spurt, not to mention planting that idea into everypony’s heads. Only a real mean pony would do something like that, and I don’t invite mean ponies to my parties.”
Pinkie glared at him as she seemed to reappear on his other side. “What? So you think spoiling the spirit of Nightmare Night for the kids is more fun?” She accused. “They’re looking forward to the end of the Nightmare Night Trick or Treating you know. Or should I tell them that I had to cancel the super-awesome Cruger party because he didn’t want the kids to enjoy the holiday?”
“Did you forget, this is Luna’s first Nightmare Night,” Cruger countered, “all she knows about it is that it was created because of a stupid story that Nightmare Moon ate ponies. Now how would you feel if someone made a holiday where ponies had to make an offering of cupcakes because they thought that you’d turn them into cupcakes if they didn’t?”
“Pfft… that’s ridiculous, ponies don’t taste good as cupcakes. Besides, the holiday would be about me passing out cupcakes because that’s just how great I am.” Pinkie giggled.
A dark-navy hand placed itself on Pinkie’s shoulder, causing the earth pony mare to turn towards a pair of vibrant teal eyes. “Oh but Miss Pie… Ponies make absolutely delicious meals!” Nightmare Moon hissed with a fanged smile. A shriek of fear pierced the night air and the chicken fainted on the spot, causing the nearby foals to make a frantic dash towards Sugarcube Corner. With a laugh Luna hoisted the unconscious mare onto her shoulder. “We read up on the local customs since our return Sir Cruger… in a way, we… I quite enjoy this method of celebration a bit more, it helps with the process of making one’s blood race without risking bodily harm.” She smiled as she pet him on the head. “Thank you for sticking up for me… but it’s much better than the fear of a battlefield.”
Cruger grinned, “Well, to be honest, I prefer the dressing up part myself.” Cruger then waved one of the caramels he had under Pinkie’s nose, “Wake up, I still have a point to make.” It seemed all for naught as her muzzle seemed to clamp down on his whole hand without moving too far. A faint giggle wiggled its way out of her throat though, so it seemed that the fainting spell was an act to scare the foals. “Anyway, as I was saying,” Cruger continued, “if you were so upset about Luna getting rid of the Trick-Or-Treating, my second favorite part by the way, why couldn’t you try explaining all the good stuff about Nightmare Night to her? Either way, replacing the offering with a feast sounds like a good idea to me any way you slice it.”
“Duh… because she already knew it…” Pinkie replied as she sat on the Princess’ shoulder. “Spike’s been at the library the whole time Twilight’s been up at Canterlot, we planned for that entrance.” Pinkie explained as she tossed a chewy candy in her mouth. “B’shides, we w’rs alr’dy planin’ a... “ She gulped down the candy. “We were already planning the feast to happen after the trick or treating, it was supposed to be part of your party.”
Cruger facepalmed, “You mean I planned that whole epic speech to get Pinkie to accept Luna, and I use it on the only Pinkie in the Multiverse who did it on purpose? With her Luna’s approval and support!?”
“Yepperoonie!” Pinkie giggled as she popped another piece of candy into her mouth.
“Well, you can’t win every battle Cruger.” Eribia laughed as she started to hover off the ground. “Maybe you could learn something from her, eh?”
Cruger sighed, “I need chocolate, let’s just get to my party.”
It wasn’t long before the party was underway, with Princess Luna sitting in one of the largest chairs in the building. her posture was relaxed, with one arm resting on the arm of the chair as she eyed the gathering with a smile. “How are you enjoying your celebration of birth Sir Cruger?”
“Pretty good so far,” Cruger said, “I don’t remember mentioning it, but Pinkie made my favorite, spaghetti bolognese. Not to mention, great company, and I think that cake she made is 45% frosting by volume.”
“And all natural ingredients!” Pinkie cheered from the impromptu konga line that sprung up in the middle of the bakery.
“Verily, we use no artificial sweeteners in our country.” Luna called out as she raised her mug of cider, which was met by several varying mugs of cider throughout the room.
“Well,” Cruger said, “I suppose now’s a good a time as any to indulge in my little habit. Anyone up for a bit of a singalong?”
“Of course! We must raise our voices in celebration!” Luna cheered as she got up from her chair, wobbling just a little as she stood. “Woo… not used to the strength of this cider yet…” She muttered.
Cruger grinned as he pressed a button on his morpher, “Well, I think you’ll love this.”
As the drums started, holographic screens appeared in front of everyone present, with a little bouncing ball to track the lyrics. By the end, every hand had a mug of cider, not all of them were still full. Even Eribia had shifted her appearance to look more like an adult as even she sported a thick blush on her face while banging against a pair of drums that seemed to have come from nowhere. Luna was laughing as she sat back in her chair. “Oh… Sir Cruger, the words were a little different but I should have guessed you would know some of the old Diamond Dog Mining songs.” She giggled as she downed another mug of cider. “Ah… sweet memories of times long past… good times, when you had to think with your axe and only had to carry out what wasn’t nailed down in a dungeon.”
“I’m not a Diamond Dog,” Cruger said, “although that does sound pretty interesting.”
“Oh yes, Lord Barkus the third was indebted to myself for single-handedly clearing his mine of Destrachans that had decided his dogs were a decent meal.” Luna said with a smile. “We drank a fine dragon wine that night… didn’t regain my senses for three days afterward.”
“Well then, maybe you’ll appreciate this,” Cruger said as he pulled a bottle out of a portal, “my own personal blend honey whisky, aged a thousand years, mostly because that’s how long I was sealed, but fine none the less.”
With a snap of her fingers Pinkie, in a bit less modest of a chicken costume, appeared with another mug so the Princess could hold out a fresh cup. “Let us see then.”
“Just so you don’t get any misconceptions,” Cruger said as he poured them each a glass, “this doesn’t have a high alcohol content, it’s the flavor that makes this special. To friends, old and new.”
Luna’s eyes seemed distant as she looked into the mug. “To friends lost… may their memories live on so that they may never truly die…” She said almost quietly. Eribia leaned back in her chair as she eyed the drink, she blinked away a couple of tears before quickly starting to drink.
Cruger frowned, “I know that feeling all too well. Here’s to you Judge, give ‘em one for me.” With that, he sipped his drink, reminiscing about his original team.
After putting her mug down Luna stood and let her horn glow, it fizzled a little the first time she tried to use her magic but she managed to create a small portal that she reached into. “For those of you who are interested in the best of weeks that you will likely not ever truly remember… make sure thy children have someone to make sure they attend their normal day activities….” She announced before muttering something about using drunk casting.
“Okay,” Cruger said, “I’ll bite, what are you planning?”
She pulled out a very round bottle with a long, narrow neck. “A drink that was given to me a thousand years ago, after nearly another thousand years in the possession of an ancient red dragon.” She said with a smile. “The last time I drank this… I woke up a week later with a blanket of mares.”
“Sounds… interesting…” Eribia said with slight interest.
“I think I’ll pass,” Cruger said, “I think I need to head home anyway.”
Luna gives a shrug. “More for us then… but… Sir Cruger… You’re still an asshole for calling my sister fat.”
“Woah… Luna?” Eribia said with shock.
“It is true…” Luna stated adamantly. “...He’s simply not a complete one… just in certain areas.”
“Yeah, for example,” Cruger said as he reached into a portal, “I know how to say sorry.” He pulled out a cake, written on it was ‘Sorry I called you fat, Cruger’.
Luna took the cake and put a stasis spell around it. “I’ll be sure to give it to her… not sure how receptive she’ll be for it…”
“That’s all I ask,” Cruger said, “enjoy the whisky and dragon wine.” He opened up a portal and stepped through, “Oh, before I forget, Eriba, don’t forget what I said about talking with Luna.”
“Yeah… yeah… I’ll talk with her plenty…” The majin replied. “Our contract’s done…”
“See ya later, try to keep the drunken escapades off Facebook,” Cruger said as he ducked completely through the portal and closed it behind him.
“...there is a book of faces?” Luna asked.