Memories

by Sun Aura

Nightmare Night

“Hold still, darling,” Rarity said. “This is much harder than one would expect.”

I did not think I was fidgeting that much, but I tried to stay still anyway. I felt one brush go through my mane and one on my coat, with a different type of brush applying makeup to my eyelids. She had me up in the dressing room. Her own makeup was applied, though she was not yet wearing her dress, a long black thing with a slight purple tint, silver lined and decorated the skirt. I do not know why, but she had asked me to be a bit bigger than usual, yet not full size. I was around Big Macintosh’s height, not including my horn. I wondered why she needed this.
Truly, I just wanted to crawl back into bed. Since Discord’s defeat, that is all I have wanted to do. But I put on appearances. I act normal when all I want to do is hide away. Is this what Celestia felt when she defeated Nightmare Moon? If so, she is a stronger pony than I.

And tonight was Nightmare Night, a holiday that cemented Nightmare Moon’s role as a monster. One of two holidays Celestia had to endure for one thousand years. I had never cared for the historic part of the holiday, but as a filly I liked dressing in a costume and staying up past my bedtime to eat sweets at the castle’s party. I loved when older ponies tried to jump out and scare me, mostly for the surprise on their faces when I did not jump.

“What are you doing?” I asked her, as more makeup was applied.

“Don’t worry,” she assured me. “And keep your eyes closed, this costume is supposed to be a surprise! If you insist on doing this, you might as well look your best.”

I sighed. Rarity knew better than most ponies that I was pretending to be okay for others. She had wanted me to stay home, but I insisted on participating in Nightmare Night activities. I tried to thank her for understanding though, by making her my “plus one” to a party being thrown by Filthy Rich. She was honored, but refused to let me use it as a ‘thank you’, instead thanking me with a hoof-made costume.

I wish more ponies saw this side of her. I had heard whispers, asking how the Element of Generosity can be a pony viewed as so, as they put it, ‘greedy and selfish’. They would never say it to our faces. She might want many things, but if a friend wants or needs something, she would try to help in any way she can. Unless she happens to be under a spell of sorts.

I frowned at myself for thinking that last thing. I cannot stop thinking about Discord. He keeps popping up in my mind. My own fault, really. I keep letting my mind wander that way. I sighed, waiting for the usual crashes that would happen in the upper floor of the shop to distract me.

“Where’s Sweetie Belle?” I asked, noticing a lack of noise.

“Oh, she and the other Crusaders are already out,” she replied, not breaking concentration. “I think it’s them and four or five others, along with Pinkie as their supervision. You should have seen her costume! She wanted to be a vampire like I was, but it’s so hard to make her look scary or intimidating. She’s probably the most adorable little vampire.”

“Knowing the things you design, I believe it.”

“She wanted to come with us to the party, you know,” she sighed. “Something about not wanting to be a ‘little kid’ and joining in more ‘adult’ activities. I had to convince her of how boring it would be. ‘After all, if I like it, how fun could it be?’ Besides, she couldn’t bring her friends, and all the foals would be shoved to their own section, which would include putting her with that Diamond Tiara. As much as I hate how that filly treats my sister, Rich has been amicable to the rest of us. It would be terrible to intentionally sabotage our presence at the party.” I nodded in agreement, causing another round of ‘stay still’s.

It was then that a knocking came at the door. I could feel Rarity tense up as the brushes stopped. Nightmare Night can make you paranoid of even the smallest sounds.

“It’s probably just somepony needing a last minute readjustment or repair to their costume,” she said, more to assure herself than me. “Stay there and don’t look at your costume. I’ll go see what they need.”

I hear her hooves clop on the tile as she walked out of the dressing room and across the showroom. As tempting as it was to peek at the costume, I kept my eyes shut. I had a feeling she’d know if I looked.

“Welcome to the Carousel Boutique!” I heard her say as the bell over the door rang. “What would you-!” I heard her gasp, and a thud of something the size of a body landed on the floor.

I panicked, getting up to run and help. Even I was paranoid of a Nightmare Night Movie Monster coming to get us. Keeping my eyes closed, I slipped into the Realm of Souls, and was surprised at who I saw. I opened my eyes again as I came around the corner to the showroom. I understood why Rarity had fainted when she saw her guest, and honestly I might have done the same.

Her form was taller than most ponies, with a deep blue coat. Her mane now swirled in its full ethereal glory, stars and nebulae on a background of the night sky. The stars seemed to be moving, occasionally creating comets and auroras. Turquoise eyes returned my stare. Though she was looking at me for the half-done costume, I was looking at her for her beauty.

“You are looking a lot better than when I last saw you, Luna,” I said with a smile.

“Your friend here seems to have been scared by my appearance,” she replied, gesturing with her hoof to a fainted Rarity. “Though I seem to have that effect on ponies tonight.”

“To be fair, showing up on a Holiday that was created to see you as a monster is bad planning,” I said grinning. “That, and Rarity has a flair for being overdramatic.”

“Oh my,” Rarity murmured as she awoke.

“Are you okay?” I asked her, offering a hoof to help her up.

“Yes, it’s just I thought-“she gasped as she saw Luna again, but thankfully didn’t faint this time. Instead she dropped into a small yet respectful bow. “I apologize, your highness. I should have acted much more appropriately for your arrival. May I offer you something to drink?”

“’Tis fine,” Luna replied, surprised by her actions. “Thou wert the one who had the most proper reaction to Our presence. We came hither only to look for Our sister.”

“What is with the old time-y speech?”I asked, stifling my giggles.

“Now it is my turn to apologize,” she sighed. “Back before I became Nightmare Moon, it was a tradition of the Nobles to speak like that. They thought they sounded sophisticated. I thought they sounded pompous, but I indulged their request.”

“Pompous is a word to describe somepony who talks like that,” I smirked. “Did you use the ‘Royal Canterlot Voice’ with it?” The embarrassment on her face told me everything.

“You do realize that you do talk strangely sometimes too?” Rarity pointed out. “You don’t use words like ‘can’t’ or ‘won’t” most of the time.”

“Yeah, but it is not as pompous,” I replied with a wave of my hoof.

“Thank you for pointing it out,” Luna said. “Please do it in the future if I talk like that again. Most ponies are too afraid of offending a royal to say anything. Though your friend Twilight was one of the ones who was not afraid of correcting me tonight.”

“Well, Twilight has been around Celestia from the day she earned her Cutie Mark. Tia always had fun testing ponies. At parties she would speak freely and see how much she could get away with before somepony would speak up.” I chuckled. It was strange to laugh. As terrible as I felt, I could still feel joy.

“It seems a good test of character too,” Rarity interjected. “It would tell you who is a friend and who wants something. I had my fair share of ponies looking for a free outfit.”

“As fun as it is to discuss the political ramifications of ignoring quirks,” I began, turning to Luna. “You said you were looking for me? Was this just a social visit or did you have something in mind?”

“A little of both,” she replied. “Celestia did say I should get myself reacquainted with the world, and your friend Twilight Sparkle has already helped with that tonight. But I also wanted to check on you.”

“What exactly was it you wanted to check on?” I asked. All I received was a sigh.

“Miss Rarity,” Luna addressed the Unicorn in question. “May I have a moment with my sister? I do not know what all she would want you to hear.”

“Please, just call me Rarity,” she answered.

“And as noble as your intention is,” I said, “she already knows about what you would want to discuss. I told them about what we learned that night.”

“Them?” Luna wondered. “Who all counts as ‘Them’?”

“The Element bearers,” I stated. “I had to tell them about it. Especially after that day. I know you would like to talk to me alone, but I wish that she be allowed to stay.”

“If you wish, I could pretend not to hear anything,” Rarity offered. “I could concentrate completely on finishing Feria’s Nightmare Night costume.”

“No,” Luna sighed. “You are right to want somepony with you. Friends are what you need most right now. As much as I would like to keep you to myself, I cannot deny you what happiness you can have.”

“Thank you,” I smiled.

“Where should I begin?” Luna asked as Rarity continued with my costume. I closed my eyes once more, letting her makeup brush work over my coat again. I should have used the opportunity to peek earlier.

“I suggest being direct. Prancing around the subject would drive me crazy.” That was poor wording on my part, considering who we would be talking about.

“Then, in general, how are you feeling about what happened with Discord?” she asked, obliging my wish.

“Terrible,” I admitted. “If I could, I would stay in bed and try to escape my emotions. I would hide away and pretend the world does not exist. But I cannot do that. I have things to do, and friends who care about me. They want me to be better, and hiding from the problem will not fix that. Normalcy will not help much either, but it is better.”

“That is what we expected,” Luna nodded as Rarity began working her makeup magic on my flank. I think she was altering my Cutie Mark to match the outfit she would put on me.

“It is not the best plan,” Rarity said, not breaking her concentration. “But as one who has had similar feelings of wanting to hide away from the world, this is better than other approaches.”

“Now for a more specific question,” Luna continued. Her face softened, knowing how her query would affect me. “How do you feel towards Discord? Both then and now?”

I felt Rarity falter in her brushstroke. Even if she had not been listening, I knew she would now. This was one subject I had not talked to her about. I knew she had taken guesses at what I felt.

“I-I honestly do not know,” I admitted. “Before I died, I had barely began to figure that out. I still have not figured out what exactly I felt for him. It was new and different and I was not sure how to handle it but I never got the chance to. All I know for sure is that I was happy around him, and when he thought that I was just a look alike I felt terrible.”

“And after everything that happened?” she asked cautiously. “After what he did, what do you feel toward him?”

“Confusion,” I answered. “I feel like I should hate him. Yet I cannot bring myself to do it. I am scared, and devastated by it, but I have this stupid, ridiculous hope for something else. It would be so much easier if I hated him. Getting up in the morning knowing what I did!” I shuddered. I should not get angry at her because I am angry at myself.

“You only did what you had to do,” Luna told me. She was trying to be comforting, but that was not what I needed to hear.

“I should have done more!” I was shouting again. “I should have talked to him as me, not as a ‘look-a-like’! I should have not gotten put under a spell! I should have listened to Celestia telling me not to trust my memories! I should have stopped it all before it happened! I should not have died!”

“How can you blame yourself for that?” Rarity exclaimed, dropping her brushes. “You were attacked! You had no control over how your first life ended!”

“I could have fought back!” I was shaking again. “I was terrified and I let it happen! I might have won, I might have lived! He thought it was one of our friends who killed me! I did not know about that magic until that night! Nopony else knew until the Gala! And with the way Alicorn Immortality works, he thought I gave it up! That’s how the others died! They gave it up! The loneliness and betrayal and the idea of my immortality sat in his mind and drove him to madness!”

“Now listen here!” she said, putting her hooves on my shoulders. “We all have regrets for things we did or did not do. But we have to move forward from them! We can’t blame ourselves for everything that goes wrong, or wonder what might have happened. Look at what happened because of it. You met us. You had friends in this life that you might have never met. Maybe if you hadn’t been killed that night you would have lived the two thousand years to meet us, to meet me, but would it be the same? Had you lived that night, would we be here preparing for a party? Would you have met everyony in Ponyville, participated in out festivals and traditions and changed our lives for the better?”

“But what about the things I have done to hurt those I love? I did not just leave him! I left all of them! Every pony and dragon and griffon and minotaur and buffalo and everyone else was left behind!”

“Had you lived you would have left them behind anyway. More accurately, they would have left you behind. You would have been Immortal. You would have lived to see two thousand years of friends growing old and dying around you. You still might do that. But do you really think they would blame you? I’ve been left behind by somepony before, but I never blame them for what happened. I enjoy the memories of our time together. The things we leave behind is what is important.”

“And what if all we leave behind is broken hearts and minds?”

“If you think that’s all that was left behind, ask one you left.” We turned to Luna, who had been shocked into silence at Rarity’s outburst. I did not know what answer to expect.

“You did leave more than that,” she agreed. “Your death broke some apart, but it strengthened other relationships. Your sisters came together to mourn you, other ponies found solace in the company of one another. Quite a few pairs of ponies wanted to thank you for the part you played in their lives. You are a linchpin for many things, both happiness and sorrow. Yet nopony blamed you directly for the sorrow. They blamed whoever killed you, and their suspicions of each other did not last long.”

“That does not mean it is alright,” I replied, staring down at my hooves.

“They way I see it,” Rarity said, picking up her brushes and adding a finishing touch, “as long as you are trying to make up for the things you feel guilty of, you can make up for it. Even if others feel you have nothing to make up for. You can’t change the past, but your future still has a chance, doesn’t it?”

I stared at the floor. She had a point. I could try to change things, but how much can I do now? After all that has happened, what can I do to help them?

“I am sorry, Feria,” Luna said. She laid her hoof on my shoulder. “There are two more questions, I need answers for. One of these might help you.”

“Go ahead,” I sighed. She could not make me feel worse could she?

“Do you think Discord had any chance of… potential reformation?” she asked, wording it as carefully as possible. My ears perked up at the idea, yet my eye kept staring at the floor. Reformation. I-I could help him. I could make this right, or at least better than it was now. But was there a chance?

“I-I want to think he can,” I replied. “I do not know if that is an honest opinion or if I just really want to hope for it. I am going to rationalize it with the Elements of Harmony. Everypony has the ability to uphold the Elements’ ideals, even if they cannot wield the Elements like the bearers. But if they reject the Elements completely…. I do not know what will happen, but I feel it is something bad. That magic was the first thing I had sensed to not have the Elements’ power radiating from it. I know that now. But is that what one could become if they reject every Element? But I do not think he has.”

“You say he has not rejected the Elements after all he did?” Luna asked.

“After everything he said against even the idea of friendship?” Rarity interjected as she finished her work.

“He rejected the Element of Love first, after losing me,” I reasoned. “Then when everypony was suspicious of each other about who murdered me, he rejected the Element of Friendship, or Element of Magic as it is better known. Loyalty probably went next, considering those suspicions. Generosity and Kindness followed sometime along the way. But when I talked to him, there was some left. Laughter was in the process of being rejected, but he was still able to laugh with me like we used to instead of laughing at ponies misery. While Laughter was deteriorating, his Honesty was still mostly intact.”

“Correct me if I am wrong,” Luna interrupted, “but did he not put you and your friends under a spell? I also was told that he told you the Elements of Harmony were in the Castle’s labyrinth when they were in Ponyville the entire time. How is his Honesty ‘intact’ as you put it?”

“I said it was ‘mostly’ intact,” I replied. “While the riddle he gave us seemed to imply the labyrinth, he never sad they were there specifically. It mostly said ‘back where we began’, which could mean a lot of things. And the spell had a loophole effect. He did not say whether or not a spell was being used. If it was asked he probably would have admitted it. Though in a way he did admit it when we went to confront him. He said he ‘made Applejack a liar’, which was the truth in a way.”

“Be that as it may, I need a definite answer,” she said. “And, to be honest, it was Celestia’s suggestion. The letters Twilight has sent since worried us. Tia got this plan in her mind that might not work out, but she wanted to see what you thought on it before doing anything else.”

“That is something Tia would do,” I sighed. “Two thousand years have not changed her Generosity. My answer is yes. We should try to reform him. If not only for me, then for how he could help Equestria. Yet I do not want to try right away. I do not think I could face him now.”

I thought on that while Rarity began giving me costume pieces. I kept my eyes closed while she helped me into them. Did I want to risk hurting him a third time just because of what might happen? I did not want to hurt him like that. I did not want to hurt anypony like that. Turning him to stone felt like I was giving up on him, and if I did it again, could I live with myself for it?

In that moment, I made a silent promise; it was a promise to myself, to him, to my sisters, and all those I left. I would not use my Element of Harmony against anypony I still believed could be changed. As long as at least one Element’s ideals are mostly intact in their soul, I would try to save them.

“This is my last question,” Luna warned, tugging me back to reality. “This one has nothing to do with the events with Discord, nor does it have to do with any plans Celestia is thinking up. She does not even know I am asking this.”

“If it has nothing to do with that, why are you warning me?” I asked.

“Because the information might be… triggering,” she said carefully. “The next birthday of yours is different than just another birthday, and not because of the usual reasons of growing up. It is because this is the birthday you never reached.”

As the pieces of my costume clicked into place so did her words. ’The birthday I never reached’. I would surpass myself. I would become older than I had been when I died. I felt my chest tighten. I do not think I was afraid, but a feeling of dread came over me. To think that my life had been ended so early, that I had barely began to live.

“You mean to include both lives,” Rarity said for me, the pieces clicking into place for her too. Luna did not respond for a moment, she only sighed.

“I wanted to know how you were reacting to this,” she said. “I am guessing it had been denial or ignorance.”

“I think it was a bit of both,” I admitted. “Now that the idea is presented, I am… anxious? I am not worried that I will not make it, but I… I think I would rather not be alone on that day. Actually, that whole week before my birthday I do not want to be alone.”

“Easily fixed,” Rarity replied.”Between all of us, we can figure out a way to make that happen for you. Twilight probably would make a schedule to have at least one of us with you at all times. Pinkie Pie might even want a full week-long party if she could!”

I smiled at the thought. That is exactly what they would do. All six of them would try in their own ways to help. Who knows what would work in the end, or if it would work at all.

“Thank you,” I replied.

“So we just need to figure out how to stay together the whole week before….” She paused in confusion. “You know, I don’t think you ever told us your birthday. Why, we haven’t even had a birthday party for you in the years since you moved here. I bet Pinkie Pie goes crazy, well, more crazy, over that.”

“Oh, well, I just,” I stammered. “Well, I did not want anypony to make a fuss out of it, especially given the day. Er, it is the same day as Hearth’s Warming, actually.”

“Now it makes more sense that your Cutie Mark resembles the Fire of Friendship in the stories,” she replied.

“Actually,” Luna inturupted. “The Fire of Friendship resembles her Cutie Mark. The holiday was created for her remembrance, after all.”

“Then I assume the story told to us is one of those falsehoods she mentioned,” Rarity said, taking that news rather well. “One of those historic facts that ponies changed to make history less dark and tragic?”

“Thank you for putting it so kindly,” I smiled.

“Well you did seem quite upset about it when you told us, so I figured some dramatic flair would be appreciated,” she replied.

“Then another thank you,” I retorted. “and thank you, Luna for coming to check on me.”

“And I must thank you both,” Luna said. “I am glad I got to spend time with you, even if most of it was spent making you feel terrible. And Miss Rarity, I thank you for playing host, and allowing me into your place for this short time.”

“It was an honor,” Rarity replied, dipping her head into a respectful bow. “I would be glad to offer it again at any time.”

“You make it sound like you are leaving,” I said.

“I have to,” she replied with a nod. “As much as I would like to stay, there are things I have to do. As Princess, I have to attend the noble’s parties with Celestia, and after that I have to continue doing my duties as Ruler of the Night; Many foals have nightmares on nights like tonight. Besides, I seem to be keeping you from a wonderful party.”

“You were not keeping us,” Rarity assured her. “I still need to get my dress on and finish up her makeup.”

“More makeup?” I wondered. “How much are you putting on me?”

“The rest of this is mostly magical effects,” she replied. “Which is why I am putting my dress on first.” I heard her hoofsteps go to the other room momentarily. I hoped that by the time she came back she would have forgotten about adding more makeup, but when I heard her come back and felt another brush, I sighed in defeat.

I felt her magic run over my body. The last spell focused on my still closed eyes, but I did not know the spell. Even without slipping into the realm of souls I could feel what her magic was like, and it was different than what I felt when others used magic on me. Celestia’s magic felt like laying in a sunbeam, Luna’s magic felt like taking a midnight walk, and Twilight’s felt similar to the magic of the Elements of Harmony, though not as intense. Rarity’s magic felt like the emotion of when you receive a gift that you really wanted, joyful with a tingle and that need to thank her for it.

“Finished!” Rarity exclaimed. “You can open your eyes now.”

“You look beautiful,” I said when I opened my eyes.”You really went all out for this one!”

Her mane and tail had been fluffed to make her look taller and wilder, with light lavender streaks going through. It alluded to the idea of a sophisticated mare hiding her inner monster. The black dress stood out against her coat, the silver accenting her beauty. Around her neck was a silver necklace with a ruby in its center. Her makeup had been applied heavier than usual, a thick layer of black lined her eyes, with more mascara and eye shadow than usual. The eye shadow itself was a deep blue instead of her usual cornflower. Ceramic fangs were on her teeth, and her eyes tinted to an alluring red.

“Thank you, darling,” she said. I was amazed at how well she could speak with the fake fangs in her mouth. They must be high quality ones for that to happen. Though, what should I expect from her?

“You are not wearing colored contacts,” I said, looking closer at her eyes to confirm that there was no lens. “How did you…?”

“I was going to use them,” she replied, “but when looking into contacts for your costume, I found a spell for changing eye color. I took it to Twilight and she helped me modify it for your needs.”

“My needs? What do my eyes look like?” I turned to Luna and was able to see the expression on her face. She seemed worried, maybe even afraid. “What is wrong?”

“Sorry,” she replied, her expression not changing. “The costume is quite… effective.”Wondering what in the world Rarity could have designed for me and why it needed a modified color change spell, I walked to the showroom’s stage. With mirrors on all sides I finally saw what they could see.

My mane was dark and wild, almost disheveled. Normally its colors would mimic flames in a hearth, or a campfire, it was the burning love. Yet now I thought of forest fires, houses burning. This was hate. My coat seemed to be made of coal dust. Upon my body were pieces of armor. They seemed gold, though I doubted it was real gold. They were glowing as if they were still burning hot, as if my mane and tail were heating it as it hugged my body. My shoes were made of the same metal as the chest piece, covering my forelegs. The chest piece had a large ruby in a shape similar to my Cutie Mark. Speaking of my Cutie Mark, she seemed to have darkened it, making it just as angry as the flames in my mane.

My vision shifted up to my head, taking in everything Rarity had put on me, or altered. Upon my head sat a matching headpiece, a crown actually. It was jagged and looked like it would be sharp to the touch if I were to test that out. While Rarity’s eyes were lined with black, mine were done in crimson; red and orange eye shadow played across my eyelids and trailed off to create burning smoke. And my eyes, oh sweet apple fritters what did she do to my eyes? They gleamed with madness. The whites were a light red, not pink, but red; my pupils were longer, dagger-shaped, like a cat. Like a dragon.

“What did you do?” I asked. I was astonished, and a little frightened. Mostly, I was entranced. This was incredible.

“The fun in Nightmare Night is fear,” Rarity replied. “And it is traditional to dress us as something we fear. I have only seen true terror grip you twice since we’ve met. Once was when you showed us your memories, the memory of what killed you. That might have been overkill for a costume, but the other time is not. You were shaking when we faced Nightmare Moon. For one reason or another, facing her terrified you. I hope you take no offence to that, Princess Luna.”

“None taken,” she responded. “The mare I was had been a monster, it is normal for ponies to fear her. Yet you did not make her Nightmare Moon. What you did was-“

“Fantastic!” I interrupted. “This is brilliant! Inspired! My own equivalent of Nightmare Moon!”

“Thank you,” she replied. “but really, it’s not that great. It’s just what I do.”

“But this is metal working!” I exclaimed. “Surely you did not-!”

“I did,” she said. “It is strange, I cannot make a sculpture or a sword with metalworking, but if I need to make something I’m going to decorate with the gems I find, it’s so simple to do.”

“That is awesome!” I shouted.

“Not really,” she replied, blushing slightly at the amount of compliments I was giving her.

“Interesting,” Luna mused.

“What?” I asked as I stopped bouncing.

“It was just similar to something I remember,” she replied. “Did you hear the words you shouted?”

I paused as I realized she was right. I had done something similar many times before. A creative mind’s art coming to fruition, being given to the pony it was made for, and receiving so many compliments from everypony for their work, even if they feel it is not worth as much praise. They always said it was no big deal.

“Morning Aura, Evening Soul, Azura, and Starswirl,” I said smiling. “Our team. We always had some project together. That reminds me, our big project from right before I died, the one I was supposed to reveal on your birthday. What happened to it?”

“It worked for a while, but it was lost,” Luna said, her expression darkening. “As much as I would like to stay, I do need to leave. And the two of you need to get to your party. Goodnight, my friends.”

“Goodnight, Luna,” I replied.

“Goodnight,” Rarity continued as Luna walked out the door. “Did I hear her correctly? She called me a ‘friend’.” She was softly smiling. Simple things can mean a lot to somepony.

“On that note, we should head to the party,” I said. We headed through the town on our way to the party. We got many looks from the ponies we passed, though the ones they gave were looks of shock, while Rarity was getting looks for her beauty. Everything was decorated in some type of scary bobble or cutout, and everypony was in costume. I do not think I saw anypony in the same type of costume. There were stalls for shops and games and food along the road.

I felt a tingle on the back of my neck. The air pressure changed. There was a flash of light with a loud crash that made us jump. I looked up to see Rainbow Dash in her Shadowbolt costume, laughing on a thundercloud. From the way the ponies around us were quickly recovering, she had been doing this all night. I tried to smile as an idea popped in my head.

“Rainbow Dash!” I shouted, making myself sound as intimidating as I could. I stomped the ground and flared out my wings; I even added magic to make my voice louder and add an echo. “Are you such a foalish pony that you would dare to attack your new queen? Or have you forgotten your place in this miserable little world? Maybe you should be taught the lesson you deserve!”

I summoned my own lightning as I threw my head back in laughter. My evil cackle quickly turned into a silly giggle as I saw their faces. Rainbow looked like she nearly had a heart attack, which was fair as that is what I felt like with her lightning. Rarity joined my laughter as the crowd began to calm down.

“Okay, you got me,” Rainbow admitted in defeat.

“It serves you right for scaring us like that!” Rarity exclaimed.

“By the way, Feria,” she said, ignoring Rarity, “Princess Luna was here. I think you just missed her.”

“We know,” I answered. “She stopped by on her way out of town.”

“Oh, well, uh…” she stammered. “Have a great Nightmare Night then!”She took her thundercloud and zoomed off into the night, probably to scare other ponies. The rest of the walk to the party was fairly unobstructed, except for those who stopped us to compliment our costumes.

We walked up the path to Filthy Rich’s house. I do not think ‘house’ is the right word to describe it, as it is larger and taller than most in Ponyville, but what do you expect from the wealthiest stallion in town? Yet it is nowhere near the size of Canterlot buildings. The white exterior walls, while different from the rest of town, were quite plain, built for structure, not for design. It had three stories, and I knew the ground level was mostly for hosting events like this party and business meetings, or both, as inviting certain ponies to a party is a good way to show how much you care that they get your business.

Off to the side of the yard was a small playground, with a small group of fillies playing on it. I could see two of them were Rich’s daughter Diamond Tiara and her friend Silver Spoon; Diamond was dressed as a little princes with a fancy pink dress and a tiara fancier than her usual one; Silver was a merpony, a silver dress tapered into a tail shape with shiny fins, her hair was done up with blue seashells. They actually looked adorable, and by the way they were playing with the other few fillies I could tell they were not completely heartless. I wonder why they were mean to the Crusaders specifically.

I was not given much time to think on it as we had reached the front door. Rarity reached and rang the doorbell, while I got into ‘character’. I figured if I could scare Rainbow Dash with that, whoever answered the door would be much easier. I straightened my body, fluffed out my wings, and switched to a more sturdy position. I held my head high and tried out a condescending smile.

“Welcome, to my House of Horror!” Rich’s voice boomed at the door opened. He let out a scream and jumped away from the door, only to slip and land on his flank. I could not help but laugh at his reaction. The hood of his costume had fallen off when he fell, revealing his normal brown coat and black hair. But from the cloak and fake scythe, it was easy to guess he was a grim reaper.

“Rich, let them in,” came a voice I had not heard. An Earth Pony mare walked up and helped him up. She jumped at seeing Rarity and I, but kept herself under control. Her shiny, white mane was quite wavy, and currently tied up. She had used body paints to make herself into a stylized skeleton, but in places where the paint had begun to rub off I could see her pink coat.

“Hello, Mr. Rich,” I said, quieting my giggles. “I would apologize for the scare I gave you, but is that not the point of this holiday?”

“So very true,” he responded with a chuckle. “Please, come in!”

“Wow!” Rarity whispered as he closed the door behind us. The house’s interior was done up with jack-o-lanterns and cobwebs and spooky lighting. The catering staff was also dressed as skeletons, but they were simple, unlike the mare next to us. Many ponies were already here, mostly some of the few wealthier ponies in town, along with a fair amount of friends Rich had made through his work, along with their spouses.

“Thank you for the invitation, Rich,” I said to begin the conversation. “You really got into the spirit of things. As for introductions, this is my friend Rarity. She is the one who created the costume you were so afraid of.” The mare laughed as Rich seemed slightly flustered over his actions.

“It is a pleasure to meet you, miss Rarity,” He replied. “And I would like to intoduce the two of you to my wife. This is Rose Quartz.” He gestured to the mare in the skeleton costume.

“And what a lovely mare you are,” I complimented. “Though I had assumed as much from the way you two act around each other.”

“Thank you,” Rose Quartz giggled. “Nopony really needs to introduce you, Princess.”

“Please, call me Feria,” I insisted.

“Just like Rich,” she commented. “preferring a single name.”

“To be fair,” I replied, “not many ponies would like to be addressed as ‘Filthy’, though I know many a pony who would like to be princess.”

“That is quite true,” Rich said as he tried not to frown at his first name. “I must thank you for being the only pony to not slip up and call me that.”

“No need to thank me. When I was little, I was taught to always call a pony by the name they want,” I replied. “No matter if the name is a part of a whole, a shortened version, or a new name entirely; it is a sign of respect to give in to that wish. Not to say that those who slip up do not respect the pony they are talking to, especially if the pony corrects themselves afterward, but it helps to show it.”

“Where does one learn a skill like that?” Rose asked. “I figured most ponies wouldn’t want to correct a princess of their name.”

“Most ponies would,” I replied. “Princess Mi Amore Cadenza has asked everypony to call her ‘Cadence’ since before I came to be. Enough ponies had ignored the request to make her quite upset. Nowadays everypony calls her ‘Princess Cadence’, though on official documents and such it will use her real name.”

“I’ve always heard her called ‘Princess Cadence’,” Rarity said. “Though I guess I was quite little at the time.” We heard the door ring again, and Rich excused himself to answer it, leaving Rose with Rarity and I.

“I’m sorry to change the subject here,” Rose said, “but if I don’t ask this it’ll drive me nits all night. Miss Rarity, do I know you from somewhere? It seems strange, I mean I know you probably live here, but -“

“It’s not strange at all, darling!” Rarity exclaimed. “I wasn’t going to bring it up, but I usually pass by you when I pick up Sweetie Belle, my little sister.”

“Sweetie Belle? Isn’t she-?” Rose gasped. “Oh, you must think Rich and I are terrible for how Diamond acts toward her!”

“No I don’t think that at all!” she assured. “I’ve heard you talking to Diamond Tiara about what punishment she’ll get when the two of you get home. Not that I mean to eavesdrop but what you do sounded more than fair. It just hasn’t worked yet.”

“From what I hear she’s acting fairly typical for a filly her age,” I said. “Especially for one from a family that is better off than the other ones. The foals up in Canterlot are much worse. Especially because their parents protect them or pay off others to shut up when their kid does something wrong. Ponyville’s citizens work on a system of justice, Canterlot citizens work with wealth and political power.”

“You seem to hold a grudge against them,” Rose commented.

“Many foals think that being friends with a princess means they can get away with anything,” I explained. “If I heard about them using my title, or even their own title, to do something like that I would make sure they got what they deserved. Unfortunately, the foals grow up and apply that same logic to their adult life. Even some royalty fall to that system.”

Rarity rolled her eyes and let out a grumble that told me she was thinking about Blueblood. He truly was the worst royal in the family. I smiled at the thought.

“I just hope I’ll get Diamond out of it,” Rose sighed.

“The quickest way is a shock,” I said. “If she is put on the receiving end of what she does, it might shock her into realizing what she has done and make her better. It does not always work.”

“I’ll keep that in mind,” she said warily.

“Everypony is staring at us!” Rarity exclaimed gleefully.

“With those costumes, what do you expect?” Rose asked with a laugh.

“You can thank Rarity for that,” I said. “She designed and hoof-made everything.”

“That’s amazing!” she exclaimed.

“Not really,” Rarity replied. “It was a simple knowledge of fashion and holiday themes.”

Heads turned when a crash came from the other side of the room. Then came the yelling. From what I could make out, one of the caterers had tripped and his tray of food landed on one of the businesspony’s marefriend, who was completely outraged at the whole thing.

“I should probably go sort that out,” Rose sighed. “Enjoy the party. It was fun talking to you two!” With that, she trotted off to get a handle on the situation.

“You know,” Rarity commented. “I was wondering if this was just a kindly invite or if they wanted to use your presence to show off. So far I think it’s the former.”

“While they are truly being friendly,” I replied, “I do not doubt that the idea of using my title to their advantage crossed their minds once or twice. They wanted me here out of kindness, but the advantage is just a bonus.”

For a while, we mingled. Some ponies I knew, some I did not. I kept praising Rarity’s work by making sure everyone we talked to knew she was the one who made these costumes. The food was good. It was not as great as things that come out of Sugarcube Corner, but I might be biased.

It was a while before anything different happened. A magical swirl of green flames entered through one of the windows. Most ponies freaked out, some thought it was an illusion to scare us and remained calm, even laughed at the ‘cheap trick’. Both groups felt stupid as the magic came down to hover in front of me, reforming itself into the shape of a scroll. It was simple parchment, but those closest to us could see the important part of it: a ribbon with a wax seal, stamped with the Emblem of the Sun.

“They act like they’ve never seen a letter before,” Rarity mused. We moved to the side of the party to have some privacy fro curious eyes and ears.

“To be fair, most of them have not gotten a letter this way,” I said. “It is a higher level Unicorn spell.”

“Then how does Spike use it?” she asked.

“Celestia modified it,” I answered, breaking the seal. “Just like you modified the eye color spell, she made it so that Spike’s flame can send letters. She did it back when Twilight first became her student. As talented as Twilight was, she could not do this spell at the time, and sometimes Tia would have to be doing her Princessly duties and could not give her all the attention needed, so the letter makes it look like important work, or she would be off in Saddle Arabia or Zebrica and could not take Twilight with her. The letter gets to the other pony nearly instantly.”

“Think it could work on shipping out my orders?” she asked.

“It only works on paper or parchments. Which is a good thing, considering that it would mean anything Spike breathed fire on would get sent somewhere, usually to Celestia.”

“Imagine that,” she said. “He sneezes and sends half the town to the Princess.”

I tore the seal off and opened the letter. Rarity nudged me to point out some ponies wandering nearby and we shifter further out of the main crowd. My eyes scanned the first few lines for an indicator. I wanted to know if this was an emergency, or if it was something private, before reading it to Rarity.

“Dear Feria,” I read aloud. “Luna has informed me of her time in Ponyville. This, of course, includes her conversation with you at the Carousel Boutique. I wish to have been able to come myself, but I currently cannot leave Canterlot. There are some issues that we should discuss face-to-face.

As for the idea of Discord’s reformation, I will put it on hold for now. When you feel you might be ready, we can try it. I must also say that I never wanted to turn him to stone in the first place. Luna and I didn’t even know what the Elements of Harmony would do to him. There are only two things that we know about the Elements effects. One is that the outcome is unpredictable. The other, is that they do not destroy.

Yet that is not what I need to talk to you about in this letter. I had an idea the other day, one that would give us a way to teach ponies the true history straight from a Princess. As usual, I am working on the Hearth’s Warming play. Unfortunately, our lead cast is out of commission. The ones who play Clover the Clever and Smart Cookie are both on maternity leave, and the pony that plays Commander Hurricane has broken his legs and will not be able to participate. The ponies who would play Princess Platinum, Private Pansy, and Chancellor Puddinghead have moved on to better things performing on Bridleway in Manehattan. I couldn’t ask them to return to our stage for just one show.

Luckily, I happen to know six ponies who would love to help. If you can convince the Element Bearers to take on the roles, I would be happy to write something up. Of course, we will still have to put on the normal play, as if we did something different right away many nobles would be upset and not even listen to us. But if we add something afterward and make it dramatic, they will be hanging on the edge of their seats. Some of your friends will be easier to convince than others. From what I’ve heard, Fluttershy seems to have trouble with crowds. Though your friend Pinkie Pie seems like the type to want to help out.

This also comes along with two gifts. One gift is that you all will be invited to Canterlot for more than just the play, but for the few days before and after Hearth’s Warming, and since it is a family holiday, the immediate family is also invited. The second gift, is that the outfits for these characters all need to be remade from scratch. Luna praised the work of your dressmaking friend, Rarity. I believe she would be glad to have us commission this project. I look forward to hearing your response.

Sincerely, Princess Celestia”

I looked up from the parchment to ask Rarity what she thought, but I did not get the chance to ask. Her hooves were up and her face covering her smile and practically trembling with happiness. I could see the wheels turning in her head, ideas flying through her mind. Her answer was an obvious yes.

“So I guess tomorrow we can begin convincing everypony,” I smiled.

“Oh, yes well,” she stammered, trying not to seem too eager. “She’ll have to send us scripts, and I’ll have to measure everypony. I’ll have to look up designs and then sketch everything, then actually make it! All of that along with learning my lines and carrying on with my daily life and other projects… Yes, I can do that!”

“Actually, I think that eye color changing spell would be helpful,” I said. “Well, just the version for coat and mane colors. If we want to accurately represent these characters but still be seen as ‘actors.”

“I don’t know about one for coats and manes, but I can try to find the eye one again and see if it could be modified for-“ Rarity began.

“The guard!” I exclaimed, cutting her off. “The guard uniform has a spell on it to change their manes to various blues and their coats to white or gray. It will be easy to find that spell!”

“Well,” she wondered, processing that information. “ I was thinking of doing the traditional ‘costumes’ for the play, and then doing whatever was needed to be accurate to the true history.”

“Wonderful!” I replied. “I will send Celestia a reply in the morning.”

“This is going to be fabulous!” she exclaimed.

Author's Note:

not too proud of this chapter, it needs a bit of tweaking still, but I have a lot of chapters to edit since I didn't have internet for a few months, and this one was not as big.

Comments

[Shaddeluim]

i really enjoyed this chapter, glad to see you back on