Ch.9 - ...What A Fright!
Midnight, Squeaks, Sapphire, Windrunner, and Scarlet all made it back to town just behind Pinkie, her group of panicked foals, and the thestral flock (herd?). As Pinkie and the foals following her screamed and ran about on the ground, a figure, the apparent rider of the chariot, detached themselves from the airborne group and quickly descended to the ground. Midnight, Sapphire, and Squeaks all landed among their neighbors to meet the newcomer while Windrunner and Scarlet stayed in the air, weary of the bat ponies above. The figure on the ground threw its hood back.
"Princess Luna!" Squeaks squeaked happily, any concern gone from her voice. She was echoed by Twilight who had followed them back to town.
Midnight and Sapphire breathed a sigh of relief. If this was Princess Luna, then the thestrals above them were her guards and the ones from the colony she had brought back. Windrunner and Scarlet landed next to them and gave confused looks. "It's all good; we have a royal guest tonight, apparently," Midnight reassured them.
"Should we bow as well?" Scarlet asked, nodding towards Sapphire and the rest of the town.
"Oh, uh, right," Midnight mumbled, bowing her head and spreading her wings towards the princess, Scarlet and Windrunner following suit. Squeaks hopped off her back and did the same, but kept her eager eyes on the princess. A frown crossed Midnight's face when she saw everypony else had thrown themselves on their stomachs rather than simply bow.
Princess Luna's cape changed into a flock of bats as she took a few steps forward towards the mayor.
"Cool," Midnight heard Scarlet mutter.
"Citizens of Ponyville!" Luna thundered, the Royal Canterlot Voice booming in their ears. "We have graced your tiny village with Our followers' and Our presence, so that you may behold the real Princess of the Night! A creature of nightmares no longer, but instead a pony who desires your love and admiration! Together, we shall change this dreadful celebration into a bright and glorious feast!" This announcement was punctuated by some thunder and lighting. A small squeak of fear and Squeaks was up against Midnight's leg again.
Midnight herself was both confused and a bit miffed. Confused because the princess was bellowing at them like they were all deaf, and miffed because she'd called Nightmare Night a "dreadful celebration". Sure, it's centerpiece was her alter-ego running around eating foals, but nopony really believed it, not any sane adult, anyway.
Pinkie was not a sane adult. "Did you hear that everypony? Nightmare Moon says she's going to feast on us all!" Once again, she screamed and ran off, sans a few of the children this time , who were cowering with their parents. Unfortunately, Pip and the girls were easily spotted trailing the pink chicken. Midnight did not look forward to explaining to their parents how she'd pretty much let them run around unsupervised.
Princess Luna, as well as the rest of the thestrals who were now landing, looked after the retreating costumed pony in confusion. Disapproving glares were common among the thestrals. "What!? No, no, you no longer have reason to fear Us!" Luna called out, thankfully in a much more appropriate volume. "Screams of delight is what your princess desires, not screams of terror!" Luna stomped her hoof, causing a few cracks in the ground and the still bowing ponies closest to her to flinch. After another second, the Lunar Princess apparently gave up on Pinkie returning and turned around. "Madam Mayor, thy princess of the night hath arrived!" she announced, sticking her hoof down at the mayor as if she was expected to kiss it.
"Uh, Sapphire?" Midnight whispered. "Is she expecting the mayor to do what I think she wants her to do?"
"I... guess so," Sapphire said with equal confusion. "But I've never seen Princess Celestia make anypony do that."
"Something tells me that even after a year back, Luna hasn't gotten all the memos yet," Midnight said, not sure whether to find the scene funny or a train wreck waiting to happen. Probably both. Unsuccessful with Mayor Mare, Luna tried the same with her assistant and two other ponies. What concerned Midnight more than the agitated princess was the slowly increasingly unhappy looks the thestrals were giving the local population each time their princess was apparently snubbed.
"Fine, be that way!" Luna finally announced, tired of trying to get somepony to finish the ritual. "We won't even bother with the traditional royal farewell!" She turned and began walking away.
"Alright, that would be our cue," Midnight told them, slipping Squeaks onto her back and trotting forward, followed by Sapphire, Twilight, and a nervous Windrunner and Scarlet. "Princess Luna! Hello!" she called after the dark blue alicorn.
Luna looked back and her frown quickly became a large grin. Many of the thestrals also smiled at the kirin's approach. "Midnight Storm! We are so very happy to see thee here tonight!" Luna belted out at almost point-blank range. Midnight's ears slammed down at the assault on her hearing. From the way Squeaks hunched down behind her neck she hadn't taken it well either. Both Windrunner and Scarlet flinched back and stayed behind Midnight. Only Sapphire and Twilight stayed up with her as if they'd barely noticed, although Twilight was looking pretty surprised. Now that she was closer, Midnight could also see many of the non-guard thestrals also wincing at the volume the princess was using.
"It's good to see you too, Princess," Midnight agreed, pointedly rubbing her ears. "To what do we owe the pleasure of your visit, as well as the entire thestral colony?"
"As We have said, We are here to make this a proper celebration of the night!" Luna hadn't gotten the hint. "We are also here to oversee that Our loyal followers' move into the town goes smoothly."
"They're moving here?" Midnight asked, looking around at the herd. "I mean, I just figured they'd like living up on Canterlot Mountain since that was more like their old home."
"True, but we never felt very welcome in Canterlot itself." Captain Night Skimmer came out from behind the princess. "We even got reports of nobles running away from some of us screaming. Rather odd." He smiled as if making a joke, but both Midnight and Sapphire could see it didn't reach his eyes.
"Yeah, well, those nobles do some really weird stuff," Midnight agreed, trying to help lighten the mood. "I heard they like bathing in mud; a really bad example to set for foals." Laughter went through the assembled thestrals this time, and the kirin could see both her counterpart and the princess relax a bit more. "So I take it all those houses that went up were because you wanted to move down here?"
"Indeed; a most clever plan. They are close enough to Canterlot that We may visit them at Our leisure and away from the nobility that has... distained their company," Luna told them with a frown. Midnight was sure said nobles had told both princesses exactly how they felt on the matter of thestrals walking and flying the streets of the capitol.
"There's another reason we chose to move here," a thestral mare said, stepping forward. She was grey, like many of them, with a night-blue mane, tail, and wings. Strapped to her back like a set of saddle bags were two thestral foals, both still only babies. One had the same coat color as the mare but had a very dark orange mane, while the other was strikingly different, with a pink coat and lighter blue mane.
The color combination brought a name up out of Midnight's memory. "Pastel Dawn," she said as she stared down at the filly, who yawned as if in response.
The thestral mare nodded. "One of the foals you helped save. It's an honor to meet you, Midnight Storm." The mare, who had to be Skimmer's sister Night Sky and the stallion close to her, his brother-in-law Night Saber, bowed to the kirin. Many of the others followed suit, while a few gave her a simple smile and respectful nod of the head.
Midnight's wings flared and her ears flattened at the gestures. Luna had said they wanted to thank her, but she'd expected a chorus of heart-felt thank-yous and maybe a few hoof shakes. Being bowed to like that was far more than she felt she deserved. Looking to either side, she found the other three just as dumbfounded as her. "It's, uh, an honor to meet you all as well. You can stop bowing now, please," she told them, grateful when they had straightened up.
Scarlet leaned in. "Wow; got a whole legion of bat ponies at your disposal."
Midnight turned and growled at her. "Not funny or appropriate, Scarlet."
The hippogriff shut her beak and tried to look innocent.
"And I take it that this is Squeaky Wings?" Night Sky asked, peering around Midnight's head to get a better look at the costumed foal sitting there. Squeaks squirmed as she tried to make herself smaller under the adult thestral's gaze. "Skimmer told us who her father was... she does look a lot like Evening Dream..." Night Sky trailed off, her eyes unfocusing into memories.
"Squeaks," Midnight said gently, turning her head to look at the filly. "Don't you think you should say hello to your colony?"
Squeaks looked up at her, her ears twitching nervously, but then she leaned out a bit and looked at the rest of her kind. "Hello," she said softly before ducking back again.
Midnight discreetly rolled her eyes in exasperation at Sapphire but kept silent. At least she had only to ask her once. Baby steps. As she did so she caught several of her fellow Ponyvillians starting to get up, many looking more curious than afraid now as one of their own talked with the princess and the newcomers like they were just an average pony on the street.
"We also want to express our gratitude," another mare said, trotting up beside Night Sky with her own husband. She turned slightly to reveal another light colored thestral foal, this one a colt with a yellow coat and white mane.
"I remember hearing about you as well, but I didn't catch any names," Midnight told her, reaching forward and gently rubbing the colt's head with the flat of her wing claw. He, too, yawned a bit at the touch, then went back to sleep.
"His name is Bright Star. My name is Evening Breeze and my husband is Star Claw," she told her.
"Midnight!"
They all turned to see Summer, Orange, Honeysuckle, Tight, and the rest of their original group come trotting around a group of buildings. Midnight mentally smacked herself. How could she forget about leaving her mother, sister, and friends out in White-Tail Woods like that? Well, a Lunar Princess and an entourage consisting of an entire thestral colony (sort of) were pretty distracting things.
"Mom, over here!" Midnight called back, waving them over with a wing.
They were only a few paces away when Summer finally recognized Princess Luna, who had been blocked from her view by Midnight and her costume. "P-Princess Luna!" she yelped, immediately flattening herself to the ground with Autumn still riding on her back. The others quickly followed suit.
Before the princess could say something in greeting, Sapphire moved in between the two parties. "Your highness, perhaps we could postpone the exchange of greetings for just a bit? I'm sure the thestrals would like to see their new homes before taking part in the festivities, which should last most of the night. It would give the villagers time to arrange a more appropriate welcome for your visit as well."
Luna eyed her ex-aid for a moment, then smiled. "An excellent suggestion, Sapphire Breeze! Madam Mayor, the keys to the new homes, if you please!"
The mayor jumped as she was singled out. "B-B-But there's also the paper work to consider, y-y-your highness!" she stuttered out. Even scared out of her wits, Mayor Mare was determined to follow protocol. That's a politician for you.
Sapphire trotted over and leaned in to whisper. "Mayor, I think it would be best if you gave myself and Midnight an excuse to remove the princess and the others from the scene for a bit so as the public can gather its wits about itself... and maybe give them a warmer welcome when we return. It might also help calm them down if they see the mayor taking control of things."
"Oh, um, right," the mayor said, taking Sapphire's hints. "I-If you'll excuse my aid and I, we'll be back shortly with the keys."
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"We knew thine birthday twas on this night, Midnight Storm, but We had no idea thou would be so festive," Princess Luna told the kirin as she looked over the fully decorated house. It was quite an impressive sight and the most decorated home in the entire town. The image of Nightmare Moon staring out from the front door ruffled her feathers a bit, however. She and her guards had opted to stay with the kirin and the rest of the Ponyvillians while the civilian thestrals flew around the recently constructed houses, each family trying to figure out which one they wanted.
"To be honest, we can thank Pinkie for organizing all my friends and family into doing this as a surprise for both my birthday and Nightmare Night," Midnight told her, waving a hoof at Sapphire, Scarlet, Windrunner, Summer, Honeysuckle, Tight, and Orange.
Luna smiled at them. "We are charmed to meet the mother of Midnight Storm, as well as her younger sister and stepfather."
Orange and Summer smiled and bowed. Autumn looked torn between the excitement of meeting new ponies and fright at being addressed so loudly and aggressively as the princess was doing.
She turned to the other four. "We are also glad to meet her friends as well. Things have certainly changed for the better for you since you first arrived in this humble little town."
Said four followed Summer and Orange's lead. Midnight chuckled and rubbed the back of her neck. "I suppose so."
"Wasn't the Element of Laughter the one leading the screaming group of foals and calling the princess Nightmare Moon?" Skimmer asked with a raised eyebrow.
'I swear to Faust, the Maker, or whoever Pinkie that I WILL get you for that.' "She has a way of working both herself and others up," Midnight said, trying to pass the party pony's actions off as a quirk. "I'm sure somepony in town will tell her how rude she was being and she'll stop." Unlikely, but it seemed to smooth some of the ruffled nerves around her.
"I don't think they were trying to be mean, princess," Squeaks said from her spot next to Midnight. The filly had been all smiles during their walk home and had willingly chatted with Luna about everything and anything since the last time they'd met. She was even getting talkative with the other thestrals, most notably Night Sky and Evening Breeze. Midnight was sure that she was more willing to talk with Sky since she was Skimmer's sister but the only reason she could come up with for Evening was that she had a baby with her. Ponies were probably less scary when they had an infant with them. "I know a few of those foals from school, and they aren't mean at all. I think Pinkie was just trying to scare them some more; she's not mean either, just weird."
They all laughed. Out of the mouth of babes, but the princess and her guards looked a little better.
Speaking of the Element Bearers, Twilight Sparkle unexpectedly came around the group of thestrals, the bells on her costume jingling gently as she came forward. "We're all sorry that Pinkie acted the way she did," she told the princess with a small bow. Midnight had completely forgotten that she and Spike had followed them out of the center of town, falling behind the others as she stopped to inspect the thestrals. "By the way, my name is-"
"Starswirl the Bearded. Commendable costume; thou even got the bells right," Luna noted.
"Thank you! Finally, somepony who gets my costume! Do you have any idea how frustrating it is for ponies to keep calling me 'grandpa' or 'old timer'?" She shot a look at Spike, who tried to act innocent. "Forget the bells and the beard, it should be obvious that I'm a wizard!" Then Twilight noticed the indifferent look on the princess' face. "Uh, I just wanted to give my own apologies as well for how the town acted when you first arrived. My real name is-"
"Twilight Sparkle," Luna interrupted again. "It was thou who unleashed the powers of harmony upon Us and took away Our dark powers!"
Everypony's ears snapped flat against their heads. Spike and Scarlet used their claws to cover their own. "Okay," Midnight muttered, "time we did something about that." Looking around, she noticed some thestral foals hanging around her fake cemetery. Nudging Squeaks, she said, "Squeaks, how about you go and make friends with those foals over by the cemetery while Sapphire and I talk with the princess about something for a minute?"
The filly was about to protest when she saw the look in her mother's eye. She nodded and made her way over to the house.
Midnight straightened back up, briefly thinking that she'd have to find some more candy in the house; the bowl they had left outside was predictably empty when they'd arrived.
"And, that was a good thing, right?" Twilight asked hesitantly.
"But of course! We could not be happier! Is that not clear!?" Luna shouted, this time keeping the volume below a roar.
"Well, you kinda sound like you're yelling at me," Twilight explained.
"It's true, your highness," Sapphire agreed carefully. "While we know you're only using the Royal Canterlot Voice, the ponies of the town aren't so used to how you address them."
"And to top it off I don't think the thestrals are too pleased with it either," Midnight said bluntly. "I'm surprised you haven't woken the foals up." She motioned towards the sleeping babies.
"Midnight!" Summer said, flabbergasted that her daughter had been so crass with royalty. She quickly looked around, but nopony seemed upset or scandalized by what Midnight had said.
"But this is traditional to speak as such!" Luna said, almost conversationally if it wasn't for the force. "The use of the royal "we" and to use this much volume when addressing Our subjects is expected of Us! And our thestral allies have not once made an objection to it this night!"
The wincing most of those present did as she said this lost her argument its weight, but Midnight decided not to press the point.
"Actually, it's no problem for the foals," Evening said. "We fed them some milk-suckle before we left Canterlot. It has an effect of knocking the drinker out cold for a few hours after feeding, but it's never done anything more harmful to foals than that. They could sleep with a train powering past them. Not that you sound as such, princess," Evening apologized with a bow.
"That might also explain why your arrival was met with such... mixed results," Twilight said. "Perhaps if you just changed your approach, lowered the volume, you might be met with a warmer reception."
"And princess, I must point out that the Royal Canterlot Voice has not been in use since almost after... the events that led up to the creation of this holiday," Sapphire said, catching herself.
"And if I may recite a quote, your highness, "tradition is a guide for the wise and a rule for the foolish". Nopony here is expecting you to speak so loudly, so you shouldn't have to," Midnight told her.
"Might help if she spoke with normal words, too," Scarlet muttered.
Midnight responded with a jab to her ribs, but this was also heard. "That last bit isn't a problem, but it is rather confusing that you're talking that way when you spoke like an average pony at the Grand Galloping Gala," Midnight said, trying to look apologetic for Scarlet.
"This is true, We suppose," Luna said. "And thou makes a good argument with how tradition should be viewed. We have already been in talks with Our sister about the presentation of the Hearth's Warming Pageant. We will try to keep the volume of our voice down around our subjects and see how We are received. As for Our way of speaking, We have always preferred such and only spoke as the modern pony has done on account of appeasing the nobles." She said that last bit with some heat.
"Well, no nobles around here, princess," Midnight assured her. "Just some villagers enjoying one of their favorite holidays." Sapphire and Summer shot her warning looks at the emphasis, but the kirin pushed on. "Maybe after our friends choose their new homes, we can all head back to the festival and we can show you why this holiday is so popular."
The princess considered that for a moment. "Twould be fair to try and see this night as thou sees it. Very well, We shall try."
"Great! How about we wait inside and have something to drink? I'm actually kind of thirsty from walking around all night."
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Squeaks trotted over to the three thestral foals lingering around the fake cemetery next to her house. That had been one of the parts she had helped decorate earlier that day, holding some of the tombstones in placed while Honeysuckle hammered them into the ground. The filly was happy to see that it looked just as spooky as she had hoped it would be. More, with the zombies "rising" out of the ground behind it and the cloud of bats leaving the "cave" even further back. Besides the part with Nightmare Moon, she really was enjoying the creepy atmosphere of the holiday.
"This pony sure likes this holiday," one of them said. A colt and probably a year or two older than Squeaks. He was grey like many of the other thestrals with a black mane and yellow eyes.
"Yeah; I hope Princess Luna doesn't get too angry with her." This from the only filly in the group, about the same age as Squeaks and the other foal, another colt. She had a dark blue mane with a line of silver in it and blue eyes.
"Why would Princess Luna be angry with my mom?"
All three looked around at Squeaks.
"Because the princess doesn't like it; the holiday I mean," the younger colt explained. This one had a purple mane and eyes.
"She told us that she didn't like how ponies were celebrating her time as Nightmare Moon, so she said she wanted to stop it," the filly elaborated. "I kinda wish she wasn't going to stop it; these decorations are all so cool!"
Squeaks tilted her head and cocked her ears in confusion. She understood why Princess Luna wouldn't like the part about Nightmare Moon; her mom had read the tale of the two sisters to her enough times to get that. What she didn't understand was why everything else had to be stopped with it. Decorating, getting dressed up in costume, and going trick-or-treating with her friends was all really fun. Why did the princess want to stop that?
"Wait, you said your mom put all this up?" the older colt asked. "But I thought that kirnin lived here?"
"It's pronounced kirin, Nocturne," the filly corrected.
"Whatever; I thought she adopted one of those light-coated foals our colony banished." The colt, Nocturne, then noticed how Squeaks' eyes and fangs didn't go with the rest of the costume. "Oh."
"Hey, you're that filly all the grownups were talking about!" the younger colt said.
Squeaks sat back on her haunches and looked a bit worried at that. "They were talking about me?"
"Yeah," said the filly. "They were saying how things wouldn't have changed at home if you hadn't been adopted." At the mention of their destroyed home in the mountains, Nocturne grimaced and looked away. "I'm really glad they did; I heard a lot of the other grownups did some pretty bad things. I'm Star Glider, by the way."
Squeaks looked down at her hooves as she remembered what one particular grownup did to her.
"I'm glad too, and my name's Silent Arrow," said the younger colt.
"I'm Squeaky Wings," Squeaks told them.
"Nocturne Bolt," said the oldest.
All four of them ducked and flattened their ears as the princess used the RCV again.
"I wish she wouldn't do that anymore," Squeaks said when she had stopped. "She didn't do that the last time my mom and I saw her."
"She's been doing that all night," Arrow told her. "I asked my mom if we could ask her to stop, but she said that would be rude."
"Well, it is the princess," Nocturne pointed out. "She can do whatever she wants to."
"Yeah, but she was kinda scaring everypony back in town, so maybe it would be better if somepony told her not to be so loud," Squeaks said, looking back towards the princess and her mother. "Hey, you don't sound too happy either," she said, turning to look back at Nocturne. "Is it because you don't like Nightmare Night either?"
"Who doesn't like Nightmare Night?"
They all turned to see Spike coming up to them.
"Princess Luna," Squeaks told him.
"Oh, well, yeah, I can see why. Having stories about your evil side eating foals would be kind of a downer. But hey, there's lots of other things about Nightmare Night that are fun! Maybe Midnight and Twilight can help her see that."
"That's what I said."
"Who are you?" Star Glider asked.
"I'm Spike the dragon, number one assistant to Twilight Sparkle, personal protégé of Princess Celestia herself," Spike said proudly.
"Oh," the other three said, not sounding very impressed.
Spike raised an eyebrow at this lack-lust response, then turned to Squeaks."I thought they were all cool with Princess Celestia?" he whispered to her.
The filly only shrugged in response. "So what are they talking about over there?"
"Oh, just asking the princess what's up with all the yelling and to see if she'll stop. I think they'll convince her." He popped a candy from his bag into his mouth.
"So, why don't you like Nightmare Night?" Squeaks asked Nocturne again.
"I never said I did," he said defensively.
"He just doesn't like that we've moved," Arrow said, earning him a glare from Nocturne.
"I don't see why we had to! Princess Luna already took away all the bad ponies! It's not fair!" He crossed his forelegs and turned away with a scowl.
The other four looked around at each other. Star and Arrow looked like they'd heard this before while Spike and Squeaks looked at the back of his head with sympathy. Squeaks could sympathize, but not relate. The only move she ever made was from under her abusive father's wing to Midnight's kind, loving one. Spike, on the other claw, could.
"Yeah, moving from the place you grew up stinks," he told him. "Everything's different; the ponies, the places, heck, even the air you breath." Then he smiled. "But you also get to meet a bunch of new ponies, explore some place new, and try new things. Ponyville might not be your old home, and it sure isn't Canterlot, but it's a really great place once you get used to it."
"I still don't like it," Nocturne said, turning back around to face them.
"I already said moving stinks! All I'm saying is to try and look at the good parts about it. Besides, you've got your friends with you; that's more than a lot of other ponies can say."
"I... guess..." Nocturne said slowly, looking around at Star and Arrow. The corners of his mouth twitching up in a small smile.
"And me and Spike can be your first friends here in Ponyville!" Squeaks said happily. "Ooo! Everypony else should still be back at the festival! You guys can come with us and meet them too!"
All three thestral foals perked up a bit more at that.
"Squeaks, Spike, come on inside," Midnight called over. "We're getting something to drink, take a quick bathroom break, then head back out."
"Can Arrow, Star, and Nocturne come with us?" Squeaks asked.
"We want to show them around town so they can meet everypony!" Spike added.
Midnight looked over the three other foals. She already lost six others and wasn't keen on possibly losing anymore. Then again many of the other thestrals would probably follow the princess back into town, so they'd have more eyes and hooves to help keep track of them.
"If their parents say yes, then they can," she finally said. "Now hurry up; I'd like us to get back to the festival as quick as possible."
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"Pinkie..." Midnight growled as they neared the center of town once more. "I swear the next time I see her I'm going to flambé that crazy mane and tail of hers!" It was telling just how much the others were getting annoyed with the party pony when nopony objected or reprimanded the kirin for the comment.
They had all been finishing their drinks when Pinkie had burst through the side door, begging the kirin to hide them from Nightmare Moon since Fluttershy wouldn't even open her door. As it turned out, Midnight had been sticking her head into the stove to try and scrape out some spilled liquid that had burnt up while dinner had been cooking earlier. Luna had been right behind her, both in the middle of conversation. Pinkie screamed that Nightmare Moon was trying to cook Midnight so she could eat her, then ran out of the house, the shrieks of children following her away. Everypony had called out after them after they'd spilled out of the house, telling them to come back and to stop being so silly.
To Midnight's surprise Squeaks had been right up front with everypony else, calling after her friends and schoolmates that the princess wasn't scary at all. "You're all being stupid!" she'd finally shrieked at their disappearing forms.
It had left everypony in a sour mood as they left for the festival. As they got closer to the center of town, however, and the sounds of ponies having a good time got louder, their collective mood began to brighten. Squeaks and Spike had started telling the thestral foals and the princess about their friends that hadn't been running around with Pinkie and who would certainly be a lot nicer.
"Berry and Derpy ought to be more sensible as well," Midnight agreed, her own foul mood starting to ebb away. "Bet Vinyl gets a kick out of meeting everypony as well," she said to Sapphire.
"What about Lyra?"
"Eh, she's crazy to begin with so either she'll pull a Pinkie or be in their faces," Midnight said with a shrug.
When they entered the town square, however, things didn't go as any of their group had hoped. One of the nearby ponies gave a startled yelp loud enough to be heard over the band when she saw them. All heads turned towards them, then ducked low in frightened bows.
"Seriously?" Midnight asked loudly, looking around at them all, eyes tabled.
"Twas a noble effort, Midnight Storm," Luna said with an aggravated sigh. "But twould seem thine fellow villagers have not changed at all in Our absence."
"Oh no, we are not playing this game again!" Twilight said, looking around. "I'm going to get Applejack; I'm sure she'll have some ideas on how to get past all this."
"I'll get Berry and Derpy," Midnight said, spotting the two and peeling away to collect them. Squeaks trotted away with her. They both stopped in front of them, the kirin and bat filly eyeing their friends unhappily. Not only were they bowing but also sheltering Pinchy, Dinky, and Twist between themselves. "Ladies," Midnight said down to them, arching an eyebrow.
"What are you all doing?" Squeaks said, sounding equally unhappy.
They all glanced up at her. "Midnight, Squeaks; what are you doing!?" Berry whispered. "Get down!"
"Why?"
"Because!" the purple earth pony nodded towards the princess.
"Because Princess Luna showed up?"
"Because she showed up and started yelling at everypony!" Pinchy told them.
"And she was really scary when she made all the lightning!" Dinky added.
"But she's not doing that now!" Squeaks said, looking unhappily from one of her friends to the next. "Yeah, she was loud before and made all that lightning," she shivered a bit, "but she knows she messed up and she wants to try and start over! All she wants to do is be friends with everypony!"
"But what about all thoth bat ponith?" Twist asked. "Aren't they all her evil guard or something?"
"What? No!" Midnight said, pinching the bridge of her muzzle in exasperation.
"I'm a bat pony, and I'm not evil!" Squeaks said, starting to feel a bit hurt. They were just normal ponies like everypony else; why couldn't they see that?
"Look," Midnight said with a sigh, "Princess Luna was stuck on the moon for a thousand years as some demonic night alicorn. Personally, I think that would lead to one heck of a culture shock and I would appreciate it if as many ponies tried to reach out and help her adjust to this new time. Trust me when I tell you that ponies being scared of you SUCKS."
The light went on for Berry and Derpy then. Of course Midnight would be angry they were acting like this to the princess; ponies had acted that way towards Midnight herself. Slowly, the two of them got off the ground. "And you promise it's safe?"
"Yes! Sweet Faust on a stick, why is everypony scared of everything else but me!? I'm a half-breed that could burn or flatten this whole town by myself, but Makers forbid if a zebra or princess comes to town!"
They made their way back to the princess who was talking with a recently returned Twilight, Rarity, and Applejack. The two had been helping run some of the stands when Twilight collected them. "All one needs is the right attitude," the farm pony was saying. "Loosen up a bit, be positive!"
"And don't take what the ponies around here do to heart, your highness," Rarity added. "Why, I've seen them faint away at the sight of a rabbit stampede."
AJ shot the unicorn a dirty look but what was even funnier was the look the thestrals had at the idea of anypony being scared of a group of rabbits. Sure, they themselves were predators, but still.
"Anyway," AJ continued, "just play a few games and have some fun!"
"Fun?" Luna asked. "What is this "fun" thou speakest of?" Every single Ponyvillian standing stared at the princess. "What?"
"Fun, your highness," Sapphire said uncertainly, caught completely off guard by her question.
"Yes, what is "fun"?"
"Uh..." Midnight said uncertainly, looking over at the thestrals. Skimmer unhelpfully shrugged.
-----------------------------
Somewhere up the north coast of Equestria, past even the yet still frozen Crystal Empire, a creature looked up from her photo album. She blinked her blue and purple eyes and looked to the wyvern next to her. "I've got the weirdest urge to sing a song about how to spell fun, and maybe make a yellow sponge sing along, too."
The wyvern, black with vivid orange streaks on his belly and bright orange horns, looked back at her. "No matter how long we know each other, I doubt I'll ever not be surprised by something you do or say."
"I hope that's a good thing!" she said with a broad smile. "Time to set off the fireworks anyway! It's a special day!"
"Not in the-!"
Somewhere around a hundred fireworks, all different kinds, went off, setting the cave they were in a blaze with light and sound, much of which spilled out into the crater and startling the other wyverns clustered around the sides.
"Happy Birthday Midnight!"
-----------------------------
"Wait, thou mentioned games; does thou mean merrymaking?"
"Yes!" Midnight and Sapphire said together, grasping at the life line.
"Oh, well then, let the merriment commence! Where shalt we begin?" The alicorn looked around and one game close by caught her interest. "Pray tell, what purpose do these serve?" she asked the game vendor, who was still on the ground.
"Try to land the sp-sp-spiders on the w-web!" she got out.
Immediately Midnight took a long step back away from the game.
Gingerly, Luna took one of the fake spiders and tossed it at the web. It landed short with a squeak and a bounce.
"You can do it princess!" AJ shouted encouragingly.
"Perhaps more force behind the throw, your highness?" Skimmer suggested.
"Aim higher, your majesty!" Another thestral called out. "Arc it in!"
Picking up another spider, she tried again, both throwing it harder and higher. This time she got a perfect bull's-eye. "This is most "fun" indeed!" she said happily.
More ponies were beginning to get up off the ground now, emboldened by what Midnight had said to Berry and Derpy and from seeing the princess playing a common carnival game.
"What other games are there that We may play?"
"Princess, I see some trebuchets a little ways off," Skimmer said.
"Yep! That there's the pumpkin chuckin' game!" AJ said proudly.
A smirk crossed the princess' face. "Oh, I am well aware how those work."
"Would you like Lieutenant Star Chaser and I to accompany you on the other two?"
"How about she plays with Berry and Derpy here?" Midnight suggested, motioning to the two mares standing next to her. "It wouldn't be very fair if her guards or our new neighbors hogged the princess to themselves all night."
-----------------------------
Midnight looked around and smiled. Ponyville and the princess, as well as the thestrals, were now intermingled. Perhaps it had been the princess playing carnival games with Berry and Derpy that did it, or maybe it was when Derpy actually managed to beat her at pumpkin chuckin' and she didn't incinerate her on the spot. Or perhaps they'd all finally come to their senses. Whatever the reason, and the kirin didn't really care at that point, the princess and the thestrals were now completely mixed in with the townsfolk; playing games, trying holiday treats together, or even just talking. Midnight overheard Sky and Evening talking with Mr. and Mrs. Cake about milk-suckle, which the two thestrals were planning to grow and sell as a source of income. "Oh, thank goodness," Mrs. Cake said upon hearing about the sleeping side effect. "It'll make raising the baby and running the store so much easier than we thought." The bakers had just announced barely a week ago that they were going to have a baby sometime after Hearth's Warming. Mrs. Cake had done a good job hiding it.
"It's nice to see everypony finally getting along," Sapphire said, sitting down next to Midnight at the table they were sharing. The two were enjoying some fried pumpkin on a stick and some mix of pumpkin and carrot juice. Midnight planned to get some cranberry soda to wash the taste down when they were finished.
"Yep," she said around another bite of fried pumpkin. "And it's nice seeing Squeaks making friends so easily instead of hiding behind my legs for once. Between Honeysuckle and tonight, I hope this is the start of a new trend."
Squeaks, the thestral foals, the pillow knights, and Spike were all busy playing games and trying to get sick on their candy. Squeaks had guilted Pinchy, Dinky, and Twist into playing the first few games with her new thestral friends, saying that if they wouldn't play with the new thestrals, then they couldn't play with any. Her plan worked, and now Pinchy and Nocturne were trying to out-win each other, Glider and Dinky were trying some pumpkin spice popcorn, and Arrow and Twist were going over the various candies in Twist's bag and she would explain how certain ones were made.
Berry, Derpy, Vinyl, and Lyra were also making headway with their new thestral neighbors. Vinyl, as Midnight had expected, was gushing all over the thestrals, admiring them as much as Scarlet had admired Midnight when she first came to town. Midnight wished she had a camera to capture all their confused faces. Berry and Derpy had gone back to watching over the foals, along with Nocturne's and Glider's mothers. All four adults were chatting up a storm. Lyra... was bugging the heck out of the guard, and it was taking an effort not to laugh at the questions she was plying them with.
"So... just where is that magical clock that actually moves the sun and the moon? It's below the dungeons, isn't it?"
"There's a theory going around that the princesses don't actually exist but are just powerful unicorns in disguise. Any comments on that?"
"Where did the princesses stash the mirror!?"
"Should we stop her?" Sapphire asked nervously.
"Yeah... but I also want to see how deep she can dig herself," Midnight said with a grin.
Sapphire smacked her with a wing but there was a playful smile behind it. "You're horrible."
"I know."
The cherry on the whole thing was that Luna had started speaking in "modern" again and that seemed to bring the last few nervous hold-outs over. Speaking of the princess, Midnight noticed her heading towards the bobbing apples stand with AJ and Twilight. Whatever opinion Luna had about Nightmare Night when she first arrived, it was changing for the better.
As her gaze moved from them towards their destination, she saw Pipsqueak dangling over the tub of water. Where the colt had come from, Midnight had no idea; Pinkie and her wayward brood had been missing the whole time. As she watched, the colt leaned too far forward trying to snag an apple and fell in. Not sure if he could swim or not, Midnight got to her hooves but Luna was quicker, darting over and plucking Pip out by his costume.
"Hey everypony!" came a familiar and unwelcomed voice. "Anypony seen Pip? He wandered off from where we were hiding from-," she stopped as she saw Luna holding up Pipsqueak. "NIGHTMARE MOON'S GOBBILING UP PIPSQUEAK! EVERYPONY RUN!" she squawked, bolting.
"PINKIE PIE!" Midnight roared, launching after her. But between the many strings hung between various tents, stands, and houses, the cumbersome and un-aerodynamic shape of her costume, and the panicking foals, now running in every direction not only from "Nightmare Moon" but also from her many "followers" mixed in with the crowd, the panicking party pony was soon lost from sight.
"Help! My backside's been gobbled!" Pip yelped as her was let down, trying to run after Pinkie.
"Tis a lie!" Luna shouted after him.
Quicker than anypony had ever seen her move, Squeaks jumped in front of the panicking colt and pushed him back onto his haunches. "Say you're sorry!" she snapped in his face, baring her fangs at him. "Somepony who lies has to say their sorry! Princess Luna didn't do anything to you but pull you out of the water!"
Midnight felt her jaw drop at this display. Looking over at Sapphire, she could see the pegasus just as shocked face looking back at her. Squeaks was so timid and kind that to see her angry, really angry, was a heck of a shock.
"Thy backside is whole and ungobbled, thou ungrateful whelp!" Once again, the princess' punctuated herself with a hard stomp of the hoof along with thunder and lightning. Several ponies nearest her began to mutter to one another and back away. Even Squeaks jumped and lost some of her ferocity. "Please, do not back away!" Luna called after them, "Let us continue to have fun on this night!" Picking up another of the fake spiders, she tossed it towards the crowd as if trying to play a game of catch. The toy simple bounced onto the ground with a squeak.
"Princess, remember how the yelling and the lightning only makes things worse!" Twilight said, putting herself between the town and the princess.
"I know how infuriating Pinkie is being right now," Midnight told her, giving the toy spider a wide birth as she flew over. "But if you go back to doing all that again, everything that's been going on, the townsfolk getting along with their new neighbors, welcoming you properly, all that'll be for nothing!"
"But what am I to do when I am called... that mare," she fumed, "at almost every turn by the same pony all night long!? Does she dare think she has the right to continue to condemn me for my past crimes!?" With an angry flick of her horn she sent two beams of magic lancing out at the toy spider on the ground and the ones still in their bowl.
Midnight expected them to explode or something of the like. What she did not expect was for them to all come alive. The spiders came pouring out of the bowl and the kirin took off into the air like a bullet, only briefly diving back down to scoop up Squeaks as several of them neared her. As she shot back up, one panicking pony kicked several into the air right at her. Seeing the flying Tartarus-spawns, Midnight jinked just in time to let the lot of them sail past her.
The panic on the ground didn't last long, however. The Lunar Guards jumped forward, scooping up the spiders and dumping them into a basket. Within a few seconds of their creation, all the spiders were rounded up.
Luna sat back and rubbed her head with a hoof. "Now I'm just making things worse!" She sighed. "Perhaps I should just return to Canterlot and let you all finish your celebration in peace."
"Please don't, your highness."
Luna looked up to see that Berry and Derpy had taken a step towards her. "Everypony was having so much fun getting to know you, your guard, and our new neighbors before Pinkie showed up. We acted pretty poorly when you first came to town and we're sorry for that." They both looked over apologetically at where Zecora was standing. " Please, won't you stay and finish celebrating Nightmare Night with us?"
"You would... have me stay?" Luna asked, disbelievingly.
Both mares nodded. "Don't worry about Pinkie Pie," Berry told her. "We're all pretty sure she's got a screw loose. Next time she shows up, we'll grab her and lock her in Sugarcube Corner's basement."
Midnight landed next to them, putting Squeaks down and growling. "I'm going to kill Pinkie," she muttered darkly. Looking back toward the crowd, she was pleased to see that most, if not all, of the previously wayward foals had been rounded up before they could follow Pinkie again. AJ and Rarity in particular were laying into the CMC, all three looking properly ashamed of themselves. Squeaks was even still shooting angry looks at Pip and a few of the other town foals.
"But there is still the children to consider," Luna continued. "Even if you are able to put a halt to the Element of Laughter's antics, many have been tainted by her constant accusations."
"Well, when we catch her, we'll just make her apologize!" Derpy said with a determined look. "Once the foals see that she was wrong, then they shouldn't be scared of you anymore."
"I don't know about you guys but I don't want to wait around for her again," Midnight said, leaning slightly against the recently arrived Sapphire. "I'm getting tired of having my good time suddenly interrupted by her shrieking."
"But no pony's been able to find her all night," Berry said.
"I might be able to help with that," Twilight said, also coming up and pulling a map of the town out from under her robes. "I took this so I could help Spike keep track of where he and the others collected candy from already. I just need to get something of Pinkie's to make a scrying spell, then we can find her where ever she's hiding."
"And..." Midnight said, holding up a hoof, a look of realization spreading across her face. "I just got an idea. Windrunner!" The pegasus came shooting over. "I need you to find Rainbow and bring her back here."
"Why do we need Rainbow if I've got the map?" Twilight asked.
Everypony else stared as a wicked grin grew on Midnight, exposing her fangs and making her look like a hunter about to pounce on its prey. "Because I doubt she'll want to miss a prank on both Pinkie Pie and the whole town."
-----------------------------
The pink party pony popped another sweet into her mouth and chewed happily. Her entire entourage of foals was gone now, but that was alright. Now that "Nightmare Moon" had caught them all, they'd see just how nice and fun Princess Luna really was. Sure, she'd been convinced at first that she really had been Nightmare Moon with that entrance of hers, but it had been clear pretty quick who it was once the cape came off.
And Nightmare Night was all about fun and frights after all, right? And Princess Luna HAD to know all about that, right? So, Pinkie had come up with a fun little plan of scaring the foals by declaring Princess Luna to be Nightmare Moon every chance she got, then the princess would catch them and give them candy instead of gobbling them up. Then they'd all have a good laugh and enjoy the rest of the night.
That plan had sort of worked; Midnight, Princess Luna, and the thestrals had seemed a bit more frustrated then she had imagined they'd be, and the towns folk were acting a bit odd, but all the foals had been caught, and now it was just a matter of deciding when and where she'd let herself get snagged.
A pony jumped out of the shadows and stalked towards her. Pinkie jumped, but let out a sigh as she saw the leathery wings and ear tuffs. It was just one of the thestrals; looks like her time was up. "Oh, hey, you finally caught me! About time; I don't want to miss out on those carnival prizes!"
The thestral didn't answer but paused momentarily before it continued to stalk towards her. Closer now, Pinkie could see that this one looked a bit more feral than the others. Its fur was shaggy, its stalking was more serious than playful, and its silted eyes were just a little too intent, like a hunter sizing up prey. "H-Hey, what's with the silent treatment? Game's over now, right?"
"A game, was it?"
Pinkie froze up. She'd heard that voice before, two Summer Sun Celebrations ago, when she'd first met Twilight. Smooth, regal, with an undercurrent of danger. But that couldn't be; they cured Princess Luna! Whipping around, she found herself nose to nose with one of the last ponies she thought she'd ever see again. Cyan, draconic eyes, jet-black coat and wings, razor teeth, ethereal star-filled mane, and night-blue helmet with matching chest piece and shoes.
The nightmare grinned, exposing more of its fangs. Even without them, it sent a shiver down her spine, like a hunter with caught prey. "Well, it is very much over now."
Darkness enveloped her before she could let out a squawk of terror.
-----------------------------
Pipsqueak watched as Princess Luna, her guards, and the other thestrals flew into the sky back towards Canterlot. He hadn't meant to be mean to the princess, but Pinkie had kept saying she was Nightmare Moon and that she was going to gobble them up and all his friends had kept running away, too. Well, except Squeaky Wings, and she was really mad at him right now. Maybe not as much as his parents would be when they found out what he'd done, but still pretty mad all the same. "Wow, I can't believe how bad everything went tonight," he said mournfully. "I feel right awful."
"Well, if that's how you feel," a sultry voice behind him said, "then maybe I'll gobble you up first."
Pip whipped his head around and found jet-black legs with night-blue shoes right behind him. He looked up to see the pony that had spoken. And looked up. And up. Finally, nearly falling backwards in an effort to see the speaker, he finally found her face, and then he did fall onto his back. Above him, far more scary in real life than any statue of her could ever be, was the REAL Nightmare Moon, draconic eyes, fang-filled smile, and all. "N-N-N-N-Night..."
She leaned down toward him, her smile growing more wicked as her head descended, finally stopping a few inches from his face. "Boo."
"NIGHTMARE MOON! NIGHTMARE MOON!" Pip squealed, pulling himself away and bolting towards Squeaks across the town square. Even with his mind in panic mode again, he knew that there was one pony in town that could possibly save them from the nightmare mare now that the princess and her guards were gone. The same pony that had stopped that dragon about a month ago; Squeaks' mom.
Several nearby adults turned to admonish the screaming colt; after all, it was their fault the princess and thestrals had just let feeling insulted. They all stopped when they saw where he was running away from. Princess Luna had scared them of her own merits by entering town while shooting off lightning, screaming at them, and basically making herself unapproachable. None of the adults had believed Pinkie Pie screaming about Nightmare Moon because they had all seen her during the Summer Sun Celebration two years ago. They knew what Nightmare Moon looked like. The mare Pipsqueak was currently running away from was Nightmare Moon in the flesh.
They stared at her. She looked right back. "Well, well, well..." she said smoothly, taking a step forward.
Town square became bedlam. Ponies screamed and ran in any direction that wasn't towards her, often running into stalls and polls. The only ponies not panicking was the bearers, minus Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash, and Midnight's group. Strangely, the kirin was nowhere to be seen.
"SILENCE!!!" Nightmare Moon roared out, slamming her own hoof into the ground as Luna had done. Everypony froze. "It would seem nothing has changed in the past thousand years; my alter-ego is still just as shunned as ever."
"That's not true!" Twilight yelled back. "What happened tonight was a misunderstanding! Princess Luna is more than welcomed here!"
Nightmare Moon smiled. "And yet, she just left, once again feeling unloved and unwanted, and all because a mare and some foals couldn't tell the difference between us."
Pip, now hiding behind Sapphire, felt a fair amount of eyes turn towards himself. Looking around, he could see several ponies looking not just at him, but also at the CMC and other foals that had run around with Pinkie. He gulped.
"We stopped you once and we'll do it again!" Twilight told her.
"Oh, really? Tell me, how do you plan to do so when I have this one?" Nightmare Moon motioned with a wing and a feral-looking thestral dashed out from the shadows of any alley, dropping something at the nightmare's hooves. It was Pinkie, tied up and gagged, still in her costume. "Without her, the Elements are useless. Oh, and I wouldn't count on your rainbow-maned friend to help you either. She was such an annoying fly that I..." she licked her fangs, "swatted her."
"Somepony will stop you!" Twilight said, not faltering.
Nightmare Moon laughed. "Who could possibly stop me now!? Your princesses are far off in Canterlot, you can't use the Elements, and that kirin of yours has gone chasing off after my weaker side! Even if help does arrive, they'll be too late to stop me from collecting my tribute!" She lowered herself into a predatory crouch. "And I'm far to hungry for candy."
From out of nowhere a blue beam of magic shot out and hit Nightmare Moon square in the side, knocking her over. A second shot did likewise for her lackey. "All you will find here is your end, villain!" From above on the houses descended Princess Luna, all the thestrals, not just the guards, flanking her.
Nightmare Moon looked up and growled. "How did you return here so quickly!?"
"That is not important. We have returned to send you back to the shadowed you slinked out from! Have at thee!" Luna charged her next shot, but Nightmare Moon was faster, sending her own bolt of magic at the princess and her followers.
"After them!" Nightmare Moon shouted at her minion, who shot up and at the reorganizing thestrals.
Luna landed and sent her magic at her alter-ego, but the nightmare shot up and into the sky. The princess quickly followed and soon the two were dogfighting with no clear advantage to either side. The hench-thestral was also holding its own against the others.
As the fight above the town dragged on, Pip turned toward Squeaky to ask if they should try and get her mom, but he stopped short. The filly was watching the fight as if... as if it was some kind of play, not a hint of concern on her face. She was even whispering "come on" while looking at both Luna and Nightmare Moon. A quick glance around showed that all those immediately around him were also watching the fight as if it was no more than mere entertainment. Before he could ask what they were doing , Nightmare Moon, her lackey, Princess Luna, and the thestrals all landed on the ground facing each other.
Breathing heavy, Nightmare Moon snarled. "I will not be defeated again!" she roared, rearing up and charging her horn.
"Thou shall not win!" Luna roared back, also charging her horn.
The feral thestral charged for the princess, but Captain Skimmer was faster, shooting forward and upper-cutting it back into its mistress. It slammed into her, sending Nightmare Moon's shot wildly into the sky. Luna let loose her own shot, hitting both her alter-ego and her hench-thestral. They both screamed in agony, then slowly fell to the ground in a heap.
A second passed. Two seconds...
"Nightmare Moon is defeated! Never again will the creature harm Equestria!" Luna shouted.
The entire town erupted into cheers and applause, rushing forward to congratulate and thank the princess and thestrals. All that is, except the bearers and Midnight's group.
"Why aren't you guys congratulating the princess?" Pip asked.
"Oh, well..." Sapphire said, looking embarrassed.
Before she could answer, a resounding "OW, DAMNIT!" came from the spot Nightmare Moon and her hench-thestral had fallen. Two teenage colts were standing by them; one had dared the other to flick the defeated villain's horn to show that he wasn't really afraid of her. Said villain was sitting up and rubbing the base of her horn. "That's attached, you little-!" Then she noticed the entire town starring at her. "Uh... too soon?"
The thestral sat up and spit its fake fangs out. "Whelp, jigs up," it said, clearly in Rainbow's voice.
-----------------------------
The town took the ruse in stride. The whole point had been to scare the foals with a "real" Nightmare Moon and thestral lackey, only for Luna to come in and defeat her, showing them that Luna was indeed and truly one of the good guys. Midnight had gotten the idea from one of the stories she had read to Squeaks a few times. Her group, the bearers, sans Pinkie, the princess, and the thestrals had been in on the whole thing. Twilight and Luna had created the magic costumes for Midnight and Rainbow by transfiguring their original costumes. Midnight's "magic shots" were no more than a light show from a gem attached to her horn that Twilight could activate remotely with her own magic.
And it all worked out in the end. Even with the plot discovered, all the foals previously scared of the princess now flocked around their new hero, playing games and sharing goodies with her and the thestrals. Glider, Arrow, and Nocturne were now up to the tips of their leathery wings in fellow foals pulling them this way and that, trying to hang out with them.
"That," Vinyl said after she finished chugging a soda, "was brilliant."
Midnight just shrugged. "I try." She, Vinyl, Sapphire, and Summer were all at a table near the foals, taking a quick break from the games.
"I mean it! Seriously! You are one heck of a villain! I mean, I knew what was going on and I was getting shivers! Here's to hoping you stay on our side!" Vinyl grabbed another soda and began chugging it, too.
"I'm just glad everything worked out," Sapphire said, taking a sip of her pomegranate juice. "For a second I thought we'd lose everypony to either panicking when you showed up or when they realized it was all a performance."
Summer nodded. "All in all, I'd say tonight was a success. It's certainly one to remember and... Midnight, what are you doing?"
The kirin was scratching herself, trying to get at the base of her left wing. "Ever since Luna transformed my costume, I've been so itchy right here!" She curled her wing so that the tip could slide into the slot of her costume and scratched the inside violently. She sighed and smiled, seemingly ridding herself of the discomfort, only to look confused immediately afterwards. She pulled her wing back out, extending it all the way and looked at what she pulled out.
Everypony at the table froze. Holding on to the tip of her wing was one of the spiders Luna had created after Pinkie had run the last time. One of the few shot into the air must have caught onto her costume and hid inside it. The face-size arachnid stared back at Midnight, its four eyes looking innocently at her. It even waved a leg at her after a few seconds.
"Midnight," Summer said slowly, easing back from the table and powering her horn up. "Just... give me a second..."
But the kirin didn't seem to hear her. Sapphire thought she was going to fly into a panic before any of them could do anything. However, as she watched, the kirin's eyes went from wide surprise to something resembling curiosity. She twisted her wing slightly, getting a better look at the thing. Then, to their collective shock, she actually brought the tip of her wing closer to her face, getting eye to eye with the spider. Slowly, the spider reached out a leg again and, gently, tapped the tip of the leg against the kirin's snout, chirping a bit as it did so. Again, to their collective shock, Midnight smiled at it. "Well, you aren't nearly as terrifying as other spiders, so I guess it's okay."
"Midnight?" Summer said again. "You do know that's a spider, right?"
The kirin looked over at her. "Well, yeah, but... this is just a ball of fluff with some legs and eyes. Other spiders are eldritch horrors."
"So... you aren't going to freak out like before?" Vinyl asked. "Bummer."
"How is everypony doing?" They all turned to see Luna coming towards them. She stopped when she saw the spider on Midnight's wing. "Ah, I see I missed one. I'll just change it back and put it with the others at the spider toss game."
But when she powered up her horn, the spider cringed away, chirping fearfully, and Midnight pulled it closer to her. "No!" she practically shouted, again shocking those present. "I mean, I don't think she'd like that. If it's alright with you, princess... I'd actually like to keep her."
Summer felt her jaw drop. Her daughter, the kirin that had this very night flipped out over a spider ring, was now suggesting that she wanted a spider as a pet. She turned and saw Sapphire equally as floored.
"Any particular reason?" Luna asked.
Midnight shrugged. "I guess we just connect or something. That and she's not the abomination all other spiders are. I mean, look at her; she just a cute little ball of fluff with legs." The spider was now sitting on her front hooves, still looking innocently up at them all. "And I get the feeling she doesn't want to "die", if you know what I mean."
Luna nodded. "I see. Well, I don't see any harm in keeping it, but if you're sure I must insist on performing a few spells on it so that it continues living past dawn, as well as a few other important things."
Midnight nodded, extending the spider out to the princess. It chirped worriedly back at her, but the kirin petted it reassuredly with a wing. "It's alright," she said softly.
"What do you wish to call her?" Luna asked when she was done. Along with an actual life spell, Luna had also confirmed it was a female, shown them her rather small, cute actually, fangs hidden in her fur, and changed her eye color from red to blue to match her new owner.
Midnight studied her new pet for a few seconds. "...Arina."
"Arina?" Sapphire asked.
Midnight shrugged again. "It just came to me."
"I like it," Vinyl put it. From her chirping, Arina liked it too.
"Mom, there's a spider on you!"
They all turned to see a panicked Squeaks staring up at the spider.
Midnight chuckled. "I know Squeaks. Her name's Arina and... she's our new pet."
Squeaks stared up at her mother, then at Arina, then back again. "Really?" she asked, disbelief in her voice. She'd been wanting a pet ever since hearing about Rainbow getting one.
Midnight nodded. "Really."
The bat filly's shriek of delight could be heard clear across town. "BEST NIGHTMARE NIGHT EVER!!!"
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wow just wow a pet spider who would have thought
So let me guess the wyvern colony has midnights dad there and they're going to meet up eventually right?
Wow, that was an amazing chapter!
Yay! More bat ponies and a new pet for the Midnight household!
6813522
Probably in season 3 minimum though as midnight has no reason to be up there yet and he is not likely to come back.
6813576 I know, I was just guessing. I know they won't be up there till season 3.
yep a good chapter.
How delightful.
Seems like Calypso and Midnight's father appear.
6813522
maybay
6813849
no idea when I mentioned those two were related, but your guess is as good as anyone else's.
I may have missed it ut what color is Midnight's dad? I can't help but picture him as pink now.
6814202
0_o
Pink... well, to avoid any kin of spoilers I'm gonna have to go back and see if I mentioned his colors
6813892 (LOOKS AT NUMBER OF WORDS PER CHAPTER)
Either you are really into writing, you live soeplace where you can find inspiration and ideas for your chapters, or you've just got waaaaay too much spare time on your hands. XD
Each chapter is like a freaking story in itself to me! XD
6813522 Don't forget that
draconequessgirl Discord that set off the fireworks... and wanted to sing F.U.N. with Spongbob Squarepants.6814279 And how do you know that's a female draconequus?
What the hell?
I gave this story a Like, but the number of likes went up by two Likes?
I just gave it a Thumbs Down and then a Like again, it goes up by two Likes?
What the what?
Arina, huh? Heh, that's funny, at least to me.
Spider in portuguese is aranha.
Aranha Arina. Heh.
6814274
gonna go with all three
6814705 (grabs you by the neck collar)
WHERE DO YOU LIVE? I NEED INSPIRATION! I CAN'T STAND BRITISH TEA-SIPPING PANSIES AND THAT TONY BLAIR TWAT ANYMORE MORE! TAKE ME WITH YOU TO THE PLACE WHERE YOUR IDEAS ARE BORN!
(lets go of you and curls up in the fetal position crying into his knees)
I would name a pet spider Muffet
6814395 Because she was referred to with female pronouns 6 times in that section and with male pronouns 0 times? It's kind of self explanatory.
6814831 I meant the draconequus part.
6814716
look, it's about your state of mind, not where you live. I live in the shadow of New York City, which is rather depressing if you ask me. Greatest City in the World my miss-matched flank. (New Jersey Forever)
I'm inspired because these are my creations, my children, of you will, and because I'm telling a story I want to tell and people want to hear. Make characters you're passionate about, and these things will flow naturally. Devote time to who they are, their goals. their likes and dislikes, their relationships. In short, treat them like real people.
6814853 Logical deduction/math!
1)She blinked her blue and purple eyes Mismatched eyes.
2)"I've got the weirdest urge to sing a song about how to spell fun, and maybe make a yellow sponge sing along, too." Fourth wall break/pop culture reference and she ain't Pinkie.
3)maybe make a yellow sponge sing along, too The ability to make Spongbob to sing the song with.
4)Randomly and simultaneously setting off a hundred fireworks in a chaotic display.
5)Dialogue about how chaotic and unpredictable the subject is.
6)There is an unknown but confirmed relationship between kirins and those things that certainly isn't from the pony side of the gene pool.
1+2+3+4+5+6= A member of Discord's species.
much better version of Luna Eclipse here then in show.
6814935 So that means that we have 2 chaos beings now? Things are definitely going to get deliciously interesting.
glorious hilarity, though i was half expecting Midnight to dragon out in panic. also love the hero worship Midnight is getting
6814935 except that any pony could end up with mismatched eyes for any number of reasons... Did you forget that Unicorns have MAGIC. In fact, Unicorn could do 1-6 on your list there easily.
2, as you pointed out, she wasn't pinkie. But pinkie, a PONY, can break the forth wall. Something SPIKE, a DRAGON, has done before in the show.
3, could easily mean going to the store, buying a yellow square sponge, and moving it while singing in a funny voice. Nothing points to that statement being LITERAL with her Literally making a Yellow Sponge appear out of thin air and having it sing. But even if she was being Literal. UNICORN MAGIC.
4, while Chaotic, and something Pinkie CAN do, thus a PONY can do, it can ALSO be done with UNICORN MAGIC.
5, That could be a ploy to hide the truth, or trick us the readers. Also, that describes, once again, PINKIE PIE, who is a PONY
6, Where was this conformed? Also, even if it was, Midnight's dad is a DRAGON, not a KIRIN. that is what Midnight is, and that's from a DRAGON x PONY.
--
Basically, a pony, even an Earth Pony like Pinkie Pie, could fit all 6 of those. A Unicorn even more likely. Heck, maybe even a Unicorn-Kirin Half Breed. Nothing points to Draconequus and ONLY Draconequus, even when all 6 are added together.
Arina + spider....why does that ring so many bells? i'm sure i have seen that somewhere before...this is going to be one of those things that will bug me for forever i just know it
anyway neat little tidy chapter. i enjoyed how you change the original episode to take into account your story canon but kept true to the story. i really hope you do something similar with one of the crystal empire episodes ( i really cant wait to see what kind of trouble midnight will get up to in the empire of food)
6814897 NEW YORK CITY!?!
6814490 it's just that people gave a thumbs up while you were reading, and when you gave your thumbs up, it "jumped" some numbers.
6815718 Ah I see...
I was kinda hoping I suddenly had the power to make certain stories more Liked. XD
Twas' a nice dream while it lasted.
Who is this "she" and why does she care about Midnight's birthday?
6815787 this is a question that is gonna bug me for the rest of the story.
6815316
Sorry but Ink himself said in a blog for Oct 31 that Calypso would have a scene in chapter 9, so it's most likely her.
"Hey!" one of the nearby ponies exclaimed. "She's absolutely right!"
"Well it's about time somepony realiz-" began Midnight.
"RUN FOR YOUR LIVES!! A TERRIBLE KIRIN IS HERE TO BURNINATE OUR THATCH-ROOFED HUTS!!!" the pony cried out to everypony in earshot, and much screaming and fleeing commenced.
Midnight facehooved, "I should have expected that... I reaaaaally should have expected that."
Hmph, and people get mad at me when I suggest giving screaming kids a good dose of vallium.
I forget, has Midnight met Lyra an bonbon's pet spider, Scary?
It's a large white spider with a red ring on it's abdomen.
6822379
When was this?
6822490 When was what?
I was asking if she had.
Here: On top of Bon-bon's head
derpicdn.net/img/view/2015/8/15/958388__safe_solo_oc_bon+bon_sweetie+drops_fanfic+art_spider_flower+in+hair_artist-colon-vito_oc-colon-scary.png
On the pony's back and the picture's shoulder
derpicdn.net/img/view/2015/5/19/899666__safe_humanized_blushing_plot_magic_tongue+out_lyra+heartstrings_bon+bon_alternate+hairstyle_sweetie+drops.jpeg
Black and white of Scary in a case
derpicdn.net/img/view/2015/4/12/872056__safe_monochrome_floppy+ears_bon+bon_sad_sweetie+drops_grayscale_fanfic_fanfic+art_spider.png
6822619
I mean, when the heck did they get a spider for a pet?
Well, she's making progress
6822726
I think he's talking about a story by Pusspuss, does the art for it too, think it's called Bon Bon's Acceptance. Not a bad tale if memory serves, spiders name in it was scary. Other then that, not a clue.
So, I missed it if it was said, but they left Pinkie tied up, right? She kinda deserved it.
6815316 O,k
now i'm sorry to have to correct you on some things but,
) and/or be it there talent to lunch 100's + fire works at one time.
#1,Midnight's dad is a wyvern.
#2,Kirins can not use magic beyond there wyvern abilities shown by there cutey mark.
#3,whether it be earth pony pagasis or unicorn, time would be needed to set up the fire works.(even for miss pie.)
#4,for a unicorn to do that thy would need to be well practice, (like trixie
so as you can see, you got a lot of things to think about when it comes to magic, for different type's of magic do different things, except for chaos/realty sifting magic's, I hope this was helpful in getting the point across and my you think deeper of what's going on before you post a comment about a story.
live long and prosper, and my the force Guide your path.
Sir Well Borne.
6834499
But I don't want to go deeper. That's where all the scary things are...
img13.deviantart.net/58bd/i/2013/073/1/c/we_need_to_go_pinker__by_spiiikedraws-d5y0ln7.png
--
But ok, I coincide that I am wrong. I was mainly pointing out that some things could be explained away, and that not everything might point right towards it being Discord's cousin, daughter, sister, rule 63 self, species, thing.
6834600 Nice pic, and yes that is where all the scary things are, but if we don't think about them, than how will we be prepared
)
for theme/it, and I say to thee,
the improbable is possible, no matter the odds. (even pinkie reading over your shoulder as you read this now
S.W.B.