Dinky Doo and the Quest for the Sacred Treats

by PaulAsaran

Epilogue

Princess Luna stepped out of her chariot and greeted the Lunar Guard at the door. Before entering Canterlot Castle, she turned to the massive bags sitting in the back of her chariot. A single, smaller bag rose in her aura. “See to it that half the candy here is distributed amongst the families of the Royal Guard, and the rest to the charities I named prior. Oh–” She then gestured to her drivers, who had fallen to the ground in pools of their own sweat. “–and see to it those two get a few paid nights off.”

After receiving confirmation, she pranced into the castle, unwrapped a lone lollipop and delighted in its fruity taste. Knowing her sister was likely to be asleep already, she instead turned for her own chambers. Her lips were kept in a delighted smile the entire way, and she merrily greeted every guard she passed, which they returned with no small amount of cheer. She couldn’t help but recall how different their reactions were from the last Nightmare Night.

The music touched her ears, faint at first but steadily growing louder. It was a slow piece, but a familiar one, warming her heart and calming her bubbling eagerness. Yet even the soft tones of Tārā Sapnā couldn’t completely dispel her abundant energy. With a greeting to her two guards, she pushed open the door to her chambers and was immediately surrounded by the deep, quiet music.

Octavia Melody paused in her playing, casting a red-eyed gaze upon the princess and offering a fanged smile. “Good evening, Luna. Happy Nightmare Night.”

“Happy Nightmare Night, Octavia!” Luna set her bag of spoils down on a nearby table and took in her mare’s appearance. “No wings this year?”

“I thought a more legitimate vampire illusion was appropriate,” she replied, setting her cello on its stand. “so I asked Miss de Lis to forgo them. I take it the visit went well this year?”

“It was splendid,” Luna declared, raising her lollipop in the air like a trophy. “And quite enlightening. I had no idea the foals of this age were so well-versed in the tenets of Harmony. It seems my sister can do something right after all.” That last with a chuckle and a wry smile.

“That’s good to know.” Octavia sidled up to the princess and pressed her cheek to her shoulder. “Maybe next year I’ll go with you. Oh, and you did remember to invite Twilight, didn’t you?”

“Oh. Uh… about that.” Luna sat back and rubbed her hooves together with a sheepish smile. Octavia’s raised eyebrow brought out a blush. “Well, I learned all about this wonderful adventure Dinky had, and it was truly touching. I found myself rather… erm… enamored, you see.”

Octavia’s smile turned mischievous. “Luna, did you invite a foal to our wedding?”

Luna made a ducking motion. “I might have invited a few foals. And their families, of course.”

“I should have expected it.” Octavia giggled and pressed against her fiancée, a warm smile on her lips. “I don’t really mind. The more the merrier, right? Just so long as you invited Twilight.”

A long, quiet pause.

“You did invite Twilight, right?

“Umm…”

Octavia sighed and buried her face in Luna’s coat. “What am I going to do with you?”

“Love me?”

“If I must.”

“Oh, don’t be like that.” Luna pulled an Unholy Truffle Amulet from the nearby bag. “Here. Truce?”

Octavia stared at the gold-wrapped candy, then at Luna’s pleading face. At last she grinned and took the offered treat. “Fine, but only because you spoil me rotten.”

“Huzzah!” Luna raised her hoof – and lollipop – yet again. “Am I not the greatest negotiator of romances ever?”

The musician rolled her eyes, but didn’t lose her grin. “You’re adorkable, Luna. Now give me some more of that candy.”

Author's Note:

Well, this is an Audience of One sequel, is it not? For those of you confused or a bit put off by the fact that Octavia and Luna are engaged, I recommend reading that story to figure out just how it happened.

Comments

[Ri2]

Twilight's gonna be pissed.

[Ri2]

6586063
Oh, I knew some of it was prearranged and others were sudden additions--namely Discord--it's just some of Dinky's behavior and that of others led me to believe EVERYONE was in on it.

[PaulAsaran]

6586092
Oh no, not even close. In fact, none of the foals were, not a single one. They just got caught up in the 'adventure.'

[Ri2]

6586102 Right, right. Could've sworn the Crusaders were in on it...

[Mister E]

Like the best of candies, I saved this story to read tonight, at the very last. And I was not disappointed in the least.
Thank you for a wonderful Nightmare Night story!

And the Audience of One tie in at the end was like finding one last treat at the bottom of the bag.

[Paleobrony]

This story is WAY under-viewed for how good it is. Every chapter was an enjoyable romp, and I especially loved the Python chapter. I was anticipating it after the mention of the Rabbit Fiend of Weird Analog -- definitely a Chekov's Rabbit there -- and you delivered it gloriously!

Dinky was completely adorable and the Crusaders* were spot-on. Feels were definitely a thing when Dinky 'reformed' Luna at the end.

Thank you for sharing this story and reminding me of what Halloween was like when I was a wee one. Have a like and a fave!

(Can we still use 'crusaders'? Isn't that supposed to be un-PC or some such crap?)

[PaulAsaran]

6619293
I was my pleasure, and I mean that! I loved writing every sentence.

Can we still use 'crusaders'? Isn't that supposed to be un-PC or some such crap?

Actually, I think one of the major points is that they'll never stop being the Crusaders because being the CMC is their special talent.

This story is WAY under-viewed for how good it is.

Honestly? I think it just got crushed under the sheer number of stories released for the Halloween season.

[atom2004]

This was one hell of a read. The story perfectly fills the gap in normal, "episode-like" stories that appeared a long time ago in MLP fanfiction and still exists. Seriously, everyone goes dark or adventure tales, and stories filled with filly imagination come in very little amounts. I thing the last good I've read was "The Battle for Cranberry Hill".

I loved the plot, as well as the fact that you managed to fit in almost every character from the show in some role. Not the mention the huge amount of references (with Monty Python's killer rabbit on top). And the word-plays, I love word-plays.
Only the epilogue felt strange for me, but that's because I haven't read the previous story. Still, if you don't read the epilogue at all, "The Quest for Sacred Treats" actually can be treated as a stand-alone story. So I'm not really sure how much of a sequel it is.

[Chaosarda]

A delight to read good sir. Bravo!

[Rayvinne]

That was an infinitely adorable read.

Perfect after reading Twilights Inferno.

[ForSpite]

7515773
Well, her lisp is mildly annoying and she doesn't have any redeemingly interesting qualities, but I can't see any reason to seriously dislike her, especially when there's characters like Blueblood and Diamond Tiara.

[Web of Hope]

This was so good. Late to the game, but I'll be singing the praises of this little treat for many years to come, I think.

[PaulAsaran]

8245089
Heh, I figure this one will remain one of my 'hidden gems' forever. Glad to see there are still some people finding it, though!

[Web of Hope]

8245116
Well I had Audience of One on my read later list for a long while, and after I find something good from a new author I go and poke through the rest of their catalog. Glad I gave this a try.

[PaulAsaran]

8245889
Well, it's good to know people are still discovering me, considering how uncommon it is for me to post new material these days. Hopefully you'll enjoy more than these two in time!

[FanOfMostEverything]

This was thoroughly delightful and adorable. Thank for a fantastic adventure with Best Filly. I wish I'd read it years ago.

Now to see precisely how that particular pairing came to be...

[PaulAsaran]

9624415
Glad you enjoyed it! And here's hoping you enjoy the LunaTavia piece, as well. It's certainly one of my favorites.