Nightmare Night, Or How I Learned To Start Caring And Build A Friendship
Fully dressed up in her armor, the Bloodstone Scepter in one claw, and an orange plastic pumpkin basket in her other claw, Ember quickly paced up and down the red carpet in the castle's upper chamber, staring at the floor. She stopped every few moments to glance at the orange evening sky through the open windows. The incomprehensible sounds of the chattering crowd outside bombarded the young dragon's ears. She flicked her tail, took a quick breath, and returned her attention to the chamber floor as she resumed her hasty stroll.
The ponies and Spike—who were all dressed up as characters from the popular Ogres and Oubliettes game—just stared at Ember.
Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes, adjusting the small, wooden daggers she had strapped to the waistline of her gray body suit. “Relax. You're giving me the zigzags over here.”
Applejack glanced over at Rainbow with a sly grin on her face. “Really? The biggest daredevil in all of Equestria is gettin' dizzy from watchin' somedragon just walk to and fro?”
“Hey, it's different when I'm up there shredding the breeze. And I'm not really getting dizzy, it's just there's no need for Ember to be so nervous. Nopony out there isn't going to take our word for it that she's cool.” Rainbow glared at Garble who was standing by himself a couple yards away. “It's this one I'm worried about.”
“Just aren't going to let me forget it are you?” remarked Garble, flicking his tail slightly and folding his arms as he returned Rainbow's sour gaze.
Rainbow started to reply, but her muzzle suddenly became engulfed in a small light-blue aura which forcefully closed her mouth.
“That's enough,” said Starlight Glimmer, her horn covered in the same aura which reflected in the turquoise gown of her sorceress costume. “I know I'm still relatively new to this whole friendship thing, but even I've learned that constantly antagonizing someone only makes things worse.”
Ember wasn't really listening to what anypony was saying. She just kept on pacing, using the Bloodstone Scepter as nothing more than a walking stick.
The aura faded from Rainbow's muzzle and she looked away, muttering under her breath.
Twilight—who had elected to wear her old Starswirl costume to go along with Spike's idea for an O. and O. theme—looked up through a window to her right at the slowly darkening sky. “It's time. Spike and all you ponies come with me outside for the announcement. Ember and Garble wait for my signal. Places, and as Pinkie Pie always says, let's get this party started!”
“Let's get this party st—” said Pinkie in unison with Twilight before pausing. “Uh, yeah. What Twilight said! Or rather what I say. Or... what Twilight said I say...?” She rubbed the side of her head, careful not to nudge her large O-shaped earrings or her blue and white striped, feathered cap while Spike and the ponies let out small chuckles.
Garble rolled his eyes.
Ember still didn't say anything, but hearing Twilight, she finally stopped pacing and waved at Garble to follow her.
The two dragons walked over to the space just beside the castle's main entrance where they would stay hidden around the corner once the door was open.
Twilight led Spike and the other ponies toward the doors, which opened wide with a quick application of Rarity's magic. Immediately, the cadence of the ponies of Ponyville gathered outside burst into the castle entry hall like a great deluge.
Just relax... Ember thought. Watching Twilight and the others disappear through the door, the pounding in her chest grew worse to overpower even the chatter that assaulted her ears. Yeah, easy for them to say!
Only briefly glancing at the ponies, Garble looked back at Ember and a little sneer formed on his countenance. He folded his arms. “Having second thoughts are we, O great Dragon Lord?”
Ember turned and glared at Garble, giving him a bop on the head with the Bloodstone Scepter.
A yelp escaped Garble and he stumbled back, nearly falling backwards but stabilizing himself by putting his claw against the wall. He then placed his other claw where he'd been struck, feeling a little bump already forming.
“I am not having second thoughts!” barked Ember. “And if I hear one more attempt to weasel your way out of this then you're going to be on egg tender duty until you're old and decrepit!” With a snort, she turned back to face the castle door, swaying her tail in frustration.
Garble kept rubbing his head and glared at Ember, emitting a very low growl and eyeing the Bloodstone Scepter.
“Welcome, everypony!” called Twilight from outside, to which the crowd of townsponies responded with cheers. Her voice echoed like she was enhancing it with her magic. “Welcome to this year's Nightmare Night festival!”
Ember gulped, having already forgotten about her irritation with Garble amidst the sheer anxiety that wracked her.
“Now then,” continued Twilight, “You all remember me announcing we would have some special guests with us for this year's festivities. I've heard the rumors of course. It's not Princess Celestia or Princess Luna. These guests come from way outside of Equestria—across the sea even!”
She waited for a moment. “They're dragons!”
The crowd went silent. Even though Ember couldn't hear them, she just knew the townsponies were murmuring to each other at that very moment. She took this opportunity to steel herself by taking several deep breaths.
Garble merely stared at his claws and rolled his wrists mindlessly.
“Everypony,” continued Twilight again, “please welcome the Dragon Lord herself, Princess Ember, and her guest Garble.”
With the announcement finally made, Ember tightened her grip on the Bloodstone Scepter. She put one foot forward, then another. Next thing she knew, her legs had carried her through the open door and onto the festival stage that had been set up where every pair of eyes in Ponyville could see her. The fading light from the setting sun glinted in her golden armor and also off the crystal in her scepter. She was so focused on the townsponies that she failed to notice all the decorations that had been put up.
Garble followed behind and planted himself on the stage to Ember's left. Half-grimacing, he gazed out across the large crowd of ponies before him on the ground.
The townsponies, whose costumes ranged from vampires, zombies, mummies and ghosts to animals—including some dressed as dragons—and even something that looked like a wolf made out of wood and leaves, gazed wide-eyed upon Ember and Garble.
Twilight beamed at the two, but mostly Ember as she awaited introductions to be completed.
Finally, after several moments of tension so heavy it could crush boulders into fine powder, Ember snapped out of her frozen stupor and wiped the sweat from her brow. She cleared her throat, and pressed the bottom end of her scepter down onto the stage, making an audible thud which echoed for a quick second in the otherwise quiet space. Ember puffed out her chest and spread her feet a little.
“Hello, ponies!” she exclaimed, her voice also echoing through the still air. “As Twilight said, I am Ember, recently crowned Lord of the Dragonlands. Matter of fact it is because of her and her friends Spike and Rarity that I ascended to the throne.”
Twilight, Rarity, and Spike all smiled at Ember.
Rainbow kept her gaze firmly on Garble, whom she spotted briefly clenching his claws and muttering something.
“Twilight has asked us here to learn about this friendship thing, but also just to have some fun with this festival. Don't misunderstand me, I'm not here simply because I owe some debt to your Princess and her friends for their help back home with the Gauntlet of Fire. I really do want to be here to learn about friendship, have fun with this festival, and maybe start carving a path for ponies and dragons to live as friends.”
Many of the ponies in the audience, at least ones whose faces weren't partly or completely hidden by their costume masks, started to smile and some began to stomp their hooves.
Ember blinked several times, but then recalled Twilight mentioning this was just a way ponies gave applause.
“Well,” said Twilight, “how about you do the honor of kicking off the festival for us, Ember?”
She gazed at Twilight. “Me?”
“You and Garble are the guests of honor after all.”
Garbled grinned and nudged Ember. “She's right, Dragon Lord. Let's get this show on the road.”
Garble's just asking for me to smack him on the head again, thought Ember. But that may not be such a good idea now that we have everypony in Ponyville watching us. We... or at least... I'm here for honest reasons. Numbskull is only here because I practically dragged him by his tail, but it's too late to turn back now; it was my 'brilliant' idea to bring him and now I'm stuck with it. Besides, I don't want to seem like some brute. That probably won't look good for this friendship thing. Maybe a little smack later. That whack just a little earlier did feel pretty good... Been wanting to do that since the Gauntlet...
“Right then,” stated Ember, nodding at Twilight then looking back out over the anxiously awaiting crowd. “Let the festival begin!”
The townsponies cheered for a few moments before dispersing, though some stayed put to watch Ember and Garble curiously. Just then, the moon started to rise into the night sky, the decorated streetlamps flickered on, and the town became alive with the same buzz of excitement that it had earlier with ponies going to and fro.
“Everyone off the stage and we'll get started,” stated Twilight.
Ember waited for the ponies and Spike to step down to the ground before she and Garble followed suit. With some of the butterflies in her stomach having gone away now that the first hurdle was done, Ember finally looked around at the decorations, admiring the extent to which the ponies had gone to cover the town.
“You really weren't kidding about how much you ponies love this holiday,” said Ember, glancing at Twilight. “It almost seems like you spend the whole year planning for it.”
Starlight chuckled. “Sure seems like it doesn't it? This is only my second Nightmare Night ever. I'm not used to it yet either. I like the bats and ghosts on the streamers hanging from the houses and trees. What about you?”
Ember looked at the decorations again. “The streetlamps being painted to look like eyeballs is pretty cool.” She paused and stared at one of the streetlamps with its painted eyeball. “And kind of unsettling...”
“All part of the spooky fun!” said Spike with a bright smile.
“So remind me exactly what we're doing again?”
“Y'all are going to do it all,” said Applejack. “Start with some trick-or-treatin', and move on to some dancin' and of course storytime with Zecora. You remember us mentionin' Zecora right?”
Ember nodded. “Yes. The zebra who lives in the nearby forest and speaks in rhymes.”
“What about the mischief?” Garble gave Twilight an unamused look. “Sorry... I mean the 'playful' mischief,” he said, putting the word playful in air quotes with his talons before folding his arms and flicking his tail.
“We'll get to that,” Rainbow stated, hovering in front of the two dragons. “In the meantime, you two are coming with us as we show you around, have you meet ponies, so on and so forth.”
“Lovely...” groaned Garble.
Rainbow grinned. “Oh, and don't try to run off,” she remarked with a wink. “You'll never be able to hide from Pinkie Pie for long.”
Ember and Garble gave each other a look before both glancing back at Rainbow Dash.
“Just... just trust me on that. It's hard to explain, but she has ways of finding you. Very... mysterious ways...”
“Okay...?” uttered Ember. “Well, let's get started shall we? It's a one-night festival and Garble and I have a lot to see and learn.”
Twilight nodded. “First, there's three young fillies in particular I'd like you both to meet. They're waiting for us over by Pinkie's house which is also a bakery shop: Sugarcube Corner. And do you remember the special Nightmare Night chant for trick-or-treating?”
“Uh...” Ember rubbed her chin. “Um... Wait, was it, 'Nightmare Night, you're a fright. I want something sweet to bite'?”
Twilight and her friends chuckled.
“Close,” said Spike through his blue-green wizard costume beard and poking Ember's scepter with his wooden staff. “Swap 'you're' with 'what', and 'I want' with 'give me.'”
“And give it some feeling, like we told you before!” beamed Pinkie. “Otherwise it's just blehhh. Do it like this.” She hopped over to Ember's side then turned to face the rest of the gang. Standing up on her hindlegs, she lifted her forelegs up like she was leading a musical group. “Everypony!”
As soon as Pinkie waved her forelegs, Twilight and the others all called out in unison.
“Nightmare Night! What a fright! Give us something sweet to bite!”
Garble visibly cringed and covered his ears with his claws.
The sound was filled with such great enthusiasm that Ember felt a sense of fun and frolic surge through her—a feeling only the thrill of diving into lava pools from the highest bluffs could top. She could only describe it as fantastic. “Oh!” she exclaimed with a warm smile. “I get it! You got to prove to others just how much you want that treat, or you get tricked instead! I assume for just myself I would say 'give me' instead of 'give us.'”
“Something like that,” said Starlight.
Pinkie pushed up against Ember's side and beamed sidelong at her. “Don't be afraid to give a silly little wave while you do the chant. It's just more fun that way!”
The townsponies who were still watching smiled brightly and murmured to each other again, pointing at Ember. Others looked quite confused by Garble.
“Go on, darling!” said Rarity with an encouraging smile. “Give us your best candy call!”
With the energy of the demonstration still fresh in her mind, Ember puffed out her chest and inhaled deeply. “Nightmare Night! What a Fright!” she cried out, waving her arm and scepter above her head like Pinkie had suggested. “Give me something sweet to bite!”
Ember, Spike, and the ponies all laughed, while Garble covered his ears again, looking like he wanted to curl up in a dark corner and never come out.
The nearby townsponies stomped their hooves in approval and trotted up to Ember, beaming and offering her some pumpkin spice cookies.
Ember blinked and stared at the cookies.
“Ooh pumpkin!” said Pinkie. “Try a cookie, Ember.”
“Hmm...” Ember took a cookie from one of the pegasus mares offering it to her. She sniffed it for a moment then tossed the entire thing into her mouth. “This is called pumpkin?”
“Yup yup! It's a seasonal favorite!”
“Not bad.” Ember nodded at the pony who'd given her the cookie. “Thanks.”
Twilight's horn lit, and each cookie being offered to Ember by the group of townsponies levitated into air then lowered into the dragon's candy basket. “We should get going now. We got a lot to show you.”
The townsponies gave Ember another smile then waved before trotting off and disappearing into the crowd.
“Sugarcube Corner is this way,” said Twilight as she pointed down the road and started walking with her friends following along.
Ember poked Garble with her scepter and motioned forward with her head. As Garble sighed and moved past her, she took a cookie from her basket and handed it to him. “At least try and have some fun.”
Garble took the cookie but didn't sample it. “Being around all these ponies and cutesy things makes my scales crawl. But maybe the part where we get to play some pranks won't be so bad.”
Neither Garble or Ember noticed it, but Twilight and the others all snuck glances at each other and snickered under their breaths.
As she followed Twilight and her friends through the crowds, Ember looked all around, becoming distracted again by all the decorations that covered the town from top to bottom. The rest of the time, she was meeting the curious gazes of many of the townsponies, hearing young fillies and colts gleefully shouting the candy chant, or catching a glimpse of ponies playing what looked like some kind of festival game. “Twilight?” she asked.
“Yes?”
“You said this whole festival was inspired by a dire threat Equestria once faced, right?”
“It is.”
“When are you going to tell me more about that?”
There was a moment of silence before Twilight responded. “You'll get an idea once you hear the story from Zecora. But I guess I can at least tell you this much right now: that dire threat had a name, and she was called Nightmare Moon.”
Ember turned her gaze up. Amidst a sea of stars high in the dark sky, the moon's radiance filled her sight. A minute later, she looked back to Twilight and nodded even though the alicorn couldn't see it. “Okay. So, are we almost to this Sugarcube place?”
“Hey!” cried a nearby voice.
Ember suddenly spotted three small ponies down the road waving in their direction, one white, another yellow, and the third a light orange. Ember couldn't take her eyes off them, or rather off their costumes, which were quite different than most of the other ponies around.
All three of the fillies wore black leather boots on all four hooves. A gold and brown striped sash was slung around their left shoulder that also had a scabbard and wooden sword attached. Little mustaches sat at the edge of the snouts. The ensembles were topped off with large-brim hats that nearly hid the fillies' eyes, and the hats had an equally large feather plume sticking out of it. Beside their costumes, they each had a candy basket that was the same as Ember's.
“Took y'all long enough!” chuckled the yellow filly as the trio ran up to them.
Garble and Ember both stared wide-eyed at the fillies.
“Say hello to Sweetie Belle, Apple Bloom, and Scootaloo,” said Twilight with a smile. “Sweetie Belle is Rarity's little sister. Apple Bloom is Applejack's little sister. And Scootaloo is like a little sister to Rainbow Dash. Together they are known as...”
“The Cutie Mark Crusaders!” they cried in unison.
Garble sighed under his breath.
“We're on a—” Sweetie Belle stopped herself and cleared her throat. “We were on a mission to find our special talents and get our cutie marks.
“You two know about cutie marks after meeting Twilight and company right?” asked Scootaloo, beaming at Ember and Garble.
“We tried everything we could think of,” said Apple Bloom. “Every little random thing that popped into our heads. But recently, we finally figured out what our true callin' in life is.”
“And what is that?” asked Ember.
“Ironically enough,” stated Starlight, “turns out their special talent is helping others find their special talent. Think of it like a guidance councilor. There's quite a few around who owe their newfound knowledge of who they are to these three.”
Scootaloo nodded. “In fact, just recently, we even helped a griffon named Gabby who came all the way from Griffonstone specifically to find us. While we couldn't help her get a cutie mark like us ponies have, we were able to help her realize that she didn't need a cutie mark to find her gift.”
“I see.” Ember nodded. “Well, nice to meet more friends of Spike, Twilight and Rarity. I'm Ember and this is Garble.”
“So y'all are really the Dragon Lord?” inquired Apple Bloom.
Ember grinned at the filly and firmly pushed the base of her scepter against the ground. “Why yes I am, just like my father before me. I'm still new to it but I'm learning. Twilight's been teaching me a lot about Equestria, and I her about the Dragonlands, through our letters.”
“Well, welcome to Equestria and Ponyville, you two!” exclaimed Scootaloo.
Garble rolled his eyes again but still remained silent, flicking his tail.
As Ember continued to peer into the fillies' welcoming eyes, a gentle warmth passed through her—the same one that she felt after Spike had passed the Bloodstone Scepter to her after the Gauntlet was concluded. “I suppose given what night this is, this is in order isn't it?” She inhaled deeply. “Nightmare Night! What a fright! Give me something sweet to bite!”
The fillies laughed, and Twilight and the others all smiled as they listened and watched.
“Yeehaw!” bellowed Apple Bloom as she reared up on her hindlegs and kicked at the air with her front. “That was amazin'!”
“What do you think, girls?” asked Sweetie Belle, glancing her friends briefly. “Was that good enough to give her some of our own haul?”
“Sure seemed like it to me!” said Scootaloo.
One by one, the fillies reached into their candy baskets. Apple Bloom gave Ember a bunch of caramel apple pops, Sweetie Belle gave her some fruit-flavored hard candies, and Scootaloo gave her a hoof full of chocolate-covered marshmallows.
“Thanks,” she said, gently shaking her basket and listening to the rattling sound.
The fillies then turned their attention to Garble.
“What about you?” asked Scootaloo. “You haven't said anything.”
Staring at the ground, Garble once again muttered under his breath.
“Huh?”
Ember gave Garble a tap on his side with the base of her scepter.
Garble let out a little sigh. “Nightmare Night...” he groaned, scrunching his face like every word tasted like poison. “What a fright... Give me something sweet to bite...”
Ember just couldn't stop herself from looking away and snickering under her breath.
The fillies stared blank-faced up at Garble. “Uhhhh...” they droned.
Twilight shifted her gaze between Garble and the fillies several times. “Well, go on, girls. He said the chant... Give him some candy.”
After a few more moments of stunned silence, the Cutie Mark Crusaders filled Garble's candy basket with the same assortment of goodies they'd given Ember. However, their blank stares remained.
“We should probably skedaddle,” said Applejack. “There's a whole town out there just waitin' to give y'all a warm Equestria welcome. Let's go trick-or-treatin', then if you're feelin' up to it some shindig dancin'.” She paused. “Then the most popular tradition of them all: the candy offerin' to the statue of Nightmare Moon.”
Ember gazed at Applejack for a moment before turning her attention to Twilight and giving her the same quizzical look. “I thought you said this Nightmare Moon was a dire threat to Equestria.”
“Oh trust me...” said Twilight somberly as she and the other ponies looked down. “She most definitely was.”
“So then why would you base an annual festival after her where you go so far as to offer candy to a statue of her?” Ember folded her arms. “That seems more like something you'd do for someone who did something great for Equestria.”
“I know it doesn't seem to make any sense when you say it like that. I'll explain it to you as we go.”
For the past several hours, Ember had been following Twilight and her friends all over Ponyville, meeting ponies and chatting with some of them, playing festival games—like Spider Toss and Pumpkin Catapult—collecting treats, and trying some pony-style bluegrass dancing. She didn't do the dancing for very long, having quit after tripping over her own tail and causing several nearby dancing ponies to topple over like dominos—something that Garble got a big laugh out of... plus another whap on the head with the Bloodstone Scepter. Ember couldn't be one hundred percent certain, but at some point, when she wasn't looking, she thought she heard Garble mutter that seeing Ember embarrass herself like that made this trip worth it.
Beyond all the hubbub of the festival, Ember could not get what Twilight had told her about the origins of the holiday out of her mind. Her sight periodically turned up toward the moon, and several times she could almost see the Mare in the Moon from Twilight's story on the celestial body's surface. Briefly, Ember wondered how those back home would react to such a tragic story, but then she decided it would be better to just focus on the festival at the moment.
“My basket's nearly full,” said Ember, taking a quick glance down.
“I can always run and grab you another one from Sugarcube Corner!” beamed Pinkie as she bounced up and down.
Ember shook her head. “I think this one will be plenty.”
“Well hurry and grab one more house! Story time is going to start any second now!” Pinkie pointed over to the stage setup in front of Town Hall. A crowd of ponies was already assembled in front of it.
Ember and Garble both approached the house and Ember knocked a few times. The door opened, revealing a light blue, earth pony stallion with a dark blue mane and tail and his cutie mark was two pairs of backwards-facing eighth notes. He wore a grubby white shirt that had several red and brown stains, and he wore a hockey mask that concealed his face except for his amber eyes. One candy chant to the stallion later, Ember and Garble's baskets were both filled to the brim.
With trick-or-treating concluded at least for the moment, the entire group made their way over to the crowd gathered at the edge of the stage in front of Town Hall.
Ember glanced around at all the ponies. The ones who looked over and spotted her gave her warm, welcoming smiles. Ember smiled back. I know in her letters Twilight said ponies are friendly, she thought, but I never could have imagined they were this friendly. Or it could just be one of their own princesses putting in the good word for me... Maybe both. I have to say I am enjoying this quite a bit, and even Garble seems to have mellowed out... a little. This trip was definitely worth it, and it's not over yet. I might ask if I can do this again next year!
A moment later, a tan colored, earth pony mare with blue eyes and half-spectacles walked out from inside Town Hall. She wore a huge rainbow wig, a blue shirt with frilly white edges, a polkadot bow tie, floppy-looking red slippers and a red ball on her nose. Her tail was also balled up and died rainbow colors.
“OH, COME ON!” cried Spike up at the sky and extending his little arms. He shouted so loud that everypony in the area went quiet, including Ember and Garble, turned to stare at him with shocked expressions all over their countenances.
In the silence, only the sound of crickets could be heard.
Several moments went by with Spike doing nothing but staring back at everyone and covering his mouth like he'd said something really vulgar or inappropriate. “Sorry...” he muttered, waving his claw forward a couple of times to signal Mayor Mare to proceed.
“Anyway...” said Mayor Mare, clearing her throat and stepping up to the mic. “Welcome, everypony, to the Nightmare Night festival!”
The townsponies all cheered and stomped their hooves.
Mayor Mare turned her attention to Ember and Garble. “And welcome, esteemed guests from the Dragonlands, Garble and Dragon Lord Ember!”
Garble didn't smile and only gave Mayor Mare a weak wave.
Ember smiled and gave the mayor a proper wave. “Thanks for having us. And thanks again to Princess Twilight for the invitation. We're having a great time and learning so much!”
“Well,” the mayor continued with a smile, “to quote our beloved Princess Luna, 'the fun is about to be doubled!' It's time for everypony's favorite local legend, as traditionally told by our own resident zebra, Zecora!”
The ponies cheered again as a cloud of light green smoke suddenly exploded in front of the door to Town Hall.
Ember and Garble both jumped a little bit and gazed at Zecora as the zebra appeared on stage from within the smoke.
Zecora wore a black cape, gold rings around her midsection, two sets of small gold ring around her forelegs, and another around her neck. Her mane was combed to flow down along her neck and also had several little plastic spiders in it. She immediately planted her gaze on Ember and Garble and gave a smile. “Welcome, welcome, dragons Garble and Lord Ember. To meet you it is quite a pleasure.”
Garble furrowed his brow.
Ember grinned. “Ah. The rhyming zebra. Twilight told me about you in one of her letters.”
“Oh? How so?”
“She said you really know your way around a cauldron and potion-making, and that you've helped Ponyville with lots of natural remedies. You sounded quite interesting and was hoping I could meet you while I was here.”
Zecora's smile widened and she chuckled. “Yes, it is true. I can brew a brew or two. That rhyme was not too much for you?”
She's good, thought Ember as she let out a chuckle of her own. I wonder if she plans it all out or just makes it up as she goes along.
“All right, everyone,” said Mayor Mare. “Let us begin. Zecora, if you would be so kind.”
Zecora nodded to the mayor then gazed back out over the crowd. “Follow me and very soon, you'll hear the tale of Nightmare Moon!” She turned to her right, grabbed her cape as she turned and pulled on it to make it flow over her left side like a rising wave, then climbed down the stairs to stage right.
Ember and Garble stayed behind Twilight and her friends, following them and Zecora toward an eery-looking forest off in the distance.
Ember glanced all around at the twisted and gnarled branches of the trees, and the dense and dark foliage of the Everfree Forest. In all her days, despite being from a place much less tame than Equestria, she had never seen such an unnerving place. At times she swore she saw what appeared to be pairs of solid yellow orbs peeking out from the shadows before disappearing moments later. Still she pressed on, but made sure to keep Garble, Twilight and her friends, Zecora, and the townponies well within her sight. After a little while, they entered a clearing, and Ember's gaze immediately fell upon a large statue situated in the center of the area.
The statue's base was a simple stone block, but the top was a large, fierce-looking mare with a horn and her wings fanned out. The statue pony was reared back on her hindlegs in a commanding stance and seemed to be pointing to the ground with her left foreleg. She bore a large sinister smile on her countenance.
Ember gazed upon it curiously. “Cool statue,” she commented.
“I suppose,” said Garble.
Zecora approached the statue until she was right next to it, then turned around to face everyone. “Listen close, my little dears. I'll tell you where you got your fears! Of Nightmare Night so dark and scary...” She reached into her cloak and pulled out a small hoof full of a strange, bright green powder. She blew on the powder and it suddenly started turned into a cloud that rose into the air as if it had come alive. “Of Nightmare Moon who makes you wary!”
Ember watched in amazement as the cloud transformed into the exact likeness of the pony that was carved into the statue, complete with the same sinister smile.
Without warning, the cloud launched itself straight toward Ember and Garble at breakneck speed.
“What the?!” cried Garble as he leaped back.
Ember went wide-eyed and also stepped back.
The cloud struck the spot where they had been standing, enveloping the two dragons in a wave of green mist and barely allowing them to shield their eyes.
Twilight and all the townsponies watched with bright smiles.
Ember coughed several times and uncovered her eyes while her heart pounded in her chest.
“Every year,” continued Zecora, “we put on a disguise to save ourselves from her searching eyes.”
The cloud suddenly dissipated from around Ember and Garble and flowed right back to Zecora's hoof, reforming as a little pile of dust that she held aloft. She gave the dragons a sinister grin similar to that of the statue.
“What are you trying to do?” barked Garble. “Give us a heart attack?!”
Rainbow Dash sneered. “Now you're starting to get it!”
Like she hadn't even heard the question or was just blatantly ignored it, Zecora continued the tale. “But Nightmare Moon wants just one thing: to gobble up ponies in one quick swing!”
Ember took a few quick breaths. “No taste for dragons then?”
Zecora blew on the dust again and it flew into the air, transforming into the likeness of Nightmare Moon like before. Zecora began to speak again, and the Nightmare Moon cloud flitted about and made motions that matched the zebra's story. “Hungrily she soars the sky. If she sees no pony, she passes by. So if she comes and all is clear, Equestria is safe another year!”
The cloud flew high into the air and exploded in a wave of little sparkles before returning to Zecora's hoof as a pile of dust once again.
Ember looked over at Twilight and furrowed her brow. “Didn't I hear something about a candy offering?”
“Yup!” replied Twilight, still wearing a bright smile.
“Just out of curiosity, this candy offering is just tradition—just part of the festival?”
“A perfect question, my blue dragon friend,” said Zecora. “For Nightmare Moon you must not offend. Fill up her belly with a treat or two so she won't return to come eat you!”
Garble rolled his eyes.
“And now it's your turn!” exclaimed Pinkie as she bounced up and down in place. “Go on! Make your candy offering!”
Ember shrugged. “All right.” She nudged Garble forward with her scepter. “Come on.”
Garble let out a sigh, and the two dragons started walking toward the statue while the townsponies watched.
Twilight and her friends exchanged glances, giving each other another grin and a wink.
Once standing at the base of the statue, Ember gazed up and stared into the statue Nightmare Moon's eyes—it's wicked smile sent a slight shiver down her spine.
Garble pulled a few lemon chews from his candy basket and dropped them to the ground haphazardly. He then looked to Ember. “You going to do this or what?”
After several moments, Ember reached into her candy bucket and gently put a claw full of chocolate covered marshmallows in a neat little pile on the ground.
Suddenly, an unknown voice boomed through the air nearby.
“Honored guests from the Dragonlands!”
Ember's heart immediately started pounding again and she leaped back, looking all around frantically, turning her back to the statue.
Garble did the same. “Wh-who's there?!”
“I am pleased you accepted our invitation,” the voice continued. “I hope you have enjoyed yourselves this evening! I am also pleased you were smart enough to heed these ponies' advice, for I am famished! I'm pleased enough that I may just eat your offering instead of eating you!”
Ember went wide-eyed, and with sweat streaming down her brow, she slowly turned back to face the statue and nearly screamed at the top of her lungs.
Facing the statue, Garble was paralyzed—stiff as if he had become a statue himself.
The statue had come to life and was mere inches from the two dragons. Nightmare Moon's mane and tail flowed like it was drifting in the breeze. Moonlight glinted off her very real helmet and hoof armor. Her eyes were solid white. The only thing that hadn't change was the wicked grin. Ember and Garble hadn't been facing her terrible visage for more than two seconds when she let out a deafening roar.
Ember and Garble both shrieked louder than they ever had in their lives. They leaped back even further, and ended up colliding and stumbling over each other, landing flat on their backs.
Before the dragons could make any more movements or sounds, Nightmare Moon suddenly disappeared in a brief flash of light. In its place stood the most bizarre looking creature Ember and Garble had ever seen.
The creature had a snake-like frame, but only the bottom portion looked like it had snake scales which were red. The middle portion looked like brown fur, and the creature's head and neck looked like it had beige fur. It stood on two legs, the left being brown and hoofed, and the right looked like a green dragon's foot. It's left arm looked like a griffon's, and the right looked like a lion. The creature's horns looked like one was that of a goat and the other like that of a stag. It beamed down at Ember and Garble with its yellow and red eyes.
Twilight, her friends, Zecora, the creature, and all the townsponies burst into laughter.
“Gotcha!” they all cried in unison.
Her mind racing and her heart pounding, Ember sat up and stared blank-faced at the creature then slowly scanned the area. The raucous laughter from the ponies and the creature echoed in her ears. Words completely failed her.
Garble looked like he was about pass out from shock. His face was slightly pale, and her hyperventilated loudly.
Finally, the strength in Ember's voice started to return, but she still sat on the ground gazing up at the strange creature and clutching her chest. “Who are you?!” She hesitated a few seconds, taking several more frantic breaths. “Wh-what are you?!”
The creature stopped laughing and bowed at Ember. “Discord, the Spirit of Chaos; the Purveyor of Pandemonium; the Bringer of Bedlam. It's so nice to finally meet the illustrious Princess Ember!” Discord snapped his fingers and a golden crown suddenly appeared on Ember's head in a quick flash of light.
Ember blinked and reached her claw up, feeling the crown.
“Here,” continued Discord, “let me help you and your friend up.” He snapped his fingers again, and several pairs of lion paws similar to his own appeared in a flash around Ember and Garble. The paws lifted the dragons to their feet, patted their heads, then disappeared.
Twilight and the others stopped laughing and just smiled as they watched.
Words failed Ember again, and she stood there still with that blank face.
Discord grabbed Ember's claws and shook them hard enough that she wobbled in place. “Twilight has told me all about you. When she said you would be coming for the festival, I just had to do something to welcome you myself!”
Ember looked over at Twilight. Slowly, her breaths and her heart rate slowed back down to a steady rate. “You... your friends... the entire town was in on this? All as a Nightmare Night prank for me and Garble?”
“Well duh!” said Pinkie with a huge smile. “Why do you think we all started laughing when Discord scared you two right out of your scales with his little disguise?”
“We would have asked Princess Luna to do it as a welcome to Equestria for you,” said Starlight. “She got Ponyville good with the same prank several years ago before I moved here, but Discord absolutely insisted.”
Rainbow flew over. With a triumphant sneer on her face, she pressed her shout against Garble's and stared into his eyes. “So... still think us ponies are a bunch of lame-os who don't know how to have fun and pull a good prank?”
“Y'all can have good fun without bein' a jerk and destroyin' things,” stated Applejack.
Garble's demeanor suddenly brightened. “That... was... AWESOME!”
Ember smiled as she looked at Garble, then at Discord and the ponies. “I'll say. I never would have seen that one coming. You sure got us good!”
“All in a day's work!” Discord held his finger up to his mouth and blew on it.
“I've just decided that I would love to come back next year. I've had a lot of fun tonight.”
Twilight beamed as did her friends. “We'd love for you to come again!” she exclaimed. “And you're welcome back next year too, Garble, long as you don't still think us ponies aren't 'cool' enough for you and remember what the point of Nightmare Night is.”
Garble pointed at Rainbow and Discord. “You and you! We need to talk. Maybe you could let me in on some future pranks!”
“Oh really?” Discord rubbed his hands together. “Well color me intrigued!” He snapped his fingers and his body started to shift between every color imaginable in rapid succession. “If only I knew what the color of intrigued is.”
Still hovering, Rainbow grinned and folded her forelegs. “You know, Garble. I guess you're really not so bad when you're not trying to smash phoenix eggs or hurt Spike. Don't push your luck though. I still got my eye on you. Now about those pranks...”
Ember and Twilight blinked several times and stared at each other. “What have we started...?” they said together.
Thanks for reading! Please be sure to like, subscribe, share, retweet, and all that fun stuff! 
To think this had been sitting half finished on my shelf for over two years after I saw the Gauntlet of Fire episode. Feels good to finally get it done.
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Glad to see the conclusion to this story, it was enjoyable seeing Ember & Garble's reactions to all of the Nightmare Night activities, even the pranking at the end there! Of course Garble, Discord & Rainbow teaming-up for future prank endeavors is a scary prospect indeed!
Thanks for sharing!
10125012
Glad you enjoyed it! 
I finally finished it! Took me long enough from when I first got the idea for it... over two years ago!
10125042
Any plans for a sequel that includes a certain orange dragoness later down the road?
10125152
Cant say I have one in mind currently. Maybe sometime. *patpat*
10125042
Sometimes gems take that long to finely polish before being put on show.
This was a nice and wholesome conclusion to this story. Can't wait to see what else you may write!
10149928
For the most part I’m focusing on Lords of Harmony. If you like epics then you might enjoy that one. There’s also my Tempest story, I Hear the Stars. For the epic, don’t let the timeframe fool you. The rate of updates from then till now may make it seem like I don’t really care about it but I promise it’s the reason I joined the site in the first place.
10438765
This was fun. Especially Discord's contribution to the festival.
10749255
Heehee. Thankies. I still whip myself for letting a short story like this sit half-finished for several years before finally getting off my *** and getting it done.
alright, this needs a sequel
one in which Smolder gets involved in some way
11049036
Hehe you’re not the first to ask about a sequel featuring Smolder. At this time I have no plans for s sequel, but I’m glad you enjoyed this nonetheless. I might do a sequel someday, just not sure.